I still can't see my blog, I've given up on trying to, as long as I can still up-date this site, I'm happy.
But anyway! The first phase of the summer school (July) is now over, and it really wasn't that bad :). I was busy, but I'm alive!
The second half of the summer madness, August, is set to be much easier too as the school kids (the majority of our customers) head back to school earlier than normal this year and can't enrol on month-long courses for August. This means we have fewer lessons during the day and our schedule as a whole lightens up. Hurray :)
With all this new found time on my hands I'm trying to decide what productive activities to get up to in the day. The grand plan is to learn more Chinese (I've been here 2 and a half months, and the language learning is really not going very quickly... maybe I should start *trying* (clever)).
ARTICLE!
Running onto something else: The article that some of you know I've been writing is finally about to be published online, yay, tomorrow :) They're running it as a two part feature for the website I'm writing for. Half of my article will be published in Aug (American time), you can see this first half in this month's issue at:
www.insideoutmag.com
The second half of teh article will follow in September's issue. Obviously it's been through the editor's hands, so changes have been made but I like it. However, I'm not sure how much sense it will make to anyone else until the second half of the article comes out, let me know what you think!
For those who haven't seen me in a while, my hair is also somewhat longer than in the picture on the website too (small pleasures ;). Those photos I promised long ago, of the mountains - plus more, will finally be coming out (when I find a good, free, web-based photo hosting service - I ran out of space on the last one).
Time to find some food...
P.S. Belated Happy Birthday to Dad and Uncle J over the past few weeks!
Loadsa love
Cath xxx
Saturday, July 31, 2004
Monday, July 19, 2004
In spite of my sloth genes (there have to be some, it's the only way to explain my common irrational laziness) I have FINALLY managed to sort out my Internet at home. This is where I am sitting this very second - hurrah hurrah, yay me.
It's raining; it's been raining all night and day; what's up with that???? This is Oasis country. At least the temperature has dived a much-needed 10 degrees or more. It's brilliant. Though I am having bad-hair-day issues...
I've got way too much work to do at the moment, which (re: above sloth genes) I have left ALL till the evening before anything is required. Eep. Lesson plans, end of course reports, articles, and all that is before I start on the household neglect.... mopping (Mike & Deb: I have learnt nothing), laundry.. blah blah-dee blah.
How is it 8pm already?
Better get to it!
Loads of rained on love,
Cath xxx
It's raining; it's been raining all night and day; what's up with that???? This is Oasis country. At least the temperature has dived a much-needed 10 degrees or more. It's brilliant. Though I am having bad-hair-day issues...
I've got way too much work to do at the moment, which (re: above sloth genes) I have left ALL till the evening before anything is required. Eep. Lesson plans, end of course reports, articles, and all that is before I start on the household neglect.... mopping (Mike & Deb: I have learnt nothing), laundry.. blah blah-dee blah.
How is it 8pm already?
Better get to it!
Loads of rained on love,
Cath xxx
Saturday, July 17, 2004
Hello all -
The internet in China has pretty much stalled for the month of July... hence why I haven't been psoting or emailing recently. It's been a while, I know...
Urumqi had the hottest day for 25 years yesterday - 41 degrees. Everyone continues as normal however. Today feels much cooler - at 35 degrees; it's dry, so it really is alright at 35 degrees. 41, however, felt liek you were walkign into a blow dryer everytime you left a building.
THA FLATMATE ARRIVAL!
Brooke has finally arrived, and Stan has moved to a new apartment across the way. Brooke a great - but I haven't had a chance to really sit down and speak with her as my work scedule is filled to the brim.
DRIPS...
I was ill the other day and ended up needing antibiotics. Now, nothing major normally, however, this was my first experience with Chinese hospitals and doctors. China is obsessed with drips - the needle in your arm pumping away kind. I've had three drips in the past half-week. MADNESS - these are the Chinese equivalent of doing a short course of antibiotics, except instead of swallowing a couple of pills every 6 hours, you lie in a little clinic (which are abundant and all over the city) and doze while you're needled up once a day. It's actually a nice excuse to have a two hour nap, adn is apparently more effective than pills (in the west it's just too expensive and time consuming to do it this way). We even had "Return of the King" playing on the TV, for entertainment, during the last session I had.
PAR-TAY
Tonight is Nikolai's b'day (one of the other teachers here) - so it's party time in the 4th floor apartment. Looking forwrad to it, it will be a nice break from pretending to know how to teach... :)
Ooo my class starts in three minutes... I had better move tush.
No time to spell check, sorreeee.
Loadsa hugs
Cath xxxxxxxxxxxxx
The internet in China has pretty much stalled for the month of July... hence why I haven't been psoting or emailing recently. It's been a while, I know...
Urumqi had the hottest day for 25 years yesterday - 41 degrees. Everyone continues as normal however. Today feels much cooler - at 35 degrees; it's dry, so it really is alright at 35 degrees. 41, however, felt liek you were walkign into a blow dryer everytime you left a building.
THA FLATMATE ARRIVAL!
Brooke has finally arrived, and Stan has moved to a new apartment across the way. Brooke a great - but I haven't had a chance to really sit down and speak with her as my work scedule is filled to the brim.
DRIPS...
I was ill the other day and ended up needing antibiotics. Now, nothing major normally, however, this was my first experience with Chinese hospitals and doctors. China is obsessed with drips - the needle in your arm pumping away kind. I've had three drips in the past half-week. MADNESS - these are the Chinese equivalent of doing a short course of antibiotics, except instead of swallowing a couple of pills every 6 hours, you lie in a little clinic (which are abundant and all over the city) and doze while you're needled up once a day. It's actually a nice excuse to have a two hour nap, adn is apparently more effective than pills (in the west it's just too expensive and time consuming to do it this way). We even had "Return of the King" playing on the TV, for entertainment, during the last session I had.
PAR-TAY
Tonight is Nikolai's b'day (one of the other teachers here) - so it's party time in the 4th floor apartment. Looking forwrad to it, it will be a nice break from pretending to know how to teach... :)
Ooo my class starts in three minutes... I had better move tush.
No time to spell check, sorreeee.
Loadsa hugs
Cath xxxxxxxxxxxxx
Monday, July 05, 2004
Ahhhhhhhh
The summer school starts today - fear.. fear... in essence this means a WHOLE lot of work for the next two months.
In truth though, the hours allocated to the teachers aren't half as bad as they have been in past, and not as bad as I've been led to believe (led to believe by both people in general, and people who should know better). Today should be ok, I have two classes (2 hours long). Tomorrow is three... then two the next day, then three again... blah blah.
I won't go on. You get the idea.
The weekend was a great one, house parties, meeting new people, savouring the last few days of freedom before the summer course...
Also - Hussein, it was fantastic to hear from you (even if it WAS 5am in the morning). We'll definitely chat soon - and keep harressing Steph until she gets back to us.
STEPH! Where are you????????????????????
JB - if you're back online - how was the move?
Margo - if you're online later, I'll be chatting...
Dad - I know, I STILL haven't called you, how are you? Email meeeeee
Chat to you all soon, lessons to plan (ha... oh dear).
Loadsa love
Cath xxx
The summer school starts today - fear.. fear... in essence this means a WHOLE lot of work for the next two months.
In truth though, the hours allocated to the teachers aren't half as bad as they have been in past, and not as bad as I've been led to believe (led to believe by both people in general, and people who should know better). Today should be ok, I have two classes (2 hours long). Tomorrow is three... then two the next day, then three again... blah blah.
I won't go on. You get the idea.
The weekend was a great one, house parties, meeting new people, savouring the last few days of freedom before the summer course...
Also - Hussein, it was fantastic to hear from you (even if it WAS 5am in the morning). We'll definitely chat soon - and keep harressing Steph until she gets back to us.
STEPH! Where are you????????????????????
JB - if you're back online - how was the move?
Margo - if you're online later, I'll be chatting...
Dad - I know, I STILL haven't called you, how are you? Email meeeeee
Chat to you all soon, lessons to plan (ha... oh dear).
Loadsa love
Cath xxx
Friday, July 02, 2004
Hi everyone
Email is back on track - yay :)
I have 15 minutes until my next class, so this will be a short one (first class that is completing - which means all sorts of weird ceremonial activities, parents watching, and all sorts of nerve-wracking things which shouldn't occur in the morning... ugh).
ANYWAY! In general news, Mike and Deb have been here for a few days - they arrived on Wednesday. We've been gallivanting off in the mountains, without life risking moments this time. Hurrah. Actually, we found the "right" place to go in the Nan Shan mountain range - and it's absolutely worth it. It really is spectacular - the alpine views, the yurt villages that we live in, the horse riding, etc etc etc. I'll post some more photos up when I have a free moment.
Mike and Deb are off to Kashgar today, but they'll be back to cath-base-camp by next week.
As for me, I've basically been living it up in our mountain yurt, entertaining the guests with my bad singing.... NO, no singing (well, I think Mike was singing somewhere down the line..) but, no, just plain old hosting-entertaining.
Another bit of news, workwise, is that next week is the start of the summer school (eep). Which means working my butt off 6 days a week until Sept. A little daunting, but if we do overtime, we get paid well for it... and it's only 2 months... we'll see how it goes. As a result of that I'm planning a week off around Sept / October... not sure what I'll do yet. I might go over to ChengDu, or try and visit the Northern parts of this province (the chilled out Alpine-y bit). Will keep you all up to date once I can make a decision...
Decisions are hard and frankly over-rated.
Ok, work.
Chat later!
Cath xxx
Email is back on track - yay :)
I have 15 minutes until my next class, so this will be a short one (first class that is completing - which means all sorts of weird ceremonial activities, parents watching, and all sorts of nerve-wracking things which shouldn't occur in the morning... ugh).
ANYWAY! In general news, Mike and Deb have been here for a few days - they arrived on Wednesday. We've been gallivanting off in the mountains, without life risking moments this time. Hurrah. Actually, we found the "right" place to go in the Nan Shan mountain range - and it's absolutely worth it. It really is spectacular - the alpine views, the yurt villages that we live in, the horse riding, etc etc etc. I'll post some more photos up when I have a free moment.
Mike and Deb are off to Kashgar today, but they'll be back to cath-base-camp by next week.
As for me, I've basically been living it up in our mountain yurt, entertaining the guests with my bad singing.... NO, no singing (well, I think Mike was singing somewhere down the line..) but, no, just plain old hosting-entertaining.
Another bit of news, workwise, is that next week is the start of the summer school (eep). Which means working my butt off 6 days a week until Sept. A little daunting, but if we do overtime, we get paid well for it... and it's only 2 months... we'll see how it goes. As a result of that I'm planning a week off around Sept / October... not sure what I'll do yet. I might go over to ChengDu, or try and visit the Northern parts of this province (the chilled out Alpine-y bit). Will keep you all up to date once I can make a decision...
Decisions are hard and frankly over-rated.
Ok, work.
Chat later!
Cath xxx
Saturday, June 26, 2004
Hi all - I have sent out a lot of emails, but they've all bounced back :(. The LSE email system seems to be on the blink (for me)... so please bear with me! Hopefully it'll be resolved soon....
In hte meantime I can still recieve emails.
Had a brilliant birthday by the way! Thanks for all the birthday wishes!
Cath xxx
In hte meantime I can still recieve emails.
Had a brilliant birthday by the way! Thanks for all the birthday wishes!
Cath xxx
Thursday, June 24, 2004
Oh yeah - one recent change (motivated by the thought of many visitors into my apartment), is that I finally tried to decorate (to a degree). I now have fairy lights draped all over the living room - some in a rather conventional manner (if fairy lights across one's living room can be called conventional), and some in a more artistic formation behind the TV.
It's starting to give me a headache actually… they flash in a completely uncoordinated way (what did I expect for 15 yuan????). Maybe I'll adapt.... they took too long to put up (I'll take a photo and post it online sometime soon).
Right.. work...
Cath xxx
It's starting to give me a headache actually… they flash in a completely uncoordinated way (what did I expect for 15 yuan????). Maybe I'll adapt.... they took too long to put up (I'll take a photo and post it online sometime soon).
Right.. work...
Cath xxx
I'm now recovering from birthday party in the flat last night, thankfully I was too pissed to stay up for the soul destroying England loss (at around 4am our time). I'm sitting here not doing too much of anything, but I am considering doing my lesson plans at some point...
It is a bit necessary too. Ugh. Whole body is slow....
Anyway, the party was great; I had a really good time. It was a house party, as the local pub has abruptly been shut down, so there is not external booze-focal-point for our crew at the moment. (Disorientating.) But, unlike house parties I avoid, this one was quite fun.
Generally I'm looking forward to next week when Mike and Debbie arrive. It will be nice to:
a) see Mike again!
b) See someone other than the same people I see day in day out
c) get out of Urumqi and into the mountains again
I think I'm just too slow to be witty, so I'll end this entry today! Chat to some of you over the phone tomorrow no doubt!
Cath xxx
It is a bit necessary too. Ugh. Whole body is slow....
Anyway, the party was great; I had a really good time. It was a house party, as the local pub has abruptly been shut down, so there is not external booze-focal-point for our crew at the moment. (Disorientating.) But, unlike house parties I avoid, this one was quite fun.
Generally I'm looking forward to next week when Mike and Debbie arrive. It will be nice to:
a) see Mike again!
b) See someone other than the same people I see day in day out
c) get out of Urumqi and into the mountains again
I think I'm just too slow to be witty, so I'll end this entry today! Chat to some of you over the phone tomorrow no doubt!
Cath xxx
Tuesday, June 22, 2004
Yaaayyyy thrilled to pieces - Mike Hoevel (for those of you who know him) will be visiting me in Urumqi next week. Emily, JB and Bill know Mike.... he's travelling through XinJiang. Hopefully we'll get a chance to go out to Nan Shan again (the South Mountains) for a less life-defying trip of gentle hikes and an overnight stay in a yurt (Uyghur/Kazak teepee entity).
Other than that, Dad - thinking of you during your operation!
Also I'm busy organising my b'day party this Thursday (I'm working this a bit weekend, so the hangover has been strategically planned for Friday, my day off - when absolutely nothing is required of me). Not too much exciting news really... I've been busy working (Monday and Tuesday are big workload days for me, so day is generally the day where I slow down).
Teacher's meeting... must go.
Cath xxxx
Other than that, Dad - thinking of you during your operation!
Also I'm busy organising my b'day party this Thursday (I'm working this a bit weekend, so the hangover has been strategically planned for Friday, my day off - when absolutely nothing is required of me). Not too much exciting news really... I've been busy working (Monday and Tuesday are big workload days for me, so day is generally the day where I slow down).
Teacher's meeting... must go.
Cath xxxx
Friday, June 18, 2004
Hello all,
We're advertising for new teachers, and considering I really like the place I'm putting our ad up here too (go on, you know you want to come out here and play (I mean, work) with me, we can go for two hours facials together):
Teach English Along The Silk Road!
Urumqi EF Training Centre is currently looking for full time English teachers to start work both immediately and in September. The Urumqi branch of English First was opened two years ago and has fast become one of the most progressive schools in the west of China. Situated in the very heart of Asia it is a perfect place to experience both teaching and living in the cultural melting pot of China's far west. We are looking for relaxed, dynamic teachers with prior experience and qualifications in the ESL field who are willing to spend a year in this remote yet colourful city.
Teachers are required to work a five-day week during the off-season and a six-day week throughout the peak season, weekly teaching hours average about twenty real hours. Overtime is paid for hours exceeding those stated on the contract. Airfares, accommodation, insurance, visas and Chinese lessons are all provided by the school. Monthly salaries start from 5,500RMB and a generous bonus scheme enables successful teachers to considerably supplement their income.
So if you're enthusiastic, creative and enjoy a challenge, why not become part of our rapidly expanding team?
For further information or application please send an up to date CV and a pair of references to Ian Frankish:
ian.Frankish@englishfirst.com.cn
i_frankish@yahoo.co.uk
Visit our school's link at: http://www.englishfirst.com.cn/city/intro.asp?id=21
We're advertising for new teachers, and considering I really like the place I'm putting our ad up here too (go on, you know you want to come out here and play (I mean, work) with me, we can go for two hours facials together):
Teach English Along The Silk Road!
Urumqi EF Training Centre is currently looking for full time English teachers to start work both immediately and in September. The Urumqi branch of English First was opened two years ago and has fast become one of the most progressive schools in the west of China. Situated in the very heart of Asia it is a perfect place to experience both teaching and living in the cultural melting pot of China's far west. We are looking for relaxed, dynamic teachers with prior experience and qualifications in the ESL field who are willing to spend a year in this remote yet colourful city.
Teachers are required to work a five-day week during the off-season and a six-day week throughout the peak season, weekly teaching hours average about twenty real hours. Overtime is paid for hours exceeding those stated on the contract. Airfares, accommodation, insurance, visas and Chinese lessons are all provided by the school. Monthly salaries start from 5,500RMB and a generous bonus scheme enables successful teachers to considerably supplement their income.
So if you're enthusiastic, creative and enjoy a challenge, why not become part of our rapidly expanding team?
For further information or application please send an up to date CV and a pair of references to Ian Frankish:
ian.Frankish@englishfirst.com.cn
i_frankish@yahoo.co.uk
Visit our school's link at: http://www.englishfirst.com.cn/city/intro.asp?id=21
Wednesday, June 16, 2004
MY FIRST VISITOR!
Life has slowed down a bit this week. I'm just working away, the sun is shining, I'm trying not to eat and drink as much as I do.... the food here is just too addictive. And that's before I get started on the ice-cream.
On Monday though, I had my first visitor! HUGE thanks to Emily for taking the slight detour to come by Urumqi to see me :). It was awesome to see you, plus brilliant seeing a familiar face too :)
Emily was only here for a day, and a pretty peculiar day it was too. The day consisted of a few aimless wanders; my (foolishly and cruelly) landing Emily an hour of WORK for my school (sorry Emily!!!!! I don't know WHAT I was doing dude!!!!); and finally the unmissable hot-pot with drinks in the evening.
Now - I hope Emily is one of many visitors to come! And I PROMISE not to get you to work for the school if you visit. Promise ;)
Life has slowed down a bit this week. I'm just working away, the sun is shining, I'm trying not to eat and drink as much as I do.... the food here is just too addictive. And that's before I get started on the ice-cream.
On Monday though, I had my first visitor! HUGE thanks to Emily for taking the slight detour to come by Urumqi to see me :). It was awesome to see you, plus brilliant seeing a familiar face too :)
Emily was only here for a day, and a pretty peculiar day it was too. The day consisted of a few aimless wanders; my (foolishly and cruelly) landing Emily an hour of WORK for my school (sorry Emily!!!!! I don't know WHAT I was doing dude!!!!); and finally the unmissable hot-pot with drinks in the evening.
Now - I hope Emily is one of many visitors to come! And I PROMISE not to get you to work for the school if you visit. Promise ;)
Sunday, June 13, 2004
TRIP TO NAN SHAN
Oh, this is a special story. I nearly killed myself in a mad quarry-type ravine last Thursday. Lesson from the day is: do not go on day trips with the crazy Irish people who own bars.
In a nutshell, Nan Shan (the Southern Mountains) are considered Urumqi's lesser mountains. With the Alpine range on the other side of the city (Tian Shan - the Heavenly mountains), Nan Shan is perceived as a bit of a stroll-through-the-fields-day-trip.
Hardly.
These are some serious hard-core mountains. They just aren't 5000m tall like the Heavenly Mountains.
On Thursday we set out to have what I reckoned would be akin to a nice day in the park, wearing off the hangover. I ended up scaling sheer ravines, and undoubtedly putting my life at GREAT risk. (Parents, so not fret, it ended well, and I now know how to scale down a ridiculously steep mountainside to safety - when stuck on a ravine, you learn very quickly).
In sum - sat for two hours in shock after escapade, but I now have a rather useful new life skill. Also I'm unlikely to willingly follow Irish people on "mountain strolls" ever again.
(and the Nan Shan are spectacular)
Oh, this is a special story. I nearly killed myself in a mad quarry-type ravine last Thursday. Lesson from the day is: do not go on day trips with the crazy Irish people who own bars.
In a nutshell, Nan Shan (the Southern Mountains) are considered Urumqi's lesser mountains. With the Alpine range on the other side of the city (Tian Shan - the Heavenly mountains), Nan Shan is perceived as a bit of a stroll-through-the-fields-day-trip.
Hardly.
These are some serious hard-core mountains. They just aren't 5000m tall like the Heavenly Mountains.
On Thursday we set out to have what I reckoned would be akin to a nice day in the park, wearing off the hangover. I ended up scaling sheer ravines, and undoubtedly putting my life at GREAT risk. (Parents, so not fret, it ended well, and I now know how to scale down a ridiculously steep mountainside to safety - when stuck on a ravine, you learn very quickly).
In sum - sat for two hours in shock after escapade, but I now have a rather useful new life skill. Also I'm unlikely to willingly follow Irish people on "mountain strolls" ever again.
(and the Nan Shan are spectacular)
I haven't yet mentioned that I have a new flatmate, Stanley from Missouri.
He's a temporary flatmate - he got hired on the spot, and has no where to live, so Brooke's room is currently dedicated to him until she (my more permanent flatmate) arrives mid July.
Stan and I ware working out just fine. I'm not the best flatmate at the best of times, but we don't have too much in common, which is why I think it works - the situation is more acquaintance-y.
He's a temporary flatmate - he got hired on the spot, and has no where to live, so Brooke's room is currently dedicated to him until she (my more permanent flatmate) arrives mid July.
Stan and I ware working out just fine. I'm not the best flatmate at the best of times, but we don't have too much in common, which is why I think it works - the situation is more acquaintance-y.
Monday, June 07, 2004
Haven't written in a while as I've been super busy. I'm doing a lot of adult classes at the moment, which is fun and means my work is more spread out than others (a lot of other teachers have solid weekends of kids classes, but much freer weeks). My work is spread pretty evenly throught the week.
Having said that, poor Steve has both. Sucks to be him.
ANYWAY, life is good and I'm settling in. Also - I have a new (and temporary) flatmate, Stanley. He's cool, but he's only staying in the free bedroom until they've sorted out his apartment. My more permenent flatmate, Brooke, arrives in a little over a month.
I've also sent off my article (HUR-RAH), it was starting to hand over my head a bit... I'm still waiting for feedback from the Editor though. So I'm not exactly relaxed about it just yet.
Busy busy, will write more later.
Cath xxxx
Having said that, poor Steve has both. Sucks to be him.
ANYWAY, life is good and I'm settling in. Also - I have a new (and temporary) flatmate, Stanley. He's cool, but he's only staying in the free bedroom until they've sorted out his apartment. My more permenent flatmate, Brooke, arrives in a little over a month.
I've also sent off my article (HUR-RAH), it was starting to hand over my head a bit... I'm still waiting for feedback from the Editor though. So I'm not exactly relaxed about it just yet.
Busy busy, will write more later.
Cath xxxx
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
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