Summer break, summer break!

My last few entries have been silly, one-off sort of things, so it's kind of refreshing to get back to a normal, "What's going on in life?" blog. I last mentioned how I was going back to teaching in-person classes, which, I did, and there were no issues whatsoever. Like, I don't want to get political here, but the schools were run like someone had actually attended school before. Coming into and leaving school were staggered, everyone used hand sanitizer before coming in, and used sanitizer frequently throughout the day. In the evening, classrooms were sprayed with disinfectant. Everyone wore masks when leaving the classroom (yes, even my Grade 1s), and the windows were always open. AFAIK, we didn't have a single case, and we'd hear about that officially or through rumors if it did. But it doesn't surprise me, because Shanghai, a city of like 25 million people, currently has 16 cases. Is it really only 16? I honestly believe it is, or at most marginally higher. I know that may sound impossible considering the current situation in America, but it really is a 100% united front here. For better or worse, there is no debate, and people listen to health officials.

So yeah. Things are working out well.

School was pretty uneventful minus the extra precautions. The last day of class I told my kids that it was really great teaching them, and I wish them the best of luck in 2nd Grade. And that blindsided a lot of them, like "Wait, you aren't our teacher forever?" So I had to explain no, I'm a Grade 1 teacher, and as far as I know I'll remain in Grade 1. Some of them were not cool with that, which is really sweet. They really are a (mostly) great bunch of kids, and while I wouldn't hate to teach them again, I would sort of like a fresh start. It's a good chance to try out new methods of teaching, to see how they stick, and develop my skills. It's a lot harder to do that with a bunch of kids that already know exactly what to expect and what you can do.

Because of the mess of a schedule due to COVID-19, I finished school about two weeks before Ella. I thought about getting a gig doing a summer camp, but it seems most of them were cancelled. And the few I found wanted a 1 month plus commitment. So that means a bachelor life for me! I haven't had a place to myself in a while, so it was a nice few weeks of playing video games and chilling. I picked up the Shantae series (really underrated) along with a 3DS game called Ever Oasis. I know I'm really behind the curve, but ya know, if you just stay 3, 4 years behind the curve, you can save a lot of money. And the game playing spree continued, because after Ella finished work, it was off to travel! But in China only!

Unfortunately the school holidays are when most teachers pop off to Thailand, but China's borders are still closed to foreigners. So yes, I can leave. But I can't come back. Recently there's been some exceptions, like if you have Chinese family. So I suppose I could work it out somehow, but there'd probably be a lot of paperwork. Instead we went to visit the in-laws in Qujing. Before I launch into that, I should mention what travel is like in China. You may have heard of WeChat, or maybe Alibaba's Alipay apps. Well, these apps pretty much manage your entire life in China, so much so it'd be really difficult to do anything without them. They each have a health tracker app that has to show green before getting on transport. And I've heard if you share, for example, a train with someone who later tested positive, your status will be changed to yellow and you need to go get tested. I think there is a Plan B that involves you filling out papers so they can contact you, but for all the lack of privacy it really is a fantastic system that seems to be doing a great job, so I'm all for supporting it during a public health crisis. And that's about it to be honest. You have to wear a mask of course, but people here do that anyway, even in places it's not required. With public transport to and from the airports, plus flying, I've gotten pretty used to wearing masks for 6, 7+ hours. So when I hear people who complain about not being able to wear in for 30 minutes... I am at a loss for words. Do you think surgeons are superhumans or something?

Anyway, what is there to do in Qujing? Not much really. It's a nice enough town but it's not a tourist destination by any means. I'm sure I've talked about it before, but mostly we just slept, ate, and talked. We did go to a lotus park, which was very pretty. But yeah, mostly just relaxed. I wish I had a better story for you (and myself) here. For Ella's birthday she and I went to Pizza Hut, where she made a pact with the devil to get Hawaiian Pizza. Now, some of you may be like "Ugh, Pizza Hut on your birthday?" And ya know, I get you. But Chinese Pizza Hut is NOT American Pizza Hut. They're less posh now as more have opened, but 10-ish years ago when I got to China, you would not be out of place wearing a suit to Pizza Hut. They serve wine. It's kind of expensive. And yes, the food is significantly better. 2020 is weird ya'll.

We had planned to make our way up in the mountains towards Tibet, ending at Shangrila. Unfortunately it was kind of chilly in Qujing, itself being similar to Denver in elevation. Going up to a bit below half of Everest's height sounded much colder. So instead we did the opposite, and went on over to Hainan. For a Chinese geography refresher course, Hainan is an island often called "China's Hawaii". Which, they're pretty similar in environment, but definitely not in size. Hainan is it's own province, roughly the size of Ohio. It is an island, but it doesn't feel like one. We started by flying to the capital, Haikou. Haikou is definitely the "working" part of the island, that doesn't have all that much for tourists itself. It's more like a jumping off point for those going to the beaches. But I am a sucker for provincial museums, and ya know, Haikou has the best provincial museum in China. No joke. It looked a little underwhelming at first, until you went into the newer section inside which was beautiful. Lots of neat dioaramas, bi/tri/quadlingual signage, Haikou really stepped it up. Well done guys.

The rest of Haikou was unfortunately a little less impressive. They had a pretty "old street" that looked like Macau. That's about it. We found an Indian place that had some banging butter chicken for much less than you'd expect for China. But after a day or so we hopped off the train to get to the southern end of the island, the resort town of Sanya.

Sanya is about a 1.5, 2 hour train ride from Haikou through some beautiful countryside. I'd imagine it would be closer to an hour if it went through the middle of the island, but instead the train travels along the eastern edge. It's nice in a way, because you get some scattered views of the beach as you go. For Sanya itself, there was a bit of a culture shock. I'm used to signs being in only Chinese, but if there is any additional language it's English. In Sanya, the 2nd language is Russian. Apparently it's quite the popular destination for Russian tourists. Except with the border closed, I saw maybe 10 the whole time there, I guess people like me that have more or less settled down. It sort of reminded me of Pattaya, a town in Thailand with a large Russian tourist population. But while Pattaya is a sin city that would make Vegas blush, Sanya is a little more low-key. It's more like beach BBQs, resorts, and coffee shops than gogo bars and clubs. Ya know, more family friendly I guess. That still doesn't detract from the quite beautiful beach, although due to the weather the waves were quite large. Enough that they at first didn't even let people onto the sand, but the next day let people get to the water line, just no swimming. It didn't matter much to us, seeing as how we had packed mountain clothes instead of swimsuits, but I can imagine being bummed if you went there for some beach life. We still got plenty of beach life in the form of the aforementioned BBQ and beers. We also went to Luhuitou Park, or I guess translated as "Deer Turn Around" Park. It's just a hill near town you can take a bus almost to the top of and get a nice view. Since it's the year of the mouse, I got in for free - not that the $4 entrance fee put me off. But it was weird to seriously declare to the ticket person "I am a mouse." and walk past. Some great views from the top of Sanya, and even a free shot of espresso made for a nice afternoon.

That was mostly it for the holiday. Now back in Shanghai, I have about another week until work supposedly will start prep for the next semester sometime at the end of the month. While I'm not exactly looking forward to it, in a way I am, because I've mostly sat on my butt for the last 6 weeks. I haven't put on any weight, though I am convinced managing 30 7-year olds is pretty solid fitness routine.

In Sanya Airport - some of the best Engrish I've seen yet.