Conversing

 

That's right.  Conversing in Chinese.  I'm on a high right now.  Sun Yuan was a tutor of mine last semester, but I also consider her a friend.  Yesterday we got together for coffee and talked for an hour and a half.  ALL IN CHINESE!  If you are surprised, know that I am surprised, too.  I often think that my Chinese is not improving, but last night proved those lies wrong.  Not that my grammar, pronunciation, and tones were all perfect, but we really communicated smoothly (with the occasional use of the Chinese/English dictionary on my phone).  It helps that Sun Yuan is a tutor so she talks slowly, clearly, and knows approximately what words first year students know.  

Daily I still get into interactions where I can't understand somebody, but the truth is, Chip and I both have come so far from where we started last September.  We are really gonna get this language!  (At least on an elementary level, anyway).

Jade Bath House

A Chinese friend/mentor of mine from church invited me last night to one of her favorite places to relax: a bath house. It seemed like an interesting cultural experience and I always love my time with her, so I went.

I knew most women would be nude. Fine. It's cultural, but it's not for me.

Maria: You know you will draw more attention to yourself if you wear a bathing suit.
Me: That's okay. I will feel more comfortable this way.

So into the locker room we went, she stripped down (bringing our friendship to a whole new level) and I (fully prepared) already had my suit on under my clothes. But before we started bathing, I needed to use the restroom.

(Conversation all in Chinese)
Me: Do you have a toilet?
Lady: ????big????small (Yeah I really didn't catch what she said. I was expecting a "yes" or a "no" or a point in some direction.)
Me: Can you say that again?
Lady: Do you need to poo (the big one) or pee (the small one) (. . .I caught it that time).
Me: Pee (the small one).
Lady: Then you can use this toilet. (Oh? This one. The one with no walls around it in the middle of the room where all of the nude women are showering. If I say I need to poo, does that mean I get toilet with a stall around it?)

So I sat down, but the feeling of needing to pee suddenly went away. People were staring. I'm foreign and I was wearing a bathing suit. I stood out. So I pretended for a moment, then just flushed.

Then we went into the community shower with women of all ages. We stood under hot water for about 20minutes. Maria said soaking under the warm opens up our pores. All the while I see nude women on massage tables being scrubbed by other nude women. The whole body. Scrubbing parts I wouldn't want someone else to scrub on me. I told Maria I didn't want to do that. She said okay. Whew!

Our next stop was a sauna with jade stones on the floor. Before we went in, they gave us disposable underwear and pink pajamas to wear. Then we nestled down into the jade stones. It felt lava hot, but I eventually got used to it and felt very relaxed. . .and sweaty. We laid there for about an hour chatting about life.

When we got back to the locker room, one of the employees kept staring at me and saying how beautiful I was. I looked at my reflection in the mirror. My face was bright red, my short hair was sweaty and sticking out in parts, and my mascara was running. She grabbed another employee from outside the locker room to come see me.

(Conversation all in Chinese)
Lady #1: Isn't she pretty?
Lady #2: Yes, so pretty.
Lady #1: Do you have siblings?
Me: Yes, I have two sisters.
Lady #1: Are they as beautiful as you?
Me: Even more beautiful. (I mean, it's true. But really, how was I supposed to respond?)
Lady #1 & #2: Wow.

Then back into the shower for 20 more minutes. I felt pretty darn clean by the end of it all. And as awkward as it was at times, I really enjoyed it. I got home feeling very relaxed and slept like a rock. And Maria already texted to ask when we can go again. Maybe next time I'll drop the suit.

Lunch with a Qufu Friend

Today we had lunch with Zhen, a student that we knew from Qufu last year. He is in Changchun for two months doing training to teach Chinese in Thailand. It was so fun to see a familiar face and talk about life in Qufu. We sure do miss that place!

English Corner

Chip mentioned last week how much he misses working with college students. While we value this season of intensive Chinese study, so much of why we love serving in China has to do with building relationships with Chinese students-- something for which we do not have much opportunity or time these days.

Then we got an e-mail asking for help with an English Corner for freshmen English majors at our university, so we jumped on board. Last night we sat at a table and discussed questions about heroes, beauty, gift-giving, and hopes & dreams. The students were surprisingly open and honest for having just met us.









We felt energized by their eagerness and innocence and look forward to the day we return to teaching. In the meantime, the English Corner happens every other Saturday night this spring so we hope to go back again!

What's New?

What's new with us? Well, we are in week two of our spring semester. That means our minds are spinning with Chinese, we do homework every night, and we have new tutors!


My new tutor is a post graduate exercise major. She used to teach aerobics so we have fun talking about Jazzercise, and she has taught me how to say many dance moves in Chinese. She does speak very quickly and a bit over my level, but today was the best day yet, so either she is slowing down or I am catching up. . .more likely the former.

Chip's new tutor is a junior English major. This is her first month working as a tutor and so far she seems great. Chip says he likes that she is new because she does not know how much he should know.

What else is new?


Double-decker buses! The 66 route, the one we most often ride, is now double-decker. A sure sign of growth in the city, and we think it's pretty cool to sit on the top level.


The snow is melting! We have both declared that we are done with long underwear for this season. Come on warmer days!


We found a source for raw milk. My older sister had been telling me about the benefits of raw milk (http://nourishedkitchen.com/raw-milk-101/) and through a friend we found this woman about one mile from our home who sells raw milk from a farm everyday at 2:30pm. We just bring an empty bottle and she fills it up for about 50cents.


Chip has made many friends lately. It's become sort of a joke. If you know Chip, you know he is quiet and not a relationship instigator, but lately he has gotten in talks with Chinese guys on the street, on the bus, and one of the tutors really attached himself to Chip (seen above).

What's new with you?