no airplanes, no ferries, no trains - just China.

I spent the past weekend in my lovely new hometown of Shenzhen - the first weekend I have spent here in a month. Although I was fairly sick for much it, I still managed to add a couple stories to my China portfolio.

On Saturday, John, one of the ISS teachers, organized an outing with the Chinese and foreign teachers to an indoor skating rink (see photo on right). Yes, they have skating rinks in the tropics; and yes, most of the skaters on the ice were about as bad as you might expect given the climate... meaning I fit right in. Aside from one seal-like dive when my toe-pick caught and I soared gracefully into the air and somehow managed to land on my knee and my neck simultaneously, it was actually quite fun and entertaining (although I'm sure my fall was entertaining for the others present). I also had a good time "racing" a little girl on her figure skates, although I never did decide whether she was actually racing me or just trying to escape me in sheer terror.

After skating, we went out for "hot pot," which is a Chinese dish/meal that is served in the North. It involves a hot pot (figure that out) filled with boiling water, vegetables, spices, etc into which you put different types of meats and vegetables to cook. There is an electric stove in the center of the table that keeps the pot hot and the food cooking throughout the 2+ hour-long meal. It was delicious and fun, and considering the massive quantity of food we consumed, pretty inexpensive.

The hot pot - a source of great food as well an extensive Chinese herb/vegetable/meat vocab lesson

On Sunday morning I took a trip Dongmen, the huge shopping district of Shenzhen. I went to a similar market during my first few days in China, but this one was still totally overwhelming. There were tightly packed booths selling clothing, shoes, "designer" bags, electronics, cosmetics - you get the idea - and equally tightly packed people passing through, looking at the goods and arguing over prices. This madness continues floor after floor, building after building. Apparently the market itself is over 300 years old (so much for commercialism being a new fad in China!) and is also home to China's first McDonald's. Quite the claim to fame.

In case you were wondering, I was too overwhelmed to really do much shopping, but I did buy a pair of Converse shoes for less than $5. They came with the tag and box, and so far seem comfortable and well-made, so whether or not they are "real" seems a very trivial concept.

Finally, on Sunday afternoon I went to see Jaris play basketball in Shenzhen tournament. There were people tightly packed all around the perimeter of the court, and I made a joke when we arrived along the lines of, "Where are our foreigner VIP seats??" The joke quickly became a reality, as we were ushered across the court and given plastic courtside chairs. It was a nice gesture but resulted in an even more zoo-like feeling than normal: We were literally fenced in with people peering in at us from every angle.

My post-weekend life has been totally consumed by school: lesson planning, writing reports, filling out homework/exam/attendance sheets, meeting individually with students and teachers, correcting homework. I'll spare you the details, but will reassure you that although completely exhausting and sometimes quite trying, teaching continues to be one of the most rewarding jobs I can imagine.

pink plastic skirts and AK-47s

This week China's annual Sports Day gave me a welcome break from teaching several classes. Imagine the standard track and field day at an American elementary school - but then stretch it across three days; add in middle schoolers, high schoolers, and even teachers; and kick it off with an evening ceremony/parade/speeches to reinforce its importance and seriousness.

The ceremony started at 4 pm on Tuesday, and was a sight to behold. Every class at TESS was represented - over 6,000 students - including a group from the ISS who marched holding flags representing their nationalities. They were definitely one of the more tame groups in the parade. Here are some photos to back my claim:

ISS students - note the flags from the US, Canada, Philippines, Hong Kong, China, Korea, and Germany.

This outfit would be less strange if it weren't for the thick make-up applied to both the girls and boys. This would never fly at a public school in the US...
I saw these year 1 students practicing the day before the opening ceremony, and sought out my boss to tell him, "Either I'm dreaming or there are rabbits out on the field right now." Turns out I was not dreaming.
What will this "Michael-Jackson-Thriller" costume cost you? Just one month of tuition and 90% of your dignity.
Saved the best for last - yes, these middle school girls are wearing pink plastic skirts and carrying AK-47s. At this point Bob, the 69 year-old physics teacher from Canada, whispered to me, "I don't know know about you, but my, I am finding this quite inappropriate."
Finally - closing with the Chinese anthem. Let Sports Day 2008 begin!

After Tuesday's ceremony, the middle school had their actual sporting events on Wednesday, while the primary kids competed yesterday. Since I am fortunate enough to all young ones on Thursdays, I had all of my classes canceled. I made a morning trip to the ISS anyway to cheer on my students. Ironically, despite the fact they were outfitted with track cleats and clothing while the public school kids wore their everyday uniforms and shoes, they placed last in just about everything. But I was very glad I went to see them, and after being mobbed by my year 2's and 5's I was in an unshakable good mood for the next several hours.

Here I will insert a necessary side story: a few weeks ago I bought a semi-decent mountain bike for ~US$80. I say semi-decent because while the wheels respond to the pedals and the brakes perform nicely, shifting gears results in about a minute of solid clicking and cracking without any real difference in resistance or speed. I guess that can be expected when you buy your bicycle at a Chinese Wal-Mart...

Anyway, since classes were canceled, Andy and I had our own "sports day" - we biked to Shekou, the expat district filled with delicious international food and (*gasp*) white people. It took over two hours to find our way there, but only an hour and a half to get back. It was an awesome trip, although not for the faint of heart: biking from Bao'an to Shekou involves carrying your bike over footbridges, biking along some very busy roads (highways?), facing off with bikes who are pulling truckloads behind them and cars who are in the wrong lane/sidewalk, and trying to guess which vehicles will actually obey traffic laws like red lights and walk signals. Not to mention going through the "Special Economic Zone" checkpoint - bring your passport! - and serious congestion and throat irritation after the ride due to inhaling the thick pollution. But the reward - amazing Indian food and a serious sense of accomplishment - made it worth it. (And I didn't even need to march in a parade in a pink plastic skirt to take part in it.)

thailand!

My guidebook says over 90% of Thais are practicing Buddhists. After visiting just a few cities, I'd believe it. You can't go a block without passing a little shrine like this one - even on the busy metropolitan streets of Bangkok.

Once again, before I launch into the details of another crazy weekend, I will start with a few short stories:

1. My teach-the-teacher session is on hold, since our Friday afternoons will now be devoted to learning a kung fu dance that all the teachers will perform together at our New Years' party. This already awkward process is complicated by the fact that I am the only teacher who does not understand Chinese, so no translations of the dance instructions are provided. If you'd like to check out the dance we're learning, you can see it here. Fast-forward to minute 0:50 if you'd like to see how I ripped my pants.
2. Last week during our weather unit, I had my year 2 students make weather forecasts and then record the actual weather every day. As part of this procedure, I asked them to illustrate their forecasts: sunny, cloudy, rainy, etc. When I distributed the colored pencils, they all immediately jumped for the red ones, which turned out to be necessary because that was the color they all chose for their suns. I didn't think much of it until I was walking home in the evening and noticing the blood red sun setting in the sky; because of the polluted haze hanging over Shenzhen, the sun really does appear to be red. No student in America would select a red colored pencil to color a sun, but here that was the unanimous choice. Just another reminder of how different the most ordinary things can be on the opposite side of the globe...
3. I got a new class this week, which meets Monday, Tuesday, and Wednesday. It does make my schedule a bit out of control, but still I can hardly complain: it's an 11th grade class called OSC, "Overseas Chinese," and has 9 Korean + 1 Cambodian students. My co-teacher (the Chinese teacher who teaches the class 3 other periods each week) is the director of students, similar to a Vice Principal of an American school. The kids are already pretty respectful to begin with, but the threat that the woman charged with behavioral discipline - aptly named "Sissy" - will immediately know if they are off task makes them even more well-behaved. And the good news is, with 18 classes/week, I now get paid overtime!

Onto Thailand! After a rough start, it ended up being an amazing and jam-packed 48 hours. Andy and I took a cab to the port in Shekou, Shenzhen, to board a ferry to Hong Kong to catch our flight. Everything went relatively smoothly until we arrived at the ferry terminal in Hong Kong and got ready to check in for our flight: our airline, Air Asia, was nowhere to be found. Worse, no one at the other airline counters had heard of Air Asia, and when we finally got airport management, we were told that we were in the wrong area to check in for Air Asia flights, but there was no way we could get a bus or taxi to take us to the correct terminal. As the time before our flight left became shorter, we realized there was no possibility that we would be on it. To complicate this matter, since we had taken a ferry over - which accepts only cash - we had no way of re-boarding it to return to Shenzhen. I managed to convince myself we would be fine until a member of airport staff took our passports, told us we could sleep in the ferry terminal, and left.

As you may divine by the fact that I have Thailand stories to share, things did work out in the end. We were able to buy last-minute tickets into Bangkok through another airline (for the painful price of US$428 each). In the end I was so relieved just to have my passport and be leaving that dreadful terminal that the monetary value assigned to the ticket was relatively unimportant.

Otherwise, my Thai tales form one long happy weekend. A few of the most memorable moments:

• After arriving in Pattaya around 2 am on Friday/Saturday, we decided that rather than sleep we would go for a walk and check out the city. We ended up watching a crappy American movie with Thai subtitles with a lone bartender, eating street food, and walking in the sand until 5 am. Which of course made the 9 am alarm feel terrific on Saturday morning.
• We rented scooters Saturday morning and went beach-hopping. So I spent the afternoon swimming in the ocean, laying in the sun, ogling the fat European tourists, getting a leg/back/neck massage, and eating wonderful food. One minor blip when I ran over my foot with the moped, but otherwise it was a highlight of the trip.
• Pattaya is known for its wild sex industry. Even after being in red light districts in other cities, the blatant prostitution of women and "ladyboys" was a bit startling...
  
• At a bar on Saturday evening, we were told alcohol was no longer being served. In this bar? In Pattaya? No - in all of Thailand! Apparently the King's sister was being cremated, and the ceremony lasted from 7 am until past 10 pm. It seemed that all of Thailand was glued to their television screens watching the procession, so the country was staying sober for the occasion. Quite the lesson in Thai culture and their allegiance to their principal figurehead, who has been their king for over 60 years. Fun fact: in Thailand, it is illegal to say anything bad about the King. So any sour thoughts we had about the alcohol ban were wisely kept inside.

This beach-side sign shows (a) the importance of the king, (b) the sweet Thai script, and (c) a funny equation of fish + cigarette = fish skeleton.

• Bangkok on Sunday afternoon: Pretty much exactly what I imagined. It's a crazy and disorganized city filled with hawkers selling knock-off goods, tons of amazing food, and Buddhist temples overshadowed by towering skyscrapers. Check out the example on the right - how's that for juxtaposition of cultures?