Tag Archives: family
Language Barriers
In the beginning of Pygmalion, George Bernard Shaw says that English dialects are so varied that an Englishman cannot open his mouth in public without another Englishman instantly hating him. He might have been writing about China in 2006, but … Continue reading
What I Did On My May Vacation
Fresca came to class with me today. I was at the middle school (that paragon of all educational virtues that is Number Three) and I was asking everyone what they could do over May Holiday in order to talk about … Continue reading
You Want Me to What?
When I was preparing to come to China, I tried to learn important phrases in Chinese, like “Thank you”, “How much?” and “Where is the bathroom?” I did not learn “And now your foreign teacher is going to sing Edelweiss,” … Continue reading
The Wife of Bag
The other day, I was in the staffroom with Lily and Jackie talking about our families. One of the great things about Mandarin is the ability to explain family relationships. I don’t have to call Scep my semi-brother, there is … Continue reading
Chinese Etiquette
Last night was Calvin’s farewell dinner because he’s leaving to go home to Wales. We went to eat with our boss, her husband, some of their family, some parents of our students and their assorted family. Once we’re all gathered, … Continue reading
Qing mei zhu ma
Mandarin has a separate word for older sister and younger sister. There is a difference between an aunt who’s your mom’s sister, and one who’s married to your uncle, between an uncle on your mom’s side and an uncle on … Continue reading
Lantern Festival
Last night was Lantern Festival in China! This is the first full moon after Spring Festival / Chinese New Year. Lantern Festival is celebrated by spending the day with your family and eating a lot of a certain kind of … Continue reading
Missionary Work
This weekend Stick and I went to Steph and Jeff’s house for a boardgame sleepover. We played some party games like Taboo and led into more gamer-ish games like Betrayal At The House On The Hill. I usually think of … Continue reading
Getting Lucky
My parents just got a new dog from a sheltie rescue place. He’s a little bizarre, he only walks in clockwise circles and he’s scared of almost everything. He came to us named Lucky, which my parents say they would … Continue reading
Christmas Romance… with help from a GPS.
On Christmas Eve, I got up and showered and went to the jewelry store with my semi-brother Scep to pick up an engagement ring! No, not for me, it’s a gorgeous ring, but not nice enough to make me put … Continue reading
