How to Live in China

We’ve been living in Shunde for about a month now. It seems like we only left Yinchuan a day or two ago. I guess that’s always how quickly time flies. Since my last entry, we have been adjusting to our new job, life, etc in Shunde.

I celebrated my birthday a few weeks ago. Unfortunately, it was on a Wednesday, which is my busiest day of the week. Needless to say, but the evening I was pretty tired. Kenny and I had talked about going to Guangzhou for dinner on my birthday, but I simply didn’t have the energy to go into the city. I thought about what was nearby and suitable for a birthday dinner. Then, I remembered that in the nearest shopping center (a 5 minute cab ride away) there was an interesting sushi restaurant. For those of you that know me, you probably remember that every Wednesday we would go to Beluga for half price sushi. That was the last time I had eaten sushi (yeah, since December). I have to say, my expectations were high for the sushi restaurant.

We walk in and it has such a fun atmosphere. It reminds me of a diner a little. Most people sit at the wrap around counter. In the middle there are a few sushi chefs, making food. They put the sushi out on a conveyer belt that rotates around the counter and you can just take whatever looks tasty. There is a picture menu, so you can match up the sushi to the picture in case you don’t know what one of the rolls are. The plates are color coded by price, so you don’t get tricked into eating an expensive one. Most of it was actually sashimi, rather than sushi rolls. If there is something in the menu that isn’t on the conveyor belt, you can place an order (which I did for the tuna rolls). It was a really great birthday dinner!

We had seen an advertisement for a wine tasting that took place the weekend after my birthday. For the equivalent of $40, you could drink as much as you wanted from 3:00-7:00 p.m. Wines from many countries would be available to drink. Since we rarely found a decent wine for the last 9 months, it was an easy choice to attend. The tasting was in the courtyard of this upscale condo complex. There were tables for each region of wine. Some representatives of the various wineries from around the world attended to talk about their wines. I shouldn’t have to tell you, but we drank a lot. I even got more familiar with decent wines in China. There was a raffle too, and Kenny won a magnum sized bottle of Shiraz. We bought a super Tuscan from an Italian winemaker, who actually was at the tasting. As a complimentary gift, everyone got a free champagne glass.

The week after the wine tasting we took it easy and tried not to spend a lot. We had been having some problems with the apartment the school provided. Our washing machine hadn’t worked since the day we arrived. The motor is basically broken, and since it is a costly repair, or the whole machine should be replaced, the school was dragging its feet. Doing laundry was quite an event. (Bad washing machines seem to be our curse in China. See my first blog entry.) Then, the colors on the TV stopped working, so you could only see black and white. Additionally, the bed was not even a double bed. The mattress might be as old as I am. The space is also really small, especially for two people.

The school gives 800RMB for each teacher if they choose not to live in the provided apartment. Our friend, Joe, gave us a contact to his realtor friend, Chris. We spoke to Chris about what kind of place we wanted to rent. Within a day, we viewed a few apartments and settled on the one we like the most. It is located on the east side of the gated community. We have to use the free shuttle to get to school, but that is the only downside of living here. We have two spacious balconies, two bedrooms, and a bigger kitchen. The rooms have hardwood floors and the furniture is also wood. It is beautifully carved. Living here is much more enjoyable and it is close to the east gate of the community which is near a fun little neighborhood that one can explore. We haven’t been living here even a week, but its been great thus far.

I found an article about wine bars in Guangzhou, so this weekend we are planning on going to one, or two. Whoever wants to come and visit us is more than welcome. Now that we have a big second bedroom, it could be a nice escape from the Ohio winter. It has been in the 70s and sunny for about two weeks.

Two weeks ago we finished packing all of our bags in Yinchuan, prepared to move to our new city in the south. The last week we spent in Yinchuan was great. We had a chance to spend a lot of time with our friends. A few nights we stayed out late at a dinner or playing billiards. It was a good way to end our stay in Yinchuan. I already miss some aspects of the city. Already, I can appreciate being able to experience “real” China, without too much Western influence. I feel very lucky that I was able to experience it.

Nevertheless, we woke up Wednesday morning and hailed a cab to the airport for our flight into Guangzhou. We arrived in Guangzhou and took a bus to our district of Foshan, our new city. Foshan is part of the Guangzhou mega-city area. The end of the subway is near us, so we can hop on the subway anytime and travel through the city. It is kind of strange that such a big place is so close to home. After living in small cities, mostly suburbs my entire life, this is a big change.

We were welcomed to the area with warm weather, something we are looking forward to during those long winter months. As of now, we’ve only taken one trip into Guangzhou, but we are planning many more. The school and our apartment is located within a gated community outside of the city. I’ve never lived in a gated community before, but it is pretty nice. The community is large, so there are free busses that take people to the different gates. Inside the community is a supermarket, bank, phone store, some restaurants, etc. It is nice, if you don’t feel like venturing too far from home. The community also has its own bus system that shuttles people to Shi Qiao (outer Guangzhou), Guangzhou, Hong Kong, and Macau. All of the busses are really cheap.

The living room.

The kitchen

The bedroom

The school is interesting. There is a national school for the kids that want to go to Chinese universities. Then, there is an international school for kids that are planning on going to international universities. This school is taught only in English. Kenny and I are both teaching in the national schools. I teach 1st and 2nd grade, and Kenny is teaching 6th-9th grade. It is a little frustrating because they initially wanted me to teach kindergarten, but I told them that I wouldn’t accept the job because kindergarten is too young for me. They told me that I could teach primary school instead. I agreed, telling the school that I would be okay teaching primary students since I could get some older kids too. So I primarily teach 1st grade.

The view from our balcony.

You can see how close the school is. I can get from my apartment (on the 7th floor, no elevator) to my office in the primary school in 4 minutes.

The apartment blocks.

The classes are only 40 minutes, so it is easy to create a lesson and keep the kids entertained. There are 6 classes of first grade kids and 4 classes of second grade kids. I teach each class twice a week. The classes have about 30 kids, which is a new challenge for me. At Aston, the maximum number of kids is 18, and is much easier to control. I’ve had to rethink about some of my games and make them work in a larger class. There is more of an access to technology. You can use the projector to show photos or Powerpoint. As someone who cannot draw, it is much easier to copy and paste a photo then attempt to draw it.

We’ve met some really cool teachers here. Since there is so much more western influence here, we were introduced to a sports bar owned by some Canadians. Every Thursday they have a quiz night. We decided to go, despite a big rain storm that had started. After the quiz night ended, our group called for some taxis. The rain was really coming down and it was about 11:30. It turned out that the cabs couldn’t get in the driveway to the bar because of flooding on the road. We walked down to the street after wading across the sidewalk and it took 2 hours to find a cab to take us. The cabs wouldn’t take us back to the suburbs, they only wanted to go to Guangzhou. We had to pay extra to get back home. There was so much flooding on the road that the 15 min cab ride turned into 45. We had forgotten our keycards to let the cabbie into the gated community, so we had to get dropped off at the front and swim to our building (not literally swim, but the water was up to my knees). We didn’t get home until 3 a.m. and had class at 8 a.m. What an insane night.

This past weekend, we decided to explore Guangzhou. We went to some shopping areas because Kenny wanted to try to find shoes for his giant feet. We went around looking, but couldn’t find any that were big enough. We then went to a part of town with a lot of electronic markets. We found a new camera that is really sharp and wasn’t too expensive. We bought it and then found a great Mexican restaurant and had a dinner. The food was great and so were the Margaritas. First time eating Mexican food since we left home. Exploring the city was fun, but we were exhausted by the time we got home. I’m looking forward to seeing more of the city in the upcoming weeks.

Yum... Margaritas!

Not much else is new here. We are still really enjoying ourselves. Also, please do me a favor and VOTE NO on Ohio’s Senate Bill 5. Do the right thing!

A four day weekend doesn't come along often without using up our vacation time. We originally tried to go to Xi'an, but there weren't any train tickets left. Instead, we decided to take a few days and explore a town in southern Ningxia called Guyuan, and we took the express bus. We arrived Sunday evening and had a nice dinner followed by some KTV. Anne and Michael gave me a wonderful gift. They bought me a recorder to play. Recorders are the plastic flute looking instruments that children play in music class when they are in elementary school.

The following day we had wanted to see the Buddhist Grottoes, but it rained the entire day. Instead we walked around Guyuan. One of the biggest differences from Yinchuan is the completely different climate. The land was green and there were rolling hills in the town that quickly turned into mountains outside the city. The town is about 20% of the size of Yinchuan and there are many more Hui people in Guyuan. During our bus ride, I noticed that the further south we went, the more mosques and Hui people appeared.

During our day of exploration, we were not surprised to see people totally awestruck by three foreigners. A new supermarket opened up and we decided to take a look around. You can see in the picture that they hadn't quite finished putting up signs and everything is free!

Outside of the supermarket, Anne and Michael were playing the scratch off lottery tickets. People were gawking and staring at us the whole time so I decided to give them something to stare at. I started playing the recorder for all the people staring at us. It was pretty funny.

When we were in Ximi Shan, Kenny used the restrooms and noticed something that doesn't belong. Can you tell me what it is?

The next day we woke up early and went to see the Buddhist Grottoes at Ximi Shan. We found the nicest taxi driver to take us out for the day. She was thrilled to be driving foreigners and she was really funny. We saw the Grottoes which were amazing. I am posting what Lonely Planet says about the Grottoes because they are not very well know, but amazing. It was an overcast day and the clouds were touching down in the mountains, it reminded me of the Smokey Mountains. The landscape was breathtaking and our photos just don't do it justice.

Here is what Lonely Planet has to say about the Grottoes:

Xūmí is the Chinese transliteration of the Sanskrit word sumeru, a Buddhist paradise. Cut into the five adjacent sandstone hills are 132 caves housing more than 300 Buddhist statues dating back 1400 years, from the Northern Wei to the Sui and Tang dynasties. Cave 5 contains Xūmí Shān’s largest statue: a colossal Maitreya (future Buddha), standing 20.6m high. It remains remarkably well preserved, even though the protective tower has long since collapsed and left it exposed to the elements. Around the corner in cave 1 is a smaller standing Buddha. Further uphill, the best statues are protected by the Yuanguan (caves 45 and 46; 6th century) and Xiangguo (cave 51; 7th century) Temples, where you can walk around the interior and examine the artwork up close – amazingly, the paint on several of the statues has yet to wear away.

When you take in the sight of these intricate carvings on the face on the mountain you wonder how the monks could possibly have created them so long ago. The entire area is very peaceful and calm and we were grateful to visit when it wasn't very crowded.

Before I end this entry I want to give a quick update to everyone who reads my blog. Kenny and I have accepted a position at a different school in a city called Foshan. The school is a private school and there are actually multiple schools on the campus. One school is for children that want to go to an international university. These classes are all taught in English. The other school is for children who will go to Chinese university. This is where Kenny and I will teach. Kenny is going to teach middle school ESL and I will teach primary school. We will both focus on speaking and listening skills. We are excited to teach at a real school, rather than a school for only language.

Foshan is a city of about 5 million people. It is located about an hour away from Guangzhou, which is the third biggest city in mainland China (behind Shanghai and Beijing). Foshan is about a two hour drive from Hong Kong too. One of the main attractions for this job is the location. We won't have a winter this year as the climate is subtropical. Although we like living in Yinchuan, we have seen many of the sights here and traveled to other locations in the region. Living in Foshan will give us a chance to see another part of the country. We are moving on October 4th to start the new job.

We had been waiting for weeks for the evening of July 24, when my parents would finally arrive in China for about a 10 day vacation. After teaching all day on Saturday, I went home to check my email and see if they were en route to Chicago (the first leg of their journey). Instead, I came home to emails saying that they had been delayed. This continued for a while and rather my parents missed their flight to Beijing, and had to wait until the following day. Disappointed, I waited again and was relieved when they left Chicago for Beijing. Once they landed in Beijing, I started receiving emails from my father's Blackberry saying that they've been delayed again. Rather than arriving around 9:00 pm Sunday night, they came in at 1:30 am Monday morning, without luggage.

Initially, we had planned to spend two and half days in Yinchuan and then boarding the overnight train to Xi'an. We would stay in a Xi'an a few days and then fly to Beijing for about 5 days until everyone would go to airport and fly home. Since the arrival was a day late and we were told that my parent's luggage would come sometime Tuesday or Wednesday, we had to cancel our visit to Xi'an. Finally, our vacation could really begin though.

After finding some clothes at the local shops, we met up with Anne and Michael to go see the Great Wall. We hired two lovely taxi drivers who seemed to enjoy themselves driving the foreigners to see the wall. It was pretty hot though, and after a few photos we headed back into the city.

A view from the Great Wall in Yinchuan

The surrounding desert from on top of the wall.

Later that evening, we met back up with Anne and Michael as well as Helen for a dinner at my favorite restaurant in Yinchuan, DUCK BACON! We drank a good wine that Kenny and I had bought on our first trip to Xi'an. We also celebrated Kenny's birthday and I surprised him with a cake and a new wallet. After great food and company we headed back to the apartment for a good night's sleep.

The remaining time in Yinchuan was spent shopping (for clothes for my parents who still didn't have luggage) and seeing the different parts of the city. Finally, the day before we went to Beijing, their suitcases arrived. Kenny and I were especially happy because they brought us things from the States.

My father modeling his new Chinese polo shirt.

Mom and Dad in Zhongshan Park enjoying the scenery.

The Nowels on top of the pagoda in the park.

Tom Nowel could play Chopsticks on the piano as a boy, and as man he can eat with them. (He is eating mashed potatoes with the chopsticks. The potatoes stick to the chopsticks, so basically no skill is needed to use them in this instance)

We spent our first night in Beijing in a beautiful Crowne Plaza hotel and ate at a really fancy French restaurant. Earlier in the afternoon we walked to Tiananmen Square. From there we went to the restaurant. Thinking about the restaurant makes my mouth water. The wine was delicious and I had my first steak in 8 months. After dinner, it had started to rain and we waited to catch a taxi. The black taxi's kept coming up to us (black taxis don't have meters) and tried to charge us 80RMB for a 20RMB cab ride. We were also harassed by the rickshaw taxis. They wouldn't leave us alone until we just started laughing at them like maniacs for 1. trying to rip us off and 2. expecting us to ride in the little rickshaw in the pouring rain. Finally we caught a proper cab, and went back to the hotel.

A photo of the gate to Tiananmen Square.

Posing outside our hostel.

The next day we went to the Temple of Heaven. It is a beautiful park and has old buildings and temples. A pretty interesting experience. The funniest thing were the tourist shops. One of which had an area where you could put on Emperor costumes, sit on a throne, and get your photo taken. We talked my dad into it and he was so funny. Afterwards, we found a great Italian restaurant with great wine and made a night of it.

The Temple of Heaven

Tom Nowel the Emperor

The following day we went to Mao's Mausoleum. After we saw it (kind of a strange thing to see) we went into the Forbidden City. The Forbidden City was really cool. There is so much history inside of it, and it spans so many years. It was really beautiful. However, it was so hot that day that we decided to see only the important buildings. I think if I go back to Beijing I'll see it again, and spend more time.

At this point I had gotten a bad eye infection and we found a clinic with Western doctors. I saw the doctor and then we had a quick dinner and called it a night. We had signed up for a tour of the Great Wall that left early in the morning.

Unfortunately, when I woke up for our Great Wall trip my eye was even worse. We were able to postpone the trip for a day and went back to the clinic where I saw an eye doctor. He gave me better medicine and it was so much better by the following morning. Since we didn't see the wall, we went shopping after the clinic. We went to the Silk Market, which is just a huge building where you bargain for goods with the vendors. My mother really wanted to buy a silk scarf but was getting annoyed with the vendors harassing her. She decided that she would pretend to be deaf and I would be her translator. It was so difficult to keep a straight face when she would use fake sign language (extremely obvious fake sign language), but we got the job done and she left with a few scarfs for a good price.

The next morning, we finally took our trip to the Great Wall. It was a great experience seeing what is outside Beijing. The wall itself was amazing. When you think about how difficult it must have been to climb a mountain and build a wall on top of it. It is an interesting contrast to the section of the wall in Ningxia.

From the wall.

Later that evening we took the subway out to see the Bird's Nest from the Beijing Olympic Village. We ended up being as much as a tourist attraction as the stadium itself. Many people stared and took photos of us. The stadium was beautiful, and thanks to a great tip from the folks at the hostel we went at night so we could see it lit up.

Olympic Champions!!!

Sadly, our vacation came to a close and we went back to the airport the next day. It was great experiencing Beijing with my family. It was equally fun showing them around Yinchuan and giving them a dose of real China. Kenny and I are especially grateful for the amazing dinners they treated us to in Beijing. We seldom have a chance to eat Western food in Yinchuan, and hadn't eaten any Western food that good since our last night in the USA.

It has been a while since I’ve written. A few interesting things have happened since my last update, but we are tying to save money for our upcoming vacation. The most exciting thing on the horizon is the visit from my parents in about a week and a half. We are planning on spending a few days in Yinchuan, then taking the train to Xi’an. After a few days in Xi’an we will go to Beijing. I planned this trip for my family, and I hope that it will give them a good taste of different parts of this enormous country. With any luck, they will get bitten by the travel bug (very contagious) and come back again soon!

Since my last update we went to Sand Lake with our friends, Anne and Michael. Sand Lake is about an hour outside of the city in what should be the desert. However, for farming the government built this huge manmade lake flows to individual farms throughout the area. The lake is adjacent to the sandy desert with some very nice dunes. Of course, this has been turned into a tourist site. We took a day trip and enjoyed walking around. There were many touristy things to do, and it could get expensive quickly. Kenny and I did a few things like ride ATVs around the dunes, go on the lake in little paddle-boats, and slide down the dune on a sled. It was fun, but expensive. Anne and Michael were parasailing and it was funny to watch them go around the lake in the parachute.

The school put on a talent competition in the park and three of my classes performed. All classes originally tried out, but they made cuts so only the good ones made it to the park. I was proud of my classes. One of my classes placed third and the other placed second. It was fun to watch them perform.

On our way out of the park we ran across this strange dance party. There was Chinese pop music playing and people of all ages dancing (badly). Anne and I decided to participate the following week.

The next week, we started drinking wine together as soon as the school day ended. Around 8:30 we were getting a little drunk and decided it was perfect time to go dancing. We arrived in the park and busted out our “moves” and half the crowd stopped dancing and circled around us, watching. I found this quite funny and decided to impress them with my robot dance moves. Every time I looked up, more people had come to watch us. It is funny how much attention you can get here just because you look different. I have since semi-retired my dance moves, but plan to bring them out again soon.

One of the things I have been dreading to do in China was to cut my hair. It had been more than 6 months since my last trip to the salon. My most trusted Chinese friend took me to a high-end salon. I wanted to re-perm my hair in the body wave that I had done back in the US. They stylist told me he could do it. It took 5 hours, and they didn’t do any of the normal procedures they do in the states. In fact, we took a picture of the crazy machine they put my hair in. The perm didn’t work at all. I hope to get a real one done in Beijing at one of the salons that typically styles foreigners hair.

Nothing else too interesting has happened. We are still enjoying our time here. The weather has been great, hot but not humid. We use two small fans to keep cool, but we haven’t needed air conditioning. My Chinese is finally coming along now, and I can also read and write the characters. Still a lot more to learn though.

Funny German beer that was imported into our supermarket. I don't if this is effective marketing...
Lamb foot that we all like to eat late at night. It is really good, but I though it might scare a few of you, hence the upload.
At our favorite Reggae Bar!

Kenny is the model Reggae spokesman!

I will write again after my vacation with my family!