Well, I have officially survived my first week in China!! And my first typhoon! Met some great people, found a 'fun' new way to travel and am officially a working teacher! But let me start at the beginning....
First of all the plane ride was an experience in of itself. I didnt get to wave to my brother in BC as we flew over because we flew over the arctic instead!! Each seat had a small tv in the back of the seat in front of it which showed a crap load of movies and tv shows (I watched my first episode of "Glee" and am completely hooked!) and also had a cool flight tracker which showed our route and where we were on it. This was pretty neat especially because it was dark the entire flight, so I mainly tried to match the lights I saw to the various countries we were flying over (I actually woke Richard up to show him Japan when we flew over!! lol). Each tv had a remote control that allowed you to navigate through the various features as well as a game controller which allowed you to play the multitude of games they also had. The food was pretty impressive for the most part and the people were really nice. All very good things when you can't get compfortable enough to sleep and have to deal with varying degrees of turbulence.
Landing in Hong Kong saw us meeting up with the rest of our fellow new teachers and wondering around the airport (much like any HUGE international airport, we got lost a couple of times) for a few hours until we took our last plane into Guanghzou (pronounced more like "Gwong-joe"). Although this flight was (thankfully) short, it was also one of the most interesting parts of the trip, mainly because the sun finally caught up with us and we could see out the windows. And let me tell you....wow. A great deal of the landscape in Hong Kong is rain forest and mountains, which a mass of humanity squished in between; it was literally mountains surrounding small pockets of skyscrapers!! I did take some pictures and once I have a computer that I trust to upload (Computer viruses are a part of daily life here) I will send them.
So we land in Guanghzou, and meet up with some of the other teachers and staff of Huamei (pronounced "Hu-i-may") and get on our bus to the school. We're not in Kansas anymore, Toto! I read as much as I could about this place before coming and knew that it was a second-world country, but to see it was a real eye-opener. Guanghzou is a mish-mash of modern buildings (like the Tianhe Sports Center which is more modern then anything I have ever seen), buildings that make Detriot look clean and safe, and random fields of produce directly between apartment buildings. It is wild. Oh and dont let me forget the mountains and rivers that run through and around this city.
The school is a bit more up-to-date in its facilities (for example we have 48" TVs in each class room, some of which I have been told are smart boards) and yet other things that make you beat your head against the wall (like the printer in our office that is not the most reliable or the photocopier that keeps jamming and breaking down). And one of the most important lessons to learn about China, is it has its own pace; nothing gets done quickly here. Except for the "body check." That was wild. We each had to go to one of the local hospitals to get a full physical done. They took blood, urine, eye/ear/nose/throat/abdominal check, EKG, X-ray, and ultrasound....and it took 4 of us 2 hours total to get all of this done as well as fill out paperwork!!! Craziness!
The apartment Richard and I are living in is...nice, actually. It needs some TLC but we have lots of room (much more then we were expecting) and the furniture is in good condition (although I really want to re-cover the couch when I get the chance!!) We also actually have a bathtub!!! Not that I will be using it for baths anytime soon but still..... The kitchen is a bit sketchy so that is a work in progress, but it really hasnt been much of a problem because eatting out around here is so cheap!! The first "on-our-own" meal cost 4 of us 54 RMB total, and two of the guys had beer! Now to put that into perspective, 1$ Canadian is equal to about 6.5RMB. So yeah....we have been eatting out a lot! lol! Its actually cheaper to eat out then to cook our own food right now!! Although we did get a few things to eat for breakfasts before class. Needless to say, Richard is loving every minute of it!! lol! And my Chinese is slowly growing. I was able to order food at one of our local favs. (we call it "The Dog" I dont know why), make sure it wasnt going to be spicy and take it to go, all by myself!!! I was so proud! lol!
The subway system here puts the TTC or anything else I have seen in Canada to shame! It is very clean and easy to travel, with a map on each car that lights up to show you where you are and where you are going. Although I have to say that my favourite way to travel is by "Golf Cart." Now most of you are prolly picturing a typical golf cart (which is what I thought when I first heard the term) but no, this is China. The Golf Carts are more like a flat-bed truck, with metal seats (sometimes with padding, sometimes just wood or metal) hand-soldered on, with (if you are lucky) a metal roof. Thats is. Notice how I didnt say any doors or seat belts. It is an experience!!! And the roads in this city......I actually saw roads with no lane lines on them! Not that the lane lines mean anything anyway!! Lets just say, I am glad I will not be driving in this country!!! It is scary, exciting and, oh so crazy! But it is what so many people use. It is cheap, fast and they are numerous. I also added "Lu" to my Chinese, which means road. Good thing to know when you are trying to take Golf Carts or taxis.
As for the teaching, it was also quite an eye opener. My first day consisted of the Opening Ceremony, where I had to give an introductory speech; my first class with my two grade 10 ESL-C (there are 5 levels of ESL, "A" being the lowest and "E" being the most fluent) classes, where they where sitting quietly and waiting for me 5 minutes BEFORE the bell rang, and then proceeded to give me mainly blank stares and it took us almost 1/2 an hour to play three rounds of the game "Scales" (where you ask the students to line themselves up according to something; eg. my height or birthday); and my first class with my grade 12 4U English (my only "for credit" class this term). I have to admit I was more then a little shell-shocked after my ESLCs. It takes a completely different style of thinking, planning and thinking to teach these kids. They are, for the most part, eager to learn and to please you, but they just do not understand. You have to be SO careful what words you use to teach a concept or ask a question. And these are the mid-level ESLs! I am hoping that they will get used to playing more games as we get used to each other, and I will get used to speaking slowly and carefully when in these classrooms. I did not have my grade 11s this past week, as they were off for military training (my grade 10s are off this week; they do this training every year from grade 8-grade 11; it is apparently mainly marching in the sun all day. We are going to try to go see them this week), but I get to meet them tomorrow. This is nice as it does mean I have the first few days already planned for them, which will also give me room to breath and continue planning. My grade 12s were my life savers that first day, although I honestly think they will be the more difficult class overall as they do need a great deal of planning and everything MUST be part of a set curriculum. And if they dont pass, they dont graduate. But you know, no pressure. But they are really great to work with (all of the kids are) and I am so excited to finally be teaching my own classes.
Anyway, I could ramble on and on for pages (I think I already have!! lol) but I should get back to my marking and planning. I will write again soon. I miss you all!!
Love for everyone!
Hey hun! Sounds like you're having quiter the adventure already!
ReplyDeleteGood job on picking up the language so quickly (although I guess you don't have much choice ;) ) - oh, and for trying all sorts of new foods, you're braver than me!
Take care, and keep us posted!