2/9/03

It's Tuesday morning, have now been in Shantou a day. The flight over yesterday was nothing spectacular, except for the juggling act I put on before spilling orange juice all over the seat next to me (there was no one in it), that was something quite spectacular. I landed at about 11.20, and after making my way through customs (including another, although less advanced' heat screening) and picking up the baggage, strode into the Terminal and met Les Harrison-Cheshire and Frieda Law.

I have been in contact over email with Les (a fellow Aussie) for about the last two months. Originally he secured a job for me at Yinghua, another local English school. However weeks later to everyone's dismay, Yinghua reversed it's decision on hiring new ESL staff. Leaving Les in terrible situation as principle of a school with few decent staff members. Les then left Yinghua, which involved a rather messy breakup, and took a position teaching at Shantou University's Medical Division. They were after one more foreigner, so thankfully he called on me. All in all, after a rather drama filled two months, I've made it here with a job.

Les and Frieda (the consultant helping set up the program) picked me up at the airport and drove me back to Les' apartment where I'm staying until my apartment is refurbished (many thanks to Les and his wife Christine). We spent the drive sorting out a few things, Frieda and Les telling me the plan for the next couple of days, and before long had arrived. Frieda took off, and Les showed me in to his apartment, and we spent the next three or so hours sitting and chatting about just about everything. Les' wife Christine is from another province in China, and is the top radio talk show host in Shantou. As discovered over lunch Christine also has more than a few talents when it comes to food.

At about four o'clock Les and I headed down to his local Chinese Doctor where he was having a visit. Chinese medicine is something quite different. When I have learned more about it myself I will write something about it. But the visit itself was quite fascinating. The checkup involving the checking of several of the bodies pulses (the body has 36 natural pulses, one obviously being the heart pulse, Chinese medicine focuses on the other pulses) and a series of questions was very different. The Doctor then prescribed a series of Chinese herbs (with thousands of herbs, combined in any number of ways, the Chinese Doctors really are walking dictionaries. We then sat around for about an hour drinking gong fu tea (which is a huge part of the Shantou culture), and chatting with the Doctor and a few of the people in the room. They spoke varying degrees of English, however were really enthusiastic and tremendously friendly.

We made our way back to the apartment, stopping in at Hayley's cafe, one of the few restaurants in the city that served western food. I had a selection of Japanese chicken, soup, vegetables and rice. Hit the spot! Just as we finished two other foreigners (teachers) walked in, Debbi and Jenn (I think) (from Ottawa), they joined us and we all had a good laugh.

Back to the apartment, sent off an email to the folks, and sat around for a while, before I began to hit the wall. A quick shower and it was lights out. I may have only been here a day, however I am fairly optimistic. Les is a great guy, knows anyone and everyone in Shantou, and they way the place is run. He has story after story to tell and has a great sense of humour. Would have been hard to have found a better person to start out with. The town itself isn't anything like I had been told on the phone by the other foreign teachers who I originally spoke to at Yinghua. Doesn't look like a town that's been hit by a bomb at all (as I was told). The people are all very friendly (despite the fact every salesman will try to take every foreigner for all he can), and as a foreigner I am stared at pretty much everywhere I go. We have a meeting the University tomorrow to sort out a few things, will know more about my timetable and the structure of the program then.

- Sam