Friday 30th March

Today is a good day for a few reasons, first of all it’s pay day! (Although I did get taxed even though I am on a tourist visa so I don’t know where that money is going) second of all, it’s professional development day so there are no lessons and third of all I fly to Hong Kong tonight!

I’m going to skip straight to Hong Kong. I had to be at the airport for my 7pm flight which took 3.5 hours but was delayed by 30 minutes. I arrived in Hong Kong at 11pm and it was 25 degrees! everything was going well and I had found the bus that I was supposed to be getting to my hostel and I was just thinking how easy it had been when the woman at the ticket office burst my bubble. It was 11.45pm and I had just traipsed through the airport from terminal one to terminal two to the bus station and was told that they can’t change large bills at the ticket office and I had to go back into the airport to get change. I rushed to do that, got back to the ticket office to find that it is closed and the last bus leaves at midnight (it was 11.55pm) So I got on the bus and paid the driver (who told me they don’t give change so he had a nice 10 dollar tip) and then had to sit for an hour on the bus until we got to the stop nearest to my hostel. I found my hostel pretty easily and it was 1.30am by the time I got to my room, which was a disappointment to be honest. The bed was the size of a large single, it’s a good job Matt didn’t end up coming because there’s no way we both would of fit in it. Then there was the bathroom, it reminds me a lot of the first caravan we had where the shower is over the toilet and I can reach the sink from there aswell. It is a bit of a dive but I am not planning on spending that much time here anyway.

Thursday 29th March

It has been quite a busy week this week trying to get everything done in time for the Easter holidays (or Spring break as my American friends have got me calling it). I have found this time around in China I am having to repeat myself more and speak clearly as my American friends don’t understand what I say, I’m not sure if it’s because I have come back with a stronger accent or they are just deaf! Either way, they have been making fun of my accent EVERY SINGLE DAY and their impressions are awful! So in retaliation, I am secretly practising a Texas accent, although I am terrible so it’s not going so well.

I had my second Chinese lesson after school on Wednesday with Raena and Doreenda, it was good and I am slowly learning, I understand a lot more than I can say though. I get a taxi to work every morning and I practice my Chinese then, although I got the same taxi driver two days in a row and he probably thinks I’m crazy repeating myself! I need to practice a lot more though if I want to be able to hold a conversation.

Today everyone seems to be on holiday mode, it is the last day of term for the children as tomorrow is a staff professional development day. All of my friends are doing exciting things over the vacation (there I go again, I’m used to using American terms now or no one knows what I am talking about) four of my friends are going to Gansu which is the desert in north west China, two of my friends are going to Xian, three are going to Cheng Du and one is going to Thailand. I am looking forward to hearing about Gansu as I am planning a trip to Hohot in Inner Mongolia which will be a very similar climate.

After school a bunch of us went to the Mexican kitchen for Margaritas (mine was a frozen mango margaritas) and burritos and then back to James and Javi’s house to play a pub quiz. The quiz was a game they had bought where it’s a dvd and you all play along. It was British and presented by a guy that was in Brookside and it was all British questions so David and I were doing well until the geography and history rounds where I didn’t have a clue! It was good fun and hopefully we can do it again soon.

The weather has been getting a lot warmer this week, it was 22 degrees C on Tuesday, was a bit cooler and cloudier on Wednesday and then today was 22 degrees again which was gorgeous!

Sunday 25th March

Today we were going to Bubbalicious in the city for Doreendas birthday. Bubbalicious is a Sunday brunch buffet at the Westin hotel where they have really good food and drinks, but the price reflects this so we can only afford to go on special occasions, but we all really look forward to it because the food is really good.

This is my first time at the Westin (I have only ever been to the one at the Hilton hotel, which is cheaper, closer and I prefer it). There are lot’s of different sections, the breakfast section with pancakes, all different types of eggs, bacon (proper bacon!) sausages, hash browns, all different breakfast foods that you can’t really get anywhere else (Chinese breakfast tends to be watery soup or rice). Then there was the ice cream section, the seafood section (live crab, lobsters an prawns in a tank and they cook it there for you) teppanyaki, oysters, all different types of seafood. Theres a Western food section with burgers, fries, onion rings, hot dogs, meatballs, spaghetti, pizza, pasta and all foods like that. Then there’s the indian food section, Chinese food section, carvery section, cheese section, bread and pastry section, popcorn and cotton candy stand, cocktail and mocktail bar. Then there is a whole room for desserts! Theres fruit, crème brulee, different types of mousse, cakes, every type of dessert you can imagine! On top of all this there is also unlimited champagne. There was also a band there and the singer was really good, we got her to sing happy birthday to Doreenda aswell! It really is an extremely welcome change to eat good quality food (the cut of meat used in most places leaves a lot to be desired). We had a great afternoon (its open 11am-3.30pm) and afterwards we all got a taxi home and just chilled out for the rest of the day.

Friday 23rd March

I was up early this morning to get an earlier start at school as parents were arriving at 8.15am. The open day went really well and I met the parents of the fourth grade students which was nice. Today was also Doreendas birthday so for lunch we ordered a subway and ate it in the office (it beats the cafeteria food).

It was quite an easy afternoon as I had grade 2 for two lessons then grades 3, 4 and 5 had been given the last period as an extra playtime as a treat for doing well in the speech competitions so I just had to supervise them until 3.15pm, then it was home time! I went to Pinnacle Plaza with Doreenda, Raena and Anna for a few drinks for Doreendas birthday as Anna and Raena weren’t coming out for the meal, went home for a quick change then shared a taxi with Doreenda and Amanda into the city.

We went to an area that I had never been to before and to an Italian restaurant and then afterwards to a bar next door. One of the guys had ordered an Americana pizza which said cheese and tomato pizza with French fries, which we thought meant the fries would be on the side, but when it came they were actually on the pizza! It was a really nice place, except for the fact that in China you can still smoke indoors so my eyes were stinging there was so much smoke and my hair smelt like an ashtray. The girls were moving onto a club and I had had enough by then so I was going to share a taxi with Dave and Kevin who were going to another bar on the way back to Houshayu and then just go home. We got into a taxi and were on our way to Temple bar for the guys to see a live band there and they persuaded me to go in for one drink, I ended up staying with them until 2am! It was a techno night and there was a dubstep band on and it was my first ever time seeing a dubstep band live which I am counting as my new thing for this week.

Thursday 22nd March

Today has been a bit of a manic day, there was the parent open day for grade 2 in the morning and then the afternoon was spent finishing preparations for the grade 4 open day tomorrow, I have done 4 display boards this week! James and I stayed at school until 6pm finishing everything off and then James took me out for dinner with Javi, Kristin and his girls as a thank you to this gorgeous restaurant called the orchard. It’s next to a lake and the scenery is beautiful, I definitely want to go again when it’s warm enough to be sat outside!

Wednesday 21st March

The weather is starting to get a bit nicer this week, the temperature has risen to about 8-10 degrees C and it is getting lighter earlier which is good. Today I have been preparing things for the grade 2 open day tomorrow and also for grade 4 on Friday so again I have been really busy. It has also been the speech assemblies today, each class has had a speech competition and the 3 winners get to perform their speeches to the whole school in a special assembly. I was really proud of the grade 4 students who did their speeches as I knew they were nervous and I got to see the grade 1 and 2 speeches as well. After school I went out for dinner with Ashley and Doreenda to the dumpling restaurant which I haven’t been to since I have been back. It was really nice to catch up with Ashley as I feel like I hardly see the grade 1 staff anymore. As we were leaving we bumped into James and his 3 girls and as I live in the same complex as them I walked home with them, then went to theirs for a drink. I love James’ girls, they are lovely and remind me a lot of my friends little boys at home as they are the same ages which is great but it makes me miss them! The girls gave me and their mum a Chinese test (which was a big fix in Javi’s favour!) but it was lovely seeing them all and just chilling out at their house as it’s a lot more homely than my apartment. I left as Javi was putting the girls to bed and I came home to do a bit more planning for my trip to Hong Kong.

Tuesday 20th March

Yesterday the social studies project was due in and today I finished marking it and the students have all done really well on it, I can’t help but feel quite proud of them!

It is open day for parents to come and observe the grade 2 classes on Thursday and to observe the fourth grade classes on Friday so I am a bit nervous. I also have a lot to do in preparation for this but not nearly enough time to do it in! I have spent a lot of the day working through a double sided A4 sized to do list which every time I cross something off, something new seems to get added! It’s been very busy and I have barely had a minute to myself but I suppose the day goes a lot quicker when you are busy.

After school Doreenda and Raena came back to my apartment and we ordered a takeaway and then we had our first Chinese lesson which we were all excited about! The teacher, Lisa, was very good and we are all looking forward to next weeks lesson!

Monday 19th March

Everyone at the school has been split into team houses, blue, green, orange, red and yellow (both teachers and students) and every other Monday we all come to school dressed in our team colours and there is a school assembly during the last lesson where we all come together and there is a competition. Previously there has been a dance off, a loudest team chant and today was musical chairs. The children really get into it and each teacher can give points to a student at any time for doing something good, like helping another student without being asked, doing a good job on an assignment or getting involved in a class debate. Some of the teachers go above and beyond with their team colours and it can be really fun. I am in red house (unfortunately I only have 1 top that is red, I desperately need to go shopping for more red items).

So today has been a bit of a slow day, I have felt really tired all day and feeling low. After school Doreenda took me out for dinner and we went to try the new German bar that had opened. It was really nice inside but the menu was very limited and quite expensive so we left and went to the Italian instead which was really nice. We had a good catch up then I came home for an early night.

Sunday 18th March

I woke up this morning and was really surprised to look out of my window and see everything covered in snow! It was pouring down last night and the weather was just beginning to get warmer and it snows!

I met Doreenda and Raena at 12pm and we shared a taxi to Pinnacle Plaza because there is a new Mexican restaurant opened there called avocado. We had lunch there and I tried my first ever Burrito which was really nice.

After lunch I did some food shopping then went back to my apartment and to plan my holiday to Hong Kong which I now have to do on my own as Matt isn’t coming.

Saturday 17th March

Today I had a nice lie in and got a text inviting me to brunch at 11am, I met the girls and we shared a taxi to Mrs Shanens Bakery which I have only been to once before for breakfast. I had heard lot’s of good things about the lunchtime menu so I was looking forward to it and it didn’t disappoint. They make home made ginger ale and it was delicious! After brunch the other girls went shopping but as i’m trying to be careful with money I went home.

The pollution has started to get bad again, it was over 500 last night and pretty bad today as well. The temperature today has been 4 degrees C and is supposed to get a bit warmer (7 degrees C) next week.

At 5pm I went round to my friend’s apartment as they were having a Chef wang party. This is where they book a man called Chef Wang and he gives them a choice of menus, they pick a set menu and he buys the ingredients, comes round to your house and cooks it for you and then cleans up and washes up after himself. He is very popular and is usually booked up a year in advance! There were about 15 of us from the school there and the food was amazing. For the starter he did finger food, spring rolls (like the ones back home, not like the horrible spring rolls that are here) stuffed mushrooms with spinach and cheese (these were my favourites) and battered prawns. For the main course it was a help yourself buffet style. There was actual roast potatoes (NO WHERE does roast potatoes in China!) carrots, asparagus and green beans, strawberry and pine nut salad and then there was Salmon or Roast beef terrain in red wine sauce. Now I don’t really like the beef in China, but this was amazing! Then for dessert there was chocolate mousse. It was such a delicious meal and everyone felt stuffed afterwards and it was only 100 RMB each, worth every penny! Afterwards a few people went to the Irish bar as it was St Patricks day, I stayed and went home at about 11pm with a few others and it was pouring down when we got outside, hopefully that will have cleared away the pollution for tomorrow!

Friday 16th March

It has been a busy few days, on Wednesday was the school’s spelling bee competition which I was one of the judges, it was a good competition but I felt so bad for the kids who obviously knew how to spell a word but were nervous as it was on the stage in front of the school and parents.

Then on Thursday I judged the speeches of grade 2 as 3 students will be reading their speeches in front of the school next week. I narrowed it down to 6 students and then we did a semi final on Friday. It was really hard to judge as they were all really good and I wanted to put them all through, but there could only be 3. The kid that came fourth even cried, I felt awful!

On Thursday I had to go to the bank for a statement for my visa and then Friday morning I went to get an extension for my visa at the visa office in the city as my visa expires on Tuesday. I should have my passport back in a week, just in time for my trip to Hong Kong for the Spring break.

The rest of Friday I spent marking, photocopying and general admin and at the end of the day we had an assembly where we gave awards to the students that had done well that week, a great end to the school day!

After school a group of us went to the swan for dinner and a few drinks, we were gossiping about anything and everything and before we knew it, it was 11pm! So much for my early night! I had a really nice evening though catching up with friends that I don’t see much of during the day. The only down side is that you can smoke anywhere in China so I came home with my clothes and hair stinking of cigarettes, I hate that!

Wednesday 13th March

Every morning I have woken up with a really sore throat, i've still got a cough and a cold aswell. The upside to this is I can have strawberry ice cream for breakfast to numb it a bit (with fresh strawberries!) I have been taking part of my own lunch in with me everyday, a small tub of strawberries and blueberries. I haven't quite got the enthusiasm to be making my own lunch yet, but the lunches have been that bad this week I don't think it will be long before I do. In the afternoon I gave students their grades back and gave 1-1 feedback on how they could have improved their work, it's a big difference from grade 1 where I'm lucky to get a few sentences out of them! After school I went for dinner with 3 of the other teachers, one of which I haven't seen outside of school since I got here so that was really good to catch up with her. So that's another day over with, only two more to go until the weekend!!

Tuesday 12th March

I woke up feeling so tired today and it's not gotten any better all day. I arrived at school and had a big list of things that I needed to do, as well as be in lessons and a load of marking to do. It's only Tuesday and I am already exhausted, running round all day (it doesn't help my office is on the fourth floor so I'm running up and down 4 flights of stairs all day) I have pretty much been playing catch up all day, with things being added to do constantly.
I went to see the admin staff about extending my visa today as well as it expires next week on Tuesday and I was told we could go next Wednesday. If we went next Wednesday I would be given a 500 pound fine and possibly kicked out of the country! it took me 3 attempts to try and explain that that was too late as my visa expired on the Tuesday and finally got a day for us to go this Friday. I was then told that I needed 2000 RMB in my bank account to show the visa office (I am currently living off my 6 days pay from last month, that's not going to happen unless the school gives me the money) so that was a bit of a stressful start to my day. After school a big group of us went to the Mexican kitchen for dinner which was nice, I miss being in the grade 1 office and chatting to the grade 1 team! I shared a taxi home and it's an early night for me as I can barely keep my eyes open!

Monday 12th March

I really did not want to get out of bed this morning! When I got to school I had a pile of marking to do, a pile of photocopying and laminating to do and lessons to prepare and not enough time to do it all in! It was quite a good day, although I discovered that there is a mouse that lives under the sink in the grade 1 office that runs out every now and then! I was marking one of the grade 4 kids spelling homework and found something that made me laugh! Each week the kids get 10 words that they have spelt wrong for homework and each day they have a different task, todays task was to put a definition of their spelling word and to draw a picture. The bit that made me laugh was for one of the kids words, sophisticated, they had put the definition as being very classy, then drawn a picture of me! This really made me laugh!
After school I went to Euro Plaza with 3 of the girl as we had heard that the new German bar and restaurant was now open, but when we got there we were told that it doesn't open until Sunday. We ended up going to the Italian there instead and then home.

Sunday 11th March

I try to go or to do one new thing each week and this weeks thing was.... softball! I have never heard of softball before, I had been told that it was a bit like baseball (which I have heard of but never seen how it's played). A few of the teachers had signed up to a Sunday league, so I decided to go along and see what all of the fuss was about. It was at a school near the Irish bar that we go to sometimes, so at 1pm I shared a taxi with another teacher. I had been told that it was a just for fun thing and seen as a few of the teachers went to the cap for drinks first, that's apparently what our team was going for. When we turned up though, the other teams seemed to be taking it very seriously! A few of our players were drunk and I had never played before (although it seems a lot like rounders) but we got thrashed! I think we may even be at the bottom of the league! After the game we all went to the cap for a late lunch and a few drinks, then I shared a taxi home with a few others. Quite a good day, although I still have no idea on the rules of softball!

Saturday 10th March

Yesterday was quite a busy day at school which I prefer, I got quite a lot done which was good and the lunch was actually quite nice which is almost unheard of! After school I came home to skype and then fell asleep by 5pm. I’m still not feeling well so I had turned down going into the city with everyone, there is a new bar opening with unlimited food and drink for £10 but I just felt so tired I just stayed at home. I think I needed to though as I fell asleep at 5pm and didn’t wake up until 7am!

I got a text this morning from one of the teachers inviting me out for lunch in the city. I was planning on going into the city anyway to do a bit of shopping so I got a taxi with two other teachers at 11am. We went to my favourite restaurant, the tapas place and every time we go I want to try the paella because it looks so good so we ordered that and a few tapas. I’m glad we ordered a few other things because the paella came and it was horrible! It wasn’t like any of the paella i’ve ever had and I felt quite sick after eating it. Not nice at all! After lunch we went to one of the markets and back to one of the teachers apartment who lives in the city to chill out. I got a taxi back home and had just got in when I got a text off one of the other teachers asking if I wanted to go for dinner later. Now there is one restaurant, “yao’s” that I hate eating out at but everyone else seems to love it and this was where the 3 teachers I was going for dinner wanted to go. I now had a choice of either going and not really enjoying the meal, or eating dinner on my own. Off to Yao’s it was then, beats eating alone! The food was ok, but it is always covered in oil and really greasy, but the company was good so I had a nice catch up with them.

After dinner I came back to my apartment and watched a film on my laptop, skyped and then was in bed by 11pm. It has been quite a nice day today and the weather has been good as well, it’s been a bit warmer (about 6-8 degrees C) and there wasn’t a cloud in the sky today but it has been quite windy! Apparently it is going to get a bit warmer next week, I can’t wait!

Thursday 8th March

Happy International Women’s Day!

It is hard for me to sum up exactly how I’ve been feeling this week as it has been such an emotional roller coaster. I am torn between feeling like I have made a huge mistake coming back to China, feeling so homesick that I am in tears and just wanting to jump on the next plane home as I feel like I just can’t stand the thought of being here until July and just not enjoying my new role as much as I thought I would. Then there are times when I feel like I can do this and I enjoy the company of my friends that I have made here and enjoy my new job role. I go from these two extremes at least once a day and add into the mix a few personal issues and I am a mess at the moment. I think that the only thing keeping me here is the knowledge that I would have to pay back the money for my flights and Visa to the school, and the support from the amazing friends that I have made here. Only 18 weeks to go!

With regards to my job role, I haven’t really got into it properly yet and got into a routine so until that happens I haven’t made up my mind about how I feel about it yet. What I do know is that the kids are great to work with and I am enjoying that aspect very much.

It’s weird the things that you forget from an experience though, I had forgotten how hard it is to get things fixed, 2 weeks ago I reported that the door handle to my apartment was loose and was told that it would get fixed. Last night it fell off in my hand as two of my friends were leaving my apartment after coming round for dinner. It’s a good job they were only on the stairs and could come back and let me out otherwise I would have been locked in (again!). I am still waiting for that to be fixed. Another thing that I had forgotten is that my upstairs neighbour practices the violin for two hours every evening and it is still the same song as it was last year!

There has been an unfortunate turn of events with regards to TTC and the two interns that the school have been waiting for. TTC are not sending anyone else so the school is two interns short! This is horrible news for grade 1 who really need the help, but quite good news for me as it means that I don’t have to share the two bedroom apartment i’m in!

Monday 5th March

Today was a much better day at school, I was busier and had a lot more to do and I found out as of tomorrow I will be teaching grade 2C again for two lessons a day which I am excited about.

I spent the morning photocopying for grade 4 and grade 1 and then helping out the grade 1 teachers that don’t have teaching assistants, then I did assessments for grade 1A which I will be doing once a week until the new teaching assistants arrive.

After lunch I did more preparations for grade 4, finally got paid and then I helped out grade 1 a bit more until 4.30pm when a few of us went for pedicures. Well, two of the teachers did and I went to the Swan with one of the other teachers as she can’t stand her feet being touched either. We had a good catch up and then met the other two teachers for dinner which was really nice to catch up outside of school again. I had a really nice evening and i’m feeling better about being in Beijing again.

Sunday 4th March

I’ve had a really lonely weekend and I’ve been feeling quite homesick. First of all I didn’t get paid by the school for the 6 days work I did in February so that messed up my weekend plans as I wanted to go out somewhere on the Saturday, then I was just moping around the apartment and feeling homesick. Usually when I’m in that position I go shopping to cheer myself up, but seen as I hadn’t been paid I couldn’t even do that.

This morning I had made plans to go for brunch with one of the other teachers, we went to Mrs shannon’s bakery which I hadn’t been to before but everything is organic and the food was really good. I had an omelette which I was so happy about as I haven’t found anywhere in China that does a nice omelette. We were there for quite a while chatting and having a proper catch up as I feel that I havn’t been able to speak to anyone properly yet, it’s just been in passing at school so it was nice.

I then met with another two of the teachers for ice cream at Euro plaza and we discovered a German bar and restaurant that is opening next week. Unfortunately the ice cream parlour has closed down so we had to settle for frozen yogurt from a stand that had cornflakes as the topping, it was really weird.

I then got a taxi home and I spent the rest of the day watching films on my laptop and reading the rest of my book. I have read 3 books in 3 days so I need to slow down as I don’t have many books left to read here!

Very High Pollution
No Pollution
The pile of marking I had to do!

Friday 2nd March

The display I had to do
Grade 4 classroom
View from office window
Snow outside my apartment
My new office

Just as I thought that it was getting warmer here in Beijing, I woke up today to snow! It was still snowing quite heavily when I left for work and continued to snow all morning.

As it was the parent teacher conferences there were no kids in school today and by 9am I had done all my work so I have pretty much just been sat on google all morning. Well, until the internet went down at 11am that is. By lunch time I was mind numbingly bored so was told I could sneak home after lunch. The girls are going out in the city tonight but seen as i’m still not feeling great I decided to stay at home. I spent the evening reading one of my books and then looking in my guide book for somewhere new to go to this weekend (as long as it’s not snowing or raining).

Thursday 1st March

Today everyone has been really stressed out as it's the parent teacher conferences tomorrow (what we know as parent interviews). The pollution has gradually been getting worse throughout the day and there has been no outside play. I thought that I had gotten away with not doing lunch duty this time but I got an email today telling me that I was on the rota for today! I spent most of the day making two displays and finishing my pile of marking (it's finally gone!!).
It's been quite a slow day really, everyone is looking forward to tomorrow when the parent teacher conferences are over. I am looking forward to them being over so I get my dinner companions back, as at the moment everyone is too busy and has too much work to do to go out.

Wednesday 29th February

Today grade 4 and 5 have a field trip so there were no kids in school, I stayed behind to finish the mountain of marking that I needed to do, catch up on all the photocopying that needed doing and to help out grade 1A who still don't have an intern to help out. It was really nice working with grade 1 again, they are so cute and cuddly! they kept asking when I was coming back to their class, one girl said "Miss Pippa, why aren't you with our class anymore? don't you like us?" I nearly cried, she looked so sad! I have been getting the same sort of questions from grade 2 but hpefully I will start with them again next week.

It was a pretty boring day really and as I was the only person on the fourth floor because they were all on the field trip, it was also a bit lonely. After school a group of us went to the Green cap bar for food and there was a Real ale event on there so everyone tried a few of those (not me, I can't stand the smell of the stuff!) I was feeling pretty tired so I left early and got an early night.