Spicy Bullfrog

A quick way to get Lu Wei excited is to bring up spicy food.  As a native of Hubei province, he is something of a connoisseur.  He's used to his foreign friends and his wife having much weaker palates--I think you really have to be born there to appreciate some of the local specialities.  However, when some of us expressed a willingness to be adventurous, he quickly organized a meet-up at one of his favorite places.

I took a taxi to Jiedaokou and from there the subway a few stops to a part of town closer to the river (getting anywhere takes some time in a city the size of Wuhan).  Just outside the subway exit, I met up with Luwei, Angela, and their son Levi, and Micah and Bonnie, who were coming from another direction. We made our way down an ordinary street of shops and restaurants in an area where the locals seemed a bit surprised to see so many foreigners.

Along with few other dishes, Lu Wei ordered a gigantic bowl of spicy bullfrog, a Hubei specialty.  You can even buy live bullfrogs at Walmart in the seafood area, next to the eels.  (Where would you categorize bullfrogs?)  The meat tasted fairly generic; I'm trying to think of something to compare it to.  I would say it was somewhat similar to eel meat, but I don't think that would help most of my readers out much.  Rather slippery and smooth, the meat had more the appearance and texture of fat, but was solid and definitely meat.  I'm not making it sound appetizing, but really, it was just fine.  I can't really say much to the natural taste of frog, as this was marinated in a spicy broth that would cover up any gaminess and fishiness or what have you.

It didn't seem just terribly spicy at first, not as bad as we'd expected.  But the more I ate, the spicier it seemed to get.  About half way through the meal I started dispersing my bites of frog between longer and longer breaks of eating the side dishes.  As we arrived further down in the dish, it quickly became so uncomfortably spicy that we foreigners just picked at it and then gave up entirely.  Lu Wei would ask solicitously, "Did you have enough? Is it alright?" while throwing down prodigious amounts himself.

Somewhere around this point, we began discussing how spicy bullfrog was ordered in this restaurant.  There are five levels of spiciness, and you tell the waitress your preference, from the least spicy, 1, to insanity, 5.  I would have estimated our current dish to be a three or so, but Lu Wei told us it was only a one.  Only a one??? And it was already so spicy that we could only eat about half of a normal serving!!  When Lu Wei is alone or with like-minded Chinese friends, he normally orders a three!

Chinglish # Whatever

I really need to update my facebook album of fun Chinglish that I've come across here in my lovely city.  Until I do, here's today's bit...and no, it's not very good orange juice. 

Week 8…

Well, as soon as I finish this week's classes, the semester will be half over (well, my semester. There's another week of classes that I am not scheduled for, and then exams...) It seems like I and everyone else over the age of twenty-five say it so often it's a cliche, but my, time is flying.  Every semester goes faster than the last. 

This week in my writing classes we started expository essays.  It really is nice teaching the same class for the second year; I did all the hard work last year and now I just have to adapt and edit the lessons.  I also like that I get the opportunity to make my lessons better, with the knowledge of what last year's students did and didn't get and what they found interesting. 

After a short introduction to expository writing, I brought up that there are several types of expository writing, and that we would take a closer look at some of them.  First up: cause and effect. 

Since I have a few hours between my two classes on Tuesdays, I usually stay in the classroom building and get some work done, away from some of the usual distractions at home. It's also much more efficient to plan out next week's lesson while this week's is fresh in my mind.  I am the opposite of ADD; I prefer to spend all day on one thing rather than split it up. 

Today, before I settled down to work in an empty classroom as I usually do, I went over to the Foreign Language Department building to visit the copy room to print some materials for later classes.  On my way back, I walked the long way around, along the Rapeseed fields.  The blooming season is already coming to an end; only a few straggling speckles of yellow are left of the solid sea of shocking...yellow...that made even the sun seem dull for the past few weeks.  I feel like I ought to use another word other than just yellow, but none of the alternatives--lemon, banana, gold--really fits; rapeseed could be the definition of yellow.  

Guanggu with Amy

I was flopped on the couch, thinking it would be a solitary and quiet Saturday night (not that I, as a confirmed introvert, mind those, at least sometimes...) when Amy called.  She wasn't doing anything either, and was a bit stir-crazy to get out.  Did I want to go out and get some dinner?  

We dithered back and forth politely for a bit about where to go--somewhere here on campus, over to the much wider selection at Zhang Fa, the campus-next-door, or did we really want to go out out?  Finally we got past the polite "What would you like to do?  Really, anything is okay with me..." stuff, and she admitted she really wanted to get off campus.  We ended up catching a taxi to Guanggu, which if you follow my blog you might remember is that huge square (digression: we need a better word than a "square" for a central open area surrounded by buildings that I think of as a piazza; many of them aren't square, but I can't think of a really appropriate word in English...this one is round.), surrounded by shopping malls and restaurants and a subway stop, that is the hub of activity in this part of the city.  

We meandered around the largest mall, Ocean City, considering our options for dinner.  We wound our way through a crowded, crazy maze of food stalls on the back side of the fourth floor; I had barely been aware that that area even existed.  We kept getting separated by the flow of people, mostly students, squeezing up and down the narrow aisles; the floor was a bit of a landmine of spilled drinks and dropped chopsticks.  Everyone was eating something-on-a-stick or slurping spicy noodles from paper bowls.  We had a snack--she an ice-cream cone (surprise, surprise; Amy is a bit of an icecream nut), and I a strawberry juice.  We decided that we'd prefer to actually sit down somewhere to a bit more substantial supper, though.  There was a Korean restaurant stuck back in the corner, though, that I might have to check out another time. 

There are several quite nice restaurants up on the fifth floor; several are favorites of mine and many of my American friends: Show Coffee and Tea, despite its name, is know for its western food (I think I got lasagna last time I was there), but is quite expensive; M Kitchen is a south Asian fusion place, with a really wonderful mix of Indian, Thai, Vietnamese and Chinese; the Korean Barbecue place (I've never bothered to actually learn the name of the place--the others have signs in English) has little grills built into the center of tables, on which you can cook all sorts of meats and vegetables, then dip them in the provided sauces and spices, and also has quite a few Korean dishes and soups, as well as, for some reason, quite a selection of sushi.  There are also a couple of more generic Chinese places on the other side, but I've never bothered with them as I can get great Chinese food anywhere, and they look expensive.  

Of course, on a Saturday night in the most popular shopping mall in the university district of a city of ten million, there was a bit of wait time.  We were dithering a bit about M-Kitchen or Korean Barbecue, so we took a number for both and decided we'd go to whichever came up first.  So, Korean Barbecue it was.  We didn't end up grilling anything; Amy wanted to try a cold noodle soup (I tried a few bites; it was good but I'm not sure I really get the appeal of cold soup) her friend had recommended; I ordered black pepper beef and rice (unimaginative, I know), and we ordered a plate of niangao to share.  I should have just ordered a whole plate of the niangao myself and not bothered with the rice; that's what I was really craving anyhow.  Niangao, often called rice cakes in English (not those crunchy things health nuts are always munching), is a thick, chewy noodle-like stuff; before I've often had thin oval-shaped slices in hot pot, but in Korean places they cut long rectangular pieces, looking a bit like string cheese.  Floating in spicy Korean tomato sauce, they are wonderful.  Although nearly impossible to eat with those slippery black plastic chopsticks they always seem to have at restaurants.  Even Amy gave it up and used a fork.  

After enjoying our Korean food, we poked around a few shops and stopped at Carrefour, the French wal-mart-like store, as I needed some peanut butter.  Before leaving, we stopped and stood at the rail, looking out over the courtyard where a big sale of knock-offs was going on, over the fantastic neon designs overlooking the five floor of brightly-lit shops, and over the sparkling high-rises behind, which have running lights blinking and dancing at the shopping mall below.  we did ponder a moment how the people in those buildings ever sleep at night with all those blinking lights outside, but mostly we just enjoyed the color and craziness for a minute.  Sometimes you just need some city lights.  

Sunny Mornings

Sometimes it's the little things in life...I am not a morning person, and I'm usually still groggy and not in the best of moods when rushing down the stairs at 7:30 in the morning, trying not to be late for an 8:00 class.

But when I step out and the early morning sun is filtering through the trees and turning our ordinary little neighborhood golden, I'm grateful that I do have to be out early; left to my own devices I'd miss this most of the time.

And yes, that's a toilet there in front of my building.  Some neighbors are remodeling.  Even early-morning sunlight can't fix everything. 

Redeeming Spring

If you were to ask me what my favorite season is (although surely we could find something less inane to have a conversation about), spring would not come out on top.  I love the crunching leaves and crisp blue skies of fall, the lazy days and flip-flops of summer, and the smell of woodsmoke in the air and colorful scarves of winter.  But spring? I'm allergic to it. 

But just when I get dragged down by burnt-put student (and teachers) and stress over the next year's plans, I wipe my streaming eyes (I wasn't kidding about the allergies) and am reminded of the beauties of the season. All of these blooms are right here on campus; I took all of these pictures walking home after class.  Maybe spring has redeemed itself.  

Game Night with Class 1203

Although I often do still play perennially popular Uno during my game nights with students, I try to get that over with as quickly as possible (boy, does that game get old after a while!) and move on to more-interesting-to-me games,   One of my favorites recently has been dominoes. When I first started doing game nights my first semester at HZAU, I stuck with simpler-to-explain games like Uno and Spoons, and while those are still fun, I've found that it's not as challenging as I thought it would be to explain more complicated games.  Many Chinese people play card games, and enjoy learning new ones.

Here a couple of photos of Nathan and some rather blurry girls from class 1203 playing both Spoons (my downstairs neighbors really love it when everyone starts squealing and jumping around over that one...) and dominoes. I already knew Nathan  was a bright student from his work in class, but he really has a talent for games, too, as he beat us all mercilessly in both games.

Spring Already?

Usually in March, I, like most people, am moaning about winter going on forever.  When will spring ever come?

But this year it seems that spring has snuck up on me; I am surprised by the warmer weather and the first new leaves.  For once it feels like winter was short. I guess that's natural; December was unusually warm and sunny, an extension of fall rather than a beginning of winter.  And while I did have some cool weather (although only occasionally really cold) weather in Yunnan, Singapore was comfortably in the 80s and Indonesia was downright hot, straddling the equator as it does.

Once I got home, I was granted one sunny day of transition before being plunged into my three days of real winter, starting class with a dusting of snow and steady sleet.  But after that the highs were mostly in the fifties again, and we never saw another flake of snow.  So while the calendar says it's mid-March and the willow trees are budding along the lake, I am still expecting snow and feeling the need to wear several layers.

*Snicker*

Hehe. I'm still laughing to myself...anyone passing by probably thinks I'm a bit nuts. 

Soooo...last night after our study with our friend Ezra, I settled down in front of my computer to look over my lesson for today.  Before getting started, like any true procrastinator, I wandered over to facebook to see what was going on in the world.  I pulled it up and started to scroll but there were several people I didn't know on the feed. And a conversation with Kevin I knew I had never had.

Micah had left his facebook signed in on my computer.

 

Jackpot. 

Now, a nice person probably would just sign him out and go on about her business. But who could resist such a golden opportunity? I immediately texted Tammy and Chrissi, who share my enjoyment in poking at Micah, to exult over the possibilities.  Decisions, decisions...[insert evil laugh here].

I mulled over what I could do in the back of my mind as I added grades to my gradebook and rearranged a few slides in my powerpoint.  Status saying something silly? Been done so many times. Changing the profile picture to something hideous? Meh, I don't really want to do something so embarrassing that he would really get mad. 

Finally I decided to make a new group- "Micah's Fan Club." Made from his account, it looked as if he created this self-adoring page about himself. I added all the pictures I could find without working too hard, and added a description of the album that said, "I know, I know. Everyone tells me they just can't get enough of seeing my face. I know these few photo aren't enough to satisfy my fans, but it's a start. But if any family members or old friends wants to add any childhood or awkward teenager photos, it would really complete the collection!" 

I also created a group event for noon today labeled "Adoration of Me" with instructions for the groupies to send messages, on the group page or by text, expressing their admiration for him.  I hope he got several; I've been in class all day so I haven't been able to monitor it as closely as I would have liked. 

The whole was an extremely obnoxious and over-the-top attention-seeking mess. So my next step was to send invites to the group to several of our friends here, and a few people elsewhere who he has spoken of as good friends.  Only twenty-three or so... 

I got congratulatory messages this morning from Tammy and Chrissi.  If no one else did, at least we enjoyed it.  I thought I might be able to keep it going for a while as he doesn't check his facebook too often, but I got a code-red message from Tammy during the lunch break that he had found out. 

Actually, that's probably for the best. I want to see his reaction while it's still funny. :)

Okay, I'm grinning like a crazy person to myself again sitting here on this park bench.

Sunlight!

Look! There is sunlight coming in that window! True, it's a bit weak, filtering down through a haze, but it's still nice to see after days of rain and drizzle. 

I don't understand...

I don't understand...

Alright, time for my usual beginning-of-a-new-term mind boggle over the English names students choose.  The most interesting of my sophomore classes:  Milk (a guy), Fish (a girl), a boy named June, Dorvai (a guy...I asked where he found it and he said he made it up himself.), Water, and Aqua.  

Oooh! Shiny!

So, at the end of last semester, one of the classrooms in the language labs that I 

used for three of my freshman oral English classes was dismantled a couple of weeks 

before the end of the term in preparation for the move to the new classroom building 

that was scheduled to be opened for the spring term.  Why in the name of sense they 

couldn't wait another week until classes finished beats me, but there you go. Anyhow, 

the class monitors were put in charge of finding alternate places to meet 

(Sigh...freshmen monitors...it got interesting sometimes.) Anyhow, one of them 

somehow managed to get permission for us to meet in the new building in second-to-

last week of the term.  It wasn't even officially opened yet, although nearly 

everything was in place.  As it turns out, ours turned out to be the first class held 

in the new building.  During the middle, a workman came in sheepishly to add another 

piece of glass to one of the desks.

Anyhow, this semester, most of the English major classes are in the new building.  

The downside is that it's the furthest possible teaching building from my house, so I 

need to be sure to leave the house ten minutes earlier than I have before to give 

myself time to get down there.  But it's super convenient for the students--it's the 

closest to the dorms, and right across from the cafeteria.  The upside is that it's 

brand-new and super modern.  

I'm excited that in my new classrooms, the students have chairs and little tables, 

that can be moved and don't involve crawling over anyone to get in and out.  Much 

better than the long rows of fold-down seats in the older buildings. We can clear 

space of skits, or push desks together for group work.  Another exciting thing is 

that all the classrooms have heat--it's always been a normal part of life in China to 

freeze through classes in drafty buildings, but as new buildings are built heaters 

are becoming more and more common.  I guess with the rising affluence of China it's 

become more feasible to have the luxury of heat, and as conditions rise this 

generation begins to see things like heat as more of a necessity than it was before.  

So, things are getting more comfortable, although I don't think the dorms are heated 

yet.  However, it's not doing me much good so far today as I'm not sure where the 

office is in this building to get the remote to turn the heat on.  Even without it 

isn't on, though, I think the classroom was a bit warmer than in the other buildings, since 

it's new and not yet drafty.  I should have sent one of the students to get it, but I 

didn't think of it until they were gone.  I will in my afternoon class.  

The other fun thing about the new building is the technology.  As I was telling my 

students this morning, every year I'm in China my classrooms get better and better.  

My first year back in Jingzhou I had a large chalkboard and usually chalk.  Here in 

Wuhan, I have at least always had powerpoint.  But this...this is cool.  The screen 

is not just a pull-down white projector screen--it's a huge touch-screen.  I can 

operate the computer from the screen if I want, and there are buttons up the sides to 

bring up a keyboard, a highlighter, drawing and writing tools, etc.  There're even 

buttons to make audio recordings and a camera, but I haven't figured out how those 

work yet.  But with the writing tools and all, I can just use my finger to draw on 

top of my powerpoints, underline things, highlight things, etc.  All I have to do is 

tap the screen to go to the next slide, instead of running back over the the computer 

terminal to use the mouse.  The students got several laughs out of me, though, as 

it's very sensitive and, as this was my first time using it, I kept accidentally 

rifling through the slides when I was just trying to point something out.  I kept 

doing things I didn't mean to do.  After they left, I played with it a while, so I 

should be able to get through the next lessons without so many accidents.   

I love my new classrooms. :)

Working on a Snowy Day

Well, back home in Tennessee, I probably could have rolled over in my nice warm bed (why is it that a bed is never quite so exquisitely comfortable as it is between snoozes when you have to get up early? When I'm sleeping in the sheets get sideways and my back hurts.).  I woke up to, as predicted, about an inch of snow--although even as I left the house the snow was mixing with rain as the temperature is about 34, although it's not supposed to warm up much during the day.  The snow wasn't really sticking to the roads and even on the sidewalks it was already turned to slush, but it was pretty on the trees and rooftops and cars.  Anyhow, instead of a snow day (unfortunately, no need when you're walking to work anyways), I scurried off through the slushy drizzle for my first day back teaching. 

This semester's schedule is crazy as always, although crazy in a good way. Sometimes I can't believe they pay me to do this job...here it is: 

Tuesday:  Sophomore Writing, 2 classes. 8:00 and 2:00

Thursday: Masters Students Oral English. 4 classes, but each only meets every other week, so they alternate.  Two classes on the even weeks, and the other two on the odd weeks. 8:00 and 10:00.  

And that's it.  The Masters Oral English is extremely easy, as this is my third semester teaching that and I can use lessons I've already prepared and know well.  Also, since I only see each class every other week, one lesson lasts two weeks.  

The writing is a bit more work, but it's the same course I taught last spring so I 

don't have to completely reinvent the wheel, although I do hope to improve on my 

lessons from last year as I'm getting another chance at it.  Of course, with writing, 

there will be quite a bit of out-of-class grading and reading of essays to do, but I 

had three classes last year and only two this year so even that won't be quite as 

terrible.  Also, since my classes are at 8:00 and 2:00 on that day, I will probably 

continue the habit I started last semester of just staying in the classroom building 

for the hours in between and using the time for grading and lesson planning.  The 

other teachers think I'm a bit nutty to hang out in the teaching building that long, 

but it works well for me as it's easier for me to focus on work if I am actually at 

work.  At home there are too many distractions; I get a lot more done sitting in a 

classroom. 

I had expected to continue teaching the freshman oral English I was doing last 

semester; I'm a bit sad not to see those students any more as I was finally getting 

to know them all.  I really enjoyed my freshmen, and teaching oral English--so much easier and more fun that writing!  But, I do have a lot fewer classes this way--two writing classes in exchange for eight oral classes.  My coteacher from last term had told me we would definitely be working together again, and we had already split up the curriculum and all.  However, the students had told me that their schedule for this semester listed Michael as their teacher, not me.  (How in the world do they have schedules in December for the next term, and I don't get mine until Saturday before classes start on Monday???  And I'm the one who has to prepare??? Ah, China.) 

Turns out that, as I should have learned already, always listen to the students, not 

the other teachers.  I know that sounds counter-intuitive...the teachers should get 

information first, then pass it on to the students.  But it's been proven over and 

over that the higher-ups who make decisions don't tell my Chinese coteachers things much in advance, either, but somehow the students find things out.  So far, anytime a coteacher and a student have told me conflicting information about scheduling or holidays or what have you, the student has been right.  Ah, China.  

Overall, though, I can't complain about a job in which I work two days a week. Here's to a new semester, on a snowy day. 

Chinglish, December edition

I haven't posted any interesting Chinglish lately, so here's a bit to ponder over.

I know it seems like making fun, and it is in a way, but not mean-spirited.  My Chinese friends whose English is good giggle at it too when they come across it.  Besides, I'd hate to see the stuff I'd come up with if I were writing in Chinese. 

M-Kitchen

On this sunny but terribly smoggy (the air quality index got up to over 400 by noon, very hazardous), I got a message from Tammy about meeting for lunch at Guanggu. 

We ended up at M-Kitchen, one of several somewhat fancy restaurants up on the fifth floor of the mall.  It's a south Asia fusion place-dishes with curry, or Thai flavors, and even the occasional Vietnamese influence.  We had seafood spring rolls, mango fried chicken, an eggplant dish, and a kind of thing made of two pieces of thin, tortilla-like bread with a curried beef filling.  Tammy and I also got fancy strawberry juices. 
We walked around the mall a bit and went to Carrefour after-again I was reminded why I normally try to do my shopping on a weekday. Eeesh.

Spending time with these two is always good for laughter, especially as Tammy says that Micah makes her laugh just by, well, existing.

Finally Fall

I love alliterative (or consanance, if you want to be picky) titles. They just make me happy. 

Anyway, back to the point.  Now that we're solidly into November, it's finally starting to look fallish.  I was beginning to think we'd never get any color, thanks to the super dry and rather warm weather we've had. 

Poor Abused Oranges

I made the mistake of leaving a small pile of mandarins on my coffee table, and Micah got bored as he was loitering in my living room after a study. Now, he's pretty good at juggling tennis balls, but with the fruit...well, I commented that it was less juggling than just throwing oranges at my floor. He responded by throwing them at me instead. 

It's Contagious!

Sigh...our holidays are starting to catch on here...I guess you can't have too many reasons for a party.  Wal-mart here seems to have a slightly larger aisle of Christmas decorations every year.  Granted, the decorations available here make dollar-store plastic baubles look like the height of elegance and good taste, but it's still fun to decorate, albeit in a tacky, shiny sort of way. 

The thing I'm fussing about is that not only have Christmas decorations caught on, but so has the habit of putting them on display immediately following Halloween.  It's November seventh and I rounded a corner and there was the tinsel. 

I guess I really shouldn't complain...As soon as I got over my indignation (didn't take long) I justified the practice by loading my basket with snowmen.

Halloween!

I get out of class at 3:40; by the time I pack up my scattered belongings and get outside, it's about four.  Too early, really, to go get dinner, but late enough that I don't really want to hike up the five flights of stairs to my apartment and get comfortable, just to go back out again soon.

So, I usually take my time wandering across campus towards the food street.  I often end up sitting on a bench in the park and reading for a while, enjoying the pleasant fall temperatures as long as I can.  I'm not looking forward to the drizzle and chill of winter interrupting my routine. 

Today was the most fun of all, though.  Strolling along still in my witch costume, carrying a jack-o-lantern, nearly everyone I passes did a double-take.  As I crossed the commons, I passed a group of grandmothers out taking their toddler grandchildren for a late afternoon walk; I stopped and re-lit my jack-o-lantern to show the children.  They shyly peered into the glowing eyes, and looked askance at my funny hat.  Who is this strange looking person who can't talk properly? Actually, I think the grandmothers were more excited.  Who ever though of turning a pumpkin into a light? Takes playing with your food to a new level.

I hadn't really planned it, but I realized as I walked on towards the gate that I would be passing the kindergarten just as it let out for the day.  Sure enough, as I walked along in front the school, I was quickly surrounded by a giggling group of curious children and probably even more curious parents.  I showed them how the lid came off the top of the pumpkin, and the candle inside.  One little girl was brave enough to try the word, and she pronounced "pumpkin" quite clearly.  A few of the boys tried on my funny hat. 

I went on to dinner at my favorite little restaurant, where the proprietor and her son exclaimed over my costume, too.  I kept the jack-o-lantern lit as I finally headed home in the dark; I know I 'll be tired of it by the end of the week, but for today I had a great time causing double takes and surreptitious phone pictures. 

Guanggu...joy?

Well, I really wanted that to be an alliterative title, but it's been a long day and I can't think of an appropriate word-starting-with-g to express having a good time shopping with friends.  Gregarious at Guanggu? Nah.  Oh, I guess I could have just said good times at Guanggu...

Anyhow, due to summer vacation, then bedrest, it had amazingly been three months since I had been to Guanggu, the center of the universe or at least the center of our little neighborhood of it. 

After having a 9study in the morning, our group split into two factions based on lunch preference.  One group headed to Subway while Micah, Tammy, Jim, Kaila and I were thinking Papa John's.  Amy tagged along as far as the bus stop, but decided it was too much trouble to drag around her laptop all afternoon and headed back. 

We kept the waitress busy bringing us massive amounts of garlic butter sauce, which we drowned everything in.  It's nice to get a fix of American cheese, butter, and bread now and then. 

Micah wanted to look for some elusive shirt he persists in thinking he will find here, so Tammy and I followed along, ostensibly to shop as well but really not to miss an opportunity of heckling Micah while he tried to shop. (I'm sure he really values our opinions on his clotthing choices...snort. I say helpful things like "Get the neon orange one!")

Micah's shirt remained elusive, and I ended up being the only one to buy anything.  It's rare I find anything in China as I am built very different from the women here, but I found a navy blue sweater with white dots that I am really excited about. 

Outside I expressed my enjoyment of being able to go shopping and traipsing around again by taking pictures (really, that's how I celebrate just about anything).  I was in a silly mood, but I did make an effort to be normal in one, for Tammy's sake.