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[msbrightside85]

My Eureka moment

Quite simply one the most amazing moments of my China life so far. I guess there will always be the first time and this is mine. The first time when you feel real triumph. That you've started on your journey to actually living in a different country and not just visiting. My tale begins at school on an unspectacular weekday. I had gone in early to plan my lessons and my manager asked if I could get together a stock of headphones for the teachers to use when the students have a test. Oh yeah, we do some of our tests on ipads, posh eh? I was pretty impressed when I arrived although sometimes they are a little more trouble than they're worth – you know, just the usual tech complaints. Amazing when it actually works etc.

Anyway ... headphones. So cut to me sat in the office unpacking forty or so (pairs of?) headphones from their rather OTT packaging (let's not go down the packaging road otherwise I will never finish my story!) and now I'm thinking what do I do with all this cardboard and plastic. This is again another drawback to being new. When you've been somewhere for a while you would know what to do in this kind of situation, but alas I did not. So I turned to one of my local colleagues (as I often do) for advice. She said the cleaner will take them away if they're bagged up. So naturally my next question was and where do we keep the bin bags? She informed me that the cleaner has them. Ok. Now, I knew where to find the cleaner as she usually hangs out outside the loos when she's not on her rounds but I didn't know if she would know any English, probably not. Sometimes it is a bit of a tough thing to get your head around. Working at a school which teaches English sometimes removes you from the fact that you’re actually living in China. The fact of it is that even though we’re teaching lots of children day after day, there are still so many people who don’t know English. It’s just easy to forget. So I turn to my local colleague again and ask, what’s bin bags in Chinese?

Now I need to digress purposefully here (I promise) as I do need to emphasise that I do this a lot. I ask my local colleagues what random words are in Chinese, not for any purpose but just because I think of something and wonder what it is in Chinese. I guess I can con myself into thinking that this is a small part of my big Chinese language development plan, but I can assure you that it is not. The number of words I instantly forget as soon as I've recited them is about 90%. It is pretty darned high. But in some cases I do retain the information and strangely enough this is one of those examples, bin bags. I know it's crazy. As you all know my brain is programmed to remember the useful stuff!

Not forgetting that this day I'm referring to, bin bag day as we shall affectionately call it, took place around two months ago and yet I can still tell you what bin bags are in Chinese. Thankfully, I'm proud to say that I have managed to retain SOME useful snippets (not that bin bags isn't massively useful of course ...) such as asking 'how much is it?' and things like left, right, straight on and stop, which are all very useful when you're in a taxi. I think I've come across one taxi driver the whole time I've been here who could speak English and what I mean when I say this is that even when I say my address in Chinese (no doubt pronounced very badly) some drivers are even unable to understand this and so I have to resort to showing them my address written in Chinese characters. Having this information is fantastically useful and has saved me many times, especially in the early days. So if you ever do venture out this way make sure to get the address of your hotel or wherever you're staying written down in Chinese characters, it will be a life saver. Thankfully one of the HR girls at school gave me a few addresses in Chinese when I first arrived and I have them saved on my phone in case I ever need them. My phone is my life out here, way more than it was in England.

Anyway, bin bags. So I rehearsed my line 'do you have any bin bags?' with my Chinese colleague over and over and over and over and then ran off (I couldn't risk walking in case I forgot it along the way) and there was the cleaner outside the toilets as predicted. So I did it. I asked her if she had any bin bags and without saying a word she went into the cupboard under the sink (very useful to remember this location for future bin bag supplies …) and gave me a roll of bin bags. It felt so good. I skipped back up to the office to tell my colleague who just laughed and carried on with her lesson planning. I have told many people about my Eureka moment since it happened and they are now at ease in the thought that if we are ever in need of bin bags I am the one to come to for assistance. What a feeling. A small victory but a massive one at the same time.

I’m loving living here but there are days when life is really hard, when you can’t communicate with people. Sometimes you just don't want to go out for fear of making a bit of an idiot of yourself (this is me on a regular basis) or just struggling and have them ask you more Chinese than you can understand. So being able to form the simplest of questions and being understood is just fabulous. So there it is. My Eureka moment. Bin bags. Who would have guessed.

There are of course times since that I have been particularly proud of myself at how I have handled situations with very limited Chinese such as helping a friend to buy foundation, asking if we can take away our food and ordering a meal or buying things from a stall with no pricing. But I have also had Chinese fails, such as the time I was trying to ask a supermarket worker whether they sold cooking oil as a spray (yes I was miming spraying) or when I got right and left mixed up with a taxi driver (but let’s be honest I have some friends who don’t know their left from their right in English - you know who you are. You’re the ones miming writing now so you can confirm to yourself which is your right hand).

A useful phrase I have learnt whilst here is how to say I don’t understand. There are some Chinese people who completely out the blue start full on conversations with me in Chinese. I do understand that there are a number of people who aren’t Chinese but can speak Chinese surprisingly well. But surely it’s a risk to take? I guess it’s nice though that they want to start a conversation with me. But this comes back to how helpful people are out here. Even the smallest assistance can be helpful. I was once in a restaurant, maybe two weeks after I arrived and I was trying to order and the woman at the till didn’t speak any English so she ran and got anther customer, a young boy around the age of ten to come and help me. He was fab.

But honestly, I am super lucky because everyone who I spend time with has a better grasp of the language and the characters than myself. So I am usually pretty molly coddled (happy to receive feedback on whether I’ve spelt this correctly) when it comes to using the language, which is a good thing and also a bad thing because it’s probably slowed my development but on the flip side I have been able to access a number of other places I would never have been able to on my own.

Ironically enough, one of the hardest things to get your head around is when you go somewhere and they speak ENGLISH. You get so used to asking for one of those or saying thank you in Chinese that when you do find somewhere and the staff speak English, it can be a real mind meld. One such place is Camel bar, it’s an expat bar and honestly when you’ve not been for a while it’s like walking into the twilight zone.

The majority of the people in there are westerners; English, Americans, Australians, Germans, French. I have seen some Chinese in there but if there are then they’re in the minority or they’re in a mixed group with westerners. So as I was saying having them speak and understand English can sometimes make it harder! It may take you all your time to get out, can I have two glasses of the merlot please? (but of course I always manage it ;)) A massive plus about Camel is that the wine is very tasty. Wine is one of the things I wasn't sure what it would be like over here and in the supermarkets it is more expensive than England, so much so that I've not a bought a bottle since I've been out here (I know shock horror right?!). But Camel has ‘happy hour’ (which of course is more than one hour) each day and wine is included in the discounted drinks list during this time so yay!

Of course, Camel is an expat bar and so the prices outside of happy hour or the drinks not included in the discounted list are not that far behind the prices you’d expect to pay in England and it definitely doesn’t give you an authentic Chinese experience. So I’d only really recommend it if you were staying in China for a long time or were planning to live here because in that case there will always come the day when you crave some kind of homely comfort or western atmosphere and for this it’s almost perfect (or just for a cheap drink!!). So much so that any westerner who comes to Suzhou for the first time but is living in China seems to know by osmosis that this is the place to go. So it’s popularity and ongoing custom is pretty much guaranteed forever. Long live Camel and it’s very yummy happy hour vino.

Well that’s all for now folks. But of course I cannot complete this entry without asking you the question you all want to hear ...

Ni yo laji dai ma?

[msbrightside85]

Signage part deux and other points of note

As I have been writing my ideas for this blog there were just a couple things that I thought needed  a mention and so welcome to the latest ramblings. Probably the most random to date. I hope you’re ready.

Umbrellas Some of you may think the concept of an umbrella is a fairly simple one and therefore not worth a note but you would be wrong. Although it won't be a long note, it is noteworthy. When you look out of your window in England and you see people walking around with their umbrellas up you know that it's a usual day and it's raining. So you prepare yourself for the day ahead with brolly in hand. But in China, women use umbrellas to block out the sun (not parasols – I can assure you they are definitely of the water deterring variety) and so this pre-forecast solution which is possible in England is alas, impossible in China. You can even buy black out umbrellas which block the sun entirely. The thinking behind this? Their skin is sensitive to the sun and tans aren't that cool here. So no spray tans for me for a while (probably for the best considering my one and only experience was when I came back from a cruise whiter than when I went!)

H2O Yup I'm talking about water. First thing, you don't drink the water here (or it isn't advised) so you either need to purchase it bottled or have it delivered and pay a deposit to have the dispenser in your flat. So what is noteworthy about this? Not only is water cheap, the bottles are crazy full. Like inappropriately full. Please people do not ever open a new bottle of water in China when you are ready to go out because I can assure you that you will end up with water all over yourself because the bottles are filled to the very top! You're welcome.

Road rage (or the lack of it) The roads here are CRAZY. I've already informed you of the right hand turn death trap and painted a pretty clear picture of what the roads are like. What I didn't mention is the HONKING. A constant chorus of different sounds varying in length and type.

Now, as a non driver I am of course gleaning any road rage knowledge from you guys but I think most people are of the same mind. In England, a honk on it's own generally doesn't suffice if you wish to adequately express your rage towards a fellow driver. It is usually accompanied by fist shaking, violent language, gestures or all of the above.

In China however, the honk is enough. They are satisfied with their honk. It's actually quite amusing to witness. Despite the craziness of the roads and the amount of times the drivers exercise their honking rights I have yet to see a driver (or passenger – let's be honest even I can't say I'm completely road rage innocent) shake their fist, say anything in an aggressive tone or gesture at other cars on the road. A simple honk battle ensues with no emotion from the people in the car at all. 

But to add another element to the story … this sign (yes I am a little obsessed with the signage as you've probably gathered by now) is one of the most common ones I've seen …

So how can they have these signs everywhere and still be a honk mad city (or country - I wouldn't know as I haven't ventured beyond Suzhou's borders yet) I guess the mystery remains unsolved for now. Answers on a postcard.

Signage (revisited) So while we are talking about the honking sign we may as well revisit signage in general as I have been able to capture some corkers of late that I would like to share with you. These guys love signage. It's everywhere. But the direct English translation and the pictures are usually cause for much amusement. Let's start with a simple one.

This one makes me chuckle everytime. Just one of those things that gets you. I love the dramatic way the person seems to be diving head first, yet there are no steps pictured. Be careful people. It's a dangerous steppy world out there, even when the ground seems completely level.

What do we have next? Ah yes. The subway. Fraught with dangers and of course accompanying signage. Firstly, Suzhou subways are fab. They're clean, easy to move between and change and very cheap compared to English transportation. One standard journey costs you around 35p and if you buy a travel card you get a discount on each journey. So of course I have a travel card :) The cards also get you discounted travel on the bus so are totally worth it.

Anyway as usual I have digressed. Subways. Yes. All of the subway stations have escalators so this sign is usually displayed somewhere.

Let's take a look at the pictures (left to right). So I think we can agree on the first one, don't do any gymnast type jumps or landings on the escalator. I think it could still be misinterpreted as people shouldn't remake an OK GO style music video on the escalator …. but maybe that's just me. Google it if you didn’t get the reference. Google while you still can! Actually having looked at all of the pictures I'm wondering whether the first picture is actually referring to the hand rail rather than the escalator itself as the other pictures have the stairs in them. Wow. I bet you're glad you took time out of your day to read this! It's so enthralling mulling over the depictions of subway signage in China. But you're here now so you may as well see it through to the bitter end …

Oh you decided to stay? Good :)

So I would hope most people wouldn't want to push their small child down the escalator in their push chair but just in case you get the urge, the second picture is the perfect one for you. As for the third one, well I was also surprised to see a Torvill and Dean (showing my age) reference in China but this country continues to wow and amaze me. So I guess Torvill and Dean it is. Don't copy them on an escalator it's dangerous, regardless of how many times you've seen Dancing on Ice. I love this old school looking case in the forth picture and there has been more than once that I've wanted to lob mine down an escalator in frustration of carting it around but remember kids just say no.

Now the last two pictures are by far my favourite of the bunch. It is not permitted for us ladies (yes I include myself in this category) to be coy around our male counterparts or display any flirtation (don’t know what I mean? I’m referring to her leg being slightly bent at the knee in picture five) yet it is encouraged that we reach out to hold the hands of strangers before attempting to descend into the subway depths of Suzhou (picture six). I'm not sure every male stranger would be happy if I followed the advice of this sign and reached out for their support (as I am a mere fragile woman) but if the sign says so who am I to argue?

Ok so the next sparkling examples are from random excursions. First this one ...

I went out to meet Candy one day at a new cafe and on the way I had to walk over this bridge. MIND YOUR HEAD PEOPLE. Now your head is a precious thing that's for sure but surely there is an irony when the mind your head sign is dangling down from the bridge lower than the bridge itself, therefore creating the head banging hazard?! I also think the sheer number of signs deserves a mention. Are that many really necessary? I’ll let you make your own mind up.

It didn't end there.

Now I am happy to admit that because I don't have weekends off that when I venture out on a Monday and Tuesday it might well be a little quieter out and about because most people are at work but as you can see there was no one using this particular bridge AT ALL. So crowding? I don't know. I can't imagine it being a problem. I’ve actually been surprised overall by the lack of crowding here considering the number of people there are. The other instruction is very handy though … up and down stairs … ha ha just in case you needed the clarification :) and finally and most importantly be careful. Always. Who knows what could happen if not you're careful around stairs ... I also like the way the advice on the signage alternates as you go up. Didn’t notice? Take another look ...

I tell you, these signage guys must be making an absolute killing so if anyone is looking for a new career opportunity in a flourishing market then get your butt out here. So surely that's it? Nuh uh.

You have to wonder who these signs are aimed at and this one is a prime example. Is the person likely to throw something over the edge going to take note and rethink their actions after seeing this sign? Same goes for someone considering jumping off! Will a sign be enough to make them change their mind? Probably not. It made my day though so I will not regret their creation!!

And last but not least?

We were on a bus the other day and as you will no doubt be sure of … this was not my first bus journey here. I am bound to public transport as buying an ebike is most certainly not an option … more for other people's safety than my own!! But anyway … we were on a bus and I saw this sign on the window.

How may I ask should one replenish the safety hammer if said hammer is missing?!!?!? Your guess is as good as mine dear readers. Can you imagine if someone could actually step up to the challenge and spontaneously replace the hammer with an exact replica? Me neither.

Did anyone spot the other instruction? Emergency percussion this point … are you picturing someone getting their xylophone mallets out and beating away at the window? Or is that just me? No I didn't know the sticks you play a xylophone with are called mallets I just googled it.

Well that's all we've got time for today but i'd like to leave you with this ,,, parlez vous francais?

[msbrightside85]

Food glorious food

So you’re probably wondering the same as me ... how has it taken me so long to write about food? Probably because it’s a fairly daunting subject with it being so broad. But i have decided it’s about time I did ...

From the top (clockwise): Bacon fried rice, Beef noodle soup, Korean style deep fried chicken with rice cakes, Chinese style cheese steak sandwich, Chicken noodle soup, Range of hot pot skewers, (middle): Vegetable noodles.

So as I have already mentioned, I was very happy to discover that mango, pork and avocado are greatly loved over here and easily accessible (although avos can be a tad pricey). Unfortunately one of the most elusive food items also turns out to be one of my favourites … cheese. But thankfully, since my original dismay (and what felt like a fairly long amount of time) at the lack of cheesey options here, I have been shown two supermarkets that have ACTUAL cheese counters. I cannot tell you how happy I was. It was perhaps a little OTT looking back but I couldn't help myself. 

The widespread Chinese offering of cheese is generally of the plastic variety. Yup. Cheese slices. I can hear mum saying 'that's not real cheese' and she would be right but that is par for the course here. Plastic cheese in a range of varieties. Emmental, Gouda, Edam. All plastic. Now don’t get me wrong I do believe there is a place for cheese slices in this world (sorry mum), they’re perfect in burgers at a BBQ and they make an excellent addition to a midnight fridge tapas session (I say mournfully, as these ‘sessions’ are basically non existent since getting a flat mate and not being able to get coleslaw here - a fridge tapas staple food in my mind) but when you don’t have the real thing cheese slices are certainly not a suitable substitute. Although in saying that they have found their way into our home inside Caitlin’s grilled cheese sandwiches! Anyway I digress ... so after being shown where I can buy the real stuff (or as real as I’m gonna get) I am pleased to report I have bought both mozzarella (not the white buffalo kind the harder stuff but still good) and cheddar (or something resembling cheddar) so I am sated. For now. Until my next craving. Dammit I’m thinking about coleslaw now ...

A question that I've been getting a lot from England is what food do you miss? The answer? Let me be perfectly honest … there's not a lot that you can't get hold of out here. Yes, some things might be a little more expensive because it's been imported but most things are available from somewhere, especially in a city the size of Suzhou. So I'm learning to try and reduce my initial hysteria at not having something and ask around. Generally there's someone or somewhere that can help with the homely cravings. I even found a bag of pre-made gravy the other day which is DEFINITELY something I didn’t expect to find - so that’s me sorted for winter! Buuuuut in saying that, don't take this to mean that I want you to stop trying to send me the odd pork pie or two in the post … because pork pies are most certainly on the unattainable list. Although I have heard about an English restaurant which I believe may make their own … must remember to look into that.

Talking of pork pies, I asked one of my classes of older kids at school which topics interested them most about England and one of them said food. So I put some information together about fish and chips, bangers and mash and other foods that are quintessentially English, including pork pie. Surprisingly enough it was pork pie that got the biggest reaction, they thought it sounded disgusting! Which I thought was pretty rich considering some of the foods that are available here in China. I can imagine most of you would take pork pie any day. I mean here they have stinky tofu (and man it really does …) not forgetting frog which I have already mentioned and of course chicken feet …

Yeah ... this is definitely my biggest Chinese culinary challenge to date and to say I ate it isn't strictly true. I nibbled at it and then couldn't go any further. Why? It just looked too much like a human hand!!! It started freaking me out a bit to be honest. This one was boiled but I hear the fried ones are a little better to handle so who knows maybe I could be converted. Maybe.

All in all (and chicken feet aside) it's hard to miss something when you have such a fabulous range of food to choose from and I'm not just talking about Chinese food. We have a great pizza place with a traditional stone oven where the beer is cheaper than the soft drinks, there is a great Vietnamese place where I had the yummiest beef pho and Korean food aplenty. There is a fantastic range of dumplings that come in all shapes and sizes and come with a range of fillings although pork is general the favourite (which always pleases me!).

There's an abundance of bakeries serving the best cream buns and desserts, there's a cool Japanese place that has the best curried rice and a lettuce they call ice plant which is unlike anything I’ve ever tried. BBQ or shaokao (pronounced show-cow but rhyme the first part with cow) is everywhere here and tastes amazing! Although if you’re not a fan of spice then you need to know how to communicate this in Chinese because their not very spicy can arrive and be pretty damned spicy!

There's also a traditional dish here called hot pot. Hot pot quite simply is a pot of boiling water in the middle of the table (it can be flavoured to your preference} and you order different raw ingredients to throw in it! Then once it’s cooked you get (try to get) the food out with your chop sticks. The local girls I go out with usually feel sorry for me and end up scooping morsels of food out and throwing them into my bowl, which I am eternally grateful for :)

But going back to home comforts, I've had a Chinese version of a bacon and tomato sarnie, which uses the white fluffy dumpling stuff instead of a breadcake and a few weeks ago I had amazing eggs benedict with smoked salmon. I was a very happy bunny that day I can tell you. It was exactly what I needed. 

So all in all it really doesn't leave much room for missing things, especially when you enjoy food as much as I do. But it’s always good to have a bank of places you can go to when you’re having a bad china day or you’re missing home. Like I say there’s a place called Ann's that I believe makes their own pork pies, they also serve afternoon tea and do roast dinner BUT I've sworn to myself that I will only go there when I'm really craving something that is unattainable elsewhere else. I've been told we may be going there for our work’s Christmas meal so I wonder if I can hold out until December before going or whether i’ll crack before then. Tune in next time to find out. TTFN. Rachael.

[msbrightside85]

You are unique

Yes, well you know I am! But in China you really are. Some Chinese people have never seen a westerner in the flesh their whole life and so when they see you walking down the street they have no qualms about staring at you. Really staring at you. Like right in the eye. They’re not shy or embarrassed about it. I’ve actually had some people put their own safety at risk while staring at me. Like continuing to walk while staring and the result being walking into the road or onto bumpy ground or almost into another person! I was warned about this before I came out here so it wasn’t such a shock when it started happening, so I would like to issue you guys with the same courtesy.

Of course that being said, it doesn’t mean that some days I don’t feel like shouting ‘WHAT?!!’ but I don’t, or at least I haven’t as yet. Candy was telling me the other day about bad china days and they’re totally a thing when you’re not living in your home country. They happen every now and again when China is just not on your side. So maybe they’ll be a time when I will be pushed to say something but really what is it gonna do anyway? The people staring tend to be the people who don’t speak English so I’d probably be able to get away with it.

Only just today when I started writing this, (I’m in a café - see pic below) a girl around the age of thirteen came up to my table and stood and stared at me. Then her little sister (around four years old) joined her and they both just stood and looked at me. I smiled and said hello and then they disappeared. For all of ten seconds before returning. So I asked their names and the older sister spoke a little English so we had a short conversation and then their mum came over and shooed them away.

A similar thing happened to me and Lizzie a couple of weeks ago. We had gone to a shopping mall straight after work and we were in one of the shops (a Chinese version of Superdrug although the deodorant prices were much more Boots-esque!) and Lizzie told me there was a girl following us. So I turned around and there she was, a Chinese girl around the age of eleven just stood staring at us. So we chatted - Me: Hello Girl: Helo Me: What’s your name? Girl: My name’s Kitty Me: Hello Kitty my name is Rachael and this is Lizzie Kitty: Hello Me: How are you? Kitty: I’m fine thank you and you? Me: I’m great thank you awkward silence and staring … Kitty: Ok bye! Me: Bye

And off she went to inform her Mum and Grandma of the conversation she just had with the two English girls. Lizzie had seen them trying to get her to come and talk to us so that she could practice her English, apparently this is something that happens a lot too. As we left the shop we bumped into her again so we smiled, and just as we were passing her she shouted WELCOME TO CHINA!! and beamed this huge smile. These little things make my day to be honest and it has to be said it is much easier and feels a little more acceptable when children do it as opposed to adults … I’m not sure you’ll ever really get used to that.

However, there was this one time when I arrived in China (it was my first day) and I had decided to go out for a walk to explore the area and as I left the flat, a guy was waiting to go down in the lift (we’re on the 11th floor). He stared at me the whole way. As we got to the bottom he said hello and started asking me questions about where I was from and how long I’d been in China (he found it highly amusing that I’d not even been here for a day!) and he offered to show me the local park and shopping mall. I reluctantly agreed and was careful to stay close to where other people were and keep the conversation light and not too personal (England safety mentality kicking in). But as it turned out I didn’t need to be concerned at all, the guy (whose name I don’t know - it just never came up!) genuinely wanted to practise his English and show the new girl around. I cannot thank him enough, he will never know how helpful it was to be shown around the supermarket and to have the process for buying fruit and veg explained to me at such an early stage in my Chinese experience (of course they were my first purchases … not beer and crisps …). I have only seen him once since and at the time I was rushing to find a bus stop as I was meeting someone so couldn’t stop to talk. I haven’t seen him again but if I do I’ll let you know.

Anyway where was I? Oh yes. As if staring isn’t enough of a shock there’s the photos. People take pictures of you with or without you knowing. It’s only ever happened to me once (that I know of) when me and Candy went to the Lotus Wetlands Park. We were walking along a boardwalk and a few people were walking towards us. One guy stopped right ahead of us, took out his phone, pointed it at us, took a picture and then walked off. So a little piece of me and Candy is somewhere around only god knows where.

Talking of taking pictures without permission …

I know it’s a bit naughty and very hypocritical of me but I couldn’t resist! This girl is sat on the path … in the middle of a small, busy, direct walkway that everyone uses to get down the street. Now come on, is it really sensible?! I think sometimes it’s good job I speak a different language because I do find myself muttering ‘are you joking’, 'cheers buddy’ and other sayings that express my exasperation at some people’s lack of awareness about personal space or general common sense. This has not even been the worst, I have seen cars completely obscuring the walkway too. 

Anyway, going back to personal space even Patrick Swayze found himself explaining the basics of space while teaching Jennifer Grey to dirty dance (it was a concept they didn’t stick to for very long however!). But what I’m trying to say is if you do decide to visit be prepared for a little bustling, people coming closer to you than you expect in the street (including people on e bikes, bicycles and in cars!) because it really is a thing here and that’s just the strangers.

It’s a whole other ball game with people you know. With my local teacher colleagues I’ve noticed that once you’re in you’re in. They may take a little while to get to know you but once they’re comfortable with you, it’s both feet in. I’ve never met a group of people, by nature or culture perhaps that are so helpful to the point that they would put themselves out to assist. Now of course I know some super helpful people (big shout out to you all) but it’s almost like here they’re helpful by culture, like en mass. Once you’re friends, they’re offering you food with the expectation you will accept heartily and eat it directly from the chop sticks they’re eating from, they’ll bring food in for you and take no money for it and help you with language issues and general living hurdles that you need to jump through just to survive daily living here in China (believe me it’s a big old list and I’m still ploughing through). For me, it’s wonderful. I’m away from home and I already feel like a successful adoptee and it makes the experience so much easier and more pleasurable to have people around you that you know would help you at the drop of a hat. Of course, they seem continuously surprised when I return the favour because the generosity is apparently only supposed to go one way. But you all know that’s not something I can comfortably live with and so instead of denying their generosity and turning them down, which would be rude and insulting, I simply find another way of repaying their kindness. This is a great feeling because it’s always met with much surprise and appreciation :)

So, returning to personal space for a moment, I have also found this to be affectionately ignored between friends. Now I would consider myself a pretty tactile person but this has definitely caught me by surprise once or twice, like the time when a girl I knew ran at me and threw herself at me fully trusting that I would catch her and put her into a full on 'husband carrying wife over the threshold’ kind of lift! The last time I just about managed to get out of it … next time I may end up in hospital when I put my back out … when I told her this she laughed, settled for a hug and went on her merry way. Oh yes, didn’t mention this all took place at SCHOOL!

My work friends like to braid hair, share food, take Snapchat filter selfies, sing and laugh … yes I know what you’re thinking … it sounds like Rachael would fit in pretty well there and you’d be right. I am definitely guilty of encouraging the chatter, the singing and the laughter in the office. In the midst of some serious lesson planning of course :)

[msbrightside85]

Old birthdays and new friends

A few people have been asking me how i spent my birthday and Chinaversary (my birthday was also the date i’d been in China a month) so here it is!

Those of you who know me know how ‘crazy’ I can get (just a bit) about birthdays and by crazy it’s more a case that to me, birthdays are special. They’re special because they’re an individual celebration and I think that should be celebrated (even if the person whose birthday it is doesn’t!) So some people may rightly assume I was nervous about spending my birthday away in a new country but I really wasn’t. I’d achieved the one thing that had taken months and months of preparation, worry and stress (and support from you guys - you all definitely walked that road with me!) and that was CHINA. So because I was finally here I didn’t feel worried or stressed about how I would spend the day or what I would do.

But let’s not place the value of a birthday on the things you do or how you spend your time. We all know that your birthday is about the people you choose to spend it with and on that front I did have reason to be (a little) apprehensive. I’d moved to the other side of the world and everyone who I wanted to celebrate my birthday with was millions of miles away. So while this post is about my birthday, it is also about the two people who MADE my birthday :)

Lizzie and Candy (i’ll speak to you both later about disclaimers and alias’ if necessary haha) have totally changed my China experience for the better. I genuinely believe I wouldn’t feel as settled or happy without them and it all started on the EF annual trip, one week after i arrived.

Lizzie and I had been told we were sharing a room for the hotel stay and even though she worked at the same school as me we hadn’t really spoken before. So when I walked into the hotel room and saw the glass bathroom (all see through!!!) I was a little like oh okayyy (in reality more like OH MYYY GOODDDDDDD). But let’s not be dramatic, I must relay the facts as they were and tell you about the modesty curtain which was a (very useless) sheer piece of material in front of the glass wall separating the bathroom and bedroom but (and even with my eyes) you could totally see through it.

So when Lizzie walked in a little later (she’d been on a different coach) our first conversation was obviously the bathroom arrangement, but thankfully we were able to laugh about it, although nervously, and then swear an oath not to look when one of us was in the bathroom?! What was more amusing and that we hadn’t realised was that the wall (the one with no curtain) was next to the room door, so as you can imagine I was a little startled when there was a knock at the door just as I was getting out of the shower! I froze. If Lizzie answered the door she would see me (NAKED) and so would the person at the door! Thankfully Lizzie had realised this at the same time as me and hung back slightly as I flung my towel around myself to answer the door. Funnily enough the same thing happened when Lizzie was getting out of the shower … what can I say we were a popular room haha. 

After the trauma of shower gate (which we didn’t stop laughing about and haven’t really stopped laughing about since) we started talking and she quickly won me over with her supply of snacks (dried mango and pistachios #winning) and put me at ease with her minor but hilarious clumsiness (we will not tell the hotel about the spilt coffee your secret is safe with us). We had a few other people from school join us later for a million games of Heads Up (it’s a phone app game - definitely recommend especially if you’re playing with people whose first language isn’t English) and I haven’t been able to get rid of her since. (hahaha totally the other way around!!!)

As for Candy, our friendship was set over our mutual dislike for exercise, which i believe are how some of the most solid friendships are formed. On day two of the trip we went to DaMing mountain and were given the option to WALK up the mountain (yes you read it right) or go up in the cable car. You know which line I was in! So I was stood in the queue with Lizzie and Candy (Candy I had been introduced to briefly at lunch the day before) but at the last minute Lizzie was lured by the (I have no idea what) of climbing the mountain instead and defected to the other side! So me and Candy got talking and in no time had found our common interests of photography and craft beer, which as you all know are pretty high on my list of likes! So I’m walking around this mountain thinking wow this girl is really cool and then we get to a bridge … ‘no wayyyyyys am I crossing that bridge!’ she said. Why? She proceeds to tell me she HATES spiders and the sign on the bridge says do not cross if you have arachnophobia …

Thankfully i checked the sign and it actually said do not cross the bridge if you have agoraphobia which it turned out Candy did not have and so we proceeded across the bridge (me stifling laughter the whole way - I will not let her forget this!! haha)

We also later realised that people with agoraphobia would be unlikely to be halfway up a mountain and attempting to cross a bridge anyway but I have already mentioned about the crazy signage here so we will put it down to that haha.

Since then we have been (she has taken me) to Pinjiang Road, the Lotus Wetland Park and so many restaurants and bars I cannot remember them all, so when she she suggested a pool party for my birthday I was very much in :)

So I spent my birthday swimming, sitting by the pool, drinking Tsing Tao (pronounced Ching Dao - yes there is an embarrassing story about this) and eating pizza in great company. If things didn’t quite go smoothly we just laughed …

Peggy - Lizzie’s cat needs her own blog entry she was like a thing possessed that day making the freakiest sounds when we walked in but i think she’s getting used to me now . She put her nose on my arm the other night before running back off to the bedroom

The swimming bands - so we’re getting into the pool and the ‘lifeguard’ comes over and says (in Chinese) that we need swimming bands to swim. Cut to us standing in our bathing suits at the complex reception with sad faces trying to convince the receptionist to give us three swimming bands even though we only have one room key. We succeeded ;)

Tom Thunder and the swimming caps - to swim here you have to wear a swimming cap professional swimmer style. Lizzie had to buy a new one from the ‘lifeguard’ (we will refer to him as the ‘LG’ from now on) which was bright blue and she resembled one of the characters we use during classes at school called Tom Thunder … hahahaha

Tipple tails or forward rolls - this challenge meant the purchasing of more equipment from the ‘LG’ (i swear he was making a killing that day) and attempting tipple tails and sitting on the bottom of the pool etc. This made me love my birthday even more because as you all know when I go swimming there is very little actual swimming involved! 

The ‘LG’ - a pretty boy who spent more time on his phone then he did checking the pool for drowning kids. Although I do wonder what he was saying to his friend about the three foreigners who were the only people in his pool on a Tuesday afternoon having tipple tail and sitting on the bottom of the pool competitions!!

It was a little strange not having cards and gifts to open on my birthday but all in all it was a fantastic day and definitely one i’ll remember. This year has probably had the biggest extension with cards and gifts still arriving weeks after my birthday so thank you to everyone who took the time to send something they’ve all been very well received :) :)

As for these ladies? Thank you for celebrating with me and making turning 32 not bad at all :)

TTFN. RM.

[msbrightside85]

Attack of the mozzys

So having never written a blog before I have considered how often to write and whether to write what I’ve done that day but I think I need to let go of that structure (which is very hard for me! But I live in China now so I’ve had to relax and learn to go with the flow a little more). So today I will tell you the story of the hospital visit. Yes. I’ve been to the hospital already. Surprised? No me neither. However just to clarify, I am being slightly dramatic because here you go to the hospital to see the doctor, there is no GP inbetween step so actually it’s not quite as serious as it sounds. It all started on my birthday …when the mozzys attacked!

It was a fabulous idea to spend my birthday by the pool with beer and pizza. But it turns out that’s exactly what the mozzys thought as well. In their defence (?) it turns out my western skin isn’t quite up to the impact of a full on mozzy attack and also more likely that I had an allergic reaction which turned my legs into red and purple chunks (oh yeah they were swollen too) for nearly a week. After day two of agony I sent one of the girls I work with a picture and she advised I go to the hospital. Turns out this wasn’t the usual reaction to a mozzy attack and so I got out my reliable we chat and sent a message. Within the hour I was at school waiting for one of the staff to take me to the hospital. I really can’t praise the people at school enough, it was all sorted very quickly and then I was being chauffeured in a white (not pink this time) VW (I was reliably informed by the driver … I would have no clue of the make or model as you all know).

So we arrive at the hospital and I can see why I’ve been accompanied by a native Chinese speaker (and I was very thankful for it) because they charge extra for English doctors or translation services. But in no time at all I was waiting to be seen and when I was called through the doctor spoke perfect English anyway which was great. Not that he needed to understand much because when I showed him my legs his face was the same face i’d been getting all day. OH MY GOD. The reaction both settled and unnerved me at the same time because I didn’t want to be at the hospital unnecessarily but of course seeing people give a startled reaction to your skin when you’re away in a foreign land is not ideal. But he quickly diagnosed the issue and gave me a prescription for some meds.

But the best part? Haha no that wasn’t the best part … Chris the guy who took me to the hospital said he had a picture to show me that he’d taken while I was in the consultation room. He thought i’d like it :)

Always knew one day I would have my name up in lights ;)

I can now report that thankfully after two weeks my legs are almost pretty again but I can’t imagine my bravery to face the china outdoors without bug spray (and perhaps a baseball bat?? Oh yeah they’re THAT big here ,,,} will recover quite so quickly! TTFN. RM.

[msbrightside85]

Here we go ...

Ok so here i go. I want to keep a blog for myself to record some of the mind bending things i’m seeing here and also for you guys! So hope you enjoy peeking through this little window into life in China and feel free to leave any comments it would be great to see you’ve stopped by :)

So the first two blogs i have posted were written on the flight on the way over and on my first full day in China but since then it’s been a bit of a whirlwind so a lot of time has passed where i haven’t written but it certainly hasn’t been event-free!

We all know the importance of bullet points when it comes to maintaining interest and i have a thing for lists so firstly and most importantly ...

Food and drink

Frog - it really does just taste like chicken although a few more bones ...

Lotus - i thought the consistency was very apple like but not sweet

Squirrel fish - i showed some of you pictures of this Suzhou delicacy before i came out and can now proudly say i have eaten it and very nice it was too!

Duck throat - yes well this was actually completely by mistake. I probably shouldn’t have used google translate on the packet while i was eating it ... or maybe it was a good thing i did because i kind of lost the taste for it after that ...

Crisps - they have the wackiest flavours out here such as cucumber, yoghurt, lime, spicy and numb and seaweed. Ooh that reminds me i have a packet of the cucumber ones in the cupboard!

I have eaten a whole host of things for the first time here but to be perfectly honest i couldn’t name them all because i don’t actually know what they were. I’ve had a few shared dinners with school where it’s been a Chinese buffet style meal where everyone sits at a round table and the food goes in the middle on a rotating glass plate so people can try different things and there have simply been so many meals and new foods i wouldn’t be able to name them all!

Pork, aubergine (egg plant), coriander and mango - i’m giving these a mention because they are all foods i love and thankfully they are in abundance here so i’m lapping them up!

China-esque

So how is China different to England? Wow. Well where do I start?

Crossing the road

Hahahahaha i am still NO good at this. E-bikes, bicycles and general wheeled things that aren’t buses or cars mount the path and other pedestrian areas without warning so you have to constantly be on the look out. So imagine you’re stood waiting at a crossing and the green man comes on. Excellent! International sign for you can cross the road. WRONG. Even on a green light for pedestrians, cars can make a right hand turn so you can very easily nearly get mowed down! I tend to use the technique of looking in all directions when crossing the road :)

Spitting

Eugh. I refuse to go into too much detail about this but some Chinese people spit in the street. You can’t miss the sound. So again ... eugh. I was on the bus the other day and thought i was free from the sound when i heard it. That unmistakable yacky sound and the guy did it over and over again and was ‘spitting’ into a plastic bag. I was less than pleased.

Humidity

Dear god. I have never been so hot in my whole life. I think my poor body is wondering why i have not yet returned to the less balmy British weather after my two week holiday. Poor thing. Think it will certainly take some getting used to. 37 degrees today and I hear we’re due a heat wave soon ... pretty sure we’re already experiencing the heat wave?!?!?

Giving money to the cashier

Two hands people! Do not simply give the money to the cashier in a store, hand it over preferably with two hands. I have experience problems with this especially when you have your purse in your hand and then you have to use said hand in the double hand over process but it’s a working progress.

Subway security

Each subway station has it’s own security and all bags and belongings must be scanned before entering the station. Oh and also if you’re taking an open bottle of drink through you need to drink some in view of security so they know it’s nothing suspicious. This can be rather amusing when you proceed to catch their attention by doing a little dance to drink from your bottle in front of them :)

We chat

This app is going to take over the world and so it should. Here they have set it up so that you can pay almost anything electronically by scanning a QR code on your phone. This includes paying for ice cream at the ice cream van and other mobile food vendors - i (sigh) do not yet have my chinese bank account so am still without this perk but cannot wait for it to be set up and be a prolific we chat purse user!

Cheap, cheap, cheap

Compared to England cost of living is cheaper! As the days go on i almost feel more and more sorry for our Chinese visitors to the UK who either must be millionaires or save up their whole lives to send all of their cash on our transport, food and daily living which in comparison is so reasonably priced here. Definitely a smiley face on that front from me :)

Don’t drink the water

A simple one that applies to lots of other countries but when you’re actually living somewhere it does become a little tedious to not be able to drink the water. However bottled water is DEFINITELY cheaper than in the UK so it doesn’t put you out of pocket (see cheap, cheap, cheap above for more details)

Funniest signage

I have decided i need to start documenting some of these but in the mean time check this out.

Ok well i think that will just about do it for now. Until the next time TTFN. RM.

[msbrightside85]

Day one ...

Monday 12 June

Welcome to my first full day in Suzhou China! I'm writing this on the bed of my hotel room where I stayed last night because my English mattress hadn't arrived at the apartment yet. You should Google Chinese mattresses … I would but I don't have access to Google! I can tell you I'm feeling THAT pinch already. Anyway so yeah Chinese mattresses are essentially pretty looking boards … no comfort rating at all. So here I am :) Lovely room and a great way to relax after the long journey.

So what have I noticed so far? A couple of things. The signs are very detailed. They're in English so you don't have to translate any Chinese characters but the English translation does make me giggle. Move slowly, talk quietly etc.:) There was also an airport officer with a sniffer dog on the baggage carousel. As if trying to get your case off the carousel isn't stressful enough. Especially my case as it still weighed too much when we got to check in but thankfully the guy was so stressed because they were running late that he just checked them in!! 

So after successfully navigating the carousel I head out to arrivals and there's my EF driver with a name sign (oh yes ... like the one in the films) and off I go in a very swish baby pink people carrier. Travelling in style :) although my driver didn't speak any English which did seem a problem for a sleep deprived passenger with a two hour journey ahead of her. So I would like to dedicate the survival of the car journey to eye drops and eating

I ventured out on my own last night to source some food. It may have transpired since, that i walked into a Japanese food court, No one spoke English or even understood a very tired girl’s miming and hand gestures. I did in the end however end up with a very yummy meal ... 

TTFN, RM,

[msbrightside85]

A post I wrote on my way here ...

Saturday 10 June 2017

Listening to – Birdy Beautiful Lies album

Went to see her with the mini sis at York Barbican and the other people there were so rude and pushy!

So I wanted to write a little note whilst I’m on the plane going over to CHINA. Well technically I’m actually going to Abu Dhabi but still my eventual destination is Shanghai and then Suzhou and that is pretty exciting. It is currently 3:50pm on the plane because I’ve already changed my watch over to Dubai time. In England it’s actually only 12:50pm. I took a few people’s advice and changed my watch as soon as I got on the plane. Should help me with meals and body clock etc. I’m glad I changed it because otherwise I would have been eating my chicken dinner in the morning. Lovely as it was I definitely found it easier thinking it was the afternoon!

So what are my thoughts currently? In the short term I’m thinking about navigating Abu Dhabi airport and then longer term I guess I’m thinking about the long car journey from the airport. The bullet train really cuts down on a few hours that’s for sure! Then I guess after that well that’s a tough one because there are so many things I need to get my head around. The local area, where things are, starting work, whether I’ll be any good at it and whether I’ll be thrown in at the deep end or not. I certainly think I need to keep myself calm because I’ve heard a few stories about lack of planning and the deep end being pretty deep! Let’s hope I swim 😊

As I look back over the last month I can’t get over the number of people who wished me the best and showed this in so many ways. I just hope I’m lucky enough to meet someone a little like the people I love in England (awww you guys!). Tough couple of days saying bye to my nearest and dearest but as a very wise mini sis said this isn’t goodbye. She said that before she told me she wouldn’t cry and then did. It was the hug that did it!!!!! It is always those bloody hugs. Damn them!

Well I’m going to leave it there for now and do a spot of reading. TTFN. RM.