Tatooed Fish!So here I am…… in China. I arrived on August 31 and have been busy ever since. There are 22 non-native teachers working in the English Language Center at Shantou University and 20 Chinese teachers. There is an interesting mix of non-native teachers, coming from the US, Tasmania, India, Brazil and France.
After a few meetings we were flown to Hainan island in the South China Sea where we were all given matching hats to wear on our weeklong tour. If you take a tour in China, it seems to be a requirement that everyone wear something that matches. The Chinese tour groups really outshined our group…..many groups we saw were wearing matching Hawaiian shirts, shorts, and hat outfits. It was a challenge for most of us to be herded around from place to place on the tour when we have been accustomed to independent travel. After our work sessions, we did see some nice beaches and landscape.
Now, back in Shantou, I have been busy settling into the apartment and making preparations for the upcoming semester, which starts on September 28. The city of Shantou is not attractive, but it does have some creature comforts like a place to get a massage, acupuncture, or reflexology, a few decent restaurants, a Walmart, and a Pizza Hut. The other day I realized that I was willing to ride around on the hot city bus all day in order to find the Pizza Hut (I don’t normally eat there)! The things I do when I live overseas! So we were successful in finding the Pizza Hut and took the local bus back to campus. At a stop light I noticed that the light had turned green and our bus wasn’t moving. Cars were zooming past us. We looked at the driver and he had decided to take a nap! An old man next to me also noticed this and looked at me and laughed with his one front tooth dangling from his gum. It was a funny moment! On the way back to campus, the driver proceeded to take naps at the red lights.
Shantou University is located outside of the city (this is a good thing) and has many trees and tropical plants. The campus has two swimming pools, some restaurants, and most importantly….a fruit smoothie place! I’m so happy that I can find tropical fruits here…the mangoes are delicious.
I’ll be teaching freshman who have intermediate English language proficiency. They have also asked me to mentor a new teacher and be a Coordinator for my level team. I’m excited about these new responsibilities. I’m also hoping to be able to present a workshop at CAMTESOL in Cambodia.
I’m not sure if I’ll be able to keep updating my blog. China has something known as the “Great Firewall of China” and many websites are blocked here including Facebook and Blogger. I’ve found a proxy and that’s how I’m updating my blog now, but could lose access at any time.
