The Unbearable Lightness of Being....America

I will start by apologizing for the lack of feeling in the last post. Yes I'm sure that most of you don't mind but for me it just seemed very boring. Sometimes it's hard to write about all the details because while they may have been fun at the time, a week later I find I get bored trying to explain them and it shows in my writing. Plus it's not things that I really want to write about. Especially after all that has happened in the past two days.

For starters I finally got a Chinese person to understand what it's like to be a foreign person in China. Benny and I were standing on the corner after the rains had made us vacate Bao'an city park. W were trying to hail a taxi which proved to be an impossible endeavor due to the fact that everyone in China had had the same thought at the moment. We were chatting a little and looking to and fro and cars were passing. In the blue trucks it's the worst. The men will blatantly stare, I'm not provoking them, but they will rubber neck their heads around to stare at the foreign girl. I shouted "Watch the ROAD" which has become my instinct to say when they do this. "They're staring because you're beautiful" he says. "They're staring because I'm foreign" I say. We were in a more remote area. More remote = no foreigners ever = lots more staring. Jin Chuan is a bit more Westernized than the rest of them, so he understands why staring is considered impolite, especially the obvious staring we get here. I explain that I don't find it too rude I just laugh it off. Now he understands when I yell "watch the ROAD" at the them and he laughs too. A few minutes later he stopped a taxi and we sped off to a different part of Bao'an and for more exploring.

He's still not totally westernized, that Chinese lack of organization slips in when you least expect it. Last night I was sitting in my room minding my own business when I get a text message asking if I could switch my morning 1st and 3rd classes because there would be a test in the morning. I said yes of course, without checking which week was next week. This is crucial because my schedule changes from week to week and I have to keep up and pay attention. It's organized but it's not organized. Thus begins the rolling stone of last night's panic attack.

I panic and ask which week this week is. He says even week. Well even week I have a class 3rd period. I say I can't do it. I call my contact teacher and ask her what week it is and she tells me , in her not-so-good-English that it's odd week. Exhausted and frustrated, I call Brendon and frantically explain how Chinese people are insane. Meanwhile, Benny texts me and says not to worry that things will be fine. With nothing else to be done, I decide to get my lessons together and realize that I need a some pictures from magazines so I'll just nip over to the 7/11 like store near my apartment building. I grab my bag and money and headphones and pull the bedroom door shut. Click. "Got keys?" Nope.
I have exactly one set of keys to my apartment. If I lose them I'm doomed.

I remember how I locked us out of Gavin's apartment accidentally a few weeks back and that he asked his guards to let him in. My guards don't speak English - at all. I calmly walk downstairs. I approach the guard near the back entrance and calmly explain in broken Chinglish that I don't have my key (I use the dictionary on my phone and point) and can't get in. He nods and grabs a large flashlight and starts walking towards the school. I explain, no no my house 我的家。He seems to understand and yet we walk to the other guard house anyway near the front of the school. There is an exchange of rapid fire Chinese between the three of them and they come to the conclusion that they have a key to the 7th and 6th floor but not to my floor (which is the 3rd).

Mind you, it's been a bad day. My last two classes were horrendous. I'd been having fits of depression all week due to not seeing enough English speakers and also lack of communication and homesickness, and plus I just had an ordeal of misunderstanding with my Chinese teacher friends. Now I was locked out of my house with no one around who spoke a lick of English, trying their best to help me but feeling as helpless as I was.

We walked back and ran into some people who were leaving the gym, badminton rackets in hand. They explained the situation to them and one got on the phone. He hands the phone to me. I give him a curious expression (which he is unable to see in the dark) and take the phone. "Wei?" "Hello?" An English speaking voice comes over from the other line, mind you it's a Chinese English speaking voice but it's a blessing to hear. He explains that his friend wants to help and to tell him what happened so that he can translate. I explain in panicky English what has happened and that I need to get into my room but the key is locked in the bedroom door. I hand the phone back to him and then all five of us march on up to my room. The person on the phone says we may need to get the police. This frightens me because that is the last thing that I need today. We all troop up to my room and they watch as I open the unlocked front door. They think “Ah! it is fixed!" but I explain that it is my bedroom door that is locked with the keys inside. The man with the cell phone hands the phone back to me and I begin rapid fire English at the person on the phone. He is trying his best to explain that they will think of something, not to worry. I am almost in tears. All of a sudden there is a cry and all five come barreling out of the room. It seems that they did have a key after all......

Guards....

As everyone piles out of my room en masse and proceeds to head back from wherever they came the man with the phone stops me before I go in the room and hands me the phone. The person on the other end asks for my phone number. Why, I ask. Because I want to be your friend, he says. Meanwhile the phone's owner is pacing in the hallway eager to leave. I explain that I don't know my phone number because it is new and it is locked away and that maybe I should give back the phone because your friend is looking angry and thank you for your help goodbye. I give back the phone and thank the owner. I step into my apartment. I shut the door behind me. I burst into tears. I can't stop, it was the end to a very stressful day. I walk back through the unlocked bedroom and grab my keys off the hook and shove them in my pocket and proceed to reprimand myself. Always. Remember. Your. Keys. Stupid.

There is a knock on the door. I wait, maybe it will go away. I'm in no mood to see anyone. Plus my face looks like hell. Another set of knocks. So I wipe my face and head for the door. I open it. It's the man with the cell phone. He hands me the phone where there is a text message "what is your phone number?" I motion for him to wait and run back into my room and get the card that has my phone number. He types it into his phone and then calls me to make sure. I thank him again and he leaves.

After calming down and grabbing my keys I make for the store across the way and buy a few magazines. The store workers were very sweet and spoke a little English. This cheered me up a little. That and getting text messages from Randy in America. I'm sad he had to leave us (as is everyone else) but I'm glad that he's doing well where he is. I wouldn't want it any other way.

My phone started exploding with Chinese messages about an hour later with bits of English floating in them. I tried to respond in Chinese but this didn't seem to work. Finally, just as frustrated as before I told the person that I was going to bed please talk to me tomorrow. From there he responded in English. It was pleasant to read and to be honest he's quite the smitten kitten with me. Weird. I haven't heard from him since last night which is fine but it's odd how he made his friend come back to get my number. Sort of cute. Wondering if I should mention that I'm already sort of seeing someone. Maybe I will maybe not. Can't hurt to make more Chinese friends I suppose. All in all the day ended well even though it ended later than I would have liked. New days bring new experiences.

This morning things started a little brighter although no less confusing. I found that I had no classes this morning even though I showed up to teach. Benny explained that the kids had a test this morning and that I could teach them in the afternoon. I love his class even if they are a bit out of control, some of the kids are just too sweet.

It's so unbearably frustrating when they are speaking in Chinese about you in front of you and you can tell something is wrong. But then you ask them and they say there is no problem. Don't these people understand the concept of body language. This happened to me a few times today and I wanted to punch someone. I'd rather they forget I can't understand and speak it to me rather than disregard me all together. Today we had to go to the police station so that I could show them my work visa. Gao Shen is really bad at this concept. Before we left my desk he started spitting rapid fire Chinese at Benny and gesturing at me, to which Benny responded (in Chinese of course) and gave this apologetic and pleading look. And then we were off. I shouted at Benny not to worry and hope that it helped whatever the problem was. Benny told me later that Shen was asking him to take me to police station (which I would have preferred because at least he'll explain things to me if I ask him to) instead because he had so much work to do. Benny explained (pleaded) that he had more and had more classes. Bickering. Always bickering. Meh.

At the police station there was a problem. I knew there was a problem with the way they were talking. But every time I asked Gao Shen what was wrong he replied "no problem, no big deal." It is a big deal if I can't work here. Blah. Turns out that they needed my work permit. Which is at the education bureau - information that I received from J.J. a bit too late. They're working on it now. So I'm "not to worry." Bloody Chinese. So if I get deported soon, it's on their heads.

I really am in a better mood today, don't let this post fool you. Tomorrow is Chinese classes and then possibly ping pong afterwards. I just need to see foreigners. It's a need to speak to someone in your language and you don't have to explain yourself. That's all folks cuz the ducks are hovering. Don't need them learning English so fast.