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!