So without further ado, here's part one of the videos.
Tuesday, December 30, 2008
For Those About to Rock
I've had a couple people ask me what my lessons are like, so I got one of the Chinese teachers at the Greenland school to record some parts of one of my classes.
Friday, December 26, 2008
Merry Christmas! I'm Going Back to Sleep.
Saffron and I threw a little Christmas party last night, which I must say was a huge success.
We met Sean and Dane at the gates found Daphney and Nancy on the way to the restaurant. We've been to this Hunan restaurant a couple times now, and it continues to impress. The food is fairly cheap and delicious as well. Good food and drinks were had and all was merry. Tertius showed up at the end with just enough time to order a beer before we left.
Tertius came straight from teaching, so he had a guitar with him and serenaded us with his rendition of the Barney song. Nancy and Sean traded off riding his bike. The ability to ride side-saddle on the back of a bike seems to come naturally to people who have lived in China long enough, because Nancy was able to do it easily, despite not being on a bike in years.
The actual party at the apartment went great. We all exchanged some small gifts and talked for a while. Then Daphney and Nancy taught us some Chinese drinking games. How they know these games while claiming to rarely drink is beyond me. *wink wink*
We played a couple Western games like Pass the Parcel and Ring of Fire. Eventually half of us turned in for the night, while the rest stayed up watching movies.
I woke up at 8:00 to find Nancy and Daphney getting ready to leave, Saffron still half passed out in her bed, Dane still watching a movie, Tertius asleep in the same seat he had been in the night before, and Sean already gone. Got to work at 9:00, did my classes, got home just after 11:00, and have been hanging out since then.
Despite being half way around the world, I had a great Christmas, and I can't wait till the new year.
I'm going back to sleep now.
We met Sean and Dane at the gates found Daphney and Nancy on the way to the restaurant. We've been to this Hunan restaurant a couple times now, and it continues to impress. The food is fairly cheap and delicious as well. Good food and drinks were had and all was merry. Tertius showed up at the end with just enough time to order a beer before we left.
Tertius came straight from teaching, so he had a guitar with him and serenaded us with his rendition of the Barney song. Nancy and Sean traded off riding his bike. The ability to ride side-saddle on the back of a bike seems to come naturally to people who have lived in China long enough, because Nancy was able to do it easily, despite not being on a bike in years.
The actual party at the apartment went great. We all exchanged some small gifts and talked for a while. Then Daphney and Nancy taught us some Chinese drinking games. How they know these games while claiming to rarely drink is beyond me. *wink wink*
We played a couple Western games like Pass the Parcel and Ring of Fire. Eventually half of us turned in for the night, while the rest stayed up watching movies.
I woke up at 8:00 to find Nancy and Daphney getting ready to leave, Saffron still half passed out in her bed, Dane still watching a movie, Tertius asleep in the same seat he had been in the night before, and Sean already gone. Got to work at 9:00, did my classes, got home just after 11:00, and have been hanging out since then.
Despite being half way around the world, I had a great Christmas, and I can't wait till the new year.
I'm going back to sleep now.
Tuesday, December 23, 2008
Christmas season in China
Sorry for lack of updates. Prepare for a veritable barrage of them now.
There's always lot's going on here. I really only work about 18 hours a week (26 if you count the time I have to sit around at Greenland in between classes.) but there's almost always something that I'm running off too.
Sara's school had a Christmas performance on Sunday, and since Saffron and Chris were in it, I came along to watch. It was about a 50/50 mixture of cliche and cute. Each of the classes came on stage to perform a song or small play. Despite most of it being pantomimed to either music or the children's prerecorded words, the parents loved it. These are, I must remind myself, only 6~ year old kids, and just remembering their places on stage is a big task for them. They did a very good job.
Chris and Saffron went on about two thirds through and sang a song called Tian Mi Mi. Apparently it's a very popular song here, because everyone in the audience sang along.
They both got to wear traditional Chinese outfits for the song.
I also ran into one of my own students while I was there. I guess he goes to the elementary school as well as the evening classes at Saras school.
V
After the performance was over Saffron and Chris put on Santa outfits and handed out presents.
Thug life, yo!
Sunday, December 14, 2008
Puppy: November 2008-December 2008
Puppy died today. I'm not going to go into details. He's had a cold for the past week, but it took a turn for the worse last night. Today, he died.
We barely had him for two weeks, but I still feel really depressed. I'm just going to lie in bed today. I had a post ready, but I'll save that for another time.
We barely had him for two weeks, but I still feel really depressed. I'm just going to lie in bed today. I had a post ready, but I'll save that for another time.
Thursday, December 11, 2008
Hurry Everyone! Smell Teacher Jenny!
Normally when I get to the Jin Yuan school, I head straight upstairs to get the flashcards for whatever class I happen to be teaching first. Imagine my surprise when in the main upstairs hallway is packed with kids and teachers... From other schools.
It's common to see a teacher with her class out in that hallway, since that part is more like a large room than a hallway, but when I bumped into Eric, my brain must have misfired, because all I could do was stare for a bit at all the people. I figured out fairly quickly what was going on.
A couple weeks ago (I forget if I mentioned it) I had to sit through the Chinese teachers at the different schools giving special classes for a teaching contest. Today they were having the finals, and the winners from each school were at Jin Yuan to give their best lessons. (I was wondering why Lucky had called me the night before to ask about some pronunciations.) Some of it was boring, but once I fought off the sleep (It was still morning, and I was sitting down. Normally I'm running around with the kids by this point.) I was able to enjoy the theatrics.
Nobody can make a lesson as dramatic as a Chinese English teacher. I swear they treat it like a broadway production. though I wasn't expecting it, I wasn't that surprised when Jenny came out coved in brown paint to help with the phrases "wash your hands," "wash your face," "brush your hair." She even took off her shoes to do "wash your feet." Then she would run to the kids so they could smell how clean she was. Before this, they even went so far as to show a video of the other teachers not wanting to play with Jenny because she was a "dirty baby." Their exact words. Dirty baby.
I love my job.
It's common to see a teacher with her class out in that hallway, since that part is more like a large room than a hallway, but when I bumped into Eric, my brain must have misfired, because all I could do was stare for a bit at all the people. I figured out fairly quickly what was going on.
A couple weeks ago (I forget if I mentioned it) I had to sit through the Chinese teachers at the different schools giving special classes for a teaching contest. Today they were having the finals, and the winners from each school were at Jin Yuan to give their best lessons. (I was wondering why Lucky had called me the night before to ask about some pronunciations.) Some of it was boring, but once I fought off the sleep (It was still morning, and I was sitting down. Normally I'm running around with the kids by this point.) I was able to enjoy the theatrics.
Nobody can make a lesson as dramatic as a Chinese English teacher. I swear they treat it like a broadway production. though I wasn't expecting it, I wasn't that surprised when Jenny came out coved in brown paint to help with the phrases "wash your hands," "wash your face," "brush your hair." She even took off her shoes to do "wash your feet." Then she would run to the kids so they could smell how clean she was. Before this, they even went so far as to show a video of the other teachers not wanting to play with Jenny because she was a "dirty baby." Their exact words. Dirty baby.
I love my job.
Saturday, December 6, 2008
Getting Lost is Even More Fun When You Know Where You Are
I was able to cram all the exploration I need into Today. I went out, and when I returned, I came back with plunder and spoils.
I love sleeping in on weekends. I was up until 2AM watching movies on my laptop, so that also played a factor in it. I left the apartment at about 12, and took the bus to Computer City. I had seen the building before, and had suspected it was Computer City beforehand, but until today I had never gone in to confirm. It was beautiful. Three floors of computers, cameras, and game systems. I came here to find a new external case for my a terabyte hard drive I brought with me. The old one was broken before I even came here, so having all the files back would have made my day great on that alone. It took a while to find what I was looking for. There were plenty of external hard drives, but I only needed a case, and finding a part that specifically works with another part is one of the hardest parts of computers.
I had forgotten my smaller map, so when I got out of computer city I didn't know what to tell the taxi driver for directions. I called Dane, and got the words I needed. From Computer City, I went to the South Gate and walked around the center of the city for a while. I knew what I was looking for, but it was being strangely elusive. You'd think it would be easy to find a Walmart, but for once the stupid store was being discreet. Normally Walmarts love to put a big Walmart sign on the front of their building, but I actually walked past the place and didn't even notice it. It was actually on the basement floor of a small mall. The only sign I saw outside was the size of a sheet of notebook paper. Even when I went inside the mall, I ended up getting lost a couple times looking for it.
In typical convenience store fashion, I went in for one thing, and walked out with a dozen other things without even finding what I originally went in for. I don't regret it though. I found some root beer (Sarsparilla technically) and hot chocolate, so it was worth it. All I wanted was a lamp for my plants, but I didn't see a single lamp for sale in the entire place. I'll probably just go to Lotus to get one later.
This was my first time on my own inside the city walls, so I didn't know what buses came by, or where they stopped. My original plan was to save some money by only taking a taxi to Xiaozhai and then take a bus home. I didn't see any empty taxis where I was though, so I ended up walking outside the walls looking for one. I guess I got lucky because the first bus stop I wandered by just happen to have a bus that also stops directly outside of Gaoke.
Good day today. I got my 500+ gigabytes of files back. I got some crappy root beer. (It's still tastes a little bit like root beer, so I'm drinking it anyway.) I got home in one piece.
I love sleeping in on weekends. I was up until 2AM watching movies on my laptop, so that also played a factor in it. I left the apartment at about 12, and took the bus to Computer City. I had seen the building before, and had suspected it was Computer City beforehand, but until today I had never gone in to confirm. It was beautiful. Three floors of computers, cameras, and game systems. I came here to find a new external case for my a terabyte hard drive I brought with me. The old one was broken before I even came here, so having all the files back would have made my day great on that alone. It took a while to find what I was looking for. There were plenty of external hard drives, but I only needed a case, and finding a part that specifically works with another part is one of the hardest parts of computers.
I had forgotten my smaller map, so when I got out of computer city I didn't know what to tell the taxi driver for directions. I called Dane, and got the words I needed. From Computer City, I went to the South Gate and walked around the center of the city for a while. I knew what I was looking for, but it was being strangely elusive. You'd think it would be easy to find a Walmart, but for once the stupid store was being discreet. Normally Walmarts love to put a big Walmart sign on the front of their building, but I actually walked past the place and didn't even notice it. It was actually on the basement floor of a small mall. The only sign I saw outside was the size of a sheet of notebook paper. Even when I went inside the mall, I ended up getting lost a couple times looking for it.
In typical convenience store fashion, I went in for one thing, and walked out with a dozen other things without even finding what I originally went in for. I don't regret it though. I found some root beer (Sarsparilla technically) and hot chocolate, so it was worth it. All I wanted was a lamp for my plants, but I didn't see a single lamp for sale in the entire place. I'll probably just go to Lotus to get one later.
This was my first time on my own inside the city walls, so I didn't know what buses came by, or where they stopped. My original plan was to save some money by only taking a taxi to Xiaozhai and then take a bus home. I didn't see any empty taxis where I was though, so I ended up walking outside the walls looking for one. I guess I got lucky because the first bus stop I wandered by just happen to have a bus that also stops directly outside of Gaoke.
Good day today. I got my 500+ gigabytes of files back. I got some crappy root beer. (It's still tastes a little bit like root beer, so I'm drinking it anyway.) I got home in one piece.
Friday, December 5, 2008
Weekend of Exploration: Part One - Planning
When you live in a back area of West Virginia, you get to know the area very well. During the Summer, it wasn't uncommon for me to grab my sleeping bag some nights, wander around in the woods till I found a good spot and just go to sleep there. In the morning, I'd just pick my stuff up and come home. I new the area near my house very well.
Slowly but surely I'm trying to get that same way with Xi'an. I know this is a huge difference. The city is miles wide, and filled with side streets and back alleys. But I hate the idea of being lost, and I want to be able to make it home even if I'm on the other side of the city and can't afford a cab.
I'm starting slow. I've been using Google Earth to locate areas I know, and get a general feeling for what direction things are in relation to everything else. Soon, I'm going to start making an encyclopedia of sorts for what buses stop where. I've got a couple ideas for how that will work, but I haven't tried any of them yet.
So far I've mostly been in the Southwest part of the city where I live, and the Southern part of the city where most of the shops are. There are still some places that I want to find and add to my growing mental database of the city. Tomorrow, I plan on going out to find Computer City. I keep hearing this place mentioned, and the idea of a whole building of computer parts makes me rather giddy.
With Google Earths view of the city, I can see a lot of cool things that I used to think were highly ordinary. There's a park that I go by on my way to Jin Yuan. Normally I only take not of this place because it has an interesting wall going around it, and there are usually people practicing Tai Chi, Badminton, and what appears to be a combination of the two. After looking at at Google Earth, I now know that there is a good sized lake inside that park, along with a couple other interesting buildings that I want to get a look at.
I know it will take a long time (if I ever) to get to know the layout of the city well. But with the weekend off, I'm going to get to know it at least a little better.
Slowly but surely I'm trying to get that same way with Xi'an. I know this is a huge difference. The city is miles wide, and filled with side streets and back alleys. But I hate the idea of being lost, and I want to be able to make it home even if I'm on the other side of the city and can't afford a cab.
I'm starting slow. I've been using Google Earth to locate areas I know, and get a general feeling for what direction things are in relation to everything else. Soon, I'm going to start making an encyclopedia of sorts for what buses stop where. I've got a couple ideas for how that will work, but I haven't tried any of them yet.
So far I've mostly been in the Southwest part of the city where I live, and the Southern part of the city where most of the shops are. There are still some places that I want to find and add to my growing mental database of the city. Tomorrow, I plan on going out to find Computer City. I keep hearing this place mentioned, and the idea of a whole building of computer parts makes me rather giddy.
With Google Earths view of the city, I can see a lot of cool things that I used to think were highly ordinary. There's a park that I go by on my way to Jin Yuan. Normally I only take not of this place because it has an interesting wall going around it, and there are usually people practicing Tai Chi, Badminton, and what appears to be a combination of the two. After looking at at Google Earth, I now know that there is a good sized lake inside that park, along with a couple other interesting buildings that I want to get a look at.
I know it will take a long time (if I ever) to get to know the layout of the city well. But with the weekend off, I'm going to get to know it at least a little better.
Tuesday, December 2, 2008
Crappy Weekend
Don't want to talk about it... But I will anyway.
Friday- Dropped my phone on one of the school buses. Didn't get it back till today. The weather has given my a runny nose.
Saturday- I went out with Saffron too get a puppy. She wanted one and I had no problem with sharing the apartment, so I agreed. "Puppy" as she insists on naming it is very cute, so I enjoy his company as well. This was the only good thing that happened that day. Why? My wallet and camera were both stolen. My wallet wasn't a big deal. It had my bank cards in it, but they can't be used without the PIN numbers. I've already gone to the bank about it too. My drivers license was in there, but it expires in February, so it was no big deal. I lost about 200 kuai, wich is annoying but not the end of the world. Losing my camera is what really pissed me off. It cost more than the money I had in my wallet, and it had some pictures from that day on it. Now I need to buy a new camera. It was Daphney's last night working at a hostel, so Saffron, Dane and I went there to eat and hang out with her a bit. It was fairly entertaining. My runny nose has developed into a bit of a cough, but no big deal.
Sunday- The origional plan on Saturday had been to go out and find a place to get massages. Instead we went to the Wild Goose Pagoda and took some pictures. They were really cool ones too. But my camera got stolen after we got Puppy. So later Sunday we went to a small place near Saras school. The massages were cheap. 40 kuai for (I'm assuming since I don't know much about massages) full body massage. It started with a basic neck massage. Then we layed down on padded tables, where they worked their way down from out necks to our feet. Then we turned over and they gout our arms, and out scalps. I walked out of there feeling slightly mangled, but very relaxed. By the end of the night, however my back felt like it had been repeatedly jabbed wit ha metal bar. Speaking of that night, we went to KTV (Karaoke). Dane, Saffron, me, and our Chinese tutors (Daphney and them are all friends) went to the 512 KTV neat Xiaozhai. KTV seems entertaining, but not my thing. For one, I'm a rappy singer. I know that doesn't count though. About a quarter of the songs were English. This is fine, but I don't listen to the type of music that gets made into karaoke. Third, they made me start off the night by singing Country Roads. I have no love for this song, but everyone in West Virginia (and apparently the entire world) freaking love it. The night ended with me sleepyand Saffron kinda pissed because nobody wanted to go clubbing. By now my cough is a problem, and I'm sure the singing didn't help.
Monday- This is the first time I've had to call in sick so far. I wouldn't use the word sick to describe my condition. "Incapacitaded" is much more appropriate. My congestion was horrible, and my back was killing me from that massage. Even now it's still a bit achey. My day consisted of somehow sleeping in till two in the afternoon, and watching movies from the couch. My cough is killing me, and it seems that Saffron is hacking a bit as well.
Teusday- Went to work today. I had 3 kuai. Enough money left for three bus rides. I used two. One there, and one back. During break I went with Lucky (a teacher) to the bank to get my new Bank card. It should get here on Teusday of next week, and I can't withdrawl any money till then. Summer called Eric about that, and I should be getting a small advance on my sallary tomorrow. Hopefully. I slept during the rest of the break. Something I'm usually unable to do. Mostly because I really hate taking naps. The rest of today has been alright. My cough isn't as bad as Monday, but it's still annoying. Saffron seems to be having it rough though. She's been in her room trying to sleep for almost an hour, but I hear her coughing almost every five minutes or so.
So yeah. Crappy weekend. Puppy was the only good thing that happened.
Friday- Dropped my phone on one of the school buses. Didn't get it back till today. The weather has given my a runny nose.
Saturday- I went out with Saffron too get a puppy. She wanted one and I had no problem with sharing the apartment, so I agreed. "Puppy" as she insists on naming it is very cute, so I enjoy his company as well. This was the only good thing that happened that day. Why? My wallet and camera were both stolen. My wallet wasn't a big deal. It had my bank cards in it, but they can't be used without the PIN numbers. I've already gone to the bank about it too. My drivers license was in there, but it expires in February, so it was no big deal. I lost about 200 kuai, wich is annoying but not the end of the world. Losing my camera is what really pissed me off. It cost more than the money I had in my wallet, and it had some pictures from that day on it. Now I need to buy a new camera. It was Daphney's last night working at a hostel, so Saffron, Dane and I went there to eat and hang out with her a bit. It was fairly entertaining. My runny nose has developed into a bit of a cough, but no big deal.
Sunday- The origional plan on Saturday had been to go out and find a place to get massages. Instead we went to the Wild Goose Pagoda and took some pictures. They were really cool ones too. But my camera got stolen after we got Puppy. So later Sunday we went to a small place near Saras school. The massages were cheap. 40 kuai for (I'm assuming since I don't know much about massages) full body massage. It started with a basic neck massage. Then we layed down on padded tables, where they worked their way down from out necks to our feet. Then we turned over and they gout our arms, and out scalps. I walked out of there feeling slightly mangled, but very relaxed. By the end of the night, however my back felt like it had been repeatedly jabbed wit ha metal bar. Speaking of that night, we went to KTV (Karaoke). Dane, Saffron, me, and our Chinese tutors (Daphney and them are all friends) went to the 512 KTV neat Xiaozhai. KTV seems entertaining, but not my thing. For one, I'm a rappy singer. I know that doesn't count though. About a quarter of the songs were English. This is fine, but I don't listen to the type of music that gets made into karaoke. Third, they made me start off the night by singing Country Roads. I have no love for this song, but everyone in West Virginia (and apparently the entire world) freaking love it. The night ended with me sleepyand Saffron kinda pissed because nobody wanted to go clubbing. By now my cough is a problem, and I'm sure the singing didn't help.
Monday- This is the first time I've had to call in sick so far. I wouldn't use the word sick to describe my condition. "Incapacitaded" is much more appropriate. My congestion was horrible, and my back was killing me from that massage. Even now it's still a bit achey. My day consisted of somehow sleeping in till two in the afternoon, and watching movies from the couch. My cough is killing me, and it seems that Saffron is hacking a bit as well.
Teusday- Went to work today. I had 3 kuai. Enough money left for three bus rides. I used two. One there, and one back. During break I went with Lucky (a teacher) to the bank to get my new Bank card. It should get here on Teusday of next week, and I can't withdrawl any money till then. Summer called Eric about that, and I should be getting a small advance on my sallary tomorrow. Hopefully. I slept during the rest of the break. Something I'm usually unable to do. Mostly because I really hate taking naps. The rest of today has been alright. My cough isn't as bad as Monday, but it's still annoying. Saffron seems to be having it rough though. She's been in her room trying to sleep for almost an hour, but I hear her coughing almost every five minutes or so.
So yeah. Crappy weekend. Puppy was the only good thing that happened.
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