A not so typical Thanksgiving Day

It's the fourth Thursday of November and for Americans, that means it's Thanksgiving; our celebrations won't actually happen until tomorrow and Sunday.  Today started out like any normal day here, I got up, got ready, went to school to teach my classes.  The first one at 8:00am was a computer class, Internet & Email.  Not long after class started the power went out.  I explained as much as I could about the Internet, without actually using a computer to show them, at least their class manual has some good screen shots in it!  Then I gave them free time to study for the test they had the next period.  The other class I have Tuesday and Thursday mornings typically doesn't require anything that electricity is crucial to operate, I still had to change my lesson around a little, but nothing too bad.  The power finally came back on after we got back from lunch.  :)

The afternoon was much better, I showed a Planet Earth movie relating to what we have been discussing in Geography class and the students enjoyed it.  I also went pumpkin shopping with one of my roommates, the pumpkins here are pretty small and we will use them as table decorations tomorrow night when we celebrate with the students.  Then a local friend invited a couple teachers out to dinner, it turned out to be something more to the effect of showing off the Americans to a group of her friends, not just a small dinner with her.  We had to leave the dinner early to get back for study hall, at least I did and it provided the others with a good reason to head out early.

I got dropped off at the school gate just as study hall was about to start, walk up the stairs and find two students standing at the end of the hallway talking.  Turns out two girls got into a fight, hair was pulled, some punches were thrown.   Good times.  Our policy is that fighting is an immediate cause for suspension.  That means not only will the two students miss classes tomorrow and Monday, but they will not be allowed to participate in our Thanksgiving dinner.  That is a huge thing and carries a lot of importance because the students will plan a program to show their appreciation to the teachers.  So after we heard everyone involved side of the story and decided on the consequences, there was much weeping and gnashing of teeth.  I'm not sure what we are going to do if they try to show up tomorrow evening; things could get really interesting then.

I have this theory that I get the difficult study hall nights.  Most of the time study hall is no big deal, sometimes I can get stuck in the computer lab the whole time answering questions, but it's usually pretty calm up there.  Last year, I got the night when one girl had kidney stones and was lying on a couch crying in pain.  In America I am much better equipped to handle the situation, I at least can speak the language, not so much over here.  I think that tonight's was probably worse than last year though.

So that was my Thanksgiving day, I'm glad that our celebrations weren't in the midst of this.  Hopefully the next couple days go a little smoother.  There is still a lot to for which I am thankful, I just hope you can enjoy your day a little more than I did mine!

Ping Pong

This first Activity Night of the quarter was game night.  We had puzzles, cards, board games, and a couple ping pong tables set up.  I ended up playing ping pong pretty much the whole night; the muscles in my right arm were sore the next day.  haha  For a while, we were just hitting the ball back and forth, then one of the students decided it was time to play a real game. 

In this area, games go to 11 points.  We started playing and it all seemed pretty typical, we volleyed back and forth to determine who served first, then every 5 points we switched who served.  I kept track of the score and so did one of the students who was watching.  The numbers we were saying were the same, but when the score was something like 8-6 I realized that the students score was opposite of what I thought the score was.  I suggested evening it up to 7-all and then we went on for a couple more points and it again their score was opposite of my score.  I then asked if they would explain the rules they play by so I could understand the scoring. 

After a lengthy discussion, I found out that, unlike in America, the person who gets 11 points first is the loser, not the winner.  We were playing by the same rules, except for who gets the point.  Basically, their points are like negative points, so instead of a positive point going to the person who won the volley, the person who lost gets a negative point.  It took a long time for me to determine what "losing a point" meant, it's not that if a person had 5 points they would go down to 4 points, it's that another negative point is added on.  It took almost as long to understand the first to 11 looses.  Once I was on the same page as all of them the games continued.

I think the students were being kind to their new teacher and letting me win.  Or else my ping pong skills improved a decent amount from the one time I played while I was home this summer.  Maybe it was a little bit of both.  Either way, we all had a good time.  :)

PS - For those who are curious, over here "ping pong" is pronounced "ping pang" so there's at least one word that's easy to remember! 

Getting back into the groove of things

A random list, in no particular order and definitely not exclusive...

• I had almost forgotten just how dry it is here.  The first day I was back I had to pull out the chap stick and moisture lotion.
• The middle of last week is when I finally adjusted to the time difference.  Woohoo!
• It feels right to be back
• I have two good roommates  :)
• Living on the 6th floor gives me a nice view of the "mountains" and construction on the new new building at school.  I just hope some day the hike up the stairs will feel a little bit shorter.
• This apartment is all around a much better apartment than the one I lived in last year.  Windows that actually seal, better lighting, matching floor tile, a finished drying room, and improved kitchen layout!
• The local method of scoring ping pong is weird.  (I will save the rest of this for another post)
• Apparently it's not as big of a deal for women around here to remember their wedding anniversary.  Or maybe it was just that particular person.  ;) 
• The roller skating rink has a pile of rubble in the corner.   No one crashed into it and no one seemed to really care about it or think it was unusual.
• I almost have all the new students names and faces down; there are still a couple I'm working on.

Ok that's it for now...

Fall

Some of the villages that surround the city where I live are particularly famous for their apples.  For those that like apples, this is the place to be!  The week I arrived was my school’s break between 1st and 2nd quarters.  During the break, most of the students went to their hometowns and the ones who live in apple country brought back mountains of apples.  They brought back a lot of my roommates (and since I live with them, I got to enjoy them as well) and they gave about the same amount to the office for all of our school staff.   Between our apartment and office we were starting to try and be creative with what to do with them; I think an apple crisp (or two) was attempted, an apple coffee cake, and one of my roommates has been having fun making applesauce. 

In a society that still holds on to some superstitions and might be considered a little fatalistic, it never ceases to amaze me what people will do to bring about good luck and blessing.  One morning as I was pulling an apple out of the bag to eat, I was amazed to find this

This character means "blessing"

It's not a sticker or paint, somehow they did something so that the peel did not change from yellow/green to red.  Pretty awesome.  If an apple a day keeps the doctor away, I wonder what this one might do for you?  

In other areas of Fall related happenings, a couple days after I got here was their Ghost/Spirit Festival.  On this day, people will buy fake paper money and other things and go out especially after dark and light them on fire as an offering to their ancestors' spirits (or ghosts) who wonder the streets.  I think, as they are burned, the deceased are supposed to receive a usable version of these offerings to assist them in the afterlife.  I don't know how many people still really believe this, but it's tradition and they still do it.  The best part of this day, from my perspective, is that they seem to think that lighting these fires on the sidewalks and in the middle of intersections, especially the larger ones, is better.  Imagine traffic that's a little crazy to start with and then add small fires in the road.

Fall is also the time when leaves fall off the trees.  This week, all the leaves on the trees that line the road on the way to school dropped off.  There are some mountains nearby that actually have trees with leaves that change color this time of year, but I was a little bit surprised that all the trees near school still had their leaves and that they were green.  I guess I had forgotten this from last year; their leaves just barely turn a slightly more yellowish-brown shade of green and then all at once they fall off.  I showed one of our interns some pictures of what some of trees back home looked like right before I left and she thought they were all fake leaves.  They are definitely lacking in this area around here.

I have been told by several people that this year, Winter is supposed to be a very cold.   Right now it is rather mild and the students keep making comments about how it is not cold yet.  I guess we'll just have to wait and see, there's still plenty of time for cold to come, but as for now even though it drops below freezing at night, I'm enjoying the mid-50s (degrees Fahrenheit) during the days.

Getting here

10:00am EST Tuesday (10:00pm local time Tues.) - leave my home for Philadelphia International Airport
11:30am (ish) Tues. (11:30pm Tues.) - arrive at airport; told my luggage will be checked all the way to my final destination (yes!), go through the very long security line that moved much quicker than what I thought it would, bought an Auntie Anne's cinnamon pretzel for lunch :)
1:40pm Tues(1:40am Wed.) - board the little airplane for a 27 min flight to JFK

2:10pm (ish) Tues. (2:10am Wed.) - arrive at JFK and figure my way to the next terminal (I forgot you have to walk outside and down the road to get to it), check in and go through security again, then try to find something to pass the time - have I mentioned I don't really like this airport...
5:20pm Tues. (5:20am Wed.) - 30min behind schedule, board the big airplane for the long 13.5hour flight

I mostly drifted in and out of sleep most of the flight except when the Chinese guy next to me just thought he'd crawl over me instead of asking me to move.  We fly north so if you have a window seat and the sky is clear you might have a nice view of the Arctic Circle out the window.  (Awesome!)

7:10am (ish) Wed. (7:10pm Wed.) - finally got off the plane about 45 min late and I hurried to get through customs so I could make it to my next flight (without delays I was supposed to have only a 2 hour layover)
7:45am Wed. (7:45pm Wed.) - arrived at the gate just in time to board the bus that took us out to a normal sized plane for a 2 hour flight to further out (got an Asian version of a ham sandwich as the snack on the flight... strange)
10:30am Wed. (10:30pm Wed.) - arrive, but my luggage did not make the flight with me, had fun trying to communicate with the employees who take care of such things, meet up with DW and headed to the hotel for the night
12:00pm Wed (12:00am Thurs.) - check in at the hotel, finally wake my roommates up so they can let me into the room, brief hellos and then sleep!

Thursday consisted of taking a taxi for an hour back to the airport to get my bags, then a shuttle bus to the train/bus station area.  We bought tickets and sat around at the bus station until our 4:00pm bus left; 5hours later we got to our city.  A taxi ride and ascent up to the sixth floor (with all my stuff) got my roommates and I to our apartment.  CW showed up to check on us and the wired connection to the main light was totally causing it to flicker and then not work so he spent a little time fixing it... welcome back!  :-P

Packing

A lot of people asked me what sort of stuff I pack when going away for a long time, so here you go... (in super organized obsessiveness haha)

(clothes for winter, spring, and the beginning of summer)

(Jackets, shoes, food and miscellaneous items)

(Toiletries, medicine, sports stuff)

(Computer and electronic items and miscellaneous carry-on items)

More or (slightly) less this is what I packed.  It fit into one big suitcase, a hiking backpack, and two small carry-ons.  Actually, this is more than the minimum I need to get by.  We can get a decent amount of things over here too, sometimes it just depends on if you are willing to settle for less than the American standard.

That's it for now, I made myself stay up to an acceptable bedtime (as in not 8pm), but I can barely keep my eyes open and I'd rather sleep in bed than at my desk.  Night night!

Top 10 (part 2)

 Things I am looking forward to:

10.  Learning more of the language
9.  Interesting sights (that occur predominately outside the US such as watching a guy drive a motorized wheelchair down the main road, camels parked along the highway, creative problem solving, and fire jumping day just to name the first few that came to mind)
8.  Watching crazy ways of celebrating events with fireworks and/or firecrackers (ok I know this is similar to the previous one, but I think fireworks needs it's own separate category)
7.  Fresh fruit and vegetables right outside the gate
6.  The food... eggs and tomatoes, eggplant, mutton and onions, dumplings, and so much more!
5.  Being able to walk from my apartment to most places in the city
4.  No political adds!  (or strong media influence)
3.  Broadening my views and understanding
2.  Living a simpler lifestyle
1.  My friends and students