Teachers' Day

Today was Teachers' Day. Here in China it is a very big deal. They had something special planned for all the foreign teachers, but no one was sure what it was. We had to meet bright and early (early that is for the weekend) at 8:15 where a bus took us about 15 mn drive to the Silver Sea hotel to meet up with other foreign teachers from surrounding schools. It was very interesting to see so many other Caucasian people! Then we all took another bus to a University that happens to be only a block away from where we live. How pointless it was for us to wake up so early... anyway. We had a little tour of a bunch of sea shells and pearls they collect from the ocean.

 

Our next venture was to the main Ocean University campus. It's HUGE. There are about 20,000 students. On the half hour drive there got to meet some of the other foreign teachers. There are some very interesting and colorful people here! It's so interesting to hear some of their stories. Many were from Canada, some from the US and some from UK, Uzbekistan, Bulgaria, Philippines, Australia, Germany.

 

At Ocean University they showed us their library, which is impressively huge, seven stories with collections including English novels and text books. They toured us through their "science museum," where there were many specimens from the ocean. Some pretty cool stuff, but you can only look at so many giant shrimp in formaldehyde before getting really hungry. So they took us to eat. Just a little detail about Chinese culture: Getting somewhere is not as easy as it sounds. We would arrive at a place, get out of the bus, follow the leader through many rooms and up and down many stairs before they tell us we are in the wrong building and need to go back. This is very typical. Flexibility and a good sense of humor are something you cannot afford to lack if you wish to live overseas.

 

Lunch was fabulous. It was the best meal I’ve had here yet. They had a whole buffet-type spread for us with all kinds of goodness. I had shrimp, steak, fruit, rice, and fried noodles. This may give you a picture, but there is no way to tell you how unlike it is from what you may think it tastes like. It’s no LeAnnChin.

 

After lunch we went to the school’s theater to have a program. We weren’t told about this before hand so we had nothing to contribute for talent. Other teacher’s sang songs or played instruments. Some even sang songs in Chinese and did Tai Chi. It was very amusing. A couple of the guys started drinking beer at about 10 that morning and of course had their fill for lunch. It made for quite an interesting program. My favorite part was the dancing from some Chinese students from a nearby art college. It was so beautiful.

 

It was a rare opportunity to have been able to be a part of this. I feel so blessed to be where I am, even though I do feel lonesome and desert-like in my soul sometimes. I know in my heart that I am in the right place. I have heard many terrible stories from the other teacher’s about some of their teaching experiences in other parts of this country, so it puts things in perspective for me. I have an ideal first-time experience here.