Blogs from China, Asia - page 2214

My first term/semester at Taizhou Teachers College has simply flown by! It’s been an amazing experience and I have met some of the loveliest young people you could ever wish to meet. It is time to say “Good bye and catch you next year”. For my students, it’s just the end of the first chapter, so to speak, as they have yet to sit their term final exams for all other subjects. Some are also preparing for National English exams and other “self study” exams. I don’t know how they have the time (and space in their brains!) to do all of it! However, in this highly competitive, demanding environment, they cannot afford to miss any opportunity to boost their qualifications in order to have that edge on the next person. Many have little or no ... read more

The pages of my own diary have been scattered intermittently with the pages of a book entitled Da Vinci Code which has been indeed difficult to put down. These pages have included a very long and difficult journey to the US and back as well as a few days of recouperation here back in China. I have already posted some of my previous entries from the States themselves and am now starting on the plane back here. I was sitting next to a man from China who I almost immediately started talking to in Chinese once my friend passed by us "I'm sitting in the back but I'm sure I'll see you later," he called. His name is Shen Qin Min and he was on the same flight to New York that I was on. After ... read more

see there was these rickshaw drivers right! and they were hassling us ok so we give them the slip and as we do this smiling man sympathizes with us, he's a local so we walk and he tells us he's a calligrapher and he's all about helping us, and tells us sure i'll show you to the forbidden city....... oh! here is my teacher's studio please meet master chang the famous beijing calligrapher, his father was national calligrapher for chairman mao! chang appears humble and speaks not a word of english, but no matter, our charismatic persuader friend will translate for us the illustrious master chang will create for you! for free!! some art work, here today.... what are your names?? ahhh! li-cha-duh. this is a very good name!! these characters together mean: strong man who ... read more

It is a week of teaching-competitions, and my friend Arthur has been making spectacular efforts, for us to observe the local English-teachers perform their lesson in front of an audience of parents and teachers, in front of demanding judges, in front of extremely orderly students, in a variety of schools. This is the time in Jiangsu Province, when teachers are encouraged to show their "best practices", developed in their classroom, share them pedigogically with other teachers, and have a moment to shine as professionals, ...and that for pay of about 1,000 Yuan, or about $120.00 !!!! per MONTH as a beginning teacher. Oh woe, the value of education around the world!! I have never seen a similar competition in other countries I have visited, and the courage of the individual instructors to expose themselves to an ... read more

The 15p per hour internet cafe is providing much welcome relief and relaxation after the exertion of the past 36 hours. At 10am yesterday morning we boarded a minibus outside Xian train station bound for Hua Shan (mount Hua, a famous taoist mountain with 5 peaks, 120km east of Xian). We left at 11:30... We arrived 1 and a half hours later, and the sky was grey and heavy with light rain, even at the foot of the mountain. Looking skyward the peaks were hidden in the mist, which was probably just as well - what you don't know can't hurt you. Aye, right! There are three options that can lead you to the North peak: the first is an Austrian built cable car which takes you up in about 10 minutes; the second, a sweaty ... read more