Women's World Cup

Although the U.S. girls got killed by Brazil in the game (the score was 4-0), we had a good time! Brazil was definitely the crowd favorite, and they were fun to watch. And being about one of, maybe, a hundred fans cheering for America there, we were definitely getting some strange looks ourselves!

Mid-Autumn Fesival

September 25 is Mid-Autumn Festival day in China. As far as I can tell, it pretty much amounts to everyone giving everyone else mooncakes as gifts. They're like this cupcake-size "cakes" that are not really all that sweet and are usually filled with pork or bean curd or something else. Occasionally, you'll get lucky and find a sweet one!

Matt's students bought him two boxes of mooncakes, which is a pretty big deal since they are fairly expensive--especially for students! One of Amy's classes through a party on campus to celebrate, and both of us were invited. There was snacks, games and karaoke, of course. Unfortunately, we didn't get out of either of these! We both ended up playing a game and Amy had to sing karaoke. We had a great time hanging out with the students!

This is a picture of one of Amy's students singing and video of one of the games... In the game, there are two blindfolded people. One is feeding the other one some kind of fruit with chopsticks! Luckily, this is not the game we had to play!

For the Record...

We've had people (yes, more than one person) insinuate that we are to blame for the recent poor showing of our beloved Vols football team--seeing as how we picked up, moved and "abandoned" our team. Besides the fact that this is, of course, completely ridiculous, we just want to set the record straight. :-)

We may be on the other side of the world, but we have not abandoned the team! In fact, our dedication is, we think, amazing. For the season's first game, we woke up at 7 am to watch the game and even put on our UT gear to cheer the team on. And for the Florida game, we woke up in the wee hours of the morning (remember the 12-hour time difference) to listen online. Obviously, we should have stayed in bed for that one.

We can't promise this dedication will continue the season but really... Whose will?

The Veggie Market

This is where we shop for our veggies and peanuts. The market also sells fish and meat, but we figure it's safer to buy those in the supermarket. The veggies are always really tasty, though, and a GREAT deal! Except for the broccoli... There is only one guy who sells it and he totally rips everyone off... Especially foreigners. Then again, I guess I can't complain too much. Even expensive here is still cheap. The head of broccoli I bought today only cost about $0.50 US dollars.

English on an Elementary Level

Since we started teaching last week, we have definitely noticed something.

In class, we must speak at a very slow pace and at a simpler level for our students to understand what we are saying. It took some getting used to for us to slow down and speak on their level, but I think we've got it now.

The problem is that we can't seem to turn it off when we get home. Both Matt and I have noticed that we no longer use contractions when talking to each other, have simplified our vocabulary, and speak very slowly! It's actually starting to drive us a bit crazy. You can imagine that as quickly as I usually speak and with Matt's usual vocabulary, that this simplified-English stuff is quite a change!

One Week Under Our Belts

So, we made it through week one of classes and are ready to start week two! Although teaching is much more exhausting than we would have expected, we enjoyed it. Matt teaches on a different campus across town, which amounts to a 45 minute bus ride daily. He is trying to figure out a good time to have office hours to meet with students. He is not having much luck yet, as his students have a full load of classes--8 am til 4 pm everyday! Amy's classes are about a two-minute walk from the apartment, for which she is very grateful! (As many of you know, Amy gets car sick in a regular vehicle, much more a semi-air conditioned bus going over some small roads!) Amy's classes are going well, as well. She has it easier with location, but has a bit more lesson planning than Matt because she teaches three different levels of classes, whereas all of Matt's classes are Sophomore Speaking and Writing.

The week hasn't been without some kinks... When Matt accidentally ordered chicken feet in the cafeteria, he valiantly nibbled through one foot but just couldn't muster the strength for the second one. He said the three claws poking off his plate were just a bit too much for him.

Anyway, we are looking forward to this week, as we actually begin teaching our curriculum; last week was mostly introductions. We have already had great opportunities to meet up with some students and begin making friends. Matt was invited to a soccer game last night with a student and also enjoys playing basketball with the young guys (it's just not the same since he turned 30, though). :-) And Amy is planning to have lunch with some students this week and is really excited to be living on the same campus that her students live on, where it is not uncommon to run into students daily!

Sorry for such a long blog! Now that classes have begun, we're finding it more difficult to keep up, so we had a lot of updating to do!

The Women's World Cup

We have got to be the luckiest English teachers ever! It just happened that the Women's World Cup of Soccer is being held in China this month, and some of the matches are in our city. Last night we went to see a double-header (Australia v. Ghana and Norway v. Canada). Despite the fact that Amy knows very little about soccer, we both had a great time!

And even though we will sadly not be able to attend any UT Vol games this year, it was a bit like home to participate in one of college football's most fun traditions at the soccer match!

Food on a Stick

You've got to love how China puts food on a stick. Any street vendor in China can sell you any number of items on a stick for convenient eating on the go. I've seen chicken, tofu, beef, and an uncountable number of unidentified foods all on a stick. My favorite by far is cantaloupe on a stick... only 1 yuan! (That's about 13 cents!)

Shanghai

Yesterday, Matt and I went to Shanghai for the day with some of the other teachers here. I have to say... we weren't all that impressed. It was cool to go to Shanghai and see its famous skyline, and they had some great markets with much cheaper prices than Hangzhou; but overall, I think the city itself is way over-rated. There were so many people and so much smog. And we couldn't even walk 10 feet without someone walking up to us trying to sell knock-off watches or purses or suitcases. To say the least, I got very good at using the Chinese phrase for "I don't want that." Everything there was geared towards tourists, which isn't necessarily bad, I guess, but at the end of a tiring day of touring, we were very happy to get back into our home city of Hangzhou.

All (More Likely Just Some) of the Tea in China

Yesterday Matt went hiking with another teacher at the university who is from Hendersonville, Tennessee. While new to HDU, Andy taught in Hangzhou last year, and knew of a hike in one of the outlying tea villages near the West Lake. A twenty minute trip by city bus took us out of the city proper into a landscape of steep tea-covered hillsides and narrow, winding valleys with picturesque villages. The landscape reminded Andy and I of East Tennessee, while the cultivation of the steepest inclines reminded me of the vineyards of the Chianti region in Tuscany. I was awed by the thought that these very hills may have been used for tea cultivation for over one thousand years. I do not know of what these pictures will remind you, though I venture the photographs will not remind you of a greater metropolitan area!

Lessons from Musical Trucks

So, there are many trucks driving the streets here in China that play music as they go... they actually sound kind of like ice cream trucks. Some of them water the trees on the side of the roads. Some of them pick up trash. And now I know that the one playing "London Bridge is Falling Down" cleans the streets by shooting water out of its sides. Let's just say that I learned this the hard way and was hit with muddy water about an hour before a meeting today. Luckily, I was near our apartment and able to change clothes and wash off before the meeting! Oh, well... Now we know.

Stinking American Food vs. Amy

Don't get me wrong... I love American food; but apparently, since I moved to China it no longer loves me. Two weeks ago, I had Papa John's pizza... upset stomach. Last night, I had peanut butter and M&M cookies ... upset stomach.

I don't like this recurring theme, especially since there are times when you just need some good ol' American food. I'll probably keep eating it at times, only in a bit more moderation and watching the grease more carefully. No fears, though... I've asked my mom to send some Tums and Alka-Seltzer!

Gotta Love Hot Water!

Our hot water heater got fixed today! This is very exciting, as you can imagine. We have not had hot water since we moved into the apartment, which means no hot showers for a week... until today. I have never been so excited to see a repairman!

Classes

So, Amy finally has her schedule of classes. She teaches Listening and Speaking classes to freshmen and sophomore students Monday through Thursday. Most of her students are computer engineering students, while Matt's students are more likely to be English majors. (He teaches Speaking and Writing.) Matt still isn't sure on his start date, but Amy's classes of sophomore students begin this Monday. Freshmen students always start a week later in China because they have physical training the first week.

We are definitely ready to get started and to meet our students! Remember us as we prepare this week.

More About Eating in China

We love eating here in China... The food is great, and the prices are cheap! Typically, each dish is about one U.S. dollar. Because we can not read Chinese characters, we never have any idea of the official names of our favorite restaurants.

So... We have taken it upon ourselves, along with our friend Joni, to give these places American names. So far, we have: The Greedy Cat, Mezzo Piano, The Hanging Gardens, and The Roadrunner. Perhaps if you come visit us (and you should!), you will be lucky enough to spend $1 to dine at one of these fine establishments... Heck, we'll even pick up the lunch bill if you make it here!

Another Day...

We enjoyed talking to Amy's grandparents online today. Skype is such a great program!

We also did some more sightseeing today. Here are a couple of pictures.