ya'at'eeh!

i had an interesting New Years Day (Day 01). PENG and i went across the border to MACAU. if one decides to go through the Gong Bei border, it takes a good 2 hours (standing and waiting in line to leave mainland then standing AND WAITING in line to enter MACAU). if you decide to explore your options, the Heng Qin border is faster and more effeciant - it may be further away from Gong Bei, but it adds scenery and a joy ride to the process of leaving the mainland. you circle around the island and arrive in Tai Pa, the island which holds the Venetian.

anyhoodles, we spent the entire day walking the halls of the Venetian, exploring the City of Dreams with the HardRock Hotel, nibbling on various snack-things, and bickering about everything along the way.
- i think we spend waaaaaaaaaay too much time together (sometimes 7/7 days!), so it's not rare we argue about petty things.
- more on that to come...

:-)

~*~

i have a few projects occuring simultaneously - writing and drawing in NAVAJO, my Native language, is one of them. i like combining the two verbs and creating abstract-pop-art-like pieces. the following are examples of pastels on rice paper:

ONE:



"'tl'é'ííl'níi'go,' shidíníniid"
("'at midnight,' you told me")
- this pop art-like piece was inspired by a poem i once wrote about a rendezvous i had in middleschool: it was a dream-fantasy involving a caucasian classmate.
(fyi: culturally, Navajos are not encouraged to have romantic/sexual "relations" with caucasians...)

TWO:
(view one)



(view two)



"jaa'abaní shich'i' dííl'aal"
("send me a bat")
- this abstract-looking piece was inspired by another poem i wrote - a broken-hearted confession of lost love. i'd like to think it has many Poe-ish elements. :-) in Navajo culture, the "bat" is a night omen, usually a reference to tragedy and bad news...

finally, the pieces speak for themselves. silent on screen, but quite the opposite anywhere else.

j.

Eine nette kleine Party mit Freunden, ein paar Kinder, die irrsinnig aufgeregt sind, weil sie bis Mitternacht aufbleiben dürfen, Fondue oder Raclette, Bleigießen, um Mitternacht ein paar Böller schießen, sich küssen und ein „g’sund’s Neu’s“ wünschen?
Schön, macht man gerne, hat sich bewährt.
Trotzdem hab ich dieses Jahr ein echtes Alternativprogramm vor: Ich küsse niemanden, damit niemand sich ansteckt, verzichte auf Essbares, ist nämlich besser so, und auf Sekt sowieso, wer weiß, wie sich der mit den Medikamenten verträgt.
In der Hoffnung, dass es mir morgen besser geht, und dieser blöde Magen-Darm-Virus mich aus seinem Griff lässt.
Ja, blödes Timing, oder.
Silvester allein, in selbstgewählter Einsiedelei, und nicht mal ein Glas Sekt, um mit mir selbst anzustoßen. Hatte ich auch noch nicht.
Selbstmitleid? Nein, aber nah dran.
Zumindest kann es 2010 dann nur noch bergauf gehen.
Vielleicht ist ja 2010 das Jahr, in dem endlich der Knoten platzt und ich bei einem größeren Verlag unterkomme. Gut aufgestellt bin ich, die Fliegenden Fische fliegen Mitte Januar in der „Vollversion“ zu einer Agentin, die Interesse bekundet hat. Natürlich darf man sich außerdem auf den zweiten Spielmanns-Roman freuen, der im März erscheinen wird. Außerdem will ich im Laufe des Jahres ein neues Projekt vorantreiben: den halb fertigen Fantasy-Roman mit Krona in der Hauptrolle, oder eine coole Werwolfs-Geschichte mit einem so fabel- wie rätselhaften John Moon. Ich habe mich schon entschieden und eindeutig festgelegt, unglücklicherweise alle paar Tage neu, also werde ich es schließlich wohl in guter alter Rollenspieler-Manier auswürfeln.
Was wird das neue Jahr noch so bringen? Ein paar neue berufliche Herausforderungen vielleicht? Mit der geplanten Vergrößerung und Erweiterung unserer kleinen, feinen Privatschule könnten sich für mich neue Möglichkeiten auftun. Außerdem wird mein Sohn weiterhin sein Möglichstes tun, um mir über den Kopf zu wachsen: ich tippe mal, bis zur Schulter wird er es in 2010 schaffen.
In den Urlaub will er mit mir fahren, an einen Strand mit Palmen. Ich befürchte, der Kurze macht sich keine Vorstellungen von den Verdienstmöglichkeiten „armer Künstler“. Aber ein paar Tage Nordsee wären cool. Palmen bringen wir uns mit, gibt es auch zum Aufblasen.
Ansonsten sind im neuen Jahr keine großen Veränderungen zu erwarten, aber das sagt man ja vorher immer.
Euch wünsche ich eine rauschende Party oder einen besinnlichen Start, ganz wie gewünscht. Gesundheit, das ist zwar trivial, aber gerade dann besonders wichtig, wenn sie fehlt. Macht Euch und Eure Lieben glücklich, lasst Euch nicht unterkriegen, und packt das neue Jahr bei seinen Chancen.
We are not what you think we are. We are golden.
Was wäre man allerdings für eine Autorin, wenn man nicht auf Partys gehen könnte, wann immer man will?
Drei Partys hinter dem Cut.
( Read more... )

wow...

the last day of 2009.

i'm sitting here, in Zhuhai, China, on the cusp of the final day of 2009: day 365!!

it just seemed like a few hours ago i was celebrating the last day of 2008 with friends! now, 56 weeks later, i'm in the same city...in the same country...and in the same spirit.

a lot happened this year, including:
- the outbreak of the H1N1 influenza strain this summer. or as we've come to know it more commonly: the "swine flu." it was quite scary to hear of it, especially when it became a "global pandemic!!" i was worried for my safety, especially in a border city of daily International flights!
- it's true, the world is going down!! so, UNFCCC's United Nations Climate Change Conference 2009 is held in Copenhagen, Denmark to address global environmental issues. let's hope they talked some sense into the betterment of our world.
- BARACK OBAMA, the first black American President, wins the Nobel Peace Prize! his victory as President of the USA is truly remarkable. i hope he makes a difference and turns America around. the US was once a model country with absolutely hope. now...it is not so much the same. other countries want to bomb us, we want to bomb them...it's just not the best place anymore. with OBAMA, i hope things can be revitalized and Americans can once again be proud to say, "I am an American."

it's freaky to know that this world is not so "safe" and perhaps not so "promising" for the future (anymore). wars, disease, famine, natural disasters, terrorist plots, political control...pain, terror, anguish - bad things one after the other!! our lives are so fragile that we take our days for granted. i do wish that wherever sadness exists, happiness will find it's soil.

~*~

in 2009, a number of well known people that i appreciated passed away into their next lives. they include:
- American actress BEATRICE ARTHUR (otherwise known as Dorothy Szpornak on "the Golden Girls"). she was awesome! i have a confession: i have all seasons of "The Golden Girls" (originally purchased for my mum, but kept it in the end. he he he!). her wit was lovable.
– American entertainer MICHAEL JACKSON stuns the globe, triggering worldwide grief. i read that online reactions to the event crippled several major websites and services. apparently, the mass number of people accessing information of his death caused absurd internet traffic jams to unprecedented and historic levels!! he was truly brilliant.
- American actress FARRAH FAWCETT. unfortunately, her death was overshadowed by MJ's. as my friend BRITNEY said during her summer visit, "...no one is gonna remember her." how sad, but it's almost true (even in death, it's a popularity contest - people are vying to be #1). bottom line, she'll always be Charlie's Angel.
- American newscaster WALTER CRONKITE. he was a smart-looking man who brought news to people everywhere. his voice reminded me of a teacher i had in HS.
- American actress BRITTANY MURPHY. i woke up on the day to check my yahoo account (which i rarely do), and saw her face. the article read, "Brittany Murphy dead at 32." :-( i loved her in "Clueless." she had the bubbliest personality that i found allusing. her voice was just cute. may her soul rest in peace.

~*~

treasure your lives people.
treasure your peace.
treasure your health.

live for the moment - but do so in full harmony.

love your neighbors and most importantly, love yourself.

happy New Years everyone!!
"see" you next year!!

farewell 2 thousand 9!!

j.

ya'at'eeh!

it's been raining quite a lot here in Zhuhai, China: cold, uncomfortable, wet rain. of course, rain is always wet - but this is the type of rain ("winter rain") that lingers and dries after days of sitting. i consider "summer rain" dryer than "winter rain" since it evaporates and dries in a matter of hours. does that even make sense? i long for the summer days, but then in this region of the world (the tropics), summer is quite torturous! ha ha ha.

Christmas 2009 came and went. i spent Christmas Eve at home with PENG. :-) Christmas Day, i spent in Macau strolling Portuguese streets, sipping Portuguese coffee, and eating Portuguese tarts. mmmMM! a belated Merry Christmas to you all!! :-)

~*~

school is about to end. THANK GOD!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!
- ARW (Academic Reading & Writing) was a wonderful term! we covered a lot of material under the few months we were together. understanding the basic structure of an essay (an introduction with a thesis statement, body paragraphs with topic sentences, and a conclusion with the paraphrase/summary of a thesis statement) can be quite a triumph!! i had such an amazing time getting to know and understand the incoming freshman. ALL of them have NEVER taken a course by a foreigner, so being their first foreign English teacher can be quite thrilling!
- my Year II students were equally fantastic! i had a memorable time with them. the last two weeks, we examined the "types" of music that can be found in the States: rock, country (including bluegrass), grunge, r&b, soul, alternative, punk, piano rock, death metal, Native American Indian flute, pow-wow, gospel, etc. i even introduced them to a number of artists they have never heard of (including Tori Amos, Joni Mitchell, George Strait, and Mary J. Blige). :-)
- the Year II final portfolios look fabulous! the final portfolio is made up of 5 essays:
1. Narrative Essay
2. Descriptive Essay
3. Process Analysis Essay
4. Literary Analysis Essay
5. Classification Essay
- i was satisfied with the results! i encouraged students to add something "original" along with their portfolios, including: music, additional PPTs, poetry, art, short stories, whatever they could muster up. for those that did, i was impressed with the lengths they took to add something cultural to their portfolios! one girl included a Chinese hankerchief she embroidered herself, another a personal poem in Mandarin on Chinese rice paper, and others mixed CDs of their musical talents.
- however, most of them did not include additional pieces of work. based on my experiences with Chinese students, it's quite difficult for them to get "beyond" their characters and work outside the box. they work with limitations and boundaries and i find that truly frustrating. i had to remind them a few times during the course of the semester: "it's OKAY to live a little!!!" "try something new!!" "be CREATIVE!!" "be ORIGINAL!!!!" "be DIFFERENT!!" this portfolio business is a small example, but they find it difficult to attempt something new and to be "original." "standing alone" and "being unique" is something Chinese students find arrogant or "proud." in fact, it is frowned upon. when a model student is called upon in class, they bow their heads out of shame and embarrassment. to be recognized as an excellent student is awkward and discomforting to them. :-/
- thankfully, there are those amidst the silence that stand out: they put a little more effort into having their own voice.

failure is something that is NOT an option to Chinese students (i suppose they really aren't the only ones). once someone fails, that's someone's opportunity to gain. numbers is most important to the Chinese: if you're not #1, then you best forget even trying. furthermore, breaking is NOT an option to Chinese students.

i recently learned that the symbols for "busy" are two combined characters meaning "heart" and "death." i learned that this is because when you have to concentrate on too many things at once, you sometimes forget what is most important in your heart. hmmmm. i found this very thought provoking. another interesting Chinese character is the sign for "problem" - it also means "opportunity."
- perhaps these kinds of built-in cultural cues are why the Chinese never break.

a Chinese child is the most cute, sensitive, and tender child you'll ever meet. at the same time...they are interestingly tough and resilient and do not break (as memories of my child-teaching days surface). in fact, as i said, "breaking is just not an option." every problem is an opportunity for someone else to gain and if you are taught to think like this from a very young age, it really has an interesting effect of what you are able to do in your future. life comes with ups and downs automatically built in, but it's the way you bounce that makes all the difference. Chinese students are taught amazing coping skills alongside the idea of "team" from a young age - all without being taught the concept of independence (i.e. the portfolio business).
- i find it very strange, yet absolutely thought-provoking. :-)

with that...i'm grateful school is almost out! i'll definitely miss my students, but after a few weeks in the States, i'll return with more to give back.

~*~

for now, back into the wet, wet rain!
(luckily, my frustration comes with umbrella included...)

:-)