Monday morning in Jinyang

It's early Monday morning and I am standing at the gate of a school in Jinyang, a suburb of Guiyang. I'm here to meet my director of studies and some colleagues and assistants, to hold a promotion at the school's open day. It's the second time I am here. The first time was more than a month ago and I was accompanied by my director of studies. I had to teach something for half an hour and she would do all the negotiations and the talking. 'We'll be done in an hour' she had said. Of course it took us longer. First because our driver took us to a different school, a public school next to the Canadian I used to work, then we had to find the way to this private school I am now, then we had to find the principal and her assistants, go to the room, set it up and wait for the pupils to come. 'Are you sure about the time?' I had asked. 'What about the flag raising ceremony?' I had asked. 'Don't worry about anything' was the answer I received. Well, since the pupils didn't show up, we went in search of them and discovered that they all were on their way to the flag raising ceremony.
The flag raising ceremony is a Monday morning event that takes place in every school in the country. All students, teachers and sometimes members of staff gather on a field, square, etc. of the school, three pupils carry the flag and raise it in very communist, very glorifying way. Everybody sings the national anthem, there are some speeches and awards giving, etc. Ceremonies might vary from school to school. But the ones I have seen so far in 3 - 4 different schools are identical. After 30 to 45 minutes (sometimes quicker if the weather is bad or the speeches and award giving don't take that long), everything is over and everyone returns to business.
It took us two hours that morning and since the driver had to leave, we took a taxi back.
This morning however, I am here at that very gate we entered the first time, but the gate is closed and locked, as it always is and the guard in the hut next to the gate has no information and won't let me in. I call my assistant Margaret to come pick me up, but she goes to the main gate. There's a bit of confusion when she sees that I am not there and since both of us don't know of the existence of a second gate, she has to ask someone to figure out where I am. It turns out that the main gate is where Margaret is and the gate I am waiting at is the side entrance that opens only early in the morning and in the afternoon when the parents come to either bring or pick up their children.
Anyway, we find each other and I am directed to the classroom I am supposed to teach for 30 minutes. Since it's Monday and since it's open day, we won't finish early. That's what my gut feeling tells me. Why? First of all, all of us, Margaret, me and three others have to teach, of course this doesn't happen at the same time. Secondly, it's flag raising ceremony and last but not least, a festive ceremony the school has organised for the parents will take place.
I mentioned in an earlier post, that businesses need a licence in order to employ foreigners. The number of foreigners has to be stated on that licence. In case the business doesn't own one, they can hire foreigners from a company that does. The requirements are very strict and in some cases the businesses have to wait up to one whole year to obtain a licence. This school is quite new and doesn't have one, that's why we are here today, that's why I was here about a month ago, to promote me, my skills, my school, etc.
I set up my room and go find the others. As I turn around the corner I bump into a group of pupils dressed in Miao and Han costumes. Miao are the largest minority in Guizhou province and Han are most Chinese. The kids get excited when they see me and I take many photos.
Many more students, parents, teachers and members of staff have gathered on the sports field to witness the show. As you can see from the attached photos and videos, it really is very colourful and beautiful.
After that, we all go to the classrooms. Of course parents come into the room, too and take photos and videos. After the lesson, pupils and parents are given a few minutes to ask questions. Of course the most important question is if you're married. They always ask this and many more personal questions, never anything related to work experience and qualifications.
The principal walks in and we're asked to vacate the room as it needs to be used by someone else. We walk around the premises in search of the others and when I spot Margaret in one of the classrooms, I want to enter through the open back door and watch her teaching. The director of studies grabs me by my backpack and holds me back saying, 'don't enter because you'll distract them'. I do a funny move and noise when she pulls me back, which is heard by some parents and pupils who sit near the door. They all turn around to see what is happening, and when they spot me, especially the mums, take their mobile phones and take some photos. I manage to take a few photos of Margaret in action before we continue our walk around.
Since I have come by my scooter, I don't have to wait for the others to finish and technically I am free to leave. Technically. Well, There's some meet and greet, some photoshoots with parents, teachers and pupils and lunch at the school's canteen. I had tried hard to avoid eating and walking anywhere near the canteen of the Canadian school, but here it would be insulting if I refused lunch. Lunch at a school canteen is horrible and should be forbidden.
Three or so hours later I am finally free to go.

The school's sign at the side entrance gate.

Art

What I am teaching today.

Blue is Miao, white is Han.

Pupils concentrating, mums watching.

School's sign at the front gate.

Margaret in action, never in distraction.

The first time I taught in this school. Topic of the day was 'weather'. I am doing the rain.

The lady in front of the black board is the director of studies.

Videos may not show or play on iPhones and iPads.

Here's some more reading stuff by me.

Extra income opportunities

It's a Monday afternoon in March and a young lady is asking in one of the WeChat expat groups if anyone has time on Wednesday morning for a promotion. I give it a try and contact that lady. There are so many opportunities to make extra money in this city, it's just unbelievable! I assume it's the same in other, predominantly smaller cities. Whenever local people want to celebrate an opening of their business, a new cooperation, or whatever, they hire a few foreigners to show their faces and smile and perhaps say a few words. It's a common practice. Many foreigners are against it and don't want to do it, because they say we're being treated like monkeys and have to dance to their money, etc. Some others don't mind it. I belong to the latter ones. I'll refrain from analysing and won't bore you with my point of view. Tante (aunt) Tina, as the Germans call Tina Turner, shares her views in the song Private Dancer. The topic is a different one, but you'll get the picture.
This young lady is working for a language training school across the (fuck) building where I live and her school wants to start a cooperation with a public primary school in the heart of Guiyang. As the public school doesn't have a licence to hire a foreign teacher directly, they hire one through a language school that has a licence. For this, the language school needs a second foreign teacher to show up at the primary on Wednesday morning and speak to the kids for a few minutes.
Wednesday, early in the morning and I'm standing in front of the KFC in the Garland Mall opposite my building, waiting for the young lady to arrive. She comes and we introduce each other. A few minutes later the driver arrives to pick us up and drives us to the centre. We park in an underground car park and walk a few minutes to the school. The school is located by the Nanming river, very close to the Jianxi Pavilion, and is one of the best in the country in calligraphy. I knew this school because my Chinese teacher lives next to it and have often walked down that path.
We tell the guards who we are and what we want and they open the gate. As soon as we are inside, the children stare at the young lady from New Zealand and me. We ask for the principal's office and get directions. We go up two flights and enter the office. We are warmly greeted and tea is made for us. We sit there and talk a little and some teachers enter the room and introduce themselves.
Half an hour later we all stand up and go down a floor where the balcony is. There we stand on the balcony and before us are hundreds of pupils. They all stand there quietly and wait for something to happen. The principal, a lady in her thirties, takes the microphone and says something in Chinese. She passes the mic over to me and asks me to say a few words. I raise my hand and make a greeting gesture and say
'Hello, how are you?'
'Im fine, and you?' shout hundreds of voices and shivers run down my spine.
"I'm happy to be here this morning!' I say and continue by introducing myself and saying some more things. Then I pass on the mic to Ariana, and she introduces herself and plays a little game with them. They have to form letters with their arms, like the Village People in the video YMCA. The kids love it!
Five minutes later, we are done. We say 'thank you', greet again and leave. First we go to the principal's office and wait until the pupils are in their classrooms and then we leave the premisses. We walk back to the car park and are driven back to Huaguoyuan, where we live and where that language training school is. I'm invited to that school and I get to meet all the staff, then the owner of the language training school invites us to lunch and we go to a nearby restaurant. There I get 350 Yuan, roughly 40 pounds, in a red envelope, as it's custom in this country and get the offer to work for them. Unfortunately it's on a day I have classes at my school and therefore can't make it.
Ariana will start work at that primary school soon and with her possibly a second foreign teacher.
'Money for nothing and chicks for free' as Dire Straits used to sing. Indeed I got money for nothing, but didn't get the chicks.

Pupils gathering in the yard (view from the principal's office)

 Taken from the balcony

Macau

It is still dark outside when the alarm of your mobile phone goes off. You open your eyes and see nothing but darkness. You remain unmoved under the duvet and close your eyes again and doze off. A few minutes later the alarm goes off for a second time. You slowly move the sheets aside, turn to the side of the bed, switch on the bedside lamp, look at the time, switch the alarm off and get up. First you drink some water, then you walk to the bathroom and shower for a while. It's unusually early for you and your body and mind need to get fit.
As the warm water drops roll down your body, you try to focus, but it's impossible. Your thoughts turn around the message you found under your door the night before. It read: Meet me tomorrow in Macau. Don't worry about place and time. I will find you.
That sounds mysterious, but it is something you have expected. It is something you have waited for, but hoped it wouldn't happen. A trip to Macau was planned anyway, but you wished you would go there under different circumstances. Macau is a place not many people have heard off. Even you didn't know it existed a few years back. Well, you actually knew from the geography lessons at school, but that information was somewhere deep in your mind that needed digging out. Then about two years ago, when you were working as a copywriter for a British online marketing firm, you were asked to write articles about various places with brick and mortar casinos and about some of the establishments. An internet search brought up Macau and you suddenly remembered the name. Many things have changed over the years, since you were at school. Macau is an autonomous region on the south coast of China, across the Pearl River Delta from Hong Kong and it was a Portuguese territory until 1999. Macau is known as the Las Vegas of Asia, due to the many casinos and it is officially the world's largest gambling centre. The differences to Las Vegas are that it is overrun by hordes of Chinese gamblers who unlike gamblers in Las Vegas, don't drink, but prefer to sip at their tea.
When you told some people that you were interested in going there, they asked you what for. You said for sightseeing, which produced laughter. The truth is, there are not many sights, you can count them on the fingers of your hand.
After a long shower you have a quick breakfast, get dressed and leave your room. It's very quiet in the entire hotel and the receptionist gives you a funny look when you pass by and walk out at the crack of dawn. You inhale the fresh air a few times before you start walking to the terminal to take the boat over the delta.
It's very quiet in the terminal at this early hour and not many people are on the boat. You don't really enjoy the crossing because your thoughts are somewhere else. You haven't taken your mobile phone with you because a) it's not working with the various SIM cards you have and b) it is safer not to have it with you. But you have your little digital camera with you, that will give everyone the impression that you are an ordinary tourist and you hope to get a map somewhere. Soon you discover that you have failed to recharge the battery of your camera and that you're going to miss the opportunity of making photos.
When you finally arrive in Macau you follow the little crowd that seems to know their way round. You follow them along a long corridor and go through immigration, where you have to show your passport. A few minutes later you step outside and don't know where to go. You see a little shop and pay it a visit. There you find a map of Macau and read it for a while. You find a few casinos you wanted to visit and the very few sights this place has to offer. Since the casinos are nearby, you take a left turn and walk towards them.
You ignore the first two and enter the third. This is not due to the fact that us humans are choosy and never take the first but walk by in search of a better one (if you enter a loo at an airport or train station that has let's say five cubicles in a row, will you take the first one? You probably won't. A study has shown that the most frequented cubicle is the third, the second most frequented are the second and the fourth and then follow the first and the fifth. Why? We ignore the first because we believe that something better is waiting for us. We don't go to the fifth because it's too far away. That's why we visit cubicles 2, 3 or 4), no, in this case you're looking for a specific casino you once wrote about. You enter it and are struck by its luxury. It's better than you have ever imagined it. You feel lost in that massive gambling temple, but you play cool, don't want to show that you are a first time visitor, you don't want to lose your reputation and put on your best poker face. You pass by a mirror and believe to see the agent who chases gangsters in the name of Her Majesty, and feel immediately stronger, cooler and more powerful. You buy some chips and walk to a roulette table, where you watch for a bit. You try to remember what you wrote in your articles about this game. Once you remember, you sit down and play. Fortune is with you and you win a few rounds. Like in the films, people gather behind you to watch your moves. You start thinking, will the meeting be held in here? Is the person you are supposed to meet sitting at the table? You look at the people at the table, but they seem to be ordinary gamblers.
After a while you leave the table and walk over to Black Jack. It's time to try your luck there. Again you remember what you wrote in your articles, concentrate hard, listen to your gut feeling and win. You go to one of the restaurants to have something to eat, then you exchange the chips for money and leave the premisses.
It's still early in the morning and you decide to visit another casino. There you try your luck with poker. First you win, then you lose, then you win again and walk off with the same amount you had before you started playing.
It's nearly noon when you step outside. You take your map out of the pocket, try to figure out the way to the ruins of the church of St Paul, which is the top-sight of Macau. Once a Jesuit church, burnt down some 180 years ago and the only thing that survived the blast is the facade, that's why it's also known as 'The Gate to Nowhere'. On the way there you want to visit some churches, temples and gardens, but somehow you can't find most of it and end up seeing two churches, one of which is closed, and one garden, which is smaller than you thought. Finally you reach the stairway in front of the ruins of the church of St Paul and stand still for a while. It is quite surreal and spectacular. There are many tourists, predominantly Chinese couples who take selfies and photograph each other.
You walk slowly up the stairs and when on top, just under the arch, some Chinese spot you and want to have photos with you. You smile as always and say 'of course'. Then you walk around the ground for a while and watch the crowds and the facade. Then you decide to walk around the cobbled paths of the old town and visit a church or two and have lunch somewhere. You pass by a McDonald's and see that it is packed, so are a few other restaurants on the main street, that's why you turn into a side street and discover a little place with local food. You enter the restaurant, ask if they accept credit cards, because you don't have any MOPs (local currency), sit at a table, order and enjoy your meal. You are a bit disappointed though food is similar to the one in China. You expected to find something Portuguese. When you ask to pay and wave with your plastic money, they tell you that they don't accept it. But when you asked, they said they did. Great confusion! The ladies discuss something you don't understand and then they tell you to follow one of the waitresses to the nearest ICBC branch where you can withdraw money. Out of the restaurant, turn right, down the road, right again until a main road with many shops and right again. There you are. You withdraw the amount for your meal, plus an extra tip, hand the money to the lady, thank her and you both walk off to different directions.
You take out the map again and try to figure out the way to the Guia Fort, that's the fortress on top of a hill and you walk more or less in that direction. All the street signs are in Portuguese, but the people speak Cantonese and don't seem to understand either Portuguese or English.
While you walk along the streets, pass by shops, boulevards, bars, etc. you notice that people are quite similar to Hongkongers in their behaviour. They don't honk, they don't spit, they don't shout. After a while you see the fortress high up on a hill and take out the map again and try to find the shortest way to it. The shortest way involves a steep road up the hill.
A while later you reach the top and are rewarded with some spectacular vistas over the peninsula. You walk along the wall and enjoy the view and then you stop at a point where fewer people are and look down to the city.
While you're in deep thoughts, a lady approaches you and places herself next to you on your right.
-It took you a while, she says.
-We didn't have a set time and place, did we? you ask.
-No, we didn't. But stop bitching around. What's the code?
-N-O-O-D-L-E-S. What's yours?
-B-E-E-F.
You look at each other and start giggling like children. Whose silly idea was this? Beef noodles? Give me a break! On the other hand, it does make sense, as it's one of your favourite dishes in China. The person who chose the codes seems to know you well. Too well for your taste. The lady is called Vivi and is a brunette European with beautiful brown eyes and a cute smile. She's dressed like a tourist and has a digital camera hanging from her neck. That's something typical western. Asians use their mobile phones with their massive displays to make photos and westerners are more traditional and still carry around cameras. Vivi is being very professional and places her arm under yours, leans her head against your shoulder, makes a few photos from the surroundings with her other hand and asks you if you have 'it' with you. You have. You place your hand into one of your pockets, produce 'it' and give 'it' to her. She looks briefly at 'it' and hides 'it' away in her bag. Then you walk around a bit like a happy couple, before you both take separate ways.
You feel relieved that it's finally over and take the route down to the centre and with the map in your hands you try to find the way back to the boats. Once in the terminal, you buy your ticket, walk through the customs and disappear into the crowd walking towards the boat to Hong Kong.




If you would like to read more by me, find those two on Amazon:

Hong Kong part 6

You slowly leave the world of unconsciousness and return to the real world. You feel dazed and confused and you are not really conscious yet. You feel that you are in a parallel world, somewhere distant, somewhere far away. Images, voices and sounds fly around you, they come and go and make you even more confused and dizzy. You see your entire life passing before of you. Images from your childhood, images from your time as a teenager, from university and your working life afterwards. You see places you have been, people you have met, you see your parents, your previous relationships, scents and smells go up your nose. Two things however keep appearing and disappearing. The first one is Mi, a Chinese colleague and dear friend with whom you understand each other blindly, intuitively. She doesn't say anything. She comes and goes, but there's something in the expression and the way she looks at you. Shall this be a sign of warning or relief? Why is she appearing anyway? Has she got to do anything with this here? 

The second thing that comes and goes is the song you were humming in the foot massage parlour. 

"He ran his little monkey fingers through yellow pages

Called up some escort services and ordered some okey doke

Forty minutes later there came a knock at the door.."

Yeah, some hookers and some weed would be great now. You would certainly like that. 

All the images, scents and sounds disappear and you open your eyes. You raise your head and look around. The lights are dimmed and you can't see much. You see that you are tied to a chair in an empty room. Directly opposite is a door and on both sides are windows with curtains. Directly behind must be a corridor, because you hear some footsteps. You try to move the chair around to see what is behind you, but as you jump a few times and manage to move the chair a few inches, the door opens and two men step inside. 

One comes closer to you and the other shuts the door and places himself next to it.

The man standing in front of you asks you in perfect English:

"Do you speak Chinese?"

"Yes."

"Why?"

"Just because!"

"That's the wrong answer!" he says and slaps you hard on the right cheek so that your head flies to the left.

Jeez! We had this before.

You shake your head and ask: "What is wrong with speaking Chinese?"

"Nothing wrong with it, only peculiar."

You're none the wiser and don't understand what's the problem with it.

"So, why do you speak Chinese?"

"I live in the country and it's obvious to learn it, no? I speak other languages too."

"....." Silence. The man doesn't say anything and you're sure that he knows exactly who you are and what you do. Perhaps you shouldn't have said that you speak other languages.

"You speak Russian, I know, and a few other languages. I know, I know..."

You were right with your suspicion, he knows much about you.

He turns around, goes to the man by the door, gets something from him and returns. He holds up a photograph and asks you:

"Do you know this person?"

You have a closer look and once you realise who the person in the photo is, you put your best poker face on, like you learnt it in the army and say:

"No, I have no idea who this is."

"You're a fucking liar!" he shouts and slaps you again so that your head flies to the side.

"What did you do in Macau yesterday?"

"I'm sure you know what I did there. Sightseeing, didn't I?" you say with a cheeky smile.

The man turns around and says something in Cantonese to the man standing by the door. He opens the door and shouts something into the corridor. A few seconds later, four men and a young Chinese lady with her hands tied in front appear. It's the lady from the photograph. She is slim, has beautiful long black hair, dark eyes, cute face, fair skin and looks like a mixture of Pocahontas and Snow White.

"I'm asking you again, do you know the person?"

"No, why should I?"

"May we refresh your memory a bit?" he asks and snaps with his fingers, and two of the four angry looking men come forward ready to punch you.

You remain calm with your poker face still on and say: "You can refresh my memory as much as you like, I'm telling you the truth, I don't know this person."

The person in question is Mi. Of course you know her and you know her very well and you can guess why she is here. She's not only your colleague and dear friend, but she's also your Chinese teacher. You both look at each other and she is trying with the use of her fingers to pass a secret message to you, while the men have gathered together and are discussing something. You understand that you shouldn't be worried and that the situation is under control. 

"I will ask you one more time" the man says, "and I demand to hear the truth. Do you know this person? Why do you learn Chinese?"

"As I told you" you say in a calm manner, "there's nothing wrong with it and I don't know who she is."

As soon as you finish this sentence, two of the men come forward and start slapping, hitting and punching you.

In this very moment the door is being kicked down and two ladies in sexy suits appear. It's your colleague Milly and your assistant Margaret and together with Mi they are the mysterious group "μ³". Milly and Margaret kick and punch some of the men standing by the door and throw the to the floor. Milly jumps over to Mi and with a butterfly knife cuts the rope around her hands and frees her, then Mi bends down, lifts her left trouser leg and produces a knife. With some fast and spectacular movements between the men who are after her, she lands right before you, looks you in the eyes, kicks away a man who is trying to attack her from behind, whispers 'silly boy!' in your ear, reaches behind you and cuts the rope. She jumps back immediately and you stand up with a quick move, take the chair and hit one of the men with it and knock him out. 

"Quick!" shouts Margaret, while kicking one of the men in his balls. Ouch, that must hurt! Mi grabs your hand and pulls you towards the door. Milly is already in the corridor waiting with a gun in her hands. You look behind and see a bunch of men on the floor. 

The four of you run down the corridor and out of the building. There a black Mercedes is parked in which you get in. Milly takes the wheel, Margaret sits on the passenger seat and you and Mi take a place on the back seat. All of them look at you before Milly pushes down the throttle and Mi grabs your hair and says again sweetly 'silly boy' and you lean over and kiss her on her head. The car pushes forward with force so that the wheels spin and you disappear into the night and the streets of Hong Kong.

The End. 

Sik Sik Yuen Wong Tai Sin Temple

An explosion of pillars, roofs, and lattice work in bright colours, this busy Taoist temple is a destination for all walks of life, from pensioners to young professionals. Some come simply to pray, others to divine the future with chìm (bamboo ‘fortune sticks’) which are shaken out of a box onto the ground and interpreted by a fortune-teller.
The complex, built in 1973, is dedicated to a deified healer named Wong Tai Sin who, as a shepherd in Zhèjiāng province, was said to have transformed boulders into sheep. In fact, the whole district is named after him – ironic given he is said to have been a hermit. When he was 15 an immortal taught Wong how to make a herbal potion that could cure all illnesses. He is thus worshipped both by the sick and those trying to avoid illness. The term ‘Wong Tai Sin’ is sometimes used to describe people who are generous to a fault.
Taoist ceremonies take place at the main altar . The image of the deity was brought to Hong Kong from Guǎngdōng province in 1915. Behind the main altar and to the right are the Good Wish Gardens, replete with pavilions (the hexagonal Unicorn Hall, with carved doors and windows, is the most beautiful), zigzag bridges and carp ponds. 

To the left as you enter the complex is an arcade of fortune-tellers (consultation from HK$100), some of whom speak English. The busiest times at the temple are around Chinese New Year, Wong Tai Sin’s birthday (23rd day of the eighth month – usually in September) and on weekends. 

Source: Lonely Planet Hong Kong.

Somewhere in Tsim Sha Tsui

Lunch

Space Museum

The Peninsula (Hotel and shops)

Clock Tower

View to central Hong Kong

Ferry crossing

Approaching central

Ferry in the terminal

Wheel in the sky keeps on turnin'
I don't know where I'll be tomorrow
Wheel in the sky keeps on turnin' ...

(Journey - Wheel in the Sky)

In case you wonder what this is, this is a bluetooth speaker that moves when you play music on your device. (Video may not show or play on iPhones and iPads)

If you would like to read more by me, find the following two on Amazon.