Midwest to Middle Kingdom

To Any Who Stumble Across This Relic...

2011-07-27T22:23:00.000-07:00

The new blog is here. It contains most of this blog's posts plus new material.

If you're interested in Kingdom of Sharks, go here.

Thanks,

~D.

Kingdom of Sharks

2010-04-04T18:25:00.000-07:00

A note for anyone who stumbles across this blog. I'm pitching a book on the business and educational system of China, called Kingdom of Sharks. The manuscript is being posted at Authonomy, a writer's site run by HarperCollins UK. You can check it out here. If you really like it, make an account so you can back me and leave comments. Thanks.

~D.

What Happened

2009-08-21T13:42:00.000-07:00

It is well known that the government of the People's Republic of China practices Internet censorship. In general, there are three reasons why the Chinese government will block a website or domain:

1.) The site contains controversial political information, particularly when it contradicts the official positions of the government.

2.) It is a foreign web site offering services which put it in direct competition with similar sites based in China (i.e. trade protectionism).

3.) The material of the site is deemed damaging to morality.

The Blogger service was blocked in May of this year. My guess is that this was connected to the anniversary of the Tiananmen protests, which inspired widespread blocking (the Typepad blogging service was blocked shortly thereafter).

No firewall is perfect, and I had little trouble getting around the blocks by using proxies - websites which hide the origins of a site by accessing it through an intermediary. However, sending data back and forth across a proxy is a very bad idea. The proxy, by its very nature, bypasses security measures on the user's computer. Consequently, obtaining passwords and personal information sent across is very easy. Additionally, proxies go down all the time - I had at least six proxies either stop functioning or get blocked themselves. So maybe I had more than "little trouble" after all.

The nature of the firewall can be quite amusing at times. In early August, the Comics Curmudgeon - a completely non-political website focusing on bad newspaper comics - was blocked for about a day. Why? The author wrote about an Apartment 3-G storyline involving the Dalai Lama. Apparently, just mentioning his name was enough to get it shot down. This suggests that the PRC uses word filters similar to those employed in schools.

But that is for the experts to discuss. I have returned, and it is time for my next adventure. Farewell, all.

A Springtime-Fresh Photodump

2009-05-05T08:03:00.000-07:00

Happy, cheery photos ahead!

Pictures from a track-and-field day, arranged before May Day.

After the first good rain, the scenery started to bloom. Here are some early buds.

The warm weather also brought out the street vendors. This pet seller was around on May Day.

Disrespect

2009-04-15T23:01:00.000-07:00

I haven't written in a while. There are various reasons for this, but one of the bigger ones is that I have simply been busy. Busier than usual, in fact. Here's the story:

Today I do not have classes. In the morning, the office called me to tell me that I might be teaching substitution classes in the afternoon. A few hours ago, I saw that they were trying to call me. I turned off my phone and left the apartment.

I suppose I should feel bad about doing this. I don't.

I should set the stage for this. The semester begins in March. Before that, I get called into the office for a meeting. After being ignored for half an hour (not at all uncommon), one of my bosses finally decides to tell me why I've been called in. Essentially, this is what I am told: that they do not have confidence in my teaching skills, that they are only keeping me on because I am American, that they are sending me to small, Podunk schools to minimize the damage I may cause, and that they will be calling me in on a regular basis to explain not only what I have done in my classes but what I will be doing so that they know that I am not screwing up. They obviously used much softer language, but I'm not a child. I think the above is an accurate representation of what I was told.

Then the semester starts. The first week, I'm called in to fill in for another teacher. The next week, they do it again. Ditto the third week. To my recollection, I've been asked to do extra classes every week since the semester started. They sent me to one school which they claimed (in the aforementioned meeting) lodged complaints about me. On several occasions they assigned me to teach small children. I have received calls asking me to teach extra classes during my regular classes. Once, I turned off the ringer on my phone and later discovered that they called me no fewer than seven times trying to give me extra classes.

Consider those two paragraphs carefully. Something is very wrong with this picture.

Last semester I did not have a regular schedule so I was routinely dropped into substitution classes. I suspect that they are still used to this and seem to have forgotten that I now have a full regular schedule. Perhaps it's far simpler than that, and they think I'm the kind of sap who will do whatever they ask without complaints. That would certainly explain the bizarre phone calls asking me to track down other teachers in the building.

But enough of that. I should explain what substitution classes are like, as I have never gone into much detail. I will be given essentially no information on the classes in advance. The office will not tell me the level of the class, the size, or what they have been learning. Usually the school itself will be new to me. I never know the actual teacher, so I can't get any help from him or her. When I arrive, I am taken right to the first classroom. The teachers there will ask me what I have prepared, evidently unaware that I have known about this class for only about three hours.

The class begins. These are city students – better off than the country kids I am used to. The class itself is far larger, possibly topping 70 students. In all likelihood, they did not pay much attention to their regular teacher, and they will not be doing me any favors. Sometimes a local teacher will be present to help. If I am alone, I have essentially no hope of controlling the class. I introduce myself. No one pays attention. I start in on the lesson. No one pays attention. If I am lucky, there may be a few students in the front of the class who want to chat. Otherwise, I simply stand awkwardly at the front of the class and watch the clock tick down. Repeat three times, go home.

These classes are invariably terrible. I have had exactly one (out of perhaps dozens) that was decent. Every sub class since then has hewn strictly to the above models. It doesn't matter, though. Neither the office nor the school is judging me. I'm just filling space. The company gets paid when their teachers are present. That's the real reason I'm there.

And that's why I don't feel guilty about blowing off those classes. I'm not shaping young minds when I do sub classes, I'm acting as a seat filler for a company that has treated me with profound disrespect and deep dishonesty since I first started working for them. Maybe they'll get upset, but there's not much they can do. They won't fire me; they can't. I'm their best sap.

I did not write this to troll for pity. I want to give everyone a little peek behind the curtain. To show people how businesses work here. My story is neither unique nor exceptional – horror stories far worse than mine abound in this business. This is here to give you pause before you, too, embark on an “adventure of a lifetime.” This is also here to inform everything else I've written. Not every experience has been bad, but the worst ones – the lies and betrayals from people I trusted – have wounded deep.

Happier posting to follow, hopefully.

Trust Issues

2009-03-24T05:04:00.000-07:00

One thing I've noticed is that the Chinese are paranoid. People (including me) like to make jokes about how Americans are scared of everything, but those same gags could fly here as well. It's not the bars on first-floor windows in relatively nice neighborhoods that convinced me of this, nor was it the electronic controlled-access gates in front of every school. It's this: fingerprint scanners so that school administrators know when the teachers arrive and leave. Talk about lack of trust.

What gets me about things like this is that none of the teachers I've worked with have been particularly dishonest. Anytime I've been lied to, it hasn't been the rank-and-file doing the lying. But then, a quick trip through the archives here will verify that.

Earthquake

2009-03-21T03:48:00.000-07:00

There was an earthquake here a few days ago. I didn't feel it, and I wouldn't have known about it had it not been for the people who told me (I was at a school at the time). No damage was done, though Orchid was a bit concerned when I didn't respond to the text message she sent later that night. Understandable, I suppose.

That's pretty much my "I lived through an earthquake story": I didn't notice. Still, that's the kind of thing that throws off one's schedule. I actually have a lot to write about right now, it just might be a few days before it goes up.

Learning Curves

2009-03-17T05:52:00.000-07:00

My Chinese teacher used to complain about the book we used on a regular basis. She slagged it on pretty much everything - grammar, vocabulary, the order of the lessons. Having worked with textbooks in Chinese schools, I'm becoming less and less sympathetic to her complaints. The content is truly surreal, particularly in regards to the difficulty curves.

The easiest way to explain what I mean is to give examples. The following are sequential chapters in a book intended for Grade 1 senior high school students (roughly the equivalent of high school juniors):

1.) Festivals

A chapter on holidays around the world. A decent introduction for students at this level.

2.) Healthy foods

A chapter about food and diet. Pretty straightforward, practical stuff.

3.) Mark Twain

...say again?

I was utterly stumped by this. The third chapter in the book is dedicated to a Mark Twain stage play. Really, guys? Most of these kids have just learned how to string sentences together. You want them reading Twain?

Oh wait, it gets better:

4.) Astronomy

Astronomy! As in the movement of planets and asteroids, the formation of stars, black holes, etc. Here's a thought experiment: imagine a basic level science course you took in high school or college. Now, imagine that the instructor is teaching in Spanish. Fun times, huh?

Some of the other books are equally surreal. A slightly more advanced book has, as its second chapter, a section on robotics. Robotics!

Edu-Tech

2009-03-11T07:34:00.000-07:00

This is fairly trivial, but I've started another blog to contain study materials and discussion topics for my college classes. There's really nothing there right now and it only truly exists to have my resources in one place, but if you are really interested in what I am teaching then you can find out about it there. Here's the link.

Simplify, Simplify

2009-03-08T05:24:00.000-07:00

Here's something I've noticed about the books used to teach English: the difficulty is incredibly wonky. Even within lessons, it is not uncommon to see the language employed go from absolutely basic to bizarrely specific and advanced. I've wondered if this might at least partially explain the phenomenon of seventh-year English students who can't speak a word of English. Many of the local teachers tell me about the difficulty of the books, and how I should use my own plans as often as possible (a bit confusing given that the company is telling me to adhere tightly to the books, but that's a complaint for another time)

This really hit an acme of absurdity for me when I received books for a series of vocational class. Although they are college-aged, many of these students have proficiency more in line with my middle schoolers. Keeping that in mind, here are some of the words which appeared in a dialogue in a chapter I was teaching:

-amnesia
-asthenia
-panacea
-malnutrition
-anemia

I almost choked on some of these sentences when I read them the first time in class. Afterward, I told them that I wouldn't make them try to recite this.

Back To Basics

2009-03-02T07:08:00.000-08:00

Today was my first day back to work. It was actually a bit different because this school is actually located outside of Changchun. It's a smaller country school, catering to the scattered villages between the cities. I guess you could say it reminds me of home in that regard. The school teaches both middle and senior high students, though due to overcrowding some of the classes are held in other buildings on-campus (again, just like home).

Interestingly enough, these were some of the best classes I've ever had. Partly it was the smaller class sizes - they averaged probably half the size of the classes in the city. However, there was also a notable difference in attitude between these kids and most of the ones in the city schools. I am actually the only foreign teacher there right now, and based on most accounts there hasn't been one in a while (if ever). That means the kids are grateful. Gratitude . . . how novel. This is the big difference between the poor schools with mostly working-class kids and the private, upper-class schools I worked at when I first got here.

I did fine until the end of the day, but getting back when you're out of town is not easy. While I was only about 30 minutes out of the city, it took nearly two hours to navigate the bus routes to find one that went to my street.

At Least You've Got Your Health

2009-02-21T17:27:00.000-08:00

Let's dust off this blog, shall we? I finally have a definitive work schedule, so I should finally have something to write about. As this is my first post in two weeks, I felt that it should be a good one. And it is.

So I had to undergo a medical checkup last week (yes, another one). It was just as pleasant as last time (though I was at least able to pick out the tests they didn't perform: vaccination and gynecology). However, that is not the main point of this post.

In the clinic, there was a television showing assorted health-related PSAs. Among them were ads for an HIV testing and prevention campaign. This campaign is pretty widespread - I'd seen them previously in the train stations during my trip. So I got curious. Is HIV/AIDS a problem in the PRC?

Well, at first glance, it's not. The prevalence of HIV in mainland China is only about 0.1%. That's much less than the United States - in fact, according to some estimates, there are fewer people in China with HIV/AIDS than there are in the States, period. So it's a governmental overreaction, right?

As it turns out, no. While the prevalence of HIV in China is relatively low, the rate of new infections and deaths are both on the rise. From the article:

An official report published in February 2009 stated that in 2008, for the first time, HIV/AIDS was China's leading cause of death among infectious diseases. Nearly 7,000 people died from the disorder in the first nine months of 2008, a substantial increase – until three years prior to this, the total cumulative mortality was less than 8,000.

That's quite a jump, no? You're probably wondering what is causing this. The Wikipedia article actually has a lot on that, and it's rather interesting. However, here's the Reader's Digest version:

Much of the current spread of the human immunodeficiency virus (HIV) in China has been through intravenous drug use and prostitution.

Prostitution! Ask me if I'm shocked.

I've never written about prostitution, a serious oversight on my part. For now, let's just say that it's quite prevalent and that some of my more degenerate workmates have left big chunks of their paychecks in Changchun's "massage parlors."

That, however, is a topic for a later time. I'll conclude by noting that, in light of this, these checkups seem very rational. Can't say that I'm pleased (I don't mess around with hookers) but I understand fully.

More Traveler's Mandarin

2009-02-05T02:51:00.000-08:00

I'm going to take another stab at these lessons, starting with some vocab that wasn't in the original plan:

What's Wrong With This Picture?

2009-02-02T22:54:00.000-08:00

I moved into the school apartment a few months ago. Here are the pictures, if you missed them or forgot.

Here is a picture I took yesterday. Spot the differences:

The large china hutch and the table are gone, and the television has been replaced with a smaller one. Not a big deal - it's not like I used any of it. Still, I bet you're wondering where it went?

Well, yesterday some people came to move furniture around. They're bringing in new teachers, y'see, so the school is going out of its way to impress them. Nice, huh? I probably should have questioned why the apartment had so much nice stuff in it, but I was very tired when I moved in and just wanted stability.

I don't miss anything that was taken. It's the principle of the thing. I suppose I should consider myself lucky in that I was here to move my things and make sure nothing really bad happened. A couple living in an apartment down the hall were out when the movers came, returning to a half-empty apartment. I'm sure that was a lovely surprise.

Whither the Buffet?

2009-02-01T05:08:00.000-08:00

Sinophiles are quick to tell you how rare authentic Chinese restaurants are in the United States. After all, there are no buffets in the Middle Kingdom. Well, that's true, but then it's not.

Allow me to explain. As I've mentioned previously, sharing food - particularly when dining out - is common here. For a typical meal, two or more people will share a single dish （such as malatang). However, for certain events - birthdays, festivals, or similar celebrations - this is impractical due to the number of people involved. Perhaps more significantly, serving a single dish denies the host to show off his or her wealth and status.

These parties can take place in restaurants, hotel banquet halls, large bars, or anyplace else which has the room and is properly equipped. The tables for these events are equipped with circular glass trays similar to Lazy Susans. Before the meal, these are covered with small trays containing cold cuts, fruit, peanuts and candies, as well as various beverages. Once the meal proper begins, the staff brings out trays of food at regular intervals. It never stops coming. Just by way of example, here's some of what was served at a birthday party I recently attended:

-whole shrimps
-steamed broccoli
-fried eggplant
-tofu
-duck with greens
-beef dumplings
-vegetable dumplings
-sweet pork
-miniature pancakes
-vegetable stir-fry

It's tempting to call this a multi-course meal except that the dishes don't come out in any particular order. A better comparison would be the "family-style" restaurants where everyone is given separate plates but served from common bowls and dishes. Of course, those sorts of restaurants are not particularly common these days. In fact, I've never actually seen one. So, they went the buffet route - much more popular in the States.

To reiterate; no, there are no buffets here. However, at a party or at certain restaurants you will be served a wide variety of foods and invited to take what you want and as much as you can eat. And in my book, six = half a dozen.

More on Fireworks, or Earplugs: A Solid Investment

2009-01-26T00:30:00.000-08:00

Fireworks are not difficult to obtain here. Booths selling them can be seen every few blocks during the lead-up to Spring Festival and for a while afterward - they are allowed to sell them until February 2nd. The sound of fireworks is near constant both on the festival day and the following day. Now, I noted the power of these things in a previous post, but I think I should emphasize. First, the size. The basic noisemakers come in strands of various sizes. Some of them are about the same size as strings of Black Cats or comparable firecrackers. Others...well, take a look.

What you are looking at is a full roll of noisemakers. These too come in different sizes. The one pictured - easily the largest I saw - was well over ten feet in length. (Compare the people and the car in the top picture) Note the round object at the opposite end. This contains a larger charge which activates once the wick has burned all the way down, producing a deep booming noise not unlike thunder.

In case you're wondering; no, a twelve-foot string of firecrackers doesn't always burn all the way to the end in one end. The monstrous roll pictured above (which, you may notice, is already partially spent) had to be relit three times before it burned all the way down. Several of the people (including this guy) were lighting these things with their cigarettes. Ponder that.

But the noisemakers pale in comparison to the other popular daytime fireworks. I don't know what they're called, so let's just call them "Pain." You know Screamers? Those rocket-like fireworks that make an indescribably annoying sound that makes you wish for deafness? Well, Pains are like those on steroids. They fire with little noise, then explode in midair with a sound like a bomb going off. You would not think such a small tube could make a noise like that, but there you go. Between those and the automatic-rifle sound of the noisemakers, it sounds like we're being invaded. Nice way to wake up. (Did I mention they start firing these things at 8 A.M.?)

Around 8 in the evening, there's a merciful switch to aerials which, in addition to being quieter, are also quite pretty. As far as I can tell, there's no official show - the fireworks, which were still going when I went to bed at midnight, are entirely fired by individual residents. The result is an impressive blanket of colorful sparks coming out everywhere you look. I didn't even need to leave the apartment - the show was clearly visible from my window. It was nice enough that I ignored the fact that many of the fireworks were being fired mere yards from the buildings. (Safe!)

Orchid's Dogs

2009-01-21T18:12:00.000-08:00

Today, I present some pictures of my girlfriend's dogs. Why? Why not? Think of them as monuments to my fixing that misunderstanding (and getting out of the implied engagement) without losing my lovely Orchid.

Fireworks

2009-01-19T03:51:00.000-08:00

...and no, I'm not referring to the previous post (that situation is working out rather well, actually). Today's subject is actual fireworks. In preparation for the upcoming Spring Festival, street vendors are selling fireworks and yes, people are firing them in the city. (People fired off fireworks in Lawrence, too. Just goes to show that you can't tell people what to do when it comes to blowing things up)

Last night was particularly noisy due to some folks up the street firing noisemakers. If you've ever been in a Chinese restaurant, you've seen these things - a series of thick tubes attached to a string, similar to firecrackers but notably larger. Well, they're louder, too. Boy are they louder. The strings that were fired on this street looked and sounded like automatic weapon fire. Black Cats are for wimps, man.

Engagement Without Effort

2009-01-16T23:55:00.000-08:00

The long and short of what's been happening is that my lovely girlfriend got it into her head that we were going to be married before the end of the year.

This will no doubt strike most of you as strange. In the United States, it's really not possible to accidentally get engaged (Andy Griffith notwithstanding). But things work very differently here. Had I taken the time to read up on Chinese marriage customs, I would not be in this situation.

The main problem is that, traditionally, there is no formal proposal in China: no declaration of intent, no presentation of an engagement ring, etc. The point at which a couple becomes "engaged" is very fuzzy, to the point where it seems like it just sort of happens. The closest thing to a proposal/betrothal is the formal meeting of the parents. In fact, most of the wedding ceremonies (multiple - there's not one big procession like in the West) are focused on the parents, to the point where - at least to my American eyes - the couple is secondary.

So what I've been trying to do is disabuse Orchid of this notion without hurting her feelings. It's not easy, and there's a good chance that I'll have to leave her. I don't want to do it, but I may not have much of a choice given the exacting requirements her parents are placing on this, to the point where they're actually making demands of me.

More as it transpires.

A Delicate Situation

2009-01-14T22:52:00.000-08:00

There may be more delays ahead. I don't want to disclose anything as of yet, but right now I'm trying to extract myself from a very delicate series of circumstances. I know that that's vague, and intentionally so. This is probably the strangest thing to happen to me since coming here. If I can work through this, I will write about the rather interesting cultural elements that led me here, and I might also share a few details about what actually happened.

Honestly, you might not believe this. I don't entirely believe it, and it's happening to me.

Meanwhile...

2009-01-12T00:42:00.000-08:00

There will be a slight delay in posting. In the meantime, here are a few more shots from Beijing:

Notes From Beijing: Forbidden City Photo Dump

2009-01-09T18:08:00.000-08:00

Take it away, pictures:

Notes From Beijing: Togetherness

2009-01-08T05:08:00.000-08:00

Beijing is not a city for people traveling alone. In fact, let's go one better: China is not a country for people traveling alone. You want to hit the town, you'd better have some friends with you or you'll be sorry.

I found that out the hard way when I tried to find a restaurant. After several fruitless cab stops (FUN FACT: Beijing cabbies can find any street in the city, but not restaurants), I decided on a place near the hotel. I was turned away with the explanation that, due to the crowd, they were not seating individuals. Basically, if you're going to a busy restaurant (and in Beijing, that's all of them), bring a small army.

Probably the easiest fix to this little problem is to find some Chinese tourists or locals to help you out. If you went to Tiananmen, this won't be hard - wander around and eventually someone will strike up a conversation. The trick here is distinguishing between the actual interested parties and the really clever hawkers. It's not as hard as it seems - if they're steering you towards a business, then you are dealing with the latter.

This is a good way to see parts of the city that you'd otherwise likely miss. It's also a good way to go broke. As I mentioned before, Beijing is an expensive city, and it can be very easy to lose track of time and funds.

Notes From Beijing: The Fine Art of the Deal

2009-01-07T04:24:00.000-08:00

I've touched upon haggling before, but I've really never done it. It's not as hard as it seems, actually. The key to price negotiation is to make it seem as if you are willing to leave. The easiest way to do this? Try to leave.

The booths in Beijing's alleys are in an interesting position. Lots of sellers packed into a small area, little separating their wares from the competitor's, and everyone's pretty much selling the same thing. As a result, these folk are assertive yet willing to negotiate.

Here's the easiest way to do it. Find something you might be interested in buying. Look at it until the seller notices. Once you get the price, indicate that you aren't really interested and turn to leave. If the seller moves to stop you, then you know you're in a good bargaining position. You can suggest a price, but you may not have to - some of them will drop their own prices after a while.

Here's my own back alley haul:

Asked price: 455 RMB. Amount paid: 300 RMB, for a savings of about 35%. Not bad, eh?

Even if you don't plan on hitting the small markets, picking up these skills is a good way to avoid getting fleeced. If you look like you know what you're doing, people will assume that you really do. Sound advice for life.

Notes From Beijing: Shopping for the Uninitiated

2009-01-05T23:15:00.000-08:00

It really goes without saying that Beijing is a shopping bonanza, featuring both modern department stores and old-fashioned open air markets. Both are just a stone's throw from Tiananmen Square. Turn right from the Palace Museum and you'll eventually hit the shopping district. Got too much money? They'll fix that for you.

The department stores vary widely in price. You may wish to take a look inside the crafts building, the city's ridiculously expensive things store. (Every city in China has at least one) It's practically a museum in itself, albeit one in which the displays can (theoretically) be purchased. Among the finds here are woven paintings, amber sculptures, large wooden statues, artisan's seals, jade jewelry, and all manner of things made from gold. On my visit, the store was filled with ox statues of all sizes and compositions, in preparation for the Spring Festival.

Nearby is an absurdly large bookstore - seven stories counting the basement. While you may not get much out of this, it's still interesting to see what merits a section of its own in a bookstore that large. Try five shelves dedicated to geneaology, or four shelves of Russian dictionaries. Also take note of what English titles are among the best-sellers. (This one, most notably)

Now to begin our trip into the old markets. While recently refurbished, the old markets are very distinct. If you want to enjoy some roast duck (and you do), then this is where you'll find it. The smell of cooking meat is inescapable, and it won't be too hard to find a restaurant. Be careful: not all restaurants are made equal. Be sure to select a clean restaurant, and also check how the duck is served. In some places, the duck is presented whole and actually requires carving.

In your quest for souvenirs, you may also find yourself wandering down one of Beijing's narrow, people-filled alleyways. Here are the booths, run by peddlers hawking various items. You can actually find some interesting things here, but never take the offered price. You're going to be doing some haggling.

Next time: Wringing a deal out of a peddler.

Notes From Beijing: On The Town

2009-01-05T18:45:00.000-08:00

Now that we're here, where to go? If you're like me, and you want to be free to just wander, then Tiananmen Square is probably your best bet. It's easy enough to reach, and there are lots of places to go from there.

Of course, you need to be able to get there, and that means talking to the cab drivers. And, unfortunately, there's one key pronunciation error that pretty much every English speaker makes. Take a careful look at the name. Is there anything you might be missing? Let me help:

Tiananmen

Yeah, there's a second "n" there. I blame cursive for this. After writing cursive "m"s and "n"s next to each other over and over again, we just start blurring them together. Good news is, the cabbie will probably know what you're talking about, but just in case (and remembering my previous warning), the name is 天安门广场 (tian1 an1 men2 guang3 chang3).

Tiananmen Square is in one of the older parts of the cities and is surrounded by museums and monuments. As a result, there's really no risk of running short on things to do. The Forbidden City is here, of course, but there's more if you take the time to look. For example, here's something that, for some reason, doesn't show up in photographs too often:

That's a stella, a monument to an emperor (or at least a facsimile - I'm not sure if this is real or not). The characters on the surface (which you probably can't see in my lousy photograph, but trust me, they're there) record the emperor's name, lineage and achievements. There are lots of these things, which got moved around as the capital changed. Xi'an has loads of them, including the blank stella dedicated to Wu Zetian, dynastic China's only female ruler.

But I'm moving off topic here. Point is, there's plenty to see within walking distance. Eventually, however, you may want to move on, grab a meal, maybe do a bit of shopping. For that, it's off to the shopping districts and my next post.

Notes From Beijing: Where To?

2009-01-05T04:48:00.000-08:00

I hate tourist websites. They never, ever tell you what you need to know.

There are lots and lots of resources for Beijing and other large cities in China that will help you set up a travel package. Unfortunately, there is next to nothing set up to guide you around the city on your own. You see, there is one serious flaw present in almost every website I checked that makes independent travel nearly impossible. They don't have characters.

At first brush, this makes sense. After all, most people who come to Beijing can't read Chinese, even if they can speak it. Why include the characters then? For the cab drivers. None of the cabbies I met had much of a grasp on pinyin, so the characters are essential to getting around.

Case in point: When I booked my hotel, I only took down the pinyin. I knew I'd regret that and I did. Since I didn't have the tone markers (which are also omitted on most tourism websites), I had no real way to communicate my destination to the driver. I ended up having to call someone who could translate. So I guess my advice is: Always get the characters. Find someone who will help you - the better hotels always have a few members on staff who can speak English. Another tip: When going to a restaurant or shop, get the name of the street in addition to the name of the building. The cabbies may not know the buildings as well as the streets. But guess what? The tourist sites don't usually list addresses. This is why I hate tourist websites.

Onto the cabs themselves. There's no major difference between the cabs here and there aside from the price. Cab rides, like everything else, are more expensive in Beijing. The difference isn't huge, though, and shouldn't damage your pocketbook unless you're making lots of short trips. Before you take off, be sure the driver knows where you want to go. If he seems unsure, get out or you'll just be wasting your time and money.

Traffic in Beijing is definitely more familiar. The streets are more orderly than those in this city, and there are fewer crazy drivers. That includes the taxis, which are positively sedate compared to...well, anywhere else I've been, really. This gave me an opportunity to confirm my theory that the best cabbies are also the craziest. The guy who drove me back to my apartment may have given me half a stroke, but boy howdy, he made it to the apartment in due time. The Beijing cabbies have a weird habit of stopping a short distance away from wherever I directed them. When I was headed back to the train station, the driver let me off about a block away for some reason. A minor annoyance, though an annoyance nevertheless.

Notes From Beijing: Point A to Point B

2009-01-05T02:35:00.000-08:00

China has a well-funded rail system spanning most of the country. It is fast (over 90 mph) and cheap (about 6 cents per mile), making it ideal for short and mid-range trips. Getting the tickets for the train was maddening, but only because of my own ignorance. Once I figured out where I was actually supposed to go, it took all of five minutes.

My only previous experience with long-distance train travel was a family trip to Chicago courtesy of AmTrak. It was not good. There's nothing wrong with AmTrak trains...when they're moving, anyway. The bloody things were late going both directions. I hope you're not in a hurry, because those trains take their sweet time leaving. The Chinese trains, by contrast, leave and arrive exactly (let me emphasize: exactly) when the schedule says. If your ticket says the train departs at 3:18, then that's when it leaves. And yes, the schedule is that precise.

The trains themselves are rather nice. The seats are comparable to those on an airplane, but with much more leg room. There was more than enough space to store my overfilled messenger bag without intruding on my neighbor's space. As far as the service goes, I've no complaints. However, you may wish to bring something to eat as there is apparently no meal service to the second-class seats. Carts will occasionally pass with snacks and fruit for purchase, but a wise traveler will pack his own edibles. Hot water is available and many people opted to bring cups of noodles aboard. Personally, I would recommend bread, which travels well, is filling and can likely be obtained in or near the station.

As you may expect, the area outside the station is swarming with hawkers, though they are a bit different than those I'm used to. People dispatched from the hotels wave laminated pictures of hotel rooms, trying to draw in those travelers who did not arrange for accommodations in advance. (Good luck getting a room at 10:00) And then there are the car services. These are absolute clip jobs, though they at least know where they're going. As for the cabs? Well, we'll be getting to that later.

The Author Has Returned

2009-01-04T03:23:00.000-08:00

Hey all. I'm just back from a quick trip to Beijing, and after the much-needed getaway, I'm ready to write again. I'll be beginning with some posts on said trip, which will go up a bit later.

Traveler's Mandarin III

2008-12-21T21:12:00.001-08:00

Enjoy:

A Very Merry Photodump

2008-12-21T01:41:00.000-08:00

More substantive posting later, but right now: It's Christmastime in Changchun!

That Santa is extra-super creepy, by the way.

Traveler's Mandarin II

2008-12-14T21:04:00.000-08:00

Part 2 in the series. Hopefully I'll be able to kick these out on a regular basis, but you never really know.

Quick Shots: Photodump Edition

2008-12-10T05:46:00.000-08:00

What's on my camera today? Let's see:

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A friendly soccer match in the field outside my apartment. The school is basically abandoned on Sunday, so these guys decided to start up a game. Judging by their vehicles, at least one of them is a cop.

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Now let's discuss food, as an awful lot of pictures on my camera are shots of things I've eaten. One of the big differences in food culture between the United States (and Western countries in general) and China is that we're way more squeamish about our food. Even uncooked meat and fish in America is prepared to look as little like the animal as possible. Not so here. Even cooked animals usually have the head still attached - one memorable party started with a whole cooked lamb being wheeled out, a big red bow around her golden brown neck.

Hey, did anyone out there ever wonder what a shrimp looks like before it's cleaned? Behold:

I bet a lot of you didn't even know they had claws, did you? I sure didn't. These guys taste pretty good, but the texture is incredibly disturbing. Especially the claws.

Now for some more common-place dishes:

This is a kind of flatbread that I buy at a local store. It is not unlike pizza crust, but rather than being a single solid piece this item consists of six or seven layers. The outermost layers are crispy while the inner layers are soft. It has a nice zesty flavor - a nice change from the typically sweet Chinese breads. It's also extremely cheap - the pictured wedge only cost me about 30 cents.

Next up are noodles and . . . hey! That guy looks familiar!

It's Mr. Lee takeout! I don't know why I got this to go, but there it is, in all its starchy glory. Note the big chunks of braised beef mixed in with the noodles. The above bowl cost just 10 RMB ($1.50 USD), so it's cheap by any standard. Expect to pay twice that for a meal at McDonalds.

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Well, I'm out of material. Join me next time when I take requests and write posts of substance.

Behold!

2008-12-08T00:04:00.000-08:00

The aforementioned project:

Enjoy. Spread the word!

What To Say When All You Can Say Is Nothing

2008-12-02T03:48:00.000-08:00

I've been in a bit of a dry spell these last few days. While I have loads of time on my hands now that classes are over, that absence of classes also means I have nothing to write about.

What this means is that there probably won't be a lot posted here over the next month. Oh, if something really interesting happens I'll write about it, and I'll be keeping my camera with me, just in case. However, you probably shouldn't expect regular posts for a while.

I am working on a few new projects. I have some photojournal ideas bouncing around in my head, plus an educational project that I may unleash if it seems like there's interest. That's what I'll be working on during December. If you drop by from time to time, you might be able to catch a sneak peek of these mysterious new projects. Just don't expect anything regular.

Thanks for reading, and I'll see you in January.

(P.S. Anything you'd like to see me write about? Send an email or leave a comment. Don't be shy!)

Seeking the Familiar: Double Feature

2008-11-28T05:16:00.000-08:00

In honor of Thanksgiving, I've decided to bring out a pair of StP items: a bag of "American Classic flavor" potato chips (mentioned here) and another type of liquor (mentioned here). Let's do the chips first:

As you can see, these are Lay's potato chips - the same brand as the lime-flavored chips from the older installments. So do they taste like regular Lay's? For the most part. They're not a dead-on match - slightly less salt for one, and it tastes like they are cooked in a different type of oil. Still, they are tasty - in fact, I'm finishing the bag as I type this. Hooray for normal chips!

I picked this up on a whim the last time I was at the grocery store. It cost a scant 2.5 RMB (about 35 cents). Unlike the previous bottle, I have been unable to decipher the name as the characters elude me. None of this bodes well. Still, that is a cheery-looking guy on the label, right?

This is proper baijiu, albeit not one of the better brands. This bottle is 90-proof, or 45% liquor - stronger than most spirits available in the States. I suspect that the actual amount is higher, as there's no way that something this strong could clock in at 90-proof. It smells vaguely like peppermint and licorice and burns like cheap vodka all the way down. I tried treating it like vodka and adding various mixers - first orangeade, then Coca-Cola. No matter what I used, the smell was overpowering and the flavor of the alcohol dominated the mixer.

I'm tempted to say that it's the brand at fault here, as I've had much better baijiu on previous occasions (which, oddly enough, only cost a few cents more than this). The strength goes as high as 112-proof/56% alcohol, but I think for my own health I'll be avoiding that. Nope, it's medicine wine for me from now on.

Busy Evening

2008-11-28T04:48:00.000-08:00

Friday evening, 19:00 CST. A sudden burst of activity, to fall quiet an hour later. The local rush hour, if you will. Note the fresh snow - makes me glad I don't have to be anywhere tomorrow.

Something about this just screams "Silver Bells", doesn't it? Eh, maybe it's just me.

A Queer Discovery

2008-11-26T21:23:00.000-08:00

Here's something I stumbled across on the Internet. As I mentioned previously, I used to live and work on Tongzhi Street (同志街), a commercial area known for its fashionable clothing stores and large number of street vendors. Now, tongzhi literally means "comrade," not unusual given the number of roads and streets named after old Communist party ideals. What I didn't know is that tongzhi is also Mandarin slang for homosexuals, roughly equivalent to the English term "gay."

I could make any number of cracks about living on Gay Street, but I'm trying to keep a little class here. Instead, let me just say that this is why you need to be super careful when speaking in another language. You don't always know what you're really saying.

Return of Quick Shots

2008-11-26T03:08:00.000-08:00

What never ceases to amaze me is how, when I have nothing at all to do, I actually get less done than when I have things to do. Laziness is catching, I guess. Anyway, here are some observations from the last few days:

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I've been keeping track of my expenditures since I moved to the new place. Over the past five weeks, my average daily expense was 30 RMB, or about $4.44. Not bad, eh?

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The temperature around here fluctuates dramatically, not just from day to day but from hour to hour as well. Last week, the temperature fell well into the negatives, and I had plenty of people telling me I needed to wear more clothes. (The Chinese are like that) This week? Much warmer, to the point that some days I only need a light jacket. Between this and the havoc wreaked by the heat island effect, it's surprisingly difficult to dress for the day. Fortunately, being a previous resident of Kansas I'm used to chaotic weather.

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Several months back, I wrote about a particularly odd bag of potato chips - lime flavored, with a taste not unlike key lime pie yogurt. Since then, I have found that potato chips in this country (Of which there are many brands, including familiar ones like Lays and Pringles) come in a variety of . . . let's say "unorthodox" flavors. Among the flavors I've observed: chicken, chili pepper, blueberry and red wine. After much searching, I have found what alleges to be the "American classic" flavor. Well, as soon as I find a sandwich to go along with the chips, we'll see.

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Sometimes I think I should keep track of all the "California Beef Noodle King" restaurants I see, because I don't think "ubiquitous" is sufficient to describe them. I can recall 12 distinct locations, including three places (such as the one previously photographed) where two of them are within two blocks of each other. At least the noodles are pretty good.

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And finally, my girlfriend comes back from Jilin soon! After a month, I could use some time with her. She could probably use some time to relax - I know what it's like to be worked half to death. (Well, not lately, but I understand it in theory!)

Classroom Shuffle

2008-11-23T02:44:00.000-08:00

Probably the most annoying part of my job is the constantly shifting schedule. After having a stable, predictable schedule for a month, my boss abruptly drops the whole thing and gives me brand new high school classes. Yes, in November. Need I even say that none of the students paid attention to me? After what I'm sure were several months with the same teacher, they kick in a new one less than a month before the semester ends. (I also got lost on the way to the school due to bad directions and my own wonky sense of place, but that's pretty much de rigueur by now)

Here's the kicker: On Friday (after a class that went surprisingly well), I was called down by the principal, who wanted to know where the regular teacher was. I'm not sure why he felt a need to ask this of me. What, did he think I jumped the guy and took his place? ("Now your classes and your power are mine! Muahahahaha!") All I could do was tell him to contact the person responsible for scheduling, as I have precisely zero influence over where I'm sent.

So where does that leave me? Not a clue. Sunday evening and I still don't know what I'm supposed to be doing this week. I think that this situation calls for some initiative on my part. More to follow.

Sure, It's Pretty...

2008-11-20T02:45:00.000-08:00

Call me a cynic if you want, but the first thing I thought after I saw this was "Sure, it's pretty, but it's going to add five or ten minutes onto my commute."

It also stops being pretty after a few hours of traffic, so savor it while it lasts.

Seeking the Familiar: Alcohol

2008-11-19T04:46:00.000-08:00

It's been a while since I've written a StF post, so what better way to return than with a look at good, wholesome Chinese liquor. As I've mentioned previously, alcohol is not hard to come by, being readily available in supermarkets. Foreign-made spirits are fairly commonplace too. Vodka is obviously as easy find, but there's more if you look. A small shop in HengKeLong offers honest-to-goodness American bourbon. The import shops offer German been and European wines. Even many restaurants are stocked with gin, rum, scotch, and other ingredients for cocktails.

Still, you're not reading this to hear about liquor you can get back home. And indeed, Chinese alcohol is astonishingly rare in the States. Japanese liquor is not hard to find, and many Chinese and Asian restaurants carry Asian beer. But what about the spirits? What about that mythical "white wine"?

But we're getting ahead of ourselves. Today, I'd like to introduce something a bit milder.

This is baojianjiu (保健酒）, or "medicine wine." At 70-proof, it is among the milder liquors available - most spirits made here are well over 50% alcohol. This makes it closer to huangjiu, or yellow liquor, than its more famous cousin. It is much darker than most spirits, about the color of whiskey, hence the moniker.*

It is not just similar in appearance, though. The taste is not unlike that of a decent quality, mid-range bourbon. It is a touch sweeter (yellow liquor being known for its sweetness), but the overall effect is very mild. It makes for good sipping liquor, though I'll need to see if it mixes into cola as well as its Kentucky brethren.

*Interesting fact: The Chinese word for yellow, huangse (黄色), originally referred to a darker, mud-like color. Most of what was once called huangse would now be called hese (褐色, brown). Consider Huanghe, the Yellow River. Does this look 'yellow' to you?

The Science Corner With Jiansi Dun

2008-11-19T02:33:00.000-08:00

I've noticed something odd lately. It's extremely cold in the mornings, due in no small part to the gentle but icy winds coming down from Russia. It stays cold throughout the day. And yet, when the sun goes down - a time when you'd think it would be even colder - the air feels warmer. Notably warmer, in fact. Strange, huh?

But as I pondered this, I realized that I knew exactly why this was. And it would give me a chance to sneak some science onto this site.

Truth is, it's warmer at night in many cities, due to a recognized scientific phenomenon known as the heat island effect. Here's the capsule version: Cities have more dark surfaces (roads, parking lots, rooftops, etc) than rural areas. Black surfaces absorb visible light (namely sunlight) during the day. Provided that the area is not windy (strong winds negate the effect), the energy from the sun is stored until nightfall, at which point it is released as heat. Thus, the energy from the sun keeps the city warm despite its absence. Nifty, huh?

Morning

2008-11-17T05:00:00.001-08:00

An overview of a nearby school, about 9:00 AM. The students are lined up to watch the flag being raised, signaling the start of the week.

What DO You Want, Exactly?

2008-11-16T03:15:00.001-08:00

One of the remarks I heard about the locals when I first arrived was that they will do what you ask, but rarely the way you wanted. Apparently, the Chinese way is to do things the way you think they should be done, but not necessarily the way your boss thinks they should be done.

There is a flip side to this, one with which I am becoming well acquainted. Many of the local teachers I've spoken to seem to assume that I always, always have a plan, even if there's no practical reason to think that I would. Case in point:

I had a class today - two hours with middle schoolers (shades of EF - needless to say, this was not one of my favorite classes). I wasn't even told who I would be teaching until the cab picked me up. I asked the woman who was taking me there what I should do. It's always good to get specifics, since there's no way for them to know what my bosses have told me. She told me what they always tell me - freetalk, lots of practice, games if there is time. This would suggest that there was nothing in particular that they wanted.

The first hour goes off fine. It wasn't until the break that I realized that I was supposed to do a single class of two hours and not two classes of one hour each. The latter would have been much simpler, as I would have only needed to repeat the first hour. Instead, I muddled through a second hour with the same students, trying to come up with anything to keep the class moving. Part of the way through, the local teacher who'd been assigned to the room (not the one that picked me up) commented that I should have prepared in advance. I didn't say anything, but my thoughts ran along the title of the post.

It seems that the teachers around here have a habit of giving me grossly insufficient information and then chiding me for not being ready for things they never told me about. Apparently I'm expected to use my soothsaying abilities to determine what the class needs (those powers being akin to the psychic locating power I need to find my school after I'm given incomplete directions).

Snow! Or, Keeping Your Sanity Through A Chinese Winter

2008-11-15T02:41:00.000-08:00

It snowed this morning. Not heavy snow, and it was too warm for it to gather on the ground. Still, it was one more reminder that winter is on its way.

Changchun's weather is comparable to Kansas's in many ways, including the schizophrenic changes in temperature which make dressing for it difficult. Winter, however, is uniformly cold. During these months, every building switches into cold weather mode, with measures taken to hedge out cold air. One increasingly common sight is heavy fabric flaps which are lowered over door frames. While they make entering and leaving stores more difficult, they do a good job of insulating the areas around the door. For smaller stores, keeping the area warm can be as simple as closing a door that is normally opened.

Apart from that, most of the measures are personal, with many people dressing in layers. Hot water (sans tea leaves or coffee beans) also becomes more common in the winter months. Scoff if you must, but it does wonders for a head cold. Some people carry oversized thermoses full of near-boiling water for use back home.

Not that the cold seems to bother the locals too much - even today, I saw people buying ice cream cones on Tongzhi Street. (Not me though - it's all about the taiyaki. Warm and scrumptious!)

True Stories of Changchun Schools: Group Work

2008-11-12T03:01:00.001-08:00

Anyone who watched the opening ceremonies for this year's Olympics knows that the Chinese have a flair for spectacle. Anyone who's been reading this blog should know that Chinese schools are a bit quirky. Well, today I got to see those two elements of the culture combined.

One of the schools at which I teach has regular group events. Previously, they had the classes go for a run around Culture Square. Today, I witnessed another event. The students marched out in their classes, carrying flags emblazoned with their class numbers. A bit odd, but nothing major. I figured that they were having another field day, or perhaps this was connected to their Phys Ed program - Chinese P.E. classes being big on low-impact aerobic exercises performed outside.

And that's when the choreography started.

It's hard to describe what I saw. They were moving in sync in time to the music, and judging by their skill they'd been working at this for a while. There was no one leading them, nor could there be as the classes were spread out all over the campus, in front of the school and in back. I had to head upstairs to get a better vantage point as I simply could not believe my eyes. I may have gone to teach class that day, but at that moment it was like I accidentally wandered into rehearsals for Thriller.

Eventually, it ended and everything went back to normal. I taught my classes and went home. Nothing else strange happened all day. You learn to roll with these things, I guess.

Dining In

2008-11-12T02:27:00.000-08:00

In my pursuit of dining opportunities, I found myself in a dining commons in the local underground market. It's very easy to feel out of place in joints like this, but I managed to stick around long enough to find a cheap, decent meal. It's probably the closest I've found to the sort of food one can find in an American take-out restaurant (only better, because it's 'authentic'*).

A scant 5 RMB (less than a dollar) gets you a contained full to overflowing with steamed rice and another with whatever you want. This one contained peppers, spicy strips of beef and assorted greens. Not bad, says I.

*Heavy sarcasm. One day, I'll need to share my thoughts on the American obsession with 'authenticity.' The short answer: A lot of it is BS.

When You're Bored, You're Boring

2008-11-11T02:14:00.000-08:00

Thanks to some new teachers and a canceled class, I haven't had much to do this week. While a long weekend is often appreciated, I must admit it has left me with little to do. So, to keep the content fresh, here's another random thoughts-type post about pop culture. Enjoy.

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Cartoons from other countries that are really popular in China:

-Tom & Jerry
-Winnie the Pooh
-Crayon Shin-Chan
-Naruto
-CGI films from Dreamworks

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As long as we're on the subject of Japanese crap, I'd like to note the love-hate relationship between Changchun and the Land of the Rising Sun. During WWII, Changchun was the center of the Japanese occupation. As you'd imagine, this makes Japan even less popular here than the rest of the country, at least among the older generation. At the same time, Japanese pop culture is a common site here. Every magazine vendor has a few manga trade mags, and the DVD vendors usually have a few anime titles here and there. Among my younger students, Pokemon and Naruto merchandise is quite common. Interesting what a difference a few decades make.

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There are a few movies around here which show foreign films. Obviously the big blockbusters always show up, but what's interesting is when. In my experience, movies which appeal to children and adolescents come out concurrently with the American releases, while R-rated movies come later. For example, Madagascar 2 is playing now, while Live Free or Die Hard (Here called Die Hard 4.0) was only released since I've been here.

An additional note: All these films seem to be dubbed. What's more, in many cases the dubbed-in voice sounds wildly inappropriate coming out of the actor's mouth. It's for this reason alone that I think I should have shelled out the money to catch Dark Knight - hearing badly mismatched voices coming from Christian Bale and Heath Ledger would have put a hilarious new spin on it.

Worldwide

2008-11-10T05:14:00.000-08:00

Here's a site oddity from about two weeks ago. After a period of reduced hits, my Sitemeter suddenly went crazy, recording twice the usual number of hits. When I checked the detailed stats, I discovered something interesting. The new hits were coming in all over the world. Take a look at the world map:

Among the countries represented: Spain, Italy, Belgium, Germany, Israel, Norway, India, Indonesia, Bangladesh, and Malaysia. They all showed up on the same day - no comments, no emails, no hints in the referrers as to what sent them all here. And then they were gone, back into the ether. To this day I have no idea what brought them all here.

It is a mystery.

My Strength

2008-11-08T16:41:00.000-08:00

I bet that some of you are wondering how I managed to keep going after all that's happened. Fired from one job, kicked out of my apartment, lied to by two companies, given the runaround until I almost got run out of the country entirely, then an incredibly hectic work schedule with my new company. Forget why for the moment - how did I pull this off? What kept me here?

Well, here's your answer.

This young lady's name is Lanlan (兰兰）. I call her Orchid - a translation of her Chinese name, but a fitting moniker as well. She is 22 years old, a graduate with a degree in Business English who works for an interior design firm.

She's also the most wonderful person I have met since coming here.

Our first date was September 17th. By the 25th, it was obvious that there was something special between us. This was about the time the bad news was coming out of English First - I was given the contract severance papers a few days before. When I told her what was happening, she told me that she would support me no matter what happened.

After that it was off to Victoria, the start of another nightmare. We were both busy, but I called her whenever I had time. She was having her own problems - having to come home early from her mother's birthday to deal with trouble at a model house. I helped her through it to the best of my ability, and she did the same for me.

As far as I'm concerned, were it not for Orchid being there for me every step of the way, I'd have given up long ago and ended up in the fetal position surrounded by empty bottles of Chinese liquor and a growing pool of sweat. A bit of an exaggeration, yes, but there were many times where just talking things through with her pulled me out of a deep funk.

So that's it. That's what made me get up and fight. For those three weeks of hell, I was driven by nothing more complex than love and hate. But I gave up on the hate - much too addictive. Besides, I found something far better.

Oh, she's also really attractive. But that much is pretty obvious, isn't it?

Fliers - An Update

2008-11-08T03:18:00.000-08:00

It's been a while since I last spoke about fliers. Yes, I've been given a few more, but none of them are worthy of discussion. However, the location of the pamphleteers deserves mention. Ouya does not have nearly the quantity of pamphleteers as Tongzhi Street. The exception is the area around schools. In the mornings, when the kids are arriving, there is a solid wall of pamphleteers surrounding the gate. I picked up a few notices from them on Friday. Let's see what they're selling, shall we?

Both these fliers are for foreign language schools, which is at least sensible. Of course, these were distributed outside a foreign language school, so it seems a bit late to try to get them as customers. On the other hand, they handed me these same fliers, so perhaps this is not an airtight operation we're dealing with.

Incidentally, every morning there is a flurry of activity around the schools apart from the pamphleteers. Street hawkers sell school supplies and other doodads of interest to students.

True Stories of Changchun Schools: Reinforcements

2008-11-07T04:11:00.000-08:00

Any teachers out there can file this under "You Wish Your Students Were This Hardcore." Everyone else can take it as a sample of how intense schools are in this country.

As I've mentioned before, middle and high school classes are usually noisy. Some days are worse than others, and on bad days (and today was a bad day, for nearly every class) there's not much you can do. Making a loud noise can get the class's attention, but it won't last and it won't work more than a few times. Ultimately, you run out the clock and wait for the end of the day.

There's one class that is slightly different. There is a student in my 9:00 Friday class that makes things easier. Not because he's an exceptionally good student, though he is. Not because he's patient, though he is that as well.

What he does is handle the other students. Actually, that language isn't quite strong enough - what he does is master the other students. He can often quiet the class with a bit of yelling, but what gets me is how he deals with the real troublemakers. You may remember some "teacher's pets," but I guarantee that none of them ever raised what can only be described as a "goon squad" to handle the troublemakers. My kid has three or four helpers who, at a moment's notice, will descend upon a problem student and "persuade" him to quiet down.

Today he even dispensed with punishment. He got two troublemakers to spend most of the class standing bolt-upright at the door. Another one was led out of the room entirely for a discussion on the merits of respect.

Does that mean that this class is the best behaved? Not really. But having a five-man team on the inside makes things much easier. It helps when the leader is a good student and a pretty cool little dude all around. If I had someone like that in every class, I'd have this thing under control by now.

Transit

2008-11-06T04:24:00.000-08:00

Spend a lot of today traveling. I got lost, picked up a taxi that took me in the wrong direction and wound up spending two hours and 25 RMB to get to class. Not my best day, but it did make me think that I should really get around to writing that guide on modes of transportation.

There are plenty of ways to get around the city. I've outlined a few of them previously, but I feel I should go into greater detail. Today: the pros and cons of transportation.

Bus
Cost: 1 (standard) or 2.5 (minibus)

The most common way to reach your destination is the humble bus. Extremely cheap and reasonably fast, buses travel to most places in the city. For locations not accessible by the standard buses, a minibus - a smaller, more expensive bus which travels to a greater variety of locations - can be employed. However, this should only be necessary if you are traveling outside the city limits.

Pros: Aside from being convenient, buses are also the cheapest form of transport available. As a result, it's no big deal if you miss your stop.

Cons: It's actually very easy to miss your stop, particularly if you misread the schedule or the driver doesn't stop. Be prepared for that to happen - some bus drivers are as crazy as the cabbies. And don't even think about getting on a bus during the busy hours (about 8:00-10:00 in the morning and 4:00-6:00 at night).

Tram/Light Rail
Cost: 1 (tram) or 2-3 (train)

These two options are pretty much identical, so I'm listing them together. The concept is simple enough: a vehicle which travels along tracks to preset stops. I'm sure you're familiar with the concept.

Pros: The train is easily the fastest of these forms of transport. Both bypass traffic, which can save plenty of time - I find that a train will reach its destination in half the time it would take a bus. Additionally, the ride is much smoother.

Cons: Those tracks also mean that you have less flexibility. You can only go where the rails go, and with only one tram and one train in Changchun, that's not many places. The note about busy hours applies here as well.

Taxi
Cost: 5 for the first 2 km + 1.3/km thereafter

I've already discussed taxis at length, but let's add a bit more detail. There are several companies, but they all charge the same rates. Apparently, some of the companies are known for having more competent drivers, but I'm not enough of an insider to know which ones. In other words, cabs here aren't appreciably different from those back home.

Pros: Since a cab will go anywhere, you don't have to worry about schedules. You will arrive at your destination in due time with little hassle. You never have to wait long for a cab, either - even desolate parts of the city will have a few taxis pass every minute.

Cons: Cabs are the most expensive form of travel, though if you convert the cost to dollars you'll see that the cost is negligible - a 40-minute cab ride only costs about 5 or 6 dollars. Be warned, however, that the cabbie may take you to the wrong place if you're not totally clear on where you're going. I'd suggest having addresses written down in advance. Also, you might have a heart attack the first time you go for a ride. Fair warning.

Slow Posting

2008-11-05T16:12:00.000-08:00

No, nothing bad has happened. I've been busy the past few days, plus I just haven't had much to say. New posts will appear when I have something to talk about.

On Coinage

2008-11-02T00:38:00.000-07:00

A quick note on Chinese currency, namely coins. There are just three denominations of coins, shown below (apologies for the poor image quality):

From left to right: 1 yuan, 5 jiao, 1 jiao, 1 jiao. American quarter and penny included for size reference.

The first coin is 1 RMB, the same value as the lowest denomination note in common circulation.* The next coin is 5 jiao (五角), half of one RMB. The last two coins are 1 jiao coins. The smaller one is the newer design, though plenty still exist in the larger version.

This would be the equivalent of having American coins stop with dimes. A very good idea, I might add - does anyone really use pennies on a regular basis? This is one of the reasons making everyday purchases is very easy (the other being the lack of sales tax or similar). Restaurants are easier still as most menus list prices in whole numbers only. Very convenient.

There is one oddity here: vending machines. None of the machines I have seen will accept 1 RMB notes. They will accept 1 RMB coins, as well as 5 jiao coins and 5, 10 and in some cases 20 RMB notes, but the 1 RMB notes will be unceremoniously spit back. Imagine an American vending machine that would accept coins or 5 dollar bills but not singles and you'll have some idea of how odd (and frustrating) this is.

*I say "common circulation" because there are 5 jiao notes. However, they're about as rare as hen's teeth.

Underground Markets

2008-11-01T04:59:00.000-07:00

Previously, I've discussed supermarkets and briefly touched on street vendors. There is a third option: large, indoor markets which I have taken to calling underground markets. (True, they're not technically underground so much as they're under a roof, but that's close enough, right?)

I've seen three of these markets so far - one near my old apartment, one near my new apartment, and one near one of my schools. The markets can be difficult to locate, as they are not marked in any special way and the outsides have the usual shops and stalls. Each market has multiple doorways, and likely as not you'll stumble in to one of them by luck.

The typical underground market consists of a network of booths selling all manner of merchandise. Among the offerings: fruit, vegetables, eggs, cooked and uncooked meat, seafood, baked goods, frozen goods, juices, alcohol, spices, toys, books, beauty products, gifts, pets, DVDs and CDs (likely pirated), leather items (likely fake), small electronics (likely knock-offs) and general dry goods (real). Larger markets may also sell clothing or offer other services; the one on Tongzhi Street offers manicures. Basically, if you can fit it into a 10' x 20' stall, you can probably find it.

Prices are comparable to the supermarkets, but make no mistake: this is haggling territory. You may be able to get the seller to come down from his asking price. Knowing some Chinese helps, plus it's a good way to avoid getting the "foreigner's discount." And speaking of getting clipped, watch your wallet. The tight corridors in some of the markets make for ideal pocket-picking conditions.

To leave on a strange note, here's a picture I took in the seafood section of the Tongzhi market. They sell fresh-killed fish and shellfish, but if that's not good enough you can often pick a live specimen. Live fish are common, but to me there's nothing more interesting (or funnier) than these barrels full of live crabs. Watch the top - there are a few of them trying to get away.

"Help me! Help me!"

Quick Shots

2008-10-31T03:41:00.000-07:00

A few quick ideas that flashed through my head during the last few days. More substantive posting to follow.

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In the past two days, I have seen two coffee shops with names that literally translate to "Coffee Language." (咖啡语) Perhaps because you are supposed to talk to people inside?

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Liquor is extraordinarily easy to come by in China, so dedicated liquor shops aren't necessary. However, there are "smoke and wine shops" (烟酒店) which sell alcohol and cigarettes. Mostly cigarettes - there are lots of smokers here and lots of kinds of tobacco. A few of these places also sell tea, though I can't imagine why.

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Many buildings in town contain lots of small storefront spaces. Most of these are used for bodega-like stores, cell phone distributors or tobacco shops, but some of them serve as restaurants as well. These restaurants are very small, with perhaps enough room for a dozen diners. Imagine eating at someone else's house and you'll have an idea of what these are like. They can be hard to find, but if you follow the local students at lunchtime you can probably find one or two.

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An oddity: Many of the schools (including high schools) do not signal the start of classes with bells, but rather with bits of music. At one such school, the end of class music is (no joke) the theme song from Barney and Friends. Yeah.

True Stories of Changchun: Ubiquity

2008-10-27T01:16:00.000-07:00

China and Japan have both served as fascinating case studies in what happens when an illiberal society (communist and feudal respectively) undergoes a rapid change into capitalism. I can't talk about Japan, but in China the clearest example of this is that most American of capitalist institutions, the fast food franchise. Both Western and Eastern chains are abundant in this city. How abundant, you ask? Allow me to demonstrate.

For this demonstration, I have chosen to use Chinese franchise Mr. Lee, a particularly ubiquitous chain. I don't think that you are ever more than three blocks from a California Beef Noodle King franchisee. As soon as I said that, I'm sure you immediately started thinking about the stale Starbuck's jokes that every comedian has been telling for the past ten years. Well, I can top that. The following pictures were taken on a street corner on Tongzhi Street. I did not take a step between these pictures:

These two chains are catty-corner from each other with less than 50 yards separating them. Astounding, isn't it?

This isn't even the only place in the city where you can witness this phenomenon. There is a pair of similarly positioned KFCs on Gongnong Road.

Critters

2008-10-27T01:11:00.000-07:00

These two dogs greet me at the entrance to the office whenever I go there. They must belong to someone who works in the building as they are always here, save days when the weather is bad. They get excited to see me, too. I've started to think of them as my dogs, in a way.

This shot was surprisingly hard to get, as both of them started barking when I took out the camera.

More on the Kids

2008-10-26T03:48:00.000-07:00

I had more kid's classes today. Probably the single biggest problem with the kids is dealing with the ones who are obviously not up to the task. Some children get forced along and end up in classes which are way too advanced. The result is awkwardness, both for the student and the teacher. And I'm not just talking about the slow kids or the ones whose parents pushed them into a higher-level class. Children learn very slowly, and many of them - even ones who might be high achievers in other classes - just lag behind.

This is evident in older classes as well. Some kids, either as a result of disinterest or lack of skill, don't take to foreign languages. In some cases, I've spoken to 13-year olds who are at dramatically different proficiency levels, despite having identical educational backgrounds.

But that's not always the problem, either. Some kids are very shy and freeze up when questioned. This is an easier problem to solve - simply moving to the more enthusiastic students and giving the insecure ones time to listen usually does the trick.

And some of them might just be tired. Seriously, who sends their kid to foreign language classes at 8:00 on a Sunday?

On Dogs

2008-10-24T23:35:00.000-07:00

One thing which is noticeable is that many dogs here - particularly smaller ones - do not have leashes or even collars. Rigorous training has taught them to stay put or follow without even needing commands. This little guy was waiting outside a shop for his owner to come out. As soon as he did, the dog trotted off behind him. This doesn't even get into shop owner's dogs, who will stay put without making a sound for hours on end.

Lesson #2: Waiting in Traffic

2008-10-24T21:41:00.000-07:00

Previously, I discussed traffic in China and the risks inherent in being a pedestrian. Today, I'd like to flip that around and talk about what it's like to be in a car. Cab drivers are crazy no matter where you go, and China is no exception. What complicates things are the streets themselves. The roads were simply not made to accommodate the number of cars on the road - a consequence of China's sudden economic expansion over the past few decades. Rules of the road are all but nonexistent, which is something else which should give you pause before trying to drive here.

A little background: Recently, my cab was stuck in bumper-to-bumper traffic for fifteen minutes. We weren't moving at all. However, traffic was flowing smoothly in the opposite direction. Obviously, something was blocking the southbound lanes, but what?

My first thought was that we'd hit a traffic snarl - a fairly common occurrence. Since the rules of the road are seldom observed, it is not uncommon to see two, three or even more cars turn into a lane at the same time, narrowly missing a collision and locking up the street. If the street is narrow or a bus is involved, it can take several minutes to undo this.

That turned out to be incorrect, however. As it turns out, the situation was caused - as bad situations are caused so often - by rich dinks who were unwilling to wait their turn. A number of drivers were barreling through an intersecting street, cutting off the southbound traffic. I was surprised that none of them were broadsided.

But, at the end of the day, this is a minor annoyance. The key is to not overreact (as some people are prone to do).

College Classes

2008-10-23T04:31:00.000-07:00

Today I taught some college classes. Similar to the high school routine, except they actually pay attention and they can discuss a broader range of topics. (One lady asked me what I thought about the American economy)

It seems then that my niche is the youngest students we teach and the oldest. Interesting outcome.

I also now have my first regularly scheduled class: a Tuesday afternoon high school class. These kids are great - much more attentive than the usual teenagers.

In short, after some rough patches things are finally shaping up.

More on Shopping

2008-10-21T06:42:00.000-07:00

Previously I lived on Tongzhi Jie a.k.a. "fashion street" and one of the busier parts of the city. My current residence, on the other hand, is near another downtown location - the Ouya district, home to high commerce. Whereas Fashion Street was mostly restaurants and clothing stores, Ouya is home to businesses and commercial centers. The most important of the latter is the aptly named Ouya Commercial Center, essentially a gigantic department store located a few blocks from my apartment.

The Commercial Center is twelve stories in height, and the floor space is significant as well. It is not difficult to get lost here, though signs are helpfully provided to guide the shopper to escalators, elevators, bathrooms and rest areas.

I didn't even begin to explore the place - I only visited four floors. The upper levels proved particularly difficult to access, as they could only be reached by a single elevator with a considerable line. Still, I did see plenty in my time there. The first floor is dedicated to imported goods. In particular, I noticed an abundance of Italian leather boots there. The other floors featured sportswear, fashionable clothing stores, housewares, a surprisingly large electronics section, at least two tea shops, a specialty gift store and several "water bars." (No, I didn't check them out. With a name like that, you know you're getting gouged) I didn't stay long here. Chinese stores are not window shopper-friendly; each section is home to a legion of sales reps with highly specialized areas of expertise. For instance, the microwaves in the electronics section are patrolled by at least two salesman, while the water coolers are important enough to warrant a rep of their own.

The first basement was of more practical use to me. This floor houses Ammon Fine Foods and Maky Cake Shop (two ubiquitous chains in China) as well as a surprisingly large supermarket. The market is comparable to HengKeLong - the only thing missing is the butcher's section (which I could well have missed). The foot traffic here is astounding - with over 50 registers available, the Ouya supermarket can process more customers than HengKeLong or the nearby Wal-Mart. The one thing that is the same in all three locations is the gigantic staff. If you need help finding something, you don't have to walk far.

High School

2008-10-20T17:29:00.000-07:00

Teaching in Chinese high schools is painful. The classes are huge - upwards of 40 students - and very few of the students are genuinely interested in paying attention. The classes are extremely noisy and I consider it a blessing if a lot of the students are sleeping rather than talking.

So why is this the case? I talked to some of the more interested students in my classes and I think I know. Chinese high schools have career tracks similar to those found in some American magnet schools. If the students are on a track that does not depend on English (including sports, art, music, pretty much anything except business or administration) then they can't be bothered to pay attention. (It doesn't help that all the high school classes I've been stuck with have been substitution classes. Extra painful)

The Longest Day

2008-10-19T04:27:00.000-07:00

Today I spent nine hours at a school teaching a whopping 11 classes (6.5 hours total). That's a long day. I could have gotten out of it, but there are two plusses here: a) That's seven teaching hours I won't have to do next week, and b) From what I've heard, I'll never have to do this many classes again. As a result, I can now look at every day in a new light ("Man, teaching five hours of classes is a pain. But not as painful as teaching nine hours!")

Now, I obviously can't go into detail about all eleven classes. What I can do is relay some general observations. Keep in mind that these classes were 35 minutes long, ranged in age from 8 to 12 and in size from 8 to 20.

The kids at EF were serious brats. These classes were much better behaved, with very few disruptive children.

I verified something: 8-year olds do indeed love Hangman. Which is good, because it takes no prep time and can be done anywhere.

I'm not sure what's worse: Teaching a class with material that's too difficult or teaching a class with material that's too easy. The former means lots of blank stares and awkwardness, the latter means you burn through the material and wind up having to kill time.

Chinese teachers are wound very tight. It doesn't take very much to get these ladies to start yelling. Of course, it could be worse: look at South Korean teachers. (Or don't, they might start flogging you)

I don't know who these parents are who are sending their elementary school-age children to language classes at 5:00 PM, but they must be stopped.

A few of the children were obviously in way over their heads. I don't know how you can get so far in a foreign language school without being able to speak the language, but then again I also don't know how you can make it to middle school in the States without being able to read. (I've met enough 12-year old illiterates to know it's possible)

Some of the shy and/or neurotic kids will lean down behind their desks in the hopes that I won't call on them. It doesn't work, but it makes for some visually amusing moments.

Apartment #2

2008-10-18T00:10:00.000-07:00

Pictures of the new place. Here we go:

The kitchen. Pretty straightforward: fridge, stove, sink. Judging by the level of dust, the previous resident was not much of a cook.

The bathroom. Again, not much to say.

The closet, while nothing special, is astonishingly large. Fits in with the rest of the place, actually:

The main room. It's a big place - this one room packs in all the trappings of at least three rooms. What I failed to capture was the large china hutch in the middle of the room - there, presumably, so I can show off all the flatware that a 22-year old unmarried male living abroad would have.

And finally, a shot from the window.

Some Feuds Die Hard

2008-10-18T00:05:00.001-07:00

Changchun is a very diverse city, owing largely to its location. Russians and Koreans are a common sight here, and there are a fair number of Japanese as well. But there are also people from farther away - places like South and Central Asia. For example, I've seen quite a few Indians around. There are also some Persians about, mostly from Pakistan. Naturally, this makes for some exciting evenings.

Every once in a while, you will hear about a brawl at a bar or club. Chances are it's Indian kids and Pakistani kids getting into it. And these are not little scraps, either, but serious gangland-style fights. Obviously, territorial fights die hard. You might think that the dispute over Kashmir would end once you were a thousand miles away, but that's obviously not the case.

I've never seen one of these fights, largely because I avoid the clubs (but more on that later). Still, if you should see some South Asian kids getting rough, you may want to leave the premises.

'Cause They're So Delicious

2008-10-17T16:32:00.000-07:00

One of the treats I mentioned previously was Taiyaki - little cakes obtained from street vendors for a scant 1 RMB. The Chinese term for these is xiaoyubing (小鱼饼, literally "little fish cakes"). Here's what they look like:

The cake is made of a thick batter not unlike that used to make pancakes and waffles (and, for the Japanese version at least, pancake batter is occasionally used). Inside the cake is a small amount of chocolate, melted during the cooking process. They are cooked by pouring the batter into a fish-shaped metal mold which sits atop an enclosed flame. The result? Delicious. The only downside is the size - you'll finish one and immediately want another.

I got one of these a night during my two-week struggle, and as a result the gentleman who makes them recognizes me. Last time I bought one, he gave me an extra for free. (Granted, they were the last two remaining so this was probably for convenience's sake, but I prefer to think it was a nice gesture for a loyal customer)

Men Need Not Apply

2008-10-17T02:08:00.000-07:00

One of the things you may notice in China is that some occupations are dominated by women. I don't mean that in the same way that, for example, the waitstaff at certain restaurants or even flight attendants are mostly women. I mean there are some jobs you will never see performed by a man.

Go into a bakery and the fuwuyuan (服务员, waiter) will all be women. The same is true in most restaurants, in fact. Certain jobs in hotels are all women. At the supermarkets, the legions of workers wandering the aisles are strictly female. And in every private school I've seen, the local teachers were all women.

Interesting, no? And it's no coincidence. A glance at a sign in the window of a local bakery revealed that, indeed, only women need apply for fuwuyuan. The bakers and other workers may well be men, but all the people out front are young women.

And that is probably the point. The women-only jobs tend to be the most visible. They are the people out front, dealing with the customers. Given that most non-hired positions (such as people operating the booths) are also women, I wonder if Chinese people just prefer doing business with ladies. Perhaps they think that women are less likely to rip them off (a definite fallacy).

Photo dump

2008-10-17T01:36:00.001-07:00

Various photos I had on my camera. Let's see what's here:

This picture of many-hued chicks was something I was saving for a post on street vendors. Not much luck coming up with other pictures, though. I will say that you'd be surprised at the different kinds of pets you can buy off the street.

These are the pictures mentioned in this post. The first picture is the drum corps, the other two are of the dragon dance. Apologies for the quality of the pictures, these were taken from across the street during the interval between buses passing.

And finally, this cheery little shot was where I slept in the two weeks between apartments. Thanks to Ronnie for putting up with me, but I'm so glad I'm off that couch.

How Was Your Day?

2008-10-16T19:25:00.000-07:00

I will have the Internet in my apartment soon enough, and once I do I have plenty to show everyone - loads of pictures plus three new culture posts. In the meantime, here's a quick post on what I've been doing since last time.

I headed out yesterday at 9:00 to get to the office. The plan was to get to the police station, get my visa and residency permit, then work in some errands - a trip to the store and some badly needed loads of laundry.

When I got there, the boss had a bit of a surprise waiting. She said (and this is almost exactly what she said): "There has been a change of schedule. You have four classes today." What? Basically, one of the other teachers was sick, so I was supposed to take over his high school classes. Quite something to bring up four hours before the classes, huh?

The paperwork at the station took around two hours to finish - not bad, all things considered. After that, I had time for a quick lunch before being hurried off to the school. I got to the class and waited...and waited...and waited...

As it turns out, I had the wrong day's schedule. Once I got it figured out, I hustled in time to do three of the classes. Teaching someone else's class with zero preparation is awkward, to put it mildly, but I pressed on. The first class was a bit rough, but it ended well. Naturally, I was feeling pretty good about myself. If this rocky first class went this well, surely the later ones will go better, right? Right?

Well, no. But I will talk about that later.

One 45-minute cab ride later (the cabbie misheard the street name), I arrived at Tongzhi Jie. It was almost 6:00, so I gave up on shopping and headed home.

Hell of a first day, but I think it will get better.

Whee!

2008-10-15T02:12:00.001-07:00

Guess who has a job?

More posts to follow, as I again have regular Internet access. Huzzah!

Falling Down Again

2008-10-12T20:14:00.000-07:00

Some people get screwed over by two consecutive companies, but most of them have the benefit of residency in the damn country.

It turns out that a lot of that mess in the previous posts was utterly fabricated by Victoria. EF never had any contact with the government, and I was never rejected for teaching. As it turns out, they never tried to renew my visa, either. I will be leaving those posts up for posterity, but know that some of what's in them may not be true. I don't know who's been responsible for these past two weeks, but it's not as simple as I made it out.

Of course, all this makes it seem as if I should have a job, right? Right? Well, no. Victoria is not giving me a job. They won't give me a straight answer, either. First they tried to tell me that they had problems with EF (a lie), then they tried to tell me that they had enough teachers (a blatant lie as everyone in this city needs teachers and they hadn't hired anyone new since approaching me). In the meantime, they've kept me on the line long enough to make this really difficult.

Not that I'm giving up. There are plenty of schools here. I'm not letting these bastards kick me out of Changchun. I am curious as to why so many people want me gone, but that's something to consider after I'm back on my feet.

Update

2008-10-12T03:08:00.000-07:00

I think I've discovered the problem. It looks like I've been having trouble with the government because I had no proof that I graduated. Why? KU never sent me a diploma. I'm tempted to turn this into an anti-KU blog (They screwed me over about as much as EF has) but I'm so very tired. In any case, I have proof now, so hopefully I'll be able to stay.

All I can say is that this has been a real trial. If I make through this, I'll have some big news.

EF Delenda Est, part 4

2008-10-10T17:38:00.000-07:00

I know this site is rapidly turning into an anti-EF blog, but I think that's justified given recent events. Michael - despite his magnanimous offer to help me previously - has badmouthed me to the foreign teaching board yet again. If I don't do something fast, my career here is over.

Regardless of the outcome, Michael has taken this campaign against me much too far for me to just let it go. Provided I keep writing, look forward to some future exposes on what I saw there. Let's just say that, in spite of their high-and-mighty reputation, EF is not exactly a tight ship. Spiteful? Petty? Yeah, but I think given what's happened so far, entirely deserved.

~~And should anyone feel the need to contact EF: Easier said than done. You can e-mail the main recruitment office here, but do remember that these are not the people presently trying to ruin me.~~

UPDATE: The Caveat.

True Stories of Changchun: Excess

2008-10-08T01:41:00.000-07:00

As long as I'm in such a saucy mood, I though I'd drop this little tidbit. One of the best things about living here is learning that all those annoying things Americans do are not uniquely American. Case in point: yesterday I saw two seperate people in different parts of town whose dogs were wearing sweaters. And before you ask: nope, not that cold out.

Today's lesson: Conspicuous consumption? Not unique to the States. Lovely!

(Oh, and here's a bonus. The guys I mentioned here? I work with them now. TRULY A TRUE STORY OF CHANGCHUN!)

EF Delenda Est, part 3

2008-10-08T01:12:00.000-07:00

The good news is, I'll probably be able to stay here. The bad news? EF has been doing everything in their power to stop that from happening. Basically, they've been going around bad-mouthing me to the immigration officials in an attempt to force me out of the country. Lovely, ain't it?

I shouldn't be too surprised, I suppose. Apart from everything else I've mentioned, Michael (the head of EF Changchun) hates it when his teachers go to other schools. That's one possibility; the other is that he's a bit miffed that I threatened to make complaints to EF headquarters.

So, I have an interview tomorrow. That - plus a short test and possibly a demo lesson - should be enough to not only keep me here, but to get my contract with Victoria.

UPDATE: The Caveat.

Dietary Considerations

2008-10-06T23:10:00.000-07:00

For about a week and a half, I've been keeping track of how much I've been spending each day. Why? Curiosity, I suppose. I want to know how much I'm saving (plenty, by the way). I also wondered how much eating out three meals a day was costing me since I can't cook anything right now.

As it turns out, I've spent an average of $5 a day on food. This is a very cheap city. So where does the money go? I listed the prices of a few common foodstuffs in an earlier post, but here's a more detailed list of the sorts of things I've been eating and drinking. The prices are in RMB - divide by 7 to get the approximate price in USD.

Breakfast

At a bakery
-Pastry: 3-5
-Savory roll (pastry w/sausage or ham): 4
-Bread: 7/loaf
McDonald's Egg & Sausage McMuffin: 12

Lunch

Chicken skewer w/spicy glaze: 2-4
Gyros: 2-5
Small pizza (chicken or sausage): 6/slice
Sandwich (chicken or ham): 5

Dinner

Chicken leg (fried or rotisserie style): 6-7
Beefsteak: 12
Pork and rice: 12
Thai chicken and rice: 15
Beef and greens with peanut sauce for two: 42

Snacks

Taiyaki (dough with custard and chocolate filling): 1
Ice cream: 2-4

Beverages

Water: 1-2/bottle
Soft drinks: 3-4/bottle
Fresh orange juice: 5/glass
Other fruit juices: 3/glass
Black Russian: 15

Sticking Around

2008-10-06T23:08:00.001-07:00

Well, after several days of fighting, I am finally getting my visa. Huzzah!

With that out of the way, regular (by which I mean more cheerful) writing should commence shortly.

Anatomy of the Runaround

2008-10-05T21:25:00.000-07:00

9:30 - To EF to discuss work visa. Michael informs me that I should be able to get an extention on the visa easily.

10:00 - Victoria. Discuss Michael's position with Bola. Apparently it's nonsense because the old visa has been expired for several days.

10:15 - Back to EF. Michael now tells me that, as a matter of fact, they never did get me a work visa. Apparently I hadn't worked there long enough to warrant it. He nevertheless insists that I should be able to get another one easily.

10:45 - Back at Victoria. Tell Bola and Victoria what I'd been told. Am told to go back over there.

12:00 - Came here instead.

This was pretty much my morning yesterday as well. Four round trips later I still have no idea what's going on. I'm not quite sure why the offices don't just call each other rather than using me as some sort of courier, but I'm sick of the whole mess.

Confusion

2008-10-05T17:10:00.000-07:00

Everyone I've talked to these past few days has given me contradictory and outright strange advice. I'm not even sure who's screwing me over at this point, but I'm getting it settled today if it kills me.

Fortunately, I do have support. More on that (and the real reasons I'm sticking to this nonsense) later.

Apartments

2008-10-04T18:35:00.001-07:00

Given that I'm currently looking for an apartment, this is as good a time as any to discuss Chinese apartments - or, to be more precise, apartment buildings. Unlike the United States, there really aren't any apartment buildings per se. Rather, there are general purpose buildings which have stores on the main floor followed by six floors of apartments (or, alternately, offices).* Unfortunately, this makes finding a particular apartment difficult as most of the buildings are identical on the outside. As a result, this is taking longer than it really should.

*Why seven floors? Because that's how high you can build before you have to put in an elevator.

EF Delenda Est, part 2

2008-10-02T19:49:00.000-07:00

I know I already wrote out a detailed post on how exactly EF screwed me, but I found out something today that blows all of that out of the water. The behavior in that post was slimy but legal. This, on the other hand, was an explicit breach of contract that may well end up costing me big time in fees and penalties.

They never got me a visa.

Let that sink in. The lying bastards brought me over here on a temporary visa which they never bothered to change to a visa that would allow me to stay. And, sure enough, the acquisition of a work visa is spelled out in the contract. I'm not normally the paranoid type, but that does put an interesting spin on my previous accounts, doesn't it?

This is war. I didn't start it, but you can bet your last dollar that I will finish it.

National Day, part 1

2008-09-30T19:42:00.000-07:00

Today is National Day in the People's Republic of China as well as the special administrative regions of Hong Kong and Macao. Basically, this is analogous to Independence Day, Bastille Day, etc. and is celebrated in similar fashion.

I caught an early display downtown. Remember the picture with the doves and cannons? Well, they were at it again, and the cannons were back yet again. It turns out they fire reports - really, really loud reports. 68 of them, if my poor ears were correct.

After the reports, the drum corps started in. It was a group of 20 or 30 people, playing very large drums - two or three people to a drum, in fact. Following that was a dragon dance. I'm sure that you've seen something like this before if you've been in a Chinatown on New Year's or just seen it on TV.

I do have pictures, which I will be posting as soon as my laptop has Internet access again.

Getting Back Up

2008-09-28T19:44:00.000-07:00

A few quick words about Victoria and how it differs from EF (other than "it's not crap"):

Salary: While EF pays a predefined salary based on qualifications, Victoria pays based on hourly work. Apparently, I will receive roughly the same salary if I work as many hours as I did previously.

Classes: Victoria has two types of classes. The in-center classes are small - no more than six, with many being one-on-one - and range in age from 8-year olds to adults. The primary school classes are done at nearby schools, last 45 minutes per class (with a typical visit containing 4 classes) and are used primarily to supplement what the students have just learned.

Lesson Plans and Books: Unlike EF, there is no requirement to submit a lesson plan. For the primary school classes, the lesson plans are included with the books they use. For the in-center classes, lesson plans are occasionally provided, though often (particularly with the adults) all that is needed is a topic for conversation.

Time Off: Since Victoria pays by the hour, they are rather flexible on time off. Want three days off? Perfectly acceptible, provided you give them notice and don't expect to be paid during your absence. Of course, they also have the usual government vacations.

Update

2008-09-27T23:10:00.000-07:00

I'm in a state of flux right now, so posting will likely be sparse for the time being. I'll still try to write when I get the chance, of course. When I do get back online on a long-term basis, I'll have some big things to talk about.

Falling Down

2008-09-26T04:34:00.000-07:00

Most people get screwed by their company at some point, but they usually have the benefit of a social/cultural net to fall back on. Not so much here. While I have secured new, better employment, I've now got a host of new irritations during the switch.

But that's not why I'm writing this. This post will detail exactly how EF Changchun screwed me from the start. I knew I'd been reamed but until I talked to a few others, I didn't realize how badly. I'm dishing dirt in the hopes that anyone else who's hoping to do this can avoid my mistakes and avoid this company.

What did EF do to piss me off so much? Let's count them down:

1) Shafting me on the promised two weeks of training time. This I have known about since the start. As far as I can tell, they did this because they are in such a crunch that they couldn't afford two weeks of downtime. Makes my release a bit questionable, doesn't it?

2) Giving me a ridiculously heavy load right off the bat. I already knew that they hit me with a damn heavy load - so heavy in fact, that they wound up shifting some of my initial load to existing teachers who had lighter loads. Yeah, let that sink in. What I've been told is that it is conventional for a beginning teacher's first few weeks to be very light - half-normal or lower. Again, this smacks of desperation.

3) The probation period. People have told me that this is the training period and that no one is supposed to be released during this time. However, a quick look at the contract suggests that it is more like the "we can kick you out on a whim" phase. Indeed, the contract does not require them to give me any reason for my release. Lovely, huh?

So basically, the school kicked me into the deep end from Day 1 and then complained that I wasn't good enough. And, may I reiterate, this comes at a time when all schools in this area (and EF in particular) are short on teachers. I question the wisdom of the higher-ups, but the new company looks better anyway so why complain?

As bad as this sounds, it actually could have been worse. I've since heard stories of people who've had their last salaries denied or cut or had EF play keep-a-way with their papers. And that's not including the fact that it's a really poor company to work for. Yeah, the staff is okay (or at least the local staff), but their business practices are harsh bordering on abusive.

Bottom line: Avoid this school. In fact, you may wish to avoid the whole area. I have my own reasons for sticking around (which I will be revealing over the next few months) but anyone who is not similarly attached should take every opportunity to escape. It's a nice place, but you wouldn't want to work here.

Rumors of my Death, etc.

2008-09-25T04:16:00.000-07:00

So I have a good reason for not posting these last few days. I'll cut out the gory details for now, but the long and short of it is that I'm changing jobs. Provided everything goes right, I should be working at Victoria next week, a school that will hopefully treat me better than EF. But again, that's a story for another time.

More to follow.

Lesson #1: Crossing the Street

2008-09-22T23:29:00.000-07:00

Pay attention, because what I'm going to write about today - traffic - is the single most important thing you should know before going to any city in China. It's not unique to this country, but it is more prevalent. It's not hard to understand why; China went from a backwards agrarian kingdom to a massive industrial power within a matter of decades. As a result, you suddenly have legions of cars and buses on streets originally designed for (and sometimes still accommodating*) animal-drawn carts.

Traffic in China is chaotic. People change lanes at will, speed through crosswalks without checking for pedestrians and drive at absurd speeds through afternoon traffic. Granted, this behavior occurs mostly among cab drivers, who are crazy no matter where you are. But there are a lot of cabs, plus private drivers, public and rentable buses and others who are in a perpetual hurry. With that in mind, here are some safety tips:

-If you are walking: Think back to your childhood and look both ways before setting foot in the street. Even if the light is green going in your direction, check first. As mentioned above, cabbies do not respect the crosswalk.

This applies mostly to crossing narrower streets. If you want to traverse the larger roads, you'll need a bit more nerve. Move quickly, but keep an eye on the cars turning down the street. You will notice some people cross these streets against the light - it sounds dangerous, but it's not much riskier than crossing when the light is green, particularly on the busier thoroughfares. I wouldn't recommend it, but if you must, find other locals who are doing it and follow their movements. The absolute best time to cross is when the traffic is so backed up that none of the vehicles can move. That's when you weave through the cars with all due haste.

-If you are taking a cab: Cabs in China are cheap and abundant, so don't be afraid to flag one down. In most cases, you won't have to wait long - long streams of cabs snake their way through the streets at all hours of the day and night. Once you see an open cab, wait for it to stop, then climb in and let the cabbie know where you are going. Unlike American cabs, it is perfectly acceptable to sit in the passenger seat, particularly if you are by yourself.

-If you are driving: Don't.

In spite of what this implies, the roads are not particularly dangerous. I have yet to see a traffic accident of any kind. Yes, the cab drivers are crazy, but they are also exceptional drivers, comparable to stock car drivers. Just be aware that your first ride might be a bit of a wake-up call.

*Notable example: There is a gentleman in this area who sells watermelons and other assorted fruit from the back of a cart drawn by a donkey. Wisely, he sticks to the side roads.

Placement Testing: The First Candidate

2008-09-22T17:45:00.000-07:00

(The kind of notes I'm expected to take during the interviews. All identifying information removed, of course)

He is 24 years old and works in the sales division at a automobile parts distributor. I don't know about his previous background, but he speaks very clear English. Says he is not confident in his vocabulary, which is a common statement among students. Is nevertheless able to answer all my questions with little hesitation.

My recommendation is level 9* (pre-advanced).

*The proficiency scale for adults ranges from 0 to 16, with 0 representing no practical skill and 16 representing near fluency. My school is equipped to teach up to level 13. The highest level I have ever taught is level 7 (intermediate).

True Stories of Changchun: More Bang for your Promotional Buck

2008-09-21T03:50:00.000-07:00

I had my camera with me today because I've been shooting pictures of street vendors. However, I found something more, uh...interesting:

This building just opened today, and as part of their grand opening they set up a stage framed by giant inflatable doves and fake artillery batteries emblazoned with old Communist Party symbols. Yeah.

What is this building, you ask? A hotel. Fairly swank one by the looks of it.

What you don't see in this photo are the breakdancers they brought out later or the contests they had throughout the day. Hmm.

Placement Testing

2008-09-20T19:18:00.000-07:00

Today was my first day doing placement tests, which meant I sat in a small room for 75 minutes waiting for someone to come in. So, no great stories, though there may be some in the future. For now, let me discuss the process.

Everyone who comes in gets a placement to determine their existing skill level. This is a multi-step process. After a discussion with the sales staff, the applicant (or the applicant and his/her parent, for the younger ones) have an interview with the local teachers. After that, they get sent to whatever foreign teacher is on hand. This is where I come in. I give the applicant a short (no more than 10 minutes) interview during which I discuss topics of interest with him or her. While this is going on, I'm taking notes on their vocabulary, pronunciation, listening skills, etc. I then use a rubric to place the applicant in the appropriate class.

Then, if it's a kid, there's another step where the parents argue with the sales and teaching staff about how their child is much better than that and they demand a higher placement.

A Quick Request

2008-09-20T02:58:00.000-07:00

I've been getting a surprising amount of traffic to this little blog, including some from some unexpected locations, including Massachusetts, New Jersey, Brooklyn, Ontario, and even Beijing. To the newcomers, let me extend a greeting and invitation. I'm interested in knowing how people find this site, so if you're not part of my friends and family, feel free to leave a comment or email me (smileyhunter AT hotmail DOT com). Thank you.

Seeking the Familiar: Potato Chips

2008-09-19T03:35:00.004-07:00

Whew, that's better. Now, back to the serious business of eating.

While sandwiches are abundant here, it may surprise you to know that, at least in restaurants, it is rare for them to be served with chips. That's not to say that chips cannot be found - indeed, there is a full aisle devoted to them at HengKeLong. On my last shopping run, I decided to try a bag. The brands were familiar but, as with the yogurt, the flavors were not. I decided on a bag of Lay's "natural and cool" lime-flavored chips.

The chips are not bad, but they are quite strange. These chips are much sweeter than American chips, in spite of having about the same amount of salt and oil. It took me a while to place the flavor when it hit me - these chips taste like key lime pie yogurt. I'm not kidding. Perhaps next time I'll pick up a bag with one of the vegetable flavors.

Venting

2008-09-19T03:35:00.003-07:00

I'm going to try to keep this short, because if I don't I'll be here all day.

Apparently, some of the students in my kid's classes have been unsatisfied, so I've been temporarily pulled from them. Yes, all of them. It seems unlikely to me that I've received so much negative feedback from every single class, but since all the management is gone right now, I guess that this is the only thing they could come up with. Lovely.

Now, I'm not going to argue with anyone about the preschool class, because that one is awful. But the KH (7-10 year olds) class went great - probably the best class I've had, children or adult. And the only problem in my last teenager's class was the result of the computer breaking.

One of the problems here is what is considered a "good teacher." Classes are rarely observed by staff, and the parents only observe the classes for the youngest kids. That means that the feedback comes entirely from the kids. Aside from the obvious problems in having a 7-year old make judgment calls like this, there's another problem. As previously mentioned, most of the parents don't speak any English. As a result, they have no real metric for determining their child's progress. Therefore, what I'm getting is not feedback on how good a teacher I am, but how much the kids like me. These two are not always the same. I suppose I could bribe them with candy, as one of the (allegedly) better teachers does, but that seems somewhat cheap, doesn't it?

I sometimes suspect that the younger kids in particular aren't learning much in the classes with the more popular teachers. People (children included) are remarkably good at pretending to know what's going on. Example: in my KH class, I had the kids identify letters of the alphabet from flash cards. The first time, I ran through them in order and the kids hit each letter. At first, I was impressed. However, as I ran through the cards I realized that the kids were calling out the letters before the cards were shown. Could it be that they memorized the order of the letters and not the letters themselves?

So I shuffled the cards and represented them in random order. Sure enough, only a handful of kids could identify the letters, and none of them could hit more than half the letters shown. Later games with the cards confirmed what I had deduced. They had probably been taught the alphabet song at some point and knew the order of the letters, but not the letters themselves.

Why is this relevant? Well, during one of the precious few observations I was allowed (the one with the supposedly great teacher), she did a similar activity with flash cards displaying rooms. But she didn't randomize the cards, and after the first two or three it was abundantly clear that they were not remembering the names of the rooms but the order the cards came out. At least half the kids didn't look at the cards at all and were still able to do great in the game.

These are things I notice - things that many of the other teachers don't. But I'm not as fun as they are, so they get a pass and I don't.

But above all, I'm mad at the organization. If EF had kept their end of the bargain, I wouldn't have even started classes until this week. Instead, they sent me out with almost no preparation and then complain when I'm not perfect. I feel like, on my first skydiving excursion, they kicked me out of the plane alone and then chewed me out for not opening the chute at the right time.

Well, this is getting long, so I'll cut it off here. Happier posts to follow.

Seeking the Familiar: Yogurt

2008-09-19T03:35:00.002-07:00

Expanding off a previous post, I've decided to start keeping track of my quest for Western-style foods in Changchun. These will be found under the label "seeking the familiar."

Now, as I've mentioned, dairy products are not always easy to come by. This isn't entirely true - while regular milk must be purchased from special stores and is rather costly, the same is not necessarily true for dairy-based products. Such is the case with yogurt, which is readily available in many stores. I initially shied away from the yogurt as it is most commonly available in a rather large container for 6 RMB - almost a dollar. This seemed like it would be wasteful if I ended up disliking it.

Fortunately, a recent trip to HengKeLong yielded results: pairs of small cups being sold for a scant 2 RMB. Naturally, I sprang at the offer. First, though, to select a flavor. The flavors available here are range from mildly unusual (grape) to outright bizarre (corn). I eventually decided on kiwi, the most "normal" looking of the flavors.

Here's the carton:

Looks normal on the outside. Inside, it looks familiar as well. But how does it taste?

The actual taste is very subtle. Unfortunately, the aftertaste is not. It's rather hard to describe, but it doesn't taste like kiwi. Even the presence of kiwi bits in the yogurt (yogurt with fruit in it being more common here than the sans-fruit variety) didn't help. Fortunately, the yogurt was rather thin, so the aftertaste faded quickly.

It could be that the taste was due to the cheapness. This particular brand seems to be the bottom of the barrel - other brands can go as high as $2 US for a small container. Nevertheless, I would advise you to avoid the Chinese yogurt. Unless, of course, you're just really curious as to what corn-flavored yogurt is like.

Next time: potato chips.

The View From Above

2008-09-19T03:35:00.001-07:00

A shot of the buildings outside my apartment. After it gets dark, they light up the taller ones with scrolling lights that form characters and other images.

Street Fare

2008-09-17T22:43:00.001-07:00

Selling food on the street is not unique to China. What is interesting is the variety of foods available for purchase. In the United States, carts and booths sell things like hot dogs, pretzels, ice cream and not much else. Here, they sell everything.

Of course, buying food from a street stall is always a bit of a dubious proposition, but that doesn't mean the food is bad. Quite the contrary, it's often exceptionally good. Take today's discovery:

I bought this from a cluster of booths in the Korean district (their other fare included dumplings, mini-pizzas and chicken bits). It resembles a Greek gyros and contains shaved meat, crunchy noodles and vegetables. The cost: 4 RMB (about 60 cents). A delightful meal for the diner on the move.