Gobble, gobble!

Try the above for a sample of some Chinese hip-hop(?) music...

Well, here it is Thanksgiving, and I'm sitting at my desk at school waiting for 5:30 so I can leave (actually our departure time is supposed to be 5:35). It doesn't look like we'll be doing anything tonight. We decided to wait until tomorrow night so that we can stay out later and get a good night's sleep. All of the restaurants offering Thanksgiving food are closer to downtown Xi'an which is a good bus ride from here. And sometimes getting back at night can be a chore as taxis become scarce (the buses quit running around 9 or 10). There are only 5 true Americans on staff here (and two can't go) and the others don't really care too much about the holiday. Skye says he wants to join us with his girlfriend,  so at most there will be 5 of us. I don't have high expectations for the food as most of the 'western' food I've had here they don't prepare it the same way...

Happy Turkey!

Should states possess nuclear weapons?

That was the topic of debate this weekend (worded in a Pro/Con format). It was to be debated in English and consisted of 10th and 11th grade students, mostly from schools in Xián. It was really interesting to watch them, although the subject did get a little tired after a while. Some students mastery of English was obviously better than others, and we were asked not to judge them on their English so much as their content. However, it is hard to do well if you are stumbling all over your words! I think there were around 200 entrants, and a team of 2 girls from my school won. They are both in one of my AP Calculus classes, with one of them having lived in San Diego for a year which definitely helped them.  They paid us 500 RMB a day for our troubles, so it took some of the sting out of giving up another weekend (although these phantom weekends are getting old). As far as the students' opinions on the topic - well, they have to be prepared to take either side. But privately, I would say that whichever side is taken, they do not want war of any kind!

On Friday night Chris, Jake and I decided to go to the movies to see Interstellar (almost a 3 hour movie). It has proven to be a very popular movie here in China and the theater was sold out. We paid $4 for our tickets (25 RMB) which I thought was pretty good. If you buy your tickets, and popcorn, on-line here you save a ton of money (and there is no service charge like Fandango). I don't know why theaters in the US aren't doing it as it works really well and you even get to select the seats you want to sit in. The audience was a bit noisy at times, but as they are reading the subtitles I suppose the spoken dialog isn't as important to them... A Chinese woman sitting next to me was on the edge of her seat half the movie and looked to be crying a couple of times. A couple weeks before, I went to my first movie in China and saw the 3-D movie African Safari (a documentary). It had great animal footage and I enjoyed it although Sky said he was a bit bored after a while. I bought a popcorn package on-line before that movie which consisted of a small popcorn, bag of treats (I don't know what it was), and a coke for 10 RMB ($1.63). Good deal, eh? But the popcorn they serve here is like kettle corn - no salt or butter but they do put sugar on it. It was OK but not something I'd want again.

Oh yeah, they turned the heat on Nov. 15!! At least, they said they did. My apartment didn't feel any warmer for a couple days. But then I started to notice it feeling warmer when I came in the door. Right now it is a comfortable temperature. Based on what others are saying, the warmth of the apartments varies like crazy. Some too hot, some too cold. And it's a bit frustrating because you can't regulate it at all... The air pollution also gets much worse in the winter because of the coal burning to supply the heat. We've already had a couple days labeled Severely Polluted and you see more people wearing masks. The old-timers say this is nothing, however. Right now the index is in the 200's range and they say it goes up to the 700's - sometimes higher! Makes me want to go out and run a marathon!

So I see that Thanksgiving week is coming up, and the schools in the Portland area are probably out all week. I'm jealous! No days off here at all. We've been talking about things to do, but nothing has solidified as yet. Haven't seen any turkeys running around here...

Here's a mural that was painted on the wall inside the KTV last week. We all thought it was pretty strange (those urinals are just paintings) and posed for pictures..

They say it's your birthday...

... gonna have a good time! (?) (from the ol' Beatles song)
So Friday night, the night before my birthday, about 8 of us went to KTV. What they have is different size rooms (depending on the size of your party) to rent out for a 3 or more hour period. It's like a mini-disco inside, with flashing lights, loud music, and a big screen tv. There were 3 microphones for people to sing along with and maracas and a tambourine. They had a huge selection of music to choose from - chinese and english. Many of the english tunes were knock-offs and didn't really sound the same but passable. One of the songs I sang was "Strangers in the Night" by Frank Sinatra (no one knew that one!) and Sky recorded it on his phone. If he can send it to me, I will share it - embarrassing as it may be! They said it was good, but I cringe when I listen to it!
 Then on Saturday, my birthday, I awoke with an upset stomach and a bad case of the runs. After about 6 trips to the toilet, I then regurgitated whatever I had the night before. I spent the day lying down in bed feeling miserable. Sky came over with his girlfriend and they tried to fix me up with some Chinese medicine. I tried to tell him all I wanted was some 7-Up and crackers but he wouldn't hear of it. I tried to eat what he gave me but I just couldn't do it - the taste was too strange. He handed me a thermometer to take my temperature and was aghast when I put it in my mouth! Here they put it under their armpit. I was running a temp of 101.  So that was my 59th birthday!
I woke up this morning feeling much better - not 100% but I should be ok by tomorrow (Monday). It was just a 24 bug I caught I guess.
I can't say for sure, but I'm guessing that may be my only KTV venture while I'm here!

Spanking the monkey

At the end of my entry on Oct.7, I posted a video of a guy hitting a top with a whip. It was intriguing, and another teacher, Ryan, also saw someone doing it. We decided we'd each get one and try it out. So last weekend we found a stall where a guy sells them and we got one. I thought it'd be really difficult to get it going, but we discovered it only took a few tries. Sky informs us it's called 'spanking the monkey' , probably after the monkey in the Chinese classic Journey to the West. They also make one that lights up when you spin it at night and I'm thinking of trying that out too. I just love the sound of that whip when it snaps!
It's been pretty cold here lately - usually in the 30's or 40's in the morning and then getting up to the 50's or low 60's in the afternoon. When there's no heat, you definitely feel it! I can't wait until Saturday when they turn the heat on. I was informed that they will turn the heat on earlier than Nov. 15 if there are at least 5 consecutive days of really cold weather. I guess the weather we've been having doesn't classify as cold enough!
I hear Obama is going to be in China this week. They've instituted all kinds of restrictions in Beijing to cut down on the pollution while he's here. It's all a big show and the people have to suffer... We've been moderately polluted lately after we had a few days in a row of really clear weather.
We are in the midst of mid-term exams at school now. I've got a boatload of exams to grade now - the downer is that they really don't count anything for their grades. It's a mystery to us how their grades are arrived at... If you want to read a quick little review of a book about Chinese education, check this out - he nails it on the head:  http://www.nybooks.com/articles/archives/2014/nov/20/myth-chinese-super-schools/
The weekend of Nov.22 I signed up to be a judge for a debate competition (it's in English). They put a lot of pressure on us to do it and are actually giving a little monetary compensation. The topic they're debating is 'Should nations have nuclear weapons?'
We went downtown to a bar last weekend to hear a Chinese rock n roll band. It was a small place and the band had to really squeeze into a little area. They played about 4 songs, then said they were taking a break, and then never came back! They were ok, but nothing stood out about their music.
We've found a few places around here where they have pool tables and have been doing that a few times on the weekend. One place even has tables outdoors - not sure how that works in the rain. The balls don't seem to roll very straight there... We're still looking for a bowling alley - figure there must be one in this city somewhere - and maybe found one to explore this weekend.
We are located somewhat on the outskirts of the city and have to take a bus or taxi to get anywhere exciting. The buses are super cheap but also super crowded, and sometimes it can take a LONG time to get a taxi at night. Gets kind of frustrating sometimes...
A few of us started a Movember campaign at school - growing moustaches for the month of November. Sky wanted to join in and we said sure! He was informed today by the Chinese principal that he must shave. It makes no sense... So I'm shaving mine off tomorrow in support of him...
Here's a pic of the Bell Tower at night. It really is impressive...

And then, of course, some more signage -

That's it for today!