Fools!

I told everyone that I was leaving China on the 17th to arrive back in Aussieland on the morning of the 18th. I even bought a ticket before I did this, just so no-one would suspect anything.

So, it turns out that I'm not coming home just yet. My sister, Sandra reckons I'm better off staying out of Australia for too long... Since it would mean being bored, broke and generally upset. And presumably annoying to all I may need to be staying with.

I really was dreading the return home, since my RMB would have very little sway in Aodaliya (1/6 exchange rate, for those not in the know). So, I'm in Shanghai, still. Possibly not my favourite place, but I can get by until some money comes through from the bank.

I may have to back to Harbin as well, since that was where my plane ticket was bought and that's where I need to go if I want the cash... Getting there at this time of year will be tough and possibly expensive. 24 hour train trip! Hooray!

Then... I don't know.

Peking Tom

Spent roughly 6 days in Beijing. I left there at 7pm last night to arrive in Shanghai 7am this morning.

Beijing was awesome. Did a fair bit of touristy things: the Forbidden City on my first day, then some Peking Opera that night.

Second day was the Great Wall at Badaling. Cool, but not mind-blowing I guess. Also saw the Ming Tombs, well one of them: for the Yongle Emperor Zhu Di (?) - he moved the capital from Nanjing (southern capital) to Beiping - and renamed it Beijing (northern capital). They also took us to see some traditional Chinese doctors - turns out I have too much heat in my liver. I was stupid enough to buy some of their 400kuai medicine, too. Oh yes, and that night managed to sample some Beijing kao ya - Peking Duck, which was pretty good - a pricy 168RMB for one bird however - worth it I guess.

Third & fourth days were arse-about days. Saw the Yonghegong Lama Temple - but only for an hour or so, liked it so much I went again the next day.

Fifth day we metup with a friend Jimmy, who began teaching with us up at Qiqihar - met his new lady and bride-to-be sometime this year, too. Very nice. Had lunch, wasn't too keen on the live prawns going into the hotpot though. Oh yes that night, met some nice people who teach up at Hohhot in Inner Mongolia. Interstingly one was a guy from Guyana - where I had planned to go for a volunteer program before.

Sixth day was a farce, trying to find the Summer Palace, eventually got there, with only an hour to spare... had fun getting back to the hostel in time to get the train home.

Anyway, I love Beijing. I'll have to go back one day.

*edited a little*

E/N - zomg

I was going to write up a big blog about how I'm almost finished teaching; that most of my friends here have gone home; but at least my 'girlfreind' and I have made an uneasy ammends...

But I really can't be bothered.

Hooray

Yesterday I travelled to this town (Gannan) Taught at the No.2 high school, which is ok I guess. Far better than the No.1 School where I taught today and will teach at again tomorrow.

At lunch break, the Teacher Mr Liu, took us to lunch as usual (for this school). Outside the school gates he was kind enough to point out that a hit-and-run accident had occurred nearby the night before, and that a middle-aged man had been killed by a truck.

He then points to the road, saying "that's his head, over there." Sure enough, there was some suspiciously brain-like matter sitting on the road.

After lunch, on my way back to the school, there were two men on the road, with shovels and plastic bags ready to clean this up.

Yes, they double-bagged.

another day, another rape dollar

I may as well write a "real' thing here, since I seem to have the time, just now.

People should be getting back from Fularji Chenguang school in a minute I think, maybe it's them I can here downstairs...

So, another week has gone by, and a new one has begun. This week, I should be going to schools at Jiusan and Nenjiang - to the north, which should be nice and cold for me! They tell me that the hotel at Jiusan is the best, and apparently the new hotel for Nenjiang is really good, too.

I don't know what I'm doing when I finish now. Very little is there for me if I return to Newcastle -I went to China to get out- besides family, Australia is a bit that way as well. I'll have to start over again. And with no money it would seem - I have a resonable stash to travel China with, but the exchange rate is still going to screw me coming back.

I finally found out why my dear friend has been out of contact, some ugly family business, which means that she doesn't want to 'disturb' her or for me to call her. I'm quite torn up about it.

All I can hope for is for her to get back in contact with me sometime in the next couple of weeks, as I have to make travel plans and whatnot. Previously they would have included her.

I'm quite sure that I want to stay in China for a while longer, if only to learn the language better. My boss asked me if I wanted to marry a Chinese girl (apparently I should know after 3 months), because she could help. Even if I was going to, it wouldn't be who she was getting at...

Ahh, this crap does my head in. I'd love to get another job: maybe teaching, maybe doing something else. Preferably in another part of the country, but I'll settle here for a while, if I have to.

In other news, I've been invited to go to a Chinese/Korean Christmas church service for (oddly enough) Christmas Eve. I had a quick look at the place yesterday... it was so trippy to see "Silent Night" being sung in Chinese. It'll be odd for me to go as an Australian would-be Buddhist to go to, but my name is still Christopher, after all.

I better close before I continue rambling.

I had an unplanned day off today!

So, this means that I got to spend my day lounging on my arse and to review my 9 Yuan (approx = AU$1.33) copy of Star Wars Episode III.

I couldn't help noticing a couple of things...

Emperor Yushchenko?

...I'm sure I'm going to some sort of hell for this:

And yes, I do need a girlfriend - or at least something better to do with my time... but it's too cold to go outside.

3 months later

Today marks three months since I've arrived in Qiqihar (after the plane trips over on the 25th: Sydney to Shanghai & Shanghai to Harbin. Then spending the night in Harbin). It seems so long ago - that first day, that is. Time has certainly flown.

The fear in coming here that I felt at first has seemed to have washed away. I've had dozens of new experiences and seen ways of life that I couldn't have fathomed before. As always there's been the bad parts: beeing overworked and exploited by the school(s), being sick for weeks at a time, the horrible cold that creeps in a bit more each day, class after class of blank faces or sleeping heads on desks, and now: reports of Bird Flu close by!

Possibly the most painful, just now: my first tentative taste of (unfulfilled) lust & romance in such a long time finally crashing and burning - as it always had to, just not on the terms I would've liked...

I always have this feeling of what I'm missing out on. In some ways I miss my comfortable lazy existance at home before I left, but I know I am far better off for the experience. I won't be recommending these Aoqi (aka Auqi) people to anyone who wants to do ESL teaching, but it has been worth it for me. I guess I'm staying until the finish as a form of penance.

Right now, I'm really missing a very good friend, whom I don't get to see very much, since she was fired by the school. I must say that being in contact with her has kept me sane in many ways even if I've been miserable in my heart. I'm just hoping that I haven't completely lost contact, I'm very worried - I feel I've been a fool in many ways. Meeting her is easily the best thing about my trip here...

Anyway, so a few things that still surprise me: camorflage fatigues as a fashion statement; baijiu (a paint-stripper-like spirit) for sale everywhere - I had some at a fast-food joint [the comically named: Mr Lee: California Beef Noodle King U.S.A]; live turtles and frogs for sale in the supermarket; baby clothing with a split in the seat instead of using nappies.
I could go on for ages.

So my biggest concern now, is what will I do when I'm finished? We wind up on the 30th of December (I think) - hopefully I'll be travelling at the end - so many things I want to see before leaving the Middle Kingdom. Maybe I'll try for another job. When I return to australia, I'll be back to being a pauper and not knowing where I'm going - but I guess I'll have a bit more scope about life, now.

So I guess: To infinity and Beyond!

early November update

I guess it's been a long time since I've written. In many ways a lot has happenned, but it all seems like such a blur to me now.

Most weeks have been quite standard, being shipped off to towns to teach. Just this week I've been to the 2 furthest apart towns that we cover. From Tailai in the south (quite close to the borders with Jilin Province and Inner Mongolia - an 'Automous Region' of China) from Monday night until Thursday morning - when I took a 6 hour train trip to Nenjiang in the north (as far north as we go).

I was a bit annoyed that they wanted me to teach directly after that, luckily the train was late, so I had a small rest after - but no lunch.

We've now had 4 people leave (excluding old George who'd been here since February, and had 'earned' his trip home). A few weeks ago we had 3 people who left at night without telling anyone - a pretty weak act, really. And this week cranky old Jimmy left to go to Chongqing (in the south) to a new job and wife.

It's staring to get damn cold up here, I'm keen to see what things are like when it gets down to the -30 C they keep telling us about. Apparently snow is forcast for Monday...

Not much else to go on about, except that watching TV at the Nenjiang hotel the other night allowed me to see the worst piece of casting in a program or movie I had ever seen. It was some bizarre early 20th/late 19th Century Tibetan period drama (in Chinese, of course) featuring some German sounding guys as a British East India Company officer. Imagine listening to McBain from the Simpsons rattle off pompous sounding English Dialogue:

"I'm terribly sorry, old chap. I have no idea what you're saying"

ugh.

OK, I'm out. Bye.