Anyways, I have started eating dinner with them every Thursday and it is an opportunity for me to pour into them as well as learn more about them. This last Thursday they took my to their dorm room, and then to their classroom where they must study for 2 hours (7pm-9pm) before they are allowed to go back to their dorms for bed. I enjoyed the opportunity to spend time outside the classroom with them and to be allowed to see a glimpse into what their everyday living situations are.
(Jack, Armstrong, Will Lee, and Michael)
(Dorm room)Chinese Dorm Rooms: An Education on Student's Living Environment
Chinese dorm rooms work a little bit differently from the ones you might come to have known back in the States. Each room holds 6 people (or more) and has what we like to call a shoilet (shower/toilet). Shoilets are a combination of a shower and toilet, with the shower not being separated from the rest of the bathroom and the floor acting as the drain. However, in this case - instead of a western toilet - the students have a squattie (hole in the ground).
From there - as you can see from the picture above - the students are sleep on bunkbeds lined up against the wall with their respective desks lined up on the opposing wall. I have no clue where they do their laundry, but like everyone else in China they hang it out their window and hope that it drys quickly. I should mention that on a windy day one often sees somebody's pants, underwear, and various other kinds of attire fly away and land some where in the middle of campus. My friends and I are blessed to have a covered patio from which to hang out laundry to dry.
Shopping for External Hard Drives
Yesterday, the Michael, Armstrong, and Will Lee volunteered to help Jonathan and I go shopping for external hard drives since my computer is currently trying to kill itself. I should make a short list for you of what is currently going wrong with computer.
1. Constant Blue Screen of Death
2. Computer won't turn on, fan runs really high, and there is beeping sounds.
3. Constant Freezing
4. CD-ROM works 10% of the time.
5. Headphone jack is broken
6. AC-Adapter likes to be finicky and not work, making my computer look like a light show as it goes from a dull to a bright screen rapidly.
At any rate, we ventured downtown and made our way to the Technology center next to Ba Yi Square where we go to buy movies, cds, and anything related to computers and cameras. Michael, Armstrong, and Will Lee debated with the sales people like champs cutting off 100 yuan ($15 dollars) from the original quoted price. We also managed to get a web camera in the deal as well, which is nice since it would be really cool to actually see other people when talking to them on skype. However, we will see if my computer holds out.
McDonald's: The Guys' 1st Hamburgers & The Art of Treating Chinese to Food
While shopping for the external hard drive I decided that we really needed to do something nice for these guys since they were freely giving such much of their day to helping us. You must understand that to go somewhere and accomplish an errand takes nearly 5 times as long as it may for you back home. Not speaking the language or having access to your own car really makes transportation and shopping a challenge. So I asked them if they prefered Western or Chinese food, but I got mixed messages as the Chinese are known for saying, "Whatever is fine". Sound kind of familiar to some poeple you know back home? LOL So I decided to ask them a pointed question: "Would you rather have hamburgers or Chinese food?" This was much more successful in that I found out that they had never had hamburgers, and so I told them that we would treat them to their 1st hamburgers.
I must make two clarifying points about this situation. First, whenever you are in China you better be very specific about who is treating who. If you aren't, you will almost never be able to pay for the meal - unless it is beyond their means - because you are foreigner and they are Chinese. What this means is that they are always the host and you are always the guest. So I made sure to make it very clear that Jonathan and I would be treating them to McDonald's and that they were not allowed to pay. I should note that the fear of them beating us to paying for the food is a little diminished since eating at McDonald's is expensive for most Chinese.
(Will Lee, Armstrong, Me, and Michael)
So we finally made it McDonald's, bought hamburgers, made it through the normal everyday awkward ordering situation that happens whenever we try to buy something we don't know the Chinese for, and sat down to eat. Michael, Armstrong, and Will Lee practically devoured their hamburgers - which were extra small looking since we are in China - and looked hungry still; it didn't help that all of them are from the Northern part of China since Northern Chinese are the same size as Americans and eat just as much. Nonetheless, I ran back downstairs and ordered another 5 hamburgers since Jonathan and I were also still hungry. This, of course, raised the eyebrows of the Chinese employees behind the counter as they are not use to Americans ordering. Furthermore, as far as the Chinese were concerned, 2 Americans had just downed a better part of 5 combo meals and were looking to finish off another 5 hamburgers.
The Power of Deodorant: "Mr. Aaron I want to Smell like You; I want to be cool like You."
As we were finishing the meal, Armstrong begin asking about deodorant again, but since the Chinese don't use deodorant he didn't know what to call it, and couldn't remember me telling him how to say it. He said, "Mr. Aaron I want to smell like you; I want to be cool like you." He had told me earlier in the day that I had a certain scent about me and wanted to know what it was. I think he even mentioned something silly like that the girls liked it and so he wanted to have some of whatever this "scent" was. Two things are funny about this situation: 1). The fact that I am having a conversation about deodorant, and that my students wants to smell like me; 2). My student thinks that I am the model to follow for what is COOL, and actually thinks that i am cool.
I told the guys, since they all chimed in about wanting some deodorant, that I would give them some when we got back to our apartment. Upon arriving, Jonathan reminded me that there were some extras in the desk where we kept random supplies. So I went over and found 3 - coincidentally - and gave them to the guys. They were pretty excited. I realized after giving them the deodorant that we would also have to give them instructions on how to use it - an odd thought all-together separate. I told them that they should double check to make sure that they weren't allergic and Jonathan pointed out that they could put some on their hand and if it didn't turn red after a day they could use it. I told Armstrong to only swipe his armpit twice lest he become overly enthusiastic about using the stuff and coat his entire body in it.
To finish the day I watched Sandlot and figured everything was just as it should be.
Chinese dorm rooms work a little bit differently from the ones you might come to have known back in the States. Each room holds 6 people (or more) and has what we like to call a shoilet (shower/toilet). Shoilets are a combination of a shower and toilet, with the shower not being separated from the rest of the bathroom and the floor acting as the drain. However, in this case - instead of a western toilet - the students have a squattie (hole in the ground).
From there - as you can see from the picture above - the students are sleep on bunkbeds lined up against the wall with their respective desks lined up on the opposing wall. I have no clue where they do their laundry, but like everyone else in China they hang it out their window and hope that it drys quickly. I should mention that on a windy day one often sees somebody's pants, underwear, and various other kinds of attire fly away and land some where in the middle of campus. My friends and I are blessed to have a covered patio from which to hang out laundry to dry.
Shopping for External Hard Drives
Yesterday, the Michael, Armstrong, and Will Lee volunteered to help Jonathan and I go shopping for external hard drives since my computer is currently trying to kill itself. I should make a short list for you of what is currently going wrong with computer.
1. Constant Blue Screen of Death
2. Computer won't turn on, fan runs really high, and there is beeping sounds.
3. Constant Freezing
4. CD-ROM works 10% of the time.
5. Headphone jack is broken
6. AC-Adapter likes to be finicky and not work, making my computer look like a light show as it goes from a dull to a bright screen rapidly.
At any rate, we ventured downtown and made our way to the Technology center next to Ba Yi Square where we go to buy movies, cds, and anything related to computers and cameras. Michael, Armstrong, and Will Lee debated with the sales people like champs cutting off 100 yuan ($15 dollars) from the original quoted price. We also managed to get a web camera in the deal as well, which is nice since it would be really cool to actually see other people when talking to them on skype. However, we will see if my computer holds out.
McDonald's: The Guys' 1st Hamburgers & The Art of Treating Chinese to Food
While shopping for the external hard drive I decided that we really needed to do something nice for these guys since they were freely giving such much of their day to helping us. You must understand that to go somewhere and accomplish an errand takes nearly 5 times as long as it may for you back home. Not speaking the language or having access to your own car really makes transportation and shopping a challenge. So I asked them if they prefered Western or Chinese food, but I got mixed messages as the Chinese are known for saying, "Whatever is fine". Sound kind of familiar to some poeple you know back home? LOL So I decided to ask them a pointed question: "Would you rather have hamburgers or Chinese food?" This was much more successful in that I found out that they had never had hamburgers, and so I told them that we would treat them to their 1st hamburgers.
I must make two clarifying points about this situation. First, whenever you are in China you better be very specific about who is treating who. If you aren't, you will almost never be able to pay for the meal - unless it is beyond their means - because you are foreigner and they are Chinese. What this means is that they are always the host and you are always the guest. So I made sure to make it very clear that Jonathan and I would be treating them to McDonald's and that they were not allowed to pay. I should note that the fear of them beating us to paying for the food is a little diminished since eating at McDonald's is expensive for most Chinese.
(Will Lee, Armstrong, Me, and Michael)So we finally made it McDonald's, bought hamburgers, made it through the normal everyday awkward ordering situation that happens whenever we try to buy something we don't know the Chinese for, and sat down to eat. Michael, Armstrong, and Will Lee practically devoured their hamburgers - which were extra small looking since we are in China - and looked hungry still; it didn't help that all of them are from the Northern part of China since Northern Chinese are the same size as Americans and eat just as much. Nonetheless, I ran back downstairs and ordered another 5 hamburgers since Jonathan and I were also still hungry. This, of course, raised the eyebrows of the Chinese employees behind the counter as they are not use to Americans ordering. Furthermore, as far as the Chinese were concerned, 2 Americans had just downed a better part of 5 combo meals and were looking to finish off another 5 hamburgers.
The Power of Deodorant: "Mr. Aaron I want to Smell like You; I want to be cool like You."
As we were finishing the meal, Armstrong begin asking about deodorant again, but since the Chinese don't use deodorant he didn't know what to call it, and couldn't remember me telling him how to say it. He said, "Mr. Aaron I want to smell like you; I want to be cool like you." He had told me earlier in the day that I had a certain scent about me and wanted to know what it was. I think he even mentioned something silly like that the girls liked it and so he wanted to have some of whatever this "scent" was. Two things are funny about this situation: 1). The fact that I am having a conversation about deodorant, and that my students wants to smell like me; 2). My student thinks that I am the model to follow for what is COOL, and actually thinks that i am cool.
I told the guys, since they all chimed in about wanting some deodorant, that I would give them some when we got back to our apartment. Upon arriving, Jonathan reminded me that there were some extras in the desk where we kept random supplies. So I went over and found 3 - coincidentally - and gave them to the guys. They were pretty excited. I realized after giving them the deodorant that we would also have to give them instructions on how to use it - an odd thought all-together separate. I told them that they should double check to make sure that they weren't allergic and Jonathan pointed out that they could put some on their hand and if it didn't turn red after a day they could use it. I told Armstrong to only swipe his armpit twice lest he become overly enthusiastic about using the stuff and coat his entire body in it.
To finish the day I watched Sandlot and figured everything was just as it should be.
