Tag Archives: Young

You People

Posted on June 27, 2006 by Meg

The other day I was crossing the street and I said “You people invented gunpowder and silk! Surely mastering a turn signal is nothing to that!” Usually shouting witticisms at my non-English speaking surroundings makes me feel better, but today … Continue reading →

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The Price of Tea in China

Posted on May 15, 2006 by Meg

One of the most useful Chinese phrases is pronounced “can ee can”. It means “just looking” or in my case “Quit picking up merchandise and banging it against my glasses. I can be trusted to find any items in plain … Continue reading →

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The Pride of Yantai, Shandong Province

Posted on March 30, 2006 by Meg

Before I came to China, my only experience with the wordforeigner was the first few seconds of an old song and Stick shouting “The pride of Rochester, New York!” In Yantai, though, it may as well be my name. When … Continue reading →

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The Value of a Hogwarts Education

Posted on March 22, 2006 by Meg

I bought Harry Potter in Chinese. My adult students were shocked and appalled that I spent so much on a DVD, comparative shopping is a competitive sport here and every time I mention anything to do with shopping, someone tells … Continue reading →

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The Wife of Bag

Posted on March 21, 2006 by Meg

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 →

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Alien Abduction

Posted on March 11, 2006 by Meg

My contract promises me the chance to teach 12- to 18-year-olds, but it doesn’t expressly forbid me from teaching other ages. Ji asked me to teach a “demo lesson” for a few young children. “What’s a demo lesson?” I asked. … Continue reading →

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Traditional Greetings

Posted on March 9, 2006 by Meg

After almost a month, I can find my way around kai fa qu, but as I walk to my school, the post office, the cheap vegetable market, the only store in town with refridgerated eggs, and so forth, literally everyone … Continue reading →

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Qing mei zhu ma

Posted on February 21, 2006 by Meg

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 →

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Arriving in China

Posted on February 13, 2006 by Meg

When I arrived in Yantai, after thirty-some hours in transit (and yes, wandering the Beijing airport wondering if I made a huge mistake DOES count as transit time), I was not met by Ji (my new boss) or the promised … Continue reading →

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Still More Reasons to hate Troy

Posted on September 21, 2005 by Meg

Iliad Essay for Harris’ Class I have two copies of The Iliad. My first one is a paperback version of the Robert Fagles translation. I’ve written all over it. In my freshman year, I started by identifying the Achaeans as … Continue reading →

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