Breakfast: 2 eggs, over easy.
Lunch: Trying to find a new restaurant is a tricky thing around here. Kelly and I decided to walk in a different direction to find something new. We made the mistake of sitting down at a Japanese place before looking at the menu. It was a fancy-looking restaurant, which had a picture menu (all good things.) When we looked closer, it seemed that it was a kind of Japanese hot pot, where you can select different vegetables to be cooked in the broth that will become soup. Unfortunately, each of the broths that we could choose from had a whole fish sliced inside. Now, I’ve become a huge fan of Chinese-style fish, head and fins and all, but for some reason that day, I wasn’t into it sticking up out of my soup. We pulled a classic Westerner move and split.
We walked for a while and ended up at a complex that looked like a food court of fast food joints. We were ready to just turn around when we looked closer at one of the restaurants and decided it was worth trying (mostly because the décor was vibrant orange, and Kelly will eat anything in that environment.) Our waitress actually spoke some English, which felt like a miracle. Because of this surprise, we were able to answer questions like, “Do you want it hot or cold?” and to ask, “What is on this vegetable?” She sold us on a dish of hard boiled eggs, filled with meat, and some Chinese broccoli. They bring the dish out to the table, and it is steamed right there.
Note: picking up a hollowed-out hard-boiled egg with plastic chopsticks is no easy task, especially when it has been filled with sauce and pork that will bulge from the top on the way to your mouth.
On the way home we stopped at a pastry and got some treats. I hadn’t thought about it, but I had picked out egg custards, a sweet cup of eggy deliciousness. Kelly almost lost her lunch.
Saturday, November 13, 2010
Updates
I realize that it’s the middle of November and I haven’t updated since Halloween. My life for the past two weeks has been writing reports. Last Saturday I spent the whole day in this restaurant called lai Weis, “Your home away from home.” It’s my new favorite Western spot. I ate breakfast and lunch there, in between writing reports, and then I went home and kept writing. The reports are about 6 pages for each kid, complete with a paragraph for each subject, including separate sections for the child as a student and as a community member. With the social, let’ say “challenges” that my kids have, I often feel like a social worker and not a teacher. Trying to explain what I’ve seen and what they’re working on in a way that can be received by their Chinese parents has been the challenge of the past two weeks. Every day after school I’ve worked on reports until bed. That’s really why I haven’t updated, to spare you all from the tediousness that has been my life in November.
There were some interesting nights out, which I'm posting after this.
There were some interesting nights out, which I'm posting after this.
Friday, November 12, 2010
Saturday, October 30, 2010
Yen Party
Saturday night we went to the Yen Party, a warehouse party in the 798 Art district. The ticket said “kink fetish Halloween”, but I really had no idea what that meant in China. With my luck (especially in this country) I figured I’d end up in inappropriate clothing in a warehouse full of Chinese people dressed in slightly-tighter or shoulder-revealing clothes. The other problem was, how on earth could I turn that hideous furry dress into something remotely sexy?
Eventually, we just cut some slits in it and turned the sleeves into arm warmers and headed to the warehouse.
It was insanely packed when we got there. A crowd full of angry vampires, witches, and cheerleaders were waving their tickets in the air and trying to force their way through the gate. I got through, New York-style, after a few rounds, but some others in our crew were not so lucky. The guard was intense, throwing his body at the crowd and forcefully shoving people back who were trying to break in. At one point Kelly’s feet were literally off the ground and she was carried towards the entrance in a mass of pushy Halloween enthusiasts.
Thankfully, the scene inside was less dangerous and worth seeing. The space was huge and dark with rave lighting and blasting techno. It felt comforting to be in such familiar mayhem. The costumes ranged from adult-store lingerie to meticulously home-crafted to costume store in America. As I looked at the crowd of Scream and Jason masks, black cats, angels, and, yes, bunnies, I couldn’t help but think, “Where the hell did you get this?”
It was another reminder that I know nothing about this city.
It was great seeing so many ex-pats mingled with locals in one spot. My nights are usually filled with one or the other in very separate settings. And, I have to say, the Chinese people stole the show. When I saw a lame costume, the “basketball player” or just a panda hat, it was almost always an English-speaking white person. My kids may have a fresh outlook to this holiday at 6 and 7, but they were nothing compared to the enthusiasm of a sea of 25 year-old’s on their first Halloween!
Best costume of the night: a monster humping himself. I spotted this treasure dancing by the wall near the door. His legs were the monster’s, bright red and furry, and the monster’s body was stuffed behind his back and towered over his head. The monsters red, furry arms were hugging him, and he had small, fake people legs coming out of his stomach. With the monster head bobbing, the arms wrapped around his body, and his fake little legs dangling in front, it was the best sighting of Halloween. Even more amazing, possibly, was when I saw him walking out holding hands with a girl.
I just love the idea, “Want to come to the Yen fetish party with me?”
“Sure, what are you going to be?”
“A monster…humping myself.”
Eventually, we just cut some slits in it and turned the sleeves into arm warmers and headed to the warehouse.
It was insanely packed when we got there. A crowd full of angry vampires, witches, and cheerleaders were waving their tickets in the air and trying to force their way through the gate. I got through, New York-style, after a few rounds, but some others in our crew were not so lucky. The guard was intense, throwing his body at the crowd and forcefully shoving people back who were trying to break in. At one point Kelly’s feet were literally off the ground and she was carried towards the entrance in a mass of pushy Halloween enthusiasts.
Thankfully, the scene inside was less dangerous and worth seeing. The space was huge and dark with rave lighting and blasting techno. It felt comforting to be in such familiar mayhem. The costumes ranged from adult-store lingerie to meticulously home-crafted to costume store in America. As I looked at the crowd of Scream and Jason masks, black cats, angels, and, yes, bunnies, I couldn’t help but think, “Where the hell did you get this?”
It was another reminder that I know nothing about this city.
It was great seeing so many ex-pats mingled with locals in one spot. My nights are usually filled with one or the other in very separate settings. And, I have to say, the Chinese people stole the show. When I saw a lame costume, the “basketball player” or just a panda hat, it was almost always an English-speaking white person. My kids may have a fresh outlook to this holiday at 6 and 7, but they were nothing compared to the enthusiasm of a sea of 25 year-old’s on their first Halloween!
Best costume of the night: a monster humping himself. I spotted this treasure dancing by the wall near the door. His legs were the monster’s, bright red and furry, and the monster’s body was stuffed behind his back and towered over his head. The monsters red, furry arms were hugging him, and he had small, fake people legs coming out of his stomach. With the monster head bobbing, the arms wrapped around his body, and his fake little legs dangling in front, it was the best sighting of Halloween. Even more amazing, possibly, was when I saw him walking out holding hands with a girl.
I just love the idea, “Want to come to the Yen fetish party with me?”
“Sure, what are you going to be?”
“A monster…humping myself.”
Pre-Halloween
We went to a house party on Friday night, which we called a “trial” of our costumes. Our friend Roxanne was Alice in wonderland, Kelly was the Mad Hatter, and I, as you can tell from the picture, was the white rabbit. For my real costume I wore a red belt and bowtie, glasses and a “pocket watch” made from an alarm clock for dramatic effect.
It may sound simple, but putting our costumes together was actually a challenge. There is Halloween here, but you wouldn’t know it by the stores. We couldn’t find any stores that sold just Halloween stuff or costumes. Everything we found, from my furry dress to Kelly’s glowing green wig, came from a regular shopping plaza. We did find some typical costumes at the secret back wall of an underwear shop, (the school girl, the nurse, etc.) but it was clear that they were year-round items and not brought out specifically for this holiday.
The bunny ears we constructed out of a headband, toilet paper rolls, and extra Styrofoam from our speakers. I actually managed to find the extra bunny fabric in a little hallway of a fabric store at the shopping center. It took a while but I was able to turn it into a lesson on re-use with my kids!
It may sound simple, but putting our costumes together was actually a challenge. There is Halloween here, but you wouldn’t know it by the stores. We couldn’t find any stores that sold just Halloween stuff or costumes. Everything we found, from my furry dress to Kelly’s glowing green wig, came from a regular shopping plaza. We did find some typical costumes at the secret back wall of an underwear shop, (the school girl, the nurse, etc.) but it was clear that they were year-round items and not brought out specifically for this holiday.
The bunny ears we constructed out of a headband, toilet paper rolls, and extra Styrofoam from our speakers. I actually managed to find the extra bunny fabric in a little hallway of a fabric store at the shopping center. It took a while but I was able to turn it into a lesson on re-use with my kids!
H-A-double L-O-double U-double E-N
Those of you who know me, know that I LOVE Halloween. In my opinion, there aren’t enough days in the year where adults get to dress up in costume. (Hence the Superhero and Villain parties, and PRIDE in Janurary…)
I love costumes because they allow us to stop taking ourselves so seriously. Let’s face it, it’s hard to take yourself seriously when you’re dressed as a taco or giant martini glass. Also, if you don’t dress up at Halloween, it means that you NEVER dress up. Come on, every day we wake up and get to be ourselves. Halloween is one of the few times we can be anyone…or anything!
Now that I have you sufficiently convinced about the spectacular opportunity that is Halloween, you can imagine how bummed I was to be leaving the country for a whole year, including October 31st. Last year, as one robot in a flashing, dancing, music-playing robot quadruplet, I couldn’t help but feel a little sad that I wouldn’t be celebrating next year. (Actually, I told Kelly that we were going to dress up and go to the Forbidden City even if no one in the country knew what we were doing. )
You can imagine my surprise, and delight, when I found out that there IS some Halloween in Beijing! Purely brought over from American expats, it was difficult to predict how the celebration would unfold. I was just excited that in my classroom I was able to make word searches with the words “haunted” and “goblins”, and to see my kids all dressed up. There’s nothing like 6 and 7 year-olds dressed as princesses and wizards to make a Friday afternoon more memorable.
It was also a treat because of the newness and strangeness of the Holiday. Some of the kids were having their first Halloween, which is a different experience than growing up being a pea pod or pumpkin at the end of each October. My assistant has never dressed up, and really got a kick out of my home made costume. (Details to come).
Favorite Part of Halloween in School: Parading with my students with tambourines and maracas through the campus and into the Cafeteria, where none of the other students from the Chinese school were dressed up. As I’ve mentioned, my school is a small international school on the large campus of Tsinghua University. We’re always the only ones not dressed in uniforms, but this time we really stood out, Halloween-style. It was a blast!
Friday, October 29, 2010
Interview: What is water?
“Air.”
-Peppito, the beta fish in my bookcase.
“Waves.”
-Me, as a child on Cape Cod.
“Life.”
-Pepper, the plant in my classroom.
“Homework.”
-My second graders, who are studying the water cycle.
“Work.”
-My water delivery guy.
“Helpful.”
My dirty dishes.
“Hepatitis.”
-Water pipe in China.
“Freezing.”
-My kitchen faucet.
“Boiling!”
-My showerhead.
“Fuel.”
-My girlfriend.
“Filling.”
-My 10 Nalgene Bottles.
“Impressive.”
-Me, after conducting this interview.
-Peppito, the beta fish in my bookcase.
“Waves.”
-Me, as a child on Cape Cod.
“Life.”
-Pepper, the plant in my classroom.
“Homework.”
-My second graders, who are studying the water cycle.
“Work.”
-My water delivery guy.
“Helpful.”
My dirty dishes.
“Hepatitis.”
-Water pipe in China.
“Freezing.”
-My kitchen faucet.
“Boiling!”
-My showerhead.
“Fuel.”
-My girlfriend.
“Filling.”
-My 10 Nalgene Bottles.
“Impressive.”
-Me, after conducting this interview.
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