Big Wild Goose Pagoda

October 3rd, 2011

Playing a tune

After lunch we made our way to the Park where Big Wild Goose Pagoda stands. There were many statues of historic significance but the Pagoda was worth the view despite the smog. 


As the symbol of the old-line Xian, Big Wild Goose Pagoda (Dayan Pagoda) is a well-preserved ancient building and a holy place for Buddhists. It is located in the southern suburb of Xian City, about 4 kilometers (2.49 miles) from the downtown of the city.

Playing solo

Originally built in 652 during the reign of Emperor Gaozong of the Tang Dynasty (618-907), it functioned to collect Buddhist materials that were taken from India by the hierarch Xuanzang.

Xuanzang started off from Chang'an (the ancient Xian), along the Silk Road and through deserts, finally arriving in India, the cradle of Buddhism.  Enduring 17 years and traversing 100 countries, he obtained Buddha figures, 657 kinds of sutras, and several Buddha relics. Having gotten the permission of Emperor Gaozong (628-683), Xuanzang, as the first abbot of Da Ci'en Temple, supervised the building of a pagoda inside it. With the support of royalty, he asked 50 hierarchs into the temple to translate Sanskrit in sutras into Chinese, totaling 1,335 volumes, which heralded a new era in the history of translation. Based on the journey to India, he also wrote a book entitled 'Pilgrimage to the West' in the Tang Dynasty, to which scholars attached great importance.

Who needs a crane?

Founder of the Pagoda

As for the reason why it is called Big Wild Goose Pagoda, there is a legend. According to ancient stories of Buddhists, there were two branches, for one of which eating meat was not a taboo. One day, they couldn't find meat to buy. Upon seeing a group of big wild geese flying by, a monk said to himself: 'Today we have no meat. I hope the merciful Bodhisattva will give us some.' At that very moment, the leading wild goose broke its wings and fell to the ground. All the monks were startled and believed that Bodhisattva showed his spirit to order them to be more pious. They established a pagoda where the wild goose fell and stopped eating meat. Hence it got the name 'Big Wild Goose Pagoda'.

Xian and Lunch

October 3rd, 2011

Going out for lunch in Xian was a a great adventure. In a back alley outside our Youth Hostel,there were many vendors and eateries crowded all together. Each of them were vying for your business. We stopped at one of scores of noodle eateries along the alley.

 The couple preparing are food were hospitable and warm-hearted. The cleanliness of the table was much to be desired, but the love in which they prepared the food was good enough for me. I figured if over a million Chinese eat this way and live long lives, it can't be all bad. We filled our bellies and moved onto our next adventure.



             

Yan Ying Youth Hostel

 October 3rd, 2011

I have never stayed in a youth hostel before as I have always been accustomed to hotels. So you could imagine my trepidation.

My home for two nights

A hostel offers low priced accommodation that provides a bed, pillow, blanket, and bathing facilities, usually in dormitory style.  Many hostels include a free breakfast in their nightly price, have low priced meals available, and/or have a kitchen available for guests to use.  Most hostels require that you have your own sheets and towels.  If you do not bring your own, it may be possible for you to rent those items from the hostel. Some people recommend that you bring your own towel, sheets and pillow. I looked up the hostel and saw that it was unnecessary for me to bring those items.

I walked in the Yan Ying Youth Hostel and was greeted by two people at the desk. It reminded me of a university residence lobby with “goddy” artefacts, graffiti on the walls and stains on the carpet. I received my key and made my way up a labyrinth of stairs.I quickly realized that I wasn’t at the Hilton. The smell in the hallway was not fresh fully clean either. But it was where I was to stay.

My room

I opened the door and to my amazement, I saw a big bed, a desk, a TV, a bathroom with a shower and a sink. 

Yan Ying Youth Hostel is located in the south square of Big Wild Goose Pagoda,a  new growing centre of Xi'an. 

This way

                                 
                                 Overall I found the facilities decent with clean rooms. We chose this hostel because I could reach many attractionsons by walking. If I wanted to go to any other places in the city, taxis and buses were nearby.

Quite nice I thought. I got settled in and made my way downstairs and went out for lunch with Al and a young man named Jan who he had just met.

lady who made my lunch

We were hungry, so we set out on a trek for food. We saw many back alley cooks and decided on noodles. There were so many to choose from. These people seemed to have the “cleanest” establishment. “Cleanest” was used as a relative term here.

After lunch, we parted ways with Jan and began our adventure in X’ian. 

Flying to X’ian

October 3rd, 2011
This morning I woke up at 3:30 a.m. My driver met me at the back gate at 4:30 a.m. It was dark and I was tired but excited. I got to the Beijing airport at 6 a.m. It made me appreciate the fast train. I have become spoiled with the public transit. Nevertheless, on my way I cat napped for 15- 20 minutes and arrived one hour and a half later at the Beijing airport.

Before boarding the plane, I had a nice hot cup of coffee. That woke me up. The nonstop flight with Air China departed at 7:15 a.m. The service was great and the seating was spacious and comfortable. I continued reading Wild Swans. Finally, I arrived in X’ian at 9 a.m.

Curb to curb traffic

The day was just beginning (so much to see, so much to do). Then I boarded a bus to the downtown core with my traveling companion Al. We took the bus that flew down the highway like a sports car. I laughed in nervousness the whole way. I couldn't believe the traffic which only added to the poor air quality.  Al and I debated as to whether the “foggy” air was mist or pollution. It was rainy on our first day, which added to the cloud cover. We finally agreed in the end that in fact we were both right; there was some precipitation with a whole lot of pollution.

Solar power units on top of apartments

On my way to the Youth Hostel, I saw many buildings with solar power on the roofs. The solar power units were not at all attractive, but they were functional nevertheless. The effort to make the air cleaner was noted. The traffic was atrocious, however. Traffic congestion was everywhere during the Chinese holiday. The traffic was laden with curb to curb cars, trucks, bikes, scooters, trikes and even people.

What a great concept...

The bus finally stopped and we boarded a taxi and made our way to the first youth hostel. I sat in the back of the cab. In front of me was a touch screen TV. I watched trailers of upcoming movies, watched advertisements of local business, and read, saw and heard about upcoming city events. There is a potential business there for Toronto and other big city cabbies. Anyone want a partner? (Lol) Finally we arrived at the Youth Hostel. It was 10:30 a.m.

The Ming Tombs

September 24th, 2011

Tamara and Barry in front of the Ming Tomb entrance

If you have been following my adventures in China, you would have followed my trip to the Qing tombs. If I were to compare both, the Qing tombs were more sensational than the Ming tombs. The Ming tombs, however, have historical significance.

The Ming Tombs are located about 48 km (31 miles) northwest of Beijing at a carefully selected site. The Ming Tombs site was chosen by the third Ming Dynasty emperor YongLe (1402 - 1424), who moved the capital city of China from Nanjing to the present location of Beijing. He is credited with envisioning the layout of the ancient city of Beijing as well as a number of landmarks and monuments located therein. After the construction of the Imperial Palace (the Forbidden City) in 1420, YongLe selected his burial site and created his own mausoleum.

From the Yongle Emperor onwards, 13 Ming Dynasty Emperors were buried in the area now known as the Ming Tombs. The tombs of the first two Ming Emperors are located near Nanjing (the capital city during their reigns). Emperor ChongZhen, who hung himself in April 1644, was the last to be buried here, but on a smaller scale than his predecessors. The Ming Tombs form the most extensive burial complex of any Chinese dynasty and are one of the finest preserved pieces of 15th century Chinese art and architecture.

Another dining experience

September 24^th, 2011

It is not uncommon to see people on the road waving you into a restaurant parking lot. After our visit of the Great Wall we ended up at a little restaurant. We ordered a number of items that we found would be palatable. The service was good and the company was great. The food was tasty, but not great.

Is she smiling at me?

Unexpectedly, when I went to have some chicken, this head (see picture) fell onto my plate. A tradition that is commonly used in Mainland China is to present the whole animal like chicken, rabbit and fish as presentation on the plate. Although the Chinese may not eat the whole head; they do it the flesh (the comb) on top of the head and (the wattles) below the beak.

Moreover,  it is common to eat the flesh of the feet as well. Apparently, it is quite a delicacy. The tradition of eating the whole animal or fish (head and all), I am told, is that it represents the cycle of life, from beginning to end. I have learned so much. What an experience.

Although I have eaten scorpions and other exotic food in China, I am afraid I could not stomach eating KFH (Kentucky Fried Head) lol

My Great Wall of China

( left to right ) Stephan, Emma, Yulia, Karen, Ling, Al, Tamara and Barry.

September 24, 2011

I finally got to see the Great Wall of China! I was so thrilled. It did not disappoint with the spectacular view and the history around me and beneath my feet. I woke up this morning at 5:30 a.m. to meet my staff for a planned trip to the Great Wall of China, the Ming Tombs and to Beijing. The school was gracious enough to pay for a bus for us to see the sites.
We were so fortunate.

History beneath my feet...

The Great Wall of China is a series of stone and earthen fortifications built, rebuilt, and maintained between the 5th century BC and the 16th century to protect the northern borders of the Chinese Empire during the rule of successive dynasties. Several walls, referred to as the Great Wall of China, were built since the 5th century BC.The most famous is the wall built between 220 BC and 200 BC by the first Emperor of China, Qin Shi Huang; little of it remains; it was much farther north than the current wall, which was built during the Ming Dynasty.

The Great Wall is the world's longest human-made structure, stretching over approximately 6,400 km (4,000 miles) from Shanhaiguan in the east to Lop Nur in the west, along an arc that roughly delineates the southern edge of Inner Mongolia, but stretches to over 6,700 km (4,160 miles) in total. It is also the largest human-made structure ever built in terms of surface area and mass. At its peak the Ming Wall was guarded by more than one million men. It has been estimated that somewhere in the range of 2 to 3 million Chinese died as part of the centuries-long project of building the wall.

Today we visited Badaling section of the Great Wall.
The Badaling section is the best preserved and the most popular one amongst all the sections. It is more than 1,000 meters (3281 ft) above sea level, and commands a strategic position for transportation and defense in ancient times.
Badaling, literally meaning “reach eight directions”, got its name because the maze of its ridges stretches in all directions. It is easily accessible and has easy walking conditions. At points we were walking at 45 degrees. I am glad I wore good shoes. Some people were wearing sandals and struggled immensely.

The Great Debate: Do you really think you can see the Great Wall with the naked I from space? We debated it quite fervently. What do you think?

The magnificent Temple of Heaven

September 17, 2011

 The magnificent and colourful Temple of Heaven (TianTan) was where emperors of the Ming and Qing dynasties would make offerings to heaven and pray for good harvests.
I visited the Temple of Heaven with Yulia (left) and Karen (right). We took the speed train to Beijing, then the subway a few blocks away from the temple. It was not hard to find once we learned how to read a map. Fortunately, a passer-by, who spoke English, took pity on us and told us we were heading in the right direction. What we thought would take us an hour to walk through, lasted three hours and a half.

Once we finished our tour, we met up with Stephen Elderhorst (left). Stephen and I went to high school together in London. It was 27 years since I last saw him. How great it was to meet a dear old friend and have dinner and catch up. Stephen was gracious enough to take us out for dinner. He gave us a bit of a back street view of Beijing. Meeting Stephen again gave me a sense of being home. For a moment, I didn’t feel so far away. We planned to get together again the following week.

History: The Temple of Heaven was constructed between 1406 and 1420 during the reign of Ming Emperor YongLe (reign: 1403-1424), who also oversaw the creation of the Forbidden City during the same period. The Temple of Heaven was originally established as the Temple of Heaven and Earth, but was given its current name during the reign of Ming Emperor JiaJing (reign: 1522-1567), who built separate complexes for the earth, sun and moon.

The Temple of Earth (DiTan) can be found in north Beijing. The temples of the sun and moon are in the east and west of Beijing. The emperor's primary imperial palace (Forbidden City) lies not just in the center of the city, but also between the temples of earth and heaven, symbolising the role of the emperor connection to heavenly rule. One will notice the representation of heaven as round and the earth as square in the layout and design. One approaches the Hall of Prayer for Good Harvests along a long raised walkway that almost imperceptibly increases in height.

At the winter solstice offerings were made to heaven. And in the spring, prayers for a good harvest. It was one of the emperor's most important tasks to choose the dates for sowing seeds and bringing in the harvest.
The Hall of Prayer for Good Harvests is a strikingly beautful building; round, three-tiered and with blue tiled roofs (as it is essentially a Taoist temple). It is 38 meters tall and sits on a three-tier marble terrace. The cleverly constructed building relies only on carpentry, with no nails employed. This design, what we see today, was commissioned by Qing dynasty emperor QianLong (reign: 1736-1795) in 1751. For you math people, you will notice the numbers 3 and 9, in particular, recurring in the layout and design; these are important or 'lucky' numbers in Chinese numerology. The number 9, being the highest value digit is associated with the emperor. Its square root, 3, has a natural resonance in terms of beginning, middle and end; introduction, development and conclusion.

The three main constructions of the Temple of Heaven lie on a central north-south axis and are surrounded by trees and gardens. Some of the trees here, mostly cypress, are many hundreds of years old. The gardens are alive with locals practicing tai chi, jian zi, wu shu, playing instruments, singing and dancing, board games, kite flying, badminton and more.

Eastern Qing Tombs

September 15, 2011 On Thursday I had the pleasure of visiting the Eastern Qing Tombs with Chairman Cheung, Mr. Sun and Sylvie. The tombs are open in Zunhua County, Hebei Province, 125km east of Beijing. The occasion was to celebrate the outgoing principal Sylvie for her work in the last two years. The Qing Tombs have been open for more than 20 years. Altogether, 5 emperors, 15 emperesses, 136 concubines, 3 princes, and 2 princesses are buried in 15 tombs here. The first to be buried was Shunzhi – the first Qing emperor to reign from Beijing –in 1663 and the last imperial concubine in 1935. Each tomb has an approach road or Spirit Way, which may have guardian figures. The entrance to the tomb is usually preceded by a large steel pavilion and marble bridges over a stream. To the right, the buildings were used for preparation of sacrifices. Inside the gate, halls to the left, and right were used for enrobing and other preparations, and now house exhibitions, as usually each hall of eminent favour, at the rear, where ceremonies in honour of the deceased took place. Behind a doorway allows access past a stone alter to a steep ramp leading to the base of a soul tower. We visited the Yu Ling, the finest tomb chamber; a series of rooms separated by solid marble doors with walls and arched ceilings engraved with Buddha figures and more than 30,000 words of Tibetan scripture. The 3-ton doors themselves have reliefs of bodyhisattvas (being on the road to enlightment) and four protective kings usually found at temple entrances. When we finished visiting the tombs, it is tradition to visit the Buddhist Temple to pay respects to the deceased emperors. Chairman Cheung paid respects on behalf of all of us.

Qing Tombs

Bon appétit!

September 15, 2011

After visiting the East Qing tombs, we were treated to a most authentic and delectable luncheon with Mr. Sun and Chairman Cheung. Being the guests of honour we were surprised by the interesting menu selections that were brought to the table. Take a look at our menu pictures: scorpion noodle surprise, essence of baby bird, juicy jellyfish, wild rabbit fatale (teeth and all), gourmet grasshopper delight, and floating turtle soup. My mother always told me… “eat everything off your plate or you will get no dessert”. Thanks mom. More importantly, our hosts were gracious and generous. They gave us a taste of China I will never forget. If you would like the recipes...

Mooncake, Beijing, and the Forbidden City

September 10, 2011
This past week in China was most enjoyable. Routines in my school were put in place, students were happy with their class placements, teachers were delving into their curriculum, teacher appreciation day was celebrated and it was a shorter week for the beginning of the long weekend celebrating Moon Festival.

Moon Festival
The Moon Festival (also called the Mooncake or Mid-Autumn festival) falls on September 12th in the year 2011. What is the Moon festival? Every year on the fifteenth day of the eighth month of the lunar calendar, when the moon is at its maximum brightness for the entire year, the Chinese celebrate "zhong qiu jie."
Chinese people celebrate the Mid-Autumn festival with dances, feasting and moon gazing. Just yesterday there was a singing competition two blocks from where I live. I was tempted to go and see the happenings, but the sounds coming from the band shell kept me far away.


Another big tradition for the moon festival, are mooncakes. While baked goods are a common feature at most Chinese celebrations, mooncakes are inextricably linked with the Moon festival. One type of traditional mooncake is filled with lotus seed paste (see side photo). The school senior administration provided every teacher with a box of mooncakes. Roughly the size of a human palm, these mooncakes were quite filling, meant to be cut diagonally in quarters and passed around. I found them heavy and dry in taste. However they seemed better when microwaved and with coffee. An acquired taste nevertheless.

Teacher appreciation day
The People's Republic of China celebrated Teacher Day on September 10. Our senior administration brought the entire staff to a most beautiful and delightful dinner. Tradition required that the chairman give an opening speech, followed by the principal general and myself. We introduced the teachers and thanked them for their contribution to the education of our students.

There are many drinking traditions in China to celebrate different festivals of the year including the Moon Festival. The hospitality of the Chinese is fully expressed at feasts or dinners. People will exchange their feelings while they urge others to drink more. They believe that their love for each other will be purified and raised to a higher level while drinking. The Chinese like urging others to drink more in order to express the hosts and hostess' honesty and friendship. The more the guest drinks, the more cheerful the host or hostess feels, which symbolizes having good opinions of the host or hostess. If the guest refuses to have a drink, the host or hostess will feel disgraced.

At the Teacher appreciation meal, being the new principal and their guest, I was invited to participate in this Chinese tradition by drinking “Bái Zhú”. “Bái Zhú” tastes like a mean Vodka. The host claimed it was 50% proof. Being their guest, and honoring the hosts, I had to accept. Their shot glasses are double our size. Happily, I was able to keep up with them. Needless to say, at the end of the night, I was able to hold my own and walk a straight line as I watched my challengers stagger and hold each other up. Canada prepared me well (lol). Until the next challenge…

The Forbidden City

On Saturday, I visited the Forbidden City. From the outside and the pictures, it looks as though one could walk throughout the palace in a couple of hours. It took 4 to 5 hours to make my way through the different courtyards and exhibits. I am told that the Forbidden City is also called Purple Forbidden City. In the feudal society, emperors had supreme power, so this residence was certainly a forbidden place. Purple was the symbolic color of the North Star, which was believed to be the center of the cosmos. So it got the name of Forbidden City or Purple Forbidden City.

Below, I have listed the courtyards from south to north:
• Meridian Gate (Wumen )
• Inner Golden Water River (Neijinshuihe)
• Gate of Supreme Harmony ( Taihemen )
• Hall of Supreme Harmony (Taihedian)
• Hall of complete Harmony (Zhonghedian)
• Hall of Preserving Harmony (Baohedian)
• Gate of Heavenly Purity (Qianqingmen)
• Palace of Heavenly purity (Qianqinggong)
• Palace of Earthly Tranquility (Kunninggong)
• Palace of Union and Peace (Jiaotaidian)
• Hall of Metal Cultivation (Yangxindian)
• Marble Ramp Carved with Cloud and Dragon Design
• Six Eastern and Western Palace
• Nine-dragon Screen
• Imperial Garden
• Zhen Fei well

The Forbiddden City was built in the Ming Dynasty (1368-1644) and the construction of this group of buildings took fourteen years from 1406 to 1420. In the Ming Dynasty and the Qing Dynasty (1644-1911), it was the imperial palace where twenty-four emperors ascended the throne and exercised their strong power to the nation.

The palace occupies an area of 720,000 square meters (177.9 acres) and has approximately 8,700 rooms. A high red wall with a total length of 3,400 meters (3,718 yards) encases the palace. There are four gates in each side, with Meridian Gate (Wu Men) as the main entrance. Four exquisite watchtowers sit at the corners of the wall. With roofs covered with golden glazed tile, red painted walls and grey-white bases, the rectangular palace appears extremely luxurious and grand. Spectacular halls in it are neatly arranged in bilateral symmetry along a central axis that conforms to the axis of Beijing City.

The palace has two primary parts: the Outer Court and the Inner Court. Some halls are converted into art galleries to exhibit paintings, clocks, bronze wares, pottery and other invaluable treasures. It is said that there are over 1,000,000 articles in this museum that account for one-sixth of such national treasures. Tourists can enter into the palace from the Wu Men (Meridian Gate) or the Shenwu Men (Gate of Divine Might). It is impossible for visitors to see every corner of the palace in a single day.

Since there was so much to see, as you thumb through my slideshow, in this blog, I have highlighted three areas that I particularly enjoyed: the Nine Dragons, the Imperial Garden and the National Treasures.

Nine Dragons

Built in 1773 during the Qing Dynasty (1644-1911), this marvelous wall is 20.4 meters (66.9 feet) long and 3.5 meters (11.5 feet) high. Nine dragons, each playing with a pearl, are carved in a very lifelike manner. Yellow, blue, purple and white are applied to the carvings to depict the writhing dragons, and make the wall very attractive. The face of the wall has 270 pieces of colored glaze, five ridges and another nine small dragons on the main ridge. We know that 270 is a multiple of 9×5. Wondering about the significance of this equation? In ancient China, the numbers nine and five, when combined, signified the supreme status of a sovereign. An emperor was also called 'Majesty of Nine and Five'.

But this wall is not perfect. If you observe carefully, you may find the third white dragon has a piece of wood on its belly. It is said that a carpenter carved it to replace a broken piece of glaze tile. He did it on purpose, for the work must be finished on time, otherwise all the craftsmen would be punished. His part was incomplete, so he took the risk of concealing the flaw and cheating the emperor; fortunately, the emperor didn't discover it.

The Imperial Garden

My favourite part of the tour was the Imperial Garden. The Imperial Garden was where the imperial family members recreated themselves. It was built up in 1420 and remains unchanged in its original layout. The garden with an area of about 1.2 hectares (2.97 acres) has more than twenty structures distributed symmetrically but not prudishly.

The garden centers Qin'an Dian (Hall of Imperial Peace), with other buildings framed by a background of old trees. Surrounding the Hall of Imperial Peace, four dainty pavilions are of a great originality in their styles and are named after four seasons of a year. The steep rockery with a chic pavilion on in the north was where the emperor and empress climbed up to view the distance on the lunar September 9th. Even the paths convey a distinct flavor. They are paved with pebbles with different col ors, forming a variety of designs portraying people, flowers, scenery or stories.

The National Treasures

Some of the National Treasures are quite striking. The intricate carvings of coral and jade stone, the colourful jewels, the polished gold, the fancy snuff bottles, the intricate hair pieces, the beautiful crowns, the ornate belts are just a few of the treasures I saw.

If you decide to come and visit me, plan to take a day to wander through the Forbidden City. You will not be disappointed. Wishing you were all here.
Thank you for sharing in my adventure...

Sightseeing in Beijing

September 4, 2011

Yesterday, I went sightseeing in Beijing. Unfortunately, visiting the Great Wall had to wait. Sylvie, Al and I left Wuqing at 7:30 a.m. (CST) and walked an few kilometers to the train station. The cost from Wuqing to Beijing return was 78 RMB. Sylvie was our tour guide. She was kind enough to let Al and I tag along for her Saturday morning routine.

We boarded the High Speed Train at 8:37a.m (CST). The train was very comfortable, spacious and air conditioned. The temperature outside was 25 degrees Celsius. The average speed of the train was 294 to 298 km/h. It took us 30 minutes to arrive in Beijing. By car it would take just over an hour.

Once we arrived in Beijing, we took the subway to Tiananmen Square. To take the subway we used a pre-paid card system. With my card, I boarded the subway. To exit the subway station, I had to return my card through a different checkpoint.

Tiananmen Square is a large city square in the center of Beijing, China, named after the Tiananmen Gate (Gate of Heavenly Peace) located to its North, separating it from the Forbidden City. Tiananmen Square is the second largest city square in the world (440,000 m² - 880m by 500m). It has great cultural significance as it was the site of several important events in Chinese history. I was really taken by the history.
You will find in my slideshow, pictures of the outside of the Forbidden City. You will note the green in the front of the city building, as the workers are polishing it for the week long National holiday in October. Also you will see a picture of the National Museum of China which opened in June 2011. Moreover, you will see the line-up of people visiting the Mao Zedong Memorial Hall. Furthermore, you will see me in front of the Monument to the People’s Heroes. Lastly, you will see a picture of the Great Hall of People. I plan to visit the National Museum of China, the Forbidden City, and Mao Zedong Memorial Hall in the future. We just had no time to see it all in one day.

On our journey, I saw quite a few interesting scenes on my walk. I saw some old gentlemen huddled around two others playing Chinese Chess. I stood and watched but didn’t quite understand the rules. I saw a young boy studying outside a tobacco shop on the sidewalk. Near the embassy quarter of Beijing, I saw a guard asleep at his post. I hope his boss doesn’t see this blog. There were many interesting people and shops to visit. It was also interesting to see how the locals run electrical wire.
For lunch we stopped at a North American where I had a club sandwich and fries. I also had a personal size pizza as I had nothing to eat for breakfast. It was nice to have a delicious and fattening treat different than Chinese food. The cost was reasonable at 90 RMB.

We ended up at a 4 level store, where the deals are incredible. There I got 1 hour head, neck, back, feet and legs massage for 60 RMB. Quite relaxing! They also do manicures and pedicures. I thought about how much my wife and girls would enjoy being pampered.

After the massage I went to a Starbucks where I met two of Sylvie’s friends. It was nice to sit and chat about their experiences of China. Finally we returned home the same way we arrived. I felt rested and rejuvenated.

Downtown Wuqing

September 3, 2011

Wuqing is the industrial sector of Tianjin. Downtown Wuqing is lively around 7 p.m. and dies around 9:30. Other than going shopping for necessities during the day or going out eating, there is not much else to do. Fortunately I like to eat (lol). Tianjin places a heavy focus on seafood, due to Tianjin's proximity to the sea. Prominent menus include the Eight Great Bowls (八大碗), a combination of eight mainly meat dishes. It can be further classified into several varieties, including the rough (粗), smooth (S: 细 / T: 細), and high (高). The Four Great Stews (四大扒) actually refers to a very large number of stews, including chicken, duck, seafood, beef, and mutton.

A group of staff and I made our way to downtown Wuqing by “Bong-Bong”. Emma and Mark suggested the restaurant where the picture is taken. It was nice to have finished a long week. It was truly a celebration of completing our first week of classes. Everyone was in good spirits. We ate well and toasted our success.
What a great group of people.

Good day...

August 27, 2011

This morning I woke up at 6:30 am (CST). I enjoyed waking up at 4:30 and puttering around before going to work. What was really special is that Heather, Renee and Elyse call me. The Doritos were on the counter, I saw three smiling faces looking at me in my PJ’s, and Heather had a beer in hand. It was like I was enjoying a Friday afternoon after a long week with my family. Only I was sharing a coffee with them. We all chatted and got caught up on the goings-on. Elyse told me she had an interview. Hope she gets the job.

Today I had to go to work as I have much to learn and prepare. Before I went to work, I “SKYPED” with my folks. I returned home at noon (CST) to find my mother on SKYPE. How great it was to have a quality conversation. Then I connected with Heather again. I am feeling less homesick now that I know I can connect with them virtually. This will allow me to focus more on the tasks at hand.

I spent the afternoon preparing for the staff meeting, gathering information and discussing student placement. Every day is becoming easier. I am looking forward to sightseeing. It looks as though I will have to wait until next Saturday. Be patient Great Wall, I will be visiting soon enough.

It’s coffee time!

August 26,2011
My reflection for the day - Always pursue what is good both for yourselves and for all. Rejoice always, pray without ceasing, in everything give thanks … Test all things; hold fast to what is good. (1Thess 5:15-18)

I woke up this morning at 4:30 a.m. I made my first cup of coffee. As Heather always says “There is nothing like the first sip”. Mmmmm …. Mmmmm good. It was so good I made two pots. Now that I have the Internet, my communication with family and friends will be more frequent.

Today I was extremely busy learning about the Ministry of Education’s Inspection, setting up a staff agenda, dealing with timetabling issues and meeting staff in Beijing.

I met two new staff members, Michelle and Mark. Both bring varied experiences and seem quite nice. I can see this is shaping up to a great year as I meet and learn about everyone’s gifts and talents. We all went out for dinner and got to know each other.

A full day and a load of laundry

August 25, 2011

Scott Sorell suggested that the two most powerful weapons are courage and persistence. Nothing can stop a person armed with both.

Today I woke up at 4:30 a.m. (CST) I am beginning to wonder if this will be my normal time to wake up or if I am still in Ontario time somehow. Today I took over as Principal. There is no time for sight-seeing at the moment. In fact I will be working full days both Saturday and Sunday in order to get ready. School starts August 29th. Only four more sleeps!

Before I went to school today, however, I did my first load of laundry. This is a courageous act because all the instructions on how to use the machine are in Mandarin. I believe it is important for people to try assembling items, doing tasks or going places without reading the instructions or maps. Why? Because when you find yourself in China you have no choice. I am happy to report that all my clothes turned out well.




Today, I had hoped to get the Internet hooked up. Bob, my assistant, is doing everything possible to get a provider. There is some kind of confusion. I am told that we can’t use one provider over another because the building I live in is committed to one of them. It is not as simple as using Rogers or Bell. It is a difficult experience when all I know is that I want Internet today in order to stay connected to friends and family. Sylvie has agreed to let me use her Internet at her apartment tomorrow morning. I am very grateful. Hopefully I will be able to connect with everyone soon. I was informed that hook-up will be no sooner than August 26.
I went to a government office and the hospital in Tianjin with Krissy, the Visa office assistant. Downtown Tianjin is a 30 minute car ride away from my school. The population of Tianjin is around 12 million. You might say, it is slightly bigger than Tillsonburg. The majority of residents in Tianjin are Han Chinese. Minorities include Hui, Korean, Manchus, and Mongols.

People from urban Tianjin speak Tianjin dialect, which comes from the mandarin subdivision of spoken Chinese. Of course I can’t tell the difference. I realize though that I really need to begin to look closely at the language and learn key phrases. Once more, I find it strange to be in a municipality where everything is written in characters I don’t recognize. It makes me empathize with how a non-reader feels in Canada.

Once in Tianjin, I had my picture taken at a government office and then went to the hospital for my Chinese check-up. What an experience. The Chinese check-up consisted of the collection of chest x-ray, ultrasound, blood pressure, height and weight, drawing of blood, ECG, urine sample, and a general checking of the lymph nodes. It was truly an assembly line of exams as they did not all happen in the same room or from the same person. I felt like a product or specimen who walked to several rooms down a long hall to be examined by a person charged with the assigned task. It’s all business, and bedside manner is out the window. Sadly, somehow I lost my gold chain and cross that my parents gave me in all the hustle and bustle. We called to see if anyone turned it in. Unfortunately, I am told the likelihood of anyone turning it in is zero to none.

I returned to the school and I met my Chinese co-principal, Mr. Sun. He seems very gracious and respectful. He invited me to dinner this evening to meet other Chinese school leaders. Unfortunately I had to decline, as I had to pick up the new teachers from the airport. On our way to the airport, I learned that one of our teachers will be arriving later than expected due to a personal issue. I now am going to have to problem-solve the issue and rejig the timetable. It is not like I can call human resources in a Board and ask if they could send in a supply teacher.

Once at the airport in Beijing, I bought House Blend coffee (30 RMB) and a French Press coffee maker (240RMB) from Starbucks. I can’t wait to have a good cup of coffee for breakfast tomorrow. At the airport, I welcomed three terrific new teachers: Al, Karen and Yulia who I last saw August 4th. It was exciting to see them again. Knowing that they were in Canada 13 hours ago, gave me a feeling of home.
We all returned and I showed them to their apartments on campus. We went out for dinner to the same restaurant from the night before. We had pork, tofu, spinach, broccoli, rice and beer. It was delicious.

I crashed at 22:00 (CST). I am looking forward to having my first cup of coffee tomorrow.

Waking up in China!

I woke up today at 4:30 am in China. Breakfast consisted of yellow bread, strawberry jam and an apple. I spent most of the morning unpacking and getting myself organized. I am meeting Sylvie and Bob at 10 a.m. (CST) I am looking forward to speaking with my wife and girls at 9 a.m. (CST)


My goal today is to buy a list of necessities and some food. Hopefully I will get my Internet up so that I will be able to e-mail and blog from my own apartment. I am looking forward to speaking to my family. I know that they are out shopping as I am blogging.

To get to the school I cross through beautiful park like settings. I pass sculptured bushes; I walk through a Greek style marble and stone structure. I go leave my gated community to the school’s gated community. There I make my way to Sylvie’s apartment where the Internet is available to me. I can’t wait until I get my own hook up. But this will do. I just spoke to my family. The pain is beginning to dissipate now that I have seen their smiling faces. The longing for home and desire to be with everyone is still strong however.

After the SKYPE call, I made my way to the school where I interviewed an EA. Then I spent the next two hours going over school administration “policies and procedures”. I am learning that the “policies and procedures” are similar but vastly different. I will blog what I mean about this at a later date on my educational blog quiet treasures.

It is 12 p.m. (CST) and I am to go to the bank with Bob, to exchange CDN money, get a phone and buy a few items. Before we go, I get a food card from the school canteen. I will be able to have hot lunches at the school. I walk into the canteen and it is huge. This place holds over two thousand people. I was told that there is assigned seating for the students. On the walls there are celebrations. To celebrate student achievement, the school will make posters with pictures of students who are successful (high marks or entrance to University generally define success). For lunch I had a tomato based chicken and noodle and egg drop soup. It was delicious. Interestingly, we ate on metal plates, with a metal bowl, with metal spoons and forks, unlike in North American school canteens where it is throw away and filling our landfills. I think China is onto something.

It is time to go to the bank and I have forgotten about the 2.5 hour lunch. So I answer a few e-mails and explore what kind of phone I intend to buy. To exchange money is quite simple with some nuances. I get to the bank and they would like me to fill out some forms before I exchange my money. I get to the window, give my passport, give my forms, and give my money. I wait for the clerk. Everything seems to be in order; however, one of my twenty dollar bills is slightly ripped. So the clerk returns my twenty and also returns my forms. My assistant Bob explains that I have to fill in the forms all over again and have my twenty repaired in Beijing before they will accept it. In Canada, the bank accepts most money, slightly ripped or not, and if there is a mistake or a change needs to be made on the form, we make the correction or change and initial. I think Canada is onto something. Finally, I get my money and we go to the cell phone store.

Buying a cell phone in Canada is fairly straight forward, minus having to choose the plans. I was looking for a deal, but electronics in China are similarly priced to those in Canada. So I am quickly sobered to the idea of buying an Iphone 4. I choose the phone, after an hour or so trying to understand the features. The choice of the phone number was extra and separate from the plan. Phone numbers range from 20 RMB to 380 RMB. I asked why the range? I still don’t understand. I just go with it. Imagine how difficult it is choosing a phone plan in Canada. In China there is no difference except I can’t read it and I depend on my assistant to translate and explain. Having done translation, one needs to be aware of translating and interpretation. I was getting what seemed to be interpretation. So I just went with the cheapest and will hope for the best. One item I can’t seem to change… all my apps are written in Mandarin. LOL

Then I went shopping for some items. I was able to find what it is I needed except for a toaster oven. I had great difficulty explaining to my assistant Bob what a toaster oven even was. So I am on the quest for a toaster oven.


I finally got back to my apartment at 17:00 (CST). Sylvie called me on my new phone. We have a dinner engagement at 18:00 (CST) with a new student’s family. We got to the restaurant for 6 RMB by Bong. We met the family Winston (the new student), LingLing (older sister) and the mother (whose name escapes me). We headed to the restaurant together. Once there we walked up four flights of stairs and were ushered into a private dining room. Our hosts ordered for us. I don’t know the name of all the food, but, I tried eel (pretty tasty), pork, chicken, broccoli, spicy greens, soup … tea and Chinese beer. Suffice it to say it was all delicious. One of the traditions I learned was that it is important to make a toast to or about the hosts of the dinner. Apparently there is a whole custom that surrounds this practice. I will have to learn more and let you know.

After dinner 21:30 (CST) we walked home and I crashed.