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Published: August 6th 2012
LAX- The adventure started here
31 teachers from all over the U.S.Hello all! This is a summary of my trip to China this summer. I joined a group of 30 teachers to tour China and teach English at the Nanjing Foreign Language School. Our trip lasted almost 4 weeks. It was quite an adventure. The weather was oppressively hot and humid. And the smog was intense on most days. But the people were welcoming, the culture fascinating, and there was lots to do in these modern cities. What made the experience exceptional though was the group of teachers that I traveled and worked with. They were an eclectic bunch that laughed a lot and that supported each other during the more challenging aspects of our journey. It wouldn't have been the same without them. Our itinerary, once we departed the U.S. and landed in China, included Shanghai, Hangzhou, Nanjing, Xian, and Bejing.
LAX- We all met at LAX to take a flight at 1:30 in the morning on Monday, July 25th to China. Of course, we were all nervous, not knowing exactly what we had gotten ourselves into or who these people were, but we all got off to a good start introducing ourselves and then boarded the plane.
Hong SHANGHAI
Huangpu River Kong- It was a long 14-hour flight to Hong Kong, with a 2-hour layover, and then a 2-hour flight to Shanghai. It was exhausting.
Shanghai- We arrived at the Holiday Inn Express and were given our roommate assignments. My roommate was David H. (soon to be known as T-shirt Dave; there were 3 Davids so we nicknamed them to keep them straight). He was from New Jersey, 61 y.o., spoke more than 5 languages, and was a very interesting 😉 guy. He wore the same white T-shirt and blue gym shorts outfit for the first 5 days of the trip before we started teaching, hence, T-shirt Dave. (The other Daves were Utah Dave and Surfer or Palm Springs Dave).
In each city we had a tour bus and a guide. Our guide for most of the trip was JJ. While we were in Shanghai, he took us to an acrobatic show, silk factory, a popular shopping venue downtown, a river boat tour to see the famous skyline, and other places. The weather was not so clear, raining off and on. Smog was also a problem. In fact, the whole time we were in China, we never saw a
Shanghai Skyline
not the best weather blue sky. Sad really.
Hangzhou- This is the hometown of JJ, our guide. He told us many stories of growing up in the city with his grandparents. The town is know for its beautiful West Lake and lush landscape. We took a traditional boat ride around the lake, climbed up a pagoda on the lake, had our fortunes read in a Tao temple (the fortune teller told me not to get married this year- duh; but he told everyone else that too), visited an enormous Buddhist temple, observed a demonstration at the Dragon Well Tea Plantation, and did the "mandatory" shopping expedition, among other things. It was the most beautiful city we would see during our visit.
Nanjing- We did have 2 days of touring in Nanjing, before the school program began. We saw the Confucius Temple and marketplace and the Hall of Sun Yat-sen Mausoleum, a shrine to some leader (first president?). All I remember of the shrine is the 392 steps to the top. It also has the 7th tallest building in the world, so I had to visit it as well.
Our accommodations were at the Metro Center Hotel next to Xuanwu Lake, a
beautiful and popular lake right at our doorstep. The hotel was also close to a subway stop (the subway was clean, modern, and easy to use), great modern shopping areas, and the ubiquitious massage shops. We all indulged in not a few of the foot massages. For an hour massage, it cost less than $10. I also got a Thai massage which was a bit scary. They walk on your back with both their feet and knees. I think I only want to do that once. Actually I didn't understand what I was in for most of the time because they spoke in Chinese and I would just nog. It was strange because I thought I had requested one thing, then they would surprise me with something else. Of course, that something else was always more expensive. Sly massage salespeople. All was good tough. I think the most I spent was $20 for an hour.
The traffic here was reflective of all the cities we went to. CRAZY! People honk a lot, and I mean ALL THE TIME. They weave in and out of lanes, and cross here and there and everywhere. Cars stop at stop lights but motorcycles
and bicycles do not. People do whatever they can get away with. It's amazing more people don't get run over. Even dogs are walked without leashes. Don't ask me to explain that one. How owners keep their pooches from bolting off in whichever direction is beyond my understanding. We never could figure that one out.
One thing is for sure. People, especially older people, love to be outdoors. They enjoy their parks. You see people everywhere. All dressed up. They walk, jog, do group line dancing, badminton, card playing, martial arts, ride boats, ballroom dancing, Karaoke, singing alone, and a host of other activities. Even as horrible as the weather was, they still went outside. I thought it was because they didn't have AC at home, but the director of the program said that that wasn't so. They just like to keep active and enjoy exercise
Nanjing Foreign Language School- The work begins. This school is a private boarding school ($25,000/year tuition) and this was a 2-week English language summer camp that the children were attending. We were all assigned a grade level and two groups to teach. One group was taught in the morning and the other
in the afternoon. I taught 1st grade. I was hoping for a higher level, but after the first day of teaching, it was clear I was very lucky. The stereotype of the obedient Chinese student is just that, a stereotype, at least at this school. Out of the 33-34 children, that's each group, I taught, maybe a half dozen fit that description. In the upper grades, the students were horrible by some teachers' reports- disrespectful, always talking (even while and especially when the teacher was talking), sleeping, throwing things, walking around the room, but nothing dangerous. So, I was glad to have groups of little kids. They could drive me crazy at times, yet overall they were fun to work with.
The students' regular teachers stayed in the classroom to help out with behavior and to observe our teaching. They were two young women, June and Serena, who worked very hard and were great to work with. My two classes were also selected to perform in the closing ceremonies, and the teachers did quite a bit of work to make that a success. The little tikes really got into the performance. The director said it was the best performance
of the ceremonies.
It's customary to exchange gifts. I brought them pencils, maps of Maryland, coins, and other stuff. I received a mixed bag of presents. Everything from small used stuffed animals and cutouts they made from an art class to expensively framed artwork and pieces of silver. I even got a vacuum-packed Nanjing salted duck, a Nanjing speciality. After showing it to the other teachers, I ended up giving it to the workers at the hotel for watching our luggage.
All in all, teaching there was a fun experience. The other teachers were very supportive and everyone looked out for each other. One of the best things was the Nap Room. During the break between the morning and afternoon sessions, many a teacher could be found lounging on one of the zero-gravity lounge chairs in blissful AC... and peace and quiet. No kids allowed.
Xian-The site of the Terracotta Soldiers. It was amazing to see this buried treasure and hear about its history. There are 3 large pits that have been excavated. But most of the artifacts are still buried because when they are unearthed the oxygen destroys the color of the figures. While all the
soldiers that one can see are clay-colored, they were originally very brightly painted; however, this fades when exposed to the air.
We went to a famous hot springs as well. Lauren and I took the cable car to the top of the mountain for an adventure. It was a beautiful area, but blighted by the smog.
Xian, the city, is not that impressive. Although it's as modern as any other, the pollution is unbelievable. For all those who don't think environmental regulation is important, they should live in Xian for just a few weeks. I think they would change their minds quick.
Bejing- The last stop. After Xian we flew to Bejing. The hotel here was the worst. The AC didn't work well and it wasn't very clean. Most of us complained about it, but there wasn't much to be done. The brouchure looked very good though.
Whle in Bejing, we saw Tianamen Square (although it was closed due to the presidential election), the Forbidden City, The Olympic Bird's Nest Stadium and Swimming Cube, and other attractions. And we did lots of shopping.
The typhoon- We were lucky. Even though we had to wait 2
hours at the departing gate at the Bejing Airport and another hour on the tarmac, we were able to beat the typhoon and fly out of Bejing before the typhoon hit. It was the worst they had had in decades. Quite a diaster. We safely landed in Hong Kong. But because of the long delay, we had to run from one gate to the next. Four teachers missed the flight because they weren't given boarding passes for the Hong Kong to LAX flight in Bejing. Their flight home was a nightmare. The one teacher who lived near DC had to fly to Canada, then to JFK in New York, and finally home. Not good!
Epilogue- Despite the 12-hour time difference, it didn't take too long to recover. I don't see how people who fly all over the world for their work do it though. It's has to be tough on the body.
Again I have to say that the teachers I spent 4 weeks with made all the difference. China is a fascinating nad history-rich country, but it will be my fellow teachers I'll remember most of all.
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Joan
non-member comment
Paul: You've done it again!
Congrats on another fabulous travel-logue. Ever considered travel writing? Photos are great, too.