so tell us ...

What do you think about China? This was the lead in question from the group of adults that I am teaching here at the school I work for. Humm ever seen a bear trap? Or anything that is meant to catch and maim you? Well it didnt take a genius to figure out that there was not a real good and honest answer to that one. So I went with "I think a lot about china, some of the things I think are good, some of them you probably dont want to hear and some of them I am not allowed to talk about." Polite smiles and knowing nods of the heads from many in the room, though the one who asked seemed unsatisfied at my vague answer and looked as if she would press the issue but fortunately I was asked another question by another of the students. I think if she had really asked I would have told her about all the issues I have living here. That the people are generally apathetic to the work that is required of them to improve their society. If you ask the average chinese if there is corruption in china they will freely tell you yes it exists at every level, if you ask them why it isnt eradicated by the state they will hem and haw and finally get down to its too hard to stop. Shit like that drives me nuts, the government here can censor movies and news and websites but ask it to do something useful, and it is suddenly too hard. I have asked why the people who have to bribe their way to get permits for building and health licence dont turn in the corrupt official and I am always told that it would do no good. The person who reported it would be bankrupted, the official would be transferred but not jailed, and the person that replaces him would be just as corrupt if not worse. So why bother? And I just think to myself, thank god some people have done things even though they are difficult, or at least tried. Improvements are not given to us, they are earned through sacrifice and determination. Instead I got to talk about "Do you like chinese food?" Lucky me the food doesnt piss me off as much.

sorry about that

IP address conflicts. So no net for a few days.

So I chatted with my sister the other day and she was telling me about her new found fun in Muay Thai fighting. What is wrong with her? I dont mean the fighting, I mean she is like 100 years old, she must be because I am old and she is even older. And she takes up the fighting sport for fun, arent people supposed to mellow with age? Shouldnt she be like I dont know bowling or playing tennis? I probably would think different if she were still like 17 but that train left the station 20 years ago. What else happened? I had the first class of teaching the college administration. Thats right bitches I teach the University administrators english. Talk about an odd feeling I have doctors lawyers, deans , department heads, and others in the class. Today I had to give an assessment test to them so I could divide the groups up, we shall see how that goes. I can see a conflict in the future with the classes. When I lived in mexico there was conflict whenever coworkers had to become equals in a classroom, stupid petty things like the fact that a lower level worker could not have better english than a boss. And in an exercise the boss could not be corrected except by the teacher. I can see the same thing happening here. It will at least be interesting to watch the power dynamics play out in the class. I hope of course that it doesnt happen but if it does at least I am prepared.

epic failure

So with all the problems that google has had in the last few days I am not sure if the fault lay with them or if the blogger site was blocked by a more nefarious institution. At any rate that is the reason for the lack of recent posts. Thats right people I am using the old dog and homework routine. Anyways not too terribly much has happened in these last few days. I went for a run in the park across the street yesterday. Only 30 minutes but it felt good to exercise again, I havent had the time to in a very long time and I was beginning to feel the sloth. Also went to a show last night, a benefit for greenpeace, some of the bands were ok some were pretty lame none really blew me away but it is good to be in a city where there is stuff happening and I can actually judge for myself if it is good or not. I am still enamoured by the big city after two and a half years in a village it may take a little while for this feeling to wear off. I also had an argument with a cab driver. I told him where i live and he didnt know it so I told him the intersection and he didnt know it either so he eventually told me another street name which is the same as my street and I said yes and when we arrived I asked him what the intersection was and he said his street name even though the street sign was just outside his car. Some people are just retarded.

phone it in

So last night I tried for the first time since being here in china to order food over the phone. So nice to be in a real city again. So I pick up the phone and dial the number that is on the take-out menu and I get a ringing. Oh so exciting I get to order food in chinese over the phone.. ring....ring...ring...ring...hummm, what is taking so long to answer the phone? Ring... ring... ring.. ring... What? What the hell? ring..ring..ring. God damn it. Why oh Why do these things happen to me? I hung up and tried again. Endless ringing. So instead I had a ham sandwich and and some ramen. Not that I mind sandwiches and noodles but I was so excited too order over the phone in chinese. Now I have to get back to the grind and lesson plan a bunch of classes for next week. Sometimes it feels like there is no rest for the wicked.

busy busy busy

I gave my first powerpoint lecture today for a class about the culture of english speaking countries. I thought it went well. No serious fuck ups or anything but it is odd how engaged the students were. Just put a pretty picture on the screen and they ooohhh.. and ahhh.... I will give the a small quiz next week to see how much they took in. I am not so sure they were really paying attention to the information that I was presenting but they seemed to enjoy the slides. I have another two classes in the morning but these are about the history of western civilization and I have made a pretty good powerpoint for that. Again I worry that the students will not really take it in but will be passive observers to the screen, but hey all I can do is present the info in an engaging way if they dont want to learn it, well not much I can do. I must go to buy some beers and think about the classes for next week, these days go by so fast, already I have been working for 1 week and I need a vacation. Thank the lord I only have 15 more weeks to go.

shout it out

Just want to start by giving a little shout out to my father sister and niece. They all got a little older in the past few days and I want to take the time to tell them happy birthday and best wishes for the year that is in front of them.

Ok. enough with the family and wishy washy crap. What do I want to tell you about today. Ah the level of ineptness that seems to be all about. So i mentioned yesterday that I had a fairly long talk with the FAO and had asked about the other facilities at the college. I learned from a student that there is a library. So I was sort of feeling that the orientation wasnt up to snuff. After a moments thought the FAO told me well you know where the classrooms are and you know where you live so that pretty much covers it what else do you want to know? Oh jeez let me think? Anything that may make my life here easier, lets start with a copy machine. Where is there one? And water how do I get a new 20L bottle? And any other fucking information that I may want to know. Blank looks. So I said ok if you think thats all then ok. Well today after class I go to the school canteen to have lunch, and I try to pay with cash. Oh sorry no cash you must have a card. Well if that doesnt beat all. So as I am going back to my home I happen to run into the FAO and mention that the canteen doesnt accept cash. She says of course not use your card. What card I ask? She says you dont have one? Like where in the name of all things holy would I have gotten a card? I say no where do I get on. She says in the FAO office. I thought to myself someday the world will pay you back. I may not believe in karma but nobody that inept can continue unscathed. I had lunch and took a nap. Now I feel much better.

Fight, Fight

The glory of combat fell upon me like a drunk and a sidewalk. Here is a good story. At least I think so. The contract that I signed for work here in beijing(defended from the inside) states that I must work 12 teaching hours. I am currently assigned 10 per week. No big deal right. I thought that perhaps I would be working extra hours in the next term and thus I was prepared to go along with my business. Well yesterday I stopped by the Foreign Affairs Office (FAO) and they said I would be teaching another class but made up of staff that needs to improve their english. And it would be tuesday and friday for 1.5 hours each time. I went home and slept on it. I am not a sucker (no matter what my friends tell you) and I remember that during the application process a mention had been made of an informal small english corner and that it would be 2 hours a week. I wondered if this was the same english corner. So today after teaching (I am the greatest by and by) I went to the FAO and asked about this anomaly. Low and behold they actually expected me to have not an informal small group but instead to teach 23 staff for 1.5 hours and another group of 23 for 1.5 hours. I said that ain't gonna happen. So almost two hours later we worked out that I would have 2 one hour classes and I get paid extra money for doing it. So in the end I work the hours that my contract states but got a slight raise for doing what is my job. And who says the economy is in the crapper.

butterfly in the sky

So I begin the new term tomorrow and I must admit that I am a bit nervous. I always get nervous before the first day of school. I think that I am ready but you never know. Do I have enough material for the class? Is it going to be interesting? What level are the students? How interested will they be? Will I be able to find the classroom? Will I remember my pants? You know the regular anxieties that we all have on the first day of class. I remember the same feeling when I was a kid going to a new school for the first time, but I had no idea that the teachers felt the same way. If I had known that I would not have been so nervous myself. I guess that is a little of what being an adult is all about, not letting the world see the truth. I am sure it will be fine and I will tell you all about it after the fact. Can I just mention that I am really not looking forward to waking up early to go teach. I have been getting up whenever I please since the 26th of December.Now my work day will begin at 8 am. And I have to get up that early 3 times a week. Ok finishing touches on my powerpoint presentations.

arggghhhh.....

Have I ever told you how much I hate to type? Let me tell you why. My childhood was full of hope and lies. Fortunately these went hand and hand and danced a fine waltz that left all of us children slack-jawed with wonder. However when it was much to late we realized that the lies and hope were unable to continue to coexist and soon the whole thing came crashing to the ground, bleeding profusely and teaching us all never to trust again. Here is how this relates to typing. When I was in middle school computers for the home were just coming out, and they were expensive so naturally everyone wanted one. After a few years my parents bought a commodore 64/128. I entered high school and while debating the elective courses that were offered at my school I was going to take a keyboarding class, taught on real typewriters, but the counselor told me not to do that. She was sure that the computer would have voice recognition and typing would be a thing of the past. So I listened to the wise sage of my school, and stood with my mouth agape as hope and lies took to the dance floor once again. I think I took a cooking class instead and I am by the judgement of others a pretty good cook. Unfortunately I can not type at all. I use two fingers and never remember where the letters are. It takes me forever to write anything. And right now I am writing 4 different syllabi and lesson plans for all my classes which begin next week. Just took a break to vent. Funny that I have to type this out doing exactly the thing that annoyed me in the first place.

meetings

I had two different meeting today, and neither of them were very productive. The first was a general meeting and classroom viewing, in this meeting I understood absolutely nothing as it was all in chinese and at the end I was able to ensure that the laptop actually connects to the overhead projector. I did. two hours later and I have figured out something I was already 99% sure about. Them off to lunch but not lunch on my own oh no lunch as part of the college group, fun more sitting around and not understanding. Lunch was average at best, For all the love of food that is evident in the way most chinese talk about the food of china it is constantly a source of amazement how much of the food is more or less the same. Of the 13 or 14 dishes that the restaurant brought 10 were in a brown sauce only one was uncooked, and the others were stews of some variety. I really wanted a big salad with fresh lettuce and tomatoes and cucumbers but alas this is not in the repertoire of the cooks. After lunch I had another meeting with the dean of a different school where I will have a part time job. He was nice enough but a little strange. I am not sure if the way I look threw him off but he seemed under the impression that I had not taught before. Just a feeling that I got. anyways now I am home getting ready to cook dinner, chicken and mashed potatoes and a huge salad to start.