Mothers day today and I was delivered breakfast in bed. A lightly fried egg on toast and a weak black coffee just as I like it.
warren had done the housework and the washing on Friday and as we have no plan to go anywhere or anyone visiting I am having a PJ day, cathing up on emails, blogs etc. Then I might do some sewing, it is going to be My day.
I cooked extra last night so meal for today are done.
I hope all mums today are having a similar day or at least some time to themselves
Sunday, 10 May 2015
Haircuts
I have changed hair dressers. A friend who is in my women's group has a salon at home and last time I went to her. It was a nice cut and so I wanted to continue to go there. Coming up to our holidays I did want to get a cut but just run out of time. She has Tuesdays off so I need to ring her on a Monday went I am at home.
I thought that I would get my hair in China, always happy with cuts there. No appointments needed just walk in and they would do it when it was my turn usually only waiting a few minutes. My hair doesn't need any thing fancy so a hand signal to indicate how much I wanted off worked well. I can ask for a wash in China but again a quick hand signal and I was off to the basins out the back. Again just no time to get it cut.
I was out with the group on Tuesday and stated that I needed a cut and would have to ring to make an appointment and C (hairdresser) said that she was free on Thursday at 6 if I could make it then. Done deal!
Drove to her home and she washed and cut it taking about four inches off the back and a lot of bulk out as well. My hair grows quick and thick. $20 later I was back in the car going home, looking very light (my hair anyway) and tidy. Its just a shame that I cant seem to do it the same way as I am sure that after I brush it the back does not weave into itself the way she had it done but then again I cant see it. It does feel much better though.
I thought that I would get my hair in China, always happy with cuts there. No appointments needed just walk in and they would do it when it was my turn usually only waiting a few minutes. My hair doesn't need any thing fancy so a hand signal to indicate how much I wanted off worked well. I can ask for a wash in China but again a quick hand signal and I was off to the basins out the back. Again just no time to get it cut.
I was out with the group on Tuesday and stated that I needed a cut and would have to ring to make an appointment and C (hairdresser) said that she was free on Thursday at 6 if I could make it then. Done deal!
Drove to her home and she washed and cut it taking about four inches off the back and a lot of bulk out as well. My hair grows quick and thick. $20 later I was back in the car going home, looking very light (my hair anyway) and tidy. Its just a shame that I cant seem to do it the same way as I am sure that after I brush it the back does not weave into itself the way she had it done but then again I cant see it. It does feel much better though.
White Horse Orchestra
While in China Shaoxing we had the opportunty to visit the other Uni in the city to hear the above orchestra. The White Horse Orchestra is from Melbourne Australia. http://www.whitehorseorchestra.org.au/China%20Gallery.htm (There are photos here)
The menfolk declined the offer so just S and I went along with two young students for "our" uni. Our friend and contact from school had got the tickets from her friend who works at Wen Li. We think that tickets in Oz would have been around a hundred dollars.
Shaoxing Uni or Wen Li as it is known is more an Arts uni where as ours Yue xiu is a Language uni.
We were a bit early but on our urging to the girls we went in and took our seats, following the girls up stairs and then back again. Finally S said to them show us the tickets which they did and S and I found our seats, it wasn't difficult but it does seem that Chinese people have difficulty in finding seat numbers. This has been evident at many times and in many places, trains, buses, planes and now concert halls.
There were two aisles and on the floor at either end of the seats was a large letter, we needed F, I know it was at each end as we have been up both. each seat had a cover over the top with a decent sized number printed on the back. I had 19 and all the way down in front of me I could see the number 19, very easy to find! Every Chinese person who came in walked down their row and then stopped and peered over the back of the seat to see if they had the right number, many of them found they were in the wrong row as well. It was entertaining I was waiting to see if anyone could get to their seats without the peering over. I did see one couple who did and then I realized that they were a foreign couple that I had meet last time we were there.
At 7pm, the due time, the curtain went up (they have difficulty in finding seats but always on time) and there on stage was the orchestra probably about 60 strong and mostly retired looking, I assumed that because of the grey hair. Boy could they play.
Through out the program four teachers from the uni sang opera with the orchestra, (in Italian)it was stunning and very impressive. The uni orchestra also played for a set which meant the whole stage had to be cleared of instruments and others brought on. The Uni used quite traditional instruments, some I had seen before, others were new to me.
Twice the Grand piano was moved to the centre stage, it was massive and took eight students to move it into position. I had not seen one before S said that it was a Grand, usually see baby Grand but not the big daddy one.
It was a real highlight and an honour to be given tickets to such a performance. Our students took a taxi and escorted us home, not sure that they enjoyed it as much s we did, they both looked very tired and had to get up for school the next morning.
The menfolk declined the offer so just S and I went along with two young students for "our" uni. Our friend and contact from school had got the tickets from her friend who works at Wen Li. We think that tickets in Oz would have been around a hundred dollars.
Shaoxing Uni or Wen Li as it is known is more an Arts uni where as ours Yue xiu is a Language uni.
We were a bit early but on our urging to the girls we went in and took our seats, following the girls up stairs and then back again. Finally S said to them show us the tickets which they did and S and I found our seats, it wasn't difficult but it does seem that Chinese people have difficulty in finding seat numbers. This has been evident at many times and in many places, trains, buses, planes and now concert halls.
There were two aisles and on the floor at either end of the seats was a large letter, we needed F, I know it was at each end as we have been up both. each seat had a cover over the top with a decent sized number printed on the back. I had 19 and all the way down in front of me I could see the number 19, very easy to find! Every Chinese person who came in walked down their row and then stopped and peered over the back of the seat to see if they had the right number, many of them found they were in the wrong row as well. It was entertaining I was waiting to see if anyone could get to their seats without the peering over. I did see one couple who did and then I realized that they were a foreign couple that I had meet last time we were there.
At 7pm, the due time, the curtain went up (they have difficulty in finding seats but always on time) and there on stage was the orchestra probably about 60 strong and mostly retired looking, I assumed that because of the grey hair. Boy could they play.
Through out the program four teachers from the uni sang opera with the orchestra, (in Italian)it was stunning and very impressive. The uni orchestra also played for a set which meant the whole stage had to be cleared of instruments and others brought on. The Uni used quite traditional instruments, some I had seen before, others were new to me.
Twice the Grand piano was moved to the centre stage, it was massive and took eight students to move it into position. I had not seen one before S said that it was a Grand, usually see baby Grand but not the big daddy one.
It was a real highlight and an honour to be given tickets to such a performance. Our students took a taxi and escorted us home, not sure that they enjoyed it as much s we did, they both looked very tired and had to get up for school the next morning.
Tuesday, 5 May 2015
Trains
We caught the bullet train when we were in China from Shaoxing to Shanghai. Shaoxing railway station used to be on the end of the No 2 bus and it was very easy to get there and back to the uni. A few years ago the No 2 bus route changed and although it was possible to still catch that bus, it stopped a bit of a walk away, then they changed the station!
The station is now several kms out of town and thee are dedicated bus to get there, it does take about an hour from the centre of town. We took a hire car to go out to the station and allowed an hour as it was the Uni finish time on a Friday and we knew it would be busy so a friend ordered a car and it cost 100rmb or around $20 and took 40 minutes.
The station is very big and open, not open to the elements but big open spaces inside. Tickets r numbered and if one has a passport then that number is required,if a Chinese national buys a ticket then their number needs to be used. Chinese people have an id card similar to USA's social security number. Seats are numbered and allocated and when boarding the train, one needs to queue at that number and the train stops right there ready for people to get on. Board from the rear and alight from the front of the car. It is very orderly.
Security is quite high with all bags an tickets checked like going on a flight, the security scanner is also used at the end of trip.
Train used to take around three hours but the bullet train trimmed it down to one hour and twenty minutes with speeds of up to 300kms an hour.
Yesterday and today I used our trains, it takes an hour to go to Brisbane a distance of about 45kms with lots of stations. Just walk into the station off the street, swipe my go card and grab a seat once the train stops.
The station is now several kms out of town and thee are dedicated bus to get there, it does take about an hour from the centre of town. We took a hire car to go out to the station and allowed an hour as it was the Uni finish time on a Friday and we knew it would be busy so a friend ordered a car and it cost 100rmb or around $20 and took 40 minutes.
The station is very big and open, not open to the elements but big open spaces inside. Tickets r numbered and if one has a passport then that number is required,if a Chinese national buys a ticket then their number needs to be used. Chinese people have an id card similar to USA's social security number. Seats are numbered and allocated and when boarding the train, one needs to queue at that number and the train stops right there ready for people to get on. Board from the rear and alight from the front of the car. It is very orderly.
Security is quite high with all bags an tickets checked like going on a flight, the security scanner is also used at the end of trip.
Train used to take around three hours but the bullet train trimmed it down to one hour and twenty minutes with speeds of up to 300kms an hour.
Yesterday and today I used our trains, it takes an hour to go to Brisbane a distance of about 45kms with lots of stations. Just walk into the station off the street, swipe my go card and grab a seat once the train stops.
Sunday, 3 May 2015
Lesson at Chinese High School
We had been asked if we would do
something at the High School as they only get one lesson a week with
a foreigner. We said yes. As they are first year they would be fairly
low in understanding our speech and accent. It was also in their
"down time" so we wanted to have it as interactive as
possible without it being a "lecture"
We did a quick Q & A, some students asked things about us then a word
search followed by sports in a grid. We always turn this into a game using two students at a time to come to the board to find the word that we call out, They were getting quite vocal by
this stage and then we changed the tempo by showing some photos of
our house and surrounds plus some scenic stuff with some Chinese
students who had visited recently. The last pic went up as the bell
for end of class rang out.
There were about seventy students, the
top ten in English from each class. Today the deputy head visited our
flat and brought a gift, a box of bamboo towels. We received two
other gifts from others today, just hope our bags can take it. With some careful packing every thing got home, thank goodness I hadn't bought up big any where.
Bamboo picking/digging
Three car loads set off further into
the country side, four foreigners, four adult Chinese and four kids headed for Nancy's home town to dig for bamboo.
It was a very small village, her Uncle
still lives there but her parents had moved to the bigger city about
ten years ago. Nancy and her brother Fred, who also came used to have
to walk to school taking two hours if they missed the one bus, very
hilly area, a tunnel was put in about five years making it more
accessible.
We walked for about half a km then up a
single lane into the bamboo forest.
They told us that the bamboo would take
one season to get very tall, then it came be used for fencing,
ladders just about anything really.
The best shoots are the ones just
before they break the ground although the ones that are up to a hand
span are alright to eat.
These are too big.
Apparently its best (and easier) to dig
away from the way it is growing. We (Nancy) filled two sugar bags
full then we had afternoon tea of fruit before returning to school.
The bamboo is sliced, boiled and then dried which can then be eaten as a snack or added to meals.
This bamboo was drying at the restaurant. We were given some of "our" hard labour a week later to eat, it was very tasty but we had to leave it as we were travelling back to Australia the next day and of course couldn't take it with us.
Rain, rain and more bl...rain
Thursday it started raining and continued on Friday my shoes got wet every time I left the office as he drains couldn't cope with all the water. I had parked on a slope and on grass and was a bit worried about getting away but it was okay although we at and waited for several minutes for many cars to go.
When it is raining its not only the water coming down that one needs to worry about, its the greyness (is that even a word?) everything looks grey and it is hard to see the roads. Five people in our area were swept off a road and died.
I ended up only driving to Sheridan's and stayed there the night as it was too dangerous to drive home. Driving home the next morning when I needed the sun shield as the sun was so bright we counted 21 cars and one caravan that had been abandoned along the highway, this was only a 30 kms stretch.
Our local shopping centre which is spread over two blocks and two stories high had the lowe ground carpark flooded and pictures on media showed cars with water up to their windows.
When it is raining its not only the water coming down that one needs to worry about, its the greyness (is that even a word?) everything looks grey and it is hard to see the roads. Five people in our area were swept off a road and died.
I ended up only driving to Sheridan's and stayed there the night as it was too dangerous to drive home. Driving home the next morning when I needed the sun shield as the sun was so bright we counted 21 cars and one caravan that had been abandoned along the highway, this was only a 30 kms stretch.
Our local shopping centre which is spread over two blocks and two stories high had the lowe ground carpark flooded and pictures on media showed cars with water up to their windows.
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