Starting to Teach

As with many people who go abroad to teach, I didn’t have much prior teaching experience. I had ‘taught’ for a month at a summer school in India, however ‘babysat for 3 hours in the morning’ would have been a much more accurate description. Some people take to teaching immediately, and I remember talking to other people who were working at the same school as me who from the first week seemed to be fitting in quite well. They would animatedly talk about how much they were enjoying it and how well they were getting on with their students. Whilst I nodded along sagely, in reality I had no real clue what I was supposed to do in the classroom. The problem was twofold; I was still quite nervous to be in front of 45 students (albeit ones who were 7 years old) and I was not really sure how to structure a class properly. For me I think that when you solve the second problem the first solves itself.

The first class I taught was a fairly classic example of me having no idea how to teach a class or knowledge of activities to use. The children were supposed to be learning ‘What is your name? My name is..’ Assuming that the children would pick it up immediately I got them to repeat the two sentences and set about asking them their name. It turned out none of them could say the sentence clearly (apparently one repetition is not enough for fluency), they didn’t actually know what it meant and besides which none of them had English names (apparently it was my job to provide them with English names). It was then that I realised that other than getting them to repeat the sentences after me I had no real idea what games or activities to use, and that I still had 35 minutes of the class left with very little idea of what to do in it. Talking to some of the teachers who were in their second year was greatly helpful as they were able to tell me a variety of games and activities that could be used when teaching words and sentences. The other thing that I learnt by experience was how quickly (or slowly as is usually the case) to cover different topics and how to go through things in a step by step manner that the students can understand. Once I had a better knowledge of how to actually teach and what to do in the classroom the confidence just came with it.

I still remember the turning point when I reached the lofty heights of being a semi-competent teacher. Having wrapped up a class on prepositions of place, which some of the students even understood, I turned to my co-teacher to see her grinning at me. After asking what was making her smile she replied that that class was actually ‘quite good’ – it only took two months.

 

 

Winter in Wuhan

As the winter draws in over the Yangtze it seems an appropriate time to talk through probably the most challenging time of the year for foreign teachers living in Wuhan….winter! It’s not all doom and gloom though as winter means the appearance of some  delicious seasonal food which tastes all that much better when you need warming up.

Wuhan is absolutely freezing in winter and for people coming from countries where central heating is in the majority of homes it can be a real shock to the system. During my first winter in Wuhan on a barmy sub-zero Sunday evening I found myself sitting on a chair in the shower under a heat lamp reading a book…and I never read.  I must make it clear that I was very unfortunate with my apartment which was particularly cold and most teachers will be much better off than I was. Wuhan’s temperature in winter isn’t particularly low and whenever I check the weather it always seems to be a few degrees warmer than London. Despite this because of the lack of central heating it feels so much colder in Wuhan, pack plenty of warm clothes and buy a thick duvet and blankets around October time then you should be fine. Some lucky people will have an air-conditioner unit in their apartment which really heats the room up although it can get a bit stuffy as the air pumped out of those machines aren’t particularly fresh. If you head down to Walmart you can pick up and electric radiator for 200/300 RMB which is a better option especially if the school cover your electric bill as many do meaning unless you’re big on the environment you can go mental. Electric radiators are also a live saver when drying clothes in winter without them it takes about 3 days to dry anything.

During interviews applicants have asked me about Christmas and whether it’s a holiday in China. Christmas is a normal working day but some schools will allow their foreign teachers to have the day off as they realize the importance of the holiday. We cannot guarantee that you will have the day off but if it’s really important to you then it’s something you should bring up with your school early on. Issues such as being allowed time off can depend on your relationship with your school. If you work hard during the first term and involve yourself in extra-curricular activities I’m sure you’ll be allowed the time off. From my experience former colleagues that have stayed in China for a second year at the same school and were allowed to go back to their home county to celebrate Christmas although don’t expect that during your first year. Christmas is acknowledged in China and shopping malls will have Christmas trees and decorations but it isn’t really celebrated and many Chinese people go shopping on Christmas day.  

It has been mentioned in previous blogs but I cannot emphasize just how good hot-pot is especially on a cold winter’s night. Hot pot is cooked on your table so you can feel the heat from the fire and the soup component of the dish really warms up your insides. It’s one of the most enjoyable dining experiences I’ve had anywhere. It’s relatively easy to order for non-Chinese speakers, delicious and suitable for any dietary requirements as the customer decides exactly what ingredients are included in a hot pot. In December when it begins to turn cold I usually go for a hot-pot at least a couple of times a week which isn’t excessive as there are many different types. It’s not too expensive  but it’s best to go in a group of at least 4 to split the cost. You can keep topping up the hot-pot and adding more ingredients as you go and is a very social way to eat dinner.

Winter……Thick socks….essential  

 

 

Chinese Traditions

Since being in China I have met many Chinese people preparing to embark upon a trip or period of study in the UK asking me worriedly about the culture and traditions of England. Fearful questions about whether speaking during dinner will earn them immediate ostracism or using their fork with their right hand will cause irreparable loss of reputation have been met by myself with baffled bemusement. I have many times assured people that in fact, yes, whilst traditional etiquette dictates the fork be used in the left hand, it is unlikely to be something that anyone would comment on or be bothered about. The reasons not to be too afraid are twofold, one: even if a tradition exists, most people are not especially fussed about it and two: even if you were to do something slightly against etiquette (asking someone about their salary on a first meeting for example), most people would put it down to you not being familiar with the culture and move on.

For people who are concerned about traditions and ethics in China, it is very much the same situation. Whilst there are certain ways of acting and a set of manners, most people do not get too hot under the collar about it, and failure to conform is usually forgiven on account of being in a foreign environment and perhaps unaware of the customs. Most schools for example will play the national anthem in the morning as the students are arriving. At my first school, from the first note to the last all the students and teachers would stop in their tracks and remain still until the end of the anthem. Personally I was never sure if I was expected to also remain motionless, or if it not being my anthem made me exempt from this. To be on the safe side I joined in, however on occasion if I was in a rush I continued walking – neither receiving disapproving stares nor an immediate lynching I thought it safe to categorise that as a custom that I needn’t adhere to rigidly.

A number of other traditions appear frequently in guides for China, however I think most fall within the aforementioned category. It is considered unlucky for example to place chopsticks vertically (in a bowl of rice for example) as it resembles the sticks placed in graves. When drinking alcohol, rather than drinking freely people will usually clink glasses with someone prior to every sip (for further etiquette regarding the clinking it is a mark of respect to place your glass lower than that of the host when you raise glasses). At some point or another I have broken all of these customs (either through forgetfulness or ignorance) and never been the recipient of criticism or judgement. On occasion people might correct your transgression, but this tends to be in a kindly manner as they do not necessarily expect foreigners to be aware of Chinese customs. In fact it can sometimes seem that Chinese people disagree on what is ‘Chinese culture’ and what isn’t. I have been told before when enquiring about the cost of having Chinese lessons that “Chinese people do not like to talk about money” yet the regularity with which taxi drivers ask me my monthly salary seems to contradict this assertion.

Every country has a number of customs, traditions and systems of etiquette. Yet my advice to any foreigners coming out to China would be not to worry about it – you won’t have your visa revoked for saying the wrong thing at dinner.

 

 

Chinese people’s reaction to foreigners in Wuhan

From the first day I arrived until now on a daily basis I’ve noticed people looking at me, if you’re with friends chatting away you don’t notice it quite as much but if you’re alone then it’s more obvious and can be a little disconcerting. Most people are merely pointing out that they can see a foreigner whilst others may want to start a conversation with you so expect to hear the same questions regularly. I don’t go a week without a few people asking me “Where are you from?” “How old are you?” “Can you speak Chinese?” “How much money do you earn?” Everyone is just curious and it’s harmless although it is a little monotonous responding to the same questions everyday so it can depend on what mood I’m in as well as how many people have asked me already that day to what my reaction will be. Admittedly its poor manners on my behalf but on numerous occasions I’ve told people I don’t have time to talk or have pretended I don’t understand. This is pretty rare and I probably sound like a miserable sod although in my defence I have had days when I’ve been approached 5 or 6 times in the same day.

About 95% of the time when people start talking to foreigners in the street it’s to ask those questions. The majority our teachers that come to China gain an anecdote or two from their time here. Often you might get parents approaching you in the street asking if you can teach their child English which is a nice little bonus and a good way to earn some extra cash in the evenings or at the weekend. From my experience its best to accept that people are always going to look at you and embrace it. It probably won’t be too long before the staring dies down a little as foreigners are becoming more and more common in China with each passing year. In Beijing, Shanghai and Guangzhou it’s more common to walk past a foreigner in the street than it would be in a second tier city such as Wuhan. But with the rate of development in Wuhan and growth of business, more foreigners living and visiting the city is inevitable and has been evident to me over the 3 years that I have lived here.

There can be a sense of adventure about being approached on the street by a stranger and it’s not great to always keep to yourself refusing talking to anyone who may approach. There have been a number of occasions when people have approached me and it’s resulted in me taking part in something that I wouldn’t have stumbled across otherwise. The first year I was in China a guy started talking to me at a bus stop, he was asking me where I was from and did I like playing football? I replied yes and he went on to invite me and my friend to play football with his team. I went on to play with them for a year and a half and it was a great chance to spend some time with Chinese guys as we always went out for dinner and drinks after the game. I have since moved house and live a little far away now but still try to get over to play when I have the time. I think when living in China it can be difficult especially during your first few months, it can feel a little lonely at times. However if you have a good attitude, take up people on their invitations and are open-minded to trying new things then you’ll give yourself a better opportunity to enjoying live in China.

New bars and restaurants opening up in Wuhan

This could have more to do with the fact that I didn’t know the city well when I first got here, but it certainly does seem like there is a recent glut of bars opening up in Wuhan. Whether this is a reflection of the rising incomes in the city or the growing proclivity amongst young Chinese people to go out for the odd drink I don’t know, but either way – I like it.

Bars in China tend to come in two forms; those that cater to groups looking forward a lively night out and those that cater to patrons looking for a nice drink in a good atmosphere. The former type of bar tends to stock cheap drinks, play loud music and attract a younger crowd. The latter will often stock better quality beer and spirits (though it will be expensive) and will not be quite so loud. In terms of cheap bars to start a night out, Helen’s is a popular choice amongst a younger crowd. With the first Helen’s opening in Wuhan 3 years ago, there are now 3 in Wuchang and 2 in Hankou, all of which regularly fill up on the weekends. Another bar similar to Helen’s is Coco, a recently opened bar near Guanggu that shows sports on big screens on the weekend – definitely worth a look. For sports fans in Hankou, the recently opened London Bar near Dazhilu plays most football games as well as other sports upon request. One other benefit of many of these bars is that they usually have an array of bar snacks and food for pretty reasonable prices.

Beyond the bars there has also been a number of new restaurants opening up that cater to western tastes. Admittedly the western food in Wuhan often leaves a lot to be desired but this is gradually changing. In the Lingjiaohu Wanda there is a new Italian restaurant that has authentic pizza and pasta, whilst the bakery at Wuhan Tiandi has a number of items worth looking into. In terms of fast food the new Burger King at Baotong Si offers a choice beyond KFC and McDonalds (though the huge lines of people queuing out the doors is a bit much..).

From the 3 years in which I have lived here the city has changed greatly. Not only the new roads, subway system and bridges but also in the new shops, restaurants and bars. One of the things I like most about Wuhan it still retains much of its character and is very much a Chinese city. The growing number of international outlets and cuisines have not changed this – though for people living away from home they certainly provide a comfortable reminder every now and again.

Travelling

There are three main times for foreign teachers to travel during their year in China; the National Holiday (first week of October) the Spring Festival (four weeks of January and February) and during the summer after the term ends. Of these holidays the National Holiday as well as the Spring Festival are incredibly busy, though in slightly different ways. The National Holiday is a popular time for Chinese people to go travelling so you will find that not only are the planes and trains sold out early but also wherever you go will be rammed with tourists – it is not the most fun time to travel. The Spring Festival sees an even higher movement of people, though this is mostly before the Spring Festival, so during the holiday itself travel is not that difficult. The Spring Festival sees most Chinese people return to their home towns which leaves the big cities somewhat empty, so visiting tourist attractions is quite easy. The other thing to remember when travelling is that China is a huge country so the weather varies quite a lot depending where you want to go; in the Spring Festival for example Kunming can be an airy 20 degrees, whilst Harbin sits uncomfortable low at -20 degrees.

Flying within China is fairly easy, though the price of flights can be variable. Trains are generally a cheaper and easier option though for some routes the savings made are probably not worth it (Twenty hour journey with a standing ticket….I don’t think so). Train tickets can be bought at any train station though you will also find train ticket offices spread throughout the city where tickets can be bought. Some hostels may also offer to buy train tickets for you, though they may add an extra charge for this (if you don’t speak Chinese this might be the simplest option though). Tickets can only be bought 10 days in advance of travel, and for peak periods this will mean lengthy queues outside the ticket offices. When buying tickets you will need your passport with you as well as the passport number for any other people you are buying tickets for as this number will be printed on your ticket. Buying train tickets can be a bit of a pain as there may be more than one class of train going on a given route as well as a number of different seat classes for you to choose from – spending a bit of time researching the relevant terms in Chinese before buying your ticket is definitely worth it.

Booking accommodation in China is as easy as anywhere else. There are plenty of hostels in the big cities for which sites such as hostelworld and hostelbookers are quite useful. Agoda is also quite a good website for booking hotels and has a very broad range of hotels to choose from. Hostels can be a good choice for many travellers as there will typically be many other foreign tourists there so meeting new people is easy. As well as this, these hostels will have English speaking staff who can help arrange day trips for you as well as buying train tickets etc. As big as China is, when you are on the tourist route it actually seems to contract. Many people go to the same cities (Beijing, Hong Kong, Shanghai, Xi’an) and stay in a small handful of hostels. Once travelling with my sisters in Xi’an we got friendly with quite a large group of foreigners and had several nights out together. After going off on our separate ways we then saw six of them again in four different cities (it was getting slightly embarrassing by the end).

As far as planning your trip there is no shortage of information from brochures and books to guides and blogs. What I would say though is that when you have settled on where you want to go and what you want to see, getting the names of those places in Chinese characters can be a good idea (showing taxi drivers pinyin usually does not get you anywhere). Arriving in a city only to be unable to tell the taxi driver the location of your hotel is no fun. There are now some apps that can help with getting around. Taxi-Book is one such which has directories for a number of cities in China containing all manner of bars, hotels, cafes, restaurants and attractions coupled with written directions in Chinese characters.

Whilst China can be a difficult place to get around if you do not speak Chinese, this is usually not too bad in tourist areas and as long as you plan your trip properly you should not have a problem.

General tips

1. Get a city card.

These cards can be used on buses, the metro as well as on the sky train. Using these cards is not only convenient but will also give you a small discount on all journeys you take. Particularly enjoyable is walking past hordes of people queuing at the ticket machines on the Metro and making your way straight to the train (this is ruined slightly when you realise you have no money on your card and have to join the queue like a chump). You can top your card up at the metro station or in any Zhongbai Supermarket (of which there are hundreds around the city).

2. Hit the roof.

Admittedly this will not be applicable to everyone, but most apartment buildings will have an accessible roof. Generally there isn’t a great deal up there, but if you bring up some chairs, ipod speakers and alcohol it can be a fairly panoramic way to kick a night off (remember to bring friends as well though, otherwise you are just  a lonely alcoholic sitting on a roof).

 3. Join a group/team.

This one is fairly broad and could also be written as ‘get some Chinese friends’. Whilst there are not a great many clubs in Wuhan, many groups of friends will arrange informal games of football or basketball and getting involved in one of these kickarounds is a great way to get to know some Chinese people. Many badminton halls will have a club night, and again if you turn up plenty of people will want to have a game with you (I no longer think I’m good at badminton). Most Chinese people are very friendly and welcoming to foreigners and if you put yourself in a position to meet people on a social basis you will quickly make friends. This can happen anywhere; myself and some friends used to be members of a gym and got friendly with the staff who eventually invited us out for dinner and KTV. Despite the fact that only one of them spoke English and none of us spoke much Chinese it ended up being a great night – until we got way too drunk and belted out Savage Garden songs at the KTV, refusing to let anyone else have a turn. We just had the one night out with them in the end.

 4. Getting a haircut – be careful.

I don’t pretend to be fashionable, and my steadily receding hairline has meant that ‘hairstyle’ is no longer a word in my vocabulary, having said that I feel on solid footing when I say that the ‘cool’ and ‘hip’ hairstyles favoured by many young Chinese men are an affront to fashion. Worse though is that when you get your haircut by a Chinese barber they will inflict this upon you. Make sure you are clear with what you want, and be quick to stop them when the hairspray and comb come out. On the plus side they will wash your hair for you (twice) as well as give you a short head massage so there is an upside.

 

5. Supermarkets – they actually stock some decent stuff.

Confused and perplexed by the array of goods on offer at the supermarket in my first year in China, I invariably stuck with what I knew (coffee, chocolate, fruit). It is very much a case of trial and error, but there are some definite gems to be found. Frozen dumplings, baozi and instant noodles are fairly standard and are worth buying for those days when it is cold and rainy and you don’t want to go outside to buy food. Yoghurt is pretty decent and cheap whilst there is a porridge-esque cereal which you add boiling water to which makes a reasonable breakfast. Beyond that they have dried meat which is quite good for long journeys, and I can definitely vouch for the packets of duck neck (much better than it sounds). In terms of snacks they have a mushroom-shaped biscuity/chocolatey snack which is definitely worth buying as well as a very reasonable array of crackers. Probably give the pig trotters a miss though.

Chinese food – healthy or not?

It is difficult not to wonder sometimes how healthy Chinese food is, what kind preservatives and flavourings are used, and more often than not – what the hell am I eating?

Recently I saw a study (..it came up on my MSN newsfeed) that of all the countries in the world, China had the second highest life expectancy. I found this quite surprising as I’d assumed the widespread pollution issues and dubious nutrition would have a rather more adverse effect on life expectancy. In the article discussing the study it went on to mention a number of things that can be good for health which may have a beneficial role in increasing life expectancy, and certainly in the area of nutrition it seemed that China was doing a lot of things right. Eating more nuts and seeds was one thing that was mentioned, and you only need to look at the mounds of husks that are left behind by a hungry Chinese mob to see the popularity of that in China. Another thing mentioned was the need to eat more fruit – again, no worries there. I have been to buffets before and seen first-hand the elbowy rush to the fruit counter as people cram their plates with far more than they can hope to eat (buffets are where culture goes to die..). Things mentioned as having an adverse effect on health was eating too much red meat (good luck getting a decent steak in China) and far too much cheese and dairy products (cheese is virtually non-existent in Chinese cuisine).

Of course this is not to say that Chinese food is a fanfare of healthy eating and nutrition. The amount of oil used in cooking is impressive to say the least, and I’m pretty sure that heaping spoonfuls of salt onto every dish is not recommended by most doctors. You will find as well that you eat a lot of dishes at small food joints where the oil used and the preparation area is slightly questionable (in one restaurant I ate in I saw rats climbing up the wall…I did continue to eat there though). One thing that people often assume is that what you order and what you are given are two different things. The classic joke of ordering beef and getting dog is a little off though, whilst you can get dog meat most restaurants do not offer it and in ones that do it is quite expensive – it is more likely you will order dog and get given beef.

Generally speaking you will find that you eat a lot of noodles, rice and vegetables. Whilst you will probably eat meat every day, it will not be in large quantities, more often shredded and fried with vegetables. The amount of fruit eaten is of course up to the individual, though there are fruit shops and stalls everywhere and it is easy to get hold of. I think on balance Chinese food is fairly healthy, and most people I know who come to China for a long period of time tend to lose weight when they are here (if you choose to eat McDonalds on a weekly basis I cannot guarantee this will happen though…).

 

5 tips for living in Wuhan

1.       Be aggressive when waiting for a taxi, there is no queuing or courtesy when it comes to flagging down a taxi. People will see you waiting and just stand 10m further up the road to be in front of you. When you are waiting its likely you will have to push in front of someone at some point….it’s every man for himself. If a taxi is free there will be a little red neon light on the dashboard meaning the taxi is free. It can also be difficult to get a taxi around 5:00pm as a lot of the taxi drivers finish their shifts, so even though they might pull over unless your final destination is on the way to their house they probably won’t take you.

2.       Try to go travelling for Chinese New Year. The actual main celebrations last for about 7-10 days and during this time a lot of China completely closes down, many of your local shops and restaurants will close. Imagine Christmas day for about a week, because of mass migration from rural areas of China to the cities means that a large population of cities such as Wuhan, Beijing and Shanghai return to their respective home towns usually in the surrounding rural areas. It can feel like a bit of a ghost town although McDonalds is still open.

3.       Cars can turn right through red lights at all times. I didn’t realise this until a friend told me a few months after I first arrived here so I had a couple of occasions when I nearly got run over and had shouted abuse at drivers. I still think it’s a funny old set up and often forget on occasions as drivers here aren’t exactly cautious with their driving and come flying around corners. Quite a few foreigners working as teachers in Wuhan buy electric scooters to get around, although no matter how careful you are with driving them, other drivers in China can be unpredictable so I wouldn’t recommend using one.

4.       If you’re out and about and need the toilet do anything you can to find your way to a Starbucks. Some of the public toilets in China are disgraceful so using a clean western toilet is a real treat. Even some of the toilets in the modern expensive shopping malls are awful….the shops are spotless so…what are the cleaners doing? Most toilets in cafes and restaurants are acceptable but I’ve had occasions when I’ve been holding one in all day until I got home.

5.       On a freezing Wuhan day visit the spa. There are plenty of these all around the city, you are given a wristband with a tag on entry and you pay for various services as go. You can have a relatively cheap day unless you start paying for facials and massages which can be pricey. Wuhan can be really cold in the winter and as most buildings don’t have central heating it is nice to be toasty warm for an entire day. Spa places have an all you can buffet 3 times a day as well as hot baths and shower facilities, massages and beds to relax on with your own TV. Men, women and child all go although obviously the bath/shower facilities are separated by gender. You are given some matching Hawaiian shorts and t-shirts to wear, on a cold day it’s a great place to eat, play pool/table tennis and relax in the hot baths. It’s also not a bad idea to take your laptop so you can watch a few movies. 

 

Holidays in China

We understand that the majority of teachers coming to teach in China are not only looking to further their career but also want to take some time to explore China. As China is such a large country it can be difficult to have a weekend due to the distances away unless you fly which can be expensive so the holidays and time away from work is the best time to travel. One thing that you might find a little strange about China is that when you have a holiday you often don’t get a day off as such rather than a rearrangement of working days. For example this year Mid-Autumn day which is a national holiday fell on a Thursday so everybody had the day off work….however that meant that everyone had to go to work on Sunday so there were no more days off than in a normal working week. This is very common and will happen a number of times throughout the working year in China, the rearranging of days can sometimes give you four days off allowing time for a trip although previously I have had to work 9 consecutive days, so sometimes it can also be a real pain.

If you are working in a public school then no doubt you’ll be looking forward to spring festival in late January/February time where you can expect to have somewhere between 4-6 weeks off. China is such a large country so realistically a month is how long you’ll need to get a good flavour and visit the main attractions. With the new high speed rails in China getting around is actually quite fast and its less than 5 hours from Wuhan to Beijing on the train. Your other main chance to have a holiday is in the first week of October where whatever school you’re working (training or public) you’ll receive a week off. We have our largest intake of teachers each September so they will have only been working a couple of weeks when this holiday comes around. These are the main two holidays you’ll have and although there are various bank holidays and long weekends at other times in the year these are your two main opportunities for an extended holiday and travelling.

The first year I came to China I decided not to travel around China as many people opted to do and I actually took advantage of the multi-entry visa you’ll receive when teaching in China and went to Australia for 2 weeks. It was nice to have a change; as much as I love being in China a break from Chinese food for a few weeks was much needed. Over the past few years I have managed to get around various cities and national parks in China and have always found travelling around the country pretty easy. Trains are affordable and comfortable and with the high speed rail linking Beijing to Guangzhou near the Hong Kong border in south via Wuhan moving between cities is relatively trouble free. The one thing you might want to consider is that your main holidays from schools will be during national holidays which are the time of year that many Chinese people will also choose to travel. Many Chinese people use this holiday to travel back to their home towns to visit their families so trains can be very busy during these periods of the year. Buying tickets can also be a bit of a hassle as you can only buy tickets ten days before your journey. There are plenty of ticket offices for buying train tickets scattered around all cities in China so you won’t have any problems locating a place to buy tickets although you may need to queue for a while.

The national holiday begins in China for a week starting tomorrow but I will be avoiding the rush of travelling and the trains and relaxing at home. I hope everyone enjoys their travels.

 

 

Training schools and public schools

One thing we often get asked by our applicants is the differences between the two main types of jobs available to foreign teachers that want to work in China, those being training schools and public schools.

If you are to join our program to come out in September 2014 its likely you will be placed in a public school, either a primary school, middle school or university as they always employ their foreign staff at the start of the academic year with the contracts expiring at the end of the school year in the following June. However if you opt to arrive in China at any other time of the year you will probably be working in a training school. Training schools are language schools of which there are centres aimed at both adults and children. Training schools are privately owned companies so obviously the day to day running works slightly differently to that of public schools. Teachers working at training schools will have the majority of their classes on week day evenings and over the weekend as the lesson times cannot clash with those of public schools. It’s likely the students you’ll be teaching will be from relatively wealthy families as their family have decided to pay fees to give them extra tuition out of school.

Training schools usually offer higher wages than public schools with similar class teaching hours although training schools often incorporate office hours meaning your entire working week is likely to be a little longer in a training school.

Classes are usually a lot more relaxed in training schools as its unlikely you’ll have a class of more than 12 students at one time whereas in public primary schools 40 is the average number of students per class. However in training schools there can be more involvement from the students’ parents who will sometimes be invited to observe the class which is something that is rare in public schools so there can be different pressures.

If you work in a public school then you will receive longer holiday especially around Chinese New Year where you can expect around a month off, at training schools over the course of a 12 month contract teachers will only have around 3 to 4 weeks holiday but will have more freedom to choose when they want their holidays and won’t just be restricted to the public holidays.

Overall there are quite a few differences between public and training school jobs in China with both having pros and cons. Depending on who you speak to you might get different opinions, positiove and negative about working in both. I believe that different people are suited to one or the other so the best thing to do is ask as many questions as you can during your interview when you apply to the program to make sure you are placed in the most suitable job for you.

 

 

We very much look forward to receiving your application soon. G2C

(False) Praise

Recent numbers show that there are currently around 600,000 foreigners living in the whole of China, whilst in Wuhan the number is around 30,000. Whilst outwardly this may seem like a large number, when you consider that there are over 10,000,000 people living in Wuhan that means that for every 300 Chinese people there is one foreigner (and it feels like less). This figure should be further qualified by remembering that ‘foreigner’ merely means non-Chinese. The term ‘Foreigners’ then does not necessarily connote a naturally cohesive group, the nationalities in Wuhan alone consist of British, American, Canadian, Australian, Czech, Russian, Japanese, Korean, French, German, Congolese, Somalian, Ghanaian.. (I could go on).

This is not to say that there aren’t areas around the city with high concentrations of foreigners, nor that finding a group of foreign friends isn’t both easy and for many inevitable. What I am trying to highlight is how it looks from the other side; for Chinese people who don’t work at training schools or popular foreign bars, seeing any foreign people is a fairly rare occurrence. The result of all this is that for most foreigners, being stared at, and indeed pointed at becomes something of an everyday reality. While this can be frustrating, much of the time and (particularly) on nights out it is the opposite. For many foreign teachers, walking into their school for the first time is accompanied by hushed whispers and wide eyes – I can only assume this is something akin to how celebrities feel. The children quickly treat you like a pop star every time you walk into class, mobbing you at every opportunity. Nights out can be even more ridiculous, getting invited to tables (by both men and women) and plied with alcohol is more common than not, in fact on several occasions myself and some of my foreign friends have been given a free bottle of whiskey by the establishment in return for sitting in a centrally-located table and being visible.

The other side of it has less to do with being a foreigner though, and more to do with Chinese manners. Speak one word of Chinese and you will soon be hailed as a linguistic superstar, by the mere fact of not being horribly deformed you will be told frequently how handsome you are whilst the mastery of basic tasks elicit widespread praise of your all-conquering genius. It is clear of course that this a way of people showing their politeness and for thoroughly unspectacular looking people like myself, when someone tells you how handsome you are it’s a fair bet that it isn’t entirely genuine. Yet the problem with being here for a year (or more) is that after a while some of it starts to seep in. All of a sudden you begin to feel that the way you seamlessly move from teaching the alphabet to numbers in your kindergarten class IS a sign of your vast intellect, that maybe a steadily receding hairline and shapeless body IS the hallmark of rugged handsomeness and that because you know the Chinese for how to order a bowl of noodles Fortune 500 companies will be queuing up to hire you and make use of your peerless Chinese skills.

It is only upon returning home that you look around and realise that people are much taller than you remembered, that gyms must have taken off in a big way since you were last at home and hey, why is no-one commenting on your piercing foresight for managing to arrange a taxi to pick you up from the airport?

At that point the occasional stares in the street feel like less of an inconvenience and the lure of being a cherished rarity grows. A second year in China all of a sudden begins to look like a far more attractive prospect…

 

 

Keeping up with information from home

Living halfway around the world, a lot of people are worried not just about keeping in touch with friends and family, but also keeping abreast of news and developments from home. In reality though, it is not particularly difficult nor is it something many people experience problems with.

News – keeping up to date on news from home is important to many people, and as such many people will find themselves becoming way too familiar with the BBC website. Whilst the BBC website is quite good with keeping up to date, for comment pieces both the Guardian and the New Yorker have some interesting articles. In terms of newspapers, buying foreign newspapers in China is difficult at the best of times, though there are some English language Chinese papers such as The China Daily (it isn’t great though). Other than that there is a CCTV news channel that is in English which has both Chinese and world news.

Sport – CCTV5 is the Chinese sports channel, though whoever is in charge of programming needs to take a long hard look at himself. Despite having the rights for the French Open Final for example, they opted to play coverage of a friendly volleyball game between China and Turkey (the final was eventually aired once the volleyball game had finished). CCTV5 has quite good coverage of the NBA, shows the Bundesliga, will play SOME tennis matches (usually Grand Slams) as well as badminton and table tennis amongst others. Getting a VPN is definitely a good option for those intent on watching sport from Britain as it will allow you access to BBC Iplayer which has MOTD and the Football League Show.

TV/Film – There are one or two Chinese channels that show the occasional foreign film or show, but for the most part it is a no-go. Cinemas will usually be showing a couple of different foreign films at any time which tend to be blockbusters (art house fare gets pretty short shrift..). For those who prefer not to download things, Netflix can be a good option, though again you will need a VPN to use it.

Music – Visit baidu.com or music.google.cn and you will find that you can download songs through those platforms. I have no idea if this is illegal or whether China just does not care one bit about the copyright laws regarding music but one way or another –enjoy.

Whether it is news, sport, music or film there are a myriad of ways in which you can keep up to date. Whilst inevitably you will miss out on some things (what the hell is twerking?) for the most part it is not that hard to stay in the loop.

Bargaining

Having a conversation with someone preparing to come out to China recently, I was asked about bargaining. ‘Is it true that there is one price for Chinese people and one for foreigners?’ I was asked. In a nutshell – no (with some exceptions – I’ll get to them later). In fact more pointedly I was asked if the cost of food was a variable price that would vary depending on your haggling ability. Again – no.

When buying things like noodles or dumplings from small vendors you will be charged the same price as everyone else – it is written on the wall. In fact that goes for almost all food; in restaurants, street stalls and fast food joints all items will have a set price so you won’t need to worry about getting ripped off. In fact even things such as vegetable markets do not really involve haggling, the price is written on signs (if you can understand it that is), and like anywhere else you will be charged on weight. Larger expenses like hotel bookings, train tickets and flights are also things that have clear prices that are not subject to change. Taxis (licensed ones at least) all use a meter, so again the cost is non-negotiable and directly related to the length of your journey. In fact in general daily life you will probably not come across many situations where the price is variable and dependent on how much you are willing to bargain.

Having said that, there are times when bargaining is a necessary part of getting a reasonable price and these are usually fairly obvious. Small independently-run shops and market stalls are probably the most common arenas where the price told to you is probably not the price you should be paying. As a foreigner it is likely that you will be quoted an initial price higher than a Chinese person may, however if you are a willing haggler then this is no barrier to getting a fair price. My general rule with bargaining is that if I consider it a fair price then I’ll pay, though this does mean that I probably pay a higher price than I should be at times. As someone who is both uncomfortable with and poor at bargaining I am certainly in no position to be giving advice about tactics and tricks, though I thought I would give a few examples of times I have attempted to haggle down a price.

Buying a suit in Shanghai – Myself and a friend decided to go to Shanghai during the National Holiday, buy suits and do a tour of the swankiest bars we could find (we were broke after the first one). I settled on a grey suit from a less than reputable seller. She said it would cost 2500RMB. I said I’d pay no more than 2000RMB. She quickly agreed with a smile on her face. I think I lost that round.

Buying headphones – Needing a new pair of headphones I headed to Guangbutun where there is a mall full of vendors selling all manner of electrical goods. After looking at the items on show at one store and pretending like I had some idea of the quality of the goods I settled on a suitably shiny pair of headphones. The owner wanted 50RMB. I offered 20RMB. The owner maintained that it was 50RMB. I quickly assented and paid the money. Definitely lost that round.

Buying shoes – This one was actually a friend of mine who was searching for shoes to buy from a number of stalls. Finding the only pair that fit him he asked the owner and was told that the price was 400RMB. We made it clear that we only actually had 240RMB on us at that point. With a grumble the owner agreed. We may have won that round.

 

 

Travelling To Zhangjiajie Part 3

Rising from an uncomfortable night sleeping in a tent, we continued walking down the road. The dwellings soon disappeared and we were mostly surrounded by forest again, with good views of the surrounding pillars. Going off road slightly we hacked our way to the edge of a precipice upon which a large rock was scenically positioned. As a photo opportunity it was pretty impressive, though if I was on my own I would definitely not have done it – the drop was pretty far. Preferring to hide my pant-wetting fear I followed the others out there, staying well clear of the edges the whole time.

Back on the road we soon came upon the coach drop-off point as well as the cable car terminal and were once again surrounded by hordes of tourists. Looking for a little more peace and quiet we walked further down the road, and decided that it might be a good time to descend to the valley floor. Preferring not to use the cable car (or continue on the road) we cut into the forest and started down a fairly steep ravine. The path we were following was little more than a track, and one not used, I suspected, in quite some time. Making our way down in single file I was somewhat worried to see Bobby leap in panic in front of me: finding out that it was a large yellow and black snake did little to soothe my nerves. Times like that make me realise how much I appreciate the lack of dangerous animals in the UK.

Somewhat more hurriedly than before, we finished our descent and got back on the road. Deciding that this time we would actually camp in the woods, rather than in front of someone’s restaurant, we thought it might make more sense to look for a campsite earlier than 8pm. Cutting through a field and over a small river we found a fairly secluded spot and set about clearing a place for the tent. At that point we realised that clearing a campsite is a massive pain in the arse, and took a break to go exploring. Exploring may be too grand a word for it; most of the time was spent laughing at Sean taking a dump behind a large rock and taking pictures with a dead frog – the Discovery Channel it was not.

The benefit of buying such a cheap and low-quality tent was that we were not at all worried about leaving it for a while to stock up on food and drink. Not wanting to saddle ourselves up with copious amounts of beer, we opted to go for a more readily-transportable drink. We ended up purchasing a spirit that I’m pretty sure you could run a car engine on, of which the only thing that could be said in its favour is that it was cheap. With not much else to do, we returned to the campsite and relaxed for the remainder of the evening.

This was the last night of our short trip, with us making the journey back to Wuhan the next day. While it had been somewhat slapdash in its inception, the trip had been pretty much everything I’d wanted. The last thing to be done was have a decent night’s sleep before we were travelling again the next day. Something that sadly was denied to me, Bobby and Sean by the bellowing snores of Rich – to be honest I was more impressed than annoyed.*

*not a feeling shared by Sean. He spent the night kicking and cursing Rich who remained deeply asleep the whole time.

KTV - Karaoke

Before I arrived in China I had no idea how popular karaoke is, but more importantly how seriously some people take it. I never realised that by getting up and having a sing song for a laugh with my friends or colleagues I could receive such comments as “You’re not very good at singing” and “I didn’t like that”….it’s fair to say the Chinese can be a little blunt.

My first visit to one of the many KTV’s located around Wuhan was whilst I was at my first school to celebrate Teacher’s day (One of the many arbitrary holidays out here). Our party included me and about 20 Chinese women. I thought…well its karaoke, we’ll probably get a few drinks down us and then all get up and have a go. No such luck, the room was deadly silent as I was handed the microphone and told to choose a song, as their guest it would be rude of me not to sing first. Nobody was talking waiting in anticipation; I rushed through the computer trying to find a song….I settled on Michael Buble – Home, best of a bad bunch. Everyone stared at me as I started to sing…now fortunately for me my dulcet tones won over the crowd before the first chorus and everyone was on their feet applauding. But for you guys out there not quite as talented as me, be worried as they can be a tough crowd. Before I knew it I was rapping Eminem, imitating the rat pack and working the crowd Freddie Mercury style. Some people still talk about that night, but mainly because I got too drunk and was sick in the corner, not really anything to do with the singing.

KTV is extremely popular here amongst all age groups so I’d be surprised if you managed to spend any length of time in China without going a few times. It’s best to not get embarrassed as Chinese people don’t have the same attitude, getting up and singing in front of people doesn’t seem to bother them one bit. KTV can be a great night especially before heading to a bar. Each party gets their own room fully equipped with microphones and a plasma screen to follow the lyrics of your chosen song as well as table service for ordering food and drink, although be careful because the bill can really add up. Some of my best nights out in China have been in a big group of about 20-30 people at KTV, everyone can have a go at singing but it’s not the focal point and has a similar feel to a house party. Although I have been with just 3 or 4 other people before and it’s not quite the same, many Chinese people like going in small groups so they can get more singing time…work on their pitch, needless to say that’s a straight red from me.

Travelling to Zhangjiajie Part 2

Clear-headed and eager to go, we woke up the next morning and made our way to the bus station. There is not much that can be said about the bus station, though we did see a man walking around with his bollocks out – that was weird.

Bus tickets in China are usually pretty cheap, and this was no exception. Tickets to Zhangjiajie were 120RMB, though we were told that it was actually a five and a half hour journey, rather than the four hours we’d expected. Buoyed by this wonderful news we got on the bus in high spirits and having just bought a variety of snacks (most of which were unknown to us) were soon on our way. The national park we were headed for is a vast expanse of huge sandstone pillars, supposedly one of the inspirations behind the floating islands in Avatar. Driving there from Changsha though, the scenery was pretty drab and it was difficult to see where this majestic scenery was supposed to start. As we arrived in Zhangjiajie the terrain had got slightly more mountainous, though still not something you’d put on a postcard.

A three-day ticket for the park is 250RMB with hotels and hostels clustered around the entrance of the park. We had already decided against this option though, and picked up a four man tent in Zhangjiajie before setting off for the park. Within an hour we had managed to get a bus and found ourselves at the entrance of the park. By this point it was starting to look a little more impressive and we soon found ourselves surrounded by high peaks, valleys and lush greenery. The entrance to the park was fairly touristy with concrete paths, drinks vendors and of course; plenty of people. It was already 4pm though, and many people were actually leaving the park and heading back to their accommodation. Taking this as our cue, we headed deeper into the park and set about climbing one of the peaks. There were steps leading the entire way up, though by this point we were no longer coming across many other people. The climb was long and tiring though the views were spectacular.  As we continued to ascend the light began to fade and we began to look for places to set up our tent. The forest was quite thick though, and we decided to hold off until we had reached the top, where we might have better luck finding a clearing. As we drew closer to the peak we seemed to draw upon fresh reserves of energy; the view promised to be superb and who knew what we might find up there? Struggling over the last rise we were finally met by the sight of the summit – as well as a broad well-maintained concrete road and a large hostel. Damn. This intrepid adventure had just got a lot more tame. Apparently for those tourists who eschew climbing to the top it is quite easy to get a taxi to drive you there. That is something I have since heard about other national parks in China; they are very much aimed at tourists who are not keen on actually doing any walking, and as such are criss-crossed with paths, roads and cable cars.

Somewhat disheartened we continued our journey (by the side of the road this time) to find somewhere to camp. We soon came across more buildings and even a restaurant, and decided that this might be a good to settle down for dinner. The restaurant owner was particularly friendly and almost immediately began plying us with Baijiu (Chinese rice wine – I wretch every time I drink it) and beer as we finished our meal. We were pretty much done by this point and asked him if it would be possible to camp out the front of his restaurant. Luckily by this point he was half-cut and soon agreed. In the spirit of cultural exchange and friendliness we unveiled the bottle of rum we had bought with us and got good and drunk with the proprietor. It was hardly Bear Grylls, though considering our lack of equipment, food and preparation it was probably just as well.

Travelling to Zhangjiajie Part 1

The dragon boat festival rolled round and with it a 3-day weekend. This seemed like a good opportunity to get out of the city and travel a little. After minimal research and zero planning we settled upon Zhangjiajie, a national park situated in Hunan province. The journey there would involve a four-hour train journey to Changsha followed by a four-hour coach journey to Zhangjiajie then a further hour from there to the national park itself (Wulingyuan).  Deciding to spend a night in Changsha to break up the journey slightly we left Wuhan in the afternoon on the first step of our journey. Wuhan has three train stations; Wuhan Train Station, Hankou Train Station and Wuchang Train Station. Wuhan Train Station is the newest and is the station along which the Mag-Lev trains run; now going from Guangzhou to Beijing. Changsha is actually on this line and takes two hours, though in a Scrooge-like determination to minimise costs we opted for the slightly less modern and slower train leaving from Wuchang Train Station.

Sticking two fingers up to both convenience and modernity the Chinese rail office has managed to stay impressively backward. Purchasing train tickets can be purchased no sooner than ten days in advance of travel and cannot be done online - around holidays this can lead to large queues at ticket offices and many people will be left without tickets. Getting up early and staking out your place in line is a must. Luckily for us this particular route was not terribly busy nor was it a popular time to travel. To be on the safe side though we bought our tickets a couple of days in advance and on the day, found our way to our train without issue.

Sat in our slightly cramped compartment and basking in our thriftiness we decided to reinvest our saved money on beer. At 4RMB a can, and with a vendor regularly making his way up and down the carriage it was the only sensible idea. Much to the amusement of our fellow passengers we steadily filled our little table with empty cans and before we knew it had arrived in Changsha. Not having booked accommodation, we were reduced to wandering around the vicinity of the train station until we stumbled across a hotel. Luckily there were a couple of hotels close by and after checking one or two out we settled on a hotel that was as cheap as it was seedy. I was sharing a room with Rich whilst Bobby and Sean were in the other room. The rooms were basic though perfectly fine, as well as being (worryingly) equipped with gas masks and breathing apparatus. Actually only Bobby and Sean’s room had gas masks which were pretty serious looking and decked out in space-age silver, not sure who left those there but we preferred not to spend too much time thinking about that.

As mentioned in another blog BBQs are open all night and are a great place for a social dinner – luckily these are not limited to Wuhan, and the four of us soon found ourselves tucking into some night snacks. Probably the highlight was a bird we found roasting on a spit, which was particularly tender and doused in a delicious spicy sauce. What it actually was we were eating was somewhat of a mystery (chicken, pigeon….squirrel?) though when living in China it’s probably not worth overthinking it. Dinner gave us a good opportunity to add to the beers we’d had on the train which, considering that it had mostly consisted of travelling and finding accommodation, completed a fairly satisfactory day.

What to pack when you come to China?

I thought it might be helpful to anyone thinking about applying to pass on a few tips about things you might want to bring with you. Firstly shoes, now this applies mainly to the guys because it is quite difficult to buy larger size shoes here, it seems Chinese men have pretty small feet because I’ve been laughed out of shops before when asking for a UK size 11. You’ll do well to find anything larger than a UK size 8 so I suggest you bring with you shoes for all occasions…although larger shoes are available online which you can get delivered (maybe you’ll need a Chinese person to help you for this) Also ASOS do free worldwide delivery to any country as long as you’re willing to wait a couple of weeks.

It can be difficult to pack all the necessary clothes needed to live in Wuhan as you need to pack for all weather possibilities. Wuhan’s stiflingly hot summers and freezing winters means you’re probably want to pack sunglasses, sandals as well as a large winter coat. Waterproofs are also a must as the high humidity summers means thunderstorms occur regularly….I’ve never seen such appalling drainage system with water pooling on pavements every time it rains so waterproof shoes are pretty handy to help you wade through the puddles!

Coffee is very popular in China…Starbucks and Costa’s are everywhere and all supermarkets stock western brands. So you coffee drinkers will be fine however if you’re an English tea person you might want to pack a box of Twinings because you can’t buy it here, unless you want to convert to jasmine or green. Western food and snacks also aren’t stocked here so if there’s something you think you’re going to miss maybe pack some….a nice bar of dairy milk never goes a miss.

Whilst medicine is easy to find….buying the right thing is another story. I bought a little first aid kit from Tesco and it’s been a lifesaver, I also bought plenty of ibuprofen with me…you can only buy a couple of boxes at a time in supermarkets, so start buying early. If you’re going to make a habit of eating street food, you might want to bring imodium too. If you’re into your sport it’s useful to bring a few items with you to stop you buying things again when you’re out here that you already have back home. Tennis or badminton racquets are good to pack if you like a game as you’ll certainly come across some Chinese locals that want to play with you 

Bringing items from home to use in your classes are always received very well by both students and teachers…if you bring anything typical from your home country your students will be very excited. Your students will be very keen to learn about your home country as most Chinese students know very little about other cultures. If you have any old photos of you or pictures of your family to show definitely pack them as you get some good laughs out of them.

The last thing to pack is a bloody big smile! Don’t forget anything.

Spice

There are some questions that crop up again and again in China. Most tend to be related to being a foreigner and follow the line of ‘What country are you from?’ ‘Are you used to Chinese food?’ as well as the slightly more probing ‘How much do you earn a month?’. Of course these questions tend to be asked in Chinese so for newcomers a confused look and shake of the head should be quite enough to dispel any interest. There are other questions though that you will very quickly learn the answers to as they tend to be more related to day-to-day observances such as buying food or getting a taxi. At the top of this list must be the three times daily ‘Yao bu yao lajiao?!’ – ‘do you want spice?!’ (this tends to be shouted at you hence the exclamation mark).

Wuhan food is mostly Sichuan cuisine which is characterised by rich spicy flavours and the liberal use of chili, ginger, garlic and the Sichuan pepper. As a result most meals will be at least mildly spicy unless requested otherwise. This extends beyond restaurant dishes though; breakfast noodles can be loaded up with spice, dumplings can be accompanied with a spicy sauce and soup can often be found with large chunks of chili in their depths. Of course for those who are less than keen on corroding their stomach lining this can all be ordered spiceless, and you will always be asked whether or not you want spice – ‘yao bu yao lajiao?!’. Whilst I personally do actually like spicy food, it does not partner up terribly well with a hot summer day. Yet for some reason I always get the impression that it is a test of sorts, and in a (misguided) effort to prove something I plough on with the spice. Whatever this is supposed to achieve is quickly lost by my haggard appearance as I sweatily make my way through my food – most small places do not have air conditioning.

In many ways this is typical of how you learn Chinese, despite teaching for years I still didn’t know the Chinese for most classroom items such as ruler, pencil case or sharpener. Yet ‘Do you want spice?’ ‘Take away or eat in?’ ‘Do you want that as a meal?’ (thanks McDonalds) are phrases that I was a pro at after about 3 weeks. Learning a language when you live in the country is great for that; you learn the things you actually need to get by - spice levels definitely being one of them.

Learning Chinese continued...

Like many people who come to China, I had no previous experience with the language. When people asked if I was going to try and pick some up before leaving I tended to give the same answer - ‘I’ll do it when I get there’. On reflection two things can be said of this: 1. Learning something about the language prior to coming wouldn’t have been a terrible idea and 2. Learning it when you get there is something you have very little choice about. The reason for this is that in terms of people who do and don’t speak English the groups are pretty heavily weighted towards the non-English speaking side. In general terms the two groups look like this:

People who might speak basic English or better – university students, bar staff, staff at high-end hotels/shops, staff at western outlets (KFC, McDonalds, Starbucks). People who won’t speak English – everyone else.

Obviously you will come across other people who speak English, but in day-to-day life the above categorisations largely carry true - people who you will be buying meals from or staff at the supermarket where you buy groceries will almost certainly have no English skills. When prices are being read out to you in Chinese this can be slightly difficult, however it always works itself out (I did once or twice have people tap the price onto a calculator so I could read it). In terms of buying food I tended to point at things I thought looked edible - nodding along with whatever the proprietor said and hoping for the best.

What I would say though is that it does not take long to learn the Chinese for things that you will need. Within the first couple of weeks I knew the names of a couple of dishes as well as how much they tended to cost. Once I knew the names of some of the food, learned the numbers as well as the name of the street where I lived (get this one nailed down as soon as possible) I found that I got by quite easily. Most people reach this point after a month or so, and once reached, life becomes that much easier.  Luckily this is also enough Chinese to impress any friends or family you might have visiting. Walking into a noodle joint and ordering the type of noodles you want, declining the offer of extra spice and asking how much it costs can seem like an absolute master class in Chinese to someone who isn’t familiar with the language. The other thing that you become quickly adept at is reading body language - learning when you are expected to make a reply and when nodding in sage agreement is enough. This is how I managed to get through a whole taxi journey laughing and nodding along with the driver, whilst my visiting sisters sat in the back clearly impressed with my apparent fluency – that I understood very little of what he said was a fact that I kept to myself.

Learning Chinese

One of the most difficult things to overcome when living in China is the language. Although many Chinese people can speak English these tend to not be the people you’ll find yourself dealing with on a daily basis i.e. waiters, shop assistants and taxi drivers. Because of this the majority of foreign teachers living in China will pick up some Mandarin skills during their time in here. Whilst some will learn enough to cover their daily needs others go a little further enabling them to converse with the locals. I really do recommend learning as much as possible as life in China can be very different if you’re not reliant on other people as many new arrivals at the beginning, it can also be easier to make friends. From my experience I don’t think I would have met the people and been to the places I have if it wasn’t for making an effort to learn the language. Mandarin is a tonal language so it can be very easy to make mistakes, especially when constructing long sentences but I’ve always found Chinese people to be patient and willing to offering assistance throughout my time here so my advice is to be confident and just go for it because the worst thing that can happen is maybe a few people have a little chuckle at you.

Local dialects provide quite a stumbling block when travelling to different provinces in China and even Chinese people have difficulty understanding each towns own unique dialect. It’s not just differences in accents that make understanding problematic but many words are completely different. However standard Mandarin is all you need to concern yourself with as its taught in all schools/universities and is the only variation of Chinese you’ll find spoken on television or on the radio. It’s really only the older generations who speak local dialects regularly, even though most young people will be able to they’ll always speak standard Mandarin and only speaking their dialect amongst friends so its still relatively pointless learning the local dialect wherever you’re living in China as it doesn’t come up much.

It can be a little daunting when you first arrive in China as it’s not uncommon for people to want to speak with you because for many seeing a foreigner is still a rare occurrence. I can’t tell you how many times I found myself just looking blankly back at a local trying to start a conversation with me. Having said that it has never been uncomfortable as Chinese people are very friendly and welcoming and often try to speak English…even if all they know is “Hello” and “1…2…3”. Chinese is quite a harsh language to listen to and many people speak very loudly…especially on the phone but don’t feel you have to replicate them as you can still be easily understood if you speak a little more softly, you should hear Lloyd Shepherd…he’s a crooner. 

Watching Wuhan Zall

Saturday rolled round and along with it, Wuhan Zall’s first home game after being promoted to the Chinese Super League. I’d heard from all and sundry that the Wuhan fans are passionate about their football and this was one of the biggest reasons I wanted to see the game. A 3:35pm kick-off (not sure what the logic is there) afforded me the chance of a lazy morning, and at midday I was calling my friend to double-check that we were still on for the game. His initial hesitation on the phone was soon explained by a trip outside – it was absolutely pouring. The plans being set though, I was soon on the Metro and headed over to his for a couple of pre-match beers. Another friend joined us and we got on our way in high spirits - spirits that were quickly dampened standing in the downpour waiting for a taxi…brilliant. Enough time having elapsed for us to become fully saturated and correspondingly miserable a free taxi finally rolled round and we were once again on our way.

 Coming from Hankou it was a 40-minute journey to the stadium in Zhuankou, which with the ever-worsening weather was not the attractive proposition it had been the day before. Upon getting out of the taxi we could hear the roars emanating from the stadium - we had got the time and the day right at least. Buying tickets on the door was pretty easy and at 60RMB relatively cheap. Somewhat frustratingly we were not allowed to bring bottled drinks into the stadium, though with drinks on sale inside, this was not a big problem. With a 60,000 all-seated capacity the stadium is fairly large, and is actually quite modern. The stadium also doubles as an athletics stadium and thus the fans are not that close to the pitch however this did not dull the atmosphere at all. The stadium was probably less than half full, though this was still enough to fill it with sound. Every attack was greeted with raucous cries, whilst every opposition free-kick was booed and heckled. The atmosphere was not hostile though, and I never felt uncomfortable. It has to be said the standard of football wasn’t the best (Wuhan’s premier striker is a poor man’s Emile Heskey at best) though the fans certainly make an occasion out of it. At half-time the match was still deadlocked at 0-0 so we took the opportunity to grab a beer. Only after fruitlessly walking around the grounds for a while did it become apparent that only soft drinks were on sale within the stadium. Straight red.

Recently the Chinese Super League has been caught up in a refereeing scandal with allegations of bribery and match-fixing, and watching the second-half it was not difficult to see how this would come up. After clearly being fouled in the area, instead of being given a penalty the opposition player was booked for diving, then booked a second time and sent off for dissent – needless to say the home fans absolutely loved it. Sadly though, Wuhan soon went 1-0 down, and the security guards’ attempts to prevent bottles being brought into the stadium were soon explained as a hail of bottles rained down from the stands. Ultimately one goal was enough, and Wuhan lost their first game of the season. There was reason for hope though, after all this Beijing Guoan side finished second in the league last season, and for large periods of the game Wuhan had been the better team. The next few months told a different story however with Wuhan’s current record standing at 8 games played, 2 draws and 6 losses – better enjoy this season in the top tier while it lasts…

Trip to Beijing

After two and half years of being in China I finally made to it Beijing much to the amusement of my Chinese co-workers who couldn’t believe I still hadn’t been. People say that if you haven’t been to the Great Wall of China “you’re not a man” as ridiculous as this saying is I’m relieved that I can finally say I’ve been to stop the sniggering. Meandering through the hill tops into the distance on the outskirts of Beijing The Great Wall of China is a breath-taking site and lived up to my expectations.  My only slight complaint would be the Subway fast food restaurant at the base of the wall, the faint scent of a meatball sub taking away that authenticity that makes the Wall so fantastic.  I visited the Mu Tian Yu part of the wall which has both a cable cart and toboggan for getting up and down however I opted to walk up which wasn’t as strenuous as our tour guide suggested. He was adamant the cable cart was the only feasible route up…pretty sure he was working on commission (Beware of things like this, it happens a lot). Beijing is known for its poor air quality and smog, if you mention Beijing to people in other parts of China its one of the first thing they’ll comment on. However I was very fortunate during my visit to have clear blue skies meaning my view of the scenery from the watchtower on the wall of the surrounding landscape was stunning.

Wuhan being one of the larger cities in China has well connected transport links, you can reach Beijing in less than 5 hours by high-speed rail. It’s a fast very comfortable journey which matches trains in Europe in terms of reliability and comfort. You can also fly to Beijing in about 2 hours from Wuhan but with all the waiting around at either end the train takes a similar amount of time for a cheaper price. Even though Beijing has more foreigners compared to Wuhan English is still not really spoken so the city can be difficult to navigate if you don’t have any language skills. Fortunately many of the hotels and hostels understand the necessity to cater for foreign visitors and offer assistance for tourists who want to organize day trips or find authentic restaurants to eat in.

One thing I was excited to try during my visit was the worldwide famous Beijing roast duck of which I’d heard mixed reviews before trying it for myself. Having searched on the internet and talked with the staff at the hostel we finally decided on a place to go from the many restaurants that offer this dish. The chef brought a whole cooked duck to our table and skilfully sliced it on front of us, although the meat is quite fatty the sauce and pancakes were delicious and completely different to anything I’ve tasted before in Chinese restaurants in England. The sauce was very rich but I thoroughly enjoyed it and the next time I go back to Beijing I will definitely go back to the same restaurant!! I’ve put a link below if anyone visits Beijing and wants to see for themselves.

http://www.tripadvisor.com/Restaurant_Review-g294212-d1203777-Reviews-Bianyifang_New_World_Shopping_Mall-Beijing.html

Beijing has a lot to offer and is well worth a trip for the weekend or during the many holidays foreign teachers get throughout a school year.