Turkey Day, Teaching, Funny Stuff, and 再见 (Zàijiàn) to Will and Katie!

It's been sometime since my last post, and while I feel that not too much has been going on the days and weeks are flying by! It's already December and the winter weather hasn't let up except for today, it's in the 20's right now but this is what the weather forecast usually looks like...

If it's above 20 it ain't too bad!

I don't mind the cold, even on the days where I wake up early to teach the Kindergartens. What I do mind is when I wake up to take a shower and the pipes decide to pump out this fowl brownish-orange liquid instead of water...

Really?

So instead of taking a shower I'll have some coffee and watch the sunrise behind the oil refinery:

Sunrise in Yixi

We had an unorthodox Thanksgiving here, Thursday night is one of our league bowling nights and let me tell you I'm getting better and better. I didn't think it would be me, but I was pushing for someone, anyone, to get a "Turkey" (three strikes in a row if you've never been bowling) in honor of our great American holiday! So Kurtis and I had a bet on this game in particular and I delivered in the clutch with a Turkey AND the win over Kurtis for a whopping 5 yuan!

4 Strikes isn't a Turkey, but you have to get a Turkey to get 4 right?

This week I'm in the hunt for the league cash prizes for Strikes, Spares, Highest Avg, and Highest pin total, I'll find out if anyone can beat me on Thursday but I posted my highest score ever 184, and I vow to hit 200 by the end of the league!

Last Sunday we had a goodbye/Movember party for Will and Katie who left on Tuesday to travel in South China and Southeast Asia, and finally to head home to Canada where Will is a firefighter. Not just any kind of firefighter, a forest fire fighter, a rappelling down from a helicopter firefighter. What a Boss.
I only just met Will and Katie but it's sad to see them go, they are two wonderful people and they showed me hospitality and we had some great times together here in Daqing. This photo sums up our friendship perfectly...

Gonna miss these kooks!

If you're wondering what kind of amazingly stylish beard I'm sporting, I showed up with my typical grizzly-Adams, No-Shave November look which was not appropriate for this particular occasion. Next thing you know I'm behind the bar where anyone who didn't have a Movember "Mustache" style would get a quick trim. Everyone knows what I lack in the bushy mustache department I make up for in the full beard, so I had my trim tailored accordingly.

Alright fine I'll get my beard trimmed!


Snip Snip Snip!

Almost done!

Pretty, Pretty, Pretty Good!

And Voila! I chopped it all off two days later as to not frighten my young students!
Finally, here is a photo of everyone, Zaijian Will and Katie and good luck during your travels!

Some nice Mustaches in there

This weekend Kurtis' old friend from Joy School Mack and his wife Sandra had us over for a typical Chinese dinner, and we got to try some of Mack's homemade red wine. The wine was a bit sweet but not bad for homemade, and I think I'll be back to his place soon as he has a decent collection of English books including his favorite, which he insists I must borrow, The Godfather by Mario Puzo.

Sandra, Andrew, Mack, Kurtis, and yours truly

By popular demand I have a couple more teaching pictures and whatnot, although I'm still pestering Elaine for the epic photos she has of Mary attacking/kissing poor little Nate so that will have to wait until next time!

Here's one of my favorite classes, Shentong 1, these little guys make my day on Sat/Sun. All of them are very clever and just see if you can spot our two little troublemakers Jeff and Jerry...best friends in the class and both very bright dudes, I can't help but think back to when I was a little guy just like them.

Shentong 1 RULEZ!!

Next is one of my smaller classes, Shentong 2, so we are moving up the pecking order. The room tends to be a bit cooler in the evening so the kids are wearing their coats. The one little girl without a coat, however, is little Nimo. What she lacks in height she makes up for in her English skills and her attitude, a lot of the little girls have some great picture poses...haha!

Can't miss Nimo's epic pose

And of course our lovely Chinese assistants (or Boss if you are Susan!) having a bite to eat in the office. If you ever noticed that a lot of Chinese people like to pose for pictures doing the "peace sign," I can tell you it is one of those stereotypes that usually holds true. The meaning, however, is not peace but VICTORY! Which would explain the popularity!

Another Night in the Office

Last week was payday which is always awesome, I've been saving a bunch of money each month and I am still able to live very comfortably day-to-day. There's nothing like getting paid in cold hard cash, I run straight to the bank to be safe, but it's quite funny receiving a brown paper bag with your months earnings in it. It feels more like you are doing some back-alley deal when you get the money like that, but the "To Jake" on the front makes it legit.

To: Jake. Cash Money!

And with that fat wad of dough safely in the bank I headed to the supermarket to pick up some necessities. I found some Ketchup here in Yixi, it's easy to find in Xincun or Ranghulu but I was impressed I found it way out here despite the unfamiliar packaging.

Who could resist buying toilet paper with these Space-Invader-esque characters on the label?

I'm not sure this company used "Anglicism" correctly in this instance, but these "Mylikes" "From Anglicism" were just like whoppers and very delicious.

There's a blonde joke about not being able to find the "Toast" section at the store, but I can assure you I have found the toast section.

And finally, this might be a bit inappropriate but I needed some hooks to hold my bathroom and kitchen towels and seriously, I'm not NOT gonna buy these ones if I have the choice!

Otherwise I'm doing well, it's officially cold here and thank goodness for pick up basketball Wed/Fri and Bowling league Mon/Thurs because otherwise I would have cabin fever! Will and Katie leaving was a big bummer, but where one door closes another opens, and Matt and Charlotte just moved into Will and Katie's old place so we've got some new friends. That's how it goes in Daqing, some people stay years, others just months. And with that constant influx of new teachers arriving and old friends leaving, I can't help but be thankful that such a wonderful group is here right now during my stay.
And thank goodness Wisconsin won the Big Ten, otherwise I would have nothing to taunt Kurtis and his Buckeyes with for the rest of the winter!
TIC

November; Brace Yourself, Winter is Coming

November has cruised by and we’re only a week away from Thanksgiving, so here’s a quick glimpse at what I’ve been up to.

The winter is already upon Daqing! Today is just under 30 degrees, but this weekend it should dip into the teens and I’ve already busted out the winter coat. But despite the cold weather I’ve been exploring around Yixi on my new bike and having a blast teaching as well.

Back during Halloween there were a few parents that actually brought in Jack-O-Lanterns, although none of them were pumpkins. Despite the makeshift decorations, spirits were high and the kids even got to play “trick or treat” for the good old candy hookup.

Linda and I Showing off the Jack-O-Lanterns!

My classes have been going well, I’m learning more about teaching all the time and every week there is something hilarious/awesome/ridiculous that happens. A week or two ago we had a lesson about clothes and getting dressed, so why not burn some class time with a "who can get dressed the fastest" race?

Mike helping put those shades on

For stress relief, hit children with hammer

Jerry helpin' out Leo with the hat and jacket

And finally here's the whole class + Susan. Benson was the winner!

That class was awesome because there wasn’t much lesson planning and all the kids enjoyed the race, the Chinese assistant teachers even observed and took all the pictures for me!

Outside of class I’ve been exploring more and more around Yixi, and while there are a lot of factories and bland buildings, you never quite know what you are going to find. All these pictures are from about a week ago when I took my bike out for an hour and a half or so just riding around randomly.

The Daqing Oil Refinery

Nearby Petrochemical Factories etc etc

You get the picture...

The (unused) Soccer stadium, across the lake, at dusk

Yixi even has a Christian Church near the lake

Wooded path in the outskirts of Yixi

I was really surprised to find the Church pictured above, it's not far from the stadium and the lake which are about a 10 minutes bike ride from my place. The church is in a strange location, not very accessible, but who knows if it's there for show or if there is actually a following. I'll have to keep my eyes peeled.

As I mentioned, the soccer stadium is essentially unused. It's about the size and quality of Dick's Sporting Goods park in Denver (most likely worse quality...) but there is definitely not a soccer team here, let alone any other sport. That's something that you notice after living here, buildings, stadiums, factories, apartments, pretty much anything might be built just for the sake of having it, even if it is entirely unneeded or unnecessary. Yixi's stadium is nice enough, but Xincun has an epic stadium modeled after the famous Beijing "Bird's Nest" from the Olympics and it is also unused.

Finally, a Panoramic view from my apartment. The observatory in the top left is right next to my school. Which is located in a building called the "Yixi Youth Science Palace of Ethylene" and no, I'm not joking!

I've been seeing more and more of the China that I was forewarned about in a great book my older sister Jessie bought me before I left, Lost on Planet China by J. Maarten Troost, which I urge anyone interested to check out! But instead of being called "Laowai" everywhere, it's always "Mei Guo Ren!" that I seem to be hearing (translation: American). I've yet to see a day pass where I don't hear/see someone pointing, whispering, shouting, gawking, or otherwise inspecting me and speaking those unmistakeable words, OH MY GOODNESS IT'S ONE OF THOSE MEI GUO RENS!!! WOW! (A little exaggeration, but forgive me).
I've even been getting pushed around a bit more at the bus stop, at the grocery store, and even at the strongest bastions of Western Culture in China! Yes even McDonalds is not immune from China's bustling shove fests! A woman cut me as I was standing right next to Kurtis who wasn't even finished ordering his food, she proceeded to start shoving him out of the way while he was in the act of giving the cashier his money, and thank goodness I was still sleepy from the previous late night because I just laughed instead of getting furious. Kurtis "kindly" informed this woman that she would need to "LINE UP" or "Join the QUEUE" and luckily for us the cashier concurred (usually they wouldn't say anything).
But these are merely nuisances, nothing serious but it's the type of thing that you kinda turn your head sideways and go "huh?!?"

And I'll finish on that note, "things that make you turn your head sideways and go huh?!?"
Audi, Ford, Chevy, Toyota, Volkswagen, Hyundai, and a variety of other Automakers are represented on the streets here in Yixi (including a Chinese brand called "JMC" (shout out to my Pops)) but you can also try some less conventional transportation:

Tractors are all around, bringing in fresh veggies etc. from the farmland!

Why not just hop on a Donkey? there was a group roaming around a few weeks ago!

Rickshaws are fairly common, and fairly sketchy, and fairly cheap. Take your chance!

As always, things are great, I hope everyone back home has a wonderful thanksgiving!

TIC

October and Bday Celebrations

I kinda woke up on the wrong side of the bed today. It wasn't anything in particular but I was just in a strange mood, thank goodness I got my coffee maker a few days ago because I wouldn't have survived my 8am kindergarten without a pick me up! Besides some grumbling about poor restaurant service, a few misbehaved students, and the experience of stepping in dog poo (or maybe it was human, both are equally likely), it wasn't that bad of a day buuuuut my first peek out of the window this morning was a bit ominous.

Just for reference, this is the view from my apartment on a typical day...

But nope, this was today. Actually kinda cool, but quite eerie as well.

All in all I haven't had too many "bad days," it's usually just one or two things that bug you a little bit. It's been a very relaxing October, I had a blast on my bday, the weather has been similar to Colorado for the most part, and teaching is going well.

I bought a bike at the Yixi market for $20-25 but let me tell you it is, how should I say, an authentic Chinese bike.

Ridin' like the locals.

It's honestly fine for what I need, it's cheap, functional, and not likely to be stolen. Add in the basket on the front and I got a grocery haulin' machine, however long distances prove to be a bit more uncomfortable on this old piece of scrap metal. But luckily for me I got two awesome presents this year from some of my friends out here in Daqing! I already mentioned the coffee maker from the school, and Liam was looking for a home for his old mountain bike and I was the lucky recipient of its awesomeness. I still have the junker for missions to the grocery store.

Much thanks to Liam and the school!

Last Sunday I went out to Ranghulu and a bunch of us foreigners had a hibachi-style dinner and then headed over to Orange Bar to celebrate my 23rd year of existence, and I'm lucky to be around for 24 (just kidding Mom). Will and Katie provided the couch as usual, Monday I slept in and around noon Kurtis and I went to find a taxi to get us home.

It would be difficult to find a taxi on this particular day, because after a phone call or two we found out that the taxi drivers were on strike and we wouldn't be able to get a taxi anywhere until Thursday. By some mystical stroke of luck, a random pulled over and offered us a ride to Xincun for 35 yuan (only 5 over the usual) and we caught the bus home from there.

On Tuesday I took the bus out to Xincun and picked up the bike from Liam's house, it was about an hour bus ride there and I made it back in just under an hour on the bike, but also I got a pretty good workout. That night Kurtis, Susan, and I had dinner for my real bday and out came the Baijiu (Chinese rice liquor, much stronger than sake), needless to say I slept in on Wednesday as well...

Even my pops would flinch at the smell of this stuff, it's pretty, pretty strong.

Almost forgot to mention, my Tuesday/Wednesday classes all sang me happy birthday and it was epic. Those 4, 5, and 6 year olds can hype you up like you wouldn't believe! And my kindergarten has been going fairly smoothly as well, minus kids throwing up.

Can I get some help over here? Yup, bring the mop.

And finally last night Dean and Liam came out to Yixi and we had dinner at the lamb leg restaurant, and in truly epic fashion we ended the night watching Caddyshack. I told you there isn't much to do here in Yixi, and I wasn't lying!

But that means there's plenty of time to teach the waitress how to use your camera, the poor girl was having a hard time and you can see it in the following pictures.

Ok, now just move down a bit...

Kurtis attempts to help...

And that's as good as it gets!

The best part about restaurants in Daqing is the option to take a shot at a scratch lotto ticket/receipt when you get your bill. And just like that I was 5 yuan richer.

Gettin' rich in China! (5 yuan < $1)

In addition to all festivities mentioned above, Kingsley is having a Halloween party on Sunday, we'll see if I can come up with a costume in time. Other than that I have been soaking in the simple, small town life here in Yixi. Kurtis and I laced up our bball shoes and took on some Chinese guys in a little full court 5v5, which will likely become a weekly event. About a week or two ago I took a ride on my junk bike to the outskirts of the city and once you get into either the farmland or the marshland it is pretty scenic.

Just headin' out to the country

And that pretty much sums up my October, my Chinese is (very) slowly progressing, I've been trying a lot of new food, I'm learning more about teaching each day, and I've managed to avoid falling into last place in Fantasy Football, despite losing to Rob's Last Place Noobs and merely slipping to 2nd to last. Ahh, you're welcome Rob.

I also found out I'm going to be teaching the "Christmas Choir" class starting next week, I think it's because they wouldn't dare try to give that class to Kurtis...I'll let you know how it goes.

And any skateboarders out there should appreciate the sign of one of my Kindergartens:

The Entrance to my 2nd Kindergarten

Skate or don't!

Until next time, TIC!

Chinese National Day, Mudanjiang, and Two Weddings

So it’s been awhile but you’ll have to excuse me, I had a week off school for Chinese National Day and I’m just now getting back into the swing of things. So without further adieu, a quick update on what has been going on here in Heilongjiang Province.

After bumming around on the first weekend of break, a bunch of us foreigners headed to Shan’s wedding for an awesome time. The venue was huge, the ceremony was fairly short and sweet, and the food was pretty, pretty good. I will say though, if it wasn’t for us foreigners staying late, playing music, and having a rowdy time, the wedding would have been over in two hours easily. Chinese weddings tend to be earlier in the day, and don’t last long; show up, watch the ceremony, eat, and bail. But Shan’s was an exception and after we danced to a few songs (Kurtis did the Soulja boy dance…) we headed to Orange Bar to continue the festivities.

Wayne (legally certified) Performs the English Segment of the Ceremony

Chowin’ Down

During the week we took a trip to the local bowling alley, which is funny because I seem to go bowling much more often when I am outside of the U.S. (went twice in two weeks in Utrecht). The stars aligned during the tenth frame of our last game, I bowled a nice ball right down the middle for a 9, and then missed the spare. But! It turns out all I needed to beat Dean was 9 pins, and victory was sweet.

Sweet, Sweet Victory

Outside the Bowling Alley

Then it was off to Mudanjiang, an 8 hour train ride away, for Canadian John’s wedding. We headed over to Saertu (yet another part of town in Daqing), hopped on our train, and off we were.

Daqing Railway Station, in Saertu

We arrived in Mudanjiang Wednesday evening and got some food, but we called it a night rather early because we had to be up in the morning for the hour and a half bus ride to the small town where the wedding was held. Australian John came down with some sort of stomach bug so I lost my roommate. So to avoid paying for a full room by myself, I was able to ruin a potentially romantic getaway for Kurtis and Susan.

Of Course Kurtis Has His Buckeyes Gear

John’s wedding was a lot smaller but I really enjoyed the authenticity and it was an amazing experience to see life in small town China. Us guys hung around and had a few drinks but we could only prolong the inevitable, we were back in Mudanjiang in the early afternoon.

John and Crystal Getting Slayed by Confetti

We bummed around Mudanjiang for awhile, checking out the markets and the main square which was pretty cool. I definitely didn’t get as many “Hellloooooo”s or “Laowai”s as in Daqing which was nice, and I enjoyed the awesome nighttime atmosphere. We ate “pancakes” at a nice restaurant that was surprisingly cheap (pancakes aka crepes that you put meat and veggies in, more like soft tacos?) and the next morning we were heading back to Daqing.

Mudanjiang in the Day...

...and Night

View from the Balcony of John’s Wedding

Mudanjiang Market Street

Scenic Countryside, Nice to See Some Hills! (Daqing is as Flat as Nebraska)

And finally we were back home, I really enjoyed the holiday and the chance to see Chinese and Western culture meet. It was great to get out of Daqing for a bit, not that it’s bad here but I imagine my travel opportunities will diminish now that I’m in school until January without any big breaks. Before classes started again on Tuesday, Kurtis, Susan, and I went back to our newly found Leg-O’-Lamb restaurant and here is a glimpse of the epicness.

MMmmmMMMmmmm!

A few quick funny teaching stories:

At one of my kindergartens I was helping all the kids move their little plastic chairs into a semi-circle in order to begin class and I gently nudged one little rascal in the right direction when all of a sudden he turned around with the most furious 3-5 year old face I have ever seen. He then proceeded to shake his finger at me and scold me in Chinese before finally taking his seat. In a state of awe I looked over at my assistant teacher who was just as shocked as I was and asked her to translate what my student had said.
“I am NOT playing with YOU tomorrow! I’m so MAD at YOU Foreign Teacher!!!”
We couldn’t help but start laughing and I had to collect myself before the lesson!

In one of my “Shen Tong” classes I have a little girl named Mary. Mary is a very peculiar little girl, or curious if you want to call it that, but I called her up with another boy to act out a conversation I had taught that day. Hello, how are you, I’m fine thanks etc. Simple stuff. When all of a sudden Mary puts her arms around this unfortunate little boy’s neck and proceeded to kiss him on the cheek and start mauling him (for lack of a better word). I ran over to break it up but she seriously had a vice grip on this kid! I finally pulled them apart and I had to hold Mary in the air and carry her back to her desk and physically put her into it before she would cut it out! Every class I have to watch out for Mary, because not only does she do this to other little boys but every once in awhile she goes for me as well. I’m pretty sure one of the assistants who was observing my class got a picture, so I’ll try to track that down.

Once again, TIC!