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Welcome

Here lies the chronicle of my three years of travels around the world, mostly in Asia. I've got lots of stories, lots of pictures, and hopefully some useful advice you can benefit from along the way. Enjoy.

Live in China?

March 20th, 2006

I’ve come to the realization that I may not want to live in China, at all. At least I’m more and more on the fence about it each day. Having spent over two weeks in one place, the little things that were at first quirky and a little funny, are driving me crazy. I still can’t get used to the spitting. It’s disgusting, and always will be disgusting in my mind. The littering and pollution are also points of contention. For the most part, everywhere I’ve been from the rural areas to the cities, have been beautiful. The cities themselves seem well-planned with special care taken to enhance the aesthetics of the scenery. But it is hard to enjoy these when you can’t see through the brownish grey haze that drapes everything. The nicely tiled sidewalks have a layer of dried spit and litter on them that I’m sure follows me home to my apartment every night. It sickens me because so many little things could be done to make big changes. I realize that the pollution will take time to fix, but if the Chinese would take just a little more pride in their surroundings things would change in a hard beat.

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Bird flu? Pshaa! Give me some damn chicken

March 21st, 2006

I’m in the heart of Guangdong province at the moment, probably not the best place to be if this bird flu decides to mutate into anything more threatening. But I’m also in the heart of Canton, the weird food capital of China. I’m getting a little sick of it also. I’ve learned that even if you have a picture menu to refer to, you’re not necessarily going to get something edible.

Last weekend me and an Ozzy friend found ourselves in a place that seemed to specialize in intestines of all varieties. Pork tripe seemed to be the favorite, but fish intestine soup also appeared prominently on the menu. And I can’t forget to mention the boiled pig face. I’m a big fan of pork and all, and it might taste great, but I don’t want to have to eat my food to get it to stop staring at me.

So I played it safe and went with the chicken. I didn’t see any chicken feet in the picture (another Cantonese treat), so I went for it, only to be disappointed when my piping hot plate of fried chicken knuckles came. I’ve tried these in Japan, where you receive a small portion. They’re not bad and not great either. The Chinese must love them, though, because I got a mountain of them. I can’t remember any meat that I’ve ordered in a Chinese place here that didn’t have something strange attached to it. I appreciate the fact that they eat more of the animal and reduce waste, but I’ve realized if there could be one symbol of my wasteful western habits that I don’t want to give up, it would come in the form of a plump chicken breast, a pork chop, and a lean flank steak. Do your best bird flu, I’m still going to eat some tasty chicken meat once I find it.

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Running low on face

March 23rd, 2006

I’m in the heart of Guangdong province at the moment, probably not the best place to be if this bird flu decides to mutate into anything more threatening.  But I’m also in the heart of Canton, the weird food capital of China.  I’m getting a little sick of it also.  I’ve learned that even if you have a picture menu to refer to, you’re not necessarily going to get something edible.

Last weekend me and an Ozzy friend found ourselves in a place that seemed to specialize in intestines of all varieties.  Pork tripe seemed to be the favorite, but fish intestine soup also appeared prominently on the menu.  And I can’t forget to mention the boiled pig face.  I’m a big fan of pork and all, and it might taste great, but I don’t want to have to eat my food to get it to stop staring at me.

So I played it safe and went with the chicken.  I didn’t see any chicken feet in the picture (another Cantonese treat), so I went for it, only to be disappointed when my piping hot plate of fried chicken knuckles came.  I’ve tried these in Japan, where you receive a small portion.  They’re not bad and not great either.  The Chinese must love them, though, because I got a mountain of them.  I can’t remember any meat that I’ve ordered in a Chinese place here that didn’t have something strange attached to it.  I appreciate the fact that they eat more of the animal and reduce waste, but I’ve realized if there could be one symbol of my wasteful western habits that I don’t want to give up, it would come in the form of a plump chicken breast, a pork chop, and a lean flank steak.  Do your best bird flu, I’m still going to eat some tasty chicken meat once I find it.

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Teaching combat

March 28th, 2006

It’s the last week of the TEFL course I’ve been taking here in Zhuhai, and we’re teaching in public elementary schools and middle schools now. What an experience. First of all, there are a lot of the little monsters, and they seem to punch and kick a lot more than I was ever allowed to when I was their age. But when I think about the fact that I rarely see a teacher, it doesn’t surprise me. Despite their rambunctious behavior, they are really clever.

The Chinese have definitely taken over the distinction as the most studious pupils on the planet. These little guys start learning English at ten when it’s still easy for them to learn. It makes perfect sense, and I wish more countries would realize that they should be starting younger. China will really have a leg up on its rivals in the Asian community in the near future because of this decision.

Also, the level of technology in the schools surprised me. For a country that is still “developing,” and taking into consideration this is a rich Chinese city, they have so many resources. All of the classrooms I’ve been in so far have big screen plasma TVs and computers. Students in the US don’t have that kind of luxury.

For me it’s indicative of where the priorities are placed. Here, education is highly valued, and therefore the students take their personal educations seriously. They also have higher hopes for improving their lives than western students. It’s easy to get lazy when you’ve already got everything you need and mom and dad have a trust fund…pass the bong. There are also many cultural reasons that can explain why the Chinese are so studious, including the “losing face” mentality I’ve spoken of earlier.

My experience in this elementary school today was invigorating. A 12 year old kid spoke to me in clear, well articulated English. I probably couldn’t have matched his level after three years of studying Spanish when I was 17! It’s made me think again about whether or not I should teach this age group in the future.

Posted in China, Teaching English | 1 Comment »

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Best party ever?

April 1st, 2006

The TEFL class is over, the week has been a hard one full of teaching Chinese kids and boozing, so our class hopped the bay from Zhuhai to Hong Kong arriving amid the hysteria of Rugby 7s. I didn’t know it, but this is the best weekend of the year to have landed on this small island for those looking for a good time. As we slowly crawled into Wan Chai it became evident what kind of night we were about to have. This is the notorious stomping ground of sailors worldwide, where guys have woken for centuries with new tattoos and perhaps a splash of VD. Its still about the booze here, but the sailors have all moved on to other ports of call. Now the place is teeming with young money and the typical meat market that follows.

Bars spilled forth people onto the streets from all corners of the globe donning mullet wigs and bear suits. After a couple hours of singing in the streets we headed to Lan Kwai Fong, the main party alley in Central Hong Kong. I thought we had it good in Wan Chai, only to be greeted by a sea of drunkenness, the ground literally soaked in beer, vodka, and Red Bull.

We spent all night here continuing my streak of sleep deprivation. We sang a little karaoke to a live band, and watched it get light under the shadow of the new IFC skyscraper, 85 stories. My good luck continues.

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That’s a big buddha

April 2nd, 2006

Asia is obsessed with the size of it’s Buddha’s. If a shrine of temple doesn’t have the biggest conventional Buddha, they must revert to having the biggest Buddha lying down, or sitting cross-legged, or sitting cross-legged, hands out, palms up, eyes closed. I’m not making this up. Christianity has it’s big crosses scattered on hillsides across the Christian world, but usually lacking a “Jesus.” And Muslims must be baffled by these idols. Yes Buddhist really like their symbols ‘in the flesh’ so to speak.

If we’ve learned anything in the past six months, it’s not to show any depiction of the prophet Muhammad (especially with a bomb in his turban), or else the Muslim world flips out. Sorry, but you won’t find any smiling, fat Muhammed key chains to bring you good fortune in the alleys of Tehran. To other religions, Buddha may appear ruthlessly exploited. I don’t know how devout Buddhists would defend this claim. Maybe they don’t care.

The big Buddha craze is still going strong in the 21st century. People are still building huge Buddha’s, and Hong Kong went big on Lantai Island. Seated at the top of a small hill is the world’s largest, run-of-the-mill Buddha. Relatively new, it was completed in 1991 and placed on the less developed island of Lantai near a Buddhist monastery. There’s not much to say about it. It’s really big.

I’m losing my ambition to see shrines and temples and Buddhas. The longer I spend in Asia, the more I’m bored by them. It’s not like I’ve ever been on a church tour. I’ve seen pictures of cathedral and they all look the same too. I’ve seen the biggest Buddha so I’m home free. The search can end.

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British Empire: Big up yo’self

April 3rd, 2006

Hong Kong is by far the most diverse place I’ve been. What an eclectic mix of China and all those from the former British Empire. It is a place for the mega rich (most billionaires per capita), and the not so rich. You can walk down the street and see Asian models, veiled women, Indian turbans, and hip-hop adorned Nigerians. I never imagined I’d have so many friend’s in such a big city, but they were all waiting for me when I got here. They are on every corner of Tsim Sha Tsui in Kowloon, dressed sharp.

“Hello my friend, you want a fake watch?” “Hello my friend, you want me to make you a custom tailored suit? Nice cashmere.”

Exciting place.

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Back to Japan?

April 4th, 2006

This week has been a constant shuffle from the internet cafe, to the next sightseeing spot, to the train station (free internet in Hong Kong). Why? Because I’m stuck in Hong Kong. Not really a bad place to be stuck, but not particularly a cheap place to be stuck either. My Chinese visa is expired, I don’t want to keep traveling on to Shanghai as I previously planned, and I want to go back to Japan. I’m waiting on a solid job offer so I can secure my ticket back to Tokyo. If it doesn’t materialize soon I’m going to bite the bullet and get my visa. I’ll have to shed some excess baggage accumulated in Zhuhai if I’m going to continue, even though I’ve had enough traveling for the time being. I want to go back to Japan for another year but the clock’s ticking. If I don’t get an ALT job this week, I probably won’t get one at all.

Posted in Hong Kong, Japan | 1 Comment »

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Touch down

April 9th, 2006

I’ve touched down back in Japan and immediately I know I’ve made the right choice. Chiaki picked me up at the airport Thursday, I had a successful interview on Friday, and now I’m enjoying the most beautiful time of the year, the Sakura Cherry Blossom festival with all my friends.
It’s official that I will now be an elementary school teacher. This thought would have been unthinkable prior to my Asian trip, but teaching elementary kids in China gave me a new perspective. My previous experience with kids was bad; because I was forced to teach the kids and the adults in the same day, requiring two very different mindsets, energy levels, and preparation styles. Also, believe it or not, it is much easier to teach a class of 30-40 than a class of 3-4. If one of the 3-4 kids acts up, the whole class is hard to control, but if a couple of rowdy kids are ignored in an interested class of 30, they’ll change their tune. The trick is keeping them interested. Otherwise, they’re all gone. This was the case in China, but I suspect Japanese kids are going to be more difficult to manage.

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In Japan

April 13th, 2006

It’s been a whirlwind coming back to Japan. I’ve been back a week and I’ve done so much that it doesn’t seem possible. I arrived, went back to Hitachi, interviewed in Tokyo the next day, and then went back to Hitachi. I’ve spent the past three days training for the new job, in Tokyo yet again. The 3 day training could have been accomplished in a day, but I guess they didn’t anticipate my level of teaching experience.
I’ve just spent the day meeting all of my school’s principles, and the Joso Board of Education. I’ll be teaching at four different schools, some more often than others depending on size. Onward to yet another new job.

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