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February 27, 2010: It seems almost silly to think that my last post wasn't since my birthday... however, things are just so new and fast paced over here in China, that I must apologize for neglecting this blog. I'm also not sure that anyone is really reading this, but for the sake of interest and maybe one day looking back on this for my own interest, I will attempt to recap and keep a few more stories and photos from my past 3 months!! December was a busy month, full of festivities and preparing for our first Open House. The weather was pretty cool (10 degrees) and it felt a LOT colder inside of our stone palace apartments that don't have any insulation. Vanessa and I took a trip into Shiqauo to buy warm/fleezy type clothes. (China slippers, little dogs, and Hello Kitty blankets*) We had our own little Christmas celebration at Clifford on the 20th of December, before we left for Thailand on the Wednesday, December 23rd. Thailand was a LOT of fun!!! It was not even close to Christmas-like, but it was still great to explore a warm country at Christmas time. We spent the first few days on Koh Phi Phi island (after an over night stay in the Bangkok airport, and a ferry ride to the island) we were all really glad to relax in the sun and had a fabulous little resort hotel with a pool over looking the bay. Lovely! Spent Christmas day on the beach with our 'buckets' and watched the fire skippers and danced in the sand/ even sang the Canadian national anthem with a couple of friendly Canadians we met. There was a big group of us teachers at this point, Megan, Melanie, Mike, Josh, Stacey, Terri and Jeremy, and Kristy. Fun times! Back to China for the month of January ~ and this was only for 4 weeks... quite the whirlwind of exams and trip prepping for Australia!!!! Chinese New year break was from January 29th - February 22nd. Vanessa & I left for Brisbane, Australia on the Friday (29th) evening. After a night flight that was just over 8 hours, we were pleasantly surprised to discover the warm, sunny skies (and they actually were BLUE!!! not white/full of smog) ahhh Brissy! We spent a few days there, including an overnight camping trip to Moreton island, before we left for Byron Bay. We met up with 4 other girls from school - Katie, Monica, Caitlin and Holly. So glorious to be at the beach again!!! Byron was full of hippie/backpackers and yet upper class villa dwellers too. A nice mix, and not so over done (aka Surfers*) I really liked the atmosphere at Byron. Vanessa & I got our noses pierced there on our last day ... it was raining, but we'd been thinking about this since Grad 2009, and this seemed like the perfect chance! Then we flew to Sydney (all 6 of us girls), and stayed there for about 5 nights. We did various outdoor adventures including a trip to Manly island, Bondi beach, and the Blue Mountains. One of my highlight days of the trip was the day Vanessa, Monica and I went to the Opera house to see Manon. We were in the 2nd row, and I could understand everything in French!!!! The costumes were amazing, and it was just overall a super sweet day!



November 29, 2009: I can't believe I haven't had a chance to write since my last trip to HK... and now I've just come back from my 2nd Hong Kong experience. This time we went to Disneyland for my birthday!!! It was a nice change to go on Friday after school (with a small group of 6 girls) and then we got 2 nights in HK. The park was much smaller than in Florida, however they had great shows and even my favourite ride "Space Mountain". It was fun to find a Canadian pub called "The Keg" where we actually found Cesars & had some appetizers too. After some shopping on Sunday we headed back for Clifford Estates. And tomorrow it's back to teaching... On November 26th (my actual birthday) a big group of us teachers went out for sushi. Then Vanessa had baked me a black forrest cheesecake & I even had some gifts, 2 letters from home and some tea with our cake. It was a bit weird talking and emailing with family & friends from Canada, (now the other side of the world for me) but thanks so much for all the wonderful wishes* This week is already Winter/Christmas theme and December is going to be a quick month I think : there's so much to do!!! While it doesn't really feel like Christmas, I am thankful for some small touches that make it feel a bit more realistic. I have put up some decorations in my apartment, some lovely cards came from Brooke & Dylan, Ginny & Laurie too* Also, I have set up some advent candles and brought out my stocking. Today (while shopping in Hong Kong) we found some good supplies for Christmas baking, Vanessa and I made Christmas lists for each other and we bought the Steve Bell "Feast" Christmas album on-line. So things are coming together ... but I miss you all,... and eventually it will snow in Winnipeg, & this is my first Christmas without snow. (sniff) I am serious, I will miss it. Happy preparing for the season!





November 9, 2009: Well it's the start to another week... and I am happy to say that I have now been to Hong Kong. What a fabulous city - it felt a lot different than most of China that I've experienced so far, almost like London. There are trams and double decker buses everywhere, and the subway even speaks in English "mind the gap". It was a bit of an early Saturday morning start, but I slept on the ferry and we were able to get there by 10:30a.m. (about 2.5 hrs from Clifford) After clearing customs, and a quick Starbucks and exchanging some money stop in the station, we headed for the shopping. Vanessa & I dropped our stuff off at our friends' hotel where everyone was meeting up later on for supper and going dancing. We celebrated the November birthdays - two girls had the same date Nov. 9th and mine (yup... it's coming up!). I bought a few things at H&M - western prices of course, and we even found a specialty food store that carries regular RICE CAKES!! I was so excited - seems odd, but you can't find them anywhere : it's all sugared and weird. If you had a gluten free diet I'm sure this would make sense. Anyway, after a short night and a Sunday morning of strolling in Victoria park - we were headed back for home. It was hilarious to see pretty much everyone out from the night before (young & older folks alike*) making their way aboard the ferry. We pretty much took up the whole back section of the boat. (just to be clear this is not a big ferry, quite a bit smaller than BC ferries that I've been on - but it was just for passengers and very speedy!) The trip home took a bit less time because we took a different route and now I'm feeling pretty good about plans for my birthday weekend in Hong Kong. I think I'll be able to navigate a lot better, I have an octopus card (for the metro/subway) and a map!



October 30th, 2009: Our school puts on a huge Halloween party for all the parents, children and extended family and this year it landed on Friday Oct. 30th. It was quite the show! Since 7:30a.m. there were many excited parents lined up with their children in costume to kick off the day with a cat- walk show. (starting to get the idea - we have at least 1 or 2 cat walks per month for whatever occasion, October was crazy hair day + Halloween cat walks*). Vanessa & I picked a nice and easy costume: Greek goddesses. Toga! The high school party had been on Thursday, so by the time we left my school on Friday evening we headed straight for a massage. The rest of our weekend flew by with a trip into Guangzhou for supper on Saturday, and a day of relaxing and our last day to swim outside at our clubhouse pool. (they close now for winter until May - which is too bad, because it's still 26degrees out and sunny*) This week I have an observation lesson on Thursday which Mr. Ben Yu will come watch - he's not even a teacher, but he gets to decide which of us can have a job next year if we want it* My kids are working on animals, and we'll be doing a lesson on rabbits and carrots - they made bunny ears already and will be very cute! On Friday we are going for a field trip to The Impression garden, historical Chinese village, in Guangzhou. Busy, busy : helps the time to fly!



October 25th, 2009: Dear friends & family I am sorry that my blog seems to have died for the past 3 weeks.... well I am back and hoping that you'll be able to check this site again! Since coming back from holidays in South Korea, there hasn't been too much excitement: report cards, shopping, getting a costume for Halloween, oh and I guess we did finally visit a beach on Saturday October 24th!!! It was near Hong Kong (a city called Shenzen, which has 2 famous beaches). This was quite an adventure that Vanessa & I just launched into. We had spent the morning at the post office getting parcels sent home for Christmas, and then by the time we got some coffee and figured out the bus it was 3:30pm by the time we got to Shenzen station. (1.5hrs on the bus*) Then we just grabbed a taxi and with the help of my phrase book said "to the beach". This was kinda silly because we had no idea how far it was to the beach, or where we really were.... Well half an hour later (which felt like eternity as we drove through the lovely mountainous highway and sloped down to the water), we finally arrived at the Seashore park. The waves were so great - the water was warm... and the sand wasn't dirty!!!! Ahhhh.... it was well worth the trek, even if the sun goes down at 6:30ish. I've never been to the beach in October : I loved it!

 October 10, 2009: Well the holidays have ended & I am back to school teaching (yes on Friday and Saturday the Kindergarten teachers have to work because we can't have too many days off in a row...*) Sunday I will take it easy and try to rest up before heading into a busy week of my first portfolios & individual reports. Vanessa & I had a great time in South Korea! We spent three days with my friend JooEun, who lives about 40minutes from Seoul, and we went shopping, touring the big city seeing traditional Korean houses and a palace, and even saw a movie in English! Seoul is a beautiful big city (about 20 million), and we also visited the N. Seoul tower (sort of like their version of the Eiffel tower - they love Paris / French things!) which gave a great view of the huge city. Then we took a bus (luxury style with huge chairs that reclined fully) out to the E. coast town of Sokcho. This lovely city is on the ocean and surrounded by mountains. It was soo beautiful! We even climbed Mt. Seorak (867 m. above sea level) and also drove to the N. Korean border look out point. We visited a few Buddhist temples and enjoyed finding seashells on the beach. The weather was fall-like for a change (so nice!) and we noticed that the Korean maple leaf also turns red - but it's a bit smaller than our Canadian version. Tomorrow we will celebrate Thanksgiving with a potluck meal with some friends in our apartment. Vanessa is hosting the supper, and making cabbage rolls & pumpkin pie. I am bringing a gluten free dessert (caramel popcorn) and some corn on the cob. We also have some salads, mashed potatoes, and ice cream for the pie. JooEun's mom sent along some really great plum juice & we are planning to find some spritz to make it into a bubbly type of drink. Happy Thanksgiving to everyone and enjoy your mid-autumn celebrations! September 30th, 2009 : Happy Moon Festival! There was a lot of excitement at school today about the October holiday... and Vanessa & I are off to explore S. Korea. The Qi pao (chi-pow*) show was a full morning event, but the kiddies looked soooo cute! Just loving these China babies :)

September 20,2009: Well it's been a full past week! The weekends are always over soo quickly: this is our chance to explore China outside of the Clifford Estates and there's so much to see. Last weekend I had Chinese tea with my school helpers, (who are also teaching me Chinese) and got to try some chicken feet* It's apparently a specialty here for keeping a woman's skin clear and fresh looking. The school routine is getting better, and we have almost all of our kids coming for a full day now without too much screaming.* The H1N1 virus has kept many students at home due to fevers or being sick, and the students are monitored closely each day. So far I've only been battling a bit of a sinus cold. I try to stay active (running around the lake, and dance class on Monday & Wednesday nights) and we've also started playing volleyball on Fridays after school. There is a lot of great food here, and it's so affordable! Here's to staying fit and having fun :) Cheers* September 12th, 2009: On Thursday we celebrated Teacher Appreciation day and I was surprised with flowers, cards and some chocolate! (all of my favourite things*) On Friday there was a dessert buffet for all the Kindergarten teachers, and we also received a small bit of money (like equal to 7$ but it's nice:) and two coupons for massages - feet/which includes back and shoulders, or full body. Pretty nice! This pas week was much better and towards the end of it there were moments where my kids weren't crying and we actually had a peaceful classroom. We're starting our "All About Me" theme this next week, and the themes usually last for about 6 weeks. We also started extra classes, and this included gym with a big water fight (Wednesday). Dylan & Anne eating lunch Jacob - cutest boy with the chubby cheeks! I am enjoying my nicely furnished apartment, and especially the balcony on the 27th floor - yikes! My small kitchen is really practical and I enjoy cooking my own meals mostly... although going out to eat is really affordable here too. I have an Ahhee (local woman who cleans and cooks) once a week, but so far I haven't asked her to cook for me yet; this might be tempting once school gets going and life is even more busy! Some of the local scenes during the afternoon when it is insanely hot and some of the local groundskeepers are doing the chores. I was walking by on my way to school for the afternoon when I saw these guys - gotta love those straw hats and at least they are close to water! The markets here are full of many different foods, including lots of interesting meat... it's best to go earlier in the day, and breathe through your mouth to avoid the smells that develop after meat has been sitting out in the heat and humidity. It's been a week since last Monday when we arrived here at Clifford (about 2:45 a.m.) and crashed in our incredibly beautiful apartments. I have gotten used to the firm mattress, and spacious King-sized bed. It has taken a while to settle in and fully unpack due to all the meetings and adaptations to life in China, but so far things have been mostly good. I was surprised to discover that I will be teaching Kindergarten 1 - which means 3 year olds, and is basically pre-school. I had been told otherwise, but it seems that things have changed and I am working on accepting this new role. I do have a brand new classroom, with it's own washrooms, food center, my desk (new computer) and even a piano! I hope to use music and many dances and games in my classroom to help keep the children happy and excited to be in school for such a long day!! For the first few weeks we have a slightly different schedule, but soon these children are expected to be in school from about 7:30am until 5:00 p.m. Of course there is a long nap break and lunch/snack in that time (I get to have a 3 hour lunch break*) but I'm sure there will be many challenges ahead, and I have already met some of my students so I know that there will be some crying for the first little while... 



Classroom update : I am very grateful to be living here at Clifford Estates with such an awesome peer group of fellow Manitoba teachers. I had planned on coming with my good friend Vanessa (from our days of working at MB Pioneer camp, and traveling to Europe in 2007), but I am also thankful for other teachers I know from my graduating class at UofM (Terri, Megan, Josh, Mike, Stacey, and Melanie), who were on the 3 flights it took to get here - and helped me to stand when my stomach took a dive near our landing in Beijing. Flying for many hours, turbulents and I do not get along! It's been nice to have other friends here in China as we adjust to culture and time zones, and our new teaching jobs all in the space of one week. Tomorrow we will all be assembling at the main Clifford School for a welcome ceremony by Mr. Clifford Pang himself; not everyday that you get to shake a multi-billionaire's hand! My Kindergarten class is in an entirely new and separate building - just a short 5 minute walk from the apartment*, and I will be headed back there after a school lunch for more classroom preparations and meetings with parents. So far I have been able to come up with a few Western names that people like - Anne, Christy, David and Leo. I am helping the parents to choose names that they like, and some of them come with their own ideas : like Metis and Cruc. I have tried to voice my curiosity and uncertainty, but somehow they have picked them out beforehand and seem very decided. Interesting. I think this week I have really learned that in order to have the most fulfilling experience in China, I will need to learn to accept a lot of new things, but also to make decisions and move with confidence. This precarious balance will be difficult to maintain everyday, and I have no doubt that I will learn and grow a LOT this year. Thanks for keeping in touch and following along ~ I think this promises to be a very fun-filled and adventurous year!! Peace, Vanessa and I took a trip to the wet market on Saturday afternoon. There's a lot of great fruits and veggies for really cheap prices!! I bought a salad spinner from Ikea on the weekend too, and it's definitely a key kitchen item for me ;)