Kids say the Damndest Things...

I have been teaching at a Public School every week.  The other week, I taught some 6th graders.   First of all, I'd like to add that I usually pick out the fattest kid to be my favorite...and they always are.  I was talking to them about the weather, and my pudgy little friend said he doesn't like the hot weather because he's so fat.  Bless his chubby little heart.

At the end of class while they were filling out some forms, I asked them if they had any questions for me.   One boy asked how old I was.  I told him 34 and my chunky buddy said I looked like I was 20.  If only they made adult sized versions of these little dumplings.

The next question was "how heavy are you?"  Not "how much do you weigh, but like, "damn girl, you heavy...how heavy are you??"  Ok, little bit of exaggeration, but that's how it felt.  I decided not to answer and he then asked my height...much more appropriate.  I am 175 centimeters.  Metric System.

Then I was asked if I was married, to which I said no.  After class a little girl came up to me and started saying something about a "left woman".  I wasn't sure what she was talking about, so I had her speak to another teacher.  Comes to find out, if you are over 30 and not married in China, you are a "left woman".  So, there you go.

And here's the class.

Love Always,

A heavy left woman.

Going to the Country...

The other evening I was invited to a family dinner in the country side for the Dragon Boat Festival.  My friend Mandy invited me.  The food was amazing, and they made steak just for me.  The Uncle, who's house it was, actually went to the store to buy me a fork.  Luckily, I was able to use chopsticks the whole time.  They also bought Bai Jiu, which is the Chinese alcoholic wine.  It's quite disgusting, but when in China!!!  I'll bring some home :)  I've also become accustomed for the little children to call me ayi, which is "aunt" in Chinese.  It's so cute.

People in the city are more used to seeing a foreigner, but in the country, so they stared even more.  I even walked by a couple of children, and one of the little girls said "wooo, Wàiqiáo.  I asked Mandy what that meant, and she said "Alien".  haha.  the children in the country think I'm an alien. 

These were some pictures I took in the country.

 Here is a Buddhist Temple on the top of the hill.

 Here is the tower on the way to the Temple.

 Here is an old stage with a stone Amphitheatre where they used to put on plays.

China is so interesting.  you can go anywhere and there are Buddhist Temples and huge towers.  Or ducks and chickens...oh yeah, the next door neighbors had both just hanging out all over.

My next thing I will mention is not for animal lovers.  "mom, look away".  We took a walk after dinner to check out this restaurant next door.  They serve fresh lamb.  As we walked around, I met some of the lambs.  Unfortunately, I did not have my camera, but these little cuties were all playing together outside.  They obviously have a grim future, but in the mean time, they were having a great time.

Miss you all.  See you soon :)

Jamie

A View from Above...

Here is the view from my 14th floor apartment.  This is the city of Huzhou.  The Chinese call it a small city, but I beg to differ.  It's pretty freakin' huge as far as I'm concerned.  I am getting more and more comfortable here.  I started taking yoga classes at a studio close to me, and have made many more friends.  I even had a Chinese guy as for my number.  I may have a date :)

 

 There's a big Ferris wheel in the background.  It's like the London Eye, but in Huzhou.  I have yet to ride it, because I have no interest, and it goes soooo slow.

There's the Long Island River and a little putting green.  I do live in a nice area.

 

The other evening I was teaching a middle school class and I was asking the students if they have pets.  A few of them had turtles, which I find an interesting pet, since I can find them in the grocery store.  One had the turtle for over 15 years, and I asked how he survived the winters.  She told me he family would keep it in the garbage.  I couldn't understand what she meant.  Is the garbage warm?  Come to find out she meant the garage. 

 

This got me thinking to other words that the Chinese confuse all the time.  First, in the Chinese language there is no difference between he or she.  There is only one person.  Because of that, they say the wrong person all the time.  It's funny when we're talking about a woman, and they say he, or the other way around.  This may be a "have to be there" thing.

 

They tell me that they like to eat "snakes"...ewww, they mean snacks.

 

They also like to eat "kitchen".  They confuse "kitchen" and "chicken" all the time.

 

I tried to teach them all the shapes, but when they tried to say "square", they couldn't help but say "squirrel". 

 

Mandarin has many of the same words and they use tones to differentiate.  God only knows what I'm saying half the time.  The word "ma", can mean, mother, hemp, horse, scold, or just a question marker depending on the tone.  Although it's funny when the students make a mistake, I realize they are much smarter than I am.

 

So, I'll be home in a little over 2 months.  I'll miss it here, but can't wait to be home.

 

Love and Miss you all.