A couple of stories from life here in Changsha...

I bleached it...
So, the very first night I was here in Changsha, I saw a very large roach in my dining area. It ran under the refrigerator, and I couldn't find it anywhere. I was a little freaked, to be honest, and creeped out by the thought of the thing. It was big, brown and, as Levi would say, "yucky". I kept an eye out for it, but it didn't materialize. Even after I moved the refrigerator I didn't see it.
Not too long after I moved its would-be home, the roach re-appeared. It showed up in my bathroom back in the corner where the walls come together under the sink (the sink's pipes are exposed). Looking around frantically for something with which to kill it, all I could find was some bleach... so, I bleached it. I "threw" a bunch of bleach out of the bottle and in the general direction of the roach. Then, I ran to get the mop to kill it, but by the time I got back it was gone. Now I'm keeping my eyes open for a white-speckled roach!

Deep Fried for Free
Here in "the 'Sha" there are lots of places with food on sticks. They're these little shops with tofu, hot dogs, steamed buns, veggies, and other things, all on sticks. When you buy them, they drop them in a vat of hot oil and fry them for you. When they pull them out, they paint them in spicy la jiao and hand them to you to walk an eat. (Incidentally, picture a long toothpick that you're eating off of-- why not walk down the uneven sidewalk, where you could trip and fall, with a toothpick in your mouth? Ouch!)
So the other night my teammate and I stopped at a food-on-a-stick place b/c she hadn't eaten dinner. She grabbed some of the stuff mentioned above, and I asked for a banana that had been breaded with an unknown substance... anything "unknown" is at least worth a try, right?! So we chatted with the sellers of the food on sticks, and the young man mentioned that we speak very standard Chinese. (In the South, people often speak with a heavy accent, but we're learning to speak standard Chinese in class.) Then, the two sellers talked for a bit in Changsha Hua, or Changsha language, which neither of us can understand. When our food was finished, they pulled it out, handed it to us (fortunately skipping the spicy stuff on the banana), and we asked how much it was. "Song gei ni," the boy said. That means, we're giving it to you for free. What?! No... but they wouldn't take a fen (a penny) for the food. They were just happy to help a couple foreigners with good Chinese!

Tutor Time
Today I met with my tutor for about 3 hours of class. We spent most of the time chatting in Chinese, which is something I haven't had many chances to do lately. The words we looked up include: skull, poppy, kidney, slingshot and galbladder. Yep... those all have connection, right?

Culture notwithstanding...

This week we've been doing team building-- concentrated times of team together-ness, answering questions and getting to know each other. Describe your teammate with 3 adjectives from this list.... go! Today, we'll have a conversation about conflict resolution. Should be good.

I look at myself 5 years after first coming to China, and I seem to be different. I feel different! More laid back or relaxed about some things, having difficulty with some things that haven't been easy since the beginning; I wonder if they ever will be! More able to ask questions, think critically, and use right methods to protect myself and my team. Still having major failings in some areas.

For the past 2 years, I have seen the Father changing me. It's amazing to watch yourself change, almost from the outside looking in, but that's what I've seen. Now, looking at my 3 teammates, I am beginning to see some of the reasons why. Thanks, Dad, for working on my heart so I could love these girls better! (And thanks for that great Xinjiang food last night, too!)

China continues to be a vortex-- it sucks you in, and you never look at the same world again. A friend of mine, a Korean girl, was placed in a dormitory room with an American roommate. They've no common language, no common cultural or Belief-oriented points, and before we sat down to dinner, I had a list of questions to ask-- how were the cultures blending? How is she different from you? How are you compromising and working together? Much as I suspected, they weren't.

All this team building stuff on conflict resolution-- soft start-ups, compromise, implosion/explosion... I've read it all, I want to put it into practice, but what do I do when my partner is not only not trained in it, but also has a cultural background that says direct communication is too much; it's too direct, for lack of a better term?

You see, in Korea, indirect communication and good actions are cultural ideals. My Korean friend said she'll slowly stop talking and interacting with her roommate. Eventually, the American roommate will know something's wrong and change her actions. (Note: not "we'll address it verbally then" but "the American will change her actions".) She'll change to stop hurting my feelings. Unfortunately, the American probably can't hear that form of indirect communication.
The American friend says she cares for and even "loves" (as a friend) the Korean roommate, but in Korea, your actions, not your words, tell people you love them. The American's actions say, "I don't care one iota for you." Ouch. The words and the actions are at direct odds with one another. Which one should the Korean friend believe??

So what do we, the culturally direct, words not actions people do in this case? How can we show Love?

You see, Americans are known in many areas of the world for being unbendably "American" in what we do and say, how we treat people, and how we live. But how are we called, as Followers, to treat people? To treat people the way they want to be treated? I'll not give all my thoughts here, but I hope to hear some of yours. What do you think? When should we bend to the culture, and when should we not? Looking forward to hearing your thoughts.

re-emergence

Well, I started this blog a very long time ago, but I never really picked it up and ran with it. I'd done fairly well updating my other one, until I couldn't get to it anymore... but I think I'm going to try this again. So, here goes.

I've written "Middle Kingdom" up in the title line because that's the direct translation of how China is said in Chinese. The country's short name is Zhong Guo, with zhong meaning "center; middle", and guo meaning "kingdom; nation; domain". Of course, the full name is Zhonghua Renmin Gonghe Guo, The People's Republic of China. More thoughts later on how living in the center of the universe changes things.

For tonight, two things:

Today I skimmed this article written in Newsweek by a writer with whom I disagree on some things. However, I found it interesting that he called the vice presidentship "the second most important job in the world" (paragraph 3). It's the in the world that's getting to me. Do you really think there is no more important job in the whole world than that? No other country or group of nations has a leader that is perhaps more important? Sounds much like a 井底之蛙。



I was recently reading this article, and it got me thinking. I wish I could go to these places and events because they are so eye opening. Every time there is an opportunity to experience bits of another culture, it is not only an opportunity to experience something new. It is also a chance to learn how to lift the people and culture up. I just think of, for example, the idols and images one would see visiting the places listed in the Times' article-- how much you could learn about how to Think of the people of East and Southeast Asia!
So what about me, right now? Do I approach it in this fashion? Do I look at my job or studies as an opportunity to see what people really need and Think of them accordingly? Do I look at the lady who helps "guard" my apartment complex as "Tang Yi" (auntie Tang), or as someone lost that I could be thinking of and reaching out to?

And you?

I heart my students 4-ever

The assignment:
Write 20 sentences describing people in your life. This can include family, friends, teachers... whomever.

The result:
Here are some of the sentences my students wrote about their family and friends. Enjoy! (Remember, they are just learning to type, as well as do grammar & punctuation in a foreign language.)

My mother is very pretty. My father is very fat.

Another very important person in my life is my cousin. He is tall and thin. He is so cute in girl's eyes.

Of course I have a girlfriend, she is very pretty. She studies in Qingdao. I like her very much. HOHO.

My fathers name is Norbu. He is about 60yrs old. He likes to watch and play soccer.

My younger brother is short. He loves green very much. He also likes swimming.

My parents are paesants... They are very tired every day. However,they never tell the feelings to us.

My sister's twenty-four years old. Her hair is long and black. Her eyes are big. She is a smart girl.

My mother is very kind. She loves my father very much. My father is handsome and smart.

My father is also very tall, he likes play basketball and drink tea in his free time.

My grandmother is 67 years old . There are so many wrinkle covers her face and forehead. So,she looks pretty old. however, i think, she has a young heart.

My friend La ba is so cute. He is good at playing basketball.

Both of my grandmothers are healthy. They love children very much. So they often give the snack to the children nearby.

My brother is a student in senior school . He is tall and handsome . He love sports best ,but he is poor in his study.


How would you describe your family and friends?
Maybe more interesting.... how would they describe you??

Search and rescue mission

Well, you found me! Thanks to my friends, I've found a new blog home. The "Great Firewall" has blocked my last site, and I had to find a new place to put my thoughts. Same thoughts, new space. In some ways, this is a nice home, but the colors etc. are not as customizable as my last site. So bear with me while things go through upheaval.

I still get many of my friends' updates from X. The emails still come, but I can't go to your sites, comment on anything, or read others' comments. I'm hoping this is temporary, but it may not be...

Anyway, hope I still get some fun comments on the new posts... Sorry for the inconvenience of the move!

~bitsyinchina

______________________________

To inagurate this new site, that oddly has no spell-check, I thought I'd post a conversation my friend and I had yesterday. The first time I came to China, I taught English for a month in a west-central city. Chris was one of my students that summer, and he and I still keep in touch off-and-on through text messags. So yesterday I was thinking of him and his classmates, and I sent a message. Here's what transpired (translated by yours truly):

Me: Hi, friend. How are you? I hope you're having a good day.
C: Yes, today's great! How are you?
Me: I'm really good! What are you doing?
C: We're playing (something Chinese I don't know) [the word 'play' in Chinese just means 'not working'-- he was just playing around w/ friends.]
Me: Are you winning?
C: What do you mean am I winning? It's just exercise!
Me: I know. I'm just kidding!
C: Oh. What are you doing?
Me: I just went and bought some food. I'm on my way home now.
C: Oh. So why did you decide to go to your city to work?
Me: Because I like mountains! :) I like this part of China, and I couldn't go to your hometown, so I came here.
C: Why couldn't you go to my hometown? Is it because it's too backward? I'd love to see you again!
Me: I want to see you again, too! [It's been about 3 yrs since I have seen these students.] There were no jobs in your hometown, so I didn't go. It's definitely not because it's "backward." Your hometown is not backward!
C: So when are you coming to my city to play? I miss you! [He's in uni in a new city now.]
Me: I don't know! I'd love to go. Is Sophie still there, too? [Sophie's another student of mine.]
C: Yeah, she's here. She misses you, too!
Me: Are you guys at the same school still? Are you studying the same major?
C: Same school, different major. Actually, we don't get to see each other often.
Me: Oh... tell her I said "hi," ok?
C: No problem!
Me: thanks :)

**to this point, a normal conversation...**

C: Don't be so polite! I have to go make dinner soon. Oh yeah, when are you going to get married?
Me: Me?? How can you ask me that? I don't have a boyfriend. What's there to do??
C: Come to my city!! I have tons of friends. I'll introduce you to them, haha!
Me: Haha! They're probably all way younger than me!
C: Some are. I have a lot of foreign friends!
Me: [To go along w/ the joke] Really? Find me a guy from Ireland, then! ;) Haha!
C: Ok, I'll find you a nice guy from Angola!
Me: No! That's not what I said! :-P
C: Then forget it. Marry me.

**huh??**

Me: Haha! Do you have a lot of money? Can you speak English??
C: [he writes in English] Yes! I can speak English but i do not have money!
Me: Hmmm... I'll think about it.
C: Yeah, you think it over. Haha!

What a funny conversation! I laughed outloud! :) My students are so crazy... each in their own way. Now I'm just trying to think of something to send him to freak him out a little... something like, "so, have you called my father to ask for permission yet?" Any ideas? Leave a comment.

Hope you enjoyed the story. Stay tuned for more stories from the nuttier side...