Confessions of a Faux-hawk

Hello dear readership!

Much has tanspired since last we spoke. (Well, I spoke. You listened.) Okay, actually not a lot has happened, but I thought you'd keep reading if I made it sound more exciting. Its what we in the business call a "grabber." (The "business" of course being 7th grade English at Hingham Middle School.)

Week 2 passed much as the week before it. I attend classes, prep in the afternoon, go home, try to do work in the evening, instead watch Ugly Betty, wash, rinse, repeat...

No but actually classes were getting sort of frustrating because Chai Laoshi's class that she didn't allow me to switch out of was just not very engaging. We were moving faster but my classmates couldn't really keep up with the out of class prep, so classtime was spent helping them. In fact, I made it a vengeful mission to extravagantly prepare for this class even if it meant inadequately prepping my other classes. This so that I could have the lesson entirely memorized and recite it with a childishly bored look on my face as if it had taken me three minutes to commit to memory. Its a little game Chai Laoshi and I like to play called "Eric tries to make you rue the day you didn't let him switch out of your class." She'd drop in passive aggressive sentences via "grammar patterns" such as "Some people say this book is too easy, 其实(actually) it isn't too easy." I would then glare at her and repeat, even though I learned that grammar structure in first year Chinese.

Anyway, the point of this is that I won our game. She gave us a new schedule today and noted that we were slowing down significantly. She held me after class and told me she was giving me an extra textbook to prepare on my own and review with my dan ban laoshi. (One-on-one teacher for those who don't read carefully.) Victory! Except the kind of victory that gives you more homework? oops. Chai Laoshi and I have come to terms. (She's actually a very competent teacher, its just the level of the class I have a problem with. Also she talks really loudly.)

Okay, so in other news, Saturday was Meiguo de shengri. (July 4th.) Friday, David, Ethan and I sallied forth to the Carrefour to pick up some America gear. We got Busch Light, sausages, oreos, pancakes... it was a weird mix but their American options are limited. Also carrying the 24 pack of beer back from the subway (probably like two miles) was the most strenuous thing ever. This after David and I had swam laps for like an hour (in our skimpy new bathing suits. Well, David's is pink and skimpy. Mine is conservative by comparison. The pool makes you wear speedos for some reason.) So on the actual day of the 4th, a few Yale students and other cool people journeyed to David's for revelry. We celebrated many things that day. Sarah Palin, Oreo pancakes (very good), freedom, the usual.

But before going to David's I bit the bullet and walked into the hair salon near my apartment. Given the wealth of terrifying haircuts I have seen on the locals here, this was a considerable act of bravery. First of all, they served me green tea (plus one for Taiwan haircuts.) The woman was very nice and we got to talking. probably more than I ever talked to my barber in the U.S. (plus two for Taiwan haircuts.) She told me it was the first white guy's hair she'd cut in three months. (Minus one for Taiwan haircuts.) So they used this weird textured scissor the whole time which was clearly for hair much thinner than mine. Also I couldn't quite figure out why she'd left it so long in the middle until Sei caught a glimpse of me in profile and exclaimed that I'd been given a faux-hawk. (MINUS 100,000 for Taiwan haircuts!!!) I'm not sure if it was my Nantucket red shorts, my polo shirt, or my Sperry topsiders but something seems to have convinced her that I am the type of person who sports this type of coiffe. For those who don't know me (why are you reading this?) I am not.

No photographic evidence of this was obtained, so sorry. But Sei and I ran to the 7-11 and bought scissors. We then cut my faux-hawk off in the middle of the sidewalk. We actually got fewer stares than one might imagine.

Okay so I had a sort of shaggy haircut. Also at Carrefour I found this rack of sleeveless t's with trashy designs on them for like $1.50 each. I bought one that said "Vintage Car" and has a whole lot of random letters below it that do not spell any words in any language with which I'm familiar. I felt it would be appropriate for the 4th of July and indeed it was. (I'm at school now but I'll attach a picture when I get home.)

Otherwise uneventful weekend. I just got back from lunch with Lu Laoshi who was one of my six first year teachers at Middlebury last summer. It was very fun, and we spoke completely in Chinese. Its nice to think back to being a first year under the language pledge and eating lunch with the teachers in the dining hall. Needless to say our range of topics of conversation has widened significantly in a year. That was heartening. Anyway, he's teaching at Williams College next fall so hopefully I can show him a good time in America.

Alright, pictures are forthcoming. Goodnight.