Karli's 24th Birthday!

So this was actually not the REAL birthday celebration Karli will remember...or maybe not... This was the party at lunchtime to satisfy the rest of the staff members - they love their cake! But when the dust settled, we found ourselves wandering into a swanky-looking bar down the street from Wal-Mart where we had been buying groceries. Once we established that there was no secret password to the "secret password door", this was when the trouble started...it seemed like a good idea at the time. We took an instant liking to the manager, as she did to us. Her name is Asia and she is from Siberia. We decided to first order a much craved (for Karli) bottle of Guiness - I had one too. Then we decided that since the bar was so fancy and suave, we should really be drinking wine. So we shared a bottle of white wine. It tasted like pure heaven and we were having such a good conversation that one thing led to another and we ordered another bottle...oops! It was a great time, but we sure paid for it when we both had to teach at 8:20 AM. We know you've all been there... All in all a good birthday for Karli - just wish we had the camera with us that night!

Our Trip to See the Great Wall of China

Karli, John, Roland and I took the train ride to Shanhaiguan in early November to see the Great Wall. It is a portion that is not as popular and therefore not so touristy. It was a bit of a windy day when we arrived, but we were so amazed by the Wall that it hardly mattered. The next day we went to see Old Dragon Head – the only place where the Great Wall meets the sea.

Pictures of my classes

The picture of me with the 7 guys is my HVAC class. They don't really like learning English - but we have some good fun together teasing each other. They are, from right to left, Carl, Ian, Bruce, Daniel, Knight and beside me is King and Victor. The woman is Christina - I teach her at night at Emerson, an American-owned company. The man is Bob, I also teach him at Emerson. The two big classes are my Freshemen English Bachelor students (34 students each). They are so sweet, and most of them are so enthusiastic about learning English. We had a lot of fun as their vocabulary is good enough to do a lot of interesting role-playing together.

Ok...so I admit I have been slacking...

There are many issues that affect the frequency of the blogging:
1. The Internet basically sucks here, it was hard to post before, often taking 3 or 4 tries for each post, but now because of the recent earthquake in Taiwan, it is even worse.
2. We have been doing really nothing other than teaching as of late. My life is not that interesting here. I am actually really looking forward to coming home at this point.
3. I had wanted to finish the series on our trip to Inner Mongolia before posting anything else, but the pictures we were going to use belonged to someone else and we cannot get them anymore.
4. I am lazy.

But I will do my best to make a more concerted effort now that classes have ended at SIE, as of yesterday for me, today for Karli. I am still teaching my night classes at Emerson, and we have three weeks of Winter Session coming up, but between then and now I will promise to try…

So this is what has been happening:
- We took our trip to the Great Wall at the beginning of November – it was truly amazing.
- We celebrated Karli’s 24th birthday by drinking two bottles of wine at a new bar we discovered after shopping at Walmart (yeah, I know, I am selling out over here) called Jia – very cool place.
- We had our first snow and made a lovely, if small, snowman with our friend Pete. The snowman was christened Dr. Gan Bei.
- We celebrated a very different kind of Christmas – Matt Norick came to visit us from Korea. We partied it up royally the first night at Sunny Nightclub, took Matt for all sorts of Chinese delicacies (I think he really enjoyed the food), and generally had a great time together. One Christmas Eve, the school took all the foreign teachers and Chinese staff out to a supper/party at a hotel. The food was great and then there was entertainment – some of it great, some of it not so much. It was fun though. We said goodbye to Matt at 4:30 Christmas day, and Karli had to teach that morning. We spent the rest of the day talking to family and friends, reading and drinking red wine – basically trying to forget we were missing Christmas at home. We kept waiting for it to feel like Christmas, but that feeling never came. We both agree that we have to treat it as though we just skipped Christmas this year, for our own good. It was just another day here... We finished by having hamburgers at Pete’s apartment with all the other teachers and Crystal, where we all exchanged gifts.
- Now New Year’s – that was better. I think it was easier because it is not as much a family holiday, more of a party time. I started the day by running some errands, then the school had a big lunch for all of us in the adjacent hotel. Karli was not there because she had been taken to a restaurant with some of her students to learn how to make dumplings - she had a great time. I went to two of my classes’ New Year’s “parties” in the afternoon. Their parties basically consist of them sitting in a classroom eating fruit and sunflower seeds (which most of them just huck on the floor) and they all get up and sing KTV. So different from University parties in Canada. Then Karli and I cleaned up and decorated for the party we were hosting. Everyone came over at around 7:30 and we ate, drank, visited and danced until midnight. At 12, we all shot off these big tubes that have compressed confetti in them. It got everywhere! We are still finding it is the drapes, light fixtures, etc. But it was so fun! Then we did a cheers with magnums of “sparkling wine” that Steve got for about $2.50 each – they tasted like sparkling cough syrup. Then the best part – we all got our pots and pans and ran outside letting all of China know it was 2007! As we were banging, two guards came up to us. We were a little worried, but then one of them started banging one of our pots! It was, all in all, a really fun night.
- We finished our finals with our classes at SIE, and so here we are…we don’t start Winter Session until January 22nd, so we have the next two weeks basically off…
- We are going to Harbin, to the Ice Festival, on Tuesday night – that should be awesome.
- When we get back my parents will be here for the next week visiting. I am sooo looking forward to seeing them and showing them around the city I have some to call my home in China.
- We teach Winter Session for three weeks and then it is Spring Festival starting February17th, so NO WORK!!! LOTS OF FIREWORKS!!! LOTS OF DUMPLINGS!!! LOTS OF FUN!!!
- Then our plane tickets are booked for February 21st and we get back to Regina at about 8:15 PM the same day (but about 22 hours later…) Cannot wait to get home!!!

So that’s it - you are all up to date now. Now all I have to do is send some pictures if it will work!

Trip to Inner Mongolia - Day 5

After yet another day of rising before the sun (or so it seemed), we headed out for our last day of adventures in Inner Mongolia. Our first point of interest was the palace… which one exactly we are not too sure. But a palace none the less! We toured around inside, checking out each room, and what it was used for. Possibly this tour would have been better suited for someone with a greater knowledge of Chinese history. We enjoyed our visit and the wonderful architecture of ancient Chinese buildings.

We ate lunch at a restaurant nearby. Following our meal we were serenaded by a lovely young girl and her accompanist on a traditional Chinese stringed instrument. Following lunch and our private concert, we returned to the front gates of the palace for many photo opportunities.

The second attraction that day was an ancient temple. Immediately upon entrance we were advised of the “hush” requirement for inside the gates. We later found out that the reason for silence was not because it was a spiritual resting place, but because they were shooting a movie. There were young men everywhere dressed up in old combat gear. We took this opportunity to pose… surprise, surprise!

On our way back into Chifeng, we stopped for many attractions on the side of the highway. Our first reason for stopping was the busy farmers in their corn fields on the shoulder of the road. They had a cart full of fresh corn pulled by two of the most beautiful cows. On the other side of the highway was a field of tobacco plants. We ran down and frolicked through the rows.

Entirely exhausted from our busy day, we went back to the hotel, and sadly crashed in bed before 8 o’clock!

Trip to Inner Mongolia - Day 4

Inner Mongolia is a very agricultural area, and, consequently, there are often herds of cattle, goats and sheep near to the highway we traveled along. However, on the morning of our fourth day, the herd of sheep was actually crossing the road. We just had to stop for this photo opportunity, so John and I ran out of the van just in time to snap a few pictures of the herd that was now crossing at a quick sprint. There was one fat, lazy sheep that was a straggler. He crossed after the rush at a leisurely saunter. They were very cute! Later that morning, we were frustrated by all the back and forth of closed highways when a can of beer that had been purchased the night before and was packed in the van, happened to roll up the aisle of the van right to Karli and I. We decided that this was a sign, figured it was noon somewhere in the world and split the beer, drinking it on the van (this is not a problem in China).

It turns out that our frustration was about to grow. While driving, we came upon a huge pile of dirt blocking the entire span of the road we were attempting to drive on. Our driver spoke with some men that were evidently working on the road and it looked like they were going to move the dirt with a front end loader. While we were waiting for this to happen, we noticed that there was a truck that had gotten stuck trying to cross a shallow stream to avoid the dirt pile in the road. We were all highly entertained by watching the different methods they tried to use to get the truck unstuck. They tried pulling the truck, pushing it, putting branches along the bank for traction, but nothing worked. Every once in a while some man would come and suggest a new idea or suggest they try something again. But still no success. After about an hour and a half, we realized that the men were not, in fact, going to move the dirt pile. So we got back on the van and headed in a different direction. We ran into another stuck truck that was blocking that road. Fortunately this one eventually moved enough that other vehicles could pass. The good thing that came out of the experience is that while waiting, some drivers got in a spat about another of the same type of truck wanted to pass ahead of the other vehicles. The others told him to wait. One little man got very angry and kept saying a word that we figured must be a swear. It turns out we were right. So we learned our first Chinese swear word.

We finally arrived to our destination, a mountain that we got up by chairlift. Before going up the mountain, we met a delightful little billy goat, who acted just like a bad puppy. He was the pet of the people who ran the store there. He nuzzled the woman, climbed up to the table and climbed up on a chair outside to reach a bowl on the window sill. We were so enchanted by this little fellow that later that night we all drank a toast “to the billy goat!” The mountain itself was so beautiful with the leaves changing colour. We had to climb to the very top, but the reward for our hard work was the view – a valley on top of the mountain. It was breathtaking… We explored around there for a while and then went back down. We drove back to Chi Feng for supper and a big discussion/fight that ensued over supper between the foreign teachers.

Trip to Inner Mongolia - Day 3

Day three started off with some more driving. We arrived in a city in mid-morning, where we found the cutest little kitten outside of one of the shops. We played with it for a while, until it tried to climb Karli’s back and then went on to the next shop, which sells this amazing Inner Mongolian beef jerky-type meat. Some of the others had a tour to see how it is made, and the same little kitten was found wandering among the meat looking for a treat! We bought some beef – it is the best beef jerky we have ever tasted! So addictive. We then drove on and had some lunch. After lunch, a group of us went for a ride on Mongolian horses: they are like regular horses, except a little smaller with shorter legs. The guide thought I was afraid of horses for some reason and so led mine along the entire way at a s-l-o-w walk. So not that exciting. We drove on to the Stone Forest, a large group of natural rock formations, created by the melting of glaciers. We enjoyed climbing on them (that is, until Karli cracked her head while laying on one for a pose!). The view up there was absolutely amazing. That night we all stayed in a large villa. Karli and I believe our room was haunted as we both saw a blue flash cross the room that we think was a ghost.

Trip to Inner Mongolia - Day 2

We started our second day of the trip driving in the van to a Yurt village. Yurts are traditional homes of the nomadic Inner Mongolians. They are usually like tents, but these were made of concrete. We then drove to the desert, where we rode camels up a sand dune. What an amazing experience – definitely the highlight of our trip! We returned to the Yurt village for lunch and then kept on driving. Our driver spotted a man selling watermelons out of a truck at the side of the highway. He bought some for everyone and we just stood eating and slurping fresh watermelon on the side of the road. We had great fun cracking them against a tree to open them and just letting the juice run all over. Our hotel that night was located in a spa town with healing waters. There were two bathtubs in each bathroom, separated by a curtain, so Karli and I both indulged in a nice hot (healing) bath, and chatted.

Halloween in China!

Halloween, of course, is not really celebrated in China, but in an effort to make foreigners feel welcome in their country, and, well just a reason to have a party, the Sea Star Restaurant at the Golden Qilin Hotel across the street from the school decided to hold a Halloween celebration. The foreign teachers from SIE (our school) and the Normal University were invited to attend. When we came in the door, the restaurant was all decorated in Halloween style, complete with tiny jack o’ lanterns and things hanging from the roof. We were allowed to choose a mask from a table full of all different sorts including ghosts, lions, Frankenstein and very pretty feathered eye masks for the ladies. Karli and I both chose these ones.

We got the best seat in the house to see all of the entertainment of the evening. The entertainment included many of the students singing, some dancing, and some comic standup (of course in Chinese, so we are not sure if it was funny or not). Karli and I also competed in a game they called “Biting Apples”. We know it as “Bobbing for Apples”. Karli, as it turns out, is an expert at this game, but was robbed in the final round and lost to a Chinese student/cheater. In the end though, it all resolved itself, because he graciously relinquished his title to its rightful owner, Karli. Ha, ha! The prize? A horrific jack-in-the-box twist, that gave Karli nightmares and cackled all night.

Throughout the evening, the foreigners were being videotaped for some purpose and then at the end of the evening they made us pose in various spots in and in front of the hotel and videotaped us some more. Who knows what they are planning to use it for, but we are often asked to pose for photos that will likely be used for promotional purposes, so this is likely the purpose. Apparently nothing sells like a group of foreign faces…

Visit to Benxi Caves and Villagers' Home

All of the foreign teachers, the Chinese staff and three Canadians from Red River College in Winnipeg (the school our school is associated with) went to visit Benxi Caves. The caves are about an hour’s drive outside of Shenyang and it is the longest underground river that you can travel by boat in the world. There were many interesting stalagmites and stalactites that formed shapes. Many of them had names like “Seal Playing with a Pearl” or “Jade Palace”. The most interesting one, that really looked like its name was one in the shape of an elephant. We took two boats down the river. Our mischievous friend Pete said that he was on a dragon hunt and kept making scary “dragon noises” which really just sounded like “ooooooooh, oooooooooh”. Then he suggested that we scare the boat of Chinese tourists that was about to pass beside our boat, so at the same time we all yelled “Rarrrrhhhhhhh!” and scared the daylights out of them. Of course we all enjoyed a big laugh.

After the cave, we went to this museum type building that had replicas of the Terracotta Warriors, then it led to another part of the museum that contained all sorts of horrific imagery, including many scenes of people bleeding and mutilated and many including Christian references. It was all very strange and kind of beyond explanation. Suffice it to say that we all left there scratching our heads and saying “What the heck was that all about??”.

We went for an interesting lunch and then were invited to go and visit the home of some villagers. The man was out front, cutting and boiling huge piles of cabbage that they keep throughout the winter to feed the pigs they keep in the yard. Inside the home, there was a small kitchen, a room that appeared to serve the purpose of a place to dry corn kernels (corn is a staple of Northern Chinese diets, you see many, many fields of it everywhere and ears of corn are often seen drying on people’s roofs). There was one room that was the living/bedroom for all the inhabitants of the house. No bed, just a kind of stage for them to sleep on. It is clear that these people live a simple life, but they seemed quite happy and satisfied, and welcomed us kindly into their home. It was very interesting to see life outside of the huge city.