G'day! I'm Chris. I left my home in rural Australia back in 2007 to pursue a life less ordinary.
I specialize in ambitious travel - bucket list worthy journeys such as the Great US Road Trip, the ultimate African safari, and following the length of the Silk Road.
When a sunny weekend or a summer vacation rolls around, most towns or regions seem to have their go to destination. In some parts of New South Wales it might be Byron Bay or the south coast. In Glen Innes, where I grew up, these holidays saw locals making the pilgrimage to quaint Yamba on the east coast.
And in Maryland, I’m was told by my beautiful girlfriend, everybody packs their cars and makes a mad dash for Ocean City and the famous Ocean City boardwalk as soon as work draws to a close on Friday afternoon.
With Heather having some free time and our road trip still a few days distant, we decided to follow the swarm of people flooding out of Annapolis and head out to Ocean City and nearby Assateague for a day of sun, fun, and entirely unhealthy food.
Sounds like my kind of day out!
Relaxing with the Wild Ponies at Assateague
At the urging of Heather as well as a small but vocal selection of my Twitter following, it was decided that our first stop of the day would be the beautiful beaches of Assateague. Known throughout the region not only for being quite beautiful as a beach destination in its own right, Assateague has the added draw of its famed wild ponies that play on and around the beach.
I’ve said in the past that I feel like American beaches are mediocre at best when compared to an Australian one, but Assateague wasn’t so bad. The sand was white, the water was not nearly as bathwater warm as the beaches in Florida, and there was actually something resembling surf!
The crowd out in force at Assateague on a bright and sunny Maryland morning.Waves rolling in on Assateague Beach.Relaxing on the deck and looking back toward Assateague’s surprisingly beautiful beach.
With the sun beating down and the beach crowded even though it was a weekday, we still got a pleasant few hours of swimming and lying around in. I can definitely see why Assateague is a popular destination in Maryland – it’s a nice, quiet beach without the bright lights and crowds that choke the Ocean City Boardwalk and its beach.
And the wild ponies? We didn’t have time to explore the national park that acts as their home, but we did find some… evidence of their existence, and even got to snap a shot or two from the car window as we drove away and headed on towards Ocean City.
Ponies leave their… mark on Assateague Beach
Onward to Ocean City!
With a healthy sunburn already starting to color my arms and bald head, we were back in the car and on our way to Ocean City and the Maryland icon that is the Ocean City Boardwalk. I do believe there was a pit-stop for some much needed Chick-fil-A along the way as well. Man, that shit is good.
And then we’d parked and the sounds and smells of the Ocean City Boardwalk were flooding down the surprisingly quiet streets towards us. The mixed scents of popcorn, fries, candy apples, burgers, and other boardwalk delights intermingled with the sounds of laughter, the cries of barkers and hawkers, the rattle and noise of amusement park rides, and the tinny music of arcade games spitting out tickets to lucky players.
An orgy of candy on the Ocean City Boardwalk. We stocked up on delicious saltwater taffy to fuel our evening.Ripley’s Believe it or Not on the Ocean City Boardwalk
I’ve long been enamored of anything boasting a carnival atmosphere – whether it’s a simple county fair (or ‘show’ as they’re called in Australia), a big state fair such as the Arizona State Fair, or a festival or street market. The Ocean City Boardwalk certainly lived up to the hype, and I wasn’t the only one out to enjoy the atmosphere.
The lengthy stretch of boardwalk lines the broad expanse of white sand that leads down to a beach that Heather described as ‘not very good’, but I daresay the beach isn’t the reason people turn out in such numbers. With eateries, bars, arcades, amusement parks, souvenir shops, and boutiques lining the entire length of the Ocean City boardwalk – there was certainly no shortage of things to see or places to spend money.
Some unique play equipment on the Ocean City beachKites flying over the beach at Ocean CityThe Ferris wheel dominates the skyline as the sun sets over the Ocean City boardwalk.
Our first port of call would be to one of several old time style photo places along the boardwalk. Much like paying to have our portrait sketched during our day in New York, this was another cheesy tourist indulgence I would normally steer clear of – but when in Rome, you do as the Romans do.
It took a few tries to get it right, but in the end we were both satisfied with the result. What do you think?
Mixing genres as a gangster and moll in a wild west saloon. Just a normal day on the Ocean City boardwalk.
With apologies for the shoddy iPhone photo of a photo.
From there it was time for a romantic stroll along the boards with a pit stop for some of the orgasm inducing Fisher’s caramel-peanut popcorn. Sweet Lord, it might have been the best $4 I ever spent.
Along the way there was plenty to see as well. We watched as a proud father waited patiently for his son’s huge win in the arcade to pay out, spent a half hour watching a street magician cast his spell over a crowd, and snapped a few pictures of the brightly lit Jolly Roger amusement park that dominates the skyline.
Fisher’s popcorn is orgasm inducingly good. Sweet Lord!The roller-coaster at Jolly Roger runs forwards and backwards. Epic!I can’t leave her alone for five minutes…
A few hours (and a hundred dollars) later and our feet were feeling a bit sore. With an abundance of options along the Ocean City boardwalk, we contemplated a seafood dinner overlooking the beach but decided the cost was just a bit rich for our blood.
Instead, we added another stop to my fast food journey across the United States by hitting up Five Guys for a burger and some amazing fries. Then it was back to the car for a weary and slightly sun-burned ride back to Annapolis.
A day on the Ocean City boardwalk is definitely not something for those who want to avoid tourist traps, but I’m a sucker for bright lights and shiny things – so I got a real kick out of it. It was definitely something I’d do again, although I’m damned if I can figure out how Marylanders do it as often as they do.
Your Say
Ever been to a boardwalk (or a pier, as they’re called on the west coast)? What did you think?
Are boardwalks like this a celebration of Americana? Or do you believe they’re touristy eyesores that detract from a beach’s natural beauty?
New York. The Big Apple. The City That Never Sleeps.
What traveler doesn’t aspire to someday roam the streets of Manhattan, soak in the beauty of Central Park and the majesty of the Statue of Liberty, catch a show on Broadway, and do a little shopping in Times Square?
Well, when life gives you one 24 hour window to make New York City happen – you grab it with both hands and you run with it. We might not have seen everything or done it all to the level it deserved, but I reckon we crammed in a whole hell of a lot of New York into one 24 hour window. What do you think? How would you recommend spending 24 hours in New York?
Step #1 – Pit Stop in Philadelphia for Philly Cheese Steaks
With a very limited time frame to do everything while I was in the United States, Heather suggested that we include a pit stop at Philadelphia on our trek to New York. With eating a Philly Cheese Steak in Philadelphia sitting at #272 on my bucket list, I was quick to say yes.
Now, I know for a fact we filmed a test drive of me sampling a sub from Pat’s and a sub from Geno’s, but damned if I can find it now. You’ll have to make do with photos.
Pat’s or Geno’s? Who makes the best Philly Cheese Steak? Photo from iPhone.Heather and I outside of Geno’sAnd out front of the less swank (but more delicious) Pat’s.
Who makes the best Philly cheese steak? I couldn’t tell you. After trying one from each of Geno’s and Pat’s (and thus shortening my life by approximately two years), I know which of those I preferred – but after putting the question to the people on Facebook, I had a whole bunch of alternate suggestions.
Clearly a return visit (and triple bypass surgery) is required to answer that question. Hit me with your suggestions in the comments so I know where to go!
Oh, yeah. Which did I prefer?
You know, aside from the polish that makes Geno’s look like the real deal – I found their sandwiches to be a tad bland. The onions overpowered the mediocre taste of the steak, whereas Pat’s tasted like (to use an oft used adage) ‘there was a party in my mouth’.
Between that and an ice cold root beer, our road trip was off to a hell of a start. Nothing could go wrong!
Step #2 – Needless Trip Through Lincoln Tunnel at Rush Hour
With bellies full, a room in New Jersey booked on AirBnB, and tickets booked for a midnight showing of Sleep No More; we got back on the road. While I did my best not to let Jaime Lannister distract me from my job as navigator, Heather and I listened to some tunes and let the world roll by.
But entering New York City on a Friday evening was, perhaps, not the best time for us to do that. Traffic slowed to a crawl as we got closer to the city, and then the worst happened…
Our accommodation was in Union City, New Jersey and I’d put us in the Lincoln Tunnel to Manhattan at rush hour. Yeah, I suck. I suck hard.
I’d been so busy reading Games of Thrones and fucking around on my iPad that I’d misread our directions and put us in the Lincoln Tunnel. I’d had nearly six hours to confirm we had the right route and when did I check?
About ten minutes after we’d finally emerged from our ninety minutes in the Lincoln Tunnel.
Traffic comes to a complete halt as we near the Jersey Tunnel. Photo from iPhone.
Ninety infuriating minutes later, we emerged at the heart of Manhattan and I was too terrified to break the news to Heather, who had somehow managed to maintain her composure amidst the bumper to bumper traffic and the ceaseless honking. But it was 6pm and we still had to get back to Union City, check in, and then make our way back across the Hudson and into the city.
I felt like eleven year old Chris in the principal’s office, except the office was inching slowly back through the Lincoln Tunnel and my principal didn’t have any pesky laws telling me that she couldn’t beat me. This was, without a doubt, the longest of our 24 hours in New York. Instead of being able to have a relaxed evening in the city, we were still rushing around at 7pm.
We checked in, made up, and braced to renew our assault on New York City. But this time there was no Lincoln Tunnel to worry about; it was a surprisingly quick and remarkably picturesque ferry trip – the perfect thing for cooling frayed nerves.
Step #3 – Catch an (Off) Broadway Show
Getting into the city at 10pm, we were quite happy for the whole ‘never sleeps’ part of New York as we went in search of a pre-show meal. But despite being in one of the biggest cities in the world, damned if we could find so much as a McDonalds to satiate the hunger that only a long drive and a skin blistering argument can muster.
It was 11pm by the time we managed to find something open: a trendy little pizzeria only a block from the McKittrick Hotel, where our show would take place. While I baulked at the idea of paying $30 for a pizza, item #16 on the bucket list called for taking a pretty girl to dinner and a show on Broadway. I had the pretty girl, I had two tickets to a well reviewed show, and pizza at Pizzoteca would have to be the ‘dinner’ portion of the show.
And in the restaurant’s defense, the pizzas were remarkably good and the atmosphere – though noisy on account of it being Friday night – wasn’t too shabby either. I’m sure I’d have enjoyed it more if I weren’t constantly glancing at my watch to make sure we didn’t miss our show.
Then it was time for the show, and what a show. I can’t possibly do justice to Sleep No More in this entry – so expect a review style entry in the next couple of weeks. Suffice to say that as a theatre major, Shakespeare fan, and lover of all things theatric – it was a stunning experience.
This picture from the Sleep No More site sums it all up. Old school and spooky.
The audience wear neutral masks, speaking is banned, and you’re given free reign of a six storey hotel that has been converted to include ‘outdoor’ gardens, a mental hospital, a candy store, hotel rooms, a small house, and a foggy cemetery. The action takes place in a free flowing, dialogue free way all over the hotel as audience members can choose to follow their favorite actors, explore the rooms that interest them, or go off in search of dark corners for dark deeds.
It’s not technically a Broadway show, but Sleep No More warrants a look if you’re in the Big Apple. It’s a beautiful, thought-provoking, and surreal experience.
Step #4 – See the Statue of Liberty and Battery Park
We woke bleary eyed and not altogether in the mood for travel after not returning home from the city until 3am. I’d be lying if I said there wasn’t brief talk of just heading back to Maryland for some sleep, but sanity won out and we were soon on the ferry with the wind tussling our hair and a day of adventure ahead of us.
A quick yellow cab ride from the ferry terminal had us at beautiful Battery Park, a part of New York I had no idea even existed. I’m a sucker for parks in cities, Sydney’s Hyde Park is one of my favorite places in the city, and this place outshone it. With ferries for the Statue of Liberty departing from the park it was quite crowded, but we found ourselves at one of several green eating kiosks for a sneaky sandwich and an organic beer before our ferry ride.
We debated doing the full Statue of Liberty experience, but the lines were just too long. We instead settled on a quick cruise that passed a few of the more beautiful spots on the river and took us close enough to Lady Liberty to snap a few cliched pictures.
Battery Park in NYC. How had I not heard of it before?Iconic ferry is iconic.Chopper sighting. Now *that* would have been a cool way to see NYC.The Brooklyn Bridge: Almost as pretty as the Sydney Harbour Bridge.Heather and I rocking an overcast day out on the Hudson RiverA sailboat against the Manhattan skylineLady Liberty against grey New York skies.
Step #5 – Grab the Subway to Times Square
With the Statue of Liberty behind us and a few hours of daylight left in the day, we decided to grab the subway into the heart of the city to take in a few more locations that I’d admired since a childhood of American movies and episodes of Seinfeld and How I Met Your Mother.
A bit of street performance as we wait for the subway.“We’re not gay” Street performers in New York assert their heterosexuality even in a compromising position.
Heather had hoped to show me some of the more ‘unusual’ passengers on the subway, but there were no pajama wearing lunatics to speak of – just a horde of tourists who assumed (us being the only white people on the carriage) that we knew what we were doing.
But ride the subway we did – and now I’ve just got the London Underground and the Metro and I’ve hit the three most iconic subway networks in the world. Yes, that’s a weird thing to care about.
Step #6 – Roam the Streets of Manhattan and Do a Little Shopping
We emerged from the (admittedly stinky) New York subway system and out into the fading light of the late afternoon with bellies rumbling despite the ham & cheese melts we’d eaten earlier. McDonalds, Mecca that it is, was on hand with ridiculously unhealthy McFlurries to ensure we’d have the energy needed to make it through the day.
I think he got me down, but I’m not sure he did Heather justice…The bright colors and noise of Times Square make for a dizzying first impression.The Barbie House in Toys ‘r Us: Where feminist dreams go to die. And where Heather abandoned me for twenty minutes :-/Jurassic Park! Holy blast from the past!Spiderman sighting! I could have spent hours in Toys ‘r UsHeather enraptured with a singing Ariel doll. I’ll never be able to hear “Part of Your World” again without thinking of this.
If I’d had more time, I’d have loved to spend an entire day exploring the stores and sights of Times Square and its surrounds. As it was, we stopped to get a quick caricature of us done, spent a bit of time nurturing our inner children in Toys ‘r Us, and spent entirely too much time in the Disney Princess store.
Step #7 – Tandem Bike Through Central Park
The last stop on our tour would be Central Park, which we’d originally aimed to just have a quick walk through before returning to Union City to pick up our car. But an eastern European spruiker had other ideas, and soon we’d paid for an hour’s rental of a tandem bike and were wobbling our way towards the iconic stretch of park. Ironically, that bit of happenstance let me check off bucket list item #291 as well!
Heather and I with our tandem bike ready to tackle Central Park
If the Everglades had reminded me how much I loved riding a bike, speeding through Central Park with a screaming girl hanging on for dear life behind me confirmed that love. The wind in my hair, the sweat cooling on my skin as soon as it had forced its way through my pores, and the world zipping by… I can’t imagine many better ways to take in Central Park than at speed.
Of course, controlling a bike with a largely hapless girl behind you isn’t conducive to taking photos – so you’ll have to make do with a few post ride shots.
Lying on my back and looking up at the sky as the sun sets over Central Park. Bliss.
My last memory of Central Park is perhaps my favorite from our 24 hours in New York. Lying in the grass as the sky turned from orange to a deep blue and stars began to dapple its expanse, I caught sight of my first ever firefly. First one and then dozens lifted lazily from the grass with their sporadic flashes of light every bit as beautiful as the starry sky and the twinkling lights of the Manhattan skyline.
Step #8 – Farewell New Jersey
One last ferry ride took us back to New Jersey where it was time to pick up the car and grab one last bite to eat before the four hour drive back to Annapolis. With Heather at that point unaware that Cake Boss was in Hoboken, we instead stopped off at the Sushi House and ate our fill of delicious Japanese delicacies. If late night pizza hadn’t quite felt like the fancy dinner my bucket list item required, then some expensive and delectable sushi certainly did.
I can’t believe I actually took a photo of the sushi we ate. Photo from iPhone.
Thoroughly exhausted and sick to death of Hoboken’s countless one way streets, it was time to put the Big Apple behind us and drive on through the night until we were home.
Your Say
And there you have it! 24 hours in New York and we managed to hit most of the big spots. If I ever get to go again I’d love to spend more time in both Central Park and Times Square; catch an official Broadway show; head out to Coney Island; tour some of the Seinfeld and How I Met Your Mother spots; and ride across the Brooklyn Bridge.
It’s mid Wednesday and, true to form, I’ve only just dragged myself out of bed and pulled on a pair of pants. Actually, the pants may be creative license on my part.
Regardless of attire and level of awareness, I do recall receiving the text message from my boss that read:
Mate, pop down to my office whenever you have a spare moment.
The man makes my timetable. He knows I have a spare moment. I have oodles of spare moments.
And so, heart heavier than it has any right to be, I soon find myself in his office and hearing the words:
“Mate, I’ve got a small imposition to place on you”.
The rest of the conversation is a bit of a blur, but the long and short of it is that I’m being shipped off to one of our partner schools in provincial Jiangsu. Specifically, I’ll be spending the next month of my life in sleepy Lianyungang in the provinces north-east. The home of the legendary Monkey King (Sun Wukong) and a city of 600,000, it’s a bit of a demotion in terms of social life when compared to Nanjing and the life I’ve come to love there.
Still, I wouldn’t be much of a traveller if I weren’t just the least excited about the prospect of seeing another part of China far removed from the western influence that has made Nanjing so comfortable. Bags were packed, expensive new PCs were loaded into vans, and goodbyes were said.
Bring it on!
Coming to Lianyungang
The JSIE van rattles and bumps its way down a stretch of road that seems to be more pothole than level surface. My driver, a sour faced old man who hasn’t said ‘boo’ to me since we got on the road at 9am, weaves and swerves like an F1 driver as we dodge potholes and bicycles alike.
I’m not filled with confidence as I take in the ramshackle assortments of huts and aging shops that line this stretch of road, but relief floods into my system when we turn onto a street with all of the mod-cons: street lights, cars, curbs, and people in possession of most of their teeth. For a moment, I’d been worried we’d hear dueling banjos at any moment.
The coal power plant by my school tests its new turbines regularly. It’s a terrific noise I’ve learned to tune out.
You see, while Lianyungang is a city of some 600,000, my station is in the border suburb of Haizhou – which isn’t quite as developed as the beachfront stretches of apartments and shopping malls that have sprung up in recent years. I’m a good hour’s drive from the muddy waters that constitute a beach in mainland China.
The driver ushers me out of the van and I move to collect my things, but he shakes his head and points me in the direction of a restaurant. I enter expecting to be warmly greeted by my co-workers to be, but find instead a table set for two and neither hide nor hair of my would-be employers and fellow employees. Undeterred (and just a little hungry after our four hour drive) I sit down to eat a silent lunch with my stone-faced driving companion.
The spread put on for my driver and I upon arrival. Not too shabby. Taken on iPhone.
The spread put on is typical of ‘banquet’ style Chinese dining – a selection of tasty dishes that are occasionally refreshed by the staff. It’s similar to the fare I had when volunteering in China earlier in the year, although the company this time around isn’t much to write home about.
Once we’ve eaten our fill of good food and awkward silence, it’s back into the van for my first glimpse at my new school. It’s a ‘small’ campus by Chinese standards – with only 3,000 students in attendance and 800 of them in their first year of high school. I’m guided through a maze of buildings and up to a padlocked gate that marks the entrance to my apartment and that’s the end of my guidance. My driver sullenly returns to the van and I’m left to figure the rest out myself.
My school here in Lianyungang
The Apartment
My apartment is a converted dorm room – all ugly tiles and fading paint, but it’s far from uncomfortable. A big double bed awaits me and a living room boasting cable TV and a comfy couch is a welcome sight. The ‘kitchen’ is more hallway than preparation space, but the bathroom sports a shower with water pressure and the place his internet that puts my overloaded college network in Nanjing to shame.
Part kitchen, part hallway, part bathroom vanity. All awesome.Fully kitted out (and tiny) kitchen cornerMy living room complete with cable TV and USB ready big screen.The orgy of destruction that is my bedroom/study after unpacking.
It’s not long before I’ve got my PC set up and I’m kicking ass and taking names in Bastion; while waiting to find out who I work for/with and what exactly I’ll be doing for the next month.
Warmer Welcomes
Lucky S.O.B that I am, they arrive as I’m in the midst of a heated battle and I hurriedly rush to greet them. Sonia, my co-teacher, and Tony – my boss – are on hand to give me the tour and explain my duties to me. Sonia, who spent some time living in Australia as a student, speaks fluent English and happily chatters away to me about her travels and about the school as she gives me a tour.
My classroom, she explains, is a group of 34 students at the lower level of the spectrum from an English perspective. I’ll be teaching them four days a week for forty minutes at a time – giving me an exhausting (ha ha!) four hours of work a week. While Tony originally insisted that I be in the office from 8am until 6pm, Sonia soon negotiates that down to ‘twenty minutes before your class’.
The school itself is typical of Chinese schools. Classrooms that have seen better days and perhaps aren’t meant for such large classes, a running track and sports field, a concrete basketball court, and a token garden at its heart that sees precious little attention from the students.
This tiny shop across from my apartment is my lifeline. The owners love me and I’m there every day to buy water, milk, and other essentials.This vine covered walkway is my walk to class every afternoon. So serene.This small pond and garden area (complete with fake cranes) is a relaxing little oasis at the heart of the school.Token pagoda in the gardens at my school.By far the most popular sport among teens in China, basketball’s popularity sees courts at every school in the country worth it’s salt.Louis, pictured, is one of the friendlier members of staff – always keen for a beer or a game of 1 on 1.
I’m introduced to my office – all of whom speak some degree of English – and then it’s time for my official welcome. Tony, Sonia, and a trio of other teachers who speak varying amounts of English adjourn with me to the restaurant from earlier for a more formal affair.
I’m seated in the position of honor (marked with the most ornate napkin arrangement) and the host, Tony, sits to my right. Everybody else settles around and the procession of food begins. The beer flows quite liberally and everybody on hand is courteous enough to speak only English – even when they’re speaking to one another.
Posing with new-found friends after many, many beers.
It’s a wonderfully welcoming affair and I’m nice and tipsy by the time our two and a half meal draws to a close at 8pm. I’ll never get how to Chinese can get a party into full swing and then end it so abruptly, but every formal dinner I’ve had here has followed that same pattern of eat, drink to excess, and halt abruptly.
Regardless, any lingering fears I’d had about feeling like an outcast or being uncomfortable are quickly dispelled. I’m no longer wary, but excited for the month to come.
In the past two weeks Sonia has taken excellent care of me. My first week here saw me out to dinner with her and her daughter every night and she was a pillar of strength last week when I was laid up for 24 hours with a nasty stomach bug. She’s been on hand to answer any questions I’ve had and generally just been a wonderful help. I’d be lost without her and I’m not afraid to admit it.
Teaching
My first class is at 5.20pm the next day, but I spend most of the day in the office reading or playing on my iPad, until Sonia says I should just go home and relax. You don’t have to ask me twice. Skyrim isn’t going to liberate itself.
When I do walk into class later that afternoon, I’m greeted with applause from my kids – many of whom haven’t met a white person before. The first class rushes by all too quickly as I’m inundated with questions ranging from “Where are you from?” to “What video games do you like?” to “Are you married?”
The kids are all quick to select English names for themselves as the week progresses and now I’ve got a motley collection of traditional names like Rose, Agnes, Owen, and Fiona doubled up with the likes of Fly, Bread, Egg Rolls, Sleeping, Archer, Hades, and Zero. Guess which of those is a girl and I’ll give you a shiny penny.
Every afternoon, all of the students run laps in their class groups while chanting. It’s quite impressive.A veritable sea of bikes and scooters at my school. This is just a small fraction of the total too.
While the English level I have to work with isn’t on par with the generally well spoken kids I know back in Nanjing, classes are no less fun or informal. We work through the syllabus, joke around, and quickly establish a friendly rapport that means I’m equally capable of playing a game with them or driving home a difficult grammar point. It’s the one facet of my teaching that I’ve always been proud of – that ability to establish a rapport without losing control of a class.
Two weeks in and I’ve noticed a steady improvement in the spoken English of the students. Several of them take the opportunity to chat with me outside of the classroom or exchange emails with me, and I even got a few Teacher’s Day gifts last week while buried beneath a mountain of 800 spelling tests I had to help mark.
A cute card given to me on Teacher’s DayI’m the World’s Best Teacher. It’s official!A potted plant from my student, Baby. How sweet!
Being the Only Paleface
The real ‘challenge’ out here has been adjusting to a world largely without the western influence that I’d come to appreciate in Gwangju, Busan, and Nanjing. There’s no McDonalds on every corner here and the only westerner I’ve seen since getting here was my friend Kara when she visited a week ago.
My diet has shifted to one entirely of Chinese street foods – spicy noodles, BBQed beef, and the savory shaokao treats that I usually reserve for post drinks recovery.
A surprisingly appetizing mix of breaded mystery meat, vegetables, bowel loosening chili paste, and sauces wrapped in a dough pocket.At 6.05 the kids begin to trickle out across the street in search of food, but the trickle soon becomes……a flood! Traffic grinds to a complete halt during the students’ dinner break as they rush to street vendors in search of food.
Kids stop and gawk, adults shout ‘hello’ in the street, and my beard is generally considered an exotic feature the likes of which the area has never seen. My predecessor, an Italian-French Canadian who I met briefly, wasn’t quite as ‘western’ as the locals had liked with his dark skin and Quebec accent – so I’m a real novelty.
It’s been a struggle at times. Where in Nanjing most people know enough English to get a basic point across, I’m left entirely to gesture and my own pathetic smattering of Chinese to figure things out. In two weeks here I’ve learned more Chinese than I had in four or five months in Nanjing.
But this lack of language hasn’t made locals cold to me. Far from it. The vendors I regularly see great me warmly every day and are quick to advise others that I am Australian and don’t speak Chinese. A foursome of girls on the bus yesterday took me completely under their wing – going so far as to make sure I was in the right seat and buying me a snack when we stopped halfway home.
One of several street food vendors who take good care of me. These guys know my order before I open my mouth.
The hospitality and unabashed fascination shown towards me has been both heart-warming and disarming. It’s not easy to walk down a street and have every head turn in your direction, but that’s exactly what I’ve become used to. Even in restaurants, people stop eating to turn my way and get a look at the foreigner. Girls in the street will hear me speaking and attempt to repeat what I’d said, and kids alternate between excitement and terror at my approach. As they well should…
More to Come
I’m two weeks into my stint here and there looks like being two more weeks before it’s back to the comparative comforts of home. Truth be told, I’ll miss the lazy lifestyle and feeling of being ‘exotic’ when I leave – but I will be grateful for some socializing and western food.
I’ve got an entry to come about my visit to Hua Guo Mountain (the home of the Monkey King) and the beaches of Lianyungang, so keep your eyes peeled for that one.
A bit of monkey magic as I explore Hua Guo Mountain in Lianyungang
What is the best way to learn English? The question of how to learn English is one I am often asked by my Chinese co-workers, but not one I know the answer to. And why would I? I was blessed enough to have been born in a country where it is the native tongue. It’s likely the very first thing I heard upon emerging riding a bloody tide of placenta and, natural that I am, I just ran with it from there.
But I wouldn’t have been in the English teaching game for four years now if I hadn’t picked up a thing or two along the way. I may still have needed to Google gerunds and conditionals and the like when I was doing my TEFL course earlier this year (and again while helping my girlfriend complete her own recently), but I’ve noticed a few trends along the way.
Make it applicable to your students’ lives
Tailor content to your audience
Mix up the ways you get your information across
Elicit from your students – don’t have them regurgitate
Of course, you can find even more ESL teaching tips in my Ten Tips for ESL Teachers post from last year.
If you’re wondering how to learn English or how to teach it, it can be a fun journey, even if you weren’t born into it like me. As an English language tutor, here’s a tip: immerse yourself. Watch English movies, read books, and chat with native speakers. The more you surround yourself with the language, the quicker you’ll catch on.
Different Methodologies
I never completed my formal teaching qualification, but I do still remember a lot of what I learned when I started my post-graduate degree in 2005. Concepts such as the idea of multiple intelligences and the different ways in which we all learn fascinated me, and I’ve done my best to work that into my own teaching.
Me and my class of 45+ eight year olds while volunteering in China
Sometimes your travels bring you into contact with different methodologies on how to teach English and it can be a real shock to the system. I can still remember breezing into South Korea in 2007 full of hope and ideas about how I was going to enrich my children intellectually as well as spiritually. I’d boned up on current teaching techniques, grilled my parents (both teachers of 25+ years) for their insights, and strained my brain to remember the teachers who had positively influenced me.
My boss’ advice? “Just speak loudly and clearly. Lots of repeating. That is the secret to good English”.
How embarrassed was I? Here I was having done it wrong my entire life!
The fact is, many Asian countries (or at least China and South Korea) still adhere to very different (some would say antiquated) teaching methodologies. There aren’t classrooms encouraging discussion or play – they’re factories designed to churn out kids with good test scores. And if you’re at a private school? You’re not even there to do that – you’re just satisfying a parent’s desire to have their kid study English with a pale face.
I’ve lost count of the number of times employers in Korea advised me to ‘just pass them’ when I pointed out a child hopelessly out of their depth and failing tests regularly.
And now, out in semi-rural China, I’m seeing it from a whole other side. My co-teachers are all abreast of recent developments in teaching, but they’re not in a position to share that with students because of out-dated workbooks and over-crowded classrooms. Kids are packed 30-40 to a class and worked from 7am until 10pm. It’s not what I’d call an environment conducive to progressive teaching.
And I thought Korean students had it bad…
How to Teach English
Think about it this way. You didn’t learn to speak English by spending countless hours poring over books or repeating line after line of inane drivel – you picked it up organically through hearing people use it, through needing to use it to get your way, through play, and even through simpler things like singing songs or watching cartoons.
A classroom in which repetition and worksheets are king may produce excellent test scores in the short term (and statistically, they do) but they leave little lasting impact. Sure, your class might be able to recite an entire passage from Great Expectations, but ask them in five years what the main character’s name was and watch them struggle.
My kids in Gwangju, Korea wishing me farewell with the liberal beating I so richly deserved.
I spoke at length about my own teaching methods and my own beliefs when I was interviewed recently for Teaching Traveling. You can read my interview if you want more of an insight into myself as a teacher.
Immersion is hands down the best way to learn a language, and it’s something that The Irish Polyglot uses to great effect in his own travels. It’s not for everybody, though. Maybe you can’t afford to just uproot yourself and live in another country. Maybe visa laws stop that. Or maybe you’re just not somebody who wants to completely shift out of their comfort zone and struggle with every little part of day to day life.
The infographic below shows a number of alternate ways that students of English can learn in a more ‘organic’ way. You aren’t necessarily going to pick up the ins and outs of English or the ‘why’ of things from watching Terminator 2 or playing World of WarCraft, but it exposes you to English as it is spoken in the world today – and not as it is imagined by some stuffy professor perched at his desk and hunched over a laptop.
It makes for some interesting reading. What do you think?
Want to learn more about learning or teaching English? Check out some of these resources!
LearnEnglish Kids is loaded with free online games to help kids learn.
Talk English has a number of lessons on the principles of grammar.
Your Say
What do you think is the best way to learn English? Or, if you’ve studied another language, what did you find particularly helpful?
My own experience studying Spanish showed me that practicing with my (then) girlfriend was particularly helpful. Although she was leagues ahead of me, it was fun to practice new phrases in a way that was less formal than the classroom environment.
I also bolstered my meager Korean by chatting with Koreans at bars, watching Korean movies, and trying to make sense of Korean music.
Speaking of…
If you’re interested in trying the teach abroad thing, I’ve written a very comprehensive guide on how to get started teaching English in South Korea that might be worth a look.
Technology has come on leaps and bounds in recent years, no more so than in the way we travel from A to B around the world. Advances in all forms of design have led to some interesting and diverse ways for us to make journeys, long and short, for business and for pleasure. Here is a look at ten of the ways advances in high tech travel let us get around.
1. Japan’s Bullet Train
The Shinkansen (as it is also known) is a group of networked high-speed train lines in Japan. Shinkansen simple means ‘new truck line’, but the term is used within and outside Japan as a name for not only the trains, but also the lines they operate on. It all began back in 1964 with the opening of the Tokaido Shinkansen line, which ran between Tokyo and Shin-Osaka. Since then, the lines have now expanded to just short of one hundred and fifty thousand miles, and trains can travel at a maximum of 186mph. Currently the network connects most major cities on the islands of Honshu and Kyushu. There is also work underway to connect the lines to the northern island of Hokkaido.
2. Google’s Driverless Car
This project by Google is aimed at developing driverless car technology and currently has 15 engineers putting their brains to the concept. The Toyota Primus has been modified and tested as a driverless car, and the U.S. state of Nevada has passed out a law concerning the use of driverless cars in its state. In May 2012, the first driving licence for a self-driven car was issued. The project team announced in August 2012 that they have clocked up over 480,000 autonomous-driving miles without any accidents. The car operates with the combination of video cameras, a selection of radars within and around the car, and artificial intelligence software. Should this ever become a commercial adventure, it will be interesting to see how driving lessons and proficiency tests are introduced and handled.
3. Super-Surfboards
Two companies, Tecnalia and Pukas, have joined forces to come up with a ‘super-surfboard’ idea. In February 2011, the board was tested by an elite surfer named Aritz Aranburu. The new board is designed and built with a compass, a gyroscope, a GPS device, an accelerometer and pressured sensors which are able to measure the pressures placed on the board by the user. The data is all then transmitted wirelessly through for technical analysis on a computer.
4. Jetman’s Jetpack
Tell me this doesn’t look truly epic
Yves Rossy, a pilot and inventor from Switzerland, became the first human to fly with a jet-engine-powered wing attached to his back. The 52-year-old designed and built the system from carbon-fibre which is powered by four Jet Cat P200 engines. In November 2006, Rossy successfully tested his jetpack for approximately six minutes and nine seconds.
5. The Sea Shepard’s Gojira
This new anti-whaling vessel, named Gojira (means Godzilla in Japanese), was built to replace the Ady Gil, which suffered a collision at sea and subsequently sank in 2010. The captain of the vessel, Locky MacLean, is hoping for no such stories with Gojira, which cost £36 million to build. Gojira is reported as being able to go twice as fast as Ady Gil, and with the new speed and finely tuned tactics, there is hope that they can have a positive effect fighting the cause against illegal whaling vessels.
6. Kerimov’s Super Yacht
The ICE super yacht, built in 2005, is an environmentally friendly vessel. Suleiman Kerimov owns the ICE, which with the help of the latest technology, can reduce vibrations and noise, as well as controlling exhaust emission. At 295 feet, the vessel is one of the largest yachts across the world. The luxury super yacht’s main deck houses a swimming pool, and the sun deck contains a Jacuzzi.
7. Super Power Electric Car
It’s no Porsche 911, but the girl goes alright. Photo by yasusia
The Porsche 911, installed with 16-28 batteries, is a super-powered ‘eco friendly’ sports car. It can reach speeds of up to 120mph. The car not only drives just like the normal Porsche 911, but with the added bonus of not stalling, being easier to drive, having a lower centre of gravity and with no waiting to warm up or smoke pollution.
8. Segway
Segways may look a little dorky, but they’re a fun way to get around. Photo by U-Turn Pics.
One of the most environmentally friendly forms of transport to hit the streets in recent times is the Segway. As well as being fun, it is a great motorised way to get around for tech-fans of all ages; it has has no minimum age requirement and you don’t need formal driving lessons to drive one. It is an individual transport system invented by American, Dean Kamen. He describes it as a self-balancing personal transporter. A Segway is propelled by electricity provided by a large format battery.
9. Automated Guideway Transit
AGT or an Automated People Mover (APM) is a tram, which is usually located in airports across the world, and doesn’t require a driver. It works along the same sort of lines as a Skybus, Mini Rail and Goodyear PeopleMover. They can transport large numbers of passengers over relatively short distances in fast times.
10. Electric Skateboard
A gloriously bearded man riding an electric skateboard. Photo by Mike Baird.
An electric skateboard is just a normal skateboard, which is propelled with an electric engine. Like a regular skateboard, it’s the shifting of the rider’s weight which helps to steer the device. It was designed for local transport originally, but is now used as an ‘off road’ device with the introduction of more sporty type models. With the assistance of 800-watt batteries, it can reach speeds up to 25 mph, and is perfect on grass, dirt, hard sand and gravel.
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