OH, the people you meet...

     I know I have been extremely remiss in my blogging, but things have been a wee bit crazy around here the last few weeks.  Let me explain.  As some of you may recall, I had previously said I had found my new bff in China.  Well, for those of you who know me, and love me anyways, part of the reason I left the world of doc review was because of some of the folks you meet doing the job.

     I have always said there are three types of folks that do doc review; 1) the newbie graduates who just need a job, any job, 2) the mid-lifers looking for a new job and need income or those folks doing it while they kick start their own practice, and 3) those folks who cannot deal with having a real job, or who would not be welcomed in a "normal" working environment.  I use, as an example, "Scooter Girl", or "Evil Jackie".  Anyone who has ever worked with these folks knows who I am talking about.

     So, in the TEFL (Teaching English as a Foreign Language) world, I am finding that there are four types of folks doing this work; 1) the young/recent college grads looking for the ultimate grand adventure, 2) mid-lifers looking for a new career/opportunity, 3) let's just call them the whack jobs, and finally, 4) creepy/pervy men who are very unattractive and looking for desperate Asian women who will marry them and wait on them hand and foot, OR, who know you can buy anything in Thailand...think about it.  These are guys who would NEVER be likely to get laid back home.

     So, my former "new bff" has become my current albatross.  I have taken to calling her "Scooter Girl China" or "TS".  The "T" stands for typhoon, as I consider her a force of nature.  I live next door to her and work in the same office with her.  There is only one usable "common area" in the dorms so I am extremely limited in where I can go to escape.   I have asked the school to move me out of the office, and was informed there is no room to put me anywhere else.  I offered to have my computer moved to a blank cubby in the library so I could at least work in peace, and was informed this was NOT an option.

     SGC's behaviour has become irrational, unruly, aggressive, inappropriate, and HIGHLY unprofessional.  When she is not asking one of the women, at work or at home, if they have had a man's cock up their ass, she is hitting on the men that live in the dorms.  I have confirmed, from the men, that she has slept with two and provided BJ's to a third.  I did not ask her about these "conquests", I was given FULL BLOWN DETAILS without asking, and after begging her not to tell me.  There was an incident in school last week where she was in the office showing us the "exercises" she does in bed, including leg lifts and bends, in shorts, with the office door open, and with a VERY captive 6th grade boy audience.  When we told her to stop that this was not appropriate, the F bombs went flying and she dropped some more in the courtyard at school in front of parents and children.

     Last week on Wednesday, during our so called "training", I informed the head of the company that I needed to move out of the dorms and/or switch schools.  I was told they would take care of it and get back to me.  They spoke to her on Friday and she returned to school to announce that she was moving into another office.  The school told her the same thing they told me, NO!  They offered her a position at another school and she refused.  One of the other teachers, who had witnessed the aerobics episode, informed the head of the English department at our school on Saturday, of the way she behaved and of our concerns.  When I had still not heard anything back by COB Monday, I fired off an email to the company to let them know I was NOT attending "training" on Wednesday so I could both apartment hunt AND set up job interviews.  As of this writing, still not a peep from the company.

     So, that said, I have been pretty much trying to stay sane.  I did manage to purchase a tree and the supplies to make ornaments, and will bring forth the Christmas spirit!  I also found gingerbread cookie dough at Ikea as well as cookie cutters!  Let the holiday crafting begin!  BTW, found these AMAZING Christmas cards, need addresses for anyone that wants one!

Fellow teacher gifts.  I figured what else was I doing to do with a huge bag of white rice someone gave me?  White rice and I are not friends.  I love it, but it doesn't like me.

I am prepping these for the kids to make animal ornaments with for my English Corner class that discusses animals.

The snowmen are actually going to be gifts and eventually I will hand sew a tree skirt!

Door decoration that can stay up all "winter".

A field trip to the "farm".

     So, last Friday, the 4th, 5th, and 6th grade classes took a field trip to the farm.  I was told I did not have to come with and would not have to come to school.  I figured that since I had chaperoned a number of field trips for my boys, I could handle this.  Famous last words.  So, I had to be at school at 8:15am a full 15 minutes earlier then the regular day and Thursday night I had my first remote tutoring with a new student so I did not get home until 10:00pm and didn't get to bed until midnight.  I didn't have time to make coffee, but I had half a bottle of leftover Coke in the fridge so that would be my caffeine.  Breakfast was whatever snacks I could find in my desk and some small snacks from the kids.  The buses were amazing, and because the trip was only about 45 minutes, the lack of a bathroom was not an issue.  As I was writing this, the concept of a squatting toilet in a moving bus came to mind and I just shook my head.

NOT your typical "school bus".

Some of my students.

The "farm" was more like a tourist attraction and there were rides, games, and stands selling toys and food.

My fellow teacher Phoebe was brave enough to ride the tube down the hill.  I chose to hold her bag and take pics.

You can't quite tell but there were seemingly thousands of kids!  Did I mention it was a very hot day?

alligator or crododile...you tell me

They had a proper riding ring, trainers, and stables.  Apparently there is a riding club here as well.

Ducks

Paintball place inside the farm as well.

Koi pond from hell....the kids feed the fish and it is almost scary to watch the feeding frenzy.

     Lunch.  Let's talk about lunch.  I have no clue what the kids did about lunch, but they did insist on feeding the teachers snacks all day.  Candy, crackers, cookies, these bizarre non-alcohol jello shots in little cups, and nuts.  The school provided lunch for the teachers at a very nice sit down restaurant next to the farm.  It was one of those giant round tables with the moving middle and the food just kept on coming.  I could not even begin to describe the dishes they fed us, but I was stuffed full by the time I waddled out.  

     They asked me if I wanted a beer and I politely declined...until they brought out a number of beers and a bottle of clear liquor, that I have been told is like moonshine.  Not all of the teachers drank, but I had 3 little tea cups of beer and that was fine.  The guys were passing out shots of liquor.  There was no way I was going down that road.  Almost all of the teachers then remained at the restaurant to play cards or take a nap.  I chose to spend actual time with the kids as we were free to wander with the teachers in the morning.  The teachers I was with allowed me to pick strawberries, hence the strawberry pancakes the following morning :-)

     So, I spent the afternoon wandering about (it appeared to be aimlessly) seeing the "farm".  I have no idea what the children learned from their Chinese tour guide, but they appeared to have a good time.  I found the whole thing fascinating and definitely something I do not regret doing, but next time, I believe I will opt for a day off :-)   

A stone, Hong Kong, and the Great Escape.

     I know I have been remiss in not blogging for the past 2 weeks, but I can explain.  First of all, I was feeling under the weather.  It had cooled off for a few days and then it got hotter than it was before the cool off.  When I say the weather is oppressive, I am not merely whining, but speaking in literal terms.  So, when I was informed last week that I would be given a few days off from school because they were doing school activities, I welcomed the long weekend with open arms and made plans to visit Hong Kong.  I was told that it was cooler in HK because of the ocean breezes.
     I had been feeling bad before this, and realized that it was likely a UTI.  Being in an almost constant state of dehydration can do this, so I went to the pharmacy and was given an OTC antibiotic and some herbs.  I KNOW, but hey, it was better than visiting the hospital...right??  So, 2 days into my 4 day regime, and feeling better, I took the subway on Wed. evening to Hong Kong.  Once you cross the border, you actually get on the Hong Kong subway to continue.  I had gone to booking.com and booked myself what appeared to be a very nice hotel room in HK.  The room came with breakfast buffet and free wi-fi.  Apparently, my Chinese phone will not work at all in HK.
     I had reserved my room and and written down the directions to the hotel.  I knew what line to take and what stop to get off at (it was the end of the Blue line), and to take the 101 bus.  What I failed to write down was the name of the hotel.  So, at the border, I was FORCED to purchase a Starbucks in order to get the wi-fi code so I could log in to find out where I was staying...yes, I did that...LOL
     I knew to take the 101 bus so I headed that way.  It turns out there is a South loop route and a North loop route for the 101 and guess who took the wrong loop?  I just kept chuckling to myself and reminding myself that when you half-ass it, you have a half-ass time!  Grand adventure, right??  I finally arrived at the hotel at about 10:30 only to be told the credit card was rejected.  I said of course it is, and showed him the card account, indicating they had already put the room charge on my card as a hold.  Ok, keys turned over and I was off to my room.  I wanted a comfy bed and a quiet room.  It was ON!

My hotel.

Right across the street,  Abject poverty toes the line with luxury all over the place in China and HK.

This room is HUGE by HK standards and I admit, I paid about $130 US per night.  I could get a hostel and share a room for about $50, but hey, my dime, my time, my room :-)

No tub, as shown in picture, but it turned out to be a good thing!

Top floor of a 21 story hotel.

The reason they gave me 2 cards was because the power to the room only works if there is a keycard in the slot by the door.  This way, tourists do not go off all day and leave the air con blasting!

This was actually my favorite part of the room.  This is a sign in the hotel equating the presence and consumption of durian with smoking :-)

     So, I checked in, took a shower and had one of the BEST NIGHTS SLEEP I have had since arriving.  Did I mention the fact that the Chinese are inclined to sleep on stone slabs they refer to as beds?  By this time, you must be wondering what "the stone" in the title refers to, considering I placed it before Hong Kong.

     It turns out, the UTI had not gone away or actually gotten any better.  My trip to HK must be read like a fortune cookie.  I had a great time in HK...in bed.  When I woke up Thursday morning, I was feeling iffy, but decided to take the shuttle downtown to hit the shopping I had heard so much about.  By 1:00pm, I was poke me with a fork done for the day.  I took the shuttle back to the hotel and collapsed into bed.  I bought a gallon jug of water and later ordered pizza and soup from room service.  The soup was mehhhh, and the pizza was tasty, but one slice later, the leftovers were put into the fridge and I was in bed for the long haul.  I had a large TV, a remote, and movies to watch.

     Thursday night was horrible and I spent the entire night peeing, drinking water, and in a great deal of pain.  The fact that I was in a reallllllly comfortable bed, in a realllllly nice and quiet hotel, with a bathroom that did not require special navigation tools, it was the best of a bad situation.  I had come to HK to relax and get away, and that is how I looked at it.  The breakfast buffet was AMAZING so I was at least eating one really good meal per day.

     Friday morning, I awoke to feel much better.  I made it to breakfast just in time and set out to see the sights.  I was taking it slow, I was taking it easy, and I was taking 2 bottles of water with me.  This is what I saw.

     I was back home and in bed, again, by 2:00pm Friday, but I have to say I had a wonderful morning.  I will definitely go back, I will go with a friend to split room cost, and I will plan to see a great deal more.  I did manage to get my HK Starbucks mug.  You only get one if you go there....LOL

     So, Saturday morning I awoke just in time for breakfast and took my time packing as well.  It took me 3 hours door-to-door to get home, and for the first time in ages, I did not feel like I needed a vacation from my vacation.  I spent a little bit of time saying hello to the hammies, and then I was in bed.  I streamed some Netflix and just relaxed.

     When I awoke on Sunday, I knew I was not better by a long shot.  My most painful time had been Thursday night, but I was not getting better, it seemed to be getting worse, and there was no more putting it off.  Sherrie was kind enough to take me to the hospital.  I could get there myself, but someone had to be able to translate my symptoms and the doctors' instructions.  After blood and urine tests, it was official.  I had a reallllly bad kidney infection and had likely passed a stone on Thursday night.  I was given a prescription for an IV drip antibiotic, herbs, and a 4 day bedrest note.

     The drip.  OMFG I spent some serious first world time in a third world medical facility.  Apparently, almost all drugs/antibiotics are IV drip in China.  Who knew?  So, Sherrie took me to the local clinic down the street, showed them the prescription and explained to them that I would require a clean and sterile needle with each drip and that I was to watch them mix the potion.  I paid more money for the drip service, but well worth not having to travel to Nanshan each time, AND I would likely have had to pay to get it done there as well.  Oh yeah, almost forgot, when they sent me home from the hospital it was with 6 bottles of saline solution and 36 vials of antibiotics.  So, all the local place had to do was mix and stick.  Dr. Murdock would kill me if he read this.

     So, we have the stone, HK, and now the "great escape".  I had fed the hammies Saturday afternoon when I got home and noted that I needed to clean their cages.  They are living separate because I don't want to hear Ernie scream every time Bert comes near.  I should know in a few if there was an actual close encounter of the hammie kind.  When I finally got home from the hospital, after the doctor ordered me to take a cab and told Sherrie, in no uncertain terms, I was NOT allowed to walk home, I went back to bed.

     When I finally woke up about 6:30 to figure out what to do about the drip, I noticed that Bert's cage door was ajar and that he was MIA.  I put a note on the door, the neighbor had a key to feed them when I was in HK, and went off in search of a place to infuse me.  Having had an issue like this before back home, I knew Bert would show up eventually...right?

          I spent 3 days, twice a day, at the clinic for the roughly one hour drip time to receive my antibiotics.  I did NOT take pictures out of a sense of a) denial that it happened, b) shock value, c) just couldn't do it.  It is NOT something I would recommend if you want to visit China.  The clinic folks were extremely nice and showed me that they carried extra sterile supplies for foreign visitors.  Apparently the locals will save money by allowing them to use the same needle for all their shots and just "clean it" after every use.  Not even a nano-thought in my mind that this was a viable option for me.

     Sunday night, I was finally able to get into the shower and I felt much better.  One drip down, 5 to go, and I was off from school for at least the next 2 days.  I am off on Wednesdays anyway and I had my follow-up with the doctor.  As I was standing at the sink to brush my teeth, I felt a tiny nip at my toe.  Looking down, I saw Bert staring up at me.  I screamed Bert! and we both jumped.  He took off under the kitchen cabinet so, after digging around awhile, I decided I was too tired for the hunt and crawled into bed.  I thought I had heard tiny scratching sounds while I was in the bathroom, and now I knew Bert was alive, well, and being just Bert.  As I lay in bed, it now being close to midnight, I thought I heard scratching near my bed.  I turned on the light and sure enough, Bert!  So, I took Ernie's house and stuffed it full of food, figuring that sure enough, he would beeline for it and SCOOP went the hammie back into the cage.

     I did my follow-up and was given a much better bill of health.  He continued the antibiotics for another week, but they were pill form.  My hands (they could never find a vein in my arm) were very grateful, and it was far easier.  I must admit, they can find a vein quickly in China.  There was little pain and little bruising.  I do not recommend you try this at home....or in China...LOL

Another walk, this time to OCT (a stop on the Metro) and beyond!

     The Metro is the subway system in Shenzhen, China.  I have decided to get out and just plain walk more, and I found it was easier to get the pictures off the camera then it was to get them off the phone.  This was my walk this week.  I went past the Overseas Chinese Town (OCT), which is a tourist village (think Williamsburg) and a very nice area.  I did not set out to get there, I just started walking and took it where the wind blew me.  I took the 66 bus to the Window of the World (WOTW) stop and head out from there.  WOTW is another tourist stop that reminds me of Disneyworld.  I am not quite sure what all they have, but they have an overhead tram.  I am not really interested in doing the family friendly tourist thing, so I have not even looked into what it would cost to get in.

This is the entrance to the Metro stop.

From here, I headed West and went past OCT.

There were a large number of amazing sculptures along the path I took.

This one reminded me of Mike!

A tall ship?  On land?  Pray tell, what is this madness?

I believe this is an art gallery?  I did not bring money with me so I did not attempt to see if I could get in.

Apparently this is connected to the Intercontinental Hotel.

You can barely tell, but even in the stifling heat, it appears a few leaves are turning yellow.

The entrance to OCT.  It cost 180rmb and I had no cash, so this is for another day.

Looking down from the entrance to OCT.

This is typical of the "sidewalks" in Shenzhen.  They tend to be very wide, to allow bike, motorbike, and pedestrian traffic, and tend to be tree lined.

They have footbridges over most of the main roads that are all amazing to look at and very handy.

These are amazing and huge pink flowers that are in the trees all over the place.  The skies tend to be pink above our heads.