Two Hundred and Fifty-Four Days

Two. Five. Four.    

The number of days I have lived in ZZ, wandering ‘round and feeling a little bit lost...just trying to figure out how I fit in with all things Chinese-y.  As it would turn out, I’m finding my way and the chicken is looking a little less...orange than it used to...(reference from Karl Pilkington in Idiot Abroad, China...a must watch!!).

Marveling at the sparkle of  二七广场 and finding my way around without getting lost...

 

Construction demolition sightseeing brings me much joy...

Looking on as the students at the elementary school next door complete morning exercises...

 

Having some fun with my BIG kids.  Learning English and Chinese together...

Relaxation between classes at Stay Cafe keeps me calm and blissful...

Feeling less surprised when I see things such as this...

 and this...

 Participating in school celebrations for Mid-Autumn Festival...

Discovering all things ancient at the museum...

...and smirking at napping museum security at every corner...

 

A visit to Changzhou and Shanghai reveals just how different things are from one province to the next...

 

 Finding a little bit of Korea in ZZ and reminiscing over living in Asia...

Working my way through the maze of scooters just to find a parking spot is not so intimidating...

I have discovered that I LOVE CHINESE FOOD...and no, it's nothing like the Chinese food back home :D

Enjoying a stroll with very little smog...

 ...and finding amusing restaurant names along the way never bores me...

Proper attire for a very smoggy bike ride...

 

Grooving with the cheesy club love... 

 Scaring the Halloween spirit into my nursery kidlets...

 ...and my colleagues... 

Enjoying that much needed glass of red after a long day is needed sometimes...

...after dealing with the... 

Taking in the joy of watching the sunset whenever it's possible...

...because sometimes you can't even see the sun on a sunny day :D

Looking forward to the days to come...

Thanks for reading :) 

Teachers' Day

It was Teachers' Day on September 10th and those little gems that remembered really spoiled me...

...and those who forgot gave me snacks and drinks from their lunches...and I accepted :D

This was my second Teachers' Day to celebrate as a professional...and it was fabulous. Thanks to all my wonderful babies and kidlets <3

All Things Sweet & Sour...

The rollercoaster ride of all things sweet and sour have continued over the last two months.  To say the least, it’s been emotional, but exciting.  Never a dull moment in ZZ, but to spare you from reading a very loooooong and detailed description of every gory detail, I shall keep my ramblings short and focus more on using those sweet moments captured on camera.

All Things Sour...

Strike!

Unfortunately, I have had some contract battles over the last three months with administration at school.  The good news is most of these things have been sorted, but it’s been...difficult.  Staying true to my roots, I did what any Ontario certified teacher would do...I went on strike for a half day and received what I had hoped for....resolution!

Goodbye, Friends.

When living abroad you meet great people...and then they leave.  That’s just the way it is and it suuuuuuuuuucks!

Foreigners Smell Strange.

It happened. I ran out of deodorant. No problem...I’ll just buy the Chinese brand. What’s the diff?

I was rank after using it for two solid weeks.  It just didn’t work for me.  I smelled horribly. 

 I mentioned my dilemma to my T.A. in hopes she would know where I can buy some type of deodorant I was familiar with. Her response...

“Yes, I have noticed you have smelled for almost two weeks. Don’t worry. Most foreigners smell strange to us.  But normally, you don’t smell THAT bad.  I just figured you were on your period”.  (Fact: the Chinese believe that most things having to do with overall women’s’ health is intricately related to your monthly cycle).

End of Year.

The end of the school year came and went, which meant I had to say goodbye to my toddlers.  It was a sad day and there were some tears.  We learned so much together and I grew a wee bit attached.

All Things Sweet... 

Shaolin Temple.

I love touring temples and have yet to give in to the belief that “once you’ve seen a temple, you’ve seen ‘em all...”

Longman Grottoes.

A day trip to Luoyang with some fabulous women to look at some old limestone. 

 

Expat Love.

All night shenanigans...

Yangshuo.

I celebrated my thirty-third birthday in July and decided to treat myself to a weeklong vacation in the south of China.  This place is bliss!

so many folk..

yangshuo markets...

The Throne.

The toilet in my apartment did not work. Most days, it just would not flush and the maintenance man refused to fix it because “it not broken enough”.  Finally, after five and a half months of me being bothersome to admin, I was able to move to another apartment where the toilet always flushes.  The luxury of being able to deuce at home was almost forgotten...

New School Year.

I have new nursery students and it's been an amazing first two weeks.  They are sooooo cute and I look forward to the next year with them.  My coworkers are pretty rad, too.

Reflecting.

The thing about proofing your own blog- you can plainly see just how unreasonable you've been as a guest in a new country.  The sour really wasn't that bad...was it?

Thanks for reading :)

"People Are Strange..."

Strange feelings seem to take over while trying to survive the slump that happens when living in a new country.  The feelings stuck for weeks and I felt as though I was on an emotional roller coaster.  I've been here three months and I spent a third of my time here feeling...hateful.

In the beginning, things were exciting and fabulous. I didn't seem to mind...

...eating pig feet sandwiches by mistake.
...having to rely on my Chinese friends to take me to a doctor or book a train or call about fixing my shitty, broken toilet because I felt helpless not knowing the language.

...the constant stares and random photographs taken of me while just walking to work or buying groceries.
...seeing babies wearing split pants and doing their business anywhere and everywhere.
....seeing how nobody uses their headlights at night when scooting and feeling out of place wearing a helmet.

....teaching in an environment where another teaching philosophy applies.
...the expectation of just following directions or rules and not questioning authority.
...realizing having a voice doesn't mean you should use it.


 Life was great!

 ***********************************************************************
 
Until it wasn't!  I didn't think it would ever happen here, but hate set in like a smoggy, suffocating blanket.  Why was everything so horribly strange?

 

I hated hearing the symphony of spit.  I hated the smells of stinky tofu and mutton.  I hated the curious stares and innocent questions about my personal life.  I hated the policies in place at my school.  I hated what seemed to be the lack of COMMON SENS----


Then realization set in.  Common to who?

I'm the stranger.  I'm the strange one!!  Just ask.....HIM!

Sometimes it just takes something you overlooked in a photo to snap you back to reality.


Thanks for reading!

Tastes of Kāifēng 开封

A day trip to ancient Kāifēng a few weeks ago with Louis and Ashley on a well deserved day off from work.  Kāifēng is pretty rad.

Rad facts learned from Lonely Planet China and other random guide books:

• A gated city known as one of the Seven Ancient Capitals of China, dating back to 364 BCE.

• Parts of the city, which were inhabited by the Song Dynasty, lie buried nine metres below ground level because of centuries of flooding.  Construction of buildings requiring deep foundations are prohibited today, for fear of destroying historical artifacts.

• Although having been conquered and named numerous times in its past, Kāifēng came to be after the conquest of the Qing Dynasty, the last imperial dynasty of China.

• Kāifēng has a deep rooted history in Judaism as it was the first city in China where Jewish merchants had settled. The Kāifēng Torah dates back to about 1643.

• Today, Kāifēng is comprised of mostly Christian and Muslim Hui communities, with only a small number of people claiming Jewish dissent.

I was thinking temples, synagogues, churches and mosques. AWESOME! Diverse religious communities  = beautiful and unique architecture.  Maybe.  Bliss.  An hour and two hundred kuài later, we arrived in Kāifēng via taxi and had forgotten about all the rad facts we had read.  Instead, we choose to eat our way from one market to the next, following the smells of kebabs and chou ganzi (stinky tofu) through the maze of merchants, construction and debris, trying to find the next best taste.

A tour around town....but dumplings first.

The markets.

Found kimbap!!  In China, we cover it in mayo, ketchup and PB.

For my friends in construction :D  You'd love these sites.

Kilometres of markets.  Stuff, stuff, and stuff.

Kebab and beverage break.

Sugar cane juice.  Not so yummy. 

kebabs. nang bread. sesame seed cakes. marinated tofu. kimbap. dumplings. sugar-coated berries. mutton in flat bread. noodle/mystery meat soups. soy frozen yogurt.

Yup.  Ashley and Louie ate all of that.  Not me.  I would never do that ;)

The tastes of Kāifēng 开封 was amazing!  But beware of food coma.  I slept for most of the cab ride back. HA!

Thanks for reading :)

Next blog:  Exposing my love/hate relationship of living and working abroad.  It's one hell of a roller coaster ride.