Okay after two successful phone calls its time to blog about.

It all began way back at the beginning of the semester when I confided in James this semester would be different. This semester I would make an honest effort to learn Chinese. I had two goals set to accomplish by the end of the semester

1. Be able to introduce myself.

2. Order my own water for the apartment.

Although I can say I have accomplished both it is not exactly with the ease or fluency with which I had hoped.

But I have now ordered my own water successfully twice. I will for the sake of honesty admit I still have to read from the email James sent me but hey I’m still the one that makes the call at the end of the day right. So for now I will bask in the glory of the little achievements which hopefully someday, and someday soon will add up to larger ones.

Here’s my script

ni4 hao3, wo3 shi4 qing1 nian2 jiao4 shi1 gong1 yu4 202 fang2 jian1 de1 mei3 guo2 lao3 shi1, wo3 xiang3 yao4 yi1 tong3 shui3, xiexie.

你好，我是青年教师公寓202房间的美国老师，我想要一桶水，谢谢

Katie's student is on the far right. She was wonderful.

The Play as translated was “Mouse Falls in Love with Cat”. The synopsis, a famous writer gets caught up in a fraud investigation headed by the local police. He is a well known figure being biographed by a leading journalist, who finds his escapades unworthy of print. The whole while a confusing love triangle takes place between the journalist’s girlfriend who is a police woman, the writer and the writer’s sister. The theme is about following one’s ambitions to the end and not giving up on one’s dream.  (Or at least that is what I got of the play.)

Katie, Thomas and I sat in the front row. Two of Katie’s students sat in the row behind and quietly translated the play. Leaning forward all evening couldn’t have been comfortable. I was very impressed with their translation skills and am greatly looking forward to working with students of their caliber next year.

No imagination necessary, if the script says smoke, he will smoke.

The play was scheduled to start at 6:30pm but as the Officials were running late due to a meeting the play was postponed until their arrival. So the play got underway about 7pm. As we were unsure the total length of the play I decided I’d sneak out at intermission to make another appointment. By the time 9pm rolled around I gave up on an intermission and sneaked out during a scene change. Katie and Thomas stuck it out to the bitter end which ended up being after 10pm, and that was with no intermission.

The entire production from start to finish was produced by students which I found to be quite impressive. The simple sets were quite effective and truly Chinese. The students were cast in roles that resembled their personalities according to Katie. At the end of the play each and every participate was allowed to make a Thank you Speech.

I had a very enjoyable evening. I forget how much I enjoy live theater even if it is not in English. It is amazing how much body language can convey.

I realized I’ve forgotten to post my Chinese name. Wendy came by today and I had her write it down for me again. I’m still having a hard time with my family name but I can write the other two characters decently.

Here is the breakdown-

赵 – Zhào – Family Name

心 – Xïn – Heartfelt

仪 – Yí – Person from a dream

I took Wendy’s family name, so she is officially my 姐姐 (big sister). I know the name is on the sweet side not exactly revealing my true nature. I asked for something along the lines of ornery or obstinate but Wendy refused.

As I’ve began the job search I asked James to write a letter of reference for me in Chinese that I could pass along with my resume when asked. As it was in Chinese I was curious as to what it said. I put it through a translator, then another translator finally deciding I would just have to wait until my Chinese is better. If you think you can do a better translation job please be my guest.

Chinese Version:

证 明

相关部门负责人：

您好！

Ms. Kayte Reagan(凯特·里根女士），是我院2009——2010学年聘请的美籍教师，主要教授英语口语工作，她在我院工作期间，认真备课，教学认真，除了完成学院规定的教学任务，还利用自己的个人时间帮学生辅导，深受学院师生的喜欢。

特此证明。

山东经贸职业学院外事办公室

孙嵬 科长

二〇一〇年四月二十一日

Google Translate:

Proof
Relevant department heads:
Hello!
          Ms. Kayte Reagan (President Reagan Kate) is a hospital 2009 – 2010 school year to hire an American teacher, mainly teaching English spoken work, she is in my hospital work, careful lesson preparation, teaching seriously, in addition to teaching required to complete college tasks, but also use their personal time to help students to counseling, college students and teachers well liked.
       I hereby certify that.

 Foreign Affairs Office of Shandong Economic and Trade Vocational College
                                    Sun Wei Chief
                                                April 21, 2010

World Lingo.com:

Card Bright
Related department people in charge:
You are good! 
         Ms. Kayte Reagan (Kate · Reagan Ms.), is my courtyard 2009–2010 school year invitation American nationality teacher, main professor English spoken language work, she in my courtyard work period, prepares a lesson earnestly, the teaching is earnest, except completes the teaching task which the institute stipulated, but also uses own individual time to help the student to counsel, deeply institute teacher’s and student’s like.
            Proved specially.

Shandong economics and trade professional institute foreign affairs office
                                    Section Chief Sun Wei                                     
                              A two 〇 〇 year on April 21

So after that all was typed and translated, humm which version do I prefer? Being a hospital or a courtyard?

I guess I’ll just have to learn Chinese faster.

I have to admit it is slightly strange being the experienced one, I can no longer use the “I’ve only been here a few months!” line. I took Adam around Wal*Mart, cell phone shopping then over to the guitar store. I was pretty impressed with myself and my ability to communicate. I soon realized if I capitalize on showing newbies around and help them communicate my Chinese is going to take off.

To be perfectly honest though, when it comes to shopping all you need to know is ‘that’ (这个) and your numbers (一，二，三，四，五，六，七，八，十).With the occasional ‘that’s too expensive’ (太贵了).

These cards got it all! Simplified and Traditional Characters, stroke order, radical, common combinations and a useful sentence!

Well I’ve done it, I’ve  practiced Mandarin everyday for over a week! Those Tuttle flashcards are my best purchase it. I keep a ring of them in my bag at all times and pull them out on the bus. The passengers sure get a kick out of it and I’m never lacking in pronunciation teachers!

I love the fact that the cards build on each other and my character recognition is getting much better.

45 down 931 cards to go!

So I’ve debated typing this post but I might as well get it out in the open, once I tell a few people its going to get out there anyway and blown out of proportion so I might as well get my side out….

Goodness knows I could count the dates I’ve been on, on one hand but could someone please define what qualifies as a date because I think I accidentally went on one with a complete stranger I met on the train.

I got home from Weihai at 11:30, cleaned up, packed up and headed to Qingdao by 5. I purchased a ticket last min and hoped for the best. There was a huge line at the gate already so stupidly I went and stood in it. Why, I don’t know after five months in China you would think I’d wised up by now. Mom please skip the following paragraph.

I stood in line and then they open the gate. Here is where my stupidity comes in. Lines mean nothing in China, as soon as the gate opened the line turned into a mob. Forgive the expression but there is just no other way to explain it. You feel like you are back in the birthing canal. I’ve learned to throw a mean elbow while here and being a foreigner and a head taller than everyone else it tends to work quite well. But today that wasn’t even helpful. I’ve never been pressed so bad in my life. Never understood the concept of stampede until today. I finally gave up struggling and just let the crowd push me. Some lady’s carry on caught the back of my legs but luckily the crowd kept me upright as she pulled forward.

Anyway I finally made it to the platform relatively unscathed and headed for my car. As if going through birth for a second time wasn’t bad enough I soon realized there was no seat to be found on the train. Great, two hours to Qingdao and I get the aisle. Okay truth be told I had a second option, smoker ally between cars. I figured relatively smoke free air standing in the aisle getting hit with a food trolley every 15min was better. I found a bench to rest against, turned on my kindle, put in my head phones and zoned out as best as possible. I did notice the decent looking guy standing next to me but kept my scowl to myself as the the trolley and I danced each time it past.

An hour into the ride a kind gentleman offered and held his seat for me when he disembarked. The guy who had been standing next to me soon found a seat across the aisle. He leaned over and began asking about my Kindle. His English was definitely not the best I’ve encountered but he was nice, okay sweet. The fact he said he read Plato gave him major points. Before I knew it he was asking me to coffee. I didn’t know what to say so I tried to mumble under my breath, as his English was not great he  took it as an affirmative and started suggesting places.

I figured I would lose him once I got to the station, but he helped get my backpack off the rack and insisted on carrying it for me. (It was only after did I realize how bad that could have gone if he had decided to run, Passport and Y2,000 bad.) Him having my bag and all I decided not to lose him. We caught the 304, he insisted on paying my fare, and headed into town. We decided on Coffee Spark as it was located on both our bus routes. On the bus he began helping me with Chinese. A few points in his favor. One, his is one of the first Chinese people who have actually wanted to help me learn Chinese rather than just wanting to speak and learn English. Two, when teaching me Chinese he actually spoke slowly and clearly, repeating words often, wow what a concept when teaching someone a language. (In China like many places people often think it is the volume that makes foreign words magically become understandable.) Lastly, he encouraged learning Chinese Characters as he feels it is a vital component of learning Chinese.

Now before you flip out and think I’ve completely lost my senses, I did text Victoria and let her know the change in plans. I also asked for a bailout call come 8:15 if wasn’t on the bus to the University yet. My Chinese lesson was going so well we missed our stop, but he had a contingency plan apparently. He quickly suggested another place that was just two stops further. We went to Starbucks and I ordered a Hot Chocolate, after a brief argument over the bill he said something curt in Mandarin to the cashier and she refused to take my money. He ordered two and found a table.

We sat and conversed for about 45min before I had to head out. Between his minimal English and my non-existent Chinese I was surprised the conversation lasted as long as it did. It did come to an interesting point when I finally asked for his name. Okay yes one would think before we got to Starbucks names would have been established but in China names are just tricky. Family names go first, then first name. To top it off you refer to new acquaintances by their family name. His name is Hu pronounced ‘who’. When he asked for mine I of course gave him Kayte, he was a little taken back and asked if he should call me Miss. That was a definite NO! Names got squared away and numbers exchanged. I was soon on my way to Victoria’s before the designated bailout time.

Overall the evening was fun. Most definitely not a usual evening for me but if China has taught me one thing it is taken every opportunity thrown at you.

So back to the original question, if he asked, escorted to and paid for everything was it considered a date? If so I guess I just went on my first Chinese date. Oh and for all those wondering he is barely my height but hey he’s not shorter!

 I met up with Wendy at 8:40 this morning. The chairman’s daughter and her classmate met us at the at t

 

Wood-Cut station, amazing details.

 

Watching the printing was breath taking, the maticulous efforts that are applied are awe inspiring to say the least.

 

The kites are made from thin sheets of silk. The paint is applied one color at a time let each color dry before applying the next.

 

Bamboo framework, all done by hand from selection to completion.

 

 

 

All the kites are handmade. The large one was Y600, reasonable I felt after seeing the entire process.

 

Yi, me & Yi, the wood-cuts on the door are protective deities to keep evil spirits from entering.

 

Intricate Paper-cuts, handmade

 

"Original" Ming Dynasty home.

 

Yi & me, can you see our personal stoves?

 

Hot Pot, it just might be my new favorite.

 

Driver, Yi & Wendy

 

Lobby, Largest Kite Museum in the World

 

My favorite kite in the Museum. Gold meddal winner at the Kite Festival.

 

An international kite donated to the Museum after one of the International Kite Festivals

 

a Ledgendary kite that is recognizable all over China

 

How many old men do you see? (answer: 3)

 

An aerial of Weifang, really if only I could expereince such a clear day.

 

Cabbage is a winter flower here, it does provide beautiful color in an otherwise dull landscape.

 

I never asked what this particular pagoda is currently used for but my guess is observation.

 

The path ran right along the water, more than once I gave Wendy a scare by walking too close to the edge.

 

______ Park, I just loved the Pagoda.

Today was delightful. From start to finish it was a great.

After five weekends of traveling and nonstop activities I was looking forward to a nice relaxing weekend curled up in my apartment only seeing people for my scheduled cooking lessons. But alas such plans have been ripped from my grip once again.

Wendy called me yesterday morning two min after I had fallen out of bed. She asked if I would meet with the President’s daughter on Saturday so she could talk with me. I was still groggy and out of it, yes I know it was 8:30 but I had had another late night. I was confused and asked if we could chat over lunch.

So my new plans for Saturday, hang out with the President’s daughter who will be coming into town for the weekend to visit with her father. She would like to practice her Oral English. Dantzelle already had plans to go to Qingdao and Adam is swamped with homework and finals for school back home. Luckily Wendy will join us. I am completely nervous. I’ve never met the President! Wendy didn’t make me feel any better when she admitted her nervousness. I know, I know really how bad can it be but let me honest people in high places in China make me a little nervous.

We have been offered a University car for our disposal, but I have do idea what to do? Am I suppose to be planning the agenda? I don’t even know how old this girl is. Luckily I have Wendy for translation I would be terrified if it was just me. Well I guess tomorrow I will find out! Wish me luck.

Over the last few days Dantzelle and I have been discussing the Chinese zodiac and the personalities that are associated with them. Her zodiac, the tiger, matches her personality pretty well. So I decided to try mine. To start off I got the rabbit or hare, or better yet the BUNNY,  from the start I was rolling my eyes. So here is the word for word description from Chinese.astrology.com  

When in China do as the Chinese.

Well that’s me according the my Chinese Zodiac!

they’re letting me teach an English class to children!

Wendy came to me a few weeks ago with a proposition, the English teachers on campus proposed an Oral English class for their children twice week if I wanted an extra job. Okay for those of you who know me, know my initial reaction, an absolute NO WAY JOSE! But if China has taught me one thing it is to hold my tongue until all the chips have fallen and even then it is just best to swallow and keep opinions to oneself. Besides the extra cash would be nice for traveling. I agreed to meet with the parents and see the students levels first before agreeing to anything.

Wendy agreed to do all the translating and help with the negotiations. 10 students between the ages of 6 and 10 years old. 2 nights a week for 1 hour. I’m too much of a Reagan to do much negotiating which will change next semester that is for sure. If there is one thing about the Chinese I’ve learned they will squeeze you for all your worth and still try and make you feel like they are the ones getting the bad end of the deal, but because you’re you and you seem alright, they will live with the decision although you really should understand they are the ones suffering here. So with that said, I have to work Friday nights and underpaid in the tutoring world.

From Left to Right: Xuan, Rose, KeXin and Margaret

I did request all the students be given English names as I know it would be pointless to slaughter their Chinese names class after class. When speaking to the parents they just suggested I name the children as I saw fit. Maybe I’m uptight but that just didn’t sit well with me. Naming children is the responsibility of the parents in my book and I told the parents I would feel more comfortable if they discussed with their child and selected a name. Of course this method left the door open and I still have two students who have insisted on their Chinese name so Xuan and Ke Xin it is and slaughtered each week they are.

I have to admit the more I teach the more excited I get about the class. I don’t know what is happening, I think the world is coming to an end and I am growing a soft spot for children. For the first time in my life I am beginning to understand my parents love for kindergarten. The absolute joy on the children’s faces when they understand a new word or get an answer correct. Then of course there is they’re sweet smile and burst of applause at any Chinese I use.

Preparing for the one hour classes is labor intensive and I put more time into that one hour than anything for my college students, sad to say, but then the return is so much more from my ten children than all 8 classes combined during the week.

My only real run-in when teaching this class is getting the parents to accept the fact that I am an American, born and raised with a Western Education with two amazing parents who do not encourage parroting teaching. I finally put my foot down and told the parents if they wanted a Chinese style class they would be better off getting a Chinese teacher. Chinese students are great readers and boy can they memorize, some of my students can knock your socks off with their vocabulary but get completely confused the moment you give them a complete sentence. The parents and I had a little disagreement on simple sentences and what was appropriate for their children.

What it really all boils down to is the definition of what an Oral English class is. Unfortunately, that is not a question I’ve been able to get answered by anyone in this country so far, not even for my college classes. The parents where upset with the simple “I have…” sentences I had the students practice when I asked them about their body. When I give a direct question they are able to answer but when given a simple instruction to describe something they freeze.

I’m slowly and at times painfully learning but all in all I am happy I took this job and who knows by the end of this semester I just might be able to say I like teaching kids.