The past few weeks have been a whirlwind of new experiences. I started school about 2 weeks ago, and it seems like I haven't stopped to catch my breath since then. It has been somewhat of a rough adjustment, but I feel like I'm starting to get into the swing of things.
TIS is the total opposite of what I'm used to in every way, so I sort of feel like a fish out of water. The facility is amazing, the students are so great, the administrators are very involved and super supportive, I have a TA, and there are only 15 kids in my class...it's every teachers dream. I love it here, but there is definitely a part of my heart back in my run-down classroom in Fairborn this week as my kids from last year are starting their new school year. My heart breaks thinking about them leaving their first day of third grade without me there to ask, "How did it go?!?"
On a happier note, I love my new students. They are seriously the cutest little things EVER. It was a big shock for me to start my first day in kindergarten and realize that their attention span is nonexistent. Their squirreliness (that's a word, right? maybe I should say "their constant not sitting still"...) is quickly growing on me, and their sweet little faces make up for the thousand times a day I have to say "sit down, please." Most of them have little to no English, but I love it! I love celebrating little victories with them, like trying new foods without crying or remembering to dump the sand out of their socks OUTSIDE instead of on the carpet. :) It's certainly a new and unfamiliar challenge, but I think I'm really going to love being their teacher.
Hm.... What are some funny China mishaps that I can share...
Well, today we went to the store across the street and there was a bag of fish (not like a sealed bag of fish, like real fish in a grocery bag with their tails sticking out) in the ice cream cooler. Normally I would have been appalled, but not in China. You just kind of nod and say, "Well okay then!" and then snap a quick picture. My roommate bought ice cream out of the cooler and we ate it for dessert....it was delicious. :)
Tonight we also squeezed all three roommates and all three of our bikes into the elevator. It was seriously worth the laugh...and worth not having to wait for the elevator twice.
Tomorrow is Open House. I'm a little nervous about it! It's much more formal than the Open Houses I have done before. We'll see how it goes! I'll have translators in my room, so that should be interesting with me being nervous and talking super fast.
Off to bed...up at 5am to do it all over again!
Bye for now! :)
Wednesday, August 29, 2012
Friday, August 17, 2012
DO YOU SPEAK ENGLISH? WE WANT PIZZA!
Yesterday marked 3 weeks of life in China... Time has (mostly) flown! My roommates and I are getting a little tired of rice and veggies, so we decided to use a flyer we got in our door (probably a bad idea...) to order pizza. Some of the menu was in English, so I figured it was worth a shot to at least call and try.
I dialed the phone... "Wèi?"
"Do you speak English?"
"Ni hao."
"Do you speak English?"
"Ni hao."
"English! Does anyone there speak English?"
"Mumble...mumble...pizza....mumble...ni hao."
"Ummmmm. Thanks anyway."
Click.
As I was about to accept my fate of rice and veggies, my phone rang.
"Hello?"
"Ni hao."
Oh. My. Word. They called me back.
"Mumble mumble mumble pizza."
"Do you speak English?"
"Only a little."
So I handed the phone to my roommate, Grace. "Maybe he speaks Korean? You try."
*Grace says something in Korean that means, "Do you speak Korean?"* Negative. So then Grace begins the same conversation I had 5 minutes prior.
"Do you speak English?...Okay, we want to order a pizza....a pizza.....a cheese pizza....we want to order a cheese pizza....yes, a pizza.....cheese....just cheese....only cheese....pizza..."
5 minutes later......
"Do you speak English?"
Hahahaha....so then my other roommate said to her, "Don't you think it's a little late to be asking that? Didn't we establish that like 10 minutes ago?"
Eventually she told him our address in her very best Chinglish, and then we waited.
...
15 minutes later there was a knock at the door..... I think the following pictures speak for themselves.
Victory.
I dialed the phone... "Wèi?"
"Do you speak English?"
"Ni hao."
"Do you speak English?"
"Ni hao."
"English! Does anyone there speak English?"
"Mumble...mumble...pizza....mumble...ni hao."
"Ummmmm. Thanks anyway."
Click.
As I was about to accept my fate of rice and veggies, my phone rang.
"Hello?"
"Ni hao."
Oh. My. Word. They called me back.
"Mumble mumble mumble pizza."
"Do you speak English?"
"Only a little."
So I handed the phone to my roommate, Grace. "Maybe he speaks Korean? You try."
*Grace says something in Korean that means, "Do you speak Korean?"* Negative. So then Grace begins the same conversation I had 5 minutes prior.
"Do you speak English?...Okay, we want to order a pizza....a pizza.....a cheese pizza....we want to order a cheese pizza....yes, a pizza.....cheese....just cheese....only cheese....pizza..."
5 minutes later......
"Do you speak English?"
Hahahaha....so then my other roommate said to her, "Don't you think it's a little late to be asking that? Didn't we establish that like 10 minutes ago?"
Eventually she told him our address in her very best Chinglish, and then we waited.
...
15 minutes later there was a knock at the door..... I think the following pictures speak for themselves.
Victory.
Thursday, August 16, 2012
My New Classroom :)
Here are a few picture of my new kindergarten classroom. It was a lot of work to get it set up... My TA was a HUGE help - I have been so thankful for her this week! I've never had to have a dramatic play area or block area...or computers for that matter...so it was a challenge for me to figure out what what I was doing! I've already moved some things around since I took these pictures a few days ago...haha.
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| Calendar Area - Nevermind the wrong date...It was a long week. I fixed it before school started. :) |
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| Reading center |
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| Dramatic Play Center...I love the combo of silverware and chopsticks. :) |
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| My classroom! |
Sunday, August 12, 2012
Coffee
I've been in China for 2 weeks now...although it feels like much longer. I've been able to see and do so many things already! I've been getting a little braver every day and I've been branching out and doing some things by myself.
This past Saturday was a lazy day, and I decided I was going to ride my bike to the little coffee shop down the street and get a latte. I knew that Momo's opened at 10:00, so I left my apartment a little after 10. When I got to Momo's the guy working started talking to me in Chinese. I of course had no idea what he was trying to say to me...poor guy. I showed him what I wanted - an almond latte. He held up two fingers and kept talking in Chinese, so I thought he was asking if I wanted one shot of espresso or two. I wanted two, of course, so I said "er." He shook his head and continued talking to me in Chinese, to which I replied, "Ting bu dong" (I don't understand). So he spoke slower. Not helpful. I shook my head and said, "Ting bu dong"...again. So he said, "Wait 20 minutes." Um, excuse me? You speak English? Oy! I'm not sure why I had to wait 20 minutes since they had already been open for 20 minutes, but there are lots of things I don't understand here. So I grabbed a Korean magazine and sat down to patiently wait. In the meantime he kindly put on some Adele for me to listen to...
...20 minutes later...
The barista motioned me up to the counter to get my coffee. My tumbler was filled to the brim with a beautiful latte, and when I put the lid on the mug all of the foamy goodness shot through the lid and onto the counter, the floor, and me. The barista (I need to ask his name next time...) rushed around the counter to help me. I felt so bad. I typically don't spill things in public...just at Laura and Bethany's house. He helped me clean up the mess, and I kept wishing I knew how to say, "I'm so embarrassed..." or "Whoops..." or "My bad..." in Chinese. Instead I stood by awkwardly and smiled. Smiling is all I have to offer most of the time here... I paid and said "xiexie" (thank you) and "zaijian" (goodbye). I hopped back on my little bike (which, by the way, I still L.O.V.E.) and started peddling back to my apartment with almond latte in hand, wishing I had more words and a bigger tumbler. As I looked to my right, I saw the barista running after me. I stopped and thought, "Oh gosh...after all that I HOPE I paid him!" He started speaking to me in Chinese, which I understood just as well as I had 20 minutes prior, and pointing to my tumbler. I held it up and said, "Ting bu dong." As I held it up, he cautiously took it from my hand and darted back to the coffee shop. So I followed, of course. I mean, he had my favorite Tervis tumbler AND what was left of my almond latte! Back in Momo's, he pointed to what I had ordered and said "meiyou" (doesn't have). I'm guessing he forgot the flavoring? At any rate, he poured it out (after all that work and miscommunication!) and remade it. After he remade it, he put the lid on ever-so-gently...no more foam fountain cleanups for that guy! He kept apologizing, so I was able to use one of my handful of useful Chinese phrases, "mei wenti" (no problem). FINALLY, I got home with my almond latte...and it was amazing. Things always taste better when you have to work for them, ya know?
This past Saturday was a lazy day, and I decided I was going to ride my bike to the little coffee shop down the street and get a latte. I knew that Momo's opened at 10:00, so I left my apartment a little after 10. When I got to Momo's the guy working started talking to me in Chinese. I of course had no idea what he was trying to say to me...poor guy. I showed him what I wanted - an almond latte. He held up two fingers and kept talking in Chinese, so I thought he was asking if I wanted one shot of espresso or two. I wanted two, of course, so I said "er." He shook his head and continued talking to me in Chinese, to which I replied, "Ting bu dong" (I don't understand). So he spoke slower. Not helpful. I shook my head and said, "Ting bu dong"...again. So he said, "Wait 20 minutes." Um, excuse me? You speak English? Oy! I'm not sure why I had to wait 20 minutes since they had already been open for 20 minutes, but there are lots of things I don't understand here. So I grabbed a Korean magazine and sat down to patiently wait. In the meantime he kindly put on some Adele for me to listen to...
...20 minutes later...
The barista motioned me up to the counter to get my coffee. My tumbler was filled to the brim with a beautiful latte, and when I put the lid on the mug all of the foamy goodness shot through the lid and onto the counter, the floor, and me. The barista (I need to ask his name next time...) rushed around the counter to help me. I felt so bad. I typically don't spill things in public...just at Laura and Bethany's house. He helped me clean up the mess, and I kept wishing I knew how to say, "I'm so embarrassed..." or "Whoops..." or "My bad..." in Chinese. Instead I stood by awkwardly and smiled. Smiling is all I have to offer most of the time here... I paid and said "xiexie" (thank you) and "zaijian" (goodbye). I hopped back on my little bike (which, by the way, I still L.O.V.E.) and started peddling back to my apartment with almond latte in hand, wishing I had more words and a bigger tumbler. As I looked to my right, I saw the barista running after me. I stopped and thought, "Oh gosh...after all that I HOPE I paid him!" He started speaking to me in Chinese, which I understood just as well as I had 20 minutes prior, and pointing to my tumbler. I held it up and said, "Ting bu dong." As I held it up, he cautiously took it from my hand and darted back to the coffee shop. So I followed, of course. I mean, he had my favorite Tervis tumbler AND what was left of my almond latte! Back in Momo's, he pointed to what I had ordered and said "meiyou" (doesn't have). I'm guessing he forgot the flavoring? At any rate, he poured it out (after all that work and miscommunication!) and remade it. After he remade it, he put the lid on ever-so-gently...no more foam fountain cleanups for that guy! He kept apologizing, so I was able to use one of my handful of useful Chinese phrases, "mei wenti" (no problem). FINALLY, I got home with my almond latte...and it was amazing. Things always taste better when you have to work for them, ya know?
Tuesday, August 7, 2012
Ouch!
Wow.
Today we had to do a bunch of things for our Visa/residency/not sure exactly, I just do what I'm told. Mind you, we weren't allowed to eat breakfast because of the blood test, so we were all a little grumpy...we were past hungry and approaching hangry by this point. We had to go to one building to get our photos taken (seriously, why wouldn't they just let me smile? Worst.Photo.Ever. Thanks, China.) and then another building to get blood drawn.
That's where I met her. Nurse Ratched.
We pulled up to the international health center to get some blood drawn...Now, when I say "international health center," what I really mean is "sketchville-this-can't-be-sanitary health center". So we walked in, and after I accidentally followed our translator into a No Admittance area, we were led to the registration desk. The lady at the desk took a ninja photo of me from her webcam for my health form....Yep, bad photo number 2 of the day. It looks like one of those photos you see on the news of someone walking out of a convenience store with a pocket full of cash and stolen goods. Anyway...back to Nurse Ratched.
They led us to a room that, well, words can't describe, so here are a few photos.
So somehow I got elected to go first. Perfect. Scary Nurse took my paper, pulled my arm under the glass, did the rubber band thingy, and then smacked my arm HARD three times. Like, she hit me. Hard. At first I looked at my colleagues, shocked. They heard the slap in the hallway and started laughing. Then I started laughing. You know, like the uncontrollable laughter that happens at really inappropriate times - weddings, funerals, prayer, doctor's offices. Nurse Ratched didn't see the humor in the situation, but I seriously couldn't stop laughing...that is, until I saw the needle. The previous night I had a dream that they tried to use unsterilized needles which led to an ugly Chinese/English argument, so I stopped laughing and started seriously studying the needle and procedures. She drew my blood with what I'm going to assume was a sterile needle, snapped off the giant rubber band thingy, and then gave me a Qtip to hold on the gaping wound in my arm. No love from Nurse Ratched....not even a Band-aid. Whatever. So I tried not to drip blood on the floor on my way out...not that it would have mattered or even stood out from the other splatters on the tile. Thankfully one of the other teachers had toilet paper in her bag (there's a reason we carry toilet paper...a topic for another day) so we made a makeshift bandage and waited for the others to be beaten up by N.R. and then sent away with nothing but tiny piece of cotton to nurse their wounds.
Nurse Ratched - 1, Mollie - 0.
Today we had to do a bunch of things for our Visa/residency/not sure exactly, I just do what I'm told. Mind you, we weren't allowed to eat breakfast because of the blood test, so we were all a little grumpy...we were past hungry and approaching hangry by this point. We had to go to one building to get our photos taken (seriously, why wouldn't they just let me smile? Worst.Photo.Ever. Thanks, China.) and then another building to get blood drawn.
That's where I met her. Nurse Ratched.
We pulled up to the international health center to get some blood drawn...Now, when I say "international health center," what I really mean is "sketchville-this-can't-be-sanitary health center". So we walked in, and after I accidentally followed our translator into a No Admittance area, we were led to the registration desk. The lady at the desk took a ninja photo of me from her webcam for my health form....Yep, bad photo number 2 of the day. It looks like one of those photos you see on the news of someone walking out of a convenience store with a pocket full of cash and stolen goods. Anyway...back to Nurse Ratched.
They led us to a room that, well, words can't describe, so here are a few photos.
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| Please note the gaping hole in the ceiling |
Nurse Ratched - 1, Mollie - 0.
Monday, August 6, 2012
Planes, Trains, and Automobiles
Who needs a car?!? Not me! In the past week I've ridden in airplanes, school buses, city buses, taxis, and bikes. I also see a high-speed train in my future. :)
I would have loved to use public transportation back in the States, but 1)it's not practical, and 2)frankly the thought of riding a bus in Dayton terrifies me. I feel like me getting on a bus by myself in Dayton would be like wearing a big flashing neon sign that says, "LOOK AT ME! I'M AN EASY TARGET!" Then again, maybe there are just some stereotypes I've bought into. Regardless, I feel much safer using a bus in China than I ever would in Dayton. We sort of look down on people who use city buses back home, but here it's just as normal to take a bus as it is to drive a car...and I love it! I got a bus pass yesterday and I can't wait to learn the bus system! I know it's going to take a while before I know which bus will take me where, and I'm sure I'll get lost plenty, but I have lots of time to learn! :) It's a pretty slow way to travel, but it's kind of fun to ride the bus and people watch, it's cheaper than a taxi, and it sure beats walking! (Side note: I find it incredibly odd that the only bus cards there were to choose from were Hello Kitty, a really creepy woodland creature cartoon, or a dragon. Where are the normal, generic "City of Tianjin" bus cards? I would even take something written in Chinese over the available options, but oh well.)
As much as I like the bus, sometimes it's nice to have a set of wheels of your very own. That's why I bought a bike. :) I think it's going to be really vital for me to have some independence while I'm here, so I feel like it was a great investment.
I really like my bike (yet to be named...ideas???). Here's the problem: it's almost guaranteed that it will get stolen. Everyone I've talked to has had at least one bike (or various necessary bike parts) stolen over the past year. I know it would be less likely to get stolen if it wasn't so shiny, so I've thought about roughing it up a little to make it less appealing, but it's just so cute! I don't think I can bring myself to spray paint it just yet...although the moment it disappears I'm sure I'll wish I had. We tried bargaining for our bikes, but with next to no Chinese it wasn't pretty. There was lots of pointing, head-shaking, counting on fingers, bike man talking to us in Chinese, us looking confused, and, per usual, plenty of occurrences of "ting bu dong" (I don't understand). So we finally agreed on a price (which was probably too much, but oh well, I have a bike) and handed over the money, which was pretty to do easy since the kuai still means very little to me...I sort of feel like I'm shopping with Monopoly money.
I thought the ride home would be terrifying (if I lived through it at all), but it was actually a blast! The Chinese drive their cars like they would bikes anyway, so we fit right in! You just have to be aware of what's going on, and once you commit to crossing the street you have to go and not hesitate. I was really surprised that so many drivers gave us warning honks to let us know they were coming up behind us. We had two more experienced riders with us, so that helped a ton! It may be a while before I venture very far by myself...
I wasn't really afraid of oncoming traffic, although I didn't love being boxed in by buses. Between Grace's picture taking/bike riding and the stray dog that ran out in front of me, I about had a heart attack...but our ride mostly just amazing. :)
I would have loved to use public transportation back in the States, but 1)it's not practical, and 2)frankly the thought of riding a bus in Dayton terrifies me. I feel like me getting on a bus by myself in Dayton would be like wearing a big flashing neon sign that says, "LOOK AT ME! I'M AN EASY TARGET!" Then again, maybe there are just some stereotypes I've bought into. Regardless, I feel much safer using a bus in China than I ever would in Dayton. We sort of look down on people who use city buses back home, but here it's just as normal to take a bus as it is to drive a car...and I love it! I got a bus pass yesterday and I can't wait to learn the bus system! I know it's going to take a while before I know which bus will take me where, and I'm sure I'll get lost plenty, but I have lots of time to learn! :) It's a pretty slow way to travel, but it's kind of fun to ride the bus and people watch, it's cheaper than a taxi, and it sure beats walking! (Side note: I find it incredibly odd that the only bus cards there were to choose from were Hello Kitty, a really creepy woodland creature cartoon, or a dragon. Where are the normal, generic "City of Tianjin" bus cards? I would even take something written in Chinese over the available options, but oh well.)
As much as I like the bus, sometimes it's nice to have a set of wheels of your very own. That's why I bought a bike. :) I think it's going to be really vital for me to have some independence while I'm here, so I feel like it was a great investment.
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| Leaving the White Market on our new wheels |
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Wednesday, August 1, 2012
The Good with the Bad
Thanks to my good friend Jet Lag I've been up since about 6am, so this blog post may end up being just random early morning ramblings...we'll see how it goes. :)
So far I absolutely love China...I feel like my heart belongs here. I love being in the minority, observing a new culture, experiencing new places and foods, picking up bits and pieces of a new language. I love the quirky things Chinese people do and the hustle and bustle around our apartment complex. I love all of the sights and sounds (not so much the smells) of my new home. I'm sure some of those things will get old eventually, but for now those are the things that make me smile.
Just like with anything, when you move overseas you have to take the good with the bad. China is certainly not exempt from that rule. *DISCLAIMER* My intention here is not to be Negative Nancy but to share some honest realities of my move to China so far.
I had a really amazing community in Dayton. There were people there who knew my story, understood my heart, and loved me anyway. In my adult life I've never really been in a place where I didn't have at least one close friend nearby who knew me deeply and loved me anyway. The reality of my situation now is that there isn't a single person in the whole country who gets me...no one here knows my heart. Hopefully that will come with time, but for now it's hard to get up every day and know that my community is so far away. I'm not someone who can survive solely with surface-deep, superficial relationships, so it's kind of lonely seeing the amazing community that's been built here in Tianjin and being on the outside of it looking in, while also seeing the community I left in Dayton going on without me. I know that my security and comfort come from Him and that His grace is sufficient, but I also know that my Creator made me for community and not for isolation. I believe that He will provide close community for me in time, but right now it's hard being in this weird sort of limbo.
It's also hard being so dependent on others. As a 26-year-old single woman, I'm used to doing everything for myself. Now I have to depend on others for almost everything - to speak for me, drive me, direct me, etc, etc. I don't think it's all bad...It is teaching me humility and I think this is how community here begins, but it's certainly a change and a new way of thinking. I'm itching to get a bike so at least I can have moments of independence!
Even though it's tough and my heart is a little overwhelmed, I'm so, so excited to be here! I love having familiar faces right here in my apartment complex. Last night some of the other staff invited me over for dinner and it took me like 2 minutes to walk down to their apartment. That's pretty awesome! Then we went to another apartment to watch a movie...another 2 minute walk! More than the familiar faces, I love seeing new faces and am looking forward to when I have enough language to say more to them than, "Ni hao!" :) Something else I love about Yang Guang (my apartment complex) specifically is Shopping Street. There is a whole street lined with little shops. They sell everything from produce to meat to hardware. There's a dry cleaner, a bank, a grocery store, Korean restaurants, a post office...everything you can think of! I've always preferred to support local businesses instead of chain stores, so I love that I can go down the street and buy things from a person instead of a corporation. I'm excited to start establishing shops where I go regularly and get to know the shop owners.
I could go on and on about the good and bad of China, but I think that will suffice for now. So please keep me in mind as I'm finding my place in the community here...it's not easy, but I believe it's going to be so worth it!
Bye for now! :)
So far I absolutely love China...I feel like my heart belongs here. I love being in the minority, observing a new culture, experiencing new places and foods, picking up bits and pieces of a new language. I love the quirky things Chinese people do and the hustle and bustle around our apartment complex. I love all of the sights and sounds (not so much the smells) of my new home. I'm sure some of those things will get old eventually, but for now those are the things that make me smile.
Just like with anything, when you move overseas you have to take the good with the bad. China is certainly not exempt from that rule. *DISCLAIMER* My intention here is not to be Negative Nancy but to share some honest realities of my move to China so far.
I had a really amazing community in Dayton. There were people there who knew my story, understood my heart, and loved me anyway. In my adult life I've never really been in a place where I didn't have at least one close friend nearby who knew me deeply and loved me anyway. The reality of my situation now is that there isn't a single person in the whole country who gets me...no one here knows my heart. Hopefully that will come with time, but for now it's hard to get up every day and know that my community is so far away. I'm not someone who can survive solely with surface-deep, superficial relationships, so it's kind of lonely seeing the amazing community that's been built here in Tianjin and being on the outside of it looking in, while also seeing the community I left in Dayton going on without me. I know that my security and comfort come from Him and that His grace is sufficient, but I also know that my Creator made me for community and not for isolation. I believe that He will provide close community for me in time, but right now it's hard being in this weird sort of limbo.
It's also hard being so dependent on others. As a 26-year-old single woman, I'm used to doing everything for myself. Now I have to depend on others for almost everything - to speak for me, drive me, direct me, etc, etc. I don't think it's all bad...It is teaching me humility and I think this is how community here begins, but it's certainly a change and a new way of thinking. I'm itching to get a bike so at least I can have moments of independence!
Even though it's tough and my heart is a little overwhelmed, I'm so, so excited to be here! I love having familiar faces right here in my apartment complex. Last night some of the other staff invited me over for dinner and it took me like 2 minutes to walk down to their apartment. That's pretty awesome! Then we went to another apartment to watch a movie...another 2 minute walk! More than the familiar faces, I love seeing new faces and am looking forward to when I have enough language to say more to them than, "Ni hao!" :) Something else I love about Yang Guang (my apartment complex) specifically is Shopping Street. There is a whole street lined with little shops. They sell everything from produce to meat to hardware. There's a dry cleaner, a bank, a grocery store, Korean restaurants, a post office...everything you can think of! I've always preferred to support local businesses instead of chain stores, so I love that I can go down the street and buy things from a person instead of a corporation. I'm excited to start establishing shops where I go regularly and get to know the shop owners.
I could go on and on about the good and bad of China, but I think that will suffice for now. So please keep me in mind as I'm finding my place in the community here...it's not easy, but I believe it's going to be so worth it!
Bye for now! :)
Week 1 Recap
Well it's been a week since I left the states, and it has been quite a week! Here are a few thoughts about the past week:
TIS Staff: The other TIS teachers and staff have been so amazing. They have gone out of their way to help the new staff get settled in and survive the first week. When I got to Tianjin, our apartment was clean, beds were made, phone and electricity were running, and there was food in the fridge. They have planned something for us every day to help us get to know Tianjin and figure out where to get things we need and how to get around. They've even organized dinner for us every night. (See, Mom... I'm not starving!:) Some of the staff speak very good Chinese, and they have been great resources this week! It really motivates me to want to learn the language!
TIS School: I got to see the school on Tuesday. I have never seen a more beautiful facility! I'll try to post some pictures of it later. The school as a whole is HUGE and absolutely breathtaking. Words really can't describe it and pictures don't do it justice. I'll be in the ECC (Early Childhood Center). It's attached to the rest of the school but kept closed off for the safety of the kids. It is such a fun place...it is exactly what a school should look like. I feel so blessed to be able to teach in such an amazing place! I sort of feel like the new kid on the first day of high school, though...I hope I don't get lost!
Ikea trip: Here we go....the Ikea trip. Yesterday was such an interesting day. We left for Ikea in the middle of a torrential downpour, so of course we had to wade through inches of water to get to the bus at the front gate. By the time we got to the bus my shoes were soaked (lesson learned...wear sandals on rainy days). So with soggy feet I climbed onto the school bus and we headed toward Ikea. An hour and a half later...we were still searching for Ikea. Uturn...Google Maps...Uturn...Stop for directions....Uturn....Stop in the middle of the street, hold up traffic, and discuss a new route....Uturn....Ikea! When we finally saw the yellow and blue Ikea sign in the distance it was like I could hear whatever the Chinese version of the Hallelujah chorus is. Thankfully the rain scared most shoppers away and we were able to navigate through the wonderland that is Ikea pretty painlessly. My roommate and I made it through the showroom quickly only to spend what seemed like an eternity deciding on dishes. (Ikea makes decision-making a thousand times harder....) We finally decided to just decide later. Ha... We got lots of good stuff - curtains, bedding, kitchen necessities, throw pillows, laundry hampers - and plenty of other things Ikea made us believe we just HAD.TO.HAVE. (I also got a floor lamp like the one I had in Dayton to make my room feel more like "home"...then got it back to my apartment to discover the lamp shade had been taken out so I can't even use it. Bummer...)
Now, the trip home was another adventure altogether. Everything was going really well until we got back to Yang Guang. Most of the people who had a lot of stuff live near the back gate of the complex, so we asked the driver to take us there. He was in a hurry so he said "no". There was no way we could make the 15ish minute walk from the front gate to our building with all our stuff, so the driver agreed to compromise and take us to the side gate which would cut our walking time in half. So what did the driver do next? Well, he made a uturn, of course! The problem was he decided to uturn onto a one way street into oncoming traffic. He drove all the way down the wrong side of a one way street and took us to the side gate. The craziest thing was that the other drivers didn't honk at him or even give him a second glance. #china
Here's something I've observed about the Chinese: if there is any possible way to get something done, they'll figure it out and do it. Yesterday I saw someone carrying a giant wooden board down the road on a bike. He wouldn't have gotten far in the States before getting pulled over. Here it is normal. There are trucks hauling sky-high piles of cardboard...like so much cardboard you just keep thinking, "Don't take a sharp turn...don't take a sharp turn..." So anyway, when we got to the side gate we channeled our inner Chinese, loaded ourselves down with bags and boxes, and trekked back to our apartment building. If my hands hadn't been full of area rugs and shelving units I would have taken a picture. Oh, and thanks to the rain we got to walk through overflowing sewage, so that was awesome.
All in all, not a bad week. :)
TIS Staff: The other TIS teachers and staff have been so amazing. They have gone out of their way to help the new staff get settled in and survive the first week. When I got to Tianjin, our apartment was clean, beds were made, phone and electricity were running, and there was food in the fridge. They have planned something for us every day to help us get to know Tianjin and figure out where to get things we need and how to get around. They've even organized dinner for us every night. (See, Mom... I'm not starving!:) Some of the staff speak very good Chinese, and they have been great resources this week! It really motivates me to want to learn the language!
TIS School: I got to see the school on Tuesday. I have never seen a more beautiful facility! I'll try to post some pictures of it later. The school as a whole is HUGE and absolutely breathtaking. Words really can't describe it and pictures don't do it justice. I'll be in the ECC (Early Childhood Center). It's attached to the rest of the school but kept closed off for the safety of the kids. It is such a fun place...it is exactly what a school should look like. I feel so blessed to be able to teach in such an amazing place! I sort of feel like the new kid on the first day of high school, though...I hope I don't get lost!
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| Elementary library |
Now, the trip home was another adventure altogether. Everything was going really well until we got back to Yang Guang. Most of the people who had a lot of stuff live near the back gate of the complex, so we asked the driver to take us there. He was in a hurry so he said "no". There was no way we could make the 15ish minute walk from the front gate to our building with all our stuff, so the driver agreed to compromise and take us to the side gate which would cut our walking time in half. So what did the driver do next? Well, he made a uturn, of course! The problem was he decided to uturn onto a one way street into oncoming traffic. He drove all the way down the wrong side of a one way street and took us to the side gate. The craziest thing was that the other drivers didn't honk at him or even give him a second glance. #china
Here's something I've observed about the Chinese: if there is any possible way to get something done, they'll figure it out and do it. Yesterday I saw someone carrying a giant wooden board down the road on a bike. He wouldn't have gotten far in the States before getting pulled over. Here it is normal. There are trucks hauling sky-high piles of cardboard...like so much cardboard you just keep thinking, "Don't take a sharp turn...don't take a sharp turn..." So anyway, when we got to the side gate we channeled our inner Chinese, loaded ourselves down with bags and boxes, and trekked back to our apartment building. If my hands hadn't been full of area rugs and shelving units I would have taken a picture. Oh, and thanks to the rain we got to walk through overflowing sewage, so that was awesome.
All in all, not a bad week. :)
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