Xi'an and just regular life

I went to Xi'an this weekend to visit some friends there.  Xi'an is a very old city in China that is renowned for it's history related to Emperor Qin, especially his Terracotta soldiers.  There are many interesting places to visit as well as modern restaurants and shopping areas. I took an overnight train from Lanzhou on Thursday that left at 10 p.m. and arrived at 7 a.m.  My first few years in China I didn't really sleep well on the overnight trains but now, after six years, I think I've finally learned that there's nothing to be scared of and I can fall asleep.  There are six beds in a compartment and I usually sleep on one of the top bunk so I feel pretty safe up there.  Lanzhou is high in elevation (about a mile up from sea level) so as we descended from northwest Gansu province to central Shaanxi, province my ears were popping from the altitude change.(See videos)

 

 

My first stop after getting off the train--McDonalds for breakfast.  Pancakes, sausage, hash brown, orange juice!  (all of these items are hard to find or make in China).  We only have KFC in Lanzhou, so McDonalds is a real treat.  After a lovely dinner at an Indian restaurant on Friday night I went to a huge wholesale market store called "Metro" that's kinda like a Costco or a super Wal-mart back home.  I got lots of fun Western food products I can't get in Lanzhou (cake mixes, shredded coconut, spinach fettuccine, dark chocolate, brown sugar).  Saturday I went to a pagoda with some friends and it was a little overcast.  Smog not fog, even though it looks like fog.

Sunday I flew home in cold precipitation.  When I left Lanzhou on Thursday it was in the 50s and indoor temps were bearable.  Sunday something happened!   Oh my goodness, it snowed on Sunday.  What a surprise was waiting for me.  The city still hasn't turned on our heat, but I've heard it will come on Nov. 1st.  Let's hope so!  I'm already wearing long johns under all my clothes to keep warm and pulling my electric heater around with me wherever I go in my apartment, and it's only October!  On the plane ride home, I sat next to a pregnant woman and her husband.  As the plane was getting ready for take off, a nice flight attendant came by and gave her a pillow.  "Here, put this over your stomach and then buckle your seatbelt over it."  She did without question like it was the most logical thing a pregnant woman should do on a plane.

Yesterday I taught for six hours and then went to the gym.  It was snowing again in the afternoon-nothing that sticks just flurries, but still--come on!  It's October!  One other interesting thing--at the gym one of the girls was working out with her winter jacket on.  Really, it's not THAT cold, especially with all these people producing so much body heat as they exercise.  But the best part was that not only was she wearing a winter coat as she walked on the tread mill, she was sporting a rhinestone princess tiara on head. 

Next edition will be-celebrating my birthday party with Chinese and American friends this weekend.  For those of you who know me, you already know what we are going to do. . .

Elevator Etiquette

There is a certain way to get on and in elevators here.  Mostly it involves pushing and putting yourself first.  Very similar to bus culture!  You push the button to get on, stand right in front of the door, no matter how few people are waiting to get on, and AS SOON as the door opens you push your way into the elevator.  No waiting to let the people get off.   You get yourself on that elevator or someone else will take your place.  And then you push yourself through again to push your little button, and if the door takes even two seconds to close, you pound that close button and make that door close faster for goodness sake! 
The Foreign Languages Department has two elevators that are designated for teachers only.  There is a sign above that says---"For teachers only."  But students always slip in.  To help enforce the validity of these signs, there are elevator ladies who are assigned to monitor who gets on and holds the door open so as many people can get on the elevator as possible.  Some of these ladies are quite large and scary. 
Well, today something interesting happened.  As Mike and I were getting on the elevator with some other Chinese teachers, a couple students shoved their way on.  This never seems to bother the Chinese teachers, but I can honestly say--it bothers me.  The elevator lady yelled at them--get off--there are too many teachers who need to get on and you are taking there places!!  She really gave a sound verbal whipping.  But the two girls just looked up at her and then looked down and smiled.  Not a smile of defiance, but more a smile of shame in knowing that what they were doing was wrong, but it's just the way things are.  She really yelled at them--I thought she was going to pull them out but she never touched them.  If it was me I would have been seriously scared.  Angry Chinese women are nothing to mess around with.

Dear Teacher, what is like to fall in love?

This is the question I got tonight folks.  After watching a sweet romantic comedy, "Dan in Real Life," with Steve Carell, my students were full of questions about love.  One girl asked me what it was like.  She's 21. This girl is 21 and she's never known what feels like to love someone, or at least really like them.  She said she only knew it in her imagination.  Wow.  It was hard to know where to start. 

Of the six students who came over to my apartment to watch the movie, two of them have recently fallen in love with each other.  One of the other students asked me to give them advice--Edward and Bella (that's not their real names) have fallen in love.  Can you give them some advices?"  That was the question.  The same boy who asked this question also confessed to "loving" a girl (to us it's like having a crush on someone) and didn't want to tell her.  "Why not?"  I asked, thinking you're a sophomore in college, this is a great time for you to fall in love.  "Because I have to get ready for the TEM-4 examination and I want to focus on that.  I don't care about it anymore.  I'm just going to give it up."  (sidenote--the TEM4 is the test all english majors have to take in their 4th semester of college.  Passing this exam makes it easier to get a job in the future).  I couldn't believe his answer but in a way I wasn't surprised.  It was very Chinese of him to say this.  College students in China are so different from college students in America!!

Autumn in Lanzhou

So here I am in China, living the life and trying to survive as a foreigner.  I don't always know what the day will bring but today was pretty uneventful.  China is celebrating it's 61st anniversary since the founding of the People's Republic in 1949.  Many students have taken a train home to be with family for the week long vacation but I have decided to stay in Lanzhou and rest after a very busy first month of teaching.  The weather is starting to cool down now with temps not going much above 60 today.  Even though it is autumn here there are no gold leaves falling anywhere.  Things just seem to turn from green to gray around here.  In September we had beautiful blue sky days, but now the pollution is starting to kick in with smog from the factories nearby burning coal and clouds coming in here and there with little sprinkles of rain.  The yellow river is brownish red as usual.  As I ride the city buses downtown that follow the long river for awhile it seems a stark contrast of beauty and bleakness--beauty because it's an ever-flowing river that brings life to so many people and bleakness because of all the pollutants that have changed it's natural color.  Traffic is horrendous as usual and it seems like bus drivers and taxi drivers are losing their patience with each other and pedestrians more and more.  So get out of the way if you're a pedestrian---the vehicle will not always give you the right of way.  Lanzhou is a tough city, full of people who have a hard life.  I'm learning how to accept this and see how even my own life has become hard. Whenever I talk to people when I'm out and about, I'm always amazed at how hard they work and how difficult everything seems to be.  No wonder everyone seems to be looking out for  number one.  More later. . .