Christmas Yichang 2010

So what is a Christmas in Yichang, China like? For me this year it has gone a bit like this... Some classes were changed around and some were cancelled during this week (nothing unusual there).  Tuesday afternoon the kids from Junior Two had a singing contest. I joined some other junior two teachers to help judge. I actually really enjoyed seeing the kids sing and have fun, made me have a lot of fun too. Wednesday afternoon I did some much needed grocery shopping (was down to noodles) but had too much to carry home on the bus to do any Christmas gift shopping. Thursday night the kids at school held their Christmas parties and as I teach so many classes I had many class parties to try and attend, I did manage to get round to quite a few. I took Moli along with me and the kids in every class I went to quickly took her out of my hands and thoroughly enjoyed fussing and cuddling her. Owning a dog as a pet is only really a relatively new thing here in China and few kids have dogs as pets, but many would love to.

Friday morning I had first period but then managed to go to the city for really last minute Chrissie shopping, had a Macca's for lunch, caught the bus home just in time for going back to school for the 5th period class...then...straight after class I headed down to our schools media room for the 2nd Yichang Foreign Teachers Party, this year hosted by our school.

 13 Foreign teachers are based here in Yichang this year, I know a few of them, but not many. We participated in games and watched our kids sing and dance. After the event we headed out to dinner. I think last years party scared a few away this year...really very different when they want us to perform and participate in games, give speeches etc...Only 6 of the 13 of us showed up which I feel a little sad about. I don't like these things much myself, but it is genuinely done in good spirit and heart by the Yichang Education Bureau and some people cancelled right at the last minute leaving the department with their very beautiful gifts (that had been hand picked by students) and other stuff. I know our school also put a lot of effort into the whole thing and I really appreciate that they did try and make us feel a little wanted at Christmas time. After dinner Nettie drove me back to my apartment and we picked up Moli and my stuff and headed to her apartment which brings us to ...Christmas Day.
Actually Christmas eve spent by me organising lessons and Christmas day...lessons...but in between I tried to explain how things are done at Christmas and we opened presents, played games etc. Going to friends of ours for Chinese Christmas Dinner tonight, HOTPOT :-)....and I wonder why I always feel tired?

Early Birthday Pressie

I walked through the fresh new snow to my early class, Wednesday mornings are challenging for me, 4 classes all in a row starting at 8.10 and going through until lunch time. It is also a bigger challenge as the classes are all Junior 3, who are in a busy important year of study and often prefer to do homework during my classes, no matter how fun and interesting I try and make the lessons. It can really hurt when you spend hours finding lessons for them and they don't want to listen. Not as bad as when they think your lesson doesn't meet their fun expectation so they would rather play cards or talk though. Junior 3 is really very very difficult and you have to build your strength and try not to take it to heart otherwise it can be very hurtful. That being said I must also mention that some J'3 students are the exception and great kids and some classes are better than others. My Junior Two classes have had the opportunity to have been with me from their first days at school and we mostly seem to have a good understanding of each other and with Nettie's help, my junior 2 classes are really very very good, not the same problems in these classes. It really makes much more sense to me to just teach Junior 1 and 2 from Day 1, they will get the same amount of lessons from me for a full two years and wont impose into the busy Junior 3 schedule. Oh well, mei ban fa!
Anyway, I have wondered off down a different path, back to where I started,
I walked through the fresh new snow to my early class, up the 6 flights of stairs to my class and got ready for my mornings classes, the bell went and no students arrived, the start of class bell rang and still no students. I tried to ring some of the teachers...no luck, so I locked up class and started back down the stairs to the office. On the way I met Tina who gave me a huge early birthday present, the news that Junior 3's have exams today and tomorrow and they wont have my classes. I only have Junior 3's on both of these days, so I don't have to teach until Friday! I walked back through the snow singing "Happy Birthday to me, Happy Birthday to me.....a day early, how cool :-)
You really never know what will happen until it happens here in China. It keeps you on your toes :-)

First Winter Snow

Today brought the first snow for this winter, it's currently 1 degree Celsius and lightly snowing but frosty cold.
As you know Christmas isn't celebrated here and in past years I still put up my own decorations and have my own little internal celebration. This year I have been toying with the idea of not putting up the tree and tinsel etc, but it would be the first year ever that I have not partaken in the tradition which may feel too strange for me, maybe just a few bits to acknowledge what was always the most exciting time of the year for me are called for. My reasoning for not decorating has been  that no one will get to enjoy my decorations except for Moli and myself...but then why should we consider ourselves not important? Don't misunderstand, whilst it is definitely not the same as Christmas at home, my friends do celebrate with me (but out and about), the school will have some kind of Christmas party and many shops and big stores decorate for Christmas. It really is very different though,  kind of superficial, the meaning of giving and family at Christmas is not understood in the same way and that warm fuzzy feeling is missing somewhat. Have we really taught the Chinese that Christmas is just about the glitz?

thankful

Having my parents here for a few weeks has been wonderful and I can only show some of the pictures from the great times we have shared here together in China, which can't express what we felt and truly experienced

Train trips here are a real experience!

Fenghuang is a cultural feast, full of interesting shops and stalls and  spectacular scenery.

Can't not take my parents to SanXia Da Ba

My Australian family with my Chinese family

Yidu fun and feast

Ferry cross the Yangtze to Bingjiang Park

Xiao pengyoumen

Walking
 Moli














Of course this is just a quick couple of pics from many photos and as I say it can  nowhere near show what an amazing holiday we had together. I love and miss you and wow, what a great time we have experienced the past few weeks. Thanks for being such a great Mum and Dad and to my Chinese friends and family you have made my parents visit very special indeed. THANKYOU

The China Experience

Life has been a flurry of activity lately. As I get ready for Mum and Dad coming to visit, cleaning, rearranging and making it all comfortable, I know that (as it must be for everyone that visits real China) it will be a life changing experience for them. My Mum has of course visited before(during my first year here) so she is prepared somewhat for China (if that is at all possible :-) Dad on the other hand will experience a way of life like he has never seen before. The food, the people, the lifestyle all drastically different. It all hits you when you land ((we're not in Kansas anymore Toto :-) The language barrier instantly becomes a problem as you try and find your way around Guangzhou airport which has a serious lack of any English signage, try and find something resembling a cup of coffee and a sandwich and then try and actually order it....then find your way to your small Chinese connecting flight....It's definitely an adventure :-) Of course all these things just make it more amazing and character building. Once here, wondering around and observing life in a Yangtze river city is never dull and being able to show my parents some Chinese customs and pastimes and many new experiences will be so much fun.
China throws me challenges day after day after day. It has made me stronger and given me confidence by sometimes making me feel very weak and vulnerable. I hate it and I love it at the same time.
I recommend it to anyone and everyone who really wants to see and experience a whole different world to the one in which they have grown accustomed to.

gorgeous weather

Just took a ferry across the Yangtze river (behind my apartment) to Bingjiang park which runs along the city side of the river. Packed Ham and Cheese sandwiches, drink, Pringles and Moli's lunch. We've just returned from a lazy couple of hours laying on the grass, under the trees looking at (amazingly) blue skies with the fresh cool breeze blowing across the Yangtze. About 25 C here today...Absolutely beautiful!

Traditional Chinese Song

Here is a link to a beautiful version of the Chinese song that my little dog Moli is named after.
Enjoy!

and here's what it all means
Lyric:
Traditional Chinese                 Simplified Chinese
好一朵美麗的茉莉花                 好一朵美丽的茉莉花
好一朵美麗的茉莉花                 好一朵美丽的茉莉花
芬芳美麗滿枝椏                         芬芳美丽满枝桠
又香又白人人誇                         又香又白人人夸
讓我來將你摘下                         让我来将你摘下
送給別人家                                 送给别人家
茉莉花呀茉莉花                         茉莉花呀茉莉花

Hanyu Pinyin
Hǎo yī duǒ měi lì de mò li huā
Hǎo yī duǒ měi lì de mò li huā
Fēn fāng měi lì mǎn zhī yā
Yòu xiāng yòu bái rén rén kuā
Ràng wǒ lái jiāng nǐ zhāi xià
Sòng gěi biě rén jiā
Mò li huā yā mò li huā
Literal Translation                                                       
What a beautiful jasmine flower 
What a beautiful jasmine flower   
Sweet-smelling, beautiful, stems full of buds 
Fragrant and white, everyone praises
Let me pluck you down
Give to someone  
Jasmine flower, oh jasmine flower

Figurative Translation

Flower of jasmine, so fair!
Flower of jasmine, so fair!
Budding and blooming here and there,
Pure and fragrant all declare.
Let me take you with tender care,
Your sweetness for all to share.
Jasmine fair, oh jasmine fair.

dusting off the blog

As I logged on to my blog, it felt like I had to blow out the cobwebs :-)
Life has been busy. New class schedule  with more hours, my own English Classroom to teach from (instead of going from class to class), New (white fluff ball of love) puppy "Moli", everyday stuff like cooking and cleaning...the days just fly past.
I have to decorate the new classroom, so I will get the kids to help out. At the moment I am using it(undecorated) and just the fact that I have the tables set in groups of 5 around the edge of the class and a big open space in the middle for games and activities, well lets just say it seems to have blown the kids minds. They are so used to routine, they find it hard when things are different. Luckily most of them also find it exciting.
With my new added hours of classes and a young puppy in the apartment, it's hard to find time to get across the river to Walmart. Now that there is fresh milk for sale there this year, it's a torment that I rarely get to pick it up. Many of my classes don't seem to be before lunch or dinner time at school which also means that I mostly come home and cook, well kind of cook anyway :-)
Both my apartment and my classroom are located on the 6th floor of their buildings, so I spend much of my time climbing stairs....up and down, up and down. It's 102 stairs up to my apartment...I haven't counted the ones at school but I'm pretty sure more. So added to the normal up and down for going to work and at work...also add the extra couple of times up and down at home for "Moli" morning and night so she can get fresh air and not stay in the apartment all day. I've taken to trying a kind of "walking the stairs meditation"..it seems to help :-)
Oh, I've also now got digital reception on my T.V. There is one English station  (lol) and just my luck...It's basically all news, which I hate to watch. Still at least the reception is good now and I can still watch ICS on PPTV which is my favourite English speaking station, produced in Shanghai.

Gratitude

I've left Moli home alone for a couple of hours, a couple of times now and she seems very, very good. I broke her into it by walking in and out of doors to bedrooms and shutting them behind me or her and in and out the front door for short periods of time, she doesn't seem to notice I've actually gone anywhere, so hopefully things will continue that way. Moli weighs in at a massive ;-) 0.6 kg, today... 0.7, YAY ...I think her poodle bloodlines must be "toy", although her brother was in the pet shop with her and he was nearly double her size.
I left her home this morning and headed into the city for a bit of shopping and some lunch. The weather is glorious and I had one of those moments coming home when you suddenly realise how much you have to be grateful for. 1) I actually got a seat on the bus 2)It was near a window 3) the window opened 4) The sun was shining 5) There was a beautiful cool breeze blowing through the window as we travelled along 6) I shut my eyes and relaxed and knew when we were crossing the Yangtze river on the Yiling bridge because the air gets fresher and even cooler 7) I opened my eyes to look downstream and realised once more "I'm in China, living near the Yangtze" It looked and felt beautiful. 8) I was heading home to a wonderful little puppy who I knew was probably chilled out asleep in her basket not worried about me being out hardly at all.
I guess it's all to easy to get so used to things that you can take them for granted, but I often think how lucky I am...and today I really feel very grateful!

Mo Li Hua 茉莉花

This is my third year here in Yichang. I love life here but I obviously  miss some things from Australia like Mum and Dad, Sunshine, clear sky, beach, fresh air etc. Also all of my life I have been lucky enough to grow up with dogs. I think being responsible for dogs can teach you many life lessons and give you a cool companion to share life with. Since losing Bronson and moving to China I have thought about the idea of getting a dog on and off, but with settling in to a new life, thought I had better wait.

I thought long and hard and decided that now is the time.

Enter...Mo Li Hua...
This beautiful little girl melted my heart. She is a “GuiBin”  which is a cross between a Poodle and a Bichon (Poochon). This breed is very popular here in Yichang,but you mostly see brown ones, not so many white.

We called her "Mo Li Hua" This of course is Chinese and means "Jasmine Flower". When you pronounce "Mo Li" it actually sounds almost identical to the English name "Molly". She is totally adorable, seems very clever and has a massive appetite.

The other really great thing is that the place we bought her from is a vet/shop/groomers, with a great reputation and all her needs (including boarding if we all  have to go away) is catered for there. The Vets husband speaks English and worked in Australia for a few years, and their daughter lives there now!
It was obviously all meant to be :-)

Shanghai Shines

World Expo in Shanghai. It's not everyday you get to see a world expo and it was an amazing feeling just standing amongst the elaborate buildings and the hundreds of thousands of people. The weather was stinking hot but Shanghai tried their best to keep peoples cool by installing sprinklers and shade all over the expo grounds and above the long queues.  We didn't see many of the so called "BIG" named pavilions as none of us are that way inclined, to stand in 4 hour queues was not why we were there. We just wanted to soak up the atmosphere and see whatever opened up for us. We did however see Australia Pavilion blasting through the queue (at dinner time) in an amazing 20 minutes maximum.

 Made me proud, they did a wonderful job. Funny to see everyone aghast when they found out about our low population. We also had an aussie dinner there, tasty! Another night saw us fine dining in Luxembourg pavilion, a refined experience in China :-)
We explored Expo for three days in total and around those days we explored the rest of Shanghai!





The Bund at night was even busier than Expo but is a sight to behold.

Lingering around the alleyways of TianziFang....always a treat!

Shopping, eating out, Starbucks Coffee...Ahhh it's all too good.

I love Shanghai to visit and I can see why many expats decide to make Shanghai their home....There are many of the comforts from our homelands to be found there,but, I think I couldn't live the life...Always great to come back to Yichang.

transition

Time really does fly now days. 5 weeks back in Australia went very quickly. I had a great time catching up with family and friends. Some great times meeting and getting to know my new niece Mathilda and spending time with my Brother and family, visiting the Perth Zoo, shopping and hanging with Mum, golf with Jude, Supa Golf with Anthony, Kings Park, Family get together, just relaxing at home with Mum, Dad and the dogs....the list goes on.
After I arrived back in China I only had 3 days to re acclimatise and I was off to Shanghai for the World Expo.13 days in Shanghai, 24 hour train journey each way, 3 days in total at World Expo and the rest of the time wondering around the amazing city of Shanghai with Nettie, Carol and Netties sister Helen.
I didn't take my laptop with me so I'm just catching up now that I'm back home in Yichang.

The Swordsman Theme

I realised today that I forgot to put the beginners video of me playing Guzheng on my

blog...so here it is

.

It's called "The Theme from the Swordsman" and is just a very basic piece.

I took this a couple of months back now and since I've been holidaying back in Australia, I haven't got to practice at all. Unfortunately being the size it is, Guzheng is not made to easily travel half way around the world with! It's a beautiful instrument and even though I don't do it justice here :-) I will indeed keep enjoying to learn something so new to me. Guzheng really is such a traditional Chinese instrument. It's so steeped in Chinese culture and history and I adore the many different sounds it can make. You cant see it in such a simple piece as this but bending strings to get notes, vibrato techniques, plucking all come into play and you can really convey how you are feeling through the music you play. All that and it looks so beautiful too!

Oh if anyone is wondering what the screaming noise in the background is...it's the kids over at the school basketball court screaming support for their class teams :-)

For another aspect on life...alternaview.

I have found a really cool site. For help travelling through life just by maybe looking at things a little differently. Very nice website. ALTERNAVIEW Click it to check it out!

River Walk

Nice day for a walk with "Daisy and Tina". Took them for a stroll along the Avon River walk, then through town to sit and have a cuppa, before heading back home :-)

Kings Park 2010

A beautiful sunny winters day in Kings Park. Family, sandwiches, coffee, fresh air, vivid colours, sounds and smells of nature. Very Nice!It really does feel great to hug a tree


The coffee, very nice :-)

Midday Sun

So I'm back in Australia for my summer/winter vacation. Yes it's winter here and yes it's very cold early morning and through the nights, but the big difference here....SUNSHINE! The winter sunshine is a wonderful pleasure to behold. I've just come back in from sitting down on the property, meditating in the warm midday sun, whilst the rescued mob of kangaroos milled around me, the magpies and many other birds sang, the insects buzzed and my body gained a much needed dose of vitamin D. No traffic noises, beeping horns, people talking...just the sounds of nature

and the warm sunshine followed every so often by a cool breeze. Now that is relaxing.

Australia you really are a beautiful country.

励志警句

"Do not spoil what you have by desiring what you have not; remember that what you now have was once among the things you only hoped for."
- Epicurus

Summer is back!

Summer has arrived along with the (got to be experienced to believe)Yichang heat. I still prefer summer to winter though and I have to admit the seemingly never ending grey skies and cold of China winter is one of the most difficult things about living here. The fact that I love summer but spend the year chasing winter is only made easier by the fact that winter in Western Australia is much more tolerable than Chinese winters. Sorry farmers but when I come back for my holiday next week, I'm hoping for some winter sunshine and and less of the grey skies and rain.
I'm looking forward to seeing my family, meeting new members of my family like my niece and our new four legged family member :-) and giving everyone a big hug.

Mini Dell Making life easier

Since living in China and teaching ESL, much of my life revolves around my laptop and the internet. Contacting home, sourcing lesson ideas, making up lesson plans etc take up much of my time. My Dell Inspiron is fantastic but has very large screen and is very heavy. A few days ago I decided to treat myself and buy a Dell Inspiron mini 10'. It's really very compact, light and will make travelling around much easier. I use my computer a lot in lessons and I often spend weekends at my friends house so I'm always carrying my laptop around, not to mention back and forth between Australia and China...so I consider it a very valuable investment. My new little laptop is ultra cool and I'm enjoying checking it all out. Because I had to set up all the programs that I use frequently, it got me thinking about what I think is like my survival pack for being on the internet when you live in China...or be it any country away from your own patch of grass.
In no particular order here it is
1) Witopia - personal VPN
2) Skype
3) Avast antivirus and Malawarebytes
4)Mozilla Firefox (for me it just seems much more reliable and quicker than I.E. and I use many handy add ons to organise my internet and help me learn Chinese)

A couple of things that are not crucial but just make life a little easier
PPTV - I can watch some cool shows in English or with English subtitles
Blogger - To keep my family and friends in touch with what is going on

Not much really but these few things make so much difference.

Junior/Middle high school entrance exam day

Well over 2000 kids came yesterday to sit the entrance exam for our school. It is the best middle school in Yichang and because of the success rate here, competition to get into our school is fierce. Only about 300 of these kids will make it in. Look at the chaos on the road outside my apartment as the hopeful parents and nervous students left just before lunch time. It was this crazy from very early (about 7.00 am). The cars were parked for many miles up the road and some parents and kids had to park and walk for around twenty minutes to get to school.

Such Chaos

Back from Wuhan....such a big, crazy, unorganised city. Taxi Drivers are crazy there!...but the people were friendly and we had a great time shopping, drinking Starbucks coffee and hanging out. Actually found "Harvey Fresh Milk" from W.A in one of the major stores....amazing :-)and we stumbled upon a very beautiful Daoist Temple. Really one of the nicest temples I have seen since I have been in China. Not crowded and a haven away from the crazy city outside. I actually forgot to take my camera but Nettie used her phone to snap a picture of me with Lao Zi (Lao Tzu/Tsu)...I'll see if I can add it soon. Whenever I go away it always makes me appreciate Yichang even more when I return, but still it was a welcome break and the paperwork is organised :-)

Wuhan

Starting to organise things to bring home to Australia for the holiday. After this week I think I have two weeks of teaching until the end of my semester. The kids and Chinese teachers will stay on for about another four weeks. This week is an easy one for me as I only had two periods yesterday and two periods today. Nettie and I will go to Wuhan (The capital of Hubei Province) tomorrow morning for a few days to organise renewing all the paperwork for me to stay teaching here again next year. It's about a four or five hour journey by coach. In my two years here, I've only really stayed in Wuhan once before and that was to organise the paperwork when I first arrived. It is a huge city split into three main areas which are on both sides of the Yangtze river. A VERY BUSY and chaotic place. I may actually take more in this time though...last time I went there I was still a little shell shocked at just being in China.
So nearly at the two year mark here in China, I think I'm quite settled now. I have moments where things really annoy me and moments of complete wonder. Living a Chinese lifestyle is very, very hectic and by the time it gets to this end of the school year...EVERYONE is very tired...My battery is drained very low and a holiday back home seems to have come just in time.

Lunch is on me!

So as I mentioned, when I was layed up in bed last week, my friends really looked after me by bringing me homecooked meals and many other things. This week I wanted to thank them and take them all out for lunch my treat. We often eat at Jiangnan Restaurant, just down the road from our school so I invited my friends and we had a fun, relaxing lunch. They still rarely give me chances to pay for lunches or dinners, so I'm glad I got to treat them for a change.

This is how you eat snails...actually very tasty!


So good to have great friends!

励志警句

"Dont interfere with life. Life knows what to do. You just go along for the ride and stop shouting at the driver".
Ajahn Brahm

With the bad comes the good

When you're laying in bed all week with a herniated/bulging disc, barely able to move whatsoever. It gives you time to do other things like "think too much"...but also, interesting stuff like read, meditate and listen to the interesting world of China going on outside my apartment.
In the reading department I have very little in the way of English books to call on but one of my work mates loaned me a book she had at home called "Wolf Totem" by Jiang Rong. It's very, very interesting. I've scanned through my Lonely Planet China, caught up on some history of the different Dynasties and absorbed inspirational quotes from Buddhism etc.
My friends and work colleagues seem to have taken it on themselves to work in a roster like situation of home cooking me meals so I don't starve and bringing me fruit, books, dvd's etc. So kind of them because in situations like this, can be very easy to feel alone and far away from the comfort of what you know.
I'm very lucky. I guess these are the type of times that you look and see that with the negatives come the positives.

"It is the enemy who can truely teach us to practise the virtues of compassion and tolerence"
His Holiness The 14th Dali Lama

The Arrival

Picked up my new Guzheng today, isn't she beautiful! Sounds amazing. I feel like I should apologize to her because I'm still learning ;-)



When I improve a bit more maybe I'll let you hear her too ;-)