National Day Hong Kong- Round 2

So due to the Mid-Autumn Festival and China’s National Day (October 1^st) we get the first week of October off. During this time most CTLC teachers go traveling, either around China or around other parts of Asia. I, along with Angie, Cassie and Ethan, had decided to go to the Philippines, because none of us had been there before, and flights were really cheap! Of course, we had to fly out of Hong Kong (it is way cheaper to fly out of HK than the mainland, due to extra fees) Luckily, in a way, we were flying out the day after China’s National Day, which meant we would get to see the fireworks in Hong Kong, and part of the lantern festival. Also, Cassie, Angie, nor Ethan had been to HK before, and would get to see a small part of it for part of the break! J

We were scheduled to fly to Angeles City, Philippines on October 2^nd, and return on October 7^th, allowing for approximately 5 days in the Philippines and October 1^st in Hong Kong, since our flights were so early we needed to stay the night.

I should mention that any commentary on Hong Kong is particularly biased, as I absolutely adore the city!!! Anyways, we decided to try and cross the border at 9 AM, but (so surprisingly) I was running late, and ended up going through a different border checkpoint separately and meeting everyone else in Causeway Bay, on Hong Kong Island, where our hostel was. (although oddly enough I beat them there, due simply to the fact that I already had an Octopus card [HK’s metro card], and they had to wait in a long line to buy one)

            Once we settled up with the hostel, we were all starving and decided to go the Mid-levels for a place I knew served excellent burgers. Mid-levels is an area of HK with the largest outdoor escalator in the world, and has a great selection of restaurants and bars. Once we go there, I found out that the burger restaurant had closed, to be replaced with a deli, but that the good Mexican food place next door was still open, so we ate there, and had a absolutely delicious mango margarita! From Mid-levels we decided to make our way back to Causeway Bay for some shopping. Sadly, it was only destined to be window-shopping, as we did have to go to the Philippines the next day. If you know me and Causeway Bay, then you know how difficult it was for me not to buy anything!!! Lol!! (Although come to think of it, I did buy a pair of earrings, and a scarf… :/ ) Hmm, guess I really am a shopaholic! ;) [Yvonne would be so proud] At Causeway, we were again starving and decided on sushi for dinner (oh how big my smile was!!)

I know it is difficult to tell, but the fireworks actually do spell zhongguo (中国） in Chinese characters! [Note: it is backwards here]

From Causeway we then headed across the harbor for Kowloon, so that we could watch the fireworks show, which I had read started at 8 PM. So I’m not really sure where I read that, but it was most definitely wrong!!! >:( Turns out that the fireworks were not scheduled to start until 9 PM, but we did manage to get great seats and saw the light show, so it sorta worked out. Following the fireworks, which were awesome (as seen from the below pictures) we had to make our way through, what must be the 7^th circle of hell, aka wall to wall, body to body crowding of thousands of people trying to get onto the metro! The only reason we decided to make the attempt was, because there was a fire dragon dance scheduled in Causeway for 10 PM (which we ended up missing, making the effort for naught, sadly) Angie and I did get to check out the lanterns there for Mid-Autumn before making our weary way back to the hostel. [NOTE: the quality of the lantern festival in Hong Kong has sadly diminished]

Seventh Circle of Hell, pre-MTR station

The next day we were up and at it by 5 am to make our way by bus to the airport. Luckily we were able to find the bus stop, after going to two wrong ones, and get the proper bus. We made it with plenty of time to check-in, check our bags and get through security. We then had breakfast and started to make our way to our gate. We were doing great for time until we stopped at a bookstore for some purchases and to use the nearby restroom, which by the time we went to the train to the gate made us pretty late!! L We basically ran off the train, up the escalators and then sprinted to our gate, as it was Final Call!! (I should note that as I was in an all out sprint for the gate, loose change in my pocket started to come out and was littered in the hallway of the airport, lol! [I’m sure it looked hilarious to other people]) Thankfully we made the plane, although we were literally the last people to walk on, and then they promptly shut the door! We were off to the Philippines!!

The people lanterns were kinda cool, but there were so few of them! ;(

             Angie and I inside a giant lantern exhibit :p

Mid-Autumn Gift Giving

Every year in early October the Mid-Autumn festival takes place in China. This festival consists of eating, children carrying lanterns, and looking at the moon. People generally eat moon cakes, which traditionally consist of red bean paste, with a salted duck egg yolk inside. (I know that sounds gross, but they actually taste ok, not my favorite though) During this time people generally get a couple days off to celebrate and give moon cakes to one another, along with other small gifts.

In the case of my school they hosted a small banquet in the school canteen and gave us a couple of gifts. These gifts consisted of a box of four moon cakes, a couple liters of peanut oil and 10 kgs of rice! Both Catherine and I got these gifts, but as Catherine couldn’t make the banquet I had to get them from the school to our apartment, which is at least 30 minutes away and on the fourth floor!!

The gifts were nice, and we are at least set for oil and rice for the rest of the year!!

I'll probably end up leaving oil for people next year! Which I'm sure they'll really appreciate...

Actual Party Time!! ;)

Yumm! Cake ;)

So the nicest thing happened a couple weeks ago, when a teacher in our department, Grace, asked if Catherine and I would like to come to her daughter’s birthday. We said, of course we would go, and got her a little gift. Grace said that she would pick us up with her car, and take us to her house. When we got to her apartment we walked around outside for a little bit, as there her “Garden” has a really pretty outside area, with a pool and area’s to play.

NOTE: “Garden” is the Chinese term for apartment complexes here. In China apartment complexes often consist of 14-20 large apartment buildings that are about 7+ stories high.

After getting to see the outside and meet her adorable three year-old son, we went up to her apartment, which is gorgeous. Grace’s apartment was very spacious and we got to meet her daughter, whom is in a private boarding school in Shenzhen and is planning to attend university in the US or UK. We also got to meet Grace’s parents, husband, and some other family members. We then all went down to the garage and loaded into cars to head to the restaurant.

The restaurant we went to for her daughter’s birthday was absolutely amazing!!! We got to sit in the huge private room, drink some amazing wine, and eat steak and lobster. I felt a little guilty as Grace asked if we wanted steak, and we said sure it would be fine, not knowing that she ordered steaks just for me and Catherine! I was originally expecting more of a party with multiple non-family guests, rather than a family dinner in a really nice restaurant. To be honest it felt more like we were the guests of honor, than her daughter, but overall the evening was absolutely amazing! 

NOTE: more pictures to come when my internet/VPN is feeling in a better mood >:(

It’s PARTY Time!!! (sort of)

So I have now attended my first school banquet! This banquet was held on September 9^th, in honor of China’s Teacher’s Day holiday. So despite not yet having had a single class, I got to go to the banquet and got flowers (although I could have done without those, they are a pain to drag around, and the smell makes me sneeze) Anyways, the banquet is held every year, and most of the teachers seem to attend, as it is a free meal! This year they changed the location of the banquet from the place it was normally held, to a place I am surprisingly familiar with (considering I have only been in Shenzhen for two weeks at this point), the hotel CTLC stays in! Oh yay! (sarcasm intended)

So we get there and are placed at a table in the first row from the head table, which I think is a pretty nice position. We then get served the food, Chinese (aka family) style, and are also given miniscule glasses of red wine, and shot glass for bai jiu (pronounced bye joe) which is type of clear grain alcohol, that is usually over 50% alcohol by volume [illegal in a couple of states] At banquets it is not uncommon for people (usually only men) to get really drunk, as they usually most drink every time someone toasts, or it is considered disrespectful. We had been warned prior to not get too drunk at the banquets, and demure, using the excuse that we are foreign, and not used to the alcohol. Although, I wasn’t really that worried, as you can substitute wine for the bai jiu, and my tolerance is pretty high.

During the banquet we also went up to give the headmaster his gifts that we brought from our home countries. (a sign of respect in China) I brought a small white bust of Thomas Jefferson from UVA, as it figured it had something to do with me, and something to do with America. Catherine and I also gave Tiffany the gifts we brought for her. I gave her some chocolates, and a University of Virginia pen, that I thought would be useful for her.

During the banquet, we got to chat some with the teachers near us, as they all taught English, and drank some wine for the numerous toasts. At one point I did a shot of bai jiu, sadly in front of the vice-headmaster, and this apparently made him worried for me, or so he told be later that night. Although, to be honest, I think he should have been more worried for himself, as he had trouble opening a car door! As we were waiting for the bus back to the school he offered to give us a ride home, which was really lucky, and even more fortunately, he had a driver for his car, as he was pretty drunk, but really nice! Overall the banquet was interesting and enjoyable, but I’m happy they are not all that frequent, as they are a little stressful, since I’m not sure of all the proper manners.

My table at the Teacher's Day Banquet

By Saturday… Sure…

So my school starts doesn’t start until Monday September 10^th, which is a week after the majority of Shenzhen schools start, because it is still under construction. However, this Wednesday, Catherine and I, were told that there was a staff-wide meeting that we were to attend. We showed up to the meeting and managed to find Tiffany. When we went into the room, we got into a line for Red Pockets, and then took our seats with the rest of the International Business department. For those who might not know, Red Pockets are red envelopes that contain money, and are usually given during Chinese New Year.  Getting Red Pockets was a nice surprise, especially since they contained 200 RMB J

Welcome to my classroom!! (as yet, obviously, unfinished in this photo [as the desk usually doesn't nearly block the door])

Then the meeting finally got underway, not that Catherine or I could understand any of it, as it is, obviously, in Chinese (and my Chinese is definitely not good enough to keep up!) We were simply told by Tiffany, to stand when she told us to, as we were being introduced to the school. So we sat there just daydreaming until Tiffany told us to stand as our bios, on where we were from, where we went to school etc, were read. It was really funny to see the reaction to Catherine’s bio. When the school was told that she had attended Oxford, there was a big gasp, and small applause, lol! When the meeting finally wrapped up, it was only an hour long; we got our schedules and then went with our department to lunch.

The buildings currently being built right next to the school (although the construction is surprisingly quiet!)

So now for a lovely little discussion about our schedules. Both Catherine and I noticed, right off the bat, that we had significantly more classes than most of the other teachers. For example, where they only had about 4 hour and a half blocks of class, we had 8! Needless to say we were not exactly pleased, but were happy to finally know what our time would be like in the coming weeks. [Later we figured out that we were actually over-contract by one class, and our schedules changed a bit; so I now have 15 forty-five minute classes (most blocked in hour and a half classes)] Oh, I almost forgot to mention, I will be teaching only Senior 1 students (both Oral English, and Written English), and Catherine is only teaching Senior 2 students (Only for Oral English).

A sorta sports area under the classroom buildings

From the school we then went to a nearby restaurant to eat, and had Sichuan food (On a side note, Sichuan food is absolutely EVERYWHERE in China!! It gets a little boring after awhile) The food was pretty decent, although we were told that we were eating intestines (not my favorite) and little cubes of fried pig fat (which were, not surprisingly, delicious, but terrible for us). After the lunch we got to go over and try to look for our new offices, in the new school building (which was still under construction). We found what we thought were our offices, although at the time they contained ONLY cubicle walls. NOTE: there were no desks, chairs, cabinets, computers or printers.

Please note the lack of fans on the ceiling!!

We then went on a little school tour, getting to see our classrooms, the gym, and the rest of the school. So here is a little school tour in pictures. When I asked whether the school would actually be ready by Monday, Tiffany responded, “Of course! It will be ready by Saturday.” To myself, and between Catherine and I, we were like “Suuurrree… I’m sure it will be ready in three days, despite the fact that there are no tables, chairs, or computers in the building, and half of the classrooms lack desks, chairs or fans.”

The administrative building of the school, was not renovated/rebuilt.

Oh, by the way, have I failed to mention that the only temperature control the classrooms have, is four fans on the ceiling, as the only air-conditioning is in the offices. It’s okay, the temperatures in Shenzhen are only in the 80’s or 90’s for the next couple months… I’m sure I won’t get hot, and all the students will be able to focus. (I hope the sarcasm in that statement is apparent) Oh, and some of the classrooms don’t even have fans yet.

The large classroom building (it is all connected by covered walkways)[I teach in the sections on the very left]

Overall, despite the minor issues, such as no fans, no desks, no chairs, etc, the school seems pretty nice and hopefully this year will be good, but I guess I’ll just have to see how it goes.

One of the courtyards between the classrooms (on a nice day)