Saturday, February 27, 2016
2/27/2016
I had an amazing day! I went hiking with some of the other teachers at my school on a mountain called Lingyanshan. It's a sacred Buddhist mountain, and even though there were people bustling along everywhere, I felt a sense of peace and spirituality. The very beginning of the path was lined with stalls of people selling things like incense and trinkets and things. Then we went through an elaborate sort of gateway and the path led through a forested area with lots of bamboo and pretty trees. There were a couple of really nice pavilions made of stone. The roofs were rebuilt, but the stones they were built out of were the originals, which is surprising, because they are around 2,000 years old. At least that's what Miss Hwang said. There were also lots of prayer flags everywhere, like the kind they have in Tibet. (Look in Ally's room if you don't know what I'm talking about.) There was some really pretty song playing all along over speakers. I'm quite certain they didn't have that 2,000 years ago, but the effect was really nice.
At the top of the mountain was a monastery, like the ones in the cartoons. Avatar: The Last Airbender and Kung Fu Panda kept coming to mind for some reason. There were people praying to statues, and people kowtowing, and bald monks in robes, the whole shebang. It was pretty awesome. From the top of the mountain you could see the city of Suzhou all sprawled out. It was gorgeous.
I was with a group of four people, and we met with some other teachers in the Vegetarian Noodle Office. (That was what the sign said.) I had never, ever thought to imagine myself eating noodles in a Buddhist monastery. It was good soup, though.
I was taking pictures right and left, so when we went through a beautiful Buddhist shrine, I wanted to get pictures of the statues. But, then a monk got after me, and I felt really, really bad. I guess you're not supposed to take pictures inside the temple. (I deleted those later.) Miss Hwang told me, "It doesn't matter. I didn't know that, either." But, I still felt bad. So, if you happen to be inside a sacred Buddhist shrine, to be on the safe side, don't take pictures. It was cool, though.
Through the temple was a courtyard, and there was a lovely pagoda, among other things. You can't go inside the pagoda, but you can go up to it. I took several pictures of that pagoda. There is also a well there that was made by an emperor long, long ago for his very beautiful love, because they didn't have mirrors, and he wanted her to see how beautiful she was, and so she could dress herself up and stuff. There were so many cool things! It's hard for me to wrap my head around just how old they were, especially considering how good of condition they were in. In Nevada, there's not a lot of really old things, but Suzhou is a very ancient city.
Miss Hwang and the others who were with her didn't want to do the three-hour hike to Baimajian, so they went part of the way and turned around. I went with the other teachers to the end, though. You would have loved it. It was a really nice hike, even though the hills were often steep and slippery. A couple of teachers had brought their sons, so I got to meet David and Leo. They are so adorable! I bet they would get along with Juliette's nephews really well. Leo is shy, but David is really sociable, and he talked to me a lot. His English is pretty good, considering he's only eight.
We made it to Baimajian (White Horse Valley). There's a gorgeous lake there. We sat at a picnic table and ate snacks, and I watched as people took leisurely pleasure rides on bamboo rafts while everyone else jabbered in Chinese. Then, we made our way along a path to exit the park, and on the way, we went by a pretty tower. David and I went and explored it. Thankfully, the sign outside it was in Chinese, English, and Japanese, so I was able to skim through the story of the tower. It was built by an emperor in the Spring and Autumn Period for his famously beautiful concubine. It was a place for her to rest and have good mental health and stuff. Then, a previous emperor reestablished his authority (I assume this must have involved killing off the other guy), and he kept the beautiful concubine in the tower. I guess he must have fallen in love with her beauty, too. He was devastated to learn that she had gone and drowned herself in the lake that I ate snacks by, so she could be with the other emperor. There seems to be a lot of this kind of thing in Asian history. I think her name was Xishi or something like that.
To end the day, we went to a restaurant that's not too far from our school. David's father's dad is a cook there, and he's the boss of that restaurant. So, we had a really nice dinner for free. There were a lot of interesting dishes. One of them was a big bowl of cooked snails. Yes, I ate some. I don't know how on earth I persuaded myself to do it, but I did. It wasn't bad. (Better than snake, anyway.) You're just supposed to eat the head, and you eat it by ripping it off with a toothpick. It was seasoned, so I think that's why it tasted good, but the actual snail didn't really taste like anything. And, David laughed at me, because I was struggling with chopsticks.
I came home really full and really happy, and then I showed my roommate and all the others who came over all the pictures and made them jealous. I will find a way to send them to you. My phone is Chinese and I don't have a VPN on it, so I can't get on Yahoo or Facebook, but if you download WeChat, I can send you pictures that way. (That's the easiest way I can think of.) Currently the plan is to send them to you on Amelia's phone. Anyway, I love you, and I think of you all the time, especially when hiking's involved.
Love,
Chelsey
2/26/2016
Dear Mom and anyone else who may be reading this:
I'm sorry it took me so long to write again. I've been dying to email you, so you know I'm okay, but we've had issues with our Wi-Fi. We figured out that we'd unplugged something that needed to stay plugged in, and since we've plugged it back in, it's been working okay.
I started at Wuzhong Primary School. ("Woo-Jong") I wasn't sure how it would be, going to a school where I felt like the agency just put me so I'd have somewhere to go, but from the first moment, everyone has been so kind and friendly. You'd think I was the coolest person ever, the way the kids grin and wave as I pass. They stare at me in awe, as if I was a rock star or an angel or something. I love how all the little children say hello all the time. Sometimes they even come talk to me. Like, the other day, some girls came and knocked on the door of my office, but no one came in, so I went and opened the door to see who was there. I guess they were feeling shy, because they had gone and hidden in the next office. They told me their names, but I'm not good at remembering Chinese names. And, today, a girl (maybe one of the same ones) came and gave me a picture she had drawn. She drew me in a princess dress and wrote a note saying, "You very very beautiful. You very very lovely. You is good teacher." I haven't even started teaching yet, so I don't know what she's basing that off of, but it made my day. I'm scared I'm going to get a big head with all this attention.
The little kids at Wuzhong aren't the only ones that like me. There are two young women at the school who are about my age, and we became fast friends. Their English names are Alisa and Yuki, and they are very nice. In China, when you make new friends, one of the first things they do is ask for your WeChat number. I had to tell them I don't have WeChat, because my phone broke before I could get one. Alisa said she had just bought a new phone and I could use her old one. So, now I have a phone! I tried to offer her some money, but she said to just return it before I go back to America. Once Alisa gave me the phone, she and Yuki helped me set up a WeChat account. I'm pretty sure WeChat works in America, so if you're interested in getting one, my WeChat ID is chelseywa23. (I'm not saying you should or that you have to, I'm just putting it out there. It's really more a thing in China.)
I'm still figuring out where things are in my area in Suzhou. I knew how to find Chengxi Middle School, and then I had to change schools, so then I had to learn the way to school all over again, and I even got mixed up on the way to school this morning. But, I've got it down now. I can make it from our complex, Mei zhi Guo ("may jer gwah") to Wuzhong and back again.
I'm excited (and nervous) to finally start teaching, on Monday. I get students years 1-5, which is ages 7-13, I think. It works differently in China. I've been telling all the Chinese teachers and students who can't pronounce "Wadsworth" that they can call me Miss Wa. I've read through all the text books that their Chinese English teachers teach out of, and I've come up with enough lesson plans to get me through Monday. I need to do more for the rest of the week, but tomorrow I will be busy, as I've been invited to go with the other teachers at Wuzhong to go hiking on a nearby mountain. (I'm excited for that!) Luckily, I never have any lessons before lunchtime, so I'll have plenty of time to prepare.
How are things in Lincoln County? I think of you all the time. My friends love seeing the picture I have of you. How is morning scripture study? How far have you gotten by now? What are you doing for family home evening? And, do you have any ideas for fun, educational classroom activities? (I've got it for now, but I will take any help I can get.) I want you to know that there are several English girls who have learned about the Church of Jesus Christ of Latter-Day Saints because they came to China and met me. I love you. Good luck with everything.
Love,
Chelsey <3
Tuesday, February 23, 2016
2/23/2016
We rode on a bus and made it to Suzhou. I still haven't seen much of it yet, but it seems nice. I just want a Sunday where I can stay in and be spiritual, and maybe even find out how to do the church on Skype thing, but that didn't happen this week.We went to a welcome reception for the foreign teachers at Chengxi Middle School, which was the school where I was assigned, so I didn't have to go anywhere afterward. It was more people talking to us about important stuff, except they made us all give a speech to introduce ourselves. They made me go first, and I had no idea what to say, so it felt really awkward.
After that, they took us to our apartment. It's a really nice place! There are two of us, and three bedrooms. One is a child's bedroom, and we decided that it can be our studio/office/whatever. I have the master bedroom, which means I get my own bathroom, which I was not expecting. It took us a while to get the hot water to work. You have to pull a lever and then wait for it to be hot, and make sure it's off before bed. We also have a TV, a kitchen with cooking supplies, a washer in the lower bathroom, and an indoor balcony. And the tables open up so you can play mah jong (also included). My roommate is named Amelia Quine, and she's quite nice. We just wish we could get the DVD player to work, but maybe the problem is our foreign disks. At any rate, at least they didn't stick us in another hotel until arrangements could be made. Most of the other interns in Suzhou are in hotels, which means they have to pack and unpack AGAIN!
Chengxi Middle School is nice. It's a fairly new school, and really big. Amelia and I haven't started teaching yet. They mostly wanted us to just sit in the office and familiarize ourselves with the other English teachers. Amelia is on the floor below me, because they have an office for English teachers in each grade. It was kind of boring, actually, but not completely. Whenever it's time to change classes, the tune of "We Wish You a Merry Christmas" plays over the intercom, which I find amusing. And, in between classes, the students go in and practice things that they remember from class. They often smile and wave at me when I go by, and some of the girls even exclaim, "Oh, you are so beautiful!" (One guy even winked at me as he walked by. I wasn't sure what to think of that.) I feel so awesome!
The only thing is, they were somehow under the impression that one of us was supposed to teach English, and the other was supposed to teach music. I think they were supposed to get a music teacher and an English teacher, and then they got two English teachers instead. Amelia and I both know a little about music, and she was pretty happy with the idea of teaching the kids English songs or something, but the agency decided that I would be going to another school instead. Which is fine, I guess. I get to go to a nearby primary school, which means I get to work with cute little kids (not that middle schoolers aren't cute). It makes me sad because the people at Chengxi were so happy to have me, and now I have to leave. But, oh, well.
Yesterday was the day of the Lantern Festival, which is the last day of the Chinese New Year celebration. It's not a super big deal in Suzhou, like it is in Beijing, but there were fireworks. Well, there were fireworks probably every night since I've gotten here, because it was Spring Festival, but there was a really nice show outside my window. The Lantern Festival is a time for families to get together and eat dumplings, so Amelia invited the other interns over and we shared dumplings. It was a great idea, except they also brought beer, so it was mostly awkward for me. I ate some dumplings so I wouldn't starve, but then I hung out upstairs and got ready for bed. (I got a nice view of the fireworks, though.)
I wasn't sure if I was supposed to go to school today, since I'm changing schools, anyway, but I did, and it was a good thing, too, because they hadn't been informed of the plan yet. (This seems to be a thing in China. Everything is just confusing.) I just sat there, mostly, but the other teachers showed us around a bit during their free time. There are a lot of shops around the area. I just love it! They pitied me and lent some money to buy a coat, since I just had my jacket. I had left my money at the school, and I didn't have quite enough cash, anyway. There was also a guy on the street who sold musical instruments. I hope I see him again, because I really want to buy a bamboo flute. That's one of the things I have to get while I'm in China. Then, after school, I got more cash from the ATM and we did some food shopping. I also bought a sweater and some work pants, because I need them.
I start at Wuzhong Primary School tomorrow, and I'm excited to see the kids. While I was just sitting there, I thought it would be a good idea to scratch out a lesson plan today, since I have no idea what's going on. Now I'll be prepared. One thing I hope they have is sit-down toilets. Chengxi does not. I can get used to squatting, I think, but sometimes it's just nice to not have to.
I think that's everything. I hope you don't fall asleep reading this novel that I have composed for you. I hope you're all well, and I hope Dad and anyone else who got sick are feeling better. I love you all.
Love,
Chelsey*:x lovestruck
Saturday, February 20, 2016
2/20/2016
Today was utterly exhausting! And also quite awkward. But, overall, it was pretty good, I think.
Last night, my roommate Georgina and I watched Kung Fu Panda, because we're in China and we can. (It was one of the ones I had brought.) Kung Fu Panda is a thing here. The third one was out in theaters last week, but I think it might be done now.
This morning were our medical tests. They did, indeed, take blood. It was super embarrassing. I gave the lady my left arm, but she didn't get enough blood from it or something. I accidentally made the mistake of looking, and I know there was blood in the tube thing, but not enough. She pulled the needle out fast, and it hurt. And then, when they said I had to do it again, I got all woozy and the other interns started babying me. Now, it's no secret that I have a thing with needles. I did the other tests first before I came back to it, so I could recover a bit. The second time was fine. The guy who did it was better at it than the lady, and I knew not to look this time. It didn't even hurt, though my other arm was sore for a while.
After we got back to the hotel, we went to a noodle shop. It was like a Chinese fast food, but it was really nice. We had noodles and potstickers, and it was SO good!
At one we went to the lobby to meet for the trip to West Lake. On the bus ride over there, my back started hurting. The park where the lake is is stunningly gorgeous. It was hard for me to enjoy at the first, because my back was in so much pain. And, of course, because I was in excruciating pain, the other girls worried about me. More embarrassment. After a time, though, the painkillers kicked in, and I was fine. I also got separated from the group. I turned around for one moment to see how much a camera cost (more than I had), and they were gone! There were others who were planning to go as far as the pagoda, but I wanted to stay with Rice's group because they were going to see all around the lake. (Yes, his English name is Rice. Rice is nice.)
I made it to the pagoda. It's gorgeous. I don't have pictures, but you can look up images of West Lake and see it, I'm sure. I didn't go inside it, because it cost more than I could afford, but it was nice to look at from the outside, too. I was hoping Rice and the others would be there, but no such luck. I kept trying to catch up with them. I never did find them, I did find a tomb of some guy called Wu Song. (I'll have to find out what he's famous for later.) And then a very nice Chinese lady named Rachel and her friends helped me get a taxi back to the hotel. That was how the pagoda group got back, too, though they went out to eat and got back much later.
I think that, in the end, I had a much cooler adventure than the group that stayed with Rice. Not only did I find Wu Song's tomb, but I also met Rachel and her friends and I got to hang out with them. They were so fun! Rachel spoke really good English, and she told me the story about the pagoda. I will have to find out the details later, but the gist of it is that there were two snakes who turned into women and fell in love with handsome men. It was a forbidden love, though, and they had to wait for 500 years at the top of the tower for the men to get them out. They got married and had children, but their ghosts are still stuck at the top of the pagoda. . . or something. I will always remember walking along Sudi Road with them and seeing West Lake by the light of the city and the moon. As beautiful as it is in the day, it's even more stunning at night.
I made it back to the hotel okay, and then I ran to Family Mart and got a couple dumplings. I wasn't that hungry, but I figured that since I had only eaten one meal, I should eat something. Now, I'm really tired, but I have to finish writing this email. I decided to kill two birds with one stone and send it to Mom and Rachel. So, Rachel, I'm sorry that I wasn't able to write to you from Beijing, but you did get the story of Hangzhou, at least. Tomorrow, we're headed for Suzhou, finally. We don't know the plan, but we were told to be prepared to teach on Monday. Busy, busy, busy!
I hope all is well with you. How was Benson's birthday? How is it in England? (I've been learning English lingo. I asked if anyone knew where a garbage was, and they all looked at me funny, because it's called a bin.) I love you all. Good night.
Love,
Chelsey*:x lovestruck
by hpaich on
2/19/2016
Dear Mom and everyone else,
I hope Benson had a good birthday. I thought of him all day long. And, I hope everything is well with you all. I'm doing fine, I think, although today one of the Chinese guys who was leading us around told me to buy coffee because I apparently looked really tired. (I didn't.)
The last half day in Beijing was a bit frustrating because I REALLY wanted to look at my bank account and make my student loan payment, but there was no Wi-fi. So, I eventually just gave up and decided to enjoy myself, anyway. People were leaving at odd times throughout the day. My roommate was in the group that left at 4:30 in the morning, so I didn't get to say a proper good-bye to her. The group that was headed to the extreme South of China was supposed to leave at 9:30 that morning, but something went wrong so they were stuck there for another day. My group checked out at 12:30; enough time to be bored, but not enough time to do anything about it. We rode a bus to the train station, where I had a really embarrassing situation when I was trying to find the "safe place" where I had stashed my passport. But, I found it.
At the train station we had two hours to kill, so we went shopping for food to eat on the train. It was fun, but I don't think there's much to tell about that.
The train was a bit crowded. It was a sleeper train, and there were six beds in one compartment. I was lucky and got the bottom bunk, but I think it would have been fun to climb up on top, too. It was an overnight train, and there wasn't much to see in the dark, but when it was light, it was pretty. It was a weird night. I wasn't uncomfortable or anything, but I kept waking up thinking it was almost morning. (Granted I've been doing that since I came, because of jet lag.) I'm the only American in the Suzhou group. They're mostly Brits, but we have a few South Africans and one Australian. I'm the only one who doesn't drink or swear, and several others smoke. I feel so out of place, even among the other white people, but they are nice and we get along well. Only two in the Suzhou group are guys. I wonder how it is for them?
By the way, "Suzhou" is pronounced like "Sue" and "Joe," in case you didn't know.
We made it to Hangzhou. We dropped our stuff at the hotel, but didn't go in. Even though we were all wearing yesterday's clothes and all we wanted was a shower, they took us straight to orientation. I hadn't brushed my hair all day, and I didn't want to deal with the fuss of putting my contacts back in, so today I went around with messy hair and glasses. We went to the bank and set up Chinese bank accounts, even though they don't have money in them yet. We went to a store and bought lunch. I decided to try a dumpling, and it was really good. After having so many dumplings for breakfast for the last week, I can say I'm a fan of dumplings.*:P tongue We also had orientation, where a guy just talked to us about more important stuff, like rules and whatnot.
Then, we FINALLY got on a bus and went to the hotel, where I did not hesitate to shower. I feel so clean! My roommate at the hotel is Georgina, the Australian. Tomorrow, we have to get up and go have a medical exam. We're not allowed to eat anything for breakfast. I've heard rumors that they'll be doing blood tests. Not looking forward to that. After that, I think we have a free day to enjoy Hangzhou. We're planning on going to West Lake together. Not sure what's there, but it sounds pretty. We're taking a bus to Suzhou on Sunday morning.
I love you all. Have fun with school and kids and stuff. Cheers!
(By the way, I've been spending so much time with British people, I'm wondering how long my American accent will last.)
Love,
Chelsey*:x lovestruck
by hpaich on
2/10/2016
I'm still alive. This morning we had Chinese food for breakfast. It's kind of weird eating fried rice for breakfast. (Unless you're Dad.) Then we had orientation, where they just talked to us about stuff. After lunch some of us went for a walk to the mall, then we went to a little shop. It was fun. My roommate is named Mollie, and she's from a town near Birmingham. It's fun to tell people about Rachel. A lot of people ask me about Nevada, and what it's like there, and they think it's really interesting, too. (Fancy that.) I love how people stare at us as we walk down the street. Tonight we're having a welcome dinner, and that should be fun. Beijing is a lovely place, even though you can't even see the sky for all the smaug. How are you?
Tuesday, February 16, 2016
2/16/16
I'm glad you got the pictures I sent you. You might check Skype once in a while if you can. It's easier than email when I'm in a hurry, and I can no longer use the phone.
Sunday was tour day. We rode a bus to the Great Wall. There were lots and lots of stairs, and it was really steep. And cold! Luckily, I wore layers, so I didn't feel that bad. Going downstairs hurts a little now. But, it was fun.
After the Wall, we went to lunch. In order to get to the restaurant on the second floor, we walked through a shop that sold lots of fancy, beautiful ceramics and fancy, expensive things. So beautiful!
After that, we went to the Olympic Stadium. We didn't go inside it, but we walked around the grounds. When I was there, a woman came up to me and said, "Excuse me, can you take a picture with my mother?" It made me feel really cool.
Next, we went to a market that had a lot of restaurants and food stands. It was on a beautiful street by a frozen lake. I wish I could send you the pictures from that!
The last part of our day was the Chinese acrobat show. They did crazy stunts, and it was really fun to watch. It was in a beautiful threatre. As we left there, the people on the next bus looked at us through the window, and they all waved at us. It was like we were celebrities or something. Then we ate at a buffet restaurant and came back to campus.
That night, we found out our placements. I'm going to a school in Suzhou, in the Jiangsu province. It took me a while to realize that this was the same place I had read about before, but when I was in Twin Falls reading books about China from the library, this place stood out to me. I even thought to myself that if I could pick any place in all of China to go to, it would be Suzhou. We just signed our contracts, and we leave for our schools tomorrow, although the Suzhou group actually have an orientation in nearby Hangzhou. I will be about half an hour away from Shanghai, and in Suzhou itself, there are lots of famously beautiful gardens and lots and lots of history. So excited!
On Monday and Tuesday, I had a TEFL class. (If you don't know already, TEFL stands for Teaching English as a Foreign Language.) It was a good course. It was mostly stuff we'd learned on the online course, but it was good to learn it all again, in a more hands-on setting. Now, I feel better about teaching a class. By the way, I was originally being sent to a primary school, but they had to move us to a middle school. There is one other girl in the same school as me, but there are a whole bunch going to Suzhou.
I don't have a working phone anymore. It's a really boring story. I was going to do laundry, and it just fell out of my pocket. At first the top of the screen was black, but by morning, most of the screen was black. It still turns on, though, so there should be a way to get pictures off of it. (Really sorry, Mom!) I heard you can buy a phone here, though, so, when I have a little extra money, I will look into it. I did buy an adapter so I can plug in my laptop, though. It's a really snazzy one that works in any country of the world.
This is getting really long, so, I'm sorry. I love you all. Happy birthday, Benson! Good luck with school and kids and the play and whatever else.
Love,
Chelsey*:x lovestruck
Sunday, February 14, 2016
Me and my roommate, Mollie
A random gift shop halfway up. I feel bad for the people who work there!
Getting higher. Another view.
This is a selfie I took at one of the brick shelters all along the Wall.
This is the view from the mountain. Also my fuzzy red glove..
Here is a picture I took from the Wall.
Here is the place where you start the hike.
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