Teaching in Hangzhou

Then, we were left there......

We were on a huge college campus without any idea of where to go for anything.  My chinese is limited to "hello" and "thank you" - not very helpful at the moment :0)   so...

our first week in Hangzhou

We tried to connect to the internet, and failed.  We didn't know how to use the phone, and we had no idea where to buy food, so we went for a walk.  About half a mile away, we discovered the Wal-Mart of China = Wu-Mart!  (I know, great name :0)  We were able to get some basic things like water (can't drink the water here), soap, towels, and some noodles and fruit.

When we got back, we were lucky enough to meet an 'Aussie', a neat guy from Australia that had taught English here for a few years and knew what was going on.  He helped us get our internet and phone started, and helped us find the person who had our teaching schedule.

We were given our schedules, and Eric and I were assigned to teach one day a week for a few hours.  I was told that I would start teaching on the 18th, and Eric would start in 1 week on a friday.  We left feeling a little amazed about the teaching load, but decided we could easily find ways to fill our time.

After that meeting, we went out for a long walk (all walks here are long...), and came back later that evening to find a note "call me, you two are teaching in the morning".  hmmmmm.... That was a stomach sinker if there ever was one.  We called the Australian mediator, and he told us that they had just finished the teaching schedule, and it was drastically different than the one we were given earlier that day.  One thing that we have already learned (very quickly) is that you cannot plan anything in China.  Always be prepared for a change.  Our new schedule had us teaching 3 days a week and busing to the other college campus over an hour away.  The bus leaves at 7 a.m. and returns at 6 p.m., and there is no other transportation, so you are there all day!

We taught our first classes the next day, Monday, and they went very well.  We both teach Juniors and Freshman, and the Juniors spoke very good English.  Class size is about 30 with the majority being girls.

After the day of teaching, we had a few days off and discovered a music store within walking distance - yay!  We were able to find a cheap guitar (only $50) and will probably be visiting that store often.  We haven't been many other places yet.

Some amusing things....

A lot of the girls wear shirts with English words on them, but they aren't always spelled quite right...ex. instead of "we are the best friends", the shirt said "we ahe the bert fsiends" - !  I bought a shirt with these random words " at works   impact   hard times    it me no one"  Good for a smile!

It is very hard to find anything that is tall enough for us.  The brooms are so short that you have to bend very far to actually sweep with them.

We are also learning how to use chopsticks.  Sometimes successfully...sometimes not!  We have tried a huge variety of foods, from kalamari to tofu to something we had today that was a cross between meat and mushrooms.  The game is = guess what's on the plate!  At least rice is always normal :0)

There are water trucks that clean the street, and they play music very loudly.  That is helpful, so you don't get soaked, but the funny part is that suddenly it will play "happy birthday" or "london bridge".  Very odd to hear in China.

One not so funny thing...taxis.  They are cheap, but pretty much insane.  In China, you don't have to follow any driving rules - especially taxis.  One that we rode in yesterdy would never stay in one lane.  He always drove down the center to keep his options open.  He got us there quickly, but we are always thankful to have feet on solid ground after a taxi ride.

well...that's all I can think of from the one week of living here.  Will add more later!