Bicycle and Holiday in Hong Kong


I now have two weeks of work under my belt and quite a few classes. I feel like everytime I step in front of the classroom and teach I need to tweak something about my teaching. I think that is good and I hope I can always improve on what I'm doing as a teacher.

This week was heavy on marketing. Marketing includes going to schools in the area and passing out flyers to parents and children. Everyday I did not really feel like going to pass out flyers, but everyday I had a great experience.

The first day, I passed out flyers and said "Ni-Hao" to all the students and their smiles made it worth it. Then on Wednesday a girl about 15 or 16 came up to talk to me and she spoke excellent English. She told me she wanted to go to the United States and she had high hopes to do so. In our long conversation, I told her that no matter what she should keep her dream alive and work hard and she could make it come true for herself. She took down my email and I hope she emails me sometime.

Finally, on Thursday and Friday I went to a couple of primary schools where the kids aged from 6 to 10. They wanted me to speak in English (a couple of kids particuarly liked me saying twenty-five for how old I am) and many smiles were exchanged. Numerous ones said in that amazed voice that kids everywhere do- "LAO-WI" which means foreigner. I think my big, tall, white, hairy, left handed, American Football loving ways make for something very different than what most kids, and people, are used to around here.

Before I finished work yesterday (Friday), I took my fresh wad of RMB (it was payday) and spent 738 of it on a new bicycle and heavy duty chain. An excellent bike I priced in Waco, Texas, USA a few months before I left was over $400. Now I have this brand name, beautiful, one year service-warrantied bike, which came out to.......(drum roll)........less than $100. WUHOO

I have already taken the bike to and from work. A few more weeks and maybe I'll be able to scale Gushan (the mountain) and go to places beyond. Places especially like Huang Shan a place I have read about from a book in my mom's library. There is a peak there called "Capital of Heaven". Many Chinese people consider it the most beautiful place in the country. I do not think I could leave here without visiting.

Now that my first two weeks are done it's time for---vacation??? Yes! It is National Holiday time for the year and what better way to celebrate the banishment of Chang Kia-skek (in my readings and study I have found him to be a stubborn idiot, who probably got what he deserved) and the welcome of Communism, than to go the freest place in China, Hong Kong.

I actually didn't choose this vacation, rather I have to go get a work visa because my travel visa runs out in a few weeks. I might have already mentioned this in past blogs, but the trip was planned, then cancelled, then planned again because of the possibility that I needed a medical check. Apparently the school thought I needed one then found out I didn't so Hong Kong is a-go!

I have many more trips planned, and I should probably get my camera out and take pictures pretty soon. If you are reading this and you are not on my mailing list but you would like to get updates the same day as I update my blog, email me at aggiejamz@gmail.com and I will put you on the list.

Thanks for visiting, come back to Fuzhou soon!