The Unexpected on Television

Hey everyone out there, this is a blog that I should have uploaded earlier last week, but due to a number of factors, I did not. There will be a longer post talking about my first days of teaching. If I had to guess, it will either be up by Wednesday or Thursday (once I have had all of my classes at least once). Right now though, I want to talk about something that happened the night before Yom Kippur. I will give fair word and fair waring, what I am going to describe may be disturbing to some people. I know it was to me. With my warning now given, I can only say that if you choose to read from here on out, it's all on you.

The night before Yom Kippur, the very last night we were dealing the effects of the typhoon, one of my fellow foreign teachers and I decided to go to dinner together. Rather than go to any of our usual places, we decided to see if there was a restaurant that might be a little bit closer to the back gate of the university (the back gate being the most convenient one for our apartment building). We found a small restaurant where we each ordered a plate of 炒面 (chow mein). It was only then that I looked up and noticed what was on the television, a dog fight.

I am not a member of PETA, nor would any of those that know me well call me the greatest lover of animals. I have been to a number of races with either family or friends and I have placed money down at those races. However, despite my betting on races and relative indifference to most animals, there is a part of me that is...repulsed by the idea of a dog fight. Seeing one on television with at least four or five other patrons of the restaurant watching it is even a less appealing idea. As I do not know how to say "Would you please turn the channel?" in Mandarin and not wanting to cause a scene, I did the only logical thing I could think about doing, I changed my seat so I wouldn't be in eye line of the television easily.

The dogfight was playing in the background for most of our meal. During it, my fellow American teacher and myself had a series of conversations about the ethics of such a thing. My objection is based on when two prize fighters go into a ring, they go in fully knowing and consenting. I doubt dogs in dogfights have such an understanding of what may happen. Logically, I know full well that dog fights happen in America. Hell, there's probably at least one dog fighting ring in San Diego, most likely there are many. However seeing it on a television is something else entirely.

Fortunately, the dog fight was not to the death (I think I would have lost my dinner right there and then if it had been) and was not on broadcast television. It was part of a DVD that also had a number of other things on it. It took a young child of perhaps 8, maybe 9 years to change it to something else, and that was only after the dogfight segment had ended. Although the 炒面at that particular restaurant is very good, the location of the restaurant itself convenient, and the probability of seeing that same event again relatively slim...I don't know if I want to go back. Perhaps I am being a bit too paranoid. Maybe I am making a mountain out of a molehill. Frankly, it's not something I care to think about.

Meditations before a Fast

My second Yom Kippur in China is here, well rephrasing slightly, my second Yom Kippur in China begins in less than 12 hours. I know that there are special rituals one is supposed to do when Yom Kippur falls on the Sabbath, but for the life of me, I cannot remember what those are. Although I have fasted alone before (for my previous Yom Kippur in China as well as last Tisha B'av), I have found it is easier to keep the fast when one is near others who are fasting. All things considered, I am looking forward to this time of meditation and reflection. What I am not looking forward to is that tomorrow, during my fast, I may be teaching for the first time.

Traditionally, one is not supposed to work either on the Sabbath or Yom Kippur. I am not Baal Teshuva or observant of all the commandments given in Torah. Even if I were, I am an employee of the Chinese Government, at least in name, there are certain favors that one does not ask for. Among those favors is an extra day to oneself for whatever purpose. I am slightly confused by my schedule, and there is a possibility that I might not be teaching. All I know is that I should be prepared to teach. So I will use this last day of the holiday to get a plan ready for class tomorrow. Hopefully, I won't need it and I will be able to fine tune my plans (such as they are) for Monday. However begin prepared never hurt anyone, at least not the best of my knowledge.

Regardless, I start teaching full time on Monday. It won't be an easy weekend. I have about 80 different emotions all going through my head right now. If I could express any of them with any eloquence, I would. Suffice it to say though that I am looking forward to the challenge. Hopefully I will rise to meet it.

National Holidays, a Special Birthday, and Days of Shock and Awe

So this update must serve a three fold purpose. The first being to wish my wonderful/talented/amazing mother a happy birthday. I would be an unfilial son if I did not extend my mother in some way a birthday wish. Hopefully, I will be able to speak with her in a few hours. However it may have to wait until tomorrow morning, but it will still be her birthday stateside. Sometimes the massive time difference does actually work in one's favor. True there are disadvantages to having at least half a day between myself and most of my friends/family, but there are other times where it does work out well.

The second is a brief update with what I have been doing over the national day holidays. The national day holiday in China is the equivalent of the American 4th of July stretched over the course of 1 week. The weather has been overcast and raining since Thursday of last week, so I haven't had as much of an opportunity to explore Yizhou as I may have wanted. Mostly, I have been in my apartment, beginning to work on lesson plans as I start teaching in earnest next week. I am, of course, a little nervous about my coming responsibility, but I am also looking forward to it. I just hope that I am able to hold my own with my students.

Earlier today, I went with the rest of the foreign teachers of Hechi Daxue ( 河池大学) to Liuzhou (柳洲). Liuzhou is the nearest large city, having an urban population of over 1,000,000 and a total population (including outlying areas) of just over 3,500,000. It's just about an hour and a half by bus, so I was able to grab a quite restful catnap during both legs of the journey. Due to the size of Liuzhou, it was much easier to find Western groceries for prices that weren't quite as high as one would see them in Yizhou. In fact there were some items, such as French Bread and peanut butter, that I have yet to find anywhere in Yizhou. After going through several stores, we ended our time in Liuzhou eating the first truly Western food I've had since coming to China (Pizza Hut).

Finally, these are the Days of Shock and Awe, otherwise known as the High Holy Days. Otherwise put, it is the period between Rosh Hashanah and Yom Kippur. According to tradition, 'On Rosh Hashanah it is written, on Yom Kippur it is sealed.' These are days of great personal meditation and reflection. It is also in this time that we ask our fellow man forgiveness for our transgressions. Normally, I go about asking forgiveness either in person or over the phone. However as all people I need forgiveness from are on the other side of the world and as contact is not assured, I have to use my blog to do this. For all of my transgressions, in thought, in word, and in deed, against you, I ask your forgiveness. I know I most likely won't be granted it, but I have to at least attempt it so I can say to myself (if no one else) "Although I have failed, I did earnestly try"

Until again,

D.

New Years and Bicycles

Just a quick wish of L'shanah Tovah to everyone out there. Tonight will be the beginning of year 5772 here in China. I think I will be the only person in Yizhou to be doing anything remotely related to Rosh Hashanah, but then again, I wasn't expecting a huge Jewish community when I came to this particular city. I think the closest Chabad or equivalent is either in Hong Kong or Guangzhou, but I wouldn't be willing to put any money on that. To the best of my knowledge, I may the only practitioner of Judaism that some of these people have met. That's a little intimidating to think about. For those of you who observe, I wish you a blessed and happy New Year, and may we all be inscribed for blessing in the book of life.

Now, moving away from Rosh Hashanah, I finally got a bicycle. Issue is, the bicycle seems to be following a bit of a trend that members of my immediate family have had with any form of transportation in the past, in that it doesn't seem to like me much. This may seem a bit anthropomorphic, but considering all the various issues members of my family have had with their chosen form of transportation this is another area where I wouldn't put any money. A better way to put it is members of my immediate family tend to have bad luck when it comes to transportation from time to time. I don't know how else to put it, rather than to say we've gotten more than our fair share of either lemons, missed flights, and issues on trains. I'll spare you all those horror stories for another day.

What in particular is wrong with my bicycle you may ask? Glad you did! The first issue was that the handlebars easily got out of alignment. They easily shifted, mostly to my right, making steering very difficult and even leading to a few minor spills. Don't worry though, nothing more than a scraped palm, and I've had much worse than that. The current issue is yesterday I was riding between East and West campus and one of the peddles went and just fell off. Fortunately, one of the other foreign teachers told me where there is a guy who does good repair work. Hopefully he can fix it. If he can't, I wonder if it's too late for a refund. Probably is...

Until later everyone! May you all have a happy, blessed, and productive 5772, and may your fast be an easy one.

The Crazy, The Homeless, and the Robbed

For those of you who don't know, I have lived most of my life in urban or suburban environments. I was born and spent the first ten years of my life in the greater Boston area. When I was ten, my family moved to San Diego. Having been in cities as varied as Quito, Madrid, London, Paris, Amsterdam, Copenhagen, Beijing, and Kolkata, it would not be a boast to say I am well aware of some of the dangers of being in an urban environment. That said, with the exception of Rome when I was around thirteen or so, I have never been robbed. Even when I was in Rome, it was my father who was the target of the pickpockets.

However, last week, I lost the claim that I have never been robbed. I lost nothing valuable, a half filled bottle of Sprite which cost less than 50 cents. The experience though is one that I don't think I'll soon forget. Actually as I look back on it, I find the whole thing slightly comical. I was walking back from lunch across the river with one of my fellow English teachers. This bridge, one of two primary bridges in the city is heavy with both pedestrian and automotive traffic. It is also one of the favored hangouts of a man with large bag, shabby clothes, and a look on his face that I (for the life of me) cannot decipher. On the particular day in question, my friend and I were walking back on one side of the bridge, and the man was sitting on the other. He got up, crossed through heavy traffic, and took the half filled sprite bottle from my hand with an unreadable look on his face. He then proceeded to cross heavy traffic again for his favored seat on the other side of the bridge.

I will consider myself lucky if that bottle of Sprite is the only thing that I get robbed of in the course of my lifetime. It was no great loss, and besides the initial shock of the experience, I can't say I'm really upset over it anymore. I am able to joke about it now, which I feel is a step in the right direction. Why he wanted my Sprite bottle and not my friends bottle of green tea (which was the same color and roughly same size), I'll never know. I guess it's just part of living in any city, or living anywhere really. I'm unharmed, and all things considered, this is far from the worst thing that could happen to anyone.

That's all for now, keep tuned to see just what I go through next. Until then

Military Training (or something very much like that)

It has been a relatively short time since my last post, but I figure that this small incidence deserves a proper notification of all its own. The first year students have since arrived on campus. Now, if the fist year students have arrived on campus, one may think that I would be running out the door on my way to class at any given moment. However, I do not start teaching until the seventh week of the calendar, which is just after the national holiday. There is a reason for the large time gap though.

Even seven floors up, I can here commands being shouted. The first year students apparently have something like military training they have to go through before they can take classes. These drills begin roughly at seven in the morning, which is great practice for waking me up in time for the early courses I will be teaching. What it isn't great for though is the fact that I've finally fully adjusted to the sleep schedule here. I know it is a minor inconvenience, and I should not be complaining. Still though, hearing small platoons of students shouting at the top of their collective lungs "一，二，三，四！” (1, 2, 3, 4) is far from a relaxing way to spend the morning.

I am learning how to tune it out, and I am making slow progress on my graduate school applications. Hopefully, I'll have a rough draft of my personal statement finished by later this week. Now to continue to listen to the shouts.

All the best.

Internet Blackouts and Graduate School Applications

Well I've learned some of the small difficulties of living in China. From time to time, I have found that my internet will not function. Most of the time, it will come back in a few hours, however there has been at least one day where I have not had internet access of any sort. I guess it's just the way that things work out from time to time. The times the internet has been out, I've used it to listen to books on tape, attempting to write creatively (with some minor success) as well as attempting the application to graduate school.

Here comes the confession. I desperately want to go to graduate school in the fall of 2012. I have begun to solicit my former professors for letters of recommendation, and thus far I've heard back from two of the three letters required for my first choice. I have only begun to work on the longer part of the application for graduate school. It has to be at least four pages long, and I've just finished the first page. I hope to have the longer part finished by the end of this coming week, and when I say done, I do mean written as well as edited. I know it's not likely, but one can but hope.

So here is hoping the internet doesn't go out during key parts of the application process. I just have to remember to back everything up again. Getting into good habits again, it will be a struggle.

A Plan of Action

So the last three days have been incredibly busy for me here. On Monday, the mid-Autumn festival, I went to the small park across the street. After hiking up a rather large hill, I ended up at a shrine of Guan-yin (the Goddess of Mercy). When I came back down the mountain, tired and sweating like a stuck pig, I met the other two American teachers working here in Yizhou (宜洲). Though not the best of all possible meetings, it was nice to get to know them. For the mid-autumn festival itself, we (one of my fellow English teachers) went to the home of one of his (fellow Chinese teacher's) Chinese friends. After eating a delicious meal, we were supposed to watch a live singing competition for the rest of the night. However Guangxi TV zeroed in on us, and took us to a small town just outside of the city to have us observe and interact with the community there. I have never had so many camera flashes go off on me in my life, and my father is a photographer.

Yesterday, I was asked to speak for forty-five minutes to a group of English majors. It was my first time, besides acting, being in front of what I consider a large group (66 students). While I feel I could have prepared a little bit better for my presentation, I found one part of orientation to be completely accurate, it was very difficult to get these students to talk. Despite the fact that it was an English language class, I found myself slipping into Chinese from time to time, mostly to give place names or short descriptions. I now have at least some vision of what my own courses are going to be like, but I still have to prepare for those.

So what happened earlier today that made it so big? I got my schedule. That's right, I know when and where I will be teaching. I have courses all five days of the week, but with the exception of Monday, I have no afternoon classes. So I am thankful for that small thing. Issue is, just over half of the eight courses I am going to be teaching are the better part of a fifteen minute walk, and on Monday and Wednesday I have classes in one location followed by classes on a different campus of the same university. Talk about getting your exercise in. I will see either later today or tomorrow about the possibility of renting a bicycle. Hopefully, it will cut down some of my travel time.

Until later.

From Nanning to Yizhou

Well here I am in Yizhou and I was wrong about the size of the population. The city, still small for Chinese standards, is over half a million people. It's approximately 600,000, maybe more. So while not Beijing, Shanghai, Hong Kong, or any of the other mega cities, it is fairly large by American standards. In fact, Yizhou may be more densely populated than the city of Boston (not including it's urban area). However I would not put any money on a bet.

Before leaving Nanning, I had the chance to go to a night market, focused on selling street food. I got some good pictures, but didn't eat anything, mostly because I was still full from having eaten dinner at most an hour before we went to the market. The night before departure ended up with karaoke at Chinese Central Television CCTV, and I may have ended up singing one of the few songs I can sing in Chinese... I'm not proud of myself.

There are approximately 212 kilometers (what that translates to in miles I am not quite sure) between Yizhou and Nanning. As we got closer and closer to Yizhou, more and more the landscape began to resemble a type of valley. Suddenly, out of the lush ground came teeth of stone covered in small scrub. Yizhou is called by locals the small Guilin, which is famous for its sudden mountains. I am lucky to be in such a picturesque place.

So my apartment? It's on the seventh floor, and this building has no elevator. Say hello to awesome legs everyone! At least I hope to have awesome legs by the time I finish in China. As my classes won't start until a little later in this month, I am going to take time to walk around and get to know my new city. Hopefully, I will be settling in soon. Right now, I still have a few things to unpack.

All the best!

On the Ground, but not Running

So I am on the ground here in China. My internal clock has yet to fully adjust (the joys of crossing about 15 timezones), and I have yet to arrive in the small city (small by Chinese standards = 100,000 to 250,000) where I will be teaching. It's a little bit odd being back in China after so long away. There are many things that are very much like I remember from my last time here. Of course, some things have changed. It will be interesting to try and relearn everything I have forgotten. I know Guangxi is not Yunnan, I just hope I find some of the same things in Guangxi which made me fall in love with Yunnan.

At the moment, I have to post and run. In about ten minutes, I have to make the trek over to my survival Chinese class. After that, my roommate and I will be presenting our lesson to our fellow program participants and fellow teachers. I just hope I don't mess things up too horribly, as I tend to be a fast speaker when nervous. When I next post, I hope I will have my own small apartment! Granted, it will only be mine for a year or so, but that will be more than enough.

All the best to everyone out there.

Flying Across an Ocean

Well here it is, day one. As of ten this evening, Pacific Daylight Time, I will be on a plane that will take me to China. I can't believe that I am about to cross an ocean, half a world essentially. There is a passage from Dao De Jing which is often translated to "A journey of 1000 miles begins with the first step." Granted, most of my journeying will be on a plane and in busses, but I'm going to be walking in China sooner than I can imagine. It's a little surreal to think about.

Having wanted to teach in China for as long as I have, I would be lying if I said I wasn't excited right now. The thing is, I have about 8000 other emotions whirling through my head at the same time. Am I nervous? Extremely. Am I anxious to just get going? Like you wouldn't believe. Do I know what I am going to do when I get to China? Only vaguely. I will be teaching University level students American and British Literature and American Culture. Considering it's been around four years since I took a literature course, I can only hope I remember half of what I learned when I was in high school.

It's odd, knowing that I am sitting at the desk in the corner of my room for the last time in a year. I know that I will be coming back, the question is when. Even that I'm not certain of. I don't know when the school year ends exactly. All I do know is my contract with the University goes until late July of 2012. If I have to leave the day my contract expires, I will be back stateside in late July/early August of next year.

I am going to try to update the blog once weekly, on Friday. Depending on where I am, updates may be less or more frequent. Here's hoping everything goes smoothly. See 美国 (America for those of you who don't read Simplified Chinese) again in 2012. Until then, take care!