Competition

The race is on. For educational centers here in Beijing. Gymboree has been here for many years- so they have a bit of a head start on us. BUT- they are super expensive. And we're just plain better.

BUT there is so much competition and it is a HUGE market here in Beijing. We live across the street from a women's and children hospital and it feels like we are being over run with pregnant women. 

Other alternatives here are Kindy-Roo (Australian kid's gym,) E-Blocks (a Brazilian ESL company,) Fundazzle,  A-Z Kids,  Bounceabout (inflatable place), ActiveKids, Little Feet, and My Gym. Seriously- it's an  all out brawl in the streets of Beijing for us to educate your kids. AND since they start kindergarden at 4 years old- a lot of parents don't see the need for a place like this after 3 years old.

So- our spy Claire took her son to Kindy-Roo today- and more or less its a cheap RnR rip off that is smaller, less equipment and nothing innovative. The only thing they have OVER us is the fact that they offer 55 minute long classes...but 10 of those minutes are a break. Which means....your paying for a 55 minute class that is really 45 minutes....the exact same length as a RnR class....unless we're talking Oral English which is an 80 minute long class. 

Conclusion: Bring it on Bedazzler or Kindy-POO. Rompy is about to show his teeth! Actually- we're just going to out-teach your crappy curriculums. 

BTW- Yesterday one of the girls at work told me that she was jealous because I spoke English SO WELL. I had to laugh at this- I ONLY speak English.

CARE PACKAGE!

I have received my first care package- and I AM SO excited. Seriously.

And this it totally un-lady like, but I just have to show it off. I told Madison that I would wait for her to get on Skype to open it- but I got way to excited.....so.....

I opened it.

SO GIANT THANK YOU to MADISON! I'll let the pictures speak for themselves :) If anybody see's her you have to give her a hug!!!!!!!!

And then there were two....

Well. When we returned to our apartment it felt little empty. Our apartment's healthy dose of testosterone has boarded a plane that is bound for the USA.

I accompanied the love birds to the airport today. We ate lunch there at (you'll never guess where....) a Kenny Roger's Roasted Chicken. I had only seen this on a Seinfeld Episode many ages ago (the one where Jerry and Kramer switch apartments...) It was weird going back to the airport- obvious I haven't been there since I arrived. I was in such a daze when I arrived anyway- I hardly remembered it. Terminal 3 at the Beijing Airport was built specifically for the Olympics and it is HUGE. It is a beautiful building with a triangular shape with convex lines. It's massive- according the wikipedia it is the third largest building in the world by area. It really is breathtaking. The ceiling is red for good luck but is done a thatched pattern. We ate and then Jill and Danny had the painful task of saying goodbye. It was hard for me to watch- and I can't imagine how it felt. 

The past couple of days have flown by. Things have slowed down a bit on the excitement end of things. We have done alot of the touristy stuff already- so now it's time to start picking and choosing the not so frequented desitinations. But we still have way more to do. Beijing is still so MASSIVE. I don't think we could see most of it this year if we tried.

 We went and saw 'The Legend of Kung Fu' stage show last week. It was really good- and entertaining. I'm a sucker for theater and it was well done. It was an interesting combination of Kung Fu, modern dance, aerobatics and magic. It was spoken mostly in English with a giant sign overhead doing subtitles in Chinese. You can actually see this same show in the US- and it's definetly worth it.

Then it was my birthday. Which was a quiet celebration day. I had a good time and got to have good food with good people. A few of my Chinese friends declined to eat Indian Food because they think it is 'dirty.' This is coming from a country that still loves the squat toilet....

Work has been busy for me- really busy. Writing curriculum and prepping stuff takes up a good deal of my time. Also- since we don't know how many students are going to be in each class- we can't do art prep till the day before. It's a pain in the arse. There is still a lot of down time though- and it actually is more exhausting then working. 

Schools getting ready to start back up in the States- and I am having a sad longing for it. How weird is that? But I am. I love teaching middle school- I do. I love that age of student. I also have a few tried and true students who have been keeping in touch with me. It really warms my heart when I get an e-mail from them- I don't think they could ever understand how much it makes my day.

We finished off today by seeing a movie. We went with the intention of seeing Shrek 4- but the English version wasn't playing until 10pm. So- our other options were The Last Airbender or The Expendables. I just wasn't in the mood for Stalone. I just- didn't think I could do it. So we went to see the Airbender. Now I never watched the original cartoon- but I REALLY enjoyed this movie. I know it was a kid's movie- and I know it was my M. Night Shamalamadingdong but it looked good. AND I LIKED IT! And much to my surprise now that I am surfing the web it got canned as a terrible movie. I really thought it was fun, exciting, and interesting. It dealt with some adult issues. The child acting leaves a bit to be desired- but whatever. Maybe I can no longer judge movies- maybe I just crave anything and everything English- but it was a good movie. 

Last night we watched the Imaginarium of Dr. Parnasus courtsey of iTunes rental. It's the last film that Heath Ledger starred in. Again- I really enjoyed it. If you don't like weird trippy movies that make you think- don't waste your time. BUT if you do- and you love movies with some fun archetypal issues- go ahead. Enjoy and watch a visual feast for your eyes with some outstanding acting.

The other noteworthy events were of Sunday night. To celebrate Danny's last nights in Beijing we went out to a club. We ended up meeting a couple of guys who had lived in LA on and off. They had a private table at that club and invited the three of us up. So we got to spend most of the night away from all the 'little people.' We had a private dance floor and they supplied us with more tea and fruit then you could ever want. Now I know how the other half lives- and I know I can't afford it in the USA. It was a really fun night. Although- I think Danny had more fun then anybody. 

Back to the daily grind. Pictures this week are: My birthday surprise, the Kung Fu actors, the Beijing Airport, a co-workers catapult, my birthday cake- that was uncutable...hense all the utensils...including scissors...

BTW- Today is my sister's birthday! SOOOOOOO- Everybody wish the BEST sister in the world the HAPPIEST BIRTHDAY! :) And if you see her- give her a hug from her lil' sis!!!

OK!

LOVE,LOVE,LOVE! :)

                                              

Open wide- I know your thirsty. Say Ah Ah Ah Ah :)

It's my birthday!!! 

Hurray for me! 

It has been a good day. :) Jill and Danny put their heads together and surprised me with an ice cream cake from DQ! It was awesome!!! :) :) :)  The funny part was- we went out to eat for lunch. After we are done we usually get ice cream- and today I was very loud about wanting to get myself birthday ice cream. But nobody wanted to join me for ice cream. Everybody was like 'oh no- I couldn't- I'm so full.' As we were getting up to leave I declared again that I was going to get ice cream. Danny looked at me and said "There's no time for ice cream." And- being a smart ass- I looked right back at him and said "Well- I'll leave and get it right now." So I ran off ahead of everybody and got my ice cream. So- happily with my ice cream- I walked back to the office to be surprised with a giant ice cream cake. My stubborness is not always a blessing. 

I was gifted a ceramic birdy-water-whistle, pajama's, a key chain, and a purse. :) I also have been informed that I have 4 (!) care packages on the way- and I'm SO excited. 

I know many of you were most likely worried that I would not get my Indian food fix. No worries- a mere 3 subway stops away is The Ganges. Delicious.

So- it has been a good day. Happily. I miss all of you so much, and wish  you could be here to celebrate. But do know that I feel all of the love sent my way and I'm sending it right back :)

Monday, Tuesday, Wednesday

Alright. So a few things to catch you up on personally.

I have a summer cold. Ugh- I haven't had a summer cold in a years. I really just have a stuffy nose- but it stinks. I would like to continue my running regimen but I can't breath through my nose.

Monday was my big interview. My big interview consisted of me walking up to the government official- smiling- and they stamped all of my stuff.

Then my friend Michelle who had accompanied took me to the Lama Temple. The Lama Temple is a HUGE buddhist complex- with many halls each filled with more and more amazing Buddha's. People burn incense and ask for things and pray. I asked Michelle about the whole 'Tibeten' mess. And she just matter-of-factly told me that Tibet belongs to China. Open and shut case. Haha.  

The best part of the temple is the 60 foot tall wooden carving of buddha- it's breath taking. 

Then we went to Indian food for lunch- sort of like a warm up for Friday (aka my birthday.) 

Then we went to the Max Star Music Festival. It was a long day of good old fashioned pop music spectacular. It was held in a BEAUTIFUL ancient park- beautiful. :) A lot of Chinese pop stars are in-fact Korean's who come to the bigger market to make the big bucks. The most popular group was Hit-5. But much to my cruel delight- every time anybody said their name it went from 2 syllables into 4 syllables. Hit-tuh Five-vuh.

Yesterday, we did not do much of anything. We just hung around the apartment. Jill and I successfully payed all of our bills despite not speaking any Chinese, got more water for our water colors, and finally, got another key card for our building. There was much rejoicing in Apt #1032. We went to Bar Street to try a pizza place/ Belgium beer garden. DELICIOUS. Danny and Jill decided to go to a club- so I caught a cab ALL BY MYSELF and made it home ALL BY MYSELF.  I didn't even use the piece of paper with our address written on it- I just told them our Subway stop and directed him. I -again- did a little dance of pride. :)

Today at work I am the only one in our department here. Yup. Nobody else here really speaks English. Result- I'm not doing any work. I went out and got my NEW favorite dish called Dien Dien Mein. It's a SPICY noodle soup with cilantro. YUM.

Fun stuff too- the police called here today looking for me. Oh yah- big Chinese trouble maker. Apparently they are fact checking me for my work permit....so I would like to take this time to remind everybody how much I LOVE CHINA. And have I mentioned....how much I love the Chinese Government. They are awesome! haha :) And the Chinese Police are some of the finest officers in the ENTIRE world. 

There also have been a few firings/quitings/changes here at Romp N Roll. None of our main players have left- but Scary Mary has left. So- actually I feel like everybody is pretty happy. Also- a sweet sales girl also left- which was sad. We took pictures and gave hugs.

I'm including a few pictures as always.

-One is from the files of Jill and Danny- where they got Thai Chicken. And ate all of the chicken. For real. 

-Then we have the main 'crew' from the music festival: Jill, Cici, Nana & Me!

-Incense prayers to Buddha.

-Festival Stage.

Happy Chinese Valentines Day! :)

So for those of you Romeo's who may have missed good ol' Feb 14th don't worry because August 16th is here- or the Chinese Valentines Day. 

Some fun facts about couples & romance in China....

A big thing over here is for couples to match their outfits- I guess as a sign of closeness. 

Also- public display is very common EXCEPT for kissing. They hold hands, they hug, but kissing in public is rare. 

Today- the big gift was ROSES of course!

And of course- everybody needs to know how to say 'I LOVE YOU' in chinese....

ready.... wo eye knee :) 

So, Wo Eye Knee everybody....

Hukou, you know?

Very rarely does a day go by in the Washington Post that China doesn't make some kind of headline.

Today, one really grabbed by attention and you should be able to read the article here---->China 'hukou' System Deemed Outdated

Short explanation- Here in China you are given a sort of 'Internal Passport' to prove residency of an area called a 'hukou.' Since they don't have social security and drivers licenses are still a new concept these tend to be a pretty important document. It allows you access to local health care, subsidized apartments, and access to public school. BUT- in certain areas it is hard to get a hukou- Beijing being the hardest area. The reason is that they want to prevent too many people trying to settle here and overwhelming the infrastructure. So-What does that mean? A good percentage of the population here pays taxes but gets no benefits from it. It doesn't effect my age group as much- but when you want to settle down/have kids it becomes a really big problem.

So I asked my co-workers- how does Hukou affect you? Nana is from Inner Mongolia (North West China) and Herby is from the noodle capitol (forgetting the name!) somewhere in the North East. So here are some interesting things they told me. That everything in the article is in fact true- and that a lot of girls who are not Beijing natives actually search out boy Beijingers. It also makes the universities here in Beijing harder for outsiders them to get into since they reserve spots for Beijingers. But on the flip side- there is a saying that people in Beijing tend to not acheive as much since everything is so easily given to them. It sounds like the impression was that Beijingers tend to be more blue collar workers rather then the higher ups. There are ways to get Hukou's- mostly through REALLY REALLY nice jobs. But it is difficult. Generally it sounds like an outdated system that in essence creates two classes of citizens. 

In other news I have a big government interview tomorrow for my work visa. I can't lie and say that I am not nervous. I have seen WAY too many episodes of 'Locked Up Abroad.' But as far as I know I am not trying to smuggle anything in or out so I should be OK. 

In other other news- I think I just got unofficial confirmation of my plane ticket home for Christmas. Which means- they'll be paying! Woot woot!

OK- I can't think of a better way to end a post- then with that positive news. PHEW! Exciting! :)

So you know the deal...love, love, love! :)