Jetting Educated

When I was a child I used to love looking through Guinness World Record books. My Dad would often get them as a stocking filler at Christmas, as I loved looking at all the amazing examples of nature; like the worlds tallest man, pointless achievements; balancing eggs on top of each other,  or random trivia; Jackie Chan has A LOT of pop hits in China. I specifically remember a song title of his: "Big Happy Face" and thinking it was pretty silly. I also clearly recall a picture of a tiny box-room in Tokyo, which was the worlds smallest hotel room. For a period of time, I imagined that everyone in Japan lived in little capsules instead of houses... but then again I was probably on eight when I decided this. Towels? Yes please Ugly brown pyjamas? Ok... I guess. Now I do know that not every Japanese person lives in such little spaces. In fact, I did took the opportunity to stay in a capsule hotel in Tokyo on a recent trip to the land of the rising Sun. I wanted to know ...

I work at a preschool in China as an English teacher. I am surrounded by the Chinese language but I'm still pretty clueless about it. This week I've been thinking about names. Here are a few of the nice English names that the schoolchildren have: Here are the name cards of some students  with some unique English names Its so useful that students have English names in addition to their Chinese names- remembering 120 Chinese names like 'Wang Jia Yi' which is Wendy's Chinese name, would be quite a struggle. Whilst I am thankful for their binomial nomenclature, having a name that's written in English and having 'an English name' are not one and the same.  Example: The child who is called “Chocolate’’.  Whilst I can't deny that her name is written in English... its not a name I'd expect to hear anywhere in the UK! Equally eyebrow-raising the name Herny- though I think he’s supposed to be Henry. If I could communicate with th...

Location: Huadu, Guangdong Province, China Setting: A small local supermarket Time: 1725, on a Thursday China is a big place and I'm in a very little part of it Being stared at in China is something that I have grown accustomed to. Since I live in the suburbs, which has a very low concentration of anyone who is not Chinese, I stick out like a Panda amongst Snowmen. Actually, I stick out even more than that Panda would, as my facial hair (not at all common) and nose piercing (unheard of) make me more much more noticeable. Therefore I was not too concerned when a young Chinese lady was staring in mine and Holly’s direction when we were queuing to pay for fruit for a ‘kids kitchen’ lesson. Our students were going to make fruit salads which necessitated an unlikely quantity of fruit being presented at the till, and it was the fruit which the lady was goggling at- not us! What Chinese people think is odd: my beard and nose ring. What I think is odd: This...

Ahh noodles! I could eat them every day. Actually, I do eat noodles most days here in China. I don't think I realised that I was such a fan until I found them being served for breakfast, lunch and dinner. With such variety that Chinese food offers, I am pleased that I am most enamoured with the most common of foods. Noodles for breakfast However, one does need a break from noodles sometimes. I really like eating eggs back in England, as they are so versatile: fried, scrambled, poached, omelette, eggy bread and it goes on. So in an effort to have a relaxing Saturday with some homely food I decided to make some eggs. Then the trouble started. I'm sure it says 'Not the eggs you're looking for' but I can't read Chinese It began innocently enough; I was in the small supermarket picking up a few groceries and noticed these eggs that were nice and large. They were also a light blue colour which drew me in- how exotic! There was some suspicion c...

Despite having only been in China two weeks, it was time for a holiday. Chinese National Day- one flag for every person Because visas take ages , I arrived in China a few weeks after the school term began. Near, in fact, to a celebration for the Chinese National Day, which takes the form of a week long holiday. I guess Chinese National Day is similar to Australia Day  for Aussies or Independence Day for Americans. Its not like St. Georges Day for Brits because no one in England seems to care about St. George. Sad face. So basically the school timetable in China means that this week break is the only time off from school until the beginning of February (!). Sadly, Christmas and New Year aren't really observed here. Therefore it was necessary to make the most of it, and Hong Kong would be a fantastic place to spend a couple of nights during the holiday. Its supposed to be beautiful, exciting and, importantly, its near us. Well, when I say that its near, do ...

Recently I left the UK to begin a kindergarten teaching job in China, a place I have never been to before. Since I will be there for the next 10 months, I hope it turns out to be a good decision! A good omen from Heathrow? In one day I took both the longest flight (12 hours - London Heathrow-Hong Kong) and shortest (35mins - Hong Kong to Guangzhou) that I have ever been on. The journey was over before I knew it, and then I found myself in China. What now?  On the car ride for the airport I began taking in the area I was going to make my new home. Firstly I was surprisedbto see a man riding a motorbike with no helmet. What!  As it transpired, I peaked too early on the shock factor. Shortly after, I saw three people on one motorbike, cutting in and out of traffic. Then I saw another motorbike with three adults- and a baby sandwiched in the mix- none of whom wore headgear. Quite an interesting sight for the first few minutes in the country...

"I'm sorry, I don't know what you're saying" I admitted, and automatically, my face contorted in to an expression of confusion and I gave an over exaggerated shrug.  My mumblings and body language were sure to tell him I was a confused foreigner, and indeed, the Italian man accepted his mistake and continued down the Roman street. My heritage pie chart: Guyana, Britain and a little bit of France In Italy I was often mistaken- natives and tourists alike were asking me questions or for directions. One one occasion I said "Hey, I'm new here too, but lets go," and then we ended up going to a science museum together. When meeting other travelers, a game of "guess my ethnic background" has ended with: Greek, Turk, Iranian, Spaniard and Italian among many others. I guess my actual roots from South America is a bit far to consider when people play that game in Europe.  While I am proud of this heritage, once you talk to me I...

Amsterdam is one of my favorite cities. When I first arrived I adored the tiny houses, beautiful lakes and the volume of great things to do. I didn't worry about fitting everything in one that first trip, as I knew I'd be back. There is so much more to this friendly and exciting city than people sometimes imagine. This is by no means a tell all guide, just my experiences and ideas. So if you are going to Amsterdam or considering it, here's why I think it is great and what I recommend. Contents 1. Tours 2. Bikes 3. Museums 4. Food 5. Drink 1. Tours I do love to start off a city trip with one of the free walking tours that have become abundant in many interesting places. There are two reasons to this:  a . As I used to travel alone, this was a great time to meet other travellers, and we'd often make plans to hang out afterwards. You have to play the leech a bit when you're solo or you'll be on your own a lot. No shame ...