Yes, I am still alive and working in China. After a couple of months here, I'm just starting to come up for air.
I'm back into teaching English: this time to freshmen in Dalian. The difficulty has been that there is only a general guideline as to what I and an American colleague are to teach - the bulk of the material is up to us to find and deliver as best we see fit. While that has some advantages, the downside is finding enough interesting educational material - especially as the students are looking to play games while learning. A lot of my time has gone into socialising with the students, including establishing an English Corner for them - they are always curious and interested in practising their English with me. However, it is a win:win situation in that they help me with Chinese matters, plus I enjoy being with them.
View from Uni dormitory
Light show in the distance
Having spent the first month in the teachers' quarters, situated in the same building as the school and the students' dormitories, I decided to move across the road into a new apartment in a new building (refer photos). Everything is new including all the furniture that I requested, yet it's slightly cheaper than my Fuzhou apartment. One noticeable difference between Fuzhou and Dalian is that the Fuzhou schools and apartments all have air-conditioners but no heating, while Dalian premises have ample heaters but no air conditioning. Clearly, the weather conditions are very different.
Everyone has been warning me to brace myself for a cold winter, but as of mid November, nearly every day has been sunny with a beautiful blue sky. However, the temperature does drop considerably overnight. I am looking forward to spending a Christmas in the snow!
The area where the school is situated is not particularly clean, but the nearby city, beach and ocean-view road are very attractive. There are even some trams here to remind me of home. There are four other Australian teachers here and one young American (in last photo). They are quite a sociable bunch and we have been to a number of dinners and outings. I am starting to build a new circle of friends, both Westerners and Chinese.
Photos around Xinghai Square
New circle of friends
The last dinner I attended, three of the male teachers each had a Chinese lady partner: none of whom could speak a word of English! The young American (who speaks some Chinese) has a girlfriend who is living with him, one elderly Australian communicates with his friend via a translation dictionary, and the other Australian seems to bring a different lady to every occasion and communicates via sign language!
I have to say that while I've been very busy with school work I am rather enjoying the experience in Dalian.
Until next time... Renzo
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