there was a fire

Yesterday we walk out the building to go to church, and we see this huge black cloud of smoke. We had no idea what happened, but we found out today. Apparently there was a fire in a downtown hotel. We don't know what happened, but it was kind of intresting to see a huge plume of smoke. (we did not take the photo, but found it)

Loving Life in Beijing

I am working now and loving it, it is seriously the awesomest job ever. It is so much fun and very fulfilling being an english teacher in China. I can see why other teachers that we have run into over the past month say that you become attached to and fall in love with your students. I am working at the same company as Mike. It is a good company, we feel very comfortable with them. The demo was totally surpassed, I don't think that anyone had time to do a demo so they just started me working. The company is fairly new and so the class sizes are small. 7 students is the largest class that I have taught and sometimes you only have one student. My first day I came with prepared lesson plans that included interactive exercises and grammar lessons. I surveyed the students in the last few minutes of each class to get their feedback. What they really seem to be interested in is an immersion experience. So that is the way I have been conducting the classes, with a focus on open discussion on a previously elected topic. The students average in their 20's and most already have fairly decent english so you can get some pretty good discussions going. It is so interesting hearing their thoughts and getting to know the culture a little better. From what I have observed mainland Chinese people in general are good natured, motivated, moral and happy people. I really believe that they are a chosen and prepared people.
They use the words full-time and part-time very differently here. Full-time means that you are paid salary, often with benefits, and you are working on a long-term contract. Part-time means that you are paid hourly ($15 American per hour is average for a foreign english teacher) and is generally given to people on short-term contracts. Generally there are no benefits. It has nothing to do with how many hours you work. You could have a full-time person working only 25 hours and a part-time person working 50 hours. Mike is full time and I am part-time. The students and all the staff really pamper me being pregnant so you don't have to worry about them trying to over work me. You feel so bad though when your chinese co-workers are being paid 1/3 of your wage and being worked longer hours. We went out to lunch with a co-worker and jokingly told him that he should go live in Canada just long enough to get a Canadian passport and then come back and apply for english teaching jobs.

My Life as a teacher

So I am now an English teacher, and have been working for about a week. It is not too bad, and I even kinda enjoy it. I really like the other teachers I work with, most of them are local Chinese teachers, with a couple of other foreign teachers. I don't really know the other foreign teachers, as one left for three months to go back to the states, the other left of vacation, and one other new one has been working between the two centers (The school I work with has two different locations in Beijing. They are fairly close to each other, and both are close to our apartment. The one I have been working at more is closest to our apartment).

So my average day looks like this:
I get to work a little before 1pm. I have a little time in the office to prepare, then I have a couple hours of class. Then there is an 'English Corner' - a free topic time where any student can go and sit in on it, and the goal is to get them to practice more. If I don't have an English corner, I sit in the office again. Then I have a couple more classes, and go home after that, usually 7 or 8pm. About three times a week, I have a 'VIP' class for two hours, or someone who has paid a little more to have a one on one English experience. However, the center that I am working at has not been open too long, so even in the normal classes there is only between one and three students there. The good news is that if I am doing a VIP, it takes the place of a couple of hours of regular classes, so I still only teach about classes a day. One class is 50 minutes. So I am teaching about 25 hours a week, and I am supposed to be in the office for about three hours a day, for a total of about 40 hours a week. I only get paid for the teaching, but they are paying me 10,000 RMB/month (after tax) or just under 1500 USD, so it is fairly decent wage here for English teachers. Almost no school will pay you for your office hours, only for the actual teaching. The bad side about this school is that they don't have a lot of benifts yet (such as flight home), but they hope to add those on in the future.

I do follow a book in teaching English that covers a lot of topics and some basic grammar. I also get a little flexablity to divert off the page a little bit, as long as it is on topic. Basically, I try to get the students to speak as much as possible, and help them on their pronuciations.

It is not a bad job, and a lot of English teachers have it worse - I am actually teaching. Some are expected to be an entertainer while speaking English. The students that come to this school want to learn and improve their English, so at least there is that!

Chelsey has yet to find a job, it is not that she has not had offers, but just trying to find one that works best for us. We are hoping that something comes up soon for her, as time is limited. We are still trying to figure out exactly what is best for everything.

Have fun!
mikey

The Baby Bump

For those of you who are asking how big the baby bump is, here is a picture. She is a really active little one. She has gotten big enough and strong enough that you can see her movements and not just feel them. Her kicks are quite frequent, it is excited and reassuring being able to feel her for both Mike and I. She is currently 24 weeks, time is going soo fast. From what I read on the Internet she should be around one pound and about the length of a banana from head to bum (that is how they are measured in the womb because they are often curled up). We are still thinking of calling her Jade Rose. Jade is plentiful here in China and they make just beautiful carvings out of jade. A Rose is a common carving that you see. We are thinking of getting her a necklace or bracelet with little roses carved out of Jade. We are excited to be parents. We want to be the best parents we can be for our little one.

Hallelujah

We have an apartment, a job and now we are just waiting for that first check to start-up a positive cash flow rather than just a negative one. Mike had his first day of work yesterday. He really enjoys the people that he works with. He will be paid salary up to 40 hours a week, any extra hours he will be paid overtime. Those 40 hours include 25 hours of teaching and 15 hours of just being around the office, call it advertisement for the company, having native English speakers visible attracts more students to the school. They have a room with computers that you can use for preparing lesson plans so those 15 hours can be used productively as well. I had an interview with the same company. I caught a head cold and so my demo class has been postponed until I have recovered. I hope to start working soon as well and start building a saving account up for the delivery of our daughter in September. Once I start working it won't take long, 2 1\2 months at most. A couple in the ward who live in the same group of complexes that we do had a baby not to long ago here in Beijing at a hospital called am care. We are considering the same hospital, they were really pleased with their experience there. We really feel that we are here at the right time, no matter how crazy it may seem, and that things are going to work out. The option is still open to fly me home for the birth but for now we are still going forward with our plan to give birth here in China.

A home to call our own

Sorry that it has been a few days since we posted. We moved into an apartment and so we had a little time there without Internet access. We are really happy with the area that we ended up in. It is close to where we will be working and in a really convenient location for shopping, ect. There are quite a few friends from church that live in the same apartment complexes as well We have a really cool view, especially at night, of the guo mao section of Beijing where all the international buildings are, think the twin towers and the pentagon of the U.S. It is 6:00 p.m. Wednesday so in a few hours it will be dark and we will take a picture to show you all. We are on the 17th floor of a very tall apartment building which can be kind of scary looking out your window and seeing people to size of dragon flies but really nice because it stays cool and all the noise is that much further away this high up in the air. It seems as though Chinese people never sleep because you can hear voices and traffic around the clock. The beds in china are much firmer, imagine sleeping on a box spring. Chinese people believe that a firm bed is good for your health. I have never woke up with a sore back since I got here so there much be truth to that belief. Although the further into pregnancy I get the more I wish I could just have a enormous pillow to sleep in. We are having a great time here in Beijing, things are looking up and we are finally getting settled. Wish us luck!

A light at the end of the tunnel

We had the most refreshing interview this afternoon. It was everything that you would expect from an interview in the west, just like a normal interview but after what we have been through the last two weeks in interviews it was like eating a big bowl fresh fruit after a long famine. The man that interviewed us was from Singapore. He was very thorough and spent a good half hour with us describing the company, what we would be doing there, what to expect as far as salary and benefits and getting to know us and our credentials. The other interviews we have had have been very different. Cultures clashing I guess you could say. In the other interviews it felt like pulling teeth to get any kind of information about the company, what our hours would look like, ect. It felt like they were trying to force us to sign a contract without knowing anything about what would be expected of us or what we could expect. We were also having a hard time trying to negotiate them providing us with the proper work visa as they saw no harm in working illegally, other visa's would be cheaper and easier to obtain. With this company we interviewed with today having the proper visa wasn't even a question and they would cover the costs for the visa as well as for us to take an overnight train to shenzheng and back to obtain the visa. The man interviewing us did not have the authority to hire us, he needed to discuss it with his boss but he said that he felt we would be a good fit. We have high hopes that we will be able to work with this company. We loved the atmosphere and felt like it was a reputable company. That is really important to us. We would start out there at 10,000-12,000 RMB. Other salaries have been quoted at 5,000-8,000. All of your prayers are much appreciated. We believe that as long as we are doing the right and honest things that God will bless us.

List o'things that happen when you have 17 million people

We have noticed some starch differences that are necessitated by a population the size of Beijing. It can take some getting used to but just like with traveling to any new place you need to approach it with an open mind and be willing to go with the flow (sometimes in a crowd of people, that is all you can do - literally!) You learn to learn to love people really quick when you are packed in like sardines. So on to the list!

1) Public transportation rocks! Using the Subway's, and the buses, and the occasional taxi, you can get to almost anywhere in Beijing within 1.5 hours. However, there is approximately 10 million other people who have the same idea...

average day on subway

2) Every once in a while, if a restaurant is very busy, complete strangers will be seated at your table, if you are both smaller parties.

3) On the plus side, no matter where you are, you can find what you are looking for in your Vincenty. An example: Need something to drink? Walk down the street and take your pick of 50 different vendors that sell drinks. I guess 17 million people would keep most wallets fat.

4) The population of an apartment complex equals or exceeds the size of small towns. Here is a standard complex(s).

5) McDonald's has a window outside for ordering things like ice cream, or other items to go. They also have 24 hour bike delivery. You are never that far from either a KFC or a McDonald's.

6) Missed your bus? Within 3 minutes another bus or another one that will get you there will be by.



7) Even with the 1 child policy, you seem to see hundreds of babies and small children anywhere you go.

8) Even with a higher percentage of the population that smoke, you see that many more smokers. My favorite: those that smoke right near the sign that says 'no smoking'. No one seems to enforce it.

9) Bubble? You want a what?! Personal space has a different meaning here. It can be found, just not very often outside your home. Expect to be bumped into at least once during the day if you are out and about - not counting in public transportation!

10) Construction is a constant. We are not talking simple buidings here, but large apartment complexes or office buildings. Anywhere you go, there is something being built.

The advertures of house hunting in China

A company called English First has offered Mike a job, it would be one-on-one tutoring. The contract signing is on Monday so depending on if we feel that the terms of the contract are agreeable then mike will be able to start work. They don't have housing for their teacher but they are willing to give us a housing allowance with each check. We took advantage of the time we had this weekend to go apartment hunting. We have found that the average price for apartments, depending on the area of Beijing that you live in, is 400-600 cnd $ for a 1 bed, and 500-800 cnd $ for 2 bed. But it is standard in Beijing to pay three months at a time, therefore the first month can come to a pretty hefty amount considering that there is also a security deposit equal to one months rent added onto that so we are looking at about $2000 down for the first payment. All that extra money that we have in savings from tax returns is a huge blessing. Apartment hunting is very interesting when you are dealing with a totally different culture. Everything in China is about bargaining, even rent. Some of the tactics used here can seem really fierce to us of the west. And they all think that we have millions of dollars stashed away somewhere because we are white and that we are just playing tough. It kind of feels like playing a game that you don't know the rules to. It is often a lot easier dealing with the middle man (real estate agents) but they can have their agenda as well. We told them our price range and they showed us two within that price range and then about 10 more above our price range. We were told "just look" with a lot of other persuasion tactics attached. The members of the branch have been so kind and helpful. All weekend different members have been working for us trying to find us the best deal and help us bargain with the landlords/agents. We hope to find one that we feel good about in the next few days. As soon as we have a place I will have China Study abroad (the company supporting us here in China) to help set up some private tutoring in our home, where I would be my own employer. It seems that will be the best option for me since I would only be able to sign with a company for 3 1/2 months. We are loving it here in Beijing, we feel like it is where we need to be. We are so grateful for the many people supporting us.

it is a girl!

We just realized that we never posted what we were having. It's a little girl, with 95% probability. We are excited about it, and are glad that we found out!
Already, we have thought of a couple of names, namly Jade Rose.
Have fun!
Mike and Chelsey

Stairs... Lots of Stairs!

How to Cross a street in China

So here we are in Beijing. We have almost been here a week now, and for Chelsey, it is a very new experience. First of all, the accent. Until you get used to Beijing's accent, it can sound like mandarin with a lot of r's, making it almost unrecognizable. Second, the subways. Fast, cheap, and great way to get around most of Beijing. Chelsey likens it to playing sardines at times as it can be both amusing and squishy. Seats are limited on the subways, so most of the time, unless you have to sit (people are willing to move), you stand for the length of your trip, which might be from 5 minutes to an hour plus - all depending on where you are going, the time of day, and how many transfers you have to take. But the price can't be beat - you can get almost anywhere in Beijing by using the subway for about 30 cents each way. Thirdly, walking. Not that We are not used to walking around, but it is quite different in ways. Mostly in the fact that China has very few sidewalks, so pedestrians, cyclists, and motorists all share the same space. Usually, the bigger it is, the more right of way it has. So we of the foot don't get it very often. You move, they don't! You are fairly guaranteed to have cars in front and behind and trying to move around you while you are crossing the street. Fortunately (and unfortunately!) most major roads have pedestrian crossings above the streets. Which brings us to the title of the post - you go up stairs to get over streets, then back down on the other side. They have to be tall enough that buses can pass under so you end up walking up quite tall stairs - Chelsey thinks it feels like climbing a pyramid at times. You also walk down stairs to get to the subways, you walk up and down even more stairs to transfer to different lines, sometimes, it feels like you walk up and down stairs just to walk up and down stairs. So you walk a lot of stairs all the time here in Beijing. Mom (Innes), don't worry! When you come, we will take the taxi's more often, so that you can get around easier.

Our job hunt is going OK so far, we have had some interviews, and a couple of demos, one at a university about 30 minutes away from Beijing proper, and one at a private English school. We already have an offer from the university, however we don't think that we will take that one, just as it is so far away from everything. We hope that things fall in place with jobs quickly, as it is always a little stressful not having a job! We do feel very hopeful, and we have had assurances from God that we are in the right place.

Keep checking back for updates on our grand adventure in the middle kingdom!

picture at temple of heaven

Toto, I don't think we are in [Canada] anymore

We arrived in the middle kingdom! It is a LOOOOOOOONG flight, but we surived. We got into the city about 3:30, and then got to our hostel about 5:30pm (customs/baggage claim/travel, ect). When you fly to Asia, you cross around 15 timezones, so jet lag can be a killer! We stayed up until about 7:30, that was about the best we could do and then we crashed. We had really good sleep for about 3 hours, and than after that we were both getting up about once an hour. After about 4am (2:30pm MST), we were both wide awake, and just lounged around in bed for about an hour and a half. We did not want to get up before the sun, but I think that we beat it by a little bit. We hope to stay awake today (even if we take a little nap) and get our schedual quickly on this time zone. We found some breakfast today, and we are soon heading off to church. Right outside our hostel is a very noisy market, so we walked around alittle bit. Things should go well for us!

Leaving (on a Jet Plane!)

So here we are in the Vancouver airport, T minus 1 hour and 35 minutes until our flight takes off to Beijing!

We had a lot of fun in Vancouver, and the weather was great. Clear blue skies, nice warm weather, it was green everywhere we looked, flowers were blooming all over and there was a nice breeze coming off the ocean to keep it from getting too hot. Compare this to Lethbridge and Calgary when we left on Wednesday - 30cm or so of snow, grey skies, and temperatures around 0!

The first day we checked into our hotel, and the lady was nice enough to switch some things around so that we could check in early like we had hoped for. Even though the room did NOT have a view (it was of the adjacent apartment buildings/back of the hotel), it was a comfortable room. We did not need a good view in our room, as that is what getting out in the city was for. We stayed downtown, so had easy access to many different things to see.
Over the day and a half that we were there, we went to Chinatown, had some bubble tea, went to the aquarium and Stanly Park, as well as ate in Yorktown. The first restaurant we went to there was a nice Italian place, very comfortable, and really good food. The chefs even put some cheese on Chelsey's dish because she was craving a gnocchi with both tomatoes and baked cheese.

All in all, we had a lot of fun in Vancouver, and we are sad we only had limited time to stay here and see things. It is a beautiful city, many people here take advantage of it and bike or walk all over the place. We also thought the people were very friendly and helpful. When the taxi dropped us off that first day, we could not find the doors to the hotel even though we were right in front of them, and someone kindly pointed to them before we got too far away with over 200 pounds of luggage. We hope to come back to Vancouver one day and spend more time here.