Robin's Kitchen Adventure

So Robin has been updating his kitchen since AT LEAST the August long weekend (I know this because Sonia & I stayed there after the Jack Johnson Concert and he was just laying the tile at that time - the fridge was in the livingroom, the oven was in the spare bedroom - it was out of control).
Anyway, he sent me some pictures, so here they are!

Life on Locke Street South

Max and I have been living on Locke Street since May. I love the neighbourhood - it reminds me of a small town because so many things are within walking distance - shops, restaurants, friends and STARBUCKS - my new best friend in the mornings before work.

Check out some photo's of our place here

We inherited our cat, Cash, from Nicole before she left for BC. As you can tell, he's awfully spoiled here.

Where is Saltillo, Mexico??

Saltillo, Coahuila, Mexico is currently where my dad, Regina & Ricky live. Vanessa & I went to visit them just before I went to China in 2006.

The best way to get there is to fly to Monterrey and have dad & Regina pick you up. It's about an hour drive from Saltillo.

On the map, you can see that it is in the North of Mexico, just below the Texas border.




















Sometime within the next year, my family will be moving to Queretaro as my dad is doing more and more business there.

My dad's first Mexican city was Puebla, a little South East of Mexico City. I went to visit there when I was 16. We went on a road trip to Oaxaca and Hualtulco, but I have never been to a popular tourist 'all-inclusive' type city.

Here is a video from one of the restaurants we ate at. I believe at this dinner, CACTUS was the appetizer!

Where is Zhangzhou anyways?

Zhangzhou is a "smaller" Chinese city, located in Fujian Province. It is about an hour's drive from Xiamen - across the way from Taiwan, or in the map below, the "Chinese Taipei". According to Wikipedia today, the population is more than 3.7 million people, so more than a million people more than Toronto, ON.
None of the larger maps of China showed Zhangzhou, so I've to posted some larger maps.

For more information on this city, check out:
http://www.zhangzhouchina.com

http://www.66163.com/Fujian_w/city/zzhou/e-index.html

http://www.fzu.edu.cn/fujian/ezhangz.html

Other cities I visited during my 10 month stay in China included Xiamen, Hong Kong, Sanya, Shanghai, Beijing, Xi'an, as well as a number of smaller towns that would almost never appear on a map.

Happy Birthday Stefanie!!!

Sept 2008 - BC & Alberta in 4 Days

A four day getaway over the Labour Day weekend landed us in some of the most beautiful parts of Canada. We saw the great town of Vulcan, AB (a must see for Trekkies), played with the World's Biggest Dump Truck in Sparwood BC, visited Nicole & Matt in Elkford, BC, explored the pretty town of Fernie and froze our asses off in Canmore & Banff!

Vulcan AB & Sparwood BC

Elkford & Fernie BC

Canmore & Banff AB

Lake Moraine & a Gondola Ride in Banff

Starting Up the New Blog

I've decided to move all of the stories posted on my Windows Live Space website to this page. I'll do my best to keep the original dates & photo's in tact.
Here is the original website:
http://lisambatty.spaces.live.com/

Aug. 23 2007 - Missing China

After spending 10 months in China and making some really great friends, it is difficult to accept that I will most likely never see them again. When I left Canada in October, there were some sad good-byes, but none that were forever. More of a "See you later". Don't get me wrong, I am so happy to be home again, but saying "Goodbye Forever" to so many wonderful people is something that will stay with me for a very long time. I don't think I've ever been in a "Goodbye Forever" type situation. Certainly not with anyone I've been close to.

I am lucky to have met the people I met and to have experienced (most of) the things I did (public toilet experiences excluded!). At times, it wasn't easy living so far away from everything and everyone I knew, there were times when I really couldn't wait to come home again, but looking back, I think the experience may have made me stronger in some ways. Plus I learned a few curse words in Chinese that may come in handy someday.

With email, MSN and the internet, it is pretty easy to keep in touch with many people. But of course, it is not the same as spending time together. I miss teaching, I miss the English Loft and I miss taking pictures of things that are normal in China, but strange in Canada. Of course I still email and MSN with some of my friends there - I've also convinced a few of them to join Facebook - but it's sad to know that it is almost impossible for the majority of them to visit me here.

Strange Sights in China

Alcohol + Robby, Luc & Amber

Random Fun in China

July 24 2007 - Beijing & Robin

About a month has passed since our trip to Beijing - actually, it's already been two weeks since I've been back in Canada. And in some ways, it feels like I never left. But back to the Beijing story.

To be updated!















Here are some photo albums on Facebook:

The Beijing Story - 1

The Beijing Story - 2

The Beijing Story - The Final Chapter

June 8 2007 - Another one for Dr. Tony

Tony shi wo de yi sheng = Tony is my doctor. I can form SOME sentences in Chinese, but saying them is a completely different story.

Anyways, Tony is an orthopedic surgeon in Zhangzhou. He is the brightest surgeon at his hospital (or so he says) and he is one of the funniest people I've met here. He is always telling me about the inappropriate things he says to nurses, which means that his English vocabulary is expanding - but in a dirty way. I think it's hilarious.

A few weeks ago, my ankle was really bothering me - always sore and aching. Three years (or is it four now) ago, I broke my ankle skiing with Stefanie - what an adventure for my first time on skiis. A week later, I had surgery and have had a metal plate & four screws in there ever since. I have no problems with flexibility, but it does sometimes pain me - during cold or rainy days. So Tony invited me to the hospital for an X-Ray - this is the kind of surgery that he does. We took 2 pictures (I kept them) and it turns out that one of my screws is loose (insert clever jokes now). I could have the surgery here to have the plate removed, but I may have some pain after and the thought of climbing the 100 steps to my apartment in pain doesn't strike me as "cool". So sooner or later, I'll need to have it out. But it's not painful every day, so I can tough it out for a while longer.

Last weekend, Tony took Max into the operating room. I was out of town, so I didn't get to go (I'm not sure that I would have gone). Tony got a call at home about a man who had been cut with a knife by another man during an arguement about a woman. Max posed as a Canadian medical student - he put on the scrubs, facemask and flip flops (that's what they wear in the operating room here). The man had been cut by what sounds like some kind of knife used on a farm maybe - his right shoulder bone was damaged and he required 30 cm of stitches on that arm. On his left forearm, a number of stitches were also needed. Tony tells me all of the technical medical terms for repairing the nerves and other things inside the arm, but I don't really remember all of those details. The surgery lasted about 4 hours.

A few weeks ago, another man lost the tip of his thumb. Tony & his team made a small incision into the mans abdomen and sewed the partial thumb in there. After a few weeks, the man returned to the hospital, and Tony removed the thumb from its place inside the man. The skin had grown back - no thumbnail. Success!

A man came to the hospital and his leg was so badly infected that Tony had no choice but to cut it off. And then the hospital gave the family the leg to bury.

These are just a few of the Tony stories. I'm sure there will be more to come before I leave!

June 8 2007 - Dedicated to Doctor Tony

My friend Tony has been giving me the evil eye for not updating my blog lately. So I apologize to him. I don't really have a lot going on right now. Next week, I have final exams at the university. I will have a 5 minute conversation with each student (108 to be exact) and determine their grade. My last exam day is June 20. On the 24th, my brother Robin is flying to Beijing for a week. We are meeting him there. The plan is to spend a few days in Beijing, a day or two in Xi'an and then we have a few days to play around with. I think it will be a good trip - we've done some research on what to see and do. Some friends have also been to Beijing and have given us advice. He flies back to Canada on the 1st and we will come back to Zhangzhou.

At the Loft, we are still teaching the adult classes twice a week. I really like teaching my students, because it's not frustrating or disappointing. The book we have is excellent - it's current, fairly easy for the students to relate to and fun. I hope that Karen will keep it open after we leave - but that is up to her.

I've been busy selling clothes, purses, wallets, etc via Facebook - if you're on there, please add me and check out my goods - time is running out to shop!

I've already started sending boxes home to myself - I'm shipping them via ground, so I'll see my things in two months or so. I'm trying to figure out whether or not my old job at Siemens is still available - if not, does anyone have a job for me? Hahaha.

I'm thinking that July 9th will be the day we leave. Fingers crossed.

May 10 2007 - Xiamen Boat Trip

The best part of this day was meeting Luc's friend from Montreal, Mattieu (I hope I have the right spelling).

May 1st is a holiday in China - International Labour Day. But most of the country celebrates for a week. We went to Xiamen for the day before heading to Shanghai. Amber's friends organize an annual boat trip and she invited us. Max and I brought Catherine & Joe 2. The day was beautiful - hot and sunny. We left the dock around noon-ish and spent the afternoon chatting with new people while enjoying a few cold beers. The two boats 'parked' near an island and some people jumped in the water to cool off. The owners of the boat BBQ'd some skewers for everyone before heading back. I took a few pictures (of course) and they are posted in the photo album.

May 10 2007 - Shanghai - The BIG City that makes me feel so very SMALL

This is definitely a city that makes you feel so small! Everything in Shanghai has been done on a BIG scale. The buildings tower over and the skyline is border-line crowded with skyscrapers. The design of the city is amazing - I thought it was fairly easy to get around, although things are VERY far apart.
PHOTO ALBUM

In the taxi from the airport to the hotel (we stayed in a Super 8 - NOT my idea - hahaha) we drove by an IKEA! That was our first stop the next morning. I wanted to buy EVERYTHING - I know most people have this feeling when they go to IKEA in Burlington (or wherever), but it was overwhelming here. After so much time without seeing familiar things, I wanted to bring it all back.

Shanghai is full of some really cool areas. Some are quite grand - the pedestrian mall on Nanjing Road (there's a McDonalds every 5 minutes on this road and it's also full of designer stores), People's Square - the Shanghai Museum and the Shanghai Grand Theatre are here, the area along The Bund - a walkway along the river with beautiful views of the buildings on the other side of the water. And some are a little smaller - we found a cool pub/bar/restaurant area. It reminded me of Hess Village in Hamilton, but much, much cooler. Lots of patio bars, candle light, live bands and so many foreigners (of course).

We did a lot of sight-seeing, but still didn't manage to see everything we planned. The Shanghai Museum was really interesting - I think there was 5 or 6 floors, all with different themed rooms. Old coins & paper money, traditional Chinese clothes, Ancient calligraphy, Jade, etc, etc. There was an exhibition of art from America - we saw some Andy Wharhol paintings - so cool.

And the food - WOW. Mexican, French, American and all of the things that are not available in my city. Try living without variety for 8 months, and you can maybe know how I feel.

Shopping - we saw REAL Louis Vuitton, REAL Chanel, REAL Hermes, REAL Prada, etc. But we did not shop there - we found a fake market just down the road from the REAL stores. I bought some really nice designer bags, that even if they didn't have a name like Prada or Gucci, they would still be really nice.

There are some downsides to such a big city, especially in China. The walkway near the water is a popular hang-out for local beggars. And they are not shy. They will come right up to you, shake their tin cup and say any English they can - "money please" and they look so sad and dirty. If you don't give them money right away, they will follow you for a few minutes. The garbage on the sidewalks & streets is ridiculous. People just throw their garbage on the ground as if it's nothing. I see this in my city too and it's worse in small villages.

I took a picture of a girl publicly urinating on the sidewalk. This happens ALL the time! My city, Hong Kong, Shanghai. I've tried to discuss it with some of my Chinese friends, but I don't think this will change anytime soon. If you want to start a business in China, please try to make diapers popular!

Another really sad thing we saw involved an old man and a small girl. I don't know how common this sort of thing is, but everyone I tell this story to is not surprised - sometimes they come back with an even worse story. We were walking down a busy street, maybe around 8 or 9 at night. I think we were the only foreigners around. Coming towards us is an old man who is wearing really shabby clothes and is in serious need of a shower. I thought he was going to ask for money. Instead he grabbed the arm of a little girl beside him and whipped her in front of us. He continued walking and this sad dirty little girl is holding a cup in front of us and saying 'money, money'. Things like this are really hard to swallow. I've heard stories about men like this going to small villages and convincing really poor parents to sell their daughters. Then the girls are taken to other cities and forced to beg for money - or worse. I don't know what kind of help - if any - is really available in this kind of situation. It seems that many people know about, know it's wrong, but then it stops...it's this way with many things that would not be acceptable / tolerated in Canada.

We also had some really nice local people help us around too. One taxi driver got a little lost taking us to the hotel one night, so he stopped the meter - quite surprising. Another time, we were looking at the subway map and trying to figure out where we were and which line to take (there are 4) and a girl around 20, came over to help us. We also had a conversation with a man in a wheelchair who had a scar around his head - apparently he had an accident in a factory when he was young (how young, I didn't ask). But he was really nice, told us not to shop in the expensive area and gave us some weather forecasts for the next day.

I would recommend Shanghai to anyone coming to China. Despite some of the sad things, it really is an interesting city. I posted lots of pictures in the photo album. Enjoy!

Apr. 30 2007 - May Day Holiday = ANOTHER Week Off!!!

I am on holiday for ANOTHER week. The Chinese are celebrating something like our Labour Day, but for a week. No complaints here. Max and I are going to Xiamen for two days and then to Shanghai from Wednesday to Sunday. In Xiamen, we are going on a boating adventure with some other foreigners Tuesday afternoon. Then we fly out Wednesday afternoon and we're staying in a Super 8 - Max thinks this is hilarious!

I'm sure I'll have lots of pictures and stories next week!

Apr. 30 2007 - Birthday Getaway!

Sanya is quite possibly one of the most beautiful places I've been...in China! The beaches are so clean, the water is really clear, the hotels are enormous, but nothing was busy or crowded. We didn't run into any pushy or rude tourists. Many people thought we were Russian. Apparently Sanya is a hot spot for Russian tourists. A lot of the restaurant signs and menus, etc are printed in Chinese and Russian. Everyone we met was friendly and helpful. We met a taxi driver who drove us around for next to nothing. He took us to two tourist spots (one related to the history of the Hainan people and another was a hot spring resort) for about rmb 20 total. The hotel staff told us that each stop should be about rmb 150 - so we were very happy with our driver. He didn't speak any English, so Max spoke Chinese to him. I could follow some of the conversation, but I'm not at the level of participating quite yet.

The hot springs had many different types of pools. There was one full of fish. I put my feet in and a bunch of fish come over and start eating away the dry/dead skin. It felt something like when a cat with a salty tongue licks your finger...but much more intense. I couldn't leave my feet in for very long. But some people were sitting in the pool.

A lot of the Chinese tourists seemed to have adapted a uniform - Hawaiian print tops & bottoms. We took more than a few pictures of these groups. But we couldn't bring ourselves to join in the trend. Maybe next time!

We hung out at our pool a lot, did some sightseeing, went to the beach and ate a lot of great food!

Apr. 10 2007 - I'd like to forget about getting OLDER

So to help with that, Max is taking me on a mini-vacation for 4 days. We are going to Hainan Province and staying in the city of Sanya.

http://www.sanyatravelguide.com

Here are some links to the hotel we are staying at:

http://www.sinohotel.com/hotel/hotel.html?hid=450

http://resortgp.com/index.htm

According to the weather forecast, it will be mostly sunny and close to 30 while we're there! Keep your fingers crossed that I come back tanned!!!!

Apr. 10 2007 - Great Seats for Women's Olympic Volleyball Team

Yesterday, Max & I went to see China's Olympic Women's Volleyball team. Max was given free tickets from a guy he plays basketball with. The women played against the local men's team in the sports facility near my university. Our seats were up in the stands, but there were a few rows of seats courtside. As we were discussing how cool it would be to sit on the floor, I noticed one of my students from the Loft. I sent her a text saying "I CAN SEE YOU". Soon enough, she came up to where we were sitting. Lynda was there with her brother - they also had free tickets to the game and also to a huge lunch at the Zhangzhou Hotel. There were some empty seats on the floor, so Lynda took us down and the next thing we know, we're sitting in the front row courtside, just a few feet from the game! It was so cool! The men's team won the first game and the women won the second. They only played half of the 3rd game - I think it's because it was 11:30 and that's lunch time in China! We didn't get to meet the team (damn it) but it was still fun to watch and be that close to the action! The coach is from just outside of Zhangzhou, so he's something of a local celebrity (of course). After the game, Lynda & her brother took us to the hotel for a free buffet lunch.

What a great Monday!

Mar. 30 2007 - Goodbye Jodi & Steven

March 17 2007
My favourite Australian couple has left China. Jodi & Steven packed up and made their way back to Australia. They lived here for about one year, but because their contract expired and Jodi is just over two months away from giving birth, they headed home. Back to good food and hard work!

To send them off, I hosted a potluck dinner at my home. This is something that never happens in China, so I think some of our Chinese friends didn't really know what to expect. But I think everyone really enjoyed it. Lots of food, beer and plenty of entertainment from Steven - he does a wicked "Thriller" dance.

Max thought it would be a great idea to prepare shrimp like back home - which means serving without head & body attached. He bought a few pounds of live shrimp (the only way to buy them here) and they died in the bag on the way home. Peeling them took forever - we even had Richard come over early to help out! The end result - garlic & butter shrimp - delicious, but waaaaaaaaay too much work!!

We also made potato salad, meatballs, cauliflower & cheese sauce and a apple cinnamon dessert (in the crockpot). Steven & Jodi brought lamb stew and Luc & Amber brought a huge bowl of chili. Many people brought wine (some of which I still have!) and some people brought other desserts. I don't think any of our Chinese friends cooked, but I think they now understand the idea.

It was such a good mix of people - Mr. Hong, his wife Cathy, daughter & neice (Nancy & Lori - my Sunday morning students), Tony & his wife Rolling (yes, Rolling), Jodi & Steven, Richard, Suzuki-san (the Japanese teacher at my school - doesn't know Chinese and can barely get by with English, but such a sweet man), Julius - the new American teacher at my school, Jason - the Australian teacher at my school, Karen (from the Loft) and her brother Kevin, Bruce - Max's good friend, Joe & Tina, Amber, Luc, Max & Me. I hope I'm not forgetting anyone - my memory isn't what it used to be - hahaha.

I'm hoping to have a monthly potluck because there was so much positive feedback from everyone! Stay tuned for more pics!

Mar. 25 2007 - Day Trip to Chang Tai

FINALLY - a day trip to the country!!

Somehow Amber convinced Tony to play tour guide and take us on a day trip. So on Sunday, Tony rented a car, picked up me, Max, Amber and Carry (that's how she spells her name) in the morning for a trip to "Dream Valley". Tony is a new driver, or as he puts it "a new player". I don't think many people have their drivers license in my city - it's too expensive (5000 rmb) and not that many people can afford cars. I'm sure I've mentioned this before, but driving here is kinda like a free-for-all. There are some rules, it just seems that no one really follows them (red lights for example are ignored by many).

Anyways, once everyone was in the car, we headed out of the city. The drive was just over an hour. We drove through some very small villages - it looked so funny to have a paved road through a town where goats are walking down the road. Driving through some small tree-covered mountains we saw some of the reddest soil I've ever seen - Amber said it reminded her of PEI back home.

It was such a great feeling to be out of the dirty, smelly, noisy city. The sky was almost cloudless. I don't think the day could have been any better.

I took some pics of the toilets for everyone's viewing pleasure! Hahaha.

After a quick bathroom break and some tea from the workers there, we headed off to the waterfalls. Whenever I've been hiking back home, there is usually a beaten path for everyone to follow. Not so here. We climbed on the rocks alongside, and sometimes right in, the waterfalls. At one waterfall, Amber & I climbed onto a big rock almost under the water. There was a group of about 15 Chinese people not far behind and they caught up with us here. It's a big deal for some of them to see foreigners. So I think we became part of the attraction. Two little girls were dragged by their parents to come sit with us on the rock. And then it was like the poparazzi (sp?) were there! I think we ended up posing for about 10 minutes before they moved on.
But on the upside, there was one man in the group that Amber & I named "Fanny" b/c of his awesome fanny pack. He was Mr. Explorer - I think he felt it was necessary to walk on every inch of Dream Valley. Every now and then he would stop, plant his hands on his hips and stand as though he had conquered something important. We had some good laughs - you can see him in the pics.

We hiked for a few hours. Took many pictures - as you can see.

When we finally finished, everyone was starving, so we headed out to a nearby small town for some eats. In the small towns that I've been too, chickens are often walking around in the street - sometimes ducks too. Anyways, we found a little hole in the wall and ordered some chicken, some rice and some vegetables. This is where the story becomes a little gruesome. Many Chinese enjoy FRESH meat. After placing our order, I'm looking out the window at a small gated area where maybe 5 or 6 chickens are running around. I then watch the lady that took our order grab one of them by the feet and weigh it using a hand scale - I don't know how to describe this. The bird is obviously terrified and is flapping around. The lady, satisfied with the results, grabs a large cleaver, takes the bird back outside, sits on a small stool and slits its throat. Blood starts coming out and I'm horrified - Amber is a few minutes away from tears. I'm thinking that she is going to let it bleed slowly. Instead she puts it into a large bucket of water - I don't know if it was hot or cold water, but the shock of it sent the bird flying straight up and out of the bucket and back onto the cement. During all of this, I'm looking away and back again many times through the screened window. Amber and Max are standing at the doorway watching. Tony & Carry are unphased by the whole thing - I think it's just common knowledge. Eventually the bird stops flopping around and I think the lady bleeds it out. When she comes back in, the bird is feathered and then I can hear the heavy chopping in the kitchen.

I didn't eat the chicken when it came out on the plate. Partly b/c I just saw what I saw and partly b/c the chicken is all chopped up - the skin and bones are still there, its black legs & feet...even its head. But they did have beer there.

Mar. 23 2007 - Banana Land - Dammy's Hometown

Visiting My Student's Hometown - Banana Farm

On March 15, one of my graduating students invited me to her hometown. This was my first visit to a student's home, so I was very excited. I met with Richard & Dammy around 10 in the morning. We took a taxi from just outside of my home to Dammys hometown - I don't remember the name of her town, but the taxi ride was about 25 minutes long.

Dammy's mother started making lunch shortly after we arrived. While she was cooking, Richard and I met some of the local children. They were so fascinated and interested in me, but some were quite shy and only liked to look at me from a distance. I was able to finally take some pictures of them (see the photo album). Lunch was very good and the girls & I shared a beer.

After lunch we walked around the town. We saw the banana trees down by the beach. Dammy showed me the river where some people shower and wash their clothes. There was an old lady sitting in the sand gathering some kind of seafood. From there we went up to the local temple and took more pictures. Richard braided my hair, while a baby tried to take her first steps. Around us, the older locals played some card games with cards that I have never seen before. After a few minutes in the shade, we walked down to the town stage, where plays and operas are performed. As we walked through the town, we saw many chickens and dogs in the streets. We soon came to a corner store, which was no bigger than an actual corner, and bought some ice cream. We took our treats to the primary school and took more pictures. On our way back to Dammy's home, we ran into her father at work. He is a construction worker and was putting cement (maybe?) onto the wall of someone's home.

Many of the homes are barely standing, tiny mosquitos leave tiny, but itchy, red bites on hands & arms, every roadside ditch has a carpet of litter (see the photo album). Cows are tied to a post or a tree with a rope about an arm's length long. The banana trees are not lush and green as I imagined. Going to such a small town, it's not really possible to prepare yourself for the level of poverty. But the experience didn't turn me off of visiting small towns. It just makes me appreciate home more.

The day was nice and sunny - not a cloud in the sky. I had a really good time with Dammy and Richard. Dammy invited me back in early April for the town Opera. I'm keeping my fingers crossed for a sunny day!

Mar. 6 2007 - Only in China...

...Canada/US/Mexico, etc are on the RIGHT hand side of the world map

...fake Vodka is available (eg. Absolut APEACH) - and it freezes

...Corona isn't always available - because "it is out of season right now"

...chocolate doesn't really melt when heated

...envelopes are addressed with TO in the top left corner and FROM in the middle of the envelope

...scissors cannot be used in the bedroom if you are pregnant

...men smoking around a pregnant lady is not a cause for concern, but pregnant women cannot eat ice cream

...snake and dog meat are good for pregnant women

...oranges & orange juice are not a way to prevent / help with a cold

...instead of buying self-tanner, Chinese women buy skin whitener

...at 7:03 am everyday I hear what should be the music of an ice-cream truck, but really it's the music of the garbage truck

MORE to come when I think of them!

..."She must be rich...she changes her clothes EVERY day!"

...Boys play basketball to become taller. All of the running and jumping makes them grow.

Mar. 06 2007 - Hong Kong

DETAILS COMING SOON!!!!!

Some photo's of Hong Kong can be found on facebook (of course)

Feb. 16 2007 - Countdown to Hong Kong

Bus tickets are purchased. Hostel is booked. A tour to see Pink Dolphins is confirmed for Friday. We have some city maps and are well researched (in my opinion). Things are falling into place quite nicely for our little getaway. And our good friends Robby & Amber are also going to be in HK at the same time. So I'm sure there will be some great adventures with the two of them.

Here are some websites of the places we are going:

www.oceanpark.com.hk - Hong Kong's Theme Park - Check out the video of the

www.np360.com.hk - Hong Kong's Cable Car - we hope to do the whole tour - there & back, Buddha tour and Monkey Theatre

www.avenueofstars.com.hk - Hong Kong's "Walk of Fame" - The statue of Jackie Chan is the big attraction for me

http://www.discoverhongkong.com/eng/touring/experiences/ta_expe_138508.jhtml - Dolphin Watching tour - these dolphins are PINK!

And OF COURSE we will be shopping!

Stay tuned for plenty of pics & stories!

p.s. My co-worker at Siemens sent a bunch of pics of her house the morning after the huge snowstorm (thanks Suzete). I'd just like to say that on the same day as the snowstorm, I was running around outside with just a tee-shirt.

Feb. 13 2007 - In the Mail

I mailed a few postcards home a few weeks ago. I have no idea how long it will take before they arrive, but check out Richard putting GLUE on the stamps!!

Feb. 10 2007 - The Whistler

Go to youtube.com and check out the video Max and I took the other day. You can click on the link below or search THE CHINESE WHISTLER.

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=PUAu8cUT3fQ

Feb. 10 2007 - A Month Long Holiday

Because February is the Chinese New Year (or Spring Festival as many people here call it), my college has a month long holiday. My last exam was Jan. 26 and I don't think class begins until the first week of March. I don't have anything official as to when I am supposed to return to school or my schedule, but I'm sure they will tell me sooner or later. Not that I really needed a month-long holiday from working only 9 hours a week, but I'm not going to complain.

Things have been really busy at The English Loft (our new training center). I'm teaching Intermediate English to adults and have also begun teaching English to a handful of children as well. On Tuesdays, the Loft has a Chinese for Foreigners class - the only one in the city. Not including myself & Max, there are 4 foreigners in the class. There are a few more running around the city that may join as well. But Chinese is a terrible language to learn (in my opinion). I can't hear the four tones (basically each word has 4 different tones), nevermind repeat it. I think my listening is improving, but I'm very impatient and frustrated with myself.

We've also been planning our trip to Hong Kong - we are taking the overnight bus on the 19th and staying at the Dragon Hostel (it looked good on the website and was highly recommended by other travellers on other sites). I think we will be in HK for 4 nights and then we may scoot over to Macau for a night. I guess it depends on how much $$ we spend in HK. But I'm excited to see more of China. Other than a few days in Xiamen, I haven't really done anything here - I don't even know what there is to see in ZZ - other than Walmart (hahaha).

Here's some exciting news - we bought a crock-pot last week! Right now the apartment smells like chicken noodle soup. It's really good for me that Max likes cooking the recipes I find online! I've been going to www.cooks.com and typing in crockpot recipes. It's a million times better than rice three times a day.

Earlier this week, we wanted to see the new Bond film, so we went to Xiamen for a night. Jodi & Steven told us about an import store, so we checked it out and came home with all kinds of goodies - dill pickles, a small jar of salsa, some hard taco shells, a brick of cheddar cheese, and a huge jar of REAL Kraft Mayo - just to name a few. Maybe you are not so impressed, but considering that these things are not available in my city, I was on cloud nine!

Check out my new flip-flops!

Feb. 10 2007 - Things in a Chinese Bus Station

Things Seen in a Chinese Bus Station

- A woman dusting all of the plants

- A man with a broom & dustbin reaching into a garbage can and emptying it by hand

- A man spitting into the garbage can minutes before

- Countless men, women & children passing by the sink on their way out of the washroom

But the best sight of all:

- A man with two thumbs on his right hand

(between the shock & amazement, there was no time to snap a pic - SORRY)

Jan. 20 2007 - The Can

I really don't know what to say...

Jan. 27 2007 - Another International Phone Call

This time it was from MEXICO!

My dad & Regina called to tell me they have S-N-O-W in Saltillo.

Jan. 27 2007 - Update on the Bicycle Story

Look what I got!!

Jan. 19 2007 - Free Bicycle

Here's how things work here.

Max wants to buy a bicycle.

Karen also wants to buy a bicycle.

Karen's friend wants a bicycle too.

Karen's friend works in the government.

She drives all of us to a small bicycle factory.

We drink tea with a small Chinese man.

There are a few bicycles in the room and pictures of more.

They ask, which bike do you like.

Max says, I like this black one.

We drink more tea.

We say good-bye to the man and leave.

Apparently, the three of them now have bikes for free.

We get the bike today.

This is because Karen has been teaching her friend's son for free for one year.

Karen's friend feels that she should reward Karen.

The bicycle factory falls under her jurisdiction.

In China, she can tax the owner what she likes (there must be a min & max amount???)

The owner gives her 3 free bikes.

The friend taxes him less.

Everyone is happy.

???

Jan. 17 2007 - New Business

I think I may have mentioned this to a few of you, but Max and I have opened a new English Centre in the city. A lady he worked with during his first year here already had a small centre, but now the three of us are working in a partnership. It's called "The English Loft" and our classes start next week. Max is teaching Beginner English and I am teaching Intermediate. We held an Open House on Sunday and there was a pretty good turnout. As of today, I have 7 students in my class, but that may increase before next Monday. The Beginner & Intermediate courses are Monday & Friday nights and are 16 hour-and-a-half long classes. Karen (our partner) found a really good English learning book, so the students pay one time and the book is good for 6 months (3 courses). Karen is also teaching a "Chinese for Foreigners" class, because there is nothing formal available in the city and there are more and more foreigners coming here. Obviously I will be taking that class. Our Loft also has what we are calling "The Open Book Club". This is a weekly open discussion where students (and one friend) can come for free and have an open discussion with other students and teachers. The colleges in this city have weekly "English Corners" which is open to everyone, but a foreign teacher must be present. We have worked it out with Jason & Charlotte so that we attend the English Corner at our school every other week. What usually happens is each of us stand in the middle of a group of students and answer some ridiculous questions;

Do you like Chinese food?

Can you use chopsticks?

Do you speak any Chinese?

Where are you from?

Since these questions are only fun to answer once or twice, it becomes tiring rather quickly. And some students only come to stare at me. It is getting better because I have some of my own students answering some of these questions for me.

The opening of The Loft works out perfectly as we are about to begin a month long holiday from our school. It's the Chinese Spring Festival - or New Year (this is the year of the Pig for those who don't know). I'm in my second last week of school - just doing oral exams with the students. Takes about 5 minutes each as they read a lesson from the text to me and I ask a few questions. But I have almost 200 students - so it takes a bit of time. I have been surprised by many students who normally don't make a peep in class, but during their reading, speak incredibly well. Originally we were thinking about going to the Philippines, but now that we have the Loft, we are thinking about getting away for just a few days in Hong Kong. SOMEONE wants to go to Disney there.

Jan. 1 2007 - Happy Holidays & My First Earthquake

Having no snow and no turkey makes for a very different Christmas!

Jodi & Steven had a small gathering at their place on Christmas Eve. It was fun - mostly because a few people were more than a little intoxicated and there was some pretty funny dancing. I have some good video on my camera that will come in handy for blackmail purposes!

Jodi & Steven had some wonderful apps out for everyone - meatballs, cheese and some fruit. Someone brought over chicken feet, which are popular with the Chinese, but I'm not really interested in them.

Christmas Day was good. Richard and Emma came over as we had gifts for them. Emma knit me a scarf and bought Max a toque. She is a freshman student, but her English is quite good. Richard is definitely the most interesting of all of my students. Her English is good enough to make up some wild stories and tell jokes. She will graduate in January, but she hopes to stay in Zhangzhou so she can spend time with me before I come back to Canada in the summer.

Jodi and Steven came over for dinner - we made some Christmas Spaghetti, salad and garlic bread. A far cry from the usual holiday dinner, but it was so good!

Later that night, I called home to my grandparents and to my grandma! It was so good to hear their voices! Max called home to his mom and we also chatted for a bit.

Sometimes I don't feel so far away.

On the 26th there was a small earthquake here. I was home alone and after a few days of not feeling well, I thought that maybe it was hitting me all at once. At first it felt like I had sea-legs, but then I noticed that the tree was shaking and then the door opened too. It only lasted a few minutes and there was no major damage here - other than the internet being knocked out for a few days. In Taiwan it was a 7.2 and there were some injuries and deaths. We were lucky not to have been hit so hard, but it was still a scary experience.

New Years was a little strange too. We went over to Mr. Hong's and had dinner and drinks. Many people were coming and going throughout the night. The 31st isn't celebrated the same way over here. Max was more than a little under the weather, so we left a little early and rang in the New Year with a tall glass of OJ at my place. The next day, we watched the ball drop in NYC on the satellite. And that's when it really felt like the New Year for me.

Dec. 22 2006 - Hair Salons & Yoga

Hair Salon - My first experience at a Chinese hair salon was a little odd - but that is to be expected with everything here. During the week, Max teaches English to a friend of his - Alice. She is really nice and reminds me of my friend Celeste for some reason. Anyways, after a lesson, she invited us to a hair salon. For the most part, this salon looks just like the ones at home. A few chairs in front of the long mirrors - various products and brushes on the small table. The shampoo girls and boy took us upstairs to get our hair washed. Instead of sitting in a chair with my head back, we had to lie down on something like a massage table with our hair hanging into the deep sink. At home, the shampoo boy/girl will give you a 5 minute scalp massage - here it was more like 20 minutes. They massage your head and neck. It was a little strange (mostly because I have issues with strangers touching me) but also relaxing. Once they finish washing, conditioning and towel drying your hair, they will clean out your ears. I passed on this service. The thought of someone else sticking something into my ear makes me more than a little uncomfortable. They use Q-tips, but they also have what looks like a tiny metal ice cream scoop to clean your ears. No thanks.

After having such a good massage, I was looking forward to having my hair dryed and styled nicely. This did not happen. My stylist took the towel off and started drying - no product, no combing. It was awful. He only half-dried my hair and then said something meaning 'all done'. Good thing I had a hair elastic with me. Hahaha.

Yoga - Alice came over for a lesson with me and once we finished, she said she wanted me to meet her friend, so we went for a drive. Somehow we ended up at a gym in a yoga class. Now, since we did not discuss the gym before leaving, I was wearing jeans and a sweater. Not only was everyone staring at me because I'm a foreigner, but now they are staring at me doing yoga in jeans. The class was really good and the gym was really nice. They even have a section by the juice bar for smoking. Hahaha.

Dec. 22 2006 - Secret Santa at School

This week at school I had 4 of my classes participate in Secret Santa. Because Christmas is just starting to gain some popularity here, the students are really curious about all of the goings-on. There were a few students that took a name but didn't end up buying a present for their classmate, but other than that, I think they all really liked it.

One student bought me an apron - it looks a little Spanish. One student knitted scarves for both me & Max - they are so long!

The presents they gave each other were funny - one girl got a watermelon!

Pictures are posted in the Secret Santa photo album.

Dec. 15 2006 - Street Side Dentistry & the Safe Store

Here are some new pics from around town.

If you have time, check out Jason's website:

www.jason-ism.com

Not as good as mine (OBVIOUSLY), but good nonetheless.

Dec. 15 2006 - Christmas in China

Because Christmas is not celebrated in China, the 25th is a working day. I had to do some creative rearranging of my class in order to have the day off. It just seems wrong to work on Christmas. The students don't mind - it's another day off for them.

I've attached some pics of the tree in my apartment. Decorations are slim pickings over here - which is why we have a Santa on top of the tree - tightly secured with one of my hair elastics. Shopping for presents is tough over here - mostly because I don't speak Chinese. But that is slowly coming along.

I introduced a few of my classes to the Secret Santa tradition. Next week, they are exchanging gifts with each other in class, so I will take pictures and you can see what they do.

Speaking of pictures, if anyone would like to send me pics of their trees, decorations, wrapped presents, stockings, food, lights, etc I would really appreciate it. I'm trying to put together a Powerpoint for my classes and I think it's nicer to show how people I know celebrate instead of just stealing pics from the internet.

THANK YOU

Dec. 15 2006 - My First International Phone Call and HAPPY RING DAY

Getting called out of the shower to answer the phone to hear "I need help planning my wedding" is not an inconvience!!

A HUGE Congratulations to one of my best friends for getting engaged earlier this week!!!

(PLEASE don't make me wear an ugly dress!!)

Dec. 13 2006 - The "Eat-and-Run" Wedding

Joe & Tina's wedding was beautiful and VERY different from weddings back home. Rather than writing a huge paragraph, here are a few bullet points:

- The bride and groom see each other in their wedding atire before the wedding. They don't believe in the same bad luck superstition as we do. As the three of us walked up to the church, Joe and Tina were outside talking with people - I thought we had missed the ceremony.

- The wedding ceremony (this one was in a church) has few guests. And people don't really dress up - just us foreigners. Their wedding had a choir and during one of the songs, one of the ladies in the choir was on her cell phone!! I guess she was singing at two weddings? (hahaha)

- People answer their (loudly) ringing cell phones during the ceremony.

- The reception was at a big hotel. There wasn't a seating plan, so all 7 foreigners sat at one table. We already stand out enough, but the fact that we were all dressed up didn't help. The reception is a bigger social event - I'm sure there was over 200 people there.

- Dinner is a mix of dishes served for everyone to share. I don't think there is a bar per se, but we were continually asking the wait staff for cold beer - we got warm beers and a bucket of ice.

- During dinner, the couple walk around to each table and have a toast with the guests. The guests will usually have alcohol, while the bride & groom toast with water. However, if the table insists that the couple have a real drink, they must do so. I'm sure you can figure out what happened when Joe & Tina stopped at our table.

- After dinner, everyone leaves. All of a sudden, the room was empty but for the foreigner table and maybe two tables of close family. There weren't any speeches, no dances - just eating and toasting and then leaving.

- Because there are so many weddings in China, people get married everyday of the week. This wedding was on a Tuesday night.

Check out the photo album for Joe & Tina's wedding for all the exciting pics!

Dec. 5 2006 - Richard's Birthday

Last Monday was Richard's Birthday BBQ. More than 40 students went from class (this class is graduating in January and there are 60 students in total). It was a good time. So many of these students are too shy to speak to me during class, but at the BBQ, many of them were really talkative. I gave Richard my camera and she went picture-crazy! Some girls taught me a card game similar to Euchre I guess.

The BBQ was really good. It was at the same place as Charlotte's birthday BBQ in early November. Everyone brings their own food and sit in groups with a small BBQ in a table. Everyone wears plastic gloves when they put the food onto the stick. They will put just about anything on there - hotdogs, veggies, tofu, pork strips, chicken wings, shrimp, octopus. Some is really good and some is....

Anyways, take a look at the pics here and in the photo album for more detail.