Frat Stanrey

Okay, okay, I know.  As an English teacher in China, it's totally unprofessional and insensitive of me to take such a cheap shot at the ever-elusive Asian accent.  Sometimes, though, I do think that speaking English is overrated when actually understanding and interpreting accents is the true challenge in championing the English language.  I mean, what would you think if your student said the following to you?

"In zer countryside, some time you weel find some unhygienic sh*ts on the bed.  In a hotaire.  You know hotaire?  They don't often cling the sh*ts.  So, you must pay much monays to go to a nicer one to slip on the cling sh*ts."

True story, folks.  Translation:  "In the countryside, sometimes you will find the sheets on the beds in hotels are not clean, as the sheets are often left unwashed between stays.  So it's worth it to pay a bit more to stay in a higher-end hotel where you can sleep on clean sheets."

But that's totally not the point of this blog post.  As stated in the title, I wanted to tell you about Flat Stanley (whose Chinese name is Frat Stanrey), who was sent via envelope from my cousin's home in Pleasanton, CA to spend some time with me in Beijing.

In case you haven't figured it out by reading this blog, my life is actually quite boring.  Work, home, work, home.  Sometimes I'll bake something.  That didn't stop Flat Stanley from seeing the sights, though!  (Like the little Chinese track suit I gave him?  His hat says "Bei Yu Xiao Xue," for BLCU Primary School.  Represent!)  Here are Flat Stanley's Greatest Hits from his trip to China.

BeiHai Park, Beijing

Forbidden City, Beijing

Map of Beijing at a bus stop

Bus schedule

Flat Stanley got to "visit" two places that I still have yet to travel to!  The grasslands of Mongolia and Jiuzhaigou Valley in Sichuan Province!*

Ride 'em, Mongolian cowboy!

Jiuzhaigou's natural terraced mineral lakes

What's a trip to China without a little Chingrish?

Of course, Stanley had his fill of traditional Chinese dishes, plus some Cantonese icy desserts!  Yum!

All in all, it was an eventful trip for Stanley.  Now it's back into the envelope from whence he came.  Bon voyage, Flat Stanley!  Send my love to my cousins back home!  And try your best to steer clear of the unhygienic sh*ts!

  

*All right, so he didn't actually go there.  But c'mon.  We're talking about a paper doll, here, people!