Dong zhi

That is the name given to today, the Winter Solstice, the shortest day of the year. The Chinese legend is that on this day, you must eat a dumpling or your ear will freeze. Thankfully, the school cafeteria serves dumplings on Mondays so that will be easy to do. During the flag raising ceremony this morning (mandatory every Monday), I did think my ears were going to fall off (16 degrees out this morning).

On Saturday morning was the Christmas program put on by the Grade 10 classes (called Foundation classes here). It started at 9 am and went until 12:30. A bit long! The parts I enjoyed the most were the traditional Chinese entertainment, but unfortunately there was little of that. Many of them tried to emulate the rap songs and dances, with varying degrees of success. A pic of a student who does ballet:

In the bottom photo, the student is playing an ancient Chinese instrument called a GuQin.

The program also auctioned off student works for charity. I bid on a couple watercolor pictures, yelling out "1000 RMB". It created quite a stir when they realized a foreign teacher had put in a bid.  It was quickly surpassed and ended up going for almost 4000 RMB, but a nice turn at the end was that the person who put in the winning bid presented me with the pictures as a gift. I got all choked up and had a hard time expressing my thanks.

Later that night, we had the Christmas dinner for our staff at a restaurant called China Roast. No hot pot this time, but lots of duck. It was a good dinner with plenty of food to go around.

Christmas falls on a Thursday, but we decided it would be nice to get Friday off and make it a 3-day weekend. The Chinese relented (they don't get the day off and will be covering our classes for us) so we lucked out...

I decided to share some US culture with my classes this week so I'm going to show A Christmas Story. They seem excited about it so we'll see how it goes.

I've got some more pics of the Xmas show but I'll have to post them later as they're on my laptop back at the apartment (where the water went off Friday but thankfully right after I took my shower - it seems to be a regular occurrence).

Stay warm and Merry Christmas everyone!!!

1000 and counting!

I've now hit over 1000 views of this blog! I will have to look into sprucing it up and selling some ad space on the side...

The word that comes to mind this past week is COLD. It's just cold - not wet or snowy or icy, but cold. In the morning it's in the upper teens or low twenties, and then gets up to the thirties or low forties in the afternoon. There is no frost or anything on the car windows - it's a dry cold. Some snow or something would be nice, but I guess that doesn't happen very often.  The temperature in my apartment is pretty comfortable now, but one has no control over the heat - you get what you get...

Yesterday a small group of students invited us foreign teachers to a hot pot dinner at a well-known restaurant near the Blue Goose Pagoda. It was one of the better hot pots I've had, but getting there was not easy. One thing we've found is that there is definitely a shortage of cabs in Xián - sometimes you can't find one for the life of you. So we ended up going on a bus... and then transferring to another bus... and they are almost always crowded. So it takes an hour... Part of Xián does have a subway system - which is very nice - and they are expanding it - but I imagine it will be quite a while before it gets down to the southern part of the city here.

So what are the Xmas holidays like here? Kind of like any other day. There are some ritzy stores that will have up a tree (fake) or a Merry Christmas banner but no strings of lights or anything. Haven't seen a Santa either (that would probably cause quite a stir). The students are putting on a Xmas presentation but it is on Saturday morning and goes on for about 4 hours according to those in the know. Hence not many of us plan on attending. Our staff is having a hot pot on Saturday night to celebrate but I imagine it will be fairly low-key. On Xmas weekend, some of the staff is going to a local mountain for a couple days to go skiing, but seeing as how I didn't really bring the winter gear for it, plus it isn't much of a mountain and the snow is all fake, I'm taking a pass. I've downloaded the movie A Christmas Story so maybe I'll watch that with the hangers-on. It is not a holiday here in China so all schools and businesses are open as usual.

Our main source of obtaining movies and shows here has been shut down. It was a website called The Pirate Bay. It's not what you'd call legal but it's the only way to get western entertainment here. I finished reading And the Mountains Echoed and am figuring out what to start next...

Sheng dan kuai le (Merry Christmas)

You will have no discipline problems...

Well, China is growing up. Ben said something to Frank that he didn't like. Frank hit Ben with his fist. I asked Frank to step outside the class so we could talk, and on the way out of the classroom, Frank picked a bottle up off of Ben's desk and struck him in the head with it. Result: lots of blood and 3 stitches in the head for Ben. I told the principal that Frank should be removed from school, but they both received a one week suspension and returned to class. They are both seniors, and will be going to the US next year at a university or community college (for them, probably a community college as their command of English is poor). The principal asked Frank to write an apology letter, responding to the phrase, "Sticks and stones may break my bones but words will never hurt me." Here is his essay, unedited:

Firstly of all .all the problems could be solved through the civilized function. It means any contradictions can be addressed by the words which are the greatest invention during the development of human. There is old saying in Chinese that the most stupid people will use violence to solve problem. As to me I was the stupid gay .because I used the violence to deal the simple problem .originally is a very simple classmate contradiction. But I did the worst business. To hurt the people around me. Even so serious.Sometimes our words may not hurt the others .But the way we interview might cause great harm to the people.here is a storyAn ancient king dreamed all his teeth had faled out.He sent for a wise man to explain his dream to him:the dream means that all your relatives will die and you will be left alone.the king was very angry and threw the interpreter into prison.He then sent for another interpreter who said,”Congratulations!king!You will live many more years.In fact you will survivi all your relatives Long live the King”These two interpreters gave the same mean.But there are also differences between them some words will make people angry,some are not.Which would you prefer?So words have power we do need use them carefully.

Security. Really Ben's words didn't listen to me and damage myself esteem. to made me can not stand for it .but it didn't hurt  my bones .that is true .I should not give him such a serious injury in order to my self-respect .As a high school student, the responsibility is love the collective ,solidarity students, help each other and relations to other. In stand of doing the harm things to brothers. I do make mistake and I will say it to. To protect the brothers is my responsibility. And I will focus on it.

Finally. I do believe the sticks and stones will hurt people and the words do not give a people hurt so deep.so am i.i am not hurt deeper than Ben.i apologize for the mistake‍ 

Frank wrote a second essay as well but this one makes more sense.

And so for some reason I thought when I came over here that I would not run into this type of stuff. In fact, in 24 years of teaching I have never had violence of this nature in my classroom. The principal never had either - it was the first time he had encountered something like this in China, and he was not sure how to handle it. He praised me on my handling of it...

So they are back now. Learned a lesson? Perhaps. Ben has been working harder (why he was also suspended for saying some words I don't know). Frank has been nonproductive. They are a challenging class - all of the worst students have been tracked together. It's hard to imagine them being successful in the US. But it's the land of opportunity, right?

Gobble, gobble!

Try the above for a sample of some Chinese hip-hop(?) music...

Well, here it is Thanksgiving, and I'm sitting at my desk at school waiting for 5:30 so I can leave (actually our departure time is supposed to be 5:35). It doesn't look like we'll be doing anything tonight. We decided to wait until tomorrow night so that we can stay out later and get a good night's sleep. All of the restaurants offering Thanksgiving food are closer to downtown Xi'an which is a good bus ride from here. And sometimes getting back at night can be a chore as taxis become scarce (the buses quit running around 9 or 10). There are only 5 true Americans on staff here (and two can't go) and the others don't really care too much about the holiday. Skye says he wants to join us with his girlfriend,  so at most there will be 5 of us. I don't have high expectations for the food as most of the 'western' food I've had here they don't prepare it the same way...

Happy Turkey!

Should states possess nuclear weapons?

That was the topic of debate this weekend (worded in a Pro/Con format). It was to be debated in English and consisted of 10th and 11th grade students, mostly from schools in Xián. It was really interesting to watch them, although the subject did get a little tired after a while. Some students mastery of English was obviously better than others, and we were asked not to judge them on their English so much as their content. However, it is hard to do well if you are stumbling all over your words! I think there were around 200 entrants, and a team of 2 girls from my school won. They are both in one of my AP Calculus classes, with one of them having lived in San Diego for a year which definitely helped them.  They paid us 500 RMB a day for our troubles, so it took some of the sting out of giving up another weekend (although these phantom weekends are getting old). As far as the students' opinions on the topic - well, they have to be prepared to take either side. But privately, I would say that whichever side is taken, they do not want war of any kind!

On Friday night Chris, Jake and I decided to go to the movies to see Interstellar (almost a 3 hour movie). It has proven to be a very popular movie here in China and the theater was sold out. We paid $4 for our tickets (25 RMB) which I thought was pretty good. If you buy your tickets, and popcorn, on-line here you save a ton of money (and there is no service charge like Fandango). I don't know why theaters in the US aren't doing it as it works really well and you even get to select the seats you want to sit in. The audience was a bit noisy at times, but as they are reading the subtitles I suppose the spoken dialog isn't as important to them... A Chinese woman sitting next to me was on the edge of her seat half the movie and looked to be crying a couple of times. A couple weeks before, I went to my first movie in China and saw the 3-D movie African Safari (a documentary). It had great animal footage and I enjoyed it although Sky said he was a bit bored after a while. I bought a popcorn package on-line before that movie which consisted of a small popcorn, bag of treats (I don't know what it was), and a coke for 10 RMB ($1.63). Good deal, eh? But the popcorn they serve here is like kettle corn - no salt or butter but they do put sugar on it. It was OK but not something I'd want again.

Oh yeah, they turned the heat on Nov. 15!! At least, they said they did. My apartment didn't feel any warmer for a couple days. But then I started to notice it feeling warmer when I came in the door. Right now it is a comfortable temperature. Based on what others are saying, the warmth of the apartments varies like crazy. Some too hot, some too cold. And it's a bit frustrating because you can't regulate it at all... The air pollution also gets much worse in the winter because of the coal burning to supply the heat. We've already had a couple days labeled Severely Polluted and you see more people wearing masks. The old-timers say this is nothing, however. Right now the index is in the 200's range and they say it goes up to the 700's - sometimes higher! Makes me want to go out and run a marathon!

So I see that Thanksgiving week is coming up, and the schools in the Portland area are probably out all week. I'm jealous! No days off here at all. We've been talking about things to do, but nothing has solidified as yet. Haven't seen any turkeys running around here...

Here's a mural that was painted on the wall inside the KTV last week. We all thought it was pretty strange (those urinals are just paintings) and posed for pictures..

They say it's your birthday...

... gonna have a good time! (?) (from the ol' Beatles song)
So Friday night, the night before my birthday, about 8 of us went to KTV. What they have is different size rooms (depending on the size of your party) to rent out for a 3 or more hour period. It's like a mini-disco inside, with flashing lights, loud music, and a big screen tv. There were 3 microphones for people to sing along with and maracas and a tambourine. They had a huge selection of music to choose from - chinese and english. Many of the english tunes were knock-offs and didn't really sound the same but passable. One of the songs I sang was "Strangers in the Night" by Frank Sinatra (no one knew that one!) and Sky recorded it on his phone. If he can send it to me, I will share it - embarrassing as it may be! They said it was good, but I cringe when I listen to it!
 Then on Saturday, my birthday, I awoke with an upset stomach and a bad case of the runs. After about 6 trips to the toilet, I then regurgitated whatever I had the night before. I spent the day lying down in bed feeling miserable. Sky came over with his girlfriend and they tried to fix me up with some Chinese medicine. I tried to tell him all I wanted was some 7-Up and crackers but he wouldn't hear of it. I tried to eat what he gave me but I just couldn't do it - the taste was too strange. He handed me a thermometer to take my temperature and was aghast when I put it in my mouth! Here they put it under their armpit. I was running a temp of 101.  So that was my 59th birthday!
I woke up this morning feeling much better - not 100% but I should be ok by tomorrow (Monday). It was just a 24 bug I caught I guess.
I can't say for sure, but I'm guessing that may be my only KTV venture while I'm here!

Spanking the monkey

At the end of my entry on Oct.7, I posted a video of a guy hitting a top with a whip. It was intriguing, and another teacher, Ryan, also saw someone doing it. We decided we'd each get one and try it out. So last weekend we found a stall where a guy sells them and we got one. I thought it'd be really difficult to get it going, but we discovered it only took a few tries. Sky informs us it's called 'spanking the monkey' , probably after the monkey in the Chinese classic Journey to the West. They also make one that lights up when you spin it at night and I'm thinking of trying that out too. I just love the sound of that whip when it snaps!
It's been pretty cold here lately - usually in the 30's or 40's in the morning and then getting up to the 50's or low 60's in the afternoon. When there's no heat, you definitely feel it! I can't wait until Saturday when they turn the heat on. I was informed that they will turn the heat on earlier than Nov. 15 if there are at least 5 consecutive days of really cold weather. I guess the weather we've been having doesn't classify as cold enough!
I hear Obama is going to be in China this week. They've instituted all kinds of restrictions in Beijing to cut down on the pollution while he's here. It's all a big show and the people have to suffer... We've been moderately polluted lately after we had a few days in a row of really clear weather.
We are in the midst of mid-term exams at school now. I've got a boatload of exams to grade now - the downer is that they really don't count anything for their grades. It's a mystery to us how their grades are arrived at... If you want to read a quick little review of a book about Chinese education, check this out - he nails it on the head:  http://www.nybooks.com/articles/archives/2014/nov/20/myth-chinese-super-schools/
The weekend of Nov.22 I signed up to be a judge for a debate competition (it's in English). They put a lot of pressure on us to do it and are actually giving a little monetary compensation. The topic they're debating is 'Should nations have nuclear weapons?'
We went downtown to a bar last weekend to hear a Chinese rock n roll band. It was a small place and the band had to really squeeze into a little area. They played about 4 songs, then said they were taking a break, and then never came back! They were ok, but nothing stood out about their music.
We've found a few places around here where they have pool tables and have been doing that a few times on the weekend. One place even has tables outdoors - not sure how that works in the rain. The balls don't seem to roll very straight there... We're still looking for a bowling alley - figure there must be one in this city somewhere - and maybe found one to explore this weekend.
We are located somewhat on the outskirts of the city and have to take a bus or taxi to get anywhere exciting. The buses are super cheap but also super crowded, and sometimes it can take a LONG time to get a taxi at night. Gets kind of frustrating sometimes...
A few of us started a Movember campaign at school - growing moustaches for the month of November. Sky wanted to join in and we said sure! He was informed today by the Chinese principal that he must shave. It makes no sense... So I'm shaving mine off tomorrow in support of him...
Here's a pic of the Bell Tower at night. It really is impressive...

And then, of course, some more signage -

That's it for today!

HuaShan

HuaShan is one of 5 sacred mountains in China. This one is Taoist. I think it's 6-7000 feet tall.
If you Google it you will see it listed as one of the most precipitous tourist spots in the world.
Believe it!!
The trails on Chinese mountains are not what we are used to in the US. They consist of concrete. Either concrete and cobblestone if it is flat or at a slight incline, and when it gets steep they are concrete steps. This mountain is very steep, so we're talking a lot of steps. We're talking my calves are killing me! Because it is so steep, there really would be no other way to climb it as a simple trail wouldn't offer enough safety. The steps are confined on both sides (usually) with chain siderails.

I did this hike on Saturday and Sunday, Oct.25 & 26. There were 6 of us in our group - Daryll (our school principal), Chris (English physics teacher), Jake (Denver geography teacher), Jason (Australian husband of Nicole, a chemistry teacher), Skye (Chinese math teacher), and myself.
It was nice because not only did I get to visit a nice spot, but also road the subway and bullet train for the first time. The subway is nice and clean, but we were on it during the morning rush hour (it was Saturday but that doesn't matter in China) and there is literally a person outside the subway doors to help push people in. Talk about sardines... The bullet trains, on the other hand, is all assigned seating, and much more comfortable than airlines. They zip along at 190 mph and you wouldn't even know it - very quiet and smooth. I don't think our train system will every match it...

The idea is you climb up to the East peak (there are 4 or 5 peaks), spend the night, and then get up and watch the sunrise in the morning. The weather was ideal- it only got cold once the sun went down. 3 of us (me included) spent the night in a hostel up there, the other 3 slept outside in sleeping bags. We made the right choice, I think, as it got very crowded outside the closer it got to morning.
I didn't find the sunrise all that spectacular, but it was a good experience.
If this is like the last time I climbed a mountain here, I will be limping for a few days until my calves recover.
It was a nice weekend to get away and we really lucked out with the weather!
Here is a link to the pictures. I dropped my camera and almost broke it but it seems to be hanging in there.
https://plus.google.com/photos/102773079683555477704/albums/6074374747868058945

Smog or fog - you make the call!

This is the view outside the window of the elevator lobby of my apartments on the 11th floor this morning.

It has been, and continues to be, a busy week. This is the view that I was looking at on Saturday morning:

Yup, it's been a while since we've had a 2 day weekend. This is one of my classes sitting in an auditorium getting ready for a 40 minute demonstration lesson on Saturday. I had to present a lesson on Functions & Equations to an audience of teachers, professors, and experts. Over 100 people easily. It's not even a topic I necessarily teach, but it is from a Chinese textbook and what they do is have 4 different teachers (from all over China) present a lesson over the same material and then they critique them. Sometimes they have competitions and award places, and sometimes just talk about them. Thank God it wasn't one where they give awards cause that really bothers me... But each subject area does one and I got chosen to give one for math for our school. The other 3 lessons were all in Chinese and I understood nothing. I can say, however, that judging from my powerpoints my presentation was the flashiest! Some of the discussion afterwards was translated for me and they had a lot of positives to say. The Western style of teaching is definitely different than theirs! One expert did comment that he didn't think they should have competitions, but instead just share ideas...
Afterwards all the teachers involved decided to celebrate and go to Hooters. Yes, there is a Hooters in Xián! I have never been to a Hooters anywhere, so it was a first for me! It was nice because the food was really good and tasted just like home. It was definitely expensive. I can't compare the outfits they wear here because I haven't seen them in the US, but I would say they probably save a lot on clothing costs. Two things stood out to me though - first, they added in a 10 % gratuity. That's the first time I've seen a tip in China. And I have to say those women really hustled. And secondly, the bathroom was the cleanest I've seen here. China is not known for clean or nice smelling bathrooms. I could've slept on the floor of theirs.
So then I woke up Sunday not feeling up to par (I had been waking up most mornings last week with a slight sore throat) and have been under the weather since (but still making it to school!). Sky has hooked me up with some Chinese medicine and I don't know if it has helped but it hasn't hurt! I'm kind of mad because a bunch of us were planning to go to Hua Shan to climb a mountain this weekend but if I'm not feeling better I'm not sure if I'll go. Also this week, a representative from the main office in Nanking is visiting and doing observations and grading our work. I get observed tomorrow morning. It adds a lot of stress because they put a lot of emphasis on these observations as they don't get out here very often... Almost everyone in our office has come down with this bug in the last couple weeks.
Well, next time I'll either have some nice pictures to share of Hua Shan or I'll brag about how clean the air is here. This is a pic of the certificate I earned this weekend:

And Saturday makes seven...

We had school yesterday, Saturday, so I can now say that I've taught on every day of the week! I don't know if that's a good or bad thing, but the Chinese just take it in stride...
So now we've made up for a couple of the days we had off, and things sort of go back to normal. Our next day off is Thanksgiving - we just get the one day off. I think we're going to ask that it be Friday instead of Thursday so that it makes a 3 day weekend. As we're a day ahead of the US, it works out to be sort of Thursday anyways!
The beginning of last week started off terrible with the pollution. The pollution index was the worst since I've been here and was rated Severely Polluted. My colleagues say it gets worse and there were some days last year where you couldn't hardly see across the courtyard from our office windows. The Chinese are very aware of it and it is not something they are happy about! The last couple days have been windy and I think it's taken the bad stuff with it - the air is now rated excellent. It's also gotten much cooler - highs around 50.
This picture is along the sidewalk I walk on to get to school everyday. On the other side of the metal fence is the school. The streets and sidewalks are maintained by people that dress up in bright orange jumpsuits. I see this man almost every morning sweeping the leaves up on the sidewalk. They have these long "brooms" that they sweep from side to side. They cover quite a bit of area and appear to be very light. I don't know how long they last but they look to be just made of a bunch of tree branches tied together.

Good to see that the Ducks took care of UCLA!

Ramblings...

All of the sidewalks here are made to be easily managed by the blind. The sidewalks are all constructed of blocks or tiles - they are not solid concrete. In the middle are tiles with parallel elevated markings so a blind person could "follow" along. Only problem - I haven't seen one blind person out on the sidewalks yet.

It would be difficult for a handicapped person to get around here. I have only seen a couple people in wheelchairs and they were being pushed around. All buildings are not wheelchair accessible. I haven't seen a single motorized wheelchair - and definitely not in the supermarkets! (My, how do they manage???)

No fire sprinkler systems installed in any buildings that I've seen. Just not necessary - they are almost 100% concrete. And most floors are tile. Explains why I can hear a marble roll across the floor of the apartment above me.

There are many, many dialects in China. While at Li Mountain with my Chinese friend Skye, he commented that there were many people there that he couldn't understand a word they were saying. There are 5 tones in Mandarin, but some dialects only have two. Makes it doubly tough to learn the lingo.

Skye says Chinese men develop iron stomachs. Mine must be getting there, because on the way back from Li, Skye got sick but I didn't. We ate all the same food.

I can't tell the difference between fog, haze, and pollution. All I know is I usually can't see very far.

The taxis here are green and mustard yellow color. They are also very cheap. No tipping. Sometimes someone in a regular car or van will stop and ask you if you want a ride. Get in at your own risk - if the police pull them over (happened to a teacher here), that driver will get in trouble and the police will question you - but most likely let you go.

The roads here are in excellent shape. Haven't seen any potholes. If they need to repair a road, they just put up some barriers around the hole and start digging. There are no lane change warnings or anything to alert drivers. It leads to some crazy swerving around - even into opposing lanes of traffic.

They have trucks that wash the streets down daily. They play music that reminds me of an ice cream truck. I tell my students that it's time to go out and get some ice cream.

Cars here are in good shape too! You don't see beat up clunkers or jalopies (except the old 3 wheeled vehicles of the peasants). And they cost a lot of money too. Skye says a parking spot in his apartment building costs $36,000.

My electricity ran out for the 2nd time since I've been here. Everything just goes out. Then you have to go to the management office and put some money on your electricity credit card, come back to your apartment, put it in the electricity slot and it credits you the amount on your card.

Little kids, who I assume aren't quite potty-trained yet, walk around in pants with no underpants that has an open slit at their butt. Then, if they have to go, they just squat down and do their business wherever. Haven't quite got used to that one yet...

After lunch, they like to take their naps. You'll see street workers just laying on the ground or wherever they can manage taking a snooze. At school, the Chinese teachers take over the teachers lounge and sleep on all the couches. Makes it tough to go in and get a cup of coffee...

Signage...

The descent from Li Mountain, involving countless stairs, did my calves in. It was time to try a blind massage. It is only about $10. You stay fully clothed, only take off your shoes, and you are in full view of anyone walking by. I told the masseuse (well, I pantomimed it) that my calves needed extra work. Boy, did I get it! I almost cried out in pain. But my calves feel better. The Chinese think that blind people have a sense for the massage. Interestingly enough, I never saw a blind person while I was there (I've seen him there before). He must've been taking a nap. But it was still worth it!

I think, with these pictures, if you left-click on them they will enlarge for a better view.
I decided to walk home from the Lotus supermarket the other day. It's about a 1.5 hr walk and it goes through a nice parkway. It has numerous signs throughout, and I couldn't resist a few photos to share...

There were some nice flowers blooming...

 First time I've seen a no honking sign. They need a few million of them...

 Inside the elevator door at my apartment. There is also a list of about 6 rules posted as well...

And then God said "Go forth and multiply"...

...and they did.
It's been an interesting week off. One more day left.
The plan on Thursday was to go to Li Mountain - which is on the way to the Terracotta warriors, then zip over to the warriors. Skye and I left at 6:30 in the morning to catch the bus to the main train/bus terminal. The bus terminal was a literal sea of people - there's a huge plaza out front and there was a person on every square foot. We found the line for the Terracotta warrior bus (it stops off at Li Mountain on the way) and it weaved back and forth like a snake all over the place. I thought it would take forever but the line actually moved pretty fast (and it grew even longer as we were there) and bus after bus kept coming in to take people away. There was security policing the lines to keep them straight, and they were shouting things like "act like civilized people and do not cut in line". Once all the seats on a bus are full, they then have a second line of people who are willing to stand up (for the same price but the hope is they'll get on a bus faster). Then they pack them in. I already had a feeling that the warrior part was not going to happen that day.
Li Mountain was a place where a former emperor stayed. There are also some hot springs there (which as far as I could tell are not used any more). There is a cable car which you can take about 2/3 the way up the mountain. We decided to do that which was a good move, although the lines were again horrendous. Skye was telling me that they were announcing things like don't have sex over the p.a. system. Captive audience I guess. You literally have to scurry to get on the cable car when it comes around - they don't stop it for anything! Skye was not convinced it was safe...
Then there is a bird sanctuary to walk through on the rest of the way up the mountain (they have huge nets that are strung over all the trees to keep the birds in). It was not impressive.
We were determined to get to the top and it was one series of steps after another. I don't remember ever going up so many steps. Thankfully, it was not very hot that day. I can't imagine doing it on a hot day. We also stopped at some Buddhist temples on the way up that were impressive (too bad no photos allowed inside) and there was a ton of incense being burned (people buy sticks of incense and light them up for good luck and fortune). By the time we got back down I told Skye we should forget the warrior part - it was already into the afternoon and the crowd situation was making it not so enjoyable. Good thing we did because some other teachers went for it that day and they said it was a big mistake - people and lines everywhere. So I'll save the Terracota warriors for a quick Saturday or Sunday trip one of these weekends when there's no national holiday!
We were then going to go to Hua Shan (one of 5 sacred mountains) today, but after talking to some more people again decided to wait. People were not kidding when they said travel during the national holidays is packed! So I've got some pics of Li Mountain to share, but other than that stayed close to home. Gone to a large supermarket and got some items so that I can actually cook something and I made grilled cheese sandwiches yesterday (first time Skye has had one).
Ate a new Hot Pot Fish restuarant with Skye and his fiance's family. They bring the live fish to the table where you approve it and then they take it back and slice it all up into incredibly thin slices. You have a hot pot in the middle of the table that is boiling with all sorts of food and spices, and then you take a slice of raw fish in your chopsticks, dip it into the hot pot for 10 seconds, and eat it! It was interesting and again I ate stuff that I have no idea what it was, but it wasn't as good as the Peking duck last week.
Speaking of duck, what happened to the Ducks this week???

If it's Sunday, it must be...

a school day! Yes, Sunday we had a normal school day. This was so that we could take off 7 days in a row for the National holiday. When we get back from the vacation, we must work a Saturday as well to make up another day. Everyone is just resigned to it (including the students), and they may not like it, but they just shrug and say, "This is China - anything is possible..." So we've got one more day tomorrow, and then 7 days off. I don't think there's another vacation until the Chinese New Year in February (we get one day off for Christmas).
Any plans for the holiday, you ask? Well, a couple things possibly but nothing in stone. I'd like to see the terracotta warriors, tomb of Emperor Jingdi, and Hua Shan, one of Taoism's 5 sacred mountains. Whether I get to all 3 will depend on getting some people together. Things are much cheaper if you can get a small group together, plus it just makes it nicer getting around when there are more of you struggling to understand and be understood!
Since we were teaching on Sunday, 10 of us got together and went to a local restaurant known for Peking Duck. What a treat that was!! Had my best meal yet in China! There was cauliflower, sugared yams, mushrooms, lotus (really common here and this was the best I've had), duck soup, and of course the duck which you wrap in some kind of tortilla stuff and put some other stuff on it and then put some sauce stuff on it. Yumm! There was a bunch of other stuff too, which I don't know what it was but it was delicious. And also some flower tea.  All that for a little over 8 dollars, and no tipping allowed!
They are instituting a new on-line grading system at our school for the first time. It is called Engrade. I caught on instantly and  everyone wants to know how I do it. I told them I've been Synergized. It is not as complex as Synergy but has some other features that are very nice. Sorry, Synergy, you've lost a customer.
I noticed one of my female students singing with some other girls before class started one day. I asked Nebular (her English name) what she was singing and she said Taylor Swift. I asked if she would sing for me and the most beautiful voice I've heard in a long time came out singing English lyrics perfectly. I am still amazed by it...
Well I took some pictures at school the other day for anyone interested and made them public. Here they are: https://plus.google.com/photos/102773079683555477704/albums/6064109948989858881
There are captions to most of the pictures, but sometimes they appear at the bottom, sometimes at the right. It's a little complicated to describe how they name the classes so I'll spare you right now.
Í'm a little apprehensive what's going to happen when this holiday starts. The Chinese love to blow off firecrackers, and not just little ones! Sometimes the noise can be deafening!

Che dan

That's Chinese for bullshit. I'm starting to learn the really important words now...

The rain has stopped. As a result, we finally had the opening ceremony for the school season today as it is held outside on the athletic field. It is definitely interesting. The sound of students chanting at the top of their voices is somewhat scary - I have to say it reminded me of the Germans in WWII. They teach the students to march and follow orders. Bizarre... they are brought up doing it so I don't think most students think twice about it... and you can see some students in the middle kind of horsing around so you know they don't all take it seriously... but it is nonetheless a little unsettling. We teachers had to sit on stools for 2 hours during this assembly and not understand a word of it...

October 1 to 7 is a holiday. I'm not real sure what it is for, but they have it every year. The dates vary, though, and it wasn't announced when the actual days off would be until like 10 days ago. So that makes it very hard to make plans, get reservations, that sort of thing and get a decent price. It's also a crazy time to travel because it's when all the people who have moved to the cities go home to visit their families in their home town - so everything's really crowded. I checked into going to a couple places that people have recommended in Vietnam and Thailand but the prices are just too high. It'll have to wait until another time I suppose. Here's the real kicker, though. To get 7 days off in a row, we have to make up for the weekend that we're off so we have to teach on the Sunday before the holiday and the Sunday after. Isn't that just crazy?  Why they don't just add the days on to the end of the year I don't know. Obviously teachers in the States would never agree to do it, but here it isn't questioned (by the Chinese). Maybe I can now say I'm a Sunday school teacher!

One of the teacher's wife is Chinese and she has agreed to give Chinese lessons for us. She will do a good job I think. Her husband, David, is like the VP here and is from Scotland. She's the first Chinese person I've met who speaks English with a Scottish accent. David is excited about the Scottish election tomorrow for independence from England.  Win or lose, he wants to go celebrate tomorrow after school so I thnk we'll go back to the pool hall we discovered last weekend. I was hardly aware of this vote, but being in a room with English and Scots, I've gotten my fill of it!

With the rain gone, I'm hoping to get out a bit more this weekend. Some of the weirdness of the Chinese culture is getting to me right now, and I don't like it when women cut in front of me in line because they know I won't say anything! (Or can't say anything!). It's che dan!

Picture this...

I'm thinking what to write tonight and it occurred to me - just do some pictures. So here you go...

Sign at the bottom of the Wild Goose Pagoda:

Was it necessary to translate the spitting part?

A Buddha figurine:

Look closely at the necklace around her neck. I did not know that Hitler borrowed the swastika from Buddha. He just reversed it.

The ceiling of a mall in downtown Xián:

It is the largest LCD display I've seen on a ceiling. Very cool...

Sky banging on drums in a Chinese arcade:

Hot pot dinner over at the boss's flat:

My poor soggy clothes that won't dry out in the wet weather we're having. I made the mistake of washing all my pants this weekend and none of them were dry by Monday morning. So I wore damp pants...

It's supposed to stop raining on Thursday...

Rain, rain go away!

We are now in our 8th straight day of rain. But no worries, it isn't a downpour or 24 hours a day. But it is getting rather tiring and dodging all the rain puddles on the sidewalks can get challenging (doesn't seem to be very good drainage built in...). The weather report says we will see the sun on Friday. People around here say all this rain is unusual, but I've decided that the weather is always unusual...
Not venturing out much this weekend compared to last. Headed over to Sky's again last night for dinner and his dad prepared the meal. Sky says his dad is a better cook than his mom. He cooked up 3 dishes (they never have just a single dish) - some kind of mutton soup, eggs with sauteed onions, and something else that I have no idea what it was (very common for me!). It was all delicious. Jake and I rode one of those electric 3-wheeled taxis over there. First time I'd been in one, They are a bit cozy and slow but about a third the cost of a regular taxi. How do we tell the driver where we want to go, you ask? You have a business card of the person or place with the Chinese address written on it and just hand it to him. And no tipping!
Sky's dad is the same age as me - speaks no English but enjoys having people over. He is retired - a government worker I think. He had cancer a couple years back and Sky said he underwent chemo and lost all his hair. It looks like he has fully recovered. Both his mom and dad are members of the communist party (Sky is not and has no desire to join it). It sounds like it is a pain in the ass but has many perks. I can tell you that their apartment is certainly extremely nice!
Many of the students are studying for their upcoming SAT exams. I don't know the exact date, but the SATs are not given in China - the students have to fly to Hong Kong to take it. It ends up costing them about $1000 to take the test after figuring in plane, hotel and meals. Quite an investment! I asked Sky why don't they give it in China and he thinks that SAT doesn't want to because the Chinese students would score too well - they would take it at every opportunity.  I don't know if I believe that, but I do agree they would probably take it every time it was offered!
Friday night after school a bunch of us teachers went to a new pool hall here. They have 5 beautiful tables and absolutely no one was playing and the place was deserted. I guess pool hasn't caught on here yet. So what we found out was that everyone single one of us is a terrible pool player. But it was fun. We left from there to go back to Barbecue Street for late night snacks and play some more liars dice.
They  finally told us that we would have Oct.1 - 7  off for a national holiday (I can't remember what it's for right now). But in order to get a full week off we have to make up for a couple days by working 2 Sundays! And I was going to go to church...

Teacher's Day!

Today is National Teacher's Day in China.  Students actually walk up to you and say "Happy Teacher's Day!" I got a few cards, box of pens (mostly red because only teachers use red ink - students will refuse to write in red), a plant and a miniature cake at lunch. Not bad for only having the students for 1.5 weeks. I'm trying to learn all their names but their room teacher constantly moves them around and every time they do that it sets me back to zero. It will be a long process...

One aspect of teaching here is that there are no substitutes (can't really call in an English-speaking sub). So guess what? We have to cover for them. Due to crazy circumstances already, I have had to do this 3 times and envision it will be quite common. Chris, the Econ teacher from Ireland, just up and quit on Friday (said it was family issues but everyone knows different). Jake had visa problems and had to go to Shanghai for 2 days this week to get it resolved, and 2 teachers have called in sick. Sure makes it interesting!

Now here's something that I found fascinating - all of the heat in China is government controlled. The gas and electricity and water that I pay for is all separate from the heating system. And the Chinese government turns the heat on November 15 and shuts it off on March 15 regardless of the weather. So if it's cold before Nov. 15, too bad! (Well, I've been advised to buy a space heater.) And I have no control over the temperature when it is turned on. Reminds me of the heating system at Michigan State when I was there - you couldn't turn the heat down in the dorms so you'd just open your windows in the middle of winter if your room got too hot...  And you do receive a separate bill for the heat.

Students are all issued their own textbooks here - they own them and can do whatever they want with them. The interesting part is that they are all bootlegs - they take a real textbook and copy it page by page, bind them up with a nice cover and voila! It almost looks like the real thing! The principal can't understand why they do that because the cost of real textbooks, while definitely more expensive, could just be rolled into their tuition amount without any large effect. And the copy machine is definitely something to behold - big, ancient, and noisy - but extremely fast!

Many of the students are in the midst of studying for their Toefl exams - it shows their fluency in English. I believe they also have to have a certain score to get admitted to the universities in the US. Like any place, some students pick up English quickly and for others it's a struggle. Many students are shy too which makes it tough. But in the long run, I think most of them come out ok...

It has been raining here since Sunday (today is Wednesday) and the weather forecast is calling for rain through Tuesday. It's not torrential but more than Portland-style. One thing I notice about many of the sidewalks, hallways and corridors is that they were made without any concern for drainage. You have to dodge huge puddles (even the hallways at school, which are covered but open-aired). Rain jackets are not common but you will see a sea of umbrellas.

I think for lunch today I had some kind of Muslim food. No idea what it was, but it was good!

Mid-Autumn Happy Festival

No school today, Monday Sept. 8.
Here is how the holiday is described on the bulletin board at the back of one of my classes:

Get together with family, sit around the table beneath the star and round bright moon with lots of delicious food, especially moon cakes. Children playing in yard, some sitting beside their grandparents and listening to the old region of change. Every year in this day, the moon will be exceptionally clear and bright. When the people who work far away from home cannot get back look at the moon with their family. They always start to miss each other and see the same moon...

So for dinner tonight the principal has invited a bunch of the newbies over to his flat to have dinner and we will look at the moon together. Unfortunately, it is cloudy and rainy today so I think we'll have to imagine it...

Yesterday I went to the Wild Goose Pagoda with Jake and Sky:

It was built during the Ming Dynasty to house Buddha writings and relics. You may notice it leaning slightly to the side, but not as bad as the leaning tower of Pisa! The grounds around it are well-kept and it has nice gardens - it's the first time I've seen any birds in China other than the little sparrows that are around the city. It is 50 Yuan to get into the park and another 30 to climb to the top (which we did). There are many old documents and relics on display - Sky commented that he could not read the ancient Chinese as the symbols are all different.

Outside of the park area is the Xián fountain. It is supposedly the largest fountain in Asia - I can tell you that it is extremely long - 3 football fields? At 9 every night they do a light show with the fountains to music:

The night scene there was very festive with lots of families. Jake, being a tall westerner, gets requested to have his photo taken with lots of people. He's getting a big head...

I had my first experience with a "squattie". It's the toilet that's basically a hole in the ground. They don't have toilet paper in the bathrooms either so you carry it with you or they'll sell you some. I didn't have any so I bought some and then entered the bathroom from hell. Luckily I finished without falling over or passing out from the smell! If I could have waited I would have!

Returning back from the fountain there were 5 of us looking for a taxi. No one was picking us up but an illegal taxi stopped and offered a ride. Another teacher once got caught in an illegal taxi and the police let him go but the driver gets in serious trouble. Anyways, we made it home, but not before driving through the diciest areas of town I've seen yet! Certainly the legal taxis don't take that route! We were all joking about being abducted and robbed and it made for an entertaining ride home...

Go Ducks!!!

The Wall

No, not The Great Wall. The Xián Wall, which surrounds the original city and was built sometime in the 1300's. Obviously not as long as The Great Wall, but it is wider.

I traveled to the wall with Jake. He's a recent addition to the staff and teaches US Geography. He hails from Denver but spent the last 2 years in the Peace Corps in Mongolia. We grabbed the #6 bus which takes you all the way there - 1 Yuan (16 cents). When we got about halfway there, one of the doors on the bus wouldn't open so the driver pulled over and we all had to exit and wait for the next bus. Thankfully, it wasn't a long wait, but we were already standing room and the bus we joined was standing room so you can imagine how intimate we became with the other passengers. We were warned to be wary of pickpockets on the buses so I kept everything secure in my front pockets...

Once we got there we were joined by Sky, the Chinese math teacher who has sort of adopted me and watches over me. He's 25 years old and speaks very good English. We walked down to Muslim St and got the dish that Xián is noted for - sorry I can't tell you the name. It's a soup with small bread cubes, mutton and a bunch of other stuff. They serve cloves of garlic on the side which people eat separately with the meal. It was really tasty, however I just tasted the garlic and left it at that... Muslim St is a long street with mostly restaurants and populated by a Muslim minority in China. Very colorful, very busy.

From there we went to the wall (entrance fee 54 RMB). Once on top, we rented bikes (40 Yuan) to go around. It is 13.74 km full circle.  I'm glad we did because at first we talked about walking it but in that heat the bikes turned out to be the ticket. It is very impressive - wide enough to drive 4 cars across with room left over... There are also some other historic buildings in the area - The Bell Tower and The Drum Tower - but we were told that they are impressive to see at night so we'll go back some other time. There are also some fountains there with a great night show so we'll catch that too.

We caught the #6 bus back without incident and had dinner at the local Dicos. Dicos is sort of like KFC. Sky said they had hamburgers, but it turns out their idea of hamburger means it has a hamburger bun. It was really a chicken burger. Not the best, but ok! I got home and went to bed!

Pics:  Top - view looking on top of the wall looking down the wall - it's a long ways!!
          Middle - A guard with a foreign tourist standing next to him
          Bottom - Muslim St

The previous night, Friday, we had a staff get-together on Barbecue St (a nickname because all the restaurants on the street barbecue their food and the roadway is closed off - street is filled with restaurant tables). It was a good turnout of staff and we had a great time. The waitresses brought us some cups with dice after dinner and we played a Chinese dice game until about midnight. I think we were the loudest table on the street and the Chinese had a good time staring at us! From what the returning teachers say, the group this year is MUCH better than last year. I'm sure it's the Oregon influence!

Inquiring minds want to know...

How do I dry my laundry?
Chinese apartments, at least around here, don't seem to have dryers. So you just hang it up. At first, I had nothing to hang anything on except furniture so I had every chair, sofa, and anything else I could find to hang it on (reminded me of what some families in Australia had to do). Now I've upgraded and have one of those stand thingies to hang stuff on. It works... Now don't ask me about ironing because that isn't happening...
How is your water heated?
Gas and electricity. I have to first plug in the heater, and then turn the gas switch on. The tank must hold about 2 gallons I figure. I think I've got it figured out now - I can wash my hair and face before running out of hot water. Then I turn the shower off, lather up the rest of my body, and then there's enough hot water to rinse off. I've had a few cold showers...
Gas stove?
Yup, it operates by turning on a separate gas switch. I've only used it for boiling water for coffee, eggs, and dumplings. My first big purchase was an electric teapot because it'll be cheaper and much faster.
How's the coke taste here?
Pretty much the same but they don't put as much carbonation in it.
Any western food places there?
Yeah, I discovered a Subway within walking distance. It's fairly identical and the prices are reasonable but expensive by Chinese standards. There's also a DQ, Pizza Hut, Starbucks, and maybe a Burger King somewhere. But they are too far to walk to... A plain latte in Starbucks will run you over $6. I like coffee but not that much.
Is the internet censored in China?
You betcha. Although I really don't understand why because anyone who really wants to avoid the filters can figure out a way. All the teachers use VPNs which direct us through dummy proxies. Right now this entry is actually coming through Los Angeles.  One thing that's available on the Chinese internet is free music and movies. But I avoid it because it is full of viruses and I don't know what the buttons say that you click on...
Are Chinese students really that smart?
Quick answer, no. But they have a different learning style that emphasizes a lot of memorization. So they can rattle something back to you but perhaps not have a deep understanding of it. And some of them are unmotivated. But a little chat with the principal supposedly brings them in line. The Chinese teachers are pretty hard on them. I don't think us foreigners could get away with that, nor do I want to.
Did you say that Chinese kids sometimes poop right on the street?
Yeah. They're trying to break people from letting their kids do it (I'm talking little kids), but some parents maybe find themselves in a bind and... It's a strange sight but doesn't seem to raise any eyebrows.
Seen any traffic accidents yet?
Strangely enough, no. If you saw them driving on the street you'd think there'd be an accident every other minute. But they seem to have it figured out and use their horns enough where I've yet to see a crash. But I know I'll see one eventually...
What's your favorite part so far?
The staff at the school. Good bunch of people from all over the world. Love to listen to all the accents.
Good day mates!

Blue skies, nothing but blue skies...

End of Day 2 at school. I looked up at the sky today and saw blue! That is the first time since coming here that I have seen blue sky - even one of the locals commented to me today on how nice the weather is. Something we kind of take for granted in Portland...
I keep forgetting to take my camera in to school - as soon as I do I'll have some more pictures. I've been getting up around 6 every morning and trying to hit the sack around 10. My body seems to have adjusted to the hard bed (can you say rock?) and I don't seem to have any sore muscles. My breakfast so far has consisted of a hard-boiled egg (they sell them in bags at the market - I bought a bag and there were 16 eggs in it!) and a piece of bread with some jam thrown on top. Along with a couple cups of instant coffee that seems to get me going. For lunch at school I've been eating in the cafeteria and that is my big meal. They pile the food on your plate - no way I can eat it all. And I have no idea what any of it is - yesterday I thought I was eating something with chicken in it and turns out it was eggplant. Whatever it is, it's healthy!

I think my largest class has 27 students in it. The most they could have is 30 as that's the number of desks in a room. Once the school year starts, the students don't move around much so your numbers don't change.  My smallest class is 17 and all the others I would put in the mid 20's.
All of the students have their regular Chinese names and then an English name that they choose because many of their names are so hard to pronounce. A couple of my favorites so far are Black and Strong...

So a few pics to take a gander at: the living area of the apartment, kitchen, and bedroom. The bottom photo is the view looking out one of the windows. I'm on the 11th floor of a 20 story building. Hope everyone had a great Labor Day - no such thing here!

Are you horny?

Then China is the perfect place for you! I'm speaking of liking to toot your car's horn, of course. The horns can be very annoying at times, but a fellow teacher Zach has explained that he actually likes it now. He has purchased a little scooter and rides it around, and he says that most of the horns are to let you know that a car is near you and watch out! Because lane changes happen all over the place, it can be tough to keep track of where everyone is, and the horns let you know. It makes sense, and I haven't yet seen a traffic accident (although I'm sure I will).  There are some drivers, though, that simply toot their horns at everything (for instance, turning a corner) or when in a traffic jam where it does absolutely no good. That is annoying! You will not see any traffic cops in China - they simply don't exist.

So here is a copy of my teaching schedule for the 1st week. I've been told that it will likely change several times, but the classes I teach shouldn't change, only the times. I won't explain exactly what each class is as they are all slightly different, but basically I have 4 AP Calculus AB/BC classes and 1 Mechanics class (it is an English course emphasizing math and physics).

I hope you have the ability to zoom in on it as it looks pretty small here...
The classes are 40 minutes each - I teach 20 classes a week for a total of 800 minutes or 13.3 hours/week.
Contrast that with North Clackamas where you'd teach 3 90 minute classes a day or 1350 minutes a week or 22.5 hours/week. Hmmm...

That's why it's not working!

Here I was thinking that we were having a staff dinner tonight - and it's not until next Friday! So I went in to a noodle restaurant and ordered up some spicy noodles (actually I just pointed) and I had a nutritious bowl of noodles and some type of meat (probably don't want to know) and a beer for $2.50 (15 yuan). Not bad!!

Tomorrow, which is a Saturday, we have our first meeting with all of our Chinese colleagues. Then we are done until Monday. The Chinese will be coming in on Sunday as well. (I'm distracted right now by the sound of loud firecrackers. They are blown off when someone dies. I figure there are many people that die - but then there are a lot of people!).  We'll get our starting timetable tomorrow and then I can give you the lowdown on our teaching hours. I can tell you that any teachers reading this won't like it - the number of teaching hours per week is significantly lower here (even though we have to be at school for a long time). Each period is 40 minutes long and my typical math class meets 4 times a week...

I met a woman in the apartment elevator this morning who started talking to me in English (a first). She tutors 12 year old kids in English on Friday evenings once or twice a month and asked if I'd be willing to join. I said sure, sounds like fun! I think next Friday is the first one, but that might conflict with our staff dinner so we'll see...

Rain is forecast for this weekend. I wonder if that will help cool it down. I haven't seen any rain here in China yet other than when I first arrived in Shanghai.

My 1st purchase in China was...

Yeah, I have to admit it. And it tasted so good!

The basic currency in China can be referred to 3 different ways (why make anything easy?).  It can be called renminbi (RMB - the people's currency), the yuan, and kuai. For rough calculations, you can figure $1 is about 6 Yuan, or divide your Yuan by 6 to get dollars. The food here is pretty cheap, but other household items are probably fairly close to US on average. When you go into a regular store and the items are bar-coded, no bargaining goes on. But if you go to a stall,  or stand, things are much more informal and you can bicker down. They'll show you the price using a calculator so you can manage that way...

I met one of my Chinese math counterparts yesterday. He is 25 years old, been teaching at the school for 3 years, goes by the english name Sky, and speaks pretty darn good English! He's very enthusiastic and has a quick smile - I'm looking forward to working with him. He thinks the Chinese are very hard on their children and that they memorize and learn things quickly but have no deep understanding. Arguments I've heard before. He also loves NBA basketball and can probably name for you every team and roster since 2000. When I told him I lived just a few blocks from the Trailblazer's arena, he was in awe! He's visited the US and said the highlight of his life was Universal Studios - when he was there he just couldn't believe the creativity and originality that was displayed there. 

Today, still no school, so I walked around looking for someplace to get some decent bread (hard to find here). After about an hour and a half, I came upon this bakery that is run by a Japanese, and he sells French style loaves of bread (baguettes?). It cost 7 Yuan (just a little over a dollar) which seems pretty reasonable. I am now going to have some...  

Look! Up in the sky! It's a bird, it's a plane, no, it's...

pollution! At first I thought that maybe it was just foggy in the morning, but then I was told there is no fog in Xián. You don't really notice it much here, unless you look off to the distance. The city has mountains around much of it, but you can't see them with the pollution. There has been 2 days so far when I have been able to see the outline of the mountains far away. You'll see a few people wearing masks, but not many. They say in the winter that it is much worse (coal burning power plants for heat?) and you'll see more people wearing masks. In Wuxi the pollution was particularly bad - you could smell it in the air. It certainly is a good thing that all (or most all) scooters and motorcycles are electric...

Opened up a Chinese bank account today - it only took a 2 hour wait in line! And I can now get paid!

Let me explain a little about the school here. I was trying to think of a good way to describe it and then the words "charter school"  popped into my head. Our International School (which is really 100% Chinese) is like a school within the larger school. We are totally separate in terms of classes and teachers, but share many of the same facilities. Our staff is mostly Chinese teachers, but us foreigners are here to give the classes a Western flavor and help prepare them for their exams a little better. Most of the classes will have a Chinese and a foreign teacher, with the teaching load split about 50-50. The majority of the students take AP coursework, with some opting for the British A-level system (I haven't quite got a handle on that one yet). The students objective is to get admitted to a Western or British university - and I have been told that 100% of them do! Truly amazing! There are about 500 students in the International School (grades 10-12) and I'm going to say 1500 in the larger, general school for a total of around 2000.

I'll be meeting with a Chinese math teacher this afternoon to discuss their curriculum, and then we don't go back to school until  Saturday (yup, I said Saturday) for a few more meetings before school starts on Monday. We have Sunday off, but the Chinese teachers will be working the whole weekend. You'll find that the weekends here don't necessarily mean much to the Chinese, and the majority of them work 6 day weeks.
We still have absolutely no idea of our teaching schedule!

Our principal invited us newbies to his flat last night for dinner. His wife cooked up some pizza (the first I've had here!) and we ended with some real coffee (he had some Italian roast). A real treat! In the maze of buildings around here, it is not necessarily easy to find where someone lives! He flagged us down by yelling at us from his balcony...

Wuxi as in sushi

Let's see - today's the 26th and I left on the 15th so it's been 11 days. Wow - seems like it's been much more than that! Today was the first day that we were to return to school to prep, and our Chinese counterparts didn't show up so our leader said take yourselves home until further notice!  So Ryan and I, the other new cohort, stuck around and fine-tuned our computers (mine was a total mess so we just wiped it clean and installed a fresh copy of Windows 7). But we still haven't finalized what classes we'll be teaching or the class schedule yet. The veterans said don't be surprised if we don't know until Monday, the first day of school.Can you say flexible?
So Dipont, the company we work for, sent us to Wuxi for a 2 day conference with all their schools - there was a few hundred of us at least I'd say. Wuxi is just west of Shanghai - and it was hot and humid there. It was painful to see the presenters up there, who had to wear shirts and ties, with their shirts totally soaked through with sweat. A/C worked in some rooms, not in others. It ended with a banquet where the food kept coming non-stop. I couldn't tell you what any of it was, but for the most part it was pretty tasty. I can use chopsticks ok, but there are sometimes when I just say the hell with it and grab a fork and stab it. Our flight back got delayed (a common occurrence in China I'm told) - it's a 2 hour flight back - and we didn't get back to our apartments until after 4 am.
So today I'll introduce my partners in crime at Gaoxin High School No.1 in Xián:

Darryl - Principal, South Africa, AP Statistics
David - Scotland, AP Economics
Zach - Houston, AP English
Paul - Canada, AP Economics
Constantinos - Greece, AP Physics
Kyle - Arkansas, AP English
Chris - Ireland, AP Economics
Ryan - Toronto, AP Calculus
Nicole - Blue Mountains, Australia, AP Chemistry
Virginia - Phillipines, AP Chemistry
Saeed - Montreal via Iran, AP Physics, math
Chris - England, Physics and math

You'll notice that many of them say Economics - some of them teach other stuff too but I don't know what it is yet. Most of this school is centered on AP, but some of it is based on A-level British stuff (don't ask me).
We are still short a couple English teachers and a Geography teacher that they are working on filling at this moment. Anyone interested???

The principal shared with me last years math results - over 80% of the students in Calculus BC got 4 or 5 (mostly 5). Simply incredible!
I will go into details in further entries, but I want to keep these relatively short if possible to keep you from falling asleep!