Korea

My trip was great, my friend was a fabulous host. For a couple days we went down to this island called Jeju where he had a good friend, and this island was amazing. The air was so fresh, the water so clear, the beaches so beautiful and and the sand so nice. What I'm basically saying is, I want to move to this wonderful island and spend the rest of my life. Yes, it was that great.

I could bore you with details of my trip, but instead I will go over some of the cultural aspects of it, in my opinion I found it so completely different from China, and actually slightly more similar to American culture, but that's coming from Chinese perspective, not American perspective ;)

As I begin my analysis, I have a feeling it won't be completely satisfactory for a couple reasons. One, I'm going to compare it to Chinese as well as American culture, and I was only there for a week, which is really just a toe in the ocean of culture.

First thing, age, is really important in Korean culture. About a two/three year age gap can make all the difference, about whether you can befriend this person or not, and what words you will use when speaking to them. In China, we don't really have that. Age is still more important that America, but not to the extent of Korea. In China, I should respect my elder's, and I shouldn't date an older guy, I should be married before I turn 30, but otherwise age is not so big.

Politeness. America has a pretty polite culture, not to the extent, of perhaps, England. But in America, a lot of people use the word “sorry” when you bump into someone, or “excuse me” when trying to get by, and of course we ALWAYS say “thank you”. Korea is also a very polite culture, especially with the word “thank you”! If I had been coming from America, I could have gotten that one down fine, but in China we don't have these “polite words.” So, Chinese may come across as rude, but the thought is (unless your talking to a superior), you don't really need them. If my friend has something I can say “Give it to me” and its not considered rude. If I'm at a store and someone hands something to me, I don't need to say thanks, in fact I can just grunt and its acceptable! But I'm pretty nice, I usually send a smile. Anyways, this drove my friend crazy. He kept asking me, “Why aren't you saying thank you?!” And he would have to whisper it in my ear, to remind me if someone was doing something especially nice. Hopefully any lapses on politeness were forgiven, since I am a foreigner.

Bowing. In Korea you bow. In China you don't. Maybe for martial arts, but I don't know anything about that. Again, age can come into this. You don't wave at someone older, but you can wave at your friends. Also, when I was introduced to guys (closer to my age), they would shake my hands and we would keep shaking until the greetings were over. I can't say much about this, but I noticed it with others to. So the hand shake is different than America, but in China we don't ever shake hands.

I think for me one of the nicest things was not getting stared at, and people talking to me like I might know the language. Of course I don't, I couldn't even remember “thank you”, but I know the language in China and everyone always assumes I don't, and it gets tiresome. I think this just reflects how Korea has been opened to foreigners way longer than China has.

Do I recommend going to Korea? Yes, I do, it is a wonderful country. What if you don't know Korean? I can't say much on this, since my friend is Korean, so pretty much babysat me all week, but my experience was not a ton of people speak English. At the shopping places that many people go, they have translators and people willing to give directions (wearing red clothes) to any who need, and at the airport many people speak English and they have translators too. But I think if you go, you just want to make sure your a little prepared before hand, with a map, your hotel written out (in the Korean language-you could probably print it) and things like that. Korea is wonderful, go.

When Follow Through is Too Much

Most people would consider follow-through and dedication a good trait to have and I have them in abundance. So, most people would consider me perfect, right? Well, as close as I may be, it is completely wrong. When I commit to something, I am committed 120%, for better or for worse. When I say something, no matter how wrong it is I will stick to my guns until I have everyone convinced. When I do something, I will follow it through, no matter what direction it takes, until it is too late. Let me share a little story.

My story needs a foundation, that foundation is anger problems. I don't need to go into details, all you need to know is I had them. I don't think I have them any more, but every now and then a bit of that old anger will emerge, thankfully it gets better and better, not the anger, but the lack of anger. Living in a country that is not your own, will bring out your anger whether you have a history of anger problems or not. My anger just happens to show a little more than others, probably because of this history. Again, I should say it is not as bad as it once was.

In the city that I live I look different, than the Chinese people. No big deal, usually, but it means I have people stare and shout “HELLO!” in my face as I walk around doing my own business. For the most part, I try and have grace and go on with my life.

Yesterday evening, traffic was bad, the bus was crowded and I was slightly annoyed. When I got to my stop, I had traffic literally stopped because a taxi driver and his passenger were staring at me. Normally I would move on, but this time, out of no where and totally uncontrollably and with a mind of its own my right arm lifted up and my fist slammed the top of the taxi, then I walked around it.

The taxi driver got out of his taxi and started yelling at me, so I made some rude gestures and yelled back, “Why the hell are you staring at me!” As this was going on, in my mind I knew two things. First, I knew I shouldn't have hit his car, he was just looking at me because I'm beautiful. Second, I knew if he walked over to me I would follow through with my actions even if that meant a fistfight. I waited, part of me a little concerned at what I had done and what I might do, part of me hoping I could show this staring man what a pretty girl is made of, in a not so nice way.

It ended with him getting back in his car and me walking away. Major mistake avoided, minor mistake too late to fix. What will happen next time you ask? Hopefully next time I won't hit the taxi, but if I do, all I know is this follow-through problem is not going to be fixed any time soon.

Emergencies and Accidents

Yesterday I sat here staring at my screen wondering what to write, today I come with stories.

Our house is unintentionally becoming a party house, not like crazy black out party nights, but a place where people are coming to connect. And its great to be at the center of it, or at least host it. Living in another country as a single person can be hard, while its still possible to be friends with married people, its just a different lifestyle. Oddly, right now in my city there are a bunch of single people and we have now thrown our second "party" with great success. The singles come flocking! (Leaving the awkward Single 'Meet and Greet' behind.)

Last night was a bonfire, I was expecting rain or police and neither came, for that I'm grateful. When we went out I thought our fire would last an hour if we were lucky, it went a solid two hours and we managed to keep it up for the third. By then some of us were getting cold so we invited people into our house if they wanted to continue the 'party' (which for me meant drinking coffee and trying not to all asleep in conversation). Again, another pleasant surprise, people like us! About half came into our house-about 12 people.

We crammed into the elevator, no beeping occurred, the doors shut, one floor up and DROP! After some screaming and mild profanity we all laughed. Twelve people and a dog crammed into an elevator during holiday with no cell service. Luckily, other's did actually have cell service and we were able to get ahold of some of the people who left and they got us help. We were stuck for almost half an hour, with a dog who had terrible gas. If any of us had died, it would have been for lack of oxygen. For 12 people crammed in an elevator with little breathable air we all looked happy, laughing and smiling. I can't post the video (too many people to get permission from), but someone did take a video and we all look like we are having the time of our lives! Just part of living in China.

That was the emergency, today the accident occurred, this one a little less funny. My dog jumped, snagging his nail and it ripped off. While it heals it will be painful to sit through because, even though he may be pug, he is far from sedentary and I wont be able to take him running for probably a couple weeks.

Living abroad when emergencies and accidents occur what do you do? Hope for the best and laugh at the rest.

Having A Dog

As I'm sure all my readers know by now, I have a dog, I bought him about a year ago. In fact right around Halloween, I gave up my costume money for my dog. When I bought him I promised myself so many things. I promised myself I would never compare having a dog to being a parent. That I would never let him get away with things. That he would always just be a dog. Well, less than a year later and I have broken all of those promises I made to myself.

I should have known I was going to break all these promises immediately, but denial is a sweet nectar to our guilt. Just a couple days after getting Otis, my dog, I was at a friends house and we were eating dinner. I had Otis on my lap while I ate. And one of my friends turned to me and said, "Oh! Your that kind of dog owner!" I tried to deny it, explain it away, no he has a lot of energy right now, he's not potty trained yet, I don't have a leash.... excuse ... excuse ... excuse. I felt the truth of the statement, but I kept telling myself, he is JUST a dog, I am master. I own him.

The first promise to slowly start eroding away was my promise to not compare owning a dog to parenthood, but its hard when all the mother's around me compared my dog to their kids. I promise, I didn't start it! Perhaps, it was a way I could connect with friends, my friends who are married with kids while I am single with dog. (Sounds like the beginning to a sad story.)

So, as all my peers started to call me Otis's mother so did I. I will confess it was painful, but liberating. I will influence this creature's habits from now on out! But if you take this first step, you can never let him be JUST a dog again. Which began my downfall into letting him behave very un-dog-like.

At first this wasn't a problem because he had some other dogs in the house, but when they left he began some curious habits. First, when I would sit down to eat at the dinner table he would jump on the chair next to me and sit there too. Step one, thinks he's human. After doing this for awhile I started to find he had jumped on the table, step two; he knows he's not human, so what is he-cat?

I'm happy to say I killed that habit (after a looong time), but I couldn't bring myself to tell him no to jumping on chairs-it was so cute! Which is where my final downfall lay, letting him get away with things.

I tried to tell myself that I had to be stern, if you want your dog (or child) to create good habits, you have to be consistent and I was always one of those single people who couldn't believe it when parents weren't consistent with their kids. Now, I understand. Sometimes,

I catch Otis chewing on pillows and I look away and think "Yes! A moment to myself!" Sometimes he jumps on the couch (which he is technically not allowed to do) and I think "How cute!"

My conclusion is this; I am a terrible parent, but the same as any other. I am completely biased towards my creature and think all others suck. Mess with my stuff (dog/child), you mess with me, angry mama bear.

What does Riding the Bus and Street Dancing Have in Common?

I begin this blog with a question; what does riding the bus and street dancing have in common? If you look at specifically China, not much. Or specifically America, the same answer. But if you decide to switch the question to what does riding the bus in America and street dancing in China have in common? A whole lot. Or the other question; what does street dancing in America and riding the bus in China have in common? Way too much.

Riding the bus in America, is a fairly comfortable, if not sometimes long event. We get on, we find our seat, we have our space, we observe people and sometimes we may chat with someone else. But usually we find our own thing to do and we avoid eye contact, unless a friend is with us. China's street dancing is surprisingly similar.

We go to a large square or park where there are many other people we don't know. You find your space, not touching any other person, you observe and follow. Maybe if we are feeling open or bold we will chat with our neighbor, or if we have been going for awhile we will at the very least nod at the people we know. While this is the norm, I will say, when I went I broke all the social conventions. And let's just say we had quite the crowd.

Let's move onto the other comparison we are making. Now American street dancing can look many different ways, it could be awesome break dancing in your little square with a big crown around you and I wish that's how it was on the bus, but I'm thinking of something different. I'm thinking more club style and before you say that doesn't happen on the streets I would like to disagree; have yous seen the new footloose? Yes well there is bumping and grinding out in public, and the movies never lie. The point I'm trying to make is street dancing in America, or if you must make me say it, club dancing in America is eerily similar to riding a bus in China...its scary!

I first noticed this experience two years ago, when I moved here. I haven't written about it because I simply didn't know how to, but this analogy gave me a good opening. Now, riding the bus is not always so intense, only mostly. When the buses are over crowded and you are slipping by every single person, body rubbing against body. This might be sexy, if the people were mostly clean, perhaps your own age and if there was something other than the Chinese radio station playing.

In America, I didn't go clubbing much, the idea of shaking my booty for a stranger didn't appeal (for some reason), but now after living here I feel all clubbed out. I have never grinded on people so much in my life (by accident of course), been grinded on (hopefully by accident), given and been given lap dances like this in my life (which happens when the chairs face the aisles of the bus and it is so crowded you are pretty much sitting in that person's lap).

I know there may be quite the diversity of ages reading this and I hope it doesn't scare you, while for those who understand, hopefully this makes you laugh. But this is my almost daily experience, not street dancing, but riding the bus, which as you can see is much scarier than street dancing.

A Post to Bring You Up To Date

Sorry for not writing for so long, but after living here for two years something terrible has happened... life has become normal.

The last two or three months have been filled with thoughts of "I should write, but..." I have gone out, I've seen things, I've lived life, I've met people, I've had conversations (English and Chinese I'm proud to say), but it now takes a lot of imagination for me to write something that I think will interest people. My mind has moved forward, to doing other things and my blog about China has been left in the dust. Having said that I will try to continue to write semi-consistently for the next 6 months. Why for 6 months? Because that is how much longer I have in China, then I move back to the States to begin an even scarier journey...(imagine scary music playing) University! Full-time! The horror! The expense! I can't talk about it too much or I might scare myself away from it.

I will give you an update to what has happened in the last few months, then hopefully my future blogs will be more relevant to now time or not relevant at all, but at lest humorous and perhaps enlightening to my life.

Last Spring I went home for 6 weeks, during that time my sister got engaged. When I returned to China, life was slow, not much going on, so I tried to work as much as I could (which unfortunately didn't happen as much as I would have liked) cuz I then had to go back to the States to attend a wedding. During my couple months back home in China I got sick, I literally lost my voice for 2 weeks. Crazy.

At the end of July I started my journey back to Seattle. It took me about 3 days to make it to there. An hour bus to the train station, 5 hours delay, a 22 or 23 hour ride (on a hard seat nonetheless), an hour bus ride to my hostel and overnight at the hostel and a 12 hour flight to Seattle, where I was greeted by my beautiful family.

I was only in Seattle for a week, the first two days were spent on mostly dealing with my visa stuff (had to apply for a new visa before going back to China), the next couple days after that, seeing a couple friends, the next couple days dealing with wedding stuff (which was beautiful by the way) and the last few days was spent with family. I then flew back to China with a friend.

My friend and I spent two busy, busy, busy days in Beijing, ran to the train station (made it with only a few minutes to spare), went to Xi'an (stayed with one of my friends there) for a few days, then flew to Xining (my current city) for a week. The day after my friend left, one of my Xi'an friends came and visited for a week. After she left two new roommates moved in, the following week my part-time online school started up again. And my weeks since then have been full of helping some things other people already have going, doing school and taking care of dogs (did I mention I was taking care of 3 dogs for 3 weeks? No I thought I forgot that ;) But now its me and Otis, two cool new roommates and an exciting 6 months to look forward to.

Life has been full and busy, but manageable and fun. I'm excited (and scared shitless-excuse my french) for my move back to America, but I am so happy to have 6
months left in China. Hopefully my last 6 months of blog
posts will bring you plenty of enjoyment as well.                            Above a pic of my two friends that visited



My new haircut (I'm trying to bring ya up to date):

The Clash of Two Cultures

When you live in a culture that is not your own you are unnaturally bringing two cultures together. When I say unnaturally, I mean it feels odd. It seems off, it is weird for your home culture, it is weird for your host culture. But it is also natural, I mean natural in that it naturally happens, you usually can't help it.

One of the most obvious ways it happens is in language. You learn a word for something new and you like the sound of it, so you throw it in to your day to day life. Other ways you bring together cultures can be in your eating habits, in the way you dress, and in the way you organize life. The longer you live in another culture the more "You know you live in (insert place) when...(blah blah blah) happens."

Recently I went home and while I was home my sister, Nadia, bought me a WSU lanyard to represent my school and to compete against Nicole (she goes to UW-the schools are rivals). I don't know how you wear lanyards, but I noticed the cool thing to do in Seattle was to tuck the key part in your pocket and let the lanyard hang free to show your allegiance to whatever (at least I'm assuming that's why you do it). So, being part of the cool crowd myself, that's what I did. And I tried to bring that practice to China. I had quite a few instances where my students or even strangers would come up to me and tell me something was hanging out of my pocket. The first couple times I tried to explain "Oh no, I do it because it looks good." Well, after so many times of blank looks and confusion, its just not worth it and you tuck it in for the time being.

I recently realized why some things in cultures are like water and oil-they don't mix. Once, while I was running for the bus my lanyard snagged on a bush and I almost missed the bus by running back to get it. That was the warning, but enlightenment came when I tried to get off the bus. First, the bus slams on the breaks, so four people fall on me. Then I fight my way through the crowd to get off, cuz in China the bus don't wait for no one. Well, I successfully slide through the crown and am about to hop off the bus when I notice my lanyard has attached itself to a high school girl's backpack.

So I go back and try to pull it off, but its stuck. The driver is tired of waiting for me, so he starts to shut the doors, but I stick out one foot and hold it open and am still pulling on the girls backpack with my lanyard, while saying some embarrassing English words. Finally, I lose patience and let the stress get to me and I pull hard and my lanyard comes lose, but the bus is moving now, no time to wait. So, I jump off the moving bus and the doors slam shut behind me and I look at my lanyard, I had pulled the poor girl's zipper of her backpack.

Lesson learned, sometimes cultures don't mix.

Back in China

This spring I went to the States for a six week trip. It was a busy time, but great to see everyone and always funny when facing reverse culture shock (I had the hardest time remembering to flush the toilet paper). While I was home my youngest sister, Nadia, got engaged (to Sam)! The wedding is planned for August third. I couldn't stay over the summer because I had responsibilities here, but I'm planning on another quick two weeker for the wedding. It will be perfect timing cuz I will need a new visa as well!

This summer is going along slowly, but its been nice to slow it down and breath for a little while. I have a feeling things will pick up quickly in the fall, so I am appreciating this season of "chill" (not cold, but slang for calm). Its nice because with the extra free time I have been able to study Chinese a bit more, practice playing Ukulele, writing (not on my blog) and some other random things that I haven't had time for in awhile.

This month I turned 23 and my dog turned 10 months old! He is doing good, he is full grown and quite big guy, but still very pupyish which is cute and annoying as most pet owners will understand.

While I was home this last time I made a quick 3 minute video that is a recap on my last two years in China (yes this month makes it two years-wow) and my update for the future. If you are interested in watching it you can contact my other sister, Nicole.

But for those not interested, here is the news that I was waiting to broadcast until I was (first of all) sure and (second of all) had told my friends here in China... next year I will be moving back to the States.

When I moved to China I thought it was going to be about two or three years, this last January I started processing my time here and what I wanted the future to look like. I love China and there were so many reasons I wanted to stay and I could think of so many opportunities. But when I broke down what my priorities were, one was finishing my University education. Since coming to China I have started going part time online to WSU. It has been good, but at this point I want to finish it up and do something with it. Which led me to going full time to school back in Washington. So next year (most likely Spring or Summer) I will move back and start going to school full-time in the fall. It will take about three years to finish, and after that? Only God and time can tell.

Although I should warn you, I doubt it includes spending too much time in America ;)

Some observations from Nepal

So I always said I would revisit Nepali culture, but never really got around to it, now I will. One thing is: Nepal is very different from China or the States.

In Nepal, based on what someone said, the people are rich but the Government is poor. And at least in Kathmandu it appears to be that way. The houses are beautiful, spacious and big, while the electricity is turned off for most of the day and the roads are usually dirt. If they are paved, then the pavement is very old and in need of much repair with potholes everywhere. Which makes the driving even that more interesting, on top of already being a bit crazy.

While I was there I used public transportation to get around. Public transport in Nepal is different from America or China in a lot of ways. One, there aren't real buses. The "bus system" usually consists of 15 passenger vans owned by private individuals who simply run the route to make cash. There is the driver, then usually a smaller helper, the age of the "helper" can range from 7 to 27, but the helpers tend to be small slim boys. The helper is the one who opens and shut the door, collects the money, convinces people to get in "his" van and tells the driver where to stop.

Another thing about Nepal is the street dogs. They are everywhere! I know a popular thought in America is that its inhumane to kill dogs that no one wants, but after being in Nepal and seeing the dirty starving, bug infested dogs, I can't help but think that maybe its inhumane not to kill them. The street dogs keep on breeding, the only thing that keeps the numbers low is probably being hit by cars, starvation and sickness. Yes I know its sounds terrible, it wasn't meant to sound nice.

Another aspect is food. I am often asked if I like Indian food and my usual response is "Not in Nepal or India" (Nepali and India food have some similarities). The reason for this is because the common meal is rice and dahl. Dahl is a soup like substance that usually goes over your rice. If your lucky you might get some lentils or cilantro in your dahl, if your not lucky it'll be just another name for flavorless soup. It's not bad, but when you eat it for lunch and dinner for a week or more straight, believe me it gets old.

When you go to Nepal many senses go on overload, smell sight, sound, etc. But one thing that sticks out more than anything else is the kindness of the people. You smile and they smile back, you try and communicate with them and they try back (and most of the time, especially with the younger generation they can speak very good English)  I will be the first to confess that Kathmandu is not my favorite place, but Nepal is. If you get a chance to go, I definitely recommend it.

Tattoos in China

I got a new tattoo with my friend and it was interesting because of how its changed.  Two years ago I got a tattoo in this same city.  My friends and I searched high and low for a whole day before we found a reputable tattoo artist that I didn't think would pass on herpes.  Then we offered him a price and he took it.  Now two years later, the whole process has changed.  On one road, close to where we both live we found three really clean shops with talented artists and system of pricing.  The only reason we didn't stop at the fist shop was cuz the prices have gone up!

In America tattoo artists charge by time and usually have a $50 limit, no matter how small the tattoo may be.  What I found in China is, tattoo artists usually charge by size, centimeter to be exact, and some have a limit, it seemed 200 RMB was normal (about $30).  We were able to talk one guy down to 150 RMB each person (about $25) and mine is about 2in by 1in, not too big, but considering the new system of charge it was a deal!

Other differences are how the tattoo artist went about doing it.  This could strictly be his style, not necessarily a Chinese things, but first he drew the tattoo on my arm, himself, then outlined the words with an ink-less tool and eventually filled it all in with black ink.  This was so when the ink was wiped away (they wipe away the area every so often to clear the blood and ink) he would still know the basic outline.  He also seemed to take way longer than I though was necessary.  But there could be a number of factors that play into this, perhaps his tool was not as good as other ones that I've been tattooed with, or maybe its part of the thinking - if you take longer its better work.

All in all it was interesting to see this change in China.  To me is was a sign of how the country is changing and the people who were on the fringes are now being able to open a place of business with relative ease.  One last interesting thing I noticed was of all the tattoo artists I saw (four in total), only one had noticeable tattoos.  I just wanted to make note of it, because from the outset it would appear tattoos are becoming more culturally acceptable, but I wonder if within family circles they still may be considered an an object of shame.

"I Wish the Real World Would Just Stop Hassling Me"

Do you remember those lyrics?  I recently discovered them on my Ipod by accident while listening to it on shuffle.  It's the song "Real World" by Matchbox Twenty, released in 1996.  I was 6 years old when it came out (I know some of you are thinking "Wow! You're so young!"-I get that a lot).  I remember my mom blaring it on the radio or from a CD (maybe even a tape cuz those were still around then) while we were cruising on our boat on Washington Lake in the summer time.

At 6 years old I had no idea what these words meant.  I didn't know where I was going in life and I didn't know that 16 years later I would feel the words of this song so deeply - "I wish the real world would just stop hassling me".

By nature I am a very adaptable person.  In fact, if I'm not adapting then I'm usually getting bored.  I need those random twists and turns in my life, which is probably why I thrive while living in China.  I love when opportunities come up and I have to make a yes or no decision right then-are we going to Thailand...YES!  Are we going to jump in the lake...YES!  Okay, sometimes I do say no, but to be honest without spontaneity I would wither up and die, it is my nectar of life and health.  Schedules, to do lists and societal norms all drag me down.

Obviously one reason you can't just say yes to every whim is money.  But that also means money is a good indicator of how badly you want it - are you going to work for it, or was it really not worth it?  I can honestly say money is a good problem to have, it helps you pace yourself, but societal norms don't help me.  Everyone always says, oh you can do whatever you want-your young, your single, you don't have kids.  But that's not true, especially in Western culture because I am expected by my peers and society to plan and commit.  I have to know the year before what I'm going to do, and when people don't have those plans laid out, because of their cultural upbringing they feel a bit like failures.

So, you might think I'm free within China because Asian society is a little more lax.  Not true.  Actually, in this regard Chinese society follows Western society a little more closely.  In China, plans and schedules and organization are all very important.  You go to school until your 22ish, by then you should have a boyfriend, shortly after that you should be married, within a year you should be pregnant, then working so your child can do the same.

My question is "Why?"  Why are we so stressed about the future, why are we so stressed abut our plans?  Why can't we just relax?  When I heard this song I remember enjoying the moment and loving life.  And that's what I want from my future.  Yes, I want to see good things happen in our world, I want to see the bad guy brought down and the hurt and broken risen up.  I want to enjoy the moments and love life and I want to help create a world where others can do the same.  So, why can't the "Real World just stops hassling me?"

A Little on Life

I still want to put up something on Nepali culture, but to tell ya the truth, I just haven't been in the mood.  Part of it might be I'm "back in school" now.  If you don't know what that means, it means I do part time classes online at Washington State University.  Even if I've mentioned it before, its easy to forget, and I guess who cares if you live in China, right?  That's way cooler.  I do love "going" to school though.  Right now I'm taking a class on writing and a class on World History, neither are my passion, but I am enjoying both of them.  But even part time school ends up being so time consuming! 

I just got done teaching a semester of English, that was also time consuming, and tiring.  Man working 9 to 5, who can do it! ;-)  I'm just joking, I think that might be another misconception about living abroad, sometimes people think its all fun and no work.  Your just out there drinking coffee with gifted money from back home, playing mazhong with your local friends and sleeping in all the between time.  I mean that's part of it, I think to have a good life in a foreign country and to make it really feel like home you have to have local friends.  Not just one or two, but circles of them.  In real life we have our close friends, our work friends, our acquaintances and so on.  Right now I don't have that, and it makes it harder.  In my last city, I did have that, which I'm thankful, I will be visiting soon!  But to get back to my original point, while I live in China, my life is going to look much different than America.  In both countries my time will be full and challenges will come my way, but it looks differently-and that's okay.

You know, everyone has the funny things that happen in life, for me that was rescuing a puppy!  I was out walking my dog in my xiaoqu (apartment complex) and my dog found a puppy under a car.  So I waited around to see if anyone would come back for her and no one did.  It took a lot of work to get her out, but I did.  I don't know what happened, she kind of looks like a Tibetan Mastiff, but shes way too small to be one.  So I wonder if someone bought her thinking she was, then when they found out she wasn't, they dumped her?  I don't know, but she's been abused, so shes scared of me.  But having the other dogs around has helped, because she warmed up to them much faster and she can see how I treat them.  I'm hoping once she becomes a bit normal I can take her to the park and sell her to a good family, having three dogs in our house would just be a tad excessive.

Well, I'm done teaching for awhile, so working on online school and some other things, rescued a pup and now that my life is slowing down I'm looking forward to making this city I live in home and working on some things I haven't had time for in awhile (like Chinese!).  In about a week I'm visiting Xian, it will be amazing to see old friends again.  Then in April I will be coming home for six weeks!  So get ready for a visit!

Chinese New Year, Year of the Snake

Another New Year in China, and I am feeling the jovial spirit!  It's the best of all worlds, I get to enjoy the fireworks, get to go to parties, but don't have to hand out presents or red envelopes*.

Yes we have all seen fireworks, but not all of us have seen or experienced them on the scale the Chinese bring it.  On New Year's eve, the whole sky explodes with light.  The air becomes smokier and smokier, the air gets warmer minute by minute from all the explosions and as the night goes on, the fireworks are, simply put, amazing. 

Gunpowder was invented in China in about 850 AD, during the Tang Dynasty.  It's original use was for fireworks (although the Song Dynasty did use it for military purposes), and let's just say China has still not let us down.  In America we see cool shows for holidays, but in China fireworks are such a huge part of life.  When a new store opens, firecrackers are let off; for a wedding, there are fire-poppers; and during any holiday, fireworks are a must.

While for the most part there is no organized show, there are still hundreds, if not thousands of people letting off fireworks all on one night, usually within the same hour, all over the city.  Imagine that, if you can.

The next day all you see is the carnage of the leftover firecrackers and fireworks, spread out all over the ground. Most cleaning people have the week off, so they will be around for awhile.

It's a cool night.  One that's fun to celebrate with the people you are living among.  There are definitely inconveniences (most stores close down and transportation become a bit harder).  But in my opinion, its so worth it,

*People put money in red envelopes and hand them out during the New Year
*I did not take any of these photos, googled them and borrowed them from www.hdwallpapersarena.com and www.bbc.co.uk, 

Indian Visas

As I mentioned in my last post, I was in Nepal for two weeks.  What I didn't mention was the goal was to go to India.

About a month or two before leaving we checked all the information.  We called, we read blogs, we visited government sites and all told us that we could get our Indian visas at the India Embassy in  Nepal within about 5 days.  Ok, no problem.  We show up and find out that everything has changed. 

From what I understand a couple years ago an American-Pakistani man took advantage of a tourist visa and did some bombing in Mumbai, India.  Then India tightened restrictions on all tourist visas.  Last year they loosened some of the restrictions (one being the 2 month wait period in between visits), except for some nationalities (Afghanistan, China, Iran, Pakistan, Iraq, Sudan, Bangladesh).    Rather than taking 5 days, it actually takes 7 working days.  On top of that you have to fill out the application online, which more often than not the website is being funky and you have to fill it out the day before going to the embassy AND on top of ALL of that, they are very picky.  So we went back three days in a row before we actually got it right and could finally submit our applications. 

But as Americans we had it easy, we ran into a Chinese guy who had been waiting there for 50 days!  He told us Nepal was a terrible place to go for Indian visas, especially for Chinese, the best place to go was Bangkok, Thailand.  The one hold-up is, if you are a carrier of the new Chinese passport, then you are only able to get visas within China because of the border disputes between China and India.

In the end, we didn't go to India because one girl wasn't able to get her visa.  It was a bummer, but Nepal is great.  In a future post I will write more about Nepali culture.


Some more stories on the Indian Visa situation:

• http://www.eturbonews.com/32588/india-relaxes-tourist-visa-regulations
• http://chicago.cbslocal.com/2013/01/24/david-headley-gets-35-years-for-role-in-mumbai-terror-attacks/
• http://tribune.com.pk/story/435573/visa-to-india/

Culture Shock, but not in China

I'm sure you are all very disappointed in me for not writing for two months and I'm pretty disappointed in myself.  You get busy, then when your schedule does free up you have to overcome the hurdles of starting again.  Once I get this out there, the plan is to keep them rolling in weekly, like I did before I had my little break.

One of the excuses I have that will cover at least two, maybe even three weeks is my trip to Nepal.  I went two years ago, but its funny how your life circumstances can really change your impression of a place.  Going to Nepal showed me how normal China is for me now.  I know how to get the price down, I know how to speak the language.  I would feel totally comfortable traveling to a new city by myself without knowing anyone, but not Nepal.  Driving form the airport to where we were staying and just be shocked by how different it was, was the first sign.

Driving in Nepal is crazier than China.  What one person told me is if someone hits you, they will kill you because it is cheaper for them if they just kill you rather than having to pay for any hospital bills.  While in China, its crazy, but not that crazy.

I love Nepal, but I don't really care for Kathmandu, the capital city, two years ago I also didn't really care, but I loved west Nepal, unfortunately this trip we had to stay in Kathmandu because we were doing visa stuff, which I will describe in my next blog.  The thing that struck me most was how much I missed China.  Two years ago I could have lived anywhere.  This trip I met a girl who had just moved to Nepal and I thought to myself, "I couldn't do that.  China is my home."  I used to think I was such a hardcore nomad, but I'm becoming domesticated and its slightly frightening.  The one thing I know is I love China and as of right now I could see myself here much longer than my original plan (hold that loosely because life changes very fast).

Another thing I had forgotten about Nepal is the driving is different.  America and China are the same, but in Nepal they drive on the left side of the road.  Two years ago it didn't phase me because I had just been in Hong Kong where they also drive on the left side of the road.

Nepal is a great place and I plan on writing more about it, but this was just an expression of how normal China is to me and how weird Nepal seemed.  Love you all!

Ps. I'm a blonde again!