Tuesday, May 10th, 2016
Smog Level: 1/3 Mountains
Persistent Women?
Ran out of protein powder yesterday, and the smoothies are noticeably less filling without it. Classes go quick enough, and lunch is finally here. The Chick from last night sat a table over, but no words were exchanged. I had told Shimou about the situation and she said “girls don’t stop just because you have a girlfriend!” Haha sure, right, then I won’t give this girl any openings to do so.
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| One side of the small bridge (next to my gym) |
I keep thinking about the idea that I had heard in one of the “School of Life” videos, The Horrors of Children on youtube, and relating it back to the kids I'm teaching, as well as my own childhood. The phrase is as follows:
As a parent you will always have to put an end to a lot of the fun [...] for the sake of protecting your kids - and you'll be hated profoundly as a result. Indeed, the more you love them, the more you're going to act in their long-term interests, and the more hated you'll be at points. Unlike all those fun loving parents, whose lack of care buys them short-term votes.
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| ...and the other. No, I didn't take this with the police standing right there. |
On my way to the gym today, I’m strolling through the neighborhood as usual, inside the gates. As I cross the small bridge beside the lake, I am approached by three police officers. They speak Chinese to me. “tīng bù dǒng” (Don't know what you're sayin'). He switches to English: Paperwork and passport.
Remember: I'm going to the gym. Even in a foreign country, who carries this with them to the gym? I have nothing but my cellphone, headphones, keys, and gym pass card. That’s it.
I tell them where I live, write down my name, my passport number, and date of birth. They call… someone, who confirms the address that I live at. They tell me to always have a photocopy of my passport, and let me go on my way.
Well, that could have gone a lot differently, but I’m thankful it didn’t. Still doesn’t explain what they were doing here.
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| This sort of contraption isn't uncommon to find around. Notice all the welding, which looks like it might have been made on site. |
The rest of the night.. I was going to write that I relaxed, but I wrote a lot, edited a little, and finished my work around 7:30pm. Productive day. Looking back, the past 24h or so had 3 Chinese firsts:
1) Seeing a parent explode at a teacher
2) Being approached and hit on by a Chinese Woman
3) Being stopped by the police.
Well, they say things happen in threes, but who believes them?
Words of the Day
English - Mandarin [pronunciation]
Policejǐngchá
[jing-chah]
Stop
tíngzhǐ
[ting/tee-ung jurr]
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