So, after about FOUR months this place is finally starting to feel like home. I'm beginning to comfortably establish routines. The main reason why I took this job is to study Chinese, but because I had accepted the position so last minute and was thrown into the whirlwinds of work, Shanghai, living on my own and adulthood, I had really lost focus on what I want.
Earlier I had been quite lonely. Initial friendships are exciting and I love to meet new people, but new friendships never have the same steadfastness loyalty that you have with friendships that have won the test of time. To compensate the complete rush, workload, chaos and overwhelming independence I had found myself neck high in, I began to eat some comfort foods: namely ice cream and chips. This (obviously) affected my body which added to the cycle of not having that much control. In college I was working out a lot- I felt so good afterwards both mentally and physically, and I think it's important to establish healthy habits when you're young so as you get older (and your metabolism slows down) you don't have to worry much about dramatically changing your habits and lifestyle.
But finding a gym in China (and having almost no free time in the beginning of the school year) proved to be difficult. When I finally found a few gyms in the area, compared prices, and finally joined, it was equally difficult motivating myself to actually go.
On top of all of this, it seems that THE THING for foreigners to do here is to go out at night. While I enjoy bars I have always had trouble having one sleeping pattern Monday - Friday (sleeping 10pm-6:30am) and dramatically changing it Saturday and Sunday (sleeping from 1am-10 or 11am) very difficult. In addition, I usually don't feel the best the next day and I find that I waste most of the day after I go out at night. I prefer going out with people I've known for a bit longer, because if I am drinking I feel safer with people I trust. So the fact that most people were using alcohol to bond (and I thought this phase was over in college) startled me a bit. I'm not sure if I alienated myself from some people because of my unwillingness to get completely trashed, but I really dislike peer pressure of any sort. I honestly didn't deal with peer pressure in college, and that was one huge thing I loved about school. I will respect other people's decisions and they should respect mine.
The point of this entry is that I've finally turned a corner. I think it's been a combination of my Dad visiting, me settling into my apartment, starting real routines, and maybe even lighting the menorah makes this strange suburban apartment in the outskirt (almost farmlands) of Shanghai feel like home, but I'm really enjoying myself here.
This is not to say I wasn't happy before, but I know I'm happier now. On Monday I went to the gym and had a great run on the elliptical and lifted weights. I started (finally) seriously studying Chinese on Monday night. I studied 40 new vocab words. Tuesday I had people over and cooked dinner. That same day I also bought a blank notebook and started a Chinese journal. Wednesday I also worked out at the gym (cardio and weights), had a quiet meal at home, and studied Chinese also also wrote in my journal. Yesterday I had two hours of Chinese one-on-one with Stephanie (a Mandarin teacher at my school). We corrected my journal entries and worked on the new vocabulary that I had studied. Wednesday I also worked out and randomly met some friends at the local restaurant I go to where we ate together. I once again wrote in my journal and tried (in Chinese) to explain what Hanukkah is.
Today I have a relatively light day. After school I'll go work out, and this evening my friend Kelly, who also works at the school, organized a bus to see a comedy improv show. So I'll get to see that. Tomorrow night I'll hopefully do some holiday shopping, maybe play field hockey, maybe work out, and hopefully go out with my friend Jade from Wes. Sunday morning (if I get up early enough) will be dedicated to bike riding through the farmland, and I plan to just relax and straighten up later Sunday afternoon. Monday I will have people over for dinner, Tuesday I'll have Chinese class then some dinner plans, Wednesday I'll work out and most likely eat on my own, Thursday is the Winter Concert at school, and Friday is the annual SCIS Holiday Party!
I need to keep busy because that's when I'm the most productive. It may mean I'm a bit tired, but if I have too much spare time to myself I'll begin to pine for my family and friends at home. I do miss you all, but I'm finally realizing what wonderful an opportunity is for me, and the beauty of actually having a real income to spend money on yourself and people you care about.
I hope this optimism lasts for a long, long time.
Friday, December 7, 2007
A Universal Truth
It seems that no matter where you go, you almost always end up with spare socks that have no match, even if you don't have a dryer. Isn't it supposed to be the dryer that eats them and not the washing machine? Maybe they work together...
Wednesday, December 5, 2007
Whomping Wallets!
So! I've told you the awesome boots story. In fact, I'm wearing the boots right now. The style I've seen here is wearing cool boots over (bootleg cut) pants, or wearing stockings, shorts and boots that go together. I'm wearing the later style. I've already gotten one compliment from a student. I guess I look "cool" or something...
Upon leaving Qipu market, as I went through the exit I had opened my handbag to take out my scarf. I was only carrying one bag (with the boots in it), but I remember saying to myself, "just be careful, Amy." I did not heed my own warning. I closed my bag and walked down the steps to catch up with my friends. A beggar was heckling me (very aggressively) and I walked away from him. The next thing I know I look at my bag and it's open. I thought to myself, "Did I forget to close it? Oh no. CRAP." I checked inside and my wallet was missing.
I told my friends. They asked, "Amy are you sure?" I double-checked. Yes. Some guy who was just sitting on a parked motorcycle said he saw it happen. I asked him what the thief looked like (in Chinese) and where did he go? The guy was frustratingly apathetic, a total jerk. JiangJiang asked him in Chinese for the details, and he just said "他是一个新疆人。" (He is a XinJiang person.) Xinjiang people are a minority group from Western China.
The people from the region are predominately Muslim. They are a minority group that has had constant bouts with the Han Chinese. Usually some of the XinJiang people migrate to cities to find work, but the Chinese impression of them is that they can't be trusted. They usually have
The man on the motorcycle was most likely in on the scheme but there is no way to prove it. He told me the thief ran in one direction when he could have easily gone either way. I was so angry at the time and I still am. My friends then called the police who arrived within about 5 minutes.
Previously I have been very scared of the police because in a country where I don't really know my specific rights, I honestly just don't want any altercations with people in uniform. But I really want to give props to the Chinese government. The police officers actually responded to the call, arrived quickly, and did what they could to interview the man on the motorcycle and try to fix the incident. The motorcycle guy said the thief took the money out of the wallet and put it on a motorcycle that zoomed off. I don't believe this story because it would make sense for the thief to get away first and then inspect his spoils, not hang around the incident where the theft occurred. After all of this, the police drove us all to the police station and were very patient trying to look up my passport number (which I didn't have with me), in order to identify me. They also helped me with the police report and were incredibly kind. They said they would do what they could to help find my wallet, and hopefully someone would turn it in.
At the station, I called Natalie who was nice enough to call my dad (who answered the phone at 5:30am, already awake), to tell him to cancel my credit card and debit card. I also called my Chinese bank and changed my pin number and canceled the card.. or something. It was complicated. Jiangjiang said that if it was Xinjiang people they usually work in groups, and it was better they took my money than hurt me. One of our mutual friends (Eva) had watched a child (who was a Xinjiang person) try to steal. She told the person who was going to be stolen from, and an older (xinjiang) man went up to her, kicked her, and told her to mind her own business. Now I don't want to sound racist, but I'm just explaining things that have been told to me about this particular group of people.
After we left the station, Jiangjiang and Tianwen gave me some money so I could go home. I took a cab and spoke to the driver a bit about Xinjiang people. He didn't seem to like them either. He told me that they shouldn't be trusted. I didn't quite understand everything he was saying, but I did understand he wasn't particularly fond of them.
Sunday afternoon Jane (the LS principal) called me saying the police called her because someone had turned in the wallet. Jane was kind enough to arrange transportation for me to go into Puxi (I didn't really have enough cash to get there myself), and I got my wallet back. The policemen at this station were also very friendly, and happy I could say a few words in the Shanghai dialect. I got everything back except my transportation card (which only had 15 kuai), and I lost about 300-350 kuai (about $45-$50). It could have been worse, but not I have to deal with the debacle of getting all of my cards re-issued while abroad. Ugh.
Upon leaving Qipu market, as I went through the exit I had opened my handbag to take out my scarf. I was only carrying one bag (with the boots in it), but I remember saying to myself, "just be careful, Amy." I did not heed my own warning. I closed my bag and walked down the steps to catch up with my friends. A beggar was heckling me (very aggressively) and I walked away from him. The next thing I know I look at my bag and it's open. I thought to myself, "Did I forget to close it? Oh no. CRAP." I checked inside and my wallet was missing.
I told my friends. They asked, "Amy are you sure?" I double-checked. Yes. Some guy who was just sitting on a parked motorcycle said he saw it happen. I asked him what the thief looked like (in Chinese) and where did he go? The guy was frustratingly apathetic, a total jerk. JiangJiang asked him in Chinese for the details, and he just said "他是一个新疆人。" (He is a XinJiang person.) Xinjiang people are a minority group from Western China.
The people from the region are predominately Muslim. They are a minority group that has had constant bouts with the Han Chinese. Usually some of the XinJiang people migrate to cities to find work, but the Chinese impression of them is that they can't be trusted. They usually haveThe man on the motorcycle was most likely in on the scheme but there is no way to prove it. He told me the thief ran in one direction when he could have easily gone either way. I was so angry at the time and I still am. My friends then called the police who arrived within about 5 minutes.
Previously I have been very scared of the police because in a country where I don't really know my specific rights, I honestly just don't want any altercations with people in uniform. But I really want to give props to the Chinese government. The police officers actually responded to the call, arrived quickly, and did what they could to interview the man on the motorcycle and try to fix the incident. The motorcycle guy said the thief took the money out of the wallet and put it on a motorcycle that zoomed off. I don't believe this story because it would make sense for the thief to get away first and then inspect his spoils, not hang around the incident where the theft occurred. After all of this, the police drove us all to the police station and were very patient trying to look up my passport number (which I didn't have with me), in order to identify me. They also helped me with the police report and were incredibly kind. They said they would do what they could to help find my wallet, and hopefully someone would turn it in.
At the station, I called Natalie who was nice enough to call my dad (who answered the phone at 5:30am, already awake), to tell him to cancel my credit card and debit card. I also called my Chinese bank and changed my pin number and canceled the card.. or something. It was complicated. Jiangjiang said that if it was Xinjiang people they usually work in groups, and it was better they took my money than hurt me. One of our mutual friends (Eva) had watched a child (who was a Xinjiang person) try to steal. She told the person who was going to be stolen from, and an older (xinjiang) man went up to her, kicked her, and told her to mind her own business. Now I don't want to sound racist, but I'm just explaining things that have been told to me about this particular group of people.
After we left the station, Jiangjiang and Tianwen gave me some money so I could go home. I took a cab and spoke to the driver a bit about Xinjiang people. He didn't seem to like them either. He told me that they shouldn't be trusted. I didn't quite understand everything he was saying, but I did understand he wasn't particularly fond of them.
Sunday afternoon Jane (the LS principal) called me saying the police called her because someone had turned in the wallet. Jane was kind enough to arrange transportation for me to go into Puxi (I didn't really have enough cash to get there myself), and I got my wallet back. The policemen at this station were also very friendly, and happy I could say a few words in the Shanghai dialect. I got everything back except my transportation card (which only had 15 kuai), and I lost about 300-350 kuai (about $45-$50). It could have been worse, but not I have to deal with the debacle of getting all of my cards re-issued while abroad. Ugh.
Monday, December 3, 2007
Qipu (chee-pu, almost like "cheap") Market
So... Saturday night.
I was at a place called Qipu market (七铺路） where many Chinese residents go to buy things. I went with my friend Jiang Jiang and two of her friends (Tianwen and Lianglili). We met at the Nan Jing East road subway station and walked 10 minutes to get to the market.
This isn't my first time there. I had gone there two previous times but I've never really bought anything when I went. Because a person is a foreigner, upon entering the premises you are bombarded with people trying to sell you watches, bags, DVDs... of course for the most part they ignore the Chinese people. I guess they just assume that if you're a foreigner you're automatically going to have a lot of money that you'll enjoy spending on items listed in their highly informative sales pitch. One thing I don't understand about Chinese culture is that if they are unsuccessful in selling you listed items in their little brochures, why don't they change their sales pitch? Just because this type of sales may have worked in the past doesn't necessarily mean it works now, especially when there are about 20 of these sales people for every one foreigner.
Anyway... before we entered the market the girls taught me how to say "Stop following me" which is "别跟着我“。 I said it in an impolite way but having people following me can be so frustrating at times on Saturday I didn't really care whether or not I was being polite. The sales people who were heckling me were often surprised and even laughed (in disbelief?) that I said something like that to them. But it was effective. They stopped following me.
I wanted to buy many many gifts for various family and friends, but I ended up just buying myself stuff. I've come to a point where I'm bored with my wardrobe. I brought two suitcases but I really didn't bring that much clothing with me and I've been repeating outfits week by week. China is an ideal place to experiment with personal style because clothes are inexpensive here, so even if you buy something hideous or clothes that go out of style within a week you're not losing that much money. For the most part my style is pretty simple and plain. Being in China gives me a new slate with fashion and I just realized this on Saturday.
The Chinese style here lacks... elegance. Older women tend to wear plaids with checkered prints and sometimes they even throw a nice floral into the mix too, but there are some strengths with style here that I do want to utilize. Chinese women enjoy wearing cute often very girly clothing with lots of lace and random bows. While this can be a bit too much at times, the tackiness in some of the clothes can be utilized, in my opinion, to create an interesting wardrobe. Over my remaining months here I plan to cautiously expand my wardrobe and try to combine some of the flashy clothes with my plain ones.
Saturday I was looking for boots. Chinese style boots. Over the summer, my friend Monty had shown off her Ukranian fur lined glitzy boots and I was inspired by her to get Chinese boots for myself (that wouldn't be nearly as effectively warm). When Dad was here he also mentioned that I need to get some glitzy tacky Chinese boots, but when we looked at Daranfa (the local grocery store/mall complex near my home), the boots didn't fit and were quite expensive.
So the search for boots began. I must have tried on at least 4 or 5 pairs of boots that varied in color from black and brown to red and purple. Sometimes they wouldn't even have my size (too big!) Other times the quality of the boot was just terrible, or the shoe didn't fit.
FINALLY we went to a stand that had these cute black boots that went to just below my knee. Around the ankle was a cute silver buckle, and toward the top of the boot were a few jewel embellishments. It sounds tacky but they were (somewhat) tasteful. I asked for a size 39. They had it, I tried them on and they fit so well!
Then the haggling begins. I ask her, "How much?" I see a sparkle in her eyes. She takes out her calculator (which annoys me because I asked her in Chinese, I would understand her response, and they only use calculators with foreigners)... the number reads "680". "SIX HUNDRED AND EIGHTY KUAI?! Are you joking?!" I respond, flabbergasted, in Chinese. "Why are you giving me the foreigner price?" She says, "it's not the foreigner price." At the fabric market you can get a custom made cashmere coat for 550, so the fact that she wants me to pay 680 for (fake) leather boots is insulting and ridiculous. I then say "100", she makes a face, so I walk away. She quickly changes her mind and says "yes yes" but I don't bother-- I want to give my business to someone who's more trusting than her. I just say to Jiang Jiang, "This is China and we are at a market. We will find similar, if not the same shoes somewhere else here." We turn to go down the isle, look at a few stands, and there are the same boots on display. JiangJiang asks the price and tries them on, pretending to be interested in them, and asks the price. The man starts at 260 (not nearly as bad), so then I come in and say I'd like to try them on. They fit, and I say to him "70 kuai". He says he can't, so I go up to 75. He says no, so I say "fine, 80 is the most I'll pay." He says no so I walk away. He then tells me to come back and I get the boots for 80 kuai.
Phew. Later that same day my wallet got stolen. I will update you with this story in the near future.
I was at a place called Qipu market (七铺路） where many Chinese residents go to buy things. I went with my friend Jiang Jiang and two of her friends (Tianwen and Lianglili). We met at the Nan Jing East road subway station and walked 10 minutes to get to the market.
This isn't my first time there. I had gone there two previous times but I've never really bought anything when I went. Because a person is a foreigner, upon entering the premises you are bombarded with people trying to sell you watches, bags, DVDs... of course for the most part they ignore the Chinese people. I guess they just assume that if you're a foreigner you're automatically going to have a lot of money that you'll enjoy spending on items listed in their highly informative sales pitch. One thing I don't understand about Chinese culture is that if they are unsuccessful in selling you listed items in their little brochures, why don't they change their sales pitch? Just because this type of sales may have worked in the past doesn't necessarily mean it works now, especially when there are about 20 of these sales people for every one foreigner.
Anyway... before we entered the market the girls taught me how to say "Stop following me" which is "别跟着我“。 I said it in an impolite way but having people following me can be so frustrating at times on Saturday I didn't really care whether or not I was being polite. The sales people who were heckling me were often surprised and even laughed (in disbelief?) that I said something like that to them. But it was effective. They stopped following me.
I wanted to buy many many gifts for various family and friends, but I ended up just buying myself stuff. I've come to a point where I'm bored with my wardrobe. I brought two suitcases but I really didn't bring that much clothing with me and I've been repeating outfits week by week. China is an ideal place to experiment with personal style because clothes are inexpensive here, so even if you buy something hideous or clothes that go out of style within a week you're not losing that much money. For the most part my style is pretty simple and plain. Being in China gives me a new slate with fashion and I just realized this on Saturday.
The Chinese style here lacks... elegance. Older women tend to wear plaids with checkered prints and sometimes they even throw a nice floral into the mix too, but there are some strengths with style here that I do want to utilize. Chinese women enjoy wearing cute often very girly clothing with lots of lace and random bows. While this can be a bit too much at times, the tackiness in some of the clothes can be utilized, in my opinion, to create an interesting wardrobe. Over my remaining months here I plan to cautiously expand my wardrobe and try to combine some of the flashy clothes with my plain ones.
Saturday I was looking for boots. Chinese style boots. Over the summer, my friend Monty had shown off her Ukranian fur lined glitzy boots and I was inspired by her to get Chinese boots for myself (that wouldn't be nearly as effectively warm). When Dad was here he also mentioned that I need to get some glitzy tacky Chinese boots, but when we looked at Daranfa (the local grocery store/mall complex near my home), the boots didn't fit and were quite expensive.
So the search for boots began. I must have tried on at least 4 or 5 pairs of boots that varied in color from black and brown to red and purple. Sometimes they wouldn't even have my size (too big!) Other times the quality of the boot was just terrible, or the shoe didn't fit.
FINALLY we went to a stand that had these cute black boots that went to just below my knee. Around the ankle was a cute silver buckle, and toward the top of the boot were a few jewel embellishments. It sounds tacky but they were (somewhat) tasteful. I asked for a size 39. They had it, I tried them on and they fit so well!
Then the haggling begins. I ask her, "How much?" I see a sparkle in her eyes. She takes out her calculator (which annoys me because I asked her in Chinese, I would understand her response, and they only use calculators with foreigners)... the number reads "680". "SIX HUNDRED AND EIGHTY KUAI?! Are you joking?!" I respond, flabbergasted, in Chinese. "Why are you giving me the foreigner price?" She says, "it's not the foreigner price." At the fabric market you can get a custom made cashmere coat for 550, so the fact that she wants me to pay 680 for (fake) leather boots is insulting and ridiculous. I then say "100", she makes a face, so I walk away. She quickly changes her mind and says "yes yes" but I don't bother-- I want to give my business to someone who's more trusting than her. I just say to Jiang Jiang, "This is China and we are at a market. We will find similar, if not the same shoes somewhere else here." We turn to go down the isle, look at a few stands, and there are the same boots on display. JiangJiang asks the price and tries them on, pretending to be interested in them, and asks the price. The man starts at 260 (not nearly as bad), so then I come in and say I'd like to try them on. They fit, and I say to him "70 kuai". He says he can't, so I go up to 75. He says no, so I say "fine, 80 is the most I'll pay." He says no so I walk away. He then tells me to come back and I get the boots for 80 kuai.
Phew. Later that same day my wallet got stolen. I will update you with this story in the near future.
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