{"id":16019,"date":"2014-04-08T15:58:45","date_gmt":"2014-04-08T03:58:45","guid":{"rendered":"http:\/\/nzcfs.adminmouse.co.nz\/?p=16019"},"modified":"2015-02-08T06:34:28","modified_gmt":"2015-02-07T17:34:28","slug":"natalie-bowies-diary-from-shandan-contd-march-2014","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/nzchinasociety.org.nz\/natalie-bowies-diary-from-shandan-contd-march-2014\/","title":{"rendered":"Natalie Bowie\u2019s diary from Shandan, contd\u2026  March 2014"},"content":{"rendered":"<figure id=\"attachment_16021\" aria-describedby=\"caption-attachment-16021\" style=\"width: 250px\" class=\"wp-caption alignleft\"><a href=\"http:\/\/nzchinasociety.org.nz\/wp-content\/uploads\/2014\/04\/Buddhist-statues.jpg\"><img decoding=\"async\" class=\" wp-image-16021 \" alt=\"Many statues of buddhist monks \" src=\"http:\/\/nzchinasociety.org.nz\/wp-content\/uploads\/2014\/04\/Buddhist-statues-250x166.jpg\" width=\"250\" height=\"166\" \/><\/a><figcaption id=\"caption-attachment-16021\" class=\"wp-caption-text\">500 statues of Buddhist monks in &#8216;Dafuzi&#8217; temple<\/figcaption><\/figure>\n<p>This month Natalie has posted many fascinating photos on <a href=\"http:\/\/natsbowie.com\/\" target=\"_blank\">her blog<\/a>\u00a0(as well as lots of news): \u00a0Lots of small children in the parks on Sunday afternoons; trips to a traditional Chinese doctor and her amusing comments on that; a sports academy school where she watched\u00a0 students practising traditional Chinese dance [<em>T&#8217;ai chi ch&#8217;uan<\/em>] using cutlasses, poles and other unlikely items; visiting beautiful old temples, and the\u00a0 nearby town, <a href=\"https:\/\/en.wikipedia.org\/wiki\/Zhangye\" target=\"_blank\">Zhangye<\/a>.\u00a0 \u00a0She comments on the land of which every inch is farmed and concludes that they are gradually trying to be environmentally sound.\u00a0<\/p>\n<p>March 8<sup>th<\/sup> sees her with new-found friend Liu Guozhong, who works closely with a <a href=\"http:\/\/nzchinasociety.org.nz\/5749\/extension-of-cooperatives-in-zhangye-district-2008-10\/\" target=\"_blank\">number of co-op groups around Shandan<\/a> and later she goes out with friends to a karaoke room.\u00a0 The latter is a <strong>\u2018<a href=\"http:\/\/natsbowie.com\/2014\/03\/09\/kareoke-my-correct-name-and-the-big-smoke\/\" target=\"_blank\">must read<\/a>\u2019<\/strong>!<\/p>\n<p><a href=\"http:\/\/natsbowie.com\/2014\/03\/13\/kindly-neighbours-yartsa-gunbu-and-snow\/\" target=\"_blank\">10<sup>th<\/sup> March<\/a> and Natalie is out to dinner with neighbours and learns about the \u2018Cultural Revolution\u2019, white wine and the delights of caterpillar and fungus additions\u00a0[at $50,000 a pound]\u00a0to it!<\/p>\n<p><a href=\"http:\/\/natsbowie.com\/2014\/03\/18\/acupunture-giant-buddhas-and-duck-blood\/\" target=\"_blank\">14<sup>th<\/sup> March<\/a> and lessons in cooking, visits to historical temples and a course of acupuncture are the order of the day &#8211; all fascinating subjects and worth checking out.<\/p>\n<p>March 18<sup>th<\/sup> gives us a <strong>synopsis of her stay in Shandan to-date<\/strong> with very amusing comments.\u00a0 <a href=\"http:\/\/natsbowie.com\/2014\/03\/18\/a-month-in-a-quick-synopsis\/\" target=\"_blank\"><strong>Another must-read<\/strong><\/a> and very funny, e.g:<\/p>\n<ul>\n<li>\u201cNumber of times I am glad I\u2019m not blonde\u2013 about 500 (I get stared at enough as it is).<\/li>\n<li>&#8220;Times I\u2019ve watched TV\u2013\u00a0none, it\u2019s been broken since I got here&#8221;<\/li>\n<li>And many more in similar vein&#8230;..<\/li>\n<\/ul>\n<p><a href=\"http:\/\/natsbowie.com\/2014\/03\/24\/wo-chu-bau-le-i-am-full\/\" target=\"_blank\">March 24<sup>th<\/sup> <\/a>and the title is &#8216;<i>Wo chi bao le&#8217;<\/i> (I am full): Lots of photos of food eaten and a treatise on differences between East and West food and why the Chinese eat a lot but stay slim!\u00a0<\/p>\n<figure id=\"attachment_16022\" aria-describedby=\"caption-attachment-16022\" style=\"width: 250px\" class=\"wp-caption alignleft\"><a href=\"http:\/\/nzchinasociety.org.nz\/wp-content\/uploads\/2014\/04\/Shandan-at-night-.jpg\"><img decoding=\"async\" class=\"size-medium wp-image-16022\" alt=\"Old folk exercising at night in Shandan\" src=\"http:\/\/nzchinasociety.org.nz\/wp-content\/uploads\/2014\/04\/Shandan-at-night--250x166.jpg\" width=\"250\" height=\"166\" \/><\/a><figcaption id=\"caption-attachment-16022\" class=\"wp-caption-text\">Old folk exercising at night in Shandan<\/figcaption><\/figure>\n<p><a href=\"http:\/\/natsbowie.com\/2014\/04\/04\/town-versus-country-rich-versus-poor-old-versus-new\/\" target=\"_blank\">March\u00a029<\/a><sup>th<\/sup>\u00a0More stunning photos dealing with sports, health and the delights of fairy lights in town.<\/p>\n<p>Once again, Natalie gives a deep insight into life in rural China and in particular Shandan.\u00a0 \u00a0<\/p>\n<p>The photos are fascinating and the comments varied and thought-provoking.\u00a0 <a href=\"http:\/\/natsbowie.com\/\" target=\"_blank\">Natalie\u2019s blog<\/a> is recommended reading for anyone wishing to visit China and who want to plumb the depths of the realities of Chinese culture.<\/p>\n<p>Natalie comments (separately from her blog) on her progress with her students:<\/p>\n<figure id=\"attachment_16030\" aria-describedby=\"caption-attachment-16030\" style=\"width: 250px\" class=\"wp-caption alignleft\"><a href=\"http:\/\/nzchinasociety.org.nz\/wp-content\/uploads\/2014\/04\/SBS-boys-concentrate-over-lathe-work_0414.jpg\"><img decoding=\"async\" class=\"size-medium wp-image-16030\" alt=\"Shandan Peili boys concentrate over lathe-work\" src=\"http:\/\/nzchinasociety.org.nz\/wp-content\/uploads\/2014\/04\/SBS-boys-concentrate-over-lathe-work_0414-250x166.jpg\" width=\"250\" height=\"166\" \/><\/a><figcaption id=\"caption-attachment-16030\" class=\"wp-caption-text\">Shandan Peili boys concentrate over lathe-work<\/figcaption><\/figure>\n<p>&#8220;Having taught conversational English in Spain before, I had a bit of an idea about what to expect when coming to China. \u00a0What I didn&#8217;t fully appreciate is that the students are sitting on their stools from 6.40am until 9.30pm at least 5 day&#8217;s a week (some have classes on Saturdays and also homework sessions on Sunday evening). \u00a0They do have a couple of breaks during the day but even so, they are pretty exhausted. \u00a0 Most of the students are forced to take English, therefore their good behaviour and listening skills that were prevalent the first couple of weeks that I had them, have disappeared (the novelty of a foreign teacher has worn off!). \u00a0My class of 44 boys, for example, are majoring in mechanics. \u00a0They are hands-on, rugged lads who like basketball, tinkering with motors and showing off to the girls. \u00a0To get them to sit through a double period of English and engage was always going to be a challenge! \u00a0 \u00a0What makes the task more challenging is the lack of resources &#8211; I have a blackboard, a piece of white chalk and my voice to encourage them. \u00a0I have had a lot of fun scouting around my apartment sorting out props for the students and am very thankful that I bought over my 3 trashy magazines (OK, Lucky Break and NW). \u00a0I have been carefully cutting out images, words, recipes, all sorts from these magazines which should really be thrown away now but I am never sure what my next inspirational idea might be so am storing them in case I need to get my scissors out again!<\/p>\n<p>As is typical in most classrooms I have been in, the students up the front are the keen ones, willing to learn, and the ones down the back tend to talk most of the time (or fall asleep!). \u00a0<\/p>\n<figure id=\"attachment_16031\" aria-describedby=\"caption-attachment-16031\" style=\"width: 250px\" class=\"wp-caption alignright\"><a href=\"http:\/\/nzchinasociety.org.nz\/wp-content\/uploads\/2014\/04\/SBS_Flowerr-arranging-class.jpg\"><img decoding=\"async\" class=\"size-medium wp-image-16031\" alt=\"Flower arranging class at Shandan Peili School, taken by the agriculture teacher\" src=\"http:\/\/nzchinasociety.org.nz\/wp-content\/uploads\/2014\/04\/SBS_Flowerr-arranging-class-250x166.jpg\" width=\"250\" height=\"166\" \/><\/a><figcaption id=\"caption-attachment-16031\" class=\"wp-caption-text\">Flower arranging class at Shandan Peili School, taken by the agriculture teacher<\/figcaption><\/figure>\n<p>I have some lovely students who ask questions, are willing to try and work out the answers and whose English tends to be quite good. \u00a0They tend to dominate the class answering sessions but they are my saving grace as they often, supposedly behind my back, tend to explain to the other students in Chinese what I am expecting! \u00a0When you ask one student a question who hasn&#8217;t been listening or who does not know the answer normally about 5 girls will &#8216;whisper&#8217; the answer to the student standing. \u00a0 Last week was week 6 and I did a revision session on a range of new words that we had learnt over the previous 5 classes. \u00a0It was great hearing them tell me what &#8216;married&#8217; meant or &#8216;midnight&#8217; or &#8216;pumpkin&#8217;. It gave me a wee bit of peace of mind also that we are in fact progressing!<\/p>\n<p>Although its challenging and frustrating it is also really rewarding. \u00a0I am enjoying seeing the confidence grow in some of the students both inside and outside the classroom.&#8221;<\/p>\n<p style=\"text-align: right\"><em>Teri France and Natalie Bowie, April 2014<\/em><\/p>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"<p>This month Natalie has posted many fascinating photos on her blog\u00a0(as well as lots of news): \u00a0Lots of small children in the parks on Sunday afternoons; trips to a traditional Chinese doctor and her amusing comments on that; a sports academy school where she watched\u00a0 students practising traditional Chinese dance [T&#8217;ai chi ch&#8217;uan] using cutlasses, [&hellip;]<\/p>\n","protected":false},"author":12,"featured_media":16030,"comment_status":"closed","ping_status":"closed","sticky":false,"template":"","format":"standard","meta":{"footnotes":""},"categories":[134],"tags":[],"_links":{"self":[{"href":"https:\/\/nzchinasociety.org.nz\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/16019"}],"collection":[{"href":"https:\/\/nzchinasociety.org.nz\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts"}],"about":[{"href":"https:\/\/nzchinasociety.org.nz\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/types\/post"}],"author":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/nzchinasociety.org.nz\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/users\/12"}],"replies":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/nzchinasociety.org.nz\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/comments?post=16019"}],"version-history":[{"count":0,"href":"https:\/\/nzchinasociety.org.nz\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/16019\/revisions"}],"wp:featuredmedia":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/nzchinasociety.org.nz\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media\/16030"}],"wp:attachment":[{"href":"https:\/\/nzchinasociety.org.nz\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media?parent=16019"}],"wp:term":[{"taxonomy":"category","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/nzchinasociety.org.nz\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/categories?post=16019"},{"taxonomy":"post_tag","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/nzchinasociety.org.nz\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/tags?post=16019"}],"curies":[{"name":"wp","href":"https:\/\/api.w.org\/{rel}","templated":true}]}}