If you can dodge a wrench...

I am done with my first week of my intensive Chinese language and culture program! 15 weeks to go. 

I have never spoken so much Mandarin in my life. Yesterday I was excited to meet a student from Hong Kong. I have been trying to find more people that speak Cantonese and Mandarin. Since Cantonese is my second “language” and Mandarin is my third, I feel much more comfortable speaking Cantonese. (I put language in quotes because technically they are two dialects of Chinese but many say they are not mutually intelligible.) I tried to talk to him in Cantonese but Mandarin kept slipping out. Since I have been speaking Mandarin 23 hours a day, I have already gotten accustomed to it. It’s amazing how fast people can adapt.

Speaking of adapting, I love riding my bike to school. A few years ago, I said I would never bike in China. Never say never, Justin Biebs. My host family has lent me a bike for me to commute to school. It is a 30 minute walk or a 6 minute bike ride. I am impatient and love biking so that has been my main mode of transportation. The first ride was definitely the scariest. People here love honking their car horn and ringing their bike bell. These people don’t just honk their horn, they press and hold it. The program coordinator said people frequently have to get their horns replaced because they use them so often.

When I rode the bike for the first time, I wasn’t sure where I was going, I was getting used to the bike, and getting used to biking in China. It was the most stressful bike ride I have ever experienced. I thought I was going to get hit by multiple mopeds, bikers, and cars. They come so close to you! 

I couldn’t raise the seat so I was biking with my knees practically at 90 degrees, the bell is broken, and the brakes are sketchy. I was wondering why the seat was so low but then after I realized the brakes don’t really work, I realized it was so I can use my feet as brakes. When I need to stop, I clench down on the brakes all the way and that slows it down enough so I can plant my feet on the ground to come to a stop. I should probably go get the brakes fixed. 

Also, when I asked my auntie about whether I get a new bell, she said “of course not! If you need to pass someone, just yell!” 

The program coordinator told me not to ride a bike to school because it is too dangerous. I figure “When in Rome, do as the Romans do.” Also, the other day I rode on my bike to school in the rain during rush hour. I figure “If you can dodge a wrench, you can dodge a ball.” After biking in China, I feel I can handle biking anywhere. China is real life Frogger.

Also, on the back of the bike there is a seat pad and foot rests for a small child to ride as a passenger. I am going to have to try throwing one of my classmates back there and see how it goes. I’ll let you know. 

Enough about biking. I have been having a blast with my host family and I want to tell you a little about them. The Ah Ye (auntie) has been cooking and cleaning for the family for ten years. She was the one that picked me up from school the day I moved into their condominium. The first day I met her before I even had a chance to set down my luggage, she took off her pants in the middle of the living room because it was too hot. I felt so at home. I hate pants. The Ah Ye is hilarious even though I can’t understand her at times. She speaks 南京话 (the Nanjing dialect). She cooks delicious meals and I should keep a tally of the number of times she tells me to吃, 吃, 吃 (eat, eat, eat) during dinner because I bet it is upwards of thirty. 

I’ll have to talk about my host dad another time because since he works in another city, he is only around every other weekend because he works in another city. I haven’t spent much time with him yet.

The other auntie, my host mom, is super sweet and we already have had some good chats. She speaks some English but wants to learn more. She bought Garfield for her daughter but her daughter doesn’t understand it. Today I was on the couch writing an essay while my host mom was trying to read Garfield. I had so much fun trying to translate the comics for her. I didn’t realize how hard it would be for a non-native speaker to understand. She had questions about some of the frames that had slang or phrases like “Be still my beating taste buds.”She had an online translator open to try to figure out some words. She looked up “herow widdle kitty” in the dictionary because she didn’t know the lady in the strip was talking baby talk to Garfield. 

My little sister likes Taylor Swift and playing Chinese chess. She taught me how to play the other day but I am pretty terrible. She is adorable and during dinner she feeds me (puts food on my plate and tells me to eat it after explaining what it is). She loves to play games and tonight we played Monopoly. I usually hate playing but it was actually really fun. It might have been because it was in a different language. It also could have been because I had all four railroads and they kept landing on them. Win. 

Tomorrow I am off to Xuan Wu Lake with the people in my program. I will do another photo dump soon.

Three things I am grateful for:

1.       Our program paid for a huge VIP karaoke room at KTV for us and the Chinese roommates. Twenty-five people in a room trying to “sing” at the same time is ridiculous.

2.       People that have the patience to try to understand my terrible Mandarin
I have been texting, writing emails, and Skype-ing in Chinese and the nerd in me thinks it’s fun.

3.       Chinese to English dictionaries and Chinese apps like Pleco
However, the dictionary apps (especially the free ones) are not always reliable. I tried to ask the program coordinator if she likes to eat pig blood but apparently I basically asked her if she was a vampire. Also, my dictionary doesn’t have a translation for “homeboy.” Try to explain “homeboy” in another language. I don’t even know how to do that in English.