Advertisement
Published: November 30th -0001
Golfing
One thing that we really miss is golfing. We knew how good we had it in Peace River and miss both the golf and good golfing friends. (thanks Andrea and Charlie for making the time to visit us in Calgary!) Golfing with mom at Earl Grey is always a treat - especially lunch on the patio.Summer was great - family, friends, relaxing- all the things that summer should be. We spent most of the time in Calgary staying at the Baxendale hotel (Calgary location). It was good to be back golfing, getting a few rounds in with Mom and several with Rick. (game hasn't improved much!). We also went hiking in the Kananaskis, took in the Kensington Salsa Festival and the Chinatown festival, and had visits to Fairmont and Edmonton. Rick also flew to Minnesota to play golf with brother Fred and wife Dianne.
We had visits with all the Baxendale siblings over the summer, Barb, Bob, Diane and Nancy; as well Rick got to visit with his brothers Dave, and Fred, sister Pat and sister in law Barb. It was wonderful to spend 3 weeks with Geoff in Calgary and, flying through Vancouver to and from China, we managed two visits with Chris. It was also wonderful to see friends from Peace River and Calgary as well as the Vancouver Baxendales on our way back.
After having such a nice summer, our second year in Jinshitan has gotten off to a very busy start. We had expected that it would be
Girls Campus
This is the girls campus with the new administration building added on to the front. All the head offices will be moved here this fall from downtown Dalian. There are about 2500 students between the 2 campuses, which makes the schools presence in a small town very significant. In the summer, Jinshitan is a popular beach and resort town, so the tourists make up for the missing staff and students for those 2 months. a bit smoother than last year, which in a way it was, but in others not. Returning to Dalian and the apartment really felt like home, so it was good to be back and into now familiar territory - the language, culture, shopping, trains, people and friends.
We moved apartments within minutes of getting back, though, so that set us off in the busy mode. Our new place is a bit smaller, but nicer in appearance with a real kitchen. On the down side is one less bedroom, but it is certainly large enough for what we need. With company coming to visit again this year (sister Barb and friends Richard and Buff), we are busy searching for a second bed, which even though they have hard mattresses, are softer than the floor!
The school year started the day after we returned, with meeting after meeting. We had hoped to spend some time getting planned and organized for our courses, but every day for a week was staff meeting, professional development or department meetings. Frustration was high amongst new and old staff. With less administration this year and new people doing timetables it was not until
Boys Campus
This is one of the buildings on the Boys campus. Our apartment is directly across the street, which makes it easy to comehome for lunch or a break during the day. Many staff live off campus apartments in Jinshitan or Kai Fa Qu (half and hour away), but we love the convenience of being so close. the day before classes that people knew their timetable and exactly what classes they taught. And it was not until the morning of the first classes that teachers knew what room they were in.
Finally after three weeks, things seemed to have settled down. I have gone from teaching in three different rooms in two different buildings to all in the same room in the same building, so even though it is in one of the art rooms (!?) I am still happy to have a home. None of the rooms are ever cleaned by the cleaning staff - no floors swept or washed even - so I have to get a schedule going for the boys to start doing some cleaning. Good Shepherd staff count your blessings!
Both Rick and I are teaching English to the higher level ESL students - he on the girls campus and me on the boys again. In addition, we are Cohort leaders which is still a bit undefined, but will involve working with the Chinese staff, being a liaison between our program and the regular high school English program, and working with ESl administration. The course we are teaching
New Apartment complex
This is just one of the many new apartment complexes that are springing up all over the town. So many are empty - people buy them for investments and don't live in them. Very nice to look at though. This one is across the street from us, between the two campuses. is new this year, so after scrambling to develop a year plan based loosely on the English 10 program, we are spending a lot of time getting units, lessons and assessments. I sure hope that we get to do the same course in second semester, but knowing how things go, that will be new again too!!
Things otherwise have been great and quickly back into routines. We signed up to play in the school golf tournament- only one set of clubs per team, but lots of beer! It sounded like not great golf, but lots of fun. The morning started out drizzling, but wanting to be good sports we got on the motorcycle and headed out - about 10 km away. By the time we got there it had turned into quite a rain, so the tournament was cancelled. The ride back was a challenge - very cold and wet.
Mid Autumn Festival - also called the Moon Festival - is held in September. We went with a group from school to a hotel in Kai Fa Qu to a great dinner that night. It was sponsored by a group that organizes events for expats in
Gail'sclass
One of my boys classes. The t-shirts will give way to coats soon because the boys buildings have little heat and everyone opens the windows winter and summer to get 'fresh air'. It is not easy to teach wearing hat and gloves! But it is so hot and hiimid in September that you wonder which one your prefer. the Dalian area - always amazing to see the number of people from around the world who are working here. We were treated to an amazing selection of moon cakes to finish off our meal.
Rick is trying to round up some hockey equipment. He brought back skates and gloves, but didn’t have enough room for the rest, so hopefully someone can lend or sell him some. There have already been two tournaments, one in Beijing and another in Shenyang. Even if he can’t get enough equipment for tournaments, he can play pond hockey which is really popular in the winter among the staff.
He is also thinking about getting some people together to play some music; there are a few others who would really like to also, but it is just a question of someone getting it started.
Well, this is our first month. We live for the holidays though, and with my sister Barb here to share our National Holiday week trip to Shanghai and Hangzhou with us - we are so excited!! But that will have to be another time. Bye for now.
Dynasty Hotel
The Dynasty Hotel in Kai Fa Qu regularly hosts events for ex-pats. This one in September featured not only free food and drinks, but also various artists showing their talents and giving away samples of their work. It is a really nice break from work to dress up and 'go to the city'.
Advertisement
Tot: 0.15s; Tpl: 0.012s; cc: 8; qc: 66; dbt: 0.0761s; 1; m:domysql w:travelblog (10.17.0.13); sld: 1;
; mem: 1.2mb
Lynn
non-member comment
There you are!
Hi Gail and Rick, I was wondering when we would hear of your latest adventures. I look forward to reading and seeing your pictures on your blog, so cool! Thank you for sharing your experiences. All the best in your second year there. Take care and stay in touch.