My Trips and Tips

Sea World, Shekou, with Nanshan Mountain in the background

SS Minghua, Shekou Sea World

Shekou Sea World at night

Tuesday night, the Nanshan Clan plus Cameron ventured out to Shekou Sea World. No, it’s not a theme park with orcas. It’s a very Western (and by that I mean European and American) shopping/dining area, complete with a large ship with restaurants and bars on it. The ship has been docked permanently in cement. Out in the plaza area, there is a Starbucks, TCBY, Mexican restaurant, Irish bar, and just about everything else you can imagine. My favorite part is the great view of Nanshan Mountain, that I want to hike soon.

We ate at the Mexican restaurant. The waitresses were wearing Mexican dresses, but the only Spanish they knew was Hola. It was great food, though! Afterward we explored the ship and wandered around. From the German bar on top of the ship, you could see the bay and into Hong Kong. Beautiful!

Last night, some of the Meilin/Futian campus folks came over to celebrate Debra’s birthday. We went to Noodle King first, and then went to karaoke. Karaoke here is different than what I’m used to. You rent a private sound-proof room for several hours. It has it’s own disco ball in it even. So funny! We had fun watching the old Michael Jackson videos and singing along with old songs (including Lion King songs), but after the second Lady GaGa video I think I was ready to go…   I loved it when our interpreter friend (she’s an instructional assistant at our school like I was in Salem) sang Chinese songs. She did one love song and then a song that seemed from the video to be the Chinese version of TLC. Funny! All in all it was a fun night.

So now I’ve experienced the most popular entertainment places and forms in the peninsula. Aside from hiking, I think next I’d like to head east and check out the theme parks! After I get paid, of course…

So aside from our lovely visits to the park next door, the 8 of us that are stationed at the old campus pretty much do nothing but eat and shop. And drink lots of water. So it’s time I acquaint you with shopping in Shenzhen.

The neighborhood I live in is called Coastal City, which is in the district of Nanshan. Coastal City is made up of a whole bunch of modern malls and ginormous department stores (we’re talking 8 levels with a grocery store, 3 restaurants, and an ice cream shop on bottom, which is below ground level. That’s the one catty corner from us. Next to it is Book City. Oh, yeah!). The actual Coastal City mall is down a few blocks, and you have to reach it by going upstairs to this incredibly futuristic walkway. I’ll try to include pics sometime.

But yesterday we had a more adventurous shopping experience. Jenna, who taught at a local public school last year, took us to Dongmen. Dongmen is one of the older parts of Shenzhen. It’s a labyrinth of shops and large stores with mazes of bartering stalls inside. This is where most local Shenzheners shop.

To get there, we had to ride a bus and then transfer to a subway. The subway was packed on the way there. Ashlee and I barely made it on before the doors closed!

Once there, our group ended up splitting up (it’s too hard to stay together with 8 people in that place!) and wandering, somewhat aimlessly. It was overwhelming. But I got a few cute things. Some dressy but comfortable sandals for teaching 1st grade in, a tiny notebook with pictures of Paris in it for writing key phrases in Mandarin, a day planner that turned out to be a travel diary (it’s adorable! Vintage travel style), and the smallest Jenga game I’ve ever seen. It’s about 6 inches high. Getting those wooden pieces out will be a challenge!

Tired and hungry after a hard days work (okay, so maybe not hard, but the heat and humidity and chaos of that place takes it out of you!) we decided to get food. The other gals went to McDonald’s, which happens to be the first McDonald’s ever in this country

. Sara and I saw the locals eating something that looked delicious, so we braved the Chinese fast food stand. We found a girl eating the pocket bread food we wanted, so she helped us order the right food. From there we were able to point at some fried potatoes and some other food we saw them making but had no idea what it was. Eventually we sat down with our food on the top step of some stairs and ate. It was spicy and delicious!

Just before we got food, the monsoon rains came. The roads were flooded within minutes. Fortunately, I’d brought an umbrella. The locals all carry umbrellas rain or shine (cheaper than buying sunscreen, I guess). But soon it was raining so hard that everyone holed up under cover. Sara and I made it to the KFC (built like a pagoda, of course) where we were supposed to meet everyone. It was packed with everyone trying to avoid the monsoon. I got a 7-Up because I was dying of thirst from the shopping and spicy food. It was an experience.

Eventually we made it back home to Coastal City, where the shopping feels like New York City. Today my roommate Jada and I went grocery shopping at the local Jusco, where things are more normal to us (or are they? To buy fish, you pick them out of the tank. And I got a picture of the most amazing cake I’ve ever seen. Evidently it’s for Chinese New Year). I bought a starfruit and my new favorite food, dragonfruit. We bought some amazing stir fry from the deli (they cook it in front of you) for super cheap, and ate it outside by a pond with lily pads. Yeah, I think I can handle living here!

When Frodo, Sam, Merry and Pippin arrived in Bree on their journey to Rivendell, they needed a hero. The ringwraiths were on their trail, and Gandalf was not there as promised. To their relief, Strider showed up.

Well, I have a hero now in my journey. I wrote yesterday that I was put in a preschool teaching position. But my new friend Ashlee felt it in her heart that she needed to trade with me. She loves the young ones and assured me that she would enjoy it and be happy either way. I talked to the principal, and it’s a done deal. I’m so happy! 1st grade still isn’t my strength, but at least I’ve worked as an instructional assistant in 1st grade classrooms. I haven’t worked with preschool age children in probably 17 years.

Ashlee is a beautiful young woman, inside and out. So are the gals in the rest of my team (those 9 of us at the preschool-2nd grade school). My roommate is another gem: she always lifts me up when I’m down. We are going to be a close knit group this year. Like the Fellowship of the Ring (the 4 hobbits, 2 men, a dwarf, an elf, and a wizard), we all have our strengths and weaknesses. We will laugh together and cry together. And help each other through this journey.

So here’s to the Fellowship of the Nanshan girls. And here’s to my Strider: my new friend Ashlee.

Flying into Hong Kong

I made it! A lot has been happening here with my job and getting settled (including testing the local eateries, of course!), and I didn’t have internet hooked up, so I haven’t been online. But now I’m connected and will do my best to keep you all updated!

The flight was fine. The best part was visiting with my coworkers and flying over Hong Kong.

I’m living in the Nanshan district of Shenzhen. It’s very Westernized, but nice. There is a lovely park across the street. Our apartment (my roommate Jada and me) is right next to the school. There are several shopping malls all around us.

We drove by Shenzhen Bay yesterday on our way to the new campus for orientation. We could see the bridge that connects Nanshan (the peninsula part) to Hong Kong. Pretty cool!

My job situation isn’t what I expected (I just found out that I’m teaching preschool, and I have to admit that I’m not very happy about that) but I like my coworkers and surroundings. So it will hopefully still be a great year, even if it stretches me in a way I wasn’t expecting.

It’s finally here: the day I leave for China! I’m in the Portland airport, waiting for my flight to San Francisco. From there I’ll fly to Hong Kong with many of my future coworkers.

I’ve met several of them already, and gotten to know others through Facebook, so my traveling companions are already friends of mine. I’m thankful for that.

Now that I’m here (and all my preparations are done), I can freely look forward to this exciting journey. I can’t wait to discover what China really looks like. When I went to Germany several years ago, I was excited to see what it really looked like in comparison with my preconceived notions. It was beautiful there, but was more than that. It felt real finally. So I can’t wait to see China and let it feel real. All of it. The sights, sounds, smells (especially food!) and most of all, the people.

I’m excited to get to know my coworkers more, and make local friends, too. I can’t wait to meet my students!

I’m looking forward to seeing real pagodas, temples, and other ancient structures. The mountains, oceans, bays, and rivers (and the Pearl River Delta! I’ve never seen a delta). The restaurants and food carts. The shops, markets, and skyscrapers (okay, not so excited about skyscrapers!). And yes, even the theme parks. I have to admit, I love cheesy theme parks. I think it started with my family’s tradition of going to the Enchanted Forest. Shenzhen is supposed to have several fun theme parks. And when I say theme, I mean theme! Here I come, scale models of world landmarks!

Here I come, world!