Second day of practice teaching. Today's class was entirely different in setup and more advanced in their grasp of the Enlgish language. I was called to teach a class about American Culture and trends to this advanced group, it was probably the most intriguing thing I have ever experienced overseas.

I began class by asking each student to stand up and say their name, age and then one thing that they know about the US. The students followed suit and 90% of the student responded with words like "beautiful", "strong", "rich", "wonderful" etc. All extremely positive things that were clearly instilled by our glorious media machine.

(even the chinese word for America is "Meiguo" which means "Beautiful Country")


I then challenged them by asking them why they felt America was beautiful and glorious. They responded with a variety of answers. "The men are all very strong and all of the women are so beautiful." "Everyone is so rich in America" etc. needless to say this in some way or another made me fascinated in the thoughts of foreign nationals.

So then I promptly went into my monologue on why America like ALL countries is beautiful and glorious, wonderful and strong. I also explained that "American" is kind of a loose term because we are comprised of everyone in the world. They were amaized that there are "Chinese Americans" in America that ARE 'American'. That idea didnt really register clearly in the begining but eventually they began to get the idea. I also explained that America like all countries has beautiful people, but America in no way "sticks out" as an example of residential beauty.

I then proceeded to ask them what an American looks like. They immediately said "you! and people that are white." and then i pointed to some other people in the room who were Chinese and they said "NO!" and then I asked "why?" and they said "because that person is Chinese." I then proceeded to explain that "American" is literally everyone and takes no particular physical features... we are all primarily immigrants of the land... (drilling this in their heads was taxing but important).

I then ended the lesson by listening to them talk about Tyra Banks and America's Next Top Model and Tom Cruise and Nicole Kidman's former relationship and how Kobe Bryant is the best basketball player of today, etc. Not a bad class today, until Thursday!

TRYING TO SAVE PEOPLE FROM BEING SLAVES OF THE MEDIA!!!
-----------------

Oh yeah and you know how you catch people negatively bickering about you?...that happened today...not cool...but its ok. I just find it hilarious.

And I am still home searching for Shanghai...kind of scared about that, but we will see what happens!!!!

Today was my first youth mental poisoning day, just joking, the first day I was actually able to teach in front of a class. I truly enjoyed it... my parents really helped me with the advice the night before when they said, "hey, just be yourself and relax!"

It totally worked and I think it was a great lesson. I was quite enthusiastic about the material (the days of the week), so I presented it in a very lively manner which definately sparked the attention of the students. All in all a great morning!
I did notice that the students although very respectful, were reluctant to participate in the class. I presented various opportunities for them to speak aloud etc. and it was like pulling teeth! The Chinese education system is sooo different! They actually take notes at the age of 12!!!!!!!!! When I was 12 you would be lucky if I even opened up a notebook (well I was a nerd...so maybe not me) but you get my point.


Tomorrow is my next day of teaching practice!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!

Ok so it was inevitable, this was bound to happen sooner or later. I get up in the crisp morning on 7am to go and take a hot shower and prepare for my day. I get in the shower... I turn on the water heater... I turn on the water...I begin to lather... BOOM a crawling object sprints up from the drain and runs in one of the corners of the bathroom! Yes people, it was a roach about the size of my wrist watch (as seen above). This little thing was so fast! So I run out of the bathroom and yell "Pablo!" (my roomate) for backup. I was about to torch the whole room with my foggers but you cant go back into the room for hours after u unleash one. Luckily Pablo restraind my World War II mentality and brought out his Roach killin Spray...trust me it didnt take just one spray... it took half the bottle, then the roach (we will call him Herbert) flipped on his back and the war had ended...needless to say I need to talk myself back into showering... its just that scary.
--------------------------------

Now for the interesting part. So I am looking for jobs in Shanghai, here is the online convo I had with one employer... the names have been held for obvious reasons...just thought it was interesting; you can make your own assessment on what you think about this, and see if you can pick up on what I was thinking during this entire convo:

(small segment out of a 30 min online convo)

Employer says:
Let me preface this with I am the complete opposite of a racist
Employer says:
You, as I recall, are black
Vertigo says:
ha i was expecting this
Vertigo says:
yes I am black
Employer says:
While Chinese are only racist when it comes to Japanese, black people are just beginning to be accepted as REAL native English teachers
Employer says:
I hired a good teacher a year ago. She was technically a good teacher
Employer says:
Her problem was that she figured every time someone looked at her sideways, they were racist
Employer says:
She was very defensive and offensive
Vertigo says:
ha
Vertigo says:
well, given that I am a black man who has basically been in every setting imaginable racially....such issues I dont react to
Vertigo says:
(I went to college in Maine)
Employer says:
The Chinese, while curious, a little afraid and a little suspicious that I had hired a cheap copy of a native English speaker made in Africa, were accepting until they got to the point that they couldn't understand why she was always suspicious and offensive
Employer says:
Main! Impressive
Vertigo says:
so i mean I am a very approachable person, while also quite genuine
Employer says:
What I am trying to tell you is that you would have to be understanding and also 'prove' you are a great teacher and real native English speaker
Vertigo says:
I can assure you that I have an idea of what you experienced with that former teacher, and can assure you that I am not a repeat
Employer says:
thank you
Employer says:
I am a little uncomfortable trying to explain the situation but I figured you seemed smart enough to want to know the situation
Vertigo says:
oh totally
Vertigo says:
i totally get what you are saying
Vertigo says:
immediately when people hear that I am black they incorrectly assume that i speak a certain way etc.
Employer says:
Be assured, although the result is similar, the motovation is not racist
Vertigo says:
given my vocal and written ability, I am quite above par
Employer says:
more a fear of being cheated and an ancient fear of black people
Vertigo says:
oh i totally understand
Employer says:
Great
Employer says:
about 700 years ago China began trading with west Africa
Employer says:
Imagine a culture that felt they were in the middle of the world as they knew it and that EVERYONE was 'yellow'
Employer says:
Then they get to africa and see these huge people who are black
Employer says:
Not sure if you're aware of this but, at the time, most of west africa was inhabited by cannibles
Vertigo says:
scary stuff
Employer says:
so these little yellow people meet these huge black ghosts with white eyes and teeth and then discover that they could become lunch at any moment
Employer says:
looking at it from our perspective, it would be a hell of a stand-up comedy plot
Vertigo says:
yea i see! haha
Employer says:
but the fear goes back hundreds of years and almost all Chinese dont even know why, just that all are (were) afraid.
Vertigo says:
Such barriers I can trandscend however.
Employer says:
The last 2 or 3 years has changed but not completely yet
Employer says:
cool
Vertigo says:
I am as "American" as one can get
Vertigo says:
which i feel is important
Employer says:
I am thinking Drew Carry
Vertigo says:
ha not exactly, but ok
Employer says:
sorry but the idea of him going through the story has me chuckling
Vertigo says:
haha
Vertigo says:
but I just feel that I can bring alot to the table there
Employer says:
American is ok but try for western. More flexible
Vertigo says:
well, in terms of terminology i would definately say western
Vertigo says:
but I am 'American' in terms of my culture
Employer says:
so, lets see what you have in your bag of tableware
Vertigo says:
my linkage to "Africa" is only restricted to my pigment
Employer says:
Culture?
Employer says:
Gets me laughing everytime when I hear it from Canadians and Americans (I'm Canadian)
Vertigo says:
ha
Employer says:
We DON"T have a culture
Employer says:
a couple hundred years
Vertigo says:
well, if I was a culture...i definately am not African
Vertigo says:
so whatever we consider the melting pot of The United States..I am that
Vertigo says:
Employer says:
most of which we only grouped 100 or so vastly different cultures together and gave them a name
Vertigo says:
haha very true
Vertigo says:
I am sorry I have to run to class
Vertigo says:
will you be online later?
Employer says:
ok. Nice to chat. Look fwd to mtg u
Vertigo says:
likewise
Employer says:
probably
Vertigo says:
have a good one!

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There is not much else to say...obviously... till next time!

Ok people this adorable critter deserved her own post on my blog. So me and the rest of the US Expats decide to go out to eat at this lil Thai Spot over by Pleasure Street in Zhuhai. Instead of hopping on a taxi like the wise individuals...we decided to essentially walk the long way back to get a feel for the street. Lights and markets were everywhere, definately a booming part of town. Suddenly as I walk I feel a small tug at my crispy Ralph Lauren Polo... I look to my left...nothing. Then i continue to walk and I feel another tug, and see a small hand. Here is this little girl no more than like 5 hanging on for dear life to my back thigh. I gotta give it to the kid, her hustle is priceless because she was adorable!!!!!! She kept pointing to my stomach and then pointed to hers and then to her mouth as in "feed me" kind of thing... whoever sent her knew i was the biggest softy on the planet. But this kid literally wouldnt let me go....like literally...she was holding on to my clothes for at least 3 blocks and tugging away!!!!! I signaled to the girls in our group to try and pry the girl off of me, 2 looked scared to death, luckily Michelle grabbed the girl and tried to pry her off, but she was still hanging on!.... absolutely hilarious. I dragged the girl (on my body) all the way to a security guard who got her off me and hopefully found her parents... Wow I was shocked, well hey I coulda took home a lil Chinese daughter, because she wasnt letting go for nothin!

Hello Again! Long time no talk to! Yes since my last post I have been extremely sick with some kind of cold. Due to this, i really did not have the energy to post on this blog. Well, to catch you all up to what has been happening, on Friday I student taught our class. We had to either make up a language or do a language class on a language that the class did not know, so i decided to have fun with this project and do informal english. You know the Enlgish that 98% of Americans know and can understand and interpret, but if English is not your native tongue, you will be lost.
Needless to say I did relatively well, I got a lot of laughs and claps etc. It was quite interactive, I wanted it that way. Its on video tape, so hopefully if i get the video file I will post it so you can see me student teach!!!

On Friday night all the Meiguos went to Bar Street to hang out and get some more taste of the Zhuhai nightlife. (NO THE TYPHOON DID NOT HIT ZHUHAI)

We had a good time, hung out and listened to the Chinese Techno. We went to this one club called "Today" which basically had a bunch of Thugs and like no commoners, it was kind of hilarious. We left out of there like 10 minutes after walking in. Then we ran into the other TEFL students in our class, apparently they went skinny dipping in the ocean...if you saw the coastal water, you would never even touch it long swim in it. (Its brown, ide rather swim in the Chicago River...no joke)


Ok, knock on wood.... I have not had ONE roach in my room. But dear GOD are they everywhere in our hallway outside of our apartment. These arent just "roaches" Im talking about roaches the size of my fist...if i catch one i will take a photo, its awful. I got some fogger grenades from the states just in case one of those lil foolz decide to be bold and roll in my apt! If they do its ON!


I would like to also take a brief moment to thank Sprite for its wonderful taste over here. Sprite and Coke taste waaaayy better over seas than in the states, which makes absolutely no sense since its like our product. But i think its because we use corn syrup as a sweetener and other countries actually use sugar. We use Corn Syrup to support American Corn Growers, arent we just so patriotic...
Today is Sunday, we are going to the mountain by cable car....fun fun... I will get you all pictures when we get back...

Tomorrow is our teaching lesson. The whole LC crew is meeting up in our room to put together our lesson plans etc. tonight (gotta love the teamwork) However laziness has overcome me and of course I seem to be coming down with a slight cold, so my work ethic has dropped significantly.
I am tired and sick with alot of work to do... I will write more tommorrow!

Some random pics of today.

I woke up this morning and walked over to the MinRun (Pronounced "MeenRune") Market to grab a drink before class. It was neat, the usual stares and the occasional "Hello" from random people passing by, it kind of makes you feel like a celebrity. I ate breakfast as usual at the GLV center, talk about the blandest noodles you could think of... it was awful. But I did have this little white fluffy thing with sweet bean inside of it, it was quite the picker-upper.

So today the workload begins. We are preparing for our mock classrooms on Friday where each student has to play "teacher" for 15 minutes. We have to either speak a different language that we know, or we can make up a language to teach. This exercise is merely to get in the motions of teaching language and its components.

The classroom today was Awfully boring... i mean beyond the point of boredom that when it was time to go half the class was out of the room before Shireen (our teacher) said "bye". I honestly caught myself sleep like about 3 times and looked around the room really quick in attempts to grasp how long I was out.

Me and the rest of the "Meiguo's" ("Americans" in my sarcastic Chinese tone) were basically on one side of the room pretending to be the most enthused by the material, sometimes faking it really helps! Needless to say the LanguageCorps crew stays pretty much above par the entire time, above par to the point that its almost a mockery...gotta love it.

The few Brits in the room are absolutely hilarious, I mean hilarious. There is this guy named Sid, straight up looks like Crocodile Dundee (but is British) but he is constantly complaining about how hot he is in China and how he hates the weather, but he has been living in China for like 7 years!!!! He even refused to live in our crappy pro-jects and is living in a 178 kuai a night hotel for this month. I swear if you saw this guy, you would fall out, every manerism this guy has screams out "Im just too hot to even think" and he looks at whoever is next to him and always says "Wuh is goain oan in thissss clawssss, its bloAAA Hawwt!" I honestly cant stop laughing.

The two people from Whales pretty much stick to themselves and no other... they also seem to be very quiet and go with the flow-ish. But by far the coolest dude in the room is this 58 year old 5'1 Japanese dude named Moto, he knows very little English so he is always nervous about his English skills, however, the dude basically does better than most of the others in the class!...crazy times.




Outside of that, we had another regional dispute today.

Ok say this word to yourself "NIGERIA"... now when you say "NIGERIA" are you pronouncing it " NYE-GER-AY?" NO! Do you know why you are not saying it like that? Because the word is NIGERIA and not NIGERAE or NIGEREE or whatever the is clearly an "EE-YA or EE-Ah" sound at the end; maybe my articulation is just off, but it was war for like 30 minutes; and of course the Meiguo's made a scene yet again due to this, (we can't help it, we not know what we do).


I am going to Shanghai in like a week and a half or so to visit some schools and see what jobs and housing situations are out there for me. Money at the moment is not an issue, but I know as soon as the move hits, its gonna hit me pretty hard...not really going to know how to adjust to that issue just yet, but I will figure something out.

Outside of that people all is well and I am workin stuff out!

Ok this post is not for those with a weak stomach, if you cant take it, dont read any further.

I have a serious bone to pick with Zhuhai China. Apparently in most cities with the exception of Beijing, Shanghai and Hong Kong, it is an accepted practice to freely release urine and feces on the street if you just really have to go. On numerous occasions I saw women and men just walk into a corner, and just letting loose on a busy street in broad daylight. What the hell!?!?!? It is the most digusting thing I have ever seen in my life. Most of the time I have to watch out for dog feces in the U.S., but here I have seen more human waste! I asked that New Zealander Jesse who has been here some time about it and he said "Oh yeah man, in Zhuhai its not that bad though." I began to laugh hysterically and just shrugged it off....human waste people....human feces....just think about it.

I dont get it and im not trying to be mean people, just being real, its gross...and my toilet looks like this (feel sorry for me):


















But on a lighter note, class was fun today. We covered some activities that we could do with the students. We began by singing various songs that kids could sing in order to practice pronounciation, we also wrote some of our own songs. Needless to say I am back in grade school; the material we are covering is quite young, but it makes sense since that is the age group we are going to be interacting with. I should really learn how to teach, I honestly have no idea what activities I would have my kids do... :(

***Any of my professors reading this please give advice on how to teach*** !!!!!!

Perhaps tonight I am going to hit dinner and then fire off some job applications in Shanghai, and maybe snag a side job there as well!!!!! Hurray for my native Enlgish tongue! I got about 3 1/2 weeks left here in my Zhuhai Pro-ject, and then off to a better spot in Shanghai!


Oh yeah...homework too

I checked my mail today, still no packages containing anyone's soul...ill just wait.

That is all for today!!! Payce!

P.S. Nolan you better start reading my blog or i will pry your eyelids open and continuously take your picture until I run out of film.

Ok i bet you are wondering what language this is in?... ITS ENGLISH!! Yes its this international system to teach kids English phonetics, I swear I thought it was Russian or something. Its pretty neat actually once you slowly get the hang of it.

Today was the first day of TEFL classes; basically we were treated like kindergardeners for 7 hours to actually learn how classrooms will be taught. There were more foreigners from all over the world that showed up for this class: China, Japan, USA, New Zealand, India, Australia, Whales and some Brits sprinkled here and there, gotta have the brits :) All of whom were here to get their TEFL certifications. It felt real international up in there... it was funny because there were distinct regional divides and rivalries in accents, the Americans were clearly the more vocal on these disputes, God Bless Us ..haha

Lunch time, I was nabbed by some girls who literally would not let me hang with my American buddies. They forced me to sit with them so they could learn everything they could about American culture, black Americans, English, American English etc. It was fun, I got emails, so now I got some Pen Pals.

After Lunch back to class I went where we did exercises and skits in English...very grade school, but funny. I was purposefully being difficult by using enormously huge words unecessarily...like when Shireen (the teacher) said, "William give me a word that starts with the letter N" i would say "ok um Narcolepsy" ...or when Shireen asked me why does anyone want to learn a new language, I said "To become an optimal entity in the global sphere, and to reject being so reliant on the domestic"... needless to say I got a few laughs, hey, you gotta have fun while you are here right?

Reppin Ma Polah Bearz wid da big wurdz cuz uze kno i be learndin and readin and stuffff...!

I met this guy Jesse at dinner, he is originally from New Zealand, but his parents moved to China when he was 12, so he is this dude who looks like he is from straight out of London, and he speaks PERFECT and i mean PERFECT Mandarin, im so jealous. We all had dinner, it was bland and really not doing it for me... ah well.

Got an email from my mom today, it was cool, stuff like that is always good to get when you are so far away, gotta get some home reminders in order to keep yourself truckin!

ADAM IF YOUR READING THIS PLEASE GET MY MUSIC!!!!!!!!! (pulling hair out)

Oh and here is my Address for those who are at all interested in writing letters, sending large wads of cash or just boxes containing their souls in the mail to me:

P.O. Box 935, Ningxi Zhuhai, PRC 519001
NOTE*** THIS ADDRESS IS ONLY FOR THE MONTH OF AUGUST!!!! After that I will be moving so I will have a new Addy.

It seems as though me and a significant portion of the group are entirely choosing Shanghai as the city to do it big in for the year. We are constantly being sold on Guangzhou and Shenzhen etc...but Shanghai is definately calling us. So we are vigorously trying to find jobs there; there are many openings so it is not difficult. I found a job that will pay me 8,000 kuai a month thats like 1,000 USD a month...not bad at all for China.

That is all for now... Hao le!

Well finally I find myself moderately settled in my month long apartment in Zhuhai for my TEFL training. After my training I will be able to take on a teaching job anywhere in China that has an opening. Ideally I am hoping to snag a job in Shanghai so I can live like a big time Expat and hopefully get some political contacts and network etc.

I would like to apologize for not contacting a few people before I left; the combination of a recent breakup of a 3 year relationship, packing, along with the daily stresses of someone about to leave home for so long brewed such actions on my part.

This last week that I have been here has been interesting. In the mornings, the other LanguageCorps Expats and I were in Chinese class from like 9-1 ish and then we would head out on various excursions. My personal favorite was the Underground Market of Zhuhai where everything is cheap and negotiable (my Dad would love this place). I picked up a Rolex (I still cant tell if its fake or not) for like 250 RMB. Good Times.

Food is amaizing here, and very cheap. Since the money is 7 to 1, it is quite easy to get a fulfilling meal for around 2 to 3 bucks. Instead of water and ice, you get tea and ridiculous amounts of it, not to mention we are in Zhuhai and its like 100 degrees outside at night with a cool breeze! But hey no complaints.

It has been difficult to adjust here, I get frequent stares as a black man in China. It is not hostile, more intrigued, especially since some of the people here literally have never seen someone that looks like me up close. So despite the slight annoyance, I am happy to show people that "American" is not solely "white" but American. The children are adorable here, they look at me with very curious expressions and generally when I give a smile and wave they light up with astonishment. The men dont really talk to me much, I get a laugh and point here and there, but they stay away. The women generally immediately attempt to practice their English with me. A "Hello how are you?" and then intense laughter, its a fun process.

My roomates are pretty cool, one guy is from Chicago and the other from Penn, so I lucked out to get two U.S. Expats in my crib. Unfortunately we dont have a toilet, we have a squatter...which is a hole in the ground...yes a hole in the ground; plus, this hole in the ground, is in the same exact room as the shower...which is very small...yes i never quite feel zest fully clean.

Then to top off my adventure, in the last 20 years Zhuhai has not had a level 3 Typhoon...Zhuhai decides to have a level 4 typhoon my 3rd day here! 3 people died in the city and it was quite horrific... but I am ok people thank God. But how lucky could I get to experience a Typhoon as soon as I get here! Oh the fun the traveler has...

I really miss the States, but I know this is what I have/need/want to do. I guess being a global player, you have to do some global time.

My TEFL class starts tomorrow morning, so I need to do my homework tonight, ugh I just graduated why on earth am I still doing work!!!!!


Ill post more often now that everything is set up... CYA