Wo jiao Li Bai!

Yesterday, I recited a memorized poem from the famous drunk-ass poet Li Bai in front of the school for the Mandarin language competition.  The student council set it up for the foreign teachers who were interested in presenting their skills in the Mandarin language.  The name of the poem was called Zeng Wang Lun. I think I did pretty well.  Cathy and her coworkers told me to speak slowly.  My gestures should be somewhere between being deep in thought and utterly tanked.

The competition was intended for groups.  After my group bailed on me, I went in solo with only a day's notice.  The students were going crazy, especially after the first group.  I realized the kids don't see us Canadian expats speak their language at all.  Actually, they probably don't see many foreigners speak putonghua in general, which is a shame because we are in their country. I also realized learning foreign languages is usually a one way street.  People learn English, and English speakers don't usually learn other languages.  When they do, it's a bloody miracle.  Must have been a novelty for the kids to see us foreigners speak Mandarin.

Anyways, I thought I did fairly well.  It definitely made me want to learn more Mandarin, that's for sure! The kids went berserk when I started talking. I even scored second place behind a group of colleagues who speak fluent Mandarin.

Here's the pinyin and rough translation for the poem:

Li Bai cheng zhou jiang yu xing
(Li Bai was about to disembark on a boat across a big pond)
Hu wen an shang ta ge sheng
(When he heard a ballad from the shore; it was his friend who came to see him off)
Tao hua tan shui shen qian chi
(The large pond is very very deep) 
Bu ji wang lun song wo xing
(But the friendship between us (Wang Lun and Li Bai) is much deeper)

One more month...

One more month until all of us expats are on adventure again.  I have to say that this last semester went by so quickly.  The school year will be over before I know it!

Anyways, my plans are as follows.  I will be going to Cathy's hometown again, but this time I will stay until Spring Festival is over.  I might go deaf from all the super-loud firecrackers, but at least I will see Chinese New Year in China.

From there, I will solo Seoul, South Korea.  Cathy cannot come with me because the minimum monetary requirement going to South Korea for Chinese Mainlanders is so high.  I'll be meeting up with my friend Sue who I hung out with in Kelowna, Vancouver and New York City.

After South Korea, I'll hop back to Wuhan to get Cathy and drop off a full box of South Korean goods.  We'll get our asses to Hong Kong then onto Bangkok.  We plan to visit that city, Chiang Mai, and Phuket.

One thing I plan to do in Thailand is to take a Muay Thai lesson.  From what I've experienced with my old hapkido instructor, I'm sure I can handle myself.  If I can't find one or don't have time, an elephant ride followed up with some Thai curry would be a nice alternative.

Fattening up for winter

Cathy and I have made a hobby to cook awesome food and eat out at great restaurants around Wuchang.  I call it "fattening up for winter," but realistically, I suppose it has to do with my reaction to the cafeteria food getting worse and worse.

Ever since coming back from Sanya, Cathy and I have hosted a number of dinner parties and ate at pretty awesome restaurants.  So far, some highlights we've cooked are chicken pesto pasta, brownies, Chinese chestnut chicken, and a local favorite, Central Chinese hot pot.  I also have a routine of making crepes on Saturday morning.  I've managed to find unsalted pralines. Last week, I made pecan maple syrup crepes. Delicieux! Hao chi!

Some restaurant highlights include various hot pots, Italian, Thai, local spicy fish stew, countryside food, a revolving continental buffet restaurant (which Cathy and I ate at for our 1 year celebration of being together), and American Thanksgiving.

We plan to cook increasingly complex recipes each time we cook.  But before doing that, I should probably try to master my own fusion dish, Mr. P`s Scotch Whisky Flambe Stir Fry.

Eating at the revolving restaurant. Imagine the restaurant at the Four Seasons Hotel in Vancity, but make it cheaper and with more choices. Crazy delicious!

One of many Cathy`s turns at cooking dinner. Notice the Baron Phillipe de Rothschild Mouton Cadet Bordeaux on the right. Oddly enough, Wuhan is blessed with fine selections of wines.  Maybe it has to do with the fact Wuhan is Bordeaux`s sister city...

Meiguo de Gan En Jie (American Thanksgiving) gen wo de tongshi zai Hanyang de Aloha Restaurant.  Turkey, mash, and all the fixings.  I had 3 entree rounds, 1 eggnog steamer, 2 coffees, a slice of pumpkin pie, and some apple cider.  And Cathy came along for her first Thanksgiving!  It was American, but what the heck, eh?