Halloween

Halloween

          Today has been such an amazing day in China. So much has happened I hardly know where to start. While China itself doesn’t really celebrate Halloween, our school does so. I dressed up as a peasant/Cinderella and we met with one of our native coordinators at 7 this morning. We got the supplies we needed and went into the classes and painted the children’s faces. I had so much fun with them talking to them and painting all of their faces. Once we were done painting all of their faces we headed over to the track where all of the students in the school were going around the track in a form of a costume parade. I talked to a bunch of them and had tons of fun. After awhile I was just walking around the track when I was commandeered by two Chinese girls who grabbed me one by each arm and said teacher come with us. They led me back to the rest of their class to the front of their line and had me dance with them. We went around the track doing a version of the bunny hop with me talking to them and them showing me all of their little Halloween knick knacks.

          Once we were done on the track I followed them back into  the outdoor area of the building where all of the classes were held, at which point one of the girls grabbed my arm and said teacher come with us you are with class five grade five, so I went with them and we headed up to their classroom. They got a bunch of balloons that they were blowing up with a balloon pump and they played stomp the balloon. I played with them and they had tons of fun with me trying to stomp my balloon. I went around and talked to a bunch of them and just had a good time hanging out with a bunch of Chinese children. After awhile we were done playing games and I left to go to lunch.

          After lunch they had an assembly of sorts and they had a costume fashion show of sorts with all of the classes. They played some American music and jammed out. We jammed out with them for a bit and sung and danced. A couple of times they had us come to the front or on the stage to sing and jam out. So I just had fun with it and danced and had tons of fun. I also spent some time dancing with the children and just hanging out with them. After we jammed out on stage I found class five grade five in the auditorium and they all gave me hugs and it was just a ton of fun. After that I went back down to my seat where some of the grade two children were sitting and had some fun with them. Over the course of this five minutes I was told “teacher, I love you”, “teacher, you are beautiful”, and “teacher, you are cool”. I  had so much fun with the kids and it was just a great time. As I was leaving the auditorium I saw the class five, grade five kids once again and got hugs and high fives, while one of the girls grabbed me by the arm and led me with her for a minute. They were all talking to me and I had so much fun. I have been adopted by class five, grade five and I love it. I had so much fun with them and I can’t wait to see all of these cute, smart, amazing kids on campus.

          Once all of the hubbub was over I  headed back to my room and grabbed my laptop. I texted some family members and friends using my google voice number. I talked to my friend Jessica for about a half hour to an hour and we got caught up and I’m so excited for everything that is going on in her life. I have had such an amazing day today already. I still have dinner and then something some of my friend’s are doing called dead Annie to look forward to. I can’t wait to see what else this day has in store for me and I’ll be sure to write about it all as soon as it happens. I have always loved Halloween and it’s been amazing to celebrate Halloween with such amazing children. I love these Chinese children so much and can’t wait to see what they will soon become.

Girls just wanna have fuun!

    A new week arises. Well another week has come and gone and now it’s time for a new week of teaching. This week things are changing up as we start new SPEs (synchronized play episodes). For my new SPE to use to teach the children English I have drama. Yesterday was my first day and it went okay. I made a map and had a little treasure chest and we went on a treasure hunt. The kids were pretty engaged and we had a lot of fun, even though it was a little crazy. I’m trying to make it through this week and I hope it goes well. Today we are going to do the book Dumbo and we will see how it goes. 
    Teaching can have its fun days but it is also really difficult especially with my homeroom class or my first rotation. They are rowdy and awful little hell raisers who drive me crazy, cause trouble and get into fights. I am hoping that the change of SPE will give me an opportunity to better engage them and get them to be better for me. I am trying to get them to talk spontaneously and to get them to further understand the English language. Even though at times it can be difficult I love teaching the kids and hope to be able to work things out for the best. I have 3 more days of teaching this week and once I’ve made it through the week I am going on a weekend adventure to Shanghai. It should be fun and I can’t wait to explore more of China. I hope to continue improving in my teaching and to continue on adventures. We go to Beijing and get to experience that part of China in a couple of weeks. I’m super excited and hope that everything I see and do here in China is worth it. I hope I get to have more good experiences and to make an impact in these kids lives. I hope all is going well at home and hope to grow as I continue on this journey.

part 3 hangzhou.

Part 3-Hangzhou
The next morning we slept in until around 10 because we were all so exhausted from the day. After we woke up we got ready for the day and then headed out in search of food. We stopped by the French bakery to get something for breakfast and got some much needed sustenance. After we were done with breakfast we walked around the lake a little bit and then decided to head over to Grandma’s to see if we could get in. We got our number and then wandered around the lake for a little while. We went back to check in but there were still about 80 tables ahead of us, so we decided to wander a little further and came back in another hour or so. By the time we came back our number had passed but they were kind enough to let us in. We spent a good half hour or so just looking over the menu and trying to decide what sounded good.  So much sounded good so we ended up getting a ton of food to split between the five of us. It was amazing how it worked out, we got so much food to share and with the prices it ended up being only about $5 U.S. a person. Which is pretty cheap given how much we all got but kind of expensive for China.
After we ordered our food we talked and waited. They started to bring us our food rather quickly and once we got it we split it amongst ourselves and dug in. The food was amazing, especially the sweet pork which is something like the orange chicken we have in the states. The potatoes we got were amazing, and we also got something called organic cauliflower which doesn’t sound super appetizing but it was amazing. The food kept coming in sort of a course like manner so we continued on eating. After we were finished we paid for our food and continued on our adventure. We did what we had been doing for much of our time in Hangzhou and continued wandering around the lake and enjoying the beauty. We thought of going on a boat ride but it just didn’t happen.
    While we were there they were having a culture festival so we saw some African dancing and just enjoyed ourselves. We headed over to the silk market to see what we could see but we weren’t there long and most of the stores were starting to close down. So we hopped on a bus and left after a little while and decided we would come back the next day to look a little more and make some purchases. After we got back we wandered around the lake for awhile and then some of our group decided they wanted Haagen Daaz ice cream, so we stopped there so they could get their ice cream then continued on our way. We stopped a couple of times to look at stores and just enjoy the overall beauty. We found some place to sit down for a minute and just stare out at the lake and enjoy it. After a short stop we continued our walk around the lake. After we had  been walking for awhile we decided it was starting to get a little late so we turned back and headed back toward our hostel. Once we got back we got ready for bed and called it a night.
The next morning we got up and packed up as this was going to be our last day in Hangzhou. We decided that for our last morning we would go to the café in our hostel and have breakfast there. I was able to have a Spanish omelet, fruit, and some bread with butter. The butter was something I was very excited about since it’s expensive and hard to come by here in China. After we finished our breakfast we went back to our room and finished packing up. We looked around for a bit longer and tried to go to grandma’s one last time before we left but we missed our table and didn’t want to wait the extra time so we decided against it. Once we were done there we hopped on a bus to the silk market and spent a couple of hours looking around and buying those things that we wanted. As we were about to leave the silk market we met a guy who was in China for a couple of months to teach English from Hamburg, Germany. We talked to him for awhile and learned of the fabric market in Shanghai where we could have clothing tailored.  After we had talked for awhile we had to go but we got his e-mail address and got a picture with him before we headed off. Once we got back to the area around the lake we decided we wanted to get lunch at the French bakery and then go on a boat ride before we headed to the train station to head back to Changzhou. We went to the French bakery and were getting some food when just outside one of the other groups from our school passed us by. So we had them stop and talk to us for a minute and Lorilei who was a part of the other group attacked me. We sent them off to check into their hostel while we finished purchasing our lunch. Once we were done purchasing our food we headed to their hostel which was the hostel we had just checked out of. They finished checking in and then we went back to their room. We decided against a boat ride and instead ate our lunch while we talked to them of the adventures each of our groups had on the ten day. We talked for an hour or so then headed out.
Once we left the hostel we made one last stop at the French bakery before we headed out so that we could get some treats for our train ride back. After that we headed towards Grandma’s and Burger King. We stopped by Burger King for one last Ice cream cone and then hailed a couple of taxis to take us to the train station. We had to split up as usual to get to the train station because there are five of us. We eventually got taxis and headed over to the train station. Once we got there we fought our way in and eventually found the other half of our group. We sat down for awhile to wait for our train. After waiting for awhile we lined up and headed over to our platform to catch our train. We got on our train and headed home.  After awhile on the train we discovered that our friends from the train ride to Hangzhou Nemo and his girlfriend were on the same train and in the same car as us. After awhile 3 of us ended up sitting in the seating around a table with them and they made sure that we were able to stay with them the whole time and that the others who’s seats we were in were willing to trade for our seats. We talked for awhile and we played a card game on and off where you flip over cards and try to make 21 any way you can with the cards using addition, multiplication, subtraction, and division. When you can do this you slap the cards and show everyone how you can make 21 and if it’s correct you get the cards. Whoever has the most cards at the end of the game wins. We took a break for a little while after playing and got pictures with them as when we had arrived in Hangzhou they got pictures with us but we never got pictures with them. After our break we continued playing various card games but the favorite was this unique version of 21. Eventually we arrived at our station so we hugged them and bid them farewell.
After we got off the train and to the front of the station we had to split up yet again as it was about 1:30 in the morning and a taxi was the only way to get back to the school. So we got a couple of taxis and eventually made it back to the school. We bid everyone good night and headed back to our rooms. For the last few days of our vacation we slept in, went to the night market for food at night, got in contact with our families, and watched a few movies. The movies included things such as big trouble, in little china. The greatest bad movie possibly of all time that gave me a good laugh. Also, I finally saw Sherlock Holmes which is an amazing movie as well. So ended the adventure that was my 10 day vacation and then for the past week it’s just been back to the doldrums of everyday life and teaching the kids English.

part 2 the train ride and lost in hangzhou.

Part 2- The train ride & Lost in Hangzhou

   After our long wait we headed for our train to Hangzhou, only to find that the tickets we had purchased were standing room only. We were stuck in a crowded train car standing for the next 8 hours. We originally had to split up into two cars. Madelynn, Nick, and I ended up in one car. Madelynn very aptly stated… “Well this sucks”, while Nick the eternal optimist stated “Every little thing will be alright”. To which Madelynn looked at him like he was insane. To distract us Nick decided to tell us some riddles, which kept us somewhat distracted for the better part of 2 hours. After which Katelin and Zac ended up joining us in the car we were in. After awhile we pushed our way into the actual car rather than the hallway of that car. Once we hit Shanghai things got quite a bit better as a large amount of the people got of the train and we were able to sit down. On the train right Katelin had made friends with a couple who were also going to Hangzhou and once we got to Hangzhou they helped us to purchase our train tickets back to Changzhou.

          Believe it or not the train ride was only the beginning of our adventure. After we had our tickets home we decided to head towards our hostel. We didn’t quite know how to get there so we started following the directions we had written down and searching for a bus. We kept going and never seemed to find a bus. We asked a few various people how to get there and they pointed us in the direction of a taxi. We politely declined and said we would just walk. After walking for awhile we asked again at a gas station. The man showed the sign for timeout and went into the station and got us a map. He showed us on the map where we were and where we were going which was a good long distance away. He gave us the map to keep and after we left the gas station we decided to get a taxi. There were five of us and only four could fit in a taxi so we wound up getting two taxis. We circled a spot on the map and the first group showed it to the taxi driver while the second which consisted of Nick and myself kept the map. Not that the map did us much good though as it was all in Chinese.

          We hopped into our taxi and showed the driver where we would like to go. He seemed a little confused for a moment but then he was off. He stopped once asking us if this was the correct location, we politely told him we didn’t know. After which he pulled up his taxi’s GPS and drew some characters to have it show him where to go. The second time he stopped, he got out and talked to the people around asking if they were expecting us. They seemed very confused but based on the surroundings we knew it was the right place. We paid the taxi driver and he left and we headed off to seek out our hostel. Before our group had divided we had agreed if we couldn’t find each other when we got there to meet at a restaurant called Grandma’s. Nick and I eventually found a map on which I saw the west lake museum which I knew was somewhere close to our hostel. We headed that way but it was to no avail, we couldn’t find anything out. We headed back to the map and tried to seek out the tourist info booth but never find it. After we had searched for awhile Nick had an idea. He asked me if my kindle got wifi to which I replied yes. At which point we headed to a hotel and asked if we could use their wifi for a few minutes to find the address of our hostel. We searched for a few minutes and then found the address to our hostel. After writing it down we headed out again. We walked up and down the street we knew it was on a couple of times but didn’t have much luck. We did however become very familiar with that stretch of sidewalk. Eventually we found a tourist info booth and asked if they knew where this address was. We were pointed in the right direction and kept asking at every booth we found until we were directed to our hostel.

          Once we made it to our hostel the receptionist asked for the name for the reservation, at which point Nick gave his name. The receptionist told us that the rest of our group had already been there 2 girls and  a boy. We were glad to hear that our friends had made it there. She said they had left about a half an hour ago for Grandma’s and said that they were probably still waiting as Grandma’s was a very busy restaurant. After showing us to our room, she directed us to the restaurant and we were off. On the way we saw the French bakery which one of our groups from Changzhou who had previously been to Hangzhou had mentioned to us, which I pointed out to Nick. After which we did a double take as we realized the rest of our group was inside and we had found them. We were excited to be back together as a group again. They informed us that they had just given up on Grandma’s because it was so ridiculously busy. We headed into the French bakery and picked out a few items to eat as we hadn’t had anything all day and by this time it was around 1 or 2 in the afternoon.

          After we had picked out our food we headed back to the hostel to put away all of our stuff and to enjoy our spoils outside on the patio at our hostel. We enjoyed all of the food we had chosen. After we were done eating we grabbed what we thought we would need and headed out to explore Hangzhou. We walked around the lake a bit and then headed over to Grandma’s to attempt to eat there. After we had gotten our number we discovered burger king and really cheap ice cream. So we got some ice cream and spent some time at burger king. While there we checked a couple of times at Grandma’s to see if our number had come up. However, after a couple of hours we gave up and most of us got food at burger king. On the way back we stopped at the bakery so Katelin could grab a bite to eat. Afterwards we went back to the hostel and got ready for the night. Because of a long day with a virtually sleepless night we all passed out by 9.

Vacation all I ever wanted, Vacation have to get away!

10 day vacation: Part 1-Nanjing

The adventure continues. I’ve had the last week and a half off of teaching for the Chinese national independence week and went on quite the adventure. It all started Friday afternoon when I and the other four people in my group hopped a train to Nanjing. It was quite the adventure. After about an hour long train ride we made it to Nanjing and hopped the subway to the zhonghuamen station which was supposed to be closest to our hostel. After getting off at this station we asked for help so that we could be sure we were following the right street. Once we found this street we set off walking on the sidewalk among several trees in search of our hostel. After a bit of a walk we crossed the street and found the industrial park that was the location of our hostel. After another couple of minutes we found the entrance and wandered until we found the location of our hostel. After checking in and dropping off our stuff we asked the front desk clerk about good places to eat and took his advice and set off in search of food. After awhile we were able to find the location he had described and get enough food to hold us. Afterwards we headed back to the hostel but on the way there at the zhonghua gate we happened to run into some impromptu karaoke. So we stopped and watched and listened for a minute then headed to the hostel and called it a night.

          After getting ready the next morning we talked to the clerk again, trying to get an idea of where we should go and what buses we should take to get there. We headed out into town and found some inexpensive and good street food for breakfast just before getting off the bus and heading up the purple mountain for the actual national holiday. The mountain was swarmed with people and we explored most of the mountain. We saw many things such as the mausoleum of dr. sun yat-sen one of the many celebrated Chinese people. We also saw an exhibit dedicated to this man entitled the man of the century. Afterwards we headed back down the mountain, stopping a moment to enjoy the soft grass, and the surrounding beauty, along with a bridge or two. When we made it back down the mountain we headed in a different direction and saw the pagoda, a beautiful one, 9 stories tall. Once we were done there we contemplated food but the food was so expensive on the mountain we headed back down and hit up the location we had visited the night before.

          Still in Nanjing the next day we saw some palace ruins and explored the area a bit. After which we attempted to go to the museum which is a museum dedicated to the Japanese invasion that was a sort of Chinese holocaust but the line was so long and it was raining that we decided we could wait a day and so we headed over to a lake to see what we could see. Once we got to the lake we decided we were hungry so we headed the other direction and found a mall where we could get some food for strength. We took awhile deciding but eventually all had some food in our systems. Once we were satisfied we headed over to the lake to explore and see what we could see. We wandered around the lake for awhile just to see what the area had to offer. We explored some of the trails and the architecture and just goofed off a bit. After awhile it began to get dark so we explored just a little bit more and then headed out. By the time we were done we were starving so we headed back to the same place we had been the previous two nights and gorged on food before heading back the direction of our hostel. On the way back we explored a little and then we headed to the hostel and called it a night.

          As this was our last night in Nanjing and we had a late night train we decided to sleep in. So we slept in at our hostel until around 10:30 then we got up and got ready for the day. We packed up all of our stuff and check out of our hostel. After we had checked out with all of our possessions on our back we headed out to get some breakfast/lunch. We went to some of the street vendors and got our food then headed over to the subway. We hopped on the subway and headed over to the museum that we hadn’t made it into before. We got in line then waited a couple of minutes and finally made it inside. We walked through the museum seeing all that we could see and taking in everything. There was so much to take in, but the museum didn’t seem as somber as we thought it should feel. It felt like they were trying to give you as much information as possible. Almost everything that was displayed had a paragraph with it and they didn’t really let anything speak for itself. The museum was huge and went on forever so after about 2 1/2 to 3 hours we finally made it out of the museum. Once we were done at the museum we gave ourselves a break from lugging everything around. We headed over to the mall in our area we had passed several times called aqua city and we got food from subway and sat down to give ourselves some time to rest. After we finished our subway we got some ice cream(which was a common theme and happened several times on our vacation) most of us from dairy queen, but I settled for the cheap stuff from McDonald’s. After we were done with our ice cream and felt well rested after being able to put our stuff down we headed over to the zhonghua gate. As we were headed in we saw several people dancing as happens oftentimes at night in various locations around china. These people were doing a sort of line dance so we watched for awhile and a couple of our group joined in. We let them have their fun for about a half an hour or so then we paid the entrance fee and headed onto the zhonghua gate. We explored the gate for a bit and reveled in all that we could see. After a little while on the gate we ran into some other people from the states and spent awhile talking to them about China, etc… Once we were done we had only a few more minutes so we headed the other direction on the gate and explored for a little while longer then we took the subway to the train station and found our spots. After which we took turns exploring a little bit and getting food from the kfc in the train station and waiting for our train to leave. Eventually it came time to board our train so we headed over to board. …. To be continued in part 2.