Blogs from Shenzhen, Guangdong, China, Asia

Dopo contatti via mail alquanto contorti ( forse dove intuire qualcosa ) mi offrono un bel colloquio di domenica mattina presso un centro commerciale in uno starbucks . L'offertona per una scuola in Guangzhou ... la paga non è male per 20 h settimanali .il sabato pomeriggio con il trenino raggiungo Shenzen che ormai e' sera , troviamo un hetelluzzo per una notte e dopo un po di cazzeggio finto shopping guardereccio torniamo alll'hotelluzzo . La mattina mi presento in orario , brillante laccato dorato come un anatra cinese , ma la tipa non c'e . la chiamo, si si sto arrrivando sono in strada , alla fine una coppia assurda : il gatto e la volpe !! Lui il gattone un nero del tennesse , gli hanno trovato una giacchina verdi scacchi un po strettina ... read more

I finally got down to SZ for a weekend. I stayed with a friend (Toni) in the middle of the city, which was convenient for getting around. I arrived on Thursday and left on Sunday and everything in between was a whirlwind. I saw quite a few old faces, including Roy, Carrie, Teresa, Dylan, Toni, some other CTLC friends, and the Korean family I used to tutor. Iris and Anthony were both busy. First stop upon arrival was to see the family I used to tutor. Becuase the daughter attends an international school, they had a fall holiday the same time I visited. We had a homemade lunch in their home and then spent some time at Starbucks. I'm happy to report the dark cherry mocha is back on the seasonal menu. I'm sad to report ... read more

So I have fallen pretty behind on my daily journals here and rather than desperately trying to catch up on each day, I am just going to share the most notable moments. Here it goes: About a week and a half ago I met my students for brief 6-10 minute conversations. So the first major thing I noticed: all of my students are Chinese. So much for an international school? TJ says it is because the school is getting up and running so late, but I think that it is because the other Shenzhen Foreign Languages Schools around the city are Chinese schools, that the only people that really knew about this school were Chinese families. Furthermore, after talking to another teacher who works at Shekou International School (also in Shenzhen) she said that often times ... read more

We got up early Thursday morning because Lucy and Sophie were meeting us at the hotel at 9am. When they got there we went up to my room, since I have a computer with internet and Danielle does not yet. There we formulated the questions we would be asking the students and parents we were going to meet on Friday (mind you these interviews went from supposed to be happening on Thursday to Friday…again a last minute change of plans). We also talked about things we want in the classroom and things we need to get done for the first day of school (a welcome letter and a long term plan). After planning Lucy, Sophie, Danielle, and I walked to the mall and got lunch. We ordered a couple of things and Lucy and Sophie ... read more

I spent most of the morning relaxing. I was feeling much better but still wanted to take it easy as much as possible. Danielle and I wanted to get out of the hotel though and do something mild and not in the heat, so we decided to just walk around the mall that is right by our hotel. We went into a bunch of clothing shops and just looked. A lot of the shops in this mall seem to be pretty high-end and expensive. I liked a lot of the things I saw but Danielle and I both know that we can find cheaper items elsewhere, like in a knock-off market of some kind. So we decided to just browse. It is interesting how the sales people in China are. As soon as we would ... read more

I spent the majority of Tuesday sick in bed. I came down with a head cold and a slight fever and decided to spend the day resting so I could get better. Danielle went ahead to the school without me to meet Lynn and discuss furniture and decorations we would like for our classrooms. She also found out that we would not be interviewing the students to determine who will be able to attend the school. They decided to just pick the first 40 who registered and then our “interviews” would just be us meeting the students and their parents. On her way back to the hotel she picked up some antihistamines for me so that my nose would clear up and also my heat rash (I got a rash on my legs from the heat! ... read more

Nihao! (Hello!) Today was the moon festival holiday in China. Danielle and I found out the day before that we did not need to go into the school for registration as the building isn’t finished and there would be a ton of staff there as it is. So, we decided to go back to the Window of the World and explore. At about 10am we met for breakfast (this time with a coupon!!) and then headed to the metro station that Lynn showed us yesterday. We exited the metro at the correct station and walked across the street to the Window of the World park. So this park was incredibly interesting. It is basically the reconstructed version of every major landmark and famous sight in the world. So at the entrance there was a giant globe ... read more

Today was a VERY productive day (at least in my mind). I woke up early and I mean EARLY. I couldn’t sleep past 6 am and I blame that on jet lag for sure. So I was up, cleaning and organizing my room, skyping with Kyle and parents and then showering, getting ready and going to have breakfast. I had my first language barrier experience early in the morning. I had heard that breakfast was on the 13th floor, so I got on the elevator and quickly realized that the numbers only went up to 12. I was planning on just going to 12, and then figuring it out, which is what I selected, but then realized that somehow the elevator was going down. Fail. So just to be sure, when I got to the lobby, ... read more