Sunday proceeded very relaxing-ly. I spent the afternoon dealing with emails and reading, with a bit of falling asleep sitting up. Guess I'm not used to short nights anymore. Went to dinner with Damin and a friend of his who spoke very clear Putonghua (Mandarin), so that made me feel good about my language ability. Also, we had some dim sum, along with our steak/fried egg/spaghetti entrees. Guess which part was better?
Walked along Nanjing Lu, which is still a frightening pedestrian street of endless stores, but also is really pretty at night with all the neon signs lit up. (I mean, if you can appreciate the beauty of neon. And when it's all Chinese characters, I can.) Whenever I walk down Nanjing Lu ("Lu" means street, and all the streets going one way are named for cities in China and the other for provinces) people approach me and say "Bag?" They think that if they speak English I will want to buy from them. Little do they know their pronunciation is totally wrong - when I hear someone say it like a Minnesotan, that might get my attention.
Monday I skyped with Joanna in the morning, which was nice. I got to be part of the making of the dip for the Tony-viewing party. Went to work on a super-crowded bus - I'm pretty sure I should feel accomplished if I make it to work and home without falling over into someone. It shows either a real command of the laws of physics or a really strong grip, either of which is commendable. Also helps preserve the pro-foreigner attitude we've got going around here. Work itself was long, but not bad. Brainstormed some ideas for expanding the Memory Book project, which is what Bella Liu'07 from Swat started with Chi Heng when she interned several years ago. Memory Books are like activity books for AIDS-affected children that help them record a bit about their (often dying) parents and family history, and also their goals and hopes for the future. Went out to lunch with Simon and some nice people from a neighboring office - they speak in putonghua, and when I'm concentrating it's good practice, and when I'm not I can just relax and eat.
One thing I keep meaning to mention, since it is something I had heard about China and never knew if it was true - since the word for "four" and the word for "death" sound similar (same syllable, different tone) the floors of my office building go 1, 2, 3, 3A, 5, 6...12, 13, 13A...etc. Kinda interesting.
Came home from work and headed with Damin and his brother to dinner, which was kinda like fondue or something...I think they call it hot pot. You have a pot of boiling water (with oil and flavor and stuff in it) in the middle of your table and order meat and vegetables, which you then put in the water to cook it. Really yummy. When I leave China, I'm going to miss having good cooked vegetables - you just don't get that at Sharples. Discussed the recent dip in the Shanghai stock market and tried to explain need-blind admissions.
Oh, and at dinner, I heard a ringtone of The Fung Yung Song from elementary school music class! Who knows, maybe that song planted the little seed of interest that has led me to be here today.
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8 comments:
Very interesting about the numbering of the floors. Funny how similar it is to not having a floor #13. It’s so nice that both Damin & Simon are inviting you to dine with them & others, and that you are, at least sometimes, holding conversations in putonghua. I’m sure that you are a wonderful ambassador for foreignerland and meeting you is only reinforcing the pro-foreigner feeling. Amazing to hear the Fung Yung Song. Was that a Ms. Fossell (sp?) song? Expanding the memory book sounds like a good possible project. Nice you’re getting a handle on some approaches to work.
You continue to amaze and impress me, Ali (and everyone else who reads your blog, I'm sure).
I met my friend Tom's new granddaughter yesterday; her name is Ali, but her mother is Taiwanese and they pronounce it "ah-li." Very cute. I also met a woman who was raised near Beijing, moved to Canada and now lives here; she appreciates what you are doing there.
Keep up the great blogging, and I hope things continue to go well.
In Japanese they call that water fondue Shabu-Shabu (or something, depending on how you want to spell).
Are people trying to sell bags? or is it just an english word they know? Usually I buy other things and the bag comes free...
I commend you on being able to stay upright! It really is a battle sometimes, like on the subway...And the memory book sounds wonderful-- memory boxes, too, can be a lot of fun, and a little bit like a time capsule.
Why do people want to sell you bags? I'd be more attracted to like "Diamond?" or "Cute boy?" Hahaha, not that they would sell the latter in a store...
Dir lin tang pyao ee pyao
Dir lin tang pyao ee pyao
Dir pyao dir pyao
Dir pyao dir pyao pyao dir pyao
Lin tang pyao ee pyao!
oh man, the feng yang song. good times. you know what song i thought of the other day? "i'd like to teach the world to sing..." and then i remembered the coke commercial and it ruined the whole memory for me. c'est la vie.
neon lights are the best. except mimi doesn't agree. she just can't sleep in the city of neon and chrome.
any chinese person woulld be lucky to start speaking english with a minnesotan accent. i have actually started saying TU-or instead of Toor. Look at what an effect you have.
Guess we're living on Parrish 3A/death floor next year...
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