Lounging warmly

As has been the case this winter, the wind is again howling outside my window and causing a pretty serious draught to creep across my floor. I swear I can almost see frost building up on the hardwood. In the few places where a hot-water pipe runs underneath, you can see the wood buckle. Daheishi was not built for temperatures below -5.

I only have 4 more real teaching days remaining before I'm free for vacation. Tomorrow's day has been shortened by one block because of our parent-teacher conferences int he afternoon, students leave for a long weekend on Thursday and classes are cancelled that day, and Thursday night I'm hopping on the night train to Harbin to enjoy New Years Eve on the train and a weekend at the Harbin Ice Festival. Should be lots of fun. Darren and the rest of the hockey boys are going to be busy with games all weekend, but I've found some other recruits to hang with for the weekend and face the freezing cold with. The forecasted average temperature for the weekend is supposed to be -30, and much of the time will be spent outdoors. We'll be busy checking out sculptures and buildings and scenes made out of ice and snow, and will bravely face the chill with cameras in hand.

I'll admit to you all that I'm currently testing out my first pair of velour-lined long johns that are ready and willing to take on the chill of Harbin. Whodathunk I'd ever say that I'm excited about velour, well, anything?!? Not this guy! I also got a new toque this past weekend, and I'm packing as many socks as I can fit in my bag. Ice Festival, here I come!

After returning early Monday morning (5am on the train), there are only 3 remaining teaching days for our ESL classes before semester finals are written Thursday, and on Saturday I'm officially on nearly 7 weeks of paid vacation. I called the company through which I booked my flight to Shenzhen (near Hong Kong for Leg #1), and there are no refunds/changes allowed on my flight (because of the cheap cost). This means that I wait until the 15th to leave Dalian, or bite the bullet and just cancel the flight and book a new one for the 10th.
Advantage #1: More holiday time in a warmer part of the world.
Advantage #2: Be able to meet up with a friend, Justin, in Bangkok and spent some time on the Thai coast (which is currently not in the plan)
Advantage #3: Did I mention I'll get an extra week of holidays???
Drawback #1: Cost ($100 cancellation, slightly more expensive new ticket, more vacation time which means more money spending)

Drawback #2: ????? Ummm.... is there any?

The funds are in alright form, but this extra cost is a bit daunting. Then again, this is the first time I've ever been in Asia, and I never know what the future will bring, so I might just do it. I'm gonna wrap this up so I can go check on flights!

Below I'll attach a few of my favourite pictures from Christma weekend. Enjoy. Ciao for now...

T

Joining the Dalian Ice Dragons for some Boxing Day Shinny

Mitts!

The Christmas Day Gang

Christmas Booty

Acquiring breakfast necessities

The tidings of the season

It's Sunday morning. The Christmas weekend is winding down, and we're just turning on the TV to stream the Montreal/Toronto as we have a bit of a lazy day before I return to the rural lands of Daheishi and Darren begins his Sunday marking load. I have a stack waiting for me at home, but for now, I'm completely ignoring the reality and just focussing on enjoying the remaining hours of the long weekend.

Christmas in China was a lot better than I expected. Not only did I fill my belly with plenty of turkey and ham and stuffing (oh my!), but we had a couple of great holiday outings both on Christmas Eve and Christmas Day. We even had a white Christmas (a mini-blizzard appeared Friday morning) and got to play/watch some pond hockey yesterday!

I got to Kaifaqu on Thursday night about 5:30, and got ready for our Christmas Eve outing. About 30 people arrived to share a monstrous turkey dinner at Damon and Shannon's, and followed it up with an awesome "Furry Christmas" gift exchange. The gift exchange was probably one of the funniest things I've ever seen and lasted for nearly two hours. My gut was sore all day Friday from the laughter. The food was great and it was a lot of fun to hang out and have a big get together. As there usually is in the late 20-early 30-something crowd, there was even an engagement announcement for a couple of the teachers who work at the high school with Darren and Mandy. The night was wrapped up with a couple games of Crokinole and some turkey-induced sleep.

Christmas day greeted us with a real mini-blizzard! I thought it was just really foggy or hazy when I woke up, but after putting on my glasses noticed the big fluffy snowflakes falling down! It was a great little surprise for my first China Christmas, especially since there's barely any snow here at all throughout the winter. After getting mobile, we spent the morning opening gifts, drinking coffee, watching The Grinch and going on Skype with our families. Darren and I braved the snow for a bit to get breakfast sundries, but after about 3 minutes the appeal of frolicking in the snow wore off and we dashed back to the apartment. D&M and I all received Vancouver 2010 Olympic mitts from our respective families, which was pretty awesome and totally unplanned. Thanks for all the stuff, Mom and Dad! The Timmy Ho's coffee will be well-enjoyed, as will the rest of the stuff. Maybe not the puppets, though. Don't ask. 

After putting on our recently-purchased Christmas sweaters, I tagged along with D&M on Christmas day to Justin and Holly's (I got to meet these two fantastic people at a friend's wedding this summer) where we again spent the day watching classic playoff hockey games (1982 Chicago/Vancouver and 1986 Edmonton/Calgary), listening to Christmas tunes and filling our bellies yet again with all the food and drink our bellies could handle. It was a good way to relax on Christmas Day, and stayed warm while the icy wind blew outside. After about 8 hours of constant eating, we returned to D&M's apartment and wound down the night with some Wii (Darren's present to Mandy... and himself, methinks) before lights out.

Yesterday proved to be another relaxing day. The sun was shining and some of the boys from Darren's school were strapping on their skates down at the pond for some Boxing Day shinny. Although I've never been a skater, I tagged along to watch and show my graceful moves sans-skates. It only took me about 5 minutes before nearly cracking my head on the ice, so I went to the sidelines to take pictures and hang out with the "booster club". I haven't strapped on skates since 8th grade, so I wasn't feeling too confident about making an attempt without pads and a helmet. Maybe next year.

The rest of the day was low-key, and found us enjoying an awesome Thai curry, some more Wii, and Darren and I ended the night with a massage at the massage place attached to the main floor of his apartment.

And so, here we are on Sunday. It's going to be another quiet day of food, coffee, and I'll be heading back in the afternoon. Another 3 days of teaching this week before a New Years performance at the high school, and then we're off to Harbin for New Year's and the winter Ice Festival from Thursday night until Monday morning. I then teach Monday-Thursday, and two days after that I'm free to go on my vacation! I've already booked my Hong Kong flight, so I might try to change it and get out of Dalian 4 or 5 days earlier than planned.  Freedom and adventure is on my doorstep. Hope you're all well back home.

Merry Christmas and Happy New Year, all. Lots of love from China.

T

A couple of quick things

It's about 7:20am on Thursday morning. The sky is gray and cold, but my little-Christmas-tree-that-could is blinking happily in my apartment window. Only two classes remain today, and other than hammering out a bit of marking for my Grade 9s this morning, I'll be running off with my ugly Christmas sweater (pictures to come) to Kaifaqu for Christmas dinner with friends. I got an email from my mom today with pictures of our home in Alberta (always decked to the nines in Christmas decorations) which made me really happy but a bit homesick. I think this is the first time I've really thought that I'd like to be back home. But I also know that I'm going to have a great weekend of food and drink and sleeping and reading and drinking all the coffee I can get my mitts on. And I finally get to open my package from home which still remains unwrapped and "under" my tree.

The Grade 7 Christmas concert was a success, and although I wouldn't say my kiddies sang like angels, they did a great job. I'll put up some pictures in the next couple days (I'm still waiting to receive a few).

I also made my first obvious Chinese-speaking blunder in class yesterday. First, a disclaimer: I still have only learned a few words of Chinese. It's sad, I know. It's not easy to practice on my own, and the voice lessons often put me to sleep. Anyway... I try to use a few Chinese words in my classes when I give directions for work. So I've learned my numbers and I can say "sentences" and "paragraph" and "homework", so even the weak students have no excuse for not completing their assignments. Chinese is a language that has many characters. However, when changing Chinese characters into Pinyin (Chinese written in the Roman/English alphabet), many of the words are spelled exactly the same. The difference comes in the TONE with which they're said. Like asking a question by making the final tone in a sentence rise in English, Chinese has rising, falling, flat and dual (falling, then rising) tones for their words. So, the word "ma" can literally have at least 4 meanings. Yesterday, intending to tell my delightfully cute grade seven students that they needed to write 10 sentences and it was homework, I asked them to do the following:

"Please write 10 oranges."

Not knowing what I said, the kids started giggling and laughing at me. This is common when I try to speak Chinese in front of Chinese people, but the laughter was different. Luckily, one of my star pupils put up her hand and waved me over to her desk. Pulling me closer to she didn't have to shout, she explained. So, I got the kids to all help me say "sentence" instead of "orange" and to know the difference. SO funny. I couldn't stop laughing about it all day.

At least I didn't say anything inappropriate!

I'll probably write more later, but for all the people back in Canada, I miss you all tonnes and wish that I was there celebrating Christmas with you all! Especially my family. Lots of love from the land of the Reds...

T

The week of Christmas

I can't understand how Christmas has just crept up on me. I've been talking about it for weeks, I've been watching the movies, I've been listening to the songs and I've been shopping for the presents. I'm singing Christmas carols in my classes to prepare the grade sevens for Tuesday's Christmas concert. But still, in all this holiday preparation and indulgence, there's still a lot lacking in the yuletide season here... and now it's only 4 days away. CRAZY!

Don't get me wrong,... I'm really excited about the big Christmas dinner next Thursday, and opening the package from my family that has been whispering annoying taunts since receiving it almost a month ago. I'm happy that I have some great friends to celebrate with. But it's still a bit of a challenge, as it's the first Christmas I'll ever spend without family. Even though I didn't make it back to Alberta last year, I still had family from Victoria around me and was able to spend some time with the family of some friends, too. And experiencing this rough last eighteen months, it'll be strange not having a real Christmas over here. Even when seeing the Christmas stuff in store windows around town, it still doesn't feel like it's really that time of year.

I did, however, indulge in some retail therapy to help with this lack of Christmas cheer... I picked up a new hoodie at the local sportswear store (I've been ogling it for a couple of weeks since I first saw it) and decided to get it yesterday. I also picked up a few things for the family (which won't arrive until sometime in January... sorry!) and got some foodstuffs that I was missing at home. I also got kidnapped again yesterday afternoon by Darren. I called him to say a quick thanks for hooking me up with a great tailor in Dalian, and he happened to be in the same area of town as me. We met up and he convinced me that we needed to head back to Kaifaqu for some drinks and all-you-can-eat Japanese food that cost less than $10 Can. How can I turn such things down? I haven't had sushi in months, and even though it doesn't need to be uttered, I made up for that in my one sitting last night. Even dessert was included! Tempura bananas and ice cream? I'll take two, thanks! I was so hungry that I ordered one final spicy tuna roll AFTER dessert had been dropped off. What can I say? I was dedicated to the a.y.c.e. experience! I also cooked up a pretty awesome meal tonight of edam and pesto-stuffed chicken breasts accompanied by a sort of sauteed veggie combo of purple-fleshed sweet potatoes (I thought they were yams, but delicious nonetheless), bell peppers, broccoli with fresh garlic, oregano, some chicken stock and black pepper. Not bad for cuisine in a frying pan in China.

Other things missing from China that would help make an awesome Christmas: Peppermint tea/Mochas/chocolates/schnapps. The smell and taste of chocolate mixed with peppermint is a vital sensory experience for this season. However, can I find ANY peppermint tea in this whole city of 6 million? Nope. I'm sure it would help if I could read Mandarin, but you'd think that one supermarket would carry it or someone would know where to get it. But no. Not the case. And they don't have Peppermint Mochas at Starbucks, and there's no candy canes or After Eights to be found either. Terrible and sad state, I tell ya.

Alright... I have to do some Sunday night grading before I turn in. I hope you are all having a delightful transition from work to holiday play as Christmas nears. Happy Holidays from the real red state...

T

Santa Claus is coming?

The countdown to Christmas has been on for a while already, and so I thought I'd share my first two pictures of Christmas for 2009. As obvious as they may seem, they're just to show off my Charlie Brown-ish Christmas tree donated by D&M to help make me feel a bit more holiday-like. Thanks guys! They're not exciting, but they're the beginning of the season for me.

"The weather outside is frightful..."

T

The struggle...

I've been struggling for weeks. At points, I was becoming hopeless. It just didn't seem like luck or skill or the eyes of the heavens were going to turn in my direction. I just didn't know if I was going to be able to survive the pursuit long enough to attain my goal.

But tonight, the stars aligned.

I've been beaten... No, embarrassed in my weekly badminton matches for the past 4 or 5 consecutive weeks. I've been playing a security guard (he's probably around 22 years old), that works at the school, on Wednesday nights at our school gym for some friendly competition. We've also been meeting up with a couple of grade 9 students, playing a few doubles matches and throwing in a couple of singles matches as well. Typically, the guard and I arrive a bit earlier than the students and get in a match before they arrive during their dinner break, and then stay afterwards for a second game once they boys have to leave. In our first game, I beat him in front of about 5 of the female grade 9 ESL teachers and he left a bit miffed and definitely embarrassed. I had only gone to the gym to play the hakky-sac (sp?) version of shuttlecock with the teachers, and grabbed a racket for a while before we left to play with some students and the aforementioned security guard. It was unintentional, but a fun victory for the token white guy in a country that celebrates badminton as a national sport.

Well, since I beat him the first time, he's regularly shown up at the gym to play with me on Wednesdays. And every single Wednesday that he's shown up, he's whipped me. Sometimes, it has been utter humiliation. Other times I hang on and get close to a win and end up on the wrong side of the score. However, today I was on my game. Not only once, but I beat the guy TWICE! He actually left when I was winning 10-7 in the second game because apparently he needed to start his basketball game with some other teachers. But clearly he left out of frustration and the reality that I was going to inevitably take the game.

Anyways...

The month of December has been (and will continue to be) a ridiculously busy month. The weather's cold, and I've been spending my nights marking exams for the past couple days.  But they're done for the timebeing, and I'm taking it a bit easy this week with my kids. We had our company Christmas party last week and I proceeded to stuff my belly with turkey, stuffing and sodas while watching the kitchen staff gawk at all the female Canadian high school teachers strutting their stuff on the dance floor. I also brought home an "adopted" faux Christmas tree that is now sitting decorated (Charlie Brown-style) in the front window of my apartment with the blinking lights shining for all to see. Thanks D&M! There's still no snow but the chill is in the air. It's kinda like a sans-snow Alberta December... crisp and cold with some wind and often the clearest blue sky in the country.

Other than my badminton victory and the regular monthly busyness, I'm in countdown mode. My grade sevens are performing their Christmas concert on Tuesday, next Friday is Christmas, the following Thursday night I'm heading to Harbin (one of the coldest places in northeast China) for New Years (on the train, and then to the Ice Festival), and after that there's only about 10 days of classes before the students write exams and I'm off for vacation. The (extremely ambitious) plan so far is as follows: Dalian -> Hong Kong -> Bangkok, Thailand -> Chiang Mai, Thailand -> Chiang Rai, Thailand -> Kuala Lumpur, Malaysia -> Kota Kinabalu, Borneo (Malaysia) -> Kuala Lumpur again -> Siem Reap/Angkor Wat, Cambodia -> HoChiMinh City, Vietnam -> Hanoi/Halong Bay, Vietnam -> Beijing -> Home. I might be trying to pack too much into a 5 week excursion, but it'll be worth it I'm sure. The trip to northern Thailand (Chiang Mai/Chiang Rai) is all about the hiking, as is the trip to Kota Kinabalu. I might even have a place to crash in Kuala Lumpur with my friend Jilly's parents! So excited. I'm hoping to also connect with a contact in Bangkok so maybe I'll have a tour guide. We'll see.

But off I go for now... lots of love from this side of the globe...

T

Standing out in a crowd

So, there's only 6 foreigners who work at my school. When we have a school-wide event, the white folk stick out like crazy. If you single us out to perform something in front of a crowd, we become even more of a spectacle. Feels strange, like being a part of a circus act. Alas... Cirque du Soleil, I am not.

This brings us to today... There is a traditional sort of track meet that is often put on throughout China. It's called the 1-2-9 competition, as it takes place on the 9th of December (the 12th month). In the spirit of this tradition, all the foreign teachers were asked to participate in the school-wide relay races that were being held on this pseudo-historic day. I was one of the first to be asked, and since I love competition, I signed up (all the while assuming that the other male foreign teachers would do the same).

"I'm too fat and slow," replied one. "I have an injured ankle," said the other. What was the response from the dean of our ESL department (Michael)? "I'm too old." The only other male ESL teacher didn't get asked, apparently because he's a bit chubby. So, there was me.

I was under the impression that since it was a relay race, that we needed to have at least 4 people (4x100m). After hearing about the lack of response, I thought I was off the hook. But, as with everything in China, my assumptions were WAY off base. It turned out to be a combined co-ed race that was actually a 12x100m relay. There were 6 females and there was supposed to be 6 males. We had to recruit students to participate since I was the ONLY male teacher represented by the English department, and I was the only foreign teacher participating. Needless to say, I heard more people use the term "waiguoren" (literally means "foreign person") around me (with pointing and questioning looks, including a massive number of Chinese teachers) than I've heard in the entire time I've been in China.

Still, I embraced my stubborness and got on board. I took my place at the 100m mark and waited for the baton. I ran my heiney off, hoping to avoid total embarrassment. Luckily I kept up with (but definitely did not outdo) the rest of the teacher-participants from the school. I was congratulated by the English department and by the students, who were apparently impressed. The one bonus about being a foreign teacher at this school? Most of the kids seem to automatically think the world of you, and even if you have no idea who they are, they go out of their way to say, "Hello, Teacher" in the hallways. Most don't know my name, and my own students rarely use Mr. Mrak. It's always, "Hello Teacher!" Took some getting used to, but again, This is China.

The rest of the day didn't go as swimmingly as the race (yet another annoying run-in with my "head teacher" who is supposed to represent the foreign teachers with admin, but completely ignores and contradicts any reasonable question or concern I provide when she asks for my feedback). However, I am still swimming in the celebratory words of the kids and my other fellow teachers. I also got whooped at badminton again (for the 4th straight time) by one of the young security guards at the school that I play badminton with every Wednesday, but vengeance will be mine some day. They'll rue the day, Jerry. Rue the day!!! Until next time...

T

The hours of a Chinese boarding school

The speakers over the track are blaring Britney's "Stronger". The kids are rushing out to line up with their classes, and they'll be starting their afternoon exercise in a moment or two. Even though they have a phys-ed class every day, they also have an organized exercise time where they run laps with their class around the track. The kids also do daily "eye exercises" in the middle of the afternoon, and the school has a built-in nap time after lunch for about an hour

Like any boarding school, these kids have school days that FAR exceed the regular North American public school day. Starting at 6am with morning reading, they are kept busy until nearly 9pm. A 15 hour school day is pretty long. Just thinking about it is making me yawn right now.

I scanned a copy of the daily student schedule so you guys could all see what the kids do every day. You might need to prepare yourself to be shocked.

From the BoHai Sea...

T

My dinner Friday night...

I was pretty excited about the stir fry I made on Friday night, as it looked soooo delicious. So, I took a picture. Soy sauce, garlic-chili paste, fresh garlic, pepper, a bit of oyster sauce and rice vinegar. This was added to sauteed chicken, red and green bell peppers, Chinese mushrooms, shitake mushrooms, and cherry tomatoes, all served over short-grained rice. There was enough for 3 days of meals, but I ate it in two. Gluttony? Per chance. Super tasty? Ummm.... yep!

T

Joy in the simple things

Since coming to China, I found that I'm embracing things I used to revolt against while I lived in Canada. While I was still in Canada, I used to complain and moan about the people who started celebrating Christmas in mid-November (yes, little sister, I mean you and mom). I hated hearing Christmas music on November 30th, and used to despise seeing Costco full of tacky holiday crap immediately after Halloween.

Ironically, now that there's really nothing Christmas-y in China to see (and few people to talk to it about other than the few foreigners I teach with and the crew at the high school), I feel like I'm already starting to get into the spirit. We only get one day off for Christmas, mind you, but I'm okay with that. I have good luck with the way the days are falling this year (long weekend!), so all will work out just splendidly.

I was trying to figure out what Christmas albums were imperative to my childhood, and I had a hard time remembering them all. I also couldn't get it out of my head that there was a Christmas song about a dragon that I remember listening to as a kid. A friend from here (she's at the high school) accused me of being on drugs when I queried her knowledge of a Christmas dragon. After having little luck on google, I started to think that maybe the dehydrated mushrooms I bought from a local grocer might have some hallucinogenic properties. But in one last, desperate attempt to find this song, I had a stroke of good luck tonight. Not only am I not accidentally eating magic mushrooms, I actually FOUND THE SONG.

Click here to listen to it!!!

The albums on my list as a kid (that my parents played every year a gazillion times), you ask? They are as follows:

1) Alabama's Christmas

2) Neil Diamond's, The Christmas Album (Vol. II)

3) Boney M's Christmas Album

Other notables that I remember songs from include Burl Ives', Have a Jolly Christmas and Roger Whittaker's, Roger Whittaker's Christmas Album. I'm sure there was a Garth Brooks Christmas Album, and if Deep Purple made a Christmas album my dad would've bought it. We also had The Chipmunks Christmas album too, if I'm not mistaken. There'll be more Christmas nostalgia to come. For now, I'm gonna go watch Mr. Whittaker once more before watching Garfield's Christmas and going to bed. G'night.

T

Okay... picture time

I'm trying to keep my word. As promised, here are a couple of the pics from the Opera trainwreck... I mean, performance. The performance we did was a song from a traditional HuangMei Opera. It told the story of a husband and wife who were separated and brought back together again. The first picture is of the four of us foreign teachers who participated (two chose to opt out). The second is taken with some of the girls from the grade nine Chinese ESL team. The third and fourth are with friends (Linda in the first and Angel in the second) who teach part of the Chinese-based ESL program that compliments the foreign-language program.

We had to perform for some of the people from the main Dalian office who acted as a sort of selection committee for acts to make up the New Years show... they put it on every year at the high school before the winter holidays start. Although I'm sure you could've guessed, we did NOT get chosen for participation in the fancy affair... nope... our singing prowess was not up to par (although I did get complimented on my singing voice, surprisingly enough). I think the person was on someone's payroll, though).

Oh... and please don't ever accuse me of NOT doing something nice for someone else. I don't think I can get any nicer than participating in public humiliation and self-deprecation. Merry Christmas to you all.

T

Speaking too soon

So there was this opera that we were supposed to sing... which I then thought was cancelled, since we've only really practiced once as a group, and the auditions were to happen at one point today. Likewise, two of the other foreign teachers weren't keen and were planning to bail.

My phone rang this morning, shortly after I returned from the Monday morning Flag Ceremony.

"Trevor, your morning classes during blocks 3-5 are cancelled so you can rehearse," says Susan, our extremely friendly assistant in the ESL office.

"Rehearse? You mean for the opera performance? Are we still doing it?" I queried.

"Of course! Steven will meet you and the rest of the foreign teachers with the costumes in the gymnasium during 3rd period," she replied.

"Costumes? What costumes??"

"Have a good reheasal!" I could hear her smile through the phone. Then, *click*

So yes, there will be a performance. And yes, there will be traditional Chinese operatic costumes. And I'm just leaving my apartment to head back to the gymnasium for a second rehearsal before we perform it for a group of admin-types from the Dalian office. And I've been told there will be pictures. I don't know if I'll EVER let them escape the camera on which they're taken, but apparently they're being taken.

Don't say I didn't immerse myself in the culture here, people. Wish me luck.

T

A week of 10 days (and the explanation of the Opera)

This has week has felt like anything but seven, 24 hour periods.

It began with meetings that I tried to initiate and put my head at ease with some of the admin types in the ESL system here with the school. However, it seemed to frustrate and partially enrage my lead teacher, as I believe she's been taking my steps toward clarity as a challenge to her role and to the system she's been working within for the past few years. I think she's secretly plotting my death on her dart board at home. However, I'm the first actual teacher from BC she's had to work with in those years, and the fact that I'm trying to solve problems as if I'm still back home is a bit frustrating for both of us. Maybe a voodoo doll is involved.

I was happy with the status of my resolutions, however, regardless of how she felt at the end of them. So as an attempt to get back to the good, I joined my chess/badminton compadre and two of the Chinese ESL teachers for some local Hot Pot (spicy Chinese eating style where you more or less boil/cook a selection of meats and veggies in a spicy broth that sits in the middle of the table... more of an event than a meal!) which was pretty tasty and steamed my glasses to no end.

Alas, it was not meant to be and Wednesday made this known. Not only did I wake up with some serious stomach issues in the morning (read previous eating adventure and assume some possibly undercooked items were sampled), the weather turned into the cold and windy kind of miserable (I went for a run the day before yesterday in a sunny, 8 degree afternoon and Wednesday was -4 with about 65Km/hr winds), and by about 8pm, my stomach wasn't better, I started running a fever, and my internet at home died. Can we say VOODOO?

After sweating and shaking through Wednesday, I suffered through Thursday with a similar body state. I came to teach my classes (luckily Thursdays I only have a couple blocks) wearing a sweater, toque, and scarf, attempted to eat lunch at the cafe (of which I ate, well, nothing), and went home to nap/sweat/shake the rest of the day away without internet until I finally rolled into bed. Again, blame it on the witch doctor.

Friday felt slightly better and although the stomach issues lingered a bit, my fever broke early in the morning, my appetite returned a bit and I was composed enough for school. It wasn't fun and I again wore my scarf all day, but the kids thought it made me look "handsome" (I love these polite, dishonest Chinese kids!) so I was able to cope. Friday didn't see a resolution to the internet issues, but I made it through unscathed.

Saturday things started looking up. Stomach issues were almost totally gone, no headache remained, no fever came into play, and I made my way to D&M's for our Saturday morning movie and some hangout time before venturing for a few errands. I met another friend for lunch and we spent the afternoon eating parfaits at a local dessert cafe and playing board games. I met back up with D&M and went out for Indian food again with 4 other teachers from the high school. We finished the night with drinks and a movie and because of my previous sickness, I nodded off at about 9:55pm.

I'm back home now (Sunday night) after watching the Habs game this morning via the wonderful internet, and then picked up my dry cleaning and placed an order to get some dress pants made for 150RMB at a local tailor ($24 Can). Sooo good. I was able to fix my internet on my own tonight, and after downloading a boatload of Christmas cartoons and music, I'm getting ready to spend my night marking papers. Success is finally here.

Now, the opera comment follow-up:

We were approached by the ESL director with a request that we (the foreign teachers) participate in a skit/performance for the new year celebration before holidays. I jumped on board pretty quickly, not realizing that we wouldn't get to choose the mode or style of performance we'd do. What was chosen, you ask? A traditional Chinese opera. Now, some of you have been lucky enough to see me at karaoke. Others have been subdued by my intermittent serenades. But I'm sure all of you are suspicious that opera might not be my, ummm... thing. Well, you're right. Especially when it involves singing IN CHINESE!

Regardless, I showed up at the two rehearsals I knew about and did my darndest to learn my lines and sing in key. And I thought that maybe... just maybe... we wouldn't totally embarrass ourselves. It turns out that because a total lack of organization on our singing "instructor's" part, we only met twice about it and really only rehearsed once, and we're supposed to perform tomorrow. Because of this lack of practice and coordination, the other foreign teachers bowed out and, as you can imagine, I decided to NOT do a solo. Judge me lightly, please. I just wasn't ready for the mainstage in a genre that wasn't a part of my C.V. Maybe next year.

Marking calls and December's almost here. Happy Sunday...

T

Attacked by a rabid dog!

I was running, hoping to put just a little more distance between him and me. He was huge and snarling and obviously out for blood. Every second seemed to bring him closer to my meaty calves! I didn't know what I could do to shake him... he came out of nowhere! All I could think of was, "Run faster!" Giving a half-kick with my heel in hopes of scaring him off while screaming for my life, I picked up the pace just one more notch. I was out of options. Finally, after stretching my stride as long as I could, he finally veered off and ceased the attack. I was safe.

Disclaimer: this "hook" for this story, although moderately true, stems from a comment from a former co-worker who said that I need more meat in my introductions so the reading is more interesting. And what's more interesting than being attacked by a feral dog?!?

The "attack" wasn't so much an "attack", per se. It may have happened like this: I went for a run the other day for the first time in a few weeks. The weather was finally cooperating and the wind was no longer blowing 70km/h. As I headed up the road, a curious dog zipped out from a nearby field and started "chasing" me. As he neared my heels and barked once or twice, I did, in fact, kick my heel at him to scare him off. It did the trick and he bolted back into the field. So I kept running and leisurely enjoyed being outside in mid-November. There was no need for a tetanus shot, nor for an unexpected trip to the emergency room. Disaster was averted and the curious mutt was no worse for wear. I thought I might see the same pooch on my run today, but I'm obviously only interesting the first time I'm seen.

Still though... the story is much more fun when the dog was feral, snarling and huge!

I ventured into Dalian over the weekend to do some shopping with a few of the other foreign teachers at the school. D was away for another hockey trip and M was planning a night out with the hockey wives and other ladies of the high school. So I thought it would be a good time to check out the big city a bit more and pick up some of the things I'd neglected to buy for the past 8 weeks.

Another funny story...

Before shopping, Stephanie (one of the other foreign teachers) needed to stop at the bank to figure something out. Before leaving, she and another girl decided to use the washroom. After about 10 minutes elapsed, I started to wonder what the heck they were doing. Then I heard it... "Help! I'm stuck in the stall!" Upon entering the bathroom, Stephanie decided to use the ONE stall that had a broken latch, and although it allowed her to lock the door from the inside, the latch refused to unlock. We tried various implements to pry/jimmy the door, but to no avail. Also, she's not a world class gymnast so she couldn't scale the 8-ft high stall walls to get out. She also couldn't squeeze under the door, as there was a total of 4 inches of clearance between it and the floor. Laughing hysterically while being slightly embarassed, I found the security guard who let us upstairs (the bathrooms were on the 2nd floor which was closed for the weekend, but he graciously showed us up a few minutes before) and after another 5 or ten minutes, he was able to unscrew the entire mechanism and take the whole lock off the door, freeing Steph from the public washroom nightmare. She survived in one piece, but I keep asking myself... who gets locked in a public bathroom stall in a bank in China!?!?

After taking care of some bill-related errands, we headed to the centre of Dalian to get some food (a 3.5RMB Chinese chicken burrito-type thing) from a street vendor, checked out the local book stores to get maps (the foreign language bookstore was lame-o), and then hopped in a cab to go to my destinations of choice which included IKEA!

Our first stop was actually Decathalon, a local sportswear and gear store that carried everything from ski equipment and badminton birds to bike helmets and yoga mats. I picked up a sweet pair of workout pants for about $25 Can along with some badminton birds (I've been playing some of the grade 9 boys and have a showdown set with one of the other teachers tomorrow) and a new yoga mat. After enjoying the post-shopping buzz, we hit up a huge supermarket to pick up some necessities before heading to... IKEA!

Ikea is awesome for a couple of reasons, especially in China.
a) Cheap stuff is even cheaper

b) Coffee is semi-delicious and 1/4 the price of Starbucks

c) Can you say, "Swedish Meatballs"???

I was able to score a sexy lamp for my living room (goodbye, blue overhead lights), some more coffee and a few glasses and mugs for my place. We were able to return that night with full arms, full bellies (mmmm.... Swedish Meatballs), and tired legs. Sunday was an experiment in doing nothing, and we're now in another week. It's only Tuesday but I already can't wait until Friday.

Did I tell you I'm performing a traditional Chinese opera (IN CHINESE) in about 10 days? No? Oh. That'll have to wait until next time. Ciao for now!

T

Battling philosophies

Note: I wrote this last week in the middle of a frustrating encounter at the school. Today I was able to meet up with some superiors at my job to discuss the miscommunications and frustrations I felt and they seem to have be received positively. However, I didn't post anything last week and am not yet ready for my exposee on food, so this will currently take it's place. I have a couple other funny stories to share if I get to them tonight, but otherwise, the food exposee will be coming soon...

I'm a pretty stubborn dude. Most of you are likely reading this and are probably asking yourselves why I point out the obvious. I do so because I seem to run into situations where, no matter how vehemently I present a perspective about something, that someone will simply tell me I'm wrong (or even just ignore me). I don't even need to convince them... just persuade them enough for them to think that I have a reasonable position. This is generally enough to pacify the rise in blood pressure I face from time to time,

Most of the time, I like to think that I'm open-minded. I'm sure there are a few of you who are asking yourselves, "How can he kid himself like that???". I'm sure I can think of instances where my belief in my own open-mindedness doesn't exist, but I don't like to focus on those moments. I'm much happier thinking about the times where I think/know I'm correct and I've convinced people of a perspective. Ask my parents... they've known this passion (read: "obsession") for arguing and spouting off about things in a slightly (read: "ridiculously") enthusiastic and vehement way. Others see this as well. Anyway, enough about me...

I'm living in a country that doesn't exactly embrace this passion for conflict engagement. And I'm definitely teaching in an environment where I can see faults and flaws in a big system, and I've been told by some that I have to just live with it. Like I've said before... T.I.C. As you can imagine, this brings some frustration into my life, as I like to have a chance to voice my perspective and I like even more to convince people that things need to change (if I think I've found a flaw). In China, this is not only discouraged, but it's systematically removed from the whole equation. It's not easy to bring up grievances when no one is available to listen. And the few voices who I expected to listen (re: my fellow foreign ESL teachers from Canada) have their own regimes that they're unwilling to change. Or, they're feeling drowned by this system so they tell me to move on and forget about it because the system is much larger than me and I don't have the power to fix. The only thing left to do is work within it.

I understand the truth of this sagely advice. I also know I'm speaking very generally here. I guess I don't want to get too far into it for personal reasons, and so I'm attempting to get past it all. It's just not that easy sometimes. I'm already dealing with a variety of personal challenges relating to my life both in and out of school, and this is only compounding the frustration.

There is a bit of sunshine in this rant. It's FRIDAY! And because the Chinese teachers are stuck at the school all weekend (our school is hosting a national meeting of Chinese public school teachers) there were some complaints amongst the staff... so the admin is taking everyone in the ESL department out for dinner! So the equation is such: Friday + Free Food = Satisfied T. Maybe life isn't so bad. Sometimes I just gotta wait out the rain.

T

The arrival of the cold months

I know I mentioned it before, but it seems like winter has officially reared it's ugly head here in the NE of China. The night is dark, the air is frozen, and we received our first snowfall of the year here in Daheishi over the weekend. The wind has been blowing for nearly two weeks, and even on days where it's manageable, it still stings the face like a cold slap in the morning. Some people may recall one of my main reasons for leaving southern Alberta: the wind. Well, some things just follow you around in life. This is mine. Crap.

Another weekend was spent in Kaifaqu and the focus seemed to revolve around food and a bit of shopping. I made the two hour public transit commute over to Kaifaqu on Friday night to hang out with some of the h.s. teachers for some food and beverage and a night full of playing Crokinole, Euchre, and watching the newest episodes of The Office. It's a show I never watched or appreciated while back in Canada, but one that I've definitely come to embrace (in all it's awkward glory) over the past few weeks. That night we ordered in some local cuisine to Damon and Shannon's place (good friends of Darren's and now of mine) and was really tasty... some spicy sichuan dishes along with some great chow mein and other entrees spread across a table. I can't remember what the name of the fried sweet and sour pork dish is called, but I'll let you know when I remember. Sooooo good.

Saturday was dedicated to running errands and finding some important sundries... a badminton racket so I'm prepared to play the Grade 9 boys this week (I ended up with two in a package for less than $10 Can), a new scarf (mine is pretty itchy on the neck and slightly bulky), and some foodstuffs to bring back for cooking this week. Saturday night I hooked up with some new friends from the high school (they all know D&M but aren't super close with them) who I met on Halloween and have become friendly with the past few weekends, and we hit up a local hotel for some delicious Indian food... again, SOOOO good. Even though they had absolutely no vegetable dishes available (why, you may ask? I don't have the slightest clue. T.I.C.), the butter chicken, spicy pakora and Tikka Masala was well worth the lack of vegetation. There were six of us there and we had a really good time watching strange Asian track championships on the tv and sharing battle stories from the week of teaching. It's also been good to meet some new people so I'm not overwhelming D&M with my weekly visits!

Sunday was a lot quieter and consisted of reading, a nice (though cold) walk up to the UFO hill (I'll explain another day), a bit of prep work and a bit of food. I caught the student bus back in the afternoon and relaxed in the evening. It's not so much fun to be outside when the wind is howling and the air temp is already -5. And so another week has begun! I'm thinking of staying here in Daheishi over the weekend this coming week and exploring the metropolis of Dalian on my own a bit on Saturday. I'd like to check out some stores, start looking at cameras, and maybe take a browse through Ikea. I need some lamps and a space heater so they're at the top of my list along with the camera. And since I haven't explored barely any of this city of 6 million, I figure it's probably about time. With my new scarf on, I'm feeling brave I guess! The teacher-boys from the high school are heading out on another hockey trip, this time to Jilin (in the NE closer to N. Korea), but I think I want to focus on sightseeing rather than spending my time in a cold rink for a weekend. Don't get me wrong... the last trip was fun. But I'm here to explore life and culture and all the strange things China has to offer. I'll learn to skate when I get back to Canada!

For now, though, my feet are freezing and I need to turn in. Most of you back home might just be rising (as it's nearly 10pm here and about 6am or 7am back in western Canada), so I hope you find more warmth than I've been experiencing lately. Who keeps windows and doors open in an unheated building in winter??? Oh yeah... the Chinese do. Like I said... This Is China.

T

Happy Bachelor(ette)'s Day

I'm in one of my grade 9 classes this afternoon, and the kids were snickering and laughing a bit at the start of class. Not knowing what was going on, I just smiled, said hello and began speaking to the class. We talked briefly about their midterm grades (which they just received today) and I asked them if they knew what holiday it was back in Canada. Laughingly they responded, "It's 11-11 day!" I said, "Yes, it's November 11th. But do you know the name of the holiday in Canada today?" Still sniggering and giggling away, they started speaking in Chinese to each other, trying to figure out the right way to say it. I could tell that what I had in mind and what they were thinking were two different things.

You may ask, what is the first phrase that comes to their mouths? "It's Lonely Person Day!" By the confused look on my face, they realized that "lonely" might not be the right word. I asked if they were sure that they had the right word. Then one of the students piped up, "It's Single Person Day!" Again, looking confused, I wrote it on the board with a question mark to see if I had it right. It turns out that yes, it is in fact "Single Person Day", or "Bachelor's Day". I tried to get them to explain the day to me, but the only thing they'd tell me (with smiles and nervous laughter) is that it's a good luck day for single men (but maybe not for single women?) because of the four "1"s that come up in the numerical writing, and single people are "sticks" like in 11-11. I never did get an elaboration... I guess they didn't know how to say that it's a good day for "picking up chicks".

Regardless, I thought it was pretty funny. After the laughter died down, I did go on to explain to them that Canadians remember the lost soldiers from past wars and family we've also lost in the years gone by. I told them about the moment of silence that extends across Canada in the morning and about the poppies of Flander's Fields. I recited a few verses of the famous poem, discussed the sombre tone of the "remembrance", and then couldn't help but laugh at them when, immediately following my respectful explanation, they began asking about me and my relationship status with HUGE grins on their faces. Let's just say I moved on to the next part of the lesson pretty quickly.

It was too funny not to share.

So to all of you single folk out there, Happy Bachelor's Day from China!

T

Saturday yelling matches and Sunday solitude

Another week is on the books. The days were quite hectic with meetings and flu shots and the business of mid-term test season. We had to make sure we coordinated pick up times for exams and go through what seemed like endless discussions about marking rubrics and expectations. Even though I haven't finished my marking, I have many hours left in the day to try and find some motivation to attack at least one stack of ESL paragraphs. Oh joy. Oh bliss. If my Friday night wasn't exciting enough with my self-motivated Mandarin lessons on tape...

The bus ride out of Daheishi yesterday made for quite an interesting ride. Being a passenger or driver in China is an adventure in itself. You never know what kinda crazy stuff is going to happen on the roads here, as it seems like it's pretty much every man for himself. As I was listening to my new Mandarin tutorial or my IPod, mumbling phrases like "Excuse me, can you speak English?" to myself like a crazy person, our bus driver started blaring the horn. Although the horn honking isn't something particularly intriguing anymore, the voracity with which the bus driver was honking was enough to get everyone's attention. He also hammered on his brakes and quickly proceeded to engage in a yelling match with a man who was stopping our bus in the middle of the road so a work truck could turn into a parking lot. This was instantly met with more yelling from the truck driver and the man who was stopping the bus in the street. Every 10 seconds, the energy of the yelling increased and the kids started chattering louder and louder. Suddenly, the bus lurched into "park", then engine was cut, and our bus driver was off the bus and face to face with the man on the street. The kids could hear the yelling and started laughing nervously while crowding the windows to catch a glimpse of the near-fisticuffs that were about to turn into an all-out brawl. The few Chinese teachers on the bus jumped off and attempted to intercede as diplomats in order to help bring some peace to the situation, but the pushing, shoving and yelling didn't slow down. As the only remaining adult on the bus, I attempted to calm the kids and get them away from the front door as they jostled for position near the front. The shoving continued as words were exchanged.

After about 5 minutes of snarling and chest-puffing, the two parties separated and our bus driver returned in a huff. At least no blood was shed, but the kids were wound up like toys after this, and didn't exactly settle down for the rest of the 60 minute trip. They were pretty rowdy for the rest of the trip, and it sure didn't help that they saw a truck who'd lost a load of light standards (which were strewn all over an intersection) and an accident involving a motorcycle and a van. Let's just say my mastering of "Can you help me?" in Chinese didn't exactly happen.

The time in Kaifaqu was fun and low-key in comparison. I hung out with some new people, ate some absolutely delicious Korean BBQ at a place near the An Shung market, and was able to wander the streets without forcing D&M to spend time with me. Well, a LOT of time with me, anyway. I know they like the company, but I also know that for 4 or 5 weekends in a row I've been keeping them occupied, so I hoped this helped to give them a bit of a break.

In work-related things, I'm still hoping that some sort of position comes up at the high school sometime soon. There's been rumblings about one or two random jobs popping up here and there around the high school campus, and being as isolated as I am, I'd love the chance to see a new area of the city and meet some new people. I don't mind the quiet out here, but after a month of quiet weeknights, I'd be happy to try something new. I think I have some A.D.D. tendancies and they're beginning to shine through just a bit right now. But I'd be content to stay out here, knowing that I might be heading to Beijing in a few weekends and winter break will arrive before I even realize it. Lots of other things on the plate to keep me going.

I still haven't purchased a camera, but that will be my first task next week once the November paycheque comes through on the weekend. Until then, I'm simply burning the strange and beautiful images of red sunsets and cabbage-filled transport trucks into my brain until I can start snapping photos. For now, though, dinner calls.

T

Wake up call

It's 4am and my bed begins rattling against the wall. I wake from a deep sleep, confused and wondering why the ground underneath me is shaking. It's dark in my room, so I can't really comprehend what the noise is or where it's coming from. As my senses slowly collect themselves, I realize that I'm being woken up again by something that kept me up for a night last week: bombs and heavy artillery.

I guess I should explain this if I haven't already. Living in the rural part of Dalian that I am, there's a nearby firing range and heavy artillery base which must carry out semi-regular practice. And because I'm out in the boondocks, they do night-time training exercises nearby at any hour they please. It might have started earlier than 4am... I'm not sure. But it continued through until about 6:30am. I knew this because at the exact time my alarm went off beside my bed, the shelling and booming and crashing ceased. Only when I was ready to get up did it stop. Is that irony? I think I'm too tired to figure it out.

The week at school has been pretty normal, but a bit frustrating. I have a class of grade 9s who are collectively pretty weak (even though there are about 8 really solid students). The main problem is these kids fall back on the excuse that they don't understand my directions or the stories or the questions or the word "dictionary" (even when they have fully Chinese explanations), and they simply neglect to do their work. Instead, just like teenagers do, they goof off and slack off and refuse to ask questions or come prepared with translators/dictionaries that would enable them to complete the work. And since I don't have backups because of the poorly stocked book and dictionary supplies at the school, I'm left frustrated and they rely on taking answers from other kids. Although I have some ideas about how I'm going to change this starting on Monday, it still irks me just a bit.

In other news, I still haven't received any Chinese lessons yet. Most or all of the kids who needed the Chinese Foundations class here at the school (the most basic level of intro Mandarin) have been able to move up to level 2, there's not actually a class for me to take right now. So I'm trying to get some programs online that will aid me in my self-study. I'm also hoping that one or two of the teachers here will be keen to do the same thing so I won't go at it alone. I see a lot of talking to myself in the future. Not the crazy voices-in-head talking, but a lot of in-home Mandarin recitation instead of spending time watching every season of Dexter or Criminal Minds.

The weekend looks like it will be spent in Kaifaqu again, but I'm hoping to do a bit more exploring. Apparently there's a pretty kitschy Dinosaur Park somewhere in that part of town, so I think it would be a riot to check out and act like a kid for an afternoon. Then it looks like I'll be filling my belly with Korean BBQ after that with some new acquaintances... should be delicious. D&M are working hard on marking and Masters stuff, so hopefully they'll inspire me to get motivated and do the same, but at this time it remains to be seen. It would make my life much easier in the long run though. If any of you have brilliant ideas to teach kids writing and speaking who don't know a language, please let me know! 

T

An excuse to be ridiculous

Halloween is fun time of festivities for kids of all ages. The trick or treating, pumpkin carving, the joy of dressing up like ghosts and goblins and fairy princesses allows children access to living out their imaginative dreams of being someone beyond just a child.

And it's a great excuse for adults to dress up and act like fools for a night.

There aren't too many holidays which excuse so much crazy, silly, juvenile behaviour from grown-ups. But since it's excused, I embraced it just a bit this year. After mulling over costume ideas that were far too complex to pull off, I finally decided that a tribute to Flashdance and Richard Simmons would suffice as a costume ridiculous enough to be hilarious, easy enough to pull off in a single hour of shopping, and cheap enough that I didn't have to break the bank to make it happen.

So without further ado... you can see a few of the pictures HERE. Enjoy!

T

More weekends

The boats were quiet as ghosts in the darkness as we walked on the beach in the foggy evening down the street from the school. The wind was glassy-calm and the sky was dense, sitting on the water like a yogi in mid-meditation. The statue of Budda on the nearby hillside was invisible in the skyline as our line of sight only traveled for about 20 meters before everything disappeared into mist. I wondered to myself how it could be the last Thursday in October and I was standing comfortably on a beautifully quiet beach, enjoying every one of the sixteen degrees that was keeping us warm. Halloween was approaching, so after a day of telling students about the western customs of Trick or Treating and dressing up in costumes, a few of the teachers from the school thought it was only appropriate that we tell ghost stories in a place that inspired just enough darkness and unfamiliarity to contribute to an eerie air. With full bellies and fresh air in our lungs, we slowly walked along the sandy beach before heading back to the school and back to the reality of lesson prep and marking.

The week was pretty quiet and other than too much eating out, nothing was particularly exciting. The weather began to turn yesterday and today met me with the slapping wetness of a cold, coastal rain. This is the first real day of miserable weather I've experienced, and it shook me out of the expectations that maybe, just maybe the good weather would last through the winter. Stupid thought, I know. Winter is most definitely coming.

I'm sitting cozily at D&M's (as per usual) on Saturday morning, pretending to work on school stuff while D&M both tap away on papers and projects. I should be doing the same, but I'm feeling a little too restless for work at the moment. I think the feeling with pass soon, but it's not gone yet. I have to go out and purchase the various pieces of my costume for tonight's Halloween outing with a bunch of the teachers. It should be a blast, and I have high hopes for my costume. I wracked my brain all week to think of something that would be hilarious and easy to assemble (and wouldn't cost too much), so all I'll say is that it should be the following: Flashdance meets a Richard Simmons Tribute. You'll have to wait to see the pics. For now, though, I'm going to make a noble effort to try to type up a worksheet or two so my Monday is silky smooth. Depending on the fun tonight, there might be more to report tomorrow. Until then, though...

T

Photos

I'm not sure if I posted it already, but I finally posted the photos from my hike a few weeks ago at: www.flickr.com/dimsumseeker

Hope you enjoy!

T

Things done well and not so well

As of Monday, I will have been here for a month. It's slipped by quietly and sneakily, and I can't seem to figure out where the month has gone. 

As any typical foreigner living in a far-off land, I've become very aware of the things China does well and the things China does, less well... maybe even poorly. I figured that since you have all been hearing me talk about my daily adventures, that this would provide a bit of pragmatic insight into things over here. So, here's my "Top 5" (or 7) list of things done well and not well, beginning with the not-well.

Things done "Not Well" in China:

1) Plumbing. To be honest, there's actually only one issue with the plumbing: no gas traps in sinks and shower drains. You know that little "U" shaped pipe under your bathroom and kitchen counters? That, my friends, is there for a reason. With any plumbing system, methane builds up in the pipes and septic system. That little "U" pipe doohickey prevents methane from entering your house and filling your kitchen and bathroom full of funk. China knows nothing of the "U" pipe. So without a cover over your drains, the funk builds up in a seriously pungent way. Bad news. For the first 3 weeks living here, I was sans-cover.

2) Showers. I needed to follow the first point with a closely connected second. Chinese bathrooms have showers, but the concept of tubs is simply for the rich and famous. Most bathrooms have a shower faucet and shower head attached to a wall. And a drain. There is not tub to contain the water... just a floor that slopes toward the drain. Generally speaking, the water sprays everywhere and you need a squeegee to clean up after the shower. Lame.

3) Coffee. People in China don't drink your average cup o' joe. There is instant coffee everywhere, but you can't find regular coffee grounds just anywhere. And if you do find it, they're not cheap. For a 1/2 pound of Starbucks coffee, I paid 85RMB tonight, the equivalent of about $12 Canadian. CRAZY! And an Americano is the equivalent of about $4.00. In the land of cheap stuff (I can eat out at a nearby restaurant for 13RMB, which is about $2!), this is highway robbery. But there are some things I can't remove from my diet. Sacrifices shall be made.

4) Dairy Products. First off, they don't have Half&Half. Strike one. Secondly, Chinese diet doesn't really include cheese, which makes it expensive and hard to find (the good stuff, anyway). Strike two. Third, the milk is homo and is often "super-pasteurized". Not sure what this means, but it's scary to buy milk in tetra packs from the dry goods section. In my books, you're out.

5) Blue jeans. Apparently, the one consistent thing said amongst all the male Canucks I've met over here is the same: buy jeans before coming. Mens jeans come in slim fit or mom jeans. Not much in between. This makes me just a bit sad.

6) English. The signs around China are hilarious. And jibberish is common. On menus I've read the following: "Self-control beef", "Baked smail", "Good for yoo chiken part". There are also a lot of other signs that make no sense. They provide endless entertainment, though.

7) Smoking. Word hasn't reached this burgeoning nation about cigarettes being bad. I've experienced people smoking in elevators, in clinics, in cabs, in restaurants, in bathrooms, in markets and massage parlors. The memo didn't quite make it here (or it got lost in translation). *cough*

Things done "Well" in China:

1) MSG. You can buy it in bags, in boxes, in barrels, and it's in ALL the food. If you have sensitivities to food, avoid this country as a culinary experience. I have still not actually found just plain old table salt here, but in every supermarket there are complete AISLES dedicated to a wide variety of MSG brands. I didn't even know you could BUY the stuff! Strange.

2) Cheap stuff. I can eat at restaurants for cheap. I can shop at markets for cheap. I can ride the bus for 15 cents! I can buy beer or wine for the same price as bottled water sometimes. That, my friends, is simply great.

3) Neon. I mean lights, not coloured clothing. Sorry to all the Colour Me Badd fans out there who got excited that maybe a trend was coming back. It's not.

4) Massage. You can go pretty much anywhere at nearly any time of night and find a massage place. There's one in Darren's building that I've attended a couple of times. Although the massage therapy practices and schools differ here, paying less than $15 Canadian at 2am for a full-body relaxation mass is just simply AWESOME.

5) Honking. People don't use signal lights. They don't stay in simple driving lanes. Any area of the road is fair game, and the communication method most widely used is the tootling of the horn. It means many things including, "I'm passing", "I'm right beside you", "I'm crossing a double-solid line so I can move faster", "You're an idiot", "Watch out pedestrian, because even though you're on a crosswalk and have the right of way doesn't mean I won't mow you down like Kentucky crab-grass", "I'm driving! I'm driving! I'm driving!". Now, there are other uses for the horn, but this list covers most bases. You'll never hear more honking in your life.

Okay... another day is done, and Halloween is coming. Gotta rest up (and think of a costume. Any ideas?).

T

Weekends

It's Sunday night and the haze of a dark October fog is making the sky outside my window thick and heavy against the glass. I just walked in the door after taking a brief but entertaining trip to the capital of Liaoning province, Shenyang. Darren plays with a hockey team made up of teachers from his school, so they had set up a couple of games with the Shenyang team they've played on a few occasions in previous years, so I tagged along as interim coach and single member of the Dalian Ice Dragons Booster Club. We left yesterday morning for the 6 hour bus ride north to both the political and cultural capital of this province. It was once a vital city in the Qing Dynasty, and there's a palace in town that is second only to the Forbidden City in Beijing for Qing history.

Although I didn't have much of a chance to see the sites and explore the city, Shenyang left a very different impression on me than Dalian has since I've been here. It is much more a city of bright lights and neon, and seems a lot more structured and ordered than Dalian has seemed so far. I think part of this is due to the fact that Dalian is still expanding and growing in a very large way right now, whereas Shenyang is much more well-established and doesn't have to contend with the hilly terrain of this part of the peninsula. I'm hopefully going to return to Shenyang again in coming  weeks and explore more of the sites and check out the Palace and another cool local features: the "Strange Slope". Apparently it's an anti-gravity hill like the one that can be found in New Brunswick, where your car will coast while going "up"hill and you must accelerate to go "down"hill. I've been told that there is some sort of optical illusion at play, but whatever the case truly is, I'm intrigued like you wouldn't believe!

I've realized that my ambition to explore this area more and this city as well has been severely hampered by my lack of confidence in getting around and being able to figure things out here. With no access to local maps or bus/LRT schedules and no real sense of the language, I've been avoiding getting out on my own to trail-blaze my way through this very foreign place without a tour guide to translate for me. I hope that in coming weeks that changes, as I'm only ever good at finding my way around if I actually attempt to figure it all out myself through trial and error. A map would be hugely helpful as well, so I might have to get in touch with my Canadian contacts to see if they can conjure up a recent Dalian map that will help me figure out this crazy place. Once I get my marking and school prep under control, the self-directed adventures will ensue.

T

Photos

I'm not sure if this will work or not, but I'm going to attempt to post some pictures on here. I don't have access to Blogger, so I've setup my account so I can email my posts and they are automatically published at the site. However, I'm not sure if attaching pictures to an email will work, so you will have to give me some feedback as to whether or not it worked.

The two pictures will be from my computer's webcam, and I took them this morning from the front window of my apartment so you can see the view I have. Hopefully this works. If not, I'll have to set up another site where I can put up my pictures. I have a bunch of pics from the hike last weekend, but the files are too big to just send via email, so I'll have to do that if I ever access a reliable proxy. Wish me luck!

T

Streetside experiences

It's Saturday night and I'm walking towards D&M's apartment in Kaifaqu. Darren and I were returning from the cobbler and a few other stops after he took in some of his shoes for fixing. For less than $15 Canadian, he had two pairs of shoes fully repaired and a pair of Mandy's boots were polished, buffed, and had the heel replaced. As we talked about how impressed we were with both the price of the job and the seemingly great quality of the work, we noticed a bit of commotion on the street ahead. Twenty feet from us, on the boulevard and sidewalk of a moderately busy road (and only another twenty feet from the entrance door to D's building), men were setting up boxes and standing beside stations, dodging traffic in the typical Chinese Frogger way, dodging cars and motorcycles, coordinating the order in which everything would take place. D and I were intrigued and excited, as we knew what was approaching. Other curious spectators from the nearby businesses and apartments poked their heads out of windows and doors to get a glimpse of the action. After final adjustments were made, the first match was struck and was held to a fuse at the corner of one of the boxes. As this man pulled away from his box, three other men approached their stations with lighters lit and carried out the same task. Within a second, lights and fire and sparks shot from the boxes and explosions boomed overhead. Traffic moved between the boulevard and the sidewalk as if oblivious to the explosive fireworks blasting only a few feet away. Rockets shot into the air and exploded about 40 feet above our heads in a myriad of colours and sounds. The ash fell silently amidst the crashing and whistling and pounding of the flashes above. The childish laughter of D and I was mute in comparison to the roaring in our ears. Pyrotechnic smoke began to cloud the roadway, but still the cars went by unconcerned with the possibility of an errant explosive device sailing into an open driver side window. The local Japanese teppanyaki restaurant window was full of specators including the cooks and wait staff. One of the chefs held onto one of the lighters near the roadway, as he was one of the participants in the spectacle. The massage parlour next door featured the same window of awe-filled faces, which were obviously full of anxious excitement. It was even more impressive than some of the Canada Day fireworks we'd watch as kids, yet this was simply an amateur display on a Saturday night.

Ten long minutes later, the last of the happy explosions blasted in the sky above us. We started dusting the burnt ash from our shoulders and hair as we laughed and began to head upstairs. You couldn't have peeled the smiles from our faces. It was such an amazing scene without any real context or indication that these fireworks may have been connected to something specific. Maybe it was a promotion for the Japanese restaurant. Maybe it was to celebrate a wedding and to wish good luck to a newly married couple. Whatever the case may be, the simple pleasure derived from the event was well worth it.

We spent the rest of the night filling our bellies with food and drink and playing cards while the sun sank from view over the Bo Hai Sea. The night remained warm and calm. I knew the next morning would come quickly as I planned to tag along with Mandy and a few of her teacher friends on an hour-long run through the streets and hills around Kaifaqu. But as we got back to their apartment and I landed on the couch, I laughed at the fact that you never really know what you're going to experience here on any given night.

The school week has started once again and I've started thinking about my winter holiday trip in January and February. Because of the complications with my pay dates (and first month amount), I haven't booked any of my excursion(s) yet. However, I'm hoping to find my way south to Malaysia and other parts of SE Asia. In the meantime, I'm hoping to join D's hockey team as "Coach" on a trip north of Dalian, as they've set up a game with another hockey team next weekend. We still have plans for a weekend trip to Beijing as well, and I'm still hoping to keep in shape well enough that I can train for the Great Wall 1/2 marathon. I don't think the weather will be hospitable enough (nor will I have the partner support) for me to train for the full marathon (not this year, anyway), but I hope to do the half in May. But there are many days and big plans ahead, so I'll just have to see where the adventure takes me. 

T

The right hand and the left hand

I guess I should begin by clarifying… even though you could probably assume that this is a reference to the political structures of the West and the East, I'm actually referencing the adage about one hand knowing what the other is doing. Because in my school's company, two offices can't seem to sort their information  out.

Since I've embarked on this whole China adventure, I've run headfirst into a jungle of miscommunication about a variety of things. I think I've mentioned that the school had no idea when I was coming or who I actually was until the day I flew in to Japan. Nor did the school have any way of contacting me leading up to or upon my arrival in China. The Vancouver office or whoever was in charge of the office in China just neglected to let the school know something so simple as an email address for me. So my apartment wasn't really ready, I had no way of communicating with the outside world (no internet, no idea how to use the phone, no access to the school offices) and since everyone was away for holidays, I was more or less on my own when I showed. Again, I'm pretty lucky I had saviours in the form of friends over here.

Now, there's payroll issues. The school is trying to pay me in cash for this month because for some strange reason, the finance office here doesn't have my banking info that I provided to the Vancouver office weeks ago. And they also only want to pay me for less than half the month, even though my contract started on the first day of the new pay period. And although it wasn't payroll related, I tried to talk to my lead teacher (more or less the woman who heads up the Foreign Language Teachers) about marking schemes/rubrics for her assignments that I took over. Not only did she not have such things, she adamantly refused to make some up for me so the marking was fair or reasonable. And THEN I learned (or more accurately realized) that I am under almost no obligation to teach these kids anything of value. Last year, two of the teachers spent the bulk of their teaching time watching episodes of American Idol. Yes, that's right, American Idol. And apparently that was okay! American reality TV was curriculum for some of the people here. I figure if I mention the word "noun" at some point in the next year, I'll received a medal of honour or a special doctorate or something.

Okay… I'm being a bit ridiculous since my frustration is beginning to show. And the non-teachers reading this have probably stopped reading and are checking their hockey pools or their Facebook status, but it's getting a bit ridiculous.

In other news, I discovered the deliciously cheap cafeteria food on campus. For lunch, there's a sort of cafeteria buffet for teachers. And, the best part? It costs the Canadian equivalent of less than 75 cents! That's right folks, 4 Chinese RMB for lunch. There's about 6.2 RMB per Canadian dollar. I might get fat over here, but I'll do it in frugal style!

Oh… remember how I said the lunch hour ends in random music? Right now there's a song on the PA from the high school musical soundtrack. SO RANDOM! On that note, I must run off to class. Until next time…

T

Week 2

It's still a bit startling to think that it's already mid-October, but the weather has been holding up. Right now it's a comfortable 21 degrees even with a bit of a cloudy sky. It feels more like early or mid September in Victoria right now instead of the mid October in China that is my daily reality. It's hard to believe that it's week two of living on this side of the world. I can't say that time is flying by, but I sometimes have a hard time getting my head around the fact that I'm in a foreign place. When you feel like you're in control of your environment (even if it's just some of the time) I think it seems less strange and less alien than it really is. I'm sure I've said this already but it keeps popping into my mind.

After a double dose of Thanksgiving feasting over the weekend, I made my way back home to Daheishi and back to the school. Sunday night was pretty uneventful (as I expect most of them will be) and came back to my newly installed internet in my apartment, which definitely made for an excellent end to the weekend. I can rekindle my obsession with my various TV shows now that I can actually spend more than an hour downloading something!

Strange Thing #1 for Tuesday: the school plays really random music at the end of breakfast and at the end of the lunch/nap period. Yes, there is actually a designated nap hour at lunch. I've been trying to convince everyone who would listen that this is an awesome idea. I think the communication was just passed forward to the school here so I would be able to revel in it once I arrived. Anyway, our PA system is currently blaring out "You are Not Alone" by Michael Jackson as a melodic cap to our day. What came on the stereo last night at a get-together for the grade 9 ESL teachers last night? Barbie Girl. Yes, that annoying song from the nineties that put the band Aqua on the map. Sad, but true. Another strange follow-up? After Michael was done his ballad, three students came on the PA to tell about the history of the sport of swimming. Life is just a bit strange over here.

On a higher note (if that wasn't high enough), I was invited over to one of the Chinese ESL teachers' apartments for a birthday party for another teacher. I was fed all the hot-pot food I could handle and we ended off the event with a lot of picture taking and just a bit of karaoke. So funny.

Well, off I run… my last class of the day starts in about 10 minutes, so I should actually get going to class. Until again, mes amis.

T

Week 1 Complete

I’ve now been here about 9 days… a seasoned vet, right? Okay… not so much. But, I’ve officially started teaching, but I really can’t complain about my schedule. I have 6 blocks of kids that I’m taking, and I teach each block three times a week (and only 40 minutes at a time!). So even with my prepping and marking, it’s a really light teaching load. That just means I’ll have to be active with my running and I’ll probably watch a HUGE amount of tv on the internet.

After spending last weekend here with D&M, I went out to Darren’s school (where I hope to get on teaching either this year or for sure next year) to meet some of the other teachers and meet the admin. He’s in a brand new school at the Jinshitan campus, and it’s quite the place. The admin seems awesome and the teachers were extremely friendly. For the timebeing I’m happy where I am, but when you can work at a school with 5 other foreign language teachers, or a school that has over 120 BC teachers, it seems easy to have a preference for the latter. We made a stop at the supermarket before he had his driver make the made dash across the entire city to get me home with my 5 bags of foodstuffs in the trunk.

D&M and I spent the late morning and early afternoon of yesterday (Saturday) hiking a beautiful mountain that has the same name as the town I’m in: Daheishi, which literally translates into “Big Black Mountain”. We were out on a great trail that was scattered with temples and shrines of Buddha, and the trees shone red with strips of red prayer cloth that could be purchased at the bottom of the route. Many of the more traditional Chinese people who climb the trail will buy the cloth at the bottom (the red symbolizes good luck), and either tie the cloth to a tree on the way up, or wait until the top where they can also burn incense and say a prayer at the shrine itself. The trail featured a tonne of stairs, as the Chinese seem to make the hikes as accessible as possible for as many people as possible, especially if there are shrines en route. And the stairs were extremely steep in some areas. But old and young both were braving the calf-burning experience of being able to overlook the entire surrounding landscape. Daheishi (the mountain, not the town I’m in) is actually the highest mountain in the Liaoling province, so it’s pretty awesome that I’m only a short trip away.

This weekend has also been a pretty epic food weekend as well. Some friends of D&M (Damon and Shannon) had a huge number of people at their place here in Kaifaqu for Thanksgiving dinner on Friday. There was turkey, stuffing, and all the traditional fixings you could imagine (including lots of beer). I then had a follow-up turkey dinner at “The Real Eddie’s”, a western-style restaurant here in Kaifaqu with the foreign language teachers from my school. Both dinners were delicious and it was great to get to know both the teachers that I’m working with and ones that I will hopefully work with in the future.

Well, it’s after 8am now, so it’s time to try to access some Hockey Night in Canada back home! I’ll be in touch soon.

T

Oh… and my Mandarin is still terrible, and I can still only say about 3 words. But I’m heading to the Chinese Language Centre at my school this week. Wish me luck!