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/
