It has Begun

It is the first full day here in Kuala Lumpur so I figured it was time to update everybody on how I'm doing!

Thursday I finished up teaching and went to Changsha for the night. My students were as restless as I was to get out of there and the pace of the classes was slow and painful. That night I went to see Avatar. If any of you have not seen the movie I would recommend it as a must see. I know all of you stateside are familiar with the mythical beast known as the Chinese consumer market... let me explain to you why this market is so valuable. The IMAX version of Avatar runs24 hours a day, 7 days a week. On the day we went to see the film we had to settle for the 3D version because, and I'm not exaggerating, the only time that we could have gotten tickets for the IMAX was at 4 AM. 4 AM!!!! and in that showing Binka and I would not have even been able to sit together (they have assigned seating here and the show was nearly sold out). If you own a business... corner this market!

Friday I began the real meaty travel of my trip,but not before playing some FIFA 10 on an xbox 360 near the train station... only the bare essentials here in China. Taking trains in China is fantastic (that statement is said both genuinely and with a mouthful of sarcasm). The train system itself is wonderful. The routes are convenient and logical with multiple carriages per day travelling in any direction you want. The stations are spotless compared to the hellholes in India. The staff are generally helpful. The trains themselves are clean in the cabin and clean enough in the bathroom areas. The people are terrible. The second your train arrives you find yourself in a mob of people rushing to be the first one onto a train that isn't going to leave any of them behind. After being shoved through a single turnstile all hundred or so passengers are forced to descend a set of stairs to reach the underground tunnel that will take them to the proper platform. All those people who had just rudely bumped in front of you now come to an abrupt stop and are struggling with the handles on their rolling luggage to get down the stairs. Slow and steady, and extremely tall seems to win the race. While in the underground tunnel an odd partnership seems to be made. Little old ladies and young business men seem to be on the page here in the crowded concrete tube. They push and shove their way back to the front... Just the little old ladies and business men, an odd friendship to be sure. Of course when they get to the staircase up to the platform they must all stop abruptly and fix their luggage handles again.

I was hopping to find the paradise that first greeted me in China during my time here in Yangshuo. Unfortunately winter has brought with it some bitter cold rain that shows no sign of stopping. While that was a serious drawback the trip to Yangshuo was not a complete failure. There was a great bunch of folks at the hostel with me. Most notably were Eliza from Germany, Andrew from Ireland, Charlie from Colorado and Old Man Charlie, Jimmy, Danny and Tom from England. The latter four were hilarious and we spent all night drinking up on the rooftop bar at our hostel... Our greatest accomplishment was playing a traditional Chinese dice game that Andrew thoughtfully updated with Tequila. After the seven of us killed the bottle British Charlie asked me to sign his English flag. In my dilapidated state I thought it was a Swizz flag and proceeded to sign it, "Dudes, stay neutral". They absolutely loved it and Tom later asked me to sign his guitar with the same encouraging message. The four of them were Milwall supporters and promised to fly me to London the next time that their club faced off against West Ham so that I could have my very own Green Street Hooligans moment. Also, I got an advance on my salary for the month of January which means I'm rolling fly in Malaysia.

Last night was a blast as well. On the bus into town from the airport I met a couple of Americans who are currently trying for their dive masters in Thailand. We went out for a night of drinking that featured lady boys galore... is it bad that they were the most beautiful 'girls' in the bar??? To be honest it is quite strange seeing all these westerners, everyone has a story, everyone is on an adventure.

Talk to you when I get there,
C. Johnson