Happy Dragon Boat Festival China!

Today China celebrates The Dragon Boat Festival or Duanwu Festival. It occurs on the fifth day of the fifth month of the Chinese Lunar calendar. This year, it falls on May 28. The focus of the celebrations includes eating zongzi,(it's like rice dumplings) which are large rice wraps, drinking realgar wine, and racing dragon boats. I have been invited to attend a party last week and we ate this traditional food, zongzi, a glutinous rice wrap in a green leaf with meat and dates inside. It's like the traditional food "suman" that we have in the Philippines, which reminds me of All Souls Day food. Some of zongzi had some red pepper in them, and some students got some presents for getting this "surprise" red pepper. They got some giveaways which has some chocolates on them just like the wedding giveaways they usually have. At the end of the party I got all of their presents. They said it's my first time to experience this festival so they wanted me to have all the presents they received. I already got a few boxes of chocolates in my room, they just stay there since I rarely eat chocolate. I don't have a sweet tooth but I love to look at them since they are wrapped in a small and beautiful boxes.
I'm going to Suzhou and see if there would be some Dragon Boat racing in the Canals and rivers.

I Would Never be a...

This week we were talking about jobs, that is about job hunting and life at work. After we finished the two chapters I asked the students about the job that they really want to do in the future. Most of them just don't know what to do. They would only say, "I'm sorry teacher I don't know." I asked someone to translate the question in Chinese since I thought they didn't understand me, so the best student in the class translated the question in Chinese, "What job would you really like to do?" I got the same reply, few of them were able to say that they wanted to be a businessman, an engineer and an office worker, but sad to say most of them just don't know what kind of job they would be doing in the future. I feel sad about this since, thinking about a job that one really likes to have in the future is for me a kind of motivation. It's something that they could picture themselves and something that would give them reason to study hard in order to get that picture. Well, I decided to change the question. I asked them the job that they would never do in the future. To make it easier I just let them finish this statement, "I would never be a..." I was surprised since almost all of them have answered to this question. I didn't have to ask someone to translate it. They just understood it. Yes, most of them know what they didn't want to do in the future. Few students said that they would never be a farmer, a clerk, a factory worker, a lawyer, a soldier and a nurse. But I was surprised with most of their answer: more than half of the class, said they would never be a TEACHER! Of course I had to ask them why, they simply said it's too tiring and it's a very tough job. One student even said that he would never be a teacher because he doesn't like being a student so if there were no teachers then there would be no students...haha funny what a good logic! Then what would happen to the world if there were no teachers? Would there be great doctors? lawyers? engineers and many more? Yes, teaching is such a tiring job but I found it interesting and challenging. So, I would never give up teaching. For my answer to this question, " I would never be a doctor." Why? because I can't stand the sight of blood and I don't have the courage that these people have. Saving peoples' lives is such a great job, that I admire all the doctors in the world. I can only think of one difference between a teacher and a doctor. I've read this somewhere, I'm sorry I just forgot the name of the magazine. It talks about mistakes. "If teachers commit mistakes, they will multiply them, but when doctors commit mistakes they will bury them." Both mistakes are dangerous. In short, there's no perfect job, but we can have the right attitude to make it look perfect.

A Trip to Shanghai

I would like to thank my sponsor, Randy for my trip to Shanghai today. He showed me around the city and I was just too amazed with the skyscrapers. They are unique and symbolize a great power and human intelligence. I also like the old part of Shanghai where there are too many shops and the buildings made me feel I was in another place. We also crossed Huangpu river on a ferry boat which is very cheap, just .50 cents per person and it takes only about 5 minutes to get to the other side. China is such a big city, yes it has one of the top ten tallest buildings in the world. I love to see them sometimes but I would never dream of living in this kind of place. Life is too fast and people are always moving, I don't know where they're going. Subway stations are always packed with people. Food is too expensive, well can't blame them, Shanghai is an international city. I was glad to talk to some sales people in English. I wish I could post some pictures here, but unfortunately proxy site doesn't have this feature. I'll do it when blogger is back.

Life of an OFW in China

OFW Overseas Filipino Worker in China.
Life is pretty much the same way back home, the only difference is that I don't have much freedom as I had back at home. Freedom in the sense that I can go anywhere when I want to. It's just not possible because I don't speak their language and basically only very few of them can speak English. Though most students can, but I don't want to bother them all the time, they have done so many things for me already. I just like the feeling of going to other places without getting lost. Sometimes, getting lost is also exciting, that's where the adventure comes in. I felt scared, but when I found my way back, I just felt so relieved that I would dare to get lost again. Working and living in another country is not as easy as many Filipinos would think. They think that we are living a prosperous life here and that we party and shop till we drop. It's a big NO! It's true that when it comes to salary we earn a little higher, but we don't live by the Philippine standard of living, we don't buy food or dresses from the Philippines. We live by the standard here so basically we just got almost the same net income, or it depends with ones lifestyle of course. If one doesn't buy things here then he can really save.

What If....

What if there were no sickness and death? No corrupt politicians? no war? no thief? no apathy? no crimes? Would the world be still a better place to live in? I guess with or without them the world would still be the best place to live in since I believe that this is the best of all possible worlds(Philosophy 102???). All I need to do is just believe that there's always a brighter side of everything.

If Today was Your Last Day

I like this song from Nickelback, "If Today was Your Last Day"

If today would be my last day, I would like to say, "I love you and thank you" to all the people I love, my family, specially my mom and my friends.
Definitely NO goodbye....

Please click this link:

http://v.youku.com/v_show/id_XOTA0OTgzMzY=.html

LYRICS:
(www.elyrics.net)
Songwriters: Kroeger, Chad;

My best friend gave me the best advice
He said each day's a gift and not a given right
Leave no stone unturned, leave your fears behind
And try to take the path less traveled by
That first step you take is the longest stride

If today was your last day and tomorrow was too late
Could you say goodbye to yesterday?
Would you live each moment like your last
Leave old pictures in the past?
Donate every dime you had, if today was your last day?
What if, what if, if today was your last day?

Against the grain should be a way of life
What's worth the price is always worth the fight
Every second counts 'cause there's no second try
So live like you're never living twice
Don't take the free ride in your own life

If today was your last day and tomorrow was too late
Could you say goodbye to yesterday?
Would you live each moment like your last?
Leave old pictures in the past?
Donate every dime you had?

And would you call those friends you never see?
Reminisce old memories?
Would you forgive your enemies?
And would you find that one you're dreaming of?
Swear up and down to God above
That you'd finally fall in love if today was your last day?

If today was your last day
Would you make your mark by mending a broken heart?
You know it's never too late to shoot for the stars
Regardless of who you are

So do whatever it takes
'Cause you can't rewind a moment in this life
Let nothing stand in your way
'Cause the hands of time are never on your side

If today was your last day and tomorrow was too late
Could you say goodbye to yesterday?
Would you live each moment like your last?
Leave old pictures in the past?
Donate every dime you had?

And would you call those friends you never see?
Reminisce old memories?
Would you forgive your enemies?
And would you find that one you're dreaming of
Swear up and down to God above
That you'd finally fall in love if today was your last day?

Youtube and Blogspot Issues in China

Blogspot is still blocked here in China. I'm happy that the proxy I used is still working since Friday. I'm also glad for this new browser that seems to be really fast compared with explorer and firefox. Thanks to apple safari browser, it can access proxy sites well and the only problem with blogspot is that I couldn't post a picture. Honestly, I still don't see the point since I can see that China is trying to compete with the rest of the world and they are in great demand for English teachers who could do some "magic" here. Having free access to English sites is a such a great help for them to learn English and exchange information for free. Learning a language also includes learning the culture of the people who speak the language. How can you make this possible when so many information about them( English sites) are banned? Is it because they want to make a good image? All bloggers who are deprived of this online right are now being provoked. Reading from most of their blog entries, majority of them are not happy and only say more negative things about the country.
Youtube is a free site with great materials for learning a language, specially English. I even used it for showing some movie clips and other materials that would facilitate learning. I don't know when are they going to open their minds and just let the people live. It's a million $ question and it doesn't need an answer.

At a Beauty Parlor

Last two weeks ago I had the chance to visit Taizhou, a city here in Jiangsu province. The temperature was about 28 degrees so I felt very comfortable, but many people were complaining that it was too hot. Yes, even for my friend. She said that we had to visit a beauty parlor just to kill the time since she thought that it was not a good idea to walk under the scorching heat of the sun. She decided that we would just have our hair wash. We had to wait for about 30 minutes since the small parlor was really packed with people. While waiting I was so keen to observe the hair designers and the customers inside the parlor. Old men with gray hair wanted to dye their hair back into black. Young girls with straight black hair opted for blonde curly hair. A woman with a long black hair cut her hair short and dyed it into blonde. Then, watching all the hair designers so busy with their job, I felt sleepy and then a very tall and sexy girl with a short hair came in with a plastic bag in her hand. She handed the bag to the designer and when he opened it, strands of blonde hair were shown. After several touched the short hair turned to a very striking blonde long hair. I watched how the designers changed the image and how satisfied the customers were. When they looked at the mirror someone stared back at them, someone new and beautiful. They went out with a smile on their faces. Yes, I could see that something inside them was pleased with the little change they made. As for me, I just had my hair washed for 10RMB. I left with a smile on my face too, because I was happy to witness the how simple things like cutting ones hair, or changing ones hair color would make someone happy.

As Long as I Live, I'll Continue to Write

I may not be a good writer, but I love writing. Writing has become a hobby specially when I have no one to talk to. I feel so disappointed that I can no longer access blogger here in China. I am only using a proxy site which I'm sure would soon be blocked since they are still on the process of blocking sites that talk something negative about them. I don't usually talk about politics since I don't have much to say about this, but I don't see any significance in this campaign. If you want to be part of the Global world then people should be given freedom to access information in any means. The difference with people and technology is that no one can ever program us to do something, I hope this thing would stop.

Can't Access Blogger.com Today

I don't know if it's just my browser or the connection in school. I just accessed this through a web proxy server since I've been trying to open my blog since this morning but I just got a page that says, Connection Interrupted.
I hope it will be back soon. I can't attach photos using this proxy server. It has limited features. I miss writing something...I just hope it was not blocked just like youtube.

Shantang Street, Suzhou, China

Random Photos of Shangtang Jie (Street) in Suzhou, China and the Grand Canal to Hangzhou.
(To view a larger size please click on the photos)

Random Photos in Taixing, Taizhou

Random photos I have taken during my 3-day visit in Taixing, Taizhou, Jiangsu Province. A student invited me to visit her hometown and I felt so happy during our first day since we went to a beautiful park just few minutes walk away from her house. The next day, we just stayed at home since it was raining and I felt that the time moved so slowly. Anyway, here are the photos during my first day. Things like these make my day complete...

A couple trying to take some wedding photos at the park with a small lake.
Their photographer trying to find a good post. The bride is so beautiful, she looks like a girl from the magazine who came into life.
Some wall images, I don't know what they are doing here hehehe playing kites I guess. I forgot to ask the story behind this wall images.
A small square shaped island.

Taixing government office.
Just the view of the park.
These are lovely flowers on the street. I love them.

It looks like the pyramid in Paris hahaha in my dreams.

Government office.
A creek.
After the rain. I love the rain drops on the leaves.
Rain drops......rain drops...keep falling on my head...

Flores de Mayo

When I was young we used to attend a catechism class every afternoon starting on May 1st until the end of May. We call this activity Flores de Mayo, a spanish phrase which mean "Flowers of May". Actually, Flores de Mayo is a festival celebrated in the whole month of May in honor of Mother Mary. Our teacher, an old woman, which was an active church goer would teach us some Sunday songs and recite some rosaries for Mother Mary. The fun thing about those days was when we were asked to bring any kind of flowers we have at home or to pick some flowers along the road as an offering to the blessed Mother. My friends and I would usually frolic along the road where we could see many butterflies and beautiful flowers. Even though I was just 7 years old at that time I could still remember how much I enjoyed the beauty around me. I could not think of a perfect word to describe it, but it was more than amazing. I was lucky since my parents, specially my father, love gardening and we have many varieties of ornamental plants at home. The most exciting part is the end of Flores de Mayo, we held a procession in the entire place and of course there would be beautiful girls dressed in lovely gowns with escort who would walked in front of the group. This event if called Santa Cruzan, a festival celebrated in honor of Reyna Helena the Holy Cross in Jerusalem. At last they found the Holy Cross and brought it back to Rome, the capital of their empire. This is one of my favorite festivals when I was young and when we lived in a place where the beach was just next to our front yard. This is part of my colorful childhood days.