We also had a sad moment this week. We got given a new fish by Caroline which looked like it was dying to me from the start, but we named him Kim Jong Il after the Korean leader as he was all black. He died last night. He was a creepy fish though, flaking which was just plain gross so I wasn't that sad to see him go!
Also, we've found luxuries in Walmart such as cheese & pringles! But cheese only seems to come in two varieties, 'taisty' or 'bitey' which makes me laugh. I prefer bitey personally, but others seem to like taisty. It causes great conflict as you can imagine!
Shui Yang Middle School - shoot me!
Man, Shui Yang sucked this week. Andy & I were under the impression that we would have the seem classes every week at Shui Yang & so we would get to build more of a repour with our students. But when we showed up with Bain & Nakata, our assistants, on Wed, we found that we were teaching different students again! He was teaching the classes that I had taught the week before & vice versa. We weren't happy.
We also didn't really get on with each other's classes which didn't help. For example, one of my original students actually threw something at him, for in China is very out of character! They are usually so timid & polite! Similarly, my 7th & final class of the day just didn't gel well with me. I had one girl, who admitedly,her English was far better than anyone else's in the class but she kept shouting at me, 'this is boring,' 'I'm bored,' which just irritated me more than anything as I have to cater to those in the class of the lowest level to make sure they are on board. However, this week coming, I'm putting a lot more effort into my lesson plan just to shut her up!
That being said, Andy & I complained when we got back that we wanted to return to our original classes for good so that's what we're doing which is good.
They are funny though! Their school bell is actually a little tune which is played over the sound system & twice a day they have to do eye exercises! Apparently because they work so hard here, they have to keep their eyes in good condition... sounds a bit odd to me!
Woohoo! We have a social life in Wuhu!
The social life here is beginning to pick up somewhat as we're finding more bars & places to hang out which makes me happy! Last weekend, we were in Bar 8 (one of our more chilled hangouts) playing pool & a Chinese girl wanders through the door. She makes a beeline for Andy & just wouldn't leave him alone; this aroused our suspicions & we also began to find it quite entertaining as we watched Andy squirm!
We came to the conclusion that she was a hooker - which is very illegal here & could end up with the death pentalty if you're found to be 'working the streets' - especially after she complimented Andy's "tall nose". She also kept commenting on his "big muscles" which we all found highly amusing as, to be polite, Andy resembles a twig! There's now a sign, compliments of Neil & I, on his door reading "tall nose" in Chinese characters!
We've also found Club 1001 - 'the best club in Wuhu'. It's gotta be said, there isn't a lot of compotition for it! But it is good fun. There's a bouncy dance floor! Admitedly, it's actually very hard to dance on as if you dance out of rhythm with the floor, you go flying as though you've double bounced on a trampampoline, as I found out when I went flying into a group of Chinese guys - eek! I was like 'eeeeew' as all their eyes lit up as they'd 'touched the Westerner!' Neil wasn't so impressed as Habby & I attracted a lot of male attention (again, a bit creepy) & we went to get some water at one point leaving him & Andy & they looked around to see three rows of guys surrounding them. In their words, "we felt a bit gay!"
The dancing technique here is, ummm, interesting! You plant your feet firmly on the ground & rock violently from side to side, sometimes singing your head so that your hair wacks everyone within the space around you. Unusual, I think you'll agree. Habby & I didn't really know what to do as if we'd danced like we normally would, we would have looked really out of place... what am I saying, sorry, I meant, more out place than usual (!) but we didn't really want to 'rock violently' so we struck a happy medium.
We also won't be forgotten by the barman at 1001 as we ordered tequilla shots & were banging them on the bar as you do & then shooting them back. The barman's face was a picture! I'm not sure they've ever seen anyone even drink more than a few beers (which in China is only 2.8% & thus more like drinking sour water) let alone down tequllia shots! Andy hadn't been well the few days before & so was not up for shots. But we'd already bought them, so, not liking to see alcohol go to waist, Neil picks them up, pours them in one glass & downs it. I honestly thought the barman was going to drop dead there & then from the look on his face - it seemed like a cross between awe & sheer horror!
Habby also took photos of the singer at the club who then came over to us as he wanted to check they were ok or something. Then starts talking to Patrick in Cantonese & wanted me to dance with him. It was so embarassing! In the end, he was very persistant & so I didn't really have much choice. But it was quite odd; dancing was at arms length, holding hands. I felt like I was back in year 7! I wasn't complaining mind, it meant that it was all very innocent & safe! He also then got up to sing again & dedicated a song to me. *cringe* We left shortly after...
Half way through the night however, it was quite strange, they stopped the music & started playing the card game, suck & blow! They just pulled a couple of people out of the crowed, one of which was Habby who won 15 free entries into the club. Very strange entertainment for a club we thought!
Caroline's birthday
We all had to go out for another company dinner on Sunday night as it was Caroline's birthday. Fun fun fun! There was a really down mood in the office all day, all the staff, the assistants, even us wai gou ren (foreigners) were not looking forward to it. Then we realised it was a free meal with free booze... our spirits picked up a bit then but not a whole lot!
On the up side, it wasn't another 'come speak to this person so we can show you off to the local businesses' meal, it was truely just a staff dinner which was a relief. It was quite bizarre though as foreigners were on one table, staff on another, assistants on their table with volunteer teachers & then 'top table' if you will with Caroline etc. We had a laugh in the end though, & the meal was actually very nice. Much closer to what you would find at home - which we found odd in a way!
The 'wai gou ren table' were the only ones drinking beer (of course) & Bain, one of our assistants, we have discovered likes a tipple. So we took advantage of this & kept reaching over to his table with a bottle of beer for him. The others wouldn't drink, but slowly, we got Elly drinking beer as well, then Nakata & slowly but surely they all followed suit. Was highly amusing as they don't usualy drink at all so as you can imagine they are rather the light weights, bless them!
Afterwards, we persauded them to come out with us to Bar 8 & we all ordered alcohol, but the only way we could get them to come out was if we said they didn't have to drink... once we got to Bar 8, Neil ordered a bottle of tequilla & well, they all joined in eventually! It was quite the experience for them; we showed them how its done & opened their eyes to the world of drinking!
We got Nakata doing drinking games (which we were all pretty surprised at) & the girls wanted me to teach them how to dance which I just found funny as I'm not exactly an expert. As I have said, however, here I seem like a great dancer! They were funny though, they tried on my heels & could barely stand up let alone walk! Girls here just don't wear heals that are very high or that are little more than a wedge so as you can imagine, my 2 1/2 inch skinny heels were a trial for them!
I got a text from Elly when they had got home saying, "thank you so much, we are happy. We had much fun," which I thought was very sweet. They had to leave at 9:15 as the university gates shut at 9:30pm (!!!) and so they were worried they already would have missed the curfew! We were all a bit shocked by this custom as it's quite different to home!
Golden Week - Tibet & X'ian
The week of Oct 1st - 7th is our week off as it is a National Holiday here: Golden Week. Habby, Andy, Patrick & I have booked to go to Tibet for a few days, stopping of at X'ian to see the Terrocotta Warriors for a day or two on the way. We're all very excited. We're going by train which will take 3 days but it's a very modern train which is good (with Western toilets!!) & it will allow us to see a lot more of the countryside on the way & way back.
I niavely asked, "will the train have a shower on it?" Everyone just laughed at me. So that will be lovely... sponge baths in the bathroom it is then!
Neil was dafter though as he asked, "what are the Terrocotta Warriors made of?" We all just looked at him in disbelief it that needed explaining!
So we leave on Friday, Sep 28th & return October 7th I think. Obviously that means my blog entry will be a bit late & also that I won't be able to access emails for a week. There will be lots of photos which I'll put up for everyone to see.
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