Changes

Bare with me while I redesign the blog. I have to re add some stuff...What do you think? I think it's quite beautiful :-)

Christmas Parties

Christmas Eve was a hive of activity at school. Every class held their own Christmas Party celebration. The kids gave me invitations to attend and I'm glad I did :-) When I arrived I got a rock star welcome BUT it's not just me! When Sarah arrived she also got the same loud, warm welcome and then later when Nettie arrived, again huge cheers, clapping and attention. It seems they love their English teachers! Really makes you feel good.

Sarah brought one of her twins along and Nettie brought Carol. Kids here in China really seem to look after other kids very well. They all call each other younger or older sisters or brothers and seem to treat each other that way.

I had a great night even though I had to sing a Chinese song in each class party I went to. The kids get really excited when you speak or sing in Chinese. Infact the kids here just LOVE to sing and dance FULLSTOP.

Christmas Challenge

Seems I'm being tested...given some "Growth Material". Firstly "Merry Christmas" Hope you all had a wonderful Christmas Day and continue to have a great Chrissie break! I didn't blog my "Happy Chrissie" message yesterday because ....well...lets say it was definately a trying day. "Thursday afternoon (Christmas Eve) the water went off(not unusual for around here)...what is unusual is that it is now "Boxing Day" morning and the water is still not back on. "Christmas Day" itself was quite pleasant, I was asked to be a judge at the kids English singing competition in the afternoon. It was a lot of fun and a couple of the performances were really standout great! After that I came back to try and organise for my Chrissie Party, thats when the electricity went out aswell! With 7 friends and 10 kids about to arrive I tried to maybe "cancel" (the obvious thing we would do in such a situation in Australia...but...apparently not here!) So I walked to the shop downstairs and bought a heap of candles and a torch. Before most of the guests started to arrive, electricity did come back. With yet some other kinda cold thing hanging around...It was a tough evening to say the least.
Many dhamma teachings and other well known sayings that we grow up with kept running through my head "What doesn't kill you, makes you stronger" etc...
There is a Zen saying "When my house burned down, I gained, an unobstructed view of the moonlit sky"
Well I tried to see the stars but wasn't very successful (lol) Keep practicing I guess!

励志警句

Inner tranquility comes from the development of love and compassion. The more we care for the happiness of others, the greater is our own sense of well being. Cultivating a close warm hearted feeling for others automatically puts the mind at ease and opens the inner door.

His Holiness the 14th Dalai Lama

Big Christmas Sale!

This afternoon the Junior 1's held a wonderful event as part of our "English Culture Week", holding their own "Big Sale" at school. They had a couple of stores (stalls) per class and over the past weekend they went shopping with a small budget to buy things to sell at their shop stalls today. Then at the end of the day they split the stalls takings evenly between each kid in the group. Great idea!
It was a whole lot of fun. Check out my kids enjoying themselves :-)



Most of the teachers (including myself) ended up not being able to say no to the kids. Seeing them enjoying themselves so much and selling, using their English speaking skills was a joy. All the teachers could be seen walking around with arms full of shopping from supporting the kids fun afternoon.

Happy Anniversary

To my amazing Mum and Dad,

"HAPPY ANNIVERSARY"

I love you both very much.

C.B.D shopping brings Walmart to Yichang

The new C.B.D shopping area has brought a few nice new shops, restaurants, big state of the art movie cinema complex and as from a couple of weeks ago a new Walmart to shop in. I first visited the Walmart a couple of days after it's grand opening and it was so busy I thought I would never get used to such a big busy shop. People pushing and shoving in long crowded queues (if you can call it a queue in China :-)It looked promising but all really wanted to do was get out...it was so noisy and overcrowded...I joked with my friends that I didn't realise so many people actually lived in Yichang.
Last night I ventured back. I had a fairly extensive list of groceries and that involves getting different things from different stores. I thought my best chance of getting everything in one place was more likely to happen in Walmart. To my relief the crowds had diminished and I could really see what was available. To my joy many things to make things a little more normal for me here in China (Grocery wise) were scattered around everywhere. Not only did I get Beef (WOW), Pork, Chicken, Fruit and Vegetables in one shop, I also found such gems as a huge array of frozen goods, such as frozen french fries and frozen vegetables. Also a big fridge full of ready to go Chinese meals all cut up and ready to stirfry, even hotpots for 1 or 2 people all ready to cook! They even make Pizza and BBQ chicken on roast spits fresh, hot and ready to eat. The prices here? Very cheap! I'm impressed. One of the things that I thought was GREAT were the lights in all the freezers, fridges and cold shelves that are sensored, so they go on when someone walks up to have a look at the food and turn off when no-one is looking. Very energy efficient and Earthwise idea! Nearly as good as the Bus drivers here who stop the buses engine when they stop at traffic lights, even when it's a 50/50 chance as to whether it actually starts again :-)

Birthday Bonus

Another birthday came and went and I was totally looked after and spoilt by my friends, school and students here in China and my family and friends back home.
A big thankyou to Judy who sent me a lovely traditional "Christmas Fruit Cake" and "Shortbread Biscuits" for Christmas and a very cool "Sayings of the Buddha and other Masters" book for my birthday:)The sayings are so uplifting I might start picking out some favourite to post more regularly on here. Mum and Dad, THANKYOU for the Christmas/Birthday parcel full of goodies. I really love the Perfume very much and I now know that Father Christmas will still find me here in China and fill a stocking for me on Christmas eve...(How old am I ? :-)Here in China I had students giving me cards, not shy in saying their love for me (which really makes your heart feel warm), many renditions of "Happy Birthday", a day or two of all the kids walking past wishing me "Happy Birthday", blackboards decorated with "Happy Birthday" messages, Dinner and beautiful gifts from my friends, "Birthday Cake"......I really am treated so kindly here. Everyone is so generous, kind hearted and loving towards me. I am so GRATEFUL!

Shifu (Master)

The name here in China for a master tradesman, someone who is very skilled at what they do is "shifu"...For those of you into Kungfu movies...there is always a "Master" who guides their young apprentice. Well I visited a very skilled Shifu yesterday. Years of playing Goals in Hockey and throwing myself around sometimes comes back to haunt me and a few days ago it visited in the form of lower back and hip pain that became so sore, it was difficult to walk. The time had come to face another "China Experience".
Yes, I've tried the foot massage but really that's just what the Chinese do to relax. This time I was going to see a Massage Shifu who has 40 years experience to back him up.
A little nervous "YES"...From my experiences here, the Chinese love any chance to massage, beat and hit, prod and pull, pick and poke. I also knew that this place not only did massage but also "Cupping"(sucking your skin up into little glass bowls) and "Scraping"(scraping with a piece of horn over your back, bringing all the blood to the surface)both of which can be very beneficial but 1)look a little painful and 2)leave you looking like you've just been beaten up.
Upon my arrival the Shifu rearranged his schedule to treat the "Waiguoren"(foreigner). This kind of preferential treatment does happen quite a lot here. Not many foreigners in "Yichang" and people love the opportunity to be with you. I 99% of the time don't mind the inquisitiveness and am always happy to talk. When I have someone with me who can interpret both ways, it's often fun for everyone:-)Nettie came with me and we all had a great laugh with the Shifu who was indeed full of character and stories and very funny. My Chinese can still only pick up parts of information and my vocabulary is limited so when visiting a place like this for the first time, a fluent Chinese/English speaker is a safe option :-)
ANYWAYYYYY The massage started with an apprentice working on my neck and shoulders before the Shifu worked on my back. Yes it did involve the usual hitting and beating (That even happens when they wash your hair in the hairdressers here)but my back feels sooo much better today than yesterday, much less pain and it really wasn't that bad.
It's always interesting to see how different things are here and this was no exception. Many people who do massage here in China are actually blind. This was the case yesterday. They believe they have a gift for this profession because their other senses are so heightened with their lack of sight. Makes sense!
So now I have also found a great place for natural Chinese massage and therapies.
Will I try the Cupping and Scraping? I think so? Some things the Chinese really do exceptionally well and I believe these treatments could be very beneficial...a little painful maybe??? You never know until you try.