Emergency Meeting

So last week was the start of my three new night classes. It was honestly one of the most miserable teaching experiences I've ever had. Not that I've really had many teaching experiences...

Anyway, the guys in my night classes were super inappropriate and no one in the class actually wanted to be there. If the students weren't talking to each other, they were doing homework for another class.

Then there was my 100 person class... not only did those students not want to be there, no one spoke a lick of English! They didn't even understand the question "How are you?" or "Where are you from?" I was at a complete loss for how in the world I could teach 100 students for 2.5 hours English when they couldn't even speak English!

So, long story short, I emailed my boss back in the states about my situation (mainly the inappropriate boys, men rather, they are 22 and 23) and the school held an emergency meeting and canceled my night classes!

I am so relieved that I don't have to teach those classes anymore. I absolutely love teaching my other 5 classes during the day. My students are awesome and love coming to class, which makes me feel great!

Question Master

Yesterday I taught my first freshmen english speaking class! I feel like it was just yesterday that I was taking my first Chinese class as a freshmen. I remember how nervous I was, so I can't imagine how nervous my students were! Especially since I only used English!

They have all been taking English for over 7 years, except they really don't understand much, which was a surprise to me.

I had them fill out information cards that said, "One thing I want to work on this year is:______" "Two topics I want to learn about this semester are______" And they had a very hard time understanding those two phrases. After a lot of explaining, they finally got it!

The Dean of the English department here felt it necessary to tell one girl in my English class that I majored in Chinese, so that girl told the rest of the class and they all asked me if I would speak Chinese to explain things. I told them no, unless they all gave me blank stares. I was so annoyed that the Dean told them I majored in Chinese. I just really don't want them to fall back on the fact that they know I can explain something in English. I want them to challenge themselves!

I had an entire powerpoint set up for class, get to the class and there is NO projector, which took me by complete surprise considering the other 3 classes I teach in the same building all have a projector in the classroom. So with 10 minutes till class started, I had to completely scramble to figure out how to do my class without a projector. So I decided the chalkboard was my only option.... NO CHALK. Ran down the hall to find chalk... NO ERASER... asked a student to have one of their tissues as an eraser (they all laughed so hard...)

Anyway, long story, sort of short, class went great! I love my freshmen, they are all still so innocent and sweet. They thought I was married but then told me I looked 16 and didn't believe me when I told them I was 22. Why they thought I was married but only 16, I will never know...

After class I worked on my lessons for today. My public speaking class that I've had for the past 2 weeks is doing their family speeches today. I am so excited to hear them all! After that class is over I have an hour break and then start my first night class from 7-9:30. Should be interesting! I've planned a lot of different games that involve them talking a lot, so hopefully it goes well.

Last night I was asked to be a judge for the speech contest on the main campus (which is the campus I teach on and live on). I am the only foreign teacher on this campus so I was the only foreign teacher judge, which therefore meant, I was the "Question Master". So after each speech (there were 17), I had to ask the student a question. Which seems sort of easy.... but it was so hard considering I couldn't understand or follow half of them! Then at the break I was the entertainment. I did tongue twisters with them, which was actually extremely funny.

Two of my students got 3rd place, one got 2nd place and one got a ticket to the next round! I'm a proud teacher... hopefully my last two lessons on public speaking helped them last night! Another surprise for the day... I got paid 300RMB which is $45 for the 3 hours I was at the speech contest!

All together it was a successful Monday. Now I hope the family speeches go well and my night class flies by.....

FIRECRACKER CRAZINESS

Starting Friday night firecrackers started going off. I usually hear them every night and every morning, never knew what it was. Well, Friday night I figured it out: Firecrackers! Except from Friday to today, the firecrackers have been going off every 15-30 minutes. We had NO idea why.

Firecrackers going off

Today, we were sitting outside the Yushan Dream City hotel waiting for the airport shuttle and all the sudden, FIRECRACKERSSSSS! And then a bride and groom walk out of the hotel. There must have been a dozen weddings this morning... we witnessed 4 different brides walk out of the hotel in a span of 45 minutes. So now, I officially hate firecrackers... SOO LOUD!!

My mom decided this weekend that Ma'anshan is an assault on your senses: sight, sound and smell. I'd say that's about right...


Saying bye to my mom today was just as tearful as the hello was... and I am seeing her this Friday!

Today was an up, down day for me. I was sad to say bye to my mom and go back to my life of not having a best friend around to talk to. I was happy to walk into my clean, homey apartment, though. Today was full of settling back in, lesson planning and catching up on emails.

Tonight I made my first homemade, American meal!!! I made truffle potato fries, steak bites and broccoli. It was great. I think I'll be making most meals at home now.

This week I have all 8 classes. Tomorrow I am teaching my first freshmen speaking class. I'm interested to see the difference in their English compared to my English majors English. Tomorrow night I'm a judge at the English speech contest. So this week I have no nights off, but Friday I leave to go home to HONG KONG!! WOOHOO! I hope this week flies by!

AMAZING Momma Came to Town!

My mom came to see me this weekend! She arrived on Thursday and left on Sunday. It was great to see her but I wish she could have stayed!

After class Thursday I took the shuttle to the Nanjing airport to pick her up. When I saw her I started crying... who know "hellos" could be emotional too? I thought it was just goodbyes! I guess I hadn't realized how much I really missed family and the familiar until I saw her. 

We ended up taking a taxi to our hotel which was more than double the price of the shuttle bus, but we didn't want to wait the extra hour in the airport. I'd say the money was well worth it! We also got to see the country part of Nanjing/Ma'anshan. 

Of course checking into a hotel isn't easy. I didn't have my passport because it's been with the police for the past week since I am getting residency in China for the year. But anyway, long story short.... they kept saying "The police need a copy of your passport" and I kept saying... "THE POLICE ARE THE ONES WITH MY PASSPORT!" Eventually they let me "off the hook" and I gave them my passport the following day. 

Once mom and I settled at the hotel, we went to campus with my suitcase full of exciting things: towels, MY BED LINENS, rugs, new perfume, etc. 

Before and after!!! 

We unloaded, began cleaning a bit and then called it a night for the dirty, bug infested apartment. We had dinner at the hotel on the 27th floor overlooking MY lake. Yes, I now call it my lake. I spend enough time there and the other "lake goers" recognize me and smile when they see me. 

Side note... I forgot to mention on Monday the foreign teachers applied for China residency and then I went and bought two 7lb weights that I now walk with when I go to the lake. I get a lot of stares and laughs. Apparently me carrying weights while I walk is weird... but there is NOTHING weird about them hitting rocks with their bare hands or doing taichi with swords... of course not. So I am pretty sure when they see me they think to themselves, "Oh there's that ridiculous foreigner again with those weights." Soon they will be saying... "DAMN, how can I get a pair of those toned arms." I'm convinced by the end of the year at least one Chinese person will have a pair of weights with them while they are walking.

New addition: my toaster/convection oven

Enough with the side note... We chose to do the buffet at dinner, which ended up being great once we realized there was more to the buffet on the other side of the restaurant. 

Friday and Saturday consisted of cleaning, shopping, more cleaning and more shopping. Shopping isn't easy here as you have to carry everything you bought. You can't just throw your cart full of stuff into your trunk and leisurely bring it into your home. 

My mom seriously works wonders! She turned my red, ugly couch into an awesome, cozy, blue/cream couch. I LOVE it and it makes me so happy. She also did wonders by deciding we were going to take the construction tape off all the windows. WHAT A PAIN. They left this tape on all the windows for like 2 years, so it was almost impossible to get it off. But we did it and it looks marvelous! 

My apartment seriously feels like home now. I have all the essentials to make dinner, my office/TV room is cozy, my bed is amazing with an extra mattress pad and a pretty duvet cover, my bathroom is newly furnished with a toilet paper holder (mom's favorite purchase, I have to say it is pretty great). We also found some Chinese draino, so now when I shower the water actually drains and doesn't go ALL over the bathroom floor and into the kitchen. It's the little things that make a HUGE difference here in Ma'anshan, China. 

Another exciting purchase was my new plant. I always feel like once you have a plant in a place, it really is home. So I've officially marked Ma'anshan as home for the next year/10 months.

Saturday I officially became a resident of China and I received my TEFL certificate! It's been a big weekend.

Touching the lives of 300 students.

I now have a new appreciation for every teacher I have ever had. I had no idea how much work was put into lesson planning. I thought this past week would breeze by and then it would finally be Thursday and my mom would be here!

Well the week definitely flew by (thankfully), but I woke up around 7 everyday and went to bed around midnight.

Monday while I was on my walk Katrina called me to inform me that they have just added three night classes to my schedule. So Tuesday, Wednesday and Thursday I have a night class from 7-9:30. 2.5 hours.... I have never been in a 2.5 hour long class. So this should be interesting.... oh and the extra catch! My Thursday night class has 100 students. 100.... whatttt. I am not a professor. 100 students means a lecture hall for 2.5 hours, not a fun class where they can all practice their speaking.

So this next week should be interesting... I now have 8 classes, 14.5 hours, 300 students and more lesson planning time.  I honestly have no idea how I am going to teach 100, 22 year old students for 2.5 hours. PLEASE PRAY FOR ME!!!

I always thought teachers had the good life... lesson plan for an hour and then go to class.... nope. Basically, teaching is a lot harder than I had imagined. But I do love it! As my dad said, "I get to touch the lives of 300 students." That is pretty cool!

Can't wait for my mom to get here!! I've been missing family and friends a lot since I've been here. Well really, since I've left the states.

Butter and Cheese and The Cowboy Bar

As you can tell, I'm a bit behind in my blog. Who knew lesson planning could take so long? NOT ME.

This past weekend, September 14-September 16, was my second weekend in Ma'anshan. Friday I went for my usual walk and finally bought flowers!! I bought a vase and flowers for a total of $15 (100 RMB).

Then I went to Carrefour to buy some groceries and other stuff for my apartment and I found..... BUTTER AND CHEDDAR CHEESE!! This now means I can make grilled cheese! Best day ever.

Henry and I tried a Western restaurant Friday night that was terrible. So, note to self: Go to Hong Kong to get Western food!

Saturday I went for a walk and made my syllabi for my public speaking and business english classes. They took me a lot longer to make than I originally thought they would. We'll see if I actually follow them through the year.

Saturday night, Henry, Katherine, Alicia and I all made dinner at Alicia's apartment. Katherine is a Chinese teacher at (AHUT) Anhui University of Technology. She actually teaches business writing and has all of my students. She said they told her they really like me, so hopefully that is true!

For dinner we made pad thai with glass noodles. It was actually pretty good. A nice change from the typical Chinese food we've been eating here.

Saturday night we went to the Cowboy Bar and met up with Renata and two other foreigners from NZ and Australia. So I now know a total of 8 foreigners. WOOHOO.

The Cowboy Bar is interesting. They have a pool table, so we played some pool. Renata and I were one team and Katherine and Henry were the other team. Renata and I both played lacrosse, so you can only imagine how intense/aggressive the game was. And we only lost by one shot :(. Next time... if there is a next time!

Sunday I went for another walk and made my lesson plans for the week. For dinner I made my first grilled cheese (in China, obviously) and it was DELICIOUS. I'll be making lots of these this year.

69 students, more than half of them are my age... HELP

So, I haven't posted in a few days. But I changed the date on my blog to make it seem like I posted this Thursday night... hehehe

I'm amazed at how exhausted I am after lesson planning and teaching a class. Pretty sure my body was running on pure anxiety this past week just from the first day of class jitters!

Public Speaking on Wednesday was a bit more intimidating than my Public Speaking Tuesday class. The students in my Wednesday class seemed SO much older. They also asked me if I was still college... I then found out that they are all 22! Yay, love teaching students my own age. I let them each ask me two questions like I did for my Tuesday class. The questions on Wednesday were a lot more serious though.... I got over 5 questions asking me if I liked Japan or China better and who I thought the islands should go to... I clearly didn't answer those questions.

I played the game "Two truths and a lie" again in class. One girls lie was that she has a twin sister she has never met because her parents had to put one of them up for adoption and she thinks her twin is in America. That was probably the most creative lie I heard from the two classes... Another guys "lie" was that he has a good body. Everyone in the class laughed, which made me feel uncomfortable, but they laugh when they feel uncomfortable.

After class I was absolutely exhausted. But I had to get some energy to make an entire new "introduction lesson" because my two public speaking classes were combined into my business english class with the addition of 18 new students. So that makes a total of 69 students for my business english class... not intimidating at all considering i've never even had a class more than 30 students in my life. Also intimidating is that the students range from 20-22. Majority of them being 22. Thank the lord my students are Chinese and I'm in China teaching because if I were in America we all know I would get ZERO respect.

So for my business english class I created information cards. I had them write their basic information down, then two things they want to learn in the class this year, what they want to work on, one thing they are really good at and whether or not they are taking the BEC exam.

I don't know if you know what the BEC exam is, but I had no idea what it was until two weeks ago... And of course more than half of my students are taking it at the end of this semester/year and they are putting all their faith in ME to get them ready for it. AWESOME. I swear the only reason I was chosen to teach business english is because I have a business minor. Im up for the challenge though... maybe it'll make me want to become a business woman? Dads dreams would come true!

Anyway, this morning I was so incredibly nervous for my class. Yes, I had met all my students already, but 69 students in one class? I really had no idea if I could pull it off... BUT I DID! It was such a success. They all love me, or at least seem to... One boy told me he loved the structure of my class. Hopefully teaching only goes up from here. I am a little nervous about coming up with lessons that are 90 minutes long.

Oh and the same boy from the day before who said that his lie was that he had a good body, wrote in the "What else should I know about you" section that he wants me to help him with his body... poor kid.

I went to lunch with Katrina and then took a nice long nap. Love that I have Friday-Monday off this weekend!

The attack of BED BUGS!!!!!!!!!

So I originally imagined the title of this post would be "MY FIRST DAY OF TEACHING". But no, of course not, because THIS IS CHINA.

Last night it wasn't the anxiety of teaching my first class that kept me awake. Instead it was the attack of BED BUGS. I was skyping with Marie and was dying. I got bit a million times. So eventually I got up, took my sheets off my bed and threw them in the washer with half a bottle of tide. Went back to my room, took one look at my mattress pad and threw it out the door. There were a million little specks on it. Took a look at my mattress.... I FIND A BUG. I'm no bed bug expert so I have no idea if it was a real bed bug or just a little slugger trying to take my blood too.

By 3am I was on my couch (which really isn't that clean). I slept for maybe 3 hours last night or this morning. I guess it was more of a long nap.

So instead of taking a walk this morning and preparing for my Public Speaking class at 4:15, I got to scrubbing my apartment. I ran to Carrefour and got as many cleaning supplies as my backpack could fit. Conveniently there is a McDonald's next to Carrefour, so I got a burger, fries and a fountain soda to lift my mood.

My boss's secretary told me to just leave my mattress in the sun and that would solve all the issues. Pretty standard answer. I tried to tell her to buy me a new mattress but that didn't work.. at all.

Eventually I stopped cleaning and starting prepping for my lesson. I couldn't tell at the time if I was more anxious nervous or anxious excited. I'm sure it was both.

The second I walked into my class all my anxiety for teaching went away. They were all SO excited for me to be there. It was great.

I let them write down 2 questions and I answered them 10 minutes before break and 10 minutes before class ended. Some of the questions were so funny... "Are you open to marrying a Chinese man?" "I would like to practice my English with you, where do you live?" "Can I call you all the time?" "Can we be friends?" "Can you show us your whole family" "Do you have a boyfriend" (I got that question probably 10 times).

My favorite question was... "You are so lovely". Great question haha, I didn't read that one aloud.

See ya NEVER bed bugs... I HOPE!

Two students came to my class that weren't actually in the class. Of course I didn't figure that out until later tonight. They were on their phones the whole time too, so I'm not sure what the point of coming was. But I'd say "This is China" would explain it for me...

I loved teaching. I think I am going to have a great semester! The students were so excited about this website I set up. It's called "edmodo". I can post assignments, grades, polls, etc. I can also give them badges for things they did in class or for signing up first, etc. I think they are just excited about the badges... anything to get them excited!

After class I went back to Carrefour to get bleach and a new pillow. Then I met up with a group of foreign teachers for dinner. One lady was in her 60s and from Tennessee. She knew all about Wofford.

Dinner was great. My favorite dish was the fried prawns. I'll eat anything that involves prawns.

After dinner Henry helped me de-bed bug my bed with bleach and water. Then we wrapped the entire thing in saran wrap. The saran wrap here is SO intense. We were both shocked. Any bed bugs that were left in my mattress are definitely going to die now.

So my bed now consists of: bleach/water, saran wrap, mattress cover, mattress pad, a "bottom" sheet and a duvet. AND A NEW PILLOW. Hopefully I am bite and itch free tonight!

OH and I forgot to mention that I broke a mirror last night... Hopefully the bed bugs aren't a start to 7 years of bad luck!

Sorry for the long post. What can I say, my life is just too interesting to keep it all to myself :)

A great day!

Today was my last free day before I start teaching! Tomorrow is the day I have been waiting for since I got my job!

This morning I woke up and it was a gorgeous day so I decided to take a walk around Yushan lake. The walk to get to the lake is about 10 minutes.



I decided to take the long way around the lake and end up at Carrefour so I could pick up some things I needed. After walking for 4 miles I ended up back at the gate I entered. Not really sure how that happened. I think there are little islands within the big lake. I'm definitely going to have to figure the lake out.

My walk was absolutely gorgeous and so peaceful. It was a breath of fresh air. I felt like I could have actually been in the states. Away from hawking, taxis, motorbikes, honking, etc. I plan to take a walk there everyday. Really theres no excuse since I have so much free time in between my classes. At least I think I have a lot of free time now, who knows how much work I'll have to do outside of class!

I don't know if I mentioned earlier but my new hobby is photography. I'm taking baby steps. I took a ton of pictures today at the lake and plan to do some photoshop on them. Although I only iPhoto, maybe i'll invest in real photoshop once I get my first paycheck.

After my walk around the lake (maybe around the lake... who really knows), I adventured around the city a little. I ended up in a shop called 'Max and Mix'. I think they were trying to go for the 'Mix and Match' deal but who really knows. It's a cute shop with pretty much everything a girl may need. I got a pair of burnt orange loafers and a professional looking purse/bag for teaching!

View of Ma'anshan

I ended up running into my co-teacher, Katrina at Max and Mix. She asked me what I was doing for lunch and I told her I had plans with Henry and Alicia. Her response, "Oh okay, my coworker and I will come along with you." Hm... not sure how I feel about that. I mean of course I didn't mind her coming, but the whole inviting herself thing... it's definitely something new for me! WELCOME TO CHINA.

If I am ever with Katrina around lunch or dinner time she always invites me to her home. I think she wants to be my best friend, I mean who wouldn't?? Kidding. But really, she wants to do everything together. So maybe I'll end up with a Chinese best friend? I hope she doesn't ask me to let her live with me back in the states. For those of you who know about guanxi, thats where I'm going with this whole little blurb.

Quick lesson on guanxi (关系): First off, guanxi (关系) means relationship.  People in China don't just do favors. You ask for a favor and then all of the sudden you're in "debt" to that person and you owe them a favor when they ask. Yea yea... doesn't seem like a big deal. BUT IT IS. If you go to dinner with a bunch of people and someone picks up the bill people usually jump on top of each other to try to split it, because they know that person is looking for a favor soon.

Hopefully that gives you a little background on guanxi (关系). If not you can read up on it. It's actually very interesting. http://chinese-school.netfirms.com/guanxi.html

Anyway..... Today really was a great day. The walk around the lake made me feel like Ma'anshan really is home. I have no idea what I would do if this lake wasn't here.

I am so excited for teaching tomorrow. My first job as a big girl in the real world. I doubt I'll be able to sleep tonight!

Making 饺子！

This morning Henry and I went to Katrina's grandparent's house to learn how to make jiaozi 饺子 (dumplings). It was one of the most amazing experiences I have had! Katrina's grandparents are so sweet. Her entire family is so hospitable. Her parents told me they would be my parents in Ma'anshan.



Katrina's grandma (nainai 奶奶）taught Henry and I how to make the 饺子 . The filling of the dumpling is a lot like making meatballs. There is a serious art to making 饺子 though. You have to
knead the "dough", let is sit for 10 minutes to receive all the positive energy in the house, then roll it out into a snake, cut the snake into smaller pieces, then roll out those little pieces a certain way. Eventually you have a little flat circle, you fill that with the meat filling (not too much, not too little) and then you pinch it. They key is to get the 饺子 to stand up. It took me forever to figure out how to pinch the 饺子  together the "correct way".

When we were done making the 饺子 , the rest of Katrina's family came over for a big lunch. Katrina's mom made all the other dishes you see in the picture below. She is an awesome cook! Her relatives are SO nice. Katrina calls her cousins her brothers and sisters. One of her "sisters" is 20 and they all said I look just like her....

I got to practice my Chinese with her family. Their accents are pretty strong so it's sort of difficult to understand them. Thankfully Katrina repeats what they say slowly!

During lunch, her uncle said, "I never thought I would have lunch with two American's". It's a pretty cool/surreal feeling to be the first American someone has ever met.

Lunch was an incredible experience that I will never forget. I told them next time I'll make the 饺子  and they can come over to my apartment for lunch. Hopefully I've mastered making 饺子 by scratch by then!

It rained all day today so this afternoon was a pretty lazy afternoon. I watched a ton of Modern Family, uploaded pictures and helped Henry buy a guitar. It's sort of fun being a translator.

I start teaching this Tuesday. My classes are an hour and 35 minutes long. I'm hoping introductions and the game "two truths and a lie" will take up the majority of the time so I can gauge their English level and then base my following lessons off of that!


I forgot to mention yesterday that I spent 3 hours, THREE HOURS, trying to find a ticket to Hong Kong for the National Holiday. I have off from September 28- October 7th. Finally I found a reasonably priced ticket into Shenzhen (city right outside of HK, still part of mainland China). So I'll fly there and then take the bus to HK! My parents are going to Phuket for 4 days while I'm there. Not sure why I'm not invited... Just kidding. But really??? 

雨山湖：Yu Shan Hu (Lake)

Wet Market

Today was a great day! Alicia took Henry and I to the wet market right around the corner from campus. They had everything from bread to live fish and chickens. They even had ducks. I was surprised I made it through the market without throwing up or crying. It was so sad seeing all the live animals their waiting to be purchased for someone to eat. A bit morbid.

I bought eggs at the wet market and saw the chicken where my eggs came from. Pretty cool... haha.

Yu Shan Hu

After the wet market we walked through 雨山湖：Yu Shan Hu. Yu Shan Hu is the lake in Ma'anshan. It is absolutely gorgeous. There is a ton of greenery around and people strolling around. It made me so happy being at the lake/park. I plan to go there a lot. Especially if I need a breath of fresh air! We get stared at a lot and get a lot of "Hellos". I can't really blame them though... there are only 20 foreigners in Ma'anshan!

Alicia, Henry, Nat (other foreign teacher) and Susan (Chinese teacher at the foreign school who lived in Florida for 11 years) went to a Korean BBQ restaurant for dinner. It was amazingggg. I finally got to eat white meat chicken, beef, broccoli and sausage... I feel like I have been deprived of meat. The only meat I really get is the meat in jiaozi and I can't even see that meat. Anyway... you probably think I sound crazy, but being able to physically see the meat you're eating is a wonderful feeling in China. Dinner was only 35RMB a person!

Korean BBQ. Nat, me, Alicia

Tomorrow Henry and I are going to Katrina's grandparents house to learn how to make jiaozi （饺子）! 

My first meal at home!

Chaomian

This morning I FINALLY got a SIM card for my cellphone. It seems like getting a phone and sim card is the most complicated process... no idea why. The student who helped me choose a plan wants to come to my Tuesday and Wednesday class. His English is great! He's from northern China (on the boarder of Russia and China). I was pretty impressed with him.

I finally switched it up for lunch and got 牛肉炒面 (fried noodles with beef). It was delicious.

An entire store for Hello Kitty.

Today was a pretty uneventful day. After lunch I walked to the Hello Kitty store and bought a keychain. I figured since I'm in China and all the girls are obsessed with Hello Kitty I should try and fit in.

When I got back to my apartment my plan was to be really productive but I ended up watching Modern Family and took a nap. The nap wasn't part of the plan for the day but I suppose it was well deserved.

I finally made it to the fruit stand and bought bananas. I feel like I have been fruit deprived since I've been here.

Still trying to make my apartment homey. I bought a mat yesterday for my front door and it amazed me how much it made a difference.

Jiaozi, soy sauce, beer and...

STICKY RICE

Tonight I made my first dinner at home! I made 饺子和 米饭 (dumplings and rice). I didn't actually make the dumplings from scratch. I put them in a pot of boiling water and they were done in like 5 minutes. The rice was SUPER sticky. I loved it and I loaded it up with extra salt. YUMMY.

I really need some recent pictures so I will literally pay anyone who wants to send me some! My address is:

Stanley Hu c/o Rachel Lee Iannazzone
International Affairs Office
Anhui University of Technology
Hudong Road, Ma'anshan, Anhui

China, 243002

Tel: 86-555-2311023

Tomorrow I will work on my syllabi for the semester. I have three different classes. Although, I have no idea how they expect me to make a syllabus for each class when I haven't even started teaching so I have NO idea what my students' levels are. But then again, "this is China" so anything goes. 

Sunday I am going to Katrina's grandma's house to learn how to make 饺子(dumpings). So I have something to look forward to this weekend! 

The Chinese Physical...

This morning Henry, Nat (other foreign teacher) and I had to go to Wuhu to get a physical. We all got them back in the states but of course those weren't up to the universities standards.

It took an hour to get to Wuhu. The physical was actually extremely convenient. There were 7 different rooms in this "hospital". I'm convinced it's the "physical hospital". First I got my blood drawn, then I had to do a urine sample, then something else... no idea what it was, then I got an ECG, a chest xray, ultra sound and eye exam. It was actually very convenient. Quite the physical I must say...

We got back around noon and I had baozi and rice for lunch. I'm pretty sure the majority of my meals this year will consist of baozi and rice. I really need to remember to bring salt with me for the rice!

This afternoon I hung out with Katrina in my apartment. We spoke Chinese and went over my schedule and she showed me how to make a syllabus based on the universities requirements. We also had popcorn and I showed how popcorn is SO much better with salt!

While Katrina was here she called the waterman to have him bring a water jug over for my water cooler. The downpayment for the jug was 25RMB and to refill the jug each time it is only 8RMB! So cheap. The water man is so cute and friendly. He taught me what to say on the phone to get a refill, so next time I can call on my own!

My kitchen with my new pan, pot and microwave!

Later on Henry and I went to Carrefour to get more things for our apartments. I bought a new rice cooker because mine was disgusting. Pretty much everything in the apartment was disgusting so I'm basically starting over. High maintenance.... maybe?

I caved and got McDonalds for dinner tonight. I was extremely homesick last night so I felt like I deserved a good 'ole McDonalds cheeseburger, fries and a SOFT DRINK. Ahhh it was amazing. Pretty ironic, McDonalds was actually extremely peaceful. So now I know where to go when I need some peace and quiet. They also clean up after you in China, so thats nice.

My new rice cooker and sticky rice
(the rice was only 3RMB)!

Tonight I did some more decorating and organizing. My apartment is really coming together. I'd say it was a pretty successful day. Tomorrow I meet with Katrina again to go over my schedule again, see my classes and FINALLY get a SIM card for the phone I bought 3 days ago. Only in China...







Here are some more pictures of my apartment!

In my office

"Quote of the day" board. Thanks for the idea Steph!

When in China, carry cash!

Today I didn't wake up until 10 and stayed in bed until 11. It was great. I haven't been able to do that in over a week.

Once I finally got out of bed, Henry Alicia and I went to a nearby jiaozi (dumpling) joint. We got the jiaozi to go and ate in Alicia's apartment. She has been SO helpful these past two days. I am pretty positive Henry and I would be lost without her information!

This afternoon I met with Katrina (my co-teacher) to get a sim card for my phone. No luck, the place was closed. So, hopefully tomorrow I can get one! Not that I really have anyone to text or call, but it would still be nice to have a working phone.

Katrina then drove me to the RT Supermarket to get a water cooler, microwave and some food. I now have POPCORN (Chinese brand... so that should be interesting), sticky rice, dumplings and pasta... the essentials. Oh and chips ahoy cookies! Buying anything in China is such a process... The story didn't accept MasterCard or American Express. Only some random Chinese card. So everyone behind me in line is yelling at me about what to do and it was a total disaster. Finally I found Katrina and she spotted me the extra cash I needed to pay for my stuff. Lesson learned... ALWAYS HAVE CASH!

I got home around 7 and went across the street to the school cafeteria and got baozi (steamed bun with meat inside).

I finally finished unpacking and put pictures up in my room. Tomorrow I have a physical at 8am. Of course the physical I got in the States isn't up to their standards. I am terrified of having them draw blood... Hopefully I survive!

Here are some pictures of my apartment... 

My bed... mom is bringing me a new duvet cover. THANK GOODNESS!

My toilet is to the right, then my shower, sink and laundry. 

In my bedroom

Love my ZTA pledge class!

I will add more pictures of the rest of the apartment tomorrow once I get it all in order : ).

Miss everyone more than you know! 

Arrived in Ma'anshan!

Monday night around 10 PM I arrived in Nanjing. The University car was there to pick Henry and I up. Small car and we had 4 huge suitcases and two carry ons, but we made it work!

I always hate arriving at night. ESPECIALLY to a new place and an a new apartment all alone! I ended up sleeping extremely well.

Henry and I had to meet Lucy at 9:30 on Tuesday morning. She took us to the police station to register us. The police at the station were all so nice. They were so interested in us and they spoke Chinese with me! After the police station we went to the bank and opened accounts.. I have a total of 50 RMB in there... payday is on the 10th or 15th of September!

After we were done with Lucy we went to Carrefour. I loaded up on cleaning supplies (the apartment is SOOO dirty) and things to make it homey. After two full days of cleaning and unpacking this place is starting to feel homey. I can't wait for my mom to get here to help me really make it feel like home! The 20th can't come soon enough!

I met with my co-teacher in the afternoon. Her name is Katrina and she's 29. I really like her! We speak a lot of Chinese, which is great! She gave me my schedule and showed me around the building I will be teaching in and showed me my office! I can't believe I have an office... and my office is with the Dean of the English department. Not scary at all?

Anyway... another kick... I am teaching English majors speaking and business english... So I have Juniors and Seniors. Should be interesting! I am also teaching Public Speaking which is a mixed group.
If you have any ideas on how to teach business english, let me know!

I am done teaching on Thursdays at 11:30 and have Fridays off!!! I really lucked out. Which means I can go home for Thanksgiving and Christmas. So mom and dad, you can expect me home A LOT!!

Dinner at my co-teacher's home!

After running a bunch of errands, Katrina invited me to her house to have dinner with her parents. In China you live with your parents until you get married.

Dinner was great. We spoke only Chinese! Her parents were so nice and hospitable. I definitely got homesick during dinner. They kept asking me if I missed my parents and I would say yes and then we would all cheers and then drink wine. They invited me back whenever I want and they are going to teach me how to make jiaozi (dumplings)!

Gorgeous day

Yesterday was my last day of class. We all took the TEFL test. In order to get my SAFEA certificate (which then allows me to become a resident of Ma'anshan!) I have to pass the test. I am almost positive I did.

Today was an absolutely gorgeous day in Beijing. I woke up around 10 and left to get breakfast at BREAD TALK (amazing bread products... croissants) and get my nails done. I felt like a queen at the manicure place. I was sitting in a huge comfy chair with my feet up. The two girls who did my nails were so sweet and let me practice my Chinese with them!

After I got my nails done, Henry (the other English teacher going to Ma'anshan) and I went to the silk market. I got Rosetta Stone for $15! Levels 1-3... I am so excited! I also got a few movies, the full seasons of Modern Family and Breaking Bad. I am definitely set for a little!


Walking around Beijing today was so relaxing. As I mentioned before the weather was absolutely gorgeous. It was a perfect fall day.. yes, FALL, with the wind blowing. I can only hope Ma'anshan will be as pretty.

I never thought I would feel at home while being in Beijing. I am definitely sad to leave but I am excited to finally get settled and start teaching!

I arrive tonight around midnight (SCARY). Hopefully tomorrow I will get my schedule and find out what year I am teaching.

"God will not send us out in any journey for which He does not equip us well."

Old Stomping Grounds

To me there are four different "homes": the place where you grew up, (Westfield), the place where your parents live (Hong Kong), the place where you are currently living (Ma'anshan), and then there are always the familiar places that give you a sense of feeling "at home".

Last night our TEFL training group went out to WuDaoKou. Once we got off the subway I got a sense of feeling "at home". While I studied abroad two years ago we frequented the Wudaokou area. Whether it was was the bars or brunch at the Bridge, I found myself in Wudaokou a lot! It was a pretty cool feeling being in Beijing and feeling "at home".

Last night was a lot of fun. I convinced everyone that we had to go to a place called Pyro Pizza. Nobody understood why until they ate the pizza. Another sense of feeling "at home"... PIZZA.

In the past week I've gotten to know a lot of different people and have made some good friends and connections in China. Unfortunately, I have to leave on Monday for Ma'anshan, but I am certain that I will keep in touch with at least of few of them!

Side note: Two days ago I learned how to speak some Scottish. "Shoogle" means to shake. My new favorite word!

It's an interesting feeling having moved into Wofford every labor day weekend for the past 4 years and now I am about to move to Ma'anshan. Wish me luck in the next few days as I make my way to my home for the next year!