Exploring Chengdu

Well I have made it to Week #2 here in Chengdu. This time next week, I should be on a plane heading to Beijing for a weekend of fun! Next Friday will be the last official day of business here in China.

Last weekend I booked a tour guide to take me to all the cool places in and around Chengdu, and that he did! It was 14 hours on the Saturday and 8 hours on Sunday. I was beat! Our first destination was the Leshan Buddha, but since it was a 2-hour drive to get there, we stopped for a 'Pee and Tea' break at a tea factory where Max and I were treated to a tea service of green and jasmine teas.

Then it was off to see Big Buddha. You travel up the river by boat and there he is carved out of the mountain, all 233ft of him. He is a sitting buddha, a fairly content looking chap I would say. It took the carvers 90 years to finish him. And look at that - there's me and my new buddy Buddha

That evening I attended a cultural show at a tea house with traditional dancing, skits, shadow puppetry, music and the crazy face-changing, where in a split second their mask changes. It is magic or something, quite amazing to see.

Next morning it was off to see the pandas at the Chengdu Panda Research Base, about a 40 minute drive from my hotel. Pandas are revered here, so it is a very busy spot for locals and tourists, with tons of pandas on the move. They are cute but don't do much but eat and sleep - what a life.

We did some shopping and stopped in at the Wenshu Buddhist Temple, a nice quiet spot that is in the centre of downtown. Here they are burning incense and offering up some prayers.

Next we stopped in at People's Park. Think Point Pleasant Park, only smaller and 100,000 people there. It was insane - I had to get out of there. But I did have a chuckle of the day with the display of notices on the fence. I will call the picture 'Desperately Seeking Susan'! 

Desperate parents will do up a notice about their single son or daughter and post it on the fence in People's Park on Sundays. I guess they figure the kids are too lazy or they are getting old or something and they want to get them married off. I'm not joking - seriously!!! What a riot!!!

Of course the weekdays are consumed with school work. I am teaching most afternoons (except Fridays where I switch to mornings). My class room is on the top floor of the building below on the left. The big grey building is the Library. There is not much time to do anything else during the week as you have the lesson plan, quizzes, projects and homework assignments to check.

 Here is a panoramic from my school building - since the sun came out for only the second day since Oct 12th, I figured a picture to celebrate was in order. As you can see , the skyline is dotted with a high-rise or two.

My hotel is the tall building here on a busy corner right next to a a shopping mall and supermarket.    Pedestrians have no rights here so its a constant chicken or go with the cars, bicycles and scooters. Pedestrians are at the very bottom of the list. Crime is not an issue - getting mowed down is HAHA.

New City & New Class

I travelled to my second assignment on Wednesday,  a medium-sized city called Chengdu, with only a measly 10 million people. The vibe here is a little bit more relaxed and I like it. The distance between Chongqing and Chengdu is about 400kms I think but I took the bullet train that got me here in about an hour and forty minutes with speeds just under 300km/hr.

(pictures can be expanded by clicking on them)

Two really keen students from the International Studies program greeted me at the train station, hailed a cab and got me to the hotel. They were so helpful and kind.

Once I was checked in, we walked over to the campus for a little tour, as I had to start my first class the next day. Luckily, aside from a short detour due to new subway construction, it is about a 2km straight line from the hotel to campus. The sun was shining and the sky was blue - the first time I had seen that since I arrived 19 days earlier. It certainly brought a smile to my face!

My new class is about 40 students, up from 11 in the last port of call. Luckily their Computer Science teacher is in the class with me and he maintains a strict code of conduct. No sleeping from this class I tell you! I may not get a chance to know the students as well but that's OK too. I have met a few other students outside of class who chatted with me and want to go have coffee to practice their English. I have a busier social life here than I do at home HAHA

I am, teaching at Chengdu Technology University, which has a nice campus. The building with the gold clock is their library.  I am quickly becoming known as the "foreign teacher" - I am the sole representative from Holland College this semester so I sort of stick out. I'm getting used to being called a foreigner though LOL. My first day I was invited to attend English corner in the evening, where students are given a topic for discussion and they break up into groups to talk in English. It was a weird topic but I had a good time anyways.

 

 My new breakfast bar in is a cafe across the way from the hotel. It has a great selection, with fried eggs and toast/bread available. What a treat.

On my first day I realized they would make a cappuccino for you so I asked for one. Now , when I walk in , she automatically makes one for me. YUMMY

I have a busy weekend planned, booking a private tour guide named Max who speaks English and is going to take me to all the major sights in and around Chengdu Saturday and Sunday. He came highly recommended so why not!

Oh, and this street name just made we chuckle

Take care all!!

Ahhh... The food

Ok, people certainly don't come to Chongqing for the crisp, clear skyline view or fresh, green pastures - nope - they come for the food. It has a reputation in the foodie community as one of THE places to eat in Southern China.

One of my first dinners here was basic noodles with beef and it was delicious (left).                                 The little shrimps (right) were small and salty but you could eat them whole like they were a peanut or something.

I still consider beer a food so a tray of sampler beers is always fun! Places offering craft beer are few and far between here so it always a treat to find a neat spot.

Last weekend staff and students treated us to a group dining extravaganza at a restaurant near the school. We had poached fish soup, duck soup w. mushrooms, dumplings, duck fried rice, enoch mushrooms with salty beef, shrimp with rice noddles, unlimited white rice and pineapple chicken to name a few.

The salty beef and roasted cauliflower were a couple of items on the table.



Barry (below) kept the table active all evening long, as if it were an old record album spinning away. You grab a sample of whatever you like as it is passing by! 

 Great food, great conversation and great fun by all. It is a very common dining experience here.

   This rice cake is fried up on a grill near the sidewalk and served as street food. I tried, wasn't a real fan (left). 

This roast chicken appetizer was delicious but if you look closely at about 9 o'clock (right) the chicken head was included. My crazy cohort gave it a try!

This city is famous for its' hotpot restaurants - I'm sure 50% of all restaurants we walk past are hotpot. Again it is group dining whereby a soup base, peppers, chilis, more peppers HAHA is heated over a flame. Think fondue on steroids!

The cowboy hat looking object is a solid oil that gradually melts as the pot gets hotter. The lady then adds some water which forms the soup portion and before long it is a frothing, hotpot of goodness. There are more peppercorns, chilis and God knows what else in there - more than I would go through in a lifetime I'm sure. The Chinese lady who took us out said it was almost TOO SPICY for her.

You are served rice and the other bowl is your own personal mixed concoction whereby you add the contents of the can (I think it was an oil or sauce) and then you add your ginger,  soy sauce, chili oil, sesame seeds, etc. from bins on a shelf. This is to dip your food after coming out of the hot pot (left). Yummy stuff ready to eat(right).

Here I try sheeps intestine for the first time - not so bad actually. A little rubbery and crunchy consistency. We also had potatoes. mushrooms, lotus root, eggs, dumplings, pork and beef.

The other evening we had Mr. Fish (below) swim onto our plate right out of the river! No, it was fully cooked and so freakin' good - it just feel away from the bone and melted in your mouth.

We need to take a subway to find a decent cup of coffee. I tried Tom n' Toms this past weekend and it was good!

And finally there is nothing quite like enjoying a German beer, in an Irish pub, in downtown Chongqing while watching cycling on TV. I felt right at home!

Life in Chongqing,China

I am adjusting well to life here in China. The daily routine is breakfast at the hotel at 8:30am and then  prep lesson plans (drink coffee) for school until noon. Usually, a quick snack of oatmeal, fruit or granola bar and tea will do for lunch at the hotel. After cleanup, we head off to the college around 1PM which is about 25-30 minute easy walk. Not very exciting but here are a few sights of the scenery on the daily trek to school.

The school itself is surrounded by lots of deserted buildings as if a movie crew finished up and left town - it is like a ghost town! Weird! Not sure what is going on there! 

                                



Our school day ends at 5:30PM and we can grab some supper out around town. (I will dedicate an upcoming blog to just food as dining out has been a fun experience and the best part of our day :-) After dinner we'll drop by a shop or two, maybe pick up a drink or snack and go back and put in a few more hours of school work.

The past weekend was busy (not much work done!) . Some staff staff and students from the college took us Canucks out for dinner Friday night.  The two ladies in the photo below are my translators in class - Daisy and Tina - without them there would be no hope for me!!! I would be lost. They are teachers at the college and are really great people. 

                      

A common dining style here is family or communal dining where lots of dishes are ordered and shared on a revolving table.  You already have your rice so then you just grab a sample of something as it is passing by. We had a selection of pork, shrimp, chicken, veggies and a few 'mystery items' that you aren't totally sure about.
                                                              

On Saturday, a group of students invited us to join them on an outing to a section of the city called Ciqikou. It is very old, traditional city full of narrow alleyways with shops all the way along. To say it was crowded is an understatement and I thought the Halifax market was busy on Saturdays.

This gentleman is cooking up a batch of soup that will later be sold in packets to prepare at home.

I even take a crack at a little baking of my own. I really could have used my Kitchen Aid mixer!

We then got to tour several prisons in the town - one being Zhazidong Prison built into an actually very serene mountain location. Ironic considering the atrocities that were carried out there.

The students here are encouraged to interact with the instructors as part of their English studies, as they can learn about Canada or just practice speaking outside the classroom. It is a different culture for sure as I don't remember hanging out with my teachers - EVER!

After the kids left, we stopped at another section of town called Shapingba for some well deserved refreshments and bite to eat after lots of walking all day. We actually wore out the students - they don't get any exercise and stay up all night playing video games.

First stop Starbucks where a large latte $8CDN costs more than a full meal of noodles and dumplings about $5-6 at most restaurants. It is a treat after all as there are limited coffee shops around our hotel - I get by on my instant packets OK.

Sunday afternoon we took an epic subway ride to the curling rink here to see the Brad Gushue and Jennifer Jones' teams compete at the 2018 China Open. It is hard to belief that in the time it would take to drive from Halifax to the PEI ferry, we took a subway ride for 1 and a half hours and were still here in the same city!

I wore my T-shirt with the Canada flag on it and it caught the eye of an official who came over chatting to us. She mentioned it to Brad and they came over after the game and thanked us for coming out to watch. It was nice!

Chongqing at Night

It is Day 6 for me in China so I will try my first night's sleep without any melatonin tonight. Hopefully, goodbye to jet lag! Spending time in Chongqing and teaching at the college has been a blast for sure. A real adventure so far!  The students in my class, though varying in age, are all kind, quiet and genuinely respectful. Some try harder than other's, I'll leave it at that haha.

Our school and hotel is on the outer ring of the city so we spent last Sunday afternoon and evening around the downtown core of Chongqing. Who needs fireworks when you can show off your city so spectacularly with lights.

Below is Hongya Cave, not far from where the Yangtze (brown river) and Jialing (green river) merge. It was a military fortress in the day, but today it is a crowded, 11-floor complex with shops, bars (yes we stopped for a brewski or 2) and restaurants built into a cliff. At night, we walked out onto the bridge and got a great view looking back.

We walked part way out on this bridge - it was very crowded!

The large brightly lit building is their Grand Theatre. 

Nicely lit towers line the river on the opposite side.

The cool 'match stick' like building is the Arts Center 

People's Liberation Monument and Pedestrian Square. It brings to mind Times Square in NYC!

Can you believe the Men's and Women's China Open 2018 (Curling) is here in Chongqing and both Brad Gushue and Jennifer Jones are competing. If they progress to the finals, we may try to take in a game or two on the weekend. Crazy!

Everything is going very well here and hi to everyone.