The blogger website has been "broken" in China for quite some time, but it seems to be worker now. I'll be posting a digest of recent activities soon, but for now, a live blogging of the CCTV Chinese New Year Gala.
If you're not familiar, this is probably the most watched program of Chinese television all year. Everyone I know is at home watching with their family. It features song, dance, and skits called Cross talks, a traditional Chinese form of comedic dialogue. They are all slapstick and funny despite the sometimes sensitive issues they touch on. This post will be quite long, but I hope it will be worth the read- it should provide a glimpse into Chinese life from a very different angle.
Dislcaimer: This is simply my best guess of what's going on. I might or might not be spot on. Sorry.
I've begun blogging a bit late. We've already had a few songs and dances and two cross talks, one about a "Good Samaritan" who brings a car crash victim to the hospital but is actually the one who ran him over, and the other about a wife and husband who have a spat but eventually reconcile.
8:35- Dancers in multicolored dresses (fuschia bodice, yellow skirt; pink bodice, lemon skirt; etc)sing and dance 50's style. Something about loving out fellow Chinese in Taiwan, Macao, and Hong Kong.
8:49- The stage is set as a Blue's Clues style playroom with mascots of talking clocks, pencils, etc dancing around. Fifty little girls in pink tent-style dresses run out, attacking the humanoid objects (hugging maybe?) and singing "I like you, do you like me?." Now Xi Yang Yang makes an appearnce, followed my some whimsical tiger mascots.
8:54- Crosstalk #3- This one is a meta, featuring two cross talk performers who decide to find new partners. The one who wants a new partner dislikes the new guy he's matched with and ends up partner-less. Wonder what the moral is there?
9:08- Woman in a pink dress and elaborate headpiece dances slowly to violin music surrounded by folk dancing on the floor,possibly dressed as mermaids. Mermaids are on their feet now, and they are all dancing full out ballet while the screen in the background shows some technicolor flowers/mushrooms. Oh I get it! It's a flower blossom- pink girl is the bud, and the others are the leaves.
9:13- Cross talk called "Decoration" which is apparently a remix of a very famous old skit. A wife has gone to Korea for plastic surgery and returns looking young and beautiful albeit with a frozen Botox face. Everyone thinks the husband is keeping a mistress, and disaster ensues. The couple decides the wife should have surgery again to go back to her old face.
9:27- "Legend" is sung. It's a famous song here- your basic pop love ballad.
9:31- A "sketch." Seems to be a type of interpretative dance/non humorous skit about some female air force pilots fighting over who gets to fly over Tiananmen Square during the 60th anniversary operation. The one who is the back up is sad, but the others wear her name on their flight suits, and "in her heart, she is flying." Sort of glad I'm alone so I can laugh a little. The people in the audience are crying.
9:40- The real fighter pilots come out, and the audience gives a wild ovation to the real life back up pilot who seems a little traumatized.
9:42- Recap of the 60th celebrations complete with patriotic anthems and sherbet colored dancers. On a serious note, the depth of feeling displayed in patriotic situations is unrivaled by anything I've seen before. It's quite moving.
9:45- Memorial for Chinese killed in the Haiti earthquake and recognition of their family members, who are in seats of honor. They are honored as heroes.
9:46- Recognition of models of Charity, Heroism, Honesty, Professionalism, Filial Piety; these are people who have been selected from the various ethnic groups for their particular embodiment of these very Chinese virtues.
9:47- Greetings to Chinese living abroad
9:48- Medley "Harmonious Homeland"- compilation of many folk songs from both Han and minority groups (I think). You see these sorts of things a lot- singing old songs in hoping of uniting in the present.
9:56- Cross talk about a husband and wife quarreling over whether to try to pass off a fake bill they receive. (This is a fairly common problem here and has happened to me and several people I know.) A policeman gets involved, and the counterfeiter is found in the end.
10:10- Another cheesy and slightly off-key pop love ballad. The army generals in the front row are not amused.
10:16- Magic tricks by Liu Chen! I've seen him in person, and he's quite good. Funnier and less gimmicky than Copperwhatsit.
10:31- I'm on the phone, so the TV is muted, but there are a group of frenetic dancers in red. They're talented.
10:36- Another sktech. A college graduate starts a potato selling business, and his mother hires a girl to buy all the potatoes, so he expands. It becomes like Aunt Bea and the pickles, and the situation eventually collapses into hilarity.
In the background, fireworks continue to explode in vast quantities. Here, individual families put on fireworks shows that would shame most US municipalities on the 4th of July.
10:49- That was a long skit about potatoes. Ok, more ballet to a song entitled "Happiness." It seems that dancers are all wearing wedding dresses. "Happy people are the most beautiful." The song is mostly about happy families with children.
10:55- Interpretative dance with a rubix cube. Pretty cool actually. Reminds me a little of the Power Rangers!
11:00- One hour to go! This one is called "Smile" and is dedicated to the upcoming World Expo in Shanghai. Your basic world peace and happiness lyrics sung by Mao Amin, who has a lovely voice.
11:04- Group of acrobats in blue. Okay, enough musical numbers...
11:09- An 8 year old girl comes on to stage to prove her mastery of "The Old 100"- a list of the classic 100 Chinese surnames. They have a particular order, and this girl has learned them all. That's nice, I suppose, but why...?
11:11- A song about the beauty of Chinese calligraphy. That's a new one. On a slightly tangential note, someone offered to teach my calligraphy today. I politely declined, as I'm a disaster with all sorts of drawing, writing, and painting. The reply: "It's ok, I can teach anyone!" I had a flashback to when Jeff was sure he could teach me ice skating. That ended up with me sprawled on top of him on the ice, and we both laughed so hard we couldn't get up. No thanks.
11:16- Another cross talk that is way too complicated to summarize with any sort of brevity. Not my favorite.
11:34- Sketch is still going strong. * yawn *
11:37- Oh this is cool- a photo montage of the last year around China. In a moment of rare self-directed irony, the dancers are dressed as tourists taking lots of photos.
11:42- We're now singing about the "Sunny Road," which looks remarkably like its yellow-brick cousin. Not much longer til midnight...
11:48- A bunch of students in school uniforms and young pioneers scarves tilt their heads back and forth while the singer, dressed as a teacher, sings about flowers. Bright future, young minds, etc. "When you drink the water, think of those who dug the well."
The fireworks are increasing in intensity outdoors...Five minutes to go!
11:55- Finale time! All the dancers from all the numbers crowd on stage to one of the many national anthems!
12 midnight! Happy New Year! I have no idea what the TV is saying due to the massive explosions going on outside. I can smell the cordite! It's raining cherry blossoms (on TV, not in my living room, although that would be cool) And now they're singing the Chinese version of Auld LAng Syne.
My night is complete. I think there is another hour of programming, but it will go unwatched by me.
Saturday, February 13, 2010
Saturday, November 21, 2009
Remiss in my blogging duties
As I have been reminded by various emails, I have been remiss in my blogging duties. My apologies...but life is very quiet these days and nothing of interest that is also bloggable has happened. Let's see, what has happened...
-I judged a very very long speech competition. The topics were "My Future is not a Dream" and "Thus is a Real University Student." In some ways it was like spending a day at a motivational seminar. The department treated us to both lunch and dinner, which was nice, but lots of food and lots of speeches made for a looong day.
-I did a lesson on body language with my sophomores, which was so fun. We did "gesture charades" to point out those gestures which differ in China and America. I now know why cupping my ear to get my students to speak up has little effect- it is not the gesture for "I can't hear you" here! The best part of the lesson was silent skits. I had groups of 5 design a completely silent scene to show just how much you could convey without words. My favorite was the one where three students pantomined a bus. Another student turned his head while walking to check out a pretty girl and smacked straight into the bus, and they all laughed at him. Another group did a silent rock band, which was also pretty awesome.
-Lots of holiday festivities are coming up, so I will be sure to update when interesting things do happen.
Finally, check the photostream for pictures of our first snowfall and ridiculously cold weather.
-I judged a very very long speech competition. The topics were "My Future is not a Dream" and "Thus is a Real University Student." In some ways it was like spending a day at a motivational seminar. The department treated us to both lunch and dinner, which was nice, but lots of food and lots of speeches made for a looong day.
-I did a lesson on body language with my sophomores, which was so fun. We did "gesture charades" to point out those gestures which differ in China and America. I now know why cupping my ear to get my students to speak up has little effect- it is not the gesture for "I can't hear you" here! The best part of the lesson was silent skits. I had groups of 5 design a completely silent scene to show just how much you could convey without words. My favorite was the one where three students pantomined a bus. Another student turned his head while walking to check out a pretty girl and smacked straight into the bus, and they all laughed at him. Another group did a silent rock band, which was also pretty awesome.
-Lots of holiday festivities are coming up, so I will be sure to update when interesting things do happen.
Finally, check the photostream for pictures of our first snowfall and ridiculously cold weather.
Thursday, October 15, 2009
Embarrassing Moment of the Day? Month? Decade?
So today, the bus home was a bit crowded- about three deep in the aisle. A man in work pants, the kind with loops for hanging tools, was trying to squeeze by me and the old lady next to me. As he brushed pass, somehow the button on the back pocket of my jeans got tangled in one of the loops on his pants. And somehow, we got really stuck. He starts shouting for the bus driver to wait so he can get off, but because of the angle, neither of us could see the problem. After some very awkward fumbling, the old lady helped us out, shaking from trying not to laugh at our very red faces. Once untangled, the man positively fled. I didn't blame him at all!
I suppose I need things to keep me humble... :-)
I suppose I need things to keep me humble... :-)
Monday, October 12, 2009
Recipe: Chinese green beans
Green beans, snapped into pieces (I had about 4.5 cups- it doesn't really matter...)
1 package mushrooms, sliced
4 clove garlic, chopped
1 tbsp constarch in 1 cup water
1 tbsp soy sauce
Boil the green beans to desired doneness. Cook garlic and mushrooms until mushrooms are tender. Add soy sauce to cornstarch/water, and pour over mushrooms. Cook until thickened (1 min). Add greenbeans to sauce. Toss well and serve.
1 package mushrooms, sliced
4 clove garlic, chopped
1 tbsp constarch in 1 cup water
1 tbsp soy sauce
Boil the green beans to desired doneness. Cook garlic and mushrooms until mushrooms are tender. Add soy sauce to cornstarch/water, and pour over mushrooms. Cook until thickened (1 min). Add greenbeans to sauce. Toss well and serve.
Recipe: Tofu Soup
I'm taking nominations for a better name.
-12 cups water
-8 tsp chicken bouillon
-1 package extra firm tofu, cut into small cubes (remember it will expand in the soup)
-4 carrots, cubed
-1 onion, chopped
-1.5 tbsp dark soy sauce
-2 tbsp vinegar (I used "mature vinegar"- you could try balsamic?
Combine water, bouillon, carrots, and onion in a stockpot. Cook until the vegetables are just tender. Add the tofu. Add the seasonings little by little, to taste. I like it fairly vinegary, so watch out :-) Cook until tofu is heated through and softer. Best if cooked, refrigerated overnight, and served the next day.
-12 cups water
-8 tsp chicken bouillon
-1 package extra firm tofu, cut into small cubes (remember it will expand in the soup)
-4 carrots, cubed
-1 onion, chopped
-1.5 tbsp dark soy sauce
-2 tbsp vinegar (I used "mature vinegar"- you could try balsamic?
Combine water, bouillon, carrots, and onion in a stockpot. Cook until the vegetables are just tender. Add the tofu. Add the seasonings little by little, to taste. I like it fairly vinegary, so watch out :-) Cook until tofu is heated through and softer. Best if cooked, refrigerated overnight, and served the next day.
Status Quo
Beginning this week, things are going to slowly settle into a nice stasis. :-)
The holiday went very well. I enjoyed the parade (see previous post), did a little housewares shopping, and journeyed to the other side of the city for PCV taco day! Our wonderful chefs A, L, and M did just about everything from scratch except grind the beef. Homemade salsa, tortillas, wonderfully seasoned ground beef, and a delicious dessert made for a day of gastronomic happiness. Even though I've yet to really miss Western food, having tacos was really quite nice. Funny story about getting there: Since it's a long way (2 hours by bus), the three folk in my district decided to share a cab over there. About halfway there, the driver (whose first language is clearly not Mandarin) starts saying something about how we're going to have to get out. We asked him to repeat, and he keeps going on and on about not going into the city--but doesn't stop. In the end, he drove us all the way there. *shrugs*
Classes are going smoothly, as well. The freshmen are super enthusiastic, making their classes fly by. The sophomores make me work a little harder, but it comes out ok in the end. We recently did a lesson on regions of the United States, and it was wonderful and amusing to see their brainstorm list. They threw in Westward Expansion, Lincoln, racial discrimination, corn, and the Houston Rockets. :-)
My writing class, my 11th and final section, will begin this week at last. The students are in their final year of training to become teachers and have been scattered about doing field study for the first six weeks of the term. I've just found out that it's a year long course, so I'm feeling much more positive about the amount of material we will cover and how much the students will get out of the class. I'm quite fortunate that the other sections of the class are taught by another foreign teacher I know, so we can plan lessons collaboratively.
Also, I'm beginning my official tutoring today. I'm eager to begin improving my Chinese in larger steps. The Chinese for doing daily tasks no longer seems like a chore, which is nice, but I'm still really at a loss for small talk beyond introductions and the weather. Hopefully that will come soon.
Finally, I leave you with a couple of gems from student papers:
"I think people should not be so angry with Japan anymore. The past is black and white, but the future is full of colors."
"If I could travel anywhere, I would go to Antarctica. It would be my own small, white world."
The holiday went very well. I enjoyed the parade (see previous post), did a little housewares shopping, and journeyed to the other side of the city for PCV taco day! Our wonderful chefs A, L, and M did just about everything from scratch except grind the beef. Homemade salsa, tortillas, wonderfully seasoned ground beef, and a delicious dessert made for a day of gastronomic happiness. Even though I've yet to really miss Western food, having tacos was really quite nice. Funny story about getting there: Since it's a long way (2 hours by bus), the three folk in my district decided to share a cab over there. About halfway there, the driver (whose first language is clearly not Mandarin) starts saying something about how we're going to have to get out. We asked him to repeat, and he keeps going on and on about not going into the city--but doesn't stop. In the end, he drove us all the way there. *shrugs*
Classes are going smoothly, as well. The freshmen are super enthusiastic, making their classes fly by. The sophomores make me work a little harder, but it comes out ok in the end. We recently did a lesson on regions of the United States, and it was wonderful and amusing to see their brainstorm list. They threw in Westward Expansion, Lincoln, racial discrimination, corn, and the Houston Rockets. :-)
My writing class, my 11th and final section, will begin this week at last. The students are in their final year of training to become teachers and have been scattered about doing field study for the first six weeks of the term. I've just found out that it's a year long course, so I'm feeling much more positive about the amount of material we will cover and how much the students will get out of the class. I'm quite fortunate that the other sections of the class are taught by another foreign teacher I know, so we can plan lessons collaboratively.
Also, I'm beginning my official tutoring today. I'm eager to begin improving my Chinese in larger steps. The Chinese for doing daily tasks no longer seems like a chore, which is nice, but I'm still really at a loss for small talk beyond introductions and the weather. Hopefully that will come soon.
Finally, I leave you with a couple of gems from student papers:
"I think people should not be so angry with Japan anymore. The past is black and white, but the future is full of colors."
"If I could travel anywhere, I would go to Antarctica. It would be my own small, white world."
Thursday, October 1, 2009
Chinese National Day
I have some highlights from the last couple weeks, but I'll post them later. Of more current interest is Chinese national day. I just finished watching the parade, and it was something else!
The national day parade in Beijing made the Rose Bowl Parade look like Suwanee little league opening day, no offense to the Rose Bowl intended. It was incredible! The parade was organized in formations of people marching and/or dancing around each float. The floats had themes like "Scientific Development," "Youth China," or "Agricultural Development." Most of the floats had moving parts and television screens showing something relevant, and the several hundred people in formation around each float moved in perfect synchronization the entire time- marching, shouting a slogan, waving flowers, or holding up placards to make designs when viewed from the air.
Alongside the parade route was an area the size of a football field that displayed ever changing slogans and images. I was impressed with the technology of such a giant flat screen, then I realized it was made of people! It is similar to sections of football stadiums where each fan has a sign to hold up, and the section, when viewed together, says "Go Team!" However, the area in the parade had a different image for almost every float, and they were all perfect. I'm still trying to figure out how they managed to hold all the different signs.
But most impressive of all was the last formation, "A Better Tomorrow". It was made of 5000 children each carrying a 10 or so balloons. These kids were 10-12, and they were all marching perfectly. I was surprised they weren't wearing uniforms. They marched to the focal point of the parade route singing about hope for tomorrow, then they all let go of the balloons. It was very pretty...but I thought they were finished. Not so. All at once, they began to sprint towards the platform where the VIPs were standing, and I saw why they weren't wearing uniforms. As they ran, they separated into ribbons of red, orange, yellow, blue, green, and purple, and by the time the reached the platform, they had made a giant, ecstatically cheering rainbow. In case you couldn't tell, the entire parade was quite intense.
It's easy to say, "Oh, it's just a well-organized parade" but I don't think that's quite all of it. Every person in the parade was a volunteer, and from what I understand, there were several disappointed people for each person in the parade. The participants practiced countless hours for months, on their own time, and without compensation. They wanted to be in this parade because they want to show the world how much the Chinese love China. And I believe them.
If you have some time, check out cctv.com/english for footage of the parade, or click here to see some still photos of the spectacle.
Finally, I will be sitting around doing a lot of nothing for the next 8 days (our generous holiday!), so feel free to chat or skype me :-)
The national day parade in Beijing made the Rose Bowl Parade look like Suwanee little league opening day, no offense to the Rose Bowl intended. It was incredible! The parade was organized in formations of people marching and/or dancing around each float. The floats had themes like "Scientific Development," "Youth China," or "Agricultural Development." Most of the floats had moving parts and television screens showing something relevant, and the several hundred people in formation around each float moved in perfect synchronization the entire time- marching, shouting a slogan, waving flowers, or holding up placards to make designs when viewed from the air.
Alongside the parade route was an area the size of a football field that displayed ever changing slogans and images. I was impressed with the technology of such a giant flat screen, then I realized it was made of people! It is similar to sections of football stadiums where each fan has a sign to hold up, and the section, when viewed together, says "Go Team!" However, the area in the parade had a different image for almost every float, and they were all perfect. I'm still trying to figure out how they managed to hold all the different signs.
But most impressive of all was the last formation, "A Better Tomorrow". It was made of 5000 children each carrying a 10 or so balloons. These kids were 10-12, and they were all marching perfectly. I was surprised they weren't wearing uniforms. They marched to the focal point of the parade route singing about hope for tomorrow, then they all let go of the balloons. It was very pretty...but I thought they were finished. Not so. All at once, they began to sprint towards the platform where the VIPs were standing, and I saw why they weren't wearing uniforms. As they ran, they separated into ribbons of red, orange, yellow, blue, green, and purple, and by the time the reached the platform, they had made a giant, ecstatically cheering rainbow. In case you couldn't tell, the entire parade was quite intense.
It's easy to say, "Oh, it's just a well-organized parade" but I don't think that's quite all of it. Every person in the parade was a volunteer, and from what I understand, there were several disappointed people for each person in the parade. The participants practiced countless hours for months, on their own time, and without compensation. They wanted to be in this parade because they want to show the world how much the Chinese love China. And I believe them.
If you have some time, check out cctv.com/english for footage of the parade, or click here to see some still photos of the spectacle.
Finally, I will be sitting around doing a lot of nothing for the next 8 days (our generous holiday!), so feel free to chat or skype me :-)
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