Blogs from China, Asia - page 2273

Okay folks...I'm here to debunk the following myth in a big way. You may have the image of Chinese students who are afraid to offend the teacher, and view the teachers as demi-god-like creatures. Not true my friends, not true. (NOTE THIS IS ENTRY NUMBER 2 of 2. MAKE SURE TO READ PART 1 FIRST) Case in point....today's history class. So this morning was history class number 2 for a group of 11th graders. Last week the class went pretty well, and despite low participation it appeared that they had some personality. Despite this assessment I didn't know this was coming. First off, the computer in that class hates me. I have taught 14 classes and there is a computer for presentations in every room. I have only had problems with my powerpoints twice...both in that ... read more

As part of my contract, Taizhou College will be giving me as many opportunities as possible to get "out and about" in Jiangsu province. Our first trip was to Nanjing the provincial capital to celebrate the annual Plum Blossom Festival on the slopes of Zijin Shan (sometimes known as Purple Mountain). Our group consisted of Victoria and Bobby (my colleague and her boyfriend), myself, Arthur (my boss) and Vivian (our Chinese co teacher). We were joined and "hosted" in Nanjing by Tracy, one of the Nanjing Normal University teaching staff that teaches in Taizhou during the week. Zijin Shan is the location for many of Nanjing's historical sights: Sun Yatsen Mausoleum, Xiaoling Tomb, Linggu Temple to name but three. However, as the others had visited these previously, this was not to be the focus of this ... read more

When they say it’s a hard seat they don't lie. We took the night train to Datong choosing the cheapest tickets thinking 'hey it'll be fine'. it would be if it was during the day. Let us describe the situation: its cramped, the seat back is at right angles it’s not comfortable. The light never goes out and its packed when I say packed I mean there are people who are standing in the aisle all night. So we didn’t' sleep at all and this I am using as the excuse for the following events. Dave Half an hour after getting on the train (big mistake in the first place) on our first real adventure Dave suddenly declares that we need to flee the country because we only have a 30 day visa...and we have been ... read more

Certainly the craziest/wierdest thing I have ever eaten. Ryan and I bought 4 goats testicles for 15 Yuan. The shouting, loud man roasted them over the fire. Added some salt, pepper and chili flakes. My stomach was already doing turns just looking at the oozing and dripping of liquids from the testicles into the fire. He handed them to us, two each, smelt good. First bite. Hmm, not so bad - just a nibble. Next bite, ehh. Then decided to just pop the whole ball in my mouth. Chewed and swallowed. Very sinewy and chewy. Did not feel too hot. Gagged over a dust bin but held it down. Ryan ran to a stall and bought both of us a lamb roll. I did not feel better untill I had eaten bar of chocolate. Would I ... read more

Today was such a happy day. I was probably completely irresponsible last night and went out even though I was sick, and had another night where I didn't get home until around 4am. After going to Windows Tempo, we all went out to probably my favorite nightspot so far, Barbarrosa, which is a 4 or 5 story bar/lounge with a middle-eastern feel which is surrounded by a man-made lake. It's really a beautiful place & a nice atmosphere and it was all in all a really good night. We left there around 3:30 and were in the mood for dumplings & noodles, so we had a midnight snack at the dumpling place across the street from our apartments. I woke up this morning and was in a really good mood after having checked me email and ... read more