|
Post by Steiner on Jul 29, 2004 3:52:15 GMT 7
I'm in Philadelphia, the city of cheesesteaks and gunfire.
I'd forgotten how comfortable everything is here, and how good dairy products are.
|
|
|
Post by Nate M on Jul 30, 2004 23:09:44 GMT 7
I'm in Minneapolis, MN, for the next 4 weeks or so.
It looks like I'll be in Tianjin after that, at the Civil Aviation University of China. Looks like the pay won't be anything spectacular, but from talking to teachers there it sounds like the admin is pretty good at trying not to screw over their teachers, which is a plus.
|
|
|
Post by Dr. Gonzo on Aug 6, 2004 10:22:13 GMT 7
Right now? At a school up in the hills near Adelaide, Australia. Takes 50 minutes to drive here in the $2000 Toyota. I pass through a tunnel, and once on the other side, the temp. drops 5 degrees and there's permanent fog, except when the rain is belting down. The school doesn't quite know what to do with me. I've only got 2 classes, and a few substitute lessons. Two hours "work" today, for which I'll get paid around $250. Unlike China though, I can't piss off in my spare time. Good thing about the money, ços life in The Developed World is expensive, as you all know. One cheap thing though..............there's been a grape glut, which means they're putting varieties like cab. sav. and shiraz into the $2.50 a litre bag-in-the-box wine casks that are very popular.
|
|
|
Post by Lotus Eater on Aug 6, 2004 12:38:08 GMT 7
Half of you guys are now 'off the map' (as opposed to off the planet). Do we now have to add a world map with little x-marks-the-spot spots on it??
|
|
|
Post by con's fly is open on Aug 6, 2004 20:09:56 GMT 7
How about red arrows pointing off the map, like they did with that signpost on M*A*S*H?
|
|
Ruth
SuperDuperMegaBarfly
God's provisions are strategically placed along the path of your obedience.
Posts: 3,915
|
Post by Ruth on Aug 22, 2004 21:10:11 GMT 7
Forget the world map. The geography in my brain can handle Philadelphia, Minneapolis, and even Adelaide. The map of China is extremely helpful when trying to pinpoint cities where bar-mates live.
Steiner - are you coming back to China?
|
|
|
Post by Steiner on Aug 23, 2004 11:40:12 GMT 7
Yeah, I'll be back in a couple years.
Meanwhile, I'll be teaching an ESL class on the side while I do grad school. So I'm still a teacher, just not in China.
|
|
|
Post by Dr. Gonzo on Aug 23, 2004 13:52:03 GMT 7
Et moi? Back to China?? Probably not to teach, at least not in the short term. At the moment, I'm in a classroom as support teacher for a woman from Indonesia "teaching' Indonesian. I can imagine the feelings of Chinese placed in similar situations with laowai. She cries a lot. I've got no idea what her lesson is about. What chance do 13 year olds have? I have a good pedagogical grasp of teaching a foreign language, which is not shared by her. But I'm employed permanently and full time, and hopefully the gods will be kinder soon.
|
|
|
Post by Raoul Duke on Aug 23, 2004 17:36:32 GMT 7
Uh, Gone, should we gather from this that you can speak Indonesian yourself?
|
|
|
Post by Dr. Gonzo on Aug 24, 2004 4:38:11 GMT 7
No. I sit at the back with WW1 issue 303. It does wonders for discipline, but as soon as I step out, the riot recommences.
|
|
|
Post by MK on Aug 28, 2004 21:22:05 GMT 7
As of this week, I am in Beijing!
|
|
|
Post by con's fly is open on Aug 28, 2004 22:10:23 GMT 7
Cool! Check out the Houhai district and tell me what you think. In fact, tell me what you think of Beijing generally- I was only there for 30 hours, and saw less than I'd hoped.
|
|
Newbs
SuperDuperBarfly!
If you don't have your parents permission to be on this site, naughty, naughty. But Krusty forgives
Posts: 2,085
|
Post by Newbs on Nov 18, 2004 8:19:16 GMT 7
I'm in the big country which has 5000 years of history where everyone eats with chopsticks and thinks that my name is laowai. Damn, I wish I could remember the name of the country though!
I'm at 0 14.
newbs
|
|
Ruth
SuperDuperMegaBarfly
God's provisions are strategically placed along the path of your obedience.
Posts: 3,915
|
Post by Ruth on Nov 22, 2004 13:59:13 GMT 7
Welcome, Newbs. FYI - the country name you are searching for is 'Zhongguo'. How could you forget? It's the center of the earth.
|
|
tom
Upstanding Citizen
Posts: 124
|
Post by tom on Nov 30, 2004 10:10:12 GMT 7
West coast, Portland, Oregon. There's a 10,000 year history here too. My family just wasen't here for it. Printer by trade, and a teacher of banjo. (three students) Or baby pickers as we like to call them. The nicesest thing about teaching is being taught so much.
|
|
|
Post by Raoul Duke on Nov 30, 2004 22:46:45 GMT 7
Tom, when do you plan to be here in Baja Mongolia? Do you indeed plan to come?
|
|
tom
Upstanding Citizen
Posts: 124
|
Post by tom on Dec 1, 2004 10:44:24 GMT 7
I wanted to come and teach. Now I am unsure if I want to butt heads with the bureaucracy, the polluted citys. the stares, and trying to get a paycheck on time. Students who only want to pass a test rather than learn. I have and want to experience cultures other than my own. But at what expence? I live in a beautiful culture right here. Should I come to China, or wait for China to come to me?
|
|
|
Post by Raoul Duke on Dec 1, 2004 11:02:09 GMT 7
Tom, it's purely your call. This place isn't for everybody.
Few people bitch about this place louder than I do. But don't misunderstand- my intention is not to scare people away, just to help them walk in with eyes wide open.
I'm a long-term resident. I may be a lifer...at least, I have no plans to leave. There ARE compensations, and there ARE very cool things about being here. If you come in with the right set of expectations- and a good sense of humor- spending time here can indeed be one of the best things that ever happens to you.
|
|
|
Post by burlives on Dec 1, 2004 14:23:58 GMT 7
Yeah, what Raoul said.
To coin an aphorism, hate is not the opposite of love and neither is complaint the opposite of praise. I complain because I am wrapped up in the place and I want to know and feel more of what we have here. My attention is drawn to the bad as well as the good.
But it's not for everyone, that's true.
|
|
|
Post by con's fly is open on Dec 1, 2004 15:35:49 GMT 7
What Burl said. It's a different culture, with different sensibilities, but for me they're outnumbered by the commonalities. In my experience, I've been paid and respected like a doctor, while Canada offers me a buck to wash its car. China is crooked as hell, so you have to be prudent; but it's a pretty safe place to live, and foreigners are liked. Meeting strangers here is tricky for some folks (depends on your personality, really), but Chinese folks network through introductions, so you're three degrees of separation from meeting more people than you'll have time to know. Others might peg the number differently, but I figure it takes about 3 months to be socially entrenched. The Chinese are cold (but rarely hostile) with strangers, but very warm with the people they know, so after that first lonely 90 days you'd only be as isolated as you insist upon being.
As to your concerns, bureucracy and reliable paychecks are purely a function of the school, not China. Pollution depends on the city- odds are just about anywhere is dirtier than Oregon, but few are bad enough to significantly shorten your lifespan. And the attention level is high, maybe higher than anywhere else, but this varies: in smaller centres we're celebrities, while in larger ones we're merely curiosities. In a law-and-order country like this, the gawking can be annoying sometimes, but it's very rarely threatening. I'll say it again: most Chinese really dig foreigners. No one can tell you whether to move to China, but if you think leaving home for a year is a good idea, China is a highly underrated destination, and the jobs grow on trees.
|
|
Newbs
SuperDuperBarfly!
If you don't have your parents permission to be on this site, naughty, naughty. But Krusty forgives
Posts: 2,085
|
Post by Newbs on Dec 1, 2004 16:50:11 GMT 7
Con's fly is open
90 days, eh? Well, I just counted on the calender and I'm up to 72 days. I think you're right with a lot of what you said, and it's great to get the views of all you guys about life in the People's Republic. Fair dinkum, the craziness at Raoul's ESL saloon is the only thing that has stopped me going mad at times.
I've been as annoyed as anyone at the "Hello!"s that I've got after someone has walked past me. Well today, on our campus there were two 20something guys visititing. When they saw me they did the usual "veer away a bit because we don't know how to approach foreigners" act. But, after they passed by they said "Hello." The way they said it sounded like they were shy or something. It just put a different perspective on this whole thing, at least for me.
Sometimes, in the past 72 days, when things have got me down a bit, I've thought to myself that I feel sorry for the proletariat of the People's Republic. Why? Because, if the going gets really tough then I can just up and leave, but most of these poor b****** have a life sentence.
Cheers
Newbs
|
|
|
Post by Raoul Duke on Dec 1, 2004 23:23:27 GMT 7
What Newbs said. And I'm glad we've helped...although having to get sanity help from this lot is really pretty damn sad. Anyway. I too find myself feeling pretty sorry for the average Zhou Baijiu here. I doubt if any of us (except maybe Hamish ) can imagine how drab and meaningless most people's lives here really are. For most Chinese a good meal and a child who marries well are about as whoop as life ever gets. I think this is part of why they stare. They are desperately starved for variety and novelty and stimulation. We have to endure the staring and the comments...but we're also "special" beyond anything we'd ever encounter at home. I don't think most of the homeys really mean any harm by their admittedly abysmal and simian public behavior. I think they usually don't even have any concept that they're being rude. But I'll be the first to concede that this isn't always easy to remember, or much comfort even if you do.
|
|
tom
Upstanding Citizen
Posts: 124
|
Post by tom on Dec 2, 2004 7:29:34 GMT 7
I know and appreciate that most of what you say about China (the bad aspects) is tongue and cheek. And I realize this is a place for you expats in China to blow off steam, bitch, rant and rave. As well as provide very useful info to each other and to those who are thinking about coming, whose names cannot be spoken. Uh Oh! Better stop me. None of anything I've read here, that I didn't already know, would dissuade me from becoming Chinese. I find myself in the middle of my life, with too many options. I'm a 51 year old American man with a good job, no bills, and no real responsibility except to myself. Is anyone getting teary eyed yet? Perhaps my attitude should be, I'm coming to China, and when I get there they can all kiss my bright white ass!
|
|
|
Post by Hamish on Dec 2, 2004 8:58:09 GMT 7
I find myself in the middle of my life, with too many options. I'm a 51 year old American... You have a planned lifespan of 102 years? Is that optimism, or pessimism? In fact, you have expended nearly ALL of your life already. Sooner than most people imagine, you will be unemployable, even in China where many people your age have already been put out to pasture. My advice is to read the parable at the beginning of Richard Bach’s interesting little book “Illusions” if you have not done so already. That is the best way to explain what I am saying to all you young pups from the advanced state of decay I find myself in – turning 63 this month.
|
|
tom
Upstanding Citizen
Posts: 124
|
Post by tom on Dec 2, 2004 10:32:19 GMT 7
Just think! Some night the stars will gleam Upon a cold grey stone. And trace a name with silver beam And lo, twill be your own That night is speeding on to greet your epitaphic rhyme Your life is just a little beat within the heart of time
A little shame, a little pain A laugh lest ye may moan
A little gain, a little fame A star gleam on a stone
Hey! What's wrong with a bit of poetry?
|
|