School's Almost OUT!: Starbucks and Country Garden Buses

Have Bus Will Travel

 

 
 

 

June 12, 2009

A month has passed and now we are only two weeks away from the end of school!  If I ever thought I would make it to the end of this year, still breathing and thinking coherently, I would have strongly refuted you.   In celebration of this fact, I think I will hop on a bus to Guangzhou and get myself a 'designer coffee', as my Mom calls it, at Starbucks.

Here I am in GZ.  I am reveling in the fact that I can e-mail my friends, drink a commercially-made mocha, listen to Harry Conick Jr. singing in English while I'm at a Starbucks in China.

 

(A Chinese Starbucks bulletin board)

This week, each class will finish their respective reading book and then have fun worksheets till the end of the year. This lesson plan leaves just enough time for movies on the last couple days of school. 

If my grade school teachers ever did this (and I know they did!) it was to give themselves a break. I remember one of my teacher showing us a movie on chinchillas--out of the blue, and another on behavioral statistics, for no reason at all. Anyhow, I digress...

(These are some of my dear students from Grade 3 class 3 ~some making silly faces.)

 

 

I finished up at Starbucks in Guangzhou and made my way across sidewalks, down escalators and subway tunnels to reach the other mall where our Country Garden bus picks us up at.

 

 

(A view from my favorite Starbucks in Guangzhou)

It's always daunting catching a bus in China--even in a 'gated community' like Country Garden because when you are given bus schedule information, there can sometimes be changes that have not been updated to you.  

It isn't always easy being on the outside.   If I was able to read some more Chinese characters that would help. 

 I will usually ask about 2-3 people for confirmation that I am standing in the correct line for the right bus. 

 You can imagine the relief at not only finding--yet again--that I am in the right pick-up spot but am also in the right line at the right time.   If you want to feel like Conan the Barbarian, successfully navigate a bus system in China. 

Ah, here it is (now imagine my relief), it's a Country Garden bus and I'm in the right line at the right time.   (There are at least three different Country Garden resorts in the Guangzhou area and outer limits and I need the bus for Shunde [Shoon - duh!] Country Garden.)

Some of these buses are nice, but tonight it’s a ghetto bus and its parts are starting to show some wear. The seats have itchy upholstery, the window curtains are hither and yon, some people have arm rests...some don’t.   But it's not too bad on the whole.    It is cleaned out after every trip which I think is great for China. 

Some advice: sometimes it is better to get a seat in the front of the bus as you breathe in more exhaust in the back.   It took me a while to figure that one out.   Why I was coming home from Guangzhou with such headaches.   Fumes.

 We're off and now I'm listening to African music on my way home. It came with my computer, but it feels like I'm hiking right outside some Kenyan tribe and can hear their drums in the distance.   Awesome stuff.   As I type, my fingers are literally dancing over the keyboard trying to keep up with the bumps on the road.

 

Passing beautiful southern China foliage on my left,  I listen to two Chinese ladies gab on my right.   Now the playlist is on Indian techno--and I'm by a river in New Delhi.      

 AN hour long bus ride into Guangzhou is not too bad this way. 

Why I was tempted to buy a cow in China...

I was so elated! I had found real creamer (for coffee) and real mozzarella cheese (for whatever!) in Guangzhou, China. I quickly bought them!   Overcome by joy!   I didn't think about the long trip back and the 90 degree weather outside.

They would have been safe from damage except I felt the compelling urge to buy a digital camera for my lessons at school.   I then I tried to buy an MP3 player.   But it was so pretty.

After two hours in my backpack in the humid Guangzhou night air, my packages had begun to...fade. Hoping to lengthen their life span, I took a quick detour to Starbucks.    I asked them for two cups of ice.

I packed the items in them as if they were my own children.  You would have thought I was transporting a live heart for an organ donation. I smiled to everyone and thanked them for their compassionate looks. 

Maybe I saw compassion but they saw a wide-eyed, crazy, American redhead who had lost her marbles in the insane SE Asian heat.  Balancing a backpack, a shopping bag, a map, a purse and a bus schedule--that kept coming in and out of her purse--along with now two cups of venti ice, she looked like this was normal.   All she needed now was an ice cream cone and then 8 flutes to juggle.

I had had a stellar day otherwise in the city--finding things, buying things, getting places, seeing sights, all breezily.  I was feeling very confident with my bags and cups. However, when I saw that my ice had melted just by walking to the bus station, I gave up.

 I let go of my dear purchases.   Without a decent burial, I placed my treasures in a nearby trash can hoping a local beggar might discover them.

But what local beggar is going to be excited over mozzarella? Would he even recognize the luxury value of real cream if he tasted it? It would have given me joy if that could have been arranged.  But it could not.

I made my way home not too disheartened.    If I had found them once, I would find them again.   They would appear when I least expected it.  And I would be ready.

All was not a total loss, however.   For there in my backpack, where my dairy creamer should have been, was a pink Cannon Powershot camera,  next to a jewel-green MP3 player.   
 

Bangkok Dental

Last month, I went to Bangkok to get some dental work done. (Well, to vacation too of course, but the dental came first.) It was a great experience. Stayed at the same hostel I went to last time~Sukhumvit On Nut.

A GREAT place! by the way. I feel like I have family in Bangkok!  I can't wait to see them again.  Super people, super help, super food!  

Also, on the way, just happened to meet with a friend from Guangzhou who had booked the same flight and same hostel as me.  That is pretty rare given all the choices in Bangkok. We had a good time pal-ing around the city until I had to take care of tooth business.   :[


So, my dental work... Turned out pretty well.   Yay!   I wanted to go to a recommended one called Dentist 51.   I had research it on-line, seen all the pictures, read all the reviews, etc. .    But with time restraints, went to one down the street from the hostel recommended by the front desk personnel.  Their name is in Thai or I would pass it on.    It was on the corner of 89 Sukumvit.  

They spoke English, had real dental equipment and were very gentle. It didn't hurt at all. I was so surprised.   They took x-rays, re-created part of a tooth that needed some attention and even touched-up the one next to it for I think $50.   Amazing.    So affordable. 

Hong Kong and the Queen's Spa, Shenzhen in 2008

I am going back in time because so many of my travel experiences didn't get to be uploaded.  So here they are, in random fashion. 

Hong Kong Sometime in April 2008

Hello all! I have had a productive weekend in Hong Kong (April 2008) and just wanted to share it with you all. :] I went to HK to buy a new computer. I have been using our school-issued laptop and was afraid that I wouldn’t get myself a personal one unless I did so soon. I settled for an HP CQ60. For all of you enlightened on the latest computer products, I hope I bought a good one. I bought one at 17” in case my next year finds me without a tv. The size has been a little regretful since it’s so heavy. I have a hard time lugging it around unless I stay put in a coffee shop, but its screen is so beautiful.

Hong Kong was wonderful. On the way there and back, I crashed at a beauty salon called Queen’s Spa. You can’t beat their amenities (free food, movie channels, pools, hot tub, massages) and 24-hour rate (168 Yuan=$25). It’s like a hotel that way but your cover charge is dismissed if you order a certain amount of massages or food. The main lounging room is just filled with lazy-boy recliners with tv’s attached and small trays to put your drinks and snacks on.

Many people end up sleeping in their lounge chairs but they do have separate ‘sleeping commons’ for men and for women. At one time, the areas were just made up of massage tables but then the sleeping common was finished and it turned out to be an enormous sleigh bed with dividers. It’s not as uncomfortable as it sounds but there are 65 other women sleeping in the room with you. We are all in our pink striped spa pajamas. It’s very interesting. I can’t take pictures of it though. On a side note, I usually sleep pretty well in that environment, but this time there was a chorus of snorers making it difficult. The sound was so syncopated it could have been broadcast on OPB as a supernatural phenomenon.

I survived the Queen’s Spa (sometimes it can be kind of loud and raucous) and went to Hong Kong again for Sun gathering. I was really looking forward to it. Life Community is a much larger fellowship and there’s more freedom to worship here than in China. When I walked up the hill to their rented facility, I was disappointed to find that they had moved. I didn’t know where to start looking. I ambled over to a HK landmark St. Andrews and discovered that they were still holding services. It was a beautiful red brick and white mortar Anglican church. It looked like it had stood there since the founding fathers of HK disembarked.


It was the most refreshing time. It was Anglican in service (I expected tradition and liturgy) but everything about it felt alive and modern. The woman guiding the service spoke with conviction--even when she was just giving the announcements. They used modern worship songs, and the pastor spoke on forgiveness. The gathering felt really mission-oriented even though nothing was verbalized. I had the conviction that those attending lived their lives through their faith and believed that their time and place here on the planet really mattered.


That kind of attitude is nothing if but contagious! I left feeling like a part of the believing community at large. I also wished I could be ordained as an Anglican minister just to help relieve them of their need for lay pastors. It would be so neat if things would come to that--if pastors of any Bible-believing denomination could swap leaders with other Bible-believing denominations in order to fill positions.


These longings surface and I wonder what in the world I am doing teaching. I wonder if I should serve full-time in an area of need instead of working for what feels like a black hole of daily living expenses. I hate to put so much energy into making lucre at the expense of fulfilling my heart’s desire. I know there is a balance in here somewhere.

So it's now been over half a year since I wrote a post?! I guess my year in China was a little more stressful than I thought it would be. (As previous posts showed.) For now, I am just writing to say that I am back! but like this site, I am a bit under construction right now.  I will be coming back in full force soon!

take care, y'all.

Here it is April...

Here it is April and I have alot of filling in to do. In a clean sweep, I am and have been teaching the little ones (3rd-5th graders) reading and writing in the elementary section. It has been a rough year. One problem being, not knowing how much the kids know and how much to expect from them. I was so frustrated and overwhelmed in the beginning. I have gotten upset, have been overly nice, overly tough, extra vigilant, extra motivating, bribery propegating..you name it, I've tried it. I have run out of styles of teaching, The best strategy I've found, has been to be nice and courteous at all times (which is a given), look the other way as much as possible (when students misbehave) and keep the lesson ball rolling in class. Those who are good students, are awesome students--academically and in leadership potential. They are mature beyond their years, quiet role-models and eager to do their best. I love them!

As a whole, I do far less academically with them than I'd like. I had all sorts of games, inter-active lessons and drama activities in mind but giving directions is too much of a tear-jerker sometimes, so I stick with what is simple and sometimes boring. Hopefully we can move-on-up with the fun stuff when they have a little more English under their belts. In all the classes, one thing that consistently goes right is this. In the beginning of the year, (even after months of practice) when I said, "Pass down your papers," I would be greeted by total silence and looks of boredom. Now, 'pass down your papers' brings the sound of rustling filigre filtering down the aisles. Thank goodness!

We are blessed with a wonderful schedule that gives us alternating 2-3 day weekends. This weekend, I took a break. I probably watched 5 movies and 6 hours of 'Project Runway'. I have been planning tests for weeks now and was in need of some freedom from desicion making. Thoughout the day, I keep thinking back to this one designer, Christian Siriano, the star child of the show, wondering what elegant piece he is cooking up next.

Am just about to head off to class after a quick hallway discussion about religion. It happens alot here... Unexpected interludes of heavy discussion about immenent world issues. These things would be better hashed out around a conference table than a cafeteria or stairwell. However, it is always lively and full of down-home grit. Since this is where I live and those are my peeps, I'll take it.

Better run, or the lesson planner ship will sink fast...