May was much more laid back as Spring came into full swing. There are flowers everywhere from people's "yards" to public gardens and parks with their meticulously thought out designs. Some of them are the same as the ones you can find in America, and others are quite different. And what better way to celebrate the beauty of Spring than with another holiday!
May Day (May 1st), which is only occasionally heard of in the U.S., is actually somewhat celebrated here in China. And by celebrated, I mean that people either sleep in or travel. The government counts it as a public holiday which happened to extend my weekend by one day giving me a nice 3 day weekend. So I went out with a few of my coworkers to downtown Shanghai. It was nice and warm with more of a slight leaning on the hot side. Many couples were taking wedding/engagement pictures on bridges, in front of the classic Shanghai skyline and in front of churches. In all, I must have seen ten or more couples within one to two square miles of each other. Despite how much fun we had lazily walking down random streets, I do not recommend doing this on a holiday. It was as if the whole country had decided to travel to this one city all on the same day. The streets were absolutely packed and the subways were horrendous! But I suppose that's all part of the fun of living in a city.
After my friends all went their separate ways, Yang and I decided to brave the crowds yet again and go up into the Oriental Pearl Tower. For the last seven months I had talked about going inside the beautiful structure, but had yet to get around to it. Thanks to it being a holiday, we got to wait in line for an hour and a half to two hours just to get to the elevator. From the elevator to the actual top ball of the tower was another hour-ish wait. So much waiting, so little to see. Or at least that's how I felt once I actually got to the top. I mean, it was definitely a site to see all of Shanghai from such a dizzying height, and there was an honest effort to make it seem like we were in space, but I wouldn't repeat the experience. Not on a holiday.
Later in the month, my school decided to have a warm-up competition between all the campuses in Shanghai by having them sing and dance to one of the numerous songs we all have to do before every class with the kids. We call those songs warm-ups. Their purpose is to get the kids focused and ready to learn for the next 1 1/2 to 3 hours. And of course learning a cute song in English is always easier than having to memorize vocabulary. Now back to the competition. Sounds pretty cute right? A bunch of little kids being directed by teachers to sing English songs. That would definitely be cute...if the kids had actually participated. The teachers, principals, supervisors, secretaries, and CC's (people who called and enlisted potential families to come to K&H) were required to come together and perform in front of judges which consisted of a few people from HQ. The teachers and staff from the other campuses also gathered around to watch their fellow prisoner's humiliation. To top all of this experience with the finest of cherries, was the fact that we were being recorded by a local Shanghai television news station. Why in the world they would want to record us at our school doing a seemingly pointless competition, is beyond me. If I ever find the video, I will be sure to post it. I have asked several times as to the whereabouts of this production, but none of my inquiries have been answered. We ended up getting 9th out 10, by the way. It really was ridiculous. After all the campuses had competed, the news crew interviewed several of the foreign teachers, of which I was one. They asked me something along the lines of why or if singing songs with the kids was helpful.
After the competition, my coworkers and I needed to take our minds off of the previous situation so we headed to a restaurant specializing in fish and then off to my first ever experience at KTV, a favorite pastime for many Asians. It was time to sing something a little more age appropriate.
It was also Mother's Day and in China, mothers are highly regarded and respected for all they do in the family. Our school decorated all the hallways with handmade paper flowers and sang a special warm-up song in their honor. I hope all the mothers out there had a great Mother's Day!
May Day (May 1st), which is only occasionally heard of in the U.S., is actually somewhat celebrated here in China. And by celebrated, I mean that people either sleep in or travel. The government counts it as a public holiday which happened to extend my weekend by one day giving me a nice 3 day weekend. So I went out with a few of my coworkers to downtown Shanghai. It was nice and warm with more of a slight leaning on the hot side. Many couples were taking wedding/engagement pictures on bridges, in front of the classic Shanghai skyline and in front of churches. In all, I must have seen ten or more couples within one to two square miles of each other. Despite how much fun we had lazily walking down random streets, I do not recommend doing this on a holiday. It was as if the whole country had decided to travel to this one city all on the same day. The streets were absolutely packed and the subways were horrendous! But I suppose that's all part of the fun of living in a city.
After my friends all went their separate ways, Yang and I decided to brave the crowds yet again and go up into the Oriental Pearl Tower. For the last seven months I had talked about going inside the beautiful structure, but had yet to get around to it. Thanks to it being a holiday, we got to wait in line for an hour and a half to two hours just to get to the elevator. From the elevator to the actual top ball of the tower was another hour-ish wait. So much waiting, so little to see. Or at least that's how I felt once I actually got to the top. I mean, it was definitely a site to see all of Shanghai from such a dizzying height, and there was an honest effort to make it seem like we were in space, but I wouldn't repeat the experience. Not on a holiday.
Later in the month, my school decided to have a warm-up competition between all the campuses in Shanghai by having them sing and dance to one of the numerous songs we all have to do before every class with the kids. We call those songs warm-ups. Their purpose is to get the kids focused and ready to learn for the next 1 1/2 to 3 hours. And of course learning a cute song in English is always easier than having to memorize vocabulary. Now back to the competition. Sounds pretty cute right? A bunch of little kids being directed by teachers to sing English songs. That would definitely be cute...if the kids had actually participated. The teachers, principals, supervisors, secretaries, and CC's (people who called and enlisted potential families to come to K&H) were required to come together and perform in front of judges which consisted of a few people from HQ. The teachers and staff from the other campuses also gathered around to watch their fellow prisoner's humiliation. To top all of this experience with the finest of cherries, was the fact that we were being recorded by a local Shanghai television news station. Why in the world they would want to record us at our school doing a seemingly pointless competition, is beyond me. If I ever find the video, I will be sure to post it. I have asked several times as to the whereabouts of this production, but none of my inquiries have been answered. We ended up getting 9th out 10, by the way. It really was ridiculous. After all the campuses had competed, the news crew interviewed several of the foreign teachers, of which I was one. They asked me something along the lines of why or if singing songs with the kids was helpful.
After the competition, my coworkers and I needed to take our minds off of the previous situation so we headed to a restaurant specializing in fish and then off to my first ever experience at KTV, a favorite pastime for many Asians. It was time to sing something a little more age appropriate.
It was also Mother's Day and in China, mothers are highly regarded and respected for all they do in the family. Our school decorated all the hallways with handmade paper flowers and sang a special warm-up song in their honor. I hope all the mothers out there had a great Mother's Day!
Flowers - It may be known for it's smoggy haze, but this concrete jungle has many beautiful flowers.
May Day Adventures - Wandering around Shanghai and The Oriental Pearl Tower
Warm-up Competition, KTV, and Miscellaneous