Wednesday 9 November 2011

Gappers in China are getting ready for the cold as they explore the country


It has been a few weeks since my last update, and so much has happened. Hayley and I did some local sightseeing in Shenyang over the Golden Week holiday. First, it was nice just to have some time to rest, but we got into it a day or two later. We saw the Imperial Palace, which is like a (much) smaller Forbidden City. It took us a while to find it, but when we did we had a great time wondering through the courtyards. We even ran into a teacher from our school there, and finally located some postcards. This adventure was trumped, however, by the Beiling Park and the Zhaoling tombs. We wandered up the main path through the park at a leisurely pace, enjoying the various statues and the lake, and if it hadn’t been so cold, the two of us might have braved the Zorbs.


Inside the temple complex that surrounds the tombs, we entertained ourselves by visiting such buildings as the guard towers, the fruit storage house and the sacrificial animal slaughtering platform (which had unfortunately collapsed and replaced with photos). We spent hours in there looking at everything, and steadily making our way to the very back where we came across the Burial Mound. We finished our tour and jumped on a transport shuttle to take us back to the gate, and as the temple disappeared behind us the ominous grey beyond made us shiver. And, knowing that rain was on its way and thus demand would go up, no taxi driver would stop for us. So we stood in the rain for an hour and got saturated, before ducking into a restaurant to wait it out. We had a good feed. 


We also took great advantage of the Golden week sales to stock up on winter clothes. It is fast becoming very cold. This winter will be like nothing we have ever seen before, possibly dropping to -25 degrees. Can anyone say snow angels? We have been back at school for a few weeks since then, and things are going well. We have been to a wedding and a party with some of the English teachers, and have been invited to another wedding this weekend. We are getting along very well with the staff here. 


Outside of school, all of the teaching interns in our building have taken up tutoring as well. Hayley and I were approached after a conversation in a noodle shop beside the school, and now have four hours each a week. She tutors a 7 and a 3 year old, and I tutor their father. All of them will be visiting Australia next year, so they have a strong interest in the language. The pay is good, not to mention the extremely nice, extremely new car he drives us around in and the places he takes us for lunch. It’s a pretty sweet deal. 


In more recent news, it seems likely that Hayley and I will be offered an extended contract until next June, which is perfect as we intend to stay.

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