Five weeks go by fast! I can't believe I've been here that long already! Well, as some of you know, I was not able to access certain websites once I arrived in China, with Blogspot being one of them. The Chinese government censors certain websites that happen to be too political (yup, even Facebook). But fortunately one of my fellow American teachers happened to have a proxy, which allows me to once again be able to get back to this website and start blogging again!
As an update from January, I got my general science endorsement in late February, just before leaving for China. I was thrilled to finally get it DONE!!!
I also really enjoyed my ESL job teaching Korean exchange students. I wish it could have been a more permanent position. But it also reinforces to me that I enjoy teaching English and ESL, so perhaps after China I will look into those kinds of positions (although the Science endorsement can only help as well).
So much has happened, I'll have to backdate some of my posts...so, stay tuned and follow along on this crazy new adventure of mine...Teaching in China!
Monday, April 04, 2011
Arriving in Shanghai
February 27th
I have arrived safely in China. It is 12:30am local time and 8:30am Seattle time. Just wanted to let you know that everything is working out just fine. I was met at the airport by a gal named Helen who works for the Academy, where I am working. There was a van and driver from the school, who brought me to my new home. I am now in my little dorm "apartment" and delighted to discover I have internet. My dorm has no kitchen, so guess I"ll be eating out a lot. Tomorrow morning someone from the school is picking me up at 9:30am and I will meet the director of the school. It sounds like I won't start teaching classes until Tuesday (whew!). My dorm is 3 bus stops from the school. Someone will show me which bus to take, probably tomorrow.
One unexpected snafu was that I almost missed my connecting flight in Seoul because our flight was delayed in arrival and then I accidentally went to the wrong gate. I don't know if they displayed it wrong or if I misread it. (How do you misread gate 123 for gate 30?) I also misplaced my boarding pass twice, but that was definitely due to fatigue on my part. I slept about 6 hours on the 12 hour flight to Seoul.
OK. I'm exhausted and going to bed now. After I figure out what to wear tomorrow that isn't wrinkled. ;)
I have arrived safely in China. It is 12:30am local time and 8:30am Seattle time. Just wanted to let you know that everything is working out just fine. I was met at the airport by a gal named Helen who works for the Academy, where I am working. There was a van and driver from the school, who brought me to my new home. I am now in my little dorm "apartment" and delighted to discover I have internet. My dorm has no kitchen, so guess I"ll be eating out a lot. Tomorrow morning someone from the school is picking me up at 9:30am and I will meet the director of the school. It sounds like I won't start teaching classes until Tuesday (whew!). My dorm is 3 bus stops from the school. Someone will show me which bus to take, probably tomorrow.
One unexpected snafu was that I almost missed my connecting flight in Seoul because our flight was delayed in arrival and then I accidentally went to the wrong gate. I don't know if they displayed it wrong or if I misread it. (How do you misread gate 123 for gate 30?) I also misplaced my boarding pass twice, but that was definitely due to fatigue on my part. I slept about 6 hours on the 12 hour flight to Seoul.
OK. I'm exhausted and going to bed now. After I figure out what to wear tomorrow that isn't wrinkled. ;)
Getting Settled
February 28th
I'm doing great! There is so much to tell you! The important thing is that the school is taking good care of me, I am happy and warm and safe. My “apartment” is really is dorm room, it is small, but it is big enough for one person. It is about half the size of my Macedonian apartment. But, good news, there is a public washer and dryer I can use downstairs. The dorm rooms are above a restaurant; I just had lunch there. This morning I was told someone would come by at 9:30am to take me to school. They arrived at 9:15am, a very nice girl Nikki, from the nearby University, connected to my school. She shepherd me around today. The nice thing is that I didn't have to teach classes today, I will start tomorrow. Today was like an orientation. I met with the head of the English department, got my teaching schedule (only one 8am class on Thursdays and no classes on Friday). The school is much more strict about how I will teach the English major classes and much more flexible about how I teach the Engineering classes. I have to submit lesson plans for all of the classes (4 a week). Then Nikki and another girl showed me where my first class will be tomorrow, I think there will be about 30 students. Then they helped me buy a SIM card so that my Chinese cell phone (thanks Riley) will work. I have it now, but will wait for tomorrow to use it so that I don't have to pay for February, since tomorrow is the first of March. Then Nikki took me to a local bank and got me an account so that the school can pay me my salary through the bank. I also now have an ATM card for it. Then we had lunch and now I am relaxing in my apartment and finishing my unpacking. You would not believe the number of bicycles parked outside my building! The traffic here is crazy, I am so glad that I don't have to drive. My dorm is a short bus ride away from school. Nikki showed me which bus to take. Last night I met my landlady, Mrs. Huong, and tonight she will take me to dinner. Tomorrow another student will arrive in the morning to bring me to school.
My apartment has a heater/AC unit, a fridge, TV, water cooler, a double size bed, a window with a little bit of a view, a western toilet and shower and some closet space. There is no microwave or hot plate, so no real cooking here. Food seems to be reasonable priced.
It is cold here today so I'm wearing my long underwear under my clothes. There are many things here that remind me of Macedonia (or really any developing country). People stare at me a bit, I'm so obviously a foreigner, but it doesn't really bother me. I find it slightly amusing, at least for now.
One thing that is interesting is that it appears that Facebook is not accessible online. I don't know if that is true for all of China or just my server. I will find out more for sure.
OK, back to unpacking. Let everyone know that I'm doing well and thanks for asking about me. I'm a little nervous about teaching tomorrow, but it should be fine, the first day is really just going to be about introducing myself to the students (for an hour and a half?!) This is definitely looking like it will be quite the adventure. So far it feels like a very exciting dream...
I'm doing great! There is so much to tell you! The important thing is that the school is taking good care of me, I am happy and warm and safe. My “apartment” is really is dorm room, it is small, but it is big enough for one person. It is about half the size of my Macedonian apartment. But, good news, there is a public washer and dryer I can use downstairs. The dorm rooms are above a restaurant; I just had lunch there. This morning I was told someone would come by at 9:30am to take me to school. They arrived at 9:15am, a very nice girl Nikki, from the nearby University, connected to my school. She shepherd me around today. The nice thing is that I didn't have to teach classes today, I will start tomorrow. Today was like an orientation. I met with the head of the English department, got my teaching schedule (only one 8am class on Thursdays and no classes on Friday). The school is much more strict about how I will teach the English major classes and much more flexible about how I teach the Engineering classes. I have to submit lesson plans for all of the classes (4 a week). Then Nikki and another girl showed me where my first class will be tomorrow, I think there will be about 30 students. Then they helped me buy a SIM card so that my Chinese cell phone (thanks Riley) will work. I have it now, but will wait for tomorrow to use it so that I don't have to pay for February, since tomorrow is the first of March. Then Nikki took me to a local bank and got me an account so that the school can pay me my salary through the bank. I also now have an ATM card for it. Then we had lunch and now I am relaxing in my apartment and finishing my unpacking. You would not believe the number of bicycles parked outside my building! The traffic here is crazy, I am so glad that I don't have to drive. My dorm is a short bus ride away from school. Nikki showed me which bus to take. Last night I met my landlady, Mrs. Huong, and tonight she will take me to dinner. Tomorrow another student will arrive in the morning to bring me to school.
My apartment has a heater/AC unit, a fridge, TV, water cooler, a double size bed, a window with a little bit of a view, a western toilet and shower and some closet space. There is no microwave or hot plate, so no real cooking here. Food seems to be reasonable priced.
It is cold here today so I'm wearing my long underwear under my clothes. There are many things here that remind me of Macedonia (or really any developing country). People stare at me a bit, I'm so obviously a foreigner, but it doesn't really bother me. I find it slightly amusing, at least for now.
One thing that is interesting is that it appears that Facebook is not accessible online. I don't know if that is true for all of China or just my server. I will find out more for sure.
OK, back to unpacking. Let everyone know that I'm doing well and thanks for asking about me. I'm a little nervous about teaching tomorrow, but it should be fine, the first day is really just going to be about introducing myself to the students (for an hour and a half?!) This is definitely looking like it will be quite the adventure. So far it feels like a very exciting dream...
Lessons learned
February 28th
I'm getting settled into my new home. My "kitchen" includes a fridge, toaster and tiny coffee maker, but no hot plate. I live on the third (top) floor of a dorm room which is unfortunately not a part of the school, but is a short bus ride away. I woke up this morning to Chinese firecrackers, go figure. I asked someone about it and was told it was probably celebrating a wedding or some other good news. Here are a few lessons that I have learned (or been reminded of) so far...
* Don't assume that sidewalks are for pedestrians only. They can also be used for bicycles, motorbikes and cars.
* Always watch where you are walking.
* Don't assume that everyone around you doesn't speak English or that they can't understand what you're saying.
When walking around, I am reminded of Skopje in Macedonia, only Shanghai is A LOT bigger. I haven't yet seen the heart of downtown with the huge skyscrapers, but I'm sure I will soon. I took an evening walk tonight and noticed that the buses are PACKED and saw interesting foods being sold by street vendors. I'm also slightly amused at how many people stare at me. I haven't really seen any other foreigners yet, although I'm sure they are hiding somewhere!
Also, I have found the biggest drawback to my dorm room (so far). The shower. It only runs two settings...icy cold or scalding hot. I will have to ask my landlady (via a translator) if there is a trick to getting something in between.
The Oscars here made Chinese news, which is kind of disturbing IMHO (is it really THAT important?).
Oh, another thing is that I have internet in my apartment (woot!). I think it's something like $10 a month, so not bad.
I'm getting settled into my new home. My "kitchen" includes a fridge, toaster and tiny coffee maker, but no hot plate. I live on the third (top) floor of a dorm room which is unfortunately not a part of the school, but is a short bus ride away. I woke up this morning to Chinese firecrackers, go figure. I asked someone about it and was told it was probably celebrating a wedding or some other good news. Here are a few lessons that I have learned (or been reminded of) so far...
* Don't assume that sidewalks are for pedestrians only. They can also be used for bicycles, motorbikes and cars.
* Always watch where you are walking.
* Don't assume that everyone around you doesn't speak English or that they can't understand what you're saying.
When walking around, I am reminded of Skopje in Macedonia, only Shanghai is A LOT bigger. I haven't yet seen the heart of downtown with the huge skyscrapers, but I'm sure I will soon. I took an evening walk tonight and noticed that the buses are PACKED and saw interesting foods being sold by street vendors. I'm also slightly amused at how many people stare at me. I haven't really seen any other foreigners yet, although I'm sure they are hiding somewhere!
Also, I have found the biggest drawback to my dorm room (so far). The shower. It only runs two settings...icy cold or scalding hot. I will have to ask my landlady (via a translator) if there is a trick to getting something in between.
The Oscars here made Chinese news, which is kind of disturbing IMHO (is it really THAT important?).
Oh, another thing is that I have internet in my apartment (woot!). I think it's something like $10 a month, so not bad.
The bathroom situation
Tuesday, March 1st
Today was my first day of classes and it went just fine, other than the fact that I forgot to bring an adapter for my laptop computer so was unable to use the powerpoint I had planned to show. I managed to wing it and my students enjoyed looking at the photos that I brought of my family from back home.
But let me tell you about one thing that was really unpleasant that I was not expecting. THE BATHROOMS. I thought I had seen it all and I *have* been in some really awfully gross bathrooms before, but this was something that really threw me. I knew that the school had squat toilets, so I was expecting a little hole in the ground with cement foot pads and then a way to flush it all down. Well, what I discovered in the crowded girls restroom were stalls with doors that are about 3.5 feet tall, so people can see who is in them when standing, but not when squatting. I noticed girls were turning sideways, not facing forward before they would disappear when they squatted, which, in and of itself is a little embarrassing. When it was my turn, I tried not to speak out loud what I was thinking. Oh my god, no way. There was no hole in the floor. Instead there was a sideways trough that you straddle and pee into. Plug your nose and don't ask me what they do about solid waste. At one stall on the end is a cord that is pulled downwards to flush. Fortunately I found that in the administration buildings they have bathrooms that at least have doors that stretch up to the ceiling, so you can't see the person inside the stall when they stand up.
It is really cold here, especially with a biting wind. I am having to blow my nose a lot due to the cold. I'm going through tissue pretty quickly. In my apartment I spend most of my time on my bed next to the heater, which is reminiscent of when I was in Macedonia, in the winter. I am already looking forward to it warming up!
I am in e-mail contact with Andrew, another English teacher. I have met two other English teachers at my school, but they are both Chinese. I have seen a total of two other foreigners ("white people") since I arrived but did not speak to. I hope to meet up with Andrew in the next day or so.
The school is taking pretty good care of me. I met Madame Jia tonight, the one responsible for connecting me from Riley to getting this teaching job in Shanghai. Her assistant Helen has been very helpful and she assisted me in purchasing "coupons" (little slips of paper) to pay for my meals at the restaurant downstairs. I asked why I needed the coupons and was told it is a management system.
Today I had two big firsts. I crossed the street today by myself and I figured out how to take the bus home after school on my own. Traffic in this city is absolutely insane. Pedestrians have no right of way in China. In fact, there really is no concept of "right of way" here. Although most cars and buses follow the rules of the traffic lights, bikes, carts, motorcycles etc do their own thing. I've learned that you have to have 360 degree vision when crossing the street here. You have to look in all directions and just be super aware of anything that might be coming at you. I've also learned to cross the street when other people do and try to have them be a buffer between me and any oncoming vehicles!
Tomorrow I just have one class in the afternoon. I am all unpacked now and soon I will need to go to a supermarket to get a few things for my dorm like cleaning supplies, a hairdryer, an iron and board, and, of course, tissue.
Although I think that I am not having much aftereffects of jet lag, I am pretty worn out at night, I think it is due to a combination of all the energy I need to use for experiencing all of these new things and from all the walking and climbing stairs that I must do. My hips are sore at the end of the day! So, I am getting to bed by 10pm at the latest. It is just after 8pm now and I am getting sleepy.
I am grateful that I have already learned how to use chopsticks, since that is the only thing available to eat with. I will have to learn to be more dexterous with them. It was a challenge to eat a chicken drumstick using only chopsticks. I have had white rice with almost every single meal so far. I hope I don't get sick of it.
My students seem to be pleasant and eager to learn. In the English majors class they seemed to understand me pretty well. In the Navigation class they seem to struggle to understand me, but are receptive and also are very jovial and like to joke around with each other, so I tried to be a little more strict with them, at least in the beginning. Even so, in both of my classes today, we had some good laughs.
Today was my first day of classes and it went just fine, other than the fact that I forgot to bring an adapter for my laptop computer so was unable to use the powerpoint I had planned to show. I managed to wing it and my students enjoyed looking at the photos that I brought of my family from back home.
But let me tell you about one thing that was really unpleasant that I was not expecting. THE BATHROOMS. I thought I had seen it all and I *have* been in some really awfully gross bathrooms before, but this was something that really threw me. I knew that the school had squat toilets, so I was expecting a little hole in the ground with cement foot pads and then a way to flush it all down. Well, what I discovered in the crowded girls restroom were stalls with doors that are about 3.5 feet tall, so people can see who is in them when standing, but not when squatting. I noticed girls were turning sideways, not facing forward before they would disappear when they squatted, which, in and of itself is a little embarrassing. When it was my turn, I tried not to speak out loud what I was thinking. Oh my god, no way. There was no hole in the floor. Instead there was a sideways trough that you straddle and pee into. Plug your nose and don't ask me what they do about solid waste. At one stall on the end is a cord that is pulled downwards to flush. Fortunately I found that in the administration buildings they have bathrooms that at least have doors that stretch up to the ceiling, so you can't see the person inside the stall when they stand up.
It is really cold here, especially with a biting wind. I am having to blow my nose a lot due to the cold. I'm going through tissue pretty quickly. In my apartment I spend most of my time on my bed next to the heater, which is reminiscent of when I was in Macedonia, in the winter. I am already looking forward to it warming up!
I am in e-mail contact with Andrew, another English teacher. I have met two other English teachers at my school, but they are both Chinese. I have seen a total of two other foreigners ("white people") since I arrived but did not speak to. I hope to meet up with Andrew in the next day or so.
The school is taking pretty good care of me. I met Madame Jia tonight, the one responsible for connecting me from Riley to getting this teaching job in Shanghai. Her assistant Helen has been very helpful and she assisted me in purchasing "coupons" (little slips of paper) to pay for my meals at the restaurant downstairs. I asked why I needed the coupons and was told it is a management system.
Today I had two big firsts. I crossed the street today by myself and I figured out how to take the bus home after school on my own. Traffic in this city is absolutely insane. Pedestrians have no right of way in China. In fact, there really is no concept of "right of way" here. Although most cars and buses follow the rules of the traffic lights, bikes, carts, motorcycles etc do their own thing. I've learned that you have to have 360 degree vision when crossing the street here. You have to look in all directions and just be super aware of anything that might be coming at you. I've also learned to cross the street when other people do and try to have them be a buffer between me and any oncoming vehicles!
Tomorrow I just have one class in the afternoon. I am all unpacked now and soon I will need to go to a supermarket to get a few things for my dorm like cleaning supplies, a hairdryer, an iron and board, and, of course, tissue.
Although I think that I am not having much aftereffects of jet lag, I am pretty worn out at night, I think it is due to a combination of all the energy I need to use for experiencing all of these new things and from all the walking and climbing stairs that I must do. My hips are sore at the end of the day! So, I am getting to bed by 10pm at the latest. It is just after 8pm now and I am getting sleepy.
I am grateful that I have already learned how to use chopsticks, since that is the only thing available to eat with. I will have to learn to be more dexterous with them. It was a challenge to eat a chicken drumstick using only chopsticks. I have had white rice with almost every single meal so far. I hope I don't get sick of it.
My students seem to be pleasant and eager to learn. In the English majors class they seemed to understand me pretty well. In the Navigation class they seem to struggle to understand me, but are receptive and also are very jovial and like to joke around with each other, so I tried to be a little more strict with them, at least in the beginning. Even so, in both of my classes today, we had some good laughs.
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