Nervous excitement, I think
Well after much waiting some of the new teachers finally came in yesterday. We've all been listening in the hallways just waiting for these new people. We wanna see what they look like, what kind of people they are and what our first impressions are of them. Finally no more questions. Atleast none at this time. This couple is a mixed couple that currently live on my floor replacing Roy and Angela. They both claim to be from Spain but the husband is the one with the Spanish accent. His wife has an Irish accent. I don't know either of their names yet but they look like a nerdy type of conservative straight laced couple. We don't see many nights in the future where they would be joining us for good times. We have a meeting today at 2:30pm to discuss how we're gonna get things started and then we have to actually start working again on Thursday. I'm really not looking forward to it this time. Last year, I was missing my kids and there was a small part of me that was looking forward to going back to school. This year, no such luck. Now I know for a fact that when I leave in July, I won't be coming back for many years to come. I've had my fill of China and I think it might be time for me to go home. I suppose ofcourse that things could change over the course of time as they always do, but as it stands right now, once my ontract is over, I'm going home, home, home.Well, we'll see how the meeting goes today and see if there are any other new teachers to report. We're all not the biggest fans of the couple but we figure we won't have much interaction with them anyway with them teaching at this branch school. Klaver is the only one that would really have to worry about them. We suspect that instead of the original 3 teachers that were supposed to come in, it might be four. We suspect this because they went out of their way to build another appartment upstairs. They took one room intended for couples and made it into two seperate rooms. They never tell us anything so we always have to speculate and we don't get an answer to our questions until everything is out in the open. Crazy way to be, I know, but that's just the way things are done and there isn't much we could do about it.TTFN
The waiting game
Well, Lisa and Colin returned from their trip to Thailand and Lillis came back a few days ago. Also Matty stix and Eileen have come back so that means all teachers are accounted for. All except the new ones. We are all anxiously awaiting the new teachers arrival. None of us more than Klaver. These new teachers are all replacing the teachers that teach here at the branch school. Out of all of us, Klaver is the only one that would be working with them on a daily basis. In any event, things have gone back to normal here at the apartments. In a way I kinda miss the quiet I once enjoyed only a week ago but at the same time I’m glad that everyone had returned from their trips safely and we’ve all moved back into our old ways. Over the next little while, we’re all gonna try to get as much party into these days, because once school starts, the party is over and we’ll all have to go back to being responsible and upstanding English teachers who are lucky to party on the weekends. In related news, just in case you were wondering. No, I’m not looking forward to going back to school. I know that having a full month for holiday is a luxury that not many people could benefit from but this job this year has become exhausting. It wasn't exhausting last year. This year, the work is exhausting, the students are exhausting and the co-teachers are exhausting. It’s just one exhausting moment after another. I guess you could say I’m not looking forward to being exhausted for the next two months. Luckily we have a week long holiday to look forward to in May and then 7 weeks after that we’re all done. Sometime between now and July I want to go to Dali, which is in western China. I’ve heard so many good things about it and I know a few people that have already been there and they have said good things as well. It’s an opportunity to see a different side of China. In our May holiday, Maya and I have plans to go to Bangkok and Phuket in Thailand, so we’ll all be doing some super money saving between now and then to ensure we have a good trip. Other than that, we’re just all enjoying these last few days of freedom and waiting for the new teachers arrival. It’s almost weird being on this side of things. If I stuck with my original plan I would have been at home already and I would have been waiting for the email that gives me the gossip. Now I’m in on it and it would be interesting to see first hand how these new people affect our dynamic here.
TTFN
Planes, trains and automobiles
Well, quite a bit has gone on and I would love to fill you in with the extended version but unfortunately, I’ll have to get to as close to Coles notes as I can. So I was eagerly anticipating my mom’s arrival on Feb 3rd. Unfortunately Lisa and Colin were leaving the same day, so were Roy and Angela. Lillis was picking up her friend and Mustafa was already gone. There were a lot of people I wanted to meet my mom but only a few were in town. This worked out well anyways because then the time would have been spent going to dinners in Wuhan as opposed to travelling the country as we planned. Anyway, after my mom got here we spent a couple days doing stuff and then on the 6th we were back at the airport on our way to Hong Kong. Everything went fairly smoothly. We had an early morning wake up, got to the airport and practically just walked right onto the plane. Then we arrived in Guangzhou and had to hop on a train over to Hong Kong. Once we got there, everything once again moved quite smoothly and with me already knowing where we were and where we were going, we were at the hotel in no time. Admittedly there was a lot involved considering travel times and the many vehicles taken but I suppose that things went just about as good as can be expected. Since we didn’t have many days in Hong Kong, I tried to squeeze as much as possible into the short time we had. We both agreed that we got quite a bit done in just the first day of us being there. On our second day, we did a bit more, got some shopping done and terrorized the ones that terrorized us. Copy watch, copy handbag? Not in a million years. Anyway, we had our last night in Hong Kong and then got ready for more travelling adventures the next day. On Feb 8th, we woke up and headed back to Guangzhou so that we could get our flight to Shanghai. Our plane landed with no problems, but when we got there it was raining and there was an incredibly long line for the taxi. Now, if you’ve ever done any kind of travelling, you know better than to take rides from the private “taxi drivers” that approach you at the airport, as opposed to the ones that are patiently waiting in a queue for the next passenger. The only reason why I mention this is because, we were approached as we always were, but this time there was something different. The cab drivers were practically begging us not to wait in the queue. Out of curiosity my mom asked them how long they thought the line would be and how much it would cost to get us to our hotel. They told us that the line would be about 2 hours and that for only 150 RMB, they could take us to the hotel. We decided to stay in the line. Now, there is no way I could truly explain to you how long this line was, so you will have to trust me that it was very long. We were in the line for 45 minutes and the cab driver with the meter, cost us about 60 RMB. Word to the wise; never ever take rides from these private cab drivers. Anyway, by the time we got to our hotel it was nighttime and the after affects of the day, the waiting, the travelling and the rain, took its toll. We had a quick drink and then were off to bed. The next morning was our day in Shanghai. It was overcast and a little chilly but we still did a lot. We walked the Bund, saw the museum for a bit and also managed to do a bit of shopping. The next day, as we’ve been doing for so long now, we packed up our stuff and headed to the airport and back to Wuhan. Unfortunately, getting back to my, not second, but what I would have to consider my third home, we ran into a snag. A four-hour delay kind of snag. These were agonizing times but luckily this was an event that occurred at the end of our trip as opposed to the beginning. The only thing that we missed out on was a little more time at home and didn’t end up losing half a day of hotel costs or sightseeing or something. Once back home, I felt normal again but I was greeted by something I had never experienced before. I was coming home to an empty building. Every single foreign teacher was either gone because of a vacation they were taking or they were gone because they weren’t’ coming back. Anyway, in the plus column of that, I could play my music as loud as I wanted. Once back in Wuhan, mom had some things she had to shop for, we had some dinners that needed to be attended and we had some things we had to see. Luckily, we got them all done. All in all, I believe we had a ball of a time. The night before my mom’s departure, I was fortunate to be able to stuff a few things in her bag and now have a few less things to deal with when it’s my turn to come home. After my mom left I was faced with 4 days of almost isolation. I was the only person in the entire building. On one day I thought I heard the workers upstairs trying to get those new apartments up and running but other than that I was alone. It felt weird but good at the same time. Pro side, the phone was all mine, music up loud, I controlled the hall lights and no interruptions on my door. I was really able to get some work done. Con side, everyone’s gone and I couldn’t just go hang out in someone else’s room, the odd footstep or noise made me paranoid sometimes and ultimately I missed these new friends of mine. On Thursday (Feb 15th) Mustafa aka Moose, came home. I was actually happy to see him. He showed me the pictures from his adventure and it just confirmed for me his insanity and I told him about my adventures and how hilarious I find my mom sometimes. Then Moose suggested that we go out that night. In celebration of his return and break up the monotonous silence I had been dealing with for the past few days, I agreed. I was surprised that we had had such a good time. It was the first time we went out, just Moose and I together. We got back home and were up till 6 am laughing and talking. The next day (or actually the same day) I woke up some time in the afternoon and was anxiously awaiting the return of Maya and Klaver and the brothers. Moose said that he was going out but I needed more sleep and I really wanted to be home when they got home. Anyway, they had a delay and I feel asleep waiting for them but I was happy to know that they got back safely on what was now the morning of the 17th, and of course, update conversations took us well into time that could have been used for sleep, for all of us. Anyway, the night of the 17th was Chinese New Years Eve. Now since my return to Wuhan and even before I left with my mom, fireworks and fire-crackers could be heard on a daily basis. Now there is a myth as to why they pop off fire-crackers and fireworks but now it has gotten to the point of just being part of tradition. There was a ban in Wuhan in previous years that didn’t allow the crackers and works but that ban has since been lifted and people have been left to indulge. Now in the early evenings on the days I was home alone, the sound became annoying. All day long bang bang bang and then all evening the same. Luckily in the area we live, they don’t let you pop any off after 10 pm but ultimately, all bets are off on the day of. Matt, Alex, Klaver and I were hanging out in Alex’s room and were trying our best to ignore the noise during the early night. As it approached 11pm, it only got worse and by 11:30 it couldn’t be ignored. It was at that point that we decided that it would be a good idea if at midnight we went up on the roof and see if there was anything worth seeing. At 11:45 we headed up to the roof and were amazed to see what was going on. First to begin, it was deafening and then we realized that we were able to see fireworks in every direction. We had a 360 degree view of probably one of the most amazing things in the world. Chinese New Year is the equivalent of thanksgiving, Christmas and the calendar new year all at once. For the past few days, my Chinese friends were getting excited at the thought of the year changing over and I unfortunately couldn’t share in their excitement. I knew this was their holiday and I couldn’t have the same passion for it. On that night, however, I was filled with Chinese New Year joy. I couldn’t help smiling, laughing, giggling. It was so incredibly breathtaking. Like I said, fireworks in every direction. And not you typical everyday, safe to use at home kind of fireworks. This is the kind of stuff you would see at a big event or downtown somewhere. It was truly amazing. I have to hand it to the Chinese, when they do a holiday, they go all out and they are not even close to kidding. And everyone is unified on this day. Anyway, after about 45 minutes, they display started to die down and the city was filled with smoke. Imagine being in a heavily smoke filled room. Now leave the smoke and replace the room with a city. This is what was left over after the “music” died down. Now we get the occasional cracker going off here and there but not much else. On Sunday Feb 18th, Maya’s friend came in from Canada and we headed out for a night of partying. Maya’s friend is Marie and she’s a pretty cool girl. She basically came off an exhausting flight and went right into us and our drinking and our antics. Once we all mustered, we headed out to a bar and at some time around 3am or so, us girls headed home and the boys went out for more. Yesterday was Alex’s birthday and we all played a good game of poker. Myself, Klaver, Moose, Matt and of course Alex. I have to admit, I held my own. Then the boys headed out for dinner but I knew what that meant and I declined the invitation to join. I was pretty tired since my body clock was off. Besides, the night would start as dinner, then that would move into a couple drinks, then a couple more and then about 100 more after that. I went to bed and was awoken by their insane and very drunk voices at 6:30am. They are all lucky that I was able to fall right back to sleep. And then that takes us to today. I’m getting some work done and I got a visit from Matty stix about an hour ago. He’s back in town and I can only assume that Eileen has also returned. Lillis I think, has been here for a couple days but in her oh so reclusive way, neither hide nor hair of her has been seen. The only thing that lets me know that she’s here is they fact that now I can see her light on at night from outside the building but she hasn’t come by to say hi or even, hey I’m back. Everyone’s different I suppose.
So I’m not looking forward to school starting up again but I know the day is coming. So, to not be bummed out for the next week and a bit, I’ve decided to enjoy this time and do all the things that I ordinarily wouldn’t be able to do because I don’t really have the time. What would that be? Who knows? From cleaning my room to playing guitar but now that I’ve caught you up, you can be sure that my updates should be on a more regular basis and things will really start to heat up once school re-opens.
TTFN
