A few Chinese words

that I am not likely to forget anytime soon:

#1.  xie xie (shay shay)  Translation: Thank You
I use this one a lot. People have quit laughing at me when I use it. Hooray!

#2. ni hao (nee how) Translation: Hello
One of the most common we hear :) I'll bet you even knew this one. 

#3. li (lee) Translation: Pear
This one is just easy to remember. Ha! (And you thought these were all going to be common words.)

#4. duo shao qian (doh sh-ow she-en) Translation: How much is it?
Comes in handy when shopping. And how, you may ask, do I understand the price? Usually they type it into a calculator so that we can see it.

#5. tai gui le (tie gway luh) Translation: It's too expensive
Also very helpful. Especially when bargaining.

#6. ping shui (ping shu-way) Translation: Bottle Water
I remember that ping=bottle thanks to Carrie and Camille, and water is just one that needs to be memorized.

#7. jiaoshi (luh-ow shu) Translation: Teacher
When multiple adorable children look up at you frequently throughout each day and plead "jaioshi, jaioshi"   yeah ---- you wouldn't forget it either.

*Please note. All pronunciations are approximate, and made up by yours truly. Don't rely on them please. :)
**Also note: if you decide to pronounce these with the wrong tones, then they might not mean these translations at all. Haha. Chinese is tough....

Illegal Worship

What did you do on Sunday? I'm willing to bet that you did pretty much whatever it is you wanted to do. Maybe you went to Church. Had a family dinner? Played a game, traveled somewhere? And I'll bet that not once did you ever wonder if anything you were doing was illegal.

My Sunday was not like your Sunday. I left my apartment at 7:30 in the morning to get on a bus. #232 took us to a stop at the Fuhua Hotel, which is about an hour away. At the Fahua hotel we stood and waited for the bus with the sea foam green bumper. When we saw it, we waved it down, and then sat on that bus for about another 45 minutes. We disembarked in Kaiyin across from an apartment building, and made our way up to floor 3B (remember they don't believe in 4th floors here) where we crammed ourselves into a dorm room with a whole plethera of other Americans. We quietly sang a few hymns and took the sacrament for Church service. It felt so good to be able to worship with people who believe as I do, and to renew my baptismal covenants.

When we were done with the "sacrament meeting" (no speakers, just hymns and the sacrament) we were asked to keep quiet about our Sunday meetings. In the future we'll follow up Sacrament meeting with some small Sunday school lessons --- which will also have to be very quiet affairs. 'Why?' you might ask.

Because it's technically illegal for us to meet. We aren't allowed to tell people what we are doing, any advertisement of any sort about our religion could get ILP kicked out of the city. 

Yeah. Underground Sacrament meeting. 

Weird right? 

My whole life I've been grateful for my beliefs. They bring me such happiness, and I've always been encouraged to share the things that make me happy with others. But here in China we have to cover it up. Worship is extremely private. Don't ask, don't tell when other Chinese are around. Only talk about it with the Americans. 

I don't like it. I want to talk about it. I want to explain what I believe. But I made an agreement not to, and I'll keep it. 

It's made me so grateful for the freedom of religion we enjoy in America. We have the freedom to share what we believe. We can say whatever we want wherever and whenever we want without fear of repercussion. It's not like that here. 

I've started praying for these wonderful Chinese people. I don't know how or when it will happen, but I believe that someday missionaries will be able to teach the Gospel to these people, and some of them will accept it and find as much joy and happiness from it as I do. 

On the bus ride home from Kaiyin yesterday I was reading in 3 Nephi. Chapter 16 verse 20 says "The Lord hath made bare his holy arm in the eyes of all the nations; and all the ends of the earth shall see the salvation of God." 

*Note: ALL the nations. ALL the ends of the earth. 

China will receive the blessings of the gospel, and I will be so excited when that day comes! I wish that day could be today, but it's not. So for now, I'll just keep praying. And keep being grateful that I am an American. I am free. And blessed. Just like the song says:

"I'm proud to be an American, where at least I know I'm free. And I won't forget the men who died who gave that right to me, and I'd gladly stand up, next to you, to defend Her still today. 'Cause there ain't no doubt I love this land. God bless the USA!"

I fibbed today

Because I am a dirty rotten liar.

And want to know what's worse? I didn't even feel bad about it.

So there is this man. His name is Mr. Son (emphasize the o, and kind of unemphasize the n). And he talks to me a lot. And he asks me to sit by him at lunch sometimes. And he teaches me Chinese words every day. And one day he asked me how old I was.

Friendly guy right? Well... the problem is. He doesn't do this to any of the other teachers. Just me.

It's not a problem. I don't mind talking to him. We're on friendly terms, but I've quit being super friendly, just in case. And I think I now have just cause for my actions, because today he asked me if I want to marry a Chinese man. It took me about negative .4 seconds to promptly respond that I want to marry an American. And he laughed and repeated the question, and I assured him, that I really DON'T want to marry a Chinese man. I REALLY want to marry an American boy.

He tried to tease me further, suggesting that he could set me up with some Chinese... and asking if I have an American boyfriend at home. (This is all done in broken English FYI.) This is where I fibbed. I used a word I'm almost positive he doesn't understand, and said "Sorta" while nodding my head emphatically.

Sorta is not the truth. It's not even close to the truth, because I don't have a single male soul anxiously awaiting my return to the states that I am not already related to.

See what a rotten liar I am? But I'm actually very ok with being a liar in this case.

So. If anyone asks. I have an American boyfriend. But only for the next three months.

:)

Welcome Home

So remember all those times when you listened to people tell you how lucky we are in America? How rich and spoiled we are? And you mentally nodded agreement and then moved on to the next thought... Well, this time I'm aiming for more than a verbal nod in response to the statement that Americans ARE spoiled.

I live in Guzhen, China. Which I have recently found out, is REAL China. Not tourist China, not upscale Americanized China --- it's China China. And kind of the ghetto. Megan and I traveled to Kaiyin yesterday-- and there is a difference between Guzhen and Kaiyin. And combine that with a couple of other things... well, let's just say I know that living here I am experiencing China. Real China.

Now. I'm not saying I wish I lived in Kaiyin. And I'm not complaining, I'm just letting you know that I know of what I speak. Because despite it's slightly ghetto nature or not, I love Guzhen. And actually, we have freaking great living accommodations for China. We're the spoiled Americans in the building. Want to know how I know that? We have air conditioners. And a small refrigerator. And a hot plate and microwave. Yes. We are fancy. Upscale. Classy.  All of the above.

And since I know that you probably want to see for yourself, I will proudly give you a tour of my upscale abode:

My Apartment Building

We live on the third floor. Which is kinda funny, because there isn't a 2nd floor. Or a 4th floor for for that matter. The numbers in the elevator go as follows: -1, 1, 3, 3A, 5, 6. No joke. Chinese numbering.... haha. I think the lack of 4th floor is due to superstition about 4 being an evil number. So they filled it in with 3A. And the lack of 2? Uh.... maybe the shops are all two stories? And don't ask about the -1. Because I just don't know.

See the little door above the hood of that red car? That's where we enter the building. There are two elevators and stairs... we go up to floor 3 and proceed to the very end of the hallway to find our door.

Buttons in the elevator

 In case you didn't believe me :)

View from the 3rd floor

 This is the view out of the windows when you step out of the elevator before you walk down the hallway to our room.

Walking down the hallway

Apartment 309!

If you can make it through the gate at the front of the hallway, then you can find our apartment. No, we haven't a clue where the doorknob is. We haven't had one the whole time we've been here :)

The Kitchen

 Cooking 101. It's a little bit adventuresome... and yes. This IS all the equipment we have. A mini fridge, hot plate and sink. The microwave is in the living room. Luckily the school usually feeds us.

Eating Dinner

 This night was french toast --- there isn't maple syrup in China, so we used honey. And peanut butter. And bananas. Jam. Brown sugar. Whatever we felt like really. Can I just say that french toast with peanut butter, bananas and honey is divine? Eating it with chopsticks is kind of tricky though...
*note the microwave behind Megan ;)

Living Room

 Yes. We have epic orange couches. They are great. They're also the most comfortable pieces of furniture in the apartment. I love them.

My bedroom

We sleep on box springs. China seems to have missed the mattress memo. Three of us share this room... Anna sleeps in the higher bed, Emma and I share the lower one. See the black bag and green/blue blanket? That's where I sleep. 

Oh. And you may be wondering what the deal is with the bag on the door handle? We only have two mini trash cans in our apartment. And they are both in the bathrooms. So trash bags get tied to door handles....

The dumpsters for our entire building.

 Speaking of trash. These are the dumpsters for our entire building. Chinese people don't believe in large trash cans.

A bathroom

As you may have noticed, there is not a toilet in this bathroom. We affectionately refer to our potties as 'squatters.' At first I thought it would be a tad difficult to get used to, but as Anna puts it: "Squatting is a surprisingly natural position." And it is. More benefits to squatting: You get a nice thigh work out. And it's sanitary. You don't have to wonder who sat on it before you.... 

haha. The shower is hooked to the wall above and slightly behind the toilet. And the washing machine is against the far wall.

Doing laundry

Speaking of washing machines... washing clothes here is a whole new experience. The open part that I've got my hands stuck in is the washer. Basically you fill it with soap and water and it swooshes it around for a bit... then you can drain and rinse the stuff. The dryer is next to it. It spins the clothes really fast to get the water out... then we hang them up outside to finish drying them. They don't completely dry though unless we bring them inside to hang up for a bit.

WELCOME TO CHINA!

A very cute boy

winked slyly at me today. No joke. I knew it was a sly wink because of the mischievous grin that accompanied the exaggerated motion.

Want to know what I did when he winked at me? I grinned. A large grin. A grin that was accompanied by a chuckle, and a few words to the charming young gentleman.

Now before you go freaking out on me, and telling me that I'm not allowed to fall in love with any Chinese men, you should know a few things about him. First off, his name is Liam. Secondly, he's about 4 years old. And there is no way that you can resist falling in love with a 4 year old who winks at you after class. It just isn't possible. 

Chinese kids are so cute. So cute. Even when they're being naughty. Even when I yell at them. Even when my throat is dry from trying to shout over the giggles during games...

They just capture your heart. And when they come up and hug my leg, or break into a huge grin and yell "Hello Teacher!" while waving enthusiastically at me... it just makes my mushy little heart gooify all over the floor. And yes. That word was absolutely just made up.

Back to kids. While I miss SPED, and I still don't think that preschool or kindergarten is my calling in life... I do enjoy these children. 48 of them. And 8 of the four-year-olds are in my home group. My assigned favorites I guess you could say. Not that I love them more than the other kids... they're just specifically mine, so I guess maybe there is a little bit of bias going on in regards to Coco, Hannah, James, Fish, Shelly, Brian, Xander, and Noah. And for those who might be wondering: I did get to name some of them.

*Note: Pictures will be added to this blogpost shortly, as soon as I can steal the pics Megan took of my group from her camera :)

Teacher's Day Dinner

So apparently teacher's day is a big deal here. Because they give us the day off. And the government treats everyone to dinner at a fancy restaurant, and then we have a program to say thank you to all the teachers.

Well... a picture is worth a thousand words, and I took a LOT of pictures that night. So rather than try to describe everything, which would take a great deal of time... I will give you a visual tour of our dinner, with maybe an occasional explanation :)

We dressed up fancy. This is right before we left, standing in front of the school. 

Anna, Emma and Megan, almost ready to go!

Apple, Megan Elizabeth and Rachel once we got to the restaurant. 

 So Chinese people have this thing about the peace sign, they do it all the time in photos. We're gradually picking it up. Also. Apple is so funny. I love that girl. She is one of the Chinese teachers we work with, and she speaks very good English.

Emma, Sandy and Anna

 Yes. The whole meal was eaten with chopsticks. And those things they are holding were the first course... they tasted almost like dinner rolls. But they had this filling... super yummy.

This is how everything was eaten. Just take it out of the middle!

Emma and some shrimp. 

Yes. Eyeballs still intact. 

 I guess the good thing about getting food like this is that you always know exactly what you are getting before you eat it.

Duck Feet. 

 Kinda disappointing in their... non exotic flavor. But they weren't bad. Not something I'd ask for everyday though.

Anna ate a duck foot!

I dropped mine right as she took the picture.

But I picked it back up and ate it. Yum Yum!

Not sure what this is. Wasn't the best.

Fish anyone? This made me think of you Uncle Dave.

Elizabeth was working up the nerve.... 

Very yummy. And I mean it. 

 This salad thing was so good. It was warm, and had these fishball things in it. With water chestnuts and celery and carrots. I very much enjoyed it.

Soup.

 Soup here usually looks like dirty water. And is kinda bland. This one was good though. Made from coconut and ribs I think.... mostly you just drink the broth.

Jane passing the coconut juice. 

 The coconut juice wasn't really sweet. I didn't really like it. That brown stuff in my cup: is Apple Vinegar. It was heavy on the apple, and light on the vinegar... it burned as it went down, and I'm not entirely sure that it was good for me to drink. An experience I'd like to avoid in the future.

She did try it!

I think we decided that this was Lilly Root. Interesting texture. 

 One of my least favorite.

Chinese Cabbage. We eat this a LOT. I love it. 

I think this was... pork? With pineapple. Very good.

They just kept bringing more and piling it higher. 

Watermelon for dessert!

The watermelon was delicious and tasted just like home! Apple couldn't believe it when I told her that my family grows watermelon in our back yard. Sh thought that was crazy.

I tried at least one bite of everything. Most of it was delicious. And Dad, I'm happy to report that the Mandarin is almost authentic. It felt like eating at the Mandarin, only in Bountiful the flavors are all more intense. Food here isn't as... forceful? I don't want to call it bland, because it all is flavorful, but just in a different way. And things here aren't as sweet. They generally don't like foods as sweet as we do in America.

Eating in China is always an adventure. I hope you get to try it sometime :)

Oh. And can I just say that I'm getting pretty darn proficient with my chopsticks?

Wishy Washies are Wonderful

So there is this book: called the area book. It's a compilation of knowledge passed down by previous ILP head teachers to help us newbies navigate life here in Guzhen. The other day I was perusing the area book, finding interesting tidbits of knowledge, when I came across a mention of something called a Wishy Washy. So. We decided that it had to be tried out. Megan and I went first, as a test run. We walked down to one of the many hair salons in the area, and went inside. The people were so nice, and didn't speak a lick of English. We had 3 or 4 of them gathered around us, trying to figure out what we wanted. Megan mimed washing hair, and I pulled out my dictionary and started pointing at words... and eventually they figured out what we wanted, because they took us to the back of the salon, where there was nice music playing and a whole lot of really comfy looking bed things. At the head of each bed was a sink. And we got to lay on those beds while wonderfully talented Chinese people washed our hair, massaged our head, our necks, backs, and arms... and basically gave us the most wonderful experience.... I pretty much thought I'd died and gone to heaven. When they were done washing, they styled our hair. So. One hour and 30 yuan later (which is about 5 American dollars) we left the salon feeling like new people. I felt beautiful, and maybe like I actually deserved a few of the stares we always get. I haven't felt that pretty in quite a while. It was so great!

After Wishy Washing it up, we decided to stop by a bakery for lunch. After grabbing some things that looked delectable and trying to learn the names of the bakery employees, we stopped at the Lilly Pad Park for lunch. As we finished our meal, a nice looking Chinese man came towards our bench, gesturing with his racket--- he wanted us to play with him. So I got up and went and played badminton with a group of Chinese people. We couldn't speak to each other, but we had fun laughing and chasing the birdie around. It was so great!

Playing Badminton

Later that night we wanted to go Disco Dancing. So we all dressed up in cute clothes, and set out to find the disco club. Upon arriving we decided that the club looked a little to sketchy for us, but after a bit of thinking, and recalling that the area book said something about there being dancing at the Lilly Pad Park, we headed over that way to see what there was. In point of fact there was dancing. All sorts of social dancing going on. With old and young and everyone in between. Some couples looked like they were pro, others just mimicked their moves, some danced in time, others not so much... but it was so fun to be there and watch and dance a little ourselves.

All dressed up and ready to go!

What a great Saturday right? I loved it. One of the things I love most about being here is how kind and friendly the people are. The stares can be a little awkward, and when guys follow us around it's sometimes a little weird, but I love the realization that you don't need words to communicate. A smile goes a long way, and laughter even further. Of course, that isn't going to stop me from trying to learn as much Chinese as I can...

I love China.

"Hey Lady"

So it's too hot in Guzhen for me to worry much about hair and makeup and stuff like that. Not that I was ever super into that stuff anyways.... ok. I'll take part of that back. I have always been a little vain about my hair --- but makeup not so much.

Anyways. Here in China, I don't need to really bother with either in order to turn heads. Literally. Elizabeth and I were discussing how pretty we feel here in China. Even when we are gross and sweaty and dressed extremely badly. I think it's because all of the stares. Especially from the men.

Like a couple of nights ago. Elizabeth and I were walking home from the market. My hair was thrown up in a mess on top of my head, I think hers was in a ponytail. I was sporting a red blood donor t-shirt, and baggy capris. Elizabeth had a gray DI t-shirt on with boy shorts. Not the best look for either of us. Nevertheless, that didn't stop two policemen (yes, policemen) from slowing down to honk and say hello to us.

This afternoon we were walking back from school, when a man sitting next to the corner mart held out a pamphlet or something that he wanted me to take and said "Hey Lady" with a large grin.

Tonight we were walking back from the market. There was a long line of traffic moving slowly along beside us.... yet a motorcyclist slowed down to swerve in front of me, blocking a whole line of traffic as he did so, to say 'Hi,' before smiling and taking off again.

My favorite of the day though was the attractive man eating at the restaurant below our building. He did one of those sweeping 'I'm just seeing what's moving on the street' looks, but his gaze firmly halted when he spotted us, and I'm fairly certain his eyes followed us until we were past.

This happens everywhere. Everyday. All. the. time.

Is it a nice confidence boost? Absolutely.

Good for my large ego? Probably not. Hehe.

Fish Eyeballs and Fried Rice

That is what I ate for lunch today. Seriously.

Actually it was just one fish eyeball --- but yeah. We're rewinding to the beginning.....

The school feeds us three meals a day and gives us a stipend on the weekends so that we can scavenge our own food. Our very first day we showed up at the school and they gave us porridge for breakfast. We have porridge for breakfast a lot. Or noddles. And it's always hot. At first I wasn't so happy about so many hot meals in this hot place... but then Anna pointed out that if you heat your insides then your outsides feel cooler. And I think she's right.

Porridge is a kind of soupy type stuff with rice and little meat (and maybe vegetable) chunks floating around in it. Try eating that with chopsticks. Ha. It's an adventure.... but I'm getting pretty good at it. Sometimes we get a roll too. However, bread is a special topic which shall be discussed later.  Lunch usually consists of white rice with meat in a sauce and vegetables to go on top. The veggies are usually Chinese cabbage (which I love) or carrots. Then dinner is usually fried rice. Fried rice that is divine. Fried rice that is about a million times better than anything served in the states.

They weren't joking when they said I'd be eating lots of rice.

This looks like a pretty typical meal. 

Since school has started last Thursday, the cook has gradually been pulling out the stops, and the meals have been getting better and better. The sauces for the rice are better, the meats slightly less fatty (meat here still isn't as lean as it's served in the states...) and the vegetables are more varied.

Today though, he outdid himself.

This is what I ate for lunch.

Some more of that divine fried rice.... some sort of melony type thing. Sweet and sour sauce (that's the first time he's served that!) and yes. You are correct. That IS a fish head.

In case you are wondering: yes I did try it. No there wasn't much meat on it, and yes, the eyeball actually wasn't bad at all. Not that I'd want to eat them everyday.... but next time I get served a fish head I don't think I'll flinch.

Jealous much? I thought so.

Also. For those of you wondering if I did actually eat that lovely eyeball... here is the documented evidence:

I love China :) Maybe another time I'll tell you about bread.