Monday, April 28, 2008
Stuff About Censorship
Recorded in my other journal, since I use a couple of those nifty words that trigger the filters in the Great Firewall of China: click here to read further.
Saturday, April 26, 2008
Pants and Dancing Oh My!
Yesterday I went shopping, and bought some natty new threads. I really thought I'd have more to say about that, but I don't - new pants, new shirts, and a new pair of shoes.
Today, I taught at the vocational school again, and I gave two of the classes my QQ number (QQ is a messenger service, like MSN or Yahoo). I had a nap in the afternoon, and when I woke up a dozen odd people had added me! So, now I have a bunch of Chinese teenagers whose names I don't know on my QQ friends list. It's going to be interesting trying to figure out who is who.
Today at work we had a games sharing session before classes; we had one yesterday, too. All the teachers demonstrate a game or two, so that the other teachers can get new ideas. Anyway, today's session ended up with everyone dancing at the end, after something vaguely related to a game that involved dancing. It turns out one of the teachers - a new teacher, currently in training, called Keiko - is pretty damn good at "street dancing". I'll have to see if she knows any salsa.
Today, I taught at the vocational school again, and I gave two of the classes my QQ number (QQ is a messenger service, like MSN or Yahoo). I had a nap in the afternoon, and when I woke up a dozen odd people had added me! So, now I have a bunch of Chinese teenagers whose names I don't know on my QQ friends list. It's going to be interesting trying to figure out who is who.
Today at work we had a games sharing session before classes; we had one yesterday, too. All the teachers demonstrate a game or two, so that the other teachers can get new ideas. Anyway, today's session ended up with everyone dancing at the end, after something vaguely related to a game that involved dancing. It turns out one of the teachers - a new teacher, currently in training, called Keiko - is pretty damn good at "street dancing". I'll have to see if she knows any salsa.
Wednesday, April 23, 2008
Spring Weather
The weather here right now is crazy. On Monday it was very cold; not below zero cold, but certainly "crap, I'm not wearing enough clothes" cold. In the space of two days it has gone straight to hot, without any intervening warmth. Today is definitely ice cream weather, and I am probably sunburnt.
At any rate, I wandered around Xi'an with Dane, an Australian who took the same TESOL course as me, and by luck more than design ended up in the same city when he came to China to teach. We had lunch in Islamic Street, which has the best food ever, and is also the first time I've tried to order food without someone who speaks at least a little Chinese. We chickened out and went straight to the place that said "we have an English menu" on a sign outside, and the food was awesome.
Also, I stopped by the post office and finally managed to get postcards! Soon we will see how well the postal service here deals with English-addressed mail. The woman at the desk was beside herself when I asked for thirty postcards. She just couldn't get over it, and I depleted most of their supply of postcards. She handed me a stack to look through, and I picked a few of each kind until I had thirty. I handed the two piles back to her, and she said something I didn't understand, but judging by her expression it was the Chinese equivalent of "oh my god". Then she started to count the smaller pile of cards, and I had to tell her that she was counting the wrong pile. You can imagine her reaction!
So, I have a lot of cards to write and post. Look in your mailboxes in a couple of weeks or so!
At any rate, I wandered around Xi'an with Dane, an Australian who took the same TESOL course as me, and by luck more than design ended up in the same city when he came to China to teach. We had lunch in Islamic Street, which has the best food ever, and is also the first time I've tried to order food without someone who speaks at least a little Chinese. We chickened out and went straight to the place that said "we have an English menu" on a sign outside, and the food was awesome.
Also, I stopped by the post office and finally managed to get postcards! Soon we will see how well the postal service here deals with English-addressed mail. The woman at the desk was beside herself when I asked for thirty postcards. She just couldn't get over it, and I depleted most of their supply of postcards. She handed me a stack to look through, and I picked a few of each kind until I had thirty. I handed the two piles back to her, and she said something I didn't understand, but judging by her expression it was the Chinese equivalent of "oh my god". Then she started to count the smaller pile of cards, and I had to tell her that she was counting the wrong pile. You can imagine her reaction!
So, I have a lot of cards to write and post. Look in your mailboxes in a couple of weeks or so!
A Park Nearby
Today I went for a walk to the park near my apartment. I'd meant to go and find a different park, but I couldn't find it, so I went and found the one I'd been to before. As it turns out, I was almost at the second park - if I'd just kept going straight, I would've walked right into it.
I also took my camera today, so here are some pictures of the park. The first is a strange but cool set of statues immediately inside the North entrance to the park:
This is some kind of amphitheatre-like space in roughly the middle of the park. It might be a nice place for a game of capoeira, if I ever train anyone else to play with me:
And this is a pretty circular area right by the ampthitheatre:
These treehouses are some kind of restaurant or diner, I think, or maybe just a teahouse. I haven't had a close look at them to be sure.
This is a cute girl sitting by the river. You can't see her very well in the picture, so you'll just have to take my word for it that she's cute:
Finally: for your amusement, fun with floor numbers! Unlike most Western countries, the buildings here are numbered with 1 being the ground floor, instead of the floor above ground. This is easier for me to deal with, at least, but it makes the -1 for the basement level look out of place without an intervening 0. However, building designers here have inherited the Western superstition about the number 13. Most buildings here don't have a floor 13. The Chinese have their own superstition about the number 14, so that is usually missing, too. The building I work in deals with this by skipping the numbers; floors 13 and 14 don't exist. The building I live in, though, has a different plan, as you can see from the picture:
I also took my camera today, so here are some pictures of the park. The first is a strange but cool set of statues immediately inside the North entrance to the park:
This is some kind of amphitheatre-like space in roughly the middle of the park. It might be a nice place for a game of capoeira, if I ever train anyone else to play with me:
And this is a pretty circular area right by the ampthitheatre:
These treehouses are some kind of restaurant or diner, I think, or maybe just a teahouse. I haven't had a close look at them to be sure.
This is a cute girl sitting by the river. You can't see her very well in the picture, so you'll just have to take my word for it that she's cute:
Finally: for your amusement, fun with floor numbers! Unlike most Western countries, the buildings here are numbered with 1 being the ground floor, instead of the floor above ground. This is easier for me to deal with, at least, but it makes the -1 for the basement level look out of place without an intervening 0. However, building designers here have inherited the Western superstition about the number 13. Most buildings here don't have a floor 13. The Chinese have their own superstition about the number 14, so that is usually missing, too. The building I work in deals with this by skipping the numbers; floors 13 and 14 don't exist. The building I live in, though, has a different plan, as you can see from the picture:
Wednesday, April 16, 2008
Mostly About a Puppy
Today I taught a few classes at the vocational school. It's been a few weeks since I've been there, and it was nice to be back. The students there are recent school leavers, so they are well in to their teens, unlike the kids where I normally work. It's a very different teaching environment, and I like it just for the contrast.
In the first class I was asked about my hobbies. I mentioned dancing, which led to a request for a demonstration. I showed a little samba, but the Chinese teacher in the room (who already knows me) suggested that what they really wanted to see was capoeira, so I put on a little show, which went down well. After that, the scene was set for the next two classes, so I was careful to mention dancing, which led to a capoeira demonstration.
I also ended up giving out my phone number to a whole class. The classes were generally just question and answer sessions; they'd ask me questions, or I'd ask them if they'd run out of things to ask in English. One of the girls asked if she could have my phone number, and so to avoid problems I decided to just write my number on the board for everyone. Yes, I could have just said no, but that wouldn't have been as interesting, would it?
For lunch, Ariel took me to have some local food - specific to this area, not China as a whole. I forget the name of it now, but it's delicious. Bread is crumbled into a bowl, then a beef or mutton broth is poured over, with slices of meat and clear noodles. It also eaten with pickled garlic, which is so much tastier than it sounds.
Finally, we get to the important stuff: today, one of the Chinese teachers, Melinda, brought her puppy in to work, and it's the most adorable little thing! So here's a picture of it. The woman holding the puppy isn't Melinda, by the way; she was taking photos of her puppy too!
In the first class I was asked about my hobbies. I mentioned dancing, which led to a request for a demonstration. I showed a little samba, but the Chinese teacher in the room (who already knows me) suggested that what they really wanted to see was capoeira, so I put on a little show, which went down well. After that, the scene was set for the next two classes, so I was careful to mention dancing, which led to a capoeira demonstration.
I also ended up giving out my phone number to a whole class. The classes were generally just question and answer sessions; they'd ask me questions, or I'd ask them if they'd run out of things to ask in English. One of the girls asked if she could have my phone number, and so to avoid problems I decided to just write my number on the board for everyone. Yes, I could have just said no, but that wouldn't have been as interesting, would it?
For lunch, Ariel took me to have some local food - specific to this area, not China as a whole. I forget the name of it now, but it's delicious. Bread is crumbled into a bowl, then a beef or mutton broth is poured over, with slices of meat and clear noodles. It also eaten with pickled garlic, which is so much tastier than it sounds.
Finally, we get to the important stuff: today, one of the Chinese teachers, Melinda, brought her puppy in to work, and it's the most adorable little thing! So here's a picture of it. The woman holding the puppy isn't Melinda, by the way; she was taking photos of her puppy too!
Tuesday, April 15, 2008
Crazy Chinese Food
If you've ever lived with me, you'll have noticed how much snack food I eat. This picture should illustrate how it follows from that fact that Chinese supermarkets are awesome:
I went with Alex's girlfriend to get food for lunch, and we came back with a healthy supply of snacks. Top left are large, tasty cookies; bottom left are tiny, tasty cookies. Continuing to the right: the next item is some kind of crispy thing coated in sugar; then a filled pastry of some kind; sesame balls; crunchy bread stick things; and the remains of a greasy but tasty pastry concoction.
The fish in the corner was lunch!
Speaking of fish, no-one in China knows how to fillet a fish; no-one at the supermarkets, at any rate. The problem is that fish in most Chinese food is simply chopped the way you chop tomatoes, with no regard for where the bones are; the one time I had someone with me who spoke fluent Chinese when I was getting fish, the request first confused the fish butcher, then amused me as I watched him trying to accomplish the fact. I can do only slightly better; I can never get all the bones out, and it takes forever. I've resigned myself to picking bones out of whatever I eat, since that's what everyone else does anyway.
I went with Alex's girlfriend to get food for lunch, and we came back with a healthy supply of snacks. Top left are large, tasty cookies; bottom left are tiny, tasty cookies. Continuing to the right: the next item is some kind of crispy thing coated in sugar; then a filled pastry of some kind; sesame balls; crunchy bread stick things; and the remains of a greasy but tasty pastry concoction.
The fish in the corner was lunch!
Speaking of fish, no-one in China knows how to fillet a fish; no-one at the supermarkets, at any rate. The problem is that fish in most Chinese food is simply chopped the way you chop tomatoes, with no regard for where the bones are; the one time I had someone with me who spoke fluent Chinese when I was getting fish, the request first confused the fish butcher, then amused me as I watched him trying to accomplish the fact. I can do only slightly better; I can never get all the bones out, and it takes forever. I've resigned myself to picking bones out of whatever I eat, since that's what everyone else does anyway.
Monday, April 14, 2008
Nothing About Anything
I don't have anything to say, other than that I'm still here and nothing of much importance has been happening. Hi everyone!
Wednesday, April 9, 2008
Sunday, April 6, 2008
Update Due to Me Not Being Sick Anymore
I'm not sick anymore! I know this comes as a surprise after a subject line like that, but what can I say? Crazy things happen in this country.
In the end, I had no fewer than 4 separate IV drips; one a day from Tuesday on. That finally broke the fever, though, and I don't have to go back again. The doctor gave me some cough drops and some really nasty-tasting pills to clear up the lingering effects - I have a very small and manageable cough that I don't mind at all, now. All is well. I taught all this weekend without incident, so I think it's safe to say that I'm over it.
I was going to climb a mountain on Friday, but didn't, since I was sick.
I realised something today: walking out from a chilly air-conditioned building into warm air outside makes me happy. This is a slightly more complex reaction than it first seems - warmth means happiness to a lot of people. However, as some of you know, I am not a hot weather person. I prefer Autumn to Summer, and Brisbane is way too hot for me (but the people are cool). Walking out into that warm wall of air, though, reminds me of travel, of exotic places and new adventures. That was my first experience when I arrived in Thailand - my first overseas trip - and it was the same when I flew into Australia. Hot weather means me being very uncomfortable, but it also means interesting and often far-flung places.
In the end, I had no fewer than 4 separate IV drips; one a day from Tuesday on. That finally broke the fever, though, and I don't have to go back again. The doctor gave me some cough drops and some really nasty-tasting pills to clear up the lingering effects - I have a very small and manageable cough that I don't mind at all, now. All is well. I taught all this weekend without incident, so I think it's safe to say that I'm over it.
I was going to climb a mountain on Friday, but didn't, since I was sick.
I realised something today: walking out from a chilly air-conditioned building into warm air outside makes me happy. This is a slightly more complex reaction than it first seems - warmth means happiness to a lot of people. However, as some of you know, I am not a hot weather person. I prefer Autumn to Summer, and Brisbane is way too hot for me (but the people are cool). Walking out into that warm wall of air, though, reminds me of travel, of exotic places and new adventures. That was my first experience when I arrived in Thailand - my first overseas trip - and it was the same when I flew into Australia. Hot weather means me being very uncomfortable, but it also means interesting and often far-flung places.
Tuesday, April 1, 2008
Attack of the Radioactive Chinese Superbug
Okay, so it's not radioactive. Maybe.
Last week I was experiencing what I thought was the tail end of a cold. I was happy to wave it goodbye, but it took that as a sign of potential friendship and came back inside again, without even wiping its feet first. As a result, I got a cough. It wasn't so bad at first, just a regular cough. By Friday, though, I was coughing almost constantly, and the two classes I taught on Friday evening weren't so great.
On Saturday I woke up feeling fine. I went to work, taught two classes, came back for lunch. I was feeling a little less fine by the time I went back to the school, and had a coughing fit in the elevator on the way up. I drank a constant supply of hot water for the rest of the day, but it wasn't enough. The next couple of classes were okay, but my cough grew steadily worse, and the last class was torture. The constant coughing had caused my blood vessels to do all sorts of interesting things, and my brain didn't like that a whole lot, and started hurting, a lot. Coughing actually made the pain stop for a moment, but then the blood would rush back and tell me, loudly, how much it had missed supplying vital nutrients to the pain receptors in my head. The kids in the last class were actually pretty good, but I was so glad to leave that classroom.
I went home, ate, took the medicine that Alex's girlfriend had been kind enough to get for me, had a long, stinking hot shower, then slept.
On Sunday I woke up feeling fine. I went to work, taught two classes... and realised that although my cough wasn't that bad right now, it was getting worse. I called in sick (without even using a phone, since I was still at work), and went home. Alex's girlfriend helped me get a bunch of things that are good for coughs and colds - cough drops, honey, apples, pears. We chatted, watched half a movie, and decided what to have for dinner - I helped with the initial preparation and ideas, but I couldn't cook since I was sick. By the time the sun went down, my cough was in full swing again, despite being halfway through the medicine. We all had dinner, watched all of a movie, and I went to bed.
On Monday I didn't wake up feeling fine. It took a couple of hours to get to my 'just woke up and have forgotten what it felt like yesterday' state. The middle of the day was okay, I finished my medicine, and Yoyo came over with some different medicine.
By this morning, I had tried four different kinds of medicine without the cough abating in the slightest, so it was past time to see the doctor. So, today Ariel helped me at the doctor's - it turns out there's a clinic in the same complex as the place I work at - and I found out a couple of things.
First, it wasn't a particularly stubborn cold. It was some other kind of virus, and you will have to be just as ignorant as to the name of it as I am since they don't know the English name for it. Furthermore, apparently I have a fever of 37.8. They gave me an IV drip for three hours, then sent me home - Helen said she would take my classes tonight.
The IV drip - now that was a bit of an adventure. First time I've had one of those, although they're dead common over here, and people get them just for a common cold, simply to get well sooner. I decided I didn't want to be stuck in the clinic for two hours, waiting for the drip, and I didn't feel sleepy, so I went upstairs to the school and chatted with Ariel until the first drip ran out. This is where the fun started, because blood is under pressure; and when a drip runs out and leaves only air, the blood will seek to escape to a lower-pressure environment. Basic physics. In other words, my blood started boing back up the tube. Ariel knew how to attach the second jar, but something didn't work properly, and there was a large air gap. She closed the valve, so nothing was moving in either direction, and we went back downstairs to the clinic again. The nurse or doctor sorted it out, and we started to go back upstairs again, until the IV drip started, erm, dripping. On the outside, which is not part of the plan. So, back we went, and this time I just stayed at the clinic until the second bottle was empty.
Who knew IV drips could be such an adventure?
I'm supposed to go back for another one tomorrow. I think I'll take my laptop so that I don't get bored silly.
Anyway, they tell me that it will take a couple of days to work, and then I'll be fine. Next time, I think I will do as everyone else does and just go straight for the IV; especially since my immune system isn't used to all these crazy Chinese bugs and viruses.
Last week I was experiencing what I thought was the tail end of a cold. I was happy to wave it goodbye, but it took that as a sign of potential friendship and came back inside again, without even wiping its feet first. As a result, I got a cough. It wasn't so bad at first, just a regular cough. By Friday, though, I was coughing almost constantly, and the two classes I taught on Friday evening weren't so great.
On Saturday I woke up feeling fine. I went to work, taught two classes, came back for lunch. I was feeling a little less fine by the time I went back to the school, and had a coughing fit in the elevator on the way up. I drank a constant supply of hot water for the rest of the day, but it wasn't enough. The next couple of classes were okay, but my cough grew steadily worse, and the last class was torture. The constant coughing had caused my blood vessels to do all sorts of interesting things, and my brain didn't like that a whole lot, and started hurting, a lot. Coughing actually made the pain stop for a moment, but then the blood would rush back and tell me, loudly, how much it had missed supplying vital nutrients to the pain receptors in my head. The kids in the last class were actually pretty good, but I was so glad to leave that classroom.
I went home, ate, took the medicine that Alex's girlfriend had been kind enough to get for me, had a long, stinking hot shower, then slept.
On Sunday I woke up feeling fine. I went to work, taught two classes... and realised that although my cough wasn't that bad right now, it was getting worse. I called in sick (without even using a phone, since I was still at work), and went home. Alex's girlfriend helped me get a bunch of things that are good for coughs and colds - cough drops, honey, apples, pears. We chatted, watched half a movie, and decided what to have for dinner - I helped with the initial preparation and ideas, but I couldn't cook since I was sick. By the time the sun went down, my cough was in full swing again, despite being halfway through the medicine. We all had dinner, watched all of a movie, and I went to bed.
On Monday I didn't wake up feeling fine. It took a couple of hours to get to my 'just woke up and have forgotten what it felt like yesterday' state. The middle of the day was okay, I finished my medicine, and Yoyo came over with some different medicine.
By this morning, I had tried four different kinds of medicine without the cough abating in the slightest, so it was past time to see the doctor. So, today Ariel helped me at the doctor's - it turns out there's a clinic in the same complex as the place I work at - and I found out a couple of things.
First, it wasn't a particularly stubborn cold. It was some other kind of virus, and you will have to be just as ignorant as to the name of it as I am since they don't know the English name for it. Furthermore, apparently I have a fever of 37.8. They gave me an IV drip for three hours, then sent me home - Helen said she would take my classes tonight.
The IV drip - now that was a bit of an adventure. First time I've had one of those, although they're dead common over here, and people get them just for a common cold, simply to get well sooner. I decided I didn't want to be stuck in the clinic for two hours, waiting for the drip, and I didn't feel sleepy, so I went upstairs to the school and chatted with Ariel until the first drip ran out. This is where the fun started, because blood is under pressure; and when a drip runs out and leaves only air, the blood will seek to escape to a lower-pressure environment. Basic physics. In other words, my blood started boing back up the tube. Ariel knew how to attach the second jar, but something didn't work properly, and there was a large air gap. She closed the valve, so nothing was moving in either direction, and we went back downstairs to the clinic again. The nurse or doctor sorted it out, and we started to go back upstairs again, until the IV drip started, erm, dripping. On the outside, which is not part of the plan. So, back we went, and this time I just stayed at the clinic until the second bottle was empty.
Who knew IV drips could be such an adventure?
I'm supposed to go back for another one tomorrow. I think I'll take my laptop so that I don't get bored silly.
Anyway, they tell me that it will take a couple of days to work, and then I'll be fine. Next time, I think I will do as everyone else does and just go straight for the IV; especially since my immune system isn't used to all these crazy Chinese bugs and viruses.
Subscribe to:
Posts (Atom)