Randomness

I know, it's been too long....
The trouble is, nothing really exciting has happened over the last few weeks. Just the usual random run-ins and near death experiences - but nothing really to write home about. Also, sadly, I have been not only working too much but also slaving away at my thesis during my 'spare time' so have been caught up in the real world over the last little while. Nonetheless, I have found some time for fun. Besides lying on my death bed all last week with what I think was food poisoning but may have just been MSG poisoning...(definitely a major downer here) I have also enjoyed one tourist attraction and one girl's night. I'll be honest, it's tough get excited about much soon after a trip to the Great Wall or Shanghai. Alas, my horoscope the other day said 'things that were once unthinkable will begin to seem mundane to you now.' Not that I'm bored or anything, but the initial shock and excitement is certainly wearing off. Now it is just like, "yeah I'm living in China...like it ain't no thang!"
However, I don't think these amazing signs will ever get old!


The Master of Nets Garden is one of many famous gardens in Suzhou. I know, the thought of me going to a garden just to walk around and relax and breath it all in is maybe somewhat unbelievable. But it was one of those things you just have to tick off your list. Gina and I went (which made it all the more bearable) last weekend.


The Master of Nets Garden is like the Chinese equivalent of an old man's hunting and fishing cabin in northern Ontario. Somehow "fishing retreat" was loosely translated into 'master of nets' although I have a feeling it was simply to  make it sound better for the tourists. There are even special rooms for smoking, reading...and then with the Chinese spin on it, there are special rooms for all their concubines.

The detail in the wood and stone carvings at this garden were ridiculous. Steven, you're in for a real treat when I show you the design of the back deck (overlooking the ocean) for you to build me on my property in Nova Scotia.... it will be all inspired by this stuff!



An Aside: When I got to class this afternoon, my overseas junior 1 class (grade 7)  all wanted to watch a movie. I told them no and we were going to learn a poem instead. They started chanting 'movie! movie! movie!" This kind of thing does not happen in China. Alas, I caved when one of the kids (remember Charles from the halloween entry?)  dared me to a game of paper rock scissors. If I won, they had to learn a poem and there would be no movies all week (bad for me) but if he won, they got to watch a movie (good for me). Little did he know, I wanted him to win. I won the fist round and the kids went crazy. He won the next round they were standing on their chairs. Then Charles won the third round and the entire class (including me) jumped for joy and we put in a movie. Ah, the little joys of being a teacher.


The girls night on Friday was fun (although I was still a bit sick to my stomach). And Gina and I took Ling and Amanda (two Chinese teachers at our school) to a Mexican restaurant that had all you can drink, free margaritas for ladies. Hey-yo! We also managed to catch the tail end of a really cool water show by the lake on our way to get liquored up.



A few margaritas in, Gina and I started asking our Chinese counterparts about the dating scene in China. I can only assume with many of the cultural differences, the culture of dating would be no exception; and I have have been curious. After asking some potentially embarrassing questions and some other obvious questions, I had decided I was ready to test the waters. So, in that moment, Ling became my matchmaker. Now you are asking: What do I need to do? How can I find a 'boyfriend'?  First things first, you need a ring on your pointer finger. This says to people that you are not only available but also interested. So the next night I went to a night market and bought a ring for 4 kuai (50centsCDN). Based on how much I spent on the ring, you can tell how much value I put into this endeavor!


Then Ling asked what I wanted in a guy. Seeing as it was going to be just for fun, I listed four essentials (if it were serious the essentials list would be about quadruple the length, and in a much different priority order) 1. rich, 2. good looking (tall, nice teeth, nice skin, thin), 3. funny, and 4. can speak English. Unfortunately, that pretty much narrowed it down to 0% of the Chinese male population. Ling was discouraged and as she typed these things into her cell phone and sent them around to all her friends, responses came back that made us realize I would need to seriously narrow down my essentials. So after a few more free margaritas, as drinks tend to do, my standards lowered. I told Ling that all I needed in a guy to date just for the hell of it were two of three things: rich, good looking, and speaks English. Any two of those three things would be ok. Well.... it turns out even that is a bit of a problem!?! Nonetheless, I am officially in the game. So maybe in the next few weeks I will have some hilarious stories to tell about that! Until then, I will flash my 'single ring' every where I go and see what kind of business I can drum up;)