Day 1 of School Placement

Got picked up by the school a 10am this morning, the school is only 30 minutes out of Beijing centre and is really modern and has amazing facilities. All of the staff are really friendly and welcoming and we met with the vice principle as soon as we arrived. Unfortunately the school has not seen the contracts that we signed and thinks that we are teaching assistants and that we will be in the classrooms for 43 hours a week. Our contract however states that we are the teachers and require a teaching assistant and that we will be teaching for 15 hours a week (but will be on the school site prepping lessons for 35 hours a week) I am really upset about this and have spoken to the TTC staff to try and get a new placement as the whole reason I came to China was to gain teaching experience.

The school finished at 4pm but we didn't get picked up and taken to our apartment until 5pm (the whole experience at the school so far feels like its all extremely disorganised) The apartment is on the fourth floor but is actually really nice. I have just been on the phone to my TTC contact and I should hear from him tomorrow regarding what happens next, not the best start to the day and to be honest I am feeling really upset about the whole thing.

Orientation Day 13

Yesterday (Friday) we had lectures on education in China with a guest speaker giving us hints and tips on teaching. We were also given our travel information on what times we were leaving the hotel today (Saturday) and how we were getting to our placements. I am not leaving for my placement until Monday, but everyone needed to have checked out of the hotel by 1pm Saturday and if you weren’t travelling today you were transferred to dormitory accommodation at a local University (which seemed like a lot of messing about, I don’t know why we couldn’t have just stayed at the hotel until Monday). Everyone was moping about a bit as all of the people you had made friends with were all leaving and it was a bit emotional saying goodbye to people you had become good friends with. I just want to get to my school now and get settled in, I’m a bit sick of living out of my suitcase. The dorm I am in at the university is with the three other girls I am placed with at the Kinstar International School, Jodie, Sophie and Millsie. It is nice but there is no Internet connection, I have to go to an Internet cafe across the road from the University. This is not as easy as it sounds, as you connect to the cafe’s Internet and then you have to sign into the homepage, which is all in Chinese so I didn’t have a clue what it said! There was a very helpful university student on a table nearby that I asked to help me to get online though so I think I know what I am doing next time. I am really looking forward to having my own private bedroom now and having access to the Internet. Feeling a bit fed up today, bit sad to say goodbye to my friends and feel a bit in limbo with only being here at the university for 2 nights and then moving on again, I just want to get to the school as soon as possible.

Orientation Day 11

Last night we all went to a Karaoke bar and then onto a nightclub, it was a really fun night and everyone seemed to be a lot more relaxed now that we know where our placements are and it was nice to have a big night out with everyone before people move onto the schools that they are placed at. I came back to the hotel at 5am this morning just as the sun was rising and that was really pretty to watch. I had planned to go out for the day with my new friend Sam, but we both slept in until 12pm. We did go out at 1.30pm with two other girls I am friends with, Heather and Laura who are in the room opposite me and we all went to the silk market, which is like a shopping mall with 8 floors filled with market stalls. Each floor has different things, the top floor is where the actual shops are of designer items, the next floor down was a whole floor of jewellery stalls (I bought quite a few pairs of earrings) I wanted to buy a few rings but the Chinese must have tiny fingers as I could only get the rings on my little finger!

The next floor was silk and you could buy silk scarves, kimonos, dresses, material, bedding, tailor made suits, anything of silk really! The next two floors were clothing and the best floor was the bottom floor where it was just handbags and shoes, definitely my kind of place! Myself and Laura had been looking forward to this the most and both bought two handbags each. I was told my handbag was 1200 RMB (which is about £120) but after haggling I managed to get it for 150 RMB (about £15) so quite a big difference! After the market we went to pizza hut for tea as a sort of farewell meal as everyone will be leaving for their placements either Friday evening or Saturday which is going to be quite sad as I have made some good friends. We have all promised to go and visit each other though and explore the different areas of China that we are all going to be placed in.

I have a full day of seminars tomorrow so I am off to bed to get a good nights sleep.

Orientation Day 10

Yesterday (Tuesday) I woke up feeling a lot better about my placement being in Beijing, the more I think about it the better I realise it is as I am right near the airport and public transport is really good so I can get to anywhere in the country from here. I also think it will look much better on my CV that I have taught English in the capitol so I am feeling a lot happier. There are also 39 other interns based in Beijing so I know a few people here and we have all said we are going to make a conscious effort to meet up every month which will be nice. We had our contract signing last night where we were giving a welcome pack which had information on the schools we will be in, general information about transport and climate in Beijing and our contracts that we needed to sign. I am going to be at Kinstar International Bilingual school which is a private school and I will be teaching Primary children.

After the contract signing about 40 of us went to a cafe around the corner for a few drinks. I can’t drink beer or wine (which is all they were serving) so I was on sprite. I think everyone was a lot more relaxed now that we know where we are going and I am just looking forward to getting started in my school now.

Today (Wednesday) I had calligraphy which I had really been looking forward to but the woman teaching it just talked for 50 minutes about the history of calligraphy and we only got to have a go for the last 10 minutes of the lesson which was disappointing. I got given a Chinese name, Wu Bei which apparently means Pippa Wilkinson, but when I went to show one of the TTC staff and asked them to read it, it looks very similar to “five cups” so I don’t think I will be using that name!

Tonight we are going to KTV which is karaoke, there’s a bar and food as well so I think it will be a fun night, luckily I have a free day tomorrow so I can sleep in and explore a bit more.

Orientation Day 8

It’s been a busy few days for me as I had a weekend TEFL refresher course 9am- 6.30pm Saturday and Sunday which was really boring but had to be done. By Sunday night a few of us (well, 25 of us) caved and went in search of a pizza hut which apparently was quite near the hotel. I am just so sick of eating rice for every meal. After walking for an hour we still hadn’t found it though and we were all really hungry so we went to hooters which is an American bar and ate there. I had a cheeseburger and fries and I’ve never appreciated a cheeseburger so much in my life, a great end to an otherwise boring weekend.

Today however, was much more exciting as it was tour day. Everyone (over 100 of us) had to meet in the lobby of the hotel at 7.45am and we all got onto coaches which took us to the Ming tombs. I was expecting it to be underground and an actual tomb, but it wasn’t. The Ming Tombs are the final resting place of 13 of the 16 Ming emperors and there is a big courtyard next to the entrance with seating areas with tables and chairs made of stone shaped like elephants which were really cute. The rest wasn’t very impressive, just a large stone with writing on that we didn’t even realise was the tomb until afterwards. As you leave there is a big archway that you are supposed to walk under and say “welcome home” for good luck, which we all did. If I’m honest, it seemed a waste of time going and just something to fill out the day.

The next stop was the Great Wall of China which has definitely been the highlight of my time here in Beijing. I have seen photos and heard about it but they just don’t do it justice. We had two hours to walk along the great wall and we all did but it was so steep and the steps were so uneven and the weather was so hot that a lot of people struggled to get to the top, but the view was amazing. There were check points every so often along the stretch we did selling water and ice creams, which is just what I needed as when I had got to the second beacon I was feeling a bit dizzy and light headed. On my way back down I was pounced on by a group of 5 or 6 Chinese girls aged about 10 who kept pulling my clothes to get me to stand and have my picture taken with them and they kept saying “sister! Sister! Come have photo!” and they all held onto my clothes and arm as I was walking down the steps to the bottom which I don’t think I am ever going to get used to.

We then went to a factory (which was extremely expensive) and there was a restaurant upstairs which we had a really nice lunch at, each table was served dishes between 10 people to share on a lazy Susan, rice, noodles, shredded beef, sweet and sour chicken, carrots and broccoli, battered fish, beef in black bean sauce and other dishes which were all really nice. We then jumped back on the coach and went to the Olympic stadium. I didn’t really understand why it was called the birds nest until I saw it, but unfortunately we couldn’t go inside as it would have cost extra and we only had 30 minutes until the next stop. After the Olympic stadium we were supposed to go to Tiananmen square but we had run out of time and only drove round it, which I was quite pleased about as I wasn’t really interested in it and by this stage we had been walking around since 9am and I was exhausted! We then went for a Peking duck dinner which is definitely the best meal I have had since I got here, duck is one of my favourites and the duck and hoi sin pancakes were delicious. We had no time to sit around though as at 7pm we had to be at the theatre for the Chinese acrobatic show. I had been looking forward to this and it didn't disappoint, at one point there was a man doing stunts on a chair on a platform and each time we thought it couldn't get any better, he bought another chair into his act, resulting on him doing a sort of handstand on 8 chairs which I think everyone around me had held their breath watching as you could see the chairs wobbling as he did it, just absolutely amazing!

After the acrobatic show it was back to the hotel where we were told our placements were ready and up on the board in the hotel. My school placement is in a primary school (which is what I requested) but it is here in Beijing which I am a bit disappointed with as I wanted to be in the south where I could explore different places. I am not too bothered though as I am sure it is easy to get around to explore more of China. There are people really unhappy with their placements though and lots of girls crying about not being with the age group or area that they wanted. We are signing our contracts tomorrow so that is exciting, other than that I have a day off and I am planning on catching up on some sleep!

More Photos here:

http://www.flickr.com/photos/66580104@N06/sets/72157627501457066/

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Orientation Day 5

Today was a free day so I decided to do my own thing as I am a bit tired of going to places in groups and then having to wait around for everyone to finish so that we can leave, it’s much nicer to be able to wander around at your own pace. My first stop was to be the Summer Palace, but to get there I needed to get a taxi (which is not easy when you don’t speak the language) Luckily I had the Summer Palace written down in Chinese symbols and before I knew it I was on my way. Beijing is a funny city as part of it is really modern but then there are streets that look like shanty towns. After 30minutes in the taxi, which cost only £5 I was at the Summer Palace. As you enter the gate there are palace temples and then behind them a gorgeous lake and gardens which were lovely to just wander round. I took a boat ride to the island in the middle of the lake and there was a tour guide with a big group of Chinese people who kept staring and pointing at me, an American couple who were sat near me said they were saying “look how pale she is” and “look at her red hair”. Great. A trip to find hair dye and fake tan is in order then next week! One of the group had a video camera and filmed me the whole way there which was really weird, they are so blatant about it though and open mouth stare at you all of the time, although I’m getting used to it a bit more now. When we got to the island there was a temple on it called the Temple of moisture where they would pray for rain in the summer. Some of the translations are quite funny, there are a lot of signs saying “please protect the railings” which makes me laugh when I see it. The summer palace had a really nice feel to it and because it was next to the lake there was also a nice breeze which was much needed as it has been such a hot day. I bought a magnet with a thermometer on it as a souvenir which I have just looked at, its 7pm and the air conditioning is on in my room and it’s still 28 degrees so you can imagine how hot it was at lunchtime walking round. I wanted my photo taken in front of things a few times and I was trying to pick families to ask to take the picture as I thought they were less likely to run off with my camera! When I had seen the Summer Palace I decided as it was still early I would go to see Beijing Zoo as it wasn’t that far away. I found a taxi and after a rather embarrassing mime, managed to make him understand I wanted to go to the zoo (I will be so good at charades by the time I leave!) I arrived at the zoo and the first thing I went to see were the giant pandas which were beautiful. I had heard a lot of bad things about Beijing zoo so I was a bit apprehensive but the zoo itself was really nicely landscaped and the pandas had nice big enclosures. My next stop was to see my favourite, the tigers which were two white Bengal tigers. One was pacing around the enclosure and the other was asleep and the Chinese were throwing rubbish and stones at it to make it move which I didn’t like to see. The next bit were small glass cages where the animals were lying down and looked so hot I decided I had had enough and didn’t want to see anymore. That’s one of the things I don’t really like about China, they don’t have anywhere near the standard of care for animals as the UK does and it wasn’t very nice seeing these animals in small cages. I was also feeling a bit light headed because of the heat so it was a good time to leave and I got a taxi back to the hotel, the whole day, including taxi’s, only cost me £20 which is amazing really, I’m still trying to get my head round how cheap everything is!

For more photos click here! http://www.flickr.com/photos/66580104@N06/sets/72157627471533784/

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Forbidden City Photos 5

Forbidden City Photos 4

Forbidden City Photos 3

Forbidden City Photos 2

Orientation Week Day 4 Cont..

After the Lama temple we returned to the hotel for lunch and one of the girls, Jess, wanted to go to the Forbidden City which was on my list of things I wanted to see so we jumped in a taxi and headed there. I cannot begin to give the Forbidden City justice as it is overwhelmingly huge. We arrived at 2pm and it closes at 5pm by which time we still hadn't done it all (although I was ready to leave by then as I was so tired). First we got a tourist bus which is like a golf buggy which takes you around the walla of the city, which is now called the Palace Museum. Apparently the Forbidden City is 720,00 square metres and is surrounded by a 10 metre high wall. What struck me the most about it was just how huge and beautiful it is. It's hard to imagine that the city is 600 years old and is still in such good condition, I think it was my favorite day out so far. There were lots of statues of tortoises and cranes which are spiritual animals in Chinese culture and symbolise luck and longevity. As you enter the Forbidden City the is a huge courtyard with a river running through it and the gate of heavenly purity which connects you to where the Emperor lived and 6 western and 6 eastern palaces, surrounding the imperial gardens which were beautiful. Throughout the Forbidden City traditional Chinese music is played and it is really is amazing, I may have been converted to a culture lover after all !

While we were there lots of Chinese people kept asking Jess and I to have out photos taken with them which we thought was really weird, after a few times we decided to start asking them for their photos which they were really surprised at but we found quite funny. I was sat on a bench while Jess was taking some photos and parents were pushing their children next to me to take photos, or making sure I was in the background of their photos which was a bit weird.

We had been warned that there was an art scam going on where a young Chinese person would pretend to be a poor art student needing money to pay for their course and trying to make you buy art which they would say is an original for outrageous prices and won't let you leave until you do. As we were walking around the Forbidden City a young woman approached us asking if we would like to see some Chinese art, I told Jess it was the scam we had been told about but Jess wanted to see the art which was through an archway and in a building away from the main touristy bit so she followed the lady while I bought a bottle of water from a stall next to the archway. Jess said that when she walked in the woman tried selling her a tiny A5 sized piece of paper with a squiggle on it for 100 Yuan (only £10 but a lot of money in Beijing) Jess said there were a few men at the back of the room so she just walked out which is lucky really that she wasn't forced to buy any of it. We carried on around the Forbidden City until it close but had a really nice day, the weather has been gorgeous and even though I had suncream on I have ended up with sun burn (and a white circle where my necklace was). I have another free day tomorrow so I am hoping to explore some other places and take lots more photos!

Lama Temple Photos Pt 2

Orientation Week Day 4

Today at 9am we all had to go to the visa office to extend our visas and sign for them, then a few of us went straight from the visa office to the Lama temple which was a 10 minute walk away. The Lama temple consisted of lots of temples around a courtyard with gold Buddhas, blue dragons and other statues with mats for people to kneel down holding burning incense sticks to your head three times in prayer. Unfortunately you were not allowed to take photos inside the actual buildings but could take photos of the courtyard. Apparently the Lama temple is the most renowned Tibetan Buddhist temple outside of Tibet and in one of the temples is an 18 metre high statue of a gold Buddha. I read in my guide book that you are supposed to feel more holy when inside the temple and at peace with yourself, I just felt hot and tired from walking around!

Orientation Day 2

Today was the first day that there has been clear blue sky and is has been so unbelievably hot. I had an orientation in the morning which talked about what to expect in schools, what we need to do e.g. buy a Beijing sim card and open a bank account and answering any of our questions. After the orientation a group of about 20 of us went to the subway to go to the Temple of Heaven which was about an hour away. It cost £3.50 to get into the park and temples, the park was a huge landscaped garden with the temple in the middle which was beautiful, although I was bored after 2 hours where as everyone else were taking loads of photos. It was just so hot that all I wanted to do was sit in the shade with a bottle of water and ice cream. There was a stall selling zodiac figures for 50p so I bought one of those and sat in the shade waiting for the others to finish with another intern who has a similar attitude to culture as me. Its not that I don't like culture, it's more that once I've seen it I'm ready to move on, not spend hours taking photos of every single thing (mum, the temple photo's are for your benefit). I was so tired and my feet hurt so much by the time I got back to the hotel (I've done so much walking over the last few days) that all I wanted to do was have a shower and go to bed, but the welcome dinner was at 7pm so I couldn't. The welcome dinner was in the hotel and each table of 10 had a lazy Susan in the centre with lot's of different dishes to try. During the meal there were two guest speakers who had done the same internship last year and decided to stay on in China. When I arrived here on Saturday night it felt really strange finally being here and I felt really weird on Sunday thinking that I had finally made it to China and was actually in Beijing about to start my internship and it was a bit of a culture shock realising that there is actually no easy way to explain to a Chinese person what you want, like the menu for example, or asking directions or even saying thank you in shops as no one speaks English. Since getting my phrase book on Monday I have found it a bit easier and I am looking forward to my 3 hour Mandarin lesson tomorrow to learn how to actually pronounce the words.