Day 11

July 29, 2012

After breakfast (apparently ants got into our brown sugar so Joel probably ingested a dozen of them) we started our morning by meeting up with several teachers to take a trip into mainland China. The city busses took us right to the border where we had to go through customs and immigration. Since we went so early in the morning it went rather quickly.

Once on the other side, we went to a very nice hotel restaurant where we had very traditional Chinese/Malaysian food. It was the best since food I have tasted since we have been here. The family style dining allowed us to try several dishes and share with our two lunch guests.

Before we left the restaurant I was advised to use the bathroom because I would not enjoy the ones I would find on the street. Of course, being there for 10 hours, I did have to use the toilet again and I found out why I was given the warning. Basically it is a hole in the ground with no toilet paper. According to Joel, it wasn’t nearly as bad as what he had to experience while on our mission trip to Peru. I luckily had tissue paper with me.

I had my first haircut today. They start by shampooing with a head massage lasting 15 minutes. After the rinse, my interpreter told the stylist how I wanted my hair cut. With the first cut I knew that it was not going to be the way I had intended. Instead of the 1 inch trim I had asked for, I received a 3 inch cut with layers. Not that I am too concerned about it. The total time was almost 45 minutes it was only 4 USD.

We then went to an underground mall that was more like a flea market. We were able to get great deals on clothes and American movies. Since we had Chinese speaking people with us we were able to bargain well. Joel was able to buy some nice work shirts for cheap.

 I stopped in a women’s clothing store and was instantly surrounded by 3 women with armfuls of clothes for me to try on. The sizes here are much different and not in a good way. I went up three sizes and was unable to fit into their largest size pants. I did feel like a VIP with all the help I experienced there.

While Joel was paying for some of the clothes we purchased, a woman with a young boy walked up to Joel and started talking to him in Chinese. She kept pointing at the boys’ mouth and gesturing with her hands. Man kin, our interpreter, listened to what she was saying and of course she wanted money to feed her son, though he looked well fed.

When we went into a CD/DVD store, a man took us aside and asked if we wanted English movies. When we said yes, he led us to the back of the store, into a hidden room with hundreds of DVDs. Later we found that this is because when immigration does the inspection, they close the back doors and it looks as though there are only legitimate items for sale. Joel and I got the latest season of “The Office” and “Modern Family” seasons 1-3.

We ate dinner at a Chinese restaurant before heading back home. I am trying to become fluent in chopsticks so I try not to request silverware through it is rarely available anyways. Joel is getting much better at using them. Then we headed back to border to go through immigration and customs again.

Once home I did a few loads of laundry and tested out our new DVD’s. They are not the greatest quality but they are what I expected for the price. And they will do the job I need. Now I go to bed for I have much planning to do for this next year. Every day I am given a new class to teach or new interest course to start. I am very excited about getting this show on the road.

Day 10

 

 

July 28, 2012

Joel and I slept in until 8:30 a.m. which is a big accomplishment since we usually have been waking up around 6:00 a.m. We got dressed and went to church after talking with friends and family on skype. Following church there was a potluck lunch consisting of egg salad sandwiches and spicy noodles.

We decided to take a nap since we knew we would have a late night. When we woke up and decided to go for an afternoon walk in Taipa. It had finally stopped raining and the sun was shining so it was a beautiful time to explore. We walked to a historic Portuguese where there are museums and parks. We had to return early since there was a farewell party for all the teachers that are not returning next year.

At the celebration we danced, played games and ate amazing Filipino food. I have never met such hospitable people as there are here. They do not allow me to be shy. Joel made his playing debut which everyone loved. Once we had partied ourselves out we retired for the night.

 

Day 9

July 27, 2012

We started off our morning with staff worship followed by a staff meeting. We then went to get our photos taken for immigration and school accreditation. I learned that when someone says “it’s not that far”, it means at least 15 minutes of walking. Joel and I can easily walk up to 5 miles on a slow day.

We ate lunch at a casino buffet. Much different than the buffets in the US and there are not quite as many options. The casinos are not as busy as the street restaurants and they are much cleaner. Many of the restaurants here do not offer anything to drink but water and hot tea. I was able to try many new desserts and some were not so great. I am impartial to the street bakeries which we  

After lunch we walked around the city. Our friend, Man kin accompanied us and gave us the tour. He took us to various shops to price toasters and I finally bought one. I cooked a pizza in it for dinner. We also stopped to buy a SIM card for our phone but realized at home that the phone is locked. We are planning a visit onto the mainland Sunday where we hope to buy a new phone.

When we arrived back at the school we went into the principal’s office go over and sign our contracts. We filled up our 5-gallon jugs for the weekend, got a new table for our apartment and cleaned.

It had been raining constantly since we arrived. Some of the teachers informed us that they have never seen it rain this much in all their time here. I love rain and even I ‘m needing a break. There is supposedly going to be a break soon which will be nice when we travel inland. We have heard that there are good prices over there.

Day 8

  

 July 26, 2012

It has officially been a week since I have been home and I do miss it. We only have one DVD box set of ‘The Office’ for English watching that I happen to squeeze into my carry on for entertainment on the plane. We were counting on Netflix of the internet to provide us with options but because we are outside of the US and it is prohibited.

We started our morning off with staff worship followed by a trip to 7 eleven to add value to our bus cards. We met up with other new teachers so everyone could go get a physical on the other island of Macau. I just went along for the visit. It was our first time on public transport here.

We stopped at a building called the DSEJ which is for all the schools in Macau. Here you can get everything for your classrooms for free. Anything from pens and pencils to decorations.  I am told that this is one of the richest schools in the area which is wonderful for the children that get to attend. There is a large waiting list.

Next we went to a private hospital. The men left a urine sample, had vital signs obtained and a chest x-ray. We had left the school at 9 and were supposed to be back at 2. However, the doctor had already left for his 3 hour lunch so we were able to do some sightseeing while we waited.

Unfortunately, we had to eat at McDonalds again. I never eat there at home and now I have eaten there 2 days in a row. The menu is ¼ the size with just the basics. They are the only restaurants locally that provide napkins. Here they offer different sauces then back at home and people come around and clean up your mess. You do not have to through anything away.

We were able to see some local markets with plenty of dead animals. I just do not understand why the heads must be left on the body! Joel thinks it is hilarious and giggles at the poor things every time we see them. There were also turtles for sale and now that I am typing I am realizing that they were probably for food.

In the market there were also large varieties of plants and flowers for sale. Many of them I have never seen before. Because of the constant heavy rains I was only able to take a few photos and by the end of the day by umbrella holder (Joel) was losing his patience.

We then stopped in a local bakery which is my favorite place on the way back to the hospital. They offer such great pastries, cakes and breads at such a low price. Joel had his 5 minute physical and we were on our way back home. We had a little time to look at some tourist spots which were packed with people.  

Once we were back on our island, we were able to stop at the Park ‘n Shop to buy Joel’s coffee maker. We grabbed a few other items and buy the time we checked out we were unable to get my oven. Fortunately it is only a 15 minute walk. By the time we got home we were so exhausted. We put the groceries away, I made dinner and we went to bed.

Day 7

July 25, 2012

Last night went better as far as sleeping for me. Joel, however, has not adjusted to the time change yet. Today he felt very ill and spent most of the day in bed.

We went and talked to the assistant principal to discuss all our general expectations and compensations. Originally our plan was to obtain our checks, go to the bank and set up an account then to the store to buy our toaster oven and coffee maker. Since Joel was not feeling well we were not able to go out. We did eat at McDonalds today because I was craving French fries since Joel’s mom commented about them on one of my photos.

Since we did go out for lunch I was able to see the extent of the typhoon damage. Most of the trees on the street in front of the school were uprooted. Some of the astroturf on the soccer fields was peeled back. While the storm was at its peak, I heard what I thought was hail but it turned out to be tiles from the wall hitting the window. This all from a little storm that no one said to be worried about.

Joel and I noticed today that everything here is much smaller than we are used to. The bathtub is about half the size of the ones in the US and the shower head is quite low. All the couches and chairs are very low to the ground with is not a problem for me but mainly for Joel. The large size drink at McDonald’s is the size of a small which is probably a good thing. The kitchen counters are probably what bothers me the most. I hate bending over so far to do the dishes or cut vegetables.

I was able to chat with some of my friends from home which made my day. It was nice to see them all and hear English again. I do miss being able to have the freedom of calling anyone at anytime.

P.S. Did I mention how much I hate this humidity? My hair is twice the size and curliness .

Our street

Day 6

July 24, 2012

We went to bed about 11pm and the Typhoon wind and rains had already started so I knew it was going to be an awful night of sleep. Everyone had downplayed the weather and told us there was nothing to worry about so all night, when I thought the windows were going to break, that is what I kept telling myself. It wasn’t until the morning that we say how bad it was. There was quite a bit of damage.

 At 2am Joel woke up and told me he was going to check the meter. I thought he was a little confused with what he was saying but that he was just going to the bathroom. When he didn't come back for 10 minutes I went looking for him. He didn't answer when I called his name in the apartment so I thought maybe he had stepped out to check on the storm. I went to the bathroom on my outside and I left the lights off so it would not wake me up. While I was in the bathroom, in the dark, I saw a strange figure start to open the curtain. I started screaming and turned on the lights to find that it was Joel just standing in the shower. I asked him what he was doing and without skipping a beat said "checking the meter" and went right back to the bedroom and straight to sleep.

We woke up at 5:30 and started cleaning and rearranging every room. We found that the lights of the city were too bright in our room and with the typhoon reaching 9/10 it was very noisy so we traded out the rooms. With 450 square feet moving anything is difficult. I was able to get Joel to help clean the baseboards which was nice because with the humidity it creates lots of mold down there. I had to bleach the walls, turn on the space heater and the dehumidifier to help.

I did my first load of laundry today. I must say that I hate that I have to hang dry everything. With the humidity it takes things forever to dry. I was able to get 3 loads complete.

Tomorrow I hope to be able to get out and buy a few more items. Joel thinks it is a necessity to have a coffee maker and I need a toaster oven. We only have a 2 burner range which limits my cooking.