What the hell was I thinking

Leave it to a kid to shake the foundation of a grown ass persons ego.
This week in my classes we discussed 'adjectives'. Because I'm trying to be
creative and "engaging" with the 3rd graders, I thought talking about Teacher D would be a good activity. "Class describe Teacher D"...silence. "What words do you think about when you see Teacher D" (loosely translated to students with Chinese teacher assistant) The following is a short list is what came about:

*tall (i laughed at this myself)
*nice(they speak the truth)
*funny(they are smart)
*clever (they were buttering me up at this point)
*big hands (it goes downhill from here)
*fat(chinese teacher assistant tried desperately to explain 'full-figured'...huge fail)
*beautiful(this kept me from crying)
*thin (me:"I thought I was fat", students: "you are, but thin too")
*small ears
*huge head (what!!)
*lovely (cold heart is warming again)
*white teeth
*big legs (I need to run to the gym right now)
*big eyes (seriously?!?!?)
*big mouth (...)
*pretty in dresses (I cannot argue with this)

Needless to say I regretted the activity immediately after starting. I asked a few students to come to the board and draw the person (creature) they thing is being described(supposedly me). We analyze the animals-human hybrids that were drawn.I ask them "You think Teacher D looks like this?", while pointing to the monkey spaceman drawing. They laughed and said no.

There is no need to worry about me being too full of myself. I have about 100 kids reminding me weekly that I am almost about average...maybe.

Ugh.

Its always SOMETHING or another

Dearest Marilla,

China is teaching me patience. I've come to realize that I'm selfish and have taken a lot of things for granted. For example my living situation. Why on earth would I think Jake would be like Del and let me live with him for like several years or some silliness like that?!?!?!? I was recently informed that I will be homeless June 1st. Jake has found a place with Kozen and they will live the fairytale couple life. I am not bitter, but a little more warning would be nice. It’s fine, it was time to cut the cord anyway. A lot of foreigners, as I've mentioned before, find Chinese mates and become attached and unable or unwilling to do things on their own. Unfortunately I'm different. I'm faced with 2 new problems now that all rely on other people moving their asses.

Problem 1: I can't go to France if I don't have my Visa to get back into China. As excited as everyone is about me going to south of France, I'm looking at the reality of it. Tiger mom can buy all the flights and book all the hotels in the world for me, but it’s useless if I can't go. *side note, tiger mom suggest I fly back to the states to apply for the work visa and she will formally invite me and I "work" for her. I think this woman is hilarious and awesome.* I am now in this time sensitive battle with my school to get me a teaching work visa that they promised to get me and should have gotten 2 months ago. ~practicing patience~

Problem 2: If/when visa is acquired, I still won't leave until June 24th...As ridiculous as it sounds right now, I don't want to impose on anyone (I've clearly done that too much) 24 days is nothing, I know. I've got to look at my options (meaning the cheapest)I have a potential roommate for a new place, but they means looking for a place and paying for rent for 3 months here while I'm in France.

So as I write this, it seems so silly and not a big deal at all. I should be fine, right? Hell I moved to China. I think having these little issues come up makes me practice my resourcefulness. I'm aware of my magic powers (or whatever the hell it is that attracts and brings strange people and unusual circumstances to me)so I just need to use them.

I am thankful and grateful to have so many people cheering me on with every hilarious/insane step I take.

Btw, I'm doing a lot better. The season change and asthma and China are having a fight in my body. I had a cough for 2 weeks that might have given me a
nice 6 pack. Jo took me to the hospital (scariest/funniest/strangest thing I've ever seen) and looked after me, as if I were on a suicide watch. (This guy is crazy and I think he really likes me, good grief) You pay 50cents for a registration card and sort of push your way in to see a doctor. (I'm fortunate that Jo is either flirted with or can sweet "Chinese" talk his way into anywhere...maybe that not a good thing. whatever) Doctor sees you and gives you many things to pick from eastern or western medicine (I choose a nice mixed cocktail of western inhalers and eastern teas). You go to the pharmacy pay and done...I would have never been able to figure this out on my own. I am so happy Jo was there.

Thus is life Marilla and I am learning and living it.

love,

Anne with and 'e'

p.s. please enjoy pic of jo and I on a double decker shanghai tour bus for my bday. he REFUSES to cooperate with the camera. i think we will have a fight soon!!!!

the pics i forgot to add to previous post

hong kong evening with wendy and lin..

Just a lot of ramblings

I'm not sure why I am surprised by anything...but I am. I get back to school after my trip to Hong Kong (which sucked initially and became awesome quickly) and the head director of the primary school hands me this pamphlet of admissions. I look at him and ask "Am I applying for school now, what’s this?" He said it’s our new brochure for incoming students. I open it and my eyes widen when I see my face (really bad picture) along with a few other teachers inside the brochure. The head teacher says "your picture is the best". That’s not saying much, but it was kind of true. Judge for yourself. I thought the pic was for the hallway board of "Look at all the shit we do in our class" type thing. No, it’s a damn official publication for public viewing. Whatever...

Hong Kong, the short story...got on a plane in Shanghai, then had to change planes 3 more times (1st plane = landing gear no good, 2nd plane = the cabin door wouldn't stay closed, I'm not even joking, 3rd plane = no clue what the problem was, but we landed in some small city call Jinjaing about hour away from Hong Kong . Waited for 2 hours until they got us a “good” plane) I finally get to Shenzhen (my border running town) and the damn plane lands in a field 30 mins from the airport. (we can’t get taxied to a freaking gate after all our troubles…) It was pitch black and we had to exit the plane on some sort of makeshift scaffolding stairwell-esque type contraption (taking ghetto to another level) We board buses to take us to the airport. I’m thinking that I’m a hostage at this point and who would actually pay money to get me back. I laughed out loud to myself while looking around at all my fellow hostages/flight-mates. No one would pay for any of us. I get to the hostel and thank them for letting me check in WELL AFTER check in time. I go to my room and my roommate is a lovely girl from Beijing named Wang Di aka Wendy. I tell her I’m from Shanghai and explain my lil adventure of how a 2hr flight became a 6hr hostage situation to her and she patiently listens to me bitch and complain. She happily replies by telling me that we should go to Hong Kong together and that we will have a lot of fun. (Asians are so positive and upbeat sometimes) She’s planned a whole day of things to do. I tell her ok and we talk all night about all her traveling and people she’s met and her living in San Diego a few years. I really need to start traveling more. I know that I sound like an asshole with the France thing just around the bend, but there are soooo many places to see. Anyway, at some point we have another person that wants to go to Hong Kong with us. His name is Lin and he insisted on speaking Chinese to me (his English was just fine) because he said I “looked like I understood”. I told him I speak very little “he yidian dian”. We get up at 6am and return at 12am. Wendy is in her last year of university studying hospitality. The girl knows what up. I spent 200RMB ($30USD) We hit up all free sample shops and free showings of everything. We covered more ground than I did my last visit. All Hong Kong new territories were visited. We took a ferry ride, saw fireworks, and visited a mall on the highest peak of Hong Kong…and so on. I was dead tired when we got back. My flight was early the next morning. (No extended stays this time round, I have to work) Lessons learned this trip: NEVER TAKE CHINA EASTERN…YOU WILL DIE AND/OR NEVER ARRIVE, OR END UP IN A FIELD IN THE MIDDLE OF NO WHERE.

Please enjoy a few photos of Anne’s adventures