Spring is finally here--at least kind of! We had warm enough weather for Karis to finally be able to wear her new hand-me-down tights and skirt to church this morning without me worrying about her freezing her little legs off. And we even went outside to play badminton in the courtyard after dinner without having to wear gloves or hats! We're really hoping that spring weather is truly around the corner, especially since our heat is officially turned off now throughout the city. Now, that being said, I did check the weather forecast and noted the possibility of snow later this week. We're obviously hoping against that, but have our wool socks still out just in case!
After a traumatic Friday for me, our weekend has turned out to be really fun. Friday morning I was running out the door to class. I wait until the last possible moment to leave because Friday is the one day that we leave all 4 kids with our ayi for about half an hour while Kevin is on his way home from class and I am traveling to the school to start. We've done this the past 3 weeks now, and it has gone well each time, but I still don't want to push my luck so I try not to leave her alone with all my wild ones for too long a period of time! So I carried my bike from the stairwell in the hall where we store it down one flight of stairs to the elevator--which was apparently not working. After waiting for about 5 minutes, I determined I should just walk my bike down the stairs instead. Except that we live on the 10th floor. So that's a long walk! After making it down to the 9th floor with my backpack on and trying not to spill my coffee in my travel mug, I realized that I was NOT going to make it down in one piece, so I returned my bike to it's original place of rest. By this time, I was running late, so I scooted out of the building as quickly as I could to run and catch a taxi. I was disappointed, as I had been looking forward to the 3.5 mile ride to school for both the exercise and the freedom that I feel in being able to maneuver as I choose through the Tianjin traffic.
My disappointment only grew as I got in the taxi with a very grumpy taxi driver. I'm not sure what exactly I did to set her off, but the woman was just NOT happy with me at all! To make matters worse, there was a good amount of traffic, so the trip was not a quick one. When we got to the school, the taxi meter read 13.1 kuai. I paid the woman, all too ready to make a quick exit, got my change back and was about to get out of the cab when the meter clicked up to the next level--now reading 14.8 kuai. Now, I'd already paid and gotten my change, but the woman still insisted that I pay her the extra two kuai! I was so flustered and rattled from running late and the uncomfortable ride there that I actually paid her. I still can't believe it! (I know, two kuai is like the equivalent of 25 cents, but it's the principle of the whole thing!) I got to class so upset and discouraged that I couldn't communicate--which is not a good way to begin a two-hour long intense one-on-one class time. My teacher, whom I love dearly, launched into our class time with a series of questions that I was supposed to answer using proper Mandarin grammatical sentence structure. I couldn't even begin to process the information, and instead sat there, willing myself not to cry, fearing that my sweet teacher would take it personally if I did! My attempts in vain, I ended up bursting into tears, blubbering that I couldn't say anything in Chinese, not even to argue with the cab driver that I was not going to pay the extra two kaui, but that it wasn't my teacher's fault, but I was just a slow learner who was never going to be able to talk to anyone in this country, etc. etc. My teacher handled me great--running to the bathroom to get me some tissue. Once I regained my composure enough (which took awhile, considering that reading tones with your voice quivering just doesn't work!), we were able to back up, slow down, and have a really good class time. She assured me that I was not the first foreigner she'd taught who had revealed the effects of cross-cultural stress in her classroom!
So Saturday was much more enjoyable. In the morning, we had several friends come over (8 adults and 8 kids total) to have a family game time. We played the Wii, different board games, and ate lunch together . It was a sweet time of fellowship, and the kids loved playing with friends as much as the adults enjoyed having good talk time. In the evening, my teacher from last semester and this semester (who happen to be roommates!) came over with their boyfriends for dinner and a baking lesson. The girls have been trying to learn some western-style baking, and have had little luck, so we've been planning on making a cake together! The photo shows the outcome of our endeavors--and our labor was much enjoyed by all who partook (although our Chinese friends definitely agreed that the icing was too much, and would be better if it was less rich!). We had a great time once again getting a positive perspective on how blessed we are here with such sweet friendships!
(The picture of my teacher with Noah documents her second time ever to hold a baby! We are continually amazed how few of our Chinese friends here have held babies before--and they are all soooo excited to do so!)
