Do we have any big plans? Yes! Manicures/Pedicures! And massages! I don't know if I am going to get a massage- even though for an hour it is only $10USD. That is one crazy thing here: Labor is painfully cheap. No wonder businesses have shipped production here. It's hard to compete with! I'm not even sure how much a cleaning lady costs in the US- but here we pay here about 10 yuan an hour. That's almost $1.50.
Last two days have been pretty crazy. We held 3 outside events- even though the weather has been GROSS and hot. Luckily they held Jill and I back at the store to teach class, and only poor Nana had to swelter in the unbearable heat. Work is long and has a lot of down time. Which I think is worse then being busy. Also- there have been lots of miscommunications lately and kids have ended up where they shouldn't be. Or haven't showed up at all. It's frustrating to say the least. Although- I have been slightly busy typing away on this Rompy Learns English class. I should be working on it more then I have- but I am taking my time and want to hear back from RnR Corporate HQ before I go ahead and write 12 weeks of stuff that is going to be scrapped.
I haven't really talked much about the naming process here in China. Your parents obviously name you at birth here- in a traditional Chinese name. Then you usually get a childhood nickname. They are short and repetitive GouGou or MungMung and usually mean something adorable. GouGou means chinese princess for example. Then you ALSO get an American name. Now here is the funny thing- sometimes they are proper names: Lily, Sean, Levi. And sometimes they are just straight up nouns: Sky, Puppy or Tiger. I teach Puppy. He's a great kid. Also- as an adult you can pick/choose and and change your American name at will. Turns out my good friend Nana was just recently Emma- but changed it at RnR because she thought it would be easier for kids to say. Her real name is ShuYoung. Which I think is nicer then both of those names.
Jill and I have been going to the gym pretty consistently. It's on the way home from work and I can't justify not going. They have dance classes- which I can't wait to take advantage of next week. This week we've just been running on the treadmill, crunches and using the machines. Great thing about working out at a Chinese gym in the dead of summer is they don't really have what I would classify as 'air conditioning.' It's sort of like a/c's weaker, not as worth while, cousin. Also- since the humidity has been WAY over a 100% recently it sort of is like working out in a sauna. You've never sweat so much from a 20 minute run. Well- only Jill and I really sweat, everybody else seems to just glow. You feel very accomplished- you probably lose 5lbs water weight from an hour sitting in the gym. Another great thing our gym has is the infamous floor toilet. Yes ladies and gentlemen- there is no actual pot. No porcelain glory to lay your cheeks upon. Just a hole in the ground. It still flushes- oddly enough. Although nobody told me. It's hard to explain. I'll take pictures next time- maybe do some diagraming for you.
One big to-do for Jill and I yesterday was our rented movie: Girl with the Dragon Tattoo. I read the first two books in the series at the beach and have been craving for the third one. I tried to take it with me at the airport- but really had run out of room and weight limit. It got left behind. ::sigh:: I regret it. So to make myself feel better I rented the movie via iTunes. It's a little expensive to do so- but it was SO worth it. The movie was an EXCELLENT adaptation of the book. A few things were changed to make it flow more- but really good. Highly recommend it. The movie was made in Sweden so the whole thing was in subtitles. But Swedish is a lot like English. Although- there were points that sounded a bit too much like the Muppet's Swedish Chef. Flurgen Burgen Jeurgen.
That's a really typical night time activity for Jill and I. We plop down on our huge red velvet couch, snuggle in with our pillows and blankies, and sit in front of the warm glow of my mac. Unfortunately though- we've run out of TV shows that I have downloaded. I think its going to make me really desperate here soon- and I may be downloading entire seasons of American Television. Hulu doesn't work here. Neither does Netflix. We have a lame youtube replacement called youqu. But it doesn't have QUITE the selection.
Hmm...what else what else what else??
I can't stress how glad I am that Jill is here. We are having a blast together! Also- for being around each other 24/7 we get along splendidly. We were making plans about what we're going to do together when we got back to US- but then had to laugh for a minute. That's right- after 1 year of being around each other 24/7 we suddenly wouldn't be able to survive without the other. We'll have to make late night phone calls just to hear the other one sleeping.
I can't think of much else to report. Smog is still in place. Media is still repressed. We still don't know Chinese.
So signing off! Till next time! Love! Love! LOVE!!!!!!!!!
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