Seoul was simply amazing, in a variety ways. I have so many memories, stories, bruises, coughs, fat rolls, and donuts to take away from it. Some of which I will share with all of you soon (not the coughs; don't worry, hypochondriac). But for now, I must recharge myself for another day of work. Goodnight and goodbye and Annyeonghe Kaseyo.
(There are new pictures and perhaps films available.)
Wednesday, May 7, 2008
Wednesday, April 30, 2008
SoKo: A Prelude.
After spending four hours over two days hunting frantically for either a telephone number (I found eight; many didn't work or were answered by people who spoke no English), an office (I walked miles trying to find one address that I later realized was mis-written by someone), or a travel agent (who directed me in all sorts of odd directions) that would lead me to ferry tickets to Seoul, South Korea to visit Dear Cyndi, I finally decided to go to the source.
The Tianjin Port is a 45-minute train ride outside of Tianjin, in a town called Tanggu. I woke up early this morning to take a cab ($1) to the station, from which I took a light rail train (that made announcements using the AIM "you have an IM!" sound; $.70) to Tanggu, from which I took another taxi ($1.50) to the port authority, from which I learned several new phone numbers, which eventualyl led me down a rabbit hole at the end of which sat a round trip ferry ticket to Incheon ($200 round trip). So!
As I wrote to someone via Gchat, I'm excited/excited; I originally was going to type "nervous" after the backslash but then realized I'm not particularly nervous. Just happy to take on another new adventure, happy to have conquered many obstacles, hapy to see Cyndi, happy to see a new country, happy to be alive.
And then on my walk home from school/CenturyMart, my pen exploded all over my bag, reminding me that there are no perfect days in China.
Zaijian.
The Tianjin Port is a 45-minute train ride outside of Tianjin, in a town called Tanggu. I woke up early this morning to take a cab ($1) to the station, from which I took a light rail train (that made announcements using the AIM "you have an IM!" sound; $.70) to Tanggu, from which I took another taxi ($1.50) to the port authority, from which I learned several new phone numbers, which eventualyl led me down a rabbit hole at the end of which sat a round trip ferry ticket to Incheon ($200 round trip). So!
As I wrote to someone via Gchat, I'm excited/excited; I originally was going to type "nervous" after the backslash but then realized I'm not particularly nervous. Just happy to take on another new adventure, happy to have conquered many obstacles, hapy to see Cyndi, happy to see a new country, happy to be alive.
And then on my walk home from school/CenturyMart, my pen exploded all over my bag, reminding me that there are no perfect days in China.
Zaijian.
Tuesday, April 29, 2008
Chickenscratch.
Due to, I think, the messy handwriting of one of the Chinese teachers who wrote down the address of the Seoul-Tianjin ferry office, I walked for about 1.5 hours up and down one long street, trying to locate this place. She copied the phone number down incorrectly too, meaning when I called for assistance, it was a home phone number (I'm sure having a frustrated-sounding English-speaking man on the other line sounded just like the folk stories of "white devils" that are still passed around in China).
Today, I will succeed. And then teach for many hours.
I went to Carrefour, the French supermarket (and subject of protests last week here and elsewhere in China, due to Sarkozy's comments about the Olympics) yesterday, and spent 100yuan on basically junk food. I took four bags of random things (cookies, kim chee, and some berries that taste like sour bananas BUT IN A GOOD WAY) home with me. And then went running. A good Monday if there ever was one.
Today, I will succeed. And then teach for many hours.
I went to Carrefour, the French supermarket (and subject of protests last week here and elsewhere in China, due to Sarkozy's comments about the Olympics) yesterday, and spent 100yuan on basically junk food. I took four bags of random things (cookies, kim chee, and some berries that taste like sour bananas BUT IN A GOOD WAY) home with me. And then went running. A good Monday if there ever was one.
Sunday, April 27, 2008
The weekend.
Apparently removing oneself from one's comfort zone can be somewhat rewarding. My weekend went fairly well, beginning with exams on Friday (most of which went pretty well, although I had to fail several students and several others opted to fail themselves). I am now a full-blown teacher, having issued exams, taught classes, graded (some) homework, and the like.
Afterwards, two students took me out to dinner at a place near the school. The food was awful (salty brown-sauced pork bits with a poached egg and rice), but the company was not.
Saturday, I went shopping with Evangeline and her friend Jenny. They diligently took me to every shoe store in the city, as I mentioned in passing the possibility of wanting new shoes. I did not purchase any, although I did spy many shops I'll return to later.
(I hate shopping with others; I like being able to think at my own pace, and feel guilty making people wait for my decisions. I generally end up not buying anything, which is good I suppose.)
They took me out to dinner (another free meal!) and I ate seven divine courses of regional cuisine including sweet duck bits, sliced raw yams and Hawthorn berries, tomato and egg soup, fluffy tofu orbs with mushrooms, and this odd dense flavorless bread which we dipped in the equivalent of vanilla pudding.
(There are many fireworks outside right now?)
Then I went out with Terna to the western bar, followed by the western club, followed by my oh-so-un-western firm mattress.
After being awoken again by accordion playing, I met up with another student (see a trend?), Eric, who took me to a huge huge huge many-block street market, where many things I had little use for could be found. It was exactly what I needed to know existed, though--a veritable black market for goods that could be found for more expensive elsewhere in the city. Afterwards, he introduced me to two regional foods: a fried dumpling filled with sweet mashed beans (good and odd but good) and some sort of warm wheat and brown sugar sludge, topped with candied cherries. I only ate half of it--it was filling, and I didn't want to be filled up by that. Eric described it as "something we never eat in Tianjin, but we have people who are new to Tianjin eat." Uh, ok.
We then went shopping (that is pretty much what people do here), followed by a fantastic Sichuan meal (with fish! and tofu! and chicken! and many spices and the most interesting peppercorns I have ever eaten!) and GO-KARTING. Which was only 3 minutes long, but it was a fantastic three minutes. Also, I found a gym that is only 500RMB for 6 months. So. A good day.
Tomorrow I must purchase a boat ticket to an undisclosed location. Wish me luck.
More pictures have been erected.
Afterwards, two students took me out to dinner at a place near the school. The food was awful (salty brown-sauced pork bits with a poached egg and rice), but the company was not.
Saturday, I went shopping with Evangeline and her friend Jenny. They diligently took me to every shoe store in the city, as I mentioned in passing the possibility of wanting new shoes. I did not purchase any, although I did spy many shops I'll return to later.
(I hate shopping with others; I like being able to think at my own pace, and feel guilty making people wait for my decisions. I generally end up not buying anything, which is good I suppose.)
They took me out to dinner (another free meal!) and I ate seven divine courses of regional cuisine including sweet duck bits, sliced raw yams and Hawthorn berries, tomato and egg soup, fluffy tofu orbs with mushrooms, and this odd dense flavorless bread which we dipped in the equivalent of vanilla pudding.
(There are many fireworks outside right now?)
Then I went out with Terna to the western bar, followed by the western club, followed by my oh-so-un-western firm mattress.
After being awoken again by accordion playing, I met up with another student (see a trend?), Eric, who took me to a huge huge huge many-block street market, where many things I had little use for could be found. It was exactly what I needed to know existed, though--a veritable black market for goods that could be found for more expensive elsewhere in the city. Afterwards, he introduced me to two regional foods: a fried dumpling filled with sweet mashed beans (good and odd but good) and some sort of warm wheat and brown sugar sludge, topped with candied cherries. I only ate half of it--it was filling, and I didn't want to be filled up by that. Eric described it as "something we never eat in Tianjin, but we have people who are new to Tianjin eat." Uh, ok.
We then went shopping (that is pretty much what people do here), followed by a fantastic Sichuan meal (with fish! and tofu! and chicken! and many spices and the most interesting peppercorns I have ever eaten!) and GO-KARTING. Which was only 3 minutes long, but it was a fantastic three minutes. Also, I found a gym that is only 500RMB for 6 months. So. A good day.
Tomorrow I must purchase a boat ticket to an undisclosed location. Wish me luck.
More pictures have been erected.
Saturday, April 26, 2008
When do you practice accordion?
If you were my upstairs neighbor, answer would be, "7:30AM on a Saturday morning, in the room above your bedroom. Oh, and I really like to keep time by pounding my shoed heel on the ground."
I then migrated to the living room to sleep on the couch, only to be awoken by a dream about a dead baby. At least it wasn't about home!
Many social plans this weekend with students. Wish me luck.
I then migrated to the living room to sleep on the couch, only to be awoken by a dream about a dead baby. At least it wasn't about home!
Many social plans this weekend with students. Wish me luck.
Thursday, April 24, 2008
On Running in China: part one of many.
I just returned from my first Tianjin jog, and it was longer and more frustrating than I originally imagined (although I certainly should have anticipated the latter). The city is built on a river, which seems to separate the commercial and residential half of the city from the industrial zone. Along this river is what the city's tourism bureau touts as the "River Park": beautifully landscaped pedestrian space along the main stretch of the river.
An ideal place to go running, yes? Er, no. You see, naturally, like everything else in China right now, the River Park is UNDER CONSTRUCTION, meaning large swaths of it are blocked off, forcing those promenading, walking, ambling, running, jogging, and otherwise to take a busy, dirt-covered road shared with cars, construction vehicles, pollution, and other unpleasant detritus.
I only wanted to make these unscheduled detours once, of course, so I figured I would make my return voyage via the west side of the river (I live east of it), which looked identical to my side, only completely finished.
The west side of the river was much better--hardly any people, new things to look at, even a large abstract statue! I then arrived at a large blue construction wall, bordered by a factory on one side and the river on the other, after I ran about 2/3 mile, requiring me to backtrack and finally run home through the main part of the city.
As I was moving about as quickly as the typical Tianjin bicyclist, I took this back for much of the way along a main thoroughfare. it would have made an interesting picture: hundreds of Chinese bikers, with a tall white man keeping pace with them on foot (insert social commentary here) (inaccurate social commentary, but go ahead anyways).
* * * * *
As has been confirmed by Cyndi, mornings are the worst times for me here emotionally. I have dreamt of home every night I've been here, and don't really want to listen to my alarm clock when it tells me to leave that world for another 24 hours. I'm not home-sick, I don't think--just home-hungry.
School is well; I have exams tomorrow (which consist of me talking to each student in a room for a few minutes, and then grading them on their pronunciation, grammar, etc.). Most of my students are pretty good, but a few are a disaster. I talked to my Chinese co-teachers today to decide to whom I should not give a passing grade. This actually might be more terrifying than teaching.
The weekend's events depend on whether or not I am traveling to Seoul over my one week (unpaid) May holiday.
Until then--may all your running paths be unobstructed.
An ideal place to go running, yes? Er, no. You see, naturally, like everything else in China right now, the River Park is UNDER CONSTRUCTION, meaning large swaths of it are blocked off, forcing those promenading, walking, ambling, running, jogging, and otherwise to take a busy, dirt-covered road shared with cars, construction vehicles, pollution, and other unpleasant detritus.
I only wanted to make these unscheduled detours once, of course, so I figured I would make my return voyage via the west side of the river (I live east of it), which looked identical to my side, only completely finished.
The west side of the river was much better--hardly any people, new things to look at, even a large abstract statue! I then arrived at a large blue construction wall, bordered by a factory on one side and the river on the other, after I ran about 2/3 mile, requiring me to backtrack and finally run home through the main part of the city.
As I was moving about as quickly as the typical Tianjin bicyclist, I took this back for much of the way along a main thoroughfare. it would have made an interesting picture: hundreds of Chinese bikers, with a tall white man keeping pace with them on foot (insert social commentary here) (inaccurate social commentary, but go ahead anyways).
* * * * *
As has been confirmed by Cyndi, mornings are the worst times for me here emotionally. I have dreamt of home every night I've been here, and don't really want to listen to my alarm clock when it tells me to leave that world for another 24 hours. I'm not home-sick, I don't think--just home-hungry.
School is well; I have exams tomorrow (which consist of me talking to each student in a room for a few minutes, and then grading them on their pronunciation, grammar, etc.). Most of my students are pretty good, but a few are a disaster. I talked to my Chinese co-teachers today to decide to whom I should not give a passing grade. This actually might be more terrifying than teaching.
The weekend's events depend on whether or not I am traveling to Seoul over my one week (unpaid) May holiday.
Until then--may all your running paths be unobstructed.
Tuesday, April 22, 2008
Teh laundriez.
As of 11AM this morning, I have a working washing machine. This is the greatest thing that has happened since I have been here. It seems to do a pretty good job, too. I'm pleased.
Class was ok today--I have advanced into "nervous eating" mode, meaning I am always hungry and eat accordingly. I barely made it through my last class today due to hunger. It went well, otherwise. Every day gets a bit better (even when I have to try to explain the concept of "obituaries" to people who have never heard of such a thing and cannot understand why we would list the dead in our newspapers).
Sigh. Going out tonight, I think. We'll see how that goes.
New pictures and YouTuber. Peep.
Class was ok today--I have advanced into "nervous eating" mode, meaning I am always hungry and eat accordingly. I barely made it through my last class today due to hunger. It went well, otherwise. Every day gets a bit better (even when I have to try to explain the concept of "obituaries" to people who have never heard of such a thing and cannot understand why we would list the dead in our newspapers).
Sigh. Going out tonight, I think. We'll see how that goes.
New pictures and YouTuber. Peep.
Subscribe to:
Posts (Atom)
