New views on China

Wow. I have been here (In Huizhou) for 5 days now, and I'm not sure where to start this post.

A lot of what you've heard about China is wrong. Not just incorrect, but wrong. Ok, I need to qualify that statement. Huizhou is one of the richer areas of China, and as such is probably not a fair reflection of the entire country.

Firstly, everybody is friendly. That may be simply because they don't often see westerners (It is not unusual to have somebody shout "Hello" to us while we walk down a street, and then grin for ages because they know an English word. Also, Chinese people are champion queuers. The only place I've seen them not queue so far is at McDonalds (Which I admit I had for supper last night, and served as a great reminder of why not to go there any more. Yuck).

That brings me almost by coincidence on to food. Let me just say that you have not eaten until you've eaten Chinese. Cooked in China. You can walk into any little hole in the wall dodgy looking place, and eat a meal for about 10-15 Yuan (R8-12) that would make any restaurateur in SA close his doors and cry for his mother, it's that good. Of all the meals I've had so far, and we eat out twice a day most days, not a single one has been anything but spectacular. Except the McDs, which was horrible.

There also isn't a lot of begging, which surprised me. I would always have expected more beggars in richer areas, but I have seen only three so far since arriving. And I know about the thoughts that they're just being hauled off and arrested, but I don't think that's the case, because they do beg quite out in the open and freely.

Enough about life here though, and on to the school.

The school is pretty fantastic. There are about 18-20 western teachers there, each with our own classroom. We teach, at the moment, three classes a day, six days a week. This will increase once we are more comfortable with the teaching and preparation (in a week or two). I have a range of ages from 7 (one class) to high school which I assume to be around 15-16 (one class). The bulk of my classes however are 11-14 years old, which is apparently pretty challenging but I'm looking really forward to them.

The kids aren't actually placed in classes according to age, but on some other system of age, ability, time at school, and something else. Nobody's quite explained it yet, but I'll refer to them as P,M, or H (Primary, Middle school, High school) and a number afterwards, increasing with age.

I taught two classes yesterday (one P3 - 9-10 years old, and one P4 - 9-11 years old). The youngsters really seemed to take to me, and I had a great time with them. The old ones I battled a little bit with - I think they were a little uncertain with the whole new teacher idea. Still, tempus fugit, so I'm sure they'll adapt quickly.

I will try keep the blog updated more regularly going forward, although some of it may be pretty banal. Everything here seems incredibly familiar and comfortable - I feel as though except for the language I may have been here for years already. And the language thing isn't that bad - I've picked up one or two words, and can at least get what I want 40% of the time now. Chinese lessons start in September, and I'm looking really forward to them. Most of the teachers speak a little Chinese, again just enough to get the message across, and it's great to listen to.

My last comment, just quickly... PJ O'Rourke once described China as the land that rhythm forgot, based on a trip to a karaoke bar. I do hear that they're pretty bad, but I haven't been yet. However, Chinese traditional music is like listening to the best opera you have ever heard. There is a tyre fitment centre across the road from the school that plays it at top blast all day, and I love to sit and listen to it.

In short, beautiful music and magnificent food. All it needs now is some South African girls.