Thanksgiving at the Marlin.

After weeks of organising by Tom and Peggy Thanksgiving Nanjing 2011 kicked off with me an Steve jumping in a taxi at about 3:30 Friday afternoon to scoot down to the cake shop to buy cakes for the evening.  The deal was that AJ bought the fireworks and the cakes would be got by us, in the event Steve paid.

We got a dozen assorted cake slices for our table at the cake shop and got back to the Marlin just in time for the start of happy hour - phew. We had dressed up of course, we were all, the Brits that is, in our best bib and tucker, or at least the best our restricted wardrobes could produce. After all there are standards that must be upheld in the face of the American holiday. I was in Ben Sherman, my Crombie, black jacket and my DM's were newly shone, glowing bulls blood, cherry red. Steve was in a suit and tie with matching crutches and AJ, as ever the dapper fop, (hi AJ!) was in his suit!

Luckily for us the American girls, made an effort to and all looked very glamorous on the night. I'll pass over my comments on the guys and let the pictures do the talking!

The glamorous Lyndsey

The glamorous Nichole - although she hates the photos I take of her!

Some of the boys

First sitting was at 5pm and we were there early as tradition does command us to have a pint or two before dinner.

Sheree

Soon dinner was served

Some of these guy have been out of the US for three years or more so the Turkey was a big deal, plus there was American football on the TV too which is traditional in the US.

But we enjoyed it too

Steve - head of the table

So there was rice stuffing, (veggie for me and with meat for others) bread stuffing, fantastic creamed potatoes, broccoli, amazing sweet corn (deep fried I think - Toms special recipe), salad with dressings, gravy and of course Turkey.

The meal was fantastic, I had thirds, and some people I believe had sixths...

Christy and Rick

Queuing for Turkey

 5ths or 6ths Bryan and Ryan

 Chef, River and Laura

Stuart - the Canadian with girlfriend

And we also had cake on our table!

The whole evening was a great success and totally down to these guys:

 The Head Chef - Tom

 And this is the Boss - Peggy and Tom

River and the Chef

Laura

We have to remember all the rest of the staff at the Blue Marlin that worked really hard in the kitchen and in the Bar to make it a great night.

 Blue Marlin Staff

Audrey

Jack

Then of course we retired to the tables outside - I must say that given its the end of November the weather here in Nanjing has been very mild and Friday in particular was as warm and as sunny as an English summers day.

 Sheree (New Zealand) and Peggy

 Steve and Christy

 Brian and Nichole

 Christy

 Sheree and Tom

 River

 Zac

 Kevin - a Brit

 Todd and Brian

 Steve

 Peggy and Audrey

 Football I think

 Todd

 The US contingent

 Nichole and Steve

 Peggy

 Zac

Then we had fireworks

 Ton and Liam (Ireland)

 Brave boys

 Woooooooooo

 It was a good night

Happy Thanksgiving America!

The weekend starts here...

Friday today, no classes so the weekend starts here.

Teaching

It’s surprising how quick the weeks have gone. At school I am organizing the exams. This means, and I only realized yesterday, in class, that this was the last time I had a teaching class with my students, the next time I see them will be in the exam.

The exam will be a shock for 95% of my students, because I have never seen them. In the three third year classes I teach I have a regular half a dozen that turn up out of a role that should be about 40 strong.  Sometimes it’s six, sometimes four.  And their English is pretty ropey especially for students that have been learning English since at least their junior school.

The exam will cover, listening, speaking, reading and writing and I have little confidence that even the ones that have come to the lessons will get top marks or even half marks, or even pass.

Never mind though, even if I mark them 0 the school will generate a 100% pass for my classes so they will all get their diploma regardless.  Which as a teacher is pretty demoralizing.

With my fresher class, who all turn up for their twice-weekly class (39 students) things look brighter. Their English is much much better than the third years, I hesitate to say 100% better because that simply does not indicate how bad the third years are, so even a 100% increase would still see my third years being useless. (In my defense I really have seen the third years that turn up gain more confidence in speaking – which is the main issue here)

So with my freshers I have to organize some ‘catch up’ classes simply because I have to teach 30 classes, we have done 18, so that leaves 12 which would cover six weeks, but we want to be finished by Christmas, including the exam.  So I have to fit the 12 classes into the next 4 weeks.

Thanksgiving

Tonight we are having a Thanksgiving Dinner at the Blue Marlin.  This has been driven by Tom and Peggy, who are, as I have mentioned before, stalwarts of our college group of foreign teachers.  I have mentioned how Tom has galvanized the bar into doing a Fish and Chip night and like a more polite version of the chef Gordon Ramsay, driven the kitchen into producing the right sort of batter for the fish and so on.

The Chefs learning curve has recently got steeper. Lets say right off that the Western Style food that he provides is pretty good and they do a good trade there with foreign teachers like us and those at the international school and other colleges and universities around. But I’m sure the mysteries of the Roast Turkey Thanksgiving Dinner was never part of his education. So Tom and Peggy have been inducting him into the dark art of the bread stuffing, the rice stuffing, the gravy and so on.

So for instance, in the run up to this evenings meal, Tom and Peggy were in the bars kitchen overseeing the preparations when disaster struck. They had only gone and thrown out the turkey giblets and all – the basic building blocks of the gravy. So an emergency trip to the local supermarket was made for large chickens, giblets intact, so a faux turkey gravy could be made.

We’ve got a large table booked so we should all be sitting together. The cast of villains will include:

Tom and Peggy, AJ, Hopalong Steve from Glasgow. Plus Matt, Todd, Rick, Nichole all colleagues from US all who teach at my college.  Sheree from New Zealand a colleague who teaches in Nanjing with the same agency as me.  TingTing a Chinese teacher of AJ’s acquaintance, Christy an American teacher in Nanjing and other assorted people that I don’t know or who I’m not sure of their names.

Last night I was told that there was about 30 covers sold, I think the bars hoping for 60+ covers, but there are two sittings, one at 5, which we will go to and another at 7. The bar had a trial run when another US teacher, Taylor, took a class of 40 children to the bar for a Thanksgiving Dinner and I’m told it all went well.

The only blot on the landscape seems that they will not be serving apple pie and ice cream, but Peggy got a certain look in her eyes when this was mentioned so fingers crossed that it might just appear!

Next blog will have pictures – promise.

Steve

Steve update – last thing I mentioned was that the college were effectively sacking Steve and sending him home.  That was until Tom got involved. I have mentioned before how Tom is simply a force of nature, ‘Never say Never’ should be his motto. I have mentioned how he organized the international doctor to see Steve – no fees involved. So on the Monday after our trip to Shanghai and hearing about what the college and the Chinese doctors were saying about Steve’s condition Tom took Steve back to Dr. Collinna, who very generously was giving up his time yet again, remember I had taken Steve to see him on Friday and the Dr was very pleased with the progress, that’s why we couldn’t understand the sudden volte face of the College.

The good Dr. confirmed his diagnoses of Friday to Tom who got back onto our International Liaison Richard – who we all now know we cannot trust an inch to look after our interests should we be in trouble.  Tom very forcibly told Richard some home truths and indeed told him that we were all pissed off with him and he was so pissed off that if Steve left then so would He and Peggy.

On 7:30 the following morning Richard rang Steve and told him that he could keep his job and have sick leave, but, and to cut a long story shortish, his lessons would have to be covered by us because if they got another teacher in to cover Steve would lose his flat and his job. (Of course if Tom and Peggy left plus any more teachers Richard would have lost his job too)

So as of today, the situation is this, Steve’s job is safe, he is taking sick leave, we will cover his classes for the next three weeks and be paid for the cover, this takes Steve into the Winter break that lasts till February – so on Monday he is flying home for some good old British NHS care and the tender mercies of his mums love and cooking.

He will be back next term.

Make no mistake this is Tom’s victory. And Tom, I know you are reading this, THANK YOU for your tenacity, your love, your care and your friendship. You have a BIG HEART and on your Thanksgiving holiday I want to give you a huge THANKS that you are our friend.

Shanghai weekend - 189 mph - life at top speed...

Monday 21^st November. 17:00. The weather has turned now and although the day has been bright and sunny it’s getting colder.

The bad news is this. Steve is being sent home to the UK by the college. I’m not sure yet of the whole story but I spent Friday taking Steve to the dentist, then to see the European doctor that saw him in the hospital. This Doctor was happy with the progress, he cleaned and re-dressed the wounds and gave Steve a prescription for some drugs and creams etc.  We then had a 2pm appointment with the Chinese doctors at 2pm at the orthopaedic clinic attached to the hospital where Steve was staying.  We met the College liaison guy there. One in the clinic I left as I had to get back to get packed and ready fro the trip to Shanghai.

Just before we left however I got a txt from Steve telling me that the Doctors had wanted him to spend another month in the hospital, that the College couldn’t keep his job open for that length of time so they were going to send him home.  That’s the last I’ve heard so will try to catch up asap.

That news placed a huge damper on the start of our weekend trip to Shanghai, but soon enough I met up with Tom and Peggy and Nichole another American teacher at our college. The plan was for Tom, Peggy and Nichole to stay at Nichole's old school friend who worked in Shanghai. I was offered the couch, but these old bones need a bed so I had booked into a hostel.

We were aiming to get the 6pm bullet train to Shanghai so we were in the taxi and off to the station at about 4:45. The station, like most things in China was huge and teaming with people. But the train was prompt and we were soon in the sleek white body of one of the fastest trains on earth! We stocked up with (Tibetan) in the bar and settled down for the 90-minute trip.

Nanjing Station

Bar Car

First in Queue

Beer O'Clock

And soon we were travelling at 301kilometres per hour – yes that about 181mph! Fast huh?

Unfortunately night had fallen so there was not much to see out of the windows, so we applied ourselves to drinking beer and eating crisps, as one does.

Fast Train

In Shanghai we jumped in a taxi and was soon zooming though the bright lights of the city. Every building seems to be dressed with neon and led’s. It was bright. 

Shanghai at night

Shanghai at night

Shanghai at night Blue Motorway lights

Nichole's friend John lives on the 25 floor of a block and we were soon there.  More beer was taken.

Johns Flat

 View from Flat

We went out into the night to find somewhere to eat, but by this time (about 10 ish) I was flagging, having been up early for Steve and taken him across the City earlier so I wimped out before I fell asleep in the soup and jumped into a taxi to find my Hostel.

Hostel room

The hostel was about a 20-minute taxi drive away, but Steve had recommended it to me as a good place to stay. And he was right. I was upgraded to a twin room, and it has en-suite etc, plus in the morning there was breakfast. It cost 140y a night (about £14)

I was so tired, but was a bit hungry so after checking in went out to find something, fortunately there was a McD’s over the road, so a large chips, pineapple pie and strawberry thick shake was taken back to the room.

Next morning, breakfast was OK and then I had to work out how to navigate the Metro to get back into the city and find where Nichole's friend lived.  I managed to do that and got to them about 10 o’clock. They had already bought in breakfast. In Shanghai there is a company called Sherpa’s that will collect and deliver any order from the restaurants in their catalogue for the same price as what the food is sold for in the restaurant.

Once out we followed a vague plan, first both Nichole and Tom were interested in buying a camera, so we headed out to a camera market that Nichole knew of. Once there I managed to get my camera fixed, I had dropped it a while ago, and whilst I didn’t really damage the camera, the drop had smashed the UV filter and jammed it into the lens.  The repair guy in the shop fixed it and I got a new UV filter for 60y (£6) so I was made up with that.

Camera repair guy

Then when browsing around the shops I asked about a bigger lens for my camera, most of them were quoting 2500-3000y, but I came across a shop which quoted my 1850 which was a bargain, whilst we were there Tom and Nichole looked at the cameras and as Tom was buying also we were able to negotiate a reduction for me and a 8mb card and bag for Tom, so I got 50y knocked off as well and given a bag for the lens.

Tom and John haggling

At the shop where we bought  - Nichole thinking

So we left happy.

Then the girls wanted shoe and clothes shopping. First John took us to a couple of Malls, but these were really for rich Chinese and tourists, not poor teachers like us, so we went to the Fake market.

Johns practical joke on Nichole

Street seller

Peggy was soon in possession of a pair of UGGS she had been wanting (140y - £14), plus a North Face Jacket ‘on sale’ for 100y.  Nicole got gloves, an ‘omega’ watch and other stuff, Tom got headphones, a laser pointer, and a 100y jacket in the same sale.

Kids in the Fake market

John got a nice case on wheel, headphones and a cool jacket

I got a DVD and some software.

Street Scene Shanghai

Tom in a model plane shop

 Through a window

 Shop

 By a fountain

 Alley

Tom with laser - enjoying 

By then it was getting late, so we taxied back to Johns flat, dumped the stuff had a beer then headed out for food walking through the busy streets. 

In the bar/restaurant Tom had fun with his new laser

 Nichole's nose lasered

Food and beer consumed we went to a bar Steve had recommended called the Captains bar.

 John was buying cigarettes and flirting madly with the vendor

Mum

At night all of the buildings across from the Bund are illuminated until about 10pm.  The veranda of the Captains bar gave us a spectacular viewpoint. So we stayed there having drinks, shooting the breeze with other expats until late. 

 Pudong from the Captains Bar

 Pretty lights

 American bass player from the Blues bar next door

Waitress waiting

I actually left at about 1 am to get to my hostel, but the others, like the night before, stayed out until about 3ish when the Bar closed.

It was a 60y taxi home at 1 in the morning, which, for China, is quite expensive, but the Hostel was a bit out of town, a lesson learnt for next time.

Sunday was a slower start but I was in town for about 10ish having mastered the Shanghai metro system.  At Johns the consensus was that we went with Nichole's cravings for bagels and Bloody Mary’s. all of which we could order in. So we did.

 Metro

 Metro Pink

 At Last! Nichole gets her Bloody Mary

 Breakfast!

 My first ever Bloody Mary - it must be healthy eh? Tomato Juice and Celery!

Photo time

Breakfast was luxurious and we took our time over it and it lasted until about 1:30. We were planning to get the 4pm train back so we could see some China in the daylight, but we also wanted to go to the antiques market which was just down the road. So John zipped out for more Bloody Marys’ whilst Nichole showered and then we were out.

The antiques market was fun and lots of haggling was done. 

 Tom n Peggy still with Bloody Mary's

 Kids playing with plastic bags - health n safety not gone mad here

 John haggling

 Cobbler

 Stripping wire

 Hmmm contradictions here me thinks

 Market

 Buying

 Selling

John haggling (poor picture) but he's very very good at it

I got a Chinese warm hat for 35y which I thought was a bargain as I had been offered one in the fake market for 150y. Then Tom trumped me for getting one for 20y. Darn it. Nichole bought a drum and other trinkets were gathered.

Then it was off to the station. But there were no tickets left for the 4pm train so we had to book onto the 6:30 train. What to do? Ah Nichole has a cousin with a bar. So we dived into another taxi and zoomed there. 

 Sunset

We met with the cousin had beer and food, then back into a taxi back to the station and onto the train.

305kph – 189mph coming home.

Fast huh?

It’s was a great weekend!