Only in China...

This says so much doesn't it?

Life in China...So far.

Alright so it's been nearly two months since I've arrived in China. How time flies - it's truly amazing.

February was a month of firsts:

• Flying over international waters and getting my passport stamped for REAL (Cancun Mexico is not "real" traveling. sorry.)
• Being in a country where I actually can't figure out the language
• Being in a country with a 12 hour difference with home
• Jet Lag
• Eating certain animal body parts that aren't ever on a Canadian menu
• KTV (chinglish for Karaoke)
• Using Chinese banks and ATMs, using Chinese money and convincing myself that it's NOT monopoly play money
• Chinese transportation systems
• Working for a mostly Chinese company
• Teaching, in general
• Teaching within the Chinese School System - and in a Chinese school
• Shopping, bargaining in Chinese
• Being long away from loved ones
• Blogging!

I can't say that life here has had too many surprises. I don't know if it was the large amount of research that I did beforehand, or maybe it's just my general carefree attitude that has made the experience easier than anticipated. And to be honest, I don't know if that is a good or bad thing. One of the reasons for coming to China was to expose myself to a different world - its customs, foods, people, habits, etc.

I blame Toronto for warming me up to the experience (i.e.: china town!), and for the media in north America for creating a skewed image of this country that I thought was going to be more "shocking". Of course, this makes me blame myself for being yet another Westerner who thought she could run off to this developing country and have it fascinate her with its crazy foods and crazier people. So far the disappointment lies in the fact that China has proven itself much more similar to Canada than anticipated.

Of course, I am in Shanghai and as a cosmopolitan city; it may not be as provincial in terms of reflecting the same virtues, attitudes, and interests as the rest of China. Hm. I must get out of this city soon and explore the rest of China!

Anyways, let’s get into the teaching as so many have been asking me about it.
Please check out this website: http://www.middlekingdomlife.com/guide/chinese-education-system-students-english-teacher.htm. If offers a great overview of the Chinese school and education system.

I teach primary kids, some as young as 5 and have found that I need to be as entertaining as educational in my classes to keep their attention – which in turn can be very tiring. Conversely, as the only foreign “oral” teacher here I have more freedom in what I can teach – as long as I can stick to broad themes I am good to go. I teach them vocabulary and useful lingo they can use in their daily lives, with a focus on speaking and listening. There is nothing better than a student being able to practice their English in front of family as a great motivation to learn English.

Anyhow, Discipline has not been a MAJOR issue yet so I’m glad I haven’t had to take out my stink eye. I work on a points system which usually keeps them in tow, or least gets them quiet when I need to bring back some focus to the main subject when they find something too exciting. That and stickers are worth their weight in gold ;-)

School life is also simmered down, although the students are definitely more comfortable around me and go through everything on my desk and board. I’ve had to start locking the doors during class time because the odd student will try and come in to say hello in the middle of a class, which I do not appreciate at all. There is nothing like having a whole class lose focus when someone barges into a class. It’s also frustrating more so because they would NEVER do this to one of their Chinese teachers so I try and demand the same respect from them as I would if I were a Chinese teacher, although I don’t reprimand if they give me a wrong answer. It’s a difficult balance.

My co-workers at school are incredibly friendly and constantly ask me out which I’ve come to accept only half the time (I’m a strong believer in keeping my work life separate from my social life) and they always try and show me a good time which I appreciate. I do love having a life outside school though and try and socialize with the other English teachers as much as I can, in which case I am out in Shanghai enjoying the big city life there.

The weather has warmed up considerably since I arrived (it has been the wettest spring here in many many years, or so I’ve been told) and ideas of travelling are popping up left and right in my mind. I’m finding it harder and harder to stay in for more than a few hours and the pressure of being in this new country sends me out to explore whenever I have a moment. I’ve always been a person who has tried to do the most with her time but I feel as though it is slowly developing into a neurosis and I often feel guilty if I don’t do enough with my free time. This is something that I need to relax on and force myself to enjoy the quiet moments here in China.


Well, it looks like it’s time for me to log off. More on this later.

xx

Blossoms in Shanghai

Shanghai is home to some of the most beautiful flowers. Here are a few that I've been able to capture so far.

magnolia. amazing.
plum blossoms
pink plum blossoms

You know you're in China when...

• You may have shorter legs but are still walking ten times faster than the rest of the population
• Toilet paper costs more than a bowl of noodles.
• You bargain for a taxi, and then discover you just bargained for a ride on a motorcycle (don’t assume the taxi he’s standing next to is actually his!).
• Umbrellas are used for protection from sun and rain, as well as to enforce personal space.
• “No Smoking” might more appropriately read “Please Smoke Here”.
• He who persists longer wins.
• Your mattress rivals Home Depot’s lumberyard.
• People eagerly try to make you feel comfortable while practicing their textbook English.
• You leave the insanity of the main street and turn down an alley, enter a world of peace, tranquility, laughter, and food.
• You still understand nothing.
• You have experienced, used, and actually meant the phrase “It’s all Chinese to me.”
• All modes of transportation beget spiritual behavior (prayer, more prayer).
• Try as we might to avoid Western creature comforts, you find yourself munching on Oreos andLays Chips more than you'd like to admit.
• You can judge the popularity of the karaoke music videos (played on almost all long-distance buses, along with C-rated Kung Fu movies) by the number of schoolgirls and elderly women singing along.
• You now understand why Singapore implemented a “no spitting” rule.
• Cell phones work absolutely everywhere.
• You've heard it so many times, that you actually begin to believe “Hellooooo” might be a word in Mandarin.
• English menus never fail to entertain. A few of my favorites: “strange tasting pork”, “fish flavored meat”, “questionable meat”, ham (may mean hotdog), “Red Ox” (Red Bull), and “Mixed vegetables” always seems to mean bok choy mixed with…. more bok choy.
• Even after two months, you still understand nothing (Or you just think you understand things, which gets you into even more trouble). "Wo Ting Bu Dong" (I don't understand) is your most used phrase.
• You yourself start staring and pointing at foreigners.

Let there be light!

I woke up today to the most beautiful sunshiney day. I think spring has finally made it's way here...

I'm in love!

Women's Day in Qingpu

Happy International Women's Day! Some of my students brought me flowers in celebration of this Holiday. How sweet!

Revolution Propaganda Posters - The Mao Cult

"Everything that Mao Zedong says is the truth; every statement he utters is worth 10,000 sentences."

I have been looking for some propaganda posters since I arrived. You can find everything with Chairman Mao's face here but my luck with posters has been a little less than lucky -until I saw these in Old Shanghai.

I've always been fascinated with Cult Personalities, whether it was with Hitler, Stalin, Mao, or even now with Obama. It's still truly amazes me to see a society completely envelope it's ideals, hopes, and aspirations into one god-like being. Many of whom 'worship' them in a manner that is almost on a religious level. During the peak of these regimes, these leaders are presented as almost infallible. Their portraits hung in homes and public buildings, and often with artists and poets legally required to produce only works that glorified them.

Chairman Mao (Mao Zedong), despite his many faults and now ill-repute, is still one of those god-like, infallible creatures here in China. My kids still wear pins with his face on them, my co-workers at school still have Mao charms hanging from their rear-view mirror, and everyone still praises his legacy.

Anyways, I was glad to have found these. They definitely aren't originals (although sold as...) but I will still treasure them as cultural artefacts nonetheless.

From a design perspective I think they are genius. I love the two-tone, simple graphics with minimal use of text. I love the line work and blocks of colour (good use of positive and negative space!) and they truly do reflect the current ideologies of the era, which can only appreciate with time.

for more info on these posters and many others: http://www.iisg.nl/landsberger/

xox

Old Shanghai, aka "Old Town"

I don't know whether I should love, or really hate Old Town.

I went last weekend because I heard that it was a "must-do" in Shanghai and thought, why not? Seeing as the City was tearing down everything old to replace it with anything new, I really wanted to see something authentic before it would be torn down. Oh, and heard the shopping was interesting too.

The Old Chinese City was the first part of Shanghai to be settled in. During the colonial era when Westerners had their own concessions, (The French concession, for example) it was the main Chinese district where foreigners almost never ventured.

Unfortunately, it's more frequented by foreigners these days and Nanshi District; with its narrow winding streets and old houses, is apparently still one of the least explored areas in town. I visited the Old Town Bazaar with all its tourist attractions, hoping to get from it a sense of traditional life around the old Chinese streets. Entire sections of the district are being torn down and replaced with new developments as quickly as this is being written, so I really wanted to take advantage of it still being around and took a quick look see.

Upon first seeing the place I really liked how ‘Chinese’ looking it was. And don't get me wrong, Shanghai is so Chinese, but sometimes I wonder about its authenticity; new and old are almost indistinguishable. Even Grand View Gardens, which I really loved, was only 20 years old. Chinese history (cultural as well as architectural) goes back thousands of years but there seems to be no remnants of it other than a few leftover bad habits.

Unfortunately, the more time I spent there the more it felt fake and commercial. Of course I wasn’t expecting anything that was outstanding but maybe something with more character. I was mesmerized by the lights and the buildings and the crowds, but soon those lights looked tacky, the buildings looked generic, and the crowds suffocating.

I looked to my travel book for advice and soon found myself following one of the many tours within its pages. An hour later I was still running circles and the sites it brought me to were just as generic as the last, so I stuffed the book back into my purse and just followed my gut. I can see how a travel book may be of some help to others but I would just rather be plunked somewhere and discover it myself instead of being told how to enjoy it. I was soon enchanted by all of the small streets that slowly exposed themselves to me.

The real streets of Shanghai showed me how the other half of the city lives. Buildings with 4 foot by 2 foot doorways, no plumbing whatsoever, communal kitchens, clothing hanging from any and every possible line. The colours are brighter, the smells stronger, and the very best part: it’s so so quiet. There are moments where I have to remind myself that I am in a city of over 20 million because I find myself in these little quiet nooks where there seems to be an invisible glass bubble built around the neighbourhood. Sound is sometimes a friend AND a foe here and it’s nice to know that there is often a quick escape by just turning down a single street.

Here are a few pictures from Old Town:

One of the first streets I saw in Old Town.

Inside the Bazaar... ie: Chinese Disney Land.

The Bazaar by day.

Crazy Markets

Just outside the walls of the Bazaar... real Old Shanghai

A gorgeous old doorframe

Anyways, I'm still deciding whether I loved it or hated it. There are definately aspects that I loved more over others, especially the REAL streets of Shanghai. But the commerciality and generic fakeness of the Bazaar, once seen for more than 5 minutes, can loose it's shine very quickly.

Will add pictures of my finds later on.

xox

14 days and counting...

These are some flowers I received on my birthday, Feb 18th...

Yup. 2 weeks and they were STILL going strong. Makes me wonder about the food if flowers last this long. ick

WANTED: shengjian !

If you know where to get them, please bring me some. I can't find any in Qingpu and they are quite tasty.

http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Shengjian_mantou