Stephen

Ramblings of a seriously bored person in Hainan, China

FINALLY!!!!

Well... I finally have access to a computer for a day.. so i figure i better write something on here before i leave.. to let ya'll know i'm still alive!

Well.. this has been a busy month.. two of my sister's got married.. school got out and all that.. and our church had a yard sale this week.... and then tomorrow i'm going to ft. walton to the beach with a bunch of my friends.. so that's gonna be lots of fun.. we have some crazy people going with us so they should keep our trip interesting!

mr. p. rebekah got the mt. dews.. and we're bringing you diet dr. peppers!

Well, my mom and i have had problems with our tickets.. one day we call and we are leaving on the 12th.. one day we call and we are leaving on the 23rd.. confuzing, but,, we WILL make it back to China!!!!! somehow or another..

hm... i got to take a shower.. we're going to the movies and eating tonight w/ some friends.. so i'll write something later.. 

--stephen / D / or my latest nickname... chinapunk... -_-  they just get better and better dont they? 

posted by: stephenthegreat at 04:58 | link | comments (2) |

New Blogger

Mista "P" writing:

At times, sanity seems to come and go with such frequency that I wonder if I'm losing it. At times, I really think I am because living in a foreign country is NOT easy! To combat this, I spend some time reading people's blogs that live in other countries, especially those that live in China. It's amazing how many of the blogs, including this one, share many of the same feelings; both good and bad. Their perspectives may or may not be different which make it even more interesting. Short of it is....I'm not alone!!!!

Most of what I read is written by guys, not that I choose to, but I just haven't found that many blogs being written by women that live here in China. I'm interested in their perspective and take on life. Women seem to have a different outlook on things that are, at times, something that I would never think about but it's been there all along.

I'm sure these women bloggers are out there, I just haven't been able to find them. However, I did find one. Well, actually she left a comment. She lives here in Haikou and I know her! As a matter of fact, I see her every weekend.

So, if you're in the least bit interested in getting a woman's perspective on life living in a foreign country, check out missalabama.motime.com.

Hey D, got any DEWS?!!!

posted by: stephenthegreat at 16:21 | link | comments |

New Words

Mista "P" writing:

One of the coolest aspects, I think, in learning a new language are words that the everyday person would be surprised that you would know. Language learners, like myself, are book speakers. The vocabulary and sentences are learned from a dialogue. So when I or other learners speak, you can tell it's from a book, at least most of time. For example, the studetns learning English almost always reply to "How are you?" with "I'm fine, thank you". Nothing wrong with that, but there are a lot of different ways to respond.

I don't want that. I'm trying my very best to go beyond the "book"! In my quest to do just that, I've managed to learn a few new words not found in my book.

Words like:

hua hua gong zi ( flower flower public person) or playboy

lao dong xi ( old east west ) or old thing; used in talking about an old person - ME

mo tuo che is motorcyle. I don't like this because it sounds too english. I discovered another word from a neighbor of mine that is used up north. It's fang pi che ( put or place butt vehicle)

er bai wu ( the number 250 ) means stupid or dumb. Granted that's not the most educatioanl word in the world but it's interesting. I said that to a Chinese friend of mine and he had no clue as to what I said. HA! I taught a Chinese, chinese!!! I do wonder though.......... Why 250?!

These are just a few and I'm sure there will be more to come. It's hard learning a second language but it seems to help me when I can I learn a few "surprise" words! 

posted by: stephenthegreat at 19:08 | link | comments (5) |

"Grand Theft...Great Party"

Mista "P" writing:

"Grand Theft"

I recently heard that our school administration offices were hit, not once, but twice. Person or persons unknown had stolen the cpu from an office computer. So they hired a couple of night guards to stake out, well, to hang out on that floor. I suppose their presence would deter the cpu thieves. Well, the other night all of the security guards go to dinner.....together. Um, now if I was staking out the place to hit it again, this would be the perfect opportunity, right! Your right! They did and cleaned the place out. Every computer in every office but one had been hit while the guards were out to dinner. Well, that didn't work. The offices now have dead bolt locks on the doors!

"Grand Party"

Saturday night we had a graduation party for 30 students. They came over to our apartment for a formal dinner. We had a great time! It's amazing how much difference it makes when a person gets dressed up. I didn't recognize a couple of the students. The girls wore evening dresses and heels. The guys wore black pants, white shirts with a tie. They were a knock out! Some of them had never been to a "formal party".

The real highlight of the party was the bomb! Well..not a real one, but it was close. We had quite a number of helium balloons for decorations. We also had candles for the dinner setting. If you mix acid and tin foil together in a plastic bottle guess what...not good. If a helium filled balloon touches a burning candle...guess what! Yep, one major explosion with fire! A little excitement never hurt and besides, it helped everyone digest their food really quick!.

posted by: stephenthegreat at 16:54 | link | comments |

"What's Your Name?"

Mista "P" writing:

One of the first things I learned in Chinese was how to ask others their name. They are several ways to ask this but a very polite and formal way is, "Nin gui xing?"

Well, today I was talking about this with a Chinese friend of mine and he tells me that he really doesn't like to use this. He went on to explain that this can be very embarrasing for someone who's surname (last name) is Jiao. You see, when you ask a person "nin gui xing?" they respond by giving only their surname, as they should.

To my surprise, after looking at a dictionary, if a person's name is Jiao (first tone) and this is a common name from what I was told, then that person would or should reply according to protocol by saying, "wo xing jiao". The problem or should I say embarrassment is that you just said you want sex!

I have no idea how that person would respond. Maybe with their full name. I don't know, but I think I would come up with something that would deflect this. Maybe something like, "Wo wang le?" or "I forgot" or "Mimi", "a secret"!!!

posted by: stephenthegreat at 15:26 | link | comments (1) |

Women Can End the War!

Women Can End the WAR!!

Mista "P" writing:

 

This is an email from a friend of mine in the States. She thinks she has a way to end all of our fighting!

 

Are you ready to fight for your country?

I sure am!

 

 ~~~~~~~~~~

 

Take all American women who are within five years of menopause and/or well into it

-  train us for a few weeks, outfit us with automatic weapons, grenades, gas masks,    moisturizer with SPF15, Prozac, hormones, chocolate, and canned tuna.

-  drop us (parachuted, preferably) across the landscape of Iraq, and let us do what comes naturally.

 

Think about it.  Our anger quotient alone, even when doing standard stuff like grocery shopping and paying bills, is formidable enough to make even armed men in turbans tremble.  We've had our children, we would gladly suffer or die to protect them and their future.  We'd like to get away from our husbands, if they haven't left already.  And for those of us who are single, the prospect of finding a good man with whom to share life is about as likely as being struck by lightning.  We have nothing to lose.

 

We've survived the water diet, the protein diet, the carbohydrate diet, and the grapefruit diet in gyms and saunas across America and never lost a pound.  We can easily survive months in the hostile terrain of Iraq with no food at all!

 

We've spent years tracking down our husbands or lovers in bars, hardware stores, or sporting events.  Finding bin Laden in some cave and all his al-Quida followers will be no problem.

 

Uniting all the warring tribes of Iraq into a new government?  Oh, please!  We've planned the seating arrangements for in-laws and extended families at Thanksgiving dinners for years.  We understand tribal warfare.  Between us, we've divorced enough husbands to know every trick there is for how they hide, launder, or cover up bank accounts and money sources.  We know how to find that money and we know how to seize it, with or without the government's help!

 

Let us go and fight.  The al-Quida hates women.  Imagine their terror as we crawl like ants with hot-flashes over their rough terrain.

 

posted by: stephenthegreat at 16:35 | link | comments |

hey this is stephen.. uymm.. the comp at the house has broken down.. and i am at a friends house.. so i won't be posting for about half a month or so,. sorry!!

stephen

posted by: stephenthegreat at 05:07 | link | comments |

"Yeah, I'm Spoiled, So What!"

Mista "P" writing:

First of all, let me give a blog thanks to Miss "R" for lugging my spoiled rotten "necessities" through all of those airports to get back here. I knew she could do it! You see, I've lived here in Haikou's hood for almost two years now and I just had to have some of our (States) exotic goodies that for some strange reason you just can't buy here. Why, I don't know. Maybe there aren't enough foreigners living here to warrant the need, maybe they just haven't been enlightened or worse yet, the propaganda machine has misinformed the people about some of our delicacies. For example, you can't buy Kool-Aid, Taco Bell Seasoning, Mrs. Butterworth Microwave Popcorn and of course, my real fix - Dt. Mountain Dew. I wonder if Pepsi could sell this stuff in an intravenous bottle and ship it here. That way it would last longer! Besides, I'm tired of drinking Coke or Ke Le and I needed a true southerner's drink - Dt. Dew. I here you can't buy this on the west coast. I guess that explains their 'attitude'.

I will admit that I'm beginning to think that my life here in the hood would be a lot less stressful if I could just tear myself away from some of this stuff, but I can't and I won't! I NEED this stuff! Can you feel my pain?

Soon..yes..very soon...I will be sipping on a 42 degree (yes, temperature is being monitored, just like I used to with Mr. Miller and Mr. Bud) Dew. And I will be so happy, even though it will only last for 20 minutes or so.

Cheap thrill...so what.....I live in china!

posted by: stephenthegreat at 19:11 | link | comments |

"Do Not Say This!"

Mista "P" writing:

I was reading one of John's blogs over at sinosplice and ran across a comment someone (sorry, I forgot your post name) had left. We have an expression in English, "your chicken"..your scared.

Well, guess what? Unless you like being beat about the head and neck, Do Not Say this in Chinese! If you do, you just called them (Chinese slang word) a prostitute!

Glad I found this out before I opened my mouth!!!

posted by: stephenthegreat at 18:30 | link | comments |

NO SHOW

Mista "P" writing:

I went to class today (Sat.) like a good, dedicated teacher but guess what?! No students. Yep, a NO SHOW day. In a way, I hope they all got to travel back to their hometowns and are heading back today and Sunday. Living the campus life ain't easy and being away from your family is even tougher.

On the way home from school, I actually got to help a foreign couple at a bus stop. The bus I was on stopped and a guy walked up and was trying to ask the driver something. The attendent turned to me so I walked up to the front and asked the guy where he was heading - to the airport. I got off. Saw a bus that I thought headed out that way and asked the lady if it goes to the airport. Long of it is, they got on and headed to the airport.

Yep, I actually got to use my Chinese to help a foreign couiple. I guess I know more than I thought. I have been thinking though...maybe I shouldn't let people know just HOW much I do know. That could be to my advantage. Like illegally crossing the street and that guy in the "yellow shirt" try's to give me a ticket! Yeah, that'll work. Sometimes is pays to play dumb you know!!

posted by: stephenthegreat at 18:54 | link | comments |