Today we had our first Chinese lessons. The class went for nearly an hour and we learned several words, but in the main learned the “initial” letters and the “final” letters and sounds of the Chinese language. Hard stuff.
Our class had 5 students – 3 Australians, one from America and one from Korea.
At the end of the class one of the staff came in to tell M2 and I that we are to be taken to the police station tomorrow afternoon, to check that we are indeed the persons on our passports.
(I wonder what they will make of me with my blonde hair – when my passport shows me with darker hair.)
Bit by bit we are settling in. I have had an email from another Aussie who is to join us in a couple of weeks.
Tuesday, 4 March 2008
Chinese Gardens about to burst forth in Spring bloom
This is the rose garden - with a few taller spikes of rose branches.It is obvious that Spring is in the air. Only 3 days into the new season, the plants are sprouting buds. The garden here is tended with great care, and is quite amazing for a school. The gardeners appear to be older gentlemen who spend hours in the gardens, and at this time they would be anxiously looking at their handiwork.
I find some quite strange things that I have not been able to understand. Why, for example do some of the trees have rope neatly wound around their trunks?
In one garden – photo here – looks like a garden of rocks – in an undulating pattern. At first glance it looks like just rocks, but closer inspection shows rows and rows of rose bushes. They may well be miniature roses, but they are pruned so that few are more than two or three inches above the soil. I can see the thorns.
In the last couple of days I’ve seen the reddish brown of new shoots on the roses – and I anticipate a spectacular display in the next month or so. Other plants that I don’t recognize are also starting to sprout new buds.
Along one of the canals in the school grounds are weeping trees, looking a little like the weeping willows that I knew as a child in Adelaide. These too are sprouting and when in full leaf will make a beautiful framing of the canal.
Everywhere there is new growth on plants, and I look forward to taking photos of the blooms that result.
I find some quite strange things that I have not been able to understand. Why, for example do some of the trees have rope neatly wound around their trunks?
In one garden – photo here – looks like a garden of rocks – in an undulating pattern. At first glance it looks like just rocks, but closer inspection shows rows and rows of rose bushes. They may well be miniature roses, but they are pruned so that few are more than two or three inches above the soil. I can see the thorns.
In the last couple of days I’ve seen the reddish brown of new shoots on the roses – and I anticipate a spectacular display in the next month or so. Other plants that I don’t recognize are also starting to sprout new buds.
Along one of the canals in the school grounds are weeping trees, looking a little like the weeping willows that I knew as a child in Adelaide. These too are sprouting and when in full leaf will make a beautiful framing of the canal.
Everywhere there is new growth on plants, and I look forward to taking photos of the blooms that result.
The view of the weeping trees beside the canal.
Busy City
The city of Shaoxing is a very busy city - with more than 4 million people. Downtown is always busy with cars, trucks, bicyles, scooters, tricycles and pedestrians all mixed in together.
I am sure there are road rules, but it is hard to tell if anyone knows them or takes them seriously. It is not uncommon to find a car driving on the wrong side of the road. (I must check and see if there is any licence requirements!)
When we cross a busy road we walk right out into the traffic and just hope everything goes around us. It is quite daunting!
In front of the shops and buildings are rows of bicycles and scooters, and some people take their scooters, bikes, right inside the office or shop!
At the college students go back and forth on bikes, or scooters - back and forth all the time.
I asked the students (and they are about 22 yrs old) if they drive a car. No, no. Only rich people have cars. Some of their parents do - but not young people here.
Sunday, 2 March 2008
English Names
The students in the college choose their own English names - so that their English teachers can write/understand their names. I'm not sure at which stage they choose their names, but suspect it is when they first start learning English.
They choose names for all sorts of reasons - some you'd hardly guess.
And they change them if they don't like them - or perhaps an English teacher has said that the name is not appropriate. Most of my classes have English names that I recognise, but it is not uncommon to find a name that is truly quite creative. I won't write them here - that is not fair, but I will say that some have named themselves after a vegetable, (you can guess who I call Spud), and numbers.
One young lady says her name with a slight French accent, and expects us to do the same as it is a French name.
On the first day I met the students, several of them announced their new English name. "Yesterday I was called ........... but from today I want to be called ............." which must be confusing for all their friends.
They choose names for all sorts of reasons - some you'd hardly guess.
And they change them if they don't like them - or perhaps an English teacher has said that the name is not appropriate. Most of my classes have English names that I recognise, but it is not uncommon to find a name that is truly quite creative. I won't write them here - that is not fair, but I will say that some have named themselves after a vegetable, (you can guess who I call Spud), and numbers.
One young lady says her name with a slight French accent, and expects us to do the same as it is a French name.
On the first day I met the students, several of them announced their new English name. "Yesterday I was called ........... but from today I want to be called ............." which must be confusing for all their friends.
Why English teachers are needed.
There are many reasons why English teachers are needed in China - Chinese businesses need to do business with the West, and the language difference is a challenge, so many Chinese students wish to study in English speaking universities, and the west needs good translations! In Australia we've all had equipment that comes with instructions that are curious - with translation that is confusing.
Let me explain what happened today. I wished to purchase a bottle of wine from the supermarket opposite the gates of the college. Most of the wine has Chinese characters all over it, but I found one that had some English. It is called "Exquisite Manor Redwine". I chose to purchase it.
In smaller printing the label says
"The wine was made of best grapes in the
world and with internal advanced technics.
Tasting best and delicious production.
Tlaborate brewing and classical making.
2002."
This is exactly what was on the label. Now it would mean little to a Chinese person with little or no English skills, and it is a mystery to an English speaker. I doubt if it was clear for any English speaker. The "T" on last line of writing clearly should have been an "E" and the claim that it is made of the best grapes in the world would be challenged by other grape growers I am sure.
I've yet to try it - but is bound to be a good drop!
Let me explain what happened today. I wished to purchase a bottle of wine from the supermarket opposite the gates of the college. Most of the wine has Chinese characters all over it, but I found one that had some English. It is called "Exquisite Manor Redwine". I chose to purchase it.
In smaller printing the label says
"The wine was made of best grapes in the
world and with internal advanced technics.
Tasting best and delicious production.
Tlaborate brewing and classical making.
2002."
This is exactly what was on the label. Now it would mean little to a Chinese person with little or no English skills, and it is a mystery to an English speaker. I doubt if it was clear for any English speaker. The "T" on last line of writing clearly should have been an "E" and the claim that it is made of the best grapes in the world would be challenged by other grape growers I am sure.
I've yet to try it - but is bound to be a good drop!
Saturday, 1 March 2008
Map showing Shaoxing
View Larger Map
This map will show you where Shaoxing is. We flew into Shanghai, which is to the right of the map, and drive through outskirts of the the city of Hangzhou, down to Shaoxing. It was good quality road/freeway all the way.
Many of the students come from Ningbo - apparently famous for seafood. One day I will visit there, I am sure.
Visit to restaurant in Shaoxing
On Friday nights it is a common occurrence that some of the foreign teachers meet and have dinner together. Last night a group of 9 of us ventured into the city for dinner at a restaurant that is known by our group as the Smiling Buddha - perhaps because of the gold Buddha with shiny tummy that sits in the foyer of this restaurant.
We caught the bus into the city, and followed our "leader" along narrow lane ways for quite some distance from the main street to the restaurant. It was quite dark in the lane ways except for the occasional electric light. It was of course the very old part of the city, and along the way we could look in to the little shops - some still with workers, or customers. We saw one man making what looked like a kapok mattress, and others were full of mechanical tools. Our group was walking very quickly, dodging cyclists and tricycles as we went. It would be good to walk through more slowly at some time.
The restaurant was on a main road - but our route was the short cut. (I might add that some of our group have been in China for a while - one of the men, a Canadian, has his own motor scooter and takes off on his own and has done for a couple of years and knows the streets well. His Chinese language skills are impressive too!)
This restaurant has been a favourite of the group - but they were surprised to see it full. There was no table for us. Eventually we were taken upstairs to tables to wait for a private room. Some of us were "selected" to go and order the food and I went along for the experience. There were some 60 dishes - all set on plates covered with cling wrap - all with Chinese characters of description and a price, and the idea is that you choose from the array. As well there were many boxes/aquariums with the live fish. Crabs, stingrays, prawns, and a whole array of fish that I could not identify.
Our team ordered after spending quite a lot of time trying to identify some of the foods on the plates. Some was quite obvious but others not - especially as this is a traditional Chinese restaurant.
We had not long returned to our waiting place when our room became available. A small room but we all squeezed in around the table, and as we arrived so did the food. There was no doubt that the restaurant was struggling to cope with its popularity - and the staff were obviously stressed.
However, the food kept coming and I tried all but a plate of egg (I don't eat eggs). We had plenty to eat, it was tasty and we could identify much of what we ate. When we finished we asked for the bill, and we all had to put in 40 Yuan - which works out to just over 6 dollars Australian. We also had enough left in kitty to get 3 taxi's back to the college.
Even at night the traffic in the city was chaotic - few vehicles have lights, and they seem to travel at the same chaotic pace as during the day. We saw our first "accident" - a taxi and a car had come together - there appeared to be little damage, but lots of abuse from both sides as they sorted it out. One of the fellows remarked that in all the time he had been in China that was the first accident he had seen. Which is surprising really.
We caught the bus into the city, and followed our "leader" along narrow lane ways for quite some distance from the main street to the restaurant. It was quite dark in the lane ways except for the occasional electric light. It was of course the very old part of the city, and along the way we could look in to the little shops - some still with workers, or customers. We saw one man making what looked like a kapok mattress, and others were full of mechanical tools. Our group was walking very quickly, dodging cyclists and tricycles as we went. It would be good to walk through more slowly at some time.
The restaurant was on a main road - but our route was the short cut. (I might add that some of our group have been in China for a while - one of the men, a Canadian, has his own motor scooter and takes off on his own and has done for a couple of years and knows the streets well. His Chinese language skills are impressive too!)
This restaurant has been a favourite of the group - but they were surprised to see it full. There was no table for us. Eventually we were taken upstairs to tables to wait for a private room. Some of us were "selected" to go and order the food and I went along for the experience. There were some 60 dishes - all set on plates covered with cling wrap - all with Chinese characters of description and a price, and the idea is that you choose from the array. As well there were many boxes/aquariums with the live fish. Crabs, stingrays, prawns, and a whole array of fish that I could not identify.
Our team ordered after spending quite a lot of time trying to identify some of the foods on the plates. Some was quite obvious but others not - especially as this is a traditional Chinese restaurant.
We had not long returned to our waiting place when our room became available. A small room but we all squeezed in around the table, and as we arrived so did the food. There was no doubt that the restaurant was struggling to cope with its popularity - and the staff were obviously stressed.
However, the food kept coming and I tried all but a plate of egg (I don't eat eggs). We had plenty to eat, it was tasty and we could identify much of what we ate. When we finished we asked for the bill, and we all had to put in 40 Yuan - which works out to just over 6 dollars Australian. We also had enough left in kitty to get 3 taxi's back to the college.
Even at night the traffic in the city was chaotic - few vehicles have lights, and they seem to travel at the same chaotic pace as during the day. We saw our first "accident" - a taxi and a car had come together - there appeared to be little damage, but lots of abuse from both sides as they sorted it out. One of the fellows remarked that in all the time he had been in China that was the first accident he had seen. Which is surprising really.
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