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As if I don't have enough things to worry about with the test coming up and all, I was told yesterday that I need to move out of my house by Tuesday next week. I might have mentioned in one of my earlier posts that I'm living in the headmaster's house, while he lives with his parents. This house is the house that he'll live in when he starts his own family. It seems that he has found himself a girlfriend and might be starting that family pretty soon. I'll be moving to the northern part of the city. So, that means I need to get used to a whole new set of routes all over again. Not an easy task for me.

The other night while Wendy was helping me with my Chinese lessons, she got a call. She was talking in English so I knew it must be a foreigner. I thought it was one of her um, internet boyfriends. She told the person on the other end to talk with me because being a foreigner, I could understand better and I could get the address correctly. She gave me her phone while I mouthed, "Is it Paul?" She shook her head. I said "Hello?" "Hello." A female voice said nervously. I can't remember much of the conversation but one of her first questions was, "Pilipina ka ba?" I almost fell off my chair. I seldom hear Tagalog here and I was definitely not expecting to suddenly hear it from a stranger over the phone. After I'd recovered from my initial shock, we proceeded to talk in Tagalog. I got her YM ID, found out she's from Baguio and she said something about telling Wendy that she was sorry that she wasn't able to go online the night before. After the phone conversation, I said casually, "So Gao Shan wants to hire a Filipino now."

Wendy: You're so clever. Don't tell him I told you.

JC: Of course. I'd pretend I don't know anything. Have you seen her?

Wendy: No. But he saw her picture.

JC: Ooookay. She looks good. (Both a question and a statement.)

Wendy: Yes.

Then we started laughing hysterically. Back story: A little less than half a year of being here, Wendy revealed to me that at the time I applied, they were considering two other people. One was Pinoy and the other was a slightly older American woman. Guess why I was chosen. "She's beautiful. Let's hire her." I think I should be flattered. Okay, I am a little flattered. "I thought he was impressed by my credentials!" I complained to Wendy. "That too." "Yeah. Almost like an afterthought," I muttered. Apparently, he has this criteria in hiring teachers. I must say that he got really lucky with me though. What if I turned out to be really stupid? :p I guess that's a risk that he constantly has to take. There was a pretty teacher before who was hired because well, "she's very pretty," and they even dated for a while. Her English was... uh... let's just say that wasn't one of her best skills. But then again she was teaching English so there must be something wrong here... Let me see... Anyway, she herself knew that the reason why she was hired wasn't exactly because she could teach, or even speak the language that she was supposed to be teaching. She eventually got transferred to work at the headmaster's bookstore.

Moral of the story: Hire someone pretty. If she can't teach, date her.

Last night was date number three with Andy. First, we hung out in my place. I showed him my website, he showed me his. (I'm going to link it later.) He writes! Except of course it'll take me a longer time to read what he wrote. Note, longer time. Not impossible.

After that we played a little at the arcade in one of the department stores here. Then we went to JuBiYuan and he taught me how to skate. Freezing fun. It was pretty late so the park was deserted. That was good because I was/am definitely not graceful and I'd hate it for people to see me fall all over myself. I never really fell since he would always catch me before I even had a chance to.

At around 11pm, Rain called to say that they were in BeeHouse and wanted us to come over. He hadn't met Andy yet and he was quite curious about him. So we went and watched some girls pole-dancing. It turned out he also can't dance. Whew. The band had already finished playing and we were just in time to wave goodbye to Marvin and Joy, the two new Pinoy singers.

Backstory on Marvin and Joy: The first time I went to see them perform, that was weeks ago, somebody must have told them that there was a Pinoy in the audience because the minute they went onstage, Marvin looked straight at me and asked, "Are you a Filipino?" I didn't think anyone understood except me. "Pinoy ako!" was my reply. When it was his turn to sing, he got offstage and started walking to our table, all the while singing. I was thinking, oh no. Nononono. Reached our table, took my hand and led me to the stage. At this point I was thinking, ohmygodohmygodohmygod. He asked for the other mic and wanted me to sing with him. I can't even remember which Backstreet Boys song it was but no! I am not going to sing any Backstreet Boys, I don't care if it was for the Chinese audience. NO! So I said, "No, I can't I can't." So he started dancing with me onstage. I just wanted to die. I swear I looked like a stick swaying there. A bamboo swaying in the wind would be more graceful. After embarrassing myself with my fancy dance steps, I said, "I'm going back," pointing to our table. Rain teased me unmercifully but I got my sweet revenge when Marvin did the same thing to him after a few songs. Ha!

On other news, Lynn's back! One of my favorite assistants is back from her trip to Switzerland. She'll be helping me move. When I mentioned to Andy that I'll be moving on Tuesday, he said he'll come and help me. I tried telling him that a friend is already coming to help but I'm not sure now if I wasn't able to finish what I was saying or he misunderstood. Bottomline, he didn't know that Lynn will also be here. Which is just as well because Lynn wants to meet him so bad. Hahahaha! Actually, now that word has gotten around that I'm dating, everyone's really curious about him. Hmm...

And yeah, the test. Still trying to cram as many words as I can into my brain. Which reminds me, I have to turn the TV on.

I'm Crazy

I'm driving myself crazy. There are so many things to learn and I feel that I don't have enough time. And I don't know if my brain is capable of absorbing all these words. There are just too many! I am still on panic mode. Obviously.

I turned on the TV in the hopes that my ears will get more used to listening Chinese. I think the TV will be on most of the time from now until April 23. I don't think I talk to people often enough. I should make it a point to talk to as many people as I could every time I'm out of the house. I will talk strictly in Chinese to everyone except my students. I'll try to think in Chinese from the moment I wake up until I go to bed. Wait, I'm writing now so it's ok to think in English. But as soon as I finish this enty, I should switch on my Chinese mind.

I can't stop thinking of those Koreans in the HSK office. They've been studying for a year. As in studying in a classroom. With teachers. One whole year of nothing else but studying. And I only have less than a month. What was I thinking? Was I even thinking?

This is crazy. I'm crazy. Why am I voluntarily subjecting myself into this? Aaaaargh!

HSK Preparation

An Entry of One Who's Soon to be a Hermit

I'm dead. Or I will be soon. Very soon.

Remember HSK? Hanyu Shuiping Kaoshi? The Chinese proficiency test? I signed up for it yesterday. I went to Shenyang to register for the basic test. If I get a really good score in it, I'll be in Level 3, at most. That was the plan. Level 3. Basic test. I wasn't that ambitious. Level 3 was fine with me.

Yesterday. Shenyang. LiaoNing University. No basic tests.

What?! What do you mean no basic tests?! Please tell me you're joking.

No basic tests. Intermediate and Advanced. No basic.

But... but... but... Where can I take a basic test?

Beijing and Shanghai.

Ohgod. Why?

Nobody takes the basic test. It's too easy.

Near tears. But that's precisely why I want to take the basic test. Breathe in. Out. In. Out. Don't hyperventilate now. Calmly, in. Out.

Let me sit down and think this over for a minute.

Intermediate. Less than one month to study. Koreans everywhere in the room. They talk in Chinese. They look Chinese. They sound Chinese. They're going to take the same test. They'll pass. I'll fail. I'll die.

Ok, let's be realistic now. What would I lose if I take this test and fail? 250RMB. One day's salary. My face! How will I be able to show my face in public again?!

I signed up. I won't be able to leave the house ever again. I'll be a hermit. I'll read lots of books and I'll be able to finally finish my novel. Jiayou!

Words without Borders

http://www.wordswithoutborders.org
A friend sent me this site. My only complaint is there's nothing on Philippine lit. I feel unrepresented. Pffft!

First Date

After almost eight months of being in China, I finally went out on my first date. Yes. Despite the marriage proposals and the i-love-yous minutes after meeting me, this is the only time I got asked out on a date. Sort of. At around 8pm last night, my phone rang: (Due to insistent public demand, by public I mean more than one, I'm going to add the English translations where I deem necessary :p)

JC: Hello?

Andy: Hello. My name is Andy.

JC: Yes, I know.

Andy: Ni you shi jian ma? (Do you have time?)

JC: Umm... Ni xiang zuo shen me? (What do you want to do?)

Andy: (I can't remember the exact words but it has something to do with going out to play)

JC: Umm...

Andy: Ni zai nar? (Where are you?)

JC: Zai jia. (Home)

Andy: Wo zai ni lou xia. (I'm downstairs. Literally, "I'm in your downstairs.")

JC: (taking a moment to register what he just said) Ni zai wo lou xia...

Andy: Dui. (Right.)

JC: Ni zai wo lou... ohgod, you're downstairs!

Andy: (silence)

JC: (almost screaming in panic) You're downstairs! (Started putting on more clothes.)

Andy: (silence)

JC: Ni shi... ni shi... ohgod. Ni shi zai Chang Qing Yuan ma? (You are... you are... ohgod. You're in Chang Qing Yuan? Chang Qing Yuan is the name of my compound.)

Andy: (relieved to realize that I did understand what he said) Dui! Dui! Wo zai Chang Qing Yuan. (Right! Right! I'm in Chang Qing Yuan.)

JC: (rushed to the window and looked out. No one.)

Andy: (asked which building is mine. Again, I can't remember how to say that.)

JC: Um... um, mei shi. Wo xia lou zhao ni. (No problem. I'll go down and look for you. Grabbed my bag, checked for money, keys, phone. Saw my dictionary and grabbed that too. Something told me it was going to be useful that night.)

Andy: Mei shi. (No problem. And something that basically means stay just outside my building and he'll come and find me.)

JC: Um, ok ok.

So that was how it started. The date, I mean. Weeks before, Wendy texted to say that her students would like to invite me to dinner. I said, sure. She said, "...and there's a cool boy who want to make friend with you..." Hehe, ok. Wendy described him as "very cute. Cuter than the boy in the party... tall..." and that "He really wants to be your boyfriend," which elicited a "Hahahahaha!" from me. She said his plan was to first have a translator then little by little be able to communicate with me. More of the "hahahahahaha!" here. Unfortunately, during the night of the dinner, I was too dizzy to even eat anything much less go around meeting cool boys so I had to beg off. A couple of nights ago, the dinner finally pushed through.

First impression: He's not that cute. He's not that tall. Cool? Um, what exactly is the definition of cool?

Wendy whispered that "he said he's going to take you home tonight and that he's going to ask you out to dinner tomorrow." "Hahahahaha! Ok. Hahahahahahaha!"

Dinner was uneventful. Tide said that it was so much easier to talk to me now. Everyone was amazed that I could understand what was being said. They were even more amazed whenever I'd say something in Chinese.

In Chinese, Andy asked where I live. I said Chang Qing Yuan.

Betty, another student: Chang Qing Yuan, wo zhi dao. (Chang Qing Yuan, I know that place.)

Andy: Wo ye zhi dao. (Me too.)

JC: Ok.

Still in Chinese, Andy said, we were going in the same direction so we might as well go together later.

JC: Ok.

Betty: (looked suspiciously at him) Don't you live in the north?

Andy: No.

Betty: You always go to the north after class. You have two houses.

Andy: Yes. Tonight I live in the south.

I wonder if they knew I understood what they were saying.

And so we walked home together, not without a lot of teasing from the other students when we were leaving. I must say that the walk home was quite pleasant. He managed to keep a steady flow of conversation despite our language barrier. And he was patient in explaining Chinese words that I didn't understand. About halfway home, he took out a small piece of paper and said that those were things that he had to say to me. He asked Tide to write the sentences down for him. A cheat sheet, he said. While he was looking for it in his pocket, he told me not to laugh at him. He started reading. Among others, there were "I will call you," and "Do you have free time?" I think he became cuter during that walk home.

So last night, after he found me where I was standing in front of my building, he asked me to close my eyes. Except that I couldn't understand what he was saying so he pointed at his eyes and closed them. So finally I closed my eyes and pointed at them and asked, "Is this what you want me to do?" "Yes. Yes." He gave me a rose. Awww! Sweet!

He took me to a nice little coffeeshop cum internet cafe where you can also rent some board games and stuff. We played a tic-tac-toe-like game wherein you have to form a straight line with five stones. He won the first game, I won the next three, then he kept on winning, then it was pretty much even after that. I caught him letting me win once though so I started having doubts on my wins. Bastard. Cute bastard. We also played the soccer game with the little toy players where I definitely beat him, 3-1. Um, maybe he let me win again? Damn.

It was fun. I had a really great time. I got home at a little past 12 and I still have class beginning at 830am the next day. Aaaaargh! In my fourth class today, I was doing everything I could to keep awake. And I had one more class after that.

There most probably will be a second date. And I do hope the next time he doesn't just show up on my doorstep... Now I have to catch up on lost sleep.

My Goal

I have a goal. I have once again found a purpose in my life. Are you ready for this? I want to take up an MA in Chinese Language and Literature in a Chinese university.

I have been thinking about this for a long time but somehow things were always so abstract. It was only yesterday, after I woke up from my afternoon nap, that I came up with a real plan. Nothing earth-shattering, really. I was just thinking that I want to make the most of my stay here in China. I could formally study the Chinese language in a school but somehow I feel that I want more than that. I finally figured out that I want a... a... a degree!!! I'm a degree-addict! (Don't any of you remind me that I'm not yet finished with my MFA. Do you think I don't know that? Do you think that thought doesn't torment me night and day?)

I was very very happy with my realization. I felt that I had found meaning in my life. I worked out a plan. Go home in August, come back after a month or two, find a job in Beijing, enroll in an affordable university that offers the course for foreigners. Perfect!

So last night, I started researching about the course, the different universities in Beijing, tuition fees, admission requirements, etc. And then I started feeling disheartened... I had not yet done a thorough research though. So far, these are the universities that look promising:

1. Beijing Normal University costs 25300RMB/year for a graduate student. That does not include books, board and lodging, etc. I do not have that much money!

2. Beijing Language and Culture University's website does not have the tuition infos.

3. Beijing University of Technology's site confused me. Under the heading "tuition," it says US$3.5/day/person. That's the cheapest, there are others. It then proceeds to describe the living quarters. I'm hoping that it really means tuition but logic tells me that's not possible. 

Second discovery: I have to score at least a Level 6 in the Chinese Proficiency Test or HSK for HanYu ShuiPing KaoShi. Test? Level 6? Wait! I want a course that foreigners take so English would be the medium of instruction. I panicked. I was ready to abandon the purpose of my life. There was no way I could pass a Chinese Proficiency Test enough to take a Master's degree.

After I'd recovered from my initial shock, I did research about this freakin test. There are three kinds: basic, intermediate, advanced. The basic test is for people who have mastered 400-3000 basic Chinese characters. Whaaat?! Should I start counting now? Level 6 means I get a score high enough to reach the upper bracket in the intermediate test. I could feel my heart literally pounding in my chest while I was reading those. The basic test can get me as high as Level 3. It's composed of listening, grammar and reading. Everything in multiple choice. 135 minutes in all. That doesn't sound so bad.

I gave myself time to calm down yet again. I think that's attainable. Hopefully, I pass the basic test without breaking into a sweat. In the intermediate, it's composed of listening, grammar, reading and cloze test. Sounds manageable. Except my stupid computer cannot download the sample tests so I don't know what kind of questions will be asked. But little by little my confidence returned.

I next took an online chinese proficiency exam on transparent.com. Get this, I'm on Advanced Intermediate Level! 111 correct answers out of 150. 74% overall. Here's the breakdown:

1. Grammar 40/45 88%

2. Grammar 31/45 68%

3. Vocabulary 30/30 100% (Yipee! *cartwheels!)

4. Reading Comprehension 10/30 33%

Everything was in Romanized pinyin except for the last part of Reading Comprehension. Notice that I failed miserably in that part. Sigh. Still, if I was able to score an Advanced Intermediate Level without studying at all, then I must be able to score an Advanced Intermediate Level when I do study.

I've already found someone to go with me to Shenyang, the capital of my province, next Tuesday. There are absolutely no books here on Chinese learning for foreigners. I get my listening and spoken Chinese education from the streets and dinner conversations. My Chinese reading skills are practiced in KTV lounges. It's about time I start doing it the traditional way. And I'm very excited.