Hungover. The plan for today was originally to head down to Singapore... not a short trip! However seeing as I have made plenty of cool friends here in KL I figured I would switch things up a bit and do my Kuala Lumpur stuff first. Then I will head up to the Cameron Highlands for at least two days. Next it will be on to Singapore where I may even make a day trip to Indo! Lastly I will go to Melaka, Malaysia for one full day of relaxed small town life.
Today I visited the incredible PETRONAS Towers of Kuala Lumpur. The third largest buildings on planet earth, the towers were designed to resemble a Muslim eight pointed star. I have had a secret fascination with the towers for years and going to see them today was a blast. The thing that really surprised me about the towers is how bulky they were. Nothing like the thin little Puzz 3D I made of them several summers ago. They shoot prominently up into the sky above KL's Golden Triangle district, and there are no other buildings, save the KL TV tower on the other side of town, that come within thirty stories of the PETRONAS CEO's office. PETRONAS is Malaysia's leading, and only visible, provider of fuel and natural gas and the video introduction we were shown before going to the observation deck almost made me sensitive to the interests of Big Oil... Almost. A mega mall is situated at the base of the towers and walking around it was just what I needed to soothe my anxiety over six long months in China.
Tomorrow will find me at the National Museum and hopefully a couple of mosques as well. The diversity here is incredible and it is definitely something that I will post on when I have a less exciting day.
Talk to ya when I get there,
C. Johnson
Monday, January 25, 2010
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
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
Wednesday, January 20, 2010
Time to Go!!!
OK people,
I've got two more classes then my break begins. I'll be rushing out the door after class because I am gonna try to catch Avatar in IMAX tonight at the Wanda Cinema in Changsha. Tomorrow I have a midday train to catch which will take me to Guilin! Since I won't be on my personal computer I may have a bit of trouble blogging for the first three days of my trip. I will try to get something up concerning my return to the location of my orientation. Everybody seemed to enjoy my post on the Yulong River this summer so hopefully I'll have another great Yangshuo adventure. Mark your calenders.... On January 25th I'll be in Kuala Lumpur, Malaysia! See ya then,
C. Johnson
I've got two more classes then my break begins. I'll be rushing out the door after class because I am gonna try to catch Avatar in IMAX tonight at the Wanda Cinema in Changsha. Tomorrow I have a midday train to catch which will take me to Guilin! Since I won't be on my personal computer I may have a bit of trouble blogging for the first three days of my trip. I will try to get something up concerning my return to the location of my orientation. Everybody seemed to enjoy my post on the Yulong River this summer so hopefully I'll have another great Yangshuo adventure. Mark your calenders.... On January 25th I'll be in Kuala Lumpur, Malaysia! See ya then,
C. Johnson
Sunday, January 17, 2010
Getting Ready for an Adventure
First off I would like to thank everyone who followed my blog this fall. The last few months have been sparse with exciting details but I will try to recap a bit. Teaching, teaching, teaching... Teaching here is both a burden and a blessing. Obviously there are good days and bad days but the good days seem to outweigh the bad up to this point. I am planning on staying another year here in China although it is quite possible that I will fall in love with one the places I visit in Southeast Asia.
In just four short days I will begin my trip from Singapore to Angkor Wat Thailand and as such I thought that I would spend my first post back previewing the trip. I will spend the first few days in the same place I had my orientation, Guilin/Yangshuo, China. I am excited to meet up with a few folks from my company but mainly I am looking forward to a few days of R and R! On the 25th I will be flying from Guilin to Kuala Lumpur, Malaysia. From the 25th to the 8th of February I will be bumming around Peninsular Malaysia and Singapore. I am secretly obsessed with the Petronas Towers in Malaysia (best Puzz 3D I have ever done) and this is what I am looking forward to the most for this portion of the trip.
On February 8th I have a $37 flight from Kuala Lumpur to Phuket Thailand... should be fun! The next two weeks will be spent in Thailand doing the Thai thing. Actually I do have a few things on the docket for this period. The beach is priority number one. Second will be temple hopping in Bangkok. I am also planning on renting a motorcycle while in Phuket and scooting around the countryside for a few days. There is also a chance I will get scuba certified although that will be dependent upon when my buddies from China are going to be in the same place I am.
Finally comes the crown jewel of my trip, a seven day excursion into Cambodia. I will be visiting the unbelievable site of the ancient city of Angkor Wat... religious studies nuts pay attention to those posts. After that I will have just 48 short hours to get back to Xin Wen Xue Xiao to start teaching again. I am super excited for my trip to begin and hope that you will all join me on this adventure by following me on this blog!
Thanks,
C. Johnson
In just four short days I will begin my trip from Singapore to Angkor Wat Thailand and as such I thought that I would spend my first post back previewing the trip. I will spend the first few days in the same place I had my orientation, Guilin/Yangshuo, China. I am excited to meet up with a few folks from my company but mainly I am looking forward to a few days of R and R! On the 25th I will be flying from Guilin to Kuala Lumpur, Malaysia. From the 25th to the 8th of February I will be bumming around Peninsular Malaysia and Singapore. I am secretly obsessed with the Petronas Towers in Malaysia (best Puzz 3D I have ever done) and this is what I am looking forward to the most for this portion of the trip.
On February 8th I have a $37 flight from Kuala Lumpur to Phuket Thailand... should be fun! The next two weeks will be spent in Thailand doing the Thai thing. Actually I do have a few things on the docket for this period. The beach is priority number one. Second will be temple hopping in Bangkok. I am also planning on renting a motorcycle while in Phuket and scooting around the countryside for a few days. There is also a chance I will get scuba certified although that will be dependent upon when my buddies from China are going to be in the same place I am.
Finally comes the crown jewel of my trip, a seven day excursion into Cambodia. I will be visiting the unbelievable site of the ancient city of Angkor Wat... religious studies nuts pay attention to those posts. After that I will have just 48 short hours to get back to Xin Wen Xue Xiao to start teaching again. I am super excited for my trip to begin and hope that you will all join me on this adventure by following me on this blog!
Thanks,
C. Johnson
Thursday, November 19, 2009
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 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
Anyway... I'm off to referee another skirmish!
C. Johnson
Saturday, October 31, 2009
Friday, October 30, 2009
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
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
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