I have photos now! Hurrah! You can find them at:
www.photoisland.com
login: cathbarr
Password: urumqi
It's just a few shots of me and the city at the moment. Again, when I get access to my own website again, they'll feature on there.
Monday, May 31, 2004
Saturday, May 29, 2004
Did my last post make any sense? It occurred to me last night that it probably didn’t (I blame the mourning)…
In case it didn't, besides practicing Uyghur, my recent company has been more or less limited to a girl called Sarah – a girl who teaches at a local middle school. All the teachers at English First (my school) are couple-d up, which though fine - as they're all social people – can leave me without someone to play with on occasion.
And as Sarah's social lifey was even more limited that mine (local schools don’t have too many English speaking staff… i.e. one other: an old male), us hanging out together worked out perfectly. HOWEVER, her contract has just finished - so she's leaving Urumqi today, and my social life is back to being the odd person out with couples.
Eh. Couples.
Ok, it sounds more morose that it actually IS. My flat mate should be arriving soon... (July) yaaaaaaaaaay, and other people will be starting and ending work contracts, so people will come and leave, and the alternate couple universe is not somewhere I'll live for too long.
Other than that, one of my classes got cancelled today (yaaaay, two hours of idleness for free). So I have time to write here.
Uyghur wedding tonight, I have no outfit. Will have to go in work clothes. Lame.
Maybe I should go and be productive now....
Loadsa love
Cath xxxxxxxxx
In case it didn't, besides practicing Uyghur, my recent company has been more or less limited to a girl called Sarah – a girl who teaches at a local middle school. All the teachers at English First (my school) are couple-d up, which though fine - as they're all social people – can leave me without someone to play with on occasion.
And as Sarah's social lifey was even more limited that mine (local schools don’t have too many English speaking staff… i.e. one other: an old male), us hanging out together worked out perfectly. HOWEVER, her contract has just finished - so she's leaving Urumqi today, and my social life is back to being the odd person out with couples.
Eh. Couples.
Ok, it sounds more morose that it actually IS. My flat mate should be arriving soon... (July) yaaaaaaaaaay, and other people will be starting and ending work contracts, so people will come and leave, and the alternate couple universe is not somewhere I'll live for too long.
Other than that, one of my classes got cancelled today (yaaaay, two hours of idleness for free). So I have time to write here.
Uyghur wedding tonight, I have no outfit. Will have to go in work clothes. Lame.
Maybe I should go and be productive now....
Loadsa love
Cath xxxxxxxxx
Friday, May 28, 2004
I’m having even more trouble with the Internet connection these days… getting onto my weblog is definitely harder. If my posts trickle down to nothing, this is the reason for it.
I’m not too sure what I’ll do if the weblog server becomes completely inaccessible, but I’ll email you all if I come up with any bright ideas / abandon the plan altogether.
Anyway, enough about boring technicalities.
FOREIGNERS…
I’m writing this on Friday, (in essence, the equivalent of my Sunday), I have yet to leave my flat (for the first time since I arrived I am slobbing around my apartment). Speaking of which, I heard the most amusing term for Anglo-Saxons yesterday… I’ve heard us called Big Noses, Foreign Devils… etc etc, but this is the best:
We are “The Leisure Race”
Hahahahaaaa.
I’m starting to think this is true. I can’t imagine any local I’ve met chilling out and writing off a day if they felt they weren’t up to it. My Chinese students especially, work way too hard (in normal school, not always my classes! I should be so lucky!). I used to think that it was admirable, but to be honest, my students work their butts off, and it only has marginal results for most. The rest just get tired, start to resent studying or the subject. All in all, I think leisure isn’t a bad thing at all – someone needs to get this message out to the rest of the world…
LANGUAGE ATTEMPTS…
Speaking of leisure, I’ve started to push my work concerns aside and get out. (hurrah!)
Firstly I’ve gotten some movement on the Uyghur-language learning front. I now have a language partner, Jack – who I met through one of our local teachers. I’d tell you more, but I’m still trying to piece together all his details myself (he speaks limited English, and I speak limited Chinese and minimal Uyghur). We tend to communicate in snippets of English and Chinese, embellished with a lot of mime!
For those interested, here are some Uyghur phrases:
Hello! – “YAK Seam mu SihZZ”
Bye – “Hosh” (the first H is pronounced with a rolling “H”, kinda like a rolling “R”
What is this? – “Boo knee ma?”
I’m getting to the numbers, but they are all completely unpronounceable… I mean REALLY. You though French rolling “R”s were hard??? HA.
When I finally figure them out, I’ll relay them over to you…
GETTING TO KNOW UYHGURS…
This has been the most exciting part of my week. Through Jack I’ve met a lot of his mates and peeps. So far I have such a brilliant impression of them all. Their culture is incredibly warm and friendly – they are also definitely more laid back than the Chinese friends I have here. It’s funny because the city is divided into two different societies, they aren’t really antagonistic differences that keep the Chinese and Uyghurs apart (which I had been told was the case and I expected more of), it’s more a difference in lifestyle which keeps the two sides of the city from fully integrating with each other.
For one, the Chinese work and live off Beijing time, and the Uyghurs operate on time based on the geographical location of Urumqi. Esentially, one population live in one time zone and the rest of the population live according to another time zone – two hours later.
As for me, I work according to Beijing time, but in reality, because I have to work evenings, I live according to Xinjiang time. I’ll eat dinner at 10pm and go to bed around 1am Beijing time – 8pm and 11pm Xinjiang time. The English teacher life just makes it easier to socialize with those who also live according to Xinjiang time, generally Uyghurs.
Now that I think about it, living in Urumqi is pretty perfect for the life of an English teacher… if I were in another city, I’d have pretty antisocial work hours. Yay Urumqi.
WEDDINGS…
Ok, hahaha, that subtitle is meant to be a bit of a tease. I’ve been invited to go along to a Uyghur wedding on Sunday night, after I finish work. I’m thrilled to bits. All I know about it is that there will be a lot of dancing – and these people CAN DANCE. Eep. I’ll write about that sometime next week!
WORK…
It’s going well and getting busy! I love the kind of teaching I’m doing – small classes, real language teaching, and with all sorts: different ages and levels it’s everything I want. Life of a teacher is great as well, it’s quite hard work at the moment, since I’m still trying to figure out what’s going on in general – but is what other job can you go for a 2 hour facial in the middle of the afternoon if you fancy de-stressing?
AMUSING MYSELF…
Life is good! The other teachers here are all paired up into couples, and as friendly as they are, I am still the odd person at the end of the evening. Sooooo, to add to my personal entertainment portfolio I have now invested in a 25quid DVD player. Yaaaayyyy! It’s so great. I even have an Uzbeke music VCD. It’s so cool! (What is hilarious is that it took me a week to but a DVD player, to mentally prepare myself to spend so much money at once. I was thinking of buying 7quid speakers for my computer while I was at it, but that just seemed way too self-indulgent. Hahahaa.)
And of course there are all the new people that I am meeting at the moment to keep me entertained too. My new flatmate Brooke will be arriving in a month…
…JUST AFTER MY BIRTHDAY…
Hahaha
Ok, time to do some work!
Cath xxx
I’m not too sure what I’ll do if the weblog server becomes completely inaccessible, but I’ll email you all if I come up with any bright ideas / abandon the plan altogether.
Anyway, enough about boring technicalities.
FOREIGNERS…
I’m writing this on Friday, (in essence, the equivalent of my Sunday), I have yet to leave my flat (for the first time since I arrived I am slobbing around my apartment). Speaking of which, I heard the most amusing term for Anglo-Saxons yesterday… I’ve heard us called Big Noses, Foreign Devils… etc etc, but this is the best:
We are “The Leisure Race”
Hahahahaaaa.
I’m starting to think this is true. I can’t imagine any local I’ve met chilling out and writing off a day if they felt they weren’t up to it. My Chinese students especially, work way too hard (in normal school, not always my classes! I should be so lucky!). I used to think that it was admirable, but to be honest, my students work their butts off, and it only has marginal results for most. The rest just get tired, start to resent studying or the subject. All in all, I think leisure isn’t a bad thing at all – someone needs to get this message out to the rest of the world…
LANGUAGE ATTEMPTS…
Speaking of leisure, I’ve started to push my work concerns aside and get out. (hurrah!)
Firstly I’ve gotten some movement on the Uyghur-language learning front. I now have a language partner, Jack – who I met through one of our local teachers. I’d tell you more, but I’m still trying to piece together all his details myself (he speaks limited English, and I speak limited Chinese and minimal Uyghur). We tend to communicate in snippets of English and Chinese, embellished with a lot of mime!
For those interested, here are some Uyghur phrases:
Hello! – “YAK Seam mu SihZZ”
Bye – “Hosh” (the first H is pronounced with a rolling “H”, kinda like a rolling “R”
What is this? – “Boo knee ma?”
I’m getting to the numbers, but they are all completely unpronounceable… I mean REALLY. You though French rolling “R”s were hard??? HA.
When I finally figure them out, I’ll relay them over to you…
GETTING TO KNOW UYHGURS…
This has been the most exciting part of my week. Through Jack I’ve met a lot of his mates and peeps. So far I have such a brilliant impression of them all. Their culture is incredibly warm and friendly – they are also definitely more laid back than the Chinese friends I have here. It’s funny because the city is divided into two different societies, they aren’t really antagonistic differences that keep the Chinese and Uyghurs apart (which I had been told was the case and I expected more of), it’s more a difference in lifestyle which keeps the two sides of the city from fully integrating with each other.
For one, the Chinese work and live off Beijing time, and the Uyghurs operate on time based on the geographical location of Urumqi. Esentially, one population live in one time zone and the rest of the population live according to another time zone – two hours later.
As for me, I work according to Beijing time, but in reality, because I have to work evenings, I live according to Xinjiang time. I’ll eat dinner at 10pm and go to bed around 1am Beijing time – 8pm and 11pm Xinjiang time. The English teacher life just makes it easier to socialize with those who also live according to Xinjiang time, generally Uyghurs.
Now that I think about it, living in Urumqi is pretty perfect for the life of an English teacher… if I were in another city, I’d have pretty antisocial work hours. Yay Urumqi.
WEDDINGS…
Ok, hahaha, that subtitle is meant to be a bit of a tease. I’ve been invited to go along to a Uyghur wedding on Sunday night, after I finish work. I’m thrilled to bits. All I know about it is that there will be a lot of dancing – and these people CAN DANCE. Eep. I’ll write about that sometime next week!
WORK…
It’s going well and getting busy! I love the kind of teaching I’m doing – small classes, real language teaching, and with all sorts: different ages and levels it’s everything I want. Life of a teacher is great as well, it’s quite hard work at the moment, since I’m still trying to figure out what’s going on in general – but is what other job can you go for a 2 hour facial in the middle of the afternoon if you fancy de-stressing?
AMUSING MYSELF…
Life is good! The other teachers here are all paired up into couples, and as friendly as they are, I am still the odd person at the end of the evening. Sooooo, to add to my personal entertainment portfolio I have now invested in a 25quid DVD player. Yaaaayyyy! It’s so great. I even have an Uzbeke music VCD. It’s so cool! (What is hilarious is that it took me a week to but a DVD player, to mentally prepare myself to spend so much money at once. I was thinking of buying 7quid speakers for my computer while I was at it, but that just seemed way too self-indulgent. Hahahaa.)
And of course there are all the new people that I am meeting at the moment to keep me entertained too. My new flatmate Brooke will be arriving in a month…
…JUST AFTER MY BIRTHDAY…
Hahaha
Ok, time to do some work!
Cath xxx
Monday, May 17, 2004
Hiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiii
WEBSITE & UP-DATES
Right - keep checking this site instead of my website, because due to a combination of difficulty and laziness, I won't be able to up date my website for at least the next two weeks. :)
ADDRESS
ANYWAY! I now have an postal address and telephone numbers, which I'll be sending out via email. If you'd like it (OF COURSE YOU WOULD!) but don't receive it by Thursday, email me and I'll send it out to you personally - you might even get an interesting word or two out of me in reply. (I'll take this opportunity to remind everyone that my TWENTY FIFTH birthday is at the end of Juuuuuuuuuuune............ ;)
Right, I can't remember what I wrote in my last update... general first impressions I think. (I'm having trouble seeing my weblog, so bear with me if I get disjointed or repetitive!!) I've now been here a week, and still thrilled to pieces that I'm here. The weather has taken a leap into the luxurious, and it is beautifully warm and sunny every day. It's also fruit and night market season, so I've been indulging in the local ways of relaxation and munching.
NOW, A LONG AWAITED WORD ON FOOD
Xinjiang has fabulous ice cream - hurrah. It's the Uighur influence that is responsible for this. It will be my downfall.
I've been eating LOTS :) trying out all the food, it's amazing here. Other foods I've tried include open-air hot pots. These are boiling pots in the middle of your table with spicy and non-spicy sections. In these pots you cook ALL sorts of yummy things on sticks - they there are EVERYWHERE, but primarily in the open air night markets.
Secondly, I've developed a relationship with the munchy-yummy freshly made noodle dish called "ban mein". These are a lot like the Japanese Udon noodles; it's a "Hui"** ethnic minority dish and a current favourite of mine. Ban Mein is the generic dish, but it comes in MANY variations (which I have yet to learn how to pronounce). And finally I've also tried some Uighur food called "Polo" with kebabs. You all know kebabs, but as for Polo is simply a Central Asian fried rice made with really nice short grain rice (softer, and nicer in my mind than "normal rice"), carrots, raisins, and tiny strips of lamb, if you want meat.
** So far I've learnt about three local ethnicities. There's the Chinese, the slight majority here; then there's the "Uighur" (who I look like), they're Eurasian looking and Muslim; and there's the "Hui" who look Chinese but are Muslim.
HOW WILL I SURVIVE????
This is a short note that will only make sense to those of you who have lived or worked in close proximity to me:
Urumqi HAS NO DIET PEPSI OR DIET COKE. There is no alternative. I am mildly traumatised and think about diet Pepsi pretty much every hour. I think I'm starting to fantasise about it now. It's scary. Anyway, I will either learn to adapt to drinking water or die of depravation, I'll keep you up-to-date on this aspect of my personal development ;)
LANGUAGES...
Ok folks, speaking of personal development - CHECK THIS OUT. I've started taking BOTH Chinese and Uighur lessons. Chinese because I will starve / get lost and die if I don't learn it, and Uighur because as soon as I can speak it, my disguise as an ethnic minority will be flawless and complete.
For all those who are curious, Uighur is a language based on the Arabic alphabet (I think! At least it is according to some websites). Go to this link to see more:
http://www.uighurlanguage.com/
I've convinced a local university student to teach Uighur to me - but it's a pretty casual and unfocused set-up, so we'll see how it goes!
Time to go now, I'm getting "get off the computer you slacker" vibes from one of the people who's actually wanting to do work ;) hahahahaaaaaaaa
Miss you! xxx
WEBSITE & UP-DATES
Right - keep checking this site instead of my website, because due to a combination of difficulty and laziness, I won't be able to up date my website for at least the next two weeks. :)
ADDRESS
ANYWAY! I now have an postal address and telephone numbers, which I'll be sending out via email. If you'd like it (OF COURSE YOU WOULD!) but don't receive it by Thursday, email me and I'll send it out to you personally - you might even get an interesting word or two out of me in reply. (I'll take this opportunity to remind everyone that my TWENTY FIFTH birthday is at the end of Juuuuuuuuuuune............ ;)
Right, I can't remember what I wrote in my last update... general first impressions I think. (I'm having trouble seeing my weblog, so bear with me if I get disjointed or repetitive!!) I've now been here a week, and still thrilled to pieces that I'm here. The weather has taken a leap into the luxurious, and it is beautifully warm and sunny every day. It's also fruit and night market season, so I've been indulging in the local ways of relaxation and munching.
NOW, A LONG AWAITED WORD ON FOOD
Xinjiang has fabulous ice cream - hurrah. It's the Uighur influence that is responsible for this. It will be my downfall.
I've been eating LOTS :) trying out all the food, it's amazing here. Other foods I've tried include open-air hot pots. These are boiling pots in the middle of your table with spicy and non-spicy sections. In these pots you cook ALL sorts of yummy things on sticks - they there are EVERYWHERE, but primarily in the open air night markets.
Secondly, I've developed a relationship with the munchy-yummy freshly made noodle dish called "ban mein". These are a lot like the Japanese Udon noodles; it's a "Hui"** ethnic minority dish and a current favourite of mine. Ban Mein is the generic dish, but it comes in MANY variations (which I have yet to learn how to pronounce). And finally I've also tried some Uighur food called "Polo" with kebabs. You all know kebabs, but as for Polo is simply a Central Asian fried rice made with really nice short grain rice (softer, and nicer in my mind than "normal rice"), carrots, raisins, and tiny strips of lamb, if you want meat.
** So far I've learnt about three local ethnicities. There's the Chinese, the slight majority here; then there's the "Uighur" (who I look like), they're Eurasian looking and Muslim; and there's the "Hui" who look Chinese but are Muslim.
HOW WILL I SURVIVE????
This is a short note that will only make sense to those of you who have lived or worked in close proximity to me:
Urumqi HAS NO DIET PEPSI OR DIET COKE. There is no alternative. I am mildly traumatised and think about diet Pepsi pretty much every hour. I think I'm starting to fantasise about it now. It's scary. Anyway, I will either learn to adapt to drinking water or die of depravation, I'll keep you up-to-date on this aspect of my personal development ;)
LANGUAGES...
Ok folks, speaking of personal development - CHECK THIS OUT. I've started taking BOTH Chinese and Uighur lessons. Chinese because I will starve / get lost and die if I don't learn it, and Uighur because as soon as I can speak it, my disguise as an ethnic minority will be flawless and complete.
For all those who are curious, Uighur is a language based on the Arabic alphabet (I think! At least it is according to some websites). Go to this link to see more:
http://www.uighurlanguage.com/
I've convinced a local university student to teach Uighur to me - but it's a pretty casual and unfocused set-up, so we'll see how it goes!
Time to go now, I'm getting "get off the computer you slacker" vibes from one of the people who's actually wanting to do work ;) hahahahaaaaaaaa
Miss you! xxx
Friday, May 14, 2004
Tuesday, May 11, 2004
Hello everyone!
(I'm having problems sending emails out at the moment, so if you've looked here, check here often)
ANYWAY:
The centre of Asia is amazing – every dimension of this place has me in awe (for probably the first time in my life). To put this awe into perspective: *I* forgot to eat for a whole day…. It wasn’t until this afternoon when someone asked me what I thought about Uiger food that I realized I hadn’t tried any yet, and in fact, hadn’t eaten since my flight to Beijing. So – I have arrived safely, and thank you to everyone who has sent me an email so far. The email connections at work are very slow at the moment; this is apparently not a permanent problem though. Therefore, in the meantime here is an email to let you all know that I have made it to Urumqi and am extremely happy with everything I have seen so far.
To give you the rind of what I am experiencing here: the school is brilliant. The place is completely decked out and I am very impressed. The other teachers are soooo charming, all in all they are really nice and are friendly company. Even the boss is an inspiring person – hey what more can one possibly ask for?
As for my apartment – it is HUGE and very very nice. For all those of you who saw my place in Brick Lane, it is bigger and better than that. At the moment I am flatmateless, so I have my own flat. This arrangement and size of flat has, therefore, got to be the pinnacle of my living standards to date (who would have thought I would achieve the height of my living standards in Urumqi???). I also managed to accidentally buy about two years worth of gas supply (I though paying for 7pounds worth of gas on my prepaid account would be a good start, but apparently this will provide my apartment with hot water and cooking facilities into mid 2006. hahahahaaaaa. Can't complain.
It has to be said that the Chinese are efficient too; I've already got my bank account and cash card. I am impressed.
On a tangent, everyone in the city thinks I am Uiger (for those who don’t know, this is the Eurasian-Muslim ethnic minority that lives in this province). This is quite nice as I'm not subject to the enmass-staring that my colleagues experience every time they walk down the street. It does confuse people though, when I have to tell them that I down speak either Uiger or Chinese. They must think I’m the most redundant human being on earth. Hahahaaaa.
Anyway, very busy adjusting and absorbing. I will be setting up Internet at home sometime soon (when I can in the next month) (hopefully) and then I'll be in more precise and regular contact after that!
Chat to you soon, xxxxxxxxxxxxxx
(I'm having problems sending emails out at the moment, so if you've looked here, check here often)
ANYWAY:
The centre of Asia is amazing – every dimension of this place has me in awe (for probably the first time in my life). To put this awe into perspective: *I* forgot to eat for a whole day…. It wasn’t until this afternoon when someone asked me what I thought about Uiger food that I realized I hadn’t tried any yet, and in fact, hadn’t eaten since my flight to Beijing. So – I have arrived safely, and thank you to everyone who has sent me an email so far. The email connections at work are very slow at the moment; this is apparently not a permanent problem though. Therefore, in the meantime here is an email to let you all know that I have made it to Urumqi and am extremely happy with everything I have seen so far.
To give you the rind of what I am experiencing here: the school is brilliant. The place is completely decked out and I am very impressed. The other teachers are soooo charming, all in all they are really nice and are friendly company. Even the boss is an inspiring person – hey what more can one possibly ask for?
As for my apartment – it is HUGE and very very nice. For all those of you who saw my place in Brick Lane, it is bigger and better than that. At the moment I am flatmateless, so I have my own flat. This arrangement and size of flat has, therefore, got to be the pinnacle of my living standards to date (who would have thought I would achieve the height of my living standards in Urumqi???). I also managed to accidentally buy about two years worth of gas supply (I though paying for 7pounds worth of gas on my prepaid account would be a good start, but apparently this will provide my apartment with hot water and cooking facilities into mid 2006. hahahahaaaaa. Can't complain.
It has to be said that the Chinese are efficient too; I've already got my bank account and cash card. I am impressed.
On a tangent, everyone in the city thinks I am Uiger (for those who don’t know, this is the Eurasian-Muslim ethnic minority that lives in this province). This is quite nice as I'm not subject to the enmass-staring that my colleagues experience every time they walk down the street. It does confuse people though, when I have to tell them that I down speak either Uiger or Chinese. They must think I’m the most redundant human being on earth. Hahahaaaa.
Anyway, very busy adjusting and absorbing. I will be setting up Internet at home sometime soon (when I can in the next month) (hopefully) and then I'll be in more precise and regular contact after that!
Chat to you soon, xxxxxxxxxxxxxx
Sunday, May 09, 2004
Oooooo so exciting! I got an email today and I've been commissioned to write a feature article on Urumqi, for the travel website Insideoutmag.com. Yaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaay. It will be published on their site sometime this summer. I'll post more details then, and when it is published everyone must go read it. Everyone. :) :) :) Celebrate my sole pittance-paid piece of writing. Yaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaay.
Saturday, May 08, 2004
School was cancelled today because of rain!!!!! (the mad tropical kind of rain) Yaaaaaaaay.
Needless to say, I'm starting to understand the perks of being a teacher - waking up in the morning with fingers crossed for hard rain / typhoons / being snowed in....
... not that I don't like my job, but who doesn't love an extra day in bed? (especially when you still have the flu)
Needless to say, I'm starting to understand the perks of being a teacher - waking up in the morning with fingers crossed for hard rain / typhoons / being snowed in....
... not that I don't like my job, but who doesn't love an extra day in bed? (especially when you still have the flu)
Thursday, May 06, 2004
Yay!
Weblog is up and running.
Ok folks, I'm still in Hong Kong and still flu ridden. Despite the sheer mass of medical drugs I am consuming, the lergie lingers. It's a little stressful at the moment as, ill as I may be, I have to figure how to get my worldly possessions back into my 20kg space in time to transport with me to Urumqi on Monday morning. It's not fitting.
I've started to truly resent baggage allowance.
Weblog is up and running.
Ok folks, I'm still in Hong Kong and still flu ridden. Despite the sheer mass of medical drugs I am consuming, the lergie lingers. It's a little stressful at the moment as, ill as I may be, I have to figure how to get my worldly possessions back into my 20kg space in time to transport with me to Urumqi on Monday morning. It's not fitting.
I've started to truly resent baggage allowance.
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