Zhuhai and the beginning of Shenzhen

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August 23rd to September 11th

August 22nd was supposed to be the day that the program arrives in Hong Kong. However, a Signal 9 Typhoon headed towards us quickly changed the itinerary, which resulted in another day in Hong Kong for Phong and I. This time around though, we decided that if we did have to stay another day, we would stay in a nice, “baller,” hotel. We found a place called “Island Pacific” and according to the pictures on their website, it looked quite promising until we moved into the room. The room was a bit bigger than our hostel room but it had the beds pushed together. I mean, the bathroom itself was bigger than the bedroom. The bathroom was awesome but the bedroom was just confusing. Nevertheless, we found a great “Siu Mei (BBQ Meat)” place right around the corner and that even things out. That night we invited Alvena over and didn’t do much but watch movies on the computer. We were mostly waiting for the Typhoon to hit Hong Kong hard, but I have to say, I was not impressed with the Signal 9 Typhoon at all. The whole city was closed down for the entire day anticipating this storm to wreak havoc and all Hong Kong, at least my part in Sheung Wan, got nothing but some rain and manageable gusts of wind. Phong and I literally walked outside looking for food and had no problems besides one broken umbrella caused by a gust of wind.
On August 23rd, we took a taxi to the airport around noon and arrived at around 1PM. What we should have known was that the airport was going to be backed up all day due to the typhoon from the previous day. When we got there, both flights that we were supposed to meet up with were delayed. One had to make a stop in Taipei for fuel and the other one just was delayed due to traffic. To keep things short, we got there around 1PM and we left the airport around 6PM. To make matters worst, the program did not anticipate for the amount of luggage that we brought because at that moment, we had to pay on the spot for another bus since we couldn’t fit our luggage into one bus. We had to collect 10USD from everyone to make things fair but we didn’t get enough so I decided to be the hero and spot for the rest of it. To be honest, I just wanted to get out of the place ASAP because everyone seemed irritated from the flight but at the same time, I did not foresee any problems in getting my money back later on. I was so wrong. When I asked for my money back, people were complaining about how they brought only one luggage or none at all and that they shouldn’t have to pay the money. I saw their point because they just wanted the program to subsidized the event and I completely agree with them. At the same time, I was the victim of the situation and I just needed my money back. Whatever we needed to settle with the program could have been solved after I get reimbursed. Anyway, I got 80% of my money back while one lady told me that she did not have luggage and decided not to pay, and the other person just decided not to pay at all. No big deal, I just decided not to engage in any social activity with those individuals.
When we got into Zhuhai, where our TEFL training was held, we were taken aback when the mighty JJ presented himself before us with his sturdy, stoic, and demanding voice saying, “Welcome to Zhuhai! Get back on the bus!” Anyone want to make a list for first impressions of JJ anyone? JJ is our program leader and he is basically running the logistics of the program. He is definitely a character but my first impressions of the guy were definitely too harsh. After getting to know him a bit, he was just trying to get things done and he is overall a pretty chill guy. Anyway, Phong and I had another situation when we moved into this hotel, the Seaview Hotel a.k.a. 望海楼酒店. This place is supposed to be a 3-star hotel and it did not have internet, their air-conditioning never worked properly, our bathtub was always clogged, mosquitoes were everywhere, and it HAD THE WORST TOILET PAPER I have ever come to faced. I am telling you, I would rather have taken a piece of poster-board paper to wipe than to use the toilet paper again.
In Zhuhai, the purpose of this whole entire spiel was to have us qualified to teach in China. The whole process was informative but holy crap, it was also dreadful to sit there for hours listening to lectures, being treated like students again, and working in group activities. It was fun at first, but by the 3rd day on to the very last day, it was beyond enough. There was definitely an upside to it though. The whole process definitely helped my mock lecture when I taught the class how to rap. Weird isn’t it? The hip-hop genre was never my strong point and I decided to teach it. Well, for all the doubters out there, the lecture actually went really well. The pretend student, a.k.a. the teachers in training, were supposed to act obnoxious during class but because my rap session went so well, there was no misbehaviors and I didn’t have to do any class management. It was great!
I would also like to note that during my time in Zhuhai, Phong and I went out EVERY… SINGLE… NIGHT, except for one and we were there for 10 days. Because of this, Phong and I are now, completely broke. However, each night was fun and the nightlife in Zhuhai was a lot better than I thought. For the first few nights, we went to Bar Street, 酒吧街，a trendy and spatial area where people just get tables, get a ton of beer, and play drinking games all night. Here we found our favorite place, which was called 88 Club. This bar was expensively decorated and it was always heaving with people drunk of their mind. People are always dancing on stage and bartenders at certain times are juggling bottles of fire. The music was a mixture of what we would hear in an American club and some popular Chinese songs. Another good night was when we got a bunch of us in the group to go out to karaoke-ing. There we got a room that roomed about 25 to 35 people. This room was huge and it can with a spring dancing floor and a bar. Basically it was a goodnight every night. My best night there, however, I will just sum it up to two words, “Aged Wine…”
For the rest of the time, we spend it at 莲花路 , otherwise known as “hooker street.” The name may sound sketchy, but this was one of the best places that I have ever been to. Our initial purpose was to go to this area to see “solicitors” run away from the cops. We thought this would be a funny scene seeing girls in high heels running. Surprisingly, this didn’t turn out to be the main attraction because this entire street was filled with bar stalls in the middle of the road where ladies behind the bar would play dice games with you and basically get you really messed up. Every group that came with us got plastered and was struggling the next morning. I did this every night because someone else I didn’t hang out with before would want to go and I just can’t say no to having fun. A noteworthy night was when a bartender challenged me to a drink off. I kindly accepted and within maybe, 5 seconds and trust me, I am being humble, I finished my beer and she was just shocked. She then had to do the same thing and later on that night, she passed out on the bar and vomited everywhere! Point me? Anyway, this street was great because everyone was out there just to have fun and the bartenders were definitely very friendly and gave me some information about business in Zhuhai. I am not sure if they are a reliable source but my Chinese Mandarin definitely got better.
The food in Zhuhai is generally very oily and there wasn’t anything that really stood out. Although there was this one restaurant called “东北交际”that was particularly tasty. They had a dish where they fillet the meat of the fish and fry it tempura style so the meat blooms in a flower-like style where they top it off with a sweet and sour sauce, delicious. The service is very good and if you ever go, observe the waitresses there because you will gain a new meaning and/or standardization for customer service. These girls never stop working and they are always on the move.
Also, if you want to get some Chinese medicinal practices, try the fire suction cups. I got it for about 5 USD and it bruised my back pretty badly. It is supposed to be good for you and it cleans your system by helping your blood flow smoother. I guess it works as an antioxidant while also
September 4th, we arrive in Shenzhen and the hotel was not appealing from the outside. Silver Spring Resort was the name I believe. Once we moved in, however, it was one of the better hotels that I have ever been in. It was spatial and the A/C unit was a monster. It did its magic every night by preventing me from getting out of bed to shut it off.
Until September 6th, I knew where I was going to be placed. It was going to be a nice middle school in the Futian district where I could have gotten in and out of Hong Kong literally one stop away. This, however, did not happen. At about 11:59 PM that night, Lauren, one of our coordinators knocked on my door and said, “I am so sorry.” I had no idea what was going on and seconds later, she informed me that I will not be teaching at the school due to the school’s lack of a room for a male teacher. Literally the night before we were going to sign these contracts, it switched up on me. She also said that they had no idea what was going to happen. I kept everything inside and figured that I would get into a school within the Futian district anyway. 9 AM the next day where 9:15 was supposed to be the contract signing ceremony, I was told that I would be teaching at a primary school in Luohu district. I was speechless due to shock. I am now out of Futian and I am in Luohu. I wanted to be by myself and I am now stuck with two other teachers. Its not that I didn’t like the other teachers at the same school, I just wanted to have a personal experience in China. I thought, if I was by myself, I would not get held back and my Chinese and assimilation to the culture would excel much faster.
It was a hard first couple of days when we moved into my school, 罗岭外国话学校。 I was just disappointed that things didn’t go my way. My room was dirty and it took a couple of days to clean. My bathroom window was broken from someone punching it last year, my kitchen was a mess, and my fan had about 3 years worth of dirt on it. It was a hellhole.
Here comes the bright side of the story. I decided to be optimistic and started studying the map of Luohu. It turns out that there are a lot of things around us. We have 2 streets where we can get all types of food. About 15 minutes away by feet, we can get to Dongmen, which is a prominent shopping area. 20 minutes away by feet, a subway station was close where I can get into Futian quite fast. Also, if I took the subway station west 2 stops, I would be in Hong Kong. Rather being sour for the rest of the year, I decided to compromise.
Plus, my school turned out to be great. My first day there was the Flag Raising Ceremony where the students, all 3000 of them, marched out in lines and sang the national anthem and listened to some speeches. It was quite a sight. At the end of the event, the headmaster of the school introduced us in front of the school and my heart was definitely racing. The kids were ecstatic and it made me feel a lot better about teaching primary school.
My two colleagues also turned out to be fine and fun. If you are reading this and if I ever showed you hostility of any sorts, I apologize. It was a bad situation for me and it’s all good now.
So yea, I am now in the Luoho District, Shenzhen and I am now a foreign language English teacher.

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Photos

Lian Hua Lu
The girl that got messed up!

The Golden Hotels
Shot taken from my school

Fire Suction Cups
Check those lats out!

Flag Raising Ceremony
Students in military outfits... I am impartial about this picture

My Students
You have to love the Peace/ Victory signs