COLD as ICE!

Happy New Year everyone!


2008 is certainly well underway with February already creeping up and yet in a way... it’s not. February signals the beginning of the Chinese New Year, so it’s kinda like living between the times!

As I write this, I’m sitting in the pub down the road on a cold Saturday afternoon (-1degrees), watching the Australia vs India Cricket Test live from Adelaide, eating fish n’ chips with a diet coke, and listening to the chatter of Aussies, Europeans, and other foreigners all around me. This is life at ‘The Den’, as this pub is called, popular among Aussies for its live coverage of AFL football, the cricket and tonight – the Australian Open (Women’s Final). Ponting is just about to reach a half-century (unless he gets out first - which I predict is not going to happen!), and I’m reaching for the tartare sauce for the battered fish. Such is our hard life in Beijing, China.

With that said, Michelle is busy working overtime at the Embassy.

...Happy Australia Day!

Tonight we’ll be meeting up with some Aussie friends (and honourable Aussies) to celebrate our national day at a local pizza joint called Kro’s Nest. They make the biggest pizzas we’ve ever seen. And not only that, but they’re absolutely de...lish!

Now all this talk of cricket/fish n' chips/pizza etc may leave you wondering – ‘Are P-J and Michelle really in China, or just laying low in some other Australian city?!’

...The proof is in the pollution.

I’ve now been working for two weeks in my new job with an English Club/School called Vivid English Club. It’s a Mon-Fri 10-5pm job, with a morning and an afternoon class. I’ve also just started working 2 nights a week (Tues/Thurs), for my previous company, teaching business/conversational English. So it’s good to be hard at work again and meeting a whole bunch of new and wonderful people. By the way – I never did get the remainder of the salary that was owed to me by the kindergarten I worked at.

Spewin' - as they say.

Getting the money that was rightfully mine really turned out to be mission impossible. But I can’t say I didn’t try. So in the end I put it down to experience.

Ripped off in China.

Most people take home a story like this.

Last weekend Michelle and I ventured north towards Russia to a city called Harbin where the temperatures drop to around minus 30 degrees at night, and during the day ‘warm up’ to about minus 15 degrees! Now that’s cold! It’s pretty much like living in a freezer, except that you’re not actually frozen, but well on your way. The outdoor markets can be guaranteed of selling fresh meat and seafood – so fresh it’s frozen, right there on the sidewalk. Calamari anyone?

The real attraction for us going to Harbin was the annual Ice and Snow Festival. It really is worth the trip. The Harbin Ice and Snow Festival is by far the largest ice and snow art exhibition in the world. And it’s huge, amazing, and really quite dazzling. You won't get blown away by this quality-wise, but here's one of my videos I took of the Ice and Snow World:

That's me inside a giant 'igloo', and Michelle with a very cute and cuddly snow fox, with a snow scultpure in the background.

That's Michelle on the steps of the 'Forbidden City'!

And Michelle in front of the 'Cathedral'. When we went in we got a bit of an icy reception...

We also went to the Siberian Tiger Park. It is the largest natural park for wild Siberian tigers in the world at present. There are over 500 purebred Siberian tigers there, with 100 visible to visitors. There are also white tigers, lions, lynx’, leopards, and black pumas as well as Bengali tigers. Except for the overhead viewing platforms, most of the time is spent in a minibus going through various areas where the tigers freely roam in the fields, and if you pay about $8AUS, you can buy a chicken and watch as they feed it to them live.

I paid.

Once again, watch my very amateur video...

Finger Lickin' Good!

For those who are rich, there is also a chance to buy a goat, or a cow even! But fortunately for Michelle, and unfortunately for me, no one on our bus paid up. But I did manage to find a recent video from someone who did and here’s the result (if you’re not up for watching tigers maul a cow, don't click on this one!).

Sometimes you just know that you're in China.

On the Sunday, we relaxed, viewed an old Russian Orthodox Cathedral, fed pigeons and caught up with a friend we made on the way over in the overnight train. He was a young Uni student who spoke excellent English, and he was only too happy to drive and show us around his hometown. He was another example of the generosity and kindness that has been shown to us by many Chinese people over the year.

This is the Russian Orthodox Church with a big lump of snow in front of it, with a face carved into the top of it. Strange, ugly, oddly placed...but one creative way to get the snow cleaned up from the quadrangle!

Michelle has such a way with birds.

Not one flew onto my hand!

Michelle -what an angel!

All in all I'd give a big thumbs up for our trip to Harbin! And if anything else, it makes Beijing feel nice n' warm with its mild temperatures of 0 to -12degrees!

This is China.

Dig it.

Hip Hip Hoorate, it's 2008!

Happy New Year!

It’s 2008! My oh my, last year just fleeeeeeeeew by! When we take the time to look back on a year gone by we get a sore neck (looking back has its downside), but we realise how many memories and experiences we’ve added to our humble collection along the way. Here’s a short trip down memory lane.

Plane, Train,
Beijing, Came.
Smog, Fog,
Work, Jobs.
Teach, Reach,
Sun, No beach.
Boats, Moats,
Candles afloat.
Walls, Malls
Great and small.
Spit, Spat,
Stop n’ chat.
Stir-fry, No sky
Chinese wonder why.
Hong Kong
Family ‘So Long’.
Friends, Trends,
Wonder, no end.
Bikes, Hikes,
Flying Kites.
Ni hao, Tell me how,
Say hi, don’t bow.
Gym, Dim Sim,
Try to keep trim.
East, West,
...Oneness

Anyway, back to 2008...
Rachel, our friend from Adelaide, has been and gone after a quick trip to Beijing over the Xmas week. It was great to have some Aussie company. Rachel and Michelle went to the Great Wall together and struck it lucky – seeing snow on the wall. Ok, there wasn’t much...but it was there! They also visited the Forbidden City...and of course went shopping/got their nails done...massages...need I say more?!

For Xmas Eve we had a big buffet dinner with friends at a nice hotel restaurant complete with a Chinese Children’s Carolling Troupe, a Chinese Santa, a lucky draw (in which 3 out of 7 on our table won prizes inc wine, a tea-set, and a Sony PSP...although Michelle and I ended up empty-handed *sob,sob!), and lamb chops.

The children were so cute singing carols to a CD backing, trying to imitate the English words and succeeding about half the time. They were quite serious and professional but we managed to get them laughing with a few ‘whoo-hoo’s.

If you really want to hear them sing then just press play:

This Santa had come bearing gifts from afar – all the way from the East. (Actually he was the restaurant manager...but don’t tell anyone – shhhhhh!). Sounds a bit like a Christmas story we know.

And of course the night was also a PARTY!

The Christmas spirit was found around Beijing in different forms, but none quite like at this place called ‘The Place’. It has the biggest outdoor overhead digital TV screen in the world. It’s quite awe-inspiring and wow-inspiring. Certainly a neck-strainer.

You can get a tourist's ant's eye view of it by playing this video from Youtube (and there's more on the right). Gotta be seen to be believed (well now I'm going overboard!).

And this pic was also taken there. Nice one Michelle!

Next week I begin a new teaching job (a day job – yay!), and on Mon the 7th I finished up the evening work I’ve been doing, which has been great. I’ve had a mostly good run with my teaching work.

But recently I also discovered the dark side of Beijing, or should I say Korea. As you know I was working at a Korean Kindergarten that should be named Chaos Kindy, but isn’t. Like I said in the last blog, I got out of there as soon as I could. Since then I’ve been trying to chase up my salary, and I must say - it’s been quite a chase! Excuses, lies, just plain denying me pay...the wicked witch kept trying to work her dark magic. We (yes, even with Michelle and Rachel in force), faced a visit to a police station, invitations to take our matter to court and more obnoxious behaviour as we did battle. We uncovered lies and cover-ups, and stared into the coldest eyes we’ve ever seen. And this is cutting the long story short. In short though, I’ve been denied 3-weeks pay without reason (that’s enough to get me back to Australia!). But I’m not giving up. Whahahahahaha! (And yes, I will be coming back!)

Even my workmate from London faced the same thing as he went to collect his pay the day after our little Armageddon. Now’s he’s joined in. We’re hoping for Aslan to bring a quick end to Narnia’s long winter. I’m telling you, I don’t know how these people sleep at night.

Anyway, always look on the bright side of life right?

So to end, here’s some more Chinglish signs to bring some cheer (thanks to Rachel for these)!
This one was found in a cable car heading up to the Great Wall. Apparently when they say ‘scratch’ they mean graffiti (of course!!!).

And this one was found at the Forbidden City...

This is China.

Dig it.



Ps. If you ever want to see our photos enlarged just click on our photo album link to the right.