Rebecca A. Foster

An hour ago, I got a call from my boss at our University inviting me to go on a trip with his family for the weekend to another province. We leave tomorrow at noon. (This is how things happen in China: at the last minute. I have no idea if other teachers are going too, or just me. I'll find out when the car arrives.) I have two sets of plans for New Year's Eve this evening, and I'm not sure which yet I'll choose. But tomorrow I'll be leaving town, so let me tell you all now: Happy New Year!  新年快乐！ Btw,I'm still waiting for students to send me pictures they took of our night hosting the pageant. I'll post some as soon as I get them. They are in the middle of finals, so I'm not pushing for them yet. (I forgot my camera, of course.) I ended up wearing a long black fitted skirt and a "sexy" (their words) matte silver/gray top, with some fun accessories. A student loaned me a diamond hair thingy to wear my hair pulled up into in the front, then fl...

The English says 'dogmeat', but the Chinese says 'ground meat.' Not sure if it's a euphemism or a mistranslation. (And I think we'd say 'black eyed peas' but that is perhaps a regional English thing.) In any case, I didn't buy it. Random Transformers character outside a club chain called '88.' (8 is a lucky number in Chinese culture.) There was a sign next to him but all I could make out is that he was some kind of party monster from another planet who was coming here to throw the best party of all time. Might be a New Year's Eve thing. There were still too many characters I didn't know. (I hate that, but good study motivation!) Chinese grandparents are the nation's babysitters. All day long, it is common to see babies and grandparents, shooting the breeze, feeding some pigeons, etc. This picture is a little bit blurry, I know, but check out those mouse ears and stocky legs. Chinese babies are delicious little butterballs in the...

It's a phenomenon familiar to all foreigners in China: you sit down to eat at a Chinese restaurant, pick up your chopsticks, and all nearby (and sometimes farby) eyes turn to stare at you as you take your first bites. I don't really know why they are staring. Curiosity? Concern? Amusement? Boredom? It's something that is still a mystery to me. If you do manage to get food into your mouth, though, you'll be complimented on your ability to use chopsticks either by a smile and small nod of the head, or words of encouragement from those nearby. Yesterday I was having lunch with a Chinese friend and as we began to eat, I commented on the fact everyone was staring at me. "Oh yes!" she said. "And if I go to America, everyone will stare at *me* to see if I can use a knife and fork." It wasn't a question, it was a matter-of-fact truth in her mind; if the Chinese stare at foreigners, foreigners will stare at the Chinese. A few things I could have said:...

Two times in the last two days, two men I know have done the 'soccer mom stop' to me as we are standing on a curb preparing to cross the street. You know, that gesture where you throw your arm across the person's body to prevent them going any further? And both times I thought to myself, am I really being unsafe? Or are you being paranoid? The thing is, I no longer fear oncoming buses and taxis. Chinese traffic is so chaotic and void of laws, people just dart back and forth across streets at will. And I've become one of them. I'll stand on the center yellow line with buses going past on both sides of me, waiting for an empty spot to open up. I'll stare down a driver as I cross in front of him, daring him not to slow down. (In daylight only!) And so far, I've been successful. (Please don't tell my mom about this entry.) Wanting someone to be safe while crossing the street means you are a kind, thoughtful person. I appreciate where they're coming...

Hope you all had a nice Christmas; I ate lots of foods I am not used to anymore (read: dairy and processed meats and sugary treats sent by our various fams) and got a tummy ache, which made it seem like kid Christmas all over again, so that was kind of awesome. I got together with friends and bought myself some lavender/silvery eye shadow, so it was a great Christmas! And yes, I now get excited about eye shadow, it's a luxury purchase for me here. China: helping you find joy in the little things all over again. Andrew and I hosted the Christmas pageant on Wednesday night. Here is my report: -I didn't get to wear the dress! And the reason is very Chinese: they told me the shop had made a mistake and didn't reserve the dress after all, and someone else had rented it out. But I was not asked to go pick out another one instead. So I think they went over budget and no longer had the money to pay for it, but they couldn't admit that to me, it would be 'losing face...

(This has nothing to do with China. It's just random talking.) So here's the deal: I have a lot of theories. Theories are comforting to me. And because if I sit too long with out moving my hands, my brain wanders far and wide. This is also why I am not a smoker, btw. It would be waaay too easy to keep my hands moving by wrapping them around a cigarette. I'd be one of those people smoking through a hole in their throat, guaranteed. But I digress... I was talking to a friend the other day about Spiderman 2 , and realized I finally had the perfect name for a dating phenomenon I hate: Spiderman Syndrome. Because you know how Peter Parker keeps letting MJ down because he has to take care of very important Spidey Saving The Day Moments first? And she doesn't know he's Spiderman, so she thinks he just doesn't care enough about her to step up to the plate anymore, but we know he's really out saving the city from the bad guys, so we cut him some slack and inter...

My grandma is not doing well. So, I am no longer going to Bali and Beijing over my break; instead, I'll be flying back to the U.S. to spend time with her and other family. I was looking forward to these trips, but Bali and Beijing will be there for a long while. Grandma comes first. I am sure those of you reading can understand and would do the same thing. Now, a few things to share about daily life in China: 1. Street cleaning trucks in my city play "Happy Birthday" in a high-pitched tone, over and over and over. There is also a techno version of Happy Birthday they play in clubs. How "Happy Birthday" became both of these things, I have no idea, but I never want to hear "Happy Birthday" again. 2. Overheard yesterday as I was walking home: a clothing store blasting "Jingle Bells" set to a disco-esque beat, including the phrases "Jingle all the way, oh what fun it is to ride in a one horse open sleee." Sleigh IS spelled like Leigh, I...

This list might also be applicable to others, but I can only speak for myself. 1. Never be in a hurry. 2. Understand that public services want to maximize the number of available jobs, not efficiency. 3. Hate ice water. 4. Accept parasites and bad bacteria as a consequence of eating. 5. Learn to say "ah ah ah ah" in rapidfire after someone says something to you; it's an acceptable response to almost anything, and saves you when you don't know what else to say. (It's also a more fun way to say goodbye on the phone, but then it's "ah ah ah ah ah bye ah ah ah bye bye bye ah ah bye." No, I am not exaggerating.) 6. Forget the concept 'personal space.' 7. Push back. 8. The phrase "I have something to do" is an all-purpose 'get out of anything free' card. Use it without guilt. 9. Only expect to do one extra thing per day because that one thing will take at least 4 times as long as it takes in your home country, and you'll be to...

(Click pics to enlarge) I've mentioned before, due to the number of factories in the area, there is very little natural sunlight in Chongqing. I can count on two hands the sunny days in a year. So I made my own sunshine out of paper for my living room wall. Lack of sunshine is a tough thing about living in this city, but the locals say it makes Chongqing girls the most beautiful of all Chinese girls because their skin stays very white. However, I'm pretty sure I'm going to have to detox my skin of pollutants when I leave this place. Here are the other rays of sunshine in my life: all the thoughtful, funny and wonderful cards people send to me. I put every single one of them up on my wall to remind me I am not alone over here. Some of you reading this are on my wall; I was serious about how much it meant to me that you took the time and energy to send me packages and cards. Thank you. I thought you might also like to see where I sit everyday to talk to you and write th...

1. I love bananas. No really, I love them. I eat a banana every day. My family nickname is becca-banana. Nothing better than a firm, tasty banana. And nowhere have I found better bananas than in China. Who knew China could be defined by its delicious bananas? I think they must get them from somewhere nearby, because they are always perfectly ripe, never too sweet or too soft. Here is a banana I was eating yesterday. Seriously, how great is this banana? Every bite was a joy. (And yes, I am eating a banana in bed.) 2. Learning to read and write Chinese has given me newfound respect for Chinese students. I know in the West we sometimes make fun of them for being little robots and not very creative, but try learning to write from memory 10,000 Chinese characters and see how far you get! Being literate in Chinese requires immense talent in the memorization of tiny details. No wonder they are memorizing machines. My hats off to them. (It is estimated that the average college graduate knows...

That Christmas Pageant Andrew and I are hosting? Turns out it's a much bigger production than I anticipated. We'll be doing the introduction and closing, as well as making commentary between each act. Watch out, Dick Clark?? Pageant hosting in China is a really big deal, so yesterday my school took me to a dress rental shop to find a ballgown length pageant dress to wear. We found a beautiful cranberry gown that actually fit me (I am a giant here), I was shocked. And happy. I love wearing beautiful dresses! It's being held outdoors and I can't wear a coat while I'm onstage, brrr, but even so, I'm pretty excited to get to wear the dress. (And because my gown is floor-length, I'm totally going to be rocking some legwarmers. Shhh...) Definitely a new experience in my Rebecca Life Handbook. Btw, a cultural note: variety shows are extremely popular here, and the girls who host the shows on tv are known for being charming and beautiful. If you are a variety show...

I am starting to feel better, thanks for all your good wishes! I am grateful for access to medications. Too many people in the world live in places with contaminated food and water, and they don't have access to good doctors to help them. I know how privileged I am. On another note, I bought a new product last week, and here is the English description straight from the packaging; can you guess the product? "Will bath the flower to plunge bath to carry on a time ofmoistness. The coordination bathes the fluid or the scented soap, may to the bodyeach The spot carries on tries to scratch. Asks the water used with after to flush only air dries the preservation." If you guessed this product ... you were right!  Congratulations, you are now fluent in Chinglish.

Turns out my tummyache was merely the incubation period for giardia, an intestinal parasite you get from dirty water or poorly cooked food. I'll spare you the details, you can read about it here if you want , but all I have to say is thank goodness for medicine. I took a large dose this morning, and the Peace Corps doctor said I should start feeling better in three to four days, but it takes several weeks to fully recover. (And giardia sometimes relapses; the gift that keeps on giving!) When we go to our sites, we are given a bag of prescription medications to keep in our apartments. This way, we don't have to have it sent to us, we can just take it under the direction of our doctor as soon as we need it. The Peace Corps takes good care of us. I have to admit, I was pretty ticked when my symptoms got worse and I realized this wasn't just a passing tummyache. At this time of year, I really miss my dad; holidays are the hardest time to be without him. And I am so far away...

A conversation I had with a male friend here a few months ago, while we were walking down the street: Male Friend: "Sometimes, I really wish you drank alcohol." Me: "Why? So you'd have a better chance of getting in my pants?" Male Friend: "Well....yeah." His honesty was refreshing. I'm not offended by this type of honesty. What I hate is men who pretend to be interested in you as a person, but are only interested in sex. When I first met this friend, I didn't think much of it, but now he is one of my best friends here. I feel very comfortable with him, in part because of his honesty. I know there is no secret agenda I have to watch out for. (And he knows where I stand, too.) In other news, I have an old-fashioned tummy ache. (Not what the Chinese call "spicy stomach", i.e. diarrhea, which is usually what happens to us here.) I ate something that didn't agree with me, very easy to do here. Phew for my mom sending me Celesti...

A few things this week that made me laugh: 1. A random male student I know asked if he should call me 'Lady Rebecca' or 'Madam Rebecca'. I told him it was okay to call me just 'Rebecca.' But in retrospect, how fun would it be to be called 'Lady Rebecca'? I missed my big chance! (Titles are very important here. Everyone has a title, and you cannot mess them up; I'm not his teacher, so he wasn't sure what to call me.) 2. Remember last weekend I went out of town? On the long-distance bus home, T. and I were listening to Spanish music on his iPod through shared earbuds. (For those unfamiliar with Spanish music, it's very cheesy and dramatic.) He speaks Spanish fluently, but I'm only about 70% fluent in my listening skills, so at one point he began translating the song lyrics for me. Picture it: a long period of silent listening, then he suddenly starts saying things like "My heart can't live without you, our history together will...

In wintertime, these barrels of slow-roasting yams show up on street corners. (She is holding an old-fashioned weight scale in her hand, I wish I hadn't cut it out): The barrel is full of wood and some kind of clean burning briquets (is this the right word? I have no idea), and they put the yams on first thing in the morning. They slow roast all day, and are replaced as they are sold. Here's a close up: Don't they look delicious? They caramelize naturally through the slow roasting, so they are sweet and tender inside. I eat them by hand like an apple with salt, no butter. The salt offsets the caramelized yam deliciously. And here's the kicker: a small one is about 1 RMB, or about 14 cents. How great is that? Here's what it looks like inside: These are a different type of yam than the sweet potatoes available in the U.S. I think they taste better. I'll miss them.

Earlier this year I was in the airport in Guangzhou, one of the manufacturing hubs of China. I met in Irish businessman who was in town setting up a business deal for a factory to produce purified ice machines, then place the machines at markets throughout China. This sounds like a great idea, right? Go to the market, buy a bag of drinkable ice on the way out. We do it in North America all the time. But...this is China. Problems I foresee with this business: 1. People here don't like icy drinks. 2. Not only do they not like them, they think they are harmful to the stomach and spleen. I had a cold, bought some chilled (not cold!) bottled water, and a student was so adamant I should not be drinking cool water if I'm sick, I had to put it in my bag and drink it after she left. 3. Cold water here is generally full of bacteria and metals. There's a reason why boiled water is served everywhere: it's clean. According to custom, you don't take cold water from people...

This morning while teaching a class I took that first swig of my oolong tea and OH SWEET DRAGONS, THE PAIN, my tongue is still scorched from the scalding hot water. And the thing is, I guess I am not very smart, this happens to me all the time. (Boiling hot water for tea is provided for us at school all day long.) I'm evidently terrible at calculating heat loss divided by time lapse. Or time lapse divided by heat loss. Whatever. So then I had the best idea ever: why not make tea/coffee travel tumblers out of that plastic-y material they make mood rings out of? You could easily see when your coffee or tea moves from boiling-hot to drinkable hot-hot, and determine your favorite color of hot. No more scorched tongues! Has anyone invented this yet? (I ask because I had the idea to put television shows for sale on the internet about three years before iTunes came out, and hello! I don't want that to happen again.) If not, I'm inventing it now. I want one! Related: have you e...

Chongqing is trying to kill me, one infection at a time. After my last post, I caught a bad cold. At least it wasn't the flu again? I have a tradition of catching Thanksgiving colds, so if this cold thought it was going to stop me from gorging myself at the hotel, oh no it did not. I pilled-up, and gorge I did. Three servings of mashed potatoes, a half a wheel of brie and three desserts later, I was the fullest I've been since I came to China. (It was also my first time having sushi on Thanksgiving.) Our group stayed for about 4 hours, and it was such a delight to feel like my old self again, for at least a few hours. It's pretty incredible the power that foods have on our psyche. Friday night I went out of town with a couple of friends to visit another friend for the weekend. I was still popping down cold medicine pills every few hours, and I almost didn't go, but our trip was a lot of fun! Here is a picture of us having lunch at a very typical roadside restaurant, e...

Today I went running out at T's and took a few pictures along the way: A power line worker having a nap in the trees: An elderly man sitting on his porch reading a book: Just for you, Techno, a Chinese chicken coop: A woman doing the wash, and two de-feathered ducks for dinner (hanging on the pole): Pretty much everyone thought I was crazy for running for no reason. I stopped to talk to a few people along the way. I could see it in their eyes, "Why are you running if no one is chasing you?" One guy stopped on his motorcycle and backed up to offer me a ride back to town. So last year's Thanksgiving was not great. I taught all day, and then we had possibly the worst Thanksgiving dinner ever of dry chicken. So, this year, my thoughtful mom sent me money to go to a hotel in the city serving Thanksgiving dinner for expats. Really good food, and I am so excited!! 10 of us are going, and I am going to eat and eat and eat to my heart's content. I...

1. Chinglish thing I said on the phone: "I hope you feel very a lot better." The word for 'very' is frequently used in Chinese articulation. I try to break my students of adding 'very' to everything, but looks like I've caught the 'very' bug. D'oh! 2. This week I jumped into a taxi while it was making a u-turn in the middle of a busy intersection. I could see a bunch of people waiting on the other side of the street for a taxi, so I darted out in traffic and jumped in while it was pausing in the u-turn. The driver didn't even blink. I could hear people on my side of the street saying, "Look at that foreign girl!" I think I now have my PhD in Chinese Taxi Hailing. I wonder how my skills will transfer to NYC taxi hailing? 3. A couple of the Peace Corps guys here play on an expat (mostly British, Australian and American) rugby team. Our team always loses. There aren't a lot of foreigners in Chongqing compared to other large Chine...

Packaged dry beauty face masks (Hello Kitty, of course!): I also bought green tea powder, which I mix with about a 1/4 cup of hot water. The mask expands and soaks up green tea solution, and I wear it for about 1/2 an hour. Green tea is great, it makes my skin look very clear and even. It costs about $2.00 for 12 masks and a box of green tea powder, super cheap! *sniff* I will miss you dry masks when I leave China. I also make masks with really cheap red wine (heated), which has high levels of acid. Also great for the skin, like a little mini acid facial at a spa. My electric hand/body warmer: It comes pre-filled with some kind of fluid, plugs into an outlet, heats up in five minutes, and stays warm for two hours. Did you know I don't have heat? I live below the 'heat line' the Chinese government drew across China; people above the line get indoor heat, people below it don't. It doesn't freeze here, which is why we don't get heat, but it does get down...

Today I was walking with T. through the square near my house and I started laughing at something he said and the bright green gum I was chewing flew out of my mouth and landed at his feet. He had to do a little skip thing to avoid stepping in it. To his credit, he didn't flinch. I started laughing even harder. Just call me Grace.

I'm finally recovered from the flu; I'm not sure if the Chinese strain is the same as the U.S. or Canadian strain, but  it sure knocked me out. I'm back to my old self now, though. Hope you all have stayed healthy, and continue to be healthy. The last few weeks I've been panicking about leaving China. I know the economy back home isn't great and I worry about finding a job. But I also panic because I don't remember anymore how to live without China. How can I go back home and have no more contact with the Chinese language and culture and people? It has been almost my whole life here, how can it vanish into a black hole of nothingness overnight? One option is to stay here and relocate to very developed and easy-to-live-in Eastern China (Shanghai!) and find a well paying job, which with my qualifications, is probably more possible than in the U.S. right now. The other is to seek out a Chinese community in the States where I can go to Chinese school and shop in...

Somehow this flu is still kicking my trash. A new virus (probably not) or a resurgence (more likely), I'm not sure. In any case, I'm way behind on my correspondence, but I can't bring myself to do very much but sleep. I did find out the person I crashed with on Halloween also has the flu; I guess it wasn't the goats after all. In the words of my little brother, "Ew, outbreak monkey!" And with that, this outbreak monkey is going back to bed.

Last Tuesday I went biking in the countryside, and saw a mamma goat with four little baby goats (one of which was sunbathing!). I couldn't resist stopping for a few minutes to play with them. (Little known fact: I love goats! My family used to have pet goats, and they are smart like dogs.) But two days later, I was one sick puppy. Is there such a thing as Goat Flu? I am feeling better now, still some bad fatigue and achiness, but wow, it really knocked me off my feet. Hence the lack of posts lately. And these are the other goats in my life: the Chinese "Happy Goats", aka Xi Yang Yang , a local kid's cartoon taking China (the world?) by storm. It's a simple cartoon about cute little goats who have to fight off a wolf; the wolf doesn't want to eat the goats, but his wife makes him try. All the goats have their own little nicknames and skills and they always succeed in besting the wolf, but the wolf always comes back for another try. This show is also popular w...

It's been interesting to me to see which things from my home culture are popular here and which are completely unknown, even though in my eyes, they are comparable products. These things listed as 'popular' are well-known to people in my city; that is the average Chinese person you meet here would know and like them. The 'unpopular' category are things I consider popular in the U.S., but are unknown here. Popular TV: Prison Break (they LOVE it), Big Bang Theory (this one surprised me), Lost , Gossip Girl , Desperate Housewives , Ugly Betty Unpopular TV: 30 Rock , The Office , The Daily Show , CSI -type shows, Reality TV Popular Fast Food Chains: KFC, McDonald's, Pizza Hut, Subway Unpopular Fast Food Chains: Wendy's, Taco Bell, Carl's Junior, Quizno's Popular Candy Bars: Snickers, M&Ms Unpopular Candy Bars: Everything else Popular Movies: Titanic (oh man, you have no idea), Forrest Gump , Gone With The Wind , recent action movies ...

Last night I was taking the bus to a friend's campus and sat down next to a grandma. Now, in the words of my friend Patrick, "Chinese grandmas are the sh*t." It's true: they can do anything and exude a quiet confidence I aspire to. (Also, they can totally snake all the good veggies at the market before anyone realizes what's happening.) They rule with a silk fist. You don't mess with a Chinese grandma. And to a Chinese grandma, all the world's a grandchild, especially a lone foreign girl. I sat down next to grandma in my short skirt and knee-high boots, sans stockings, and she immediately began chastising me for being bare-legged. I explained I don't have stockings, and she started running her hands up and down the bare-showing parts of my thighs, trying to warm me up. After a year and a half here, this didn't faze me (haha, I first wrote "phase" me), but I still had to laugh at the image of a Chinese grandma feeling up a random foreig...

First the fun: We had an expat Halloween party at a friend's house with lots of refreshments, glowsticks, cookies and candles, what could be more fun than that? Here's a picture of me in-costume (as old-school Britney Spears, with 'Rambo'): A few of us crashed at the party site instead of going home that early in the morning. I fell asleep around 4:30 a.m., which wouldn't be a big deal except someone started pipe construction at 6 a.m., right outside the bedroom window. On a Sunday morning, are you kidding me? I hate it when Chinese work ethics collide with my sleep time! Now the awkward: Later in the morning, we decided to get Chinese brunch (which here is just 'lunch' early, there are no brunch foods, that's a little joke) but all I had to wear was my Halloween costume. And here's the thing I learned: Halloween costumes are like Cinderella's pumpkin carriage: good for one night only. That getup, which had been so fun only a few hours ...

I'm up way too early this morning, so what else do you do when you wake up at 4 AM for no good reason?  Dream-shop online, of course. I am so unfashionable these days, and how I knew this would happen and I was willing to be unfashionable for the sake of being in the Peace Corps, but still: sometimes I feel like a blob. I like dressing up and wearing pretty clothes and shoes; it isn't a burden to me to wear 4-inch heels everyday. So when I came across these two photos online, all I could do is stop for a moment and sigh. I love camel boots, how great would these look with a chocolate brown coat? And I don't love living where I have to wear a coat, but if I DO have to wear a coat, I want it to be this one: I want one day where I get to be "me" again, and I go out on a date with a guy I'm really into, to a place where I get to wear entirely inconvenient footwear, and have a wonderful time. I promise this time, I'd even wear the right bra. But the...

A few days ago I had a strange dream about my dad. We were, for lack of a better word, redoing some moments we'd had in "real life." In the dream I asked him, "Why are we doing this stuff? We've already done it." He didn't answer me. I woke up feeling like I had backslid in my progress of getting over my dad's death. At first after he died, I dreamt he was still alive. Then later I dreamt that he was missing, or that he had died but it had been a mistake. Later still, I dreamt he was dead, and I was strangely comforted by that, because I thought it meant my subconscious had accepted his death. But this? I don't know what this means. He wasn't dead, and he wasn't alive. It was just unsettling and sad and I've been blue ever since. I'll get over it, I just wanted to share it, in case this has happened to anyone else. You are not alone.

Let me say, this list is far smaller than the things I WILL miss. But there are a few things that have been the most difficult for me to adjust to and/or live with: 1. People blowing loogies out of their nose and onto the street next to my feet. (On the bright side, I have lightening fast snot-avoidance reflexes now.) 2. People trying to rip me off because I'm a foreigner and they think I don’t understand. 3. People telling me I am too fat to shop in their store. And even hiding clothes so I can’t buy them. (Yes, that last part really did happen.) 4. Train station waiting rooms! 5. Chinese is hella hard, y’all. Even after a year and a half, I don’t understand nearly as much as if I'd lived in a Spanish speaking country. I won’t miss the language barrier I constantly run up against. The next '5' list will be the things I am looking forward to most about returning home.

I’m home from my visit to the other city to see the doctor. A few things: 1. The train was indeed fast (200 kph, or about 125 mph for you Imperialists), but not pressurized, so my ears popped about every 10 minutes. It’s like they get so close… There was a storm on the way home so it was a little easier because the barometric pressure had dropped. I know this courtesy of my 5th grade obsession with weather reports. 2. The skin appears to be non-melanomic. I was given some medicines to put on it twice a day and see what happens. If it doesn’t clear up, they’ll send some off to the lab. I kinda wish they had done that lab thing now, just to be safe, but I’m sure it’s fine. 3. While I was gone, I got a text message from someone at my school that 13 students had been quarantined for (possible or confirmed? No one has told me) H1N1 flu. What they didn’t say is that at least some of them had been quarantined downstairs from my apartment. For those who don’t know, I live in my universit...

I can't speak fluent English anymore. I can WRITE fluently in English, because I can take time to think about the words and fix the ones that are wrong*. But speaking? I suck at speaking right now. I didn't even realize how much I sucked at speaking until my friend Renee had a friend visitor from America, and he was super cute and we were having a nice conversation during which I said about 10 times, "I can't remember how to say it in English." Charming. No really, catch me a year ago, I knew how to talk about complicated things then, I swear! Oh well. (I also never noticed how many straight-up Chinese words I use now even when speaking English, until I was speaking to someone who doesn't know them.) When I do speak English, I'm speaking to my students or to other volunteers who also right now suck at speaking English, and we don't notice that we are using 'Special English' English-- that is, English without complicated words. But speaking to...

I love the notebooks in China. I don't know why, but almost all of them have some kind of Chinglish phrase on the cover. Here are a few I saw in a school supply shop near my campus: I love the 'My baby grows up in this way' tagline: For when you need to announce your life strategy: 'I never really try to be positive.' Nothing says 'Season's Greeting' like a stack of folded towels. Btw, a candle that close to the towels is a fire hazard. 'Goes the sound which the balcony listens to spend.' HUH? No really, I love these. But this one is still my all time favorite: In other news, I have to go out of town to this weekend for a medical test. I have two spots on my back that keep scabbing over and won't heal, so I have to get them checked out. Sunshine, I love you so much, why do you hurt me like this? And in still further news, I only have 9 months left in China. 9 months! Where has the time gone? I feel like I have survive...

I was just asleep, but now awake due to my shaking bed: a  mild earthquake, which probably wouldn't be felt in a building with Western construction standards, but is very noticeable here. And the shaking itself doesn't freak me out, but these things do: 1. No fire escapes in Chinese apartment buildings. 2. My front door opens onto an outside balcony, not a secure hallway. 3. I'm on the 4th floor. 4. The past few days, and I am not making this up, I've been thinking about earthquakes and what I would do if there were another big one here. It's been a year and a half since the big earthquake hit this area, the likelihood of another big one isn't high, but still...am I paranoid or psychic? (The answer is: paranoid. I hope.) UPDATE: I checked the USGS website this morning and yes, there was a minor earthquake last night centered about 200 miles from where I live. You know how it's hard to sleep after an adrenaline rush? Yeah. So because I'm awake, h...

1. Being able to walk the streets at all hours of night without worrying about crime. There IS crime here, but it’s mostly petty theft. No guns and no weapons in general means a safer walking environment.  I fully support our constitutional right to bear arms, but coming home at 4 AM, it is nice not to have to worry about someone attacking, mugging or shooting you. 2. Being able to end a conversation you don’t want to have by saying, “I’m sorry, I don’t understand you.” 3. Prescription medications sold as over-the-counter. 4. Tea at every meal. 5. Not having to hear about all kinds of people famous for being alive and/or doing stupid things. There is no Chinese equivalent of the Gosselins, for example. I keep track of American culture, and I am increasingly disgusted by what passes for “news.” Coming soon: 5 things I WON’T miss.

Most babies in my part of China don't wear diapers; instead, they wear split pants like this, and their parents hold them over a street grate, toilet, or even just a sidewalk to pee and poop. I wondered how the parents keep the babies from peeing and pooping all over them, and I learned that as soon as babies are born, the parents begin potty training them. When the babies are peeing or whatever, the parents whisper a sound like "shhhhh...." in their ear. After a few months, the babies will only go the bathroom when their parents prompt them to do so by shhhhing in their ear. The babies are considered "potty trained" by about 6 months old. Babies wear split pants like this even in the winter; they're cute butterballs running around with layers and layers of clothes, but their little butts and penises etc. are hanging out there in the cold. I bet graduating to underwear feels good! You can imagine what our Chinese students think when we forget and shush...

Me and T. at the goddess statue lake. I had no idea our friend was taking a picture, and I can't remember what was being discussed, but whatever it was, it appears I was not on board with it . Stealth photography never lies. p.s. T. is not super tall, I'm sitting on a bench.

There's a restored neighborhood/tourist trap in Chongqing called Ci Qi Kou (pronounced 'sih chee ko'). This past week was my first trip there since I moved to CQ last year. I took these pictures more toward the outskirts of the neighborhood, where the shops end and the homes begins; this part is not as restored, but I thought it was more interesting. As always, click to enlarge! Ci Qi Kou hillside view: Little boys playing hide and seek in an alleyway: I covet this chest! My friends: Dragon decorations: Please don't ask me what this means, I have no idea!: Btw, Chongqing is pronounced 'chong ching', so whenever I read about people imitating the Chinese language by saying, 'Ching Chong China' I always think, 'No, but there is Chongqing, China!'

Well, this has been quite a week. I guess what happens when you actually start having fun in China is that you lose the time to write about it. It's Saturday night here and I am blissfully staying home and going to bed early. It was a great holiday week, but super-busy. I'm glad for a night off from the fun and frivolity. So many parts of my Chinese life that were different and unexpected are now normal to me, to the extent that I forget to write about them!  But here's one I was reminded of today: in a public bathroom with multiple stalls, instead of waiting at the head of the stall line for the next available stall, you have to go stand in front of a stall and wait for it to become empty. And it seems like I always choose the wrong stall and have to wait longer than someone who came in behind me. I have bad bathroom stall karma! There must be some secret to determining which stall will be empty next, but I have yet to figure it out. Maybe by the time I go home next year...

Tim lives on the edge between Chongqing and the countryside, so he invited us to his house to go biking and spend the day in the fresh air we never get in the city. We got there in the morning and rented mountain bikes; I haven't been on a bike since I was about 13, so this was quite an adventure for me. We did some off-road biking and I was in last place, but I did make it up the hills! Here's a picture of me on my bike (yes, I did wear a helmet, just not for the photo): Tim has a Chinese student friend who grew up in a small village near Tim's school, and one of the villagers was having his 30th birthday party. We got invited to the party, so we biked to the village. It was pretty incredible to spend the day there and see what village life is like. Their village is a collection of homes built around an old temple that was bombed by the Japanese during the Chinese/Japanese conflict in WWII. Two families now live in the old temple, and the rest built homes surrounding the t...