Long time, no blog. Sorry everyone for the complete lack of communication. I'd like to blame it on the busier school semester or the continual malfunctions of my computer, but it really comes down to me not being overly motivated to write. Tis the season of giving though, so I'll wrap up the rest of 2013 and give to you the present.
It's been a strange last half year. My life has undergone considerable changes, but my daily routines have never been so consistent.This year, I returned back to Rong Chang in September with my long time friend and former college room mate Adam Van Atta. So far, its been awesome. My spoken Chinese has made a great leap forward (in a good way) as well as my teaching abilities.
September:
It took a while for my stomach to readjust to the abundance of oil used in Chinese cooking, but after a weeks worth of welcome back feasts, it has returned to its iron clad ways. Our classes started before the Chinese National Holiday this year, so September wasn't as much as idle as the year before. Once again I had the students select English names, my favorites were, Tryandomyr (Try-en-doe-mirror)and Shmely. At the end of the month we went to Chong Qing for a gathering of all foreign teachers. There I had an opportunity to meet the mayor of Chong Qing, but the allure of the peking duck and open wine bar were much more appealing. Later that night,we stumbled across a moderately famous European band called the "Red Hot Chili Pipers" (they play cover songs on bag pipes). There's more to the story, but the way everyone remembers it is entirely different.
October:
Besides sleeping, I spend most my time in Adam's apartment. I have my own, but it's colder, doesn't have wifi, or as nice of bathroom. In October, our apartment seemed like the model home from Arrested Development. The apartments are very spacious and accommodating, but the pig's house that was built of straw might have more structural reliability. If you're familiar with Adam or I's living habits, you can probably envision the state of our apartment. To say we were living in a rat's nest would have be a fit metaphor until it became quite literal when a rat pack (not the musical group)took up lodging. For several weeks these ratatas were able to live like kings (watch any theatrical performance of the Nutcracker for an accurate description of how they dress and their size). Luckily, the primal hunter instinct in Adam came out one night and he was able to kill one by harpooning it with the end of an umbrella.
November:
My students this semester had a much higher attendance rate in comparison to last year .Although the class sizes never really stayed consistent. This turned into a huge problem when we were asked to have our students put on an English performance. For the performance Adam and I had our students break into groups to create parodies of famous fairy tales. Our instructions were to change the stories to make them fit modern day China. Group skits are very hard to choreograph when on average only two of the six students in a group come to class. Upon learning that the entire English faculty would be in attendance at the performance it was no more Mr. nice teacher. Drastic times, call for drastic measures so I flat out lied by telling the students that if this performance didn't work, Adam and I would be sent back home before Christmas.The entire event ran perfectly parallel to the book, "the Worst Christmas Pageant Ever" where everyone was expecting an inevitable failure, but somehow at the last minute, through a possible divine intervention, everything turned out exceedingly well. Unbeknownst to us beforehand, all the students got paid after performance, and Adam and I also got a bonus for putting it on. We were riding a remarkable high that night from the feeling of accomplish, the relief of it all being over, and the excessive sugar from the 7 or 8 juices each group demanded to buy us with their prize money.
December:
The insufferable cold which I really harped about last year has thankfully come late. It's gotten much colder this last week but nothing to complain about since I can still wiggle my toes.The Chinese hate being exposed in unflattering journalism, which seems to be the only kind of reporting one finds about China.China isn't perfect, but probably what you read/hear about it, doesn't paint a complete picture.That being said, I am hesitant to write about a highly memorable event that happened early this month in fear of giving you the wrong impression of Chinese people.
One night, Adam, our friend He Kai (Hank), and I decided to check out a new bar in town. Our usual bar, Heaven and Hell, has been having some bizarre business hours, and was closed that night. The first hour was a blast. Everyone in the bar was buying us drinks and being overly friendly. Later on, when most the people had left, there was a guy still sitting at our table lamenting some sad Chinese song into a microphone. Suddenly a guy burst through the door and grabbed the guy with the microphone's hair and began dragging him out of the bar. Now I had no idea behind the cause of his vendetta, maybe he broke omerta or was a heinous criminal that didn't receive proper justice, but by universal principle, you don't pull a man by the hair (unless your a professional wrestler in the entertainment business).I sprang up from my chair before I could think about whether or not I should meddle I'm someone else's affairs.Turns out there was another guy outside the bar, and they both started kicking the man. Before the inhibitors of the bystander effect could sink in, I charged the scene and pushed the first guy off then yanked the second guy away while he was in the midst of aiming a dirty kick at the hapless man. It sounds much more heroic then it actually was. The guys were the stereotypical 5 foot nothing Asian. Anyhow the second guy turned to give me a punch, saw that I was a foreigner then decided not to.I don't know if there is such a thing as a hate crime in China, but punching a foreigner I imagine, would be considered incredibly taboo.The guy sluffed off like a dejected Charlie Brown. It was probably one of the best deeds I've ever done, but it was probably for naught. For the beaten man, idiotically returned back to the bar to finish singing his sad song. The manager of the bar thanked me profusely then informed us we needed to buy 7 more beers to meet the 168 yuan minimum. We were not happy with this arrangement so we took the seven beers for the road and got the hell out of dodge.
I'd just like to emphasis, that this was an anomaly and the first time I have witnessed a violent altercation of any kind while in China.
Last week, we were invited into the inner circle of Rong Chang's glitterati.We were wined and dined with some government officials at the nicest hotel I've ever stepped foot in.The hotel had an Olympic size heated swimming pool. I'm not a very strong swimmer, my usual goal while I'm in the water is just to keep afloat. While we were in the pool, Adam and I kept getting challenged by 40+ year old men to race the length of the pool. I'm pretty sure I drank the recommended amount of water a person should have each day in those 15 minutes racing. The hotel also has a health spa with ever imaginable amenity and a full gym. Needless to say, it is no place Adam and I belong, but somehow we are now club card carrying members. Unfortunately, it's too far away to frequently visit, but we certainly will be returning.
Last year, our school built a jumbotron that I thought was completely asinine. This years construction project is tenfold the absurdity. I don't know who came up with the design or who signed off on it,but right now our school is currently building an 80-foot fake mountain made of chicken wire and plaster.
If you are reading this, I am sure that at one point, you have done some sort of unrecpricated favor for me. Maybe I've crashed at your house, had my way with your fridge, had you drive me way out of your way, damaged borrowed property, etc. There's even a chance that I may even be wearing a article of your clothing right now. I've been accurately described as a friend with no benefits. Well, I'm now at a point in my life where I'd love to repay all of you. If any of you have the time or means to make it out to China I can promise to make it worth your while. I can even help out with some of the financial burdens of airfare. I don't know what the future holds for me yet, but I'd love an opportunity to play host (for once in my life) while I can here in China.
Tomorrow, we will embark upon another long journey. Our ridiculous 70 day paid vacation will be spent in Bali, Vietnam, and Thailand. I'll try to blog about these IF we make it back.
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