Christmas Dinner

Well it is really getting cold here. And dark.  Have a look at how I have to work to work in the mornings.  Yes it is 6:30am and it is still dark.

And I also had leggings on under my trousers.

Last night we had our Christmas dinner.  We were taken to the Jin Jian Hotel for a buffet dinner.  It was very nice and of course we had good company.

 Myself and Vivian the Chinese Language Teacher

 Myself and Giana our Marketing Officer.

 Myself and Daisy our Receptionist

 Myself and Sunny my Co Teacher

 Myself and Kathy the Grade 3-6 Teacher

 Myself and Helen our Principal

 A group Photo

The buffet was very Chinese with a few western dishes.  But I did gravitate to the Western food.  

Dessert offered a tantalising display for my taste buds.

The hotel also had a Christmas theme to it.  It was lovely.

Having fun with Father Christmas

I also wanted to show you how they cover the trees here in China, so that the cold does not destroy them.  I call them tree condoms.  Some other trees are wrapped in straw and others have straw huts built around them.

One thing that I have been battling with lately though is the pollution here in China.  It seems that the colder it gets the more pollution appears.  This is due to China burning more coal to heat the water that runs through our central heating.  I am seriously thinking of buying some masks.  If the pollution is above 100 then we are not allowed to go outside with the learners for break time, and if it is above 200 then the children are advised to stay at home.  (But us teachers have to go to school.)  About two weeks ago, we were over 500 and it read - hazardous.  

Well only one more week for the school holidays.  Boy, do I feel like I need it.  But whats more important to relaxation is that we are seeing family on Saturday.  Yay.  Anton, Sanchia, Erin and Stephen, we cannot wait to see you all.

Keep reading our blog as we keep you updated  with our first of our travels within China and around the world.

An Interesting Week

Apart from all the hustle and bustle at school, preparing the end of semester tests and practising the Christmas concert, engaging in wonderful Christmas arts and crafts and feeling the beginning of the jolly season, we have had an interesting week.

On Sunday Chloe and Jon came around for supper and again Paul outdid himself.  A wonderful meal and lots to choose from.  Well you are also classified well off if you can offer a variety of different foods to your guests instead of just a few dishes.  And Choe and Jon always mention about how they enjoy coming round to have supper with us.  Chloe has never tasted roast potatoes before and if she could just eat that then so be it.  As for manners around the table, well eating with your mouth open and making a noise whilst you eat is a way of showing that you are enjoying your food.  And to burp at the table is also not regarded as rude.

Then on Wednesday, as soon as I got home from work, we had a knock on the door.  When we opened, there stood a short Chinese man asking us to come over to his apartment for tea.  Well when we walked in it was in fact a tea house.  This is his hobby that he indulges in.  Just one of his tea pots that he bought from Japan cost 2000 dollars. 

It was a weird evening.  We spoke to each other using great technology.  We used the translator on our cell phones to translate what we were saying to each other.  We were there for about an hour.  By the time I got home I knew I had drunken about a litre of tea.  He also invited us out for dinner the following day.

Well the following day came and off we went to the restaurant he had booked that evening.  Apparently his sister owns it.  So he took us into this room, which is common in China for privacy,  and started ordering food.  He asked if we ate pork to which we said yes.  But he did not say that he was ordering pigs trotters soup and pigs intestines to eat.  And to not be rude both Paul and I tasted some.  Paul had more than me as I think his palate is a bit more adventurous than mine.  His wife joined us a little later, but due to her not speaking any English she just sat the other side of the table on her cell phone.  The Chinese man, Thompson, also started ordering beer.  And needless to say got sozzled.  It was time to go as I still had school work to do but he kept wanting to have another beer and to order more food.  And what did he want to order  FLIED LICE (fried rice in Chinese).  Eventually we had to be a little forceful in our conversation to say LETS GO NOW.

When we were leaving he introduced us (or should I say Paul) to his 'sister'.  These were his words -  This is my sister, she beautiful no, she lovely for you - and that where I jumped in and said very beautiful and walked out with Paul.  Paul also felt that this was the case and nicely opened my car door for me to get in so she could see he had his squeeze with him.  KATTY - Yes I was.   Even in the car it was like she was meant to be organised for Paul and Thompson had to tell her to go back inside.  Can you ever !!!!

Well we are also excited for our travels soon, as it is only 15 more days till we see our family, The Marx clan as well as Steven in Beijing.  Looking forward to it.

Some pictures from Thursday evening when we went out for supper.



 Busy communication with cell phones

 

He got sozzled on 0.002% alcohol.

Pigs intestines

Pig trotters soup

Black fungus salad

Duck

Corn bread (the white on there is sugar)

Once the trotters were finished they added vegetables in it.

Thompson and his wife (in black) and the lady he was trying to set Paul up with (in red).

The vegetables from the soup.

Thompson eating his pigs trotter.

Paul sucking the marrow through a straw

 

Teachers Retreat

Let me first say, I felt very over packed when I boarded the bus to Qingdao for our Teachers Retreat.  I had a very small travel bag but the Chinese staff only left with their handbags.  What on earth??????  Yes, they wore the same outfits for two days. 

 

Sleeping is no. 1 priority on the bus.

 
It was a long bus ride there and I was pleased to be released from my small seat.  We arrived at the five star hotel called the Shangri-La Hotel in Qingdao.  What a beautiful hotel.  We were warmly greeted and the booking in procedure was quick and efficient. 

 

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Then I went to my room which was very cosy.  Our school booked twin rooms so we had to share with another college.  But once we settled we had to be down stairs for our conference to start. 

 View from the room

It really was not a retreat but rather a working weekend.  Team building.

 

 

The first evening we had to present our PPT's which went off well.  Then we went for supper.  And at a five star hotel buffet you had everything and anything to choose from.  It was really yummy.  After supper we were given our own time and a few of us went around looking at what the hotel had to offer.

 

Yes I tried to taste everything but it is impossible. 

Thank goodness they only supply side plates and not dinner plates.

 

 

Christmas Decor in the Hotel

And outside the Hotel

 

The restaurant area is divided by glass wall with coloured bottles.

 

How can you have Christmas without a big ginger bread house.

 

Then I went upstairs and had a bath.  Yes a bath.  Something that is a luxury for us now.  And then lay on a soft bed.  WOW.  What a treat.

The next morning there was no sleeping in.  Breakfast was between 7:30 and 8:30am and we had to check out too.  And then by 9am we had to be seated for the second session.  But we had some fun activities to do, skits, being a chef, ect ect.  Time went quickly and before you knew it, it was lunch time.  (it felt as if we did not stop eating).

Breakfast

A Canadian Teacher in our group who had to present our recipe. 

 

Lunch was served.

 

Then after lunch was our last session and we finished at 3pm and boarded the bus back at 3:15pm.  But first we had to go past Huandao so that the Chinese Kindergarten of our school could see how they set out there classrooms. 

Our travel back to Rizhao felt so long and probably was as on the way our bus had to make a u-turn as there was something wrong further up the highway and we had to back track for a while and then use the old road back to Rizhao.  We only got back home at 7pm.  By the time I was dropped off at home my back was not happy.

I thoroughly enjoyed myself, but it is always good to be home.