Printing Brochures in Guangzhou and a Pool

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This morning I find myself in another princess bedroom in the city of Guangzhou. It feels as though it’s way to early to be getting up again but at 8.45am we are off to catch a taxi to our first agent visit. The weather in Guangzhou is quite steamy and tropical which leads to a huge problem I’ve been trying to solve for the past week. Where to buy deodorant it China? Unfortunately Chinese people do not use deodorant as a daily part of their personal hygiene. Not that the Chinese smell bad but I’ve tried so many chemists and small supermarkets and no success. Finally with the weather heating up in this area of China I was starting to panic! Finally just beside the building of our first agent visit was what looked like a Priceline called Mannings which had a stock of many anti-perspirants. Yeah!! Now I can confidently go off to my first visit, even though the hotal shower was great.

Our first stop today was with the counselors of JJL, Guangzhou office. Julie, Crystal, Zhou, Dan, Willow and Crystal. We were also very lucky to have a mother and daughter at our presentation, very interested in studying in Melbourne. We firstly presented general updated information about studying in Victorian government schools and again out spiels on our individual schools. The counselors were very attentive but the student seemed very distracted. Perhaps this trip to Australia is more important for the mother than the child?

Round the corner to our next visit at the EIC agency. Pakey, Paisley and Moon have had a lot of experience with Victorian education and have all visited Melbourne. They all had very positive things to say about the city of Melbourne and Victorian education in general. Each of us talked to the counselors about the strengths of our schools and then it was off to lunch with the EIC girls. As always in China the food was outstanding and presented beautifully. It was lovely to talk openly with the girls about Melbourne and their various experiences in Australia.

A brisk walk around the corner to the Shinyway office and a quick stop on the way to buy another purse. Couldn’t help myself as it was soooooo cute! Micheal (the international education division manager) began our counselor training with a brief overview of Victorian education and answered any questions the girls had. Candice, Gina and Catherine (aren’t you just loving the names??) were all very patient though my presentation, listened carefully, took notes and oooooed and ahhhhed in all the right places. Shinyway also had lots of students at their office receiving counseling as to where to study in Victoria. It’s great for the families that the manager is here as he is able to waiver the application fee if they sign up today. A small concession considering how much the parents pay.

It’s now 4.00pm and I can’t stop thinking about the hotel pool. It is so warm in Guangzhou so I think it’s time for my first swim in China. Hopefully I don’t have to attend the Shinyway dinner and go back to the hotel and just chill out for a couple of hours. It would be a lovely change to just chill out for a while and not be doing the spiel. Off to a couple of fairs this weekend. Hopefully it will be well attended and lots of fun!

The girls at Shinyway were way too exhausted at the end of the week for dinner which worked out perfect for Denise and I, as we seriously needed to find somewhere to get brochures printed. The brochures are becoming a dilemma. Denise was very clever in having batch of brochures delivered to every couple of hotels. Great in theory but such a pain when they don’t arrive and arrival seems very hit and miss. So off to the back streets of Guangzhou to a printing place that doubles as a lottery agency and a pixie foto booth. The printing is basically a colour printer or a four day wait. Fuzhou was the only city that could cope with printing which is strange as it’s much smaller?? Anyway the process is slow. Real slow! We decide to go back in the morning and pick them up. Who knows what will be waiting for us?

And finally a swim in the pool. My feet are killing me after twelve hours in heels. Caught a glimpse of one of my heals in an agency today and it’s almost worn down completely. A lovely, relaxing drink by the pool with Denise and Judy. Our last night together as Denise travels to Shenzhen tomorrow. We’ll miss her. She’s such fun and a great laugh!!

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