Magnifico Macau!

After having been in China for almost 12 months, and living only 1 hour from Macau by ferry, I decided it was time for a look-see. I had few and low expectations, so therefore I had a wonderful time and spent a blissful 24 hours exploring this compact city. I arrived in the evening and after booking into my low-rent hostel went for a wander. I discovered the town square all lit up for Christmas, the shopping district in full swing and the bright lights of the casinos. Macau for me was a little bit Vegas, a little bit China and a little bit Portugal. The Portuguese left in 1999 after their lease ran out, but they definitely left their mark. The cathedrals, tiled footpaths and cuisine reflects their influence. I've added some photos of this intriguing place, the ruins of St Pauls Cathedral (it succumbed to a fire), the pretty parks and gardens,the tacky yet somehow mesmerizing casinos and some other interesting bits and pieces. I hope you enjoy this little meander through Macau. Love to you and yours for Christmas and 2008!! xoxo

Cool and Cruisey

The title for this post refers not only to the weather but also my new schedule. After returning from holiday I had few job prospects and those I did have were not eventuating. The Foundation College at Shenzhen Uni put me to work 2 mornings a week, teaching post grads (see photo), but apart from that I had nothing! I then got a phone call from a kid's school who were eager to snap me up, but although I was given one class from this, it still wasn't going to be enough to live on. But God is so good, that via this job I got my main job, teaching at Shenzhen uni kindergarten. I then picked up a private tutoring gig and "hey presto", I'm employed again! Since all of this I've had work thrown at me left, right and centre but I love my schedule, as it allows me an afternoon off mid week plus all day Fri/Sat and Sun morning free. The hours are less and the pay is better at long last!! The kindy is a challenge as I've never taught it before, but I am getting a handle on it and enjoying being with the little ones. All my jobs are walking distance to home and the walk through the uni is very pleasant. I pass by a lake (see photos) and a bank of 16 gum trees on my way to class! On a sadder note my best girlfriend Bonnie is leaving Shenzhen for Xiamen, a place 7 hours away. I will miss her, not only for her wonderous translating skills but also for her generosity, kindness and friendship. She is truly a rose among the thorns here, as she is more open than a lot of Chinese and also thinks like a Westerner at times. I've posted a photo of drinks held at my apartment last weekend, which includes my other good friend William. I'll leave off now, as I'm heading to Hong Kong tomorrow and must get organised. Love and kisses to you all, please drop me a line soon! xo

Slice of Shenzhen

I thought you may be interested in some of the daily comings and goings here. I just walked back from the supermarket after my afternoon class, and was struck by all the activity on the street. I spent around $AUD6 ($US5) at the supermarket and bought a large bottle of juice, some chicken, vegetables, bananas, noodles, bread and a chocolate donut!! I love the fact that I can still access everything I need and at such a reasonable cost. So anyway as I'm walking to the bus stop, I go via the underpass. The amount of people in the vicinity is quite incredible, you can do your shopping here and get a hair cut! There were about 6 hairdressers either waiting for business or in the middle of a cut. There are people selling everything from fruit and vegies to gold fish, to what looks to be Middle Eastern sweets! As I continue on I pass about 4 of my students from one of my new classes. They are university post grads, who are hoping to travel to either the US, Canada or Australia when they finish here. The bus costs me around 15 cents and I have to stand, the usual Sunday evening crush. On the way up in the elevator to my apartment on the 10th floor I pass floor 3A. There is a superstition here that 4 is unlucky (the word apparently sounds similar to the word for death) so there is no 4th, 14th or 24th floor to be found! Looking out over my balcony once the sun has gone down, I can see the people in the building across from me. It's a buzz with people sewing and ironing clothing. I wonder where these clothes will end up, for local folk or export, maybe you or I are wearing one of their creations?! So this is small peek into my world, for me it's educational and enticing! (The attached photos are of my neighbourhood).

Panda Paradise

My main reason for holidaying was to visit and volunteer at Wolong panda reserve. I spent 8 days in Tibet as my side trip before heading to the neighbouring province of Sichuan. Chengdu is the biggest city there and Wolong is 4 hours drive out into the beautiful moutainous countryside. There were 10 people in my group from all over the world, Australia, England, Holland, the USA and Switzerland. We had all signed up and paid our money to volunteer our time and energy for the pandas. I am not sure how much value we added in terms of work but our financial contribution was most appreciated. We had a day to wander the reserve and check out the 60 or so pandas residing there. We stayed at the Panda Inn, a very nice hotel on the doorstep of the reserve itself. The work that we provided was basically cleaning up after the pandas (yes, these hands - gloved mind you - have touched panda poo!) and feeding the pandas. Their diet as you are probably aware is bamboo, different varieties and they also have a baker on staff to make panda biscuits! The biscuits are a mix of bamboo, rice, corn, veges and vitamins, they taste similar to rye bread and the pandas love them! I took a tonne of photos, I hope I was able to capture the moods and expressions of these gorgeous creatures and do them justice. I also got the opportunity to have my photo taken holding one while sitting on a bench. But as this was not nearly sufficient I also took the opportunity to go into one of the enclosures for play time with some 9 month old panda cubs! We were blessed on our second day with the birth of panda twins, two girls born to a panda called Ye Ye (Chinese for sunshine). It seemed a little too perfect that this was the only day of our trip that we actually saw the sun! It was a truly rewarding and satisfying experience, these animals are just too beautiful for words! I was very sad to say goodbye to them, and also to the lovely new human friends that I made there.

T'rrific Tibet

On Thursday 30 August I took off on the train from Guangzhou to Lhasa. The scenery as you will note from the photos did not disappoint! I was one of only a handful of foreigners on the train, so it was a very interesting and different experience. It took over 50 hours for us to reach our destination but I managed to sleep in my middle bunk quite successfully and the views kept me occupied most of the time. Lhasa itself was an awesome place, so full of colour and culture! I visited the famed Potala Palace (home to the Dalai Lama), monestaries, temples and spent some time noseying around the back streets and markets soaking everything in. Tibetan food is delicious, even the yak was pretty good!! I made lots of new friends at the hostel I stayed at too. In some ways Tibet is very similar to Bolivia (this was also the general concensus among fellow travellers). I think a large portion of the population are have nots, so this is why it felt the same as Bolivia. The country is very rich in culture but very poor in so many other ways. The people are extremely generous however. The Chinese population where I live has a penchant for staring, a cold, careless, curious stare but the Tibetans in contrast stare with great kindness and even get embarassed if you catch them looking. I was most impressed by this beautiful place and hope to get back again soon!!

Party Pics

Just a quick entry to share some photos of the recent spate of parties held in Shenzhen. Photo 1 : Chris (UK)and I at my boss' farewell party. Photo 2 : William (UK) and I at Chris' birthday party. Photo 3 : Abby, Thomas (USA), me, Stephen (UK, my old boss), Sally (Stephen's wife) and Mc (Nigeria)at farewell party. As you can see I've noted where each teacher comes from. Will update with more pics and news soon. xo

The Wedding Banquet, The Resignation and The Orphanage

From title you can see that it's been a jam-packed month! I can't believe how many things transpire in the course of a very short time here. The photos were taken last weekend at the wedding banquet for my co-worker and friend Thomas, who was married recently to his Chinese sweetheart Lizzy. A good time was had by all at a Muslim-Chinese restaurant run by Canadian expats here in Shenzhen. The first photo is of me with my good friend Bonnie, we became friends through the school I work for. She is a wonderful lady, always happy to help the sometimes inept foreign friend and always cheerful and optomistic. Then you have a photo of me with the happy couple and another of me with the school office staff. I have actually resigned from my job and will leave at the end of a month. There were many factors involved in making this decision, and I believe it is for the best. I will update you on my progress in this area in a future entry. I want to travel in September for a few weeks, so the timing of this decision was made to coincide with these plans. My other news is that I've started volunteering at a local orphanage. I can only manage to go one morning a week, due to work commitments. I have been going for 3 weeks currently and am finding it very rewarding but also a little heart-breaking! There are so many children there and so little time to spend with them all. I play with the kids who are active and just nurse those who are either not yet walking or infirmed in some way. I can't post any photos as the orphanage does not allow us to take any pictures. We have to follow strict procedures, otherwise they will close the program down and at the end of the day it's the kids who will suffer. This particular orphanage is sponsored by a Canadian group, if you are intrested in their work go to www.halfthesky.org to see what they are all about. I've had another trip to Hong Kong since last I wrote, I did get to hit some tourist spots and events this time around. I went to The Peak, Quarry Bay and saw The Symphony of Lights show on the harbour. I have my ups and downs here but I am also having some amazing experiences and am making some wonderful friends. Till next time, take care and God bless! xo

Shenzhen Summer - Sticky and Sweaty!

I have been completely slack, looking at the date of my last blog, it's exactly one month ago since I last wrote. There have been a lot of dramas workwise, which I'm not at liberty to discuss here. I can tell you that I am still working for the same school and that my hours have reduced for the time being. This is a blessing as I was getting burnt out on all the hours I was doing. I have been back to Hong Kong and posted here are a couple of photos from my last trip. The financial district is very big and the bull sculpture stands outside the stock exchange. The first time I walked past the Hang Seng bank I found it a little thrilling, as I'd seen it so often mentioned on the news back home. As you can tell from the title I have been experiencing my first tropical summer. It is very uncomfortable and the air conditioners at my apartment have been working overtime. The men of Shenzhen like to walk around with their shirts hoiked up, exposing their midriffs! It's very unappealing to say the least, if only I had the words to tell them! I am acquiring a list of favourite haunts, mainly for eating and shopping. I am also acquiring some good friends, they are mostly the people I work with. I am fascinated by everyone I have met, they all come from such different backgrounds and walks of life. I am a little bit over the Chinese custom of staring at Westerners. I try to be patient and remember that we are in the minority but some days I just want to be anonymous. There are some Chinese who are most helpful and not at all bothered about staring, like the lady at the Bank of China who helped me to apply for Olympic tickets. I should find out in the next couple of months if I will be offered a seat at the Opening Ceremony, tennis or swimming, please pray I get at least one thing! I hope you're keeping well and I will try to be more diligent with my updates. Love, God bless and keep you until next we meet! xo

My Apartment!!

Well it has finally come to pass, I have an apartment of my own! My flat mates moved late last week and I couldn't be happier! As you can see from the photos it's quite spacious, the view from the balcony isn't half bad either. I have 2 bedrooms, a bathroom, living/dining area, kitchen, small laundry and a lovely big balcony. I had 3 friends over for dinner on Monday night and we christened the place properly. I am fairly tired at the moment, work is busy as ever and I am sorting out the apartment bit by bit. I hope to be on line to chat to you more often, as I finally have broadband internet. I pray things are going well for you and yours. Love and God bless! xo

HK Addict

After another trip across the water to Hong Kong it's official, I am addicted to the place! The shopping is superb (as a current acquisition above can attest), the drivers are more patient (and on the correct side of the road!) and the atmosphere is infinitely more energised than where I am currently living on the mainland. I toyed breifly with the idea of trying to find a job there, but I know if I did that, that I would go broke very quickly, way too many temptations there! This time last week I was returning from my little expeditition, can't quite believe how fast this year is ticking over. Work is busy with no signs of slowing down. I am learning a lot and even managed to conduct some placements tests, which is talking to potential students to find out what level they are. It's a quick and painless process that saw me earn around 150 RMB for doing 3 of them! I feel like my apprenticeship (it truly feels like that's what it is) is coming along well and am feeling more settled with all of my classes. The weather is warming up quickly and even though summer is weeks away, it feels as though it has arrived already. The ladies of Shenzhen can be seen hiding under a myriad of coloured umbrellas, shading themselves from the intense heat. I am on the brink of buying one myself! I'll leave off here, God bless you all, you're in my thoughts and prayers as always. xo