( Phuket is an island with strong Chinese connections.)
black eggs, look gross I know...but yummy believe it or not!
But as my closest friends know, my sense of taste is weird.
I have been in a work led environment since 9am and Carmel and I finally completed the full on day at 8pm alone with a few well deserved gin and tonics. Honestly, , a mad mad day. My brain is fried but also extremely flabbergasted by what I have seen and heard today. Nealy all 72 teachers of lake school summer 2012 and 2013 came back to 'Number 1 Middle School Jiangyin'for a reunion today. Carmel and I split them all into two groups. My GOD the classrooms were massive yet freezing. I have never taught in such cold conditions! I could almost see my breath! My feet were blocks of ice, I was jet lagged, culture shocked, freezing and I didn't sit down all day. ( But not hungry!) plus I had 72 Chinese English names to remember...Good Grief, Sindy's Shirley's, Sandy's, Shining's, Shadow's , Sunny's Selina's and Cheryl's are bloody difficult to distinguish between at the best of times. Bit of a challenge!
The rooms are big and swish looking but that's all you get; concrete and absolutely no other substance, made to last with corridors and rooms of steel but nothing that looks learner friendly. My God, What a Place! There has been solid infrastructure investment here.
Number 1 middle school is full of thousands of teenagers in track suits. Almost like a mini village for teens with dorms and canteens but I didn't hear a noise or a shout from the teenagers. Everyone here is busy studying. Teachers work from 6am to 10pm...let alone the students! Even on the breaks I saw teenagers just hanging from 4th floor balconies with revision notes in their hands. A weird silence pervades. I honestly have never witnessed anything like it. I can't write any more about it because at this moment I don't know how to put it into words...it's day one. Early days.
This morning, before the teachers arrived at midday I taught a couple of hours to teenagers on the International Programme. This room was far nicer and the atmosphere was fun and the teenagers were engaged and interested, but again rather shy and quiet. They didn't want to ask me questions...but I kind of warmed them up. It all went well and I enjoyed it! Full on and productive. These kids are on a different programme of education. No Gao Kao final tough exam for them. They have the option to take IELTS and study abroad. Again I have opinions about this but I will not blog about it until I have more information, if I can get it.
As for food ,we ate in a small room in typical Jiangsu style...this means lunch at 11 am because as everyone is up working by 6am everyone is bloody starving before midday. We ate together with the head teacher, who promptly at about midday left the room for his midday nap of 45 minutes. We had MOUNTAINS of wonderful food. Enough for families of 30 but we had to leave it behind and go off and get set for the Lake School reunion. Such extreme and dire waste. Yes, dad, you should be proud of me, I despise waste almost as much as you!
it was fun seeing everyone. Lots of new hairstyles, jackets, photo taking, hugs, smiles and questions such as...Can you use chop sticks? Do you like China? remember my name? ( No I bloody can't but I'll have a random guess and I might be right if it begins with S.)
Sessions went well. We did have lap top projection trouble at first but it all worked out in the end. But Jim jiminy...it was freezing teaching! It would have been far warmer to teach outside.
We then went for our buffet evening meal at 6pm. Again, mountains of food. Carmel and I and the Big Wigs sat at one table and we got served on out swivel table for ages. I have fallen in love with the fresh, tiny river prawns . A delicate, yet beautiful taste. I have lots of photos of food and people from today but as my friends know I have a £5 phone which only makes calls and a camera which needs to connect to a laptop to extract the photos and I am typing on my iPad So I am sorry. Hope my writing creates a picture for you in your head. At the moment that's all that is going to happen!
As our organised meal progressed teachers walked over to us to do a formal cheers which involved elaborate glass clinking and downing drinks in one. The guys were drinking local wine and also adding an alternative approach by bringing out their own fortified rice wine. the local wine was good as for the rice wine I reserve judgement!
Notice how the teachers are all wearing their coats. It was pretty cold to say the least.
the wine swings around the table to us.
it was local wine but it tasted good.
Everyone left by 7.30 and finally at 8pm Carmel and I were able to chat about our days experiences together in the local bar over a couple of gin and tonics. Such different and bizarre experiences, right down to the piped music out of the piano in the hotel lobby along with the wedding planner shop in the foyer and the hideous jade boat for sale in the entrance lobby. And as for the Durex, vibrating, cock rings in our bathrooms...enough said! Good night
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