Today I had in one class two kids who were pointed at for looking like Panda's(and surprisingly they did kinda look Panda'ish) and one GIRL who supposedly looked like a gorilla. I don't mean to be mean(ok yes I do), but like the Panda boys, she did actually look a bit like a gorilla.
Which leads me to the second of my two classes for the day. One exercise was answering two questions on their hand-outs, "What is your favourite animal? Why is it your favourite animal?" Some of the kids answered in really thoughtful, quite long ways. I guess we're surprised sometimes with their level of english. Of course they could articulate how they felt in Chinese, but in English it's a fair achievement.
So the bell rang and I had only gotten through a few of the kids as it is quite a busy lesson. I called for the last two and motioned down the length of the class, "Ok, you two at the very back!" I must have put emphasis on 'very back.' So in the second back row this fat chick stands up - abnormally fat. There's a couple of pig-like fat boys with the typical round face and small nose etc, but it's kind of rare in the girls. Well not today! This girl and the rest of the class had thought I meant 'VERY FAT!"
I said, "No!! I said, VERY BACK!!" putting further emphasis on it and they're saying, "Oh, but she is VERY FAT too!"
These kids are bloody mercilous! (she was pretty damned fat though)
The school takes pride and joy in its arrangement of flowers. Many seem to be wilting due to the increasing temperature. We found a whole bed of roses this evening but while they looked only recently planted, they were also somewhat wilted. We didn't hang around there too long however as it was prime mosquito time and down by the canal full of the world's most feral water. The absolute last thing we would want is to be bitten by mozzies from THAT water.
We keep seeing these great looking birds around the campus - predominately out front of our window. I don't know what the hell it is but it looks like a woodpecker. Can you get them in China?? Early into Spring I saw one and it did look to be banging it's beak on the side of a tree. Whether it was doing woodpeckerish things or just cleaning crap from its beak, who knows.
In addition to the woodpecker thing(and this post is really turning into nature hour), I found this bird running around down near the lake. It walked around upright like some kind of foul. It was really quite a pretty bird with a colourful head. I couldn't get any closer to it as when i crept up on it behind a bush, it would circle behind it, firmly keeping the bush between me and it. In fact the little bastard was starting to annoy me! When did birds get cluey??
I have talked about this before, but the above image shows an example of how small spaces of land in between buildings is used to farm crops. I have seen some ridiculously small plots being used. If it's free, 9 times out of 10 it will have crops in it. These will undoubtedly be feeding the local residents and perhaps making a few dollars on the side - though the money in farming these days is apparently attrocious - hence why so much of the country is so poor - farming was a primary source of income for the majority.
Here's another chunk of farmland, but a much larger plot. On it you will see many different crops being grown as opposed to just being dedicated to one lot. They all seem to sell seasonable fruits and vegetables. Everywhere in the streets are small home-grown vendor trucks selling whatever is currently in season. Right now there seems to be a surplus of a type of melon reminiscent of watermelon.
I have been wanting to get a photograph of this guy for ages. He sits on the corner of an extremely busy intersection, where a regular road joins onto one of the large freeways. This intersection is always absolutely teeming with trucks - 95% of them being blue. He often has a sign propped up alongside the vehicle - and probably does on the other side. He is usually there every time we pass this place - which is en route to the other campus on Monday and Thursdays. We have had no idea what he does, and couldn't think. He just sits there, usually asleep, with this big chunk of machinery mounted on his bike. I mentioned it to Matt & Abby, and I think it was Matt who said he probably inflates truck tires - and now that i think about it, that's probably dead on the money. The machine is likely just a big compressor, ready to drive out and fill up tires on demand. The trucks range from average to absolute rust buckets, so it's possible that if that is in fact his role, he'd get a hell of a lot of business. We have seen buses and trucks drive by with holes in the sides of their tires.
And here's another super common sight in downtown China. These are the 'motorbike guys.' You can barely pass an intersection without seeing one/some. I thought they were just construction workers in between jobs - as they are all wearing construction helmets and just hang out on their bikes on corners. It turns out they are actually motorcycle taxi's. You pay them and jump on the back of their bike and away you go. I saw three people climb onto one the other day - yes three, that's 3+driver = 4 on the one motorcycle. Safety standards haven't been invented here yet.
And last but not least - the bike girls. You see these absolutely everywhere. The above photo is somewhat different to normal as they are normally sitting on the back but side on, with both their legs hanging down. I guess this girl is..well kinda butch or something :) Anyway the rider starts peddling and the passenger takes a few steps as run-up then jumps onto the rear of the bike - sideways. We're talking the flat metal grill thing used to carry goods on the back of bikes - it's neither large nor comfortable, yet they sit on there with absolutely perfect balance. It's a classic. I just think about if I was to ride off and Courtney was to run and jump on the back of my bike like that(NOT straddling it like above mind)...it would be a DISASTER! Anyway it the balance of the people on the back constantly amazes me. It's usually a young girl out with their mother or grandmother. When they are riding along they are 100% still - not wobbling, nothing. They do it from a very young age and it is a primary mode of transport around here. This is one of the things I find very cool about the local culture.
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