China-fied Christmas

Merry Christmas everyone!

I have now survived my first Christmas away from my family!  As much as I was dreading the experience, it actually was a lovely weekend.  It was great to have a group of homesick Canadians all banding together to avoid being lonely on the holiday weekend.  We all had plenty to do, and plenty to eat.

Taha and Meg puzzling

On Friday evening I went out for some pampering, and got a mani-pedi with a group of girls.  My manicurist complained the whole time that my nails were too short for painting, but she did it anyway!  The stress of teaching is not helping me quit a dirty nail biting habit...  After pampering we went out to a nice meal and then headed to a concert.  A few of the teachers are in a band and were doing a performance.  Unfortunately, we were too late for most of their performance - but we arrived just in time for a few Chinese bands that rocked the house.  It was one of the funniest things I have ever seen!  They sang some songs in English, but mostly they sang in Chinese.  The crowd loved them, and was dancing to the beat with waving glow sticks, and chanting "N-core, N-core" every time the band paused for more than 30 seconds.  I just sat back and enjoyed the show!

Saturday was Christmas Eve.  I woke up for a quick trip to the gym, and then headed out to do my Christmas shopping.  One of the positive things about China is that on Christmas eve it is no more busy than any other day.  Not to say that it isn't busy....I do live in a town of 6 million....but not any MORE busy!  I quickly gathered what I needed for stockings and headed home for some skype time with people back home.  That evening we ordered in, and settled on the couch for some Christmas movies and puzzles.  All of a sudden it sounded like a war zone outside; the street below was thundering with fireworks.  Apparently in the past few years China has taken on Christmas eve as a new celebration.  We went out searching for the source of the excitement.  Down in front of the mall there was a stage with a dance contest, tables with piles and piles of fireworks for sale, and many people selling paper lanterns.  We were able to buy and light our own lantern.  It was a really beautiful watching hundreds of lanterns floating up over the city lights.

The essentials  for a Chinese Christmas Eve

Canadians trying to figure out the paper lanterns

Success!

On Christmas morning we woke up early to open stockings and exchange presents.  I took on the mom role and filled the stockings with plenty of useful goodies.  It definitely made it feel like home!  I cooked us a big brunch, and then we settled in to skype home for Canada's Christmas eve.  We had a relaxing afternoon, watching movies and napping.  In the evening some friends hosted Christmas dinner, with a full turkey (cooked in a toaster oven).  It actually turned out great!  There was about 15 of us eating and celebrating together.

After Santa filled the stockings

Christmas morning

Opening our presents

Unfortunately, we had to head back to work on Monday, but it was a great Christmas.  Being without my family is not something I would like to get used to, but I am proud that I wasn't too homesick!  I hope everyone had a lovely holiday! 

Brunch of dumplings, eggs, toast, tomatoes and grilled turkey

Christmas presents!

Daily Sights

China is a beautiful country, but in such a different way than I expected.  I was anticipating smog, dirt, grime and squalor - which I found - but also so much more.  I just want to share a few pictures with you, from some of my daily sights here in China.  Some are mundane, and will match what you would see back home.  Others are unique to this strange country.

A Goat....in the restaurant district of Kai Faq Qu

Chinese Ichi-ban, much spicier than our Canadian version

Hot pot! (where the oil base is reused for every customer!)

My favourite beverage (tastes like watery Ice Cap)

Tofu Salad

First Field Trip

This year I am involved with the Model UN club on campus.  It is a pretty well developed club, and and it is one of the most popular at Maple Leaf.  One of the benefits of the club is that it is girls and guys (a pro for both the students and the teachers who get tired of dealing with only teenage boys).  The second benefit of the club is that it is all about going to conferences.  There are six of us running the club, and we meet once a week.  The meetings are all about prepping the kids to go to conferences and debate the resolutions they have written.  These kids know their way around a formal conference, and are gaining confidence daily speaking in front of large crowds.  All in all, these are some pretty impressive kids.

A few weeks ago I was lucky enough to be able to chaperone a conference the students attended.  We didn't go far, just down the road to the American International School (about a 10 minute drive).  I was pretty nervous about things going smoothly, but in reality it was a pretty easy day.  I didn't lose any kids, no one was injured, everyone had lunch money, no one burst into hysterics mid speech.  None of my fears where realized!

Years of camp counselling prepped me for the constant counting of kids, continually tracking where everyone is, and the art of herding a group of youth along a path.  I am grateful to have had these experiences, so that I was able to be calm and enjoy the day watching the kids excel in their debates.  

Field trips are a great way to get to know the students beyond the daily grind.  I was able to see students, not just my own crew of 100, grow in their English skills and genuinely enjoy a learning experience.  The next Model UN trip is March and involves a plane ride and two nights in a hotel!  Warm-up round went well, though, so bring on the big one!

A Little Christmas in China

Hey Friends,

My internet is still not working that great (which is why I haven't updated my Great Wall post yet), but I got enough juice to upload one photo.  I was able to put up a little Christmas tree in my place this year!  It has certainly helped it to feel more like home, and more like the season.  It is hard to believe Christmas is so close when we have no decorations, or no holiday to look forward to!  I have been spending my evenings in front of my tree listening to Christmas music - and it almost feels like home.

A Very Great Wall

Beijing Trip Part II:

On Sunday morning we woke up early to join a tour to the great wall.  A tour is the easiest way to see the wall, as the wall is actually a bit of a drive out of Beijing.  We went to a section that was about an hour and a half drive.  After a solid nap in the van, we arrived at one of the seven wonders.

From the bottom of the hill the wall doesn't actually look that impressive, but that is because you can't see the scope of it.  After a quick chairlift ride to the top you could see how immense the wall really was.  It runs along the peak of the mountain as far as you can see.  The part we were at was originally built as a border between China and Mongolia.  Much of the wall has been restored and widened, but even without the restoration the craftsmanship of it all was amazing.  It is huge!  We were reading "Mending Wall" by Robert Frost in class today and one of my students asked me: "Why the speaker always had to mend his wall every spring. Why couldn't he have just made it strong, like the great wall?  If concrete existed then I am sure it existed when Frost wrote this poem."  I was not sure how to answer, but I guess Frost could learn a thing or two about building a lasting wall from the ancient Chinese.

We had three hours to explore the wall, and we made the most of it.  We were only allowed to go 23 guard towers (at which point it became "wild" and we were warned we may never return).  Our tour guide thought that going to the 23rd tower would be a bit too much, but we accepted our challenge readily.  It was a very cold, but clear day on the wall and our power charging to the end definitely kept us warm.  We all wore every piece of clothing we had packed to Beijing, but quite quickly stuffed layers into our (read: Taha's) bag to cool off.


I was not expecting quite so many steps, or at least not so many steep steps!  I was most impressed with the older sections, the ones that were not restored for the Beijing Olympics.  These sections were much narrower, and made of many mismatched stones.  Along the way there were little stalls offering pop and chips, offered by locals who make the hike up to the wall everyday.  As I was walking I was imagining being one of the guards up on the wall.  Warming up in one of the towers.  Peering out into Mongolia, eyes open to attackers.  Marching back and forth, back and forth, atop a giant wall.   Although the concept of the wall is infinitely strange to me, seeing it was amazing.

After three hours of trekking across the wall, we lined up to take the slide down.  That's right, the slide.  You are allowed to take the chairlift back down, but the other option is a giant slide that looks like a water slide sans water.  You sit on a wheeled sled and get a push off at the top!  There is a break, but I only used it once I caught up to Meg!  It was a ton of fun jetting down the mountain.  Only in China would they build a slide as the primary method of transportation...

At the bottom we had lunch with our tour group, and drove back to Beijing.  Although we had planned to try out Peking Duck that night, we were out of time.  We drank a few cups of coffee, and then headed to the airport.

It was a great weekend, and I was able to see most of what I wanted to see in Beijing.  I will definitely be back there again this year!

Brace Yourself for Beijing

This past weekend I went away for the weekend, and flew for a quick trip to Beijing.  Beijing is only an hour and ten minute plane ride away, and so I had a full two days to explore the city.
Taha and I headed out on the 11:00 flight on Friday night.  We were very grateful to get out, because all the other flights were cancelled due to fog.  After a deep nap, through heavy turbulence, we woke up in Beijing.  It took us 2 and a half hours to get to our hostel, because we had to wait for a bus to take us across the runway and then wait in a giant line for a legal taxi.  Needless to say we were exhausted and went straight to sleep.  It was a super cute hostel, and Meg had shotgunned us a great little room.

Taheezy and I at the Monument to the People's Heroes

The next morning we woke up early and headed to the Forbidden City and Tiananmen Square.  It was a bit of a trek to get there, being that we took a bus in the wrong direction.  It was very impressive to see such an important and controversial historical location.  I was a bit upset that we didn't get the chance to go to Mao's mausoleum because it closed at 12.  Apparently they didn't decide to preserve his body until it had already begun to decay and now they alternate the body with a wax imitation.  Next time I definitely want to check that out.

Statue for the Workers

Next we went across the street to see the Forbidden City.  Again, the place has such an interesting history.  I am glad that I have now had the opportunity to see how the past rulers of quite a few different countries lived.  The common theme of isolation is always so intriguing to me.  Chinese Emperors had a giant area to live and rule, not far from the center of the city - yet so entirely separate.  It took about 2 hours to walk through the area from end to end.  There are countless courtyards, and each layer would have been for a more elite crowd.  The outer courtyards each have their own purpose according to different festivals.  It was an interesting trip through some of China's history.

One of the layers of the Forbidden City

That evening we went to an acrobatic show.  It was cirque du soleil-esque and very impressive!  There were gymnasts, contortionists (my least favourite...), and various people who could do amazing feats.  My favourite was the bicycle section.  At one point a woman was pedalling a bike with 10 people piled on to it!  It was a great show!  Unfortunately I wasn't able to take any pictures.

Some pretty impressive artwork on the roof

After some french fries and a Christmas latte from Starbucks we headed to bed to get ready for an early morning on the Great Wall.  But the Wall is a post for another day!


Hope all is well in Canada!

The entrance to the F.C.  (notice Mao's giant face on the wall)

Chilling like an Emperor would

Golden beauty

The details on the roof remind me of Santa's sleigh...

The temple at the entrance to the square

Favourite Feasts

Hey Friends,


This post if very important.  Superbly important in fact.  I have now been in China long enough to declare my favourite foods.  My mind is set, I have found the most delicious foods.


Firstly, every Monday a group of us go out for noodles at the noodle shack.  When I say shack I mean a shack.  I wish I had taken a picture of the outside of it, perhaps I will post an updated post at another time.  We refer to these noodles as "crack noodles" because you always want them, and when you have them you never want your bowl to end.  They only cost 7 kuai, which is a dollar Canadian.  You simply point to the noodle selection you want, choose some greens to go with, and if you want to add sticks of meat or mushrooms it is only an extra kuai.  I have never bothered with adding the meat, because the noodle bowl is perfection all by itself.  At first they would ask about how much spice we wanted, now they recognize us and just load it up.  Although the place looks sketchy, and they do not even have a working fridge to offer you cold cola to wash down your spicy noodles (beverages should be bought at the chicken shack across the alley before coming for noodles), this place is amazing.  As a bonus feature, you can also bag up an extra noodle bowl to take home for lunch the next day.  The only bad part is that the broth gets soaked back into the noodles and they become extra spicy.  I could eat these noodles every day and never tire of them.

A giant bowl a' crack noodles

Secondly, the restaurant we call Donkey Dumplings is prime.  D.D. carries many of my favourite dishes, all in one convenient location (the third alley from the roundabout, that is).  It is a hole in the wall, you have to request to have the tables washed, and at times during the meal you may be attacked by a mangy kitten or two....but it is the food of the gods.  The restaurant is Hong Bei style, meaning it features the specialties of the area we live in.  My top picks at D.D. are: Pineapple Sweet and Sour Pork (Gobaro, one of the few Mandarin words I have managed to memorize), Braised Greenbeans, Japanese Tofu and the Donkey Dumplings.
The Pineapple Gobaro is sweet and features large chunks of pineapple in tasty sauce (great to be mixed into rice as well).  It is not overfried or undercooked, and has the perfect proportion of saucy goodness.  Sweet and sour pork in Canada has nothing on this.  The Greenbeans are loaded up on garlic and have tiny pieces of grilled beef mixed in.  As my mom can attest, I don't eat beans in Canada.  Or any type of bean-like vegetable.  They are yucky. But they do something better here.  I think the better may relate to the copious amounts of garlic, but either way I am eating my veggies, right?  The Japanese Tofu is cooked in some way unknown to me.  I think it may be fried because the inside is soft and mushy, while the outside is tough.  They are almost impossible to chopstick, but are worth all of the trouble to load on to your plate.  I am becoming a huge tofu fan in China, because they cook it in a thousand different ways.  Plus it is the least sketchy protein product to buy in the market.  Lastly, the Donkey Dumplings.  I know people have qualms with eating an animal like the donkey, but I must tell you they are pretty tasty.  In reality anything in dumpling form is going to be appealing to me.  There are people who believe that the word donkey was just a poor translation, and it may be just another pork dish.  Regardless of what it is, I order it every time.   Plenty of dishes to share will add up to between 25 - 35 kuai, equalling about 4 - 6 bucks.

Two kinds of Gobaro (regular and pineapple), Greenbeans, Tofu at the top, and dumplings on the bottom right

Eating in China has definitely taken some getting used to, but it is always an adventure and it is so exciting to try new dishes and new restaurants.  I hope you aren't too hungry after reading this!
Go out and order some Chinese for dinner tonight!

The classy atmosphere at D.D.

Holidays of Weeks Past

Although I don't have many new enticing tales about my life abroad, a few fun events have happened in the past weeks.  Midterms just passed and I spent a week of my life invigilating exams and marking stacks of papers to get my grades organized in time for report cards.  It was enough to give me a disgusting Chinese flu, leaving me in bed for about three days.  However, I did have some good times - that are worthy of an update before the nasty illness befell me!

Halloween is a big deal here at Maple Leaf.   I think this is simply because it is cheap and easy to get costumes made from scratch.  There is no need to scrounge together a last minute costume from the remains of your closet, and what has gone on sale at Value Village.  You can simply take a photo to the seamstress, and she will whip a beautiful new costume up in about a week's time.

Snap! Crackle! Pop! (aka Me, Sara, Morgan)

We also force the kids to celebrate our holiday with us, and so we held  a giant Halloween dance event.  It was hilarious to chaperone, because it is one of the few opportunities the boys and girls have to mingle with one another.  They had elaborate costumes, and danced the night away together (after some initial awkwardness).  We even had fireworks and shooting flames up on the stage!

An interesting take on Snow White

Our staff party was not quite the affair, but it was a great chance to see a ton of great costumes.  Everyone was very creative, and it was fun to see what everyone had come up with.

So China!  Bruce Li about to be attacked by a Panda

I also have a few shots from my small birthday dinner last week, however most of them were not quality shots.  It was a delicious meal and a great break from constant marking!  I was spoiled by my friends here.  I had four cakes the week of my birthday!  Four!  It is no wonder why I was so sick this weekend.

Demolished dinner

Cake time!

To wrap up birthday week, Meg and I headed into town for a bit of shopping and a pedicure.  We bought sparkly tights lined with fleece that I am oh so excited to bust out soon.  Why live in a place like China if you can't indulge in their fashion?  I wanted to buy a giant sweater that had a dog wearing sparkly glasses and a lace covered sweater...but even the salespeople laughed at me for that one.

Another Year Passing

Today is my birthday eve.  As many of you know, I am a birthday nut.  I advocate birthday week and insist upon celebrating my life in as many ways as possible.  (And yes, I realize this is a bit self-centered, but a birthday comes but once a year!)  Here is China my besties who normally oblige me are many miles away, and my family celebrated my Grandma's birthday last week and skipped out on our normal double party.  My friends here are wonderful, but I will admit it is just not the same as being at home!  Plus, as the youngest employee at Maple Leaf I am laughed at for my enthusiasm at passing years.  I am however, still excited to have a birthday this week.  Although it is midterms and my stack of marking is as large as it will probably get all year, it is still my day.  I don't even have to teach, I simply need to watch kids write a test.  And my boxes I shipped from Canada just arrived in time for my birthday!  I bought a few treats from the import store, and I am going out for a good dinner with some great people.

I am super thankful for my past year.  I think I can genuinely say it was the best so far.  It was the year that I experienced the most change and a year where I had the most happiness.  My 22nd birthday was in Vancouver, and I was able to welcome the year with both old and new friends.  I spent most of my year doing my B.Ed at UBC, and I absolutely loved getting to know a new city and an amazing group of people.

My Birthday last year!

I spent most of my spring doing practicum.  Which was hell, as most people who have had a practicum with attest, but I was blessed with a great school, supportive sponsor teachers, and a sweet crew of Teacher Candidates to make it through with.

Summer in Vancouver was relaxing and full of summer celebrations, beach time, and spending as much time with my family and friends as I could.  I finished B.Ed - exhausted but excited to be qualified to do what I have always wanted to do.

Next I packed up and moved to another continent, and another culture.  As much as I often miss home, I am enjoying the challenge of being here.  I am practicing my training from my last year of schooling, and creating a new strange life in a foreign country.

This past year was a year of firsts and I hope this next year is the same.  Last year I taught my first class, ran my first marathon, travelled to new places, and got my first real job.  To start the year off right, Meg and I are flying to Beijing in a few weeks to see the Great Wall for the first time.   Now all I need in my Mocha cheesecake and a China birthday won't be so bad!

One of my English classes threw me a surprise party and put notes up all over my desk.  I think they were just trying to use up class time, but I was ok with it!  They even had another teacher give me a fake errand so I wasn't in my room before their class.

The giant cake they bought

Some cards and a present.  The box is full of cards, and the little circle is full of walnuts.  It is a Chinese tradition to eat walnuts on your birthday, for good health the rest of the year.

Someone didn't finish his essay...and instead drew me a lovely picture.

All in all, despite my dread I think my birthday will be fabulous.  23, here I come!  I hope it is exciting as 22 was.

Learning to Speak English

My students here are pretty amazing.  They love to learn, and they are eager to please.  They may fall asleep at times...but who blames them?  I would fall asleep after 7 hours of classes too.  I have started to collect a few lines that have made me laugh or pause, and a few interesting facts.

They choose their own English names, and some of them choose words rather than names.  It was certainly much easier to learn these strange names than the constant repitition of Jerry, Bob and Sam - but they are pretty strange.  Here are some of my favs.

1. Apple
2. Castle
3. Bright (he says it is because he is so smart!)
4. Verile
5. Treble (so that people do not think he is trouble...)
6. Brahma
7. Scofield (after the main character on Prison Break)
8. Jolient (prounounced without the 'N')
9. Isaacs (no typo, that is Isaac - plural)
10. Austere

This kids are incredibly hard-working, but English is a tough language.  They make some hilarious mistakes in their writing, and sometimes I just have to enjoy a laugh.

"This is my family.  They are my best lovers."

"Solve the case successful just because Roald Dahl bless her soul.  Mrs. Mary jump over justice in the story."

"I think they are the conjugal relation."

"Sandra loved the flavor of competence."

"I left my hometown that is a beautiful and full of my wish."

"The problem was the rods of fish."

They are cute mistakes, and compared with the 10 words of Mandarin I know...this kids are rocking the English language.  It can get frustrating marking a stack of nonsensical essays, but for the most part they are coherent - and just contain a few laughs to spice up a night of marking.

When I get too frustrated I just go to the store and soothe my English teaching pain with a box of pocky.

Seeking out Shanghai

The last destination on our trip was the massive city of Shanghai!  Part of the reason was that our flights routed through the city, and part because Shanghai is awesome.  Though I did not know that when I booked the flight...  This city gave me a serious case of jealously.  Jinshitan is a fishing village.  Shanghai is a mecca.  A shopping mecca.  I must go back.

Checking out the sights

Although we only had a day in Shanghai (and by a day, I mean a literal 24 hours), we made the most of it. After freshening up at our hostel we headed out to see the city.  First, we stopped at a strange coffee shop/bakery that served strange delights.  I bought a sea salt coffee.  I thought it was going to be hot, but it was served iced.  It was actually quite tasty, but very difficult to describe.  It was not salty, really, but it certainly was strange.  Next we headed towards the giant market.  The market is filled with all sorts of fakes.  This market is the China I dreamed about!  I know it may sound ridiculous...but seriously.

At the Bund

We quickly ditched the boys, and the girls and I conquered the five story market.  I bought a Jimmy Choo purse, some sneakers, new Burberry perfume, and a Louis Vuitton scarf.  The fun part is that everything is negotiable.  They start soooo high, hoping you are stupid enough not to bargain with them. (It does happen, we heard an American bragging loudly about paying only 500 kwai for a sweater.  It is likely she should have paid 70). I enjoyed the bargaining because I wasn't intent on buying anything.  If they didn't offer a price I liked I simply walked away.  Usually they run after you, and drag you back by the arm.  I got my silk scarf for only 60 kwai after a little Chinese woman realized that she could not physically move me!

Some of the sights

After exhausting the market, we headed to some real stores.  I know it seems a strange way to spend our time in a new city, but I was so excited to be back around brands I know!  When we were done we headed to a great restaurant and loaded up on fresh veggies and Perrier (my favorite).

The Bund

We then headed to the Bund to see the architecture at night.  There are some crazy buildings in Shanghai.  Unfortunately my camera does not seem to take great night photos, but it was a pretty amazing sight.  The Bund is one of Shanghai's most famous sights.  Overall Shanghai has some crazy buildings.  We went to a converted bomb shelter (a bit creepy, but cool to see), and a makeshift Manhattan apartment restaurant (beautiful rooftop patio, New York prices!).

The next morning we only had time for breakfast and then a ride to the airport.  The exciting part was the airport ride.  We took the Mag luv, which is a bullet train.  It goes over 300 km/h and it only takes 8 minutes to get to the airport on it!  At one point it was almost completely sideways, but it didn't even feel like it!  Although there have been some recent bullet train crashes here in China, I survived and was pretty excited about my experience!

Reading to ride!

Bullet Train

We arrived back in Dalian late Saturday night, exhausted and dreading heading back to work on Monday.  The vacation was great, and the return to work has been manageable!  Though I will admit, I am counting down the days to winter break!