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Well, not generally so, generally I'm pretty good. I'm pathetic when it comes to blogging. I mean, really every two weeks? That is sad. It has been a busy couple of weeks. Term ending, new term beginning, planning for the interns coming to my school to teach at the language camp we sponsor. I have also been the victim of a crime wave here in Tianjin. If you could call it that. My bike was stolen. This is actually a fairly common crime. One of my colleagues had four bikes stolen in a year. Fortunately, bikes are pretty cheap to replace. Unfortunately, mine was a fancy one with an electric motor. Cost two hundred bucks! Eh. Life goes on. I'm not gonna spend that kind of money on a bike again. So I went out and bought one of those little bikes that you can take inside. It folds up so if I get caught in the rain, I can take it home on the bus. It cost me about fifty bucks. Here, that is a lot of money. It is locked in the hallway outside my apartment door. Now before anyone gets images of a big city crime wave, y'all need to understand that this is the closest thing to violent crime you have here. At least against strangers. There is the occasional fisticuff, and there is some domestic violence. But street crime is quite non-violent. I'm not sure why. It could have something to do with the Chinese Government's unwillingness to put up with the kind of shenanigans we do in the US. Private gun ownership simply doesn't exist. In fact, the only guns I see are the ones carried by security police taking money from stores and to banks. Even the average cop on the street doesn't carry a piece. Imagine an American city of 12 million people (NYC?) with unarmed cops. Not a pretty picture. Anyway, back to my being busy. I finally broke down and went shopping for clothes. Now, being somewhat taller than the average chinese man, and, well, being fatter, I can't just go buy my clothes off the rack. So I have to go the expensive route and have them made. So the process is beginning. I'm having some slacks made, and I'll be getting some blouses made. All by hand and to order. It is ridiculously cheap. The tailor I am using is really quite good. I buy the material and take the measurements to the tailor and two weeks later, clothes. I'll be picking mine up in a few days, I'll let you know how they look and fit. |
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Well, I got my custom made britches back. They fit beautifully and are very comfortable. I have to say I am pleased. I bought a bike to replace the one that had been stolen. A cute little fold up person powered bike that I can take into my building with me and into my classroom where I teach. Every month, the school has an English corner/Korean corner/Performance/event thing that we just call Coffeehouse. It is about four hours long and is wildly popular. For most of the time I have been here I have been a featured performer because everyone here seems to think I have some sort of spectacular voice. Yeah, if my voice were that good, I'd be making records, not teaching English. Anyway, one of our new teachers, T, is really quite a good guitarist. So, I have been relieved of many of the performance duties. I have to admit, I hope he never leaves. So, this month the theme was "Thanksgiving" With the American Holiday fast approaching, it seemed a good theme. I was tapped to write and direct a play about the first thanksgiving. Ya know, it was hard because it could only be a few minutes long, and there was a whole bunch of exposition that needed to happen. So, I had a narrator. All in all it was a good Coffeehouse. The play went over well,the songs went over well, everyone had fun at the English Corner and Korean Corner. I think next month is gonna be about Christmas. Just a hunch. The heat is finally on here, and just in time. about the time the heat came on, the weather turned from chilly to cold, and the wind has picked up. For a displaced Midwesterner like myself, the cold air and raw wind remind me of home. One of my colleagues is from Atlanta. She doesn't like the cold. The Britons working with us are also not terribly fond of the cold. I seem to be the only one who kind of likes it. There isn't ever much snow here. A few inches once and some flurries. Snow is a welcome sight. It covers the general grubbiness of the city. It does however, create whole new terror when crossing the street. Drivers who I suspect have never been through a defensive driving course on snow and ice?!?! Scary. I should probably start on the prep work for Friday's Thanksgiving dinner. The Americans are cooking for the British, Chinese and Korean Staff. I have to make stuffing for about thirty. If I use Mom's recipe, I'll have to make enough for sixty; it's that good. |
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Okay, now that I have got my screaming out of the way..... In some ways, the endless adventures of an American in China know no bounds. For example: there is no such thing as baking chocolate here. I bake for the holidays. Gives me a great way to give everyone gifts that they can chuck without feeling guilty that they will hurt my feelings. You know, kind of like that sweater that some distant relative gives you that is that hideous shade of puce. Ya have to wear it next time they come over, or they thing that you didn't like it. Well, I really hope that I don't see the things I bake still on their shelves in six months' time. I went shopping yesterday at this BIG store that is owned and operated by a European company. Usually they have the stuff I am looking for at prices that are only bordering on being unreasonable. I can get cocoa there, and yeast, powdered sugar, and, for the larger part of the year they have these HUGE blocks of Belgian chocolate for the restaurants in town. Until the holidays, when every westerner in North East China suddenly feels the need to dip fruit, bake cookies, make cakes... ad nauseum. I am a guilty as the next westerner. So, thinking that going BEFORE Thanksgiving would give me an edge, I went. Bupkis, nada, zip, zilch, nothing, I could find all kinds of outrageously expensive euro-chocolate, in tiny little bars that would require tedious unwrapping, and all kinds of chocolate that has stuff already in it. I just needed plain dark chocolate, how hard can it be??? So today, I went to a different store and ended up buying a bunch of single serving dark chocolate Dove and Cadbury bars. There was a girl there who was handing out samples of something that I could not identify looking at all the candy in my basket and looking and my not-Barbie-like physique with a disdainful expression. I need to learn the Chinese word for "bake". At least I'll be able to make my world famous brownies, my dark chocolate biscotti, and various other delectables. I had one of my Chinese friends visit me today. She really is a delightful young woman. She will be finding out in a few days if she has passed the Chinese equivalent to the Bar exam. She will need to do an internship before she can start really practicing law. It will be good to have a lawyer among my friends. Her hope is to get into a graduate program so that she can teach at the university level and practice law on the side. She is an intelligent woman with integrity and compassion. Just the kind of person the world needs in positions of influence. I bought a new pillow while I was searching for chocolate. I think I am going to go test it out. |
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and feeling nappish. Ohhhhhh, I ate too much!! Today was the Thanksgiving feast that the Americans make for the Chinese and Korean staff. We had Turkey, and mashed potatoes and gravey and salads and chicken and duck and stuffing and, and, and. The food was fantastic. After the meal we all had to tell what we are thankful for ans we sang some Thanksgiving songs. The downside to all this is that we are all still working today so there are no football games and no naps. The upside is that a good time was had by all. My friend who took the bar this fall has passed. Now she is trying to get an advanced degree so that she can teach at the University level. Her plan is to teach full time and practice law on the side. I have no doubt that she will do it. Have you ever had a dream where your actual actions mirror the ones in your dream? Happened to me earlier this week. I dreamed that I was defending someone from an attacker and I kicked him. My bed is against the wall, the concrete-covered-with-plaster-skimcoat wall. As I kicked the dreamland bad guy, I kicked the wall. Hard. With the ball of my left foot and first two toes. I awoke with a surge of pain running up my leg. I flipped off the covers and began to look for evidence of broken bones. Fortunately. no broken bones. The foot is slightly swollen and uncomfortable, but showing no discoloration or disfigurement. Suffering far worse damage is my dignity as I have to explain why I am limping. "Uh, I kicked the wall in my sleep." sounds really probable. Ya think? Oh can I tell you how badly I want to sleep right now? Christmas is a month away. let the planning begin! |