Finally got logged on

I had created a Gmail account because I had been told the Gmail phone service was better than Skype and we had some problems with the video a few times that I had called JoAnne.  After making the Gmail account I had problems logging on  the "My life in Xian."  I think I have that taken care of now and I hope I can remember what I did next time I go to post something.  If I wake up and get going tomorrow morning I will take my notebook of words and see if I can make a new friend at the little welding shop just outside the back gate.  I really do want to see how they do things here. We will see just how well that goes.  I still need to be back for rugby practice at noon and then I have my Chinese class at 2 pm.  For my Chinese class the homework it to talk to people that work in the different trades or occupations here in China.  I had the haircut this week.  I have spoken with the maintenance worker who fixed the tile at the hotel.   He is the first person I actually tried to talk to here in Xian.  They were working on the basketball rims and welding.   I see him at least once a week and we smile and say, "Ni Hao."  Hello is easier to write if you don't have to use the pin yin.  I may have wrote about this before but if you are interested in China and what is going on over here I suggest you check out the English,cctv.com web site and watch some of their English language television shows.  The travel shows are well done.  I like the "Travelogue" series.  The were doing a group of shows on the different minorities in China and a 6 part series on ShangHai.  english.cctv.com  I figure once I get back that we can stop our cable and just watch this on the computer and save so much money that maybe I could retire at 63 instead of 65. 

If I was working here I would get a uniform like this to wear.  I had my students tell me about the topic they are going to teach me about for the finally exam.  Some of the students had the assignment done but most of them did not.  For the final exam I want my students to present a lesson on 5 to 10 Chinese words and be able to communicate for 5 to 10 minutes.  I will allow them to choose any topic they want.  I have one student that is going to introduce words about the family, as in Ye Ye for Grandpa.  I have a student that is going to talk about her home town, Hua Shan, as in the Mountain that I want to climb before I go home.  One of our CLC students is going there Friday.  The problem I have here is actually knowing the date.  The alarm clock has one date on it, the computers are all different due to the time change, the cell phone has a different date on it.  It could be the 6th, the 7th, or maybe the 8th in a few hours.  But I do know that today is Thursday.  Several of my students will still talk about food so i will get a few more recipes before I go home.  I had a student that wanted to talk about her favorite singer.  I said that is OK as long as you can do the assignment and know how to teach me new words.  I also suggested that she play some music so I could hear what her favorite singer sounds like.  Another student plans to talk about flowers and I suggested she show pictures or do something to explain to me what the flowers looked like.  I then asked her if Tulips and Daffodils mean anything to her.  She said no.  That is why you want to show me some pictures.  If I can get some one to talk about Bai Jiu and then bring in several bottles.  But then that probably would not be a good idea.  Hopefully Friday I will be successful in my quest for welding information.

First hair cut in Xian

I got my first haircut in Xian today.  Tim Murphy was there to take the pictures.  He said he enjoyed the double takes from the people walking by.  I guess not many western people get their hair cut at the street shops.  I knew a few things to say and the barber could speak a little English so everything went well.  This is what I looked like when I walked in the place.

The shop was on the street right outside the campus.  It even had the spinning barber poles, just like at home.  Once it was determined that I wanted my hair cut and not too short, we started with the wash.  Having that out of the way, the cutting started.

Everyone seemed to being enjoying the whole process, Tim was taking pictures, the other staff members were walking around, someone asked me how old I was, and no one cared that we were taking pictures and also having a good time. This the end result.

So if you are in Xian and need a hair cut I suggest you look this guy up.  A hair cut and wash will set you back about a 1.75 dollars. 

After a haircut the best thing to do is walk on up the street to the McDonald's and get a cup of real coffee and some french fries. I do miss the real coffee and try to drink a cup every change I get. For supper we ate at a little outdoor place.  We had meat and beer, the perfect meal.  Next time we are going to eat the little clams, mussels, and the crayfish.  This is a place where we might see about taking a group of students and just trying a lot of stuff.  And taking pictures.  The place was not there two weeks ago and it is outside with only an awning covering the tables, but the clams looked so good.  Just a few degrees warmer outside and it will be perfect.

little side streets

Xian is full of little side streets that contain little restaurants and shops.  These are off of the main streets.  You can find many cheap meals here and meet interesting people.  The food is good here.

Not only is thing bowl of Jaio Zi, dumplings, very good to eat, it is about 80 cents to buy.  Do you realize how difficult is going to be to return home and go out to eat.  Everything is so cheap when you are use to paying USA dollars.  I guess I will adjust some how.  I probably need to return to the Green Molly Pub and buy some expensive Irish beers to help me adjust.

Friends in China

I have made some good friends here, in a very short time.  Not just people you see and work with, but people that you will always remember, and people that you hope to continue to keep in touch with, and maybe see again. The international faculty here are a very nice group of people.  Some of them have been here 7 or 8 years and some have only been here a year to two.  We all get together on the Rugby field, or drink a few beers, or go out to eat some nights. Besides teaching the one thing we all have in common is that we like it here.  This is one of the most exciting times of my life. I have been fortunate to do somethings that people don't usually do, work on a fishing boat in the Keys, sit in the press box, as a member of the press, at the St. Louis Blues game, be in the opera, but this is really something special, and I love every minute of it.

Paul is from Canada and has been here 7 or 8 years and Katie, my mentor, is from England and has been here almost 2 years.  Very nice people and fun to be around. Paul will probably stay here until his health tells him it is time to return to Canada.  Katie will probably be here until she figures out what she wants to do with the rest of her life.  China is a good place to visit if you need time to think about things.

Qing Long Si temple today

On Saturday, during our make-up class for the holiday, one of my students said I should go to the Qing Long Si Temple because the ornamental cherry trees would be in bloom and the place is very beautiful.  She also said I could take the 400 bus to get there.  I have been telling my students that when they become teachers, they need to make sure their students get out and do things and have to communicate with Chinese people.  I decided to visit the Qing Long Si as a way to tell the students why it is important to do what I have been talking about.  I had my basic information written down on paper, a 1 yuan dollar in my pocket, some basic instructs, and the feeling of adventure in my heart.  I headed off to find the 400 bus and the Qing Long Si temple. I was told it would take about 40 minutes to get there and that was all I knew.  After about 30 minutes I started to ask some younger people, on the bus, where this place was.  I got some more information from them.  Some older people, older like my age, also told me that I had 4 more stops and then I get off the bus.  I was able to tell him in Mandarin, that my students told me the place was very beautiful.  He was able to understand.  As we got closer to the stop some students told me to follow them because they were going to the temple.  I followed them and they told me they were Xian International University students and I showed them my Faculty ID.  I always carry my faculty ID because that way I can leave my passport at the hotel and I get the student discount and only pay half price.  I am also old enough that students will insist that I sit down on the bus when they give me their seat.  Today I got up and gave my seat to a lady with a baby.   Once I got  my ticket and got in the temple, what I saw was people taking pictures, relaxing, and just enjoying the day.  There was a lot of families and many students there.  Lots of people getting their pictures taken with the flowers.

The people were coming in like this all day.  The place in not that big but I imagine when you live in apartments it is nice to go to some place green and a nice spring day.  This is not a tourist place that a bus would take you to but it was nice to see what people do that live here. It made me think of the ICC field trip to the Southwest when we were at Zion.  At the one lodge they had ice cream and big oak tree with green grass.  The place was packed full of people eating ice cream and sitting on the grass under the shade of the oak tree.  Why, because it was a nice place to be.  Not as exciting as climbing to Angels Landing but a very nice place to be.  I had a nice day.  Spent some time with some students that have seen me walking around the campus.  I ate some type of snack food that tasted like candied smoke.  I did not ask them to tell me what it was but I had heard one girl say it was dragon snack.  Now I have to ask my class to try and explain what this is to me, because I am going to bring some home.  It was not that good, and it was not that bad, it was a favor that I had never tasted before.  I also ate a Bing Tang Hu Lu, a candied fruit on a stick and bought some Jing Gao, a sticky rice dessert.  The reason I did that was because students had talked about it in class.

Bing Tang Hu Lu, a candied fruit, and very good.

He runs, he scores

• Rugby practice today and I scored a, what ever they call it.  Intercepted a pass, handed it off before I got touched, followed the play to receive the ball, and crossed the goal line.  Oh, yeah.  Today we picked up the pace of the game.  It was moving a little faster.  During today's practice it was more important to get back the 5 meters so you were not offsides and basically out of the play and useless to your team.  Today's game was more fun.  Many of the players are learning the rules better.  I really do like the touch rugby and think it is good game for fitness and it is fun.  We had four teams of six so the students like it also.  In a couple of weeks we will have the demonstration at the big sports competition. 
• Today in my Chinese class, the one I am taking, the Lao Shi had some of her Chinese English Major students come to class to work with the American students.  There was a knock on the door, and when she opened it there were 6 of my students in the hallway.  They were smiling and waving at me.  Oh that is so much fun to see, and something I will miss, and miss a lot when I return home.  I was trying to find out the best way to ask if it is ok to take a persons picture or a picture of someone doing something.  We had little communication problem.  I would say, "No, I don't want a picture of me with someone, I want to take a picture of someone."  I then explained about my haircut and that I want to take pictures of my hair cut.  She was confused as to why I would want a picture of me getting my haircut.  I can see her point.  She also asked me if I like Chinese woman and I said, "Wo dou xihuan, bu gaosu wo de airen." At least I know JoAnne will never figure that one out, because she can't read pin yin and Ava would never tell her. So far everything is still new and exciting here.  I have not had the feeling that I want to return or that I miss things.  I do miss my wife but I still wake up to a new day and look forward to seeing new things, even the simple things.  We will see if I still feel that way after working Saturday and having it rain on Sunday and get colder.  I am not sure if my spell check is working now.  Oh well.

How long have you lived in China, Ma?

On Saturdays we get to take the campus bus to the Metro International Market and shop for food that is foreign to China.  It is not such a big deal but still we look forward to it.  It is one of the perks.  Since we have the holiday, Tomb Sweeping Day, the faculty has to work on Saturday, so we can have Monday and Tuesday off.  I just heard the bus to the Metro will be on Sunday this week.  I called Tim and told him and he said, " I would think that is something they would have told us."  I said, "how long have you lived in China."  We seem to get all our information at the last minute.  I had my TA ask me today if I needed a class roster.  That would help since it is week 6 now.