我爱我的国家

March 17, 2010

1. Mandarin vs. Cantonese and learning Chinese
2. Chinese manners
3. Midea Group Explanation (FINALLY)
4. Move
5. My name

1. Well, today I found out that everyone around me actually speaks Mandarin, even though people told me that Cantonese is spoken here...Cantonese IS spoken here, BUT only by the locals. Everyone else speaks Mandarin. So I guess that Rosetta Stone I have will come in handy as soon as I can get it to work. My co-workers have been helping me learn Chinese slowly, and explaining everything really well, BUT the tones in this language are crazy! One wrong sound and the whole word can change...YIKES! At least today, I got Chinese characters on my computer, a way to type Chinese characters on my key board, AND Microsoft Office...which I thought would be in Chinese, but it turns out it is not! Yayyy! My WinZip is in Chinese, and that is impossible to figure out! I got all these programs because a virus in Madison deleted everything I had, and the company is providing these babies, after I asked! :) Now this is what jobs should be like...provide everything you need in order to be an efficient worker!

2. Where do I even begin...Chinese manners are different than American, because it's a different country with different traditions. I still look away when people spit their bones out on the table--YES bones from meat in a meal! When you are sitting at dinner and a bone is in your meat, it is VERY common to spit it out on the table (not on a napkin or a plate) or on the floor. Yep, that is something I am NOT USED TO! They do this because a lot of the meat is filled with bones, and it's easier just to spit it out here and now, versus taking a napkin and wasting your energy on that... Another thing--SPITTING. People spit here all the time and everywhere. When I was at the mall, I saw a wad of spit on the GROUND, not in a garbage can! Or in the apartments, there are spit wads everywhere...even girls do it! This is definitely not something I will adapt! You kind of have to watch where you step!

3. Midea group is complicated to explain, but I will do my best. Basically, Midea Group is a group of seperate divisions in the company,Gwith the headquarters of the Group here in Shunde, where I live (Shunde is the city, Beijiao is the part of the city I live in!). There are 4 main groups: Midea Real Estate, Midea Commercial Appliances, Midea Living Appliances, and another one I do not know of...I've asked lots of people but they can't explain it to me in English. Thennnnn unter each subsidiary, there is a division, such as in the Living Appliance subsidiary, there is a Dishwasher Division, a Microwave Division...etc etc, and the Commercial Appliances include Washers, Air Conditioners (I think they are in this division), stoves...etc--bigger appliances that aer for the home or for buildings! And, Midea seems to make appliances ranging from rice cookers, to refridgerators! Under each little divison, there are offices for R&D, Marketing...and HR, which is the office I work in! So I will be teaching English at night, and the rest of the time planning lessons and helping out with HR stuff when need be.

4. I also said that I moved into Ewa's apt, but our friend Jessica, and I are looking for an apartment together. I know there are a lot of great apartments out there, but I don't want to spend more money on an apartment if I'm always working and will be traveling...so I'd rather spend that money towards other things! :) But an apartment is safer, and less lonely...and I wouldn't have to have a musquito net on my bed, I'd have a Western toilet AND a washer for my clothes! And it is closer to work...so I could quickly walk back and forth... WHICH ONE SHOULD I CHOOSE?!?! :( Also, I'd have to share a bathroom (which is way bigger than the one I have now) PLUS I'd have to move AGAIN! GRRRRR.

5. The title of this post is my new Chinese name--It means I love my country. As I said, I got it when we went to the supermarket in Daliang, and they thought it would be funny, since Ewa's name is 我爱中国 (I love China). It's not a real Chinese name, just a little inside joke!

I also wanted to say that I finished writing an English test to seperate people into different levels, and I have ordered some books for learning business English... I will most likely start classes in 2 weeks or so, but for now, I am still planning lessons and preparing!