Rebecca Ramie

Today is my sister Becky's 28th birthday!  Hooray!!!













This means a little tribute is in order. 

Becky, if I could bake a cake for you, it would look like this:

There were a lot of these to choose from, but the fondant utility belt caught my eye.

And if I were gonna sing you a birthday song, I'd get this guy to do it, because I like his hat.

And if I were gonna list three reasons why it's fun having you as a sister, here's what they'd be:

1. Your adventurous spirit: 

Zorbing in New Zealand

Going big and painful for your first tattoo

Not being afraid to try something girly

Showing me around your city - Segway style

2. Our similar taste in good things:

Indian food (and other delicious varieties)

Attractive men

Great music

3. Your incredibly accepting, easygoing, and loving personality:

Becky's very snugly. 
If you don't know this, go out drinking with her sometime. 
She's a hugging machine.

She's also very chill and easy to get along with. 
This makes her a fantastic travel partner.
(Here we are celebrating our endurance skills
at the top of the Tongariro Crossing - with chocolate pudding.)

She's also wonderfully open and accepting of others.
She always has been, which continually impresses me -
especially since she's so much younger than I am.
Most people take a while to get there.  :)
Once when I needed some cheering up, she sent me a very supportive email
and a bunch of Deep Thoughts by Jack Handy. 
It was just the perfect response and a very fond memory for me.

Thanks for being you, Becky-boo, and I hope this year is a great one.  I can't wait for your visit.  I'm already making plans!!!  Love you lots! xo

Angeline and Elizabeth

Today's blog is dedicated to my lovely housemates, Beth and Angie.

As many readers know, I had some serious incompatibility issues with my last Berkeley housemate.  After all the drama I experienced with her, I was a little anxious about moving in with two complete strangers.  Luckily the folks on the ELC search committee did an excellent job of finding me two very kind, funny, hard-working, and lovely people to work and live with and for that I am most grateful. 

Here are a few things I really like about each of them, just so my readers can get to know them better.

I'll start with Beth, since I met her first.  Beth is very easy-going and down-to-earth.  She is good with plants and she sweeps the floor when she's tense, so our apartment is always looking nice thanks to her efforts.  She really likes the outdoors, so I often enjoy going on walks with her.  She's also a good companion for adventures, because she doesn't get uptight when things go wrong. When I arrived in Macau, it was late in the evening and she was already in bed when I got in.  So the next morning, we got up, introduced ourselves and headed across the street to McDonald's for our first meal together.  We've been going every Sunday morning since then and usually spend the time talking about our families, the challenges of teaching, our beliefs, life in China, and any number of other interesting topics.  Always an enjoyable way to process the week and get ready for another one.  Thanks Beth!

Angie is always joking and almost always laughing or smiling.  She loves to stir things up and gives you a hard time every chance she gets, but can also be incredibly considerate when you least expect it.  She is very interested in race, culture and diversity, and did her previous teaching work at a high school in the L.A. ghetto.  I have a lot of respect for her dedication and we've had some great discussions on these difficult topics.  She likes to sing and play guitar and is very talented, so I get to enjoy the benefit of listening to her practice on a regular basis.  Although I tease her about being so much younger than I am (8 years?) she's really fun and I feel more energized after I hang out with her, which helps me to be more productive in my work.  Thanks Angie!

Both these ladies came into this year with more teaching experience than me, and so they've both been a great help in giving me ideas for lessons and boosting my confidence when I get freaked out.  It's been a great first three months together and I'm looking forward to some more fun time in December.  I just found a place that will rent me a scooter, so adventures are in order.

This photo was taken by our fellow teacher, Chris.

3

Well, it's already November 5th, which means I've been writing this blog for three months now.  Crazy.

I had my usual Saturday morning waffle, which I ate during a nice Skype chat with Liv (a very good friend who lives in New York), and then went back to visit Dr. Yang at the Chinese Medicine clinic.  I wrote a letter to her thanking her for her help, asking when I can do yoga again, and also asking for a brief description of what she did to fix me.  Carol was kind enough to translate it for me and then Dr. Yang wrote a response.  I still need to show it to Carol to know what it says.  It gave me such a feeling of excitement carrying it around.  Like a secret message.  Except it's only a secret to me.  Dr. Yang did tell me that I need to be very careful not to damage it again and was gesturing in a way that makes me think she wants me to wear a brace.  :(  That's a bummer.  She didn't seem nearly as thrilled with the outcome as I am and kept pressing the spot where it used to hurt and looking at me expectantly.  I think she's worried because there's still a larger bump on that side than on my good wrist.  But I have had zero pain since she needled me, and that's all I care about.  (Just a reminder that if you click on these images you can see a larger version.)  She also made it sound like I can't do yoga for another 3-6 months.  So much for trying to get back in shape.  I guess I could do other things, but yoga works so well.

 The secret letter

After the clinic, I went home and graded for a couple hours and then it was time to get ready for the University's 30th anniversary gala dinner.  Tenny, one of our wonderful administrative staff, offered to drive us.  The dinner was at The Venetian, one of the really large casino/hotels in Taipa, and it's like the one in Vegas. 

Yes, they even recreated the campanile in St Mark's Square and the Rialto bridge.  So tacky...

...and enormous.  In addition to being a casino and hotel, the Venetian also has a huge mall with fake canals.  These are complete with gondolas you can ride in, painted buildings and an eternally blue sky. 

I'm not used to driving anywhere here (in a car, I mean), so it's always an adventure when we do.  We arrived at the Venetian and were directed to this enormous warehouse-like room for parking in.  I have no idea what they normally use this space for.  Beth and I thought it would make a good roller rink.  Once inside we had to wait a little bit for the rest of our group to arrive.  As I said, the place is huge so we were basically alone in this enormous and ornate hallway.  So we did the only logical thing.

Yes, racing.  In dresses.  I can't take these two anywhere.  :)  Once our group was complete we walked around and window-shopped a bit and then went into the banquet.  They had a program prepared which included speeches, the singing of the new 30th anniversary anthem, and performances from the UM choir.  I tried to capture samples, but my phone is just not that good so I'm leaving them out.  Here's a good vid though, from before the meal began.

So we had a ton of food, as usual, but here are a couple of highlights.  This roast piglet was the first thing out.  The skin was quite crispy and when you bit into it you could feel the fat oozing out.  I mean this in a good way, but I can't think of a more appetizing way to describe it.  Yummy.  I could do without the head, though.

 

This was dessert, it's a steamed bun with lotus paste inside, which I think was supposed to look like a fruit.  The little green leaves are edible.  

However some of our coworkers decided they made better photo props.  These ladies are Sumi and Monica - they are both hilarious.  

Although the lighting in the ballroom was difficult, we managed to get this nice shot with Carol.  

And this one of the entire group.  It was a very enjoyable evening and then afterward we came back home and Carol followed us up to watch Napoleon Dynamite.  I think this might be Beth's favorite film on earth and she can quote it very well.  I had seen this movie once before and had a very adverse reaction to it, probably because it stirred up too many horrible memories of my high school experience.  But it was a lot funnier the second time around and I love a man who can dance well, even if he does have terrible hair.

I am Jack's lame excuse

So we didn't stay up and watch Fight Club on Wednesday after all - it was just too late by the time we got around to it.  So we watched it last night instead and then afterward I replanned my lesson for today because I got a look at the final exam and realized that one of the teachers had included a bunch of stuff I hadn't taught.  Plus I had nothing of interest to say or show you.  So, A+B+C=X.  If X is greater than my level of motivation, I don't write a blog.  So sorry.

Today was good.  I'm finally feeling like I can keep up with what's going on at school.  Too bad it took me until week 10 to feel that way.  Only a few more to go and then I have a whole month off to relax.  Yay!!!  After work I came home and cleaned up, ate dinner, and read another chapter of You Are Here by Thich Nhat Hanh.  Have I mentioned how much I like his writing?  I'll mention it again. The chapter I was reading talked about how it's important to stop and be present every day - stop running around worrying about the future or dwelling in the past.  It made an interesting parallel in my mind to In Time - because in that future society, where time is the currency of life, only the poor run.  That's one way the rich can mark them - if they run or do things too fast.  I don't really worry too much, but I am a notorious planner and I do try to do too much, which means I run around a lot, figuratively.  Hard to relax and enjoy life and be healthy with that approach.  But I'm working on it. 

Anyway, good dinner, good reading, then Jaja came over.  Having been fortunate enough to receive a lot of massage work over the past five years, it's always fun to see the original moves some practitioners come up with.  She did this neck twisting thing to me tonight that was incredible.  So worth the 360 patacas.  My shoulder is barely bothering me at all even though I'm hunched over a computer most of the day.  Totally great - I should thank Kim again for introducing me.

Alright, more random photos from recent days.

Noticed this poster outside McDonald's.  That's right, it's Hello Kitty dressed as Ronald and Company.  Seriously, is there anything you can't put Hello Kitty on?

I happened to look up and see this crazy tree while I was walking home one night.  It was lit by a streetlamp which showed the moss growing all over it's trunk.  Cool, huh?

The latest DIY.  I broke my sunglasses a couple weeks ago and got this replacement pair at a flea market.  Yesterday one of the bows just fell of while I was wearing them.  I guess the screw worked its way out.  I couldn't find it, and I'm not about to wander around trying to find a new one.  It's hard enough to manage that in the States.  Luckily, I have a leatherman, a binder clip, and a healthy set of problem solving skills.  Tadaa!  Good as new.  

Weather was absolutely gorgeous again today.  I wandered around outside for a bit at lunch, (see the video above), but not nearly long enough.  Got to try to get some fresh air this weekend.   Took this shot of some crazy glass sculptures in the setting sun as I was waiting for my bus transfer.

For those friends of mine that either give or receive a lot of massage, you might be amused by my home-made "table" setup.  It's taken me the last three sessions to perfect this, but I think I finally have it worked out.   I have to lie diagonally so Jaja has enough room to work, and that stool is for her.  Got the blowup neck pillow for my face when I'm lying on my belly so my nose and jaw and neck don't get crushed by the pressure.  (It took me several attempts to find something that was strong and cushy enough but didn't make me suffocate.)  Finally remembered to use my regular pillow for under my legs so the tops of my feet don't get hurt either.  It's amazing how much pressure it takes for some of your bigger muscles to let go.  Luckily I got some of Jay's massage music saved on my computer before I left, so I don't have to hear the street noise while I'm trying to relax.  Not a spa, but not too shabby either.  And as my favorite friend in South Africa would say, "Improvising is half the fun!" 

Just In Time

Or "Justin Time", to put it another way.  Yes, I just returned from watching In Time, the new movie starting Justin Timberlake.  I was never really a fan of his until my sister, Becky, sent me a YouTube link of JT on Jimmy Fallon's show a little while back.  She did this because I'm in love with Jimmy Fallon, but watching their "History of Rap" performance made me greatly increase my respect for dear Mr. Timberlake as well, despite his stupid name. (I just learned from IMDB that it's his given name though, so I guess it's not his fault.)

He also looks pretty good without a shirt, but that could be the isolation talking.  :)

Seriously though, it was a very enjoyable movie and the first one I've seen in a Macau theater. Cillian Murphy is the bad guy and I think he's a great villian.  It was the first time I've seen Amanda Seyfried in anything, but she did a good job too.  A good job of looking hot and acting tired of being rich and safe, that is.  This is one of those oh-so-dangerous movies that makes you stop and think about how you're living your life.  These types of movies make me want to go out and do something wild and crazy.  But most of the things I like to do in this situation are not available to me at present, and anything too wild and crazy might land me in jail, so I think Angie and I are going to stay up late and watch Fight Club instead.  It's funny because I was just thinking about risk-taking earlier today.  I was looking over some videos my fellow teachers are using to supplement our unit on gender and one of them was talking about how men are more about taking risks than women are.  I was immediately annoyed by that, even if it's statistically true.  I like a regular diet of risk-taking, even if it is on a fairly low scale.  I guess it's a sign that I've been here long enough now if I'm feeling I need to spice things up. 

If you're interested, here's the trailer and below that is the review from SFGate - the online San Francisco Chronicle.

Review:
http://www.sfgate.com/cgi-bin/article.cgi?f=/c/a/2011/10/28/DD631LMEUL.DTL&type=movies 

And here's my coworker, Miranda (R), and her friend, Nicola (L) who saw it with me.  They were not quite as impressed. (Those are admission tickets they're holding.)  Maybe it helps to live in the Bay Area a while.  I read something one time about how because of the gold rush it was a place founded by risk-takers and continues to attract those people.  Interesting theory.

If only I had my bike here...

Kites, packages, and the IFT

Happy November!  Can you believe it's here already?  Sheesh.  I think part of the reason I feel like time is flying past me is that I'm not in touch with the seasonal changes.  In MN, you have to start worrying about the s-word this time of year.  In the Bay Area, the rains are just beginning.  Batten down the hatches all you nice folks in Marina Bay Yacht Harbor!

But here, it's gorgeous.  Cooler, but still sunny and warm enough to walk around in a tank-top and sandals.  I went to downtown Taipa to buy groceries at lunch today and was really tempted to shirk my afternoon duties and just wander around in the beautiful weather.

But I didn't.  I went back to work until 4, then to the post office to pick up my packages, then back home and out again to get my laundry.  On the way to pick it up I saw a sight that made me stop right in the middle of the sidewalk and stare.  Can you see it?  Look closely!

It's a kite!  It wasn't this hard to see in real life, but it was pretty high up there.  It wasn't even windy today!  Who on earth is flying a kite in the middle of a crowded city with no wind?  I want to meet this person!  Are they standing on top of a building?  I just can't tell!  But it made my afternoon.

And the day only got better!  When I got back from the laundromat, I opened my packages.  One contained 2 boxes of Golden Grahams from Alsie Abbott, Alison's mom in PA.   Woohoo - thanks Alsie!  Bedtime snacks for a couple weeks!!!

The other was from Cat, my very dear dental-hygiene-loving friend in CA. (Full disclosure, I asked for the dental tools to combat my tea stains.  Didn't want to have to go a whole year without a cleaning.  DIY, F!)  Thanks darling!!!  Super excited to try the high-tech toothbrush and the tiny between-the-teeth brushes.  And you know I need that dish scraper.  Please thank Shaw as well, since I can tell from the handwriting that he mailed it for me.  :)

Then I rushed around to make dinner for Carol and her friend, Karen.  I made the wild rice in a rice cooker, which I've never done before, and of course the bouillon cubes were a different size than I'm used to, so it turned out a little al dente and a little salty, but I was pleased overall.  Carol pointed to the vegetable and asked what we called it in English.  She thought it was very funny when I answered "green beans".  Not very original I guess.  :)

 
Since Karen was over, they recorded a conversation in Cantonese for me to practice listening.  I will include the audio file and script below for those interested.  To hear the audio file, you need to click the play button on the blue Streampad bar at the bottom of the page.

A=Angie, C=Carol, K=Karen

A: beauty, how many of you?
C: Two please?
A: what kind of tea do you want?
K: Jasmine Tea please.
C: Karen, what do want to eat?
K: I want to have dumpling turnip cake and thousand years egg and pork congee, how about you, Carol?
C: I want fried milk, shrimp dumpling, sesame ball, and fried noodles.
K: Great, let’s order, waiter!
An hour later.
C: wa I am so full. Do you like the food here, Karen.
K: it’s okay.
C: let’s have dessert then, how about milk pudding.
K: Great, I know a place just down the corner. But I think you just said you are full.

Song_1_Title
After dinner and our recording session, we went out for drinks and dessert at a place near our house. It's called the INSTITUTO DE FORMACAO TURIS, or IFT for short.  It's a training hotel and restaurant for students going into the hospitality and food industries.  The restaurant was awesome, and I've heard the hotel is very nice as well.  If anyone is planning to come out to visit me, (which you all should do), I would highly recommend you stay here.  I'll include the link to tempt you.  :)

http://www.ift.edu.mo/pousada/eng/index.htm

Here's the front of the hotel.

And Carol leading the way to the restaurant.

The dessert menu.  Predictably, I got the rhubarb and forest berry crumble.  Nice huh?  This is the kind of place where they put your napkin in your lap for you and give you a lot of extra glasses and utensils and then take them away again after you've ordered.  I loved it though.

I also got a coffee drink that came with a tiny pistachio biscotti.  (Hard to tell the scale here, but the cup was like an espresso sized cup.)  It was called the portuguesi, I think, and was espresso with dark rum, some kind of brandy and cream?  I should have paid more attention, but it was lovely, whatever it was.

This is not the best photo of my rhubarb crumble - so sorry.  That eggroll looking thing in the center is a rolled cookie, and hiding behind it is some caramel ice cream. 

The cheese plate was also very good.  At last we've found something Chinese people don't like to eat.  Blue Cheese.  They got creme brulee too, but I forgot to get a photo before it was too late.

The decor was lovely as well.  They had a super cool wine room when you first entered, lit with ultraviolet light.  My phone camera just couldn't do it justice.  But I did manage to get this beautiful lamp.  I totally want one of these to bring home with me.  Can't you just see this in my future SF apartment?  I can.

A great day overall and a holiday tomorrow.  I really, really need to focus and get a bunch of work done so I can enjoy my movie in the evening, so I'm going to bed.  Goodnight!

Trick or tease!

To paraphrase Vincent Vega, it's really the little differences that make you smile when you're in another country.  For instance, a number of my students wished me a "Happy Halloween" today, but one wrote "Trick or Tease!" as a comment in their journal.  Too cute.  But I get teased enough already, thanks.

I was really annoyed with them today because they wouldn't stop talking and they still aren't learning their comparative adverbs and they made stupid mistakes on their video projects even though we've been through the directions many times in the past few weeks.  But I can't stay mad at them for long.  (I usually can't stay mad at anyone for long.  If I'm mad at you for more than a week it means you've really done something unkind.)  The quietest boy in my class wrote in his journal today that he thought my clothes were cool.  How could I be mad after that?

So I didn't wear my wig to class today as I had intended.  Sorry to disappoint you, Becky.  I'll try to find another opportunity, but I don't feel secure enough in my professionalism yet to do something that wacky.  And honestly my students were riled up enough as it was.  I would blame Halloween, except that you would never know it was today.  Although we saw a lot of costume pieces and decorations in stores, I have not seen one dressed-up person all day.  I have no idea who's buying this stuff or for what purpose.  I asked a Chinese coworker if she was dressing her son up for Halloween and she looked at me like I was from another planet.  Nope, just another country.  Never mind, Sheryl.  :)

The last couple days have been totally hectic and I have almost nothing meaningful to share.  Here are the highlights.

1. On Sunday I successfully ordered my McDonald's breakfast in Cantonese for the first time.  No pointing.  Hell-to-the-yeah!
2. I also got some quality Skype time in with my folks and two of my besties. xoxo
3. My hair turned out well after dying it myself on Saturday night.  (Photo below.)

That's it.  Sooooo boring.  I guess one of our admin staff asked Angie what we do on weekends and she was like "Ummm, grading and lesson planning?" and Ming told her that our predecessors took a lot more weekends to go to the mainland for karaoke.  What are we doing wrong?  This blog would be a lot more exciting if I was carousing in Zhuhai every weekend, that's for sure.

Luckily I have some photos stored up in the random pile, so that will have to do.

People load all kinds of dangerous stuff onto their scooters, but I think this takes the cake so far.  A full length mirror.  And the passenger is just holding it on the side.  Can you see that?  I can't believe they are even pretending that will work out.  Similarly, an unnamed person of Malaysian heritage who lives with me drove back from Taipa on the back of Carol's scooter with her guitar between Carol's legs.  So Carol was driving while said person tried to hold the guitar out of her face from behind.  Again, I can't believe they even tried it.  I will certainly remember this incident the next time she tells me I'm doing something unsafe.

And speaking of motociclos, as they're called in Portuguese, here is the row of bikes that's always parked across the street from my house.  They're everywhere.   I really miss mine.  (sigh)

And speaking of Halloween, here is one of many decorations we saw in Dog One Life, Beth's favorite pet store.  As you can see, this enormous red fuzzy spider is crawling up a cat tower.  Proof that I can like anything if it's red and fuzzy.

And speaking of bookmobiles...
Well, I guess we weren't but isn't this cool?  A bookmobile in Macau!  I totally shouted and embarrassed myself when I saw it.  The bookmobile was one of my favorite things in the world when I was a kid.  I guess it still is.

And finally, look what I found at MamaCare!!!  (MamaCare is a chain of stores that caters to - you guessed it - but they also have a large grocery section at this one.)  Unfortunately it's paddy rice from CA, so it will only be a shadow of the greatness we get from up north, but I'm excited anyway.  Now I just have to find some celery salt...