One of Those Days

You know those days, where nothing seems to go right no matter what you do. Yeah, it was like that. I had a strange dream that I was running football plays (American football) and woke up at 5 am and couldn’t go back to sleep. No one was on Skype so I wrote a little and tried to lay down. I got back up with Frank but was in a horrible mood and exhausted. Today we had to register with the police, which meant getting pictures taken first, then copies made of our papers and then finding the police station. Frank wanted to get the photos done in the morning before class which was fine, except I didn’t have my bike and he did. We had to leave at separate times which we didn’t and I missed my bus. I grabbed the next one that came by thinking it would pull into the main terminal and I could transfer. Nope, it went left! Time was slipping past as I raced back the way I came and hailed a cab, more expensive, but worth its weight in a little stress relief. I had him drop me off at my bike. As I got out, it started pouring down rain. Guess who forgot their umbrella? Yep, one of those days. I found my bike but it was locked to a friend’s with his lock. After sorting that out, I found Frank at the photo shop and ran in to get mine done. “You can’t wear your hat, it’s impossible.” I was told. Guess who didn’t comb their hair, only jammed it in a ponytail and under a hat? Yep, one of Those days. The woman charged us too much, but I didn’t have the fire in me to argue. We made it to school on time where we had the hardest grammar lesson yet, with sentences like: The children who brush their teeth come to my house every week. After class we picked up an air mattress and I carried it on the back of my bike, the junk bike, all the way home and met Frank to look for the police station. That actually went really smoothly. Then we headed for lunch, since we had missed breakfast and would miss dinner as well. We tried a new place and ended up paying more than twice what we normally do, again with no solution, we paid it. When we got home, I discovered that one of our goldfish had died. Ein Eugig, the one eyed goldfish with the fan tail. He was one of the original four who had survived who knows how long in a black, algae infested tank before we got the place. I had assumed he drew the short straw when food ran out, hence the one eye. Guess he couldn’t take the cleanness. Frank hummed Taps and flushed him. We left for a party with some friends and I took a shortcut from Frank’s shortcut. At the end of the road, I came off my bike for the first time. I was stopped, but the wheels went in opposite directions and I hit my sternum on some part of the frame. I fell right beside a policeman, who never budged from his post. The taxi driver on the other side of the street enjoyed the show too. When an old man started speaking to me, I thought he wanted money. It took a minute for me to realize he was actually asking if I was ok. He touched my elbow and asked if I was hurt and told me to be more careful. I was so shocked that I almost forgot to say thank you. No one helps each other here. No one! You might get accused of something, or sued. Unfortunately, my bike was not broken and I had to get back on and make my way. The party was the only thing that went right. I felt much better after being with my friends, listening to them, and laughing with them. I made it home ok too and soaked in the tub. Frank made us popcorn and now I sit telling you everything.

You know those days where the sun shines all day and everything you do turns to gold? You are riding cloud nine and nothing can bring you down? Maybe, tomorrow will be one of THOSE days!

“The sun’ll come out, tomorrow, so you gotta hang in till tomorrow…there’ll be sun.”-Annie

mandy

Bought and Paid For

Some friends and I took a Saturday morning to explore a university we had never been to before. It was during the recent Middle Autumn Festival so no one had to work and the streets were comparatively empty. It was quite a ride and all uphill. We asked for directions at a small seamstress shop. The woman was very nice but spoke only the local dialect. The man who was having his shirt fixed was very helpful. We mentioned we would eat lunch before going to the campus and he proceeded to lead us to a little noodle place where he bought our lunch. He is a retired police officer and before that he was a soldier. When I asked if he liked his work, he said no, it was too dangerous and he was glad to be out of it. I think since he paid for our lunch, he thought we were now his property because he would be at our side for the remainder of the day. He showed us around the area and led us to the campus, another long walk. He had a scooter, a cute purple one with a pink helmet. I asked if it was his, thinking he had borrowed it from his daughter. No, it’s his. He smoked heavily and at one point when we were looking at pictures on a billboard, he accidently blew right in my face. It was the first time I have ever smoked. I starting coughing, gagging, dry heaving and my eyes were watering. He was so sorry and stamped it out immediately, but I am pretty sure he reduced my life span that day. It was so nasty! He spotted some girls coming by on the other side of the road and called them over to meet us. They ALL spoke English! We asked for a tour of the campus, and thinking that the guy would leave, told him thank you and goodbye. What were we thinking? We were bought and paid for. So off we all went to the girls dorm. Only then could we leave him, since guys aren’t allowed in. The girls , six of them all sleep in the same room. Three bunks on each side with a table in the middle full of books. The bathroom is down the hall and reeks. The girls were all very sweet and so excited to meet foreigners. They wanted to show us around so off we went with our loyal pink helmeted companion. Obviously he had been asking about me and was determined to get my phone number. My friends told him I was married to a Big Black Man, but that didn’t have the effect we were hoping for. He even followed us out of the campus and most of the way home, making sure to ride right next to me. One of the girls did give him my number and later on he called me. I let Frank answer the second time. He hasn’t called since. Guess he didn’t believe I was really married. He’s been married four times. It was an interesting day.

“Sold!”

mandy

Great Wall

Working Girl!

Things have gone smoother this time around, especially with work. I got my Sunday teaching job back the day after we got back and people have been calling me to ask for private lessons! They got my number from other teachers. One called last night after 11 pm. There is a school run by an American who we both may be working for soon as well. Frank has several hours of work a week too and offers of more. No one wants to help us with a visa so we are trying to hold off signing contracts until someone will give us one. I had another private student but he keeps canceling so last Sunday that hour got replaced when I was offered an extra hour at the small school I teach at on Sundays. It is a 15 min. bike ride from this apartment and I have no idea how far from the one we will be moving to but farther I can tell you. I might take the bus. We'll see. The other two private classes I can do right after school nearby and get paid right then, very convenient. They are brand new clients, I start tomorrow. Maybe I should get on the ball and prepare. Talk to you later!
Mandy


"I owe, I owe, so off to work I go"

We are still here!

Hello everybody!! We have not given up blogging, just having difficulties getting it done. We have been on an apartment safari hunt for the past 2 weeks. We saw many strange things, apartments with rotten fruit still in the kitchen, underwear hanging in the bathroom. We visited several apartments twice. There is no rhyme or reason to the real estate agency here. You have to pick a street and go office to office asking. If you see a building you might like, there is no guarantee that the agencies underneath it have any apartments there. Chances are, they will make you walk 2 or 3 miles across the city to another building. One day we walked for ten hours, and found nothing. It seems that everyone in China has decided to move here and most purchase their apartments, so empty apartments are few and far between. Usually we just split up, hitting office after office and they would just say, mei you. We don't have anything. Not even one apartment in our range. One guy drove us out of the city away from everything to show us three apartments that were all 1000K which is pretty good. The building was brand new. We had to wait for the key so I peeped in the unfinished peep hole and saw that there were no doors framed out. When they finally opened the door, a little man jumped up from the squat toilet and ran out. "Does he live here"?, I asked. "Oh, no, no one lives here.". On the balcony I saw shoes and clothes hanging to dry on a makeshift line. In two bedrooms were mattresses and toothbrushes and clothes. "Are you sure no one lives here"? They said no again. The "best" part was that there was no western toilet, no floors, no doors and get this, no kitchen. The space was there, just an empty concrete space with pipes sticking out of the wall. When we asked them when it would be finished, they said, no 1000K was as is! What if we want doors and a toilet and ummm, a KITCHEN? They could put in the toilet and add doors but to put in a kitchen, buxing, impossible. And they would have to raise the rent a few hundred of course. When Frank tried to reason that no one could live in an unfinished place, the landlord called him cheap. It was hilarious! They refused to negotiate, except to say we could of course pay 1000 and do all the rest ourselves. As we were going downstairs, we spotted another unfinished apt. and stepped in to speak to the landlords. The unreasonable landlord quickly pointed to them, "See, they live here and look!, No kitchen!!!" But I thought no one was living in the other one. Hmmmm. She ushered us out of their place and as we descended the stairs, had a nice long discussion with the other owners to assure they would also not rent to us. It was an interesting experience and after the frustration and anger at her rudeness subsided, it was all very amusing.
We looked at apartments on all points of the compass and finally, in the rain yesterday, found one we could settle on. It has 3 bedrooms and one western bath. The living room is large, the kitchen small but workable. The sink and cabinet are rotten and collapsed when we opened the door. It has two balconies and the area has a garden. It is on the 11th floor. It is quieter and not dusty from outside construction. It is right next to a cigarette factory with the mountains even closer than this apt. It will take some cleaning and they will replace the sink cabinet before we sign a contract. But I think it will work out fine. The walking and bike riding were good exercise and we stayed hydrated since every office you visit gives you a cup of hot water and makes you sit and drink it. I had a dear friend with me too who actually enjoys the hunt. She was the engine because I was ready to give up and stay here, pay the increased rent and deal with not sleeping from the noise. "You are not giving up!" she kept telling me and look, now we have a new place. As soon as we can, I will post before pictures and after when we actually move in. Just wait for the stories we will have about getting our stuff moved!. Another adventure!
Mandy
"Be it ever so humble, there's no place like home"

Hey Everybody! We're Back!

We are officially back in China. My back tells me in the morning after sleeping on our board bed. No really, I am happy to be back, and that is the best part. I am HAPPY to be back! Maybe it is the return to a real schedule and regularity. Whatever it is, I am grateful. We arrived Wednesday night around 6 pm. We opted for a private car to get to our apartment and ended up having a nice discussion with the driver, who was studying English with tapes in the car and eager to practice with us. He thought it would be nice if the world was one united family and that us learning Chinese and he learning English was a good start. Yeah, we enjoyed talking to him. It was a good start to getting back. I am sorry that I am still unable to load pictures. Please be patient. We started school on Thursday morning. Why wait? And right away, I got my one hour a week job back, plus the next day a couple hired me to teach them. The second time around is going much smoother. Of course, we have to find more work than two hours but this is a very encouraging start. I am so glad that we used so much Chinese while we were in Korea, but still, we can see how much work we have to do to catch back up. Frank and I had lunch together Thursday and instead of asking for the bill, mai dan, I told the waitress that the meal was free, mian fei. Frank signed us up for what he thought was faster internet, but was actually pay as you go, per hour. We have to wait till October to change it so we have been disconnecting from the net to save money. So, back to school we go! A friend is giving me a bike tomorrow too, so things are really going well. That is, until class tomorrow when I can't write the characters because I was blogging instead of doing homework like Frank...Gotta Go!
mandy

The Forbidden City

Good Eats and Snack Streets

Here are a few of the foods we tried in Beijing and a few that we didn't.