Basketball, veggies, and Nickelodeon

So, this is a rare blog post.

The school is currently having a basketball tourney pitting classes in the same grade against one another. Here in China the kids stay in the same classroom all day and the teachers move around... they eat sleep and play as a class, so they see quite a bit of each other. Thus, the rivalries have been building for weeks.

The jocks take the court in matching NBA or Chinese national team jerseys, the teachers scream for them to take their warm up drills seriously, and the nonathletic kids and girls sit in the stands with anticipation. This is not fun, it is war. Very awkward and poorly coordinated war... remember these kids are 12. The amazing part is that a few of the guys are actually pretty good. The super jocks, as I call them, spend all the time they are not in class working out or playing basketball. Of course, they are the ones that all the girls have crushes on, behind me, mind you. Surprisingly though, there does not seem to be the same animosity amongst the non-jocks as there is in the states. They cheer right along with the girls and after the game they rush the court to congratulate their heroes.

This is further evidence to support an observation that I have been thinking about for a while. Simply put, NICKELODEON makes kids hate vegetables. When I was young I hated vegetables, now I love them. It wasn't about the taste, or the way they looked. No, I had a phobia of greens because Doug Funnie told me I should. I didn't like to clean my room because Kel from ALL THAT didn't. I hated doing my homework because all the characters I watched on a daily basis also complained about it. Nerds expect to be punched by jocks because that's what happened on the TGIF programming, and even worse, jocks felt pressured into that role by the same television. Now, I'm not trying to shirk any responsibility here, I'm just saying that the television I watched as a youth greatly affected the way that I approached specific situations.

I have further evidence... In class, I recently showed a RUGRATS cartoon in which Angelica refused to eat her vegetables. My students were confused as to why someone would chose not to eat their vegetables. Yes, sometimes they preferred one food over another but their mouths were agape at the possibility that someone might complain about an entire food group. Of course there are variables to consider. Poorer Chinese parents would not tolerate a wasteful child, vegetables are sweeter here in China, and they are also a staple of the Chinese diet (meaning they could potentially be a main course, not just a side dish).

But I'm gonna blame it on Nickelodeon.

Anyway... I'm off to referee another skirmish!
C. Johnson

Cool, huh?

Comment from mom: Our boy loves his toys. This is a picture of his latest! Oh, dear!!

Corrections: Halloween and Testing

So I was wrong and it turned out we had a full week of school this week. Bummer, I know. Well it is not that I was wrong actually, the exam schedule is simply on China time. That's right... the state education board has no trouble changing the date of an exam 3 days before the kids are supposed to take it. Can you even imagine the crisis that would occur in the United States if the SATs just decided on Thursday that you would take the test a week later than planned. I can see some incensed parents suing somebody for sure.

This is more of an addition than a correction... As I mentioned before, I am doing Halloween lessons this week in class. The Chinese have their own version of this holiday though I am somewhat unsure of how it is celebrated. Among people my age it seems to be celebrated in much the same way it is in the States. By getting really drunk and wearing very revealing costumes. I make this assumption for two reasons. 1) The local club "PARTY BAR" is having a party and it was explained to me that the dancing girls (who are not exactly shy in their dress on a normal Saturday night) will be wearing very sexy costumes. I asked if everyone else would dress up... he looked at me like I was crazy. 2) I asked my oldest students (about 14-15 years old) if they knew what Halloween is. Leo, one of my favorite students, stood up and said "Hot girl in sexy things she wear do like this" he then proceeded to make imaginary breasts out of his hands and dance around. If I had been able to stop laughing I would have told him he was right.

Happy Halloween
C. Johnson

Midterm Exams

Being that it is the end of October the time has come for the dreaded MIDTERM exams. I say dreaded from the students' point of view because from where I stand the timing couldn't be better. I will have no classes on Thursday and Friday because my students will be taking tests. That's cool. Maybe this time I'll actually be able to make it to Shaoshan.

In addition to a short week the fact that Halloween is coming makes me very happy. First of all, it means that I can do essentially the same lesson for all of my students. I am showing a couple of internet clips and doing a PowerPoint about Halloween to explain to the kids what the holiday really means (my lesson leaves out any mention of All Saints Day). This means that the classes I do have are going to be relatively easy.

On Saturday I will be going to the apartment of one of my friends for a Halloween party in Changsha, which will undoubtedly be a blast. I am actually writing this blog in class... My students are currently participating in another midterm tradition, report cards! The kids with bad grades, or what I am assuming would be the kids with bad grades are being taken out of class in groups. The other kids are ranting over their grades. One kid is crying. It seems to just be assumed that class is over so I turned off the projector and told them to talk in English about their report cards. Of course none of them are, but do you want an update on my life or not?! That's all; for now, if i do make it to Shaoshan I'll let you guys know.
C. Johnson

Liuyang from Shi Fu Shan

You can actually see Xin Wen in this pic. Look for the most distant white tower left of center. Just to the left of that there is a beige streak. That is where I live.

The Pleasantries of Living Here

The last few days have been fantastic and I thought that I would share them with you all. This week I had my students write pen pal letters. This was obviously an activity they had done before because they were all pretty lethargic about it at first. However, when I went on to explain that my friend in America was a teacher and that her kids would write us back they were really amped up. I figure that the previous teachers they had did not offer any responses to the letters they wrote. This is actually turning into a really cool project, especially if Jen would get on skype! I am also sending some of the letters to Maine. I figure this could be a good once a month activity along with my once monthly games day. At first I complained about having to see the kids more than once a week because it meant that I had to make many more lesson plans than my coworkers at Buckland. Now I love the fact that I actually get to connect with my kids. One of the little kids I have, who I was convinced was a mute, finally spoke in class this week. He said, "Today is Friday." If I only saw this kid once a week he never would have said that to me. Never mind that it was Thursday... He spoke!

Thursday night was fantastic. I played some basketball with my teammates which is always fun. The talent level is varied on the team but we have a great starting line. A couple of weeks ago we had our first actual game against another school. It was about an hour into the countryside from Liuyang, so it was pretty far out there. I would guess that I was the first white guy to ever play basketball there. It was an incredibly close game. Unfortunately, because of the language barrier, I know none of the plays. Towards the end of the game I was subbed out so that one of the Chinese teachers could help run the plays. At first I was very disappointed, but as I began to look around that feeling faded quickly. It seemed that the entire town had come out to watch the 'lao wei' play. Even though I was on the other team they cheered for me when I left the court. It was also a beautiful setting. Rows of steep tile roofs created the horizon, the blond setting sun gave an odd sense of eeriness to the thankfully fresh air, and old Maoist slogans were plastered all over the school's walls. I was suddenly hit with a serving of humble pie at my situation here in China. I am really lucky to be here.

It is finally fall here and it reminds me so much of winter in Florida. The air is fresh-ish but certainly crisp and just a little bit chilly. After bball practice I did some cardio on the school's track. Dinner had just finished and all of the students were out playing on the soccer field. After soccer practice the soccer coach busted out this awesome R/C airplane. He would swoop the plane down on groups of students and then have the plane climb back into the sky. I suppose that would be considered abuse in the US. After my workout I just sat there for about an hour. It was fantastic. As the sun set the students headed back to class and I headed home.

Fridays are half days here at Xin Wen (which means the students get out at 2:30) and many of the kids go home. Some live too far and so they stay at school, while the parents of others pay teachers to take care of their kids on the weekends. On any given weekend my friend Salina (who often invites us to weekend dinners) is sure to have a student at her home. I was playing a particularly dangerous game my last period on Friday when the parents showed up. I wanted to stop but the score was 10-10 so we had to finish. When team 1 won they went insane and I was worried that the parents, who were very interested in what the foreigner (who they pay a lot of money to teach their children), would disapprove. Instead they were all very impressed by their children's English ability.

After classes Aimee and I went to Shi Fu mountain. You can see all of Liuyang from up there. I will send my mom a picture to post. This is getting lengthy so lemme just say that it was great. The trail down the mountain leads into a little neighborhood that I had never seen before. It was great to explore our town during the day since normally we work or at least have stuff to do until dark. This weekend I am going to work on getting a motorcycle license. Don't worry mom, I'll be safe.
C. Johnson

Rainy Day at Xin Wen

Picture of the school.

Sent on Monday, October 19.

Cattle call

On my way to the famous Changsha nightlife I was held up by these cattle being sheparded down a five lane 'ring road' of the city. Who says a city the size of London can't have that 'small town charm'?

C. Johnson

A note about coming home

When I returned to the real China from my whirlwind adventure in HK and Macau I felt a sense of comfort returning to me. Here I knew which direction the insane drivers were coming from. Here I could not understand what someone was saying in a language I was familiar with. But most importantly here is where my home is.

I had pondered how I would feel to go on vacation and RETURN to China. I am relieved to say that my comfort with my new home has given me a sense of ownership over it. It was weird being in a place where foreigners sit in a cafe around every corner. I spent the morning after my exhausting train trip from Shenzhen walking the just-waking streets of Changsha. I smiled dumbly and repeated my arsenal of Mandarin phrases to each person I met.

I was home, and I was loving it. I just needed to get to the east bus station and then it was only a short hop to Liuyang. Unfortunately the city bus I boarded was travelling the wrong direction and I didn't realize it until I arrived at the west bus station. 113 stops and 1 hour and 10 minutes later I was on my way to Liuyang. Maybe this place isn't completely comfortable but it is home... for now.
C. Johnson

My favorite kind of cake

For as long as I can remember, I only liked the frosting on cake. This cake is perfect for me, and common in China.

On the Ferry to Macau

More about Hong Kong

Sunday, October 4

After settling into my hostel I realized that I was hungry, really hungry. I checked my map and decided to head into Central station to an area known as Lan Kwai Fong. This section of HK sits on a steep hill and is overcrowded with inexpensive restaurants and expensive restaurants and bars. As usual, this is China after all, I was mauled by touts telling me that their restaurant was the best. These places seem to be the most expensive so I decided to continue walking.

In a quieter corner of things I met two Indian touts who were only a bit enthusiastic at getting me to eat at their restaurant. This was the place for me. The Chuck Masala was delicious and it was honestly one of the most filling meals I had eaten in a while.

Now it was time to hit the bars. Drinking alone is one of the few drawbacks to traveling alone. Usually I am a chameleon who fits in just about anywhere but I quickly realized something strange about Lan Kwai Fong, everyone was beautiful. I inquired the profession of the man with the striking jaw who had taken the seat next to me. He said, "I am a model," in a tone that begged me, "Can't you tell how beautiful I am?". I finished that drink and headed up the hill looking for a place where I would feel less out of place in a twenty dollar polo.

Down a small side street came my salvation. Just up the hill from the Lan Kwai Fan area is a small street with several Irish Pubs. I chose one, Bulldogs, and sat down at the bar. The array of draft beers offered was mind numbing. Yes to all, please! All of a sudden the music stopped and I could here massive amounts of screaming through the speakers. What was this? I turned around to find the second half of the Arsenal Bolton game underway. Ahh, this was heaven.

More to come including lambos and porches, why hiking is fun, and the HK playground. Today I am off to Macau... Who's feeling lucky?

Hong Kong (aka) HK

Saturday, October 3

Hey things are going pretty well here in HK. The train ride was just fine and not too long... still no luck on getting an upgrade for the way back into China. The metro system here in HK is massive but quite convenient and after a day of trial and error I am starting to figure it out pretty well.

I started the morning at the 10,000 Buddhas Temple in the North. In fact, there are several 10s of thousands of Buddhas from the entrance to the temple proper but the main attraction is the main temple that has 12,000 some odd individual Buddhas. Next up was HK Heritage Museum, a fantastic collection of art and history from HK and a great way to spend the hottest hours of the day indoors. My third destination was a small recreation Hakka village in the far North West of the new territories. This region is actually rural, like Burlington (NC) rural, and even though I failed to find the town, it was a blast to just walk up and down main street for a bit. Then it was a long ride onto the HK island.

I walked around the city for a bit and feeling overwhelmed decided to find my hostel. The hostel is situated within the crowded streets of Causeway Bay. I have a line behind me here in the hostel, so I will update more later.

The Taxi Post

Any good account of Asia will include a piece on the horrors of the continent's traffic. I am sure you have all heard of the congestion, the busyness, the downright lunacy of Chinese drivers. Well allow me to tell you that it is true... really, really, really true. The first thing that you have to understand about traffic here is that it is opposite from traffic in the US. This is what I mean: in the US small traffic, such as motorcycles, drives recklessly and fast while big traffic, such as semis, drive slow not wanting to hurt anyone. In China the opposite is true. Here the trucks drive fast, because no one would be stupid enough to get in their way, and the motoches drive carefully, because they are the most likely to die in the event of an accident. It creates a very weird dynamic when you are riding a motorcycle taxi but being passed on both sides by gigantic trucks, scary stuff indeed. Motorcycle taxis are cheaper, presumably because of the risk of dying and the cost of gas, and so that is our preferred method of travel into town. However, the normal car taxis are not a bad option either.

There are four kinds of drivers in China. The first is the safe driver. He understands that the foreigners in his car are of great value. That it would be terrible if we died and that we are really willing to pay a bit extra for a safe ride. The second is that fast driver. This man is a daredevil and expects others to be as well. The road is his oyster and he uses every part of it to get you to your destination. He understands that foreigners have a lot of money and that they are willing to pay a bit extra to be entertained. It must be noted that the driver is often the only one being entertained. He smiles with each screech of the tire and laughs each time I tighten my grip on the door handle.

The third driver is the incomprehensible driver. Like the previous driver they are willing to use any part of the road to their advantage, but this brand tends to be confused as to which side of the road he is supposed to be driving on. Often this driver will hug the left hand curb even though it would appear to be faster if he just stayed in the correct lane. They will often turn the car on and off at inappropriate times and will often be on their cell phone. The worst of all the drivers is the new driver. I was recently invited to dinner at a Chinese friend's house but before we ate we had to make a quick run to the grocery store. As I settled into the backseat my driver's husband turned to me and said, "She just got her license," with a large grin. This was the first time that I had put on a seat belt since moving to China. It was horrifying, I can not even explain it to you. I would have killed for any other sort of driver, even a most incomprehensible one. I survived but just barely.

The scary news is this... 3000 new drivers hit the road each week in this country. That's over 150,000 new drivers each year. Things are only going to get worse.
C. Johnson

Xin Wen XiuaXao

I want to first apologize for how long it has been since I last posted. This can be attributed to two things. First, I am incredibly busy. Second, life here lacks a bit of the excitement that one would often associate with living in a foreign country. OK that second part is not true. At least once day I see something that is so Chinese, so unbelievably foreign that it makes me laugh, makes me think that I should post it, but unfortunately as I said I am busy.

Teaching is no longer as terrible as it was for the first few days. I am getting the hang of dealing with trouble makers and I am also learning how to streamline my lesson planning. I teach grades 2 and 3 (all of which are little monsters) and grades 6-9 which are quite an improvement. As today is Teacher's Day I want to discuss the school where I now work and reside.

My apartment is huge but quite dirty. It is on the ground floor of a 5 story dormitory for teachers. The kids also live on campus which means that the only time that I ever get any quiet time during the week is when I go to my apartment, close all my windows, and turn on some music. Literally everytime I leave my door a chorus of poorly pronounced "Hellos" greats me from the middle school dormitory. However, everyone else goes home on the weekends so it is not hard to get some peace and quiet after a long work week. I eat in the cafeteria, which will save me a ton of money in the long run, but may end up costing me my stomach. My favorite meal is breakfast but, as it is served at 6:15, it is also the meal I miss the most. The best time here at Xin Wen is on the weekends when Aimee and I eat with the maintnence staff, who live in hovel apartments just off campus. It is quiet and the food is delicious. Also, the maintnence staff has gotten used to our being there and so it is one of the few places where I don't feel like a foreigner.

The classrooms themselves are remarkably high tech, some with really nice projectors and some with 1980s big screen TVs that have extremely low resolution, and I do most of my lessons via powerpoint. I even got to show my older students my house on google earth. In between classes I feel like the Pied Piper leading a mass of children outside of their own classroom up to the door of my next class. Oh ya. The kids stay put... in theory. Each class has its own room where it stays all day. Each period the teachers have to move from class to class. Here I thought that after graduating college I would be able to stop living by the bell.

I have a shared office space with other 7-9 grade teachers on the 4th floor of the classroom building for those grades. Everyone is really nice in the office and a lot of the teachers sing while they do their work. This usually is very annoying for me. However here in China I really like it. The women to whom my back faces actually has quite a lovely voice. My desk backs up against my Chinese friend Monica's desk. It is a nice place to sit and talk with other teachers and some of the older students. It is also my refuge from the mass of bodies that tends to follow me from place to place.

I mentioned earlier that today is Teacher's Day. There is a gift of a red envelope waiting for me back at my apartment. The red envelope is the traditional way to gift money here in China, although I have no idea how much is in mine. As with almost everything in China, you also celebrate by drinking alcohol. The owner of the school was here with her family for lunch and, being that Aimee and I have "3D" faces, we were invited to join them. I was offered baijo (remeber white liquor) and beer, it would have been rude to have refused. Tonight we are going to KTV. yippee!

I have also joined the teacher's basketball team here. We are actually pretty good. The first game was against the Liuyang Hospital Staff. I scored 12 points and had 5 rebounds and 6 blocks. Oh ya and I hit the game winner. The funny part is that I didn't even know how much time was left. We had just taken a time out and I am sure there was a discussion about how the game was almost over and whatnot but of course it was in Chinese so.... So I took the shot and it went in. All of a sudden the students rushed the court and were jumping on me with my teammates... finally the respect I never got at Cardinal Newman. Even though there is a language barrier the team seems very excited to have me and I think that it will be a good diversion from classes and planning. Thanks to all for reading,
C. Johnson

P.S. Next post will feature taxis, and motorcycles, and a bar named PARTY. Talk to you soon.

China Dreams

Classes have started and for the last few nights a strange thing has happened. I have had a series of very vivid dreams with reoccuring characters and an episodic plot. This is the first time in my life that I have had such dreams. The odd thing is that I am not dreaming that I am at home, like one would think. Instead I dream that I am in China... kind of. The China my brain creates is full of people speaking perfect English, kids who behave, clean living spaces, clean eating spaces, and of course plenty of free time to travel. The China that greets me every morning is very different. Few speak English (although that is good for my Mandarin), the kids are crazy (as kids tend to be), the living and eating standards or below what I would require in the U.S. (and yet I am now completely OK with that), and the reality is that I may have a hard time fitting in all the travel I want to do (haven't found the benefit of this yet).

The odd thing is that I prefer the real China. I wake every morning as if I had just had a nightmare. I am glad that China is hard, that it is challenging. If it was easy then everyone would do it and it wouldn't matter that I was. Of course I still get jealous when I hear Allison's stories of a relatively easy transition to Korea. I just know that this experience is forming me, just like every other one I have had.

I teach 8 sections of elementary school. These kids are hard. They really just want to play... which is the point of my class except they speak no English and so explaining things like the rules for a game is difficult. My other 12 sections are a blast. They vary from 6-9 grade and the class size varies from 20-40 students... many of my coworkers at Buckland teach classes of more than 120.

A terrible thing happened today. I began to care about my students. This is terrible because now nothing but the best will do for them. Which means that I have to provide it to them. No slapping together lesson plans for me. Wow I wish I hated these kids!

Below is a picture of my school from the office they have given me. I share a large office space with 12 other teachers from 6-9 grade.The circular building is the Xin Wen meeting hall. The building on the left is the first of three classroom buildings, which are five stories apiece... no stairs. Across the valley you can see some mountains, haven't climbed those yet. If the photo was a panoramic you would be able to see Liuyang City to the right, although it is a sprawling city and the downtown area has few buildings over 20 stories. More photos to come!

Office View

View from my office, September 3

Beerconomics

One very easy and fun way to gauge the cost of living in a given place is to look at the cost of a bottle of beer. My roommate of four years Paul agrees with me, and he's an accountant so I must be right. I considered this as I took a quick cab ride back to my apartment from downtown Liuyang. Aimee and I were finished writing our first day's lesson plans and we went into town for some supplies and some beer to take the edge off the nervousness we were feeling.

As we drove past the Ming Tian Inn, complete with 'Western' style restaurant, we both seemed to come to the same realization. In Aimee's bag were four beers... 18 yuan total. Two days earlier we had circumambulated the city on foot and, being that the Inn is the last place before you reach the country roads of Xin Wen school, we stopped in at the Ming Tian Inn for some food and two beers... costing 20 yuan apiece.

It should be no surprise to anyone who has even remotely heard of China in the last 10 years that this is a land of paradox. However to see the gap between rich and poor so blatantly explained by the 'cost of beer' economic system was shocking. What is more shocking is how two, supposedly well travelled, individuals could be so stupidly ripped off. Right then and there in our taxi Aimee and I agreed that we were done buying 20 yuan beers. The atmosphere of the Ming Tian Inn just isn't worth it... trust me.
C. Johnson

First Trip to Changsha (also the hospital)

So there were several reasons that my FAO Monica, and her two friends brought Aimee and I to Changsha two days ago. First of all, Aimee needed to exchange her travellers checks and apparently the head branch of the Bank of China in the Provincial Capital was the only place that could handle such a serious task. Second, there is fantastic shopping, which we'll get to soon enough. But must importantly to me, there was the Changsha Hospital where I would be getting my health check, pushing me one step closer to being a legal resident of China.

Changsha is a city the size of London... shocking because you have probably never heard of it have you? I figured that such a large city would certainly have top of the line modern health facilities. I figured wrong. Cramped in the back of the same small Chevrolet that had taken me around Liuyang I did not have any good views of the city and so I dozed off. I awoke to hear Aimee asking incredulously "Is this the hospital?" Not what I wanted to hear. The clinic was in a 'not so nice' part of town but that was not what worried me. It was the open air meat market next door that made me think "Well if the worst that happens to me is Swine Flu I'll be just fine."

Monica led me up a flight of stairs and into the office of the hospital. Here I had to fill out my information in triplicate, which I supposed was just in case they lost one copy. Such a thing would not have been rare judging by the office's 'filing' system, which was basically just a pile of papers. Actually it was just a pile of papers. After smiling for a picture I was given a small plastic cup and told to pee. "I'm sorry but I don't have to pee." As far as I could tell this was not an acceptable excuse. I drank three bottles of water and found my way to the bathroom. They were feral at best. It took a while, perhaps I was worried about the man next to me getting frisky, but the deed was eventually done.

Next up was getting my blood drawn. When I was a child I had to be held down for the doctors to stick a needle into me. I don't know why but my entire body would just fill with fear and I couldn't hold still. That same feeling of dread filled me again. I begged Monica to ensure that the needles were clean. She assured me that this clinic was modern and everything was sterilized. It took everything inside of me not to ask her why the entire place smelled like shit if it was so clean. But then again, would YOU want to be the one to clean up a Chinese Hospital? I then endured another hour or so of tests, oddly including an ultrasound (It's a boy by the way) and an extremely rude ECG nurse. The entire proceedings cost a total of 364 Yuan, remember this.

Aimee had trouble exchanging her checks at the bank and so I took this opportunity to get some lunch (I was forced to skip breakfast... I assume for the ultrasound). I found a noodle place with a couple of pictures at the register. I pointed at something that looked like it wasn't dog and took a seat. All of the Chinese seemed flabbergasted that a Westerner would walk into such a small shop and order something without asking any questions. I considered this and realized that even though I have spent almost two months (in total) in China this was the first meal that I had ever eaten alone. I felt proud of myself as I walked back to the bank. The owner had only charged me 3 Yuan, perhaps he was so shocked he forgot to charge me the foreigner price.

We had a couple of hours to kill before my medical results would be available so to the girls' (the Chinese girls, not necessarily Aimee's) delight we went to the mall. I would assume that the feeling I had as I went from the squalor of the hospital into the shine of the modern mall is analogous to the way that Angelina Jolie's kids felt after being airlifted out of Africa. Could this be the same planet? It was. The mall was clean and efficient and filled with workers. Each store had tons of them (workers)... too many, you would think, but really they were all very busy. This was the Chinese market that American producers so desperately wanted to tap. I sat in the M*A*C makeup store and listened to 36 mafia and Eminem. How could this be? Remembering that I needed some basketball shoes I went to the 7Th, THE 7Th, floor of the mall and found the NIKE store. They didn't have my size but I checked out a few models anyway. The price of the cheapest shoes in the store was 680 Yuan, almost double what I paid for my health check...

This is the paradox of today's China and I must say that it is quite wonderful to experience. Earlier that day I was (justifiably) worried that a qualified medical professional might infect me with hepatitis and now I was standing in a NIKE store with 100 Dollar shoes, and people were buying them. I think that this is really the best time to be in China... well OK the best time will be when the mall style of life hits the hospitals, but still... this country is incredible!

I do not mean to be demeaning at all in my account of the hospital visit. It was difficult, it was scary. But poverty is no longer endemic to the Chinese people. Sure there was a man lying on the pavement naked just outside the mall, but the point is that there is a mall. Progress is being made. Many westerners would want to ask what the cost of this progress is, but before you do ask what the cost of our own affluence is. In the US there are no naked men laying outside of our malls, our naked men are in Latin America, Africa, and parts of Asia. There is no doubt in my mind that the Chinese have room to improve, and a lot of room to improve, but perhaps we do as well.
C. Johnson

On to Liuyang

WARNING: THE FOLLOWING POST HAS A BIT OF 'COLOR'. SOME MAY WISH TO PROCEED TO THE NEXT BIT OF BOLD FACED WORDS

The man who drove Aimee and I to the train station in Guilin told us to wait for about an hour near the outdoor public restrooms for a travel company to come and give us our tickets for the overnight to Changsha. As I waited I thought about what an adventure I was on, about how funny life could be, how amazing it could be... OK I am bullshitting here but please, let me. I need some way to label what was about to happen as adventurous or exciting; even calling it oddly foreign would do. During our wait I decided to quickly visit the little boys room where there was a single trough up against a wall. I have peed in plenty of bar bathrooms and the trough style of things does not really bother me much. Now it is true that after I had finished relieving myself I stood for a few, but just a few, seconds more taking deep breaths and preparing myself for the train ride ahead before I put it all back inside my shorts. However I would not ever classify this short amount of time as the amount of time a man would have to wait before he would think that the man with his bits out (me) was inviting him to have a go. Apparently in China I had waited precisely that amount of time. It turns out that public restrooms outside of train and bus stations are happening spots for young Chinese homosexuals to meet. Oh how obvious these things become to a person after his penis has been touched by a stranger. And in reality it was quite obvious... the restroom was full of men just kind of hanging out. The odd thing was that the man didn't even say anything to me, not that my reaction would have been much better had he, but really, to just reach over like that... the barbarian. My reaction was also nonverbal. I didn't want to chastise him in English, lest he mistake my anger for role play; and remarkably the Rosetta Stone never covered the Mandarin words I was searching for. I quickly zipped up and dashed out of the restroom. I was lucky to have Aimee there making light of the situation otherwise I would have fumed over it all night.

Next up was an enterprising young boy who wanted to wash my sandals... my sandals. I was having none of this. Now you must remember that I have travelled through India, where you see some truly depressing shit in the train stations. I mention this only because I don't want my readers to think that I am callous when I say that my heart was not even hiccuping for this fat and fully clothed 12 year old in front of me. I must admit however that these Chinese kids were far more persistent than their Indian counterparts. He simply would not take no for an answer. What a pain in the ass. In half an hour's time we would literally watch our 'travel guide' walk up to the ticket depot we were sitting right next to, which had English signage by the way, and buy our tickets. He was half an hour late and we had to pay him 70 Yuan apiece for his 'services'. Chinese capitalism at its finest I suppose. You would think that I couldn't stand this country, that I would be constantly questioning why I came here and that I would hate living here... and sometimes I do have all of these emotions. However China often offers its own salvation when you need it the most. Today it came in the form of two men from Xian, who I assume were not gay, who rescued us from the touts and the little kid. They made fast friends with us and tried to speak to us in broken English. Aimee filled in the gaps for me with her Mandarin. When they saw that we were not a couple of bleeding heart tourists they explained to the kid that his time was probably more effectively spent elsewhere. They offered me a cigarette and, feeling obliged but also feeling like I really needed one, I accepted it and then another. We left them in a flurry of thank yous in many languages and rushed onto our train... which is a fifteen minute story in itself.

OK GRANDMA, YOU CAN START READING AGAIN

I started this post with some sarcastic existentialism, but I must admit that there is something really fun and adventurous about taking a train in China when there is only one other English speaker aboard the transport. We were in hard sleeper, which meant that privacy would be non existent on the trip. The family who shared our little cubby was polite and quiet. The two teenage children seemed thrilled that they were sharing their berth with some westerners though I got the feeling that the boy tried hard not to show it. Aimee was not feeling well so I stayed up with her as long as I could. All around us the Chinese were making themselves at home, setting up snacks or brushing their teeth. One boy, maybe eight years old, ran up and down the aisle wearing only a long orange T-shirt. Without getting too sappy I would really like to say what a wondrous occasion this train ride really was. It was fun. It was new. It was adventurous. We awoke the next morning to be dumped quickly onto the platform of the Changsha train station. The sky was grey and polluted and I thought back to my decision to smoke those cigarettes the night before. We easily found our Foreign Affairs Officer (FAO) in the crowd outside the station and from that moment on the day was a flurry of action. We had three meals, were shown our new apartments (quite nice I must say), taken to the supermarket, shown around the school, and given a quick and uncomfortable tour of Liuyang in a small Chevrolet. That evening fireworks went off late into the night. Liuyang is the world's largest producer of the explosives and it appears that this will be a nightly occurrence. Today Aimee and I went for a walk around the school, but even given the grey skys it is deadly hot. There is a small shop that doubles as a pool hall and bar about a mile from the school's entrance. Other than that, there is not much between us and downtown Liuyang, which is not by any means a small village. Don't let the Chinese fool you... Liuyang is a city, a city with hundreds of thousands of people.

Right now the newness of everything is hard. However I realize that in one SHORT year I will undoubtedly be sad when I leave this place. The teaching staff seem nice, though many of them do not speak English. We are planning to make a trip to Changsha in a few days so that Amy can change her money there. I will update on that as well as the beginning of the school year as it happens. Thank you for reading. I am trying to report my life here in China as honestly as I can bear it. Often what you read may make you think I hate this place... I do not. It is new, it is foreign, but for at least one year it is also my home.

C. Johnson

Lasagna?

Lasagna? Sometimes the Chinese versions of our foods are kind of just approximations rather than replications.

This is my teaching partner Aimee eating some yummy 'lasagna'. Wonton wrappers as a substitute for pasta? Only in China

Owen's son, Jerry

Orientation

So it has been a while since my last blogpost because I have been so busy with orientation. I am now packing to get ready to move to the city where I will be teaching which is called Liuyang. I have been trying to provide you with pictures so you can see some of what I have seen.

I guess I will start at the beginning of Yangshuo. Eun (see photo below) was the first person that I met here. I was soooo scared when I first got here that I couldn't even eat. Eun is the driver here at Buckland. It's also his job to make sure all the new recruits are comfortable and settled here. Without him and others on the Buckland staff I probably would have left China because of homesickness.

The actual orientation has been packed full of TESOL classes. Everyone here is awesome and my fellow new teachers and I are having a blast. The only bad part is that we are now going to be shipped off to other parts of China but hopefully we will keep in touch. At the end of orientation we each have to teach one lesson plan to a group of local students. I did my lesson on hobbies and had a great time.

Tomorrow I take a train to Changsha and then a car to Liuyang. My teaching partner's name is Aimee and I think that we will get along pretty well. My city is 45 minutes from Changsha (which means it is about 1 mile because of Chinese traffic) which is the provincial capital. Changsha = McDonalds! I will be teaching at a primary and middle school which is a bit younger than I had hoped but the McDonalds will no doubt help that.

Last night we had a huge party with Owen, the owner of my company. I got wasted off of baijo (see dopey smile in the photo below) but Owen did too so it was all right. Then it was time for some KTV (karaoke).

Today I went to the river one last time. It was incredible. The water is so warm and the Chinese tourists so excited to see some Lao Wei jumping off the bridge. This little girl was shooting us with water so when her bamboo raft came up to the bridge we all cannonballed into the water near her. She was soaked and started screaming, "you are evil". We may have started another world war.

I am sad to say goodbye to Yanshuo but I am ready to start the next chapter of this adventure.

Oh ya, I bargained with a lady at the market but did so entirely in Mandarin. Schwing!

The guys, 8/21/09

(Mom has asked for the story that goes with this photo.)

My first friend in China, Eun, 8/21/09

Hidden Valley, 8/19/09

Along the Yulong River

About 5 miles outside of Yangshou the slow moving Yulong River meanders its way through the massive karst topography of southern China. The trail from Yangshou to the river is paved, and it is often clogged with tourists, but it is beautiful, serene and lonely all the same. Trekking away from my low budget hostel the road climbs its only significant rise between the town and the river. As the buildings of Yangshou disappear behind the peaks, I am quickly deposited in a narrow valley.

In the early morning the road was a flutter with local activity. Loud tractors full of farm supplies rumble by. The morning's harvest makes its way in the other direction. The bamboo raft drivers fly down the road on their motorcycles each one blaring their horn as they pass to my very near left. Although the valley is narrow the locals have managed to carve small rice farms out of the land. In the fields the women pick and tie bunches of the plants while the men load their tractors near the road. Somewhere after the first bend the valley begins to open up. To the right farming persists for 200, 300, 400 meters as the massive mountains veer away from the road. To my left, peak after peak rise thousands of feet into the air. Sheer cliffs with plant life seeming to be clinging desperately to the face with their roots. Nature has weathered out small niches in the base of many of the peaks.

Here old ladies sit, selling hats and tiaras made of flowers. Another hundred metres and the trail seems to give birth to what is, I promise you, the most beautiful scene anyone has ever seen. Within the tall confines of the valley walls a massive and proud peak stands solitary, and at its base is a village. The mud road to the left bumps through a small village with no storefronts, just homes. To the right the paved trail cuts quickly through town and on to the Yulong river. Touts scream at me, "Bamboo... Bamboo." I respond with a stern "Bo yo shia shia."

I decided to see where the path to the left led... it led to nowhere but that was the point. The locals on this side of the village were not used to seeing westerners stray from the manicured trail and were eager to have me notice them. "You walk from Yangshuo?" a man asked in surprisingly good English with a look of awe on his face. I simply nod. After exploring the small paths of the town and giving the children a few enthusiastic "Ni haos" I found myself back on the paved trail again heading towards the Yulong. As the road leaves the more modernized part of the village the valley opens up on both sides of the road. It seems that here the entire world is open to me. It is nothing but blue and white sky and peak after cloudy peak.

This is the China we have seen painted a million times and probably written on just as much. I can imagine the ancient Chinese here thinking of the dragon and the phoenix wrapping their way between the massive peaks. The fertile valley floor is flat and ensures that my view of the topography is unencumbered. Something as simple as a stone bridge leading into the soggy fields becomes magical in a setting such as this. When you walk this trail you feel full, entire. Now the trail is beginning to get crowded though, and I must constantly look over my shoulder to ensure that I am not tagged by a motorcycle or tractor, or even worse one of the gigantic buses that are now shipping thousands of tourists to the berth of the bamboo floats. I am soon near the river where more raft drivers offer me their service. In order to escape their requests I find a small dirt path that leads down to the river. And there it was, silent but mighty, slowly weathering this land even further. Upstream there is a flotilla of umbrella clad bamboo rafts. Down stream local children are gathering water guns to sell to the tourists. The colors of these man made items create a paradox that is garish but unmistakeably beautiful. What was once only green and blue is now a flurry of red and orange and green and purple and blue and blue and blue.

I find myself on a map within my travel guide and as some children shyly approach me I show them where we are. The bravest of these quickly grabs the book from my hands and begins searching the map. I am not sure how much of it she comprehended and she quickly handed it back to me closed. I did not spend long at the river, it was hot and I was getting hungry. The walk back home was full of the same scenery and wonder. I have walked or ridden a bike down this trail many times now, sat completely alone and homesick at the edge of a small farm; played and swam in the river with the tourists; jumped off the famous Yulong Bridge into the river and then rode the current back to my clothes; and even climbed the mountains walling the valley until they simply dumped me into another scar in the Earth. The thing that is shocking about all my trips is how it never gets old, never gets ugly, never gets boring. This is why I came to China, for this.

Getting around Yangshou

August 15. I'll write later.

Adapting

Hey everybody this is the second post that I am making through my parents. If you do have any comments please send them to cjohnson627@gmail.com Also identify yourself in the email so that I can respond. I am now in my second city in China (Yangshuo) and I am beginning to really get into the frame of mind that I will be living here for a whole year. While that is a scary prospect I think that everyday I am getting more and more excited to start my life here. One of the strangest things is that I will not be returning to Elon this fall. I miss every aspect of my life there at Elon and I have to say that I feel a bit like I am jumping into the unknown. However my orientation starts Monday and I am thinking that as I learn more about what it will be like to actually teach I will become exponentially more comfortable in this country. I am slow to set up skype and whatnot but hopefully I will be able to manage that pretty soon after I reach the city I will be working in. One plus of being here early is that I am able to meet all sorts of interesting people who have already lived in China for months and years. It is comforting that they tell me I will undoubtedly feel better soon. I miss all of you but I think that to truly adapt in China I will have to manage to spread my roots here just as I had to at Elon four years ago.
C. Johnson

Guilin

Well my first few days in China have been exciting. As far as I can tell the blogspot website is unavailable here so my parents will be posting via email. The karst topography here in Guilin is incredible. For those who don't know, karst topography is mountains of very hard rock with sheer faces. As the soft rock around weathered away the karsts remained standing tall. These geological formations surround Guilin. It is very hot here and I have had to make sure that I do not overexert myself during my hiking. My hotel sits on the main promenade along the Li River. Here people do tai chi all day and they also swim in the river. I have been Google Mapping this region for weeks and I must say that the satellite photographs do not do it justice. I really do think that this is one of the prettiest places that I have ever visited. The first site I visited was Elephant Hill . This formation sits right on the river and the way that it has weathered makes it look like an elephant drinking from the river. I woke up early and had the place mostly to myself, although I did do some obligatory posing for the Chinese tourists. I then started a 2 km walk north to the next site. This walk ended up being over 8 km as I got myself lost. So much for not overexerting myself. I did finally make it to Solitary Beauty Peak, which was at this time of day crawling with tourists. It is a steep climb to the top but once up there the cooling breeze and the view of Guilin is splendid. The afternoon was spent worrying and being homesick. That night I did force myself to go to the Ronghu Lake and Zhongshan market. It would not be worth it to sit in my room pouting. The next morning was another early one full of walking. I crossed the Li River on the Liberation Bridge and got some more great shots of the city. Then I went to one of the world's first tourist destinations... ever. 7 stars park was founded during the Sui Dynasty and it is simply gorgeous. It is essentially a area of karst topography inside of the city that has been partitioned off and for 35 RMB one can have full access to the peaks there. I climbed many more mountains and walked and walked and walked. Eventually the midday heat and throngs of tourists forced me to retreat to the hotel where I took a quick nap. For dinner I went to a place called the Little Italian which was near my hotel for some pizza... it was delicious. The second I walked in the manager changed the music from something from China to Bloodhound Gang's "Do it like they do on the Discovery Channel". It was followed by Michael Jackson. I wondered whether or not these men knew he had died. I didn't have the heart to tell them. I ended that day by climbing the world's tallest copper pagoda. The building is in the center of Ronghu Lake and offers great view on downtown Guilin. A full night's sleep is still hard to come by because of my jetlag but I am hoping that this will get better soon. I will soon be on my way to the next city where I will meet my employers and coworkers. I think hat meeting these people will help me to not feel so lonely here in China.
C. Johnson

T-6 Days For the Rest of My Life

Hey yall this will probably be my last post until I reach China. I'm six days away and still have no visa but that should be on its way. The closer that I get to my flight out of the U.S. the farther away I feel my connection to this place slipping. I have decided that this trip will almost certainly last more than 11 short months. That is because I do not think that I could possibly quench my thirst for Asia in under a year. I don't know whether it is Asia's magnetic pull or the sourness of American politics and lifestyles that urges me on, probably a balance of both, but something deep inside of me wants to just 'GO'. I love all of my friends from Elon and Wellington and I really do hope that we can keep in touch. I think it is odd that someone who just graduated from college has cabin fever like I do but it is true. I find myself more akin to Alexander Supertramp than Chris McCandless every day I spend here in Wellington. I will be updating this blog with maps and the like so you can check out where I've been. Thanks for being my friends and thanks for following my blog... See you at the five year reunion.
C. Johnson

The Final Countdown

A little over a week until I head off to China. I have packed all of my work close in my suitcase/trekking pack. I also have one hiking pack that I still need to pack. And that's it, two bags... Whatever doesn't fit in those bags will be left behind. On a funny note Ping, my contact at Buckland, assured me I would be able to buy clothing while in China. I had to tell her that I can't find clothes that fit me in the U.S. so there is no way that I can get them in China. I don't think she understands how tall I am yet.

I'm done with Brookstone and it seems like this may be the last time that I ever work for them, although I have said that before. I have been reading a lot of 'hippie' travel literature: Dharma Bums, Into the Wild, Undress Me in the Temple of Heaven, etc. It has made me both excited and apprehensive to travel since some pretty crazy things happen to the characters in those novels. I will be setting up a skype account before I go so I can stay in touch with you all.

Summer Coming to an End

So the summer has progressed pretty boringly for me thus far. I'm back working at Brookstone about 16-20 hours a week and I am also removing the wallpaper in my old bedroom for my parents. The rest of my time is spent watching old episodes of the West Wing and Law and Order. My old high school friend Aaron is around and every once in a while we will head out to one of his little brother's 'first year back from college parties'. They are fun enough but they make me feel so old. I've seen Allison a few times this summer and that relationship has been getting progressively better. It is nice to know that I will not be all alone in Asia. I have also been hitting the Rosetta Stone hard... and thus far I think it is working pretty well. I don't have a total grasp of the language but hopefully I will be at a level where I can infer things I hear from the Chinese. The trip to NC has been cancelled because I am running out of time to get things done before I move.

I CAN'T WAIT TO GO TO CHINA! I am so bored here at home and the area where I will be sending my time in China is supposed to be incredible. A little change to what I wrote in my last post: my ORIENTATION will be in the city pictured below. I will actually be teaching in the city of Yongzhou (pronounced Yongsjoe). Buckland has been great in getting me prepared for my move and I really just want to get over there now. I miss everybody from Elon, and I still kinda feel like I'll be seeing you in September, but I know China will be great too. Once I am over there I will probably post more although the first two weeks I'm going to be kind of off the map. I will be backpacking around southern China for a bit before my orientation.

All I am taking with me for my year in China is two backpacks. As I start to separate the things I will and won't be bringing I am really starting to realize how crazy this whole idea is. I think it is a typical 'Craig' thing to do to 1)Meet a couple in China who teaches English 2)Move to China. For any of the newcomers to this blog (or the old people who havent done this yet) feel free to set up a profile and become a follower of my blog. All you need is a gmail account and all you college grads need new email accounts anyways. One last thing: In exactly 3 weeks I will be in China. Let the countdown begin.

It's Real

Today I finally bought the tickets for my flight to China... That makes it official, I will soon be flying to China to teach English. I am super excited but the closer I get to China the more bored I get here at home waiting to go. I have been hanging out with one of my old high school friends and that helps pass the time. Also every Tuesday I play basketball at the church with my dad's friends. It is fun but they foul me so much that my back is starting to hurt. After buying the tickets this morning I have spent the rest of the day reading blogs and looking at pictures of the area where I will hopefully be teaching. My first choice is to teach in Yangshou which is a city nestled in the karst topography of southern China. I included a few pictures I found on Google here. Hopefully I will soon have pictures of my own to put on here. I leave for China in early August which means I have got just about a month and a half to fully prepare myself. I've got a few more things to buy like a new camera and a new hiking backpack (this area of China is famous for hiking) as well as some professional teacher-type clothing.
Charge it up!
C. Johnson

It's Been Awhile

So I have not posted in a while but that is partially because there is not all that much going on. I am now in the next step of the process towards moving to China, applying for my work visa. I had to fill out a special application and get a doctor to check me out and make sure that I am not bringing any diseases into China. He said that most of the diseases he was checking me for were unheard of in the modern US but that I might get them in China, fun. I also got my job back with Brookstone, although only part time. I am working only 3 days this week and loving it. Progress on my room is moving slow but steady. My mom and I just bought all the stuff that I need to take down the old wallpaper. It is weird living back at home after four years of relative freedom in NC. I am so amped to go to China although as it gets closer to the day when I will actually go that excitement mixes more and more with anxiety. I also bought a Rosetta Stone to help me learn Chinese and that is going pretty well. Whenever I feel stressed about going I just study a lesson to convince myself that I will be just fine.
C. Johnson

Looking Back/Looking Forward

Today has been a very exciting day. I begun the day by cleaning out the closet of my old high school bedroom. I found old short stories that I had written and spent about an hour reading through a notebook of them. I am afraid to say that while my academic writing has undoubtedly gotten better my creative writing was probably better back then. I also uncovered my old drawing pad from art class. I have never been any good at painting but I would have to consider myself pretty good at doodling in black and white... this may have inspired my choice of gray scale tattoos over colored ones. In the pad there are about 50 drawings of surfboards. I got a bit nostalgic over how much I used to love designing surfboards. Many people don't know this but I actually designed and built my own surfboard in high school. After seeing these doodles I of course had to pull down the old long board from the attic and decided that I should take it for a spin later this week. After that I really didn't get much cleaning done. However my official contract from Buckland came today and that is also very exciting. This means that I am fully accepted to their teaching program and that I am officially on my way to China. CHEERS!!! I thought that this day would be met mostly with anxiety but I have got to say that I am really excited to begin my Adventure in Asia.
C. Johnson

First Post

This first post is more of a test than anything else. My first week as a college graduate is coming to a close and the anticipation of what is to come has begun to meld with the sadness of what I am leaving behind. I will miss everyone who I became close to at Elon, though I hope that we will be able to remain close in spirit through this blog. I am now in the final stages of confirming my teaching position in China. I have yet to sign the contract or purchase the tickets for my flight and these two steps are probably the most nerve racking for me. In spite of my nervousness I know that I will soon be engaged in one of the most exciting adventures of my life. However, I have a boring summer to endure before I go. I am stuck here in sunny South Florida renovating my old bedroom and doing yard work for my parents. By the way, for those of you still in North Carolina, I plan to make a trip up there sometime in July.
C. Johnson