What with my sister coming home from India last weekend and my brother getting married next weekend, I had some trouble finding time to tell my folks that Stick and I are planning to go back to China in September. Seriously, Mom and Dad, you guys could have pretended to be a little surprised.
Return To The Middle Kingdom
Posted in New York City
Tagged back to China, China, Chinese life, New York City, Stick
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Drinkable Water?
China Daily said yesterday that Beijing has become the first city in China to meet the required safety standards of potable water. The article says the new, clean tap water passed 106 quality tests, but I have to wonder just what the standards of drinking water are in a city like Beijing. Would you drink it?
Everyone’s Got One!
The guys at Capital One might want to check my blog’s employment status before sending it a credit card application. Just saying.
Well, it could be the Ramones…
This is Stick’s graduation card from his brother and sister-in-law. This picture’s not the greatest, but it includes detailed instructions on how to spend the enclosed check. “We want this to go to towards something fun — A video game, nice dinner, Lionel Ritchie box set — “
Editorial Comments
I just got an article back with really good editing suggestions. Some of it was stylistic changes so the magazine will all match, and there was some rephrasing for clarity. It was a nice change, I seem to either get accepted without a second set of eyes to notice my IE and EI errors, or I get complete rewrite suggestion. “If you could just cut all of this cooperative gameplay stuff and focus on how videogames are bad and should be kept away from children…”
China Addiction
Stick asked me if I wanted to go back to China at the end of the summer. I don’t know, I don’t feel an amazing love of Yantai. China is like Wonkaland, and while I’m still curious about China, the Chinese and just how taxi physics works, I don’t love China or feel like it’s my second home.
But I miss the constant adventures in China. I like being a bai ren celeb. I like being an expat. I really like working 20 – 30 hours a week. I like teaching middle-schoolers, playing ESL games, testing out my brilliant lesson plans and seeing how the kids react.
I hate trying to speak Chinese. My vocab sucks, and it’s easier to work on it here, where I get classroom feedback, instead of giggle giggle giggle. Then again, I put a lot of time into my awful Chinese and I don’t want to trash that.
I hate 90% of Chinese food. It sounds kind of stupid that that’s a major point, but it’s just as stupid to set myself up for another year of culinary disaster. Although I do miss cool noodles and hawthorne leather… and I could bring some foods I like and get some care packages shipped in…
Posted in Yantai
Tagged back to China, China, chinese, Chinese food, Chinese life, ESL, games, lesson plans, noodles, Stick, teaching, Yantai
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Chinese Movie Pirates
No, not the 7 kwai DVDs from the back room.
China has censored part of the latest instalment of hit Hollywood movie “Pirates of the Caribbean” for “vilifying and defacing the Chinese”, the official Xinhua news agency said on Friday.
… “The captain played by Chow is bald, his face heavily scarred. He also has a long beard and long nails, whose image is still in line with Hollywood’s old tradition of demonising the Chinese.”
“Chinese censors also cut Chow’s line in which he states ‘Welcome to Singapore’ because it hints Singapore is a land of pirates …,” Xinhua added.
No word on whether the back room DVD shops stock have the American or the Chinese version of the movie.
Posted in New York City
Tagged BBC, China, chinese, Chinese life, Eric, New York City, pirates
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Graduation
We had graduation on Monday night. It was great to see my students all dressed up and to meet their families.
Unfortunately, it was really disorganized. Get here at 6, bring your certificates and sit in the front rows! No, 5:30! Sit on the stage! Sit with your class! Get here at 5! Talk for 5 minutes about your class! The certificates aren’t ready yet, pick them up in the lobby. No, office. We don’t have time for speeches, just call their names! Don’t sit with your class, sit on the stage! Make a 3 minute speech! The doors will still be locked at 5, get here at 5:30!
I didn’t really enjoy it much because I was so uncomfortable and unsure what I was meant to be doing. I didn’t even know when my class would be called, we weren’t following either the program or the order we’d been told. It was like some of my improvisational teaching in China. I finally decided that I’d take as long as it takes to tell my class how awesome they are and to present the certificates.
I had almost perfect attendance for graduation. One student told me beforehand that he couldn’t get out of work, and another said she would come, but ended up not having a babysitter. It was really good to see that my students wanted to recognize the end of the semester and bring their families.
Now that I’m done with LCC, I’m in a weird position. I’ve just taught a semester at college… but I’m looking for a job again and may be working at the 7/11 or Dunkin’ Donuts next.
Posted in New York City
Tagged awesome, China, Chinese life, Dunkin' Donuts, LCC, looking for a job, my students, New York City, teaching, teaching in China
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