Whilst life here is very different to home, some things never change... Predictably, my room had got in a state so I spent a good while tidying and sorting. I tried to pin my wonderful paintings up but the walls here are concrete not plaster so that failed. It was the first time I'd tried it so should have guessed it wouldn't work... I then went downstairs to borrow a brush, as I have done before. However no sooner had I grabbed the brush than the receptionist hurried over and started chittering at me that I couldn't take the dustban and brush. I did not understand a word why. At least, I did but not in the context. She asked for my room number and went on about someone giving me something. All I wanted was to sweep my room. I implied this to her and she carried on chittering. I replied that it would take me 5 minutes if I just took the brush and swept the room. Eventually she gave up and I could make off with my prize. The impression I got was that I'd go and wait in my room and someone would bring me a brush... which sounds like classic Chinese logic. They like making things complicated. So that was my Communication Fail of the Day.
Another offer of a job has found me. We shall if this one bears fruit.
I had to go and put money on my phone today. Phones here are incredibly annoying as if you run out of credit you can't even receive calls/texts. You also can't check your balance so you have no idea when you will run out. And to refill you have to go to a shop and not just ring a number like nice, lovely, easy-peasy England... I went along and tried to work the machine but was flummoxed by the bit asking me to enter my phone number a second time to check I had entered it right the first time. I didn't understand the characters and thought it wanted some other number that I didn't have. Luckily the security guard, delighted at having something to do, came over and happily pressed everything for me. Bless.
In class today we somehow arrived at a point in the lesson where the teacher asked us all to sing our respective national anthems. There were 4 of us Englishmen so we went first and gave a good rendition, complete with nur nur nur nur in the middle, of God Save the Queen. Except I was too busy laughing to sing properly. The whole thing is so alien to the rest of the class. The Russians shot their kings, the Chinese packed them away and the Koreans must have done something to them as they are now a Republic. The Japanese may have an Emperor but the concept of God as we know it is still pretty foreign to them.
The Russians were too shy to sing- plus only one seemed to know the words. The Koreans gave a good performance. They look like a country that sings their anthem in class a lot. The lone American bravely sang but had forgotten the words so just hummed the tune. Then the teacher sang the Chinese one and it was all about Workers Rising Up and other inspiring exhortations. The Congolese sang hers and it sounded very melodic.
The teacher also talked a little about the One Child Policy. Interestingly, ethnic minorities can have two children. I knew that peasants could have a second child if the first was a girl but did not know about the minorities. I thought that was quite caring of the Chinese government to take such a measure to protect the minorities and not try and Mandarinise them.
My reading teacher told me her English and Polish names: Karen and Monika. I should probably try and find out her Chinese name one day too...
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