听不懂 (ting bu dong)

You can't live in China without hearing this phrase on a regular basis. A Chinese individual will ask you a question, then if it seems that you can't answer they will respond with: 听不懂 ting bu dong. This means "hear but don't understand." So far, I have judged my progress by the amount (or lack of) 听不懂 ting bu dong's I get on a daily basis. When we first arrived (and to be honest, throughout our first year), it would frustrate me to no end. A person would fire a rapid question at me, wait 2 seconds, laugh, and then tell me 听不懂 ting bu dong! But this phrase has come to show me just how far I have to go in this marathon of learning Chinese. Because every time I start to think, "I am really starting to understand people" or "I had a really good conversation - ALL in Chinese", then I will talk with someone and understand NOTHING coming out of their mouth except 听不懂 ting bu dong. (sigh) Have I mentioned before that learning Chinese is a way God helps to keep me humble? Because seriously, I have to put aside my pride in everything I am (my background, education, ...) and realize that to a Chinese person I sound very uneducated. It also serves to remind me of how often I am quick to judge. You know what I mean, you are somewhere in the U.S. and someone has really poor English. We are quick to think certain things about that individual. And honestly, I am sure that the Chinese that I meet have certain judgements about me as well. But if living here is teaching me nothing else, I hope that I am learning to withhold judgements about people and realize that we are each unique and gifted in some way.

Walmart?

Now I don't often shop at Walmart even in the U.S. (and really I am not so much a Target girl either), unless I have a specific item. Something about large everything stores are just not my favorite places. Maybe I am just not that much of a shopper? Last fall a Wal-Mart opened here in Suzhou. Recently Andy were in the area and I needed a few items, so we decided to check it out. But really, it did not seem that much different than Carrefour or Auchan (two French-owned stores that are really popular in China). Just another HUGE Chinese store that sells just about everything and has lots of people shopping there. ;-)

At the check-out, I found some things I am sure that you would not find in the States. Yes, you have the candy (Cadbury chocolates and Angus chews - much like starbursts), but just below those and to the right can you tell what those are? The green package is chicken feet, the orange package has tofu, and the pink circle things at the bottom are preserved eggs. And I have no idea what is in the purple package. Mmm, ready for a snack?

Andy was excited to see what is coming near the Walmart...

More meat

Josh has found another favorite in the wonderful world of meat. Lamb is already one of his favorites, but he discovered that he also likes leg of lamb. Though I didn't ask him how it ranks compared with rabbit leg (another meat he digs). My boy is such a carnivore!

Sick, sick

For the past week, I have been fighting a cold. At the beginning of last week, it seemed like it was going to turn into a sinus infection, but my sinus headache went away. Unfortunately, my cough did not. As the weekend progressed, my cough seemed to get worse and worse. By Sunday night it was so bad, that I could not even sleep laying down but had to prop myself up with pillows on the couch. Definitely time to see the doctor. We are so blessed to be in a city in China that has really good healthcare options. For doctor's visits, there is a foreign clinic. For more serious matters, there are several very good hospitals. And then Shanghai (which has some of the best healthcare in the mainland) is close. I am still thankful that as a family we are very healthy. So off I went to the doctor to discover that I have bronchitis. Rest, some meds, lots of water and hopefully this cough will finally go away. I hope to be well enough to see Becca's school perform Joseph and the Technicolor Dream Coat later this week. I'll keep you posted.

Personal space

I mentioned before that I am now riding the bus both to and from school every day. Riding the bus during rush hour is an adventure. At first I thought I might get a chance to practice Chinese, but people are really just not into talking in the morning. Driving to the campus (in a car) takes about 25 minutes, and on the way home when traffic is not too bad the bus only takes 35 minutes. But on the way to school in the morning, my ride is usually close to an hour (and has been as long as 1 hour 15 minutes, not that I was counting). With my iPod to keep me company, I make that trek to and from school each day. Today the bus was a bit late (though I am still figuring out the schedule). When it did arrive, I realized why it was so late. The bus was PACKED. It was so full that the driver was having people put their money in the front and get on in the back. I climbed aboard and was jammed into a mass of humanity. Now I really have let go of a lot of my personal space needs upon our time here in China. Today made me realize just how much I have relaxed in that area. At one point, I couldn't reach to hold on, but with all of the people around me there was no need.... I was held securely in place by all the people around me. A classmate of mine from the university was on the bus and commented how crowded the bus was and how it bothered her. I stopped to think about that statement for a moment and realized that I wasn't really bothered. I just looked upon it as just another reality of life in China. Not to say that things don't bother me or confuse me about this country. And I am sure that it would have bothered me a lot more if I was trying to keep track of our kids in that crowd. But it was just another day in a city of 7 million. Though I am looking forward to the day when the subway is completed. . . but I guess then I will be packed into a subway and not a bus! ;-)

Language confusion

Someone asked us when we were considering immersing Tori in Chinese school if we were concerned about her forgetting some English or having language confusion. Since we will never speak only Chinese in our house, she still hears English a lot. But I did wonder if she would be confused and speak the wrong language to a person. However, while she has picked up some unique ways of saying things (as she translates something in her mind) she is often a stickler for speaking the right language to people. She gets grumpy if I speak too much Chinese to her. And if another English speaker talks to her in Chinese, she will look at them and sometimes demand they speak English. Though we like to try and catch her off guard and then she just answers in Chinese. But it is amazing to watch. . . we will be with Chinese friends and she goes back and forth between Chinese and English with no problem. But what we should have been concerned about was ME. I speak the wrong language to the wrong person ALL the time (sigh). I bump into a person on the bus and say "sorry" (in English). I answered an English-speaker in Chinese the other day. And one day just because my brain is crazy (or maybe Tori had watched one too many Dora's), but I said something in Spanish and I don't even speak Spanish. Gracious, my brain gets confused.

Level 2

After a two month break, I am back in classes. With just a week finished, things are going well and I am getting back into the routine. Though I have been incredibly tired each night as my brain gets used to working again! :-) Both of my teachers seem really good. But I must confess that I find my grammar/character teacher just a little scary. She is an incredible teacher, but just on the strict side (from the old school of teaching in China). And can I just say for the record, that I think level 2 is going to be hard!? But I will attempt to prevail in this ongoing battle against Chinese....

One change this term is that I am riding the bus every day (last term I was fortunate enough to get a ride with a friend on the way to school). Just a week down, and I have already had bus adventures. One day there was an accident further up the road fairly closer to where I get off. Traffic was just stopped. In fact, the bus driver had turned off the bus. After sitting there for several minutes, I knew that I was going to be late for class if I didn't get out and just walk it. So I went up and asked the driver if I could get off. He wasn't happy about it (we were not at a stop) and grumbled for a few minutes but let me off. I had this suspicion that I would start walking only for the bus to pass me a few minutes later. Thankfully I was proved wrong on that count and the bus never did catch up to me. Another day I was humored to hear two people talking about me as they sat behind me. Just as a side note, this happens ALL the time. Many laowi (a slang word for "foreigners") who live here can't speak Chinese, so most Chinese assume that they are safe discussing the laowi right in their presence. Sometimes as people are discussing me, I join in the discussion (and often shock them speechless) and sometimes I just let it go and eavesdrop. This time I opted for the second route. A little girl was sitting with her grandpa and the conversation went something like this:

Girl: Yeye (grandpa), why does that foreigner have golden hair?

Yeye: Why do you have black hair?

Girl: I don't know. I have never seen hair like that. How did it get like that?

Yeye: It just is.

I must say that I really like the yeye's response. Cause after all, we are each just people -- individually and wonderfully created. Though it can be hard to see that diversity in a country of 1.something billion people who look very much like you do.