"T" in Tennessee!

Tianjin....Part II

I believe I left off with a photo of live silkworms! ha  You see....I walked into the apartment and after greetings and exchanging my street shoes for a comfy pair of slippers, I was invited to have a seat on the living room sofa.  I sat down and thought, "How strange, there's a basket full of dead worms on the coffee table!"  Then, to my surprise, I noticed they were MOVING! ha  So, of course, I started asking questions.  Linda's uncle (who I named Charlie! ha) bought the silkworms in Suzhou (famous for silk making).  He feeds them leafy greens every day and they will grow and begin to spin themselves into cocoons.  When they are about to be reincarnated with wings...he'll let them go outside.  He said they have a life of about 45 days.  I have a great video of them which I'll post to Vimeo.com when I have a few extra hours! ha  But you want to see more silkworm photos, right?  Right? :)

It was cool to see them chowing down on the leaves.  I even fed one of them and named him Rascal!  (okay...that's not true...about naming him, that is).

Linda's aunt and uncle have a wonderful apartment full of MANY interesting things!  They were very gracious and didn't mind me taking photos at all.

What a beautiful big fish! ha

Just in case you thought fish and silkworms were the only pets! ha  These cute turtles were in Charlie's study.  Along with this:

This photo in no way captures the BEAUTIFUL green color of this AMAZING jade fishbowl!  It was huge and a SINGLE piece of jade!  I can't even imagine how much something like this incredible piece would cost.  In China, it would have been okay for me to ask how much....but I just couldn't! ha  Here's another incredible piece in the study:

Another huge and amazing jade piece!

Beautiful furniture, great speakers (ha)!  Wonderful classical music was playing.

This American invention looked great in their apartment and it was a working phone!  Now it's time to sit down to lunch.  Charlie & Bailey prepared many dishes and others were prepared by the chef who works for the bank where Charlie is a Director.   What an amazing lunch!  I felt so very fortunate to be spending this day with Linda, her Mom, and new friends.

HUGE shrimp (heads, tails, legs and all), what I "think" is crawfish, conch (in the shell, of course), two kinds of delicious fish, crabs and other dishes!

So delicious, everything, along with a wonderful bottle of wine!  You might notice that the table is covered by a thin plastic cloth over the tablecloth.  This is so you can just lay aside all the unedible parts of shrimp, crawfish, crab, etc. and at the end of the meal it's just all gathered up and thrown away.  VERY convenient.

Are these crawfish?  What do you think, Ann?  Look like something folks in Louisiana eat?

Conch in the shell!  I've never been a huge fan of conch (far too "chewy" for me) but I did partake a little.

Charlie, Linda's uncle, was a real cut-up...a hoot....a real jokster! ha  Once he realized that I am particularly extroverted (ha...what an understatement, right?)...he let go with his own extroverted personality!  It was great because most of the Chinese men I have met here are very reserve and a bit introverted.  But Charlie?  No way!  Even though he spoke very little English...between my limited Chinese and his English...and Linda translating....we got along VERY well! :)  Here's some photos of His Extrovertedness:

Wei Nihao! (Hello, hello?) ha ha

A man who loves his teddy bear. :)

At the end of our meal we had traditional Chinese zong zi...to celebrate Dragon Boat Festival. 

Inside is sweet glutinous rice (sticky rice) with nuts and dates!  Melody made these and they were delicious!

This is the beautiful Chinese scroll that Charlie and Bailey gave me!  It means "happiness" and I can't wait to hang it in my future Nashville living room!  I feel so fortunate to have been able to spend the day with these wonderful people.  You might notice the piano in the background.  I played the 2 songs I know by heart:  "I'd Like To Teach The World to Sing" and "Santa Claus Is Coming To Town!"  Extroverted?  Me?

All these photos....and they represent about 3 hours so far!  Next up will be the photos from the drive and sightseeing that Charlie was so gracious to provide.  I tried to get him to let me drive his van (driving a vehicle in China is on my list) but since I left my U.S. driver's license back in Beijing...no go! ha (not that having it with me would have caused him to trust my driving!).  We toured a Russian aircraft carrier, the Kiev, which was part of a big park (called the "Binhai Aircraft Carrier Theme Park") so I know you want to tune in, in a day or two, for the photos! ha  This day with such great people is one of those "perfect" days in life that I absolutely cherish!  Absolutely LL in C, T.

Fast Train to Tianjin.....Part I

You know you're addicted to blogging when you spend 8 hours in a city and have so many photographs and so much to say that you know it's gonna take more than one entry...possibly three! ha

So I went to Tianjin on Dragon Boat Festival, May 28th!  I traveled with Linda and her mother, Melody, to see Melody's sister and husband in TangGu (a district of Tianjin).  They spent the night but I returned at 8:00 pm on the fast train to Beijing because I had to be at work at 8:00 this morning! Ugh!

Melody and Linda head up the escalators to the waiting hall at Beijing's South Railway Station.

We joined a couple thousand other "waiting" folks! ha  Love the fake palm trees!  This is Beijing's newest railway station and a very nice one.

Proceeding through the 3 turnstills.  Chinese folks do NOT line up.  They proceed en masse toward the turnstills and you merely shuffle along until you get close to one of the turnstills.  "I will NOT line up for the bus, I will not line up for the plane....not even the train!" ha  So true.  But somehow...it all works out and no one misses the train (which leave at the EXACT leaving time!).

Heading down the escalator to our second class ticket seats.  First class are seats that have a table.  But hey...it's a 25 minute ride at best.  Who needs a table!  The second class ticket seats are VERY comfortable and just like seats on an airplane (but wider and much more leg room as they have to turn them around for the return trip).  It was cool to see them turning all the seats around after we "de-trained."

I'm so tall! ha  Okay....I held my camera up high! ha

Linda and I clown for the camera.  She has such CUTE dimples! ha  I adore this young girl.  She was my "translator" for my time in Tianjin and did a great job.  I'd like to think it's because I taught her so well! ha

Within minutes....and I DO mean minutes....we were up to 330 km per hour (205 miles per hour)!  Amazing!  Such a smooth ride!  The scenery was flying past me!  Here's what a photo taken of the landscape close to the train looks like at this speed:

ha ha ha ha!  However, if you focus your camera on a sight in the distance...you can get a decent photo.  But you have to be quick....because I'm telling you...the scenery goes by VERY fast!

In the midst of flying past flat farmland and such...up pops this beautiful cathedral!  I tried four times to get a photo and, luckily, one of my photos actually included the cathedral!  My travel mates had no idea about this beautiful structure but I was glad to get a photo of it.

As we approached Tianjin...the old and the new!  Actually, this ferris wheel was nothing like another one I saw a bit later.  It was HUGE!  I asked about it and Melody told me it's called the "Tianjin Eye" after the London Eye (the HUGE ferris wheel in London).  I'm thinking that taking a ride on the Tianjin Eye should be on my short list! :)

So....we stopped in Tianjin proper for folks to get off.  The stop was 2 minutes.  Literally...2 minutes!  And then we continued on to the Tang Gu district stop which was our destination and where the train would then travel back to Beijing (after all the seats had been turned around and the train doesn't actually turn around).  This is a photo of one of the "train ladies."  Very formal.  I never noticed them actually doing anything but I'm sure they were there for a reason.

Lots of folks were milling around the front of the train to take photos!  I have one of myself throwing up the peace sign....but it's merely for personal affirmation that I was there! ha

See what I mean?  So many photos....so many words....and we haven't yet left the train station in Tang Gu! ha  Hopefully, you're not too bored.

Just outside the train station....lots of pretty blue taxis!  Melody's sister was picking us up so we had to cross a busy street to meet her.

So we cross the street...but as you can see, I've already crossed the street and am waiting on Melody and Linda! ha  I'm big and tall and foreign.  I have a bad habit of merely walking right across a busy street and when a car/taxi approaches, I throw up my "stop" hand and they slow down and I cross! ha  It sounds a big arrogant, right?  It probably is.  They never blow their horn at me the way they do to Chinese folks and I guess I've become accustomed to taking advantage of this small luxury I have as a foreigner.  My Chinese friends always cringe as they are certain that I'm going to be hit by a car...but as you can imagine....I never am. ha  Now don't misunderstand.  It's not like I walk right into traffic.  I just merely manage to cross streets faster than friends due to my "foreign" face. :)

We're at Melody's sister car but she was parked right next to a nice little public park.

Beautiful sculpture, right?  China is full of such cool surprises.

We're at Melody's sister's apartment building!  Before exiting her car, I had already given her an English named based on her Chinese name.  She is now Bailey and she seemed to like it but it took me a while to make her understand it's pronounced "BAY li" and not "Bay LI."  I also named Bailey's husband and neice...Charlie and Alyssa! :)  I've named lots of folks with English names...and I really love doing it.  I always ask them what their Chinese surname is and then try to find a similiar English name for them.  So......we're just now arriving at the apartment where I spend several hours conversing with WONDERFUL people and have an incredible lunch and then some sightseeing.  Here's an interesting "first sight" when entering their apartment:

You can be sure there's a story here! ha  So stay tuned for Tianjin, Part II, my blog buddies! :) LL, T.

Views From the Bus.....

Here's a few photos from a recent ride on the 114!  This particular bus didn't have air-conditioning so I made sure to get a seat beside an open window (which helped with photo-taking).  One day I was on a bus that DID have air but it wasn't on and all the windows were open.  The "bus man" (not to be confused with the bus driver) decided it was hot enough for the A/C and told everyone on his little microphone to close the windows because he was turning on the air.  Doesn't he know that you turn on the air and let it blow the hot air out first? ha  So the bus got VERY hot for a while until the cool air finally cooled the interior.  One lady kept her window open as it really was very hot on the bus and he admonished her to close it because the air was one.  She argued with him...he argued back....she closed the window....he turned back around.....she re-opened the window! ha  Now...about the "bus man" or "bus lady."  Most buses have them.  They take the money for folks who don't have bus cards.  They wave their hands out of windows to indicate to cars that they are stopping at a bus stop.  They yell at the bus driver that it's safe to close the "exit" door.  And when a parent with a child, an elderly person, or a pregnant woman boards the bus....they whip out their microphone and ask that someone please give up their seat.  Usually, someone gives up their seat very quickly and this isn't needed.  The bus man/woman will also assist an elderly person into their seat or hold their arm as they get off the bus.  They also yell at everyone to "squeeze together, squeeze together" when the bus gets so crowded that you think it isn't possible for even one more person to get on the bus.  But then.....10 people manage to get on! ha  I recently had to almost push 2 folks OFF the bus who were standing in the way of the exit door just so I could get OFF the bus!  Enough bus talk.....

All the folks in blue are students who just got out of school.  It creates quite the taffic jam on the streets as parents have no qualms about stopping in the middle of the street to WAIT for their student!  Incidentally, the white license tags are cars belonging to military or police personnel.  They always get the right of way....no matter what! ha

This is the new Sheraton Four Seasons on Yuanda Lu near my workplace.  See the Chinese characters?  The last one means "hotel."  I remember it because it looks like a hanging bed to me.  It's one of the few characters I actually know.

This red limosine is parked in front of a very LARGE wedding plaza where you can arrange everything for your wedding.  This limo will take you to your wedding dinner!  You can also see a black limo (upper right of the photo) that looks very dirty.  It's not.  It has wax on it that hasn't been buffed off yet. :)

A very large, round apartment building that reminds me of a lotus flower.

One end of the HUGE Jinyuan (Golden Resources) Mall.  Golden resources, indeed.  You can buy everything...including a kitchen sink....in this huge Mall and get just about ANY kind of food in the world here!

We're passing over the canal that leads to the Summer Palace.  You can take a "tourist" boat ride to the Summer Palace, which I've never done, but it's on my list.  Going the other direction, you can take a boat to the Beijing Zoo.  The canals are not very deep and swimming in them is forbidden.  However, occasionally you can see a bold person enjoying the water on a hot day.

The bus stopped at the redlight....allowing me to photograph this unusual sight.  I have NO idea why this woman in a mask (usually an indication that the person is sick) was camped out (holding an umbrella to shield the sun) in front of this building.  It's a government building for this district so my theory is that she is lodging some kind of protest.  Interestingly, no one seemed concerned or curious at all about this.

Folks were walking and riding past without even a second glance! ha

Oops!  I think the guard notices me taking photos!  Better stop....  Can you imagine how uncomfortable this woman must be lying on the pavement?

This is the building where I work on WanliuZhonglu.

That's "Roddy" peeking out from the EF sign and that's his dog, Rufus! :)

So after taking antibiotics for 3 days....my sore throat and ear is gone (although still some congestion) so I'll be taking the fast train to Tianjin tomorrow morning with some friends!  This will be my 14th city to visit in China.  I'm not sure how many more I can get in before I leave in just four months but Urumqi is HIGH on the list, as is Qinghuangdao.  As my friend Marsha says, only time will tell. :)  LL in C, T.

Sorry, Mary Jo.....couldn't resist! ha

Cold No. 10 might not be a cold at all.  It very well might be Sinus Infection No. 1 as my throat and right ear have been hurting for 5 days now.  It's extremely annoying and it's not easy to teach/talk when my throat and ear hurts!  Yesterday, I left work before my last class of the evening (2.5 hours of teaching  just one student) and came home.  Today....I've kept my couch company all day (ha) while watching four movies (The Skeptic, Four Horsemen, I Can't Think Straight, and Mysteries of Pittsburgh).  I finally got out of the apt. about 7:00 this evening to go to the supermarket.  I enjoyed my favorite "flattened chicken on a stick with spicy sauce" before heading back to my apt.  I can actually hear Mary Jo clicking her tongue in disapproval! ha

That's right....street food! :)  Now listen up....'cause here's my theory.  Western digestive systems might not be used to such food....and I can certainly tell you it's not a fun ride to get sick from eating food cooked on the street and having to go to the hospital for IV antibiotics! :)  However, my theory is that such an unpleasant experience builds up one's immunity because I haven't gotten sick from eating it since! ha  Maybe my theory isn't very scientific but it works for me!  And before you judge....this doesn't exactly look like a clean environment for cooking...but it's actually okay.  The flat cooking surface is VERY hot and that would destroy any little bacteria lurking around.  Think about it.  One must build up immunities to certain things, right?  Why do folks living in countries where Westerners are warned not to drink the water.....never get sick from drinking said water?  Anyway.....this is my theory and I'm stickin' to it. :)

He uses a flat iron thing to press the breaded chicken down on the hot flat surface. I have more than one asked for my "chicken on a stick" to be cooked a little longer....just to be safe.  But then I also enjoy my chicken on a stick being "painted" with the delicious spicy sauce you see in that white bowl with the paintbrush sticking out of it (I just try not to think of how long it sits out in the open air)!  ha  There's all kinds of things you can order to be cooked (I paid 30 cents each for my two chicken sticks)...like lamb, mushrooms, squid, tofu wrapped around leafy vegetables....but I stick to the chicken sticks!

The "chef" smiles for the camera!  Folks decided to venture a conversation with me and asked in English, where I was from.  I answered in Chinese and told them my requisite sayings, "I'm an American who teaches English to children" and "My Chinese is no good!" ha  This always brings smiles because folks in China are very pleased when they hear a Westerner attempt to speak to them in their language and they are very appreciative of this.  When I left with my coveted chicken on a stick, I said goodbye in Chinese and one guy said, "See you" in English, while another guy tried to top him by saying, in English, "See you tomorrow"! ha  So I said, "Ming tian jian" which is "see you tomorrow" in Chinese and then laughed......because, you know, I won't be seeing him tomorrow! :)  Appreciation of one's native language goes both ways and I really enjoy it when folks will attempt to speak to me in English.  In general, Chinese folks are very apprehensive about using their English for fear of getting their words wrong and being embarassed or "losing face."  However, that guy who tried to lift my wallet out of my purse and then tell me "I'm sorry" in English not only lost face....he lost a fairly nice shirt! ha

Today is Memorial Day in the States.  Did you know it was originally called "Decoration Day" and that it was officially proclaimed in 1868?  True. Memorial Day was first observed on May 30, 1868, when flowers were placed on the graves of Union and Confederate soldiers at Arlington National Cemetery.  It is the one day in the year to honor and remember those who have died in service to our nation.

I have another day of rest tomorrow then work on Wednesday.  Thursday, however, is a holiday here in China....Dragon Boat Festival.  This day in China is different every year as it is celebrated on the 5th day of the 5th lunar month....so it's also called the "Double Fifth Day."  On this day, folks eat zongzi, a traditional Chinese food made of glutinous rice stuffed with different fillings and wrapped in bamboo or reed leaves.  They are cooked by steaming or boiling.  Here's some info from Wikpedia:

"The best-known traditional story holds that the festival commemorates the death of poet Qu Yuan of the ancient state of Chu, in the Warrning States Period of the Zhou Dynasty. A descendant of the Chu royal house, Qu served in high offices. However, when the king decided to ally with the increasingly powerful state of Qin, Qu was banished for opposing the alliance. Qu Yuan was accused of treason.  During his exile, Qu Yuan wrote a great deal of poetry, for which he is now remembered. Twenty-eight years later, Qin conquered the Chu capital. In despair, Qu Yuan committed suicide by drowning himself in the Miluo River on the fifth day of the fifth month.  It is said that the local people, who admired him, threw food into the river to feed the fish so that they would not eat Qu Yuan's body. This is said to be the origin of zongzi. The local people were also said to have paddled out on boats, either to scare the fish away or to retrieve his body. This is said to be the origin of dragon boat racing."

I have been invited to go with some friends by bullet train to Tianjin on Thursday to visit an uncle.  Tianjin is the largest port city in northern China and only 25 minutes by fast train from Beijing.  I hope my throat and ear thing is much better in 3 days so I can enjoy this little one day adventure.  I really want to see this important port city in China.  I also want to experience the "fast" train! :)  LL, T.

Bittersweet Farewells and Other Stuff!

Yesterday was the last working day for Alan Fleming, an wonderful teacher from Australia who has been with us for the past year.  Nyah, a local Chinese teacher, is leaving us tomorrow so we had a little celebration (with cake, of course) for both of them.  Alan will travel around China for a few weeks and then return to Sydney in early July with his girlfriend, Skye, who has also been working here in Beijing.  Nyah, as I said in an earlier entry, will be moving to California in July to get married to her boyfriend of 3 years.  She is SO excited and will be experiencing not only life in America for the first time, but also marrying the love of her life.  She and Kent (an American born Chinese) met here in Beijing and love bloomed for them over the years.  Nyah and I went out last night to LaBamba for some one on one conversation and a few celebratory drinks! :)  I'm sure that Nyah and I will be seeing other in the very near future somewhere in America (either California...she'll be living an hour from San Francisco....or Tennessee!).  One of the best things about working at EF is the wonderful people that you meet and work with....from different countries and from different walks of life.  It's a true learning experience and results in minds being opened as we not only learn about other cultures but sometimes adopt speech and mannerisms from other countries.  I, for one, will probably get laughed at a lot in America if I don't learn to squelch my penchant for saying "quite" these days.  "Yes, it's quite good," "I quite agree with you!" ha  Learning about other cultures from the folks who LIVE in those cultures is an experience that money can never buy!

 

Zai jian (goodbye) Alan & Nyah!

Nyah and Alan, with Nyah holding the small American flag I gave her.

Everyone claps for our two teachers who are leaving!  Except William, who keeps his arms crossed on his chest! ha

Yes....William is still "arms crossed!" ha

ha ha!  William finally lets go with one of his arms to throw down some peace to Alan and Nyah!

This is one of Alan's one-on-one VIP students, Jack.  Jack's last class with Alan was 2 days prior but Jack made a special trip to our Center to say goodbye one last time and give Alan a personal gift.  This is what teaching at EF is all about....our great relationships with our students!  Relationships with our students should be encouraged and celebrated!  For many of our students, they are experiencing lessons in English with a foreigner for the first time.  I've taught Jack a few times and look forward to continuing his studies in Alan's abscence.  He's a great kid and a joy to teach!

We will miss Alan and Nyah!  They are great teachers and are now progressing to other adventures in life!  We will be keeping in touch with them!

Wow!  What's this, you ask?  Well, it's 6 complete sets (24 books) of the Twilight series authored by Stephanie Meyers.  My students are CRAZY about it and they've all seen the movie!  Because blogs are wonderful tools of communication and bring folks together who might otherwise never know each other...I've been corresponding with a young British teacher in Shijiazhang, Hebei Province, Jane.  Jane teaches senior high schools students and lamented the fact that in her city one cannot simply go to a bookstore and purchase books in English, like in Beijing.  She requested books in English if someone could make that happen.  So knowing that I could purchase these books quite cheaply (yeah...there's that British speak again)...I bought them last night and will be mailing them to Jane for her students next week!  It gives me great joy to be able to do this for Jane's students.  It's actually a very small gesture as she has hundreds of students in all her classes.  But it's a start.....and her students will be very excited to receive them to read. :)  Jane's blog is www.occasionallyj.blogspot.com and she'll be leaving her teaching position in early July to travel around and then return to her home country.

This is my new passion....which I've been very hard-pressed to stay away from! ha  Chocolate graham-like sticks covered in thick white chocolate!  Absolutely delicious and very addictive!

I'm wondering how many boxes I'll be able to fit into my suitcases when I return to the States!  LL, T.

The Young Ones....SO Cute!

Tonight was Life Club night.   I've been responsible for coming up with topics or themes for the life clubs.  Tonight, for our older students (7-15) the topic was Camping and all associated with it (equipment, food, building fires, campfire songs, etc.).  Because I didn't think our 3-6 year olds would understand or enjoy that topic, the topic for our young ones was "Prince and Princesses! (thanks to Wendy for coming up with this great topic)"  Target vocabulary was king, queen, prince, princess, castle and crown!  I had the 3-4 years old and only 3 students showed up (it was a rainy night tonight in Beijing).  However, Max, Sam and Vicky (though very shy and wouldn't come in without her mother) had a great time.  Here's a shot of them wearing their crowns that I had pre-cut for them to decorate! 

As you can see, little Vicky doesn't look like a very happy camper! ha  But she warmed up to me and smiled and told me "bye bye" about 5 times! ha  I'm looking forward to the time when she'll come to life club without her Mom!  Maybe soon.  Little Max, in the very front, is a most extroverted 4 year old and can expertly operate the computer, starting and stopping the songs I was playing! ha  At the end of class we did a little dancing around to music and Max and Sam loved it!  And that's Nyah, local teacher, who helped out tonight!

Here's Anne's class of 5-6 year olds!  Twin boys! ha  So adorable.  They also made crowns and seemed to be having a great time!

This is my favorite DVD store (yeah, I have more than one)....located near my workplace.  Small, yes, but they have a very LARGE selection of American movies and lots of boxed sets of American TV series.  I'm not quite sure...but I have a feeling I might be responsible for the continued success of this DVD store! ha  LL, T.

A new venue for videos!

First of all....I'd liketo send a hearty welcome to Cold No. 10 here in Beijing and hope it goes away soon! ha  I've enjoyed a nice six month cold-free run so I'm not complaining too much, lest the god of colds frowns upon me! ha  This one, so far, isn't too bad....so far just a bad sore throat.  Here's hoping it stops there!   So....since youtube is STILL blocked in China, I decided to load videos to www.vimeo.com.  You can find them under "teresa bragg" or "tinchina85" which I've listed as a tag.  They take FOREVER to upload from my home internet.  One has been successful and another is on the way (will be available in 5 hours...so Vimeo says).  For now, you can see my young friend, Cherry, singing a bit of a Chinese song for me here:

http://vimeo.com/4710344

The other one will be there soon and is of some cute kids riding carts and fake horses at the Beijing Zoo (with a little line of an Alan Jackson song sung by Cherry at the end).  It took me 1.5 hours to upload the second one so I'm not sure how many I'll be uploading in the future!  Hopefully, youtube will be unblocked here soon! Take care, all my blog buddies!  LL, T.

Lovin' My Students!

I've been teaching English to Chinese kids for nearly 2 years now.  I love my students.  Is that wrong for a teacher to say? ha  But, it's true.  Some of my classes end a course every 24 weeks, some every 18 weeks.  When we get to the final class of a coursebook.....I do what I did with my son as he was growing up.  We have a FUN DAY!  To share a bit of background, as a single parent I was never able to whisk my son away to DisneyWorld for a week during Spring Break as I had to work and couldn't afford that kind of trip.  So I would take one day off from work during Spring Break and we would have what I termed, "LeTellier Fun Day!"  This was a day in which my son got to dictate the schedule of the day.  Whatever he wanted to do, we did.  Movies, pizza, McDonald's bowling, laser tag.....we did whatever was his heart's desire on that day.  We had fun!  So I do sort of the same thing with my students here on the final day of their course.  We have fun!  I've taken them out for pizza, treated them to a couple of hours at a local arcade, gone to the movies, etc.  On this particular fun day in one of my classes, the kids decided to relax in class and we ordered in food, played cards and watched various things via computer.  I made sure that they were speaking only English and we all had a great time.  Two of the boys wanted McDonalds, so McDonald's food it was for them....and I ordered 3 large pizzas from Papa John's for the other students (2 ham & pineapple and 1 pepperoni....okay, the pepperoni was mainly for me! ha).  The 2 boys ate their McDonalds meals and then dived into the pizza! (I cringed a little as they repeatedly reached for my precious pepperoni pizza!) ha  Ahhh, growing boys! ha  We played Uno, talked a lot and just generally had a lot of fun.  The kids love it and I love having these "fun days" with them.

A little Uno action!  I've taught them Uno very well!  I never won! ha

Vincent and Ray watch some basketball videos.  They LOVE basketball!

One student was missing, Tina, but here's the rest of this class.  They each got certificates for the completion of TB4B and now they are progressing to TB5A!  They all said that they will continue with me so I'm happy to continue teaching them until I leave. They are all such great kids and it's been so special for me to see how they've grown and changed over the past almost 2 years!

This is another one of my classes, my TB5B's!  It wasn't their last class but I was in a photographing mood!

"Okay, kids, no peace signs this time!"  And then I threw down my own unique double peace sign! :)

These are all great kids and I feel very fortunate to know each one of them.  Incidentally, before this photo was taken, I told them to say, "I love Teresa!" ha  They just laughed.  They've grown accustomed to my weirdness in the classroom!  LL, T.

LaBamba, Baby! All About LaBamba!

This past Thursday, after teaching and Life Clubs (one hour sessions with students according to level with a common theme topic.....which was World Artists on this night)....all the teaching staff and Center Manager, Cathy, headed to LaBamba's Mexican Restaurant & Bar in Wudaokou for a little "team building."  Translation: lots of drinking and laughter and relaxation.  Oh, we also ate, but only to absorb the alcohol (okay, I'm kidding.....just a little).  First, let's check in with the Hippo Life Club (3-4 year olds):

Alan demonstrates his motor skills at playing Twister (which I brought back from the States)!  We sort of invented the "put your head on blue" thing ourselves! ha

See what we do to our youngest students? ha  But no worries....this little guy LOVED it! ha  He had just fallen from trying to keep his feet and hands, along with his head, on the right colors! :)

Now for photos from our night of debauchery! ha  There's lots.  Forgive me.  But they're all very special to me as they are all my closest work friends.  And hey....it's MY blog! ha

Alan, Nyah and I arrived first and decided there was no reason to wait! ha  We tried to tell Nyah that you don't "sip" a shot of tequila but she was having none of our Western explanations! :)  Incidentally, Nyah will leave us at the end of the month and travel to California to connect with her American boyfriend and get married!  Congrats to Nyah!

Tamara, James, and Seven arrive and waste no time in procuring liquid refreshment!

Nyah, Bill, Anne (partially hidden) and William.

 

Big mug of beer (Tsingdao, of course)!  Cost?  under $3.00.

 Bill tries his hand with the Big Beer!

This is Anne, our newest local teacher.  She's so cute with the Big Beer! ha

A little "tomfoolery" exhibition by James and Alan!

Hey....these guys know how to use their fingers!

This is Alan....wiping his eye after I took the straw out of my drink (which was just ke-le, coca-cola, of course) and flicked a drop right into his eye! ha

Seven and Cathy enjoy their "Mexican" pizza!  Okay...it was just regular pizza!  Who orders pizza at a Mexican joint!

We did a lot of toasting!  You see, Alan (Australian), Tamara (Canadian), and Nyah (Chinese), will all be leaving us at the end of this month!  So sad to see them go....but lots of great wishes for their future endeavors!

Cathy, Alan, Tamara, Nyah, and James!  The three who are leaving us flanked by our Center Manager and our Director of Studies!  Everyone was feeling the love on this night.  We haven't all gotten together like this in a long time....so it was a nice evening for everyone!

Alan:  "You want me to play pool?  After having that Big Beer!"

Seven:  "That's right, Nyah.  I believe everything Teresa says and she says you're not supposed to sip tequila!"

Tamara and James proudly display their 10 RMB ($1.50) White Russians!

Cathy:  "Bill, I really think I can learn this foos ball thing!"

Cathy:  "I'm tellin' ya, Bill.  I can do it!  Let's play!"

James gets a wild hair and orders up flamin' B-52's!  Nyah partakes easily.

James, on the other hand, ingests his just a little too fast and experiences a bit of the "flamin'" part! ha

One might think James did that on purpose.....just so the kind waitress could assist him! ha

Seven:  "Teresa, I'm having' none of this Big Beer! Can we go home now?"  And so....we hailed a taxi and went home! :)  It was a great evening and we all had a great time.  It wasn't a particularly late evening as Seven and I left just before 11:00 pm!  Hey....some of us are old! :)  LL in C, T.

Randomness on a Wednesday!

Right now....I'm listening to my favorite international radio channel here and they're playing a song in Chinese which goes like this? "blah, blah, blah, Merry Christmas to you, blah, blah, blah, sweet Christmas to you!" :)  That's right, folks.  Chinese aren't embarassed at all by playing Christmas songs out of season! :)  I like it a lot!  I have sung "Jingle Bells" many times while looking around in department stores! ha

So after work today, I walked up the street to my favorite DVD store (I know, I know, like I don't have enough DVDs already!) and took this photo of the parking capabilities of Chinese people!

Just before I took this photo a car came driving down the sidewalk right at me! ha

After adding a little money to the well-being of my favorite DVD store....I headed to the supermarket for a few purchases before hailing a taxi home.  Oh, and since there was a DVD seller in front of the supermarket....hello Heroes, Season 3! ha

I love the very literal translations here in China!  One bite hotdogs, indeed! :)

A bit blurry, but that's right....mushroom flavored ham.  Maybe I'll try it out in the future...but not tonight! ha

Many restaurants....when the weather turns warm.....set up tables outside and folks LOVE to eat outside! :)

Tomorrow night all the teaching staff where I work will be heading to LaBamba after work (a Mexican restaurant) for a little R&R! :)  Beef and chicken fajitas, here I come!  Photos to come!  LL, T.

Someone Tries to Rob Me....Again!

Tonight, I had a lovely visit with a friend in my apartment.  I walked with them down to my gate and then decided to walk up the street and buy some breakfast foods and drinks for tomorrow.  I passed many, many street vendors.  You see.....the big long building in front of my apt. lay empty for a year and then within the last six months it's been nicely broken up into many, many businesses.  A great supermarket, a bakery, a Pizza Hut delivery shop, a bookstore, several clothing stores, and many, many restaurants, even an arcade.  It's great!  But with the onset of all these businesses comes all the street vendors who lay out their wares on the street for folks to purchase.  So there's several DVD sellers (I'm partial to one and only buy from him), lots of sellers of fruit on their bicycle carts, folks selling food prepared right there on the street as you wait, folks selling jewelry, knock-off designer clothing, books, magazines, popcorn popped while you wait, just lots of trinkets, hair decorations, etc.  These sellers are selling their wares in an illegal manner as it's actually not allowed.  It clogs up the sidewalks and makes it difficult to walk along.  But the police can't get rid of all of them and usually turn a blind eye.  When they do come around, folks can whip together their wares and be out of there in seconds.  All of these folks know me as I pass by them quite often.  Recently, I passed by one man who called out to me to buy something by saying, "Hello, Hello!"  He and the folks surrounding erupted into laughter when after ignoring him so many times, I finally said, in CHINESE, "I don't like what you are selling!" ha ha  It was one of those moments when I'm so proud to be able to get my meaning across in Chinese and since these folks had no idea I could actually speak any Chinese, they thought it was VERY funny.

Well, tonight, I bought a couple of cute knock-off designer T-shirts for just $2.25 each:

Here's one of them.  So I walked on up and decided to buy some cute Mickey Mouse "footies" for just about 25 cents a pair.  Here they are:

They're major cute, right?  So I negotiated the price, handed over my 100 RMB note and the lady had to go get change.  So I put my wallet back in my purse which was slung over my shoulder but didn't zip up my purse.  Bad Teresa, bad Teresa.  Within seconds a young man of about 18 to 20 years old thought he'd just slip that wallet right out of my purse.  Bad young man, bad young man!  I caught him and grabbed him and this is where the show began for about 50 folk along the street.  I yelled and screamed at him like there was no tomorrow!  He immediately, to my BIG surprise, said, "I'm sorry, I'm sorry!" in ENGLISH! HA HA  Unbelievable.  Still, I was VERY pissed off and continued screaming at him, "You think you can steal from ME? I think we should call the police.  POLICE!  POLICE!" ha ha  He had the look of terror on his face.  Another man actually came up and tried to make me let go of him and said, "Okay, okay" but I was having none of that and continued holding onto him and even wrapped my leg around his and nearly brought him to the ground!  I heard the nice sound of his button-up shirt RIPPING badly. :)  So.....I finally let him go and within seconds he was GONE, running for his dear life (around the corner into an apt. complex).  I then straightened up, zipped my purse, stood in front of all the onlookers, smiled, and took a half bow! ha  You see, there's a reason no one really came to my defense.  All these folks were selling their wares illegally and if the police were to come around, before they could leave, they would get hauled off to pay a hefty fine.  No a desirable situation for anyone.  So another lesson for me (if almost getting ripped off in Xian...see the blog archives....wasn't enough)....NEVER leave my purse unzipped! ha

Now.....I could go to my local police station (an easy walk from apt. building) tomorrow and file a formal complaint about the attempted robbery and tell them exactly where it happened.  But that means they would probably send officers to my street for the next several nights and clear the sidewalks of all the street vendors and these folks are merely trying to make a living.  I don't want that to happen.  So I'll do nothing and take it as yet another lesson to be more careful with my purse in such crowds of people.  I'm very fortunate.  If he had successfully lifted my wallet...he would have gotten 400 RMB ($60) but more importantly and what would have been a huge hassle....my Chinese bankcard and my electricity card...not to mention sentimental photos of my son!  I don't keep my passport in my wallet any longer (after the first incident) and I also removed my U.S. driver's license from my wallet after the first incident.  Still, it would have been a total headache to lose my wallet.  So I consider myself lucky once again...and I'm not a lucky person at all.  So if third time's the charm....then I need to make sure there's no third time, right?  So onto happier photos!

I recently treated Seven to lunch at The Spaghetti House at Jinyuan (huge shopping mall).  We had GREAT dishes....me, delicious lasagna and Seven, a tuna pasta dish.  We also had a stack of onion rings (far right of the photo) which were light and crispy with REAL ketchup on the side.  Even though we were completely full, knowing how much Seven enjoys ice cream, I ordered two scoops of ice cream for dessert.  But you don't just get 2 scoops of ice cream in a bowl....you get the two scoops on top of delicious balls of watermelon, sprinkles and chocolate syrup! :)  Wonderful! :)

And because I can't post enough photos of my cute little student, Horace, here's a couple of pics from our recent session, when he was taking a test at the end of his coursebook:

Hey Horace!  Look at me! :)

That's my boy! :)  This kid, as I've said so many times before, gives me lots of joy! :)

In recent days.....I was walking along the plaza at Xidian and noticed some cool prayer beads for sale.  These beads have exactly 108 beads on them and then a small hanging  bead or beads on the end.  I've been wanting a string of them and these were very unique as the beads were made out of some kind of tree nut or something.  I bargained the price down to what was acceptable for me and they were mine! :)

Yes, I need to clean the interior of my big steel front door to my apt......but you can see how long the beads are.

Beautiful beads!

So life continues here in Beijing, with lots of surprises! :)  I remain very happy to be living here...despite attempts to rid me of my wallet!  LL, T.

Be Careful What You Wish For!

So a couple of days ago I was thinking, "You know, Teresa, you need to get more exercise."  So I set off for a walk through a nice little park near my apartment.  I took the bus but got off one stop before the stop directly in front of the park and walked the rest of the way.  Good stroll and the park is so beautiful. Here's some pics but first a pic of the sun setting near my apt. (on a different day). 

Zoomed in from my apt. balcony.  Now for a few of the park:

Such beautiful grassy areas! But don't be mistaken....you can't actually walk on the grass! ha

Young folks playing cards and a little boy and his father doing a little "faux" fishing. :)

You don't have to read Chinese (lower left of the sign) to understand that you should keep your feet off the grass! ha ha

These beautiful purple irises reminded me of Tennessee!

A cool apartment building going up right next to the park!  It'd be great to live in one of those side apartments with the round rooms! :)  So after leaving the park, I walked up the street a ways, bought some cute little phone charms in a little store, bought some drinks at the supermarket and then hailed a cab back to my apartment.......

That's right,folks.  Be careful what you wish for when you wish for more exercise in your life.  I returned to my apartment building and noticed that there was an unusually large number of folks milling about.  I just thought, "Oh, okay, it's a nice evening and everyone is out and enjoying the pleasant weather."  I walked into my building and the electricity was totally OUT! ha  No electricity means no nice elevators to take you to the 24th floor!  So I sat down on the back steps of my apt. bldg. and chatted with neighbors (okay, I didn't really chat...but we did exchange some words that I could say! ha).  I told them, "Hey...I live on the 24th floor so I don't think I'll be hoofing it up 24th floors in a dark interior stairway!"  I got my meaning across (they all know I live on the 24th floor anyway) and they all laughed.  Good thing I hadn't purchased fresh meat or ice cream along the way!

You see....there were posted notices that the electricity would be turned off on this day for a couple of hours for some repair work....but being illiterate in the Chinese language, I didn't understand the posted notices.  Luckily, I had returned home just as the electricity "time out" was about to end so I only waited/relaxed for about 25 minutes and then the beautiful hum of electricity resumed. :)  LL, T.

A Stroll Around Peking University

Take a walk around the campus of Peking University?  Check. :)

I found out how to get there by bus and off I went. I only walked around a small portion of this beautiful campus.  It's very big.  Lots of forrested areas with nice stone paths, ponds, the Lake With No Name, beautiful flowers, very clean.....and get this?  You can walk on the grass here! :)  The gate I entered through had guards checking for student/staff I.D.s but I just walked right past them as if I had every right to be there and it totally worked (although I could tell they were staring at me as I just kept going! ha).

Beautiful.

Beautiful old bell.

This is the "Lake With No Name."  In other words, Lake NoName!  Seriously.  See that pagoda in the distance?  I tried to get a close-up from here.

Didn't work so well but I love the detail of the willow trees in the foreground and the softness of the willows in the distance.

Lake Noname again.

The entrance to the Institute of World Literature.  The wisteria was plentiful and beautiful.

A little tai chi on the quad and art students drawing.  Such a nice and peaceful atmostphere. Just like a campus should be.

In the distance you can see some folks standing near a shrub?  Well, as I got closer I heard them singing John Denver's tune, "Country Road" (a HUGELY popular song here).  They had their sheet music and everything.  So you can probably guess what I did.  I totally went up to them and started singing with them! ha  They were Chinese students but spoke English and told me what a great voice I have!  ha  They told me they were practicing the song for a performance.  I told them they were doing a good job.  They smiled....I smiled.  Another random and wonderful exchange with folks here. :)

Lovely!

Okay....enough with the wisteria photos.  But it was just so purple and so beautiful.  Loved it!

Okay....just one more! ha

The sun sets.....

Lovely gnarly trees!  I hope to revisit Peking University campus again.  And who knows?  Maybe I'll get to join some students in song again! :)  LL, T.

A Day at the Beijing Zoo, Part II

I think I'll be able to finish up Zoo business tonight. :)  I have the next four days off as I'm taking a couple of annual days.  So no work until Friday with only Beijing to putter about in.  Only Beijing! ha ha  So much to see here still.  Maybe I'll pump up the bike tires and head out to that temple along the river that I've been wanting to visit.

So we left off just as Cherry and I got to the Aquarium.  We sort of breezed through the Aquarium exhibits (well, we didn't actually breeze through.  That would necessitate no people blocking the path at every turn) as we wanted to make the 2:30 pm dolphin show. 

Big and beautiful goldfish!

Cool fish but just no way to get to the front at the glass.  Far too many people!

That's right!  You didn't walk along the path in the Aquarium...you shuffled along.

A big fish....a little boy (trying hard not to look scared)....and not forgetting to throw up some peace to everyone while holding tight to his panda bear!  So cute, this little boy.

We didn't go into this part because, you know, if you've seen one Acipenser Sinensis, you've seen them all. 

Unfortunately, we were in the very back row for the dolphin show.  And yes, those are huge snowflakes hanging from the ceiling.  We arrived 30 minutes before the show began....and it was early full.

Hard to get good pics from so far away but the show was very good! 

The show was very entertaining and also included cute performing seals.  But imagine my shock and surprise when at one point, during the seal performance, the loudspeakers began blaring the song, "Amazing Grace."  And folks...it was sung in English and included all verses.  So there I was, sitting in a theater watching a dolphin show at the zoo in Beijing, China, singing along to, "Amazing grace, how sweet the sound, that saved a wrench like me!"  Surreal?  Strange?  You bet.

I took a great video just outside the Aquarium which I'll post soon on Vimeo since youtube continues it's "blocked status" here in China.  Cherry and I headed back to the entrance where her father and mother met us and we went for a great dinner of traditional Beijing noodles.  And the restaurant had talking birds!

Although the sign indicated he could say "hello," he was having none of my perfect English nor Cherry's perfect Chinese! ha  But we certainly tried.

Beautiful big Chinese vases.  Not hard to see why there weren't any flowers in them!

The Beijing noodle restaurant.

Some traditional dishes we enjoyed before the noodles.  From top, clockwise, cucumbers (cut so perfectly), red bean paste roll, delicious green peppers and beef ribs.  Oh, those ribs were just delicious.  Folks really enjoy the fat on meat here.  I certainly ate my fair share.

The noodles!  This is a cold dish so the noodles and all "fixin's" were cold.  They come up with each tray and then, like magic and slight of hand....very quickly dump each small dish into the noodles and set it before you.  You then mix it all up with your chopsticks and enjoy the goodness!  I wish I had video-taped the quick action of the waiter putting in all the ingredients!  When the weather warms up, Chinese enjoy eating many dishes cold and not warm.  Took some getting used to for me but I'm happy to report that I've adapted to the delicious cold dishes of Beijing!

Above Cherry's head is the balloon she purchased as we were leaving the zoo. 

Frank, Cherry, and Yanzi.  I couldn't have chosen a better zoo companion than Cherry.  We had a great time and I feel very lucky to know this wonderful Chinese family.  Frank, incidentally, is Alan Jackson's biggest fan in China!  It's true!  And I'm gonna tell Alan this when I see him again.....  LL, T.

A Day at the Beijing Zoo, Part I

Hey....with 44 photos I'd like to post.....this might even be a three-parter! ha  So on May 1st, May Day national holiday here in China (Labor Day)....I made plans to visit the Beijing Zoo for the first time with a young friend of mine (Cherry, 10 years old).  She's the daughter of Frank and Yanzi.  Frank was the Center Manager where I work when I first arrived and although he has left....we have remained good friends.  Frank and Yanzi dropped us off across from the Zoo entrance......man, what crowds on this holiday!  But no worries...I expected it to be crowded.

See?  Very crowded on this day.  Something I've actually become very used to.  Not a problem at all and didn't distract from my enjoyment of the Zoo (well, not too much....it made it hard for us to see the pandas!).

Our first stop!  The Panda houses (there were several) are closest to the entrance.

Hey!  Move aside!  I can't see a thing!  We actually had to move along to the next panda house because folks just weren't budging from their "front row" view and I couldn't manage to get us to the front! ha

Ah.....there you are, my new panda friend!  Beautiful animals, pandas!  And very big, like most bears.  But pandas are just so gosh-darn cute!

A little panda frolicking.

I call this "NBA Panda" but my students corrected me and said it's "CBA Panda" (China Basketball Association).  I stand corrected. :)

Think of everything you can that could have a panda image on it....and it was sold in the souvenir areas of the zoo! :)  Cherry and I both bought small jade eggs with pandas painted on them.

My cute zoo companion for the day, Cherry.  "Come on, Cherry, give me a peace sign pose like that little boy!"

That's what I'm talkin' about! ha  So cute.

Cherry called him the "grandpa bird."

I love my new camera....it's great zoom abilities....and the ability to crop a photo that has cage bars on the side of the photo! :)  Looks like I'm inches from this beautiful bird....such colors!

Beautiful flowers....beautiful child.

I'm not sure if you can tell how just very TALL this giraffe is.  The fence was far taller than me and I'm nearly 6 feet tall!

You see....there was another giraffe on the other side of the tall fence.  They obviously wanted to meet up! :)

These chimps (orangatang's?....sp?)....were having none of the shenanigans of the crowd and stayed as far away as possible.  Even my great new camera couldn't get a good shot from so far away.....but you can see the slight green color near the chimp's mouth (I really think it was an organgatang..again, spelling?)....well, it was a plastic green tea bottle! ha  He obviously absconded it from some nut who threw it into their enclosed area.  He/she was having a grand ole' time with it....putting it to his mouth, turning it round and round.  Cute.

The Beijing Zoo has many wonderful activities for kids....like riding on cute motorized animals!  They also had a wonderful carousel and even some bump 'em cars!  It creates a nice little surprise for kids walking through the zoo. 

"Sorry, I have no food for you.  And the sign says No Feeding!"  Still...I honestly couldn't stop myself when I caught the eye of a young boy who was trying to feed him paper!  He looked at me, I looked at him (and his parents were right there with him), and I said, emphatically, "NO!" ha  He withdrew his hand full of paper and my mission was complete.

Beautiful peacocks!

An unbelievable gorgeous animal yet I feel so stupid to tell you I can't name this animal!  Leave me a comment if you know.  I didn't write it down (the signs were in Chinese and English).

The crowds abound!  Here, we are nearing the Beijing Aquarium (which is part of the zoo but costs a heck of a lot more to enter.....100 RMB vs. 15 RMB for just the zoo).  This day began a bit drizzly (a little light rain)...but I taught Cherry the words to "Rain, Rain, go away...come again another day!" and we chanted this little rhyme many times throughout the zoo.  And it worked!  Just a few minutes after this photo....the sun came out in all its glory and the afternoon became a beautiful sunny day!

Cherry takes a little rest on an elephant!  Here's a funny little story that happened while Cherry was sitting on this elephant....Cherry and I skipped through the zoo on this day speaking lots of English!  Cherry's English, for her age, is quite good so perhaps I can see why a Chinese mother seeing me and Cherry together would mistake her for a Chinese American.  So we got a big kick out of this:  a young Chinese mother and her young daughter approached Cherry and spoke to her in ENGLISH after hearing us speaking.  She said, "Could I please have a photo with you both?"  Cherry looked at me, I looked at Cherry, and then I smiled and said, "Sure." ha  We posed for a photograph with the young girl as the mother took the photo.  Then we had a good laugh because I explained to Cherry that the mother thought Cherry was my adopted Chinese daughter and that we were BOTH Americans.  Cherry thought this was very funny!  So did I! :)

We finally made it to the FAR side of the Zoo where the great Beijing Aquarium resides!  The rest of this adventure will be posted in Part II so stay tuned folks!  The fun hasn't ended! :)  LL, T.