Well, the temperature has certainly dropped! *shivers* It's about 11 degrees here today which is mighty cold compared to how it has been. What really takes the biscuit is that there's no central heating in China either & so we're all wandering around in coats indoors & drinking cups of piping hot tea! However, I asked Andy to pick me up a water bottle whilst he was at Walmart today as if I drink any more tea I'll turn into a tea pot but there's currently no other way to keep warm!
What brings insult to injury is that this morning, I went to get in the shower & even after letting the water run, it was like icey arrows shooting through the shower head as opposed to the usual steaming hot water. Each one of us in turn went in only to hear a yelp & the scurrying of feet back to our rooms in shock! It was not a pleasant experience! I also did 4 lots of washing yesterday but none of it has actually dried as we don't have a dryer & so it just hangs on the balcony waiting for the breeze to catch it... that's hard to do when it's rainy & freezing cold!! So I'm also now running low of clothes - not clean or dirty, just clothes in general as they're all wet!! Not impressed. Not impressed at all.
Buying clothes here is interesting. I braved the shops again this weekend in a vain attempt to find something again, however, all the fashions I hated in the UK are here, but twice as tacky, twice as cheap (in price but sadly also how they look) & just embellished with a mesh of sequins or beads or, my personal favourite, bad English!
For example, one girl was wandering around Number 11 Middle School the other day with something along the lines of "Easy to Open" across her chest... She didn't realise how that could be perceived! I didn't think it took a great amount of knowledge (or brains) to know what that meant, but apparently, here, it doesn't matter what it says as long as its in English!
Also, 'Kappa' - the clothing range with Vicky Pollard from Little Britain wears - is mega popular here. I think it's safe to say that I can't bring myself to buy that despite it being practically being designer here! We tried to explain how they had had to stop selling the brand in the UK after the Chavs just simply massicred any kind of positive branding it had had but the Chinese just don't understand. They think it's great!
Who knew 'layers' were so complicated!
Those who know me know how particular I am about my hair. You also know, that I get it cut pretty much every two months. Well, yesterday, I couldn't stand it any longer & had to get my hair cut... in China.
It's safe to say that it was an interesting experience. Elly, one of the assistants who we trusted, recomended a place to us & so off Jenny & I went.
It was quite a trendy looking place & they spoke a little bit of English - by which I mean, they understood we wanted our hair cut & could tell us the price. Other than that, Elly had written down 'trim' & 'layers' for us in Chinese characters in hope that this would help us to explain what we wanted!
The wash itself was interesting enough - you basically lay on a bed with your head in a sink which worked well for me as it meant I didn't have to sit on a phone book in order for my head to reach the sink as I often have to in the UK because I'm always too short for the chairs! She washed my ears though which I found quite bizarre & the head massage was not particuarly relaxing as she only concentrating on one section of my head which actually began to ache a bit after a while!
Then, a guy - who in England we would lable as 'deffinately gay,' but of course, here, he's simply being Chinese - begins to cut my hair. It was all going well untill he says, ok, dry straight or, then motions the 'curly hair' to which I replied, what about the layers? I received a blank look to this comment & so tried to mime layers - this is not an easy task I would like to add! So we start looking through hair style books, me pointing to all the layers, then he understands, but tells me it will cost me 280 kwai rather than 35 kwai! Errr, I don't think so. Jenny's getting layers in the chair next to me at this point, all for 35 kwai so I was quite confused. It then warrented a call to Rebecca, one of the Chinese girls we work with, for a translation. Turns out, he said that he could not cut my hair into layers as I had English hair. I told him this was rubbish & to do it anyway & low & behold, it looks fine, despite me having English hair!
It's a bit different to my usual style; it was the first time in nearly 3 years that I've come out of the salon with long hair rather than it getting shorter with every visit, but I"m happy with it & he gave me the cut for 35 kwai, despite giving me layers. He also said, 'like Chinese hair!' when he had finished & was waxing it into place... I was dubious about the wax but though "meh! We'll go with the flow whilst I'm in the chair & see what happens!" I haven't waxed it today & it's fine. So yes - I have a Chinese hair cut now! Which looks relatively normal... thank god.
I got a present!
Class 4 are my lesson before lunch at Shuiyang & they are by far my favourite as they are just good fun, & even though their English isn't the best, they are willing to speak & answer my question which is always good!
Anyway, this week, I had planned to do music. One of the tasts was to fill the board with as many adjectives (describing words) as they could & then use these words to describe the music I played them e.g. Queen - We Will Rock You, Green Day - Basket Case & Celin Dion - My Heart Will Go On (with which they are obsessed to this day in China!) It was going reasonably well but after this, the lesson feel apart with most classes as the other task I had prepared was too difficult & so I was desperately trying to think of something else to do when they asked me to sing! In the end, the 2nd half of the lesson for each class turned into more a talent show of students singing than a lesson, but they were having fun & it was an easy lesson for me so I wasn't complaining!
There are usually two rows of boys at the back of each class - some things obviously don't change from country to country! - & in Class 4 last Wednesday, I noticed a lime green thing flying around the back of the room from one boy to another. I asked what it was & they began passing it under the desk to each other frantically untill one boy gets up & approaches the front of the class, saying, "for you".
As sweet a gesture as it was, it was the ugliest looking green duck I've ever seen & we've been using it as a football up & down our corridore all week! I'm not entirely sure if they had bought the duck especially for me, or if I effectively stole some poor boy's toy duck - in which case I was probably doing him a favour as if he's 15, 16 years old, he really shouldn't have a cuddly toy duck!
A stalker in the making?
We had an 'English Corner' on Sunday night which is basically an informal chat with the adult students that attend classes in Aston. All 7 foreign teachers chat to the students informally about whatever springs to mind & the students can move around the different teachers, ask questions, etc.
Anyway, I managed to find the only 4 18, 19 year olds in the group & chat to them & they were actually pretty cool. One gir, Field (yes, that is her name) listened to Green Day, My Chemical Romance to name but a few which is really unusual here as they rarely know any Western music beyond Westlife, Back Street Boys or Michael Jackson! So I gave her my email as she wanted to keep in touch (I've set up a separate account for this reason so they don't have my regular email). The next day, I'm watching a 'Sex in the City' box set DVD I've bought here & my phone rings. It's Field letting me know that my email doesn't work & wondering if I was free this weekend! God knows how she got my number but it sort of creeped me out a bit & I feigned not knowing my teaching schedual yet for this week... She didn't ring today, but I've stored her number for future reference.
Anyway, that is pretty much all my news for this week. I sent some postcards when I was in Tibet/Xi'an & I do believe they should arrived this week so would be nice to know if they did!
See you all in 6 weeks
xx
Tuesday, October 30, 2007
Tuesday, October 23, 2007
Man Flu vs The Common Cold
So I'm ill. In China. It's a great experience - not. It would seem it is simply a summer cold, but I spent most of the morning in bed drinking tea with honey - mmm yum - & then went off to Medical College this afternoon. Surprisingly, they could understand me amidst the flem & coughing! God knows how! However, when I returned back to Aston, Rebecca, one of the Chinese girls who works here, was making Andy (who has 'man flu' - *Amie seethes as Andy copmlains of impending death whilst Amie sniffles & gets on with her life.....* such a typical man!!! - Andy I mean, not me!) & I some kind of ginger soup concoction... it's umm, what's the word... disgusting! Think I'll keep to the tried, tested & tasty method of blackcurrant lemsips before bed!
The big killer is that tomorrow is Wednesday which means, Shui Yang day, which mean, up at 5am. *winces* Ironically, it's the two Shui Yang-ers that are ill so tomorrow will be fun...
My question to you, however, is this: How is it that a woman continues her life as normal with only minor complaints of a nose which appears to be attempting the marathon run & a cough yet a man is 'dying of flu' when in reality, they both have exactly the same symptoms & illness?! I was not impressed...
This seems to be a recurring issue in the Aston household as, for example, Habby managed to Superglue her fingers together the other week. She laughed this off with a blazay comment about how her fingers were now peeling - delightful! The next day, Andy scurries into the living room fussing about having super glued his fingers together as well. However, this resulted in a wimpish squirm to Aiyi, the Aston cook; after much frantic motioning & attempts at bad Chinese (as Aiyi doesn't speak any English bar, 'potatoes' & 'OK') she fetched some random Chinese remedy to unstick his fingers. He then managed to do the same thing only a few hours later. I despair!
What do you want to do when you leave school?
This is the question I asked my students at Shui Yang last week. I received some of the most interesting answers including, Superman, a thief, a policeman so I can use an AK47 & a beggar. I was laughing quite a lot last week as the boys stood up to tell the class their answers. I asked AK47 boy if he had ever shot a real gun; when he replied no, I smiled & shocked them all by saying, "I've shot a real gun (not an AK47 mind)" I thought his eyes were going to pop out of his head! - it's probably seen as un-lady-like here or something. Woops!
They all have problems with the 'th' sound here as well. So last week, a few of my students said, "I want to be a seif". I looked blankly & said, "A what?!" It took me a few minutes to realise what he meant! We did some pronunciation work then... Bet this week they still get it wrong!
Who would have thought it - Amie in the kitchen!
I'm finally learning to cook more than just a Seeds-of-Change jar & some pasta or a baked potato & chicken escalope! I know, it's hard to believe but I have actually managed to make a few good meals since I've been in China - & trust me, that is no easy matter! We can only find pork mince & we don't have an oven, so already, our possibilities have been dramatically cut down. I've managed a spag bol which was pretty damn good & we attempted chili concarne this weekend, but due to the lack of chili & kidney beans (which I wasn't too bothered by as I don't like them anyways!) it was more of a spicy mince with veg & rice thing. Tasted pretty good though.
Melissa has also taught me how to do fried rice which is definitely a meal to remember for when I get to uni next year! Very easy & only takes a minute. However, think I need to perfect it yet as I attempted this on my own on Friday and it was not quite as successful. I went about boiling the rice as you would do at home - all was well. Then Melissa entered the kitchen & it began to go down hill as she was shocked by how I was cooking the rice, telling me it was wrong & starts adding more water. The rice was then over done & more like a gloopy risotto rice... but without the herbs & just as plain, bland boiled Chinese rice... niiiice. Melissa then continues to try & add water - bad idea, as I & now Jenny & Habby were also trying to tell her. In the end, I took the pan away from her & dealt with it. I fried to veg but the rice was no longer fry-able. It was not a pleasant meal by any means.
It turned out that she had never seen rice cooked in a pan before as they all have rice cooker machine things & so that was why she was so confused. Despite clearing up this misunderstanding, she's never coming near the kitchen again whilst I'm in there!
I hasten to add that when I cooked rice the next night for the chili that wasn't chili, it was a great success without anyone's interfering.
Company BBQ
On our only full day off - Monday - we were asked to attend the company BBQ this week. Although we thought it would be a nice day out in the park, we were all a bit annoyed as we lost our only full day off which we would usually use for more helpful activities such as lesson planning, food shopping and such like.
It turned out to be an ok day actually, we played tennis - which Neil had never played before & managed to hit the ball directly at Melissa's hands which was holding Caroline's, now broken, camera & send it flying. It was a good day for him!! We also played badminton, which I am rubbish at, as the others found out the hard way - I stopped playing in the end! And after searching the whole of Wuhu, we had found a plastic bat & ball which nearly ended up in the lake a few times!
The BBQ itself was, Chinese to say the least! A small oblong metal box on the ground filled with newspaper & coal! We weren't entirely sure the meat would be safe to eat but actually it was fine. It was the potato salad (which Caroline "was up ve'y earee to make" as she kept reminding us) that disagreed with people. Ironic to say the least!
It was a bit sad in the park as there was a 'zoo' which consisted of 3 tigers in cages that were literally metal bars & they could barely stand up in; same with the lioness, skrawny black bear which was pacing & rocking from side to side - classic signs of dementeur in captive animals - & a horse & goat. I was mortified & nearly in tears when I saw them.
On a lighter note, I am home in 8 weeks, so see you all then - there are some times when I am counting down the days! Others I am not. I'm usually online around 6pm or 10pm my time - 11am or 3pm your time - on a Monday & some other days. Hopefully speak to some of you soon!
Zai jian
xx
The big killer is that tomorrow is Wednesday which means, Shui Yang day, which mean, up at 5am. *winces* Ironically, it's the two Shui Yang-ers that are ill so tomorrow will be fun...
My question to you, however, is this: How is it that a woman continues her life as normal with only minor complaints of a nose which appears to be attempting the marathon run & a cough yet a man is 'dying of flu' when in reality, they both have exactly the same symptoms & illness?! I was not impressed...
This seems to be a recurring issue in the Aston household as, for example, Habby managed to Superglue her fingers together the other week. She laughed this off with a blazay comment about how her fingers were now peeling - delightful! The next day, Andy scurries into the living room fussing about having super glued his fingers together as well. However, this resulted in a wimpish squirm to Aiyi, the Aston cook; after much frantic motioning & attempts at bad Chinese (as Aiyi doesn't speak any English bar, 'potatoes' & 'OK') she fetched some random Chinese remedy to unstick his fingers. He then managed to do the same thing only a few hours later. I despair!
What do you want to do when you leave school?
This is the question I asked my students at Shui Yang last week. I received some of the most interesting answers including, Superman, a thief, a policeman so I can use an AK47 & a beggar. I was laughing quite a lot last week as the boys stood up to tell the class their answers. I asked AK47 boy if he had ever shot a real gun; when he replied no, I smiled & shocked them all by saying, "I've shot a real gun (not an AK47 mind)" I thought his eyes were going to pop out of his head! - it's probably seen as un-lady-like here or something. Woops!
They all have problems with the 'th' sound here as well. So last week, a few of my students said, "I want to be a seif". I looked blankly & said, "A what?!" It took me a few minutes to realise what he meant! We did some pronunciation work then... Bet this week they still get it wrong!
Who would have thought it - Amie in the kitchen!
I'm finally learning to cook more than just a Seeds-of-Change jar & some pasta or a baked potato & chicken escalope! I know, it's hard to believe but I have actually managed to make a few good meals since I've been in China - & trust me, that is no easy matter! We can only find pork mince & we don't have an oven, so already, our possibilities have been dramatically cut down. I've managed a spag bol which was pretty damn good & we attempted chili concarne this weekend, but due to the lack of chili & kidney beans (which I wasn't too bothered by as I don't like them anyways!) it was more of a spicy mince with veg & rice thing. Tasted pretty good though.
Melissa has also taught me how to do fried rice which is definitely a meal to remember for when I get to uni next year! Very easy & only takes a minute. However, think I need to perfect it yet as I attempted this on my own on Friday and it was not quite as successful. I went about boiling the rice as you would do at home - all was well. Then Melissa entered the kitchen & it began to go down hill as she was shocked by how I was cooking the rice, telling me it was wrong & starts adding more water. The rice was then over done & more like a gloopy risotto rice... but without the herbs & just as plain, bland boiled Chinese rice... niiiice. Melissa then continues to try & add water - bad idea, as I & now Jenny & Habby were also trying to tell her. In the end, I took the pan away from her & dealt with it. I fried to veg but the rice was no longer fry-able. It was not a pleasant meal by any means.
It turned out that she had never seen rice cooked in a pan before as they all have rice cooker machine things & so that was why she was so confused. Despite clearing up this misunderstanding, she's never coming near the kitchen again whilst I'm in there!
I hasten to add that when I cooked rice the next night for the chili that wasn't chili, it was a great success without anyone's interfering.
Company BBQ
On our only full day off - Monday - we were asked to attend the company BBQ this week. Although we thought it would be a nice day out in the park, we were all a bit annoyed as we lost our only full day off which we would usually use for more helpful activities such as lesson planning, food shopping and such like.
It turned out to be an ok day actually, we played tennis - which Neil had never played before & managed to hit the ball directly at Melissa's hands which was holding Caroline's, now broken, camera & send it flying. It was a good day for him!! We also played badminton, which I am rubbish at, as the others found out the hard way - I stopped playing in the end! And after searching the whole of Wuhu, we had found a plastic bat & ball which nearly ended up in the lake a few times!
The BBQ itself was, Chinese to say the least! A small oblong metal box on the ground filled with newspaper & coal! We weren't entirely sure the meat would be safe to eat but actually it was fine. It was the potato salad (which Caroline "was up ve'y earee to make" as she kept reminding us) that disagreed with people. Ironic to say the least!
It was a bit sad in the park as there was a 'zoo' which consisted of 3 tigers in cages that were literally metal bars & they could barely stand up in; same with the lioness, skrawny black bear which was pacing & rocking from side to side - classic signs of dementeur in captive animals - & a horse & goat. I was mortified & nearly in tears when I saw them.
On a lighter note, I am home in 8 weeks, so see you all then - there are some times when I am counting down the days! Others I am not. I'm usually online around 6pm or 10pm my time - 11am or 3pm your time - on a Monday & some other days. Hopefully speak to some of you soon!
Zai jian
xx
Tuesday, October 16, 2007
I miss my bed.
When I was doing Psychology A Level, we breifly studiedI a fatal illness known as Fatal Familial Insomnia in which, people usually around the age of 40 or so, will suddenly stop sleeping with no explantation or understanding or why. Due to lack of sleep, the body ceases to function adequately after a hwile & so they die. It's very sad.
I appear to have developed some kind of inability to sleep untill the wee hours of the morning which is not helpful when your alarm goes off at 6am that morning for Medical College! I'm not suggesting I will fall down dead tomorrow - I sincerely hope I don't I hasten to add - but I'm beginning to come to the conclusion that it may be the level of dusgust with my bed! Chinese mattresses are, in a word, upsettingly crap. I can feel the slats in the bed it is that thin & thus, sleeping, what was once one of my favourit past times, is no longer quite so enjoyable. It also doesn't help that Habby & I sit on our balcony gossiping about the day till 2am or so some nights... But that is hardly the point now is it!
I'm planning an early night tonight so that for once I don't feel like I'm a walking Zombie at Shhui Yang tomorrow... yet here I am writing on my blog at 9:30pm.
Speaking of the rural school which sits in padi fields, last week we did a geography lesson where they had to name flags & find a country for every letter of the alphabet (in English of course) & such like. Was remarkably successful which was great & the students were really into it. However, I noticed that they all reached for their dictionaries for the country ABC task, which I would not have minded had they been looking up country names as this would have shown that they already knew something to begin with. However, I was not happy with them turning to the bag pages where every country, with its flag, was listed! I conviscated many dictionaries & electronic dictionaries last week! i Also learnt the word for cheater: "qi pien!" [chee pee-en]. This made them laugh.
The delights of Medical College...
I started teaching Medical College Freshers last week too. They are by far the best classes I've had at M.C. They are so enthusiastic, ready to listen, despite being unprepared in some cases as one guy didn't have a pen or paper... This is the same guy who told me he loved me but hey! Comes with the job... I think...
My lesson plan for M.C. goes something like this:
1. Question Time - ability to ask me anything about myself or my country, etc etc. (I have ability to refuse any questions).
2. If you had Y10, Y100, Y1000 or Y1000000, what would you do with each some of money?
3. What is your dream? What will your life be like in 2020... etc etc
4. Text Language & Tongue Twisters.
Topic 1 I've spoken about before, having questions such as;
Do you like China... yes, yes I do.
Do you like Chinese food... most of the time, yes, yes I do.
Where are you from?
What do you do in your spare time?
Do you have a boyfriend?
Do you like Chinese boys?
I have also spoken before about our 'faux profiles' that we all have fabricated for this job, Neil & I inparticular as we teach people either our age or older. Today, however, mine was given a bit more colour. One girl asked me the usual, 'do you have a boyfriend,' which I replied 'yes, but he lives in England' which usually suffices. 'What is he like' she asks. I laughed, as did the rest of the class but they stared at me - it was a nursing major class so all female - waiting for any morsel I may let go about something as juicy as 'my English boyfriend'.
Apparently, he's about 5ft 8", my colour hair but wavy with bright blue eyes, he's smart & very funny. Was wondering, if anyone sees someone with this description, could you snap a photo for me, email it across & then I'd have the whole package to display for them!
In Topic 2, on Friday, with my freshers though, the guy without a pen or paper said that he would spen Y10 on a bunch of flowers to give to me, because he loves me. I was someone stunned, ratehr embarassed & the class roared with laughter! Keep in mind, I have never met this class before & won't see them again. Then, in the break, he comes to the front & asks me to sign his report slip (yes, exactly, he's on report - at Uni!?!? - I do attract the gooduns don't I!) & then offers me a present which was his canvas, relatively ordinary looking wallet. When I said, 'no, I can't accept this I'm sorry,' he thrusts it forwards saying, 'but Y10, Y10! This is how I would spend Y10!' I refused again politely & he hung his head & went back to his seat after saying, 'ok, ok'. I felt quite bad but I couldn't take the poor guys wallet!!
Chinese Lessons
Due to a change in Andy's teaching timetable, he is no longer able to be with us during Chinese Lessons, therefore leaving Neil & I to our own devices. Our teacher has also changed to Vicky who was apparently very nervous as she had never taught before... comforting. (Mind, I hardly havea leg to stand on on that note as I myself am new to this malarky!)
Nevertheless, she has truely surprised us & I feel as though I am actually learning now. We've done a colours & numebrs lesson & have used this successfully to buy "yi ge huang se, yi ge fen hong se he yi ge lan se" cotton candies from a cart Neil found down Restaurant St (which is aptly named). This translates to, 'on yellow one, one pink one & one blue one" - we didn't know the word for 'cotton candy' sadly. We've also covered greetings & such like but this was more difficult & I'm not going to embarass myself by getting it wrong in writing on the blog! All I can rememebr is, "Ni che le ma?" Meaning, "have you eaten?" which is an informal greating between friends here. (They like food... it's the centre of their lives here... my kinda place!)
I wouldn't say I would be able to have a conversation by any means, but my vocab is slowly (slowly being the optimum word there) growing & I'm able to read a few character such as beef, fish (so I know what to avoid) and such like which helps somewhat.
What's going down on a Saturday night? Pins!
We have discovered a very small but perfectly formed bowling alley not far from Aston. So Andy, Habby, Neil, Shining & I trooped down on Saturday night as we were in lack of anything to do & some of us didn't feel like going clubbing after Friday night's, how shall I put this, 'heavy outing'.
Shining had never been bowling before & so we taught her how to play & she actually ended up beating Andy who didn't appear best pleased by this - especially as we all found it so amusing! There was a bit of a tadoo about payment as they had said one thing when we first started then changed their minds afterwards, but in reality, it was still only 1quid a game per person.
Turned out to be a really good night, even though I came home with a cracker of a bruise on my knee after falling down twice as I went to bowl. (The floor was exceptionaly slidey in my very stylish bowling shoes) & really, at least I didn't get pulled down the ally by the ball as I have been in the past! So I'm improving! I actually came second as it happened, so my 'release & collapse' technique must have some use even if it does mean that my knee clicks each time I bend down now... Niiiice!
That's about it from this reasonably uneventful week I'm afraid. We have made friends with a Russian who is learning Chinese at Aston, Demitri & Speila, a woman learning Chinese here who lives in the apartment below him. They are very nice & a good laugh, though Speila leaves in a month which is a shame.
Oh! How could I forget, Kalie, aged 26, the new arrival started on Wednesday. She has arrived here from teaching English in Vietnam - where is sounds like she had a pretty sweet deal, teaching & living on the beach! - & before there, Peru. She is rather cool with us which we were a bit miffed about I suppose as we had been ready to bring her into the crew & stuff, but she lives with Speila & Demitri off site so perhaps she is happy to just hang out else where. We will see, it has only been a week.
Other than that, nothing much else going on so I will leave it here. Hope all is well with all of you; I think about everyone at home reguarly, especially this week as I became somewhat disechanted by it all after coming back from holiday, wishing I could just travel round China instead or come home for a bit & then jet off again elsewhere. But all is well, still having fun - most days when we aren't creeped out by someone for some reason!
I'm off to bed now I think - what a joy. *sigh* how I wish I could fit my bed in my suitcase. Or even just my lovely cushioned mattress on the floor with my cozy duvet would be good.... ok, I'm slowly driving myself into a downard spiral of depression here so I'll stop before I cry for my bed. Because that would just be sad.
Cheese & crackers beckons; much love & hugs & all that jazz
xx
I appear to have developed some kind of inability to sleep untill the wee hours of the morning which is not helpful when your alarm goes off at 6am that morning for Medical College! I'm not suggesting I will fall down dead tomorrow - I sincerely hope I don't I hasten to add - but I'm beginning to come to the conclusion that it may be the level of dusgust with my bed! Chinese mattresses are, in a word, upsettingly crap. I can feel the slats in the bed it is that thin & thus, sleeping, what was once one of my favourit past times, is no longer quite so enjoyable. It also doesn't help that Habby & I sit on our balcony gossiping about the day till 2am or so some nights... But that is hardly the point now is it!
I'm planning an early night tonight so that for once I don't feel like I'm a walking Zombie at Shhui Yang tomorrow... yet here I am writing on my blog at 9:30pm.
Speaking of the rural school which sits in padi fields, last week we did a geography lesson where they had to name flags & find a country for every letter of the alphabet (in English of course) & such like. Was remarkably successful which was great & the students were really into it. However, I noticed that they all reached for their dictionaries for the country ABC task, which I would not have minded had they been looking up country names as this would have shown that they already knew something to begin with. However, I was not happy with them turning to the bag pages where every country, with its flag, was listed! I conviscated many dictionaries & electronic dictionaries last week! i Also learnt the word for cheater: "qi pien!" [chee pee-en]. This made them laugh.
The delights of Medical College...
I started teaching Medical College Freshers last week too. They are by far the best classes I've had at M.C. They are so enthusiastic, ready to listen, despite being unprepared in some cases as one guy didn't have a pen or paper... This is the same guy who told me he loved me but hey! Comes with the job... I think...
My lesson plan for M.C. goes something like this:
1. Question Time - ability to ask me anything about myself or my country, etc etc. (I have ability to refuse any questions).
2. If you had Y10, Y100, Y1000 or Y1000000, what would you do with each some of money?
3. What is your dream? What will your life be like in 2020... etc etc
4. Text Language & Tongue Twisters.
Topic 1 I've spoken about before, having questions such as;
Do you like China... yes, yes I do.
Do you like Chinese food... most of the time, yes, yes I do.
Where are you from?
What do you do in your spare time?
Do you have a boyfriend?
Do you like Chinese boys?
I have also spoken before about our 'faux profiles' that we all have fabricated for this job, Neil & I inparticular as we teach people either our age or older. Today, however, mine was given a bit more colour. One girl asked me the usual, 'do you have a boyfriend,' which I replied 'yes, but he lives in England' which usually suffices. 'What is he like' she asks. I laughed, as did the rest of the class but they stared at me - it was a nursing major class so all female - waiting for any morsel I may let go about something as juicy as 'my English boyfriend'.
Apparently, he's about 5ft 8", my colour hair but wavy with bright blue eyes, he's smart & very funny. Was wondering, if anyone sees someone with this description, could you snap a photo for me, email it across & then I'd have the whole package to display for them!
In Topic 2, on Friday, with my freshers though, the guy without a pen or paper said that he would spen Y10 on a bunch of flowers to give to me, because he loves me. I was someone stunned, ratehr embarassed & the class roared with laughter! Keep in mind, I have never met this class before & won't see them again. Then, in the break, he comes to the front & asks me to sign his report slip (yes, exactly, he's on report - at Uni!?!? - I do attract the gooduns don't I!) & then offers me a present which was his canvas, relatively ordinary looking wallet. When I said, 'no, I can't accept this I'm sorry,' he thrusts it forwards saying, 'but Y10, Y10! This is how I would spend Y10!' I refused again politely & he hung his head & went back to his seat after saying, 'ok, ok'. I felt quite bad but I couldn't take the poor guys wallet!!
Chinese Lessons
Due to a change in Andy's teaching timetable, he is no longer able to be with us during Chinese Lessons, therefore leaving Neil & I to our own devices. Our teacher has also changed to Vicky who was apparently very nervous as she had never taught before... comforting. (Mind, I hardly havea leg to stand on on that note as I myself am new to this malarky!)
Nevertheless, she has truely surprised us & I feel as though I am actually learning now. We've done a colours & numebrs lesson & have used this successfully to buy "yi ge huang se, yi ge fen hong se he yi ge lan se" cotton candies from a cart Neil found down Restaurant St (which is aptly named). This translates to, 'on yellow one, one pink one & one blue one" - we didn't know the word for 'cotton candy' sadly. We've also covered greetings & such like but this was more difficult & I'm not going to embarass myself by getting it wrong in writing on the blog! All I can rememebr is, "Ni che le ma?" Meaning, "have you eaten?" which is an informal greating between friends here. (They like food... it's the centre of their lives here... my kinda place!)
I wouldn't say I would be able to have a conversation by any means, but my vocab is slowly (slowly being the optimum word there) growing & I'm able to read a few character such as beef, fish (so I know what to avoid) and such like which helps somewhat.
What's going down on a Saturday night? Pins!
We have discovered a very small but perfectly formed bowling alley not far from Aston. So Andy, Habby, Neil, Shining & I trooped down on Saturday night as we were in lack of anything to do & some of us didn't feel like going clubbing after Friday night's, how shall I put this, 'heavy outing'.
Shining had never been bowling before & so we taught her how to play & she actually ended up beating Andy who didn't appear best pleased by this - especially as we all found it so amusing! There was a bit of a tadoo about payment as they had said one thing when we first started then changed their minds afterwards, but in reality, it was still only 1quid a game per person.
Turned out to be a really good night, even though I came home with a cracker of a bruise on my knee after falling down twice as I went to bowl. (The floor was exceptionaly slidey in my very stylish bowling shoes) & really, at least I didn't get pulled down the ally by the ball as I have been in the past! So I'm improving! I actually came second as it happened, so my 'release & collapse' technique must have some use even if it does mean that my knee clicks each time I bend down now... Niiiice!
That's about it from this reasonably uneventful week I'm afraid. We have made friends with a Russian who is learning Chinese at Aston, Demitri & Speila, a woman learning Chinese here who lives in the apartment below him. They are very nice & a good laugh, though Speila leaves in a month which is a shame.
Oh! How could I forget, Kalie, aged 26, the new arrival started on Wednesday. She has arrived here from teaching English in Vietnam - where is sounds like she had a pretty sweet deal, teaching & living on the beach! - & before there, Peru. She is rather cool with us which we were a bit miffed about I suppose as we had been ready to bring her into the crew & stuff, but she lives with Speila & Demitri off site so perhaps she is happy to just hang out else where. We will see, it has only been a week.
Other than that, nothing much else going on so I will leave it here. Hope all is well with all of you; I think about everyone at home reguarly, especially this week as I became somewhat disechanted by it all after coming back from holiday, wishing I could just travel round China instead or come home for a bit & then jet off again elsewhere. But all is well, still having fun - most days when we aren't creeped out by someone for some reason!
I'm off to bed now I think - what a joy. *sigh* how I wish I could fit my bed in my suitcase. Or even just my lovely cushioned mattress on the floor with my cozy duvet would be good.... ok, I'm slowly driving myself into a downard spiral of depression here so I'll stop before I cry for my bed. Because that would just be sad.
Cheese & crackers beckons; much love & hugs & all that jazz
xx
Friday, October 12, 2007
"It's the infatuation!"
Sorry it has taken me nearly a week to finally get around to writing about my holiday to Tibet & Xi'an but it has been a tad hectic this week now that we are back into the swing of it all!
We were in Shanghai for 5 hours & decided to go to the old town - Yuyuan - which really, is now just a tourist hot spot. However, I was not complaining as I saw my first Starbucks in a month. And what a happy site it was! I had my first coissant & chocolate muffin in far too long. It was a good day!
On our first full day, we went to the Dalai Lama's home, the Potala Palace. It was very impressive from the outside, as you can see, but actually, when you get up close, it's in need of a lick of paint & some TLC!
On our second day, we visited the Drepung Monastrey which is the largest in Tibet. I turned the prayer wheels on the way up to bless my friends & family - let me know if it worked! Again, it was interesting but after a while, all the rooms began to look the same as all the Buddha avatars look similar & the yak butter burning became quite oppressive.
Andy, Habby & I went to Pizza Hut for a Western meal - happy days - but we were then interupted by a Motel 168 lady. We felt this was a bit odd as for a start, how did she know we were there, but it turned out our guide had taken us to the wrong branch of the hotel... and so the disaster began...
When we were taken to the new hotel - after our dinner - we had a smaller room (the chairs were jammed up against the bed side) but there was no window into the shower which was good, though there were plants in the shower in which, Habby was sure there was a camera. As in Lhasa, we had the nightly phone call to the room from the hookers. habby got sick of them ringing & started asking them how much; they were so shocked by an English speaker that they hurridly replied, 'ah! No English!' & slammed the phone down! This amused us.
We went to see the Terracotta Warriors
on our first day in Xi'an & I was so excited. There are 3 pits; the 1st being the photo which is by far the biggest. The 2nd is reasonably impressive, however, most of the pit is still in tact as the building the warriors were burried in & so you can't actually see many warriors in it which is a shame although it's still quite cool. Pit 3 is the smallest & has come under the most damage as the roof of the building caved in over the years. Pit 1 is deffinately the most impressive however due to the sheer amount of warriors they have been able to uncover. They say there are possibly another 6000 yet to be found as well!
Shanghai & the train to Lhasa, Tibet
On Sep. 28th we set off from Wuhu at 8am on the bus to Shanghai where we would catch the train to Lhasa. The bus was just as delightful a ride as it was on my first day & this time, I even got shushed by an old biddy in front. I wasn't actually being loud, simply speaking English! Even better was the fact that Habby & I watched two carts pass by the window; the first, was loaded with animal carcusses - greeeeaaat - the next was piled as high as the coach with cages full of pigs which weren't entirely sure if they were dead or alive - niiiice!
We were in Shanghai for 5 hours & decided to go to the old town - Yuyuan - which really, is now just a tourist hot spot. However, I was not complaining as I saw my first Starbucks in a month. And what a happy site it was! I had my first coissant & chocolate muffin in far too long. It was a good day!
I did like Shanghai, it's safe to say that I will be going back in a few weeks when I need a chocolate muffin, some decent shops & a dose of modern, Western style normality, but I did feel it lacked something which I can't quite put my finger on it. I think it felt, maybe, a bit soleless, like perhaps becaause it was striving to be so modern that it had forgotten that actually, had they retained some of the older style architecture & way of life that they would have given the city more character. But like I said, it was modern & we weren't stared at so I wasn't complaining!
We then went souvenir shopping round the little shops & soon we were on the train to Lhasa.
The train itself was actually very comfortable, if not a little cramped. We decided to travel hard sleeper (brave, I know) which means 6 bunks no door & to a cabin. But it was ok; Andy, Habby & I were in one cabin with Patrick next door (which he was happy about as he could more easily practice his already reasonably good Chinese).
This is my bunk - which was the top one of 3. They decided that as I was the smallest, it was a good idea for me to have to clamber up there. However, one problem with that is that I couldn't reach the little steps down the wall of the cabin to get down as my legs weren't long enough! I ended up simply having to jump down.
We shared our cabin with 3 Chinese men, one of which decided to impersonate a fog horn during the wee hours of the morning. Now, I have heard snoring, but this! This was like sleeping in Euston Station! I tried everything short of hitting him with a pillow to get him to be quiet (he was in the bunk across from me) & in the end, sat & read in the corridore for 2 hours in the middle of the night. I was not impressed. What made it worse, was due to my lack of sleep that night, I decided to take a nap that afternoon... & geuss what! So did he! It was slow & horrible torture as the snoring began again.
This is also the same man who had the ordacity to then impersonate everything I said the next morning. For example, Andy tried to take a photo of me after not being able to take a shower for 2 days on the train (the worst bit of the whole trip for me - man I felt grimey!!) & I went, 'No Andy!' & so the man goes, 'No Andy!' I just glared at him as he wasn't allowing me to sleep & now this... he was seriously asking for a lamping.
We spent a lot of time in the dining car as there were bigger windows & so you had a better view, however, cabin fever set in after 1 day & playing cards solidly for about 3 hours.
The views were really quite impressive once we were into Tibet on the second day. There were snow capped mountains & barron rolling hills on the other side of the train which was quite biazzare. We passed a lot of yaks & sheep & the odd wild horse. There were many many yaks in Tibet along with the odd random person just walking though where they could possibly be going or coming from is beyond me - there was nothing there! Apart from yaks & sheep of course, but I highly doubt they are good company.
We finally pulled into Tibet station at 9pm on Sep. 30th. The cool air of Tibet was very refreshing, espeially after Wuhu!
Lhasa, Tibet
We were all quite excited in the cab from the station to Hotel Ding Feng. Our guide, Jimmy, greeted us with traditional white scarves, symbolizing purity, cleanlyness & happyness. Habby & I shared a room, as did Patrick & Andy, however, the window in our room actually looked into the corridore thus our curtains stayed shut at all times for fear of prying eyes! The hotel was very clean (apart from the suspect wet patch in the corner when we first arrived) & it was a relief to have room & be able to unpack!
Habby suffered from headaches throughout our stay in Lhasa which was a shame although common at such high altitude - over 3680m. What made me laugh though on multiple occasions was that she could not remember the word 'altitude' & came out with various other malapropisms such as 'it's the infatuation that's causing me to feel so crap!' which was by far the funniest. Andy also complained of headaches... though they somehow didn't seem to affect his ability to power forward & not let Habby & I meander through the market...
On our first full day, we went to the Dalai Lama's home, the Potala Palace. It was very impressive from the outside, as you can see, but actually, when you get up close, it's in need of a lick of paint & some TLC!There were over 300 steps to climb but luckily my asthma was fine, despite the thin air.
Inside the Potala was interesting but not exactly awe inspiring as had been suggested. The use of colour is vivid which is lovely but other than the previous Dalai Lama's tombs which are simply massive, 30ft plus each and solid gold through & through, nothing was really that amazing.
That afternoon, we went to Jokhang Temple in the centre of the old town - the Barkhor. Again, this was interesting but nothing special I didn't think. One freaky thing, however, was that the
main statue of Buddha in Jokhang is known as baba (father in Chinese, grandfather in Indian). When we were in front of baba, Habby's nose began to bleed & wouldn't stop. Jimmy got very excited as he said that baba used to paint using blood from his nose & so he had blessed Habby. Habby was a bit freaked out to say the least but, assuming you believe Jimmy's tale & not that it was just a reaction to the high altitude, it was interesting he 'chose' Habby as she is Sikh & the Tibetan culture is a real mix between Chinese & Indian which is very clear & quite interesting to see how they gel.
main statue of Buddha in Jokhang is known as baba (father in Chinese, grandfather in Indian). When we were in front of baba, Habby's nose began to bleed & wouldn't stop. Jimmy got very excited as he said that baba used to paint using blood from his nose & so he had blessed Habby. Habby was a bit freaked out to say the least but, assuming you believe Jimmy's tale & not that it was just a reaction to the high altitude, it was interesting he 'chose' Habby as she is Sikh & the Tibetan culture is a real mix between Chinese & Indian which is very clear & quite interesting to see how they gel. This is the view of Jokhang Temple when standing on the roof.
In all the sacred places we visited in Tibet, there was an overwhelming smell which would engulf you as you walked in. In great dishes in front of every avatar, they would burn wicks in yak butter which gave off the pungent stentch... I wasn't really a fan it must be said!
A market surrounded the temple called the Barkhor which you must walk around keeping the temple to your right as a sign of respect. This became a pain if you wanted to go back to a stall you had seen; you had to walk around the whole place again & it was reasonably big!
That night, we went to a Tibetan restaurant & tried the local dishes; yak. I was very good & tried everything (I know, don't fall off your chair now!) & it actually wasn't too bad, just like a bland beef. Some of the dishes had nasty coatings on them but that couldn't really be helped. Andy had ordered barely something-or-other for us to try which was like chewing cardboard & butter tea was truely vile as well. But at least I tried it all!
On our second day, we visited the Drepung Monastrey which is the largest in Tibet. I turned the prayer wheels on the way up to bless my friends & family - let me know if it worked! Again, it was interesting but after a while, all the rooms began to look the same as all the Buddha avatars look similar & the yak butter burning became quite oppressive. My favourite room at Drepung was actually quite lacking in colour (unlike the rest of it) as it had black walls but with images outlined onto it in golden paint. It was really delicate & so understated that I thought they were by far the prettiest thing we'd seen!
We also went into the General Assembly Hall at Drepung which was a reasonably large hall with little shrines leading off it. In one, women were not allowed in as Tibetan Buddhism believes that they may be harbouring evil spirits & therefore may corrupt the monks or make it 'un pure'. Andy & Patrick went in, however & told us that there was a monk inside chanting sutras whilst texting on his mobile. This made us laugh. On the other side was an ornate & intricately decourated 'cupboard' style thing which stretched the width of the room. Inside was a sacred painting which they only brought out during special festivals. Reena, our guide that day, told us that if we walked underneath it, we would be blessed... so we did! So far, don't feel any different & it's been just over a week... feel a bit conned. Here, we were told to sit on the mats in the centre of the room (of which there were many) & suddenly monks began to spill through the main door in time for the General Assembly. We then watched them chanting & rocking for about 20 minutes though we felt a bit awkward & out of place. A few monks, however, looked like they were having a gossip than fulfilling their holy duties as they kept turning around, looking at us & then turning back and whispering! It's good to know that Buddha's work is in such committed & capable hands...
For lunch that day, we went to a famous restaurant in the Barkhor & sat a roof terrace which was very pleasant. However, the true greatness came with the menu when Habby & I saw 'Club Sandwich' on the menu. Keeping in mind, China don't seem to understand sandwiches, we were very excited & despite the guilt, bit into a very large & very taisty Club. Damn was it worth it!
We then went on to Sera Monastry, quite a bit smaller than Drepung
but I actually prefered it. There was an interesting scroll room in which they wrote, copied & printed sacred scripts & also the Debating monk's courtyard. Here, monks would debate philosophical ideas & theories all day. It was fasinating to watch, even though we had no idea what they were saying! To reiterate their point they would viciously clap their hands or thrash their rosemary beeds; was all very noisy & active!
but I actually prefered it. There was an interesting scroll room in which they wrote, copied & printed sacred scripts & also the Debating monk's courtyard. Here, monks would debate philosophical ideas & theories all day. It was fasinating to watch, even though we had no idea what they were saying! To reiterate their point they would viciously clap their hands or thrash their rosemary beeds; was all very noisy & active!Everyone laughed at me as I managed to get sunburned in Tibet. It was quite a bizarre line as well as I had a bag & sweater strap which was great. Not.
I did like Tibet & I was glad I went as I doubt in a few years it will ever be the same as he Chinese are quickly killing the traditional Tibetan culture which is a real shame as sitting back & just watching it unfold before your eyes was actually one of the best bits of the trip; just people & culture watching!
Xi'an
After yet another 2 day train journey which was equally dull, we finally reached Xi'an. I was far more excited about this than Tibet in a way as I have wanted to see the Terracotta Warriors since I learnt about them in history when I was 10 years old.
We were greeted at Xi'an station by our guide and taken to Motel 168. It was lovely to see such a modern & clean & Western looking hotel both inside & out. Our only complaint was that there was a floor length window looking in from the bedroom into the shower... we felt this was a bit bizarre!
Andy, Habby & I went to Pizza Hut for a Western meal - happy days - but we were then interupted by a Motel 168 lady. We felt this was a bit odd as for a start, how did she know we were there, but it turned out our guide had taken us to the wrong branch of the hotel... and so the disaster began...
When we were taken to the new hotel - after our dinner - we had a smaller room (the chairs were jammed up against the bed side) but there was no window into the shower which was good, though there were plants in the shower in which, Habby was sure there was a camera. As in Lhasa, we had the nightly phone call to the room from the hookers. habby got sick of them ringing & started asking them how much; they were so shocked by an English speaker that they hurridly replied, 'ah! No English!' & slammed the phone down! This amused us.
We went to see the Terracotta Warriors
on our first day in Xi'an & I was so excited. There are 3 pits; the 1st being the photo which is by far the biggest. The 2nd is reasonably impressive, however, most of the pit is still in tact as the building the warriors were burried in & so you can't actually see many warriors in it which is a shame although it's still quite cool. Pit 3 is the smallest & has come under the most damage as the roof of the building caved in over the years. Pit 1 is deffinately the most impressive however due to the sheer amount of warriors they have been able to uncover. They say there are possibly another 6000 yet to be found as well!The only complaint I had from the day was the vast anount of people that were there. We arrived just after 9am & by the time we left around 1pm, there were just hoards of people swarming towards the exhibition!
There was a really nice market in Xi'an as well where I bought loads of souvenirs... seriously spent so much yuan that week! - Habby & I got lost in the little market streets, neon lights & 'lookie, lookie, just lookie!' calls. Was a really nice evening.
However, when we reached the hotel again, our card keys didn't work so Patrick kindly took them downstairs & sorted it out for us. once we got into the room, it was found that Habby's suitcase was in a state of dissaray & had been rooted through, probably by the cleaning staff & half her fags were gone. It was dead lucky there was a lock on my bag as my passport & iPod were inside it! Nothing was stolen rfom Habby - other than her fake Marlboro Lights whch she wasn't that keen on anyways - which was very lucky; she'd had anything of value in her handbag.
Later that night, Habby & I were writing in our travel journals about the day when the phone rings. Assuming it would be another hooker, Habby tells me to take this one. So I answer the phone & the lady goes, "hello, Amie?" I found this rather freaky & after a long silence after she wouldn't tell me who she was, she tells me, "you owe us money." Well if I wasn't worried before I certainly was now! I had images of Chinese gang masters coming & dragging me away in the dead of night never to be seen again. After a long & very confusing discussion that consisted of, "who is this!?" "you owe us money" "ok, but who are you..." silence... "hello? I'm sorry but who is this!" "you owe us money..." (we weren't getting anywhere fast) the phone clicked off. We went down to the front desk & asked if a call had been made, "oh yes!" the receptionist replied, "that was me!" The confusion grows...
According to her, we owed the hotel 200 yuan for some reason & if we didn't pay we would be chucked out. Keep in mind, it was now gone midnight so we were not best pleased by all this. We went & found Patrick & And (who had fallen asleep and therefore didn't really appreciate our rapping on the door) to discuss the impending doom that seemed to lay before us; shell out or be chucked out. So we shelled out & Caroline assured us that the guide company would pay us back in full for the mistake, which they have now done.
The next day, we went to check out to find that our train tickets for the Xi'an to Wuhu stretch had not arrived yet thus adding to an already crappy stay in Xi'an. Patrick, again, kindly insisted on coming back to retrieve them at 3:30pm for us & we agreed to meet at the station at 5pm for our 5:45 train.
We then went & sat in Starbucks (again) for about 2 hours to wheil away the day in our last dose of civilization. Habby then receives a calls from Caroline saying, "you must go to the station now, your train leaves at 5pm!"Well, Patrick of course knew this as he had picked up the tickets, however, Andy had gone off for a strole & all our phones, other than Habby's had run out of credit.
Welcome to the genious phone system in China: you can't top your phone up outside of the city or province which it was bought in (we were outside both) & if you don't have credit, you not only cannot make calls, but you can't receive them either!
So you see our dillema; we had no way of telling Andy. Caroline luckily was able to top up our phones here in Wuhu & thus ring us all to let us know the deal. As you can see, Xi'an just felt like one problem after another & we have complained to the guide company & actually received compensation since we returned 'home'. Sadly, if we thought that our troubles stopped here, we were wrong.
Once on teh train, it turned out that Andy's ticket was a seated ticket, not a sleeper like mine & Habby's (who were in the same cabin) & Patrick's which also only went to Hefei - half way to Wuhu - & so needed extending as well. So all in all, was the perfect end to our perfect stay in Xi'an!
After all these shinanigans, Habby & I taught 2 kids to play snap in the carriage who then wouldn't stp playing - it would seem that kids world wide have the same obsession with this game!
The train wasn't as 'luxurious' as the other trains - if they were classed as 'luxurious' - as it was not geared for tourists but locals but it was fine in the end. Sadly, we were just happy to be back in Wuhu - despite being faced with those 12 flights of stairs again - & be able to flop & make a cup of tea.
It was a good week, I'm glad we went, but it's safe to say that there's no place like 'home'. .. if Wuhu is classed as home...
more photos can be seen at the following links:
enjoy!
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