Teaching and Living

A lot has happened since I last wrote. I went through several days of inservice meetings followed by the beginning of school on Wednesday. Not having really been settled in my apartment, and with very limited amounts of time to work in my classroom I felt very frazzled and unprepared for the first day. However, I did manage to go over all the rules and procedures Wednesday and teach Thursday and Friday. I am definitely hoping I will feel more prepared next week. My students for the most part are respectful and well behaved. I have students from several countries and the cultural mix is fun. Very different learning environment from what I am used to in the states. I was a little shocked at the chaos of the schedule- the kids are constantly going here and there to special classes and Chinese class etc. Also different is the amount I am supposed to cover every day. An average of 90 minutes of homework a night is acceptable! My students in the US would have had a fit. My students here seemed to take it in stride when I gave twice the homework I normally would have on the second day of school. Most of my kids seem eager to learn. I could not believe how many students asked if they could take home the books that I have in my classroom to read over the weekend. I wish I had more. I have two small shelves, but they are so excited about what is there. Books in English are hard to find and very expensive here, so they were thrilled to have some to read. For the most part the ignored the smaller books and went for the thickest ones I had. Yet another difference from what I am used to.

Outside of school I am doing pretty good. I am slowly gathering things for my apartment. I almost have enough items to fix food in my kitchen. Between transportation, not knowing how to get places, not knowing what I can find in what stores, and limited time, settling into my apartment has been a little more different than I expected it would be. I have been on a quest to find an alarm clock almost since my arrival. I finally spent a ridiculous amoount of money on a plastic Hello Kitty clock which broke as soon as I attempted to set the alarm the first time. SO, a friend is taking me out tomorrow to find that and some other electronic items. My biggest frustration at this point is not knowing the langugage and wanting to learn, but having school responsibilities taking the majority of my time. One of the things I am enjoying the most is the community of friendships that I am developing here. We all live so close to school and to each other that it is easy to find someone to go eat with or go shopping with. Last Sat. and this Sat. I have been invited with other teachers to someones home. I am very grateful for the support of the other staff who have been in Beijing longer. Well that's all for now. I hope this satisfies Holeigh, who called me a slacker for not updating often enough.

Concession Stand food... Chinese style!

Can’t go to sleep without recording my latest China adventures. I have been chastised for not keeping up with my blog frequently enough. If I had time, (and internet in my apartment) I could certainly write pages about my experiences. In a nutshell, I had a few days of calm before the insanity of the storm began. Saturday Sri took me to look at more apartments and I settled on one in a complex with three other staff from the school including Sri. The apartment was basically empty except for a TV and stand. The agent assured me that the landlord would buy all new furniture for the apartment. (It is not new!) Sunday I came back, walked through checking everything to make sure everything was in good order and finding out what needed repaired. I then signed the lease. Monday evening I moved in with my 5 suitcases and two bags of supplies from IKEA. My food supply was a loaf of bread, a jar of peanut butter, and a jar of jam. Since then I have been running like a chicken with its head cut off. I have had a few problems with the apartment and have had to find a Chinese staff to call the agent, who calls the landlord. IT has been an interesting process. It seems like everything is so different, and so much more complicated than necessary. The most frustrating thing of all is the language barrier. Long conversations take place in Chinese and every once in awhile the English speaker throws in a bit of explanation. I want to know it ALL! This is such an incredibly humbling experience. The best analogy I can think of for how I feel is like a student with a learning disability. Everyone else seems to perfectly understand what is going on and what needs to be done, meanwhile, I have to ask for instructions over and over, still (Even in English) I just don’t get it! I know the Chinese people must think I’m not very bright, but I am trying soo hard to figure everything out. OK, enough blabbing. I have had a couple more little adventures. I am sure that I can’t relate the hilarity or emotions that were felt at the time, but I will try.


Concession Food…. Chinese Style
A coworker who had volunteered at the Olympics had free tickets to tour the Olympic Green and I was offered one. We left directly from work around 5 and took a bus ride to the general area. We were not sure which gate to enter and ended up walking another half mile or so to an entrance swarming with people. Interesting sight along the way- A sign saying absolutely no scalping tickets surrounded by people scalping tickets with police officers just feet away J
So by the time we got through the mob, waited in line and went through the security check it was close to 7:00 and I was very hungry! Not far into the park I found a food area where many people seemed to be eating a Chinese type meal in a box. I somehow, even in China half expected to see Elephant ears, cotton candy, and hot Sausage sandwiches on the menu. Sadly, it was typical Chinese fare- a mixture of random foods including yogurt, chips, and cold sausages in plastic wrappers. The only thing that seemed like food was the “box meal.” So I bravely ordered said meal expecting to be handed a steaming box of rice with Chicken in it. When the girl handed me the box, she mentioned that the instructions were translated in English on the paper attached to the top.
I opened it to discover cold rice and several packets of things including a packet of sauce with pieces of chicken in. I was baffled as to what to do with everything. I asked Sri if she knew what to do. After she puzzled for a moment, she asked a nearby Chinese man for help. After a lengthy conversation that I did not understand, she explained what to do. I had to open the pack of sauce and poor on the rice. Next I needed to put the top back on and then pull a string out of the bottom. The man kept saying it would be very hot, not to hold it. I did not get it, because nothing felt hot. But, finally Sri pulled the string out and the box immediately filled with heat and steam started coming out the top. Then I discovered that I had to wait 8-13 minutes to eat the thing! Yes it’s true. In China you have to cook your own concession stand food. The saddest part of the experience was that the food really tasted bad, was full of pieces of bone, and THERE WAS A MCDONALDS JUST A LITTLE BIT FARTHER INTO THE PARK!!!!! Oh well, at least now I have had the experience and know what to avoid in future experiences!
Bus Routes and shopping Deals!
I finally had time to go shopping after school on Friday. I made arrangements to meet Diane at her apartment and the two of us would take the bus to CarreFour (a Wal-Mart type store with a bit of everything) I had never been to this store, but everyone said it was great for finding the things I needed to get my apartment set up.I nervously set out for her apartment, got on the right bus, and off at the right stop. When it came to getting on the next bus Diane had been told one bus to take and had been told another. We got the one Diane thought was right and began chatting away about school. After a bit, Diane said, it is pretty close, we should see it soon….. of course we did not see it and after several miles she was certain we had missed it. Sooo we got off the bus in a rather sketchy looking area of town. Diane confidently hailed a taxi and handed him our handy dandy taxi book turned to the CarrFour page. OF COURSE HE SAID HE DID NOT KNOW WHERE IT WAS!!!!! The second driver did take us, but I am pretty sure he went in a huge circle around several blocks to make the ride more expensive. We finally made it to the store where I found some essentials while Diane went crazy in the School supply section. She had piles of items in the cart. I sorted my items out and got in a different line and checked out with no problem. I went around and Diane’s hundreds of items were still being checked. Then, her cashier stopped checking and began pressing a button for help. We all stood around for awhile waiting for help to come. The cashier did not speak English, so cold not expain what the problem was. After awhile another worker came up and they had a discussion. Then, they started taking items that had been checked and taking them off the ticket. We were both completely baffled. The second girl (probably a manager) said “I’m Sorry” several times. I tried to ask what was wrong but she said “I’m sorry, very little English.” So we kept standing there. They were canceling one item at a time over and over. I have never seen anything like it. Finally another cashier tried to explain in limited English what was going on. Apparently there was a sale on certain school items that if you bought 10 you saved a certain amount of money. But each group had to be rung up separately. Soooooo, Diane had so many of the sale items, that they ended up completely canceling her order and starting over. She ended up having to swipe her debit card and pay 6 separate TIMES! It took forever. I kept thinking how bizarre the whole thing was. We did not even know about the sale. They could have charged full price for all of it and we never would have known. But the cashier was so concerned that they took at least 20 minutes making the mistake right. I never will understand exactly what was going on. I was exhausted and longing to be home, but at the same time I was amazed at the circumstances. I have heard often since my arrival, “That’s China!” I guess that can be a good thing at times and not so good at times. But I am learning that the only explanation for many many things here is “That’s China!”

Hope this is not too long and drawn out. I will try to keep up with things a little more often. I am Loving the experience of the people and the culture. I am completely overwhelmed with school compared to what I am used to, but I will just ask for your prayers in that area as I learn a new curriculum, new ways of doing things, and especially figure out how to teach in the midst of very difficult scheduling.

Apartment Hunting via Police Escort!

Friday after lunch Hannah, a Chinese receptionist at IAB, had made arrangements to take me hunting for apartments. We crossed the street and she began attempting to hail a cab. I am pretty sure that most of the time since my arrival I have been walking around like a lost little girl. The Chinese language is a constant flow around me, and I never have any idea what anyone is talking about. I now recognize 3 words in Chinese.

Suddenly a van load of police officers drove up to where we were standing. I got a little nervous when I realized one very official looking man was walking directly toward me and talking to me! He asked if he could help me in English. I dumbly pointed at Hannah who immediately started jabbering away to him where we were trying to go. He spoke to her for a moment and then walked several feet away to where the other officers were going.

Finally a cab drove up and Hannah, myself, and another new teacher all got inside. Hannah explained where we wanted to go, and the driver said he had no idea where that was. Sooooo, we all got out of the cab. After more waiting another driver pulled up. We all got in the cab, Hannah gave instructions, HE said he did not know where that was. A THIRD cab pulled up and Hannah explained through the window where we wanted to go. HE said he did not know where that was either. (We are talking about a large well know apartment complex not far away. Apparently taxi drivers sometimes play dumb because they know the fare will be quite small compared to a longer drive.)

Anyway, after the third taxi pulled away, the friendly Police officer spoke to Hannah. I did not understand the words, but Hannah laughed and spoke some more. Finally she said that the police officer had offered to take us in his police van. Soooo, that is the story of how I went for a ride with the police on my 3rd day in China. The adventures just continue.

Arrival and then some...

After a particularly difficult faculty meeting one day last October, I decided it was time for a change. Who would have thought that little brainstorm would bring me all the way to Beijing, China.



Well, I made it. I woke up at 3:00 in the morning on Tuesday and arrived at the airport with four 50 pound suitcases and two carry ons in tow. I never would have made it without my mother. After a great struggle to get all my bags checked, my flight left out of Greenville at 6:15. I had a couple hours of free time in Newark, New Jersey before boarding the plane bound for Beijing. My memories of that are numbness in my limbs after hours of sitting. I did not know that the flight would take me over the Arctic Ocean and Siberia before landing in China.



I was met by the Elementary School principal, Shawna, and brought directly to the school (at this point it was about 2:30 pm here, am US time and I had very little sleep on the flight) I met Tim McDonald, the Headmaster, had a tour of the school, sat and chatted in his office and finally came to Sri's apartment. Sri is the business manager for the high school part of the school and has taken me in until I find an apartment. I was a Sri's for a short time before leaving to have dinner with several other teachers from the school. Where did we go? The Sizzler! My first meal in China was at an American Steakhouse. It was still interesting. Water was served in coffee mugs and what was labeled as French dressing was a white creamy dressing of some sort. I was in a complete zombie state by the time we finally made it back to Sri's around 8:00 in the evening.

First impressions- at first glance Beijing is a lot like any major city in the US- lots of people, buses, cars, tall buildings, shops and restaurants. It was not until the next day that everything began to seem sooooooo different.