Fer SERIOUS?

Things that are tolerable to the Chinese:

-Spitting everywhere

-Parking on the side-walk

-Preventing peaceful gatherings of the people

-Making well-known artists "disappear"

-Accusing human right's activists as 'medaling'

-Imprisoning Chinese dissidents

-Putting relatives of said dissidents under permanent house arrest

Things that are intolerable to the Chinese:

-Closing down a Mac Store when I'm trying to get my iPad on

My Chinese Family

So- one of the biggest events of the past 3 weeks was the arrival of the Czaplicki family in China. For my parents this was their first time out of the country- and they made it pretty much to the other side of the world. Let's give them a round of applause for making the jump.

After the 13 hours flight- they were feeling a little rough to say the least. Everybody does. We made the hour long trip back to my apartment and immediately started fighting the jet-lag. Luckily- I have worked so much overtime that I more or less took the entire week off to be with them.
My parents have called their trip to China the gauntlet- they claim that I put them through a torturous 7 days of non-stop tourism. I feel that I just made them well-educated on the Beijing area.

First day we hit up dumplings, grocery shopping, & Summer Palace.
Second day was Great Wall with Herbie (!) at Mutanyu. The wall is a hike (no pun intended) so we just took it easy the rest of the day.
Then it was on to Forbidden City, Jingshan Park and LiQin's Duck. LiQin's is tucked in a hutong- and no cab drive EVER seems to know where the 'frick this duck place is. Our cab drive took us most of the way there stopped- and then this pedi-cab came out of nowhere. In broken English he told us "hutong too big" and "I take you Liqin's-you never find it!" aka I'm going to charge you 30 yuan for a joke ride around a hutong. I repeated Buyao! (NO WANT!) and instructed the cab drive to keep driving. We drove straight 20 more feet- and there was LiQin's. I felt a great amount of accomplishment. I'm no tourist!

One thing my parents quickly came to realize was the transportation dilemma. The three major choices for getting around are: your legs, taking cabs, and subway/bus. Each one comes with a benefit. Like your legs are free but can only take you so far so fast. Since I was already making us walk halfway around the city each day, we were greatly limited by our legs. Cabs. Now cabs are the most expensive form of transportation, but they get you directly from point A to point B. They are comfortable, sometimes even air conditioned, but they are limited by two things: Beijing traffic and Beijing drivers. The traffic here is bad, comparable to Washington, DC's rush hour. But you also have the driving style here, which, if your not use to it can be a hair raising experience. It's very aggressive and people dart in and out of lanes like it's their job. The final form is the subway. It's cheap, goes almost everywhere in the city, but can be horrible crowded, hot and uncomfortable. Jill and I have both had moments where we felt like we might pass out. Luckily there are so many people in each car, that if you did pass out, you would be held up my the sheer pressure exerted by the mass amounts of bodies. So- every trip requires the debate- how the heck are we going to get there?

Thursday we went to 798 Art District and the Acrobat show. My parents by Thursday were ready for some Western food, and I was happy to oblige. Unfortunately- they seem to have acclimated to the Chinese food too quickly and the rich Western food left us feeling a little gross. We did some quick bargaining and then it was off to the Acrobat show.

Friday we crashed. We thought we were going to go to Temple of Heaven but we all just collapsed and napped away the afternoon. At night we went out for dinner at a Korean place and did a little more grocery shopping.

Saturday we went to the Lama Temple, poked around another Hutong and came home for a Mac & Cheese dinner.

Sunday, we FINALLY made it to Temple of Heaven and then did dinner with my friends at Hot Pot! Yummy yummy hot pot. It was so nice to have my Chinese 'family' and my actual family together.

Monday, in the early morning hours, we gathered our things and jumped on a plane bound for the USA.

It was a whirlwind trip but I loved having my parents here in China. I'm pretty sure that they never would have come here otherwise- but it's such an amazing culture I'm glad they got to experience it. LOVE YOU GUYS!

Blog WHAT?

Well- look at me. 60 days left and I have run out of things to say. Ha!
Never! I just ran out of time to type it. So. Let me begin at the appropriate place: the beginning. I've always found in the most logical and easiest place to begin. Unless I'm of course writing a movie like Young Adam...and then you never know quite where to begin.

Almost 3 weeks ago I arrived back in Beijing. And....it was amazing. It's really impressive how you can have a relationship with a place. I arrived back in Beijing in the evening. It was warm....about 30 degrees warmer then when I had left. I threw on flip flops and a light sweater and headed out the door. I B-lined it for Subway...my craving for sandwiches having reached a fever pitch, I hurried over. And I felt so happy. Everything was familar and cozy. Everything made me excited: my red velvet couch, extra mayo with out asking for it, walking to 7/11. Even though I again was alone, separated from Jill, I felt as if I had returned to an old friend. It really was like reuniting with somebody after a long time, their flaws not so noticeable, or maybe I reveled in the small flaws. I didn't notice the trash or the crazy hub bub. It was just the way it was suppose to be.

Thus began a feverish 3 weeks. Immediately went into work mode- back to the grind. I was getting away with teaching 4 classes a day in Wuhan- two in the morning, two at night, and only on two days a week. Reality check came in back at Beijing- how much work lay ahead of me. But- the following weeks each deserve their own blog. So. For those of you who wonder: I am fine. I am alive. And yes- we're down to two months. I'll fill in the blanks as soon as I can.

Wuhun

Here I am sitting in the Wuhan airport. Flight delayed an hour---battery painfully low on my mac. But it's OK. Because I'm tired. I got up early to pack- packing at the last minute is one sign that I don't want to go.
Wuhan finally was perfect. I had found my way around. I had built myself my little niche. And then Jill came down. It seemed so wrong to be leaving.

Candy and Queenie surprised me with gifts of chocolate. Which made me officially have to carry three bags on (Take that TSA!). I'm actually wearing two sweatshirts and my bag weighed in at 66 pounds. I didn't even buy anything here in Wuhan- they just kept giving me gifts.

We cried. We cried like babies. I got a little teary eyed- and then Candy lost is. Lips quivering, snot dripping. All of us. It's amazing some where that I loathed so much- seems to have stolen my heart. Romp n' Roll Wuhan was a bit like my baby too- I was there from the beginning- I wish I could stick around a little longer to see how successful it is going to be.

I am looking forward to Beijing- but it is with a heavy heart that I leave my Wuhan family. Hopefully, one day, I will be back here again.

Grand Opening: Wuhan!

Nothing like a little bout of insomnia to spur some creativity. Actually its a little bit of "I fell asleep at 8 o'clock and my body didn't know what to do so now I'm awake."

SO! (Damn you Seamus Heaney!) Our grand opening happened last Saturday! It went really really really really really really really well. I am so proud of the staff here who put together an amazing grand opening. And we were especially thrilled because BIG BOSS and BIG BIG BOSS came to visit us. So big ups to Michael and Luyin for journeying down to Wuhan. It was really nice to have them here- and I think it made all of the parents really really happy to meet them.

The Grand Opening ceremony invited all over out members and a bunch of potential members. We had "professional" dancers perform for our members, lovely speeches from all the bosses, a dance from the Instructors, lots of fun activities, media out the wazoo, and a lottery for some prizes. Everybody left satisfied and we even made the Sunday night news!! :) We also had the highest enrollment rate ever for a Romp n Roll in China...so yay!

While Michael was here were treated to some delicious meals: including HOT POT, family style, & Thai food. We also took a trip to Food Street (which I have included a picture.) I love street vendors- and its fun to explore all the different types of food. Also- a lot of the yummy food is prepared in front of you which is a lot of fun. Michael and I were brave enough to try some "stinky stinky yummy yummy" which is a type of tofu that smells SO BAD it is illegal to cook it on the street in parts of Beijing (imagine like dirty feet soaked in vinegar). Well- Michael was more brave- I required A LOT of prodding. It was not that bad.

Jill arrived Monday night and what a JOYFUL reunion that was. I have missed my G-LOVE SO MUCH! We spent much of today galavanting around Wuhan. I finally got to go to Golden Crane Tower (Huang He Lo) which is super pretty. Jill and I are so pasty white that we got sunburned even though it rained all day. That's when you know you are in need of some Vitamin D. You get great views from the tower of Wuhan and I included one picture that shows one of the most prized bridges in Wuhan. it was built by the Soviets- and connects Wuchan with Hankou.

In about 18 hours I will fly out of Wuhan- and I'm doing so with mixed feelings. My main dislike of Wuhan has been the loneliness- but now that my partner in crime is here... I want to stay. This city has a lot to offer. It's got a really cool vibe. It's very laid back. And it's very Chinese. I am excited to go back to Beijing! And my Mom & Dad are going to be here in 4 days 21 hours!

Ching-Lish

Ching-Lish is a term Chinese people use to describe what happens when a non-English speaker does an improper translation. The result is often mind-numbing/hilarious.
Here is the ad that my Romp n' Roll wanted to post. (Click to make it bigger)

Pity Party! Table for 1!

So. Another day off in Wuhan. I've been stricken with some bad cold/mild flu. I look like I haven't slept in a week and that wouldn't be totally inaccurate. (BTW- Heaney's Beowulf has had a profound effect on my life- because I love nothing more then starting out every fricken story with "So.") 

It's been 41 days since I began my journey down here. And it's been about 34 days of solitude. I'm not trying to be dramatic- but other then work interactions and skype sessions I live a very solitary life. There were moments I've enjoyed this- I haven't had so much time for me in a VERY LONG TIME. But in the end- it's been very hard for me. I'm a social creature. 

The other thing is that it's left me so alone with my thoughts. Intelligence is a mixed blessing- sometimes I wish I was just a few IQ points shorter and then maybe I wouldn't be worrying so much. I've always got this nagging feeling I'm not doing enough with my life. And the fact that I'm down to 90 days in China is also forcing me to confront the future. What a scary thing. It would be nice to let time just run on, like water over rocks. But reality and bills, loans and life unfortunately swirl their way in to my head. 

First off. What will I be doing when I get back. I was hoping to return to the Public School system. I enjoy teaching, alot. But the idea of returning is so up in the air right now. When this whole voyage began almost a year ago (yes ,it has almost been a year since that fateful meeting with PR) I was in process of trying to go back to school. My plan was for an M.S. in Rehabilitation Counseling. But now I don't know. I'm not sure what I want at all.

Now- don't feel totally bad for me- there has been another job offer. I will not be completely unemployed . It is a job that I'm interested in. I've been considering it quite heavily- but then the question of benefits and salary; duties and stress come into play. 

I'm just slightly feeling like I still haven't found WHAT I'm suppose to be doing yet. I like to believe that everybody has a life calling. I truly believe that a life worthing living is one that helps other people. And,  I enjoy teaching and I'm good at it. But…I'm not sure it is "IT"

Somebody recently asked me what I wanted to do for the rest of my life and my answer is 'I don't know!" I wish that answer was more freeing then petrifying. But the fact that I don't have a direction right now is really difficult for me. 

But I guess the conclusion is that time will tell what my next step is- maybe the lesson here is to just give up a little control and let things happen. Atleast, I find some comfort in that thought.