Love and Money

失恋33天 is a new Chinese romantic comedy about the 33 days right after a girl has been dumped. I watched it with my Chinese friend, Flora, last weekend. It's a very entertaining flick!

The main actor, 王小贱, has recently become very popular among Chinese girls. He is really a great actor and super funny in this show.

I enjoyed the movie as it gave me some interesting insight into Chinese culture. I want to relay one scene in particular. The "dumped" girl works for a wedding coordinating company. She is working with a couple that includes a rich Taiwanese girl who loves Louis Vuitton, Prada, and really any expensive purses and clothing, and her fiance who seems to be a smart and grounded guy, and who happens to be very rich.

The wedding coordinator asks him privately why he would choose a girl who cares more about money than love. He replies that the common girl cares more about love, but love doesn't last. This kind of girl cares most about money, and he will always have money. Then he says something to the effect of, "It saves me a lot of trouble to marry a girl who wants me more for my money than for my love."

The whole conversation seemed odd to me. I talked to Flora about it. She thought it sounded quite logical. . .sad, but logical. I said in America we often say not to marry a man for money because he could lose his money and then what would you have? This seemed odd to her. She said China is different. If you have money now, you will always have money. Money is more stable than love.

Oh Christmas Tree(s)

I heard from a friend that Wal-mart had Christmas decorations. I was excited because you never know if you are gonna find Christmas decor in China, and I only had two small ornaments with me so I needed a little something more to make our home feel "Christmasy."

There was an entire aisle of Christmas decorations--more Santa and snowmen than the Son, and more cheap than classy, but I found a small tree that I liked, a table cloth, and a bag of assorted ornaments.

The tree was on display so I had to get some help from an employee. They asked me to wait and went to the back in search of the tree. Then they brought me a box excitedly and placed it in my arms. I assumed it was the tree I wanted (some green branches were sticking out of the corner), but I wanted to confirm so when I got to the counter I asked the cashier if this was indeed the 39kuai tree (about $6.00). It rang up as 29kuai (about $4.50), and I thought, even better!

We got home and I open the box. It was exactly the tree I had wanted, the problem was the box contained NINE of the tree I wanted. I had only paid for one. In the words of my Chinese friend, "so lucky!"

As funny as the mistake was, now I needed to get back on the bus, return to Wal-mart, and then explain the situation with my limited Chinese. In fact, we waited a few days to go back because we didn't have time that particular day. So we went back today with an explanation rehearsed. The workers understood me completely and were so grateful that we had returned the eight extra trees. In the end, we had a language success and now we have a home that feels a little bit more like Christmas. Let the season begin!

Watch More TV

My family didn't have cable when I was growing up. In college, my roommate and I didn't even have a TV. I subconsciously accepted the message that "TV is bad for you" and "television corrupts your mind." For years, I bet I didn't even watch an episode of any TV show, not because I thought it was a sin, but simply because I had better things to do. I even felt pretty proud of my TV-free existence (except when I hung out with people who loved quoting favorite TV one-liners and laughing about quirky characters--then I pretty much felt like a social outcast).

Last year in Qufu a TV sat in our living room all year and was only used for watching movies with students. What use did we have for a bunch of channels in a language we couldn't understand? So when we moved to Changchun and our landlord mentioned the cable bill, I said the same thing I would have said in America, "No, thank you."

But one of our teachers encourages us to watch TV as much as possible. He tells us to keep it on even when we aren't watching just to get the rhythm of Chinese speaking. He encouraged us to find some shows we enjoy watching so that we get interested and will make TV watching a habit. And he said soap operas are great for getting you hooked. Hmm. . .soap operas especially sound like corruption of the mind, right?

I started thinking about our Qufu students. The ones with the best English were usually the ones that regularly watched current American TV shows like Big Bang Theory, Friends, Lost, Vampire Diaries and Gossip Girl. Note: I'm not saying these are all fantastic TV shows with a wholesome message. I'm just saying this is where students learn to say "How's it going?" instead of "How do you do?"

So I gave Chinese TV a chance. Now I should say, there are many shows on Chinese TV that I have no interest in watching 1. News (language way over my head) 2. Performances (mostly operatic) 3. Infomercials and shopping networks (I wouldn't watch those in America either) 4. Chinese dramas set in ancient times (that's not the vocabulary I'm looking for).

Chip and I started watching some Chinese love/game shows with a fellow language student. I was surprised by how much I enjoyed the shows. And I started turning on the TV when I come home for lunch and now a Chinese soap opera gets my daily attention while I polish off some leftovers.

Can I understand it all? No way! But I understand more everyday. Fortunately, due to the hundreds of dialects in China, all programs have subtitles in Chinese characters. Sometimes I read better than I listen. Of course, it would help if they would talk more slowly. The good news is, China expert, Joann Pittman says, "The longer you study, the slower they speak." So I'm hopeful.

Check out summaries of my three favorite Chinese television shows below:

全 夏家三千金 (Xia Jia San Qian Jin)
Loosely translated: Summer Home Three Daughters

Okay, I'm not gonna claim to understand the plot line. It appears to be as dramatic as any soap opera in America: love, intrigue, scandal, secrets, and beautiful people. Lots of dialogue. It entertains me over lunch, and I know I'm learning useful vocabulary for social interactions.

非诚勿扰 (Fei Cheng Wu Rao)

Literally "If not sincere then don't bother."

This is a very popular dating game show right now in China.

From wiki: The premise of the show is: 24 women stand in a line, each atop a podium with a light. Facing them is a single male who initially secretly chooses one of the twenty four. The male uses 2 or 3 video clips to reveal some personal information such as occupation, interests, love history, friends' opinions etc. After each video clip, each of the women will decide whether he is ‘date-worthy’ or not by keeping the light on or turning off the light. If all 24 lights go off, the male loses. If only one light remains on after the male’s introduction, the male may choose to accept the girl as his date or give up. If two or more than two lights remain on, the male needs to turn off some lights and keep two of them on. Then he has the option to invite the two women on stage and ask them questions. In this case he can also invite the girl who was selected by him secretly at the beginning even if the girl has turned off her light. With three women left, the male will ask another question, after which he will make his final choice. If the girl accepts, they walk towards each other, join hands, and head off the stage for a future date and possible romance.

老公看你的 (Laogong Kan Nide)

Otherwise known as My Man Can

Four young married couples compete by wives wagering their husbands ability against the other male contestants in crazy tasks: carrying heavy objects, throwing balls through hoops, wrestling while hanging from a bar, guessing people's professions by feeling their clothing while blindfolded--it's different every time. The winner gets an international trip. Pretty cool! Maybe if Chip and I get our Chinese up to par, we can compete, too. Heck, I'm sure my man can!

Chip's Chewable: Naked Marriages on the Rise

Chew on this: "As costs soar in the cities, more couples in China are opting for 'naked marriages' - those without the once-required trappings of a house, a car, and other goods." Click on the link to read more.

Let it Snow

Sunday morning, Chip woke me up to see our winter's first snow. I looked out our window and saw this (above). What is it about the first snow that is so exciting?! Snow means cold and layers and slippery sidewalks and not being able to use your hands because they are either too cold or your gloves are too thick. Nonetheless, the first snow is always beautiful and fills me with excitement.

Walking to class in the snow--the first of many such days ahead of us!

For those hoping to improve their Chinese, here's some basic snow vocabulary.

Snow 雪 (xue)
Falling Snow 下雪 (xia xue)
Snow Man 雪人 (xue ren)
Snow Ball 雪球 (xue qiu)

Chip's Chewable: Matchmaking at IKEA in China

Chew on this: "If you're retired, single and looking for love in Shanghai, try IKEA.

Twice a week, hundreds of Shanghai residents who have formed an informal lonely hearts club of sorts gather at the cafeteria of the Swedish furniture megastore for free coffee and conversation." (Please click on the link to read the entire article)

Meet Wangzi and Xiao Mai

You may know us as Chip and Mallary, but if you came to China and asked around for us, we might be hard to find. We recommend you using our Chinese names or nicknames.

Chip's formal name is 王子 (Wángzǐ) which means prince. This name was given to him by our Qufu students we think because his given name is Charles which reminded them of Prince Charles. At the time, we were led to believe this was actually a real name. Based on the way people laugh when he introduces himself, we‘re pretty sure it's not, but it is too much trouble to change now. Chip's name being Prince means Mallary is sometimes called 公主(Gōngzhǔ--princess) which she really doesn't mind.

WangZi 王子Cookies
(Do you see the characters on the package?)

Chip had a nickname before he was Wángzǐ, also given to him by Qufu students. This was Shu Tiao 数条　 (meaning French fry) as this was how they translated "Chip" and got a real kick out of it. This is still the name he uses on renren (China's facebook) but would 0bviously be an even more embarrassing name than Prince. On renren he does use the family name "Wang" which without the "Zi" means king. Google chrome's English translation: King French Fry.

Mallary's name was also given to her by Qufu students last year. All the students called her 小麦（Xiǎomài）meaning "little wheat." They thought the "Mai" sounded like Mallary and I love whole grains, so the nickname stuck. But then I needed a real name. Mai is a family name in China (not nearly as common as Wang) and women do not take their husband's name when they marry, so I kept the Mai.

In a wheat field in Qufu

At Asbury college, Chip and I were in the Vessel Class (2005). Chinese names are rich with meaning, so I decided I wanted to have a name that meant vessel of mercy. I asked a believing student to help me with the translation. She came up with Huái Ēn. Huai 怀　means to cherish, carry, or hold dear. En 恩　 means grace or mercy. It took me awhile to get used to the name because I didn't like the way the Mai and Huai rhymed, but I like the meaning and it gives me an opportunity to share when people ask about the meaning. 麦怀恩 is usually how I introduce myself, but I always tell people they can call me 小麦 since it's a bit easier to remember. And the same goes for you. You can call us Chip and Mallary or you can give Chinese a whirl.