Life on the slow train: no seat, no problem!

Sinead and I kicked off our weekend travelling in China with a trip to Tai'An. We set out on a Friday after school to take a cab to the train station for a 4 pm bullet train. We waited and waited and waited for the normal stream of cabs. None arrived. A false start. The plan was officially postponed. We proceded to meet our teacher friends for and evening of beer and street meat and vowed to do better the next morning. Bright-eyed and bushy-tailed we awoke and met at 7:30 am. Keep in mind that with the first class starting at 7 am, this is now considered sleeping in.

Pleased with our successful pronunciation of 'train station' in Chinese (which I have now forgotten), we arrived at the ticket line. Of course, we were extremely confused by the line ups and the billboards and quickly realized, that left to our own devices, we would never make it to Tai'An. We asked the first people we saw for some help. Luckily for us, it was a lovely and exceedingly helpful couple from Weifang and Qindao who were more than happy to assist the confused foreigners. They looked up the schedule, bought our tickets, found us a snack store, brought us to the gates, and wished us luck. The luck was because, having arrived later on the scene, we missed the bullet train (2 hour trip) and had to take the slow train (4 hour trip). Also, we missed the seats. So, a four hour train ride without seats.  I was still pretty jazzed to go on my very first train ride ever! (I'm not counting that skytrain nonsense we have in Canada.)

On board our first Chinese train, we found that people were super friendly. And super happy to play musical chairs with us. And super happy to squish over so that we could fit our big Western asses on their seats. It was friendly. We practiced some Chinese, ate our snacks, drank tea, and laughed a lot about both our inability to pronounce words and our immense differences in size.

Crammed onto the train- and, it's my turn to stand. This is good for both a good leg stretch, and it gives my fellow passengers a chance to get a good stare. It also signals to the cabin population that if you're feeling it, there's now and opportunity to squeeze your way through and practice your English. 

I think this lady was actually half my size. This is when I learned the word for tall; 'gao' I'm not sure if it's correct, but I now like to throw that one in when I say where I am from: "Wo shi Jianadren gao." Perhaps that means: "I am a giant Canadian." Either that or "I am a Canadian dog." It all depends on the tones. 

We did book the bullet train back. (When I say "we" I mean the lovely couple we met in Weifang.) The combination of seating and speed was impressive. But, I have to say, the ride there definitely felt a lot more like travelling. Way better people watching and meeting opportunities and the suspense of not knowing when or how long you would be able to sit down definitely added a component of adventure!  Also, it provided us with a change to get snuggly with strangers in a way that seems to be completely normal here but would creep people out back in Canada. All in all, I think the slow train and no seat combo was a great way to kick off our Chinese train experiences because it set the bar a bit lower than a quick, clean, spacious bullet with a guaranteed seat. 

P.S. I just read this article today about riding trains in China. I have to say, that in my limited experience, I think he hits the nail on the head. And he is just a wee bit more eloquent than me: http://www.theglobeandmail.com/life/travel/destinations/in-china-people-dont-just-ride-a-train---they-live-it/article4266256/

Proud and Not Proud

When you move to a new place, meet all new people, start a new job, live in a new apartment, try to learn a new language, and try to adapt to a new way of life, you develop some new habits. Aside from the still almost daily epiphany of "I live in China," I am catching myself doing a lot of things that I never thought I would do. I mean, none are too drastic- it's more that they are drastically different than my life at home. It's an interesting process for me to try to let go of how I do things and what I do at home and realize- hey, I'm in China. And yes, some of these habits are better than others. For simplicity, I have divided the list of things I never thought I would regularly do into two categories : Proud and Not Proud.

To start, Proud:

1. I have learned to hulla hoop. I really thought it was a lost cause but I finally got it.

2. I floss my teeth. Well, I shouldn't really say that this is a habit yet- but I have incorporated flossing into my routine. Again, I really thought it was a lost cause but I finally got it.

3. I can consistently pronounce the name of my apartment complex such that taxi drivers can drive me home. I haven't had to use my cheat sheet for at least 3 weeks.

So, that's three things. Gotta start somewhere.

The Not Proud is longer:

1. I go to Starbucks. The miraculous transnational corporation is infiltrating Weifang. A second location just opened up here yesterday, and we all flocked to it. Comfy couches, fast internet, clean bathrooms with Western toilet, English speaking baristas and shit coffee. At least I still know the coffee is shit.

2. I'm a tea drinker. It's the economical choice both in terms of finances and time spent wasting trying to encounter or make a cup that even tastes half decent. Plus this tea thing, ain't so bad. There are a lot of amazing teas around here. I practically have a cup on the go all the time.

3. I ate at McDonald's yesterday. It started out with a cab ride where I tried to say "Maidonglou" which is Chinese pronunciation. Of course, I failed and the driver just looked at me confused. So I quickly drew up some Golden Arches and pointed at them in my notebook. He burst out laughing and drove me there... Apparently, the teacher tradition is Saturday McDonald's breakfast. Being an ardent breakfast tradition supporter, I am not gonna scoff at the opportunity to meet for caffeine and cholesterol. We met for McMuffins and I have to admit, I enjoyed it. Egg breakfast is not part of my routine here. Okay, I have a confession. I ate at McDonald's twice yesterday. There, I said it. I hadn't been into a McDonald's (except to take a shit in Mexico) since I was in grade 10. Then yesterday, all hell broke loose and I ate breakfast there. And if that wasn't enough, I went back after a night of festivities. Egg McMuffin, Sausage McMuffin, Coffee, Spicy Chicken Burger, Fries, and Coke. All those things happened within 24 hours. And yes, if you are wondering, I do feel like shit.

4. I get up at 5:15 am and eat oatmeal. And drink tea. I liked the Laurel that got up at 7am, made a bodem of coffee and poached eggs. This oatmeal thing is okay, but there is only so much cardboard you really wanna eat in a lifetime.

I'm pretty confident that, as early as the end of tomorrow, I will have to update this post to add more to the list but for now I'll leave it at that. I guess the good of it all is that you have to adapt and I'm adapting. When I think of it like that, I am proud of all of it in that it's change. It's fun to see how my Chinese life is taking shape even if it includes McMuffins and shitty coffee from Starbucks.

"Stuff White People Like" in China

 Even though was a few weeks ago now, I think my first camping in China experience is worth a bit of a mention. We foreigners frequent a bar called Backyard. It's owned by Hector, a Chinese man who has spent some time in England, has great English, and knows about "stuff white people like": microbrews, dive bars, camping, etc. He also takes people on camping trips as for China's version of Outward Bound. Basically, he is not only lovely, wonderful, and generous he also has great taste in beer and can take you on  an amazing camping trip. So, camping we went!

We left on a Friday afternoon in a two car convoy to a beach near Laizhou. I looked it up on google maps and apparently I have now swum in the Bohai Sea. We set up camp in the glowing light of a luxury hotel and the fluorescent placard of a golf course. It was awesome. Then Hector and Min cooked us up some fabulous BBQ and we drank some fine imported beer, had a beach dance party and practiced our hulla hooping under the starry sky. Yes! We could see the stars! It was magical. 

As an important side note: after 27 long years, I have finally learned to hulla! This is due to the amazing teaching and tips from Sinead and the fact that she brought her collapsable hoop from Canada. I was so excited to learn this new skill, that I immediately purchased my own. It's pretty poor quality which makes it a bit more challenging to keep it going, but I am dedicated to developing this skill set. Also, it's a wee bit of an ab workout. Lord knows I need this due to my full embrace of the local high fat, salt, meat and chemical diet. 

We wandered along the beach for the morning- collecting shells and watching people go about the beach business of swimming, playing in the sand and fishing. I think we watched them catch our lunch...

I really loved this guy. Parked his bike, waded in to catch some lunch.

We piled back into town and rolled into town to find some lunch. We arrived through these beautiful gates; Hey look! We're in Chinatown! Yes, we made that joke. Sometimes, you just can't help it. 

Hector and Min found us a great little family run lunch spot that cooked up some amazing vegetable dishes and a lot of seafood. Another thing that is amazing about going out with local folk is that they know what to order.








My philosophy is that you have to be adventurous and just go for it and for the most part, I am a pretty courageous eater. This time, I am going to admit that I had to put on my most brave face. Don't get me wrong, the food was amazing, fresh, and delicious. I'm just not used to eating some creatures. And it's strange that it's harder to eat something that looks exactly like what it is... but there you go. The meal was both challenging and rewarding.

First up: mussels in broth and tofu baby squid soup.

Sinead and I go for the baby squid: texturally challenging and tasting amazing!










The Chinese are incredible hosts. (I know that's a generalization- so far, it's been consistent.) When you go out for meal, they order a lot. The dishes are placed in the middle on a rotating platter and then you share. Amazing dish after amazing dish of food is piled onto the table and you pick what you want to eat and put it on your smaller personal plate. And just when you think you can't eat another bite- another dish arrives. And then another. And finally, the dumplings. When the dumplings arrive, you know your safe. They are the last dish- you are on the homestretch.





To the right: possibly the best eggplant that I have ever had.

Me, Celeste, and some friendly fried fish!























Finally, the dumplings. Words can barely touch how amazing dumplings are here. And they are everywhere. Not all dumplings are created equal. It's a bit like when I first was in Mexico and I thought: a taco is a taco is a taco. Dumplings- I had no idea. These ones were awesome. And you eat them with a malt vinegar. I included a picture of the vinegar pot just for mainly for my mom... I can just see that little teapot filled with flowers in her kitchen window sill.

So when you go out, there's a lot of food and you share. I love it.  As you all know, I am an eater. So, I am really grateful for the massive amounts of food. Something I am not yet used to is that it's super common to leave a table with pretty much half the food you ordered still on the table. It's been explained to me that the idea is that there is enough food. It shows that you are a good host. Being an 'eat-what's-on-your-plate/at-the-table kinda' woman, this has led to a lot of overeating. And, I gotta' say, I love this too.

Stuffed and happy, we drove back. I scored the front seat. Sam and Celeste are in the back.










Oh, and Hector picked us up some bevys for the road. I could try to pretend I wasn't excited- but just take a look at that sugar crazed face.

All this to say, camping in China: great success. If you are ever in Weifang- go to Backyard and ask for Hector's Camping All-Inclusive. You will love every minute.

Weifang No. 1 Middle School

Aside from eating copious amounts of greasy meaty delicious food, being gawked at in public, and gawking right back at the public, I am here on a teaching contract. So, here's a bit of shop talk to start us off: I work at Weifang No. 1 Middle School along with a great group of ten other teachers, a vice principal and a principal. And several other Chinese teachers, principals, school leaders, etc. but most importantly two amazing go-to ladies that take care of our school/apartment/internet/phone/banking/everything-in-life needs. All of us Canadians are BC certified teachers as we are a BC Offshore School that is the International Department at Weifang No. 1. This means that we teach BC curriculum, are inspected by the ministry, and run a BC high school equivalent... except that it's not much like any high school I've seen in BC (details to follow). 

I am teaching ESL 10, Communications 11 (pretty much "English-Lite"), and Fundamentals of Mathematics and Precalculus 10. This is to say, I am legitimately teaching English and, as for math, the kids are teaching me while I am providing language support, crowd control, and a study regimen. Laugh if you must, but do you really know how to find the surface area and volume of prisms and cones? Don't even start me on this trigonometry stuff... 

Classes start at 7 am. We have five 45 minute blocks, then a provincially imposed nap break from 11:30 am until 1:45 pm. Then, we have one more block before we are done at 2:30 pm. The poor students though- they stay and do their Chinese classes until about 8:30 pm. My average school day consists of waking up at 5:15 am, drinking as much black tea as possible, eating a bowl of what I like to call China Oatmeal (quick oats with almonds, goji berries, pears, etc.), and then meeting up with some other teachers to split a cab to school. I then teach English or get taught some math. Then, at lunch, I go to the cafeteria or the street vendors (see later post, I promise) for some delectable local fare and then I pretend to plan lessons and mark until I doze off in my office chair. Finally, I teach that one last block and then we teachers head home or to the Starbucks to plan for the next day. Really often, we go out for some dinner and then head back to our apartments for an early night. It sickens me that I am often fast asleep by 8 pm for two main reasons: 1) It's 8 pm! Am I 80 years old?!? 2) Those poor students are still in class! 

So far the biggest challenges with teaching are:

1. The students are super ESL. More accurately, most of the grade 10s don't speak English at all. Comprehension is limited. I am developing a seriously strange manner of speaking where I. speak. really. slowly. and. clearly. and. use. simple. words. and. repeat. things. over. and. over. again. with. hand. gestures. In. fact. sometimes. the. habit. carries. over. into. con.ver.sat.ions. that. I. am. hav.ing. with. other. teachers. Everyone who is teaching grade 10 is having this issue. It gets better. The grade 11s are okay, although some of them are still really low. It makes you adapt your style in a hurry. No dry humour. No slang. Never assume your instructions are clear. 

2. A serious lack of English language resources. I won't do that awful teachery thing where I go on and on about resources... just trust me when I say that it's hard to teach English when you are one of the only English resources available to you.

All in all though, it's a pretty sweet the gig. The people I work with are fabulous. The kids are pretty hilarious. And yes, I am learning a lot. 

Okay, onto the photos. 

Here we are in our office on the first day of school. From left: Randi, Sinead, me, Vincent, Celeste, and Sam. 

For the first week of school, all the grade 10s have mandatory military training. It looked pretty intense. And, it was effing hot out. Here we teacher folk are approaching the young troops who are getting ready for a school wide assembly.

They were marching and standing pretty much all day. By the end of the week, they were looking pretty sharp. And possibly traumatized.

Even their water bottles were lined up in perfect rows.

These guys yelled at them all day. Did I mention that they have to march around to the same song over and over and over and over again all week? Yeah. Trauma.

In this first week of school there was a school wide assembly to officially open the school and give out awards from last year. And of course, listen to speeches that I assume were just as boring for the kids as they were for us even though the kids understand Chinese. So here we have some teacher feet.

And some teacher faces. Clockwise from me: Sam, Randi, Joey, Sinead, Vincent, and Colin.

Being the only foreigners on campus (and a fair percentage of the foreigner population in Weifang), we were placed at the front as to be shown off. This is because Weifang (and I think China in general) is actively working on self-promoting as an "international" city/country. I mean, there are definitely more dimensions to this conversation... just know that at the moment, we have serious celebrity status. It's a mixture of entertaining, terrifying, unsettling, vanity-provoking, ego-boosting, awesome, and disturbing. But, here we are front and centre.

This prime seating actually kinda sucked because we had to pretend to understand and be interested in the speeches that did not understand at all. So, we took a lot of photos.

Flag bearing for the anthem:

And of course there were fireworks and confetti!

Weifang No. 1 Middle School has about 6,000 students. And they all live on campus. So do the teachers. Recently, I heard that it's the biggest school in Asia. No fact checks done as of yet but yep... it's the size of a small town in Canada.

And the sky above the school was really cool and clear looking that day...

And we decided that this is our album cover for our teacher emo band called "One Middle." From left, Sinead on keyboard, Vince on bass, Colin on the drums, me on vocals and triangle. Joey is our stage manager, Randi does promo, and Sam manages. It's good to have a back-up plan if this teaching thing doesn't pan out.

Finally, Sam and I like to wear corresponding teacher outfits to school.