Xi'An pictures

So here is a small selection of pictures from Xi'an. Some of them are blurry and not the best.... I just picked random thumbnails from the album and uploaded them.  I have a lot more, but this should be enough to give a taste of my trip.


PHOTOS

Xi'an vacation.

Xi'an...

Xi'an is a historical Chinese city known mostly to the outside world because of the terracotta warriors. Famous in China because, well it’s pretty much the birthplace of China (depending on how you judge history). Anyway I went there for my annual leave... well the last 2 days of it. My company is use it or lose it... so I had to use it this week. Talk about waiting till last minute.

So I flew out on Sunday... heavy rain in Shanghai and hotter than I’d like in Xian (though upon return to SH, I miss the Xi'an heat.... there it was dry, SH is super humid and hot).

I take a car service set up by my hotel (well serviced apartment). It’s awesome having a person waiting to pick you up at the airport dressed nicely with your name on a placard.

I get to my place.  Nice. Big and relatively cheap in a good location. It’s a hotel apartment deal. It’s a room in an apartment building.  So it’s got a kitchen TV couch bathroom washing machine and a king sized bed. I walk around and explore my hood in the heat. Nice neighborhood.  I buy some small Chinese books from an old street vendor. They are from the 60s and 70s and while I can’t read them... still a neat artifact.

I spend the rest of the evening wandering around exploring.  I don't do anything crazy because I booked a tour for the next day for the warriors and other sights.

I wake up and get picked up for my tour. First we look at a workshop where they make recreation warriors.  They said it’s the same type of process they used to use. From there to the warriors. Then the tomb of the emperor. Then to a 6000 year old housing site.

The warriors... I can't really describe.  I wanted to see them for a long time.  There are not many things or goals I have... but that was one. I have been fascinated with them for years. To actually see them... well awe inspiring.  It sucks I did it with a tour as time was limited.  They gave us ample time but I could have spent a day at the site.

The tomb (mausoleum) was blah. A hill. We were told about the legend of it but still not an exciting sight.

Banpo Village.  The 6000 year old site. I knew nothing about this... but still amazing.  The ruins of a 6000 year old civilization.  It’s something that was hard to wrap my head around. Amazing to see and another place I could have spent a long time at.

At night I went to a Tang Dynasty Show and dumpling dinner. Dumpling dinner was many types and flavors of dumplings.  The show was actually pretty entertaining. It told stories of the dynasty and had dancing for the stories.  As a guy it was interesting to go alone, only to make it more awkward I shared a table with 2 middle aged Chinese ladies that spoke no English.  But oh well.

After that I went walking. I walked to the Muslim district. Famous for... well Muslims. And street food. So I walked and got the Xi’an burger (meat in bread) and a boil goats foot. Yummy. I walked home.

The next day I slept in (actually I did every day... a king sized bed, a dark room, no construction, and walking over 15 miles a day). I wanted to go to the small wild goose pagoda... but it was closed. So my end goal... the big wild goose pagoda. But first I stopped at the Shanxi Xi'an history museum. Very large. Decent English subtitles. Neat to see. But really... it would have been more fun with a Chinese person. While I love history... connecting with something that I have no relation to is difficult. Interesting... but learning excerpts of their historical culture which I am unfamiliar with leaves me with a broken story.

I make it to the big wild goose. I love Buddhist temples and Buddhism fascinates me. This place was built in like the year 500. Before the US was a thought in the worlds eye. And here is this structure that is standing since then. Of course I pay the extra money to go to the top. Delightful. After exploring the temple I go to a mall. Why? To use the toilet. So the mall has an arcade. I play my coin pushing machine and win lots of tickets. I have no use for them so I tell an attendant to give them to a kid. I play for the joy of playing and winning. I need no prize.

After that... there is the international ice sculpture exhibit. I asked how much it was I misunderstood.  It was 55 but I thought he said 5. Oh well. I pay. Cheesy and weird. Yup. It is ice sculptures of mostly Disney things. But still pretty neat. I have many talents.  Ice sculpting isn’t one of them.  Upon entering they tried to get me to put on a coat. The last thing I want when its 95 outside is a coat. So I walk into the subzero room and I felt like I walked into heaven (that is if heaven is a subzero room in hot weather). I think the workers thought I was crazy... which I might be. My favorite part was the sled. You got to sled down an ice chute. Like the luge but slower and shorter.  I did it many times (I think u were supposed to pay per time... but I was the only person there and I think the worker enjoyed seeing a 30 some odd year old foreign giddy like a kid... I even got him to race. I won.

After that I went walking around and found the Xi'an brewery.  Yay for local beers. I had a sampler.  Their beers were good. Unique. But good. The name of each beer was oddly accurate. I put the brewery and my hotel thing in contact.  One of the first things I asked Mr. Vinegar was about local beer. I would pay to have a growler of local beer in my room anywhere I stay. It’s now night... The big wild goose has a fountain show. I stay and watch. It’s entertaining. There is a rumor that it is better than the Bellagio in Vegas. It’s not.  Only the first of fountains moved... the others just adjusted pressure (and color which the Bellagio didn't when it saw them). I mean, I guess I could get into the entertainment value of different fountain shows and what is what... but I won't. Nevertheless it was entertaining. I ate some biangbiang noodles and walked home (then ate some street food after the nearly hour long walk).

Wednesday I was going to take it easy. I went to the small wild goose.  It was smaller but you could stand on top... always a plus. Like the big one it was also a temple and a peaceful walk. After the temple grounds I went to a museum.... this day was kinda like the same as before but in reverse. I went home and took a nap (yay vacation).

I wake up to go to the city wall because I think there is supposed to be a show (which is actually on Thursdays not Wednesdays).  I get there. Pay to get in (even though no show). I explore around the main gate. Then I decided to rent a bike. Biking on the wall is popular.  So I do it. But since its late and dark and I want to take pictures I only bike 1/3 of the wall (then back to starting point so I get deposit back). And since its night I am not melting. Yay.

Well now my out of shape ass just got finished biking several miles I figured I should eat. Back to the Muslim quarter. I eat a few of the recommended Xi'an dishes. When food stalls are finished with their coals they put them on the curb.  I thought this was dangerous... but walking I find some local kids finding trash and putting it on the hot coals making fire.  So still unsafe.  Even super unsafe. Actually I am not justifying it at all. If I was a kid I would have done the same thing. Yay for parents letting (maybe unknowingly) letting their kids do science... boo for an unsupervised dangerous situation. There are better places to let your kid play with fire.

Anyway I walk home

Yay... Thursday... my day to relax. Well I did that better than other days. I watch a movie in my apartment. I then found a way to sneak up to the roof... (My thing).

I walk to the fortress wall. Walk around the park for a while.  I then got to the Stele museum. I constantly debated on going or not...  I actually did not leave with the intention of going. My wandering brought me there. So I went. While it had a steep price and its layout was crap...it was pretty Intriguing. These stone steles are the history of China. Like what is Chinas history, what are its founding tenets, what did rulers envision?  It's all in the museum.  The US's documents are stored in state of the art facilities.  In China they are carved into stone sitting open air in a museum. While Chinese visitors where there reading these and studying these I was just walking through but it still felt relevant.

I walked around the neighborhood and went to a small foreign bar. I got a drink and a burger. The burger was very unique. It was a place called Marley’s. I would actually go back to get another.  I really can’t describe it other than it was not a traditional American burger... but still delicious. I walk home.

I get some beer and go up to the roof as I found earlier. I watch the sunset on Xi'an.  Now I know it may be gimmicky.  But I love sunsets. They are pretty and all... but really that is the only time when we for a fraction of a second can see how fast life is happening.  The colors change and the sun is able to be observed moving. I love the science and beauty of it. Anyway. On the roof I meet 2 other roofers.  They do not speak English and are doing their own thing. It reminds me of me and Keyser.  One of my best friends I met in Korea.  We roofed frequently. Anyway I show them how to get higher. I sit up top for a while and sit in peace.

I decided I should get some food. I head down. There is a kabob shop downstairs.  I get a large beer and some lamb and beef kabobs. Most of the locals seemed to be impressed with my stomachs ability.  I drank as much as a table of 6 and ate as much as a table of 3. After dinner I go back up to the roof. It’s a way I like to unwind and relax and just take it all in.

Go to bed.

Wake up pack shower and get my taxi to the airport. So... Xi'an.  It felt really laid back and easy going there. Too hot for my taste but a nice place. I told a friend it had almost an island vibe, just because the people seemed relaxed and chill. It also didn't seem too crowded. But it was. Over 9 million people live here. It’s hard to grasp. Shanghai has 25 million.  So this is a small city but still more populated then many states.

The people spoke more clearly than Shanghai people. I could understand more and they could understand me more (in my poor broken Chinese). People still used to toilet outside... but the kids seemed to be more self-sufficient than Shanghai kids. In SH someone needs to hold the boys willy to aim it for him... here they could do it themselves. In SH someone has to help a girl squat, here they did it themselves. I don't know if it’s an achievement or not. Being self-sufficient is good. But thinking it’s okay to pee on the sidewalk is not. Though there was a time a girl was getting ready to pee on the sidewalk... instead of letting her, mom picked her up and put her in a flower bed. So that’s good I guess. And I didn't see anyone pooping so I consider it a win.

In all, I could have spent some more time in Xi’an, but for a 5 day visit I did get to do a lot and see a lot. I do wish that sometimes I would be able to take a little more me time on vacations just to relax. It’s tough because there is so much of the world to see and so much to do. Vacations may be the only time I ever get to see these things… but sometimes you end up being in such a rush, you don’t just slow down and relax and take it all in.

I took a ton of pictures, but I need to go through them all and sort them. Hopefully I can get that done pretty soon. I have been super busy for the last week and a half since I got back, and summer camp classes have begun, so I am even busier than normal. But sometime I’ll try to get an album made of some of the highlights. 

My Students

So I was skyping with my parents today and my mom made a comment about not having pictures of my kids.... Well I have a ton of them, I just always fail to post them.

So I made some slideshow videos for my school to play in the waiting room. Well, I just put them together and posted them to youtube. They are just slideshows, so no, the pictures do not move.

Here are 3 different videos. 2 are my Beeno kids (kindergarten) and 1 is of my Big English kids (elementary school). Most are of my kids and pictures I took. There are some from other classes scattered about too.

Beeno students

Beeno students

Big English students

Alternate links if the videos do not play.
Beeno video 1
Beeno video 2
Big English

1 year in China

1 year… That is how long I have been living in China. It is kind of amazing really. Part of me feels like time has flown, but another part of me feels like it has been 6 months, and another feels like the full year. Take that as you will.

I really don’t know what to say. I do enjoy living here for the most part.

The food is good and diverse. Don’t get me wrong, I love Korean food. It is yummy, but it can get repetitive, and the lack of options of other ethnic foods really got to me. Shanghai not only has Chinese food (that in and of itself means nothing… as if I said American food), but readily available and easily accessible food from all over the world. A bit like NYC, but not to that level yet. Just wandering the streets you can find restaurants from all over the world. Korea had a neighborhood for all things not Korean, but Shanghai has expat neighborhoods all over, and just different types of food all over. Part of it has to do with what I mentioned earlier. What is Chinese food. Yes, in the USA there is the westernized idea of Chinese food (though most of it is based on Cantonese food). As I have been told, there are 9 distinct regions of Chinese food, and each of those regions has their own flavors, spices, and signature dishes. Then from there, they have unique side dishes. But then each region also imports dishes from other regions and customizes them… so there is diversity.

I think this diversity is why it is much easier to find foreign food, and actually very good foreign food in Shanghai. They are used to different flavors and different ideas of food. So adding different ethnic foods to the mix isn’t that odd. Korea, as it is so small and isolated, does not have that chance for the same diversity. Yes, Busan has different specialties then Seoul, and even their own styles, but really, it is not that much different. For example OKC is about 200 miles from Dallas, and Seoul is about 200 miles from Busan. Yes, there is a little variation between foods from OK and TX, but not that much. China and the USA are the same size. Think of the US, and how different regions are well known for different food. Same in China. So in Shanghai, they appreciate the uniqueness of different foods, and as such, different foods are available all over.

Work is good. Not great, but good. I often find myself comparing it to Korea. I feel Korea overworked the students and put too much pressure on the kids, but I feel my school does too little. In Korea, the kindy kids came every day and learned for many hours and had homework. Here, they come 1.5 hours a week and have optional homework (tracing letters). The local Chinese teachers ask me how do Chinese students English compare to Korea, and I just say that Koreans are so much better, but they spend so much more time learning it. 1.5 hours a week is not enough. I am (on and off) trying to learn Chinese. I know for a fact 1.5 hours 1 day a week is not enough. Part of me is frustrated because I want the results I had in Korea, but on the other hand, I am happy that the children here have more of a chance to be children. Also, only having the kids for 1.5 hours a week, I do not feel I have the same relationship with the kids that I did in Korea. I felt really connected to a lot of my kids in Korea that I just do not feel with the kids I have now. I also teach many more kids now which doesn’t help.

I recently took a trip back to Korea for my former students graduation. It was amazing. Just seeing how much the kids have grown and how much they learnt. I really feel vested in those kids and I care what happens to them. Here in SH, I do like my kids a lot, but I just do not feel that same connection to them. After one year of teaching them here, it is about the same as 2 months teaching in Korea. But spread that out and you can see why it is hard to have that relationship. I would love to see these kids more often, but that's just not how it is done here. One of the teachers at ECC said he never saw the kids as happy as they were when I first went into the classroom. Its true, they lit up and all of them rushed to me. It was a great feeling. As much as ECC could stress me out, I do miss it and the kids. While I do see my kids here improve... it is just different. I really felt like a part of my kids in Korea, but not so much here. I do have my favorites of course. But even that level is different than it was in Korea. I am not sure, but when one of my favorites leaves, its more of an oh well, I'll miss them. The kids in Korea, I still care about how they are doing even though I have not taught them for a year.

The job though is not hard. It is easy. I mean it is a lot more physical as we sing and dance and play games a lot. But there is much less material and much lower goals that in Korea, so it can be less stressful. But then again, some of the kindy kids only go to school for my 1.5 hours and mommy and daddy don’t discipline, so my class can be hellish. That can be stressful. I often wish we did more and had more resources, materials, and better goals for the students. We can set higher goals in the classroom, but sometimes that is looked down upon. Status quo, and nothing more seems to be one of the ideas.

My biggest problem and biggest complaint by far are my days off. I have Thursday and Friday off. Really its not that bad. But all…ALL of my other friends do not have Thursday and Friday off. Very few people do. It is standard for English teacher to have Monday and Tuesday off. 90% of my friends do. After that, it is Tuesday and Wednesday 10% of my friends do. So they have had get togethers, and gone of trips, or hung out on those days. There are different groups that organize events on Sat and Sun or Mon and Tues. None of which I get to do. I have not found any group that does Thurs and Fri. This by far is my biggest complaint about being here. I even asked if I could change days off… Well, my campus has no extra classrooms, so I am out of luck. I have pretty much accepted that as my fate for this year. It sucks, but what can you do. So I really don’t let it get me too down. But next year when it is time to renegotiate if I will continue working, that maybe one of my stipulations. Granted, I am sure most of my friends may be gone (turnover of ESL teachers), but at least then I will be on a schedule with almost all others so I will have an opportunity to do more and meet more people.

China is different. Its not as bad as western media makes them out to be, but still being here, you can feel and sense the difference. Everything from the elementary school kids all walking with their red scarves (signifying basically future communist) to the state run media, you can always tell there is something that is not as open as what I was brought up in. There is a sense of unquestioning loyalty and inability to question authority. The teacher is always right, and you cannot second guess them. If your teacher tells you their opinion, it automatically becomes yours. You do not question what you are told. While Korea had the deep respect for their elders, here, it seems to take it a step above that. But it is really hard to quantify the difference.

Pollution is another thing that is bad there. Not as bad as I thought it would be, but it is still something to be concerned about. They say on the worst days, it is about equal to smoking 1 pack of cigarettes a day. In Shanghai there are not many of those really bad days. I still have a mask that I wear when the AQI is bad, and also have an air filter in my apartment. Both are cheap, so why put yourself in any harms way. Its one of those things that you just have to accept. China is actually making huge strides in lowering the amount of pollution it creates. You also have to realize, that we (Americans) are a huge cause of this pollution. We want cheap stuff. China makes the cheap stuff. Its cheap from China because currently they have fewer environmental laws.

There are always some common complaints/observances of China. Myself and most foreigners will say these things. Spitting and anywhere being a toilet. Most other things we easily get accustomed to... but these two are different. First off the spitting. Hawking a loogie and spitting are rampant. Heck, snot rockets are a daily occurrence too. Literally, there is not a day that goes by without seeing and hearing a person hawk a loogie or spitting or snot rocketing (close one nostril with you hand and blow the snot out of the other nostril). I know in the west, we hawk loogies and spit sometimes... but we try to show some sort of manners. Here not so much.

For the toilet being everywhere. Well it is as I say. All times of the day I see guys and boys peeing everywhere (at least 1 per day). For girls It is different. Most women are hard to find peeing in public... but there are tale tell signs. An unsupervised kid running in circles or a stroller with no attendant (Most of the times you see this near high grass or plants and you can see mom or grandma popping a squat). Kids will and are let go anywhere. I have seen too many guardians (mostly grandparents but often parents) pull down their kids pants and hold them over a trash can to use the toilet (boys and girls). The same holds true at our campus. I have seen kids held up over a trashcan far too many times or a bottle held up so the kid can pee into it in the hallway too many times.

I appreciate that using the toilet is not sexualized as it is in the states... nor is gender. If a kid is brought up knowing there is a difference that is great. Knowing the plumbing is different I really think helps. Also not thinking of a rogue penis or vulva doing its function is 'wrong' is great for kids here. But for sanitary reasons. There is a reason not everything and not everywhere is a toilet. While the toilets we have at school are gender specific... it is common for a boy to be using the toilet in the girls room.... and a girl to be using the boys. That is all good and well... but when I see a kid using a bottle in the hall or a trashcan pee... well that is where I draw my limit.

Also the along with the bathroom talk... It is amazing that many kids are unable to go themselves. Kids will either go in the toilet with guardian and guardian pulls down the pants... or if too crowded they get pulled down in the hall by the bathroom. When the kids is done, the come out an guardian pulls up pants. Same with wiping. Our youngest kids, I get... some are 3 years old (western). But I have seen some early elementary school need help too. I of course looked into it since I am not a parent.. and most resources say that most kids can do it independently between the age of 3 and 4 (though some parents check to make sure they did good till 4.5 or 5). It says that almost all kids should be able to do it by the time they are in kindergarten. Well, not so here. I will continue this thought.

It is very weird here. The perceived inability of some. While in Korea some kids were picky eaters and needed to be coaxed to eat lunch... here it is different. We only have the kids for 1.5 hours and still parents and grandparents feel the need to feed the kids during our break. When I say feed I literally mean feed. Guardian will hand feed these kids.... literally putting a grape on a toothpick and putting it into the kids mouth. I am not talking about just 3 year olds... but up until 7 and 8 (and beyond). All the kid has to do is open their mouth and food goes in. A lot of it comes from the one child policy in China... Grandparents and parents get one one kid so you needed to spoil them. But because of that... you have kids that literally need someone to do everything for them. There is a line I know.... But getting kids to do things on their own is a big part of learning. …

I have been taking Chinese classes but I have not been taking them seriously. I want to learn but I do not want to put in the effort, as I am not sure if it is worth the effort. I am going to keep on taking my classes and maybe try a little more to learn some.

I just moved to a new apartment. I really liked my old apartment, but the landlord decided to sell it. So I moved to a new apartment closer to where I work. Its not bad, and it is in a much more Chinese feeling neighborhood, so I am excited. It is also close to a foreigner neighborhood. But hopefully in the compound I will be able to practice my Chinese with some residents that live here. It would be fun to just sit out and play 'Go' with some old Chinese person. The biggest problem with the apartment. Construction. They are building a new building next to the apartment so it can be noisy early in the morning. I am sure that is why this apartment was so cheap. I am not sure how much longer the construction will last. But I figure that if it is loud for a couple of months... oh well, I will be saving money. And When I lived in Brooklyn the same thing happened. Such is the life of living in a big city.

I want to find some talent. I know I have said that before. I just don't know what kind of talent I want. I say talent... but I mean more of a hobby or something to learn. I have a lot of free time, and I would love to fill it doing something productive instead of watching reruns of 'The West Wing' though it is an amazing show. I bought a used flute awhile ago cause I thought learning jazz flute would be fun (anchorman anyone?) but I brought it to school and one of my students that actually plays flute pretty much said it was crap and broken. I would like to play the sax, but they are loud and expensive. Actually with any music... even bass (which I would like to pick up again), my finger on my right hand (that clicks when I move it) just really doesn't let me. I should see if a doctor here can fix it.

I have also joined a gym by my new apartment. I know I have joined gyms in the past and really never took them seriously because I do not like working out. But this gym has a pool. Swimming is the only exercise that I really enjoy. Is like working out... but fun. Not saying I will get in shape by swimming... but I am sure it will make me a little healthier and I am okay with that.

I am also going to learn to cook. This apartment has a legitimate kitchen. Small, but an actual kitchen. My last apartment had a half kitchen... this is a real one... with space. I love eating but cooking never made much sense to me. You spend so much time doing it... to to stuff my gullet. If I was cooking for more than me... I understand. But why would I want to spend 30 minutes making something that I will eat in 5. Its hard to justify it in my mind. But maybe I can learn to make a few dishes that will last me for several days. I also plan on buying a new grill. I bought a charcoal one at my last apartment.... but it was a hassle. There is a beautiful portable propane grill at a foreign market that I am really thinking about getting. Meat over fire is really the only thing I know how to cook.

Oh... my surgery. Yes. I had to have surgery over here. After I got back from Thailand my rear started to hurt and I felt sick. It was persistent. Well, after some googling I thought that maybe I had a prolapsed hemorrhoid So I went to a hospital. Nope. Not a hemorrhoid It was a perianal abscess. Doctor recommended immediate surgery. I said no. I went to work the next day and left early. I went to a different hospital that was supposed to be covered under my insurance (though it tuned out not to be). The doctor did surgery that day. Under no anesthesia. The most painful thing I have experienced. I spoke to another doctor and he said that a foreign doctor would have given a local anesthetic... but this was Chinese style. Other than the pain from surgery I felt relief. I went back only to find out that I needed actual surgery with a hospital stay and all of that. I did that, and they put half of my body under. It was so weird being paralyzed from the chest down. And the surgery was okay... but so weird being conscious as they worked on me. The worst was when they cauterized my ass and I could smell the burning flesh.

It was interesting. I think 'Scrubs' really helped me out. I know that so many people are self conscious and grossed out and embarrassed in a hospital situation. But I had no problem baring it all to whomever was around. Same with all of the other things that had to be done to me in the general region. Some things were pretty gross... but doctors and nurses see hundreds of people and have to do those procedures to many people... so might as well make it easy for them by not making It a big deal. The only really funny part was when they tried to hook me up to the EKG for my heart rate. I do not think the tech had ever seen or worked on someone as hairy as me. So it was hard for me to keep a straight face and not laugh as she tried to hook me up.

I finished my one picture a day video. I finished it on January 1^st. But of course I did not post it. But I am posting the you tube links here. So click on the embedded link 1 second per picture or 2 seconds per picture.

I have so many pictures to share too. Everything form my end of time in Korea till my current time in China. Literally thousands of pictures. I will eventually try to go though a put together a small album. But really, my photo a day really captured a lot.

I know of course there is much more to say... but one of the reasons I never post is that when I start writing something... I decide there is more to say, so I never post what I was going to say. This condensed version is only a single snapshot of life. So many things not said. Pretty much only things that were on my mind as I type. I know I did not even get into living in the political state of China... but that may be for a later time.

So far in China, I have seen a lot, done a lot, ate a lot, and expereinced a lot. I really enjoy my life here, so I'll be here for at least one more year. But after that... who knows.

Video

1 second a day

2 seconds a day