100 Days!

Yes, thank you, I know ....I've got it....let it go will you!  I haven't updated this blog for too long and I'm sorry, mea culpa, mea maxima culpa!  I could say I've been busy, which I have but I know it's no excuse!  I could say very little has happened but that is a storming lie - so anyhoo ...here we go.

Life remains a delight on the whole, the students I work with are a joy and the more we learn about each other the more I think we enjoy working together - they are always interested in finding out about the West and of course I remained enthralled, and puzzled and incredulous about China.  Chinese people are introduced with their family name first - e.g. Wu then their given name which might be Yunzhang which means hard working and an article which may mean a good writer - this may be an aspiration of the parents but the students tell me it could also just be words the parents like and they don't really care!  They've killed the romantic notion I had about their names.

I have started ballroom dancing lessons every week in Chengdu with a world champion modern dancer.  He is about the tallest Chinese man who isn't a basket ball player and has legs that are about as tall as me.  He moves with the softness and elegance of a ninja warrior and is so graceful I could spend the whole lesson just watching him.  Sadly he feels this would not be good value for money so I move round the floor like a baby elephant with all the elegance of a fridge!  Still, it is such fun and generally we laugh a great deal and make tiny progress - my next summer I am confident we will have mastered one dance - I truly hope he doesn't judge all westerners by my incompetence - I dread to think what i'd be like if I hadn't studied dance at university (thank God we didn't pay fees then - I'd be demanding a refund!)

Things are becoming a little more western of late - tonight we are going to a wine tasting in Chengdu - French wines, gravlax and rack of lamb followed by chocolate mousse - we could be in Pimlico!

Weather is turning, hot and sticky is turning to cold and damp - good excuse to supplement wardrobe with coats, fleeces, long johns and my favourite item ever - giraffe fleece pyjamas

I'm outta here!  Love and peace comrades!

Will really try harder to write more regularly - just in case anyone cares!

It's Bloody Brigadoon!

I feel like I have stepped back 20 years - really!

The town, Anren, is old and has retained it's ancient character for tourists and parts of it feel like a Hollywood version of China - and I love it!

So I have been here just over 3 weeks and I'm just about catching up with myself and have set aside a little time while I sit in The Shamrock drinking Stella Artois having my first taste of the West for three weeks!

There is way to much to tell, I could share about the two old men on the bus who couldn't stop laughing at everything I said, for about 20 minutes! Or the family who put a child on my knee to take photos of the Yangren (foreigner!) or the makeup girls who demand selflies in the supermarket!  It's like being Robbie Williams Dad, not famous at all but worth having a photo to show to friends and family!

I could tell you about food, and that no Chinese take away can prepare you - it is almost completely divine!

I could tell you about Digital City - 10 stories of IT stuff from MacBooks and laptops right up to ripped off DVDs and Software and everything in between.

But I won't!

I want to just talk a little about Chinese people - in case you are thinking of coming!  Those of you who know me will know that generally I like everyone I meet - or at least I try to.  In China, to a man, woman and child, everyone I have met or had an interaction with has been an absolute delight and not only a great ambassador for their country but a great ambassador for the human race.

Of course I'm western and therefore a bit of a novelty, particularly in Anren, but people can not do enough to help you, whether it is food, and helping me pick things to eat and learning their names (to be forgotten about 20 seconds later - more on language another time!) or getting off the bus, buying any manner of things - you name it - they can not do enough and I love them for it!

I feel on a little personal mission to convince the Chinese I meet that Westerners are also decent and friendly and welcoming - I don't want to think of these delightful people ever experiencing some of the xenophobia that exists in England - these people are just fabulous so if you meet anyone from China - please be kind to them.

I am writing this on a nearly new Macbook Air that I just bought from a dubious woman in Digital City for 3000 RMB, about 300 GBP so I have no photos to add to this post apart from:

So, now I have the means to write my blog I will try to be a little more regular!

Suffice to say, I love China, Love it, Love it, Love it!  Loads of things odd and crazy and occasionally frustrating but so worth it!  

Keep happy readers - back soon!

再见，祝你好运

Zàijiàn, zhù nǐ hǎo yùn     

Look it up on Google - I did!

Red Panda Cubs Explore the Outside World

Just testing out how this works from Youtube - I know I'm not even there yet but I can't wait.  Oh, by the by, who knew Chinese customs would be a pain in the wotsits!  My two parcels are stuck in customs and can't be released until I arrive and have the red entry strap on my passport- hey ho!

7 Days to go OMG!

So started this 93 days ago and it looked like I had for ever to get organised - now I'm slightly anxious that I won't have room for my slippers or the parcel I'm about to send will not arrive and I'll have no juggling balls or tabasco source or Imodium or razor blades or the charger for my my macbook or any shoes or that utility knife I bought about 5 years ago that has pliers on it that I've never used but all of a sudden seemed to be the most useful thing I possessed!  So, deep breath - turns out everything in the boxes is replaceable and why wouldn't they arrive anyway!

And I'm back in the room!  Very excited to have my Z Visa, still not really sure what it is but I know I can't go with out it!

Everybody I speak to keeps saying don't take many clothes, but I'm not sure what that means - if it was my wife Debbie, not many clothes would be pairs of shoes in the low teens and the same number of dresses, tops, trousers/jeans/shorts and more underwear than Agent Provocateur's summer exhibition!  I know people for whom it would mean a pair of pants and socks and maybe a roll-on deodorant (you know who you are!)  So how many work suits is not many? Ditto shirts, ties, etc!  So with a week to go, these are my main anxieties.


I have been blessed to have two leaving does - the quiz team cocktail day (Go Tequila Mockingbird!) - I'm told it was a great day and night - it's coming back to me slowly!  We invented a cocktail - The Red Panda with Malibu, Vodka and a load of other stuff which seems to be going down well - check out with Dave at The Whole in the Wall for details!  

So good luck Mockingbirds!


Party number two was also at the Whole in the Wall with friends from all over and again was a lovely, funny and special occasion and reminds me what and who I shall miss while away - a bit choked to be honest but onwards and upwards.

Well I'm filled with that excitement that comes before something momentous happens - Charlotte Bronte sums up beautifully in Jane Eyre 

“I sat down and tried to rest. I could not; though I had been on foot all day, I could not now repose an instant; I was too much excited. A phase of my life was closing tonight, a new one opening tomorrow: impossible to slumber in the interval; I must watch feverishly while the change was being accomplished.” 

That's me at the moment, finishing tying up loose ends and taking a huge breath before the giant leap into the unknown!

Good news is we have bought Debbie's flights to Chengdu for end of January so she'll be able to see in Chinese New Year - boy those fireworks will look pretty spectacular!  I'm also going to make sure there are some cute pandas for her to see and i'll be able to impress her with my linguistic skills as I ask for a small bowl of my aunties chiropractor with sauce!

See you on the other side comrades!

7 Weeks and counting!

Time she is a flying friends!

Anren Town where I'll be living!

So 46 days and counting, time a for a brief update from Your Man in Chengdu (well will be soon - in Chengdu that is, not a man - you know what I mean I'm sure!)

Well much has been happening in preparation and I have to say here that the school has been brilliant with their communication and support - bodes well I feel.  Today I received notification that my work permit has been delivered, I now need to wait a few days for an invitation from the Chinese Government to come and work in China. When that i arrives i will take a trip to the Chinese consulate in Edinburgh to get my Z visa (like a Green Card in USA and i suspect as challenging to get - Chinese bureaucracy is legendary and so it is proving!)

I was advised not to get my plane tickets until the approval was given but anyone who knows me will understand that I have been checking flight prices since I was offered the job and bought flights with BA from Newcastle to Chengdu yonks ago.  I fly out on the 11th August and will come back for Christmas on 21st December so anyone who needs a Greggy fix by then needs to plan their Christmas and any holidays completely around me! Just kidding, I'll be around for about 10 days and will try to see as many people who'd like to see me - just Debbie and the kids then!

I just wanted to share with you some of the health hoops I've jumped through so far.

I've been tested for:

• Aids
• Syphillis
• Bells Palsy
• Elephantiasis
• Alice in Wonderland Syndrome 
• Nodding Syndrome
• Herpes
• Colour Blindness
• Blindness
• Male Pattern Baldness and
• Gout

May not have been all these but it felt like it!

I've also had:

• Chest X Rays
• ECG
• Hammer on Knee
• Gonads Squeeze - we both enjoyed the awkwardness of that!
• Feet tickling
• Walking in a straight line
• Touching my nose, knees, ears and shoulders

I have had injections for:

• Hepatitis A
• Hepatitis B
• Typhoid  
  
• Cholera
• Dyptheria
• Tetanus
• Beriberi
• Malaria
• Yelow Fever
• Japanese Encephylitis
• Rabies
• Polio
• Dengue Fever
• Leprosy

Ok perhaps not all these but plenty - I'm sure I'd fail a drugs test at the moment!

So, nearly ready, just had final trip around the country saying goodbye to family, and preparing for final holiday with Debbie (Malta for two weeks in July) then the final countdown!

Oh yes - Leaving Do Alert

I shall be having a bit of a bash on Saturday 1st August at  Hole in the Wall Darlington from about 3:00 on Saturday 1st August - There'll be some nosh and music - nothing flash but a bar open until Sunday!  Would love to see you there (Obviously this isn't one of those notorious Facebook parties where thousands turn up and trash the family home!)  I may do this bit through Eventbrite - not sure!

Ok, that's wrap peeps - catch you next time - please feel free to share and comment!  Greg x

73 Days and Counting!

I thought I's share some of the things I've found out about Chengdu and Anren Town as, if you know me at all, you'll know I've immersed myself in research - typically, I only read good reviews of anything once I've made my mind up to do or buy something!

So, first off, they have IKEA! - Who knew that the Scandinavian behemoth was impacting on one of the world's oldest civilizations, it means I shall want for no creature comfort!

Secondly, and potentially life changing, I can buy Marmite at Taobao (online marketplace like Amazon)  I think it's about £6.00 a jar so will still be bringing some out with me.

While I'm on the subject of what I'll be bringing, I've gone a little crazy - so far I have gathered the following:

• New iPad
• New iPhone 6
• New Kindle
• Mini Sony Walkman
• A Raspberry Pi (Can watch any film or TV programme apparently - so my son Gabriel informs me although we haven't quite got it working - I'm worried he may not be the genius we all thought he was!)
• New reading glasses
• 6 Deodorants (Sure guaranteed dry armpits even in the toughest climates!)
• Aussie shampoo and conditioner
• Imodium
• A bottle opener
• Large suitcase
• Umbrella
• New pants
• Cold and flu remedy!

I have truly surpassed myself and can only hope Little Debs (my long suffering wife) doesn't read this!

Now then, back to Chengdu - land of the pandas but so much more!

It is home to the New Century Global Centre is the worlds largest building and could accommodate 20 Sydney Opera Houses and is 3 times the size of the Pentagon - it contains hotels, a beach, a waterpark, an IMAX cinema and a whole lot more!  Great as the city also boasts around 300 days of cloud a year so an indoor beach may be just the tonic!

I've also been learning about Anren Town which is where the school is and where I'll be living

Here's some stuff from CNN

"At first glance, the sleepy Chinese town of Anren, isn't much to look at unless you're a fan of the giant Buddha heads and vintage water tanks being hawked outside its vintage buildings.

And then, around a corner, everything changes.

At the far end of a long driveway lies a colossal complex and one single word that has come to define Anren: museums.

A decade ago, Anren was like many other ancient towns dotted around the country -- rich in history but largely forgotten.

Located just over an hour's drive from Chengdu, the capital of China's southwestern Sichuan province, it traces its origins back to the Tang dynasty (618-907 AD).

Due to a lack of industry, Anren would likely have remained a backwater but for local landlord Liu Wencai, whose legacy has driven the town's rebirth as an historic destination.

There are currently 24 exhibition spaces open, covering 100,000 square meters (1.1 million square feet) and housing more than eight million items including historical artefacts, commissioned artworks and reproduced photographs, themed around the Sino-Japanese war, the Mao-era, Chinese culture and the 2008 Sichuan earthquake.

When Chengdu's government announced in 2009 that it would invest $820 million to transform Anren into an internationally renowned museum town, its fate was further sealed.

Enough now, I have to go for a chest X-Ray for my medical - apparently I need to have the health of an Olympian to get my work visa - note to self (try using those new trainers for jogging!)

Toodle Pips Chums! Stay tuned!

Greg

Later that year, China's Association of Museums and the National Heritage Board awarded Anren the title of "China's Museum Town"

100 Days to go!

In roughly 100 days I shall be leaving my lovely wife Debbie and gorgeous family to begin an adventure in Chengdu, Sichuan Province in South West China. I also have some brilliant friends who I shall leave with heavy heart but open invitation to China!

Why? (Looks I maybe adopting a Q&A style, hope it doesn't grate!)

Good question Greg, all sorts of reasons but predominantly they are:

• Adventure (54 now and ready for a change!)
• Lifestyle change - we have a lovely life in the North East of England but we are both conscious that there could be more interesting ways of spending our 'down' time
• Cos I dare! - I quite like that I still have that spirit and I'd like to nurture it!

Aren't you going to miss Little Debs?

More than anything but but with a good wind, she'll be out there before we know it and the shared journey can continue - she's not going to miss my snoring or my mess she says!

Where and What?

I'll be teaching in Anren Town just outside Chengdu at Confucius International School - I met the head Gordon a couple of weeks ago and he convinced me it could be a great move in a good school with a great staff.  I'm expecting to work pretty hard but I like that!

Why are you writing this blog, who cares?

Good question, I'm hoping it'll be a little cathartic, it'll make me think of home and it will allow both my friends to see what I'm up to!

What next?

Over the next few weeks I'll be updating on preparations, boring you with what I'm packing, or leaving, injections, visas etc It may be useful to someone else one day.  I'll also be exploring what I won't be able to live without to ensure plenty of supplies in case - Marmite of course but is it disturbing to be considering taking Yorkshire Tea to China?  Should I buy new underwear in case of accident? Should I vote for the Tories next week so that England feels worse when I've gone?

Ok, that'll do to start - thanks for dropping by - chat soon!

Greg