Daily Grind

This is what this week has become.

Spirit Week continues here at QSI Shekou. Yesterday was Backwards/Clash Day. Jamie and I both participated by wearing just a mixture of clothing backwards and all messed up. It was fun. I'll try and dig up some pictures.

Today is Bling Bling Day (dress up like a rapper, gangster, or thug). We used to have Thug parties back in the day in college that were always great fun. I always participated in those and represented quite well; however, I just do not have anything like that anymore. Sad times when you don't have any clothing to make you look like a thug. Jamie is wearing my old SAE softball shirt with some of my blue jeans. She looks adorable.

Last night was college night. Great turnout. We didn't really do much but did notice that only about 3 Southern US schools were represented. It was interesting to see all of the pamphlets from universities all over the world though and the interest the students had in them.

We would love to hear from some of you either via email or comments below. I will try and dig up a message board to place on here. Jamie and I are quite active on a few of our own (mostly political) and think it might be an interesting debate. Just a thought...

Have a great evening America!

Update

Not really an update. Slow week here in Shekou and at school. On the homefront, it is Bama week in the Vol Nation. I'm am feeling it now that I won't be there this weekend. Knoxville in the fall on a Saturday for the Bama game is the closest thing you can get to heaven. If Bama weren't in town, it might be heaven. Here's to hoping that UT can put a 1 in teh L column of the Tide.

In other news, there really isn't any. Jamie and I will represent our alma maters tomorrow evening at the college fair. Not really sure what that entells other than us wear our MTSU and UGA shirts and sitting behind a table. I haven't been there in 8 years, but MTSU used to be a great place for the Recording Industry. I guess if any students here want to go into that I can direct them to MTSU.

This week is Spirit Week at QSI. Monday was Blue and Gold day and today was crazy hair day. I didn't get pictures, but just imagine Jamie's hair looking all messed up and mine being spiked up and you'll get the picture. Tomorrow is Backwards/Clash Day. I would say about 50% of the students are participating. Most just wait until they see if their friends are doing it and then they try and change their appearance. I'll update you tomorrow on the theme. I'll find some pictures somewhere that I'm sure someone has taken.

Wow. For nothing to say, I've made this a pretty long post. I'll get back to my regular brilliant posting later.

Hong Kong

Not much news to report today. We took the long way to Hong Kong today to save a few dollars. What this means is that instead of walking about a mile and then paying about $50 roundtrip for a ferry ticket, we decided to take the long way which consists of a taxi, cross the border, bus, metro then reverse on the way back. This whole process which takes twice as long saves us about $28. We figure if we are not in a rush, we might as well take this route and the extra money will get us a decent lunch in Hong Kong.

We went straight to the bookstore and spent an insane amount on some English books, but it made Jamie happy. One of my favorite authors has a new book in a series, but the cost was just too much for me to justify. I'll wait until it comes out in paperback and only pay double the price instead of quadruple the price.

We then went to Hard Rock again for lunch. I'll have to put up the pictures, but they had it all decked out for Halloween which was pretty cool. We bought t-shirts. They told us that they were shutting down that Hard Rock because the rent was too expensive. They are moving instead to the Hard Rock in Macau. We will be going to Macau sometime soon. It is a Chinese/Portuguese island west of here. A ferry takes us directly to it. It is best known for its casinos and it is supposedly rivaling Vegas in its gaudiness. We'll see. There is an Asian Cirque du Soleil there that we'd like to see.

We are going to eat some fondue tonight with some friends from school. We are hoping that it is as good as the fondue at home. I have my doubts, but hopefully it won't be too bad. I'll let you know. Much more hits on the sight yesterday, so my stern warning from the other day must have paid off. That or people must be REALLY bored. Either way, it is fine with me.

Chinese School

Jamie and I went yesterday afternoon to Bai'on district of Shenzhen to meet some people at a traditional Chinese public school. We took about a 30 - 40 minute bus ride with a co-worker who worked at the school last year. Just a reminder for those who have are just joining reading the blog... We teach at an international school, so very few of the students are actually Chinese. Most of our students are Korean or from North America. So, seeing the Chinese schools yesterday afternoon was a new experience for us.

We went so I could do some preliminary research concerning my dissertation topic. Although I did not meet with any social studies teachers, the Chinese teachers I did meet provided me with some excellent information about general education in China and their school. When we arrived, the secondary students were out of the field in nice little rows performing exercises. We then went to eat at a REAL Chinese restaurant where we share 8 or so dishes ranging from pig toes (delicious!) to some quite spicy lamb. The entire meal for 7 adults was 150 RMB or about $22. Amazing!

A little bit about Chinese cuisine. Americans will find it quite intimidating and perhaps strange. We begin by "washing" our prepackaged dishes in hot tea. Apparently, you do so if the dishes weren't prepacked, but we did it anyway to cleanse them. There is a custom where you serve others before you serve yourself initially. Also, it is more family style dining. Several large dishes are brought out individually, and everyone sits around a rotating turn table and picks out their choice of food. We tried a little bit of everything. Of course, everything is eaten with chopsticks and in China, silverware in not really an option.

Afterwards, we were able to sit and discuss with the Chinese teachers (2 of which actually taught English) concerning the educational system in China and their teaching strategies and curriculum. It was enlightening, and I learned more in 2 hours talking with them than I would have 5 hours reading about this stuff. We were able to go into a classroom where the students where having evening classes. I could go on and on concerning the comparisons of Chinese and U.S. schools, but I'll save that for my dissertation.

In the meantime, let me know if you have any questions. Comment below or email me. Thanks for reading!

Waiting for the Weekend

I think Jamie and I will go into Hong Kong on Saturday. We'll treat ourselves to Hard Rock Cafe and some English books. We spent a small fortune last time we went, so we'll try to be more frugal. Hong Kong has anywhere from a 10 - 50% mark up on their items simply because they can. It is like shopping and buying stuff in NYC.

Busy week for us at school this week as grade reports were due. We have to write "narratives" for each student we teach in an academic class. These narratives are about a half page long and discuss the strengths and weaknesses of the student. I think it is a good idea and wonder how it would go over in the U.S. Actually, I know how it would go over with the teachers, and it wouldn't be pretty. Most teachers in the U.S. simply have too many students. Elementary teachers could perhaps write them.

We are making preparations now for our winter break. We get 3 weeks from December 12 to January 4th off from school. Most teachers do not go back to North America because of the cost of the plane tickets. We've decided to travel somewhere. Jamie wants to go to the beach at least for a week, so we are looking at Thailand, Malaysia, and perhaps Bali, Indonesia. We'll probably spend a couple of weeks somewhere or 2 places and a week in China. Should be a great break wherever we go.

Looking forward to the last presidential debate on Wednesday night. We'll tape it and watch it on Thursday afternoon or evening.

All the news for now. Haven't heard from several people lately and the hits are down on the our blog. Had only 15 hits yesterday and only 9 or so a few days ago.

Finally, I think...

Couple of things for today.

The banking incident turned out to be ok, at least for now. We went by yesterday and they explained that their ATM showed no extra money. We'll continue to check our account, but I actually feel OK about this for now.

I've spent about every waking minute worry about my dissertation topic. I've changed my mind about 3 times in the past 2 weeks. After discussing this with my mentor last night for almost an hour, I think I am going to pursue a qualitative study comparing the teaching strategies of world history teachers in China and the United States. I know, I know - world changing stuff and soon to be a best seller. Of course, all of this could change in the next 2 weeks, and I'm back to the drawing board.

Regular week here at QSI Shekou Middle School. We have "Spirit Week" next week which is similar to Homecoming in the states, because each day we dress up as something different. We'll see how many international students dress up for "Bling Bling Day." I'll bring along my camera and take some pictures. Might be a hoot!

Jamie and I are both engulfed in the Presidential Election coverage. Having taught AP U.S. Government last year, we've been politics junkies for the last 2 years now. Such is either really healthy or really dangerous for our lives. We honestly cannot believe the ignorance and downright stupidity that some people have. Actually, we can believe it because it is so apparent.

On a bright note, the market jumped over 900 points today; but so did the price of a barrel of oil. What one hand giveth, the other taketh away. Sounds like McCain's health plan.

OK. That was more than a couple of things, but I'm sure you will agree that is was the most informative things you've ever read. Have a great evening!

The Stupid Vote

This video is as bipartisan as it comes and is the funniest thing that I've seen in a long time. Enjoy!

The Stupid Vote