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Published: April 17th 2006
visiting "Even Language English Academy"
These were some of the younger students from Ms. Lee's "Even Language English Academies" in Guilin
Arthur on the left, Ms.Lee, the principal is next, yours truly, and one of the English teachers.As one becomes wiser with age, it becomes easier to accept dissappointments. The freighter ANL Georgia, my hope for transportation from Miami to Hong Kong, is owned by a freighter company in Marseilles, France. A Ms. Aubert, from the "CMA CGM Croisieres and Voyages" in Marseilles wrote me a letter, regretting not being able to carry passengers, since the freighter has now been privately leased. There is not sufficient time to make new freighter-travel arrangements for this trip, and so I will unpack the rubber-ducks, that were going to safe my life in case of a catastrophy on the feighter. (I never learned how to swim) :-)) Airline travel will make packing somewhat more difficult and complicated, since luggage allotment is not quite as generous as on a freighter. I have to start considering the limitations on what to take along for one year, while the per Kg. allowance on flights keeps shrinking to cover the increase in airline-fuel charges. (It's down to 25kg) :-( Much of the clothing I need during my one year stay can be made or purchased more reasonably in China. Once I have everything organized, I'll post a list of some of the items I deemed
The Lee Family
Arthur on the left, his daughter Emma is center, and Katherine, his wife, is to the right. necessary to bring along, but there appeared no shortage of general, every-day- useful items in the many stores surrounding Taizhou Normal College. It will be interesting adjusting to products, which I can only identify by the pictures on their box, can, carton, or through their international-recognized-packaging.
Through the efforts of my friend Arthur, I have now received my Z-Visa for China. It permits me a one-year stay in his country as a "Foreign Expert", and I can now safely assume, that the adventure is about to begin. Arthur noted, that the College is in need of 2 more teachers for the summer semester, and it will be a gratifying challenge to begin teaching in June '06, a few month earlier than expected. That turn of events also settled the question with the freighter, though remaining an option, available months from now. Arthur would rather I keep him out of the spot-light, but I do wish to tell my family and friends, that meeting this teacher has been a one of the joys of life. Arthur is a teacher and the Foreign Affairs Rep. for Taizhou Normal College, speaks a brilliant English, and expresses a constant joy in also being
entrance to village
South China has a number of minorities, and at the entrance to one of their villages are standing, Arthur, Ms.L.Lee from Guilin, and yours truly. a Father and a Mentor. He encourages his students and all those around him, while celebrating and promoting the College. The primary duty of the Foreign Affairs Director at a College or University in China is recruiting and securing native-English-speakers, who, by virtue of their college work in an English speaking country, can help the school improve their students' English skills. Remember, that all students in China, from grades one through college, have English as a requirement, and without advanced knowledge of English, a place on a good College/University is not really conceivable. No Chinese student is ever under the impression, that their schooling is of no consequence. They will go to any lengths to establish an edge on their various entrance examinations, feared by students and parents alike, whether it be school until 11 p.m. at night, or summer-vacation-study-weeks at private English Academies around the country.
In addition, the Foreign Affairs Director also enables and is representative for the neccessary documentations for entry, as for example in my case. He is available to smooth any complaints, helps the foreign teacher in all aspects of adjustment, and facilitates travels for the foreign visitors. In my case, he invited
welcome
Proud youth are welcoming the visitor with song to their village. me to visit Taizhou College, picked me up at Shanghai Airport, provided me with a comfortable place to stay in Taizhou, Jiangsu Province, and arranged very exiting travels and has become a very dear friend. No guide to a country could have been more informative and generous. I truly felt welcomed.
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Kevin Watkins
non-member comment
Minority costumes of China
Hans, you write a most interesting Blog. Last month, here in Guilins Sister City, Hastings, New Zealand, we celebrated the 25th anniversary of our Sister City relationship. Hastings / Guilin were first New Zealand China Sister Cities. We invited 4 very lovely dancers from Guilin to attend our celebrations. While here, they paraded through our central city business district wearing the most stunning and colourful minority costumes from Guangxi province. Where ever they went, people just stood in amiration and were so pleased to speak with the dancers and admire the most intricate of needlework in the costumes. The minority costumes are truely a wonderful testament to the cultures found throughout China. I was so pleased to see similar photos in your Blog Hans. All the best, and I look forward to reading about your teaching experiences later this year.