During our most recent year in the states I was intrigued by cable TV. K's parents had it. My parents never did. Reality TV seems to be a pretty popular genre nowadays. I became slightly addicted to some of the shows, particularly the Biggest Loser.
One writer put it pretty well about how life in China is like being in a reality TV show. Life in China IS Reality TV. Read it. He's right.
Now that
classes have wrapped up and we have finished our finals, catching up is in
order. My email is out of control (seen to the right. Sheesh, 154 items.),
expense reports need to be filled out, need to buy a printer for the office,
review textbooks ie finish any exercises I didn’t complete and review
vocabulary, clear off desk, catch up with former students….the list could go
on. K will meet up with some
former students, read for pleasure, and continue to amaze me by her discipline.
Today
(Wednesday) we’re going to a local Muslim Orphanage. Having never been to one,
the only information I have is that which I gleaned from other foreigners
trying to get their foot in the door.
It can be difficult, it can be upsetting, and it can be a highly
controlled visit by the host.
Whatever the situation might be, a group of us will be bringing clothes,
bedding, and a pair of shoes for each of the 90ish kiddos at the
orphanage. I’ll get back to you on
how it goes. Hopefully with pictures.
It isn’t
some four letter Chinese equivalent, but it hurts and makes me incredibly angry
when I have used it. This morning
I went outside to take out the trash.
On the way back I noticed something. I ran to the front gate of the complex. Didn’t see anything. Walked about half way back to the
house, stopped, turned around, and went to talk to the gate attendant. 我自行车丢了。 My bike is lost.
Not so much along the lines of lost. More along the lines of stolen. 丢了 - diu le。We have used it
three times this year. First, K’s
original bike. Then her second
bike. And finally, mine.
We had a theory that
has blown to shreds. With the way
that people fawn over children being that generally each family only gets one,
we thought that there might be a little security having the child seat on the
bike. Not true. Even with a lock for both wheels on my
bike AND Shep’s kid seat on bike, it was still taken.
After K’s second
bike was stolen and one of our favorite tutors found out through another
friend, she sent a text to K saying something along the lines of, “I hate those
people. I hate the people that
steal things.” K stared at the message
for awhile trying to figure out how to respond. We hate that our bikes were stolen, but what sort of
behavior should we expect from people, whether in the States or China or
anywhere else, that are slaves to selfishness?
“Thanks for your
sympathy,” was what K wrote back to her.
At least my bike
tires were a little flat.
We moved into our new place in late Nov. The place is awesome. Probably the warmest home we have lived in in China, close to the university where we study Chinese, safe for Shep, and the community is small compared to some of the more modern complexes in the area.
Not too long ago I posted some pictures of the place prerenovation, during renovation, and today I have the complete picture. Drapes are hung, furniture is place, and camera charged. The work we needed done:
We added a pedestal sink to the opposite wall.
Notice: no spicket above the sink. It was moved below the sink making room for a drying rack.
The rest of the kitchen.
Dining room. kitchen is behind the sliding glass doors. VERY common in China.
Our bedroom. We dry our laundry in the sun room connected to our bedroom. There is a system of pulleys & wires that raises the line up and down.
Shep's room. We added blackout curtains behind the Jacks curtains to help with the sun during naptime.
livingroom.
the office.
It is about 970sqft. 3 bedrooms, livingroom, dining room, kitchen, bathroom. The first place we rented as a married couple in denver was 1 bedroom, livingroom/dining room, bathroom, kitchen. Also 970 sqft.
