Well that's that then...

Another stellar weekend down, only a few more to go until summer vacation bliss (except I will be in school for a majority of my vacation).

Nathan and I are thinking about renting an apartment instead of me staying in the dorms and him doing whatever. I would actually save money since I'm paying $800 for 6 weeks and I know for a fact I can get an apartment for cheaper than that. I would just need to purchase a bike for getting to/from classes. We're thinking of taking a trip to Beijing during our May holiday to scope out places and all that.

Next Monday we have off, so Nathan and I shall probably take a short trip either to Wuhan or Changsha. Not sure where yet. It will be nice to explore another area though.

This week I'm working on pronunciation in my classes. Today my 2:30pm class might as well have all been sleeping, they were truly out of it. I made them get up and do exercises until they woke up. I ended up dismissing them early because I think we all just wanted to be out of class.

I'm off to read/nap/do laundry/clean.

Real World Chinese

I'm still waiting to hear back from BLCU, although the program adviser said it would be a couple weeks until I heard from them... so maybe this time next week?

In the meantime, I thought I would post some information about the program.

I will be in class between 4 and 6 hours a day. If I take the intensive class, which I'm planning on, I will be in class 6 hours a day. The extra two hours for the intensive program are one-on-one tutoring, how super is that?

I'm going back to the beginner class since my character writing is not very strong and I think it will be good to review the basics.

Textbooks are included in the $1200 program fee. There are no additional fees (besides my own personal spending and $800 for housing).

In order to ensure your Mandarin skills are developed in the best possible way, the classes have been divided into the five key language developing areas: reading, writing, listening, speaking (oral), and grammar.

Reading: Classes will focus on building vocabulary and strengthening reading comprehension, with a focus on accuracy and speed.

Writing: Classes will introduce and develop the composition of characters and stroke orders of radicals, or bushou.

Listening: Classes will focus on improving listening comprehension of spoken Mandarin at regular speed. At the beginner level the primary focus will be understanding basic facts; at the advanced level the primary focus will be developing implicit comprehension and drawing inferences from complicated passages.

Speaking (Oral): Classes will facilitate the development of proper pronunciation and intonation, and will help students recognize common stress patterns in Mandarin.

Grammar: Classes will introduce and develop proper sentence structure, word order, spelling and colloquial expressions.

After school there is complimentary tutoring and a partnered language exchange.

They also have free electives, whee!

Language: Chinese Character Writing and Chinese Song Classes

Chinese Character Writing: A supplementary class to writing classes. Focus is on further development of characters and the radical system.

Chinese Song Classes: An introduction to both traditional folk and modern (pop) Chinese songs. Lyrics are written in both pinyin (Romanized letters) and hanzi (Chinese characters) in order to further strengthen reading and speaking skills.

Non-Language: Chinese Painting, Calligraphy, Traditional Chinese Massage and Medicine, and Taiji Quan (Tai Chi)

Chinese Painting: An introduction to one of the most popular traditional Chinese painting techniques - water colour painting, taught by a professional artist.

Calligraphy: An introduction to the ancient and sublime art form of Chinese calligraphy. Learn the eight styles, how to hold the brush, and the proper order of strokes. Students will select one style and develop their skills.

Traditional Chinese Massage and Medicine: An introduction to the ancient Chinese view of the human body and the causes of illness. Remedial techniques will include herbal medicine and massage.

Taiji Quan (Tai Chi): An introduction to the softer and more fluid martial arts, with a focus on internal power to improve health and wellness, both physically and mentally.

Aaaaaaand, they even have social activities set up, along with a welcome lunch:

• The Peking Duck Feast
• Bowling nights
• Karaoke nights
• Movie nights
• Friday Bar and Club nights
• Bowling
• Paintball
• Snowboarding trips

Once a month Real World Chinese will also host a dinner and social evening where you will have the opportunity to share your experiences and stuff yourself silly with all the rice, soup and assorted Chinese dishes you can imagine.

Plus: Our Real World Chinese include Emergency Travel and Medical Insurance, which covers emergency medical and dental treatment, pro-rata return of program fee in case of curtailment, personal liability and more.

This summer is going to AH-MAZING!

P.S. I've already saved up all my tuition money and dorm money. Now I'm just saving up for living expenses for the summer. Yay!

Nothing, Nada, The Big Goose Egg

I did nothing today.

Okay, not entirely true. I did the dishes, swept, studied some Chinese, and did some laundry.

I also found this website, which is like Ross for Juniors online. Love it.

Shower, then bed. Tomorrow it's back to the grind.

Chores

Edward from Twilight = Cedric Diggory
Whoa.
How did I miss that?

No work tomorrow, they've canceled my class for some reason or another. I shall be sleeping in, cleaning, doing laundry, studying Chinese, and meeting up with a friend in the evening. Blah. A day off should not be spent doing things like chores.

FYI, Nathan's hard drive is fried, so if you're trying to reach him and can't, that's why. He's trying to get it fixed tomorrow.

That's all.

A fairly decent weekend.

I was in Nanchang this weekend, and it ended up being a good time. As soon as I arrived, Nathan and Pearl were there to greet me at the station. We headed to Metro for a little grocery shopping, before sending Pearl home with our goods while Nathan and I dashed off to a birthday dinner for our friend Leo.
The dinner was good, and while the entire thing was held in Chinese, I got the gist of most of it. I guess that means I'm getting better at this stuff. The meal was fantastic, but after many 'ganbei''s it was time to head home.

The weather was so nice on Saturday Nathan and I decided to go for a bike ride. We mis-judged the humidity though, and ended up pretty sweaty. We found a creepy abandoned building and graveyard on our ride which was interesting.
For dinner, Pearl was kind enough to cook us Tex Mex. It was delicious! We had a nice chat about a variety of subjects. We returned to Nathan's to get ready for an evening out. Soon Nik, Fei Fei, Nate, and I were on our way downtown to hang out with some friends at Le Nest. We met the Captain, and Leo, enjoyed a few drinks, then headed on to Soho bar.
Soho was quite fun, and the Captain was able to fanagle some free drinks for us. Luna, Simon, Leo's girlfriend, and a couple other girls joined us for the evening. After a few hours of dancing and drinking, we headed on to Stewart's bar to wind down.
Nathan wasn't feeling too good, so we headed home around 3am, the night complete.

Today we spent the day being sleepy and lazing about. I trained home around 5pm, and was happy I had a seat this time. I headed to Walmart after dropping off my bag to get some groceries and a few supplies for my classes tomorrow. It's game week, so hopefully it will go well. I'm off to pull some stuff together then sleep.

Twilight, Twilight, Twilight.... Squee!

School-wise, it was a long day. The kids didn't seem to love the sports lesson. Blah. They enjoyed the clips, just not learning the rules and terms in English. Next week is game week, where I'll be using games to test what they remember, so maybe it will be more fun.
After my last class I then went to Grace's class since they had never spoken to a foreigner before and answered questions for awhile.
Yeah, teaching totally kills any nervousness you may have about speaking in front of crowds you don't know. It's totally no sweat anymore. Bizarre.

As my treat for working so laboriously today, I decided to allow myself time to eat girl scout cookies, finish the final Twilight book, and finally watch the Twilight movie.
It was a good afternoon.
I didn't know what to expect with the Twilight movie. I hadn't watched any of the trailers and I had only seen Robert P (the guy who plays Edward) in pictures on Perez Hilton. I was actually thoroughly and happily shocked by how good it was. The first Twilight book was not the best, so I wasn't expecting too much from the movie. Stephanie Meyer (the author) didn't seem to find her voice until the later books, and thus, Bella (the main character) was incredibly irritating to start off with. However, in the movie she was well-played and they toned down the irritating bits. Overall, a success I would say.

I've got a stack of movies waiting to be watched, right now it's a tie between 'Rachel Getting Married' and 'Transporter 3'.

Toodles.

.

I've got to throw together a lesson plan, so this will be quick.

Nathan and I had a lovely weekend. It was a nice day Saturday so we decided to walk about town and visit my dvd man. We had a late lunch at a Sichuan restaurant near my campus, and asked them not to add MSG. And... I didn't get sick! So I think it really must be the MSG that's doing it. I found Twilight at the dvd store, so that was another success.

We spent most of today being lazy. Which is why I must go make a lesson plan now. Sports this week. Yippee!

Annnnnnnd...

I've got nothing.

Finished Twilight #2 and Shanghai Baby.

I... hated Shanghai Baby. Isn't that a shame? The main character, Coco, was unbearable. Perhaps that's what the author was aiming for, in which case she succeeded. I suppose I don't have much tolerance for characters like Coco, who are so caught up in their own selfish and greedy world. I can't understand why this book is banned in China, if it is. It doesn't make China look bad, just shows that there are some bad people here, just like there are in every country. I didn't enjoy the writing style very much either, it seemed like the author was trying to make the book longer so she added unnecessary descriptions of inconsequential things.
I read somewhere that it was a popular book among feminists, but I can't remember where. I think this book makes women look terrible. Selfish, weak, and like we must have a man in our lives to be happy, which is untrue.

Twilight is, of course, just mind wallpaper.
I'm almost finished with China Road and shall be able to pass it on to Liz soon.

Please keep an eye out for the following books at the used bookstore:

• Oracle Bones : A Journey Through Time in China by Peter Hessler
• The Elephant and the Dragon by Robyn Meredith
• Out of Mao's Shadow: The Struggle for the Soul of a New China by Philip Pan
• River Town: Two Years on the Yangtze by Peter Hessler
• Postcards from Tomorrow Square: Reports from China by James Fallows
• Factory Girls: From Village to City in a Changing China by Leslie Chang
• The Good Women of China: Hidden Voices by Xinran
• Great Call of China by Cynthea Liu
• China Underground by Zachary Mexico
• Mao: The Unknown Story by Jung Chang
• Mao's Last Dancer by Li Cunxin
• Becoming Madame Mao by Anchee Min
• The Last Days of Old Beijing : Life in the Vanishing Backstreets of a City Transformed by Michael Meyer
• Shark's Fin and Sichuan Pepper by Fuchsia Dunlop
• Serve the People: A Stir Fried Journey Through China by Jen Lin-Liu
• Any of the Barack Obama books
• Meltdown: A Free-Market Look At Why The Stock Market Collapsed, the Economy Tanked, and Government Bailouts Will Make Things Worse by Thomas Woods Jr.
  

Hamlin gave me the letter from the school that I needed for my study abroad program, so I've e-mailed them all the documents they should need now. Just waiting for the acceptance letter.

Grad school is looking more and more appealing. I'll keep you posted on that. I'm definitely thinking of applying next year. Would need to take the GRE or GMAT when I get back to the states in January. A prep book for those would be super fantastic, also.

Epic... only not so much

Nathan downloaded all of the Twilight books for me, so now I have all four on my computer waiting to be read. Awesome!

I had a great time hanging out with my student Renee today. We did a bit of shopping and I had a chance to not only practice my Chinese but also to eat some street food which was delicious, they were fried dumplings with spicy noodles inside. I must take Nathan to get some when he come to Jiujiang this weekend. We even got some sugar cane to munch on. Yum. Of course I didn't have my camera with me to document all this which is a shame.

After dropping off my purchases at the apartment, I went to Walmart to buy groceries since the house was devoid of food. I got some great munchies, and have found milk which may taste normal, I'll let you know after I try some. And some fat ass (probably Cary or one of the other foreign teachers) bought all the canned spaghetti sauce! Last time I was at Walmart which was only a week ago there were about 10 cans there. Ridiculous. They better order more. I'm stuck with those plastic bag spaghetti sauces until then.
Could someone mail me cotton balls? They are the only thing that I can't seem to find in China AT ALL! I've been using q-tips for my cleanser stuff, and it is just a waste.
On the way home I had a fantastic cab driver who spoke Chinese for laowai (foreigner) so I could understand him and we had a good conversation. He was nice enough to drive me to the door of my hotel (almost all cabbies stop at the main gate) since I had so much in the way of groceries. Apparently I've lost the ability to say the school's name correctly, because he started taking me to Jiujiang University. I corrected him and he told me he knew I was a teacher and so he just thought to take me to JJU or something along those lines. Eh. We figured it out.

Okay, I'm off to read Twilight before I force myself to go to bed.

Wentang

Friday: As soon as my classes were over, I made my way to the train station, bag in hand to buy my ticket and catch the earliest train possible to Nanchang. Somehow, even though I arrived twenty minutes before the train was to leave, I missed the one I was hoping to catch and thus had to catch the next one and wait at the train station for an hour.
Fine.
The train ended up being standing room only and quite packed. No sitting for the hour and a half journey for me, although a creep-o did offer me a chance to come sit next to him. No thanks.
I arrived in Nanchang around 3:45 and met Nathan and Liz (who had arrived before me) at the McDonalds near the station. We sat around for awhile 'shooting the shit' and waited for Nik to arrive. After he joined us we headed back to the train station to meet Cici who had our train tickets and whose apartment we would be staying at.
The train was fantastic, it was the express, and so clean! We arrived in Yichun about an one and a half hours after departing Nanchang. We quickly caught a taxi outside the station and headed on to Wentang where we would be staying.
First things first, it was dinner time. After an interesting meal, which included such delicacies as a vegetable which tasted like grass and dirt, and another which had the taste and consitancy of pork fat, we headed on to Cici's apartment.
We decided that some hot springs were in order, so after mixing a few drinks to take with us, we headed out to the springs. It was already dark outside, and we headed to a close place first. Unfortunately it would be closing only about an hour after we had arrived, so we decided to move on to the posh springs instead. We eventually found the place and headed in.
The springs were very nice and we had a lot of fun trying the different pools, enjoying our drinks, and hanging out. Soon it was closing time, so we headed back to Cici's place where we played a few drinking games with Nathan's snapping alligator, then headed to bed.

Saturday: I was feeling pretty unwell, most likely from the combination of drinking and Chinese food. (Maybe I'm allergic to msg?). We went for lunch at a nice restaurant just up the street where Cici ordered a giant stone bowl full of fish and a few other dishes. We then caught a mianbaoche to take us to the mountain. The ride was a bit uncomfortable for me and my volatile stomach, but the company was pleasant and the views were nice. On our way to the mountain our driver managed to run over a chicken.
Immediately an old woman came running to the van yelling at the driver who then had to stop and pay her off for the chicken. We still don't even know if it was actually her chicken, but she made somethine like 40 yuan off of it's untimely death.
We finally arrived at the mountain which was gorgeous. However, once we had wandered inside and seen how expensive it was, we changed our minds. Almost 200 yuan to climb this stinking thing? Pshhh. No way. We took a few pictures on our way out, and grabbed another mianbaoche to take us back to Wentang.
We decided our money would be better spent at the posh hot springs, so we donned our bathing suits and headed back. We spent most of our time skipping from pool to pool and enjoyed a game of Marco Polo.
Eventually it was time to go home so we headed back to Cici's to pack our bags and catch a mianbaoche to the train station. I only wish it could have lasted longer.
We arrived back in Nanchang quite late in the evening, bid Cici farewell, and headed to Nathan and Nik's apartment complex. We were all exhausted from the hot springs so we headed to bed pretty much as soon as we got home.

Sunday: My stomach was still a bit achy. Nathan, Liz, and I headed to the Muslim noodle restaurant for lunch (I swear, everytime we go there I'm sick and can't eat the entire bowl, so now I'm pretty sure the owner thinks I don't like his restaurant.) It was then time to head back to the train station so Liz could catch her train back to Wuhan and I could get my ticket and head back to Jiujiang. Liz left around 1:30 so Nathan and I headed to McDonald's to hang out before my train at 2-ish.
It was another train with standing only room, but I met some nice kids from Jiujiang University who I had a good chat with on the way home. They even let me practice my Chinese! Not too shabby.
When I arrived home I found this fantastic e-mail:

Hi Jessica,

I am delighted to let you know that your submitted photo has been selected for inclusion in the newly released sixth edition of our Schmap San Francisco Guide:

Japanese Tea Garden


****

Neat, huh?
I also had an email from Real World Chinese asking me to send a copy of my visa and a letter from my employer saying I was allowed to study in Beijing for the summer. Ridiculous. I let Hamlin know, so hopefully he's taking care of that. I'll re-emphasize how important it is to him on Wednesday if I haven't heard anything.

Today I taught my kids about going to the doctor and all that related vocab. They really don't know many body parts, so we went over that, and I taught them the different words for 'butt'.
Tomorrow I have plans to meet a student to hang out/ have a Chinese lesson/ shop.
Now I'm off to cook dinner and maybe do some yoga.

You can see pictures from Wentag here.

Tomorrow

You will get an update about this weekend. It was super.

Now... I must make a lesson plan and sleep.

Things of note...

• The fingernails are fixed. I managed to uber eff them up when I got home from the salon so I whipped out the polish remover and repainted them hot pink with glitter. I even managed to cut them down to a more resonable length, although the middle and ring fingers are still looking a bit long. I'm quite proud of my fingernail painting skillz although I'm nowhere near as good as the profs.
• I have already saved up half of the program fee for this summer. Go me! Now I just need to get my tax return in, and save up the other 4000rmb plus any spending money I may need. However, I have been told that I shall probably get about 11,000rmb when summer break starts, so I don't think that will be a problem either. I also plan to do some private lessons for cash while I'm in Beijing if I can, or find some other job on the side.
  
• I talked to Hamlin about my visa issues, i.e. my visa expires the day after I head up to Beijing. He said he would talk to some people and try to get it sorted so I don't have to worry about it.
• Tomorrow I have two classes, then head to Nanchang to meet up with Nathan and Liz before we head to the hot springs.
• I must go pack.

That's it.

P.S. I still really want a trapeze. Oof.

Very little to say...

Not much is going on. The weather has been too cold and wet to spend much time outdoors.

Sophie and I went to the nail salon today and I paid for her to have her nails done. I also had mine redone but I don't like them at all. They're black with white polka dots which would be cute on shorter nails, but on the longish nails just looks frightening. I'll get them redone next weekend or something.

That is all. Going to the hot springs this weekend. Getting paid tomorrow, but a majority of it is going into savings for summer school. I am wiped out, so a shower and bed for me.

I <3 Hong Kong

I'm completely wiped, but I figure I'll try to get this all posted and wrapped up before I pass out (plus the laundry is still going.)

Nathan and I caught the train to Shenzhen around 4pm on Friday. We both took some Nyquil and passed out pretty early, eager to sleep through the fourteen hour train ride. We ended up arriving around 5:30am.

Unfortunately for us, the ticket booth to buy our return tickets to Nanchang/Jiujiang didn't open until later, so we spent some time eating breakfast and hanging out (in the gloriously warm weather) at the Shenzhen train station. Eventually we were able to buy the return tickets and move on to the other side of the train station which was where the border to Hong Kong was located.
We passed through customs with ease and made our way to the metro where we bought tickets to head into the main city area of Kowloon. After a 45 minute metro ride we arrived at our stop, which was conveniently located right next to the Mirador Mansion where we were to stay. Inside the mansion were a number of hostels, so we settled for one, made a deal with the lady who ran the operation, and settled in. Naps and showers were in order, so we set about making that happen.
In the early afternoon we decided to have some lunch (Indian food) before setting out to look around. The area we were in (Nathan Road) was bustling with activity. We walked around and discovered how conveniently close we were to the Ocean Port where Grandma and Grandpa would be docking the next day. We decided to take the ferry across to the island of Hong Kong (it probably has it's own name but I can't be bothered to look it up.) We spent hours looking around at all the markets, hiking up stairs, and peeking into art galleries. In the evening we wandered by the park, and stumbled upon a night market. By the end of the day my feet were straight up busted and we were exhausted.

We met Grandma and Grandpa the next day, at 10am sharp. Luckily the dock was only a 15 minute walk away from our hotel. We decided that breakfast was in order and found a local Starbucks to meet our breakfast needs. After that it was off down Nathan road to have a look at the shops and try to find a tailor (unsuccessfully). After a nice look around the park which boasts a small lake complete with flamingos and a rare bird aviary, we made our way to the ferry to see the island. Nathan has a brilliant mind for directions and took us back to all the markets I thought the grandparents would like to see. We ended up hopping on a tram as a mini adventure, but didn't make it far before deciding to stop at another market for a quick look and some lunch. A pizza hut was nearby, so we headed in there to refuel, gorging on such delicacies as garlic bread and pizza.
The idea of going to Stanley Market kept coming up, so we hailed a cab and headed out that way. It ended up being on the opposite side of the island, but the views were brilliant as we passed all the million dollar homes and small beaches. We did a bit more shopping at the market, running into Grandma and Grandpa's fellow Oriana passengers as we did. After a few picture taking opportunities, we decided to catch a double decker bus back to the city.
We took the top deck of the ferry back to Kowloon which was quite nice. The shopping had accumulated into a bothersome mess, so we went back to our hotel to drop it off before heading on to the night market. Street food was in order, though it cost a might more than street food on the mainland. Nathan ordered about four dishes, and Grandma and I scampered off to have a look at the market while they were being cooked. Unfortunately the dishes arrived soon after we left, so it was a bit cold when we returned, but still delicious.
It was soon time for the light show, so we made our way to where the ferry dock was in order to get good seats. The show was quite nice, although the commentating was in Cantonese. Everyone was pretty exhausted after that so we walked Grandma and Grandpa back to the Oriana and headed off. Nathan enjoyed a couple beers while I did a bit more shopping, then went back to the hotel.

Monday morning Nathan and I hurried to The Penninsula to meet Grandma and Grandpa. We had a delicious breakfast there while taking in all the poshness. We decided it best to drop off the Ribena and book that Grandma and Grandpa had brought with them, so we returned to the hotel, then made our way to the Hong Kong space museum. Unfortunately it was closed, so we headed for the ferry instead. After a short ride across we were once again on the island. Nathan led us to the area where all the art galleries are, so we spent the afternoon poking around in there until it was time to return to Kowloon. We metroed back and stopped by our hotel to check out and retrieve our bags before heading to a small Indian restaurant in the next mansion over from ours.
We ordered our food and ended up waiting forever! I was growing ever more nervous about missing our train, but we were able to eat and get the naan to go. We bid Grandma and Grandpa farewell, and ran for the metro which we had to take to get back to the HK/Shenzhen border. We ended up having just enough time to make it through customs and arrived at our train gate just as it began boarding.
Nathan and I didn't have beds next to each other, so I hung out in his area until we were both exhausted. Then I returned to my bed, had a Nyquil, read for a bit, and passed out.

This morning Nathan tapped me as he was heading off. His stop was in Nanchang, an hour and a half before my own. I gave him a hug, then fell back asleep, before being woken up to hand over my ticket and prepare to disembark. The train was a bit late getting in, but I immediately found a taxi (where I was overcharged but didn't care) and arrived home with enough time to unpack before heading to class.
In class we watched a movie, The Princess Bride, which the kids all seemed to adore. Think I'll stick to the movies this week, next week will be a hard lesson 'At the Doctor'.


P.S. Nathan and I now own Fafu, a lovable panda who like bamboo and traveling as well as blogging. Check out her adventures here: http://chroniclesoffafu.blogspot.com/