"T" in Tennessee!

Life in Nashville at my little "house in the 'hood'".....

I wish I had more positive things to post at this point...but facts are facts and here are the facts:  I have been back in the States for a little over a month and can't find a job!  Moreover, with every email I receive from one of my great students...I miss living and working in Beijing more and more!  Honestly?  I would return tomorrow if I had the means to do so.  I was living in a fantasy world when I believed that I could become gainfully employed here in the States within weeks of my return!  I miss teaching.  I miss all my great students and friends.  Though I have a very nice rental home here....I miss my Beijing apartment and all the great folks in my community there!  I MISS struggling to communicate in Chinese.  I find myself saying things out loud to MYSELF in Chinese....just to try and not forget all the things I learned!  I thought I would be exempt from reverse culture shock.  I thought I was stronger than the woes I had read about with returning folks from foreign lands.  I was wrong. At this moment....though I love my family and friends.....I just want to go back.  Today.  Right now.  And it doesn't help that folks are emailing me from Beijing asking me to return...offering assistance...free places to stay, etc.  Sigh....  My goal at present is to find a job.  I need something else to focus on than my intense longing to return to China.  Readers of this post might think this odd but I honestly have a connection with living in China that even I can't fully comprehend.  I can only say that I was happy and content living there and felt fulfilled....in my job, with my relationships with folks....with life!  I've never been one to be very homesick.  But I am now homesick and how strange is it that I am "homesick" for my life in China????  I know that many of these feelings are due to the fact that I am not employed yet and am pretty much confined to my little house with only a television for distraction.

Here's a few photos from around my little house.  I really have little else to do than take photos around my house these days! ha  

My front yard is COVERED in leaves.  Anyone want to come over and help me rake?  I have no motivation to rake and bag up the leaves. I'm content to let them lie until mowing over them in the Spring of 2010!

Beautiful leaves in my backyard!

Close-up of berries (inedible) in my yard.

I also have lots of nature's critters in my yard.  It's nice to sit on the steps of my back porch and listen to the birds and crickets, the horns from the trains (just a few meters...uh, yards...from my front yard) and the sounds of airplanes (I live just a few miles from the Nashville airport).  I stare at the planes as they either take off or descend and wish I were on one of them...

In childspeak....we call this spider a  "grand-daddy long leg!"  I have no idea what the proper name of this spider is....only know that they are "good" spiders that eat more dangerous spiders so you want these around....  This one was on top of my outside trash bin.

There's also a fair amount of squirrels in and around my yard....burying their nuts amidst the leaves and surely saying a prayer that they'll remember where they hid them....

One of my greatest joys of critters around my house is a little dog that must surely live nearby (I believe he lives just across the street but can't be sure).  One night I went on a walk down the streets of my new neighborhood and this little fellow followed behind me during the entire walk, even though it was far from his home.

So cute! I call him "Buddy" but have no idea as to his proper name.  I opened my front door and he went straight into my house!  He said he was thirsty so I gave him some water in the kitchen.  He drank and then promptly went back out the front door and told me he wanted to play.  It's true!  So we played a little game in the front yard where he sped around the yard in giant circles!  Very cute and I captured some of his speedy activity on video!  I'm pretty sure he's a mostly "inside" dog because I don't see him all that often. 

A little "leaf art." :)

I really miss China.  However, I know things will improve.  I just want that improvement to come SOON!  Struggling to stay in the States.....T.

A Day on the Greenway!

A couple of weeks ago I decided to try out one of the many new greenways in Nashville.  These are paved trails for walking, running, biking, roller-blading, etc.  They wind through many wooded areas and are very scenic.  Connected, they make a very long bike ride.  I believe you can bike from close to Mt. Juliet all the way to downtown Nashville on the greenways.  I live very close to the Cumberland River.  Very close.  Unfortunately, the greenway meanders all along the river but on the opposite side of the river from where I live.  So I drove to one of the many parking lots for greenway users and took about a 2 mile walk.  Very peaceful, a beautiful day, and very relaxing.  We start with crossing the wonderful big pedestrian bridge that was built to accommodate the greenway.

About to walk across the river....

The  General Jackson Showboat in the distance...

 As they say in China, Hao tian qi! (Good weather!)

Many times, I found myself alone on certain stretches of the greenway.

But there were also lots of folks out and about on this fine day.  So nice to see nice nods of the head (non-verbal language for Hello!) and verbal hello's from folks along the way!  I came across one older couple who stopped to talk and had just come from church services.  They hadn't intended to walk very far, as evidenced by their church clothes and shoes, but couldn't resist continuing along on such a great day.

 
Some wonderful color along the way...

I'm heading back now, after about an hour of walking.

The Cumberland River continues to be a major transportation route for barges (this one was empty but sometimes carries great loads of coal or sand to destinations unknown).

I had a great time on my walk and intend to spiff up my bicycle and ride along the entire greenway system, one section at a time, and work my way up to the 20 mile greenway rides that my brother does! ha  Unfortunately, I still can't locate my bike helmet but riding along the greenway is not all that dangerous so I just might have to ride helmet-less!  Learning to love life in Tennessee once again, T.

Last Full Day in Beijing....and goodbye pics from departure day!

Sadly, the following will be the photos from my last full day in Beijing and the next day, my departure day!  As I am still (after a month) trying to find a job in the U.S., you can only imagine how much I wish I were back in Beijing, happy and gainfully employed!  Oh, how I miss my life in China!  But I'm still hopeful that something will turn up soon.  Here's to hoping....

 This is the "recycling lady" that, along with her husband, were present at the bottom of my apartment building each and every day and I gave my recyclables to them (while asking for no payment) for two years!  Such a wonderful couple and I was just happy that my recyclables would be put to good use.

I LOVE her shirt!  She removed her overcoat (that she wears to shield herself from sometimes not so clean recyclables) and then her jacket so she could show me her cute shirt!  Love it!

On my last full day, I met up with Colin and Christina for lunch!  Colin is from Scotland and I met him about 4 months after he arrived in China (3 months after I arrived).  Christina used to be my co-worker but has now moved on to another company.  Both are wonderful people that I'm blessed to know!

Can you see me in the mirror....taking the photo?

Loving' Christina!

Street scene on Dacheng Lu....my neighborhood street!

On my last day in Beijing (my flight left at 4:10 so I headed to the airport around 12:30), I went to my favorite hairstylists at 9:00 am to have my hair washed and straightened!  They knew me well and with a translator I told them this would be my last visit until I come back to Beijing for a visit!  They were always so nice to me even though I could never really communicate fully with them.  Such great people!

They all wanted me to take a photograph with them!  We threw down lots of hand signs! ha  Hers is an easily recognized peace sign.  Mine is the hand sign for "8" (ba) which is a lucky number in China!  My son was born on the 8th! :)  However...4 is an unlucky number in China (something to do with death) so it didn't bode well for me that my apartment number was 2410! ha

This guy took me on my last 3-wheel motorocyle cab ride! :)

Several folks came to my apt. building to see me off. So nice!  This is Lynn's mother, Jane!  Lynn is one of my advanced students who is now living in Bradenton, Florida and attending Bayshore High School!  I can't wait to visit her in Spring, 2010!

This is my student, Jack, and his mother, Catherine.  They graciously offered to take me to the airport.  Catherine drove her car with Jack and she had her company driver take me and all my luggage.  It was too much for one car!  In the company car, her driver blasted Michael Jackson music all the way to the airport, which was just very cool as I rode in the backseat in total comfort and pretended I was someone very important in that nice black car with the tinted windows.  I made the mistake of telling him in Chinese that I like to go fast....and FAST we went!  ha  I've never had such a fast ride to the airport!

Another pic of me and Jane at the bottom of  my apt. building just before I got inside the car to leave.  So sad for me....

This is the proprietor of the little shop at the bottom of my apartment complex.  I visited this little store frequently (much like a convenience store in the U.S. but with a bit more conveniences). 

About to pass through the gate to my apartment building and complex for the last time. Zaijian No. 2410 Apt. that I absolutely loved living in....Zaijian Beijing!  Missing L in C, T. 

More of my last days in Beijing....

Today is Halloween in the States.  I was all ready with a big bowl of candy....and had 3 trick or treaters (one of which was too young to know she even exists at this point)! I gave handfuls of candy to those two cute kids (a cheerleader and a mummy) since I knew I wouldn't be getting a slew of kids!

A few days before I left Beijing, my friend Yanbo helped me take care of some errands around my neighborhood and took me out to lunch.

We ate at a new restaurant in front of my apartment building.  Another place where you pick your meats and veggies and then it cooks right in the middle of your table on a flat surface that only gets hot directly underneath the dish.  One side was "spicy" and the other not. :)  Delicious!

Like me, Yanbo isn't too hip on having her photo taken but she okay'd this one. :)  I'm so glad I met Yanbo and her family.  We've already been emailing from the States.  I just regret that I didn't meet her sooner.  We had so little time together.  But I'll certainly see her and her family when I return next Fall for a visit.

My friend/student, Nicole and her mother/my friend, Jeanette, took me and Seven and Seven's husband, Joe out to eat at the Ukrainian restaurant I so love just days before I left!  We had a private room and I enjoyed my favorite beef kebabs (sp?) with delicious mashed potatoes!  Jeanette brought some fresh figs with her that we snacked on and during our meal the singers came in our room and surprised me with a farewell song which they sang in Russian.  So special for me and we all really enjoyed our last time together for now.

Fresh figs!

My student and friend, Nicole!  I miss her!  She's a cool teenager!

Nicole's Mom and my friend, Jeanette.

The singers, Seven and Jeanette!

The always-funny Seven brandishing a knife when I tried to take her photo! ha

I also met up with my student, Linda, and her mother, Melody!  I SO appreciate my relationships with so many of my students and their families!

Linda and Melody!

Linda!

Me and Linda in front of Xi Dian...a big complex with lots of bargain shopping and one of my favorite supermarkets, BonJour (a french chain), which carried salsa and Hunt's spaghetti sauce on their shelves! :)  Funny story:  One time I was buying some bootleg DVDs from a guy on the plaza here and I had just handed the 3 DVDs back to him that I wanted to buy while I rummaged in my purse for my money.  He started saying something very quickly in Chinese that I didn't understand.  Then I looked over my shoulder and saw the big policeman that was standing over my shoulder! ha  I quickly walked away as he was fined for selling pirated DVDs on the streets! ha  This was in the days before the 2008 Olympics when they were cracking down on such vendors!  After the Olympics it was back to "business as normal." ha

I should note that 4 of the 6 boxes that I shipped (by ship) home to the States have arrived.  The first box and been rummaged through and my DVDs and a jewelry box (which was a gift) had been removed.  The next 3 boxes, however, arrived unopened which included a few hundred DVDs. :)  I have 2 boxes still out there but already, including the many DVDs I brought in my suitcases, I have a DVD library that could rival my local Blockbusters! ha  Trying to get used to L in T, T. 

Bringin' it back to current....

I still have photos and things to say about my last days in Beijing...but for now....here's some current photos.  The trees are changing and showing their colors and it's beautiful.  I've missed seeing all the abundance of trees in Nashville and their changing colors!

These photos were taken in my new neighborhood where I now live! :)

Yesterday, my son and I went to downtown Nashville and I took a few photographs while he was taking a test for a new job!

 
To my friends in China....notice the absence of people and bike riders?  Strange, right?

This is new apartment building in downtown Nashville! I would love to live here but a one bedroom apartment costs at least $1,000 or more and that 7000 RMB per month!  Way too expensive for me for now!

This is the entrance to the huge and fabulous downtown Nashville public library!  Oh my!  I went inside and obtain my library card and checked out three books! :)

This is the lobby of the library taken from the second floor landing.

There's a wonderful outdoor courtyard on the second floor!

This is the childrens' section....so huge....and a young reader's paradise!

This bit of "art" was on the ceiling of the childrens' section of the library but...come on...a headless, handless, footless sculpture? ha ha  For kids?

There was a kids' show going on in the childrens' theater so I popped in for a few minutes. 

This is a shop in the downtown arcade that has been in existence for 82 years!  They sell all kinds of nuts and candy and popcorn and it's a famous shop!  I just had to buy a few small bags of deliciousness which were big milk chocolate malted milk balls, chocolate-covered raisins and sour cherry balls! :) Yum!

Nick and I had breakfast at Varallo's which is famous for its' "three way" chili!

This is my ever-changing living room which now boasts a sofa that my brother gave me! :)  He's had it for well over 20 years and it still looks like new and is also a sofa bed! :)  Lovin' my bro for giving me the sofa that he's had so many years!  It's so nice to sit on a sofa and not a hard wood rocking chair to watch the television!  Speaking of TV's...you can see my new 32 inch flatscreen TV, right?  Well, tonight my sons played in a free poker tournament at a place in Mufreesboro and was the big winner of the poker tournament!  He won a 42 inch flatscreen TV!  Lovin' my son! ha  Photos to come! :)  T.

Last Days in Beijing....

On October 2, I took my last long(ish) bus trip to go see my student, Payne, and his mother and have dinner with them.  Here's some pics taken from the bus:

It's no problem to park on the sidewalks.

Folks hang out their wash on lines wherever they can.
This is the Orange Hotel. This is where I spent my very first week in Beijing.  Great hotel which I passed by hundreds of times as I went to work in Beijing.  Chinese always say, "I 'lived in' this hotel" but I tried to teach my students that we don't say "lived in" when talking about a stay in a hotel or with a friend. We say, "I stayed in....or I stayed with." :)

One last photo of the huge "Golden Resources" shopping mall which to locals was known as "Jinyuan."

Lots of folks sell fruit on the side of the street in these trucks or on carts pulled by horses.  If in a truck, they keep the motor running because at any minute a policeman could pull up and give them a ticket.
 
A Beijing cab!  The majority of them are Japanese Mitsubishi's!

This is one of thousands of civic workers who keep Beijing's streets free of trash and cigarette butts. Beijing has some of the cleanest streets I've ever seen.

I met up with Payne (who went to summer camp at Stanford in CA this past summer) and we had a great conversation and then we were joined by his mother (who gave me an amazing tie-dyed tablecloth from Yunnan Province) and went to dinner.  Here, Payne is taking a photo of me as I take a photo of him! :)

Payne and his mother!  Wonderful people whom I'm fortunate to know!

The next night, October 3, I had dinner with Jack (formerly named Horace) and his family at a restaurant known for his Shanghai dishes.  The night was special as it was "Mid-Autumn Festival."  This is also called "Moon Festival" as there is a full moon and traditionally families get together on this night  for a great meal and then enjoy gazing at the full moon.

I arrived early by subway so I walked around a bit and took a photo of this wondeful flower display in front of an important government building (though I have no idea what was housed in this building).

My attempt to take a photo of the beautiful full moon, which is, of course, at the left! ha

Me and Jack. I've said it before and not ashamed to say it again:  I LOVE this kid!  Dinner was great and included me, Jack, his Mom, her brother, her cousin and Jack's grandparents (his Mom's parents).  Wonderful food, wonderful company!  Dinner conversation was largely in English as they all speak great English.

Jac k and Catherine, his Mom.

Catherine's parents and Jack's materal grandparents.  I could have listened to Jack's grandfather's stories all night as he has enjoyed a very full and colorful life.  He worked in the Chinese embassy abroad for many years and they lived in too many countries for me to even remember and have visited three times as many!  What stories he had to tell and such a joy to listen to.  Jack's grandfather also spoke fluent Russian at one time! Amazing!

Jack's maternal uncle and cousin and a bit of all the wonderful Shanghai dishes we enjoyed.  Jack's father was not present because he was visiting his mother in Shanxi Province.  What a great evening this was and a very special one for me as it would be my last Mid-Autumn Festival to experience while living in Beijing.  So nice to spend it with such special folks! :)  T.

 

 

 

 

 
 

Backtracking....continuation of National Day in Beijing!

Here's more of the photos I took on National Day.  I knew that all the military aircraft would be flying over or very near to my apartment building because I had seen them practicing.  So I was camera ready on my balcony!  I watched all the festivities on TV  just as the government encouraged everyone to do since security was so tight anywhere close to Tiananmen Square.

This is the building "across the way" from mine which I can look down on.  Lots of folks out with their binoculars....like me!

So cool!

Refueling aircraft.

Beautiful day.  You have to look close (or click on the photo to make it bigger) but there's four aircraft flying in formation in this shot.

There were THOUSANDS of young people who were part of the parade and forations in the square, as you can see.  Many of my students trained all summer for this 2 hour celebration!

Very famous Chinese hurdler who was injured early on in the '08 Olympics and couldn't continue  to compete. Chinese citizens, who absolutely LOVE him, were devastated.

The building at the top of the TV screen is the "Great Hall of the People" and you can see that the Square is FULL of folks holding colored placards that they were able to form characters out of.  A very elaborate and well planned production.  Those young schoolchildren, however, had to stand for hours before and during the parade/celebration.

Zooming in on the hills in the distance.  Yes, lots of apt. buildings but this is a fact of life in Beijing where millions live.  Still....I REALLY miss this view. I miss my apartment.  I miss my neighborhood.  I miss all the fine folks in my community.  Yes...I miss every single bit of it.  Sigh......

Around 9:30 that evening....all the firework shows began.  There were several firework displays all across the city of Beijing so that ALL citizens could have an opportunity to see them.  From my incredible viewpoint, I could see THREE of them but one was very close to my apt. :)  So, once again, happy happy anniversary to the PRC!  I feel VERY fortunate that I was able to be living in Beijing during two very important events in China's history: the 2008 Olympics and the 60th anniversary of the People's Republic of China.  A bit sad as I post this since I can no longer say LL in C, T.

 

 

 

 

Progress Update.....

Life is moving along as I continue to get settled in the new house.  I have a neighbor who is 97 and still lives alone. I think that's cool.  My new "roommate" has moved in.  It's cold at night here.  But when the sun shines, the sky is a beautiful blue.  "Blue sky" days were not exactly commonplace in Beijing so we sure didn't take them for granted.  Lots of "Hao tian qi" (good weather!) were uttered on those days.  Folks were out under the blue skies, walking, enjoying the parks, strolling with children and pets.  In such a large urban city such as Beijing there were thousands and thousands of pockets of community.  Older folks take small fold-up stools and sit out on the sidewalks in the evenings, chatting or playing cards or chess, or watching their young grandchildren jump around and play. 

Progress is being made at my little house.

 The living room has improved drastically but I still need to acquire a sofa.  Soon, I hope!   That rocking chair is not very comfortable.

My room is shaping up nicely.

 I wish I could say the same for my roommate!  Hope he shapes up soon or I'm gonna have to post "house rules" on his bedroom wall.  Live in my house....live by my rules! ha  Fortunately for my son, though, I'm pretty laid back about the state of affairs in his bedroom.  For now.

They say that art is an individual thing.  What one sees as art, might look like....well, NOT art, to someone else.  My son is definitely an individualist.

My dining area.  The watercolor is of Lake George in upstate New York.  LOVE Lake George!

Kitchen.  This is where all the cooking magic happens.   Yep.  This is where all my cereal is stored and where we put it into bowls, pour in milk, and enjoy!  I have really missed cereals.

Hello cereal aisle!  I love ya!  In Beijing, the few boxed cereals that might be stocked in supermarkets were small, fairly expensive, and stocked on the baby foods aisle. 

I hope to finish up some of my last blog entries from Beijing VERY soon!  MC, T. 

Readjusting to American Culture.........

I'm back and I'm over the jet lag and I'm well.  Yesterday, cable and internet were installed so I'm once again connected to the world.  My little "House in the 'Hood" is coming along nicely.  I've been in the States for 8 days now and I suppose my brain still thinks that I'll be heading back to my home in Beijing soon.  I've just been too busy taking care of relocation issues and such to fully digest that this is my home now and I won't be living on the 24th floor with the great views in Beijing any longer.  In fact, I'm now living only about 18 inches off the ground.  I miss my Beijing apt., even if the refrigerator WAS in the dining area and the toilet was in the shower area.  I still miss everything about that apartment.  But this small house is my home now, at least for the next year (rental).

The front yard is long....as is the back.  I don't look forward to cutting the grass.  I don't look forward to the thousands of leaves that will soon blanket the yard.  I'm not a lawn care person.  I ENJOY a nice lawn.  I just don't enjoying MAKING it a nice lawn. :)

The kitchen is coming along.

Wish I could say the same about the living room.

When things are a bit more settled I intend to finish up some entries from my last days in Beijing, beginning with my photos on National Day.  So hang in there with me.  My re-entry into American life is just getting started.  ML in C (Missing Life in China), T.
  

USA or Bust!

I promise to finish up the previous post soon.  Others of last days to come.  For now....I'm about to head out to Beijing Capital International Airport and leave the city that I love....the country that I love....and many, many dear friends and students.  But I am looking forward to all my dear family and friends in the States and especially in Tennessee. 

Soon, I'll be "T" in Tennessee, folks!  Stay tuned but give me some time to get all settled in the new place.  LL in C and looking forward to LL in T, T.