Busy Busy

Well it's been almost a week and we've done a lot of cool stuff here in China. I figure I'd just rundown the highlights. Be sure to check out my photos above as I've added a bunch recently.


Bars

Thursday night's mission was to find a few cool bars to hang out at. Pretty much all the teachers went out together. Our first stop was a nearby beer garden that one of us had seen a flier for. It was a pretty cool place, nestled in front of a bunch of tall buildings at the crossing of two major roads. They served three kinds of Snow beer: a lager, a dark beer, and an amber that is apparently only supposed to be served to girls. The beer wasn't that great, but it was still a pretty fun experience. The manager and one of the owners of the bar absolutely LOVED that foreigners had come, and they bent over backwards to serve us. We got a bunch of free beer, and at one point when it started to sprinkle, the various workers scrambled to set up a bunch of tents around the tables we were sitting at. We kept insisting that all they were doing was unnecessary (through our Chinese speakers), but they didn't stop. One of the teachers, James, did end up making a pretty good friend with one mildly drunk Chinese guy who was there. He kept saying that James was his good friend and that we were all now good friends of China. He was kinda wild but fun.

The second half of the night lead us to what some call the McDonald's Bar. It's a place with English-speaking bartenders that cater to foreigners. You can find a good assortment of Western beers and liquors there (I enjoyed a gin & tonic), though the prices are, at least compared to the rest of China, predictably high. It's probably not a place worth visiting on a regular basis, but it'll probably be a nice place to go everyone once in a while when craving a more American slice of social life. The best part of the bar, though, was me being able to practice some communication with one of the workers who didn't speak much English. I was able to tell him my name and ask his. He then helped me count the numbers 1-10 outlaid and on my hand (it's different with fingers than in the US). Finally he showed me how to write my name (or at least the sound of my name) in Chinese characters. Kinda cool stuff.

Homestay

Friday night saw all of the teachers leaving for their weekend homestays. Me and Xian (she is also teaching at Hebei Normal University) ended up staying with the same family. They had a young daughter who was about 11. They also had a nephew, 14, staying with them so he would be able to go to a good school. The family seemed VERY well off, with a super nice apartment, big high definition TV and two cars. It seems that they earn it, though, as the dad apparently works seven days a week for his company.

From the get go it was clear that the parents were very interested in us, and also very proud to be hosting us as guests. They took us out to a great dinner the first night, where they started asking us various questions. Since Xian was actually born in China and grew up speaking Chinese, I didn't have quite the language barrier as others did since she could basically act as a translator, but having her there was cool because it helped provide more in-depth conversations then my conversing with the kids in meager English would have allowed. Dinner also allowed me to try my first kinda crazy food: sheep stomach. While the texture of it was a turn off, the flavor wasn't really gross. Just not great.

Throughout the whole weekend the parents kept prodding the kids to speak English to us, but they were super shy and most of the time stubbornly refused to do so. At one point the nephew showed us his English homework, which made it pretty clear that he likely knew a fair share but was just too shy to use it.

During the afternoon on Saturday one of the daughter's friends came over with her grandmother just to meet the foreigners. It was a similar situation there, where the granddaughter was way too shy to talk to us (even turning her back to us frequently), while the grandmother was interested in us, asking about everything from what we eat to how big our families are (she took this opportunity to tell us that she thought having two kids would be best for their ability to take care of parents when they are older). I also ended up showing them pictures of our three dogs from home, which they greatly enjoyed.

Speaking of food, the mother of the family would not stop feeding us. I think we seriously ate something at least every hour. She kept insisting we have a lot of fruit, which included pears, grapes, watermelon and mango. Then when we ate meals, she would rarely believe that we were full when we kept assuring her that we were stuffed. Xian eventually tried to explain that in the US if someone says they are full they usually are, as they wouldn't feel bad saying yes to more food if it's offered. The mother backed off a bit after that, but still not completely. She was especially convinced that someone of my size should be eating a lot more than I was.

On Sunday morning, the mother and the kids took us out to get breakfast at a street market and then stroll around a park. The food was really good, and it was pretty cool to see the park. I have a bunch of pictures of that in my gallery. Here, though, is a video I took of the food vendor making our breakfast:



After that it was finally time for us to say goodbye. The mother took our phone numbers and insisted that we would hang out again throughout the year. She even said at one point that their home would be our home away from home. They even gave us some gifts. We also gave them gifts: Xian gave them some of her favorite chocolate, while I gave them some KU stuff. The kids seemed genuinely interested and excited by the KU gifts, which was a relief as I was worried they wouldn't really care.

Monastery

After we all regrouped Sunday we went to see a nearby monastery. It was pretty amazing to experience a place with some much history and spiritual significance. Kind of crazy to think that the temples there had been there way way longer than any building in America. Hopefully my photos can convey a sense of the place. Unfortunately, though, they didn't want us taking photos inside the temples, so the exteriors will have to do.

KTV

Our last hurrah as a group before everyone dispersed to their own cities and schools was to experience the infamous KTV (Karaoke TV). KTV is one of China's most poplar social activities, and I think I can see why. KTV is not just a karaoke bar. Instead you go in a group and get your own private room. In the room are a few TVs and a station where you can pick your own songs in any order you want. They of course have a lot of Chinese music but also a large amount of English songs. The room has two microphones, but also comes with tambourines so people who aren't singing can still get in on it. While you sing a wait staff will serve you drinks. It's not the cheapest form of Chinese entertainment, but a fun experience with a good size group of people (having a few beers in you doesn't hurt either). A definite highlight of the night was having Kirk, the CCEP coordinator, sing a few songs in Chinese. Not sure I'll ever be able to do that.

Medical Exam

Monday morning came early, as we met our waiban to go get our medical exams for foreigners. (Waiban is the faculty contact through the school for foreigners). The exam wasn't as crazy as I'm sure some imagined they would be, but there were definitely a few weird differences, like leaving a urine sample on a tray in the bathroom that held dozens of other samples. I also got a Chinese version of an EKG test and a ultrasound, two things I've never had before and may never again. But the good news is they didn't find anything wrong with me, so they don't have to deport me.




So those are the highlights of the past week. The lowlight is probably what's going on right now: we were supposed to get our apartments on Monday, but as of right now (Wednesday afternoon) don't have them and aren't totally sure when we will. It might be tomorrow, might be Friday, might be later. Not sure when exactly it'll happen, but I'm definitely ready to get into my place and start thinking more long term about what to get for my place and to start thinking about teaching.