Halloweeeeeennpartduex----

a note: i know my grammar and spellling suck on this thing, basically becuase i am lazy. I can wrtie like a motherfucker, but I don't have the time or patience to self edit. plus, i think its kind of charming. of course, some people won't get this, but the great thing about being me is that i don't have to give a crap. this is my little corner of the internet and i think the way i write this is pretty honest and representative of me.... If one doubts my abilty to write, consider that I never recieved anything except A's on my college papers( with the excpetion of a few Bruce papers, which involved techinical linguistic shit that i fucked up) anyway, being defensive, but the entry is pretty light toned, so read on, mistakes and all...Ok, so my Halloween week at school was pretty interesting. I did some cultural crap about the history of the holiday and told the story of Jack O'lantern. We then pretended that they were going to go trick or treating, and what costumes they would wear and such. I showed them a book with pictures of kid's dressing up. I think it blew their minds! They have nothing like that. Some girls screamed at the pictures; Chinese girls can be quite dramatic! Then i made them leave the class and knock on the door. and say trick or treat. Each of my students got one piece of candy, which added up to a hell of a lot of candy ( i have around 700students!). Some of their "costumes"where inventive: Toilets, the universe, and me! most were cats and other animals. but it was fun and i can say that i let around 700 Chinese kids celebrate Halloween, something they may never do again in their lives. not that it makes me a saint or anything, but it was fun. of course, now, the little bastards expect candy every week! I will write more about this later, but i am starting to get very attached to my students. They are not always good for me, but they have such personalities! I just feel such a bond with all of them, i am not sure why... My primaries and some of my 11th graders even dressed up. the sixth graders are poor and made little paper masks( although one kid wrapped toilet paper around himself and could barely walk!). it was fun. Two of my favorite students at sunshine, Rachel and Cecila, wore plastic mask. As a whole, the Chinese don't really know what Halloween is, so their wasn't many things around. The younger generation is taught english, so they have a bit more of a clue. Our culture is slowly seeping into theirs, but it will probably take a while to make a huge impact( although many of my kids LOVE the NBA and know more about it than i do).Halloween itself was fun. Since their is a small amount of foreigners in Dalian( most who drink like fish, it seems), a couple of the bars had Halloween parties. I wore a cheap mask ( which fucking broke about five minutes in). The Bar was JD's and it was mostly full of Chinese, some who wore masks and costumes, which was nice. They had a open bar deal, which was quite cheap( 30 rmb, which is almost nothing in American) and we actually had a few bottles. Needless to say, We got very fucking drunk, but it was fun. At the clubs, i always see two of my sunshine students, Russian girls. One is one of my best students! The Russians are a bit darker than the Chinese students, smart, interesting, but somewhat more... I am not sure of the right term. they certainly like to drink. There is no drinking age in China, so They can get into clubs and such... Thats another thing, in the clubs, i have no clue how old some of the Chinese are! Unitl a certain age, its very hard to tell! Anyway, Halloween night was drunken but fun...
My birthday was on November 3rd. I received many greetings and such electronically and they were very appreciated! I turned 39, a weird stupid age ( like all of them) which just seems to be the retarded herald of 40, but i can still cling to my thirties. I don't feel almost 40, and my natural immaturity keeps my seemingly young. It just seems like everything has happened so fast. But I thought about my past, quite a bit of it dubious and infamous, and contrary to prior confessions, i don't regret a god damned thing. I did say and so some stupid things that i probably shouldn't , but i also did quite alot of good things. I think i have lived alot, and have much more to live. I always felt things would change quite a bit around 40, and that seems to be true. The main thing, to me, is that I am living life; I am dong things and trying to take advantage of this unique experience. And a bonus, the way i live my life pretty much pisses all the right people off! I received a nice pen from Fairy and a cake from one of my teachers, Mrs. Su. It was a quiet birthday, but it was nice. I talked to jessica; my only regret about that day was not spending it with her. Its hard to be away from everyone that you love, but it would be foolish to not take advantage of the fact that i am in china and enjoy my birthday just simply being here...
The next day was election day. I am pretty apolitical right now and generally feel that entire system needs to be restructuring. too much corruption, too much bullshit. That being said, I felt that out of the choices, America made the right one. Only time will tell, but hopefully things will improve. at the very least, America has broken out of its tradition of only electing old white men. I hope that Obama will be a good president. America is a great country with many great people, it doesn't deserve to go out being bled dry by greedy old men who already have more than they can deal with. Of course, there is no guarantee that will not still happen, but we can hope. Overall, I thought it was a positive thing. I did not vote, which i usually do not. Americans always say that if you don't vote you can't bitch. the great thing about being an American is that you can bitch whenever you want, and i will probably not break that tradition....
that next Sunday, i did a lot of little things around the apartment and then went to English corner. It was cold in Dalian! You would think coming from snow,ice, freezing oswego that i would be pretty immune to the cold, but no..... In china, the government controls the heat, which is a very strange concept for us Americans. on Nov. 15th, they turned on the gas to everyone and have heat now. but at that time it wasbearable but cold in my apartment. its a strange thing, but it was only for a small period... anyhoo, English corner was fun, but cold. Fairy was there, being fairy. I seem to have attracted a following of kids, mostly girls. the adults can't really get to talk to me because the kids dominate the show. but the adults talk to the other English teachers, so i guess i am the kid guy, which is really ok with me, they are interesting and fun. Some talk very much, some just stand there, afraid to talk, some stick their tongues out at me or try to steal my stuff( as a joke). the we encountered Grandma, which is the subject of the next entry!

Intermission---mydaytoday...Letter to Steve

( i wish i could add music to this thing, Intermission always makes think of some old lady kind of serenly jamming on an organ( intsrumnet, for my chinese and also my more perverted friends)

This is part of an email i wrote to my brother today. It contains much interesting( i think) information and i thought that if i added some stuff, it would make a good post. The rest of the Halloween stuff and such is coming, some of it is already written, but i noticed that i was turning what should have been a short, almost business like email into a post, so I went with it. My bother helped me out a little bit on may way over here, so I westerned unioned him some money. Others helped me out, and as soon as i am able, i will also pay them back.... anyway, i just thought someone might like to read it( except for the semi-political rant, a bad habit of mine that i think is just part of being an American.... god or whatever help me)

Steve ( iam turning this into a blog entry, besides the more sensitive personal crap, like your pimply ass and such)

today, April and i went to the post office. What a cluster fuck that was. The Chinese really fuck anything up that is even slightly bureaucratic in nature? forms over forms, poor April and i spend about 2 hours in that place( hell maybe about an hour and a half). it didn't help that we seemed to come at time when a ton of people who fucked shit up where ahead of us( MY CURSE IN ANY COUNTRY). Wherever i go, i tend to get behind the guy who has a super-complicated order or is just a douche, or the lady who fights with the sales clerk over the price of lettuce( surprisingly, this has actually happened in both China and America). And the Chinese, god bless their hearts, suck at lines. I don't know why, but they will just jump ahead of people and crowd around the window or whatever. Even though they are generally better behaved at the grocery store, i have had people just cut in front of me, or try to angle their carts in some obvious but strange angle ( which is also how they drive, as I have mentioned). Anyhoo, poor April got jumped ( line jumped that is, you pervert ) at least once. and the chinese do love to debate with company's. I think it may because haggling is part of the culture, and still is fairly huge, but you don't haggle with big companies such as western union, Mcdonalds and such. In most official type stores, you can't haggle, as in the grocery stores, malls( well most of them), restaurants, and most stores, but on the street and in booths ( and certain types of stores, less official i guess) you can and it is expected. The thing i have learned about the Chinese is that they don't just jack up the price, they really jack of the price! I also think that us foreigners get a special anti-discount because they think that all Americans are rich ( which is of course not true) and that all foreigners are clueless about their prices ( which is unfortunately very true of some of us!) So you may haggle with them and get them to cut it down by half, but find out later that you still payed 3 or four times the price a normal Chinese person would. And the Chinese are born with the ability to find a good deal, they thrive on it. It one of their strengths and weaknesses; sometimes they just seem very smart and frugal, other times, they seem damned cheap and stingy. Of course, it is probably ingrained in them due to the massive population, limited resources, historical poverty and having lived through some very though times. Even though China is ( or at least was) a socialist society, as Jessica has said ( to paraphrase my love), "in china, you watch your money, work hard, and don't waste things because if you get in trouble, no one will help you." the Government does help them out sometimes, but it seems to be fairly limited. In America, despite all of the shit people say, we are lucky that there are safety nets ( well, with some holes in them).Back to the point! Which at this point, i must admit that i have completly forget.

Oh, so anyway, after forever, everything cleared up and we got your money out. Since everything was in Chinese, i hope that their were no massive fuck ups. i hope you got the agreed upon am ount and that you receive it. All in all it was another strange, but thought provoking experience in China...

love,
you smarter, handsomer brother,

Patrick

ok, next up, Halloween part II( yes, i know, i am pat evon right)

FromHalloweenuntilnow part I

hello!
I have been pretty busy, but i think the main reason that i have not written on this thing that much is because I have really hit a big adjustment period. Teaching, the language, the culture, all of it can be a bit overwhelming. i still love it here, but i think i just hit a period where i needed to be.. somewhat inert, to catch up with everything. Anyway, i hope to get alot more done starting this week, including blogging at least once or a few times a week. The school week does kick my ass, but I can find some time to get things done if i put effort into it. Life requires effort.

So, lots of little things have happened, but the biggest things have been in the last two weeks or so! Halloween weekend was interesting. The Wednesday before Halloween is a "ghost day"in China. there is some debate about this actually. Some Chinese say there is only one ghost day, which is the traditional festival on the 15Th day of the seventh month. Some say there are only two; some say four. It seems that this interpretation problem may be due to different traditions; I am not sure. What I do know is that the Chinese were building little bonfires on sides of the road all over the place this night. needless to say, It looked cool as hell! I noticed that the street vendorswere selling this gold stuff and fake money, but i was not sure what it was. I thought it might be for a festival or some ritual , but in China, one never knows what the hell is going on. Later, I was with Winston, and we say the fires. At first we thought it might me burning off produce leaves ( since fall really hit, big old dump trucks full of some sort of lettuce and cabbage have been everywhere,; it seems they just sell them off the truck and the Chinese FUCKING love it!) but then i began to make the connection with the unusual stuff I was being sold earl er. We ran into a student of Winston and his father and Winston tried to ask them what was going on. The kid was just a student, so he really could not explain what was going on, but luckily, there was a guy with very good English burning some crap next to us. He was happy to explain that ghost days occur once every three months, and they burned fake money and clothes to appease the ancestors, who would in turn give them good luck. I have looked this up and it seems to be a very ancient ritual. The idea is that the heavens and earth line up at this time so that there can be some kind of communication between the realms of the dead and the living. I guess the smoke is reformed in the heavens. of course, like anything religious, there seem to be many different takes on what is going on. It seemed weird to me that this was happening to two days before Halloween. I had prepared a lesson for Halloween( more on this later in the week and had reviewed the history of Halloween. Of course , some things struck me. The fact that in ancient Samhain( Halloween) food was given to appease the dead spirits, who cam back this night. And one can think of the Egyptians. The concept of bridging the realms seem to be a human and ancient one. Maybe it is something us. Or perhaps, all of these rituals come from one very ancient, pre history ritual. who knows? But it is also interesting to notice that in the east, the dead are fairly benevolent, while in the west they are feared. It very interesting to think about.

Another point of interest is the fact that the Chinese seem to be reclaiming their past. not to be political, but it is no secret that the after revolution government discouraged ( and perhaps that is being diplomatic) any sort of religion or ritual. Now, i don't know for sure, but it seems that the government seems to be mellowing out a bit, the people are naturally reclaiming some of their rituals. While some may argue that this is bad, that humans should move away from religion and ritual ( and i generally agree) it also seems that these rituals are very much part of human, maybe on a subconscious level. In the west, we generally do not believe in evil spirits coming back ( well, many do, but culturally I would say not at this point) but we still keep the rituals associated with it, ie Halloween. I think, and of course this is mere conjecture, that maybe as the Chinese move forward, part of that process is to reclaim the past. Generally, i think this sort of thing is silly, but i think that if kept in check, it may be a good thing. ritual without religion is pretty harmless. but it has a way of getting out of control. only time will tell, i guess. Personally, one of the things i like about the Chinese is that they are generally atheists.

so, anyway, coming soon the rest of this crap....

messagetokarrieaboutcomingtochina

My friend karry (whose name i am mispelling in a variety of ways) is interested in coming to China, so i sent her this message. I figured that it would be a good thing to post here as it contains general information concerening my life here and the company and teaching.
sorry for not posting for a while. i hope to put up a post soon explaining my life here right now, which while good, is very busy and tiring...
here's the message to kerri---
OK, i hope that i remember everything. warning, i may post most of this on my blog, as it is good information.first, I think the most difficult part of all of this was getting here. If you are in contact with the company, they will tell you what you need. Personally, considering your grades and your major, i am 100 percent sure that they will accept you with no problem. They will have an application which i think has a short essay, but its no problem. I think they ask for two letters of recommendation. I would use Bruce and Jean and accentuate your TESOL training and such, but of course ,that is up to you. I am sure they will accept you. The difficult part is getting here. You have to be able to pay for your airfare here ( they will reimburse most , if not all of this of, it at the end of your contract). They told me to bring at least 500 to live on, but i would bring as much as you can; things are cheap in china, but it adds up and its nice to have the extra money. Plus it may be a month and a half before you get paid. Also, it would be wise to keep a bank account open in the states with American money in it, for expenses you have to pay in the states( i did not do this of course). When you arrive in the China, you may have the option at the airport to convert money. I would convert as much as possible ( i only converted 100 dollars and it was a pain in the ass). American money is really not used here at all.( many Chinese are gleeful about the dropping dollar and the rising yuan!) The Atms will accept major debit cards, but you will get the money in Chinese.
Another major concern is the visa and such. They will ask you for alot of paper work as the process goes on, such as health things and such. If you have a doctor, get them to send your records, but they Will give you a exam while you are here that is very basic and Will cover visa requirements. Try to get your visa as soon as possible, but even if it is at the last moment, as mine was, there should be no problem. its a bit of a pain in the ass, but should clear. keep your recipts, as the company will reimburse this later. Aslo, if you have any fight resceduling due to weather or the company, keep reciepts of that. Anyhoo, the government shouldn't give you much problem about your visa. if you can't get to the embassy in New York, you can usean interent company, i found Visa Express to be very reliable. But remember, China wants Native English teachers! Any questions, if you do this; make sure to stay in contact with me and i will tell you my opinion.Now, the question is, do you want to come here?Well, i love china!
its not always easy, some days its extremely frustrating, but others are amazing. I don''t know if you took Chinese, but if you did, that would be a plus. I don't know any Chinese and i get along ok, although occasionaly it is an issue'( as when i got in a cab and ended up an hour away from where i wanted to go!). if i was you, try to insist early on that you stay in Dalian, not hou jou (sp). Believer me, you are a lot better off here! trust me on this one. its an amazing experience, being here. like i said, it has its frustrations, but it beats oswego!
Good points-- the company pays your rent. getting to school is easy because of china's cheap buses( although they are crowded). The people are generally very friendly and there is much to do and see in the city. much cheap shopping. great food ( although some of it is scary). you get your own apartment. its great experience for TESOL teaching and is relatively easy to do( esp . with your training). there are many things that is great about being here.Things you should know about. Dalian is very modern and in some ways its like living in America, but there are many differences also( besides all of the Chinese people!) The language thing can be a barrier, although the company is pretty good with helping us do things. Your apartment will be set up for you, as well as bills and utilities. If you have a mobile phone, bring it as well as a laptop( you really want to have a computer here). Things are done different, and many things will be confusing. However, the company does do its best to help us./ the teaching training is minimal, but that should be OK with you. If i am here, i can be a help in many ways.another thing to consider is that the teaching schedule is intense. I teach 27 classes a week( usually with an average of 50 students) and up to 800 students. Most of our classes are supplemental, we are to provide a fun and unique enviroment for our students to speak and hear English. also while the pay is ok, considering the hours and such, it could be a bit more, but that is business i guess. Everything in china costs money, although everything is much cheaper than in the us. If you come here, plan on working alot, but also it being a interesting experience. The school system is different than the us. and may take some while to understand. however, i think that you will enjoy it if you come here. If you any any questions or anything at anytime about anything, please contact me. also, if anyone else expresses interest, tell them to contact me. ok, there is all i can think of for now. contact ed. ed is very honest, responsible, and speaks english! remember to mention that you are my friend. also mention that you are a tesol major and any other relevant educational experience. i hope it works out for you. stay in contact!pat

oh, the pay is not bad, it could be better. The best way to look at it is that you are being payed to stay a year in a country that you probably could not afford to visit long on your own, thats my viewpoint. the experience is the real pay ( as cheesy as that sounds). also there are many adjustments to living in a foreign culture. be prepared to have an adventure. expect the unexpected and be open to things that you might not be in the us and you will be fine...

Mydayandsomethoughtsonteaching

Today was the first day back to school after a over a week break. The school that I taught at today was one that I had not been to in 3 weeks or so due to the holiday and also they were out on military exercises ( all public schools do this it seems, i am not sure what it entails although the kids seem to like it). It is also one of my favorite schools in that all of the kids are well behaved and enthusiastic. I had fun. I am very new to teaching, had no education on how to teach, and was only trained for a few hours on how. Sometimes it can be intimidating and frustrating; however, it can also be very illuminating and fun. As Winston says, "I get paid to play with kids all day; its the easiest job i have ever had ( I am actually paraphrasing him here)" Exactly. I look at this way, i spent somewhere around ten years working in bars and such, busting my ass and getting no respect. This is great compared to it. I do teach alot: i have 27 classes and teach around 300 kids. This seems like alot and it is; it can be very draining. But I actually work around 23-24 hours a week ( although the lesson planning can be time consuming), there is not physical labor, i get to talk alot, and i usually laugh my ass of at the kids. I teach a few different level. the youngest are primary 6; i just started with these kids and they seem cute and enthusiastic, but they're English level is very low. I was told that they have moved from the country because their parents have found shitty jobs in the city; they are poor. However, they seem great. I also teach middle school 7 (the school i taught today). These kids are better at English, although their levels very greatly. These kids are fairly shy. I teach grade 8 in another school,; they are less shy, higher level, and somewhat harder to control. They are also pretty funny sometime. I have been doing a waste basketball game with the younger kids and one kid( who speaks alot, but it s usually in Chinese to me!) was really into it. He got to shoot early( they had to construct a sentence in English using already, just or yet) and i had moved on... I get back to his area, and he is sitting in the next seat( behind his) with a jacket and sunglasses on; He was in disguise to shoot again! I told him to get back to his seat, but it was pretty funny. Another funny phenomena about the students at this age. It is not unusual for a boy to say something stupid and get whacked hard in the head by some girl sitting next to him. I have seen it many, many times. I have seen boys get smacked so hard that spit comes out of their mouth! But they seem to like it. I think it may be some form of flirting, and i generally ignore it because it doesn't seem harmful and i doubt that i could stop it. also, it amuses the hell out of me!
I also teach at a very expensive private school--the sunshine( ashsun) school. These kids are rich, lazier (generally), and have worse attitudes than the public school kids. I teach seniors ( grade 11 and 12). I have 12 classes a week here, and it takes much more lesson planning and real teaching. My 11th graders are difficult, although i have been making progress. The 12th graders are better; they are lazy but we get along. I like this school and most of the kids; But i have to really teach here and they can be more challenging( some are jerks). However, I am getting better at this, I believe. In the public schools, I only see them once a week and the classes are huge( 35-56 kids a class). My job there is to play games and get the kids to speak. Chinese schools are strict and brutal; the kids are expected to work very hard. All of the American teachers try to show the kids that English can be fun. At Sunshine, my job is to actually teach the little jerks! I like both types, but the younger kids are easier...

Today was good, though. A few stories. One, i made what i thought was a great discovery. In Dalian, you see motorcycle (real motorcycles, not with the carts) guys on their bikes just hanging out on the sidewalks. They are usually very friendly. I often thought about what they might be doing; I assumed that they were just hanging out, looking cool, maybe trying to pick up chicks. Well, they might be doing that as lo, but today at lunch, I walked down the massive hill to go to the store. I saw students riding up the hill on on the back of motorcycles( the kids wear uniforms with their schools on them, so their is no mistaking them). It turns out, the motorcycle dudes hang out at the bottom of hills and will ride you up them for 2 yaun ( very cheap). I thought that this was pretty cool; those hills suck. I may just have to take advantage of this! People in China are very good at thinking of ways to make money, although, i think this way is pretty fun and awesome.

I was wrapping up class today and went to get my phone. It was in my hoody pocket and when I grabbed my Hoody, it slid out into a full bucket of water. Chinese classrooms always have containers of water everywhere ( wash the board and such-- also, kids in china actually have to wash down their classrooms and halls, sometimes on their knees, sweeping and washing down stairs, everything. Could you imagine if they tried that in America!) and I have had run ins with these things before, ball in water, foot in water, spilling water. I grabbed my phone a few seconds in, but it was already sinking! The kids let out a collective sucking air sound that echoed the panic i felt. I picked it up and continued with class. It acted a bit goofy for a hour, but it has been working fine since then! I still have it under watch, but it seems good.And it was a cheap ass phone ( about 50 american)! so that could have been very bad.

Well, that's enough for today. I will continue with teaching soon. And hopefully, I will tell my best story so far, Granny panty's!

Fairy

you can click on any of the images on this blog to get a better view. These one's were taken by Winston.

The Little girl in the pictures is Fairy ( her self given English name). Fairy was the first person to talk to me at the English corner. We have sort of bonded since then. Fairy has about the best English I have ever heard from a Chinese person and she is 11! She also speaks Japanese! She plays four instruments. She has just returned from Beijing where she competed in a English competition and came in 2nd place in her age group ( out of the whole country!) She is not my student, but we talk every sunday at the corner( i did help her tidy up her speach for the competition, but she had very few errors). I am very fond of her and amazed at intelligence! She is also very much a regular kid. Sometimes, at the corner ( which is really zhong shan square), Chinese people think that she is not chinese because she speaks English so well.

It's starting to get cold here, so the English corner was a bit lame today. However, i had fun as always. Two weeks ago, i was still sweating, and now my hoody is kind of not enough for the weather.

Good bus example today. I got on the five after the English corner. Downtown has the stop where the five ends/begins and is one of the few places where the Chinese line up. So i get in line, which is massive. I dread this ride because the five tends to be extra crowded. Two fives come and I think that it won't be that bad. There is a Small metal frame that forms the Que line. Now, for some reason, many chinese won't break that line. They will break any other line, usually. They will jump in front of you at McDonald's. They will break traffic. but many of them will not break a line that has the metal que thing. If they do, they will only do it when the line stops( the non- que breakers will stop when the seats are full, which is ridiculous to me because they will pack a totally full bus any other time. So i get on the first bus, and get one of the last seats, although there was some lady racing on my hip trying to push me out of the way to get a seat, she got one, i don't know why they do that--old ladies and men really like to push people out of the way here. So the querers stop soon, and then people who don't care about the line will come on. Well, i was pretty lucky to get a seat. The next bus won't board until the first one leaves. Well, people just kept coming on. It was crazy; about the fullest bus I have ever been on; not a inch of wasted space, people pressed up against the door. The thing that i found insane is that was a totally empty bus behind us that would board as soon as ours left! I don't understand why all those people did not just wait! The only thing i can think of is that they are just very impatient. Oh well, Chinese buses...

Back to school tommorrow. Will write about teaching soon

Randomresponcestonothing

not starting the teaching thing yet; its very complicated and long. Just a short entry with random shit and some follow ups to the previous blogs.

Jessica- i really didn't talk about her that all much in her own entry! It difficult to write about some things. I just guess i feel so strongly about her, its hard to put into words. It all comes out as cliche's. However, i think she is amazing. Independent, driven, intellgient, warm. Everyting i could ever ask for. iwrote a poem and a story about her. maybe i should post a link. they come closer to saying anything about her than i would here

Amercia- I probably need to clarify some things about my feelings for my own country. Also very complicated and i would be a fool so say that fully understood my own feelings about it. I don't hate amercia; I love it. Its a great country to be from and a good country to live in. Many, many things about the us is amazing. But there are aspects of it I just can't stand. Right now, i hate many of the politcal elements of the country. I hate the bullying of the bush administration. I hate the celebrity obssesed culture that brainfucks the masses. I hate, hate, hate, the endless, empty, rolling binary switch debates of Republican/ Democrat, Conservative/liberal, blah/blah. fucking solves nothing, people get mad and everyone misses the point. Politics are important, but the whole country seems to to busy arguing and not paying attention to whats going on, sulking and being bitter becuase everyone else seems to not understand that they're viewpoint is right. The fact is no politcial idea or system is ever going to be enough. I, myself, am trying to see life as it is, understand humans and how they work. to me, this is the only way to make things better. to me, getting behind ideas and groups and expecting them to solve problems like some sort of machine is beyond naive. Look at the world and yourself and people around you. stop classifying things simply. for gods sake, don't listen to anyone, anyone who has some poliitcal state. Free yourself from this mind fuck and realise your place in this world. Its not about money, or theory, or freedom, or any of that. It is about everything. If you seperate any element from the whole, your understanding is going to be imcoomplete and your thoery will fail. plus, try to seperate your personal prejudeaces and hopes from your theory, which is impossible. when people talk politics, i learn more about who they are then any system. to me, these systems are mind death; many others see them as the height of intelligince. anyway, thats just my opinion.

but i love america; i am just bored of most americans right now. I feel i need to get away; get my head clear of all the fucing yelling. just live. I know that the chinese are far from perfect, they are human. But its something different, they are a different part of the riddle that is humanity. I could give a fuck less about politics, but humans, thats a wonderful subject to study... I feel like i am learning agian, and really seeing things for the first time. For me, this was the best thing at the best time. I need a time out from amercia, and china is a great place to do that. However, I wil probably return to america is a deeper understand and different appreciation form it. But i doubt i will ever swallow any of the political bullhsit. any of it. that's just who i am.

Anyway, more about China in the next few day. Hopefully about teaching.

Jessica

Ok, this blog is dedicated to a major part of life that is rarely mentioned on this blog: my significant other, Jessica. Jessica and I have been dating since April 17th this year, which is not a long time. However, I feel closer to her than anyone I have ever dated. Yipin( her Chinese given name: the Chinese put there family names first, then there given name: in China, I would be Evon Pat) is of course Chinese. I met her before I came to China, although I was well underway with the decision and the processes to come here. She is a very important part of my experience here, even though she is not here right now.

I met her at Oswego last spring semester. I had been friends with a few Chinese students before that. I found the Chinese fascinating, especially the girls. Nothing against Chinese men, who are interesting in there own right, but Chinese girls are wonderful. I just find all of them to be smart, resourceful, gentle, mostly kind, and adorable. Despite my age, after a semester or two, I had many friends at Oz( Oswego). Although the average college student holds no interest in me, individually, there were many interesting, open minded kids. But, I found the Chinese to be more interesting. They were hard- working ( as I was), funny, and different. It's hard to explain, but I felt they had more in common with me than the youth of my own culture. Maybe its the "mystique" , maybe I am just bored with Americans, who really end up seeming to be mostly the same after while( not everyone, just many). My best friends at college was Chinese( well, and Marc huass), Xiaoru Lin ( Lin Xiaoru), who is actually from Dalian!

One of the reasons that i decided to go back to college in the first place was due to an overwhelming desire to get out of the United States for awhile. It was not a wholly political decisions, although the last eight years have been painful as I watched my country become many things that I feared that It would. The general mood in America has been upsetting for me( and for those Americans who want to throw names and shit around, everything that i have predicted since the beginning of this mess has come true. Every single thing! So I was open minded, i considered your view, and it was proven wrong. Better to trust my own instincts. so fuck you, fuck you, fuck you!). But it wasn't just that. America goes in cycles; things will probably change in another direction soon. Politics are stupid,life is what matters. I was also 33-34 years old and had pretty much lived in the same area of the world, seeing the same things, surrounded by the same people. Ever since I was little, I had wanted to travel. At this point in my life, which had just come from a very bleak, hopeless, period of my life where i had really given up on many of my dreams. When I decided to go back to school, it was with the goal in mind to go to another country. Once school was starting to wind down, I started looking for opportunities to travel. I was thinking about Japan for a long time but then I read the email for the program that i am currently participating in. Something about it stood out to me, and My Chinese friends encouraged me to come here. So I started the process and it worked out. Again the political reasons where there, but far from the most important. While I was and continue to be disgusted by the present political status in the states, i would not have left solely for that reason. I had more personal compelling reason to want to be part of the world.

When I met Jessica, I was still waiting to hear from the Company. She was another Chinese girl out of many, but she wasn't. I quickly became interested in her, but I resisted this also. I was 14 years older and from a different country. Jessica's story also complicates things. She is from China, near Beijing, but had spent the last six years studying in New Zealand, and was only in America for a semester as an exchange student. She was returning to NZ to pursue her post graduate work. I was maybe going to China. I pretty much decided to ignore my attraction to her, as there seemed to be no real future for us. Well, that didn't work; after a few strange steps, we became a couple. We also decided to keep the relationship going. None of these decisions where easy and we have struggled and considered each. But what can you do when you have finally meet the one person who seems to fully understand and appreciate you. We try to take one day at a time. Neither of us are stupid; we know that the odds are against us. But it all seems to work, in some clumsly, chaotic way. Order beyond order; sense beyond sense- not at all common or cheap.

I often wonder what people who know me think of the relationship. Do they think that I am some overaged pervert taking advantage of some innocent young Chinese girl? Well, maybe that does happen, but the chinese are very savy; I don't think they get taken advantage of for long. Is it becuase I am american? No, Jessica has no real goal to live in the states. Jessica has a degree in psychology( and is working on her masters), speaks two languages fluently and is learning a third ( Japanese), has traveled and lived in many areas of the world, and one of the most intelligent and aware people that i know. We just connect; it's hard to describe.

I don't know what else to say. I wanted to talk about her, but its complicated and personal. Let me just say that she is the most amazing girl that i have ever met. She understands me better than anyone ever has, she is smart, funny, complicated, kind, and honest. I talk to her everyday and everyday i fall more in love with her. I hope that one day, we can actually be together. She is the most amazing person on this planet and I am lucky that she pays attention me.

It's weird having a Chinese girlfriend who is not in China when you are. but this experience has helped me understand her better, and being with her has let me understand China better. I feel that i am an amazing journey that will take me to undreamed of places, and I feel that Yipin is a large part of it.

Next, I will begin to talk about teaching and school, although that may take many entries to fully explain...

TwoBigThings--crossingthestreetandbuses

Have not blogged in a while, lots of things have been going on. However, things should be a little quieter and i should be posting quite a bit for awhile...

I will abandon the chronology sort of because i have been here for over a month and there are many things that I want to talk about that i have not. However, I retain the right to go back to the chronology if i feel like it, because that is how I roll(!)...

Two of the biggest things for me that are involved in living here are the buses and crossing the street. I have to do both of them quite often and both of these activities make quite an impact on me.

Oh crap, before I start into that, this week in another holiday-- National day. I think the actually day was yesterday, but school is out for a week! National day is like our July 4th, but somewhat of a bigger deal. I think it celebrates the revolution.

Anyway, i have mentioned crossing the street before, but it bears repeating. Traffic is somewhat the same in China, except that is also completely different! They drive on the same side of the road as us and the basic system is pretty much the same. They have traffic lights, although they are more sparse than at home, except for downtown. The essential difference is one of basic approach or mentality. Ed has said, and i have stolen this off of him, that he could not tell if the Chinese are the best drivers in the world or the worst. Jessica thinks that they are the best, and i am inclined, with some reservations, to agree with her. When crossing the street in most places, there are no stop signs ( that i have noticed anyway) and few traffic lights. The streets are almost always very busy with both pedestrians and cars. Many of the cars are taxi cabs, which are fairly cheap and widely used. There are also many buses on the street. I have no clue to how many buses there are in Dalian, but its quite a lot! There are also many other types of vehicles, from older cars to very nice, expensive, newer ones. There are some bicycles and many motorcycles. Some of the motorcycles have carts on the back of them ( as do some of the bikes) in which the driver may pile junk, cardboard, a person, or god knows what. Anyway, the common element to all of these vehicles is that there are very many of them and they all drive with what seems at first to the American eye with complete abandon! They hate to stop. They will weave in and out of traffic like nobodies business. They will pull out, over and, whatever in a moments notice. The main rule seems to be to get where you are going to as soon as possible and don't hurt anyone. They also drive on the sidewalk sometime, or skirt around the edge of the road. Its complete madness. Since the cars rarely stop, you kind of have to walk out in the middle of traffic most of the time. It was very hard for me to get used to. I actually have alot of admiration for the Chinese Driver, but i have more for the Chinese pedestrian! When i first came here, i would ( and occasionally still do) be left of the sidewalk for a very long time, waiting for a hole in the traffic (also i may step out and almost get lowed by some old guy in a dirty suit on a bike. Don't laugh; it happens almost everyday!) The Chinese don''t. they may wait for little while, but they know that if they wait too long, they will be there for fucking ever. So i will wait, and tons of Chinese will cross the street, Little girls, old ladies, people with dogs without a leash ( another interesting topic- Chinese pets) all probably laughing at the super tall American who is afraid to cross the street. They will dart between cars, walk slowly as a cab or a bus barrels upon them, or stand on the yellow line as traffic zooms on both sides of them. I am getting better at crossing the street, although i am still very far from a native in this respect. It appears they don't get hit very often.The key to all of this, as i suggested before, is the Chinese mentality, I think. They don't stop. But there are very few accidents. I think the Chinese,being 1.3 billion people strong, are used to crowds. In a population this big, you better get used to it. but they are more aware of other people. bus or cab may push towards you, but they will not hit you. they seem to have an almost magical awareness of what is going on around them. I see situations everyday that would be a horrendous accident if that situation occurred in the states. However, in China, they seem to be able to avoid this. They do drive a good bit slower in general, but not super slow. I really think that its part of the Chinese way of being, and I plan of fully figuring this out. In the meantime, I will probably continue to reflect on this phenomena.

One thing to remember , while this may seem to be a mess to us. it is perfectly normal to them. Another thing that i like is that they don't seem to get mad that often. In the States, especially in traffic, people seem to be very eager to get pissed off. The Chinese seems to just accept the traffic as a matter of course and don't take it personally. they will honk, but it does not seem to be very aggressive. Its more of a Hey i a here, be aware so you don't get hurt, kind of honking. That being said, they love to honk and i don't really know why they do it sometimes. I have said that if someone created some magic device that is disabled horns, it would be a national tragedy. Middle aged men would just walk out of there cars, crying. they really like honking here.as i type this, i hear a strange chorus on honking coming from ba yi lu.

Another related element of life here is the Buses. the public transportation system here is very large and popular. maybe too popular. While there is indeed a very large amount of traffic by cars and cabs. there seems to be a trillion buses running at most time( they do stop running around 9:30 at night). Now, i have to ride buses almost everyday; a day consisting of only two bus rides is rare. There are many positives to riding the bus here. They go everywhere, it seems. Many have Televisions in them( although in Chinese, which is fair enough). They are pretty clean. They are cheap, costing one Yuan( right now, 100 American dollars equals 607 Yuan, although the dollar is of course falling- thanks to bush, the fuck). But there is one element that makes me sometimes dread the bus. Its better to tell this in story form I think. So let's say that I am going to the office. I go out of my apartment and walk down a small hill. I stand at the banks of the road, Ba yi lu, and try to cross the street. as stated before, this can take anywhere from a minute to ten, depending of traffic, my mood and other elements. so i cross the street, usually a bit ruffled because it took long and some old guy on a bike almost hit me. I walk down the street, past people selling things on rugs, tons of different stores and markets. the markets may sell food, produce, fruit or seafood. The seafood markets stink but they are worth checking out. Many different types of fish, clams, live and dead crabs, live eels. Anyway, so I go to get on the 501 bus. the 501 goes to the company's office, and many different places. I may be getting on the 5 which goes to the heart of downtown. the 501 is smaller than most buses, although for the love of god, i don't know why, as it is very popular. So anytime you are waiting for a bus, people are coming to the stop. you may only wait for a few minutes, but if there is only you and some Chinese waiting at first, it will usually be a mob before the bus comes. they literally come from out of nowhere, but they don't stop coming. When the bus comes, there is usually no line( there are ques in certain spots, which the Chinese follow very orderly, but generally the idea of a ordered line is not a Chinese thing). so everyone rushes onto the buses. It is not rude to push here. The culture simply does not value personal space as much as ours do. you can't get mad because they are not doing anything wrong, they are doing what is natural in their culture. so you get on the bus and stand. you may be able to find a seat, but it is rare. The bus will fill up many times until there is literally no wasted space. I have seen people crammed up against the door and spill out when the door opens. Now this is not all of the time, but quite often. Its a very good way to get intimate with the Chinese. When i first came here, I would be wearing nice clothes to go to the office, it was like 90 degrees and i was in a bus filled with Chinese. Chinese in your armpit. You may have certain areas pushed against you will onto the butt of of an old lady, or an old man! I swear to god, people probably get preagent on the buses without any intention by either party! They also will push to get on and off. Old ladies will throw elbows and hip check better than old skinhead punks and hockey players! Again, it is just part of the culture, it is nothing personal. Pick pocketing is a concern, although someone could probably steal my liver or pancreas and i wouldn't even notice. crowded is an overstatement. Again, with such a massive population, the Chinese are used to this. There is very rarely any anger or frustration, except for possibly a foreigner (me!). it does sound like hell, and often is, but it is also a very Chinese experience and part of the overall being in china thing. There are days where i really hate it. But now that the weather has cooled down a bit, I am usually ok as long as i don''t have some 40 year old Chinese dude pressed on my nipples!

One story about the buses( out of many). I was on a crowded bus last week. I was standing next to a man who was holding the bar( holding the bar is very essential if you don't want to end up on your ass, as the buses make many sharp turns and sudden stops). In fact, everyone was holding the bars. The man had a very young baby under his arm, up to his shoulder. The baby was very young, no more than a year old, and very cute. The funny thing is that the baby, through no prompting, held onto the bar the entire time. I am not sure if it was a natural Chinese reflex or just imitation, but it was very cute. The man and I seemed to be the only ones on the very crowded bus who noticed, and we exchanged laughter and smiles. That damned baby held onto the bar for the entire trip. Things like that make the buses worthwhile, in my opinion!

My next entry will be a little more personal and probably get me into trouble. It will be somewhat about my girlfriend, Jessica- who is very Chinese, and also about my appreciation for Chinese girls in general. But i have noticed that i have not mentioned Jessica very much, and she is a huge part of my life and one of the best parts of it. although she is not in china right now, she is a large part of the experience. anyway, more on her later.

Chronology III: MyChineseApartment...

Once again, Gentle Reader, please forgive your foppish author for his negligence, he should be flogged at dawn with the braided whiskers of a thousand cranky old men as the maidens churn butter and the drunkards stumble home after a full days work! Being in China, constantly learning, Teaching; all of it is very draining. Good, but draining. However, I have a long stretch of days coming off and should be able to catch up soon. I am tempted to record here my dream from last night, but lets just say that it was very strange: I was in a mall and I caught a case of the 24 hour vampire flew from Dan Conner( John Goodman) and we just sat down and played cards as we knew it was going to hit soon. There was a homeless guy laying next to us and i said "buddy, you might want to find somewhere to sleep because in a hour or so, this is not going to be the best place to nap..." It was actually weirder than that, but that was the most coherent part!

So onto the Chronology... My Chinese apartment. Ed and I checked the apartment and everything was good except there was no water going to my toilet or bathroom sink (turned out the water was not turned on to the toilet, still not sure what is up with the sink , but it does not matter for reason that will soon be clear). I have been lucky in that i have had very few problems with my apartment, as other teachers have had problems with water and other things. I like my apartment. It is on Ba yi Lu (8.1 road), a very booming city street/ neighborhood. I live a block from the main street, and mostly everything i want is with a short walk: tons of stores, restaurants, the bus line, markets, supermarkets, Internet cafes. The rest of the city is a short bus ride or cab ride away, such as the main office of the company, the massive downtown area, my schools, etc. As mentioned before, Dalian is very urban and modern, it has Zoos, more shopping and restaurants than you can imagine, malls, bookstores, beaches, museums, an amusement park and more... A thousand different types of clubs and bars, from local to German, American, Irish and more( and don't forget the hooker bars!). Dives and upscale. There are many public parks. Vendors everywhere, selling fruit, belts, magazines, maps, spoons, you name it!( probably the only thing you can't buy in this city is a gun!) I have missed living in a city and this is a city! My urban nature is very happy here. It's not the china that you probably imagine, its like living in Pittsburgh but its much bigger and everyone is Chinese and has slightly better accents! Not to say that its exactly like an American city, but its much closer than you probably think. Well, more on the city later...

My apartment. It looks like an apartment in the states. Its in a big block looking building surrounded by other big, block looking buildings. I am lucky enough( well in many ways) to live on the first floor. My door is like the door to safe ( there is even a combo lock that i never use!); It has seven dead bolts and is solid steal. China has a theft problem, but i don't worry about my apartment, no one is getting thought that door. I have two big windows, but the bar cages outside of them are impenetrable. Its a little like a jail cell in that manner, but I would rather not worry about some Chinese guy taking my crap and selling it on some rug on the sidewalk. I can hear the noises from the street which makes the city boy in me very happy; I find it relaxing. people do walk pass my windows chanting all of the time, they are looking for work( fixing things) selling things or asking for recycles( the garbage collection system in china is very...different). Sometimes i want to throw stuff at them, but for the most part they just add local color. My apartment has a medium sized dining room/ living room area, which has a big table, a fridge, a water cooler( you don't drink the faucet water in china) and a small stool. Its not really big enough for anything else, but it is roomy the way that it is. There is a sliding blue glass door to the kitchen, which has cabinets, a sink and not much else. again, roomy enough for my purposes. There seem to be not many stoves in china. I have one gas burner connected to a gas hookup like in Chemistry class and a wok( i bought a Pot to boil dumplings and will by a pan soon).
I have a electric kettle to boil water to drink and make soup ( the Raman in china is fantastic and comes in a variety of flavors). The Kitchen is meager by U.S standards, but enough for me. The Fridge, in the dining room, is small, but serves my purposes. The bathroom in also connected to the dining room. I thought this was the strangest part. There is a small washing machine ( no hot water for the washing machine and no dryer-- I have a clothes rack and also uses the large cage bars on the windows to hang clothes). the bathroom is small but not as small as some in the US. there is a sink that does not work. next to sink is the shower ( no tub). this was the wierdest part to me: the shower is just a handheld shower connected to a hot water tank right under the ceiling. No glass, no curtain, you just stand next to window( you can't see in) and spray essentially in the middle of the room. This is pretty different than what we are used to, but it works. there is a drain between the sink and the toilet, and the water goes in there. This is pretty standard in china. So you take a shower in the middle of the bathroom. You get used to it. My water pressure is good and the hot water heater is good. You have to watch your TP from getting wet but the system works! The drain does stink a bit, it always smells a little sewery, but i am used to it by now. For China, this is a pretty nice apartment , and i am pretty happy with it. the Bedroom is big, with a king size bed, a wardrobe, two drawers table thingies and a dresser kind of thing. oh and a televising and a phone. The Internet was not connected when i first got here, so more on that later. I don't watch TV much, although it is amusing and all Chinese( although you can pay for HBO and some American channels) as i have been reading, writing and doing school stuff much more. The mattress is very Chinese (hard as a rock, they believe that it is better for you) and takes some getting used to, which i have. There is not curtain in the kitchen and since i have to walk ther to get to bathroom and sometimes the bedroom curtains, I have probably given the neighbors a free show that they wish that they haven't seen!

All in all, its a bit different, but i love my little apartment. My landlord and neighbors don't bother me( a plus), its in a busy part of the city, and i am alone... which i have wanted for a very long time now. Oh, the company pays the rent! I have to pay electric, gas, water, cable, phone, Internet and gas, which are not much when compared to bills in America. Like i said, i am happy here....
so i will continue with the chronology soon, and hopefully get to some funny stories...

Chronology part II: titanium cupie dolls in a moving scene and the motto of this blog- anything can change at any time!

So, i am sorry if i have not been posting much. This week was a bit rough. I am still working out the kinks of teaching, and i have been very tired. Today marks my first month in China. It is very hard to grasp that, as time has gone so fast, and i still have very much to learn! This week has not been the greatest week for me, as it is very hot and muggy, and i am still trying to learn how to be a teacher. I have also had some minor personal problems. but everything is OK... However, you will have dips in mood and luck, that is life anywhere. I still love china!

So the long awaited continuation of the Chronology. I stopped with the arriving in Dalian. When i arrived, i was put into a crowded hallway that was essentially a shoot( in the cattle sense, not the wrestling sense!). I was a little shocked at the amount of people. This was my first taste of the fact that everything in Dalian is usually crowded as hell; you get used to it. Then i got my luggage, in which people would just push you out of the way. I thought that this was isolated, but it is another part of china. I will probably discuss this further very soon. I was extremely tired from the long plane ride. At the gate waiting for me was Ed and April. Ed is an American teacher from Indiana. In his twenties, but very level headed and cool. He is an interesting mix; He loves to drink, and is very laid back, but still is very responsible and gets things done. He works for the company as the Human resource director or some such thing. He teaches also, but he helps us with many things that are part of getting used to being in china. I have ( and still do) call) called Ed with the most ridiculous questions and he never gets annoyed. April is Chinese and also does similar things. The Chinese staff are all very hard working and help us out alot. They work very long days and often weekends and are payed relatively little. They are all very nice and helpful. They all speak some English, and some speak very well... although language can be a problem sometimes. However, they have to look after eight teachers here, plus others in other cities and also various other programs that the company runs. They do an amazing job. April does alot to make sure that we are legal, happy and safe, as do all of the others in the company. I really like April, btw, but i think she is taking some time warming up to me, which is the usual case.... Ed and i get along really well, i think.

Anyhoo, so they have a sign for me, which is good because it was just starting to dawn on me that i was in a foriegn city and would have no way to know what to do if i could not find them. They were waiting for another teacher, Stephanie, who did not show up, her plane was detoured due to a hurricane somewhere in Asia and she ended up staying in a hotel in Seol or Hong Kong, i forget which. we waited for her for awhile and then figured out that she was not coming. We left the airport when Jonah showed up. Jonah is the boss of this branch of the company( There's a head boss, Frank, but i rarely see him) and she is a true entity. A Chinese fashionista, a very hard working business woman, and a strong Chinese woman, she is like an American businessmen put in the body of a Chinese playboy bunny! Amazingly pretty, sexy and charming, she has also focused that Chinese will and ability to get things done, in other words, while she is nice and looks like a doll, she is not the lady to fuck with! That is kind of a vague cliche, but its the closest i can come at this point. We leave the airport and cross the street. Now, this does not seem like an important event, but it was! They just walked between moving cars while I waited for cars to stop. Cars in china rarely stop. I have a whole entry that I want to devote to this one subject. Eventually, Ed helped me cross the street and we got into the car. I don't remember much of the details because i was getting sleepy again. I remember going through the city like it was a series of tunnels. I tried to get an overall impression of it but i could not. Ed said many important things, but most of them did not register really. We got to my apartment. Oh, it should be stated that until i talked to ed I was under the impression that i was going to be sent to another city. My first choice was Dalian, simply because Xiarou had talked it up so much, and i was sad to simply be training there. Well, the first lesson that i learned in China is that anything can change at any moment. I was told that I was going to stay in Dalian and that i had an apartment waiting me. I was very happy about that. When we got to the apartment, I took my bags in. I will continue this tomorrow....

Weekend:ClubLove,oldmanassonthebeach,englishcorner,andGermanyinChinese

(disclaimer-- all the pictures used on this site where ripped off from google images as I was too dumb to invest in a camera. well, hopefully soon... You can click on them to get a better view)

My three day weekend was pretty eventful. Today was tied up in teaching and trying to figure out how to use a international phone card( i did not succeed). The corporate bureaucracy in china can get a bit brutal. That being said, this weekend was good...

I have already described the concert for Mid Autumn festival on Saturday. On Sunday, I went to English Corner as I always do. English Corner is held in Zoogshan Square, which is the pictured in the last two images ( the buildings around the park are pretty cool too). I have not mentioned muchabout the city, as was pointed out by my father, but i plan to. For now, It's a very modern city with much to do. Its similar to an American City, but with a Chinese flavor. As I said, more to come about Dalian( which leads me to a digression: there is so much to write about that I am waiting for the right time to do so). Anyhoo, Zoogshan park is small, but very nice and clean. The center part is kind of a raised circle which they let kids roller blade on! Ironically enough, you are not allowed on the grass! The park is in the center of the city and is very popular: The Chinese take full advantage of their many parks. On Sundays, this park hosts English Corner, which is very informal( meaning if you want to participate, you just show up and start talking). English speakers( unfortunately, not very many lately) come and the Chinese who can speak English talk to them. For the Chinese, it's a chance to practice their English and meet someone from a ëxotic"country ( and some of their ideas about America are pretty interesting). For myself, it's a vital activity that allows me to actually converse and form bonds with the people from the city that i live in. English speaking does not happen very much outside of school and the Corner, so this is a chance for me get to know the people that I am surrounded by. While Chinese children must learn English in school, and they start very young, its still not commonly spoken in the city. So i get some attention and also get to not feel like a complete idiot who cannot speak with anyone. And I love the people at the Corner dearly. The Chinese are a very friendly, curious, interesting people. As soon as I show up, I am mobbed by people who surround me and ask questions. And they Ask about everything: America, Politics, Economics, My personal life, am I married, Movies, books,drugs, race relations, language, Education... everything. They are very polite, but they áre not afraid to ask a question! One of my favorites is a ten year old named Fairy, who speaks nearly native level English and is very cute and precocious( she always brings me a gift) Fairy speaks Chinese of course, English, and some Japanese( she calls me Sensei sometimes!) The children are very cute. Everyone wants to ask questions. English is considered a very valuable skill in China, so they like to practice. I will undoubtedly talk more about the Corner in this blog, but that's enough background for now.

While I was at the corner, a teacher who is my handler in one of my schools( makes sure that I don't get lost, find classes, ect.) came to take me dinner as per our previously discussed plans. Her Husband, her son ( the biggest five year old that i have ever seen) and her took me to a Chinese Version of a German Beerhall! I truly wish that I had pictures of the chinese waiter boys in linderhosen! They( the teacher and her husband) were so very nice and insisted on treating me. The place was a buffet and must have been expensive because I ate so much food( and especially German style meat) that i nearly puked! It was huge and the linderhosen boys kept coming and cutting off different meats with giant ass knifes of of these big racks. Waitresses dressed kind of like Amish women brought us big mugs of dark beer brewed on site! It was a very cool place and the teacher( ms. Su) and her husband were very kind and generous. Her husband works for a company that builds ships and was a very interesting guy.

So i met Winston at the corner again and talked to some more Chinese. We eventually met Ryan and Miles( incidentally, Miles is from Monongahela Pa, right down the road where i grew up and went to a Chinese night club, Club Love.A club is a club, and i usually loathe them, but it had that relaxed Chinese vibe( the clubbers, not the staff. the Chinese take making money extremely seriously and business like). Full of pretty girls, i had a few drinks and left, as I am in love with a Chinese girl already and don't think that I can handle more than one( joking, Yipin!). There were breakdancers and club dancers. it was fun. they dropped confetti from the ceiling, played American hip hoppish type music and it was a fun time. Again, not really my scene, but still cool. Many Russians, and there seems to be a instant dislike between Russians and Americans in china. I don't know why, and it's unfortunate because they seem to outnumber us by like a hundred or so to one! There are many Russians in Dalian, and very few Americans.

The next day, Winston and I went to the beach, which is like five minutes away from my apartment! it was nice and the pictures above where taken at the same beach we were at. I love to see the Chinese having fun and they were. The only thing bad about the beach was that there were hardly any girls in bathing suits. Unfortunately for Winston and me, there was an army of older Chinese guys in Speedos. I have seen too many wrinkled old Chinese male asses! There are cliffs you can walk on, and the islands in the picture are beautiful. The water was clean and the beach, while rocky was nice. We had a good time. Winston almost got picked up by Fat Middle aged Russian lady, but managed to escape( ladies love Him, Chinese too).

Well, that is all for now. So much to write about. I will continue this soon...