Bonnie’s Portfolio

Powerpoints

Hey, I’ve added the power points I used in class as Pages below … fyi.

Bonnie

Blog from China, Oct 23 – Nov 10

BEIJING DAYS: OCT 23 – 26

Arriving in Beijing on Oct 23, and heading to the Swissotel thru a traffic jam because of the ASEM (Asia Europe Meetings): security closed off one entire route, so a 40 min. trip took 2 hours.  Birdy met us and was very solicitous, helping us to the hotel.  Jet lag!  I was on my own until Friday, the next day.  I phoned Aojun Li and made a plan for her to come to the Symposium with Bowei on Saturday.  She graduated in 2006 and has been teaching English at a university in Beijing since last year.  I also made a plan with Amy Ren, another Cohort 1 graduate, to get together with her on Sunday after my interviews. 

 

Friday night (Oct 24) we had a great dinner at the South Beauty restaurant near the Poly Plaza: Sichuan food, some so hot my lips went numb and tingling.  I liked it a lot.  When the final display of beautifully cut fruit arrived, I was stuffed.  I’m good with the chopsticks, but I’ve become even better.  All the Canadian university representatives were there: memorial, St. John’s Steven & Lihong; York, Victoria Watkins; UBC Jerzy; Windsor, Marnie; NSCAD, Michael; Brock, Barbara; only Frances from St Mary’s was missing.  Birdy was a great host.

 

At the Symposium, I met Aojun who helped me present and also sat beside me for the 3-hour event.  Later we went out to dinner and had Peking Duck.  We sat near the wood fire ovens, where you could see the ducks cooking, their heads still on.  Then they come and cut some for your table and we ate it wrapped up in a little crepe with sauce inside and a few thin slices of cucumber and leek.  Aojun and I talked about her teaching and her life in Beijing.  We rode the Metro back to the hotel.  Bowei couldn’t’ come after all because he had fallen and injured his forehead.  He had already bought the train ticket, so he was sorry to miss us.  AOJUN/AMY cohort 1 graduate, in her second year teaching English at university in Beijing:

 

The next day (Oct 25) I interviewed 8 students and then met Steven Ge, Michael from NSCADD, and Amy Ren and went by taxi to a restaurant where we had jiaozi – dumplings.  When we first went in, you could see everyone sitting at a long table making the dumplings to order.  They were very fast.  Everything was so fresh and I ate much too much. Shrimp, vegetable, and other fillings all very fresh and tasty. The last ones were black rice flour and filled with sweet red bean—very good.  Michael and I caught the Metro back to our hotel, which was very close to Dongsishitiao Station.   PHOTOS OF AMY AND OF MAKING DUMPLINGS:

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

I was so jet lagged in Beijing that I really didn’t do much.  I walked to the hutongs the first day.  First, I tried to find my way to a store one block away from the hotel.  I went in the wrong direction 3 times.  Showing my map to people, who could not understand it or my question.  Finally I met a young man who helped me; he said he was planning to go to Ottawa to student.  He walked me to the right corner.  I wandered into a store that sold women’s beauty products and bought some skin care stuff through gestures and some English.  Then I went back to the hotel to rest.  I ventured out one more time, determined to find the hutongs.  I did find a residential area, and walked the shady quiet pedestrian streets happily.   That was Friday.  Also, exploring the hotel’s steam room and swimming pool helped me get through the jet lag.   Local women were using it too.  Another quiet place to recover.

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

Monday I went walking near Gulou River and fairly close to the Drum Tower, but I never found the drum tower.  I went into a restaurant and managed to order “mustard soup” the English translation.  Turned out to be hot broth with greens, exactly what I wanted after the heavy meal I had eaten on Sunday night. I watched the older women and men play mahjong outside by the river.  I also went into the hutongs near there, and found my way back to a different metro Anhingen, by walking through the park along the river, where I saw my second toddler wearing split pants and a man playing accordion and women sitting and talking. The last day in Beijing, Monday, I was sick with the flu.  Frank bought me some Chinese medicine, Banlangen Keli.  I would hold up the packet and people understood I needed hot water.  I took it several times a day.  A powder that dissolved in liquid; tasted okay, too.

 

ZHENGZHOU: QUICK ONE-NIGHT STAY

I felt like I arrived in China when the plane landed in Zhengzhou Tuesday at noon – I had traveled again, but was still in China.  I was looking forward to the Sofitel, my favorite hotel – the lobby is beautiful and the noodle soup breakfast is great and there are many other choices of food there.  I talked with Tina and Frankie (graduates from Cohort 2) on the phone and we arranged to meet that night after 9 pm, when I returned from presenting at Zhengzhou Normal University. I was sick, so we didn’t visit long in the lobby.  Tina looked more mature and confident.  She has taken a position of more responsibility in her job—a foundation that helps poor families and children, helping children who can’t afford to go to school.  Frankie hasn’t married Kai yet – the apartment is renovated, but they still need time to book the restaurant because it can take up to a year to get a reservation.  She too has more responsibility in her job, the Director of a small department at her university that specializes in Foreign Languages (e.g. English). 

 

After interviewing on Wednesday morning, Frankie picked me up to go to her university and I gave a lecture to a large group of her students from 1 to 2 pm.  I learned a lot from trying to lead a Chinese class.  The junior students (3^rd year) were able to speak English and answer questions, but the freshmen, who were the majority were a bit confused by my style, I think.  One student continued to fill my cup with hot water and the medicine, as I was still fighting the flu.  We rushed back to the hotel in time for me to check out and get to the airport to catch the plane to Fuzhou.

 

FUZHOU: WEDS NIGHT TO FRIDAY MORNING, OCT 29-31

Fuzhou, in the nighttime:  no time for a dinner that first night, just bed.  Then early morning for the Symposium, in the hotel.  A beautiful breakfast buffet, as usual.  We also had lunch, which was not always possible with our schedules, but this hotel (the Grand Empark Hotel) has a great restaurant in the bottom floor, where we had a good lunch.  You go up to the counter and choose the seafood (lots of seafood) and vegetables and lots of choices of mushrooms and everything is cooked to your order. 

I interviewed my first young man so far this trip and I remembered Shuo, the only young man in Cohort 4, who I interviewed last march in Fuzhou.  The applicants in Fuzhou all had teaching experience, too. 

That night we went to a restaurant and I learned about the custom of toasting. Saying a person’s name, you stand and click your glass on the edge of the round table (the lazy susan part that turns around in the middle with all the food on it).  Then you say, Cheers and you have to drink down the whole glass in one swallow.  Luckily the glasses are very small and you can also toast with tea.  Again lots of seafood, very yummy food.   

The next morning we had some time before catching the plane to Shanghai, so we were able to go out of the hotel and see something of the city of Fuzhou.  I had already been to the pagoda/temple park, so I went with Joy, one of the assistants, together to Wu Shu Hill.  I sat in the chair where the No. 1 Scholar wrote books.   The hill park, right in the centre of the smoggy city, on a day hot and humid, was a cool and quiet place to be.  I saw some displays about this history.  One plaque had English and said:  In 19XX, the Western imperialists invaded China with their opium and canons”  – because I am interested in challenging the “Western canon” this pleased me.  Joy and I talked a little about her life.  She is the youngest with 5 brothers and sisters much older. When her family gets together there are 20, because of the spouses and children.  She took a photo of me sitting in the chair where the No. 1 Scholar came to write his books in ancient times. 

Back to the hotel for the flight to Shanghai. 

 

SHANGHAI FOR THE WEEKEND (NOV 1-2)

We arrived and went to the Swissotel, a new hotel near Frank’s office, but still within walking distance of the Jinan Temple Metro, so a familiar district.  Although it has changed.  The older markets are gone and newer places are being built.  That night, after presenting at the university, we had a wonderful dinner in the place near the office where we go often: we walk to the top floor to a special room with a round table for everyone, very comfortable.  Then, I went with Barbara to the massage place behind the Hilton for a foot massage.  For only 78 RMB, a very good 45 minutes foot massage — a soak and then aromatic, ginseng oil massage.  A strong young woman massages my feet.  No words needed.  Across from us, divided by a see-through curtain, 3 Chinese business men in suits were having a massage.  They were talkative during the soak and then seemed to fall asleep during the massage.   Same with Barbara and me.  We walked back to the hotel quite invigorated. 

I got up in the morning, still suffering from the flu and taking the medicine.  This was the Symposium day.  A long day, from morning to afternoon, in the Shanghai Library.  I finished and Polly tried to find me a cab but we couldn’t.  I was so tired.  She helped me walk to the Metro.  I had to go to Peoples Park and transfer to Line 2 to get back to the hotel.  It was packed.  At first, I thought no room, but then we all pushed on.  Packed tight next to each other, me with my heavy laptop case.  At the next stop, more people got on!  I could barely breathe.  I stayed near the door so that I could get off at People’s Park.  I had trouble following signs through the huge stations, but found my way and the direction to Jinan Temple.  I was glad to get on a less crowded metro and to get off entirely and get back.   

In the evening, I decided not to go to the restaurant.  I rested and then went out to go shopping, to find the big market that is underground at the Science and Technology Metro, the Xinzhang market.  On the way, I got some food at Noodles Plus, which was a mistake.  It was not what I wanted and much too much and cost too much and that night I was sick all night.  The next day, when I had 7 interviews all day from 10 to 3 pm without a break, I was also sick.  Polly bought me some medicine, which helped.   I had already taken all the medicine I had brought with me in the night, as I was awake all night running to the bathroom.  I went and had some long jing tea (green tea) and a very light mushroom clear broth soup.  Later, that evening, we went for a meal at the same restaurant near the office, and then to the Chinese acrobatics show.  That was amazing.  I was holding my breath so many times, wondering how they can do the amazing things.  It is much like Cirque de Soleil but without the glitz, just talent.  I liked the one with the scarves, where they fly through the air.  Each of the performances was choreographed differently and the variety was amazing.  We walked back to the hotel in the slight drizzle that had been happening all day.  It wasn’t far and you can see the skyscraper with the Swissotel neon sign from far way.  About 30 minutes.

 

NANJING

Monday morning, ready and packed up to go early on the train to Nanjing.  The train station full of people, but I much prefer this way of travel.  I can see the countryside, very flat, often with waterways or ponds.  Older buildings and sometimes people living in make shift dwellings by the side of the fields.  Always laundry hanging.  Green growing fields.  We went through Suzhou and then Zhejiang.  To Nanjing.

 

LIMING TEMPLE, NANJING AND MING WALL

I’m in the JInling Hotel, fancy in Nanjing and have to go soon to present (Monday evening).  I took off this afternoon after a lunch with everyone that was good, different things, like “stinky tofu” — sounds strange but okay — and river eels with garlic that was great.  I jumped on the subway and went 2 stations.  Then, the usual, I got lost and turned around and walked far out of my way with no idea where I was. No foreigners.  No street signs … except maybe something that I did not recognize as a sign and of course with characters I can’t read.

Finally asked the second woman who said over there—by pointing– and I could see the wall.  I couldn’t see how to get to it, but I headed in that direction.  It is OLD like the Roman wall only older.  Ming Dynasty was a long time ago.  On the other side is a lake, but I didn’t figure that out for a while.  I walked along with the locals.  Finally after 40 min. I saw something that looked different — a way to get up to the top of the wall to walk along and then I was directed to the Liming Temple, and could see the pagoda.  Bright yellow.  By this time, I had time to walk along the wall and see the lake and the view and quickly go to the temple, where Buddhists are praying with incense and without incense, and talk with some young girls in the shop and get a bottle of flower tea, and then head down to a street to get a taxi home (only about 10 min to the hotel, even with traffic).  I have some photos of the temple, I hope they turn out.  It is 22 C here and of course I have the wrong clothes and I just try to make the best of it.

NANJING NOV. 4

No interviews today and so I talked with the agents to tell them more about SFU — this is CanAchieve who we haven’t worked with before.  Then, although it was offered that I stay in the office and have fast food with the others, I chose to walk back to the hotel, Jinling Hotel.  I asked to have someone direct me in the right direction after my experience yesterday of getting lost.  I also asked where I could buy a tea carrier — a go cup you can put tea leaves in.  I will buy some green tea later.  I came back and ordered lunch (a vegetable soup which means chicken broth, veggies and noodles) and also some of the local YUHUA tea, one of the 10 kinds of green tea … I read that in the guide to Nanjing I was given.  I am in my hotel room to do a little work and then go out and explore again.  The weather is warm — I am warm in my shirt and long pants outside, but local people are wearing jackets.  This time I asked for a quiet room and even though the constant car honking and traffic is audible, it is not deafening, and I do not face out to any construction.  There is lots of construction going on in Nanjing.  I think I will explore to find a foot massage.  I am feeling better but not 100% better.

Tonight hopefully an excursion to some historic sights in this ancient city.  Tomorrow a flight to Changsha.

That night:  last night in Nanjing, we went to a 1912 district restaurant and again had an amazing meal.  The restaurant was like in a Victorian mansion, with Chinese doorways and other touches.  From a time when there was a mix of cultures (apparently through the 1920s as well).  Then we went to the Confucius Temple (Kongzi Academy) by taxi.  This was really interesting.  One of the places where bright students came to take the imperial exams from all over the region.  They stayed in the rooms there and the exams took several days.  Depending on the results, they might go next to a higher capital in a bigger city and move on up in the social hierarchy.  Even poor, farm kids could become respected scholars, if they did well.  This area also had musicians, women who were trained in art and music, the only education women allowed at that time.  They and the scholars could have discussions …  We took a boat ride along the river where the musicians used to play, like in the old days apparently.  Everything lit up now with neon instead of with Chinese lanterns. 

 

CHANGSHA NOV. 5

So, this Weds pm arrived to rain in Changsha and a traffic jam.  The pollution in Nanjing on the way to the airport and now in Changsha is bothering me a bit.  We’re in a nice hotel, the Huatian Hotel, but it took me 3 tries to get a room … just a mixup.  And then a one-hour turn around and out to present at a university.  I went with Frances Baobang from St Marys Univ. in Halifax and he graduated from SFU years ago.  He talks about a Masters in Finance.  So, first we go to a restaurant with the 3 workers, young people, one a senior in university, the other 2 who work in the local office.  They order food for us, thank goodness, and it is good and not too hot for me.  And then we go to the classroom.  The powerpoint and display is difficult to get started.  The classroom is partially full of students.  I take photos of the desk tops that have words written in English and Chinese and also math problems written on them, like many school desks … We each present, with translation, so it takes 2 hours.

Changsha, as the capital of Hunan province, has some interesting things to explore and if I am not completely scheduled tomorrow, Thursday, I will venture around the city.

 

CHANGSHA, THURSDAY, NOV. 6

This is the day after the election results came here and I’m happy about Obama winning.  I haven’t seen an English newspaper yet here, but the TV has CNN (not BBC like in other cities).  This is the most ‘developing’ (Tier 2 or 3, not Tier 1) city we have been in.  That means that for me, as a foreigner, it is more difficult.  Many things I am used to are not happening here.

Today it is raining.  Again, I had no interviews.  I decided to go to the Hunan Provincial Museum.  It has a lot of cultural relics, including 3 unearthed tombs from over 2000 years ago and in one of them a noble woman was buried very well.  When they excavated in the 1970s, her skin was still elastic, joints still moved, organs were still mostly intact and her beautiful silk clothing was still there.  You can see the silk dresses, preserved.  So, they have the corpse for you to see and it is quite amazing.  You can also see the 3 coffins, one inside the other, and many funerary objects buried with her and a replica of the very very deep tomb (2 stories down).  The funerary objects are replicas of things but made in wood – you still get the decorations, carvings, etc.  Besides that crowd pleaser, there are lots of bronzes and lots of lacquer ware and bamboo calligraphy inscriptions.  One thing I found interesting was the detailed drawings and carvings of Qigong poses.  Really shows how Qigong was practiced thousands of years ago, along with medicinal herbs and writings about how to use them. They also found something like the I Ching, I forget the name right now.  I liked some of the bronzes very much, because of the intricate carvings and designs on them.  I liked what was called cloud design and also the swirls.

I was accompanied on my journey by a young man who goes by the English name of Vison, who works for the agent here.  He then took me to a local hot pot place.  After my recent experience with eating locally and getting sick, I was a little worried.  But he did not have enough English for me to communicate that.  Anyway, the stainless steel pot is placed on a hot-plate-like-thing recessed into the centre of the table and the broth in it heats up to boiling.  Then you place your selected items (e.g. tofu, thin sliced meat, vegetables, etc.) into the broth and cook them for yourself.  There was also a small offering of what I think was a version of “stinky tofu” (I know it’s a funny name, but it is a delicacy, like blue cheese in France).  I first tried the very hot broth, but then switched to the bland one he had ordered for me, and mixed them back and forth.  I also managed to splash hot oily chili broth all over my clothes.  Oh well.  It was an experience, and I liked being in a local café.  It was full of young people and a few older folks like me.  In one section, you could sit on swings instead of at a booth around a table.  The swings were fairly stable—with a chain to hold them down, but still it was a nice feature.  Everyone had these plates stacked with fresh food to cook in their hot pot.

We next tried to brave the hard rain (I feel like I’m getting ready for return to Vancouver) to go ‘shopping’ but I think I have to give up on that idea.  There are tons of shops, but I’ve never been good in malls and it is just too overwhelming for me.  After over an hour of walking and occasional taxi-ing –we got stuck in traffic jam on the way back to the hotel – I arrived back at the hotel to dry off and rest before the evening performance.  By that I mean, my appearance at a local university to talk about SFU.

 

 

 

GUANGZHOU

When we first arrived in GZ, we had 2 hours free time before the evening work, so Marnie, from Windsor, and I took off to go exploring.  We found a park and walked around.  It had a Sun Yat Sen Monument, Five Goat Statue, lakes, waterfall, flowering trees and was lush, lush, lush with green.  It was very humid that day and it was like being in a steam room to hike around up hill and down in the green, tropical park.  After that, we tried to find a shopping area, one of the markets where you can bargain, that we had been told at the hotel was nearby.  We could have been walking on top of it (it could have been underground) but we could not find it in time.  We took the metro back.  A bright yellow metro with red trim and air-conditioned!  We had a good adventure before our hard work.

         The exciting part of being in GZ was meeting up with Selina, Hannah, and Wendy from Cohort 2.  All are working teaching English in some way or another.  Selina works for a private organization that is preparing students for study overseas, mainly in Australia.  She has to teach about language and culture issues.  Hannah is teaching in a university, mostly freshman non-English majors, so she is facing challenges in motivating them and in getting them to speak.  Their level is low.  She has to sneak in English movies and other creative things – her administration would consider that not teaching and that’s why she sneaks it in.  Wendy is teaching English at Sun-Yat-Sen university at the Zhuhai campus.  So, we met Saturday afternoon at the agent’s office and after I finished my interviews, we went to dinner at a special place, a traditional building that Selina knew about from her b.f. who is from Guangzhou.  It was great!  Hannah’s b.f. is from Chongqing, so she is getting used to new customs, like 4-hour dinners and hotter food.  We talked about teaching and its challenges. 

         On Sunday, all of us who are from Canada promoting our universities went to Beijing Normal University in Zhuhai in a van to give yet another presentation about our programs.  For a Sunday morning, there was a good crowd.  I have watched these promos at least 4 times now, so I know all of them and have some ideas for how to improve SFU’s.  Wendy was able to meet me in Zhuhai and take me to her campus after the presentation (missing lunch, but having our own lunch at her university cafeteria; we had dumplings and also I had some black/purple rice and red bean soup—very good).  She showed me her teachers’ residence, and the classroom complex and the lakes and tree-lined walkway to the students’ residences and the sport complex.  Very peaceful place.  And the library building was amazing—it looks like an opening book.  Sun-Yat-Sen University in Zhuhai.

 

         On Friday night in Guangzhou, I presented at another university and that was the night we arrived.  Saturday morning was a Symposium, also at another university, so the time in Guangzhou was very full.  That’s why the time hanging out with the 3 alumni was so great.  It was beautiful weather – the first day hot and the second and third days cooler, with winds.  We left GZ for Shanghai late at night, arriving around 11 last night, my last night in China.

 

SHANGHAI last day

Now I am at the airport and soon to leave for Vancouver.  I slept in after the long Sunday, and had my last amazing breakfast:  noodle soup with greens and mushrooms, steamed buns filled with various stuff, an omelet this time, and lots of fruit too, and of course asked for green tea. 

I chose to go to one of my favourite places in Shanghai for the 3^rd time in the morning before leaving for the airport.  That is the Jade Buddha Temple.  I find it is a good place to buy gifts for my friends and it has a lot of beautiful statues and art.  It is a short taxi ride, but another way to see the city.

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

a thank you

 

EWOB conference

see web page