Working in China, Month 2: October 2014

October 2014

October 1-3

This has been the Chinese national holiday.  Considering how hard work has been, I took most of the days off.  Just stayed in and got settled.  Also, got invited to a food trek with my co-workers.  Food trek, you say?  Basically, we went to some adventurous eating sites that the veteran teachers knew of.  I had pig stomach, intestine, and lung, donkey meat sandwiches, fried dough that is basically oil stuck in honey, called sweet ears, boiled dumplings full of cheese, beef, and carrots, and fried dumplings with beef, cheese, and shitake mushrooms.

Overall, good stuff, but my stomach and my legs are quite tired.  Pity I go back to work in the morning.

October 4-8

Not much to say, really.  I'm starting to get into a routine of work, come home, get my holidays.  Still sorting out a few things, like my fapiao which is a tool for getting a tax break, my water cooler, and the like.  But, I just taught this week.  Had some good classes, had some bad ones, but this is just life now.

Soooooooo, to pad out this entry, let me share two things I've noticed about China.  First, while everyone likes to point the finger at China and the Chinese government about their censorship or oppression, my time here, and indeed this is backed up by my colleagues, has been among the safest anywhere.  Crime is...kind of alien to China.  Or at least your typical crime, like open robbery, assault, or the like.  My co-workers mention there is the occasional pick pocket, or that any crime done will be done in such a way that you don't notice it, because being noticed is very harsh, however on the whole...nothing.  This is due to two things, in my opinion.  The first is harsh punishments.  I know little of Chinese law, but I believe selling weed here is punishable by death.  Yeah, they don't screw around with crimes here.  The other is the security.  Will the police or the guards at buildings or subways help you if you're assaulted?  Hell if I know.  However, the fact that they are there creates a psychological feeling of being watched or monitored that kind of discourages crime.  Think about it.  People feel free to offer death threats online when their name is hidden, but unless you are drugged out of your mind, most people will not risk such things if they don't think they can get away with it.  And with so many people, theoretically in a security or power position, monitoring you...you won't risk that.  So, yeah, save for the threat of being run over by the insane car drivers, Beijing is crazy safe.

The other thing I've noticed about China is the cooking.  Not sure I'm a fan.  Chinese cooking focuses on using every part of an animal, right down to hooves or bones in soup to flavor.  It's environmentally cool, but at the same time, this creates an odd situation.  Chicken breast, for example is very cheap because there is so much meat and what have you.  Chicken FEET or a chicken's NECK are much more expensive, because there is only one per chicken and there is so little there to eat.  It's...weird.  A duck tongue is more expensive than a duck leg or breast.  Even if it tastes worse or there is less to eat.  It's the delicacy factor.  The other thing is that there are an insane amount of spices used in Chinese cooking.  Even on the street, where they have little more than a stove to cook their food on, the Chinese love their sauces, their garnishes, and their pastes which they use as marinade.  Peanut, pepper, and savory sauces are the most common.  For me, this can get a little silly.  I remember one hot pot dish I got, the seller wanted to garnish it with something like relish, beans, hot sauce, on top of the soup itself, and the taste was just...blehhh...I got pizza that night instead.  Sometimes it is very tasty.  Sometimes it's just not.  Anyone coming to China, be prepared for all the spices and be prepared to see weird foods you'd never want sold at higher prices.

October 9-13

Got chewed out for the first time this week.  Yeah, I feel great.  Just work and trying to survive.  My time in China has kinda let me in on something I didn't think of when I was in the states.  When you have to work for a living and your every free moment is precious...you are not a sight seer.  You have less desire to go out and experience the world around you because you've seen it...you work in it.  And it chews you up and spits you out again.  Right now, my goal is survival.  Not getting fired, which everyone assures me is pretty much not gonna happen, but still...not dying of smog inhalation, we'll get to that, and basically trying to enjoy life as best I can.

Plans to go sight seeing.  We'll see if they become more than just plans.  I want to survive, not have a bunch of pictures to share.

Speaking of smog...I woke up one morning and a cloud of mist so thick I could not see the buildings out of my window had descended on the city.  And stayed around for three days straight.  I went out wearing a mask, duh, but the air was so thick...good god.  Yeah, Beijing has a smog problem.  Was even worse today.  Apparently, so much pollution was in the air not only was P.E. cancelled in other schools, but also...it was off the charts of what they keep track of.  The concentration of pollution, at 500, is about "oh god my lungs are burning" and yeah, we were beyond that.  Doubt I'll end up living here for more than my contract.

And when it's not smog, it's wind.  Wind can take the smog away.  Know what else it can take away?  The internet.  Not even kidding.  We have internet loss due to high winds.

I live a charmed life here.

October 18

Reason I haven't posted everyday or recorded something is there's not much new to say.  Been working.  HOWEVER, I got home tonight to discover a card shoved under my door that I think is advertising some sort of illicit sexual act, as it had a nearly nude woman with those come hither eyes.

Needless to say, I made sure the business card had an intimate relationship with the trash can.

And more smog.  Yay.

October 21
Welp, the smog has cleared up so I'm trying to go sight seeing at least once or twice a month.  I was told that the summer palace is the must see for autumn/spring so I decided to give it a look.

It also gave me an excellent excuse to try Modern Toilet.  A restaurant where everything is bathroom themed.  I sat on a toilet to eat ice cream and fried rice shaped like turds, while urinals lined the wall.  Only in Asia.  Once you get over the initial shock of it, the food is decent, if a bit average.  The shock is what you go there for.

Anyway, back to the summer palace.  Was immediately turned off by it due to the fact that they wanted a regular entrance fee and extra fees for the "special sections" of the palace, like the Wechang gallery of artifacts or the Buddha's incense tower.  Me, being poor as of this moment, I had to go with the cheaper option.  So, I'm walking along, there's plenty of people, I have my music blaring, and a funny thing happens.  I start having a good time.

I start to feel like I felt in Japan, in communion with nature.  Appreciating the beauty, but still wrapped in the warmth of my technology.  I see the old and natural and I love it while appreciating the new and artificial.  I really, REALLY liked the summer palace, even without the super special ticket.

So, first I just wandered around.  Saw a gate dedicated to Guan Yu, a warrior hailed as a deity in China, saw a marble boat used for pleasurable gatherings by Empress Cixi, the dowager who nearly ruined China during the Boxer Rebellion, and...then I just went the path less traveled by.  No guides, no maps, just walked away from the crowds and found myself at peace.  Bear in mind, the summer palace is HUGE.  There were lots of crowds, but it's a huge tract of land, housing special buildings, temples, galleries, and the like.  So, I managed to find some relatively peaceful places to enjoy a few grapes, Chinese tea soda, and just get to thinking.

Favorite place was where drawings and carvings of farming and weaving had been recreated, though a close second was the garden of harmonious delights, where there was quite a collection of Chinese brush painting.  Sumi is something I dearly love and it made my heart ache to paint again...to see life breathed into the world with just a simple black brush.

I walked a huge distance, as, being poor, I could not afford to take the boats to speed up my trip.  Besides, I needed the exercise, so it was fine.  I got to thinking about video games, particularly the ones I left at home.  Next time, they come with me, I think.  I also got to thinking about lots of other things.  Love the water of the huge lake in the palace due to a game of mine and got time to appreciate the beauty, as the sun glittered off the surface.  Love bridges.  To me, they're representative of bonds.  Friendship and connections to others.  They mean a great deal to me.  Even if I may not always use them, I enjoy the view, of the world around and of the bridge itself, knowing I have a place to stand.

Did a fair bit of souvenir shopping too, for various people.  I may have been poor, but the prices were too low to resist.  I tried my hardest to find peace here and almost found it.  I saw a great Buddha and bodhisattva set and climbed many tall hills.  I was reminded of Japan and the love I had and lost while there.

Eventually, I think I came to realize why I've had such trouble adapting to China.  See, I love Asia.  Feudal/ancient Asia.  I love the design, the history, the culture...Japan had that in spades.  Even among the modern buildings, there were reminders of its past and history.  Small shrines dotting the street, old, time tested building design, plenty of nature mixed in with industry.  At least where I stayed.  In Beijing, though, there's none of that.  To visit the summer palace was like an oasis in a desert, as it was all the old ways, the old culture, the old world, surrounded by the modern, the progressive.  And it really is an oasis.  There's not much else around.  In my own area, there is practically nothing that reminds of the old...and that saddens me greatly.  It's a city without a connection to nature.  Or a connection to its distant past.  That kinda depresses me a little.

Either way, when my time at the palace was done, I headed home.  Fun fact.  It is ALWAYS rush hour in China.  Unless it is the ass crack of dawn or just before the subway line closes, the subways are always packed.  I've managed to get seats before, but you have to know how to play the game and position yourself so you can grab a seat at a second's notice.  It is frustrating and tiring for me and the Summer Palace was over an hour away by subway.

So exhausted.  Still, plenty of pictures and deep thoughts up online at facebook.  Thank you VPN.

October 27-28

Yet another week goes by with little to report.  I work, I suffer through the smog, and I deal with annoying crud.  Apparently Halloween is really a big deal in China, cause everything Halloween is so much more expensive than it should be.  Anyway, I got a mask for my company's costume party, but that's about it.

Been trying different sweets and foods here.  For example, the beef steak cheetos or the mango pocky.  Not all of it's good, but worth the experience, you might say.

The last few days have been especially hectic, actually.  I had to go get my visa from my visa officers, meaning I took time out of my work day, skipped lunch, and had to travel an hour each way via subway to get my visa.  THEN, the following day I had to wake up early and go to the police station to re-register.  I've said it before, I'll say it again.  The government in China is not scary or oppressive...just damned tedious with all their paperwork.  Still, they at least seem to be more together than other places I could mention...

So, yeah, I'm very tired.  Spending this weekend in, probably the next one too.  I want to recover from finally having everything done, you might say.  I find that passion projects help with dealing with the stress of China, much like I was doing stateside.  However, since I can't perl, I've taken the time to do some minor video editing and create a series on some video game history.  It's been fun so far.

I still miss home, but I have to admit that China isn't as bad as I maybe made it out to be.  There are some things I still absolutely despise, however give and take, as they say.  Worried about expenses a little, due to the Halloween mask and my taste testing experience, but still, I'll manage one way or another.

October 30-31

Halloween...we spiced things up at the office with everyone in costumes.  Was a lot of fun.  Though, I have to admit, staying late to work at the Halloween party was significantly less so.  Lots of work in a hot costume.  Still, it's surprising how big Halloween is in China.  They, as far as I know, do not trick or treat, however it is a time for partying and merchandising.  Though with the smog, it's hard to blame them for not going outside.

We had donut biting, apple bobbing, mummy wrapping, nail painting, and mask painting.  Was a pretty cool time, but damned exhausting.  I like that my school is okay with this kinda stuff.  Will do cultural events to make the students' experience more enjoyable.  It speaks volumes about it, even if you might think of it only as a marketing event.

I also got a nice fat taste of depressing annoyance the following day.  See, in a school, work, government, whatever paperwork mistakes are inevitable and we had a few snafus at the office which left me feeling drained.  Mostly it was just sending the wrong students to the wrong classes, but still, frustrating and exhausting, as it derails a lesson something fierce.

Toilets continue to be a problem in China...I really wish they were cleaner/friendlier.  Sigh.  Anyway, I got my first payday and though I have to save most of it for my next rent payment, it feels good to actually have money.  Even if I can't really use it yet.