What a difference a day can make. Walking to school the day after the typhoon looked perfectly normal. One would have never guessed that just 24 hours earlier any of the streets had been under so much water. Just amazing. Except for the carpet in the teacher workroom that now stinks beyond tolerance levels, the school and city are clean. We did get a memo reminding us that the sewage was mixed in the flooded waters and to be sure our shots were up to date.
So today I was thinking of another math problem about how many flights of stairs are climbed in one day? There are two flights of stairs between each floor above the ground but only one flight of stairs to go to the basement. Today I got to work and went to my classroom on the third floor. But then we had a meeting on the 2nd floor. I had to escort my first class to the basement to get their books, and then went back to our room. After that class was my conference period and so I went to the basement to drop off the list of my students and which books they would need. Then I came up to the first floor for duty and then back to my classroom. This group also needed books so I went form my 3rd floor classroom to the basement and back. Then it was lunchtime, so down to the first floor and across to another building for lunch. Only the Faculty eats with the upper students two flights of stairs below the cafeteria. After lunch I left that area and then returned to my room. Another class needed their books, so down we went to the basement again and then back to class. After school I had bus duty whish is out on the playground, so down I went again. Then we had a faculty meeting on the second floor. Returned to the third floor to get belongings prior t leaving the building to go home. Now, my older sister will definitely get this math problem right, and for the rest of us? The answer to how many flights of stairs did I climb today? The answer is too darn many. Two of my classes will get their books tomorrow so I’ll do this over again.
The school’s electrician walked home with me today as my refrigerator hasn’t worked since the man came to fix the door. The door closes great but now the whole refrigerator won’t go on. I’d pushed every imaginable button, and checked d the plug prior to informing the secretary. Are you ready for this? There is a wall button across the room that looks like a light switch that one has to turn on prior to the refrigerator working! It is no different than the switches in the States that turn on a lamp in the living room. But do we need one of those for a refrigerator? . Other end result, it started the freezer but not the refrigerator. So, since Saturday, I’ve had no refrigerator! Isn’t there another saying, “If its not one thing, its another?”
My students are adorable. I see each class 3 times during the week for an 82-minute period. Sweet day. That means out of a 6.5-hour day I am only teaching 4 hours and 6 minutes of it. The rest is either lunch or preparation time. Nice going. Twice a week I have duty which takes up some of that time, but its not bad. Then each day after school I have bus duty for 15 or so minutes. Today, our second day, went so much smoother than our first. By the end of the week we'll be really smooth and I'll be a decorative, not really needed, as my kids will know what to do. Amazing, we have 87 buses and not a one of them leaves until each teacher says all students are accounted for on their bus! Talk about no child left behind.
Wednesday, August 27, 2008
Monday, August 25, 2008
Typhoon the 1st day of school
Was going to write about my exploration yesterday out the back way from my apartment complex. Am not far from an exciting part of town. Except for the smog being so thick I couldn't see the sky, the day was perfect weather wise. Like Baby Bear says, "Not too hot, not too cold, it was just right." This was the first day the humidity didn't sap my energy as I walked outside. Anyway, yesterday's experiences of the Chinese restaurant and what I saw absolutely pales compared to today's new experience.
I woke up to a thunderstorm and thought, "this is the first day of school and I'm going to have to walk in this" and immediately wanted to roll over and go back to sleep. No one wants to go out in the weather during a thunderstorm, let alone take a 25-minute walk in one. Besides, I've already been caught in quite a few of these thunderstorms and ended up soaked each time. Those thought didn't stop me from getting up and getting ready for work, for that is what responsible teachers do on the student's first day of school. The least we can do is show up, regardless of the weather. Was thrilled to be able to take a hot shower. I did mention I now have hot water, right? Ah the joys of a spoiled life.
Right prior to leaving I checked e-mails, wanting to see if there were any messages from school. I've already learned that they send out stuff Sunday night expecting that you have checked mail prior to getting to work. Nope, nothing new had been sent since last night. And so I left my apartment and headed to the front door of the building a few steps away to be greeted by a wall of water flowing from the sky to the ground. Decided to take a taxi and asked someone nearby to call for one. She did, and then replied that there were none available. None! No taxis. So much for the idea of a $2 taxi ride to keep me from getting drenched as it just wasn’t going to happen.
Came back into the apartment and got my heavy LL Bean coat guaranteed to keep you warm to 20 degrees below zero; thick coat with a hood. Decided better to sweat than to be soaked. I was preparing to walk in the worst thunderstorm I'd seen here yet. Always have my umbrella on me. Left the building and stepped into 6" of water. It covered my Dansko shoes and touched the bottom of my slacks. It was 8" by the time I got off the complex grounds. The water was 10" by the time I cleared the walking path by the strip mall. I passed three taxi's that refused to take on a new passenger as they had pulled their vehicles off of the road and up on higher grounds. Cars failed to stop as I crossed the streams; normally called streets, as they were too afraid the water that was high enough to reach their doors would cause them to stall. Who cares if you splash the pedestrian? Better than a stalled car. There were no low water crossing signs to guide us, just roads becoming streams wanting to become rivers.
The water was 12" deep by the time I reached the halfway point to school. I'd been walking 12 minutes. You've got to excuse me, I'm a math teacher and all I could think of was what a great word problem this could be, how fast is the rain falling per minute? I kept looking at my watch as I felt wading through the water was slowing me down horribly and I needed to be at school on time. Don't want to be late on the first day of school!
As cars drove by, they caused the water in the streets to push towards the sidewalks. It looked like I was wading knee dip in the ocean and watching the waves come in and then recede keeping the height of the water in constant flux from mid -calf to knee high. By now the water had nowhere to run, the drains built into each street failed to make a difference. In fact, the sewage that moves below the paved streets was coming up and commingling with the water. The good part of this was that the cold, cold water was warming up where the sewage joined it, yet the sulfur smell was a bit much and the water was so dirty I couldn't see my feet. So you say, who cares about seeing one's feet? Well, if you can't see your feet, you can't see where the curbs are. You don't know where the bumps in the sidewalks are. You don't know what you are stepping on. So glad I've walked these streets, as when I'd get close to where I thought a curb might be, I'd test each step prior to putting my weight down. Of course, when you found the curb, changing from the sidewalk to the street added to the water height on your pants as streets were lower than the sidewalks which were already 12" deep with an ebb and flow from the cars.
Finally I get to Hongqiao Rd, the road where my school is, one of the busiest roads in this area. Hongqiao Rd is pronounced houng-chow lou in Chinese, (Lu being their word for road) and am grateful that I only have one more block to wade through. Let me give you some background info about Hongqiao Rd. There are the six lanes, three going each direction. Now the two most middle lanes in each direction are separated by the third lane going in the same direction by an 18" high and almost 2' wide median filled with plants. So we have one lane for bicycles, motor-scooters, electric bikes, that is the lane closest to the curb, then the median, then four lanes for cars and buses, then another median, and the last lane for non-cars going the other direction. I step into Hongqiao Rd and it adds another 8" to my wet pants in height. The shock of it almost made me lose my balance. The road, which usually takes nearly five minutes to clear enough traffic to be safe to cross, was virtually empty. Amazing. My thoughts literally said that all of those other people usually on that road where just a whole lot smarter than I was as they probably stayed home. I was ten minutes late to work. Dry except my legs/feet that were submerged. (My coat had not dried out by the time I left school at 4:30. The Head of Schools instructed three buses to take all of the teachers home, so none of us had to walk. Taxis were still not running.
Found out when it rains there is a demand on taxis and it is best to leave by 6 am if you plan on finding one.) Arrived to find out that school was canceled! We didn't get the news in a timely manner, and neither did most students. As the 85 buses came to drop off kiddos, each one was sent back with students old enough to be home alone, but the elementary students were teacher air-lifted out of the buses and passed from one teacher to another until the child could be put on dry ground before entering the cafeteria. It was great to see the line of male teachers from the bus to the cafeteria passing kids from one teacher to another, the kids high in the air, with their feet dangling, until the ground was high enough that the child could be put down and not get their feet wet. Did I mention that our school is on higher ground than the street and that the water literally covered our first two steps to get into any building? Most of those male teachers doing the airlift were either wearing crocks (unbelievably popular here) or were barefoot and all had rolled up trousers.
In our new school, we now know where all of the leaks are! The top or fifth floors got to see where the leaking roofs were, while the basements got the benefit of receiving water that had no where else to go. The stairways leading to the basement had become exotic concrete waterfalls. If the landing hadn't been the basement, I'd say it was a gorgeous waterfall. In the basement are all of the teacher's supplies, the copy center with the Xerox machines, the books waiting to be assigned to students, and the brand new Mac computers waiting to be issued to students and teachers. They had given me mine early with the agreement I turn it back in last Thursday to be upgraded with additional software and returned today. All was flooded. The gyms are on the top floor of each building didn't fare well either. But we got great pictures for the yearbook!
By 10:30 I was in my classroom with time to plan more future lessons and to get my e-mail. We have to clock in at work by 7:30 a.m. and e-mail had been sent out at 7:36 a.m. that school had been canceled! The memo announcing the cancellation started with "due to the typhoon today"... so that is what this was! I learn something new every day. Am still clueless as to what the difference is between one treacherous thunderstorm and a typhoon. Anyway, tomorrow is a do-over day and we will have our first day of school again.
Just imagine, all this occurred while you were all tucked snugly in your warm beds! China has been anything but dull. Wow, here I thought I'd get to experience my first day of school and instead I got to experience my first typhoon!
I woke up to a thunderstorm and thought, "this is the first day of school and I'm going to have to walk in this" and immediately wanted to roll over and go back to sleep. No one wants to go out in the weather during a thunderstorm, let alone take a 25-minute walk in one. Besides, I've already been caught in quite a few of these thunderstorms and ended up soaked each time. Those thought didn't stop me from getting up and getting ready for work, for that is what responsible teachers do on the student's first day of school. The least we can do is show up, regardless of the weather. Was thrilled to be able to take a hot shower. I did mention I now have hot water, right? Ah the joys of a spoiled life.
Right prior to leaving I checked e-mails, wanting to see if there were any messages from school. I've already learned that they send out stuff Sunday night expecting that you have checked mail prior to getting to work. Nope, nothing new had been sent since last night. And so I left my apartment and headed to the front door of the building a few steps away to be greeted by a wall of water flowing from the sky to the ground. Decided to take a taxi and asked someone nearby to call for one. She did, and then replied that there were none available. None! No taxis. So much for the idea of a $2 taxi ride to keep me from getting drenched as it just wasn’t going to happen.
Came back into the apartment and got my heavy LL Bean coat guaranteed to keep you warm to 20 degrees below zero; thick coat with a hood. Decided better to sweat than to be soaked. I was preparing to walk in the worst thunderstorm I'd seen here yet. Always have my umbrella on me. Left the building and stepped into 6" of water. It covered my Dansko shoes and touched the bottom of my slacks. It was 8" by the time I got off the complex grounds. The water was 10" by the time I cleared the walking path by the strip mall. I passed three taxi's that refused to take on a new passenger as they had pulled their vehicles off of the road and up on higher grounds. Cars failed to stop as I crossed the streams; normally called streets, as they were too afraid the water that was high enough to reach their doors would cause them to stall. Who cares if you splash the pedestrian? Better than a stalled car. There were no low water crossing signs to guide us, just roads becoming streams wanting to become rivers.
The water was 12" deep by the time I reached the halfway point to school. I'd been walking 12 minutes. You've got to excuse me, I'm a math teacher and all I could think of was what a great word problem this could be, how fast is the rain falling per minute? I kept looking at my watch as I felt wading through the water was slowing me down horribly and I needed to be at school on time. Don't want to be late on the first day of school!
As cars drove by, they caused the water in the streets to push towards the sidewalks. It looked like I was wading knee dip in the ocean and watching the waves come in and then recede keeping the height of the water in constant flux from mid -calf to knee high. By now the water had nowhere to run, the drains built into each street failed to make a difference. In fact, the sewage that moves below the paved streets was coming up and commingling with the water. The good part of this was that the cold, cold water was warming up where the sewage joined it, yet the sulfur smell was a bit much and the water was so dirty I couldn't see my feet. So you say, who cares about seeing one's feet? Well, if you can't see your feet, you can't see where the curbs are. You don't know where the bumps in the sidewalks are. You don't know what you are stepping on. So glad I've walked these streets, as when I'd get close to where I thought a curb might be, I'd test each step prior to putting my weight down. Of course, when you found the curb, changing from the sidewalk to the street added to the water height on your pants as streets were lower than the sidewalks which were already 12" deep with an ebb and flow from the cars.
Finally I get to Hongqiao Rd, the road where my school is, one of the busiest roads in this area. Hongqiao Rd is pronounced houng-chow lou in Chinese, (Lu being their word for road) and am grateful that I only have one more block to wade through. Let me give you some background info about Hongqiao Rd. There are the six lanes, three going each direction. Now the two most middle lanes in each direction are separated by the third lane going in the same direction by an 18" high and almost 2' wide median filled with plants. So we have one lane for bicycles, motor-scooters, electric bikes, that is the lane closest to the curb, then the median, then four lanes for cars and buses, then another median, and the last lane for non-cars going the other direction. I step into Hongqiao Rd and it adds another 8" to my wet pants in height. The shock of it almost made me lose my balance. The road, which usually takes nearly five minutes to clear enough traffic to be safe to cross, was virtually empty. Amazing. My thoughts literally said that all of those other people usually on that road where just a whole lot smarter than I was as they probably stayed home. I was ten minutes late to work. Dry except my legs/feet that were submerged. (My coat had not dried out by the time I left school at 4:30. The Head of Schools instructed three buses to take all of the teachers home, so none of us had to walk. Taxis were still not running.
Found out when it rains there is a demand on taxis and it is best to leave by 6 am if you plan on finding one.) Arrived to find out that school was canceled! We didn't get the news in a timely manner, and neither did most students. As the 85 buses came to drop off kiddos, each one was sent back with students old enough to be home alone, but the elementary students were teacher air-lifted out of the buses and passed from one teacher to another until the child could be put on dry ground before entering the cafeteria. It was great to see the line of male teachers from the bus to the cafeteria passing kids from one teacher to another, the kids high in the air, with their feet dangling, until the ground was high enough that the child could be put down and not get their feet wet. Did I mention that our school is on higher ground than the street and that the water literally covered our first two steps to get into any building? Most of those male teachers doing the airlift were either wearing crocks (unbelievably popular here) or were barefoot and all had rolled up trousers.
In our new school, we now know where all of the leaks are! The top or fifth floors got to see where the leaking roofs were, while the basements got the benefit of receiving water that had no where else to go. The stairways leading to the basement had become exotic concrete waterfalls. If the landing hadn't been the basement, I'd say it was a gorgeous waterfall. In the basement are all of the teacher's supplies, the copy center with the Xerox machines, the books waiting to be assigned to students, and the brand new Mac computers waiting to be issued to students and teachers. They had given me mine early with the agreement I turn it back in last Thursday to be upgraded with additional software and returned today. All was flooded. The gyms are on the top floor of each building didn't fare well either. But we got great pictures for the yearbook!
By 10:30 I was in my classroom with time to plan more future lessons and to get my e-mail. We have to clock in at work by 7:30 a.m. and e-mail had been sent out at 7:36 a.m. that school had been canceled! The memo announcing the cancellation started with "due to the typhoon today"... so that is what this was! I learn something new every day. Am still clueless as to what the difference is between one treacherous thunderstorm and a typhoon. Anyway, tomorrow is a do-over day and we will have our first day of school again.
Just imagine, all this occurred while you were all tucked snugly in your warm beds! China has been anything but dull. Wow, here I thought I'd get to experience my first day of school and instead I got to experience my first typhoon!
Saturday, August 23, 2008
Two week update
Can you believe I've only been here two weeks? Am feeling so much better having Internet, plus I got the best thing ever last Thursday. I now have hot water! Yup, the real deal. My bosses were 'working' on the problem and I got up Thursday and thought I just couldn't do one more none hot shower. I went to the secretary who found this apartment for me and said, 'Good morning, how are you? I realize how busy you are helping to get ready to start the school year, but I just cannot do one more cold shower. I need help." She asked questions and was applauded that I had gone this long and hadn't come to her sooner. Well, she asked what time I was going to leave for home and that she and the electrician would go with me. They did and a half hour later I had hot water! While they were there I showed them the freezer door that wouldn't close and the freezer drawers (the freezer consists of 4 drawers) that were frozen shut with a block of ice holding them all in place. Well, they pulled the refrigerator/freezer away from the wall, shut it off, and started pouring hot water over the ice. Most of the stuff had melted when they said the rest would melt into a drawer so I wouldn't have much to clean up. They wanted to make sure I was able to put the drawers in and out at the necessary angle to catch the sliders and then left me with a firm warning that this had occurred because the freezer door was not shut all the way and to be sure I closed it all the way after the rest of the ice had melted.
Two hours later I finished cleaning up the water, and re-plugged in the refrigerator only to hear a horrible beeping noise. I did my best to close the freezer door; it simply would not close completely. So, I unplugged the refrigerator simply to stop the noise and on Friday I went back to the same secretary and told her what happened. Long story short, I had to wait in my apartment today until the electrician came to fix the problem. I was grateful he didn't come in the morning when I had my readings, however, I had wanted to explore today and couldn't leave, as he didn't show until 5 p.m. But, I have a freezer whose door now closes.
Friday after work we were treated by the administration to Champions bar at the local Marriott hotel with a buffet dinner of the Chinese version of hamburgers, hot dogs and all the trimmings. The hamburgers were 1.5 inches in diameter and the hot dogs the length of my middle finger. The best part though were the six large television screens showing different Olympic events. Wow, my first glimpse. Have heard many stories from teachers who have gone to some of the events, but I got to watch some. Shanghai is gearing up to be the host to the 2010 World's Fair and has such, the Olympic competitions that this city is hosting are considered warm ups for a larger crowd in the future. One of the teachers who went to a recent game and has lived here for 7 years mentioned that they took the subway to the games and were the only foreigners on the subway car. People got up to offer their seats to them. They laughed as she said, that never really happens and the people were asked to be extra polite to all foreigners at this time.
The taxi driver got lost taking me home from the Marriott, which was to my advantage as he accidentally showed me a really cool area that isn't that far from me. Am excited to go exploring in that direction tomorrow. Other great news is that my daughter is coming to see me for Winter break and we can go exploring together. Yahoo. : )
Students start Monday. Yesterday was Open House for all new students. I saw so many families! Think each and every new student showed up with siblings and parents. All wanted answers on how challenging I was going to make the class. Was I going to give enough homework? Was the classroom set up in a way that their child could succeed? Forgot what it was like to have truly interested parents in the classroom. Back to School night on Sept. 9th ought to be really interesting. Am nervous about my IB class, but I guess we'll just have to see what happens.
Oh, four years ago when I was at the Shanghai zoo I was amazed that people just dropped their trash everywhere and we were walking on nasty stuff. There were people hired to just sweep continually a small section of the sidewalk and put the trash in containers. Was amazed that no one used the trashcans even though they were right there. Not the case anymore... neat as a pin. Just amazing and no one is hired to sweep up after others.
Did you know that if you are one in a million in China there are 1300 people just like you? Will leave you with that though. Have a great weekend.
Two hours later I finished cleaning up the water, and re-plugged in the refrigerator only to hear a horrible beeping noise. I did my best to close the freezer door; it simply would not close completely. So, I unplugged the refrigerator simply to stop the noise and on Friday I went back to the same secretary and told her what happened. Long story short, I had to wait in my apartment today until the electrician came to fix the problem. I was grateful he didn't come in the morning when I had my readings, however, I had wanted to explore today and couldn't leave, as he didn't show until 5 p.m. But, I have a freezer whose door now closes.
Friday after work we were treated by the administration to Champions bar at the local Marriott hotel with a buffet dinner of the Chinese version of hamburgers, hot dogs and all the trimmings. The hamburgers were 1.5 inches in diameter and the hot dogs the length of my middle finger. The best part though were the six large television screens showing different Olympic events. Wow, my first glimpse. Have heard many stories from teachers who have gone to some of the events, but I got to watch some. Shanghai is gearing up to be the host to the 2010 World's Fair and has such, the Olympic competitions that this city is hosting are considered warm ups for a larger crowd in the future. One of the teachers who went to a recent game and has lived here for 7 years mentioned that they took the subway to the games and were the only foreigners on the subway car. People got up to offer their seats to them. They laughed as she said, that never really happens and the people were asked to be extra polite to all foreigners at this time.
The taxi driver got lost taking me home from the Marriott, which was to my advantage as he accidentally showed me a really cool area that isn't that far from me. Am excited to go exploring in that direction tomorrow. Other great news is that my daughter is coming to see me for Winter break and we can go exploring together. Yahoo. : )
Students start Monday. Yesterday was Open House for all new students. I saw so many families! Think each and every new student showed up with siblings and parents. All wanted answers on how challenging I was going to make the class. Was I going to give enough homework? Was the classroom set up in a way that their child could succeed? Forgot what it was like to have truly interested parents in the classroom. Back to School night on Sept. 9th ought to be really interesting. Am nervous about my IB class, but I guess we'll just have to see what happens.
Oh, four years ago when I was at the Shanghai zoo I was amazed that people just dropped their trash everywhere and we were walking on nasty stuff. There were people hired to just sweep continually a small section of the sidewalk and put the trash in containers. Was amazed that no one used the trashcans even though they were right there. Not the case anymore... neat as a pin. Just amazing and no one is hired to sweep up after others.
Did you know that if you are one in a million in China there are 1300 people just like you? Will leave you with that though. Have a great weekend.
Wednesday, August 20, 2008
Chinese Massages, DVD's
The rest of the staff appeared this past Tuesday. As a treat, the Board of Directors had a gathering from 4-6 pm at a popular hotel, the Ruijin Hotel that is apparently a favorite among tourists even though it is also one of the older hotels. The hotel waiters came around with treats on trays the entire two hours, each time bringing around different hor'dourves. The food was superb, my favorite being the 1/2-size pita bread sandwiches with turkey and avocado in them. I think I was just thrilled to get avocado. The other great thing was that each new teacher was presented with a 'chop' or signature block of our last name written in Chinese and a red pad. Also, each teacher was presented with his or her first name painted on paper. For only $5 we could have this framed. So, I now have my first picture. Amazingly, the painters looked at us and then picked the background border for our name. The majority of people around me had either green or blue. However, when he went to do my name, he switched to gold. I thought, perfect, it'll match my gold couch and indeed it does. There is no way for me to hang this picture on my cement walls, so it is leaning within a gaudy light fixture on the wall. What can I say? It just adds so much class.
The evening was really nice. My very favorite part was getting to share a taxi ride home with returning teachers who decided to get a foot massage. They picked the same place that I had visited for my massage last Saturday night. However, this visit was great as we were put in a room with all four of us and I got to watch what the routine was as the others were familiar with it. Best yet, they all spoke Mandarin fluently and translated for me. Great experience.
Turns out the Shanghai people don't want to do the massages, so people come in from the countryside to learn how to do it. They make "good" money so that they can send some home to their families. The workers all have numbers. If you are ignorant, like I was last Saturday, you get someone with a high number and my guy was #25. They all use numbers not names. Anyway, the people who are the best have the lowest numbers. The teachers requested people by their number and I had #6 for the foot massage. Quite a difference, between the two massages I received there, the first one and now this one, and the second was so much better.
One of our teachers said something in Mandarin and all of the Chinese people just cracked up. Guess what he said was something that he thought was a complement on how the man massaging his feet was performing, but was told that they said it another way, as the words he used are only said to a lover. That worker said something in Japanese to our teacher, and then continued to use different greetings from different languages to see when the teacher would react. Eventually the female teacher stated that that teacher was from Thailand and let the rest of us know what was happening. The Chinese had a bet on what country this teacher originated.
The lady called #6 told us that she thought it was great that I had "Chinese hair". The other three teachers all had dyed hair so I thought it must mean having non-dyed hair, but really they were referring to the thickness of my hair. Thought it interesting what they thought was important, like me having Chinese hair. However, since mine is neither thin nor straight nor solid black, I wondered how she came to that conclusion. Oh, our foot massage here was similar to the one that Courtney treated me to in Bangladesh last summer. While your feet are initially soaking, you get a shoulder and back rub. Then one foot comes out of the soaking solution to get bundle rapped in a towel while the other foot is getting massaged. The foot, ankle and calf get massaged. Oh, forgot to mention that prior to starting the whole procedure we were served fresh cut up cantaloupe and 'flat water'. Flat water is bottle water that is not carbonated.
After the foot massage they wanted to visit a new DVD shop. Are you ready for this? You can buy DVD's here of American movies like "Sex in the City", "Ironman" and the latest "Hellboy" movie for 8 rmb ($1.35 each)! That is cheaper than renting them. However, that is the cheaper quality movie which may stop in places, or have subtitles shown the entire movie like “preview copy and not for sale”. You can purchase what they call DVD-9 quality, for the HQ television sets for 18 rmb. They don't rent here, so no blockbusters. At those prices, no one needs to rent. Imagine your choice, a DVD movie that you can repeatedly watch or one avocado? Fascinates me what is expensive in each culture versus what is inexpensive. Oh, an entire season of a television series was more expensive at $60; don't know how that relates to home, as I don't buy those.
The couple that invited me to join them for a foot massage told me about some of their adventures looking for the "Ark of the Covenant" while in Ethiopia. Was funny as she proclaimed that they were the only white people in the whole country that they saw and that following leads given in different books ended up being a wild goose chase. They also mentioned that they study different religions as they find them fascinating. Just thought it was funny that here I'd end up sharing a 20-minute taxi ride with other people interested in this stuff. Just wondered about the odds of that happening out of this large staff or that the conversation would even go there in the first place as they brought it up! Amazing.
Am learning new words or ways of saying things. Asked the copy lady at work to please collate my papers that I want to hand out on the first day, and she was clueless. So, after much questioning, I found out that collating here is called putting the papers in a set. Here I thought I needed to learn Mandarin, little did I realize that I also need to learn English. : )
The evening was really nice. My very favorite part was getting to share a taxi ride home with returning teachers who decided to get a foot massage. They picked the same place that I had visited for my massage last Saturday night. However, this visit was great as we were put in a room with all four of us and I got to watch what the routine was as the others were familiar with it. Best yet, they all spoke Mandarin fluently and translated for me. Great experience.
Turns out the Shanghai people don't want to do the massages, so people come in from the countryside to learn how to do it. They make "good" money so that they can send some home to their families. The workers all have numbers. If you are ignorant, like I was last Saturday, you get someone with a high number and my guy was #25. They all use numbers not names. Anyway, the people who are the best have the lowest numbers. The teachers requested people by their number and I had #6 for the foot massage. Quite a difference, between the two massages I received there, the first one and now this one, and the second was so much better.
One of our teachers said something in Mandarin and all of the Chinese people just cracked up. Guess what he said was something that he thought was a complement on how the man massaging his feet was performing, but was told that they said it another way, as the words he used are only said to a lover. That worker said something in Japanese to our teacher, and then continued to use different greetings from different languages to see when the teacher would react. Eventually the female teacher stated that that teacher was from Thailand and let the rest of us know what was happening. The Chinese had a bet on what country this teacher originated.
The lady called #6 told us that she thought it was great that I had "Chinese hair". The other three teachers all had dyed hair so I thought it must mean having non-dyed hair, but really they were referring to the thickness of my hair. Thought it interesting what they thought was important, like me having Chinese hair. However, since mine is neither thin nor straight nor solid black, I wondered how she came to that conclusion. Oh, our foot massage here was similar to the one that Courtney treated me to in Bangladesh last summer. While your feet are initially soaking, you get a shoulder and back rub. Then one foot comes out of the soaking solution to get bundle rapped in a towel while the other foot is getting massaged. The foot, ankle and calf get massaged. Oh, forgot to mention that prior to starting the whole procedure we were served fresh cut up cantaloupe and 'flat water'. Flat water is bottle water that is not carbonated.
After the foot massage they wanted to visit a new DVD shop. Are you ready for this? You can buy DVD's here of American movies like "Sex in the City", "Ironman" and the latest "Hellboy" movie for 8 rmb ($1.35 each)! That is cheaper than renting them. However, that is the cheaper quality movie which may stop in places, or have subtitles shown the entire movie like “preview copy and not for sale”. You can purchase what they call DVD-9 quality, for the HQ television sets for 18 rmb. They don't rent here, so no blockbusters. At those prices, no one needs to rent. Imagine your choice, a DVD movie that you can repeatedly watch or one avocado? Fascinates me what is expensive in each culture versus what is inexpensive. Oh, an entire season of a television series was more expensive at $60; don't know how that relates to home, as I don't buy those.
The couple that invited me to join them for a foot massage told me about some of their adventures looking for the "Ark of the Covenant" while in Ethiopia. Was funny as she proclaimed that they were the only white people in the whole country that they saw and that following leads given in different books ended up being a wild goose chase. They also mentioned that they study different religions as they find them fascinating. Just thought it was funny that here I'd end up sharing a 20-minute taxi ride with other people interested in this stuff. Just wondered about the odds of that happening out of this large staff or that the conversation would even go there in the first place as they brought it up! Amazing.
Am learning new words or ways of saying things. Asked the copy lady at work to please collate my papers that I want to hand out on the first day, and she was clueless. So, after much questioning, I found out that collating here is called putting the papers in a set. Here I thought I needed to learn Mandarin, little did I realize that I also need to learn English. : )
Saturday, August 16, 2008
Hair washing experience and other facts about China
Went out to spoil myself tonight and did so rightly. Had my hair washed tonight as it needed to be washed and I just couldn't bring myself to do it in cold water. Had an hour massage 70 rmb, a really nice meal, 45 rmb and also my hair washed and finger dried for 40 rmb. All total 155 rmb, and China doesn't do tipping even though I still did, so add 15 rmb in tips and the grand total for a wonderful evening was 170 rmb or right under $30 as the exchange rate is 6 rmb to $1. Now, this part of China I can do. Just think, this whole evening experience cost the same as 4 avocados! Oh, talk about being a stranger in a strange land. I enter the beauty parlor for a hair wash. We all understand the word 'shampoo' and so I think I've communicated. But the lady leads me to a chair nowhere near a sink. She then proceeds to wrap two towels around me, one in front and one in back. Next she goes to put some creamy lotion looking stuff on my hair. By now I am sure we've miss communicated and I ask what that stuff is. She looks surprised and says 'shampoo'. She then proceeds to put the shampoo on the crown of my head and adds a little water from a bottle with a pouring spout. This procedure continues until my entire head of hair is totally covered in shampoo. She then gathers up the extra shampoo from my head as if she was going to wring my hair out, takes the extra form to a trash can and deposits it. She comes back to me and starts the whole procedure over again. I'm wondering how she is going to get the shampoo out since no sink is in sight. However, once she gets done massaging my scalp while shampooing, she leads me to a sink in a totally different area. Comfy lounge chairs for sure, and quite different than at home, for the rinsing of the hair in the sink. Felt great to feel warm water on my head. Sounds weird, but ever so nice. Then she wraps my head in a towel like an Arab sheik and leads me back to the original chair. There she massages the area around my ears, uses Q-tips to clean the outer ears and hunt for wax in the inner ear. Next comes a full shoulder massage before she calls over the man who will blow dry my hair. I shake my head when I see a tiny brush and he immediately catches on and runs his fingers through the hair while blow drying it. Great experience. Next-door was the massage parlor. Here you stay fully dressed while being massaged. You are invited to change into loose clothing first, which they provide or stay in your own. The majority of the massage was on my neck, then my backside. Only my head was done once I rolled over onto my back. So relaxing. And one can't argue with the price.
Have had 3 short Chinese lessons. The 3rd one was a wash as the room was so loud and the teacher so soft spoken that I literally couldn't hear some of the sounds she was making. They have an up sound, a down sound, a flat sound and a down and up sound. Those are the intonations one makes when speaking a world. The written Chinese has those symbols for you so that you know what intonations to make. But, when I am struggling with what things look like on the page, versus these extra clues, I'm still clueless. Eventually am sure it'll help. I have learned how to say some things phonetically and am putting everything into my own spellings so that I can remember how to say them. I can share some Chinese with you already; at least so you can say it right. Their word for hello sounds like knee-how, thank you is xiéxie, one of the few that I can spell and sounds like say-a-shay. The number one sounds like our E and number two sounds just like R. So 1, 2 is E, R. Now the tricky part comes. When counting something they use different sounds for the numbers 1 and 2, so you have to think am I counting how many of something I have or just saying a number as in an address? I have learned how to say my address so that I can talk to taxi drivers. Also, it is important to know how to ask for a bill at a restaurant as without asking for one, none arrives. Chinese are too polite to rush you, so they wait for you to ask. Am clueless how it is written, but it sounds like 'my dan'.
August 18, 2008
Hi Everyone,
We were greeted with a cultural lesson on China today to help us all adjust. Here are the highlights of what we heard.
We live Shanghai which is like adding NYC and LA together culturally plus doubling that population and you have us. We live in a safe city as far as muggings and things like that go. If a crime is committed against a foreigner, the penalty is five times that if committed against a Chinese national. So all jail sentences would be five times longer. Last year a teacher was caught jaywalking and the policeman pulled him over and fined him. It was a small fine, but the policeman spoke some English and scared the teacher when he stated that he had been caught breaking the law and now he was going to be punished. So, be aware that punished means you pay a fine and not to jay walk as they take that seriously. You must use a crosswalk. The ticket was 5 rmb, or just under a dollar!
The Bund, which is a really modern upscale area of town, name translates to mean swampy soil, as that is what it was built on. This is an Indian word as all guards at banks were initially Sheik Indians. The tallest building in the world is currently under construction in The Bund.
The underlying drive in China is to resume the stature the country once held. Until this last century China always held the distinction of having the largest GNP. They want to resume their place of being the center of world culture. The name for them translates as Middle Country. (I immediately thought of Tolkien’s Middle Earth people) Their name for the US translates as 'beautiful country'. Now in slang that same word that is used for the US translates as 'dork' as in bookish, nerdy, dorks.
Beijing is set up with Tiananmen Square being the center of the city and concentric roads go out from there. Shanghai is not set up in circles with their roads as it was built to be the business center of China. China wants to hold onto their traditions as they move forward. They feel as though they are the underdogs right now and have to work harder. The US is the top dog right now, but the goal is to resume that position once again.
The Great Depression was short in the US compared to the famine in China that lasted 340 years. That famine is when Chinese started eating dogs, lizards, and anything else that moved, and has carried that forward today. BTW I went out to lunch with colleagues today and we order by pointing to pictures. One of them was very surprised today when the meat he had ordered from the picture ended up being dog. In 1960 another year of starvation occurred, but this time it was due to political decisions.
In China there are certain topics that polite people don't initiate. However, if others do, then it is okay to discuss. Politics is one of these topics as it is considered to not be an open topic. Another one is not to ever ask a pregnant lady if she is having a boy or a girl as that is forbidden by law to know ahead of time due to the attached stigma. They have a national holiday here in the spring called Tomb Sweeping Day, when the son goes and sweeps the tombs of all of his ancestors. If you have a daughter than all of those tombs no longer get swept which is bad. Some Chinese will go to Hong Kong to have the sex of the baby determined, as there they will tell, but not Mainland China. One of the things Chinese people do ask soon after asking how a person is doing is how much money they make. This is considered standard and not rude. Outside of the big cities in China, the average person makes the equivalent of $125 a month. The most expensive city to live in is Beijing with Shanghai a close second. However, the wealthiest people in China are attracted to Shanghai as it is the business center of China. At New Year's time, it is customary to give your employee's an extra month's salary. So, if we have an I-E, then be prepared to give no more than and no less than one month's salary to them in a red envelope.
Oh, they teach Tibet has always been a part of China and it was never separate. There was an uprising last year, but it was squelched quickly. The students did the uprising. The Chinese leaders stated that if anyone's students were found protesting that the teacher would lose their job. So the teachers went to the site of the demonstration and told all of their students to stop. It was immediately stopped, as students did not want their teachers to lose their jobs.
In the small stalls where one can bargain for everything, typically offer 20% of the initial price that you are given, and then negotiate for no more than 40% of the initial price you were quoted. In stores, even Best Buy, you can barter for up to 10% off or getting some 'extra treats' with your purchase.
It used to be that as a foreigner you didn't have to follow the Chinese laws but the last legislature put a stop to that and stated that everyone needed to follow all of the laws. Get used to being starred at, even though they will attempt to be discreet about it. We look different than they do and are a curiosity item, so they are going to look. BTW: I've noticed people glancing, but it doesn't seem to be much of a problem really, especially after being really stared at in Bangladesh this summer. Great preparation there for here, not only for being stared at, but all those stairs we climbed. : ) Yeah Courtney.
If you are in a taxi and it gets in an accident, you must stay until the police arrive and then bare witness before the police will dismiss you.
If you need a hospital go to Huashan Hospital (said wah-shawn hospital) as it is attached to a University as a teaching college and is also the number one hospital in the country. They have an ex-pat wing where doctors speak English! Now we'd pay ex-pat prices for our services, but many of the doctors there come from the States, so it'd be like going to a hospital at home. Huashan Hospital is the most famous hospital in all of China, and our school insurance works there (added bonus).
Avoid street vendors selling meat on a skewer, as that meat is old and left over from restaurants. It is also typically dog or lizard. Other items sold by street vendors are great. The food item that looks like a huge Hersey's Kiss made out of dough has liquid inside and it is hot. When you know how to take a small bite from the side of the kiss shape, and drink the liquid, then the Chinese are impressed. Guess they get a laugh out of watching the rest of us react.
That is it for our lecture today. Oh, today my I-E worked for the first time. She basically ironed all of my clothes that were still wrinkled from the suitcase. She is going to do my shopping too, so I don't have to make a special trip to the store now for toilet paper. She also indicated that she needed money for cleaning supplies as my place looked too empty. She asked for $35 to purchase supplies. The other teachers at school talked me into getting her 2 times a week instead of just one. That way she can do laundry one day, and leave it to dry and then come back and iron it another day. I watched her use the machine and now know which buttons to push to get a good wash, yeah for small favors.
Have had 3 short Chinese lessons. The 3rd one was a wash as the room was so loud and the teacher so soft spoken that I literally couldn't hear some of the sounds she was making. They have an up sound, a down sound, a flat sound and a down and up sound. Those are the intonations one makes when speaking a world. The written Chinese has those symbols for you so that you know what intonations to make. But, when I am struggling with what things look like on the page, versus these extra clues, I'm still clueless. Eventually am sure it'll help. I have learned how to say some things phonetically and am putting everything into my own spellings so that I can remember how to say them. I can share some Chinese with you already; at least so you can say it right. Their word for hello sounds like knee-how, thank you is xiéxie, one of the few that I can spell and sounds like say-a-shay. The number one sounds like our E and number two sounds just like R. So 1, 2 is E, R. Now the tricky part comes. When counting something they use different sounds for the numbers 1 and 2, so you have to think am I counting how many of something I have or just saying a number as in an address? I have learned how to say my address so that I can talk to taxi drivers. Also, it is important to know how to ask for a bill at a restaurant as without asking for one, none arrives. Chinese are too polite to rush you, so they wait for you to ask. Am clueless how it is written, but it sounds like 'my dan'.
August 18, 2008
Hi Everyone,
We were greeted with a cultural lesson on China today to help us all adjust. Here are the highlights of what we heard.
We live Shanghai which is like adding NYC and LA together culturally plus doubling that population and you have us. We live in a safe city as far as muggings and things like that go. If a crime is committed against a foreigner, the penalty is five times that if committed against a Chinese national. So all jail sentences would be five times longer. Last year a teacher was caught jaywalking and the policeman pulled him over and fined him. It was a small fine, but the policeman spoke some English and scared the teacher when he stated that he had been caught breaking the law and now he was going to be punished. So, be aware that punished means you pay a fine and not to jay walk as they take that seriously. You must use a crosswalk. The ticket was 5 rmb, or just under a dollar!
The Bund, which is a really modern upscale area of town, name translates to mean swampy soil, as that is what it was built on. This is an Indian word as all guards at banks were initially Sheik Indians. The tallest building in the world is currently under construction in The Bund.
The underlying drive in China is to resume the stature the country once held. Until this last century China always held the distinction of having the largest GNP. They want to resume their place of being the center of world culture. The name for them translates as Middle Country. (I immediately thought of Tolkien’s Middle Earth people) Their name for the US translates as 'beautiful country'. Now in slang that same word that is used for the US translates as 'dork' as in bookish, nerdy, dorks.
Beijing is set up with Tiananmen Square being the center of the city and concentric roads go out from there. Shanghai is not set up in circles with their roads as it was built to be the business center of China. China wants to hold onto their traditions as they move forward. They feel as though they are the underdogs right now and have to work harder. The US is the top dog right now, but the goal is to resume that position once again.
The Great Depression was short in the US compared to the famine in China that lasted 340 years. That famine is when Chinese started eating dogs, lizards, and anything else that moved, and has carried that forward today. BTW I went out to lunch with colleagues today and we order by pointing to pictures. One of them was very surprised today when the meat he had ordered from the picture ended up being dog. In 1960 another year of starvation occurred, but this time it was due to political decisions.
In China there are certain topics that polite people don't initiate. However, if others do, then it is okay to discuss. Politics is one of these topics as it is considered to not be an open topic. Another one is not to ever ask a pregnant lady if she is having a boy or a girl as that is forbidden by law to know ahead of time due to the attached stigma. They have a national holiday here in the spring called Tomb Sweeping Day, when the son goes and sweeps the tombs of all of his ancestors. If you have a daughter than all of those tombs no longer get swept which is bad. Some Chinese will go to Hong Kong to have the sex of the baby determined, as there they will tell, but not Mainland China. One of the things Chinese people do ask soon after asking how a person is doing is how much money they make. This is considered standard and not rude. Outside of the big cities in China, the average person makes the equivalent of $125 a month. The most expensive city to live in is Beijing with Shanghai a close second. However, the wealthiest people in China are attracted to Shanghai as it is the business center of China. At New Year's time, it is customary to give your employee's an extra month's salary. So, if we have an I-E, then be prepared to give no more than and no less than one month's salary to them in a red envelope.
Oh, they teach Tibet has always been a part of China and it was never separate. There was an uprising last year, but it was squelched quickly. The students did the uprising. The Chinese leaders stated that if anyone's students were found protesting that the teacher would lose their job. So the teachers went to the site of the demonstration and told all of their students to stop. It was immediately stopped, as students did not want their teachers to lose their jobs.
In the small stalls where one can bargain for everything, typically offer 20% of the initial price that you are given, and then negotiate for no more than 40% of the initial price you were quoted. In stores, even Best Buy, you can barter for up to 10% off or getting some 'extra treats' with your purchase.
It used to be that as a foreigner you didn't have to follow the Chinese laws but the last legislature put a stop to that and stated that everyone needed to follow all of the laws. Get used to being starred at, even though they will attempt to be discreet about it. We look different than they do and are a curiosity item, so they are going to look. BTW: I've noticed people glancing, but it doesn't seem to be much of a problem really, especially after being really stared at in Bangladesh this summer. Great preparation there for here, not only for being stared at, but all those stairs we climbed. : ) Yeah Courtney.
If you are in a taxi and it gets in an accident, you must stay until the police arrive and then bare witness before the police will dismiss you.
If you need a hospital go to Huashan Hospital (said wah-shawn hospital) as it is attached to a University as a teaching college and is also the number one hospital in the country. They have an ex-pat wing where doctors speak English! Now we'd pay ex-pat prices for our services, but many of the doctors there come from the States, so it'd be like going to a hospital at home. Huashan Hospital is the most famous hospital in all of China, and our school insurance works there (added bonus).
Avoid street vendors selling meat on a skewer, as that meat is old and left over from restaurants. It is also typically dog or lizard. Other items sold by street vendors are great. The food item that looks like a huge Hersey's Kiss made out of dough has liquid inside and it is hot. When you know how to take a small bite from the side of the kiss shape, and drink the liquid, then the Chinese are impressed. Guess they get a laugh out of watching the rest of us react.
That is it for our lecture today. Oh, today my I-E worked for the first time. She basically ironed all of my clothes that were still wrinkled from the suitcase. She is going to do my shopping too, so I don't have to make a special trip to the store now for toilet paper. She also indicated that she needed money for cleaning supplies as my place looked too empty. She asked for $35 to purchase supplies. The other teachers at school talked me into getting her 2 times a week instead of just one. That way she can do laundry one day, and leave it to dry and then come back and iron it another day. I watched her use the machine and now know which buttons to push to get a good wash, yeah for small favors.
Imagine if you will a machine that has one dial and 14 knobs or buttons. None of them are labeled. There are 18 markings around the knob. The machine looks like our dyers, with a very thick glass door on the front side for you to throw clothes in. The difference is that the entire machine is only 12 inches thick and 28 inches tall. The inside barrel is only 8 inches deep and 11 inches in diameter. Picture a medium deep sink and you have the size of the barrel. The barrel is full after throwing in the two shirts, one pair of pants and some socks. Now comes the guessing game; which buttons to push? Which ones wash the clothes, which ones only rinse, where is the cold water indicated vs. hot? Oh, never mind, I don't get hot water here, so all is cold. Too many choices without knowing what any of them are so I push buttons at random. The end result was that the first load came out dirtier than when it went in and I started all over again.
The drying rack was useless in my living room as three hours passed and the clothes were just as wet as when I put them there. So, I put the drying rack on the small porch (I'm on the ground level). My porch though isn't closed in, like some porches here, and dirt is quickly accumulating on the cement floor. The wind tossed one of my shirts on the floor, causing the shirt to be put back with the other dirty clothes. My washing machine is outside and covered with plastic which has to be replaced after use as the dirt is thick outside. Wonder if my new IE has a trick to keeping these areas somewhat clean. And yes, I must remember to pull in the clothes the minute I start to suspect rain. Guess we are in a similar routine with laundry now, only Hawaii is a much better outdoor experience than here. The mugginess is worse than I have experienced it elsewhere. But, the good thing with weather is that it changes.
Am getting reports on the Olympic games here in Shanghai as many teachers have tickets. They are enjoying the high skill levels of the tennis and soccer players here. We get reports each morning from attendees. People take buses to the games as taxi's are in high demand immediately afterwards. There appears to be lots of pressure on the Chinese people to do well. It's all about Face! Speaking of Face, our group is going to a bar named FACE next week in a different part of town so that new staff can mingle with older staff.
To help you all know what time zone I'm in, consider the time zone of the East Coast and flip days and nights. Then you have my time zone. So, if the East coast is 8 am, it is 8 pm my time. So convert your time to East Coast time and then flip. This is how it is now, but once you guys go off daylight savings time, it'll mess up this system by one hour. Then you'll need to add one hour to East Coast time prior to flipping days and nights.
I am going exploring later today. Noticed that businesses here are usually open throughout two working shifts. What I mean by that is that the Chinese work around the clock with three crews on most jobs. Businesses, like salons and massage places, are open two shifts. Just interesting.
The drying rack was useless in my living room as three hours passed and the clothes were just as wet as when I put them there. So, I put the drying rack on the small porch (I'm on the ground level). My porch though isn't closed in, like some porches here, and dirt is quickly accumulating on the cement floor. The wind tossed one of my shirts on the floor, causing the shirt to be put back with the other dirty clothes. My washing machine is outside and covered with plastic which has to be replaced after use as the dirt is thick outside. Wonder if my new IE has a trick to keeping these areas somewhat clean. And yes, I must remember to pull in the clothes the minute I start to suspect rain. Guess we are in a similar routine with laundry now, only Hawaii is a much better outdoor experience than here. The mugginess is worse than I have experienced it elsewhere. But, the good thing with weather is that it changes.
Am getting reports on the Olympic games here in Shanghai as many teachers have tickets. They are enjoying the high skill levels of the tennis and soccer players here. We get reports each morning from attendees. People take buses to the games as taxi's are in high demand immediately afterwards. There appears to be lots of pressure on the Chinese people to do well. It's all about Face! Speaking of Face, our group is going to a bar named FACE next week in a different part of town so that new staff can mingle with older staff.
To help you all know what time zone I'm in, consider the time zone of the East Coast and flip days and nights. Then you have my time zone. So, if the East coast is 8 am, it is 8 pm my time. So convert your time to East Coast time and then flip. This is how it is now, but once you guys go off daylight savings time, it'll mess up this system by one hour. Then you'll need to add one hour to East Coast time prior to flipping days and nights.
I am going exploring later today. Noticed that businesses here are usually open throughout two working shifts. What I mean by that is that the Chinese work around the clock with three crews on most jobs. Businesses, like salons and massage places, are open two shifts. Just interesting.
Friday, August 15, 2008
another day in China
Today makes it one week I've been in China. Wow, seems much longer. Guess that is what happens when I try to cram too much into each day. Found out first thing this morning that there are two words for foreigner in China, one literally translates to 'honorable guest' and the other to 'alien'. No wonder I felt like I was on an alien space ship going through the medical exams yesterday.
To answer some of your questions: I am teaching in an International School in the city of Shanghai. Shanghai is divided into two parts by the river. The part where the international airport is located is called Pudong, while the part where the domestic airport is located (and me) is called Puxi. The school population consists roughly of 25% American, 15% European, and 60% of Asian decent. The school costs $30,000 a year to attend, so it is considered competitive and expensive as far as schooling goes. They are picky in their admission criteria and all children are college bound, such that all students take Algebra II or pre-calculus in 10th grade, and the IB math program starting in 11th grade, which is quite intensive. I am teaching that IB program this next year and also have all of the 6th graders. We are on a block schedule, which means I see each class for 108 minutes three times a week. That translates to me teaching three groups a day and having 108 minutes of prep each day.
The school is 6 stories high, 5 above ground and 1 below. There are no elevators. I'm on the third floor. Supplies are in the basement as is everything else I'd be interested in other than duty time. I have a 15-minute duty between the 2nd and 3rd hour, which is break time for the kids, and it is 2 floors below. Putting it mildly, I climb stairs all day. Today this was especially true, as we got to pick up all of our teaching supplies, which were in the basement and run them up the stairs to our rooms. It took me 5 trips going up and down three flights of stairs. Twice, part way, male teachers took my heavy basket and hauled it a few stories for me. Lets here it for male manners, so extra nice. There are a nice variety of ages represented in this school. Think our youngest is around 26 years old and the oldest one that I am aware of is 62. There are just as many couples as single people, and many couples have children. There are many people in their 50’s, which is grand as I fit right in. Floors are designated by subject matter with all math and some science classes on the third floor. The students I feel for are the ones who have PE on the 5th floor of my building and then have Spanish class, which is on the 5th floor of the building next to mine. There are 4 minute passing periods and those students have to hustle down the 5 flights of stairs here after working out for 1.5 hours, run to the building next to ours and climb 5 flights of stairs. Let me add that our ceilings are incredibly tall, nice when you are in a room, but not so nice when climbing stairs as it is almost as if there are two flights of stairs between each floor.
My campus consists of 4 large, tall buildings. One is for the elementary school, one for the middle school and one for the high school, and one is the cafeteria and awesome theater. Then there is the garden area and the field, which is large. The campus is gorgeous and can be seen at www.scischina.org for those of you who are truly interested.
Last night was our first social and we went to the 'French district'. The private room/bar for our group was on the fifth floor. Why was I not surprised? Again, there was no elevator. There are elevators in the apartment buildings as they are mega stories tall. The area was quaint and I would have liked to explore it more, but shortly after we arrived a thunder/lightening storm started and lasted nearly three hours. By then, I was ready to return home. The popular drink of the evening was ginger beer. Water here is called sparkling or flat. : ) Flat is our typical bottled water. Water as it comes out of the tap has a very faint funny smell, and no one drinks it. All use bottled water.
So far the weather has been hot and humid with periodic and lightening storms. I have been caught in three storms now and ended up drenched each time. Yesterday, while walking home, it started to sprinkle. I was 1/2 way home. Experience has taught me to immediately get out my umbrella once the first sprinkles are felt, as it won't be but a block more of walking before the flooding starts. By the second block I'm in puddles up to my ankles. Storms here, so far, last around 2-3 hours and then stop as suddenly as they start.
Oh, other good news, one of the ladies here, who has been here for years, wants to share her IE. Who knows the real spelling of that word, but it is pronounced I, E. That is a maid, person who runs errands, etc. So, I am hiring an IE for 4 hours a week. Remember, my place is only 450 sq feet and so doesn't require much. She'll come in once a week, clean and do laundry and then post any mail that I have. This service will cost me 15 rmb an hour, for a total of 60 rmb, which is $10! And, most IE's get paid 10 rmb an hour so ours is spoiled and wants to do extra well as she is paid so very well. Think I can handle this. She's worked for the other lady for a few years now and comes with good recommendations. She'll come to see me after school on Monday, with a translator, so the first time in my apartment she'll understand what I want. This is cool. Am excited and glad to be able to employ someone and help her while she is helping me. Yahoo.
Oh, attempted to do laundry for the first time. Didn't do very well as my shirts came out dirtier than when they went in. Had to put them back in and try something else. Imagine not having any directions on your washing machine, just a bunch of buttons in unfamiliar locations and one dial. You've got to figure out which is hot water, which is cold, what type of wash you want, gentle or regular cycle, wash or rinse, thunder etc. Then you have an idea of what I saw as there is no way I understand their symbols. Now also please picture a washer with a door in the front like most of our dryers and a cylinder inside the same size as a medium depth kitchen sink. Small. It fits two tops, one pair of slacks and a few socks and is full. Hiring an IE just to do laundry is worth it.
Not much else is new except that I rearranged my few furniture pieces again today. Wanted to create room for the drying rack. Will write again once I experience some more cultural stuff... probably not for a few days to a week now. I so appreciate hearing from you, even when it is just a few sentences. It helps me feel in touch as there are moments I feel very far away and totally out of touch. Blessings my friends.
The best news came today, and that is that I am suppose to get my Internet service tomorrow at home.
Went to a function in the French area of town tonight. The shops, restaurants and bars looked really interesting however, I passed on seeing them tonight as within an hour of our staff being in the bar, the downpours, thunder and lightening started. During a small break in the weather, 2 hours later, 4 of us hailed a cab and went home. The place wasn't all that far form school and was a fairly cheap taxicab ride home (21 rmb =$3.50). It was a great evening out. Oh, some of the stoplights are really interesting here. There is another green light above the regular green light. This extra green light is numbers, which slowly count down the remaining time on the green light before it turns yellow. Cool idea.
To answer some of your questions: I am teaching in an International School in the city of Shanghai. Shanghai is divided into two parts by the river. The part where the international airport is located is called Pudong, while the part where the domestic airport is located (and me) is called Puxi. The school population consists roughly of 25% American, 15% European, and 60% of Asian decent. The school costs $30,000 a year to attend, so it is considered competitive and expensive as far as schooling goes. They are picky in their admission criteria and all children are college bound, such that all students take Algebra II or pre-calculus in 10th grade, and the IB math program starting in 11th grade, which is quite intensive. I am teaching that IB program this next year and also have all of the 6th graders. We are on a block schedule, which means I see each class for 108 minutes three times a week. That translates to me teaching three groups a day and having 108 minutes of prep each day.
The school is 6 stories high, 5 above ground and 1 below. There are no elevators. I'm on the third floor. Supplies are in the basement as is everything else I'd be interested in other than duty time. I have a 15-minute duty between the 2nd and 3rd hour, which is break time for the kids, and it is 2 floors below. Putting it mildly, I climb stairs all day. Today this was especially true, as we got to pick up all of our teaching supplies, which were in the basement and run them up the stairs to our rooms. It took me 5 trips going up and down three flights of stairs. Twice, part way, male teachers took my heavy basket and hauled it a few stories for me. Lets here it for male manners, so extra nice. There are a nice variety of ages represented in this school. Think our youngest is around 26 years old and the oldest one that I am aware of is 62. There are just as many couples as single people, and many couples have children. There are many people in their 50’s, which is grand as I fit right in. Floors are designated by subject matter with all math and some science classes on the third floor. The students I feel for are the ones who have PE on the 5th floor of my building and then have Spanish class, which is on the 5th floor of the building next to mine. There are 4 minute passing periods and those students have to hustle down the 5 flights of stairs here after working out for 1.5 hours, run to the building next to ours and climb 5 flights of stairs. Let me add that our ceilings are incredibly tall, nice when you are in a room, but not so nice when climbing stairs as it is almost as if there are two flights of stairs between each floor.
My campus consists of 4 large, tall buildings. One is for the elementary school, one for the middle school and one for the high school, and one is the cafeteria and awesome theater. Then there is the garden area and the field, which is large. The campus is gorgeous and can be seen at www.scischina.org for those of you who are truly interested.
Last night was our first social and we went to the 'French district'. The private room/bar for our group was on the fifth floor. Why was I not surprised? Again, there was no elevator. There are elevators in the apartment buildings as they are mega stories tall. The area was quaint and I would have liked to explore it more, but shortly after we arrived a thunder/lightening storm started and lasted nearly three hours. By then, I was ready to return home. The popular drink of the evening was ginger beer. Water here is called sparkling or flat. : ) Flat is our typical bottled water. Water as it comes out of the tap has a very faint funny smell, and no one drinks it. All use bottled water.
So far the weather has been hot and humid with periodic and lightening storms. I have been caught in three storms now and ended up drenched each time. Yesterday, while walking home, it started to sprinkle. I was 1/2 way home. Experience has taught me to immediately get out my umbrella once the first sprinkles are felt, as it won't be but a block more of walking before the flooding starts. By the second block I'm in puddles up to my ankles. Storms here, so far, last around 2-3 hours and then stop as suddenly as they start.
Oh, other good news, one of the ladies here, who has been here for years, wants to share her IE. Who knows the real spelling of that word, but it is pronounced I, E. That is a maid, person who runs errands, etc. So, I am hiring an IE for 4 hours a week. Remember, my place is only 450 sq feet and so doesn't require much. She'll come in once a week, clean and do laundry and then post any mail that I have. This service will cost me 15 rmb an hour, for a total of 60 rmb, which is $10! And, most IE's get paid 10 rmb an hour so ours is spoiled and wants to do extra well as she is paid so very well. Think I can handle this. She's worked for the other lady for a few years now and comes with good recommendations. She'll come to see me after school on Monday, with a translator, so the first time in my apartment she'll understand what I want. This is cool. Am excited and glad to be able to employ someone and help her while she is helping me. Yahoo.
Oh, attempted to do laundry for the first time. Didn't do very well as my shirts came out dirtier than when they went in. Had to put them back in and try something else. Imagine not having any directions on your washing machine, just a bunch of buttons in unfamiliar locations and one dial. You've got to figure out which is hot water, which is cold, what type of wash you want, gentle or regular cycle, wash or rinse, thunder etc. Then you have an idea of what I saw as there is no way I understand their symbols. Now also please picture a washer with a door in the front like most of our dryers and a cylinder inside the same size as a medium depth kitchen sink. Small. It fits two tops, one pair of slacks and a few socks and is full. Hiring an IE just to do laundry is worth it.
Not much else is new except that I rearranged my few furniture pieces again today. Wanted to create room for the drying rack. Will write again once I experience some more cultural stuff... probably not for a few days to a week now. I so appreciate hearing from you, even when it is just a few sentences. It helps me feel in touch as there are moments I feel very far away and totally out of touch. Blessings my friends.
The best news came today, and that is that I am suppose to get my Internet service tomorrow at home.
Went to a function in the French area of town tonight. The shops, restaurants and bars looked really interesting however, I passed on seeing them tonight as within an hour of our staff being in the bar, the downpours, thunder and lightening started. During a small break in the weather, 2 hours later, 4 of us hailed a cab and went home. The place wasn't all that far form school and was a fairly cheap taxicab ride home (21 rmb =$3.50). It was a great evening out. Oh, some of the stoplights are really interesting here. There is another green light above the regular green light. This extra green light is numbers, which slowly count down the remaining time on the green light before it turns yellow. Cool idea.
Wednesday, August 13, 2008
Seems China has quite a policy of who may stay here and who gets sent home. Today all of the new teachers from three different campuses were run through a physical, whose process took 3 hours. Besides having our weight, height and temperature measured, we had to have blood drawn, a sight test, a sonogram done, chest x-rays and be poked in the belly similar to what it felt like when the nurses move your belly around after having delivered a baby. Ouch. Do not want to be over x-rayed, but can't live in this country without going through this process and being deemed healthy.
The lady who did the sonogram was brutal, punching and poking to the extend that I now have quite a few bruises where she was checking on my liver. The whole experience felt like I was on a spaceship run by aliens whose language I couldn't understand and I was just a guinea pig. On their part, they just wanted to be efficient and cared not how it impacted us. Glad we only have to do that once, and that it is not like each time we leave the country having 24 hours to reregister our address with the police. The good news is that after each station the person declared me "normal" and I got to move to the next station. No wonder the initial application form to work here asked about one's health status.
To treat the staff after this ordeal, especially since we weren't allowed to eat/drink since midnight until we finished, which was around 11:30 am, we were taken to a marvelous restaurant named 2121 and treated to a 21 course meal. Dishes kept being delivered on the lazy susan in the middle of each table. We were invited to sample fish (with eyes still intact along with its skeleton), kofu (really yummy, made out of tofu, tasted like sautéed beef), egg rolls and other Chinese favorites. There were ample vegetarian dishes as well as chicken, pork and beef dishes and they ranged in spiciness. This is a place to go when visitors come to visit China.
Today was also stressful in that we were informed that China mandates what banks can be used by foreigners in their country and if we didn't open an account at the specified bank, we could not get paid! We sat through an hour of being told about all of the different fees that would be accessed for being able to have them handle our money. No way would I pick that bank voluntarily. It was one of those hours where one can begin to feel indignant righteousness, having lived in a free country, only to take a deep breathe and tell yourself that this too shall pass and simply accept the undo control in your life. Did ask enough questions to find out that I can immediately have the money transferred to another bank which will then transfer the money to my bank (nope got to have that third bank in there and their fees also) so that I can use my ATM card (can't be issued one here by this bank as foreigners must have one issued by a foreign bank or a bank that can pretend its from elsewhere and then issue you one from that other place) and withdraw money. The rules say that you may not transfer out more money than what you are paid. There goes side jobs and under the counter payments just in case someone was interested in tutoring or teaching English on the side. This fascinated me: You cannot ask for money to be changed into a currency other than China's without your passport, your work contract, and sending a fax at least 24 hours in advance, plus paperwork that says you are current on all of your taxes that have to be paid each month from your salary. How do you like that? You cannot withdraw your own money without showing proof of being current on your taxes to the government! The school helps us by choosing ANZ (Australia, New Zealand) Bank and providing them monthly with the appropriate documentation of taxes paid, our salary, etc so that we can then pay the bank to transfer our money to where we want it to go for a mere $50 a month! But to get this service costs us $100 initially. Don't understand why my rebellious spirit had issues with this. Bankcards will be sent to the people wanting them from Australia or ANZ's bank in Singapore. Also, all Chinese currency must be exchanged prior to leaving the country, as they don't allow it to be exchanged outside of the country. In other words, I can't legally sell back my rmb (Chinese money) from outside of China! This gave me much more appreciation for other country's systems, especially our own, but then our banks are in trouble and China's are not...This is one of those things you swallow and just have to accept.
More news, people only have washing machines here and no dryers! Everyone hangs his or her clothes to dry. Now, this is not done outside as then the clothes would be dirty again. So today I purchased a "clothes drying rack" from IKEA (yup, just like in the States and in Europe) as I want to be ready to do laundry this weekend. The rack takes up the entire spare room in the living room and is the only place where it fits. We were also informed that during the winter there would be times when our clothes would not dry period. Can't wait.
So, all in all, today was interesting and except for the bank thing, which still irks me somewhat, I'm doing well.
Found out Shanghai is hosting the 2010's World Fair. That ought to be interesting. So for those of you planning to visit, and sleep on my gold couch, that would probably be a great time to come. Am doing well and getting to practice adjusting to new circumstances and being flexible while constantly getting to monitor my own attitude. Great opportunity to stay in gratitude as my reactions fluctuate... and so I give blessings to each of you in my life and this great opportunity for continued growth.
The lady who did the sonogram was brutal, punching and poking to the extend that I now have quite a few bruises where she was checking on my liver. The whole experience felt like I was on a spaceship run by aliens whose language I couldn't understand and I was just a guinea pig. On their part, they just wanted to be efficient and cared not how it impacted us. Glad we only have to do that once, and that it is not like each time we leave the country having 24 hours to reregister our address with the police. The good news is that after each station the person declared me "normal" and I got to move to the next station. No wonder the initial application form to work here asked about one's health status.
To treat the staff after this ordeal, especially since we weren't allowed to eat/drink since midnight until we finished, which was around 11:30 am, we were taken to a marvelous restaurant named 2121 and treated to a 21 course meal. Dishes kept being delivered on the lazy susan in the middle of each table. We were invited to sample fish (with eyes still intact along with its skeleton), kofu (really yummy, made out of tofu, tasted like sautéed beef), egg rolls and other Chinese favorites. There were ample vegetarian dishes as well as chicken, pork and beef dishes and they ranged in spiciness. This is a place to go when visitors come to visit China.
Today was also stressful in that we were informed that China mandates what banks can be used by foreigners in their country and if we didn't open an account at the specified bank, we could not get paid! We sat through an hour of being told about all of the different fees that would be accessed for being able to have them handle our money. No way would I pick that bank voluntarily. It was one of those hours where one can begin to feel indignant righteousness, having lived in a free country, only to take a deep breathe and tell yourself that this too shall pass and simply accept the undo control in your life. Did ask enough questions to find out that I can immediately have the money transferred to another bank which will then transfer the money to my bank (nope got to have that third bank in there and their fees also) so that I can use my ATM card (can't be issued one here by this bank as foreigners must have one issued by a foreign bank or a bank that can pretend its from elsewhere and then issue you one from that other place) and withdraw money. The rules say that you may not transfer out more money than what you are paid. There goes side jobs and under the counter payments just in case someone was interested in tutoring or teaching English on the side. This fascinated me: You cannot ask for money to be changed into a currency other than China's without your passport, your work contract, and sending a fax at least 24 hours in advance, plus paperwork that says you are current on all of your taxes that have to be paid each month from your salary. How do you like that? You cannot withdraw your own money without showing proof of being current on your taxes to the government! The school helps us by choosing ANZ (Australia, New Zealand) Bank and providing them monthly with the appropriate documentation of taxes paid, our salary, etc so that we can then pay the bank to transfer our money to where we want it to go for a mere $50 a month! But to get this service costs us $100 initially. Don't understand why my rebellious spirit had issues with this. Bankcards will be sent to the people wanting them from Australia or ANZ's bank in Singapore. Also, all Chinese currency must be exchanged prior to leaving the country, as they don't allow it to be exchanged outside of the country. In other words, I can't legally sell back my rmb (Chinese money) from outside of China! This gave me much more appreciation for other country's systems, especially our own, but then our banks are in trouble and China's are not...This is one of those things you swallow and just have to accept.
More news, people only have washing machines here and no dryers! Everyone hangs his or her clothes to dry. Now, this is not done outside as then the clothes would be dirty again. So today I purchased a "clothes drying rack" from IKEA (yup, just like in the States and in Europe) as I want to be ready to do laundry this weekend. The rack takes up the entire spare room in the living room and is the only place where it fits. We were also informed that during the winter there would be times when our clothes would not dry period. Can't wait.
So, all in all, today was interesting and except for the bank thing, which still irks me somewhat, I'm doing well.
Found out Shanghai is hosting the 2010's World Fair. That ought to be interesting. So for those of you planning to visit, and sleep on my gold couch, that would probably be a great time to come. Am doing well and getting to practice adjusting to new circumstances and being flexible while constantly getting to monitor my own attitude. Great opportunity to stay in gratitude as my reactions fluctuate... and so I give blessings to each of you in my life and this great opportunity for continued growth.
Tuesday, August 12, 2008
First day of work today. Must correct something I wrote earlier. Some of the Olympics are being shown on the tv here, but only on cable, which I don't have which is why I couldn't find them. Feel a bit isolated from news here. CNN is banned, as is much since the controls are on what influences the thinking of people here. They don't much care what the foreigners do though which is interesting. Certain sites are intermittently banned without access, like U-tube. We were informed today that Internet is scanned, sites we visit on the web monitored, but all the same, foreigners have more leeway than natives.
I will definitely get in shape while living here, one of my own wishes for this year. It is a 20-25 minute walk to work. Then our campus consists of 3 large buildings all 5 stories high plus 1 story below ground. There are no elevators here. My classroom is on the third floor. The teacher workroom is the story below ground. So, between the walking and the stairs, think I'll do pretty well. The pool will open in two weeks. Then I'll add swimming each day for 1/2 hour to my list. There is double motivation for this. I understand that the showers in our pool area have hot water.... since there is no hot water at home, I think swimming and taking a hot shower is a nice reward and solves the problem that I am not willing to stand under cold water long enough to wash my hair. So, problem solved. As Americans, we really are spoiled.
The best news is that we got our Apple Computers today. What that means is that soon, I won't have to lug my computer back and forth to work. Better yet, when the downpour comes each evening and we get instant flooding I won't have to use my umbrella to protect my computer, which means I end up dripping wet. Plus, even better part is that they train us on parts of the Apple software that I am unfamiliar with at the moment. Yippee! That stuff I like.
Okay, now for the best part. Imagine going to a grocery store and having all of the writing in Chinese. How would you know what to buy? Wanted to buy vinegar to put in my water and Clorox to add to water while I soak my feet each night, but can't read the containers to know what is what. Laundry detergent comes is plastic bags and I only figured that one out because there was one group of sacks that all said Tide on them with the familiar Tide logo. Bought the item sitting next to Tide as I figured I don't use Tide at home, so why start now? Finally decided that Clorox had to be that from the shape of the bottle. Vinegar was the only item in the store that was labeled in English, besides margarine. So seeing margarine helped me to figure out what must be butter. Shopping was like one giant puzzle. Was so pleased with myself when I figured out what was grape seed oil, but then took forever to find the popcorn. I wasn't leaving without my popcorn and trying to explain popcorn to the store clerks was just a laugh in itself. Oh, salt only comes in Baggies and there is no sea salt! This I know for a fact as it was the very last item on my list and I finally found an English-speaking store clerk. Wow, was I excited. Guess what the one brand of salt they carry is? Morton’s!
This grocery store is huge and has an import section in it for foreigners that has all kinds of things like Philadelphia cream cheese, A & W Root beer, cereals galore, etc. with really hefty import prices to go with each item. Just to share some prices for the sake of interest as we all think everything made in China is so darn cheap; avocados were $7 each, grape seed oil $20 for the small bottle, small broom with dust pan $40, rice was almost free, cherries were $16 a handful, watermelon was cheap, Bok Choy was cheap, and oh my, I forgot to get toilet paper again. It would have been soaked in the rain anyway... must improve on this. Oh, got a cell phone today on a school outing! Don't know how to use it, but have one. We have a workshop on that on Monday.
I will definitely get in shape while living here, one of my own wishes for this year. It is a 20-25 minute walk to work. Then our campus consists of 3 large buildings all 5 stories high plus 1 story below ground. There are no elevators here. My classroom is on the third floor. The teacher workroom is the story below ground. So, between the walking and the stairs, think I'll do pretty well. The pool will open in two weeks. Then I'll add swimming each day for 1/2 hour to my list. There is double motivation for this. I understand that the showers in our pool area have hot water.... since there is no hot water at home, I think swimming and taking a hot shower is a nice reward and solves the problem that I am not willing to stand under cold water long enough to wash my hair. So, problem solved. As Americans, we really are spoiled.
The best news is that we got our Apple Computers today. What that means is that soon, I won't have to lug my computer back and forth to work. Better yet, when the downpour comes each evening and we get instant flooding I won't have to use my umbrella to protect my computer, which means I end up dripping wet. Plus, even better part is that they train us on parts of the Apple software that I am unfamiliar with at the moment. Yippee! That stuff I like.
Okay, now for the best part. Imagine going to a grocery store and having all of the writing in Chinese. How would you know what to buy? Wanted to buy vinegar to put in my water and Clorox to add to water while I soak my feet each night, but can't read the containers to know what is what. Laundry detergent comes is plastic bags and I only figured that one out because there was one group of sacks that all said Tide on them with the familiar Tide logo. Bought the item sitting next to Tide as I figured I don't use Tide at home, so why start now? Finally decided that Clorox had to be that from the shape of the bottle. Vinegar was the only item in the store that was labeled in English, besides margarine. So seeing margarine helped me to figure out what must be butter. Shopping was like one giant puzzle. Was so pleased with myself when I figured out what was grape seed oil, but then took forever to find the popcorn. I wasn't leaving without my popcorn and trying to explain popcorn to the store clerks was just a laugh in itself. Oh, salt only comes in Baggies and there is no sea salt! This I know for a fact as it was the very last item on my list and I finally found an English-speaking store clerk. Wow, was I excited. Guess what the one brand of salt they carry is? Morton’s!
This grocery store is huge and has an import section in it for foreigners that has all kinds of things like Philadelphia cream cheese, A & W Root beer, cereals galore, etc. with really hefty import prices to go with each item. Just to share some prices for the sake of interest as we all think everything made in China is so darn cheap; avocados were $7 each, grape seed oil $20 for the small bottle, small broom with dust pan $40, rice was almost free, cherries were $16 a handful, watermelon was cheap, Bok Choy was cheap, and oh my, I forgot to get toilet paper again. It would have been soaked in the rain anyway... must improve on this. Oh, got a cell phone today on a school outing! Don't know how to use it, but have one. We have a workshop on that on Monday.
Monday, August 11, 2008
2nd day in China
Today is my first official day at work. I wish there was hot water here, I am just not good at taking cold showers nor is it fun soaking in a luke warm bathtub. Think I'll need to purchase a huge pan just to warm water up in so that I can pour boiling water in my tub. I am not able to get my floor clean yet where it doesn't cause me to have black feet when walking barefoot, even though I've washed it many times. Perhaps today at work I'll ask what the Chinese name is for a stronger cleaner and buy it to use. The school is gorgeous. Went yesterday so that I could use the Internet. It is about a 20-minute brisk walk away.
One of the techs at work yesterday said he'd help me get Internet at home. That'd be great as then I can leave my computer at home and not lug it back and forth to work. Oh, they have changed my classes, so instead of teaching 7th graders, I'll have 4 classes of 6th graders and one class of 11th graders who are in IB Math SL level. Yum, it is a great teaching schedule. They are on the block schedule where I see 3 classes a day and have a double period off. I see each class only 3 times per week as it is also a module schedule. On Mondays and Thursdays I have the last period of the day off, then two days a week I get my off period right next to lunch. Looks like a great schedule, even though all is subject to change until the first day of actual classes.
I was able to get my messages off of my cell phone yesterday using Skype so am thrilled. You can all sign up for Skype for free and get a Skype name. All people who have Skype can talk free and call each other once both are on the Internet. I highly recommend this; go to www.Skype.com to sign up. Eventually I'll be able to call out using Skype, am still figuring part of it out. Seems that my early morning hours are your late afternoon to evening hours. So that is going to be the best time to communicate by phone. However, I only have those hours available on the weekends as otherwise am working and some of those hours will be used for readings. So communication will be precious.
There is no such thing here as a fitted bottom sheet! Top sheets used as bottom sheets just don't stay tucked in! However the mattress is firm, so am not complaining. These updates will not be so many once I get into a routine and stuff becomes more normal to me here. Since am not adjusted to the time schedule, I may use this time to write each morning. Today I used it to exercise. Hope you each have a great day.
This is a local street sign.
One of the techs at work yesterday said he'd help me get Internet at home. That'd be great as then I can leave my computer at home and not lug it back and forth to work. Oh, they have changed my classes, so instead of teaching 7th graders, I'll have 4 classes of 6th graders and one class of 11th graders who are in IB Math SL level. Yum, it is a great teaching schedule. They are on the block schedule where I see 3 classes a day and have a double period off. I see each class only 3 times per week as it is also a module schedule. On Mondays and Thursdays I have the last period of the day off, then two days a week I get my off period right next to lunch. Looks like a great schedule, even though all is subject to change until the first day of actual classes.
I was able to get my messages off of my cell phone yesterday using Skype so am thrilled. You can all sign up for Skype for free and get a Skype name. All people who have Skype can talk free and call each other once both are on the Internet. I highly recommend this; go to www.Skype.com to sign up. Eventually I'll be able to call out using Skype, am still figuring part of it out. Seems that my early morning hours are your late afternoon to evening hours. So that is going to be the best time to communicate by phone. However, I only have those hours available on the weekends as otherwise am working and some of those hours will be used for readings. So communication will be precious.
There is no such thing here as a fitted bottom sheet! Top sheets used as bottom sheets just don't stay tucked in! However the mattress is firm, so am not complaining. These updates will not be so many once I get into a routine and stuff becomes more normal to me here. Since am not adjusted to the time schedule, I may use this time to write each morning. Today I used it to exercise. Hope you each have a great day.
This is a local street sign.
Sunday, August 10, 2008
Arriving in China
Just to catch up the few of you who didn't know, I accepted a teaching job in Shanghai, China. I'll be teaching 7th grade math. From the time I applied to the time I arrived was roughly 3 weeks. So please accept my apologies if you didn't know prior to this e-mail. The plane ride was uneventful. Met quite a few people returning to China, mostly teachers in the waiting area in Vancouver, Canada, while we were waiting for the plane. They informed me that all fruits were eaten without the peel, including grapes, due to the heavy use of pesticides here. There was no such thing as hot water, and that we had to register our location/address with the police within 24 hours of landing or there was a $500 USD fine that would be accessed. If we were in a hotel, the hotel did that for us, but if not in a hotel be aware of the law. Plus, each time you leave and reenter the country, the police must be notified within 24 hours of your return and what address you are staying at, even if you have not moved. Also, that all people applying for a work permit must be x-rayed and have their blood tested as no one with HIV/Aids, or other diseases would be admitted, in fact they would be sent home asap. After receiving my welcome packet, I found out that our screening day is this Wed. and not to have eaten prior to being tested.
My principal and his wife met me at the airport. Seems they just arrived themselves last week. We had a driver who spoke no English. I was taken to my new "home", shown in the car how to drive to the school from my apartment, re-dropped off at my apartment and left to my own devices. First impression of my principal and his wife were positive. Wish I could say the same for my new lodgings. Before leaving they gave me a few laminated cards with my address on one side and different locations on the other so that I could show taxi drivers where I wanted to go. They also gave me $1000 in Chinese money to buy supplies as the apt. only came with 2 rolls of toilet paper, 1 plate, 1 cup, 1 knife and fork, 1 towel, 1 top sheet and 1 cover for a blanket and nothing else. Need everything else. Already miss an ironing board, iron and hangers so that I can put my clothes away. Plus, there was one rag and a washbowl, which I have been using to scrub the floor.
If you like the same amount of space as in a suite in a hotel, and it all decorated in heavy medieval baroque style than you would love this place. The fabrics are perfect for a castle in England or Germany in the middle ages. The one lamp, one candle holder and vase are all in the same heavy, depressing style and basically dark maroon with fake gold adornments. The drapes are dark maroon with gold insignias splattered on them. The couch is two shades of gold with the same insignias as in the drapes. My new furniture consists of a bed, 2 night stands, a hutch, and a wall unit for a closet (similar to in Germany where closets counted as another room and was taxed as such so there were no closets) in the bedroom, one couch and one over sized tv in the living room and a small kitchenette table with 4 chairs covered in a floral pattern of golds, maroon and some olive green. The worst part is the two over-sized gaudy chandeliers:one hangs over the coach in the living room and the other over the bed! This place is rented furnished and I am not suppose to change the decor or paint.
The first thing I did was to hide all of the decorative accent pieces that were here and the few small pictures in the broom closet. Then I rearranged the furniture and moved the hutch and one night stand out of the bedroom and put them in the living room. Next I took the television and put it in a nook space between the bathroom and kitchen to remove it from the living room. At least now my living space is presentable. The place grossed me out at first, but am now thinking that if I replace the dark maroon drapes with something green with gold accents the space will be livable. Then I can put back the original drapes again when I move out in two years. It'll take me a while to replace the drapes. Can't help but think of my high school as maroon and gold were our colors back then. Amazing how things repeat.
The place appeared fairly clean except that when I walked barefoot from the bedroom to the bathroom, the bottom of my feet turned black. I am so glad I brought my own towel as I was then able to use the white one that was provided for a floor mat. After my shower, the floor towel was picked up and the underside was black. I've washed the floors and counter tops three times now and am not sure I've gotten all of the layers of dirt up yet. It is similar to the layer of dirt that is on the sidewalks. Think it is just residue from the air. I'll see how fast it accumulates back again. Felt a lot better about this place than my very negative first impression after I moved stuff around and cleaned.
Finally got to sleep as there wasn't much sleeping on the plane. The man next to me teaches Berlitz English here and he was talkative and funny, but kept talking the entire trip, even through the movies I was trying to watch, etc. Anyway no sleep. Decided that was a good thing, as I ended up going to bed here at 5 pm and didn't get up for 12 hours. Oh, did I mention that I need to buy sheets and a blanket? Furnished apartment is just that, furniture, ugly pictures and nothing else. The floors are pretty: wood laminate in the living space and bedroom, nice tile in the kitchen and marble in the bathroom. Bathroom and kitchen are small, like in hotels, but very nice. I'd say the entire apartment is somewhere between 450- 500 square feet. Amazingly, my classroom is slightly more than twice the size of my apt!
Think it'll take me around 20 minutes to walk to work. Was given a subway card and a map to go to other locations. That part looks good and the bus passes nearby. There is a new part of the subway that is being built, and it will be only two blocks away, which I got to see when the driver passed it when returning from the school. Currently I am clueless where the subway is located in relationship to where I am. Lots of discovering to do. Took one excursion and just walked as I wanted to know how long it'd take me to get to work.
Then I went with my LONG list of basics on what I need to be able to cook, clean and be here comfortably with just the basics. The taxi system is what I tried first using one of the printed cards that I was handed which states addresses in both English and Chinese so that I would have a way of communicating with the driver. The driver from the apt. to the shopping mall took a direct route and it cost me $2. The one on the way home kept turning around and pretending he was lost, so it was $2.30. Still inexpensive, but then I have no idea how far away things are yet. It was pouring rain when I left the mall, and everything I purchased got soaked just getting into a taxi. I was lucky that the wet batteries purchased for the alarm clock still worked. Came home with 1/2 the items on my list.
Oh, the streets were flooding big time from this rain. When putting packages into the taxi's truck, I was literally up to my ankles in water. All I could think of was that I hoped that the Olympics were all inside. BTW, the Olympics are not being shown here on the tv! Thought I'd watch and tried the 3 available channels prior to removing the tv from the living room. Interesting.
My principal and his wife met me at the airport. Seems they just arrived themselves last week. We had a driver who spoke no English. I was taken to my new "home", shown in the car how to drive to the school from my apartment, re-dropped off at my apartment and left to my own devices. First impression of my principal and his wife were positive. Wish I could say the same for my new lodgings. Before leaving they gave me a few laminated cards with my address on one side and different locations on the other so that I could show taxi drivers where I wanted to go. They also gave me $1000 in Chinese money to buy supplies as the apt. only came with 2 rolls of toilet paper, 1 plate, 1 cup, 1 knife and fork, 1 towel, 1 top sheet and 1 cover for a blanket and nothing else. Need everything else. Already miss an ironing board, iron and hangers so that I can put my clothes away. Plus, there was one rag and a washbowl, which I have been using to scrub the floor.
If you like the same amount of space as in a suite in a hotel, and it all decorated in heavy medieval baroque style than you would love this place. The fabrics are perfect for a castle in England or Germany in the middle ages. The one lamp, one candle holder and vase are all in the same heavy, depressing style and basically dark maroon with fake gold adornments. The drapes are dark maroon with gold insignias splattered on them. The couch is two shades of gold with the same insignias as in the drapes. My new furniture consists of a bed, 2 night stands, a hutch, and a wall unit for a closet (similar to in Germany where closets counted as another room and was taxed as such so there were no closets) in the bedroom, one couch and one over sized tv in the living room and a small kitchenette table with 4 chairs covered in a floral pattern of golds, maroon and some olive green. The worst part is the two over-sized gaudy chandeliers:one hangs over the coach in the living room and the other over the bed! This place is rented furnished and I am not suppose to change the decor or paint.
The first thing I did was to hide all of the decorative accent pieces that were here and the few small pictures in the broom closet. Then I rearranged the furniture and moved the hutch and one night stand out of the bedroom and put them in the living room. Next I took the television and put it in a nook space between the bathroom and kitchen to remove it from the living room. At least now my living space is presentable. The place grossed me out at first, but am now thinking that if I replace the dark maroon drapes with something green with gold accents the space will be livable. Then I can put back the original drapes again when I move out in two years. It'll take me a while to replace the drapes. Can't help but think of my high school as maroon and gold were our colors back then. Amazing how things repeat.
The place appeared fairly clean except that when I walked barefoot from the bedroom to the bathroom, the bottom of my feet turned black. I am so glad I brought my own towel as I was then able to use the white one that was provided for a floor mat. After my shower, the floor towel was picked up and the underside was black. I've washed the floors and counter tops three times now and am not sure I've gotten all of the layers of dirt up yet. It is similar to the layer of dirt that is on the sidewalks. Think it is just residue from the air. I'll see how fast it accumulates back again. Felt a lot better about this place than my very negative first impression after I moved stuff around and cleaned.
Finally got to sleep as there wasn't much sleeping on the plane. The man next to me teaches Berlitz English here and he was talkative and funny, but kept talking the entire trip, even through the movies I was trying to watch, etc. Anyway no sleep. Decided that was a good thing, as I ended up going to bed here at 5 pm and didn't get up for 12 hours. Oh, did I mention that I need to buy sheets and a blanket? Furnished apartment is just that, furniture, ugly pictures and nothing else. The floors are pretty: wood laminate in the living space and bedroom, nice tile in the kitchen and marble in the bathroom. Bathroom and kitchen are small, like in hotels, but very nice. I'd say the entire apartment is somewhere between 450- 500 square feet. Amazingly, my classroom is slightly more than twice the size of my apt!
Think it'll take me around 20 minutes to walk to work. Was given a subway card and a map to go to other locations. That part looks good and the bus passes nearby. There is a new part of the subway that is being built, and it will be only two blocks away, which I got to see when the driver passed it when returning from the school. Currently I am clueless where the subway is located in relationship to where I am. Lots of discovering to do. Took one excursion and just walked as I wanted to know how long it'd take me to get to work.
Then I went with my LONG list of basics on what I need to be able to cook, clean and be here comfortably with just the basics. The taxi system is what I tried first using one of the printed cards that I was handed which states addresses in both English and Chinese so that I would have a way of communicating with the driver. The driver from the apt. to the shopping mall took a direct route and it cost me $2. The one on the way home kept turning around and pretending he was lost, so it was $2.30. Still inexpensive, but then I have no idea how far away things are yet. It was pouring rain when I left the mall, and everything I purchased got soaked just getting into a taxi. I was lucky that the wet batteries purchased for the alarm clock still worked. Came home with 1/2 the items on my list.
Oh, the streets were flooding big time from this rain. When putting packages into the taxi's truck, I was literally up to my ankles in water. All I could think of was that I hoped that the Olympics were all inside. BTW, the Olympics are not being shown here on the tv! Thought I'd watch and tried the 3 available channels prior to removing the tv from the living room. Interesting.
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