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Tara's Travels
1-30
Nicole and I rented bikes, biked to the bamboo rafts and then rafted down the Yulong River. We then biked back to town and climbed a small karst peak, which is what the little mountains are called here. Hiking, rafting, biking--all in one day, and I don't even feel it. I guess I can thank Colorado for making me an outdoor girl. I adore Yangshuo. It is really pretty and completely different from Shanghai. I miss the hostel in Shanghai though. My bunk bed there was super soft and the room was relatively warm. The room here isn't as comfortable. There is no heat and the bed is as hard as a rock. I was thinking last night that it felt like I was sleeping on a hard wood floor.
2-2
I just opened a Chinese bank account. My card is so cute!!! I also had my physical exam today. It was intense!!! I had an ECG, ultrasound of the abdomen, chest x-ray, eye exam, and blood work. I also had to have a urine test, but they gave me a tiny tiny cup and threw my in a squatter toilet. Thus, what was already a difficult task in the U.S. now became close to impossible. Let me explain: It wasn't just a squatter toilet--it was an unlit, dirty squatter toilet. Also, it wasn't just a small cup--it was a minuscule teeny tiny cup. I should have taken a picture of it. I think if you saw how small it was, you would understand my dilemma. Once I successfully completed the task, I was asked to place my urine on a table. On the table, there were probably 20 other cups of urine--none of which had lids. Why should they put lids on cups of urine? That just costs more money, and it takes more effort to test the urine if you have to take the lid off. The hospital, if you want to call it that, was very unsanitary. Therefore, when it came to my blood test, I was really worried. Were the needles clean? I walked over to the doctor and saw bloody needles on the counter. Was she reusing the needles? Should I run for my life? Oh...wait, she is opening a newly packaged needle for me. Thank goodness. She wasn't very gentle when taking my blood, but I am still alive. She then threw my used needle on the table with the other used needles. There were probably 15 bloody needles on the table. Yuck!!! This entire process took about 3 hours!!! I don't care how sick I get while I am here; I am going to avoid the hospital at all costs.
2-3
Today was the first day of teacher training. Owen Buckland gave us a lesson on Chinese culture and what to expect while teaching. He told us not to get discouraged and to turn to him if we have any problems whatsoever. He explained that teaching in China isn't for everyone, so he made the fee for breaking the contract very small (only 500 yuan). He said that the fee used to be more, but too many teachers went for the "midnight get-a-way," meaning they would pack everything up and leave in the middle of the night in order to avoid paying the fee. I am guessing teachers use the "midnight get-a-way," so they can avoid having to go through the process of breaking the contract. Chinese people are very persistent, so if you say you are unhappy and want to leave, they will try everything to change your mind. They will want to know why you are unhappy and then they will try to fix every problem. I can see why foreigners run away at night. I don't think it has to do with the fee; I think it has to do with wanting to get away from China and not wanting to spend weeks explaining why you are unhappy. I won't tell Owen that though.
He then said that we should always have 300 yuan in our wallet but no more than that. He explained that if we are walking in an alley or some remote area and get mugged, having 300 yuan will keep us from getting stabbed or worse yet killed. If you only have 50 yuan, the mugger will get very angry, which is obviously not good. Owen described how one of his teachers called once and said, "Thanks for telling me to always have 300 yuan. I just got mugged but am perfectly fine." I guess I better always carry around 300 yuan...just to be safe. I must say, though, I feel perfectly safe in China. Everyone is very nice, and there is security everywhere.
2-4
When I was in Shanghai, I met a British teacher who is making 12,000 yuan a month teaching English. This is 3 times the amount I am making. In China, you can negotiate your pay as a teacher. At least that is what the teacher in Shanghai told me. She said you can walk into a school that is hiring and tell them that you want 15,000 yuan a month. This is obviously too high for them, so they will say that they will pay 10,000 yuan. You will then say that as a favor to them, you will take 12,000 yuan. They will agree to this because they need a foreign teacher for their school. I didn't realize that is how it works in China, but now I do. I wish I had known that before signing my contract. Oh well...no one becomes a teacher to make money, right?
Even though I am not getting paid very much, everything is super cheap in China. For 80 yuan, about 12 US dollars, you can go to a sauna for as long as you want. Included in the price is a 90 minute full body massage with various oils. The food is also ridiculously cheap now that I am out of Shanghai. My favorite dish in Yangshuo is pumpkin slices served hot with orange sauce and white sticky rice. It is amazing!!! It is something this area of China is known for. I didn't see it in Shanghai and probably won't see it in Sichuan, which makes me kind of sad. I am truly not looking forward to Sichuan food. They are known for their hot pot, which is well...a pot of hot spicy food all mixed together. Yuck!!! I was talking to this teacher who lived there for 2 years, and he said that he ate some food there that was so hot, his eye swelled shut. He had to go to the hospital. Great. That is just what I need. I know how to say that I don't want my food to be too spicy: "bu sha la." That is what I am going to say for every meal.
I miss the comforts of the U.S. so much already. I haven't had a moment of warmth since I arrived. I am not kidding when I say there aren't any heaters here. Because it is so damp in Yangshuo, the weather seems even colder. I have never been in such a humid climate before. Everything is wet!!! The blankets on my bed are damp...even the toilet paper is damp!!! I am not quite sure how anyone could live here full-time.
2-5
My teaching practice is tomorrow. I will be teaching a 30 minute lesson to a class of Chinese students. No problem--I am fine with this. The stressful part of the teaching practice is I have to teach the lesson in front of all the people from orientation (20 peers), the students, and the people who will place me (The Buckland Group). Buckland says the teaching practice will help determine which school I am placed in. Wow..talk about pressure.
2-6
My teaching practice went great. I taught a lesson on descriptive language and had a lot of fun with the students. Ping and Ryan (from the Buckland Group) gave me feedback after the lesson and told me that I did awesome and that there is nothing I could do different. I feel much better now that I have successfully completed the teaching practice.
After my teaching practice, I walked around Yangshuo and stepped into a meat market. Oh my...maybe I should become a vegetarian while in China. I remember hearing that people in China eat cat and dog, but I wasn't prepared to see several dogs hanging from hooks in the meat market. So, it is indeed true. I will testify that people in China do indeed eat dog. I didn't see any cat hanging from hooks, but I can guarantee that they also eat cat. I have been eating the meat here because I like meat, but I never really know what I am eating. Everything tastes like pork, but I don't see very much pig in the markets. I must be eating something else. I don't think I have eaten any dog because it is more expensive than other types of meat. Then again, you never know.....
2-8
Yesterday was the last day of orientation. Buckland took us out to eat for our celebration dinner and then we all went out to celebrate. I stayed out until 4 am!! I really had some fun. We started the night off with some KTV (Chinese karaoke). There was a television inside the karaoke bar, and when I looked over, guess what? I was on TV!! They took video of me the night of the lantern festival. I feel like a celebrity!!
I have to stay in Yangshuo for another week because I can't start teaching until my visa is upgraded to a 12 month, multiple entry visa. I am going to Guilin tomorrow because I have to go to the police station for an interview before my visa can be upgraded. A "Z" visa is the best visa you can get, and you can only get it if you have a degree. Therefore, all of the other teachers that have B.A's are also staying a week. There are 3 of us. Nicole is also staying in Yangshuo because she got the wrong type of visa. This will give me a chance to relax and sight-see some more before teaching. I will also get to meet the second orientation group, which is nice.
2-9
I got a bike the other day, so I could bike to the strawberry fields. I went with two other girls, but they decided they wanted to go bamboo rafting after we were done picking strawberries. I have already gone bamboo rafting, so I decided to head back to town but got kind of lost.
I was proud of myself, though, because I didn't freak out. I would just bike one direction until I knew it wasn't right and then I would bike another direction and then another and another. By the 4th try, I started going the right way, but I couldn't remember every turn. My mind must be better than I thought because I biked 10 kilometers back by myself, returned the bike, and got to my hostel. I am so proud of myself!!!
I came back to my room, washed my strawberries, and then ate them. I have now officially been sick in China. I have been really sick the last couple of days. Last night at 2 am I started shivering like crazy, and I had sharp pains in my stomach. I was really worried. I decided to take a hot shower to warm up, which really helped. I used all of the hot water and tried going back to sleep. My stomach still hurt like crazy, but I kept telling myself it was nothing serious. When I woke up this morning, my stomach was completely healed. No pain at all. I think all of this was caused by the strawberries. They weren't even good!!! Anyway, I think I am sticking to bananas and oranges from now on.
2-14
I had an awesome Valentine's Day. I hiked Moon Hill, enjoyed some karaoke, and went dancing at various clubs. Who says Valentine's Day has to be a drag if you are single? I really enjoyed climbing Moon Hill. It was such a beautiful hike. There was a trail at the top that was restricted, but a guy coming down the hill said it had the best view. I decided I had to see what was at the end of the trail. It wasn't like the previous trail of steps. This was instead a narrow, muddy trail that dropped straight down on one side. I didn't care--I had to see what the view was like. It was a harder climb than I expected, but I made it to the top. It was absolutely amazing!!! I was standing on the peak of Moon Hill. It was a small platform, so I had to be careful. One misguided step could cause me to fall off an edge. I will never forget that view or the feeling I had while on top of the world.
2-16
Four of us decided to go to the show Impression Sanjie Liu last night. The show uses the world's largest natural theater, which utilizes the waters of the Li River as its stage. It was quite amazing, but because it was outside, we were all chilled to the bone. It was worth the cold, though, for the images I saw will stay with me forever. My favorite part was the fairy dancing on the crescent moon. It was beautiful. I didn't quite understand the storyline, so I did some research once I got home. This is what I came up with: Sanjie Liu is a fairy singer in the myths and legends of the Zhuang ethnic minority. She is incomparably beautiful and has a voice to match her beauty. In the show, what you can see are the impressions derived from the daily life of the people living around the Li River. Therefore, there isn't an exact story line but, instead, a whole bunch of scattered images. These images are supposed to help the audience gain a realistic impression on the background and beauty of Sanjie's birthplace. When I was watching the show, I looked at each separate image being displayed as a different chapter. I felt this helped me comprehend the story, but it turns out there isn't an exact story to follow. It is meant to be scattered impressions of a different time. To sum it up, you don' t need to understand Chinese to enjoy this show--you just need to see with your heart.
For another interesting read, check out Kristina's blog: http://teacheslabroad.blogspot.com/2012 /02/teacher-training-in-yangshuo.html
Nicole and I rented bikes, biked to the bamboo rafts and then rafted down the Yulong River. We then biked back to town and climbed a small karst peak, which is what the little mountains are called here. Hiking, rafting, biking--all in one day, and I don't even feel it. I guess I can thank Colorado for making me an outdoor girl. I adore Yangshuo. It is really pretty and completely different from Shanghai. I miss the hostel in Shanghai though. My bunk bed there was super soft and the room was relatively warm. The room here isn't as comfortable. There is no heat and the bed is as hard as a rock. I was thinking last night that it felt like I was sleeping on a hard wood floor.
2-2
I just opened a Chinese bank account. My card is so cute!!! I also had my physical exam today. It was intense!!! I had an ECG, ultrasound of the abdomen, chest x-ray, eye exam, and blood work. I also had to have a urine test, but they gave me a tiny tiny cup and threw my in a squatter toilet. Thus, what was already a difficult task in the U.S. now became close to impossible. Let me explain: It wasn't just a squatter toilet--it was an unlit, dirty squatter toilet. Also, it wasn't just a small cup--it was a minuscule teeny tiny cup. I should have taken a picture of it. I think if you saw how small it was, you would understand my dilemma. Once I successfully completed the task, I was asked to place my urine on a table. On the table, there were probably 20 other cups of urine--none of which had lids. Why should they put lids on cups of urine? That just costs more money, and it takes more effort to test the urine if you have to take the lid off. The hospital, if you want to call it that, was very unsanitary. Therefore, when it came to my blood test, I was really worried. Were the needles clean? I walked over to the doctor and saw bloody needles on the counter. Was she reusing the needles? Should I run for my life? Oh...wait, she is opening a newly packaged needle for me. Thank goodness. She wasn't very gentle when taking my blood, but I am still alive. She then threw my used needle on the table with the other used needles. There were probably 15 bloody needles on the table. Yuck!!! This entire process took about 3 hours!!! I don't care how sick I get while I am here; I am going to avoid the hospital at all costs.
2-3
Today was the first day of teacher training. Owen Buckland gave us a lesson on Chinese culture and what to expect while teaching. He told us not to get discouraged and to turn to him if we have any problems whatsoever. He explained that teaching in China isn't for everyone, so he made the fee for breaking the contract very small (only 500 yuan). He said that the fee used to be more, but too many teachers went for the "midnight get-a-way," meaning they would pack everything up and leave in the middle of the night in order to avoid paying the fee. I am guessing teachers use the "midnight get-a-way," so they can avoid having to go through the process of breaking the contract. Chinese people are very persistent, so if you say you are unhappy and want to leave, they will try everything to change your mind. They will want to know why you are unhappy and then they will try to fix every problem. I can see why foreigners run away at night. I don't think it has to do with the fee; I think it has to do with wanting to get away from China and not wanting to spend weeks explaining why you are unhappy. I won't tell Owen that though.
He then said that we should always have 300 yuan in our wallet but no more than that. He explained that if we are walking in an alley or some remote area and get mugged, having 300 yuan will keep us from getting stabbed or worse yet killed. If you only have 50 yuan, the mugger will get very angry, which is obviously not good. Owen described how one of his teachers called once and said, "Thanks for telling me to always have 300 yuan. I just got mugged but am perfectly fine." I guess I better always carry around 300 yuan...just to be safe. I must say, though, I feel perfectly safe in China. Everyone is very nice, and there is security everywhere.
2-4
When I was in Shanghai, I met a British teacher who is making 12,000 yuan a month teaching English. This is 3 times the amount I am making. In China, you can negotiate your pay as a teacher. At least that is what the teacher in Shanghai told me. She said you can walk into a school that is hiring and tell them that you want 15,000 yuan a month. This is obviously too high for them, so they will say that they will pay 10,000 yuan. You will then say that as a favor to them, you will take 12,000 yuan. They will agree to this because they need a foreign teacher for their school. I didn't realize that is how it works in China, but now I do. I wish I had known that before signing my contract. Oh well...no one becomes a teacher to make money, right?
Even though I am not getting paid very much, everything is super cheap in China. For 80 yuan, about 12 US dollars, you can go to a sauna for as long as you want. Included in the price is a 90 minute full body massage with various oils. The food is also ridiculously cheap now that I am out of Shanghai. My favorite dish in Yangshuo is pumpkin slices served hot with orange sauce and white sticky rice. It is amazing!!! It is something this area of China is known for. I didn't see it in Shanghai and probably won't see it in Sichuan, which makes me kind of sad. I am truly not looking forward to Sichuan food. They are known for their hot pot, which is well...a pot of hot spicy food all mixed together. Yuck!!! I was talking to this teacher who lived there for 2 years, and he said that he ate some food there that was so hot, his eye swelled shut. He had to go to the hospital. Great. That is just what I need. I know how to say that I don't want my food to be too spicy: "bu sha la." That is what I am going to say for every meal.
I miss the comforts of the U.S. so much already. I haven't had a moment of warmth since I arrived. I am not kidding when I say there aren't any heaters here. Because it is so damp in Yangshuo, the weather seems even colder. I have never been in such a humid climate before. Everything is wet!!! The blankets on my bed are damp...even the toilet paper is damp!!! I am not quite sure how anyone could live here full-time.
2-5
My teaching practice is tomorrow. I will be teaching a 30 minute lesson to a class of Chinese students. No problem--I am fine with this. The stressful part of the teaching practice is I have to teach the lesson in front of all the people from orientation (20 peers), the students, and the people who will place me (The Buckland Group). Buckland says the teaching practice will help determine which school I am placed in. Wow..talk about pressure.
2-6
My teaching practice went great. I taught a lesson on descriptive language and had a lot of fun with the students. Ping and Ryan (from the Buckland Group) gave me feedback after the lesson and told me that I did awesome and that there is nothing I could do different. I feel much better now that I have successfully completed the teaching practice.
After my teaching practice, I walked around Yangshuo and stepped into a meat market. Oh my...maybe I should become a vegetarian while in China. I remember hearing that people in China eat cat and dog, but I wasn't prepared to see several dogs hanging from hooks in the meat market. So, it is indeed true. I will testify that people in China do indeed eat dog. I didn't see any cat hanging from hooks, but I can guarantee that they also eat cat. I have been eating the meat here because I like meat, but I never really know what I am eating. Everything tastes like pork, but I don't see very much pig in the markets. I must be eating something else. I don't think I have eaten any dog because it is more expensive than other types of meat. Then again, you never know.....
2-8
Yesterday was the last day of orientation. Buckland took us out to eat for our celebration dinner and then we all went out to celebrate. I stayed out until 4 am!! I really had some fun. We started the night off with some KTV (Chinese karaoke). There was a television inside the karaoke bar, and when I looked over, guess what? I was on TV!! They took video of me the night of the lantern festival. I feel like a celebrity!!
I have to stay in Yangshuo for another week because I can't start teaching until my visa is upgraded to a 12 month, multiple entry visa. I am going to Guilin tomorrow because I have to go to the police station for an interview before my visa can be upgraded. A "Z" visa is the best visa you can get, and you can only get it if you have a degree. Therefore, all of the other teachers that have B.A's are also staying a week. There are 3 of us. Nicole is also staying in Yangshuo because she got the wrong type of visa. This will give me a chance to relax and sight-see some more before teaching. I will also get to meet the second orientation group, which is nice.
2-9
I got a bike the other day, so I could bike to the strawberry fields. I went with two other girls, but they decided they wanted to go bamboo rafting after we were done picking strawberries. I have already gone bamboo rafting, so I decided to head back to town but got kind of lost.
I was proud of myself, though, because I didn't freak out. I would just bike one direction until I knew it wasn't right and then I would bike another direction and then another and another. By the 4th try, I started going the right way, but I couldn't remember every turn. My mind must be better than I thought because I biked 10 kilometers back by myself, returned the bike, and got to my hostel. I am so proud of myself!!!
I came back to my room, washed my strawberries, and then ate them. I have now officially been sick in China. I have been really sick the last couple of days. Last night at 2 am I started shivering like crazy, and I had sharp pains in my stomach. I was really worried. I decided to take a hot shower to warm up, which really helped. I used all of the hot water and tried going back to sleep. My stomach still hurt like crazy, but I kept telling myself it was nothing serious. When I woke up this morning, my stomach was completely healed. No pain at all. I think all of this was caused by the strawberries. They weren't even good!!! Anyway, I think I am sticking to bananas and oranges from now on.
2-14
I had an awesome Valentine's Day. I hiked Moon Hill, enjoyed some karaoke, and went dancing at various clubs. Who says Valentine's Day has to be a drag if you are single? I really enjoyed climbing Moon Hill. It was such a beautiful hike. There was a trail at the top that was restricted, but a guy coming down the hill said it had the best view. I decided I had to see what was at the end of the trail. It wasn't like the previous trail of steps. This was instead a narrow, muddy trail that dropped straight down on one side. I didn't care--I had to see what the view was like. It was a harder climb than I expected, but I made it to the top. It was absolutely amazing!!! I was standing on the peak of Moon Hill. It was a small platform, so I had to be careful. One misguided step could cause me to fall off an edge. I will never forget that view or the feeling I had while on top of the world.
2-16
Four of us decided to go to the show Impression Sanjie Liu last night. The show uses the world's largest natural theater, which utilizes the waters of the Li River as its stage. It was quite amazing, but because it was outside, we were all chilled to the bone. It was worth the cold, though, for the images I saw will stay with me forever. My favorite part was the fairy dancing on the crescent moon. It was beautiful. I didn't quite understand the storyline, so I did some research once I got home. This is what I came up with: Sanjie Liu is a fairy singer in the myths and legends of the Zhuang ethnic minority. She is incomparably beautiful and has a voice to match her beauty. In the show, what you can see are the impressions derived from the daily life of the people living around the Li River. Therefore, there isn't an exact story line but, instead, a whole bunch of scattered images. These images are supposed to help the audience gain a realistic impression on the background and beauty of Sanjie's birthplace. When I was watching the show, I looked at each separate image being displayed as a different chapter. I felt this helped me comprehend the story, but it turns out there isn't an exact story to follow. It is meant to be scattered impressions of a different time. To sum it up, you don' t need to understand Chinese to enjoy this show--you just need to see with your heart.
For another interesting read, check out Kristina's blog: http://teacheslabroad.blogspot.com/2012 /02/teacher-training-in-yangshuo.html
- comments
Aunt Kathy It is fun to read about your experiences! I sounds like quite an adventure!
Mom You look and sound great! Wish I was there with you!
JOHN AND JOAN WOW!!! JUST LOVE TO READ AND SEE YOUR POSTS. THINGS LOOK CHANGED AND UNCHAGED AT THE SAME TIME SINCE 1989. I LOVED THE RIVER TRIP WE TOOK ON TH LI RIVER BUT NEVER DID SEE DOG ON A HOOK. UGGGGG'!!!!!! YOUR PICS ARE GREAT. I WAS THERE IN MAY AND IT RAINED EVERY DAY BUT IT WAS HOT.I SAW HUNDREDS OF WATER BUFFALO AND ONLY ABOUT 10 CARS AND TRUCKS. THE CAVE WAS ALSO A WONDER OF THE WORLD AS WELL AS THE MOUNTAINS.BYE FROM OMAHA LOVE J AND J
Uncle Bob Hey Tara you are so cool, I could never have the guts to do what you are doing, GO GIRL.............
Aunt Madaline Adventure Girl---what a wonderful experience! Enjoy your blog and have learned a lot. Hope you get warm at some point, too.
Tara Krenek I hope it warms up soon too, but then again, I was told once it starts warming up, my apartment will get infested with tons of huge, nasty bugs. So, maybe the cold isn't so bad.
Tara Krenek You are cool in your own way, Uncle Bob. Love you!!!
Tara Krenek I really wanted to explore a cave, but I didn't get a chance. Do you remember which cave you went to? Was it the Silver Cave, Water Cave, Butterfly Cave...any of those sound familiar?
Tara Krenek Mom, I wish you were here too!!! I miss you and Dennis so much!!!
Leah This is awesome to read about your life there, it looks and seems so amazing! I love you!
Tara Krenek I love you too Leah!!! Wish you were here. You wouldn't be able to handle the squat toilets though. That is for sure. Hahahaha. : )
Randy Hi! I am currently going through the medical check here in USA for my z visa. But My ECG cam back with a possible indication of thickness on the right side of my heart - not a heart attack or life threatening issue at all... so will my z visa be denied for this? And my doctor says she will not continue to clear me until i also get an ultrasound.
Tara Krenek Hm...I don't know. Are you going through a program of some kind? I didn't have to get a health check in the U.S. I only had to get one in China, and I don't think the doctors in China write anything down on paper unless it is super serious. The fact that your problem is documented might cause some problems when getting your visa. If you type in "Buckland Education Group" and contact Ping, she would know best since she is responsible for getting a ton of visas issued for teachers every semester. She could probably let you know.
dimitri.gao Wow,the firworks are so beautifull.
Dimitri So happy to read your blog.You seem to like stay in China,will you come to Chengdu once more??!!!!