Beautiful Suzhou
Since Reeds left, there has been a significant drop in my mood. I’m depressed, angry, stressed and just generally ‘over it’. This could be compounded by the fact the weather has been shocking, work is just crazy and I found out one of our parishioners passed away quite suddenly. Makes you super aware of how far away from home you are.
So when the opportunity came up to leave Shanghai to go visit some schools I jumped at the chance! My beautiful friend Amy and I were selected to go for one day (Monday 20th). We thought, what the hell, let’s go a day early and see the sights!
Amy found this great deal for a 5 star hotel…why not splurge every once in awhile? The school organised our train tickets for us. I was a little scared…travelling on a train with hundreds of Chinese people, all staring at me because I’m the only westerner? But it wasn’t too bad. Our strategy now is to stare back and say ‘hello, would you like to take a photo? It might last longer.’
We arrived in Suzhou…rain rain rain. All day…rain! But we weren’t going to be beaten! Managed to find a taxi to take us to our AMAZING hotel. Brand new, enormous, gorgeous room overlooking a beautiful lake (see FBook for pics). But we didn’t want to hang around the hotel all day…we needed to explore!
So we set off in a taxi to a place called Tiger Hill. This is the final resting place for He Lu, the founding father of Suzhou. It is a completely man made hill, complete with gorgeous gardens and Cloud Rock Pagoda. The pagoda has started to sink. I read in the Lonely Planet guide that the highest point is now 2m off its original position!
An hour or so into our little trip, the rain started to absolutely pelt down…now I’m sure most of you know, finding a cab in China when it starts to rain is like the search for the Holy Grail.
Hours went by…no cab. Okay, maybe not hours but long enough for my pants to be soaking wet despite the umbrella I was clutching. Finally a motorised rickshaw pulled up. Our saviour!!! “Take us to Humble Administrators Garden please!”…oh hang on, no English….zhege difang (this place) Amy then passed him a card with the name in Chinese. So off we went…driving through Suzhou in an old rickshaw that sounded like a lawn mower, still getting soaked from the rain that was actually coming down sideways! Our saviour turns out to be a man hell bent on ripping us off…he demanded 40RMB! That’s more than a normal cab! Ah well, it does happen from time to time.
Finally made it to Humble Administrators Garden but in absolutely no mood to see anything or be outside one second longer. “Let’s just find coffee”. Great idea! Ah…maybe not, no coffee to be found. After another hour of wandering I was thinking, perhaps we should have just stayed in the lobby? You know it’s not a good sign when your underwear is actually soaked!
Just at the point where we lost our sense of humour a cab pulled up. Thank you God! Who says he doesn’t answer prayers? “Take us to the hotel!!!!” Oh crap, no English….”zhege difang”
Back at the hotel we relaxed, had a glass of wine, ate dinner downstairs in the lobby and met the band. Two girls from the Philippines who had a 9 month contract to sing in the lobby. They lived IN the hotel. What a life that would be?!
The best part though was breakfast…I wish I had taken photos, you have never seen anything like it in your life. The most amazing breakfast buffet I have ever experienced. Anything you could possibly think of to eat was there and so beautifully presented. I certainly did not want to head off to visit schools, I just wanted to sit around all morning and eat the breakfast buffet!
That said, it was great to see other International Schools. Our concerns and issues are largely similar. It really is quite a different system. I took lots of photos and have some great ideas to take back to work.
I am feeling better, my mood is lighter, the weather is getting warmer and I don’t feel so stressed…Maybe I should visit Suzhou and get soaked in the rain more often?
Sarah Brightman
I wouldn’t believe it if I hadn’t seen it myself. A woman who is more of a princess than me! What a spectacular concert!
There were rose petals falling from the ceiling, large swings on which to perch whilst singing, a bed that requires a ladder (and two men in white spandex), a MASSIVE mirror angled in such a way that one could lie on the floor and sing but the entire concert hall could still see your reflection.
I don’t think I’ve ever witnessed such an over the top, dramatic, glittery concert. There is something to be said for people who understand that a show is a show…if you’re going to do it, go all out! Throw glitter, include interpretive dancing, throw your dress around and make sure you change your outfit at least 10 times in the one show.
I was on a high after the concert, I felt like I had really been ‘out’…like I was attending my first big concert all over again.
To all princesses out there…put it on your list of things to do before you die.
Now…time to revamp my wardrobe!
xx
You Wouldn’t Believe…
My blog is back! I don’t know how long it will last. The firewall might close it tomorrow! Fingers crossed that is not the case.
So much to report from my last post! I will try to keep it brief (haha…as if).
Christmas - Had a million and one people over from Dad’s side of the family for the weeks around Christmas time. It was so so nice to have everyone together. We ate lots, drank lots and sat up till late catching up and telling stories. The only down side to this was that I hadn’t seen my immediate family for four and half months and they we were all busy entertaining the whole time. I felt a little sad having to come back to China after only 10 days in Oz. I’ll be back in July for a good 3 weeks though…101 days and counting!
Chinese New Year – I was fortunate enough to bring back a little extra luggage with me on the plane…Reeds! I was generous enough to let him share my apartment and I even let him have some wardrobe space! After a few crazy weeks back at work it was time for holidays again! This time Chinese New Year. I had bought Reeds and I tickets to Beijing for his Christmas present. I don’t think I’ve ever felt so cold in my life! I was dressed in at least four layers of clothing and had big hiking boots on but still I thought I was literally going to freeze to death! Somehow I became disgustingly sick and spent most of the daytime pushing to see things and the nighttime was spent sleeping as much as I could.
Despite all the negativity, I really enjoyed Beijing. It is still clean from the Olympics, very well organised, and has that wonderful blend of old meets new. The Great Wall was particularly spectacular. Particularly given the proposal at the top of the wall! Yes, that’s right, Super Woman is engaged!
Reeds will tell the story completely differently but here’s my account. We began scaling the wall, aware that we had 1.5hrs (more than enough time I assure you), so there was no need to rush. I was in such awe of the place, I just wanted to soak it in and stroll at an easy pace. Too bad for me though, Reeds bolted! I could not keep up, I kept trying to get him to slow down but he wouldn’t. So of course Super Woman was not a happy camper! What ever happened to stopping to smell the roses?
By the time we reached the top of the wall I was very grumpy. I walked straight past Reeds without looking at him…how dare he leave me to be lapped by 3 year olds! He called my name once, I ignored. Called my name again, again I ignored, called my name a third time, I turned around, looked him in the eye and said…. “WHAT???”
That’s when he proposed! haha… that certainly blew the wind out of my sail! Reeds had been carrying my beautiful ring around since we had arrived in China. He spoke to me in Chinese, Spanish and English and even got down on one knee! I didn’t think he had such romanticism in him! I began to cry (typical girl) and was crying so much I forgot to give an answer! Finally Reeds said “please say yes”….hahahaha. I guess a bit of suspense never hurt anyone!
So Beijing was great great great!!!
Paul Van Dyke – I still cannot believe we got tickets to see Paul Van Dyke. Noone else here in Shanghai seemed to care but Reeds and I were over the moon! We danced all night (well until 1am anyway…we are nearing 30) and had a great time listening to one of the kings of the DJ world. Chinese clubs are hilarious! We walked in and I thought the bar tenders were making lots of cocktails because I could hear ice in a shaker all over the place…but where was the sound coming from??? Oh wait hang on…no cocktails, people are drinking non-descript liquids out of test tubes and the sound is dice shaking in a cup…why on earth would you go to a club to play dice???? Astounding. My next wish is to see Sarah Brightman. It will be quite different to PVD I’m sure!
Sad News - Reeds and I have just been unnaturally split from each other. Poor Reeds couldn’t get work in Shanghai. The market is terrible at the moment. So we had to make the very difficult decision to live in different countries for the next couple of years. It’s still very raw and hurts like hell so I won’t elaborate too much. We are confident we will get through and I will try to get home to Oz as much as possible…I’d still like some visitors though! Noone wants to come visit me???
Furthering my Education - I’m starting to wonder if this is a good idea…I have begun my Masters Degree in Education, majoring in Curiculum and Pedagogy…I’m in Week 3 and already stressing out! Procrastination is like riding a bike really isn’t it? You never really forget how to do it.
That’s it for now…sorry that was so long, I will endeavour to post more frequently in the future.
Have a wonderful week everyone! xxx
Ciao
Halloween, Tennis and Getting Lost
So I haven’t written for quite some time. Largely this is because my life has taken on a routine similar to that of home. I wake up, go to work, come home, go to sleep and then start the whole business again!
It’s funny how your life can be transported half way across the world and not change all the much. Small things are different, but mostly my life is the same.
A few points of interest.
The teachers and I received free tickets to go to the Tennis Masters Cup. It was a fun evening, odd that the stadium is so similar to Rod Laver Arena! Kinda freaked me out a little! When the players came out, they were introduced like it was a boxing match….”and now, all the way from Russia…” blah blah blah. They had the sparkly curtain and the smoke machine doing overtime! We all had a little giggle over that. So over the top!
Halloween was great fun, we all dressed up for school and then had an amazing party that night. Imagine a mob of westerners in fish nets, wigs and all sorts of odd get ups, wandering down the main street! We all got a few strange looks but who cares!
We have a long weekend this weekend, for no other reason except that the school decided we needed one at about this time of year. Thursday night we thought it would be a good idea to venture outside our little neighbourhood and see more of Shanghai. So we dressed ourselves up, had the little card ready with the address of a beautiful little bar and jumped in a cab. Too bad the address was wrong! We ended up all the way on the other side of Shanghai…no people, few cars, definitely no other cabs to be seen. Good thing we were all together! Found the correct address, told the taxi driver to turn around and take us back. 157RMB later we arrived at our destination (a cab ride is usually no more than 35RMB). Ah well…we all need to have these funny moments!
Bye for now, I hope everyone is well…stay tuned for the next adventure….KYLIE MINOGUE CONCERT!!!!!!!
Zaijian xx
Beautiful Hangzhou
China knows how to celebrate a national holiday! One whole week off! So what does one do with such time after a very stressful start to the school year? Head to Hangzhou!
It was an amazing place, see ye ole Facebook for photos. The West Lake was amazing, not the quaint little lake I was imagining but an enormous lake with restaurants, art galleries, museums etc…think Southbank and botanical gardens put together.
The only problem was the taxis…pretty much the entire population of Shanghai descended on Hangzhou…traffic was a nightmare and taxis extremely hard to get. So, after my experience on Nanjing Road, stuck in the rain with no way to get a taxi…I took matters into my own hands. I saw a free cab and dived on it! Literally! My Chinese friend Judy said “wow! You’re really Chinese now!” Funny what we will do out of necessity!
The second day we hired a driver (much more civilized), sounds posh but only cost 400 quai for the day. He knew all the little back streets and good places to get silk, fans, green tea etc…We went to this cute little street (He Fang Lu). Again, lots of people but great little shops and heaps of tea houses. Katryna and I found a weapon shop! We started taking photos, posing as if we were ninjas…then a shop assistant tapped me on the shoulder and basically told me to get the hell out of her shop…oops!
The rest of the holiday was a blur of nice cocktails and funny Chinese arts students thinking they can swing dance to jazz music (think ballroom meets irish dancing).
Well worth a visit if anyone gets the opportunity!
Hope everyone is well in Australia, have been missing decent coffee and long lazy brunches!
Zaijian
xx
Lesson learned
Lesson One – Don’t ever go out in Shanghai when it’s raining.
So I decided (after the persuasive powers of Mustang) that shopping can’t be the only thing I do in Shanghai. It’s important to get out there and do some ‘cultural immersion’. I had heard from a parent that the Shanghai Art Museum was holding their annual event ‘Bienale’. The theme this year is Trans Local Motion. Goodness knows what that means but it was a transport theme which ties in well with our unit this quarter on ‘Migration’.
The thing is I had no one to go with. But I thought to myself…this is your adventure…you need to go outside your comfort zone! So after giving myself a stern talking to I ventured into the wild streets of Shanghai, ready to face whatever challenges lay ahead!
Found a taxi easily…had the address written in my Shanghai Residents Guide and even explained where it was in Chinese! Not bad I thought…great start!
Turned one corner…grid lock! Ah well, I tell myself, it’s only 2.30 and the exhibition finishes at 5pm…plenty of time! Arrived at the top of Nanjing Road at 3pm…more gridlock. Ah well, I tell myself, I know where to go, I’ll just walk! Paid the taxi driver and began walking. Little did I know that I had to walk the full length of Nanjing Road…one of the longest roads in downtown Shanghai! Ah well, I tell myself, think of all the calories I’m burning!
Then the rain starts…lightly at first, then heavier and heavier…I found out later I was walking through a typhoon! Ah well, I tell myself, I have my umbrella, it’s only my legs that are getting a little soggy.
I finally reached the Art Museum…1 hour later. Hooray!!!! I’ve made it! Time for some culture!! Shake myself off, find the entrance and two rather stern looking security guards who not very graciously tell me in their broken English that no, I cannot enter, the museum has shut for the day.
Ah well, I tell myself, I gave it a shot! Maybe I can come back another time, at least I now know where it is. It’s 4.15pm anyway, I should head home and have a nice shower and a cup of tea…except…no taxis. Anyone who has spent any time in Shanghai will know that for every 3 cars, one will always be a taxi. So why couldn’t I get one? Rain…bloody rain. No more ‘ah well’, I told myself, this is just too much!!!
6pm…driving rain…still no taxi. Very soggy and not a happy camper. Finally decided to call my Chinese friend for advice…the beautiful soul came and saved me! So after leaving the house at 2.30pm I finally arrived home at 7pm with no culture but a very important lesson learned.
Random Thoughts, Funny Moments, Memories to Keep
Bit of a pain of a week. Our new school building is still not finished. So we’re all cramping ourselves into existing classrooms for a few weeks while it gets done. I guess that’s the thing with China, time has a different meaning. People do not want to disappoint you or say no. They would rather apologise later than say no straight out. The impact of this is that we have no building to move into and the children are starting on Monday! Ah well…that’s life I guess. We’re all going in tomorrow (Sunday) to set up our teaching spaces. Could be an interesting day.
I went to the Flower Market today. What a beautiful relaxing thing to do! No crowds of people and the smell of fresh flowers and green leaves everywhere. I bought a small bouquet of jasmine, an orchid and a large indoor pot plant that is taller than me! Thank goodness they deliver! It’s so nice to have some green in the apartment. Makes it feel like home.
So on the way back from this beautiful experience, sitting in the taxi, wind blowing through my hair, what do I see? A man, mid to late 40s, dash across the street to the nature strip and vomit the entire contents of his stomach. It was like a waterfall of orange gunk…My initial reaction was ‘oh my goodness…is he ok?’ Then I moved to….that’s gross!!! Glad to know the former was my first response!
After a small recharge at my apartment, Amy and I decided we would tackle IKEA. They have some really great stuff that is ridiculously cheap. Has anyone seen those documentaries of Asian railway stations with the men that push you onto the train? Well that’s what IKEA is like on the weekend. My ankles are still recovering from being rammed by trolleys! A year ago I wouldn’t cope with such craziness but I took it all in my stride and even pushed a few people out of the way myself! We zipped through IKEA as fast as we could and filled our trolleys…then we reached the checkouts…AGH!!!! 20 checkouts with each one 20 customers deep! It took us half an hour to reach the checkout and purchase our goodies. This wouldn’t be so bad if it weren’t for the man behind me. He had absolutely no regard for my personal space and stood directly behind me while I waited in the queue for half an hour! Amy stood in the next queue laughing her head off…it was so bizarre! So I tried a little trick…I turned side on and put my hand on my hip, thinking that would give me more space. Ba bow…he moved closer so that my elbow was digging into his stomach! Bloody hilarious!
Never mind…there was a cute cute black French guy in the next line over…at least the view was good!
Zaijian wo de pengyomen
xx
Anniversary!
1st September Mustang and I celebrated our First Anniversary! Very sad that we were not in the same location but we are both flexible and creative people so we adapted! I received the most beautiful bunch of red roses at work! Goodness knows how Mustang figured out where I worked and how to get the address…I guess the internet really does tell you everything!
In the evening we had a date on Skype! Very romantic! I lit some candles, opened some wine and he did the same. Then we sat on Skype, ate our dinners together and spoke for a few hours. It was such a lovely evening and we weren’t even in the same house!
Then today I receive a beautiful card in the mail! Somehow Mustang had worked out how to print a card that has a photo of the two of us on the front! He also wrote an amazing message inside…better not tell you all what he wrote coz he might be embarrassed! But it was beautiful and heartfelt. I am a very very lucky girl!
I’m not so happy that the gift I was having delivered to his workplace didn’t arrive. I hope he gets it soon!
Other Funny Tid Bits:
- Watching women ride push bikes in high heels
- Today I saw a man riding a motorcycle with a horse riding helmet on!
- Looking through the drinks list at a bar and finding the ‘Cocktalls’ section (insert rude joke here)
- Learning naughty words in Chinese and accidentally offending the taxi driver whilst practicing!
Zaijian!
xx
The Innocence of Childhood
Whilst walking home the other night, I came across a tiny little girl, no more than 4 years old, and her grandparents.
My initial response was…’it’s 9 o’clock! She should be in bed asleep!’
Then I saw what was happening. This little girl was running an exercise routine for her grandparents. It was the cutest thing! She was calling out “yi, er, san” and swinging her arms around and bending and dipping. The grandparents were copying her crazy moves and laughing the whole time.
In China, many grandparents end up having to look after their children’s babies because the parents have to work extremely long hours. I’ve heard of some parents who only see their children a couple of times per year because the commute is so long.
So I thought to myself ‘who cares if it’s 9 o’clock and she’s not asleep!’ The joy and delight on this little girl’s face and on that of her grandparents was worth staying up for!
xx
Water Water Everywhere and Not a Drop to Drink
The phrase “to go with the flow” now has new meaning for me.
At about 6am this morning the rain started, then the lightning and thunder. This is not unusual; we have had some fantastic storms in the couple of weeks that I have been here. So I got dressed and ready, made sure I had my umbrella and off I went to catch the school bus.
What a surprise to find that the bottom floor of our apartment building had flooded! And that was only the beginning…
My entire street was flooded! The girls and I began our usually short walk to the bus stop on Hong Mei Lu. We squelched and trudged our way up the street, sometimes knee deep, other times only ankle deep. Then we came to the main intersection and had to cross to get to the bus stop…I couldn’t even see the pavement anymore and the road was completely submerged!
We practically swam to the bus stop, laughing and giggling the whole way. Lots of photos were taken (see Facebook account). 40 minutes later…no bus…it is stuck in traffic (surprise surprise). Finally we are given the news we expected…no work today.
So we trudged back home, hypothesizing which diseases we may have caught (thank goodness for immunization) and finally made it to our apartments. I showered in an effort to scrub all the ‘I don’t know what’ off my legs and feet.
It is still raining as I write this update, the roads are still flooded and we’re not even sure if we’ll be able to get to work tomorrow. But, as our Director Alfonso always says “this is China”. Things are different, the drainage system doesn’t work so well, but we’re all safe, happy and have a great story to tell!
Have a great day!
xx
![Four in a Row [Explored]](http://static.flickr.com/7018/6782703137_25b3b3b811_t.jpg "Four in a Row [Explored]")
