Tag Archives: China

How to install a heater by crawling out a window!

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My heater unit doesn’t work.  It is rather cold.  So the land lord sent over a new one.  The compressor is outside my high rise kitchen window on a small ledge.  Why in the world is it on a ledge out a window and not a balcony with a door?  It is China, that is why!  So I took pictures of the workmen removing it and installing the new one.  This is a accident in the making and an insurance law suit in America.  Enjoy the pictures.  I laughed at the entire event.  The two workers did tie a harness to each other.  Ha!  If one fell the other would topple right out my window with him!

I was counted in the Chinese census

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The amount of people in China, is just overwhelming.  Every bit of land is covered with gardens, fruit trees, wheat, canals taking water to rice, sky high apartments or maybe 4-story homes.  Traveling I’ve noticed the massive semi-trucks are much longer and higher than American semi’s.  Passing trucks of rabbits and pigs stacked on top of each other, it is amazing to see the amount of food going down the road.

Tour boat riding seats many and even had a squatter toilet!  No thanks!

One observance is picture taking.  The Chinese take pictures of each other and love to pose.  They love their children.  Some have funny poses!  Isn’t it fun to take pictures of people acting up?  I have more pictures of me now, because my new Chinese friends, want to take pictures of me using my camera.

Speaking of population, I was counted in the Chinese census.  They actually came by three different nights!  I think I was an anomaly with four of them on the last night to double or triple check!  So we have over 8 million in Nanjing– that is just a guess, more than New York City.  Probably when it is all said and done, much larger than 8 mil!

What’s funny — I am counted twice on this planet, here and in the America census last year.

Toilets in China

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So many questions about bathroom facilities.   These are the little commodes and urinals at the the daycare connected to the high school in Suzhou.   I took a picture as I had never seen a tiny urinal…. It is unusual to see tiny toilets or any western toilets in China.

This is a basic  ladies rest room.  You squat facing the door, cause if some one opens the door you want them to see your face not your booty, so says Alice my friend.  You do not flush any paper products.  There is NO toilet paper in majority of bathrooms, so you bring your own.  The paper you carry comes in packages like this.  You carry a small pack of 10 little kleenex.  If you forget, you hope a friend has some.  Otherwise, well you can guess.  Personally I hold one over my nose when I squat, as the smells are usually horrendous!  A friend told me always lean forward or you might fall in.  I have heard some people have dropped their cell phones in there!  Good bye phone.  By the way this is a clean one at the school.

You will notice in my downstairs bathroom, it is tiled floor and walls with a drain in the floor.  Can be convenient if you have a water issue!  You see a white hose, that is the run out from my washer.  I also have a mop sink, very hygienic, don’t you think?  In my upstairs bathroom, above the commode or western lou I have a hot water heater for my shower.  Never flush the toilet and jump into the shower right after, the water will stop and you will be cold and wet for a few minutes until the water tank fills back up.  The water heater in my kitchen heats water for the kitchen and sink in the downstairs bathroom only.  No hot water for the washing machine.  This is the heater that ignites loudly when you turn the hot water on in the sinks.  It does get ever so hot.

High School Sports Event

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October 26, 2010

Friday was our high school all day sports event.  The students were bused across town at 6:20 am to the Sports Pavilion.  This pavilion is like Cowboy Stadium in Dallas for all the major sports events.  The high school rented it for $8000US, so cheap!   I think about renting Denton stadium for AHS graduation, in comparison.  The western teachers did not have to attend until 3 pm.  Some of us signed up to run a relay!  Yes, that would be me!

The week before the art club painted masks for the opening ceremony.  It is pomp and circumstance when it comes to ceremonies in China.  They like flags and each class had a huge individually created flag to march in with.  Students had different  T-shirts to separate classes and grades.   I had helped one group from the public school paint shirts in my room last week.  They were quite smart in design and I was given one.  My art club won first place for the most creative opening ceremony look!  Go Art Club!

Tess, another seasoned western teacher, Dan and I took a cab to the event.  Dan, Johnathan and I represented the IB teachers against the Chinese public high school teachers.  We are not in the best of shape for running a sprint, ok I speak for myself.  Johnathan is fast but after the hand off I jogged to the next runner, causing us to be in last place.  The public teachers had a couple ringers, like olympic runners that are teachers.

We won a lamp for our efforts.  That lit up my day!

Michael Bolton is a hit in China! Ha, ya’ll!

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October 7, 2010

Up at 6:30 am, I can never sleep in.   A Latte is in order, using a coffee filter, tea strainer and IKEA frothier with my S.I.T. ground coffee, I whip up a strong one.  Today I think I will look out the upstairs balcony window.  Across the way is a young man pacing on his roof top terrace with a book in hand.  I saw him yesterday morning doing this.  Is he studying for a test?  SAT exams are coming up.  They are not offered in China. High school seniors planning to go to college abroad or in America will need this test for their application.   Students travel to Hong Kong to take it on October 8th and 9th.  The flight is over two hours, I can imagine the expense.  I look further down to the courtyard and there are twelve people in three rows doing Tai Chi.  That looks easy so I stand up in my purple night gown and brown fuzzy knee length robe and begin to follow the movements.  This is interesting, the movements give the impression of slowly moving your prana around and then there is a quick movement to push it off of you.  I like this.  It might get rid of bad spirits.  Although I moved half way around the world you would think I had gotten away from the bad spirits, but who knows, maybe a little Tai Chi is in order.  I brew another cup of coffee and trot back to my perch on the balcony. The class is over but two students remain practicing with red fluffy fans.  The movements are fluid and almost hypnotic.  This is quite enjoyable to watch, much better than TV.

Alice called last night while I waited on wedding fire crackers to explode and wanted to meet in the center of the city to listen and buy some music.  I hailed a taxi and off I went.  The city is different at night, with all the lights and many people bustling around.  I meet her at a foot bridge and we walked to a side street and into a CD shop.  Sawyer is there chatting with the owner, they are friends.  We look at music and it seems the Chinese are in love with some of my favorite music from 90’s.  Michael Bolton, Celine Dion, and Kenny G are their favorites.  To all of my art teacher friends, Mr. Garrott, Miss Gilly and Mrs. Arago you put up with my Michael Bolton posters and music, guess what they are hits here and now!  Ha, I told you this was good music.  Now a whole country loves them too!  I ended up with some old Beatles, Hall and Oates, Norah Jones and Sheryl Crow for 15RMB each.  The discussions centered on what Americans listen to now.  I had to break it to the shop owner Bolton is no longer a big hit in America.  Americans move on to newer musicians and melodies.  He just couldn’t believe me!

We walked down the street and there were night vendors set up on the sidewalk.  I checked out burlap looking shoes, PJ’s and then my eye went to some old Chinese art books.  Ah ha, a find!  I ended up with two, one on Ceramics and the other on paintings.  They are fabulous, colorful and of course in Chinese.  But art is universal, who needs words?

Someone is shooting fireworks this morning, I can’t see where they are coming from in the daylight, bummer.  I woke up about 1 am hearing a huge display of Roman Candles go off.  In a variety of colors and array of lights, it was like a dandelion explosion.  Then a phone call from Possum Kingdom followed.  My realtor is renewing my property contract in the Hills over PK.  Anyone interested in two acres overlooking the lake?  It is too far for me to vacation!

Chinese laundry

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October 6, 2010

Looking out the living room window I see a wedding at the 5-star hotel across the street.  It looks like a magnificent event with two or did I see three chefs?  Wish I had a pair of binoculars so I could see what’s happening up close.  Remember the TV show “Friends” and how they always looked out of their New York apartment window and would see the naked guy in the apartment across?  I think I could do that here, looking into thousands of apartment windows and seeing what’s happening.  Or they could be looking at the blonde western girl running around in her apartment in a purple night gown!  Ha which is funnier?  Ok back to the wedding, I hear something in Chinese from loud speakers, are they married yet?  What fun, maybe there will be a firecracker event to follow?  Maybe I can take some photographs.  Hey Alex, I need some help with night exposures and fire crackers.  I remember your wonderful photos last year in HL art class.  Gee I wish you were here to help me with my photography.  This is the fourth wedding party I have seen around the city in the last few days.  I was told it is good luck and good fortune to marry during the week of the National Holiday (remember this is China’s 4th of July!  Well sort of, I don’t they are celebrating independence from Britain.  Maybe it is just a happy week to be Chinese.  I’m happy to be in China and to be living the oriental lifestyle.  Shoot some firecrackers, would you!

Speaking of culture, Patti has been curious about the laundry issue in China, so I am devoting this blog to doing Chinese Laundry.  My little washer is nice, except it is written in Chinese, so I had it deciphered onto a green post-it.  (By the way “post-its” doesn’t exist here; I brought these from the states!)  My laundry detergent smells great and we all know how I like good smells.  The washer is only connected to cold water and I was told to do a warm wash, you boil water and pour it in.  Ok I did that for towels, seems to work.  Then after it is “dry”, that’s what the Chinese say, actually it is the “spin cycle” in America.  It is now ready for the dryer.  Don’t have dryers in China, ok they do but not in my apartment.  I actually haven’t seen one here, but know they do exist.  Where, I don’t know?  So in my case it is a walk upstairs to my master bedroom, open the sliding door and out onto the balcony.  This is where I have a clothes line pulley system.  You turn the lever and down comes one line which I bought a couple little hanger thingies to hang unmentionables on.  Then when this line is full you move the handle to the other lever and roll this pile up in the air and the other line rolls down.  I know what a wooden clothespin is, do you?  I actually bought some at the Suguo!  Cheap ones at that, cause they sprang apart, and I have bits and pieces in my nightstand drawer.  My balcony faces the south, which is good luck.  This side gets all the sun so clothes dry faster.  I like the balcony it is enclosed with glass panels which move and let you open them up and get a nice breeze.  Hanging clothes reminds me of my childhood in Plano when my mom did laundry.  She hung it out on the clothes line and the sheets and towels would get so stiff.  I remember the wind blowing them and me having to hang and bring them in.  I am reminded of hanging Ruth Ann’s diapers one after another.  Mom will recall when I was three I had a “blankie”, she would wash it for me and I would go hold onto it as it hung to dry.  It had a satin border and I recollect how cool it was on my face when I was warm.  Now that is a long time ago, and I still like blankets, as I brought my down comforter in the satin coverlet with me to China.  Still like that cool feeling when it is hot.  Since I don’t have anyone to hang onto, this is a good replacement, soft, cuddly and no emotional attachment.

8 Million and the “Joker”

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October 5, 2010

I was trying to figure out my metal rice box container on rollers located under my kitchen cabinet when Michael called and said meet him at S.I.T (Sculpting in Time) for lunch.  Many of the taxi drivers don’t know where this ex-pat place is so I called Alice to get it said in Chinese.  The last time I had a driver drop me off, I ended up a couple blocks away and was lost.  There are no outstanding landmarks and every place begins to look the same, especially if you can’t read Chinese characters.   This time I was dropped off right in front, need to get Alice to write that out for me in Chinese.  I met up with Michael and he introduced me to Derrick and Annette, a married couple from England.  Derrick and Michael taught together last year.  They have an electric bike to buzz around in and said their drive is 25 minutes from their new place in the “burbs!”  A long way, but they have more western furnishings, like a “UK bouncy” bed and dryer!  The population of the city was a major discussion.  I read it was 2.8 million.  The men said hardly, it was more like 8 million.  In five years it has doubled as people want to be closer to the conveniences of the city and better jobs.  No wonder I think it is so huge, it’s like New York.  Alice and Sawyer joined up for lunch.  Then the three of us took off walking and searching for light bulbs.  We actually found a vendor on the street that had what I needed, so I bought three.  This business of being able to find specialty items in specific places persuades me to buy extra.  I ask for a business card, so I can find his place again.  My wallet if bulging with business cards after living here a month and a half.

Sawyer wants to watch movies so we head back to my place.  He invites a movie editor friend visiting from Beijing.  His name is “Joker” like in the Batman movie.  What is it with strange American names, Chinese people give themselves?  He brought an old Michael Douglas movie, “The Game.”  Joker says it is one of his favorites.  It is an old 90’s movie and edgy.  I wasn’t too excited about the plot.  Afterwards we had a discussion about what Americans watch on TV.  He has a preconceived notion Americans watch old movies, like black and whites from the 40’s up to the 80’s!  He likes “Bonnie and Clyde” and watches it repeatedly.  I am thinking Americans are more interested in new flicks, not old stuff like on the Turner network.   The discussion went to political land accessions of China, such as Taiwan, North Korea and Tibet.  Are these separate countries or Chinese?  Would I be arrested if I wore a “Free Tibet” T-shirt?  Sawyer said, nah, not that many people can read English and would just pass me by on the street!  Now if I was in Tiananmen Square that might be different.  Ok no protesting there!  The conversation over democracy whiffs in the air and we decide China is becoming democratic and maybe the US is becoming socialist!  Are the countries flipping beliefs? Somehow the conversation drifts to an in depth debate about ghosts.  We discuss “The Sixth Sense.’  Joker and I agree it is an intense movie.  He doesn’t believe in God or ghosts!  Oh my, I can debate this issue for hours.  He has no idea what metaphysics or theosophy is so we can’t get to in-depth. I am reminded he just like movies, which is why, he is a movie trailer editor.

I realize without my cell phone, internet or TV I spend much of my time in discussion with people.  I like being connected and not distracted.  I like the cultural education I am getting.

John Mayer! and no Houston Hair.

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John Mayer

October 3, 2010

How do you spell John Mayer?   I bought a CD by him today.  I realize it is pirated because my dyslexic mind saw the title John Marter and never realized it was misspelled.  The picture was of John Mayer but it is a Chinese copy.  I am laughing at this minute looking at the CD cover and listening to the CD.  It’s fabulous, with a DVD of him as well…. And I paid 10 Yuan for it.  I have a feeling I will be in the disc store more than anywhere now.  John Marter, wonder if the John Lennon was Jon Lemon?

Filo and Colina which they pronounce Fin-o and Cole-leah-a accompanied me shopping today.  Does anyone understand the way Chinese spell in English?  We went to Aqua City and had a great time looking at clothes and shoes.  H&M is my favorite shop.  Sam got me hooked on this place when I was in Boston.  Sam I found some really cute skinny legged jeans that bunch up at the ankles for 149 Yuan ($22.50) OMG they are so cute, even the girls liked them.  Shoes, well that was another thing, they are so different than in the US, much more fashionable and unique, but cost more than in the US.  So no shoes today!  Can’t pay $50-80 yet…..  I like DSW in the states and $25 shoes.  Got a toaster oven, yeah now I can “sort of” bake!  Found Kenya coffee in the Starbucks and it is the same price world wide, but you know me and a good cup of java!  KENYA is best, I could thank Kyle for that lesson.  Patti, I found this little gadget at IKEA to frappe warm milk into froth.  I can now make a real latte without a coffee maker.  I found coffee filters and use them to drip my African coffee.  I am getting milk from the milk lady on a daily basis at 6:30 am for 59 Yuan a month.  Someone tell me how cool is it to have milk delivered to your door?

The sun was out all day, with a nice cool breeze.  It was lovely.  I mentioned to the girls I was having a good hair day, because my curls were still curly at 3pm.  It is so humid and damp here or hot and sweaty that my hair ends up damp and sticking to my head like when I lived in Houston.  (Remember “Houston Hair?”)  I told the girls we need to curl their hair, cause no one has curly hair here.  Little did I know that it is unacceptable to have curly hair in China!  They told me that Chinese only have straight hair and if they curled it that would be against the rules at school.  So am I going against the rules?  Yes I guess I am, but I am a teacher and they said that was ok.  Would they look too much like a western girl?  Interesting, so I guess I need my “Free Tibet” shirt and curly hair and I would be a real rebel!  Someone make me a Free Tibet shirt, I am feeling like I need to be a hellion today!

During this beautiful clear afternoon I took pictures out my penthouse balcony windows and realized I could see the furthest point of the Yangtze Bridge.  Wow, it is really far, there are many mountains way off in the distance and countless high rise buildings, and apartments.  It’s amazing how much you can see out my windows, just miles and miles of skyscrapers with people in every window.  China has a huge population and I just never realized what a large place this is.  You can see it all from my window.  I love my view, it is amazing and fascinating.  Fireworks go off almost every hour all over the city and they are spectacular from my view.  I love it here.  China and Chinese people are fantastic.  Americans thought this was a black hole, but I have news for you it is really a red nation of lovely warm friends. Red, yes the color is everywhere and on everything.   I actually feel tall here!  Sarah how do you like that, I can call people here “little ones” like you call me.  Wait till you get here, they will really stare at you, probably more than me!  That makes me laugh, “tall one!”

Jenny and Lynn are thinking I need to date!  Lynn thinks he has some professor friends at Nanjing University that he might set me up with!  OMG!  Dating again, I don’t know!  All my American friends said I would come back with a Chinese guy, I don’t know!  I just don’t think so!  Do you think there is anyone out there that can actually care for me?  I am such a hand full. Jenny is so cute, she says husbands should take care of their wife’s, why would you marry one if he didn’t?  Duh, I did!  Let me count three times I believe!  Women here presume not only should men take care of you, but they should provide a home for you as well.  Like purchase land and a house for you.  Well somewhere I went wrong, and did not get this message in America!  What was I doing working three jobs and paying for it all?  Hello!  I am in China and learning my lessons!

Technology shopping and Ikea

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October 2, 2010

I have a Blu-ray.  Surprise, it came with the apartment.  Sawyer took me to “technology row” in Hunan Village.  We got an I-pod docking system that looks like a fat white pig.  You touch his ears and volume goes up on one and down on the other.  His smiling mouth lights up green.  Randy you told me technology would be so cheap in China because it is made here.  Got news for you, NOT!  It seems the Chinese export all these name brands to America and then to sell them in China they have to import them back, causing the price to rise.  So I probably paid the same price for this little guy as I would in the states.  We then went to the disc store to buy DVD’s and CD’s.  Now this was cheap and fun.  I was able to get six Blu-ray movies all top American summer hits for 10 Yuan each, about $1.50 each.  We lounged on the sofa and watched “Julie and Julia” last night after Alice cooked dinner for us.  We had to get a wok at Suagao for her to cook a delicious Chinese style dinner of stir fried greens, eggs and peas, broccoli with red chilies and a dish of pesto pasta.   I made the pasta.  Alice can come and cook anytime.

I feel like a kid in a candy shop when we walk around the city and look at the sites.  It was the National holiday yesterday, like our July 4th.   Four red ball lanterns decorate the store fronts and cafes creating a festive atmosphere downtown.  Lively and full of people eating, chatting and playing with their little children we walk into a city sitting area, with a pond and large space to see children learning to ride bikes and roller stating.   Two old men are squatting on the pavement selling frogs and dragonflies they have made from bamboo leaves.  We buy two.  Alice wants a yogurt with these little transparent beads and poppy seeds in it, looking like fish eggs floating on top.  Sawyer and I have lemon tea.  We walk on and shop.

Shopping is getting to be my favorite pastime, or eating!  Jenny, my math colleague and her husband Lynn took me to Ikea in their car.  What a treat, driving around and seeing the city.  This is one large town.  Ikea is great and in English too!   I was able to find a mattress pad that is spongy for both beds, duvet, blanket, candles, utensils, glasses, rugs, pans and just all that stuff you think you need to survive in China.  The afternoon has been fun unpacking all my goodies.

These next few days I am without the internet, so blogging will be interesting.  Sarah the parent of my student Filo, is letting me connect to her internet.  Yes that is the American name she picked—strange because it makes me think of flaky pastry dough!  Students love to pick their own names for us to call them.  I have one named Moon, and  I would say that was a good choice for a name.  Others named Roy, Marina, Arno, and then normal names like Amy and William.   Tomorrow Filo and I may go out shopping.  This might be fun to see what teenagers like to shop for.

High Rise Living

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Living in a Chinese high rise is a new experience for this Texan.  Looking out at dusk over the city as lites are popping on and fire crackers are exploding at a near by street I realize I am looking at something totally different than I ever saw from any of my past homes.  In celebration of my move I am having a French  Bordeaux wine in my  Confucius Temple mug while boiling some spiral pasta to have Pesto Pasta I purchased at the Carrefour store.   Plus some Spanish olives on the side.  A very internationally prepared  set of ingredients for this new to China cook.  It will be yummy.

My move has kept me cleaning for a couple days.  Meeting up with the landlady, I realized the place had not been cleaned, just painted and lights fixed.   I need it clean!  She had two maids come and  the washing machine man  fix my washer.  Seems everything needed repaired.  The maids got most of the dust, but the folks that lived before never cleaned anything.  So every nook and cranny needed attention.  I could not locate bleach, or any kind of American cleaners in the grocery store.  Sawyer said to use Mr. Muscle cleaner, which I found for every job you need.  It works!  There are no paper towels in Chinese stores, which makes it  interesting wiping grim away using cloth dish towels.  I have dusted and mopped the floors so they are sparkling.  You can walk around bare footed or wear Chinese house shoes that are at my front door.  Debbra Carrol is worried about my bathroom facilities having read about the trenches.  Deb- I have two western toilets, just like in the states!  I don’t have an oven to bake or dryer for clothes, seems that is not a necessity in China, something I will have to learn to live without.  Maybe I will buy a toaster oven, no major cooking of pies, cookies, artichoke dip, or lasagna. Darn!  There is a box like contraption on my kitchen wall that comes on with an exploding  sound of gas igniting when I turn on the hot water.  That is taking some getting use to.  I have three wall air conditioners, which don’t seem to have a filter system, or at least I don’t think so.  Air is pulled in from the outside along with the dust and I am finding a thin layer deposited daily on my floors.   No wonder Chinese don’t like these units.  Central AC/heat is the way to go.

My king size bed was an interesting find.  It had a blue mattress with an old mattress like pad on top and on top of that was a rattan mat.  I sat on it and no comfort did I feel.  I tossed the pad and rolled the rattan mat up and stored it.  Then I bought a brush to sweep the blue felt like mattress.  I thought I might be able to take the cover off and wash it, but not hardly.  When I started to unzip it I found this hard Brillo pad bed inside.  Impossible to remove the cover from a Brillo pad!  Off I went to the Suguo and bought a new mattress pad.  I found my American sheets I had brought from the states and made the bed.  I did buy another pillow.  My giant down comforter and soft pillow I brought from America topped off the bed.  My first night was not so comfortable, as the bed needs a few more of those mattress pads.  Jenny, my Math colleague said she would take me to Ikea to get more!  Yeah a shopping trip in a car.

My first morning I made scrambled eggs and coffee.  I can cook again.  Coming down almost thirty floors by elevator, I am thinking, wonder what happens when the electricity goes off.  This is a long minute or more ride.  I walk out onto a beautiful morning.  The air is fresh and blowing my hair.  Men are busy digging up something in the man holes right by the back door.  What in the world are they digging up, oh my it is raw sewage.  Then I get a sniff and realize they are bagging it into large flour sack bags.   What a job, not mine, thank God.  I am about to the point of running as I move past them and notice they have about a hundred bags of pooh next to the cement fenced wall.  I hope this not a daily job!  That evening when I came back all the bags were gone and there was no smell.  It has made me notice that there is many small excavations around town, wonder if this is a town wide plumping issue?  Oh well, I’m high enough I shouldn’t smell it, right?