BIG day for me!! Picked up my residency permit from the police station which means I can come and go as much as I like in and out of China any time up to February 1st 2017 and stay as long as I like any time I want wooo hooo!!
No-one understands my Mandarin. I was asking my Chinese teaching colleague Kathy what the word is that they say on the bus every time the adverts start up Jendermen? Gentermen?
** competition** big cash prizes** what is the word after the bing-bang-bong at 0.04?
Winston took me to the Bank of Jinzhou where I paid my electricity bill (£3.40) and opened a bank account (with ten pence). Then I bought a lamp for the living room (£4.00). My salary is going to go a long way here. I am due to be paid on 6th March
Winston works at StarSplendor and helps me a lot! I asked Winston to say if he would like to say something for the blog, perhaps something about China or about foreigners and this is what he said............
I LOVE DOGS! Full(ish) day teaching with Tim (five classes). I took them all and made improvements in the way I taught - great feedback from Tim. Evening celebration with beers at Tim's and met Matt for the first time and Tim's little dog! So cute! My little baby! When he licks my face I have the aroma of strawberries in June for days afterwards! He never pees. He never poos. He understands everything Tim says to him and when he goes to the shop for Tim he can ask for the right beer and fags in perfect Mandarin! And they give him credit
Went into Shiyan briefly in the afternoon for a lesson with Cathy and then spent the rest of the day boiling water for storage for drinking and lens cleaning purposes - the local tap water is massively high in mineral deposits
Another day off so had time for a DIY triumph - started out with three bulbs working and ended up with two working
Then went out and bought myself a takeaway meal for 10RMB and some fruit including a Pomelo?
Last day of New Year Celebrations today so I was hoping to catch some lantern release celebrations by walking North to the bridge just after dusk to see what's up. But I didn't put on enough layers so I got cold very fast and took the bus instead. The driving style here IS interesting. Total logjam at the crossroads because nobody gives an inch (vid).
Went to the railway station to look for trains to Beijing and there is an English window! And she spoke a little English! Then waited with the firecrackers (vid) for a bus home around 8pm before giving up and taking a taxi
Big day. Did most of the lesson when I attended Steve's classes - 45 mins each class - 60 students in each class - did oooooooookkkkkkkkkkaaaaaaaaaaayyyyyyyyyyyyy. Good feedback from Steve and was able to adapt my style and strategies as I went along
***NEW***NEW*** I regret to inform all my readers that this will be the last in the current series of luxuries I enjoy in my flat - I hope that neither of you will be too disappointed
Friday 19th February Slept really well again after a full day yesterday. Up really early to walk to the East Gate (vid) to meet Tim.
We took a taxi to LingHe School and I contributed some activities to a couple of classes which felt like a milestone. Then back for more lesson planning with Steve before I shot my second feature on the apartment, Double Glazing to follow up on yesterday's Hallway feature
NEW**NEW Special feature - Luxurious new apartment; Episode 3: double glazing (vid)
Thursday 18th February Slept really well after a full day yesterday. Shared my lesson planning again with Steve who helped me realise that it was way too ambitious. I reshot my apartment video (vid to follow - watch this space) which I will use for a lesson on rooms and including work on prepositions
NEW**NEW Special feature - Luxurious new apartment; Episode 2: hallway (vid)
First day back at school after the New Year holiday and my second day of real work. Went over the first of the two lesson plans with Steve and he was pleased with my efforts which was gratifying. Tim was off sick today so I was unable to do any observation.
NEW**NEW Special feature - Luxurious new apartment; Episode 1: wallpaper (vid)
After our birthday party, Tim Steve and I progressed (if that's the appropriate word) to a KTV where Steve sang happy birthday in Mandarin, accompanied by my hostess for the evening (vid)
Then my hostess lost at dice so she had to sing a solo (vid). I have to call her my hostess because I never found out her name
She then proved herself to be tone deaf (vid)
as did I with a magnificent rendition of Norwegian Wood (vid)
Despite (or because) of the fact that my hostess spoke as much of my language as I did of hers, we got on famously (vid)
We got back to the compound at about 3am and then I went over to Tim's to watch his MOTD download from Sunday. Altogether an excellent time was had, pity I had to do lesson planning today in preparation for demonstrating my teaching prowess to Steve tomorrow. Just finished 2030 (phew)
Monday 15th February. My birthday! haven't seen the girlfriend today. But I went outside and got on a 134 bus for the thrill of it (vid) woooo hoooo. I didn't know where it was going or how I would get back (a metaphor for life?). And guess what, I didn't get lost because it WENT ROUND IN A CIRCLE!!!! Later Time, Steve and Lili came round and we had birthday cake (vid)
Then we went out for a birthday meal (vid) before heading off to the KTV
Snow! No fireworks this morning but instead I was woken before day break by the sound of someone scraping the snow from the paving round the rubbish bins (vid).
Later did some more work on tones before out to Mr Lee Noodles and my favourite fruit shop opposite the West Gate (vid).
Am a bit excited today because SFC are playing Swansea away and I will be streaming into my lounge at 2300 ko Beijing time
Day 19 - NYE celebrations refuse to die away - there are endless repeats of the NYE show on TV and sporadic fireworks at dawn and in the evening and sometimes during the day (vid).
I have been continuing to try to master the tones. Watch Phil Palmer Channel for a free lesson! (vid)
Inspirational! I should be a teacher! o wait a minute......
chicken noodles and pickled veg a good combo in Mr Lee Noodles today (vid)
In the evening I went out for a chinky (vid). I had table service from the waitress because I didn't know how to manage the meal that I was meant to cook at the table and couldn't understand their explanations in Mandarin
Found a new YouTube Mandarin teacher today and she showed me how to use the tones we need to express ourselves in English to help bed in the tones we need in Mandarin e.g. when we say 'what?!?' it is like the second (rising) tone and when we say 'no!!!' its like the fourth (falling) tone.
Then took a walk out to Mr Lee Noodles (vid) before catching some firecrackers on the way back to the West Gate (vid). Pretty quiet tonight, NYE celebrations falling away
Today I twice attempted to go out for a walk but it was too windy on the boulevards (vid). Played havoc with my contact lenses the moment I turned the corner
and so I went back to the compound through the West Gate (vid). My apartment is just inside the West Gate
Packed a flask of tea and headed South with the intention of walking out into the countryside. Got 10 minutes down the road and was obstructed by a building site. Turned left to turn right onto the next (main) road and was frustrated by lack of footpath. Oh well......
Did some cleaning then out onto the street to hunt for lunch - everywhere completely deserted except for one or two stores selling liquor. Hooked up with Steve in the evening for the mother of all urban firecracker fiestas and contributed a little bit ourselves (vid)
Steve left on his scooter at 2330 when noise was just reaching its peak (vid), Noise reached a crescendo at midnight then died away quickly
So I am still cleaning the flat - I gather that from what Steve says, tomorrow (NYE) will be the mother of all firecracker fiestas. What chance seeing it from my kitchen window?
Day 12 - made a late start and did some newbie Mandarin lessons using the Chinese Newpod program that Steve had uploaded for me on the computer and went off to Mr Lee for brunch (vid). Have been suffering with a virus over the last couple of days so have not sought out opportunities for drinking and staying out. Just staying in in fact. Later watched some Chinese TV and tried to make sense of some of the simpler characters. Most programs are spoken Mandarin with Mandarin subtitles
Day 11 - made a slow start. Mid morning Tim messaged me to say sorry he had the mother of all hangovers yesterday and was totally out of action. Had a shave and shower and went to GuTa Park just across the river. Took my flask of tea and sat in the sunshine and tried to engage a group of local men in conversation using Baidu Translate. They might of been humouring me but I THOUGHT they understood. Then moved to the park entrance to watch some ballroom dancing (vid)
Winston took me to the police station where I surrendered my passport accompanied by a shed load of paperwork (vid). Later I waited in for Tim, thinking he was going to meet me at 3pm ish and we would go to the University and play badminton but he didn't show and I got no response to a couple of texts. I paid Winston to go for a card for the TV (one year subscription cost about 500RMB). He came round later and managed to get things working for me so I am set up with Chinese television now which will help with the learning
Spent pretty much the whole day on Blog related activity and catching up with Emails and Facebook since I was (rarely) in a position to do so. Later Tim invited me over to watch MOTD and have a few beers and then we took a taxi and went out to the Beatles Bar (vid) - Tim played a set there including 'Ring of Fire' then home to bed and Tim went to the XO bar just outside the West Gate of the compound.
Stephen has left for another city so half the people I know here are gone. I will see Tim later on this afternoon but for now, joy of joys, the VPN has opened up, I have a fast connection and I am able to catch up with my Blog. I have been saving snippets of information and uploading the 30second shots to youtube so Yes, I have been able to get all the information into this blog. Am well made up with that
Hilarious! Last night Steve and Tim took me to the KTV. They have been teaching and tomorrow is the first day of the Chinese New Year holiday and they have fifteen days off. The first karaoke we went to we got set up in the room with snacks and beers and karaoke and then the chief came in and told us there were no hostesses available (because of the pending Spring Festival aka Chinese New Year), so we got into a taxi and went to another one - they are in clusters all over the city. We paid 200RMB for the room and then 100RMB each for two hours company. Lots of singing, drinking and playing dice (no vid). Never played this game before but it is about two cups of six dice, the dice with the one spot counts as a joker. After you shake you can see your dice but not the dice of the other person and you have to brag about how many of a particular number you can make (including using the dice from the other persons). You brag in turns until you are called. Got home about 4am.
This morning was what you might call a slow start. I had a WeChat message from Steve to come over to his market - I needed to buy some warm clothes - so we went to the market and I bought boots, thermal longjohns and top as well as some fresh dates and berries. Steve lives on the East of the city South of the river and the DanDong market is North East. Later he took me to a restaurant close by his flat where we had donkey dumplings. yes a bit of a taboo buster for me but I found it easier to achieve than with the sheeps testicles. Later we went up to his flat on the 18th Floor and he made some cupcakes for the New Year vacation while I watched Kingsman on his media system. Then a very strange thing happened. The doorbell rang and the water man arrived with his wares and I had a sudden realisation that I was in China (I had forgotten?!)
I didn't get a hot shower this morning. When I mentioned it to Steve he suggested that the cleaner may have knocked the trip switch by mistake when cleaning underneath the heater. Later I went out to lunch at Mr Lee's noodles (vid) just round the corner, before going back hom to make my first cup of tea with a metal tea bag (vid)
Today I went to observe Steve's class at the local LingHe branch. It was very cold (vid). Later we went to his favourite BBQ restaurant and had kebabs of much variety including string beans, mushrooms and chicken claws. It is just round the corner from where I live and extremely good value with each kebab costing between 1RMB and 25RMB and most of them under 5RMB (70p). Sheeps' testicles and sheeps' eye kebabs were also on the menu but I wasn't in the mood tonight
The flat (vid) needs a massive clean. When I went to sleep last night it had all seemed sweet but I woke this morning to lots of grime and worktops in the kitchen that have surely never been cleaned? Made a start but it feels like an epic task. Later that nightI went for a meal out (vid) with my new colleagues Tim and Steve. The meal was awesome, we couldn't finish the food, we had six bottles of beer and the bill came to 120RMB (about £12). Suddenly my 8000RMB per month salary (plus apartment plus bills plus return flights) doesn't seem too untidy
Woke to a breakfast downstairs in the hotel of weak rice porridge, sweetcorn, rice, pickles and tofu. Out and about on Tiannenman square (vid) after a massive amount of security scanning and police checkpoints on all access points to the square. And then onto the Forbidden City and then Steve had the McDonalds he had been craving before we took the train back to Jinzhou
Landed at Beijing and was met by Steve at the airport. Steve is a Canadian guy who will be my new boss, there is one other foreign teacher, Tim, who is Welsh. We took the metro into the city and then a cycle rickshaw (vid) to the hotel. First impressions? More Chinese people that Birmingham City Centre! Very bright sunny day - no pollution - it has all been lies!!!.Very colourful shops. Wacky hermetically sealed little supermarket snacks including tofu cubes and soggy peanuts
Met Winston (English name for a Chinese man) at the school Linghe branch and he took me for my medical. I need a certificate of fitness from this for my residency permit.I had abdominal ultrasound, BP, blood and urine samples and a chest Xray. I saw the charts on the desk but there was no c0lour blind test (phew) Results on Monday. In the afternoon, Steve took me to a massive western style mall, North of the river and I bought kettle, tea and some stuff before dusk driving home in the taxi (vid)
Woke up to an exciting day under a grey sky morning sky (vid). Met Tim at the school Linghe branch closest by and we took a taxi to a branch North of the river where I observed three classes. In the afternoon Steve arranged for a cleaner to do my kitchen and bathroom and release my from the grime and I was able to put some stuff away
