Our Apartment

Well our apartment is not that thrilling, but the more we are here, the more it is not so bad, and the more we realize how nice it is in comparison to others.  We have come to know the neighborhood much better and are starting to have some favorite restaurants and know where things are like the grocery, the pharmacy, etc.

They have stopped doing construction at night next door, so it's much easier to sleep.

I had to take a picture of our water cooler, below, because I ordered water service, IN CHINESE, OVER THE PHONE, and, surprisingly, IT CAME!  I have been patting myself on the back for hours.

I also bought a used cell phone on the street, along with a SIM card to put in it.  Here, everything is pay as you go.  So you prepay your minutes, and then take it to the store and recharge the minutes when you're running low.  The local rates are very cheap; about $.05 per minute.

Here is our space-age shower capsule.  There is a little electric water heater that is very efficient.  We have not run out of hot water yet!

Here is our Master Suite, complete with its own bath and a walk-in closet.  The device on the wall is the heater / air conditioner.

Another shot of the Master Suite. Sophie likes to play in the walk in closet.

Here is Peter's room.  That lump in the bed is Peter, trying not to be photographed.  The whole apartment has sparse, but very nice furniture.  It is also quite clean, which is a rarity among Chinese apartments from what we can tell.

The kids' bathroom.  That tank above the toilet is a hot water tank.  The water in it always appears to be hot, whether it is plugged in or not - something I haven't figured out yet.  To the right is a little washing machine whose instructions are all in Chinese so we will probably have to get someone to show us how to use it.

Setting up house in Hangzhou

Aug 28

Today is our 14th wedding anniversary.  It was a very romantic day, just the 5 of us!

Here's Sue, still lookin' good after all those years!  "Tim, will you put that camera DOWN!"

 

The big event of the last couple of days is GETTING BICYCLES!  Peter and Jack got theirs yesterday and they were thrilled.  Sue and I couldn't keep up with them so we had to get a couple ourselves.  Here are Peter and Jack next to their new purchases. 

 

They were parking next to a yummy sushi restaurant in our neighborhood.  This is one of those places where the sushi moves by you on a conveyor belt and you pick off what you want.  Here we all are in a sushi frenzy!

Jack ordered ice cream and it came to Peter.  Jack's not happy about it in this picture!  He was also not happy about the fact that the ice cream comes with salmon eggs on top!

 

Jack on his new bicycle, and Sophie hitching a ride!

 

We went down to Westlake today by taxi since we didn't know the way on our own bicycles, and rented bicycles there.  The lake is about 3 km in diameter and has a couple of islands in the center, and here I am with Sophie on one of the bridges to the island.

 

Some water lilies blooming on the shoreline...

 

Sophie and the boys looking for traffic!

 

Boats for hire for a peaceful ride...

 

Peter and I rode the new bikes home with Sophie on the back of mine in her new bike seat.  Jack and Sue rode home in this pedi-cab for 5 yuan! ($.75).

The kids really like driving around under their own steam in a SEA of bicycles.  They love ringing their little bells for others to get out of the way.  I am trying to teach them the rules of the road.  Boy do we sure get a lot of stares going down the road, especially with Sophie on the back of my bike! She will go on the back of my bike to kindergarten next week!  Now we're in China!

Hokey Pokey, Chinese Style

We did it! Today we received our TESL certificates from the Colorado China Council, to teach English in China!  Today was also party day at the school, where we displayed various talents and skits.

I participated in a skit with one group of teachers for the Chinese kids, and they thought it was hilarious.

Here are a couple of students from my class...

... and here are the students ready to see some English Teachers, making fools of themselves for entertainment!

Two of the girls got in front of the class and did songs and readings.

Tim, being silly in one of the skits...

One of the boys, telling a joke for the class.

 

Peter and Tim, doing the "Down by the Banks of the Hanky Panky" camp song.

More talents!  Jokes and music.

Next, a game of Simon Says; a big favorite among the kids!  Eleanor and Danielle led the game.

 

Finally, the teachers showed them how to do the Hokey Pokey.  Sue's on the far left with Sophie, and Jack's in the center.

Sue, Hokey-Pokey-ing.

This evening, we had a nice banquet with all of the other teachers, where they handed out our certificates and we got to thank our teachers for the great job they did.

Tomorrow, it's on to Hangzhou!!  I'm not sure when I'll have an internet connection again, so it may be a few days before I can blog.  Keep checking back!

The Boutne Ultimatum!

Today was Sue's last teaching day and she felt like she had a great lesson.  We both feel good about going on to start our teaching assignments now, with a small amount of experience!

We had Chinese class this morning, but Sue skipped class to be with Jack who was feeling grumpy.  One way to get Jack over the grumps is to take him to the wet market!

They started out looking at some fireworks, just so they know what's available for the Chinese New Year!

 

Then it was onto the food, with this huge display of garlic!

 

What kid could still be grumpy after looking at hundreds of squirming eels??

 

This chicken got to be petted by Jack before taking the long walk to the gallows. I'm sure he appreciated the act of kindness!

 

Tons of noodles available for the asking!

 

This man sold mats, thread and materials of all kind.

 

A popular street food boutique!

 

It's quite incredible how much stuff people can get onto their bicycles!  Today I saw a man carrying the front door of a house on his bicycle.  It did not look easy!  Another was carrying 12 (twelve!!)  garbage bag sized loads of laundry.  Pick-up trucks... who needs 'em??

 

Jack out meeting the people!

 

We stop here often at breakfast time for these wonderful "burritos" that are filled with some combination of chicken, pork and veggies.  Yum!

 

Sophie's ready for bed after a long day.  She likes to listen to her Toy Story tape before bed.

I bought this movie on the street, "The Boutne Ultimatum".  I'm sure it is a legitimate copy even though they spelled the title of the movie incorrectly.  I'm sure because I had to pay almost 75 cents for it!

Tomorrow is a party with the students where we have to perform some talent.  I'll let you know how THAT goes!

This evening I went to the foot massage place across the street. They appear to work on your whole body, although they start and end at the feet.  Your clothes stay on and they just massage you through the clothes, very effectively.  The little wisp of a girl that massaged me was surprisingly strong!  I received a wonderful 70 minute massage for about $6.50 US!  Nice!

Tim's Last Student Teaching Day

Here's the high school where we have been teaching to English.  Very modern, clean school.  I wish my high school had been this nice!  The campus is beautiful, although they still have chalkboards rather than white boards!  I sure hope our University has white boards!

The big parking circle where cars and busses come in to drop kids off.  I wish Abia Judd school had something like this!

Here's Teacher Tim, working with the students on an activity I prepared.  The girl standing is giving an answer.  Whenever a Chinese student gives an answer, they stand to address the teacher. 

The men's bathroom has a large open window that opens right onto the sidewalk.  So as you stand there at the urinal pondering world peace, people walk by and there you are in full color and sound.  If you have to go badly enough however, it's amazing what you can get used to, as Jack will attest to from several days earlier at the Water Town.

 

Sophie's at her favorite Smoothie stand getting ready to order something.

There appears to be a penchant to dye dogs' hair just to make them extra special and stand out from the crowd!  Here's a lovely little poodle with pink and orange stripes, and orange ears.  You can tell the cat is thrilled to be roommates with this side show poodle freak!

 

Here's Peter as we are walking to dinner.  Sue and Sophie went out with the girls, and us guys went out on our own.  Jack was hungry and crabby, and NOT in the mood to have his picture taken.

As we got out on the street, I happened to see this guy coming toward me holding his son.  It's very common to see these split bottom pants rather than diapers.  The picture's a bit blurry as I snapped it on the sly without looking through the lens.   I wasn't sure if he would take kindly to some foreigner snapping a picture of his son's butt crack, and posting it on the internet!  The baby had just produced into Dad's hand. I just wish I could have captured the look of resignation and disgust on his face; but that's what happens with stealth photography!

Sue had taken this picture below to show the arm covers that many of the women wear when riding their bikes.  As a rule, women either wear lots of clothes, or carry a sun umbrella, as having dark tan skin is not considered as beautiful as light skin. I finally found a country where white is in! :)      

It can be kind of hard to navigate around the tangles of old rusty bicycles parked on the sidewalk.

  Before dinner, we found some street food; a crepe/pancake like piece of bread with egg and greens on it that Jack ate, BEFORE we got to the restaurant.  This improved his attitude immensely and he was willing to be photographed again.

Some of the student mailboxes on campus.

Laundry day!  Since it's so humid it does take much longer for things to dry here than in AZ, but this method definitely saves on the power bills!

Sue's last student teaching day is tomorrow, and she is looking forward to being done as well.  Friday is a party day with the students, and apparently their version of a party is a talent show.  I believe we are expected, as teachers, to show some particular talent as well.  I'm not sure what my talent will be, but I am practicing armpit noises as a backup!