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Published: March 6th 2008
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My Humble Abode
This is my room. The bedrooms are the only rooms in our appartment that are heated, so naturally I spend a lot of time here. Not much has been going on tourism wise since my last entry. I have mostly been settling in and adjusting to daily life here in my host city of Changzhou. Do not fear though. There will be side trips aplenty starting soon. We have three day weekends every other weekend, so I will have plenty of opportunities to carry out the ambitious travel plans that my roommate and I have made. So far those plans call for a trip to the ancient imperial city of Xian, home of the famed terracotta warriors, a trip to the birthplace of Confucius, a trip to Beijing, a trip to the sacred mountain of Taishan, and a trip to a panda research and breeding center in Chengdu. To top all this off, I am now seriously considering making plans to visit Japan for a week and a half or so once my semester of teaching concludes.
Now back to the boring business of what life is like in China. I am posting pictures of my apartment, my school, and a few of the children that I am teaching. I have been assigned to teach third, fourth and sixth grade students, whose English ability is way
Now I Know How the British Feel
This is my desk in my room where I huddle for warmth like Bob Cratchit. better than I would have imagined at such a young age. It is still very difficult to even communicate with them sometimes, and I have to constantly remind myself to speak slowly and repeat what I say. The good news though is that my third and fourth graders have adored me from the moment that I stepped in the classroom. Its amazing how little you have to do to earn adoration from someone that age. My sixth graders are starting to get to the age where they are a bit rebellious and surly, but I like teaching them because they can understand what I am saying much better than the younger kids. The school is nice except for the fact that the building is unheated, and the people who work there have been very friendly and accommodating so far. However, issues of communication and cultural difference inevitably keep coming up, and it is not uncommon to get five different answers to the same question depending on who you ask.
The only downside to the school people-wise has been the other foreign teachers. They are mostly a collection of losers and idiots who annoy my roommate, me, and the brits whenever
Living Room
Here is the main living room area of our apartment, featuring both a heater and a computer that do not work. we are in the same room with them. It’s alright though because we figure the four of us will just keep to ourselves and be too busy traveling on weekends to spend much time with them anyway. The have been somewhat helpful in navigating the many complexities of life in China like where to go grocery shopping, how to deal with our children in class, and of course where to get good pizza. The have introduced us to a local hangout called Jim's Bar, which is pretty far from a typical bar back in the states, but it is the most authentic American establishment that I have found since I've been here, and plenty of foreigners congregate there.
Food-wise, I have to say that I've gotten over the pleasure of having access to so much good Chinese food available and to the point where I am trying to survive on a daily basis. I make do with knockoff Korean frosted flakes for breakfast, rice and veggies for lunch, and we usually eat out for dinner. Getting used to Chinese ideas about food takes some work. They sell live frogs, fish, and even turtles at the grocery store here, and it
Changzhou International School
This is a view of the front of my school. is very common in restaurants to be able to order almost any part of any edible animal. I have seen complete ducks served in soup, crab ovaries, and of course complete eels and snakes. On the drink side, the tea is great and there are plenty of varieties to sample, but they call Diet Coke "Coke Light" here and it tastes pretty weird. The selection of western fast food that is available here is also weird. KFC is by far the biggest chain, with practically one on every block. We also have McDonalds, Starbucks, and Pizza Hut, but they are far less common.
I would say that the best part about living in China is how cheap everything is here. Going hand in hand with that is the ready availability of pirated merchandise, especially DVD's. It is easy to get high quality DVD copies of films and TV shows that haven't even come out on DVD back in the states, and the sell for less than 2 American dollars apiece. I just finished watching Weeds Season 3, and am getting ready to start on Dexter Season 2. World of Warcraft is huge here as well, with huge posters of it
Aren't They Cute?
Here are some of my energetic fourth graders. adorning the outside of the many internet cafes in our town. The biggest drawback to living in China so far has been the pollution and dust, which is pretty awful. There is a perpetual smoggy haze hanging over any urban area here, and it takes some getting used to. At some point you just have to accept the persistent cough that inevitably develops. That’s it for my update on daily life. Enjoy the picture of my school and children, and stay tuned for tales of my trip to Beijing which is coming up this weekend.
Peace,
Chris
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Karen
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Truly Fabulous Pics
Wonderful snaps on your posting this time. Your kids look cute! I'm glad you are having so many travel opportunities. Keep the pics coming! On a truly sad note, they found the student body president at Chapel Hill, a senior pre-med from Georgia named Eve, murdered on a side street off campus. Kate comes home for spring break tomorrow and Scott was here a microsecond or two (hurricane moving through, you know) this past weekend for his break before heading to Chattanooga for the SoCon tournie. Mighty Duke and UNC, the rematch is going down this Saturday. Not much else to report here. Beast reminds you that he still controls the world in case you have forgotten. I've poked your lazy son many times but it doesn't seem to help! Much love and stay safe, Mom