Here are a few thoughts on China from myself and some of the teachers:
1. Crossing the street is a lot like playing Frogger
2. The world is your toilet
3. If you're not Asian, you WILL have your picture taken, or, foreigners are more interesting than historical monuments
4. Brooms are made of a bunch of sticks tied together and latched onto a pole (you'd think they wouldn't be very effective...and you'd be right)
5. Chinese people are very helpful with giving directions...but sometimes you end up in the wrong spot...or on the wrong bus
We love how different it is here and how funny some of the differences are!
Monday, May 6, 2013
Saturday, April 27, 2013
Lovable Students
Although our ILP kids can be a pain in the neck, they are so gosh darn adorable. And they're smart too. Their English skills are coming right along. Here are some of my favorite things they've said:
(When I came in to give Soren a band-aid)
Student: Teacher Emily is a doctor!
(When entering a classroom)
Student: Hello boys and girls!
(When one of the teachers revealed a craft)
Henry: Teacher, so clever!
(On a very hot day, pantomiming a bow and arrow)
Sunny: Teacher, I want to shoot the sun.
That's all I can remember at the moment. But don't worry, more of these posts will follow when I have more.
(When I came in to give Soren a band-aid)
Student: Teacher Emily is a doctor!
(When entering a classroom)
Student: Hello boys and girls!
(When one of the teachers revealed a craft)
Henry: Teacher, so clever!
(On a very hot day, pantomiming a bow and arrow)
Sunny: Teacher, I want to shoot the sun.
That's all I can remember at the moment. But don't worry, more of these posts will follow when I have more.
Thursday, April 25, 2013
KTV
If you ever come to China, there's one thing you have to experience: KTV. It's Karaoke, but you and your group get your own private room to do it in. The KTV we went to only cost 15 kuai per person (about 2 American dollars) for 3 hours. Surprisingly, they had a wide selection of English music. We sang just about everything from Katy Perry to Bon Jovi to the Beach Boys. Some of my personal favorites were "Beat it" by Micheal J, "Mama Mia" by Abba, and "All Star" by Smash Mouth. Even though there were two microphones, we all sang just about every song.
Dave...you would love this.
Some of the songs we picked had the actual music video playing in the background. Others had weird filler videos during the music. The video during "Hey Jude" was of little girls horse back riding. The video during "Let it Be" showed random churches and buildings around the world. Other videos included people sitting against tree trunks and shots of Niagara falls. Those were really awesome.
It was so much fun, the only thing I'll do differently next time we go is bring/buy lots of water. Three straight hours of singing can really do a number on your throat.
Dave...you would love this.
Some of the songs we picked had the actual music video playing in the background. Others had weird filler videos during the music. The video during "Hey Jude" was of little girls horse back riding. The video during "Let it Be" showed random churches and buildings around the world. Other videos included people sitting against tree trunks and shots of Niagara falls. Those were really awesome.
It was so much fun, the only thing I'll do differently next time we go is bring/buy lots of water. Three straight hours of singing can really do a number on your throat.
Wednesday, April 24, 2013
Small victories
It's all about the little things here in China.
Today I hemmed my own pants (took about 2 hours...I'll never take a sewing machine for granted again), repaired my other pair of pants, and I ate a whole fish at the school cafeteria.
I just gave myself a high-five.
Today I hemmed my own pants (took about 2 hours...I'll never take a sewing machine for granted again), repaired my other pair of pants, and I ate a whole fish at the school cafeteria.
I just gave myself a high-five.
Monday, April 22, 2013
Making the most of our time
A lot of fun things about China are the daily adventures we take part in. Teaching, of course, is our main priority, but we have lots of time to do other things.
At the school:
This school is the bomb.com. They've arranged for us to be a part of so many things. On Mondays we have Chinese class where we've started to learn a little about this crazy language. Earlier today we had to get up in front of the class and have a mini conversation in Chinese. I got a little flustered, but Soren, Jenna, Maddie, and Heather totally rocked it.
On Tuesdays we meet with a "culture club." Basically, we get together with a group of Senior students and talk about differences between American and Chinese culture. We've talked about food, music, family, schooling, and other stuff like that. We also went out to Xuanwuhu park with a bunch of them for an afternoon of paddle-boating, picnicking, badminton, and Frisbee. It's really hard to get together with these kids because they are constantly going to class or studying.
On Thursdays we have Kung Fu class. It's awesome and I feel like Tigress from Kung Fu Panda, but I look like a moose trying to do water ballet. Soren picked up on it super quick. This past week was a challenge because the routine we learned involved a lot of squatting on one leg. So that one leg got super sore.
In Nanjing:
Typical weeknights are spent at the food court we call the smorgasbord. It has fried rice, chow mein, dumplings, Chinese BBQ, and a lot of other things we haven't tried yet. Soren and I love to go there to get Squid on a Stick. Our favorite Milk Tea place can also be found there. Mmmmmmm...milk tea.
Sometimes we like to go out and explore. This past Saturday night Soren and I stumbled upon a group of older people dancing in a bank parking lot. I guess the best way to describe it would be to say it was like an informal social dance gathering. Traditional type Chinese music would start to play, and they'd all grab a partner. I don't know what kind of dances they were doing, but Soren and I joined in and did some Cha Cha, Lindy, Night Club 2-step, and Tango. We want to find them again one of these days.
There are so many opportunities for us in this city. We're just trying to do everything we can before we have to go.
At the school:
This school is the bomb.com. They've arranged for us to be a part of so many things. On Mondays we have Chinese class where we've started to learn a little about this crazy language. Earlier today we had to get up in front of the class and have a mini conversation in Chinese. I got a little flustered, but Soren, Jenna, Maddie, and Heather totally rocked it.
On Tuesdays we meet with a "culture club." Basically, we get together with a group of Senior students and talk about differences between American and Chinese culture. We've talked about food, music, family, schooling, and other stuff like that. We also went out to Xuanwuhu park with a bunch of them for an afternoon of paddle-boating, picnicking, badminton, and Frisbee. It's really hard to get together with these kids because they are constantly going to class or studying.
 |
| Paddle-boating |
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| The culture club picnic |
On Thursdays we have Kung Fu class. It's awesome and I feel like Tigress from Kung Fu Panda, but I look like a moose trying to do water ballet. Soren picked up on it super quick. This past week was a challenge because the routine we learned involved a lot of squatting on one leg. So that one leg got super sore.
 |
| View of the school tower through the blossoming trees |
In Nanjing:
Typical weeknights are spent at the food court we call the smorgasbord. It has fried rice, chow mein, dumplings, Chinese BBQ, and a lot of other things we haven't tried yet. Soren and I love to go there to get Squid on a Stick. Our favorite Milk Tea place can also be found there. Mmmmmmm...milk tea.
Sometimes we like to go out and explore. This past Saturday night Soren and I stumbled upon a group of older people dancing in a bank parking lot. I guess the best way to describe it would be to say it was like an informal social dance gathering. Traditional type Chinese music would start to play, and they'd all grab a partner. I don't know what kind of dances they were doing, but Soren and I joined in and did some Cha Cha, Lindy, Night Club 2-step, and Tango. We want to find them again one of these days.
There are so many opportunities for us in this city. We're just trying to do everything we can before we have to go.
Saturday, April 20, 2013
Tuesday, April 16, 2013
Beijing Part 3: The Return of the ILP teachers
Saturday was completely devoted to the Great Wall of China. Although it was cool the first time I went, this trip was totally epic. We dragged ourselves out of bed at 6 am and boarded a bus bound for the Jinshanling section of the wall. Three hours later, we arrived.
In Beijing, you can buy all kinds of t-shirts that say "I climbed the Great Wall" on them. This had always perplexed me because I'd been to the Great Wall and there hadn't been a ton of climbing involved. There were a lot of stairs, but not enough to justify the term "climbed." When we caught our fist glimpse of Jinshanling, I began to understand.
It was a mountainous area and much of the wall there had not been restored. We all decided to ride the tram because the climb to the wall would've taken an extra 45 minutes. We only had 3 1/2 hours to enjoy this ancient wonder and we were going to make the most of it. The tram ride was slow and rickety, but other than worrying about plunging to our deaths, it was an efficient way up the mountain.
Once on the wall, all we wanted to do was take pictures. The view was breathtaking and the state of the wall showed just how old it was.
But we couldn't stand around taking pictures forever: we had a mission to accomplish. We were trying to get to the five window tower near the old crumbling Simitai section. The tour guide had cautioned us that only fast hikers can make it there and back in time to return with the bus.
The climbing began. Soren and I quickly fell behind the other girls. There were three reasons for this: 1. We were taking lots of pictures 2. It was an intense and challenging hike and 3. Sickness plagued my respiratory system and cut my stamina in half. But despite my coughing and shortness of breath, the hike was still exhilarating, beautiful, and 100% worth it. Climbing on crumbly, uneven bits of stone is one of my favorite things to do ( I'm sure some of you recall the great rock adventure). Soren was completely in his element. He cruised along the ups and downs of the wall with ease. If I hadn't been slowing him down, I'm sure he would've made it to the tower an hour or so before we did.
This is Soren's epic wall picture. (It took us like 20 tries to get it)
Soren managed to get my pic in one try. The craziest thing about being on the wall was that it was my second time. Who'd have thought I'd get to walk on the Great Wall of China...TWICE!
Once reaching the 5 window tower, we took a few photos and then began the trek back. The climb back was almost as hard as the climb there. When we finally reached the tram we were startled by the news that because the wind had picked up, the tram was closed. Lunch would be starting in about 40 minutes and then the bus would be leaving. Our growling stomachs urged us to sprint down the restored section of the wall and down the mountain. We made it with time to spare and before we knew it, we were back on the bus.
Sunday we went to the Lama temple. I didn't take many pictures since it's a place of worship for Buddhists. It was a beautiful and interesting place. Soren especially enjoyed it and got to live out a life long dream to roll the prayer scrolls. The Pavilion of Ten Thousand Happinesses building contained an 26m tall (18m above the ground and 8m underneath) statue of the Maitrya Buddha carved from a single piece of White Sandalwood. This statue was seriously huge. It was like Ursula at the end of The Little Mermaid...only not as terrifying...and with less tentacles. But yeah...it was big.
We also spent some more time and money at the Pearl Market. It was a delightful day. The only problem was that my bug bites started acting up and I had gotten a bad cold sometime during the night (probably because of my shenanigans on the Great Wall). Once our pockets were emptied, we headed to the train station.
None of us were looking forward to our 10 hour train ride since we thought we'd purchased seats. But as it turned out, it was a semi-sleeper train. Our compartment housed 6 people (7 once we brought Morgan in) and had four beds. We averaged two people to a bed. It wasn't the most comfortable arrangement, but before we knew it, we were back in Nanjing.
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| The party at the back of the bus |
It was a mountainous area and much of the wall there had not been restored. We all decided to ride the tram because the climb to the wall would've taken an extra 45 minutes. We only had 3 1/2 hours to enjoy this ancient wonder and we were going to make the most of it. The tram ride was slow and rickety, but other than worrying about plunging to our deaths, it was an efficient way up the mountain.
 |
| Getting ready to exit the tram |
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| View of the wall |
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| The "stairs" |
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| Taking a quick breather |
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| Inside one of the towers |
The climbing began. Soren and I quickly fell behind the other girls. There were three reasons for this: 1. We were taking lots of pictures 2. It was an intense and challenging hike and 3. Sickness plagued my respiratory system and cut my stamina in half. But despite my coughing and shortness of breath, the hike was still exhilarating, beautiful, and 100% worth it. Climbing on crumbly, uneven bits of stone is one of my favorite things to do ( I'm sure some of you recall the great rock adventure). Soren was completely in his element. He cruised along the ups and downs of the wall with ease. If I hadn't been slowing him down, I'm sure he would've made it to the tower an hour or so before we did.
 |
| Many sections of stairs were this steep or steeper |
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| Going up was hard, and going down was a little scary |
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| The ILP girls on top of the wall |
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| Each section of wall had its ups and downs |
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| This was just beyond the 5 window tower. WE MADE IT! |
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| He's adorable |
Once reaching the 5 window tower, we took a few photos and then began the trek back. The climb back was almost as hard as the climb there. When we finally reached the tram we were startled by the news that because the wind had picked up, the tram was closed. Lunch would be starting in about 40 minutes and then the bus would be leaving. Our growling stomachs urged us to sprint down the restored section of the wall and down the mountain. We made it with time to spare and before we knew it, we were back on the bus.
Sunday we went to the Lama temple. I didn't take many pictures since it's a place of worship for Buddhists. It was a beautiful and interesting place. Soren especially enjoyed it and got to live out a life long dream to roll the prayer scrolls. The Pavilion of Ten Thousand Happinesses building contained an 26m tall (18m above the ground and 8m underneath) statue of the Maitrya Buddha carved from a single piece of White Sandalwood. This statue was seriously huge. It was like Ursula at the end of The Little Mermaid...only not as terrifying...and with less tentacles. But yeah...it was big.
 |
| The Prayer Scrolls |
None of us were looking forward to our 10 hour train ride since we thought we'd purchased seats. But as it turned out, it was a semi-sleeper train. Our compartment housed 6 people (7 once we brought Morgan in) and had four beds. We averaged two people to a bed. It wasn't the most comfortable arrangement, but before we knew it, we were back in Nanjing.
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| Maddie and Krista |
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| Heather |
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| Soren, Morgan, and Maddie (Jenna is on top) |
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| Me and Soren. |
| And that was it! We made it back, I started recuperating, and the teachers dug back into their lessons. I think we were all glad to be back in our own beds. |
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