海滩天

Like I said in my last post, Rachel and I had a lot of fun in Cixi with Arlene and her family. But, the final day we spent with them was definitely the best... because we got to go to the beach!

I didn't realize how much I'd miss the beach, but I suppose after living so close to it for four years, I became a little spoiled. So when we found out that Arlene didn't live too far from a beach, we made a request to spend some time there. And it was great! The weather was hot, the water felt good and the sun was bright. It was a perfect way to spend the day - it just doesn't feel like summer without some beach time.

It turns out, it was Arlene's parents first time at the beach, which Rachel and I did not realize at first. So, when we sprinted from the sand into the crashing waves, Arlene's parents just about had a heart attack! They thought the waves were going to swallow us - they didn't know better. However, after we explained that we had been to beaches plenty of times, they relaxed a little. They even let us take Hazel (Arlene's 11-year-old sister) into the waves a little further! She had a lot of fun. And let me tell you, that water felt good, especially after the 90-100 degree weather we've been getting in Hangzhou.

Jump if you love the ocean!! - Me and Rachel

Arlene and Hazel at the beach

And you know what else felt good? Lying out in the sun - oh how I miss it! Turns out, Rachel and I were the only ones on the beach interested in absorbing some UV rays. Chinese people are extremely concerned with having as fair skin as possible, so when it's sunny out, they wear long sleeves and sit underneath umbrellas. I'm sure they all thought Rachel and I were insane for wanting to lay out and absorb the sun. 

Me trying to get some sun and Arlene trying to hide from it

Arlene's Uncle - as Rachel said, he's "not a beach kinda guy"

And of course, we couldn't leave the beach without trying to dig a hole to America (that's how it works, right? Since all the holes we dig in America lead to China, of course!)

This might take a while...

After a great day at the beach (and a little burnt skin, of course), Rachel and I wanted to treat Arlene and her family to a dinner to thank them for all of their hospitality. So where did we take them? Pizza Hut, of course! We wanted to give them a true American dining experience. When we told them that in America, we eat the pizza with our hands, their jaws literally dropped. And while we couldn't get Arlene's parents to eat the pizza with their hands, they did manage to eat some chicken wings without their chopsticks or other utensils. It was a lot of fun to be able to share a little of home with them, especially after they had shared so much of their home with us. 

Everyone's happy after our delicious American dinner

Spending time with Chinese families like Arlene's is a truly different experience - I can't really say I've experienced Chinese culture until after adventures like this one. I only hope I can show my mom and my sister a great time like this family showed me!

慈溪

So, I can't sleep...

Why?

Because tomorrow, I'm picking up my mom and sister from the airport in Shanghai!! Ahh!! It's times like this I can't believe I actually live in China... Needless to say, I am extremely excited! I can't wait to show this crazy, chaotic country to two of my favorite people.

But, they're not here yet, so I figure I'll make best of this excitement-induced insomnia and tell you about the trip I just took to Ningbo.

So, last Wednesday, Rachel and I met up with one of my (now former) students, Arlene. She led us to the bus station where we took the 2-hour bus ride to her hometown, Cixi (pronounced: "Tsuh-Shee"). Turns out, we didn't actually go to the city of Ningbo (as I originally thought), but rather this area called Cixi, which is a part of the greater Ningbo region. When Arlene described Cixi, she told us she lived in the countryside... and then she said the population was only about 1 million. Only 1 million - ha! Clearly, we define "countryside" and "small town" quite differently in the USA.

Anyhow, we spent the night in a lovely hotel in Cixi and woke up the next day to go on our Yangmei picking adventure. We went with Arlene, her mother and uncle, and her younger sister, Hazel. The berry pickings were a little slim since it had rained the night before, which caused a lot of the berries to fall from the trees prematurely. Regardless, we picked roughly 3 kilos of berries... and, yes, we ate all of them that day. And, the crazy thing? We never felt full - these are magical, magical berries people. Rachel and I are pretty sure we ate an entire tree of them, and we didn't even feel bloated! If only the yangmei season were longer... it's only 10-15 days long each year, so they won't be selling them much after today. I suppose that's why you have to eat so many of them while you can! Here are some pictures of our yangmei-picking experience:

Hiking up the mountain to the Yangmei trees

The size of your average Yangmei

Hazel and I with our Yangmei basket

Arlene, her mother and Hazel eating Yangmei straight from the trees

They gave us these jackets to prevent bugs from crawling into our skin... ew!

After Yangmei Day, we spent a lot of time with Arlene and her family. We shopped, ate, sang KTV, ate some more, visited Arlene's house, and even did some dancing! 

Cixi is famous for its duck necks, so of course we ate some!

The lunch that Arlene's family prepared for us - full of seafood !

Arlene's Mom teaching me a dance

Arlene's family owns a slipper factory... which was literally 10 feet from their house!

So, as you can see, the first three days we spent with Arlene and her family were plenty of fun! But, I have to say, the final day we spent with them was probably the best... which I'll talk about in my next post because this one is too long and uploading pictures is becoming difficult. I'll update it shortly!

宁波

Today, I'm leaving for an adventure with Rachel and one of my students, Arlene.

Arlene is taking us to her hometown, Ningbo, which is one of the largest cities (besides Hangzhou) in Zhejiang province. She has planned a lovely 4-day trip for us, including fruit-picking, sightseeing, and (my favorite part): beaches!

So tomorrow, we'll be going to pick a fruit that's native to this region of China called Yangmei (i杨梅) (English names: Waxberry or Chinese Bayberry). This fruit is juicy, sweet and delicious, but it only grows for about 10 days during June - very seasonal! And it doesn't seem to exist outside of this part of China, so unfortunately, you probably won't get a chance to try it yourself unless you come here during June/July. This is really a shame for you, because it's one of the most delicious fruits I've ever eaten. This woman's blog gives a great description of its taste! 

Then we'll be spending two days around the beach (fingers crossed for good weather - I need some sun on this skin!) and finally doing some sightseeing around Ningbo. Of course, I'm sure our trip will also be full of delicious food and lots of laughs. My camera is fully charged, so expect lots of pictures!

And once I get back, it'll be only two more days until Mom and Sammy come - I can't even describe how excited I am!! 

Happy Summer, everyone :)

自由

It's official:

The grades are submitted.
The paperwork is complete.
The folders are stamped and the exams are signed.

What does all of this mean?

My first year as a teacher at HNU is OVER! It feels unreal. But I'm definitely looking forward to this summer vacation, and, surprisingly enough, I'm already looking forward to next year's classes.

To celebrate the end of the year, I went out to dinner with Rachel and Dave to enjoy delicious Mexican cuisine (Yes, we have a legitimate Mexican restaurant here - it's called Pancho's. It's awesome.)

I'll only have one day to relax and get myself together, and then the travelling begins! And I can't wait to tell y'all all about it :)

我是一个电视名人

Today I received an e-mail from one of my Chinese friends, Lucky, who is a student at HNU:

Dear Olivia!!!I am so excited now! I saw you on TV! It is my favorite TV program. You and Rachel were singing. The man who translated for you is a very famous country singer in China!!You are so lucky!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!   You speak great Chinese. I can sing 'guang yin de gu shi', too!!I checked the Weibo of that TV show, and found your picture. Just send it to you!   Is that Rachel's mom?

That's right, everyone. I appeared on a famous Chinese TV show. I expect to be swarmed by crazy fans and paparazzi tomorrow morning when I leave my apartment... because that's just what happens to celebrities. I suppose I'll have to get used to it...


Okay, okay, I might be exaggerating a little. But I really did appear on TV! A few months ago (March, I believe), Rachel and I went to KTV (in case you couldn't tell from previous posts, we are pretty regular KTV-ers these days). This time, however, we brought Rachel's mom who was visiting from Syracuse. About an hour into our karaoke time, a Chinese woman burst into our room and began speaking rapid Chinese at us. Obviously, we didn't understand a thing she was saying, but she appeared to be telling us something important. After looking at her with that "deer-in-headlights" expression for a few minutes, she finally realized that we couldn't understand a word she was saying. So, because what she wanted to tell us was so important, she called a friend of hers who spoke English to serve as our interpreter. I got on the phone with the friend (Ann) who explained to me that we (Me, Rachel & her mom) were being asked to participate in a Chinese game show, during which we'd have to compete against a famous Chinese folk singer. After brief deliberation, we decided "What the heck? Let's do it!" I mean, you're (probably) only in China once, right? 


So, about 15 minutes later, we were joined in our KTV room by a camera crew, an energetic host and a famous Chinese folk singer. Before we knew it, they began recording, and *holy crap* the host was speaking Chinese. Fast Chinese. We still have no idea what he was saying. Fortunately, before we could look too panicked, the famous folk singer explained what was going on in English, and continued to serve as translator during the rest of our time on camera. After a brief introduction, we received instructions: sing yell into the microphone as loud as possible. Goal? To sing louder than the folk singer (and for those of you who haven't heard Chinese folk music, those singers can get LOUD). They gave us a special microphone that measured sound decibels for an accurate reading. 
Great. 
I won't lie, I did not expect us to beat this guy. For those of you who know me (and if you knew Rachel), you would probably peg both of us as fairly quiet people. The only person I've ever yelled at is my sister, and I've never heard Rachel yell at anyone (although she also has a younger sister whom I'm fairly certain she's yelled at). Like I said, not a lot of hope here.


So, the folk singer went first. He pretty much blew my mind (especially because I'm pretty sure he only got about half as loud as he's actually capable of doing) and then he handed me the mike. Ha. Nevertheless, I reminded myself "you're only in China once" and I yelled. And I was loud... but not loud enough. I failed. But I didn't let that get me down, because  my PIC, Rachel, still had a chance. And Rachel took that chance, looked it in the eye like a champ, and kicked its butt. That's right, y'all, she beat the folk singer (who knew she could yell like that?). And then we won a 12-pack of Chinese beer and some facial products (which, to this day, remain a mystery - they're Chinese, and the only English on the packaging makes absolutely no sense). And then everyone said goodbye and it was back to "normal" life again. 


When we didn't hear anything about our TV appearance, we figured it never aired and forgot about it. Until tonight. I replied to Lucky asking about a picture and this is what she said:

http://weibo.com/ztvkalaok          Look carefully for it!!!~~
The video will soon be online, maybe after 2 weeks!   I will tell you then, and send you the link! That is the most popular TV show in Zhejiang!!!

Most popular show in the province - exciting, right? But finding the picture is difficult, so I have saved you the trouble and downloaded it myself. Here you go: 

Becky, Rachel, Me and Abo (the folk singer)

I'll be signing autographs all next week - let me know if you're interested. 

Happy singing everyone!

闪闪发光熊猫

Today, while I was exercising at the gym, I saw a man wearing a black shirt.
A black shirt with a picture of a panda on it.
But this wasn't just any panda.
It was a bedazzled panda made completely of sparkly, silver crystals.
Only in China, my friends...

It's times like this I really wish I had a camera phone for taking covert photography.

In other news, today I exercised my legs and I set new PR's (Personal Records) for 6 out of 8 exercises! Sometimes I find myself getting a little discouraged about exercising, and it's days like today that remind me how much progress I'm making. So, for any of you out there also trying to live a healthier lifestyle, don't lose hope! Keep going! And for those of you currently happy with your lifestyles, then keep on enjoying :)

Peace out!

大河之舞

Ni Men Hao Everyone!

So this week has been a busy week... Mostly because I partook in two pretty big performance events at HNU.   On Wednesday, I choreographed/performed in the opening dance of an English talent show. Then, on Sunday, I was a judge for the school's biggest English singing competition (that means singing English songs, by the way). Needless to say, this has probably been one of the most entertaining weeks of my time here in China.

So, about three weeks ago I was approached by two of my students who asked me to choreograph/participate in this opening dance number. They told me I could do whatever kind of dance I wanted, and that I could choose as many students to participate as I wanted... pretty much their only requirements for me were that (1) the dance was entertaining and (2) it lasted about 5 minutes long (which is actually pretty long, by the way). Of course, I agreed to do it!

And so, I decided since this was for a big talent show showcasing English language and culture, that we should perform some sort of English dance... or better yet: Irish Dance! So, I pulled out the few Irish dance steps I remember, chose an awesome song from River Dance and rounded up 16 Chinese "dancers" and choreographed a semi-traditional (but mostly not, because most of the dance came from my own mind)  céilí dance. We had a lot of fun learning and practicing the dance.


As the performance date approached, a few of the leading teachers asked me about appropriate costume (since the school would arrange it). So, I told them that ideally just some plain, maybe colored dresses with LONG SLEEVES and short skirts would do. And also, black tights and black dance shoes. I even showed them pictures on the internet - multiple pictures. I felt pretty safe assuming that they'd be able to find something similar. 


Little did I know...


So, Wednesday (performance day) comes along and I head backstage to see our costumes for the first time.  I walk into a room full of my dancers (girls) wearing bright red, fully sequined, spaghetti-strap dresses with fringe at the bottom... fringe! They looked like little flapper girls. Not to mention these dresses were made for toothpicks - they were so short that they didn't even cover some of the girls' bottoms! I'm not sure when "plain, long-sleeved dresses" turned into "red, glittery, burlesque outfits," but at least everyone had black tights on. 

So then it was time to see my dress. The teachers had wanted me to wear something different ("You are the star of the show!") so I assumed I would just get a different color or something... I was wrong again! They present me with a strapless, sequined, silver and gold dress with a poofy, black, ruffled skirt. STRAPLESS! Have you ever seen Irish dancing?!? It's all jumping! NOTHING STRAPLESS WOULD HAVE A CHANCE AT STAYING UP! However, I am a genius and I brought a black, long-sleeved shirt for just this kind of emergency! So, I gave in and wore the strapless beast, but with my black, long sleeves underneath. 

And we are ready to perform...

Haha, just kidding. Did you really think the wardrobe mess would end so soon? You clearly have not been to China... nothing here is simple. 


As I mentioned before, I had 16 student dancers. Only 15 of them were girls, which left one boy: Mitch. Mitch was MIA during the above wardrobe incidents, but never fear, I found him. And do you know what they had him wearing? Don't worry - he wasn't wearing the same things as the girls... And by that I mean, he wasn't wearing a red sequined, spaghetti-strap flapper dress. No, he was wearing a GOLD sequined, spaghetti-strap flapper dress. Oh, AND black tights. YES, dear readers, someone decided it was okay for there to be a cross-dresser as a part of the performance. (And I am so sorry I didn't get a picture)

Thank goodness I had enough time to find him a white, button-up shirt and black pants instead... I could handle the flapper costumes; I could handle the strapless dress; but I could not handle a drag queen as part of our dance (not that I have anything against drag queens - I love them! But, there is definitely a time and a place). 

So, after getting past the shock and horror of the costumes, we managed to put on a pretty good show. In fact, there was a poll on the school's website asking the audience which performance they liked best, and our Irish dance won! How exciting, right!?!? 

Yeah, it was a lot of fun. I would totally do it again... except next time, I'll be there when they order the costumes. 


I'll be sure to tell you about the singing competition soon! But now, I've got to do some grading.


Happy dancing everyone!


Olivia


PS. Look at that last picture... notice anything else wrong with the costumes?

最后课

Ni Hao Friends!

I can't believe it's June already and I only have two more weeks of school left! And this week is my last actual teaching week - the following week is just exams. Where has the time gone?

So for the next few weeks I'll be particularly busy with paperwork... unimaginable amounts of paperwork. Seriously, guys, paperwork in China is no joke. Submitting all my students' final grades and marks is possibly the most tedious part of the semester. I'll try to take pictures of all the stuff we have to fill out to submit final grades... it may or may not blow your mind.

Fortunately, one of my classes (my Thursday night class) ended early this semester (only a 14-week long class as opposed to the typical 17-week long class) and so it's been finished for a few weeks now. A normal person would probably be happy about this (who doesn't want more time off?). However, my Thursday night students were (am I allowed to say this?) probably my favorite. They were always so enthusiastic and ready to participate - and they smiled all the time! Seriously, I couldn't ask for more. Every week I enjoyed going to that class - we always had a great time.

The class was simply called, "Oral English" and the students were English minors. We did a variety of different activities in class, usually involving skits or other opportunities for the students to speak. Their final exam was a lot of fun! The class (35 students total) divided into groups of 5 people. Each group was assigned a traditional fairy tale (like "The Emperor's New Clothes" and "The Frog Prince") and, then, a different movie genre (like "Horror" or "Action"). The group was then responsible for re-writing the fairy tale to fit into whichever genre they had been given (for example, one group had to create a "Sci-Fi" version of the "The Three Little Pigs" - which involved time-travelling, outrageous inventions and even an action scene). Once the group adapted the story, they then had to create a 10-minute script/play and perform it for me and their classmates on the last day of class. The students had a lot of fun with it and they really got to stretch their creativity (which, I have found, they don't get to do very often in schools here). It was definitely a fun final exam.

After the performances, I wanted to get pictures of/with my students, so here are some of my favorites:

The whole class!

Emma, Amanda, Maleah, Me, Tinna & Julie

Julianna, Me, Jessica & Cookie

Sylvia, Amelia, Me, Jennifer & Daisy

Delia, Me, Louisa, Nicole and Casey

Siren, Me, Angelina, Apple & Orange

George & I - he was one of only two boys in class!

Although it's nice to have some extra time off - I do find myself missing this class. They always re-energized me and made me laugh. I can only hope I'll be lucky enough to have another group like this one next year!

KTV

Ni Hao Everyone!

If you know me well, you'll never believe how I spent my Friday night this week: Singing Karaoke!! I know, crazy, right? Olivia doesn't like to sing in front of people...

It's true. I don't usually like to sing in front of people (I would NEVER do karaoke in America). However, there's something unique about Chinese karaoke (aka: KTV) that makes it exponentially more fun than American karaoke: Private Rooms.

So, when you want to karaoke in China, you visit your local KTV (they're on almost every other block) and sign up for a room. Room size ranges from 4-person rooms to 20+-person rooms. In the room you have one (sometimes two) TV monitors, two microphones, a couch and some chairs, a table, and a sort-of computer on which you make your song selections.

Then, you choose your songs (we've found a nearby KTV with an amazing English song selection) and belt your heart out... for only you and your friends to hear! It's a great way to let loose and relieve some stress, especially since it's a judgement-free zone (unlike karaoke back in the States). In fact, I like KTV so much, I even have a KTV VIP card for discounts.

So, on Friday, Rachel and I decided to have a girls-only KTV night at our favorite KTV (which is right down the street). We started off the night with a little liquid courage - turns out there's a bar not too far from where we live that has 3-yuan tequila shots on Fridays. That, my friends, is a 50 cent tequila shot. I'm not usually a big drinker, but I couldn't pass this opportunity up! (50 cents!?!) After a few shots of tequila at the bar, we headed to "In-Love KTV" to sing loud and proud for 3 hours... and we sang the entire time! (No breaks!) We even got a special gift from KTV: Cat ears! (Why? I have no idea! But that didn't stop us from wearing them all night.)

So, here are some funny pictures of Rachel and I singing (and dancing) while wearing our cat ears:

Air Guitar!

Rachel & her cat ears!

Jammin'!

Singing Adele :)

Still singing Adele (she's one of our favorites)

Charades...

My thought of the day...

When I get back from China, I'm going to be excellent at charades.

This is attempt to order green tea:

 Me trying to pronounce Green Tea...

 The barista pointing to the menu... NOT at green tea :(

 Disappointed...

 Oh, come on!

 Giving up...

Why?!?!?!?!

Just kidding! We actually took these pictures for a friend of mine - in truth, the barista understood my pronunciation of green tea the first time! Go me!

Also, this week I've been helping my friend/fellow teacher, Dave, to grade his midterm papers. His students had about 8 different topics they could choose from, one of them being "Dangerous Drivers." A lot of the students agreed that driving while fatigued is a bad idea... and then I saw this sign:

So, for those of you back home, be sure to follow this well-written piece of advice and do not drive tiredly!

And now, I'm off to watch some of my students perform fairy tales :)

Dragon Well Hike

So this Saturday, Rachel and I celebrated the birthday of our friend Justin by giving him a "Justin Day." Pretty much, we spent the day wandering around Hangzhou and doing some of Justin's favorite things. We played some frisbee around West Lake, had a picnic, went on a hike, ate some Papa John's, sang some karaoke, and went dancing. It was a long day, but it was fun. And, during our hike, we went to one of the "famous" locations of Hangzhou: the Dragon Well. For those of you who don't know, green tea is a BIG DEAL in China. And Hangzhou is famous for its green tea, "龙井绿茶 (Lóngjǐng lǜchá)" or "Dragon Well Green Tea." It's grown in the hills around West Lake. And it turns out, there really is a Dragon Well - which is really just a well, nothing special. However, around the well are plenty of hiking trails that take you up in the hills and lead you to some really pretty views of Hangzhou - and I thought y'all might enjoy some pictures :)

This is me posing as a dragon in front of the Dragon Well

A man working in the tea fields up on the hills

The view of West Lake from the hilltop - please excuse the pollution

Looking down on tea fields and a small village on the other side of the hill

Making our way back down

Tea terraces!

Justin and I on an extremely crowded bus heading back to West Lake after the hike

母亲节快乐! (Happy Mother's Day!)

Today, I'd like to dedicate this post to one of my favorite people in the whole world: My Mom

For anyone who might not know, I consider my mom to be one of my closest friends - which makes me a really lucky person. She's also my personal health guru, my travel partner, my food and wine expert and my advice columnist. Not everyone has a relationship with his/her momma like I do. My mom is supportive, caring, fun (& funny), not to mention extremely creative and inspirational. I'm not sure she realizes it, but my mother helps me make decisions every day of my life. When I'm having trouble deciding between the "easy way out" versus "the right thing to do", it's my mom's voice that reminds me which choice is the right one. And when I'm faced with a serious dilemma (should I eat the chocolate one or the vanilla one?), I simply think "WWLD: What would Lanaya do?" (to answer the previous question, "have a little bit of both" haha). But in all seriousness, my mom truly does help me to be a better person every day - even from the other side of the world. And if it weren't for her, I might not be where I am today (not just because she gave birth to me, for all you smart alecs out there - but also because of her support and motivation).

Not many people react well to a 22-year-old moving to China on her own. Even people IN China think I'm crazy. "What about your friends?" they say. "What about your family?" And when they ask me those questions, I always start off by saying, "I am very lucky." And I AM very lucky! While other mom's might have said "Are you sure that's a good idea?" or "Why can't you just stay in the United States?," my mom said, "So when can I visit?!" And throughout the whole process of preparing, packing and freaking out, my mother was there to support me. And I know, what ever I decide to do next, she will continue to support me. And that, my friends, makes me one of the happiest daughters in the world.

I'm not sure my mom realizes how much I appreciate her - and I know I can't fully express it. Even if I could, there would be no way to repay my mom for everything she's done for me. So instead, I try to pay it forward. When my friends and family struggle to make a decision, I do my best to give honest advice and offer my full support, just like my mom would. When my friends and family need someone to talk to, I do my best to not just listen, but listen actively - just like my mom would. And I hope that by following my dreams and making my own adventures, I will inspire others, just as my mom has inspired me.

So, since I can't be home on mother's day this year, and since I haven't figured out how to send things from China to America, I would like this blog post to serve as a gift to my mother - to remind her that she is the most wonderful woman I know! I love you Mommy, and I can't wait to see you in China!!