Progress!

There has been progress!

I'm slowly (and boy howdy, do I mean *slowly*) beginning to pick up some Chinese beyond the standard greetings and thanks.  I managed to snag a delicious quasi-donut this morning during my hike to the post office, and ordered almost entirely in Chinese; I also managed to get to the Post Office (the real one, not one of the outlets which only sell mobile phones - weird, I know, but then again, China) and post the first wave of letters to people.  That, by the way, was a comedy of errors; I figured that I could tell them the name of the country I was sending it to, and they'd be good to go.  That worked with Canada, the USA, and Belgium, but sending to the UK?  That proved to be a bit of a hitch.  Apparently, the name United Kingdom means nothing, so when I say 联合王国, Liánhé Wángguó, they look at me as if I had grown a third head.  Eventually, I had to go with 英国, Yīngguó, or England, and they got it pretty well, then.  Woe to the non-English in the UK to whom I send mail!  You shall forever be conflated with your southern (or eastern) neighbours to the people of Tongzi!

The walk to the post office was, in total, about 11km, which isn't a bad bit of a hike, but I hope you people appreciate the effort I'm going through to keep up my correspondence with you.  I'm dangerously close to considering this 'exercise.'

Speaking of long hikes, I managed to make a 15km walk to the place where Jemma and Darren have been set - they're not too much further past the post office - into a 26km cluster-f[redacted because this is, I suppose, a family blag, in that my parents and Nonna will read it] and bugger up not only my foot, but my leg as well.  Fortunately, a couple days of light duties at the flat fixed that right up.


Anyway, that's not the progress of which I wished to speak!  I got my schedule today, and start teaching on Wednesday!

It's a total of 20 40 minute classes, most of which alternate weeks (so one week I teach one first group of 2nd year seniors, the next I teach the other), which means, really, I have to only make one lesson plan every two weeks, in essence, and I work about 13 hours a week.  Not quite the 17 classes a week on all three levels I was told, but frankly it's even better.

Pretty cush gig, if you ask me.

I also demonstrated a serious amount of ingenuity by snapping a picture of the way the days here are laid out.  Living directly across from the school is cool and all, but they run the place like an army base; they play reveille at 6am, have a wake-up call at 2:10pm (they have a free period from the time their morning classes end at 12:15 until then), recalls to get back on Campus for kids in each grade level at 8, 9, and 10, respectively, and play taps - yes, that Taps! - at 11:30pm.  And then it happens all over again.  Every weekday.  So, at least I'll be getting into a schedule.

I have also mentioned to numerous people the undeniable charm possessed by my end of scenic Tongzi, with 'scenic,' in this case, is being applied to the town the same way that it could be applied to Hue in '68.  Well, there is photographic proof under the jump.

Just a note to my mom (and anyone else who is overly concerned) before looking: Yes, I know it resembles the entry way to a murder-house.  I am aware of this fact and you don't need to be overly concerned; there are two doors that shut and lock to keep the less savoury inhabitants out.  Also, our flat has a triple-locking door, so the only way in without a key is to rip the door right out of the jamb.

This is the sidewalk leading away from the corner of Fa Yuan Jie and Men He Da.  We're headed north, towards my school.  We're about 3km away from home, at this point.

"But Jim!" you cry (or maybe it's "But James!" either one works) "This appears to be pretty decent!  Those flats look as nice as any in Canada!"  Well, just wait, O Gentle Reader, and give me time.

This is still the same street, just so you know.  We're nearly at the roundabout that turns onto Route 210, which is my road.

 

These buildings are under construction at the roundabout where 210 and Men He Da meet.  Men He Da, by the way, is the last named road before you reach my place.  Or, at least, it's the last road with a name in English.

This is a car wash, right in the middle of the road.  It's free, too.  You just drive onto it - at 5km/h - and it automagically hoses your vehicle down.  Also, that's a cab going through it.

Ah, lovely Route 210

Not too bad, really.  We're right by a government building here - not sure which, but still.  This is the nice end of my end of town.

Mountains!  Because there wouldn't be a photo-update here without mountains of some sort.  Also, the G75 highway, which I pass under twice to get home.

Do not be fooled!  This place has nothing to do with sending letters, only selling mobile phones!  Alas that they're not a proper postal outlet, as it's only a kilometre or so from my front door!

More mountains! And the second underpass which I take on my way home!

Mountains, obviously, and the omnipresent heavy machinery here.  Lots of new construction going on.

Ah, here we are.  This is fairly representative of 210 in my neck of the woods.

Eerily abandoned streets, for 10:30am

Still, not too bad, really.

Now about a half-kilometre from home

These are freshly made cinder blocks, curing in the damp Tongzi air.  It'll take 'em a while.

These are the people who make the cinder block.  I didn't stick around to take better photos, or get super detailed shots of the process, because I started feeling like a Western Imperialist Pig.

I don't even know what this is about, but the firework and candle ash suggests that it's a shrine, so there you go.

The canteen (on the right), girl's dorm (centre), and boy's dorm (left) at No. 2 Senior High School!  I'm pretty much home now!

The view from about 50 metres from my front door.

Looking toward the school gate from my front door/

And my front door itself.  It's the dark hole roughly in the centre of this photo.

The hallway leading to the stairs to get to my flat.  I honestly wouldn't be surprised if some sort of ghoul jumped me one day.

There's not much else to show, other than bare concrete walls and stairs leading to my place, and you've already seen the way my flat looks.

Oh!  I did find something out; if you turn the living room light on, off, and on twice in rapid succession, it actually emits a decent amount of light!

So there you have it.  Updates to follow once I start teaching.