From Wuxi to Jakarta

Ahhhhh, the warmth! It was such a good feeling to step off the plane in Jakarta this afternoon and smell the thick, sweet, humid and tropical air! It reminded me of holidays to Bali when I was younger. The heat hit you and it felt so damn good after the Wuxi cold. After a very early start, Pete and I were on our way. We flew Singapore Airlines, the best in my opinion - the staff are so friendly (and look stunning in their uniforms), the service is fantastic, the food is good and the movies were great!

Changi airport train ...... spotless!

We had a brief stop over in Singapore and were able to quickly peruse the many shops on offer. I'm glad we have a few more hours there on the way home (although my wallet may not thank me!). It was absolute heaven to be able to walk into a book store and look through all the shelves, rather than the standard "Do you have any English books?" question which is always followed by being shown a small selection of books on Chinese characters, a few dog eared novels and maybe a copy of 'Business Weekly' magazine. Singapore is amazingly spotless, the airport is divine. The train had not a spot of grafitti or chewing gum as it would have in Australia or China.

English books!!!!

During the final leg to Jakarta, I was able to spot the other teachers attending the workshops here - as I mentioned before, it's exciting to travel overseas as a teacher for work, so it was easy to pick the excited teachers, as opposed to the bored business men!! Our hotel is lovely, the rooms are beautiful (it doesn't take much to please me, coming from a backpacker background!!) and it overlooks a park which I will explore tomorrow afternoon.

Western toilet, but hose to wipe? Hmmmm, I think not.

Jakarta is great, it's wonderful to get out into another city in another country, with a totally different culture. The traffic is chaotic but nowhere near as bad as in China - maybe due to the fact that there are traffic police everywhere. There are a lot of motorbikes, as opposed to scooters though, so it is quite noisy. The city is so lush as well, it made me think how much the horses back at home would love the rich green grass! Pete and I went out for some Indonesian food this evening and found a great place where we could get nasi goreng, rice noodles (I have forgotten thename) and delicious satay sticks with peanut sauce, all for a very low price. We followed that with a western treat of Cold Stone icecream, yum! Will definitely be hitting the hotel gym after the workshop tomorrow. The people here are so friendly, always smiling and ready for a chat, you can't help but be happy here!

A teacher going on a work related overseas trip?!

As most teachers will know, teaching isn't terribly glamorous, there are no all-expenses paid business dinners, functions or overseas trips. The most exotic event in a teacher's life is normally going on camp - often sharing a room with other staff and waking up at all hours to put on the 'teacher voice' and tell off excited children who won't sleep. But, at last, I am heading somewhere exotic for work! Tomorrow morning, Pete and I are heading off at the ungodly hour of 4am for Jakarta. Whilst there, I will be attending a PYP workshop which I am really looking forward to. It will be great to clarify my role as co-ordinator and make some connections with people in the same role in schools from all over the Asia-Pacific region.

Wuxi .......-6 degrees, sunny and clear.

Jakarta ....... 24 degrees, haze.

I was hoping I would be able to gloat to everyone living in China about the heat and clear skies of Jakarta. But unfortunately, a google weather search finds that Wuxi is going to be sunny and clear and Jakarta will be hazy. I've never been to Jakarta so I'm not exactly sure what it will be like, but Wuxi being sunny and clear? I'm not so sure about that - the weather men are obviously being a little optimistic!

As well as the workshop I will be attending, I'm also looking forward to the heat for a few days. It will be lovely to thaw out before coming back to the cold and then heading off to the snow. I never thought I would say that I'm looking forward to a wait at the airport, but for Singapore airport I will make an exception - the shopping is meant to be fabulous. Can't wait to get my wallet out in the Body Shop - my skin will thank me for it after several months of heating and Chinese skin products! I know that it has been very hot back at home, so I hope everyone is enjoying it!

Fine dining in Wuxi .....

After a long and cold day at work yesterday, several of us decided to venture out for some fine dining in Wuxi. There is only one place on offer for this kind of food - Uberfoods. It is quite possibly one of my favourite 'westernised' things to do in Wuxi (after the massage place of course!) The food is always beautifully presented and tastes just delicious. The wine is always lovely too - as soon as we walk in now they know exactly what we'll all be drinking! A real treat for a mid week dinner!

Spinach and ricotta gnocchi.

Salmon variations.

Pineapple and grapefruit sorbet.

Trio of pork, chicken and beef.

Chocolate mousse with strawberries.

Death by chocolate.

Creme brulee.

Daily mayhem at the supermarket

As the weather was still cold but clear (for a Chinese city) on Sunday, Amy and I decided to go for a walk to the supermarket to pick up some things. I really miss going for long walks outside, particularly with the dogs. Unfortunately there isn't really anywhere that nice to walk here, unless you catch a cab somewhere first. But we braved the cold and the smog for a walk anyway.

This is the view from my apartment on a 'clear' day!

We were met by absolute mayhem when we reached the supermarket. It was like people were getting ready to bunker down for the end of the world - pushing and shoving with trolleys and baskets, jostling for a place in the line to weigh vegetables, grabbing at items like they were about to sell out - crazy. Just a normal day at a local Chinese supermarket!

Making all sorts of yummy baked goods at the supermarket - buns, noodles, dumplings.

As we walked into the supermarket, we were confronted by rows upon rows of a huge variety of nuts. And of course, a crowd pushing and grabbing. I assume that the nuts are something special for the upcoming Chinese New Year celebrations, but I'm not 100% sure.

Turtle for dinner anyone?

I was thrilled to find a large selection of pre-packaged meat at this particular supermarket. I have not bought meat here yet because I'm put off my the sight of huge bags of bloody and fatty off cuts of meat but these packages look delicious. I'm looking forward to cooking up some spag bol and some stirfries this week with the lean meat that I found. And so cheap as well - four packages of meat (about 400 grams each) for about $10!

How about a bag of frogs?

I continue to be amazed by the selection of seafood in the supermarkets as well, much of it live. Eels, turtles, shrimps, all kinds of fish. I'm still a little sceptical about eating fish over here, other than at the nicer restaurants where the fish is all imported.

Feeling the live fish to check its suitablity for dinner.

It's going to be another busy week here as reports are finalised, planning is in progress for next term, and heading off to Jakarta on Friday morning - bring on the sun! Am looking forward to some nice dinners this week too - I'm having 2 of the girls over for dinner tonight to share holiday snaps and enjoy some of the meat I bought yesterday and then heading to Uberfood tomorrow night to celebrate (hopefully) finishing reports!

Chinese efficiency - staff on rollerblades!

Girls night out in Wuxi....

As many of us were feeling the cold at the end of the week, we decided to head out for some German comfort food and red wine at the Paulaner. After spending ten minutes discussing our wine choice for the evening (from a fairly substantial wine list), we were informed that they only had three bottles to choose from! Only in China!

Dinner at the Paulaner - red wine and winter food!

We were pleasantly surprised that there was a band playing - a gorgeous group of Phillipino girls and guys. They were absolutely fantastic and were very obliging as we persused the playlist and put in many requests. It was great to have some real winter comfort food - sausages and mash, followed by apple strudel, yum! Whilst we were at the Paulaner, we were lucky enough to witness the debut of Amy Martin, upcoming Chinese pop star! You can see her video clip below. The translation of her song is a random collection of Chinese phrases - hello, not good, cheers, don't have - enjoy!

Phillipino band singing US pop songs in a German restaurant in China...hmmm!

After a filling meal, it was off to Bar street for a girls night of dancing. As always, you are always a little baffled by the strange things that you see on a night out.....plastic bags for the cloakroom, fireworks inside, elaborate fruit platters and a bizarre assortment of Chinese and English pop music. It was a fun night for us all to let our hair down, meet some new people and combat the cold!

Nightclub cloakroom, Chinese style.

Saturday was a beautiful day here in Wuxi - the sky was (relatively) blue and it was cold and crisp, my favourite sort of days. Unfortunately, I had to spend it inside writing reports and satisfying my latest addiction to a TV series!

Only in China.....fireworks inside.

Today, it's more report writing, a trip to the gym and some holiday planning, as well as some rest before another busy week. This week is a big planning week for next term, writing reports and then off to Jakarta on Friday morning. Girls out on the town.

New found friends at Soho.

Chinese pop star .... Amy Martin!

A week of ups and downs .....

This week has been one of mixed feelings for this Australian expatriate! The one thing that is really starting to get me down is the weather, it is starting to get really cold and miserable here. I didn't realise how much I missed the blue skies until I visited Tibet. A highlight of the week was having two 10th birthdays in our class - all the children are very excited that they are moving into double figures! As you can see from the pictures, no expense has been spared with the birthday cakes - a far cry from the homemade cupcakes of my childhood birthdays!

Is this enough cake for 8 students and 2 teachers?

I might be biased but I really do think homemade cakes are nicer, these Chinese sponges laden with artificial cream don't really do it for me. Okay, so they tasted alright but cream cake was not what I needed after 2 weeks of eating a lot and no gym! Speaking of gym, it has been a real struggle to get back into it after a break, especially now that it is so cold. It took a few days to get into it, but I'm feeling good now - bring on those squats and lunges in preparation for skiing in two weeks time.

The Kookaburras are moving into double figures!

Another highlight of the week was that Sodai, the new Japanese boy in my class, has overcome his shyness/reluctance to attempt any English. This week, he has written several sentences in English (with a lot of help!) and even read them to the class. As all teachers will know, this is one of the best feelings you can have when you see a child finally 'get it' and the look of happiness on their face - what a warm, fuzzy feeling! Memories of beautiful Yangshuo

I am looking forward to a 'girls' dinner tonight where we can swap travel stories from the Christmas break and plan new adventures for the upcoming Chinese New Year when we all head off to varying parts of the world - Yangshuo, New Zealand, Japan. The weekend will be a mixed bag of work and play - reports need to be written (thank goodness for only having to write 7, compared to 24 back at home!), bags need to be packed for Jakarta (bring on 27 degrees and sunny!) and shopping needs to be done for the skiing adventure.

Insights on riding a bike in the rain in China ......

It has been raining here the last few days, not a downpour to save us all from drought, but a heavy drizzle, enough to be annoying and slightly uncomfortable. Yesterday, despite it being pay day, I had no cash in my wallet to catch a cab to work. So, I braved the roads on my Chinese made bicycle. I soon discovered that like at home in Australia, people tend to turn into crazy drivers. Crazy drivers are the norm here so with the added element of the rain, the level of craziness was increased. It was not too bad on the way to school, but on the way home I was determined that someone was out to get me on the road. People seemed unable to decide which side of the road they would drive/ride on (right or wrong side?), some of them thought that the rain meant they should speed up, some thought they should make significant reductions in their speed (surely it is not right if a laowai on a bike is overtaking a local on a scooter?) and some just decided to simply stop. To top this off, I had forgotten to take my umbrella or rain coat - I looked like a drowned rat by the time I arrived at the gym. If the rain continues, it might be time to fix the brakes and bell on my bike!

I also discovered yesterday that riding a bike in $700 leather boots is not going to extend the life of the shoes. After riding home in the rain, I looked like I'd been out at the horse paddock with my mud splattered boots from riding through a muddy construction site. The upside of the rain is that my bike has been returned to it's shiny orange colour!

Thank goodness for an ATM visit......I arrived at work warm and dry this morning (and with a packet of cashew nuts thanks to the lovely cab driver!). I hope everyone is staying warm at home - I heard from Dad that it was 34 degrees in Canberra! Nice.