Author: cinglish

Gage went to class with me last night to interview students for his journalism paper.  He ended up with email addresses of some of the girls.  It was a rainy night and he wore his ever-present beanie and pulled his hoodie on top of that.  The students couldn’t get over the fact that he was wearing two hats.  Girls are now starting to approach him to practice their English, and he’s quite charming and affable when engaged.

Today (Thursday) we went to the Shanghai Museum–a beautiful 4-story building containing bronzeware, pottery, textiles, coins, sculptures, paintings and calligraphy.  Gage has developed an interest in calligraphy and bought brushes and inkstone so he can try his hand at it.  We have a “word of the day” every day, and today’s word was duoshao, meaning “how much?”  He used it with the clerk at the museum and she understood him!

Weather today is absolutely perfect.  Yesterday was a downpour, and the day before that was unbearably hot.  Kinda like being at home.  We’re having a good time, but it’s exhausting putting in a full day of sightseeing before going to work in the evening.  Looking forward to the weekend…

Great day.  Our bus nearly got T-boned by a taxi.  Our driver rolled down the window and began screaming at the other driver, who screamed in return.  Meanwhile, traffic is backed up and honkly madly.  Just like old times.

We found the skateboard after only one failed attempt.  There were only two boys there who attend French school and have a different spring break than the rest of the students.  So they and Gage had the place to themselves.  Gage showed them how a Californian does it, and they were impressed.  At lunchtime, a guy on a bicycle came peddling right onto the course to deliver those boys a pizza.  All the fast-food chains here deliver.  It’s fun to see a guy on a scooter with a huge wooden box full of Big Macs strapped to his back.

Still the same:  people constantly sweeping leaves with their twig brooms.  Yup, leaves fall off the trees here in the springtime.  The construction is not as frenzied but still going on.  There are more cranes than before, but you still see guys mixing cement by hand and carrying it in wheelbarrows.  Then they put broken bottles along the top of the wet cement to keep people from trespassing on their work.  You still see women doing laundry on the sidewalks in plastic tubs, and babies in split pants being held over the ground to do their business.  There are still interesting American “names” for the students.  There’s always an Apple and a Lemon.  But new this time are Devil and Cinderella.  When I called one student’s name she replied that she had changed her name again.  When I asked what the new name was, she said….Again.  So that’s her name, Again.

Different:  more couples and PDA’s.  The girls wear extremely short shorts and skirts.  The canals and alleys have been cleaned up, and the city is cleaner, but the pollution is noticeably worse.  The traffic lights have been updated and now display the number of seconds left before turning from green to yellow.

When we arrived, it was cool and rainy.  Yesterday the sun came out to give us a taste of Shanghai heat.  I got a farmer’s tan at the skate park.  Today I will show Gage how laundry was done in the 50’s.

First day teaching.  The materials that I had to feverishly prepare during the Christmas holidays and ship so they would be here in plenty of time have not been copied and provided to the students.  My teaching schedule has been completely altered.  I’m scheduled to teach evenings, 5:15-8:15.  This requies catching a bus to the other campus at 3:15 and returning on the last bus, which makes several stops and arrives back here after 10 p.m.  This leaves Gage alone all evening unless he comes with me.  I’m kinda losing my taste for battling with these folks, especially because I’m not sleeping well.

Gage worked on geometry homework while I was gone yesterday.  He’s slowly making inroads there.  We went grocery shopping and found peanut butter and jelly!  Today we’re heading for the world’s largest skateboard park.

Not our best day.

First, let me remind you all that we can communicate only in the following way:  You can text me, not Gage.  I will try to answer all concerns via this blog, not by return text.  I can’t access emails, on my laptop or my android.  Gage has been invited to blog, but so far hasn’t availed himself of the opportunity.  And, Johnny, it’s …”check in with your mom and me, not I.   (You can’t be going off to the U of O without understanding this grammar rule.)

Yesterday, day er, we did Tai Chi in the park with the senior citizens.  Gage was a good sport, and I’ve got some great shots of his performance to prove it.  We were tired, so hung around pretty close to campus most of the day, watching a soccer game, etc.  Held off going to bed until normal bedtime.  Then Bai Wei telephoned me from Utah  and woke me from a sound sleep.  Didn’t sleep the rest of the night. 

Today, day san, we took a very long taxi ride to find Church services, but we never found the meeting place.  Disappointing for me.  We went to the Jade Buddha Temple instead, which Gage really enjoyed.  Then we  headed for the Portman Center for a good American Easter meal, but the restaurant had closed.  We ended up eating pepperoni pizza for our Easter meal.  Walked to People’s Park, then took the subway home.

Tomorrow I start teaching.  If the money hasn’t been wired to SLCC, it could be my first and last day.  I leave from this campus at 6:45 a.m. for a 1-hour bus trip to another campus, teach 4 hours to the same class,  then ride home for another hour.  That schedule is unheard of for Chinese teachers–some only teach 4 hours in a whole week.  Gage will sleep in, then do homework until I arrive home.  He’s doing fine, but his back has been bothering him.

We’re back in the publishing business!  We couldn’t make connections yesterday, so I’m a day behind.

Yesterday we had a traditional Chinese breakfast in the dining room:  rice gruel with peanuts and pickled vegetables.  We took the bus that used to go to the Metro station, but it didn’t, and we got pretty lost.  Rode the brand-new Metro line #10 to YuYuan Garden, which Gage really liked.  Had their famous dumplings for lunch and toured the old garden.  It was fun to watch Gage bargain for his bargains in the tourist traps.

Walked to the Bund.  I’m very disappointed that no girls have approached Gage to have their pictures taken with him…you’re still the poster boy, Ben.  Maybe they’re afraid of him.

Rode the tram down Nanjing Road to the Metro station.  When we came out of the station, I got lost again, which is pretty discouraging to me.  Then I realized that they tore up CaoBao Road, my landmark.

Things that are different now:  scooters instead of bicycles, no laundry hanging from windows (I wonder where it is?),  and Americans are no longer treated with awe.  They wouldn’t even let us in to the track meet on campus today.

We fell asleep last night at 5 p.m., without any dinner.  At 10:00 there was a screaming fight next door that went on for 20 minutes, ending up with the occupants being evicted.  Gage slept right through it.  We got up at 4:30 a.m. and Gage did homework while I read.  Luckily, we had granola bars to see us through to breakfast.

The flight wasn’t too crowded.  Gage and I had a window and an aisle seat with no one sitting between us.  Still a long, grueling flight.  I didn’t tell you all before we left, but the University here hasn’t wired the money for my services yet, so  we were told not to get on the flight until payment had been made.  I responded that we would get on the flight, but would renegotiate my teaching schedule when I arrived.  (I’ve been through this Chinese standoff before…) 

I was up at 2:30 a.m. Chinese time–no idea what time in the U.S.  Just waiting for the world to wake up so we can find bottled water to brush our teeth.  We are housed on the top floor of the guesthouse, which is the high-rent district.  I’ve never made it above the 5th floor in the past. We have internet service, a little fridge, a big TV (Chinese programming), a hairdryer, and very minimal water pressure, but the water’s warm.  Things are great!

Spent last night and today in Bath.   We’re staying in the Oldefield Guest House, which is charming, albeit up a steep hill from the town.  We’ve run the gamut of lodgings, from our truck stop in Cambridge to our old, distinguished hotel in Oxford with creaking floors and mazes for halls, to our present accommodation, which has no lift or AC, but a great breakfast with cloth tablecloths and napkins.

Today we saw the Jane Austen center, the Roman Baths, the Fashion Museum (it was attached to the ballroom where Jane danced),  the Bath Abbey, and the oldest house in Bath, which is Sally Lunn’s house and current site of Sally Lunn’s Buns.  We lunched there and really enjoyed it.  When we got tired, we sat in lawn chairs in the Peace Garden along the river and dozed in the sunshine.  Found  a store of my favorite chain in the UK and managed to do some shopping.

There’s a City Pride Campaign where everyone decorates lions, as we did buffaloes for the Olympics.  So everywhere we went we saw lions creatively costumed; i.e., a Wimbledon lion, a lion covered with Scrabble tiles, an Elvis (the King) lion, and a soccer lion where a placard had been placed that said, “I’m not responsible for the result–please don’t blame me.” signed by the artist.

Weather was overcast and cooler than it’s been….perfect!  My graphic for today would probably have been of the Elvis lion.

I took a luvly double-decker coach to Blenheim Palace today.  An added attraction was that we drove through a couple of villages enroute. At the edge of town the speed marker says, “Kill Your Speed.” The sign for yielding says to “Give Way.”  Even though they can’t speak it properly, these Brits have a flair for the written word.

The weather’s been unseasonably warm for them, but the women here are all wearing black tights.  Mind you, their bosoms are exposed, but their legs look uncomfortably hot.  And since I’m describing appearances, let me say that English women (men, too, for that matter) are white, large, and rather unlovely.  John summed it up by saying that all the attractive people here are speaking foreign languages. 

The Brits are really miffed at their soccer team, too.  Not disappointed, but mad!  They want them all fired.

Back to the sights.  The Palace was great.  Winston Churchill was born (quite by accident) and married there.  Although related to the Duke of Marlborough, Winston’s father was a black sheep.  They happened to be attending a party at the Palace when Winston arrived prematurely, in the ladies’ cloakroom.   The long walk into the Palace was lined with Linden trees beginning to bloom and smell, so I didn’t miss my tree at home too much.

I also visited the Bodlien Library in Oxford, which holds a copy of every book published in England–more than 7 million!

John spent today again listening to the  brains of the world (Gorbachev is apparently not one of them).  He’s really quite impressed with the people presenting and the things being presented.

That’s today’s report.  No graphics because my technician is otherwise engaged.

I’m giving my graphics guy a cut in pay.  You’ll have to take my word for it that there is a picture of him before Newton’s tree’s grandchild.

Cambridge and Oxford are less than 100 miles apart.  We traveled between them by returning to London King’s Cross train station, schlepping our bags through the Tube to Paddinton Station, then catching the train to Oxford.  We’re staying in a pretty famous hotel, The Randolph.  It apparently is featured in a whole series of detective novels by Colin Dexter, who is “internationally famous,” but I’ve somehow missed him in my literary travels. 

Today John is off to listen to Gorbachev (sp?), and I’m off to Church.  We’ll compare later to see who has the better plan for the world…

In Cambridge, we came across a tiny graveyard by the side of an old church in the middle of town.  The family buried there were named Hunnybun:   Matthew, Mary, Eliza, and John.  Wouldn’t you love to be named Eliza Hunnybun?

More about Oxford after we’ve been here awhile.  I’ve still got a sinus infection, and I’m not sleeping well, but having fun anyway.  Miss you all.  That’s great news about Riley’s homerun!

OK, the trip hs been upgraded to an 8, even though the hotel is still a 1-star. I’m feeling pretty decent today. After awaking at 5 a.m., retrieving my purse, and having a big English breakfast, we went back to sleep for a couple of hours, so I think we’re caught up now.

Today we punted on the River Cam past all the famous colleges. No, Ben, Dad let a professional do the “driving.” After watching some other tourists attempt it, we’re more impressed than ever that you took Chelsea punting in Oxford. What a stud!

We visited King’s College Chapel, the open-air market, the Round Church (active Christian church for over 600 years), and the Fitzwilliam Museum. We ate fish ‘n chips in a pub and watched processions of graduates march down King’s Parade Street to their official graduation ceremonies. Pretty cool–the leaders of the processions wore actual top hats!

Dad is out now, doing his grocery shopping. He’s in heaven–he’s found crisps (potato chips) that taste like steak, heavily salted butter, and milk that would put our cream to shame. Was Dr. Adkins British?

FYI: Sir Isaac Newton developed his theory of relativity in front of Trinity College (see picture of John in front of Newton’s tree’s descendant), and the concept of DNA was developed in a pub in Cambridge.

Ben, your little Emma’s adorable….she looks just like you!