The brand new Canadian Teachers have arrived and are ready to take on China :)

They looked quite perky for such a long flight & bus ride back to the campus, lol! It was great to see them again after our brief meeting in Moncton more than a month ago.

After their arrival and a few minutes in their new apartments, Dad, Mike, Dick & I took them on a walking tour of Tongzien...to give them some idea of the way it's laid out. Showed them the landmarks like the restaurant street, computer market, Century Mart, and eventually to Big Pizza where we took them for supper.

After our meal, we took them over to the Century Mart for neccessities...towels, laundry detergent & hair dryers were the top items on their lists :) And we kept them out until 8pm so they wouldn't be tempted to sleep the day away.

It was the beginning of a string of busy days for them. The next morning, Friday, they were all on a bus at 7:30am to go have their medical tests for their stay in China. Mike, Dad, Bryant & I went in later to meet the bunch at Jianguomen for an afternoon tour of Beijing for beginners :)

We took them by the Friendship Store, the place I get my digital photos done, then over to Paul's for lunch (he's from Cape Breton) to Jenny Lou's market, then by Ritan Park, to the Silk Market for their 1st hardcore bargaining experience, and eventually back to catch the bus back to the school.



They were so funny as we waited for the 649 bus; Darryl started taking wagers on how many buses until ours came. Nobody won since no one claimed # 13 on the second time around with the numbers, lol

Saturday was another early day...8am meeting time to go to the Great Wall at Simatai :) I was the tour leader for the entire group (including all the returning teachers since they've never been to that section). Three hours on the bus to get there but worth every second! Still gorgeous & challenging for my second time.



They say that Badaling is the most touristy, Mutianyu is the most beautiful, Simatai is the most challenging & Jinshanling the least visited. Every teacher I spoke with felt like they had really challenged themselves at Simatai...some had a fear of heights (like me), some had never been that physical before, and some were just in awe of where they were. Three days before they were in Canada, and now here they were, standing on such an amazing structure.

Grace & I even went down the Flying Fox! Both of us are terrified of heights, but we just set our minds to doing it...and we did! We screeched our heads off the whole way down, but it was such an experience :) Mike told me later that he was impressed that I was so brave. Adrian back home can tell anyone that I used to get shaky just standing up on a chair, lol!



Last year, when I walked the Simatai section, you used to be able to go to Tower 14 (but it was such a hot day and I was so nervous, I only went to #12 and had to head back)...but now you can only go to #12. There was some kind of accident and three people from Beijing fell to their deaths. I can understand the closure...the view from #12 was scary!



After the wall, we all met up at the base for a late lunch, then off to bargain for some souvenirs...what do you expect? They're new :) Darryl hassled over hats like he'd been doing it his entire life. Also, one of the new teachers for the Canadian International School is my SJB/KE principal's brother John.



So here it is, Sunday...finally one day off for everyone before the big startup tomorrow. Everyone did their own thing. Mike went in to the Century Mart for groceries, then he did laundry...all the while I slept in and did nothing, lol

Later on, Mike & I went for an evening bike ride around Tuanli...eventually meeting up with some of the new teachers for a meal at The Little (a favourite restaurant from when I was here in 2003). As we ate, these two little girls would come in every so often and say some English words, make faces with Darryl and run away :) so cute!

Towards the end of dinner, the little girls came back and dragged Darryl & I out of the restaurant , down the alley to an empty store where some locals were dancing. The girls pushed us together and giggled as we danced. So we ran back to the restaurant, paid quickly, then took everyone back to join us for more dancing :)

Between Mike & I, we have four left feet! It was hysterical! Mike took his hat off to dance, so one of the little girls wore it until our songs were over. The five of us had a really special time :) As we wandered back to the school, I ran into two of my Korean students from last year too! We hugged and they told me how happy they were to be back. They are drawn to China much in the same way as the rest of us. There's just something about this country.

Military Camp for the Grade 10's begins tomorrow...it's where they learn all their class formations and school rules. The Canadian teachers supervise the entrance placement tests and do the marking. The school year and all the work begins with a big bang! :)

The breathtaking Simatai Great Wall Photo Album :) Someday, I'm going to think back to these times in China and wonder...did I really do that?