Profile
Blog
Photos
Videos
We got up early and walked for about twenty minutes just to get out of the housing yard and find the bus stop.We were supposed to get breakfast but by the time we got off the bus and found Neil in town there was no time.He took us in his car to the school for my training and I was left there with Alyssia.We went into a classroom with a very chirpy Chinese teacher and less than ten children probably about 8 years old.She taught similarly to me, with the flashcards and playing little games, but with much more order in the class.I said to Alyssia it was difficult to apply this to my classrooms because I sometimes have up to thirty children and they are all under 5 years old so their English is much more basic.The class lasted less than half an hour and I assumed I would be taken to more classes, but no, this was it.All that travelling (and cutting my Qingdao break short) just for a thirty minute observation!
We crossed the road to find which restaurant Miss Shi and Neil had gone to, and had some breakfast.They kept putting food on my plate with their chopsticks, which is a Chinese custom, but the custom also requires that you have to eat what they give you so I was very full.Neil drove us to the bus station and we left Miss Shi with the car and the three of us went in.Alyssia paid for my ticket, so I suppose there was some advantage for me having travelled to Jinan, as the ticket from Qingdao to Jinan was cheaper than Qingdao to Liaocheng.I also had some interesting conversations, some nice food, and now have Alyssia's email which will make it easier if I have any more problems which require Miss Shi's help, as she can act as translator.She also said she hates the way foreigners are sometimes ripped off so if I get the chance to travel I should let her know so she can get her friends in different towns to help me along the way.Because of the national holiday, the queues to get on the bus were ridiculous.Neil was bored and wanted to leave, but Alyssia wanted to make sure I got my bus.Neil disappeared for a while and when he came back he made us go to the front of the queue.He had told the ticket collector that Alyssia is a government translator on very important business and she had to make sure I got on the bus but also needed to be somewhere else very soon.They believed him and I was escorted to the bus by a lady waving a bright yellow flag.Embarrassing!!
When I got back to Liaocheng I was able to use Skype to speak to Ricky (my brother) as it was his eighteenth birthday!I watched him open some of the presents I'd got for him before I left England which was pretty cool.It has taken me a while to embrace the idea of Skype, but in this situation it was brilliant!Ruth got back to Liaocheng from her trip to Shanghai and we met up and went to Noodle Guy for dinner (this is the name we have given the place where they hand-make the fresh noodles just outside the shop) and we swapped stories about our trips during the national holiday.
- comments