Foreign Teacher Meeting

Last weekend we went to Wujin city to meet with other foreign teachers from the area. For two days we toured around different schools and villages in the area. It was a good time and it was nice to meet some other foreigners.

Many students from different grades put on a variety of performances for us. In this performance we listened to a soloist play a traditional Chinese instrument while students wrote calligraphy on stage.

We visited a Buddhist temple where we got to climb to the top of this pagoda.

They even took us to this ping pong training centre. These kids were crazy ping pong players. I was no match for them.

That's right, this is Jen eating duck tongue. She said the only way she would let me post this picture is if I also mentioned she only ate a small tip of one whereas I ate about 10 of them. I think they're delicious!

At one of the high schools we went to we got to watch students in the gym doing calligraphy, pottery, bamboo carving, and more. It was very interesting and we got to take home some artwork! Once again the weekend was another great experience for us.

Josh's Birthday!

There was no way that Josh's birthday would pass by silently in China. We had to celebrate and we had to celebrate big. Finally Josh is able to say that he is 24 and I am also 24, instead of his usual "Yah I am with an older woman"...lol.

We had work in the morning so I gave Josh his present at midnight. I gave him an acoustic guitar. I was so nervous because I wasn't sure he was going to like it or think that it was a waste of money. Luckily he LOVED it and has been playing it every day since :). Destiny made him milk chocolate and dark chocolate fudge which he loved too, because the chocolate here is very different from back home.

In the evening of his birthday the school hosted him for dinner in the school's restaurant. Our boss came and some English teachers as well. That huge flame was a candle, which sang happy birthday and then broke apart. It was the strangest but coolest thing and I want to take a whole bunch back home.

After dinner some of us went out for Karoke (it is huge in China). Above is Josh and I with Destiny and our doctor friend Li Ming. He was our doctor when we all got really sick and since then we have all become good friends. He is so laid back, funny and amazing to be around.

Here is Josh and Mr. Song singing their trademark song Edelweiss. Josh is absolutely hilarious when he is singing!

The one in the center is another Chinese English teacher, Casey. It was the first time we have been out with her and she was a lot of fun.

See how happy Josh is? That was his face the entire night.

GOOD TIMES!!!

Nanjing Day 2

On the second day in Nanjing we went to the Ming Xiaoling Tomb. The Xiaoling Mausoleum is the tomb of Zhu Yuanzhang, the founding emperor of the Ming Dynasty, and his wife. The Ming dynasty began in 1368. We had expected it to be an area like Fuzi Temple, but it ended up being this massive park area that took hours to cover. There were also other tombs in the area but we didn't have the time to explore them. When we arrived at the Ming Xiaoling Tomb we were planning on catching the 4:30pm bus back home, but had to take the 7:00pm bus.

Here is Josh standing on Stone Elephant Road, which is the first section of the Sacred Way. On this road there are six kinds of stone animals (elepants, lions, xiezhi, camels, unicorns and horses), where each animal is first shown standing and then sitting. The symbolism behind the stone animals is that they guard the tomb against evil spirits and they show ritual customs.

The red building at the end of the road is the first gate to the grave yard of the Ming Tomb.

This the the third entrance, which is really amazing. It is called the Inner Red Gate and is believed that passing this gate means stepping into the netherworld (the world of the dead). Ooooooooh!

Here is me and Josh posing outside the sacrificial hall.

This the Ming Tower, which is the commanding point among all buildings of the Ming Tomb. We took the stairs and this steep flat area to get the top. It was all worth it though when we saw the view at the top.

This is me on top of the Ming Tower. Don't let the smile fool you I was absolutely terrified of sitting there. There is a picture of the look down, which you will all get to see when we get back. For someone who is scared of heights I was really proud of myself. Josh only sat on the corner...lol.

In the Classroom

Here are just a couple shots that Jen took of me the other day teaching. It's a grade 4 class and this day they were learning about articles of clothing and using "too" to say "it's too big" or "it's too small".

We moved on from saying "it's too big" and "it's too small" and started learning too long, too short, too hot, too cold. In this picture I'm trying to get the kids to say "the students are too loud".

Track and Field Day

November 10th was track and field here at the school. It was a great day. It started at 7 in the morning. There was an opening ceremony, followed by performances by the gymnastics and martial arts clubs from the school. Then the sports began. It was a lot of fun to spend time with our students outside of the classroom and watch them compete.

Opening ceremonies.

This is me with twins from Jen's volleyball team.

A grade 5 and two of Jen's grade 3's. The girl in plaid is one of our favourites. She is really nice and sooo cute.

Me with another one of Jen's grade 3's. She is also one of our favourites, always so happy to see us.

One of the twins from Jen's volleyball team getting ready to race.

The events that day were races, long jump, shot put, and high jump.

They asked me to have a try at the high jump. You'll notice it is not much of a mat there so they were only doing scissor kicks. I made it over, but I am not used to jumping with a scissor kick and so my jump turned into a half flop, half scissor kick landing me flat on my butt. It really hurt, but it was good for a laugh in front of the students and teachers!

Morning Exercise Competition

Every morning all the students and teachers in the school do morning exercises. On November 3rd there was a competition between all the schools in Liyang to see which school could perform their exercises the best. Here are a couple of pictures from that day. It is better to see it on video, which everyone can see when we get home.

All the Chinese English teachers here at the school.

Nanjing Day 1

Hey everyone!

A few weeks ago we went to Nanjing, which is the capital of Jiangsu Province. At one time in China's history it was the capital of China. Josh and I had an amazing time there. We splurged and stayed in a five star hotel. Compared to Canada's pricing of a five star hotel it was extremely cheap (only $90.00). The hotel was so westernized it felt as though we were staying at a hotel back home. Our dinner that night was all you can eat buffet with western and chinese food. Josh had about 8 piled high plates. I have honestly not seen him eat that much since we have been to China. Our hotel had satellite TV so we watched HBO movies all night. It was so relaxing and for the first time we felt like we weren't so far away from home.

This is a shot at Fuzi Temple, which was the centre of Confucian study for more than 1500 years. Fuzi Temple has been damaged and rebuilt repeatedly, and what will be shown in these pictures were all reconstructed in the late Qing Dynasty (1644-1911 A.D.).

Statue of Confucius. The shortened version is Confucius was born in 551 B.C. and he passed away at the age of 73. Confucius is recognized by people of following generations as one who integrated the ancient history and culture of the Chinese nation.

In one building we sat and watched some performances with traditional Chinese instruments. It was very different and sounded beautiful. I could have sat there for a long time but had many things to see and places to go.

This bell was cast in 1999 for Confucius' 2550 birthday. The name of the bell was inscribed by Kong Demao, who is the 77th decendant of Confucius. Imagine having your family line traced for so long...that is really cool. The bell consists of pictures from Confucius' tour in many states and excerpts from "The Book of Rites".

At night time the area was covered in lights and it was beautiful.

The characters on the archway behind Josh read "Nanjing Fuzi Miao".