Calligraphy 书法

This semester I enrolled in a Chinese Calligraphy class (书法).  I love it!  The teacher is great and for most of the period he plays ancient Chinese music while we paint basic strokes.  It is really quite relaxing.  Right now we have only practiced the basic horizontal and vertical strokes and it is more difficult than it looks.  It is truly an art.

Similar to my Tai Chi class last spring, taking this elective has given me the chance to make friends from many different countries including Japan, Korea, Mongolia, Russia, and England. And while we do not often speak each other's native tongue, we can easily converse using Chinese.

Stacks of practice paper

 Our teacher also shares interesting stories from Chinese history based on ancient art.  Yesterday he showed us this painting (which I later found on Google images).  This is Wang Zhaojun, one of China's historical beauties.  I want to share her story based on what I gathered from my teacher.  She was the wife of a Chinese emperor, but one of many wives.  The emperor had so many wives that he rarely saw each one.  So that he could better choose who to sleep with at night, he had an artist paint each of his wives.  Many of the wives gave the painter a bribe to make them look more beautiful.  Wang Zhaojun did not pay a bribe so the painter portrayed her as particularly ugly.  At this time in history, China was at war with Mongolia.  The Mongolian emperor agreed to peace if he was given a Chinese bride.  The Chinese emperor agreed, but to further insult Mongolia he wanted to choose the ugliest woman possible.  He chose Wang Zhaojun.

When Wang Zhaojun was offered to Mongolia, it was the Chinese emperor's first time to set eyes on her.  He was amazed by her beauty and wanted to take back the offer, but Wang Zhaojun was an upright woman and agreed to go.  The Mongolian emperor was so pleased by the exchange that China and Mongolia experienced many years of peace.  For Wikipedia's take on the story, click here.

Minute to Win It

Last week we had a party with our tutors using the games from the American game show Minute to Win It.  The night was great fun full of laughter and healthy competition between four teams: Blue, Green, Red, and Yellow.  My proud  moment was giving instructions for one of the games all in Chinese!  It was the game where put an Oreo on your forehead and you have to get it into your mouth without using your hands.  Pretty humorous--and a lot more difficult than you'd think.

These photos were sent to me by a Chinese friend.  

Unfortunately, I forgot to bring my camera that night. 

Looks like Chip lost his UK hat to another member of the blue team

One of my friends posted a great blog about the event with fun photos of the teams and some of the games.  Click here to check out my friend, Erica's, blog.

Chinese Barbecue

 Chinese barbecue (串) is a lot like shish kabobs--lots of skewered meats and veggies.  It's something we eat a lot of in China because you can buy it on the street or at cheap restaurants and just buy as many sticks as you are hungry enough to eat.  But last night we went out with some Chinese friends who took us to a fancy Chinese barbecue restaurant.

My favorite 串 is cilantro wrapped in dried tofu (not pictured here).  I also love the grilled steamed bread and grilled thin slices of potato.

All the veggies were pre-grilled, but we grilled the meat ourselves right at our table.

Watching in awe as the meat sizzles 

 Our friend got her grilled bread a little too close to the flames

 Posing with one of Chip's all-time favorite tutors

 Our table had a personal TV so we watched my favorite Chinese dating show that just happened to be on.  Even after we finished eating, I insisted that everyone stay and watch the next contestant because I had seen that particular episode and knew it was a quite romantic.  We got home a little late for a school night and I did not do nearly as much homework as I should have, but we were grateful for time with such fun American and Chinese friends.

Our Teacher's Wedding

Big poster of the couple at the entrance to the hotel

 Our Chinese teacher from last year got married this past Sunday.  Below is a collection of photos from her beautiful wedding celebration.

韩老师, her new husband, and the students from last year's class

Just me and Chip :)

The banquet hall was lovely with massive red chandeliers

Gold purse wedding favors full of good candy--even Dove chocolate!

Photos with the bride

 

Perhaps the most exciting part for me and my classmates was singing a Chinese love song to start off the celebration.  While this photo is not great, you can imagine the pressure:  big spotlight, standing center stage with a large crowd watching, and singing a song all in Chinese.  After the first verse, the bride and groom joined us swaying and singing.  It was definitely an unforgettable experience.

Lots of toasting!

The happy couple

Toasting at each guest table

Fancy food

Even a live goldfish in the center of the shrimp platter

At the Recording Studio

Our Chinese teacher from last year is getting married this weekend.  Click here to see the proposal.  She asked all of her American students to sing a Chinese song at her wedding.  We have all been practicing in preparation.  Yesterday she asked if four of us could go with her to the recording studio to sing the song.  We were not really sure why, but she's the bride so we agreed. 

 None of us are professional singers nor do we have much experience in recording studios, but we sang as best we could.  The first recording was rocky but the second time around we were much improved.

  Turns out, at the wedding there will only be two microphones but about 20 of us singing, so she wanted to record it in advance so they can play the recording while we all sing along.  So we four are the official voices of the song singing on Sunday. We were off key at times and had a few pronunciation bumbles, so we hope everyone sings good and loud at the actual performance.  I will post again after the wedding and report how it all turns out.

韩老师's fiance sneaking into the photo

The four of us with the soon-to-be-wed couple

 Lyrics below:

ɡěi nǐ men

给  你 们

tā jiānɡ shì nǐ de xīn lánɡ cónɡ jīn yǐ hòu tā jiù shì nǐ yì shēnɡ de bàn

他 将    是  你 的 新  郎  从   今  以 后  他 就  是  你 一 生    的 伴 

He will be your bridegroom From now on he is the part of your life

tā de yì qiè dōu jiānɡ  hé nǐ jǐn mì xiānɡ ɡuān fú hé huò dōu yào tónɡ dānɡ

他 的 一 切  都   将    和 你 紧  密  相    关   福 和 祸  都  要  同   当 

Everything of his will close to you  No matter Fortune or misfortune

tā jiānɡ shì nǐ de xīn niánɡ tā shì bié rén yònɡ xīn  tuō fù zài nǐ shǒu shànɡ

她  将   是  你 的 新  娘    她 是  别  人  用   心   托  付 在  你 手   上  

She will be your bridge  Someone commends her hand on yours

nǐ yào yònɡ nǐ yì shēnɡ jiā bèi zhào ɡù duì dài kǔ huò xǐ dōu yào tónɡ xiǎnɡ

你 要  用   你 一 生    加  倍  照   顾 对  待  苦 或  喜 都  要  同   享

You need to pay attention with all your life No matter Fortune or misfortune

☆

yí dìnɡ shì tè bié de yuán fèn cái ké yǐ yí lù zǒu lái biàn chénɡ le yì jiā rén

一 定   是  特 别  的 缘   份  才  可 以 一 路 走  来  变   成    了 一 家  人

It must be fate Then get through all these and become a family

tā duō ài nǐ jǐ fēn nǐ duō huán tā jǐ fēn

他 多  爱 你 几 分 你 多  还  他 几 分 

He loves you so much   You treat him back some more

zhǎo xīn fú de kě nénɡ cónɡ cǐ bú zài shì yí ɡè rén

找   幸  福 的 可 能  从   此 不 再  是  一 个 人 

Find the happiness possibility  Never alone anymore

yào chù chù shí shí xiǎnɡ zhe niàn de dōu shì wǒ men nǐ fù chū le jǐ fēn

要  处  处  时  时    想  着  念  的  都  是  我 们  你 付 出  了 几 分 

And think about us anywhere and every second  How much you pay

ài jiù yuán mǎn le jǐ fēn  

爱 就  圆   满  了 几 分   

And how much the perfect love you will get

Not Your Average Tutoring Session

 Some days my tutor and I study at my house.  Other days we study on-campus.  When she asked me where we would have class on Friday I said she could choose.  Her response, "新天地" which means New World, but in Changchun 新天地 is a big mall with a river flowing through it, kiddie rides, lots of shopping, and all sorts of restaurants.  Then she asked me in Chinese, "Can you ride a bus by yourself?"  I assured her that I could, so the next day she met me as I stepped off the bus near the mall.

She said she comes to 新天地 often to 遛 (stroll) or 逛街 (window shop).  But I think she mainly goes for the food.  After exploring all four floors, we entered a large food court area where, over the course of two hours, she ordered eight different snacks/dishes.  We ate Chinese custard, deep fried cubed and breaded sweet potato cake (tasted like an American carnival food),rice noodles, green tea ice cream, vegetable "meat" balls, a spicy leg of chicken, and sweet donut bread.  I was feeling ill from over-sampling food and she just kept going back for more--and she's not a chubby girl!

My tutor playing with her kid brother's toys

Then she invited me over to her house (which is not too far from the mall).  I met her mom and adorable two year 小弟弟, little brother.  We had a great afternoon together--different from the average tutoring session of book study.  My tutor has shared that she is anti-religion, so I was surprised to see a Buddhist shrine in her living room.  I am hoping for an opportunity to ask her more about it in the future.  This tutor loves to talk and it is so exciting to be in a place with my Chinese that we can talk pretty comfortably (on a basic level) every day for two hours.  Year two of language study is off to a good start!

Chinese Corner

I have been to many an English Corner in my two years in China.  An English Corner is an open activity for Chinese students, or even people in the community, to come together and practice English.  Chip and I have often been invited as speakers or simply helpers to encourage English study.  We usually get the students involved in some sort of discussions and provide drinks and snacks.  All of this seems normal to me.

Saturday night I went to my first Chinese Corner--a place where I could practice Chinese with Chinese students.  I expected it to be like an English Corner.  My mistake. It was very educational.

1.  The high-heeled hostess began her formal presentation with quick Chinese of which I only caught bits and pieces--probably how most Chinese students feel at English Corners.

2.  Then two girls came out and performed an Inner Mongolian dance.  These students were dressed up in costumes and had clearly practiced and prepared for this performance.  Following their dance, the hostess announced in Chinese, "Who's next?  Who wants to come up and do a dance or sing a song?"  Every table had a Chinese student leader.  The student at my table pressured me and the others at my table to get up and perform.  Silly me, I had forgotten to prepare a dance.  We all refused.

 

3.After only one singing performance and lots of failed pressuring, the host then requested people to come up and share an unforgettable story about life in China.  I know, I've got stories, but in that moment I could not think of anything to say in English, much less the confidence to share it in Chinese.  A little heads up would have been nice. 

4.  The next activity was origami--we folded paper into rabbit shoes.  Please don't ask me why.  It seemed like a strange activity to do with college students, but then maybe that's what Chinese students think of the silly activities we create at English Corners.

Me, my Japanese friend, two Chinese students, and my classmate Jess posing with our paper rabbit shoes.

5.  The last two games were musical chairs and the human knot game.  I jumped right up and enthusiastically pranced around the chairs--the first activity we had done all night that I had no fear joining.  After a few rounds of musical chairs we were sweaty (crowded room, no AC). We, foreign students from all around the world, then pushed to the center of the room, grabbed two random hands until we were all well-knotted, and worked to untangle our sweaty selves.

 We ended the night laughing and I was glad I had gone for the sake of practicing Chinese, meeting other foreign students, and the gained insight into how differently Westerners and Chinese view these sorts of activities.  I now realize that all that time I spent trying to get students to discuss at English Corners, in reality, they were probably thinking, "I wish that American girl would stop asking so many questions and just let me perform a dance."