Destination China!

China Bound 

What a day of traveling!  On Saturday morning I took at nap from midnight to 1:00am, stayed awake until 3:30am to wake up Ashley and Baback for my ride to the airport.  Got dropped off, checked in and then played the weight game.  You know the one,  one bag is overweight and the other is not so you sit there on the floor in front of the entire line with the contents of your suitcase sprawled over the floor trying to shove stuff from the overweight bag into the underweight bag.  Oh yeah, that was me this morning.  Lesson learned to pack underwear first, not last.  As you are trying to repack you realize that cute neon-crazy colored thong you just had to buy makes you blush when you have a line of people behind you waiting for you to hurry up and make weight.  

Have you noticed the new full body up and down screening you get at airports instead of the metal detector?  I don't know what that machine uses or does, but it is not for me.  I always opt out and usually the TSP officer talks into the walkie-talkie for a female guard to come and escort me for my free, early morning, back handed, feel up.  I mean it's free, so why not opt out, right?  I guess I was looking very guilty this morning because the contents of my bag were dumped out because they thought I had a knife.  The knife turned out to be a hair clip that just appeared to be a knife in TSP standards.  Once the feel up and knife situations were dealt with I had to play the other wait game for my flight.  

The flight to Seattle was an hour and a half and I snoozed the whole time, missed drinks and everything.  Arriving in Seattle I asked where the international airlines were so I could check in and four separate attendants showed me to the line that said "All inquiries.". Apparently this line you checked in internationally, got help if you missed a flight, needed a security pass to escort your underage child, etc.  I waited in this line for 45 minutes and when it was my turn I handed her my passport and itinerary and she informed me I was in the wrong line.  I was peeved.  She pointed me in the right direction and then I went on walk about in the airport looking for Hainan Airlines counter.  

After twenty minutes of walking I finally came upon the international airline counters.  I looked at all the screens and none of them said Hainan.  I asked a clerk and she said "That airlines check in counter doesn't open until 10:15." What?!  It's 8:00am now, so you are telling me I have to wait two hours just to check in?  Sheesh!  I shrugged my shoulders and tried to let it go as I looked for a chair to sit in and maybe catch some z's.  

Upon finding a group of chairs I thought, oh yeah I can lay down and this two hours won't be so bad, wrong.  Each chair had its own arm rest: no laying down for me.  I put my bags in one chair and contorted my body in such a way that I could lay on my stuff whilst sitting in the adjacent chair at the same time.  I was convinced someone was going to try and life something from me while I was sleigh so this was my only option.  When I woke up the counter still wasn't open so I ate a zucchini bread muffin and went back to sleep.  When I awoke this time the counter was setting up so I quickly got in line.  As I was checking in the lady who was helping me said, " We are giving you a free upgrade to first class." AWESOME!  I had never been in first class before and I was so looking forward to laying down during the flight.

After being checked in, I found a quiet spot at my gate to rest and check my email one last time.  

First class is the way to go!  Individual televisions, hot towel, complete reclining seat with foot rest, food and drink all throughout the flight, incredible!  Best long distance international flight ever!

Landed in Beijing and I was too early to check in yo my next flight so I had to wait in the lobby for two hours. Finally checked in, went through security and then waited for three more hours until my next flight.  Due to rain we were delayed on the runway, but I slept the whole time so I wasn't bothered by it.  Arrived in Nanjing around 12:30am, got my luggage and met the driver at one, checked in to my hotel by 2:30 and was asleep by 2:40.  Quite the few traveling days, but I made it!

The Next Chapter

Hello my dear friends and family!  I am writing to you safe and sound in Southern Oregon.  I am home in the states for the month of July and then I am heading back to China to begin my new job at Etonhouse International School.  I am so excited to start work at this hands-on, discovery based school!  I am also very excited to live in Nanjing.  In June I went and spent four days in Nanjing to see my school and explore my new city.  I got to see my new school and classroom and meet my new coworkers.  The principal opened up his home to me so I stayed with him and he and his wife are such wonderful people.  The city was very hot and humid but the history and sites to see are very cool.  I made some new friends while I was there and look forward to seeing them again when I am a resident.  I will be living in Nanjing for two years and now after visiting I can definitely see myself making Nanjing my new home.  I already signed up to be on a Dragon Boat team and am stoked to be part of a team and compete in races. If you do not know what Dragon boating is, it is similar to crew where as you are in a boat, everyone has a paddle, and you all row to the same rhythm.  The paddle is a little bit different compared to crew and you hold it and row with it a little bit differently but the rest of the rules are essentially the same.
As of Sunday I started the online Masters program at Concordia University and am already working on four assignments!  They sure know how to make us work!  I am so excited to be progressing in my education and learning more about how I can improve in the classroom.
I hope that this upcoming year I am able to travel as often as I did last year.  I need some new partners in crime since I moved to a new city and am looking for new adventurous friends.  Wish me luck in this new venture and I will do my best to keep you all posted as to what is going on in the life of Sara Jones!

Upcoming School Year

Wahoo!  I got a job for next year!  After interviewing with schools in six countries and receiving five job offers, I finally decided on a school in China.  I didn't think I was going to get an option of where I would be teaching next year, rather I would get one offer and go with that one.  Instead, I had two offers from Dubai, one in Vietnam, one in Japan and one in China.  A whole new kind of stress landed in my lap of trying to decide where I wanted to teach and how each schools contract differed from one another.  All the schools were inquiry based which is something I am very passionate about and is extremely important to me.  They all offered a two year contract and the salaries were all about the same.  In the end the school I chose differed in that they offered a lot of professional development and paid for a series of online classes in order for me becoming International baccalaureate curriculum certified. This certification will make me a valuable asset and marketable in the future.

 

I will be teaching preschool at Etonhouse International School in Nanjing.  Another reason I decided on this school was because their philosophy aligned well with my own philosophy and their mission statement was spot on for what I believe schools should offer its students.  I am so excited for this new journey and a chance to continue teaching internationally.  The contract is for two years and I have to admit that is a little scary to think about, but it also will give me the time to get my Masters in Education while I have a full time teaching position.  I applied for the M.ED online program at SOU and am looking forward to getting that over with so that when I do return to the states to teach I will have a Masters and at least 3 years of teachingexperience.  I want to give a shout out to my references DJ, Shelly and Valerie for being harassed by all the people looking to hire me, I'm sure by the end you were cursing that you agreed to be a referee for me.  Thank you so much! 

I will be back in Oregon for the month of July and then I will be departed back to China, this time to Nanjing.  Here is the website of the school I will be working at, check it out:http://nanjing.etonhouse.com.cn/

Viet Nam

Hanoi

For Spring Break two friends and I decided to go and see the land of ‘Nam.  We flew into Hanoi the capital and it was your stereotypical big, dirty city.  We walked around and saw the Ho Chi Minh Mausoleum, the one stilt pagoda and saw a water puppet show.  Now the water puppet show is what Viet Nam is most famous for.  It is an art form that is truly unique.  Puppets dance on the water while a live band plays and sings for the puppets.  The puppets danced and acted out Vietnamese folktales and stories of love, tragedy, fishing and horse racing.  It was an interesting art form to witness but a must if you are ever in Hanoi.  While at the water puppet show I saw a guy I went to SOU with and I have come to realize how small the world really is.  

 Hoi An

From Hanoi we flew to Hoi An: a small fishing village that is known for its tailoring.  In this town we played at the beach, rode bicycles and enjoyed street food.  What blew me away the most was how friendly the people were.  They always wanted to help us get to where we needed to go and would offer to escort us personally to our destinations.  Compared to the Thai culture where every night is a party, the Vietnamese go to bed early and get up way before the sun to get set up for the endless amounts of markets and to bake the bread they are famous for. 

Ha Long

From Hoi An we flew back up to Hanoi, and hopped a three hour bus to Ha Long.  In Ha Long we were to spend the night on a Junk boat and be taken out to Ha Long Bay which is one of the seven natural wonders of the world.  Unfortunately the weather was rainy and foggy so we didn’t get the best visibility of the islands we were passing in the boat, but it truly was such an amazing experience to sleep on a boat and cruise through these islands that remain untouched by humans.  The food on the Junk boat was delicious and there was plenty of it. Some of the most interesting sea food I have ever seen and eaten but none the less it was so good! On our junk we met couples from all over the world and shared stories and chit chatted about all of our travels.   At one point our junk stopped and we got off on an island that housed a giant cave.  We went deep into the cave and saw lots of stalactites and stalagmites.  After the cave we got to kayak around some of the islands.  While we were kayaking I was heartbroken by all the garbage in the water from the junks and tourists.  It was mainly plastic bags and bottles, but it just broke my heart that people don’t take the time to care for the earth and oceans.  Please recycle and put your trash in a garbage can!  After two days and one night on the junk we were dropped off at the pier and hopped on the three hour bus back to Hanoi. 

We had one full day left and we decided to book a tour that would take us out of the city and into the rural areas outside of Hanoi.  Our guide was a hoot and a half and made the experience all the more fun.  We went out to see some temples, a fishing village and bike ride through the countryside.  On our way back to the hostel we were walking and two men stopped us and gestured if we wanted a ride home on their motorbike.  We gestured back no and then we realized that these men were deaf.  Elise and I quickly began signing to them and we ended up ‘chatting’ with them for over an hour.  It was amazing how much sign came back to me and even more so how much I could understand.  It was so much fun that I was inspired to read my sign book when I got home and practice more sign in my classroom with my students. 

Our flight back to Shenzhen was uneventful and I was so happy to be home.  It was weird calling China ‘home’ but it has become my home away from home.  I really enjoyed Viet Nam and its beautiful scenery and friendly people.  

You know you're a preschool teacher when ...

You know you're a preschool teacher when play dough accumulates on the bottom of your shoe.

The Great Wall of China

Don’t you love finding cheap airfare for the upcoming weekend that just so happens to be free of any plans?  Now that I have all of SE Asia at my fingertips for low cost plane travel I find that when I am bored I don’t surf YouTube, but airline websites.  On such occasion, I found cheap tickets to Beijing for the upcoming weekend and decided on a whim to buy them and go see the Great Wall. 

After a three hour plane ride, an hour cab ride to the hostel and a good night’s sleep Elise and I woke up at 5:30am to meet the driver who was taking us the two hours to the Wall.  Upon recommendation we decided to get to the Wall right when it opened so we would be the first and only people up there.  We made good time to the Wall and were indeed the first people in line to get aboard the cable cars that take you to the top.  A wave of excitement went through my body as I spotted the Wall trailing the mountain ridge in the distance.  A surreal feeling crept over me as I anticipated climbing this historic and famous piece of Chinese culture. 

You know the quiet you hear after it snows?  Atop the Great Wall the sound was deafening.  I looked around at the Wall covered with a fresh blanket of snow and felt so at peace and calm.  That lasted about two seconds and then I was jumping for joy because I was standing on the Great Wall of China!!!  How had I gotten here?  If you would have asked me a year ago if I thought I would ever come to China and go to the Great Wall I would have said no way, but here I was doing that very thing. 

We hiked the Wall with no interruptions for an hour and then the crowds started to arrive.  We ended up hiking for three hours and then headed back to the car with plans to come again in the spring and hike for an entire day.  The rest of our stay in Beijing was filled with seeing the Forbidden City, the Olympic Park and walking around, but nothing compared to the Great Wall.  The mixed feelings of excitement and tranquility of being on the Great Wall is one that I will cherish forever and look back upon as something that brought so much joy and fulfillment to my life.

A Week in Thailand

Phuket and Koh Phi Phi Island

We started the trip in Phuket just to stay the night and catch the ferry in the morning to Koh Phi Phi Island.  In Koh Phi Phi we swam, kayaked and hiked our way around the island.  We also had some of the best fresh fruit smoothies of our lives.  One night we went to a fire dance show and barely escaped without third degree burns.  The dancers were not trained professionals, but young amateurs opening up for the real fire show that would come on later.  After I barely escaped a near fatal throw to the face we decided to call it a night.  We stayed three nights and then headed back to the mainland to catch a flight to Chiang Mai.

Chiang Mai

Our flight arrived late at night so we checked in to our hostel and prepared to get up early to go to Patara Elephant Farm to be an elephant owner for a day.  In the morning the shuttle picked us up and drove us an hour and a half to the farm.  Walking up to farm I was greeted by a baby elephant and mama who were happy to grab my hand with their trunks and then investigate my hair.    We sat through orientation of how to approach elephants, check if they lay down to sleep, if they were sweating and if they had pooped.  After orientation we got to meet our elephant for the day, my elephant was Ploi an eleven year old female who is known as ‘The Wanderer.’  I learned how to give commands in Thai for her to follow me, lie down and open her mouth.  I got her feed her, brush off all the dirt on her back and then give her a bath in the river.  After giving Ploi her bath I was walking up to the bathroom and I noticed blood all over my legs and sought out medical aide.  Turns out I had been attacked by blood sucking flies and had to get special treatment. 

Once I had been treated I learned three different ways to get on her back and was successful at all three.  Then we were off to go trek to a waterfall in the jungle where we would have lunch and swim with the elephants.  Ploi kept wandering off into the foliage so I kept having to dodge branches, vines and the occasional mud pie she would throw over her shoulder at me.  We made it to the waterfall, ate a fantastic Thai lunch and then jumped in the water to swim with the elephants.  There was this one baby elephant that would not leave me alone, he kept trying to bite my leg and drag me into the water to play.  By the end of the day I was so happy with how I had spent my time and reflected on all I had learned about this giant and beautiful animal. 

Over the next few days we went white water rafting, saw paper being made out of elephant dung, went to some golden temples, took a cooking class and made friends with locals who took us to some authentic Thai restaurants.  The rafting trip was quite dangerous but our guide was a riot.  He flipped us on purpose and was convinced I was never wet enough so he would periodically fill his helmet with water and throw it on me.  The elephant dung paper place was really cool and actually quite the process.  The temples were so detailed and beautiful and listening to the monks chant was an experience to remember.  The Thai cooking class was a blast! We met awesome people, made and ate delicious food and got a recipe book.  When it was time to leave Chiang Mai we were sad to go because of all the fun we had and the new friends we would miss. 

Bangkok

We literally only had one night in Bangkok because our flight back to China was the following day.  We were dropped off at the infamous Kao San Road and wandered around Thailand’s party street.  My favorite was the edible bug cart that had every bug you could imagine deep fried and ready for consumption.  Scorpions, grasshoppers, fire ants, grubs, you name it.    A few streets over was our hostel that was a traditional Thai house and where we stayed in a 22 bed mixed dorm.  Ended up not being so bad and we heard some interesting tales of some wild nights that had been happening to some of our roommates.  The next morning we walked around Bangkok seeing some sights like China Town, The Grand Palace, the big Buddha and some temples.  After a few hours of that we had to grad a shuttle to the airport for our flight back to Shenzhen.  We were sad to leave the warm weather and go back to work, but the memories and friends we made had made our trip one to remember.     

A Week in Bali

China in January is pretty cold, so you can imagine how happy I was to be flying to a location that is seven degrees below the equator.  Getting on the plane I was all bundled up and looking forward to getting out of the cold and into the sunshine.  First we flew into Bangkok, waiting a few hours for our connecting flight to Bali.  The flight to Bali was eight hours and we were sitting in the row right before the exit row so our seats didn’t lean back.  Along with trying to sleep in the upright position, the airline didn’t provide food or drink unless prepaid.  When we arrived I was tired, hungry, thirsty and crabby.  Getting off the plane and seeing the green, lush surroundings all my fatigue and crankiness went away.  I was greeted with a warm breeze, the smell of ocean and a $25 tourist visa.  I rushed to the shortest customs line and waited to get stamped, checked, and x-rayed.  Once all that was done it was time to exchange money and get a taxi to the hostel.  Stepping out of the airport we were hit with a wave of humidity.  I enjoy humid climates due to my anemia, so for me it was like stepping into weather that suited my needs.  We stood in line for a taxi, gave them our hostels address, paid 60,000 Rupiah and were off. 

The hostel we were staying at was located in Kuta, a tourist town.  We were surrounded by Aussies and other foreigners along with the locals who hustled you around every corner to buy a souvenir.  The next day we woke up to a torrential downpour.  The streets were flooded and it looked like we weren’t going anywhere.  With a few hours the rain let up and we were off searching for things to do.  We shopped, ate, went to the beach, got massages and came back to the hostel for a cold shower.  Due to the amount of foreigners and city life around us we decided to head inland to Ubud an hour bus ride away. 

Ubud is home to rice terraces, coffee plantations and Mt. Batur.  The town seemed quite idyllic and it appeared to be less out a tourist town.  We found a home stay that was relatively cheap and not too far from the downtown area of Ubud.  Hanging out at the home stay we met Hannah, a gal from the States who had been living in Bali for six months.  She gave up lots of information of things to do around the city and where some good hiking was. 

The next day my friend Jenna and I rented bikes with the hope of finding some rice terraces.  We came across a street market, had lunch and made our way up to the terraces.  At the top of a hill we were biking we stumbled into a ceremony that was happening to celebrate the half moon.  We saw offerings being made with incense and basket upon basket of food.  It was so cool to witness all the men, women and children dressed for the occasion and the traditional music being played.  We biked on and saw some beautiful rice terraces and offerings for the half moon celebration. 

The next day we headed to Mt. Batur with the hopes to hike to the top.  Just when we arrive at the mountain it started to rain.  We camped out in a coffee shack until it let up just enough for us to head back to our home stay.  We were bummed that we weren’t able to hike, but the view was gorgeous. 

The next day we got up early to meet our taxi that would take us to the airport to catch our flight to Thailand. 

Emergency Room

Wednesday evening I was sitting on my bed hanging up my laundry and I turned to get my phone to answer a text message and I felt a sharp pain in the lower right side of my back.  For the rest of the night the same spot was hurting me and was sensitive to the touch.  I went to bed early hoping my back would be fully recovered in the morning. When my alarm went off and I turned over to turn it off, the movement sent sharp pains over the spot that I had hurt the night before.  I was disappointed to find that my back was still hurt, but I thought a hot shower would loosen it up and send me on the mend.  When I tried to get out of bed I found that I couldn't because of the searing pain in my back.  After a few teeth clenching attempts I was finally able to get out of bed and into the shower.  The hot water felt good on my back but had no lasting healing affects.  

Heading out the door for school I noticed that walking was causing spasms in my back and I  thought maybe I had pulled a muscle.  By the time I reached the school I was in a lot of pain and called the principal to see what I should do.  She told me to go home and rest and get better so my students could have a healthy teacher.  I was not happy with the thought of leaving my students, but I was overruled and I went home.  

Within an hour the pains had spread into my abdomen and that I had to use the walls for support to get around the apartment.  After collapsing in the hallway and having to crawl back to the couch I realized that I needed some medical assistance.  Is the number for 911 the same in China? I didn't want to find out, so I called one of my coworkers who then told the office who sent a car and a translator to come and pick me up to take me to the hospital.  They didn't know where I lived so I had to muster the strength to meet them outside my apartment.  Once in the van it was a 20 minute drive to the nearest hospital and I felt every bump and pothole in the road.  

Arriving at the hospital the secretary told us to go to the second floor to internal medicine.  In internal medicine I explained  my symptoms, ,which then were translated to the doctor, she then ask a follow up question, which was then translated to me, I responded and the whole thing started all over again.  The doctor then got up gave me a karate chop in the left kidney and nothing happened, so she gave me a karate chop to the right kidney which caused me to writhe in pain and almost fall off my stool.  She gave a grunt and diagnosed me with having a kidney stone.  She then sent me down to the emergency room back on the first floor.

In the emergency room I walked down a hallway lined with babies screaming, people hooked up to iv's and a man on a gurney with a gaping head wound.  The room that I was ushered into had a doctor and nurse playing cards who looked relieved to have a patient.  We went through the translation piece of symptoms, follow up questions, etc, along with two more karate chops to the back.  This doctor agreed on kidney stones and sent me up to the fifth floor for an ultrasound.

On the fifth floor I was rushed to the front of the line to see the ultrasound lady, which was pretty cool, plus I was told I was unfit to walk so I was in a wheelchair and who can argue with a wheelchair?  The ultrasound was painful because she was pushing into my sore kidney in order to get a good look at the stones.  One thing to know about Chinese hospitals is that they do not clean utensils after each use, so I was laying on a stained and filthy hospital bed and I watched her use a paper towel to wipe off the tools before she started using it on me.  She concluded that yes I had kidney stones, how many was not translated to be, but I had them so I was sent back down to the emergency room on the first floor.

The doctor I had the first time was on his lunch so I had a new one who asked me my symptoms, translations, follow up questions, translations, karate chops, the usual.  He then asked me if I was in pain and then sent me to the injection room where I received a shot in the butt cheek.  When I returned I had a prescription written out and was told to drink more water and exercise more.  

Back to the lobby we went to go get my prescriptions, pay and leave. Not once was I asked for any information about myself, insurance, allergies, medical history, nothing.  China is a cash based society so the translator paid in cash ( on the schools dollar, oh yeah) and we left.  My medicine is a medicinal tea that I am to drink three times a day after a meal.  The tea is supposed to help break up the stones so i can pass them easier, but it looks and tastes terrible and causes me to get super drowsy and cramps in my kidney.  

I am happy to say that I am on the mend and that the worst is over.  What an ordeal, but it makes for a funny story and a life lesson on how karate chops can be medicinal.

School's back in session

I honestly didn't think that I would miss teaching over the break or my students, but on Monday morning when I was greeted with enthusiastic hellos and good mornings, I realized how much I did miss my students.  I was all ready for a rough first day back, meaning that I would have to reteach rules and expectations, but Monday was by far the best day of teaching this year.  The kids were so happy and loving and ready to learn.  While I was in the states I spent $100 at the dollar store getting supplies for the classroom, so on Monday we played with shaving cream and food coloring.  The kids had a blast and when it was time to clean up they all were covered from head to toe with shaving cream with ear to ear smiles on their faces.  

I noticed the first hour of school most of my students were very quiet and didn't speak much English.  When I would talk to them and ask them questions they just looked at me and cocked their head almost as if they were processing what I was saying.  Once we went through our regular routine I was blown away at the amount of English I was hearing from my students.  Their young minds truly are like sponges, soaking up everything I say, sing and model.  Walking down the hall with a student we could hear construction going on upstairs.  He stopped, looked up at the ceiling, pointed to his ear and motioned to me to see if I heard it too.  He then walked over to the wall and knocked on it and said "Hear knock on the door," and pointed back up to the ceiling.  I thought for a second, where did he hear that phrase from, and then I remembered that we sing the brush your teeth song and it has that phrase in a verse.  He was able to make that connection between the sound of a construction knocking upstairs to the sound of knocking on the door that we sing about everyday.  I was so blown away with how spectacular his connection between a sound and his way of expressing what hey heard in a verbal way with his minimal English.  Truly amazing!

Christmas Break

It was absolutely wonderful having the opportunity to come home for Christmas.  Stepping off the airplane in San Francisco and using a bathroom that provided toilet paper, seat covers, toilets, soap, and paper towels was a most welcome sight.  Walking down the long hallway to collect my luggage for a customs screening, I saw a sight that I hadn't seen in five months and I rushed towards the delightful fountain that delivered icy goodness to my parched mouth. Due to bacteria in all tap water in China we all are forced to drink only bottled water, even the native Chinese do not drink tap water.  A drink from a fountain is something that I have taken for granted as well as everyday bathroom amenities.  There have been so many times in the States where I have reached for toilet paper in a stall and come up empty handed, but I have come to learn that public toilet paper is a privilege, not a right.  It may sound silly, but be thankful for the little things in life like free toilet paper and well, a toilet!

After my epiphany I started thinking about how good it was to be on American soil and I couldn't wait for my connecting flight to Medford to come.  When I arrived my family surprised me by showing up to pick me up.  My dad even got a day pass out of the hospital to meet me.  I was so surprised and overcome with shock that all I could do was smile from ear to ear.  We chatted in baggage claim for an hour and then we all went separate ways with the promise of seeing each other soon.  

Within the first few days of my arrival I hit up all my favorite restaurants and quickly learned that my stomach is not accustomed to how rich American food is.  Every meal I could only eat a small portion due to my getting a stomach ache quickly afterward.  A few times I was hanging with friends and they would ask me what I wanted for dinner and my only request was no Chinese food, and of course that is what sounded good to them, go figure. 

It was so wonderful to visit Oregon, but as I walked up the street to my apartment in China I felt like I was coming home.  China has become my home and I am so glad to be back and teaching again, along with eating food that doesn't make me sick.