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2 and a half weeks later I finally sit down to write my blog... only to realise I have another lesson in 20 minutes... this is unfortunately going to be quite a long entry, a lot has happened since I last wrote just after visiting the forbidden city. Actually I almost cant remember back that far it seems so long ago.
Anyway, the day after we visited the forbidden city we again had a morning at learning mandarin with the school. After that we went to a talk hosted by the British Council who kindly gave us pizza and cake as snacks. The tower that had the British council in also happened to have a Starbucks in, so I went for my usual Mocha frappucino and it was delicious, although unfortunately a very similar price to that in the UK. We then took the bus to Sanlitun which used to be the foreigners area in Beijing. A huge shopping area was there where we were able to buy western essentials that we had forgotten. But it was the Market that was great. Hundreds of Chinese stalls all trying to sell their wares but at extremely high prices. Obviously you arent supposed to pay that much, the Chinese are very into bartering. So we all had a go, some with more success than others but in the end most people shaved at least half of the original price off of what they were buying. I bought a panda cap for 50 yuan, which was offered to me for 180!
The next day we spent the morning again learning mandarin, and in the afternoon we went to the Temple of Heaven. This was another example of great Chinese architecture and not besides the beautiful surrounding gardens. We then went for Pie as a late afternoon snack, when I say pie it wasnt really pie it was just something that vaguely looked and tasted like it. We then proceeded to another market and on the way witnessed a strange phenomenon... We were passing over a bridge and in the middle of a crossroads was a bus, just stopped, we could just see an angry looking woman refusing to let go of the drivers wheel and so the driver just sat there. Horns were blaring and many drivers were getting very angry. Unfortunatley the huge showdown we were expecting didnt happpen and the police arrived to remove the woman. Anyway we continued to the market to have a go at bartering again. I felt very happy buying a beats pill for 70 yuan - clearly a fake but it works just fine and a portable mobile charger for 30 yuan which also works just fine.
The next day was again started by mandarin lessons, however in the afternoon we moved back to the hostel. We then spent the evening in Four Corners which was a western style bar, it was a great way to spend our supposedly last day in Beijing.
Saturday morning, we had a late start because everyone was leaving Beijing for their projects, unfortunately that didnt quite go as planned. 9 volunteers made it to their trains on time. Unfortunately the rest of us misheard our train time and arrived at the train station half an hour late. Although it didnt seem it at the time this was infact great because it meant we didnt have to spend 50 hours sitting around on a cramped train. We returned to the hostel for another night in Beijing.
On Sunday morning we were told that we had been rebooked onto a plane which was great news, only a 5 hour flight, 10x shorter than the train. We celebrated by heading out into Beijing on the bikes. It was a great morning with clear blue skies and we cycled around a lot of the centre before stopping for a bite to eat. We then returned to Sanlitun shopping area for a final go at the market. I managed to resist the urge to barter with any of the merchants, they all looked a bit shifty anyway... We left the market only to realise there was a large thunderstorm outside. The rain was relentless, and a lot of people had just bought electronics. Luckily I had thought to bring my rain coat and so I filled my bag with as many of the electronics as possible and then we began the epic cycle back to the hostel. It was quite fun cycling in the terrential rain, and although my coat bore the worst of it, I still got back to the hostel soaked, although my bag was completely dry.
The next day we woke up at 3:45 and madly packed before departing for the airport at 5. We arrived on time and boarded the plane very easily arriving in Urumqi (the province capital) at midday. Our respective hosts met us at the airport, ours was a very outgoing and friendly woman called Adelina who is head of the English department at the school im teaching at. She met us with Mr Ma and the Driver, who's names I'm really not sure how to spell in English. We left the airport and dropped off all our baggage at a hotel in Urumqi and then headed out for lunch. To my surprise I was asked if I would like a barbeque. We went and sat in a little shop, im not sure what to call it, there are lots of very small restaurants here. Anyway we were shortly served noodles and meat on sticks. The food was fantastic, the meat was mutton which I wasnt sure whether I would like but it was cooked perfectly, and the noodles were great as well. We returned to the hotel and realised that somehow during the flight Callum (my partner) had managed to crack his laptop screen. This seemed like a run of extraordinary bad luck from him considering only two days before he accidentally left his laptop, wallet and phone in a taxi which luckily he managed to recover. He didnt feel like going out so I left him in the hotel and Adelina and I went to the supermarket to buy some snacks. I returned triumphant to the hotel with pots of ice cream and numerous other tasty delights which we gorged on. We had dinner out with Adelina, Ma and the driver which was also very good.
In the morning we had our medical examinations. We took part in a number of medical tests (Blood Test, Urine test, X-Ray, ECG, Ultrasound, height, weight and our heart rate), which was a strange experience. Unfortunately there was a problem with mine, the person administering the ECG told me that I was too young and skinny causing a slight problem with my heart rate. Unfortunately I was unable to get her to elaborate because I was utterly confused by the result. We then returned to the hotel and ate Bao zi nearby (steamed dumplings). After lunch we got in the minivan and drove to Kuitun. We stopped in Shawan for big plate chicken (a whole chicken, no part not included) and I tried chicken feet, which really arent that bad. We arrived in Kuitun and were taken to our apartment, only to find we had neither power nor water. Shortly after we were ushered out again for a banquet with the heads of my school. It was a very nice meal although very different to that which you might expect in England. Food was put on my plate for me and there was no chance to stop eating, there were regular toasts and much to my displeasure I was expected to make my own toast in mandarin. I managed to let out a few words, and made all of the chinese laugh but I think they got what I was saying. We returned to out apartment and just went to sleep exhausted.
The next few days were spent either exploring Kuitun, signing contracts or meeting people from the Middle school (my school) or Callums school (the high school). We were invited out a number of times and we ate and drank far too much. We also managed to sort out the water and electricity, only to find that the cooker, and the washing machine were broken. Did you know that melons make your breasts bigger, or so the Chinese here seem to think, they only told me this after I had eaten three huge pieces and laughed at me for a while...
I started teaching last Tuesday and unfortunately my lesson plan was destroyed and they knew everything I was going to teach. So I improvised my lessons for that day and I'm certain that they were the worst of the week. I only had one lesson on wednesday, we had the afternoon off for teachers day and I went hiking with the other teachers in the middle school.
Thursday and Friday last week were good, all my lessons breezed past and can you believe I dont even start work until 4 on a Friday. All the children were super excited, many of them came and asked for a signature and a handshake or some of them my phone number; which I refused to give them.
Callum and I had a quiet saturday and I cooked frozen dumplings which admitedly is extremely easy, but they taste amazing. Yesterday we went to the cinema with Adelina and a couple of her students who are now going to be Callums students. We watched into the Storm in English which was suprisingly good, the cgi was great even if it wasnt the best or most original story. We then had noodles which were very tasty, and returned home.
Today I had two more lessons, both were very easy and I enjoyed teaching them. Now I have to invent a new lesson for tomorrow, I think I'll teach them animals? I hope you havent fallen asleep reading this, it is again a lot longer than I thought it would be, but thats mainly down to a busy schedule and lack of internet in the apartment.
Maybe I will write again next week....
Harrison X
- comments
Nila & Ged Brilliant hearing about all your new experiences Harrison & apologies for the 1 star rating it should have been 5 !! Look forward to the next one.
Harrison Haha that's ok :) Just about to start writing the next one!
Judith King Just catching up with your news. Really amusing made me laugh. Really felt for you with your first lesson but so glad all has gone well since.