Profile
Blog
Photos
Videos
Hey everyone,
I haven't had the internet for 10 days, hence no updates!! Hope everyone is good in the UK! Everything is great here in Beijing. Alot has happened since my last update, from Changzhou Province, China. The teaching course went really well, the students were really sweet and very appreciative of us coming to teach them English. After 5 days, we all packed up and toke a 5 hour speed train (travelling at 300kmh) to Beijing and spent the time playing Wizard (James and Sarah will remember this card game from our travels) and eating our first chinese McDonalds!
Once we had arrived in Beijing, it was time for us to see our new apartments!! Me, Katie, Brenden and George are all living in the same area, a complex with 9 high rises, and a popular courtyard in the middle, complete with basketball court, a few corner shops and street food restuarant. Whilst our friend Cody is 15 minutes walk away. We are only a stones throw away from a large shopping mall, very western in layout - called Joy City! This caters for your every need - with 15 floors, a supermarket, cinema and ice skating rink on the bottom floor and a karaoke booth bar called KTV on the top floor! This is very popular in China!! - and I can't wait to have a go, it'll be just like Millie's hen do - except there are alot fewer English songs, and alot of Chinese songs!! haha. Me and Katie keep exploring this huge supermall and every day are amazed at what we find! Today we found a whole floor which was a simulated theme park for children where they could pretend to travel on an airplane and explore the world... all from the comforts of a mall!!! We were asked by a bemused Chinese lady "Where are your children?" and we promptly scuttled off!!
ROADS: The roads in Beijing are kerazy!!!! Just outside our accomodation is a huge 8 lane intersection - where they appears to be no pedestrian lights.. just a "go when you feel like it" approach!! It is manic, and as a pedestrian, you just wind around the cars, which come from every direction!!!! The cars have traffic lights - but I have never seen anyone obey them!!! They drive like maniacs, refusing to stay in one lane, one particular drive to Chinese Ikea (pronounced ig-eea) nearly cost us our lives!!! lol.
ACCOMODATION: On arriving in Beijing I was given a small studio apartment, whilst my friends Katie, Cody and Brenden were given much larger one-beds!! I merrily set to task tidying up the place, and making it my own.. although I had hoped for something larger! 3 days later, I thought I may as well ask our helper Jacky if there was any chance there was any other apartments that were larger, as it didn't have a desk or kitchen table.. just a coffee table and he reported back that there was another apartment which was available for me. I jumped at the chance. I am now in a much larger apartment, which is featured in my picture section! I am much happier as it has a big bed,... although currently no mattress (I have been told that 3 duvets should do - its very hard!!) and a large settee. I do however feel bad for newbie George who has to live in the smaller apartment now, as it was first come, first choose!
SIGHTSEEING: We had a week off in between Changzhou and starting teaching, so we made sure that we embraced the opportunity to explore!! We have mastered the use of the underground Metro , it is very simple as it has English signs left over from the Olympics. We have been to see the Lama Temple (large buddhist temple), the famous Hutong (old China street district), Tiannamen Square and the adjacent Forbidden City. All have been fantastic! My favourite being the Hutong!!! - cited as the best thing to do in Beijing... it did not disapoint!! (see pictures).
SCHOOL: I have been given my timetable and I am teaching 9 lessons of Science to Years 1, 2 and 3 (3 each per week) and teaching 10 sessions of English Language to Chinese Children in Years 1 and 2. Teaching in China seems very different from teaching in England. I have alot of free time, and each lesson is only 45 minutes long!! I also have 2 hours break in the middle of the day!! The children have whole school exercise classes, which should be fun to watch!!! However, this school does seem very poorly resourced in terms of books, etc.. and the schemes of work are non-existant. I have to come up with the whole year myself.. with a very simple book as a guide. The book has enough material for a few weeks - but certainly not a whole year!! So I am going to have to be creative!! As of yet, we have not been given any details of the children's levels - very different from the UK!! lol. It is much more relaxed here, and they don't seem to monitor what you do with them!! A good chance for me to experiment with lesson ideas and approaches etc!! There is also a big difference in class size! I only have 8 children for my Year 2 International Science lessons. However my Chinese classes can be much larger. I hope they know a little English, but my thoughts are they probably do not!!!
NIGHTLIFE: In typical Emma Jane Davies style, we went out big styleee on Friday night!! We started the evening at Cody's with drinks of Tsing-Tao (Chinese beer) and a Ginger Vodka drink, that I will no longer be touching!!! But we thought we couldn't go wrong as the Vodka was only 2.50 a bottle!! ha. We played a few games of Kings / Ring of Fire and then hailed a taxi to take us to Sanlitun, Beijing's best nightlife!!! What I remember of it - we had a greeat night!!! The bars and clubs in Beijing all have a great atmosphere, very western friendly music and all the outside areas tend to spill into the bar next door - so there are just people all over the place!! We started in a cocktail bar and I ordered a few too many (they were only a pound!!) Then we went on to a club with a pole (thats about all I remember - dancing on the pole) and finally headed to a rooftop bar!! I keep being told new bits of information about this night, and I have promised myself that I will not get that drunk again (I blame the cheap as chips booze) and I will try and remember the nights out in the future!!! hahaha!! I do remember that there was lots of street venders selling food, books etc on the streets in between each bar.. and me and George kept buying food between each place.. and I caused a scene at a book shop by repeatedly saying "Taigiu le" which means "Thats too expensive". oooh Emma!! (sorry mummy).
LANGUAGE: My attempts at Chinese are getting better and better. I have managed to access a copy of Rosetta Stone Mandarin, which is really good!! - and I'm addicted to it! haha!! I can say lots of simple things, such as little boy, little girl, (nan haizi ze, nu haizi ze).. but I have to watch my pronounciation as some words I am putting the stress on the wrong part. Brenden told me I walked into a shop and said "gorgeous" the other day - when I meant to say "water"... its no wonder they are all smiling at me!! hahaha!! The people are so sweet, I smile and say Ni Hao to most people and they all smile back and say Ni Hao. During the day, the courtyard of my apartment is filled with mother's and their children (or shall I say child.. as its Chinese law to just have 1). Because of this law, the Chinese really love their children -and every day I see large groups of mothers and grandmothers playing with their babies and toddlers! I also see a large amount of people with really tiny dogs.. they seem to adore their dogs!! Which is bizaare for a country known for eating dog!!! ps: Saw my first "dog" on the menu today!! At a nice looking restuarant as well, and it had a picture! :s
FOOD: The food is still much the same, we have been being a little naughty and occasionally eating Western food! When I was hungover, I told Katie and Cody (a little too forcefully) that I refused to eat Chinese food, and that what I really wanted was a Nandos, although Subway would have to do!!! lol. We have been eating a few meals at this street food restuarant in the courtyard, (i say restuarant, its not really - they just have some lawn furniture next to their barbecue). The "lawn furtniture" is child sized though, the table is so low down that I can't get my legs under it by any means. They all sit it at tho! The food is ok, you pick your vegetables and just point at whatever meat you think looks alright (not sure what any of it is to be honest - never tasted most of them before)... fingers crossed its not horse or dog!! lol, and they cook it in this really spicy sauce!! Most Chinese food here is really hot!!! This restuarant is ridiculously cheap.. I paid 1.20 for two of us, and we had ate alot and both had a diet coke!!
SHOPPING: One tricky thing about getting around is that no-one speaks English. You end up having hilarious instances when you try acting out things, or just end up getting royally confused! The Chinese are incredible, even if you say you dont speak Chinese they insist on speaking really fast Mandarin at you.. and making dramas out of nothing! lol. Similar situations to this have happened to me and the others loads, but I will just highlight one! The other day I wanted to print some photos off so I pointed at the machine and my USB --they then pointed to the price. I thought "done". They then insisted on trying to tell me something! This man got all his work colleagues together (there were 6 of them) and they were all pointing at the machine, the wall, the price, another price etc.... I just kept shrugging my shoulders.They were discussing something for about 10 minutes it seemed like!! Then I worked out that they were just trying to tell me that I could get larger ones, but it would be more expensive! This happens all the time, I seem to create drama with my enquiries!!! lol.Its never simple. Ok, rant over. haha. I will have to learn more Mandarin!
- comments