An American Brother and Sister in China

January 20, 2012-

When foreign teachers get together in China, we might talk about food we miss at home, or travel plans, or anything normal 20-something expats might talk about, but the conversation always includes a new anecdote about our exploits at school.  I've heard my fair share of college plagiarism stories, and my friends are probably tired of hearing about the second grader who keeps trying to kiss me.  But when the conversation turns to school schedules, we all just nod sympathetically and offer each other another drink.  We've all been there.  Foreign teachers are the last to hear about anything.  My friends Katie and Jess have been asking their students about their schedules for next semester, because even the students know more than they do.  Which is why I really shouldn't have been surprised when, the day before Ben and Elizabeth arrived in China, I got a text saying that I would be done teaching two weeks earlier than I thought and that I should give an exam the next week.  That meant that the fun song and game-filled lesson I had planned for when Ben and Elizabeth visited my classroom would be an exam instead.  It also meant that I had to plan my exam over the weekend. 

I was frustrated and annoyed that I hadn't gotten any advance notice about the exam, but I didn't have time to think about it.  I decided, as I often do, to wing it, and instead headed off to Beijing to pick up my brother and sister at the airport.  Even though we were in China, it felt surprisingly normal to collect Ben and Elizabeth at the airport.  It probably felt stranger to them.  But, even in Beijing, what could be more natural than spending the weekend with your siblings?  After checking into our hostel, we headed out for their first taste of authentic Chinese food.  The next day, I gave them a crash course in navigating the subway, introduced them to Hong Kong dessert, and we all explored the Bird's Nest and Olympic Park. 

Jess and me in front of the Bird's Nest with some genuine Olympic medals that we won for our excellent bargaining skills.

Many of you know of my Olympics obsession.  During the Olympics, Winter, Summer or Trials, I live in front of the TV.  More than a few of you have seriously threatened our friendship by telling me the results of a race that I hadn't seen yet.  Anyway, I had already seen the Bird's Nest and Water Cube back in November with my friend Jess, and it was one of the most magical days of my time in China so far.  I knew I wanted to see it again with Ben and Elizabeth, and that this time we needed to go inside.  Olympic obsession runs in the family, after all.  The inside of the Bird's Nest was actually a little disappointing.  It had been converted to a Disney Princess-themed winter wonderland.  Still, we explored for a while, and it was definitely magical, even though we were watching kids sledding instead of Kara Goucher and Usain Bolt.  Unfortunately, after the Bird's Nest, I had to head back to Baoding for a week of exams, and I had to leave Ben and Elizabeth to navigate Beijing and the Great Wall on their own. 

On Wednesday, Ben and Elizabeth came to Baoding.  We spent a few days going to all of my favorite restaurants, and they came to my classes.  My exam became a mixture of songs and askng/answering questions from Ben and Elizabeth.  My students were shocked and surprised and in love with my siblings.  They followed us down hallways, touched Elizabeth's hair, laughed at Ben.  We rounded out the time in Baoding with a few donkey burgers, for which Baoding is famous. 

Baoding is known as the Home of the Donkey Burger- doesn't that make you want to come here?!

I had given Ben and Elizabeth the choice of another city in China, where we could spend a long weekend.  They decided to go to Xian, one of China's most historic cities, and home to  the 6000 life-size terracotta warriors that were made in 210 BC to protect the tomb of Emperor Qin Shi Huang.  Ben knows much more about this than I do, and he would probably like to tell you about it. 

All of the faces are unique, and there are also horses and chariots

After an overnight train back to Beijing and another visit to the Hong Kong dessert place, we had to go back to the airport.  In case any of you are planning a similar trip, ten days is not enough to visit China, and it certainly is not enough to visit your expat sister.  Let's just say that a tall blonde foreigner crying alone in the airport/subway/bullet train attracts even more stares than usual.

I was so happy and proud to show off my life here to my visitors, and hey, now I know how to get to the airport, so if anyone else wants to come visit, you are more than welcome!  But, for the next four weeks, you would have to "visit" me in southern China/Hong Kong, because I'm leaving behind the smoggy, wintery North for a backpacking trip through Chengdu, Yunnan, the Li River, and Hong Kong.  I'll be keeping up the blog as always, and hopefully they won't all be quite as long as this one.