From a Texas Y'all to the Chinese Wall: September 2013

Hello!

First of all, I apologize for not blogging more! Hopefully things will begin to settle down and I will get in to a better routine.

Here's what you've missed (bullet points first)

Goodbye Dinner with all the Cornel Teachers
Went to Hong Kong to get my Visa
Arrived in Fuzhou, moved in to the apartment, and started teaching
Went back to Hong Kong for my Visa
Teacher's Day in China

(pictures of everything at the bottom)

Hong Kong: Part 1
We (Erin and I) left Taichung on August 28th to go to Hong Kong to get our Work Visas for China. We were supposed to be able to go, drop off all of our paperwork, and pick it up the next day. In the meantime, we planned to explore. Well, Murphy's Law happened. If something (related to our Visas) could go wrong, it did. China required (keep the past tense in mind later during Hong Kong: Part 2) people getting Work Visas to have a Physical Health Exam done. We got them done in the States, had them notarized by local and State notary's and approved by the Chinese Consulate in Houston. For those of you who weren't firsthand witnesses to the saga, let's just say it was stressful. Fast forward back to Hong Kong. Those documents weren't accepted. We had to get the exam done in Hong Kong or China. We eventually just got a 30 day visitor Visa and planned to do the health exam in China.

Putting all of the Visa mess aside though, Hong Kong was wonderful! We went on a beautiful sunset dinner cruise around Victoria Harbor and my boots made their Asian debut! I got a lot of envious looks as I walked around. :]

Key differences between Taiwan and Hong Kong

Hong Kong drivers, walkers, and cyclers all do so on the opposite side of the road
While the MTR is big in Taiwan, it wasn't everywhere. In Hong Kong though, the MTR was the main way to get anywhere
There are many more harbors and ferries in Hong Kong (at least in a more condensed area)

Fuzhou (pronounced fu-joe)
We arrived in Fuzhou around 2:30am Saturday (31st), and had a meet the parents at 9:00am that day! It was fun meeting the parents though. Most of them could not speak English, so we would explain the curriculum and then it would be translated. It was interesting being on that side of the situation.

School has been interesting. Traditional Chinese schools (at least Kindergartens) are pretty similar to U.S. schools in the fact that they strive for structure, but allow for fun. Upper Chinese school may be different, but I have no experience with that, so I won't say one way or another. Our school though takes on a new approach. It is a Montessori type school, meaning they encourage exploration, creativity, curiosity, and discovery. I don't have any experience in teaching this way, so it's been interesting to say the least, but I am willing to learn.

Here are the logistics of my class:
-I only teach in the afternoon (my class is a pull out English class, so they are from many different Chinese classes. In the morning, I will be teaching at a public elementary though)
-I don't have a classroom (I did take over the science room in the afternoons though)
-I have 10 kids on my roster, but will be getting more. Only 1 of the 10 can somewhat communicate with me at this point.
-I have no Chinese teacher/translator, so if a kid is saying something to me in Chinese, it could be anything from "you're the best Teacher Jodi!" to "you are talking to fast" to "you look silly and I won't listen." Really, the sky is the limit with my class.
-I teach a multi-aged class, meaning my kids are between the ages of 2.5-almost 6 years old.

I will definitely learn a lot this year and be prepared for much more when I return to the States!

Everyone at the school is very helpful and nice. They also want to take us to see places and to do different things. One of the Chinese teachers (Lim) took us to the park to go dancing. Here is a video.

So crazy! At one point I was dancing with a different, slower, older group and Erin looked down and said I stood out really bad! This could have been for many reasons. Maybe it was my white shirt; maybe it was because I was at LEAST a step behind everyone; it was probably because I was the ONLY foreigner down there. :]
Once again though, there were some ladies who went out of their way to include us in it.

It has definitely been harder here than in Taiwan. We aren't around any other foreigners(one of the two that I have met was actually born in Ennis!! What a small world!!) and people aren't used to foreigners. They are learning how to relate to us just as we are learning to relate to them and live in their world. I know that at the end, it will be worth it though!

We know that suffering produces perseverance; perseverance, character; and character, hope.

It is already better though, because my flags and pictures are hanging proudly!!

Hong Kong: Part 2
We went back to Hong Kong with every piece of paperwork the Chinese Consulate could possibly need and even made copies of it all just to be on the safe side. We walked in and were told that we had the old forms (even though we got forms less than a week before), so we filled them out and waited. When it was my turn, I gave the lady all of my papers, she shuffled through them and handed me all the copies back as well as my Physical exam that I had redone in China. I told her that she needed it (because everyone loves being told what they need for their job...) and she said that she didn't. So I made sure she knew that I wanted a work Visa, and she said that as of September 1st (two days after we were there the first time), they no longer require physical examination. In these types of situations, there are many ways to react.
1. Cry
2. Get angry and yell
3. Burst out in laughter, causing other to question whether you are ok or not.
I chose #3.
Even though loads of stress was essientially for nothing, it makes me appreciate my Visa and my passport has become even more valuable to me!

The rest of our time in Hong Kong was great, once again. We went to The Peak and saw a 360* view of Hong Kong. Being able to see the whole island was amazing!

We also went to Cheung Chau, an outlying island, by ferry. As we were hiking a trail on the way to see a cave, we walked past some huge rocks. My natural instinct was to climb them, so I did. That was the prettiest view by far! It was also a view that I am sure not many people get, probably because they know NOT to climb the rocks.
On the way back from the island, we sat outside on the deck of the ferry. In that moment, with no building, no smog, surrounded by the ocean, and seeing stars for the first time in a long time, I felt extremely comfortable and at home. I suppose that you can take the girl out of the country, but can't take the country out of the girl.

This whole experience has really opened my eyes to how people act around new, strange people. There are many responses when you see something/one new or different.
1. You stare. When the new person smiles or says hello, you can:
(a) smile,
(b) look them up and down, or
(c) keep staring.
2. You smile.
3. You smile, say hello, and begin a conversation (lots of gesturing).
I hope that I am and will always be someone who smiles, says hello, and tries to make them feel a little bit more comfortable and a little less out of place. I know that I have definitely appreciated it.

I promise to keep trying to post more frequently, and hopefully now that I am settled in, I will be able to do so.

Love y'all! Thanks for reading and sorry it is so long!

The School

My "Classroom"

WanDa Plaza
There is a WALMART HERE!!

This is what happens when you order food without being able to ask how many people it serves...

My Room

Aside from the greatness of the flags, please notice the quilt, which my grandma made for the trip, and the pillowcase, which my great aunt made for the trip!