In the money . . .

 

One of the most common attitudes in China today is to "make money." I believe that money is the single most talked about topic in this country. In fact, one of the first five questions a foreigner is usually asked is "How much money do you make?" Money and making money is a national obsession.

Any rate, this photo captures the idea of money quite well. Can you tell what it is?

Being "Knit-Picky"

 

 

 

 

I learned how to knit last winter and I'm truly hooked! I love it! However, the wholesale market that sells absolutely fabulous yarn is located on the other side of town. It typically takes about an hour to get there and then you have to spend time looking for what you want.

As the months have gone by, I've gotten to know one seller pretty well. I'm planning on making a scarf for our local grandmother for Chinese New Year, so I decided to head out for a "quick" trip to the yarn market. I snapped some pictures as well.

The first photo is cashmere yarn. Nicely packaged. I think that's supposed to be enough to make a sweater, but I'm not sure. The nice thing about these shops is that the shopkeepers will all tell you what you need. And they are pretty honest about it as well.

The second photo is the alpaca wool yarns that I absolutely love! I really enjoy working with them and have made several scarves. I'm working on a vest for Michael (a little over halfway done) from a yellow/white/blue/green yarn similar to what's in the photo.

The third photo is rabbit yarn. This is the most expensive yarn in the market. It is incredibly soft. I was going to use it to make the scarf, but this yarn really looks much better in a shawl or sweater. I passed it up. Just not enough "pizazz" for what I wanted.

The last photo is what I chose -- cashmere mink! (The photo looks like a ferret, though!) It is also very soft and gives a slight "halo" effect to the finished product. This particular manufacturer puts in a slight sparkle thread in with the yarn, giving your knitted item a degree of elegance. I chose the deep burgundy color with the tiniest bit of purple that is to the left of the green color in the photo.

Best part? The price! I've seen this seller sell this yarn for 65 yuan per package. She sold it to me for 30 yuan. That's a little less than $5 US. I'll post photos of the scarf as it progresses along.

(I was very focused today . . . went to the yarn market, went directly to this seller and bought the yarn and then went to another seller who had a different yarn I needed for a different project and then promptly left. I was with a friend and I was quite pleased with how focused we were . . . no window shopping today!)

Procrastination . . .

I should be working on lesson plans. I took a nap instead. Then, when I got up, I decided to putter around with my blog. I don't write much in it, and quite frankly, I was a bit bored with my template. It's one of those included in the package called Blogspot, but a friend of mine recently started a blog (See "A Life in China") and she rocked her template with something really cool! Therefore, I spent too much time searching for "just the right" template for me!

This one is called "Ink and Wash" and seems appropriate for someone who calls herself "WriteCards." I STILL have a passion for inks and papers, but lack the time to do anything with that passion. I try to exercise creativity via knitting and cross stitch, but at times, I truly wish to have ink-stained hands again.

Sometimes, I miss having a paper journal. I do carry a notebook around with me everywhere in which I jot notes for journal entries later on. I am much more efficient on a computer and of course, using a computer takes up much less space. But the nostalgic part of me wishes for those brocade covered blank books I used to spend hours writing in.

At any rate, I had a peaceful afternoon and I have a few more days before classes begin again (we're on National Day holiday), so I'm not too far behind.

Staring, staring, staring

Life in China includes getting stared at a lot. It's not so bad for me . . . I have dark brown/black hair and I blend in somewhat. However, it's obvious that I'm not Chinese, so I can "stand out in a crowd" . . . just not as much as my blond-haired, blue-eyed friends!

Someone asked me for coping mechanisms for dealing with the staring. This is what I came up with:

1. It's not personal. You are not being stared at because of who you are as an individual, but because you are a foreigner.
2. The best response is to simply smile and keep going. Do not engage in a "Stare-Down" contest. Not only will you lose this contest, but you will find that this plants seeds of "returning like-for-like." Staring is culturally acceptable here. Develop a thick skin and accept it as much of a part of life as breathing.
3. Learn simple greetings. "Nin hao" for the elderly; "Ni hao" for most other ages; "Xiao pengyou hao" for children. Learn how to compliment babies and small children. (Ta shi ke ai de hen -- He/she is very cute!)
4. Staring is much worse in public bathrooms with no divider walls. Adopt an adage of "If they see something they haven't seen before, then they won't know what it is." Do your business and leave. No smiles necessary. :)
5. You cannot control the actions of other people. However, you can control your reaction to them.

I like the last one best. I have absolutely no control over what other people do. However, I do have control over how I respond to them.

Now, stop staring at me! :)

I lost my yak!

I haven't started teaching yet . . . I have another ten days to go. However, my Tibetan students (who are not really my students, but undergrads who regularly come to my office hours) called me and asked if we could get together on Tuesday. Of course I said yes!

While discussing summer events and while answering the question, "Did anything exciting happen this summer?", the response, "I lost my yak," came up.

I couldn't help it . . . I howled with laughter! This is just not something you would hear someone in the United States say!

Here's the whole story. One gal, Ronnie, taught for three weeks in a summer camp program. While she came to my office hours quite frequently, I can't say that I ever heard her speak much English. However, she lived with an American girl during this three week camp and it was either sink or swim . . . speak English with her roommate or not communicate. Her English flourished during this time and when she met in my office, she almost couldn't stop talking!

But I digress . . . back to the yak. After the camp, she joined her nomadic parents (Yes, most of my Tibetan students come from nomad families) and helped them out. She was sent out to herd yak one foggy morning. While she could see the yak directly in front of her, she couldn't see the entire herd. By the time the sun burned the fog off, it was discovered that she lost 40 head! There are only 130 yak in the herd to begin with so this was a significant number. Her family laughed at her and called her a "city girl." After lunch, the men went out on horseback and all 40 yak were found.

Not only was I amazed at the story, I was amazed at her ability to tell the story. She has improved a thousand-fold. She had all the inflections down and she told punchlines at the right places. I so loved her story and I can appreciate the stress she felt at the time.

I lost my yak. Indeed!

The joys of summer . . .

 

There's something about watching kids fly into a swimming pool that clearly defines summer. As you can tell, Rachel and Michael and their cousins thoroughly enjoyed themselves at the pool.

This little piggy went to the market . . .

 

but I bet he wished that he was the one that stayed home! Can you guess what these are? Yes, they are pigs ears! Pigs ears! Now, I'm all for being adventurous, but I think nothing short of starvation could induce me to try pigs ears.

Eeeewwwwwwww! {{shudder}}