hilarious, infuriating china

some chips/crisps

little kid was roaming free in the park and became enthralled by the wonder that is xander (and/or linda)

an awesome class presentation about the movie forest gump, that's him sitting on the bench

sterilized instruments in that tray at the hospital

the eye chart (no letters or characters because many people don't read pinyin -chinese transliterated with letters- and some characters look too similar)

a precious student paying attention in class (she didn't even know i took this picture)

free umbrella with purchase of a magazine - weird but completely understandable since ladies avoid sunlight like vampires around here

cucumber mousse for dessert, anyone? (too lazy to flip this pic)

how about some green tea starbucks drink with red beans all up in it?

my taxi driver had no windshield wipers.

don't worry though, he pulled over every half mile or so to wipe the windshield with a rag.

KTV or karaoke is fun and interesting

choose artists/songs based on album covers in case your chinese isn't up to scratch

snacks for sale at 7-11. chewy corn (not the official name), rice mixed with beans or meat or something steamed in bamboo leaves, wrapped, and tied (for dragonboat festival, why else?!)

a bakery full of light, fluffy sweets, including waffles cut into quarters... this makes me miss hungary's bakeries

to my loyal readers, haha

may your day be merry and bright
may your mood be happy and right
may your food be tasty and grand
may your veggies be fresh, not canned
may your family not get on your nerves
may each kid get what he deserves


or something like that.


merry christmas! :)

toilet talk

so this toilet is parading around the internet as "the scariest toilet" 

or something like that.

and while it certainly gives you something to think about... or perhaps scares the poop out of you...

doesn't this?!

ok, i haven't actually seen THAT in china, but the feeling i get from some "toilets" around here is the same.

people say you get used to it. i've been here 11 months and i'm not at all.

by the way, the scariest thing in that picture is the toilet paper bin - which are usually overflowing and REEEEEKING with nauseatingly multicolored used tissues.

 some westerners have jerry-rigged their toilets in order to feel more comfortable while pooing

maybe more uncomfortable is the limited privacy you find in some places (urinal-trough pictured on the left)

speaking of "troughs"... see that ditch running under each 'stall'? that's where you should go. luckily i've only encountered this kind once. i decided to hold it.

in an ironic twist, asians often have anxiety over using western toilets too!

their solution is to squat on the seat... leaving muddy/crappy footprints...

and leading to mind-boggling signs like these:

our toilets are also jerry-rigged for crapping convenience:

and of course the rationale is that 'their' way is better for you (it is)

and 'our' way is more comfortable (it is) 

*disclaimer* chinese people squat when waiting for a bus, reading a newspaper, or doing anything that some other people would kneel or sit on the floor to do, 

so i'm sure there would be some to argue that squatting IS comfortable

 some somewhere someone invented this, which i think could be the ultimate compromise:

use like this and pray you don't fall off

or maybe this freakshow thing:

use like this: START AT 2:15 or you'll gross yourself out!!

and i thought the poop-shelf toilets in hungary were bad!!

china - first impressions

ok, it may be too late for my first impressions of china, but here goes.

this is TESCO *think wal-mart*

the place, and i mean china, not just the shopping center, is crowded. i don't just mean there are a lot of people once in a while. this is NORMAL here. every store, every restaurant, every mall, bar, bank - is ALWAYS like this. going out is really stressful for me and i do it as little as possible. you know there are 1.3 billion people in china - well, there's no forgetting that if you're here. you can seriously feel/see/and hear them all the time.

laundry: outside all the time

(photo from TIME, not me)

while this in itself isn't all that strange, the 1.3 billion people factors in again and there are some amazing sites. think of all the bikes and mopeds and taxis you'd see going anywhere. it's still shocking. every time!

the one long nail

there are several theories about this one long nail sported by men of all ages around here. some say it's to open mail. some say it's to clean out their ears (ew!). some say it's to show status, like they don't have a manual labor job if they can grow out this one nail. some say it's just a fashion statement. whatever the reason, it's startling every time i see it. sidenote: never seen on women, thankfully.

phone covers: all three pretty popular

(bunny with ears and puffy tail, cat, and suction cups on cords?!)

the thing about these phone covers is that, while cute, are impractical. they don't fit in a pocket or purse easily or on the first try. i've never seen a westerner with one of these, though i ooh and ahh over them in classes all the time. 

female students - aged 18-22, by the way, love hello kitty, anime, and other cutesy juvenile stuff. i'm not quite sure but have certainly noticed the much lower maturity level of chinese college students compared with their western counterparts.  it's not just the girls, either. guys and girls in my classes won't sit with or talk to each other unless forced and are then quite uncomfortable. they giggle at the mention of sex or anything remotely sexual. they are innocent-seeming and pretty naive - a lovely change of pace from my past teaching experience, to be honest.

student love

my first semester at a chinese university went really well. i got to know and love most of my 11 classes (300ish students), definitely built rapport with them, they got used to me and my sense of humor, and for the most part we had a great time.

around the end of first semester a couple of teachers decided to switch a few classes , mainly because we decided to try teaching a different course. sadly, someone wanted to teach one of my courses, so i allowed her to swap three (of my favorite classes) with me. i was bummed, but welcomed the thought of new students again in second semester.

as a courtesy to my students, i warned them about the switch and talked a bit about my colleague who would be replacing me. i said my goodbyes, heard theirs, and closed the books on those classes.

between semesters there were a few minor changes made which gave me back one of my three lost classes. i was so excited! i really love this one class because the students are quick, participate well and often, and i find it both fun and challenging.

so this semester when i went to the class, i purposely walked past the windows and waved at the little darlings. then i did a u-turn and popped into the classroom. the crowd went wild! they were all "OH! CHRISTIE!!" and "YOU CAME BACK!" and "IT'S YOU!" i was so happy to be back and especially happy that they were as happy as i was. we had a great second first lesson which was delivered and received  with renewed energy.

it's gonna be a really good semester, methinks. :)