Natasha Bouvais showed up in the United States. Or at least what my friend Susie thought when I made a surprise trip to visit her.
John and I are trying to see as many Olympic venues as possible before the big event. One warm Saturday afternoon, we headed to a baseball game...no tickets, but we knew we could get some there. 
Andi is here! And so far it's been a magical week. She's so far away in Peoria...but we are so proud of her hard work as she finishes her nursing degree. But this is a week for fun! Her friend Kelly came, too.
The children of China are lovely -- bright and fun. My friend Erin works as the English teacher in a Chinese/International pre-school. The children are pre-kindergarten ... 4 or 5 years old. The class has about 18 kids. Erin works with a team of 4 Chinese teachers.
She invited Miss Ning to read to the kids!
and I was so proud of Erin. She's an inspiring and loving teacher. One of the hardest jobs in the world!
People have asked me about my name, Ning. Here in China folks love it -- it's already Chinese! My Malaysian friends tell me it's the name of a famous pop singer in their country. Yeah man yeah -- a future career perhaps? 
What a difference Lily has made to our life here in China! Her sunny personality, her sense of humor...and willingness to help us at all hours of the day has created joy here in Beijing.
was born, her father was fired from his job and had to pay a fine equivalent to two years salary. He also went to jail for three days and was interrogated.
We were thrilled when she invited us (and Yan Shifu) to lunch at her fiance's apartment. He's basketball crazy...adores Michael Jordan -- so his English name is Michael. But we love his Chinese name -- translates as Fast Monkey!
was working and couldn't be with us. It's not unusual for Chinese people to work 6 even 7 days a week!
Sunday night at 10 p.m. we bolted from bed as our intercom burst forth -- a string of incomprehensible "xies" and "zhis" we've come to fondly associate with Mandarin. We ran down to the front desk (at least we can use body language...) and the little guy said in his halting English..."they're going to deliver your washer..." HUH?
Many times people think simply repeating things will help us understand...
a washer and dryer on a bicycle -- you guessed it...ours!
The first thing I noticed about China was the gorgeous women. Tall, slender, stylish and exotic. But it's amazing how beauty standards differ. 
Girls here get their noses enlarged! 
Even the massages were in unison -- almost choreographed. An hour long...the entire room was asleep in 20 minutes. 
apartment window. It's very Chinese -- no one speaks a word of English. 
assault. It's a new definition of vulnerable when you have on no clothes and someone is jabbering at you. Not to mention being the only pasty weiguoren (foreigner) in a room of Asian beauties... On the men's side, they helped John back into his clothes...even his underwear! We quickly fled and laughed about it the rest of the day.
Sigh... it just ain't easy.
But here's the bright spot -- you feel tremendous accomplishment when you do get something right! When the water comes as ordered...someone actually understands your Mandarin. When a girl in the store brings your cart to you because she's concerned about your purse being stolen....
Because the brightest spot is the Chinese people -- smart, friendly, willing to help -- and so hard working.
The adventure that is China!
I'm writing this to convey the elegance of the Chinese language... Living here gives me a a new appreciation for the challenges translating culture. There is such sweetness in Chinese -- when you meet an older woman, you call her "older sister". You say your verbs twice to soften the 
language (in the sentence, I would like to look at your store...the verb - look (kan) becomes kan kan.)
And just think of all the Chinese nonsense characters young people are having tattooed on to them in the US! I would never disparage these translations in a mean way.
But still -- For Fatso underwear? Patrice and I found this when shopping for John ... the poor guy lost his luggage -- and most of his clothes -- on a trip to Indonesia. For Fatso is how extra large is translated on the package. And 
instead of large, the box was marked XXXXXL (5 XL) and the shorts were still too tight!
Other phrases that make me smile:
Deformed man toilet -- Handicapped bathroom
Don't forget to carry your thing -- huh?
Your careful step keeps tiny grass invariably green -- keep off the grass
Wash after relief -- sign in bathroom. Enough said
There's a terrific web site for expats in China called The Beijinger. All in English. In the classified ads, there are a lot of tour guides offering their services in Beijing -- but the photos of these girls looked like glamour shots with come hither looks. I wasn't sure what they were offering...
o her husband on the phone. Then he said, "kiss, kiss... I love you! I love you!" in English! Just like she did say on the phone.
My friend Patrice came from the US last week -- and plunged into the Chinese experience. It was wonderful to see it all again through her eyes!
Patrice loved the homemade Chinese noodles -- as the chef made them like a rodeo lasso right before her eyes.
We took a Chinese Cooking class...back at the Hutong where I went to "Hook and Cook". We started with a traditional Chinese tea ceremony. Went to the local Chinese farmers' market to buy the ingredients (they killed the fish right in front of us!) and cooked on a flaming wok.
for an entire day -- bless her heart! We stayed in and watched the old movie, Lost Horizon...part of our "understanding the mystic of the orient" movie series.
Here's what people were doing in park:
We also did a little shopping. When John got home, Patrice and I made supper from fresh ingredients at the farmers' market. Patrice is an incredible cook and grows most of her own produce and herbs. I learned more from her than class!
captivated looking out our front window watching the workers build a new subway terminal across the street. There is even temporary housing like on a mine site. She was amazed by how much they got done in a single day...and begged me to send photos of the progress!If this week sounds fun, why not plan your trip to China? We'll sing a few songs at the Temple of Heaven... and Chinese beer is waiting...
