Blogs from Hebei, China, Asia
May 5th 2012
I woke up this morning like any other, courtesy of loud music from outside. This time was different, though - the loud music seemed to be emanate from a live band and not a speaker. It continued for a couple of hours until I was annoyed and interested enough to find out where it was coming from and why. I had my suspicions why there would be live music, though... And they turned out to be correct. It was a funeral. Around the block a band was playing for a traditional Chinese funeral - friends and family dressed in white, a tent with a framed picture of the deceased and offerings for the afterlife such as oranges, huge lawn standees. And here I am, just looking at everything going on. After a few minutes one of ... read more
April 29th 2012
Two days ago we had a Sports Meeting, something akin to a Field Day. Due to the numbers of students, though, instead of lasting half a day it lasted all day, from 8 to 3-ish. I came dressed in my old Muay Thai shorts (because it had an American flag) and expected to see the students in similar apparel. So I'm pretty excited and then I get to the school and all the students are dressed in their uniforms - red vests, long-sleeved shirts, pants. Yeah. Not to mention the parents are there. And here I am, dressed in my short shorts and t-shirt. I did get some glares from parents but a lot of them seemed to get the humor I was going for, and thankfully after performing their dances the students got to take ... read more
April 14th 2012
So the teachers finally took us out to a KTV. As I've said before, there are no bars or places of that sort where I live. There are, however, KTVs on every block. KTV is a place where people go to sing karaoke and get drunk, which sounds cooll, but we've never been invited. Finally, after two months of building bonds with the other teachers, we can finally let loose and have a fun time. Well, kind of. First of all, the biggest difference between KTV and an American bar is that there are private rooms in a KTV. No meeting strangers/potential friends at a KTV, because you'll be stuck in a room with people you already know - for hours. I can see this being an okay thing to do every once in a while, ... read more
April 4th 2012
Back from my Spring Break vacation. All the schoolchildren and teachers get Monday, Tuesday and Wednesday off, which is great...until I found out those missed days will be re-scheduled. Does China not understand the concept of a holiday? Blah. Anyways, went to Qinhuangdao with some friends who work at Siemens. I was pretty excited at first but it seemed like a waste of time. Literally all we did was eat and drink! A big lunch, a big dinner, repeat for the next day. It was great to get drunk for the first time in months, and yeah it was fun talking to our Chinese friends and hear them praise my 'AMERICAN POWER' when it comes to liquor, but geez, I was told we'd see the Great Wall and actually do things beside eat. We even went ... read more
March 30th 2012
-There are no pennies or nickles, just dimes. They round prices up or down to the nearest dime. I think it's a progressive idea! Also, tax is already included in costs, which is nice. -leftover food from restaurants are put in plastic bags, not styrofoam boxes. -the teachers are surprised that kids eat food from home in America. A sandwich, an apple or orange, some chips - they asked me, "Why do they eat cold food? It's not healthy." -you know when you make a phone call and you hear a ringing noise? There's no ringing noise when you call someone. It's a song, like muzak for when you're put on hold. Except you're not on hold, you're just making a call. -the fireworks don't end. Every day, every night, there are fireworks - far away ... read more
March 16th 2012
I typed a long entry and then my connection crapped out on me and lost everything. Having lost my drive to re-type it all, here are some quick notes: -the students stand up when giving an answer. -I've seen one or two teachers gently whack a kid upside the head whenever they get rowdy. Students don't seem to mind it and then they become quiet. -I've become proficient at chopsticks. -as I've said before, Chinese tap water is not safe to drink as-is, so we boil it. Problem is, after a month, I've noticed some sediment building up on the inside of the water heater. I put my finger in and scraped some of it off the side...it's kind of like sand. Everyone seems to have a water cooler in their apartment and now I know ... read more
February 24th 2012
The fireworks are still going strong, although they remain heard and not seen. Teaching English to primary school students is still fun and uplifting; I'm starting to see some of my students on the street with their parents and say "Hello teacher!" while saluting me. I still get looks from anyone, kid or adult. They'll randomly yell 'Hello!' at me every once in a while. The English abilities of the students are impressive; they can read very well and their oral is a lot better than I anticipated. In the classroom some of them are shy to speak up and yet when I'm in the courtyard they'll surround me and ask questions - which is great, because it helps them with their English. It's a great idea to teach kids a second language when they're young ... read more
February 24th 2012
Got in my first taxi tonight. It's not a car or a rickshaw, something in-between. So, in keeping with typical Chinese driving, the guy does a u-turn in the middle of traffic, drives in the wrong lane for a few seconds while a swarm of cars come toward us, and then gets in the right lane and took us to the Tangshan Train Station. Wish I had recorded some of that, but oh well - maybe next time. Roomie's gone for the weekend to Beijing, where he has a friend living there. Walking back from the train station I saw a car accident and wasn't surprised at all. To their credit, the Chinese appear to be great drivers - I mean, to be able to drive without rules and not get into an accident every second ... read more
February 14th 2012
what I've learned about China: -the double yellow lines on the road are merely a suggestion. let that sink in. -food in restaurants is cheap and bountiful. -people spit. a lot. remember the old woman from Gran Torino, when Clint was on the porch? yeah. -where I live, it is dusty. dusty and dirty. you'd think this would be a place by the beach. -people like to shoot fireworks loud enough to set off car alarms any time of the day. -there is loud music playing at 7AM. every day. and then at night. -can't drink tap water? boil it. problem solved. -no facebook, youtube or twitter. I don't tweet, but the first two? shit sucks. -there's a channel on TV dedicated to StarCraft. doesn't matter what time it is, whenever I click to it there's ... read more
October 24th 2011
I spent a fabulous weekend hiking on the Mongolian Grasslands. The trip was arranged and carried out by Beijing Hikers who I’ve been with on daytrips before. I would advise anyone coming to Beijing to check out their website and go on a walk or hike with them. Apart from enjoying the beautiful scenery and seeing less-well-known places, it’s a great opportunity for visitors to talk to ex-patriots here about why they came and stayed in Beijing and what everyday life is like for an ex-pat. On this weekend there were returned Chinese people who have unique perspectives on life in China that ex-pats will never have. We all met up on Friday midday and boarded the Beijing Hikers coach with Henjie (“Way-jay”), the woman leader and owner of the Beijing Hikers business. There were twenty-one ... read more
