A Sheet Show, Among Other Adventures

I've been in Dongguan just a little over a week now.  To be honest, I haven't seen or done much of anything as my first few days were getting settled in my apartment, and the rest of the week (Monday through Friday) was spent in Nansha at a conference for ELL teachers.  For those of you who don't know that acronym, ELL stands for English Language Learners.  There are many other acronyms used to describe that group of students, but it's the one I use most frequently. 

Every day this week, we left Sunshine (that's the name of the complex where I live) at 6:45 am.  We drove to a few other stops to get the rest of the ISD (International School of Dongguan) teachers before heading the hour out of town to Nansha.  There, we attended an 8-5 conference with Dr. Gini Rojas at the Nansha College Preparatory School.  

I really learned, and relearned, a lot this week.  My Masters is in teaching English as a foreign language, but at Stiles Point Elementary, I didn't ever have a group of ELL's, not even one actually, so I have been out of practice a good bit except for my traveling and teaching/volunteering in Europe.  We learned a whole lot of new strategies for working with ELL's, great ideas to use in the classroom. The conference was all part of the ISS WLI (International School Services World Language Initiative).  I really enjoyed it and will participate more as other conferences/courses are offered. For the week I just spent, I'll get a college credit to add towards my Masters + 30 and I'll probably, because I met Dr. Rojas and she evaluated my transcripts, be able to go ahead and get my New Jersey state license for ELL which is great, because NJ is one of very few states that offers life long certification.  In South Carolina, I'd have to continue getting recertification credits.  If I get the NJ one, I won't have to do that.  

So after all that, maybe you're wondering why I called this post "A Sheet Show..."  Well, as I mentioned, the only other thing I've been doing, outside of training, is getting my apartment set up.  I went last weekend to Metro (like Sams), Carrefour and Walmart (both similar), Ikea, All Good (a grocery store), and Share Food (a great specialty market with Western things).  I went back to Carrefour by myself at least three times this week trying to get certain things.  I also attempted to get back to All Good on my own, but that turned into a slight adventure as I took the wrong turn and ended up walking an hour when I should have been able to get there and back home in less time than that.  I just don't like to look lost, so if I'm comfortable in my surroundings, and I have some kind of idea where I am, I won't turn around even if I can't find exactly what I'm looking for.  I knew I was in the vicinity of the All Good, but I didn't want to "look" lost, so I kept on walking in the opposite direction, although I knew I wouldn't find All Good down there.  When I passed all the small stores in a very locals' area, I kept my head high, smiled, nodded, and trucked on.  I got a few giggles and a lot of stares, but I was fine. I was pouring sweat, but all was good.  Side note, I was in thick, white linen pants and a black low cut tank top with the brightest orange necklace you've ever seen in your life...that thing probably glows in the dark!  Keep that in mind when you consider it wasn't JUST my blonde hair at which they were looking.  I made my way to a corner I didn't recognize, but I knew it was a big intersection and I knew in which direction I needed to head to get back home, so I turned right and prayed I'd get where I needed to be.  Luckily, I soon came upon the Carrefour I've frequented so many times this week, so I went in and got a few items before heading home. By the time I got back to the apartment, I was exhausted and I was filthy dirty.  It was shower time for me before anything else.  Later, I made myself a little steak (I couldn't begin to tell you what cut of meet it was, but it said "Australian beef" so I felt pretty safe. ;)  I also made some sautéed green bell peppers.  Dinner was simple, but good. At the conference, every single day this week, they fed us fried rice and an assortment of carrots, tomatoes, cucumbers or grapes.  Some days we had teriyaki chicken skewers. Other days we had pork.  I just wanted something different and easy to make. 

You may still be wondering where "Sheet Show" comes in.  I suppose it's time to tell you.  On the Ikea trip last Saturday, I went ahead and bought a down comforter, duvet and pillows for the master bed.  I didn't care for the floral print on the one they gave me, so I measured my bed, which I knew was about a king, and decided I'd take the linens that were on my bed and put in the guest room, aka Katy's room.  That set matches better in there because there's a pale blue wall.  I wanted something white for my room. Clean, simple.  In Ikea last week, I actually said out loud, "I'm such a white person." As soon as I said it I laughed...I mean, really, in a store full of Asians, did I really think that appropriate?  I didn't mean it racially of course.  I MEANT, I like white.  I like clean.  Anyway, I bought the items based on the sizes I measured.  Can you believe I remembered to bring a measuring tape with me?  Actually, I didn't know I had it, but it was a small one I had in a purse that just happened to come with me.  It was one of the many little party favors I got from one of the many bridal showers I attended in the last two years.  It says "love beyond measure" on it.  I suppose I'm lucky I have it with me.

I wash my linens once a week, so I thought I'd push through the week with the colors I didn't care for, then when the weekend got here, I'd do the laundry and put on the new set.  Saturday morning, I opened the plastic with the duvet and shams to discover there was no fitted sheet.  In Europe, I thought I recalled the fitted sheet came in the pack.  I knew there would be no flat sheet because that's uncommon and there was none on my bed to start with, but for some reason, I really expected to see it in this packet.  "Ok," I thought, I'll just put this comforter in the duvet and set things up, then this afternoon I'll run down and get a sheet.  No problem, right?

Well it couldn't possibly be that easy.  The comforter goes in the duvet and the shams go on the pillows and I lie the thing on the bed just to see how it looks. Fantastic.  The thing's too small!  Are you kidding? I measured!  What could have gone wrong?  Who knows, but it'll have to do for now. I can't return the things, I don't think, and even if I could I'd already made the guest bed with the old set so I would have to make do, even if the stupid duvet doesn't cover the whole bed (see pics).  

That was only the first part of the "sheet show." The second part comes from my adventure, on my own, back to Carrefour.  I memorized how to say "Can you please help me" before leaving the apartment and I recited it to myself the whole way down..."Ni neng bang wo ma?" (No accents added as I can't figure out how to do them correctly on the computer.)  I took pictures of the mattress, the corner sheet, and the bed with measurements written on it.  I KNEW this would work. I'd be fine.  I'd figure it out.

I got to Carrefour and, just like in Walmart here, was instantly approached by four women who wanted to help me.  I didn't even have to ask with my practiced phrase, which sort of disappointed me.  I showed them the picture, they pulled out a whole set.  No, that's not what I need.  They pulled out at least three other sets asking me what I wanted (all in Chinese mind you).  I looked up the word for "only" and "white" in my phrase book and walked up and down the aisle.  I used my translator on my phone to help with some words.  I spent at least 20 minutes in Carrefour.  I couldn't find what I needed and the sweet girl trying to help (by this time the others had left me) gave me a set that I politely thanked her for, "xiexie," and walked away.  I felt really badly about it, but I went about five aisles down and sat the set under some clothes, then made my run for the exit.  I was willing to buy extra, but not the hideous print she gave me!!

Disappointed, but not defeated, I went on to the next store.  Walmart. This is not the one I'd been in, so I was a little lost at first because the Walmart and Carrefour stores here are inside malls.  You go in on the ground floor and usually take an escalator (the kind built like a ramp for buggies) up to first level of the supermarket.  That is usually for housewares, school supplies, clothes, etc.  The level above that tends to be the one for groceries. So, in Walmart I went to the linens aisle and browsed a little by myself.  No one approached me here, surprisingly, so I grabbed a package and walked to the girl down the row (it's nice because you don't have to search for help...someone is standing in every aisle).  I asked, "Ni neng bang wo ma?"  She looked at me, I showed her my pictures, she said "bu chi," which means no.  ARE YOU SERIOUS?!  Luckily, she walked me back to where I got the package and handed me another, which I don't think was any different, BUT, I bought it anyway and when I got home, said another prayer.  Please Lord let this thing fit.  I held my breath, pulled out the sheet, and voila, it fit!!

It was an ordeal to say the least, but all in all, I accomplished what I set out to do.  It's not the color I wanted (I ended up with light blue), but it is the right size.  I will have to plan a trip to Ikea to get the bigger duvet, but for now, what I have will have to do.  It was a "sheet show" after all, but it's all part of the learning process here.  It's been a great first week in China, and I'm proud of myself for how well I've adjusted.