Hong Kong hop.
Hong Kong is just a hop away so I knew I'd go back.
Traveling solo.
Combine a small English speaking community and people's different working schedules and what you get is, the need to be able to do things alone. The traveling opportunities are vast so if I want to take full advantage of them, I need to travel by myself. And I CAN do that. Really! I think...
Okay, I admit it still takes a little courage. Courage: When you are scared, but do. it. anyway.
Combine a small English speaking community and people's different working schedules and what you get is, the need to be able to do things alone. The traveling opportunities are vast so if I want to take full advantage of them, I need to travel by myself. And I CAN do that. Really! I think...
Okay, I admit it still takes a little courage. Courage: When you are scared, but do. it. anyway.
I decided to practice this with an Independence Trip. It was also a kick-off-my-new-year (October birthday girl here). My thinking was I'd start with a place I didn't know well, but that wasn't completely foreign either. Hong Kong seemed fitting. The trip required a few 'firsts'. I picked up my train ticket from the intimidating Chinese train station, took the train by myself, transferred to the metro, went through customs and the border crossing(from mainland China to Hong Kong). I even chose to stay in a shared room hostel(females only) for the first time. It all went smoothly. I took a refreshing hike, went to church (my 2 high points), but decided, overall, Hong Kong is a bit too shopping and people heavy for me. Not that I won't go back. There are other great hikes and food establishments for me to explore. I haven't even been to the top of Victoria Peak yet!
SHanghai SHannon.
SHanghai kinda sound like SHannon. I had such a nice time this past weekend in Shanghai. Foremost, because of the people. I met up with an American friend, working there, from my time in Budapest. I had not seen her for several years. At that time, I was a volunteer with a non-profit organization and she was teaching in an international school. Meeting her in Hungary actually got me contemplating this path of international teaching. The idea was new, since I was planning to be a volunteer for the rest of my life. Sometimes, I miss that more simple, idealistic me. It was great to reconnect and experience a bit of her Shanghai life. I also traveled with a friend from Xiamen and met lots of new folks.
SHanghai SHannon.
SHanghai kinda sound like SHannon. I had such a nice time this past weekend in Shanghai. Foremost, because of the people. I met up with an American friend, working there, from my time in Budapest. I had not seen her for several years. At that time, I was a volunteer with a non-profit organization and she was teaching in an international school. Meeting her in Hungary actually got me contemplating this path of international teaching. The idea was new, since I was planning to be a volunteer for the rest of my life. Sometimes, I miss that more simple, idealistic me. It was great to reconnect and experience a bit of her Shanghai life. I also traveled with a friend from Xiamen and met lots of new folks.
Imagine if our planet was really polluted.
I love dystopian novels, of which I have read my fair share. I felt like I was in one of those novels, during my time in Shanghai. Imagine the opening of one such novel. One crazy man enters, or maybe not so crazy, it is still too early in the novel to determine. Picture him approaching the main character, perhaps a seemingly typical, but actually courageously above average, boy of about 14 years old. Imagine him telling the protagonist about a time, in the past, when people could look out from the western bank of the Huangpu River and actually see the Pearl on the other side (famous locations in Shanghai, where the novel, of course, takes place). Perhaps Crazy Man would even claim the sky used to be... blue! At which the boy would scoff. Imagine that, a BLUE sky!
It was dreamlike. Unreal.
The pollution in Shanghai was pretty bad. It can fluctuate, though typically, it is not great and the fall and winter are the worst seasons for it.
In Shanghai I also got to eat fried dumplings and cake donuts (old fashioned doughnuts even), go to Old Navy (happiness), check out a 200 year old tea house, and visit my friend's fancy international school. I was a little jealous of their metro and the variety of churches (we visited one) available in the city of 26 million, even with the pollution.
Learning Chinese and the I-have-no-idea-what-you-are-saying-face.
I love studying languages, but I'm not so great at learning them because I don't enjoy it when toddlers can speak better than me. And who wants to see the 'I have no idea what you are saying' face. Again and again.
Right now Mandarin is my favorite. I meet with my private tutor, at my favorite coffeehouse, twice a week, for an hour and a half each time.
Learning to read Chinese characters.
I. can. read. some. characters!! And I think it is the coolest thing. Ever. I know so, so little in the whole scheme of the language, but I am giddy that I can recognize over 100 common characters. I am preparing to take the standardized proficiency tests for Chinese. These exams (there are 6) are recognized by public universities and such but I just like having goals. I'd like to pass 2 levels a year, but I'm not going to stress about it.Teaching first graders is great. They are adorable and they learn and grow right. in. front. of. my. eyes. They are learning to read and they think it is the coolest thing! So do I. Since I am also learning to read it makes it even richer.
I can relate to the processes they are going through. I hear my choppy reading and how I guess at words that have the same parts as other characters. Like my students, I need to go back and reread. Sometimes I read a whole sentence and get praised for it only to admit I have no idea what those words actually mean when combined together. I laugh out loud because I sound just like my first graders. It's awesome. I have never had this experience before. I have only studied languages with latin characters, besides Arabic. And let's be honest, I didn't learn a lot of Arabic. Learning how to read and write the Arabic characters was amazing, but I didn't learn how to communicate in the language much. I think I know more Chinese after 4 months than Arabic, after 2 years. It is motivational that what I learn is useful to my daily life.
Settling In.
My apartment is comfortable, if not cozy. I have a treadmill for if I don't want to fight the crowds or face the pollution (we have some bad days in that area, too). I even attained a toaster oven this week. Typically homes don't come with ovens.
Slowly I'm building a community around myself. I have a supportive work environment, kind colleagues, I've been attending a church(even teaching sunday school this week), helping lead a small group at an English Corner (I say club, you say corner), and meeting new people here and there.
Happy Thanks and Giving Reminder Day.
Thanksgiving went by almost without recognition. The school I am teaching at is not "American", like in Kuwait, (it's International) and many of my colleagues from other countries and don't celebrate American Thanksgiving (imagine that). A couple of us did gather, shared what we were thankful for and ate our fill of traditional food. Turkey, stuffing and pumpkin cheesecake. Oh my!