Overcoming The Great Firewall

Hello everyone,

Well, it's been over a week since my first blog and so much has happened in that time that I couldn't possibly do it justice here. 

Suffice to say, that upon arriving in China you are greeted squarely with an internet service that is monitored, policed, checked, censorsed etc etc, and of one of those sites is Blogger.  In addition, Facebook and Twitter are two social networking sites unavailable right now.  Why?  Well, for a full account of censorship in the PRC, read:

http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Internet_censorship_in_the_People%27s_Republic_of_China

and for a list of blogs unavailable to read in China visit:

http://www.chinabloglist.org/

Some violence in the north-west city of Ürümqi, in July this year, caused some renewed censorship, which had been lifted around the time of the Beijing Olympics, 2008.  Since then, it has been left to individuals to seek proxy servers in order to get round, or is it over(?) the great firewall of China.  It is easy enough, if you know where to look, and some companies exploit the issue by aggressively marketing their wares as soon as you try to access a site which is blocked or, for some reason, 'temporarily removed'.

Anyway, with that out of the way, I can communicate using this blog.  It is not an advertised blog and you cannot find it by typing 'teacher phili' or something similar - you have to know the URL. 

So, I have arrived in Beijing, after 4 days in the southern Special Administrative Region of Shenzhen.  I originally flew into Hong Kong, then took what I thought would be a smooth bus ride into the heart of Shenzhen.  Unfortunately at the 2nd border crossing, my luggage was manhandled by an aggressive man, who pretended to work for the bus company.  Despite my deep suspicions, I felt lured into paying an extraordinary amount of Chinese currency just for him to take me about 8km across the city.  Not a great start or 'welcome to China'.  I met up with my good friend, Xiaodan, who was waiting at the Landmark Hotel, but I arrived upset and angry. 

It was a hot four days, during which I met Xiaodan's parents and extended family, and visited Splendid China


http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Splendid_China

and the folk villages next to it, which is located adjacent to the Splendid China theme park and features displays of the daily life and architecture of China's 56 ethnic groups.  I saw miniature versions of all the main sights of China - including the Forbidden City, The Temple of Heaven and the Great Wall, which weaves across the undulating landscape. A fascinating day out, but it was hot and I withered towards the end.  The theatrical show at the end was marvellous, even if I didn't understand a word of it.  No wonder that special dignitaries, including presidents and premiers, kings and queens have visited it, since it opened in 1991.

I took a flight from Shenzhen to Beijing last Sunday (6th Sept).  Within an hour of arriving at the Airport I was booked into a Home Inn Hotel and whisked round to Nanxincang Tower, Dongsi Shitiao, in the central-eastern Dongcheng district of the city. ('Dong' means 'east' by the way).  The office of my current/new employer is here.  I say, current/new because I worked for Bell Internatinal this summer and am doing so again, albeit in a very different role.  This time, I am hired to teach students of the Central Academy Of Fine Arts, in Wangjing.  This is a prestigious place of learning, and Bell are contracted to teach the IELTS English element of the course, alongside CAFA teachers/artsists.  I was delighted to be given the top class - Group A - who already have an approximate 5.0-5.5 IELTS score.  They haven't taken the test yet and do not do so until early February, but there grades need to go up at least 1.0 point in that time.  I am charged with the relatively easy task of doing that, despite having no experience with IELTS or art students.

The first week has been all about getting orientated.  I spent the best part of 4 afternoons this week sorting out an apartment.  I have finally found one, although i think I have agreed to a monthly rental that is more than i can really afford.  So I will need to find one other person to share it with me. My plan for my good friend, Xiaodan, to join me, has fallen through.  So I'm left by myself to sort things out, clean the place (as it is quite dirty and dusty) and make it seem habitable for the next 10 months.

Will blog again soon about the first week's experience and more... but for now it's goodbye and it's off to an Irish Bar to watch the Italian Grand Prix.

Over and Out,
TP