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Guys hooking up our lightsAfter a two hour delay at the Beijing train station Chris and I were on the slow train to the middle of nowhere. The train ride was four hours, and for the most part it wasn’t bad. We nodded off a few times and talked to some people around us, a couple who were actually from the county we would be going to. We were the only foreigners on the train, which was only the beginning of that experience, we had no idea what was in store. We got off the train and it was a very small train station, we walked out the exit and there were four people waiting for us there. They were surprised to hear we spoke Chinese, and they were very happy to be able to communicate. The first night we would stay in a hotel, it was a very nice hotel, the nicest in the county they told us. We ate at a hotpot restaurant with the principal and some vice principals of the school, and one English teacher. Everyone was very nice, they asked us if we would drink and we said why not? They asked if we wanted beer or Chinese rice liquor,
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Chris and our neighbor we said they can choose…of course they chose Chinese rice liquor. I was a little worried but it turned out fine, just a couple toasts to welcome us, nothing crazy. The hotpot was delicious; it was small pot, so we each had our own pot. They all seemed pretty nice and we had a good time. After dinner they brought us back to our hotel room and told us not to leave the hotel. They said they were worried that since the town never has foreigners something weird might happen, we didn’t know what could happen but we said ok. We did end up going out of the gates though to the convenience store to grab some snacks later, nothing exciting happened except a really surprised look from the store owner.
The next day we got up and the principal came to pick us up and bring us to the school. When we got there we ended up sitting in his office for an hour or so just waiting, which is a pretty common occurrence in China, just waiting. Finally they decided our room was ready and we could go in it. The room is pretty nice, two desks,
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Neighbor and I two comfy chairs to hang out in, and two beds that we later found were pretty much made of stone. The beds were wooden and the mattress is only a couple inches thick, and made of straw, but I’m used to hard Chinese beds so comparatively it’s not terrible. We ended up waiting most of the day in our room. We had our meals brought to us, and when we didn’t shut our curtains kids would just stare in our windows and look at us, we were just like monkeys in a cage. When we went outside everyone would yell hello to us, they were very friendly, but if we tried to talk to them they would run away or just stare at us, just in shock I guess. After doing nothing all day we still had nothing to do at night so they told us to get to bed early.
One problem we had the first day was they said we couldn’t go out the school gates. When we asked why they would ramble about safety and whatever but never a real reason. We asked if it was dangerous and they said of course not, everything is very
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I came out of the room to this, pretty funny safe here. The next day we had the same problem, but since we didn’t have much to do we really wanted to go walk around. We finally got out but they followed us. The next time we went out with a person following us we decided to split up so at least one of us could have some alone time. Unlucky for us we ran into another teacher on the street so there were two “babysitters” as we call them. We had this problem the whole time we were there. I never figured out why they insist on it. The few times I went out alone I walked all the way across town and the only thing that happened was a few people called me over to talk, all of whom were very welcoming and just curious of why I was there. A couple people even gave me free food if they were running a food stand. I’m pretty sure the babysitter thing is partly a Chinese custom, when you have guests you drop everything to accommodate them. That I’m fine with, but when we say we’re going to run to the grocery store and they won’t open the gate
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Chris was excited to get a flower for us until they call the principal, that's annoying. A few times Chris has jumped the wall to go jogging because they wouldn’t let him out alone. The truth is that is pretty much the only negative thing about being here, but it’s very obnoxious not being able to have ten minutes to go for a stroll.
Basically what me and Chris do is just teach classes. A lot of times our schedule is pretty random, so far we’ve worked out three lessons and depending on what we’ve taught each class of students, we can do one of them and entertain the kids for one period. Our first lesson we’ve done probably more than ten times, it’s about things we like to eat and do. I say I love bananas and Chris says he hates bananas, we’re pretty good at it by now and the kids all think it’s pretty funny. When we’re not teaching I usually hang out with the kids and sit in on their classes to practice my Chinese. I have really improved my listening and speaking since coming here because they are not used to listening to foreigners speak Chinese, so I’ve had to perfect
my pronunciation so they can understand me. There is one class in particular I talk to a lot, after I finish eating I usually sit with a few of them at their table and hang out. There are a few who are a little more mature and it’s fun to talk to them because they don’t crowd me and freak out every time I talk to them.
One thing I haven’t mentioned yet is our neighbor. Our room is surrounded mostly by offices but upstairs we have a neighbor who also lives here, she lives with two other teachers but those teachers don’t hang out with us much, they’re a little older. Our neighbor comes down a lot and talks to us, she’s really funny. She likes to practice English and to be honest it’s gotten a lot better just in the couple weeks we’ve been here, still pretty limited though.
One Friday night we went out on the town with our neighbor and another younger teacher who lives on campus and her friend. We had some snack type food and drank some beer. Nothing too crazy, and to be honest nothing too fun. They were fun to
hang out with but other than sit and talk there's not much to do in the middle of no where. Chris and I have drank a couple beers on the roof of our building, which is actually pretty cool because there were actually stars out in the country, which is rare to see in Beijing. After a week or so of not being able to go outside the gates Chris and I realized there's nothing really out there worth arguing about. We go out to eat once in a while and they usually allow us to do that, and they have bought us a couple meals too, but usually we eat at the cafeteria. The cafeteria food isn't bad, but almost every dish has cucumbers and eggs, so that got very old by the end of our stay. It was great to get back to Beijing after living there, but now that I'm back I really miss the kids. I also miss listening to classes, I learned a lot doing that, and unless I call a friend it's hard to get much Chinese practice here in Beijing other than everyday things.
The only other thing to say is the
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Out to dinner with neighbor bathrooms were gross. They smelled worse than anything I have ever smelled. The toilets were squat toilets which isn't weird for China, but they had no walls. That sucked because there is no privacy and we are already monkies, but we ended up using them only really late at night when the kids went to bed so that is one positive thing. I do not miss the bathrooms at all. I know I had a lot to complain about there, but I really did enjoy my time talking to the kids and learning Chinese. I also learned I probably don't want to be a teacher when I grow up, I don't really enjoy listening to myself talk, so lecturing isn't my thing. Luckily Chris didn't mind talking so he did most the talking and I just drew on the board to help the kids understand it. After class I hung out with the kids a lot more, because I like to play around, teaching a class is just too much for me, I enjoy interaction. That's all I got from the village! Sorry it took so long to post the blog!
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Lihorcrux
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Lucky
Jakey this is so awesome.. I am so proud of you! and jealous! haha.. miss you!