Blogs from Jiangsu, China, Asia - page 15

Geo: 32.05, 118.78Yes it was time to go fishing once again.Back to the same place but this time in the easy pond first.This was great because everyone caught something. Even Anna and Myself. The girls.... because girls don't usually go fishing... just the boys. But we showed them.We caught one each. But you don't kill them. You put them in a net and back in the water so they can remain fresh until you leave.It was very hot, overcast and very humid. We where totally soaked. If the ponds where cleaner I might have fallen it on purpose. Not a good idea. We even got sun burnt threw the clouds.We caught about 10 small fish between the 5 of us, and then decided to go for the harder and larger fish. Andy (the fisherman's son) had ... read more

Turkey sandwich, check. Cold beer, check. Blanket, check. Some good friends to bring along, check! Picnic in the old town gardens anyone? How have I lived here for over a year and never been to this part of town? I look up at this mountain every day on my way home from work and I'm just now going to check it out? It's amazing how far we're willing to travel to see something new and exhilarating, when we sometimes forget there's a plethora of adventure within a 5-mile radius of us. “Old town” is situated on the outskirts of dusty Wuxi, settled at the bottom of a tree-infested mountain. The gardens, ponds and streams are connected by old courtyards, circular entrance ways, and connecting quaint bridges. We eat our lunch in the garden by one of ... read more

Arrving at Pudong International Airport, the meeting point for the teachers I got a little confused on where we were meeting because confusingly it wasn't at the meeting point : ) but it didn't take me so long and I relaxed and chatted to some of the teachers I would be spending the next two weeks with. They had initially planned to have an evening welcome meal on our arrival in Yangzhou however as our arrival was now expected to be about 9pm we believed the day had been changed. So as many of the teachers had just arrived from long haul flights then a 4hour bus ride we were a little surprised to say the least when we stopped by a very nice restaurant for dinner! The dinner was amazing and everyone was very hungry ... read more

My experience teaching: I taught the 1st grade, ages 7-8. They were reallly cute, but very chatty in class and always touching my stuff. They have no worries going into my backpack or grabbing something of mine on the table. What I found fascinating was that the teachers leave the students on their own during the breaks. For real! When the chime goes off to begin the break, the teacher in my class picked up her laptop and took off for the teachers' room. The most difficult thing to deal with was the heat. It was 85+ degrees and that was with the AC. For some strange reason they had no problem leaving the 2 doors or the windows to the classroom open while the AC was running. I can't explain and didn't bother to ask. ... read more

Our second week with our families in Zhenjiang seems to have flown past! Naturally, I am quite behind on posting this (again!), but for a very good reason, I think: We’ve been incredibly busy!!! Just as during our first week here, each of the parents took a day to share their city and those nearby with us while our sisters attended their school. On Monday morning Stephanie’s father picked the four of us up around 8:00, announcing that today we would explore Nanjing! We were very excited! It was just less than an hour-long drive to the city and many people from Zhenjiang (including Stephanie and Megan’s dads) work there, living in small Nanjing apartments during the week and returning to their homes in Zhenjiang on weekends. Yet although our first stop was within the boundaries ... read more