To Malaysia

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Semester Endings

The semester is just about over. At least my classes are finished for spring. And I don't have to deal with final exams because the department grades all the essay exams to ensure consistency throughout the courses (we have a lot of adjunct instructors in the ESL department). I have discovered just how difficult it is for students to pass the level that I teach--across the level, only about 25% pass the final, and the rest have to repeat the course. This semester, about a third of my students were repeating the class (two of them for the third time). Fortunately, most of my repeat students passed the final.

Overall, it was a good semester with only a few bumps in the road. I thought one particular student would give me a difficult time through the semester. He was a repeat student with a lot of potential. Unfortunately, he could be a little stubborn and occasionally tried to control the class. He was in danger of failing because he didn't do any of the homework, and I gave him one final chance--he had to write eight essays in a week. He came in the following week with all his work done (and it looked suspiciously good). When it came time for an in-class essay, I saw that his writing improved exponentially (my suspicion dissipated). Somehow, everything I taught showed up in his writing after one week of extreme pressure. He easily passed the final exam.

One thing I enjoy about teaching ESL at a community college is the stories I hear from students. I tend to hear more personal stories while tutoring at the writing center, but my students in class enjoy sharing as well. One of my favorites to talk with at the writing center was an Indonesian nun. She was in a level below the class I taught and she had some difficulty with grammar. Every week she came in to work, she immediately asked questions about specific points of grammar--she knew what she needed to do to improve. Her greatest obstacle for passing the class was that the essay questions are geared toward a wider range of students and she doesn't share the same experiences (asking a nun about television shows is rather unfair).

Now that the semester is over and I don't have to teach for summer, I can enjoy reading again. I'm on my third book in three weeks. I was finally able to get around to Yan Lianke's Dream of Ding Village. It's a great translated work of fiction about the blood-selling scandal in Henan province that infected thousands with HIV and AIDS. It focuses on one particular village devastated by the disease. Although there is no overt criticism of the government, the book is banned in China. I will write a more in-depth review of the novel for Terracotta Typewriter.

Farewell Bagels

Over the weekend I received news that Danny, my favorite restaurateur in Guangzhou, passed away. No trip to the Guangdong provincial capital was complete without a stop at Danny's Italian Restaurant (formerly Danny's Bagel).

During my first year in Shenzhen, my brother sent me an email. One of his clients had a friend who made bagels in Guangzhou. This was music to a New Jersey native's ears (even though I was reading it)--I had spent the previous two years in Colorado without any decent bagels. It was another year before I finally made the trip to Guangzhou to eat at Danny's.

On my second solo trip to Guangzhou, to obtain useful information to apply for Jia's tourist visa (of course, the consulate provided no useful information), I made a point of having a bagel for lunch before heading to the consulate. Fortunately, Danny's is housed in a furniture shopping mall nearby. At least, I thought it was nearby. Turns out a thirty minute walk through Guangzhou in late spring is a painful reminder of the oppressive heat and humidity of the region.

I arrived at the Home Garden Mall a bit early. Danny's wasn't opened yet, so I found a sofa--the staff gave me awkward looks as I read a book. When I finally got into the restaurant for my bagel, I was greeted by Danny himself. It was nice to meet another New Jersey native. And he gave me some advice for dealing with the consulate. Although our conversation was brief, his affable personality led me to return on every trip through Guangzhou. And each time I visited, I tried something different from his menu.

We celebrated Jia's tourist visa with dinner at Danny's. He talked about some of the things he missed about New Jersey--he loved Harrold's Deli, and I brought back one of their cheesy napkins with deli Yiddish just for him. On that trip I had a chicken Parm sandwich that made me homesick--it was just like those I used to get at home.

Even on our final trip to Guangzhou we stopped in for lunch. It was only a short time before we moved to the US, and we wanted to see a few friends. Even though the restaurant closed between lunch and dinner, Danny stood around talking with us for two hours.

Since moving back to the US, I kept in touch with Danny. Every now and then I'd get an email asking how everything was in New Jersey or updating me on the goings on of Guangzhou. He especially liked to gloat when the northeast got excessive amounts of snow and he was in a much warmer climate.

Overlooking the Palace

It's been two years since I had a real vacation. Of course, now I have more expenses and I have to save for a more expensive vacation this summer in Xinjiang, which will be even more expensive since the airlines keep raising the fares (donations are always welcome). The lack of travel has put me in the habit of browsing my past vacation photos, which is quite time-consuming.

I always seem to stop on my photos of Wat Arun. It's difficult to find a bad photo of this structure. It was one of my favorite destinations in Bangkok because it wasn't crowded and it provided such amazing views of the city and the Grand Palace. Both times I visited Wat Arun the weather was nice, which made the views a bit better.

An Idiot Abroad

I'm so happy to have On Demand (only the free service part, I don't pay for anything extra). Last week I came across episodes of "An Idiot Abroad," Ricky Gervais' new show. The show is a bit of a practical joke--sending Ricky's friend Karl to exotic locales to experience other cultures. Of course, the entertainment comes from the fact that Karl is not adventurous in any sense of the word--he even packs his own snacks.

I was drawn into the show because the first episode sent Karl to Beijing and some nearby locations. As a first trip outside of England, China is a shock. My greatest source of amusement was watching Karl's reaction to the local food--especially as he watches a girl enjoy a scorpion on a stick and a man chow down on chicken embryos. Unlike Anthony Bourdain and Andrew Zimmern, Karl doesn't encounter stinky tofu. On his trip along the Great Wall, he gets to watch his host kill and cook frogs. He tries to politely decline the delicacy, but is force-fed by his host. I must admit I do enjoy the taste of frog, especially the Sichuan/Chongqing-style dishes, but I also find the small bones annoying.

It isn't all torture for Karl; he seems to enjoy some of the travel. He gets some amusement out of his Shaolin kung fu training. Of course, that is followed by some traditional Chinese therapy involving fire on his body (I'm convinced that anything that is supposedly good for you in China is painful).

In other episodes, Karl travels through Israel, Jordan, Mexico, India, and Egypt. Surprisingly, the most unusual foods he encounters are in Mexico and Egypt. In Mexico, he eats some wasp larva with some chili at a Mayan village. And in Egypt, he eats some animal testicles and other organs before his host tells him what's in the dish.

After going through the first five episodes, I'm waiting for the new ones. I don't know where they'll send Karl next or how Ricky Gervais will try to torture him.

The Practice

Now that the new semester is in full swing, it's difficult for me to get out for Mandarin Monday events in the city--working 9-6 with only a 15 minute break is a bit tiring (good thing I only do that once a week). Fortunately, I have found another way to practice my Mandarin.

While working at the campus writing center I found three Chinese students who plan to attend regular tutoring sessions. I'm  now getting in the habit of greeting these students in Mandarin and having brief conversations with them before they begin their sessions.

Yesterday, I found that I hadn't properly introduced myself to two of the students. After asking one about what she did for Spring Festival, she inquired where I was from and how I came to learn Chinese. I hadn't had to answer those questions in over two years.

Having these students around regularly should help motivate me to study more.

Without a Bang

It's difficult keeping track of lunar holidays in the US. In China, the fireworks would've started days ago, but I don't have those cracks and bangs to remind me that Spring Festival is here. It just doesn't feel like Chinese New Year without fireworks being set off haphazardly after drinking Tsingtao and baijiu.

Reading this morning's Twitter feed while sitting around because the college has a delayed opening due to icy conditions, I was reminded of the tradition of watching the CCTV Spring Festival Spectacular. The commentary can be quite amusing--especially when it comes time for the singing and dancing minorities portion of the show. Instead of watching the show, I attended a party with the Mandarin Monday group in New York. Part of the festivities was a Kung Fu demonstration that included very few Chinese--there was one large, older white guy who was surprisingly agile.

Since the weather is terrible and we have to work, Jia and I will have more of a celebration this weekend with a dinner out at Grand Sichuan.

I still miss the fireworks (at least one night of them, not the two weeks that follow).

Strange Crimes

The run up to Spring Festival is always filled with minor crimes. Every year the Chinese government warns people to be careful with their valuables when traveling. This year, there are some unusual crimes around Shenzhen.

Shenzhen Daily reports that two teenagers stole valuables from travelers' luggage on a Bao'an airport shuttle bus. One of the teenagers was small enough to fit into a suitcase that was stored in the luggage compartment of the bus. He then crawled out and rummaged through the other luggage on board.

In another case, customs officials seized 2300 kilograms of smuggled seafood. There were no details as to what type of seafood--it could have been endangered animals, but that would be more likely reported. Why would anyone smuggle seafood into a region known for its seafood?

Mandarin Meet Up

Not long after I moved to Jersey City, I started using meetup.com. A few friends in town used it to plan events and meet new people. Of course, I rarely attended the local events. However, I also found a Mandarin Monday group in New York that seemed to have regular meetings.

The first couple times I went to the meetings, it was in a large restaurant by the Empire State Building. Unfortunately, the food was rather bland and expensive. But, the people were fun to talk with, even if some of them spoke little to no Mandarin. As I began teaching at the community college, I couldn't attend the meetings in the city. Or, more accurately, I was too tired to take the PATH into the city for an expensive dinner.

Since then, they group has changed restaurants a few times. Now, they meet at Great Sichuan (not to be confused with my favorite Chinese restaurant in Jersey City, Grand Sichuan), which serves much better food at a cheaper price than the original meet up restaurant.

Last night was one of the more interesting meetings of the group. It was only 10 people (we had more than 20 last week). It was mostly an older crowd that didn't speak much Chinese, but they provided some interesting conversation. One attendee spoke with me about visiting Xinjiang--he had visited the province in the late '80s. Another one got to see Shenzhen from the Hong Kong border in the years just prior to Deng Xiaoping, when the city was still a collection of fishing villages with a population of about 20,000.

Now that classes begin again next week, I hope I can find the time and energy to attend more of these meet ups. It might provide more motivation to study.

Smiles in the Trees

I know this photo is a bit of a cliche on travel blogs, but it's still cool. The banyan grew around the Buddha head in the ruins of Ayutthaya, Thailand. Even without the Buddha head, banyans are amazing trees to photograph--I have quite a few from my travels, including a rather large one in Yangshuo that was turned into a cheesy tourist attraction.

Working for the New Year

The New Year is looking good so far. Granted, it's a very young year and I haven't done much yet. I'm looking forward to getting back to work--I'm a little bored with all this time off. And that blizzard before New Year's and subsequent snow removal (or lack thereof) didn't help. Even though I'll have plenty of work at the college, I'm continuing my pursuit of more freelance work to subsidize our summer trip to China.

Of course, I have found some useful things to do with my free time. I managed to finally put together the seventh issue of Terracotta Typewriter, which includes the work of a writer who was long-listed for the Man Asian Literary Prize. It's hard to believe that I started the website two years ago and it's still alive. I'm pleased with all the messages of support I've received--it's one of the reasons I continue to work on it. It's probably time that I find someone to help with the production--regular readers have probably noticed that I never kept up with the Mandarin Monday posts (or any regular blog posts on that site).

Warmly Welcome 2011

It's been a pretty good year. Jia and I both found new jobs this past year, and are living much more comfortably than at the beginning of the year. We expect everything to go a little smoother in the new year.

My first New Year holiday in China was spent in Guangzhou. Jia and I had been dating less than month and decided to take two days outside Shenzhen. Seeing as I only knew a handful of words in Chinese, Jia was my tour guide. She took me through the main sites--the Tomb of the Nanyue King, Guangxiao Temple, Chen's Folk Art Museum (where I purchased a miniature Statue of Liberty because it seemed so out of place), and Xiu Park.

Guangxiao Temple was a highlight of the trip. It was my first experience in a Buddhist temple. Unfortunately, when we revisited Guangxiao before leaving China, the temple was undergoing renovations and much of it was closed off. The first visit was much more memorable.

White Out

It was a pretty wild snowstorm we had yesterday. It wasn't much until around 4pm, but it dumped plenty of snow around the city. The wind was howling last night, creating some large snowdrifts. It was an adventure just walking down the street--the sidewalk in front of my building is dry, but a few feet away the snowdrift grew to almost two feet.

Fortunately, my car was not buried under two feet of snow like some others.

Both cars were parked next to each other for the entirety of the storm, and only one is completely buried.

The Right Vote

That's one way to ensure a favorable ballot.

According to China Daily, Putian, a city in Fujian province, launched an online opinion poll asking netizens whether they were satisfied with government departments. It sounds like a great way for the government to see which departments need improvement. But, like most governments in the world, they weren't really interested in listening.

Netizens who voted "dissatisfied" for the majority of the 79 departments listed were met with a notice from the website stating that their vote "does not meet the requirement."

The Putian vote was definitely better than a previous online poll for a city in Jilin province that only provided the choices of "satisfied" and "very satisfied."

The lesson here is, if you're dissatisfied with the government, don't vote.

Exclusive Squatters

I'm surprised this exists in China, but I am surprised it didn't pop up in Shanghai or Shenzhen first.

A mall in Chongqing has introduced an exclusive restroom for its elite shoppers. According to the Telegraph, shoppers spending 5000RMB can have access to the toilet. The article doesn't mention if this is a one-time deal or if shoppers have to spend 5000RMB each time to relieve themselves in the harmonious toilet. There's also no word on whether or not it's a squatter.

Overview

Sometimes I discover photos I forgot I took.

Looking down from Buddha's head in Leshan wasn't the best idea. I don't particularly like heights and it was a long, slow walk down the stairs to the feet.

Along the way down, I encountered one of many coincidences in my relationship with Jia. I had just taken my parents to met her in Xinjiang before heading to Sichuan. In front of us in line to see the Giant Buddha was a woman and her daughter from Xinjiang. She spoke English, and we had a pleasant conversation on that slow walk down. While talking with her, I received a text from Jia--she met two people from New Jersey on her train ride back to Shenzhen.

The Perch

On my first visit to the Great Wall at Mutianyu, I hiked as far as I could up the mountain with the time I was given by the tour guide (not nearly enough time). As I walked up the higher reaches of the wall where few tourists ventured, I came across some kids enjoying their time on the wall.

On Broadway

There are some perks to teaching at a college in the NYC area. I've been impressed by the activities that the college has for students and staff, but I haven't been able to attend anything until now. Unfortunately, I missed out on trips to the Natural History Museum and a Buddhist monastery outside the city.

Jia has asked a few times to see a Broadway show, but she's worried that she won't understand what's going on. It's part of why I've been reluctant to take her to a play (I don't like musicals, I think they're cheesy). However, thanks to the student/faculty activities committee, I can now take my wife to a Broadway show that she'll understand: Blue Man Group. There is nothing for Jia to understand about three blue guys playing improvised instruments.

Since the theater is in one of my favorite neighborhoods, we may combine our Broadway experience with dinner at Crif Dogs and a beer at McSorley's. That would make it a classy evening.

Hidden Shrines

While wandering on my own in Bangkok I discovered a few things. The first was that our hotel was near nothing other than a dirty clothing market. The second was that I really had to walk to find anything of interest.

After a couple hours of walking, I stumbled upon a small shrine. It was down a quiet side street and had no noticeable signs. I also didn't see anyone to talk with about what I found.

From its appearance, I could tell that it was a shrine for people who have died--some of the photos were of people in military uniforms. I also noticed that there was Chinese on parts of the shrine, though I couldn't read any of it because it was written with traditional characters. What interested me most was that it was a mosaic constructed from broken dishes--the craftsmanship of the images was amazing. I still wish I knew more about it.

Dangerous Dates, continued

In response to a couple comments on the previous post about the sort-of-secret relationship Jia and I had during my first year in Shenzhen, I've decided to add to the story.

I spent most of the first summer living in the school apartment, which was also the storage space for the few returning teachers. All the other apartments were filled for a month with visiting Americans who were working at the summer camp in the unbearable Shenzhen summer. Jia worked six days a week, often until after 8pm, which meant I didn't see much of her. I spent plenty of time sitting in my air conditioned room, having a few beers in an air conditioned restaurant, or wandering through air conditioned shopping centers. I also continued studying Chinese in preparation for my parents' visit in August.

Part of my summer plan was to introduce my parents to Jia. Since Jia and her mom wanted to spend their brief summer holiday in Xinjiang, I planned for a few days in Urumqi. The other foreign teachers asked if I was going to meet Jia on my vacation since they all knew she was from Xinjiang. I figured there was no harm in admitting that we were at least friends (sooner or later they'd find out about our relationship).

As some of the teachers were leaving Shenzhen after their year at the school, we celebrated their departure. A few of the more gossipy foreigners loved to discuss our co-workers' love lives--and, of course, it came to me. Seeing as they were leaving, it was safe to let them in on my little secret. They weren't surprised--and one of them was fairly certain there was something going on between Jia and me because she kept running into us at odd times.

By the time the new term started, Jia agreed that it was safe to tell the foreign teachers about our relationship as long as they knew it couldn't get back to the Chinese supervisors. There were also two Chinese co-workers who were kept our relationship secret from the rest of the staff.