First Big Day Out

I woke about 5am which was really annoying and guess what? i still felt sick. Grr. I lay in bed for a while with the air con set to about 20 degrees. Then checked my emails. At about 7 25 i heard Yelin and Harry get up so i quickly got up to so i could get ready as i had to be out at 8am. Just as i opened my door they were headed out the door, and i wasn't quick enough to ask for a towel. So then i was freaking out because i couldn't find one and needed one so i could have a shower. i paced for a bit then decided to knock on Michael's door, i felt so bad because just as i woke him up Yelin walked in the door. They got me a towel and i jumped in without full instructions, it was cold and i couldn't for the life of me figure out how to make it less warm, so i just delt with it, it was actually really refreshing so that was cool. OMG the shower is really hard to get into it has a wooden bath under it, the sides are really high, i am terrified i will fall when i am getting in or out, i mean is that not just something I would do? I rushed out the door and set out on my way to meet Jessie(one of the organisers) I walked straight passed her as she wasnt where she said she would be, but she saw me and got my attention then we taxied to Michelles, who is just down the street, walking distance i tell you, well i am not sure yet will have to check but it only 5 minutes in the car so must be. Once we had Michelle we went to the hospital for the Health check. This was interesting not as horrid as some people made it out to be. it was great to see the girls we all just gossiped about what we had be doing and it was really cool. When they did the blood tests the nurse couldn't get my blood she looked on both arms and eventually decided to go fishing for one. It didn't hurt but she said it would bruise, she wasnt wrong, it started bruising within 5 minutes.

After the health checks which took about an hour maybe we went across the road to a Chinese restaurant for brunch. On the menu?? An assortment of dishes way more food than we could possibly consume. The utensils?? Chopsticks. Jessie and Selina (organisers) were puzzled by what to get me and how i can live on only meat and potatoes. We all chatted and it was enjoyable. I was really brave and tried almost everything they ordered.



Front of Restaurant/Crazy things I didnt try



Lemon Chicken(guess who asked for that?)/Eggplant thing with meat inside(smelt really bad but tried it)



Chinese Potatoes (they are sweet and cold, yes tried, No didn't like)/Selina enjoying the eggplant dish



Your Peking duck is ready ladies/Ladies
Speaking of Peking Duck watch this



After Brunch we walked to the bank, on the way we stopped and got Chinese sim cards, i am yet to buy a cellphone but its at the top of my to do list. When we got to the bank we discovered that it was extremely full so decided to flag it and come back later. The next stop was The Kindergarten that the other girls will be working in. It is huge OMG seriously crazy huge, and the guy they have looking after them is so amazing, he is just so cool and so energetic i am rather gutted that I am not with them. It was quite overwhelming having to sit their while they got briefed on what they will be doing and it was awesome how he actually gave examples I mean just awesome.




The play ground at the other girls Kindergarten


Kelly and Mel at entrance to their Kindergarten.


Came outta that feeling pretty gutted indeed, and was starting to feel really sick again. We went back to a bank, filled in the forms and waited in line for maybe 45 minutes, NB. If you need to go to the bank go 30minutes before it opens. Its crazy After we opened our Chinese bank accounts we sat round chatting then headed back to our homestays.

Whilst at the bank i asked Jessie to ring my Yelin and tell her that i wouldnt be eating tea tonight because i was feeling sick. Yelin said she was worried about me and asked if it was her cooking or if i was really sick, apparently she rung Jessica(the organisation that organises the homestays) to ask for advice or something. Ekk i feel so bad, she thinks i dont like her cooking, its not her cooking its the different foods and the fact that I am feeling so sick. So i had a big talk to Jessie about that.

When i got back to my homestay Michael finally told me what he expects of me with teaching Harry, I was looking thru all my resources and then he sent Harry in, i totally wasn't ready and didnt have a clue what to do with him yet, Its hard because i dont know where his last teacher left off or how he likes to do stuff.Tonya helped a little, trying to tell me what he likes and how he usually acts with her and things. He was all over the show, didnt really want to do it and was testing me I believe, so i didn't give in, i made him stay till he had done what i thought to be satisfactory.

After that it was a short night of Wii, before retiring to my room to check emails, i must have got through one email before i fell asleep, I woke up at 3am luckily my laptop was still on me and i hadn't rolled over.

27th August

27th August 2007

Well Monday was a day to continue settling in and get to know my host family.
I woke up very early as I mentioned but once the sister's woke up my day begun, They made a Ham sandwich for me, because obviously I have said all I eat is meat and potatoes. I was so gutted to see it as I dont like Ham usually, but i was hungry and of course didn't want to be rude so I ate it. It wasn't as bad as i thought it wasnt real ham it was more like luncheon meat. The bread was very thick though. I am just thinking maybe I should be changing the title of my blog to "The food Chronicles" or something Lol.

After that we walked back to my host family's place. Yelin(my host mum) and her sister were on the computer so I went on mine for a while. After that they said they were going to the supermarket, of course it took about 10 minutes to figure that out and then another 5 to figure out they wanted me to come. We set out, i discovered that when its sunny they all walk around with Umbrellas and while this may seem silly its actually a lifesaver in this heat. We walked to the bus stop which is very close. The bus was just like any other bus i guess except everyone was staring at me. The supermarket was just around the corner, when we walked in it kinda looked like maybe a Kmart or something, but then we went down the escalator( which is very steep) and there was the supermarket i was expecting. the first thing i saw was some crazy shellfish that were still alive and waiting to be taken away from their families. All of us had a dictionary or other form of translations in our hands and we walked around trying to figure out what Yelin could buy for me to eat and how i liked things cooked. Explaining how i like my eggs cooked was entertaining, fried eggs, i was acting out how to do it and then pointing to the word fried in the books, eventually Yelin's sister figured it out, the lady working was watching and probably getting a good laugh out of me. So we walked around the supermarket, Pointing to things and saying yay or ney. Surprisingly I found a couple of things. Found some snacks too. I wanted shampoo and conditioner and this began another epic translatorthon as did deodorant. After that we caught a taxi home, we drove through a market and on crazy dirt roads. I was surprised at how close we were, it was really just around the corner. What is really cool is that the Taxis charge 10yuan (about $2 NZD) for the first 10 k's so you can actually get quite a way on this, and even better if you ask them to stop and wait for someone they will, and they don't even get stroppy or anything, and of course because you aren't moving it doesn't hike up the price.

When we got back we all went back to our computers. Just as I logged on I saw that my dad had logged onto Skype so i said Hello. It turned out not to be my Dad but my brother so i chatted to him for a bit and told him how to hook up the skype phone so we could actually hear eachother. Then he got Mum, the 3 of us spoke for maybe an hour, which was really cool. I still wasnt feeling very well though so i wasn't quite myself. I also managed to chat to Laura H which was awesome. woot. Yelin bought out some lunch for me to eat, It was noodles with meat and potatoes, haha she is so sweet. The noodles weren't what I am used to but i tried hard to eat as much as I could. Of course this task was made harder by still feeling sick.

After I had lunch i had a lie down as i was really tired, i wasnt even thinking of it but Yelin (pronounced yea ling , i think) asked if i wanted to, i think she knew i needed it so i did. I woke up just in time for tea. we had chicken nibbles (hallelujah) and potatoes and some veges but i ignored those, lol. I had a couple and some potatoe, They cook potatoes very differently to back home, obviously much more healthy, will take some getting used to. Again couldn't eat much. It is very interesting watching everyone eat with Chopsticks and even Tonya was amazing with them(canadian girl). The most impressive thing i think was the chicken nibbles, the whole nibble goes in the mouth and the bone comes out, it's crazy and oh so clever.

After Dinner we played wii all night till about 11pm. OMG what a freaking work out it is, Its so bloody great and truly amazing how everyone gets involved and is really good at it. We played tennis, we boxed, dodged, golfed and bowled the night away. Our arms were so soar afterwards. If you want a fun way to exercise seriously Wii is the way to go. I went to bed early as i knew i had an early start.

Flights and First Day

Alrighty so it has begun, I am currently on a plane, preparing to land in Beijing. OMG talk about flights from hell. I was feeling crook the whole first flight. Really sick aye, it just was not nice at all, no clue what caused it.


My Suitcase

Michelle, Mel and Kelly



Singapore airport was crazy. It's huge and it was so different to what i expected. Unfortunately i didn't really get to experience all of the airport because really who could and I was so sick, so i found a couch to lie down, Then the girls went and found out about somewhere I could rest in a proper kinda bed, where it was quiet. Thank goodness for the girls aye, they are all so great.


Crazy Sudoku














I felt so much better after my sleep, but by the time we were getting back on a plane i felt sick again. I tried my best to sleep but it wasn't the best sleep, you know how it is on planes. So uncomfortable. Oh i wasn't the only one who was sick, Michelle one of the other girls traveling with me was very ill to, she had motion sickness and was in pretty bad shape, especially as we were landing.

*updated from Beijing*
It was rather hot when we got off the plane and I am so glad i decided to get changed into my shorts even though it was raining because geez it was still so hot, well not really hot just humid.

Just as we walked through customs i saw a young lady waving at us so i headed in her direction, we got together and organised all the papers she and Selina needed, then we headed for the car. OMG the rain felt so good, it was so refreshing after being cooped up for so long.

When we first came out of the airport the roads seemed to remind me of London a little but not for long, OMG people honk all the time, there are bikes and motorcycles everywhere, and the intersections are ridiculous I mean seriously, cars in the middle of the road, and from what I could see many of them dont even have lights. So the main/best form of transportation is supposed to be bikes, but seeing the traffic and how crazy it all is, ekk, i need to get used to the road/route before i even think about that.




We all chatted away in the van, asking jessie and Selina everything they knew about our host familes and kindergartens. They told us where we were and we discovered that the other 3 girls are all in the same Kindy whereas lucky me i am by myself at a kindy called Little Oak. Jessie said its a very highly regarded preschool, its mainly rich families. Yikes. I must admit I am kinda gutted, i mean its cool in some ways cos i wont be being looked at against the others but also it would have been nice to have someone to look to for help you know? So i kinda feel like i am way out in left field all alone.

We dropped Kelly, Mel and Michelle off first and I was lucky last. They couldn't find my apartment building so they rung the mother and she came out to meet us. Jessie, Selina and My host mum spoke for what seemed like ages, there were what i thought to be concerned and confused looks, the worst thing about only being able to watch and conversation and not understand is that you can only attempt to interpret from expressions. It sucks. Anywho so my host mum was just saying that at the moment they have a student from Canada staying with them and that for the first 2 weeks I would sleep at their sisters house. It was a relief to hear them translate what she was saying because my mind was racing with thoughts of "we cant take her anymore, I dont want her etc etc."

We are all located in the Chaoyang district, so you would think we would be close by but i cant even begin to figure out which direction everyone is living. Its crazy. From what I can gather the district is made up of a number of little communities surrounded by gates, which consist of a number of ( in my case) high rise appartment buildings. I cant really think how else to explain it. I guess its kinda like um you know oh man the word want come to me, but like broadoaks for those who live in Christchurch, NZ. Haha.

So we walked to my host families apartment, and i was introduced to Tonya (the Canadian student who has my room at the moment), I have to say I was so glad to have her here, I mean she speaks english and she is learning Chinese so that is like a major bonus beause she is really good at communicating with my host mum and her sisters. When i first sat down My host mum went and got Harry (my host brother i guess) to come out and say "welcome to my home Amanda, I am pleased to have you here" He was so cute and his english was good too. So wicked. He understands alot more than he can say i think. After chatting to Tonya for a while my host mum and her sisters went to the market to get some food. I stayed with Tonya and Harry. We played Wii, OH man its so cool I have been dying to have a go and finally. OMG Harry is like a little energizer bunny, honestly I have never seen a child with that much energy. We played for ages, he loves the boxing game, OMG talk about a work out. When his mum got home I played vs her and she kicked my butt. She is way awesome at it.

Tonya offered me some fruit, i said i would love an apple so she bought out some yellow friut, i asked if it was an apple, she thought it was but checked with my host mum it turns out it was an Applepear, so its like a crazy hybrid, i dont even want to know how it comes about but i tried it anyway and it wasn't to bad. Not as juicy as an apple though, very plain watery taste, refreshing though which is what i needed

Tonya had to go to some market to pick something up so i was alone with My host mum, her sisters and Harry. It was weird and i actually had to think very carefully about what I am saying and simpler ways to say it. They understand alittle but not much, so we spend alot of time with our heads in little phrasebooks and dictionaries and when we just can't find teh right words we use an online translator which is a godsend seriously.

Then it was time for lunch, i wasn't really feeling very well and didnt really want to eat but they had gone to so much trouble preparing these dumplings. OMG i so don't like dumplings they were steamed and had like some green vegetables in them I have no clue what it was but there was no meat. I tried really hard to eat, Surprisingly the vegetable part wasn't the worst for me it was the doh, honestly ekk. i was so good though i had like 4 maybe 5.

After Lunch I was really tired so i went to have a lay down on Tonya/my bed (about 3 pm) I woke up at about 5pm, and felt really really sick again, i was burning up and just felt horrible. I waited as long as I could in the room and then went out to ask for a bowl. Luckily My host father was there now, he introduced himself and i was kinda like "Hi, how are you, do you have a bowl" He managed to figure out what I meant just in the nick of time. Yea so those Dumplings did not agree with me at all. I went back to bed and they woke me around 9pm so I could walk over to the sisters place for the night. When I got there they cleared out one of the rooms for me and told me to put my stuff in there. they gestured for em to have a shower and i tried to ask for a towel. The older sister showed me the water tank and the hot and cold parts i didnt really understand her point but i knew she was saying hot and cold. I saw some small towels so pointed to them to let her know i needed one and she eventually clicked. Then for about 15 minutes they looked through the phrasebooks trying to figure out I think how to say cold. Eventually i made her give up and dragged her in the bathroom to show her i thought i understood. While i was getting ready for my shower and trying to find the shower curtain i discovered that not only was there no curtain but the door has a wee window in it, dont like this aye? *note to self make sure to shower at host families place not sisters*

So I had my shower and i am pretty sure she told me to go to bed so I did, i mean i was pretty tired still and felt sick so i didnt care. Once in bed though I of course couldn't sleep, my mind was racing and racing and i just wished that I had brought my laptop to the sister's place. So i did eventually manage to get to sleep only to be woken up by some crazy ladies outside screaming their heads off. Like seriously it was ridiculously loud, it probably helped that I was on the 11th floor. So that was like 4am, After that i couldn't get back to sleep till around 8am.


View from 11th floor

I think I will end this update now and bring you the rest later on, Its past midnight and I have an Early start in the morning. Sorry this was so long hope it wasnt too boring. Right love you all and miss ya heaps.

Welcome

Heya team, its Amanda K here. Well this is my first post in my new blog about my time in China. I leave this Saturday for 5 months and a week. I will be living in Beijing, China. I will be working/volunteering in an kindergarten teaching English to children.
I don't know yet who I will be staying with but I am hoping to be staying in a home stay with a family there. I am doing this as a part of a study abroad program which my university participates in. It is an amazing opportunity that I couldn't bare to pass up. So here I am preparing to set off on a whole new chapter in my life

I have set this up so that you all can take the journey with me.
I hope you enjoy the ride.
Amanda K