So I have arrived and spent my first few nights in Zhangjiagang, Jiangsu Province of China.
Zhangjiagang is a small city (approx. 1 Million inhabitants) but my first impression is that it is a very lively and bustling place to live!
On my road there is practically a resturant every 10 yards, with shops, supermarkets, barbers, pharmacists, bakeries... you name it on the way. It's about a 30 minute walk to the school I am working in.
I live in the Mingdou Huayuan appartments which are the very definition of "don't judge a book by its cover". On the outside they seem to be the typical communist style accomodation blocks (not to different from the ones in Poland), but on the inside, my appartment is very spacious and comes with all mod-cons. It is incredibly cold during the winter, but electricity is very cheap (~100RMB per month, which is about £10) so I can afford to turn the A/C heating up to 30 degrees :)
I share the flat with a Canadian guy named Jason, he is very friendly and helpful and has shown me around a lot. He has been here 4 months and already he knows a lot of chinese and is able to communicate quite well.
The last few days have been like a blur of information; inductions to the school and meeting new people. Getting my bearings of where things are has been relatively easy, as Zhangjiagang is effectively a grid of intersecting main roads, and as I have said, it's not too hard to find what you're looking for.
I have observed several lessons of the "Small Stars" classes; the classes given to children aged between 3-7 years old. The children are typical youngsters - hyperactive and with the attention span of small flies. Each class has a bilingual TA to aid in the lessons; but they mainly consist of games with flashcards, singing songs and colouring in.
Everyone at the school is very friendly and helpful, as we've all started in the same situation. There are a few teachers who have been here for years, and seem to have adapted quite well, and most of them seem to prefer it here than to the UK.
My exploring has been hampered by a very bad feeling of jetlag... today was a day off for me, but I slept the whole day. I feel a bit guilty as I really want to go out and explore, but I am just so tired. But hopefully the feeling will pass once I am in a regular routine at work :)
I have a lot going on at the end of the month. On the 23rd it is the staff party for Chinese Spring Festival, and on the 24th I will be going to Beijing to start my course. This should be good fun, and I won't be alone as my friend from University (Ye Zhang) will be there, so she said she would show me around. The course is only 9-5 for 7 days, so that gives me a chance to explore the city at night :) When I return, I'll only be at work for a few more days, and then can take Spring Festival as a public holiday for the 9th-11th. Let the good times roll :)
well I hope that is a decent update, feel free to send me a comment or two.
Best wishes
James
