Blogs from Wuhan, Hubei, China, Asia - page 19

One of the teachers in the English department told me this story today - it's about her family. Please, don't read this if you don't want to cry, it's very sad!!! She just got a call this evening saying that her uncle (her mom's brother) had passed away. He was only 40, but this teacher thinks it was a blessing, and here is why. When her uncle was young (maybe 2 or 3 years old) he got a very bad fever which damaged his health. He was always sickly, always getting severe migraines that would begin in an instant. When he finished high school, he got a job working at a factory, but one day he got a terrible migraine at work while using machinery, and cut off three or four fingers on his right hand. ... read more

I tried uploading videos yesterday, but they were taking too long and I head to head home. So I'm trying again. Keep your fingers crossed, there should be two videos here when I am done. The first is of our kids (mostly Jean's grade 5 students, a few of my grade 4 students) - they are putting on a performance for the Swedish delegation we had here last week. Honestly, the best part of having those ladies here was seeing what our kids can do! They're amazing, they put their all into everything they do (well, most of the time:). The second video is of the ping-pong club - this little guy is only in grade 2, and already he can hit that ball faster then I could ever dream of! And this teacher, no matter ... read more

It was somewhat of a shock to turn on the computer tonight and find that the internet was working. It’s been nearly a week since it did anything of the sort for more than a five minute stretch. Well, it’s been seven minutes, and the net is still functioning, albeit very slowly. I made a friend this week. A Chinese girl who goes to college near my school met me at a restaurant and invited me to her apartment for dinner. We’ve been hanging out almost every day since. On Sunday she came over to my apartment with some friends, and I taught them how to cook French toast. As far as western food goes, French toast is very easy to pull off in China. I had maple syrup and canned wild blueberries from home. I’ve ... read more

Na twee maanden in Wuhan ben ik hier al goed geïnstalleerd. Tijd voor een jobje dus, dacht ik bij mezelf. George, een Bulgaarse vriend, had me het adres bezorgd van een bedrijf dat leerkrachten aanwerft om Engelse les te geven aan Chinese kinderen. Dinsdag ben ik langsgeweest op het kantoor om te solliciteren. Ik had geen afspraak maar dat was geen enkel probleem, de manager wou mij meteen te woord staan. Het 'sollicitatiegesprek' begon vreemd genoeg met het overlopen van het contract. "Do not hit the children, arrive ten minutes before your classes start,..." Allemaal zeer evidente zaken en ik zette mijn poot onderaan op het papier. NA het ondertekenen van het contract volgden een paar losse vraagjes over mijn kennis van de Engelse taal. Het feit dat ik geen "native English speaker" ben, geen relevante ... read more

For those of you who don't really have an idea of where we are living, I though I'd paint a colorful word picture for you:) Are you ready? Ok - turn your imagination on! Wuhan (武汉 in Chinese), located in the middle of Hubei province, in the middle of Central China, is a "small city" by Chinese standards, with a population of "only" 10 million (give or take a few). It is known in China for it's spicy food, it's history, and the Wuhanese people are known for their temper (attributed to the spicy food!). Wuhan is composed of three cities that grew together - Hankou (where we live), Hanyang, and Wuchang, (stereotypically Hankou is known as the business district, Wuchang as the educational district, and HanYang as the industrial district - but this is changing) ... read more