I Hate Chinese Food, a name created after I had said exactly that, whilst eating a Chinese takeaway merely a matter of weeks before leaving for nine months in China - is pretty much finished. I still have hundreds of photos to upload, ones that I want to show here. So once I have the time (it will be within a month), the last of my photos will be uploaded. Other than that, the writing is done with. No more close encounters with the Police, broken toes, day light muggings with girls from Mongolia or painful massages in Thailand. Well, not that i'm going to tell you anyway.
Friday, June 22, 2007
Friends, food and a lack of stress!
I started to realise what I would miss the most about my time in China during the last few weeks I spent in Shijiazhuang. Walking somewhere I don't remember on my own, the sun was shining and it was a gorgeous day. I'd finished teaching, had a months worth of traveling and hotel visiting ahead of me and I had absolutely nothing to worry about what so ever. Nothing. I wonder how old I'll be before I ever have that feeling again?
Going out for food every evening was a huge part of the time in China. The basics of the Chinese we picked up was done so through ordering food and drink in restaurants - without the aid of any English menus. A tiring and dull day was often picked up with a fun and eventful evening in a local restaurant. Imagine getting together once a week with your best friends. Eating, drinking and having a laugh (i'm sure this happens a lot). Now in China, we did exactly this nearly every day of the week (Even if sometimes we argued more than we laughed it was still amusing).
It would be hard not to become friends with someone who has been thrown in at the deep end in a foreign Country, for the first time just like you have. I won't lie, there were times when I would have loved to have just slapped people across the face with a cold trout. Given the chance, there would have been a queue out the door with people wanting to do it to me thats for sure! But I was undoubtedly lucky getting grouped up with the people I did. And I would even include Meredith in that (One last dig, I couldn't resist). It would have been impossible to stay the full time that I did had I not got on with the others as much as I did.
Going out for food every evening was a huge part of the time in China. The basics of the Chinese we picked up was done so through ordering food and drink in restaurants - without the aid of any English menus. A tiring and dull day was often picked up with a fun and eventful evening in a local restaurant. Imagine getting together once a week with your best friends. Eating, drinking and having a laugh (i'm sure this happens a lot). Now in China, we did exactly this nearly every day of the week (Even if sometimes we argued more than we laughed it was still amusing).
It would be hard not to become friends with someone who has been thrown in at the deep end in a foreign Country, for the first time just like you have. I won't lie, there were times when I would have loved to have just slapped people across the face with a cold trout. Given the chance, there would have been a queue out the door with people wanting to do it to me thats for sure! But I was undoubtedly lucky getting grouped up with the people I did. And I would even include Meredith in that (One last dig, I couldn't resist). It would have been impossible to stay the full time that I did had I not got on with the others as much as I did.
Yep, the food, the friends and the lack of stress - the three things I will remember most fondly of my time in China.
Thoughts?
So? What was it like? What is China like? Did you eat dog? Would you go back? READ THE BLOG! Would I go back is a question that I do feel needs answering - yes, but after the Olympics. I never got the chance to go to Shanghai or Hong Kong and I certainly would like to. So hopefully sometime after the chaos of the Olympics has died down, I will return to see quite how much it will have changed.
If asked to pick some of my favorite experiences, the trek along the Great Wall would definitely have to be included. The feeling of being entirely alone (even in a group of 30) in relation to the hustle bustle of Western life, stood on the original part of the Wall, in scorching sunshine was simply amazing; Kayaking around Halong Bay in Vietnam was unbelievably simply due to the stunning scenery; Sitting atop Mount Taishan, again in absolute silence (something that is hard found in such a densely populated Country I tell you that!) was incredibly surreal.
So far, I don't miss the teaching and I don't miss the students. It will always annoy me that I always got the impression that the huge majority of the students did not seem to wish to use the foreign teachers as a source of information. I'm not sure how that sounds, but the best way to explain is to give Brock as an example. And I am not doing this to mock, but to show what it was like. I remember clearly during our first ever week of teaching, Brock turning up for his first class, dressed smartly, armed with his laptop and lots of ideas on things to teach. Fast forward to a few months later, and Brock (as were we all) was all out of enthusiasm. We weren't working the students hard, in fact compared to their normal lessons our 40 minute slot was farcical. If one student had just put up his hand and said 'please tell me....', or 'what's it like....' etc. But no. We were treat worse than that teacher everyone always used to have that no one listened too or took seriously. It's hard to convey in one paragraph what I am trying to explain, and there were certain students who really were a joy to teach, but overall I would have to say that the teaching aspect of my time in China was a disappointment.
If asked to pick some of my favorite experiences, the trek along the Great Wall would definitely have to be included. The feeling of being entirely alone (even in a group of 30) in relation to the hustle bustle of Western life, stood on the original part of the Wall, in scorching sunshine was simply amazing; Kayaking around Halong Bay in Vietnam was unbelievably simply due to the stunning scenery; Sitting atop Mount Taishan, again in absolute silence (something that is hard found in such a densely populated Country I tell you that!) was incredibly surreal.
So far, I don't miss the teaching and I don't miss the students. It will always annoy me that I always got the impression that the huge majority of the students did not seem to wish to use the foreign teachers as a source of information. I'm not sure how that sounds, but the best way to explain is to give Brock as an example. And I am not doing this to mock, but to show what it was like. I remember clearly during our first ever week of teaching, Brock turning up for his first class, dressed smartly, armed with his laptop and lots of ideas on things to teach. Fast forward to a few months later, and Brock (as were we all) was all out of enthusiasm. We weren't working the students hard, in fact compared to their normal lessons our 40 minute slot was farcical. If one student had just put up his hand and said 'please tell me....', or 'what's it like....' etc. But no. We were treat worse than that teacher everyone always used to have that no one listened too or took seriously. It's hard to convey in one paragraph what I am trying to explain, and there were certain students who really were a joy to teach, but overall I would have to say that the teaching aspect of my time in China was a disappointment.
Its all over
Sorry for not posting sooner - yes i'm inherently lazy but also i'm working every day God sends covering the cash I spent in China! Well, that flew over didn't it. Seems like two minutes ago I was flying down to Heathrow to meet up with Charlie. Nope, nine months has now gone by.
The last time I posted, I was merrily getting drunk at the coast. After this we went back to Beijing for another three nights - my last in China. No sight seeing this time, just nice food, even better drink and lots of time spent in a swimming pool that wouldn't have looked out of place on MTV's Cribs (The Westin - Financial District - THE hotel to go to in Beijing should anyone decide to visit!). I also had a fun time buying my Mam a ridiculous amount of bags from The Silk Market.
My last day in China, how will I remember it? Laying in a shivering wreck on the bed suffering from food poisoning. I have certainly never experienced anything like it. Nine bloody months in China and I get as bad as a dog on the last day (I had hoped for something a bit better for Hilary, but alas it was not to be). I lost half a stone in weight during 12 hours. Death would have been more favorable to the way I was feeling that long long day. Anyhow, by about the evening time, after saying goodbye to Hilary for the last time - I went back to the Executive Lounge for the free drinks and food that was offered to sophisticated guests such as ourselves.
After traveling for what felt like days, even though the clock claimed it was apparently no time at all, I left the heat of Asia (It had been over 30degrees C for the entire previous month pretty much) and arrived in Newcastle. And it has hardly stopped raining since.
The last time I posted, I was merrily getting drunk at the coast. After this we went back to Beijing for another three nights - my last in China. No sight seeing this time, just nice food, even better drink and lots of time spent in a swimming pool that wouldn't have looked out of place on MTV's Cribs (The Westin - Financial District - THE hotel to go to in Beijing should anyone decide to visit!). I also had a fun time buying my Mam a ridiculous amount of bags from The Silk Market.
My last day in China, how will I remember it? Laying in a shivering wreck on the bed suffering from food poisoning. I have certainly never experienced anything like it. Nine bloody months in China and I get as bad as a dog on the last day (I had hoped for something a bit better for Hilary, but alas it was not to be). I lost half a stone in weight during 12 hours. Death would have been more favorable to the way I was feeling that long long day. Anyhow, by about the evening time, after saying goodbye to Hilary for the last time - I went back to the Executive Lounge for the free drinks and food that was offered to sophisticated guests such as ourselves.
After traveling for what felt like days, even though the clock claimed it was apparently no time at all, I left the heat of Asia (It had been over 30degrees C for the entire previous month pretty much) and arrived in Newcastle. And it has hardly stopped raining since.
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