Samosa + Crepes dinner Monday

Okay...it feels like a food blog now.
The last post I have had was about food as well.

Today was another staff's b-day. Nicole our super chef/baker has made samosa for the occasion. It was Amazing again! She's such an angel. To continue the b-day celebration, we had a YC crepe dinner! Banana, Nutella, dried fruits, jam, peanut butter - it was yummmmmy!

It was a nice gathering for the evening. A co-worker also showed us her stand-up paddle board adventure down Yukon River. That was pretty cool as well.

Today was another warm November fall day.
This year's weather is so much better than last year's cold misery.
Hope that this weather will hold up a bit longer!

Over the weekend, I went camping with 3 other co-workers to Wulong a city that's about 2.5 hrs away from Chongqing on a slow train. It was my first ever camping experience in China. It was definitely a nice get away from the city. The forest actually reminds me a bit of Vancouver. In all, it was a good trip, met nice people. I just wished that the travelling time would be shorter. One way trip takes a total of 5.5 hours! I will put up pictures later on...as I haven't had the time (didn't get back home around 8 pm Sunday).


My sister has just sent me the following passages:
[11-11-28 10:38:03 PM] Maggie:


李嘉诚送给年轻人的话：年轻人不要试图追求安全感，特别是年轻的时候，周遭环境从来都不会有绝对的安全感，如果你觉得安全了，很有可能开始暗藏危机。真正的安全感，来自你对自己的信心，是你每个阶段性目标的实现，而真正的归属感，在于你的内心深处，对自己命运的把控，因为你最大的对手永远是自己。

【巴菲特教孩子的六点】1、如果你想人生多彩多姿，试着学所有有兴趣的事；2、感觉迷失时不是你迷路了，而是找到正途前的必然之路；3、对志向的渴望可引领我们完成引以为傲的成就；4、审视自己的内心是最好的投资；5、愿望未能实现时，好好思考什么是自己想要的；6、能力+热情+努力+坚持=成功。


okay that's it for the night!

Carrot Cake Monday and Productive Tuesday!

For some reasons I didn't post it up successfully yesterday.

So I have to re-write this again !@$#%$%^

Yesterday, I got upset in class because students were talking while I was talking.
I definitely need to work on control my temper/emotion better in class. After class, a student came to talk to me. She asked if I was mad at her. We had a talk and she understood that I wasn't mad at her or anything. I was surprised that she felt that way and I was sure glad that she was comfortable with me to come talk to me. This incident also makes me feel like I need to control better with the tones or the way I talk in order to avoid such problem again.

This week would be a busy week as we would have our post-secondary fair this Thursday.
Being in China, they would definitely make the event like a show inviting Government officials and special guests with never-ending speeches. I am definitely not looking forward to that.

It was also a co-worker's birthday. Our amazing baking staff, Nicole made a super yummy carrot cake. I should do some baking myself...I just love baked goods!

What else did I write.....? hummm...definitely getting old with fading memory!

I have also been listening to Coldplay's new album. I really love the song, Paradise.
If there's ever a Coldplay concert in China, I would do all I can to go!
They are just amazing.


For today, it was another busy day.
I had to sub for Drama class again because our Drama teacher was sick.
I enjoy Drama class but I am definitely not a Drama teacher.

After school, we had another great ultimate game. The kids who play regularly with me are getting more skilled. We did students v.s. teachers and I would say that the game was pretty even. Some students were definitely taking the leadership role and coaching others.
It was just pretty awesome playing in the cloudy + chilli November YC weather.

I stayed afterwards and I was definitely on fire.
I finished making power point lesson for the next chapter.
Then I got home and marked the quizzes written today.
I have to say it's a super productive Tuesday!

It's bed time again :)

rainY Nov. Monday

It's the classic misty rainy chilli YC Nov. Monday...
It's also the perfect weather to stay in beddddd.


It's also my last day of being 26.
wow...I have come so far to where I am now.
Just like the happy baby pose in Yoga - I am in my happy place!
Coming to China has been a turning point in my life.
I love what I do here even though it's hard sometimes to be by myself.
But everyday I think about how lucky I am to have what I have.

Thank you my dear family for always giving me so much love!
Thank you my friends for always being there for me!

I am who I am because of you!

Love you all and miss you!

Work sunday

Got up this morning and talked to my dear sister.
Then I started marking the quiz that I have given out on Friday.

I went to school to do even more work.
I photocopied the chapter test and started to make a powerpoint to help my students to prepare for the university fair that's happening next week.

I still have lots of work that need to be done.

I have to say internet is amazing. It is full of resources and people can get information instantly. I don't know how people live in the time when there's no internet. If there's no internet, I guess I can live without it for couple days but it would be really hard.
Scary!

Counting down to my b-day!

Movie overload Saturday!

This morning I got up and went to the gym for the morning yoga class.
The teacher, Wendy is great but sadly she's going to Beijing for training.
I hope that they would get a replacement as good as her.

I swear I am the most not flexible person ever. There was this pose where you lay on your back and put your legs up 90 degrees. I couldn't really straighten my legs. Then you are suppose bend the legs until they touch the floor. I did that part but I had trouble lifting my legs up again. That was a bit scary. After the yoga class, I went for a 30 minutes run on the treadmill and I was running at a higher speed. Then I went to weight myself. I couldn't believe what I saw on the scale - 53 kg. I lost 2 kg!! WoW!! That made my day!

I went to buy some fruits and did some errands on the way home. Then I had lunch at home and went out with my roommate for movie. It is for sure a movie overload week. We wanted to watch "The Planet of Rising Ape" but it was not on anymore. So we decided to watch a later English movie, called "Immortals". Then we walked around and shopped a bit. I bought a wallet.

The movie is really bloody with lots of fighting and special effects.
It is all right. But the lead actor, Henry Cavill is such an eye candy!

Picture from http://www.unrinsight.com/author/brissenden/

We had dinner after the movie and went grocery shopping.

Now I am sitting in the couch with a cup of hot tea and listening to Adele.
It's still early (9 pm) but I feel tired and just wanted to relax for the rest of the night.

Sangria Friday

Today is a special day as 2011-11-11.
In China, people celebrate it as Single's Day. Of course, it's also the Remembrance Day where we should remember of the people who fought in the war and affected by the war.

I have planned to show some Remembrance Day video but didn't have time in class as they were writing a chapter quiz. My co-worker made poppy for us to wear. It was another beautiful day. I still have quite a few things I need to do for work (I have had a list). Hopefully, I will more things done this weekend.

After work, I had Chinese steak on grill dinner with another co-worker. Then, we went to buy stuff for making sangria for tomorrow. After that, I watched another movie. This time it was the movie called, Lust & Caution by Ang Lee.

I like the setting of the old Shianghai, the fashion, and the culture. But that period of time is very unstable and sad in Chinese history. The movie is pretty long and it moves rather slowly in the beginning. I like the flashback where the lead actress would have in connecting the stories throughout the whole movie.

It was a laid-back Friday night.
The sangria should taste really good for tomorrow.

Glorious Thursday

I have been bad for not writing for two days.
Now I have to think back hard what has happened for the past two days.

Actually, many things have happened that they are coming back to me.

Tuesday, we had a cold rainy day.
But we played ultimate in the rain and it was a lot of fun.
I stayed at school that day to helped with the 1st School Singing Contest.
I was tired and cold from Ultimate but the night was great.
The audience had a lot of fun and the students who performed were great as well.
There was a little incident where a student sang "Carmen" in Chinese lyrics where men are bashed. So the Chinese principal wasn't happy with that and said that she shouldn't win even she was in the top threes. But she did get 3rd place for the competition. So I talked with him and we came to the understanding that we should be careful in allowing what students can perform in school events and we would still present her with the 3rd place award. But for some reason, we couldn't present her the award. Many students were very upset by such incident. So that ruined the night. The Chinese teacher who organized the event was very upset as well. She wanted me to be in charge of the X'mas party and she would be assisting instead...I guess I just have to do this one to help her out.

Wednesday, the weather took a 180 degrees turn or 360 degrees. The sun came out and it was beautiful blue sky. It couldn't have been better. My computer in the classroom has been working properly. But such weather just made me so happy that I didn't even care with that. After school we played football and it was a lot of fun even if I didn't really know how to play. After work, I went for a walk with my roommate as we both wanted to make the best of the day. We walked around and checked out what's playing in the theatre. We decided to watch the "The Planet of Rising Ape" over the weekend. We also found a coffee shop nearby - that was exciting. We wanted to give it a try sometimes, too.
Then I went to another co-worker's for dinner and spent a nice evening.

Today was another Glorious Day. It couldn't be any better.
Perfect blue sky, warm sun, crispy cold air, and seeing the mountains at the back - made me just wanted to go "ahhhhhhhh niceeeeeee". I did get my report cards done. But I would still have to make the chapter test and plan for the next chapter. It's a good busy. After school, we were able to play ultimate in the perfect weather. It was just so nice to enjoy the rare November sun. Then I stayed after school for movie night. While I was having dinner at the Cafe, I got a piece of birthday cake from my student. So that was kind of my early b-day cake even it's for my student. It was yummy! I love cake!
For movie night, we watched "The Adjustment Bureau". It was a romantic thriller. I enjoyed the plot about people should write their own plan and take actions of their lives.












I think I have been socializing much more and that I might have been watching too much movies as I have another movie night to go to for tomorrow night. I should cut it down a bit and read my books.

It was my friend Jenny's birthday today (She works at Wuhan)! I surprised her with some gifts I got on Taobao. Happy birthday, Jenny!

It's supposed to be nice sunny weather tomorrow as well before it will get ugly again over the weekend. I can't wait for Fridayyyyy!

farewell dinner

Had a farewell dinner tonight.
Thinking back we have had quite a few farewell dinner over the past year.
YC is not a place where people will stay long.

Charice Sunday

Super talented young singer, Charice.

Her voice has mesmerized me:

YCSat

YWoke up early to the YC Sat.
I had to go acupuncture with my co-worker.
We actually did a lot for the day.
We had lunch, hair cut, and did some shopping. Then we biked back home.
Whenever I am out with her, I have become her personal translator.
The locals are always so excited to see foreigners and would ask me where she's from.
I always wonder myself I must be fitting in 100% as they can't tell I am not a local myself.
I guess that's a good thing in a way.
I don't mind being the translator but I do get annoyed when they are speaking in their local dialect where I can't understand.
---------
My roommate taught me how to make curry power from scatch. All you need is:
-turmeric
-coriander powder
-chilli powder

That was super simple and easy.
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After dinner, we went to the college for a show that's going on tonight. But we couldn't get in without the student ID. So we went to the old town again just to walk around and others did more shopping. My co-worker was so tempted to get a puppy. The puppy that she was holding for the longest time was a fluffy white ball (Beijing dog apparently). It was super cute but she knew better not to get it as she couldn't take care of it properly.

yoga Friday

Today was the last day of midterm week.

I got some prepping done but still got a lot of work to do, such as the midterm report cards.

I would still need to go into school this weekend.

After work, I had a little nap then went to the gym for yoga class.

It was hard to go to the gym when I woke up from my warm bed.

But glad that I braved myself and went with my co-workers.

My arms and shoulder were sore from last night's pole dancing class.

The yoga class definitely helped relieve some of that tension and soreness.

Tomorrow morning I am going with my co-worker for acupuncture. Last time I got really sick. Hopefully, this time I would be okay.

Girls Night Out!

Can't believe that I didn't save my post last night.

Yesterday I got some prepping done. So it was a productive day.

After school, we played a bit of ultimate. 

It was fun as always.

We then made it a girls night out.

Went to the gym and did a pole dancing class.

The teacher was a super small girl with 4 inches shiny leather heels and she was amazing.

I don't know if I can ever be as good as her. I think more practice is definitely required.

I am definitely slow in picking up the techniques. 

After that we went home and had dinner (I made veggie and egg noodle soup).

Then it was relax time. 

Music, incense, wine, and chat. 

Perfect Thursday Girls Night Out.

Zhouenlai Class Ceremony & What I miss about Vancouver!

This morning I have invigilated an English midterm.
Students tend to stay longer when they write English exams than for Math exams.

In the activity time, we have had our first ever Zhou en lai class ceremony.
Basically, the school has selected a group of outstanding students to be in this honorable class. Chinese people are really good with doing the show and care a lot about "face". We have had a nice backdrop for our stage and we have invited guests of highly political status. Some of our guests are the people who used to work very closely under Premier Zhou en lai.  In the ceremony, there are at least 8 speeches. They basically have similar content - congradulating our school and our students, wishing them to work harder for the country and the communist party. I really don't like the part about the communist party. I, personally don't like political propaganda. But I am happy for the students who are recognized in this ceremony. They totally deserve it as they are great kids.

-------------------

This afternoon we have also had our classic Chongqing weather, cloudy and a bit of rain.
This actually reminds me a lot of Vancouver. I have had a talk with my co-worker and asked her what she missed most about. She told me that she missed the varieties of food. In vancouver, you could get sushi, pasta, pizza, etc. In Chongqing, it's the famous Sichuan   cuisine and hot pot. The Sichuan people love their oily, salty, and spicy food.  Thinking about it, I miss it, too. But I don't find it hard to live without it. It's for sure nice to have but my Chinese side makes it easier for me not to miss it.

But talking about Vancouver, there are places that I miss. Even though I live in Richmond, I love going to Vancouver. I miss going to the Commercial Drive, walking around, doing some grocery shopping, and drinking some real Italian coffee. I miss the Steveston Village in Richmond. There are many nice places in Vancouver. I miss the mountains and the water. Vancouver is just such a nice place to live and it is also where my home is. I think it's good that when I am away I appreciate it even more. Career wise, China is a great place and I love teaching here. I love my students and I love the adventures and travelling that I get to do when I am here. But I do hope to go back to Vancouver eventually - Back to where Home is.


More information about visiting Vancouver:
Vancouver Tourism

A great blog for people who are from Richmond but don't live in Richmond anymore (He writes the blog for Tourism Richmond):
Richmond Reel

Enjoy!

Midterm week!

Midterms start today!
My Gr.11s wrote their first midterm for Physics.

Looking at them makes me miss being a student.

After school, we played an hour of ultimate. It was a nice game - got lots of running.
I have been running a bit everyday since Sat.
I am feeling great even though I know I am still far off from my half-marathon goal.

Dinner at Canto and it was good.
We had old duck soup, stir-fried tofu, and stir-fried beans.
It was yummy as I asked them not to put too much salt.
It was also my first time to have soup there.
The soup was good and there were chestnuts in it.

In Chongqing, people eat really salty. They put salt, MSG, and chicken stock in every dish.

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My sister is stressing out about job interviews.
I just hope that something good will happen to her.
She deserves it because she's super awesome!