Sunday Morning

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As the title says, it's Monday morning here. When could be a better time to blog and wrap up last week? So, I've been asked about my language skills and how they are improving here so far. Well, I haven't started classes yet (I start tomorrow) so I haven't learned a lot of new Chinese yet. But I have learned how to use the Chinese I know. My listening skills have most definitely improved in the last week. And I'm happy to say that yesterday I had a small conversation with a local in which I didn't even realize I was speaking Chinese. Now if I could speak that easily all the time, I think I've really accomplished something here. I think most importantly, my confidence has grown. When I was in Taiwan, I was unsure of my language skills and did not venture out into the city by myself until the last week of my trip. But now, I do not worry at all. I know that I can easily find my way back to school if I get lost.

Now onto this past weeks activities. On Thursday afternoon we went to the migrant school where we will be teaching English. The kids were adorable! And very excited to see us and have an interruption in their school day. Thursday night, the Advanced Chinese Studies CIEE group (ACS, which has 18 kids including me) went out to dinner. We got to spend the dinner talking with our teachers about classes and anything else we could say in Chinese. Friday night, CIEE took us to an acrobatic show, which was quite entertaining. I have lots of pictures from that, as you can see. And most of the soundtrack for the show was made up of Star Wars music. And the Titanic song. Classic. On Saturday, I went in town by myself. I had to find a clinic for a minor health issue I was having. I found a great Ex-pat clinic where everyone speaks English and they accept international insurance cards. While waiting 3 hours for my appointment, I wandered around downtown a bit. I also spent a lot of time sitting on benches, soaking up the sun and hustle-bustle of the city. Yesterday was the first truly sunny day we've had, and you could tell the city has been deprived. Sadly, though, we'll be paying dearly for our wonderful sunny Saturday, as the 7 day forecast shows nothing but rain. Oh how I miss my big bright friend. So, that was my adventure yesterday. LOTS of walking. I also learned how to use the metro and other handy things.

Ok, someone has asked me about politics here. I've been advised by several people (most strongly by my mother) to not discuss such things. During our orientation here, we were told not to discuss 'sensitive topics' in any language in public. Also, very interesting, CIEE has a small library here that contains some banned books. We've been told that we cannot show them to any Chinese people. So, I'm sorry that doesn't answer you're question, Meg, but that's all I've got for you!

Minor cultural differences: Kids potty train much earlier here. There are several reasons for that. 1) Many people have squat toilets, which are easier for little ones to use. The second reason is that many toddlers wear, basically, assless chaps. This allows kids to squat and relieve themselves whenever the urge comes. And, unlike in America, no one cares if you defecate in public, especially kids.

Another cultural difference is peoples' attitudes toward each other. There are sooo many people here, that if you said 'I'm sorry' every time you bumped into someone, well, you'd be very tired soon enough. So instead, people do not acknowledge the bumping and bruising of each other while trying to do whatever it is they're doing. People push and shove. Oh, and queuing, that's a scary experience in some places here. Lining up is just something that doesn't happen often enough. Again, pushing and shoving occurs. New Yorkers look downright friendly in comparison.

If you have any questions, let me know!

~Nutmeg

PS-Some of you have requested my mailing address, so here it is:

Student Name
c/o CIEE Study Center in Shanghai
Global Education Center, 4F
East China Normal University
3663 North Zhongshan Road
Putuo District, Shanghai 200062
P. R. China

Make sure to put a return address on it-just in case! And I'm told you don't need the Chinese version of this, so don't worry.
Chinese

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Photos

Migrant School
Hopefully I'll be teaching these kids!

Migrant Kids
Lining up to see us

Stack of Chairs
My mother wouldn't have nurtured this hobby if I;d picked it up as a child.

Photo 14
I have a crush on this acrobatic kid. He won the whole audience over with his smile!

Photo 15
They got 5 people in there!