All good things must come to an end. I hate this saying. I dunno why – I guess it just seems so patronizing. But I suppose it’s true, whoever said it first must’ve known something…Anyways, as all good things do, my time in China has ended. It’s time for me to move on in my life and take a different path. Although I’m back in Canada as I write this, my mind and heart are still back in Guangzhou. They haven’t caught up with me yet. I’m not sure if they ever will. I had such a fantastic time in China; it’s going to take a long time to accept the fact that it’s no longer my home…
My last weeks in GZ were pretty busy. It was the Chinese Spring Festival (Lunar New Year) so I had some holiday time. Tony and I packed up and head North to Beijing for a few days and then to Shanghai for a couple more. The trip was a lot of fun and I really enjoyed the Big BJ as it’s become known. Despite the chilly temperature the weather couldn’t have been better – big blue sky and a bright sun-shiny sky. We arrived around noon on New Years Eve Day and took a taxi to our hotel. The first thing on our agenda – an afternoon nap. Haha, sad, but true… We had gotten up at 4:00 to catch the shuttle to the airport, since it was the first official day of the holiday we didn’t want to risk missing our flight because of long lines.
After our cat nap we set out to explore the city. We walked from our hotel to Tiananmen Square. Took a while but it was a nice walk – the streets were deserted. I figured one of two things was happening, either; A) everyone was at home enjoying family time; or B) there had been some kind of terrorist attack threat that we’d missed. Either way it was a cool experience seeing BJ so… underpopulated. We arrived at the Square just in time for the lowering of the National Flag. Just a coincidence, but glad it happened. We got to watch some guards march across the street from the Forbidden City and then ceremoniously lower the flag down. After that we continued walking as the sun was setting to the pedestrian street Wangfujing. There we found a restaurant that specializes in Peking Duck (there were a lot of choices, actually) and stopped for dinner. It’s probably blasphemous to say, but the Peking Duck in Guangzhou was better. Even the Peking Duck I had back in Calgary was better. Not to say that it was bad – I just expected more. After dinner we went to Hou Hai for some drinks and to watch the fireworks. And of fireworks there were plenty! I seriously felt like I was in a warzone. The constant exploding noises from the firecrackers at street level and the bursts from the fireworks overhead – so relentless and so loud! At midnight they went crazy and the display went hard for at least an hour. After that it died down but not out. I heard that overall that night there were 75 fires in Beijing and 45 injuries. I guess all in all, not bad statistics LOL.
The following day we woke up late and then took a bus ride out to the Great Wall. I seriously underestimated its size in my head. It’s huge! And the view from on top is beautiful. Although steep and a little tiring to climb up, it’s definitely worth it! I’m going to have those images in my head for a long long time. After the Great Wall we went and took a trip out to the Olympic Park and saw the Bird’s Nest Stadium and the Aquatics Centre. Definitely cool examples of modern architecture.
We took some time out of the regular tourist attracts the next day and just wandered around aimlessly. Well, not entirely aimlessly. We went to the Temple Fair which is basically the same as the Flower Streets in Guangzhou minus the fresh flowers. It was sooo crowded! I didn’t buy anything, well aside from the candied fruit on a stick, but it was interesting walk around and people watch.
Our last morning in BJ we woke up early to go and see the flag being raised at sunrise and then walked across the street for the Forbidden City to open. Those of you who know me are aware that I’m not exactly the morning type, but if you want to walk through the Forbidden City with any sense of personal space first thing in the morning is the time to do it. We walked by the day before in the afternoon to go check it out but the line up out side was seriously ridiculous! Like many things in China, the Forbidden City was huge! It just kept going and going. Over 9000 rooms total. We obviously didn’t stop to look at them all, but the ones we did look at were pretty remarkable. So much history.
At noon we left for the airport and took a plane to Shanghai. I was really excited to go but once we got there I realized that, well, it really wasn’t all that special. We met up with a friend of Tony’s and went our for some local Shanghainese cuisine. Then we went to the beach to look at the famous Pudong skyline. The next day was rainy but we spend the day walking around Nanjing Pedestrian Street. By the evening we were back in a taxi and on our way to the airport again.
Back in Guangzhou I only had 4 days left before my departure. And how time flied! I worked for two days and then had my good bye party on my second-last night. It was bittersweet. I was happy to have all my friends gathered under one roof, but sad knowing it would be for the last time. The spirits were high at the party and I managed to make it through the night without breaking down and crying haha.
I’ve cried more tears than I’d like to admit over the past few days. I’m trying to be strong but it’s not always that easy. Most of the time I’m fine it’s just whenever go over the events of the past several days that my emotions get the better of me; especially when I think back to the airport when Tony and a small group of friends – Steven, Hehe, Olivia and Vicky – came to see me off. It was teary farewell but I’m so glad to have friends like you guys who would wake up so early to come and say goodbye. No, not “goodbye”, just “see you later”.
And so it is… I’m now back on (frozen) Canadian soil. My memories are keeping me warm. I’m going to miss you all but I hope to see you all again soon. And hey, there’s always Facebook right? ;)
Tuesday, February 3, 2009
Wednesday, January 21, 2009
China - Day 289
So after re-reading my last note under the light of day I’m thinking that it may have come across a lot more... depressive... than I originally intended. To be fair, realizing that I only have two weeks left here hit me pretty hard, so you’ll have to excuse the melodrama. But let me try and explain myself again now that I’m back treading above water.
I’ve really enjoyed my time here in China - a lot more than I expected to before I arrived in April. Since then it seems like I’ve been on a whirlwind adventure - it really has come and gone so quickly!
I’ve met so many incredible people here that have touched my life in ways I didn’t think they would. I’m so happy to have met each and every one of you and it’s going to be very difficult for me to say goodbye. (But fortunately I don’t have to do that quite yet). I’ve been to some pretty amazing places both in and out of China while living in GZ, and I’ve experienced some fairly... interesting food, to say the least... Luckily I’m managing to leave without having had any dog or cat. To the best of my knowledge anyways. Haha...ha? Aiya, not good to think about.
So even though I hate the idea of leaving my life in China behind, I’m really excited (albeit terrified) to be heading back to school soon! Even more excited about the fact that I’ll be doing that in Australia! I’ve wanted to visit there for years and years and just haven’t had the opportunity. My parents have been there on several occasions, but each time they didn’t feel the need to bring their children along (tsk tsk). I blame it partially (read: wholly) on them that I don’t actually know a whole lot about my future country. I’ve been trying to research the country, and Sydney specifically, lately on Wikipedia (gotta love the Wiki) to try and get a better idea for what I’m in for. So far I’ve got to say, it’s looking pretty good!
Looks like there are lots of things to do in and around Sydney, not to mention the rest of the country! I definitely wanna try scuba diving while I’m there and perhaps even a little surfing. Guess that means I’m going to have to try and get over my rather large, irrational, deep-seated fear of sharks. Well hey, if I don’t actually make it in the water at least there are tons of beach options where I can work on my tan. (These past two years in Asian countries have made my skin eerily pale - in fact, I’m pretty sure it glows now).
Before I finally realize my dream of visiting the Land Down Under, I gotta make a pit stop back in the Great White North. Definitely a short stay this time around - 8 days. Gotta get a lot in in that amount of time. New York Fries and Pita Pit are high on my list (not that I’m only thinking about food lol). Also gotta hit up the local Old Navy, H & M, and other such shops to get some “back to school” clothing. It’s gonna be nice to be able to shop and not have to worry about whether or not they’ll have my size. Hallelujah! Haha.
Well this one was a short entry but hey, you guys get two in two days - that’s got to be some kind of record for me. Just wanted to let you all know that I’m sane and in no danger of harming myself ;) I’ll be sure to write at least one more after I get back from Beijing. Take care guys and 恭喜发财!
I’ve really enjoyed my time here in China - a lot more than I expected to before I arrived in April. Since then it seems like I’ve been on a whirlwind adventure - it really has come and gone so quickly!
I’ve met so many incredible people here that have touched my life in ways I didn’t think they would. I’m so happy to have met each and every one of you and it’s going to be very difficult for me to say goodbye. (But fortunately I don’t have to do that quite yet). I’ve been to some pretty amazing places both in and out of China while living in GZ, and I’ve experienced some fairly... interesting food, to say the least... Luckily I’m managing to leave without having had any dog or cat. To the best of my knowledge anyways. Haha...ha? Aiya, not good to think about.
So even though I hate the idea of leaving my life in China behind, I’m really excited (albeit terrified) to be heading back to school soon! Even more excited about the fact that I’ll be doing that in Australia! I’ve wanted to visit there for years and years and just haven’t had the opportunity. My parents have been there on several occasions, but each time they didn’t feel the need to bring their children along (tsk tsk). I blame it partially (read: wholly) on them that I don’t actually know a whole lot about my future country. I’ve been trying to research the country, and Sydney specifically, lately on Wikipedia (gotta love the Wiki) to try and get a better idea for what I’m in for. So far I’ve got to say, it’s looking pretty good!
Looks like there are lots of things to do in and around Sydney, not to mention the rest of the country! I definitely wanna try scuba diving while I’m there and perhaps even a little surfing. Guess that means I’m going to have to try and get over my rather large, irrational, deep-seated fear of sharks. Well hey, if I don’t actually make it in the water at least there are tons of beach options where I can work on my tan. (These past two years in Asian countries have made my skin eerily pale - in fact, I’m pretty sure it glows now).
Before I finally realize my dream of visiting the Land Down Under, I gotta make a pit stop back in the Great White North. Definitely a short stay this time around - 8 days. Gotta get a lot in in that amount of time. New York Fries and Pita Pit are high on my list (not that I’m only thinking about food lol). Also gotta hit up the local Old Navy, H & M, and other such shops to get some “back to school” clothing. It’s gonna be nice to be able to shop and not have to worry about whether or not they’ll have my size. Hallelujah! Haha.
Well this one was a short entry but hey, you guys get two in two days - that’s got to be some kind of record for me. Just wanted to let you all know that I’m sane and in no danger of harming myself ;) I’ll be sure to write at least one more after I get back from Beijing. Take care guys and 恭喜发财!
Tuesday, January 20, 2009
China - Day 288
I walked in the door tonight to see Amy’s bags packed and waiting in the living room. She’s heading back home to Canada soon for a short holiday over the Chinese Spring festival. The sight of her luggage triggered something in my brain, and it made me realize how little time I have left in this country - I too will be making the same journey in another two weeks time. As I looked at her bags stacked neatly by the sofa I thought quietly to myself about how excited she is to return to her friends and family who miss her, and about how it’ll be nice for her to spend some time out of China, but more so I thought about how she’ll be returning to Guangzhou at the end of it all. And it was with this thought that I was hit with a surge of jealousy - because, when I leave, it’ll be for good. My ticket’s one-way.
When I left Japan last year after the same amount of time, I was ready. I was prepared. I knew my time was up and it was time to move on.
But now, I can’t say the same thing. I’m not ready. It’s too soon. I’m completely unprepared. Please don’t make me leave. I’m hoping someone will read this and make me stay. They’ll tell I can’t leave China, there’s been a terrible misunderstanding; a mistake; a misconception of what’s going on. I can’t leave. I have to stay. Sorry, but that’s how it has to be...
I’m convinced Time is toying with my head. It’s going by too fast. It’s not fair. I don’t want to say good bye, but Time is putting me in a situation where that sad scenario is approaching at rapid pace.
I don’t want to say good bye. I don’t want to pack up all my things. I don’t want to get on a plane. I don’t want leave Guangzhou. Not yet. It’s not the right time. I don’t know if there will ever be a “right time,” but I know it’s definitely not now. Now I’m not ready to say good bye to all my friends that I’ve made here. Now I’m not ready to try and fit all my stuff back into my suitcases. Now I’m not ready to make the lonely hour-long trip to the airport. Now I’m not ready to part ways with this city that I have a special love-hate relationship with. But most of all, more than anything else - I don’t want to leave *you*. I’m not ready to look you in the eyes and say goodbye. I’m not ready for your last kiss. I’m not ready to walk away - because I’m scared to death of what that means - of what will happen after I do. I should probably be saying this in person, but I don’t know how. I’m too afraid. So now everyone else gets to read it too, go figure that I’m not frightened of that haha. But there it is. It’s said and done. I wish I could stay longer, if only for you.
I have less than two weeks left in China and the whole process feels like I’m slowly ripping off a bandage before my wound is fully healed. A strange metaphor perhaps...?
Less than two weeks and there’s so much of this huge country that I have yet to see and experience. I’m going to Beijing and Shanghai with Tony later this week, so I can cross that off my list... But what about Tibet and Sanya and Lijiang and Xian...? Hmm... Well, maybe that means I’m not gone for good. Maybe that means I will have to come back. The flight to/from Australia isn’t so long from here. Who knows? Maybe I’ll be back sooner than I realize?
When I left Japan last year after the same amount of time, I was ready. I was prepared. I knew my time was up and it was time to move on.
But now, I can’t say the same thing. I’m not ready. It’s too soon. I’m completely unprepared. Please don’t make me leave. I’m hoping someone will read this and make me stay. They’ll tell I can’t leave China, there’s been a terrible misunderstanding; a mistake; a misconception of what’s going on. I can’t leave. I have to stay. Sorry, but that’s how it has to be...
I’m convinced Time is toying with my head. It’s going by too fast. It’s not fair. I don’t want to say good bye, but Time is putting me in a situation where that sad scenario is approaching at rapid pace.
I don’t want to say good bye. I don’t want to pack up all my things. I don’t want to get on a plane. I don’t want leave Guangzhou. Not yet. It’s not the right time. I don’t know if there will ever be a “right time,” but I know it’s definitely not now. Now I’m not ready to say good bye to all my friends that I’ve made here. Now I’m not ready to try and fit all my stuff back into my suitcases. Now I’m not ready to make the lonely hour-long trip to the airport. Now I’m not ready to part ways with this city that I have a special love-hate relationship with. But most of all, more than anything else - I don’t want to leave *you*. I’m not ready to look you in the eyes and say goodbye. I’m not ready for your last kiss. I’m not ready to walk away - because I’m scared to death of what that means - of what will happen after I do. I should probably be saying this in person, but I don’t know how. I’m too afraid. So now everyone else gets to read it too, go figure that I’m not frightened of that haha. But there it is. It’s said and done. I wish I could stay longer, if only for you.
I have less than two weeks left in China and the whole process feels like I’m slowly ripping off a bandage before my wound is fully healed. A strange metaphor perhaps...?
Less than two weeks and there’s so much of this huge country that I have yet to see and experience. I’m going to Beijing and Shanghai with Tony later this week, so I can cross that off my list... But what about Tibet and Sanya and Lijiang and Xian...? Hmm... Well, maybe that means I’m not gone for good. Maybe that means I will have to come back. The flight to/from Australia isn’t so long from here. Who knows? Maybe I’ll be back sooner than I realize?
Sunday, January 4, 2009
China - Day 272
Reflections and Resolutions. These are words commonly heard around this time of year, for *they* (whoever "they" may be...) say the New Year is a time to look back on what you've done and what you're proud of. (And, well, let's face it - what you're not so proud of...). It's also a time to look forward to what you hope to change and accomplish in your life - at least in the coming 365 days...
Over the past year, while I've been in China, I've been (not so) regularly updating my blog and sharing my experiences with you all, so I guess it's not necessary to recap every event 2008 held for me. But I will fill you in on what's happened since my last pre-birthday post.
In the past couple of months I've done and seen a lot... I traveled to the hot springs in Huizhou for the weekend of my birthday and had a wonderful time there. The hot spring resort we stayed at was like nothing I've ever seen. It had probably near 100 different spring pools, all in different shapes and themes. Some even had special herbal remedies mixed in, and one had a mixture of Chinese wine and beer - apparently good for the skin. After returning to GZ after a relaxing two days, I went out for a birthday dinner at a local Turkish BBQ restaurant with 20 good friends and then on to a nearby bar for some drinks with about half of them. It was a blast! Thanks guys for making it one of my most memorable birthdays!!!
More recently though I took a week-long vacation to Thailand to celebrate the Christmas holiday with Amy and my brother, Graham, who met up with us in Bangkok. We spent two days in Bangkok where we went shopping at a huge night market, tasted some local cuisine (as well as some Western cuisine unavailable in China - like Auntie Ann's Pretzels - so good!), and saw a Cabaret (translation: Lady-Boy/tranny show). It was definitely interesting, but not exactly what I was expecting. It was definitely a PG-13 show, families were seated all around us, but it was still entertaining... After Bangkok we took an early morning flight out to Koh Samui, an island off the SW coast.
The airport in Koh Samui was pretty amazing, definitely introduces you to the island lifestyle immediately off the plane. (Take a look at my photos from the trip for a visual). Unfortunately though the skies were grey and cloudy, and much to our dismay stayed that way pretty much the entire four days we were there. Bad weather aside, our time in Koh Samui was enjoyable. We did a lot of different activities like getting massages on the beach, elephant trekking, renting motorbikes, watching Muay Thai boxing, and snorkeling off the shores of Koh Tao - another Thai island about an hour boat's ride away from Samui. Not to mention shopping on a daily basis. It was a packed holiday and it flew by way too quickly! I definitely want to return to Thailand again in the future, but definitely not during their rainy season!
The three of us, my brother included, arrived back to Guangzhou just in time for New Years (with a few days to spare). The first couple of days I showed my brother around the city, which was much colder but equally as rainy as Thailand. Then New Year's Eve I threw a big party at my house. I'm not entirely sure how many people showed up, but I think somewhere around 25-30. Always fun cramming that many people in a small space! Haha. It was cozy to say the least. But we had a great time and I'm truly happy to have had the chance to ring in the New Year with all of them. (Although I kinda regret buying those noise-makers LOL). The festivities continued well past midnight and the last of partiers left around 3:00, leaving me and a couple others to clean. Not my most favorite part of the night ;)
So that pretty much brings us up to today... My brother is still in town but is leaving in about 24 hours... I decided that no trip to China would be complete without a night of karaoke so I called up some friends and we had a KTV party at Music Box down the street from my apartment. Not exactly the cheapest of KTV bars but it was a lot of fun! We got there just after 5PM and left around midnight - definitely the longest night of karaoke of my life, but undeniably a blast! You never get that kind of experience back home...
And what pray-tell will the future hold? Well in about a month I'll be leaving China (kicking and screaming mind you) to head back to Canada for about a week to visit my family before flying off to Australia to go back to school. I can't believe how fast time is flying and how soon I'm going to have to take on the student role again. Not sure I'm ready for that! I'm excited and terrified in equal measures! I'm sure everything will be fine, but I can't stop the butterflies in my stomach from popping up every time I think about it~
Well I guess this was a bit more reflection-oriented than resolution, but I'm still working those out... They're in my head but I can't quite put them into words yet. And, well, even if I could I'm not sure that I would haha. That's all for now, I'll try to update more in the coming weeks!
Over the past year, while I've been in China, I've been (not so) regularly updating my blog and sharing my experiences with you all, so I guess it's not necessary to recap every event 2008 held for me. But I will fill you in on what's happened since my last pre-birthday post.
In the past couple of months I've done and seen a lot... I traveled to the hot springs in Huizhou for the weekend of my birthday and had a wonderful time there. The hot spring resort we stayed at was like nothing I've ever seen. It had probably near 100 different spring pools, all in different shapes and themes. Some even had special herbal remedies mixed in, and one had a mixture of Chinese wine and beer - apparently good for the skin. After returning to GZ after a relaxing two days, I went out for a birthday dinner at a local Turkish BBQ restaurant with 20 good friends and then on to a nearby bar for some drinks with about half of them. It was a blast! Thanks guys for making it one of my most memorable birthdays!!!
More recently though I took a week-long vacation to Thailand to celebrate the Christmas holiday with Amy and my brother, Graham, who met up with us in Bangkok. We spent two days in Bangkok where we went shopping at a huge night market, tasted some local cuisine (as well as some Western cuisine unavailable in China - like Auntie Ann's Pretzels - so good!), and saw a Cabaret (translation: Lady-Boy/tranny show). It was definitely interesting, but not exactly what I was expecting. It was definitely a PG-13 show, families were seated all around us, but it was still entertaining... After Bangkok we took an early morning flight out to Koh Samui, an island off the SW coast.
The airport in Koh Samui was pretty amazing, definitely introduces you to the island lifestyle immediately off the plane. (Take a look at my photos from the trip for a visual). Unfortunately though the skies were grey and cloudy, and much to our dismay stayed that way pretty much the entire four days we were there. Bad weather aside, our time in Koh Samui was enjoyable. We did a lot of different activities like getting massages on the beach, elephant trekking, renting motorbikes, watching Muay Thai boxing, and snorkeling off the shores of Koh Tao - another Thai island about an hour boat's ride away from Samui. Not to mention shopping on a daily basis. It was a packed holiday and it flew by way too quickly! I definitely want to return to Thailand again in the future, but definitely not during their rainy season!
The three of us, my brother included, arrived back to Guangzhou just in time for New Years (with a few days to spare). The first couple of days I showed my brother around the city, which was much colder but equally as rainy as Thailand. Then New Year's Eve I threw a big party at my house. I'm not entirely sure how many people showed up, but I think somewhere around 25-30. Always fun cramming that many people in a small space! Haha. It was cozy to say the least. But we had a great time and I'm truly happy to have had the chance to ring in the New Year with all of them. (Although I kinda regret buying those noise-makers LOL). The festivities continued well past midnight and the last of partiers left around 3:00, leaving me and a couple others to clean. Not my most favorite part of the night ;)
So that pretty much brings us up to today... My brother is still in town but is leaving in about 24 hours... I decided that no trip to China would be complete without a night of karaoke so I called up some friends and we had a KTV party at Music Box down the street from my apartment. Not exactly the cheapest of KTV bars but it was a lot of fun! We got there just after 5PM and left around midnight - definitely the longest night of karaoke of my life, but undeniably a blast! You never get that kind of experience back home...
And what pray-tell will the future hold? Well in about a month I'll be leaving China (kicking and screaming mind you) to head back to Canada for about a week to visit my family before flying off to Australia to go back to school. I can't believe how fast time is flying and how soon I'm going to have to take on the student role again. Not sure I'm ready for that! I'm excited and terrified in equal measures! I'm sure everything will be fine, but I can't stop the butterflies in my stomach from popping up every time I think about it~
Well I guess this was a bit more reflection-oriented than resolution, but I'm still working those out... They're in my head but I can't quite put them into words yet. And, well, even if I could I'm not sure that I would haha. That's all for now, I'll try to update more in the coming weeks!
Monday, November 10, 2008
China - Day 217
So it's high time for another round of life lessons brought to you by the letter C. C is for China btw. Or for Courtney I suppose. And also for cookie. ("And that's good enough for me" but that's a whole other song and dance haha) Anyway, on with the show...
Life Lesson #6: The fine art of hailing a taxi
Just because there's a long line of taxis parked along the street with their availability light on, doesn't mean they're going to agree to drive you anywhere. Now call me crazy, but one would think that if a taxi is standing and waiting for business, that when business comes their way, they'd take it - but what do I know? The problem with getting a hold of a taxi doesn't just end with the ones who refuse to take you, it's also trying to hail one down as it zips on by... It's a recognized fact that there's a shortage of taxi drivers in Guangzhou, and this problem is only exacerbated come the fall of rain. Just like the Wicked Witch of the West, they seem to disappear when there's water falling from the sky. It's an unfortunate state of affairs when a girl has to stand out in the pouring rain for well over half an hour in order to catch a lift home (only to be body-checked out of the way when a taxi finally stops nearby...) No joke. I've seen it happen. It's all about survival of the fittest, and when it comes to getting a taxi in this city, it's a dog-eat-dog world!
Life Lesson #7: Supermarket vs. Mosh Pit
Just because it's called "Super" doesn't mean there's a super amount of space. I've been known to frequent a mosh pit or two in my day and let me tell you - a Pennywise circle pit ain't got nothing on the housewives at Jusco! There are elbows flying everywhere; pushing and shoving; people stepping over each other to get closer to the deli selections - it's complete and utter pandemonium! I wouldn't be surprised if one day I when I go to buy some milk that I see someone trying to bodysurf their way up to the checkout line. I'm not sure if I'm painting this picture very clearly - but point in fact: if I have to name one thing I dislike about China, it's having to go to the supermarket to buy groceries. (Hence why I rarely force myself into this situation). The advice I've been given about how to handle being pushed by someone is to push them back. Yeah right. That's all I need - to be deported from China for starting a brawl at the local grocery store haha. But apparently that's how things work here. I think I'll simply roll with the punches for now and avoid getting physical just to get to the cereals more quickly.
Life Lesson #8: Learning to take the high road
Just because people insult you and say things ruder than you'd ever imagine hearing from a stranger's mouth, doesn't mean you should respond in kind. In fact there's a theory going around that the only reason why the locals say the things they do is to see what our reactions will be. In this case it's much better to shrug off the uncouth remarks and to walk away with your head held high. (Ranting and raving about it later is perfectly acceptable, just avoid showing them that they've gotten to you).
Life Lesson #9: (Dis)Organized Chaos
Just because there appears to be a lineup to get on the elevator doesn't mean that people will enter in a neat and controlled manner. (Likewise for trying to get on an escalator...) I feel as though there's a thin line between order and chaos here, and often what one initially mistakes for organization is later revealed to be unmitigated disarray. As soon as those doors slide open - it's every man, woman, and child for themselves. Akin to trying to wade your way through the aisles at the supermarket, it's all about the "people mountain people sea" (translate: crowd) and getting *through* the person in front of you (as opposed to, you know, around...). The worst by far though has got to be the metro. Because not only are people trying to press their way on board before the doors shut, but they're also vying for one of those oh-so-coveted seats. People, who may be considered to be upstanding citizens in any other right, are known to cut to the front of the "line" just so that when the train stops and the doors are open wide enough they can make a mad dash for the last available spot on the bench. There's also a general lack of understanding about the off-first-then-on way of doing things. If there's a method to the madness I have yet to uncover what it may be...
Life Lesson #10: Getting comfortable with your newfound celebrity status
Just because you've never been in a movie or on TV; released an album or been on the cover of a famous magazine, doesn't mean people won't try and stop you to have their photo taken with you. Being Caucasian (or of any other non-Asian decent for that matter) in China automatically means that you're an oddity. You might as well carry around a sign or dance a little jig in the middle of a shopping mall, because you are now a source of amusement and entertainment. Just for being who you are. You need do nothing more than continue with your usual day-to-day activities of riding the metro, eating lunch, walking down the street, etc... People are going to stare. And point. And whisper to their friends. And laugh. And then quite possibly expect you to smile happily and pose for a photo so that later they can show their other friends at school or at work that they saw... *gasp* a foreigner! Now I know China has only recently, (comparatively speaking), opened it doors to the rest of the world, but in all fairness it *has* been over 20 years now. People of my generation shouldn't be so obvious. I mean, I too have been known to give someone the up and down as well, but come on now, be subtle about it! I can see you gawking at me. Don't misinterpret me here. If someone wants to practice their English and say "hello" to me, then I'm all for giving them a smile and a polite greeting, but what I can't stand is the pointing and staring. If you have something to say, then say it; if not, then find some other shiny object to keep you amused. Unlike the true celebrities of our time, I'm not paid enough to deal with crazy fans and paparazzi.
Rage on rage on. Haha no no, I'm only kidding (half, anyway). Most of the time things are just fine and dandy here, without any mishaps or unusual events. I'm enjoying my time here and am glad to be learning the lessons that I have, because I think it's making me a more... well-rounded person... I look forward to taking in more "useful" life lessons in my remaining months.
Life Lesson #6: The fine art of hailing a taxi
Just because there's a long line of taxis parked along the street with their availability light on, doesn't mean they're going to agree to drive you anywhere. Now call me crazy, but one would think that if a taxi is standing and waiting for business, that when business comes their way, they'd take it - but what do I know? The problem with getting a hold of a taxi doesn't just end with the ones who refuse to take you, it's also trying to hail one down as it zips on by... It's a recognized fact that there's a shortage of taxi drivers in Guangzhou, and this problem is only exacerbated come the fall of rain. Just like the Wicked Witch of the West, they seem to disappear when there's water falling from the sky. It's an unfortunate state of affairs when a girl has to stand out in the pouring rain for well over half an hour in order to catch a lift home (only to be body-checked out of the way when a taxi finally stops nearby...) No joke. I've seen it happen. It's all about survival of the fittest, and when it comes to getting a taxi in this city, it's a dog-eat-dog world!
Life Lesson #7: Supermarket vs. Mosh Pit
Just because it's called "Super" doesn't mean there's a super amount of space. I've been known to frequent a mosh pit or two in my day and let me tell you - a Pennywise circle pit ain't got nothing on the housewives at Jusco! There are elbows flying everywhere; pushing and shoving; people stepping over each other to get closer to the deli selections - it's complete and utter pandemonium! I wouldn't be surprised if one day I when I go to buy some milk that I see someone trying to bodysurf their way up to the checkout line. I'm not sure if I'm painting this picture very clearly - but point in fact: if I have to name one thing I dislike about China, it's having to go to the supermarket to buy groceries. (Hence why I rarely force myself into this situation). The advice I've been given about how to handle being pushed by someone is to push them back. Yeah right. That's all I need - to be deported from China for starting a brawl at the local grocery store haha. But apparently that's how things work here. I think I'll simply roll with the punches for now and avoid getting physical just to get to the cereals more quickly.
Life Lesson #8: Learning to take the high road
Just because people insult you and say things ruder than you'd ever imagine hearing from a stranger's mouth, doesn't mean you should respond in kind. In fact there's a theory going around that the only reason why the locals say the things they do is to see what our reactions will be. In this case it's much better to shrug off the uncouth remarks and to walk away with your head held high. (Ranting and raving about it later is perfectly acceptable, just avoid showing them that they've gotten to you).
Life Lesson #9: (Dis)Organized Chaos
Just because there appears to be a lineup to get on the elevator doesn't mean that people will enter in a neat and controlled manner. (Likewise for trying to get on an escalator...) I feel as though there's a thin line between order and chaos here, and often what one initially mistakes for organization is later revealed to be unmitigated disarray. As soon as those doors slide open - it's every man, woman, and child for themselves. Akin to trying to wade your way through the aisles at the supermarket, it's all about the "people mountain people sea" (translate: crowd) and getting *through* the person in front of you (as opposed to, you know, around...). The worst by far though has got to be the metro. Because not only are people trying to press their way on board before the doors shut, but they're also vying for one of those oh-so-coveted seats. People, who may be considered to be upstanding citizens in any other right, are known to cut to the front of the "line" just so that when the train stops and the doors are open wide enough they can make a mad dash for the last available spot on the bench. There's also a general lack of understanding about the off-first-then-on way of doing things. If there's a method to the madness I have yet to uncover what it may be...
Life Lesson #10: Getting comfortable with your newfound celebrity status
Just because you've never been in a movie or on TV; released an album or been on the cover of a famous magazine, doesn't mean people won't try and stop you to have their photo taken with you. Being Caucasian (or of any other non-Asian decent for that matter) in China automatically means that you're an oddity. You might as well carry around a sign or dance a little jig in the middle of a shopping mall, because you are now a source of amusement and entertainment. Just for being who you are. You need do nothing more than continue with your usual day-to-day activities of riding the metro, eating lunch, walking down the street, etc... People are going to stare. And point. And whisper to their friends. And laugh. And then quite possibly expect you to smile happily and pose for a photo so that later they can show their other friends at school or at work that they saw... *gasp* a foreigner! Now I know China has only recently, (comparatively speaking), opened it doors to the rest of the world, but in all fairness it *has* been over 20 years now. People of my generation shouldn't be so obvious. I mean, I too have been known to give someone the up and down as well, but come on now, be subtle about it! I can see you gawking at me. Don't misinterpret me here. If someone wants to practice their English and say "hello" to me, then I'm all for giving them a smile and a polite greeting, but what I can't stand is the pointing and staring. If you have something to say, then say it; if not, then find some other shiny object to keep you amused. Unlike the true celebrities of our time, I'm not paid enough to deal with crazy fans and paparazzi.
Rage on rage on. Haha no no, I'm only kidding (half, anyway). Most of the time things are just fine and dandy here, without any mishaps or unusual events. I'm enjoying my time here and am glad to be learning the lessons that I have, because I think it's making me a more... well-rounded person... I look forward to taking in more "useful" life lessons in my remaining months.
Tuesday, October 14, 2008
China - Day 190
Bless me Father for I have sinned - it's been 50 days since my last Confession. (Okay, maybe that intro was a bit over the top...?) Though it's not like I haven't thought about writing another entry, it's just that, well, I'm inherently lazy. But I sit here in bed on my day off, relaxing and enjoying the feeling of having absolutely nothing to do today, and I decided that now would be a good time to give all my friends and family back home an update on my life here in China.
In point of fact I don't really have too much to write about stuff here in Guangzhou... Seems things are pretty much 老样老样 (lao yang lao yang/same old same old). That's not to say "bad" of course, because I'm still having an amazing time and I don't want to leave haha. What can I say? I love it here (even in the face of mild monotony - considering that seems to be the way life is no matter where you're living).
As luck may have it, last week we had a week-long vacation to celebrate the Chinese National Day. Go figure that to celebrate a Day we get a Week. (Hey, I'm not complaining). To avoid the anarchy and pandemonium that is the epitome of China during a holiday, myself, Amy, Jane and one of our students named Eva decided to (and I'd love to say "hop a plane" right now, but I can't...) board a train and head south towards Vietnam. Don't be fooled, there's no direct, non-stop train from here to Hanoi, no no that'd be crazy.
We took the train from Guangzhou to Nanning, and 13 hours (and an equal number of stops) later we were transferring to a bus to take us the rest of the way. To be fair, despite taking over 28 hours to complete the journey door-to-door, it wasn't entirely uncomfortable (the trip back is a whole other story!). On the train we managed to book tickets in the sleeper car so I just stretched out, read, slept, and listened to music to pass the time. Upon arriving to Nanning (around 6:00am) we waiting in line to buy our return tickets before grabbing a taxi to get to the bus station across town. On the bus that took us across the border and onwards to Hanoi we met a group of traveling students from Mexico. They livened up the trip by starting to drink beer before lunch and playing the music from their iPod on speakers. They also shared their whiskey with us so that was cool haha. (The whiskey came later in the afternoon, so don't worry).
After finally arriving in Hanoi and exiting the bus we were greeted/bombarded with taxi, moto, and tuk-tuk drivers all trying to land a fare. After agreeing to a price of 30,000 dong (a little over $2) we hired a taxi to take us to our hostel. The hostel we stayed in for the first two nights in Hanoi was pretty nice, and at the low price of $5.80 a night per person you can't really complain when you're welcomed by a mouse scampering across the floor when you walk into your room. It sounds bad, but in actuality the rooms were quite clean and they did the trick just fine.
Wednesday morning we were up bright and early. I say that, but don't mean it. As was the story with the prior two days, when we woke up on Wednesday it was raining. (It's okay though, the rain usually stopped by the time we finished breakfast). After breakfast on this particular day we boarded a "bus" to take us and 16 other lovely people to Halong Bay. A 3 hour ride that felt like double that in the cramped, little, glorified van. Once in Halong City we got on board the Hai Au 30, a junk boat that would be our home for the night. It was a small ship but it was built to house 16 people. This trip out it only had to make room for 5. In addition to our little group of 4 women, there was one more passenger, an Israeli man named Yaron. Although a little strange, he was a nice enough man who entertained us with magic trick after dinner.
Our tour of Halong Bay included a trip to the "Amazing Cave", yes, that's actually its name. A limestone cave high up in one of the 2000 karsts that make up the bay's beautiful and photogenic landscape. After walking through the cave and seeing a famous phallic-shaped "finger" formation (among others) we headed out on the water to do some kayaking. I haven't been kayaking since my summers at Camp Wabanaki in Huntsville, but lemme tell you, it was a lot of fun. Got to see things from another perspective. It was very peaceful out on the water - aside from all the women in rowboats stalking you and trying to sell you drinks and snacks... Later on, we went swimming as the sun set and then (literally) fell asleep under the stars...
Back ashore the next day we stopped for lunch in Halong City and then started the "bus" ride back to Hanoi. We made it about 20km out of the city before getting stuck in traffic. A lot of traffic. Turns out the cause of which was an overturned coal truck about a kilometer or so up the road. Our three hour trek turned out to be closer to 5 ½ in the end...
For the remaining three nights in Vietnam we decided to stay at a hostel recommended by our junk boat tour guide - Tom (aka "Amy's Husband". ...There was to be a private ceremony held on the boat but it got postponed indefinitely). The pictures of the hostel we looked at in a brochure/guide-type book seemed promising and at $11/night it sounded good. It wasn't. Right from the get-go this place was a bit of a disappointment.
We had hundreds and hundreds of ants crawling all around our room - the floor, the desk, and even the bed! We got them to spray the room several times but to no avail. Every time we tried to book a touristy thing to do - motorcycle ride around the city or a Vietnamese cooking class - the manager would replace what we requested with a service of the hotel's own... Always with an inferior result. Instead of getting a 5 hour motorbike tour out to the countryside, we got a 3-hour tour inside the city (even though we paid for 5 hours). Instead of a hands on cooking class that involved purchasing fresh ingredients from the local market, we essentially got to watch a chef (at a restaurant associated with our hostel) make some local dishes. As for the market, we didn't get to buy anything all we did was walk by everything at lightning speed. I guess it actually wasn't as bad as I'm making it out to be, it's just a little disappointing compared to what it could have been... The kicker though came at the end. When we were checking out, instead of being charged the quoted $11/night we were charged $14/night per person. Doesn't sound like a lot of money, but in Vietnam (and in China) and 3-dollar difference is actually a fairly moderate amount. So note to all: If you are in Hanoi do not, I repeat, do not stay at a hostel or guesthouse called APT. The only good aspect of their company is the junk boat tours in Halong Bay; everything else is a rip off.
All right, just starting to notice the length of this note, so it's time to wrap things up!
After checking out of our lavish abode things didn't start to look up. We walked in the rain to the main road where we hailed down two taxis (one isn't big enough for four people and luggage). The taxi driver that Amy and I were so lucky to have gotten tried swindling us into paying 3 or 4 times more than we knew we should pay. After bartering for 5 minutes we finally got him down to a "normal" price (even though it was probably way more than what the locals would pay). Then he didn't even drive us to where we requested. He drove for like 1 minute and then told us we were there. What a freak. Finally we got him driving again and we were dropped off at the hotel where the bus would pick us up to take us back over the border and back to Nanning. The bus ride was uneventful, but that's not exactly a bad thing. It took us almost 3 hours to get though customs and back into China. The hard part wasn't getting back into China but actually leaving Vietnam! There were so many people crowded in front of the Passport Control window - there was nothing controlled about it! Handing in our passports and getting them back was the part of the process that took the longest - over an hour and a half. After passing through the border we had to wait on the other side for our bus to fill up before it'd leave for Nanning. Nanning to Guangzhou was the longest and hardest stretch of the return journey. As I mentioned before were weren't able to buy sleeper car tickets. Instead we had to take hard seats that didn't recline in the slightest and sit upright for 13 hours. The discomfort was only exacerbated by the fact that the aisles were overflowing with people who were standing because even all the hard seats were sold out. Oh the joys of traveling within China during a national holiday.
When all is said and done the fact remain that Vietnam is a beautiful and unique country (though some may point out the Chinese influences - especially with the food). I really enjoyed my time there and the company I was with. One day I hope to go back and head south towards Ho Chi Minh, to see what else there is to find in Vietnam...
So this little note of mine has turned into a novel. I guess that makes up for the two months of silence before this haha.
In point of fact I don't really have too much to write about stuff here in Guangzhou... Seems things are pretty much 老样老样 (lao yang lao yang/same old same old). That's not to say "bad" of course, because I'm still having an amazing time and I don't want to leave haha. What can I say? I love it here (even in the face of mild monotony - considering that seems to be the way life is no matter where you're living).
As luck may have it, last week we had a week-long vacation to celebrate the Chinese National Day. Go figure that to celebrate a Day we get a Week. (Hey, I'm not complaining). To avoid the anarchy and pandemonium that is the epitome of China during a holiday, myself, Amy, Jane and one of our students named Eva decided to (and I'd love to say "hop a plane" right now, but I can't...) board a train and head south towards Vietnam. Don't be fooled, there's no direct, non-stop train from here to Hanoi, no no that'd be crazy.
We took the train from Guangzhou to Nanning, and 13 hours (and an equal number of stops) later we were transferring to a bus to take us the rest of the way. To be fair, despite taking over 28 hours to complete the journey door-to-door, it wasn't entirely uncomfortable (the trip back is a whole other story!). On the train we managed to book tickets in the sleeper car so I just stretched out, read, slept, and listened to music to pass the time. Upon arriving to Nanning (around 6:00am) we waiting in line to buy our return tickets before grabbing a taxi to get to the bus station across town. On the bus that took us across the border and onwards to Hanoi we met a group of traveling students from Mexico. They livened up the trip by starting to drink beer before lunch and playing the music from their iPod on speakers. They also shared their whiskey with us so that was cool haha. (The whiskey came later in the afternoon, so don't worry).
After finally arriving in Hanoi and exiting the bus we were greeted/bombarded with taxi, moto, and tuk-tuk drivers all trying to land a fare. After agreeing to a price of 30,000 dong (a little over $2) we hired a taxi to take us to our hostel. The hostel we stayed in for the first two nights in Hanoi was pretty nice, and at the low price of $5.80 a night per person you can't really complain when you're welcomed by a mouse scampering across the floor when you walk into your room. It sounds bad, but in actuality the rooms were quite clean and they did the trick just fine.
Wednesday morning we were up bright and early. I say that, but don't mean it. As was the story with the prior two days, when we woke up on Wednesday it was raining. (It's okay though, the rain usually stopped by the time we finished breakfast). After breakfast on this particular day we boarded a "bus" to take us and 16 other lovely people to Halong Bay. A 3 hour ride that felt like double that in the cramped, little, glorified van. Once in Halong City we got on board the Hai Au 30, a junk boat that would be our home for the night. It was a small ship but it was built to house 16 people. This trip out it only had to make room for 5. In addition to our little group of 4 women, there was one more passenger, an Israeli man named Yaron. Although a little strange, he was a nice enough man who entertained us with magic trick after dinner.
Our tour of Halong Bay included a trip to the "Amazing Cave", yes, that's actually its name. A limestone cave high up in one of the 2000 karsts that make up the bay's beautiful and photogenic landscape. After walking through the cave and seeing a famous phallic-shaped "finger" formation (among others) we headed out on the water to do some kayaking. I haven't been kayaking since my summers at Camp Wabanaki in Huntsville, but lemme tell you, it was a lot of fun. Got to see things from another perspective. It was very peaceful out on the water - aside from all the women in rowboats stalking you and trying to sell you drinks and snacks... Later on, we went swimming as the sun set and then (literally) fell asleep under the stars...
Back ashore the next day we stopped for lunch in Halong City and then started the "bus" ride back to Hanoi. We made it about 20km out of the city before getting stuck in traffic. A lot of traffic. Turns out the cause of which was an overturned coal truck about a kilometer or so up the road. Our three hour trek turned out to be closer to 5 ½ in the end...
For the remaining three nights in Vietnam we decided to stay at a hostel recommended by our junk boat tour guide - Tom (aka "Amy's Husband". ...There was to be a private ceremony held on the boat but it got postponed indefinitely). The pictures of the hostel we looked at in a brochure/guide-type book seemed promising and at $11/night it sounded good. It wasn't. Right from the get-go this place was a bit of a disappointment.
We had hundreds and hundreds of ants crawling all around our room - the floor, the desk, and even the bed! We got them to spray the room several times but to no avail. Every time we tried to book a touristy thing to do - motorcycle ride around the city or a Vietnamese cooking class - the manager would replace what we requested with a service of the hotel's own... Always with an inferior result. Instead of getting a 5 hour motorbike tour out to the countryside, we got a 3-hour tour inside the city (even though we paid for 5 hours). Instead of a hands on cooking class that involved purchasing fresh ingredients from the local market, we essentially got to watch a chef (at a restaurant associated with our hostel) make some local dishes. As for the market, we didn't get to buy anything all we did was walk by everything at lightning speed. I guess it actually wasn't as bad as I'm making it out to be, it's just a little disappointing compared to what it could have been... The kicker though came at the end. When we were checking out, instead of being charged the quoted $11/night we were charged $14/night per person. Doesn't sound like a lot of money, but in Vietnam (and in China) and 3-dollar difference is actually a fairly moderate amount. So note to all: If you are in Hanoi do not, I repeat, do not stay at a hostel or guesthouse called APT. The only good aspect of their company is the junk boat tours in Halong Bay; everything else is a rip off.
All right, just starting to notice the length of this note, so it's time to wrap things up!
After checking out of our lavish abode things didn't start to look up. We walked in the rain to the main road where we hailed down two taxis (one isn't big enough for four people and luggage). The taxi driver that Amy and I were so lucky to have gotten tried swindling us into paying 3 or 4 times more than we knew we should pay. After bartering for 5 minutes we finally got him down to a "normal" price (even though it was probably way more than what the locals would pay). Then he didn't even drive us to where we requested. He drove for like 1 minute and then told us we were there. What a freak. Finally we got him driving again and we were dropped off at the hotel where the bus would pick us up to take us back over the border and back to Nanning. The bus ride was uneventful, but that's not exactly a bad thing. It took us almost 3 hours to get though customs and back into China. The hard part wasn't getting back into China but actually leaving Vietnam! There were so many people crowded in front of the Passport Control window - there was nothing controlled about it! Handing in our passports and getting them back was the part of the process that took the longest - over an hour and a half. After passing through the border we had to wait on the other side for our bus to fill up before it'd leave for Nanning. Nanning to Guangzhou was the longest and hardest stretch of the return journey. As I mentioned before were weren't able to buy sleeper car tickets. Instead we had to take hard seats that didn't recline in the slightest and sit upright for 13 hours. The discomfort was only exacerbated by the fact that the aisles were overflowing with people who were standing because even all the hard seats were sold out. Oh the joys of traveling within China during a national holiday.
When all is said and done the fact remain that Vietnam is a beautiful and unique country (though some may point out the Chinese influences - especially with the food). I really enjoyed my time there and the company I was with. One day I hope to go back and head south towards Ho Chi Minh, to see what else there is to find in Vietnam...
So this little note of mine has turned into a novel. I guess that makes up for the two months of silence before this haha.
Monday, August 25, 2008
中国 - 140 天
That'd be "China - Day 140". ....Just thought I'd show off my 1337 Chinese skills there haha.
So anyways, I was sitting in the teachers' room at work the other day on one of my breaks between classes when I suddenly clued in to the fact that it's already the end of August! What the? Where does the time go? Seriously. I've already been here for over four months! Some days it feels like a lot longer but usually I have the general sensation that I've only just arrived and things are so fresh, new, and unexplained. (However, to be fair I'm pretty sure I could live here for the rest of my life and still have that impression).
I've also had the unfortunate experience of being under the weather here the past couple of days and when I called in sick to work I was amazed by how the students actually noticed and how much they seemed to care. I had a number of them message me asking if I was okay and if I needed any help. I really appreciate their concern and I'm so happy to have made such good friends here. Oh and for the record I am getting better, although my pesky little cough is still hanging around - I should be as good as new by the end of my "weekend."
Speaking of (pseudo) weekends, last week on my days off (Monday and Tuesday, in case you were unaware) I went to Hong Kong with one of my aforementioned friends, Tony. The first day was spent walking around and doing some window shopping, eating, walking, seeing the new Batman movie which hasn't hit the Mainland yet - The Dark Knight (Hells yeah!) and walking some more. Did I mention we may have done a little bit of walking? Needless to say by nightfall my feet were pretty sore and I was ready to hit the hay. I slept pretty damn well, despite the concrete-like mattress in the small, concrete-walled, windowless room. (I'm not so sure they have the same fire safety laws here...) Whatever, it was cheap haha.
Anyways, the next day brought more, you guessed it, walking! This time our venue was Ocean Park as opposed to the streets of Tsim Sha Tsui (TST) and Mong Kok. I had a lot of fun at the amusement park going on the rides and seeing the dolphin show. My only beef with Ocean Park is that someone had the ingenious idea of building it into the side of a mountain! So not only was there walking, but there were hills and stairs! Nonetheless it was still a good time. Plus, I have to admit the view from the top was amazing! Looking out over the bay... It was a picture that brought back memories of Northern Ontario and Cottage Country. I could see the boats out on the water and had the sudden urge to go tubing or seadooing... Oh summertime fun in Ontario can't be topped, not even by China, or Japan for that matter. I guess we'll see how Australia fares next year...
The next travel destination in the works is a weeklong venture at the end of September to Vietnam with Amy and our fellow Canadian and ex-Novaite, Jane. We don't have all the details hashed out yet, but it promises to be a good time. It'll start with a nice long train ride to Hanoi and at some point there'll be a night or two spent out under the stars on a boat in Halong Bay. Maybe I'll actually manage to get a tan! ...Which I've been trying, unsuccessfully mind you, all summer to achieve. Fingers crossed haha.
So anyways, I was sitting in the teachers' room at work the other day on one of my breaks between classes when I suddenly clued in to the fact that it's already the end of August! What the? Where does the time go? Seriously. I've already been here for over four months! Some days it feels like a lot longer but usually I have the general sensation that I've only just arrived and things are so fresh, new, and unexplained. (However, to be fair I'm pretty sure I could live here for the rest of my life and still have that impression).
I've also had the unfortunate experience of being under the weather here the past couple of days and when I called in sick to work I was amazed by how the students actually noticed and how much they seemed to care. I had a number of them message me asking if I was okay and if I needed any help. I really appreciate their concern and I'm so happy to have made such good friends here. Oh and for the record I am getting better, although my pesky little cough is still hanging around - I should be as good as new by the end of my "weekend."
Speaking of (pseudo) weekends, last week on my days off (Monday and Tuesday, in case you were unaware) I went to Hong Kong with one of my aforementioned friends, Tony. The first day was spent walking around and doing some window shopping, eating, walking, seeing the new Batman movie which hasn't hit the Mainland yet - The Dark Knight (Hells yeah!) and walking some more. Did I mention we may have done a little bit of walking? Needless to say by nightfall my feet were pretty sore and I was ready to hit the hay. I slept pretty damn well, despite the concrete-like mattress in the small, concrete-walled, windowless room. (I'm not so sure they have the same fire safety laws here...) Whatever, it was cheap haha.
Anyways, the next day brought more, you guessed it, walking! This time our venue was Ocean Park as opposed to the streets of Tsim Sha Tsui (TST) and Mong Kok. I had a lot of fun at the amusement park going on the rides and seeing the dolphin show. My only beef with Ocean Park is that someone had the ingenious idea of building it into the side of a mountain! So not only was there walking, but there were hills and stairs! Nonetheless it was still a good time. Plus, I have to admit the view from the top was amazing! Looking out over the bay... It was a picture that brought back memories of Northern Ontario and Cottage Country. I could see the boats out on the water and had the sudden urge to go tubing or seadooing... Oh summertime fun in Ontario can't be topped, not even by China, or Japan for that matter. I guess we'll see how Australia fares next year...
The next travel destination in the works is a weeklong venture at the end of September to Vietnam with Amy and our fellow Canadian and ex-Novaite, Jane. We don't have all the details hashed out yet, but it promises to be a good time. It'll start with a nice long train ride to Hanoi and at some point there'll be a night or two spent out under the stars on a boat in Halong Bay. Maybe I'll actually manage to get a tan! ...Which I've been trying, unsuccessfully mind you, all summer to achieve. Fingers crossed haha.
Friday, July 25, 2008
China - Day 109
Nothing like a little vacation to put your life into perspective... I have a new found appreciation for the traffic laws and "fresh air" in Guangzhou. (Prior to visiting Cambodia I'm pretty sure I would have never guessed I'd ever say that...) Don't get me wrong - I had a great time in Phnom Penh, it's just that things are... well, a bit "Third-World" there (for lack of a better description).
I thought that the rules of the road were lax here in China but it appears as though they're non-existent in Cambodia! Cars, motos, and tuk-tuks drive pretty much wherever they want and in which ever direction they want. If the light's red, who cares? Stop, what? Why? Need to turn the corner? Well no reason to make such a wide turn, that's a waste of time - it's much easier to turn into the oncoming traffic and sort it out later in a fun game of "Chicken". Definitely had some close calls there, luckily our trusty tuk-tuk drivers seemed to have everything in control... Or at least they faked it really well.
As for the air quality - it wasn't so much that the air was polluted - it was just incredibly dusty. Not all the roads are paved and there's a lot of litter on the side of the streets so when you go whizzing by in the back of a vehicle with no windows it makes breathing a newfound art form. When the locals are wearing masks and wrapping scarves around their face you know there's got to be a good reason why...
Despite the near-death experiences touring around the city I found Phnom Penh to be a great city to visit. Unique architecture - a blend of colonial mixed with traditional Khmer style. Overall the people were very friendly and cheerful, their faces lit up with wide smiles. Surprising, given the country's dark, not-so-distant past. The people appear to be focusing on the present and future, and not dwelling so much on times gone by. (That's not to say they've forgiven and forgotten though). There's a sort of camaraderie among the locals - no one fighting over who gets the next sale, but rather a sharing of resources. Everywhere you go there's a tuk-tuk driver offering a ride, but even though the competition is fierce they don't try to undermine each other and steal each others' fares... In spite of the noticeable impoverished conditions - there's a genuine positive attitude in the air; they're trying to rebuild, grow and prosper.
While in Cambodia we only had time to visit Phnom Penh although I'm told that Siem Reap is a must-see (I guess that will have to wait for another holiday). In Phnom Penh we started by paying a visit to the National Museum which happened to be kitty-corner to the guesthouse we were staying at. (FYI, our guesthouse was called Rory's Pub and Guesthouse, which was located on the second-floor of the local Irish Pub. You had to walk through the bar to get up to the room...). The museum is home to a large collection of Angkorean era artwork as well as some more recent pieces.
After that we visited both the Russian and Central Markets and picked up a lot of good deals. I bought three t-shirts for $10, three DVD's for $5, and a bottle of Coke for 50 cents. (Everybody works with American currency there). The order of the day is to barter the prices down - something I hate doing but am beginning to get a knack for. ...Although I'm no where near Amy's skill level just yet :P Rumor has it that back in the day, Phsar Toul Tom Poung (The Khmer way to say "Russian Market") was the place to go if you were looking to procure an AK-47 or copious amounts of marijuana. As far as I know that's no longer that case.
After lunch we decided to take the 15 km journey out to the Killing Fields at Cheoung Ek. Now I realize that that doesn't seem like such a long trip but when you're sitting in the back of a tuk-tuk (and an abnormally slow one at that) it gives the illusion of being really far away... It doesn't really help when your driver has to make several pit-stops along the way (to "fill-up" with ONE liter of gasoline, to get"engine coolant" out of the public water fountain in the middle of a roundabout, and to take a leak on the side of the road in front of two young girls walking their dog...) Anyways, back to the point... This particular killing field is one of the better-known ones and is thought to have been the site of at least 17,000 tortures/executions. The site is littered with dozens of mass grave pits. In the centre of it all is a large commemorative Buddhist stupa filled with the skulls of 5000 of the victims. The atmosphere is very somber yet oddly peaceful. Still, one can't help but be swept with sadness while walking through the grounds and reading all the descriptions of the genocide and how the executions were carried out.
After we left Cheoung Ek we were in need of something a little more uplifting so we headed for dinner and then capped off the night with a nice aromatherapy massage and a facial. Best $17 I've ever spent! It’s the first massage that I've received where I wasn't on the verge of tears half way in! (Or still in immense pain two days later!)
The next day was mainly spent at the pool of a nearby hotel called the Himawari. The plan was to try and get a tan, unfortunately the weather wasn't cooperating. It was really cloudy all day and then it began to thunderstorm around 4:00PM. For the most part it was still really hot and humid while we were there so the pool proved to be a nice way to cool down nonetheless. (Rory's Pub and Guesthouse didn't really offer the same luxuries as they did at the Himawari.)
Our last full day was reserved to meet up with Natalie, Amy's cousin who is in Cambodia for the summer. Unfortunately she ended up being away for the weekend and didn't end up returning to Phnom Penh until the late afternoon. In the morning Amy and I elected to take a boat tour along the Mekong River and we got to see a riverside ghetto of sorts. It was really interesting to see what type of conditions the poorest of the poor have to live in. After the "cruise" we grabbed a bite to eat and then went to buy some souvenirs - mainly to a cookie shop that uses all local ingredients and donates half their proceeds to local children's orphanages. (There are many children in Phnom Penh with no families and no place to live - there's a big dependency on all these orphanages).
After dropping our purchases back off at the hotel we took another tuk-tuk out to the Tuol Sleng Genocide Museum. ...You know how when you're in school you always have this notion that it feels like a prison? Well this one was. Originally Tuol Svay Prey High School, it was turned into Security Prison 21 or S21 for short - a prison/interrogation center under the Khmer Rouge's reign in power. Today it's a genocide museum where you can walk through and see how the classrooms were converted into tiny prison cells and torture chambers and the windows were covered with iron bars and barbed wire. They say that nearly 20,000 people were sent to S-21 between 1975 and 1979 and there were only 14 known survivors. Nearly everyone else was sent to Cheoung Ek to be executed.
Later we finally met up with Amy's cousin and went for dinner and then to Sorya Mall - Phnom Penh's main Western-style mall (with A/C!!!) Definitely a stark difference to the two markets we had visited earlier. There we did a bit of window shopping and stopped for some ice cream. It had to be an early night though as we had a flight to catch the following day.
The next morning, bright and early, we were on a plane back to China (as there's only one flight to and from Phnom Penh a day). Off the plane and out of the airport, we breathed in the newly-appreciated "clean" air of our host-city. And all the way back to our apartment we relished the relative safety of our taxi and the organized-chaos that is GZ traffic.
I thought that the rules of the road were lax here in China but it appears as though they're non-existent in Cambodia! Cars, motos, and tuk-tuks drive pretty much wherever they want and in which ever direction they want. If the light's red, who cares? Stop, what? Why? Need to turn the corner? Well no reason to make such a wide turn, that's a waste of time - it's much easier to turn into the oncoming traffic and sort it out later in a fun game of "Chicken". Definitely had some close calls there, luckily our trusty tuk-tuk drivers seemed to have everything in control... Or at least they faked it really well.
As for the air quality - it wasn't so much that the air was polluted - it was just incredibly dusty. Not all the roads are paved and there's a lot of litter on the side of the streets so when you go whizzing by in the back of a vehicle with no windows it makes breathing a newfound art form. When the locals are wearing masks and wrapping scarves around their face you know there's got to be a good reason why...
Despite the near-death experiences touring around the city I found Phnom Penh to be a great city to visit. Unique architecture - a blend of colonial mixed with traditional Khmer style. Overall the people were very friendly and cheerful, their faces lit up with wide smiles. Surprising, given the country's dark, not-so-distant past. The people appear to be focusing on the present and future, and not dwelling so much on times gone by. (That's not to say they've forgiven and forgotten though). There's a sort of camaraderie among the locals - no one fighting over who gets the next sale, but rather a sharing of resources. Everywhere you go there's a tuk-tuk driver offering a ride, but even though the competition is fierce they don't try to undermine each other and steal each others' fares... In spite of the noticeable impoverished conditions - there's a genuine positive attitude in the air; they're trying to rebuild, grow and prosper.
While in Cambodia we only had time to visit Phnom Penh although I'm told that Siem Reap is a must-see (I guess that will have to wait for another holiday). In Phnom Penh we started by paying a visit to the National Museum which happened to be kitty-corner to the guesthouse we were staying at. (FYI, our guesthouse was called Rory's Pub and Guesthouse, which was located on the second-floor of the local Irish Pub. You had to walk through the bar to get up to the room...). The museum is home to a large collection of Angkorean era artwork as well as some more recent pieces.
After that we visited both the Russian and Central Markets and picked up a lot of good deals. I bought three t-shirts for $10, three DVD's for $5, and a bottle of Coke for 50 cents. (Everybody works with American currency there). The order of the day is to barter the prices down - something I hate doing but am beginning to get a knack for. ...Although I'm no where near Amy's skill level just yet :P Rumor has it that back in the day, Phsar Toul Tom Poung (The Khmer way to say "Russian Market") was the place to go if you were looking to procure an AK-47 or copious amounts of marijuana. As far as I know that's no longer that case.
After lunch we decided to take the 15 km journey out to the Killing Fields at Cheoung Ek. Now I realize that that doesn't seem like such a long trip but when you're sitting in the back of a tuk-tuk (and an abnormally slow one at that) it gives the illusion of being really far away... It doesn't really help when your driver has to make several pit-stops along the way (to "fill-up" with ONE liter of gasoline, to get"engine coolant" out of the public water fountain in the middle of a roundabout, and to take a leak on the side of the road in front of two young girls walking their dog...) Anyways, back to the point... This particular killing field is one of the better-known ones and is thought to have been the site of at least 17,000 tortures/executions. The site is littered with dozens of mass grave pits. In the centre of it all is a large commemorative Buddhist stupa filled with the skulls of 5000 of the victims. The atmosphere is very somber yet oddly peaceful. Still, one can't help but be swept with sadness while walking through the grounds and reading all the descriptions of the genocide and how the executions were carried out.
After we left Cheoung Ek we were in need of something a little more uplifting so we headed for dinner and then capped off the night with a nice aromatherapy massage and a facial. Best $17 I've ever spent! It’s the first massage that I've received where I wasn't on the verge of tears half way in! (Or still in immense pain two days later!)
The next day was mainly spent at the pool of a nearby hotel called the Himawari. The plan was to try and get a tan, unfortunately the weather wasn't cooperating. It was really cloudy all day and then it began to thunderstorm around 4:00PM. For the most part it was still really hot and humid while we were there so the pool proved to be a nice way to cool down nonetheless. (Rory's Pub and Guesthouse didn't really offer the same luxuries as they did at the Himawari.)
Our last full day was reserved to meet up with Natalie, Amy's cousin who is in Cambodia for the summer. Unfortunately she ended up being away for the weekend and didn't end up returning to Phnom Penh until the late afternoon. In the morning Amy and I elected to take a boat tour along the Mekong River and we got to see a riverside ghetto of sorts. It was really interesting to see what type of conditions the poorest of the poor have to live in. After the "cruise" we grabbed a bite to eat and then went to buy some souvenirs - mainly to a cookie shop that uses all local ingredients and donates half their proceeds to local children's orphanages. (There are many children in Phnom Penh with no families and no place to live - there's a big dependency on all these orphanages).
After dropping our purchases back off at the hotel we took another tuk-tuk out to the Tuol Sleng Genocide Museum. ...You know how when you're in school you always have this notion that it feels like a prison? Well this one was. Originally Tuol Svay Prey High School, it was turned into Security Prison 21 or S21 for short - a prison/interrogation center under the Khmer Rouge's reign in power. Today it's a genocide museum where you can walk through and see how the classrooms were converted into tiny prison cells and torture chambers and the windows were covered with iron bars and barbed wire. They say that nearly 20,000 people were sent to S-21 between 1975 and 1979 and there were only 14 known survivors. Nearly everyone else was sent to Cheoung Ek to be executed.
Later we finally met up with Amy's cousin and went for dinner and then to Sorya Mall - Phnom Penh's main Western-style mall (with A/C!!!) Definitely a stark difference to the two markets we had visited earlier. There we did a bit of window shopping and stopped for some ice cream. It had to be an early night though as we had a flight to catch the following day.
The next morning, bright and early, we were on a plane back to China (as there's only one flight to and from Phnom Penh a day). Off the plane and out of the airport, we breathed in the newly-appreciated "clean" air of our host-city. And all the way back to our apartment we relished the relative safety of our taxi and the organized-chaos that is GZ traffic.
Saturday, July 5, 2008
China - Day 89
So three months into my stint in China I feel as though I’ve learned enough life lessons about this strange and distant land to share with you, my friends and family back home…
(Ed Note: By “strange” I obviously mean it as a synonym to “unknown” and “foreign”, not so much in the “weird” or “unusual” sense)
Back to my point… Since arriving in Guangzhou I’ve taken in a lot of new information about how things work in a foreign country. While some things here are remarkably similar in function to the happenings back in Canada, for example… … …Umm, okay so I’ve been sitting here for about 5 minutes trying to think up a good example about how things are comparable but I’m coming up a little dry. Lemme get back to the parallels a little later… We’ll start with the variations in day-to-day living instead.
Life Lesson #1: Cross the street when the locals do.
Just because the crossing signal indicates “walk”, does not mean you can actually walk. Chances are if you do, you’re gonna get hit by a car. More specifically a taxi. Or a bus - a bus is a good bet as well. But we’ll stay general. Yes, if you start to cross the street just because the little green man says you can, it’s safe to assume that you’re going to lose a fight with a large metallic, fast-moving object of transportation. Alternatively, just because a big red hand is staring you in the face does not mean you cannot cut across 4 lanes of traffic. Crossing the street here in Guangzhou is a fine art. One that the locals have mastered. Dodging and skipping and weaving in and out of moving vehicles is commonplace, and if you just shadow someone they’ll lead you across unscathed to the other side of the street. Don’t worry if a vehicle comes within inches of taking out your knee caps, chances are they’ll stop before they get too too close.
Life Lesson #2: Umbrellas are useless.
Just because you bring an umbrella does not mean you will stay dry. Umbrellas are a good idea in theory. And in theory only. When the rain is pouring down on a horizontal angle, any attempt to save yourself from getting wet is futile. Also, when the rain water is accumulating on the sidewalk such that you find yourself wading through several inches of polluted water, an umbrella is ineffective in keeping not only your shoes dry but also your pants. (And don’t forget the directionality of the rain, so even the bottom half of your shirt will be left unprotected). Moreover, when it’s raining so heavily that your umbrella starts to leak; the whole situation is a little self-defeating. The best thing you can do is to buy yourself a nice fashionable pair of rain boots and a raincoat. If you wanna go all out and stay fully dry you should probably splurge on the rain pants as well.
Life Lesson #3: “Pictures are for reference only”.
Just because you see a picture, does not mean that’s what you’re getting. Many a time when you are looking through a menu (and you can’t read the Chinese description) you’re forced to rely on the picture to assure you that what you’re about to order will be appetizing, or at the very least, edible. And many a time when the food is served to your table you’re left wondering what the hell you’re staring down at. For instance when you’ve ordered what you thought could be sweet and sour chicken and it turns out to be chicken indeed but one that is covered in pineapple and mayonnaise… It’s like gambling, sometimes you get lucky, other times you’re going to be searching for a second meal at McDonald’s after you leave.
Life Lesson #4: You don’t always get what you pay for.
Just because you pay a lot of money for something does not mean you’re paying for high quality. For the most part the cost of living in China is relatively cheap. I can honestly say I live quite comfortably on my salary. But sometimes the fact of the matter is you’re going to get ripped off. Either in terms of price or in terms of quality. The best example I can think of at the moment is with my internet connection. (Only because for the past two nights it hasn’t been operational when I get home from work…) So when we first moved here we were presented with three or four different internet packages ranging in speeds from 512kb/s to 2mb/s. We didn’t go with the first one because we assumed it’d be a really slow connection and it’d be really frustrating to download movies and TV shows. We opted for the 1mb/s which was the second-fasted, and thus the second most expensive. This was a big mistake. The internet is so insanely slow and disconnects whenever it feels like. Other people I know who went with the significantly cheaper 512kb/s package, actually have a much stronger connection and don’t have the same connectability issues. I guess the moral of this story is that it’s okay to be cheap.
This brings us to our final lesson of the day…
Life Lesson #5: Elevators as a source of amusement.
Just because you take the elevator does not mean you’re going to beat the person who elects to take the stairs. Yes, elevators are convenient. Yes, they save people from exerting too much energy. Yes, they provide a comfortable mode to get from the lobby up however many stories they’re going. (In my case it’s 13. Lucky 13). But no, in China elevators are not a way to save time. They’re a game really. Imagine: there are three elevator doors in front of you. You’re on the 13th floor waiting to be taken down to the 1st. One elevator is on the 1st floor already, one is on the 22nd floor, and one is on the 34th floor (the top floor). Which elevator do you suppose will reach you first? And in how much time? Logic would dictate that the elevator on the 22nd floor would presumably arrive fairly quickly as it has the least amount of floors to travel. But this is not the case. After you hit the down button and take a step back to watch the progress, you realize that no elevators are moving. A moment goes by and the elevator on the 22nd floor starts to move, this seems good. But oh no wait, it’s stopped again on the 20th floor. You look above another door and notice that the elevator that was resting in the lobby has now started to rise. You take a couple of steps in the direction of that door, only to stop because the elevator has also stopped - on the 9th floor. The elevator on the 34th floor remains motionless. The first elevator has now moved from the 20th floor back up past the 22nd and on to the 25th floor, meanwhile the second elevator has returned to the lobby. Still no movement from the last elevator. Maybe it’s out of service…? It’s been a good three minutes now, and you’re starting to get impatient. Time to get a move on people, got a subway to catch! Movement again from the first elevator! It’s creeping its way down from 25! And what’s this??? The third elevator has started its descent from the top floor! Which will it be? Which will it be? Neither. They both stop shy of the 13th floor. You look over with a glimmer of hope to the remaining elevator… but it’s resting on the 8th floor. Just as you’re about to give up and start walking down the 13 flights of stairs, all of a sudden you hear a ding. The elevator from the 8th floor (originally the lobby) has arrived! All it takes is 5 minutes and a little patience and you’re one your way to work…
Well that concludes what I’ve learned while I’ve been living in Guangzhou. Maybe next time I’ll get around to explaining the similarities between our two great nations.
(Ed Note: By “strange” I obviously mean it as a synonym to “unknown” and “foreign”, not so much in the “weird” or “unusual” sense)
Back to my point… Since arriving in Guangzhou I’ve taken in a lot of new information about how things work in a foreign country. While some things here are remarkably similar in function to the happenings back in Canada, for example… … …Umm, okay so I’ve been sitting here for about 5 minutes trying to think up a good example about how things are comparable but I’m coming up a little dry. Lemme get back to the parallels a little later… We’ll start with the variations in day-to-day living instead.
Life Lesson #1: Cross the street when the locals do.
Just because the crossing signal indicates “walk”, does not mean you can actually walk. Chances are if you do, you’re gonna get hit by a car. More specifically a taxi. Or a bus - a bus is a good bet as well. But we’ll stay general. Yes, if you start to cross the street just because the little green man says you can, it’s safe to assume that you’re going to lose a fight with a large metallic, fast-moving object of transportation. Alternatively, just because a big red hand is staring you in the face does not mean you cannot cut across 4 lanes of traffic. Crossing the street here in Guangzhou is a fine art. One that the locals have mastered. Dodging and skipping and weaving in and out of moving vehicles is commonplace, and if you just shadow someone they’ll lead you across unscathed to the other side of the street. Don’t worry if a vehicle comes within inches of taking out your knee caps, chances are they’ll stop before they get too too close.
Life Lesson #2: Umbrellas are useless.
Just because you bring an umbrella does not mean you will stay dry. Umbrellas are a good idea in theory. And in theory only. When the rain is pouring down on a horizontal angle, any attempt to save yourself from getting wet is futile. Also, when the rain water is accumulating on the sidewalk such that you find yourself wading through several inches of polluted water, an umbrella is ineffective in keeping not only your shoes dry but also your pants. (And don’t forget the directionality of the rain, so even the bottom half of your shirt will be left unprotected). Moreover, when it’s raining so heavily that your umbrella starts to leak; the whole situation is a little self-defeating. The best thing you can do is to buy yourself a nice fashionable pair of rain boots and a raincoat. If you wanna go all out and stay fully dry you should probably splurge on the rain pants as well.
Life Lesson #3: “Pictures are for reference only”.
Just because you see a picture, does not mean that’s what you’re getting. Many a time when you are looking through a menu (and you can’t read the Chinese description) you’re forced to rely on the picture to assure you that what you’re about to order will be appetizing, or at the very least, edible. And many a time when the food is served to your table you’re left wondering what the hell you’re staring down at. For instance when you’ve ordered what you thought could be sweet and sour chicken and it turns out to be chicken indeed but one that is covered in pineapple and mayonnaise… It’s like gambling, sometimes you get lucky, other times you’re going to be searching for a second meal at McDonald’s after you leave.
Life Lesson #4: You don’t always get what you pay for.
Just because you pay a lot of money for something does not mean you’re paying for high quality. For the most part the cost of living in China is relatively cheap. I can honestly say I live quite comfortably on my salary. But sometimes the fact of the matter is you’re going to get ripped off. Either in terms of price or in terms of quality. The best example I can think of at the moment is with my internet connection. (Only because for the past two nights it hasn’t been operational when I get home from work…) So when we first moved here we were presented with three or four different internet packages ranging in speeds from 512kb/s to 2mb/s. We didn’t go with the first one because we assumed it’d be a really slow connection and it’d be really frustrating to download movies and TV shows. We opted for the 1mb/s which was the second-fasted, and thus the second most expensive. This was a big mistake. The internet is so insanely slow and disconnects whenever it feels like. Other people I know who went with the significantly cheaper 512kb/s package, actually have a much stronger connection and don’t have the same connectability issues. I guess the moral of this story is that it’s okay to be cheap.
This brings us to our final lesson of the day…
Life Lesson #5: Elevators as a source of amusement.
Just because you take the elevator does not mean you’re going to beat the person who elects to take the stairs. Yes, elevators are convenient. Yes, they save people from exerting too much energy. Yes, they provide a comfortable mode to get from the lobby up however many stories they’re going. (In my case it’s 13. Lucky 13). But no, in China elevators are not a way to save time. They’re a game really. Imagine: there are three elevator doors in front of you. You’re on the 13th floor waiting to be taken down to the 1st. One elevator is on the 1st floor already, one is on the 22nd floor, and one is on the 34th floor (the top floor). Which elevator do you suppose will reach you first? And in how much time? Logic would dictate that the elevator on the 22nd floor would presumably arrive fairly quickly as it has the least amount of floors to travel. But this is not the case. After you hit the down button and take a step back to watch the progress, you realize that no elevators are moving. A moment goes by and the elevator on the 22nd floor starts to move, this seems good. But oh no wait, it’s stopped again on the 20th floor. You look above another door and notice that the elevator that was resting in the lobby has now started to rise. You take a couple of steps in the direction of that door, only to stop because the elevator has also stopped - on the 9th floor. The elevator on the 34th floor remains motionless. The first elevator has now moved from the 20th floor back up past the 22nd and on to the 25th floor, meanwhile the second elevator has returned to the lobby. Still no movement from the last elevator. Maybe it’s out of service…? It’s been a good three minutes now, and you’re starting to get impatient. Time to get a move on people, got a subway to catch! Movement again from the first elevator! It’s creeping its way down from 25! And what’s this??? The third elevator has started its descent from the top floor! Which will it be? Which will it be? Neither. They both stop shy of the 13th floor. You look over with a glimmer of hope to the remaining elevator… but it’s resting on the 8th floor. Just as you’re about to give up and start walking down the 13 flights of stairs, all of a sudden you hear a ding. The elevator from the 8th floor (originally the lobby) has arrived! All it takes is 5 minutes and a little patience and you’re one your way to work…
Well that concludes what I’ve learned while I’ve been living in Guangzhou. Maybe next time I’ll get around to explaining the similarities between our two great nations.
Saturday, June 14, 2008
China - Day 68
Okay okay I’ll be the first to admit it - I haven’t exactly been keeping on top of things this time around. I guess some might say that two months could be regarded as a considerable gap between postings. I promise I’ll try to be more diligent from now on. (…Oh and I’m pretty sure I’ve never used the word “diligent” before in my life prior to coming to China) But anyway, what can I say? …I’ve been busy haha. But I do apologize to all those who have been waiting. (Mom).
So let’s see… Where to begin? Outside of the obvious unusual food-related incidents, of which there have been several - including a trip to the wet market and seeing buckets of live snakes, scorpions, and chickens in the process of being de-feathered (only the chickens, not the snakes and scorpions LOL) - there have been lots of interesting events during the past two months that I’ve been in Guangzhou... Three or four weeks ago Amy and I threw a pseudo-housewarming potluck party in our apartment. Seeing as how we work in separate schools there ended up being a lot of people crammed into our apartment; 50 or so at the peak. All-in-all it was a pretty good night full of drinks, food, dice games, and dancing. Well, almost dancing. The last of the stragglers didn’t leave until 6:00am to catch the first train home… Luckily the next day I didn’t have to work!
I have also taken a couple of noteworthy trips outside of the city. I guess about a month ago now Amy and I, along with Linda, one of Amy’s students, took a trip to Yangshuo. It’s a small, yet touristy town in Guangxi, the next province over, which takes around 10 hours or so by bus. I say “or so” because sometimes, if you’re fortunate enough you can gain the pleasure of having that bus trip extended to over 12 hours. Of course, we were just lucky enough to have this good fortune. Bus aside, the trip was a lot of fun! After stumbling off the over-night bus at 8:00 in the morning we checked into our hotel and then went to a nearby restaurant to have some breakfast. Breakfast was followed by a quick look around some of the shops and then an attempt to plan out the rest of our trip. Easy in theory, not so much in practice. We ended up going on a tour through some limestone caves in the afternoon followed by a lake show in the evening. The show was pretty cool, although a little difficult to describe. Imagine a Preston Ice Show but on water… and using boats… with traditional Chinese music... If it weren’t for the millions of mosquitoes attacking us the entire time it might have been more enjoyable. After a “10 minute” (translate: 45 minute) walk back to the main street of town we capped off the night by having a few drinks and playing some drinking games. The second day in Yangshuo we met up with Tracy, another EF teacher who works at Amy’s branch. The four of us hired a bamboo raft and took a tour down the river. It was pretty fun, even though we had to disembark half way through to take a 20 minute trek over land to avoid the police. (The people who operate the boats aren’t exactly known for paying taxes on what they earn…) After finding the “big tree” and our boat driver again, our rafting expedition continued. Later that day we met up with Cesar, Tracy’s roommate in Yangshuo, and indulged in a couple more drinks. After stumbling back to the hotel around 4:30 we awakened a few hours later to catch the oh so comfy bus back to Guangzhou.
This past week my good friend Alex made her way to Guangzhou for a visit via India, Thailand, Laos, Cambodia, and Vietnam… It was really nice to have her here but unfortunate that I had to work almost the entire length of her visit! We managed to get out a few nights, but it’s a good thing she was content with just relaxing around the apartment during the day. I guess 5 months of traveling can do that to a person haha. After a 10 day stint of work (about a week of that being while Alex was here) I had a few days off! This is where the second noteworthy trip out of the city comes in…
This past weekend was the Dragon Boat Festival and Alex, Amy and I decided to head to Hong Kong for the holiday. We found a cheap hostel in the Mong Kok area of Kowloon which is actually just outside of Hong Kong (kind of akin to a Mississauga) and settled in for three days. Aside from being insanely tiny, our room was very clean and seemed pretty safe. The location was also actually pretty convenient - it was right across the street from a large market known as the Ladies’ Market. If you look you can easily find really cheap clothing and cosmetics. The first day we did some wandering through the market and then headed into Central Hong Kong to find a hair salon. While Amy and Alex were getting their hair highlighted I elected to go wander around a bit. (I had wanted to get my hair straightened again, but it would’ve taken too long). I found my way to the Soho area and went up the “world’s largest escalator”. A misnomer if you ask me, I was expecting a single escalator, but it’s actually just a series of short ones going up the hill/mountain. Regardless it was pretty neat and I saw a lot of cool restaurants and bars. When I got to the top I realized that there was no escalator going down the mountain so I had to actually walk back down (horrible I know). It took about 20 minutes, but it was a good way to kill some time while I waited for the other two girls to finish up. Later that night we met up with Rob, a fellow traveler Alex met on one of her journeys across South East Asia, and Christine, a nice German girl that Rob had also met while traveling. The next day Amy, Alex, Christine and I decided to go see Po Lin Monastery and a large Buddha statute (actually “the world’s tallest, outdoor, seated bronze Buddha” to be exact) on Lantau Island. Unfortunately due to the excessive amount of rain that had fallen a few days earlier there had been a landslide and the cable car and bus up the mountain were shut down. Slightly discouraged we elected to take a bus around the coast so we could pass through a small fishing village, however it turned out this section of the road was also shut down. In the end we went and saw the new Sex in the City movie and did some shopping at the outlet mall that was outside the metro station. On our third and final day of the holiday we chose to hop aboard a ferry and visit Macau which is about an hour away. We got there in the evening (after a lazy morning of sleeping in, eating lunch at TGI Fridays, and shopping around for an external hard drive), and then tried to figure out what exactly we should do there. Macau is known for its gambling so after visiting a female Buddha statue we made our way to a casino. I lost about $20 but Alex and Amy both came out ahead - Alex by about $2.50, but Amy won about $150 - not too shabby! Later we had dinner in another casino, where, from our vantage point, were able to look down upon a lovely pole dancing show. Well to be fair, it wasn’t only pole dancers, there were also some mimes from time to time as well as some other dancers who performed. None of them were actually any good. After our meals we opted for dessert at another casino and then made the journey back to Hong Kong. The next morning Amy and I were up at 5:45 to catch the train back to Guangzhou so we could return to work, while Alex stayed behind in Hong Kong for a few more days before her return flight to Canada this coming Sunday.
Alright well that’s all for now, I could keep writing but I feel this is sufficient enough until the next time around. Don’t want to bore you all too much with my ramblings haha.
So let’s see… Where to begin? Outside of the obvious unusual food-related incidents, of which there have been several - including a trip to the wet market and seeing buckets of live snakes, scorpions, and chickens in the process of being de-feathered (only the chickens, not the snakes and scorpions LOL) - there have been lots of interesting events during the past two months that I’ve been in Guangzhou... Three or four weeks ago Amy and I threw a pseudo-housewarming potluck party in our apartment. Seeing as how we work in separate schools there ended up being a lot of people crammed into our apartment; 50 or so at the peak. All-in-all it was a pretty good night full of drinks, food, dice games, and dancing. Well, almost dancing. The last of the stragglers didn’t leave until 6:00am to catch the first train home… Luckily the next day I didn’t have to work!
I have also taken a couple of noteworthy trips outside of the city. I guess about a month ago now Amy and I, along with Linda, one of Amy’s students, took a trip to Yangshuo. It’s a small, yet touristy town in Guangxi, the next province over, which takes around 10 hours or so by bus. I say “or so” because sometimes, if you’re fortunate enough you can gain the pleasure of having that bus trip extended to over 12 hours. Of course, we were just lucky enough to have this good fortune. Bus aside, the trip was a lot of fun! After stumbling off the over-night bus at 8:00 in the morning we checked into our hotel and then went to a nearby restaurant to have some breakfast. Breakfast was followed by a quick look around some of the shops and then an attempt to plan out the rest of our trip. Easy in theory, not so much in practice. We ended up going on a tour through some limestone caves in the afternoon followed by a lake show in the evening. The show was pretty cool, although a little difficult to describe. Imagine a Preston Ice Show but on water… and using boats… with traditional Chinese music... If it weren’t for the millions of mosquitoes attacking us the entire time it might have been more enjoyable. After a “10 minute” (translate: 45 minute) walk back to the main street of town we capped off the night by having a few drinks and playing some drinking games. The second day in Yangshuo we met up with Tracy, another EF teacher who works at Amy’s branch. The four of us hired a bamboo raft and took a tour down the river. It was pretty fun, even though we had to disembark half way through to take a 20 minute trek over land to avoid the police. (The people who operate the boats aren’t exactly known for paying taxes on what they earn…) After finding the “big tree” and our boat driver again, our rafting expedition continued. Later that day we met up with Cesar, Tracy’s roommate in Yangshuo, and indulged in a couple more drinks. After stumbling back to the hotel around 4:30 we awakened a few hours later to catch the oh so comfy bus back to Guangzhou.
This past week my good friend Alex made her way to Guangzhou for a visit via India, Thailand, Laos, Cambodia, and Vietnam… It was really nice to have her here but unfortunate that I had to work almost the entire length of her visit! We managed to get out a few nights, but it’s a good thing she was content with just relaxing around the apartment during the day. I guess 5 months of traveling can do that to a person haha. After a 10 day stint of work (about a week of that being while Alex was here) I had a few days off! This is where the second noteworthy trip out of the city comes in…
This past weekend was the Dragon Boat Festival and Alex, Amy and I decided to head to Hong Kong for the holiday. We found a cheap hostel in the Mong Kok area of Kowloon which is actually just outside of Hong Kong (kind of akin to a Mississauga) and settled in for three days. Aside from being insanely tiny, our room was very clean and seemed pretty safe. The location was also actually pretty convenient - it was right across the street from a large market known as the Ladies’ Market. If you look you can easily find really cheap clothing and cosmetics. The first day we did some wandering through the market and then headed into Central Hong Kong to find a hair salon. While Amy and Alex were getting their hair highlighted I elected to go wander around a bit. (I had wanted to get my hair straightened again, but it would’ve taken too long). I found my way to the Soho area and went up the “world’s largest escalator”. A misnomer if you ask me, I was expecting a single escalator, but it’s actually just a series of short ones going up the hill/mountain. Regardless it was pretty neat and I saw a lot of cool restaurants and bars. When I got to the top I realized that there was no escalator going down the mountain so I had to actually walk back down (horrible I know). It took about 20 minutes, but it was a good way to kill some time while I waited for the other two girls to finish up. Later that night we met up with Rob, a fellow traveler Alex met on one of her journeys across South East Asia, and Christine, a nice German girl that Rob had also met while traveling. The next day Amy, Alex, Christine and I decided to go see Po Lin Monastery and a large Buddha statute (actually “the world’s tallest, outdoor, seated bronze Buddha” to be exact) on Lantau Island. Unfortunately due to the excessive amount of rain that had fallen a few days earlier there had been a landslide and the cable car and bus up the mountain were shut down. Slightly discouraged we elected to take a bus around the coast so we could pass through a small fishing village, however it turned out this section of the road was also shut down. In the end we went and saw the new Sex in the City movie and did some shopping at the outlet mall that was outside the metro station. On our third and final day of the holiday we chose to hop aboard a ferry and visit Macau which is about an hour away. We got there in the evening (after a lazy morning of sleeping in, eating lunch at TGI Fridays, and shopping around for an external hard drive), and then tried to figure out what exactly we should do there. Macau is known for its gambling so after visiting a female Buddha statue we made our way to a casino. I lost about $20 but Alex and Amy both came out ahead - Alex by about $2.50, but Amy won about $150 - not too shabby! Later we had dinner in another casino, where, from our vantage point, were able to look down upon a lovely pole dancing show. Well to be fair, it wasn’t only pole dancers, there were also some mimes from time to time as well as some other dancers who performed. None of them were actually any good. After our meals we opted for dessert at another casino and then made the journey back to Hong Kong. The next morning Amy and I were up at 5:45 to catch the train back to Guangzhou so we could return to work, while Alex stayed behind in Hong Kong for a few more days before her return flight to Canada this coming Sunday.
Alright well that’s all for now, I could keep writing but I feel this is sufficient enough until the next time around. Don’t want to bore you all too much with my ramblings haha.
Saturday, April 12, 2008
China - Day 5
It’s definitely been an interesting first week here in GZ (Guangzhou). And busy! So very busy. I’m in bed every night before 10:00, sometimes even as early as 9:00 because I’m so tired from all the running around I’ve done all day. It doesn’t help that I can’t sleep in past 7:00 either as that’s when the huge construction site beside my hotel window comes to life with jackhammers, drills and power saws. There must be upwards of 500 people working there throughout the day, all day, and throughout most of the night. Usually I don’t notice the workers starting to peter out until around the time I head to bed. One night I forced myself to stay awake until 11:30 in an attempt to adjust to the time change and get back on a normal sleeping pattern (which didn’t work by the way), and there were still lights on at the construction site and a bunch of people still hard at work. Thankfully they were fairly quiet. When I was told that China was under construction I thought the person was exaggerating. They weren’t. China truly is under construction! The city is littered with cranes and assorted construction sites - in addition to the giant gaping hole by my hotel, across the street there’s a 33-story building nearing completion.
So what happened this week? Well on Wednesday me, Amy and Luke, another new teacher, had to go to the local hospital for our medical exam. That was definitely an experience! I’ve never seen such production line of people being shuffled around. It started with a consultation with a doctor to go over my forms to make sure I wasn’t lying when I marked off that I haven’t previously had any life-threatening illnesses. After he was satisfied, he informed me of the optional tests they could do for me if I was interested - Hepatitis A and C tests were recommended he said, and there was also the option of an endoscopy. I kindly declined and when back to my seat to wait for him to talk with the others. After that it was time for the urinalysis. We were instructed to leave our sample in the metal box in the washroom. Good system they have there - large open container in the middle of the room - no way anyone could tamper with anything there. Then we had to get our height and weight measured as well as our blood pressure checked in a room full of other people who could see all the results - nothing like a little privacy. Next we got blood samples taken, two full vials full. I asked Christine Li, the EF officer who came with us, if the needles they used were new - I read online that it’s important to ask this question. I’m not sure I’d have the option to refuse the test even if the syringes weren’t new however as my work visa relies on completing the exam… At any rate she assured me they were. The next stage in this whole ordeal was the internal exam. Not as scary as I was imagining in my mind - they just checked my kidneys, heart, and other organs (from the outside). Afterwards I headed over for a chest x-ray and then an ultrasound. Nearing the end of my lovely hospital visit I had an ear/nose/throat exam followed by an eye exam - always interesting trying to communicate what I’m seeing when I can’t speak the language. Luckily hand gestures seemed to do the trick. The last thing on the list for the day was an electro-cardiogram then we were on our way. The whole thing took about 2 ½ hours and 400 RMB (about $58.50 Canadian).
After the visit to the clinic we headed back over to the main branch of EF in the Tianhe district of the city. We were supposed to join day two of training boot camp, but seeing as how we’d missed to first day of it and half of the second, the guy running it told us we could join in if we wanted to or just do it next time it’s offered. Seemed like a good option to me! Luke stayed as he had actually attended the first session the day before but Amy and I were outta there!
We decided to go scout out our own branches of EF. Turns out I’m working in a ghetto. Well the area in front of the school doesn’t seem so bad but once you start walking in the neighborhood behind the school it’s a different story. Very small, crowded and dirty streets lined with tiny shops and restaurants. This is actually what I pictured China was like. There was however, a really nice temple at the end of the block. As we made our way towards the entrance we were approached by a monk who offered us a little gold pendant. After taking the offering we realized that he wanted a donation. By this time we had attracted some attention and a crowd started to form while an elderly woman yelled at us (or at the monk, I’m not sure) and was watching very closely at how much money we were taking out of our wallets. After that we practically ran to the entryway of the temple! At first I thought the other Chinese people were angry because they were against the monks for being associated with Tibet or something like that, but then I thought that maybe the monks were imposters. Turns out that was the case - I recently asked the Center Manager at my branch about them and she confirmed my suspicions - only the monks inside the temple are real - the ones outside who want money aren’t. I guess ‘live and learn’ is the moral of the story.
Thursday we went apartment hunting. After waiting three hours for our realtor and translator to arrive we finally went to walk around and view a few places. To make a long story short we finally found a suitable 2-bedroom apartment for 4500 RMB/month that’s close to the metro and downtown area. The complex our building is in also has a swimming pool (which won’t have water in it until the summer - who cares that it’s currently 39 degrees?), a tennis court, spa, gym, and a pretty nice courtyard. It’s also gated and you have to pass through a security checkpoint to get in. Today (Saturday) we’re going to go back to sign our lease and handover a huge pile of cash (they deal with cash here) - two months deposit, first month’s rent, plus 50% of a month’s rent for the real estate company. My bank account is going to be seriously depleted after today. We also have to go to Ikea (which is conveniently located down the block from our place) to get a new couch. The one that’s there now is pretty bad and the owner didn’t want to replace it himself so he knocked 2000 RMB off our first months rent so we could buy our own. Fair enough.
Yesterday was the most interesting day by far! In the morning I went back to the Tianhe branch for an orientation to EF along with Luke and Eric (yet another new teacher) and then on to my own branch to meet “my new family” as my Director of Studies put it. The other teachers and staff were really warm and friendly and definitely seemed more inviting than the first impressions that I got when I went to work for Nova in Oita. Rachael Zhang, the Center Manager, took us all out for lunch on the company’s dime (I could get used to this). There I got to meet a few of the teachers (who didn’t have class) a little more and enjoy my first experience with Cantonese cuisine. The food they ordered was pretty tame and I tried *almost* everything - I left the duck feet and cow tendon alone, but I tried another beef dish, and pork dish, and a spring roll type of vegetarian dish. Those three were all pretty good. After lunch we went back to the school and had a meeting with Rachael and Andre (the Director of Studies). It was just another introduction to EF but focused on the break down of the departments. At 2:30 I had to leave to go and meet Amy and Phoenix for a walking tour of the city.
Now “tame” is NOT a word I’d use to describe our Welcome Dinner. Last night Susan and Phoenix from EF took me, Amy, Luke and Eric out for dinner. I’m pretty sure I will be haunted by that meal for the rest of my time here (and honestly they didn’t even order the weirdest things on the menu). It all started with pigeon. I was wondering why I hadn’t seen any around the city LOL. They came out fried and crispy, head included - although nobody ate that part so maybe it’s just for decoration. The next course was soup; this is the one I had the most trouble with. It was a simple enough pork broth, but in addition to the pork, there were mushrooms, a chicken foot, and fish bowel. Yeah that’s right - bowel. (Pictures to be posted shortly). Being brave I tried the broth, but I didn’t touch the “meat”. Then the waitress brought out sandworms. Yes the kind from the movie “Tremors.” Okay so maybe they weren’t that big, but they were indeed worms. They were served in a liquid/broth mixture with radish and peppers. You’d be amazed to know that I ate one. So did Amy. But one was enough. The boys seemed to really enjoy them though as they pretty much finished the bowl. The table didn’t seem big enough for all the food that kept coming out for the rest of the night - bok choy in coconut juice, fried noodles, sweet and sour chicken (these last two items were the only ones I’d ever eat again as they were actually pretty good), and then dessert which was an “egg tart - Portuguese style. Apparently it’s a Macau dish - it was alright as well, it tasted a little bit like crème brulee in a tart crust. All in all I’d say that meal was a life experience. Not so sure it’s one I want to repeat although I’m sure I will probably many times while I’m here.
So that was my week. I’m sure I’ve forgotten about some things but this post has already gotten really long!
So what happened this week? Well on Wednesday me, Amy and Luke, another new teacher, had to go to the local hospital for our medical exam. That was definitely an experience! I’ve never seen such production line of people being shuffled around. It started with a consultation with a doctor to go over my forms to make sure I wasn’t lying when I marked off that I haven’t previously had any life-threatening illnesses. After he was satisfied, he informed me of the optional tests they could do for me if I was interested - Hepatitis A and C tests were recommended he said, and there was also the option of an endoscopy. I kindly declined and when back to my seat to wait for him to talk with the others. After that it was time for the urinalysis. We were instructed to leave our sample in the metal box in the washroom. Good system they have there - large open container in the middle of the room - no way anyone could tamper with anything there. Then we had to get our height and weight measured as well as our blood pressure checked in a room full of other people who could see all the results - nothing like a little privacy. Next we got blood samples taken, two full vials full. I asked Christine Li, the EF officer who came with us, if the needles they used were new - I read online that it’s important to ask this question. I’m not sure I’d have the option to refuse the test even if the syringes weren’t new however as my work visa relies on completing the exam… At any rate she assured me they were. The next stage in this whole ordeal was the internal exam. Not as scary as I was imagining in my mind - they just checked my kidneys, heart, and other organs (from the outside). Afterwards I headed over for a chest x-ray and then an ultrasound. Nearing the end of my lovely hospital visit I had an ear/nose/throat exam followed by an eye exam - always interesting trying to communicate what I’m seeing when I can’t speak the language. Luckily hand gestures seemed to do the trick. The last thing on the list for the day was an electro-cardiogram then we were on our way. The whole thing took about 2 ½ hours and 400 RMB (about $58.50 Canadian).
After the visit to the clinic we headed back over to the main branch of EF in the Tianhe district of the city. We were supposed to join day two of training boot camp, but seeing as how we’d missed to first day of it and half of the second, the guy running it told us we could join in if we wanted to or just do it next time it’s offered. Seemed like a good option to me! Luke stayed as he had actually attended the first session the day before but Amy and I were outta there!
We decided to go scout out our own branches of EF. Turns out I’m working in a ghetto. Well the area in front of the school doesn’t seem so bad but once you start walking in the neighborhood behind the school it’s a different story. Very small, crowded and dirty streets lined with tiny shops and restaurants. This is actually what I pictured China was like. There was however, a really nice temple at the end of the block. As we made our way towards the entrance we were approached by a monk who offered us a little gold pendant. After taking the offering we realized that he wanted a donation. By this time we had attracted some attention and a crowd started to form while an elderly woman yelled at us (or at the monk, I’m not sure) and was watching very closely at how much money we were taking out of our wallets. After that we practically ran to the entryway of the temple! At first I thought the other Chinese people were angry because they were against the monks for being associated with Tibet or something like that, but then I thought that maybe the monks were imposters. Turns out that was the case - I recently asked the Center Manager at my branch about them and she confirmed my suspicions - only the monks inside the temple are real - the ones outside who want money aren’t. I guess ‘live and learn’ is the moral of the story.
Thursday we went apartment hunting. After waiting three hours for our realtor and translator to arrive we finally went to walk around and view a few places. To make a long story short we finally found a suitable 2-bedroom apartment for 4500 RMB/month that’s close to the metro and downtown area. The complex our building is in also has a swimming pool (which won’t have water in it until the summer - who cares that it’s currently 39 degrees?), a tennis court, spa, gym, and a pretty nice courtyard. It’s also gated and you have to pass through a security checkpoint to get in. Today (Saturday) we’re going to go back to sign our lease and handover a huge pile of cash (they deal with cash here) - two months deposit, first month’s rent, plus 50% of a month’s rent for the real estate company. My bank account is going to be seriously depleted after today. We also have to go to Ikea (which is conveniently located down the block from our place) to get a new couch. The one that’s there now is pretty bad and the owner didn’t want to replace it himself so he knocked 2000 RMB off our first months rent so we could buy our own. Fair enough.
Yesterday was the most interesting day by far! In the morning I went back to the Tianhe branch for an orientation to EF along with Luke and Eric (yet another new teacher) and then on to my own branch to meet “my new family” as my Director of Studies put it. The other teachers and staff were really warm and friendly and definitely seemed more inviting than the first impressions that I got when I went to work for Nova in Oita. Rachael Zhang, the Center Manager, took us all out for lunch on the company’s dime (I could get used to this). There I got to meet a few of the teachers (who didn’t have class) a little more and enjoy my first experience with Cantonese cuisine. The food they ordered was pretty tame and I tried *almost* everything - I left the duck feet and cow tendon alone, but I tried another beef dish, and pork dish, and a spring roll type of vegetarian dish. Those three were all pretty good. After lunch we went back to the school and had a meeting with Rachael and Andre (the Director of Studies). It was just another introduction to EF but focused on the break down of the departments. At 2:30 I had to leave to go and meet Amy and Phoenix for a walking tour of the city.
Now “tame” is NOT a word I’d use to describe our Welcome Dinner. Last night Susan and Phoenix from EF took me, Amy, Luke and Eric out for dinner. I’m pretty sure I will be haunted by that meal for the rest of my time here (and honestly they didn’t even order the weirdest things on the menu). It all started with pigeon. I was wondering why I hadn’t seen any around the city LOL. They came out fried and crispy, head included - although nobody ate that part so maybe it’s just for decoration. The next course was soup; this is the one I had the most trouble with. It was a simple enough pork broth, but in addition to the pork, there were mushrooms, a chicken foot, and fish bowel. Yeah that’s right - bowel. (Pictures to be posted shortly). Being brave I tried the broth, but I didn’t touch the “meat”. Then the waitress brought out sandworms. Yes the kind from the movie “Tremors.” Okay so maybe they weren’t that big, but they were indeed worms. They were served in a liquid/broth mixture with radish and peppers. You’d be amazed to know that I ate one. So did Amy. But one was enough. The boys seemed to really enjoy them though as they pretty much finished the bowl. The table didn’t seem big enough for all the food that kept coming out for the rest of the night - bok choy in coconut juice, fried noodles, sweet and sour chicken (these last two items were the only ones I’d ever eat again as they were actually pretty good), and then dessert which was an “egg tart - Portuguese style. Apparently it’s a Macau dish - it was alright as well, it tasted a little bit like crème brulee in a tart crust. All in all I’d say that meal was a life experience. Not so sure it’s one I want to repeat although I’m sure I will probably many times while I’m here.
So that was my week. I’m sure I’ve forgotten about some things but this post has already gotten really long!
Tuesday, April 8, 2008
China - Day 1
What a long and exhausting journey! But after a 21 hour flight (13 to Tokyo then another 5 to Guangzhou after a 3 hour layover), I've finally arrived in China in one piece. For the most part. I guess aside from the joint stiffness from sitting for so long and the pain in my arms and shoulders from lugging around all my baggage I'm in fairly decent shape.
After we landed at the Guangzhou airport and made our way through customs, Amy and I were greeted by Phoenix Liu, an intern for our school. He was waiting patiently holding a nice bright blue EF English First sign. Definitely caught our attention. After dragging our luggage across what seemed to be the *entire* length of the airport, we made it to the exit where a van was waiting to take us to our hotel. It's lucky that Amy and I were the only ones being picked up that day, I'm not sure that anyone else's bags would've fit into the back. Seems like we've over-packed. Again.
In the 40 minutes it took to get to the hotel from the airport I'm pretty sure I saw my life flash before my eyes more than once. Apparently the rules of the road in China are that there are no rules. People merging lanes without signaling... People merging lanes without bothering to even check to see if there's already a car in the lane... Definitely not a place I'll be renting a car to do any driving myself!
The hotel EF has put us in is actually really nice! Much better than I was expecting. We've each got our own room with a queen size bed and a big flat-panel wall-mounted TV. The best part is that there's a western-style toilet. I don't think I'd be able to handle the Chinese squatting ones just yet... It's too bad this place is only temporary. If I could find an apartment that was similar to this I'd be perfectly satisfied. Amy and I are going on Thursday to find an apartment with a real estate agent/translator that EF set us up with. Hopefully we find something quickly - it'll be nice not having to live out of a suitcase for too long!
They don't give you much time to get over jet lag here - today we were met by Susan Woo, she's kind of like a coordinator of sorts. She took us to open a bank account and to the main EF branch to do a little orientation and contract signing. Tomorrow we have to be up and ready by 8:00 to go and get a medical check - definitely not looking forward to that. But in order to get a visa (a more permanent one than the one I have now) we have to be checked from head to toe. After that we have to do "boot camp" which is kind of like a concentrated teaching seminar. Seems kind of pointless though considering we've already missed the first day of it.
After we finished up with Susan at EF we were left to find our own way back to the hotel. Turns out it was easy enough on the subway - it was only two stops away LOL. We spent the rest of the day walking around Grandview Mall in search of Jusco to get a few groceries - turns out Jusco was in a different mall down the street. Fun times.
My first impressions of China are actually really positive. Guangzhou is a lot cleaner than I was anticipating and the people haven't been angrily staring at me like I thought they would. That's not to say that there isn't garbage or that people aren't staring at all though. Also, there's actually a lot more "Western/American" things available here than I would have imagined - more variety than in Japan which is really surprising! Store-wise so far I've seen a number of brand name shops like Tommy Hilfiger, Rolex, and Levi’s... Food-wise there are McDonald's, KFC, Subway and Pizza Hut (which were all available in Japan as well). But there's also Haagen-Dazs, Dairy Queen, and Papa John's Pizza. Tonight we ate at Pizza Hut and ordered the "American Special". A.K.A. pepperoni pizza.
Alright well it's time for me to go to bed - I'm having an early night. I haven't gotten used to the time change yet and I'm exhausted.
After we landed at the Guangzhou airport and made our way through customs, Amy and I were greeted by Phoenix Liu, an intern for our school. He was waiting patiently holding a nice bright blue EF English First sign. Definitely caught our attention. After dragging our luggage across what seemed to be the *entire* length of the airport, we made it to the exit where a van was waiting to take us to our hotel. It's lucky that Amy and I were the only ones being picked up that day, I'm not sure that anyone else's bags would've fit into the back. Seems like we've over-packed. Again.
In the 40 minutes it took to get to the hotel from the airport I'm pretty sure I saw my life flash before my eyes more than once. Apparently the rules of the road in China are that there are no rules. People merging lanes without signaling... People merging lanes without bothering to even check to see if there's already a car in the lane... Definitely not a place I'll be renting a car to do any driving myself!
The hotel EF has put us in is actually really nice! Much better than I was expecting. We've each got our own room with a queen size bed and a big flat-panel wall-mounted TV. The best part is that there's a western-style toilet. I don't think I'd be able to handle the Chinese squatting ones just yet... It's too bad this place is only temporary. If I could find an apartment that was similar to this I'd be perfectly satisfied. Amy and I are going on Thursday to find an apartment with a real estate agent/translator that EF set us up with. Hopefully we find something quickly - it'll be nice not having to live out of a suitcase for too long!
They don't give you much time to get over jet lag here - today we were met by Susan Woo, she's kind of like a coordinator of sorts. She took us to open a bank account and to the main EF branch to do a little orientation and contract signing. Tomorrow we have to be up and ready by 8:00 to go and get a medical check - definitely not looking forward to that. But in order to get a visa (a more permanent one than the one I have now) we have to be checked from head to toe. After that we have to do "boot camp" which is kind of like a concentrated teaching seminar. Seems kind of pointless though considering we've already missed the first day of it.
After we finished up with Susan at EF we were left to find our own way back to the hotel. Turns out it was easy enough on the subway - it was only two stops away LOL. We spent the rest of the day walking around Grandview Mall in search of Jusco to get a few groceries - turns out Jusco was in a different mall down the street. Fun times.
My first impressions of China are actually really positive. Guangzhou is a lot cleaner than I was anticipating and the people haven't been angrily staring at me like I thought they would. That's not to say that there isn't garbage or that people aren't staring at all though. Also, there's actually a lot more "Western/American" things available here than I would have imagined - more variety than in Japan which is really surprising! Store-wise so far I've seen a number of brand name shops like Tommy Hilfiger, Rolex, and Levi’s... Food-wise there are McDonald's, KFC, Subway and Pizza Hut (which were all available in Japan as well). But there's also Haagen-Dazs, Dairy Queen, and Papa John's Pizza. Tonight we ate at Pizza Hut and ordered the "American Special". A.K.A. pepperoni pizza.
Alright well it's time for me to go to bed - I'm having an early night. I haven't gotten used to the time change yet and I'm exhausted.
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