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Published: February 6th 2009
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We started the second week of our holiday with a really early start as we were going to meet some of my Chinese teaching colleagues on the way to Qibao, an old water town only about 10 minutes away from here. In Grade 5, our next unit is Water, so we are going to look at the uses and functions of water there. We had to do a recce this week as taking 100 students to a small town is no mean feat! It was a very good job we did this, as it was quite small with very small busy streets to wander down. We will definitely have to split up around the town while we are there. We visited a small cotton mill museum, which will be perfect for the unit, and also a wine making museum, but it was very small so we are not sure if we will go there. We also found a Shadow Show workshop and museum which was really interesting and they are going to put on some shows for us, showing traditional Chinese stories which I am assured the kids will enjoy.
Qibao itself gave me sharp reminders of when we first
arrived in China. It is a typical old town with no frills. It was good to go adventuring again, but it also reminded me of the difficulties we face culturally while we are away from the more westernised areas. There is one street there which is particularly famous for the unusual foods it sells! We saw all kinds, including baby chicks on sticks, various parts of fish (mainly the heads, a delicacy here!), various parts of chicken (mainly offal) and there were squid being cooked, tentacles and all, at various stalls along the way. We have been told by our friends (who ate them!) that you can also purchase pigs snouts, fertilised eggs and chicken feet......luckily we didn't see them! It's not only the sight of all this which is amazing, but the smell too. There is one restaurant which is famous for 'stinky tofu' and it is the most hideous smell ever. We have become accustomed (not used to, I hasten to add) the smell of this food, but added to everything else, I think we all felt that our senses had been totally attacked!
For our lunch, we were taken to the Old Hotel with our Chinese
colleagues. Ian was in heaven as we never tend to go to traditional Chinese restaurants anymore, they are just too difficult. We can't read the menus, and the food tends to be non child friendly (and non mummy friendly too!). But we were with our colleagues so we went along........yes, you can imagine what is coming! They asked us if we like mutton (lamb) and of course we agreed. We sensibly asked for rice for the children, and also some sweetcorn and prawns for sophie (who ate the whole lot!!). However, along came a plate of various bits of a lamb, RAW!! I felt quite ill but Ian bravely tried them...even though he didn't manage to eat them! There was tongue, ear and raw knuckle type thing! Needless to say we didn't eat much, but William loved the tofu and Sophie ate a gazillion prawns! Unfortunately this then meant that she needed the loo...eek! Ian took her to investigate but they turned out to be latrine style for men and women...no doors even! Clearly she wouldn't even try so I decided to take her in search for another one outside of the restaurant. I had seen plenty of public loos,
so we went to one of these which at least had a door on, even if they were Chinese style. These are not easy to maneouvre but needs must! When we go on our school trip I will remember not to drink anything!!
After all this I felt quite traumatised and decided we needed to make a move. We had met at 9am and it was already 1pm, so after some discussions between us teachers about worksheets and programme for the day, we said our goodbyes and headed off. We had seen a sign for Tesco on our way in and decided to investigate! It was another interesting experience, nothing really like Tesco at all. It was strange to see price labels and signs in Tesco style and even some Tesco value products! We didn't buy much luckily and came home. We heaved a sigh of relief to be back in the safety of our own home!
The rest of our week has been pretty quiet really, with lots more roller blading and relaxing at home. The weather is nothing like back in UK, we have been watching the snow reports with a bit of jealousy, but also
we are pleased that the weather here is improving. We have been told by Ian's Chinese teacher that Spring is officially here and the weather we have been having seems to confirm it. Sophie and I checked the weather report today as her next unit is all about weather, and it seems it is going to be 19 degrees on Thursday!!!!!!!!!!!!! It has been a bit rainy too, but this is bizarre! We are all hoping that the worst of the cold weather is over, thought, our poor little apartment does not respond well to cold!
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eric
non-member comment
chinese
i'm a chinese student studied in UK, and i'm glad that you like China. I suggest you to travel around china and you will find it exciting and unbelieveable