Tag Archives: IB

Tiger Paw and Dragon Breath

Posted on by
1

September 7, 2101

In foundation class today we did the “upside down man” drawing.  My past art students and teacher friends know this assignment where you take a Picasso drawing flip it upside down and draw it.  It opens the right side of your brain.  Chinese students think this is difficult, but they are much like American students when they draw.  I had four students flip it over when I went to my desk and draw it right side up and one traced it.  I told them “no, no this is not acceptable!”  When the 20 minutes was up,some where not finished.   They did not get the concept to stop as I was teaching a project in a time frame.  Two wanted to take it home and finish it.  They are serious students, too serious.  I think they need to loosen up!

Alice and I talk about our trip to Mi Jing Temple and what a good time the three of us had.  She makes a comment that I am laughing at everything I see, I do, I hear.   It makes her happy to see me happy.  Her husband has smile wrinkles when he laughs.  I told him that the more wrinkles he has, the happier he must be.  He liked that.  I am happy.  Alice even said that when many bad things have happened to you,  it turns around, and happiness fills you equally.  So the year of sadness, loss and unhappiness is over, I am in the year of happiness, smiles and many new things to laugh at.  I like her philosophy.  I smile, I laugh and I adore Alice.

Lunch with Peter at the corner mom and pop cafe, for a family size bowl of fresh tomato and egg drop soup, with two different  rice dishes on the side.  Our lunch was 17 yuan about $2.25.  The reason is was so high Peter had a Coke!  After school I walked to the bank and transferred my American bills into Yuan.  Now that was an interesting process, they Xeroxed my passport twice and ran all my bills though a machine to see it they were real.  25$ keep spitting back out! (Much like Dragon Breath, will explain later)  The teller called two other tellers over and they examined the bills, ran them though many times, held them to the light and chattered in Chinese for at least 10 minutes.  Are they going to haul me off for counterfeit American dollars?  Wasn’t this the money I had got at my bank in Texas?  At last after I signed three official documents I was given my RMB!  On to the coffee shop for a latte and 2 baguettes, one cheese and the other a cream filled and powered sugar on top.  This will be dinner!  Stopped in a little shop that had cute comfy tops, they are made of Bamboo fiber, this will be nice for my Yoga class, get one  and off to a taxi and home to the hotel.

Yoga class with Yan, my IB coordinator colleague and the Norwegian Massage/Acupuncturist.  I moved to the front of the class to see the instructor, I like her but can’t understand what she says, so I must watch her closely.  She teaches us Tiger Paw where you make a claw with your fist and slap it on the mat, that was noisy and silly.  Then we did a pose on our knees where you breath in, lunge forward, open your mouth, exert a loud breathy noise and stick your tongue out, I called this “Dragon Breath.”  We repeated this many times and I would look up and see my Chinese yoga classmates with their tongues out at me, I started laughing.  Looked over at the Norwegian and she was laughing so hard she had tumbled out of her pose and fell to the floor.  Another good Yoga class. Hitched a ride with Yan.  Her husband came to pick her up, nice to ride in a beautiful car with wood grain trim, like my Eos convertible.  Alias the Eos has moved on to someone else and I some where else.

Now it is time to dress and go to school, need to brush my teeth and remove the Dragon Breath!

1st day of school

Posted on by
5

September 1,2010

Today I taught in China!  It was wonderful, but hot and sweaty.  Air conditioning is not something the Chinese use much! We have units in some rooms and our office.  The westerners come in and flip it on, the minute we walk out, off it goes by the Chinese teachers!  So my hair is in a pony tail today.  I am drinking water and carrying lots of toilet paper with me.  (No TP anywhere, carry your own!)

My classes start at 10:30 for an hour and a half then a nice long lunch for an hour and a half.  I come back to class at 1:30 and finish at 2:55.  It is wonderful.  One class today had 25  pre IB students all 10th graders the other was 3 fantastic HL students.  It is a great way to teach.  One of my HL’s asked me to sponsor the Ice Skating Club, and I accepted!  Can you see me on ice skates?  Zip, zip –boom!

I have a Chinese phone now, so if you need the number just email me.   I wanted a number I could remember, therefore I picked an easy one and was told it was a lucky number!  Yeah a lucky number, but it took longer to process because it was this lucky number, yes an extra hour.  Can you believe that was my luck?

School started with an IB faculty breakfast.  We had fried bread, hot soy milk, meatball bread dumpling, a loaf of sliced western bread all of which was yucky!  They did have instant Starbucks with real milk and a pastry with sesame seeds on top.  That was ok!   Found a little mom and pop cafe outside of the school campus that serves vegetarian food and the menu is in English.  Had sautéed broccoli then beans and mushrooms with fried egg rice and white rice.  Really great.  Learning to use those chopsticks, but picking up a mushroom is not so easy.  Very cheap, three of us ate for 44 RMB or $6.  Plus we had green tea.  I will be eating there again.

Off to yoga class……  It is fixing my back.  The bed I am sleeping on is just about to eat my lunch.  I have my down comforter on top of the mattress then a sheet on top of it.  Some better.

Namaste!

Medical Check up and Yoga!

Posted on by
9

August 30, 2010
I had a med check for my China Visa, which included a dental check, eye check, full body X-ray, ultrasound of my liver, kidneys and spleen, an EKG, blood test and blood pressure test all done in less than one hour. Can you imagine America doing this for all our immigrants? And efficiently? It was a hoot running from one medical room to another and seeing so many doctors. I passed!

Afterwards, checked out the “Aqua mall.” Great grocery store, actually had everything anyone would need in an open air mall with a water fountain show in the middle, hence the name. Most name brand stores were there. I meet a cute couple from San Francisco, here for a week adopting a baby girl. They were so excited. My friend Sophia, the Chinese IB secretary is pregnant due in a couple months. I was curious to see is she was having a boy or girl. She told me the doctors won’t tell the moms what they are having, as some would abort the girls. They are only allowed one child, and when I say I have four — they flip!

Another short Inservice today, and I went to organize my desk and broke it! That was a moment when I was the subject of talk amongst the Chinese IB faculty! A bit too industrious!

This evening I met up with the IB coordinator at the Life Fitness Facility for a Chinese Yoga class. Oh my gosh– the floors are heated, the class was in Chinese and nothing like the “Sun salutation” classes I have had in America! This was very slow, pretzel-y upside-down, and twisty turny. It was just wonderful, I was so in my element. Even Yan said I was good, or maybe she was being nice. I signed up for three months and guess what they have spinning classes too! Yee Haw….. Maybe I can learn Tai Chi as well! Next door is the massage place, open till 10pm and no appointment! Hello China fitness!

High School

Posted on by
3

August 28, 2010 I like the school, even though it was raining when I arrived. The Taxi cost about $1.50 to take about 4 mile, can you believe? And I thought I would walk, not! Gated and two or three guards at the entrance, very secure. There are many buildings, including a fine arts performance hall and sculpture in the garden. The IB area is housed with one of the public school buildings. I have an office overlooking a grassed roof, go figure. The Art room greeted me with really bad graffiti on the walls, needs a mural to cover it. (Thinking of you Keleigh Brill) The art teacher that left, forgot to clean up! What a mess, looks like I will be pitching stuff on Tuesday and setting up the room for Wednesday first day. The room will be cool when it is straightened, only problem, no AC! (That was an oxy-moron) They are getting me a secondary art room with AC for those sultry days. There is a couple computer labs and a lecture hall. Quite up to snuff, I would say. Some of the hall ways, ours happens to be on the 5th floor, are open air. It is lovely, after you have puffed up the five flights.

I met my western colleagues, an American, Brit and Aussie! We all have such accents. I answered someone in Spanish and that was funny, they thought it was a dialect of English. My Chinese is just 2 words at this point. Have much to learn and it is mind boggling. I am going for latte with the western teachers today and looking forward to chatting.

My back is really sore, could use my inversion table or a good massage! (Where is Susan Cline when you need her?) Casey said to buy an egg crate, hope they have those here.

My space bags worked great but now that I am opening them, everything is so wrinkled, need to buy an iron next. And I need about 100 hangers, I have 6 in my closet.

For those of you interested in my bathroom findings…. The high school facilities are a lovely Prussian blue tiled hole in the floor, at least each hole has a door. I inquired about faculty restrooms and a regular toilet, and since I am the only female western teacher they may accommodate me with something. Maybe a five gallon bucket with a lid! Culture Update #1: Always carry toilet paper on you, as there is none in any of the bathrooms!

Need to take some pictures today. The university has historical architecture and some being renovated. They are using scaffolding made of bamboo that goes up maybe ten stories. It looks like an accident waiting to happen. I was told there is a Buddhist Temple behind the campus, that might be my first photo excursion.

World Traveler

Posted on by
4

August 26, 2010
I’m here!  I am ok, jet lag was not too bad.  up early thou….. it is 7:20 am and I think it is 6:20 pm in Houston.

The motel is nice, some quirky things, no clock….! and toilet paper is minimal.  I’m on the second tiny roll.  Had to have our driver pull over from airport, had the runs!  Went to a public pot, hovered over a trench!  Ha that was interesting! Do have internet… not YouTube or Facebook at all.  Skype is up.   Send your Skype addresses to me.  Really glad to have the internet back.  This is such a treat.  No Starbucks, bummer.  Did see a Tea/Coffee bar a couple blocks.  The town is gray, square and dank.  But lots of tall interesting looking trees. Motel room has 2 twin hard as a rock beds, nice shower, but no refrig or cook-stove!  TV is all in Chinese– same type of stuff like in the US.  Looks like 1950 in places around the university.

People are nice, many do not speak English but are somewhat friendly.  I have met an IB Physics teacher from the DC area moved here 5 days ago with wife and kiddo, they are nice. Hope to pal around with them some.

Food is ok, not great.  Like I said I already have travelers poop!   Weather is foggy or smoggy, can’t really tell.  Huge skyscrapers, and lots of them.  2 million plus in the city.   Flying in the landscape is beautiful in the suburbs, with square homes-kinda minimal European looking,  very quaint.  I am in town, large and like downtown Mexico city. Lots of action, accidentally bumped into a parked motorcycle walking down the street and set off an alarm!  Lots of bikes and mopeds and no one watches for pedestrians.  Will need to be real careful walking.  Streets in town are 4-6 lanes and a huge mess navigating. Vendors selling cool looking food.  Ate at the Canteen on campus, the Nanshan Motel is on the University campus.  Lots of college kids, refreshing!  Had tofu/green beans, cabbage, and eggs with something green like spinach, but not!  All tasted rather the same and greasy, rice sucks!  Tea is good, drinking it now.  Had to boil my water for it.  Hope that helps (boiled twice!– no more poop!)  ate with chop sticks alot…. need to invest in a fork.

No specific smells yet….  I remember Mexico city smelt like chicken and bus diesel.  Haven’t smelt that yet.  The flight was long!  I am thinking with layovers and all about 28 hours. Hong Kong airport was sheik, wish I had bought a hair dryer and iron there.  Now I need to go find one today.

Laundry is interesting, kinda like yours, Sarah in Sacramento–except the washers are strange, small and old.  It is on campus too.

Tomorrow I will be taken to the health doctor for a check up for my “Expert Certificate”  —  And in-service is tomorrow.  Wish me luck.

Next thing is the bus system…. oh my that should be fun!