Another last day…

Answers came our way earlier this week and we found out that we would be teaching in Kunshan for our third week. Kunshan is the city we were supposed to teach in originally and is approximately 20 minutes on the high-speed train from Shanghai. There are currently around 13 other teachers from Brock teaching there, so the five of us will be helping them in their classrooms. Considering these teachers’ classes are a maximum of 15 students, this will be a nice change from what we have currently been doing and it will be nice to spend 4 full days with the same 15 students. We will be flying to Shanghai on Monday and travelling by train to Kunshan when we arrive.

On Monday night, four of us decided to head to the local amusement park. We had checked it out when we went to the Kite Museum last weekend (right across the street from each other) and found out that after 5:30 pm, admission is free. This, in combination with the fact that it was only a five minute taxi ride from our hotel, AND the fact that the weather forecast was calling for 30-50mm of rain for the following 4 days led to this Monday adventure. The park was dead when we arrived and for a while we had “private” rides. I only went on two– the large rollercoaster in the park and the pirate ship– because apparently my body can’t handle rides anymore. But it was nice to walk around the park. Here are a couple photos!

Ferris Wheel at Fuhua

Disneyworld-esque

Wednesday night was pamper night for the ladies. Heather, Anne and I went to the hotel’s spa and got massages. We were all in the same room in matching outfits that were provided for us. It was about $20.00 Canadian for an hour and a half. And these were trained professionals. Not only did it include a full back massage, but also a foot soak, foot scrub, lower leg/foot massage, and a 20-minute scalp massage. Twenty minutes in I decided another one of these was in order before flying out and going to our final school.

The highlight of the trip so far, for me, happened on Thursday night. Heather and I had mentioned to each other that we wanted to visit a teahouse or at least buy some good quality tea from China to bring home. Thursday at school, Heather asked her homeroom teachers for some tea suggestions so that we could buy some of the local favourites. Not only did she get three recommendations, she was also given the directions (for a taxi) to a tea market that was not far from our hotel. That night, Anne and Heather and I ventured to the market in the rain. We went into the first little shop closest to the road and asked if they had the three teas written on a piece of paper from the teachers. They opened boxes of tea and let us smell those that were recommended. Because we wanted to shop around, we got the prices and said thank you. Little did we know that we would spend 2 hours in the shop next door.

Two ladies (mother and daughter) greeted us with smiles and nodded their heads eagerly when we showed them the piece of paper. The store was only big enough for maybe 6 people at a time. Boxes of tea, packaging, and tea ware lined the walls from front to back. They then motioned for us to sit on three short wooden stools made from tree stumps. In front of the stools was a long wooden table with many clay tea pots, tiny tea cups, and a small steel kettle on a burner. We realized they were going to let us try the teas! What unfolded in front of us next was incredible. The woman gracefully proceeded to sterilize tiny glass cups with boiling water, scoop tea into cylinders, steep the tea, warm the tea cups for us, and serve us samples of the varieties. I couldn’t help but stare and admire her every move– serving tea is such an art and involves a very particular series of steps. Shortly after, the woman’s son appeared and helped his mother as well. All the while, the daughter had her iPhone out and was using the translator to help us communicate what we wanted to taste, how much the tea cost, and how much we wanted to purchase. Two hours later, we all had numerous bags of tea and were happy to have met such a lovely family. Here are some photos of the set-up.

Dragonhead handle kettle

Warming the glasses with hot water

Our last day at our second school was, again, bittersweet. You get to know your students and then you have to leave. But I explained to them that it was very nice to meet them, that they were all my friends, and that I will miss them. Many of them shouted back that they would miss me too. I was able to get photos with each class again and received a few little gifts from the students as well as their homeroom teachers. The rainy second half of the week took some of the humidity out of the classrooms, but it was still very hot when teaching. I don’t know how they do it without air conditioning, I was drenched by the end of each day!

This weekend was quite the adventure. The group headed out to Tai’ an, a two-hour high-speed train ride away. Here, we visited Tai Shan, a famous mountain that is part of the 5 sacred mountains in China. This mountain has a long cultural history and we were told by a tour guide that many emperors had climbed the mountain in their time. As a group we decided we wanted to climb in the early hours of the morning (when it is cooler) and watch the sun rise at the top of the mountain. We were told this is a popular time to go.

MAN what a climb! Anne and Heather and I decided to take a bus halfway up the mountain and climb the rest. Even having skipped the first part, I couldn’t believe the number of steps we had to climb. You know the saying “Don’t look down” when you are scared of heights? All I kept thinking was “Don’t look up” because it was so discouraging to see how many steps you still had to go; although, not being able to see too far ahead was one of the beautiful things about climbing at night. Somehow, we all lost each other along the way and I ended up climbing the last hour by myself. I almost didn’t believe it when I reached the top. There were THOUSANDS of people who had climbed the mountain (from young children to 80-year-old men and women— they were my motivation) and many had already chosen their spot for the sunrise. I found my own and waited for the sun to peek over the clouds. The mist that had hid the mountains began to clear and the view was breathtaking. I could see a temple in the distance that the mist was hiding shortly before, and I could see all the mountain peaks around me. I spent some time up there, then headed back down the mountain, where I found Matt from our group. We walked the entire way down to the bottom of the mountain together, which is, of course, why I just got back from massage #2. It was an incredible experience and I am proud of myself for reaching the top of a mountain (despite having cheated half the way). I’m sure I’ll be recuperating for a few days but it was worth it, check it out!

The mist clearing

Sunrise on Tai'Shan

Stairs, stairs, and more stairs