Battle of the Voices

The difference between Beijing heat and Michigan heat are like night and day. In Michigan, there's dry heat. It's rarely sticky and humid. You're more likely to get a sunburn with that heat. In Beijing, it's sticky, and humid, and you can't survive without air conditioning. In Michigan, there are nights where you don't need it and can open the window. Beijing, the idea of opening the window is kind of hilarious.

So what does this little bit of information have to do with with the title? Simple. When the heat is to the point you need to turn on the air conditioner, it smells like dirt, and you find yourself coughing, a stuffy nose, and a sore throat. In Michigan, this would never be happening. You'd never be sick trying to keep cool.

Well, this past weekend I had a cold so bad, that by the end of Saturday night I had no voice. I couldn't get any louder than a whisper. The worst part. This past weekend was a weekend that the parents would come into class so they could play with the children and could see what they learned in the past three months.

So how to fight through lacking a voice? Simple! The first step was making sure the kids spoke more than me. The more the kids spoke, the less I had to talk. Eventually, at the times I was forced to speak, I grabbed a microphone and tried speaking in that. By the end of Sunday, I had to have someone else speak for me cause I couldn't do it anymore. I'd never seen so many scrunched up/worried faces  in my life, no had I sucked down so much hot water in my life either.

After work that Sunday, I went to dinner with co-workers. I couldn't speak, so I had to sign everything and even had a friend order for me. I was so frustrated I gave up and started writing everything I wanted to say. Do you know how difficult it is to write down thoughts? By the time you're finished writing what you wanted to say the conversation changes to a new topic. And then if people can't read your writing, like the usual case with mine, then it becomes even more difficult.

Moral of the story: Appreciate your ability to speak. Cause it sucks when you go a weekend without talking. And it gets super awkward. XD

Well that was a Waste of Time...

Sometimes there are things you do that makes you feel stupid. Especially when even in your second language you're unable to solve even the simplest of problems. And when you're called out on it, all you can do is hope that it gets laughed off and people move on.

It's no secret that I have bad luck with air conditioners. When I was at my old apartment, I was fighting for a month to get my air conditioner fixed. So when I was looking at my current apartment MacGyver, my housing agent, turned on the air to make sure I knew it was actually working before I agreed to take the apartment.

Months later, it's hotter than hell in June, and I go to turn on the air conditioner in the living room, and nothing happens. I went to my bedroom to turn on that air, and nothing happens. And it seems to be getting hotter and hotter by the minute.

First, I send my LP a WeChat message. All of the buttons are in Chinese. I can read Chinese, but my reading isn't all that great. I can read fairly simple sentences. A lot of other features  I figure out by pressing buttons and seeing what happens. She gives me a quick lesson on what buttons to use. Still, nothing happens. I change the batteries to one remote, nothing happens. The other remote, I can't figure out if it's batteries or not, so I don't touch it for now.

Next, I check the fuse box to see if maybe there's a special switch I have to turn on for the air. I flip the switch, and one of the machines works! My living room has air! But what about the bedroom?! Nothing!

I do the next thing I have to do. I call my landlady. She was in a meeting, so she couldn't get there right away. But when she does, she brings her husband. The first thing the husband does is open the batteries and change them. Suddenly my air conditioner works again.

I'd never felt so embarrassed as I was when my landlady's husband changed out the batteries. I have no idea how many times I apologized for wasting their time on something so simple.

Moral of the story: No matter how good you think you are at a second language, even the simple things will throw you off.