Shane (back in the day) 2012 relocation. (moved from old blog)

I indeed realise I am still half was through my retelling of Beijing and I haven't even started on Shanghai, but there are no pictures up of where I work or what I do. Dad keeps telling me that things I take for granted are actually kind of interesting....of course if they are not just don't read it.

My classes are all pretty cool, I only have the odd kid I don't like. Which out of 100+ students is not too bad I feel. the vast majority of my students are in the CL level which makes them about 7-10 years old, its a nice age to teach as the kids can sit and work but still love to run about like maniacs which is always good for comedy value. I have bigger kids and smaller ones but far fewer of them, my teenage class is possibly my favourite. 10 teenage boys and 2 girls, classes are spirally out of control into the bizarre and just plain weird. last lessons involve a 20 minute argument about who was better Marvel or DC. I like to think i won but they are just so big and noisy I wasn't even a close second. My apologies DC, I failed you. 

There are pro's and cons to every location, this one is very close to a huge shopping centre so we have food on our doorstep (although we are all bored of Chinese food at the moment), the school is brand new so it looks pretty amazing. Cons being that we have windows that we cant close (controlled by the building apparently) and the classrooms seem to be smaller so getting 14 kids in is a little of a squeeze. We just have to get creative and sit in big horse shoe shapes, tackle problems as they come up. 

The school I work in moved locations back in July to a big snazzy new shopping complex, or more accurately the office building next to it. We now have ten classrooms with interactive whiteboards, which are basically a bog toy in the rooms, however I am not hugely computer savvy so I don't rely on mine too much. Between my computer breaking tendencies and my computer's regular hissy fits we don't have a  great relationship. Regardless they are great for the little kids as they are fascinated with them and will do just about anything i say for a go on it. Great trick once i figured that one out!

Generally I love my job although ask me at half past eight on a Sunday morning and i will not give such a positive answer. Weekends are killer and I always sleep very well on a Sunday night, but it is easy work. most of these kids will get excited about colouring or a word search so entertaining them really is easy, plus they are an amazing source of amusement. especially when they cannot say something or get it slightly wrong.
"knife, fuck, spoon"
for example or my personal favourite
"put your Dick in your bag" I have a student called Dick and the kids don't really understand why i giggle when they say things like that.
In a recent test i asked a 6 year old boy "what can you do?" and he panicked a little and looked about for inspiration before screaming "I CAN DO MY MOTHER!" Whole office fell about the place laughing.

Christmas 2012 (Mam and Dad visit) Xi'an (moved from old blog)

Christmas Pt 2

After a few days in Beijing we flew to Xi'an for New Year. I was planning on trains but i couldn't get tickets, so we flew. 

Xi'an is an old walled city in the middle-ish of China, home of the Terracotta Warriors. I was there about three years back when i was travelling so I very vaguely knew the city, always handy when going somewhere. We even stayed in the same hostel as I did, the Han Tang Inn right next to the city centre. Well our first night was in a very posh hotel around the corner as we had turned up a night early. It was a huge room and very impressive but freezing cold, however the beds were very comfortable so we were happy to stay in them. 

The hostel itself was also very nice, clean, well looked after. a few things had changed since the last time i was there but three years is a long time in hostel years. New Year in Xi'an was very very quiet, there is a Chinese TV program that has become very popular, its almost a variety show with lots of music and silly mini shows and sketches. (similar to a children in need style program.) Well there is a much longer version for Chinese New Year which last several days and many people will sit and watch the whole thing, so i wasn't surprised to see people sat watching nearly 12 hours of it. The hostel was full over the New Year but the bar was very quiet, we were bought a beer at midnight and were given several more from others in the bar. Dad went on a mine sweeping mission and we finished all the discarded beers. In Chinese culture saving face is very important, so you cannot turn down a beer regardless of if you want it or not, so lots of drinks get wasted all the time. Dad attempted to put a stop to this waste and we finished most of the unwanted beers. 

So a quiet night but it was not without perks. 

New Years day we went on a tour with the hostel to the Terracotta Warriors. we were put on a mini bus with about 8 other people and a very nice tour guide. She had been telling us about the history of the Warriors and Xi'an and would throw random test questions at us to make sure we were listening. The warriors visitors centre consists of 3 pits currently (one more under construction) a museum and a few little other shows and cafes. Pit one is the biggest and three the smallest so we visited in reverse order, it actually wasn't too busy so we were able to wander about and take as many pictures as Mam wanted. in the middle of the visitors centre was an old style 360 film, it was basically 15 screens and projectors showing the building and hiding of the Warriors. It was a very low budget film that was good fun to watch, it showed the initial war, the capturing of the slaves, the sculpting of the warriors, the hiding of them and the eventual destruction of them by the following emperor. 

We were all taken for lunch and then back on the bus back to the hostel for about 5 pm. 

Xi'an has an old Muslim Quarter near the centre of town which has been turned into a mini shopping district, its all very similar souvenir style things but much bartering was done and Dad had a great time. It took Dad ages to barter with one guy over the price of t-shirts, eventually they settled and the guy ran away. eventually he came back clutching Dad's t-shirts but we had no idea if he was coming back at all, at one point Dad was yelling about selling the shirts from his shop himself. They defnatly did not know what had hit them when we went shopping.

Like i mentioned early Xi'an has a city wall which was restored in the 80's, its 12 or 14 kilometres all the way round with 4 gates, North,South, East, and West to get on and off. You can hire bikes and cycle all the way round. We only walked one quarter of it but that was plenty, the wall itself doesn't look to change but the city below the wall was interesting to look at. 

It was surprisingly difficult to find places to eat in Xi'an, I couldn't guess why. There was no shortage of street food and lots of very posh looking places but nothing in between. We found a small place on the same street as the hostel whose English Menu was 4 pieces of paper which were very old looking and ripped. The food was fantastic and the people who worked there were really friendly, they kept trying to bully their son into practising his English but in the three or four times we ate there he always look too embarrassed to say anything, Chinese or English! like I say the food was amazing and stupidly cheap. 

After 4 days in Xi'an we headed back to Beijing for a final few days of shopping and site-seeing, Dad terrorised the people in the shopping market again and bough nearly a full bag of clothes for Tom not to mention the silly hats and gifts. I think last count was 14 hats but i may be wrong, it was definitely double figures. Combine that with a handful of DVD's clothes for Mam and Dad and a visit to a tailor and they were going home with a fair amount of stuff. 

I gained lots too, Mam and Dad had brought out all sorts of stuff for me including a Christmas cake (which sadly did not survive January) and all sorts of clothes and things. 

After Mam and Dad left I had a whole day on my own which was spent doing my own shopping and bartering. I left Beijing with a new superman jumper and several pairs of earrings. A fairly profitable holiday i would have said. I dont really want to go back to work anymore!

Christmas in Beijing with Mam and Dad, 2012 (moved from old blog)

 I'm dreaming of a Beijing Christmas. Pt 1

Forbidden City

So, Christmas in Beijing? 

At first glance a stupid and idiotic idea, first Beijing gets a little chilly in the winter and second it gets really bloody cold in the winter. Yet despite this, Beijing is somewhere that I will always love and as I also love Christmas, why not spend it in Beijing. (That and mam and dad were flying into Beijing to visit.)

I finished work on the evening of the 23^rd and flew early morning 24^th, a short 3 hour flight and I arrived! Met mam and dad in the airport with only a little wandering about, and jumped into a cab heading back to Sanlitun hostel (where I used to live with Clare). It had been 18 months since I last saw Beijing and it felt like a homecoming, well it is the closest thing to home for me in China. 

One of Dad's hats 'borrowed' for the week

We were put in a room in the hotel across the courtyard, which was not ideal but a perfectly nice room, plus every day we got business cards for hookers posted under the door so it had its advantages. So much had changed from what I remember from living in the area. Things I thought would be gone were still there and things I thought would outlive us all (dumpling lady) had gone. It was hard not to be disappointed with some stuff, the silk market for example, used to be a huge fakes market where you could get some great bargains, but what was a market now looked like a mini shopping mall type centre with doors and glass walls where a table and an old lady once were. It was much nicer looking but had lost its chaos charm and the atmosphere had completely changed. Luckily the other market nearer to the hostel seemed to have picked up the slack and was now very cheap where it used to be a little on the pricier side. Generally, it was a case of looking for the relocated shops or restaurants that I remembered. Gave a treasure hunt feel to any shopping days we had.

Christmas dinner was a Beijing roast duck served with a multitude of other dishes and was a beautiful meal. Duck is one of my favourites anyway but definitely better than dry turkey and sprouts. Presents were exchanged Christmas eve which was mam and dad just unloading their bag of clothes and shoes onto my bed, they had brought out heaps of stuff and just as I needed them too. I cannot buy clothes in Southern China, as the people are annoyingly short, so when I find trousers they are always several inches too short. 

In the first week, we did most of the normal touristy things; WangFuJing and bug street, a few parks, a lot of shopping, the local bar area and much more. Plus we found a new local bar to go to as my one had changed into something not so great. The weather was freezing cold but with enough layers and a hat we were able to walk around and visit places without suffering too much and getting uncomfortable/miserable/cranky. Dad bought a hat in almost every place we went and left China with the hat count in double figures! No idea how he plans to wear them all, maybe an elaborate rotation schedule and double layering?

My favourite food, some big pancake crisp thing.

 As all of us had been to Beijing before we were not left with the need to go to see all of the “must-see” places, which meant we were able to just wander round and never felt like we were missing anything. We did a few but generally; we walked all day every day and crashed in the evenings, slowly eating our way round the city. 

After a week in Beijing we went to Xi'an, the plan was to get the train but I couldnt get tickets. so back to the airport and a 2 hour flight to Xi'an on one of the bumpiest flights i have ever been on. Wasn't pleasant! 

2012 October Vietnam (moved from old blog)

 

Originally: Monday 18 February 2013
And I am back!
1. VIETNAM, NATIONAL DAY 2012, HANOI, HA LONG BAY

My bedroom in Ha Long Bay

 When the October holidays rolled around last year (2012) we realised there had been a slight lunar calendar fluke, in that national day and mid-autumn festival were within a few days of each other. This lead to the school closing for ten whole days. It took me all of about three seconds to decide I was leaving China and returning to Hanoi for a further week of relaxing and generally avoiding doing anything even remotely taxing. Something I can definitely say I achieved! 

I flew from Kunming's new international airport, which although huge didn’t have a direct flight to Hanoi, I had to fly 2 hours in the opposite direction to Guangzhou  and then 2 hours back to Hanoi, not too much of a problem as it still was faster than the train but a pain none the less. I left Kunming when it was starting to get chilly, and landed into humid hell. Although not too hot the humidity was killer, I was taking 3 showers a day and the 30 meter walk to the nearest food vendor brought about a nasty sweaty sticky feel that really never went away. 

Needless to say I was not prepared for this and went off immediately to buy some cooler clothes. 

Would just like to point out the book was a
 present for Karina.

Hanoi is still one of my favourite places and I really cant say why, there is just a relaxed friendly feel to the place that is really nice after the stressed out parts of Chinese living. Of course living there is most likely a different matter but for a week for holidays its great! I basically did the same holiday that Tom, Karina and I had done in January just a little warmer, and I was on my own so I could do or not do anything I wanted. I spent days just wandering about the old quarter or sitting by the lake (with various ice creams) and people watching. I also found a book shop in the basement of a bar and was there for a few hours at least. 
Of course I went back to Ha Long Bay, I was a little disappointed to discover that the hostel didn’t run the Jolly Rodger party boat tour anymore but instead offered the Castaway Island experience. Intrigued I signed up and passed three days two nights on our own private beach on a private island deep in the heart of Ha Long Bay. We slept in bamboo huts on the beach with no beds just a mattress and a mosquito net. But honestly what else do you need, the water was 15 meter away and the bar about 30 meters from my bed, and that was all there was. The island offered rock climbing, canoeing, wake boarding (which I am not good at) and a long sandy beach. All three days were bliss and at the end of our time there, no-one wanted to leave. Ha Long Bay is still bar none the most beautiful place I have ever been lucky enough to visit, the place that takes that crown has its work cut out for it. 

The only guillotine in Asia

 I finished off my trip with a last 2 days in the city before having to head back to real life. I visited the Hanoi Hilton, which is actually the prison where American Pilots who had been shot down or captured in the city were sent.  The museum was only small and took less than an hour to see everything but was interesting, it turns out it was the prison where the French had  held the Vietnamese during French occupation. I have to say I now appreciate the reasons behind the anti-French feel. Compared to their treatment of the Vietnamese, the Vietnamese were hugely hospitable  to the Americans. The Americans were even allowed a small patch of garden in which to grown vegetables and were competitors in a local football league.  
All in all a perfect holiday (not counting the unbearable humidity) and I will certainly be going back to Vietnam in the future, just maybe it is time for a change of destination. 
Back at school things are still plodding along in their usual manner. I have now been teaching some of these kids for 18 months and I am getting  a little scared by how fast they have grown up. I found pictures from one of my Kindergarten classes and was amazed at how much they had changed. i suppose that is what a year does. 
The next instalment will be Mam and Dad in Beijing for Christmas. Stay tuned....

Vietnam January 2012, A fistful of Dong. (Moved from old blog)

A Fistful of Dong

Jolly Rodger Booze Boat

I spent three whole days in HaNoi before going on the hostels organised tour to HaLong Bay. The tour was called the Rock Long Rock Hard tour so I was fairly clued up about what kind of cruise I was going on. However I was not counting, at 23, to be the oldest person on the boat. I was on a cruise with about 50 19/20/21 year old gap year students! We drank almost solid for the whole duration of the cruise and played constant drinking games. Even our canoe ride about the bay was beer filled which sadly lead to us being towed back to the end as we were not really getting the whole parking thing. Myself and the guy I had been paired up with were then basically dragged out of our canoes as it was just all too difficult climbing out! I can also now say that I have bought a beer at the bar Top Gear went to on their biking adventure of Vietnam. 
HaLong bay is like nothing I have ever seen. It was easy to try and draw comparisons to Guilin and my travels last year but it was just blown out of the water! Even in the nasty and bitter cold of January I managed a swim in the bay, which actually wasn’t too bad. We ate the food out of the bay that the Vietnamese staff on the boat had caught during the day and sat up watching the sunrise. Despite the horrid hangover and the sick feeling looking at a beer caused me for about three days after it was an amazing tour, one that I shall defiantly be aiming to do again at some point in the future.

Halong Bay just before sunrise.

Back in HaNoi, with my remaining two days before we were heading home all I had to do was some souvenir shopping and the war museum. I made the mistake of going to the war museum with and already sulky American Tom who when her realised it was all very anti America basically sat on the curb waiting for me to finish looking about. We did get to play in various helicopters and tanks and watched a crazy film in Chinese about how horrible the Americans are. Which made me giggle and tom sulk some more. 
Our journey back was long but relatively painless and stress free. It’s an overnight train journey to Nanning stopping at several check points along the way; the first one was about 2:30 am at the Vietnamese border, the second twenty minutes later at Chinese customs where our bags were scanned and passports stamped again. Finally we got to Nanning at about 11am the following morning where it was a short 5 hour wait for the next train to Kunming. I think three of these five hours were spent sat in McDonalds as it was warm with a steady supply of food, as long as one of us was eating or drinking something we didn’t really think the staff would complain. There was no complaining just bucket loads of dirty looks! After that it was a short 14 hour train journey back to Kunming and a bus journey home. Like I say stress free but so long!Email ThisAs was to be expected new year started with a bang! Fireworks exploded all over the city making almost every car and ebike alarm scream. Having spent the last two new years in Beijing I was expecting Kunming to be a slightly less chaotic affair. I was wrong, if anything the noise was worse and lasted longer than I thought possible. So when Monday came around and it was time for my holiday I was thanking every god I could think of. A short flight (not even an hour flight time) and we landed into the disappointingly cold HaNoi airport. After a brief mess about with transfers we made it to HaNoi backpacker’s hostel.HaNoi is an amazing city or at least the old quarter where we were staying and the surrounding areas. I am hugely taken with Vietnam, the food is much more ‘Claire’ friendly as there is almost no spice it’s all flavour and loads of seafood. We spent almost every meal at this little street food place by the hostel where I bought the best seafood fried rice I have ever eaten for about 10Y. I found Vietnam really cheap, even in comparison to living in china. Karina and I did lots of shopping (her much more that I) and am average handbag costs about $7. The only problem we had was the money! 26,000 dong is about £1 or 10RMB so we were frequently dealing in 500,000 dong or a million. The numbers were astounding and made it so much easier to think in US dollars, which we then had to translate into pounds and back into RMB. Needless to say our buying calculations took some time and often a piece of paper to write it all down.