Ignorance is Bliss...

Well, as of today I have officially been here for 3 weeks, and have finished my second week of teaching. I only teach on Tuesdays and Thursdays. So to say I have plenty of free time would be an understatement. Teaching is much more fun than I ever expected, all the students are extremely curious about me, the US, and want to know everything there is to know about college life in the US, what americans think of china, iraq, taiwan, and everything else. One of the coolest things is that my students got the chance to pick their own names. Some of the more strange ones are: Bat, Coke, and Pop eye, and Battle Cruiser, which is by far my favorite name. The students who hadn't already picked their english names asked me for names, so I brought in names and told them what they mean, all students want a name that means something cool. For the most I usually make up their meaning, or simply ask them what they like. I asked one student what he likes, he told me that he liked Coca-cola, so I dubbed him Coke.

All told I have 14 different classes, One week I teach eight classes one week, and six the other. It gets pretty hectic on the days that I do teach, and I am happy when the day is over. After teaching, we usually head out into Guan Jo, I am probably spelling this wrong, but that is how it is pronounced. There we eat ShaoKao which is like an open air barbecue where you pick up a tray and then put things things in it that you want grilled. My favorite are the prawns and the chicken wings, mainly because I know what those two things are. When I eat there or at most other chinese places I heed my uncles advice "If you like a food in china, don't ask what it is." So besides this I have tried a bunch of stuff, and in my ignorance of what the item is, I enjoy it. I have learned how to say I don't want dog meat, so for the time being I hope I have avoided eating any puppies. Every time I say I don't want dog meat I think of Boru, as the way to say I don't want dog meat rhymes with his name, "boo yao goru." However for the most part the food is very good, and while we eat we order beer. The first night we went to eat shaokao we drank about 40 yuan of beer between the three of us, which at 3 yuan a piece is very cheap. In china, when you finish a bottle of beer they do not take it away from the table, so pretty soon we filled up half the table. On Thursday night when we returned and walked down the shaokao row which is lined with these outdoor barbecues all the vendors shouted out to us "Piju! Piju!" which means beer, beer. We had become overnight celebrities.

We have also started looking at apartments, and this has shown us a little of the shadier side of china. In china you need to go through a realtor to look at apartments. So before arriving at apartments we ask our assistant what we should expect to pay, what the realtor and landlord end up giving us is usually 1000 yuan or higher than what we should be expecting. These interactions highlight the huge language barriers we have here, in that we know we are being somewhat ripped off as the landlord and realtor laugh at us under their breaths, but there is little we can do to stop it. We have looked at some really nice places however, and hopefully we will move in and get settled soon.

Other than that my near death experiences have now totaled in the low 80's since my last post. With nearly every experience showcasing the reckless driving of a cab driver. The latest instance includes speeding the wrong way down a one way street into plenty of oncoming traffic at around 110 km/hr, and then just before a head on collision the driver will veer the car onto the sidewalk and continue going, all while I see my life flash before my eyes and in desperate need of a change of pants.

Ben received a football in the mail, and a small crowd usually forms when we throw it around, so we show off a little bit and bust out the Heisman; or do some ridiculous touchdown dance like Terrell Owens, which typically ends in applause.

My great Aunt Ruthie passed away last week. She was one of the greatest people I have ever had the privilege to know. Always humble and greeting you with a smile, even though she had endured many hardships in her life, having outlived her entire family including her children; but her smile and warmth never showed this to anyone. I am very sorry that I was not able to attend her funeral. I was told that she died in her sleep surrounded by those who loved her, and I think that this is what she would have wanted. In the end we can only have faith in whatever it is we have faith in, and know that she is now with her loved ones.

Thank you for all your emails, and I will try to post pictures with my next post.

Intro to Xiamen...

Well, I have arrived, the plane ride was long, and hectic, but I got here. Upon arrival I was swept into a cab by my assistant. The cab, which was blocked by traffic in front immediately drove onto the sidewalk nearly hitting a policeman and some pedestrians, neither flinched at all. The cab then wove in and out of traffic for the 20 minute ride, nearly getting crushed by numerous semi's and buses. I just closed my eyes. This is what traffic is like in Xiamen, and my current near death count is at 13. Xiamen is a very prestigious university in China as my assistant told me, and it shows, the campus is huge, and really nice, with palm trees, a lake, and the ocean near by. They have around 35,000 students on two campuses. It's been an adventure just walking around. The last few days have been fun, I am here with Ben Harper, and Steve Johnson from SJU, and we have slowly discovered some pretty cool people and places. I am however, not proud to admit that my first meal in China was McDonald's, mainly because it was easy to just point at the menu. But I am proud to say that my new favorite place to eat has a plethora o duck carcasses hanging in the window. The duck there is amazing, and we have dubbed the place Daffy's. I am also not happy to admit that I went to Wal-Mart yesterday. As we walked through it, everyone would stop and stare into our carts, and mainly I think at Tony the Tiger on the frosted flakes boxes, I think we were the only two people to ever buy that cereal there. It was massive, and had multiple levels, it took Harper and I like 30 minutes just to find a way out, and another 20 minutes to get a cab to bring the groceries back, we had to fight off plenty of other people in order to get the cab.

The first week we got here is Chinese National Day, which means that everyone has the week off. The streets are packed with people and many chinese take vacation and visit Xiamen. The adjustment hasn't been too bad, my only complaint is the beds are like sleeping on 2x4's covered in sheets. But I guess my chubby American backside has grown weak the past few years with a pillow-top bed and I think I'll live. Other than that, it is hot, us westerners are easy enough to pick out of a crowd, and it only makes it easier when we are the only people drenched in sweat. I am glad I brought a lot of T-shirts as I sweat through a couple a day.

Thanks for al the emails, they help whenever I get a twang of homesickness.


Well, thats all I got for now, I'll keep enjoying my week paid vacation, hope everything is as good for you, wherever you are.