On holiday!

Hi Everybody,

I have been on holiday, so no updates lately.  I am having a wonderful time in New Zealand visiting family and friends, although I have not managed to catch up with everyone I would have liked to see.  But meanwhile, Merry Christmas and Happy New Year to all of you and I will be back in a week or so.

xx,

ShanghaiSuz

My School

OK, a few of you asked me to write about school and the differences between King’s and BISS Pudong.  So here it is!

In some ways the schools are very similar.  They are both private (although companies often fund the education here) and both have very high expectations of children and staff.  Long hours go hand-in-hand with teaching, so that is the same, too.  

The first notable difference is that there are girls at BISS.  It simply changes the dynamics - in the classroom and on the playground.  My little girls are so loving and sweet.  They like nothing better than plaiting my hair (and it is fair game if I get low enough for them!) and they always notice and comment on clothing and jewellery!  I can’t remember any of my King’s boys EVER saying I wore a lovely skirt or had pretty earrings on!  At the end of the day many of them give me a big hug goodbye - at waist height and usually full-pelt, almost knocking me over!  The boys often follow suit, because they see the girls doing so.

No, not getting shot!  Having my
temperature taken by one of our guards.

My ID badge

Every adult who comes into the school must have identification.  Staff have permanent ID badges, as do parents.  Others have to sign into a visitor’s book before entering.  There are guards at each entrance.  During the winter, the guards are also responsible for checking our temperatures as we come in in the morning.  

The children play outside until 8:30 when a bell rings and we go to where they have lined up and walk them into the classroom.  Roll call is all electronic and has to be done between 8:30 and 8:40, along with lunch orders, and then period 1 begins.  We have 2   50-minute periods and then a snack time.  That happens are 10:30.  We take the children to the canteen where they have fruit or a snack they have brought.  They eat for 10 minutes, and then go outside to play until 11:00.  

One of my colleagues

Period 3 is from snack time to lunch time (12:00).  Once again we accompany them into the canteen and make sure they line up sensibly for their lunch.  They have had the choice of a hot lunch or a sandwich.  Most eat canteen lunches, but a few bring their own.  

After lunch the whole school has ERIC - Everyone Reads In Class.  This is only 20 minutes, but my children LOVE it.  They get an independent reader which they read to themselves first, then to two buddies and they listen to two buddies.  Sometimes at that time we will discuss a language aspect, listen to a taped story, or I will read to them.  

School finishes at 3:00 for our little ones (3:15 for the others) and we have to get them promptly to the bus monitors.  These are the Teacher Aides who each go on a bus, ensuring the children get home (or to school in the morning) safely.  Most of the children take a bus to and from school. 

Miss Ada - my wonderful Teacher Aide

In the Early Years (Year 1 and under) every class has its own Teacher Aide, and my “Miss Ada” is fantastic.  She is basically my PA, getting books for the children to read, filing for me, running errands for me, helping to mark or explain, the odd time she will read them a story.  She finds lost articles of clothing, puts up  displays, takes small groups, walks the children to specialists, and, as mentioned above, brings a bus of children to and from school.  She makes any phone calls I need, translates my bills for me and when I need something written in Chinese for my ayi (maid), she will do that.  She is truly a gem!

We are expected to do an ECA (Extra Curricular Activity) every term, and I am doing “Paper Fun for Everyone”.  The ECA organisers book you for a day after school and you just have to do it that day.  This term (and next term) I am doing my course on a Wednesdays.  It is only until 4:15.  

One of the playground areas

The specialists we have - Music for 1 hour (1 period) a week, Mandarin for 3 periods a week and PE 2 periods a week (I teach one of those and I love it!).  My class has a different ICT teacher, too, but that is because I get an extra release period for administration.  I teach all Science and Topic.

The entrance to the Primary building

Our playground is a spongy mat in part and astroturf.  There are two areas with equipment - climbing things, slides, etc.  Also a few basketball hoops and small soccer area on the astro.  

The international aspect of BISS is very evident.  Many of our students are new to English, but they pick it up fast and the school is geared to integrating them.  In my class alone, my 17 students and I can claim affinity to 14 nationalities!  I am soooo loving this aspect.

We have teams of “ayi” or maids who work hard for us.  Shanghai is very dusty so the ladies are constantly cleaning.  They are handy when someone gets sick or when there is an accident of any sort.  They are very willing and I am beginning to be able to communicate with them.  

xxx,

Shanghaisuz

Getting Around in Shanghai - Part 1

As I sat in a taxi this afternoon, I thought carefully about my next blog - getting around in Shanghai.  

Now, to those who have never been to Asia, you might think this is pretty boring but if you have been here (or South America, or Italy) you might understand how exciting (and terrifying!!!!!) a single trip may be.  

Ok, the ways to get around here are:

walking

tuk tuk

scooter or motorbike

bus

car

ferry

taxi

metro (underground)

Maglev

Today I will concentrate on getting around by taxi or car.  First of all, be prepared that all bets are off here.  Everything that you ever thought you knew about traffic, being a passenger or pedestrian - get rid of them because the rules here are different!!!!!  There aren’t any!!!!!!!

Let’s start with a few gems.  Any trip I take by taxi, I see at least 3 cars with no license plates.  How does that happen, you ask?  WHO  KNOWS! (It is just the way it is!)

Now, taxis and general traffic.  Ohhhhh, this is a big one.  To start off, the licensed (and most unlicensed) taxis have covered seats.  This looks like white, fitted sheets over the seats and headrests.  I guess it means that things are clean and I suppose their wives wash them every night.  (I have never seen ANY female taxi drivers.)  However, it DOES mean that you cannot fasten your seatbelts!  And this is the type of driving that would  most benefit from wearing seatbelts!

Shanghai taxi

The difference between licensed and unlicensed taxis?  Licensed taxis have a meter.  If they are local taxis (see below - orange taxis) the meter starts at 10 Yuan (NZ$2).  If they are “other” taxis, the meter starts at 12 Yuan(NZ$2.50).  Overall, licensed taxis are more reliable for the newbies here as the others will rip you off if they can.  With the unlicensed taxis they are actually quite reliable BUT you must arrange your price beforehand.  Even then, if they think you don’t know the price, they will try to rip you off and because they are just people with cars, they don’t have to pay all the license fees, so if you don’t know the prices, stick to metered cars!

Local "orange" taxi

Then there are local taxis.  Not all taxis can go everywhere.  In my area of Shanghai the orange taxis have  radius in which they are allowed.  I am not sure how you are supposed to know this, but before you get into a taxi, if you are not sure, it pays to ask them first.  They are not trying to be difficult - they simply are not allowed outside of their area.  

Today I was in the fastest taxi so far.  120 km / hr in the city - weaving in and out - nearly killing pedestrians, but very cool, calm and collected.  As you see, I did make it home in one piece, but how, I am not sure!!

Since I have been here in Shanghai, I can tell you, on many occasions, I have seen the following:

1.  a 2-lane road with 3 or 4 lanes of traffic

2.  weaving in and out (YES, even between trucks! Only an inch or two to spare!!!!)

3.  no respect for red lights - in fact it is sport to go through them honking vigorously to ensure  your safe passage!

4.  honking at everything that moves (and some things that don’t!)  This, I have worked out, is to give spatially-challenged people fair warning that you are there and to warn them not to step out sideways without looking.

5.  barriers for road works placed in the middle of the road - no warning, just there

6.  going the wrong way onto a motorway (highway) offramp!!!  I kid you not.  This is quicker, apparently???  Oh yes, you happen to be going the wrong way....oh well....

7.  pedestrians?  Oh, too bad.  You kill one you are in BIG trouble, but they are dead and you aren’t.  Pedestrians have to have 360 degree vision and acute peripheral awareness

Unfortunately I have not taken the photos this week.  Maybe it is because I was too scared to get the camera out.  In any case, they are internet photos.

However, next week, I will tell you about the Maglev (bullet train - speed freaks, salivate) - oh yeahhh, that is cool and I have photos!

xxx,

Shanghaisuz

Signs and Labels

Yes, we all know that direct translations often don't work.  At best they are funny, at worst unintelligible.  At a hotel in Suzhou last year, on the back of the door, there were English evacuation procedures in case of fire.  The trouble was, after reading it, I was none the wiser and would not have had a clue what to do or where to go!

So this week I am dedicating my blog to funny / interesting signs and labels and I am sure I will add to this as I see more.

Have a laugh or two!

xxx,

Shanghaisuz

And this means????

Yes, even in China!

The painted wall?

Yes, a grocery store tends to do that.

We call a spade a spade here!

No comment! At Yu Yuan Garden, Shanghai.

The slippery slope to hell?

A bit like throwing Christian to the lions?

Yes, your family's happiness would be rather spoiled if you fell the 20 meters into the Yalu River!

Speeling?

Would you wash yourself with Ellpoo?

At Expo

Expo

I had never been to an Expo and since it was (almost) in my backyard, I decided that I really had to make the effort and go.  I am not a fan of large crowds - especially those who don’t mind elbowing anyone around them.  BUT, I am glad I went!

The taxi driver had no idea what I was on about, so I had to phone “China Help” which is a great phone service.  You phone up, tell them what you can’t convey to the locals, and they then tell them via your phone.  I have used it several times and found it an excellent system.  (I am not sure if they will be still keeping it now that Expo has finished.)

The lines to get tickets were not bad, but the wait to get in was horrendous.  I felt sorry for people with kids and strollers.  We had to go through strict security - bags through the usual x-ray machine and a body metal detector.  

I decided to forego the China pavilion.  It is an amazing structure - very unique.  But it is one of the few buildings that will stay now that the Expo is over, so I thought I will get a chance some other time to see it.  Also you had to book tickets to get into it.  

I started at the New Zealand pavilion and enjoyed that.  While waiting for their cultural show, I also visited  the Cambodian exhibition.  Then back to watch the show.  Halfway through, one of the Maori warriors pulled me up to the stage to do the poi routine, along with some Chinese women.  Very funny!!!  I also watched some Indonesian and Mexican dancing.  

I headed towards the USA show, having lunch along the way and also visiting the Brazilian pavilion.  I waited a long time for the US exhibition and it was in 4 parts.  Most of it was pretty average, but I did enjoy aspects of the 4D movie.  

After 5 hours of jostling, lining up and generally waiting around, I decided I had had enough and grabbed the metro and a taxi home.  

I was pleased I got to see as many pavilions as I did.  Many other people who went said they only got to see 2 or 3 a day.  

xxx,

Shanghaisuz

Maori cultural show

New Zealand 

Brazilian Pavilion

Crowds and a long wait at the USA exhibition

The China Pavilion

Dandong - Benxi

MOM - click on the arrow on the bottom image to see the video.  It may take a little time to load in.  xxx

The bridge that finishes
halfway across the river

Spanning the Yalu River from Dandong to North Korea, are two bridges.  One is intact (built 1937 - 1943) and the other goes halfway across the river and then ends.  This older bridge was built in 1909 - 1911 but bombed in 1950 during the Korean War as a way of cutting off supplies from China to North Korea.  It was left as half a bridge and is a tourist attraction today.  We walked to the endpoint - a somber reminder of a war half a century ago.  

Girls dressed in traditional Korean outfits
Note the half-bridge behind and piles from missing parts

Benxi (relatively small population of about 1.5 million) and the large cave system was our next stop after several hours of driving northwest.    These are not well-known to the western world and in fact we were the only European faces to be seen here.  Given that coal mining is a primary income in Benxi, this is probably how these caves were discovered.  (Just as an aside - a comment from Wikipedia - “The worst coal mining disaster in the world took place on April 26, 1942 in Benxihu Colliery. A coal-dust explosion killed 1,549 miners working that day.”  In any case the caves are amazing!

Entrance to caves at Benxi

The air temperature is a constant 7 degrees Celcius summer and winter - so very chilly!  There are dry caves that you can walk through, but the main feature is the boat trip into the caves (about 20 minutes each way), viewing stalactites and stalagmites.  We were fortunate in that our boat skipper did not talk during the trip, allowing us to enjoy the trip quietly.  It was hard to get photos that look like anything but William did get a video shoot that looks pretty good.  It didn’t feel as noisy as the video sounds though! 

xxx,

Shanghaisuz

Travelling - Dalian - Dandong

Hi again!

Early Monday morning I caught a plane to Dalian where I visited William and Sue.  William was keen to try out driving here, having just got his chinese license, so we first visited Jinshi Beach and going on around to Golden Pebble Beach and Tiger Beach.  At Tiger Beach we stopped for 

Windmill at Golden Pebble Beach

a

William and Sue

a fish barbecue and we saw a number of wedding photos being taken.  (Here they are not taken on "the day" but rather months before the day. The setting - beautiful.  The bride - beautiful, but look carefully at the second shot.  The dresses are hired and just for show.  Underneath they wear jeans and sneakers! 

A beautiful bride... but....

check out what is underneath!

Fish drying in the sun

We drove the scenic route, enjoying quaint views along the way.  I was surprised at the amount of corn grown.  Family workers husk it in the field and the corn is put into racks on top of the houses, to dry.  This creates quite a splash of colour!  The stalks 

are piled up into a teepee-shaped bundle in the fields - presumably to be used for fuel.  

A highly-laden vehicle!

Rice paddy

A Sunday Morning Stroll

A typical old Chinese street

I was told that not far from our community, there is a typical old Chinese village.  My lovely neighbour from upstairs, C. (and her young son R.) offered to go for a walk there with me and today was the day.

We decided to go early, setting out at 7:00 and we decided to walk.  As it turned out, this was much better than trying to go by scooter or by bike because it gave us a chance to stop along the way, check out the signs and (for her!) to talk to the locals.  What an eye-opener it was!

A local government building

Recycling station

Nearly every house had some land which was cultivated to the max with eggplant, pumpkins, corn, persimmons, sugar cane and beans.  The people clearly work very hard to cultivate their small holdings.  

A local government building was the conspicuously modern, new structure but as you can see, the houses were quite a bit older.  We walked past a recycling plant, which very much interested my young companion, R.  We had to pry him away from that!

R. with cotton drying on racks

C. and R. - eating sugar cane

Sugar cane growing

At one spot we saw cotton on drying racks and C. tells me that often the seeds and the fibre is still separated by hand.  The people in the village only grow the cotton - they sell it on to be processed further.  The lady gave us sugar cane which we happily chewed on as we walked further.

R. and I

Beautiful garden with water on two sides

As you have seen in my previous posts, there are canals in our compound.  As we walked along, the canals became rivers, with gardens, forest or weeping willows along the banks.  Very picturesque and idyllic.  The road was very narrow, making it quite a mission when two cars met and you certainly had to keep your wits about you as a pedestrian!

Further down though, there were areas of broken brick and rubble which was not so beautiful.  

Man washing clothes

Since the weather was fine, it seemed a prime day for washing clothes.  We saw many people washing or hanging their washing out.  Many houses had pumps outside which are used for washing clothes.  The water is not safe to drink.  Mainly it was women doing the washing, but I did find a man who was doing his share of the chores! (and he was happy for me to take his photo).

Local shop!

This "house" had a satellite dish!

The local shops were interesting and many of these people would not have even been to the supermarket where I shop - a mere few kilometres away.  For many I may have been the first European they had ever seen in the flesh.  What a life they must lead.  Several of the poorer-looking houses had satellite TV dishes outside.  Interesting priorities.  

The ladies public toilet

There was even a public bathroom for those in need.  It was, as I expected, a “squattie pottie”!  The footmarks tell the story really.  

All in all it was a great morning with lots of new sights and experiences.  And that is what I came here for!

xx,

Shanghaisuz

Psychology 101

What are they interested in hearing about?

Write me messages you guys, otherwise I don't think anyone checks out my blog.  What do you want to hear about (if anything?)  I am considering writing about shopping next (but need more photos) and then a bit about traveling maybe.  What else would you like to hear about?


xx,

Shanghaisuz

Wildlife in Shanghai

This week I thought I would write about the wildlife in Shanghai.  Those of you who know me well will be very clear on why there are not many pictures this week.  I am very wary of anything that has more legs than I do!  (Luckily I have not seen any spiders - yet!)

I mentioned the cicadas earlier.  They have died down somewhat and now very seldom begin their chorus.  However, there are plenty of other beasties to notice.  

Frogs?  Toads?  Whichever, there are plenty about and as you can see, they swim in the canal on occasion.  On land they are often around in the evening on the sidewalk, jumping swiftly into bushes as you walk by.  Unfortunately they are also  to be found very flat on the road as I walk to school!  Not pleasant - very dried up and very froggie.  

Speaking of canal swimmers, the other day Katrina was telling me she was walking home from school and she saw something swimming frantically in the canal.  At first she thought it was a cat, so she looked again and then thought it was a small dog.  Upon further inspection it turned out that it was the biggest rat she had ever seen.  Needless to say we are now very cautious walking at night with bushes either side of the sidewalk!

Mosquitoes are a fact of life here and I brought some strong repellant with me, which I have not even used.  I found that everyone I know has been bitten to death and they haven’t touched me!  Until yesterday, that is, and even then they don’t seem to do any damage, unlike the others who have big, red welts.  I am not sure what I have done to deserve the hiatus (because New Zealand sandflies eat me alive!) but they don’t seem to like me.  

In the evenings, all you need to do is walk outside to see the little bats flitting here and there.  They seem very friendly and sweet - only tiny, really.  As long as they know their place is in the sky and mine is not!

Wally

There are cats everywhere!!!  Many are tiny - only a matter of a week or two old and others a bit older, but by then generally thin and mangy-looking.  My friend was handed a tiny kitten by a little girl who then ran off.  She had taken it home and her mother would not let her keep it, so she was desperate to find a home for it.  Needless to say my friend could not bring herself to turf it out, so it has become “Wally” and a part of their family.  It took 3 adults, a child and an iPhone to find a vet for Wally’s first checkup, but that is another story!

There are a lot of pet dogs here in the compound but it is not a good idea to pat them as rabies is quite rife here.  

Last but not least I must sneak this in as it is not strictly wildlife.  I BOUGHT MY SCOOTER TODAY!!!!  It’s beautiful, isn’t it?  I must say I even went down to the basement tonight when I got home from a party, just to say good night and make sure it was still there.  It is electric and on full charge will go up to 70 kilometers in distance but until I feel more confident about the roads (and that could take years!!!!) I will only ride it to school and back or early in the morning before there is much traffic.  Traffic here is hectic and everyone turns on red lights every which way.

So, there you have it for this week.

xx,

Shanghaisuz