After settling in and unpacking, we visited the cafeteria, a huge 2 storey building catering for the huge number of resident students. As I write this, I’m sitting down to eat – braised rabbit (bones with some small bits of meat attached. I wonder where all the good cuts of meat go – into the buns?), Chinese spinach & rice.
Been a long day – big culture shock!.
The flight to Guangzhou was uneventful. Food was OK but no spare seats.
I was seated next to a 21 yr old engineering student who just spent 3 weeks in OZ. We had an interesting discussion about learning English, especially the focus on speed as an indicator of skill.
The second flight to Hangzhou (2 hour stopover) was delayed for 40 mins & the plane was PACKED. Breakfast of noodles, vegetables and some unrecognisable leathery , probably meaty, stuff.
Arrived in Hangzhou exhausted, but everything passes smoothly, and I was picked up by Ben (Wang Peihui) & driver for the 2 and a half hour trip to Quzhou.
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| Outside the restaurant on the way to Quzhou |
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| Choosing ingredients for lunch |
Some things I was a bit apprehensive about, but we made a selection and waited for it to arrive. Meanwhile Ben got stuck into the complimentary pumpkin seeds provided on each table. The main dishes are shown below. Although the sweet & sour pork looked like what we are accustomed to, it consisted mainly of bones, with some meat.
Anyway, we eventually arrived at Quzhou College of Technology and I was shown to my room on the 3rd floor (no lift) of the teachers’ accommodation block. The room is one of the few with a decent view, so I’m quite fortunate.
Although the College is only 10 years old, it looks like it was built in the 70′s, both architecturally and physically.The fit and finish would probably not be acceptable in Australia, but it’s a sign of China really pushing ahead with education.
There is a heavy demand for vocational training because of the amount of overall development within the country.
