School Begins

Evelyn reveals herself as the true author of the blog: With the weekend over, it was time to get down to some actual work. Jane and I were scheduled to be at school at 9:30 a.m. for orientation. We had still not yet found a nanny, so the kids went along as well. The school picked us up in one of their vans, and the driver looked pretty shocked at the amount of stuff that we had (3 kids, double stroller, enormous diaper bag, snack bag). We had to pack a lot, though, because we had no idea how long we were going to be at school. When we arrived, we met another teacher who had taught the previous years, so we followed her to where we needed to go. We went into the meeting room, and there were roughly 20 other teachers and directors. It turns out that the principal who hired Jane and I, and our contact throughout the entire process so far, are both leaving for new jobs in Beijing. The leadership has been rearranged, and there are now, as far as I know, four principals.

We sat in the meeting and learned a bit about what we were teaching and who everyone was. As we are in the international division, there are no Chinese teachers. There are plenty of teachers from New Zealand, a few from France, Zambia, Canada and Australia, with one guy from North Carolina. We found out what we will be teaching: As expected, I will teach chemistry and physics. Jane will teach English (as a second language) to younger children (elementary school age). My students will be the most senior students, preparing for university educations. We also received our teaching schedules, and we are each teaching throughout the day. I only teach 3-4 hours per day, but it appears I will be at the school pretty much all day long. Jane tried to have her schedule changed, for purposes of the nanny (when we get one), and she was able to get all of her classes packed into the middle of the day, so she can come a bit later and leave a bit earlier [We found out, as I am writing this, that Jane will be allowed to teach in the afternoons only for the first 2 weeks, until they find a better solution for child care. Jane found, independently, a student studying English who she really liked, and I think she will be our nanny in the afternoons, if everything works out. She is coming over tomorrow afternoon to meet with Jane and the girls. Jane says that she can just sense that this girl is right for us, as she did with Becky, our prior nanny in Jefferson City, who was very good]. After I went and got my books, we ate lunch in the student cafeteria. We feasted on white rice (as always), curried potatoes, chicken (I think) and snow peas, a chicken leg, green vegetables (like collared greens), and soup. Monday was over around noon. Though not the most impressive picture of the school, here is Danny standing in one of the courtyards of the school where Jane and I will be teaching.

After lunch, I took the girls home and Jane took Danny to the school where he is going. The plan was to take him around and help him get acquainted with the new place (a large task, since he was going to be in a class conducted entirely in Chinese). Based on his age, he would be in the more advanced kindergarten class, but since he speaks so little Chinese (though still more than I do), he would be in a lower level. When he went to the school, he seemed to just fit in with the higher class, so that is where he is. I was surprised when Jane showed up at the apartment shortly after I did, and even more surprised to see that Dan was not with her. Instead, Dan fit in so well that he told her that she could go and he would finish out the day with the class. Here he is with a few of his new school chums (he is the blond one).

Here is one of his teachers, or at least one of the teachers at his school, whom we had met previously. Phoebe is very nice, and she said that after the first day, Dan already had a girlfriend, a very talkative Chinese girl.

Here is the young Jedi practicing some of his moves on his way home from school. As you can tell from the picture, he was in a great mood. He really loved school. His school is about 6 blocks from where Jane and I teach. This morning (his 2nd day), Dan and I rode the public bus to my school, and then I walked him to his school (the experience being quite a treat for me). Also, on the bus was one of the principals of my school. He was very interested in Dan, as is everyone, and he was confident that Dan would be able to speak Chinese in 6 months.

Here is a pic of the main portion of Dan's school. To the left, on the other side of the wall, is a playground area, followed by more classrooms. His school is quite impressive. All schools here have a gated entrance, flanked with guards (in uniform), to make sure that guests do not get in unless allowed and to make sure that kids do not get out without permission. It is pretty impressive, because it makes it seem as if each school, even the kindergarten, has its own big-time campus.

After our first true day of scheduled activities, we were not in the mood to cook. We planned to go to another streetside restaurant, but on our way, we stopped in a place that is right outside our building. It advertises itself as a fitness club, but there is a restaurant associated with it. Jane went in to see what they had, and we decided to eat there. The main issue was whether or not we could afford it, because we only had 150 quai in our pocket (about $23). We got in and ordered beef with vegetables and chicken. Here is the plethora of food that came out for our family of 2.5 eaters.

First, they came out withan appetizer of pickled cucumbers and dipping sauce. Then came the pork with vegetables, which was my favorite. Then they came out with the chicken, which was also very good. We thought this was the end, and we knew at that point that we would have leftovers. After that, they came out with "vegetables", which is the standard vegetable in China, again like collard greens, as during lunch. When that came out, Jane told the owner no more. However, soon after an eggplant dish came out. I don't know if I have ever eaten eggplant, and if I did it was not memorable, but this stuff was pretty good; Jane loved it, as did Dan. Again Jane said it was too much, and as she was saying that, they came out with the 5 gallon bucket of soup. The soup was awesome, like egg drop soup with green and red peppers in it. Finally, the food stopped coming, for now at least. We had no idea if we would be able to take any home, so I pushed my rice aside and began devouring whatever was in front of me. Meanwhile, Evelyn had had her fill, and Danny was up playing with the hostess and one of the cooks. The game of the night was 'Don't let the balloon touch the ground'.

One thing that made me a bit uneasy about our dining experience was that we were the only people in the restaurant. Because of this, and because no one has ever seen three blond children before, the people bring the food out to you, and then they stand a foot away, watching you eat. At this particular restaurant, I felt especially awkward, because as the kids were having the run of the place, the woman who ran the restaurant basically watched me eat as much and as quickly as possible, because I did not want to waste any of the food. After my 9th bowl of soup, my eyes began watering, and I had to call it quits. Luckily, Jane found out how to ask for a doggy bag, and we wrapped the leftovers up and had them the next day. Our total bill was 95 quai, about $14.

When we were finished, they brought out dessert, a large plate of watermelon. It was the best tasting watermelon I have ever had. Evelyn must have agreed with me, as she at 90% of it.

In fact, Evelyn ate so much of it, when the plate was empty, they brought out another plate of cantaloupe. Now, here is an interesting note about Evelyn that some might not know: she is allergic to everything. She cannot eat anything containing wheat, milk, barley, nuts, and several other things. Cantaloupe has also caused her problems in the past. We did not know how to say that she was allergic to it, we did not want to offend the hosts, and Evelyn was chomping at the bit to eat it. So, we let her have a few pieces. The result: nothing. I don't get why, but she has not had a single allergic reaction since we have been here. When we got here the first night, she slept on the sheets that were provided. I was certain that she would have an outbreak from whatever detergent was used, but she didn't. On the night we went to KFC, she was eating small portions of the skin and batter of the chicken. When we went to Monkey King, she ate the entire deep-fried chicken wing. I was positive that we would be woken up in the middle of the night by a red, screaming and itching kid. We were not. We are still, obviously, being as careful as possible, but something seems to have happened. Must be an ancient Chinese secret.