leo shi

That's Chinese for 60. Don't ask!

Just like last week, Sunday has turned into the best day of the week. Very cold and rainy Friday and Saturday, sunny and clear skies (low pollution) today. Although still a bit cold! Next week the government turns on the heat (yay!) so it won't be so cool and damp in the apartment. It takes 2-3 days for the laundry to dry, and even then I'm not sure it's totally dry...

We gave mid-term exams this week at school so our schedule was topsy-turvy. I've just finished grading my share of the papers so what's left of the weekend is mine. Preparing the exams and scheduling them is a big deal here, although in the long run they are meaningless. The only things that matter to the students are the big test scores: SAT, AP subject tests and TOEFL (English proficiency test). We still have no idea how they come up with the students' GPA - I figure they just make something up and send it on... I don't think the universities look at China students' GPAs anyways (probably for that very reason), so it doesn't really matter. Good scores on their AP tests (they take from 4-7 of them) and a decent SAT are what get them in! Oh, and a fat wallet too!

On Nov.23 the final member of our math department is finally scheduled to arrive. He is a citizen of Kenya. He will probably be the only black person within a 1 mile radius of the school. It won't really make a big difference in our teaching schedules, though, because in the middle of November they ramp up some of the classes and we teach them more times a week. So right now I teach 22 classes a week, and following next week it'll be 24. (Our maximum is contractually 26). With the position Head of Department (HOD) that I have this year, I'm supposed to have a lighter schedule to handle other duties. But, in reality, what's happening due to circumstances beyond our control is I'll have more classes than anyone else in the math department plus extra stuff. I've told the principal I'm not too happy about that. They pay me a little more to be HOD, but honestly it is not worth it... I did not come over to China to work my butt off!

Last year, on my birthday, a bunch of us went to KTV (Chinese karaoke). While it was an interesting experience, I have no desire to do that again! I heard about some hot springs that are not too far from here so that's what I'm shooting for this year. Jake, from Colorado, shares my same birthday and I think he'll be up for it too. The only problem is transportation, but I think we can work something out.

I'm about to give up on my Chinese language attempts. I've been to the local shop here to buy baozi (Chinese dumplings) probably 5-7 times. I've practiced with Chinese friends to make sure I'm saying it right (I want to get vegetable or mushroom baozi - very tasty and safer than the meat ones). Only ONCE have they given me the correct kind! I get home and it's usually meat (pork). AAAHHHH! I then repeat what I said to my Chinese homies and they say I said it right. So what gives?? One explanation they posit is that the workers are surprised to hear Chinese coming out of a foreigner's mouth and hence don't understand it. What???? I tell you, the tones are so subtle sometimes that it can drive you crazy. Anyways, I've decided to give up on baozi unless a Chinese person is with me...

So, I'm hooked on Fargo. I'm watching American Horror Story even though I'm not enjoying but thinking there must be something good coming out of it somewhere. And then The Last Man on Earth. It's a little uneven but sometimes pretty funny. That's about it. I download the occasional movie and watch it. I thought The Martian was worth what I paid for it ($0.00). Mission Impossible Rogue Nation was also a bargain at $0.00. Somebody throw me a bone!!

Have a great week! Zai  jian! (good-bye)