I turned in my final grades a few weeks ago and I've been enjoying all my free time lately with Dan. We spent 3 weeks together at my school and it was fantastic. I'm in Beijing for a couple days and then I'm off to Thailand to bask in the warmth for a little while! It's surreal that it's Thailand time already and it seems as though the fall semester has flown by! I won't be around much for the next few weeks until the semester begins again in March. 

Week one of Final exams is over.. here are some funny/interesting things my students said...

“My mother thinks that being fatter is healthy so she is so happy when I eat a lot”

 

“When you are dating, trust is the most important thing because you cannot be together very much. In marriage, responsibility is the most important thing.”

“If you are new at yoga, you’ll feel a lot of pain- but don’t give up!”

 

“Light music is my favorite because it takes me to paradise”

“The most important ingredient in marriage is harmony and being able to adjust to one another. For example, my mother cannot sleep without my father’s snoring. At first, it would make her upset but now she is adjusted and she needs it in order to sleep.”

 

“In the winter, people become lazy”

“Marriage is different than love. The most important thing in marriage is responsibility”

 

“Time is money- so I think my love language is spending time together”

 

“Music is indispensable to my life. My favorite kind is HipHop because this rhythm is the most beautiful. I think this kind of music expresses freedom.”

“Only a marriage of true love will last. Those of political or social advantage don’t work.”

 

In talking about the 5 love languages: “I don’t need my boyfriend’s sweet talk, he just needs to be sincere”

There were also some very cultural things said....

“In a marriage, you should think more about the other person than yourself. For example, in the winter you should tell him to put more clothes on.” 

(They are always telling people to wear more clothes- it's a sign that you care)

“My father, brother and I have something in common- none of us use our chopsticks correctly”

“My boyfriend and I quarrel about petty things sometimes. For example, he does not like to call me because he says the radiation from the phone makes him unhealthy but I want to talk to him so we argue about this.”

“My mother is a very traditional woman”

“He is very lovely” – referring to her mother!

(They have issues with pronouns because there is just one word for both genders in Chinese. They also tend to use the word "lovely" way too much)

“My father is the best man in the world because he doesn’t drink, smoke or play cards.”

 

“My family is so kindhearted”

(I don't know who taught people here the word "Kindhearted" but they use it way too much)

“They fell in love at first sight, like Jack and Rose”

(Yes.. that IS a reference to Titanic... it's been years but they still love it)

“It’s a pity I have no boyfriend”  “It’s a pity for me”   “O that’s a pity”  “That’s a pity”  “What a pity” “Oh you are pitiful” “What a pity”

(I hate this phrase. It must be a direct translation that someone found one day and it spread like wildfire. The tragic thing is when I accidentally use it)

A week ago I was able to visit Dan for the first time. I hadn't been to Changchun before and I had no idea just how cold it would be. It was worth the cold though for the amazing amounts of SNOW I was able to enjoy!! Since I live on the coast, it doesn't snow in my city so I was very grateful to have a few days of that.

I have decided that though I hate the cold, I love the snow. There is a new Christmas song out this year about snow and I wanted to share the lyrics because it's really beautiful...


You Could've come like a mighty storm
With all the strength of a hurricane
You could've come like a forest fire
With the power of heaven in Your flame

But You came like a winter snow
Quiet and soft and slow
Falling from the sky in the night
To the earth below

You could've swept in like a tidal wave
Or an ocean to ravish our hearts
You could have come through like a roaring flood
To wipe away the things we've scarred

But You came like a winter snow
You were quiet
You were soft and slow
Falling from the sky in the night
To the earth below

Oh, no, Your voice wasn't in a bush burning
No, Your voice wasn't in a rushing wind
It was still
It was small
It was hidden

You came like a winter snow
Quiet and soft and slow
Falling from the sky in the night
To the earth below

I was looking through pictures and found this from a museum I went to a few weeks ago. The room options were as follows and I stood there for a long time trying to decide how to prioritize my limited time.



Sadly I think I chose the Underground Treasure which was a let down-- all about rocks and the crust of the Earth. The real gem at the museum was this:
     I would definitely like to go in that direction....

Until recently, I thought the only thing Mexico sent to China was H1N1. Then I was in Beijing for Thanksgiving and I found an Avocado at a western import store. I was excited because it was only $2 which is extremely cheap for imported fruit. I have been talking about Avocadoes for a long time here because I'd never seen one here and I often crave it. So when I found this gem, I definitely didn't have to think twice about buying it. It was far from ripe so I brought it home and daily checked it to see when it would be ready.

Sadly.... I came home Monday from a weekend away and had missed the window of opportunity.

This was a pretty tragic discovery for me. I had been so excited and eagerly anticipating some fresh avocado and some guacamole in my life. When I came home from my weekend away, I noticed it was a little TOO soft so I decided to eat it immediately. I was able to dig out a few tasty bites that weren't rotted out but it was quite the let down. The death of a dream... It happens.

Here are some things my freshman are thankful for.....


I'm thankful for my roommates because they wake me up everyday.  (my personal favorite)

I'm thankful for my eyes because they help me see the world.

I'm thankful for water because we couldn't live without water. Life comes from water and it gives us energy.

I"m thankful for the seasons. Spring gives us the feeling of happiness. Summer makes us happy. Autumn brings a large harvest. Winter supplies us a silent atmosphere and leaves us a place to think and imagine. All the seasons teach us a lot, especially the true meaning of life.

I'm thankful for trees because they can make the environment clean.

I'm thankful for your teaching because you're so beautiful and teach so well. I like the way you teach. The feeling is similar to the shiny stars in the black sky, put a bright light for me!!

Recently, I taught my students a lesson on music. We talked about genre's and how different types of music make you feel differently. It was a great time and it was nice to do something a little more relaxed in the classroom. The idiom of the day was "Music to my ears" and some of the students responses went like this:

Emily: "A boy gave me a love letter to deliver to you."
Anne: "Oh that's music to my ears!"
Anne: "I heard you will get married during spring festival this year!"
Emily: "Oh really? That's music to my ears!"

(the second half was definitely a class favorite.. everyone laughed and clapped for them)

Tracy: "You're skin is so white!"
Melody: "Thanks! That's music to my ears!"

(Yes... they have a very different outlook here on paleness)

This past week, Dan was able to visit my class on Friday. My students were so excited to meet my boyfriend and to have another foreigner in the classroom. I gave the students a few minutes to ask him any questions they wanted to and here are some highlights:

Why did you come to China? (This is the most popular question of all time)
When you two met, was it love at first sight? (Yes, I taught them that phrase..way to reuse!)
What do you love about our teacher?
When will you get married?


Pretty bold, eh? One of my students also told us that they all thought we were "the perfect match."

Thanks students, you always provide entertainment and laughter!

As a foreign teacher, I have a very unique relationship with my students. I am 8 years older than my freshman, but most of them are taller than me (yes, surprising perhaps since I'm living in Asia). There is a strange balance of being their friend but also being their authority as a teacher. Here are some interesting examples:

1) Today during break, my freshman girls wanted to take pictures with me using their cell phones. One girl asked me if she could kiss me on the cheek in the picture. So in my picture with her I"m smiling and she has her arms wrapped around me and she's kissing my cheek. That's not a very normal relationship.

2) There is one sophomore student that I've spent time with who is super friendly and we get along really well. When we're hanging out or having a meal together, she acts like my best friend but she still calls me "Miss Dolby."

3) Students ask me all kinds of personal questions about my life and my boyfriend. There doesn't seem to be boundaries with that even though I'm their teacher.


When I think about my own teachers in college, I never would've kissed them on the cheek, shared a casual meal together as if we were friends or asked them personal questions about their life. So you can see how it's strange to be in a foreign culture where those things are ok. What I haven't figured out yet is if these things are ok just because I'm foreign-- would students ever be like this with their Chinese teachers? My hunch is No. The craziest thing is that casual time outside of the classroom doesn't seem to take away from my authority in the classroom. When class starts, I am back to just being their teacher- their authority.

I love this dynamic. I love that I can have their respect and teach them, but also build meaningful friendships with them outside of class time.

This is something that keeps me here.

I was at Starbucks in Beijing recently and they finally have it decorated for Christmas!! This Dark Cherry Mocha definitely brought me some Joy as I sipped it on the way to the train station. I really miss coffee shops. We don't have those around my new school. It was so fun to see the holiday decorations up and feel the holiday spirit bursting around us. It's great to be here during the holiday season and share the reason to celebrate with those around us!

My campus apparently has a new campaign against smoking. That's quite the task since it seems like 95% of men in China smoke (and more and more women seem to lately also). Here are some evidences of how the school feels: