Shanghai - Going To Fuzhou

28th August 2009

I've been in Shanghai for 2 weeks now, attending a training course run by North Melbourne Institute of Tafe (NMIT). I've found the course rather easy and a lot of fun, especially as I was the only foreign teacher amongst 30 Chinese teachers, most of whom spoke some English. However, it was very slow going as the Australian facilitator, running the course, had to have most of her lessons translated in Chinese. The end-of-course presentations were a mix of English and Chinese. Hearty congratulations to those who made an effort to present in English but it was fun for me to read and listen to so much Chinglish - I certainly could not have presented in Chinese!!

There was one interesting case study which brought out the different culture between China and the West: it related to a manager who had to appraise one of his female workers. Although she was a good worker, the appraiser's boss did not like her and did not want her to progress in the company; so, what should the appraiser do? It was an obvious answer for myself and for the Chinese: I said I am obliged to appraise her according to her good performance - the Chinese teachers were adamant they should not give her a good report, as instructed by his boss! It appears that when in China, do as the Chinese do.

With my second stint in Shanghai I'm finding my way in and around the city reasonably well (with some help from my Chinese colleagues). I'm even recommending places to visit and street food worth buying to some of my non-Shanghainese Chinese colleagues.

Tomorrow I fly to Fuzhou to the big unknown, with only 3 days before I start teaching! It wouldn't be so bad if it was English: it's a Diploma of Business module about "Managing Effective Workplace Relationships" + Occupational Health and Safety (OHS) procedures. Oh well, it's all an adventure.

For those of you who like to see some photos:

1. Group attending Certificate IV training at ECNU university in Shanghai
2. Jenny, the Australian facilitator, and two future teacher colleagues from Fuzhou
3. Helen, a teacher in etiquette
4. Mao and motto welcoming teachers to ECNU
5. River running through ECNU campus
6. An interesting building on campus
7. A pond on campus

ECNU is a very large and beautifully green campus in Shanghai, with a river running through it and many ponds.

Hope all is well with you guys.


Regards... Renzo