Thursday, August 23, 2007
"No straw day"
One of the days in Hong Kong, I asked for a straw with my Sprite and the clerk said in a very clear voice "no- it's no straw day." I returned to take a picture of the sign discussing the fact that they did this twice a month to try and protect the environment.
Hong Kong
The buildings in the forefront of the picture are the Hong Kong Island, Kowloon is across the river.
The Victoria's Peak Tram
This is how we got up to the top of Victorias Peak to catch the view of Hong Kong.
Hong Kong in two days
Hong Kong was a good way to end the trip. It was metropolitan enough (Louis Vuitton and Prada stores all over the place - because you know that's where we shop), but still cool things to see. I went to the Hong Kong History Museum which was a trip hilight for me personally. I also visited the Chinese dinosaur fossils at the Hong Kong Science Museum, and parts of the Art Museum. We all got a last massage before we left, and we traveled to the "Peak" to see the view of Hong Kong. Despite the fact that it was a bit crappy as far as weather goes, it was a nice view. There were McDonalds and other "recognizable" foods there. There were green tea Krispy Kreme donuts and a California Pizza Kitchen. One thing that we had to remember is that Hong Kong was a British colony, so the driving was on the opposite side of the road. All in all, Hong Kong was a good end to the trip - and we were ready to head home.
Hong Kong Skyline
Hong Kong skyline from the Kowloon side. This was just before the laser light show started.
On to Hong Kong...
After a nice stay in Shanghai, we were off to our last destination- Hong Kong. We flew from Shanghai to Guangzhou (thanks to plans from the Grand Pacific Travel Agency), and then got a train from Guangzhou to Hong Kong. The train was interesting; the seats were more comfortable than an airplane, and we actually got to see the surroundings which was interesting. There are parts of China that are absolutely breathtaking, and other parts that are just dirty and gross. I suppose that goes for any country, but it seemed like there were really stark differences. We arrived in Hong Kong and tried to get to the Alisan guesthouse (hostel).
Now, we had stayed at hostels before, both here and many of us in other places. However, this was like no hostel I'd seen. It was small, which was to be expected, but the best part was how we got there. We were to call the owner when we were in Guangzhou, and let him know when we'd be arriving in Hong Kong. He advised me over e-mail to then call him, and take the free shuttle to a fancy hotel that's a couple blocks from where their hostel is. We were to use the free phones on the right side of the lobby- we were to NOT GO TO THE RECEPTION DESK- and then they would come and get us. Um, can you say sketchy? The numbered door we were to enter to get to the hostel was just a normal door to an apartment building. We were being housed in a residential apartment- so there were obviously other people in the halls, and other people's stuff in the halls, and I was convinced that there were critters.
We checked in - the process took almost a half an hour- and then we were brought to our rooms, only one of the two was ready. The line we were given is that it was a busy morning and they were a little behind as they were short staffed as well. It was after 5 pm. hmph. I knew immediately that the room was not going to work. We were on the last leg of a darn near 6 week trip, and we wouldn't have been able to even open our luggage in the room. So, after dinner we set out for different accomodations. After we settled with Tommy, the owner of the Alisan guesthouse- and it was only Amy's skilled negotiation that saved us having to pay for all three nights without having spent more than 15 minutes in our room- we were out of there. At any rate, I don't have an issue with hostels, anyone who travels understands what I was going through. We were tired, and overpacked already- and we needed space to truly relax. We stayed at the South Pacific Hotel which was much more our comfort level at this particular part of the trip.
Now, we had stayed at hostels before, both here and many of us in other places. However, this was like no hostel I'd seen. It was small, which was to be expected, but the best part was how we got there. We were to call the owner when we were in Guangzhou, and let him know when we'd be arriving in Hong Kong. He advised me over e-mail to then call him, and take the free shuttle to a fancy hotel that's a couple blocks from where their hostel is. We were to use the free phones on the right side of the lobby- we were to NOT GO TO THE RECEPTION DESK- and then they would come and get us. Um, can you say sketchy? The numbered door we were to enter to get to the hostel was just a normal door to an apartment building. We were being housed in a residential apartment- so there were obviously other people in the halls, and other people's stuff in the halls, and I was convinced that there were critters.
We checked in - the process took almost a half an hour- and then we were brought to our rooms, only one of the two was ready. The line we were given is that it was a busy morning and they were a little behind as they were short staffed as well. It was after 5 pm. hmph. I knew immediately that the room was not going to work. We were on the last leg of a darn near 6 week trip, and we wouldn't have been able to even open our luggage in the room. So, after dinner we set out for different accomodations. After we settled with Tommy, the owner of the Alisan guesthouse- and it was only Amy's skilled negotiation that saved us having to pay for all three nights without having spent more than 15 minutes in our room- we were out of there. At any rate, I don't have an issue with hostels, anyone who travels understands what I was going through. We were tired, and overpacked already- and we needed space to truly relax. We stayed at the South Pacific Hotel which was much more our comfort level at this particular part of the trip.
Shopping in the Yuyan Bazaar
This was the heart of the bargaining area in Shanghai's Yuyan Bazaar area.
The Astor House Hotel
This is our room in the Astor House- it doesn't do it justice, it was really nice. The whole area smelled of stargazer lilys... it was fantastic.
Saturday, August 11, 2007
Shanghai
We arrived in Shanghai too late to really do anything. We toured the
city by way of lost tour guide and driver, and enjoyed a meal not too
far from the base of the Pearl Tower- the largest tower in Asia.
The next day, we started at the Yuyan gardens and bazaar- which was
very nice, but it was a shopping mecca, and we only had an hour there-
so the bargaining would have to wait. The gardens were beautiful-
there were rock sculptures and trees galore, water- all of the elements
of a Chinese garden. It was cool in there, so we spent almost our
entire hour in the gardens. We knew that we would return to shop so we
weren’t too worried.
After that, we went to the Pearl tower to go up to one of the
observatory towers to enjoy the view; ok- so most of us could enjoy the
view. Ang is a little scared of heights- but she was a trooper and did
really well. It helped that we did not go up in a glass elevator- and
it was seemingly stable once we were on the observatory tower- so it
was a bearable experience for her.
After the tower, we returned to the same resturant for lunch that we
had eaten dinner the night before, and we were thankful that that would
be our last meal with unidentified Chinese food if we wanted. They
dropped us off at our hotel and went on with their trip back to Yuyao.
The Astor House Hotel is probably the nicest hotel I have ever been in.
There was a bit of a ruckus at first since the way I had worded the
e-mail and the way they understood it got lost in translation- but
thankfully Emily stayed and got it sorted out. Our rooms are on the
3rd floor- the celebrity rooms- and they have high ceilings and real
hardwood floors and a turn down service and a breakfast that is
included that is exactly what we needed. There is everything from
Korean fish soup to onion rings to eggs and corn flakes. I am really
pleased with our hotel- so if you’re ever in Shanghai, I highly
recommend it- and it’s only $80 a night- (we got a price off the
internet, and they did not realize that it was listed as that on the
internet!!!)
We split up yesterday because Amy and Karen wanted to see the Shanghai
museum- so Ang and I headed to the French Concession in the morning.
We visited the homes of Sun Yat-sen and Zhou Enlai- (look them up if
you don’t know them, but anyone who has taken my class should know who
they are…). We also ate lunch at a beautiful Thai restaurant on the
grounds of a gorgeous hotel. It was a little pricey, but worth it. We
overlooked the park in the midst of the hotel complex’s grounds and
enjoyed our experience. Where else can you get Earl Grey tea ice
cream? Actually, you can probably get it lots of places, but we felt
special.
Then it was down to business- shopping. We returned to the bazaar and
did some real damage. They totally saw us coming though- and we
enjoyed following many different strangers into the areas that stored
their fake purses. There were back alley storage places, we went up
elevators to abandoned warehouses, we crouched down as we crawled under
the back shelves of stores- a section of the shelving swung out to
reveal rooms behind the actual store- it was crazy. I don’t know if
they do that just because they know people will come to experience it,
or because they could get in real trouble for selling faux items. At
any rate, we went to way too many of these sketchy areas – and left way
too much money there. After a good hard afternoon of shopping we
returned to the hotel, dropped our stuff off- and regrouped to enjoy
the tourist sightseeing tunnel. This is the product of someone who had
too much time on their hands. It’s a mechanism to get across the river
to the Pearl Tower side- but this tunnel has all kinds of psychadellic
lights that you see as you travel along in your tram. It has a little
narration and everything- quite the Star Wars meets the 1970s
experience (according to my friend Anne). We enjoyed a drink along the
river- and to Ang’s surprise, she met a new little friend. In the seat
cushion behind her, there was a kitten sleeping so once she had settled
in the chair, something started moving behind her, and out came this
little cat. It was really cute, but sad that he was abandoned there.
Now the challenge is going to be getting everything we just purchased
into our luggage… perhaps the professional badminton set will have to
stay here… oh well.
city by way of lost tour guide and driver, and enjoyed a meal not too
far from the base of the Pearl Tower- the largest tower in Asia.
The next day, we started at the Yuyan gardens and bazaar- which was
very nice, but it was a shopping mecca, and we only had an hour there-
so the bargaining would have to wait. The gardens were beautiful-
there were rock sculptures and trees galore, water- all of the elements
of a Chinese garden. It was cool in there, so we spent almost our
entire hour in the gardens. We knew that we would return to shop so we
weren’t too worried.
After that, we went to the Pearl tower to go up to one of the
observatory towers to enjoy the view; ok- so most of us could enjoy the
view. Ang is a little scared of heights- but she was a trooper and did
really well. It helped that we did not go up in a glass elevator- and
it was seemingly stable once we were on the observatory tower- so it
was a bearable experience for her.
After the tower, we returned to the same resturant for lunch that we
had eaten dinner the night before, and we were thankful that that would
be our last meal with unidentified Chinese food if we wanted. They
dropped us off at our hotel and went on with their trip back to Yuyao.
The Astor House Hotel is probably the nicest hotel I have ever been in.
There was a bit of a ruckus at first since the way I had worded the
e-mail and the way they understood it got lost in translation- but
thankfully Emily stayed and got it sorted out. Our rooms are on the
3rd floor- the celebrity rooms- and they have high ceilings and real
hardwood floors and a turn down service and a breakfast that is
included that is exactly what we needed. There is everything from
Korean fish soup to onion rings to eggs and corn flakes. I am really
pleased with our hotel- so if you’re ever in Shanghai, I highly
recommend it- and it’s only $80 a night- (we got a price off the
internet, and they did not realize that it was listed as that on the
internet!!!)
We split up yesterday because Amy and Karen wanted to see the Shanghai
museum- so Ang and I headed to the French Concession in the morning.
We visited the homes of Sun Yat-sen and Zhou Enlai- (look them up if
you don’t know them, but anyone who has taken my class should know who
they are…). We also ate lunch at a beautiful Thai restaurant on the
grounds of a gorgeous hotel. It was a little pricey, but worth it. We
overlooked the park in the midst of the hotel complex’s grounds and
enjoyed our experience. Where else can you get Earl Grey tea ice
cream? Actually, you can probably get it lots of places, but we felt
special.
Then it was down to business- shopping. We returned to the bazaar and
did some real damage. They totally saw us coming though- and we
enjoyed following many different strangers into the areas that stored
their fake purses. There were back alley storage places, we went up
elevators to abandoned warehouses, we crouched down as we crawled under
the back shelves of stores- a section of the shelving swung out to
reveal rooms behind the actual store- it was crazy. I don’t know if
they do that just because they know people will come to experience it,
or because they could get in real trouble for selling faux items. At
any rate, we went to way too many of these sketchy areas – and left way
too much money there. After a good hard afternoon of shopping we
returned to the hotel, dropped our stuff off- and regrouped to enjoy
the tourist sightseeing tunnel. This is the product of someone who had
too much time on their hands. It’s a mechanism to get across the river
to the Pearl Tower side- but this tunnel has all kinds of psychadellic
lights that you see as you travel along in your tram. It has a little
narration and everything- quite the Star Wars meets the 1970s
experience (according to my friend Anne). We enjoyed a drink along the
river- and to Ang’s surprise, she met a new little friend. In the seat
cushion behind her, there was a kitten sleeping so once she had settled
in the chair, something started moving behind her, and out came this
little cat. It was really cute, but sad that he was abandoned there.
Now the challenge is going to be getting everything we just purchased
into our luggage… perhaps the professional badminton set will have to
stay here… oh well.
Putoshan
The school plans a three day trip after our teaching time is over. We
might be the most aggressive, or independent group of teachers they
have ever had, as we essentially planned the trip and told them what we
wanted to do. At any rate, we ended up going to Putoshan Island on the
first day. It’s an island that holds particular significance in the
Buddhist religion, as there are many temples on the island. The Puto
mountain at the heart of this island is one of the four most important
Buddhist mountains in China. We loaded up at 6:30 in the morning to
make the trek there. We had the Vice director, Emily and a tour guide
with us- and of course the driver of the van. They were surprised at
the amount of luggage we had, but we were packing for 6 weeks- so of
course there was a lot of stuff.
We were taken to the island on a ferry that held motor vehicles which
is not a problem, except the night before, I was re-reading my “travel
cautions in China” (and laughing at all the things we had already
experienced that were on the list) and one of the things they mentioned
in passing is multiple accidents involving overweight ferries. So as
umpteen tour buses and semis fought to get on the ferry, I was
admittedly a little nervous.
We made it across safely and continued our adventure to Puto island.
We had actually landed on one of the other 130 islands in this
particular archipelago- (good word for a one who teaches geography huh)
and it was a very large island. We traveled to another boat station
and took another boat across the water to the actual Putoshan island.
The first stop was lunch, and we entered one of the different
restaurants near the big temples. As we walked in, there were low red
tubs holding any kind of seafood you could imagine. Eels, crabs,
shrimp, big fish, small fish- multiple unidentifiable sea creatures. I
got a little nervous as I don’t particularly care for sea food, but
what the heck-we’d eaten sparrow and rabbit already… the lunch was
good- not too many unidentified things, and we continued to the
temples. They were absolutely beautiful. I’ll put some pictures on,
but there were many tributes to the goddess of mercy- Guanyin. One in
particular is a large golden statue that stands 33 meters tall.
For dinner that night, we went to a local restaurant that was like the
one at lunch, except that was all they served were the creatures
located in the same red tubs. We walked in and our tour guide told us
to pick out what we wanted… oh boy- yes, I’d like an entire stingray
please, actually, no- the eel and some sea turtle is actually what I
was hungry for. It was an interesting experience. The Crab was taken
out of the shell for those who enjoyed it, and the shrimp was so fresh
(since it’d been swimming minutes earlier in their designated red tub)
that it looked borderline appealing. Needless to say, Ang and I
ordered fried rice- and that’s it. David and Kristy went for it with
crab, shrimp and clams- Amy and Karen had shrimp and crab as well. The
crab was a big hit as it was apparently tender and the spices were
good. I thought the fried rice was to die for. Ok, not really, but it
worked. We ended up staying at the second hotel the guide tried to get
us into. We had been at one earlier and were in our rooms and
everything, then the hotel came out and said that they didn’t take
foreigners… (which we later found out meant that the standards were not
good enough for foreigners).
We ended up visiting the beach the next day(though it was too hot to
really enjoy the way we normally would). It was pretty once you got to
the beach areas, but the water was kind of this murky shade of brown
everywhere, so we were a little skeptical of ever entering it. We saw
some sand sculptures and other nice areas about the island. Then it
was back to the ferry, and on our way to Shanghai- “The whore of the
East.”
might be the most aggressive, or independent group of teachers they
have ever had, as we essentially planned the trip and told them what we
wanted to do. At any rate, we ended up going to Putoshan Island on the
first day. It’s an island that holds particular significance in the
Buddhist religion, as there are many temples on the island. The Puto
mountain at the heart of this island is one of the four most important
Buddhist mountains in China. We loaded up at 6:30 in the morning to
make the trek there. We had the Vice director, Emily and a tour guide
with us- and of course the driver of the van. They were surprised at
the amount of luggage we had, but we were packing for 6 weeks- so of
course there was a lot of stuff.
We were taken to the island on a ferry that held motor vehicles which
is not a problem, except the night before, I was re-reading my “travel
cautions in China” (and laughing at all the things we had already
experienced that were on the list) and one of the things they mentioned
in passing is multiple accidents involving overweight ferries. So as
umpteen tour buses and semis fought to get on the ferry, I was
admittedly a little nervous.
We made it across safely and continued our adventure to Puto island.
We had actually landed on one of the other 130 islands in this
particular archipelago- (good word for a one who teaches geography huh)
and it was a very large island. We traveled to another boat station
and took another boat across the water to the actual Putoshan island.
The first stop was lunch, and we entered one of the different
restaurants near the big temples. As we walked in, there were low red
tubs holding any kind of seafood you could imagine. Eels, crabs,
shrimp, big fish, small fish- multiple unidentifiable sea creatures. I
got a little nervous as I don’t particularly care for sea food, but
what the heck-we’d eaten sparrow and rabbit already… the lunch was
good- not too many unidentified things, and we continued to the
temples. They were absolutely beautiful. I’ll put some pictures on,
but there were many tributes to the goddess of mercy- Guanyin. One in
particular is a large golden statue that stands 33 meters tall.
For dinner that night, we went to a local restaurant that was like the
one at lunch, except that was all they served were the creatures
located in the same red tubs. We walked in and our tour guide told us
to pick out what we wanted… oh boy- yes, I’d like an entire stingray
please, actually, no- the eel and some sea turtle is actually what I
was hungry for. It was an interesting experience. The Crab was taken
out of the shell for those who enjoyed it, and the shrimp was so fresh
(since it’d been swimming minutes earlier in their designated red tub)
that it looked borderline appealing. Needless to say, Ang and I
ordered fried rice- and that’s it. David and Kristy went for it with
crab, shrimp and clams- Amy and Karen had shrimp and crab as well. The
crab was a big hit as it was apparently tender and the spices were
good. I thought the fried rice was to die for. Ok, not really, but it
worked. We ended up staying at the second hotel the guide tried to get
us into. We had been at one earlier and were in our rooms and
everything, then the hotel came out and said that they didn’t take
foreigners… (which we later found out meant that the standards were not
good enough for foreigners).
We ended up visiting the beach the next day(though it was too hot to
really enjoy the way we normally would). It was pretty once you got to
the beach areas, but the water was kind of this murky shade of brown
everywhere, so we were a little skeptical of ever entering it. We saw
some sand sculptures and other nice areas about the island. Then it
was back to the ferry, and on our way to Shanghai- “The whore of the
East.”
Random Pics
The golden statue is Guanyin on Puto Island.
There is a beach scene from one of the temples on Putoshan Island.
Also, I am attaching a pic of some red tubs that goes with my fish story that I wrote.
Another picture is of the Yuyan gardens that we visited.
Monday, August 6, 2007
Greetings from Yuyao
Greetings from Yuyao- for maybe the last time. We leave tomorrow
morning for Putoshan Island (it has a big buddha and some beaches
there- so it's quite a tourist spot for people apparently) and then we
are off to Shanghai. We will be in Shanghai from the 8-11th and then
we travel to Hong Kong on the 12th. Our trip ends in Hong Kong. So-
my point is, I don't know how much access we'll have to the internet in
the next week, so bear with us.
morning for Putoshan Island (it has a big buddha and some beaches
there- so it's quite a tourist spot for people apparently) and then we
are off to Shanghai. We will be in Shanghai from the 8-11th and then
we travel to Hong Kong on the 12th. Our trip ends in Hong Kong. So-
my point is, I don't know how much access we'll have to the internet in
the next week, so bear with us.
Running!
For all of you out there who run- you never want to travel to this
school. They tease you with a perfectly good track (which I think is
only 300 meters based on my times) and they never unlock it for
running. So- every other morning, I have been running a .5 mile loop
that I created again and again and again. The nice thing about it is
that it is all concrete, yet it passes around the perfectly good track.
Oh well. For all of you who I will be seeing at Cross Country soon-
don't tell Walsh that I'm running on concrete... he'd flip.
school. They tease you with a perfectly good track (which I think is
only 300 meters based on my times) and they never unlock it for
running. So- every other morning, I have been running a .5 mile loop
that I created again and again and again. The nice thing about it is
that it is all concrete, yet it passes around the perfectly good track.
Oh well. For all of you who I will be seeing at Cross Country soon-
don't tell Walsh that I'm running on concrete... he'd flip.
Sunday, August 5, 2007
Hickeys!
This is a (really weak) example of the "hickey marks" that people get.
Some are from pinching, others are from the massage they receive. Mine
was inflicted with a small wooden object being run down my back several
times in a row. It didn't really hurt to receive this mark, but I also
do not think that it served it's intended purpose of keeping me cooler.
Who knows. When in Rome right?
Angela's TAs
This is a picture of Angela and two of her TA's- Yong and Kira. They
were telling her about the big party plans for tonight.
About the "cup marks" picture...
Here is the back side of one of the people who accompanied us to "the
village" which turned out to be a fishing park. The marks on her
shoulder blades are along the lines of the "hickey marks" I've talked
about before, they heat up cups and apply the burning hot cups to the
back to release some of the heat out of their bodies. Hmmm.....
Our Excursion on our third day off- by Angela
We were lucky enough to get to sleep in a little bit today. We had
been told to meet Emily at the gate at 8 for our departure to ¡°the
village¡±. Our van arrived with four men pushing it into the
courtyard. Apparently the battery was not charging up correctly
because it had not been used in a while. After a slightly delayed
start, we all piled into the van¡.all 12 of us. Yep, we had some new
guides that were coming along with us: Emily, Wendy (assistant
Director), Terry (TA), the driver and his wife and son. Oh the six of
us also piled into the back of the van as well. We were all quite
cozy. Our journey took about 40 minutes to get to the Moushan village.
We had some difficulty trying to decide which road to take. The driver
was getting different directions from all four women in the car. After
about 15 minutes of driving back and forth on the highway, the driver
stopped and asked some locals for directions. We were making headway
now.
Somehow we ended up at the Four Seasons Park and Resort. We later
learned that we were not going to meet Emily's family because the
school decided to set up this excursion instead. The park and resort
area was kind of set up as a natural park. As we got out of the van,
we were told, ¡°Now it is time to fish.¡± Who knew that we would be
fishing in China? We were each handed a fishing pole as we walked
along the path and headed across the bridge that took us over the pond.
It was a really beautiful area set against the hills. It reminded me
a lot of our local state parks. We were split into groups of two and
each group got their own fishing house with a little dock. We were set
up with chairs, and umbrella, a bucket of fish food, and a baggie of
worms. We had a gentleman help us get our hooks baited and throw our
lines out as we waited. Karen made a haul with three fish, Carla had
two, and Angela caught a tiny little one. Amy and David left the day
without any luck. It was really a fun way to spend the morning in a
beautiful setting.
We also were able to eat at the restaurant at the park. They had
quite the spread of food for us. We had an interesting assortment of
foods to choose from: peanuts, cucumbers, squid, chicken soup, rabbit,
edamame, a variety of melon, beans, snail, soups, potatoes, green beans
and pumpkin, corn on the cob, Mexican salad (corn, peas, and
carrots), and mussels. We had Sprite, tea, and beer to drink.
All of us piled back into the van to head back into town. As we
drove back, we decided to make a stop at the Madison Bridge Bar. We
had walked past there last week on our day off and they had handed us
each a card advertising the fact that they spoke English. They had
contacted the school and invited us to stop in when we got a chance.
It is quite funny that they know how to track down the foreigners in
such a big city. We stopped in to have a cocktail and they were all
very excited to have us there. Each of us got a decoration to write our
¡°feelings¡± on, which they hung up along for everyone to read. Our
bartender jazzed up the music for us because he wanted us to dance.
However, one in the afternoon is a little early for my dancing shoes.
We enjoyed the atmosphere while we were there. It is a fun little
place to hang out in a quaint little spot. It was a nice end to the
afternoon.
Sunday, July 29, 2007
Willie Lives on in China
We were out shopping the other day- looking for "funny shirts in
English" and we came upon this one. I liked it initially because it
reminded me of my dad- the world's biggest Willie Nelson fan. But then
it grew on me because of the fact that the blue portion has no real
back side, just three shoelace like ties across the back. I didn't buy it...
Glasses
There is an extraordinary amount of students here who wear glasses. In
two of my classes, I counted 31 out of 48 and 34 out of 49 wear
glasses. We have the "eye ritural" or "eye exercises" three times
every day to help their eyes out. But, the funny thing is that even
though they have glasses- they randomly trade them with their
neighbors, or put one pair on top of another to try and see better.
The pictures here are of three of my students "using" their glasses to
better see the computer screen... go figure.
The Big Party!
Well, we had the English Party for my classes yesterday. Angela, Amy
and I went up to the 6th floor to attend this big party. We were told
to arrive at 6:00, but truthfully the party wasnt to start until 6:30
because the teachers did not want to let their kids out that early.
The 6th floor is home to a large room equipped with disco ball and
flashing lights to be used in a dance fashion I imagine. I had dragged
Amy and Angela to this exciting event with me, so they were really
fired up for a fun night. The TA's had planned everything, and they
had a schedule and agenda that had the party divided into 3 parts.
There was the performances done by the kids- (which included two girls
singing a Backstreet Boys song, two boys singing some sappy love song
that we didn't recognize, three girls doing a dance from the Beijing
Opera, and two girls doing a traditional Korean dance that involved
bits of the running man and some non-traditional arm movements that
were very modern). The second part of the party was the games- there
were three or four games planned for the evening. My TA Kitty, threw
me off when she asked what the punishment was for students who lost
games. I wasn't exactly sure what she was asking so I responded with
well they do pushups¡± and I demonstrated. Anyway, they had planned
several games appropriate for their students includingname that
tune with everything from Dido to Old MacDonald, hot potato, guess
this English word, and a charades type activity. The kids played these
games as if they were the coolest thing in the world!
The whole thing started with the students arriving and pulling up
chairs to line the dance floor. Once they were all seated, two emcees
took the microphones and started the party off. We played the games-
Angela and Amy got dragged into some doozies- Amy was speaking Chinese,
and Ang was guessing English words with one of my students. It was fun
to see them (forcibly) involved in the action. Then the students
performed, and with the utmost seriousness (particularly the Backstreet
boys singers- it was quite cute). And finally the last part of the
night arrived, the part where we were to make a performance. So
naturally, we did what every American would do in this situation- teach
the students an American dance¡ and what better to exemplify our
culture than the Macarena? Yep- you didnt mis-read that. Angela,
Amy and I got up and taught the Chinese the Macarena. It was quite
funny- and interesting at the same time. They caught on fairly well
and were able to keep it going. After the Macarena, we had a rousing
version of the Bunny hop that came on- or the Rabbit according to
the students- and we hopped all over that darn room. We finished with
one last Macarena and then the party was over. As we were finishing, I
noticed that the crowd had grown a bit- the security guard was now
sitting in the back, and several parents showed up to pick up the kids
who did not live in the dorms. I wonder what they thought of our
Macarena lessons. All I have to say is it was quite a night- as you
can tell from the pictures.
When Kitty asked if we had parties like this in the United States, I
wanted to say I'm sure they do in elementary school but I
responded with a non-committal I've never seen a party like this
before. She told me that I must be a beautiful teacher because I get
to have fun with the kids, and that doesn¡¯t happen with the Chinese
teachers.
Lucky for us, Angela's students are having a party next week and we'll
all get to go again oh boy.
Day off number 2. Tea House
We left the massage place at about 12:00 and were off to our last
destination the Tea House. We had all (stupidly) assumed she meant
the tea house that sits on a hill in town; it's kind of a tourist
attraction/resting spot for the locals. But again, we were of course
wrong. We went to a different tea house which ended up being very
nice, but as we entered, Emily told us we could be there for lunch and
dinner until 5:00 if we liked. Excuse me? Until 5:00 what are
we going to do here for 5 hours? Go big or go home I guess. We sat
upstairs at two large tables that we pushed together to accommodate the
8 of us and the Vice Directors 3 year old kid. It was a buffet- with
lots of things that were not identifiable, so my first trip included a
banana and an apple just in case I was not prone to eating the other
things. Once the owner of the tea house found out that American
teachers were there, they brought 4 or 5 special dishes¡± that were
not included in the buffet line. Thankfully, oysters were one of these
special dishes, as I was devastated that they were not an option. (for
those of you who don't know me, I don't eat things that swim and
Ang doesn't particularly care for fish either.) In my defense, I ate
some of the oysters, several things that were not identified from the
buffet line, duck (David thinks it was the head, and once I thought
about it, I saw it in the bone structure and figured that I had
probably eaten the brains) and I also ate some of the little bird.
There was a plate of little bird that the owner brought to us. We
assumed it was sparrow or something of that nature, but someone else
claimed that it was dove or pigeon. I think it was too small to be
either of those birds. Anyway, we were at a tea house, so we of course
had a tea demonstration and were able to try the green and oolong teas
once the show was done. Then they asked what kind of tea we'd like,
and we all tried the flower tea- even though we had just had oolong
and green tea. So there we sat, as they kept bringing more and more
food- fruit plates and nuts and lychees- drinking our flower tea. At
this point, it was only 3:30. All of the foreign teachers were stuffed
from all the food we had gotten, but our two Chinese hosts were still
eating and eating. It was amazing since they are both so skinny. The
director did have to take her son home because he had a bathroom
accident while we were there- if only hed had the pee pee pants, he
would have been able to just pee on the floor. So, we sat, and drank
tea, and sat, and drank tea- which was really relaxing- especially
since it was so hot out- but we were not up for eating dinner there
too. It was the same food, and none of us were really that hungry.
So, since the Chinese are not really prone to understanding subtle
hints, we told Emily we'd like to go walking around for a little bit.
We said that she would not have to accompany us because we knew where
we were and we would be able to get back to the school on our own- but
she told us then that the director had told her to protect us so
she came along. We stopped at a book store which was cute- and it had
the new Harry Potter book in English! I didn't buy it because I
haven't read all the other ones after the 2nd or 3rd one, but it was
neat that they had it. David had already purchased it from a different
book store and he'd started reading it. We eventually parted Emily's
company and continued to shop before heading back to the school.
Day off number 2. Massage second time.
At 9:30 we met Emily by the security station and took taxis to the
original massage place we visited. This place initially wanted to
charge us way too much when we first showed up there, so we left and
ended up at the ice skaters massage place. Well, apparently these
ladies called Emily back and said that they'd come down on the price
if we'd come back, so we decided to give them another try. We got
there, and I asked Emily if this was going to be a clothes on or a
clothes off type of massage, and she assured me that our clothes
would be on- just as Amy and Karen were lead off to the bath. I
don¡¯t remember the last bath I had with clothes on¡ I love the
Chinese. So we waited our turn, and then Ang and I took our bath
(which really was a shower) and waited for the girls to be free for our
massage. The shower in and of itself was interesting, because none of
the supplies really told you what they were for- but I went for it,
putting conditioner in my hair first, then repeating the process once I
figured out which was which. We were given robes to wear, which were
too small, so we wrapped towels on, and then put the robes on, to wait
for our turn. Well, our turn came about 50 minutes later. We sat in
these towel-robe things in the resting room with the Vice Director
and Emily as Amy and Karen got their massages. Interesting enough, the
resting room included a lot of activity. Namely, eating
watermelon, split pea soup and Korean tea. We painted our nails as the
two ladies watched, and we discussed the end of the session trip (which
proved to be futile in getting any more information about it). Still
wondering how this is a clothes on massage, Ang and I finally got
our turn to go in. It was a nice massage- they used some sort of oils
and things, and then they gave us a facial which was interesting since
I'd never had one before. At any rate, there was very little time
with our clothes on- so it was like massages in the US in that aspect-
but for some reason I keep asking questions I never get the correct
answer to.
original massage place we visited. This place initially wanted to
charge us way too much when we first showed up there, so we left and
ended up at the ice skaters massage place. Well, apparently these
ladies called Emily back and said that they'd come down on the price
if we'd come back, so we decided to give them another try. We got
there, and I asked Emily if this was going to be a clothes on or a
clothes off type of massage, and she assured me that our clothes
would be on- just as Amy and Karen were lead off to the bath. I
don¡¯t remember the last bath I had with clothes on¡ I love the
Chinese. So we waited our turn, and then Ang and I took our bath
(which really was a shower) and waited for the girls to be free for our
massage. The shower in and of itself was interesting, because none of
the supplies really told you what they were for- but I went for it,
putting conditioner in my hair first, then repeating the process once I
figured out which was which. We were given robes to wear, which were
too small, so we wrapped towels on, and then put the robes on, to wait
for our turn. Well, our turn came about 50 minutes later. We sat in
these towel-robe things in the resting room with the Vice Director
and Emily as Amy and Karen got their massages. Interesting enough, the
resting room included a lot of activity. Namely, eating
watermelon, split pea soup and Korean tea. We painted our nails as the
two ladies watched, and we discussed the end of the session trip (which
proved to be futile in getting any more information about it). Still
wondering how this is a clothes on massage, Ang and I finally got
our turn to go in. It was a nice massage- they used some sort of oils
and things, and then they gave us a facial which was interesting since
I'd never had one before. At any rate, there was very little time
with our clothes on- so it was like massages in the US in that aspect-
but for some reason I keep asking questions I never get the correct
answer to.
Day off number 2 - Dumplings
Well our second day off wasn't as challenging as our first. Not that
our first was too bad, we just had more time with English speakers this
day of rest. We started our morning bright and early- we were to
report to the kitchen at 8am. While this was better than the 6:30 taxi
we had to take the last time, we were not all that excited about the
early morn. We arrived at the kitchen for our dumpling making lesson.
It was all a blur after that. We met the cook- who spoke no English-
and her assistant, who also spoke no English- but cooking is really an
international language isn't it? The dough was already prepared, so I
guess we weren't learning about that part, and we dutifully
followed the cooks into the larger kitchen area, carefully dodging the
fly papers dotted with black specimens (yet another reason to support
the fact that I haven't eaten in the cafeteria since the first week-
Amy and her mom are much more diligent about at least checking to see
what's for dinner/lunch). The kitchen in itself was intriguing-
there were multiple woks that were the largest ones I had ever seen-
and many different spots to cook with them- lots of burner areas.
The fans were running, but it was really warm in the kitchen. We lined
up beside a long silver table and waited for our instructions or in
this case for the motions of what we would be doing. She kneaded
the dough, and rolled them into long tubes, and then cut about 1 inch
pieces off the roll. These were to be flattened out in circular shapes
and then she'd put the filling on top of them. The filling was also
pre-made, so we didn't learn about that either. There was pork
and some green onions and a bunch of other things in there too. We
started rolling the small ones, some were too thin, some too thick, but
whatever- we're foreigners and she was throwing the dough at us so
damn fast that we didn't know what to do with ourselves. Then she'd
apply the pork mix to the center of the flat round dough pieces-
and we were to pinch them together- but in a way that was decorative.
Interesting- we didn't do much more than the slave work to assemble
these dumplings- and after we got through the first chunk of dough, we
thought- ok, that was fun. And then she started cutting the second
long tube of dough. At any rate, we assembled (poorly) multitudes of
dumplings, thinking we were making lunch for the next day, and then
watched as they put them in the gargantu-wok with boiling hot water.
They cooked for about 10 minutes, and then they were put into another
bowl, that had boiling water and some green onions and herbs already
simmering in it. We weren't sure what was happening next- which is
part for the course in China, but we washed our hands and followed the
cooks to the eating area. The Vice-director of the summer program and
Emily served us each some dumplings in the onion broth and we started
eating. We learned later that the Vice-director and Emily accompanied
us on the entire day because the Director told them to protect us
while we were out. Hmmm. Anyhow, the dumplings were fantastic, we
each got a little plastic to-go container with more in them for later,
and we were cleaned up and out of the kitchen by 9:00.
Mandatory reporters?
All of us have noticed, at some point or another, that both the
students and adults have perpetual hickey marks on their necks and
backs. We saw this initially with the students, but have seen it on
the necks of people as we walk through the streets of China as well.
When we looked closer however, we noticed that they weren't always in
the typical hickey spot, and they sometimes formed lines. So,
being mandatory reporters as educators, we thought are they being
beaten? We learned, through questioning that Amy and David brought
up, that in pinching each other, particularly on the neck, it acts as a
cooling mechanism during the hot summer days. Sadly, during our last
massage, David endured a tool that creates these lines. They marked up
his back, trying to cool him I presume, and it was tender and sore- and
to top it off, he was charged more for this treatment!! How's that
for interesting! I'll try and get a picture of these marks later to
put up- but it's hard to be discreet when getting that close to
someone¡'s jugular.
students and adults have perpetual hickey marks on their necks and
backs. We saw this initially with the students, but have seen it on
the necks of people as we walk through the streets of China as well.
When we looked closer however, we noticed that they weren't always in
the typical hickey spot, and they sometimes formed lines. So,
being mandatory reporters as educators, we thought are they being
beaten? We learned, through questioning that Amy and David brought
up, that in pinching each other, particularly on the neck, it acts as a
cooling mechanism during the hot summer days. Sadly, during our last
massage, David endured a tool that creates these lines. They marked up
his back, trying to cool him I presume, and it was tender and sore- and
to top it off, he was charged more for this treatment!! How's that
for interesting! I'll try and get a picture of these marks later to
put up- but it's hard to be discreet when getting that close to
someone¡'s jugular.
Tuesday, July 24, 2007
Chinese Schools
#2 Chinese schools
Well- an update on the parties... Kristy's went well lastnight; she
taught them the hokey pokey and they learned the 16 step from the TA's
that she has. She said it was okay. Also, yesterday Angela and Amy's
TA's partnered to schedule a "three legged race" competition for the
afternoon. Which means that they not only did not have to teach
yesterday, they did not have class until 3:50 and then they watched
kids 3 legged race. They did not participate. So- that leaves the
rest of us to do the real work. In the meantime, I have lost 28
students out of one of my classes for this English competition, and I
guess I just have to deal with the ones that are left. Even though
they don't seem to give much of a crap about learning English, much
less the thought of singing a Raffi song with me. Luckily I crafted a
brilliant powerpoint on American Holidays (including a special emphasis
on Earth Day- so we can explain that we don't litter like they do here)
to enthrall them for the last day of week 2. We're half way there...
by the way- my party has been "delayed until the 28th" I'll keep you posted.
Well- an update on the parties... Kristy's went well lastnight; she
taught them the hokey pokey and they learned the 16 step from the TA's
that she has. She said it was okay. Also, yesterday Angela and Amy's
TA's partnered to schedule a "three legged race" competition for the
afternoon. Which means that they not only did not have to teach
yesterday, they did not have class until 3:50 and then they watched
kids 3 legged race. They did not participate. So- that leaves the
rest of us to do the real work. In the meantime, I have lost 28
students out of one of my classes for this English competition, and I
guess I just have to deal with the ones that are left. Even though
they don't seem to give much of a crap about learning English, much
less the thought of singing a Raffi song with me. Luckily I crafted a
brilliant powerpoint on American Holidays (including a special emphasis
on Earth Day- so we can explain that we don't litter like they do here)
to enthrall them for the last day of week 2. We're half way there...
by the way- my party has been "delayed until the 28th" I'll keep you posted.
Chinese TV
So during each of our days, we make at least 4-6 attempts to locate
something that we recognize on television. Sometimes it ends up being
an American movie in Chinese, sometimes it's a commercial from home,
but most times, it's basketball (the Houston Rockets- Yao Ming's team)
volleyball, golf, badminton or soccer. I've seen more basketball and
international soccer games in the last two weeks then I've ever seen in
my entire life. Don't get me wrong, I love a good matchup between the
Japanese and the Austrailians, but it's not always what we were looking
for at that moment.
We have now seen bits and pieces of "Home Alone," "Mission Impossible,"
"101 Dalmations," "Shrek," that one movie about dinosaurs on that
island - and many other American films that we never wanted to see in
the first place. Yet each day, you can find one of us glued to the
television watching Tom Cruise in Chinese or the Rockets faithfully.
Additionally, on the Chinese channels, there are, at any given moment,
6 singing or talent competitions on, 6 incredibly serious drama or soap
opera like shows, two movies that are war or military related, 5 or 6
shows with coolies and traditional Chinese clothing, and at least one
show with a human disguised (poorly) as a pig or a monkey- or both.
It's quite interesting. Lastnight, there was an "idol" type show on
where they were singing American pop songs- Celine Dion and her Titanic
theme sound worse with a Chinese singer than it does in most Karaoke
competitions at home. Ugh.
something that we recognize on television. Sometimes it ends up being
an American movie in Chinese, sometimes it's a commercial from home,
but most times, it's basketball (the Houston Rockets- Yao Ming's team)
volleyball, golf, badminton or soccer. I've seen more basketball and
international soccer games in the last two weeks then I've ever seen in
my entire life. Don't get me wrong, I love a good matchup between the
Japanese and the Austrailians, but it's not always what we were looking
for at that moment.
We have now seen bits and pieces of "Home Alone," "Mission Impossible,"
"101 Dalmations," "Shrek," that one movie about dinosaurs on that
island - and many other American films that we never wanted to see in
the first place. Yet each day, you can find one of us glued to the
television watching Tom Cruise in Chinese or the Rockets faithfully.
Additionally, on the Chinese channels, there are, at any given moment,
6 singing or talent competitions on, 6 incredibly serious drama or soap
opera like shows, two movies that are war or military related, 5 or 6
shows with coolies and traditional Chinese clothing, and at least one
show with a human disguised (poorly) as a pig or a monkey- or both.
It's quite interesting. Lastnight, there was an "idol" type show on
where they were singing American pop songs- Celine Dion and her Titanic
theme sound worse with a Chinese singer than it does in most Karaoke
competitions at home. Ugh.
Monday, July 23, 2007
Massage Pics
The orange things are what the ladies put their arms through as they
were essentially hanging from the ceiling ice skating on our backs.
West Lake
These two pictures are of the infamous "West Lake" in Hangzhou, the
capital of the province that we live in - Zhejiang.
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