Slippers

A blog entry without a picture seems boring, so I decided to upload a picture of my latest purchase - asian slippers. True, a blog entry about slippers also seems boring. Anyways, lately I'd been noticing that my sheepskin slippers are far too warm for springtime. So when I saw these bad boys at the supermarket on for $1.50 I couldn't resist. They're rubber soled for a quick garbage run and there's also a bear on the front for style. 

Cuts may have to be made on items returning home to Canada - these slippers are far from relegation. 

I'm also in China...

This weekend has been quiet (as per usual). I take over 100 percent teaching load on Monday so things will most likely get out of hand... a few things to look forward to are a staff vs. students basketball game, and another staff vs. students soccer game (at a real field where I can use my cleats for the first time!)

I watched 'The Watchmen' last night and was kind of disappointed - maybe because it was on a small crappy TV. Either way, if you've come to my blog looking for movie reviews, you've found one, and its a disappointing 'not recommended' for the Watchmen. However, the microwavable caramel popcorn I accidentally purchased was quite good. I recommend it.

 

I am BUSY

My correspondence, blog entries, journal entries, and social life have definitely suffered these past few weeks. I feel incredibly busy, at the end of each day I come home around 430pm and really enjoy climbing into my sweatpants. Or occasionally my jeans to walk into Manjitan and do some grocery shopping. 

It's not a physically demanding day, but having to be so mentally alert and organized all day is something I still need to get used to. The good news is, I am happy to be a teacher. Tomorrow my Social Studies 10 class will write their first chapter test since I have taken over... I wonder if I'll still want to be a teacher after marking 60 tests and paragraphs. It will be interesting to see student results ie. how much of my lessons they are absorbing. 

There are not too many highlights to talk about, so I thought I would describe my weekly routine for those interested: 

Monday - Friday at school (teaching, planning, photocopying, meetings). I eat most lunches at home, usually pasta leftovers. Occasionally I eat at the school cafeteria which has a huge selection of dishes... I just don't have any idea what they are. Most of the time I discover what I'm eating once I begin eating... seems logical... but thats only most of the time. 

Tuesdays and Fridays after school I play hockey unless I have a meeting with a student... I do tomorrow (disappointing because the weather is finally turning... maybe I can show up late for hockey). On Saturdays I take the sky train for 30 minutes into Kai Fa Chu to play basketball with some teachers. Then for the rest of the day I usually grocery shop at the big supermarket, and pick up some new illegal DVDs. One of these weekends I am going to get a suit tailor made: you just bring in a photo of a suit, pick your own fabric, and they make it for around $70. Stephen for the next music video we can do Puff Daddy and Mase beautifully. 

Sundays is usually more planning, however this past weekend some students had asked to play basketball so that was my afternoon. Its awesome that being able to slam dunk is automatic respect and cool points from all the students... cause I can slam dunk (I enter contests).

And thats basically my week(s). Being so busy the weeks are flying by now, its hard to believe there's just over a month left. I am looking forward to coming home. I miss my girlfriend.    

I have an Office

... which I share with 11 other teachers but nonetheless I have an office. 

Now that I am settled in Jinshitan, scenic and exciting photos will probably be few and far between. But life here is far from dull - on Tuesdays and Thursdays I am playing ball hockey, on Fridays there is a bowling league, and on my way home from the OFFICE today I was invited to play basketball on Saturday morning. This is all on top of teaching 2 social studies and 2 PE classes. 

I have been planning a ton for my Social Studies class so I am excited to begin teaching, and my PE block is doing soccer right now so that's running smoothly. Cooking my every dinner is time consuming, but I have been happy with results. Tonight I will fry up some shredded beef and make some form of a burger, with Gioza on the side. 

The photo posted is of my sponsor teacher and one of his Grad Transitions classes which I will take over. During the class I had the students make name tags and pose in the hallway for a photo - I hope to learn all their names sooner than a week before I head home...

This weekend I have my heart set on buying a phone. 

Its already the end of February... half way done. 

My Place

For the first time in my life I had the feeling 'this is my apartment'. But unfortunately, this is my apartment which the previous owner did not clean before moving out. It was embarrassingly exciting buying things like clothes hangers, garbage baskets, dish soap, and towels. It even felt good cleaning... for about an hour - then it got boring. However, now I sit in an ordered apartment with spotless floors and a fridge that no longer smells odd. The grocery store was an interesting trip - it took me about an hour to spend $25. The most expensive thing was cooking oil ($10 for a big jug... I have no idea why) while every thing else was rather cheap: loaf of bread $1, canned peaches $1.50, big bag of oatmeal $2.50, 2L of water $.60, and more. Dinner last night was average as I don't know where to buy vegetables or good meat yet, but breakfast this morning was delicious - oatmeal with canned fruit, and bread and jam.

These pictures are an attempt to describe my apartment... there are 2 bedrooms, one bathroom with shower and laundry (crowded), a kitchen, a corridor with a fridge and cupboards, a sun room (for drying clothes), and a living room with couch and TV. It is a good size, and it is warm enough! The picture of the boy making the Red Star with thread is above my bed - my first piece of wall art. It is painted... but it is mass produced... don't ask me how. 

Today I will continue to work on my lesson planning. The school is rather deserted right now, but thats ok because I have plenty to do and I will actually be able to concentrate. 

Forbidden City and the Olympics

The Forbidden City was amazing. I got there first thing in the morning and rushed through the larger areas trying to get some photos without hundreds of people in them. Then I got an audio guide and spent another 4 hrs wandering... some very interesting stories. *Stephen those creatures on the corners of the roof are there to fend off evil spirits, and depending on the importance of the building there are more or less present (9 is the most). The first picture is of a wall made up of many tiles, and showing 9 dragons. Emperor's were apparently reincarnations of dragons. And 9 is the strongest number (also my soccer number...)

I'm at a new hostel now, it is fine but there aren't many people staying here so it's not very social. I did however meet a German on the subway and we (along with 5 others, 2 of whom I'd met the night previous) went out for dinner and drinks last night. I saw dead Mao... sort of an eery experience - being 10 feet away from a man who is so historically important, considered by some a hero and by others a monster. Just like most of my opinions, I am open to a grey area. Not to say I believe he was a good man, but there are a lot of political leaders who have done a lot of bad things. Bored?

Today I went to the National Olympic Stadium. I loved it - I walked around the track and imagined Husein Bolt's perspective after he broke the 100m record, and then I sat down in the first row where only the coaches were allowed to sit. Now I am back at the hostel, tired. I will go for a simple dinner, maybe Bjorn is around again.

Beijing - Stephen's long weekend

After a nice nap at the Beijing airport, Stephen arrived. The first night was a beer and trying to stay awake as long as we could - we made it until 11pm. A free bike rental at our hostel let us explore the area the next day and really blend in with the locals (see picture). Our days in Beijing have consisted of a mixture of exploring the major sites and finding character restaurants that have and have not gone out of business (ask Stephen). I think for both of us the highlights were hiking 10km along the Great Wall, and spending a morning in the local park juggling and twirling ribbon amongst hundreds of people (see photo... of Stephen looking not a day older than 19). Stephen leaves today so I will make my way to another hostel on the other side of Tiananmen Square. I head back to Dalian on the 15th (found a flight cheaper than the bus!) so for the next 5 days I will visit some of the other sites and do some shopping. I am looking forward to spending some serious time in the Forbidden City - although there are restaurants and a Starbucks inside... a shame. However, Stephen has just walked in the door from a visit there and said it was amazing (I didn't go because he only had an hour to visit) so I am further excited.

Guilin to Weizhou

After my last entry my plan was to make my way to Hainan island - a 16 hr ferry ride into the South China Sea. However, the boat schedule was different (again because of the Spring Festival) so I decided to stay in Beihai, the port city. My first day I went to the beach and met Xiaolin - a very friendly local - who eventually invited me back to his family (*see picture) home for dinner after spending the afternoon talking at the beach. Such a good experience, I went to the market and watched them barter for dinner ingredients (a dinner for 7 ended up costing probably $5). Xiaolin was the only member of his family who spoke english but everyone was very welcoming, offering me fruit and local snacks the entire time. The next day I went to the local park where a fair was happening - lots of small rides and carnival games. I won a small stuffed animal in the ring toss, but gave it away (as my backpack is rather stuffed). After dinner I took a picture in the park (see picture...) Now I have arrived in Weizhou (see 3rd picture) which is a beautiful island 1 hr from Beihai. Today I will rent bicycles with a Chinese guy named Lancer who speaks very little english... it will be a challenging day, but I am sure to get a good price on anything I buy. To give you an idea of the size of the island, I am not sure if there is a restaurant on it, and I hope to circumnavigate by bike.

Only 5 days until I catch my flight to Beijing to meet Stephen. Jealous?