Lights! Camera! Action!

This last Monday was our first day of filming for the English text book video supplement. We woke up nice and early, packed our bags to look like tourists and took a cab into the city. We met the boss for breakfast (baozi, steamed buns with pork in the middle, and a sweet bean porridge) and then it was off to the hotel. From what we can gather from our scripts it seems like the text focuses on tourism, which is why we needed to dress like tourists and why we're filming in hotels, airports and other touristy locations. So first up was hair and make up. The Chinese like their pinks and glitter so I ended up looking a bit like Jon Benet Ramsey, but it was fun. We shot a few scenes in the lobby talking to our "tour guide" and then it was off to lunch for more filming. And here Mrs. Black had her solo debut: the room was silent, the lights were bright, the camera was rolling. I sat up tall, looked straight across the table and said in my most eloquent voice
"The soup is getting cold. Could you  help us to have it warmed up?"
BAM! Hope you brought your binoculars because I just knocked that one outta the park! hahaha my other line of the day was quite dramatic
"Help! My husband has slipped and fallen in the toilet! He's unconscious!"
That'll probably be a tear jerker ;) We wrapped up the day with the best pizza in Chongqing and headed home.

This weekend we'll be heading to Chengdu (capital of Sichuan and land of the pandas) to film a few more scenes. This weekend is also the Qingming festival, or Tomb Sweeping Day; a time to remember and honor your ancestors. I"ll be honoring mine by enjoying some beer and watching the NCAA tournament at Hooters when we have time off from filming. Hoot hoot!

The lilting of Mrs. Black

The recent events in Japan have truly been a disaster and it's hard to not think about my now neighboring country frequently. The only crisis here in China has been a lack of salt. Chinese shoppers have been clearing out salt in the supermarkets so quickly that the government has limited how much salt a person can buy. Of course I run out of salt during this time and have to elbow my way through the salt mob at the grocery store. But this is one of those times when being a waigouren, foreigner, has its advantages. As soon as the salt attendant saw I was a tall blonde, I was gently handed my ration of salt. Nuclear scare from Japan is the cause of all this salt hoarding. The Chinese believe that the iodine added to the salt will prevent the thyroid glands from absorbing radioactive iodine. The government has issued statements of China's safety from any sort of nuclear side effects but there still isn't any salt on the shelves.

During my lessons this week I briefly discussed St. Patrick's day and some of the day's traditions. As a listening exercise I played a Chieftains song and had my students fill in missing lyrics. It was a fun exercise and I enjoyed explaining about traditional celtic instruments and the art of lilting!

I have been asked, along with some of the other foreign teachers, to be a part of an educational video. A school in Chongqing is making a video supplement to an English text book and they needed foreigners to act out dialogues. We don't know exactly what we'll be doing besides showing up at touristy areas of Chongqing and Chengdu and acting our part! So don't be surprised when you see me nominated for the Academy Awards next year for my role as Mrs. Black in the Instructional English Video!!! ;)