New

Well, time for an update on something I haven't actually shared with everyone that I know yet, but with the anonymity that the internet provides (haha), I think I'll start talking about it...it's new cultural territory for me.

I'm venturing back into the cross-cultural dating scene. I'm not going to share many details at this point, but yeah...new relationship. As I have shared with some local friends that I will be dating this local guy, the responses have been very interesting.

Most of it has been "Oh, great, he is so suitable for you." Which I think is kind of funny, because it's like, how do they really know that?... but anyways.

One friend who has met him (most of them haven't yet) expressed approval in a rather amusing manner. "Yes, his eyes are very big...he is suitable for you."

Actually I don't think that's really a point in his favor since I like small eyes, but whatever.

This was followed by an inquisition about his job, salary, and whether or not he lived with his parents or had his own house. This friend has a particular way of annoying me when conversing on this topic...she has an extremely practical, traditional view of selecting a boyfriend. She didn't approve of my last crush because he worked at a coffee shop.

I kept telling her I wasn't concerned since I had a salary and didn't need much to live on/to own three houses/to have a car. The whole conversation was somewhat bizarre to me..the guy is not a slacker and has more than enough to live on...also, her admiration for people who have 5 apartments (who on earth needs 5 apartments, especially in our small city?) really bugs me...I always have to bite my tongue and remember to be patient....I grew up in the West with less practical imagery surrounding the ideas of love and marriage, and I have familiarity with the additional concept of using your wealth to bless others/giving till it hurts.

Anyhow, adjusting to dating in China versus the U.S. will be interesting, especially since everything that I do as a foreigner attracts more attention than the average person...and the average person still has everyone else's noses in their business. A new adventure for sure...

It's Here

Yes, ladies and gentleman, the long-awaited release of Titanic in 3D (ok, so not so much long-awaited by me, but long-awaited by many of my friends here in China). I'll admit, as the last week has brought a continual blaring of "My Heart Will Go On" over mall loudspeakers, I have been rolling my eyes and steeling myself for what I knew would be the inevitable accompanying of friends to see it (I was just praying I wouldn't have to go at midnight).

But you know what? I think my attitude has changed (I really am becoming more and more Chinese, ack). I enjoyed sitting in that theater with people (mostly older, of the generation that first saw it fifteen years ago and wanted to reminisce), oohing and aahing over the 3D, and the story, which they were reacting to as if they had never seen.

My friend published something online about just what that movie meant to China, and I'll admit, I was much less condescending after reading it.

Fifteen years ago the cinematic climate was much different here...Titanic wasn't the first American film released here, but it was the first to be so huge. As my friend explained, it literally opened a whole new world to those who saw it. It wasn't just about the story (although that was a big part of it....a story about the pursuit of love above family commitment and even wealth was a new concept for some), but it was about good cinema too, and the opening of China. China still has a long way to go in that department, but this was a first step. Now, some of us might argue that Titanic is not really good cinema, but compared to most Chinese films...it's definitely got something. Particularly at the time when it was released.

So, as I sat there, watching the unedited version of the film, honestly...I felt moved. Not necessarily by Jack and Rose, but by their impact on a society and my friends as well.

Brief Update

I know I haven't update in a while, so for whoever reads this, a brief synopsis of what's up:

The last month has brought a LOT of change....good change, but I have been incredibly busy. Schedule changes were part of all this change. Suffice it to say, I have a 9-5....except in China it is more like an 8-7. I am busy, but really enjoying it and finding that I have a lot of sweet opportunities and relationships as a result.

Other things that people want updates on:

-my Mongolian learning has slowed down, but Mandarin is still progressing well. I still have weekly Chinese lessons and of course, at work I communicate with coworkers and clients in Mandarin a lot of times. Always mindful of how much further I have to go with language learning, but it is a really good opportunity to practice.

-I have a studio apartment, a dog, and life feels way too grown-up for me sometimes. Yes, I realize I am almost a quarter-century old, but I still feel like a wide-eyed teenager some days.

Things that I have done that felt old this week:

-bought an oven (and was extremely excited about it)

-got a VIP card for buying dog food (woohoo! haha). You can get VIP cards for anything here.

-got flowers from a boy

-kissed that boy on the cheek (just to clarify, in the context that was entirely appropriate, but it still felt like an old lady/European thing to do)

Other things....cute barista.

Well, shockingly,......we have a fairly normal relationship now. He taught a friend and I to play mahjong the other night. While he started by dramatically declaring that it was too hard a task to teach a foreigner mahjong, he changed his tune and was impressed that we were able to catch on (and subsequently beat him).

Overall, life is busy...but good. I don't have a lot of downtime, but the bit that I do have is sweet and fruitful. I'm enjoying my life here in China and thankful for all God's blessings in my current stage of life. 天天快乐！

Awkward

Ok, I'll admit it...occasionally when I'm having a conversation in Mandarin I nod even if I don't completely understand what the person is saying. If I have no idea what they're talking about I usually tell them, but if I feel like I have a vague idea I just try to ride the wave of conversation....occasionally this causes some awkward fails though...enter recipe for disaster:

-me, having worked from 8 a.m. to 7 p.m. and exhausted/a bit stressed and distracted and having just taught an English Corner on politics and the American legislative system (hard enough to teach to Americans!)

-cute barista, who looks so cute that I have a mini panic-attack every time he opens his mouth...

Setting: nighttime in the coffee shop after English Corner

I am going to pay for my dinner. Usual exchange of pleasantries and payment, and I turn to walk away.

"Julie!" He calls after me. "I want to ask you..."

I walk back over. "Erm..." he looks slightly awkward and then proceeds to ask me about something. "Do you know...*something*" Now for whatever reason I cannot understand him very well (he speaks a sort of locally-influenced version of Mandarin anyway). However, I think that I have the jist of what he is saying. I answer what I think he is asking. I say, "I have a friend who should know." He says something else. I pull out another conversational trick, which is to ask "Why?" As in, "why do you ask?" Well, that failed because whatever he was saying, when I said that (with my best attempt at a cute grin) he turned red, grinned, and said, "No reason, I just feel that they're better to look at than the Chinese ones. Nevermind." At this point I was totally lost. I thought we were talking about cell phones, I really did. It occured to me later that I have no idea why he would ask me about cell phones. Fail. It turned out later that he was talking about design. sheji. not shouji. Listening fail. I still have no idea why he was asking me about design. But whatever. I salvaged the conversation by inviting him to eat Mexican food.

Intimacy I Didn't Want?

The saga of the cute barista continues...

A few weeks ago I told him he should drink chamomile tea because he said he couldn't stop sneezing. Well, I guess he decided to return the tea advice favor?

When I'm working on projects he usually brings me surprise drinks to try....last night he brought me a new kind of tea...I couldn't quite place the flavor. "What kind of tea is this? It's really good!"
"Oh, I'll bring you some more!" *comes back* "It's blueberry." Gives me a knowing smile.

I promptly google blueberry tea's uses in traditional Chinese medicine..used to recover strength annnd....for urinary issues/overactive bladder.

Does this mean that he noticed that I was getting up to pee every twenty minutes? I guess so....

I would like to offer my services to the businesses of China...just as someone to serve as an ear to run things by before opening a shop called, for instance, "LSD Cafe" (Little Sweet Dreams Cafe, but the abbreviation is LSD), or, this:

It certainly did lead to an interesting conversation with my local friend when I burst into laughter. Unfortunately she now looks at me and says this phrase whenever there are males she wants to demean around.

Swimming

If you have seen the movie "The Green Hornet", you may remember a scene where
Seth Rogen, as Britt Reid, and Jay Chou, as Kato, fight…the fight ends when they fall into the pool and Kato reveals that he can’t swim. To many people, that would be a “huh?” moment…a martial arts expert can’t swim? Really? But to any who have lived in China, you will know that it is actually extremely common for adults to not know how to swim. It’s becoming more common as a hobby, but many of my friends can’t swim, and their parents never had them take lessons because it was dangerous. If you don’t live around water, I suppose that makes sense, although it seems more dangerous to me that if you potentially ever fell into water you would die.

I have been attempting to teach a friend to swim in the evenings after she finishes work…I’m not gonna lie, it’s a bit humorous to watch her attempts…but she is learning. (a young boy we met last time was not as polite as me and did a rather mean but hilarious imitation of her flailing her
arms in the water). Slowly but surely she is getting to where she can at least sort of keep her head out of the water though, so I am happy that she potentially could survive in water without drowning. We'll keep it up, it's good for me to practice as well! I didn't want to go initially, after all, that pool is not heated and I am a subscriber of the Chinese philosophy "don't get cold, you will die", but I'm glad I have been going.

Another highlight of experiencing swimming as a foreigner is that you get to have the naked in front of a bunch of Chinese people locker room experience, which, surprisingly, I have become completely comfortable with. More on that another time.