Flea Market or Free Market?

 

Every year since I've been at NENU, I've witnessed graduating students line the avenue stretching from the cafeteria, past the volleyball courts, to the administration building, to sell their unwanted goods before packing up and going back to their homes. In Chinese we'd say the scene is very "re-nao," or quite lively. Although I'm not graduating until next year, I did some spring cleaning and took my goods to market.

 

 

 

 

In a moment of self-consciousness, I dressed up for the occasion. I figured as a white foreigner I'd be just as much on display as the items I wanted to sell--better to take advantage of it. Meanwhile, I practiced my best bargaining language, making note of what vendors have said to me in the past. For once I'd be on the other side of the transaction!

 

 

 

 

I was supposed to meet my friend, Dandan, who said she had a classmate that also wanted to sell some things. They wouldn't arrive until later, however, so I headed out on my own. Luckily I found Caixue, my friend from the International Students' Association. Without hesitation, she stopped hawking her shoes and helped me get set up, asking me how much I wanted for each item. Most of what I wanted to sell was jewelry. She loaded her fingers with my rings and dangled bracelets on her wrists. With a loud cry, she wailed to passersby, "Ten kuai, ten kuai! Foreigner's jewelry, ten kuai!" 

 

 

Dandan and I watching the buyers

 

 

Like a school of fish to a piece of bate, people began to migrate to the sound of Caixue's voice. For the next hour, all I saw were fingers, long and short, fat and slim, male and female, rummaging through my jewelry. I soon discovered I had grossly overestimated my asking price.

 

 

Dandan's friend and her suitcase of clothes.

 

 

Despite the market being on a university campus, the majority of visitors were grandmas and grandpas, middle-aged people, and some families. They were out for a morning stroll on a Saturday morning, although I'm guessing they knew to pass through the university campuses at this time of year for some great steals. I soon cut my asking price in half. At only 5 kuai (not even 1 USD), people were still asking 3 kuai for decent jewelry. I was reminded of the time I participated in a garage sale after graduating from ASU. I ended up selling textbooks that had cost me $20-30 to people who wouldn't part with more than $1. It was a comfort to me knowing that whether in a front yard or on a sheet on the street, all people want is to pay as little as possible for as much as they can carry.

 

 

 

An interested customer.

I stayed until lunch time, a total of about two and a half hours. After lunch I came back to find that Dandan and her friend were packing up because of the dark, looming clouds overhead. I only had a couple of pieces of jewelry left, plus a pillowcase that everyone kept saying was too big. So I packed up and went back to my dorm. As I counted my earnings, I considered the exchange of value in which I had participated--the bargaining down to less than fifty cents, the return of seeing someone pleased with their purchase, the letting go of items associated with memories or comfort, the experience gained of having bought used jewelry from a foreigner, also that of having sold second-hand jewelry as a foreigner in China--it is all relative. With my practically free money, I treated DA3 and I to dessert at Mr. Suger (yes, that's how it's spelled) and enjoyed every bite.

Tricksters Find their Paradise

 

The culturally aware tourist knew the polite way to treaty with a man on a donkey. 

 

 

"When will this silly girl stop drinking all my wine?" the man thought as he poured her another glass.

 

 

 

It had taken a lot of practice and daring journey into the space-time continuum, but our twenty-first century heroes finally found their way to the log-rolling competition of 1849. 

 

Despite the fear electrifying his every cell, the dentist felt a strange calm overcome him as he beheld the sheer magnitude of his task.

 

 

 

Meilin could not understand why the strange white lady wanted to run across a broken bridge just to hide underneath the very creature looking to sink its jaws into their flesh.

 

 

 

Fido did not appreciate his owner's entering him in this year's Extinct Pet show. 
 

 

The owner's wife, however, was determined to show up the neighbor's Sabertooth Tiger.

 

 

 

 

 

Mr. and Mrs. Smith inadvertently gave each other the same anniversary gift.

 

 

 

 

Isabelle had had another thing in mind when she said she wanted to learn how to use a knife.

 

 

 

The man could finally rest at ease knowing the giant knots in his shoulders had a pair of giant hands to take care of them.

 

 

 

"Uneasy lies the head that wears the crown."

 

 

 

The patient thinks maybe her approach with the cute nurse hasn't been thought through.

 

 

 

"I'll take a mini dry red to go with my giant bread."

 

 

 

 

Michael Jackson had just one mind-blowing performance left...

 

 

 

 

 

They say you can lead a camel to water, but you can't make him get up after he's had his fill.

 

"I think I overslept," she said as she stepped out of her warm crypt.

 

 

 

It's a lovely day to drink from a dragon well.

 

 

 

 

The pair realized too late that their pirate experience was lacking.

 

"Please, tell me again how I'm the first foreigner you've ever seen!"

 

 

 

Model citizens are 'selfies' incarnate.

 

 

 

All things that go up must come down.

 

 

 

The delivery boy remembered too late that he had left his rope at home.

 

 

Yet he could not understand why the uproar over a few boxes.

 

 

 

The Angry Birds were furious at having to be flung on their off-day.

 

 

 

He meticulously coated each toenail in a bright red, careful not to lift his head for fear of what she would do to him if he did.

 

 

 

They followed the middle way and had discovered each other on the same path.

 

"The Sound of Youth" Radio Show Interview

Through the International Students' Association, I had the opportunity this week to participate in a radio interview. The show is called "The Sound of Youth" and is a daily program focusing on activities and stories from Changchun's plethora of universities. In our interview, three Chinese students from our association as well as another foreign student, Hadi, and myself discussed life in China and the importance of our club's activities for foreign students. Our hostess particularly enjoyed asking Hadi and I about our experiences studying Chinese and living in China. At one point, she even asked the other students to talk about both Hadi and I as individuals. If it had been television, you would have seen me blushing profusely.

The whole time I kept imagining Changchun's taxi drivers joining in the program. "Not bad," they'd think. "They speak Chinese pretty well," their passengers would reply. Maybe one of the millions out there would wonder, "Have I driven these Lao wai before?"  

Unfortunately for my readers, this interview was all done in Chinese (with the exception of my little English side notes). Nevertheless, if you'd like to listen to it, you can visit their webpage and click on 2013-10-24. (In case you can't remember what my voice sounds like, I'm the slow one that stutters). You might want to skip ahead five or ten minutes past the commercials, or even three-fourths of the way through where they have me sing a song in Chinese. Otherwise, enjoy all the incomprehensible rhythms and the tones! Also, my various tunnels past the Great Firewall have all been failing me lately, so pictures will have to come later.

 

 

Fall Dance Party

 

The International Student's Association held it's second annual dance party on Saturday. They had me teach two dances. I chose the Macarena and the Cotton-Eyed Joe. Just four months ago I taught the Electric Slide and the Funky Chicken. Once I teach the YMCA and the Hand Jive (probably in another six months or so), I don't know where that will leave my resevoir of 80's group dances!



 

 

 

The "sexy" dance that began the event

 

 

Slowing it down with a partner dance

 

 

The Koreans brought a new hit--"jumping, jumping, jumping..."

 

 

As Chinese dance parties go, a group first performs and then teaches those who want to learn that dance. Everyone else just watches. Talk about wall flowers. Who knew China would be a whole garden?

 

 

Waka Waka by a girl from Mali.

 

 

The Association has some talented Taiji athletes. This girl flew!

 

 

The star in yellow.

 

 

Two Russian girls in traditional garb doing a fun quick-footed dance.

 

 

Near the end, one of the boys from the Association got down on his knee with a huge bouquet and "proposed" that this girl be his girlfriend.

 

 

DA3 got to the campus just before the dance party finished. While I waited for him a boy and a girl approached me and asked me for a favor. They said their club was having a welcome party for their new students. They had asked a couple of foreigners to come, since it's an English club, but now they couldn't get in touch with them. They practically begged me to come to the event, which had already started, to introduce myself, talk with them, and to play games. I told them I'd have to see if DA3 wanted to go and to wait a few minutes for him to come. After a long day, DA3 was not particularly enthusiastic about postponing dinner, but he agreed anyway. We gathered our things and went to the meeting. We were warmly welcomed and immediately rushed on stage. When it was all over, they thanked us profusely with candy and two bottles of Coke. It was kind of fun saving the day!

 

 

 

After the introductions and some games, a group of us sang an English song together. Can you guess which classic 70's hit it was?

 

 

 

Ignoring my Charlie Brown singing face, I'll tell you we were singing The Carpenters' "Yesterday Once More" (hence the Peanuts face).

 

 

DA3 had no intention of getting up, but they kind of forced him, so he went and introduced himself. Afterwards he said he was really nervous. The poor guy did a fantastic job playing charades in English, though! (Even if he did forget the word "cry" haha).

Han Qiang and He Miao Get Married

He Miao was a music major at Northeast Normal University. Han Qiang works in a exporting company and has traveled all over the Middle East. Today they are getting married. Unlike the couple at the mosque a few days before, these two aren't nervous. I suspect it's because they've already been technically married for a while now. Today is the performance, so to speak.

 

 

 

The grand set-up

 

 

The mystical, metallic isle

 

 

Guests of the groom (pink tie in background). DA3 and his co-workers chat.

 

Lights, music, action! The bride plays the Erhu and then she and the groom sing a duet. They walk from opposite sides of the room to the gazebo in the center. They stand underneath to finish the song. He then asks her to marry him, giving her a bouquet. They walk down the isle together. The MC gives a short speech. He speaks on being there for each other and growing old together. He then pronounces them husband and wife. They hug and kiss on the cheeks. 

 

Xin niang (bride) and her Erhu

 

 

The couple sings a duet

 

 

Under the gazebo

 

 

"Will you marry me?"

 

Before the couple is allowed to be presented to the guests, it is an Asian tradition to kowtow to the parents. Both mothers and fathers are brought to the stage. They stand shoulder to shoulder, looking stately and distant. From my seat in the back I have to stand to get a good view. As the couple kowtows, I suddenly tear up. All the lights and the slide show, all of the decorations and the banquet are just parts of a single moment in an average life. The couple's honorable bow to their life-givers, however, is something different altogether. This is the grand scheme. This is the point of it all. This is life.

 

 

The new couple

 

The guests are getting hungry, but there are no chopsticks. The couple leaves back through the gazebo and it all ends abruptly. As the waiters hand out chopsticks and we're allowed to eat, the waitresses start to pack up the isle. Unfortunately, although the tables are piled high with dishes, only a few of them are really tasty. People eat and leave, no relaxing conversation or entertainment. Then again, I guess that was the point of the ceremony.