Name: MBE (jason)
After living in China for over 6 years, my life back stateside...
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(since 5.14.04)
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I have had the hardest time keeping up with my blog since being home. I think that maybe when I am at home in China I have more time to blog, but it is not just that. In China I have two computers at home on a LAN and with ADSL and at school I have a PC in my classroom and I am able to keep tabs on things better. Plus, I guess I am on holiday here. I miss China a lot and I am really looking forward to getting back there. However, to update everyone that is following along with my wife's first trip to America, she is liking everything, but the food (always an issue with anyone) and things are moving so quickly, not just cars, but everyone seems to always be in a hurry. One thing that she has said that she will miss in China is not having a car (we are using my folks car here) and the ease of getting from place to place. More updates to follow!!! I promise
Finally, I have a minute to sit down and let you all know what has been going on. Where to even begin?! My wife and I have not stopped running since we landed. On top of that my parent's PC was in worse shape then I first thought, so a large amount of time has been updating and tweeking. My wife is enjoying her time in America, but we both agree that the food is not as good as we would like. However, we had lunch at a local THAI restaurant where the owner was from Shen Yang (Near my wife's hometown) and his wife is Thai. It was about the only really good meal that we have had so far. Other than that my wife likes it a lot. There are NO plans to re-locate, but it will be a good holiday spot. I am reminded how much I love China when I am not there, but I want to focus on having a good time with my wife, friends and family. I do like the ability to use WiFi in a lot of places, but that is not enough for me to ever want to teach in an American school! Oh well, more to come later and we will leave for Disney next week! Cheers!
Finally, time to clean out the 'closet' where all of my stuff is kept while I am living overseas. Since I will be teaching ESL and ICT (Information & Computer Technology) it was time for me to dig out some old lesson plans, ideas, projects, etc. When I first moved to China in 2002 (actually my second time to work in China) I 'trimmed' down my things and was able to stuff it all into a closet, but it was pretty tight. When I came home last April I threw out more stuff and then it fit very nicely. Today I just finished cleaning it out again and it is only about 2/3 the way full now, so by next summer I will not have anything left 
.
Well, today we went to the Department of Motor Vehicles or DMV to get a new drivers license. If you read my very first blog entry it was about my wallet getting stolen and me losing my DL, ATM card, etc. After a TWO hour wait I finally was able to drive again. Afterwards, my mom and my wife went shopping some more. However, I think that they worst of the jet lag is finally setting in. We have been trying to keep busy and until now that has been fine, but now the jet lag is setting in and we will be forced to rest more.
As I mentioned before, my parents were hit with the Sasser Worm and so I have spent the last few days (while jet-lagging) repairing the damage. I am starting to get things sorted out, but posting to the blog was not as high a priority. Well, we finally landed in Atlanta at 11.00pm on Saturday EST. It was over 24 hours in transit from door-to-door, but worth it to see my parents' and wife's faces when they met. More to come later as the jet lag is really setting in (again)!
In four hours we will get in the school van and head to the airport. A few hours after that we will lift off from Shanghai on our trans-pacfic route to LAX. Again, I will be 'off-line' for a short time, but hope to back online ASAP. Take it easy!
The atmosphere at school this morning is very exciting! All of the students, as well as the teachers, are dressed in their best. The weather is clear, but hot. The sky is almost blue (in China this is an accomplishment). The students in my class (that are still here) are all smiles. And if I am not mistaken, the teachers and parents are all smiles too. Today we will finish at 1.30pm (usually 3pm) and the teachers can leave then also (normally 5pm). This is good considering that I have a little more packing to do. It is especially emotional today because the Head of Primary, Mark, is returning to Queensland after a three year leave. He is without a doubt the best administrator I have ever worked with and we are all going to miss him! Good luck Mark!
This afternoon we will all gather at our favorite 'happy hour' place for one last time for the school year. We have been going there every Friday night for some time now and it has become sort of a tradition. I am sure that next year will be much of the same.
Tomorrow morning my wife and I will catch the school hired van to the airport. 21 hours later arriving in Atlanta to see the 'excited' parents! My wife is really excited as it is her first time to America and out of Asia (we went to Thailand in December of last year). We have lots of activities planned for the states. The big one is a trip to see Mickey Mouse!!!
I will try to post as often as possible, but bare with me. My parents computer is still on a dial-up and was hit by the Sasser worm and I will be re-installing all their software when I am home (what I get for being a techie) so it will be a few days before I can post once I get home. See you then!
In my on-going efforts to speed up the load time for this site and the ever-growing list of links, I have added a MBELinks Blog. You can access it here!
This morning my school had 'graduation' practice. When the school opened in 1997 it had around 30 students, now we are pushing 800 pre-K to 11th grade (12th grade to be added in August). This is attributed to the area where it is located growing beyond expectation. It is the only school that expats can send their children to in the area. Anyway, tomorrow is the last day and everyone 'graduates.' So the kindergarten will have a ceremony, then the primary school (grades 1-5) and finally the secondary (grades 6-11). The problem is that the temperature is HOT from 88-95 degrees and 90% humidity. So the solution was to buy 25 or so floor fans and sit them on the end of each row of chairs. It is not perfect, but it is the best we will get for now.
I ment to comment on this earlier, but with packing and all I am just now getting around to it. Blinger.org brought this to my attention. It an article that talks about a teacher in Virginia that sent her students out into the community to take pictures of letters occuring in nature. There are some really good photos, my favorite is the 'J'.
If you keep up with visits to this site and others, you have noticed the there have been over 5000 views since birth (May 14, 2004)! I want to thank everyone who has visited, linked, reviewed, etc. Without people and word-of-mouth this would not have been possible. I look forward to the future and also the unveiling of my 'students' blog experiment in the fall!
Less than 2 days to lift off!
...I found this entry after following a link from Living In China, it is from The Taipei Kid's blog. It is a photo that you just cannot miss and is about a restaurant that serves it food in an Asian style toilet shaped dish!!! I kid you not, a squatty-potty!
Dan Washburn, fellow blogger, living in Shanghai, China recently posted the contents of a sign at one of the parks near his apartment. I have actually seen signs that were similar, so it is not too surprising to me, but I thought you might like to take a look. Here is a sample:
Parks are accessible to the public during the 'open' hours; admission tickets or relevant identity documents, where desired, are to be presented at entrance; children below 1.2 meters in height, mental patients are admitted only under custody;
No vehicle (except special vehicles for the disabled) shall be admitted into the park; vehicles allowed into the park should move around slowly.
but my favorite is number 2, read it!
...my wife's blog "MABEL Speaks!" You can find her link on the sidebar of this page. I think that she has 2 left!
This coming Saturday, after a 15 month leave, my wife and I will set off on a 21 hour journey half-way around the world from Suzhou, China to Atlanta, Georgia, USA. We leave at 10.30am local time on Saturday from our apartment in a school van. We then will drive 1 1/2 hours to Shanghai's Pudong Airport. We then fly out with China Eastern Airlines at 15.00 Sat. afternoon, arriving in LAX at 11.30am local time (don't forget international dateline). After a 4 hour layover and customs check, we will fly out at 15.30 with Delta Airlines to Atlanta, GA. Our arrival time is 22.45 Saturday evening local EST. (11.45 Sunday at point of origin) I say all of this because everyone needs a break now and then. My wife will meet my family for the first time (we have been married since Feb. 2003) and will see friends and family for the first time in a year and 3 months.
I love my job and living in China, but I miss my home. I am trying to balance both. After living away from home for almost three years (totally) I feel that I am starting to find that balance. The hardest times are during holiday times. Now that my wife has her first tourist visa to the states, it will become easier and easier for us to trave more.
I have one invite to give away to whom ever comments first. Please include your e-mail, given name and family name, because of the way the invite works I have to put in all three items. If you would prefer you could comment with your e-mail and I will contact you for the rest of the information.
Today, is the last Monday of this school year. Many of you reading this might ask, "why is your school just ending?" Well, because we have several holidays in the school year that are not built-in to the 'western' school calender. I get one week off at October 1st (Chinese National Day), two weeks off for Chirstmas/New Year's, three weeks for Chinese New Year/Spring Festival, and two weeks off for May 1st (Chinese Labor Day), so all those holidays mean we finish school later than other schools. So if you are counting, that is 8 weeks off per year! (not including the 7 during the summer)
So what do you do with your students when you have already given, and marked their final exams, written their report cards, collected workbooks, etc.? First thought would be 'games.' Next, would be 'movies.' Well, this week has both and lots more!!!
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