The Hotel

I'd booked the hotel on line. I had given them my name. When we arrived we assumed that we both had to give our passports to the reception when booking in, but they took only S's. Despite that I paid the bulk of the deposit, they ignored me. Everything was in her name. It was no problem really, but I was amused about that. We had to pay cash deposit - enough for two nights stay even though we were only staying one night. There was one staff member who spoke English - the rest were very polite but could say little more than hello, welcome. But as usual we managed, and soon were on our way to our room on floor 7.

We had the cards to get into our room, but try as hard as we could we couldn't get the door to open. So S went down stairs to reception and soon we had a young lass who did it easily. The room was quite nice and had all we needed. We initially had trouble getting to know the switches but soon we had it all worked out. We lay on the beds and watched TV for a short while before deciding to go and find a meal. I went to the restaurant and tried to fathom the Chinese menu - no one spoke English.

It was one of the restaurants that had plenty of the dishes available on display. They looked pretty unappetising. Right in the middle of the display was an ox skull - complete with teeth. It did nothing to enthuse us about the food!

So we decided to go out into the street and find something! We found lots of shops, street vendors and restaurants, but not a word of English anywhere. We found a great little gift shop and enjoyed looking around. Was tempted to buy a lamp that was for sale. It was about 15 inches high, a little man with the lamp a hat, but the switch was the little man's penis! How we laughed! There were Santa hats which promised that the stars would light up - the stars on the white "fur" of the hat - but when I asked how it switched on, as I was going to buy some, the staff opened every packet and not one of them worked. So in the end I bought nothing.

We found a few really good dress shops - designed and made locally, but none of course to fit either of us!

We kept looking for a restaurant and went in a couple, but with no English speaker, or menu, we quickly retreated!

We found a supermarket and bought a bottle of white wine - but then realised that we did not have a corkscrew, and using hand signals tried to get the directions to where they might be on sale. "Wait a moment" we were told and one of the staff members scurried away. About 8 staff members stood by us, smiling, until the lady appeared with a small promotional corkscrew - a freebie! Shie Shie.

So back out into the street to find food. In the end we decided to try our hotel and room service. Much drama as the menu for room service in our room was out of date. Not only were the things we pointed to not available, other things were expensive. In the end we ordered - the pork and chilli was good, and the vegetable, but "minced crab" - was chopped raw crab and we couldn't eat it.

But we had enough to eat and our glass or two of wine! More television and a fairly early night. Our room was wonderfully warm - but outside it was near freezing point.

Going to Ningbo

My friend and I had planned to go to Ningbo for the weekend. It is closer to the coast from here, and a very pretty city. I had been before - and was looking just to get away. However, our two nights became one night away when the faculty changed the dates for the examiantions. Instead of being in the week commencing January 5th, they are not the week commencing December 15th, so I have a lot of work to do this weekend.

Sue and I were just about to leave my apartment on Friday midday when a student arrived. He was going to be in my apartment while the repairman fixed the toilet. It was with a little fear and trepidation that I left - wondering what I might find when I returned. Another flood?

Anyway we had train tickets, and a hotel booking, so bravely left. We caught a taxi to the station - woman driver which is rare, and we had a good run to the station.

The waiting room looked a mess - it is now a construction site. They seem to be demolishing part of it - hopefully extending it and putting in modern toilet facilities one would hope. We were waitng not far from the screened off area when a great crash was heard and bricks and rock came crashing down close behind the screen. We moved as far away as we could!

Soon we were being called and had to go on the station, down stairs and under the tunnel and back up the other way to the other platform. Soon the train came and we had to climb stairs up into the train. The train was full - and there were people in our seats and we had to move them on!

As it turned out one of the students was in the next seat and she and I chatted for most of the trip, and I kept watch on the changing scenery. There were a lot of farms along the way - many rice fields being harvested or the stubble being burned. Small carts were loading the stalks and in some fields there were neat little stacks. These are used for heating during winter, so most will be taken from the fields within the next few weeks. There are still some fields that need harvesting and cleaning up.

All along the way are vegetable gardens - so many green vegetables have been planted on small plots of land, up over mounds and on neat flat beds. Some are under plastic hothouses already. On both sides of the railway line there are farms, villages, and along here quite a few duck farms too and often the ducks are happily swimming in the ponds near their sheds.

It is less than two hours between Shaoxing and Ningbo, but there are two cities in between. One we pass is Shangyu - which I visited earlier this year to pick yang mei, and the other is Yuyao which I have not visited. Both quite bustling cities. Shangyu is the city of umbrellas and has 1000 umbrella factories!

We were soon at Ningbo, and scrambled out with everyone else. There is a hotel opposite the station and we made our first port of call there - it has a nice coffee lounge and western toilets!

We indulged in some fruit cake. Now what we call fruit cake and the Chinese restaurants call fruit cake is quite different. It was a delightful chocloate cake with fruit on top of the icing and in the middle with cream. Odd, but nice anyway!

All refreshed we went out into the street to find a taxi. There was a taxi rank just along from the hotel, and there were a few men trying to get us to get into little trucks - but we stood our ground and eventually caught a taxi to the hotel that we were booked into. The hotel brochure says "5 minutes from bus and train station" - what a joke! It was more like 20 minutes!

Anyway we were glad to see it and book in!

Water water

I went to the office and reported a few things that are in need of repair in my apartment.

• the toilet - the ceramic toilet bowl seems to regularly "come adrift" but this time water (or something) is leaking when I flush or the people in the apartments above flush.
• my telephone is irritating - when I use the '3' button it sticks, and I have to cancel my dialing and start again. Nearly all phone numbers I have to dial have 1, 2 or 3 '3's, so it is annoying.
• the television has not worked properly since I have been here. In fact I have not watched any television program in 3 months.
• the washing machine is in its death throes. It is about 10 years old and barely works. I have to bang it to make the spin dryer work.

I usually get a call that a repair man is coming, but today I did not. In fact the cleaning lady came at 11.40 am and I went to a friends apartment to wait until the cleaning was done, but when I returned to the apartment, the toilet bowl was being repaired but there was water everywhere. Eventually the toilet bowl was glued into place, and the cleaning lady cleaned up and the repair man left.

Then I heard the sound of running water. The bathroom was awash - a tap behind the cistern was leaking. Badly. I phoned to get the repairman to return, but so far he has not. This is some 4 hours later. One of the other teachers came to turn it off - and said it didn't turn off - the tap was broken. I am still waiting for the repairman!

Though the tap has not leaked for a few hours now. Drained the system??? Who knows.

Christmas Carols

The supermarkets have turned on the Christmas spirit - staff are wearing Santa hats complete with Merry Christmas on the front, and there are Christmas decorations appearing. I bought a small plastic treet today for just 5.5 RMB - less than a $A1. As we did our shopping we could hear "All I want for Christmas is my two front teeth" - words which have little meaning for the shoppers here. Christmas Carols are being played over the loud speaker system in all the shops here.

Quite odd really.

The temperature is very low - in fact due to be -4 on Friday and Saturday. Snow? Maybe. Not likely really.

I was also told today that Exams will be held before Christmas and not AFTER as we had been told, so we will have a very busy time in the next few weeks.

Never say Goodbye.

Last night I was a guest judge at a student Drama Festival. I hate doing this - especially when I have to make a judgement about a performance where I don't understand a word. Some of the plays were in English, but most of the ten were in Chinese, so it is hard, but luckily I gave my top mark to the eventual winner. "Beauty and the Wild Animal" (Beast maybe?)

As we were waiting for the team to add up the judges' marks - there were 8 or 9 judges - it was announced that one of the students wanted to sing to Dianna as they call me here.

Up on stage she let forth in a wonderful rendition of "Never Say Goodbye" - and the students and other teachers spoke to me afterwards as they are already sad that I am not returning after the end of the semester. A bit emotional for me too - I had to fight back tears.

English speaking

I went into the city today - I had another parcel to send to Australia, so arrived at the bus stop with a big bag ready to go to China Post in Shaoxing. At the bus stop a Chinese man spoke in perfect English (actually it wasn't quite perfect - he had an American accent!)

He was visiting Shaoxing - staying with family for two months. He was from San Francisco and he and I chatted. He wanted to know where I was from and what I was doing in Shaoxing. He was very curious when I used my bus pass on the bus - he had thought I was a visitor until then! "I've been living here" I told him. So I had to tell him I liked China, and the food. Usual questions.

In China Post it was easier to send my parcel than all my visits before. This time they didn't search my parcel but found a box to put it in, sealed it, and I went to the payment section and filled out the forms. Right next to me was an elderly gentleman, sending cards to family in Beijing and Shanghai. "How are you?" he asked. In very good English.

Again a little chat. He pointed out the "elephant" on his envelopes.

So off to the dressmaker - I had some alterations and decided to get a jacket made. Several Chinese ladies came into the shop and though they spoke not a word of English we "communciated" and they approved my choice of fabric and style. Nothing private here!

Then to a little coffee shop we have found in a narrow lane. Jack owns the shop and his assistant Mary was there. Mary is a graduate of Yuexiu and she wanted to talk in English, so we had quite a chat over my cup of coffee.

At the supermarket I had to put my previous purchases in a locker and an elderly gentleman who spoke no English helped me and even offered to pay the 1 Yuan for me. It was refunded after I returned the key and collected my parcel, and he refused my offer to give it to him.

Back on the bus for the return home and a young man spoke with me. "Are you a foreign teacher at Yuexiu?" "Yes."

He is a Freshman (first year student) here and walked home from the bus carrying my parcel.

One of the other teachers and I remarked that we are finding more English speakers, or perhaps some are just more confident to speak with us. I don't know, but it is refreshing. Nice to know we can go out and hear some English.

Eggs anyone?

In the back streets and lanes behind old Shanghai there are little stalls everywhere. Some stall holders squeeze into a tiny space and make a regular business work from premises so small you wonder how they even move in the space.

Some just "open shop" on the roadway - but thousands of people pass - it is continual traffic, so these little businesses seem to thrive.

This egg man sold all sorts of eggs - chicken, duck, quail and others. An array of colours and sizes neatly in the boxes on the pavement outside another little shop.

Full marks to Chinese people - they seem to find a niche - and manage a small, and possibly lucrative business without many overheads.