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