A Massage with some Chinese Staff/ The IRP Police

So I got a massage at the mall near the school yesterday.  I went out to eat with some of the Chinese staff.  We had ramen noodles.  They were okay.  Nothing special.

After that, we headed to a massage parlor (no, not a brothel), and had a 100 minute massage.  Initially the massage was for my feet, but I guess the masseuse got bored (or fed up) with massaging my feet.  She gave me a whole body massage instead. Good deal...especially since I only paid the foot massage price.


..........................................

I remember at UBC, my old FAs used to tell my cohort and I that there are no IRP police (Instructional Resource Packages or IRPs, are the curriculum standards of BC schools).  Well, looks like that wasn't true.  Tomorrow, the BC teacher's accreditation team come in to take a look at everyone's lessons.  I think I'm ready.  Let's hope so.

Many Things Happening/ Trip Plan

Well, I haven't updated this thing for a long while.  There are many reasons for this.

I've been slowly planning for my 5 week trip around East Asia.  South Korea and North Korea just had an exchange of artillery fire.  I'm not sure if this will make me change my plans or not.  Probably not, but it's too early to tell.

Because I worked an extra day last month, we get two 3 day weekends in December!  Nice trade off!  For Christmas, I'm going to a hot spring with some of the Chinese staff.  For New Years, I'm going to visit the Terracotta Warriors of Xi'an with some Canadian colleagues. Hen hao!!!



 I think I temporarily got sick last weekend.  I haven't exercised recently because I've been busy at work.  And I missed the school bus to go to free Kung Fu lessons.

Here's my preliminary trip plan:

January 15 - Bus from Wuhan to Jingzhou (ancient capital of the Kingdom of Chu, a powerful state during the Warring States Period).

Jan 16-21 Jingzhou

Jan 22 Wuhan to Seoul, South Korea

Jan 22-27 Seoul

Jan 27 - Feb 1 Travel through South Korea to Busan

Feb 1-3 Busan

Feb 3 - Busan, SK to Fukuoka, Japan (via hydrofoil)

Feb 5- To Osaka

Feb 5-8 Osaka

Feb 7 Day trip to Nara

Feb 8-9 Kyoto

Feb 10-14 Tokyo

Feb 14-16 Sendai

Feb 17 Sendai to Tokyo

Feb 18 Tokyo to Wuhan

Trip Planning: South Korea and Japan

Well, it's time.  I have to start planning for my trips to Japan and South Korea.  Trying to find cheap tickets in my spare time.  I might spend 1 week somewhere else in China before heading off to the Land of the Rising Sun.  I figure I should go to Japan, then to Korea.

Today I did my first high school invigilation.  I was so excited, I told one of the veteran teachers that I look forward to "bagging and tagging" a cheater.  The 3 hour exam went smoothly, and no one cheated (or perhaps I didn't catch anyone cheating).

Anyways, aside from supervising exams, marking and finalizing report cards, I'm running more often, and trying to score some cheap plane tickets to Osaka. From there, I'm going to bullet train to Kyoto, Tokyo, then Sendai to see my friend.

If I'm staying in China for a week before heading off to the easternmost countries in East Asia, where do you think I should go?  I'm thinking Hong Kong, but I'm open to suggestions.

Halloween Anelects

This Halloween I wanted to be Bruce Lee in a custom-made yellow jump-suit.  It never happened because I didn't place an order with the tailor in time.  Maybe next year.  I was Hannibal Lector/ a zombie instead.

 I was at Metro (a Costco type store) trying to find a costume, and my backpack (with my digital video camera) went missing.  I ran around the store trying to find it, thinking someone stole it.  I even ran around the parking lot.  I panicked in front of my colleagues, including my principal.  But then one of my colleagues took my backpack out of his cart.  Apparently, he thought I misplaced it, and took it for safety reasons.
 
I got totally pwned in every game I played this weekend.  I got pwned in darts, 20 questions, foosball, a staring contest, ball hockey, a 100 meter dash, and computer chess.  Lucky for me, none of these were for money or drinking games.

I didn't dress up for school because I woke up too late to apply my zombie makeup. Luckily I had a Hannibal Lector mask.  I put it on for the day, but changed to a zombie for the Halloween party at night.

I decided not to bring drinks to the teacher Halloween party because I intended not to drink this weekend (see the last post for the reason why).  We all went over to my colleague's house.  Told me I wasn't allowed to drink anything in his glasses unless it had alcohol.  He gave me a quarter bottle of rum and told me to finish it.  Had some, but then switched back to water, claiming it was vodka.  If you're one of my colleagues reading this, let's just say you act really, really funny when you're drunk.

I went to a Chinese restaurant this weekend with some of my Chinese colleagues.  I remember something good professor Henry Yu once said about Chinese restaurants in Vancouver: the better the food, the worse the service.  Obviously he was joking (maybe), but I found out it applies to Chinese restaurants in Wuhan.  Fill in the blank.  The food was so good!  The service was __________________.

Saying "Wo xihuan Wuhan" to a taxi driver guarantees he will drive you to the right location.

He bu he?

Hedy: Paul, I think they're trying to get you drunk.
[Some of the Chinese teachers continue talking in rapid Mandarin]
Paul: That's what I figure. Okay let's do this! Cheers Nicholas! [takes a swig of beer]
[Chinese conversation stops]
Nicholas: Hey Paul, we're gonna play a drinking game. It's called "he bu he?" (to drink or not to drink?)
[Nicholas explains the rules to Hedy in Cantonese]
Hedy: [translating] Basically it works like this. One person covers his eyes. The person to his right points at a person sitting at the table and says "he bu he?" The blind person says either "he" (drink) or "bu he" (not drink). That person the pointer pointed at has to drink. You can point to the blind person and yourself too. You can't pick the same person in a row, but can go back and forth if you want.
Paul: Sounds stupid easy, and probably will make me stupid drunk.  Didn't you say they are trying to get me drunk? They're gonna gang up on me.

...1 hour, many beers and a round of baijiu later...

[One of the Chinese staff fronts some more baijiu towards Paul]

Paul: Oh man, I don't like this game at all. I can't believe I'm still standing.  Hey this guy's trying to get me to do another round of baijiu! Eh, how about Nicholas here? [hands Nicholas a cup of the stuff]
Nicholas: No, I can't handle that stuff. [divides his share between Paul and a Chinese teacher]
Paul: Um...okay...

[Paul stares at a glass half full of baijiu]

Wuhan Anti-Japanese Protests

So, if you've been reading world news, you might know that there recently has been a wave of anti-Japanese protests throughout China, but particularly in Wuhan.  It's gotten pretty rough around here.  A Sony store in the mall near my international school got smashed up.  A few days ago, 2 of my colleagues were scooting around town and saw a division of police in riot gear coming away from a local university.

About 10 hours ago, the staff and I were told by the head office that we have to work tomorrow (Saturday, October 23rd) because Wuhan's civic government ordered all schools (middle school to university level) to remain open. Apparently, this move would encourage youth not to participate in a major upcoming anti-Japanese rally scheduled for tomorrow.  It has been deemed "illegal" and the police and military have been called in to stop it by arresting protesters.

I'm not sure what group is pushing this protest-that-might-turn-riot.  This is China, so perhaps there might be an ultra-nationalist student activist group behind all this.  Indeed, it has been those groups that have fueled mass zeal here in China for the last century and a half.

I also think that people here who are easily disillusioned and dissatisfied in some way with their life (and there are a lot of these types of guys in China) are easily mobilized by the prospect of fighting with authorities and smashing stuff. They might come out in droves in the next few days. Would the CCP throw these guys in the slammer? We'll see.

To read a bit about the situation, here's a link to the NY Times Asia Pacific world briefings HERE.

Funny how Fox News says the authorities are "allowing" anti-Japanese demonstrations. Who knows...they might be right, but maybe not.  Although they did use Associated Press for this one...Read about it HERE

Also funny is how all of this was sparked by a little island in the sea, and a detained Chinese captain on a Japanese boat.

Now, the hard part for me: how will I engage this political issue with my class if it arises through conversation? I've already heard many anti-Japanese remarks in the hallways over this week...

Shanghai Expo Story #106: The Philippines Pavillion

Paul: Hey Boss, let's go into the Philippine Pavilion. Let's see what my peeps have to offer!

Nicholas: Alright! You're the Chief, Chief!

P: [Approaches the pavilion] Oh God, there's no Chinese lining up there. Typical.  Let's take a look inside.

[Both P and N walk in and are met with blaring Pinoy hip-hop.  Two Filipino DJs are on a stage.  Both look like some of Paul's cousins].

P: [Desperately tries to keep his laughter to himself as he looks around].

N: Eh Paul! Look how many instruments are scattered around here! You got guitars, mics, drums, pianos, traditional instruments, and DJ booths. I take it Filipinos really like their music.

P: [recovering] Ahem! Cough! Um...yeah.  Hey, let's get some food here. Filipino food is awesome. Nice break from Chinese.  You'll love it!

[Both walk to the food counter.  Not to many people are eating around them, and the people eating in the food area are almost exclusively Filipino].

P:  Kumusta! I'll have a halo-halo and a leche flan.

Server: [Raises eyebrows] Oh oh. Mmm...nice t-shirt!

P: [Looks down and realizes he's wearing a Manila shirt]. HEY! This proves that I'm not fully Chinese!

...

[As N and P eat Filipino desserts, more people, mostly white and Pinoy, enter the pavilion].

Identity politics...again

I thought I was through with being so pissed off about my identity politics after leaving undergrad.  I used to get so angry (like a lot of Asian Canadian/Asian American guys) at people telling me who I am or trying to define my identity for me.  I had my bout of wanting to be so individualistic that I spurned the notion of a culture of Chinese Canadianism.  I then realized I was being f***ing stupid.

I ended up believing that identity is like water - fluid, sometimes stale, but most of the time moving.  I am Canadian, but the story of my identity is both typical and unique, just like any other Canadian.  I didn't get angry over pondering over identity politics after undergrad, nor did I give it much conscious thought unless I had a deep conversation about it with my brother.

Well, the Middle Kingdom has a way of rekindling things.  I was walking with my buddies David and Nicholas down a place called Taylor Street in Wuchang on Saturday.  We stumbled over a Chinese Christian church and peeked our head in.  The guy at the door was really friendly, but he spoke no English.  He told us what time mass was being held.

Then the conversation switched.  I told him "Wo men shi Jianada ren" (We are Canadians).  He was so surprised, he looked at me as if I didn't make any sense.  He then went on a ramble to try to convince me that I was not Canadian.  When I told the guys, they both laughed and said that I'm apparently Chinese now.  "Even though my mom's a Surrey girl, my dad's Filipino, Vancouver is my native land, AND I don't speak Chinese all that well, I'm Chinese!? F**k this, this guy has a small world!"

But as angry as I was at the time, I think the guy began to understand me near the end of our conversation.  He did admit that I was the height of my white friends, so there was something about me that didn't make me fully Chinese in his eyes.

Let's just say that I feel tall here in China.

Friday Night With My Colleagues

So on Friday, the whole staff went to dinner.  All the Canadian and Chinese staff.  We had a blast.  The restaurant that we went to was in the middle of nowhere, surrounded by a bunch of hills with trees.  When I walked in, I was met with 5 huge pictures of Marx, Engels, Lenin, Stalin, and Mao.  Funny.  We all fit on one school bus, with no standing room left (there were about 60+ of us)!  Some of my colleagues bought a bunch of  beer and brought it to the restaurant.  And when I say a bunch, I mean about 3 beers each person. A lot of the Chinese staff didn't drink, so the Canadian teachers were walking out of the restaurant with like 2 bottles each.  I drank mine on the bus on the way to KTV.

I didn't really sing all that much, but I did play a Chinese dice game with various staff members.  It was pretty rad.  By 11:00, most of the Chinese staff were gone, and the room devoid of drinks.  My colleague Shane and I went to buy more beers for the Canadian staff.  As the room cleared slowly, I left with the last group to go to some bar.  We walked there from KTV, only to find out our other colleagues were there already!

Everyone was drunk as s--t.  I wasn't all that drunk, and I guess some of my colleagues noticed.  By the time I reached the bar to just get a last drink and call it a night, some of my colleagues were there.  Apparently, they had drinks (plural) "waiting" for me.  Whatever.  I'm in Asia, and apparently when your colleagues drink, YOU drink.

 Right after I toasted with them, I tried to flee the scene, only to meet MORE of my colleagues outside eating street noodles! Can I never get away from these people!?

D'oh!

Today, I made the stupid mistake of attaching my new digital video camera onto one of the school's computers.  One thing about Chinese network and web communities that everyone should know about is that they are filled with malware, spyware, spam, viruses, and the like.

Anyways, I got a virus on my 8gb SD card.  It totally got hit with something bad.  Not 1 minute after I put my SD into my own laptop, Norton Antivirus popped up and told me I had a "high risk" intrusion that was quarantined.  Good thing I installed the latest Norton Antivirus software before I left Canada.

It does store and transfer videos.  But it thinks there are no photos on it even though I had something around 40 pictures on there.  I can do 1 of two things.  Either throw away my SD and start fresh, or make this travel blog into a video blog.  I'm too lazy make a decision...


Well, actually, I'm too lazy to be lazy.  I'm gonna make a decision.  I'm going to keep my corrupted SD card for student work.  Hell, their computers and digi-toys are all filled with viruses anyways.  What's more, the computer room I'm teaching in has a reputation from last year for being one of worst corrupted computer labs.  Now I'm not sure who did what to which computer.  I've been told it's the students who download things off questionable websites, which totally makes sense.  I've been catching students downloading all sorts of things since the onset of this school year.

Anyways, enough rambling.  I'm going to get some sleep.  Hopefully on the weekend, I can get a new SD card that will never ever touch any school computer...ever!

Oh yeah... one last thing.  Tomorrow my buddy colleague Mitch is having a FUBAR party in preparation to see FUBAR 2!!!

Zai Wudang Shan Qu - Part II

Wudang Shan has some ridiculous Chinglish signs.  It is very clear that the Chinese are very proud of their UNESCO world heritage parkland.  The signs are also patriotic.  Some of them read: "It is everyone's responsibility to keep the cleanliness of Mt. Wudang's world heritage."  Another one read "Be a good citizen and do not litter on holy Wudang."  Yet another, my favorite, said "Welcome to the world's oxygen bar.  Protect it!"

When Nicholas and I started to ascend the mountain, I initially thought it would be a cakewalk.  Clouds were rolling in from all directions.  The scenery was stunning, and the crisp mountain air reminded me of home (since Wuhan is pretty dusty and polluted).  But the trails were well-manicured, and most of them were paved.  We walked on some awesome trails.  Some of them hugged a cliff face going towards a temple that was built into the side of the mountain.  There were no handlebars for safety.  If you fell, you'd disappear into the trees and clouds.

One shrine we stumbled across was a shrine dedicated to this guy...

 The Chinese god of lightning...OMG it's RAIDEN!!!

But then I realized that we were only going around some temples near the parking lot and entrance area.  There was a lot more to be seen.

We started to climb.  It was easy at first, but then there were ascending staircases.  Only a few at a time, but there they were.  Then they became longer. And longer.  Soon, the staircases were 100 or 200 steps long, going straight up the side of the mountain. When I got to the top of one of these flights, I was relieved for about 2 seconds, only to be met with another staircase that disappeared into the clouds above.

For everyone back in Vancouver, here's something to compare. Walking up Wudang Shan is like doing the Grouse Grind two times back to back. They had a gondola, but it was under repair.  I actually liked that, since there were only people up there that were crazy enough to hike all the way up.

Nicholas and I stopped about three-quarters the way up for lunch. We saw some jerk-ass drink a bottle of water, then throw it down right at our feet.  Littering is a pretty commonplace thing here in China, but we looked at him with utter disdain.  His girlfriend made him pick it up.

We tried to get the rest of the way up really fast, but as my Lonely Planet guide says, the walk is "energy-sapping."  The clouds rolled in and the whole forest around the trail look like something out of the computer game Myst. 

Close to the top, we saw big temple complex.  There were two large open areas, probably for early morning kung fu, flanked by the temple and a flower garden. There were backpackers, tourists, and monks all over the place.  We had hike a bit more to get to the summit, but it was worth it. It had a spectacular view and was as quiet as an early morning on the Camino de Santiago in Spain.

On the way down the mountain, more mist rolled in.  It was really dense cloud.  Nicholas and I were going pretty fast down the mountain, but my legs felt like water at that point.  Weakened, going downhill, and lots of tree and cloud cover.  Perfect for a ninja attack!

We stopped at 4 more stops on the way down: the Purple Cloud Temple, a scroll store (where Nicholas bought a scroll), and a kung fu show (which was unfortunately just finishing when we arrived). The fourth place was a weapons store.  I flip-flopped on whether I should have purchased a Wudang blade, but I ended up settling for some nunchucks!

After getting off the mountain, we went back to our hotel.  By that time, it was raining. Good timing.  We had dinner at a restaurant, but I forgot to take pictures of our food.  We had spinach off of a burning wok, Chinese mushrooms and soy sauce chicken, and rice.  Very simple, and both of us were very hungry. We went to town on our dishes.  After that, we walked around town a bit more. I scoured the sword shops for a weapon I might have wanted, but ended up not getting anything. I'm pretty content with my nunchucks.

Practicing my Wutang style!

At the Purple Cloud Temple.  It wasn't purple at all.

Kung Fu Masta!!!

Apparently, this part of Wudang Shan was in the new Karate Kid.

Zai Wudang Shan Qu - Part I

To Wudang Mountain I go!

After thoroughly exploring Shanghai, my colleague and I ventured further into the heartland of China.  We headed northwest of Wuhan towards a mountain called Wudang Shan. 

During our first night, we just walked around and explored the town.  Just a typical Chinese town: dirty, filled with "interesting" odors, chaotic traffic and jam packed with people.  Some of the side streets and the public city square were really nice.  It had a big screen playing a movie for people to watch.  Elderly folk were playing traditional Chinese instruments, while youth were practicing modern dance moves.  I liked seeing the strong feeling of community.

I was going crazy over the sheer amount of sword merchants in the town.  Some stores were selling weapons and tea.  A lot of the swords were junky, but the ones that were good were really good.  I could feel the quality in the blade just by picking them up. Of course, the price jumped about 100 kwai for these weapons.

Going back to our hotel, we were surprised to see it all lit up.

The next day, Nicholas and I hit the mountain fast, hard and early...

I'll write more about this awesome part of my vacation in my next blog installment.  For now, here are some pictures I took on Wudang Shan.  Get excited and come back to check my blog tomorrow!

Shanghaied

Today, I got back to Wuhan from my trip to Shanghai.  My colleague Nicholas and I blitzed the city in 2 days, 3 nights.  Places we went to include:

• Jin'an Temple
• The French Concession
• People's Square
•  Nanjing East Road
• The Bund
• Pudong and the Oriental Pearl Tower
• Old Town

That was just day one...for Nick.  After getting back to the hotel, I went to see my friend Stephanie and her friends in a posh area near her hostel.

The next day, Nicholas and I went to:

• The Jade Buddha Temple 
• Propaganda Poster Museum (one of my highlights of China so far)
• The 2010 Shanghai World Expo

The Expo itself was epic. More on that later.
Right now, I'm procrastinating.  I should sleep.  Tomorrow, I leave Wuhan for Wudang Shan.

Parungao Tongzhi (Comrade Parungao) on Shanghai's Huangpu River, World Expo 2010

Hankou and the Guiyuan Temple (of HELL!)

Wuhan is really, really big.  It is 3 cities merged into one.  Yesterday, I went to Hankou - the main "city" in Wuhan.  I went to a Buddhist temple, the old colonial district, and a street that is just called "Pedestrian Street."  Lo and behold, it was a street for pedestrians.

The Buddhist temple was really neat.  It was called the Guiyuan Temple.  There were hundreds of statues depicting various deities and Buddhas (people who have reached enlightenment).  After the initial "wow" of seeing so many statues, I realized that this place was actually really small. It only took us an hour to see everything.

            

My favorite part was a room filled with lacquered carvings depicting Hell.  People were being tortured by little demons.  Every single carving was filled with blood, guts, and gore.  One showed a naked women hanging  upside-down being sawed in half vertically (my colleagues figured that was the punishment for promiscuous sin).  Another carving depicted people being disemboweled, quartered, and thrown into a grinder (not sure what those people did to deserve that...maybe gluttony or greed?).  Or my favorite: little demons throwing people onto spikes and impaling them through the face.  Fun.

Sadly, I wasn't allowed pictures, and my school's teacher-librarian got in trouble by taking a few.

There were also a few stray cats at the temple, which one of my colleagues took as pets.  I wouldn't touch them...might have fleas and such.  I'll wait until she cleans them up and trains them a bit.

                  

After the temple, my comrades and I went to walk along the Yangzi River and through the old colonial district.  It was 36 Celsius outside.  It was madness.  We walked to the pedestrian-only street, which was past the colonial structures which were built after the First Sino-Japanese War.  Ended up having lunch at a restaurant serving a mish mash of cuisines: pizza, curry, seafood hotpots...I got a mushroom and chicken curry on rice.  It was a bit salty.  

We went shopping shortly after lunch.  The rest of the day was pretty unremarkable except for the fact that the cashier at a bakery we went to totally screwed my friend Em out of 30 yuan.  My buddy Nicholas paid for it to quicken our visit time.

 

White people shi hen hao!

One thing I'll probably never understand about Chinese is their infatuation with white people and white skin.  I remember my first visit here was with a lot of white girls from Delta.  Every Chinese guy I saw was looking at them wide-eyed!

On Saturday, some of the staff went to Mo Mountain near East Lake.  I think every white person in our group was asked by a Chinese person to be in a picture.  Below you see my buddy Dave getting "celeb status" treatment by 2 Chinese youth. They took photos of him as if he were a zoo animal. It was like reverse Orientalism. It was kind strange to see.

Some Chinese guys being really friendly to my buddy Dave because he's white.

Well, things white don't really end there.  Today, during my ICT 11/12 class, a girl was presenting her Photoshop project to the class.  She said that Chinese like white skin, so she photoshoped a thin layer of white on a famous Chinese pop singer's face to "beautify" her even more. Now things went from just ridiculous to plain f--king weird.

But then I remembered good ol' Professor Henry Yu talking about this phenomena in his courses at UBC during my undergrad. It's got to do with modern Chinese ideas of beauty and health.  A really quick internet search shows that there's a fear against getting a tan here in East Asia, especially amongst girls.

But, just as fast, another quick internet search shows that many dermatologists and doctors warn against being scared of tanning and the glorification of attaining pale-white skin.  Hmm...

On another completely separate note, my buddy Mitch had a boy's night.  Poker and beer night to be exact. I lost 100 kwai.

Teacher Day

Yesterday was Teacher's Day at my school.  All the teachers got to stand outside near the flagpole and received roses.  I got two because my buddy Jason didn't want his.

My classes were very respectful.  Even my communications class, which is more or less an inner-city class full of ESL students...but in private school uniform, were very well behaved.  Good on them.

Publish Post

Glitzy Teacher Day Party, on the left.

In the evening, there was a staff party at a new housing development nearby. I swear the housing area was straight out of North America!  And the party was glitzy.  It was like something out of the OC.  It was really, really weird walking in. The houses were blocked from the main road by a run-down, half constructed commercial block, but going through a gate, there was a super-clean housing area (probably for rich people).

Anyways, the party was at the community building.  It had a pool next to a workout area, restaurant, indoor bar and pool.  My buddy Nick and I walked in late, and half our colleagues were tanked already (there were free drinks...with hard bar).  I didn't eat since I thought there was dinner.  There was dinner...if you consider various assortments of white flower pastries dinner.  I decided to clear the scotch bottle of Chivas Regal 18 years, to the chagrin of my colleague Mitch. But there wasn't much. Once I emptied it, the bartender brought out a whole swath of new drinks...

Before my colleagues got their serious drink on, Nick and I decided to leave to get some real food.  We took a bus to a local night market, where we had fried noodles.  The cook was masterful with the wok.  He got the wok to flambe! The noodles were bloody hot! But they were excellent! HAO CHI!!!

Street noodles! Yum!

Xiao Chi

Forgot my camera...again.  Went out with a group of 10 this time.  Took the bus to a big night market.  My buddies Nick, Em, and I went to eat some street meat, while the rest of them went into some restaurant and got special treatment since they're white.

Anyways, "shao chi" (small eats or street snacks) are more or less Chinese tapas.  We chose our raw meat skewers, skewered veggies and skewered mushrooms, and the lady fried them up on a long barbeque line filled with hot coals.  I got chicken feet to the interest (or disgust) of my comrades (wode tongshi).  Fun times, good food, and dirt cheap.

After eating, Em, Nick and I played pool outside in an area with 30 outdoor pool tables.  Surrounded by Chinese university students.  Chinese university-aged men = chain smokers. Happy day.

Craziness has ensued!

First week.  My students have very low English language understanding.  They don't participate or answer questions.  When I check for understanding, I realize they don't understand.  They sometimes do understand, but they cannot express that they understand.  Some won't stop talking in Mandarin.  Others have talked to me in Mandarin straight up, assuming I could understand them. Some students in my English Foundations class are really disruptive.  I have my work cut out for me

All in all, my first week was great.  The first two days were Hell, but yesterday was awesome. I got my grade 10 students using the computers to access the school network.  My grade 11/12's started on Microsoft Word and Excel, and my ESL class have already written something and have all posed questions and formulated answers in speech!

Today, my friends and I went to a mall and a Wal Mart.  We decided to eat at a Pizza Hut.  In any other instance, I would disagree with that choice of restaurant.  But I was really hungry and needed to ask a worker "ce suo zai nali?"

Forgot to take pictures.  The Pizza Hut proved to be an interesting experience.  They had a WAY better and more extensive menu than Pizza Huts back home in Vancity.  We got the Chicago pizza and the beef steak pizza (which didn't taste a thing like a beef pizza back home. Very strange, but it was good!  We also had smoothies.  Mine was a mango smoothie with some sort of really great tasting green fruit on the top. I only had one, but probably should have gotten 3.

"Hypothetically, you could be teaching your own class in September..."

 The day after tomorrow, I start my teaching career.  My sponsor teacher back at Graham Bruce said that I might have my own class come September.  I didn't have enough long term vision to see that what he said was actually true.  Focusing on the situation back in Vancouver, I thought I'd be a TOC or tutor for years and years.  Heck, I even doubted that I would get hired anywhere.

Now, I am about to teach in a country, grade level, and course content that are foreign to me.  I don't hide the fact that I'm a bit nervous from all of this.  But I will do well.  I can feel it.  I am ready.  I'm a Toastmaster, and Toastmasters are never unprepared and use whatever nervousness they have (if any) to do exemplary work.

The Yellow Crane Tower

Yesterday, four of my new colleagues and I went to Wuhan's landmark, the Yellow Crane Tower.  From the top, we could see a good chunk of Wuhan.  The view was spectacular.  But the view from each floor's balcony was the same, so by the time we got to the top, it was just the same old view from the balcony below.

Before ascending the tower, we walked around the area surrounding the tower.  We ate at a Mama-Papa hole-in-the-wall restaurant in what seemed to be a back alley of a residential area.  We were walking down that road when a woman came out of a side door and beckoned us to come in.  We did.  I don't think any one of us regret the decision.

We had a large bowl of rice, vegetable noodle soup, and a spicy ji rou (chicken) noodle dish.  Everything was great; I certainly left the place satisfied. It was 35 yuan for all 5 of us.

lfg raid apt 403

Yesterday, Jennifer, one of the veteran teachers at my school invited me and another new teacher to an apartment that was fully furnished.  She said that the teacher that used to live there wasn't coming back, and everything in the apartment was up for grabs.

So I went at it. I got some pretty neat stuff.

- Frozen mozza cheese
- 2 mugs
- a beer mug
- 20 hangers
- a rice cooker
- a pan
- various cleaning chemicals
- an ironing board
- a clothes rack for drying
- a bowl
- 3 plates
- paprika
- cinnimon

...and my grand prize...


A bottle of Pouilly-Fume white wine from France.  The Loire Valley to be exact.  No one wanted it but me, so I got it.  If it was going to any one of the new teachers, I suppose it should have been me. Why, you may ask? Well...hmm...

Eatng Out in Wuhan!

So today I got my cell phone.  I'll post my number sometime later on my Facebook.  After that, the staff at my school and I went down to my principal's favorite restaurant to eat.  It was a fine dining place.

All the food was delicious.  We had:

- bitter-melon soup
- fish ball, egg yolk, and chicken soup
- Chinese lettuce wrap with a fine noodle stuffing
- garlic-steamed soft tofu topped with chillis and Chinese onion
- squid braised in a fried garlic and chili sauce
- long beans slathered with some sort of oily, garlic sauce
- Sweet and sour pork
- frozen, thin-cut sashimi
- boiled potstickers with a lemon/soy sauce/fish sauce dip

 - Chrysanthemum Tea
- Some sort of Pijiu (which the Teacher-Librarian at my school said was a top shelf Chinese beer)

This was probably one of the best Chinese meals I've ever had.

The first 3 days

No pictures so far. Forgot my camera back at my apartment every day my tongshi ("colleagues" or "comrades") have gone out.

3 awesome things that have happened so far...

1. Earlier today, I went to a workout gym off the school grounds.  It was so humid, I was sweating buckets.  The gym itself was dark, dirty and old.  I think the weights on the dumbbells were rusted because people sweat on them too much.  It totally was a place for hardcore gym rats.  There was an Eastern European guy with boxer-t on that seriously looked like the guy in Rocky IV.  It totally would be the place Arnold would go workout back in the 1970s.

2. Walked down a road with some of my new colleagues. It looked like a bomb had hit it. It was broken, and dirty and had its share of "city farts," as my friend Jeremy would put it.  We had street food for lunch.  I ordered a vegetarian noodle stir fry cooked with sesame oil on a searing-hot iron wok.  It was so good!

3. My occasional affinity for whiskey and UBC Mandarin courses really paid off 2 days ago.  Had a night of eating and drinking with my colleagues, principal, and vice principal.  Most of the new teachers left the party early, but a few stayed.  Those that did stay (I myself included) polished off 2 bottles of bourbon whiskey. No baijiu just yet.

I decided to try and catch up with the next group of teachers that left, but got lost (the party was at an apartment about 40 min away by foot from the school).  I hopped into a cab and gave the driver the school card, but he gave it to the security guard at the gate of the apartment complex.  He tried to take me across the Yangzi River, which would be the wrong, and long way.  I guess it was his attempt to up the cab fare.  I yelled out "bu nali! Bu bu bu yao! Wo men qu zai nali?!  Minzu lu Zai Wuchang qu!!" (Not here!! No, no, no I don't want this!  Where are we going?!  Minzu Road in Wuchang District!).  The driver turned around and went straight to my destination within 5 min. I would've been lost without directions in a foreign city. Scary thought.  Next time I won't be so stupid to leave the school without 3 or 4 cards.  I'll never let them go either.

Lesson learned.

Greetings from the Middle Kingdom!

I landed in Pudong a few hours ago.  OMG it's friggin' humid!  The airport is pretty cold, but I'm still covered in sweat INSIDE!

It's...um...Towelie from Southpark?!

Irony of Ironies

So today I went Downtown and to Metrotown - one last time before I leave for China tomorrow morning.  Once I arrived home, my dad was talking to someone on the phone:

Dad: "Paul?  He's not here right now...oh! He's just arriving! Paul! Phone!"

Paul: [Grabs phone from Dad] "Hello?"

Caller X: "Hello Paul, this is the Vancouver School Board calling.  My name is X and I'm calling to confirm that you've filed an application for employment with us."

Paul: "Um...yes I have."

Caller X: "Excellent. Yes, I see here you applied in January, correct?"

Dad: [whispers] "Hahahaha! Are you just getting hired now, Paul?"

Paul: [gives off a sneer at his dad and brother as the chuckle to each other; walks downstairs]: "Yes."

Caller X: "Well, yes, it is quite late, but we are wondering if you are still interested in coming in for an interview. Would you be able to do that?"

Paul: [now alone downstairs] "Well, that's a bit of a problem.  You see, I'm interested, but tomorrow I'll be leaving for China."

Caller X: "Oh, are you going to be teaching there?"

Paul: "Yes, for two years."

Caller X: "Well, we'll put your name back on file.  You can just re-apply when you return."
............


Just my luck, eh?
Whatever.  I'm happy with my decision.

Tomorrow

One more day in Vancouver.  I thought this day would never come, and at times I didn't want it to.  I feel comfortable with my lifestyle here.  All my friends are here.  I've asked myself many, many times: why do I have to go? Couldn't I stay in my hometown?

But now I know I need to go.  I need to experience what I'm about to experience so I can grow.  Not just because of my new career, but for personal reasons as well.  I always wanted to do this.  I will be far away, outside of the English speaking world, starting a new career with people I have yet to meet. 

I suppose I should have been careful for what I wished for. But if I stayed, what then?

A new chapter of my life begins.  I am prepared.  I don't regret anything.

Goodbye, Vancouver

Going away parties

I'd like to thank everyone who came out to my various going away parties. The food and drinks were awesome, the company even better.  I even scored $170 at the casino!

I have had the privilege and honor of having many wonderful friends and family members here in Vancouver.  I will miss you all dearly.

This isn't a goodbye.  It is only a farewell for now.  Make sure you continue reading my blog for updates on my adventures abroad!

Paul

The Chronic-what?!-cles of Mexico #3

Isla Mujeres. Quaint little island.

Saw this elementary school's artwork walking towards a beach.

What the heck is the boy doing in this picture!?

 

...only in Mexico.

And so it ends...and so it begins!

It is ending.  My time here in Vancouver is quickly coming to a close.  And so it begins...me saying goodbye to the various good people I know.

Yesterday was a sort of a bittersweet day. I caught up with lots of my mom's side of the family...but only because it was the funeral of my Uncle Dennis. Will these be the only times I see these people - when family members pass away?  Hopefully, my generation of cousins can pull some tighter knit bond together.

Then a great party at my family's house for some of my old Diversity Cohort peeps (my first Education Program cohort).  I love hanging out with these cool kids, but sadly we only see each other two times a year.  It pains me to think that the time margin in between my reunions with these friends will only become wider.

2:10 AM on Thursday, August 5th.  2 more weeks to go.  I've been running around gathering my many things to pack: personal effects, clothes, teacher resources, and of course, and a big jar of Nutella.  I'm almost ready to send off my boxes of cargo that won't get to me until October or maybe even November.

Aside from being super-duper busy, I've got a funeral and a friend's birthday to attend.  Not to mention I have to host 3 going away parties.  Don't even get me started on lesson planning, because that's taken a backseat in my priorities list as of a week ago.  I guess I worry about that once I'm in the People's Republic.

The Chronic-what?!-cles of Mexico #2

Chichen Itza. One of the several Wonders of the World.  The day started off really, really nice.  But when our tour got to the temple, it started to rain.  Hard.  Just like the last time I was at another Wonder of the World! At the Great Wall of China, there was a massive downpour that got everyone drenched.

The Chronic-what?!-cles of Mexico #1

Tequila.  I can't believe I ended up liking this f@&#!#* crap.  Personally, I like añejo.  Reposado and blanco are okay, but not bitter enough for me.  Above, you're looking at 1800 tequila añejo reserva.  Middle of the road stuff.  Had it after a great meal at a restaurant called Havana Moon.  Aside from the initial alcohol burn, it has a nice warm attack to it.  Bitter and has a heavy oak nose. My kind of drink.

Going mobile

Hello reader,

I only have 3 more weeks in my native Greater Vancouver - the region in which I was born, bred, and educated.  Before I went into the Education program at UBC, I had a really nasty bite of the travel-bug.  My goal was to travel and teach after I left the program.  Over the duration of my student teaching, however, that goal looked unfeasible and uneconomical.

That was before the financial crisis.  Since then, districts here are closing schools and laying off many teachers.  The series of unfortunate events that is occurring here that effects public sector work opened the door for me to go abroad for a while.  To save money, yes, but also to gain invaluable teaching experience, learn about different cultural understandings, and see the shining light (or chaotic trash heap) of the world.

Fast forward to now.  I'm heading to teach at an international school in Wuhan in Central China in a few weeks for 2 or more years.  Lucky for me, they use British Columbia's school curriculum.  My goal has been realized!

It's a really great deal since living in China is dirt cheap, as I learned from my China trip in 2007. I'm really looking forward to this excellent opportunity.  It's a really nice new school.  Things couldn't look better for me.  Hell, I'll probably come back fluent in Mandarin.  But of course, like most things, there is a catch.  I'm going to one of the hottest cities in all China.  I checked the temperature yesterday...30 degrees Celsius and 79% relative humidity...at 4AM.  WTF!?!?