Adriana

If I don't explain my friend Adriana, I am not explaining my Shanghai experience. So in order to give you as accurate of a picture as possible, here is your run-down

I have this unique ability to attract friends that have personalities that are larger than life.  (If you attended our wedding you witnessed this first hand)  Adriana is no exception.  We first met the day after we arrived in Shanghai.  Her first words to me were "I know I look a little Guidoish but I wear these for good luck"  I was thrown off by her Jersey Shore reference but I also recognized her New York accent right away.  She then asked me how I was keeping my hair so straight in the humidity.  We were instant friends.

Adriana is quick witted, crazy smart, hilarious and always a bit inappropriate.  I love her. She speaks fluent sarcasm and has hair that makes an appearance seconds before she does, both add to her appeal. She loves peppering me with questions with topics ranging from the County Fair, to my mom's baking specialties. After spending enough time together she has begun referring to my family members and traditions like she has been a part of them.  She asks when Lynn will be making her homemade rolls or if Matt's mom will be making her chocolate cake again soon.

We like to spend time bonding while getting our hair done. One day I needed to get a hold of her for what I am sure was a very important matter.  I could not reach her on her phone so I called "The Best Hair Shop" and repeated "pungyo" (the word for friend) over and over again until somehow Adriana's voice came through on the other end.  In a city of 22 million it was remarkable to run her down like we were in Stratton.

Here are some facts about her:

-She has her students address her as "Ms. Fabulous."
-She likes to tell people her profession is a geriatric gynecologist. 
-She learns inappropriate words in Korean and uses them in random sentences when talking to her Korean students then pretends that she thought it meant something else. This entertains both her and her students endlessly.
-She has never eaten Mayo or mac n' chesse.
-She is from Manhattan.
-She went to high school with Nicci Hilton and Lady GaGa
-She thought Albany was a state
-I have to translate her Chinese to the cab drivers because they can't understand her accent
-She is 5 feet maybe 5'1.
-She does not have a driver's license
-She often uses the expression 'sexy time' in place of thank you or as a transition statement
-Her classroom is on the 4th floor so that means that she has to come to me
-She will ask me questions like: "Are there people that did not graduate from college where you live?"
-Sometimes I feel like we are from different planets but mostly we have found a mutual respect for one another's background.

She asked me to come into her high school ESOL (english as a second or other language) class to talk about growing up in rural America.  After speaking for a few minutes Adriana asks me "What part of a horse does steak come from?"  I saw on her face that she was serious and I started laughing.  I couldn't catch my breath I was laughing so hard.  All of the ESOL students just watched me because they didn't speak enought English to understand, so they had no idea what was so funny and neither did Adriana.  I think that she has it figured out now. 

One weekend in the fall we went out for lunch and came back with a brown poodle.  Adriana had never owned a pet until She-ra and for the first day she would not even touch her with her bare hands.  They have come a long way.  I was worried about how she would deal with being a new pet owner but cut to seven months later and the two of them are doing well. She-ra has changed her life and made her a dog person.

 Adriana is electric, eccentric and despite needing to be clued in to Colorado life she has proven to be a good friend and I am so happy to have her here with me.

Look who's joining us in class today!

    Wednesday was the last day of class for the 12th grade students.  They'll be taking exams for the next four weeks in accordance with the International Baccalaureate program.  The exams cover their past four years of study so they still have a lot of work and stress left.  This is why the school granted them their own three day spirit week, which included a finale of Superhero/Cartoon Character day.  I was quite impressed both of these men kept their heads on tight for the entire practice exam during my block.  (Yes, I gave them a test on the last day.  Its for their own good)  Then we shared pizza!
Matt

Last week Matt surprised me with a date night.  He took me to a great Tapas restaurant and then we went to the Candoco Dance Company performance. They were touring from the UK and were making a stop in Shanghai.  It was INCREDIBLE. 

This is how they describe themselves;
"Candoco Dance Company is the contemporary dance company of disabled and non-disabled dancers.

At the heart of our work are our national and international productions, created by world class choreographers. Alongside these, through our Learning and Development projects and activities we provide access to the highest quality of work for people participating in dance for pure enjoyment, or as part of a developing career." 

It was beautiful and inspiring and memorable and remarkable.  Modern dance is not always my favorite expression of art but this was enough to change my thoughts on the whole movement.  

 

Check out their website; 

http://www.candoco.co.uk/about-us/

If you get a chance to see one of their performances, do it.  

No Guts No Glory....but....

   This is a follow up to my "No Guts No Glory" blog a few days ago regarding the morning tofu smoothie from the wet market.  I've learned since that drink is called do fu hua which translates as tofu pudding.  I also smelled the bottles they were using this morning when I went to get breakfast and the liquids can be confirmed as chili oil, vinegar and some liquid I can't identify.  Its not soy sauce as I had originally guessed.  Anyway, after the blog posted some people asked about the other food items I'm still leery to try.  That list would have to include chicken/duck heads (fried/boiled, in sauce, all kinds), chicken feet, pork trotters, these piles of mystery meat I can't identify and this special delicacy Bri read about recently.  This one really sounds like something boys would make up and dare someone to eat, not something people enjoy as a delicacy.  To each his own I suppose....
Matt

No Guts No Glory

     When it comes to trying new food I've never been one to hesitate.  My motto is I'll try anything twice and I usually stick to it.  That's because I had a bad first experience with oysters but later discovered that I like them.  Visiting China has obviously been a tremendous platform to try new foods.  I can name over a dozen new foods that I've tried from our local wet market alone.  However, there has been one item in the market that has eluded the breadth of my courage, UNTIL NOW.  Where I get my breakfast burrito, dan bing, egg pancake...whatever you want to call it they also serve a breakfast item that you drink.  It is a soy bean tofu that is only partially curdled so there is some semi-solid tofu floating in soy milk.  They spoon it into a cup making sure you get just the right amount of solid and then add savory flavors.  My best guess after watching stuff from mystery bottles get squirted and spooned in is a little soy sauce,  a spoonful of MSG, some green onions, a little pickled vegetable slaw, a couple shakes of another sauce and if you'd like, some chili oil.  Now you understand why it took me a little while to step up to bat.

     I'm proud to say that Tuesday I consumed and enjoyed my first...hmmm....I have no idea what this called.  Most people would say they were nervous on their wedding day but that minuscule amount of nerves was nothing compared to the feeling in my stomach before I sent the first gulp of this down the chute.  I should note here that Bri often points out that I take large "taste bites" but I truly feel that you have to give the item a fair chance.  If your going to try it, try it.  Don't prance around it.

     The verdict in my humble opinion was that it was quite appetizing and I finished it before class started as my second breakfast.  Bri and I like to ask each other what we'd do to get another taste of a dish.  Some dishes I'd slap my mother to eat again (It's in San Francisco) and others I'd only punch my brother-in-law to taste again.  On the real ranking system, I'll be ordering this again, encouraging others to try it when they visit, long from now when we're in the US raising kids I'll still remember it, but I won't miss it enough to try and recreate it.  You can see I'm not a fan of 1-10 scales.

     So that's the verdict but what did it taste like?  It was like a warm, savory, runny jell-o textured protein shake.  If you like chinese food you'd be fine but if you are the type of person that dislikes food because of texture you should probably sit this one out.  It kept me full 4 hours until lunch and what more can you ask out of 1.5 yuan...25 cents.

     So thats that, and now I'm pondering other things I see from the street and I've been leery to try.  I'm wondering what else I'm still missing out on because its just a bit too daunting to put down the hatch.
Matt

Internet Turmoil

Days often pass without obvious reminders that we're in China.  Then the internet shuts down or becomes slow enough that nobody has the patience to use it.  Its a little scary how linked in students....and teacher are at the school.  Its slowed down recently and many suggest it is due to the current political turmoil regarding the ousting high political figure.  Hopefully it won't last too much longer.

Great Wall
Political Turmoil

Matt

Word of the day: Acquire

     One benefit of being a teacher is the kids will make you laugh almost everyday.  Unfortunately they can also make you pull your hair out and cry on other days. The week before break Bri and I each had some good laughs in class.  My favorite was an 11th grader from Finland.  He was trying to use a southern accent.  Nobody could tell what his accent was referring to until another student recognized his accent was Woody from the Toy Story.  The americans in class then explained to him that Woody doesn't have a good southern accent because it is a kids movie.  

Bri's story takes a little less imagination.  The word of the day was acquire so each student needed to use it in a sentence.