January 25th Post

I feel that my best ideas come early in the morning and late at night. I believe this is because I am in solitude at these times.

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Here's a fun one for those of you who enjoy fun language stuffs, and especially if you know a bit of Mandarin, and very especially if you know anything about Sichuan.

朋友=Chinese friend who is a girl from Sichuan, about my age with a relatively low level of English.

朋友: 吉娃娃英语怎么说？

: How does one say "jiwawa" in English?

Pause for explanation: 吉娃娃= jiwawa is the combination of Chinese characters which means "Chihuahua". However, it's made up of 吉 and 娃娃, and 娃娃 means "baby" or "small child". End Pause for explanation.

Me : "Chihuahua."

朋友: 真的吗？我以为应该叫他什么...“吉baby”，这样。

: Really? I thought it should be called, like, "Ji-baby" or something.

Me : Mmmmmm.

And no, my friend's name isn't actually “朋友”。

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Here's another good story: but first! Let me just say that I have had tons of great experiences like these in China, it's just that this time around, you get to hear about them because I'm actually keeping this blog.

I asked a Chinese friend the other day: "Which Chinese dish has the most animal meat in it?" So he gave me the names of two dishes to try. (东坡肘子，梅菜扣肉) A couple of days ago I went to a restaurant and ordered 东坡肘子(Dong Po Pork Shoulder). It was basically a huge pork pot roast over lettuce. It looked pretty much the same as my mom's pot roast, just pork. With the skin. The meat was exceedingly tender; when I would pick it up with my chopsticks, it seriously wouldn't stay together for longer than 2 seconds. So, anyway, it was really good. I will admit that it was kind of absurd for me to be sitting there, alone, eating pig shoulder by myself as animal protein is normally used somewhat sparingly in most Chinese dishes.

The funny part is that, when I got home and told my friends about finding, ordering, and eating the 东坡肘子, the first question out of each of their mouths was "Did you eat the skin?", after which I would be mildly and playfully scolded for having not done so.

Mmmmmm pig skin... next time.

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And now on to more serious things... BAAAAAAAAAH just kidding. But seriously... I'll do my best to keep this short.

I interviewed for and was offered a position in a Chinese company to be an International Sales Rep a few days after I arrived here. I got hooked up with the interview through a Chinese friend (of a couple of other friends). Let me preface by saying that I have never wanted to get into business. I believe that the only way one will get me happily and willingly into a cubicle or doing sales or doing any sort of typical suit-and-tie job is if I wholeheartedly and passionately agree with the vision toward which the company is striving, i.e. it's not very likely going to happen too soon, if I have anything to say about it.

Anyway, this job offer lands in my lap, and it sounds cool. And it is cool. I'd be the only foreigner working in their office, the standards of the company seem to be uniquely high, I'd get to wear a suit (which, I'll admit, seems kind of cool for this 23-year-old). But I'd be working from 9am-5:30pm every day, I'd be sitting in a cubicle, I'd be answering phones, staring at a computer, I'd be looking out the window (or more likely looking for a window to look out of). And then I'd be working overtime without pay. And about that all-so-important company vision? Molybdenum. I'd be selling molybdenum, a chemical metal alloy or whatever. Blegh.

In any case, after a few days of deliberation, seeking advice from friends (Chinese and Western), I turned it down. And then received a re-offer. And thought about it again. And then turned it down again. And I feel very confident in my decision.

The job I am headed toward now is much more appealing to me. If I accept it, I will be teaching English to kids ages 3-12, Monday-Friday from 5pm-8pm, earning around the same salary as I would have been if I'd taken the business gig. This will leave me with plenty of free time to: seek out other teaching jobs, seek out translating and interpreting jobs, and seek out opportunities to help those around me.

That sounds a lot more like what I'd like to be doing.

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As soon as I feel pretty certain about the job, I'll start looking for my own place.