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Published: February 15th 2007
Firstly, all instructions for the computer are in Chinese and I have no idea how to download photos from my camera.... will definately work it out by my next blog... Love to all... Danz.
My flight to Hong Kong was squashy, hot, bumping and smelly... The Chinese man, probably in his early 40's sitting next to me slept most of the way and had his face leaning towards me with his mouth open.. breathing his stinky breathe all over me for almost the whole trip.... I had to do something as I couldnt breathe!!!!!! So i lifted my arm up and rested my elbow on the window so i could smell my own armpit.. Yep, that's right folks... I preferred to smell the delicate aroma of my Rexona than the smell of the air around me.... but then to balance it all out we had a delicious lunch and as i cut open my bread roll and put butter on it with my knife i could tell that he was watching me intently... then he started to copy the exact way i was buttering and eating my roll, he even held the roll and bit into it the exact way i was. This was so cute i could no longer hold a grudge for his smelly breathe... I arrived into Hong Kong for a 4 hour stop over, had a tofu salad in the airport and i am about to board my Dragon Airlines plane heading for Guilin, 800km north west of Hong Kong.....
Ma Ma Li means slowing, slowly, meaning 'China Time' there is no rush just take everything easy. There was about an hour delay for the plane to leave Hong Kong and I arrived into Guilin at about 10pm. I was greeted by a lovely fellow holding a sign with my name on it. We went to the car and i was told it was an hour and a half drive to Yangshou where I would be staying for the next 2 weeks... He was a very good driver, as there are not street lights and alot of the road way is just dirt. I was very sleepy and was glad to arrive at the Buckland Teachers Hostel. I was met by Tracey and she showed me to my room. I am sharing my room with Lisa, an aussie from a country town in NSW. She has been so wonderful and really took me under her wing during the first few days. I got to sleep about midnight and was told the training started the next day at 9am. I thought that it started the next day and that i would have a day to relax, settle in a little bit and sleep...- oh well, ma ma li!
The training has been great. We have learnt a lot about Culture Shock. There is no word for communication in the Chinese language.
Whenever things get too back we can just think TIC, TIC, This Is China!!?... or OINC, OINC, Only In China!!ยท?...
I have started taking mandarin lessons and it is hilarious... my teacher is Gary and he is a teacher here. Tonight he invited me to his house for my lesson. It is a great honour and to be invited to a Chinese persons home. I met his little daughter, Lan Lan who is 3 and i gave her a little koala she loved it and knew where Australia was on the map. I also met his wife Sophia who was absolutely beautiful too.
Ever wondered what China is called in China?? Porcelain...
The food here is delicious. At the teachers college (where i am staying) we are fed 3 meals a day. for breakfast we have noodles and dumplings which are like a steamed bread roll with minced pork or something sweet inside... they are all different and you never know what you are going to get until you take a bite... The flavours are wonderful here and it is very different from Australian Chinese which i have always found to be very oily. Most food is stir fry and they have lots of aubergine (my favourite ). I have made a personal policy that whatever i eat i dont ask what is it, i just enjoy the wonderful favours and textures. I ate pigs tongue the other night, unknowingly of course!! It was devine, just like all the other flavours and i would never had known if I wasnt told..
The markets are the most devine i have ever seen.
And it is so cheap over here, much cheaper than Thailand, Vietnam or Laos. Of course there is a western price which is 8 times more that the locals and you have to barter. 6 Yuen is about 1 Austalian Dollar. A brand new car in China costs around 30,000 Yuen - work that out!!! (The average wage for a local teacher is about 600 Yuen a month)
We had a 2 and a half hour lunch break today so i decided to go for a massage. I thought it would be an hour and it was 18 Yuen. It turned out to be an hour and a half and i received the best facial ever!!!
I have been very busy with my orientation during the day then straight off to my chinese lessons in the evening then to bed ready to do it all over again. I have next week off during the Spring Festival which is the biggest holiday / celebration of the year, just like our Christmas. Saturday is the Chinese New Years Eve and we are learning how to make dumplings, trying Mul wine and Buckland has bought over 1.5 tonnes of fire crackers and they are putting on a huge traditional feast for us. Then Sunday is the day of the parades with the Chinese Dragons. The week after I have been asked to go camping and hiking for a few days, it is FREEZING at the moment so as long as the weather warms up I am there!
Just before I sign off for tonight I just want to say a HUGE thank you ( xie xie) to everyone back home in Australia for your love, support and encouragement. The gratitue I feel for having this is immeasureable. Love to you all. XXX
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Damo
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It sounds like you are having a wonderful time there Dan might be a good idea to use the "Don't ask policy" Can't wait to see you over there :)