Life goes on

Hey folks. So they have just told me that i will have all next week off while the students are at military training. thats right, my 7th and 8th graders will spend all week at mandatory military training. In addition, many teachers have asked to use my oral english class time this week for extra test prep for midterms on thursday and friday. So I am basically off for the next 2 weeks. This would have been a great time to take a little vacation by myself, since no one else has time off and prices are cheap, but I want to be in the area for Halloween and the election next week. I think I will take 2 small trips, probably to Hong Kong and Macau over the next couple weeks, and just enjoy the free time. I am very excited that i will not have to work at all the day of or day after the election. i will be emotional either way, and really in no place to teach, especially if Obama becomes the next president of the United States. Picture Mr. Danny extremely hungover running around class and screaming, then trying to express to 12-year-old chinese kids what this means for America.

After my last post i spent a week traveling with some folks from my program. We first took an overnight train to Xiamen. While they do have assigned seating on these trains, they also sell standing tickets. This means that the entire train is packed to the gills with people standing and sitting on the floor, bodies crammed into every possible nook and cranny. Sounds miserable, and when you have to pee it kind of is, but the train ride was actually a lot of fun. We ended up playing card games and drinking Bai Jiu (hard alcohol made of rice) with a group of chinese dudes and then passing out for the rest of the trip. all in all it was about 12 hours i think. Once in Xiamen we found a reasonably priced Hotel (unfortunately no room for the donkey friend) and just hung out for a few days. Around town, we checked out Nanputou Temple, a buddhist temple where you can hike up a mountainside and look out over the whole city. we also went out to Gulang Yu, a short boatride to an island where no cars are allowed. There are lots of little trinket shops and stuff like that, and a nice beach to hang out on. Nights were spent partying with random chinese people. It is amazing how little the language barrier impeeds making friends. Pretty much anywhere we go if we look like we want to party chinese people will come up and start drinking with us and buy us beers. The only really necessary words are Gang Bei! Which is like cheers but also means kill your drink. We have had some pretty sweet nights with sketchy, but ultimately awesome Chinese dudes.

We also had a great national day night in Xiamen with some ladies that we met on the train. After a fabulous dinner, we took a cab to the beach. upon arriving at the beach we noticed that just past a thin strip of sand, there was a traditional chinese play going on (faces painted white, costumes, chinese guitar music, all that). After watching for a little bit, our friends brought us down to the beach and told us they wanted to teach us a chinese card game. This turned out to be the game Mafia, which i have not played since I was a little kid. We had a lot of fun playing this and then just hung out on the beach for a while. throughout the night people lit lanterns on the beach, which are like mini hot air balloons. You light a candle at the bottom and it carries the lantern up into the night sky, taking your dreams with it. We lit some of our own, all with the soundtrack of the play in the background.

After a few days in Xiamen, we went out to Yongding. This is an actual rural area, my first in China. This village is known for its Tulous or "earth buildings" that the Hakka people used to live in. These are giant circular buildings that are open air and have a little courtyard inside. I believe the Hakka used them as defense, and could live inside them for long periods of time while keeping invaders out. We spent most of our time on tours going around to see these buildings, and were even able to sleep in one. We crammed 5 dudes into 3 beds covered only with wooden planks, and refrained from using the bucket in the corner for any bowel movements. It actually wasn't that bad, and was definitely a cool experience.

Since that trip I have been hanging out in Shenzhen. my weeks are busy teaching and private tutoring, and I spend my weekends mostly eating, partying, sleeping, and playing sports. I now have a regular ping pong partner and basketball game. Yesterday I spent all afternoon playing soccer with a couple other foreign teachers and a whole team of chinese guys. it was a lot of fun, and about the right level of intensity for me. These guys were average soccer players, and would be a lot better if they didnt take frequent smoke breaks during the game. Afterwards, of course, they took us out for dinner (Sichuan food) and a night of drinking ensued during which no American paid a dime. I am actually a little uncomfortable with how eager they are to pay for us. I think that our salary is actually quite high by chinese standards, higher than most teachers. And they pay for EVERYTHING, the food, the drinks, the pool table, the cab, and never give you an opportunity to even get your wallet out. It's great, but I need to find a way to chip in without being rude.

For Halloween I found a Jason mask at walmart, which i think will go well with the uniform of the maintenance staff at my school. One of the english teachers is on the task, so hopefully i will be able to borrow one. Most Chinese people will probably not recognize this costume, certainly not my students, but I think it is scary nonetheless.

Until next time.

Danny