TheBanyanTree: Updated China photo album

[Pat M]

Hello folks,

Well, my time in Yangshuo is coming to an end.  This past month has been
amazing, what with the amazing scenery and many fun activities.

I have ridden a two-humped camel (There are camels in inner Mongolia in
northern China.  The one I rode was in a park in Guilin) and motored down
the Li River on a bamboo raft.  I've cruised down the same river on a ferry,
the only foreigner, and was treated like a celebrity. At nightfall, I've
watched cormorants dive beneath the water, catch fish and return them
to fishermen. I've also attended an amazing outdoor theatre production held
at night called 'The Light Show' (produced by the man who choreographed the
opening ceremony for the Olympics).  The production was held on the
shoreline of a bay and much of the show was performed on the water with
the performers in bamboo boats. With a cast of hundreds and the lit-up karst
rock formations as a backdrop, I can find no words to describe how
phenomenal it was.  It didn't matter that I couldn't understand a word of
what was said.  The costumes and choreography were stunning!

This past week, I have been teaching college-aged students on a temporary
basis and getting paid 40 yuan, or the equivalent of $7.00/hour. It is
so cheap to live here that $7.00/hr is a good wage. I've had so much fun
with the students.  Teaching is very rewarding work.

This Sunday, I fly from Guilin to Xian (pronounced SheeAnn), the city where
the terracotta warriors are located.  I chose to teach there because there
are countless historical sites that I can explore on weekends.  I'll be the
only foreign teacher at the school, and it will be challenging teaching huge
classes of 60 - 80 students. There's no doubt I'm going to stick out like a
sore thumb there and everyone will be watching 'the foreigner'.  The school
itself will be inside a huge gated compound.  The students live on-site in
dorms and the teachers also live on-site in apartments.  It will be so nice
to have my own apartment with a computer, a DVD player and a full kitchen so
that I can cook for myself.  For the past month, I had only a bedroom and a
tiny bathroom with a squat toilet and shower to call my own.  I'm curious to
find out how many students there are in the school.  Some schools have as
many as 8,000 students.

I'll be teaching Senior Middle School so I'll have my hands full.  Teenagers
(ages 16 - 18) can be difficult, no matter which country they're from.

Until I settle down into a regular routine, I am unable to respond to emails
so please do not feel slighted if I haven't written back to you.  Hopefully
in a few weeks, I'll be settled in and will be able to reply.

I am continually updating my photo album so you can check it at any time.  I
will put the new pictures at the beginning of the slide show so that you
don't have to scroll through all of them.

You can access my photo album by clicking on this link, double clicking on
the photo, and clicking on slide show.

http://picasaweb.google.com/Ms.Pat.Martin/China

Until the next time...

Pat




-- 
"Twenty years from now you will be more disappointed by the things you
didn't do than by the ones you did do. So throw off the bowlines. Sail away
from the safe harbour. Catch the trade winds in your sails. Explore. Dream.
Discover." (Twain)