I started observing classes today. So far I have observed 6 classes (between two different schools). The classes are a lot different then my TEFL course... but many of the basic principles still apply. Since these classes are all children.... we play a lot of games.....I think today is the first time I have seen dodgeball used to teach English... and played in a mall classroom, but it worked.
The other foreign teachers here are really nice. I am getting to pick up a lot of games from them..... while observing them for the next few days.
For one of the classes I observed today we got to take a field trip to the supermarket below the school ( I was lucky, field trips don't happen often). It was a lot of fun.... and actually helped me out a good bit, since almost everything is completely labeled in Chinese and we wanted to get students to say thing English word for things we were able to pick up random shit and bit like.... whats this? But damn did we cause a scene.... the fact that I still have not seen another foreigner walking the street and I get stared at everywhere anyway.... when two foreigners walk in a super market with 13 Chinese kids.... people really look and some freak out.. and some start asking you (or the kids) questions. Luckily we also had two Chinese teacher with us and Adam ( the other teacher) can speak Chinese pretty well. The little trip was a lot of fun. One of the teachers took a bunch of pictures..... I will see if I can get them from her.
Thursday, February 25, 2010
Tuesday, February 23, 2010
China is CRAZY!!!
The taxi ride to the hotel in the middle of the night was pretty easy.. not many cars out and no one on the street. The next morning was a completely different story though!
The first thing I saw when I left the hotel was a shit ton of cars and people.... and in the middle of the cars a man walking a donkey that was pulling a cart through the street with all the cars! I had to work really hard to not bust out laughing.
The traffic was very hectic and people just kinda cross the street anywhere and stand in the middle letting cars move around them. I watched a few people get off one of the city buses..... it was actually pretty impressive... the bus never came to a full stop it just slowed down and opened the door... and two girls jumped off.
The bus ride to Songyuan wasn't to bad, about 2.5 hours. Rolland made sure he bought us tickets for seats at the bus station. A little bit outside of the station, the bus stopped and a bunch of people packed in the anywhere there was space (though there were no seats at this point). Someone passed out a few little stools but some people still had to stand...... tickets are cheaper outside of the station :)
The traffic in Songyuan is much calmer. I have not gotten to see much of the city yet, but tomorrow I will see more. I am in my apt now and had dinner with my boss (who is very nice). I will do a whole post on my apt later.... with a video!
The first thing I saw when I left the hotel was a shit ton of cars and people.... and in the middle of the cars a man walking a donkey that was pulling a cart through the street with all the cars! I had to work really hard to not bust out laughing.
The traffic was very hectic and people just kinda cross the street anywhere and stand in the middle letting cars move around them. I watched a few people get off one of the city buses..... it was actually pretty impressive... the bus never came to a full stop it just slowed down and opened the door... and two girls jumped off.
The bus ride to Songyuan wasn't to bad, about 2.5 hours. Rolland made sure he bought us tickets for seats at the bus station. A little bit outside of the station, the bus stopped and a bunch of people packed in the anywhere there was space (though there were no seats at this point). Someone passed out a few little stools but some people still had to stand...... tickets are cheaper outside of the station :)
The traffic in Songyuan is much calmer. I have not gotten to see much of the city yet, but tomorrow I will see more. I am in my apt now and had dinner with my boss (who is very nice). I will do a whole post on my apt later.... with a video!
Flights and airports
I actually didn't go over Alaska this time! Instead we went pretty much strait north from NY.... over a Canada, some of Greenland, probably pretty close to the north pole, and then down through Russia, Mongolia, and then through China till Shanghai. I didn't really get to much of a chance to look out the window during this flight and the few times I did... I couldn't really see much, but it was still cool look at the flight progress thing and see how the screen tried to represent going over the north pole on a flat map :)
Switching to a domestic flight in Shanghai was interesting.... I had to basically go get my ticket from the airlines counter and check my baggage... similar to in the US.... except that it seems in China a line means... you go wherever you have enough room to squeeze in. So don't leave any room around you or between you and the person in front of you... or someone else will jump right in there. I managed to block a guy from getting in front of me all the way to the counter... then when I moved a little to one side to put my bag on their thing for check bags (not sure what you all that).... he rushed the counter and tried to hand his ticket information to the lady first. I still won (yay for long arms).
During my delay in Shanghai... I did a bit of wondering around the airport.... and totally walked past a Chinese guy watching porn on his laptop....hehe. He closed it pretty quickly as I walked by though. I found a couple of American business men that were headed to Changchun for something... they finding out all the information on the delay and making calls to try to find other flights.. but didn't manage to. I was able to get the information on the delay from them and borrow a cell phone to call Rolland and tell him about the delay (just incase the txt message I sent over skype didn't work). The two business men were not very interesting in talking to me though.... so I left them alone.
For the majority of the delay I spent my time hanging out with a bunch of German enganeers...... if anyone can spot a group of engineers... its me :) They were headed to Changchun because it has the biggest car factory in China.... its not BMW.. but another German car company... the BMW plant is in another city ... I don't remember the name. They were pretty cool and had been to Changchun a few time.
The flight to Changchun was pretty quick (once we got on it) ... I slept for a bit of it and talked to the Chinese couple next to me for the rest of the time. They were very nice.. but obviously very new to flying. I helped them figure out how to use the seat belt and stuff like lean back the seats. They live in Changchun and had just gone to Shanghai for vacation.
Usually when getting off a plane... I don't bother putting on a jacket even if it is cold outside.. because you are just going strait into a terminal.... so why bother. Well this plane didn't land at a terminal.... it landed in what seemed like the middle of no where by the runways.. but there were other planes parked there and steps. Sadly I did not realize this fact. Luckily, while waiting to get off the plane one of the German guys yelled to me from farther back in the plane to put on a jacket and told me we weren't at the terminal. We all got off the plane.. packed into a few buses and off to the terminal.
Baggage claim was a bitch.... everyone grabs these carts and then rushes the baggage claim and packs in as tight as possibly... pushing a shoving to try to get to the front. I was able to get decently close to the front... without completely taking anyone out with my bookbag. But when I saw my bag coming I wasn't able to get close enough to grab it... so I started tapping a guy on the shoulder and pointing at my bag. He got the idea and attempted to grab it.... though it seems I packed my bag a bit to heavy for your average Chinese guy. But between him and the guy next to him they were able to get the bag off the belt and to me. I shoved my way through the crowd behind me and headed to find Rolland. (one very nice thing with the Chinese airport though... they check the sticker on your bag to make sure it matches the bag claim sticker on your ticket as you leave the baggage claim)
Then Rolland and his father picked me up outside of baggage claim. I felt kinda bad.. because they wanted to help me with my bags.. which was nice... but when getting in the taxi Rolland's dad tried to put my bag in the trunk but failed... so I put it in there.
Switching to a domestic flight in Shanghai was interesting.... I had to basically go get my ticket from the airlines counter and check my baggage... similar to in the US.... except that it seems in China a line means... you go wherever you have enough room to squeeze in. So don't leave any room around you or between you and the person in front of you... or someone else will jump right in there. I managed to block a guy from getting in front of me all the way to the counter... then when I moved a little to one side to put my bag on their thing for check bags (not sure what you all that).... he rushed the counter and tried to hand his ticket information to the lady first. I still won (yay for long arms).
During my delay in Shanghai... I did a bit of wondering around the airport.... and totally walked past a Chinese guy watching porn on his laptop....hehe. He closed it pretty quickly as I walked by though. I found a couple of American business men that were headed to Changchun for something... they finding out all the information on the delay and making calls to try to find other flights.. but didn't manage to. I was able to get the information on the delay from them and borrow a cell phone to call Rolland and tell him about the delay (just incase the txt message I sent over skype didn't work). The two business men were not very interesting in talking to me though.... so I left them alone.
For the majority of the delay I spent my time hanging out with a bunch of German enganeers...... if anyone can spot a group of engineers... its me :) They were headed to Changchun because it has the biggest car factory in China.... its not BMW.. but another German car company... the BMW plant is in another city ... I don't remember the name. They were pretty cool and had been to Changchun a few time.
The flight to Changchun was pretty quick (once we got on it) ... I slept for a bit of it and talked to the Chinese couple next to me for the rest of the time. They were very nice.. but obviously very new to flying. I helped them figure out how to use the seat belt and stuff like lean back the seats. They live in Changchun and had just gone to Shanghai for vacation.
Usually when getting off a plane... I don't bother putting on a jacket even if it is cold outside.. because you are just going strait into a terminal.... so why bother. Well this plane didn't land at a terminal.... it landed in what seemed like the middle of no where by the runways.. but there were other planes parked there and steps. Sadly I did not realize this fact. Luckily, while waiting to get off the plane one of the German guys yelled to me from farther back in the plane to put on a jacket and told me we weren't at the terminal. We all got off the plane.. packed into a few buses and off to the terminal.
Baggage claim was a bitch.... everyone grabs these carts and then rushes the baggage claim and packs in as tight as possibly... pushing a shoving to try to get to the front. I was able to get decently close to the front... without completely taking anyone out with my bookbag. But when I saw my bag coming I wasn't able to get close enough to grab it... so I started tapping a guy on the shoulder and pointing at my bag. He got the idea and attempted to grab it.... though it seems I packed my bag a bit to heavy for your average Chinese guy. But between him and the guy next to him they were able to get the bag off the belt and to me. I shoved my way through the crowd behind me and headed to find Rolland. (one very nice thing with the Chinese airport though... they check the sticker on your bag to make sure it matches the bag claim sticker on your ticket as you leave the baggage claim)
Then Rolland and his father picked me up outside of baggage claim. I felt kinda bad.. because they wanted to help me with my bags.. which was nice... but when getting in the taxi Rolland's dad tried to put my bag in the trunk but failed... so I put it in there.
Monday, February 22, 2010
I am in China!
That was a very long trip. Out of all the airlines I have tried recently... I think I like Korean Air the most. I did like the Contenental served us icecream today... but... still over all... the Korean one was better.
I am not in Songyuan yet, I am currently in a hotel in Changchun. My flight from Shanghai to Changchun got delayed by like 4 hours... so I just got here... at like 1 in the morning. Rolland (the HR guy from the school) got me a hotel room, and he is staying with his family.
The hotel is pretty cool.... but I think it might be the Chinese version of a love hotel... but there is actually someone at the front desk. The name of the hotel is DNA 'TaiGe Business hotel'. There is a complementary condom by the bed.... it has no windows.... and all and all it just gives me that love hotel vibe.... but its still a pretty nice ro0m.
I will be catching a bus to Songyuan tomorrow morning, and then possibly going to dinner with the headmaster. Thursday I will see the schools and a few other things around Songyuan (get stuff like a cell phone and things).
ok.. going to bed now.. i am really tired.....
I am not in Songyuan yet, I am currently in a hotel in Changchun. My flight from Shanghai to Changchun got delayed by like 4 hours... so I just got here... at like 1 in the morning. Rolland (the HR guy from the school) got me a hotel room, and he is staying with his family.
The hotel is pretty cool.... but I think it might be the Chinese version of a love hotel... but there is actually someone at the front desk. The name of the hotel is DNA 'TaiGe Business hotel'. There is a complementary condom by the bed.... it has no windows.... and all and all it just gives me that love hotel vibe.... but its still a pretty nice ro0m.
I will be catching a bus to Songyuan tomorrow morning, and then possibly going to dinner with the headmaster. Thursday I will see the schools and a few other things around Songyuan (get stuff like a cell phone and things).
ok.. going to bed now.. i am really tired.....
Sunday, February 7, 2010
Last night in Thailand
I leave for the airport in a little less then 3 hours now....... its sad... I will definitely have to come back and visit at some point... if not teach here. I have made some good friends here (foreigner and locals). Now its time for a couple weeks with old friends.... and then on to the next adventure..... China!
Quick recap of the past week after the course.
Wondered around the island with my hoops for a few days.. randomly getting people to hoop :) Got to see some of the beaches on the island and some of the viewpoints (took some nice pictures). Went to Kata beach on Sunday with some locals and got to take really pretty sunset pictures... and a couple of videos of the trip on the motorbike... it was a lot of fun.
Veronica got a job at a hotel.... so she came back to Phuket on Monday, other people from the course have randomly beens showing back up for a day or two this week.
I went to Phang-nga for a bit this week. Its really pretty and has very odd shaped mountains all around it. Its a much quieter city then phuket....... quite enough that I debated renting a motorbike and learning how to drive one.... but didn't.
Me, Veronica, and Adriaan have spent the last few nights going to bars and hanging out by the pool with the hotel staff. We ended up going to Putong with a few of the hotel staff last night and had a good night of dancing. So we have had a few late nights recently.... and I decided to get up nice and early this morning .... so that I will hopefully sleep on the plane.
When reading back over this... it doesn't sound like I did that much this week... .but I definitely feel like I did.. and had a lot of fun in the process. I am going to miss Thailand.. but I know I will come back and visit when I can.
Tuesday, February 2, 2010
Small Thai Girl v.s. Snake!
Today when I walked into the hotel O(guy that works at the hotel) called me over to the walkway by the rooms on the first floor. Him and Gaatee (daytime receptionist) were freaking out about a snake on the other side of the little walkway wall. It just kinda sat there by the wall for awhile and we looked at it talking about it (as best we could). Then Gaatee grabbed a broom and went to town on the thing. I think she dazed it pretty good or something… because it moved a little after that… but not much. She beat the thing probably a good ten times or so… it was damn funny to watch. Then O grabbed a long PVC pipe and started to go to where she had beat the snake… then turned around and handed the pipe to me. I went poked at the snake a bit (still from the safety of the other side of the wall) and it was pretty light knocks on the top of the head just to see if it would move or anything.
That’s when the hotel owner showed up and looked at the pretty beat up snake for a moment and then took the PVC pipe from me and make the snakes head into a nice splat on the cement. He then used the pipe to try to throw the very dead snake over the outer wall... sadly dead snakes don’t fly very well. It ended up going sideways and landing as decoration in a tree. Without a head it started to move a bunch and fell out of the tree. We played around for a few minutes each try to throw the squirming dead snake over the wall with the pipe before O finally jumped over and grabbed it by the tail end and threw it over successfully.
It was a fun little experience… I wish I would have started to talk to the hotel staff earlier in my stay here….
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