Winter Scenes from Longsha Park

Sarah and I decided to walk around Longsha Park last week to look at the snow. It was pretty treacherous since everything had pretty much frozen over. I thought we would be more inconspicuous in our winter clothes, but everyone still spotted us, and took more pictures than usual.

A temple Sarah and I stumbled upon:

Nothing stops the Chinese! Still working out despite the snow:

The Bathhouse and Massages

On Saturday night one of my favorite students, Lyra, and her mother invited me out for dinner with them. They said they would take me to the best BBQ place in Qiqihar so I was very excited about that. We headed there after class and naturally there was a big fuss about a foreigner being there. The owner, Mary, came and sat with us for most of dinner. It was a little strange at times because I had no idea what was acceptable or custom when going out with your student and her mother. They offered me something to drink and I didn't know what to order. Eventually they brought me jinjiu (a type of liquor here) and pepsi. Lyra's mother and friend were cheers-ing me all night, trying to get me drunk! They kept telling me to eat and drink more, until eventually I had to tell them "我吃饱了!" (I'm full!). The food really was delicious. The good thing was, because I didn't want to be rude, and because Lyra could only translate so much and I could only understand so much, I kind of just tried everything and didn't think about what everything was. From what I gathered I ate some chicken legs and cow spine, but I had to say no to the chicken heads.

Lyra and I eating some barbecue:

We were at dinner for several hours and I was able to use quite a bit of my Chinese. I think Lyra was quite impressed at how much I knew! She hadn't expected I spoke so much since I try to only speak in English with her in class. Her mother was very kind and said how if I ever needed anything I could ask her since my family was so far away. They already want to take me out for my birthday! I sense the beginning of a 关系. So they mentioned how her mother is the 'bosses' at a bathhouse and so we could go get a massage. I said sure thinking we would go in a week or so, but they wanted me to go tonight and then to sleep at the bathhouse. And, because I'm in China and would likely never get an opportunity like that again, I said sure!

So before I knew it we had stopped by Aoqi so I could gather my things (Lyra insisted on coming up to my room with me) then we were on our way to the bathhouse! I had thought we were just going to get massages, but first we went to a room so we could change (in front of each other) into these robe things. Then we went across the hall to this shower room where we had to shower in front of each other. I didn't even let myself think about the situation ethnocentrically. I really had to look at it from their point of view, where this wasn't a weird or uncomfortable situation at all, but rather they were showing me a great kindness by bringing me there. So I have now officially showered with a student...

After showering we went upstairs to have a massage. All of the people on staff (which was a lot for 10pm on a Saturday night!) have pictures on the wall with an assigned number. You basically choose your masseuse by choosing a number. Lyra and her mother were kind enough to give me masseuse 88, a very lucky number in China. So all there of us were massaged in the same room. I've only had one massage in my life before, but I imagine this massage was very different from other ones. It was painful. She did this weird fast hand rubbing thing that made me feel like my back was on fire. And she pushed so hard! I swear I have bruises on my back. I didn't want to be rude though so grimaced to myself in that face hole thing they have in massage tables.

Where you pick your masseuse:

It was pretty funny because they were all talking to each other in Chinese the whole time and I could understand a lot of the conversation. However they didn't know that so I got to hear everything they were saying about me (including how white my skin is). When they were massaging my feet the masseuse saw my tattoo (for those of you who don't know I have the tiniest silhouette of a bird on my ankle). Of course tattoos are pretty much a taboo in China. They think it usually means you're a bad person if you have one. They all gathered around to look at it and I could just see their opinions of me quickly changing. I had to explain that tattoos are pretty normal in the US and that my brother, sister and even my mother all have ones. It was funny for me because half the time I forget that I even have a tattoo so I didn't even think of it coming up as an issue. I think they were more interested than judging though.

So after that painful experience, which I hope feels worth it in the morning, we went to bed. Usually I don't sleep very well when other people are in the room, but I did much better than usual and slept through most of the night. In the morning Lyra and her mum took me to eat some 包子, which were delicious, but not exactly my idea of a breakfast food! I also ate this corn porridge and tried some bean rice porridge and pumpkin rice porridge (which was yummy!). I made a little joke because to say I'm full in Chinese is 'wo chi bao le' so I turned that into 'wo chi bao zi.' The mum laughed so I think it made sense!

It has been a very interesting 12+ hours but one that I'm sure I will never forget!

Snow, Taxis, and Tutoring

The past week has been relatively uneventful with only some small things happening. There was a two day snow storm which was pretty cool. It was nice because I wasn't teaching those days so got to stay inside and keep warm. The funniest part was seeing the clean up after. Instead of using snow plows the Chinese take advantage of their huge abundance of manpower and actually shovel the streets and sidewalks. At first it didn't really hit me as that crazy, maybe I've been in China too long, but once you think about all the streets that required it then it's pretty hilarious.

Snow as seen from my window:

The roads were a little sketchy there before the clean-up. Surprisingly most of the drivers did actually slow down and didn't continue to barrel down the roads with no regard for speed limit. The sidewalks continue to be treacherous. I completely slipped over on the way to RT Mart, much to the amusement of staring locals. I'm sure they thought it was hilarious seeing this 'waiguoren' fall on her butt. I mean, I was laughing too. The sidewalks were already pretty dangerous due to their shoddy construction, but now you really need to pay attention. You can almost do a shuffle across the road sometimes because it's still so icy. You don't even need to pick your feet up, it's actually safer that way.

Sarah in the snow:

One annoying thing that has started to occur with the new snow is annoying taxi drivers. Twice now I have gotten into a taxi that has stopped to let other people in also. If they're going in the same direction the driver will stop and bring them along also. I guess it makes sense, but it can be quite annoying if you're in a rush. On my way to my first tutoring session I didn't realize getting a taxi in the snow would be so hard. I was running late and eventually a driver stopped and let me in, even though there was a woman already in there. First we went and dropped her off, then we headed to my destination, and picked up another person. I just don't understand. Of course, being a 'waiguoren' (foreigner) we always have the same conversation and every time a new person gets in the taxi they stare at me and ask me how much money I make (which is not considered a rude question here).  One driver tried to not use the meter and charge me 10 kuai (instead of the usual 7 kuai). His excuse, "because it's snowing." Needless to say, I did not take that taxi.

Snowmen everywhere!:

As I briefly mentioned, I started going to see a Chinese tutor that Robin uses. I am planning on going twice a week and each session is an hour. It's a little annoying that the tutors office is so far, you have to take a taxi. But it has been so nice to use my Chinese again! You just forget it if you don't use it. I've been using an old business textbook to do some studying but it's definitely not the same. 

Sarah and I went to walk in the park yesterday since my afternoon class was cancelled. We went around 3pm and the sun was already starting to set which is crazy! It gets dark so early here. The park looked beautiful in the snow. Somehow the branches seem to hold the snow for much longer here. The Chinese were still all out doing their exercise. As were the animals at the zoo, which was just depressing. They must be freezing! I hadn't really walked through it before but it was pretty sad. 

Aoqi Frustrations

The living situation here is starting to get on my nerves. And just because I can I'm going to make a list of the things that annoy me:

- People using my things in the fridge. Somebody used all my milk. Not just some of it, but all of it. It shouldn't be a big deal but it's the principle of the matter that really annoys me. They have also been using my butter, which is almost impossible to find here!

- Listening to people fighting and  to TV shows and music past midnight. The walls here are really thin. When people fight or watch TV shows and listen to music, I can hear everything. Even when they Skype I can hear it. It's very annoying, especially when you're trying to sleep because you have a long day of classes the next day. And no, I don't really want to hear you singing Adele day after day.

-Walking down the hall in a towel to use the shower, in front of the other foreign teachers. I don't want to do that. And I'd rather not have a conversation with someone every time I go to the bathroom also, while we're on that topic.

-When the cold water in the shower runs out. Ummm not fun, even in the U.S.

-A dirty kitchen after Jerra and I spent 2+ hours cleaning it with our own cleaning supplies.  Clean up after yourselves! We're all adults. 

-Please close the door when you're peeing. We aren't all guys, and we definitely are not good friends. I don't want to see that stuff. There are certain things that you should just do, closing a door when you pee is one of them.

-People smoking in the hallway when I'm drying my clothes. The whole purpose of cleaning my clothes is for them to smell good, not for them to smell like smoke. Also if you sound like you're coughing up a lung shouldn't you stop smoking?

-A stinky hallway. The people upstairs are drying cabbage. A very Chinese thing to do. And it stinks. Literally stinks. I really wish I didn't have to smell that every time I come back from class.

-Don't send students upstairs to knock on my door if they come early to class. I will come downstairs when I'm ready. I'm perfectly capable of telling the time. And just because the students are early doesn't mean I need to be. According to my clock I still have 10 minutes. 

So there are some pet peeves of mine at the moment. Definitely some things I am NOT going to miss about Aoqi. 

Another Email from a Student

A student emailed me back with the following response. I just love her eagerness!

Hi Laura
Thank you for you corrected my mistakes!

    I wanted to share my change with you. In this pass month ,I like living along gradually,just only one having dinner ,walking,reading and shopping.My roommates said I will feel lonely.but in my mind,I enjoied this feeling because it was quiet and made me free to do anything.

   After the school every evening,I had a walk in the road,crossed the tree ,listened to the leaves` voice by the wind.Sometimes,I stopped to listen to my favourite songs from the school broadcast.Besidas,I felt homesick when I reading a moving arctical.I missed my home,no body knew how much I hoped tomorrow is winter holiday so I can get home as soon as possible.I often saw the moon  and wished my relatives and friends have a long life so as to share the beauty of this graceful moonlight ,even though miles apart.
   In China ,moon is stand for reunion,so when you miss home,you can say to him what you think.
   Beautiful Miss,how can I have a meeting with you!

The Greasy Hair Battle and Politics

Ever since moving to China I have had the biggest issue finding a good shampoo and conditioner. Those of you that know me well know I'm not really a shampoo snob. Just give me any store bought shampoo and that should work fine. In China, though, every shampoo and conditioner somehow leaves a bunch of grease at the top of my head. It's like I have a helmet of gel that will not go away, no matter how many times I wash my hair. After trying three different kinds of shampoo I gave up and tried dish soap. It did the trick and my hair has never looked better since being here. So now I can officially say I am washing my hair with Chinese dish soap.

My 'shampoo':

For my university classes this week I taught politics. I thought it would be appropriate with the re-election of Obama (wooo!) and the start of the transfer of power from Hu Jintao to Xi Jingping as President. The transfer is set to be officially completed in March 2013 and is the first in a decade. One thing that really surprised me was how little the country seemed to care about this takeover. I guess some of the lack of enthusiasm could be attributed to having a non-voting system. The people are less emotionally invested in the politicians. However, from talking to a couple of my students and my Chinese friend Rose, they essentially do not feel connected to everything that is happening in Beijing. People in China like to celebrate, fireworks go off outside my room almost weekly (although that's decreasing with the approach of winter). I thought there would be mass firework displays throughout the city marking his transfer, but alas, no.

Another thing I've noticed is the Chinese are extremely nationalistic. Extremely. You would not want to be Japanese in China right now. Even all of the Japanese made cars are covered in pro-China stickers. Restaurants and stores have big anti-Japan stickers plastered on their doors. It's really crazy how almost everyone jumps on board. So many of my students mention how they hate Japan, at which point I abruptly change the topic. Yet at the same time, this criticism and hatred is all focused outside of the country. None of it is focused on the issues within the country. The Chinese just don't do it, and they very few who do tend to remain quiet about it (or become dissidents of the Chinese government). It's just such a different concept from the US, where everyone openly disagrees with the government. And it's one thing to hear about these cultural differences, but another to actually see them.

This contrasts to another point I read in some other article (I've been reading a lot of articles lately). It was discussing how a lot of the world (or America) is worried about China taking over as the kind of leader of the world. It discussed how throughout history, despite China's vast power, its focus has almost always been inwards. In colonial times it had the power to colonize abroad, but due to various factors, it didn't. One of these reasons, it argued, is due to the Chinese mindset. Its focus is within the country, not on expanding its power outwards. This is in stark opposition to the people, who focus their nationalism outwards, not inwards.

In class I mentioned how one of the issues in the election was gay marriage, something that is just not accepted in China. Rose mentioned how there are a few gay people on campus, but not many as it generally is not accepted here. Most gay Chinese head to the bigger cities of Beijing and Shanghai. I read an interesting article that mentioned how some individuals will marry a person of the opposite sex to have the facade of a marriage and then continue relationships with same-sex individuals. I didn't ask my students if they thought gay-marriage was an acceptable idea. I felt that would be a little too heavy for an English speaking class! Some of the other issues I mentioned were abortion, foreign policy, healthcare, and illegal immigration. I think the students really found it interesting to hear about some of the topics people in the US found important.

Stephen's 30th Birthday

On Saturday we went to celebrate Stephen's 30th birthday at a bar called Beijing Love Story, formerly known as Banana Bar. Scott, Jerra, Sarah and I took a cab there since we had no idea where it was, but it turned out to only be a five-minute walk from our place. Oops.

The party was a pretty amusing event. Stephen, a future politician in the making, invited tons of his Chinese friends and students. He has been in Qiqihar for several years and is dating a Chinese girl, Bonnie, who is also a student at the university. There were live singers and musical performances on the stage. The music was so loud you could hardly think. Stephen stood up and made a speech and was presented with a bouquet of alcohol. Such a great idea! Bonnie had put together a slideshow full of pictures of them together. It was really cute to watch.

Taking pictures of people taking pictures:

One issue I have in China is with their pastries and cakes. They always look so good and delicious, but more often than not they are pretty revolting. Following suit, Stephen had two massive cakes. They both looked scrumptious, only until you bit into them and discovered it was layered with a weird pineapple tasting paste. On top were all these chunks of candied fruit that did not taste good. Needless to say, I stuck to the icing.

Speech with some cakes and a bouquet of alcohol:

Stephen had also invested in a giant box of fireworks. Unlike the fireworks in the US, these ones looked a little like shoeboxes. The guys working at the bar set them off using their cigarettes. Very safe. We were all standing less than 50 yards away watching all of this. Also very safe. Gotta love the safety regulations in China.

Some super safe fireworks:

The rest of the night was a fun mix of dancing and singing. Sarah and I tried to sing 'Call Me Maybe' on stage, expecting the version with the lyrics. Once we heard it was only the music, we promptly forgot all of the words. Oh well! Deb serenaded Stephen with her version of 'Happy Birthday Mr. Hunter.' And Bonnie sang him a Chinese song. We all danced to copious amounts of 'Gangnam Style,' a huge hit here in China. All of my students know the song and the accompanying dance moves. Whenever I mention it they promptly start calling on one of their classmates to stand up and do the dance. It's all good fun!

We stayed at Stephen's party until shortly after midnight, so we could ring in his actual birthday, then we walked on home to get a nights rest before our morning classes!

I have internet again!

So after four days of not internet (which is a surprisingly long time) I now have internet again! My time cut off from the real world was quite relaxing. I watched almost both seasons of Downtown Abbey, my new favorite show (probably because it reminds me of my Mum). I also did several chapters of my chinese textbook and started a new book.

Several interesting things happened in the past week. The first being Halloween. For Halloween in Qiqihar almost all of the foreigners ate dinner together at a pizza place. It was a really fun dinner and all of the waitresses kept taking pictures of us, they were absolutely loving it. Halloween isn't really celebrated at all in China so they were so confused about our weird costumes. We were impressed that there was even a Halloween area of goods at RT Mart (it consisted of overpriced masks and plastic jack-o-lanterns).

All the waitresses and their friends taking pictures with me:

I dressed up as a hipster Pikachu. Basically they sell these full body suits, or onesies, here as PJs since it gets so cold. I bought a Pikachu one and some red frameless glasses. Soooo many people in China love the frameless glasses. It's hilarious. They sell them almost everywhere. I tried to get mine for cheaper since the lenses were scratched but instead of changing them or giving me a lower price, the man just popped them out and gave them to me. I figured when in Asia go all out, and they worked surprisingly well with my costume!

Our gang- ninja Sarah, me, medusa Robin, cow Jerra, and dinosaur Scott:

So after dinner we went to the Mini酒吧 where they had a costume contest at 11pm. It was probably the most disorganized thing ever. The club was full of Russians, Chinese, and our motley crew. The voting was based on cheers and it came down to a Russian guy who looked like he was trying to be the joker form batman, and Deb, who was dressed as a belly dancer. Unfortunately since we were outnumbered, the Russians won the free bottle of tequila. I left around 12am since I had a full day of Qida classes the next day.

The disorganized Halloween contest at Mini:

The second major thing that happened this week was a fire in Aoqi. On Friday morning I was heading to the high school and saw some black marks on the floor, wondering what they were. Apparently on Thursday night a light on the fourth floor caught fire and was smoking all over. Of course, since we work and live at Aoqi, we were all oblivious to the chaos going on two floors down. Luckily someone noticed and put the fire out, but it's really scary to think what could have happened.

The best part is apparently the smoke detector's batteries were running low, so instead of changing the batteries (that would cost too much money), they just took the batteries out. That's why none of us had any clue there was a fire in the building. What a smart idea! Ummm no.

Also now there are notices all over the building that we're not allowed to use electric blankets during the winter. Clearly the fire was the teachers' fault and not due to shoddy Chinese building... Got to love Aoqi.

So that's what has happened in the past week in my eventful life. Tonight we're going out to celebrate Stephen's 30th birthday. Should be lots of fun!