some more pics... little random

Jing An Temple... in the middle of the City. Opposite the temple is a v nice Park, Quite peaceful to walk around.

Pic from the Chinese School I go to...
Where I study it's in a Apartment complex that normally caters to City Staff /expats and so on. It seems to be normal to find offices in these environments, another chinese school I visited was located on the 14th floor nearish by...

Gonna try something brave?

Well took me over an hour to go set myself up with a Chinese Bank account so it's much easier to access my monies during my stay here in China.

Gonna try something a bit more exciting today... gonna try and get a hair cut!!!
Now do you think 1st they gonna understand my shitty chinese on what style I like or....
.... cut it and just make it look like the average F.O.B. you see in the UK?

Will upload the results later...

Visited Yu Gardens today...

Went out today to visit Yu (Yuyuan Gardens, which was sometime build in the Ming Dynasty (1559-77).
Basically this place is a sort of Market stall area but with purpose built shops all surrounding the Perimeter. I Didn't actually venture inside this occasion... but just enjoyed the food and strolling through the shops... where you can buy some pretty decent looking souvenirs.
Here you should be able to also try the Shanghai Dumplings here as well.. but be aware it's very popular I had to wait 30 mins to sit down.. and another 10-15 mins for the food to arrive...
Forgot to take pics of this... but will try to take some next time...!
This place is a decent area to chill out with friends or take a date to...

Still alive… just bored…

Been Spending this week eating a lot a lot…

Family I’m with tend to over fed… and normally I would have lot of avenues to release this energy.. (yeah don’t read into that too much friend’s !) that as well as munching up and down the street on the way to school or the shops.

So starting to get this feeling I’m getting fat!

Yes it’s complete bollocks and I would have to live like this for a month to actually get fat… but I don’t want to have to exercise twice as hard just to get back to “normal” levels of fitness.

It’s a pain an arse to go running here… cuz the air is soo dusty or smoggy.. you can’t really run far for a bus without getting very breathless or coughing.

So stuck to doing my exercises indoors… may end up seeking sports to do inside… such as badminton or martial arts.

Chinese Lessons have started this week… Defiantly improving at a much faster rate to the lessons I had had 2 yrs ago @ university. Being able to practice everyday and not shy away from the homework helps a lot.

Have about 2 weeks to finish my 1^st basic level to move the 2^nd basic.

Slagging off the traffic here is an easy thing to do… especially as the images of rush hour London but more… come to mind. One has to remember that China has a bigger population then most of the World.
Alone here in Shanghai its 13.3 million people compared to the 7 million in London.
But the things I wish … that cyclists and mopeds would obey the traffic lights… when the pedestrian lights come on… you get run over trying to cross with the constant barrage of cyclist or mopeds (btw there are 5 million in use everyday… 10 million bikes are owned in Shanghai).

Traffic management is a pain too… cuz they follow the American style of lane traffic light behaviour which means… cars can turn right when the lights are red.
They do have traffic patrol officers at the busy junctions… where they stop pedestrians from killing themselves crossing the road… as well as offer helpful directions to people (in chinese of course). They are v recognizable as people with a baseball cap and Bright Green visible waistcoat oh yes and a Whistle.

Trains around here also seem to start v early from 5 20 am and stop around 1030pm onwards… depending where of course you are…

Experience my 1^st fare dodger yesterday… normally in London you get people who follow you on the tube behind you on your swipe.. here it’s much the same but a bit more painful if he /she is slow…
The barriers are v much like the barriers @ a swimming pool @ reception they rotate sticking a bit of metal to block people from following…
This Dick couldn’t get his card to work on the barrier next to mine… so ghosted behind me on my swipe… but the dick was slow so he caught the barrier in my leg and his leg.. if he was half a second later he would have caught his and my nuts!
Fucking screwed at him in English and Cantonese… haven’t learned how to screw in mandarin yet…!!!

Positive things… so far haven’t encounter any crime so far… although I haven’t been able to read the newspapers so have no idea… but there isn’t a strong need here for Police Community Support Officers (in London).

Picked up this month’s Men’s Health in Chinese. Well 1^st it’s great that they offer such a magazine.. it’s pretty similar to the British Copy you have exercises to try… food to eat (but local Chinese variety), sports to try, clothes to style and local celebrities to read about and emulate.

Pretty useful for Chinese people as it’s hard to breakdown a Chinese menu of food to work out what you should be eating for bulking or toning or maintaining of diet.
Oh the magazine is in simplified Chinese!

Ate yesterday at an Italian café / restaurant frequented by French businessman. Was missing western food a bit.. and wanted a change… Inside these restaurants you can find a lot of western newspapers, adverts, time out guides (local equivalent) and so on… very useful should you din yourself without internet and wanting to socialise.

Heading out to shops this weekend… aiming to start freshen my wardrobe… as finally fed up of the same 2 outfits I keep wearing… yeah I do change my skives everyday as well!

tried my 1st bus trip today

Tried my 1st bus Trip today... was kind of twisted into it... The Family I'm staying with are too worried about things... told them I knew how to get there(to Chinese school)... just needed the subway station end of the road...

Bus trip took under 2 hours... basically if I look at it like London.. its like getting from zone 5 to zone 1 eg.... from Heathrow to Oxford Street.
On the Subway trip home it took around an hour.
Buses are ok.. they do make announcements in Chinese and English of the street its stopping by or the local famous place... so once you know what bus number your on... just keep an eye where you need to stop.
They do get packed... so don't be a wuss when people on people stand on your feet or push to get pass... its just how it is...but gives great cover for pickpockets (as I keep getting reminded... have not been jacked yet...)
Oh yes... like the most transport in the city... buses are on manual(stick)... so hold on tight... cuz they jerk the bus like crazy trying to stop or dodge people.

They have something similar to The HK Octopus Card and the London Oyster card... its called Shanghai Public Transportation Card... no flash name! ( in chinese "Jilting")
The Deal is you can use it for one way fares (no one days...or weekly.. or price caps or anything) on the bus, subway, ferry, taxi, light railway and so on...
Other uses... The usage is now extended to highway fees, car services fees, and can be used to pay electricity, gas, and water.
* from http://home.wangjianshuo.com/archives/20060808_shanghai_public_transportation_card.htm

On the way home... stopped off at this ghetto market place build into the flats... from a make shift corrugated roof... had your usual fresh vegs and fruit but in the back you had the v much alive stock... so next to you fresh water fish you can pick to eat... you can also pick the chicken to make sure it's farm fresh!

Another thing I noticed... so much stuff at the supermarket is always expired like the yoghurt drink... since I can't be arsed to hunt for a in date one... I always end up drinking it anyway... hasn't done anything yet... got some immodium just in case anyways...

Random pics by the Bund, Shanghai

Took a stroll along the Bund today, Got fed up with my phone credit running down as people call me... the deal in China is you get charged for receiving phone calls... which end up draining your credit quicker then you know!!!
So shot down here to chat to the phone shops to sort something out...
Whilst I was there I took a wander around... being a saturday... v busy and lots going on...

Fruit Street...
Me
Fruit on a Stick
City Skyline
City Skyline 2
Government Buildings
Customs House
Me along River
Dragon Head / Pearl Tower
World Expo Shanghai 2010
Yao the basketball player promoting Beijing Olympics 2008 by River Boat Flashing TV
Lots of No's and Don't do's on the subway

Couple of Useful techniques with today technology... to survive in a different country

couple of things I've managed to use to "talk"... or use to get around

• Downloading maps to my PDA... anything from a capture from a Google Map to the local subway map... bare useful... when you don't want to pull everything out of your book or your bag. (this could work for a Camera or Phone)
  
• Downloading the address written in the local writing... on this occasion in Chinese... easy to flash to the Taxi Driver and he shoot off without bemusing himself reading your hand writing... or flicking the pages of your phrase book as he/she doesn't understand you!
• Using you mobile phone to talk numbers... so when you pay up at the cash desk, or when you want to buy mobile phone top up / recharge vouchers... you can display the amount you need. Useful technique I developed after watching cashiers pulling calculators out to make sure your on the same level.
  

Word of the Day

Expats.

Never knew this word before I got here... but had to google it to find out the word.
It's basis is...

A person that gives up one's residence in their country to take up Residence in another country.
This word was derrived from expatriate, which also means Chiefly British.

A lot of people use this word with the people that are visiting for work and studies. So basically if your bored or need something to do... google this term with the city you are in and you will prob find someone from the same country / city as you are from.

Spending a day exploring...

Spend most of today exploring the People's Square aka Renmin Square... it's big
Houses the Shanghai Museum which contains lots and lots of history of China, basically covering everything from China(ceramics), to note making, Jade and so on...
Does show how China exploded particularly more so in the Ming and Qing Dynasty.
The Sky line from this location in the Square is pretty impressive and learned that it only took 10 years to make most of it...


Crazy People at lunch...
Also had a quick visit to the Shanghai Urban Planning Exhibition Centre, where they describe their vision for the next 3 years...

They bring new words to the word Ambition... the stuff I've seen from the airports, to renovating the city to mashing up an island and turning it into the world's 1st environmentally Island.
Looking at the models to the level they mark themselves on is absolutely giddy.


With the rate of Development... makes me wish that I was here to see the changes as they happen... who know's what will happen...

After finishing up I decided to brave the subway, managed to get myself back to the hostel in 20 mins after working out how to read the subway map and buy tickets.
V satisfied with the service... the trains came on time... to the second for which they had a monitor counting the minutes and seconds for each subway to arrive...
There appears to be 3 lines and the cost for each journey for me came to 4 Yen. No such things as a one day Travel card.
As with all subways I also had a little kid begging for money.
(Little Chinese girl... my heart went out as she looked really cute)
[Now had the pleasure of riding the oldest subway (london tube) and the youngest one (Shanghai)]

Been also chasing my Mandarin classes this evening... had an interview with one a Red Carpet Chinese School and tomorrow will have one with Mandarin House.
Will make my decision tomorrow which school I will end up with.
Plan to go 3 weeks intensive one on one tuition to catch up... and provide me with the skills to talk in everyday convo.

Oh yeah... here's what a Chinese KFC meal looks like...

Real Orange Juice, either chips or veg, a pineapple meat kebab thing...and the Chicken

Arrived into Shanghai now...

Woke up silly early again today just to make sure I got to the airport on time...
The previous night... a friend of mine managed to miss his flight although he was 30 mins from flying they wouldn't check him in...
So had to crash at mine for a short while... and take a flight tomorrow back to London.

Good thing I did... given I was faxed a crappy copy of an e-ticket which didn't tell me which terminal I was suppose to head to... and which one I would be landing at either... since I didn't have anyone meeting me I wasn't too bothered about it anyways...

Well... on arriving into Shanghai @ Hungqiao Airport it only took a 5-10 min ride to start seeing the city... got to the Hostel in 20 mins from the airport... and it's pretty decent digs... it's in the west side of the city, Caoyang Road and from the looks of things the train / subway / metro network looks pretty decent.

Firmly going to take it easy today... so just gonna chill, walk around shops, eat street food and catch up on messages and rest.

Tomorrow will start hunting down courses to study and look into permanent accommodation.

Day 4

It’s been so Windy out here in Beijing that it’s too cold to head to the touristy spots like the Summer palace. Looking at some pics from my friends they manage to climb the Great Wall in the Snow… was so windy in the last couple of days that they nearly got blown off the wall!

So joined up with them the afternoon in the Shops hunting for their various things they were buying for their parents and Siblings.

A nice and easy day… just floating from shop to shop and having a very reasonably priced Japanese sushi meal that came to 10 quid per head…

Day 3

Spent the morning at the kindergarten school…after waking up early to Psyche myself up for the job in had and to try and prepare some teaching material… which I found difficult myself to do so… given I had never taught kids this young before… youngest I had was around 8 or 9 before… being a younger cousin or kids from the Chinese Community Centres back in London.

Got stuck in traffic before arriving at the venue… so this didn’t do to well for my nerves… had to locate the school in a block of apartments / offices with all the signs in Chinese… so got there in the end with my crappy Chinese (asking for directions..) and reading of signs.

Class went bad… given lack of information from the Principals meant I had to start with a class plan and had to rapidly change it as I elicited more information from the kiddies to work out how advance their English was… and it actually was a bit more then I had expected and more then the Principals had lead on too…

Lost some of their attention, and should have introduced more games to get them interested… but finding things hard to explain in a 2^nd language.

So… after being reviewed by the Kindergarten parents I was advised to follow my post in Shanghai, and should I not enjoy Shanghai I would be welcomed back and they may try and help me find a job with a middle school.

Made some calls to Shanghai and looks like it’s possible for me to work in Shanghai within the next 2 weeks…so heading up there on Monday to relocate.

Met up with friends later for a dinner which we had down a big street just dedicated to Restaurants… one which we resided in had separate private rooms and had Stage Entertainment on show too… with magic tricks with freaky Kids who could bend and spin faster then Snoopy on Ice!

Had a change of plan that evening from playing pool at a Pool Hall to head off to a lake with lots of popular Bars.

Things I’ve noticed in China

• Smoking is bloody Cheap… cost around 12p per cigarette and you can find most people selling them on corners in cheap carts to shops. (so consequently you can buy duty free sized cartons of Cigarettes on nearly every corner... guess at least most people smoke the real deal instead of the shitty variety that you smoke on Holloway road imported out of eastern Europe somewhere...(in London)
  
• Because of the above… most people I’ve seen… around ¼ smoke
• Taxi’s are crazy mofo drivers… they particular in the daytime will make sure your journey does not last longer then 15-20mins they will cut up traffic like no business.
• Most people from sales assistants, bankers and to cleaners take lots of pride in their work and make sure things are done well!
• Cleaners work around the clock! Every 5 mins in a shop, in a bank I will see a cleaner dusting the floor!
• Seems to be jobs around for everyone... v unlike europe where you might find specfic races attached to one job only... (this is not always true I know!)
  
• Bare people in the streets spit!
• Non Chinese people get stared at a lot! So therefore they get more attention from touts, in Shops, in Restaurants and in Bars.
• Most people take me for local, until I open my mouth!
• Like most places in the Far East… your best advised to take some bog roll with you!
• Each area in Beijing seems to be dedicated to something… like a Shopping district… to a Street full of only Restaurants.
• It’s hard to realise how much people here have to work in order to be Rich… with my conversion of my income from my part time retail work in UK I live pretty good out here!
• Retail hours out here suck… they are round the clock and everyone seems to be on commission! Also it’s a cash hungry nation… hardly any debt from credit cards as a result!
• Heard a rumour most cars need to be checked out every 2 months in compliance to government law.
• It’s damn dry out here… skin is irritable and my mouth is dry. (beijing)
  
• Broadband Internet is getting here… fastest connection seems to be around 1 Mbit (for the home). Prob as most of the country seem to be wired up to ADSL and not cable?
  
• Why is it no one clean's the tea cups in the restaurants?
  
• Why are there always smegheads that always lean against the poles on a subway... when there are shit loads of people unable to hold the pole and fall over everyone else because of some twat blocking the whole pole. I call these People pole dancers... the people who hog the pole... they don't move away from it the whole dance... and keep scratching their back on it!
  

Day 2

In the morning, spent 35 mins running around the Forbidden City to met up with friends, when we had misinterpreted where to met up… Bloody hell the Forbidden city is huge… took ages to make the Km up the get round to side to side!

Did a quick tour once inside with friends, found 2 lost tourists separated from their group and reunited them. Dared each other to knell in the middle of one of the squares.

Spent part of the day in the day in the shops and walking around… ran into the Street market and around 4 or 5 pm onwards they tend to open up and start cooking things… as we were just passing through we saw Scorpions being put on the stick as the most exotic thing that we saw… other thing saw ere fruit on a stick and delicious dumplings and so on…

Met in the evening with the Kindergarten school Parents. Feeling obliged to help out a friend’s parents I had decided to seek them out to see if I could really help. The job was to teach at a school of 300 kiddies with a class of 18. The deal was to teach them English in 20 min slots from 9am-1pm Mon- Fri.

So after mentioning time was short on my side to take up a post in Shanghai I co-oped myself into teaching the very next day on a quick trial class to give me some taste of what to expect.

Day 1

Just stumbled into Beijing on Wed... took roughly around 45 mins to get from the airport to the Hostel I decided to setup base in for a couple of days to work out what I wanted to do...

Had been thrown a couple of jobs my what before I left UK for Beijing to teach English. And was trying to decide where to stay... either Beijing or Shanghai...

Life out here... is damn different from London... stating the obvious seeing everything in Chinese is as disorientating as it is exciting... how's that for a Oxy-Moron!

Had some friend's here and took over 2 hours to locate them as we settled on the Forbidden City as a Meeting point. We spent prob 10 quid worth trying to locate each other on our Mobiles calling back to UK and roaming into China. What the piss take...

Had forgotten that Chinese Food in Bejing is a spicy cuisine... and not often do people eat plain Rice with your dishes... which would ordinarily cool down and help eating it!

So that evening we also ended up clubbing.. Have no idea how I survived the night but some how managed... Ended up at the Coco banana club which is pretty modern glitzy club that wouldn't look out of place in May fair in London. I tend to find if you slice up the areas of a city and compare it to your local... aka London I can reorient myself.
Cloakrooms are free of charge... and you get massages in the Can... something I was feeling a little weired out but realised it was normal here.
Beers cost the same as in a london pub around 3-4 quid... so you can have a pretty decent night out...
Fell asleep with little problems that day... feeling pretty jet lagged and gone!

Cabbies around the city seem to cost around 11- 20 RMB approx 2 quid for a 15-20 min journey all based on distance...