Thursday, July 1, 2010
Happy Canada Day !!!
We are proud Canadians! Don just hung our flag out on the balcony and we watched some of the Molson Canadian videos on Youtube - classic "I am Canadian" commercials. Feeling proud to be Canadians even though we are thousands of miles away. We are coming home soon for the summer and will have our Canadian luggage tags proudly displayed too. See you all soon! J&D
Sunday, June 20, 2010
June 2010 Update
Finally back on! We've been unable to get onto some sites since May (this time around) and so have felt a bit out of touch. We're also unable to get onto Facebook, boo :( We've just found a way to look at Fb but not to update or write anything.
We are just back from a mini vacation in Jinan. We had a few holiday days saved up so decided to go and visit our old school. We had a horrendous time getting there but are very happy to report that the trip home was relatively uneventful.
What was supposed to have been a short 3 hour plane ride to Beijing from Shantou turned out to be a freakin' nightmare. Our 4 p.m. flight was delayed due to a brief storm in Shantou so we waited along with the other passengers for hours. There was no word when the plane would arrive so we waited and waited and waited. The natives started getting restless. People were shouting at the airport reps and a large crowd formed. I found some Cantonese speaking passengers so got the scoop. People were mad because nobody was telling us anything. They tried to appease us with free drinks and "dinner" in a small cafe that could not accommodate us all. We even got some money back. When the rumour that a plane was going to arrive around 10:30 p.m., we didn't believe it. When it did, we thought that our saga was over. Sadly, it continued. We boarded the plane but there was another delay. Again, there was no announcement to explain why the cabin temperature was getting more and more uncomfortable when the air was turned off. People started getting off the plane and the flight attendants became scarce. I went to the open back door and crowded around it with other passengers to try to get some humid but fresh air. After what seemed like an impossibly long time, we found out that an angry passenger had left without his luggage so that ground crews had to be found and the bag retrieved. I don't think I have ever been so uncomfortable and claustrophobic on a plane. Finally, we left at around 1 a.m.!
We arrived in Beijing and finally checked into our hotel, exhausted. The plan had been to arrive there around 8 p.m., have a good night's sleep and do the Temple of Heaven in the morning before taking the express train to Jinan. We still wanted to visit the Temple of Heaven so we slept for a few hours and headed out. We were sad to only enjoy such a short rest in the softest bed we've had in China. Unfortunately most beds here, including ours in Shantou, might as well be boards.
So that we could enjoy the Temple of Heaven knowing we had train tickets to Jinan, we decided to head to the train station first. That was another adventure. Due to the lack of English speaking ticket agents, we had a difficult time with what should have been a simple task. With the help of a friendly and helpful lady in the next line, we found out that they had been trying to tell us that there were no seats but that we could buy standing seats. Stand for 3 hours to Jinan, why not? Because we would have had to wait a couple of days before there were seats available (this is why travelling in China during any festival or holiday is a really really bad idea), we had no choice. We set off to try to enjoy the Temple and hopefully buy a small stool that would make our train journey bareable.
When we got to the Temple, I spotted a storekeeper sitting on a small foldable stool near the front gate. I went over to try to buy one and would have paid almost anything. Others have since told us that I paid too much but it was well worth the 25 yuan (around $4 Cdn). It made for some great shots during our visit. We will post our photos of the Temple of Heaven soon. Stay tuned. I'd have to say that it was worth it to see such an iconic site. The beautiful round building that I had seen so many images of was just as beautiful when I stood in front of it. Check that off my list!
While our standing trip to Jinan was uncomfortable, it was not as bad as it could have been. In a small area between the cars, we stood along with up to 9 people off and on. Some of our students have stood for a much longer time going home on holidays so we really can't complain. There was air conditioning and food if we wanted to buy it. Our little chair gave us respite and so did my luggage. I even managed some short cat naps.
Our main reason for the trip back to Jinan was to see some of the graduating students before they dispersed to different areas of China for jobs or further studies. So our trip back was filled with meals. We ate very well. A pleasant change from our less colourful menus here at this school. Our old school was kind enough to offer us a room in the teacher's residence so we were close to campus. We were able to see many of the students and catch up with some of our other friends there. We were even lucky enough to be included in the official graduation pictures. After a few short days though, it was time to go.
We are headed into two very busy weeks of oral exams here to finish off our term. We will be doing over 300 exams each. After that, we plan to come home for the summer holidays so we hope to see everyone soon. We have agreed to come back to this school next school year so we'll be travelling light, yay! Take care everyone. We'll post our pics as soon as we can. Check back for the link.
J & D
We are just back from a mini vacation in Jinan. We had a few holiday days saved up so decided to go and visit our old school. We had a horrendous time getting there but are very happy to report that the trip home was relatively uneventful.
What was supposed to have been a short 3 hour plane ride to Beijing from Shantou turned out to be a freakin' nightmare. Our 4 p.m. flight was delayed due to a brief storm in Shantou so we waited along with the other passengers for hours. There was no word when the plane would arrive so we waited and waited and waited. The natives started getting restless. People were shouting at the airport reps and a large crowd formed. I found some Cantonese speaking passengers so got the scoop. People were mad because nobody was telling us anything. They tried to appease us with free drinks and "dinner" in a small cafe that could not accommodate us all. We even got some money back. When the rumour that a plane was going to arrive around 10:30 p.m., we didn't believe it. When it did, we thought that our saga was over. Sadly, it continued. We boarded the plane but there was another delay. Again, there was no announcement to explain why the cabin temperature was getting more and more uncomfortable when the air was turned off. People started getting off the plane and the flight attendants became scarce. I went to the open back door and crowded around it with other passengers to try to get some humid but fresh air. After what seemed like an impossibly long time, we found out that an angry passenger had left without his luggage so that ground crews had to be found and the bag retrieved. I don't think I have ever been so uncomfortable and claustrophobic on a plane. Finally, we left at around 1 a.m.!
We arrived in Beijing and finally checked into our hotel, exhausted. The plan had been to arrive there around 8 p.m., have a good night's sleep and do the Temple of Heaven in the morning before taking the express train to Jinan. We still wanted to visit the Temple of Heaven so we slept for a few hours and headed out. We were sad to only enjoy such a short rest in the softest bed we've had in China. Unfortunately most beds here, including ours in Shantou, might as well be boards.
So that we could enjoy the Temple of Heaven knowing we had train tickets to Jinan, we decided to head to the train station first. That was another adventure. Due to the lack of English speaking ticket agents, we had a difficult time with what should have been a simple task. With the help of a friendly and helpful lady in the next line, we found out that they had been trying to tell us that there were no seats but that we could buy standing seats. Stand for 3 hours to Jinan, why not? Because we would have had to wait a couple of days before there were seats available (this is why travelling in China during any festival or holiday is a really really bad idea), we had no choice. We set off to try to enjoy the Temple and hopefully buy a small stool that would make our train journey bareable.
When we got to the Temple, I spotted a storekeeper sitting on a small foldable stool near the front gate. I went over to try to buy one and would have paid almost anything. Others have since told us that I paid too much but it was well worth the 25 yuan (around $4 Cdn). It made for some great shots during our visit. We will post our photos of the Temple of Heaven soon. Stay tuned. I'd have to say that it was worth it to see such an iconic site. The beautiful round building that I had seen so many images of was just as beautiful when I stood in front of it. Check that off my list!
While our standing trip to Jinan was uncomfortable, it was not as bad as it could have been. In a small area between the cars, we stood along with up to 9 people off and on. Some of our students have stood for a much longer time going home on holidays so we really can't complain. There was air conditioning and food if we wanted to buy it. Our little chair gave us respite and so did my luggage. I even managed some short cat naps.
Our main reason for the trip back to Jinan was to see some of the graduating students before they dispersed to different areas of China for jobs or further studies. So our trip back was filled with meals. We ate very well. A pleasant change from our less colourful menus here at this school. Our old school was kind enough to offer us a room in the teacher's residence so we were close to campus. We were able to see many of the students and catch up with some of our other friends there. We were even lucky enough to be included in the official graduation pictures. After a few short days though, it was time to go.
We are headed into two very busy weeks of oral exams here to finish off our term. We will be doing over 300 exams each. After that, we plan to come home for the summer holidays so we hope to see everyone soon. We have agreed to come back to this school next school year so we'll be travelling light, yay! Take care everyone. We'll post our pics as soon as we can. Check back for the link.
J & D
Saturday, May 1, 2010
Tv Watching
Believe it or not, we are able to watch our favourite tv shows usually the same week they air in Canada. Thank goodness for the Internet! We are luckier here in the south of China because there are actually 2 English channels from Hong Kong that air on cable. Unfortunately, the programming is still pretty lame and not current. At least we get some unbiased news unless it gets zapped by a public service announcement.
We have also been able to see some newish movies via the Internet or the very cheap dvds we buy from a little store in town. Sure the sound quality might be a little less than perfect but definitely watchable. I have yet to watch a movie where someone got up in the middle to go to the washroom :)
As I'm writing this, we are listening to one of our iPods. We came armed with a digital music library. I have also picked up a whole bunch of Chinese music cds, ranging from the traditional to what is currently popular. Since I don't know what they play on the radio, I rely on the students to tell me what is popular. I haven't picked up any cds of this yet, but Korean pop is also very popular here with the students. It's a bit hard to keep up with music from the West though. I realized how out of touch I was the other day when I was browsing iTunes and realized that I didn't know most of the artists :(
We only have the option of watching movies in English in the big cities like Beijing and Guangzhou so sadly dinner and a movie dates are out of the question. Besides, the last bus from downtown leaves at 7:30 pm so we don't do much beyond going out to dinner around here in the evenings. Now, we do have playing pool as an evening entertainment option but Gord and Jackie checked it out the other night and said that the tables sloped. Oh well, should still be fun if we start drinking before we play. Ha ha.
We were able to trade our hard wooden furniture for some cushy ones so I am happy to report that lounging is a great option for our downtime now. Yesterday, the school told us at the last minute that our three day weekend just became five. How delightful! Now we have 2 more days to procrastinate on our work. TTFN! J
Sunday, April 25, 2010
Is it almost May already?
Sorry to have been so long in between posts. I have a couple of excuses: the Great Firewall of China and nothing too exciting happening. Funny how easily we get used to things and then lose perspective on how amazing "regular" days are.
Our life since the last entry in a nutshell
We enjoyed the whole month of February in Guangzhou. Thanks to the amazing generosity of my mother's aunt and uncle, we were able to stay in their empty apartment. Life there consisted of lots of relaxation, reading, eating, sightseeing and shopping. The subway system was convenient and we were able to get around quite easily because of the English signage. Eating in Gz is practically a religion and it was easy to find good food everywhere. More importantly, there was an international menu. Among other things, we enjoyed authentic New York style pizza and Turkish food. We even got Caesar salad at the Italian restaurants. When you can't get something easily, you really really enjoy it when you can :)
We were "adopted" by a Chinese family in town and were fortunate enough to share their many New Year festivities. They even delivered home cooked meals to us! Yeah, how do you say spoilt. We even got to play tour guide when Jackie and Gord (our fellow Canadian English teachers at school) came to visit Gz.
School started back in March and we got back in the swing of things. Both of us have hundreds more names to remember since many of the classes were new. We are finding it even more challenging now since we have the students from last term to remember. In the blink of an eye, we are now half way through the semester. We have done more English corners and recently judged an English speech contest where we cheered on many of our own students.
Nan Au Day Trip
We spent an incredible day with some of our students yesterday. A bit of necessary background first. Jack, the boyfriend of Don's student Sunny, got a job teaching during the Chinese New Year holidays. He made friends with a boy who he taught for only one week and that little boy lives on Nan Au, a beautiful island near Shantou.
Jack arranged a van to take us along with Sunny, Rose and Ricky to the ferry terminal in a nearby town. From there we took a half hour ferry ride across to Nan Au island where the little boy met us with his father. The ferry ride over was a bit rough but enjoyable. The girls were loudly squealing with delight despite the strong winds and ocean spray that periodically got us all a bit damp.
As soon as we stepped off the ferry, there was the little boy with his father to meet us. We were shepherded to an awaiting van driven by the boy's uncle. This family then spent the rest of the day showing off some of the sights of their beautiful island. This is one of the most scenic places we have seen in China. The natural beauty is pretty much untouched by commercial tourism. No crowds. No loud noises. It was heaven.
We were treated to a delicious fresh seafood lunch by our very generous hosts. We arrived at a floating restaurant and Rose ran down the walkway with the little boy because they were so excited. The lunch we had was delicious! We enjoyed meals prepared with the seafood that was just picked from live tanks. It can't be any more fresh! We had fish, shrimp, crabs, snails, seaweed, sea urchins, scallops all cooked in simple ways and we also had fishball soup and the best fried noodles. Interestingly, we enjoyed all of this dipped in Wasabi and soya sauce. Yum!
The other highlight of the day was the beach. It is known as the Hawaii of Eastern China. Hopefully you can see from the photos the pure joy on our companions' faces. For all of them, it was the first time at a nice beach on the ocean. I'm not sure I can describe their first look at this place. Their faces lit up as soon as they saw it and they could not wait to get their shoes and socks off. In fact, Rose ran in with her shoes on and pants not rolled up yet. The rest of us took the time to get barefoot and then they ran screaming happily into the water where the frolicking began in earnest. They were thoroughly enjoying the moment!
We had to practically drag everyone off the beach. We were there at the perfect time since the holiday season starts up next weekend. We had the beach to ourselves but hear that the resort is quite busy from May to October. After the beach, we stopped for a quick visit to our hosts' home before being dropped off back at the ferry. Don, of course, drew lots of stares from our fellow passengers. There was a group of young ladies seated by us who all had the conical straw hats and rubber boots on. Rose asked them what they did for a living and one of them told her that they packaged fish. They were also in a festive mood, probably because they were heading home after a long work day. Our ride back to the school was a quiet one since everyone was pooped. We are grateful to have been included in their day on Nan Au and have wonderful memories of the laughter and joy we shared.
Enjoy our pics:
http://www.flickr.com/photos/22798130@N07/sets/72157623800497643/
Our life since the last entry in a nutshell
We enjoyed the whole month of February in Guangzhou. Thanks to the amazing generosity of my mother's aunt and uncle, we were able to stay in their empty apartment. Life there consisted of lots of relaxation, reading, eating, sightseeing and shopping. The subway system was convenient and we were able to get around quite easily because of the English signage. Eating in Gz is practically a religion and it was easy to find good food everywhere. More importantly, there was an international menu. Among other things, we enjoyed authentic New York style pizza and Turkish food. We even got Caesar salad at the Italian restaurants. When you can't get something easily, you really really enjoy it when you can :)
We were "adopted" by a Chinese family in town and were fortunate enough to share their many New Year festivities. They even delivered home cooked meals to us! Yeah, how do you say spoilt. We even got to play tour guide when Jackie and Gord (our fellow Canadian English teachers at school) came to visit Gz.
School started back in March and we got back in the swing of things. Both of us have hundreds more names to remember since many of the classes were new. We are finding it even more challenging now since we have the students from last term to remember. In the blink of an eye, we are now half way through the semester. We have done more English corners and recently judged an English speech contest where we cheered on many of our own students.
Nan Au Day Trip
We spent an incredible day with some of our students yesterday. A bit of necessary background first. Jack, the boyfriend of Don's student Sunny, got a job teaching during the Chinese New Year holidays. He made friends with a boy who he taught for only one week and that little boy lives on Nan Au, a beautiful island near Shantou.
Jack arranged a van to take us along with Sunny, Rose and Ricky to the ferry terminal in a nearby town. From there we took a half hour ferry ride across to Nan Au island where the little boy met us with his father. The ferry ride over was a bit rough but enjoyable. The girls were loudly squealing with delight despite the strong winds and ocean spray that periodically got us all a bit damp.
As soon as we stepped off the ferry, there was the little boy with his father to meet us. We were shepherded to an awaiting van driven by the boy's uncle. This family then spent the rest of the day showing off some of the sights of their beautiful island. This is one of the most scenic places we have seen in China. The natural beauty is pretty much untouched by commercial tourism. No crowds. No loud noises. It was heaven.
We were treated to a delicious fresh seafood lunch by our very generous hosts. We arrived at a floating restaurant and Rose ran down the walkway with the little boy because they were so excited. The lunch we had was delicious! We enjoyed meals prepared with the seafood that was just picked from live tanks. It can't be any more fresh! We had fish, shrimp, crabs, snails, seaweed, sea urchins, scallops all cooked in simple ways and we also had fishball soup and the best fried noodles. Interestingly, we enjoyed all of this dipped in Wasabi and soya sauce. Yum!
The other highlight of the day was the beach. It is known as the Hawaii of Eastern China. Hopefully you can see from the photos the pure joy on our companions' faces. For all of them, it was the first time at a nice beach on the ocean. I'm not sure I can describe their first look at this place. Their faces lit up as soon as they saw it and they could not wait to get their shoes and socks off. In fact, Rose ran in with her shoes on and pants not rolled up yet. The rest of us took the time to get barefoot and then they ran screaming happily into the water where the frolicking began in earnest. They were thoroughly enjoying the moment!
We had to practically drag everyone off the beach. We were there at the perfect time since the holiday season starts up next weekend. We had the beach to ourselves but hear that the resort is quite busy from May to October. After the beach, we stopped for a quick visit to our hosts' home before being dropped off back at the ferry. Don, of course, drew lots of stares from our fellow passengers. There was a group of young ladies seated by us who all had the conical straw hats and rubber boots on. Rose asked them what they did for a living and one of them told her that they packaged fish. They were also in a festive mood, probably because they were heading home after a long work day. Our ride back to the school was a quiet one since everyone was pooped. We are grateful to have been included in their day on Nan Au and have wonderful memories of the laughter and joy we shared.
Enjoy our pics:
http://www.flickr.com/photos/22798130@N07/sets/72157623800497643/
Friday, January 22, 2010
Vacation - Part One - Hong Kong
We met up with Mom and Dad in Hong Kong for a few days before they flew home to Canada. Travelling around HK with my parents was wonderful. They told us lots of stories and pointed out where things used to be since things had changed so much. What great memories for us to have had such an opportunity to share HK with them!
Check out our pics at http://www.flickr.com/photos/22798130@N07/sets/72157623245711636/
Day 1 – Monday
We left Shantou at 9 in the morning and finally arrived in Hong Kong around 4, an hour later than expected. The trip itself was not too bad, except for our neighbours on the bus who cleared their throats all the way to HK. The border crossing was a bit ridiculous though. We crossed over to HK at Shenzhen through a corridor that was walled and barbed wired, a bit like a war zone actually. The bus stopped at the first building and we all had to collect our luggage and pass through Chinese Immigration. Then, on the other side of the small building, we put our luggage back onto the bus and boarded the bus for the shortest ride ever, maybe 50 metres. Then we all got off the bus again, collected our luggage to go through HK Customs. Our coach bus even stopped for gas in the New Territories on the way into HK. We think the driver put in 200 litres and maybe the bill was 2300 HKD. It was hard to see the pump as we passed. After numerous stops throughout Kowloon, it let us off at the last stop and we took a cab for a short ride to the hotel.
It was a relief to finally see my parents, who had booked into the room next to ours. After a short rest, we went for dinner at a nearby restaurant. Since they had checked in the day before, they already had the lay of the land, that and it turns out to be our old neighbourhood.
Day 2 – Tuesday
Our first full day in HK began with dim sum, of course. It’s nice to just sit back and let someone else do the ordering for a change. We walked around the old neighbourhood with my parents pointing out places of interest. We checked out where we used to live and even managed to get a tour of my old primary school, Fresh Fish Traders’ School on Sycamore Street. The school was right beside where we used to live and I went to grades 1 to 3 there before we moved to Canada. My parents and I wanted to just have a peek and go but Don convinced us to stick around and someone finally got the headmaster. Mr. Leung gave us a personal tour of the school. Many of his students are from underprivileged families so he was showing us all the things people had donated to the school. Many of the toys are used as prizes for the students. He also proudly introduced us to some of the students. They were so adorable and tried to speak English. When we saw them in the hallways, they greeted us with great respect and politeness. The only thing I remembered was being dressed in a school uniform, which is probably very similar to theirs now, a navy jacket or sweater with grey pants or skirt and grey socks and black shoes. So civilized! In fact, all of the kids we saw in HK wore uniforms to school. We hope to be able to go back and volunteer there in the future.
Oh yeah, weird thing. The apartment complex that we used to live in has been torn down and replaced with high rises. Funny thing is that the name of the new complex is “June Garden”, ha ha.
Day 3 – Wednesday
We took my parents to Stanley. It turns out that they never had never been there. Having had neither the time nor money to see many of the places tourists go these days, we were happy to be able to share the experience with Mom and Dad. We took them on the subway then the bus for a trip over to Stanley on HK Island. We weren’t sure what would be there and ended up walking in a very touristy market filled with stalls of souvenirs and clothing. It was fun browsing still, at least for the women.
We took the Star Ferry back over to Kowloon and walked along the Avenue of the Stars. My parents walked along telling us which stars were still alive and /or living in Canada. Much more meaningful than when we walked it a year and a half ago. It was a nice afternoon.
Day 4 – Thursday
We had dim sum with old family friends. Our old postman and his wife treated us to a meal and they caught up with my parents. The last time he saw me, I was eight years old. He was kind enough to say that I hadn’t changed, ha ha.
The other highlights of the day were going to Wong Tai Sin temple and the Jade Market. At the temple, we burned incense and shook out bamboo sticks so we could get our fortunes read. Then we finally made it to the Jade Market where I bought a jade bangle, thanks to my mother’s superpowers of haggling! To have the privilege of wearing it though, I sustained injuries. You see, you’re supposed to buy a size that would fit your wrist but not too loosely. So after we fixed the price, the lady put lots of hand lotion on my hands and put the bangle on for me. Apparently, I tensed and yelped which scared the lady. It was all a blur for me. All I know is that I had a nice bruise on my hand for a few days after and I still periodically want to gnaw my hand off cause the bracelet feels foreign. I read that wearing jade has good benefits so I will try very hard to get used to it ☺
Day 5 -– Friday
After a last dim sum together, we took my parents to the airport. Fun for us since we’d never been to the HK Airport. Don and I took a double decker bus back into town and found our way back to a restaurant we really enjoyed the last time we were there. But first we had to stop on the streets and eat a couple of egg tarts we had been dreaming about from one particular restaurant. Ahhhh!
Day 6 – Saturday
We wandered around HK island some more. We took the old tram for 2 HKD and enjoyed a one hour ride into different parts of HK, less touristy. Did some shopping and walked around some more.
Day 7 – Sunday
More walking. We found our way into the HK park, checked out the area around the Escalator, rode it to the top and walked down the hills of HK, wandered through the Zoological and Botanical Gardens and made our way back to Central to see the Sunday Filipino Fiesta. The ladies who are usually employed as domestic helpers spend their only day off together in this area of HK. Everywhere we went they were gathered together seated on the ground, chatting and visiting with one another.
Day 8 – Monday
We love HK! Our second trip to my hometown was fantastic. We would love to live there some day soon and will be working very hard on this goal.
The second part of our vacation (we're off till March 2nd, tee hee) will be in Guangzhou. We are spending a few days here on campus, pretty much by ourselves since EVERYONE has gone home. We'll head to Guangzhou on Feb. 1 to spend the month there. Luckily, Mom's aunt has generously agreed to let us stay in their empty apartment. It'll be like living there :) We will spend the time exploring GZ, a lot better than hanging out here where it feels like everyone left Dodge but us. Hopefully, we'll find an Internet cafe but we'll probably be unable to post here. Take care everyone and see you in a bit.
J xo
Check out our pics at http://www.flickr.com/photos/22798130@N07/sets/72157623245711636/
Day 1 – Monday
We left Shantou at 9 in the morning and finally arrived in Hong Kong around 4, an hour later than expected. The trip itself was not too bad, except for our neighbours on the bus who cleared their throats all the way to HK. The border crossing was a bit ridiculous though. We crossed over to HK at Shenzhen through a corridor that was walled and barbed wired, a bit like a war zone actually. The bus stopped at the first building and we all had to collect our luggage and pass through Chinese Immigration. Then, on the other side of the small building, we put our luggage back onto the bus and boarded the bus for the shortest ride ever, maybe 50 metres. Then we all got off the bus again, collected our luggage to go through HK Customs. Our coach bus even stopped for gas in the New Territories on the way into HK. We think the driver put in 200 litres and maybe the bill was 2300 HKD. It was hard to see the pump as we passed. After numerous stops throughout Kowloon, it let us off at the last stop and we took a cab for a short ride to the hotel.
It was a relief to finally see my parents, who had booked into the room next to ours. After a short rest, we went for dinner at a nearby restaurant. Since they had checked in the day before, they already had the lay of the land, that and it turns out to be our old neighbourhood.
Day 2 – Tuesday
Our first full day in HK began with dim sum, of course. It’s nice to just sit back and let someone else do the ordering for a change. We walked around the old neighbourhood with my parents pointing out places of interest. We checked out where we used to live and even managed to get a tour of my old primary school, Fresh Fish Traders’ School on Sycamore Street. The school was right beside where we used to live and I went to grades 1 to 3 there before we moved to Canada. My parents and I wanted to just have a peek and go but Don convinced us to stick around and someone finally got the headmaster. Mr. Leung gave us a personal tour of the school. Many of his students are from underprivileged families so he was showing us all the things people had donated to the school. Many of the toys are used as prizes for the students. He also proudly introduced us to some of the students. They were so adorable and tried to speak English. When we saw them in the hallways, they greeted us with great respect and politeness. The only thing I remembered was being dressed in a school uniform, which is probably very similar to theirs now, a navy jacket or sweater with grey pants or skirt and grey socks and black shoes. So civilized! In fact, all of the kids we saw in HK wore uniforms to school. We hope to be able to go back and volunteer there in the future.
Oh yeah, weird thing. The apartment complex that we used to live in has been torn down and replaced with high rises. Funny thing is that the name of the new complex is “June Garden”, ha ha.
Day 3 – Wednesday
We took my parents to Stanley. It turns out that they never had never been there. Having had neither the time nor money to see many of the places tourists go these days, we were happy to be able to share the experience with Mom and Dad. We took them on the subway then the bus for a trip over to Stanley on HK Island. We weren’t sure what would be there and ended up walking in a very touristy market filled with stalls of souvenirs and clothing. It was fun browsing still, at least for the women.
We took the Star Ferry back over to Kowloon and walked along the Avenue of the Stars. My parents walked along telling us which stars were still alive and /or living in Canada. Much more meaningful than when we walked it a year and a half ago. It was a nice afternoon.
Day 4 – Thursday
We had dim sum with old family friends. Our old postman and his wife treated us to a meal and they caught up with my parents. The last time he saw me, I was eight years old. He was kind enough to say that I hadn’t changed, ha ha.
The other highlights of the day were going to Wong Tai Sin temple and the Jade Market. At the temple, we burned incense and shook out bamboo sticks so we could get our fortunes read. Then we finally made it to the Jade Market where I bought a jade bangle, thanks to my mother’s superpowers of haggling! To have the privilege of wearing it though, I sustained injuries. You see, you’re supposed to buy a size that would fit your wrist but not too loosely. So after we fixed the price, the lady put lots of hand lotion on my hands and put the bangle on for me. Apparently, I tensed and yelped which scared the lady. It was all a blur for me. All I know is that I had a nice bruise on my hand for a few days after and I still periodically want to gnaw my hand off cause the bracelet feels foreign. I read that wearing jade has good benefits so I will try very hard to get used to it ☺
Day 5 -– Friday
After a last dim sum together, we took my parents to the airport. Fun for us since we’d never been to the HK Airport. Don and I took a double decker bus back into town and found our way back to a restaurant we really enjoyed the last time we were there. But first we had to stop on the streets and eat a couple of egg tarts we had been dreaming about from one particular restaurant. Ahhhh!
Day 6 – Saturday
We wandered around HK island some more. We took the old tram for 2 HKD and enjoyed a one hour ride into different parts of HK, less touristy. Did some shopping and walked around some more.
Day 7 – Sunday
More walking. We found our way into the HK park, checked out the area around the Escalator, rode it to the top and walked down the hills of HK, wandered through the Zoological and Botanical Gardens and made our way back to Central to see the Sunday Filipino Fiesta. The ladies who are usually employed as domestic helpers spend their only day off together in this area of HK. Everywhere we went they were gathered together seated on the ground, chatting and visiting with one another.
Day 8 – Monday
We love HK! Our second trip to my hometown was fantastic. We would love to live there some day soon and will be working very hard on this goal.
The second part of our vacation (we're off till March 2nd, tee hee) will be in Guangzhou. We are spending a few days here on campus, pretty much by ourselves since EVERYONE has gone home. We'll head to Guangzhou on Feb. 1 to spend the month there. Luckily, Mom's aunt has generously agreed to let us stay in their empty apartment. It'll be like living there :) We will spend the time exploring GZ, a lot better than hanging out here where it feels like everyone left Dodge but us. Hopefully, we'll find an Internet cafe but we'll probably be unable to post here. Take care everyone and see you in a bit.
J xo
Thursday, January 7, 2010
Touring a Senior Middle School
We got a tour of an senior middle school here in Shantou last night. The school ranking is very important here. So when we were told we were going to tour the second best middle school in Shantou, we were ready to be impressed. Oh by the way, a senior middle school is the equivalent of Grades 10, 11 and 12. We were suitably impressed! Think of the campus as something like a small university, a nice one at that. This campus was the residential one so that about 3000 students lived in dormitories there all week and then they get to go home after their Saturday morning classes. Having Saturday classes is the norm here at this level. The ones in their last year would be studying very very hard for their university entrance exams coming up in June. The result of this all-important exam will determine the future of their family. No pressure!
We had a chance to talk to the kids in a scrum. Jackie, Gord and Don, of course, had big groups surrounding them. Mine was a bit smaller since you had to really get up close to realize I'm actually a foreigner, ha ha :) We asked the kids about their studies and would you believe it (we didn't) that they go right back to studying EVERY night after dinner. There are mandatory study classes from 7:00-10:30 p.m. where each class is monitored by 3 or 4 teachers who can help them with different subjects. You would have thought I was talking about aliens when I tried to tell them that kids in the West only studied when they had a test. They kept asking how much studying kids would do every night. Ha, EVERY night? I thought I studied hard when I was in school. It's nothing compared to these kids. They have no tv, Internet or the freedom to leave this rural campus since there is a gate with a guard manning it... it doesn't really matter as they have no free time. Sounds a bit like a jail but they are required to do this by their families who have placed their hopes and dreams onto their shoulders.
I keep telling them that I'm soooooo glad I wasn't a student in China :) J
We had a chance to talk to the kids in a scrum. Jackie, Gord and Don, of course, had big groups surrounding them. Mine was a bit smaller since you had to really get up close to realize I'm actually a foreigner, ha ha :) We asked the kids about their studies and would you believe it (we didn't) that they go right back to studying EVERY night after dinner. There are mandatory study classes from 7:00-10:30 p.m. where each class is monitored by 3 or 4 teachers who can help them with different subjects. You would have thought I was talking about aliens when I tried to tell them that kids in the West only studied when they had a test. They kept asking how much studying kids would do every night. Ha, EVERY night? I thought I studied hard when I was in school. It's nothing compared to these kids. They have no tv, Internet or the freedom to leave this rural campus since there is a gate with a guard manning it... it doesn't really matter as they have no free time. Sounds a bit like a jail but they are required to do this by their families who have placed their hopes and dreams onto their shoulders.
I keep telling them that I'm soooooo glad I wasn't a student in China :) J
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