Expedition Live Life 2

  Wednesday, April 3 8:00pm The homesickness bug has hit me. It was probably perpetuated when I woke up this morning and the wifi at my little hotel wasn't working. I talked with the girl at the front desk and she reset it. I called home and talked with my family and everything was good. Then Davis (my 3 yr old nephew) got on the phone and asked if I was out of China yet. That did it. Tears flowed from my eyes at his simple question. I then called Ray and had problems connecting by Skype so again, my nerves fluttered. I called by Skype to his phone and got through. I enjoy talking with him each morning and night. It calms me and makes me feel at home.  Today, the contact I have through the Chinese teacher at my school will be meeting me to take me around the city. I'm hoping that, much like Megan provided a transition for me in Shanghai, that Lily will do the same in Beijing. More than anything, I'm wanting the comfort of someone that knows what is goi...

 Tuesday, April 2 6:30pm This morning I checked out of my hostel and began the adventure to Beijing. I jumped on Line 2 and headed to the Hongqiao Railway Station. My hostel booked my ticket on the high-speed bullet train linking Shanghai to Beijing for me the other day, so "all" that I needed to do was go to the ticket booth to claim my ticket. I arrive at the station and head in the direction of the massive lines behind the ticket booth. In my head I'm thinking that I'm glad that I allowed myself an extra half hour this morning because as it was, I was slightly concerned if I would have my ticket in time. At arrival, there were only two lines open. Then third and fourth lines opened and you would have thought they were giving away money if you saw how fast the locals moved lines. This also was a point of contention between an older gentleman, a young, tall guy in a nice suit, and what appeared to be more of a rural, smaller guy. When I looked over a...

  Monday, April  1  10:00pm You can't leave Shanghai without experiencing rush hour on the subway on a Monday  morning. In  my last entry I mentioned the pushing that Chinese like to do on public transportation. Yeah, that fact was just increased exponentially. It's sheer madness! Here I was thinking I would enjoy my bakery treat and banana and to think I was considering a Starbucks this morning... I was out of my mind!! I'm squished like a sardine. I'm tuckered back in my corner, safe and sound until the dreaded moment that I have to exit. I may start moving that way three exits in advance to be safe!! Update: I got off if the subway with no problems. My first stop today was going to visit Megan and her students. Her first class was a small group of 4th grade ESL students. Her second group was 5th grade English Honors kids. Each class was able to introduce themselves to me. To be a student at the Shanghai High School International Divisio...

  Sunday, March 31 10:30pm Today Megan and I ventured out of Shanghai to a neighboring village about an hour away by bus. The Zhujiajiao Ancient Town was our destination. On the way, Megan I and I discussed how her school worked in Shanghai. Students that boarded at the school slept 4 to a room, Chinese Teachers slept 2 to a room and foreign teachers, like Megan, had their own room. I asked if this created any resentment between foreign teachers and locals and she felt there was. She also said that the expectations and pressure were much higher for local teachers as opposed to foreigners, which she took offense to. Chinese teachers are observed countless times a year, whereas Megan was only been observed twice a semester last school year and even less this year. She said that their bonuses, yes those things that people work extra hard to earn, are tied to 'satisfaction surveys.' She explained that a part of the bonus comes from surveys from the kids and survey...