admin

The Four Seasons

Our science department is overhauling the curriculum to align with NGSS science standards. It is a lot of work and during this mid term week we had time to meet. We asked to be off campus to limit distractions. They actually found space at the Four Seasons. Nice. We had a conference room, a person to get our coffee, snacks, and a buffet lunch.

Here is a view from the 70th floor

The pictures of the food look exotic. It was a great brunch but we did a lot of work.

It was worthwhile to go off site where 5 grade levels could hash out a complete overhaul. The curriculum director was there as well. We still have a long way to go but it was nice to feel free to start over rather than try to add engineering standards into an existing curriculum. What works here is that the sciences are integrated in years 6 through 10, meaning that we teach biology, chemistry, and physical science every year.

Part of the process was determining what would be taught at each level and then identifying a phenomenon that would require understanding to explain. For example, with waves we looked at this building in the UK that destroyed objects near it. After ankh the other learning experiences, they will have a project or culminating activity that puts what they have learned together. Here are images about the building and damage it has caused.

We still have a long way to go to finish but really exciting.

Hakka village

In the rural areas, families lived in Hakka houses. Each house bears a family name like the Huang family hakka that we visited today in Nanjing County, Fujian province in China. Each new generation and addition lives in the hakka. They have withstood centuries with very thick walls and a round structure for security and durability. They originally started with a square hakka and realized there was too much fighting over who had the corners. They then built the round hakkas around it. There is only one way in and out of the hakka, small windows, and thick walls. Until the last 20 years there was not much development in the area and no police presence so this type of building was necessary.

This picture was taken above the valley where the hakka houses are. They are built in a valley at 700 meters above sea level. It is protected by the mountains around. The bus could not get down into it so we took steps all the way down and of course all the way back up the other side to meet the bus again. All I can say is everyone moved slowly as almost everyone on the bus ran the half marathon or marathon the day before (this tour was part of the package for the race including hotel and meals) . My quads were screaming.

Inside the hakka a family unit has a section that runs all 3 floors. The bottom floor houses the kitchen and many have stove “units” on the patio. The second floor is for food storage and the top floor has the bedrooms.

The centre is a communal space. Since it is open to the air, many have trees, animals like chickens, wells, etc. The well looks as if it is spring fed.

It was fabulous to see where the fruit comes from and see the care they have for the land and the produce.

Families were working and children playing. They had nesting dolls.

To help make a living some of the villagers sell local produce. Teas, dried persimmon, bamboo shoots, etc.

When we walked in we were invited to tea. The chrysanthemum tea was so much better there than any other I have had. To date it is now my favourite tea. I did buy some from them as well as dried persimmon and ginger chews.

Around the hakkas can be seen other kind of houses. But what is worth seeing is the terraced fields. We saw rice terraces as well as tea terraces. These are used to make green tea or flower tea (chrysanthemum).

This is a picture taken from the bus and is a tea terrace.

We also saw pommelo trees in the picture above. The fruit is so heavy it is hard to believe the trees can hold the fruit up. On a personal note, I love how the local wet Market has change in produce. Now citrus is in season and pomelo is something I buy every week.

The views around the hakka house are amazing. We saw large wind turbines on the ridge.

After the bus picked us up we traveled a little bit down the road and stopped to take a picture. This is the view of the hakka houses we visited from below.

And… Another picture from the top of the mountain.

A close up of the inside from the top of the mountain.

Running through Nanjing County in China: the great hakka race

8 of us from our school traveled to the great hakka marathon over Thanksgiving weekend (we had Friday off). It took 8 hours to get there. We traveled high speed train to Xiamen and then a bus ride to the hotel in Nanjing County, Fujian province. Before the bus ride we picked up our packets at the airport.

The hotel was better than most in China and we were happy for that as we were able to get a good nights sleep (we see cats on everything in China.)

Before dinner we were offered tea downstairs in the foyer of the hotel. They were very nice and told us we were all beautiful. I’m afraid they would not say that after we finish the run the next day. After tea, they walked us to a local restaurant they recommendef and it was fabulous.

The bus to the race start took an hour over the mountains and to the other side. They had entertainment and warm ups.

We were asked to be in a part for their promo video. We are the group walking to the start line and I’m wearing a red top (I filmed the showing of it in when it was played at the celebration dinner.)

The run was beautiful. Gorgeous weather. We ran through the countryside through villages and we even had to run in a hakka house! I wore a go pro to film along the way. I need to learn to keep my arms out of the way of the camera. If you ever wondered what a half marathon is like or the views in China, here it is. 2 hours and 8 minutes time lapsed to 8 minutes. You can pause parts of the video.

I finished slower than I normally do but I had a fall 3 weeks ago and fell hard on the right knee striking the patellar tendon. I was unable to run the last 3 weeks so just happy I finished it. But I did finish 8th with a time of 2 hours 6 minutes. The course was more technical than the pittsburgh half with uneven trails and winding runs through alleys in villages. More hills as well.

Here is a pic from the end of the race.

While I was waiting for one of our group to finish the marathon we walked around the village and into a hakka house.

Video of hakka House. The round house holds many families, each with their own space, and a common area in the middle. They cook outside their doors. The houses have been standing for centuries.

Other pictures from the village:

They dry flowers for tea.

We will be touring the region on the second day. More pics and info to follow.

Thanksgiving in China 🇨🇳

I can’t believe it is already the end of November. Everything is green here and flowers are everywhere. Mornings are cooler but it warms up in the day. When there is a wind is the only time I feel chilly. I still wear shorts and tank tops while locals are wearing jackets. I’m sure I’ll get acclimated at some point.

I have school today though it is professional development. We started with team building physical activity which was fun. They feed us breakfast, snacks, and lunch, which is a full course meal. We also have a social gathering after work with appetisers. Tomorrow is a holiday.

With the chill in the air and the realization that it is Thanksgiving, my friend Nicole and I found a california inspired restaurant last weekend. We had lobster roll, pumpkin soup (broth based and not cream), and drinks. She had an avocado smoothie and I had an apple ginger cider. Hot of course and it was white because of the apples they use. Places are decorating for Christmas. You can see the tree in one of the pictures.

Afterwards we watched a movie (the second fantastic beasts). English with Chinese subtitles. I love that the movies start actually on time with only two minutes of commercials. Afterwards we poked around the mall, ate ice cream with honeycomb in it and fancied the donuts. Didn’t buy them though. Things here are not as sweet and rich as back home.

What an I doing this holiday weekend? Running a half marathon. Will blog that next.

I am happy to have talked to my kids this morning on wechat. They are cooking their meal together with friends. They always helped me fit the big Thanksgiving dinner and glass they are spending it together. I miss them and so excited they will be here in about 30 days to visit.

Happy Thanksgiving to everyone!

Nike run and a mall walk (you know I hate malls)…

At a K2Fit event (a local workout group I go to) I met a couple people who are members of the Nike run club. My friend Nicole and I were invited to it.

While we were at the K2Fit event, e had a little fun with the skeleton decoration:

Back to the Nike run. We ran 3.5 miles through a pedestrian area. What is fun here is that it is where lots of people go to spend time and is over a labyrinth of malls, restaurants, and parking areas. We ran through one section of a mall that goes underneath a 10 lane highway. I vowed to go back and look around some more. It started at the Nike store. Afterwards they provided bananas and water. It was fun. Only our friend spoke English. But it is not required to understand in order to run.

It was a fun run. There were 3 groups of runners from fast to slow and we had a pacer with a light to follow. In the picture above is my friend Nicole and Ryan, a Chinese national who speaks decent English.

That weekend I walked back from a spoets store I normally go to. I wanted to see if I could make it back now that I am learning about how the labyrinth of underground malls and walkways go.

I decided to go back and look more in the new area from the run. I popped into a few other malls too. Fit anyone who knows me, I HATE SHOPPING! But I wanted to figure out directing knowing that in these spaces you can also get the metro if you need to.

This is a list of some of the sites in one small section of one mall.

There are stairs to go up and over and also under really busy roads.

There are great green spaces in this area. Water, bridges, spaces for people to be… Amazing…

The one mall below the arena is the most fun. As you walk down, there is a big screen playing Tom and Jerry.

There was a train, corridors that looked like streets, games for kids to play, video games set up here and there, food vendors, and lots of fun.

From this vendor I big sparkling white peach jasmine tea.

The corridor looks like streets and the shops like buildings.

It was easy to get lost. I did. I have learned to pop up out the next exit and see where you are. Not many chi under the street but I’m figuring it out. Outside the arena there is a big place to gather where prime roller blade, fly kites, etc.

They definitely love their malls here and I can see where you can get just about everything. I also like the ability to move quickly underneath busy roads or by pass the metro.

Change of seasons

This last week I could not believe we were heading into November. Here is like like spring. The temps get down to 70 at night and the highs are still near 90 but the air is changing. It is a little cooler with the wind and it does chill you. This was the first time I needed a light jacket since I’ve been here.

The expat area held pumpkin carving for kids and the usual day of the dead for adults.

There are a few Halloween displays but not like the States. Truck or treat is held at the elementary school and a few apartment residences but needs to be coordinated as it is not seen event that is national.

At school it was spirit week.

Twin day with the other boo teacher. We will do anything to wear athletic clothes to school. I should have been a PE teacher.

Halloween costume dress up. I was the Iron chef. Even though it originated in Japan not everyone knows what that is. I had just told the cow that I know what to do with her.

Pajama day. Ultimately my favourite.

We also had school color day and beach day. At the end of the week was open mic night.

Students and faculty sign up in advance and only practice is to check equipment. It is not too formal but very nice. Here are my student council kids.

The athletic trainer actually and too. This song from a hawaiian singer is one of my favourite.

There were singing and musical acts. People are really talented but even those not as talented were eager to perform. Something I don’t usually see back at home. You actually do get better the more you perform.

It is also the season for Jack fruit. It looks like durian and has a smell when cutting like it but due not taste like durian. Knowing the difference from the outside is important. Durian has really bumpy skin. Both secrete a natural latex that virtually everyone is allergic too. If you handle it you must wear gloves.

Each section is taken out with the seed. I cooked the jack fruit and then boiled the seeds. The outer coveting of the seeds looks like plastic and can be peeled off. When mashed it tastes like taro which is a starchy potato like consistency.

The stewed jackfruit was sweet. Most canned Jack fruit is processed in bribe to remove sweetness. I added tomato paste and spices to make a barbecue. It was really good as barbecue sauce has sweetness too. Even for here, it is expensive though.

I really would not have thought about Halloween without spirit week or the channels I watch on TV. I purchased a cake box for 18 us a month. Most channels are foreign, the CNN channel is international which is great, and the US changsha are from San Francisco. Of course, now that halloween is over, there are Christmas commercials! At least I can turn it off and won’t know how soon it is coming.

Changzhou Island and Huangpu ancient port

Some of the faculty lives a couple miles away in another apartment building the school leases. I considered living there but chose my present building instead. One of the teachers living in the other area also bikes. We met and she took me to another island that she found near her. To get there we biked to a ferry that cost 3 rmb round trip (that’s less than 50 cents).

Chanzhou island is a mix of old and new. The people who live there actually exist on all they have without anything from the outside. Unfortunately a metro line is planning on going in and it will be developed for tourism though the plan is for green space. Since there is significant agriculture there I hope so.

Here are a few pictures of old ruins that we found.

There are old buildings and an old temple. Very narrow backstreets that are beautiful with the old buildings and old large doors.

On the island is an old cemetery. This cemetery is for foreigners from all countries who were traders. They date back to the 1700’s. I had no idea that trade from the US with China occurred back then.

On the way back we stopped at Huangpu ancient port.

It was pretty busy when we were there so difficult to bike. We walked around awhile, bought a few things, and then headed for lunch.

Dandelion tea I bought.

I bought what I thought were kumquat. Not sure that is what it is. Will figure it out. Look at the scale she uses to weigh the produce.

I bought the produce on the left. If not kumquat then it will be something new to try!

I will be going back to both places to explore more.

Helipad workout

I workout occasionally with a group called K2Fit. They actually come twice a week to my apartment building and we can buy a pack of classes and go whenever we want.

This Sunday they hosted an event at the crowne plaza hotel several metro stops away for a childhood cancer foundation. For 300 rmb (43.34 us), they held a workout on the roof on the helipad. I went with my friend Nicole and also met another teacher at the elementary school.

Before the workout. That is Baiyun mountain in the distance.

We started out with zumba warm up, some HIIT, squats, push-up drills, then abs. This picture was taken with a drone.

I am in the purple mat in the foreground.

Zumba

Following was a brunch. You could also purchase glasses of champagne that also went to charity. The views were fabulous, the mood contagious, and it was a lot of fun.

A great time. A little burnt, very tired, and ready for a nap when I got home.

Ocean Park

On one of the mountains in Hong Kong is ocean park. I was originally not excited about an amusement park but this one had animals and more importantly pandas! PANDAS! 🐼

Pandas are tightly controlled by the Chinese government as to where pandas can be found in the world.

There was an exceptional aquarium. Many of the species you can see everywhere but a few Asian species I haven’t seen.

I went on a water ride and one roller coaster. How’ve I didn’t more time looking at animals.

Red panda.

Pandas.

Otters

Monkeys.

Sturgeon.

Turtles.

Of course I had pictures taken with costumed characters.

To get to the different areas of the park you either take an underground tunnel ride or a cable car ride across.

And I ate Korean barbecued squid which tasted like jerky.

After ocean park the other coach and I went to Victoria Peak to see it at night. What did we learn? At night it will take forever to get the tram back down. When you get a taxi it is impossible to get a good rate as they week refuse to take you. If your want to get down fast then you agree to pay. But overall worth it and beautiful at night.

One other interesting thing I saw on one of the rides to the hotel and my long run the last morning was the Catholic cemetery tucked into the hills and near overpass.

A video of cool goldfish to end this post. Enjoy!

Hong Kong for APAC. Aka the end of cross country

I traveled with 13 students to Hong Kong for APAC (asian Pacific athletic conference). This is the last meet for the cross country season. Students are placed in home stay so they spend the nights with host families. Coach schedule is pretty exhausting but chaperoning not as difficult except to contact the home stay parents each night to talk to students. They spent the days with us.

We arrived on Wednesday afternoon and walked the course with other schools. It is a tough course with 1k being a tough uphill. The 1k down is on different surfaces and part pretty slippery. Here are a few shots while in the course of the views which are spectacular.

Hong Kong International school is beautiful and on a hill as everything is. They really optimise space here and the school and views are breathtaking.

The next day was the race. Of course it rained which made the course treacherous. Our kids are not the fastest but they are so supportive of each other and have definitely improved this season.

I will still run with kids twice a week with those that are interested.

After the race we went to ocean park fur the afternoon. Student’s then went back to homestay and coaches had the night free. The last day was a competition with can jam and corn hole games to build cooperation and team building. Then an awards ceremony before heading back to the train to go back to guangzhou. What a nice end to the season.