Equal Wings

Ping November 18th, 2008

We’re almost approaching the end of our stay in Shanghai and I guess it is a  good time to reflect on the 1 and a half years so far. Ajeet has been working with Great Wall Airlines and I have been taking on part-time teaching positions. I can still remember how challenging it was to find a job. There were many available from tuition agencies, schools and companies. However, getting one wasn’t so easy. Most employers only wanted teachers holding American, Canadian, Australian or British passports. I managed to get an offer to teach at Yew Hwa International Education School for 3 weeks during their summer vacation programme. It is a private school which prepares its students for the Cambridge International Education System. Having taught in a government school in Singapore, it was definitely an eye opener stepping into an international school. Most students came from well-to-do families. They were very confident and outspoken too (at times too direct for my comfort level). Most of the students were either Chinese, Taiwanese or Korean. Though I taught there for only 3 weeks, it was an enriching experience. I had to teach a subject called ‘English for Science’. Basically I was teaching Science and getting them to familiarize with the terms in English. As I prepared each lesson, I was also learning new things.

After this teaching stint, I was hunting for another job again. Soon, I  was an English enrichment teacher at the Singapore International School. For one academic year 07-08, I taught Grade 1 and Grade 5 students  English every Saturday morning. I had students from Japan, Korea, Hong Kong, Taiwan, Malaysia, Singapore and China. Though the diversity sometimes proved to be a challenge in lesson preparation, it made lessons interesting with the different experiences and views they shared. Here is a picture I took of some of my Grade 1 students on the last lesson. The rest couldn’t wait to run out of the class and begin their summer holidays!

 Below is a picture of my Grade 5 students consisting mainly of Chinese and Taiwanese. Although they were not too eager to do grammar or writing exercises, they were certainly excited to play word games.

 The small class size and the big spacious classrooms in both the schools I taught here were great. Students could move freely during certain activities without bumping into each other or furniture. Also, the small numbers in each class made it easier  for me to manage the class and give more attention to those students who needed it.

I did not continue teaching at the Singapore International School anymore after one year as we wanted to use the remaining time to travel around China. Instead, I started giving tuition at home and have been doing that since. This has given us a lot more flexibility in planning our trips.

Apart from teaching, I did some volunteer work with Hands on Shanghai- a volunteer organization that plans and organizes charity events and programmes.  My duty was to monitor enrichment programmes in a migrant school. The migrant school I went to was pretty basic. It had a small compound with about 7 to 8 classrooms and each classroom was packed with 45 to 60 students. Tables and chairs were old and sometimes broken. Despite the humble setting of the school, students were always full of energy, cheerful and keen to learn.

I was also involved with the English Corner Programme at the Jian Qiao Private School for  a year. Together with some friends, we conducted English oral lessons for the chinese students there. Through these activities, we found new friends whom we meet up with occasionally.

Many colleagues of Ajeet’s and their familes live in the same compound as us. We get together sometimes for dinners or a game of badminton. It’s nice having a small community here. In between work and meeting up with friends, we try to travel around China. I must say that apart from the occasional food scares, it has been enjoyable living here. We have a few more months here before returning home. Time will pass very quickly but I’m sure we will make the most out of it! =)

Links:
Hands On Shanghai: http://www.handsonshanghai.com/

• General
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Ajeet November 14th, 2008

Here’s a beautiful song - one of my favorites, by ‘Crowded House’. What i like about this song is the chorus, which goes: “Everywhere you go, always take the weather with you”, and of course the melody.

There’s also a modern version by ‘Voice Male’, the Belgian acapella group - very nicely done. You can listen to it free at this website: http://www.last.fm/music/Voice+Male/_/Weather+With+You?autostart

Enjoy!

• Music
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Ajeet November 14th, 2008

Source: http://kaladarshan.arts.ohio-state.edu/ 

Our latest trip was to Gansu and Qinghai provinces (and a bit of Shaanxi) in northwestern China. It was two weeks long and was during the last week of August to the first week of September. While most of southern and eastern china was engulfed in rains or sweltering heat during this period, the area we were traveling to, was blessed with clear blue skies and mild temperatures.

Our route followed most of the Northern Silk Route, and to just to have a touch of authenticity, we decided to be in proximate contact with the ground just like the travelers and merchants over the ages. This meant trains and buses for most part of the journey. Of course, it was cheaper too!

Shanghai to Xi’an(Shaanxi province)

We managed to book a soft sleeper berth on a train from Shanghai to Xi’an. Soft sleeper compartments have 4-bedded sections with doors. The doors help to screen off some of the smoke from the notorious Chinese train smokers (or should I call them ‘chain smokers’). Anyways, it was a comfortable overnight 16 hour journey, arriving in Xi’an, the ancient capital of China, early in the morning.

Xi’an to HuaShan

As we were quite familiar with this city from a previous trip here, we walked straight to the bus bay alongside the train station, and got on a 2-hr bus to Hua Shan, one of the five most sacred – and spectacular – Taoist mountains of China. From a distance, the five distinct peaks of this mountain seem to form the shape of a flower (‘hua’ in Chinese), hence the name. It is famous for its natural vistas of steep and narrow paths, precipitous crags, and a high mountain range.

With at least 10 days of hard traveling ahead of us, we decided against trying to trek up the mountain, and headed straight to the cable car station. The beautiful ride up led to the North Peak. Wading through the swarms of fellow tourists meandering the various trails crisscrossing the various summits, we finally reached the highest point, the South Peak. Descending by cable car again, we caught the last bus back to Xi’an.

Xi’an to Tian Shui (Gansu province)

After a refreshing overnight rest in Xi’an (Xi’an Ibis hotel – nice budget place), we took a 5 hour train ride up to this small town. We scored a First here – our first STANDING tickets, traveling in the lowest class possible! Yes, the train system actually allows a certain number of standing tickets for desperados like us. But we didn’t have to stand for long, thanks to the kindness of our fellow travelers, ordinary Chinese folks who took turns letting us sit on their seats.

Tian Shui is famous for the Buddhist caves at Maiji Shan, and was the main reason for out visit there. This area of Gansu is also known for its variety of fruits and nuts, which are exported to other parts of China and the world. A minibus covers the 45 minute ride from the train station. On the way, we passed by numerous fruit plantations… apples, corn, walnuts, grapes, peaches, etc. Maiji Shan is basically a solitary rock formation, full of niches and statues carved onto its face, all connected by catwalks and steep spiral staircases. Initially carved during the Northern Wei and Zhou dynasties (AD 386-581), it was more spectacular than we’d imagined, and is probably better described by the photographs.

Tian Shui to Lanzhou

After a sumptuous bowl of Lanzhou La mien at the bus station, we got on a 4-hr long distance bus to the capital of Gansu province, Lanzhou. It is a major transport hub, and the beginning of some epic overland journeys into Xinjiang, Sichuan and Tibet. A distinct change in the diversity of the people is observable in the streets here. Hui Chinese, Tibetans, Mongols, Salar, Dong Xiang and Kazakhs are some of them. We were lucky to get overnight train tickets for the next leg of our journey to Dun Huang. By now our diet was mainly mutton, either bbq or hotpot style. If you are ever in Lanzhou and you like ‘Banana bread’, do check out the ‘Promenade Bakery’ on TianShui NanLu for a brick-sized banana bread for just 12 yuan. Its yummy, and recommended by lonely planet too! After spending a night in the city, we took a cable car up to Lan Shan mountain for some spectacular views of the whole city. We tried some treasures tea, and had fun on the Chinese Ludge – basically looks like a slide on bed pan.

Got back down in time for our 12 hour night train to Dun Huang – the last stop on the Silk Route before the desert.

To be continued…

• China , Travel
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Ajeet November 6th, 2008

Hello everybody!

As you know we’ve been based in Shanghai for the past 1.5yrs. We’ve spent a good bit of our offdays trying to travel to places around this amazingly diverse country. Our travelling style was pretty much free and easy… trying all modes of transport, fine-dining at roadside stalls and staying in youth hostels. Here, we would like to share some of our travel experiences as and when we find the time. 

To start off, here are some of the places we’ve been to so far, other than places around Shanghai:

1) Xi’an (Shaanxi province)
2) Hangzhou (Zhejiang)
3) Nanjing (Jiangsu)
4) Kunming, Dali, Lijiang, Shangri-La (Yunnan)
5) Taishan (Shandong)
6) Tianshui, Lanzhou, Jiayuguan, Dunhuang (Gansu)
7) Xining, Qinghai Hu, Tongren (Qinghai)

Can you find them on the map?

• China , Travel
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Ping November 5th, 2008

 Seeing two people falling in love and making a committment to each other always brings joy to me. What more hearing from my dear sister that she will be getting married to the man of her life!

Ajeet and I are very happy for my second sister and her fiance, Hamada and we would like to congratulate them on their engagement!

To the couple: As the preparations begin and the craziness kicks in, remember to  cherish and enjoy the process of making that defining moment happen-when you become husband and wife! Here’s a poem I found from the internet for the both of you.=)

On the brink of married life you wait with wonder:

The coming moment, mystic and mundane,

Brings law and love incongruously together

To form a bond both passionate and sane.

For now it has to be about the party:

Guests must be fed, clothes bought, proceedings planned;

But underneath there is abiding beauty,

Redeeming what the decencies demand.

Praised be the pillars on which we place our lives,

Standing more secure than else we might;

And praised be those in whom such sense survives,

Whose love becomes for all a source of light.

So do we celebrate, as the moment nears,

A love that counts its happiness in years.

• Family
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