Last Day in Beijing and Dongying Time!

My last few weeks have been super crazy, busy, and tiring! There were a few downs, but I quickly picked myself up with the help of my friends and family. Special shout out to my wifey! I don't have much time left, so I refuse to be stressed or upset. I'll talk about the factors later, but everything's great now (except for my super case of boredom haha). I just had a wonderful birthday a few days ago!

I’m going to break up the rest of Boba’s visit into two posts. Some interesting things happened in Dongying that would be waaaayyyyy too long to put in one post. We packed in a lot during his time here. 

Our last day in Beijing was very chill. We checked out early and utilized the luggage room at Sanlitun (a cool perk!). We had a late bus back to Dongying, so we decided to walk around the mall area. We had dessert at the Godiva cafe! It was SO yummy!

We went to Uniqlo where I bought Boba a Metal Gear Rising shirt for a late birthday present. We had the pleasure of witnessing a Chinese man trying on pants in front of everyone. The men’s changing room was about a two second walk to his left. The security guard yelled at him in Chinese. Boba and I tried to contain our giggles. 

We had three awesome days in Beijing, now it was time for five days in Dongying. We arrived at the bus station about an hour early for our bus; I was not excited for the ride. I had just been on a bus a few days before, and I wasn’t feeling being on one again. We got back to Dongying around 11:30 pm. It took us awhile to get a taxi back because a lot the drivers were trying to cheat us. I really don’t like when they crowd around you boxing you in and refusing to me out of your way even though you are clearly ignoring them. I tend to go for the drivers that aren’t in my face. We finally get back to my school and promptly pass out. I had to wake up early to work the next day. Here begins Boba’s five days in Dongying!!!

I had to work seven days in a row to make up for our break. Holidays don’t really exist in China for teachers. Most schools make you make up the days you were off. What results is usually us working seven days in a row -_- This eats my soul and is usually atrocious. The kids get so cray when their schedule is broken. I love my babies, but it is a test of my strength, I tell you!

There isn’t much to do in my city (I’ll talk about this more in another post). Regardless, it was nice to have Boba see the area. As much as I wanted to see him, I didn't want him to visit last semester because I felt that there wasn't anything to see him. I didn't want him to waste time or money to come to Dongying, and I didn't know if I would have time to take him anywhere. Silly me, I forgot that he just wants to see me and didn't care about the other stuff lol 

I took him to the restaurants that I frequent. Taking him to Pizza Hut was super fun because it’s a super ritzy big deal here. He said that it reminded him of the scene from Demolition Man where they go to eat at Taco Bell! He had me rolling with that one! I could picture the scene in my head.

I did receive some frustrating news from my boss. He offered to have the school’s driver take Boba back to the airport. I was super excited because catching a taxi from the bus station to the airport is not fun. You literally have to stand on the side of the highway and fight against everyone that just got off the bus with you to get a taxi. Let’s not even add being at the airport four hours before your flight into this equation. My boss texts me to tell me that the school can’t do it. Of course he does this at the last minute, but it’s all good because this is typical behavior. I was already prepared and had back-up plans. I know I haven’t gone into much detail about my working situation on here, but it has been a hot mess. I usually have to expect the worst with my school and that's exactly what I get with a side of tom foolery. The best thing is I'm always prepared ^_^

Also, Boba got to meet Britni! I was so happy because she is my boo from another mother. We have SO much in common. We have that positively hated our previous job-are both Black-are both Geminis-in LDRs with awesome boyfriends-came to China-now we here connection. We have always understood the other and had each other's back. I definitely think we would have been friends in America. She later told me that Eileen asked what he looked like. Brit told her that I did good haha

The next post will be the last one for this break. Looking back I did a heck of a lot!

Beijing Trip: Day 3

On my third day in Beijing, Boba and I went to the Summer Palace!!!! We were both super excited; we were also supposed to visit Tian'amen Square and the Forbidden City, but it was SO hot and we both had seen enough! We just wanted to relax after the Summer Palace. 

Boba and I woke up around 10 am to eat before we left. I didn't know if there were any decent food options around the Summer Palace, so I wanted to make sure we wouldn't get hungry. The last thing you want to deal with is intense hunger, crazy heat, and expensive prices.

We walked to the DongSiShiTiao station and transferred to Line 4 at XiZhiMen. Then we got off at BeiGongMen which wasn't too far from the Summer Palace. The Beijing subway system is super easy to navigate and very affordable at 2 kuai per ride. 

We did have some interesting moments on the way. These two older Chinese women stared at me like I was an alien and to make matters worse they did it the whole ride. After a few stops a white gentleman got on the train. They didn't even look at him. Some Chinese people think that white people are normal and everyone else is not. The excuse I often hear is that the majority of foreigners that come to China are White. I also think it has to do with China's discrimination against non-white teachers. A lot of schools here only want White teachers to work at their school. This tends to be a bigger problem at training schools, but it's still a rampant issue in China. Here's a post from a tumblr run by a 22 year old Black man living in Taiwan about this issue. I do know that Taiwan is a separate country (although the Chinese government will swear up and down it isn't and teaches its people this), but they both tend to treat foreigners the same. 

I just ignored them, but there would have been a problem had phones or cameras popped out. I have only had a few annoying picture incidents during my time here. There comes a point during your time in China that you have to not become annoyed or irritated by the staring. One thing that wasn't hard for me to overcome was having people talk about you while you're near them. Heck, rude people do this back in America, but in a language that I can understand. As long as the person isn't pointing and/or laowaiing the hell out of me, we're fine (laowai is kind of a rude term for foreigner. Some non-native born Chinese embrace it, and some dislike it. I'll talk about this in a later post). 

Most Chinese people on the train weren't staring. I think when Chinese people live in Beijing, they see a lot of foreigners, so it becomes normal to them. So, I figured they were tourists from their behavior. I could also tell by their attire. Most people in Beijing dress very stylishly regardless of their age. Turns out my observation was correct, they got off at the same stop as us.

Next, we followed the crowd of people to the Summer Palace. It wasn't too far down the street. There were some ladies selling bottles of water. I decided to ask how much they were, and to my surprise they were really cheap and the bottles were big. I bought one for us since we had forgot to bring water. Boba and I were starting to feel the heat. I figured prices would go way up once we got inside. We came to an opening and then we saw it!

Beijing Day 2: Picking Up Boba

I'm surprised I was able to fall asleep so easily considering the fact that I would be picking Boba up the next day. I think all the dancing tuckered me out. I woke up around 8:30 am, but went back to sleep. I got out of bed around 10 am and went downstairs to check on Boba's flight's progress. The hostel had computers that you could use; I recall 1 kuai would get you fifteen minutes. I saw that his flight was getting in around 1:30 pm. The girls and I were supposed to meet up again, but I figured they hadn't woken up yet. I got a map to the airport shuttle from the hostel (the hostel is right by the DongSiShiTiao and DongZhiMen subway stations which you can use to get anywhere). I had to walk to DongZhiMen station to talk the airport shuttle. I decided to leave early even though it looked like it wasn't far on the map. I decided to leave around 12 to give myself enough time to get there.

After an hour or two, I received a text from Brit around telling me they had gotten dressed and would knock on my door in a few minutes. I went with them to the first desk for their check out and putting their bags away. Apparently most hostels have a room for you to put your stuff. So even if you come early or check out you can put you stuff in a locked room.

We left the hostel together; the ladies were going to get a massage  I was going to walk with them until I noticed that it was about to be 12. I am SO happy that I left early. The walk didn't even a lot of turns. You leave the Sanlitun hostel and make a right on the main road. Then when you hit a street (I forgot which one, but it was one the map) and you make a left and walk down it until you hit the airport shuttle. The problem is that it's a loooooonnnnggg walk. I stopped a few times to ask people if I was going the right way.

*Side note- I recommend coming prepared with some survival Mandarin, even in Beijing. I figured I would have to use it, but I tried to speak English slowly as a test and the person looked at me crazy. I only used Mandarin when I was there.*

I reached the station, bought my ticket, and head down the escalator; the shuttle comes every ten minutes and costs 25 kuai. (Also I noticed that people in Dongying say kuai, while folks in Beijing say yuan). It took about thirty minutes for me to arrive at Terminal 3 (the International terminal). I arrived around a little before 1 pm and got in position. The airport wasn't crowded which was nice because I got to stand right against the railing instead of behind people.

Boba and I already had a plan in case we couldn't find each other. I remembered there was a green bank directly to your left when you leave the airport. I told him what I would have on and even made a sign that read his first name, his last name, and then it said aka Boba haha I showed him the sign before, so that he would know what it looked like. I decided to stand in front of the bank as well just to be on the same side. As I was waiting a few annoying people would come and stand near me and stare at me. I just ignored them and listened to my Ipod. I refused to let anyone even slightly frustrate or annoy me. 

One lady standing beside is holding up a sign that has the same flight number on it as Boba's. I figured I would keep an eye on her in case her clients arrived before he did; I would know that he would be out shortly after. I waited and waited and the anticipation kept building. I finally saw the lady pick up her passengers, so I knew he would be coming out soon. Every time a person would come out I would be break my neck to see if it was him (I am super short, and I was a good distance away). I kept standing on my tippy toes to see him. And then I finally saw him!!! I was SO SO SO excited, and he looked super handsome as always. I held up my sign super high (it probably wasn’t that high lol My short butt). I was to his right, but he kept looking to his left. He later told me he was looking for his extraction point!!! He was right in front of me. I was like, “Boba! Boba!” Then he looked at me and I saw his whole face light up. It made my heart smile! We ran to each other, and he gave me a huge hug. 

We made our way down to the taxi queue. We got a little lost, but a nice guy took us to where it was. We only needed to go down one more escalator instead of heading outside. I updated him on my last few days before he arrived and my crazy night. He had a good laugh about the club situation. He told me that’s why he never wanted to take me out dancing. I gave up going out dancing after my first year of college. I didn’t go often, maybe once or twice a semester, but always enjoyed having mini parties with my friends more. We arrived back at the hostel and saw the cutest dog ever! The hostel owned him, and he was the cutest thing ever. Joe played with him a little bit. Here’s a picture of him:

He had a little ball that he would fetch for you. Simply adorable! In my next post, I'll talk about our trip to the Summer Palace!

My Interesting Night in Beijing

Britni texted me while I was still on the bus inquiring about when I would arrive in Beijing and to her my room number when I get settled. So, after I checked in I quickly texted her before I took the pictures of my room. Sleep was about to take me out with the quickness. She texted me they were watching a movie and were going to come back to the hostel to take a nap. We agreed to meet up for dinner.

I received a knock on my door at 7 p.m., and Brit tells me that they were across the hall in 409 (I was in 410). We both had a mini laughing fit; the four of us walked to the mall area near Sanlitun. It’s about a ten or fifteen minute walk straight ahead. During the walk, we were all talking and laughing. We grabbed dinner at Bite-a-Pita, and as soon as we sat down the mood shifted. Nicky and Eileen went silent and grabbed their phones. This is where the drama begins.

My Mini Break: Beijing Day 1

I was lucky enough to have five days off in a row and I SO needed it! In China, you really don't get a real vacation. The schools require that you make up the days you have off. I had to work seven days in a row the week before and after break. Believe me when I say that it's super rough. The kids are pretty crazy due to their normal routine being broken.

The first day of my break I woke up super early to Skype Boba. To my dismay I discovered I had no internet. This happens a lot at my school. The internet will be off during the early morning and will magically turn on during lunch time when we would attempt to use it. Brit and I are convinced that they are turning it off. I went back to sleep to gain some much needed rest. I wasn't able to sleep well the week before Boba's arrival. I think I was super excited and just wanted the day to hurry up and arrive. Monday went by super duper slow!

The next day I woke up early to catch my 8:30 a.m. bus. I quickly found a taxi and showed him a text message Dean sent me last semester with the bus station and Beijing airport in Mandarin. Dongying has two bus stations, and only one has buses that go to Beijing. So, I put my iPod on and lean back and relax. I notice that the bus driver tries to take a wrong turn on purpose. He's trying to turn to the right (which is the opposite direction) rather than turn left. Usually when I talk to the taxi drivers in a normal tone it's like they don't hear me. I don't talk super loud and that seems to be the norm in Dongying. This noise just erupted from my core. You could equate it to "hold on one minute!" Whatever it was he stopped haha I told him to turn left. I don't know if he was trying to cheat me or if he didn't pay attention to where I pointed (the airport is first and then the Dongying bus station), but I said it in Mandarin as well. Either way I wasn't having it. Taxi drivers tend to half listen or act like they can't understand me because I'm foreign even though my pronunciation is on point. It's like they see foreigner and they cannot compute. Taxi drivers aren't the only ones in Dongying guilty of this crime.

I arrive at the bus station without anymore trouble. My bus ride ends up being way longer than it normally should be. The bus was getting super hot, and I wanted to get off asap. When we arrive at the bus station, I rush to find a taxi. It's really difficult to get a taxi at this bus station. You have to wait on the side of a highway and hope that no one takes the taxi you flag down. I have a guy approach me, and I figure he's not a legit cab driver. By this time I am super hot and tired. So, I agree, but I set a fixed amount 60 kuai. I figure that I've being severely overcharged (which I later found out I was, it's supposed to be 25 kuai at the most), but I don't care. I just wanted to take a nap.

I arrived at Sanlitun Hostel and fall out! I managed to take pictures before I took an epic nap.

I was really happy to see that I had a double bed. I was afraid that Boba and I would have two twins bed and have to push them together. In my next post I'll talk about my crazy night on the town in Sanlitun!

Things I Miss

China has been an interesting experience. It's very different from my upbringing and my experiences living in New York. I've learned a lot about myself during my time here. I'm excited to be going home next month! I'm excluding people from this list because they aren't fixed to places. Regardless, my family, friends, and Boba should know that I miss the hell out of you!

Things I Miss About Home

People looking at me like I am a normal person. 

Sometimes residents of Dongying stare at me like I am a walking unicorn or like I slapped their mother. When I am going up stairs, people walking in the opposite direction will stop beside me and stare in my face.  

Being able to fully communicate. 

My Mandarin isn't horrible and it allows me to do the basics. I can understand what's being said to me most of the time. Mandarin (as far as grammar is concerned) really isn't a hard language. As soon as you know the vocabulary; you string the sentence together and it's right most of the time. It's the writing system and the tones that are the killers. I would have loved to learn more, but unfortunately Dongying does not have any place for me to study.  

Food, food, food, food!!!!

I really really really love food, especially delicious food. I resided in New York prior to my departure to China. One of my favorite things about NYC is it's variety of food. You can pretty much find anything! I was born and raised in the South, so you know I was eating right there, too! I can't eat any bird or egg right now due to bird flu in China. I'm not willing to take the chance. I love me some chicken, but I'm not ready to die for it.

Internet

The internet in China is atrocious! The speeds are very bad (at least the places I've been); not to mention the censorship of websites. Of course things like Blogger, Facebook, Twitter, Wordpress (basically social networking) are blocked here. Brit and I also have to deal with things that we desperately need (Sallie Mae and other bill paying websites) deciding not to work one day. I have a VPN, but my connection at my school is very bad, so sometimes I can't get on it.

Not Seeing Bodily Functions

In China, it is very common to see men urinate in the grass, kids defecating and urinating on the sidewalk, and people picking their noses like there's gold inside. It's common to burp loudly with your mouth open, sneeze and cough and not cover your mouth near people.

Beijing Trip!

I have been to Beijing twice, but haven't had the opportunity to explore which makes me sad. Supposedly, Shanghai and Beijing contain lots of adventure and fun. I won't be able to go to Shanghai due to it being very far.

My school will give us a vacation April 29th to May 3rd. On Tuesday (the 30th), I get the chance to experience Beijing. I will be leaving Dongying on an 8:30 a.m. bus; I will be meeting Britni, Eileen, and Nicky in Beijing. We will be staying in the same hostel (Sanlitun Hostel), but they will be leaving the following day.

Wednesday, I will head to the airport to pick Boba up! We'll be staying in Beijing until late Friday. Boba told me he's always wanted to see Tian'anmen Square and the Forbidden City. I also looked in my Lonely Planet to see if there was anything that caught my eye. I told him about the Summer Palace, so that's also on our list.

I saw there were three malls in Beijing! I almost flipped my lid in excitement! I haven't been to a mall in forever. As much as I love NYC's fashion, I wish there were more malls. I like having everything under one roof when I am super lazy and don't want to take the subway anymore. I miss window-shopping! I bet I'll see SO many things I want to buy. Too bad I'll be broke! At first I didn't want to go, but Boba convinced me to go anyway.

Boba will come back to Dongying with me after Beijing. I think he'll definitely notice the difference. I am in a very very small city and there isn't much to do. I'll probably take him to all the places that I frequent. I'll be sure to take lots of pictures!

Pictures From My Qingdao Trip!

Lots of my family members and friends have been fussing at me for not taking picture. I decided I would start during my trip to Qingdao. I went to Qingdao with Remus and Ashley earlier this month. Unfortunately, I didn't get to stay long or see much of the city. It was my first time out of my city, and it was really nice to take a breather from Dongying. We went to the Naval Museum and the aquarium.

An Earthquake in Sichuan and H7N9

There seems to be a lot going in the world right now. My heart goes out to those in South Korea, Boston, Venezuela, and Sichuan. I am sending out prayers and warm thoughts. I called Dean earlier today to see if his family was well. Fortunately, they were not affected by the earthquake.

China also has a new strand of H7N1 (also known as bird flu); I first found out about it's return through Jo Gan. Jo is a fellow English teacher in China (you can read about her adventures here). I believe there have been about eighty deaths. There are cases in Shanghai and Beijing; I have already warned Boba not to eat anything until he's with me. The Chinese government has not reported any cases in Shandong Province yet. Regardless, Brit and I have decided to not eat any birds or eggs for the remainder of our time here.

I find it grossly problematic and disrespectful that my boss did not inform us. The only reason I could think for his omission is fear of us breaking our contracts. Words cannot describe how dangerous that decision could have been for us.

Getting a Visitor!

I am very excited for May 1st; Boba shall be coming to visit me in China until May 9th!!! I can't wait to share my life here with him. He gets to hear so many stories, and it will be nice to have him get to experience a little bit of my everyday.

I may have a break for a few days when he arrives. We may spend a day or two in Beijing before returning to Dongying. I haven't had the opportunity to explore Beijing despite traveling there twice. Remus, Joe, and I may also go up to Dalian to visit Ashley!

I also plan to relax with him, too. I really miss seeing him in person (obviously haha), and I can't wait to be able to hold his hand. As much as I would love to run around with him everywhere; I also recognize that it's important to do nothing with him as well. Taking the time to just pretend that the floor is made of lava stay in bed all day sounds amazing. It's going to be nice to have a little bit of home here with me in China.

You're beautiful, but....

Friday night was a night of hell, two hours of hell to be exact. Let me start at the beginning. I had to go to Western Union to send money home. Remus (my friend that is also a foreign teacher) came to meet me and keep me company. He told me that Dean (our awesome Chinese friend) had invited us to dinner with a family friend. Dean wasn't excited to spend time with this family friend. Dean felt that the family friend was a "disaster and a bastard. Unfortunately, Dean had to have dinner with him because if  he can't get a job in the US or somewhere else then this family friend could be his boss. The family friend invited Remus and me as well. Dean let us know that he really didn't want to eat with him alone. I personally didn't want to go. I haven't been feeling too well emotionally since I came back to China. It's my school once again. I am also having a hard time adjusting to not seeing or talking to my boyfriend as much as I did during Spring Festival. I really didn't want to deal with an asshole, no matter how much I love Dean. We'll call him D.I.C. (dumb, inconsiderate, and close-minded). We tell Dean we can't have dinner because we were going to Pizza Hut; the service there is super slow, so we wouldn't have been done by the time they were supposed to have dinner. We tell him to come by later with D.I.C.

Remus and I were setting up my new VPN when Dean knocks on the window around 7:30....that's when the two hours of hell begin.

Plans After June

My contract at my current school ends in June. I don't have an exact date yet, but I am preparing for the worst by thinking ahead. I wouldn't want my contract to randomly end in early June; that would leave me only a few weeks to decide what I want to do. My boss said that if we end early we could stay in our housing until June 30th. I would rather not take his word for it because he tends to give misinformation and even outright lie, but that's another post.

I recently returned to China after having a nice month long break for Spring Festival (also known as Chinese New Years). I went back to NYC and spent time with important loved ones and friends. Unfortunately, I didn't get to my family because they majority still reside in Chattanooga, Tennessee, and my parents are in Alabama. Regardless, it was a relaxing time that granted me much needed space and time for reflection.

Back when I was first interested in teaching in Asia, I only considered staying for a year. When I left for China in October, I decided to be open to the idea of staying another year. I figured why close myself off to the possibility if it felt right. If June came and I really wanted to stay then why not do it?

So, here are the options:

• teach in another country in Asia (Taiwan or Japan)
• teach in another city in China
• move back to NYC
• move to another city in the U.S.

Right now I am only contemplating the last two options. I officially decided over break not to stay abroad. I think I will always explore other countries. I knew coming to China that I didn't want to pursue being a teacher as a profession. Teaching is something that I have always wanted to try; many important role models in my life have been teachers. Teaching my kids has been amazing, but I know that I need to figure out what I want to do with my life. Staying another year would leave me with the same questions. I might as well face them now. I need to figure what I want to do for my career; staying abroad will only delay it.

First Semester Reflections

I recently completed my first semester teaching in China! I am very proud of myself; I have completed a goal of mine that was four years in the making. I first became interested in teaching in Asia in 2008. I'm wouldn't change anything that I encountered along the way. I feel that it made my desire to live and work abroad increase. I remember being excited and enthralled in the blogs I would read about others' adventures abroad. I couldn't wait for the chance to do it myself!

I arrived in China in early October. I am in a small Chinese city located in Shandong Province. I teach 5th graders. I have six classes making a total of 24 hours a week. My classes are 35 minutes long. This was my first time out of U.S. as well as my first time teaching.

I loved teaching and to my surprise I was naturally good at it. My students and I bonded very quickly. I really love my students; they are so smart and sweet. I realized that I had made the right decision to try out teaching. My school isn't the best, but I no longer allow my employer to make me upset. I also really love China; it felt amazing to know that my research paid off. I was a little concerned about liking my city. There's isn't a lot to do here, but I like Dongying regardless.

Socially, I had ups and downs, but in the end I distanced myself from negative, harmful people and found true friends. These friends I truly believe I will have for years to come. I think what made this easier was that I didn't come with the express intention of only making friends. I came to experience living and working abroad, increase my independence, and achieve career confidence. The great friends are a wonderful bonus!

I had a really great first semester! I learned valuable things about myself, focused on the bigger picture, took a great chance, meet wonderful friends, and had fun. I think I grew a lot, too. The important things went right; that lets me know that I am in the right place at the right time!

Nice to Meet You!

Hi, welcome to my blog^^ My name's Tracy, I also go by Princess Sweet T or Misha Shay. You can call me either one :) I grew up in the South until I moved to New York for college when I was 18. I attended Sarah Lawrence; we don't have majors; so, I concentrated in Theatre, Literature (all kinds), and Japanese. I decided to stay in NY after I graduated college.

I can speak Spanish, Japanese, and Mandarin. I want to learn a little Korean soon! I’m a super duper nerd and geek! I consider reading an addiction. I also love video games, sci-fi/fantasy, manga, and anime; I’m also starting to get more into fashion. I enjoy riding my motorcycle which I miss dearly (it's still in Alabama). I’m a tomboy, but I think I am balancing out as I get older.

I am also a jack of all trades, so I know a little bit about most things. I love to learn about new things! I tend to fall down Wikipedia/Tumblr holes. I still have no clue what I want to do with my life, but I'm working on it!

This blog is about all the things I like and things that happen in my life. Thanks for stopping by!