miscellaneous

my mop!!!!
Originally uploaded by morningmilk8.

i've posted some pictures of my broom closet that was taken over and then abandoned.... however, my mop and bucket are still captive because there is a lock on the door..... needless to say my floors are still disgusting because asking everyday for a new mop is not enough to get anything done here. i wonder what kind of gift is a good exchange to get MY mop back? hmmm... i really should just buy a new one. its the principle of the whole thing that's holding me back. someone taking over my space and then locking the door behing them.... asking and asking and asking for a new mop and no one listening. when will it end?!!??
so patti and i have been eating in the cafeteria again. mainly because they have fruit. delicious oranges and pineapple.... the key is that you have to get there early to get any. the cafeteria best demonstrates the survival of the fittest/communist attitude. you better run and run fast if you want any of the good fruit or food. its set up buffet style, but unlike many western countries (mainly america) there isn't an endless supply of food. what you see is what you get and if you're not fast enough, it'll all be gone. except the rice, there is always enough rice!! and its not just about arriving early, but taking more than your share, or at least not being afraid to. i mean people love their fruit and are not afraid to take 3 or 4 oranges and half a pineapple for themselves. so, in order to get what you want you can't be afraid to throw elbows, run, or push your way to the front.... i apologize now if this behavior follows me home, but a girl has got to look out for herself.....
on the other hand, i do have an advantage being a vegetarian. there usually are not many vegetarian choices, so i often have to deal with picking around the meat to get to the veggies and all the meat eaters pick through the veggies to get to the meat. therefore we can happily eat each others scraps.... i was really excited the other day when they had this really good tofu, but soon realized there was little pile of meat resting on top. once again, someone had picked all the piles of meat off the top and left just the tofu. while this sounds disgusting, its the way things have to be here. i eat around the meat infected area and just remember to be thankful that i have a free meal and if i'm fast enough and tough enough i get fruit too.
another interesting aspect of the cafeteria is the dynamic... mostly that its extremely segregated. all the men sit with each other, all the women sit with each and then....
well, there's patti and i. yes those crazy, weird, foreign teachers, all should be sure to avoid them and their democratic ways. beware of their suspicious eyes and never divulge any secrets. never make them feel comfortable, they are simply to be stared at and mocked and used for their language ability. don't ever stand in front of them during photo ops, we need to let the world think, we are proud of them and that we are working hard to promote foreign relations........ maybe this is a bit dramatic, but certainly there are days when it feels this way. nevermind though, i just wanna eat my damned fruit and go home to take a nap.
crazy things i've seen lately, that are actually common here: 4 people riding on a tiny motorbike get wiped out by a taxi...my contact teacher pick his nose for 10 minutes, scratch his ass, spit a huge lugee and farmer blow and never once seeing him wash his hands.... i'm pretty sure there is more, but i'll save those for another day.
last week i was teaching my kids proverbs in english. side note: they say an apple a day keeps the doctor away as well... anyway, i typed up a bunch of common ones and left some of the words out so that they could come up with their own proverbs. well this presented a challenge because chinese students are not taught to think for themselves they are taught to do well on the 8,000 examinations they will take in their lifetime. so, when i say "use your own words" that usually means nothing and everyone writes the same thing, or they already know the proverb and just finish it... so, i tried and tried to get them to use their own words, which has little value and/or meaning in the chinese classroom, but for those students who weren't afraid to think for themselves, they ended up really good and pretty funny, which was the intention of the excercise. i thought i'd share some of their responses... remember i have about 400 students and of these 400 i only got about 10 worth mentioning... i'm trying, but i feel it may be dangerous to encourage such awful behavior as thinking outside the examination box.....
"Beauty is on the inside,Beauty is maybelline"
"He who plants a tree, plants patience"
"Curiosity killed people's minds"
"Time is gold"
"Time cures sad"
"The best things in life are no homework"
"Time is hell"
"Curiosity killed ourselves"
"Never have a gift horse in your mouth" (the student did however know the meaning)
"Old soldiers never lose way, they clever"
These are the future leaders of the world...
More later.
nrj