Post-Fúzhōu Fun Part 1: Visitin' The Land Down South

Hello strangers!

Firstly, fans, before anything else, I want to apologise (again) about the gap between posts. I’ve now been back in jolly old England for 2 and a half weeks and have quite happily spent that time eating, reading, seeing old pals and sitting in my pyjamas watching the crappy TV I’ve sorely missed. But I owe it to all you avid readers out there to tell you all about the 2 months I was travelling for before finally arriving home. So this is the first of I don’t know how many posts about my solo, then group travels: where I went, what I did and any general ranting. Here goes nothing!

                                       _________________________________________

Well, it finally happened - and despite a typhoon trying to (literally) rain on my parade – I LEFT FÚZHŌU!!!! And Belief! YES YES YES!

The first stop on my whistle-stop tour of southern China was Chángshā to rendezvous with a couple of travelling friends. It began with a hard sleeper train of 18 hours (this is where the typhoon came in – threatening to cancel all the trains if it got bad enough – but like the last one Fúzhōu faced, it amounted to only a minor storm, so ain’t nothin’ but a thang!) And the train itself wasn’t as bad as the length makes it sound! And then after no trouble whatsoever (strange considering my usual travel luck), I found the hostel. To be honest, I don’t think there is a huge amount to do in Chángshā, but we weren’t too bothered. We had a spot of bother trying to get train tickets (of which I purchased a hard seat ticket for the first time – I’ll cover this awful journey later) so that didn’t leave an awful lot of time so we just went out! Maybe not too touristy, but we did find a great bar street with negotiations for prices of drinks left, right and centre. We settled on a bar (can’t remember the name) with the deal of 8 beers for 100 yuan and free access to the karaoke system – which went down a treat let me tell ya. I’ll not soon forget hearing some fantastic renditions of Westlife.

Short but sweet, the next day we bid each other farewell and I had to catch my hard seat 10 hour train to Guìlín. Cost effective, but Christ on a cracker it was an experience I won’t ever be repeating if I can help it. Firstly, the train itself was delayed by an hour, which is never welcome news. Secondly, the standing tickets they sell here (how anyone can do over an hour journey standing is beyond me) also figure in the seated cabins so there are people constantly clogging up the aisles. That and stealing any seats they can get their hands on – though to be fair to them, when someone with a ticket appears (like I did) the person in your seat will move without a fuss. Thirdly, the noise isn’t great for an overnight journey, but luckily my train only arrived at 12am so wasn’t too big a deal. It was quite nice being in with the people though – but at the same time, NEVER AGAIN.

So after arriving, tired, hungry and unwell, I made my way to my hostel and was out like a light! I didn’t do an awful lot in Guìlín – which is a shame, as I’m sure a fitter, more determined person could have made the most of the city! In the end, I visited Folded Brocade Hill which had some fantastic views. Bit of a hard trek up but definitely worth the time. Other than this, I only really wandered around the area near my hostel (Backstreet Youth Hostel – definitely recommend with friendly, helpful staff and comfortable dorms!) – I ended up at Shan Lake and saw the Sun and Moon Twin Pagodas which were very pretty, during both the day and night! I also visited a very touristy area with a heck of a lot of shops and picked up a few bargains at the market. Lovely city, but my main cause for excitement was my trip to the nearby Dragon’s Backbone Rice Terraces – for next time!

Here are a few pics! Just a general point, I have THOUSANDS of photos of my time travelling and it was very difficult to whittle it down to what you’ll see here, but I hope they do it justice!

Cave entrance on Folded Brocade Hill

Sculpture within the cave - from the rock

More sculpture - personal fave

Trellis decorated with paper wishes

View from the top of the hill

More of the city

And again

Sun and Moon Twin Pagodas - by day and by night

Until next post – I’ll try and keep on top of things so should be one a week from now on! (Not like I have much else to do!)

xoxo

Not Long Now...

What with now being under TWO WEEKS (AAAAAAAHHHHHHHHHH!!!!!!) away from ending my contract and my time in Fúzhōu, I’ve started thinking about what I’ll miss the  most about China while I’m in England. It was this thinking combined with reading A LOT of buzzfeed lists and articles recently, that has inspired me to create a list of the top 9 things I think China are totally nailing (in no particular order). So without further adieu…

1.     Maccie D’s Takeaway: seems like a silly one, but this extends to all foods/restaurants really (though McDonald’s specifically because nothing beats a Big Mac delivered to your door the morning after the night before). Takeaway is insanely easily available here, from pretty much everywhere. I realise this is also a pretty common thing in the UK, but even the tiny restaurants do it, and the distance matters not!  – for example, a restaurant downstairs from my school (I’m talking a 2 minute walk max.) where we sometimes order lunch from (FANTASTIC chăo miàn), brings it up, no muss, no fuss (and no extra charge). Obviously this awful lazy, but it’s like an acceptable thing here. Hurrah! In fact, the easy access to all kinds of food (not just Chinese!) in general is something I’ll miss – but that’s maybe just because I’m going back to the countryside where the majority of food places are selling fish and chips (not that I’ll be complaining, I could murder cod and chips right now).

2.     Umbrella holders on bikes and scooters: (exactly what it sounds like, and I’m assuming we don’t actually have these already – I’ve never seen one) granted, in the UK you’d look mad or strange with an open umbrella attached to your bike, but why?! Why would it be odd to see that? Why is practicality a strange thing? (Obviously speaking as a very practical, take-no-nonsense person) It makes total sense! And what with all our rain, I’m surprised we don’t create bikes or scooters that can hold our umbrella for us. I mean it’s 2013 for goodness’ sake.

3.     Frequency of public toilets: OK, so I have many-an-issue with squatter toilets, but that doesn’t change the fact that they can be found EVERYWHERE. This means that when nature is desperately calling, you usually only have to walk a few feet in any direction before seeing (and smelling) a public toilet. Convenient no? Also, none of this paying to go to the loo business like some in England, though you do have to pay for toilet paper – so as long as you’re never without a pack of pocket tissues, you’re fine. Another toilet-related thing I like about China is that restaurants/fast food joints/coffee shops aren’t annoyingly picky about you having to make a purchase before using the facilities. Just swan on in like you own the place. I still feel like I’m somehow cheating them and being awfully impolite though, so I usually either scuttle in and out with my head held down, avoiding eye contact, or buy something post-pee.

4.     Fruit platters: if you’d told me before I came to China that fruit is exactly what I’ll be wanting on a night out, I’d have laughed in your face while mentally planning which chippy would be best to order my cheesy chips from. I am by no means a healthy drunk, and when I have the hangover from hell all I want is greasy food, but since coming to China I have discovered the truly magical combination of fruit, specifically watermelon (I CARRIED A WATERMELON!), and alcohol – goes down a bloody treat on a night out let me tell you. Why don’t they (a) serve food in all clubs anyway and (b) sell fruit – a healthy option which would make even Jamie Oliver happy – in single-sized portions? I strongly suggest jumping on THIS bandwagon, club owners.

5.     Bar service: not sure if I mentioned the difference here, but in China (and Hong Kong too for that matter) you don’t stand at the bar patiently waiting, then pushing and clawing your way to the front to be served - ugh and then there’s always that one (or more if you’re unlucky) guy/girl who doesn’t respect queuing etiquette and cuts right in front of you just as you’re acknowledged by the bar staff – sorry, went off track. Instead you find a seat or standing table and the bar staff comes to you, takes your order and money then brings your change and drink back to you. Initially I wasn’t too sure how I felt about this method of service, but I think I’m starting to prefer it now. The thought of standing in an endless ‘queue’ with people pushing and shoving and standing on your feet is not appealing. At all.

6.     Plastic gloves for your finger foods: (again, exactly what it sounds like) but in I think all the bakeries or fast food places (not Western-owned) I’ve been to here, provide free plastic gloves so you can eat your food with ease! Now it may be the practical old-woman in me talking, but I wish they did that in England. Or failing these, how about…

7.      Free access to sinks: so as mentioned earlier, you don’t have to purchase to pee, but in some smaller restaurants with no loos, they have sinks around for conveniently and hygienically washing your hands in if you’re going to eat. Brillo.

8.     Safety: due to the fact that there are so many people everywhere you turn in Fúzhōu (and the majority of Chinese cities for that matter), I have always felt very safe walking the streets alone (day or night). Obviously there’s a certain amount of common sense everyone needs to take with them when they are wandering around on their onesie, but I do still think Fúzhōu is especially safe. I especially like the fact that the children here are given a lot more freedom because they don’t have to be afraid that danger lurks around every corner – their parents don’t need to watch them like hawks 24/7.

9.     KTV: can’t recall if I mentioned in my belated birthday post how much I bloody love KTV. And I’m really going to miss it (/make my friends go to those dive karaoke nights at pubs or bars with me as many times as possible). It’s just so entertaining! I mean, who doesn’t love a good sing song eh? Eh?

Well that’s that! This may be my last post from Fúzhōu what with a busy work schedule, and not an awful lot going on anyway.

After Fúzhōu, and before heading to Bangkok, I plan on doing some travel, zài Zhōngguó. Still finalising plans as to where I’ll be heading, but I am so freakin’ excited to a) get out of Belief, b) get out of Fúzhōu and c) just be a tourist again!

So, 再见for now readers

xoxo

Brands in Unusual Places...

One of the things I noticed early on about China was how a fair few of the familiar household brands from home appear here on a variety of different products, and with ‘copyright infringement’ being just a long, difficult-to-pronounce English phrase here, anything apparently goes! And I mean these things are just in shops being sold normally, as opposed to down a back alley on the hush hush. 

So here are a few famous brands* you see on a surprising amount of products:

~ Apple does… not only Macs, iPhones, iPods and iPads, but apparently also make scooters, perfume and nail varnish. Interesting…

~ Nestle does… water? Whuuuut? Is this a thing in the UK? (Though it’s not like we have to buy bottled water to drink there)

~ Hello Kitty does… you name it! As a MASSIVE name over here, Hello Kitty produces hair accessories, crockery, nail varnish, jewellery, food (sweets), stationary,… need I go on?

~ Angry Birds does… EVERYTHING. I ain’t even kidding. Another famous name over here, but not just for the game, oh no my friends. Angry Birds (and knock-offs) produce a crazy amount of stuff. Anything and everything as far as I’ve seen (stationary, crockery, clothing, belts, shoes, earmuffs, sleeping masks, phone accessories etc.)

~ Songs… just a quick note here. I can’t remember the amount of times a song has come on in a bar or in the gym that I’m all like ‘Yeah, I love this song!’, but then, oh wait, it’s a badly sung cover of the original. Sung in English, by someone who clearly doesn’t speak English; and this happens quite a lot. The covers sound odd, but A for effort I suppose. Or there’s also the case when you hear a familiar melody and then come the Chinese lyrics, just stealing the music unashamedly. Popular instances of song theft: Call Me Maybe, many-a-Michael Jackson song, Adele is another popular artist to rip-off, Doctor Jones (you know that song by Aqua – takes me back to primary school discos) and others I can’t think of at this moment in time

*not all are fakes, but Apple scooters? Yeah, I reckon.

Here are a few pics:

Yeah, I totally bought an Angry Birds pencil case.

Love the Hipster Hello Kitty purse

Yum yum for my tum!

On a side note: what in the world is the PG Tips
monkey doing in a little shop in China?!
I mean, WHY?? HOW??

Well that's the end of that! To be honest, there aren't going to be many more posts while I'm still in Fúzhōu. I don't do an awful lot of exciting things (as you can probably tell by the content of this post). Oh and for those who are interested, the Wednesday just gone marks the 4 weeks to go point! Eeeeek! I'm in utter disbelief as to how quickly the time has gone by. Seems like only yesterday I arrived, a bright-eyed, bushy-tailed mess in Fúzhōu airport... How time flies.

Anyway, 再见!


xoxo

Hannah 老师!

Firstly, apologies for the lack of activity on here. Forgive me? Good. OK, anyway, as I am shockingly nearing the end of my contract, I decided to do a post on my teaching experiences here.

I have to be honest, after actually arriving in China and facing this new job in reality and not just safely from my laptop screen, I suddenly remembered that I’m not actually all that good with children. They’re kind of scared of me for some reason. Oops. But! I grabbed the bull by the horns and jumped right in and I think – or I hope – I’ve done an above average job! Since moving here, I have taught children from 4 to 18 years old, in classes ranging from one to 30 students. What can I say? Well, my very first class went awfully – (11 students, all around 10 years old) with the students working through my plan too quickly, talking over me and my assistant totally taking the reins without me asking/wanting her to. After that one I was about ready to throw in the towel, but my second class was fantastic! Same age as before but fewer students which meant it was MUCH easier to control them. One boy in particular – Steven - was my absolute fave (though I tried to hide this during class), comprising the winning combo of intelligence and politeness. What a doll.

To date I’ve had my fair share of awful classes – classes that are too loud, naughty, boring (for everyone involved). But then there are those classes that make the whole job totally worth it and that’s one of the reasons I’ve decided to continue teaching English next year – but DEFINITELY not at my current school (I’ll explain this later). Corny I know, but to see students enjoying educational activities you’ve planned and actually enjoying using English is hugely rewarding. One particular highlight of any lesson is the children’s use of ‘Chinglish’. So adorable. I can honestly now say how much I respect all the teachers from my school days; they had it ROUGH. Children here, by at least English standards, are tame. Talking and fidgeting aside, they come across as much more polite and boy are they eager to please and receive praise – think it’s definitely a cultural thing! Though they could be insulting me all lesson for all I know, not being particularly well-schooled in Chinese insults.

So, about my current employer… In Fúzhōu there are – surprisingly - dozens of language schools, and I work at Belief Education. To say this school is the most disorganised organisation I’ve ever encountered would be a grave understatement; and as an especially organised person (it's a blessing and a curse), this factor alone would definitely discourage me from signing for another year. Now don’t get me wrong, this isn’t a massive bitch-fest, there are many things I really enjoy about my school. Things like my students, my colleagues, the cute little library we have, the books we use, but alas, they don’t outweigh the bad. From MANY visa issues and delays to miscommunication between the different branches and inadequate advertising campaigns, I find it astonishing that Belief are still going. Having said that, I’ve heard from many other foreign teachers that I’ve met that their schools are also slightly lacking in the area of organisation so I think this is possibly a Chinese thing. But here’s hoping for my next placement!

To finish up, here are a few things I’ve noticed in Chinese schools that are strange/funny/interesting to me:

~ The students clean their own school. Unlucky!

~  For some reason (I think concentration?) at various intervals during the day, the students sit down, close their eyes and rub their temples and eye sockets with their fingers counting to 10 about 4 times while very irritating music plays over the P.A. system

~  Saluting the P.A./the Chinese flag at the front of the classroom at various points of the lesson

~ In addition to P.E. class, apparently students from middle to senior school must take part in a military camp-esque training week each year – which is mandatory. HA.
~ The school day here is very different to any in England I know of: students arrive at school around 7.30am and then have lessons until 11.30am; they then go home for lunch/a nap; then they're back at school from 2.30pm to 4 or 4.30pm
~ Back bibs! So what with temperatures frequently reaching over 30°C here in the summer - similar to bibs babies wear to catch falling food/snot etc. - children here have started to wear what I’ve called ‘back bibs’ to soak up their sweat! Strange to me at first, but I’m fast realising the total genius of it and wish it were socially acceptable for me to wear one as in this heat I’m sweating like ‘a fat lass at a disco’ (to quote one of my favourite Geordies). Every lesson I had with one class, a student named Craig (AKA the cutest child in the world – see below) would always be running manically around the classroom while his father chased him, trying to put his back bib back on. Cutest spectacle to watch.

All in all, I’ve loved my time here as a teacher. Partly because the novelty of wiping a blackboard still hasn’t worn off, but mainly because I actually love working with children, especially when their keen and eager to participate. 

Oh and here are a few pics of me in action and some of the adorable students I’ve had:

Winnie - I think he's 6 - loved playing hide and seek/
spy on the teacher pre-class.

Ian - age 6 too - this lesson was on clothing,
so naturally I got them to dress up in mine. Too cute.

Winnie and Pepper (age 6)
Puttin' on ma socks.

More t-shirt fun - Elaine and Vincent - ages 5 and 6
Elaine was the funniest little girl ever, she just
kept making the strangest noises/faces each lesson.

Elaine again and Nancy (age 6, right)
More dress-up - this time jeans!

Pepper again, Nancy again
and I. 2 of my fave kindergarten kids, they
are SO sweet. Pepper especially, bless her cottons.

Left: Sunny - age 5. ADORABLE, but very fidgety and moody. Had the cutest bowl cut though
Right: Elaine again, this time drinking milk from a bag

Sunny behind the camera

Class portrait! Definitely not camera shy!

On the left is Lucy, and the right is Leo - cousins, both 6, who both wanted to try on my sunnies.
Also, Lucy is SO cute. One of the few people on this earth I let hug me.

Listening exercise
Some not-so-subtle cheating going on at the back.

Bella - age 5 - loves singing and dancing, and
performing said singing and dancing for the class (see below).

Bella, Craig (in the middle) and Jerry
(age 6; I have a surprising amount of students named Jerry).
OK, so Craig (I think 5 years old) is literally the cutest
child I have EVER SEEN - I can't even.
Anyway, here's a still of them mid-performance of 'Eddie the Earthworm'
Below are a couple of short vids! Hope they work!

Poor attempt at a panoramic of the whole class
performing the 'Eddie the Earthworm' song.

One of my 5 classes at 温泉小学 (Wenquan Primary School)
Kids all from 8 to 9 years old.
They don't usually wear this very Chinese uniform, but it was Children's Day or something.
The red sash things the majority of the kids are wearing are supposed to identify
the outstanding students - though I'm pretty sure every student I've seen has had one.

Just helping a student (Cici) to write!

On account of the summer holiday, I only have a few classes left now, so to be honest, all I’m really doing is twiddling my thumbs and counting down the days (54 to be exact) until I depart Fúzhōu and have bare bantz in Thailand and Cambodia, and then FINALLY head home. Excited and impatient are just not strong enough words for how I’m feeling now, and how I will feel until 21^st August rolls around!

Whew, long post. I’ll be seeing ya!

xoxo

KTV, as easy as 1, 2, 3!

A little after the day itself, but here’s a post all about my first birthday in China! Now I don’t know about you, but I’m feeling 22 - and at this mature age (and because I’m in China) a normal drunken birthday night out is off the cards. Instead, I went to the next best thing… KTV! 

Now I’m pretty sure I’ve mentioned this before on here somewhere, but if I haven’t KTV is, simply, karaoke. But it isn’t the run-down, pathetically-depressing karaoke we’re used to in England. Oh no. In China (as well as Japan and South Korea I believe) it is an INSANELY popular alternative to a bar or club based night out; in fact, most of my Chinese friends don’t go to bars or clubs, they go to KTV for their big night out LOL. KTV clubs (are they called clubs? Dunno) are very frequent here, the best chain being Agogo with a better choice of foreign songs. All you need to do is book a room (depending on the number of guests) buy the booze and snacks (needless to say they have so WEIRD stuff available) and settle in for a long sesh of screaming until your lungs get soar. 

One of the stewards distributing our alcohol and snacks!
Lovely people. Strangely accommodating though

Delicious fruit platter. They have these in clubs too.
Such a good shout, I'm definitely going to miss these when I'm home

Left: the screen for choosing your songs. Slightly difficult to navigate in Chinese, but hey.
Right: the 'music video' for a Chinese song. It appears as though they use any film they want for the video for some of these songs. Here for example, is Donald Duck and co. 

Top left: Ana and I. Top right: Tina, Sunny and Cuby
Bottom left: Cletus and Nathan. Bottom right: Sunny, Cuby and I

Top: KTV in action
Bottom left: Jane, Angela, Tina, Sunny and Cuby
Bottom right: Cletus and I

Left: Ana and Mark
Right: Nathan and Kennis playing the dice game EVERYONE plays at every bar/club

Two birthday cakes! YES!

KTV clubs stay open until about 2am, which is about the same time as normal bars and clubs – in Fúzhōu at least. So we partied on there until then and in classic lăowài fashion went for street food afterwards. The perfect end to a night out! I love me some 炒面.

All for now!

xoxo

A Snapshot of 'Real' China

Super sorry it’s been over a month and a half since my last post guys! Long story short, I’m actually busy these days. This is only a short one though, soz.

Anyway, since arriving (nearly 9 months ago now – Jeeeeez!) I’ve been collecting photos of what I call the ‘real’ China. You’ve seen the many skyscrapers and temples and food pics I’ve posted already, and although all of that is the norm, there are a few things that I can’t really tell you about, I had to take obnoxious tourist photos of instead!

One day whilst taking a stroll near my flat, I came across
this little river and walked along it. These houses were
ridiculously dilapidated on the outside.

Also here! Note the plastic sheet covering the roof. Madness.

Casual snooze on one's scooter. You see this a surprising amount.

China's answer to barbed wire... broken glass! Of course!
The best ones are the broken beer bottles you see.

Gambling on street corners. Another thing you see a fair bit.
Gambling is actually illegal in China, but ya know, whatever.

Dogs! Strays? Owned? Dunno

Plant stall on a guy's bike.
You get the strangest things sold off of bikes.

Fuzhou from my friend's building

Personal fave: street food. This is just a small sampling of what I eat on a regular drunken basis but it's
usually kebab type things that are cooked on a make-shift barbecue.
So maybe it wouldn't pass health standards in England, but it's damn good food.

Things I was unable to capture: crazy crowded buses, the non-existent road rules and rush hour, women selling small animals/birds from portable stalls (now THAT is one I will definitely try to get later), flimsy-looking scooters carrying whole families (I’m talking father, mother, child and baby – all without helmets of course!) and much, much more. Oh China.

This post is in no way meant to be condescending or cause any offence by the way! I just wanted to show people who have never experienced China, or a completely different country to their own, how unorthodox things could be!

All for now

xoxo

B-B-B-Bakery

One of the major cravings I’ve had since being in China has been for bread. Be it plain, toasted, in a sandwich (supporting delicious, delicious bacon) – you name it. Unfortunately, what I always assumed was ‘normal bread’ (that is, savoury) is not quite so readily available or greatly desired here. For some reason, in China the vast majority of bread you see will be sweet. In a loaf? Sweet. A normal-looking burger bun? Sweet. See a toasted sandwich? Sweet. After initially learning this lesson the hard way through trial and error, I can now semi-enjoy this sweet bread knowing full well what to expect. Don’t get me wrong, when it’s with other sweet things (like jam-esque goo), it’s pretty much cake-like and yummy. But what I don’t get is when it’s with tuna, sweetcorn, a chicken fillet, beef or a hot dog (the list goes on!) why does it have to be sweet?! JUST STOP PUTTING SUGAR IN THE DOUGH! IS THAT REALLY TOO MUCH TO ASK? 

Anywho, this post is on the traditional Chinese bakery and it’s sometimes delicious, sometimes disgusting contents!  A picture is worth a thousand words so it’s probably easier to just show you the typical things you’d find in a ‘bakery’ here. 

Don't let the savoury looking things fool you, even the garlic bread is sweet

No idea what some of this stuff is...
The orangey, stringy stuff you see on a few is actually beef, don't cha know

OK, so the top left is one of the rare savoury things you will find! 
It is actually normal pastry! Hurrah!
The bottom one is quite strange. It's savoury (with chunks 
of 'bread' and maybe meat on a toasted slice, but it has some
kind of sweet sauce on it)

Sweet bun!

Looks like cheese. Nope.
And that's sweet bread with the hotdog, obvs.

The outside of this thing was like what sushi is wrapped in - seaweed?
Inside: cucumber, that strange beef, and I can't remember what else

Desserts are another matter entirely though! The cake here I’ve found is quite different to cake back home; it’s hard to describe, but I guess I would say it’s more dense? Heavier? But delicious for sure! (They ain't got nothing on http://www.thepatchworkbakery.com/ though). These cakes below are from fancy bakeries. There are other - I guess I’d still call them - bakeries around that sort of operate as stalls, and these sell cake too, just not as prettily decorated you see. My fave thing to buy from these though is what I call ‘flat bread’; it’s a savoury, doughy thing kind of like a naan or pitta bread (but much more oily) and tastes so delicious!

So I bought this cake for our lǎowài Thanksgiving
The icing was kind of creamy and light, the filling 
was layers of sponge with layers of fruit (not sure what - mango?)
Really good!

Something sweet! Apologies for the darkness of the photo
- the bakery was having a powercut at the time

Green Tea Cheesecake!
Well it said cheesecake, but it wasn't. Nice though!

White Chocolate Mousse thingy
SO good!

下次见 (Xià cì jiàn)!

xoxo