School meals

Every weekday, I'm expected to have lunch and dinner at school. Lunch is at 11.30 am and dinner is at 5.30 pm. I'll try to explain what the school meals are like.

The meals are served on the top floor of the school building. There are three class rooms (a lot smaller than Dutch class rooms) and each room has a round table in it. On each table, there are five plates with different kinds of food on them, usually one plate with pork or chicken, one with fish and the other three with vegetables. Everything is deep-fried. The meat and fish dishes are spicy, the veggies taste like garlic. Sometimes we have something special, like fish heads (eyes staring at you - ugh!) or pieces of pork blood (yes, B-L-O-O-D).

When you go upstairs for lunch or dinner, the first thing you do is grab a white bowl and two pairs of chopsticks. One pair of chopsticks is for transporting the food from the plates to your bowl (Dutch: opscheplepels) and one pair is for transporting the food from your bowl to your mouth. You fill your bowl with steamed rice and then you sit down at one of the tables on a stool that I think was originally designed for toddlers. Where am I supposed to leave my legs?! The Chinese don't seem to be having a problem with sitting on a mini-stool. In fact, there are a lot of restaurants in Yangshuo with miniature stools instead of proper chairs. But hey, the Chinese are a lot shorter. I'm not tall at all (at least, not in Holland), but I'm not a toddler anymore either!

And then, the feast begins. You eat the veggies, meat and/or fish with the steamed rice and if you like, you can have soup as well. You put the soup in a (rice) bowl, take out the pieces with chopsticks and you drink the liquid (whilst making a lot of noise). I've never tried the soup, because I'm not a big soup-fan and the soup always looks a bit weird. I have no idea what's swimming in it... As mentioned before, the Chinese eat with their mouths open, they smack, burb and make a lot of noise. Yuk! After all these weeks, the students are still surprised that I'm usually the first to leave the table!!!

Working Girl

Kathy and I were enjoying a Pink Lady cocktail around 9 pm today when my phone buzzed. It was a message from Joe: 'If possible, can you start teach Kathy's class monday morning?' Excuse me?!? What was going on? I thought there were enough teachers at New Start. Joe must be really desperate to ask me! I'd just made up my mind that teaching English in China is just not my cup of tea... I discussed it with Kathy and I asked Joe if it would only be Monday morning or also the rest of the week. I also asked about the payment. Joe made me teach Friday afternoon as well and I don't think I'm going to get paid for it. I didn't want that to happen again! After a few text messages back and forth, it turned out that Joe wants me to teach every afternoon this week - and she'll pay me for it. Reluctantly, I gave in. I'm giving up my freedom for a few RMB! But I think it'll be an interesting experience and I have Kathy to turn to for help, if necessary. After all, I'll be teaching her class of 6 students. It also means, however, that I'll have to get up at a decent hour tomorrow morning, because I'll have to prepare my lessons. Yikes! Chinese students are demanding and I'm crap at getting up on time!

It's almost midnight here, so I'd better go to bed. I hope you all had a good weekend. I did - I went dancing Friday night and Saturday night. Saturday night, Kathy and I both got a red rose from a Chinese admirer when we were on the dance floor, hihi!

Have a good week!

National Day + Moon Festival

Yesterday was a national holiday in China. The Chinese celebrated the 60th anniversary of the People's Republic of China. Although, celebrate? I didn't notice a thing! Yanghsuo has been decorated with colorful flags and yellow-and-red banners for a week and the trees in the center have colorful, tacky Christmas lights in them, but apart from that, there was nothing special. The shops were open as usual. The Chinese students and foreign teachers had to go to school as usual. The festivities seemed to be taken place in Beijing only. Until 10.30 pm. At that time, a huge firework show started that lasted for approximately 40 minutes. It was very impressive and everybody in Yangshuo hurried to the river banks to watch it. Happy National Day!

Yesterday afternoon, I walked to the Yulong River. I knew it would be far, but I had plenty of time, so I just started walking. It took me more than an hour to get to the river, but it was worth it. I sat at the river bank, watched the bamboo rafts float by and read a book. It was 5 o'clock by the time I was ready to go back, so I texted Joe that I wouldn't be on time for dinner at New Start. I was back in Yangshuo around 6.30 pm, so I was in time for English Corner. The topic of English Corner was National Day and Moon Festival. The students knew hardly anything about it! Tonight we're going to celebrate Moon Festival with the school. We're going to Secret Beach to dance and sing around a campfire. Sounds like fun, but I still don't know what we're going to celebrate! Kathy (from Belgium), Jamie (from England), Nancy (my room mate and Chinese teacher) and I will sing a Chinese song tonight. Yep,you got that right, I'll be singing a Chinese song - and I can't even sing! My first Chinese lesson last Friday was singing a song in Chinese. Most foreigners start with the different Chinese sounds and then they study pingling, the phonetic script - but not me. We practiced singing the song a couple of times this week and I know it'll sound awful tonight, but it doesn't matter. Isn't this what they call 'cultural integration'?

This is the song:

Yue liang dai biao wo de xin
Ni wen wo ai ni you duo shen
Wo ai ni you ji fen
Wo de qing ye zhen
Wo de ai ye zhen
Yue liang dai biao wo de xin
Ni wen wo ai ni you dou shen
Wo ai ni you ji fen
Wo de qing bu yi
Wo de ai bu bian
Yue liang dai biao wo de xin
Qing qing de yi ge wen
Yi jing da dong wo de xin
Shen shen de yi duan qing
Jiao wo si nian dao ru jin
Ni wen wo ai ni you dou shen
Wo ai ni you ji fen
Ni qu xiang yi xiang
Ni qu kan yi kan
Yue liang dai biao wo de xin

Explanation:
Yue liang = moon
ai = love (same as in Japanese)
Yue liang dai biao wo de xin = How the moon represents my heart

It's a very romantic song!

By the way: the q is pronounced as sh.

Have a nice day and a great weekend!

Lady of Leisure

There seems to be some confusion about my work here... Well, it's very simple: I don't work. The schools here don't want me, because I'm not energetic enough, I don't look friendly enough, I look too young, I'm not a clown, I'm qualified and I'm female. I don't want to work as an English teacher in Yangshuo anymore, because I'm not patient enough (being very honest now!) and I'm very attached to my freedom. Therefore, I've been given the title 'Lady of Leisure' - and I must admit that I quite like it!

I work as a volunteer teacher at New Start English College, which means that I talk English with Chinese students on Tuesday night and Thursday night (from 7 - 8.30 pm) in an informal setting. Here, they call this 'English Corner'. In return for attending English Corner twice a week, I get free meals on week days (lunch + dinner) and free accommodation. I have to share my room with a Chinese student and I have to share the bathroom with 3 other students (it's like a walk down memory lane...), but I think it's a pretty good deal. I can sleep in every day, do what I want during the day and do what I want almost every night, apart from 7 - 8.30 pm on Tuesday and Thursday. I don't have a curfew, but I do need to be at school every day at 11.30 am and 5.30 pm for meals. If I'm late or if I skip a meal without informing the staff, I'll receive a reprimand. Ouch! After all, it's still a Chinese school.

The Lady of Leisure has got things to do. Talk to you later!

Having a good time

On Monday afternoon, I tried to drink a few more sips of my herbal concoction, but I just couldn't do it. Just the smell made me gag and even with my nose pinched, I couldn't swallow it. Then I thought 'What am I doing to myself? I'm here to have a good time, not to torture myself!' So instead of spending hours indoors brewing another horrible drink, I rented a bike and rode to Secret Beach with Philip, a 25-year old Australian. I think having a good time is better for my health than making myself throw up....!!

When Philip and I arrived at Secret Beach, we met a group of foreigners. They warned us to be careful, since their belongings had been stolen while they were in the water. Philip's wallet got stolen the day before, so we both didn't have valuable items with us, but we gladly accepted the offer of four girls to look after our bag when we wanted to go for a swim. We couldn't stay very long, because I had a dinner appointment with Barry and Philip had English Corner at Zhuo Yue. All we did was swim to the other side of the river and back and then we sat down in the sand to let ourselves dry by the sun. We talked to the girls - two from England, two from China - and had a good and relaxing time. I was supposed to meet Barry at Hollywood Cafe at 5.45 pm, but of course, I was late. I seem to be late here all the time... Shame on me! Barry and I walked to Kelly's Place for dinner. We sat outside (it's still warm here!) and soon we were joined by Chris and Paul. Gina and Patrick (from Canada) stopped by for a chat as well and later that evening, Jim and Lara, a couple from Alaska, joined us. Yangshuo is so small that you always run into people. Most restaurants have their tables on the street, so even if you sit alone, you're never alone for a long time! I went home around 9 pm, because I had to pick up Kathy's rice cooker and give it back to her. When I entered Kathy's room, my dinner almost ended up on her bed - the awful smell of herbs lingered in her room. Ugh! Kathy looked pretty awful (pale, cross eyed), but she said that she's determined to finish all the herbs. Respect! Kathy and I talked for a while on her balcony (I couldn't stay in her room...) and then I walked back to the centre where I joined Freaky Frank, Johnny and Patrick at The Alley Bar. When they left around 11 pm, I went home as well.

Yesterday, I treated myself to a 90-minute Thai oil massage. Mmmm! Much better than the traditional Chinese massage I had last week. I still have bruises on my body from that massage... Because Hanna, the masseuse, used oil this time, it wasn't as painful as last week. I felt very relaxed and re-energized afterwards and I told Hanna I'll be back next week.

After my massage, I went to the mountain in the park. When I was at the top, my phone rang (I have a Chinese number). It was Jayne, a Chinese girl I'd met at Tom's bbq on Saturday. She asked me if I could go to the Kaya Bar, because there was a Chinese television station shooting an item about an 80-year old paper cutting artist and they needed foreigners to admire the artist's work. Sure! The 80-year old artist turned out to be a short, grey, and friendly man who didn't speak any English. All I had to do, was sit and smile. Sounds familiar?!? That's what the Japanese made me do all the time. This time, however, I enjoyed it. The artist showed us some of his work and it was really beautiful. He gave me two pieces of art as well to thank me for being there. Everything was filmed, so I might be on Chinese television!

At 5.30 pm, I had dinner at New Start. From 7 - 8.30 pm I attended English Corner (booooring....) and after that, I went to Bar '98 to play trivia/pubquiz. And guess what? The Dutch team won last night, so all the team members got a free drink! Most of the team members had already left when the winner was announced, but Ronald, Sinan, Sinan's Chinese girlfriend Ping and I were still there and we decided to play a game of poolbiljart (is that what you call it in English?). I didn't get home until 12.30 am, but hey, who cares? I had a lot of fun and I could sleep in this morning. I stil enjoy sleeping in very much. Don't think I'll ever get tired of that!

Have a great day!

Secret Beach, Chinese Dinner + Herbs

Hello,

I hope you all had a good weekend. I think I had!


My weekend started with an unexpected visit to Secret Beach. I bumped into Adam on Friday after lunch and he asked me if I felt like going to Secret Beach. Sure! I had never been to Secret Beach, but I'd heard great stories about it, so I was curious to find out what it was like myself. Adam went there straight away, but I had to go home to get my bathing suit and towel, so Adam gave me directions and told me he'd be waiting for me at th end of the road to guide me to the beach. I rented a bike for 5 RMB - a pink bike! - and rode along the Li River, according to Adam's directions. He was waiting for me at the end of the road, so I could follow him along a sand path and through the bushes. The beach isn't secret, since a lot of people know where it is, but it sure is hidden - and beautiful. I went for a swim in the crystal clear water - you could see and feel (!) the fish - and I met a few more foreigners. I couldn't stay very long, because Belgian Kathy and her Chinese boyfriend Jack were taking me + some other people out for dinner that night. Naomi was also at Secret Beach and also invited to Kathy & Jack's dinner, so we rode our bikes back together. I had a quick shower, dressed up a little and hurried back to the place where Jack was going to pick us up. Kristen (from the U.S.) was also invited, so Jack had a car full of foreign ladies!

Jack drove us to a restaurant and lead us into a private dining room where four Chinese men were already waiting. It was a bit uncomfortable, since Jack's friends didn't speak English and we only spoke a little bit Chinese. The Chinese men smoked during dinner, they were constantly on the phone, they ate with their mouths open and they still expected to make one of us their girlfriend - NO WAY!!! Of course, my diet caused some problems. 'Are you sure you don't want to try duck tongue?', Jack kept asking. 'Excuse me?!?' Fortunately for me, the other girls preferred vegetables as well, so I mainly ate rice and vegetables. Dinner was finished around 8 pm and I think we were all a little bit relieved. One of the Chinese guys drove us back to the center of Yangshuo where Jack joined us a little later. Kathy, Jack and I went to the Cavalier Bar to go dancing. The music was horrible again, so Kathy and I just moved to the music in a funny way and laughed a lot. We didn't stay very long, though. We went back to some other bars where we talked to some other people for a while. Around 12.30 am Jack bought Kathy and me a cup of hot coconut milk. It tasted like liquid nougat. I think it was supposed to help me sleep, but I didn't sleep all night....

On Saturday, Kathy and I went to see a Chinese herbalist. Naomi and Adam went with us, because they want to learn from this Chinese doctor. Two of Kathy's Chinese students went with us to translate, so we were with a big group. According to this Chinese herbalist, there's someting wrong with my blood (that's what the doctors in Holland have told me several times as well) and my kidney's don't function properly. He's given me a big plastic bag full of herbs that I need to boil for hours every day and then I need to drain it and drink the dark liquid. This morning, I had my first sip. It tasted more disgusting than you can imagine and that one sip made me light-headed. Terrible. How is this supposed to help me?!? I need to do this for 7 days and then I need to go back to the doctor for another consult. I was (am?) a little sceptic about the healing powers of these herbs, but my Chinese room mates are true believers. 'If you don't feel good, you drink herbs' - it's very normal to them. I need to drink about 1.5 liters of this witch potion every day. Yikes!

Saturday night, there was a barbecue at Tom's roof terrace. It was very special to prepare our own food and eat it under the stars. I met some new people there as well. Afterwards, Kathy and I went to a bar to go dancing, but I was extremely tired, so I left at 11.30 pm. I also left early, because I'd agreed to skype with my mother. I'd never done it before, but what a great invention! My father and brother were there as well. It was good to see them and to talk to them.

Yesterday morning, I went to yoga class. Since no one else was there at 10 am on Sunday morning, I had a private lesson. Cool! I spent the afternoon brewing my herbal drink and resting. I had dinner with Kathy at the Rivierside Hotel. Great place with a relaxed atmosphere, good food and on the water. We were supposed to attend a free Chinese class at 7.30 pm, but we got so caught up in talking that we completely forgot about it. After dinner, we walked to Monkey Jane, a backpackers hostel with a great roof terrace. We had a drink there - under the stars, overlooking Yangshuo - and we both felt very relaxed and good.

And now it's Monday again and I have to brew another bottle of my herbal drink - and I need to drink the one I made yesterday... Brrrr!

Have a great day!

Chinese room mate

Sorry you haven't heard from me for a while. I haven't felt good since my plunge in the river on Saturday. I've been feverish, I have a sore throat and I've been plagued by headaches as well.

Yesterday I moved in with Nancy. No, not Nancy-from-Seattle whom I shared a tiny apartment with in Japan 9 years ago. This is Chinese Nancy, an English student and a Chinese teacher from New Start. I'd to move out of my hotel room, because the price of the room was going up. I'd really like to rent an apartment, but so far, I haven't been very lucky in finding a decent and affordable place (or do you think I'm picky? ). I'll check out a few more apartments later today. A Chinese friend will help me then. If you go with someone Chinese, the chance that you're being ripped off is close to 0%. Unfair, but true here in China. So, I'm sharing a bedroom and a bathroom with Nancy now. Nancy is a tiny Chinese lady. She looks like a living doll, but - she's extremely messy! She's very friendly, hardly every at home and she spends most of the weekends in Guilin with her family, so it shouldn't be too hard to live with her, but her messiness... Ugh! Last night, I had to sweep the floor before I could sleep and this morning, I started cleaning the bathroom. I'm not even halfway. It's disgusting! It isn't entirely her fault: the building we live in isn't finished yet, so there's still a lot of dust from constructing it. There are also a lot of creatures crawling around (eeeks!), the bathroom door can't close, there's only one shower with warm water (not ours) and there's no airconditioning. Moreover, I don't have any covers on my bed either. Needless to say that I didn't sleep very well last night... On the upside: I don't have to pay for staying in this room, because I've agreed to attend English Corner two nights a week (from 7 - 8.30 pm) AND I can eat in the school on weekdays. Not a bad deal at all! I just have to sacrifice a little bit of my freedom, walk a little bit further (the apartment isn't in the centre of Yangshuo) and climb a lot of stairs every day to the 6th floor. Luckily, Adam was so kind as to help me carry my suitcase - in return for a drink, haha!

I'm probably not going to teach here. I seriously think that being a teacher in China is not my cup of tea. I just can't do it. I'm not a clown. Besides: I've left Holland, because I wanted more freedom, not less. Most schools here are run like a police station. Brrr!

I'm really looking forward to my first Chinese lesson tomorrow.

Have a great day!

Om 23.00 uur thuis?!? / 11 pm curfew?!?

Sorry, in Dutch this time (with a few English phrases). Let me know if you'd like to receive an English version of the text below...

Gisteravond kwam ik in het centrum van Yangshuo meneer Pang tegen. Meneer Pang is een Chinees die ik ken van mijn parkbergbeklimmingen. Hij vroeg mij of ik al werk gevonden had. Toen ik 'nee' zei, pakte hij meteen zijn telefoon en belde een vriend. Hij gaf de telefoon aan mij en ik kreeg ene Owen aan de lijn. Owen is de eigenaar van een onlangs geopende school vlakbij de rivier de Li, op loopafstand van mijn hotel. We spraken af dat Owen mij maandagochtend zou komen ophalen bij mijn hotel om mij zijn school te laten zien. Aangezien Owen al om 9.30 uur zou komen, ben ik vroeg naar bed gegaan. Dankzij twee wekkers was ik op tijd wakker. Hoera! De hotelkamer die ik heb, heeft een raam, maar geen uitzicht. De kamer is heel erg donker, dus ik slaap heerlijk, maar ik heb 's ochtends geen idee hoe laat het is of wat voor weer het is. Toen ik vanmorgen om 9.15 uur helemaal trots op mezelf in zomerkleding de lobby van het hotel binnenliep, bleek het te stortborrelen. Bovendien was het behoorlijk afgekoeld. Ik ben dus maar teruggegaan naar mijn kamer om een lange broek en een vest aan te trekken. Op dat moment piepte ook mijn telefoon: een sms'je van Owen dat hij vanwege de regen iets later kwam.... Argh! Was ik dus voor niks zo vroeg opgestaan!

Owen kwam op de scooter en gewapend met twee paraplu's zijn we naar het DER English College gereden. Het gebouw waar de school gevestigd is, was eerst een hotel. Alles zag er spiksplinternieuw en luxueus uit. Ik kreeg een rondleiding door het gebouw en werd voorgesteld aan personeel, studenten en Rel, een docente uit Australie. Alle personeelsleden, docenten en studenten hebben een kamer in het schoolgebouw. Er is 1 verdieping met klaslokalen en daarboven zijn verdiepingen met studentenkamers. De bovenste verdieping - inclusief dakterras - is voor de docenten. Op dit moment woont alleen Rel er. Alan, een docent uit Engeland, woont ergens anders. Hij geeft ook alleen 's midddags les. Ik werd uitgenodigd voor de lunch (om 11.30 uur - sorry, maar ik kan daar niet aan wennen...), dus heb ik braaf een kommetje rijst leeggegeten - met stokjes uiteraard. Om 14.00 uur moest ik terugkomen voor een proefles.

Die proefles liet mij totaal onverschillig. Ik heb ook niks voorbereid. Ik heb Barry opgezocht voor wat geestelijke steun ('Remember to tell them your age!" en daarna heb ik mijn wasgoed naar de wasserette gebracht. Tja, moet ook gebeuren... Om 14.00 uur was ik weer op school en heb ik 4 docenten inclusief Owen een proefles Engels gegeven. Op het bord had ik mijn naam, woonplaats en leeftijd geschreven. Boem, boem, boem, boem - 4 personen vielen van hun stoel. Ik ga toch echt m'n haar niet grijs verven! Ik kreeg ze daarmee wel aan het lachen en blijkbaar heb ik daarmee punten gescoord, want ik kreeg positieve feedback. Voordat jullie gaan juichen: ze willen mij graag hebben als een soort van inwonende clown en daar heb ik dus niet zoveel zin in... Vanaf half oktober zou ik eventueel les mogen geven aan beginners, maar tot die tijd - 3 hele weken - willen ze dat ik in de school ga wonen en 's avonds de studenten bezig hou. De kamers in de school zijn luxe, maar ik zou mijn slaap- en badkamer moeten delen met iemand EN ik zou iedere avond, inclusief het weekend, om 23.00 uur binnen moeten zijn. Ik ben geen 13 meer!!! Bovendien zou ik mijn vrienden dan bijna niet meer kunnen zien. De meesten werken overdag en kunnen dus 's avonds afspreken, maar ik zou dan 's avonds moeten werken. Far from ideal... Ik zit alleen wel met het vervelende Oktoberfestival. De kans is groot dat mijn hotelkamer ook flink in prijs omhoog zal gaan. Een andere hotelkamer vinden is (bijna) niet te doen, want heel veel hotels zijn al lang van tevoren volgeboekt voor dit gebeuren. Heel veel studenten nemen de eerste week van oktober vrij, dus lesgeven op een andere school zit er dan ook niet in. Ik weet nog niet precies wat ik ga doen, but I'm seriously thinking about changing my travel plans...