Back again the same day.

I just signed off a few minutes ago and I'm back. My co-teacher Diana needed the computer. Work is going well. Today, Friday, finally the children are sleeping at sleep time. It is very normal around here - not any different than Ontario or British Columbia when it comes to the day to day work with the children. Today we were talking about our brains and one of the children thought our brains are in our stomachs so this might lead to a project.
Our trip for tomorrow got changed. We are going to Xitang where mission Impossible was filmed. I'm not sure I said anything in this blog about sightseeing this weekend but as long as it doesn't fall through that is what I will be doing on Sat. Seeing more of China - the real China not the big city Shanghai especially PuDong which is so Westernized. I'll try for some more pics now. They are of Yu Garden. They are actually the area surrounding the garden before you pay to get in. I haven't been inside yet.
I'm actually doing this blog on work time today. We are having no computer problems today. Yesterday the regular IT guy was sick and someone else was doing his work and everything got fixed. I wonder what that says about what will usually be happening with the computers. Have a great day everyone. The weekend is here.

With luck, pics at last!

I finally got my pictures on the computer so I hope to show you my apartment. Here goes. I did it. These are my kitchen, my living room and my balconey. The balconey is really great, too bad you can't actually see it. Have to go. Will do another post today.

Wed. Aug 30/06

My first pay is in the bank now although I can't access it until tomorrow because tomorrow is pay day. That's why I'm working. We have been without the internet since Fri. so I'm happy to be back. The days with the children have been very good. We have children from about 8 - 10 different countries in our class. This whole school is like that. It is very interesting and mostly you just see all the similarities. Kids want their parents, parents are worried about their kids, they forget to label everything and my child doesn't sleep anymore - do they have to have rest time? I thought I would be able to buy some puzzles or books that would show Chinese people to send back to the YW for multiculture materials but actually the school buys all of this from North America. I'll keep my eyes open as I learn to shop in the Chinese stores on the other side of the river. I was out exploring by myself last Sat. and it looks like this Sat. the school is setting up a trip to another town, a 2 hour drive from here for this Sat. The town is the "Venice of the East" so I'm looking forward to that. While I was exploring myself I was really just learning my way around. I walked to another subway station which took me over an hour and then took the subway to People's Square and wandered around The Pedestrian Walk. I am going to start learning the buses since I can get a bus right outside my building. Time to work. It is very hard trying to grab a few minutes to work on the net.

stealing a few minutes

My partner is doing her chinese lesson with the kids so I thought I'd check in with you. I have always been against uniforms in day care but omigod they are so cute. The boys are wearing navy shorts with blue and white pinstripe shirts and the girls are wearing the blue and white pinstripe dresses. I feel like I have lost all my principles because I think it looks so adorable. Our first week with the children has been great. We have the greatest group with no separation anxiety, busy players, smart, capable. So far it has been half the group for only half the day so we'll see what happens next week. Emergent curriculum is really being pushed so I'm very happy. My partner is very capable and all in favour of following the children's interests even though it is new to her.
Last Sat. the school took us on a bus tour of the city. It was a touch of places we could visit for a day or two. I feel like I know where to show you around when you come to visit. They treated us to a very fancy lunch at Rosso Restaurant in the JinMao Tower. We also went to Yu Gardens and the Shanghai something something planning centre. It was quite interesting.
Hey Jim, there is a lot to be said for sitting around like a bump on the log.
Thanks Wendy for the pep talk and good luck with that desk.
I have to go to my circle time now.

Tues. Aug 22/06

There is thunder outside this morning. The first weather difference I've experienced here. I'm exhausted and discouraged this week. What the hell am I doing going back to work after retiring? Am I crazy? We have been run off our feet getting ready for today which was orientation day. The orientation went well. I met some kids, some parents and tomorrow the children will be here without most of their parents. We have kids from all over the world in our class. The kids were the same as everywhere busy with the toys, hiding behind their mothers when being introduced, didn't put the toys away when they left and put sand in the
Dramatic Play even though Mom said no. It should be interesting. Yesterday and today the computer has not worked properly, my work e-mail is blank and I know there are e-mails there, sometimes the computer won't work at all. I've decided it is too expensive to buy a computer for home so I will have to make do with this one until I get home at Christmas. I'll bring the old laptop at home, here when I return.
I had a dress made at the fabric market last week and this week I am having pants and matching shirt made. The dress made of linen cost $20. and the pants and shirt are $25. I'm not sure what the material is. It's fun shopping at the fabric market. Western food is very common here and not too expensive but slightly more than chinese food. Tues. night is half price night for teachers at the Moon River restaurant so that's where I'll eat tonight. Last week it cost me less than $3. for tomato soup and a BLT. Moon River is quite western.
I'll let you know how our first day with the children goes tomorrow.

A Moment To Breathe

It is my lunch break and the computer in our playroom is set up for my use so I think I will have more time to write in here. Next week I hope to have a computer set up at home. But it is not cheaper than there. The meetings I have been in have been about the Yew Chung Education Foundation who is my employer. They are still looking for more teachers if anyone is interested. They had an all day session introducing EVERYONE in every department and division and what they do and fill out this form when you want something from them. I felt very sorry for the ones who were later in the day because I'm sure no one was listening and even if we were it was way too much to take in. We had an all day workshop on Character First! which was very patronizing and the man giving the workshop I'm sure likes everyone to be a good little soldier. I haven't talk to anyone who liked that workshop. We have had meetings about curriculum which have been much more interesting. They seem to be starting emergent curriculum but it is very new. There also seems to be an expectation that by the end of K4 ie JK children will be reading and spelling and doing addition. I'm not too happy about this. I have not yet been able to really read this book called The Foundation Stage which is the whole basis of the curriculum which sets out goals but it doesn't seem to be in agreement with the workshop presented by Dr. Le Wei who is very definitely in favour of emergent curriculum. Much of the materials she presented were very Reggio. I was very excited when listening to her. However the staff don't get it. There are 5 of us teaching 3 groups of 3 year olds and we were able to meet together. All 4 of them want us to have the same themes or topics which we will choose for at least the next few months and then the children are free to choose the activities we provide. They feel this is basing your curriculum on the children's interests. Good luck to me!
I have ordered my first piece of clothing from the fabric market. It is a summer dress in chocolate brown linen for 140 RMB or yuans which is $20. I saw some beautiful white material with yellow and blue flowers which you know I fell in love with but they wanted 250 RMB to make a summer dress and would not bargain. I had an experienced bargainer with me but no luck. It was very disappointing. I might see if I can buy the material at a decent price and have someone else make me something. I will be back there tomorrow - Sat.
I have had the opportunity to do a fair bit of sightseeing and again tomorrow the school is taking us on a city tour. We are going to the Pearl Tower and another tower which is 88 floors and very impressive, Yu Garden and to the Fabric Market. I'm not sure what else.
It is only 2 weeks ago today that I left home but it feels like forever. I think because my days have been so full and I have met so many people who seem like such long time friends. I have talked on the phone with my family a number of times and we are all doing well.
I won't be back on again before Mon. or maybe Tues.

curriculum at Yew Chung

I only have a few minutes to type. The next meeting starts in 5 minutes. I have just about been meetinged to death. There has been a lot of discussion of philosophy and curriculum. They profess emergent curriculum and a very reggio philosophy but apparently this is new and the teachers are not all on board but I'm hoping it will work. Gotta go.

Mon Aug 14/06

chinabloggers
Thanks for the comment Sue. Yes Mandarin is the language spoken here and I have not really learned anything oh no that's wrong - itchy toe means straight ahead. I have been sick the last few days with sore throat, cold and today a bit of a queasy stomach which seems to have settled down now. It is extremely hot here and I gather it will be for another month anyways. I have been to the Bund, the Pedestrian Walk near there and to People's Square. We have been taken on a river cruise which was a wonderful night and we are going on a city tour next Sat. I have been shopping at Ikea. So I have really been a tourist for the first week. I met my co-teacher today in meetings that we had. Meetings all week this week. The children don't start until Aug. 23rd. The only pics I have taken are of my apartment but I don't think I can actually download them until I'm either on a computer in my classroom or have my own computer. Don't know when that will be. I can hardly wait to take pictures of the gardens outside my classroom which is actually called a house. I am in house 2. These houses are actually like little townhouses. My access to a computer should be steady now so I hope to write often for a while. Although it will probably be boring since as I said we are in meetings all week. Talk to you later.

Thurs. Aug. 10/06

My blog came up today no problem. It is my second day at work but I'm not really working yet. It is all orientation. Yesterday was a medical, a 2.5 hour presentation that was really difficult to get through - very dry boring details, open a bank account for pay to be deposited. We left home at 7:45 and got home at 6. At 7, 18 of us went out for dinner to a fancy restaurant, The Tang Dynasty. We were all expats half of them returnees and half of us new. It was a great evening. Finally I slept through the night until 5:30 a.m.
Today we have had a tour of the Pudong campus of YCIS - Yew Chung International School. It is fabulous. I am teaching the 3 year olds with my Chinese co-teacher Diana Dai. I haven't met her yet. I think she starts work on Mon. The Seasons Villas is my part of the campus. I will take some pictures but I think I will have to wait til I have my own computer before I can start downloading them. There is a magnificent garden attached to the classrooms area (there are I think 10 groups of children from age 1 - 4. My group can be 20 children with 2 teachers but presently we have 15. The rooms for my group look much like the school rooms during the summer with furniture piled in the middle of the room and cleaning going on so it was a little difficult to get a feel for that. The climber is great just like we have in Canada with lots of areas for a variety of gross motor activities . It is the garden area which is large and beautiful place to play and learn that really adds to this campus. I didn't see the resource and library area for the 3 and 4 year olds. Across the street is the Regency Park campus of Pudong and is basically grade 1 - 7. It is fantastic. I'm sitting in the computer lab along with a group of co-workers all of us busy doing our personal e-mail. The rest of the day we are off and I think some of us are going shopping at Ikea. Talk to you later.

Blogging problems

I am having trouble viewing my blog. I could only get into it by going to bloggerspot.com and then logging in. This does not bring me to into view blog but it does let me publish to you. I will not be able to read your comments from here though. Maybe it won't be a problem another day or otherwise I might be able to get help with it from the IT people here at work.

Day One in China, Sunday Aug. 6/06

I woke up at 4 a.m. and couldn't go back to sleep and got up at 4:30. Still couldn't call home and since it was 4 p.m. there it would have been so perfect. The TV wouldn't turn on but there is a satellite dish on my balcony. By the way I have taken pictures of my fabulous apartment but I don't have the camera and cord with me. I'll post them another day. I poked around until about 7 a.m. and finally went outside to ask the guards at the gate if they spoke English so I could find out how to use this phone card. The previous night I did phone my cousin Charlene's friend Rose who did inform me that I had to dial 001 not 011 which got me to the part where I had no authority. The guards (yes there are guards all around this complex as there is at the complex at work. The guards at home don't actually stop anybody from entering but at work you have to show why you are there.) The guards found out how to use the card but they couldn't relay that fact to me. I went walking up the street to find a pay phone because I thought I could just insert the card. No pay phones but a Radisson Hotel - someone in there must speak English. The concierge was most helpful. You have to scratch with a coin to reveal your card no. and pin. Hooray back home to my nice cool apartment. It is very hot outside and I am sweating to death. I try again and I get all the way through to dialling my home number and it still won't work. I am very frustrated and near tears. I call the number for the person to contact if there is something wrong with the apartment. He works for YCEF also. Oh, I forgot it is 001. Finally, I got Doug on the phone, we chatted and then I called Paul and Sandra to tell them about this great apartment and then I phoned Mike who is in Vancouver. I had to leave him a message and when I did get him I forgot the time difference between Vancouver and Toronto. I woke him up at 6 in the morning. Sorry, Mike. It has been hard not to phone every day but those 3 phone calls have almost used up my whole card. Apparently it is very expensive to phone direct without a card.
Later that day Laura the Early Childhood Coordinator who is probably my boss,but neither she or I new my assignment, came and showed me around the shopping area in my neighbourhood. I bought a few more groceries, a garbage can, a mop, etc.
That evening I received a phone call from Corinne at work she was sending someone to give me a new card for the satellite. Laura had gotten the TV turned on but it was obvious there was no satellite. When the man came he said my box was bad and I could buy a new one for 1000 yuans. I could pay him in Sept. after I get paid. No Thank you. When Corinne heard about this she and her husband who lived in this apartment until June came right over with her card because she was sure it should work ( it did in June). But no luck so it seems if I want to watch some english programming I will have to dish out the money. I'll decide later. It's getting late, I am watching CCTV 9 which is an english news station and reading a book. I go to bed about 11 p.m. I'm sure I will be able to sleep later tomorrow morning.

I'm in China

Hello All, I have so much to tell you and I don't think I can type that much. I will start with Aug. 4 & 5 which is one day to me. No problem getting to Toronto and from there to Chicago. I had a nice relaxing couple of hours at O'Hare and Wendy take note of the fact that I ate a hamburger, fries and a coke at McDonalds practically beside my gate. At 11:30 we started boarding according to schedule. Take off was scheduled for 12:10. At. about 12:35 they told us we were delayed because some part in the engine had to be replaced. They said it would take an hour and a half. The guy beside me said, "not likely". It was 4 hours and another 1/2 hour waiting for traffic on the runway. After about 3 hours or more of sitting on the plane, get this Wendy, they served us hamburgers and fries from McDonalds.
I landed in Shanghai at 7:40 p.m. was found immediately by my employer and was at my apartment by about 9 p.m. It is a fantastic apartment - clean bright cheery roomy and although considered a one bedroom it has a study plenty big enough for another bedroom so come to visit. I just realized as I was typing the last sentence that I have 2 Wendy's on here. I was talking to Wendy G about Mc. Back to the apartment, Kim D I have almost all that I need in furnishings including one machine that is both washer and dryer. I want some balcony furniture though. Dishes, cutlery, pots and pans, microwave are part of the furnishings but oh darn the iron is missing. I spent the evening putting away my belongings, looking through the materials they left me to read and trying to phone home. They left me a phone card but I couldn't figure it out. The phone itself if I tried to dial direct just said I didn't have the authority to do that. It's late, midnight, time to go to bed, I'll figure it out tomorrow. And what a perfect time to go to bed, I should have no trouble waking up at the right time and be right on Shanghai time. Actually China time, as all of China is in one time zone. Oh yeah, fat chance.

Flying to China

It is Aug. 3/06 at 7:45 p.m. In 12 hours I will be on the plane to China. It has been an interesting few months as I have prepared for this adventure. The last few weeks have been a roller coaster ride of emotions: worried anxious scared happy excited intrigued. I spent today visiting a lot of people. I have seen a lot of my brothers especially the last 2 weeks. Doug and I had our last trip to Starbucks tonight. Last week we saw Mike off at the airport as he headed off to a new phase at university (that of researcher and teacher as opposed to student) in Vancouver at UBC. Richard is unsure of visiting me in Shanghai but I hope he will be ready to do just that before it is time for me to return. In the meantime he will be busy driving taxi and taking care of the house here. I will arrive in Shanghai at 5 p.m. on Sat. the 5th their time. It is 12 hours earlier here. I will be met at the airport by someone from the Yew Chung school. I don't expect to have access to a computer until next Wed. when I start work. I will take pictures to add to my blog then. Talk to you next week.