Wheels are in motion

Well I signed my new contract today. I still have to do an official signing with the principal in both chinese and in english but things are all set. The only thing that has to happen is that Mr Ye gets my residents permit extended till January next year, I get reimbursed for my trip here and back and then that's it.
We had to pay taxes out of our last paycheck. Apparently they only tax foreigners working in China after Y4000. So I'm only charged tax on the Y300 I get after that. The whole thing came up to Y60 from September till now. Yeah, wow. I don't think I've ever paid so little tax in my life.
Well I still have this cold but I think it may be getting better. Although there are times when I feel like I can't even stand anymore. Hopefully the day off I'll have tomorrow will help me feel better. Gotta get better by Friday. We are all looking forward to our weekly tradition of fun and frivolity.
Next on my agenda for the day, I'm going to pick up my ticket. I'm so excited. It's the first big step in getting home. I remember when I was this excited about coming here and now, things are in the reverse. Well, I'm just gonna continue as I am. Just a few more weeks left. Plus I'm moving on to the last unit of the text book. There isn't much in it so I won't have any hard days of teaching. Once I complete the unit test, I'll be on easy street. Nothing but revision games until the final exam. Pretty cool huh?

TTFN

One of those days

Well I've gotten another cold. Where did I catch it from? Who the hell knows but I do know that this thing is making my life miserable. It was sort of annoying the past couple days with the occasional sniffle. Now it's a full on cold with coughing and sneezing and the dreaded almost sneeze that seems to last forever. I'm doing my best to keep alive but I have to admit I just feel like I wanna crawl under a rock somewhere till I feel better.
There is a bit of good news though. Thursday is childrens' day and apparently schools are closed on that day. Translation; I get the day off. Now this info was never officially passed on to us. It was more of a tell your friends and they tell their friends and they tell their friends an so on and so on and so on until the info comes to us foreign teachers via some "casual conversation". Also it looks like they'll be having some celebrations the day before and then school would be closed on Thursday. For me this couldn't be better. With fighting this cold I could use the free day off. Plus Thursday (with Friday) is my longest day. Early start and 5 classes back to back. My week will play out as follows: half day Wednesday (as usual), off on Thursday and then just get through my day on Friday and that very evening I'll be partying up with friends. Tonight, I'll be taking things easy and gonna try to hit the sack early. I need rest. I can't take this thing much longer.

TTFN

Party over here!

Well I had yet another fantastic weekend. Both Friday night and Saturday night had the same script but only with subtle differences. Both nights we went to Club Cafe for dinner and then off to Hankou Blue Sky for happy hour. Both nights the gang included Gary, Barbara, Richie and myself. The differences were that Friday night we also went to a bar for a quick drink called Margerita but the music sucked so we went to Blue Sky (now known as HBS - Hankou Blue Sky) and stayed there. I got pretty drunk and had to be put into a cab. On Saturday night the gang included the same but also had Valerie and her man, Monika and Annaick. We got to HBS just in time for happy hour. I told Barbara and Richie that I was really starting to look forward to the weekends. I was really having a great time with them and it helped because I wanted to party away my weekends from now till I left. Richie agreed that they were also happy to spend their weekends with me/us and also felt that they always have a good time with me. Plus they told me that it was their plans as well to party the weekends away since they will be leaving in mid-July and hadn't received any specific info on whether or not they will be back in Wuhan or even China. So they wanted to spend as much time with us before they left. Gary and I agreed (since we'll be the only ones left in the group come September) that we would have to keep the partying going and also try to recruit others so that we could get a whole new thing started. In any event, I'm having a great time and will continue to do so. Still counting the days however. Today is day 35 and yesterday was Matty stix's birthday. So everyone, please say a big Happy Birthday to my good buddy Matt. He's stepped into a new level of the growing up process. He's now legal everywhere. Yes, can you believe it? He just turned 21. Wow, that's an age that seems like it happened forever-ago for me. But c'est la vie...

TTFN

No worries

Well for once in a long time I could go out on a Friday night and not have to worry about what I have to do on Saturday. So tonight, we'll be going out and I've almost been guaranteed a good time. The regular gang includes now, Valerie, Barbara, Richie and Gary and ofcourse myself. Annaick said she would come but she was just going to take it easy. I'm not sure what that means and Matty stix never gave me a definite answer yet. So the usual, we'll be going over to Club Cafe for a bite and to get the party started and then walk over to Hankou Blue Sky to really party it up.
Today was a great day. My kids told me that they loved me and thought I was pretty. It only came up because I was teaching the word pretty and now that they knew what it meant, I asked them if I was and they all said yes. God bless them. Then I asked who loved me and after it was translated they all raised their hands. Then I asked who loved me the most and they all raised both hands to show just how serious they were. Oh, I just adore those kids. Regardless of that, I couldn't wait for the day to be over. I'm gonna chill out for the next few hours, then I'm gonna get ready for our good time tonight. If things go well, I should have a hangover tomorrow.

TTFN

Tisha is prepared to make a statement

First off I'd like to say I love my kids. Heck, I don't even call them students. They are my kids. Having said that I'd like to take Class E and throw them out the window one by one. I mean, they are good kids, it's just that they need a bit of discipline. They need the reigns to be a bit tighter and in some cases they need their parents to give a damn. Today, these kids almost brought me to tears. There's no real point in going into the details of my day, but needless to say I was pretty frustrated. I've had too many occasions where I have had to grab their attention and talk to their headteacher about them. I'm hoping to make it through the rest of the semester. Hopefully the summer will straighten them out and I could actually teach them in September. Other than that, I'm counting my days till I leave. Today is day 41 and I just looked on my calender and noticed that yesterday was Victoria day. So Happy May 2 4 all my Canadian brothers and sisters. Drink a pint for me and wish me well in the upcoming weeks. I'll be there to party with you soon. For some reason or another.

TTFN

Fun flys by when you have some time?

Well I had a great weekend. On Friday night I met up with Gary and Barbara and Richie (who are becoming big time party friends) and we went to Club Café for dinner. As usual that ended up in a party and Jos the owner even sang me a song. It was awesome. So at about a quarter to midnight we left Club Café and walked over to Hankou Blue Sky, which is just a five minute walk away. We got here just in time for happy hour. I had a fantastic time. I wasn’t drunk but I was buzzed enough to enjoy myself. Richie was the one who decided to beat me to the punch and got very very drunk. Towards the end of the evening Barbara knew she had to get him home but knew her husband well enough to know that she probably wouldn’t be able to do it. I told her I would help. Basically I did the bait and switch by telling him I needed to talk to him outside but instead when we got there I shoved him into a cab. Barbara was in quick tow and was very grateful that I was able to help her. A few minutes after that, I told Gary I was leaving and I was on my way home. Earlier than normal but I had a great time at Blue Sky and the music was bumpin’
Saturday morning I woke up thanking myself for not staying out late and not having the classic hangover. I had time to just kinda sit around for a bit before I went off to my class. Anyway when I got to my Saturday class the guy Steven (who sorta runs the show over there or is like the head foreign teacher) looks at me and says, “I guess no one called you?” and I said, “Well if someone did would I be here?” Then he gave me this whole run down about the fact that there was a mis-calculation in the courses and last week he told me that this week was the last class but in fact the classes are going on for another 8 weeks into July. Knowing that I won’t be here in July, they brought another teacher in but neglected to inform me of this. Anyway, no real hard feelings, that was supposedly my last day anyways but I did rip Herman a new one. So I told the new teacher John where I was in the class and what I was doing and I told my weekend kids goodbye. They looked at me shocked and some even told me that they would miss me. I guess they felt that they were just getting used to me and just starting to have fun and now I was leaving. All good things must come to an end at some point. Later that afternoon I got home looking forward to my evening. Barbara, Richie and I made plans to meet for dinner and party again for Saturday night. As the evening went on I didn’t feel like really eating and had a couple beers instead. Then Matty stix said he would join us and Annaick was being weird. I knew she didn’t want to come but then she said that she would, then changed her mind and practically gave me the impression that she wanted me to beg her. Well I wasn’t biting. You don’t want to come, you don’t need my permission and I’m certainly not going to beg you so that you could put a dark cloud over my evening. So I told Barbara that I wouldn’t come to Club Café but I would meet her at Blue Sky. So after Matt had a couple beers we decided to head out. We went to Pizza Hut and then to Blue Sky. We got there around 11pm but there weren’t a lot of people. That was soon fixed and the place was bumpin’ shortly after. We had a really great time. Barbara and Richie got there around 12:45 because they found it hard to part themselves away from the good time they were having at Club Café but we all had an amazing time. Matt and I danced (and we had been meaning to do that for a long time) and stole the show in some cases. Ironically enough, him and I dance quite well together. I met some new friends. Matt met some new friends. We really had a good time. In fact, we were there till after 4 am when the staff was practically begging us to finish our drinks so that we could just leave. I woke up later that day on Sunday feeling great but I still stayed at home and did nothing. Once again no English corner this week but I hope to go next week.
Now as far as my big decision goes. I spoke to my mom about this twice and we weighed out several different options. I even asked for your help but no one had anything to say. I almost hear and echo because I’m unsure as to whether or not there’s anyone out there. Anyway, I decided that I would ask Mr. Ye if I could get a six-month contract. If he says yes, then I come home for the summer and go back for 6 months if he says no then I come home and stay there and then find a job.
Well I had to go to the office this morning earlier than I normally would because Matt called me saying that he wasn’t feeling well and wanted me to let his co-teachers as well as Mr Ye to know this. So I headed out and caught Mr. Ye. I told him what I wanted and I told him why, basically indicating that the reason why I can’t stay a full year is because I have plans to go back to school and I didn’t think he would ask me because he asked everyone else, at the very least, a month ago. I made it clear that it took him a long time to ask me. There is no point in trying to tear into Mr. Ye, he is really only the messenger but he told me that he just got this message from the principal last week and that’s why he spoke to me when he did. But I’m glad I made my point clear. Anyway, just before lunch he came to me and said that the school would be ok for letting me stay for the 6 months and tomorrow I should come see him to sign my new contract. I still get the extra 500 RMB a month but they only pay for my ticket one way but I don’t have a problem with that and it is something that I knew and understood before I even made this decision. So sign me up, I feel good but I still can’t wait to get home.
What a weekend huh?
TTFN

Drunk ideas are never good ideas

So I do my extra classes on Saturday and actually this upcoming Saturday is my last class. So I’ll be looking forward to having my Saturdays back. Anyway I was talking to Gary about the fact that I wouldn’t mind picking up a few classes here and there for some extra cash. He doesn’t get a lot of hours at his school, so he does a lot of extra work. Anyway, there was a class on Tuesday that he couldn’t make and he recommended me to the school to cover the class. By the time I got back to the girl (Karen) she said that she managed to get the class covered but if I was interested, she could give me other work. I just have to tell her when I was available. So I told her Tuesday and Wednesday evenings were my times. So Wednesday comes by and she calls me, asking if I could cover a class that evening. I agreed. Gary was working the same day and in the class next door and he said that after we would go out for a beer. Anyway I get to the school and first had a hard time trying to find out where I had to go or who I had to meet. I finally got through to one person and she was a little bewildered as to what I was supposed to do. Anyway she managed to figure it out. She almost didn’t give me the textbook before the class started but found one at the last minute. Anyway, she kept telling me over and over that the students were lovely. I should have taken this as a sign. Anyway, I get to the class and first things first, the students practically freak out with my visible tattoos on my ankle and the new one on the top of my foot. So that annoyed me a bit. Then the bell rings and the teacher says “ok, see you” and I’m thinking “WHAT?? You’re leaving me alone with these rugrats?” So I got no co-teacher, very little prep or prep time, no knowledge on the students’ level of English, nothing. Anyway I manage to fumble through the class and the bell rings. Now it was my understanding that the class was from 7 to 8:15 and this bell was ringing at 5 minutes before 8. Then it occurred to me that maybe what the girl said was 8:50 because it made no sense for the bell to ring now. During what I found out later to be the break, Gary confirmed that this went on till 8:50. I was stunned and now was left with no more lesson to teach. Gary gave me some ideas for games and I just kinda ran with them but I was so happy when that class was over and I don’t know if I want to do that again. I think this explains why I couldn’t stop at one beer. We left the school and went to Wuchang Blue Sky not far away. We started out with one beer and that turned into 7. It got to the point when they kicked us out because they were closing. That was at 2am. Then we went to another bar and had another beer and that place closed after 5 minutes. Then we went to yet another bar that was filled with Chinese people watching a soccer game and backing Brazil for some reason and had yet another beer. We left just before 3am and I got home around 3:15. Needless to say, I woke up this morning but just barely. Anyway, I got my morning coffee and lurched my way over to the office. On my way over I was stopped by Mr. Ye. This is the first time in weeks he’s spoken to me and he pulls me over and says that the school would like to sign me for another year. Well this is all news to me. I figured they weren’t going to ask. Yesterday I was sure I wanted to go now I’m unsure all over again. At one point I said that even if the school asked me (which I didn’t think they would) I would still tell them no. Now I’m actually giving it some thought. There are a few reasons why I would consider staying.
the love I have for my kids
Matty stix is still here
I would have a better idea on how things work and could plan better etc
I would make even more friends and live the little life I got going on here. However, on the other hand I still do have a life in Canada and all of that to go back to. I’ve been asking everyone’s opinion about this whole situation all day long today. I’ve gotten several different views. I really don’t know what I want to do but if I do decide to stay it will not be for a full year. Matt thinks that if I’m going to stay I should just stay the full year but I beg to differ. While I could apply to universities online I’d rather do it while in the country and that would start in early spring. So if I took a 6-month contract then I would be back in January with lots of time to spare to get ready for that. The only thing is I don’t know if the school will give me a 6-month contract. They may tell me that it’s a full year or nothing at all. The way I see it, if I say no, then it’s almost like I really stick it to them for treating me the way they have. If I stay 6 months then I sorta get the best of both worlds. I’m not away from home for very long, I get to watch my kids grow just that much more and I kinda still stick it to them for the second 6 months. I know that if I take a full year contract then they will assume that what they did was ok, it didn’t matter and they could do whatever they want with me in the future. I still want to talk this over with my mom but I’d like your opinion. My choices are to come back home and work anyway for the same time and what would work out to about the same pay but I would be at home or tell the school that what they did was wrong and because it took them so long to get to me I have plans in the spring but I can do a contract for 6 months ending in January. One good thing about staying is that I get a bit of seniority, it’s another semester of experience to put on my resume and I get an extra 500 RMB a month. So let me know what you think. I’ll have a decision for Mr. Ye tomorrow… maybe.

HK - May 7th 2006

Well I did a bit of partying my last night in Hong Kong to say my goodbyes. Then I was enlightened by a drunk lady in a bar. I was telling her about my plans to go back to my life in Canada and get my degree in education. Then she mentioned that once I have my degree, I could explore the possibilities of teaching in HK. I never thought about it before but now I'm giving it some serious thought. So maybe a few years from now I'll have another blog. Tisha in Hong Kong. In any event. I woke up this morning, got my stuff together and said goodbye to this amazing city. I don't know if I will see it again but if I do, it will be a happy day. I got a good train, caught my flight (which was delayed unfortunately), got into Wuhan and had a nice little chat with the cab driver. He spoke no english and I only know a bit of chinese but we managed. I got back home feeling great. I really feel like I've made the best of my time here in China and it has left me with a lifetime of experiences and memories. I'm learning another language, I'm making friends from all corners of the world and I have first hand knowledge of a new culture. Having said all of that, I am still, without a doubt, counting the days till I get home and everyday I get closer makes me feel better and better. Just imagine how it will be when the countdown is really on and I'm only looking at a few days ahead of me.

TTFN

HK - May 6th 2006

Well somebody upstairs decided to do me a favour today and gave me some sunshine. Now it wasn’t a full on blue skies and sunshine kind of day but the sun made several appearances throughout the day and the weather was nice and hot. When I woke up this morning and saw the sun, I immediately smiled. My next thought was that if I could see the mountain tops on HK island, then it would be a good day to go up to Victoria Peak. Lucky thing number two, I could see the mountain tops and I was on my way to The Peak. I got some breakfast, took the ferry over and in no time I was on the tram on the way up to The Peak. This time I got the view I was dying to see the last time I was here. And what a view! Beautiful. Breathtaking. Inspiring. Awesome. You could see the entire harbour in one big shot. I took about a million pictures. Also my travel book told me about a walk that you could take around The Peak and I took advantage of that. The walk was both serene and beautiful. Also it was a nice little trip of exercise. It takes you from the south side view, all the way around to the west side view and then up to the north side where you can see the Kowloon peninsula and HK harbour. It was great. The walk takes about an hour to go around but it is so beautiful. Plus along the way there are information posts that tell you about The Peak, the harbour, some of the trees, birds and insects. It was really awesome. After I had my fill I headed back to the hotel. A little tired but very happy. Now I’m debating how to end my HK trip since this is my last night. Maybe dinner and a few drinks then off to bed to get ready for my long trip back to Wuhan.

HK - May 5th 2006

So today I woke up and wasn’t sure on what I was going to do with my day. Then I remembered one of the biggest reasons as to why Matt wanted to come to HK. He wanted to see the big Buddha on his birthday and that just so happened to be today (that's Buddha's birthday, not Matt's). So I was going to do it for him. So I got my stuff together, grabbed a quick breakfast and headed out. Well what a trek! First I had to take a ferry over to HK island. No real biggie. Done it a thousand times. Then I had to walk over to a different set of piers and catch another ferry over to Lantau island. That was about a half hour or so of ferry time. Then once I got to Lantau island (which sort of reminded me of Hawaii in a way) I had to catch a bus over to where the Buddha is. That ride was about another half hour or 40 minutes.
So,
2 ferries and a bus +
2 islands and a peninsula +
2 and a half hours +
268 stairs =
one giant Buddha.
The statue was very big and I was surprised that I made it up the stairs so well. The only thing that sucked was the fact that it was an overcast day and at that height you are in the clouds. I managed to get a few good shots but for the most part the pictures were pretty foggy. I stayed and watched Buddha for a while. Even though I’m not Buddhist, I was hoping that maybe He could tell me something or answer questions or give me inspiration. Well he didn’t tell me anything but I did get a reward. When I got to the bottom of those steps I felt ever so good. Anyway I stood in line for the bus and began my trip back to the Kowloon peninsula. Once back in town, I got some dinner and headed to bed. I was exhausted after the long trip and lying in bed, I could still feel the waves and the rocking of the ferry on my body.

HK - May 4th 2006

Well we woke up this morning and Matt said that he wasn’t feeling well. He felt that it was best that he go home. At first I was kinda bummed because he was leaving me but I know him well enough to know that he wouldn’t just leave me if nothing were wrong or if he really wasn’t feeling well. I knew that if he said that he wanted to go home, then it was best that he do that. So I helped him to the train station and saw him off hoping that he makes it home safely. I got back to the hotel now pondering the rest of my time here even ore than I did before. The next few days will crawl by and now I have no one to share them with. In any event I got bored of the hotel and went out and got a tattoo. It’s flower that you would find on the HK flag and I gotta say I really like it. I got it on the top of my left foot and it is the cutest thing. I think it’s one of my favourites. Now I have eight tattoos and I may get another one somewhere along my last few weeks here in China. Anyway, I’ll be lazing around for the rest of the day. Not much to do.

HK - May 3rd 2006

This morning we woke up pretty early for some reason and headed out. We got some breakfast and then were at a loss of what to do next. Not much was open and it was still raining pretty heavily. We went over to a street market I knew but they weren’t open yet. Actually they were just starting to set up. After getting good and wet as well as annoyed, we headed over to the hotel and after a half hour or so, we got sick of that and went out for coffee. Feeling better after the coffee we decided that enough time had passed and we should give the market another try. Fortunately they were open and we did some shopping. I got some great things for friends and myself but I’ve only been here to days and I’m almost broke. HK is an expensive town. I think I’ll manage. I’ve pretty much gotten everything I wanted and I’ve put aside my money to get me home, so the rest of money I have will be used for food and booze pretty much. Plus I have my credit card (that I can actually use in this town) for extreme emergencies only. In the evening we went separate ways. I decided to go to HK island and watch the Symphony of lights from that end. It wasn’t quite the same as watching it from the Kowloon side. There are only about 3 or 4 buildings lit up with some of the surrounding buildings flashing spotlights and there’s no music. After that, I met up with Matt at the hotel and we went out for dinner. We didn’t want to go back to the hotel so we went over to HK island and walked around for a bit, took some pictures and after we started to get tired, we caught the last ferry back and headed to bed. I have no clue what we’re going to do for the next few days. I guess we’ll just see how it goes.

HK - May 2nd 2006

Well we had and early morning but all of our travel arrangements went smoothly. We caught our plane, got to Guangzhou and had no trouble with the cab. Then we caught the next train to HK with very little problems. Once in HK we hopped on a subway and in a few short minutes we were at the hostel. This is where things took an unexpected turn. I was expecting a hostel similar to the one I stayed at before, but got a rude awakening. I did read about this place on the net and it did ay that while the rooms are cheap, they are a bit on the dingy side. Well that’s what we found. We asked for a standard double room and got the tiniest room with one double bed. Now I have no problems sharing a bed with Matt. We’re friends and I wouldn’t feel uncomfortable, but I know he wouldn’t and he wouldn’t want to share the bed with me or anyone for that matter. Anyway, the guy (Calvin) that we made our arrangements with realized that he made a mistake (because we asked for 2 beds) and offered to put us in the dorm for the same price it would have costed us for the room. The dorm is very ghetto with 5 bunk beds totalling 10 people in a small room. Some of the people staying there look like they’ve been living there for months. The only thing that made us stay was the fact that it was cheap and we really only wanted a safe place to sleep at night. Anyway after settling in we headed out. First thing we did was go over to HK island and had dinner at this Thai restaurant I found the last time I was there. The food was even better than before and Matt got to see a bit of HK island. After dinner we got back into Kowloon and watched the symphony of lights, then it started to pour. It was raining pretty heavy. I’m beginning to think that HK doesn’t like me because this is the second time I’ve come here and the weather has been bad. Anyway, after the light show we went bar hopping and called it a day around midnight.

Before I get into that

Well I just wanted to give a run down of the week past before I got into my trip to Hong Kong. It's been crazy busy. Since I got back I've been packing boxes to send home and have been trying my best to speed through the last few units in my kids' textbook so that I can finish it faster and ultimately have less work to do towards my last days. The weather has been changing and things have been pretty weird all around. Mr Ye makes it a point of ignoring me until yesterday when I told him that it was unacceptable for the students to play on the front steps of the frat house. He said that he spoke to the head teachers but then I look this morning and they are still there. This particular situation (while I haven't really discussed here) has been getting worse and worse. It's gotten to the point that they bang on the door and sometimes set up shop right in front of it. The banging is annoying because you can't hear the TV and when they set up shop you can't open the door when you want to get out. I hate this with a passion. I will be rocking the boat big time on this. If the school was going to ask me back, then maybe I wouldn't say anything. I was very polite when I asked Mr Ye if he could do something, but now, the hell bitch is out. The way I see it, nothing to lose. They ain't asking me back and if he does what I tell him I get to live in peace my last few weeks here.
Speaking of last few weeks, I've been counting the days since I got back from HK. Today is day 47. That's right, 47 more days till I'm back in the real world. Now I will be making a pit stop in Las Vegas but the point is, I'll be in North America and not far from Canada. Anyway, I was able to make a reservation for my flight to Vegas. So I'll be leaving on July 2nd. I'll be paying for my ticket at the end of the month, then the next step will be to be reimbursed for my flight here, reimbursed for this one, get my last pay check, pack up my things and say goodbye to this place. For the next few weeks I will be partying, visiting all of my favourite eating spots and saying goodbye to friends made here. I got a good timeline going, just gotta keep things on track. We'll see how it all plays out and I'll be keeping ya posted.

TTFN

This just in......

Sorry I have been strangely busy since getting back from Hong Kong. I guess it's just the whole get-back-to-work-as-soon-as-you-get-back-from-vacation thing. I will have my Hong Kong update by the weekend.

TTFN

I don't even want to talk about it

Well the weekend went by as weekends do and school is finally over. In order to make my days easier I had easy lessons filled with nothing in the morning and I played games with my kids in the afternoon. Today, I ran some erands and got ready for my trip and tomorrow Matty stix and I will be in Hong Kong. I'm really looking forward to it. For many reasons I guess. It's my last trip before I go home, I get away from the school for a week and I get to hang out with my buddy. What more could a gal ask for? I'll have full updates about our time when I get back, so for now adios.....

Tish