This is How We Do It

“We could’ve had it all, rollin’ in the deep…” Adele has been my absolute muse the past twenty-four hours.

As of Friday, I have been in Shanghai exactly one month. What a month it’s been. Things have changed for the good or the bad; there have been gains and losses. I feel like I’ve hardly had any time to myself… I’ve been too busy experiencing Shanghai culture, learning how to say important things like “I’m a teacher” (“wo shi laoshi”) and “to go” (“da bao”). I’ve gotten lost and ended up walking a mile in the wrong direction (Sam doesn’t believe I have a good sense of direction because of this…). I’ve gotten McDonalds delivered to the campus at 10 in the morning.

I still need to have a day before fall comes where I walk around and take pictures of the campus, it’s absolutely gorgeous. It’s definitely a bubble; we’re walled in with guarded gates, our green forest is a stark contrast to the urban setting outside, and our well-kept buildings clash against the stained, aged buildings right outside. Yet it’s also very easy to leave that bubble. All you need to do is step onto Baise Lu and you’re assaulted with mild stares, children running all over the place, little kids peeing on buildings, a trash bag full of live frogs crawling over each other, and exhaust everywhere. Hop in a taxi and for only a couple of dollars you’re taken to the French Concession, filled with bars, clubs, and western restaurants. Grab a metro and you can go into downtown, though we only go every other weekend or so, and you’re thrown right into the middle of city life. It’s still a little overwhelming how huge the city is.

There are also moments where you go “god, I’m not in Kansas anymore.” Like the previously mentioned giant bag of frogs. Or hour-long body massages where you have to keep them from sticking their hands in places strangers shouldn’t go. Or when a bus starts just randomly driving on the sidewalks. Or when you can get McDonalds delivered to your door at four in the morning.

Teaching has been fine so far. We’re hitting the end of the first month, so we’re getting our “monthly” exams in. I’m already grading them and going “what, how did you miss that, I said it five times in class?!” or being really proud of some students. My ninth graders have gotten better, we’ve become more comfortable with each other, and they understand I don’t take shit. My tenth graders are still plenty of fun. And now I have sixth graders! Apparently I wasn’t teaching enough, so they added an oral English class that I get to be driven to, since it’s at a local Chinese middle school. I’m definitely the only white chick in a kilometer-range, so I got lots of stares. But the kids are absolutely adorable in their little uniforms.

I also greatly enjoy my coworkers. The office is a fun environment, where we play Friday every Friday and have intense political conversations (as we all range from far left to far right, but are smart enough to enjoy a good debate and not get ridiculous – though I’m pretty sure we all thing Bachmann is a joke) as well as weird conversations about whatever comes to mind. The “new” teachers usually go out every weekend, and we sing and dance in the back of taxis to get the Chinese to stare at us. They’re all great, and if you have a particularly bad drunken night they all text you in the morning to make sure you’re okay. (There were unlimited refills of the sangrias! Don’t judge!) Though we all agree that teaching is how one becomes a fat alcohol – you get out of class at 11 and need a drink and some chocolate, pronto.

On that note, the food continues to be excellent. I know how to work my stove, but to be honest it’s easier (and about the same price) to just go out and eat every night. There’s a plethora of restaurants, street food, and anything else you can imagine in the immediate area, and the French Concession a cab ride away if you really are killing for American. I have cereal (with no milk), peanut butter, jelly (no bread), and I keep trying to remember to buy fruit for the mornings. Surprisingly, though, I’m not a big fan of Chinese instant noodles. They just taste a little bit funky. I think I’m going to have to invest in some frozen dumplings or something… Once I get paid. I have no money right now. (Hence the lack of milk and bread.)

With all this eating and drinking, you must be concerned about my weight. But you forget that I live on the fifth floor. Lots of stair climbing, and lots of walking all over campus/Shanghai. At the same time, though, I’ve started running! We’ve done a mile and then a mile and a half, but our goal is the Great Wall Marathon in May. Hell yes that is as badass as it sounds. Also badass is that we’re looking into taking a once-a-week kung fu class. And this is why I’m living in China as opposed to staying in the States.

That’s really all that’s been going on. One last note is that Kevin and I broke up yesterday, but I’m trying not to linger on it and stay positive. If he wasn’t going to listen to what I was saying or try and understand my point of view, we probably weren’t going to work in the long-run anyway.

On a happier note! I’m addicted to Chinese TV. There’s this one soap opera that I watched for a day; apparently these two people got drunk and married, and now they’re figuring out their social life. And then there’s Dragon Ball Z in Chinese. We also have ESPN, CNN, and BBC, so I get American news as well as Chinese.

Alrighty. Next update will be Beijing. Four of us are going from the 3rd to the 7th. I’m excited. Peace out, miss you guys.

“Regrets and mistakes, they’re memories made…”