Summer school… strikes again!

Yes, it’s that time of year again folks… summer school is upon us.  For the third summer running I’m spending my time educating teens who would like to be anywhere else but stuck in a classroom!  And I can’t blame them, Chinese kids never get a break in term time – the least their parents could do is cut them some slack during the summer holidays.  C'est la vie, at least in my classroom they're guaranteed to have some fun.

 

As with the summer school course I taught in Vietnam, I used a bit of nous and requested to teach an intense version of one of my regular courses, making life easier for myself, as I have soft copies of all my lessons plans and resources.  It’s a lively and interesting course, that I enjoy teaching the most, including lots of videos, audio and IWB games as well as my own competitive and creative elements thrown in for good measure and a few laughs.  It will be taught on top of my regular teaching schedule, meaning an extra 6 to 9 hours of teaching time per week over the next 2 months.

 

During teachers’ meetings and trainings over the past few months we’ve all been warned just how gruelling this period will be.  We'll be supplied with lunches, fruit, medication and throat lozenges to help along the way.  Honestly, I can’t see it being any more challenging than last year; rightly or wrongly I’m going in to this feeling it’s just a small 8 week hurdle before my well earned holiday.

A xx

Anji antics!

It’s been a few months since our last official regional team building event.  The social scene in the city is such that you quickly become acquainted with kids & teens teachers from various EF schools across the 3 regions, as well as teachers from other companies; but it’s always nice to meet new faces, and nicer still when it’s all expenses paid!

Our pre-summer school skive saw teachers and local staff from the 4 schools in our region escaping to Anji for a couple of days, taking in the fresh air, and scenery made famous by the film ‘Crouching Tiger, Hidden Dragon’.  The early start and 3 hour journey passed quickly thanks to good company and a stop off for lunch.  Upon our arrival, we were taken on a 2 hour walk up to Dragon waterfall.  It was quite a steep climb, which we tackled at a fairly brisk pace, aided by the help of paths and metal staircases.  Despite being an overcast day, the heat and humidity were evident.  Some of the staff opted to stay nearer the entrance on lower ground, usually puffing on cigarettes or posing for pictures.  Other Chinese tourists could be seen walking in the most inappropriate outfits, which wouldn't have looked out of place in the bars and clubs of Shanghai – slaves to fashion though they carried on regardless.

Clambering back on the bus, I’d been comfortably settled on my seat for a good while before noticing the rubber snake next to my thigh that my friends had sneakily hidden under a jacket.  Unfortunately, it didn’t have the petrifying effect they had hoped, not on me at least.  Skilfully flinging it through the air towards some of the more effeminate Chinese staff, however, was met with shrieks and panic!  Mission accomplished!

Next stop was a spot of water rafting.  I’m not a big fan of watersports – wearing glasses or contact lenses during such activities is problematic and as such I opted out, choosing to sit on the sidelines with the other warm, dry, land lovers, taking photos of my soggy colleagues as they navigated the water course and attempted to soak each other by any means necessary!  After everyone had completed the course, changed into something a little drier and got the feeling back in their limbs, we headed to a local restaurant for dinner.  As in Vietnam, meal times here are social affairs, none more so than during team building events.  Sitting with 10 others and sharing dishes has a sociable quality that is lacking in many western countries.  

A short time spent at our hotel gave us time to freshen up before heading to a nightclub.  When we arrived, there was no one else there, and as it was a Tuesday night that’s pretty much how it remained all evening.  All available space on tables was taken up by the free beer provided for our group – but at 2.5% the only foreign teachers who were intoxicated were those who had been drinking (heavily) throughout the course of the day on harder stuff.  Dice games, dancing on a springy dance floor and mingling were the order of the night.  A group of us ventured in the saloon-style bar next door, only to be greeted by the Pet Shop Boys’ ‘Go West’ and lots of surprised, gesturing, tiddly Chinese clubbers.  Needless to say, we didn’t stay long.  Silly o’clock fried rice and dumplings finished off a fine day.

The following day saw the spritely members of our group take a trip to a bamboo forest.  Famous for being featured in ‘Crouching Tiger, Hidden Dragon’ we spent a couple of hours walking up the tracks, amongst the bamboo towards a viewing platform with spectacular views over the area.  On our ascent we passed a group of elderly Chinese tourists taking part in something resembling Tai chi.  A colleague translated the instructor’s directions, which apparently required participants to mirror the shape and form of the surrounding bamboo.  I’m not sure how relaxing they found the experience with over 100 tourists passing by, but we tried not to intrude too much.

Craving a bit of excitement amongst the bamboo groves, we opted to take the fast route back down to the exit - by roller coaster. We were each in single carriages and were responsible for controlling our own speed with the aid of a hand brake. Three teachers from my school had gone down in front of me and I was keen to use the brake as little as possible.  I figured nothing too bad would happen as a result: worst case scenario – the carriage flies off the rails taking me with it and I end up in the bamboo.  There was netting along the sides of the track in some places, but not in others.  So, I came bombing down at a rate of knots, managing to smile at three of our group who had strategically positioned themselves along the route to take photos of us.  It was then that I spotted the local man, shouting and waving erratically at me.  I shrugged it off, I was having fun, no need to touch the brakes quite yet – then I saw the traffic jam I was quickly approaching!  Two Chinese girls had gone down before our group and had obviously chosen to use their brakes from the off.  Time to test my brakes me thinks! Luckily they were very efficient and I slammed on, stopping just short of my friend in the carriage in front! Great fun!

After meeting up with those who had chosen not to join our morning stroll, we made our way to lunch and then on to the obligatory souvenir shops, where all kinds of bamboo related products can be found.  A sleepy headed journey home found us back in Shangers in the early evening, much fun was had by all and it can only have a positive effect on the already jovial atmosphere between staff at our school.

Roll on the next one.

A xx

Belly busters bare all

Summer is in full swing here in sunny Shangers, the heat and humidity reminiscent of sweltering Saigon.  With this wonderful weather we do all we can to stay cool: walking in shady outdoor areas, utilising the air conditioning units in our classrooms to maintain a nice learning/working environment, and generally wear as few clothes as is legally possible.  For most a t-shirt, shorts and sandals ensemble is sufficient: feeling the breeze between your knees and maintaining a coolish exterior.  For others this simply will not do, and pot-bellied middle aged men everywhere resort to baring their bellies to all and sundry as a way to cool down.

 

It was the same in ‘Nam: men of a certain age, usually wearing white vests, walked the streets, balancing the rolled up section of their tops on their protruding paunches.  Not a six pack in sight!  Why is this always the case?  Why don’t young, toned, athletic male specimens walk around the city with their abs out for all to see?  Where’s the justice in the world?!  Here endeth my whinge.

A xx

Needle in a haystack

Whilst chatting with numerous friends, colleagues and acquaintances since my arrival in China something keeps cropping up in conversation - they note their surprise that people here look different from one another.  Some other teachers find it difficult to recognise and remember their students’ names, especially outside of the classroom.  A colleague was recently amazed by my ability to remember the majority of students by name in a class I had covered once for a 2 hour period.

For many it is their first visit to Asia, and to some degree I can relate to their views.  Last year, my first class in Vietnam saw me facing 18 near identical faces – needless to say, learning names took a while.  But after a week or so you see the differences and indeed appreciate people as individuals.  I now find myself recognising attractive Asian men, as I would if I were looking at western blokes.

So I can now appreciate and recognise the differences between individuals I encounter, and am able to detect Chinese people of Vietnamese/Filipino descent.  Can the same be said for Asian people who stare at us westerners, I wonder?  I have no doubt that locals here frequently think my work colleagues and visiting friends are actually relatives: anyone tall and slim with a mane of long, brown hair must be my sister, right?  Wrong!

A Chinese work colleague recently asked me how Western people get yellow (meaning blonde) hair.  My immediate reaction would normally be to say the majority of foreigners aren’t really ‘blonde blonde’, more of a mousy blonde covered with peroxide, but I knew she genuinely had no idea how people could be born with lighter hair types.  As a young, yet very well educated Chinese lady this phenomenon had until now remained an alien concept, which she hadn’t felt comfortable asking western friends about. Perhaps Asian people think Westerners consciously change the colour of their hair to make themselves appear more individual, after all to them we appear to look the same!

A xx

On your marks...

There’s a lot of talk at the moment about the London 2012 Olympics, I’m not a great fan of the whole shebang and never have been – with the exception of watching the footy, I’ve never been one for competitive sports. 

Last week in Shangers, however, we had something that I found far more enjoyable to both watch and participate in – the EF Super Race.  “What is this?” I hear you ask, part of our company’s summer shenanigans, and an excellent way to mark Children's Day on 1st June.  One team is made up of two students and two parents.  Each team must travel around the city by any means necessary to complete various challenges and collect company stamps upon completion.  I was stationed at Shanghai Indoor Stadium with a group of teachers from our region.  We were responsible for helping the participants shoot basketball hoops in the full size court nets: no mean feat if you are 4’ nothing and 6 years old.

Over 300 participants accepted the challenge, arriving in chauffeur driven cars, taxis or by metro to complete the challenge.  One team arrived with parents pedalling bikes, their children sitting patiently in small seats at the rear.  It was great, so much enthusiasm was shown by staff and participants alike, all using whatever English they had to talk to us, offer thanks and ask to try their hand at the baskets.  I won’t lie, I’d rather have been stationed at the Krispy Kreme shop, munching on EF doughnuts; but at least I got to enjoy the glorious weather with good company.

 EF Shanghai participants & staff

 Shanghai winning team

(Photos from EF Shanghai)

A xx

Masking the problem

The man opposite me on the metro sneezed and coughed violently before whipping a disposable mask from his pocket and placing it over his nose and mouth, covering the offending orifices.  Job done, he sat back and continued reading his daily tabloid.

This is in stark contrast to Vietnam, where people cough and sneeze freely in public, never giving a passing thought to the fact it may be hygienic and considerate of them to cover their mouth and nose, preferably with a tissue or other suitable receptacle.  Masks in ‘Nam are instead worn whilst driving to protect from the sun’s harmful rays and lessen the effect of traffic pollution inhalation.

In ‘Nam, I wore a face mask during longer xe-om journeys, maybe it was a placebo effect but I felt it helped a little.  Here, however, I’m not so keen on the idea of wearing a mask as a way of advertising I’m currently a carrier for whatever nasty strain of bug is doing the rounds in our school.  To me it seems a little extreme and as I get stared at enough in public here I’m not about to do something that I think would draw any more attention my way. “Hey, look at me! I’m a germ harbouring westerner here to give you all my dirty germs and test your immune systems!”  No thanks.

Last week, I shared a metro carriage with an individual who chose to wear what can only be described as a Darth Vader–style industrial face mask.  I’ve since discovered these contain carbon filters to remove of a wide variety of contaminants, bad odours and organic vapours.  We were travelling in the late evening, on what had been a relatively cool day.  The air seemed cleaner than usual and humidity levels were low thanks to a few scattered showers throughout the course of the day.  It was far from rush hour on the metro and the bad odours were minimal as the weather isn’t yet hot enough to cause profuse perspiration, so the mask seemed a little extreme.  It did serve one wonderful purpose – giving the locals something more interesting than me to stare at during their journey home!

A xx

Bright white, that's right

With summer upon us the time has come for the ladies of Shanghai to don their skimpier garments and expose a little flesh.  As in Vietnam, some choose to cover every inch of their body’s with some form of fabric to fend off the ever present sun and prevent any form of tanning or indeed vitamin E.  Others choose to bare a little too much at times and hide under the shade of their colour coordinated umbrellas – this summer’s must-have fashion accessory.  If you are unfortunate enough to be caught out in the midday heat for any period of time, thereby tanning slightly you can always reverse the effects, but applying gallons of skin whitening products to every conceivable nook and crevice.

Even in winter months beauty shops, department stores, pharmacies and the like have shelf upon shelf of lotions and potions often with names such as ‘bright white’ ‘sparkling white’ ‘white radiance’ and ‘ghost of Christmas past’ – OK, so I made the last one up, but you get the idea.  In fact, it’s annoyingly difficult to find moisturisers or foundation without these skin whitening chemicals in them.  When friends visiting the city ask if there is anything I would like them to bring, I have now resorted to requesting for moisturiser… oh, and stroopwafels in the case of my Dutchie.

Regardless of whether or not they actually have the desired effect, I’m not about to start rubbing them in to my skin – who knows what’s in them, and I certainly have no desire to be any paler than I already am, if they do produce the effects shown on the pictures.  It’s a shame that the moisturiser-merchants don’t consider the hundreds of thousands of expats living in this city, we just want silky smooth skin, not a passing resemblance to Casper the friendly ghost.

A xx