Family Vacay

D'oh, its been almost a month since I've last posted. Things have been really hectic for me as the year is coming to an end. Over the past month, I went to my friend Letizia's wedding, which was a beautiful ceremony on the beach and have been trying to say my good-byes to my friends in Jilin. I've also been packing and cleaning; as Kevin points out, I'm a pack-rat, although I think that over the years, I've gotten better about throwing things away.

One of my last nights in Jilin was one of the funnest. Along the scenic, yet slightly polluted, Song Hua River, Snow Beer (Xue Hua 雪華) set up several beer tents with mini kegs and pitchers for sale, combined with kabobs and other small snacks, it was a fun evening. This type of thing is pretty atypical for Jilin as most things are closed early and most people head home around 9pm.
Song Hua River
Jenny's friends, Jenny, Jim and Kevin

Leaving Jilin was bittersweet; while it was sad leaving my friends and students, I was excited to travel in China with my mom, sister, Jennifer, and her husband Zach.

We started off in Beijing, doing all the major tourist sites and then headed on an overnight train to Xi'an (西安). It would have been easier to take a flight, but I wanted to give Jen and Zach a true China experience: the overnight train. They are actually not that bad and quite comfortable, but I think one event is seared into their brains. The morning before our arrival, the water, for some unknown reason stopped working in the bathrooms. This led to no flushing of the squatters (toilets that you have to squat to use, which are ubiquitous in China); consequently, giving my sister and Zach unfortunate views and odors.

Otherwise, its been great seeing a new place and I'm excited for the other places we're going to see.

I'm in the process of uploading pictures, but enjoy the one of Jen and me eating an overly sweet fruit kabob. I recommend getting this only with the pineapple, we had a few tomatoes in ours!

Shenyang 沈阳

I've been sort of lazy about updating my blog, as I have been busy studying, teaching, and planning the next few months of traveling. As part of my prep for the future journey, I had to get more pages for my passport, which can be done in Shenyang, the capital of a province adjacent to Jilin province.

We had been meaning to take the train down to Shenyang, as there are other Maryknoll teachers located in the capital and visit them. Thus, Matt and I took the slow train down last Thursday, which translated into a 7 hour train ride, usually its 4, but it was the only train we could take at the time.

Shenyang is the fifth largest city in China and is 5 times the size of Jilin. While Shenyang does have some nice western perks, like Starbucks and Listerine!, it noticeably had more air pollution. I was so excited to find Cool Mint Listerine in a local drug store. I had given up my quest for the refreshing minty liquid and had resigned myself to sub-standard dental hygiene, but Shenyang has almost everything.

They even have a Carbohydrate-laden Great Wall!

One thing that Shenyang is lacking are things to do, which is not only a problem in this country, but as Patrick and Matt pointed out: its a major problem in most cities. The Shenyang crowd frequents the bowling alley, so we bowled our hearts out, 2 nights in a row.

Visiting the U.S. Embassy in Shenyang was an interesting experience and it was nice to be on American soil for a while, until we walked in; we were greeted unfortunately by the smiling faces of the leaders of our country. It was surprisingly easy to get more pages put in and we only had to fill out 1 form and wait. Our passports were returned with a bunch of pages, stuck in with scotch tape. It looks like a fourth grader put it in. Oh well, I hope its not confiscated at any border. Regardless, its a free service and was relatively stress-free, aside from the surge of disbelief and anger when passing those photos, twice.

Overall, I had a pleasant trip to Shenyang, but realized that I'm glad to be living out in the "country." When I first got to Jilin, I was overwhelmed with the size, the amount of people, but now it seems so small compared to Shenyang. Even though we don't have some Western amenities like Starbucks (I don't even go there that much, but its nice to have the option), I enjoy being in Jilin.

Random Jilin Stuff

This catholic church, (Tianzhu Jiaotang) was ransacked during the Cultural Revolution and reopened in 1980, definitely sticks out of amongst the Chinese building along the Song Hua River. Along the river are various statues (fishies and bikers) and animal bushes such as the pictured Squirrels and mushrooms, which I thought were pretty funky.

Its been cloudy for the past few days, which has been dreary, but it has a nice effect along the Song Hua River. I'm pictured with Kevin, who likes to eat a plethora of Kabobs.

Kevin, Matt and I went into an outdoor type market, in doors, where a crowd gathered around Matt. He speaks Chinese the best amongst the three of us. Its actually pretty hilarious because all the Chinese people come up to me and ask questions about my 2 companions, but most of the time I have no clue what they're saying. So I turn to Matt, who is able to converse with the curious people. You have to have a good sense of humor because lots of time people talk amongst themselves and then laugh, most likely at you. So I just laugh along, blissfully ignorant about what they just said about me or to me.

First day of Teaching

Yesterday, I had my first teaching class with doctors. I arrived to class 15 minutes early so that I could get situated and make a seating chart. I was sitting down when 2 women walked in and they were shocked to see me sitting at the front of the classroom. And then, no one else came. *tear* I only had a pair of students for my first class ever.

I made the best of the situation, quietly discarding my prized seating plan, and started off with trying to clear the confusion about why a "youngster" was teaching them medical English. After that road bump, the class turned out great. They introduced themselves and then I went into my life story.

My original lesson plan was based for...well, let's just say, more than 2 people. So I jumped into anatomy and practicing saying all the different body parts/organs so that they could practice their pronunciation. From what I gather, they want to be able to teach in their respective fields to English speaking medical students. Also, there are more than 2 people enrolled in the class, I think more will show up tomorrow.

For lunch, Kevin, Eric (Chinese guy who speaks English well, studied abroad in Alabama for 2 years), and I went into Jilin downtown for some homemade noodles (la mien). We each had a big plate of food with drinks and it came out to be 20 RMB (a little less than 3 dollars!)! The cost of living here is super cheap.

The bus ride home was a bit disturbing, we passed an overturned motorcycle with a huge crowd surrounding the rider, next to a mini-mac truck with a shattered windshield. I think the guy was still alive with massive injuries, but Kevin thought the guy probably died. Either way, this is a testament to the chaos that ensues on the roads here. People go ridiculous speeds to pass on the road, there are cars trying to cut in, pedestrians are playing "frogger" with the cars, and they definitely do not have 'the right of way.'

Jilin

L-R: Matt (a 'nova grad too!), Jim, and Kevin

My 3 companions and I had an extended voyage from Hong Kong to Jilin. We flew to Beijing, had a 3 hour layover, flew to Changchun, and then took an 1hr van ride to our destination. We left the house at 7am and arrived at 11pm. But we made it safe and sound.

The four of us have our own apartment, which are surprisingly nice. In fact, its nicer than my first apartment in Burlington, although, it has less character:

Living Room Kitchen

Bedroom (with a queen sized bed!)

On Sunday, we got our teaching schedules, books, and ventured out into Jilin downtown.

One thing that I noticed immediately, was that it is cooler here than in Hong Kong and no humidity. Its been nice to be in a more temperate environment, however, I think this foreshadows an extremely cold winter.

Our jaunt downtown was pretty comical. I do not attract much attention because I virtually look the same as everyone who lives here, but my friends, on the other hand, definitely have people's attention. On the bus ride down, my friend, Jim was sitting next to an elderly woman who was staring at his hairy, blond arms. Eventually, she started picking at his arm hair, almost to the point of petting his arm. I was standing by the window watching this spectacle and started cracking up. It was pretty hilarious and we all had a good laugh about it.

We are teaching at Beihua University:

I will be teaching a class called "Forensic English," which means covering basic readings on things such as tort law, intellectual property law, etc. I am actually interested in teaching this course because its something that I can learn from. Moreover, it'll help me navigate Law & Order. Also, I will be teaching a class "English for Medical Professionals," which I am looking forward to, actually it starts tomorrow.

I had my first day of Chinese class today, which was very exciting. I had about 6 hours of speaking and comprehension. I was pretty burnt out by the end of the day.

Just some thoughts to leave you with:

- Kevin ate donkey dumplings and beer tonight, which he immensely enjoyed.

- I went running today and almost sank in mud.

Gr8 Fyrewall

Tomorrow, I leave for Jilin, with a few transfers and whatnot. This whole week has been building and building up to our departure to our respective teaching assignments. I have mixed feelings about this teaching placement. I have NO idea what I am teaching, how many students I'll have, or any other information except that one or more of my classes will have medical students. In a way, its kind of exhilarating, but at the same time, I'm kind of clueless as to what material I should bring with me. Also, I'm in the same situations as many of my compatriots, so that's comforting in a way. Solidarity into the unknown.

Also, I'm not sure if and what I'll be able to post on here. Hopefully, I will have access to this blog page, but you may not hear from me as frequent, like these past few weeks. There is a gr8 fyre wall that blockz many things, so I'll try to post as much as I can, but I'm not sure as to when and how I'll be able to update you.

Anyhoo, I'll start teaching next week and I'm sure I'll have loads of stories to tell you about. Today, we took a group picture of most of the volunteers:

L-R: Back row: Jim, Joel, Janet, Scott, Kevin, Fr. Tom, Matt, Matt, and Anne

Middle Row: Pete, Kevin, Fr. , Joe, Nick, Fr. Scott, and Mario

Front row: me!, Sr. Cecilia, Grace, Sarah, Meghan, and Natalie.