Sonny 的个人资料SonMan Is In China! (Yea...照片日志列表更多  |  工具 帮助 |
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10月29日 Time Change Anyone?FYI: As America "falls backwards" this weekend, let it be known that in China it won't. For those in Central Standard Time (e.g., Tulsa), you were previously 13 hours behind me. You will now be 14 hours. Off to Beijing now! I'm On VacationI do not teach class until November 7th. We are on a holiday until then. As of Saturday night, I will be on a train to Beijing. Five of us on our team will be shopping, visiting fellow teachers and having fun. I'll update when I return. I probably won't be responding to emails until next week either. Peace out! When Electronics CeaseMy camera has officially died! It has served me well on the front battlelines, but the time has come to say goodbye. After many hours of sleepless nights, scouring the Net for assistance, and my constant tinkering of its poor little frame, I must now release it to the great Hardware Heaven up above. My camera has left behind a grandfather (a sleek Compaq), an uncle (a Compaq PDA), and a second-cousin-once-removed (a Chinese alarm clock). See the album "Crime Scene" to see the affected eletronics in their grief and to help sniff out the culprits who did this heinous act!
On a lighter note, I have replaced it with a new Samsung. And this one shoots video <yeah!>. I had saved some money just in case and this was a good time to use it. I just can't let everyone down. You have got to read and SEE my journey here, so I'm in good hands with my little Samsung. The Curious ChineseI was on the #29 bus traveling from downtown. Right before my stop, I could tell that a man and the collector of bus money were talking about me. I motion to have the bus stop at my apartment, and as I am getting up to leave, the man (using both hands) grips my upper left thigh and (without me knowing the exact translation of his Chinese) comments on how big they are. Talk about my Beijing culture classes not teaching the proper response in that situation! 10月28日 UpdateSee "Korean Night" album for pics (courtesy of the Wu's). These are from the October 24th entry. 10月27日 Old NewsAs foreign expert teachers, each of us on the team had to give two culture lectures. I chose to give one on American Indians and another on America's Foundation. I gave the first lecture last month. I was also the first foreign teacher to speak, so I was fairly nervous. The students presented me with a bouquet of flowers. I think they enjoyed learning about Indians and me. Below is me with my "promotional material." (Kudos to Sarah for the shot.) A Chinese Sonny Is BornBeing in China, a common question I receive is, "What is your Chinese name?" I always respond, "I don't have one." All the Chinese have an English name, so why don't I have a Chinese name? I wanted one, but I had no idea where to start. I thought it would be best for a Chinese person to give me a name, just like a deaf person gave me a sign name (based on my personality).
So I was downstairs in Ruth's apartment (since she had some food!) and some of her students were over. Well, we were talking and the subject of names came up. I told them I didn't have one and they immediately went to work.
After several failed combinations, meanings, and sounds, the Chinese Sonny was born on 10/25/05 at 8:19 PM. His name is Wáng Xióngzhōu. Wáng means king or ruler (royal); the one who connects heaven, humanity and earth. Xióng means hero or manly; the character for bird and forearm suggesting strength. Zhōu means a lot of land and water; it stands for continent.
The origin of the name is even better. When a Chinese child is born, his or her name is usually taken from the parents (or a combination thereof). Well, my dad's tribal name is "Bearking". Wáng is the "king" part and xióng is the "bear" part. There are two characters for xióng. One means literally "bear," but its meaning, when applied to a person, is demeaning since it means clumsy and lazy. However, xióng, as in hero, is more fitting with the intended meaning (since bears are seen in the West as fierce and warring animals). Now my mom's maiden name is Joe. Zhōu is pronounced the same as Joe (the Chinese pinyin "zh" sound is the English "j" sound). Thus, I am a hero king who rules over much land and sea.
So, Happy Birthday to me!
Note: In a Chinese name, the family name (surname) is listed first and is usually one character long. The given name is listed second and is no more than two characters long. The picture below is how my Chinese name would be written. 10月26日 MulanI invited my Monday 8 AM Freshman Oral class over to watch a movie. It was Walt Disney's "Mulan". There were a total of 22 students in my apartment. It was definitely a different experience to watch the movie in China. They caught and understood the movie at a different level. They also said the Chinese characters were very good. It was the first time I have had so many students over at once. Usually they have class, but on Wednesdays this group has only one class. They also have no homework since next week they are off and will go home to visit. I think they thoroughly enjoyed coming over. Marriage DebateLast night I judged a debate. The topics was: "Is it reasonable or unreasonable for a college student to get married?" For those of you who don't know debating, there is an Affirmative and a Negative. I debated in high school both Lincoln/Douglas and Cross-Examination, but Chinese debating is a tad different.
There are two teams of three and the flow of the debate is like this:
Affirmative (3-4")
Negative (3-4")
Free Debating (like questions, cross-examination, statement making) (10")
Negative (3-4")
Affirmative (3-4")
I was judging with four others from the English department. And I enjoyed it so much! I had one of the judges tell me I was like a tiger ready to attack. For those of you who know me, you know I'm such a teddy bear. But when a debate happens, I make the switch! Below is also a picture of the bouquet that I received for judging. Note: This is bouquet #2. 10月24日 Love Those KoreansEvery Monday night our team has a group dinner. Tonight we went out for Korean-style BBQ. First of all, the meat was "la" (Chinese for spicy), but I guess that is Korea! So it was okay for me. However, (and a big HOWEVER), the potato cakes, the veggie tempura and the sweetened barley tea were slammin'. (And I don't even like tea!). For a country full of Chinese, the next door neighbors can sure cook.
On a side note: Robb, Ruth and I were getting a taxi back. As we got in, the driver wanted 10 Yuan (when normally all Siping drivers charge a standard 5 Yuan). The driver said he wanted 10 Yuan because of where we lived (he thought it was too far) AND that we were white (at least Robb & Ruth were!). Harsh Chinese tones were exchanged between the unfortunate taxi driver and Robb. Needless to say, Robb jumped out and Ruth and I followed. 10月23日 A Sunday to RelaxToday was enjoyable. We went to the Orphanage again. There is a new baby there. She is perfectly healthy, but the parents apparently didn't want her. She was just left on a porch. She's just three weeks old.
When we got a taxi on the way back, the cab driver wanted extra money because of my size. Really?! Like somehow I can't fit into a car or something. No biggie - I guess I should have just thrown him out the window! <Not really.>
Afterwards, I went out with some of the team members for Japanese rice and noodles. Technically, it's Japanese with a Chinese flair. It's one of my favorite places in Siping to eat. They have this chicken curry with rice stuff that is the bomb. I also get some of the chou mein noodles (they're delici) and some chicken nuggets.
Then we went around the corner to a bread shop. They sell muffins, cakes, breads and pizzas. They have these creme-filled "puffs" (like stuffed bread-thingies) that are also reaaaaal good. 10月21日 I Was Sooo TiredThe week seemed long. When I came to Thursday night, I was wiped out. So I went to bed at 8:30 PM and then woke up at 6:30 AM. It felt great. I opened my windows and, lo and behold, there's a lite snow. Wow, this first winter in China is gonna be something! My students said it will be -20. For those of you who really know me, I may have to break out the pants next month. 10月17日 What?Many of the trash cans around campus say the same thing. They say, "Protect CircumStance begins with me" with the capital "S" in circumstance. It's slightly odd! See the new photo in the Engrish album. It's Leek TimeLeek season is here so leeks are everywhere! The locals just set them out to dry. Jonny thought he'd try to eat one. Hmmmmm! 10月15日 My First Load of LaundryI want to give some of you an insight into the life that I am now living. I was reading over some old journal entries and I want to share the following gem with you. When I first arrived at my apartment, I had a lot to learn about doing laundry. My journal entry was from September 4th.
I did my laundry for the first time today.
The washer/spinner combo is small. A large load in China will probably be a medium in the US. Here’s what you have to do. The washer does not fill up automatically with water; you have to fill it up manually. The washer is between the water spicket and the shower. At first, I tried to use the hose that fits on the spicket and run it to the nodule on top of the washer where the other end goes.
Well, first of all, the water dripped like crazy because the spicket end didn’t attach to it correctly; I had to just hold it there. Then if I wanted to use hot water, I couldn’t because the spicket was only cold. After I figured, this out, I then tried to drain the little water I put in it. You have to do this using a siphon hose with the help of gravity. It runs out the back (at the bottom). Well, if I were to drain a whole wash, I had to use the tub or the bucket. The tub was too far away, and the bucket was too much hassle. Then I realized that I have no electric outlet on that side of the bathroom, so then the washer can’t run. I thought, “Who put this washer over here?” Crazy! (All the above steps took about 30 minutes!)
Then the light came on, “I’ll put in on the other side.” Near the door, it has an outlet. So problem one solved. I then needed a water source (of hot water of course). So the shower head is detachable and I can use the hot water on this one. Problem two solved. Then I needed to drain it. Now there is a drain on the new washer side of the bathroom, but the hose doesn’t reach it. I thought, “What is the point of the drain if I can’t reach it.” I should quit asking such questions to save my sanity, eh? I decided not to use it – but use the stool! (Ding, ding!) The stool is on the new washer side. So I drained water until the washer water level is even with the stool level (since gravity won’t push the water uphill J). Then I use the bucket for the remaining water and finally put it into the tub. Because I put too much detergent, I had to rinse it out. So it took two more refills followed by two more drains.
After this, you must use the spinner to “dry” the clothes (no dryers around). It’s much smaller than the washer, so only a portion of the wash can go into it. It took three spinner cycles to get my first load done. Then of course, I have to let it air dry, so I spread out all my undies and shorts (this was my first load) out on the bed to dry. As I’m typing this, I realize I should have taken pictures of this - my first load of wash!
Also the hot water above the shower must be turned on for it to heat the water. Hot water comes from a tank above my shower head; there is no hot water supply in the building. Thankfully, I remember this earlier in the day before I started wash. Or I would had to wait even longer. Eventually, I did three more loads.
So my first Chinese load of wash took about two hours to complete! I’m celebrating because I came to China and have done my own wash! 10月11日 The Language of LoveFor my Freshman Writing class, I had them write in their journals about love. I asked them, "What is your definition of love? How do you show love to others?"
They had many grand ideas, but one student wrote two sentences that I just loved. Here they are:
"Love is a bridge over people's heart which can connect two hearts even far away."
"Love is a stream, silent but active." 10月10日 Happy Birthday, Mom!Yet again, another family member has a birthday and I am not there. First, my nephew turned 1 on August 25th, my brother turned 17 on October 3rd, and now my mom turns
 today!My mom is my contact back home. She keeps all my mail and handles my finances. (She also has my Saturn and my King size bed - both of which I miss here in China!) She has seen me through my depressions, my fears, my triumphs, and my victories.
Mom, I love you and I believe for abundant grace to continue blessing those around you!
Your Number One Son 10月8日 It Is Funny NonethelessTechnically, this isn't Engrish. Actually, it's quite okay, but it was just funny to read. I'm going through the journals that students handed in this week. It's for the Freshman Writing class. Some of the notebooks are just practical; others are just cute. One notebook, however, had the following claims (verbatim):
Our finest quality paper
ensures a smooth surface that
is a pleasure to write on.
This is the most comfortable
notebook you have ever run into.
You will feel like writing
with it all the time. 10月6日 My Students Are the Best!During the break of my Thursday 8 AM Freshmen Oral, a fellow ELICer came in and was chatting with my students. He has them for Freshman Writing. He noticed that all of my students sit in the front of the classroom, while when he teaches they all sit in the back. So he asked them about it. The response from one of the young men was priceless: "Because Sonny is cool!"
I have them right where I want them. (Mwa, ha, ha!)  10月4日 Sentence PracticingFor my Freshman Writing, we made "progressive sentence stories". For this exercise, one student wrote a sentence. Then the paper is passed to another student who writes a second sentence and so forth. I want to share three that I thought were hilarious. Disclaimer #1: I am typing them EXACTLY as they were written! Disclaimer #2: I don't think they TRULY understood the nature of the assignment. (Arrrrgh!)
Number One:
I want a lot of money.
Because I like eating, I want to buy everything to eat.
Don't eat too much.
You must lose weight.
Eating too much is bad for your health, but, in fact, I think nobody doesn't like eating.
I think so.
So you must do some sports.
Number Two:
A little girl is selling watches.
How old is the girl?
She is very young.
I think she is beautiful and why she sell watches? Why she doesn't go to school?
Because she is very poor.
I think we can help her.
Oh, help me! I need your help more than her!
Number Three (I busted up on this one!):
I'm a student.
I think you are stupid.
I am agree with the second sentence.
I agree with two sentence above. You are all fools.
Don't say that because even a stupid man still has IQ.
Very good sentences!
I don't think so because the first sentence is mine.
Anyone ready to come to China and teach now?  |
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