Talent Show

I need to be more careful how I answer questions. A couple of weeks ago I was talking to a student here. She asked if I knew how to sing. I made the mistake of saying I could and next thing I knew, I was in a talent show. Luckily I talked her out of dancing also, because my ankle is giving me problems. We decide to sing the Doe, Ray, Me song. Li Qing has a real nice singing voice and I am kind of a ham. So people were happy with our act.

Although I missed most of the show because we were towards the end and we were back stage, I did get to see the singing drill instructor. He was really good and I think he was a real favorite of the female students. The acts I did get to see were a couple who sang a popular song, some of the students singing with their drill instructors, a students who was great at wushu(martial arts) and a fashion show. The whole evening was fun. In retrospect I am glad I did it.

JIETT Teachers

I have been a little derelict on my blog lately so here is another post today. These are teachers I have met at Jiangsu Institute of Economics Trade and Technology (JIETT). There was a party for people from other countries teaching here in Nanjing, so I was a good opportunity to get photos of some of the other foreign teacher here at JIETT.

This Section will grow. I just don't have pictures of the other teachers yet.

Lost in Nanjing

I have come up with a new past time. I go to the local bus stop get on a bus and ride to the end of the line. Now the smart thing to do would be to get back on the same bus and head back. I've never claimed to be smart. What I do most of the time is go for a walk and get on the a different bus and try to find my way back. Once by myself I rode the bus to the end, walked around, found the subway, walked around and then tried to find a bus back.

These excursions would be easier if I could read all of the street signs, in Nanjing, but they are in Chinese characters. Some do have pinyin along with the characters, so there is always hope in finding the right street.

In case you think I am the only silly person who does this; I got the idea from one of the other teachers here, Jerry. we gone together a couple of times. So far I have been successful and although my legs are pretty tired when I get home; I have seen some pretty interesting sights. You can see them too.

Mid-Autumn Festival

This weekend was busy here. It was the Mid-Autumn Festival a kind if Thanksgiving China style (see http://www.chinavoc.com/festivals/Midautumn.htm), where people eat small pastries called mooncakes and visit family. The Freshman also came to campus, so it is much more crowded everywhere. Also the freshman have to go through military training for, I think, two weeks.

Their military training as far as I can tell consist mostly of a lot of marching and counting. I have also seen them sitting in groups during the evenings singing what sounds like campfire songs. I am not sure what is really accomplished by all of this, but it does seem like they get a aerobic workout and more cohesion as a school.

Here are a few photos. There are more to come.

Vehicles in China

This will be an on going photo essay on vehicles in China. In this post you can various ways to park cars, and a feline scooter perch. Maybe when I accumulate enough photos I will combine all of the modes of travel images into one posting.

JIETT

I am finally in Nanjing and I am teaching. The weather seems to have cooled and is pretty nice. I have a half hour to 40 minute bus ride to the new campus for Jiangsu Institute for Trade and Technology (JIETT). JIETT is a two year college. It is nice to teach at the new campus, but there is not much else out there other than the campus and a lot of construction. Someday it will be nice though. They are building apartments, business offices, highways, parks and even a subway line close to the school.

Only half of the students are on campus right now. The freshmen come next week, I think. So we will see what the campus looks like then. The classrooms are a little small for the number of students I have, varying from 34 and 46. There is no air conditioning (or heating from what I am told) in the classrooms. There are only some ceiling fans to move air around. My biggest concern is acoustics. Noise just seems to accumulate in the rooms, so trying to hear what the students are whispering can be difficult. The students are shy about speaking, but they are friendly and will say hello out side of class, if I acknowledge them first.

Photos