25.06.18
I was eating lunch by myself downstairs when I received a WeChat message from my friend Helen's account saying that Helen had passed away. This is was in response to one of my messages asking her how she was going.
I froze. I went empty. I didn't know what to do. I couldn't even eat anymore. It was only a couple of days ago when she came over to my house to chill and got me some ice tea because it was a hot day. We talked about her situation. She was still super depressed but I always convince myself and try to convince her that she would get better. I told myself, at least she was leaving the house and away from thinking really bad thoughts. At least she was distracting herself and having a laugh around me - which wasn't the case when I first saw her. She had been on medication - to regulate her emotions, to stop her from doing unthinkable things. Now, the unthinkable has happened.
I'm struggling to come to terms to it. It was just so sudden. And I thought to myself: why does this happen to me? 23 year old kid, who initially just wanted to catch up with a woman that I had met a couple of months ago, who was the daughter of my mum's good friend. Initially, it was just supposed to be a catch up. I've just moved to Nanjing - she's from Nanjing. Makes sense to catch up,
Then, I was thrust into her situation. She told me about her depression. Is it fair for me to know this? I'm just a guy, who doesn't really know her, now she's told me something very personal about her life. Could I have not cared? Maybe. But as anyone would do, you want to try to give some support. You don't want to think yourself as the saviour but someone who can be there when others can't, because if you have hope, you think that even the smallest bit can help.
So I got to know her a bit more and found out a lot about her personal life. She told me that the first time we met, she was putting on a show - she seemed happy and she brought her son along. In fact, she had already decided to divorce at that stage - her mood was far from happy. I would check up on her often, whether it was via WeChat, or in person.
I felt like I was one of very few people who actually knew and understood how she felt before she died. Maybe I was the only one to know. She said she felt uncomfortable speaking about her true feelings to her friends because she'd feel embarrassed and lose face. Since I'm almost a stranger, she told me everything. She told me her mum couldn't understand her too, and there were some details that she'd left out when speaking to her mum. She had lost all hope. It was a personality issue. Someone who had had a relatively comfortable and smooth-sailing life and never dealt with serious challenges, faced a challenge that was too overwhelming for her to handle. She wasn't mentally strong enough. She couldn't control herself in the end.
It's weird because I feel separated but invested at the same time. Separation because I don't really know her and I never will. Invested because I knew her in her final state and the state that she died in.
So back to my own question: Why me? It will forever be part of my experience here. It's something that was put in front of me and something that I have to learn from. It is what it is and we have to move on from it. Let her be an example of how not to handle adversity. Let her remind us that we need to confront our own demons instead of trying to avoid and escape from them.
RIP Helen 23.06.18.
Tuesday, 26 June 2018
Day 75
24.06.18
Long day of classes today. 9am to 6pm. Accidentally taught a kid for two hours instead of one - at least he gets his money worth. Surprisingly, I wasn't so tired after class so I decided to pick up some Sichuan special meat on the way home and have a healthy dinner at home. There were still some vegetables sitting in the fridge so I cooked some of them and made some congee with my rice cooker. It was a nice change having dinner at home - I've been eating out 99% of the time here in Nanjing.
Long day of classes today. 9am to 6pm. Accidentally taught a kid for two hours instead of one - at least he gets his money worth. Surprisingly, I wasn't so tired after class so I decided to pick up some Sichuan special meat on the way home and have a healthy dinner at home. There were still some vegetables sitting in the fridge so I cooked some of them and made some congee with my rice cooker. It was a nice change having dinner at home - I've been eating out 99% of the time here in Nanjing.
Day 74
23.06.18
Chilled with my friend Joy for half the day before having classes in the afternoon. After grabbing some dumplings for dinner, I went to Arcano to watch the footy and World Cup. It was busy that night so I did my bit behind the bar during the busy periods. A crowd of people had come to the bar after the wedding so lots of traffic. Some people thought I looked like a high school student. I get that a lot here with how casually I dress and how young I look.
Chilled with my friend Joy for half the day before having classes in the afternoon. After grabbing some dumplings for dinner, I went to Arcano to watch the footy and World Cup. It was busy that night so I did my bit behind the bar during the busy periods. A crowd of people had come to the bar after the wedding so lots of traffic. Some people thought I looked like a high school student. I get that a lot here with how casually I dress and how young I look.
Day 73
22.06.18
I honestly don't remember what I did on Friday. I would have set up my rice cooker. Bought some groceries. Went to the bar to watch the World Cup. There was a prom after-party at the bar - full of 18 year olds who had just graduated high school, having their final drinks together before everyone parts ways. It's different here in China. Everyone in the class came to this celebration. The classmate relationship is much stronger here than anywhere I've been. You would never have this in Australia - maybe it's because we change classes every year so it's more difficult to build bonds that run this deep. So many of these guys already smoking and drinking as well. They start them young here.
Saturday, 23 June 2018
Day 72
21.06.18
Went into the office in the morning because I was bored. Rode the bike in 30 degree weather in my chinos. Not the greatest idea. Chatted some shit with my colleagues then had to jump across to my other school to teach a class about maturity. Chinese people's concept of maturity is different from Westerners. Chinese people think you've reached maturity when you hit 30 - most students in the class had that idea.
Usual class on Thursday night at another factory. Boring topic for the textbook. Polished it off in 40 minutes. Second half of the class decided to get the students to pair up and have a conversation about their ideal professions. On my one hour cab ride back to the city, I had Australia vs Denmark on my phone. Australian National Anthem was belted out at the stadium. Decent result though (1-1), still a chance to progress!
Went into the office in the morning because I was bored. Rode the bike in 30 degree weather in my chinos. Not the greatest idea. Chatted some shit with my colleagues then had to jump across to my other school to teach a class about maturity. Chinese people's concept of maturity is different from Westerners. Chinese people think you've reached maturity when you hit 30 - most students in the class had that idea.
Usual class on Thursday night at another factory. Boring topic for the textbook. Polished it off in 40 minutes. Second half of the class decided to get the students to pair up and have a conversation about their ideal professions. On my one hour cab ride back to the city, I had Australia vs Denmark on my phone. Australian National Anthem was belted out at the stadium. Decent result though (1-1), still a chance to progress!
Friday, 22 June 2018
Day 71
20.06.18
Had class first thing in the morning. My VIP student, who I went to watch the game with the other night, wanted a final lesson with me before he left to his hometown Shanghai. He wanted to know about the slang of Western culture, which I'm very well-versed in, so it was a productive lesson.
Then, I had lunch with Shirley, one of my first friends here who I haven't seen for a while. She has her graduation ceremony tomorrow for Nanjing University and has found work in Suzhou. Almost immediately after graduating, she will transition into full-time work. And to think that I took a gap year because I didn't feel 'ready' to work. Chinese people are just bred differently. She said she officially starts in August but her manager told her to come early to 'adjust' to the company - I suspect so that when she officially starts, she can add value. It took me almost 3 months to settle in to Telstra before adding any kind of 'value'. So she's telling me about her boyfriend who she just started dating and he's already talking about future plans and she's feeling a bit freaked out because their relationship is still quite raw and her life is undergoing some big changes. They're going to have to do long distance as well - after only dating for a month! It's crazy how this guy is already thinking quite ahead given the situation - and I think it's common in Chinese culture to do so.
After my class at Jiangning, one of my students was kind enough to send me closer to the city. During the car ride, I found out that her little sister is living in Melbourne and is a professor of actuarial studies at the Faculty of Business and Economics at Melbourne University. What a coincidence!
When I got to soccer training, I was glad to see my friend Andrew who I hadn't seen in a long time, rock up. The weather was perfect for football and I sweated a river running around, which was good since I've been a bit lazy the past two weeks during the time my brother came over.
Had class first thing in the morning. My VIP student, who I went to watch the game with the other night, wanted a final lesson with me before he left to his hometown Shanghai. He wanted to know about the slang of Western culture, which I'm very well-versed in, so it was a productive lesson.
Then, I had lunch with Shirley, one of my first friends here who I haven't seen for a while. She has her graduation ceremony tomorrow for Nanjing University and has found work in Suzhou. Almost immediately after graduating, she will transition into full-time work. And to think that I took a gap year because I didn't feel 'ready' to work. Chinese people are just bred differently. She said she officially starts in August but her manager told her to come early to 'adjust' to the company - I suspect so that when she officially starts, she can add value. It took me almost 3 months to settle in to Telstra before adding any kind of 'value'. So she's telling me about her boyfriend who she just started dating and he's already talking about future plans and she's feeling a bit freaked out because their relationship is still quite raw and her life is undergoing some big changes. They're going to have to do long distance as well - after only dating for a month! It's crazy how this guy is already thinking quite ahead given the situation - and I think it's common in Chinese culture to do so.
After my class at Jiangning, one of my students was kind enough to send me closer to the city. During the car ride, I found out that her little sister is living in Melbourne and is a professor of actuarial studies at the Faculty of Business and Economics at Melbourne University. What a coincidence!
When I got to soccer training, I was glad to see my friend Andrew who I hadn't seen in a long time, rock up. The weather was perfect for football and I sweated a river running around, which was good since I've been a bit lazy the past two weeks during the time my brother came over.
Day 70
19.06.18
Today was my brother's last day in Nanjing. I was really happy to see him here despite maybe not showing it in person. We've had our differences in the past and we're completely different people but we had some good quality brotherly bonding time during his stay. He got to see how I live my life here and met some of the people that I surround myself with. It was important for me to show him what I was about because sometimes he doesn't fully understand.
After seeing my brother off, my uncle, aunty and I went back to my place to check out what was wrong with the light in my living room. Basically, it hasn't worked for the last few weeks and I really haven't been bothered to fix it (as I have a desk light in the living room that works fine). Turns out it is a LED light that I need to get replaced.
The weather today was shocking. Raining and hot. There's a season for this type of weather - Huang Mei Season and it's usually in April and May, in the middle and lower reaches of the Chang Jiang River but this year, it has come late according to the locals. Expect more of this type of weather soon.
I ended up just chilling at home until I had class from 7-9. I ordered takeaway dumplings because they're one of the few foods that doesn't really lose it's taste when delivered. For my classes tonight, we talked about our personalities and the second class was about food and cooking. Following on from that theme, I bought myself an electric rice cooker on Taobao. Originally 599, reduced down to 159. Absolute bargain. Part of the 618 promotions. First year anniversary of JinDong or something.
Today was my brother's last day in Nanjing. I was really happy to see him here despite maybe not showing it in person. We've had our differences in the past and we're completely different people but we had some good quality brotherly bonding time during his stay. He got to see how I live my life here and met some of the people that I surround myself with. It was important for me to show him what I was about because sometimes he doesn't fully understand.
After seeing my brother off, my uncle, aunty and I went back to my place to check out what was wrong with the light in my living room. Basically, it hasn't worked for the last few weeks and I really haven't been bothered to fix it (as I have a desk light in the living room that works fine). Turns out it is a LED light that I need to get replaced.
The weather today was shocking. Raining and hot. There's a season for this type of weather - Huang Mei Season and it's usually in April and May, in the middle and lower reaches of the Chang Jiang River but this year, it has come late according to the locals. Expect more of this type of weather soon.
I ended up just chilling at home until I had class from 7-9. I ordered takeaway dumplings because they're one of the few foods that doesn't really lose it's taste when delivered. For my classes tonight, we talked about our personalities and the second class was about food and cooking. Following on from that theme, I bought myself an electric rice cooker on Taobao. Originally 599, reduced down to 159. Absolute bargain. Part of the 618 promotions. First year anniversary of JinDong or something.
Thursday, 21 June 2018
Day 69
19.06.18
Woke up surprisingly without a big headache. Today is a public holiday - Dragon Boat Festival. My brother wanted to eat pork skin noodles for the final time, so I ended up taking him to a joint I used to always eat at. I completely forgot that it was a public holiday and the place was a family-run joint so it was closed for the day. We ended up having shitty dumplings next door but had a great chat about my life in Nanjing and my plans for the future.
At night, we had a dinner with my aunty's family in Gulou. It took ages to find a cab at 6pm on a public holiday because of the high demand and limited supply. Dinner was in a big private room with about 12 people. The tradition is to eat 5 red foods on this day: Crayfish, Salted duck eggs, Amaranth, Eel? can't think of the rest. Definitely felt red though with the red wine bottle that I polished off. It felt good to have this family-like atmosphere outside of home.
Post-dinner, I wanted to take my brother out for the last time before he goes back tomorrow. So we went to Arcano to watch Sweden vs Korea, played some darts and I got to try a Coopers Session Ale that's just come in to China. Afterwards, we went down to Tap Planet to watch the Belgium game on the big screen. 0-0 at half time and I felt absolutely fucked. I think the constant night drinking and the lack of sleep these past few days finally caught up to me.
Woke up surprisingly without a big headache. Today is a public holiday - Dragon Boat Festival. My brother wanted to eat pork skin noodles for the final time, so I ended up taking him to a joint I used to always eat at. I completely forgot that it was a public holiday and the place was a family-run joint so it was closed for the day. We ended up having shitty dumplings next door but had a great chat about my life in Nanjing and my plans for the future.
At night, we had a dinner with my aunty's family in Gulou. It took ages to find a cab at 6pm on a public holiday because of the high demand and limited supply. Dinner was in a big private room with about 12 people. The tradition is to eat 5 red foods on this day: Crayfish, Salted duck eggs, Amaranth, Eel? can't think of the rest. Definitely felt red though with the red wine bottle that I polished off. It felt good to have this family-like atmosphere outside of home.
Post-dinner, I wanted to take my brother out for the last time before he goes back tomorrow. So we went to Arcano to watch Sweden vs Korea, played some darts and I got to try a Coopers Session Ale that's just come in to China. Afterwards, we went down to Tap Planet to watch the Belgium game on the big screen. 0-0 at half time and I felt absolutely fucked. I think the constant night drinking and the lack of sleep these past few days finally caught up to me.
Day 68
17.06.18
Today, I took my brother to eat at the stall in my neighbourhood - trying to give him the most authentic experience as a local. Then, we went back to mine to watch some footy before I got a call from one of our friends asking us to meet him in town. So I used this opportunity to give him another authentic experience by getting us some bikes and riding into town. He wasn't used to the lack of traffic rules and the recklessness of e-bike and bike riders on the roads. We went down to Golden Eagle to buy some snacks for my brother to bring back to Melbourne. He spent around 500RMB as if it was nothing. In the afternoon, I had to take an English corner class. Two kids, about 13-14 years old, Year 7 and planning to go to Australia in 2-3 years. Their English speaking skills were great and we talked about their hobbies and sports in Australia.
At night, we had hotpot with my aunty and cousin. Although my uncle and aunty are divorced and my uncle remarried, they still have a practical relationship. Later, that night, one of my students invited me out to 1912 to watch the Germany vs Mexico game. When I got there, it looked a lot nicer to the last time I went (2014) but it still felt shady as shit and there were still people harassing you to go to their bars. The bar we went to required a 600 minimum spend. My student and his friends ordered Hoegaarden, absolute rubbish beer. The game was also absolutely rubbish. Ended up just smashing the beer and darts because the game was so shit. When the game was over, I was drunk and tired. It was 1am. I just wanted to go home. Check my Didi app, and there's 90 people in front of me in the queue with an estimated wait time of 50 minutes. Fuck that. Got myself a bike and rode home with no regard for any road rules - just wanted to get home as soon as possible.
Today, I took my brother to eat at the stall in my neighbourhood - trying to give him the most authentic experience as a local. Then, we went back to mine to watch some footy before I got a call from one of our friends asking us to meet him in town. So I used this opportunity to give him another authentic experience by getting us some bikes and riding into town. He wasn't used to the lack of traffic rules and the recklessness of e-bike and bike riders on the roads. We went down to Golden Eagle to buy some snacks for my brother to bring back to Melbourne. He spent around 500RMB as if it was nothing. In the afternoon, I had to take an English corner class. Two kids, about 13-14 years old, Year 7 and planning to go to Australia in 2-3 years. Their English speaking skills were great and we talked about their hobbies and sports in Australia.
At night, we had hotpot with my aunty and cousin. Although my uncle and aunty are divorced and my uncle remarried, they still have a practical relationship. Later, that night, one of my students invited me out to 1912 to watch the Germany vs Mexico game. When I got there, it looked a lot nicer to the last time I went (2014) but it still felt shady as shit and there were still people harassing you to go to their bars. The bar we went to required a 600 minimum spend. My student and his friends ordered Hoegaarden, absolute rubbish beer. The game was also absolutely rubbish. Ended up just smashing the beer and darts because the game was so shit. When the game was over, I was drunk and tired. It was 1am. I just wanted to go home. Check my Didi app, and there's 90 people in front of me in the queue with an estimated wait time of 50 minutes. Fuck that. Got myself a bike and rode home with no regard for any road rules - just wanted to get home as soon as possible.
Day 67
16.06.18
Today, my uncle took us to visit my grandma's burial ground in Jiangning. The cemetery was massive - biggest in Nanjing apparently. There was barely any space between tombstones because there were just so many. The average price of the tombstones on the higher ground was around 90,000RMB. My grandma's tombstone was at the highest ground on the cemetery. She had chosen her burial ground on her last visit to Nanjing. She wanted it to overlook the mountains and nature. We bought some flowers on the way to the cemetery and cleaned/sweeped the tomb. We picked apart the flowers and spread across the tomb so that the workers there couldn't reuse our flowers.
After lunch, we drove to the area where my brother grew up - Sanpailou Main Street. Uncle took me to eat some fried dumplings while my brother got a haircut. Helen came over to chill out. That night we had dinner with family friend Uncle Chen in a private room on Level 10 of Litchi Plaza overlooking Catherine Park. Most occasions, he'll take people to this restaurant, where he has his own waiters and waitresses. The dinner was amazing as usual, except for the fact that it coincided with Australia vs France, which meant I missed out on the opportunity to go cheer on the Socceroos with my Aussie mates, despite the disappointing result.
Wednesday, 20 June 2018
Day 66
15.06.18
Uncle Ken invited us out to eat some Zhejiang cuisine (very popular right now). Waited about 1 hour to eat at this Zhejiang place in Deji Plaza, the one that always has long as lines. To be completely honest, I wasn't the biggest fan of it - not worth the wait. They had some good rice wine though - very easy to down as it tasted like sweet water.
After lunch, I made my way to the office to do some work and kill some time until dinner time when my uncle would be taking us to Jiangning to have dinner with one of his army mates (whose 50th birthday I attended last week).
To show a bit of respect, I'll smash the cigarettes and alcohol with the uncles, despite the bad bowels. The red wine came out. I think I've had more red wine here than in Australia. I don't particularly like it but I prefer it over baijiu that's for sure.
Uncle Ken invited us out to eat some Zhejiang cuisine (very popular right now). Waited about 1 hour to eat at this Zhejiang place in Deji Plaza, the one that always has long as lines. To be completely honest, I wasn't the biggest fan of it - not worth the wait. They had some good rice wine though - very easy to down as it tasted like sweet water.
After lunch, I made my way to the office to do some work and kill some time until dinner time when my uncle would be taking us to Jiangning to have dinner with one of his army mates (whose 50th birthday I attended last week).
To show a bit of respect, I'll smash the cigarettes and alcohol with the uncles, despite the bad bowels. The red wine came out. I think I've had more red wine here than in Australia. I don't particularly like it but I prefer it over baijiu that's for sure.
Day 65
14.06.18
Candid chat with a rich Chinese mum
I spent 2 hours this morning meeting with the mother of one of my students, who wanted to talk about schools in Melbourne. We really had a good conversation, talking about her son's education and upbringing, her hopes and dreams for her son in the future, to talking about how easy it is to buy ecstasy in Chinese clubs... Oh, and she reminds me of Karlie Kloss!
What else did I do today?
- Took my bro out to lunch at the famous noodles joint near work
- 2 hour interview class with Daisy - she's improving and I'm confident she'll do well!
- 2 hour class at another factory - I got my students to create the perfect date and present it to the class
- Got my brother to come to quiz night at Arcano, where he met most of my mates in Nanjing and got to witness some of the tomfoolery that happens there every Thursday night
Candid chat with a rich Chinese mum
I spent 2 hours this morning meeting with the mother of one of my students, who wanted to talk about schools in Melbourne. We really had a good conversation, talking about her son's education and upbringing, her hopes and dreams for her son in the future, to talking about how easy it is to buy ecstasy in Chinese clubs... Oh, and she reminds me of Karlie Kloss!
What else did I do today?
- Took my bro out to lunch at the famous noodles joint near work
- 2 hour interview class with Daisy - she's improving and I'm confident she'll do well!
- 2 hour class at another factory - I got my students to create the perfect date and present it to the class
- Got my brother to come to quiz night at Arcano, where he met most of my mates in Nanjing and got to witness some of the tomfoolery that happens there every Thursday night
Day 64
13.06.18
New hospital experiences
You really get to experience the crowdedness of China in one of its local hospitals. People are running around. Queues at every window. I had booked an appointment to see a specialist at 10am. Didn't see my name on the screen for 45 minutes. Realised that I had to swipe my card in first to check in, then they'd be able to take me. Otherwise, the next spot goes to the people without a booking. So I had this sample of shit in my bag lying around for 45 minutes without even knowing. Had to go downstairs to another level to get my shit sample tested and wait for the results. Specialist tells me to take 'some' meds. I go downstairs to the pharmacy and give them the prescription: in return I get boxes of pills and powders that I have to take 3 times a day. Not really what I was expecting for 'some meds'.
What else did I do?
- Had lunch with Helen
- Two hour interview class with my student Daisy
- Two hour class at the factory where I brought my students some TimTams! They liked it very much! I told them that they had to do a test. They told me that if they don't pass the test, they don't get back their 2000RMB deposit from their company. In that case, I'll make sure everyone passes!
- One of my students gave me a lift back to the area, which was very nice of him.
New hospital experiences
You really get to experience the crowdedness of China in one of its local hospitals. People are running around. Queues at every window. I had booked an appointment to see a specialist at 10am. Didn't see my name on the screen for 45 minutes. Realised that I had to swipe my card in first to check in, then they'd be able to take me. Otherwise, the next spot goes to the people without a booking. So I had this sample of shit in my bag lying around for 45 minutes without even knowing. Had to go downstairs to another level to get my shit sample tested and wait for the results. Specialist tells me to take 'some' meds. I go downstairs to the pharmacy and give them the prescription: in return I get boxes of pills and powders that I have to take 3 times a day. Not really what I was expecting for 'some meds'.
What else did I do?
- Had lunch with Helen
- Two hour interview class with my student Daisy
- Two hour class at the factory where I brought my students some TimTams! They liked it very much! I told them that they had to do a test. They told me that if they don't pass the test, they don't get back their 2000RMB deposit from their company. In that case, I'll make sure everyone passes!
- One of my students gave me a lift back to the area, which was very nice of him.
Day 63
12.06.18
Back to classes again!
So I got a request from my school to take on a student who needed urgent help to prepare her for an interview with a college called Xi-An Liverpool Jiaotong University. It's a group interview with 7 other Chinese students and they're asked to discuss a topic and come up with a conclusion without the help of the examiners. Unlike typical Chinese group interviews where the most impressive is the one who can convince his peers that his opinion is the best, this Western style interview is all about finding a way to work as a team to produce an outcome. This should be an interesting class!
Back to classes again!
So I got a request from my school to take on a student who needed urgent help to prepare her for an interview with a college called Xi-An Liverpool Jiaotong University. It's a group interview with 7 other Chinese students and they're asked to discuss a topic and come up with a conclusion without the help of the examiners. Unlike typical Chinese group interviews where the most impressive is the one who can convince his peers that his opinion is the best, this Western style interview is all about finding a way to work as a team to produce an outcome. This should be an interesting class!
- Took my bro to eat at Nanjing Impressions with one of the aunties
- Showed Aunty Xi how to use WeChat Pay and took them to Maan Coffee Chic Hills (best and largest cafe I've been to in Nanjing)
- Visited my best mate Doc at the hospital again. I feel like I've been hanging out at the hospital more than anywhere else these last few days...
- Enjoyed a classic Nanjing meal - pork skin/ pork kidney noodles
- Taught a few hours of classes and rode back home
Friday, 15 June 2018
Day 62
11.06.18
Finally a day of doing nothing
My brother's coming up to Nanjing tonight so I'm looking forward to seeing a familiar face. I spent the afternoon watching the Queen's Birthday clash between Melbourne and Collingwood at Tap Planet. Weather was peaking in Nanjing. Was a good match for the first three quarters. Then, I went to the hospital to catch up with old mate Doc and get some more antibiotics for my bowels. Then I rode my bike to my aunty's restaurant and went with my uncle to the railway station to pick up bro bro. We gave him a tour of the restaurant, my place and then his hotel.
Day 61
10.06.18
7 out of 7 in the week.
7 consecutive days of teaching. Grindin'. Sunday mornin'. 9am. Rode the bike to work. Good weather. Sweat all over my back. Ready to teach. 2 hour session. 1 kid. Smashed through the lesson.
Gaokao
We had about half an hour left before the session finished. The kid, Jack, a year 10 boy, said he was preparing for finals in a few days. The school had organised classes this Sunday afternoon to prepare them, so he was about to go to class after mine.
Talked about the Gaokao - the college entrance exam that stops the nation. It's been happening the last few days actually. We talked about how it works.
Three main areas: Chinese. Maths. English.
Highest possible score respectively: 160. 120. 120.
Highest total score: 400.
Highest score attained: 390.
Top 20% get into Level 1 universities.
Next 20% get into Level 2 universities.
Rest get into the lower universities. Or something like that
Nanjing's best high school: Foreign language school. 90% of students get admitted to colleges before the gaokao. Therefore, gaokao is not required for those kids. It is also the hardest school to get into. Year 9 entry. There is an associated middle school in Year 7.
The Jiangsu exam is probably the hardest exam: Nantong High Schools have some of the best students in China (the culture is crazy - students have classes every day) - so they make it harder for students in this area.
There's also a bit of affirmative action going on. Provinces like Tibet, Xinjiang get easier tests and easier entry into the top universities. There's a joke that you can sell your house in your current province and buy a house in Tibet just to get easier tests - it truly is a test that can decide your future.
7 out of 7 in the week.
7 consecutive days of teaching. Grindin'. Sunday mornin'. 9am. Rode the bike to work. Good weather. Sweat all over my back. Ready to teach. 2 hour session. 1 kid. Smashed through the lesson.
Gaokao
We had about half an hour left before the session finished. The kid, Jack, a year 10 boy, said he was preparing for finals in a few days. The school had organised classes this Sunday afternoon to prepare them, so he was about to go to class after mine.
Talked about the Gaokao - the college entrance exam that stops the nation. It's been happening the last few days actually. We talked about how it works.
Three main areas: Chinese. Maths. English.
Highest possible score respectively: 160. 120. 120.
Highest total score: 400.
Highest score attained: 390.
Top 20% get into Level 1 universities.
Next 20% get into Level 2 universities.
Rest get into the lower universities. Or something like that
Nanjing's best high school: Foreign language school. 90% of students get admitted to colleges before the gaokao. Therefore, gaokao is not required for those kids. It is also the hardest school to get into. Year 9 entry. There is an associated middle school in Year 7.
The Jiangsu exam is probably the hardest exam: Nantong High Schools have some of the best students in China (the culture is crazy - students have classes every day) - so they make it harder for students in this area.
There's also a bit of affirmative action going on. Provinces like Tibet, Xinjiang get easier tests and easier entry into the top universities. There's a joke that you can sell your house in your current province and buy a house in Tibet just to get easier tests - it truly is a test that can decide your future.
Monday, 11 June 2018
Day 60
09.06.18
So I've hit the two month mark of my stay in China.
No more NBA
Woke up this morning after a bad nights sleep to some rain and when the rain stopped, and a very very loud fight between two men that I assume woke up the whole neighbourhood (at 7am in the morning). I'm on the top floor so I've got a good view of everything that's going on and when the fight started, people started to pop their heads out of their windows. A lot of expletives were used and the screaming match lasted a good 5 minutes before people restrained them. I was eagerly waiting for Game 4 of the NBA finals, believing that the Cavs could win one game at home. That was not to be. Lebron is definitely leaving in the summer.
Saturday afternoon classes
Three classes today.
On a side note, I'm beginning to make a name for myself at this school. There are always students who come up to me to talk and to ask when my next class is so they can attend.
Positive thinking please!
After class, I went to my friend's house for dinner. She had just come back from a trip to Yunnan to get away from all her problems here. She told me she went to the hospital and the doctor still told her to take pills. She's still being very very very pessimistic about life.
A new level of intimacy
My bowels felt so done at my friend's house that I felt like I needed to visit the hospital. Texted old mate Doc and she told me she was working. I had nothing else to do on a Saturday night, so why not get my poo tested? My friendship with Doc has entered a new level. She now knows everything about my bowel movements and has seen my poo! Talk about great bonding.
So I've hit the two month mark of my stay in China.
No more NBA
Woke up this morning after a bad nights sleep to some rain and when the rain stopped, and a very very loud fight between two men that I assume woke up the whole neighbourhood (at 7am in the morning). I'm on the top floor so I've got a good view of everything that's going on and when the fight started, people started to pop their heads out of their windows. A lot of expletives were used and the screaming match lasted a good 5 minutes before people restrained them. I was eagerly waiting for Game 4 of the NBA finals, believing that the Cavs could win one game at home. That was not to be. Lebron is definitely leaving in the summer.
Saturday afternoon classes
Three classes today.
- Upper intermediate - we talked about the pros and cons of online shopping.
- High school - there are these really cute Year 7 kids, 4 girls and 1 guy, who are just a treat to teach. They're always having fun in class and everyone contributes. Their English is also amazing for kids in Year 7.
- Free talk - this is a public lecture where I'm just facilitating discussion, we went through topics ranging from food safety in China, weekend activities...
On a side note, I'm beginning to make a name for myself at this school. There are always students who come up to me to talk and to ask when my next class is so they can attend.
Positive thinking please!
After class, I went to my friend's house for dinner. She had just come back from a trip to Yunnan to get away from all her problems here. She told me she went to the hospital and the doctor still told her to take pills. She's still being very very very pessimistic about life.
A new level of intimacy
My bowels felt so done at my friend's house that I felt like I needed to visit the hospital. Texted old mate Doc and she told me she was working. I had nothing else to do on a Saturday night, so why not get my poo tested? My friendship with Doc has entered a new level. She now knows everything about my bowel movements and has seen my poo! Talk about great bonding.
Day 59
08.06.18
Office Mike
I'm doing work for some education company that has a really nice office in Xinjiekou and the people there are pretty social, so I decided to bring my work (for my main school) to their office and do it there. The offices of my main school are in an old building, they look terrible and no one really socialises, whilst this office is in a new building, there are Western toilets and the colleagues here are young. It's a great way for me to interact with some locals and practice my Chinese speaking skills.
Friday night teaching
During the afternoon, I got asked by my school to take on a few classes at night. Since, I had nothing to do, I accepted. I have mad respect for people who will go to school on a Friday night after work to learn English - I think it's admirable and it makes me want to help them even more.
Office Mike
I'm doing work for some education company that has a really nice office in Xinjiekou and the people there are pretty social, so I decided to bring my work (for my main school) to their office and do it there. The offices of my main school are in an old building, they look terrible and no one really socialises, whilst this office is in a new building, there are Western toilets and the colleagues here are young. It's a great way for me to interact with some locals and practice my Chinese speaking skills.
Friday night teaching
During the afternoon, I got asked by my school to take on a few classes at night. Since, I had nothing to do, I accepted. I have mad respect for people who will go to school on a Friday night after work to learn English - I think it's admirable and it makes me want to help them even more.
Friday, 8 June 2018
Day 58
07.06.18
China's got me good
China's got me good
My bowels are absolutely done here. The oils, the hygiene here... got me good.
NBA with my student
Literally spent the two hours watching NBA Game 3 with my kid - had no motivation to teach him anything. Had to prepare for this corporate class I had in the afternoon, which I needed to make a good impression on.
Stay true to myself.
So they've got me going to the sticks again for another corporate class. This is for a company called Jibao, they manufacture iPads and other electronics. Today, I would be teaching a bunch of workers who are in charge of foreign business trips to the factory - so they have to use English in their work. My colleagues told me that the corporate culture was quite strict and demanding and that they have this manager who sits in on the lessons to see if the teacher is doing a good job. Today, when I got there, I saw a crowd of people walking about the campus. At the security gate, I had to wear a yellow vest to get in too. When I got taken to the room, it was like one of those really nice conference rooms that you'd expect an executive board meeting would take place. I could already feel the tension. And it got even more tense when the students started coming in. I saw that everyone was older and they were all giving me weird faces. I tried to make conversation with them but no one really wanted to talk. I was expecting the manager to come in any second, look at me, then tell me to leave. Surprisingly, that didn't happen. I thought to myself: I have to stick true to my values as a teacher and not let the environment control how I teach - if they didn't like my style of teaching then bad luck. 做自己. They told me to stick closely to the textbook. They told me not to speak Chinese. Broke all the rules within the first hour. I tried to engage everyone with the topic but no one found it interesting. They told me that they didn't enjoy the textbook and would rather do something a bit more fun. So I spent the second half of the lesson, talking about something completely unrelated to business English. We talked about travelling and our favourite places to travel. I figured that these guys get smashed during the day and then they have to learn another two hours of English at the end of their day? I would also be tired and disengaged if I was forced to learn something about email structure and formality. There was a chick from HR who came in half way and took photos of the class - I only found out at the end of the class that she was there to keep tabs on me. This didn't concern me because I showed that I could keep the students engaged until the end. After class, I had a good conversation with the HR girl and felt like she had a good impression of me. That's when I knew that I had earned my place there next week. I can't get complacent though, I have to think of new and interesting topics to teach to earn my spot as a starter.
Day 57
06.06.18
Ya too old.
So I woke up early just to help train this kid for his interview with Geelong Grammar. One minute into the interview and he's been told he's too old for Year 10, and that if he were to get into the school, he'd be in Year 11 (and that would be too hard for him since his English is poor). I spoke to his mum, who legit looked like a posh mum. She was telling me how she has a 188 visa to Aus, an investment visa (where I later found out that you have to invest like 5m into Australia to get it). What it means specifically is that her kid isn't an international student when he goes to Australia - he can apply for public schools as well. So it's back to the drawing board for this kid, he has to improve his AEAS (English competency) score from 44 to 70, which is quite a fair jump. Good luck to the kid.
Perfect date
Did a fun exercise today with my students for the second half of the class. I decided to change things up by running a mini competition with a prize for the winner. I also wanted an interesting topic, something that could get the students engaged, so I chose 'Create the perfect date in Nanjing'. There was a presentation at the end, including an explanation as to why the date was perfect. I was really happy to see everyone invested in it and having a bit of fun. When everyone presented and spoke, I was proud to hear all the creative responses and proud of them for speaking for such a long time. I guess this is the feeling that teachers get when their students do well.
Put some respeck on it
As always, I was excited to play some football after my class. This time my friend didn't come so I was there on my own. We played a little round robin with 3 teams of 6 and kept switching after a few goals. I feel like I'm getting a bit more respect from the others, now that I've been there the past few weeks.
Ya too old.
So I woke up early just to help train this kid for his interview with Geelong Grammar. One minute into the interview and he's been told he's too old for Year 10, and that if he were to get into the school, he'd be in Year 11 (and that would be too hard for him since his English is poor). I spoke to his mum, who legit looked like a posh mum. She was telling me how she has a 188 visa to Aus, an investment visa (where I later found out that you have to invest like 5m into Australia to get it). What it means specifically is that her kid isn't an international student when he goes to Australia - he can apply for public schools as well. So it's back to the drawing board for this kid, he has to improve his AEAS (English competency) score from 44 to 70, which is quite a fair jump. Good luck to the kid.
Perfect date
Did a fun exercise today with my students for the second half of the class. I decided to change things up by running a mini competition with a prize for the winner. I also wanted an interesting topic, something that could get the students engaged, so I chose 'Create the perfect date in Nanjing'. There was a presentation at the end, including an explanation as to why the date was perfect. I was really happy to see everyone invested in it and having a bit of fun. When everyone presented and spoke, I was proud to hear all the creative responses and proud of them for speaking for such a long time. I guess this is the feeling that teachers get when their students do well.
Put some respeck on it
As always, I was excited to play some football after my class. This time my friend didn't come so I was there on my own. We played a little round robin with 3 teams of 6 and kept switching after a few goals. I feel like I'm getting a bit more respect from the others, now that I've been there the past few weeks.
Wednesday, 6 June 2018
Day 56
05.06.18
7 hours of classes today.
7 hours of classes today.
- 1000: VIP
- Spent the two hours talking about Western culture to the guy who's going to Canada for study. We went through Canada national sports: Lacrosse and Ice Hockey, famous Canadians (Drake), some hip-hop artists, Canadian cuisine (just poutine) and tipping (didn't know they also had a tipping culture)... Felt like I was the student today
- 1400: Pre-departure class
- The kid whos going to Ringwood finally wanted to learn something useful: he wanted to know how to say a solid self-introduction
- Then, I helped him set up Facebook, Instagram and Tinder and taught him some useful Internet slang
- Then we just listened to Western music and watched Victoria Secret fashion show
- 1600: Pre-departure class 2
- So the day before, I got an urgent request to teach this 15 year old kid who's about to go to Geelong Grammar School for Year 10 and has an interview with them tomorrow - they wanted me to prepare him.
- Anyway, they got me to fill out a pre-interview questionnaire, pretending to be his mum and answer all these questions like ‘Describe your son's hobbies and interests’ or 'What is he like with interpersonal relationships'
- I found out that the kid is very impressive: he does swimming and tennis twice a week, can play the piano and saxophone, has won a National Award for traditional Chinese painting - thinking back to when I was 15...
Nanjing is small?
So I never thought I'd bump into someone I know since there's just so many people and like what are the odds? When I was walking out of the shopping centre in Xinjiekou today, I bumped into a former colleague from Sanpower, who had literally just left the company and was about to move to Shanghai within the next two weeks. She told me that she had landed the gig not too long ago (since I last saw her on her last day a few days ago and she hadn't found anything) - again, I have a lot of respect for someone who can just pack their bags and go. I keep meeting people who make these kind of choices and it sometimes puts things into perspective for me - maybe it really isn't such a big deal moving over here (people do it on the reg).
Day 55
04.06.18
Full day of classes again.
Finally got paid today as well!!! My bank balance was looking real grim this morning. I had 20RMB in the account so I was sweatin for a while. Can finally treat myself (a little).
Keep!
Felt super tired after finishing work. Got home at 930pm. What did I do? Go for a run. Was super hot too. About 25 degrees. Really chasing those endorphins. Downloaded an app called Keep - it's THE fitness app to use in China. 3km run. Absolutely wrecked afterwards. Needed an hour just to cool off.
Full day of classes again.
- 1450: Upper intermediate private class
- Two students, didn't follow the textbook and instead focused on oral English
- 1800: Interview
- Purpose of this class is for anyone looking to transfer to a higher level of class - they have to pass an 'interview'. No one rocked up. I still get paid.
- 1900: Beginner class
- Didn't look at the textbook again and just chatted to the students. They thought I was a student when I walked in. Everyone was shocked that I was the teacher - took them 5 minutes to register what was happening.
- 2000: Advanced private class
- Two chicks who I'm familiar with because I've taught them a few times. They're best friends and today we talked about the pros and cons of one of the girls who was thinking about moving back home. Was more of a deep and meaningful chat than an actual class
Finally got paid today as well!!! My bank balance was looking real grim this morning. I had 20RMB in the account so I was sweatin for a while. Can finally treat myself (a little).
Keep!
Felt super tired after finishing work. Got home at 930pm. What did I do? Go for a run. Was super hot too. About 25 degrees. Really chasing those endorphins. Downloaded an app called Keep - it's THE fitness app to use in China. 3km run. Absolutely wrecked afterwards. Needed an hour just to cool off.
Day 54
03/06/18
Woke up with the taste of baijiu in my mouth. Really good weather though. 28 and Sunny. Walked down the stairs to see the remnants of the projectile. Liam invited me over to his place to watch the footy. Had some pizzas and finished our ACYA proposal. Went home and polished off the last few episodes of "Women in Shanghai"
Woke up with the taste of baijiu in my mouth. Really good weather though. 28 and Sunny. Walked down the stairs to see the remnants of the projectile. Liam invited me over to his place to watch the footy. Had some pizzas and finished our ACYA proposal. Went home and polished off the last few episodes of "Women in Shanghai"
Tuesday, 5 June 2018
Day 53
02.06.18 (Happy birthday to my uncle)
1050: English Corner
First class in the morning was a public class, supposed to be business related but ended up just talking random topics. It's hard to manage a public class when you've got beginner level and advanced level all in your class.
1340: High School
An absolute pleasure teaching some Year 7 kids - they're all well-behaved and cute! Found out that I also teach one of the kid's father too - their whole family has Mr. Liu!
1450: Beginner
It was hard to get going when no one in this class wanted to speak - so I would sit there and stare at people until they spoke more. Always preaching my 'speak more' rule.
1600: VIP
Had a kid who was about to go to Canada to study a Masters and just chatted to him for two hours, got to know him and what he's about.
Finally finished class and there were 13 people in the queue outside work to get a cab - Saturday nights are always busy. Luckily my cab driver knew how to navigate the congested traffic (cut in whenever you can).
My uncle invited me to his army mate's 50th birthday - it was also my uncle's birthday. The baijiu came out - I had a lot. Held my own until about 9pm when I was in the taxi home. Got to the stairs of my apartment - 7 levels to climb. I made it to Level 5 and then it all came out - lots of it. Level 6, still had more in me. Felt like absolute shit. Smashed the hydralyte only for it to come out. Not the best way to end the night, feeling like shit and being in bed by 930.
1050: English Corner
First class in the morning was a public class, supposed to be business related but ended up just talking random topics. It's hard to manage a public class when you've got beginner level and advanced level all in your class.
1340: High School
An absolute pleasure teaching some Year 7 kids - they're all well-behaved and cute! Found out that I also teach one of the kid's father too - their whole family has Mr. Liu!
1450: Beginner
It was hard to get going when no one in this class wanted to speak - so I would sit there and stare at people until they spoke more. Always preaching my 'speak more' rule.
1600: VIP
Had a kid who was about to go to Canada to study a Masters and just chatted to him for two hours, got to know him and what he's about.
Finally finished class and there were 13 people in the queue outside work to get a cab - Saturday nights are always busy. Luckily my cab driver knew how to navigate the congested traffic (cut in whenever you can).
My uncle invited me to his army mate's 50th birthday - it was also my uncle's birthday. The baijiu came out - I had a lot. Held my own until about 9pm when I was in the taxi home. Got to the stairs of my apartment - 7 levels to climb. I made it to Level 5 and then it all came out - lots of it. Level 6, still had more in me. Felt like absolute shit. Smashed the hydralyte only for it to come out. Not the best way to end the night, feeling like shit and being in bed by 930.
Saturday, 2 June 2018
Day 52
01.06.18
Free money
NBA finals game 1 was today but I knew I had to teach right
in the middle of it. I took the cab from mine to the school (usually it’s a 15
minute bike ride) because I didn’t want to miss a second of it. I’m watching it
in the classroom before my student comes in. I know he likes basketball so I
had the game on when he came in. Immediately, he got excited and wanted to
watch the whole game. 2 hours went by very quickly – at one stage we were
screaming and celebrating, at the end of the game, none of us were in a mood to
speak. Probably the best lesson I’ve ever taught here so far.
He’s just some kid who wants to enjoy his last month in
China before going to Australia and not want to be in a classroom for it all so
I completely get why he’s not really keen to learn anything. Anyway, we left
class a bit early because he was hungry so he took me to some fried chicken
place that he rates – but I reckon it’s very mediocre compared to what you can
get in Melbourne. Afterwards, I spent the rest of the day in the office
chatting to some colleagues and working on an ACYA funding proposal. My
colleague gave me a loquat (枇杷) to try today, some fruit that
looks a bit like a mini apricot – interesting taste.
A very quiet Friday night
Knowing that I have a whole day of classes tomorrow, I
decided to take it very easy tonight and watch ‘Women
of Shanghai’, which is exactly the same as ‘Women in Beijing’ but the main character lives in Shanghai now
and not Beijing. It'll keep me busy tonight...
Day 51
31.01.18
Rodger That
Caught up with one of my mum’s friends and old neighbour
from Nanjing. His name is Rodge and he’s now the CTO of a subsidiary company of
ZTE. There’s a lot going on with ZTE and US-China relations, which have damaged
the company’s reputation and has massive implications on the Chinese economy if
negotiations fall through. He said that all business has stopped indefinitely
until agreements can be reached on the national level – it’s quite rare to see
a company stop everything that they’re doing because of a dispute between two
countries. Anyway, with a lot of spare time, Rodge and I had a lot to talk
about and he provided me with some good advice – he said that I remind him of
himself when he was about my age, moved his life from Nanjing to the big city
Shenzhen and lived there for 6 years. He epitomises ‘doing what you like’ as
he’s been doing something that he enjoys ever since his university degree – he
has no concerns over his potential job loss as a CTO because he will always
find a way to do what he likes. I have great respect for someone who has that
type of mindset.
Visiting my old colleagues
After my meeting with Rodge, I walked a few minutes to the
Sanpower Headquarters to see my old colleagues. As always, they welcomed me as
one of their own, despite me only working there for a week. It was one of the
team member’s last day today, who had planned to go back home or to Shanghai.
She had moved to Nanjing just for this job but because of some reasons decided
that the work didn’t suit her. I later found out that she had become the
secretary (or bitch) of one of the executives who treated her very badly and
was super high maintenance e.g. taking out the garbage and picking up her deliveries.
Not the best job to be doing if you’ve just graduated from a well-known foreign
university.
Quiz night
Every Thursday is Quiz night at Arcano, and yes, it is
something I look forward to – despite having never attended such a thing in
Melbourne. Tonight, Rory did the quiz and put a lot of VCE GAT questions in the
maths section - which brought back bad memories. There was a music section on
the golden oldies, 90s and 00s, so not really my forte – but it got everyone
belting out the lyrics – especially for Natalie Imbruglia’s ‘Torn’ – the modern
day Australian National Anthem as Rory said. Towards the end of the night,
after a parma and a few VBs, we were playing darts and listening to some
Australian classics – it was a good feeling being around people who know the
songs.
Day 50
30.08.18
Why go anywhere else for lunch?
My go-to place for lunch is actually just at the gate of my
neighbourhood. There are a few carts/stands set up there during lunch time. At
the first stand, you can order whatever you like and add whatever extras you
want from all the dishes they place out on the table. Today, I went to the one
next to it and it was for 盒饭 which is basically Chinese
cafeteria style food. They have a wide selection of meat and vegetable dishes.
The deal is choose 3 veg and 1 meat for 12RMB. You get a big bowl of rice in a
steel bowl. There’s a huge tub of some soup (tomato and egg) which is
self-serve. And you can even ask the guys to put some of the dishes sauce on
top of your rice to make it taste better. All this for a very reasonable price
and a filling meal. The only problem is food safety and cleanliness.
Trade-offs…
Class out in the sticks
After lunch, I had the one-hour trip to the factory to teach
my Business English class. I powered through the textbook stuff in the first
hour and left the second hour as a ‘free talk’ sort of thing. We talked about
the Internet and how it affects our lives – a very relevant topic in a society
reliant upon their smartphones. I really felt the effects of being in the
suburbs (I call it the sticks because there’s nothing around) – my phone had
poor signal and I couldn’t find a Didi willing to take me into town – so I
hitched a ride into some civilised areas from one of my students.
Day 49
29.05.18
NBA Finals decided.
Houston Rockets couldn't get it done today, which was disappointing. They had a great start but kept missing the 3-ball. Curry had a signature third quarter eruption that won them the game. Keen for Game 1.
More disappointment.
I went to get my passport today and had been warned that my phone might be checked for some incriminating evidence (e.g. me working illegally). I get there and there's no dramas, I get my passport, have a look at the residency permit that's been stuck on. 6 months! This can't be right... my company applied for a year, why are they giving me 6 months??? Apparently, there were 'issues' with my company so I only got the permit for 6 months. Great. Now I have to find myself another job within 5 months. I've still got time but less time than I thought I'd have.
NBA Finals decided.
Houston Rockets couldn't get it done today, which was disappointing. They had a great start but kept missing the 3-ball. Curry had a signature third quarter eruption that won them the game. Keen for Game 1.
More disappointment.
I went to get my passport today and had been warned that my phone might be checked for some incriminating evidence (e.g. me working illegally). I get there and there's no dramas, I get my passport, have a look at the residency permit that's been stuck on. 6 months! This can't be right... my company applied for a year, why are they giving me 6 months??? Apparently, there were 'issues' with my company so I only got the permit for 6 months. Great. Now I have to find myself another job within 5 months. I've still got time but less time than I thought I'd have.
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