Cool Change

Hello from HuaiYa! We have more or less settled in to our apartment on campus at HuaiYa Senior Middle school, where I will be teaching "oral English" to Class 1 students - equivalent to 9th graders in the US, I think. Anyway, I don't start teaching until the day after tomorrow (as I understand it) so I'll be able to provide more information about that soon. We arrived here on Tuesday (25 Aug) and have been getting things together, cleaning, and exploring the environs. I haven't posted pictures of the apartment because Aaron - the foreign English teacher from last year - posted them on his blog. I'll include the link below.


One street in HuaiYa, with mountains in the background

We flew up to Xi'an from Guilin on Monday, arriving too late on Monday night to do anything but grab some dumplings and a beer at a nearby night market just before midnight. The next morning, we were picked up by the school's Foreign Affairs Officer (FAO) and driven to the school, stopping for lunch at a great restaurant at the foot of TaiBaiShan. The FAO ordered about six delicious dishes for the four of us, and although we ate until we were stuffed, it looked like we didn't put a dent in the dishes. Also, conversation was a bit slow and awkward. That night, the school's headmaster and a bunch of other VIPs took us to dinner at the same restaurant. Still delicious, and a teeny bit less awkward as the guy sitting next to Matthias was very interested in Germany ("how many people have cars there? How old do you have to be to drive? How are the roads?") It was a room full of men, and since I don't know much about the NBA, I wasn't of much interest to them. Still, each one toasted our arrival with Baijiu (strong Chinese liquor), but we were able to maintain our sanity by taking small sips each time...


Tangyu - nearby scenic spot

HuaiYa is indeed a small village. However, it seems to have everything we need - a small supermarket, a bustling street market, and a number of stalls/restaurants selling hand-pulled noodles and other delicacies. We have already taken the bus to the next town, which has a couple of bigger supermarkets, a bigger street market, etc., etc. And, the weather here is much, much cooler than down in Yangshuo, to my great relief. This morning, we took the bus to TangYu the tourist town at the base of Mt. Taibai (where we had lunch and dinner on Monday.) Nothing so fancy today, though....just a bowl of noodle soup, of course. Tomorrow is the first day of school, but I don't think I'm teaching a class until Wednesday. Supposedly, I find out tonight. By tracking down Lily, an English teacher who brought us shopping on our first day here, I found out that there's 'a meeting' tonight. Not sure if I'm supposed to go or if I'll just learn my fate afterward. Anyway, I'm now reachable by cell phone, internet, and land line. They'll just have to let me know.

Link to Aaron's (former teacher's) blog with photos of our apartment and HuaiYa

Don't carry a red handbag if you're traveling with a lot of monkeys, and other valuable lessons

Buckland school in Yangshuo

I just finished my one-week orientation at the Buckland School to prepare me for teaching in a small town in central China. On Monday, we're leaving for HuaiYa, a village approximately 100 km from Xi'an, of Terra Cotta Army fame. We've been to Xi'an before and liked it, and it will be good for Matthias to have such a large place nearby (2 hours by bus) and it will be a good place for us to go on weekends as well. I found the orientation to be very helpful, and I it prepared me sufficiently to teach a class of 80 students! But I suppose I'm as prepared as most of the others - many of whom are fresh out of college without any teaching experience. Then again, a lot of them took the trouble to learn some Mandarin before they came. That's something I have to work on.


Orientation

We learned a lot about Chinese culture and potential problems we might encounter, and I've poured over the blog of the guy who taught in HuaiYa last year (there is a link to his blog on the left.) Probably a little too much, in that I'm making myself crazy. And that's one thing NOT to do here - just have to let things happen. I've been told that my job is relatively low-stress - I'm just supposed to help students with their spoken English. NOT to teach new grammar, NOT to prepare them for exams...they have other teachers for that. I'm also going to be some sort of a 'public relations tool' for the school - basically there so that they can say: "we've got a foreign teacher!" Works for me. Hopefully I'll be able to help some of the students get more comfortable speaking English (most of them learn the mechanics of the language just to pass exams, helps them advance in school, but never really learn to speak. I remember that from High School Spanish!)


Just a few fellow teachers (and Buckland CEO) at dinner. Watch out China!

Enough speculation - I'll have more to write about my experience once once it actually starts. But so far I'm quite happy with Buckland, which runs a few English schools and recruits foreign teachers for public schools throughout the country. The orientation was comprehensive and somewhat exhausting - starting at 8:30 in the morning and ending at 9pm (with a 2 and a half hour break at lunch.) But that's how just about everyone works here, and the kids go to school for just about as many hours per day, too. We got practical tips from previous teachers, as well as some seemingly sound advice on what we should/should not do here (the red handbag and monkeys story was about someone who had his passport swiped by a monkey (they seem to like red things.) Oh, and Chinese people (particularly men) like to drink, and often have drinking "competitions" (I have already been asked: how much beer can you drink? Not that I have ever found my limit...)It's something to beware of when school officials or other teachers invite us out to dinner. Many toasts, lots of strong alcohol. I had better stick to beer (which is fortunately pretty weak here.)


Something stronger than Chinese beer

More photos are on the Picassa Web Album site. Next posting from HuaiYa!!

Sweatin' it out in Yangshuo

View from the train to Yangshuo

<p>We have arrived in Yangshuo, a beautiful town we visited a couple of years ago, where I will be attending orienation starting on Monday. So far, everything seems to be in order: we were picked up at the train station in Guilin and brought to Yangshuo, where the staff found us a cheap and good hotel near the school. The 22-hour train ride from Kunming was pretty good - we were able to get tickets for the next day out of Kunming in a four-bed sleeper compartment (two bottom beds) and we had the compartment to ourselves until after dinner (which was really good!) And, the scenery from the train was pretty spectacular.

Li River in Yangshuo

Once in Yangshuo, we met some of the other teachers (mostly younger, of course), registered at the local police station, and were left to explore the town at our leisure. Only problem is that it's too hot and humid to do much in the afternoons - then again it's probably not much hotter than NYC at its worst. But, we have walked around town, found the requisite hand-made noodle shop (which happens to be both delicious ND air-conditioned!!), and I got a bike and went for a short ride with some of the other teachers. Starting on Monday, I'm going to be busy with orienation (from 8:30 in the morning until around 8pm) so Matthias is looking forward to some quiet, free time. I'm looking forward to learning how to manage a classroom that has up to 80 students in it!


Yulong River outside of Yangshuo

This morning (Sunday) I went for a bike ride along the Yulong river. There are SO many tourists here (mainly Chinese, but also Western) that even the back roads were pretty crowded with bikes, buses, and trucks carrying bamboo rafts back up the river. The only advantage to that was that I met a young Chinese tourist named James, and we rode along the river together. He is a student from Nanjing and his English was excellent. We talked a bit about travel around China while we pedaled. By the time I met Matthias back in town I was completely covered in sweat (a huge problem of mine here - it's totally embarrassing!) We ate in the air-conditioned noodle shop and now I'm relaxing in the room, getting ready to go do my daily internet check, load pictures, and of course, post this entry. Actually, I'm posting via email so I'm not sure how the formatting/photos will turn out. Let's see....

Chillin' out in Yunnan

We're about at the end of our high-altitude week-long escape from the heat in Dali. Tomorrow, we are taking a bus back to Kunming (still high-altitude, at least) and then we've got to get a train to Guilin, where we'll be back in tropical heat and humidity. Getting a train might prove to be difficult, as the tourist season seems to be in full swing. Never mind the confusion at the train station, although the nice staff person at the Jade Emu Guesthouse wrote out our request for train tickets in Chinese, so hopefully all we have to do is find the right window and hand the note to the attendant.


Courtyard at the Jade Emu

Speaking of the Jade Emu, I can't say enough about how nice it is here. The owners (an Australian-Chinese couple - Dave and Snow) have really created a haven for backpackers (as well as more "mature" travelers.) After weeks of staying in places with limited English at reception, broken or dingy bathrooms,and just generally low standards, the Jade Emu is a refreshing change! They've got everything, including Wifi, BBC, DVDs, good showers, REAL toilet paper, etc., etc. Our room is right off the courtyard/bar area, but still not too noisy, even though the guesthouse is full. We also rented the best-maintained bikes we've had in Asia.


Fishermen at Lake Er Hai

Our bike ride was really nice. Following Dave's advice, we cycled to the lake, through the narrow streets of the village of Cai-Cun, and out into the rice and produce fields, cutting back over to the lake now and then to check out the local fishermen. The next day, we hiked up the mountain, following Snow's directions. The sun was a bit too strong, and although we never found the temple or the actual tourist route, we had a nice secluded hike up and down the mountainside.


Matthias on our hike

I know this is rather late in the post for me to start talking about food, but since the restaurants here seem to be very touristy, I've been letting Matthias drag me to the same noodle shop night after night (they DO have good noodles.) Plus, I know I've got another 5 months to try other Chinese dishes - and hopefully I'll soon learn enough Mandarin to be able to order without seeing what others are eating!


Matthias at his favorite restaurant

I don't know when I'll have internet again, or when/if I'll have access to the blog, but hopefully I'll be able to write again soon about my orientation in Yangshuo and my ultimate placement. 'Till then.

Scaling the Great Firewall of China

We have been in China for over a week now, and have made our way to Dali - a high-altitude, cool, touristy retreat in Southwest China. I think we're somewhere in the foothills of the Himalayas, along the route to Tibet, which is still, I think, a few overnight bus rides away. No, we're not going - we've just got time (and energy) enough to relax for about a week before setting off for Guilin, where I'll attend my teacher orientation and then get shipped out into the hinterlands for my teaching assignment. I also promised Matthias that we wouldn't take any more long bus rides "just to see another Chinese town." He has a point - traveling is not all that comfortable here, and we are lugging a lot of stuff along with us (winter clothes, gifts, etc.) Following is an account of our travels after we learned that we couldn't get a boat from Northern Thailand to China. It's not that the boat doesn't operate anymore, the agent told us that there were just no boats through the end of July - not enough people, she said. And we had to leave Thailand by the end of July or renew our visa.

Matthias on the bus to Chiang Khong

So...from Chiang Rai in Thailand we got the local bus to Chiang Khong (about two hours) and found a place to stay for the night. That was a mistake, actually, since after we booked the room, we found out there was a bus to Meng-la, China leaving early the next morning from Huay Xai, Laos. Huay Xai was just across the river from where we were, but we would have to spend the night there in order to make the bus early the next morning. So, since the bus runs only every other day, making the next available bus two days later, we decided to stay in Chiang Khong an extra night, make our way over to Laos for another night, and then get the bus to China. I don't recommend spending much time in either Chiang Khong or Huay Xai, especially in high summer, as there's not all that much to do. We were able to rent bikes one day in Chiang Khong and took a nice ride along the Mekong, before the intense afternoon heat set in.

Catfish beach on the Mekong

We booked the bus (including 'taxi' to the ferry, ferry to Laos, and transportation to the bus station in Huay Xai) through an agent in Chiang Khong - probably overpaying, but we wanted everything taken care of as the heat was starting to take its toll on our moods. Anyway, we had lots of time, and we ended up paying about half of what the boat up the Mekong would have cost.

Matthias on the bus to China

The bus to Mengla (ordinary, non-air-con bus) left the Huay Xai bus station at 8:30 in the morning, stopped in Luang Namtha for lunch at around noon, and arrived in Meng-la at around 4pm (China time - 1 hour ahead of Laos time.) We had enough time to catch a bus on to Jinghong, where we wanted to spend a few days, but decided to stay in Meng-la overnight. The hotel right at the bus station was quite nice (save for the squat toilet - though it was clean, and part of an otherwise very nice bathroom) and cheap, so we got a room and went out to get some dinner. After what seemed like quite a search, we ended up at a noodle shop right near the hotel, where the hand-pulled noodle soup thrilled Matthias. And when Matthias is happy....

The next morning we got the bus to Jinghong, a town on the Mekong River (we were supposed to get the boat here). The bus ride was smooth, but by the time we walked to the College Hotel (recommended in Lonely Planet), we were dripping with sweat. And the a/c in the room wasn't all that powerful. Actually, we were quite disappointed with the room (I was, until I found the DSL Internet cable.) Jinghong was probably a good (re-) introduction to China, but it was a bit too hot and humid in the afternoons to really enjoy roaming around. So, on our second day, we decided to spend another two nights and then head on to Kunming. After we bought our bus tickets (two days in advance, we happened upon a hotel right next to the bus station - we checked it out and found it to be nice, so we decided to spend the night before we left there, so as to be closer to the bus station. When we checked in the next day, they gave us a two-room suite for 60 RMB (about 10 bucks), with butt-kicking A/C, cable TV (one english channel), water heater, tea, etc. - all but internet.) Had we known it would be so nice, we actually would have hung around a few more days, just to eat more of the delicious noodle soups! For anyone looking for a place to stay in Jinghong, China, it's called the Traffic Hotel, just to the right as you exit the long-distance bus station.

Best noodle soup so far - in Jinghong

We took an early bus to Kunming - it was actually a sleeper bus with beds - as opposed to an overnight bus because, as Matthias rightly pointed out: (1) we can see more during the day, (2) we never get a good night's sleep on a bus, and (3) we don't save that much money by not getting a hotel. The bus was comfortable, but without bathrooms. I haven't found a blog about China yet that hasn't complained about the horrid conditions of public toilets in China, so I won't go into that now. The bus took about 3 hours longer than we expected, and we arrived in Kunming as it was getting dark. Luckily, we happened upon a decent hotel not far from the bus and train station (I'll see if I can find the name.) Very little English spoken, but pointing to the phrases in our Lonely Planet book, along with our handy picture book did the trick at check in.

Sleeper bus to Kunming

Kunming was, as advertised, much cooler than Jinghong, but as a city of 1 million, it wasn't as laid back" as I had hoped. We spent a few days walking around town - looking at stores, parks and markets - and of course trying all the food. I had the best dumplings yet from a food court stall we happened by. Can't wait to have them again when we go back (on the way to Guilin.)

Central Kunming

After a few days of exploring the city, we got the bus to Dali, and we have finally found a place to chill out for a while. It's really touristy here - the "old town" seems to have been torn down and rebuilt to cater to visitors - and the streets are teeming with (mainly Chinese) tourists. That's okay, we'll get enough of the 'real China' once we're living here.

Street in Dali

For now, we'll enjoy our super-comfy, wifi- and BBC-equipped hotel and the quiet and cool surroundings. I even figured out how to access facebook and Picassa (at least for now) so there are new photos which can be accessed by clicking the following links:

July 2009 album (new photos added at the end)

August 2009 album (new)

That's all for now. Better post this while I still can.