Week 3 Part 1: 第三周
Leper colony
This is near my mom's childhood home where my grandma still lives. As kids, my parents lived in fear of this place. They were told they could never go in. It's not as scary now that scientists understand leprosy, which has largely been eradicated. But there used to be barbed wire fence surrounding this place. It is believed that there are only about 20 people who still live in there. You still can't go inside. From outside the complex, I could see trees, crops, and chickens, which the remaining lepers use to sustain themselves with little help from the government.
My dad's old house
This marker denotes a plot of land that used to be owned by my fraternal grandparents. This is where my dad grew up for 15 years before he went to college. If you look closely, you can see a 90 degree angle in the foliage on the ground. These relatively young trees have been planted where the foundation of the house once was. My grandparents and aunts all still live fairly close.
Traveling in style
A popular, convenient, and eco-friendly mode of transportation here is the electric motorcycle. Most riders have some sort of wind-breaking covering, which is especially practical in the biting winter wind. I can’t help thinking that they look like love seats racing down the street. Most people use bikes, motorcycles, buses, or the subway, but I did see one cheeky fellow ride a hoverboard in the motorcycle lane.
Medical masks are often worn out in public. It's rare for people to do that in America. Some people wear a mask because they have a cold and don't want it to spread, which is considerate. Others are perfectly healthy but don't want to breathe in germs and smoke. I guess this is what happens with this insane population density. I have seen a few people wear medical masks over their mouths only and not over their nose; if anyone knows why people do that, please let me know. I haven't figured it out yet.
A little insulting, but probably true
My dad gave me great advice. So this past Monday, I took placement testing to see which Chinese classes I get put in when classes start Monday. He told me to not do too well on the test because then I will have to study hard and do a lot of homework. He said I didn't come for class but that I came to China to “chi he wan le (吃喝玩乐)" which means "eat, drink, play, and be happy". I thought this was fairly solid advice. But then he went on to say that mediocre people can’t ever be recognized. They are worse than the best and better than the worst. No matter how hard they try, they can only improve so much and they will never be the best. So the only way for mediocre people to gain recognition is to purposely start out awful and work their way back to being mediocre and then they will get the “most improved" award. So he said I should be placed in a beginning level class and then show how I can quickly improve. This was interesting advice because I’m pretty sure universities do not hand out “most improved” awards. On top of that, he was calling me mediocre the whole time which was a little hurtful even though it's accurate.
During the oral assessment, I had no problem keeping up a simple conversation. The written assessment was another story. The teacher looked shocked that I could read and write so little. I honestly think a lot of kids have this problem, but the teacher was apparently confused by this. She said, "You can understand everything I've said, but you can't write a lot of very basic words." I nodded then shrugged. I'm not sure what else I was supposed to say because that wasn't a compliment I should've thanked her for. Anyways, as a result of my mismatched writing and speaking skill levels, I was told that the Level 3 class would be too easy for me, but the Level 4 class would be too hard. I asked how I would know which level I would be placed in. Apparently class starts at 8:30am on Monday, and when I show up to the building lobby at 8:20am I will see a list of names, find my name, and see which class I will be in. It's kind of weird that I don't know what classes I will be in just a few days, but I already have a good idea of what classes I'm taking in August when I get back to OU.
I guess it doesn't matter that much since I'm already moved into my dorm and know what time class starts.
Trains
I thought this train station looked pretty cool. It reminds me of a cartoon spaceship. I wish trains were as awesome in America as they are in China. Chinese high speed trains are way faster than I'm used to, especially since I don't ever ride trains in Oklahoma. The train I took from Hangzhou to Shanghai traveled at about 300 kilometers per hour. I had to look up what that was in 'Murican units and it's about 185 mph. It was a really smooth ride too. By any means, I am now learning the names of different speeds of trains: “gao ti, dong che, te kuai, zhi kuai, kuai, man." Chinese trains are so fast that the second slowest train, "kuai," still translates into "fast."
So many cutie patootie kiddos
There are so many cute Asian babies and kids here. I just want to steal them all. As a wise woman 文文 once said, "Asian babies are the cutest."
Here is a 6-year-old cutie patootie smiling after clinking glasses with my grandma and saying cheers. Look at that adorable smile.
This is me with the cool kids. We are drinking strawberry flavored juice from cartons shaped like Winnie the Pooh. Putting in the straw was brutal. It was like stabbing my childhood friend in the head. Anyways, I was originally sitting at the adult's table, but I didn't have much to contribute to the conversation and I don't like alcohol. I have lots in common with the adorable Chinese kiddos. I frequently mispronounce and forget words in my already limited vocabulary. I like to pretend magical things are happening because I have a tenuous grasp on reality. I have an insatiable desire to scream, laugh, climb up stairs, and squeeze into small spaces.
This little girl is my second cousin's daughter. She was told there was an American in the room. She said, "where?" I said, "I am American." She looked confused, then I guess she quickly forgot that conversation because she later asked why my Chinese sounded like a foreigner speaking Chinese. I again told her I was an American citizen. She looked confused and said, "but your hair is black." I guess she had never seen a Chinese American before.
In China, you call everyone some kind of family name like Aunt or Sister even if they technically aren't your aunt or sister. This girl is supposed to call me Aunt because her mom and I are in the same generation. She began calling me American Auntie because I was her only "Auntie" from America. She also asked me "are you 31 years old?" I said I was 20. She wanted to call me Sister because she felt I was too young to be an Aunt. Then she decided she was used to calling me American Auntie already. So she began calling American Sister Auntie.
My cousin's son's high chair is a chair on a chair. It looks dangerous to me, but as far as I know it's safe enough to use.
I laid down, and these kiddos decided it was time for me to wake up and eat breakfast. So here they are shoving food in my mouth. This is a win-win-win situation because the kids are having fun, the parents have a break from entertaining the kids, and I get yummy food shoveled into my face for free. My mom caught this picture of me making a funnel with my hands to help guide the food into my mouth.
This kid is a Rubik's Cube genius. You can see his 3 Rubik's cubes and 1 Rubik's pyramid. Apparently he has been going to a class to learn how to solve them. The classes they have in China amazes me: paper-cutting, ping pong, Rubik's cube, etc. I struggle to use everyday objects like keys and microwaves, but these kids can solve Rubik's Cube variations I've never even seen before.
I want to pinch this baby's cheeks all day every day. The outfit is so puffy. The face is so puffy. I'm all about these Asian babies. I don't have a picture for this, but one time I saw this one cute Asian baby sitting in a stroller at the train station and he was looking at me and smiling. His mom noticed and angled his stroller more towards me. I started playing peek-a-boo with him. I swear this baby was smarter than me, because this baby started playing peek-a-boo right back at me. It was all kinds of adorable and a bit impressive how this baby would close his eyes and hide his face behind his hands then move his hands and open his eyes. He would giggle at himself every time. Anything I think I'm good at, there's a small Asian that's better than me.