"and these days, i wish i was 6 again..."

today as i watched my 6 year olds play in the "Fan Dao Le"  or "Fun Dazzle" room, i really missed being a kid!

(the Fun Dazzle room is basically a trampoline and tunnels all put together, kind of like this but add the trampoline in the middle) as i did my rounds of the room watching the kids, i see a few of the girls and one of the boys with looks of pure AGONY on their faces. i am like... oh great, what now, who is hurt? who will i need to struggle to talk to in english? these kids play so rough it didn't surprise me. i walk over to April and say, "April are you okay? What happened?" She looks at me surprised but still in "character". JJ replies for her "Miss Jami, she fine. she is playing. leo is a monster and got her!" wow. i can't believe i fell for this. but seriously, the look on their faces looked like something was seriously wrong!

oh.... to pretend like that again. and to keep up the pretending for a solid half hour. to get so lost in your imagination... i forget what that feels like. when i was a kid i had the BIGGEST imagination. i am still one of the biggest day dreamers i know. but day dreaming and playing pretend are totally different.
i watched them play and play the entire "sports time". more joined in and i continued to watch the "agony" on their faces.
the monster had got them... and got them good. :)
i love kids so much.
i envy them, honestly.

and wishing i was 6 again is not gonna get me anywhere... especially with the big TWO FOUR coming up on wednesday. i'm definitely not getting any younger haha. let's say hello to officially becoming a "twenty something" :)

a very shanghai thanksgiving

my roommate mac and i decided to have all our friends over for a true thanksgiving. there were many places we could have gone to have a real turkey dinner with all the fixings, but, it was going to be very expensive and we wanted it to be more like family :)
we cleaned our apartment all night on Thursday in preparation for Friday evening.
we had about 20 people here and 7 rotisserie chickens (as well as mashed potatoes, corn, gravy, stuffing, fruit plates, bread and butter, brownies, cookies, veggies, etc! :) We had actually ordered 8 since we had a bunch of boys coming, but the delivery guy only showed up with 5. what can you do? but, jake to the rescue and brought 2 more. :) it was waaaay less expensive than getting a turkey.
the night was so much fun! we all went around said what we were thankful for and what has been our favorite shanghai moment so far: mine was the jazz festival and when mac and i got caught in the typhoon in Pudong :)

(i will have to say as a side note, another favorite moment happened to me today in my cab ride. the lady cab driver -which is very rare in china- was listening to the radio and Taylor Swift's "Love Story" came on. of course i was going to start singing it. so here i am, busting it out in the cab. turns out she loves the song too and joins in with me a little. i never thought i would be in shanghai, in a cab, singing taylor swift with my chinese cab driver. it was amazing! :)

did i mention Bethany made pumpkin pie, well, something pumpkin pie-ish and i was in heaven!
being away from home for holidays is really getting to me, but being with friends who are struggling with the same thing makes it a little better. i am trying not to think about Christmas. aaahhhhhh

my centerpiece :)

 the food!

my favorite aussies on their 1st thanksgiving!

oh and the best quote of the night -- shaun begins to list what he is thankful for as natalie says "Shaun, you are just listing your facebook interests. That's not thanksgiving." soooo funny!

the chickens, haha or as we called them all night "churkeys"

jake ceremoniously cutting the "churkey"

dinner on the stairs. :)

pumpkin deliciousness

some of the gang

happy "fanksgiving" from wunan kindergarten!

class 5/6

class 3

only the best package ever!

just wanted to make a post all about the Taylor's :)
they sent me the most AMAZING package last week that I have barely made a dent into, eating wise!
although, that bag of skittles is already looking like its gone.
i nannied for their family all summer after meeting Maddie through a reading program at North Elementary (my last job). I tutored her one day a week after school and it was always so much fun! Her mom asked me if i would be interested in nannying over the summer. I jumped at it. It was the BEST summer job EVER with the BEST kids ever.

i mean LOOK at them! they are holding the cutest little signs :) they look really grown up! i havent seen them since the beginning of August. waaah!

this is the package of goodies they sent me. i have enough cereal to last for months! thanks goodness! i didnt even eat cereal that often in the states, but for some reason its my craving here all the time. and when the milk tastes like half and half, you can't really complain :) its like my childhood dream come true.

and trolli brite crawlers are ONLY my favorite food. yes, food.

the most precious thing of all. travis wrote on the box flap, "i lost a tooth".

that made me cry and cry and cry.

i cried the entirety of opening the box. i was so happy to be getting this from them.

taylor family, i love you so much and i am blessed to have met you. your children are so sweet and meg and matt, i am so thankful to you for letting them be a part of my life. you are such a great family and i think of you all the time.

maddie, shawn and trav, dont worry. you will be getting a package from me :) maybe around christmas or sometime after.

yay for family and friends back home!

blog readers, jealous you didn't get a package shout out? maybe all those of you reading this should send me something!

pizza, beer and ice cream. doesn't get more american than that.

do you ever wake up in the morning and think "man, pizza and beer sound really good!" okay, so maybe you don't fellow americans living in america :) but this girl thought that exact thing within about 5 minutes of waking up!

so, that's exactly what jacqueline, mac, amanda and i did this evening after a trip to the market to get our coat buttons fixed and finding me a fabulous black scarf.

new york city pizza.

obviously not THE new york pizza. but tasty nonethless.

mac, amanda and i had the Nina pizza: onions, olives (ew), green pepper, artichokes. amazing!

and you gotta have the large tiger draft :)

we then ventured back into the Jing'an metro stop and found a Coldstone Creamery!! ohh goodness. i was so excited to see a cake batter ice cream... but sadly... they didn't have any left. i opted for the cheesecake fantasy which is blissful as well.

divine.

last night i went and saw Harry Potter 7.1! it was so good! i was on the edge of my seat the entire time! it is competing with being my favorite HP movie yet. i loved that was able to see it in china too. made it even better :)

it was in english. no worries. with chinese subtitles.

i am LEGIT

today as i was walking home from work, minding my own business, listening to The Swell Season, having my normal staring problem and looking for anything interesting to happen when i was approached by a Chinese couple that i assume wasnt from around here. i felt them approaching me from about a mile away. i just had this feeling as i was waiting at the crosswalk they were going to come towards me. it was a weird feeling.
i take out my headphones ready to say "Dui bu qi, wo bu dong Zhongwen" or ("I'm sorry, I do not understand Chinese") but then they started talking to me and get this, I understood! i really understood somehow. He said something to the extent of "Where is Ruijin Rd?" I stood there for about 5 seconds trying to process his request and then it happened... i said "You guai shanxi. Zou guai shaoxing." or ("Right on Shanxi and Left on Shaoxing")... but as I was ever so proudly speaking with them a chinese woman came in and stole my glory! HELLO! I had the situation handled!

for those of you that know me, I am not the best at directions and i tend to take the longest way possible sometimes only because i know its a safe bet.

as they start to saunter away, i realize ... wait! if you keep going straight, this road will hit Ruijin without having to turn.
so i tap them again and say "Qian mien (spelling i am not sure on that one, all i know is it means go straight) Yongjia" and waved with my hands and then made a "T" motion because Yongjia and Ruijin T each other.
they laughed and smiled and told me my Chinese was good! "hao!"
They then asked me where i was from.
Proudly, i answered "Wo shi Meiguoren!" or "I am American!". They gave me a thumbs up and went on their merry way.


Also, I am pretty sure later they made fun of me.
1. I was overly excited to give directions.
2. That is the type of language you use when telling your cab driver where to go. I am sure there are other words when someone isn't driving. :)

This American girl can survive here and give directions! How awesome is that?

the china segment

my mom told me about this video (and how she was super pissed she didn't get to watch the whole segment!). this video is only 5 minutes long but it is so interesting! my jaw was dropped so many times. i can't believe that there are more people in china who study english than there are people in America! also - that some people only make $300/month. i can't believe this is the country i am living in. i also found it funny that when the ladies in the video start talking chinese, i didn't even think it was weird. its like 2nd nature to me now and when people are talking in chinese, i totally drown it out OR try to hear words i might know. like, today when my ayi in my 3yr old class kept saying "Bu ke yi!" or "don't do that!" (like 100 times in her lecture) i knew what she was saying! i love when i know what is semi going on. :)

but, this video is super interesting and if anyone can find the entirety of it, please let me know.
my mom said that the beginning segment was about "How much do the 2 year olds of China know more than those of the USA?" my roommate and I both yelled "WAY MORE!" i teach 3 year olds and they know about the equivalent (or more) than a US kindergarten, and they don't even speak English! it amazes me! parents in china care way more about their children's education. their children are forced to excel in ALL areas of school. this puts much demand and pressure on the children... ah thats another issue.

[side story: i actually had a parent come up to me last week and ask me to see her son's art work. once i showed her she started to tell me that his art work hadn't always "been THAT good". "When he was 4, his art work was horrible! i couldn't tell what anything was! it was a bunch of blobs and scribbles. So, I enrolled him in Baby Art for a few months. every wednesday night he would go for 2 hours for an art class. one day, i went into the class and there were 3 pictures chosen as the best of the day. my son: he won that day! i took him out of Baby Art. now, i can tell what he draws." ok, he is five now. at the time, he was FOUR! FOUR!!! he isn't supposed to be a Monet! i couldn't believe it]

also, the fires in the video just happened on monday! i heard fire trucks and ambulances all day and had no idea what was going on. the fire killed about 53 people, 16 injured and about 43 missing. shanghai has issued a "media blackout" i have heard, so after yesterday, we will hear no more about the Jing'an fires.

ok enough of my rant.
this is why i am here though.
i show these kids love everyday.
i show this country love. i honestly couldn't be happier.
yes, there are personal issues back home i wish i was doing without. i wake up every morning and think "how am i going to get through this day?" but when i walk into my classes and see my kids and re-recognize my passion. i am okay. because: i see JiaJia and I wake her up from her nap and she wants me to help her put her shoes and coat back on. she nuzzles me close and says "jami laoshi" in the cutest little voice. or i see mark and he says out of nowhere "miss jami, i really like you" and i say "well, mark i really like you too".

i'm in repair. i'm not together, but i'm getting (i'll get) there. - john mayer

dismantle. repair.

a life post. not a china post.

a lyric post, that explains everything, that you might not even read.



Dismantle. Repair. -Anberlin
One last glance from a taxi cab
Images scar my mind
Four weeks've felt like years
Since your full attention was all mine
The night was young and so were we
Talked about life, God, death, and your family
Didn't want any promises,
Just my undivided honesty, and you said

Oh oh, things are gonna change now for the better
Oh oh, things are gonna change, oh, they're gonna change

I am the patron saint of lost causes
A fraction of who I once believed (change)
only a matter of time
Opinions I would try and rewrite
If life had background music playing your song
I've got to be honest, I tried to escape you
But the orchestra plays on, and they sang

Oh oh, things are gonna change now for the better
Oh oh, things are gonna change

Hands, like secrets, are the hardest thing to keep from you
Lines and phrases, like knives, your words can cut me through
Dismantle me down (repair)
You dismantle me
You dismantle me

Give me time to prove
Prove I want the rest of yours (prelude)
Call this a prelude to a lifetime of you
It's not that I hang on every word
I hang myself on what you repeat
It's not that I keep hanging on
I'm never letting go



i was going to add a picture ... but that might have been a little much.
dramatic.

airplanes and invitations

i swear that is the name of an album! but i googled it and it's not. someone please tell me what i am thinking of!

part one
invitations
this last week, the 2 other English teachers and I got an invitation to go to one of the chinese teacher's apartments to visit because she had just gotten married. she wanted to show us her pictures and her new place. aftwards, there would be a dinner "outside". i had no clue what that meant. like "outside" as in a picnic. "outside" on a patio? just "outside" of her home? a restaurant? this list could go on forever. i was reminded every day that week about this affair. i was pretty excited :)
so after school we taxied to Estella's place. it was so cute!! her and her new husband had all these adorable pictures of themselves all over the place (gag me. i hate love) and a list of 4 things they must do every day, like: always kiss me goodnight, always tell me "honey, i am home"... etc. it was precious. we all went into her bedroom and looked at about 1000 pictures from her wedding. it was the first time i had actually been explained how a chinese wedding works! it is so different from america!
the bride wears about 4 dresses which are absolutely gorgeous. the groom picks the bride up at her parents house in her bedroom. they then have a small soup or tea ceremony with her parents and they give their future "son" and daughter a red envelope filled with money. they parents eat the soup and then it is the new couple's turn.
get this... so in the soup dumpling thing (i wish i remembered what it was called) has some type of "seed" in it. the bride is to spit it out into a red envelope for the groom, which is symbolized of her "giving her seed to her husband"... aka a baby! weird.
after this at the bride's house, they go to the groom's house (their new home together) and repeat this ceremony with his parents (minus the seed part).
that night they have a wedding dinner.
this is by no means super detailed. its just what i remembered her saying... i was more into the dresses and decorations :)

after this we went to a restaurant with all the international class teachers and the ayis, along with the principal and "secretary" type lady as well.
this dinner, once again, was out of control! amazing food! they had anything from crab, to little squids, pork and garlic bread :) haha im confused on what this dinner was actually for? was it estella's wedding? was it Dong Laoshi's (an ayi in the school. oh and for your information, an "ayi" is a teacher in the classroom who basically takes care of all cleaning, both kids and classroom, and lunch) birthday celebration? was it just for good measure? because i am pretty positive the school paid for it.
overall - it was a fun night once again with my coworkers :) my camera died or i totally would have taken pictures.

part two
airplanes
after the dinner, i came home and mac and i decided to go ahead and open a bottle of wine :) duh. i had had a ROUGH day (rough doesn't even explain it right now) and needed to go out. so we dressed up, hopped into a cab and went to a place called D10 Departure Lounge. the place was an airplane inside! it was so fun! there were overhead compartments and everything. all the staff were dressed as flight attendants and pilots. sections were roped off as either economy, first class and the cockpit.

it was such a cool (and totally asian) place!

this week can't go FAST enough. i am so ready to see "harry pott" this weekend :)

my morning and afternoon walk - part er (2 in chinese)

i have been walking to work for about a month now and as you might have read in a prior post, i love it. i love everything about it!
i write this post to tell you some recent trends i have noticed and some people i have named (i see a few people at the same time everyday and usually pass them in the same spot each time.

1. the "fruit lady" - this lady is always sitting in front of her store either a.) shucking some corn b.) washing something in dirty water or c.) straightening her potatoes

2. the "little girl with the roller backpack" - this little girl wears a red bandana and pulls a pink and white plaid backpack. she always seems in a hurry. she is super precious though!

3. the sony ericsson cell phone girl statue - this is not a real person obviously, but it is a semi-provocative looking statue. it is a girl talking on her cell phone with her midriff showing and a short skirt. about 2 days a week this statue has either a banana peel on the head, or trash stuffed in the elbow pits (her hands are on her hips). i get a good laugh everytime.

4. the "CEO-ish looking dad" with a baby in a stroller - all i know, this guy is all business. and he basically is sprinting everytime i see him.

5. the "hip old lady" - this lady has style! she is always sporting some type of fabulous, totally asian boutique buy jacket, killer boots, tights, a skirt or dress and she struts when she walks! girl still knows how to rock it.

6. the "breakfast lady" - i don't know WHAT this lady is making, but it always looks good and there is always someone waiting in line. one day i will get up the courage to order one... need to improve my chinese first. "wo yao ... uhhh.... nage?" (I want... that?)

7. then, you have the about 10 elderly people who swerve around the sidewalk like they own it. one time, i wasn't paying attention and knocked into one. oops...

8. the constant game of frogger - fact: motorbikes stop for no one. cars stop for  no one. traffic lights don't really matter nor are they followed. bikes go the opposite way into traffic if they feel like it. they WILL run you over if you feel like it. i have to keep aware at all times or i will be... frog leg dinner :)


that about does it. oh, and that is my morning walk. i never notice the same people on my way home... maybe i am just less observant. after dealing with kids who dont speak my language all day, i am just focused on getting home, my iPod and maybe... a glass of wine.

my route :)

ps. i don't know if i posted a picture of my dark hair as of recent, but here it is.

yes or no?  :)

the "antique" market

the roomie (mac) and i and my friend Jacqueline decided to adventure to the Dongtai Lu Antique Market.

why i say "antique" in my title is because like most of china's goods, i believe these are fake antiques. most of these items were NOT one of a kind, or rare. yes, there were some great and rare finds but they were few and far between. no lie, we saw a group of men destroying some leather goods to make them look "antique". true story :)

 and like all antiques, they took some "digging" to find the legit stuff. i think i saw the same buddha head about 50 times."oh, check out that turquoise buddha head!" i might say... only to find the same one about 2 shops over and then again across the way and to the left.
and again, as bargaining goes in china, you ask "dou shou qian?" (how much is it?) they look at you for about 3 seconds and then decide, obviously trying to decide how dumb of a foreigner you might look like, to mark up the price about 100%. for example... take this buddha head i bought (i actually bought a smaller version of the far left one)

they tried to make me pay 180 kuai (equiv. $25). i got them down to 50 kuai (equiv. $8). you just gotta "walk away" when they don't give you what you want. basically, it gets you want you want everytime!

 i also got a beautiful silver bracelet with a flower and koi fish on it (asking price 175 kuai, got it for 75 kuai)

AWESOME vintage luggage! mac, jacqueline and i LOVED THESE!

 and of course! who doesn't need a vintage wall hanging to show their pup love?

i will definitely be going back here again before my time in china is over because i want some more vintage looking decor for my one day apartment :) at least for my bedroom back home in the mean time.

how much is that doggie in the window?

i was walking down fuxing lu (i believe) with my friends and all of the sudden i say "is that real?" mac and jacqueline reply, "is what real?" i answer (and point up)..... "that DOG!"

do you see it? up in the window of the fruit store?

there he is!!

tired and fat. this pup needs some love.

so funny.

only china.

field trip #2

this last friday, wunan took the international classes to a place called the Shanghai Chen Shan Botanical Gardens. It was a place way out in the suburbs of shanghai, which I didn't even know existed! suburbs? in china? maybe I am just nieve, but i didn't know! it was about a 45 minute bus ride out of puxi (the district i live in). the suburbs were way awesome! there were huge housing and apartment complexes. some of them looked very southwestern and modern, i didn't feel like i was in china anymore! it felt very america-ish :)
i was with my 5/6 year class again to help. they are such a fun group for field trips. i can actually talk to them and ask them their opinions!
this place is HUGE! they have everything from peony gardens, rose gardens, rock gardens, aquatic life gardens, a children's garden, authentic chinese plants garden and even a small mountain with two waterfalls!! the chinese teachers kept laughing about how shanghai has the smallest mountains in china!
 we walked around to about 4 of the different gardens and had a picnic lunch! here are some pictures:

the mountain

beautiful rose

lunch of champtions: tiki crackers, hi-chews, peanut butter, bread, oranges and water

another rose

kiddies

xixi :)

waterfall

pagoda at the top of the mountain

me at the waterfall

this field trip was much less hectic than the other one to the pearl tower. it was less crowded and the kids could actually run free in the gardens and play, opposed to having to be dragged along hand in hand at the tower. so far both field trips have given me the opportunity to see more of shanghai and not pay for it! double bonus :)

and i got to play and hold mark a lot :) he was scared of the littlest bugs and kept jumping in my arms ... i didn't mind. because he is SO precious.

mark :)

awfully chocolate

... is awfully an awesome discovery!!

after unsuccessfully bargaining with some rudey chinese ladies over some fabulous sweaters in an amazing little shop, we miraculously ran into what we thought was a mirage...

but wasn't! it was called awfully chocolate. this place had cupcakes that i honestly didn't CARE what the price was, i needed it right now. and for 25 RMB (about $3 USD) i was going for it.

let me tell you, it is not letting me down. i am in love....

with a cupcake.

oh, by the way... i won something. that like never happens.

thanks to the one and only sarah ann noel. 

the chinese hospital

so far in china, i have been sick 3 times...
the first morning, i woke up to no voice, sore throat, a little bit of s stuffy nose and a small cough. not horrible, minus the no voice thing. had to miss school one day....

the second time, it was the morning jennifer arrived and my throat was scratchy and sore and my sinuses were out of control. this turned into three days of constantly blowing my nose, mixed in with not being able to breath and my nose turning red due to the cheap tissues a bought.

the third time... the present. scratchy throat again, but this time my lymph nodes were sore to the touch, hard as rocks and i have a mean, dry cough. i wanted to try and fix this myself, get some sleep and load up on oranges and vitamin c. it just didnt do the trick. sunday i was in bed all day with aches and sore throat. i made the executive decision to ask my boss to take me to the doctor on monday. i had to go to school because i was being observed by some local teachers and about 30 university teaching majors. (might i say, it didn't go that well... i was feeling horrible)
the boss calls me and tells me that she will take me after my morning class to the hospital... the chinese hospital. i was mentally preparing myself. i had heard horror stories, but i was willing to take the risk because i need antibiotics to kick this once and for all.
as we walk to the hospital i realize i am absolutely sweating (due to a fever). we wait in this line to check in, get into a crowded elevator up to the 11th floor to the ear, nose, and throat specialist. why i was seeing a specialist? i am not sure. it's china. as soon as i get to the doctor he says "do you have a fever?" i answer, "ummm, maybe? i don't know?" he shoos me out of the room where i walk to the receptionist/nurse. she stares at me and obviously i don't know how to say "can i have my temperature taken" so i open my mouth and pretend to put a thermometer under it. she jumps out of her seat and begins walking somewhere else so i follow her. she says/yells/screams "sit down!" so i do. she comes back with an old school thermometer and shoves it in my mouth.
yep... almost 100 degree fever. not bad, but, i got one.
why couldn't the doctor just take my temperature? again, it's china.
so the doctor looks in my throat, talks a little... yep, i have strep throat.
i have 2 choices... i can get an IV with some medicine or take some pills. but he recommended the IV since it would work faster.
i look at my boss and say "what should i do?" i wanted the pills but i mean if the dr. thinks it is good to take an IV... i would do it. she chooses the IV.
i had NO CLUE what i was in for.
i am leaded into a room with about 200 chinese people hooked up to IVs, it reminded me of some terrible horror movie... and my boss tells me "pick a seat"!!! to me, this was like choosing how to die. do i wanna sit by the old chinese man who doesn't look like he will live much longer? the chinese woman who's eating something that smells horrible and looks horrible? the possibilities were endless. so, after sitting in seat 3 and realizing the man was freaking me out... i transfer to seat 58. (or was it 85?). i sit down.... starting to panic. this is so weird. this isn't right.
finally, some nurses come up to me and begin the IV, they also mention i have to sit here for 3.5 hours? what??? yeah, i'm not liking this option. i started crying. more of an "im overwhelmed and scared" cry, not the "i am afraid of needles" cry. about 10 minutes into the IV, i was all situated in with my iPod trying to cancel out my surroundings when the old chinese man across from me starting yelling and pointing at me! i had no clue what to do! i had no idea what was going on! i guess my IV had stopped dripping. but how was i supposed to know that! i don't know about that stuff! nurse came and fixed it... don't worry.
but overall...
my friend bethany who was there (she got some meds for a sinus infection) as well sat with me at the beginning, my boss was there for awhile (bringing water and oranges), mac came (bringing my favorite scarf and some CoCo's) and we talked and then yuvie came (helping me adjust to all this madness). i met some old chinese people who i tried my best to talk to. they were my friends in the end. :) after getting to the hospital at 3 that day, i didn't get home until almost 8pm. let's hope the pills i am going to get kick the rest of this strep throat and chest cold out of the park.

i hope never again i have to go to a chinese hospital. i think i experienced culture shock for the first time.
also, when given the option, IV or pills.
just take the pills.