Listen up!

Today I had my 2 hour class of the highest level English speaking students (trailblazers) at EF. They had a test today so we spent the majority of the class reviewing the material and taking the test.

After, we just sat around and talked to each other. I had a list of questions I wanted to ask them in front of me and one of them was: "What's the meaning of life?"

Here are their answers:

Keep in mind, these kids are 14



Dorothy- "We did not choose to be here but we can choose what we do here. To give laughs and to give love."



Tony- "To let your dreams become truth."



Jenny- "Life is a dream, and when you wake up, you're dead." ** my favorite**



Mary- "In our lives we should be happy and confident. We should study and try to do everything."



Bob- "Life is god's dream, and he is letting us live in the world."





I don't know about you, but I know some adults that couldn't answer with this much incite.
These kids go to school 6 days a week (sometimes 7) for multiple hours a day and their outlook is more positive than most people I know, myself included.
None of us are getting out of this world alive, so why take it so seriously? Mellow out people. Awaken your inner Dude.

High School slip

Yesterday I taught 4 classes at the local high school and I made a little English slip that probably would assured me pink slip... had they known what I said. It was another new class so I showed them the powerpoint that I made introducing myself and my hobbies bla bla bla. Well the last slide on the powerpoint said "today was my birthday", clearly it wasn't any more but I told the students about it anyway. It went a bit like this"

"Oh, sorry, I made this presentation last week, this last slide is about how the 21st was my birthday." I get nothing from the students. " So that means I turned 30 last Thursday......you believe that shit??"

I instantly keel over laughing at myself and with tears coming out of my eyes I look up to see all 60 of the kids and their teacher looking at me with blank faces. I say " If you had any idea what I just said, I would be in trouble". Again, nothing from the peanut gallery. Whew! Turn your filter on Freedo! Or..... could this be a new game..... how much can I get away with? It begins!!

Strong like bull!

I realized that I forgot to talk about the health examination and I had to go through over last weekend. It was a pretty interesting experience to say the least. I am going to tell the story and while you are reading try to picture yourself going through this, don't picture me doing it, picture yourself.
So, early in the morning I meet one of the Chinese staff at the EF school and we quickly hopped into a cab. I am taken to a large government building where I am to be medically examined to make sure that I am health enough to remain in the country. It's mandatory for my residence visa, they are just making sure I don't have AIDS or anything else of that nature. Lydia (the Chinese EF staff member) helps me fill out all of the necessary paperwork and also acts as my translator/guide. First room: Paperwork and payment area. Room 2: A small room that leads to a smaller windowless room where I have my picture taken in front of a red backdrop. Room 3: Upstairs, I walk into the room where there are 5 ladies standing around and I am told to lay on the table that is against the wall. The roll up my sleeves, my pant legs and lift up my shirt to my neck. The put these clamps on my forearms and calves (the clamps were like if someone were to grab your forearm) and also brushed something onto certain areas of my chest with a paint brush then proceeded to place these censors with suction cups all over my chest and stomach with wires going everywhere. I lay there patiently. Next thing I know I have 5 older ladies leaning over me speaking Chinese trying to figure out what was going on with their equipment. I kept hearing "ting bu dong" which means "I don't understand" so I assume something wasn't working correctly. After fidgeting with the wires a bit everything began working properly and I was done. As I was getting up a man entered the room, pointed at my legs and gave me a thumbs up with a smile. I wonder what that meant. Room 4: pretty much an empty room with a man in basically a cage. There was an opening in said cage just big enough for me to stick my arm through. He pats on the little mat thing and I place my arm on it, he ties a rubber tube around the upper part of my arm and then (gloveless) jams a needle into the first vain that pops up. He takes 2 viles of blood, puts a q-tip on the hole and sends me on my way. Room 5: 2 tables are in this room and I am asked to lay down on the far one. One lady is in this room and she lifts up my shirt and proceeds to give me an ultrasound. She looks at my chest, tells me to roll to my side, then to the other side. Once back on my back she rips off a paper towel slaps it on my stomach(for the ultrasound goo) and sends me on my way. Room 6: A woman stands in front of a computer station and tells me to enter a room though a door made of steele that's a food thick (no exaggeration). In this room are x-ray machines and they take an e-ray of my chest. The make me place my chin on top of a box that's against the wall and then hug the box. And I'm done! The funny thing is, I actually got to skip a step. I was supposed to give them a urine sample too. I know people *wink*

Dropping in to let you know what condition my condition was in.

Its Tuesday, which is basically Sunday of my weekend. Nothing super exciting to report, just still getting everything put together here. Today I bought a new comforter and some rugs for my apartment. Exciting huh?? It is actually pretty fun to get things to decorate and make the place my own. Now if I can only keep everything from getting coated with Cooper hair. I swear he is shedding more here than he ever has! I might be the stress from traveling so much over the past few months.
Sunday a bunch of us went out for dinner in celebration of one of the Chinese teachers birthday. We went to a "hot pot" restaurant and it was nothing like I've ever experienced. We get taken to our table, which is in its own room with its own private server and bathroom (with a western toilet). Once we get situated we go back downstairs to a room with all sorts of plates set up with meal choices and also about 18 live tanks with everything from fish, oysters, and crabs to squid octopus, minnows, and other stuff that I couldn't even recognize. I am open for anything so I trust whomever is doing the picking. I get asked for my input and pretty much say yes to everything. Hey Matt...... eel? Sounds good, go for it. Frog??? Sure why not? Mystery fish? Lay it on me! We also go for some safe items like: ribs, beef, shrimp, and lamb shank. We go back to our table/room and chat for a bit when the first of our items arrive. In China they bring out the food as soon as its ready, they don't wait for all of the dishes to be done and then bring them out. So one by one all the dishes come and are sat on the table that has a rotating glass disc in the center so we can all easily share. Now keep in mind this is Szechuan style so everything has a pretty spicy kick to it..... Which I absolutely love. All off the food was fantastic, especially the eel. I've always loved eel, its so tender and delicate. It has a great flavor of its own and it also takes the flavor of whatever sauce you put it is and just literally melts in your mouth. We all eat until we just can't go anymore and with 8 people stuffed and a few beers our total comes to 400 Yuan, roughly 60 USD. Yea that's right I said 60.
That was a great meal and it was in a large restaurant, the beautiful thing is, the next day I was taken to another place for dinner. It was down a dark ally and through a small unlabeled door. No way in hell would I ever think to walk in that door for anything let alone something good to eat. We walk through a tiny room that looked like someones living room into the dining room that had 6 small tables in it. It too was an amazing meal. It was a spot that specialized in putting all the items to be cooked on a red hot iron plate and setting it in front of you, covered with holes for ventilation. You just sit there in the vapor of your cooking food which acts as Pavlov's bell; there is no stopping your mouth from salivating. We had potatoes in a spicy citrus sauce, beef with onions and hot peppers, and pork with onions, green peppers and garlic. Three large plates of food, 2 large beers, less than 15 USD. Its the contrast that I love so much (the dirt cheap prices are a given). One place gives you your own personal servant and another serves you out of their own personal kitchen. Its a beautiful and eye opening experience.

First day of EF classes 10/23/2010

It was my first day of actually sitting in front of a class and teaching English to EF students. I was pretty nervous I must say. Especially when one of the Chinese teachers comes to me and says that her students really liked the teacher before me and that one of the kids parents is thinking about pulling him out of the class if he didn't like me. There's some added pressure. I was told not to think twice about that by my boss but how the hell can you not think about a comment like that? Especially on your first day!
At noon I had a one on one lesson with a college student who is studying to take an English test that will give her permission to travel to Canada. From what I understand you cant just up and leave, you must be able to prove that you can take care of yourself. She was a good student, we mainly just sat there and talked. I would correct her English whenever she made a mistake or needed something clarified, other than that her English was great.
My next group were "high flyers" ages 8-10. This is the class I was told that they loved their old teacher (who had to leave due to a family emergency). I walk in and there are 10 kids looking at me like they just found a hair in their rice. Kind of weirded out and confused. I sit down and make some faces at them, ask them their names and how they are that day. The soon warm up to me, and the lesson begins. I pay special attention to the kid who might be taken out of the class and make sure that he is following everything. I even had him come to the front of the class to arm wrestle me.....he won (wink). He walked back to his seat grinning ear to ear.
I actually got so into losing I fell out of my seat and the back of the chair hit me behind my right ear, now I have a sore spot. The rest of the class goes smoothly and then it ends. Later the Chinese teacher who basically told me that I better be good, approached me and said that she asked the students to raise their hands if they liked me. She said that they all jumped out of their seats and tried to raise their hands as high as they could, some of them even tried to raise their legs! Nothing like receiving some positive feedback.
My last class of the day were what we call "small stars" 3-6 years old. The are adorable and we go over numbers, colors, letters, and family members. Its funny, when we came to the "brother" and "sister" flash cards, the class fell dead silent. They have no idea what a brother or a sister is because none of them or anyone they know for that matter has any! You are allowed one child and if you have another one the government will charge the hell out of you.
We had a good time in class and on a high note.... the small stars goodbye song, its to the tune to the barney song:
Goodbye friends, goodbye friends,
We'll have fun another day,
I will see you soon, and we can play again,
But for now I'm going home.

Picture me marching in place and doing hand motions to this song surrounded by nine 5 year olds. It's a pretty funny sight.

First day of solo teaching 10/21/2010

So not only is today my first day of officially being an English teacher, it is also my 30th birthday. I made my way to the high school with a very crude sketch of the layout of the school and where my classes were located, it made no sense to me. I asked my fellow teacher (British Mike) to help me out which he kindly did. Ok, here is whats happening, I have 4 classes to teach today, all in different classrooms throughout the school. My first and third classrooms are side by side and the other 2 are on floors 1 and 4 (4 floors total in the school). Mike and I both ask a Chinese teacher in the hallway where room 11 is and he points to a door and says "the next one down". So I walk to the next door down and walk in. The Chinese teacher is in there and he says nothing, he sits down and lets me do my job, although while I am doing this I am receiving odd faces from the teacher. I just thought he didn't like me or was trying to understand what I was saying. The class goes really well, I gotta say that I surprised myself on my teaching ability. I mean, ive taught before but never in a classroom setting like that. It was kind of empowering yet humbling at the same time, difficult to describe. It was like all of those students were looking to me for answers and at the same time I could feel how small I was in a world that until then was fairly ignorant to. The kids liked me, or at least thats what I gathered. I had a powerpoint slide show talking about where I was from and what I like to do. Of course I put several pictures of Cooper in there and they ate that up, especially when I told them that he had come with me to China. I also put good ol John Denver on there. They had no idea what West Virginia was which didn't surprise me one bit. Hell, not even everyone in the States knows about WV. If I had a buck every-time I told someone I was from WV then they proceeded to tell me that they had family in Richmond, I would have........ at least 100 dollars. Anywho, So my first and second class go very well, I even moonwalked for them when I told them that I liked Michael Jackson. Between classes 2 and 3 I am sitting in the break room and a Chinese teacher comes in and in his best English tells me that I went into the wrong classroom for my first class. Remember how I said that my 1st and 3rd classrooms were side by side? Well instead of going into my first classroom I went into my 3rd. No wonder the teacher was making faces at me! The thing that gets me is, why did he just let me go on with my lesson? He knew that it wasn't time for English class. Oh well, no biggie. Now I have a free period because the time alloted for English class is gone and they must keep to the schedule, oddly enough. So I just sit in a lobby area beside a vase that is 3 feet taller than I am and freeze to death because the government is in charge of the heat and they don't turn it on until early November, and even when it is on, you have no control over it. So I leaf through the English text book that I am given and I come across an essay about British soccer hooligans. I read it and it basically says that the English are a bunch of drunken fighters that would love nothing more to get wasted and beat up everyone they see. I literally laughed out loud, then instantly looked around me for an Chinese authority figure. They even called it "The English Problem". That was too funny.

So its time for my last class of the day and they are my most advanced class. I give my powepoint and then start to ask them questions like : whats your name, how old are you, where are you from, and what are your hobbies. The Chinese teacher pulls me off to the side and says that this is all easy for them and that all they want to do is ask me questions about American weddings and culture. Hey thats fine by me! I was getting bored of doing the same thing over and over again. The students ask me questions about basketball and highschool life in the states and yes, they ask me about weddings. I just told them that all weddings were different because of all the different religions or lack there of. The female students flirt with me a little telling me how handsome I am and how pretty my eyes were, and asking if I was coming back next week. Funny Stuff.

After school I arrive back at the English First building and there is a big cake waiting for me! That was too kind of them. Later some co-workers and their friends took me out for dinner and a couple drinks. I go to the bathroom and when I come back they tell me that they told the waitress that it was my birthday and that I got my meal free, but I know that they all pitched in and paid for it. That was very nice of them considering I've only known them less than 2 weeks.

All is well. My next lesson is an hour and a half private lesson for a college student. We'll see how that goes....

I'm going back to highschool

Its the beginning of my work week and it started with me observing English classes at the local highschool. My fellow teachers and I exit our taxi and grab a bite at one of the street venders outside the school. It was fried bread with egg, spicy chicken,and lettuce. It was pretty tasty. Next we walk through the guarded gate onto the school grounds. It was a pretty sweet area, they had a huge sports field with the nicest grass I've see since my arrival, an all weather track and basketball courts everywhere. The actual school building was not so impressive, unless you were looking for a largest amount of people in a small space, if that's the case then it was pretty damn impressive! The school had 4 levels and each level held a grade. The school rooms were about what I remember highschool classrooms looking like, just twice the amount of students. They average 60 students per classroom. At the front of the class there was an elevated platform (about 1 foot tall, 2 feet wide) for the teacher to stand on and the rest of the room was student seating. 4 isles with about 2 1/2 feet separating the isles. Like this

Blackboard

platform

SS SS SS SS S = student

SS SS SS SS

SS SS SS SS

SS SS SS SS

You get the picture. Here is my favorite part, their normal English teacher walks onto the platform and there is silence, I walk onto the platform and the entire class erupts in applause. That repeated in all three classrooms I entered. Pretty awesome feeling I gotta say. All of the students were very nice, they would want me to sit beside them, they asked me where I was from, and if I liked Michael Jackson. They love Michael Jackson here so there is instant rapport because I've been a fan for about.. I don't know, forever! Its a good thing I've been practicing my moonwalk a bunch. The classes go well and I take a bunch of notes to gather ideas on how I am going to approach tomorrow (my first day teaching). I think I have a basic idea on what to do.

Changing subjects, today was the first day that I've started to feel a little homesick. Its probably because I'm turning 30 tomorrow and the people who actually care about that are on the opposite side of the planet. At least I have my boy, my walking, barking, furry security blanket. Coming home to him is the best feeling, it makes me feel home.

Put on your red shoes and dance the blues

Ok, so yesterday is my first day off after being here a week and the daytime is pretty uneventful. I do some painting, i take some naps, mop my apartment floor, and watch some TV. In the evening there was a party celebrating a few peoples birthdays (I am one of those people). The party was at British Mike's house and it was allot of fun. I mainly just sat and talked to the Chinese teachers and met the other westerners. The party ended at ten so a bunch of us decided to head out to a nightclub. Now, I am not a nightclub person by any means but hey, when in Rome. We walk into this place with neon lights everywhere and the music is so loud I can feel my guts vibrating. I snap a few pictures but I am quickly told that that is not allowed. There are about 7 or 8 of us rolling into this joint like we own it and we find a place to have a seat. At random parts of the club there are platforms with dancing girls on them, they aren't naked of anything but they are breaking it down pretty impressively. The have lasers and glittery things all around them and that seems to be their only job because after the song they go and have a seat until it is there turn again. The girls are on a rotation. Ok drinks! Here are our options. We can buy several bottles of beer for way too much money or buy a bottle of nice whiskey and some fruit juice for a little more. Whiskey it is. Now this option isn't just a bottle of whiskey with a few classes and some juice, no no no. The booze and the juice are put in a cylindrical contraption that mixes and dispenses it for you. It also has this lit up topper/stirrer that goes with it. Along with this light show drink dispenser we receive a huge fruit platter, a bowl of sunflower seeds, a bowl of mini chestnuts, and the best of all........ a plate of chicken feet. I am not kidding. They were actually pretty tasty if you could get any meat/cartilage off of them.

After several beers at the party and may classes of this whiskey drink I venture onto the dance floor with the rest of the group. Im not a dancer, I like to dance to the right tune but that tune sure as hell wasn't being played at this place! It was kind of an earthy techno pop (like the BL reference?). I did my best to get my groove on but jut wasn't feeling it so I sat back down.

Sleepy and pretty drunk I decided it was time for me to hit the bricks, I get my coat from the coat check lady and hop in a cab. I arrive at home to a happy dog and we hit the hay. Good day.

Get your grilled scorpion right here!! 10/16/2010

It was a long day today, but a good one. My work day started at 8 in the morning and I spent the majority of the day observing classes, taking notes, and asking questions. Close to the end of the day I was to sit in on a class that will eventually be mine to teach. It was a class called "small stars" and they are between the ages of 3-5 and all of them are as cute as hell. I was scanning the room and one of the boys was sitting in his tiny green chair lying back with his legs crossed and he was using his hands as glasses on his face and he was just staring at me. Take a second and picture that....................... thats really funny. I laughed out loud and disrupted the class! I introduced myself and told them that I came to China with my dog Cooper. I then sat in front of each of them individually and asked how they were, their name and age. Then I shook their hand and told them it was good to meet them. It took them a while to get my name down. Then we all played "head, shoulders, knees, and toes". It took them a while to get into it but they eventually did. I think they just needed a little review of the body parts. Then we played teacher says (simon says), they didn't quite get it but it was still fun. After work ( saturdays and sundays are 10 hour days), I went out to a BBQ place with 2 co-workers. Apparently Jinzhou's specialty is BBQ and Canadian Mike took me to his favorite place. On the table there is a packet if BBQ sauce (amazing stuff) , a head of garlic, and plastic wrapped cups and plates. We order some fried dumplings and bunch of skewered things like tofu, green beans, chicken, beef, pork, and........wait for it...........SCORIPIONS! They weren't too bad, not much to them really. You could definitely tell that you were eating a bug, but thats about it. So, 3 of us get stuffed with food, 2 of us have a beer (20 oz), and the other has a soda, all for 105 yuan, thats about 17 USD. What a country!! You can even barter your restaurant meals, just tell the waitress that it was good food and that you wand a discount (helps to have someone that speaks Chinese). And you don't even have to tip! After that I was invited to an apartment warming party so I went to a shop and bought some PBRs (for me) and a bottle of red table wine for the person whom we were visiting. It was allot of fun, we had drinks, played some games and just sat around and chatted. The people there were from all over the world it was an interesting group. There were people from, Ukraine, Russia, Norway, Kazakhstan, the states, and of course China. It was basically a microcosm of how I think the world should be. Everyone coming together and enjoying our differences, not fighting over them.

So once again I have an amazing day, it just keeps getting better and better.

First solo market experience 10/15/2010

Today I got up and decided that I had to get some shampoo and I wasn't going to ask one of the other teachers to take me. I ventured solo to Da Run Fa market. Its a big indoor market, sort of like a mall but on a smaller scale and with a grocery in it. I took a taxi and he dropped me off in front. I walk inside and there are tons of people and I can see the tops of every one of their heads. I feel like the jolly Freed giant. I stroll into the grocery area and just walk around, checking prices and what all is available. I go to the back where all of the fresh produce, meats, etc are located and see a whole turtle (dead on ice), duck heads, stuffed duck feet, live fish, and some things that I can't even recognize. It's definitely a shock to the senses. The do have PBR though so thats good! especially for 2.50 for a 6 pack! I didn't indulge, why come to China to drink PBR. It's good to know that its there though. I had to go upstairs to find the shampoo and I also ended up buying a shoulder back for my computer and other stuff that I take to work, my backpack is just too bulky. I am standing in line at the register and I am the second one in line, an elderly woman walks over to me, looks me right in the eyes and steps right in front of me in line. I have heard that older Chinese people can be pretty rude so I don't think anything of it. Next a younger couple with a baby do the exact same thing! I am clearly in line! All I can do is chuckle to myself and be patient. I pay and leave. Its strange going shopping in more modern markets like that because there are almost more employees than patrons. China has one and a half billion people, thats allot of jobs to provide! So if there is something a person can do, no matter how basic it might be, they will have a person to do it. Every isle has an employee ready to help you.

I come home and hop in the shower with my new shampoo and i'm excited. This is the first time since I've been here that I am using shampoo. I thought I had bought some shampoo and conditioner on my first day here but since the bottles are in Chinese I ended up buying 2 bottles of conditioner. A detail that the lady helping me must have missed. I go to work and work on my lesson plans and get pretty much the next two weeks taken care of. Since I only have 2 classes to teach at this point that wasn't very difficult. Later in the day I sat in on one of our "small stars" classes. Small stars are ages 3-5 and without a doubt the cutest kids I have ever seen in my life, especially when they are trying to speak English. The teacher of the class (Canadian Mike) said that the kids were on especially good behavior because I was in there. I don't know if thats good or bad. Either they respect me or they are intimidated by me. Maybe both! That'll work! I know one thing, I am going to get sick as hell eventually, these kids are coughing, sneezing, picking their nose, wiping snot like nobody's business. Its just a matter of time before it gets to me. Good thing I'm in the right place for some hot tea!

Channeling my inner Bob Ross 10/14/2010

I didn't sleep very well last night, probably got about 4 hours in. My sleep schedule still isn't where it should be, but its only my 5th day in country. Its strange, I already feel like I have been here a long time. Today was an awesome day. I met Canada Mike at the school and we went shopping for some things that I needed. I bought 2 big pillows and pillow cases for about 8 bucks USD. I have also decided to decorate my apartment on my own by way of painting my own pictures for the walls. Get this, I went to an art shop and bought an : easel, 2- 50x60 cm canvases, 8 tubes of oil paints, a pallet, 7 nice brushes, a knife, and a bottle of turpentine all for about 28 bucks. This country is great! I also found Cooper some dog food. After that I went to work and started reading over the school books that my kids will be learning from. I talked with the Chinese teachers and they showed me where the kids are in their books and all that fun stuff. I also found out that I am going to be doing some one on one teaching with a university student on the weekends so that should be pretty cool. Tomorrow I am going to start creating my lesson plans so if any of my teacher friends have any input for me, I'm all ears! So now all I'm going to do is sit back and wait for some inspiration to strike me so I can create a more Dudeist living space. Now all I need is a rug.
Oh yea, I had some sweet and sour pork today that would make P.F. Chang's taste like dog food.

What the EF! 10/13.2010

13/Today was my first day at English First (EF) and it was pretty mellow. My boss gave me a tour and talked me through the basic curriculum of the different levels. It was allot of information to take in at once! He told me that he didn't expect me to remember any of it right now and that it will all come with time. Everyone there was really nice. I met all of the Chinese teachers and they are happy talk talk to me in English. When I say Chinese teachers, I mean they are teachers that are Chinese, not teachers of Chinese. The are there to be the communicator if the barrier is too high for us foreigners ( your as cooold as ice). Later in the day I sat in on my roomate Roger's class of Trailblazers (13-16) and that was pretty cool. The kids are pretty good an English. One kid (probably 6) even struck up a conversation with me while at the urinal haha. He came up behind me and said " Hello! what is your name?" I told him that I am Matt, he said "my name is Mark". I say that its nice to meet him and he says " its nice to meet you too Matt". Now I understand that reading that interaction on here seems pretty boring but it was pretty cool, besides for the whole talking while peeing thing. Men usually keep the chit chat to a minimum while relieving ourselves. Oh yea then Mark said "bye bye!" and sprinted out of the bathroom. After work, a couple of co-workers and I went out to eat and then walked around this huge outdoor market where people were selling things from kitchen ware to underware. One lady on the street had a pile of plastic multi-colored comb/brushes and thats it. I bought a broom and some hangers. Whelp that was the day! nothing too exciting to report. Im on a mission to find some scorpoins to eat!

Day of exploration 10/12/2010

Yesterday I had the day off so I decided to just take a walk and see what happens. I hoofed around side streets, main streets, parks, business areas, construction areas. I was wearing khaki shorts, a t-shirt with a zip up sweater and my chacos. I might as well been wearing a suite made of brightly lit arrows and a sign that says "LOOK AT ME!". There were even 2 elder men that stopped talking mid sentence when they saw me and just watched me pass, then continued talking. I was the main attraction of those streets that day, everyone looking me up and down. Once they got to my sandals they stayed there for a little bit wondering what the hell was on my feet. Other than that, everyone pretty much left me alone. Crossing the streets was like playing real life Frogger, I ran forward, then back, then sideways, then forward again all the while getting honked at. I arrived back home and hung out with Cooper for a little bit then met British Mike and his Chinese teacher at a large indoor shopping area. I didn't know how to tell the cab driver how to get there so I had to call Mike and have his teacher tell the cabbie where to go.

Once I got there I wondered around waiting for Mike to arrive. As I walked around I received random "hello!"s from the locals and a few more chuckles due to my attire. I asked the Chinese teacher (Jesse) later if men wearing sandals was odd and she said no, it was just fall/winter time to them and sandals are only worn in the summer months, so they think its odd to see it this late in the year. So we walk into this shopping area and there are plants, fish, birds, pots, clothing, home decorations all in a flea-market style setting. Beautiful stuff too. Mike bought a couple of pots and then we went out to eat. I was the only one eating actually, they had just eaten before they came so they just had tea (which was made from dates and delicious). I had a bowl of different ingredients that consisted of rice, sprouts, green peppers, carrots, field greens, onions, beef, and some sort of sauce, that was all topped with a fried egg. It was very tasty. I also had a beer, which was served with a rocks glass at room temperature.

After paying about $4.50 USD for everything, we made said goodbye to Jesse and Mike said he knew of a "wilderness" area that was near my apartment. We take a cab and then walk to this recreation area. We cross a footbridge over the river (not sure of the name) and walk into a slightly wooded area with trails that fork off in several directions. There are people playing ping-pong, exercising on basic equipment, doing tie chi (sp), and there was also a man cracking this huge bull whip type thing that was made our of chain. He would swing it around his head and then crack it, which is actually breaking the sound barrier. I've never seen a person recreate like this so I had to take a video of him. After that Mike and I split ways and I went home to rest. It was a good day. Looking forward to starting work.

Boo to Jet-lag

So its my first full day in Jinzhou (remember, its pronounced Jin-Joe) and I met my boss out side at what I thought was 10 a.m. It was raining and I stand there for about 20 minutes until I decide to ask someone via idiot sign language what time it was. I was an hour early. I go back in and play with Cooper for a little bit and finally go back outside when the time is right. I get picked up by my boss in a taxi and we go to the bank of Jinzhou to get my money exchanged. He takes me upstairs to the VIP section and I meet my banker, an American named Leif (Seattle). He sat me down and got me some coffee (which was delicious) and we just chat about the area and what I should expect. He tells me that yes, the Chinese do eat dog in this area but I have nothing to worry about. He says that its pretty frowned upon to serve dog because more and more people are getting dogs as pets, but, he says, you can still find it if you want it.
He also tells me that Jinzhou is probably the safest place I've ever lived and that he could strap all of my money to my naked body and walk me down the darkest alley in the city and I wouldn't get touched. He is a great fella, definitely a good resource to have in this new land.
Next my boss and his girlfriend, a Chinese lady named Vicki, take me to get a cell phone, TP, dog bowl, outlet converter, shampoo, and stuff like that. We have some lunch and then I go home. It was my first solo cab ride and I was pretty nervous. Its nice because when I got here I was given a bunch of laminated cards with address's on them so all I had to do was show the driver the card that says "take me to the Manhattan" (my apt), and they do. Once I got there I rounded up when I should have rounded down with the price of the cab ride, you know, i was trying to give him some extra, and he promptly have me back the money. Maybe tipping is only a city in China.
I walk into my apartment and finally meet my roommate Roger who seems like a nice guy and amazes me that he actually has the guts to drive a motor scooter around town. For the remainder of the day I just hang out in my apartment and take it easy, jet lag is destroying my energy level and appetite. So its 3:30 in the morning here and I am wide awake. I took 3 melatonin thinking it would help me sleep through the night but I guess I was mistaken. It will all come together I'm sure, I just gotta be patient.

It Begins

After 1 1/2 hours from Colombus to Atlanta, a 3 hour layover in Atlanta, a 14 1/2 hour flight to Seoul,
a 3 hour layover in Seoul, and a 1 1/2 hour flight to Shenyang I have finally arrived in China! I am
going to start at the very beginning, right when I set foot onto Chinese land. I get off the airplane
with Coop and we start walking to immigration. We walk down a set of stairs and we are promptly surrounded
by 5 uniformed Chinese military. My mind begins to race, my heart accelerates, and I quickly begin a breathing
excercise I've learned to calm myself down. I know how to say "thank you" in Chinese, thats it
(pronounced shay shay). The guard knows just a little bit of English. I begin to pull out all of the paperwork that
I was told I was going to need. He looks them over, makes some calls and points to some chairs against the wall,
We sit. He askes me if I have a friend waiting outside and I say yes, someone from my company is waiting for me.
The guard takes me right through customs so I can give my luggage to the "friend" and we can move on through the
dog situation. The man who met me at the airport was named Eric and he is the big boss man at English First
(my school). He said he was going to meet me at the place that the government was going to be taking me. Ok, now
Im starting to worry, the breathing excercise has ceased to work and I am praying. I haven't prayed in a very long
time and I dont even know who I was praying to, all I know is that I was begging some higher power/universe to let
this ordeal end well. I prayed that the entire contents of my karma back can be emptied if it means that Coopers
stays out of quarantine. The guard takes us back to the seats and Cooper and I wait for over an hour. I ask the man if
I can take Coop outside to pee and he said "yes, 1 minute, hurry!". He follows me out and Coop must have had stage
fright or something because he couldn't pee. Later on the guard comes to me and says to follow him, he takes me to a
casually dressed man and tells me to now follow him. We do and he takes us to a very old and beat up van, points to the
back and says "ride". At this point I was just happy to be out of the airport and away from the guards. They made me
feel very uncomfortable, kind of like being around a cop in the states but 100 times worse, if that makes sense.
So we climb into this van with one bench seat in the back and thats it. Cooper and I comply even though everything even
though whats happening screams "are you fucking insane? Red flag!!". The man drives us about 20 minutes into the town
of Shenyang to an office where 2 other people (a man and a woman) are waiting for us. The driver drops us off and leaves.
The 2 people there (who speak zero English) point Cooper and I in the direction they want us to go. One room had a desk, a table,
posters with dogs on the wall, and a tub that was nearly black with filth. I show the man all of Coops paper work and he makes
copies. He takes us to another building where they took "tests". The tooks Coopers blood, stuck large q-tips up his nose, in his eye,
in his mouth, and up his butt. Mind you Cooper is just a grumpy as I am and while this is going on Coop and I make
eye contact and I can tell that he is thinking " Dude, you know this isn't my style but this chick is going to get bit".
Luckily the lady finishes her "tests" before he gets too rowdy. I am starting to feel sick to my stomach at the thought if
potentially having to leave my best friend at this place. I mean, outside there were busted open trash bags with hypodermic needles pouring out!
I think when I saw that I actually verbalized "oh hell no!". The room that they would be keeping him in looked like Auswitch for animals,
I mean it was beyong gnarley. We walk back to the original building where Eric (the EF boss) was waiting for us, he speaks
decent English. For about 20 more minutes Cooper and I stand there while they talk in Chinese. All I could do was read
their faces and try to determine whether the conversation was leaning towards a positive or negative outcome. All the while
crapping my pants. The next thing I know Eric gives the man some money and we walk out the door as free men.
No quarantine for Cooper!!! I have done my best to illustrate this entire senario for you dear reader, but the words do
not exist to try to even attempt to descrive the emotions I felt through this whole ordeal and now the elation I am felling
that my boy gets to come home with me. I almost know for a fact that if he had to go into that place for the full 30 days
it would have dont irrepitible damage. So whomever heard my unspoken words, I thank you.
Next Cooper and I climb into a car with Eric and some other fella and they begin to take us to Jinzhou, which I've learned
is pronounced "JinJoe", good to know. We drive through Shenyang and I am just staring out the window taking this all in.
There are people EVERYWHERE. They are walking, riding, scootering, driving, all of the place. The streets are absolutly
chaotic, I couldn't imagine trying to navigate this place in a car. There driving skills are strictly collision avoiding manuvers,
no real organization really. I even saw a man casually riding his 3 wheel bike (looks like a trike but backwards) straight down the street of on
comming cars, everyone just moved around him. The streets are insane. So we finally make it to Jinzhou and I get to my appartment
which I'm told by my American banker Leif that it is the "Beverly Hills if Jinzhou". Sweetness. Its a pretty nice place, There are guards
at the entrance gates. That night I go out to dinner with my DOS (director of studies) and 2 other teachers, Mike from the UK and Lauren
from California. They are both very nice and invite me to hang out with them the next day. We end dinner and I taxi home for some well deserved
Sleep.

Slap me some skin Seoul brother.

Well the longest portion of this trip is over. Cooper and I made it to Korea and now we are just waiting on our flight to Shenyang. And I gotta say, I have the greatest dog in the history of the planet. He plopped his happy ass down in front of me and slept the entire 14 1/2 hours! He even curled up with the Korean fella that was trying to sleep on the floor beside me! Im so proud, everyone loved him. Also Let me tell you, Korean Air is amazing! The people are super nice, the plane is uber high tech, I had a TV come out of my arm rest that had about 40 movies in it, video games, news, etc! I watched A-team, karate kid, Robin Hood, and Iron man 2. They fed me twice, for dinner I had roast beef with noodles, steamed vegis, a ceaser salad, cherry cheesecake and free wine! For breakfast I had an omlette with baked ham, hash browns, rasperry yogurt, and fresh fruit. These folks have raised the bar! Ans yes, they were all dressed like they are in the commercials. I didnt get too much sleep so Im sorry if this post is a little wacked out. More later folks!