Yesterday was my first day of orientation at Jin Cai International school and today, in order to work legally, all of the new teachers had to get a physical. I was forewarned that the process was "invasive" and included a lot of "poking and proding" which stired up some fear. As I was waiting in line I chatted with a typical Floridian Jewish old man who was there so his hot Chinese wife could get a physical for her US visa. He was very open about how he would never get a physical from a Chinese doctor and how the whole country is run by liars and crooks. As if I wasn't already dreading getting blood drawn for the first test, this totally set me off. After the blood test, I went downstairs for a full body x-ray and a "operation check" where I was asked several times if I have ever had an operation. Then both males and femals had to get an ultrasound. The final test was an eye exam, the only test that seemed half way normal when comparing it to a regular physical back home. I remember physicals in the school nurses office back in high school where they would hit knees with a small hammer then call it a day. I was told that when the results come we are all going to be told to lose weight and change our diets. Oh well, we can't all look like Chinese women.
After the physical we returned to school by bus, famished since we were told not to eat or drink past 10pm the night before. There were more new teacher meetings after lunch from 1-4. I spent some time in between meetings working on my math course outline. Ellyse, my co-worker/classmate at Concordia, reminded me that I need to start thinking in high school mode again. Whereas in college we would cover a chapter in a single class, I have an entire semester to cover four chapters in my class. Tons more lesson planning to do tonight so I better get to work!
Tuesday, August 31, 2010
Saturday, August 28, 2010
Zaijian meiguo, ni hao zhongguo
That's goodbye America, hello China!
After a thrilling week of family parties and visitors, I set off for China from Albany airport on Thursday August 26. Like a prisoner on death row, I requested a last meal of Bruegers Bagels which I will greatly miss (note to any potential visitors please bring bagels).
I forgot my ipod at home which would have made in a long year with out music so my dad went home to get it after I checked in at the airport. I couldn't go through security until he came back and he didn't return until 12:10. exactly when my flight started to board. Unfortunately, this rushed our final goodbye but I did make it to the gate on time only to be delayed on the runway for an hour thanks to air traffic delays in Detroit. Therefore, I was rushed getting to my connecting flight from Detroit to Shanghai just as it was starting to board with barely a moment to spare. Yep, that's right you can fly direct from Detroit to Shanghai. As one friend pointed out, I don't see why many Chinese tourists looking to vacatioin in the States would chose Detroit but after the death of the American auto industry traffic in the city has lightened.
The 15 hour flight from Detroit to Shanghai wasn't too bad. I was able to initiate some seat changes so I got to sit next to my three friends in my program who were on the same flight. I watched four movies on the plane, The Bounty Hunter, Diary of a Wimpy Kid, When in Rome, and Just Wright. I thought staying awake would help me adjust to the twelve hour time difference and its been ok so far but I am still waking up early.
We arrived in Shanghai around 8pm local time (8am in New York). We waited to go through customs which is always a hassle but the is probably the most organized line in Shanghai since the Chinese don't really understand the concept of make an orderly line. After we got our bags we met my roommate Mike and our classmate John who showed us the way back to the apartment. That was very helpful since apparently the apartment is a little tricky to find. The apartment is even nicer in person than in pictures but I promise to post some pictures soon.
After unloading a bit, we grabbed some food at the neighborhood Xinjiang province. I never had Xinjangese food before and I was very pleased. Xinjiang is a province in northwestern China where the people look more central Asian (whiter) than most Chinese people. The area has been in the news lately because of violent Muslim uprisings. Nevertheless, the make good food and I am sure we will be back soon.
On day two, we said farewell to Jared and Carla, two of my friends who flew in with me, as they departed for Hangzhou, a city of two million people two hours south of Shanghai. About half of the students in my program will be teaching in Hangzhou and the other half are in Shanghai.
After our farwell we grabbed a snack of baozi. For those of you who have joined me for dim sum you know I am a huge baozi fan. As for the rest of you who have no idea what baozi (BAO-ZUH) is, it is a soft doughy bun filled with a bit of meat or vegetable. Zhu rou is pork but there are also niurou (beef) and sude (vegetarian) baozi. One is a good snack and two are very filling. These delicious treats costs only 1 yuan, about 15 cents. We spent the rest of the afternoon running a few errands. We went to a giant English bookstore down town, ate pork and rice for lunch and the went to Carrefour, the grocery store/Walmart like center. When we got home we waited for the two missing roommates, our Asians, Annie and John to get home. It was great to finally be reunited and have everyone in the apartment. We (mostly Miles) made spaghetti and meat sauce and then went on an after dinner walk through the neighborhood and found a dangerously fun western style shopping center nearby. It was a tiring day and I went to bed around midnight and unfortunately woke up at 7 this morning. Today we will probably run some more errands and get ready for school tomorrow! AH!
After a thrilling week of family parties and visitors, I set off for China from Albany airport on Thursday August 26. Like a prisoner on death row, I requested a last meal of Bruegers Bagels which I will greatly miss (note to any potential visitors please bring bagels).
I forgot my ipod at home which would have made in a long year with out music so my dad went home to get it after I checked in at the airport. I couldn't go through security until he came back and he didn't return until 12:10. exactly when my flight started to board. Unfortunately, this rushed our final goodbye but I did make it to the gate on time only to be delayed on the runway for an hour thanks to air traffic delays in Detroit. Therefore, I was rushed getting to my connecting flight from Detroit to Shanghai just as it was starting to board with barely a moment to spare. Yep, that's right you can fly direct from Detroit to Shanghai. As one friend pointed out, I don't see why many Chinese tourists looking to vacatioin in the States would chose Detroit but after the death of the American auto industry traffic in the city has lightened.
The 15 hour flight from Detroit to Shanghai wasn't too bad. I was able to initiate some seat changes so I got to sit next to my three friends in my program who were on the same flight. I watched four movies on the plane, The Bounty Hunter, Diary of a Wimpy Kid, When in Rome, and Just Wright. I thought staying awake would help me adjust to the twelve hour time difference and its been ok so far but I am still waking up early.
We arrived in Shanghai around 8pm local time (8am in New York). We waited to go through customs which is always a hassle but the is probably the most organized line in Shanghai since the Chinese don't really understand the concept of make an orderly line. After we got our bags we met my roommate Mike and our classmate John who showed us the way back to the apartment. That was very helpful since apparently the apartment is a little tricky to find. The apartment is even nicer in person than in pictures but I promise to post some pictures soon.
After unloading a bit, we grabbed some food at the neighborhood Xinjiang province. I never had Xinjangese food before and I was very pleased. Xinjiang is a province in northwestern China where the people look more central Asian (whiter) than most Chinese people. The area has been in the news lately because of violent Muslim uprisings. Nevertheless, the make good food and I am sure we will be back soon.
On day two, we said farewell to Jared and Carla, two of my friends who flew in with me, as they departed for Hangzhou, a city of two million people two hours south of Shanghai. About half of the students in my program will be teaching in Hangzhou and the other half are in Shanghai.
After our farwell we grabbed a snack of baozi. For those of you who have joined me for dim sum you know I am a huge baozi fan. As for the rest of you who have no idea what baozi (BAO-ZUH) is, it is a soft doughy bun filled with a bit of meat or vegetable. Zhu rou is pork but there are also niurou (beef) and sude (vegetarian) baozi. One is a good snack and two are very filling. These delicious treats costs only 1 yuan, about 15 cents. We spent the rest of the afternoon running a few errands. We went to a giant English bookstore down town, ate pork and rice for lunch and the went to Carrefour, the grocery store/Walmart like center. When we got home we waited for the two missing roommates, our Asians, Annie and John to get home. It was great to finally be reunited and have everyone in the apartment. We (mostly Miles) made spaghetti and meat sauce and then went on an after dinner walk through the neighborhood and found a dangerously fun western style shopping center nearby. It was a tiring day and I went to bed around midnight and unfortunately woke up at 7 this morning. Today we will probably run some more errands and get ready for school tomorrow! AH!
Subscribe to:
Posts (Atom)