Posting a little sooner than previously planned but it may take a while for my internet to be set up in Chongqing so figured I would update you all before I am incommunicado. I am off to Chongqing tomorrow so it may be up to 10 days before I can post again.
We had a very eventful week starting with our training. We spent about 2 hours a day in Mandarin classes and while the language is tough it is starting to stick. We also have been learning a lot about Chinese culture and our general teaching expectations. We are currently in the city of Shizjhuang, in the Hebei province. Heibei is the sister province to the state of Iowa so we as Drake alumni were invited out with several party members who ran an international cooperation program. The food was incredibly good and the dinner was a very fun experience.
Last night I also had the opportunity to stay with a local family.(pictures below) This was quite the experience as their English was very limited and my Chinese far worse. Still I had a lovely evening spending time with the family. I was very surprised to see that they lived in an incredibly nice as opposed to an apartment. My family actually had an elevator, a pet dog(named pei pei), and a home theater which is not the norm throughout China. I learned how to make dumplings with the whole family and was treated to a delicious traditional Chinese dinner. For those of you who don't know some of the traditions of a Chinese dinner one key point to remember is the importance of alcohol. Toasts are given at the beginning of the meal and often throughout the meal. Furthermore, the Chinese word for cheers literally means "finish it" which can lead to some interesting dinners. This tradition led to a bit of a rough morning with my family. I cannot stress enough how hospitable and gracious the people here are, it truly is amazing to see such kindness to strangers.
After all of our home-stays our group made a short trip to a Buddhist monastery outside of town that has been around since the 7th century. The buildings were all still in good shape but I was surprised to see that historical sites so far are treated similarly to those in the Middle East, that is visitors are welcome to(and sometimes encouraged) touch everything including centuries old statues and paintings. The monastery really was beautiful make sure you take a look at the pictures below.
On our way back from the monastery we experienced our first (and likely not our last) Chinese car accident when our bus rear-ended a car. It was really a minor accident, almost no damage to the bus or car, but we were told to expect to get in several other fender benders in our time here. This generation is still really the first generation in China to be full of drivers and as a result accidents are very common, however, they are mostly low speed collisions. The white car in the picture below is the one we hit, and the picture below is for my parents benefit to prove that we're all ok.
We had a very eventful week starting with our training. We spent about 2 hours a day in Mandarin classes and while the language is tough it is starting to stick. We also have been learning a lot about Chinese culture and our general teaching expectations. We are currently in the city of Shizjhuang, in the Hebei province. Heibei is the sister province to the state of Iowa so we as Drake alumni were invited out with several party members who ran an international cooperation program. The food was incredibly good and the dinner was a very fun experience.
Last night I also had the opportunity to stay with a local family.(pictures below) This was quite the experience as their English was very limited and my Chinese far worse. Still I had a lovely evening spending time with the family. I was very surprised to see that they lived in an incredibly nice as opposed to an apartment. My family actually had an elevator, a pet dog(named pei pei), and a home theater which is not the norm throughout China. I learned how to make dumplings with the whole family and was treated to a delicious traditional Chinese dinner. For those of you who don't know some of the traditions of a Chinese dinner one key point to remember is the importance of alcohol. Toasts are given at the beginning of the meal and often throughout the meal. Furthermore, the Chinese word for cheers literally means "finish it" which can lead to some interesting dinners. This tradition led to a bit of a rough morning with my family. I cannot stress enough how hospitable and gracious the people here are, it truly is amazing to see such kindness to strangers.
After all of our home-stays our group made a short trip to a Buddhist monastery outside of town that has been around since the 7th century. The buildings were all still in good shape but I was surprised to see that historical sites so far are treated similarly to those in the Middle East, that is visitors are welcome to(and sometimes encouraged) touch everything including centuries old statues and paintings. The monastery really was beautiful make sure you take a look at the pictures below.
On our way back from the monastery we experienced our first (and likely not our last) Chinese car accident when our bus rear-ended a car. It was really a minor accident, almost no damage to the bus or car, but we were told to expect to get in several other fender benders in our time here. This generation is still really the first generation in China to be full of drivers and as a result accidents are very common, however, they are mostly low speed collisions. The white car in the picture below is the one we hit, and the picture below is for my parents benefit to prove that we're all ok.