Still Alive.

Well, I guess I'm resurrecting my blog.  I wanted to have this as a travel blog, but since I've got back from China, I haven't done much travelling.  With starting a new job, adjusting to life back in the West, and various other things, I've let the blog side.  Well, with a trip now planned and booked to Tokyo next march, I thought it's time to start blogging again.

The missus and I will be spending about ten days in Tokyo and hopefully a few days in Kyoto.  We managed to get an apartment right outside Shibuya Crossing in the heart of Tokyo, so I'm really exicted.

If our view is half as good as this picture, then I'll be a happy man.  With going to Hong Kong in May, and Tokyo this coming March, I'll have hit two bucket list destinations in the space of a year.  I hope to make regular updates to this blog, but I'm sure I'll slack off, and be my normal unproductive self, but here's to optimism.

Bringing Sexy Back.

I can't really stay in my room too long; I should of got the one with air conditioning . . . doh!  So here is a short and sweet update of stuff in Hong Kong.

Statue Square on Hong Kong Island with the colonial court house in the background.  Although the Japanese kinda ruined the term Statue Square by nicking them all, but one, during WWII.

The same court house with the Bank of China (I think) building in the background.

One of the few remaining old school letter boxes.

Stephen and Stitt, the two lions outside the Bank of HSBC headquarters on Hong Kong Island.  They are both riddled with bullet holes and shrapnel scars from the defence of Hong Kong Island during WWII, as seen below:

Also, on a side note, apparently ice cream is bringing sexy back in Hong Kong.  As demonstrated by these ladies hawking a new brand of ice cream:

And lastly, I visited Ngong Ping Plateau on Lantau Island.  At the top is a huge bronze buddha.  This and the 20 minute cable car ride are definitely worth the journey.

Well, two more days and I'll be home.  Until next time folks.

Bright Lights, Big City.

Well, Hong Kong is all I thought it would be and more.  I've spent the last few days exploring Mong Kok and Hong Kong Island.  This city is beyond belief!  It is a teeming metropolis, illuminated by a thousand neon lights.  The city feels like a heart, the centre of all life.  Seven million residents all flowing through its myriad of veins, marching to its constant beat.  I have let that throng carry me, mesmerized by its fascinating sights.

First, a couple of videos to give you a brief sense of how Hong Kong feels:

Just one of Hong Kong's endless neon drenched streets.

 Hong Kong Island by night.

The same view, but now by day.

 The view of Hong Kong Island and Kowloon from Victoria Peak.

A little bit of history.  The place in Hong Kong where the British first claimed the island for Queen Victoria in 1841.

 Oh, and here is a picture of my shower partner every morning.


Here's to the bright lights of Hong Kong.

All Things Must End.

So here I am, almost three months down the line and only one day left of teaching.  I'm off to Hong Kong in four days for some much needed R&R.  But, in the meantime I've been exploring mainland China.  We went do Dalian over the weekend holiday, a big coastal city, that is a popular resort among the natives.  And after nearly two months of dust, dirt, and rubbish in the street, Dalian was a glorious parade.  The city had sidewalks, there were other colours besides brown, there were plants, real live plants; it had a nightlife, bars, and many other foreigners.  Who I presume were all there for the same non-brown parade that had me so enthralled.

The main view from the coastline in Dalian.

Dalian's main skyline.

 A giant half-pipe structure along the coastline.  And keeping with Chinese tradition there were no barriers or railings to prevent death if you happened to fall of either end.

Just two of the very impressive skyscrapers in Dalian.

Proof of non-brown things.  It's been so long I can't even remember what colour this is.

Now I know you were going to ask me to give you one image that sums up China (not sure why you would), but just in case:

China is growing.  It is growing at an alarming rate.  Everywhere I go something is being built.  These cranes have become an almost constant backdrop to everywhere I have been and everything I have done in China.


Well, that's all she wrote.  Well, at least until next week, when I'll be in Hong Kong.

Something To Show For It.

I wanted to make a last blog post for China.  I know there's still some fun to be had in Hong Kong, but my teaching ends tomorrow.  What have I learnt by coming to China, which could not be learnt in America?  Often here in China I have been left to sink or swim.  In a sense this would of been the same in America.  But, here in China I have been completely left to my own devices, adrift in a strange and foreign land.  I have been forced to forage for myself.  Coming up with lesson ideas, designing them, implementing them, reflecting and modifying, all this has been my responsibility.  With no Coordinating teacher, little outside help, and a language barrier to overcome I have prevailed.  I have grown, learnt, developed an ability to recognize my mistakes, learnt to spot redundant techniques, and then modify or rework that which does not.

I have been challenged.  Teaching primary students has pushed me further than I ever thought.  I have been completely run ragged at times by raging 10 year olds.  I have had to constantly work on my classroom discipline.  This has ranged from being forced to stop teaching a classroom gone crazy to simply being unable to bring a class under control.  I have experimented with different methods with varying degrees of success.  Until finally I had to stop blaming myself and not see this as a flaw in my classroom discipline, but as an opportunity to grow, to learn from the situation, and to reflect and adapt to particular students.

This I hope, will stay with me back in America.  I feel I have laid a foundation.  One that at times seemed cracked, but with work and patience I can build upon.  I feel more prepared to deal with such challenges back in America.  I know I don't have all the answers yet, but I feel China has given me the tools to begin.  I will have already taken the first steps down the unending path of growing as a teacher.  I have already begun to identify what is a flaw in me and what is something I can change.  And by reflecting upon my flaws, I have begun to turn them from weaknesses to strengths.

One such strength China has given me is being able to view the contrast between the Chinese and American education systems.  To be able to view the strengths of the Chinese system: dedicated students, a cultural respect for teachers, classroom discipline, etc.  Alongside its weaknesses: steroid driven rote learning, pressure on students, long school days, corporal punishment, etc.  Has allowed me to contrast this with the strengths and weaknesses of the American system.  Giving me a much wider view of education in general.  This benefits the growing I must do as a teacher.  Giving me a far greater pool of experience, knowledge, and techniques to draw upon or reject.  I also have gained experience and knowledge that other teachers have missed out on. 

I'm sure I would of learnt many of these things by doing my student teaching in America.  But, I chose China.  I pushed myself further, pushed myself into the unknown.  I chose to experience something that has expanded my horizons both as a teacher, and a person. 

A Single Life.

I know one day I will simply cease to exist.  I know there will be no grand reunion in some mythical afterlife.  I know what I do and what I am is transient, but I take solace in the things I see, the places I travel, and the people I touch.

What Doesn't Kill You . . .

I've been given the task of facing my fears, of grabbing the bull by the horns and hanging on for the ride.  Well, maybe that's a little bit of a over dramatization, but I have been asked to comment on something I've avoided or hesitated doing, here in China.  The first thing that came to mind was Fuxin itself.  I have to some extent avoided straying from the beaten track.  I walk to work, walk back, walk to the local store, walk back, never really stepping beyond.  So this week I decided to figure out how to walk to downtown Fuxin.  The benefits of this foot driven adventure were clear to see.  I found several indoor markets, my first Chinese video game store, a mobile phone market (iphune and Samsang seemed very popular), and figured out we live pretty close to downtown Fuxin.  Here are some pictures of my travels:

Apparently giant mutant frogs are a popular food item in Fuxin:

One of the indoor markets I found.  The word big doesn't do it justice:

I also found a very cute dog who reminded my of my two pugs:

Here are some gentleman I ran into whilst walking through a park.  They played this song for me as I watched:

Another thing I have tried to do more of, is hang out with my students.  I think at first I was worried about the teacher/student relationship.  The legal concerns that are a big deal in America held me back the first few weeks, but the realization that this really isn't an issue in China, and the fact I get to spend more time with them, eventually made it a no brainer.


Playing some pool with some of my students:

And having lunch with more of my students:

"Confronting my fears" has without a doubt left me a better person.  I have experienced more, made new friends, and become a better person for it.


Until next time.

The Beginning of the End?

Maybe it's because I've been ill for the last week, but for the first time on this trip I've begun to miss things.  The top culprit this week has been my bed back home; spending just an hour in its downy embrace has been a recurring, fever induced dream, of a week spent coughing, wheezing, aching, tossing and turning, and shivering, in the most unwelcoming, uncomfortable, sorry excuse of a bed possible.

A close second (as a big fan of our bed also, I'm sure she'll understand second billing), is my wife.  We talk most days on Skype, so I know I don't miss talking to her.  I miss her touch, her skin against mine.  I miss that primal human need to be touched, to feel the affection contained in the simple act of someone grasping your hand.  I miss my wife.  It's really the little things I miss: riding my bike, the warmth of Spring, a nice cup of British tea, blending into the crowd, the things we often don't even realize.

Oh well, I can feel my sickness slowly begin to ebb away; I can feel the warmth of Spring begin to slowly raise it's head here in the frigid north of China, and I can hear time slowly tick away as I realize there is so much more I still have yet to experience before I go home.

Boldy Going Where No One Else Can Be Bothered.

The last week or so, I have been busy with school work, both for China and back home.  If anything, this week has almost felt ordinary.  Work, rest, work, rest, and little else.  I have finally managed to get back into a good fitness routine, which has also contributed to the last week or so feeling mundane.  To make up for the lack of awesome stuff going on in my life right now, I thought I would post a few pics of things that have remained on the fringes of the unusual.


Finally managed to get a picture of the huge Chairman Mao statue in downtown Fuxin:

We did visit Fuxin's only tourist attraction this week - a giant hole in the ground, that was once a coal mine.  Truly the Eighth Wonder of the World:

 

Oh, but they do have a massive Soviet crane:

Having a massive, man-made hole as your main tourist attraction, says more about Fuxin than I ever could.

On one of my walks around Fuxin, I found this lying on the ground:

 I also discovered my first Chinese arcade, much fun was had inside:

Hey cat, how's it hanging:

Me about town with a few of my students:

Lastly, a photo of some of my colleagues children, who I bribe on a daily basis with sweets and trinkets.  I'm like some evil capitalistic, Piped Piper of Hamlin, muhahahaha:

Until we meet again.

To Infinity and Beyond!

We took our first trip outside of Fuxin this weekend.  Taking the train into the unknown, we ventured to Shenyang, China's fifth biggest city.  A teeming metropolis with over 7 million people.  It was a vast, vast change from Fuxin, and a welcome break.   We got to see more sights, had a local guide, who went above and beyond the call of duty, and we got drunk with the first Westerners we had met in over a month.  I will let the pictures do the talking from here on in:

Umbrellas for rent at the hotel we stayed at:

I found this in our room.  I have never wanted to escape from a burning building so much in my entire life:

Me and my Fuxin partner at the Emperor's pad in Shenyang:

We spent Saturday watching the local football team, Liaoning Whowin:

I managed to lose all feeling in my feet, it was so cold:

Look at us, then look at our guide!  Notice that she has no gloves, and no hat.  The Chinese are hardcore:

And here is a giant building shaped like a coin.  Why?  Because like I said before, China, that's why:

And finally, at the delicious meal our host put on for us.  Warning, Westerner overload:

 Until next time.