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| Sorry to switch up on you folks, but if you would be so kind as to subscribe to my new xanga, I'd be obliged.
(I'll email a bunch of you my address - my name is not connected with my new one, nor is my picture.)
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| Well, today I thought about two problems. Well, many more, but these particular two are the only relevent ones.
How will I pay my rent tomorrow? It will be Dec. 1, but it will be Friday night - I may be out.
Also, if I am out, how can I have the landlord, Lai, fix my internet? If he can?
Well, having earlier today expressed my intention to get back onto Skype (which I'd been off of for two weeks because of my downed internet) Friday night, I am now back on - and this is Thursday! Lai came by for the rent at 6PM and ended up staying and helping me (his English is pretty advanced - he listens to ICRT 100, for those of you who know what that means) until 7:30!
Very helpful, and I sent him with blessings and a chocolate cigar I'd been saving for no good reason - but I guess for a good opportunity such as this.
Give our Father the glory! Two problems fixed - in advance! Lots of exclamation points!!!
P.S. - I am listening to Bob's "Merry Christmas 2003" CD. "If you haven't got a penny, a ha'penny will do..."
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| Oh, I could buy one. I have the cash to anytime I want. But Hillsdale College has older claims on my wallet than my desires for posting digital photos do. It's ahead of all financial obligations (except 10% and food/shelter/transportation - thankfully, my income is still too low for taxes!), until the obligation is $0.00. I mean, I graduated in February of 2002. (That's what my diploma says, though I walked in May 2001 and had my last classes in December 2001.) Five or six years is long enough to pay off a measly $16K or so of principal. Thankfully, due to the sacrifices of those who love me, the principal was not larger nor was I obligated to drop out of school for a time. In all seriousness, I graduated from an excellent college and acheived all my academic goals (except my Chemistry major; among desires, but not goals, are/were/will be Latin and Greek and Religion and Philosophy and other studies...). Okay, there's no end to my curiosity about how Dad made the world, humans and all their associated facets, and Dad Himself. But this takes me far, far from my original point for this post. At my school are bathrooms. Various countries call them restrooms, toilets (the whole room, not just the ceramic fixture), W.C.'s (not a reference to the early 20th-century comedian, but an abbreviation for "water closets"), etc. As in other places around campus, there are small signs that attempt to teach English through proverbs. I agree with this method, since proverbs are easily-remembered, short, and can spark discussion into their verity. Below the English on the signs is the equivalent Chinese proverb (not a literal translation of the English proverb, also a wise decision, since the idea is what's important, not the individual words). Yet the four proverbs prominently placed here are, well, ripe for misinterpretation: 1. "You can't have your cake and eat it." (seen on the way in) Eating is the LAST thing on my mind when entering this particular room! 2. "Practice makes perfect." Perhaps this is good news for the younger boys unaccustomed to urinals. By the way, there is no boys' or girls' (or adults') room. There are about 8 fully-closed commodes on the left-hand side and 8 urinals on the right (with very large dividers between them). 3. "Live and learn." For when you had too much la jiao the day before. 4. "Seeing is believing." Now, this one I happen to disagree with, as the basis for my identity is my belief in something I have not seen (namely, JC's sacrifice for us ornery sinners and His coming back to life on the third day). However, it's probably not in the right place, true or not. Well, if you've hung with me thus far, thanks! Remember, a thousand words is worth a picture! | | |
| I went to a big lunch yesterday with a visiting friend of a teacher and several of the leaders of my school. The teacher himself could not go, because he had to teach.
My schedule is mostly in the morning all week, so I was free all afternoon.
Little did I know that it would take ALL afternoon.
Well, the lunch was good - shrimp (that you still had to be-head and de-vein and un-leg and off-tail, or whatever the right words are), green beans, broccoli, fish (I wish I knew which kind - I am still a culinary ignoramus), rice, and a lot of other veggies and meats that I didn't recognize. Good tasting, and red bean things - oh, let's call them muffins - for dessert. (I'm not the biggest fan of red beans, nor their greatest critic. Usually, though sweet, they taste too beany. I'm not sure if you know what I mean, but there's a dry, pasty texture common to beans that never quite goes away no matter how hongdou is prepared. The muffins were so dark that they put ideas of chocolate in my brain, and though I said to myself, "Don't expect chocolate!!!", I still was saddened by the contrast.)
But the best part was the boozing.
I'd never been to a truly traditional big, family lunch (with other guests besides me) before. Well, though my teacher-friend's friend is Taiwanese, he also doesn't drink, so we helped each other resist all offers.
The first beverage course for the 12-15 of us lasted through the main part of the meal. It consisted of two parts: a heavily-alcoholic soup (I'd never seen that before.) and a bottle of 58.
58.
What is that, you may ask? A wine made in 1958? 58-proof brandy?
Nope. 58-percent.
Once that double-barrelled round was over, it was time for the beer. Taiwan Beer, of course. You know the saying, "Beer before liquor, never been sicker. Liquor then beer, you're in the clear."
Well, after the beer came the aforementioned red bean things, and of course, whiskey. (Though, they do spell things differently in the Great White North.)
Well, by this point it was 2-o'clock and time to get back. The five of us from my school piled into the car we came in, and about half-way back, one remembered he forgot his cellphone and jacket at the house. So, back we went.
It was all a ruse. We were to stay and enjoy karaoke at this fellow's brother's house for the rest of the afternoon. So, of course, with no better option, I just decided to go with it. I sang "The Rose," "Rhinestone Cowboy," and "Dancing Queen."
Yes, they had a KTV setup in their house. Why do you look at me like that's a strange way to spend thousands of dollars? Well, I hope I made a good impression, though I fear I didn't when I asked if the head of the household (who is in Guangdong province nowadays with his business) was originally from Taiwan or the Mainland.
I thought it was just an informational question, but apparently it was taken as an insult. "He is real Taiwanese!"
Aside from the pervasive drunkeness, it was an enjoyable afternoon. Our Father protected us and I am looking forward to knowing the people even better the way they really are.
Give Him the glory!
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| Tonight, my school had its annual PTA dinner, with all the teachers, directors, and many students present.
Also present were many principals - including those whom I teach on Mondays, and those who are in authority over me at my other two schools (one once a week, on Fridays, the other once a month, on second Thursdays). And many others, too. And many bottles of 58-proof jiu. None for me (or the other teachers), thank you, but much for the visiting principals.
One kept trying to get me to imbibe, holding his cup to my lips more than once, but my comrades helped tell him that really wasn't necessary.
But the dinner was interesting. Da chu (Big Bamboo) is the name of the village, and we had lots of veggies and soups and mushrooms, all tasty, but no meat. I'm glad I went, but I thought the kids would sing a song they've been practicing for weeks, but maybe that practice was for some other time. I don't know. There was a string ensemble that played early in the meal, before they got to the part where they handed out the gifts.
If only for the need to give my guests presents of significant worth, I may never hold a party in "China."
But, then again, it IS just a one-party place...
(~:
Keep focused on the Father above all fathers, all parents, all principals, all teachers. And remember them, that He would be not just over them, but they would accept His offer of adoption.
Have a good week!
(The losses mentioned in the last post were not too bad. They're recover-from-able.)
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