Red Beans and Ribbons

We have taken to doing our adventuring on the weekends and I'm loving it. I promised that I would update my blog on my last weekend's adventure but I did not. So I will tell you about it here. We participated in our school's Amazing Race; we ran all over Beijing doing ridiculous things.

I experienced bargaining with shop vendors for the first time. My first time I bargained here in Beijing: desperately trying to get an I <3 BJ shirt for 35 kuai. BJ = Beijing by the way. I'm hoping to also find a I <3 China shirt as that will be more acceptable in Canada for public wear. I did get it for 35 kuai!

After the race, we had a staff bbq in the courtyard behind the school. The next day, I slept a lot :)

This week at school I started taking on more responsibility and leading exercises for the kids and doing some marking. I'm really enjoying the classes that I teach and I'm so fortunate to be learning from two great host teachers. I can't wait for my Base Line day that is coming up as I'll get to teach my own lessons and work more with the students. If you fellow teachers have any Base Line Day tips, pass 'em along!

 Kenzie, Alicia, and I also went on a little evening adventure to the Olympic Village. I love the Olympics and so to be in a place where they happened was such a cool experience. If only I could have been here for the excitement and energy of the real Games. 

Yesterday, we went to the Temple of Heaven for the day. Tourist websites said that it would not take longer than an hour and a half. We were there for four. We aren't your typical tourists - we like to take A LOT of photos. We also had a lot of photos taken of us. We feel like celebrities (or aliens) here. People will follow us until we take a picture with them and it is something I will never understand. If there weren't many westerners around, then sure. But there are lots here in Beijing. Back home Canadians would never do that if they saw a few Chinese people walking by. If you have insight on why they do this, please share.

At the Temple of Heaven, I had an incredible ice cream popsicle. I know this isn't a very travel-related item but it is important that I share that with you. The only bad thing about the popsicle was the little cluster of red beans in the first bite - they put beans in everything here but I never thought I'd bite into beans in my ice cream.

I also discovered my love for extreme ribbon dancing. It looks easy but I was had worked up a sweat by the end of it, but it was so fun that I had to do it more later. Little did I know that I was ribbon dancing in front of the sacrificial altar. I hope this didn't mean anything to them.

Following our Temple of Heaven excursion, we went to the Pearl Market and bargained for gifts and beautiful jewelry. I can't say much about this or I'll give away what gifts I bought for friends and family.

Next weekend excursion: the Mid-Autumn Charity Embassy of Canada Ball that CISB teachers are invited to. We're really excited about this. Wish me luck on trying to find a dress!

Warnings and Ponderings

At last, a calm evening in with a cup of coffee, some music, and writing to you people. Splendid. I will apologize in advance, I'm too lazy to attempt to keep this post organized. So here we go with my thoughts on the past week. Part 1: Tidbits on living the safe life. Part 2: International ponderings

First, Beijing air and I do not get along. Not a bit. Some of you lucky ones have already heard my Beijing cough via skype. For those who are not lucky enough to have heard this wonderful sound, I assure you: it's impressive. We've had mostly blue skies, too so I'm really dreading the city's coal-burning months; I've already been warned. Also, my skin and hair is slowly adjusting to the water here as well. If only I could boil all the yucky stuff out of all the water I use. 

If you have are thinking of travelling to Beijing, be prepared for a few weeks of transition once you get here. Eventually your skin, lungs, and hair will adjust and become immune to the toxins. Yay.

Also, hopefully you are not accident prone if you are coming to China. Walking down the street is a dangerous feat I tell you; especially when there are several trees strategically planted in the middle of the sidewalk. These trees along with the many loose bricks make for a fun obstacle course. I especially like watching the women in four inch heels maneuvering the course. Silly ladies. 

Then there's the traffic and street crossing you have to become pro at unless you would like to get flattened. But don't worry, drivers will honk incessantly at you before they consider flattening you. Fair warning. You'll be amazed at how quickly your peripheral vision will improve.

Part 2: This is the part that won't send you into a worrisome fit. I don't think anyway.

I've had my first week of classes at CISB and my first real weekend of doing things in Beijing. School life is so very different here in Beijing; students are very academically focused. I have one student in grade seven who went to Canada and the US with his parents this past summer to visit University of Toronto, McGill, Harvard, MIT, etc. I couldn't believe it. He's 13! It's just the mentality here. 

Something that I'm loving already about international teaching is how many cultures we get to experience in one class. I have one really small English lit class with only four students. Each one speaks a different first language: Russian, English, Chinese, Portuguese. It's really neat to see people connecting over their similarities and not focusing on their differences. But, they appreciate and respect the unique differences. 

My desk :) Forgive the barren state

I've been going to a big international church and a "small" group on Thursday nights. There is close to 1000 people in the entire church but often we divide and meet in smaller congregations so that people can meet and use their own language. Occasionally, all come together for a giant international service. 

That was yesterday. Two languages through the whole service but the best part was when we were told to all sing in our own language. There are no barriers. We were still saying the same words to the same God. It was the coolest thing.

In my time teaching in Quebec and now here in China, so many of my prejudices have been broken. I was told that the Chinese are not friendly. I was prepared for brazen looks, shoving, and impolite people. The Chinese I've met are the opposite. They smile and say "ni hao" when they pass you, they'll try to make conversation, and you'll find similarities while speaking in different languages. Of course there is the odd rude person but you will get that everywhere. 

(however, put them in a car and they become a different person but that is a different story)

What I'm saying is don't assume. It's hard not to make a generalization, I've been there. But try for the sake of that person you've pre-judged.

Sorry for the tangent. In my next post, I'm going to share some photos and stories from my weekend around the city. Seriously, I traipsed all around the city (okay, maybe not the whole city) on Saturday.

Exploring

Soooo, here is the first video update! Just a peek of what us girls do when we are bored. We were trying desperately hard to find a window to watch the sunset over Beijing from the 25th floor of our hotel.

A Lovely Sunday Morning

Guess who came to visit again on Sunday?

Yep. Blue skies and sunshine. My heart was happy. One of my host teachers (Geetika) and her husband (Gary) invited Alicia, Kenzie, and myself to church with them and it is just a short walk from the school and an even shorter walk from the hotel we are staying in. We arrived at church and I was so happy to be greeted with English and familiar worship music.

Me, Alicia, and Kenzie taking elevator pics before church because we're cool like that.

It was a really good service and I felt so encouraged to have found a church. You may be wondering how this kind of thing is allowed in China. Well, the church is called Beijing International Christian Fellowship and in order to attend you have to have a foreign passport and show it at the front door. Chinese cannot attend because of government regulations. Because it's an international church, there are naturally people from all over the world but the chosen language of this service is English; there are other services during the week in other foreign languages.

We are surrounded my international communities - school, church, and at home. It's fascinating to be learning about everyone's backgrounds and stories. At the grocery store yesterday we met a gentleman from Canada who was travelling through China with his Chinese daughter and gave us suggestions of their favourite places they visited.

After church, Geetika and Gary invited us back to their apartment for lunch (and internet hehe). We had a mix of Indian and Chinese food; Geetika is an incredible cook and we've actually been invited there again for supper tonight. It sure beats the peanut butter sandwiches we've been feasting on.

After we ate, we were sitting in the living room talking about where we'd like to travel and listening to Gary and Geetika's stories from their travels. They have some very interesting stories that help put our own experience in perspective. I mentioned that we hadn't had the opportunity to really experience anything authentically Chinese yet and to feel like we are actually in a Chinese city. We could easily trick ourselves into thinking that we're in a North American city.

Geetika excitedly suggested we go to Houhai and see the Hu Tongs. She said that we'd not have many beautiful days like that day so we should go before life gets even crazier and more hectic. Without hesitation, we agreed.

This story is for the next post though :)

Kettle of Worms

Kenzie, the pro photo bomber :)

I'm not going to ramble on about that kettle of worms I alluded to in my last post. In a nutshell, our apartments weren't ready yet so they put us at the hotel next door to the school. We get a nice little walk under the willow every morning on our way to work. We also get our daily dose of air toxins as well.

The first day in Beijing was hazy and so icky outside. You were covered in sweat after just being outdoors for five minutes. We met Alicia's host teacher who was a little Godsend for those first couple days. She gave us breakfast. And coffee. And tea. It was grand.

We went to the school and the head of the school gave us a tour and then we went for lunch at Subway. Our first "full" meal in China! You'd think that it would be hard to get by without much knowledge of the language but in this district people are fairly understanding and we just have to put all pride aside as we gesture frantically for what we need.

Then Pauline took us out for supper at Matsuko which is a Japanese restaurant not far from the school. I am becoming accustomed to sushi slowly, very slowly.

Front gate (on one of the icky days)

The next day I got up and went to the window, preparing myself for a wall of hazy grey. I was preparing myself for disappointment. I was ready for it. I looked out: BLUE SKIES. I was in awe. I had always heard and read that you just had to get used to not seeing blue skies or the sun in Beijing. Later we found out that this kind of day is a rarity but it definitely lifted our spirits. We went to Carrefour (groceries) and then to the largest Ikea in the world.

Here in China people don't just shop at Ikea. They treat it like home. There were families lounging around watching TV, couples fast asleep on the couches, parents changing their children. It was odd to see this. Shopping at Ikea in Beijing on one of the nicest days in August was ridiculous. I felt like at any given moment I could get tossed into a bin by a rushed shopper. It was overwhelming. We picked up a few things for our apartment-to-be and then got out of there.

That evening we went for supper at Matsuko again with a bunch of the new teachers. You'll find that I'm going to write a lot about food in the next couple posts because our down-time revolves around where we'll get food next and how to get more bottled water. We're living very simply.

On Sunday, we got up and I pulled back the curtains with trepidation. Blue skies and sunshine again. Sunday was such a good day that I want to give it the proper attention so that will have to be later in my next post.

This is the Midde/High library. There is an entire other library for Elementary. Do you think I was excited?

Will I Ever See the Moon Again?

 Where were we? Right, running through the crazy psychedelic tunnel  with blinking strobe lights in

the Detroit airport with terrifyingly epic music pounding in our ears as we try and find gate 36 in terminal C. We were still in B.

Somehow we made it and I still had time to spare to buy one of those donut pillows for the neck before boarding. My butt and tailbone were thankful.
Then came the 12-hour flight from Detroit to Tokyo. Once we were in air, an announcement came on explaining our flight path. We’d be flying over friggin’ Alaska. Because of this, I was too nervous to sleep because of my fear that I’d miss seeing the Yukon and Alaska. (the photos of this are on my phone and I haven't figured out my phone situation yet)

We didn’t see nighttime for a full 24 hours because of the many time zones that we passed through so the flight attendants had all the window screens shut so that everyone could sleep should they choose to.

(Not Alaska, obviously)

I did fall asleep and then woke up in a panic, worried that I had missed Alaska. The plane was dark but I lifted my screen and was met with a stunning view. It was Alaska. I checked the moving map (courtesy of Delta’s sweet technology) and saw that we were flying over the Alaska range. The snow-capped peaks were so breathtaking; and as tired as I was, I just could not stop staring.

I sprained my ankle a week and a half before we were set to fly so this long flight was pretty uncomfortable at times. But with a little medication, I was finally able to sleep and woke up close to Tokyo.

Finally, after 26 hours of travelling we were flying over China and we were seeing night for the first time. However, we could hardly see below through the pollution and smog. We couldn’t help but wonder why we had come to the most polluted city in the world. My feeling of relief at finally arriving with very few flying obstacles was much stronger than any other emotion at this point.

Five airports later. After about 31 hours of travel. With many nerves. We were in Beijing.

We were greeted by two things at the airport. 1. A quiet Chinese man from CISB who spoke no English. 2. A wall of humid, smelly, stale air.

Keep checking, I’ll be updating you on our past couple days really soon. Please forgive our gross state in that last picture, this is at midnight in our sad little rooms at CISB. That is a whole other kettle of worms for the next post.

Flight Craziness

I just got internet access that is good enough for me to blog but a week of sheer craziness has passed and I really have no idea where to start. So I might try and break this up into a few separate posts so that your butt doesn't get sore from sitting here reading this for so long.

First things first. Travelling to China. To use the words of a close friend of mine: What a gong show. It was Tuesday night when my parents and I got to Halifax. This is where we would be flying out the following morning at 7:25am. That night around 2am, my mom woke up worried and decided to check the flight. I woke up a little later to frazzled muffled voices. Guess what? Flight was cancelled. So several hours before I was supposed to board a plane to China, I found out that my flight was cancelled completely.

It finally got sorted out. But not until we were all standing in the airport ready to fly. So we ended up with: Halifax-Toronto-Detroit-Tokyo-Beijing. Yeah, no big deal. Clearly we are pro at flying by now.

When we got into Detroit at Terminal A, we found out that our flight to Tokyo was in Terminal C. And it was boarding. Actually, it was the final boarding call.

So, we ran.

More later. Have to go! I'll just leave you hanging.