Where is the Hitch?

Learning a language is like becoming a double agent... or an actor. You must embrace a new personality, although, that doesn’t mean your old one will perish from this world. At the worst, it might become a little jealous (but also a little less lonely). With every word learned you are taking upon someone else’s centuries of history and culture... you learn to feel and express yourself in entirely different manner...

Of course, at first, your ‘acting’ is more or less suicidal mission, but if you stick to it, you might stop torturing your brain and, step by step, tying words together will become easier. It will slip into your subconsciousness and be left at the mercy of secretive intuition as its only guide.

In every single process, no matter what language you study or why... before you will be able to master it, before you become good enough to transform the language... you will be transformed by it.  And this momentary transformation will change you. It sounds rather theatrical but it is true nevertheless. Those who already speak more than one language will probably know what I am talking about.  Although, many people think it is the experience that changes you... I dare to disagree!

It is the language! 

It is the experience of seeing and feeling differently from what we were taught, differently from the way we were brought up... and the reason we are capable of changing our perception IS the language.

When I first came here, it took me approximately one day to get annoyed by not understanding what was being said around and not being able to express at least Hi, Please or Thank you... It took me a week to get extremely annoyed. You see, I am not used to being in a country whose language I don’t speak at all... Not even a tiny little bit...

All I heard were noises... useless syllables.

Chinese language classes were part of the package from the Agency. I was to be taught eight two-hour sessions, plus another eight as an apology for forgetting to get me a SIM card and bedding upon my arrival as promised (I had no idea they were supposed to provide me with any of that, but I was not about to argue, I accepted the lessons). Later on, my company hired a Chinese teacher and advisor for the interns as well... so I ended up quite overwhelmed... someone up there really but really wanted me to learn Chinese... Believe me, I would, I really would do it... I would go all the way... But before I need to get my French to the level of my English, my Italian to the level of my French... and pull off Russian and Spanish... so, unless I have buy and external memory space for my brain, it’s simply not happening....

Chinese is bloody difficult!

These classes were to get me through this summer and help me understand the people who spoke it.

At first, I was terrified... all those words were so difficult to remember. I was lucky that in theory the sounds were quite similar to Slovak pronunciation, but the way they were combined... that is another story. I thought I will never be able to remember any of them. They were similar to nothing! Nothing I have heard before... and that is the way I remember things... I stroll along the chain of my twisted logic to connect seemingly un-connectable things. Though, here... here I was lost!

At least at the beginning, it took a lot of repetition (now, I don’t want you to think that I actually studied a lot...working like crazy five days a week I was exhausted... so my study was omitted to almost nothing... in another way- I am trying to say you should admire me unconditionally for this... because I had nerves to study during summer and because I was able to REMEMBER some of it eventually- even with such pitiful effort!).

My real problem was the tones. As many of you know, Chinese is a tonal language (meaning you need to watch your intonation). There are four tones applied to all vowel sounds. First one was neutral , second tone went up like when we are asking a question, the third required to lower the tone and then take it up again... the fourth was short and terse as if finishing a sentence. My intonation is a wild serpent... I cannot control my voice (well, now, after two months of online teaching I can – I am so gooooood, actually- but I couldn’t before... at all... so...) ... I can control my voice, but taming my intonation on 24/7 bases is not my cup of coffee. To me, the most problematic turned out to be the neutral tone. I could go up and down and down and up but holding a straight tone?

My Chinese teacher said I was an exception to the rule because I always had problems with stuff I was not supposed to have any trouble with, and I did easily all that was supposed to be complicated... She also said I was very talented in Chinese (muahahaha) although I do not quite agree. Honestly, I think I suck. However, this language really started getting to me. I like it. It so very different and miscellaneous it attracts me as gold does magpies.

Studying this language helped me explain some very common mistakes of my students as, for example, total ignorance of past tense in certain cases, since they again use a syllable at the end of the sentence to express positive past tense or place special word before a verb to express the negation in the past tense. Secondly, they often forget to put a verb ‘to be’ in purely adjective based sentences because in Chinese this sentence structure does not require verb at all... in practice, I often hear: ‘Today very hot!’ ... and so on...

In regard to people and culture...I developed a hypothesis. You see, Chinese people tend to be less open and less emotional as supposed to, for example, English speakers. They are not too fond of expressing their individuality either (this might also be the result of the regime not language... although now that I think of it, the regime might be the result of the language... a bit over-the-top but interesting thought nonetheless).

In Chinese, it is extremely intricate to become your SELF within the language mainly because of the tones. Being forced to bare the tones in mind suppresses emotions... I mean, it is the intonation that reveals the real meaning of the words.  One needs to know this language thoroughly to be able to afford the luxury of getting emotional... like Chinese people... you need fight your way through the wall of aloofness in order to be allowed to see any further.

English, on the other hand, (comparing to other languages) has little grammatical structure and is more-or-less left at the mercy of self expression and emotions... which is so incredibly fascinating about it!

 I already found out it is not advisable to say a statement with affirmation-seeking question mark. Chinese uses a special syllable at the end of the sentence which clarifies the questions as questions. One must be exceptionally careful because changing a tone could mean saying ‘horse’ instead of ’mother’... or something terrifyingly similar!

Now, the question is: Is sarcasm possible in Chinese?

Sarcasm?

Nooooooooo... :)

Peculiar life of an office worker part 2

It is almost ridiculous that I have written so much and yet I am scarcely at the beginning. And time... time is pitiless because in reality I am approaching the end with uncontrollable speed... which I cherish and resist at the same time. The truth is I am exhausted... I am afraid this weariness cannot be hushed up with a night of comforting sleep. Coming here directly from France... without time for contemplation of what I have done and learnt... without time to acknowledge the new ‘French’ part of me which fiercely fought its way through the ground and awkwardly bloomed into still-grammatically-incorrect-but-nevertheless-ready-to-speak flower... was a good idea, bad timing.  I feel as if my brain was about to explode... as if I was about to break down the moment another information conquers the barricades of my senses and finds its way to the brain.

This was a challenging year which made me feel, for the first time in my life, as an adult person, no longer a child (I still haven’t decided whether that is good or bad)... I think I overestimated myself in committing the next step without letting the previous lesson to soak in. Please do not think this means I am unhappy, unsatisfied or distressed... none of that nonsense. What worries me is the fact that I am not quite able to jump into it and let the current take wherever it pleases.  Being open to adventures, explorations, contradiction of ideas... that is the fundamental element of ... whatever I do. Frankly, I find it quite difficult to let myself go this time. I enjoy my time in Shanghai, yet I feel I am doing it half-way... and I hate, sincerely hate doing-things half-way. It’s all or nothing.

***

This previous two paragraphs were meant to describe in most thorough simplicity that lately I have been feeling a little.... cranky.

(Thus, I might be little more open to criticism than normally and I am afraid my vision of Chinese culture has been slightly compromised. Therefore, forgive if here and there I will get into passionate discourse about insignificant details.)

But let’s go back to work... literally!

My training took about three days... although the first one was the worst... fortunately the day after, Mariana, the other new intern, joined me in my eternal suffering and future seemed a little brighter. I dare to say, she became the most important person of my brief encounter with China and only knowing her was worth the struggle. It will never stop surprising me how people from different parts of the world will get lured into decisions that will bring them to places where they meet people who too got lured by ideas into decisions and who very probably come from unbelievably different background... but, despite all that, present hauntingly similar set of mind! What can I say, universe... God... Allah... (Or whatever you call him/her/it) is a mischievous fella!

I know, I know... I should appreciate I received any training at all since I was told we were the first to get a proper one. All the poor souls before us were pretty much thrown to the wolves.  Though, to be honest, I would prefer that because being lectured on all those details of teaching only made me uncomfortably aware of things I would otherwise do naturally... (Those, when actually thought of seemed impossible to achieve).  

Playing a demo class with my boss was not my cup of coffee my friends, not at all!

Too stressful!

So, though a little nervous, I felt relieved when I was about to teach my first class. Knowing that the person on the other side of the line is going to be hundred times more scared then I could ever be gave me the sense of responsibility I desperately needed to put my act together.

And so it went...

One by one, meaningless names on my schedule gained voices... the voices gave names their personalities... those personalities sparked flickering light of passion and commitment inside me. More I taught less I cared about outlines and structures.... outlines and structures did not know my students as I did. So I let them speak...

Our company offered set of classes that were carried out either in 15 or 20 minute blocks on days and intervals according to students’ preferences. These blocks could have been turned into double classes of 30 or 40 minutes. We offered courses for school grades, conversations, discussions, business English and many others...  The person on the other line could be a lawyer, engineer, student, housewife as well as nine year old child. It is from them I learned the most about China.

I must admit I was quite sceptical at first about online teaching but it is not such a bad idea. After all, we live in a very busy world... to have at least fifteen minute conversation with a native speaker every day can make hell of a difference... online teaching in combination with classic lessons... that could make a person speak fluently in a year! (But I will take the liberty of keeping the ideas to myself in case Mariana and I decide to build a world-changing multi-billion business in the futureJ)

Some students were unbelievably good, others struggled but all of them were quite eager to learn. (except one little twelve year old boy who decided to make my life miserable by answering all my questions by simple and painfully short YES or NO... which would not be so bad if he wouldn’t be so bloody good in English.. but I managed... I don’t know how but I did).

At the end of each class we were supposed to fill in so called daily report with major corrections and remarks... at first I found it impossible to type it while still taking active part in the class but as time went by... I found myself asking, listening, typing, surfing the net for more accurate information, exchanging messages on internal office chat and enjoying my coffee at the same time without great effort. Most of the classes felt like calling a friend.

My students liked me and said to me often that I was a great teacher. Flattering indeed but I wasn’t so sure it was true... you know my teaching was... not very structured... it was more about going with the flow... every student had its pace and style... weakness and strength... I liked letting them fall into topics they were passionate about because being concerned more about the idea gave them courage to take risks and try to say words and sentences so far unspoken... (Even though it sometimes meant changing the subject all together it was worth it... I mean, as a new teacher I was being checked on everyday so if anyone had problem with it I would be told very quickly... since no one ever said a word to me about it... I did my thing).

The second part of my work description was program creation. During First two weeks, I was working on sample classes for children and adult programs as to blow the cover and expose my secret talents. Cornelia really liked my suggestions for adult programs and was about to let me continue working on renovation of Power Talking Program when she realized that I in fact study in UK. 

This was the magical moment where all my theoretically useless knowledge of Britain acquired from my legendary experience as a foreign student came to very practical and valuable use! How funny is that?

The program was called Study Abroad: United Kingdom and was to be created as a supplementary program complementing already existing class focused on preparing aspiring international students for the speaking part of British IELTS test. It was to familiarize people with British culture and student life (Personal comment: MWAHAHAHAHAH)

Thus I happened to be in custody of this little tiny program in its infancy. It was time to get rid of the diaper and start potty training! Cornelia gave me list of topics they already thought of marking those few that were already written and asked me to think of some new ones because they needed 60 and had only around 35... I scanned the topics and evil grinned spread on my innocent face like plague. I was going to nail this thing!

The topics they thought of were all excellent, however all of them where topics about Britain thought of by British people... and trust me, there is much more to your culture than you realize that might seem awesome, funny, strange or annoying... all those things I complained or laughed about, criticised and embraced...

I had the list of topics finalised by the end of the day and the program written and completed in three weeks. Towards the end I suggested we could add a part with most used English idioms, clichés and phrasal verbs (one tagging along each lesson) accompanied by a cartoon picturing the phrase in a fun way which would make easier to remember them... Cornelia loved the idea... I offered I could draw then as I believe to posses some sort of an artistic talent in this areas as well... so in this couple weeks to come I will be getting miserable pay for drawing cartoons and teaching or (as I prefer to call it) talking to people.

As you can see I really love the job. However, I came into crystal clear conclusion that I could never ever have an office job and for that I am eternally grateful I came here and saw it for myself... I couldn’t do it... even if I would like the job because... office job is an energy sucking, creativity killing beast.  All the work I have done for the company I would be able to do in half the time... of course they don’t know that... they think I am fast (because they don’t know me).

Half of those days I was cursing each minute I had to sit by that computer... also because I (as well as the others) came to notice all that did not work within the walls of this office. (I could write another three pages about what they do wrong and what will bring them down if they don’t change... In fact, I feel Cornelia is the only person who kept the place going. Without her it would crumble before our dear CEO would even noticed...) but I don’t want to talk about it. Not now... Not when I finally overcame my rage against human greed and... well... stupidity and settled into quiet stage of apathy towards all that... I had my share of work and I gave it all I could, although I felt, with a different motivation I could have given much more... all of us could.

It is a mystery to me how people continue chasing after money when the simplest way to get rich is forget all about it and do your job well.

So, if you ask me if I recommend this internship, I would say I recommend AN internship... not this one though...

Just for information: Teaching English in China is a gold mine... just be careful who you work for... English teachers are incredibly well paid... except in the company I work for... but then again I did not come here to earn money I came here to live, learn and remember and that mission is being accomplished... ;)

Peculiar life of an office worker

Before I go any further with description of my encounter with Chinese culture, I presume it is necessary to address few rather significant details of my internship and some other (more-or-less important) issues which I have come to understand after four weeks in this company. I believe it is high time to do so, since it will all be over in less than four weeks. Simply put, I need to write about it before I lose the interest to discuss it at all.

As I mentioned before, the first night I was foolish enough to fall asleep at very, very wrong time and continue sleeping and waking according to central-European time zone (or whatever it is called). In any case this resulted in me going to work for the first time with barely three hours of light sleep and with my neglected body desperately screaming BATTERY LOW...

I woke up way before my phone even realized there was something like and Alarm clock app in the deepest corners of its software. Subtle tension was tightening its grip inside my chest... I knew it far too well to be pleased by its reappearance even after such a long time. This feeling was unpleasant but not strong enough to throw me off balance... that could mean only one thing: All will go well but at some point of the day I will lose it and freak out a little and I won’t be happy about it (And that is exactly what happened, but let’s not get ahead of ourselves). So, I got dressed (gave myself a little power talk and a hug) and took off on the legendary journey of peril and adventure: Office job.

I took a bus drowning in paranoia as to get off at the right bus stop which, fortunately, I managed without trouble... then one adrenalin survival-of-the-fittest type of experience (alias crossing the road) and there I was! When elevator took me to the 17^th floor, it was still half an hour before I was supposed to show up... oh well... I was there alive so, I did not really give a damn.

I am not quite sure why I was so stressed in that moment. You see, I knew exactly how it would happen because the story always unfolds that way… This week was going to be the toughest nut in the bowl but I knew I will manage if not even become insanely good at it (this is not being conceited but rather a matter of experience and sadly unforgiving pride- do not be afraid though; this mean personality trait tends to manifest itself and be unforgiving only towards me). So, you see, I would never forgive myself if I have not done my best… or at least (in case of laziness winning over pride) what others assume is my best because it is acceptable according to their personal standards. This would grant me the freedom from other people’s expectations but never from mine. Sometimes I wish I would be able to give myself a break… (Which I don’t really want but in time of crisis like the beginning of my Shanghai affair, I wish for it almost angrily).

Therefore, while seated in the waiting room, I had a disturbing inner fight which went pretty much like this:

Why on earth do I do this to myself?

Why do I have to be so bloody stubborn???

I could have been at home enjoying dolce-far-niente. It would make my parents happy to have me around for some time. I could spend couple weeks on the beach drinking mojitos, sun tanning, and reading… have fun and enjoy the care-free unfulfilled life.

But no! Noooooo…. I have to always come up with something to make my life more difficult….

I am in Shanghai about to teach English online… I don’t like big cities, I dislike extremely hot weather (that comes buy-one-get-one-free style with mosquitoes) and I hate being on the phone with people I have never met!

Seriously?

What was I thinking???

I know, I know… This is what I want… spending the whole summer doing nothing (because I always end up doing nothing if I suffer from massive excess of free time…) … I would hate it.

I love challenges!

I love overcoming myself!

I love to dare!

I always do things I am most afraid of… to get rid of that fear once and for all…

I need this! I want to be here!

I know that if I was asked: Do you want to leave now? I would say no, without slightest hesitation! … blah blah blah blah…

BLAH!

I want my bed back!

I want decent coffee

I want people who speak my language! (At least one of them…)

I need a break!

In that moment, Cornelia, my direct supervisor to be, entered the room drastically pulling me out from tricky labyrinth of arguments within me. I was so startled that I did not even shake her hand… How wrong is that?

I am a mess.

However it may be, having a live English-speaking person beside me helped a bit. I took an instant liking to her. She was the kind of person I would respect as a boss which was an indispensable part of my motivation. Of course, my notorious pride would pressure me to do well for any kind of boss… but well is way beyond what I am capable of if I sincerely try… I think…

Anyway, the point is I would work for her; I would work for her more than well. (Plus, I adored her British accent. It was one of the most pleasant I have ever heard and trust me I’ve heard many…). Her voice was very soothing and soon the crazy amount of information channeled to my brain hushed up the relentless noise of my inner fights.

Plan for the day:

1.)   Introduction to my place of retreat, my own little cubicle in this big and scary world

2.)   Introduction to computer programs I will be most likely to use throughout the short period of my stay (which at that point seemed rather everlasting)… hmmm… the fact that vast majority of those programs were in Chinese did not make me feel any better.

3.)   Introduction to:

-        Tina, a woman from India who came to Shanghai two or three years ago, when the company was barely in its dippers, had a hell of an experience (here the word hell is bit more accurate than it should have been) and work her way up from an intern to teaching quality analyst. Although, it puzzled me what was she still doing there? Tina had two master degrees with one in English teaching and second in computer science… she could do much better for this job required a bit too much and was giving too little in return (but about that later). Tina was the sort of pleasant, polite and nice person… and a little strict, after all, she was the one in charge of my training…

-       Ann was a tiny girl from Philippines (my age or, I suspect, older since size usually makes people look so much younger- my older sister being perfect living example). Ann was a  full time teacher and sort of a supervisor at times because she was with the company longest (apart from Cornelia and Tina, of course)

 And other fellow interns:

-       Jesslyn, a girl from California but of Chinese origin who came to Shanghai to fill up   her gap year with experience. She was in the company since September and also spoke Chinese quite well. I liked her and from what I observed she had a type of personality that one could simply call cute. Although we’ve never become very close. She left back to US last week.

-       Jason, a boy from USA. I am not quite sure from what state exactly was he but then we never got to talk much as he was a peculiar and to me strangely foreign kind of personality. Moreover, he left two weeks after my arrival. I signed his goodbye card with neutral: It was nice meeting you and good luck…

-       Trey, a boy from London about whom I thought instantly that he is my kind of person just by one brief exchange of glances… Later, I was allowed to confirm my suspicion when we met by chance one morning on our way to work. That was the first time I walked there by foot and assumed that avoiding the bus will be good for my inner well being… anyway, in due course Mariana, Troy and I became partners in crime or, more accurately put, in crazy conversations and Shanghai-Indian adventures…

And few members of Chinese staff:

-       Rey… this guy could not speak much English, but I swear there was not a technical problem on this Earth he could not solve within 5 minutes (or, in case there was some hardware missing, maximum few hours, only because he lost time when he went to buy it)… his brain was and still is absolutely fascinating to me. Some people say I am smart… which I don’t deny completely but you see I come from a family full of mathematicians, chemists, engineers, accountants, managers and all kinds of other scientific sciences and numeric numbers… so, although ice-breakers, my free-spirited traveling, language, literature, history, social dynamics, art, and, writing concerns… they never let me feel particularly smart… I have always been insanely curious how would it feel to have that kind of brain power (Though, I still sinisterly enjoy being struggling artist… this is purely professional curiosity!)

-       Jessica, a young, fragile-looking girl who worked at the reception. I have only one word for her: sweet (and, personally, I have never thought there really is a person in this world I would describe this way…).  A little miss sunshine… I am not being ironic… she truly was this type of person… so innocent you longed to protect her from this big, big world.

-       Denise… she was our CEO. She was warm and welcoming from the very beginning or at least she tried. There was something I did not like about her… it was her smile… I believe it was the eyes that betrayed her beaming face. Don’t worry, she wasn’t evil… at least not completely… but her business spirit was already deprived of innocence.

4.)   Introduction to the office environment (translation and bilingual teachers departments, native speaking teachers part of the office and marketing department of which I only remember blank faces, buzz of computers and sneaky clicks of the keyboard)… then, location of the restrooms and, most importantly, locations of restaurants and coffee shops in the neighborhood which were, of course, a vital part of office experience! COFFEEEEEEEEEEEEEE!!! (Yes, I am normal and no, I am not addicted!)

5.)   Further exploration of computer and its useful programs which were still swarming in picturesque cruelty of Chinese characters…

6.)   Lunch break (with Ann)

7.)   Training!

This was one of the most stressful experiences I ever had. When Tina handed me the gigantic booklet with detailed teaching instructions of every single course they had, my desperate expression pretty much said it all. I felt grateful that I was about to receive at least some training because as Tina told me before, when she got to Shanghai and this company two years ago… she was thrown right into the deepest waters of a schedule packed with 30 classes a day… But I dare to say I would prefer that… you see my intuition saves me where my brain looses simply because of unnecessary and exaggerated analysis! When I teach, I know exactly what to do as if I have done it for all my life. But seeing those pages and pages of information combining common sense with strict and scary structures and rules… (later I would come to relieved realization that the only thing I needed was the common sense… thank god!). Well…  At least one thing I know, teaching grants me pleasant feeling of satisfaction

8.)   They let me off couple hours earlier (at 5pm) as it was my very first day…

9.)   Coma… Initially, this was not part of the company’s plan (I hope not)… but I thought it rather appropriate to add it to the list because when I got out of that building the only thing that saved me was deep breaths… in and out… one after another… with combination of inner but nevertheless worthy interpretation of Dory’s famous song: Just keep swimming… just keep swimming… Arriving to my room I wrote message to my parents and Katarina that I had no energy to fulfill my Skype related obligations that day… and I passed out. Again! Thirteen blissful hours of heavy sleep, my friends… Thirteen!

         

When I woke up the next morning, the tension dissolved in unexpected anticipation… Oh, I was back in the moment…. Today… I could start to play the real game.

The beast and the supermarket

After writing more than three pages only about Day 1, I seriously revaluated my priorities and decided not divide this blog into days... mainly because I am still stuck on the Day 1 while I have been here for four weeks already. The time flies by so fast I am no longer sure of its existence.  That is mainly because here I am literally shut away from my past and future living from one day to another....  there are no years or months... there are only days and hours... and, in a way, it’s extremely relaxing (although only in a deep spiritual other-dimensional way because my very conscious mind and feeble human body fall on the wooden bed unconscious every single evening).

But let’s get to the point. Do you remember how I fell asleep on the sofa at 7pm the first evening?

Well... BIG mistake!

I ruined the easiest way to get used to the time zone. If only I have waited for three more hours, all would be well but then that wouldn’t be me and this blog would be unbearably boring. Anyway, I woke up at eleven and decided to watch a movie... I built a modest but comfy nest on the sofa, turned off the lights and cuddled in. Maybe an hour later I saw a moving shadow on the floor out of the corner of my eye. At first I thought my mind was playing tricks on me as usual... but no my friends no... This time, I was to confront a beastly insect that should no longer exist in 21. century.

When I realised it’s no trick I jumped up and turned the light on! That little something completely freaked out and started to run around like crazy... by the time I found a shoe to ruthlessly kill it... the ‘IT’ was gone. I am not a type of girl who jumps on a chair and start screaming when a cute little bee flies into the room... I can deal with insect, I even prefer to let it go free outside rather than go for the kill... but this... oh no... No, no, no...  I have no idea what it was... it was brownish with maybe an inch-long body... and a lot of little legs or should I say tentacles of light brown, sort of see-through colouring which moved so fast it looked like the thing was floating.  It strongly reminded me of those prehistoric giant insect from Mesozoic era you are most likely to see on pictures in natural museums... only this was a modern pocket version. I could not sit in that room knowing that thing is somewhere in there... waiting till I fall asleep, then multiply and kill me. I was secretly hoping the men in black would knock down my door and arrest this unlicensed intruder. 

It was clear that little bastard is afraid of light. So, turned off the lights, put my laptop on the table and sat myself on the chair positioned strategically in cleared area where I could see the floor around and underneath me clearly even in the darkness and... I went back to watching the movie while tightly holding on to my shoe...

In fifteen minutes... BAM! There it was! My attack was quick and deadly! The situation was solved but considering the suppressed stress I was under, my logical thinking (which reasoned that there is not even a slightest possibility this would repeat that night) was ignored and I stayed highly paranoid for next couple weeks...

Anyway, that week-end my sleeping regime went pretty much like this: From 5am till 2pm I slept like a baby... this equals to 11pm till 8am Slovak time.  I planned to explore the city but the weather was not on my side either (despite the heat it was raining most of the time... or it would continue to rain another three weeks but that is another story...) .. . I let it be and tried to get myself back on the ball.

Although I did go to the supermarket... so, as promised, here it is:

The supermarket story...

There is one important thing I need to remark at the beginning. Supermarket (along with subway) is on the top of staring scale. And I am not exaggerating. Luckily, I was thoughtful enough to take my new glasses with me. I did not really need to wear them... they were useless to me outside the lecture hall... but you know... IQ seems to jump few points up the scale when you have glasses... plus mine are really cool looking... AND they offered me a shield against all the looks I would have to deal with.

 My first thought after entering the building was that week-end was not a good time to go shopping (later I found out no time was a good time... that place was packed all day long seven days a week- for that I had two theories: 1. Chinese people liked to shop for food... 2. There was so many of them that even when shopping in normal intervals that place was packed and heaving all the time – to be honest I incline to theory number 2)... my second thought: I was the only foreigner in that overcrowded retail dragon nest.

I stepped in hopping to come out alive and in good mental health... My wish was granted although I made a few observations and came into several important conclusions.

Observation number 1:

I realised very quickly that politeness is not going to get me far. I am polite by nature and with two-year enforcement of this not-always-good habit I underwent in ever-polite Britain... well, let’s say I wasn’t about to cut the queues in a place whose language and rules I wasn’t familiar with... at least not at first... because as two minute experience taught me... I had to push through and across if I planned on getting out of there before dawn (now I am exaggerating a little but I guess you get the idea).

Observation number 2:

When I finally got in, I grabbed first shopping cart that seemed to stand by without fulfilling its true potential and ventured into lanes and allies bordered by racks full of goods marked with Chinese characters. The staff seemed to be everywhere. There was not a spot in the entire store from where you could not see at least three people who worked there- minimum of one and maximum of 4 people per ally whose job was to help you to find something or chose the best deal (and I really mean choose the best deal... no rip-offs... they were there to help you get good quality for a good price).

Observation number 3:

Everyone expected me to speak Chinese... This was a bit unexpected as in most of the countries people are quick to assume you don’t speak the language. Moreover... this is not just any language; this is Chinese we are talking about. If I am Chinese and I see a foreigner I would assumed immediately... with rightful arrogance that they do not speak Chinese. What was even more amusing, they enthusiastically continued explaining me stuff even after desperate, slow-witted expression on my face gave it away quite clearly that there was nothing even close to Chinese going on behind the scene.

Observation number 4:

Food:

The fruit and vegetables were beautiful... well they still are. The thing is they are not only beautiful they are also extremely tasty (so, there were no perfect looking and tasteless products to be found for a change)...

Next department was an impressive display of marine life... or since we are in the supermarket, seafood would be more appropriate... but I find marine life more accurate because vast majority of this ‘seafood’ was swimming and crawling around in their aquariums waiting till someone decides to eat them.  This wouldn’t be so shocking... till one day I noticed that there was not only fish and crabs trapped to be eaten so fresh and tasty... there were also turtles! People have turtles for pets... they are cute... little weird looking but still cute... and baby turtles... didn’t they watch Finding Nemo??? Turtles are not eating material...

This is not the end though... moving on to the ready-to-eat section, there were more surprises. You could find here baked, grilled or roasted ducks and chickens and other birds... still with their heads for ‘decoration’ purposes... if you did not want the whole bird, you could only buy some parts like wings, drumsticks... or their feet... organs... and other stuff... Ok I don’t like organs but I understand people eat them... but chicken feet??? What is appetizing about that exactly?  (Later my friend informed me that in fact it is tasty- she is not Chinese so I thought she was joking at first... well, she wasn’t ... so... yeah... many people like to eat chicken feet... and call them tasty! We learn all our lives, don’t we?)

Although not everything in that section was so shocking...  there was a lot of amazingly looking things... I promised myself to try something new every time I went there. That way I could try it all (except chicken feet!)... Not even here... in restaurants as well! I love Chinese food (and it is much better in China... trust me).

Bread and pastry department is quite fun as well.  The stuff they make are strange... mainly because most of them are sweet even though you would put your hand in fire SO certain you would be they are salty... Nope... Not at all! I decided to try some but I couldn’t find any plastic or paper bags around. It was a bit strange, so I stayed on the side and observed. A woman came and grabbed a plastic basket and started to put the pastry in one after another. Having a plastic basket for every person that buys pastry... that wouldn’t be worth it, I thought. Then I saw the women go to the nearby counter and there they would weight it and packed it for her... Oh... right... logical!

And there it stood, proud in its mighty glory... Alcohol and Cigarettes department! An only department which bore a sign in English significantly bigger than the Chinese one! Typical! For some reason or other, foreigners are quite notorious for their drinking habits.... (No idea where that came from :D ) Even clubbing does not have a good image in Chine... but for the story of how I went to club in China you will have to wait till next time!

I didn’t buy any alcohol on my first visit, neither the second nor third...  First two weeks I was caught up in swirl of work and fatigue. But then, I could not go on any more... A person can live 110% only for so long before crushing and I did not want to crush. My colleague Mariana from Angola (she started the internship at the same time as me, so we were in this together ... in due course she became my very good friend) and me, we decided to get a bottle of wine, cook dinner and chill out... food and wine have never tasted so good. I haven’t felt so incredibly relaxed for a long time.  Plus conversation over glass (or more glasses) of wine are my favourite and this one gave me a friend... a real one.

Well, this is the end of the supermarket story... there is more to talk about... work (this will be a big fat topic), another good friend, shopping, clubbing, sightseeing... living. I hope I will have time to write about all those things because they are worth more than mentioning!