First of all, I want to send a shout out to my BEAUTIFUL momma whose birthday is today! I’ll see you in a mere 5 days mom! This is family birthday numero 4 since coming to China. I hope they saved me cake.
Second of all, OH MY LADY GAGA! (the Chinese equivalent of Oh My God!). I can’t believe I forgot to tell you all about Steph’s first night. We made it home from Qingpu and were just settling into our fake Lululemons and other such comfy clothes when we heard Alyssa screaming from the bathroom. I ran in and she was sitting in the sink. After asking her what was wrong, I followed her finger to see a giant cockroach. I thought it was fake for half a moment but then it scurried around the bathroom floor and ran under the washing machine. Steph and I decided to come to the rescue and I proceeded to kneel on the counter and shake the washing machine and tip it over banging it a few times hoping the thing would come out. Steph waited, winter boot in hand. Sadly (?) nothing came out. Later, I was sitting at the kitchen table with a good view of the machine, watching for the little bugger (pun intended). Eventually, one came out. Steph grabbed the boot and tromped him until I pretty much had to scrape him off of the floor. I’m almost positive the second one was smaller than the first which makes me think there are more (according to teachers at school, where there is one, there are dozens). We bought cockroach-looking spray at a local bargain shop and cleaned the apartment top to bottom. Luckily, over a week later, there is no sign of more.
As an update on my other happenings, I enjoyed my last few days with Stephanie and Erin. On Thursday night, Erin presented us all with a plethora of gifts from Korea. She had Psy socks for my roomies and Steph, a beautiful necklace and a hilarious tights/skirt combo for me, Korean liquor and other amusing odds and ends for everyone. Arguably the most amusing gift she brought was a bunch of random face strips and creams. While we avoided a lot of the creams due to their whitening properties (in both Korea and China, more moisturizers, sunscreens, etc. have whitening chemicals in them as they believe the whiter your skin, the more beautiful you are), we used the strips and gels. I ended up with a jelly like shaped pair of lips on my lips, Sara had a carbon strip of some sort on her chin, Erin had a white upper lip and chin combo and Alyssa had clear gel like patches under her eyes. We were quite the sight!
Erin, Steph, Alyssa, Sara and I went to dinner with Tony, one of my fellow teacher (Chinese) on a VERY VERY rainy Friday night. It was great for the two visitors to get to know one of my new friends and it was also great for Tony to meet two more “crazy Canadian girls” haha. He wasn’t up for dessert (the boy weighs like 80 pound soaking wet) or KTV (Chinese karaoke bar) so we parted ways. Us girls grabbed some 50 cent KFC ice cream cones and hunkered in for a night in. Erin and Steph ended up going to Zhujiajiao (the nearby ancient water town) for the day Saturday and returned for a quick Indian dinner before Erin hit the road to head back to Korea.
Steph came to school with me on Sunday for the day. I was so glad that my school was accommodating for her visit! She shadowed me all day, had my school breakfast and lunch and got a sense of what it’s like to teach in China. She even got a dance lesson from one of my Grade 9s! She, and I, had a great time and the students LOVED her! Her blond hair was the talk of the school!
We headed into the city after school, grabbed a crepe for supper then crashed at Laura’s (we were planning to go to The Vue bar on the 40-something floor of a hotel but 1) it was rainy so the view wouldn’t have been great and 2) we were BEAT). We were up and at ‘em early the next morning and tried to find somewhere open for breakfast. Sadly (or was it sad?), McDonald’s was the only place we seemed to be able to get something so we had a quicky then headed off the market to try on our clothes! Steph’s blazer and my blazers fit well but our skirts needed adjustments. I’ll be going back this weekend to check them again and I am SO SO tempted to get a jacket. I wish money grew on trees… I’m quite happy with my purchases, though, especially my purple blazer and my pink skirt! Fun fun! After the market, we met up with the rest of the crew for what I’ve been told are the best dumplings in Shanghai (and that claim may be accurate) and we followed it up with dessert from an INCREDIBLE chocolate dessert place. From there, we headed to the fake market to get the remainder of our souvenirs before I saw Steph off to the airport! It was a whirlwind trip in a sense, but I loved the company!
Today is Thursday and the beginning of my two-day final week. I taught from Monday-Sunday last week. Yesterday (Wednesday) was the national Dragon Boat Festival so we had Monday, Tuesday and Wednesday off. I started some of my goodbye classes on Saturday and Sunday and today, I have some more. These classes have been bittersweet; while I am excited to get home to everyone, I am heartbroken to leave most of these students (there are, of course, a few who weeeelllllll…..is it inappropriate to say good riddance?) There are four of my 13 classes that have been way beyond difficult. Luckily I only have them once a week but I approach them like I am approaching an interview. I am panicking beyond belief beneath the surface but I remain as calm and pleasant as possible on the outside. One of my classmates had a yearbook quote in high school that said, “be like the duck; calm on the surface but swimming like the dickens underneath.” I think that’s a great motto. The other classes, however, are much much harder to leave. I’ve grown to love these kids and the celebrity status is certainly not something to scoff at. After all of my good-bye classes, I was signing my autograph like a movie star, when I walk from class to class students push each other out of the way to say hello and they get so so excited and ohh and ahhh at every single picture I show them, whether it is clip art or a picture of Sia, my family dog. That enthusiasm is something rarely witnessed elsewhere.
I am going to cut this short as I have to run but I will try and get one more post in before I leave China. If that does not happen, I will post shortly after returning to Canada with a recap, final thoughts and reflections and I will also post more photos.
In closing, I want to say that I wish wish wish I could be home with the Leadbetters this Friday. Donna, Jason’s mom, lost her father this week (and lost her mother two weeks ago) and I just want to send along my best! Any thoughts and prayers for the family is surely appreciated!
xoxo
Second of all, OH MY LADY GAGA! (the Chinese equivalent of Oh My God!). I can’t believe I forgot to tell you all about Steph’s first night. We made it home from Qingpu and were just settling into our fake Lululemons and other such comfy clothes when we heard Alyssa screaming from the bathroom. I ran in and she was sitting in the sink. After asking her what was wrong, I followed her finger to see a giant cockroach. I thought it was fake for half a moment but then it scurried around the bathroom floor and ran under the washing machine. Steph and I decided to come to the rescue and I proceeded to kneel on the counter and shake the washing machine and tip it over banging it a few times hoping the thing would come out. Steph waited, winter boot in hand. Sadly (?) nothing came out. Later, I was sitting at the kitchen table with a good view of the machine, watching for the little bugger (pun intended). Eventually, one came out. Steph grabbed the boot and tromped him until I pretty much had to scrape him off of the floor. I’m almost positive the second one was smaller than the first which makes me think there are more (according to teachers at school, where there is one, there are dozens). We bought cockroach-looking spray at a local bargain shop and cleaned the apartment top to bottom. Luckily, over a week later, there is no sign of more.
As an update on my other happenings, I enjoyed my last few days with Stephanie and Erin. On Thursday night, Erin presented us all with a plethora of gifts from Korea. She had Psy socks for my roomies and Steph, a beautiful necklace and a hilarious tights/skirt combo for me, Korean liquor and other amusing odds and ends for everyone. Arguably the most amusing gift she brought was a bunch of random face strips and creams. While we avoided a lot of the creams due to their whitening properties (in both Korea and China, more moisturizers, sunscreens, etc. have whitening chemicals in them as they believe the whiter your skin, the more beautiful you are), we used the strips and gels. I ended up with a jelly like shaped pair of lips on my lips, Sara had a carbon strip of some sort on her chin, Erin had a white upper lip and chin combo and Alyssa had clear gel like patches under her eyes. We were quite the sight!
Erin, Steph, Alyssa, Sara and I went to dinner with Tony, one of my fellow teacher (Chinese) on a VERY VERY rainy Friday night. It was great for the two visitors to get to know one of my new friends and it was also great for Tony to meet two more “crazy Canadian girls” haha. He wasn’t up for dessert (the boy weighs like 80 pound soaking wet) or KTV (Chinese karaoke bar) so we parted ways. Us girls grabbed some 50 cent KFC ice cream cones and hunkered in for a night in. Erin and Steph ended up going to Zhujiajiao (the nearby ancient water town) for the day Saturday and returned for a quick Indian dinner before Erin hit the road to head back to Korea.
Steph came to school with me on Sunday for the day. I was so glad that my school was accommodating for her visit! She shadowed me all day, had my school breakfast and lunch and got a sense of what it’s like to teach in China. She even got a dance lesson from one of my Grade 9s! She, and I, had a great time and the students LOVED her! Her blond hair was the talk of the school!
We headed into the city after school, grabbed a crepe for supper then crashed at Laura’s (we were planning to go to The Vue bar on the 40-something floor of a hotel but 1) it was rainy so the view wouldn’t have been great and 2) we were BEAT). We were up and at ‘em early the next morning and tried to find somewhere open for breakfast. Sadly (or was it sad?), McDonald’s was the only place we seemed to be able to get something so we had a quicky then headed off the market to try on our clothes! Steph’s blazer and my blazers fit well but our skirts needed adjustments. I’ll be going back this weekend to check them again and I am SO SO tempted to get a jacket. I wish money grew on trees… I’m quite happy with my purchases, though, especially my purple blazer and my pink skirt! Fun fun! After the market, we met up with the rest of the crew for what I’ve been told are the best dumplings in Shanghai (and that claim may be accurate) and we followed it up with dessert from an INCREDIBLE chocolate dessert place. From there, we headed to the fake market to get the remainder of our souvenirs before I saw Steph off to the airport! It was a whirlwind trip in a sense, but I loved the company!
Today is Thursday and the beginning of my two-day final week. I taught from Monday-Sunday last week. Yesterday (Wednesday) was the national Dragon Boat Festival so we had Monday, Tuesday and Wednesday off. I started some of my goodbye classes on Saturday and Sunday and today, I have some more. These classes have been bittersweet; while I am excited to get home to everyone, I am heartbroken to leave most of these students (there are, of course, a few who weeeelllllll…..is it inappropriate to say good riddance?) There are four of my 13 classes that have been way beyond difficult. Luckily I only have them once a week but I approach them like I am approaching an interview. I am panicking beyond belief beneath the surface but I remain as calm and pleasant as possible on the outside. One of my classmates had a yearbook quote in high school that said, “be like the duck; calm on the surface but swimming like the dickens underneath.” I think that’s a great motto. The other classes, however, are much much harder to leave. I’ve grown to love these kids and the celebrity status is certainly not something to scoff at. After all of my good-bye classes, I was signing my autograph like a movie star, when I walk from class to class students push each other out of the way to say hello and they get so so excited and ohh and ahhh at every single picture I show them, whether it is clip art or a picture of Sia, my family dog. That enthusiasm is something rarely witnessed elsewhere.
I am going to cut this short as I have to run but I will try and get one more post in before I leave China. If that does not happen, I will post shortly after returning to Canada with a recap, final thoughts and reflections and I will also post more photos.
In closing, I want to say that I wish wish wish I could be home with the Leadbetters this Friday. Donna, Jason’s mom, lost her father this week (and lost her mother two weeks ago) and I just want to send along my best! Any thoughts and prayers for the family is surely appreciated!
xoxo