So I suppose it has been QUITE awhile since I’ve updated my blog. SO SORRY FAITHFUL READERS! Well this has BY FAR been the craziest, busiest, most stressful month of my Chinese life so far. I’ll take it back to the beginning. OK so, when I first started working for my boss, Jenny, I worked CRAZY over time hours for her. People thought I was crazy, but I wanted to help her out. So in exchange I asked her for my normal contract hours (22) for the month of August while my friend was up visiting.
My best friend, Ashlee came up to visit for three weeks. AMAZING, I know! It was so great of her to come here. We had such a wonderful time. There were some complications involved when she first came. The plan was for me to go to Beijing, pick her up and we spend the weekend together in Beijing. So I hopped an overnight bus to Beijing, so excited to see her AND to see Beijing. A few hours into the ride I get a phone call. It’s ashlee, nearly in tears because she missed her plane. “FRICK!” I thought.
Haha.. it’s funny now. But there was weeks of build up for this visit and it was truly disappointing. So I convinced myself that it just HAD to work out. I was going to Beijing, my hotel was already booked. It wasn’t going to be a waste of a trip. So she did eventually make it to china. A day late. So I had to spend the weekend in Beijing alone. And it was great! I had such a good time. I went to Tianamen Square, I went to the Summer palace, and I met so many people! I met some people at Tianamen and we went to a tea festival. It was so cool! And I had never spent the night in a hotel alone before so it was a cool experience. It was nice to have some time alone. I haven’t really been alone since I got to china. So anyway Jenny agreed to let me have my normal hours. Then when I came back from Beijing she had me working 7 hours overtime! So I brought the subject to her and asked her about it, asking her why I still had more hours than the other teachers when she had agreed to the contract hours. She denied it and said that I never asked her for the contract hours. It was a mess. So that didn’t end very well. But she did change the schedule back to only 2 hours overtime, which I was verbally grateful for. But since that day I went from being the on top favourite teacher to the black sheep. She made up nasty stories about me to the other teachers, and pitted them in competition against me. whenever she had an ounce of a problem with me she went to the other teachers and to my other friends. She blatantly undermined me in front of students and their parents. I DID NOT come all this way to china, and work this hard to be treated with such little respect. My reputation that I worked hard to build over the last 4 months was slashed to ribbons in a week. So I talked with jenny over dinner telling her that she needed to start acting like a mature professional or I’m leaving. She said she would. But things only got worse. She told the other teachers she didn’t believe I was really leaving and that it was an empty threat and that she “owned” me. So I promptly gave her my notice and started looking for another job. I’ll come back to this later. I’ll talk about Ashlee’s visit first J
We went to shanghai for a few days and had SO much fun! We went to all these illegal fake brand name stores. And we found this Ice bar. It was so cool! (pun possibly intended J) it was this bar made entirely of ice. The menu was ice, the cups were ice, the seats were ice. There were ice sculptures.. it was all ice. They give you these Eskimo coats and gloves when you go in. you’re aonly allowed to be in the bar for 45 minutes and then you have to go out for a while and warm up. I figured because we are from Canada we could handle it. NO WAY! We stayed in there long enough to have one drink and we were outta there! They weren’t lying about the cold. Then the next weekend we went to Beijing! It was great! We went to the forbidden city the first day. It was really interesting. I wish I knew more Chinese history. (I took a bunch of pictures for you Grandpa!) and the next day we went on a tour with 7 other people to the Ming Tombs and the GREAT WALL! It was raining all day, but it seemed to add something special. Something more mysterious. I really enjoyed the tombs. The things they told us were so interesting! But the great wall was fantastic! ( I took a bunch of pictures there too!) we had such a great time up there. We had to take this roller coaster trolley thing up the side of a mountain to bypass the busy part so we could actually get to the wall. It’s a very busy place. They had bears outside the wall in a habitat that you could throw cucumbers to. I was a little disappointed that they weren’t panda bears. I’ll see those before I leave, I promise! So that was Beijing. Beautiful and interesting.
When we got back to Weihai we visited the beach in the evening. I guess this summer was the summer for all the jellyfish to come out. There was a jellyfish MASSACRE! People were in the water pulling these HUGE, MONTROUS jellyfish out of the water and killing them, taking the parts that they needed for dinner and leaving the rest on the beach. The beach was COVERED with jellyfish bodies. It was neat. I geuss a couple foreigners died this summer on that beach from poisonous jellyfish stings. I avoided the water after that.
So that’s a summary of Ashlee’s visit. And this is the best part: A week after she got home she called me and said she had decided she loved china so much that she;s quitting her job, selling her car and MOVING HERE to live with me!!!!!! how great is that?! I’m so excited. So she’ll be here in approximately…17 days. Not even counting haha.
So as to the job thing. On Wednesday I moved to a city called Shenzhen. It’s VERY close to hong kong. In some areas you can see hong kong. It’s very hot and tropical here. They call it the California, or the Florida of china. It some places it still looks like china, but mostly like Florida filled with Chinese people. I’m in the care of a recruitment agency and they got me an interview with a kindergarten school on Monday. I REALLY don’t want to teach kindergarten but I guess the middle schools are full. And it’s only for 6 months. AND here’s something kinda interesting.. haha… I have an interview with a modeling agency. So silly! It would be fun though. I’ll keep you posted on that.
Well so here I am, in Shenzhen, sitting in a starbucks, I just finished eating my whole wheat carrot muffin and my espresso frappaccino. And sitting almost directly across from me is a guy with very pungent breath speaking fervently to a woman across from him with breath as equally bad smelling….. and looking at a view of tall buildings and palm trees. As I was falling asleep last night in my very cramped, very damp hotel room I felt like one of those people who move to LA to become famous. They are alone with no money, no job, no acquaintances. All they have is passion, and that seems to keep them going. I don’t plan on becoming famous here but I do fit the rest of that criteria.
Saturday, September 15, 2007
Thursday, August 2, 2007
update
so agreeably it's been a long time since i last updated thing thang. i've been lazy! i'm sorry! so SHANGHAI! it was so fun! i wish i had more crazy stories from there to tell you, but it was pretty basic tourism. the bus we took there was so cool! it beats a greyhound a thousand times over! only about 30-some people get on the bus and instead of seats they have beds! YEAH! the trip was about 15 hours long so it was NIIICE. however i had a bad bed on the way there and they were bunk bed style so the bed above me was too close so i couldn't sit up at all. after laying down for 15 hours it kinda gives you a teeny headache. and a couple men were late getting on the bus so they had to sleep on the floor.. riiight beside me. so spent most of the way there spooning with a complete stranger. the way back was much better! i got a top bunk! wa hoo!
we saw a lot of buildings and places. we went to Madame Toussauds wax museum it was great! they had people there like princess diana, michael jackson, david beckham.. they had EVERYONE famous you can think of pretty much. we got some pretty good pictures so if you're ever on facebook check out my albums! we went to the people's square which is a really cool block blocked off from traffic (except this little train that takes you on tours around the block.. it look like a little toy train but can fit a surprising amount of people in it!) and the street in lined with shopping areas, restaurants, bars. it's a great place to go at night! the neon lights are amazing! we went up to the VEERRRYYY top of the oriental pearl tower. it's the third highest tower in the world. the inside was incredible! when you are finished viewing, instead of taking an elevator down you go through a bar/restaurant, and two different museums. one if a museum of old chinese culture and the other is a space museum. random. and there is a roller coaster inside. ji hye is scared of things that like so we didn't go. it's no fun to go alone. it takes about two hours to get through the whole thing but you're never lacking entertainment. shanghai was so nice because there were so many foreigners! now when i'm back in weihai and i see a foreigner i don't feel an irrisistable urge to run up to them and introduce myself. that's a good thing :) we met a lot of people.. it was surprisingly hard though to find foreigners who spoke english! we met a group of asian people from australia. i spoke more chinese than they did it was hilarious! we hung out with them for the rest of the week. i went on the super train! it covers (i forget how many miles, but driving by car it takes about an hour) but this super train cover the same amount of ground in a shocking 8 minutes! it was a little scary but so worth it! i think it's the fastest one in the world. so that's kinda cool. we also went to this place called Xin Tian Di almost every night which is a place that is all renaissance style buildings and it's all blocked off from traffic and it's cobblestone streets strewn with fancy outdoor restaurants and clubs. it was really cool to see. i wish my pictures turned out better they don't do most of the scenery justice at all. what else did we do? we went to the Yu Yuan gardens, which was INCREDIBLE! what kind of architecture do you think of when you think of china? i hope it's those curved topped roofs and dragons and things like that. yeah this whole part of the city is buiding upon building in traditional chinese architecture. so beautiful! and there was market upon market! (ANNND a starbucks!) then when you get into the actualy garden it's beautiful! it's so hard to describe. it was buing during the Quing dynasty i believe and it was so cool to imagine all the emporers and other people walking through that exact garden (although a lot of it had been restored so there were very few ORIGINAL parts). that was a ridiculously hot day though! actually everyday in shanghai was ridiculously hot! you take five steps in any direction and you're completely soaked. it was nuts. we didn't do the river cruise.. after so many days of go-go tourism you just want to relax.. so we'll hit that next time. we did a lot of shopping in some of the famous shopping centers.... A LOT. haha. it was a good time. found some good deals. we went through these tunnels.. the brochure made them seem incredible.. but if you ever get to shanghai.. don't waste your time!! really.. i generally like everything i try.. but these tunnels were LAME! but they were in a great location. they were in a place called The bund which is crazily crowded with people. it's a cement path that winds along the Huangpu river, and has the loading dock for the river cruise. it's a nice place, and it's easy to see why it's craawling with people all the time. i got my eyebrow pierced! haha.. did somethign random.. all that heat plays with your mind. i'm lucky i stopped at the piercing and didn't get a whole sleeve of tattoos! we checked out a Buddha temple. it was really beautiful. it was sad.. there were so many idols. and the size of them! there are bell towers and drum towers. most of this is all included in my pictures. people come into the temple grounds and they buy prayer incence sticks and light on fire on these big coal pitts and then they stand in the middle of the courtyard and bow to all four surrounding walls holding the prayer sticks either in front of them or over their heads. it was interesting. when they're finished praying they lay the sticks on the side of the coal pitt and leave them to burn. like i said.. interesting...but sad.
so that's all i can think of as of now for shanghai. getting back to weihai was NICE! the pace is slower, the air is cooler and there's an OCEAN! the day after we got back we went straight to the beach for the day. we bought our rubber water tubes and floated in the water all day. well we stayed in the water until we swam into a HUGE jellyfish. those things feels DISGUSTING!! i was swimming and felt somethign jelly and screamed louder than i have for a long time and looked and it was a little jellyfish, and then the deeper we got the more i saw everywhere and then all of a sudden this HUGE giant mother jellyfish came out of nowhere! we're lucky we didn't get stung. that thing could have killed. we paddled our tubes as fast as we could outta there.
so for the summer prgram we got two new teachers. both are from england. one teacher's name in johnathan and the other is Essy. actually the other WAS Essy.. she was a bit of a princess and when she found out she couldn't have her own apartment she left so we are short one teacher now and so we have an extra week off. ok with with me :) although i am missing some of my students a bit. we found a replacement teacher who is from america, her name is Jenna.. she's coming tomorrow. i guess she'll be my new roommate for a month. either mine or johnathan's... but i'm pretty sure she would probably rather live with me haha but who knows.
today me and johathan went rock climbing! it was SO nice. we climbed up this big mountain and had such a spectacular view. after that we walked through town and stopped for some street food and i showed him around the night market. it was fun. i love china. you see so many random things in a night. you wouldn't believe this place unless you were here. every minute something unexpected is happening. you're never lacking entertainment in any degree. sorry guys i'm never coming home! haha.. i'm ruined! tomorrow we're going out in the morning to see if we can get out on a fishing boat. can't wait! i've been wanting to try fishing here since before i came!
we saw a lot of buildings and places. we went to Madame Toussauds wax museum it was great! they had people there like princess diana, michael jackson, david beckham.. they had EVERYONE famous you can think of pretty much. we got some pretty good pictures so if you're ever on facebook check out my albums! we went to the people's square which is a really cool block blocked off from traffic (except this little train that takes you on tours around the block.. it look like a little toy train but can fit a surprising amount of people in it!) and the street in lined with shopping areas, restaurants, bars. it's a great place to go at night! the neon lights are amazing! we went up to the VEERRRYYY top of the oriental pearl tower. it's the third highest tower in the world. the inside was incredible! when you are finished viewing, instead of taking an elevator down you go through a bar/restaurant, and two different museums. one if a museum of old chinese culture and the other is a space museum. random. and there is a roller coaster inside. ji hye is scared of things that like so we didn't go. it's no fun to go alone. it takes about two hours to get through the whole thing but you're never lacking entertainment. shanghai was so nice because there were so many foreigners! now when i'm back in weihai and i see a foreigner i don't feel an irrisistable urge to run up to them and introduce myself. that's a good thing :) we met a lot of people.. it was surprisingly hard though to find foreigners who spoke english! we met a group of asian people from australia. i spoke more chinese than they did it was hilarious! we hung out with them for the rest of the week. i went on the super train! it covers (i forget how many miles, but driving by car it takes about an hour) but this super train cover the same amount of ground in a shocking 8 minutes! it was a little scary but so worth it! i think it's the fastest one in the world. so that's kinda cool. we also went to this place called Xin Tian Di almost every night which is a place that is all renaissance style buildings and it's all blocked off from traffic and it's cobblestone streets strewn with fancy outdoor restaurants and clubs. it was really cool to see. i wish my pictures turned out better they don't do most of the scenery justice at all. what else did we do? we went to the Yu Yuan gardens, which was INCREDIBLE! what kind of architecture do you think of when you think of china? i hope it's those curved topped roofs and dragons and things like that. yeah this whole part of the city is buiding upon building in traditional chinese architecture. so beautiful! and there was market upon market! (ANNND a starbucks!) then when you get into the actualy garden it's beautiful! it's so hard to describe. it was buing during the Quing dynasty i believe and it was so cool to imagine all the emporers and other people walking through that exact garden (although a lot of it had been restored so there were very few ORIGINAL parts). that was a ridiculously hot day though! actually everyday in shanghai was ridiculously hot! you take five steps in any direction and you're completely soaked. it was nuts. we didn't do the river cruise.. after so many days of go-go tourism you just want to relax.. so we'll hit that next time. we did a lot of shopping in some of the famous shopping centers.... A LOT. haha. it was a good time. found some good deals. we went through these tunnels.. the brochure made them seem incredible.. but if you ever get to shanghai.. don't waste your time!! really.. i generally like everything i try.. but these tunnels were LAME! but they were in a great location. they were in a place called The bund which is crazily crowded with people. it's a cement path that winds along the Huangpu river, and has the loading dock for the river cruise. it's a nice place, and it's easy to see why it's craawling with people all the time. i got my eyebrow pierced! haha.. did somethign random.. all that heat plays with your mind. i'm lucky i stopped at the piercing and didn't get a whole sleeve of tattoos! we checked out a Buddha temple. it was really beautiful. it was sad.. there were so many idols. and the size of them! there are bell towers and drum towers. most of this is all included in my pictures. people come into the temple grounds and they buy prayer incence sticks and light on fire on these big coal pitts and then they stand in the middle of the courtyard and bow to all four surrounding walls holding the prayer sticks either in front of them or over their heads. it was interesting. when they're finished praying they lay the sticks on the side of the coal pitt and leave them to burn. like i said.. interesting...but sad.
so that's all i can think of as of now for shanghai. getting back to weihai was NICE! the pace is slower, the air is cooler and there's an OCEAN! the day after we got back we went straight to the beach for the day. we bought our rubber water tubes and floated in the water all day. well we stayed in the water until we swam into a HUGE jellyfish. those things feels DISGUSTING!! i was swimming and felt somethign jelly and screamed louder than i have for a long time and looked and it was a little jellyfish, and then the deeper we got the more i saw everywhere and then all of a sudden this HUGE giant mother jellyfish came out of nowhere! we're lucky we didn't get stung. that thing could have killed. we paddled our tubes as fast as we could outta there.
so for the summer prgram we got two new teachers. both are from england. one teacher's name in johnathan and the other is Essy. actually the other WAS Essy.. she was a bit of a princess and when she found out she couldn't have her own apartment she left so we are short one teacher now and so we have an extra week off. ok with with me :) although i am missing some of my students a bit. we found a replacement teacher who is from america, her name is Jenna.. she's coming tomorrow. i guess she'll be my new roommate for a month. either mine or johnathan's... but i'm pretty sure she would probably rather live with me haha but who knows.
today me and johathan went rock climbing! it was SO nice. we climbed up this big mountain and had such a spectacular view. after that we walked through town and stopped for some street food and i showed him around the night market. it was fun. i love china. you see so many random things in a night. you wouldn't believe this place unless you were here. every minute something unexpected is happening. you're never lacking entertainment in any degree. sorry guys i'm never coming home! haha.. i'm ruined! tomorrow we're going out in the morning to see if we can get out on a fishing boat. can't wait! i've been wanting to try fishing here since before i came!
Saturday, July 14, 2007
hi readers
hey!
ok i know it's been a LOONG time since i've blogged, but for some reason i've had a hard time signing into this thang. it's all fixed now. clearly... so yeah! not a awhole lot is new... sad i know. as of yesterday afternoon i'm officially on holidays!! so exciting! me and Ji Hye are going to Shanghai for two weeks-ish. it's oging to be SO nice to be a tourist and not a teacher, for a short time at least. i'm sure i'll miss the classroom by the end of the break. i had some before-summer-vacation partied with my classes so the last week was so relaxing! today i went to a korean production play at one of the theatrical theaters in this city. it was fun! of course i didn't understand what they were saying, but i think i got the point of the story. mainly because it was a comedic production of romeo and juliet. asian style. it was really interesting. the costumes were so authentic! it looked like i was watching Mulan. i love this culture! and then after we all went out for dinner. tomorrow we might go to the beach. just because we can. haha.. so nice to be in a weekend and able to sleep in! i wish we were leaving a little sooner for Shanghai, but Ji Hye has her final exam at university on tuesday, but right after she's done we're OUTTA HERE!!! i'll have LOTS to say after i get back. we're going to do EVERYTHING! we're staying in a hostel.. creepy.. but i'll get over it. and we're taking a 15 hour bus trip there :) :) :) nothing new to me haha. well thanks for being patient with me, and i'll have a FULL long update in two weeks!!!! bye bye!
ok i know it's been a LOONG time since i've blogged, but for some reason i've had a hard time signing into this thang. it's all fixed now. clearly... so yeah! not a awhole lot is new... sad i know. as of yesterday afternoon i'm officially on holidays!! so exciting! me and Ji Hye are going to Shanghai for two weeks-ish. it's oging to be SO nice to be a tourist and not a teacher, for a short time at least. i'm sure i'll miss the classroom by the end of the break. i had some before-summer-vacation partied with my classes so the last week was so relaxing! today i went to a korean production play at one of the theatrical theaters in this city. it was fun! of course i didn't understand what they were saying, but i think i got the point of the story. mainly because it was a comedic production of romeo and juliet. asian style. it was really interesting. the costumes were so authentic! it looked like i was watching Mulan. i love this culture! and then after we all went out for dinner. tomorrow we might go to the beach. just because we can. haha.. so nice to be in a weekend and able to sleep in! i wish we were leaving a little sooner for Shanghai, but Ji Hye has her final exam at university on tuesday, but right after she's done we're OUTTA HERE!!! i'll have LOTS to say after i get back. we're going to do EVERYTHING! we're staying in a hostel.. creepy.. but i'll get over it. and we're taking a 15 hour bus trip there :) :) :) nothing new to me haha. well thanks for being patient with me, and i'll have a FULL long update in two weeks!!!! bye bye!
Monday, June 25, 2007
hey it's been a few days since i blogged! a couple random things have happened. neither were particularly great. first... this weekend i suddenly got reallly sick. it was something like the flu, but i was in so much pain i couldn't sleep. and i had to work at 9 the next morning! so after dragging myself through that day of work (pretty much every class was major free time! haha.. lucky kids!) i went to my first chinese "hospital." it was more like a hostel! it had two rooms.. one where the two doctors sat and ate watermelon, and another that had three beds in it. they layed me on a bed and hooked me up to an IV and drained three bottles of mysterious chinese medicine into me. it seriously works like magic! i went in there feeling like i might die and walked out three hours later feeling like i had never been sick! i love china!
today me and Ji Hye were planning on getting up early to take a bus to Yentai.. a nearby city.. just to satisfy our anxiousness for some time off to travel. buuuuuut getting up at 6 just wasn't happening. we opted for a local japanese restaurant and the amusement park. i rode the viking! she made me do it alone though! she was too scared. it's this big ship that swings really high in both directions... we have them at home. i sat in the middle like a chicken.... next time i'll brave a backseat. and tonight... me and Ji Hye had our first pervert attack on the way home from shopping tonight. it was nothing serious.. but i just can't help but wonder what could have happened is Ji Hye wasn't with me. hopefully that's the only thing of that nature that happens while i'm here. tomorrow the first thing i'm doing is getting a keychain pepperspray haha. i'm ok. just a little shaken up. well i should try to get some sleep. have a good day everyone!!! :)
today me and Ji Hye were planning on getting up early to take a bus to Yentai.. a nearby city.. just to satisfy our anxiousness for some time off to travel. buuuuuut getting up at 6 just wasn't happening. we opted for a local japanese restaurant and the amusement park. i rode the viking! she made me do it alone though! she was too scared. it's this big ship that swings really high in both directions... we have them at home. i sat in the middle like a chicken.... next time i'll brave a backseat. and tonight... me and Ji Hye had our first pervert attack on the way home from shopping tonight. it was nothing serious.. but i just can't help but wonder what could have happened is Ji Hye wasn't with me. hopefully that's the only thing of that nature that happens while i'm here. tomorrow the first thing i'm doing is getting a keychain pepperspray haha. i'm ok. just a little shaken up. well i should try to get some sleep. have a good day everyone!!! :)
Wednesday, June 20, 2007
GOODBYE TEENAGER-HOOD!
hey!
so my birthday was SO fun! it was the best one i've had in a couple years i think! my students had a huge surprise party for me when i got to school. there was a cake, and chicken, and lots of candles, and they wrote WE LOVE YOU HAPPY BIRTHDAY! all over the whiteboard. it was so sweet. it of course escalated into an all-out cake fight! initiated by.. me. oops! haha. it was so fun. and then after work i went home and Ji Hye and our friend Mariah were there because we were planning on going out to our favourite club that night. and they had surprise presents for me! it was so sweet! and then we went to the club (it's called 2046... easy to remember.. and pronounce!) and last week me and Ji Hye had made friends with some of the bartenders there, and when we got to 2046 they had a surprise party waiting for me tehre too! they bought this HIGE embarrassing display of flowers, and a cake (which also turned into another minor cake fight) and they got the DJ to say happy birthday to me, and sing an english birthday song! it was so sweet. it really was a great time. i can't believe i'm 20! bring it on! haha. i think these are going to be the best years of my life so far. young. single. travelling. i'm excited!
so i have some EXCELLENT news for all of you who witnessed my really devestating grad performance. yesterday me and Ji Hye and Jerry went to karaoke in the middle of the day, and i saw THAT Celine Dion song.... so i figured today is the day i put that song in it's place! and i did! i nailed it! haha.. so if i died tomorrow i could rest in total peace! well i have some teaching to do pretty soon.. but have a fantastic day!
so my birthday was SO fun! it was the best one i've had in a couple years i think! my students had a huge surprise party for me when i got to school. there was a cake, and chicken, and lots of candles, and they wrote WE LOVE YOU HAPPY BIRTHDAY! all over the whiteboard. it was so sweet. it of course escalated into an all-out cake fight! initiated by.. me. oops! haha. it was so fun. and then after work i went home and Ji Hye and our friend Mariah were there because we were planning on going out to our favourite club that night. and they had surprise presents for me! it was so sweet! and then we went to the club (it's called 2046... easy to remember.. and pronounce!) and last week me and Ji Hye had made friends with some of the bartenders there, and when we got to 2046 they had a surprise party waiting for me tehre too! they bought this HIGE embarrassing display of flowers, and a cake (which also turned into another minor cake fight) and they got the DJ to say happy birthday to me, and sing an english birthday song! it was so sweet. it really was a great time. i can't believe i'm 20! bring it on! haha. i think these are going to be the best years of my life so far. young. single. travelling. i'm excited!
so i have some EXCELLENT news for all of you who witnessed my really devestating grad performance. yesterday me and Ji Hye and Jerry went to karaoke in the middle of the day, and i saw THAT Celine Dion song.... so i figured today is the day i put that song in it's place! and i did! i nailed it! haha.. so if i died tomorrow i could rest in total peace! well i have some teaching to do pretty soon.. but have a fantastic day!
Saturday, June 16, 2007
hey!
so i know it's been a few days.. but it's been a BUSY week! i'm getting tired! haha... but even being tired is NO excuse for an EMBARRASSING mistake i made in the classroom the other day! so.. i took Karen's advice about playing review X's and O's (great idea by the way!) and i thought i would throw in a question that would leave them stumped because they were doing so well. so i asked... "what is the capitol of Canada?" they were quiet for awhile and then a girl shouted "Toronto!" i was like "Wow! that's incredible! you get a huge O for that! i'm impressed!" then this 11 year old boy in the class stood up and said "that's not the capital of Canada! Ottawa is!" so me being the stubborn person that i can...sometimes... be, i tried to argue my point (more trying to save my face than wanting to be right!) haha.. but he was right. we all had a relaly good laugh about it after. so sorry canada! i suck! haha.
ok.. so tonight i tried THE ULTIMATE in food. .. after work Jenny took me and her family out for dinner to this beautiful restaurant in a popular hotel here. so we were eating our sushi.. it was good.. then the Fu Yuen (waitress) brought in these plates and suddenly everyone looked at me. i was like.. huh? then i looked at the plate, and there was a heaping pile of writhing squid tentacles. i can only imagine how my face looked but everyone just started laughing. this is a korean delicacy i guess... and as previously mentioned it's rude to not try EVERYTHING. so... i picked up my chopstick and chased down a crawling tentacle. i accidentally dropped it on my plate and it was twirling around and suctioning itself to my plate. haha.. it was hard to convince it to come off of there! it was like a leech! but eventually my chopsticks got the best of it, and i help it up to look at it. it's suction cups were flaring furiously, and it was wiggling around like a worm. it was so unsettling, but again everyone was waiting for me to put it in my mouth. so put it in my mouth i did. i chewed it as fast as i coul dbefore it could wiggle around in there. then Ji Hye took one and was letting it crawl in and out of her mouth.. haha.. it was disgusting! so now.. having tried that... i think i can handle anything! even the sea cucumber would be nothing in comparison! haha. well anyway.. that's all that's new here right now. if anyone comes to visit they are definately going to be initiated with those things... mwahahahahaha...
so i know it's been a few days.. but it's been a BUSY week! i'm getting tired! haha... but even being tired is NO excuse for an EMBARRASSING mistake i made in the classroom the other day! so.. i took Karen's advice about playing review X's and O's (great idea by the way!) and i thought i would throw in a question that would leave them stumped because they were doing so well. so i asked... "what is the capitol of Canada?" they were quiet for awhile and then a girl shouted "Toronto!" i was like "Wow! that's incredible! you get a huge O for that! i'm impressed!" then this 11 year old boy in the class stood up and said "that's not the capital of Canada! Ottawa is!" so me being the stubborn person that i can...sometimes... be, i tried to argue my point (more trying to save my face than wanting to be right!) haha.. but he was right. we all had a relaly good laugh about it after. so sorry canada! i suck! haha.
ok.. so tonight i tried THE ULTIMATE in food. .. after work Jenny took me and her family out for dinner to this beautiful restaurant in a popular hotel here. so we were eating our sushi.. it was good.. then the Fu Yuen (waitress) brought in these plates and suddenly everyone looked at me. i was like.. huh? then i looked at the plate, and there was a heaping pile of writhing squid tentacles. i can only imagine how my face looked but everyone just started laughing. this is a korean delicacy i guess... and as previously mentioned it's rude to not try EVERYTHING. so... i picked up my chopstick and chased down a crawling tentacle. i accidentally dropped it on my plate and it was twirling around and suctioning itself to my plate. haha.. it was hard to convince it to come off of there! it was like a leech! but eventually my chopsticks got the best of it, and i help it up to look at it. it's suction cups were flaring furiously, and it was wiggling around like a worm. it was so unsettling, but again everyone was waiting for me to put it in my mouth. so put it in my mouth i did. i chewed it as fast as i coul dbefore it could wiggle around in there. then Ji Hye took one and was letting it crawl in and out of her mouth.. haha.. it was disgusting! so now.. having tried that... i think i can handle anything! even the sea cucumber would be nothing in comparison! haha. well anyway.. that's all that's new here right now. if anyone comes to visit they are definately going to be initiated with those things... mwahahahahaha...
Tuesday, May 22, 2007
KOREAN SAUNA
i just had the best night of my chinese life! me, mariah, nancy, and ji hye went to a korean sauna. i have never felt so good, (or so exposed.) These sauna's however are not for the faint of heart, the weak of stomach, and MOST DEFINATELY not for the shy!
so as soon as we got to the sauna, we removed our shoes, got a key and went up a carpeted staircase to the locker room. (that carpet by the way is the only carpet i have seen since i've been here so it only made the stay all the more luxurious) as soon as you get to the locker room, you leave your inhabitions at the door and strip down. haha. i feel really close with my new friends now. they know more about me than some friends i've had all my life! when you're 'prepared' you step into the shower roomand bath room. there is a wall lines with open showers, and opposite that wall is three large square pools. one is really hot, one is mediocre, and one is verrry cold. when you're showered and clean you go into the first hot pool, then proceed your way to the cold one. when you're finished with that you dry off, and go back to the locker room. there you're given funny little outfits to wear. then wen you have your funny little outfits on you go out into a little restaurant and sit on the floor indian style. then you have some dinner! i was soooo hungry by this time. we went straight to the sauna after school. when you're done eating you go into a large room, and the floor is covered in straw mats and there are people lying around on them. there area few small tables that you sit indian style at again, and some people were playing some chinese board games, and others were watching the huge screened tv's. all were wearing this weird robe-out fit things we were given. this was the only co-ed room... for obvious reasons. it was the only room people weren't naked! then at the back of the room there are caves. yup.. those are the saunas. when you get inside, you sit on the straw mats, and use sandbags as pillows if you want to lay down. it felt sooo good to sit in there and just sweat. it reminded me a little of the crazy heat in guatemala! when it gets too hot to stand you go and sit on the sloor at one of the little tables. when we sat down , one of the waiters brought a plate with four eggs - shells and all- to our table and a plate of salt. i guess they burn the eggs in the shells on the same stones they use for the sauna. when you open the egg it's either dark brown or black. it looked gross but it was good! smoked egg.. yummy. then they bring you this AMAZING ice cream thing. it's literally ice and cream. crushed ice with beans, and rice cake on top of sweet cream. it was sooooo good. and then you get some bubble tea. felt so nice after that hot sweaty sauna. then we played a chinese board game. it was similar to x's and o's, but you use coloured stones. (i'll show you when i get back!) then after that we went back to the locker room, gave back our robes and went back into the shower room. after dipping in the three pools again you go and lay down on a massage table. but instead of a massage a woman with a pumice mitt on comes and scrubs alllll of the dead skin off allllllll of your body. i really think i lost a pound there! haha. that took about half an hour. they oil you all up then just go to town on you. we all got to lay in the same room together so that was fun. less awkward. then after that you go and shower for a final time, and then you're done. and you even get to keep the pumice mitt!! wa hoo! at least that way you know they use a new one on you every time! i have never felt this good ever i don't think. i feel so smooth and so relaxed. i've never been to a spa before, but this really felt like it! i will most definately be going again!
so as soon as we got to the sauna, we removed our shoes, got a key and went up a carpeted staircase to the locker room. (that carpet by the way is the only carpet i have seen since i've been here so it only made the stay all the more luxurious) as soon as you get to the locker room, you leave your inhabitions at the door and strip down. haha. i feel really close with my new friends now. they know more about me than some friends i've had all my life! when you're 'prepared' you step into the shower roomand bath room. there is a wall lines with open showers, and opposite that wall is three large square pools. one is really hot, one is mediocre, and one is verrry cold. when you're showered and clean you go into the first hot pool, then proceed your way to the cold one. when you're finished with that you dry off, and go back to the locker room. there you're given funny little outfits to wear. then wen you have your funny little outfits on you go out into a little restaurant and sit on the floor indian style. then you have some dinner! i was soooo hungry by this time. we went straight to the sauna after school. when you're done eating you go into a large room, and the floor is covered in straw mats and there are people lying around on them. there area few small tables that you sit indian style at again, and some people were playing some chinese board games, and others were watching the huge screened tv's. all were wearing this weird robe-out fit things we were given. this was the only co-ed room... for obvious reasons. it was the only room people weren't naked! then at the back of the room there are caves. yup.. those are the saunas. when you get inside, you sit on the straw mats, and use sandbags as pillows if you want to lay down. it felt sooo good to sit in there and just sweat. it reminded me a little of the crazy heat in guatemala! when it gets too hot to stand you go and sit on the sloor at one of the little tables. when we sat down , one of the waiters brought a plate with four eggs - shells and all- to our table and a plate of salt. i guess they burn the eggs in the shells on the same stones they use for the sauna. when you open the egg it's either dark brown or black. it looked gross but it was good! smoked egg.. yummy. then they bring you this AMAZING ice cream thing. it's literally ice and cream. crushed ice with beans, and rice cake on top of sweet cream. it was sooooo good. and then you get some bubble tea. felt so nice after that hot sweaty sauna. then we played a chinese board game. it was similar to x's and o's, but you use coloured stones. (i'll show you when i get back!) then after that we went back to the locker room, gave back our robes and went back into the shower room. after dipping in the three pools again you go and lay down on a massage table. but instead of a massage a woman with a pumice mitt on comes and scrubs alllll of the dead skin off allllllll of your body. i really think i lost a pound there! haha. that took about half an hour. they oil you all up then just go to town on you. we all got to lay in the same room together so that was fun. less awkward. then after that you go and shower for a final time, and then you're done. and you even get to keep the pumice mitt!! wa hoo! at least that way you know they use a new one on you every time! i have never felt this good ever i don't think. i feel so smooth and so relaxed. i've never been to a spa before, but this really felt like it! i will most definately be going again!
oh sooo niiiice
well today was Jenny's birthday!! wa hoo!... it was fun. we all went out for dinner.. ate WAYYYY too much again..(story of my recent life).... and then all of the girls (me, nancy, Ji Hye, and Jenny) went out for massages. wow it was sooo goood. i put some pictures up on my facebook. it was hilarious... me and ji hye got girl massagers and then in walks this young handsome chinese guy to massage her mom. it really was her special day! they were intense foot massages (next time we're doing the whole body thang!) and ji hye is really ticklish so she just laughed through the whooole thing. my feet have never felt so happy. it was so fun. tomorrow night me and mariah, and ji hye and nancy are going to a korean sauna. i guess they're really neat. although it's the bare all type.. o well! i'm here for the experience! haha. i'll be sure to have a full detailed report tomorrow ;) alright... i'm going to bed.. keep smilin :)
yeahhhhhhhhh
SOOO as it turns out i don't think i'll be up for winning the "most clever of the human race" award anytime soon... haha.. i managed the other night to give myself a little concussion. most people would consider climbing on seaweed covered steps at night wearin only sandals as maybe not being a super fantastic idea. well... tried and true. you're right! i thought i was being ohhhh sooo careful.. but i slipped and smashed my head on a higher step. i was still a little woozy today in class and my arms are all scraped up.. but it was pretty hilarious at the time. i swear.. i'll be more careful... i don't REALLY enjoy looking like the product of someone's fury.
so, karen remember when we gorged ourselves on cherries at Gary and Rene's that one time in Regina? well... i've been making that a lifestyle these days! there are always people with wagons filled with cherries all over the place, and you pay 10 RMB for a bag full.. and so easily eat the whole thing while your walking around. so far that's been an everyday occurance. you think i'd be sick of them by now! o well.. better a bag of them than a bag of chocolate.. although that does sound pretty good right now...it's so nice!
tonight me and Ji Hye went to the government building... you walk up a million steps and it's surrounded by a huge park and a waterfountain. and you can just sit there and watch the whole city. and people crowd around there to play hackey sack... leap frog... have a waterfight in the fountain.. you know whatever youre into... and i can't believe how many couples there are here!!! especially at night! that's when they all come out. it's like bible college.
i tried some weird things lately... some little snail things... i've always wanted to try escargot.. that's the closest thing i've come to so far. and i ate some sea cucumber... it was gross. but it was given to me when we went for dinner with the government people, and it's rude to not try everything.. so i had to choke it down. yummmmy. another strange thing was jellyfish. i thought it would have the texture of a squid.. but it was really gritty. those clams are still the best seafood i've EVER had. it would seriously be worth the flight here just to try them! so i can expect you all for dinner?
classes are still going good...i'm getting to know my students and my colleagues better so that always makes things more easy-going. i'm teaching my high school class how to write a business letter though ... HOW do you make that interesting!!?? the only way i can think of is to just skip that unit altogether! o well.. i'll think of something...
One of the teachers who finised teaching at little fox about a year ago is coming to visit tomorrow. he's 24 and from the states so it'll be cool to meet him. oh yeah! haha.. i met an italian foreigner the other day! i was pretty excited because foreigners are so rare around here.. but it was kind of ruined because he thought he was a pretty smooth guy... sorry! not interested! well anyway i should get to bed.. it's 1am here... i've had a hard time sleeping this week to i'll take what i can get!
well see you later! hope you're amazing!
so, karen remember when we gorged ourselves on cherries at Gary and Rene's that one time in Regina? well... i've been making that a lifestyle these days! there are always people with wagons filled with cherries all over the place, and you pay 10 RMB for a bag full.. and so easily eat the whole thing while your walking around. so far that's been an everyday occurance. you think i'd be sick of them by now! o well.. better a bag of them than a bag of chocolate.. although that does sound pretty good right now...it's so nice!
tonight me and Ji Hye went to the government building... you walk up a million steps and it's surrounded by a huge park and a waterfountain. and you can just sit there and watch the whole city. and people crowd around there to play hackey sack... leap frog... have a waterfight in the fountain.. you know whatever youre into... and i can't believe how many couples there are here!!! especially at night! that's when they all come out. it's like bible college.
i tried some weird things lately... some little snail things... i've always wanted to try escargot.. that's the closest thing i've come to so far. and i ate some sea cucumber... it was gross. but it was given to me when we went for dinner with the government people, and it's rude to not try everything.. so i had to choke it down. yummmmy. another strange thing was jellyfish. i thought it would have the texture of a squid.. but it was really gritty. those clams are still the best seafood i've EVER had. it would seriously be worth the flight here just to try them! so i can expect you all for dinner?
classes are still going good...i'm getting to know my students and my colleagues better so that always makes things more easy-going. i'm teaching my high school class how to write a business letter though ... HOW do you make that interesting!!?? the only way i can think of is to just skip that unit altogether! o well.. i'll think of something...
One of the teachers who finised teaching at little fox about a year ago is coming to visit tomorrow. he's 24 and from the states so it'll be cool to meet him. oh yeah! haha.. i met an italian foreigner the other day! i was pretty excited because foreigners are so rare around here.. but it was kind of ruined because he thought he was a pretty smooth guy... sorry! not interested! well anyway i should get to bed.. it's 1am here... i've had a hard time sleeping this week to i'll take what i can get!
well see you later! hope you're amazing!
RANDOM!
hey!
so i'm making it through my first weekend teaching. they're long days, but i like them! the classes are entirely different than during the week so it keeps things fresh. SO! a really cool thing happened last night! i guess the students really enjoy me as their teacher, and have been telling their parents about me, and their parents have been calling my boss telling her how impressed they are. cool yeah? and so anyway... i guess news spread to the government. so yesterday when classes were over jenny said caitlin i know you're tired, but we've been asked to dinner by the government officials. i was like.. uhhh.. ok!... i looked like a mess but relationship in china is SOOO important. and if you can make relationship with someone so high up in society that's amazingly good for you! so the government guy's driver came and picked us up and took us wayyyy out to this secluded hotel on the water. gorgeous. kinda scary though .. we were so far away. and anyway so we went upstairs, and met the government people. and i gues i've been teaching the head government guy's son, without knowing it. and he was so impressed with what he was hearing that the government official wants me to teach him english! isn't that crazy?!? it's such an honour. well anyway.. i have ot get back to class. see ya lata!
so i'm making it through my first weekend teaching. they're long days, but i like them! the classes are entirely different than during the week so it keeps things fresh. SO! a really cool thing happened last night! i guess the students really enjoy me as their teacher, and have been telling their parents about me, and their parents have been calling my boss telling her how impressed they are. cool yeah? and so anyway... i guess news spread to the government. so yesterday when classes were over jenny said caitlin i know you're tired, but we've been asked to dinner by the government officials. i was like.. uhhh.. ok!... i looked like a mess but relationship in china is SOOO important. and if you can make relationship with someone so high up in society that's amazingly good for you! so the government guy's driver came and picked us up and took us wayyyy out to this secluded hotel on the water. gorgeous. kinda scary though .. we were so far away. and anyway so we went upstairs, and met the government people. and i gues i've been teaching the head government guy's son, without knowing it. and he was so impressed with what he was hearing that the government official wants me to teach him english! isn't that crazy?!? it's such an honour. well anyway.. i have ot get back to class. see ya lata!
OH YEAH!
so.... basically i forgot to post the coolest thing ever! must be from the smell of singed arm hair. i burnt all the hair off my arm on the gas stove from making french toast. the things i go through for a canadian breakfast.
so anyway! as most of you know i have been praying since before i left canada for some christian connections here. and there was a concert last week at Ji Hye's university so we went of course.
and we ran into her english teacher (who is a canadian!) and his wife (wayne and lori) and i was joking around with them a bit. and i knew they were believers, because Ji Hye told me, but they had no clue that i was. so anyway the concert was starting so we went and found a seat. and after a couple hours, because we were taking the bus home we had to leave early, but i really felt like i should leave my number with wayne and lori. but i have no clue where they were. then when we were leaving i saw lori. so i walked over and said " hey Ji Hye told me you guys are christians. i am too, and i was wondering if i could come to church with you sometime" and she took me aside and said " you know what? as soon as you walked away from us wayne said 'she's here because she answered the call of God." that was so cool! not only do i have the christian connections i was praying for, but that was total confirmation that i'm exactly where God wants me right now! i just couldn't get over it. He is so good! so i guess they meet up with a bunch of other foreigners every week for church and picnics and stuff. so i'm really excited to see what kinds of opportunities God will bring up!!!! so don't worry!!! i'm being taken care of!!!!!!
:)
so anyway! as most of you know i have been praying since before i left canada for some christian connections here. and there was a concert last week at Ji Hye's university so we went of course.
and we ran into her english teacher (who is a canadian!) and his wife (wayne and lori) and i was joking around with them a bit. and i knew they were believers, because Ji Hye told me, but they had no clue that i was. so anyway the concert was starting so we went and found a seat. and after a couple hours, because we were taking the bus home we had to leave early, but i really felt like i should leave my number with wayne and lori. but i have no clue where they were. then when we were leaving i saw lori. so i walked over and said " hey Ji Hye told me you guys are christians. i am too, and i was wondering if i could come to church with you sometime" and she took me aside and said " you know what? as soon as you walked away from us wayne said 'she's here because she answered the call of God." that was so cool! not only do i have the christian connections i was praying for, but that was total confirmation that i'm exactly where God wants me right now! i just couldn't get over it. He is so good! so i guess they meet up with a bunch of other foreigners every week for church and picnics and stuff. so i'm really excited to see what kinds of opportunities God will bring up!!!! so don't worry!!! i'm being taken care of!!!!!!
:)
Miss. Carr
Hey!
so i started teaching on Monday! i LOVE it! the students are so much fun! i especially enjoy teaching the 10-15 year olds. they're advanced enough to be able to joke around. we have a lot of fun in those classes. HOWEVER there are two classes are have me a little discouraged. one is my composition class (all 17-18 year olds... one of which is my boss's son.... so that adds just a tiny bit of pressure) AND on top of that i'm trying to teach them grammar. SNORE! how do you make that interesting!??! and the other one is the kindergarten class. how you make a classroom full of 6 year olds listen for more than half an hour is completely beyond me at this point. i know that right now everything is trial and error until i get the hang of it, but still! over all though.. i love it. and the kids really seem to like me and the way i teach so that's encouraging.
so today i made french toast and scrambled eggs for Ji Hye. haha it was so nice to have something besides rice for breakfast! if i miss anything right now its breakfast food.
but i did try jelly fish for the first time. (it's not very good) it's kind of gritty.
well on monday we had a going away party for troy (the teacher i'm replacing for a month). so yes.. more karaoke. haha.. it was fun. i love china! i wish all of you could come here and experience it first hand. wellllll.... i have some lesson plans to make up... woo hoo. i hope it doesn't take too long to get the hang of this!
so i started teaching on Monday! i LOVE it! the students are so much fun! i especially enjoy teaching the 10-15 year olds. they're advanced enough to be able to joke around. we have a lot of fun in those classes. HOWEVER there are two classes are have me a little discouraged. one is my composition class (all 17-18 year olds... one of which is my boss's son.... so that adds just a tiny bit of pressure) AND on top of that i'm trying to teach them grammar. SNORE! how do you make that interesting!??! and the other one is the kindergarten class. how you make a classroom full of 6 year olds listen for more than half an hour is completely beyond me at this point. i know that right now everything is trial and error until i get the hang of it, but still! over all though.. i love it. and the kids really seem to like me and the way i teach so that's encouraging.
so today i made french toast and scrambled eggs for Ji Hye. haha it was so nice to have something besides rice for breakfast! if i miss anything right now its breakfast food.
but i did try jelly fish for the first time. (it's not very good) it's kind of gritty.
well on monday we had a going away party for troy (the teacher i'm replacing for a month). so yes.. more karaoke. haha.. it was fun. i love china! i wish all of you could come here and experience it first hand. wellllll.... i have some lesson plans to make up... woo hoo. i hope it doesn't take too long to get the hang of this!
HEYYY
hey i think i gave the wrong link for my pictures... this one should be thr right one;
http://www.facebook.com/album.php?profile&id=604780995
so giver 'er a try!... and yeah just let me know if it works or not... schweeet! tanks ;)
http://www.facebook.com/album.php?profile&id=604780995
so giver 'er a try!... and yeah just let me know if it works or not... schweeet! tanks ;)
good riddance puppies!
well we got rid of our dogs yesterday. yeah they're cute, but i'm kind of glad they're gone. now we can walk aroudn our house without wondering if we're about to step in a pee puddle, or a pile of poop. we went to the beach.. the real beach with the sand and everything. it's beautiful. miami's got nothin on this place! and there were stands with people selling seashell creations. they can make some pretty intricate stuff with just a few seashells. so we walked around the beach trying to get someone to buy our dogs. we got rid of one there. but no one seemed to want my kimchi! so we went to the night market and set up a place there to yell at people to come buy a puppy. then this chinese guy came up to us, and he spoke almost perfect english! it was so nice to hear. no one speaks anything more than "hellloooooo" here usually. and he said he didn't think it was safe for us to be there so he bought the puppy. such a relief. then i came home a cleaned ferociously. it's so nice to be able to walk around without shoes on!!!! but downtown yesterday there was a crowd of people and we thought maybe there was a fight so we went to check it out. but there were monkeys! i've never really seen monkeys except for in the zoo. there were three of them, and there was a trainer making them do tricks. they were jumping, and slapping the trainer and some other weird stuff. they made us pay to watch! but it was worth it, it was so cool! just like a movie. i took some pictures. OH! and speaking of pictures! i'm posting all my pictures on facebook. just click on my profile picture and then all the thumbnails should come up. if for some reason it's not working just let me know. http://www.facebook.com/profile.php?id=604780995
so the other day i was feeling confident in my chinese speaking ability so i decided to hop a taxi by myself. haha... WELLLL.. turns out i said the right word, but i put the accent on the wrong part of the word so i ended up somewhere WAY outside of the city. i got to see some nice sights though so it wasn't ALL bad. but it was definately the wrong day to be breaking in my new heels. blisters to THE MAX. and there are SOO many stray cats here!! it's so annoying. i'm almost hoping they catch them all and put them in chicken balls. well.... i have some teaching to get ready for. see ya lata!
so the other day i was feeling confident in my chinese speaking ability so i decided to hop a taxi by myself. haha... WELLLL.. turns out i said the right word, but i put the accent on the wrong part of the word so i ended up somewhere WAY outside of the city. i got to see some nice sights though so it wasn't ALL bad. but it was definately the wrong day to be breaking in my new heels. blisters to THE MAX. and there are SOO many stray cats here!! it's so annoying. i'm almost hoping they catch them all and put them in chicken balls. well.... i have some teaching to get ready for. see ya lata!
Just call me "Spicy Eye"
helloooo again.
things here in china are rainy. i love it though! rain is one of my favourite kinds of weather. it's so cozy.. and you can't feel guilty about staying inside and watching a movie.. or three. i just bought 8 new release DVD's for 8 bucks! nowwww i just hope that they work. haha.
On tuesday night me and Ji Hye decided to go and try out a chinese "DISCO." She's never been to one, and clearly i never have either. so we went for japanese food first.. i LOOOOVE it! their steamed clams.. wow... there are no words. haha.. so good! as soon as we sat down all of the staff was all over me.. treating me like a celebrity (I could get used to this!) well as i was slurping my spicy noodles a noodle went crazy and hit me in the eye... the sauce was sooo spicy i couldn't open my eye and there were tears pouring out everywhere out of both eyes... and i was laughing hysterically, and ALL of the waitresses were trying to rub my eye. haha.. it was hilarious. but i flushed it with some water and it was fine. so now Ji Hye thinks it;s funny to call me spicy eye. haha then.. hunger extremely satisfied... we went to the disco called 1+1... it doesn;t look like much on the outside but the inside is insanely classy. it has glass floors and under it is a bunch of sand, with different things arranged in it like starfish, and shells and bottles of JD! haha. but we didn't stay there long because it was still early so we walked to a different club called 2046. this is was a cool bar! there's a dancing platform for anyone who feels like they wanna be brave and boogy.. and four higher platforms for paid employees to dance. some were girls and some were guys.. it was so cool. i've never seen guys dance like that before. not even embarrassed in their super short cut off jean shorts haha... but the coolest thing was the price there! you pay 15 canadian dollars (110 RMB) and get 12 beer, a basket of popcorn, a basket of beer nuts, a platter of fruit and free glowsticks! haha... ANNND you get to take home what you don't drink. so of course we ended up taking nearly all of them home. it was fun... (but unfortunately you can't escape shania twain ANYWHERE!!) and yesterday i went and got my hair cut.. YEAH i was nervous.. they don't understand me. but it turned out ok. the whole shop was just guy hairdressers.. something i've never seen before. not a girl in the place. odd. and the way they cut hair is SOOO different. i can't even explan it. you'd have to get it done.. but its like watching an artist paint. their technique is amazing. and my hair even turned out not looking scary! well tonight me and Ji Hye are going to try to sell the puppies at the night market. sad... but totally necessary! we're never home so it's unfair to them to be alone all day..... i just hope that whoever buys them, buys them for the purpose of owning a pet! :P well... see ya lata!
things here in china are rainy. i love it though! rain is one of my favourite kinds of weather. it's so cozy.. and you can't feel guilty about staying inside and watching a movie.. or three. i just bought 8 new release DVD's for 8 bucks! nowwww i just hope that they work. haha.
On tuesday night me and Ji Hye decided to go and try out a chinese "DISCO." She's never been to one, and clearly i never have either. so we went for japanese food first.. i LOOOOVE it! their steamed clams.. wow... there are no words. haha.. so good! as soon as we sat down all of the staff was all over me.. treating me like a celebrity (I could get used to this!) well as i was slurping my spicy noodles a noodle went crazy and hit me in the eye... the sauce was sooo spicy i couldn't open my eye and there were tears pouring out everywhere out of both eyes... and i was laughing hysterically, and ALL of the waitresses were trying to rub my eye. haha.. it was hilarious. but i flushed it with some water and it was fine. so now Ji Hye thinks it;s funny to call me spicy eye. haha then.. hunger extremely satisfied... we went to the disco called 1+1... it doesn;t look like much on the outside but the inside is insanely classy. it has glass floors and under it is a bunch of sand, with different things arranged in it like starfish, and shells and bottles of JD! haha. but we didn't stay there long because it was still early so we walked to a different club called 2046. this is was a cool bar! there's a dancing platform for anyone who feels like they wanna be brave and boogy.. and four higher platforms for paid employees to dance. some were girls and some were guys.. it was so cool. i've never seen guys dance like that before. not even embarrassed in their super short cut off jean shorts haha... but the coolest thing was the price there! you pay 15 canadian dollars (110 RMB) and get 12 beer, a basket of popcorn, a basket of beer nuts, a platter of fruit and free glowsticks! haha... ANNND you get to take home what you don't drink. so of course we ended up taking nearly all of them home. it was fun... (but unfortunately you can't escape shania twain ANYWHERE!!) and yesterday i went and got my hair cut.. YEAH i was nervous.. they don't understand me. but it turned out ok. the whole shop was just guy hairdressers.. something i've never seen before. not a girl in the place. odd. and the way they cut hair is SOOO different. i can't even explan it. you'd have to get it done.. but its like watching an artist paint. their technique is amazing. and my hair even turned out not looking scary! well tonight me and Ji Hye are going to try to sell the puppies at the night market. sad... but totally necessary! we're never home so it's unfair to them to be alone all day..... i just hope that whoever buys them, buys them for the purpose of owning a pet! :P well... see ya lata!
Finally... an update... :)
so now I finally have permanent access to a computer (unless the power goes out… which is a common occurance) because I broke down a bought a laptop. It was super cheap so I guess it wasn’t really “breaking down.” But anyway…I tried updating my blog twice but the computer was all in chinese so I guess I must have hit a wrong button or something. Oops! Well! So much has happened!! Me and Ji Hye bought two puppies from an underground market (I know….*cringe*) but they are so cute! And they seem to be healthy. I love china! There are so many fun things to do and different things to try. My favourite so far is trying all of the “dirty” foods that street vendors sell out of little carts on the street. They’re so interesting and so yummy! (and so cheap! 2 RMB for a meal which equals roughly 15 cents.) they do sell some realllllly gross looking things though.. I can’t believe some of the things people eat. Half-developed-baby-chickens that-are-just-coming-out-of-the-shell on a stick, (almost everything is sold by 3’s or 4’s on a stick) and chicken heads, and lamb heads, rotten eggs, deep fried chicken skin.. the list definitely goes on.… and the last couple nights we went to the night market. That’s super fun too. This place come to life with cool things like that at nightfall. They block off a few streets and set up a couple hundred stands selling everything from squid on a stick to really cute shoes. I went and ate at a real authentic Chinese restaurant. As soon as you walk in the doors there are tanks upon tanks of live sea animals… like octopus and star fish, and other things that I didn’t even recognize. They put them there so you can see that your food is “fresh.” And your teacup is filled with flower pedals and mushrooms and some other weird things and this guy in a chinese style pajama suit comes with this strange kettle thing with a LOOOOONG spout and fills your tea cup from a foot away from the table. I was so scared he would miss and pour hot water all over me… but it’s actually quite a skill they have. The way that they eat every meal here is SO extremely huge and communal. It’s all “Dim Sum” style. This is when you order a few different things and they all come on separate plates that are HEAPED with whatever you order, so you end up having 10 different plates on your table LOADED with food and everyone grabs their chopsticks and digs right in. no one has a separate plate. The only thing you don’t share is your teacup. It’s really cool.. but reallllllly easy to over eat.. But that is Oh kay. the other day I had some time to myself so I set off on a walk to practice my Chinese (I started studying Chinese last week.. it’s soooo interesting…) i went walking by the beach and it’s SO beautiful. I got some great pictures. There is a little place where they have carnival rides everyday, and there are so many intriguing statues and architecture and fountains. At this particular part of the beach there is no sand… just stairs and overflow platforms. When the tide is low every one scurries around the stairs to see what was left there. They find things for dinner like various kinds of seaweed and starfish, and crabs, and sting rays. It’s really neat to watch. And there’s always old men sitting (or squatting) on the stairs with their fishing poles hanging wayyyy out over the water. I went to this coffee place too and instead of chairs they had hanging benches. They were hung by flower vines. It was beautiful. And sooo relaxing. There was a kung foo competition downtown, but I only got to see a little bit of it. Haha.. and there was a “Chinese Idol” try out here by my apartment in front of the super market. That was fun. Those people could sing! Of course I had NO idea what they were singing about but it was nice anyway. And I guess karaoke is a HUGE deal here. So one night Jenny took me and her family out for dinner, and everyone decided to go to karaoke at the Tomato Bar after. I was kind of nervous because I figured that it would be singing in front of a whole bar full of people. But it’s not like that at all! There are private rooms down many hallways and in the room is a table, a semi circle leather couch, and a karaoke machine. So you just sing with the people you come with. It was fun! I was sick so I didn’t sing (yeah that excuse works every time….) But I’ve taught 5 classes so far!! I love it! I love teaching! I wasn’t so sure about the teaching part when I first got here, but it’s fantastic. And I guess the students love me so that’s a bonus! (I also haven’t had to assign any homework yet mwahahahahahaha) the kindergarten class is kind of a handful but.. what do you expect from a bunch of 6 year olds? I teach every age from 6-18. three of my students are Jenny’s kids. I don’t start teaching them until next week though. but guess what?!?!? Jenny wants to send me to a Little Fox (that’s the name of the school) conference in Korea in September! Isn’t that great?!? Just me and Ji Hye will be going. That’s going to be a good time. I’m excited! Well I officially start my teaching rotation in 6 DAYS!!! I can’t wait. Actually what I REALLY can’t wait for is when I can walk down the street without everyone staring at me like I have three heads! You can definitely tell they don’t get too many foreigners here….that and my skin isn’t reacting to the humidity too well so my face looks like a pepperoni pizza with extra pepperoni so I can’t wait for that to clear up……well… until next time!!!! ZAIJIAN!! (goodbye)
(OH!!!! And my new phone number is;
13184187971… you have to punch the country code in first.. and I’m not too sure what that is right now. It’s a cell phone so you can try texting me too!!)
OH... and my encoding on this page is all in squares so i don't understand any of it. and under Encoding in my toolbar there is no english whatsoever... does anyone know how i can change this?
(OH!!!! And my new phone number is;
13184187971… you have to punch the country code in first.. and I’m not too sure what that is right now. It’s a cell phone so you can try texting me too!!)
OH... and my encoding on this page is all in squares so i don't understand any of it. and under Encoding in my toolbar there is no english whatsoever... does anyone know how i can change this?
Wednesday, May 16, 2007
I'M HERE!!!
So i am DEFINATELY in china!! i can't believe it! the flight was sooooooooo long... at least it's cured my fear of flying.. well for now anyway. when we were landing in beijing the air pollutionm was so thick you could smell it through the plane, and you couldn't see anything out of the plane window until you were a foot off the ground. so.. as you can imagine.. the smell here is something all in itself. so many unfamiliar smells, and every meter you walk you smell somethign different. i'll have to get used to that... there are so many differences i don't even know where to start! when i got here i was met at the airport by Ji Hye... (my boss's daughter, AND my new room mate) she's my age and she's so great! she met me with a huge sign that said HELLO CAITLIN WELCOME TO CHINA! it was so cool! and then we took a VERY rocky flight for an hour from beijing to weihai. i LOVE weihai. so far... i haven't seen too much of it yet. there's over a million people here and it's considered a "small town." whatever! the ocean is gorgeous! our apartment is gorgeous! i love my boss and her family. they have completely taken me under their wing and made me feel like i'm a part of their family. jenny (my boss) calls me her little baby. they are SUCH a huge blessing! when we got to our apartment, they right away made my bed for me with blankets she had bought. and they bought me some toiletries for the bathroom like toothpaste and a tooth brush and soap and towels. it was so nice! and she has me over for lunch every day and let;s me use her computer. they are so incredibly accomodating. last night i got to go to the school and meet some of my students! they are SO cute! and i got to do a little bit of teaching ot just get a feel for it. it's great! i'm so excited to be teaching here! the school is really small.. there's three full time teachers, and i'm the only female. but it's great. jenny is amazing. yesterday i bought a cell phone... i have to register it first before i can call home, or be called, but i'm doing that today. i have a chinese name! i have no clue how to write it in characters but it sounds like "Tur Lin." so that's kinda cool. i haven't been able to slow down long enough to be effected by cultural differences. my chopstick skills are improving! haha. well ... that's all for now..!!! bye!
Thursday, May 10, 2007
My frist blog!
Hey!
Well this is how i'll be keeping in touch with everyone i know when i take off to China. WoW.. i can't believe i fly outta here in ... 4 days! i almost want to cancel my trip when i think about flying! i'm terrified! i know i've done it before.. but.. still.. it freaks the crap out of me. the last few days i've just been asking myself.. WHY THE HECK AM I DOING THIS?!? buuuut it's too late to back out now. haha. i think it'll be a good experience for me. i know it's going to be SUPER hard... but i think i need a challenge in my life right now. and i really think that God's going to use this time to force me to rely on him completely. to trust him. not an easy lesson, but i'll do what it takes. i'm sick of being mediocre! you know????? of course you do :)
so i fly out of saskatoon to vancouver on monday morning, and get to Beijing on tuesday at 3pm. yeah.. looooong flight... grreeeaaat. and then my boss is coming to pick me up and take me to my new house in Weihai. i guess her 22 year old daughter will be sharing a house with me... awwwkwarrd.... i hope not. i can't wait to meet new people and start over. but i just have this foreboding dread and weariness when i think about adjusting. which is weird for me. so please.. PLEASE pray for a smooth transition.... annnd that i won't hyperventilate on the plane. i did that once.. it was embarrassing. well.. i probably won't blog again until i get there and have something to say. i'll be keeping a photo journal on here to.. so check it out! ok.. see you lata all!!
Well this is how i'll be keeping in touch with everyone i know when i take off to China. WoW.. i can't believe i fly outta here in ... 4 days! i almost want to cancel my trip when i think about flying! i'm terrified! i know i've done it before.. but.. still.. it freaks the crap out of me. the last few days i've just been asking myself.. WHY THE HECK AM I DOING THIS?!? buuuut it's too late to back out now. haha. i think it'll be a good experience for me. i know it's going to be SUPER hard... but i think i need a challenge in my life right now. and i really think that God's going to use this time to force me to rely on him completely. to trust him. not an easy lesson, but i'll do what it takes. i'm sick of being mediocre! you know????? of course you do :)
so i fly out of saskatoon to vancouver on monday morning, and get to Beijing on tuesday at 3pm. yeah.. looooong flight... grreeeaaat. and then my boss is coming to pick me up and take me to my new house in Weihai. i guess her 22 year old daughter will be sharing a house with me... awwwkwarrd.... i hope not. i can't wait to meet new people and start over. but i just have this foreboding dread and weariness when i think about adjusting. which is weird for me. so please.. PLEASE pray for a smooth transition.... annnd that i won't hyperventilate on the plane. i did that once.. it was embarrassing. well.. i probably won't blog again until i get there and have something to say. i'll be keeping a photo journal on here to.. so check it out! ok.. see you lata all!!
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