Best week so far in China

Labour Day holiday in China was kinda crazy this last week. First of all, it caused all kinds of complications with the teaching schedule at work. However, we all ended up with the same days off, except me of course since no one has my weird schedule! At least I had two of the same days off out of three which never happens for me so I took advantage of this rare occurrence and spent those two days with people instead of by myself like most of my weekends. 

Enjoying some line dancing and square dancing during an inservice day at work last Saturday. Yeehaw!

Last Monday a group of people from my center took a trip to the nearby city of Hangzhou. None of us had ever traveled there before so it was brand new for all of us. It was also the first time out of the city for some of us, so that was pretty cool. I won't recount every detail because it was quite the adventure, but I will tell a few highlights. We spent most of the day exploring the area around the West Lake which is located in the middle of the city. I couldn't get over how lax the safety precautions were around the lake. I guess the Chinese are not as prone to suing if accidents occur. If you fall in the lake, it's your own fault! There were so many people there that I thought for sure someone would fall in just from all the jostling along the narrow paths, but I never saw it happen, not once! 

West Lake in Hangzhou

Not sure how I didn't fall in crossing this bridge but our whole group made it safely to the other side!

Me at the West Lake in Hangzhou

Barney is a coworker from Texas and has never met a stranger!

The Gang at the Lake

It was quite the ordeal getting back to the train station that evening. We had taken a boat ride to the island in the middle of the lake and when the boat dropped us back to the lakeshore, it did so on a different side from where we started. It took us awhile to figure out where we were and how to get back to a main road. We finally did make it to the train station after lots of walking and then a short taxi ride, which was quite the harrowing experience that included narrowly avoiding being part of a collision and almost running over a box that had fallen from the back of a bicycle in the middle of an intersection. Once at the station, we ended up having to wait two hours before our departure time at 10:41pm cause everyone else decided to head back to Shanghai too! We were on the train about 10 minutes outside Shanghai and the train stops. Still to this day we have no idea why the train stopped there but it did...for an hour. By the time we got back to the Shanghai train station, got a taxi and arrived home it was about 2:30am. Needless to say it was a long day but full of good times. I really enjoyed hanging with these coworkers and getting to know them better. We also figured out we traveled via five different types of transportation: metro, train, taxi, boat plus lots of walking. Yes, everything didn't always go as planned but no one was injured or emotionally scarred and we have this great story to tell about that time we went to Hangzhou on a holiday weekend!

Monument to the hardworking people of China

The next day, I hung out with my roommate Liz and coworker Barney on the actual Labour Day holiday. We were going to go to the Shanghai Museum but it was too crowded and decided to visit the Bund instead. Liz and I live almost right next to this famous area of Shanghai but I had not visited it yet. It was an overcast and misty day so we stopped at a Costa Coffee for awhile for hot beverages and good conversation. Then we went to a restaurant on a pretty cool lane of shops and eateries. Afterward we ended up walking around the city while it was quiet and peaceful in the late hours of the day. I've always wanted to do that in a big city! We eventually ended up on the street where we live so we walked home! I love that I am beginning to recognize street names and areas of this huge city. It also helps that we live near some really tall buildings that can be seen from just about anywhere!

The Bund crowded with people!

I received a package the next day mailed by my parents over a month ago but it did finally get here! It was wonderful to get something tangible from home. I talk and FaceTime with the family pretty regularly, but this was a nice surprise. It contained mostly toiletry items and things that are hard to come by in China, but my favorite item was a box of Starbucks Salted Caramel Hot Chocolate mix. It's my favorite drink at the Bux and it only comes out during the holiday season. It was awesomely wonderful to savor a cup the next morning. I will definitely treasure those packets in the coming months. Thanks Mom and Dad!

Remnants of a heavenly cup of Salted Caramel Hot Chocolate

I also had the best teaching day so far this last Saturday. I wasn't feeling the greatest but once the learners arrived the energy I needed arrived with them and we had some fun learning English! I'm learning that consistency is super important when it comes to classroom management especially with learners this young. I've never taught kids who are of preschool age but I'm starting to like it. I'm still getting to know these kids with their individual quirks and idiosyncrasies but they already hold a special place in my heart. As trainers we are supposed to sincerely welcome each learner as they arrive at the center. That is not hard for me to do when I have some of the cutest and sweetest Chinese children in my classes!

When class is over we line the kids up and take them back to the clubhouse which is like the lobby where the kids hang out before classes begin. Then one by one we call their names and their parent comes forward to get them. Well, on Saturday, my AT Coco and I were following this process with our last class of the day. One little boy caught sight of Mom and started running toward the exit. I tried to block his path by getting down to his level and telling him to be patient. He promptly turned to me, kissed me on the cheek, said "Bye!" and ran toward the exit. I was so surprised that I let him go! I caught Mom's eye and smiled at her to let her know it was fine and she shrugged as if to say "that's my little boy." The kids here can be affectionate but that usually translates into wanting to be close to you. They'll cuddle or hold your hand, but that was the first time I've been kissed by a learner! It still makes me laugh to think about it!

The mall where my center is located had a World Music Festival this weekend with different types of musicians from all over the world playing on the stage throughout the day. This was some sort of Eastern European band.

Indian musicians, singers and dancers

Looking back on this week, I realized that I had some good, in-depth, let's-get-to-know-each-other-below-the-surface conversations with some of the people I work with at Disney English. Anyone who really knows me has probably realized I'm better socially when it comes to one-on-one or small group interactions rather than large group settings. I would rather sit in a coffee shop having great discussions about people's lives and their beliefs and opinions than go hang out at a noisy bar or club with tons of people. Anyway, I really enjoyed getting the opportunity to deepen some relationships with my coworkers. People fascinate me with their different personalities, beliefs, family life, opinions, and reasons why they are the way they are. I especially like to find out how they arrived at this place in their life working for Disney teaching children English in Shanghai, China. It's interesting how similar the answers are from everyone I've asked. They love to travel and experience different cultures. They have taught before and thought it would be fun to try teaching for Disney. Why not move to China? They love change. We may be different from each other in many ways and come from all over the world, but we do have these traits I listed previously in common to bond us together. 


Yeah, reflecting back on this week, I have to say it was a pretty good one. Maybe even the best I have had so far in China. It will be interesting to see what happens in the coming weeks...