Zai Jian

Right now, I am sitting in my apartment surrounded by suitcases. This is my last night in China.

I apologize if this post is more emotional Taylor Swift song (impossible for anything to be more emotional than a Taylor Swift song, except maybe the movie Beaches), but I am feeling a bit emotional tonight.

I can't believe how fast this past year has flown by. I came to China in September, extremely nervous about my new job and filled with thoughts along the line of what did I get myself into as soon as I stepped off the plane in Beijing. I hated the food, the weather, and the fact that I couldn't communicate with anyone. I was thrown into a six day-a-week schedule teaching 6 intense subjects at the second best high school (students are regularly accepted into the top 50 universities in America & Canada) in a city of 6-ish million . I pulled several all-nighters weekly to keep up with my workload. The customs were strange (umbrellas in the sun?) and the people were stranger. I constantly worried what I would do professionally after my year-long contract concluded. What would employers think of my choice to teach in China for a year?

Slowly, things started to get better. With the help of my boss, I bought an e-bike and started zipping around the city. I met friends and tapped into a foreigner circle that I didn't know existed. I found the most amazing apartment and moved in with a Chinese roommate. I finally learned the trick for how to avoid the hawkers at the supermarket.

In December, I was becoming accustomed to life in Fuzhou but was also eager to return to Australia. During the cold/sunless winter, the thought of seeing my family and returning to AUS kept me going. In January, I returned to Sydney for the first time in 2 years. After my trip, I arrived in China with a fresh perspective. Things became easier; I started to work five days a week, learned the tricks of lesson planning and started sleeping 8 hours a night, met an amazing Chinese girlfriend and received highest marks on teacher evaluations in my school. Although my course load was consolidated into something more manageable, my classes were so popular at my high school that another US History class was added to my schedule.

Bookclub with my Chinese bestie

Since adjusting, I have come to love living here; I find happiness in my job, relationships and lifestyle that I am able to live. I have traveled extensively, both in China and around Asia/Oceania. I have formed close bonds with my students, met amazing foreign & Chinese friends, learned a bit of Mandarin, taught myself Physics, and so much more. I do not regret my decision to come to China one bit. In fact, it was one of the better decisions that I have made. Looking back now, I cannot believe I even questioned coming here at all.

                                   
                         A response from a co-workers test; best end of the year 'bonus' ever

The hardest part so far about coming to China has been saying goodbye; saying goodbye to my students- who showered me with gifts and threw me two wonderful goodbye parties, saying goodbye to my friends, some of whom are staying in China and some of whom are leaving as well, saying goodbye to my routine and life that I have created for myself here. I am sad to say goodbye but I am excited to move forward and experience the next stage of the real world. 再见

Clip from farewell video made by my students

Washing Machine Blues

So things around my apartment are always breaking. However, I love my bachelorette pad so I would rather pay to have things fixed than move out.

On one of these occasions my washing machine had broken. Scratch that. It wasn’t fixed properly the first time. So I had the school secretary/translator call the repair company and request that they fix the machine properly and for free.  They agreed.

When the worker finally arrived at my apartment (he got lost, as most people do), I showed him straight to the washing machine. I tried to explain via use of charades and Google translator what was wrong with the washer. I even hummed the annoying sound that the machine makes when it refuses to do work.

Through my limited Chinese, sound effects and secretary (well, mostly secretary), he managed to understand the problem. He then unceremoniously ripped the top off of the machine. As I watched him pull black electrical tape out of his fanny pack of tools, I realize that this is probably something I should watch him fix in case it ever breaks again. As a result of my tenure in China, I already know how to repair toilets so perhaps with these two new skills I can start a successful business as an English speaking repairwoman in a city where no one speaks English. You always need a plan B.

I realized as he affixed a new washing machine sensor to the machine’s wires in the most haphazard manner that, although the agreed-upon labor was free, I would have to pay for this part. Something that I did not plan on and did not have the extra cash to cover the costs. 

Sure enough, he called my Secretary and handed the phone to me. “He wants you to pay 75 ¥ for the part,” she said. Laowai price, I thought in my head.

“Uh, ok. I didn’t take out any cash today so I will look around the apartment to see what I have.” What I had was 50-some RMB (¥) in notes and a bag of coins from around the world. As I took out the coins, I realized that throughout my time in China I had never used coins to pay for anything due to their miniscule value.  And even though each coin had only one numeral on it, I knew that there was surely a coin equivalent to .50 ¥.

I called my secretary back. “Hi again. This is kinda embarrassing but I don’t know how to count Chinese coins.”

She walked me through the process and confirmed my suspicions- evidently the coins bearing a ‘5’ are actually worth 50 percent of 1 ¥ and those emblazoned with a ‘1’ are 10 percent.  Even as a liberal arts major, I know that 1+5 does not make 60 parts of 100. The Chinese repairman looked incredulously at me as I painstakingly counted out the money, coming up 4 ¥ short despite sneaking in a gold coin from Chuck-E-Cheese.

Another call to the secretary. “Ask him if I can pay the rest in Australian coins. They are worth more than RMB anyways.”

After a brief conversation with my secretary, the man agreed and swept his payment into my former plastic change bag as I tried to keep a straight face. This is definitely going on the blog, I thought.

I handed him the bag and offered him some Easter candy. He politely refused, opting to exit my apartment as quickly as possible. My washer has only broke once since.

English Speech Imitation Show

Tomorrow is Easter but to the average Chinese citizen, the first half of this week was the celebration of Tomb Sweeping Festival. Kinda ironic timing since Easter celebrates Christ rising from the tomb. From what I could gather, the purpose of the Tomb Sweeping Festival is for the Chinese to visit the burial sites of their ancestors and tidy the graves. As all of my relatives are buried back in the US of A with graves in fairly good condition, I kicked off the holiday on Sunday afternoon by watching my first year's English Speech Imitation Show.

The kids had been hard at work all week, perfecting their imitations of famous speakers such as Abraham Lincoln and Oprah Winfrey. Despite the holiday, I knew I had to attend when I heard a hilarious impression of Obama's acceptance speech from the mouth of one of my first years.

Days before the speech, a girl whom I know from English Corner approached me for pointers on her speech. I scanned her handwritten paper and immediately recognized the words as those from Hillary Clinton's presidential campaign resignation speech. We worked on her speech and I promised her that I would attend the competition on Sunday.

When I arrived at the competition, I saw several of my students’ names also on the list of those to speak. The girl who I tutored, dressed in a Hillary Rodham signature pantsuit, rushed over with a small gift for me and thanked me for coming. I think the speeches ‘speak’ for themselves and I have included one of them below (because that is all my internet will allow it seems).

MLK Jr- I Have a Dream

The next day, I smiled when I received the following email from the girl whom I coached:

Dear Molly I'm Anna.finally I got the third price.Thank you very much!I never thought i can get a price!.Do you like my present?it's a small bag.youcan put coins on it.I think you may like pink so i bought it.

Guilin, Day 3

So our last day in Guilin was split between exploring Seven Stars Park (七星岩) and taking part in some R&R at the hotel. 七星岩 is one of China's original tourist destinations (besides that long wall thing, of course) and has been on the vacation itinerary of both President Clinton and Nixon. The sign at the front of the park promises visitors a chance to see wild monkeys while simultaneously warning guests to keep their distance.

And we did. See monkeys that is.

The Real World Sucks?

Sometimes, the real world sucks.

But it can also be downright fabulous. I just got back from a four week vacation (ok, real world for teachers) during which I purchased the new iPhone 4s. Let me tell you, it is worth every hundred. The best feature is the iMessage option, which allows you to send free texts to other 4s models worldwide. That, along with Facetime and Skype, make staying in-touch abroad extremely convenient.

Today, as I zipped along on my e-bike, I felt a tug on my earphones and my Chinese language tape suddenly stopped. I looked down and realized that my phone had dislodged from my coat pocket. Quickly breaking to a halt, I looked backwards but failed to spot my phone. Still on my bike, I looked to a man and several people walking next to me and asked if they had seen my phone. Although none of them spoke English (shocker), they pointed ahead just in time for me to see two young men on a illegal street bike swerve and right themselves. They continued to gesture furiously and it suddenly clicked that these men had just stolen my phone.

Although the moment from theft to realization had taken less than 25 seconds, my disbelief and slow reaction time provided enough opportunity for them to escape (this is why I am bad at sports and video games).

I sped to the next intersection and frantically asked the policeman (every major intersection has a traffic guard, check out the driving and you will understand why) and all around if anyone could speak English. A Chinese man in his late twenties told me that he could speak English and I hurriedly explained the situation. He called the police station and we went into a nearby bank to wait for someone to arrive.

The man introduced himself to me as King and assured me that he didn't mind waiting with me since he telecommuted to work in Fenton, Michigan. I relayed the entire situation, or what I could remember since it had all happened so quickly. A cop car finally arrived and drove 'the King and I' (sorry, I couldn't help it) to the nearest police station. After giving my statement and signing it with my John Hancock and 5 thumbprints (yeah, they do that) we were whisked off to the main police station for further red tape.

The next time someone says something bad about the Chinese government, I will punch them in the face. Seriously though, my experience with the Chinese police force was nothing less than awesome. When my good samaritan and I walked into the station, we were met by two officers which quickly grew to 10. Everyone was eager to help me and gave me kleenex, water and use of the internet on their official computers. They checked the facts of my situation and called another department to make sure that someone else didn't need to be involved too since I was a foreigner.

The policemen helped me call my cell phone company and threw their weight around when they refused to cancel my sim card without a physical copy of my passport. The officers asked King what I did in China. They were shocked when they heard all the subjects that I taught and were even more surprised when they learned that I taught Physics.... to Chinese students... in English. They asked what I studied in school and how I found my job. King was a bit confused himself when I explained that I majored in Advertising and Public Relations but he rolled with it.

As it neared lunch time, they asked my new friend and I if we wanted to leave or join them in the canteen. Knowing that they fully expected me to reject their offer, I shocked them all by accepting. Five police guards proudly escorted me to the cafeteria and I enjoyed a meal that far out passed my greasy school lunches.

I had full run of the police station all afternoon and explored the various rooms (my favorite was a room labeled 'sober-up room' with beds) and courtyards. I am upset that I wasn't able to take pictures of the facilities (they only allowed one in the cafeteria) because it was by far the cleanest building I have seen in China, surpassing the hospitals by far.

=I would be lying if I said today was a great day. It sucked. After waiting a month to get my hands on the new iPhone, it was stolen from me and I will not be able to replace it. But I gained a new friend, got to eat lunch with the city's finest and experience a level of cleanliness that I didn't think existed in this country. So although I am still truly upset about losing my mobile security blanket and the constant contact with my loved ones back home, the real world does not suck overall. My problems are first world problems and, who knows, maybe someone reading this will buy me an iPhone. Any interested parties can feel free to e-mail me. 再见

Big News!

I interrupt this catch-up blog post to bring you two pieces of real-time news: my blog now has ads and I scored highest on my teacher evaluations!

In reference to the first piece of news, I finally figured that I might as well get paid for my writing. As per the Google Adsense agreement, I cannot encourage you to click my ads so I won't.

My boss told me this evening that I had received the best feedback on my teacher evaluations. The parents and students like my teaching style and gave me pretty high marks. They say that I break Physics down into a way that is detailed and easy to understand. I knew none of my students were falling through the cracks, partly because I hunt them down on social media and make them explain to me what they don't understand in class/why they weren't in class to misunderstand me. But I became excited when I heard the news that I am not only considered an interesting foreign entertainer but an bona fide educator as well. I eagerly asked to see the evals and was handed several pages of Chinese characters. So I can't really tell yet exactly what was said, but I can get back to you after several years of Chinese lessons.

Good Luck Restaurant

“Can you recommend a local favorite?” my dad asked the hotel staff that night.

Let me preface this post by saying that I have gotten used to local digs. After a semester here I have only slight trepidation eating at the neighborhood “greasy chopstick” and asking for a side of bowling water to clean my utensils/ bowls. After several stomachaches and six months of eating, breathing and consuming the bacteria of the middle kingdom, I would like to think that I have developed immunity on par with that of a frat boy.

For someone visiting for two weeks, eating street food or dining in at a local hole-in-the-wall comes at your own risk. Even if the food is clean, the quality is not (always) the best. So though I hold the hotel to no fault as we got exactly what we asked for.

‘Good luck restaurant’ was the name of the establishment, although a more apt description might have been good luck finding where it is located. Thanks to my limited Chinese, we were finally able to find the place after wandering around for a while.

A store employee attempts weird marketing tactic

during our search for Good Luck Restaurant.

In short, the restaurant was a place that needs to be seen to be believed. It included:

- non-English speaking waiter (we were in China to be fair)

- meat-filled vegetarian dish

- questionably ‘clean’ plates/tables/entrees

- interesting choice of decorations (see below)

Barack "the riveter" Obama

Being wine enthusiasts, my father and stepmom decided to order a bottle of wine. Similar to the shopkeeper on the night of my Christmas Eve party, our waiter struggled to open the bottle of wine. For several minutes, we uncomfortably watched him dig into the bottle and destroy the cork, not saying anything for fear of causing him to lose face.

Poor cork, we hardly knew ye.

A manager, seeing his struggle yelled at him and sent him back to the kitchen (to get a new bottle presumably) and apologized to us in Chinese. When the wine was finally poured, it turned out to be pretty terrible. We all felt bad for the waiter so we sat and drank our wine. Surprisingly, none of us got food poisoning but GLR is not a place I will be recommending to friends.

Guilin, Day 2

So the blog’s been silent for a while now. No, I am not dead. Rather the opposite. My month-long trip was just the boost I needed to put me in the positive frame of mind to finish my last semester in China strong. It was nice to have so much time off to get a fresh perspective and lay plans for my next venture in life. During my time off I visited Guilin (China), Hong Kong and Australia. My last post left off at my first day in Guilin. Looks like I have some catching up to do…

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The next day, the entire fam woke bright and early for a cruise down the famous Li River and a trip to Yangshao Village. The tour started out with a bus ride to the dock during which my father (whom I love dearly) played “that guy” of the group and asked as many questions as possibly about things he would probably never concern himself with again. I supposed he was making sure he got his money’s worth.

As those who have signed up for group tours know, there is a lot of waiting in between activities/ sights. Since the cruise was filled with mostly Chinese people I looked at the lull in time as an opportunity to practice my Chinese and bug those around me to help translate characters that I had drawn on my airplane barfbag into English.

Barfbag

For me the Li River was a real life representation of the mass-produced Chinese river/mountain landscape artwork found on vases or wall tapestries at one-size-fits all home stores that are common in America. The actual Li River was better. Lonely planet hits the nail on the head when they describe the river’s beauty as “hard to exaggerate” and “one of the classic, legendary images travelers tend to have of China.” Although it was a cold and damp day (winter in southern China, what can you do), I braved the top deck to snap pictures of the scenery, including some family shots. Despite the gorgeous mountain scenery eerily beautiful river, the best time to see Guilin, Guangxi is undoubtedly not in winter so I would suggest that those of you wanting to go wait until April or May.

Vase depicting Li River scenery

Li River

After 83 kilometres of river boating, we arrived at Yangshao village. Yangshao village is where the majority of tours on the Li River end and has thus become a huge hub for tourism. Despite the definite tourist feel, Yangshao has managed to keep a village feel and resist conversion into a complete tourist trap.

The Guangxi ‘state’ in which Yangshao and Guilin lay is actually the Guangxi Zhuang Autonomous Region, a moniker created to allow for special governing allowances for the Zhuang minority group that resides in the area. I really enjoyed exploring the shops and learning about the minority customs and apparel that I don’t see in my predominately Han city.

Top to bottom: Photograph of Zhuang minority women, traditional Zhuang garb.

After everyone stuffed their bags with souvenirs, the entire group piled into a passenger van and headed back towards the hotel in Guilin. We had been sightseeing for 9 hours and wanted nothing more than to get out of the damp cold. This was not to be the case.

Since the tour guide was a rational man, he assumed that anyone who had asked so many questions as my dad had about the local pearl factory must really want to visit and make a large purchase. So as we neared Guilin, the tour guide took it upon himself to transfer us to a separate bus to visit the factories that no one wanted to visit. My father was confused when the rest of the group failed to join us. His eyes grew wide as we explained to him in hushed tones that the tour guide was taking us on a separate trip since he thought that is what we wanted. I was aware that it was to be an expensive side trip, as I knew from 5 months of living in China that reciprocity is the usual expectation for any thoughtful act. No action is performed without an agenda.

We pulled up to the pearl factory and listened to a painful, pre-rehearsed speech, complete with awkward questions and unnatural vocal pauses. I met eyes with my stepmother and had to excuse myself from the group so as not to burst into laughter and cause the worker to lose face. After describing how a pearl is formed and how China has the most beautiful pearls, we were ushered into a jewelry showroom where we could buy government guaranteed pearls. We tried on 15,000 and 10,000 dollar strands for giggles and browsed the nacreous jewel filled cases. I felt like I had stepped into Breakfast at Tiffany’s but with crappy carpet and an Asian cast.

Top to bottom: Being shown how pearl is formed, showroom.

I grew bored of looking at jewelry I couldn’t afford and chatted with the tour guide while we waited on the rest of the group to make their purchases. He informed me that the Clinton family had also visited Guilin and pointed to a picture of the first family on the wall.

Former first family

My sister and stepmother eventually decided on something a little bit more reasonable and my dad left the pearl factory with a lighter wallet, paying the consequence for his curiosity. His load was lightened again as he pulled out a tip for the above-and-beyond service.

I can’t say that I regret our little side trip because it was definitely an experience and that is what traveling is all about. Don’t know about my dad.再见

Christmas, Round Three (aka two Christmas Eves)

Finishing part three of my Christmas blog post has been on my to-do list since, well, Christmas. I can assert (and perhaps in bold font for any prospective employers who have stumbled upon my wee humble blog) that it is not due to laziness but rather time management sheer lack of time.

This year I had two Christmas Eves. As everyone in America was ‘nestled all snug in their beds’, I rushed home from church. Attempted to rush home that is, as there were no cabs in sight because God doesn’t look kindly on those who leave Christmas Eve service early.

For the party, I was determined to make mulled wine. Two months into my new place and I had yet to make that necessary new-house purchase: a wine opener. Same as on Thanksgiving, I went downstairs to the get the friendly man from the corner shop to open my bottle of wine. Every time we tried to pull out the cork, it broke off inside the bottle further frustrating my companion. After a good 30 minutes of uncorking, I went back upstairs to the party.

Two batches of mulled wine later, everyone was in high spirits and it was time to open presents. It had been decided upon at Thanksgiving that we would do a white elephant gift exchange- presents bought for no one specific in mind and the realization that hilarity would ensure.

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The next morning my family Skyped me from the annual Christmas-Eve celebration. Thanks to technology, I was able to watch (most of) my entire extended family take Irishcar bombs and proceed to go Christmas caroling. I am sure that is what Al Gore had in mind when he invented the internet. Our singing was so tender and sweet that the neighbors gifted us beer (well, those of us physically present). They say a picture is worth a thousand words so I will spare you the exposé on the evening's activities and let you have a look instead.









The clan doing Irish car bombs.










International Christmas caroling.

Unnamed family members after a few Irish car bombs....

An Early Christmas Present

I have been blessed with many wonderful students. They are all special in their own way, with unique interests and talents. One of my students, whose name has been changed, is very dedicated to the construction of robots, even sleeping on the couch (for several days at a time) in the room at school where he and other students construct the machines. After physics class a couple of weeks ago, he and several other students invited me to follow them to a room in the main building where they have been constructing robots. When I told them that a professor of mine at Purdue was involved in Purdue's Robotics club, their eyes lit up. They said that would like to start a club and fight the robots but that their teacher said ix nay on the ighting fay. I told them to study hard and concentrate on getting into a good college with a robotics club that encourages robot fighting. Tonight, I opened up my inbox and was greeted with the following picture and email.
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Subject: Surprise Trailer

Message:
Hi! Miss. Molly.
This is Billy.
Now the students in Class 13 such as Charlly,Hank and others are working hard about robots.
They told me that they want to finish 4 robots before the 25th in December.
They want to invent you and some other teachers to drive them and have a game as Christmas presents for you all.
I was so excited.
So I decided to join them.
I think that's wonderful.
Are you expecting that day to come?

The Best Way to Spread Holiday Cheer

....

If you answered, "singing loud for all to hear" ala the movie 'Elf', then you are wrong. The best way to spread holiday cheer is by Clark Griswalding your home ala 'Christmas Vacation.'

Last week, I was feeling a little homesick and depressed about the upcoming Christmas festivus. I realized I could continue being depressed or I could take action: If I couldn't go home, I would bring home to China and create a winter wonderland in my apartment. Grabbing my eco-friendly shopping bag, I walked next door to Sam's Club (which I can now correctly pronounce in Chinese) and stuffed an entire shopping cart full of Christmas decorations- made in China of course. I am now the proud owner of a "Happy Christmas" sign, a pink Santa, a 6 ft Christmas tree, a ridiculous amount of garland and fake snow. Yes, that is right. My apartment has fake snow. For right now, it is only the windows but there is more to come.

I am determined to be the Clark Griswald of China this year. My apartment may not have the electrical capacity though- it's like my sister's Passat. Looks good to the eye but there are always problems underneath the hood. Just two days ago, a government work crew came to our apartment to fix the lights. I had no idea what was going on when all the power shut off in my apartment at 8am. I frantically called my boss and handed the phone to the workers at the entrance of my apartment building, to find out that no, my refrigerator hadn't broken for a forth time (we are still only on 3 breaks). I would have appreciated some advanced notice but I am grateful for the fix as the wiring in my place has caused a lightbulb to shoot out of the socket and kick off the fuse box on several occasions. It’s always quite a fright when something shoots out of the ceiling and lands next to your feet.

As a side note, I am constantly reminding myself (or being gently reminded) that China is a developing country with quite a bit of growing until it has the modern connivances that I am fortunate enough to be love and know as a product that is ‘made in the USA.’ Yes, KFC and McDonald’s delivery is very cool but it cannot replace an emergency repairman that comes within 4 days of a telephone call or proper electrical wiring.

It’s getting late and I have papers to grade. 再见

There's No Place Like Home

Feeling a wee bit homesick today. I have had a rough past week and would like nothing more than to click my heels and come home, especially this month to celebrate Christmas with my family. Having to deal with the struggles that inevitably come with living in a country where I don't speak the language makes me appreciate home even more.

The First Thanksgiving

So I have purposely put-off giving you fine folks a Thanksgiving recap. For those of you who received my previous email updates, you know that my camera pulled a Houdini during my first month in China. This Thanksgiving was instead documented by several of my guests whom I have yet to receive photos from (you know who you are) so I have hesitated to put up a post without the Norman Rockwell-esq turkey-carving money shot.

Photographic evidence be damned. It’s well past due for an update post so put on your creative caps and let your mind paint the picture.

I woke up the morning of fake turkey day (Sunday) ready for the big event-my first Thanksgiving as a host. I didn’t think that this day would come till at least 10 years and two kids later but here we are. After promptly locking myself out of my apartment, I raced to my roommate’s school to pick up her keys. On the way back, I hit up grocery store #1 and picked up the cleaning lady. After dropping off both food and maid, I rushed out again for food run #2. Somewhere in all the excitement the sensor on my fridge broke and the temperature went haywire, reaching a balmy 66 degrees in the fridge (which we didn’t notice until after the meal).

I managed to catch a cab just before rush hour to pick up the pre-cooked turkey (I highly suggest that you try this at your next
Thanksgiving), beating the crazy Chinese traffic. The lovely KFC delivery boy (yes, KFC delivers in China) beat me home with a piping hot bag of dinner rolls. Unfortunately, I wasn’t able to dump them in a bowl and pass them off as my own as I still had one more item to get before the guests arrived.

My visitors arrived bearing gifts of green beans and mashed potatoes in tinfoil and Corningware bowls, much like I imagine the Native Americans would have on the first Thanksgiving had they access to a Sam’s Club. We went around the table and listed things that we were thankful for and said grace for the meal. Thanksgiving favorites like marshmallows & sweet potatoes received rave reviews from the two non-Americans at the table. All of us dined on turkey and sides with chopsticks (when in Rome...). Even with the gravy, the mashed potatoes stood the chopstick test. After dinner, someone brought out a guitar and a round of Christmas carols (along with a sultry rendition of Mmmbop) ensued. It was a great Thanksgiving filled with singing and laughter that I am sure my neighbors enjoyed hearing on a Sunday night.

My fridge/freezer is still broken but I shoved the tin foiled turkey in the icebox after the meal. I am craving a turkey sandwich but I am hesitant to eat leftovers with the freezer on the fritz. Hurry up repair man!

Much to Be Thankful For

My first blog post.

I have been living in southern China for a little over two months now and have outgrown the email chain I have been using to keep in touch with friends and family. A blog is a much happier medium as I can post massive amounts of pictures and data without ‘exceeding my attachment limit’ (take that Yahoo). After much thought, I settled on the name, ‘The Real World’ as it describes my life pretty perfectly right now. Post-college life is often referred to as ‘the real world.’ What more fitting of a title could I name my blog than ‘The Real World’ as I am experiencing the real world in the most literal sense of the phrase?

It is appropriate that I begin this blog on the day after Thanksgiving, as I have a lot to be thankful for this year- even if it doesn’t always feel like it. I have a challenging, (albeit often frustrating) job in a new and different country, an amazing group of friends and family who have supported my big move (even when they, or for that matter myself, didn’t quite understand it), new friends in China, my somewhat-decent health, and much more.

When I was taking post-graduate classes in Australia, I experienced my first holiday abroad. Living in a western country, I easily managed to find a public venue that re-created the holiday experience for myself and other area expats.

Thanksgiving in China is a different story. For a country whose standard method of cooking involves a wok and a stove, finding the ingredients and means (read: oven) to cook a traditional thanksgiving dinner has proved a challenge. That is not to say that it is impossible.

Life is definitely busy in China so finding time to celebrate Turkey Day amongst 6 days of work and 7 days of lesson planning was also a challenge. This Sunday however, I am inviting several friends over to celebrate the holiday. After networking to find the proverbial holiday fowl (turkeys are quite elusive here), I found a hotel that was willing to sell and cook me an 8 kilogram turkey. Since ovens are few and far between, Thanksgiving rolls are provided courtesy my wallet and the local KFC. Additional dishes are being made via toaster ovens and stovetops by those attending the feast and I am filling in the gaps.

An update to come after dinner on Sunday. I smartly scheduled a cleaning lady on “Thanksgiving” so things could get a little bit hectic. I hope she finishes before dinner and if not… I hope she likes turkey.