Shanghai Bound

[Stepbrow]

I used to Rollerblade when I was younger, but I gave it up after a bad fall. I tell you though Don, the way traffic is in China, I have to be really careful just walking across the street, much less on Rollerblades. I am looking forward to meeting Tony.

[Tony_onrock]

Hey Don,

When you get here, lets meet up. Seriously, rollerblading in Shanghai is not that bad. I go in the bike lane and the cops have mostly stopped bothering me. I go to work on roller if the weather is good, 15 km each way. But if you do want to try some roller blading in safer places other than on the streets, there is the Science Museum and Minhang Sports park.

[Stepbrow]

Hi guys I made it. Actually everything went perfectly. The only problem I had was my rental car. The low tire pressure light was on for the drive to the airport which was only 120 miles. I stopped occasionally to check if the tires were getting hot. The two gas stations that I stopped at to check the pressure did not have gauges. So, I just kept on truckin, and made it to the airport. I got a great price for the ticket with Air Canada. Had a great flight, so give them a try if it comes up.

 

I was picked up at the airport, and taken to my apartment. It is fully furnished and very nice. Friday, I was feeling pretty good (took some Melatonin for the jet lag) so I went to the Ikea store. The school had given the new teachers a packet with store addresses written in Chinese so all I had to do was show it to the cab driver. The trip only cost 12RMB. Checked out the store, got a new pillow, hangers, and other household stuff. Learned that you have to provide your own bags to haul your stuff off in, so I bought one there.

 

Saturday I found out where the Carefore store was, and went there to shop and look around. Met a guy from Michigan, who turned out to be my neighbor in my apartment building. He is a teacher at my school too

 

On Monday and for the rest of the week we will have new teacher orientation. After breakfast at the school, and a few introductory speaches, they gave us new MacBooks, guided us in setting up our school email accounts, and gave us a campus orientation. All the buildings are new or remodeled. They are particularly pround of the 25 meter swimming pool. Yes teachers have access to it and to the fitness center.

 

Today, tuesday, we spent the day learning about our health care plan, and had a tour of a hospital that we can use. Also, we were given an orientation about the bank we will be using. We took a tour of the warehouse and school resource center. I was a bit worried about having adequate materials for teaching, but now I a relieved. They are well stocked with everything that we need.

 

Well, I have to sign off now. They are closing the library.

[Randy W]

Wow! We got our room about 1 hour before my first class. I knew the course titles, and then the textbook came a week later. Other than that, I was on my own.

[slw268]

Wow! We got our room about 1 hour before my first class. I knew the course titles, and then the textbook came a week later. Other than that, I was on my own.

Wow indeed! You got a textbook!!??

[NewDay2006]

Sounds like a good deal. I wish you a lot of luck. Should be fun. Shanghai was a lot of fun the 2 times I went

[Robert S.]

Sounds like Stepbrow is having a rough time. I don't see how he can take it.

[Stepbrow]

You are right things have been a bit crazy, but in a good way. It seems that I have lucked into an unknown genre of schools. International schools were created for children of diplomats,and foreign businessmen. There is an entire community of international teachers who move from country to country as part of their careers. Although some settle down in one place. Some of the teachers and administrators have been at my school for 9 to 10 years. I have coworkers from England, Canada, New Zealand, South Africa, and Australia. They have come from teaching positions in Ghana, Egypt, Indonesia, etc.

 

My school is American run. It is a non-profit school with an American curriculum(The board chairman has a chauffeured Cadillac Esclade, and the superintendent of schools drives a new Infinity, no chauffeur though ). All the teachers are credentialed in their home state or country. They charge a lot of money for tuition, and consequently can afford to pay salaries that are comparable to what teachers make stateside, which is nice since there are no teaching positions stateside. I can't speak for all schools but mine takes very good care of its teachers. In addition to airfare, we also received a considerable relocation allowance. Which I used to purchase things for my apartment, and to hire an Aiyi. Yes, my personal maid.I love that! Although when she dragged me to Carefore to buy cleaning supplies, she did not buy any low priced items . No, she wanted the best, but I got them because if she is happy with things, then I will be too. My apartment is now spotless .

 

The school has kept us very busy. They assigned each of us a Macbook which is new to me as I have always used my Dell pc. I just ask the tech staff when I get stuck with something, and they are very patient and helpful. All of our students will be given Macbooks too. A great deal of construction has been going on at the school over the summer, but things seem to be pulling together. The school has kept us busy teaching us about the nuts and bolts of living and working here. We had a presentation by the bank that handles the schools and our banking business. We had an orientation about our health insurance which is comparable to plans in the US. They gave us a packet when we arrived that had magazines and other info about expat places to shop, dine, party, etc. They gave us a set of small laminated cards on a key chain with stores, malls, etc written in Chinese and English. You just show it to the cab driver, and he takes you there. They gave us one with our own address on it to show the cabdriver so we can get home after shopping .

 

Our school promotes a family atmosphere so after hours we have been to many get togethers.Some barbecues at administrators homes, and also at sports bars/restaurants - all very nice. The school has its own fleet of buses, so transportation was provided. That was especially nice when shopping at places like IKEA or Carefore where we bought lots of bulky things.

 

Next week the returning teachers will join us newbies, so the pace will accelerate. I will try to keep you guys posted, but it may be sporadic for a while.

All the best to my good friends at CFL!

[tsap seui]

Good luck Step-bro I hope you have the time of yore life.

 

tsap seui

[Randy W]

That's VERY common where there are expat children to teach. Here, there are only 2 - me, and another guy who has his own English school for Chinese children.

 

Yes, keep us up to date.

[Stepbrow]

Had a bout of the stomach flu. Nothing unusual with that. Went to the acupuncturist and am feeling better. Glad my insurance covered it. Later I got a hair cut which included shoulder rub, shampoo, and scalp massage. Walked out after and hour and a half feeling like a new man. It was so good, I think I might get a massage tomorrow. Got a dinner date Tuesday night.

[Stepbrow]

Well, I have finally had some time and energy to get back to this thread. My dinner date went well, but my intestinal problem returned that following day. On the bright side I have been feeling better for about a week now, my energy level is back up where it should be. I found a restaurant near my apartment that will cook without MSG. That stuff gives me leg cramps after I eat it. Anyway, it turns out that the owner speaks English, and new right away what I meant about no MSG. Their prices are a little high, but it is worth it.

 

I have mostly been busy with school. Before my co-teacher and I were hired the ESOL program was pretty much a step-child of the school. The school is an English environment, and all the classes (except Mandarin and Dutch) are taught in English. So, we have been busy putty together the ESOL program. It has been a lot of work but we have gathered the needed materials, and have done a thorough assessment of our students. We are both looking forward to next week so that we can focus more on teaching.

 

We have lots of social activities organized by fellow teachers. Last week there was a water rafting trip that lasted about four hours. It was lots of fun for all except for those rafts who did not buy water guns before they boarded. The wet ride was a fine break from the heat. Since then though the weather has gotten a few degrees cooler.

 

Shanghai is more expensive than most other Chinese cities. But, the subway is cheap. The cost is a low a s 3rmb for a short ride. The most I have paid is 6rmb. They charge by distance. I have been venturing out and finding out where the different lines go. I got lost the other day after I went to Ren Men Square station. It is so big, it is like a city under ground. There are 20 exists from that station. Almost got a ticket when I made it topside and started to walk around. I was waiting at a light, and there was no traffic. As you know when this happens, people just go on across. I looked across the street, and wondered why the people weren't walking but just shrugged it off. Then I started to cross, and when I was about half way across, I saw a guy in a uniform that I had not seen before. He gave me a little no no gesture, and all of the pedestrians laughed and smiled at me while I felt foolish. He waved me on though, forgiving the stupid foreigner. I was glad that I didn't get a ticket.

 

Many of my coworkers have gotten these Vespa looking electric scooters. I have been thinking about it too. Getting around on scooters and bikes is better in Shanghai than in other cities I have been to because they have dedicated bike lanes, and the cabs, and buses rarely go in those lanes. I have been waiting to see how it works out for them before I get one. Some have had trouble getting their bikes charged up. Having one could sure make things like shopping more convenient.

 

I haven't had too much time to explore the city as I would like. I hope that I can tell you more about happenings in Shanghai in the future.