As I write this I am sitting in my new apartment. I am living in the city of Jinan, a few hours south of Beijing. I have discovered that I am not able to view my blog or anyone else's blog for that matter, as I think they have been blocked here. Facebook if as well. The ironic thing is I have just gotten over my social phobia phase and I'm ready to start connecting with people again. The thing is now there's an actual physical barrier to doing that. I'm not even sure if you'll be able to read these blog posts as, as I mentioned, I'm not able to view my blog, but I hope that you can.
At Jinan airport I was greeted by a very friendly man called Shane, who had been helping me with my paperwork whilst I was in Bangkok. The weather was a bit humid but not too bad. We drove to my apartment which took about an hour. I had not slept but half an hour on the way to China so naturally I was quite quiet. I guess Shane panicked. What kind of teacher was I going to be? One that didn't speak at all? He asked me, 'Are you outgoing'. This question irritated me immensely and I snapped a reply back at him. After reflecting on my response I thought of how I could have dealt with the situation slightly better. I could have said to him, 'Shane, I have been travelling for 10 hours. I slept about half an hour in total. I'm hungry and dehydrated. But aside from all of that yes I usually speak little but when I'm in front of a class I'm a completely different person'. I was angry at him for jumping to conclusions based on a first impression of me.
When we got to the apartment two women were waiting for us. They greeted me but I was too uncomfortable to be very social. I also missed the fact that they had kindly laid out breakfast for me. I had a tour of the apartment and again they had equipped it with everything I could possibly need. I was touched by their kindness and attention to detail.
After a change of T-shirt we headed out again. The two women (director of the school and teacher trainer) took me out for lunch. We ordered sweet and sour prawns, beef and tomato, seafood soup and mixed vegetables. I've decided I quite like the fact that everyone shares food - you taste a wider range of things and it's more social. At dinner I made my first Chinese faux-pas. Before coming to China I thought it would be a good idea to learn about what was happening in the country. Most Chinese news stories these days are about the Bo Xilai court case. So I mentioned it. They tried to brush it aside with a awkward smiles, but I didn't get the hint. 'Actually, we seldom talk about politics'. Oops! I thought that was similar to not talking about the monarchy in Thailand.
They wanted to go for a walk but I honestly thought I would collapse in the streets. I told them that and they asked for a taxi immediately to take me back. I slept for most of the rest of the day.
When I got up I went for a wander around the local neighbourhood. A lot of people here get by on motorised scooters. I had a few looks, as there aren't many foreigners in my neck of the woods, but they were looks of curiosity and I didn't detect the slightest bit of maliciousness.
I'm going to get some sleep now as I feel a bit queasy. I don't know from what but I hope it will lift in the morning as I want to be ready and fit for work.
At Jinan airport I was greeted by a very friendly man called Shane, who had been helping me with my paperwork whilst I was in Bangkok. The weather was a bit humid but not too bad. We drove to my apartment which took about an hour. I had not slept but half an hour on the way to China so naturally I was quite quiet. I guess Shane panicked. What kind of teacher was I going to be? One that didn't speak at all? He asked me, 'Are you outgoing'. This question irritated me immensely and I snapped a reply back at him. After reflecting on my response I thought of how I could have dealt with the situation slightly better. I could have said to him, 'Shane, I have been travelling for 10 hours. I slept about half an hour in total. I'm hungry and dehydrated. But aside from all of that yes I usually speak little but when I'm in front of a class I'm a completely different person'. I was angry at him for jumping to conclusions based on a first impression of me.
When we got to the apartment two women were waiting for us. They greeted me but I was too uncomfortable to be very social. I also missed the fact that they had kindly laid out breakfast for me. I had a tour of the apartment and again they had equipped it with everything I could possibly need. I was touched by their kindness and attention to detail.
After a change of T-shirt we headed out again. The two women (director of the school and teacher trainer) took me out for lunch. We ordered sweet and sour prawns, beef and tomato, seafood soup and mixed vegetables. I've decided I quite like the fact that everyone shares food - you taste a wider range of things and it's more social. At dinner I made my first Chinese faux-pas. Before coming to China I thought it would be a good idea to learn about what was happening in the country. Most Chinese news stories these days are about the Bo Xilai court case. So I mentioned it. They tried to brush it aside with a awkward smiles, but I didn't get the hint. 'Actually, we seldom talk about politics'. Oops! I thought that was similar to not talking about the monarchy in Thailand.
They wanted to go for a walk but I honestly thought I would collapse in the streets. I told them that and they asked for a taxi immediately to take me back. I slept for most of the rest of the day.
When I got up I went for a wander around the local neighbourhood. A lot of people here get by on motorised scooters. I had a few looks, as there aren't many foreigners in my neck of the woods, but they were looks of curiosity and I didn't detect the slightest bit of maliciousness.
I'm going to get some sleep now as I feel a bit queasy. I don't know from what but I hope it will lift in the morning as I want to be ready and fit for work.
Amira Amira, are you there? Calls from David...
ReplyDeleteHello David! How are you? I have been trying to reply to you for a long time but I don't know how to reach you! Yes I'm in China - in Jinan, Shandong. Where are you at the moment?
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