finally...GOOD Mexican food? So where are you now? And are you actively looking for job openings in Asia?
By the way, my uncle Charles has been teaching English in Korea for at least 20 years. He had been a college professor in his native state of Oklahoma....and then left; to the consternation of his 7 brothers and sisters who are very conservative and probably scared of....oh....Peking duck and good Mexican food. My father, for example, went to Senor Fish here the other day. A very well known family-run restaurant, with lots of great seafood. The scallop burrito is my favorite. And he ordered, drum roll please, a cheese enchilada. But uncle Charles? He broke the mold. We see him maybe once every two years. He likes Korea and he's stayin'.
A camping trip to Tecate with 'the guys' is planned for the last weekend of this month. You would certainly be welcome. Adios.
Karma Bank Joe, you deserve better treatment. And you may be pleased to know that you get extra interest in your Karma Bank account for not letting the rat bastards get you down (OK, a little, but we're human). My suspicion is that there are better jobs in better ESL places for an experienced teacher. With my list of amazingly real titles and cool letterhead, I am ready to support your applications. Now get the hell back to California -- the wildflowers and waterfalls are going crazy. Oh, and you are a great travel writer. May you walk your bird in peace some day...
contract end Wow, sucks that they cut you loose like that! I have enjoyed these glimpses into small-town China and the life of an itinerant English teacher. Safe travels home.
The End? As a 33 year old, in the middle of contemplating a life change and moving overseas to get certified in TEFL, I've been following your journey since the beginning. I'm sad to see it's come to an abrupt end. You said you'd like to teach again, but have you begun your search for the next gig? Are you excited to come back to the states?
So what's next? My biggest fear is making the leap into ESL, only to have the rug pulled out from under me and having nothing to come back to.
a $.46 burrito would be 5 pesos Let's figure out a way for you to drop-ship these little darlins' by the pallet to L.A. so I can take them around town in my soon-to-be-modified GS with a propane oven. Cash only.
After my annual five day Carnaval Fest in Ensenada this month I was fed up (literally) with the fried foods of Mexico; so I feel your pain. The old saying that you only rent beer applies. Yet....a sidewalk fish taco vendor with 10 different salsas grabs my attention and wallet in an instant. Street food has never done me wrong in Mexico. The two times I've had problems was after a sit down meal in a "nice" place.
You can't get to Plaskett from the north right now. Landslide. Two months of repair says the L.A. Times. See you.....later. Adios.
Hey Joe
Sounds like your life continues to be an adventure. I'm truly jealious of your being stuff in nowhere. There have been many days in my life when nowhere sounded pretty nice. Hang in there on the food deal. I once was in a place where I had the same problem. What I did was go to a market and pick out the meat and veggies I wanted cooked and brought them to the resturant and ask them to cook them. They not only did it but added some spices to make it more interesting. Give it a try and let me know what happens.
Bob
Oh yes, I have tried pointing at random things on the menu (a technique taught to me by pbs ) and I have pointed at things coming out of the kitchen too. I have gone into the kitchen and pointed at meat and vegetables. I haven't entirely given up, it is just very disconcerting to someone who is supposed to be an "old Asia hand".
hmm so have you tried these things - pointing at some dish on some other table or just randomly pointing at something on the menu or can someone write little cards out for you with some basic dishes and you can show the card?
Is that Khao San Road in BKK? Forgot to pack your boa this trip, did you? So now we know the source of all that smog in China, coal-fired veggie burrito griddles:)
I note that you are wearing a properly Chinese puffy coat. Since you are also sporting a cap, I am assuming it's still cold in Weishan?
Which silly children's songs did you sing with the kids?
OrAgain Sitting by the thankfully glowing Franklin stove in Corvallis Oregon with my god kids and 3 mo old god grandson Elijah.
Why do progressives give their little ones such heavy duty names -- Elijah is the herald of the messiah.
Bodhi in Thailand has a new son named Vajra -- literally, Defender of the Truth.
Glad I'm just supporting a pope who liked chants...
Anything serene about Confucius town?
Great headline. Whatta grueling experience. Glad you had an Aussie to share it with. I always got a kick out of the Asians I met who had learned English with an Oz accent.
Passport and Me Way back in the '60s, I got caught on the wrong side of the Berlin wall by the East German police. Their request to see my passport was persuasively backed up by a Luger pointed at a part of me I needed to keep bullet free. While the lieutenant went off with my well used passport to consult with someone (maybe Khrushchev?) to decide my 16-year-old fate, I had plenty of time to contemplate life in the DDR. There were plenty of bombed out buildings in which to hide in the fortified boarder zone, but not a lot of food or career potential. After what seemed like a life and a half, the Commies decided to just kick me out of the People's Republic and believe my story that I had gotten bored waiting at Check Point Charlie and wanted to see if I could make it all the way to the Brandenburg Gate which I illogically assumed would be opened. That story was so crazy it was actually true. So, could be worse Joe.
visa dance ahhh, how well I know the joys of the visa dance. Australia has a rule for the tourist visa that you have to leave every 90 days, no problem I thought, every three months I will vacation in NZ. I did it twice, and as I was coming back I was told that I was not following the spirit of the law! apparently following the letter is not good enough. But then I found out I can be on my partner's work visa, who knew, but still, I am now on a special list and every time I try to get back in I am taken aside to the special room.
In India, we also did a visa dance, but now, for a small sum of money we have 10 yr India visas. Vietnam also had a paperwork/photo get a visa while in the US policy. Some countries do let you do a visa run and then show up and just obey the letter of the law. It is a lot harder when you have no idea what anyone is saying (India was insane about the correct forms)
anyway, congratulations. and hope you get your passport back, I get all kinds of anxious without my passport.
Just so there is no confusion, according to Wiki, fatty liver is not to be confused with foie gras.
Scary stuff, not having your passport in your possession. Hope it returns shortly.
wow! homesick Joe does the bureaucracy. And your passport! I will be envisioning its speedy return. I hope you're considering a book about all this. Your writing style is superb.
Hugs,
S
Confused middle-aged schlub, former hipster, goes to China in order to escape the US recession, teach good enunciation and eat mounds of pork dumplings.
Follow along as I embarrass myself in another language.
Parental caution advised.... full info
Corey
non-member comment
I'm glad
You came home.