Life in Jinshitan

It is a beautiful Friday afternoon here in Jinshitan and I am at the office. Last one here, all the other teachers have gone home.
Today i supervised a three hour exam and spent the majority of time daydreaming of Halifax in the summer. Good thoughts there.

The second half of the day was not such good thoughts. If I was strong enough to pull my hair out I would probably be bald right now. Thankfully I have seen photos of my father with no hair to know that I would still be not half bad looking.


As for the living situation here, it is mixed. We asked for cheap apartments and we got them. I am still waiting on getting a hot plate or any form of cooking ability, which I have serious doubts about obtaining at all. Luckily  there are dozens of restaurants right beside the school that serve up cheap food for about $3-5 Canadian or 15-20 yuan. The issue is that you have to get your order in before the students. Since the whole high school has the same lunch (I do not know why they don't stagger it) you are in competition with all the students to get a seat. Considering that for most this is their only opportunity to get away from the school, it is like a big deal to go out for lunch.

I have finally figured out how the washing machine works and how the hot water heater works in my bathroom. There is only one plug for both so laundry is done at the beginning of the day to ensure the hot water tank has enough time to heat up for showers the next day. There were a couple times I was using a bucket shower technique I learned in India to wash. Cold showers and teaching just do not work.

My apartment is right by the other teachers in my group and we have all become quite co-dependent. Going out for dinner together and even going to the coffee shops for wifi together. A welcome addition is Bill , not sure if i mentioned him before, who went to Maple Leaf School and is doing his education degree in Edmonton. Having someone who knows the area and the language has helped allot. I will not be so lucky next year in Nanchang. Which is apparently a really nice city which is quite developed, so that is good.

Tonight we are all going into Kai Fa Qu by train to have some drinks. It has been a stressful week and I am looking forward to unwinding to some nice warm 3% beer as I listen to bad Chinese club music. I say warm because my colleague in the office tell me that most places use a fridge to hold beer, they just dont plug it in.

Tonight is also a celebration as I checked my email and got confirmation that I graduated from Lakehead. I also got First Class Standing which means I graduated with an A average. Considering I never checked my marks from first semester or during second semester I am pretty happy with it. Also helps if I want to go back and do a Masters of Education, something I am not considering and focusing on off-shore school districts. Anyone (aka Parents who need further confirmation) can check the following link for my name https://www.lakeheadu.ca/sites/default/files/uploads/96/2015/Final%20Senate%20List.pdf

As I am still the only one in the office and it is still sunny here I am gonna take off, catch a nap before going out and be happy that I am in a foreign country and grew up with a high standard of education.