Blogs from Guangdong, China, Asia - page 140

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Asia » China » Guangdong » Guangzhou October 28th 2006

Hongkong - Shenzhen - Ghuangzhou Dieses Wochenende begann schon sehr früh. Um viertel vor 6Uhr traf ich mich mit Stephanie, einer deutschen Austauschstudentin aus Mannheim auf der Grasfläche zwischen den Halls (der Treffpunkt aller Exchange Students). Zuerst sollte uns die KCR, ähnlich der deutschen S-Bahn, zur Endstation bei Shenzhen bringen, um dort über die Grenze nach Mainland China zu gelangen. Wir haben vermutlich eine der ersten KCR an diesem Morgen genommen, denn es war ohne Probleme ein Sitzplatz zu bekommen. Das war beim letzten Mal (siehe Shenzhen Bericht) um halb sieben bereits anders. Problemlos durchliefen wir die mir bereits bekannten Grenzprozeduren. Das nächste Ziel war der Bahnhof in Shenzhen. Nach einer kurzen Orientierung war dieser leicht gefunden und wir fanden uns vor einem Fahrplan mit lauter chinesischen Schriftzeichen wieder. Das ließ uns erahnen, was uns... read more
Bahnfahrt
Ghaungzhou - erste Impressionen
der Bananenmann

Asia » China » Guangdong » Shenzhen October 26th 2006

I just don't think I can truly explain china. I just don't get it. First off, today I came to work and there was no power. Which seemed to be a suprise only to me! But anyway, I rush to get my monster lesson plan done for my 4th and 5th graders. Today is a busy day seeing as I have actually 3 classes, plus English Corner (which I don't even now what that really is). So I finally finish my nifty powerpoint which has pictures of monsters hanging out with me at the beach, dancing and at the great wall and I head up towards my fourth grade classroom. It is normally quite loud and there are students running around the hallways during the breaks between class. But today it was strangely silent, and I ... read more
Class picture
Camera shy

Asia » China » Guangdong » Shenzhen October 23rd 2006

What do you do when you have 2 Tents and 11 people. 1 chinese driver and a 3 hour wait for all the americans to show up. A bunch of branches, a lighter and no newspaper or lighterfluid. A fallen tree a hundred meters away and a teetering fire. 6 eager paying patrons wanting to go to explore an island and a boat that is partially flooded. What do you do when the smog, the dirt, the teaching of english beceomes to much. You go camping....at least, I think that's what we did. It is one of those vacations were patience must be packed and any notiion of what might actually happen must be left behind. Because we thought we would leave at 1pm, but infact we left at 3pm. We thought were would be anywhere ... read more
Xi Chong Beach
Boyscouts and Girlscout training at work
Our tour guides

Asia » China » Guangdong » Shenzhen October 17th 2006

It was bound to happen. We learned about this in our training in Beijing. It is some stage in the acclimation process. I forget which one it is, which one accurately describes that you would rather be either laughing over sunday brunch, or shopping in a mall, vacuuming the family room floor, or anyplace, any place other than China. Maybe its the fact that I want to send a package home, but can't figure out where the post office is or how in the world to mail something. Or the food, which at one time was like an adventure feels like a groundhog's day....let me guess, will we have rice today?? I remember when I first arrived in China, and then for some time after, thinking that there was no where else I would rather be....I ... read more
Snack time??
Who doesn't love a man who can squat?
Chinese SUV

Asia » China » Guangdong » Shenzhen October 13th 2006

...and that's not a Friday the 13th joke. The organization I work for shipped some Chinese learning books to me here in Shenzhen, and of course they got stuck in customs. (Note to anyone traveling to or living in China: Never have anything important or valuable sent to you here. It's always a hassle. Last year, it took my friend 2 months to convince the customs agent that, yes, 1 pair of American blue jeans can indeed cost $80.) My package contains 6 books - three sets of 2 - for three teachers to use in their Chinese class. So, the other day, someone from UPS calls me and explains to me that I need to fill out some paperwork to get the package cleared through Chinese customs. The man on the phone told me his ... read more
You are getting very sleepy...
Had a bad day?

Asia » China » Guangdong » Shenzhen October 12th 2006

First, I'd like to point out this article in the NY Times and say, "Ha! I knew E-Ink was going to be cool! I've been talking about this for years!" Of couse, I should also say, "Doh! Why didn't I invest in E-Ink years ago???" http://www.nytimes.com/2006/10/12/technology/12pogue.html?8dpc And now we can continue on to my life... I've decided that this week in the lunar year is a bad one for me. I'm speaking of the week following the Mid-Autumn Festival, which occurs on the full moon after the autumnal equinox. It must be a bad cosmic week for me, because for the past three years, this is the week that I find out I've been lied to by someone I've been convinced to trust. I'm not going to discuss specifics here, because it's all personal, but I ... read more
Puddle Jumpers

Asia » China » Guangdong » Guangzhou October 7th 2006

Hey all lovely people! Hope you're well :) What are you up to? National Holiday has just passed in China and people are about to go back to work after a week off. It goes a bit mad when a whole country the size of China has holiday during the same week, especially considering that people don’t get much time off during the rest of the year. So people travel everywhere - to meet up with friends and family. I went to Hunan province and Maggie’s hometown Chenzhou with Maggie, her husband Alan, her mom and the baby. Even though Chenzhou is only a five hour train ride north of Guangzhou it was cooler, and we even had to wear a sweater..! We stayed for four days; me at a hotel where Maggie’s father used to ... read more
Cable lift to the mountain top
Suxian mountain
Inside the cave

Asia » China » Guangdong » Shenzhen October 7th 2006

Happy Chinese National Day! Happy Mid-Autumn Festival! Finally, after the horribleness of September, the first holiday of the school year has arrived. Thank goodness! I may have gone a bit crazy otherwise. (Although, some people here might argue that I did, in fact, go crazy.) During the 1990's, the Chinese government decided to boost the economy by establishing three "Golden Weeks" throughout the year. These weeks were declared official holidays and all the government offices and most Chinese companies shut down for 7 days at a time. It's a chance for everyone in China to travel and (the government's true goal) to spend lots of money. The three Golden Weeks are May 1-7 (Labor Day), October 1-7 (National Day), and the 7 days surrounding the Lunar New Year. (Random interjection: I recently read an article in ... read more
The outer door
Ker-Klunk
The key

Asia » China » Guangdong October 2nd 2006

Hallo! Den ersten Ausflug nach Mainland China habe ich gut überstanden. Am Samstag war ich mit meiner Roommate in Shenzhen, nahe der Grenze nach Hongkong. Dorthin fährt man nur etwa 40 Minuten mit der Bahn und für EUR3,- pro Strecke, kann man sich das sogar als armer Student leisten. Bis man schließlich wirklich in der Stadt Shenzhen ist, kann es schon so zwei Stunden dauern. Denn wenn ich von Grenze rede, meine ich das auch so, und zwar nicht so wie im Sinne von europäischen SCheingrenzen, sondern von einer echten chinesischer Grenze. Ich musste mein Pass und mein Visa mit einer ausgefüllten Gesundheitserklärung zweimal vorzeigen, die Sachen werden wie am Flughafen durchleuchtet, und anschließend darf man sich dann endlich ins Land begeben. Busfahrpläne gibt es nur in chinesischen Schriftzeichen und Taxifahrer können auch so gut wie ... read more
Potala Palace
Great Wall
Imperial Palace

Asia » China » Guangdong » Shenzhen September 29th 2006

Having not being able to wear an outfit for more than a few months, keep a hairstyle for longer than a season, find my keys after a few moments, stay at a job longer than 2 years, and remain in a city for more than 3 years.......it is a great wonder that all my life I have been surrounded by two of the most dedicated and committed people I know. It must be the security that they have created for my life that allows me to change my hair color, pierce my nose, and flying across to the other side of the world. I'm sure it has been hard, i'm sure that at times it felt like too much...but you both did it...your doing it.....you are living out what you said you would 32 years ago ... read more




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