And so I didn't go to Australia, thinking that I wouldn't have the funds, and now I find myself in Yanji. What a place! They heat with coal, making the air so smoggy that it is worse than Beijing!! The sun is shining today, but I still cannot see the hills I know are in the distance. And it's freezing here. Even up until my flight yesterday, I was debating whether or not to come here.
The upside is that the people at the school are very nice, and they are desparate to have me. This is because there are very few other suckers who wish to teach in this health hazard of a city! Out my window this morning, I could see the factories puffing their black filth into the air, distorting any chance of sunshine.
Oh dear... I start work on Christmas day, and I finish here on April 25th - a four month contract. The sad thing is that the air begins to clear up in May, as they don't need to use the coal heating as much, and I hear the summer is beautiful here. SO basically, I'm in Yanji for the worst four months. Oh joy! :P
I'm still reeling over the events that brought me to this point. The school in Beijing closed on my first 'teaching' day. What a mess. The school went from neat and orderly to shambles in one hour, as men came in and ripped out wires, took the computers, and began dismanteling the cubicles. Man. The bank closed and the CEO ran out of money. One of the teachers needed to get paid and refused to leave without his money. He got the keys to the school and threatened to swallow them and lock us all in until he was properly compensated. It was definitely a ridiculous situation, all around.
I didn't agree to go to Yanji until Saturday, and I flew out on Sunday. As the plane flew further north, I could see definite changes in the landscape. In between the mountains, the land looked as if it had been scraped clean of its vegetation, scarred in straight rows. Houses could be seen in random blocks.
China's Flag
Map of China