HongKongpartIV(Conclusionandthefirstfewweeksofschool)

(I checked the Internet and Hong Kong is listed usually as the sixth or seventh most expensive cities in the world, under Moscow, Tokyo, New York, Rome, and Seoul!)

So, my plan on Sunday was to do some touristy things and get prepared for the Monday, which was sure to be a busy eventful day. I had some breakfast and used the computer at the nearby Internet cafe. When I checked Facebook, Sara said that she was coming to Hong kong, and would meet me at the Metro(subway) at noon. It took a little time to locate the station, and I was not sure if she was going to be there or at the ferry station. I waited for her for awhile. it was pretty interesting just watching the people. The Hong Kong subway stations are very large, clean and are full of interesting people. Since its such an international city, and one of the most important financial centers in the world, you see all kinds people. Asians of all types, Americans, British, Europeans, ect. I watched them and listened to my mp3 player, which was playing the velvet underground, Brian eno, the kinks, Bowie, and assorted punk rock. Its always strange listening to that type of music here, as it seems out of place, but gives the environment an interesting perspective. speaking of which, i saw some interesting beggars. Dalian has beggars, but I have not seen as many as I would as in a large American city. There are two types, that I seem. One type will sit on the ground, there face down and averted in shame with a cup in front of them. Sometimes, it will be a mother with a small child, which is hard for me to pass up; usually, its a old person. Sometimes its a handicapped person, missing arms and legs. China must be hard on these people, as I don't think there are many programs and services to help them as in the US. The second type of Chinese beggar is much more annoying. These people, usually old ladies, are considerably more mobile. They smile alot, but once they lock into eye contact, they are almost impossible to shake. They don't run, but they have ways of getting to you. If they grab onto you, they will not let go and you may have to drag them down the street, all the while they are smiling and nodding there heads! Anyway, in Hong Kong, there were a few, but not a ton. The best by far was very cute old lady who had a old keyboard set up and looked like she was having the time of her life! She was wailing away like she was in Emerson, Lake and Palmer, but the music was complete rubbish and was pretty much the same discordant notes over and over! I adored her and gave her some change. Another guy was a monk, at least he was dressed as a monk but had jeans on under his robes, so he could have been a faker. I almost gave him some change, but i saw a guy who was a burn victim and figured he was probably more deserving than the possible ersatz monk.

So I was considering leaving the metro station when Sarah showed up. Sarah was a fellow linguistics major at Oswego and shared both of the rewards I received( in fairness, she is much smarter than I am). It was good to see her. I knew she was in China, but figured time and distance would get in the way of us seeing each other. Luckily, I got to see her. I have been lucky this way. I have seen Xiaoru twice, Yipin once for a whole week , and then Sarah. It's great to see so many people i knew in states! Anyway, I told Sarah i had some touristy plans and while she is not a touristy type, she went along. So we went first to Hong Kong park, which is a massive and very clean, well laid out park in the middle of the city. the park is nice, has a many cool exhibits such as lakes, very cool fountains, a aviary and such. Its one of the nicer free parks that i have ever been to. It also has some monuments in honor of those who served the medical community during the Sars crisis, which hit Hong Kong first, i think, and pretty hard. This was in its Tai chi garden, which is really cool in a minimalist sort of way. After this, I was planning on riding the peak tram, which takes you to the highest view in the city, but Sarah was not into heights, so we passed. We walked pass the Us consulate office; i figured I better memorize where it was in case the Chinese gave me any problems about my visa! After that, we went to the zoological Gardens, which was also free. It had some small animals, several types of monkeys, and an orangutan! It was also very nice and clean( and free!). We then went to Hollywood street, but I think we missed the good stuff, as it was all just expensive shops. In the back alleys, however, where very cool markets that sold cool traditional things like little paper dragons and old coins and such. We walked around the city for awhile and then went to eat at some Chinese place. Then we went on the fairy and i took Sarah to the subway station, which was good because i had to map out my exit route for the next day. I bumped around the city for awhile, stopped and had a few drinks( my subconscious directive, never fly without a hangover) and then went to bed.

On Monday, I woke up and walked to the Chinese Consulate. I was a little nervous, but figured that everything would work out just because everything had to this point. This whole trip, i remembered something from a comic book, the books of magic. John Constantine ( who was played by keannu reeves in the movie that i did not see yet) was talking about how you can travel the magic super highway, where things will just work out to get you where you are supposed to go, even if it seems illogical. It always feels that way when i travel, that i must trust in the journey and the destination will arrive on its own.Then I waited in line forever! the line was around the corner and moving super slow. It really sucked. I finally got in and went upstairs and waited again forever... Finally, i got called and picked up my visa. I was elated that I was accepted. It was only for 30 days( a tourist visa was the best that I could get), but it was extended this Friday to six months, so that's all good for now! The object of the trip was finally completed. I went downstairs, grabbed my bag, crossed the harbor on the fairway, and said good bye to Hong Kong island. Its a wonderful city that i hope to return to....

I then went to the Internet cafe, and emailed everyone saying journey completed and I would be heading to cross the border. I got a little lost, but found the subway station. I actually took the train to the wrong border station, but it worked out fine. I crossed with little trouble and called frank once my phone started working. He told me to take a cab to the airport, so i did. It was a long ( and expensive ride). Got to the airport and checked in, got right on the plane. We had a brief layover in hong jou, then I flew into Dalian airport around midnight. Took a cab home and unpacked. I had to start my first day of real teaching early in the morning, but felt good to be "home".

So that's the trip to Hong kong. It was kind of crazy, but ended up being wonderful and a great experience. I tried to put in as much as possible, but the experience was so intense, i am sure i did not do it justice. Hong kong is very beautiful and i would actually consider living there one day. It's hybridity of Eastern and Western was interesting and seemed to suit me fine.

So I come back, and of course, am rushed right back into teaching the very next day, which i was not really prepared for. I did mostly introductory lessons that first week. These few weeks have been a bit intense, coming back from a unplanned trip, dealing with Visa issues, trying to get back in the groove of teaching and also to improve as a teacher, dealing with technical problems and such.

The first week, i had to deal with alot of things. I had pretty much rushed out of my apartment, so i had to clean up and also through some food out that went bad. Also, my computer died the day before I left, and i had to take it down to the office for our resident tech guy, John, who is awesome,to fix. It turned out to be a broken hard drive, which needed to be replaced. So that cost some yuan, and I was without a computer for a few days. Once I got it back, windows had been reloaded, which meant I had to update and add a ton of crap that i lost. Not the best timing with that, and it took a while, but i got it back to where it should be. So, the first week or two back, I was pretty much rushing from one thing to another, trying to get 1000 things done at once. I hate being in that position, i find it frustrating. Yipin helped me calm down, but it sort of sucked.
That being said, i have enjoyed( mostly) returning to teaching. I am still very much a novice teacher, and it is frustrating in that I am continually learning and making mistakes and adjusting to the situation, but it is also fulfilling. I feel my lessons are getting much better though, although there is room for improvement. One strange and frustrating thing about Chinese students is that while they are very good behavior wise for most students, they can get really noisy. this is not good when you teaching language. So i have been trying to deal with that. for the most part, they are very good and attentive, but sometimes it gets too loud too teach and there is not much you can do about it. that is my current problem that i am working on. My lesson planning has improved and my attitude is getting better. Its hard to figure some things out because i have had not real training and for the most part am on my own. But, i think i will only continue to get better.
The past month has generally been nice and i have enjoyed it. English corner has been fun, i have hung out with Winston and things are going well with the Tofu. So I am finally caught up with my blog. I will now have a nice pace of about one entry a week( maybe two, if one is mostly pictures) and I have lots to talk about. This weekend, i should post one about our Chinese staff and teachers( with pictures) and a update of this week! My poor cell phone died an untimely death due to an unfortunate laundry accident. It was less than seven months old. so i am without a cell phone for a couple of weeks, but i will live. see you next post!