Double Decorating Happiness

In a scramble to leave the country in June, a fellow teacher bestowed upon Zach and I boxes filled with random goodness. Handing us one box, he said, "My girlfriend bought this tree for me on Taobao. I didn't want it, but she did it anyway. You take it." We said we would probably pass it on, but would take it off his hands. In the bustle of end of semester craziness, I stashed the box on the top of our bookcase and forgot about it.

After our Thanksgiving feast, I declared Saturday the day of Christmas decorating. In pulling out our meager decorations, I found the stashed box. Since it was still in our possession, I decided to open it and see what it contained.

It was a Christmas present in of itself!

Lights, metallic gold balls. glittery gold stars, gold and silver tinsel, and an array of silver and gold decorating knickknacks exploded from the box.

Hidden beneath was a full size Christmas tree.

I teared up.

It has been years since we had a full size Christmas tree. Plus, I recalled that at the end of last year's festivities, Zach and I had a conversation how our little tree was groaning beneath the increasing number of ornaments we have gained. It seems a surprise solution was given.

As for our faithful petite tree, it became the Christmas tree bedazzled with the new festive lights and kitschy gold decorations, standing proud in front of our bedroom window for all to see.

Happy Birthday, Eva and Bonano!

I love helping throw surprise birthday parties for our students and this one was no different. Complete with a life-size minion for our minion-obsessed Bonano and a cuddle pillow for Eva with her idol's face, our evening was filled with so much laughter and many pictures. 

Happy 80th Anniversary, GDOU!

The anniversary festivities kicked off in the traditional Chinese way with a singing competition. For the past two months, many of our Chinese teacher friends have been sucked into a rehearsal vortex. Many asked as to why we did not have to participate, to which I would respond that the leaders did not think my Chinese was good enough to sing Chinese propaganda songs. Sometimes being a foreigner has its perks. When our friends asked if we could come cheer for them, we heartily agreed.

While we know the basic concept of Chinese singing competitions, we were not sure what this one would one entail. It had the air of being a bit more formal and we knew that whatever group was attached to the party would win (and it did). However, we were not truly prepared for how much fun it ended up being. Within ten minutes of arriving, I was chatting with an 82 year old retired teacher who was feisty and looked not a day over 60. Once the curtain rose, the costumes alone were enough to keep us in stitches, but the gusto and determination that each group had towards their task was entertaining. The sports faculty made a grand entrance that included a nearly naked bodybuilder (who I know) and a scuba diver (who I also know).

I love the sports faculty.

We had initially planned to stay only through the foreign language faculty's performance, but after one group, we were captivated and in it until the end. It was a thoroughly entertaining evening and we were excited to see what would follow in anniversary activities.

Days later, we sat in the same auditorium to watch the arts college perform a compilation of odes for our beloved school. It was touted on the tickets as beautiful, fancy lights and endearing. There was definitely beauty and fancy LED screens with bad quality doves on them, but its endearing quality was not what we expected. By the second song, Zach and I looked at each other, mouths agape. The arts college, whose sole purpose is to study stage work in dancing and singing, was lip syncing. Our first clue was a choir singing with no microphones on stage, but the second song with a soloist who closed her mouth while words were still coming through the sound system was definite proof to the situation. Nonetheless, it was a good performance, we enjoyed it, and we learned after the show that lip syncing is very common in China.

 
While the pomp and circumstance of wining and dining graduates, donors, and mysterious foreigners (who we never met nor were asked to meet) was in full force Friday and Saturday, we enjoyed stumbling upon opening ceremonies for random new campus features and joining in fringe activities meant to make the students seem involved in the hoopla.

We definitely got the better end of deal with freedom to come and go. On Saturday, I started my day in a dragonboat, while Zach spent the morning on the football pitch. We watched the University Cup final football match that afternoon.

We realized that this anniversary was really the equivalent of an American university's homecoming. While America does it every year, China does it every ten. Our campus was bustling with visitors from near and far; I met many graduates, saw a couple of our former students, and had numerous RFPs snapped by those astonished to see a foreigner walking the campus or in a dragonboat. Zach said he had similar encounters.

Overall, it was a busy and delightful weekend. While I am not one to be gungho about pomp and circumstance and schmoozing leaders, I did enjoy celebrating this university. In GDOU, we found the overseas experience we desired, found a niche in teaching, have thrived, and fallen even more in love with a wild and bizarre country and its culture. GDOU has been good to us and for us these past five years and for that, I will celebrate.  

Ba Guan: A Case of the Purple Dots

It is not uncommon to see circular purple splotches on necks, backs and upper arms in this area. When I first arrived in Zhanjiang, it was a bizarre sight that repeatedly made me stare in wonder as to what could create such ugly blotches. Of course, I put whatever it was on my Chinese bucket list because, if it was so popular, it needed to be tried.

Five years later, that opportunity arose. In these five years I have received a variety of reasons as to why ba guan (English translation: cupping) is done. The root of the act is immersed within the belief of qi and inner feng shui, but the result explanations range from "it makes you comfortable" to "it takes away the bad things."

A new shop opened on campus which offered the ba guan service, so joined by two senior friends, Ruby and Cindy, we spent our Friday evening trying it out. Zach and I opted for ba guan, Cindy opted to do nothing, and Ruby chose another method called scraping.

Ruby's method was crazy, very painful, and not something I added to my Chinese bucket list.

Zach and I each spent fifteen minutes being sucked dry by heated cups. I expected for it to be hot, a bit uncomfortable, and as relaxing as a massage. Instead, it was itchy, a weird sensation of my skin being pulled, not really that relaxing, and I was so thirsty afterwards.

Though it was far from what I expected, it was not a dismal experience but rather quite enjoyable. The boss was delightful and she enjoyed explaining the process to us, all while laughing at Ruby yelling how much her procedure hurt. She did repeatedly say that Zach and I were very healthy and muscular, so we may not have good results.

Would I do it again? Probably not, as I think a monthly massage is more my niche of Chinese medicine. Do I regret doing ba guan? No, it was worth it just to see the look on students' and teachers' faces as I walked by with circular purple splotches on my neck, back, and upper arms. 

Construction Crazy

It appears that a typhoon combined with an 80th anniversary is the perfect recipe for construction chaos. What the typhoon did not destroy, the administration did in an overarching scheme of beautifying the campus. Our morning alarm clock has been backhoes, sputtering chainsaws, or squabbling old men pulling wheelbarrows by the hutong. There are so many sand dunes on campus that children are toting shovels and cups as though they are on a beach.

While a few construction projects have been years in the making (such as the plaza in front of the main building), others have a rather impromptu feeling to them. For example, the dirt path pictured above was actually a concrete road three hours before I took this picture. I went to the swimming pool walking on a concrete road and returned to crushed mayhem.

The road returned the next day, giving no clue as to why it was destroyed in the first place.

After years of watching backhoes sporadically pull and push dirt around, a miracle occurred this week - trees were planted. Actual trees.

I was stunned.

In all my years of living here, not once have I actually seen a tree planted.

Plus, it was a learning experience for palm tree planting is an intense process involving a crane, a backhoe, lots of wire, and many hand-waving, yelping, jumping up-and-down men.

After the trees came a planting frenzy. In our area there are only four types of plants that get planted, as I think they are the cheapest and the most hospitable towards mosquito habitats. Once the hillside was planted, our second and greatest shock came.

GDOU planted grass.

Green grass.

Real grass.

China has a great aversion to grass. After reading a couple of historical books, I believe it stems from the Cultural Revolution days when it was decreed that grass must be pulled out as it was seen as luxurious. Granted, this is my theory, but I have never seen or experienced a culture that was so hostile towards the lush green goodness. Therefore, to actually see our university plant it was on par with water becoming wine.

Within the last couple of days, it has been a frenzy to finish projects with many workers pulling over-nighters. Most of these all nighters have revolved around the plethora of statues that now grace our campus. Our joke with students is that the university found an amazing deal on Taobao during the Singles Day shopping frenzy, perhaps a buy-one-get-one-free arrangement. We have a good laugh and now look upon the likes of Confucius to Mr. Magellan Magellan.

Yes, Magellan Magellan is the name on the statue. The following paragraph about his sailing feats is just as grammatically correct.

While we are happy that our campus is indulging in some cosmetic improvements, we are also experiencing a bit of grumpiness alongside the students. Misused funds are always hard to stomach. Most computers and projectors do not work in the classrooms, yet new (pointless) statues dot the campus grounds. There is a new model of the school in the administration building but the actual buildings have mold on the walls and the ceilings are falling down. Everything is newly painted, but we know maintenance does not happen in this country, so all that is new will be rusted and derelict in about three months. On most days we do not have running water in the teaching building, but a new fountain was built. Granted, the fountain will never run unless a VIP is within eye shot, but it was built.

Yet for all our skepticism and hilarious conversations with students, it is fun to watch the build up for the 80th anniversary and how hard everyone works to prepare the great facade. 

Foreign Language Football Team: History Was Made

History had been made, so the girls sadly walked off the field.

With the final whistle, the Foreign Language girls team had won their first game ever in the university cup. While Zach and his co-coaches gave whoops of joy and clapped vivaciously along with the spectators, the girls hung their heads. It was a bizarre scene to observe, one that they would try to explain later as their time of coping with such an unexpected moment.

Zach was perplexed.

I was perplexed.

Bystanders were perplexed.

Zach was stunned that cheers of delight had resounded after the tied game the previous week, yet moping was the choice after a win.

I joked that perhaps he had not explained the game well enough, thus the girls were confused what the word winning actually meant in football.

Eventually smiles emerged and satisfaction was felt for what the season had been - which was remarkable. For the second year, Zach worked tirelessly alongside the girls, teaching the basics of football, as well as tactics and maneuvers. The improvement from last year was great; the improvement from the beginning of the semester to the final game was staggering. The interest in playing for the team was so abundant that Zach had enough players for two teams.

As a spectator, I loved watching Zach thrive in this coaching niche, I was mesmerized by the vast improvement and the great attitude of the players, and I am impressed by the growing interest for female football on this campus. This year, I saw a group of girls go from being perceived as the inferior team of the competition to the feared. Post tournament, they have become instigators for keeping the girl teams still playing in practice games.

History is becoming a legacy and that is keeping heads held high and smiles abundant. 

Puppy Love

It was to be a quick jaunt home, but, before reaching our front walkway, I saw three girls scrambling with a trashcan. I stopped when I saw one pull a puppy from inside, all while tears streamed down her face.

"Where did that come from?" I exclaimed.

"I don't know! There are three!" she responded.

Within in a couple of minutes, three black, squirmy pups plopped into our lives.

While I am still very much a cat person, I cannot deny that puppy cuddles and antics have been a fun bonus to our days. I do miss having a pet and the moments we get to spend watching them grow, squirm, fuss, suckle, and play have filled that void, even if it is for a short time.