First, I’d like to start by saying this is the beginning of my 14th/17 weeks of teaching! The time has absolutely flown!
This weekend was, once again, chalk full of memories. We started the weekend by heading into the city to meet up with the rest of the crew and Pam, a woman who did this program five years ago, met a Chinese man, fell in love, married him and now lives here. She picked a spot for supper that was Canadian owned so we had our weekly dose of western food. At dinner Jess, one of the other girls who is on this grand adventure with me, pulled out a giant black bag. Inside the bag were homemade grad caps for everyone (we officially graduated from Acadia a week ago today. I am now Shoneth Andrea MacInnis, B.Eng, B.Ed. EIT haha)! It was a super sweet gesture and the caps were wonderfully made with tassels, Canadian pins and all! After dinner, we met up with Johnny, Pam’s husband, and the two of them played tour guide for some more cultural experiences.
On Saturday, I headed to one of Shanghai’s fabric markets to see if I could get a decent price on a custom-made blazer. I was a little lost after leaving the subway station so I teamed up with three girls from Paris who were heading to the market. This was neat as they were on their way to pick up what they had already ordered. I was able to see the silk dresses and some jackets they bought and gauge what type of prices and quality I was looking at. The market was overwhelming, but neat, in so many ways! I’ll have to get some video/pictures when I go back. In some ways, we are so used to some things here that we forget how different it is from home and we have to make a conscious effort to document what we see/experience.
Once the girls from Paris got their clothes (they were, for the most part, super duper happy with their purchases), I met up with Taylor, a new friend from Ontario. We shopped around for a while until we found a place that we liked. We both ordered a blazer (and she ordered a skirt) and we’ll pick them up next week. Depending on the quality and fit, we may order more! I’m excited!!
I spent the rest of the afternoon getting to know Taylor then headed back to Qingpu for a relaxing night in with Susan (who came to visit) and Sara eating Indian take out, having a few drinks and watching Billy Madison (so good!).
On Sunday morning, we headed into Zhujiajiao (pronounced loosely as Jew-J-ooow-Jaw) to tie up some shopping/gifts. The coolest part of this trip was going to a pearl shop. We were able to pick our own oyster from a tank and a man shucked it in front of us. Each shell had around 15-20 pearls in it and we were able to make jewellery with it! It was unbelievably cheap and it was a really neat, unique experience. Each of us had ENTIRELY different looking pearls, too. I made a few pairs of earrings and a few pendants and the remaining, not-so-perfect pearls were strung for free into a bracelet for me!
In the evening, I attended a Chinese wedding! One of the teachers from my school got married and she invited me J About a month ago, I actually went wedding dress shopping with her which was quite the experience. The dresses here a VERY glitzy and princess style and still only cost around $80 Canadian. This is in part to the fact that Chinese brides need at least 3 dresses for their wedding. They wear a white one to their ceremony, change into at least one of their choosing (prom style) and then wear a traditional red one.
The wedding itself was at a hotel near my apartment. Fanny (her English name) opted for a non-traditional Chinese wedding so I didn’t get the FULL Chinese wedding experience but I certainly had a neat one! We arrived at the hotel and headed to the third floor. From the elevator, we were led into a curtained, sequined corridor to the “ball room”. Along the way were pictures of the couple (they go to photo studios together before the wedding and get a MILLION set of pictures done in different wedding dresses) and a large red banner which I signed (my signature stood out like a sore thumb). There was a gift table where guests leave red-envelopes full of money for the bride and groom (red is good luck and monetary gifts must be in even increments as odd numbers are bad luck at a wedding – two people got married and they belong together – but 4 should be avoided as it sounds like the word “death” and is, therefore, bad luck). Once in the ballroom, my fellow teachers and I headed to our assigned round table. Tables at weddings must be round as no one is more important than anyone else. The room had a catwalk down the middle of it which led to an elaborately decorated stage. Our table had complimentary chocolates, cigarettes, matches, wine, other Chinese liquors, juice and pop on it ready to go. Food started coming out soon after we sat down – and it didn’t stop for two hours. We had over 25 dishes come to our table. At our table of 8, we had a full pork roast, spare ribs, a HUGE side of beef, a gladiator sized lobster, king crab, shrimp AND prawn, oysters, two different kinds of fish, two different kinds of soup, beans, greens, asparagus, peanuts, two different kinds of mushrooms, noodles, melons and cake….. and I’m sure I’m missing some dishes.
In the midst of all this food being delivered, Fanny and her husband made their first appearance. The lights all went out, a spot light starting swooping all over the room and the cheesiest, sappiest music you can imagine came on (and would keep going throughout the night. I’m talking Spice Girls, Celine Dion, Jason Mraz, Michael Buble…..no jokes). The couple then came in and after a fake proposal (him down on one knee and passing her a bouquet), they walked down the cat walk. The then had the “ceremony” which, from what was whispered to me, included something like “Will you marry me?” “Yes. Will you?” then a 3 minute kiss. Yes, it was the longest kiss I’ve ever seen in front of so many people. They then cut the cake with what looked like a sword then poured champagne into a champagne glass pyramid. To the beat of some more cheesy music, they left the room, the lights came on and we ate some more delicious food and were entertained by a lone saxophone player and a slideshow of baby pictures.
A while later, the lights dimmed again and Rocky-like theme music came on. The spotlight did its thing and the newly married couple came into the room. This time, Fanny was wearing a deep purple prom-like dress. The parents of both couples walked the runway, said some words and then all parties left the stage. The third time Fanny and her husband came out, she was wearing a traditional red and gold dress. This time she gave her bouquet away to “an eligible single lady”, like home, and she chose her identical twin sister who is getting married next weekend! The couple did not go back on stage but walked around from table to table thanking each and every guest for coming and tapping their glasses (I was so tempted to say ‘slante’). The father of the groom also came around and thanked everyone and was pretty excited to see me!
What may be the highlight of the evening came after this. I was pushed to the stage by my fellow teachers to take part in a “game”. In this game, an emcee calls out the name of an item and you have 30 seconds to get it – without leaving the stage. Items included a gold coin, a band-aid and a USB. Teachers virtually jumped over tables to get these items to me. Contestants that didn’t get these items were eliminated. In the final round we had to get a driver’s license. As mine was the oldest, I was declared the winner and was given a HUUUUUGE life-sized teddy bear and a bag full of other plush toys which the teachers attacked and distributed like they were kids at Christmas. It was insanely entertaining and made for some really good laughs – and I now have a giant, super-soft snuggle buddy (at least until I leave for Canada – the fate of the bear has yet to be determined).
I came home to Kaleigh, Sam and Caitlin who were crashing for the night, had some laughs and went to bed happy with yet another great weekend under my belt. Oh, did I mention I booked a trip to Chengdu next weekend to see the world’s biggest budda and PANDAS!?! Yeaaaaaaaaah baby!
(Pictures of all these events can be found in the "Life in China" album)
This weekend was, once again, chalk full of memories. We started the weekend by heading into the city to meet up with the rest of the crew and Pam, a woman who did this program five years ago, met a Chinese man, fell in love, married him and now lives here. She picked a spot for supper that was Canadian owned so we had our weekly dose of western food. At dinner Jess, one of the other girls who is on this grand adventure with me, pulled out a giant black bag. Inside the bag were homemade grad caps for everyone (we officially graduated from Acadia a week ago today. I am now Shoneth Andrea MacInnis, B.Eng, B.Ed. EIT haha)! It was a super sweet gesture and the caps were wonderfully made with tassels, Canadian pins and all! After dinner, we met up with Johnny, Pam’s husband, and the two of them played tour guide for some more cultural experiences.
On Saturday, I headed to one of Shanghai’s fabric markets to see if I could get a decent price on a custom-made blazer. I was a little lost after leaving the subway station so I teamed up with three girls from Paris who were heading to the market. This was neat as they were on their way to pick up what they had already ordered. I was able to see the silk dresses and some jackets they bought and gauge what type of prices and quality I was looking at. The market was overwhelming, but neat, in so many ways! I’ll have to get some video/pictures when I go back. In some ways, we are so used to some things here that we forget how different it is from home and we have to make a conscious effort to document what we see/experience.
Once the girls from Paris got their clothes (they were, for the most part, super duper happy with their purchases), I met up with Taylor, a new friend from Ontario. We shopped around for a while until we found a place that we liked. We both ordered a blazer (and she ordered a skirt) and we’ll pick them up next week. Depending on the quality and fit, we may order more! I’m excited!!
I spent the rest of the afternoon getting to know Taylor then headed back to Qingpu for a relaxing night in with Susan (who came to visit) and Sara eating Indian take out, having a few drinks and watching Billy Madison (so good!).
On Sunday morning, we headed into Zhujiajiao (pronounced loosely as Jew-J-ooow-Jaw) to tie up some shopping/gifts. The coolest part of this trip was going to a pearl shop. We were able to pick our own oyster from a tank and a man shucked it in front of us. Each shell had around 15-20 pearls in it and we were able to make jewellery with it! It was unbelievably cheap and it was a really neat, unique experience. Each of us had ENTIRELY different looking pearls, too. I made a few pairs of earrings and a few pendants and the remaining, not-so-perfect pearls were strung for free into a bracelet for me!
In the evening, I attended a Chinese wedding! One of the teachers from my school got married and she invited me J About a month ago, I actually went wedding dress shopping with her which was quite the experience. The dresses here a VERY glitzy and princess style and still only cost around $80 Canadian. This is in part to the fact that Chinese brides need at least 3 dresses for their wedding. They wear a white one to their ceremony, change into at least one of their choosing (prom style) and then wear a traditional red one.
The wedding itself was at a hotel near my apartment. Fanny (her English name) opted for a non-traditional Chinese wedding so I didn’t get the FULL Chinese wedding experience but I certainly had a neat one! We arrived at the hotel and headed to the third floor. From the elevator, we were led into a curtained, sequined corridor to the “ball room”. Along the way were pictures of the couple (they go to photo studios together before the wedding and get a MILLION set of pictures done in different wedding dresses) and a large red banner which I signed (my signature stood out like a sore thumb). There was a gift table where guests leave red-envelopes full of money for the bride and groom (red is good luck and monetary gifts must be in even increments as odd numbers are bad luck at a wedding – two people got married and they belong together – but 4 should be avoided as it sounds like the word “death” and is, therefore, bad luck). Once in the ballroom, my fellow teachers and I headed to our assigned round table. Tables at weddings must be round as no one is more important than anyone else. The room had a catwalk down the middle of it which led to an elaborately decorated stage. Our table had complimentary chocolates, cigarettes, matches, wine, other Chinese liquors, juice and pop on it ready to go. Food started coming out soon after we sat down – and it didn’t stop for two hours. We had over 25 dishes come to our table. At our table of 8, we had a full pork roast, spare ribs, a HUGE side of beef, a gladiator sized lobster, king crab, shrimp AND prawn, oysters, two different kinds of fish, two different kinds of soup, beans, greens, asparagus, peanuts, two different kinds of mushrooms, noodles, melons and cake….. and I’m sure I’m missing some dishes.
In the midst of all this food being delivered, Fanny and her husband made their first appearance. The lights all went out, a spot light starting swooping all over the room and the cheesiest, sappiest music you can imagine came on (and would keep going throughout the night. I’m talking Spice Girls, Celine Dion, Jason Mraz, Michael Buble…..no jokes). The couple then came in and after a fake proposal (him down on one knee and passing her a bouquet), they walked down the cat walk. The then had the “ceremony” which, from what was whispered to me, included something like “Will you marry me?” “Yes. Will you?” then a 3 minute kiss. Yes, it was the longest kiss I’ve ever seen in front of so many people. They then cut the cake with what looked like a sword then poured champagne into a champagne glass pyramid. To the beat of some more cheesy music, they left the room, the lights came on and we ate some more delicious food and were entertained by a lone saxophone player and a slideshow of baby pictures.
A while later, the lights dimmed again and Rocky-like theme music came on. The spotlight did its thing and the newly married couple came into the room. This time, Fanny was wearing a deep purple prom-like dress. The parents of both couples walked the runway, said some words and then all parties left the stage. The third time Fanny and her husband came out, she was wearing a traditional red and gold dress. This time she gave her bouquet away to “an eligible single lady”, like home, and she chose her identical twin sister who is getting married next weekend! The couple did not go back on stage but walked around from table to table thanking each and every guest for coming and tapping their glasses (I was so tempted to say ‘slante’). The father of the groom also came around and thanked everyone and was pretty excited to see me!
What may be the highlight of the evening came after this. I was pushed to the stage by my fellow teachers to take part in a “game”. In this game, an emcee calls out the name of an item and you have 30 seconds to get it – without leaving the stage. Items included a gold coin, a band-aid and a USB. Teachers virtually jumped over tables to get these items to me. Contestants that didn’t get these items were eliminated. In the final round we had to get a driver’s license. As mine was the oldest, I was declared the winner and was given a HUUUUUGE life-sized teddy bear and a bag full of other plush toys which the teachers attacked and distributed like they were kids at Christmas. It was insanely entertaining and made for some really good laughs – and I now have a giant, super-soft snuggle buddy (at least until I leave for Canada – the fate of the bear has yet to be determined).
I came home to Kaleigh, Sam and Caitlin who were crashing for the night, had some laughs and went to bed happy with yet another great weekend under my belt. Oh, did I mention I booked a trip to Chengdu next weekend to see the world’s biggest budda and PANDAS!?! Yeaaaaaaaaah baby!
(Pictures of all these events can be found in the "Life in China" album)