back to school

This week - Justin started his fourth semester of Mandarin! Here he is on the way out the door, dressed warm - with earmuffs too. He's even taking out the garbage on his way, at 6:45 in the morning! Here's our front door...leading out into the hallway.

He takes the bus (45 minutes one way + walking) and studies or listens to podcasts while he commutes across town. The past few trips - he's had to stand up, since all the seats were taken. He has 2 great teachers - and only about 5-7 other students studying alongside him. This is the Zhong Ji Ban (中级班 = intermediate class). His spoken Chinese is quite good, since he's been working on starting the business & speaking with people often. He hasn't studied the characters as much, so there is always room for improvement! We are so glad to be studying at XAU again, and we have really appreciated all the help from our Waiban (外办 = foreign students office).

passed my test!!

We just completed our 4th book of Mandarin (in a series of 6) and I passed my test for the semester! Wahoo!! To celebrate - our class went out to lunch at the only Texas Deli in the city - which was a stretch for some of the Asian's in my class, but I gave a fajita rolling demo, and they caught on fast. Eden came along with me, as you can see her little head at the far end of the table, with her beaming smile.

This is one of the only places in the city where you can order some homemade tortillas and refried beans. Believe me, its a craving! We have gotten great at making it ourselves at home, but its so nice to have a place like this in our city - complete with chili, burgers, pan pizza and milk shakes!

Here are some Korean classmates posing for a picture. This is my teacher on the left, and her friend on the right. And I am proud to say that all our conversations were completely in Chinese. Well, except if Eden needed some translation. I mean, she translated for me. :)

stay calm momma....

麻烦 máfan - troublesome; inconvenient
This word is the perfect description to many of life's challenges, especially when living overseas - and being baffled by the absurdities (nicer word would be differences) that can surround us. Here is one such example:

Thursday morning we awoke to no electricity. No big deal - its actually is a bit refreshing (we get to be more creative, right?). Justin left for class, while Ali gets the girls ready for the day (breakfast, etc). Loud, incessant pounding on door frightens everyone. Ali answers the door and is greeted by loud man dressed in camouflage gear? In slurred Chinese - he says he is here to fix the ceiling! (Ali is grateful & amazed - we have been asking him to come for 2 weeks now!). He comes in the house (leaves shoes on, tracking in grime) to inspect the job. Nine large kitchen & bathroom tiles have fallen, over the course of a few months, since the job wasn't done well the first time. He grunts & sighs & makes lots of disgusted noises, then says he needs to buy supplies. Ali hurriedly gets the girls in shoes & jackets, so they can walk to the Hardware Shop to buy supplies with Mr. Fix-it-man. She knows better than to trust him with the cash. :)

After returning home, Fix-it-man begins to prep the tiles and Ali clears out the bathroom for him to work. He does not have a tarp, so I grab some of my own material to shield the washer & toilet from his work. I know these guys can be messy. At the same time, Ali occupies three curious munchkins - as he works. Toxic glue fumes begin to waft from the bathroom, so Ali opens windows to create some draft (remember, no electricity=no heat) and put jackets on the kiddos. After 1-2 hours, I peek in the bathroom to observe this mans workmanship - only to retreat in absolute terror, as my entire bathroom has been attacked by "Flinging-Glue-Man" and is completely trashed. Yes, the tiles are almost back in place - but not without creating thee biggest disaster within. I do not have words to explain the frustration in my heart (nor good picts!).

Justin returned home from class at this point, before I had a chance to speak to Mr. Fix-it-man. Justin was even more upset than I was, which (if you know Justin) is an uncommon occurrence. I could go on to detail a similar mess made across the entire tile floor, the kitchen & counters, and ruining one of our chairs (used as a ladder). It took us about 4 hours to scrub the glue & black caulking OFF the floor with steel wool. The chair is caked in glue, and we still have to scrub the walls & ceiling, since he left marks all over the place! ...I am sure this will be an ongoing cleaning project. We were both so amazed at the complete disregard for someone's home, and the mess that was left for us to clean, as well as the lack of quality to which tasks are done. Things fall apart here more often than you'd imagine!!

After he left, Asia went to school, E&S took naps, and we scrubbed the floor with steel wool, while using flashlights to locate toxic glue droplets (still no electricity), so my baby can crawl on the floor. To lift our spirits, we went out for dinner. I think next time we need ANY repairs, we will attempt to do them ourselves! ....or have Paul Sampson fly out here. Hmmm....I really miss that guy.

p.s. We have recovered from all the máfan of Thursday, and know that this venting rampage does not fully reflect our overall gratefulness & perspective on life. We are healthy and full of joy. What's a little toxic glue anyhow?

My Singing Debut

And you thought I couldn't sing!! Apparently, so did my school since they put me in the back row furthest away from the microphone...probably a good choice.
These are most of the foreign students at our University singing a Chinese song to an auditorium packed with people during a sort of "talent show." The language department made us all practice this song and then required us to sing it regardless of our talent (or in my case - lack thereof). We actually didn't sound too bad thanks to the Koreans, who they wisely put in front of the microphones. They not only have good voices, but are more familiar with this type of singing. It was fun though and I got to meet some new people. They also had a lot of local dances and singing. It was an interesting night. If you want to find me in the pic, I am on the top row in the middle.
- Justin

随便 sui bian

In learning a new language, I am learning there are a lot of useful words that we don't have exact translations for in English. One of my favorites is 随便 "sui bian." In one of my Chinese-English dictionaries it is defined as "casual, random; careless." I find it most often translated into the English words whatever, whoever, whenever, however, etc. In general it seems to embody a relaxed and flexible attitude toward something. If someone is very sui bian, then they would probably be called very "easy going" in English. It has some other meanings, but this is the meaning that I enjoy using because it reminds me of the attitude I need to have here living in another country. We are often surprised by life out here, the differences in thinking, the things people do and the way things get done. I always thought were were pretty easy-going people (growing up in relaxed Santa Cruz), but the stresses of cross-cultural living test that laid back attitude and we find ourselves more easily frustrated than usual sometimes. The more people I meet who have been living out here for a long time the more I see a correlation between the sui bian attitude and those who have been through a lot out here. Those that seem to be wound up tight are constantly struggling in daily life out here. While continuing to be purposeful about our living, we are often reminded that a little sui bian goes a long way to help us relax and not stress about the differences. ~ Justin

language is a gift...

learning a new language is really a feat in itself. i am convinced that it takes more than motivation to truly communicate a heart-language of another culture. i am in my 2nd semester of learning mandarin and i have a huge respect for people who have mastered it. not only are there 4 tones, no alphabet, and new sounds to enunciate, but each word is composed of characters (pictures) that can be pronounced differently...depending on the tone, and mean something quite different. my studious husband has far surpassed my measly gibberish, but i believe he has a gift. that does not excuse my sporadic study habits, but it gives me a goal to aspire to. i just have to work harder!!
i really want to be able to converse with my chinese neighbors, to talk to the vegetable man (not just buy veggies), and understand the lives in my community. i need continuous motivation, practice and a humble heart... this mastery cannot rest on my own abilities or i might give up. i am not ready to even think about studying Uyghur (wee-gur). yikes!
with a bit of language-acquisition envy, Ali