One Week's Budget Teaching in China - March 21-27

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Standard Monday

21st of March

I had to get up at eight to teach at the primary school for three hours. After my 6RMB taxi ride, I had to face (for one hour each) often naughty third, fourth and fifth graders. Luckily a Chinese friend taught me the invaluable zuo xia (sit down) and an jing (be quiet). These phrases, along with the strategy of singling out particularly rambunctious youngesters to repeat the rules I established, greatly helped to quell the unrest in my class. Some kids probably even learned a bit of English.

During the walk back, I was invited to lunch by a Chinese-American-Chinese friend. His wife and her friend saw me walking along the main road and took me the the restaurant, where we had rice, delicious fish soup, potatoes, veggies, and some tofu. Since I was invited, the meal was free, although my Chinese-American-Chinese friend said he was repaying previous kindness on my part. So the cycle continues.

I bought another bing hong cha for 1.5RMB before my afternoon class at the university.

My late-day nap was interrupted by my nieghboor bearing the gift of home-baked bread. Thanks Kyle! Along with some peanut butter and coconut jam, this provided an excellent dinner.

A Chinese friend came over and we I taught her the magical game of “Uno”. Thanks for the cards Mom!

I was invited the local bar where the foreigners hang out. Sometime you want to go where everybody knows your name. And they’re always glad you came. Before stopping by the watering hole I bought dinner number two- a 2.5RMB “egg-pancake”.

A(bottomless) glass of tea costs 10RMB at Freedom Bar. This is pricey, but I can select the music from the computer, practice Chinese with the friendly owner, and hang out with my friends at a place which is not our homes. Additionally, one can run up a tab. I paid Yange 10RMB for a beverage consumed on a previous night.

A quick note on foreign teacher solidariy in Jiujiang:

We all know each other, and we all get along well (9.8 times out of ten). This is because there are only about twenty of us. We come from various professions, counties (Mexico, Nepal, England, Canada, Australia, Bangladesh, and the US of A) and we have different beliefs and values. However we all love to travel, we all teach, and we all try to help each other out. It is a good thing. Sometime I feel that I can see our troubles are all the same. Sometimes I want to go where everybody knows my name.

Furthermore, I would like to thank Chad for the delicious pico de gallo he made for poker night. He is my cherished colleague and friend

Daily Expenditure- 30RMB

Total Expenditure- 396.3
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Taxing Tuesday

22nd of March


Tuesday is my difficult day this semester.

First I have four hours of teaching eighth and seventh graders at the primary school. After my 6RMB taxi ride, I dive right in, fueled by naught but a peanut butter and jelly (or coconut jam) sandwich and copious volumes of green tea.

On my walk back to Jiujiang U, a taxi pulled up alongside me and offered a ride. I was glad to get in, seeing as there was a light rain. After arriving at the gate I had to run to a small shop and but a 2RMB ice cream to get change for my hundred yuan bill, and then pay the 5RMB fare.

I had the standard lunch of the 2.5RMB egg pancake (along, of course, with the ice cream).

I had two university classes in the afternoon. By the second one (each is one hour thirty-five minutes) I was exhausted. I treated myself to a street-food feast.

First was the 2.5RMB “peanut burrito” (a generous portion of peanuts, veggies, cucumber and a cracker rolled into sticky rice), two sticks of deep-fried tofu for 1RMB, and two baozi for 1RMB.

Later in the evening I joined British Ben for Dinner Number Two, after I paid him back for Saturday’s massage. From a Chinese lady, not from Ben.

1RMB for some pinapple-on-a-stick, and another serving of two sticks of deep fried tofu for 1RMB. I’m getting plenty of vitamins and protein on the cheap.

A quick note about the weather in Jiujiang-

It changes quickly.

Winter sucks. Much like Seattle, there is constant rain, near-freezing temperatures, and occasional snow.

Summer is very hot. Clear skys and highs in the eighties or nineties (20s and low 30s for y’all furrinerrs).

There is precious little in between. Last Friday the high was 87 (27 Celsius) with sun all day. Today it reached the balmy maximum of 47 (8 degrees Celsius) with constant rain.

Daily Expenditure- 22 RMB.

Total Expenditure (Eight Days) 418.3 RMB

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Witless Title Wednesday

23rd of March


On Wednesday I took a Chinese friend out to eat at “English Menu”. She told me the actual name in Chinese- it means something like “Musical Restaurant”. No matter, it will remain English menu to me for all time.

Rice, tofu, xi hong shi chow dan (eggs with tomato), cucumber in sauce, and sweet-and-sour cabbage for 23RMB. My friend was not very hungry, so I got abosultely stuffed before my afternoon class.

I also bought 5RMB worth of bread.

After class Ben and I took a 1 RMB local bus to the long-distance bus station to buy tickets to Wuhan. A friend had invited us to the birthday of her English employee. Ben and I decided to go to the big city for the celebration, and to see if we could acquire some Western food and possibly shoes (hard to find my size here in the Middle Country). Our tickets to Wuhan for Friday cost 80RMB apiece.

I bought once more the 5RMB “capu” for much-needed caffeine and deliciousness.

We decided to go to a foot massage while we were downtown. Tried a new place, wasin’t that great, paid the standard 30RMB.

After our 1RMB bus ride home I bought a 2.5RMB “peanut-burrito” and then had a blissful sleep.

Daily Expenditure- 147.5 RMB

Total Expenditure (Nine Days)- 565.5RMB
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Bennyboy’s Birthday

25th of March


One of JJ Univeristy’s very own turned 22 on Thursday. Now I can’t give him a hard time for being two years younger than me until late April.

I give him a hard time for being English, but he is a decent guy. Actually, I am very glad he is here, because otherwise I would be the youngest teacher at Jiujiang University. It’s nice to have a didi (younger brother) around to share my extensive wisdom with.

The day began like any other- bread, peanut butter, tea, and teaching. For lunch I had the standard Hui egg chow mein (6RMB) and a stick of pineapple (1RMB). I bought the birthday boy a deck of playing cards for 3RMB and a small bottle of jinjou for 8RMB.

Jinjou is a type of Chinese liquor not dissimilar to whiskey. It has a bit of snake blood and is supposedly excellent for the immune system.

After my late class I joined Ben, Jessie and our Chinese colleague Chunzi for a meal. As per Chinese tradition, Ben paid for his own birthday dinner. However, later in the night I bought a total of 87RMB worth of pijou (beer) to celebrate the occasion. Ben did not feel so great the next day, although the night itself was wonderful. I have never seen so many people in Freedom Bar, the previously-mentioned local foreigner (and upper-classmen) watering hole.

Everyone danced, and everyone danced well. You only turn 22 once!

Daily Expenditure- 105 RMB

Total Expenditure (Ten days)- 670.5 RMB
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Wild Wuhan

26th and 27th of March


On Friday Ben and I took the bus to Wuhan, a large city in Hubei province to the northeast of Jiujiang. We were invited by Lei, a Chinese friend from the city who knew of a birthday celebration for her employee.

In the morning I bought Ben a 1.5RMB ice tea. For my lunch I ate three veggie baozi for 1.5RMB and 2RMB’s worth of sesame flatbread. I paid 14RMB to take a taxi to the long-distance bus station and we were off!

Once in Wuhan I again treated my friends to a small taxy fare- 10RMB to get to a nearby university, where lived Jemima, the birthday girl and our host. I bought her two bottles of jinjou for 14RMB as a birthday present.

The street food in Wuhan is great. 3.5RMB for chow mein with egg, tofu, and a bunch of veggies.

Jemima showed us our quarters in her apartment. She gets paid less than we do, but she also gets a much better free apartment than us. She has a living room, a proper kitchen, two bathrooms, and four (!) bedrooms. In Jiujiang we are granted a living room/ kitchen, a bathroom, and two rooms which can function as offices or bedrooms.

After a rest we headed off to go dancing. I bought two cans of redbull- one for myself, one for Ben (10RMB). Additionally, I purchased some delicious roti flatbread for 2RMB.

Then we were off dancing. Ben bought my ticket for the club (50RMB, which we then calculated into a mutual debt which we figured out later). There was lots of good music (some of it live), many Wuahanren, and many many foreigners. Most were from America. I spent 20RMB on beverages. Later in the night I also bought an additional 10RMB worth of street food. We went back to Jemima’s for a much-needed rest with happy memories of partying in Wuhan.

Daily Expenditure- 98.5 RMB

Total Expenditure (Eleven days)- 769 RMB

The next morning we were up and ready to go at the crack of eleven. Ben and I had a streetfood feast for breakfast. I bought 2.5RMB of potatos, and 3RMB for two ice teas.

Then we hopped in a taxi to Carrefour- a supermarket that sells Western food! Wuham is quite spread out- it cost 39RMB and forty minutes of our time to get where we were going. Once there I spent the ridiculous sum of 135.5RMB on couscous, pasta, cheddar cheese (there is no real cheese in Jiujiang), goldfish crackers, nacho cheese dorritos, and a Pleasant Goat and Big Big Wolf carrying bag (look them up).

It could be worse- Ben spent more than 300 yuan.

We then spent 2RMB each to get to the train station. We both wanted to be back “home” that night. Unfortunately, all the trains were booked, so we wandered around until I found a somewhat sketchy looking guy who said we could take us to a bus to Jiujiang. My Chinese is poor, but good enough to get around apparently. We followed him for a bit until he passed us off to two other people who then flagged down a mini bus with the beautiful Chinese characters ”Nine Rivers” on it! Magical. I had a long and spirited “negotiation” with these touts, and ended up paying 200RMB for both our tickets. The price for the locals was 90yuan each, so I don’t feel so bad.

Once in Jiujiang we took a taxi to the university. I bought a 2.5RMB peanut-burrito and a 7.5RMB toy pig for my friend. It feels great to be home. Wuhan is nice, but it is too big and hard to traverse. Additionall, I feel like a minor celebrity here on account of my honkeytude.

Ben gave me for the bus tickets and taxi minus expenses he paid for.

Daily Expenditure- 332 RMB

Total Expenditure (Twelve Days)-1101 RMB

Simple Sunday

28th of March


After my excessive spending during a trip to Jiujiang, it was time to have a quiet (and cheap) day.

I slept in late and grabbed an early lunch. For 1RMB I got pineapple-on-a-stick, and then the 6RMB Muslim egg noodles with veggies. Because I was the only person at the restaurant, I recieved an extremely generous portion.

After my lunch I bought another 4RMB giant bottle of water and lugged it up the hill. I then met up with some friends to spend a relaxing time in the spring sun. I bought 3RMB worth of jiaozi (dumplings) with huasheng jaing (peanut sauce).

I then bought another stick of pineapple for 1RMB and spent the rest of the evening relaxing at home and preparing for the week. I ate a large portion of the nacho cheese dorritos I had purchased in Wuhan.

Daily Expenditure- 15 RMB

Total Expenditure (Thirteen Days) 1,116 RMB

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