Ice cream

Today during the mid-class break, I took my students to a nearby icecream vendor and bought them all a popsicle. I figured, my lesson topics are all about food, so it's only fair that I feed them after making them hungry. :o)
I got one for myself, too, and dripped some on my shirt. It's crazy... popsicles here start melting a lot faster, and I just can't keep up. I've probably dripped a little popsicle juice on myself every time I buy one here.
This weekend I went to a big super-mall and there was a Dairy Queen! I got an oreo blizzard, and there was a sign that said "served upside-down, or it's free." I have no idea why, unless it's to show that it's not melty? Who knows. But it was every bit as good as the ones in Ohio. :o)
Here's the super-mall in the distance. five floors of shops! WOW!
Tonight after watching "Hairspray" with a big group of students, I went to get a head massage at a hair salon. They wash your hair, massage awhile, then dry and style it. For 15 yuan, which is around 2 dollars. Too bad the styling doesn't last in the heat... the second I walk out the door, my hair is flat. :o)

Good night, all. I'm in need of every bit of sleep I can get!

Random Notes

Okay, it takes three days longer to dry my clothes in my room than it does to dry them on the roof patio, but I just can't bring myself to dry my undies out where everyone can see them. :o)
We did another dance class today. Taught a few salsa moves and the students "oohed and aahed" over me moving my hips. I guess it's not done here much.
Here's my doctored up feet after the pretty new shoes fiasco. At least the Hello, Kitty bandaids make it a little more fashionable.
By the way, I love generic knock-offs here. Check out these "asidad" sandals from the night market. :o)
Here are some other creative names that I've come across in the past few weeks... how fun!
1) Open
2) Revere
3) Ardwy
4) Wiky
5) Essay
6) Oh Yeah! (exclamation point included)
7) Glacier
8) Bubble
9) Aragon
10) Bird
11) Flint
12) Hydrogen
13) Snow
14) Alf
15) Color

Opera Troubles

Okay, not to brag, but I began the day looking really cute. I wore a dress and shrug that some of my students helped pick for me. However, a 20 minute walk to the Opera proved to be a bad choice... It was over 100 degrees out and really humid. Check out how my thin little cotton dress soaked up all my sweat and put it on display for the world. EW!!! Good thing the opera was air-conditioned. It gave me time to dry off.
The opera itself was really neat. I couldn't understand much of anything, but I guessed a little and made up the rest in my head.

This one was about a young maiden who fell in love and her suitor gave her a jade bracelet, which is the Chinese equivalent to an engagement ring.

I chose a ridiculously uncomfortable pair of shoes to wear, too, which was my second big mistake of the day. At first, they felt fine. Ten minutes down the road, I was getting blisters all over my feet. I think I might still bring them to the U.S., though, even after how they treated me. They're awfully cute, and I don't usually walk so much in Ohio.
Here's how I got home... wearing Deb's socks and carrying the wicked heels. People look at me a lot here, since there aren't a lot of Westerners and I'm so tall. But boy, you should've seen everyone stare at the crazy girl walking down the street in socks!
Don't worry... I avoided wet spots. I arrived home safe and sound. And now, it's time for a good night's sleep to prepare for another crazy week!

Hot, Hot, Hot

Today was the first real scorcher we've had. It's been hot, but we've been lucky so far. It hasn't been unbearable. Today was my first three-shower day. I think I'm getting better at dealing with the heat, though, because last night I actually felt the need to turn my A/C down a notch in my bedroom... I felt a little chilly!

Okay, so here's the fan I've been searching my whole life in China for...

And here's the second place winner, which I also purchased...

Followed by the cheap little 25 cent paper one my students made me buy...

And lastly, this battery-operated little guy with propeller fan coming out of his head...

Yeah, he was a little over a dollar, and I just couldn't help myself. Can you blame me?


This morning we had a college fair for the Wuhan University students. Rick and I represented Ohio State and showed an admissions video and even yelled "O-H" and had the students yelling back "I-O"! They loved it.

Afterwards, I went out with some students (during the hottest part of day) and we ate "hotpot" at a really cool restaurant. I got to make a wish on a special little card and tie it to a wishing tree. :o)

After that, I met up with some ladies (and Pete) for Starbucks and a manicure. Pete had his big toes painted black with little "Hello Kitty" heads on them. Just for kicks.
Here are mine... Only 2 bucks! I think I'll have my toes and fingers done again before I head home to Ohio.
I saw this earlier today in the hotel... it's so funny to me that people will sleep in public here. I guess if you're tired, why deny yourself the pleasure?

Which leads me to say good night! It's definitely been a long day.

Time for bed

Well, I got fitted for a qi pao, which is a traditional Chinese dress. I get to pick it up in a week.
Afterward, I shopped for four hours down streets with little booths and table peddlers, and only spent 15 bucks the whole time, but it was a blast! And I finally found my FAN!!!! Photo to follow in the next blog.
Good night, Wuhan. My feet are ready for bed!

Needing a nap...

So, I guess my students are as tired as I am...
This is during the break. Don't worry, they don't sleep while I'm teaching. :o)

After class yesterday, I bought milk teas for all the students who went out to eat with me... two of us carried 12 milk teas!
My students taught me that where you hold your chopsticks reveals who you will marry. If you hold them low, like this, you will marry someone who lives very close to you.
If you hold them high, you will marry someone who lives far away.
They also complimented me on my mad chopsticks skills, which I cultivated in American Chinese restaurants. I've gotten much better in the past 2 weeks... it's all the practice picking up one kernel of corn at a time. :o)

Night on the town

I asked my students to take me to lunch in the dining hall on campus yesterday. They thought I was crazy. They kept warning me on the way there that the food was not good. I assured them that it didn't matter - I wanted to experience a Chinese college cafeteria...
It was fun! And actually, I didn't think the food was so bad...
After the afternoon class, three girls took me to HuBuXiang, an area lined with street food vendors. They had me try green bean juice, fried tofu, fish soup with noodles, dumplings, and fried bread. (And all of it was delicious!)

After that, I bought them McDonald's icecream, since McDonald's is a little on the expensive side here, so they don't often treat themselves.
Then, they took me shopping for a dress to wear to the Beijing opera this weekend. The girls were determined to help me bargain, so they refused to pay the 198 the lady asked for and told me to start walking away. We were out the door when the woman called after us and I ended up spending only 50! (about 7 dollars!) Hooray for bargaining! :o)

Well, another great day of classes came and went. I have new classes, since things rotated, so i have to get to know a whole new group of students. Here's another terrific "tea bags" commercial...
After class I taught dance club in an OUTRAGEOUSLY hot gym full of 200 students. We did the electric slide (line dance for all of you non-dancers) and the tango. I'm amazed I didn't lose my voice! It was so fun, and they were so excited!
After that I went to Starbucks to have a meeting with my theme team teachers, Becky and Charlotte. Guilty pleasure... I had a mango tea frozen frappuchino thing. MMM... I think it was more exciting to use a Western-style toilet and have paper towels and airconditioning, though.
Then I went with Becky to get a head massage before we went back to the hotel... 1/2 hour or hair-washin' and temple rubbin'... what a great way to get ready for bed!
Wish me luck... tomorrow afternoon I'm going out with students to try street foods... I'm a little nervous it'll be too spicy, but I'm sure whatever it is, it will be an adventure. :o)

Sightseeing

Today, we went on a sightseeing tour of the city of Wuhan. They have a very famous building called "Yellow Crane Tower" and we got to explore it in the morning.
Pretty incredible view from the top...I also got to wander down a shopping street nearby, but sadly, I didn't find a fan. I've been looking for the perfect hand fan, and I just know there's one out there that's meant for me. I just haven't found it yet. And I refuse to settle, so I'm stuck sweating like a pig until it crosses my path. :o)Afterwards, we went to the Hubei Provincial Museum, and I saw many artifacts taken from the tomb of Marquis Yi, who was buried in 433 BC. The thing that struck me the most was that the Marquis had 21 coffins of concubines buried with him, all women between 25 and 30, which is my age. The guide said they were all poisoned and then their bodies were nailed to their coffins. It made me so sad to think of all those young women being sacrificed for one man's selfishness in thinking he could take his "property" with him into the afterlife. This is one of the concubine coffins...The most famous part of the museum are a set of 65 bronze bells which span almost 6 octaves. Everyone used to think China only had the pentatonic scale (5 notes), but now they know they used all 8. They were huge!!! We got to hear a concert played on a set of replicas. WOW!

Fun with Names

I find it interesting that it's still common to see Chinese guys with long pinkie nails. This is a sign of wealth, since you can't do manual labor like that - it would break. But I've seen at least three or four in each class, so it must still hold meaning for these young men.
Also, many of my students were given English names by their teachers, so there are a lot of students named "Sharon" and "Charles", etc. But then you find the occasional creative student who chose their own name. For instance, I have a student who named himself "Sonic"... can we say 'video gamer'? :o)

Other interesting names I've come across in class:
1) Totti
2) Glad
3) Hensery
4) Bubble
5) Devil (probably another video gamer)
6) Handel (named after his fave German composer)
7) Sailing (because her last name means this in Chinese)
If I hear any other creative ones, I'll add to the list.
I fit right in here, don't I? Naming myself after a spice and all. :o)

Hello! My Name is Inigo Montoya. You killed my father. Prepare to die.

Ni hao. 你好
I just had an incredible day.
In the morning, one of my students brought me "bean juice" to try... took me awhile to figure out it's soy milk with no sugar or flavoring. Also, my class held a meeting afterwards to decide where to take me to dinner. After ten minutes of listening to them argue for their choices in Chinese, I excused myself to catch the bus back to the hotel for lunch.
After class this afternoon, a group of 10 of my students took me and another teacher to a restaurant. They ordered about 14 different dishes for us to share.


I tried DUCK (鸭子), SEAWEED (海草), FROG (青蛙), and a FISH (鱼) with it's head still there.
The frog was actually way spicy, so I had to eat a whole bowl of rice to calm my tingling mouth.
The students were sweet, and it was SO fun. :o)

Rick taught the students how to make music with the rims of their glasses, so we had a symphony of wine glass whistlers and the waiters thought we were crazy!

Then we got back to campus just in time for "Movie Night". They were showing six different movies in diferent classrooms, and I got to watch "The Princess Bride" through the eyes of 50 people who had never seen it. I laughed out loud, and was terrified to the shrieking eels like I'd never seen them before. Also, I got to watch it with English subtitles, so I finally figured out some of the stuff Andre the Giant was saying that I could never make out. ;o)
Also got to see 300 Chinese students trying baseball for the first time on an Olypic sized field last night... what a sight!
Good night, Wuhan University. Good morning, Ohio.