Going Hunting

Since this wasn’t our first Easter in Shanghai, it came as no surprise to me that Easter is a pretty low-key event in China.  Unlike other western holidays like Christmas and Halloween, many kids have never heard of Easter.  This was going to change for my students.

Teaching Easter in China was a very delicate task.  I was afraid to teach the religious aspect of the holiday because I did not want to seem like I was converting students.  So I taught them traditional non-religious Easter activities instead.  So after giving my students the lowdown on the Easter Bunny and Bonnets, I introduced them to a time honored Western tradition: the egg hunt.

One of my darlings decided to wear his desk basket as his Easter Bonnet.

My first egg hunt was with my fourth grade class.  I hate to admit it, but I was rough on my 4^th graders.  I hid all of the eggs in their classroom and made them complete Easter vocabulary activities for a good 30 minutes before it was time for the hunt.  I even taunted them by placing an egg in plain sight on the blackboard. 

Yep.  I was mean. 

It was hilarious to watch them scoping out eggs while they were in their seats.  

I also had a hunt for my 6^th graders.  My middle school has an amazing garden, so I figured that would be the prime egg hunt location.  When I arrived at school, the local English teachers were extremely excited to hide eggs.  Some of them had never celebrated Easter before, so egg hunting was new to them also.  After 20 minutes, 100 plastic eggs were ready to be found.   Now all I had to do was guard the garden at lunchtime to ensure no students would locate eggs, and make sure nothing got damaged.   In an effort to keep them away from the gardens during their break and lunch, the local English teacher made them write dictations.  Needless to say they weren’t too thrilled when the Easter lesson came around.

This was prime egg hiding country!

The local Chinese teachers took the egg hiding to the next level!  There was a third egg lodged between the cactus branches!

The 6^th graders had no idea the hunt was coming, however after explaining my egg hunt rules, they were ready to roll!

When the students saw my rules, they exclaimed, "Ms. Anne!  We would never steal each other's eggs!"  My response: "You have never been in an Easter Egg hunt!"

This was not a posed picture.  I had to hold out my arms to make sure the kids did not bust in the garden early!

She found the eggs in the cactus.  These kids are fearless!

Look at the loot!!

It only took 4 minutes to find all the eggs.  I need more eggs and a larger space next time! :) 

I hope you all had a very happy Easter.  Next up…Qingming!

Moustache Mayhem

I have never totally fallen in love with the moustache.  My mom told me that as a baby, I would frequently freak out and cry when I saw a man with a crumb duster on his lip.  Now, I am of the opinion that some people can pull it off quite well.  So when a few of my friends asked if I was heading to the 2013 Mr. Moustache competition at DeRefter, I had to check it out.

 

Welcome to Mr. Moustache 2013!

The contest had two phases, online voting until March 23^rd, and then live voting at the Mr. Moustache pageant.  Click here to see a shot of all the contestants.

When we arrived, we were greeted with an array of lip rugs.  I was so excited to spend most of the night finding my ‘stache personality.

At first I thought I was a Scoundrel girl, but that changed over the course of the evening.

Chris became a Scoundrel, and I tried out the Bandit.  

One of the contestants ordered some fries before the big show.

Our lovely bartender rocked the Casanova.

My teacher friends searched for their facial hair personalities.

We tried to look mysterious when rocking the red carpet.

Eventually many of the staches became Fu Man Chus.

Over the course of the night, I decided to create my own stache personality, the Freda.

Around 9:40, it was time for the main event.  Each of the contestants was introduced, and everyone voted for their new Mr. Moustache 2013.

The men lined up to be introduced to the crowd.

They waited nervously to learn if they were to be Mr. Moustache 2013.

The title was claimed by a French man named Tebow, who actually tebowed when he was crowned king of the upper lip hair.  

Meet Tebow, Mr. Moustache 2013.

Overall, it was a fun night, but I don’t think I have any desire to grow lip spinach anytime soon. It's too itchy. J

Metrobics

As a society, Chinese people are health nuts.   When I walk to school, I often find people of all ages working out in the park.  In schools, students perform well-choreographed aerobic routines between classes.  Health education is embedded in the culture.

I love how schools make PE fun! 

Sometimes, a few people take it a little too far.

Yesterday, Chris and I decided to give our cab drivers a rest and take the Metro to Joy City.  About 3 minutes after we boarded the 9 train, we heard a metallic thud. Chris spurted,

“Ouch.  That had to hurt.”  We both turned our heads to witness one man’s quest to stay fit on the Metro, better known as Metrobics.

His routine was quite interesting.

He started by jumping up and down.  The train came to a stop at the next station so he laid down for a little stretching.

Start from a seated position.

Continue with butterfly stretches.

He then arched himself into a bridge position.

Then he did a few arm circles.

Then the man flailed his arms and jumped up and down a few more times.

He then added a few Tai Chi poses and a couple of “Aiya’s!” to his routine.  

When he was finished he announced,

“Lujiabang Lu.”  (the name of our train station).    

That was the end of the Metrobic workout.

I don’t believe I will be participating in this fitness craze anytime soon.

Taxicab Confessions…

When I first arrived in Shanghai, I had one foreign language-learning goal.  I wanted to be able to tell a cab driver how to take me home without the support of my iPhone.  Thanks to Sophie, my Chinese tutor, I have been able to achieve that goal…about 90% of the time.   

Most of the cab rides I take are fine.  I jump in the cab, tell the driver my home address, buckle up, power up the iPhone and brace myself for my silent, wild ride.  If I am lucky, I can watch a slew of cab commercials like the one below. 

Unfortunately not all of my cab experiences have been pleasant.

Two Sundays ago, I had my first unpleasant encounter.  Chris and I were heading to a post mass brunch in one of Shanghai’s finest cabs.  We were chatting quietly in the cab when the driver turned around and asked,

“You are American, right?” 

“Yes we are.”  I responded.  The man shouted,

“Wo bu xihuan Meiguoren” and started laughing uncontrollably.  Yes the man told us that he did not like Americans, and was laughing at us. 

“Zhenda ma?” (Really?) I asked.  I could not believe that this man was telling us he did not like Americans and was laughing right in our face.   I could have told him that I did not like his cab, but we were on the highway and I was hungry.

“Meiyo, Meiyo (No, No) I don’t like Japanese people.”  He responded.  Did he really think I was that much of an idiot?  He then laughed and repeated “Wo bu xihuan Meiguoren” “Wo bu xihuan Meiguoren” “Wo bu xihuan Meiguoren” all the way to the restaurant.  Never in my life had I ever been so glad to get out of a cab.

Last Sunday, we faced a similar situation.  Chris, his former boss Tom, and I popped in a cab to check out Taiking Lu.  After showing him the address for Taiking Lu, he asked us,

            “Ni Faguoren ma?”  (Are you French?)

            “Meiyou.  Wo shi Meiguoren.”  (No, I am American.)

            “Meiguoren bu hao.”  (Americans aren’t good.) he replied.  Wow…twice in one week.  Was there something I was doing to upset cab drivers?  What was the deal?

            “Zhenda ma?  Weishenme?” (Really?  Why?) I asked.  That question took the man off guard. He stuttered and rattle off in Chinese something about Japan.  When we reached our destination, he said,

            “Wo hao, ni hao, Meiguoren bu hao.” (I am good, you are good, Americans aren’t good.)

I could not believe this man was telling me Americans were not good AFTER I told him I was American.  

After feeling humiliated for the second Sunday in a row, I needed to figure out what the deal was.  So I told Sophie my story and asked why I wasn’t getting my usual cab driver respect.  She immediately burst out laughing.  Again, I felt like a total idiot. 

“Many Chinese people feel Americans are too rich.”  She explained.  “Many Chinese people also feel Americans only fight for money.”  I could not believe that she was saying this.  “But don’t worry, many people from Shanghai don’t like people from Beijing, and many people from China don’t like the Japanese.”  Oh, that made me feel better.  I decided to change the subject and get back to my studies.

As she was leaving Sophie mentioned,

“Oh, one more thing.  Many Chinese people remember being frustrated learning English in school, so hearing people speak English makes them angry.”  Okay, I could understand that.  This is one thing I can control.

From now on I keep studying, and keep my mouth shut in cabs!