As the Digit Turns.

Please pardon this entry as it may seem a hodgepodge of thoughts--attribute it to turning another year older, and inching towards a form of geriatric scatteredness :) 

I had a surprise birthday the other day, planned by my ever-thoughtful roomie, AC.  It's been awhile since I've had a surprise birthday party--in recent years I'm the one to dictate how my birthday is celebrated.  Last year I cooked and invited people over, telling my parents--'I'll cook everything, I like doing things by myself.'  Score one for the control freak in me.  I ended up needing help (surprise, surprise).  Stubborness comes stronger with age, and it's no wonder that we often remark that being older means being more set in your ways.  It comes at a time when being overseas, your adopted mantra almost has to be "flexibility."  Without this, you'll go insane (which I almost have in many instances here).

I'm still trying to figure out who I am over here, too.  During my surprise party, I was cajoled, but something more like forced to sing a solo.  It's a birthday tradition, said AC.  But not my birthday tradition--see why I like planning my own birthdays?  Anyhow, I ended up singing no less than 3 songs myself, my voice awkwardly cracking at a few points, and trying to avoid all the eyes of the locals staring at me.  What was that mantra?  Oh right, flexibility.  Let's add another one to that--humility. 

I think I'm becoming somewhat impatient and less caring, too.  The other day I was asked to do a favor for someone, which ended up in much ma fan-ness, and me chewing out someone over the phone (in my stuttering Ch.). I felt terrible afterwards, having modeled a crummy attitude.  Is this what turning another year older means--that I'm all the more clearly aware of how much I suck?  Or is it to say that my G is all the more amazing to love a wretch like me?

I believe it's more the latter, but I'm still grasping to understand what this really means.

I'm Lovin' It.

   
I think the slogan for McDonald's around here is something along the lines of 'wo jiu ai chi,' translated to the familiar 'I'm lovin' it.'  I'm really lovin' my McDonalds around here.  In the States I only go to McDonald's if it's like the last resort (i.e., on a roadtrip, when there's nothing else to eat).  Here going to McDonald's is like an absolute treat.  I love their apple pies (deep fried, not baked like in the 'health conscious' States).  And recently they've been having this guava-ice cream-soda float dealy which (haha) really floats my boat :)

Since we're nearing chun jie, or Spring Festival, they also have this promotion where if you buy over a certain amount you get a little red envelope.  Inside you can get a free ice cream or whatever the picture inside indicates.  Well, I'm definitely lovin' that!  Except for the fact that you actually need to buy something before getting it for free.  Oopsies. When DF was here I sent her up to the counter to go collect our free ice cream cones.  Watching the proceedings from a distance, I noticed that the lady at the counter was saying more to her than just 'okay, can I get you anything else?'   But I wasn't within earshot.  Uh-oh, I thought to myself.  The lady went to go get her manager, and the manager paused before finally handing over the ice creams.  'What'd she say to you?' I asked when DF got back.  'I dunno,' she replied.  Later on AC and MK came walking through and also tried to collect on their free ice creams.  Only this time they understood the lady and weren't able to collect up.  'You're supposed to buy something,' explained AC.  Oh, was that what the lady was saying?

Ah, sometimes ignorance is bliss...especially when it comes to free ice cream

Whatsupwithdat?

Please don't interpret my relative silence on xanga in the new year to mean that nothing of significance to note is happening around here.  In fact, there have been lots, but just not enough time to verbalize.

Well, my good friend DF is here, and already she has been exposed to the often randomness of life out here.  Take for example our stroll back to our apartment yesterday.  We were in the final stretch towards home when I felt a slight shove behind me.  I turned around to find a little boy, no more than seven years old, stumbling over his steps.  Thinking that he had tripped and somehow fallen into me I gently told him to be careful.  What proceeded next was not what I expected.  With grunting noises he began pummeling my side.  Then he approached from the front and started to attack me again.  Startled, I warned him to stop.  I turned behind to a man walking behind me and yelled, "Hey, is this your son?"  The man didn't reply.  By that time, the kid had started running towards DF, with what I assume was the same motive--to start pummeling her as well.  "AY AY," I warned.  I couldn't believe what I was seeing.  Who was this random kid?  And who did he think he was, anyways?  We managed to hold off our 'attacker,' but if I had my wits at the time, I would have grabbed him and given him a stern lecture.     

Dude, whatsupwithdat?

Out with the Old, In with the New

Life as He Reveals would like to inaugurate 2006 with a change in color scheme.  This latest scheme, not much different from the last, is dedicated to my room away from home, with its light blue walls and contrasting faux wood furniture.

No, my penchant for aesthetics hasn't altered any since being here...you just learn to compromise a little (okay, sometimes a lot).  Then you learn to be creative.  Below is an example of what I've been able to craft with material around here:

I still can't believe I'm really here sometimes...to all, a happy 2006!

If It Ain't Broke, Don't Fix It.

Lots of things break around here.  The latest victim is my closet--and just how does a closet break you ask?  Well, the bar that conveniently holds up my clothes came crashing down this morning and looking at the pile of clothes slumped on the floor, I let out a big *sigh*.  Such is life around these parts.  See Exhibit A.

The other week it was our toilet.  Lifting the lid to investigate, I let out a slight shriek of horror as I realized that I had let the lid go without properly securing it from falling.  And sure enough *CRASH* the ceramic lid landed in pieces on our bathroom floor.  This time there was no sigh--instead there was this moment of "oh-my-goodness-that-did-not-just-happen..."  See Exhibit B.

Every week there's something that goes wrong.  And gosh darn it, the perfectionist in me can't take that things are inevitably beyond my control and that life is never *gasp* comfortable. 

Sometimes I tire too of what Father reveals as 'broke' within me.  I'd rather not have to deal with these pesky matters.  Who wants to be reminded that they need fixing all the time?  Apparently, I need to.  Surprise, Sherise...you're not perfect...

Exhibit A                        Exhibit B

They Speak English in the United States?

This was the question posed to me by a local taxi driver.  Trying to hide my surprise I answered, "yes, we speak English in the United States."  Duh, I thought.  The next day a student remarked to me, "Sherise, we are not like you--we can't freely travel where we want."  Right...have I forgotten? Another student remarked to me, "We're not that different.  We want the same things for our life, too."  Yes, our humanity links us. 

Living here I sometimes forget where I am.  You can honestly have your same life in the States here, and if you try hard enough, you can shut yourself from the reality of this place.  Open your eyes and you'll see that this is a country full of disparities--too many to recount.  I have long decided that while here I should wear a t-shirt with the mantra "Life is ma fan...get over it."  Ma fan would translate as 'complicated,' but I find that English lacks the exact translation of this word.

No, I'm not bah humbugging this Christmas.  Rather, I am convinced that the human condition being the same, the only answer is a Rescuer.

Home for the Holidays?

No, I'm not coming home for the holidays, but I think I came to a close second this evening as Google Earth took me via satellite all the way back home.  This discovery caught the intrigue of all the foreign teachers at my school as we all tried with eagerness  to locate our respective homes.  It was alarming, perhaps even a bit jolting to realize that with a few clicks of the mouse I was transported back home to San Francisco, looking with bird's eye precision at my house.  I think I even saw my car parked out there.  Too bad for the teacher from Montana whose closest view was only of the surrounding forestry and mountains.  Go big city.

Okay so maybe this satellite feature has been around awhile, and I'm just out of it.  Well I am (out of it), but it did bring me a sense of wonder just thinking home was within such an easy reach.  *Sigh*

I have little to complain about, though.  Life is good, despite the fact that it is a fight for joy.  Yet in the fight is revealed a most wonderful portrait of the Gift we celebrate this Christmas season.  Worth fighting for?  Yes, indeed.

 p.s. Operation Turn-My-Students-into-LOTR-Fans ACCOMPLISHED .

It's my plan to make LOTR fans out of my students.  So you may be thinking--you're showing your students a movie?  That's what teachers do when they can't think of anything else to do...well, it does give me a break, yes...and we are on a unit on movies...so there.  But secretly I also want them to become fans, too. 

It's not such a simple thing just to show them a movie.  You have to preteach some things, and my goodness Tolkien chose some difficult names to pronounce. I think they're liking the movie, though...I left them in suspense because we didn't get to finish the whole movie in one period.

As a teacher (and as a human being, too) you cannot control how another person will respond (as much as I try).  With teaching I want so much for students to be engaged in the whole learning endeavor, but sometimes, they're just not.  Is it vain of me?  I dunno.  I had a student fall asleep on me today in my earlier class...definitely not the first time that's happened, but still...it's the most deflating thing to know that you're boring someone to sleep.  Okay, so I've done it, too--fall asleep in class (well, not completely, but you know, that whole head bobbing thing).  Props to all the teachers out there who go right on teaching without skipping a beat. 

Here in xanga-land, if I bore you, you can just stop reading.  Like you may have done 2 paragraphs ago :)  No skin off my nose....just maybe less eprops?  Haha.  And no, I'm not fishing for eprops :)

Brrr.

It's freezing out here.  The comparatively mild weather San Franciscan in me can barely withstand the dropping temps.  In order to brace the cold, you need to don your long-johns along with several other layers, making it pretty ma fan trying to get yourself out the door--gloves, scarf, hat, face mask, boots...check, check, check, check, check.  Do a good job and you become barely recognizable to anyone on the street because you're bundled up so well.  You'll also gain the approval of the locals who always like to ask how many layers you're wearing.

Poor Shao Lan waved a white flag of surrender as a nasty wind along with the freezing temps finally made his owner (me) step off my bike and walk home the other day.  So I'm a wimp...I know, I know.  But literally I was getting the wind knocked out of me, and it was so cold I couldn't breathe.

I'm okay with being a wimp.  There are times to be brave, and there are times when it just isn't worth it.  I've decided that I'll be hailing more taxis this winter season and getting to exercise my always room-for-improvement language skills in giving directions. 

Tomorrow's forecast:  hi 31°F - lo 14°F 

Wedding #9.

I thought that I was done with weddings this year, but apparently not :)  Going against my own predictable 'making-plans-ten-years-in-advance' self, I made a last-minute decision to fly to HK to attend my cousin's wedding.  I got my visa back from the local powers that be on Thanksgiving Day which allowed for all of this.  I couldn't really have planned it any better, since my status in-country has been iffy until now. 

It's an exhilarating thing to fly by the seat of your pants without knowing first what you're doing.   I surprised not only myself, but my family as well.  Oh how good it is to experience Father's provision!   It was of course no surprise to Him--He knew all along.  So off I went, making the reverse trip that I made 3 months ago, back to a land more English-friendly, and to a culture more familiar.

I've changed since I've been there last.  This was first evident when I made a call to my cousin to tell her that I was coming to her wedding--I laughed as all that came out of my mouth was the majority language, tried as I might to speak Canto (that's the closest I've been to speaking in tongues).  Everyone in my family also remarked that I am noticeably thinner--if that's even possible--this I credit to bike riding and climbing six flight of stairs on a daily basis. 

My Canto skills did return, and speaking it again made me feel like a different person all over again.  I was glad to blend in with the other HK'ers and avoid the pesky question of where I'm from.  Predictably when I returned to my city of residence, the local taxi driver asked me where I was from.  This time, unlike the first time I arrived, the driver actually said my language skills weren't bad.  I smiled on the inside. A compliment?  Could it be?