Robby in China

its trenchcoat time here in China, I only bring this up because last night after going to the store I placed my wallet in my trenchcoat pocket after getting groceries
and while lugging them home this guy brushed up against me, he got my wallet, I dropped my groceries* and a short chase ensued with me yelling "zéi"** over and over again
one of the many
chengdu_police_china1-600x398.jpg

that roam my neighborhood(its like a "foriegn quarter") got him, but others were yelling in Chinese at him and pointing before that
just how people roll here, it was nice, and getting my wallet back, but I declined to press charges, the penal system here is quite harsh
the cop did not press me, with the language barrier and all
the adrenaline rush was incredible, did not know I still had that speed over a 100 metres or so
oh and all that was going through my mind was to get my wallet back, not just for the $, but thinking it was my dad's old wallet
I'd forgotten I lost that my first few months here :cool: after carrying around for 12 years, weird how the mind works
anyways, got work soon must go


*=amazingly, the one piece of glass in the groceries did not break and a person came up with my bags, China, not like the USA thats for sure
seems more of a good than a bad thing when it comes to stuff like this...
**=Chinese for thief
 
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dogs usually love me and I love them, but here in China
ghk-barking-dog-mdn.jpg

they bark at me all the time :eek: I found this confusing :confused: then my Canadian friend said something like:
"Oh, its cuz they're racist" :cool:
then suddenly a light went on, many dogs absorb the racial bias of the dominant society they live in :straightface:
always suspected such from how I've seen so many dogs bark at black people back home, now I think I understand the why just tiny bit more :o
 
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six week recap for those who don't read my blog:

"Western" New Years was OK
Chinese New Years was incredible
the Chinese legal system works
Chinese hate it when you cheat on them, like a lot :straightface:
 
so yeah, made it through VD & Lantern festival was interesting
but now things are getting back to normal, should start hearing back from some job stuff later this week
in the meantime, looking into other places in China I might find it OK to work in, today I have zeroed in on
xiamen_lujiang_night_view.jpg

Xiamen, or what we use to call "Amoy"
consistently ranked near the top for most suitable city for living
here in mainland China
it is smaller than Chengdu, but still a big city
far less polluted, which matters a lot to me now :straightface:
also, important to me, is that its warmer than here, any place I go in mainland China after this must be warmer
today is a good day for this month and its only 40 degrees Fahrenheit! :mad:
I've been enduring days(& worse nights) like this(omg, and how cold was last month?!) since November :tears:
I hate it, sure its not the nightmare cold of Georgia(the country) but still, cold brings out the worst in me :o
it makes me stay indoors, smoke more, drink more and just be in less of a good mood
also, as I read about Xiamen more in another tab, I see that it has beautiful beaches, I went down to the beach right before I left "Socal" back in May of last year
remembered the time I spent on those OC beaches as a boy, good times, I miss beaches, they were the thing I missed most in San Francisco
so yeah, thats on my list too now
I want warm temps, good air and beaches
now to apply for some jobs teaching English at some "high schools" there
as much as I enjoy teaching some of my younger students, the truth is it will never fit my skill set, I find it so much easier to connect with older students
it just gets tiresome playing the "English speaking clown" for little kids day after day :crazy:
I much more enjoy making jokes with teenagers who actually understand them :thumb:
I'll get around to the "learning center" jobs like the one I have now only if I cannot get one of these high school ones :guitar:
 
so yeah, made it through VD & Lantern festival was interesting
but now things are getting back to normal, should start hearing back from some job stuff later this week
in the meantime, looking into other places in China I might find it OK to work in, today I have zeroed in on
xiamen_lujiang_night_view.jpg

Xiamen, or what we use to call "Amoy"
consistently ranked near the top for most suitable city for living
here in mainland China
it is smaller than Chengdu, but still a big city
far less polluted, which matters a lot to me now :straightface:
also, important to me, is that its warmer than here, any place I go in mainland China after this must be warmer
today is a good day for this month and its only 40 degrees Fahrenheit! :mad:
I've been enduring days(& worse nights) like this(omg, and how cold was last month?!) since November :tears:
I hate it, sure its not the nightmare cold of Georgia(the country) but still, cold brings out the worst in me :o
it makes me stay indoors, smoke more, drink more and just be in less of a good mood
also, as I read about Xiamen more in another tab, I see that it has beautiful beaches, I went down to the beach right before I left "Socal" back in May of last year
remembered the time I spent on those OC beaches as a boy, good times, I miss beaches, they were the thing I missed most in San Francisco
so yeah, thats on my list too now
I want warm temps, good air and beaches
now to apply for some jobs teaching English at some "high schools" there
as much as I enjoy teaching some of my younger students, the truth is it will never fit my skill set, I find it so much easier to connect with older students
it just gets tiresome playing the "English speaking clown" for little kids day after day :crazy:
I much more enjoy making jokes with teenagers who actually understand them :thumb:
I'll get around to the "learning center" jobs like the one I have now only if I cannot get one of these high school ones :guitar:

Great post Robby. :thumb:

I hope you get your warmer climate soon. The cold is an assault to the body and mind--something I do not miss at all. I too like teenagers best. You don't feel like you have to be a baby sitter as well. Can be more like a mentor.
 
so yeah, made it through VD & Lantern festival was interesting
but now things are getting back to normal, should start hearing back from some job stuff later this week
in the meantime, looking into other places in China I might find it OK to work in, today I have zeroed in on
xiamen_lujiang_night_view.jpg

Xiamen, or what we use to call "Amoy"
consistently ranked near the top for most suitable city for living
here in mainland China
it is smaller than Chengdu, but still a big city
far less polluted, which matters a lot to me now :straightface:
also, important to me, is that its warmer than here, any place I go in mainland China after this must be warmer
today is a good day for this month and its only 40 degrees Fahrenheit! :mad:
I've been enduring days(& worse nights) like this(omg, and how cold was last month?!) since November :tears:
I hate it, sure its not the nightmare cold of Georgia(the country) but still, cold brings out the worst in me :o
it makes me stay indoors, smoke more, drink more and just be in less of a good mood
also, as I read about Xiamen more in another tab, I see that it has beautiful beaches, I went down to the beach right before I left "Socal" back in May of last year
remembered the time I spent on those OC beaches as a boy, good times, I miss beaches, they were the thing I missed most in San Francisco
so yeah, thats on my list too now
I want warm temps, good air and beaches
now to apply for some jobs teaching English at some "high schools" there
as much as I enjoy teaching some of my younger students, the truth is it will never fit my skill set, I find it so much easier to connect with older students
it just gets tiresome playing the "English speaking clown" for little kids day after day :crazy:
I much more enjoy making jokes with teenagers who actually understand them :thumb:
I'll get around to the "learning center" jobs like the one I have now only if I cannot get one of these high school ones :guitar:

I enjoyed this post, Robby! I have been feeling down from the unrelenting cold and snow here in New York. Unlike you, I am in the place I have lived all my life, but it is like an unknown place this winter. I feel as though I am somewhere else, have never known a winter like this. I do hate when people make a big deal out of the weather, but this kinda sucks:p
 
Great post Robby. :thumb:

I hope you get your warmer climate soon. The cold is an assault to the body and mind--something I do not miss at all. I too like teenagers best. You don't feel like you have to be a baby sitter as well. Can be more like a mentor.
Thanks and yes, I agree.
I enjoyed this post, Robby! I have been feeling down from the unrelenting cold and snow here in New York. Unlike you, I am in the place I have lived all my life, but it is like an unknown place this winter. I feel as though I am somewhere else, have never known a winter like this. I do hate when people make a big deal out of the weather, but this kinda sucks:p
Thank you to you too and as for making a big deal about the weather. Well, the older I get, the more I realize how much it affects my state of mind.
When I was a kid growing up in "Socal" I thought I hated the sun, but the fact is I still went out in it all the time, I just liked to complain about it.
Since then I've lived other places where because of the weather you just did not see it that much, its one reason I could never live in the UK, only visit. :o
Now here in Chengdu I've experienced a new phenomena for me and that is
baday_zps0814ffa6.jpg

not being able to see it because of the air pollution :eek: its much more depressing than I thought it would be :straightface:
 
I'm really enjoying this thread, sir.
thanks :thumb:

so in looking at other places to live in China, I tell people I want to live somewhere where its warmer, somewhere on the southern coast
and the one universal comment has been that it is dirtier down there :eek:
I've looked into this and actually have found some factual data to back this up :o
3767552893_4c27c4c1f5.jpg

seems the infrastructure of many cities down there cannot keep up with the population growth or industrial pollution of the rivers :(
I guess here in Chengdu I've taken for granted how clean the place is because I see
20080317-Garbage%20truck%20in%20lijiang%20joho.gif

these mini garbage trucks all the time and people getting out to clean up debris, I guess I just assumed this goes on everywhere :straightface:
oh and one of the oddest things about these trucks is that are always playing music, the same song, which sound eerily like the theme from "The X-Files" :rolleyes:
 
did a job interview today for one in:
fuan_zpsda8a436e.jpg

Fu'an, which is in the Fujian province, about half hour drive from the sea, better pay, and less pollution
more rain, but higher temperatures, its a lot smaller though, only half a million people
I'll take it though because the hours don't include working on Saturday at all & only half a day on Sunday
but if I don't hear back from them in a few days I am going to move on with an idea in my head since a friend emailed me a few weeks ago
and that is to leave China to teach in
vietnam_english_class-620x380.jpg

Vietnam
vietnam_hanoi.jpg

I mean China was never the goal, and Japan is still out of reach for at least a year or two
but Vietnam, could I ever forgive myself if I did not live there for at least a year?
a place that from afar has had such an impact on so much of my life?
I think not, so yeah, signing up on a bunch of sites about working in Vietnam, I'll mull it over for a few days before actually applying for any
but I have a feeling I will live there at some point, its a different feeling than with Japan, there I have simply wanted to go all my life
but with Vietnam, it feels like its predestined
 
did a job interview today for one in:
fuan_zpsda8a436e.jpg

Fu'an, which is in the Fujian province, about half hour drive from the sea, better pay, and less pollution
more rain, but higher temperatures, its a lot smaller though, only half a million people
I'll take it though because the hours don't include working on Saturday at all & only half a day on Sunday
but if I don't hear back from them in a few days I am going to move on with an idea in my head since a friend emailed me a few weeks ago
and that is to leave China to teach in
vietnam_english_class-620x380.jpg

Vietnam
vietnam_hanoi.jpg

I mean China was never the goal, and Japan is still out of reach for at least a year or two
but Vietnam, could I ever forgive myself if I did not live there for at least a year?
a place that from afar has had such an impact on so much of my life?
I think not, so yeah, signing up on a bunch of sites about working in Vietnam, I'll mull it over for a few days before actually applying for any
but I have a feeling I will live there at some point, its a different feeling than with Japan, there I have simply wanted to go all my life
but with Vietnam, it feels like its predestined

Go to Vietnam! Less pollution. Amazing food. New experience.
 
its basically the greatest food ever :)
and yeah, so I could not wait any longer
today I applied for two jobs in Vietnam, unlike for the jobs I have been applying for in China, I wrote a very specific "cover letter"
gotta say, was a bit emotional writing it, talked about teaching, coaching, helping my brothers learn to read, the army, and my being "from" Westminster, California
where I gained a deep connection to Vietnamese culture, language and food
and so now that I have gone and done it, I want it, you know?
I am not sure how I would handle the rejection, I know now that I have feeling of some kind of "redemption" :crazy:
wrapped up in going to teach, live and learn in that known to me yet still undiscovered land of Vietnam :o
 
its basically the greatest food ever :)
and yeah, so I could not wait any longer
today I applied for two jobs in Vietnam, unlike for the jobs I have been applying for in China, I wrote a very specific "cover letter"
gotta say, was a bit emotional writing it, talked about teaching, coaching, helping my brothers learn to read, the army, and my being "from" Westminster, California
where I gained a deep connection to Vietnamese culture, language and food
and so now that I have gone and done it, I want it, you know?
I am not sure how I would handle the rejection, I know now that I have feeling of some kind of "redemption" :crazy:
wrapped up in going to teach, live and learn in that known to me yet still undiscovered land of Vietnam :o

Bravo! I am pulling for you Robby. Looking forward to a new thread in six months, Robby in Vietnam. :)
 
well, my first interview for a job in Vietnam went well I think :)
and while its just the 2nd step in a process* I could be there as early as June! :eek:
however, not putting all my eggs in one basket :o going to interview for another job here in China next week
and another in 'Nam :guitar:
 
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