Friday 31 August

Sunrise across the river at Quzhou

Tai Chi and then buns for breakfast again. Looks like a winning combination, especially when cereal is so hard to find. having lots of delicious fruit though.

Today involved a lot of administrative functions, and meeting the other teaching and administrative staff. we also discussed the teaching requirements and assessment in a bit more detail. I’ll be teaching 18 periods week (some double periods) but only to 6 different classes, to students from 1st to 3rd year. Everyone has been really helpful and friendly, especially Ben, so I should have good support while here.

China Telecom poster on campus

Students have now started arriving for the new semester so the college is becoming more alive – and billboards have started appearing.

I went to the cafeteria for dinner tonight, and I must say, if the Chinese restaurants in Sydney served the food available in the  cafeteria, I’d be eating Chinese more often. None of that gluggy braised stuff, but very tasty (and sometimes very spicy) meals but always a good range for all tastes, especially vegetarians.

Tonight I indulged in sliced beef cooked with a cross between a capsicum and green chili, pumpkin (sliced thinly and very tasty), green beans with garlic, and rice. No complaints at all.

Thursday 30 August

The main street (Up and Down St)
in Quzhou

Tai Chi and then buns for breakfast again.

Food stall in side street

Today Ben took me into Quzhou for a look around the town and to visit Walmart.

There are 3 buses that pass by that go to town so it’s quite convenient. with a flat travel fee of 2RMB (30c) we took the short trip over the river and into town.

The ingredients

We strolled along the main street which was a lot less busy than I expected, although Ben said that it was busier on the weekends.

There were many food stalls in the side streets, where you could chose your ingredients and have it cooked in front of you – looked great.

Preparing the dumplings

Dumplings cooking in the oven

The finished product

Ben was an excellent guide, and showed me some of the interesting aspects of the city. Of course food did play a part, for example we stopped at a small dumpling cafe where they made the dumplings which were then cooked on the wall of an oven in tandoori style. of course I had to try some – pork, shallots, pickled vegetables, garlic and chili (or not) – delicious.

Doorway of the main building of
Tianning Temple

Wall of 1000 Buddhas

Temple exterior detail

The 4 way golden Buddha

Next we visited the Buddhist Tianning temple which although partly under construction, was amazing. The main temple had 4 golden Buddhas facing different directions and a wall of ’1000 Buddhas’.

I’ll definitely come back again to have a better look when I have more time.

We then headed into Walmart, and much to my surprise, it was not full of American goods, but a fully integrated department store selling everything from foodstuffs to TVs and electronics. thing Coles + Kmart or Wollies + Target. At last I found butter, cheese and margarine, which I’d been missing. At this point I must say that I’m glad that I brought 2 small packs of Lavazza with me, however I think I’ll have to ration it out to last as long as possible.

EARSON music player

 Apart from a few essentials, I did buy a small portable sound system there (an EARSON for $20) that I can use with the iPhone or USB drives, and the sound is passable.
We didn’t get back till after 2pm, so the afternoon was a bit of a write-off (did I mention it was hot and humid?). Using a dictionary app in my phone, I was able to buy some things like flour at the local supermarket, so I cooked up some shallot pancakes with bacon for dinner – try doing that in a wok!

Wednesday 29 August

Managed a decent sleep on the wooden bed  (ie. no mattress), lying on top of a folded doona – maybe I was tired.  I may persevere with the bed current arrangement until I get more orientated – if I sleep OK.

The map shows the staff dormitory (arrow) the main teaching building (pink) and the 2 storey cafeteria (orange).

Ben (Wang Peihui) had identified a park that was in an online tai chi video that I found before leaving Sydney, so at 6am I went there and found 3 small groups (all women) doing tai chi – in different styles.

I joined in the group that were doing a form I recognised, and after the third one, we started chatting. The leader of that group spoke enough English for us to communicate. They were very interested in why I was there, so I told them a bit about Sydney tai chi & myself. Luckily I had my camera with a selection of photos, so I could overcome the language barrier. They practice every day at 6, so it will be no problem doing some daily exercise.

Later I checked out the canteen for breakfast.  Had 2 spicy chicken buns & 3 pork buns (all small) from there for breakfast for 3RMB – less than 50c.

And by 7am it’s already hot. This area reminds me a lot of Vietnam, both in climate and architecturally – big buildings, wide streets, but at the same time narrow alleys, small dimly lit stores & restaurants, dusty, construction going on, etc. China may be becoming an economic powerhouse, but there are a LOT of people just eking out a living here.

One thing that surprised me was the quietness of the motor scooters – until Ben told me that they are electric! There is a huge number of these electric motorbikes which outnumber motorised ones at least 5:1. I found an ad for ones that are imported to New Zealand. http://www.evworld.co.nz/evoyager/

Haven’t been to the town yet, maybe today, but from what I’ve seen, attractive doesn’t immediately spring to mind, it’s more utilitarian, and our building is almost spartan.

Most of the day was taken up by administration, but managed to buy some food and cleaning essentials at the local supermarket, about a hot 10 minutes walk away, including trying not to be hit by cars & scooters. The basic road rules are: drove slowly, don’t use blinkers, toot for right-of-way, and all vehicles take precedence over pedestrians. The supermarket is huge, but no butter, cheese or margarine. The meat section is sparse, but good for chicken wings, feet & duck heads – some pork too.

It’s really hot & humid which makes walking tiring.

Have some spare time until 4pm when we sort out the phone so I thought I’d check out what’s for lunch at the canteen. Unfortunately I was too late, so cooked up some fried chicken wings, stir-fried vegetables and rice on the 2 gas rings on the balcony. The kitchen is basic, but satisfactory.

When Ben came back to sort out the phone, he tried a wing and it passed the taste test.

If it’s any consolation, mobile phone plans here are just as complicated as those in Australia, with 4 main competing telcos. I’m now on a plan that is quite generous while on campus, but quite expensive off-site.

Tuesday 28 August

After settling in and unpacking, we visited the cafeteria, a huge 2 storey building catering for the huge number of resident students. As I write this, I’m  sitting down to eat – braised rabbit (bones with some small bits of meat attached. I wonder where all the good cuts of meat go – into the buns?), Chinese spinach & rice.

Been a long day – big culture shock!.

The flight to Guangzhou was uneventful. Food was OK but no spare seats.

I was seated next to a 21 yr old engineering student who just spent 3 weeks in OZ. We had an interesting discussion about learning English, especially the focus on speed as an indicator of skill.

The second flight to Hangzhou (2 hour stopover) was delayed for 40 mins & the plane was PACKED. Breakfast of noodles, vegetables and some unrecognisable leathery , probably meaty, stuff.

Arrived in Hangzhou exhausted, but everything passes smoothly, and I was picked up by Ben (Wang Peihui) & driver for the 2 and a half hour trip to Quzhou.

Outside the restaurant
on the way to Quzhou

Choosing ingredients for lunch

On the way we stopped at a ‘small’ town for what is apparently  a traditional  Quzhou meal. No menu, we just went into the kitchen to choose the ingredients for the meal.

Some things I was a bit apprehensive about, but we made a selection and waited for it to arrive. Meanwhile Ben got stuck into the complimentary pumpkin seeds provided on each table. The main dishes are shown below. Although the sweet & sour pork looked like what we are accustomed to, it consisted mainly of bones, with some meat.



Anyway, we eventually arrived at Quzhou College of Technology and I was shown to my room on the 3rd floor (no lift) of the teachers’ accommodation block. The room is one of the few with a decent view, so I’m quite fortunate.

Although the College is only 10 years old, it looks like it was built in the 70′s, both architecturally and physically.

The fit and finish would probably not be acceptable in Australia, but it’s a sign of China really pushing ahead with education.

There is a heavy demand for vocational training because of the amount of overall development within the country.