emmarogers85

African Dawn and Skotia

emmarogers85 — Mon, 24 May 2010 00:00:00 GMT

The last week has just flown by. I arrived at African Dawn (Eventually!) on Monday morning. It is located about 30 minutes drive from Jeffrey's Bay and is in the middle of nowhere. I had the day to look around and settle in. The sanctuary is home to Cheetah, Lynx, Marmosets, Squirrel Monkeys, Wallaby, Spring Buck and hundreds of birds amongst other things. The location is stunning. I was staying in the wooden lodge which is a short walk from the sanctuary down a pretty steep hill. All of the other volunteers were stating in the backpackers attached to the sanctuary. I loved the lodge. Outside the window I could see Giraffe and Zebra grazing in the distance. There were also wild Leopard but I wasn't lucky enough to spot one. As it's winter here it goes dark around 5pm and after dinner there really isn't that much to do so I've been having some pretty early nights! On Tuesday morning I realised that this isn't such a bad thing as the cockerels start crowing at 4.30am and don't stop until 9. If I could catch one I would have throttled it! I start work at 7 and work consists of preparing meals for the animals, this could be seed for the birds, fruit for the monkeys or meat for the big cats. The prep room is pretty grim and a lot of the same knives and chopping boards are used for the staff/volunteers food prep which turned my stomach a little but I had to not think about it. The meat used is often off and I had to choke back a gag on more than one occasion. I got stuck in and tried to be as quick as possible when working in the prep room. Feed runs were really good fun, I had the chance to feed all of the animals (Except the crocodile and the adult cheetah as they would more than likely have had a go at eating me!) The Lynx were really friendly and I spent quite a bit of my free time in with them. I also really liked the Marmosets. They have the cutest little faces!
One of the other volunteers had mentioned Skotia, a nearby reserve they had the opportunity to go and work at. I got the contact details and managed to get accepted for a few days work. I didn't have to pay to volunteer and all transport, food and accommodation was provided. I left African Dawn on Friday morning and after about 2 hours arrived in Skotia. It was just incredible. Such a stunning location. We drove about 30 minutes into the wilderness where we stopped outside a large collection of Bush Trees. This would be my home for the next few nights. Inside the collection of trees was a small wendy house style cabin and a tiny outside shower with 2 tin walls. No electricity, no hot water and no noise whatsoever, I was excited. I spent the rest of the afternoon with Edward, a ranger who would be looking after me during my stay. We drove out to a nearby watering hole where I saw crocodile and Hippo basking in the sunshine. My first job was to dig a trench. They had a severe drought this summer and the water from the mountains was bypassing the watering hole so by digging a trench it would allow the water to run straight to the watering hole which was running desperately low. I hopped off the truck, a little nervous as we were only 20 meters from the crocs and hippos. Edward was on the truck watching out for animals which made me feel a little better as they were everywhere! I think he actually took great pleasure in telling me that Hippos kill more humans than any other 3 animals in Africa put together. He was a pretty funny guy, but I never knew if he was joking or not. He kept winding me up about lions saying that he could sense they were close. After a couple of hours I was really focused on my trench digging and started to ignore his constant attempts to scare me (I couldn't get 'The circle of life' out of my head!!). Then, in the calmest voice (I didn't even hear him at first) he said to me 'Don't turn around, don't run, don't make a sound'. I wanted to laugh but took one look at his face and I knew exactly what was behind me. My heart started to race and I actually thought I was going to faint. ' Slowly walk back to the truck. Do not run'. I did exactly as ordered and now idea how I managed not to run. I got back on the truck and then was safe to look behind me and see the biggest fuck off lion I have ever laid eyes on. Edward told me that if I had run, the lion would have killed me. They can go from 0 to 80 kilometers per hour in about a second, I wouldn't have stood a chance. Back on the safety of the truck we headed away from the Lion. To add insult to injury I was covered in pepper ticks. I counted 42 in total! Arms and legs.... not so bad, but the 4 on my eyelids 2 under my fingernails and one up my nose hurt like a mother..!
After a surprisingly good night's sleep I just about managed to pluck up the courage to get off the truck again. (I'm not ashamed to admit that I'm scared of lions!!) I spent the majority of the day chopping down dead trees for firewood. Edward convinced me that there were no Lions in this area but I spent the whole time looking out for them!
During the night I could hear the Lions roaring in the distance. It was pretty surreal but incredib;e to witness, I was just happy listening to it from the safety of my wendy house cabin! The third day made all the ticks, blisters and dicing with death worthwhile. In return for my hard work I was treated to a 6 hour game drive. I saw Hippo, Giraffe, Rhino's (These one's weren't cows!), Wilderbeast, Zebra, Spring Buck, Warthogs, Kudu, Impala, Inyala, Spring Hare and Lions, lots of Lions. We actually saw the lions catch, kill and eat a warthog as well as hunting wilderbeast which was an incredible experience. They really are beautiful and so powerful. Edward told me that a couple of months ago 3 Japanese tourists had been on a game drive without a ranger and saw the lions sleeping under a tree (They sleep between 19-22 hours per day) because the lions looked all sleepy and cute they got out of the car to get closer to them and all 3 of them were killed instantly. Bloody idiots. Yes, they are incredibly cute when they sleep but you won't catch me trying to get a closer look... ever.
After my last night in bushcamp I headed back to Jeffreys Bay where I will remain for the rest of my trip here. My next placement starts on Monday and is in a Foster Home just on the outskirts of the township in Jeffreys Bay. For the first time this trip I'm happy to hear there's no chance of me seeing a Lion in Jeffreys Bay

Snot, Crap and Cider!

emmarogers85 — Mon, 17 May 2010 00:00:00 GMT

I've had a couple of days in Jeffrey's Bay and I really love it here. Walking along the beach watching the Dolphins has taken up the majority of my time, as well as hanging out and getting to know everyone here. It's really chilled out and just what I needed after a pretty busy week. My birthday I woke up feeling like hell! Jana made a real effort for me and we had pink champagne and cider by the crate load! Hardly surprising that I didn't want to get up at 6.30am. Moddy had made eggs and sausage for breakfast, I could have kissed him! (I didn't tho, I juat ate it like I'd never been fed!) Luckily we had a 2 hour drive so managed to increase my 2 hours sleep to 4 and was feeling a bit better when we arrived at Craggs Elephant Sanctuary. I walked with 3 female elephants, around the watering hole, through the fields and into the forest. It was incredible. It's breathtaking being so close to them, they're such magnificent creatures!Before long the dull throbbing in my head had completely disappeared and been replaced by butterflies in my stomach. I stood infront of Manny, the largest female, and held my right hand out behind me, she took hold of my hand with her trunk and I lead her around! (I say that, I didn't really lead her anywhere, I walked really quickly infront of her to avoid being trodden on!) She has a really strong grip on my hand and it was really slimey from all the snot, it was quite overwhelming. As we were walking through the forest, Delcuse, the female elephant walking in front of me, decided she had to go and proceeded to do the biggest shit I have ever seen.... all over my feet. Let's just say 3 days on and I can still smell it on me. All part of the experience!
I did have the opportunity to ride one of the Elephants, but I'm not really into riding animals (I also passed on riding an Ostrich earlier in the week!) so I decided against it. I did get to see everything though. I had no idea that their skin is actually hairy, It's a little bizarre! They have the most beautiful eyes with the longest eyelashes I have ever seen. When they walk they only lift one leg off the ground at any one time and their back legs land in the exact same spot their front legs have already stepped on. This is as the skin on their front feet is much stronger and their back feet are much more sensitive, the front feet will flatten and thorny bushes making in more pleasant for their back feet! Elephants cry, but they don't cry from their eyes, they cry from a gland on the side of their head!
I am heading out to African Dawn Wildlife Sanctuary today where I will be volunteering for the next 7 days. I thought I would be leaving early, so I have been sat around for the last 4 hours waiting for my lift! No one here seems to know what's going on! It's a little frustrating, but I'm really excited about this part of my trip! I'm not sure what internet access is like as I will be in the middle of nowhere so it may be a week until my next post.

Elephants in Addo

emmarogers85 — Sat, 15 May 2010 00:00:00 GMT

After posting my last blog in Jeffrey's bay I headed down to the sea front, there were so many dolphins jumping out of the water, I've never seen anything like it! But unfortunatley it wasn't long before I had to leave and head to Sunday's River Valley where I would be spending the night. I'm really looking forward to returning to Jeffreys Bay. We arrived at Sundays River Valley at around 3pm, such an incredible location. The area is all citrus fruit farms and we were surrounded by orange and lemon trees. My room had a really nice balcony with incredible views, not another building for miles. I sat there until sunset just watching the monkeys playing in the trees and listening to the crickets, I could have stayed forever. After dinner I headed to bed as we had a really early start on Thursday. There was an absolutely enormous cricket in my room, I had to practically wrestle it to the ground bafore throwing it out the window! Had a great nights sleep and getting up at 5 wasn't as hard as I thought it would be! I was so excited to finally be on my way to see some Elephants!! We arrived at Addo just before 6am and had a 2 hour game drive in an open topped truck. It was really cold, but as soon as we started to see the animals I didn't notice. First we saw Kudu (Which I later has for lunch!) then Ostrich, Black Backed Jackels, Mongoose ( I don't know the plaural.... Mongeese, mongooses... or just Mongoose.... I'm giving you multiple choice!!)Meerkats, Warthogs, Zebra... It was about 45 minutes in before we saw our first Elephant. It was a huge male and I mean huge. It was so much bigger than I expected! (I have seen elephants in real life before, but not like this!) He walked straight past me and if I held out my arm (Which I wasn't aloud to do!) I would have been able to touch him. I could feel my heart beating really fast, I've never felt anything like it before. We watched him dissapear into the bush. This was by far the most incredible experience of my life. When we got back to base Moddy took us out twice more and we were lucky with the weather, as it was nice we saw so many elephants. All the females and the young at the watering hole, the females are much more social than the males, when the males reach 10-13 years old and hit puberty they are forced out to the group to avoid and inbreading. Last week the oldest male and on of the younger males had a fight. The oldest male was killed and the younger died shortly afterwards. We saw the remains, which was only bones, the rest had been eaten by the Lions and Hyenas. It was a bit sad to see, but that's nature I guess.
I had a really amazing day and thoroughly enjoyed myself. We headed to Port Elizabeth where we would be spending the night. I went into the city for a look around but felt really unsafe for the first time since I have been here, I didn't like it at all so headed back to the Backpackers where I ended up having a Birthday Eve party until the wee hours! Next Stop - Walking with Elephants!

Cape Town to Jeffreys Bay

emmarogers85 — Wed, 12 May 2010 00:00:00 GMT

Well I've had a few days here now and completely lost track of what day/time it is and I'm bloody loving it! I managed to have a day in Cape Town after catching up on some sleep. I bumped into a couple of Aussie girls I met at the Airport, Ivy and Nadine ('Just call me Nads, Y'know, like testicles!' Australian accent please!) we had a mooch around the antique stalls and markets before going for some lunch. They were heading off to Table Mountain and asked if I wanted to go with them, I thought I was going on Sunday so I declined only to find out that I wansn't going on Sunday! A little disappointed I missed it. My experience of South Africa so far is nothing like I was expecting from what I read in my guide books. I feel completely comfortable and safe here and all the people I have met here are friendly and welcoming. I'm already planning my trip back! I am currently in Jeffreys Bay on the South Coast. Over the past 3/4 days I have been travelling with Maudicai (Moddy) my tour guide. There are 2 other people on the tour. Jana, a 23 year old German girl working in Cape Town for 5 months as an intern and Thomas (not Tom, Thomas!) a 28 year old guy who is studying Computer Science and over here for a holiday. I really like Jana, she's typically German, but fun to talk to and up for a laugh. Thomas is a bit of a wet fart. He doesn't do or say much. Occasionally I will say something he finds funny (I say funny things all the time, I'm on fire over here, but he only occasionally appreciates my gift!) and he will burst out laughing. The only thing I can compare it to is a 6 year old girl, it's actually a little disturbing!
We left Cape Town and headed south to Cape Agulhas and the Southern Most point of Africa. In the Backpackers (That's what Hostels are called over here) I met 2 guys from the UK who have been travelling for the last 11 months. They are cycling from London to Cape Town and were on the last leg of their trip. They've raised over 11,000 pounds (I cant find the pound sign on this keyboard! They're a little different over here. I'll blame any spelling mistakes on this too!) for Eye on Africa. www.eyeonafrica.co.uk. www.justgiving.com/eyeonafrica I was really inspired by their efforts and have already sponsored them. We then travelled through the Langeberg Mountains and along Route 62. We visited Cange caves, this wasn't really top of my list of things to see but I was actually really impressed! I'm running out of time so apologies this last bit is a bit rushed! We then travelled the Garden Route which is absolutely stunning! This morning we went to Tsisikamma Falls and on the way we saw baboon crossing the road! I got a little bit over excited. As I mentioned before we are now in Jeffreys Bay, this is where I will be volunteering but I am only here for a couple of hours today! The beach is beautiful. The weather has been mainly sunny but windy and occasionally really wet, but today is really hot and the sky's really clear.
I have seen Ostrich, Spring Bok and Zebra en route, but tomorrow I have to be up at 5am for my first game drive! Super excited!

Trains, Planes and a sleeping Swede

emmarogers85 — Fri, 07 May 2010 00:00:00 GMT

Well I think it might be best to cut a long story short!
Yesterday at half eleven I got into a car, then I got onto a train, after 3 hours I got onto the tube, then I got onto another train. Then I arrived at Heathrow airport. By this point I already felt as though I had travelled long enough to at least be in another country. After 4 hours of hanging around I got onto a plane to Paris only to be told seconds after boarding that the flight would be delayed by 20 minutes. That's not so bad. We were told that the delay was due to the amount of air traffic but whilst we waited the horrific grinding noise the plane was making made me think otherwise. After an hour and twenty minutes of god awful 'on hold' music and fear of being strapped into the plane of doom we finally took off. Only a short 2 hour flight to Paris where I would be changing over to Johannesburg. As each minute passed I know my chances of arriving in Paris in time to catch my flight were getting slimmer and slimmer. We landed in Paris 20 minutes before my next plane took off, by the time I managed to get off I only had 10 minutes to spare. As I stepped of the plane a member of the 'Air France' crew ushered me down a set of stairs onto the runway bit (where the planes park?) and bundled me into the back of a van. I figured she was tring to get me to my plane on time, but she could have been kidnapping me, I couldn't understand a word she was saying. She drove like a maniac, dodging other vans, busses and luggage carts before arriving at the departure gate for my flight to Jburg. I was very grateful for her efforts, but when I arrived the flight had been delayed so it was all a bit unnecessary. I had another 45 minute wait before the flight finally boarded. It was the Airbus A380, which I later found out is the largest plane in the world. I've never been on a double decker plane before! The novelty soon wore off. I was sat next to a youngish Swedish girl, who was really sweet, but she fell asleep straight after taking off and slept for almost the entire 10 hour flight. I had the window seat and couldn't get out! The plane wasn't crowded and I wanted to move so I could get comfy and have a kip, but I couldn't. For a while it was because I didn't have the heart to waker her, but 6 hours in I did try gently rouse her from what looked like an amazingly deep and wonderful sleep (I wasn't watching her sleep, that's creepy, it's an assumption I made after one or two sideways glances in her direction!) but to no avail. She was out for the count.
Again due to delays when I finally arrived in Jburg I had about 30 minutes to get my onward flight to Cape Town. This time though, as I was changing airlines, I had to go through customs, get my visa, collect my luggage and check in all over again.
I really had no idea I could run so fast.
Bearing in mind my combined luggage weighs approx 4 stone and at this point I was 30 hours without sleep or a shower and 24 hours without a fag I'm surprised no one died.
I got on my flight to cape town. I had no one sitting next to me, we took off on time and I wasn't forced to listen to some random nobody singing Celine Dion 'My Heart Will Go On'.
Upon arrival I got the shuttle bus to the hostel, had a shower and a fistful of cigarettes. Feeling refreshed and looking forward to some shut eye, but with only the offer of Macaroni Cheese for tea if I stay here I think I'll venture out for a wander before it get's dark.

Borneo Baby!!!

emmarogers85 — Sat, 12 Jan 2008 00:00:00 GMT

I have been in Borneo for 2 weeks now and the time is just flying by!! I met Mike at the airport and was surprised by Abbey and Andy! It was really great to see them all and we found a lovely little bar where we started our New Year celebrations and had a good catch up. After a couple of days in KK getting over our Jet lag and enjoying the sunshine and a spot of snorkeling on the surrounding islands, we headed off to The Kinabatangan river to stay in the jungle.We all stayed in a basic little hut with nothing but a bed and went on 4 river cruises and 3 jungle walks (2 at night!). We saw plenty of wildlife: The amazing Proboscis Monkeys, Macaques, Monitor Lizards, Crocodiles, Giant poisonous spiders... the list is endless! Unfortunately we weren't lucky enough to see any pygmy elephants or Orangutans. However when we were on one of the night jungle walks the guide found a pretty big scorpion and picked it up, after a minute or 2 he asked if anyone wanted to hold it. Before it had even registered in my brain I was saying "I will!" Then immediately wishing I hadn't said it and not wanting to back down I let the poisonous scorpion crawl up and down my arm! He took it back and after another girl had a go, I took it back and this time it crawled up my right arm and right across my chest under my chin and down my left arm!
After our junge fun we headed to Sepilok Orangutan sanctuary! It was amazing! Feeding time is twice daily and although the Orangutans dont hang around for long it was amazing to see them and one of them had a baby which was adorable! There were some other cheeky monkeys constantly trying to steal the food and climbing all over the viewing platform where we were stood, this was alot of fun!
We decided to head across to Semporna for a spot of Scuba diving before heading back to KK. We needed to backtrack all the way to KK before we could travel south into Sarawak, which was a bit of a pain, but when we arrived at KK (after our bus breaking down and being practically stranded for 4 hours!) we decided to hire a car in order to journey down South!
The weather is AMAZING, the food is a bit of a let down, but the people are really friendly and I'm having a brilliant time!!

Last Blog entry in China! :(

emmarogers85 — Sun, 23 Dec 2007 00:00:00 GMT

Well, We had the Christmas party and I dressed up as Santa - it was pretty humiliating, but also alot of fun! As it was snowing I didn't have to climb through the windows in the end - thank God!! My buddy Mr Young has made a video for me so you can all see it when I get home! Unfortunatly I have been ill - AGAIN! My friends Amanda and Miranda came to visit from Beijing, but not long after they arrived I had to go home to bed. I had a throat infection and lost my voice which was a real shame, bit I will see them this weekend as I am staying in Beijing for one night. It also meant I missed out on the Christmas celebrations with my friends, it's a good job it doesnt feel like christmas, otherwise it would have been pretty depressing! I did manage to pick up by Christmas Day and made it to the City to my friends appartment for a Christmas Party! I told everyone how to play the animal game and we ended up doing that for nearly 2 hours! We had quite a few Chinese friends there... so it was alot of fun!!
School is over and saying goodbye was harder than I thought. I am really going to miss all the kids and all of the teachers, but most of all my Buddy - Mr Young! Young insisted that he come and see me off at the train station on Friday evening, so I arranged to meet him at 9pm. I was finally happy that everything was going according to plan and enjoyed my last night in Shenyang with a few beers with my friends. Feeling a little worse for wear on Friday morning I was not best pleased when I recieved a phone call from Rice telling me that my bus had been cancelled due to a heavy snow storm! (The highway had been closed!) Fuck!! I had to trapse all the way to the train station in the snow in a mad panic thatI was going to be stuck in Shenyang forever and miss my flight to Borneo! After a couple of hours queing I managed to get my hands on 2 of only 4 tickets left to Beijing!! (Gemma was coming to beijing with me!) I only had a couple of hours to meet my friends for one last farewell before I had to go to the train station. I said my goodbyes to everyone except Lea, Alex and Gemma who were all coming to the train station with me. I met Mr Young at the staton and he had some surprise visitors for me! No 2 House and Jo Pang Jui! (I may not have mentioned these previously, but I went to her Birthday party and they are friends of Mr Young!) They had come up from Dalian especially to wish me farewell and invite me to their wedding next year! I was really touched. No 2 House is a sailor and considered quite an important person, he managed to get us all VIP passes to the train station to wait for my train in Comfort and the passes also allow everyone down to the tracks to see me onto the train. I was really moved and as you can imagine pretty emotional. When the time came for me to go Young and No 2 house got my suitcase and backpack onto the train for me (Both incredibly heavy!) and then returned back to the trackside for a final goodbye! I'm really glad I had Gemma with me otherwise I may have changed my mind about going. Everyone was in tears and I was waving like mad out of the window. As the train pulls off Mr Young runs after it so I can see him through the window, doing a silly dance!
I arrive in Beijing and leave my suitcase at UIBE before heading across the city to meet my friends. As I have a pretty early start we opted for a night in and it was really nice to unwind and try and forget about all the emotion of leaving my friends behind.But then morning comes and it's time to do it again! Only this time it isnt too bad. I will see Amanda and Miranda again in Beijing before I fly home , and Gemma lives in Manchester so it wont be long before I meet up with her once I'm back in old blighty! Still another teary farewell and the start of my long journey to Borneo!

The end is nigh!!

emmarogers85 — Tue, 11 Dec 2007 00:00:00 GMT

Well, the last week or so has been a bit of a blur, tying up as many loose ends as possible before its time to leave. After a huge amount of dicussion we have finally agreed that my last day of teaching will be Thursday 27th of December. I have now booked my bus tickets (train tickets cant be booked until 4 days before you leave, and I didnt want to leave it that late!) to Beijing on Friday 28th December and will go overnight. It will take 8 hours and I will arrive in Beijing Saturday morning! I have my Flight tickets - finally, and everything seems to be falling into place! (I am certainly not holding ym breath though, I am expecting something to go wrong - this is China!!) But I do appear to have everything in order and plenty of time to leave my suitcase in Beijing and catch up with a few friends before I fly to Borneo on Sunday 30th December PM!! I cant wait!
The kindergarten is busy preparing for their Christmas party, and although Christmas isn't a big deal in China, it is at the kindergarten as it is an International school! Everywhere is looking very festive and there is a nice atmosphere as all the kids are preparing songs and dances to do at the party. Just as I was beginning to wonder what part I would play in the party, I was given a Santa suit by the principal and told that I would be dressing up as Father Christmas! I wasn't sure whether to feel honoured or offended!! I tried it on and I look like an absolute tit! After agreeing, as I could hardly refuse, I was told that I will be climbing through the windows of each and every classroom so as to surprise the kids. I will be handing out presents and singing and dancing with all the children! There will be hundreds of parents and teachers there all filming and taking pictures! Great!
5 months ago I seriously doubt I would have been able to do this, but now, after months and months of practice, I am actually looking forward to making a complete arse out of myself! Bring it on!!

English Competition

emmarogers85 — Thu, 29 Nov 2007 00:00:00 GMT

So, I don't feel like I have alot to report since my last entry, and as it would be pretty risky putting the details of the the one exciting/dangerous thing that happened to me last week( involving Magic ants and the Chinese Police!!!!), you wll have to wait till I get home for that story!!! :)
The weather has eased off a bit and although it is still really cold, it's a little more bearable. Unfortunatly the snow has gone, but I'm certain that I will see more in the next 4 weeks, Alot more! (It will drop to as low as minus 26!)
As previously mentioned I judged an English Competition last weekend and it was alot of fun!! I had some kindergarten and some from primary school kids. They were all really good and so adorable! I arrived at the hotel on the Friday night, as we would be judging early Saturday morning. I went with Aga, another teacher from the Shenyang Gang! When we arrived we were placed in a room with about 50 kids and all of their parents and teachers and we were told that we had to keep the kids amused for an hour or 2!! Because the ages ranged from 4-12 we had to quickly think of an activity where all the kids could join in! We were struggling to come up with something, when Rice (from WTTC) pulled me on stage and announced that I was going to sing a song!! (WTF - Why does this keep happening to me!!) I bet you can all guess what I sang!!!?
I started to sing 'If you're happy and you know it' and thankfully all the kids joined in. I was feeling happy and relieved until they started singng words I didn't know and I had to fake mime/mumble the words stood on a stage, (Once again!) alone and infront of 100 strangers being shown up by a bunch of kids!!! I must have a sign on my head that says 'Humiliate me please, I enjoy it!!!'
Anyway, after that was over we played a game of fruit salad. (You have 4 or 5 different fruits and each kid has a piece of paper with one fruit name on. Everyone sits in a big circle and I stand in the middle and shout 'Banana' all the kids that are Bananas have to get up and change seats, I have to find a seat, and no one is allowed to sit in the seat they got up from. Whoever is left with no seat has to call the next fruit name... and so on. When you Shout 'Fruit Salad' everyone gets up and swaps seats!!!) It was alot of fun and managed to keep the kids occupied until it was time to go to bed!
Judging the kids was actually more fun than I thought it would be. There were three parts: an introduction, A show and then questons from the judges. All I had to do was to ask a few questions after the had introduced themselves and either sang a song or told a story. Two of the kindergarten kids were from my class! I didn't know they were going to be there, and when they had their chance to 'show themselves' they both did things that I had taught them! It was such a nice feeling seeing them up on that stage at 4 years of age, singing their song and doing their Magic trick knowing that I had taught them that!!!

Winter is here!

emmarogers85 — Mon, 19 Nov 2007 00:00:00 GMT

The park right next to the Kindergarten

So, winter is officially here! it's averaging around minus 12 during the day and as low as minus 16 at night & early morning. There is currently about 6 inches of snow outside and all hell is breaking loose! The roads are not salted and the snow is crushed to form an inch thick layer of ice on the road... you really wouldn't belive the amount of accidents I have seen so far! This morning I had an absolute nightmare getting to School. As I have mentioned before I live miles away, and have to get the bus in. I made the effort to get up early and out for the bus as sometimes they are too full to get on and you have to wait for the next one. I was showered, dressed and out the door at 6 am. Cold and tired I wasn't happy when not just 1, but 3 busses went by and (along with other Chinese people) I was unable to get on the bus. I decided to walk down the road to get a taxi instead. With 7 million people in Shenyang I think half of them had the same idea!! By this point I had been outside for nearly an hour and a half with no sign of a free taxi I decided to walk whilst flagging one down! After nearly 2 miles I managed to get one! Happy that I was finally in the warm and on my way to work, I started to read my book. After only 3 or 4 miles the taxi stopped and I looked up to see hundreds and hundreds of cars, I couldn't even see which sides of the road were which or were the pavement was, the cars were everwhere!! They were facing all sorts of directions and the honking was deafening!! The driver did try to communicate with me, but I didn't understand him. I was miles from school and was already late so I just figured I would be patient and we would soon be on our way! After 20m minutes I noticed people getting off the busses infront and people even leaving their cars to walk in the direction they were heading! I probably would be still sat there now if I hadn't decided to do the same! I paid the taxi driver and set off on my way to school! I had no clue where I was, but was I was on a mission, I just kept walking straight and after nerly 3 miles (and what felt like an eternity!!) I arrived at school, freezing cold, soaking wet and well and truly pissed off!! Stupidly thinking that my ordeal and lateness would mean I didn't have to teach, my mood worsened when I was immediatly taken to a classroom full of 3 year olds and told that my lesson today would last for 3 hours!! Great! (My mood soon picked up tho, and I had a great lesson!!)
After saying all that, with snow comes snowmen and snowfights and ALOT of fun... so it's not all bad!!
I am now officially RAT FREE!!!!!!!!!! Woo Hoo!! The boss came to my appartment and moved my wardrobes to find a huge hole where the little buggers had been getting in. The wardrobes were removed from my appartment, the hole was filled with poison, filled in and then covered with slabs!! I am happy to report that since that day I haven't seen or heard a thing!!
One of the main resons I am so pleased about this is when I arrived at home one evening last week we had a power cut due to the bad weather. I had no electric, no heating and no hot water. When it's minus 16 outside and not much warmer inside it really isn't pleasent, the last thing you want is rats running around your front room when you can't see them! After putting on almost every item of clothing I own I huddled up in bed at 6pm (there was nothing else I could do!!) under 2 duvets and a thick blanket, after 2 hours trying to get warm I finally fell asleep! The next night was the same, although I did realise when I got close to my appartment and went to the supermarket (where I was follwed by a young girl holding a candle so as I could see where I was going!!) and bought a torch. It was just as cold, but at least I could read my book!! Thankfully, my heating & electricity is back on now.. showing with freezing cold water in a freezing cold bathroom is something I never want to do again.... EVER!!!
I feel the need to tell you that the previously mentioned Guard is no longer with us. He decided to go AWOL from the kindergarten and sadly he paid the price. Enough Said.
Finally, on a lighter note, I found it really amusing the other day when I saw people stacking cabbages on their roofs & balconys and hanging leeks out of their windows!! I found out that because the weather is so cold the vegetables are frozen and stay fresh for as long as they are left out there!! Most peole in China (especially in the poorer cities like Shenyang) don't even have fridges, let alone frezers!!Who needs a freezer when it's this cold outside!!!?
This is China.... and it's bloody freezing!!!!

Snow, Rats & The Art School

emmarogers85 — Thu, 08 Nov 2007 00:00:00 GMT

Shenyang Art School (where I stay!)

After my appearance at the Art School for the Senators visit a few weeks back I was asked to go back there and teach once a week. It is part of the same group as the Kindergarten and I now teach 2 lessons a week every Friday from 2pm - 4pm. I don't get paid any extra, but it's a refreshing change and it means I get a lie in every Friday, and I finish an hour earlier than normal, so I'm not compalining!!
It's really different to the work I do at the Kindergarten and I'm really enjoying it there. I don't have specific subjects to cover, I am just there to practive speaking and listening. This is done with alot of games (and the occasional bit of singing!!!!) and is really good fun! The ages range from 10-22 years old, and I am yet to teach the same class twice!

After a really lovely trip to Beijing this weekend to meet up with some friends, I returned home to find a rat ( the size of my foot, plus tail!!) on one of the sticky board traps I had put down weeks earlier. I had also put poison inside the radiator covers (as the rats that kept me awake were in the walls!) which seemed to keep them at bay for a while! I was beginning to belive, after weeks, I was finally rid of them! But No, not only were they still at large, but actually in my appartment! I spoke to the School the next day who told me they would send some workers to my appartment to sort this out as it was unacceptable! I took a photo to show them, and they were really shocked! I'm pretty sure before they thought I was over reacting or making it up!!But they said they would do everything they could to get rid of them! The next day they sent 2 workers into my apartment who did nothing more than put some poison down!! I could have done that myself!! That evening after a long day i was wathing TV when one of them decided to show his face casually scurrying across my livingroom floor (a rat that is, not one of the workers!!)! I threw a shoe at it and it quickly went back to where it came from. I know it's not the end of the world, and I have tried not to let it bother me ever since I arrived here, but I'm getting really sick of it now! I know they are living in my wardrobe, but I'm not brave enough to move it on my own, Mice, I would do it no problem, but these fuckers are huge! I will speak to the school again and ask them to remove the wardrobes from my room, although this probably won't solve the problem as it's getting cold outside and they can obviously get in somehow! I guess I will just have to stick it out for the next 7 weeks, I've done it for this long!!
It's a shame, apart from that everything else is great here! Apart from the weather, but that can't be helped! It's wet and very cold! Last Monday we had our first snowfall! It was really exciting! It was more than any snow we ever get in England, but is nothing compared to what's coming over the next few weeks!Because it gets warmer around midday it didn't stick for longer than a few hours, but still it made the cold weather alot more enjoyable!
Apart from ther above, life in shenyang is great! The time is flying by and I'm having lots of fun! I have been asked to judge an English speaking competition on 24th November (I will get paid about 100 Yuan for half a day and put up in a swanky hotel for the night!) and I'm really looking forward to it! Even if it's just a night away from the rats!
I have quite a bit planned over the next few weeks to keep me busy, but as every day flies by the closer I get to the end of my time here, which doesn't make me as happy as you would probably think after reading the above! I'm really going to be sad to say goodbye to this place and the amazing people I have met here.

Corporal Punishment

emmarogers85 — Tue, 06 Nov 2007 00:00:00 GMT

Every counrty in the world (Apart from The US & Australia) prohibits School Corporal Punshment. China's official Propaganda line has alwasys been that all forms of Corporal Punishment in Schools was swept away by the 1949 communist revolution. Since my time in China it is obvious that this is not the case (and after a little research I found a report in May 2000 that gathered evidence to prove that beatings in schools are still widespread).
Unfortunatly I have witnessed for myself that the children in the Kindergarten (as young as 2 years old) are slapped, pinched and kicked if they misbehave. All of the classrooms are fitted with CCTV cameras, therefore none of the above take place in the classroom, however the kids are taken into the bathroom and the noise that follows makes me sick to my stomach. Now, belive me, I got myself into quite a bit of trouble by expressing how innapropriate I thought this was, and it became clear that nothing I said or did was going to change the fact that this happens here. It always has and, sadly, probably always will.
I can however try to diffuse a situation before it arises (making the child in question sit up front, as close to me as possible) and for the last week or so I haven't been unfortunate enought to witness this again, although I am under no illusion that it isn't happening.

Now, on a lighter note, there was an incident at the Kindergarten a week ago that I had quite a good giggle over (at first!). The kindergarten has 3 security guards that alternate shifts throughout the week. All Schools and important buidings have these funny gates that are operated by remote control and open and close like an Accordion! The Security Guard opens it everytime someone is coming or going. Anyway, on a Sunday the guard is alone at the kindergarten and the Minibus (Peoplecarrier) is parked in the driveway. I can only begin to imagine hoe bored he was, he decided to take the keys (which are kept in the Kindergarten) and drive aroundthe tiny yard in circles! He didn't have a licence and would certainly have lost his job if he got caught! It cracks me up thinking about how much fun he was probably having and have to admit in his position I probably would have done the same thing!! ( However, knowing what I do now - Not a chance!!) He was driving around probably loving the fact that he was getting away with murder when he lost control and ploughed straight through the gate and into the wall of the park opposite!! There was absolutely no way of covering up what he had done.... so he ran!
I arrived at school the next day to see the mess he had made and all the commotion. The police had arrived and were taking pictures ( I managed to get one too!) I found the whole thing really funny until young told me that the Guard had 3 days to return to the Kindergarten to apologise and beg for foregiveness or he would be shot. I couldn't belive it and thought he was joking at first. He explained that if he didn't return within 3 days he would be hunted down and serve a year in a concentration camp style prison (where he would probably die before the year was up) and after a year he would be shot in the head. I felt sick. I had been laughing at his mischevious antics and he was likely to be killed for it. I understood that corporal punishment is still in practice in China, but I didn't think for one second that this little stunt would cost someone their life. These thing are taken very serously in China and this guard had abused a position of trust. I spent the next three days asking about him, desperate to hear that he had come back to apologise, but by the third day... still no word. The police were informed to find him.
The kindergarten 'King' is a good man, and I have always been really fond of him, but after this incident I thought that no warm blooded human could really let something like this happen to someone who (in my eyes) really didn't do something that terrible. The police caught the security guard after a day or two. When I heard this I felt sick.
The gaurd (only 21 years old) was sobbing and obviosly very apologetic, he didn't want to die. He was begging the 'king' and promised everything under the sun, including to work at the Kindergarten for 3 years with no salary. After giving it some thought the 'King' aggreed to this and THANK GOD the charges were dropped.
Those few days felt like an eternity and I have never experience anything like it before! The next day I was so relived to see him (still looking a little pale!) back to work as if nothing had happened! I feel sad at the thought of him having to work for 3 years with no wages, but I guess it's better than a kick up the arse.... or a bullett in the brain!
Fucking hell.... This is China!

Pissing, Hocking & Cockroaches!

emmarogers85 — Tue, 30 Oct 2007 00:00:00 GMT

Baby at the Resteraunt with his Gran

Reading through my Blog I have realised that I have missed out alot of what I have learnt about China and the Chinese culture since I have been here. It's little things that slowly become the norm after a while, and I forget that when I first witnessed the things to follow I was a little shocked but mostly disgusted! Ha!

Firstly, all the babies (Children that would normally wear nappies!) wear babygrows that have a split in the back, and dont wear nappies or pants! The children have their little bums showing and just do there business as and when they please, but without anything to catch it! Now I have seen lots of kids wearing these, but the first time I actually got to witness it was in Tesco (of all places!). A little girl obviously needed to go, so her mum held her near the ground and she proceeded to do her business in the middle of the dried frut aisle! (Luckily it was only a number 1!) I think I did just stop, open mouthed and stare! I couldn't belive it! Everyone else didn't even blink and went on with their shopping as normal! When she was done, the woman didn't even call someone to clean it up, she just walked off! This was quite a few weeks ago, and is something I have now witnessed many times! I realised a couple of days ago after an incident in the restaurant (near my house) The woman who works there has a baby who's probably not even 1! He's really cute and she is always plonking him on my knee to take pictures! (I'm careful not to hold him for long incase he pisses on me!) Anyway, I was just enjoying some noodles and right next to me she holds him to the ground so as he can have a wee. I didn't even blink. It was on the floor of a RESTAURANT! I was eating! They have a toilet! And I wasn't bothered in the slightist! Only afterwards did I realise how shocked I was when I first arrived and now it's just another one of those things that become "Normal"!!!
The Hurrendous noises made by the chinese (Men and Women!) when hocking up phlem really did make me heave when I first arrived! Now I only notice it when I'm walking down the street and I dont have to dodge loogies!! I realised this a week or so ago when I noticed the hocking for the first time in quite a while! It was when I had my rather unpleasant visit to the hospital! Walking down the corridor of the hospital, My Buddy - Mr Young had a little phlem he needed to be rid of, so he hocked it up and spat it out right on the floor! Not in the greatest of moods at that time I did stop in my tracks, giving him my best 'disgusted' face and said (shouted!) " This is a hospital!!!!" before giving him a tissue and demanding that he remove his fluid from the dirty floor! Luckily we can laugh about it now! It's something that the Chinese do, and they don't see it as disgusting or rude (they actually think we are gross for blowing our noses!) Oh yeah, sometmes they just put there finger over one nostril and force the snot out of the other! ( Strangely it really makes me laugh!) It's another one of those things that really is disgusting, but you quickly forget and it soon becomes normal! I'm sticking to blowing my nose though - let them stare... they do anyway!!
Flicking cockroaches off the table when eating at a restaurant does happen on a regular basis, but this is something I don't think I could ever get used to. And although I don't scream anymore it's still something I would rather not have to do!!

I will leve it there for the time being, but will try to remember these litlle things and include them in my Blogs!

Shenyang - Back to Normality (ish!)

emmarogers85 — Thu, 18 Oct 2007 00:00:00 GMT

I cant belive 2 weeks has passed already since returning from South Korea. When I finally made it back to my apartment in desperate need of a shower, I wasn't best pleased to find that my water heater had broken and my water was freezing cold. I also found that since I hadn't been there to kill the bugs I had a weeks worth in my apartment. The rats were also still at large! I wasn't as happy as I thought I would have been to be home! Having only an hour before I had to leave to meet the guys, I armed myself with a fly swatter and bug spray and tackled the bugs before braving the shower!I was happy when it was once again time to leave my apartment.
After having a really good night out, meeting up with my fellow teachers and swapping golden week stories I finally made it home at 7am!! It wasn't surprising that when I finally woke up the next afternoon I wasn't feeling great, and blamed it on a hangover until I started throwing up. I didn't stop for 2 days.
After missing a day at school I was determined to go back in, I dragged myself out of bed at 6am (still feeling like death!) and went to school. I threw up twice before 8.30 and Young (my Buddy!) insisted on taking me to the hospital. Now, as most of you know, I'm not a fan of hospitals/doctors in England, let alone China, so I refused to go! But after telling me that I had to because of woking with the kids I was left with no option.
The hospital was worse than I had imagined. It really wasn't clean and was full of sick Chinese people. I was still feeling really poorly and it was the last thing I needed. Luckily I got to see a Doctor straigt away. She took a blood sample and after quite a bit of persuading a urine sample (I was given a plastic cup and pointed in the direction of the foulest squat I think I have ever been in! Armed with my antibacterial handwash and wipes I braved it!) I almost felt a little relived when this was over, but little did I know the worst was yet to come!! After a bit of trouble translating, Young finally managed to get it across that they needed a stool smaple. Oh No You Dont!! No Way! It was at this point I made my first attempt to escape the poor excuse of a Hospital. All I kept hearing was 'This is China", "This is how we do things here". Yeah, well not with me you don't!! And after 20 minutes or so I managed to talk my way out of pooing on a plate.
After waiting about half an hour I was told that I had to go on a drip and would be given some tablets to take. I had a virus and needed to go on a drip because I hadn't eaten in 3 days and needed fluid etc so I thought it was fair enough and didn't have the strenght to argue with them anymore. After a bit more waiting I was taken to this tiny room with 2 beds. In one of the beds was a really old, smelly Chinese woman attached to a drip, who sat up and got really excited when I entered the room. The room wasn't clean and the 2 beds were practically touching. It was at this point my second escape attempt was made.
After a few tears this time I was told that I would be given my own room, I was so fed up at this point I really wanted to leave, but knew I would have to go back to the hospital before returning to school, so just decided to get it over and done with. I was taken to a small, but cleanish room (unacceptable to English Standards, but spotless to the Chinese!) where I was attached to a drip.
After attaching me to the drip I was told that I had to have an injection (to stop me from being sick).... in my bum. Now, I think they must have gotton wise after my attempts to escape as they attached me to the drip before telling me that I had to undergo the humiliation of dropping my trousers in front of, not just 1, but 6 doctors (all female thank god!) in order to have an injection. Why did it take 6 doctors to give me an injection? Why couldn't they just do it on my arm? Guess why.... Go on!! "This is China!". "This is the way we do things here!" Argggghhhh!!
Do you know what I think!? I think they saw a westerner and all placed bets to see how much humiliation I would take before I walked out! Well I showed them ! 7 Hours I was on the drip, feeling helpless, humiliated and incredibly sorry for myself before I was allowed to go home.
As you can probably tell I am more than fine now, and I wasn't going to share this as I didn't want my folkes to worry, but seeing as so many Chinese people had a good old laugh at my expense why not let you lot have a giggle too!!
After my ordeal things have slowly got back to 'normal' as far as life in China is concerned. I only have 10 weeks of teaching left, and I'm busy teaching and planning my trip to Borneo in January. After not going out for a fortnight I am looking forward to seeing my friends this evening and, I'm sure, having a good old laugh at my expense!

I'll tell you one thing for sure... There's never a dull day in China!

Golden Week - South Korea

emmarogers85 — Thu, 04 Oct 2007 00:00:00 GMT

Busan - SOuth Korea

JeJoe Island

Haiyundai Beach - SK

The week commencing October 1st is a National Holiday in China (Called Golden Week!) Therefore I have the week off work, after working the Saturday and Sunday beforehand. This wasnt too bad, Saturday was Sports day, which was pretty bizzare, the sports included the children racing against eachother to set a table and then clear it relay style and running to the end of the track, catching LIVE eel like fish and running back to deposit them in a bowl!Remebering that the oldest children are 5... even the adults had trouble holding on to hte wriggling fish, after a minute or 2 the track was covered in slimey fish! I was happy to see that everyone took great care not to stand on them and luckily none of them were squished. However they were served to us for lunch once Sports day was over (This is China!!)... I dont think I need to tell you that I gave lunch a miss!!
Monday morning I was up bright and early to catch my flight to Seol the capital of South Korea. I then had only an hour or two before another flight to JeJoe, an island off the south coast of Korea. When I arrived it was getting late and after finding somewhere to stay I headed out to get some food. In Korea alot of the resteraunts dont have chairs as they sit cross legged on the floor like the Japanese, its not as comfortable as it looks!! I had korean barbecue, where you choose your salad and veg and you have your own little hotplate on your table where you cook your own meat. The food was really good, similar to chinese, just a bit more spicey. The waiter spoke a little English and I was chatting to him throughout, but when I finished eating he sat with me for a while. Now I have learnt not to bother asking what I'm eating... as long as it tastes good, thats all I need to know! But as we were talking I made the mistake of asking what the meat was I had just taken a mouthful of and he answered 'dog', I knew immediatly he wasnt joking! There is mention of people eating dog in China, but it is more common in South Korea, and although I had joked about trying it It's probably one of the few things that I wouldnt try. If it hadn't been so tasty I would have spat it out, but I did spend the rest of the evening feeling terrible. But then again, if I hadn't eaten it someone else would have!! The whole time there was a group of Koreans kicking off over the street and after an hour or so the police turned up.. this only seemed to make it worse. I watched until they all started fighting then decided to call it a night. During the short walk from the resteraunt to my motel I saw 3 lads running off with a womans handbag the womans husband/boyfriend went chasing after them and she wasnt hurt so I decided to walk a little quicker!!
Back in the comfort of my room (which was like something out of a bad movie with a video player, a huge collection of porn and a seedy red light along with a condom machine right outside the door!) I had the pleasure of listening to yet another brawl in the alley below my window until the early hours.
Je Joe Island was beautiful, and after only a day of exploring (and another charming evening in the 'Love' Motel!!!) it was time to get on another plane to Busan (South East). Busan has a famous beach called Haeundae which is incredibly beautiful. The weather was amazing so it was easy to relax on the beach engrossed in my book! Busan International Film Festival was kicking off the next day and was quite interesting to see everything being set up!! Now I dont carry around alot of cash or any travellers cheques (They are so much more hassle than their worth!) and had been sensible enough to check out the ATM situation in S Korea online, and as I could use my credit card in most ATM's I thought I would be ok! Things really are never that simple though and my credit card stopped working on the third day! I was in Busan and had to get a train to Seol (The Capital in the North West) in order to get my flight home. Luckily I had enough in my purse for my train ticket... but that was about it!! I had to spend the remaining nights in an Internet cafe and the train station! Needless to say I didnt get much sleep!!!
However I tried to remain positive and got my train to Seol where I had arranged to meet up with 2 Korean girls I had met in Beijing, where they had been studying, a few weeks earlier. Jinsol and Aram are both the same age as me and took me to a Korean resteraunt where we had the most amazing food! They ordered and like china everything comes and you all share. We spent a couple of hours chatting and drinking but before long I had to leave to get the last bus to the airport, ready for my flight home at 9am. I arrived at the airport around 11pm and found a comfy spot to snooze until it was time to check in. Now, I'm really not quite sure how this happened as I didn't sleep, but the worse thing that could have possibly happened... happened! I missed my flight back to China. After 3 sleepless nights, 3 days without a shower, no money, no possible way of getting money
and the thought of being stranded in South Korea I wanted to cry!
However, somehow managing to keep it together I tried to sort something out and was told that I could get another plane at 3pm, but it would cost me 50 quid.... I tried to see if there was a way around this as I had NO MONEY... but nearly ended up kneeing the arrogant and unhelpful manager in the balls. So I decided to give my credit card another go. It didn't work (Surprise Surprise!!) I decided to que anyway to see I I could pay on my card. Its impossible to put into words how relieved I was when my payment was accepted and I wasn't going to be forced to sell my belongings in order to get home!!
I have gone over it a hundred times and I still have no idea how I managed to be at the airport 10 hours before my flight and still managed to miss my plane. It probably had something to do with the lack of sleep, but whatever it was this time, for a change, I had no one to balme but myself!!

Life in Shenyang

emmarogers85 — Wed, 19 Sep 2007 00:00:00 GMT

Sining at the Art School

The street outside my apartment

The street where I live

Really starting to settle into life in Shenyang. The problems with our flat have been sorted out (for the most part anyway!) Lea & I now have a flat each, directly opposite eachother. Lea lives in the original flat and I am in the new one, although it is not new, and by no way shape or form any nicer than the original flat. I have rats, but apart from keeping me awake sometimes at night I'm not really there enough for them to bother me. I spend the weekends in the City with my friends, who all have lovely, modern, clean appartents (Hmph!)!
I have a pretty long day during the week, but it flies by. I get up everyday at 6am and get showered and dressed in time for breakfast at 6.50am. Everyday I go to breakfast and everyday I wonder why I bother! There is a choice of rice soup (which is literally rice and water, generally the safest option!), Pickles cabbage or seaweed, cold tofu, fish heads, slimey cucumber with small prawny fish things of whole fried fish! Not appetising at the best of times let alone 7 in the morning. Occasionaly we get really lucky and have the option of steamed bread, nothing like 'normal' bread, but the closest you'll get in China.
I leave breakfast in time to catch the bus at 7.20 just outside the school. Now although the school looks pretty posh, the area isn't. We are outside of the city centre and the road is a dirt track with rows of shabby buildings selling all kinds of crap you will never need, restaurants (if you can call them that!!), loads of fruit stalls and the occasional supermarket. Most of the people here have probably never laid eyes on a westener before, and this becomes pretty obvious with all the pointing, staring and even people slamming on the brakes as they drive past only to reverse to get a better look at you! After hearing this you may find it strange for me to say I wouldnt rather be anywhere else. With the atmosphere and the buzz you get walking down the street, you cant help but love it!
I have eaten at one of the 'restaurants' several times, the food is amazing as well as unbelievably cheap, plus it gives me a chance to practice my mandarin! (which is really not great...but getting better!!) The main reason for going to the same place all the time is beacuse you get to know what not to order (fried rabbits brains of cold chicken claws! Tried them both, but there is a reason why people dont normally eat this.....because its fucking gross!!) But the main reason is that it is the only restaurant along the road with a fridge. The hot weather and no fridge for the meat is really not a good combination and unfortunatly I had to learn this the hard way! Enough said!
Back to the bus! I catch the bus at 7.20 every day and it takes 30 minutes to reach the Kindergarten. 30 Minutes of hell!! When the bus pulls up to the stop it is so crammed that peoples faces are pressed up against the window! (No Joke!) You have to fight your way on and literally hang on for dear life. I have learnt (once again the hard way!!!) not to be the last person to get onto the bus, the driver drives off before giving you chance to actually get on!
Getting onto the bus safely is only half the challenge. There are very few seats and most of the bus is standing space, there are so many people that everyone is touching everyone with one body part or another.... some days are much worse than others!! There are handles to hold onto, mostly above your head, but when the driver is swerving all over the road to avoid cars, cyclists and crazy pedestrians it's easier said than done!! I have had one near miss which involved me loosing my grip and nearly crushing a poor chinese man to death, but the worst was actually today when I had the 'pleasure' of taking the bus in for the first time in the rain. Normally it's tricky to hold onto the rails due to sweaty hands, but when its raining all the windows are closed and due to the number of people the condensation makes the rails really wet. Not only is it almost impossible to hold on, the floor is soaking wet and your feet are constantly moving, although you wish they weren't. After over a fortnight of this journey there is one point inparticular I have learnt to watch out for. It is a mixture of potholes, a really sharp bend and a head mental driver who refuses to slow down! I knew it was coming up so I had two hands holding on a tightly as I could and my feet as firmly on the ground as possible. We started to turn the corner, I remember feeling quite pleased that my efforts were paying off when a rather large old man (who had been stood next to me for most of the journey, stinking of garlic and sweat!) lost his grip and came flying towards me knocking me to the ground. Another woman was pulled down with us, but I got the worst end of the deal! The old man landed directly on top of me (Face to Face!!!) and I was pinned to the floor. He was unable to get up at first (yeah right! He was having the timeof his life!!!) so I had to just lie there, helpless and hoping that he didn't notice me wretching at his sweaty garlic stench!! After what felt like an eternity someone pulled him off meand helped me to my feet. I was offered a seat and gladly accepted. As I had no one with me to laugh it off with I spent the rest of the journey staring out of the window, embarassed, dirty and smelling like garlic.

I arrive at the school around 8am and lessons start at 8.30. I teach 4 days a week, and although I have no lessons on a Thursday I still have to attend as normal. It's a bit of a pain, but it gives me time to plan my lessons. I teach 4 different classes all ages 3-4 years old. The kids are adorable! You've got the smart kids, the cute kids, the kids that always cry and the demonic kids that enjoy making your life a living hell! It's swings and roundabouts!
(I wanted to put horses, but most people wouldnt understand!!) The kids are getting used to me, and I'm getting used to making myself look like a prat to keep them entertained! Lunchtime at school is great, the chef cooks amazing food and 9 times out of 10 it isnt fish heads!! Happy Days!
Because the kids are so young they have a sleep after lunch, which means a 2 and a half hour break for us!! Most days I catch the bus to the Korean street or the local market to do some shopping or, if its not too hot, play badminton with Young or one of the other Chinese Teachers. Young is out appointed 'buddy'! He is an Chinese English teacher and is quite possibly the campest Chineseman you are ever likely to meet!! He's 24, he's geeky, he takes to many photos, he talks to much and could quite possibly make you go insane, but he has a heart of gold and would do anything for you!
After lunch I spend 2 hours teaching the Chinese English teachers during 'free talk'. I dont really need to do lesson plans for this as it is a relaxed way of practicing and developing their spoken English. I really enjoy it as it gives me chance to practice more of what I learnt when achieving my TEFL in Beijing and is challenging in a different way to teaching the kids.
Last week I was asked to attend the International Art School (where I live!) to 'free talk' with the students for an hour or so. As it meant an extra hour in bed I agreed to go! On the morning I was told that the Senetor of Education in Shenyang (the most important person in the city as far as Education is concerned) was visiting the school and thats why I had been asked to attend. This didn't really make a difference to me as I was just going to be casually chatting with the students and practicing their spoken English skills (or so I thought!!) The students were alot of fun and a refreshing change to the kids at the kindergarten and we did spend half an hour or so chatting. Then, out of nowhere I was dragged on stage (yes, they have a stage in the classroom!!) and forced to sing 'If you're happy and you know it clap your hands!" I have never been so embarassed in my life! I would have welcomed the smelly garlic man on top of me at thast point if it would get me out of singing in front of thirty 15 year olds! (Maybe not.... he was pretty smelly!) I was that busy making myself look like a coplete wally I didnt notice the senetor and 10 of her 'people' crowding into the doorway! The students loved it (the chinese are wierd!!) and the senetor was that impressed she demanded and encore (Or so they said, I am convinced she enjoyed watching me make a fool of myself!) I could hardly refuse, and being put on the spot like that the only thing that would come into my head was 'The Hokey Kokey' (I shit you not!)! So once again I sang, this time with actions (On my own!!) praying that I wasnt being filmed for some cruel prank TV show!! Thankfully before long my ordeal was over I was allowed to leave. I guess making myself look like a complete prat is something I'm slowly but surely getting used to!

Arriving in Shenyang

emmarogers85 — Mon, 03 Sep 2007 00:00:00 GMT

Peking Duck @ Welcome Dinner

The Boss, The King & The Manage - Welcome dinner

(Bit of a long one!)

Arrived in Shenyang 6pm Wednesday 29th August. Luckily the 4 hour train journey was bearable as I spent most of the time sleeping! (I was awake to catch some incredible views of the mountains tho!!) Our Graduation Ceremony and after party went on until 7am so I was left with one hell of a hangover! Saying our goodbyes and leaving Beijing was pretty draining (emotionally as well as physically!) I have met some really amazing people and wish I could take them all with me!! However, there are ten of us in Shenyang and I get on with everyone really well so its not all bad! We are all teaching in different schools and staying in different places, all about a 40 minute bus ride from eachother. I am staying outside the City Centre with Lea, a 19 year old German Girl (Hard work at times, but sweet!)

We were met at the train station by Icely and Linda who work for TTC - Teach & Travel China.Our accomodation wasnt ready so we were told that we would be staying in as hotel for the first night. That was fine by me, I just wanted to sleep, didnt care where! We went to the main road to flag down a taxi and this is where the fun started!!!
The roads in Beijing were pretty mental, but if at all possible, they are worse in Shenyang!! A taxi pulled over and Linda and Icely were rushing us to get in. Lea's suitcase took up the whole of the boot, and she climbed in the back seat with my bag! A bit spaced out, I was stood on the road confused as to where my suitcase was going to go when the taxi driver decides to pull off into the middle of the road! (When I say road I mean a 4 lane motorway like road in the city centre at rush hour with hundreds of cars all driving like maniacs!!) He stopped again about 10 meters away from us.Instead of helping Lea out of the Mad Mans taxi, Linda ushered me in to the front seat before heaving up my suitcase and plonking it on my knee!! At which point the taxi driver decides its a good time to drive off again with my door still open- fucking lunatic - (If he had been laughing, it would have been a joke, He wasn't. He started ranting in Chinese!) My suitcase was flung back, knocking Linda flying!! The taxi driver stopped again and I went to get out, but Linda shoved me back in with my suitcase and closed the door before jumping in the back with Icely! I was a little confused and unhappy about being manhandled, but pleased we were all in the taxi and we can finally go to the hotel!!! Oh No.... That would be far too simple!! A police car pulls up in front of the taxi (more angry ranting from the taxi driver - This time most of it was pointed in my direction!!! Cheeky tw...Not a wise thing to do when I am loosing my patience!! I decided to do a little angry ranting of my own and point it in his direction to shut him up!) The policeman asked to see his licence, he handed it over... the policeman obviously want happy, without saying a word he dragged the taxi driver out of the taxi, into the policecar and they drove off! The four of us just sat there in the taxi for a minute a little gobsmacked! The drivers door was wide open, cars were whizzing past and beeping like mad, the keys still in the ignition, the engine still running and our driver had been arrested - it was pretty surreal! I was tempted to hop into the drivers seat and do a little joyriding of my own, but decided on the safer option. We grabbed all our luggage and braved it back across the road, flagged down another taxi and were on our way!!
Thursday 30th August - After a decent night sleep we were taken to our apartment. I wasnt really sure what to expect, and was pretty excited. Our accomodation is in the grounds on Shenyang Art School about 30 minutes bus journey from the School where we will be teaching. I wasnt impressed. Me and Lea are sharing a room, the beds are 2 wooden boxes pushed together covered with a sheet and a duvet! Thats it! The bathroom was a health hazard with no glass in the windows and the shared kitchen I wouldnt even step inside!! I'm not sure why our apartment 'wasnt ready' the night before, it's certainly not because someone was cleaning it!!! We didnt have long to take it all in before we were whisked off to the police staion to register at our new address (you have to do this when you live in China!) this took fookin ages, but it has to be done. Finally it was time to go and see the school!!! We will be teaching at Shenyang Dandelion International Kindergarten. Its so bright and clean and the kids are adorable ( I soon forgot about the state of our accomodation!) We arrived at the school pretty late in the day, so had a quick look round and then we were taken out for a Welcome Dinner the school had arranged for us.
We had a private room set up in a really nice restaurant. The President (of the school!!) The Manager, The Headteacher, two English Teachers ( Lisa and teacher tang) and Linda joined Lea and Me. I had such a lovely time! Lisa and Linda speak English and spent most of the time translating, its a little strange at first, but you soon get used to it! The food was amazing and everyone took it in turns to make a speech, welcoming us into 'their family'. It was actually quite moving!! Lisa kept saying to us ' If you have a problem, you tell me your problem, I will fix your problem, no matter how big or small' (Sweet!!)
Chinese english speakers often adopt an English name and the President (all the English speaking teachers call him 'The King'!!!)took it upon himself to give me a Chinese name! It is 牛牛 (niu niu) It means ' Energetic and mischevious"! Apparently it is relevant to the year I was born (The year of the Ox!) and is a playful nickname especially in Shenyang (Everyone was rather amused when discusing my new name, and I later discovered that Niu Nui is a boys name and very rarely used as a girls! Glad to see 'the king' has a sense of humor!!)! Nontheless I feel very proud of my new chinese name and very lucky to be working with such lovely people.
Just when I was beginning to think that things couldnt get any better, it was time to go home! The appartment worse than I had remembered. As soon as the light went on we could see the number of mosquitos in our room (I dont mean a few, there must have been a hundred at least - a result of having no proper windows!!!) Luckily Lea was armed with 2 fly swatters and we got straight to work killing the little buggers! After what felt like an eternity we had managed to kill all of the mozzies we could see (our walls were covered in little black/brown dots! Ewww!) we settled down for the night as we only had 6 hours till we had to be up again. I was just nodding off when Lea let out an almighty scream! I looked up to see the bigget spider I have eve seen. I dont know if they have terantulas in China, but this was as big and twice as hairy! It was actually pretty amazing! Due to the commotion the spider scurried back behind Lea's bed! Lea is petrified of Spiders (and a bit of a drama queen!) so armed with a fly swatter it was my job to locate and destroy the beast. Now, I'm not scared of spiders, but I didnt fancy touching this fucker! So afer a half hearted attempt I gave up, convincing Lea (and myself!!!!!) that the spider wasnt going to crawl all over her face when she was asleep and lay eggs in her ears! Finally we got into bed! I didnt sleep a wink that night. I was rolled up like a catterpillar in my duvet so the mozzies didnt eat me alive, but with no air con I was in danger of sweating to death. I had to get up to kill about a thousand more mosquitos and was actually relieved when 6 am arrived and I could finally get out of bed and out of that stinking apartment. We spent the morning doing a dummy run of what will happen on the weekdays (Breakfast, bus to school..etc) We told Lisa about the problems with the mosquitos & the spider, and just like she said she would.. she solved our problem!! She bought us electric mosquito killers and creepy crawly spray! She is so sweet!! We decided to remain positive although we were knackered and went to buy cleanig products to make our flat nice!! We got back but our water was brown and lumpy so unfortunatly we couldnt do any cleaning. However we did have some new friends waiting for us, cockroaches! (as big as my thumb - no joke!) I dont mind them because you can swat them, but when I moved the chair to try and find one that was getting away, a rat came scurrying out!! Now it was my turn to scream! I can cope with the bugs, not the rodents! I grabbed a bag of clothes and went to stay at Heidi & Elisas flat! I'm not going back until the rats are gone!
I have told Lisa about my problems with the flat and she has told me that she will fix the problems for me! I belive that she will!!!

Day 29!

emmarogers85 — Mon, 27 Aug 2007 00:00:00 GMT

Summer Palace

I cant believe tomorrow is my last full day in Beijing! This last week or so has flown by! I have spent alot of time in the classroom, working hard, but have also had plenty of time for fun! I visited The Summer Palace yesterday. Unfortunatly it was raining but I still really enjoyed it there! We decided to hire a peddelo and venture to the other side of the lake. It was great fun apart from when I was peddeling! It took us 30 minutes to get to one side of the lake, where we swapped over as it was my turn to peddle, then realising we only had ten minutes to get back!After what felt like an eternity of peddeling like my life depended on it and feeling like we werent moving we finally mad it back in time!
In the evening I went to see an acrobatics show! I really enjoyed it!! Unfortunatly taking cameras into the theater was forbidden (along with dangerous explosives and fluid according to the back of my ticket!!!) but being the rebel that I am I did manage to take a couple of sneaky illegal pics, although the quality isnt fantastic! The show was incredible, I had goosebumps the whole time and would reccomend anyone in Beijing to go and see it!
I have my final 2 lessons of the course tomorrow and will be leaving for Shenyang on Wednesday 29th August at 2pm local time. Shenyang is pretty close and will only take 4 hours on the high speed train! I will be teaching at Shenyang Dandelion Kindergaten ages as young as 2 (eek!) and as old as 6!! Although this could change! I have been given all the details about my transport to the scool and my accomodation upon arrival, but I wont know for definite until I arrive! Things change here last minute and nothing is definite until you are actually doing it, when you ask for a reason the answer you always get is: ' This is China!!' It can get a little frustrating at times, but everytime I hear it I cant help smiling! What else can you say!!!

Day... not really sure!!

emmarogers85 — Fri, 17 Aug 2007 00:00:00 GMT

Temple of Heaven

Old Beijing

Having a little trouble remembering how long I have been here!! Have been so busy! (must admit poor effort on the Blog updating, but I will have more time to do this in Shenyang!!!)
I have been here for just over a fortnight now and I feel like it could have been 6 months already! Not because its dragging, but because I love it here so much!
I visited to Temple of Heaven on Monday, it was really beautiful! Because of the pollution, breathing the air in Beijing for one day is the equivelant to smoking 3 packs of cigs!!! Its only when we were in the Temple of Heaven (surrounded by trees!) did we notice the difference in the air, it was so...fresh!!
I spent some time in Old Beijing, I really love walking through the back streets, and eating in the dodgy looking resteraunts...they're the best places to go!!
Wednesday was my first day teaching in a school in Beijing! I love all the kids already! It was a little tough at first, but really getting into it now! I am teaching ten year olds, but only for the next three days. After that I wont start teaching until I arrive in Shenyang in about a fortnight! (As far as I know I will be teaching Kindergarden in Shenyang, but I wont know this for definite until I arrive!)

We also visited Ho Hai (not sure about the spelling!) Bar after Bar after Bar surrounding a huge lake! Lit up and buzzing in the moonlight! (Unfortunatly my Camera isnt great at night picturs so you will just have to use your imagination!!) It was pretty expensive and even after haggleing one beer was 40 Yuan!! Luckily you could buy huge bottles of beer from street vendors for 2 yuan so this kept us going until we reached Huxleys!! I had read about it in my lonely planet and it sounded pretty interesting!!!! That it was! It was cheap compared to the other places at ho hai (beers 10 yuan - 85p!!) It was the smallest bar I have ever been to and we ended up spilling out onto the street!! (make sure you check out my pics!)

The thing I love the most about China so far: Haggleing!! It's fantastic!! You dont pay the asking price for anything!! (except in some of the posher restaurants!) It is so much fun!

The thing I hate the most about China so far: The squat toilets!!! And the fact that there is no toilet roll in any of the toilets, you have to carry your own with you! It's not the horrific experience that it was when I first arrived so am assuming as time passes it gets easier!

Day 5

emmarogers85 — Sun, 05 Aug 2007 00:00:00 GMT

Thursday and friday I was kept pretty busy with lessons, and wasnt pleased to discover that we would be having them on Saturdays as well, however we get Sundays and Mondays off instead, so its not all bad! Friday night I found my new favorite place! It's a bar called libetys and it's about an eight minute walk from campus. You pay 30 yuan to get in (just over 2 pound!) and you can drink all you like till 4 in the morning! Need I say more!!!!
Saturdays lessons where a chore!! When the day finally ended we decided to let off some steam and headed to the KTV bar for some Karaoke! This was organised through the uni, and I hadnt planned on going, but it ended up being alot of fun!! Thankfully I wansnt persuaded to sing, but I was persuaded to go home via libertys!!!! The rest of the night was a bit of a blur!!!
Sunday morning we were off to visit the Ming tombs and the Great Wall! The bus left at 7.30 am! My roommates woke me up at 7.15, still being drunk, but having a hangover at the same time is not a great feeling! Anyway it was well worth the effort! They dont call it the 'Great' wall for nothing, it was pretty incredible!!
Anyone who has been will know that climbing it is a bit of a chore, and although I was still feeling a little delicate after my antics the previous nights, I did put every effort into getting to the highest part! After risking life and limb, almost on all fours climbing the steep and narrow steps (occasionaly humming the Indiana Jones theme tune to myself!) I finally reached the top! I would love to tell you that my efforts were rewarded with an incredible view, but due to thick fog, visability wasnt great! However I did have the pleasure of being harassed by Black Wasps (their sting can kill!)!!! It was at this point I started to climb back down! This was alot harder as my legs were really wobbly and I was constantly thinking I had a wasp on me! But managed to make it down in one piece!

We always seem to generate alot of interest with Chinese Tourists and especially at the Great Wall, it was a bit like being a celebrity! They all want to have their picture taken with you! Its actually really sweet, and this time I did manage to get one of my own!

After the Great wall we went to the Night Market in Beijing! It was amazing! I had a wander around the food market and tried Snake, Starfish, Silk Worm and Scorpians! (Seriously, I'd put Indiana Jones to shame!!) I did draw the line at Pigs Testicles though!! But feeling like a bit of a cop out I may go back later in the week!!