November 2014:
November 1-4
Finally got paid! I
feel like a real adult now, haha. It's
nice to see that I've finally got money and will likely be able to support
myself. School is going well, the
students in particular make my heart sing a little with how energetic and
supportive they can be. The long commute
is wearing on me though.
Some things that need to be mentioned though would be what
I've gotten used to in some stores.
Seems like the expiration date on food in some places is...purely a
suggestion. I've not gotten sick from
eating things yet, however it is head scratching/eyebrow raising. I'm going to begin work on creating a guide
for living in China
soon.
Also, I was invited to present at a teacher's forum, however I can choose the subject. Video games as a tool for education it is!
Also, I was invited to present at a teacher's forum, however I can choose the subject. Video games as a tool for education it is!
November 10-12
Ugh...god...sick again.
China
really hates me being well, doesn't it?
I've tried to keep myself healthy and watch what food I eat, but I still
get screwed hard. And the weather is
getting cooler and I'm unsure about how to turn on my heat and my drinking
water supply is beginning to run low.
Life's just fun and dandy here in China.
Sigh...I've got my leave set up and hoping to spend some time with people over the next few weeks. Got a big test coming up that I have to take in order to keep working at my school and it's, surprise surprise, on one of my days off. Please kill me now.
Life isn't as bad as I'm making it out to be. I passed my probationary period and I'm a full time employee now with access to my leave, so I have a few holidays coming up. Gonna try and skype family and friends during that time. Plans for a Thanksgiving dinner with other teachers and possibly meeting a friend of my mom and doing some short touring. Plans are being made and I'm also working on getting my presentation ready for the teacher's forum.
Sigh...I've got my leave set up and hoping to spend some time with people over the next few weeks. Got a big test coming up that I have to take in order to keep working at my school and it's, surprise surprise, on one of my days off. Please kill me now.
Life isn't as bad as I'm making it out to be. I passed my probationary period and I'm a full time employee now with access to my leave, so I have a few holidays coming up. Gonna try and skype family and friends during that time. Plans for a Thanksgiving dinner with other teachers and possibly meeting a friend of my mom and doing some short touring. Plans are being made and I'm also working on getting my presentation ready for the teacher's forum.
School alternates between being grueling and rewarding,
trying to keep my language, prep work, and speed of my voice in line with the
level of my learners and at times, I hate going to work. However, every time I get asked for help or
just have the students shooting the breeze with me, it all seems worth it. Even got in on a few board games lately,
which is one thing we do to have the students practice English. It's fun and it's a good way to help them
relax.
Very tired and jaded by my illness, but life goes on, as they say. And so must I.
Very tired and jaded by my illness, but life goes on, as they say. And so must I.
November 15
Well, I went back to work this week after my illness only to
discover I had a performance review!
Joy...god, I am sick of that. I
keep having to get observations, performance reviews, and the general feeling
I'm being watched, even after I completed probation. I get why, because this is a business and
people need to make sure I'm doing my job, but still...
It's not coming at the best time, you might say. I'm getting a presentation ready for the teacher's forum, on video games as an educational tool, and I'm getting ready to take the Teacher Knowledge Test, which frankly makes me sad because it's a ton of work in the midst of a ton of work. I also need a flu shot to avoid being sick AGAIN, and I have to prepare something for Thanksgiving soon. Still trying to balance my videos that I make in my spare time, keeping this journal, writing, and creating a guide to living in China.
I barely have time to game, much less sleep, anymore. It's...frustrating. Hoping things get better soon, because I'm so tired right now. Work is still fine, I enjoy it, but it IS work. Something to remember.
Fun fact: Chinese people will avoid getting on a train if it's at the terminal if there are no seats. I've seen people stand and wait, not getting on a subway or train, even if only the seats are taken, just so they don't have to stand on the ride. That kinda patience is beyond me. I have things I need to do. This is only at a terminal, mind you, when there will be another empty train coming...but still, that's a good 10 minutes of waiting just to get a seat you might get anyway 1-2 stops later if you got on the train and stood...
Also, Chinese men of varying ages seem to have a weird fad about growing out the fingernail on their pinky finger. Not sure what the deal is with that, but it's happened enough for me to notice it so...there we are.
It's not coming at the best time, you might say. I'm getting a presentation ready for the teacher's forum, on video games as an educational tool, and I'm getting ready to take the Teacher Knowledge Test, which frankly makes me sad because it's a ton of work in the midst of a ton of work. I also need a flu shot to avoid being sick AGAIN, and I have to prepare something for Thanksgiving soon. Still trying to balance my videos that I make in my spare time, keeping this journal, writing, and creating a guide to living in China.
I barely have time to game, much less sleep, anymore. It's...frustrating. Hoping things get better soon, because I'm so tired right now. Work is still fine, I enjoy it, but it IS work. Something to remember.
Fun fact: Chinese people will avoid getting on a train if it's at the terminal if there are no seats. I've seen people stand and wait, not getting on a subway or train, even if only the seats are taken, just so they don't have to stand on the ride. That kinda patience is beyond me. I have things I need to do. This is only at a terminal, mind you, when there will be another empty train coming...but still, that's a good 10 minutes of waiting just to get a seat you might get anyway 1-2 stops later if you got on the train and stood...
Also, Chinese men of varying ages seem to have a weird fad about growing out the fingernail on their pinky finger. Not sure what the deal is with that, but it's happened enough for me to notice it so...there we are.
November 18
I thought I was over my sickness, but like a gut punch it crawled back. Still trying to feel better. Medicine has cost me, though not much by American standards. About 17 dollars worth. Still, finances are a big concern for me, among other things.
Glad I have some time off. Work is frustrating, even when it is fun. Just because of all the things in flux that need to happen at the same time.
I thought I was over my sickness, but like a gut punch it crawled back. Still trying to feel better. Medicine has cost me, though not much by American standards. About 17 dollars worth. Still, finances are a big concern for me, among other things.
Glad I have some time off. Work is frustrating, even when it is fun. Just because of all the things in flux that need to happen at the same time.
November 19
I continue crashing on Wednesdays. Been having this issue for a while now where I just need to take a long nap in the middle of the day, maybe to catch up on sleep, maybe to prepare for what's to come, I don't know.
My agent came to visit me today and helped me work out some maintenance issues with my door, set up my heating, and showed me how to refill my water cooler. She's an awesome lady.
That aside, most of the day has been dedicated to getting my presentation ready for the teacher's forum. It's taking a lot of time and work, but no more than my usual videos, so I know I can do it...it's just tiresome.
I continue crashing on Wednesdays. Been having this issue for a while now where I just need to take a long nap in the middle of the day, maybe to catch up on sleep, maybe to prepare for what's to come, I don't know.
My agent came to visit me today and helped me work out some maintenance issues with my door, set up my heating, and showed me how to refill my water cooler. She's an awesome lady.
That aside, most of the day has been dedicated to getting my presentation ready for the teacher's forum. It's taking a lot of time and work, but no more than my usual videos, so I know I can do it...it's just tiresome.
November 20-23
Apparently, part of being in a large organization, with
human beings instead of employees, is that they want you to be happy and get
along with other people. This means, we
have team building. What is team
building you may ask? Ohhhhhhhh, just my
company willing to buy me lunch at a fancy Chinese group restaurant where
everyone buys something and we all share.
Amazing.
I had to pay nothing for all this fancy food, too. I got to eat fish head, cheese scallops, egg and spinach, bread ice cream cake thingies, tamales made of stir fry, spicy potatoes...all sorts of good stuff. Granted, this is not an every week thing. This is a, "We have a little extra budget and we wanna be nice to our employees because we are nothing without them," thing. I kinda love that. Some companies will order pizza for their employees? Some take them out to the fancy stuff. I work hard. My work is stressful. But it's nice to know that I'm worth more than a $10 pizza, you know?
Speaking of that, we also have team building after work. The previous event happened during, but I also, two days later, got to go to a fancy Chinese buffet, where everyone, from the sales team, to the teachers, to the bosses, were all hanging out, drinking, shooting the breeze...I gorged myself on sushi, deep fried tempura, turtle soup, a variety of meat, and chocolate coated cakes, due to there being a chocolate fountain. Granted, I get wary at events like this cause I do not drink(as the drinks were gratis), so the rowdier others get, the more I tend to raise an eyebrow, but I'm not the only sober one so I don't have to deal with it alone.
On top of all that, I tend to keep finding interesting people in my students and colleagues. People who are interested in my Japanese or even my topics for enrichment classes. And I love it. People interested in Dragonology or video games as educational tools. There are some nice rewards beside money or food for working here.
I had to pay nothing for all this fancy food, too. I got to eat fish head, cheese scallops, egg and spinach, bread ice cream cake thingies, tamales made of stir fry, spicy potatoes...all sorts of good stuff. Granted, this is not an every week thing. This is a, "We have a little extra budget and we wanna be nice to our employees because we are nothing without them," thing. I kinda love that. Some companies will order pizza for their employees? Some take them out to the fancy stuff. I work hard. My work is stressful. But it's nice to know that I'm worth more than a $10 pizza, you know?
Speaking of that, we also have team building after work. The previous event happened during, but I also, two days later, got to go to a fancy Chinese buffet, where everyone, from the sales team, to the teachers, to the bosses, were all hanging out, drinking, shooting the breeze...I gorged myself on sushi, deep fried tempura, turtle soup, a variety of meat, and chocolate coated cakes, due to there being a chocolate fountain. Granted, I get wary at events like this cause I do not drink(as the drinks were gratis), so the rowdier others get, the more I tend to raise an eyebrow, but I'm not the only sober one so I don't have to deal with it alone.
On top of all that, I tend to keep finding interesting people in my students and colleagues. People who are interested in my Japanese or even my topics for enrichment classes. And I love it. People interested in Dragonology or video games as educational tools. There are some nice rewards beside money or food for working here.
November 24
Ever have that time where you think the world is screwing with you because after one great thing happens, a ton of shit happens? Lemme lay it down for you. Trying to do another social event, Thanksgiving, but the instructions I was given on how to get to the VERY OUT OF THE WAY BAR were so poor that I spent two hours looking for it in weather so cold that, despite my heavy coat, I could see my breath. I was also carrying two cheesecakes due to this being a potluck. The kicker? I didn't find the place. It got so late, cause this was after work, that I had to go back to the subway station or risk missing my last train. I have the cakes still, so that'll be a treat, but...spent a fair bit of money and wasted my time. Good god...I got so angry I went from angry/passive aggression to just depressed and apathetic with a little snippy. It happens when you get so angry you pass from furious to manic laughing idiocy to just being tired. And I am tired.
I should not try to be social when it is planned by people who do not get that an out of the way bar with instructions printed from someone's crappy phone is a bad idea. Or maybe I shouldn't be social. I think the world is laughing at me for having so much fun and saving money on dinner the last few days, so I am being punished with wasted time and money.
Ever have that time where you think the world is screwing with you because after one great thing happens, a ton of shit happens? Lemme lay it down for you. Trying to do another social event, Thanksgiving, but the instructions I was given on how to get to the VERY OUT OF THE WAY BAR were so poor that I spent two hours looking for it in weather so cold that, despite my heavy coat, I could see my breath. I was also carrying two cheesecakes due to this being a potluck. The kicker? I didn't find the place. It got so late, cause this was after work, that I had to go back to the subway station or risk missing my last train. I have the cakes still, so that'll be a treat, but...spent a fair bit of money and wasted my time. Good god...I got so angry I went from angry/passive aggression to just depressed and apathetic with a little snippy. It happens when you get so angry you pass from furious to manic laughing idiocy to just being tired. And I am tired.
I should not try to be social when it is planned by people who do not get that an out of the way bar with instructions printed from someone's crappy phone is a bad idea. Or maybe I shouldn't be social. I think the world is laughing at me for having so much fun and saving money on dinner the last few days, so I am being punished with wasted time and money.
The world can kiss my butt.
Black Friday is not the only nightmare people experience in
Thanksgiving. They also face being lost,
in an unknown part of a town in China, trying to find a bunch of foreigners who
want to get drunk, eat turkey, and party in an out of the way bar. I realized near the end of my odyssey that I
did not even want to do this. I thought
it would be fun...I was wrong. Even if I
had found that bar, I bet it wouldn't have been that great...I really should
just accept that sometimes...sometimes it's nice to just come home from work
sunday night, day before your weekend, and just veg out.
November 25
Let me just get this out of the way. Remember how I said Chinese people were patient? Apparently, only when they're going home. I literally saw a woman push through the line on a full subway and try to cling to the outside of the subway so she could get where she was going. Needless to say, I took a different subway. There, that said, let's get to the good stuff.
My family had been encouraging me and giving me correspondence of another American they knew who would be in Beijing and the stars aligned and we got to meet today. She was around my mother's age. Somewhat similar temperament, but a bit more independent, spiritually in tune, and not my mom, haha. We got to know one another over small talk and with our guide, Miss Sha, we headed to the Forbidden city. I got harassed by salesmen, but stuck to my guns and only bought some discounted post cards and a book of some of Chairman Mao's quotes. People may sneer or roll their eyes, but the man was a great philosopher if nothing else. His thoughts on the expanding of education and the metaphors used were quite engaging. I think it will be an interesting read. Haggled down to 30% of the original asking price, too. Felt good about that.
Anyway, we headed to the forbidden city, did some photograph taking, and got a history lesson on symbolism, like the amount of animals present on a roof indicated status, as well as history and usage of the buildings before the birth of the Chinese republic. Our guide was very kind and loved small talk just as much as me and my mom's friend, so we all talked and had a good time. It was bitterly cold, though for me it was nice. My friends were a bit...put out by it. Nevertheless, we survived, took a quick lunch, I introduced my mom's friend to Wang Lao Ji, which is a tea soda, and she loved it. We climbed to the temple of heaven and did a bit more sight seeing before the summer palace.
I had to get up early to meet my mom's friend, so I napped on the way, as we had a driver. So tired this week, especially with the TKT tomorrow. We saw less of the summer palace than I did during my trip, but I saw a few new things and we had a good time walking down the long corridor. I need to remember to send my mom's friend information on the paintings of the men in the fields and the weavers in the summer palace so she can google them.
After the tour, my mom's friend and I walked, talked, and got a traditional dinner, family style. We got a delicious orange beef and onion dish, a strange but enjoyable set of ribs, very tasty lamb and cabbage dumplings, and celery and lotus buds in garlic sauce. Very tasty and all for under 25 dollars.
We hit up some shops, talked Discworld, religions, and family, and overall had a good time. While I hated the subway and was very tired by the end of the day, I had enjoyed myself and my company and it was a good time to be sure. A nice change from the Thanksgiving debacle and a nice buffer since I have to deal with the TKT tomorrow.
November 26
Let me just get this out of the way. Remember how I said Chinese people were patient? Apparently, only when they're going home. I literally saw a woman push through the line on a full subway and try to cling to the outside of the subway so she could get where she was going. Needless to say, I took a different subway. There, that said, let's get to the good stuff.
My family had been encouraging me and giving me correspondence of another American they knew who would be in Beijing and the stars aligned and we got to meet today. She was around my mother's age. Somewhat similar temperament, but a bit more independent, spiritually in tune, and not my mom, haha. We got to know one another over small talk and with our guide, Miss Sha, we headed to the Forbidden city. I got harassed by salesmen, but stuck to my guns and only bought some discounted post cards and a book of some of Chairman Mao's quotes. People may sneer or roll their eyes, but the man was a great philosopher if nothing else. His thoughts on the expanding of education and the metaphors used were quite engaging. I think it will be an interesting read. Haggled down to 30% of the original asking price, too. Felt good about that.
Anyway, we headed to the forbidden city, did some photograph taking, and got a history lesson on symbolism, like the amount of animals present on a roof indicated status, as well as history and usage of the buildings before the birth of the Chinese republic. Our guide was very kind and loved small talk just as much as me and my mom's friend, so we all talked and had a good time. It was bitterly cold, though for me it was nice. My friends were a bit...put out by it. Nevertheless, we survived, took a quick lunch, I introduced my mom's friend to Wang Lao Ji, which is a tea soda, and she loved it. We climbed to the temple of heaven and did a bit more sight seeing before the summer palace.
I had to get up early to meet my mom's friend, so I napped on the way, as we had a driver. So tired this week, especially with the TKT tomorrow. We saw less of the summer palace than I did during my trip, but I saw a few new things and we had a good time walking down the long corridor. I need to remember to send my mom's friend information on the paintings of the men in the fields and the weavers in the summer palace so she can google them.
After the tour, my mom's friend and I walked, talked, and got a traditional dinner, family style. We got a delicious orange beef and onion dish, a strange but enjoyable set of ribs, very tasty lamb and cabbage dumplings, and celery and lotus buds in garlic sauce. Very tasty and all for under 25 dollars.
We hit up some shops, talked Discworld, religions, and family, and overall had a good time. While I hated the subway and was very tired by the end of the day, I had enjoyed myself and my company and it was a good time to be sure. A nice change from the Thanksgiving debacle and a nice buffer since I have to deal with the TKT tomorrow.
November 26
The TKT can go right to hell. God, I hated it. 2 hours of transport, 1 hour of waiting,
getting lost, and tearing my palm open on the side walk, 50 minutes of one very
stupid test. That was my day today. Friggin hell that was pointless.
November 27-30
God...been watching my hand and worrying about infection,
but it seems okay. Ugh...these schedule
changes I keep getting really screw with me.
I've had to deal with starting 12 hour days on fridays...yeah...and peer
observations. Yes again. And above all else, dealing with the pain in
my hand and the lack of sleep and the worry of the teacher forum.
I actually had to re-edit my final presentation because the stupid old computers we use couldn't recognize MP4 files so I had to convert all my videos to WMV and then re-upload them into my PPT presentation. God...
I actually had to re-edit my final presentation because the stupid old computers we use couldn't recognize MP4 files so I had to convert all my videos to WMV and then re-upload them into my PPT presentation. God...
Got my first taste of peanut butter in months and it was
like a taste of heaven. My mouth was
screaming in ecstasy and I had to buy a whole box. So, that was my splurge for the week. less than $5 worth of peanut butter and
chocolate candy bars.
Another social event and team building exercise. We headed to a restaurant called Carnival
which featured decent dancing by the staff, all you can drink soda, a decent
buffet with nothing more exciting than a fish on a stick, but with really good
meat, and with absolutely abysmal sweets.
Now, sleep needed before December rolls around and we get to the
teacher's forum. Pray for me.
That was a good day! So amazing to meet you in Beijing, keep in correspondence for a year, and now we just had a shopping trip, dinner, and a museum visit here in Durham last night. Life goes about in circles and spirals. May you be happy, joyous, and free, my friend!
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