I am attract rope

I was in the local supermarket a couple of nights ago. For whatever reason, I thought of Cletus the Slack-Jawed Yokel's enthusiasm for burned Sears Active Wear.

"What time, and how burned?"

I laughed far too much as I walked around looking for sticky-tape.

I hate coming up with titles

....and to think I attempted and eventually completed a university degree in a creative field. I are a sillys buoy.

AHH. I would appear that I'm wrapping up my "year" in Korea around a month earlier than I expected. That makes it my 11 months in Korea, then.... I was asked by The Powers That Be at work to kindly get my arse out a month earlier than was agreed upon. Can't say I was impressed at the time.

I'm currently sorting out what I want to do before and after I return home. Whether or not I want to work in Korea again, where else I'd like to work. I don't think Australia is a long-term option, however. My priorities are leaning heavily towards getting my pale pastey posterior in and out of Australia as quickly and sunburn-free as possible.

I really want to take a holiday before I return. I'm juggling a few ideas at the moment - all in Asia. A 3-country voyage in South-East Asia: Vietnam, Laos & Cambodia was my first thought. I'd ordinarily love to go to Thailand, but I'm a sketchy on the joint, since the coup last year. Otherwise a trip to India, perhaps - really for Dharamsala (and don't roll your eyes like I'm Richard Gere or something) - I could take a short trip in Japan, too, but I'm not overly keen.

Bizarrely, I'm not that excited to be travelling again. I think the idea of going it alone again is a huge turn off. Perhaps I should just go back to Mum's dirt farm and be done with it.

In other news, I went skiing two weekends ago. First time ever - I felt a bit like Paris Hilton on the way down, because I too, had trouble keeping my legs together.

for whatever reason...

I have decided that I'll re-begin posting on this monstrously underutilised thing.

I meant to write more, but I just haven't been bothered. So, anyway it's a few months since I last bothered to write anything.

As has become usual, I'm run off my feet at work. Scrambling to jump through all the necessary hoops. Marking, checking books, calling bewildered students, and now creating exams.

I still manage to get quite bored in this city, but things have gotten a lot better in the last couple of months. The new people - despite working at the other campus of the academy - have been great. Things weren't brilliant before, but I like things a bit better now.

In other news, I have a rather persistent cold at the moment. It's truly amazing

the visa run

This week was okay. I had a pleasant little trip to Japan (Fukuoka), despite the lack of sleep I had before getting there.

We caught a train to Busan [aka Pusan] at about 2am (my usual bedtime thesedays). Then had to fill in several hours, walked around Pusan. Although we did get a taxi to the wrong side of the city because Joe, who I was with was convinced that the "International Ferry Terminal" we found was not what we needed. After the taxi driver asked at a police station, we got back to the right place, just in time to change our money and board the boat.

The trip was OK, I got to squeeze in an hour's sleep, before we got there.

Fukuoka was nice. I managed to find a porno theatre after being in the country for less than one hour. Getting the visa etc was a snap.

I spent a bit of that afternoon having a rest in the hotel room. Went out for a bit of a walk, caught the subway and did some shopping. When I coaught the subway back to near the hotel, I got out on the wrong side of the station and spent 2 hours trying to get back to the hotel.

Not much else happenned. Joe lost his bag not long after we arrived, so I had pay for his (lost) ticket back to Busan when we left. The morning was short, we pickup the visas and did a bit of looking around in a shopping centre.

Came back by boat. Back at home by midnight, after dinner and a couple of other things.

Good trip. Remind me to go back some time.

not much to report, really

I'm doing okay these days, for anyone who's interested.

I have been insanely busy at work creating and marking tests for my little scamps. I made the mistake of making the writing exam for the lowest level ("95") way too easy because the class I teach have absolutely no clue about English.

I have my visa run to Japan this week. I think I leave on Tuesday morning (and pretty damn earlt in the morning) - a train to Busan and then the hydrofoil to Fukuoka. I'm going with Joe - a Canadian guy who I work with, so I won't be left totally on my own for this one.

Last weekend I had a good old walk around some of the mountains near town, took a few photos as well.

That'll do for now. Ciao.

first post!

Righto, my first crappy blog. I'm almost ashamed for starting this, but I've already got a myspace page, so I can't sink that much lower.

So, a fast introduction. I'm an Aussie who is living in South Korea - naturally, I'm doing the English teaching thing. Before this I was in China for 6 months. I "taught" there for about 4 months and arsed around for the rest of my time there.

Korea is obviously cleaner than China. And will be cleaner still, when this yellow dust clears up a bit. Not that we have much of a problem with it here in Gumi than they do in Seoul and other places further north.

It's cherry-blossom season right now, which is cool. They're something I've never really seen before, so quite novel for me. Even better when I get to be outside in daylight. Which is quite rare these days...

stuff

Things appears to be going okay. This week has mainly been concerned with preparing exams for the kids, which will be happenning the week after next. I've got 3 out of them 4 done.

I get my first pay soon, which is exciting. A bit of it will have to go home, as I need to pay back my mum and sisters for helping me out back when I was (voluntarily) stuck in Shanghai, back in January.

No big news otherwise. Oh, I bought some Australian wine today- which was cool. Which reminds me, why aren't I at some drinking said libation?

Also: I found this glorious picture on Wikipedia earlier: Lake Qinghai (in China) as viewed from space.

the continuing saga

Things seem to be largely going well. My documents have all arrived from Australia and I got some photos taken for my visa - I just have to go and get the bugger.

That means a quick trip to Osaka - which will be cool.

It's raining today. I have no money for the moment. I haven't spoke to my family for a long time....

Still have yet to pick up any of the language here... well, more than "hello" "goodbye" and "thankyou"

This blog has very little purpose. Oh well...

white day

First of all, I'd like to introduce everyone to the Gumi 'Kasanoba' - ladies he's here for you!

My first job in Korea has fallen through, due to crap relating to visas, so I've been lined up with a new deal here in Gumi (the city formerly known as Kumi - still is according to some signs). The pay is better (by about $100US a month and I get a far better flat - even if it seems to be lacking a few things so far. I'll start actual teaching on the 20th.

Not a whole lot of news, but apparently my nephew Luke will be on the Lifestyle Food Channel in Aussieland some time. So look out for a blonde 1-year-old in a shopping trolley if you have pay-TV.

I have a cold, it sucks. These photos and a few more are available for looka-looka - there.

But also, sea worms.

Korea!

As you can read - I'm living in South Korea now! Currently in Anyang, a city just to the south of Seoul. I must say that I like it here, the people are nice - despite me hardly understanding a word they say!

I caught a ferry over from Tianjin (well, Tanggu to be more precices) in China, to Incheon in Korea. The trip was long and boring, but overall not too bad.

I was going to be starting work tomorrow, but I've got visa problems... grrr.

I finally went out in Seoul last night, but the subway outsmarted me, so I was too late to meet Kat -a teacher finishing up at my school- and her boyfriend. I ended up hanging out with some Scottish lads, and enjoying a few ales, before leaving for home at about 5:30am.

Also: I just finished uploading my China photos. You can see them here.

So, that's about it for now...

ye ye ye

so, what's happenned?

I had my amazing train trip from Shanghai to Harbin around the 21st (its a bit of a haze). That was really too painful for me to go into again.

Had a relatively pleasant few days in Harbin. Went and saw a bit more of the Ice Festival. Specifically the snow scultupers on Sun Island. Must say it was cool to walk accross the river to get there...

Stayed with a Chinese family for a few days: my former pseudo-girlfriend. That was just before and for a couple of days of the 'Spring' Festival. Must say that was an eye-opener. No toilet, bathroom or running water on site . Ended up leaving earlier than planned, since it was getting a little emotionally painful, plus boredom and lack of communication was getting to be an issue.

Went back to Harbin, then on Qiqihar: have been here a week and am really starting to go nuts back in my old haunt. Buggered if I know exactly where I'm going.

I could go South Korea, which will yeild me a lot more cash, but for whatever reason I'm not really keen on going there at this stage. I have accepted a job there, but I think I'll try to weasel my way out...

I should probably try to find some of my old friends while I'm here. I think I'll feel better when I've got a ticket out of here.

Ha!

Looks like finding work, may not be so daunting as I thought.

Someone from a school (in South Korea) just emailed me after finding my resume on TEFL.com. Just after I read Mel's comment on the last blog!
Quite the funny.

In other news:

• getting a train to Harbin will be almost impossible unless I want to stand for 30 hours.
• I may have a place to stay over the spring festival, all I have to do is get back up to HLJ...

Oh yes, and at least I have money now...

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.