Christmas & New Years

These past few months have absolutely flown by! It seems like just yesterday we were celebrating Thanksgiving at school. Then I blinked and now it's already January and our semester is almost over. We only have one more full week of school, then we have finals week and our three week Chinese New Years break!

Our first Christmas away from home was a little strange since it was pretty much the first time we've ever been away from family for the holidays. Plus Christmas isn't too big here so there are no Christmas lights and very few festive decorations at all. In the days leading up to the 25th it was easy to forget that Christmas was just around the corner. However, on the Saturday the 22nd, the Kunshan Expat Association put on a Christmas buffet at one of the western restaurants here on town. We went with a lot of other teachers from school so it was nice to be able to get together with other people to celebrate the holidays. Then we had the 24th and 25th off so we went into Shanghai for two nights to celebrate with just the two of us. We found another restaurant that was also doing the Christmas buffet which also included free flow drinks. It was a very relaxing holiday. 

Christmas Eve on the Bund in Shanghai!

Our all-you-can-eat Christmas Eve meal was awesome!

After Christmas we went back to school for a few days but then got a five day weekend for New Years. For that trip we flew up to the northern city of Harbin with a group of a few other teachers. It's crazy cold there but they are famous for their snow and ice festival which goes on every year. The biggest and most famous ice sculpture park is know for recreating (near) life size replicas of famous buildings from around the world. Some of them are as tall four stories high! Unfortunately that park didn't open until the week after we left, be we were still able to see some amazing sculptures at some of the other parks. They build lights into the sculptures and it was really beautiful to see them lit up at night. 

Like I said, crazy cold! The temperature got well below zero at night and was usually around 10 or so at the hottest part of the day. Our last full day there was the warmest, getting up to almost 20. 

Cold enough to sell ice cream in the street!

Lots of ice sculptures being built on the side of the road. 

Snow sculptures outside the aquarium. 

This was our whole group. From left: Klarke (HS math), Chris (MS math and social studies), Billi (2nd grade) and her daughter Cay (3rd grader in our program), Chelsea and me. 

Animals at the aquarium. 

Harbin is pretty close to Russia, so there is a lot of Russian influence. This church was in a place called Sophia Square and is one example. It was common to see things written around town in Russian and some of the locals even spoke some Russian. We read online there is a large Russian expat community in Harbin. 

This park was actually located out on the river that runs through town. By late December the ice is frozen so thick they could easily have all kinds of games and rides. Chelsea, Billi, and Cay went on a horse-drawn sleigh ride while Klarke, Chris, and I drove dune buggies. We also went down the ice slide on a sled. The bottom picture is a top game a lot of older men were playing on the ice. They would whip the top to keep it spinning and make it whistle. 

All over the river were people walking from one end to the other. Down further away from the park, people were even driving their cars across. 

This was the main ice park that wasn't open yet. We were disappointed we didn't get to go in, but it was pretty amazing even seeing it from the gate. You can see the cranes still working on the sculptures. Below are pictures from the park we did get to go in. 

2014 will be the year of the horse, so there were several sculptures depicting that. 2013 was the year of the dragon. 

The two above were probably the biggest ice buildings at the park we went to. Nothing like the main attraction, but still pretty cool. 

Another ice slide. This one was much bigger than the one on the river. 

This was a little store we went into to have some warm drinks and get away from the cold. Weird that we could warm up in a building made of ice. 

Frozen trees

These columns were just along the street. Lots of small ice sculptures like this were all over town. 

Harbin was a really cool city and we're glad we got to experience it. We're back in Kunshan now and counting down the days to Chinese New Years and our trip to the Philippines!

Hunter

The Hidden Markets of China

     Here recently, we have discovered some random markets that are quickly becoming some of our favorite spots. Actually, it’s not fair to say we discovered them, as we were actually first taken by coworkers who have been here for a while now. Finding them on our own would have been tricky and navigating them successfully would have been nearly impossible without guidance the first time. The first of which is the street food market. Tucked away in a back alley a few blocks from the school, we must have passed by it dozens of times before anyone actually told us it was there. Homemade dumplings, noodles, and soups, as well as fresh fruits and vegetables can be bought in the market for mere pocket change. The noodle lady I go to will make a heaping pile of home-made, stir fried noodles for only 6 RMB (about a buck). You start by picking from a variety of noodle types, then choose from about a dozen additional ingredients you want to go in. She fries them up right in front of you and ties it up in a neat container to take home. Right next to her is my new best friend in China, the dumpling lady. She makes all the dough from scratch and you choose either pork or veggies to go in the dumplings. She boils them up and gives you a massive bowl for 8 RMB. There are lots of other vendors making other dishes, some of which look pretty good but others not so much. I’ve just stuck with the noodles and dumplings so far and have been visiting the street market about twice a week recently.

     Another shop we’ve been frequenting lately is the DVD store in town. It’s not really hidden per-say, but it is just a tiny little store that is easy to miss if you’re not looking for it. They have a wide selection of western movies, including ones that are still in theatres. After a movie comes out in theatres in the US, it is usually only a week or so before you can get it on DVD in China. The cost is 6 RMB a disc and you can pretty much find any movie or TV series you want. On our latest trip, we picked up Captain Phillips, Gravity, Thor 2, The Hangover 3, Elysium, and the last season of Breaking Bad (yes, the one that ended only like a month ago). I have no idea how they get on DVD so fast here but the quality has been excellent on all of them. You just have to be willing to ignore the Chinese subtitles on the bottom. For $1 a disc, I’m ok with it.

     Lastly, we have to get out of Kunshan and into Shanghai for the “fake” markets.  Hidden away at random subway stops, there is a huge network of shops selling all kinds of products that are complete knock-offs. Rolex and Tag Heuer watches, Prada purses, and Ray Ban sunglasses are a few of the items you can get a the market...again, all 100% fake. I actually saw a woman sewing an “Ugg” logo onto a pair of boots once. On our last trip, I picked up a couple Under Armour and Titleist dry-fit polos for 50 RMB each, as well as some silk ties for 20 RMB each. There are also a lot of souvenir-ish type products like chopsticks, tea-sets, and traditional Chinese dresses. The most fun part about the fake market is that all prices are negotiable. There is a great deal of haggling going on and if you don’t barter correctly you will end up paying 3x higher or more than you should. The general rule of thumb is to knock off 50% of the asking price right off the bat. If you can’t get them to agree to a price you want, just walk away and chances are they will chase you down and finally agree to the price. It’s a lot of fun haggling with them.

     But our favorite part of the fake market is the custom tailor shop. Unlike the products in the rest of the market, the tailor will take measurements and sew custom clothes that are of great quality. I had three button down shirts made for 100 RMB (about $17) each. They have a huge book of fabric samples and you just choose the fabric and pattern you want your shirts to be. I also took my suit coat and Chelsea took a dress to be taken in. They will also make some top notch 3 piece suits for around $150-$200, depending on the style you want. We will definitely be going back to have more clothes made in the future. The even deliver them back to the school in Kunshan for a minimum fee.

     Like I mentioned before, all of these markets can be really hard to find on your own. And even if we had happened to stumble upon them on our own, we would have been lost on what to do. It makes me wonder what other kinds of hidden markets are out there for us to find!

Hunter

It Is Getting Cold!

It has been a long time since we have blogged! We have been really busy with school and getting things done at home. We are also preparing for the cold to officially arrive. So far, the weather has not been too bad but it is supposed to get worse. Apparently winter here is really wet and cold…and you never feel that warm since they do not have central heating anywhere. We are stocking up on electric blankets, warm socks, long underwear, and portable heaters. 

Thanksgiving was nice. Hunter was able to have a full blown American Thanksgiving meal with the secondary students and staff. Luckily he brought me a huge plate of turkey, stuffing, and sweet potatoes because my class celebrated very differently! We had “international day” in the elementary wing.  Thanksgiving with my class was potluck and all the parents brought a homemade meal that represented their culture and country. I had homemade sushi, noodles, and other unique cuisine. 

We have been on a few trips since we last blogged. We spent one Saturday in Suzhou and explored a beautiful park there. We went to Nanjing for Thanksgiving and hiked around Purple Mountain. We also spent one Saturday at a cool Buddhist temple in Kunshan. Below are some pictures of our adventures!

The Kids

I thought I would share a little about my class and classroom since it is where I spend a lot of my time ;-) It can’t be all play and no work! My classroom is nice and pretty large. I have the room decorated in a Dr. Seuss theme! I wish I could have put more time and effort into decorating but I didn’t know I had the job until 2 weeks before school started.

I have a pretty challenging class full of 20 nine and ten year olds. Their personalities are all over the map, which I love. Some of the little girls in class are so sweet. I love them to death! However, trying to manage the class doesn’t allow for much time to really develop any kind of relationship. I wish I could get to know some of the students more but I don’t know if I will be able to. I think that is something I need to work on. The teacher they had before, Mr. Booth, is the most amazing teacher. He somehow managed the class and formed really deep bonds with each student. I definitely look at him as a role model that I hope to be like one day. 

One little boy has decided he really doesn’t like me. I am not sure why. He has such an attitude and even drew a very ugly picture of me, male body parts included. He definitely got in trouble and was sent to the vice principal with his artwork. I wish I would have kept the picture and framed it as remembrance of my first year of teaching. 

Some of the students are so incredibly smart. They know 4 languages already, are math whizzes, and write in complete sentences! There are also a few in class whose English language ability is very low. I am finding it difficult to differentiate. I am learning though and trying to stay positive! I am excited to celebrate Halloween with the kids this week. I need to think of more Halloween activities and plans for the week.

Other than that we spend our weekends chilling at home, shopping in town, or going on random trips to Shanghai. This weekend is the weekend after Halloween so we may go out and celebrate Friday night. There are a couple of local expat bars that have Halloween parties. 

Anyway, missing everyone back home and wishing you all the best.

Love, Chels

Hong Kong

Last week we celebrated Chinese "National Holiday." I'm by no means up on my Chinese history, but National Holiday is basically just celebrating the formation of the People's Republic of China back in the 1940's. It's pretty similar to our 4th of July. We got the entire week off, which we used to head to Hong Kong for some much needed R&R. Officially, we were sent by the school to obtain our permanent work visas. That process only took a few hours though so we had the rest of the week to relax and explore a very unique city!

Hong Kong has definitely been one of our favorite places to visit thus far. Although it is technically part of China as one of two "Special Administrative Regions," it actually operates pretty independent of the mainland. It has it's own currency, language, and government regulations and has been under British rule for so long that it has a lot of Western influence. The residents are all decedents of China though which makes for a very unique blend of East and West. The peninsula (Kowloon) seemed to have more of the Chinese culture, while Hong Kong Island was more of a western culture. Wherever we went though, the vast majority of people we encountered spoke English very well and we had no trouble finding Western restaurants and attractions. It was also unique in that there is a great combination of busy city life and peaceful, scenic parks. We had a really amazing week and Hong Kong has definitely made the list of places we would like to go back to.

 

On our fist day we went hiking in one of the many country parks. It was about a 3 mile walk up some pretty intense hills, but it was definitely worth it. The trail ended at a huge reservoir which was beautiful. There was also some great scenery along the way. Looking back, this was probably our favorite day and we wish we would have done more hiking. There is definitely an abundance of other parks a lot like this one that we would have liked to explore also.

There are also lots of city parks around town with easier walking paths that offered great views of the city.
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We took a ferry to Macau, which is the other Special Administrative Region of China. Like Hong Kong, it has its own currency, language, and government. And flights from China to Macau and Hong Kong are considered "international." But where Hong Kong was a previous region of the UK, Macau was previously ruled by Portugal, which is obvious in the names of a lot of places there. The main source of revenue in Macau comes from the casinos. All these buildings are huge hotel/casinos. It's considered the Las Vegas of Asia. We took an open top bus tour of the city. The three pictures above are all from the bus tour.


A group of about ten of these girls showed up at one of the casinos we stopped off at. I'm not sure what they were doing but they looked cool and were letting everyone take pictures with them.

We found a Zoological and Botanical Garden in the middle of town. There were a ton monkeys, birds, and reptiles, plus some really cool trees and plants. The black and white lemurs would all start making an intense howling noise if people got too close to the enclosure. The sign said it was their way of warning us to back away from their territory!

Hong Kong has only been back in control of China since the late 90s. Before that, it was under British rule for around 140 years, which there was tons of evidence of. Just about everyone spoke English, they drive on the right side of the car and the left side of the road, and there were random statues like this one. God save King George!

One of the top attractions in Hong Kong is Victoria Peak, which overlooks the city and provides some great views. Unfortunately, it was pretty hazy the day we went up, but we were still able to get a good view of the city and relax on a rooftop restaurant with some drinks.

Every night, the city puts on "A Symphony of Lights," which is a light show on the island that can be seen from across the channel. It lasted about 15 minutes and was synced to music. Pretty cool show!

For out last day in Hong Kong, we just decided to relax at the beach all afternoon. Suprisingly, it wasn't too crowded and we had a great afternoon just relaxing. The views from the bay were amazing.

The two guys kinda ruined our Corona beach moment, but you still get the idea.

The bay and the mountains in the background made for some amazing views at sunset. A great end to the week.

In the end, we accomplished what we were technically there to do, which was get our permanent visas. We are now able to legally work and live in China! We now also have the ability to leave the country and re-enter without any problems, which means we have more trips to plan :-)

Hunter