#89 Teaching at Taizhou Teachers College-Semester in Synopsis

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Finally, I can publish this blog after it being "almost" completed since January. So, for those of you who have wondered what has become of me, here is a synopsis of the last semester in Taizhou Teachers College!
From the arrival of our freshman last September, through our Autumn Sports Carnival in November and the many activities and cultural events since, I hope you will enjoy this overview of my everyday experiences in Taizhou Teachers College. There are a large number of photos, so apologies to those of you who have slow internet connections!

In coming weeks I will take you on a journey to the North of China to experience the Snow and Ice Festival in Haerbin, to the coastal city of Qingdao, famous for its beer and as being one of the top wedding photo spots in China and also Xi'an, ancient city, home of the famous Terracotta Warriors. I will also be doing a feature on the women of Taizhou, past and present. So stay tuned and don't give up on me yet!

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Photos

Freshmen Arrive
Lots of fanfare, including the inevitable inflatable archway, welcomes our new freshmen(1st years) who arrive on campus about 3 weeks after the continuing students.

Welcome crew and a few ring-ins!
Second year students are delegated to be hosts to ensure that everyone feels welcome and knows where to go.

More welcome crew from the Foreign Language Department
Each department has their own team of hosts.

Never miss an opportunity!
The highly visible China Mobile stands grab every potential new customer with incentives like soap and wash bowls for new accounts!

Symbol of increasing prosperity
This year there was a conspicuous increase in the number, newness and styles of cars driven by parents to escort their sons and daughters on the next step in their academic career.

For those less fortunate
A sponsored coach ferries less affluent families from nearby towns and between campuses. We have 2 other campuses, one close by and another in Taixing, about 50 mins away.

Best Wishes for A Splendid Future
The bilingual welcome banner for registration of Foreign Language students.

Waiting to register
Foreign language students and their precious possessions patiently wait in line for their turn to register. A rather unusual phenomenon! Chinese people are not known for their patient queuing!

Vivian registering her new class
Each head teacher had a second year student to assist with the registration of their individual class. This photo was actually taken in 2006- 2007 Vivian was waiting for the arrival of her baby! (See later!)

Time to pay up!
Crunchtime! Hard-working fathers wait patiently with their stuffed wallets at the ready! They will be considerably thinner very shortly!

Dads galore
For a number of students it is the first time they will live away from the protection of their home. From the looks on the faces of some of the Dads, it will be just as tough on them as their precious sons and daughters!

Kitbags waiting
Each student is allocated a kitbag with basic bedding and simple essentials like a mug, soap and a wash basin. The rest they will have to supply themselves.

Much better organized
My first experience of arriving freshmen in 2006 was rather chaotic with kit bags piled everywhere. The lessons seem to have been learned, because everything seemed to be much better organized in 2007.Trolleys definately saved a few sore backs!

Thanks Dad!
That is until they were handed over to the waiting, doting Dads! The young man is actually one of the second year hosts. The son or daughter is nowhere to be seen!

Military Training
Straight to work. My 06AE Applied English class are put through their paces. Since 1990 all college and senior students are given a mandatory 2 or 3 weeks of military training.

Weapons training on the sports ground
The students are also taken out to a shooting range as part of their training.

Officer proudly leads his trainees
After 2 weeks of strenuous training students celebrate with a formal graduation march past.

Comments

[Pete Rider]

great to see you back
great to see you back Sue ,ive missed your insights into life over there

[judy ashcroft]

Hi Sue, I'm back in HK again. Good to see you are still there. Judy Ashcroft

[john mcneill]

John McNeill
It's Good to see your blog back on track. It brings back memories of my days in China, especially the students and concerts. I look forward to your North China details Enjoy this next adventure at your school John

[Vivian]

Beautiful blog,beautiful photos! Thank you for putting my baby's photo here, I don't even have it myself,and I has copied this one on your blog!

[betty]

unforgettable memories
I graduated from school for 2 years. i saw many familiar teachers from your blog ,Vivian was our counsellor, and Jocelyn taught us the subject of reading ,i saw the lovely baby ,Vivian's daughter. Many thanks to you for sharing us so beautiful photos,they brought us the memories of the wonderful lives at school.

[Sue Treadie]

Hi Betty
Lovely to see your comments on my blog and glad they brought you good memories! My apologies for taking so long to review and respond but our internet has not been very good lately. Just so you realize, your comment will not appear immediately as I have to review it first to accept it to be shown on the blog. So, there's no need to keep posting the message. It may take me a day or so to check for comments, so don't worry! You can always send me a private message from the blog site to check if your comments have been received! look forward to reading more of your comments in future blogs! Regards Sue