Rise and Shine (and more adorable stories)

I cannot believe I have yet to mention the English training center, RISE, where I have been working since December. Anyone who knows anything about me knows that I think small children are cuter than anything in the world (yes, even cuter than cats or sloths) and they, inexplicably, love me... even when we don't speak the same language!

Working at RISE has been really fun. I regularly co-teach two classes a week, but I also serve as the guest foreign teacher for different classes throughout the month. As I understand it, parents can sign their children up for classes with the foreign teacher every week, or with Chinese teachers that have a "guest foreign teacher" once or twice a month.

Being the guest teacher is a little stressful because I never know what we're doing. Lesson planning is not part of the gig, as I understand it, although I think some teachers believe differently. The full time teacher usually prepares something for me to do with them, for little kids it's learning letters or numbers for older kids it's anything from reading a book to learning about exotic animals. However, there are a few occasions when they gave me something totally above the head of my students, and that's hard to handle. One time I came in and they asked me to use a complex powerpoint about Easter (that said things like "This is the day on which Christ has risen") to teach 3 year olds who barely know their own name, one of whom (aptly named Miffy) who is so deathly afraid of me and my unintelligible language that she cries when I walk in the room.

Every week, I teach two English classes with the same teacher, and she's awesome. Since I've worked there for so many months now, I know the schedule well. I come in and the kids are watching a cartoon for their ten minute break. It would make sense for them to watch a cartoon in English, but for some reason the kids at RISE almost exclusively watch "Tom and Jerry" (no language required) or Dora the Explorer (which is partly in... Spanish.) I hang out with them for a few minutes, before we start the lesson. I come in after they have already been in class for an hour, so we use this time to review. They can choose "Worker Bee House" which involves doing a worksheet or "Word Found House" (which for the longest time I thought was called "Word Fun House," like a carnival funhouse or something) where they use small laminated paper with cutout letters to spell words that they've learned. Afterward, we play a review game (which I am often learning alongside them) and then we sing the good-bye song. The good-bye song is obnoxious and catchy and I hate it and I love it.

Of course, now that I'm leaving for the summer, I finally feel like I got the hang of working at Rise. Good thing I plan on coming back when I return to China! I like working there because I think the other teachers are great and because the kids are so completely adorable. But don't take my word for it! Here is solid, irrefutable proof that these kids are the funniest little rascals... ever.

Fanny. Doesn't speak English. Doesn't matter.

It's important to learn about patterns!

Coco. She has the highest cutest voice ever!

Leo. Extremely misbehaved, but still cute.

Typical Chinese children's poses.

Blurry, but you get the picture!

Bob. That's all.

I thought Jerry wanted to take a selfie with me (I see parents do it with their kids all the time) because he kept trying to kiss me. I then realized he was actually trying to transfer the chewed donut from his mouth into mine.
Ew.

I tried to get a picture of Neil smiling, because
he is possibly the cutest child in the entire world.
But he is extremely camera shy.

Personality shot? From left: Apple is distracted, poor Eva is eclipsed by Apple even though Eva is the bomb.com, Bob, Charles, and Neil are being goofy, Jerry has a great idea, and I'm in the back just grinning because I have no idea WTF is going on.

In other adorable news, my high school students just did their final oral exams for my class. For the younger kids, their spoken exam was an edited version of "Show and Tell." It was a great experience because a) I got to grade them on their spoken English rather than their written English and b) some of them brought in the cutest things. Chinese teenagers are so different than American teenagers because they have different perceptions of what is "cool" or "uncool." I would say 75% of my students brought in toy stuffed animals for "Show and Tell," likely because they still play with them and think they're cute at age 15. I was so disappointed when my students forgot to bring something from home and instead shared their white out tape or bike keys, claiming it had sentimental value, but most of my kids went above and beyond and I got to learn more about them!

Yesterday was my last day at Rise, today is my last day of Chinese class, and next week is my last full week of class. On the one hand, things feel like they're wrapping up because I go home soon, but on the other hand, I'm coming back... so I'm not too sad. More as this story develops...

Her Name is Rio...

The students in my first class of the morning were running a little late. They are getting busier as the semester comes to a close. One student slipped in right as the late bell rang, huffing and puffing after the five flight sprint to my classroom. She took a big swig of her neon blue drink, clearly emblazoned with the "Rio" logo on the front. It could have been an ad on TV.

Mmm. A Rio. I thought. Those Rio drinks are delicious. I'm so thirsty... I could use a Rio right now! The blue ones are too sweet, but the lemon ones are great. It would be awesome to have a cold drink right now, I wonder why I never thought to bring a Rio to class...

And then I realized. Duh. I never bring a Rio to class because they're alcoholic. And what kind of person brings an alcoholic drink to a school?

While the students took a few minutes to write down some conversational points for a discussion, I walked around the room checking their work. I stopped at her desk and read the label on the back of her drink. I was right: 4.9% Alcohol. She looked up at me and said, "Juice." I looked down at her and said, "Not juice..."

During the class discussion, I could see her and her friends crowding around the bottle. I realized I probably should have waited until after class, I was just so confused and shocked to see an alcoholic drink in my classroom. When class was over, I asked her to stay later. She knew why. As soon as everyone was gone, she pointed to the label,

"Teacher, it says a fruit punch juice and spirits blend on the front. See? Juice!"

"Spirits is an English word for alcohol."

"Oh."

"See here? It says 4.9% ALC. 酒..." I said in what (probably) was Chinese, hoping she got the picture. "Just don't bring it to my class again, OK?" I asked.

"Yes, teacher." She answer.

What boggles my mind is that this girl, in her NDFZ uniform, bought a drink clearly from the alcohol shelf (at least, in my grocery stores that is where it is) and no one thought twice. Obviously, alcohol regulations aren't as strict... anywhere... compared to America, but still. In her uniform!

When I recounted this story to other people in China, both foreign and native Chinese, no one seemed fazed. I guess this happens all the time, since the age-limit isn't strictly adhered to and because a lot of those drinks are brightly colored and look kid-friendly. But considering that this girl is tiny, I imagine a 4.9% alcohol content would make her feel a little tipsy or sleepy.
So anyway, that happened. My TEFL training definitely did not prepare me for that one...

Great News!

Hello passionate fans and occasional readers! I have great news! There will be lots of exclamation points in the following post!

First piece of great news: I will be coming back to America for the summer. I have an internship in NYC with Sweet Generation, a bakery that generates profit to increase access to arts education for children. I will be their Social Media Strategist, so you can continue following my witty remarks on their website, Facebook, Twitter, Instagram, and their soon-to-be Pinterest. 

Coming home means I can see my family and friends sooner than anticipated. I'm really looking forward to weekend trips so that I can visit people... people mainly being BABY ISIS, who was born while I was in China. I think it will be great to re-charge and spend some time at home. By the time I arrive in the US in mid-June, I will have been gone for almost ten months! Crazy!

Second piece of great news: I have been hired by Hohai University in Nanjing as an oral English professor, so I will be heading back to China in September! I am really excited to teach older students, continue my Chinese lessons, and see more of the country. But more importantly, the China Doll blog will live on for another year!

I've done close to fifty posts this year and have had over 3,000 visits to my blog. I am so proud and excited to continue writing next year. Of course, there is still more to come in the next month as I finish my year with Grinnell Corps, but I am already looking forward to sharing my everyday life, stories, and adventures in the coming year.

China Doll - ONE MORE YEAR! ONE MORE YEAR!

我媽媽 - Nanjing Edition

Showing my mom around Nanjing was really, really incredible. We mostly just walked around so that I could show are all the places I go, things I do, and sites I see. I think she wasn't prepared to like Nanjing as much as she did! I was sad to see her go...

Selfie Nanjing University

Confucius Temple

OK so, who's next? 

我媽媽 - Xi'an Edition

Xi'an is the home to the self-proclaimed "eighth wonder of the world." In all my travels, I've visited a lot of the world's "eighth" wonders, so I'm not sure how seriously I take that claim. Either way, my mom and I traveled to Xi'an for a mere two days to check out the terracotta warriors, one of China's not-so-hidden gems.

The terracotta warriors were a massive army of statues commissioned by Qin Shi Huang, the first emperor of China. They were buried with him so that he could take his army to the afterlife with him. They were discovered by a farmer outside of Xi'an, and after excavation, archeologists have found hundreds of pits, as well as the emperor's burial tomb, however, they are hesitant to open the excavation sites for fear they will ruin the statues inside. In fact, all of the warriors used to be painted bright colors, but within a few hours of being exposed to our modern air the colors disappeared. When technology is better, they will continue to explore. But for now, tourists can check out the three main pits filled with terracotta soldiers, generals, horses, archers, musicians, and acrobats, which bring in millions of visitors every year.

To be honest, this touristy place would have been super boring without our amazing guide, Linda. It's just lines and lines of statues. However, the history of how they were created, how they were discovered, and how they are being reconstructed was really interesting. I'm glad I went, but it was a one time deal: no need to go twice.

Sabra-cotta warrior

Briel-acotta warrior does not work nearly as well...

The main pit of warriors

Some bad-ass dudes

Pictorial proof that we were actually there

Some Chinese tourists were following us around and taking pictures,
 not of the warriors but of us...
they really wanted a picture of Ima throwing up the peace sign, 
so she obliged.

Mr. Perfect and me, the only soldier they found fully intact.
Boyfriend material?

After we saw the warriors, we went to the Wild Goose Pagoda, a very famous Buddhist temple in Xi'an. Again, much more interesting with our awesome guide. She knew so much about the temple, both its history and its use today. Plus, she was really interested in Judaism and so we ended up having a nice conversation about religion.

Holding up the pagoda because it's no big deal

Buddha

Female buddha

Wait for it...

Disco Buddha

Pray to this Buddha for wealth

I get Mr. Perfect, she can have Happy Buddha...

What happened next is one of those, "is this really happening?" moments. We went to get more money from the ATM, but my card kept getting rejected (I had to get a new card while in China and they didn't transfer the note that said "for use in China") and Ima's card got eaten by the machine, so we were penniless and poor in Xi'an. Plus, we were yet to pay our wonderful guide. Not like she could have left us there anyway, but she went above and beyond to make sure we were set up and able to get a working card. We were supposed to go straight to the Muslim Quarter for dinner, but instead we went to our hotel first and I was able to call my bank and get it straightened out while Linda and our driver waited patiently in the lobby. By this time, it was already 8 PM, we hadn't eaten, and would be unable to pay Linda until 9. She took us to the Muslim Quarter (where our driver left us, because apparently it was his BIRTHDAY and his whole family was waiting for him to go home. I may or may not have shed a few tears over the thought of his small children and a wilting birthday cake.) We took a successful trip to the bank and she showed us to the restaurant where we were supposed to have eaten at much earlier, a Xi'an dumpling place that makes dumplings shaped like the food that is in them.

While I would have said, "see ya" and ditched us immediately, Linda stayed with us and told us about the restaurant, made sure we were getting the right food, and hung around even as we ate. By this time, it was 9:30 PM and she had been with us for over 12 hours. We had to insist that she leave and go home to rest: she seriously deserved it.

So delicious!

Not rabbit stuffed dumplings, they were of the sweet dessert variety.

Chicken dumplings

Oh hey there bunny, I'm going to eat your ears off...

Afterward, even though we were exhausted and frustrated with our day, we went to the Muslim market. It was totally worth it. Even though we were stuffed from dinner, there were so many kinds of interesting foods to try. We wandered through the streets looking at the artwork, jewelry, and all the trinkets and tchotchkes.

The drum tower at night

Everything was in Chinese and Arabic

Chef at work

Mmmmmmmmmmmmmmmmm

The next day, we went back to the city wall to walk around and check out the Muslim market during the day. We were flying to Nanjing in the evening, so we kept it relaxed and didn't do a whole lot: mostly just meandering.

Breakfast... basically a Chinese falafel

On the wall, while the photographer (Ima) has a heart attack

Drummin' at the Drum Tower

The wall. Excitement abounds.

"Look at all these lanterns!"

The Muslim Quarter in the light of day

The fixins...

That could go in my awesome
sweet rice dessert-y thing

I definitely wish we could have spent more time in Xi'an, because there is so much more there than just the warriors. However, I'm glad we left when we did because it was so important for me to show Ima Nanjing!

我媽媽 - Beijing Edition

Beijing is one of those places that has so much to do and so much to see that it's hard to believe that anyone can even begin to chip away a dent in the long list of activities. But by golly, if my mom and I didn't try our darndest to see it all in this enormous city.

I began this trip to Beijing by reading "The Last Days of Old Beijing" by Michael Meyer on my kindle. It was on an Amazon best reads list the day I happened to be downloading books for my trip, and it ended up being great. It gave me a broader understanding of the history of Beijing and why it looks the way it does today, (two words: Olympics 2008.) So if you happen to be traveling to Beijing soon, or if you're just interested in reading a book that combines history, urban development, and funny stories about teaching like the ones I tell, it's the right book for you.

We stayed in a beautiful bed and breakfast deep within the type of alleyway, (called a hutong) for which Beijing is very famous. The room was small, as many rooms are considering how overpopulated China is, but it was a really nice place to stay.

Don't interrupt a girl eating toast

The breakfast part of bed and breakfast

The hutong where we stayed

Our first full day in Beijing was really, well, full! We started off at Tiananmen Square, which was really uneventful because according to China, no events happened there to begin with. From there, we went to the Forbidden City, to Jingshan Park for a view of the entire palace, to Beihai Park for a boat ride, and to the touristy Hohai area. And if that wasn't enough, later that night we had dinner at an excellent restaurant called Black Sesame, where diners can sit in the kitchen and watch the chef prepare the meal. After the dinner, we ended up in a random bar with the other people at our dinner way in a labyrinth of hutongs. The bar looked like someone's home from the outside but ended up being a cute establishment in the inside.

In front of Tiananmen 

A traditional Chinese pose in front of the Forbidden Temple 

In the palace 

Forbidden dragon

Touch the lion for good luck!

The garden 

Ima walking in the garden

Me in the garden

Flowers and pagodas 

Awwwwww

Following the leader

View from Jingshan Park

View of us and the palace from Jingshan park

 

In Hohai

At the dinner

Delicious eggplant

So, we did a shot of 白酒 (baijiu.) Good times.

The next day was dedicated to the Great Wall. We arranged to go to a very out-of-the-way area in a small town called Gubeikou. For those interested, it was the "Winding Dragon" section of the wall, but no one we spoke to was familiar with this section. It is much less popular because it's totally unrestored. The walkway was narrow with a steep drop on either side. It also happened to be the only week of the year that the "apricot blossom" trees bloom (we're pretty sure they're apricot blossoms, but there may have been a translation error) and so the view was dotted with white flowers. Apparently the time we went was the best time to go, according to the old man who ran the ticket office, because that day the most amount of trees were in bloom, but the flowers would start to fall down the following day. Pretty sweet. Near the end of our trip, my mom and our guide waited for me at a tower thirty minutes away and I got to hike out further by myself. There was something so incredible about being out on this historic, larger-than-life world wonder all by myself.

The. Wall. And. Apricot blossoms.

Ima and our guide, Sonia

Mother/daughter Great Wall day!

Had to take selfies, since I was all alone :)

Winding wall

Picturesque

Oh, self-timer, thanks for proving I was on the wall.

Can you spot the China Doll?
(bonus points for finding Sonia!)

Our next day, we woke up early for a market tour and Chinese cooking class. Later, we went to the Lama temple...

Unsurprisingly, Sabra was the star of the class

A++++++++

香菜牛肉
(Stir fry beef with chilli, Sichuan pepper, and coriander)

麻婆豆腐
(Mapo doufu, spicy tofu) 

三杯鸡
(Three cup chicken)

干扁四季豆
(Spicy green beans)

Bell tower

Spinning thing that sends your prayers off

Incense

 With yet another early start, we headed to Panjiayuan Market AKA the "dirt" market AKA the "antique" market of Beijing (the real antiques are few and far between, it's mostly chotchkies.) Later, we visited the Kingdom of Heaven, an area which used to be a religious site for the emperors, but now it is mostly just a beautiful garden area. From there, we walked to Qianmen Street, which is a large modern shopping area with intricate hutongs filled with cheap-y trinket places and restaurants behind it. That night, we got dinner with a friend from Grinnell, Meg, who is spending a semester in Beijing. She took us to a really funky Tibetan restaurant, which included live music and dancing...

Off to bargain...

The temple

Wedding pictures 

Ima, living in the hutong of Qianmen
with a few local residents

Meg and me!

Delicious Tibetan food.

Due to some unforeseen complications involving the stupidity of the English language, which uses confusing words like "Sunday" and "Monday" instead of the much easier Chinese system, Day 1, Day 2, etc., my mom and I stayed an extra day in Beijing. It ended up being for the best, because we used this day to go to the "Pearl" market, and to a super secret handbag place that an expat we met at Black Sesame told us about. We had to go over a bridge, through some alleyways, and into a scary looking warehouse, but we left with some very nice fake designer handbags, jewelry, shoes, and sunglasses. We thought it would be our easy, relaxing day off, but instead we were out for over 12 hours. Ooops!

I had a great time in Beijing. Like in Shanghai, we didn't get lost ONCE and I spoke Chinese to waiters, ticket takers, and random people on the street. I was worried that we would be overwhelmed in Beijing, but the geography is easy to understand and the metro is really convenient. I can't believe how much we did and how much we saw: Beijing took up a little under half of our four-city trip. Even though we did so much, I'm already planning my next trip there (with an important stop at the underground handbag place, of course...)

Bonus picture: My new boyfriend and me