Moving to China

Well, I'm moving to China in February to continue teaching. I will be teaching at a vocational college in Fujian province near Xiamen. I thought about what I could do instead of blogging and I thought about making short videos. However, I don't want to spend money on a camcorder right now and instead I have decided I will just post photos on my new blog. Minimal text, maximum photos. The writing I will concentrate on will be to document the city I am going to as there are relatively few expats there. I'd like to make life a little bit easier for anyone who follows my footsteps so I will concentrate my writing on getting around the city. So far, I haven't found a single blog from an expat in the city I am moving too. I have found a website from an expat in the city but it's technically not a blog.

Where am I going? Zhangzhou Fujian Province, China.

Zhangzhou is what expats in China refer to as "the real China". Meaning it's not Beijing, Shanghai, or Hong Kong. It's not a gateway into China, it IS China.

My blog is empty right now but I plan on updating at least as often as this one. Like I said, it will be mainly photos of Zhangzhou and the surrounding cities.

Looking for a little adventure in China

The end

Well, this is it, my last post in Korea. I have said my last goodbyes. One student jokingly asked me to take him back to America with me. Another student told me to go back to America get my family and bring them back to Korea so I would stay here. That one actually hurt considering the student wasn't joking. That one is going to leave a scar. But don't worry, I bought all my students ice cream for our last class together. I've been taking pictures like crazy of everything I can think of to hold onto the memories a little better. I leave the land of the morning calm on October 17.

Looking back on the past year I would have to say this is by far the coolest thing I have ever done in my entire life. I moved halfway around the world to live and work in another country for an entire year. I had good times and bad, but I have definitely gained valuable knowledge and experience during my time here. I am going to miss Korea so much, even the bad things. I have no plans to return here for work, but I would not rule anything out. I will however return to visit some day, how could I not?

I don't know if I will continue blogging or not, my next stop China is notorious for blog censorship and I don't know if it will be worth the hassle of updating. I may feel differently once I get there but we will have to see.

The best thing about moving here is being challenged every day in even the simplest tasks. Ordering food, getting from point A to point B, even crossing the street can be a challenge in this country, and I think I'm going to miss that. Korea is the land of contradiction, incredible kindness exists right next to incredible rudeness. I don't know what else to say, I am going to miss this place.

I have posted this video before but I will post it again because it's just so damn cool.

Free Hugs in KOREA

---
The ending Korean comments mean this:
Free Hugs
In this place, there is love
In this place, there are smiles and happiness
To find this place, you need not money
You just need a little courage
Stop. Look around and see your friends and family
And share the love
---

My next stop is a return home to America for a few months to recharge my batteries, then it's off to China for another year of adventure!

Bike ride downtown Chengdu China





So long...

Just counting down the days

I'm still here, just been counting down the days. I have lost interest in blogging. I'm just waiting to leave.

I've been researching Chinese cities for weeks now and I've got it narrowed down to 2 cities I'd like to live in. What are they? I'm not going to tell. Will I have a blog while I'm in China? I don't know. If I do, I'll link to it here.

Anyway, if you'd like to read something interesting try this:

A brief history of scapegoating English teachers in Korea

It's anything but brief very comprehensive and probably not all that interesting if you don't live here. Enjoy!

Korea vs. China

Well, I guess it's time to discuss the differences I saw in China vs Korea. For the past 2 months or so I've been trying to decide what to do when I'm finished here in Korea. I've thought about staying in Korea. I would move to Seoul and study the Korean language at a university, another option would be to move to Taiwan. Another, move to China, or I could just stay in America. I didn't really consider moving to Japan I'm afraid it will be too similar to Korea.

Right now the option I'm leaning towards the most is going to China. I've always been interested in Chinese history and it would be a good opportunity to learn a useful language.

Now, let's talk about the differences between Korea and China.

I find living in Korea to be extremely suffocating. By that I mean I can't be myself without feeling more like an alien than I already do. If I try to conform and act like a local I can't be myself and I feel very unhappy. To put it simply I don't like living here.

I'm struggling to write this because if I'm going to be totally honest I'm going to sound like I'm stereotyping an entire culture. So, let me put in the obligatory disclaimer:

Not all Koreans act this way, there are some who act completely different from what I'm about to say. (There done).

You can see it when you turn on the TV, it's all the same. The mannerisms, the body language, the facial expressions. There seems to be a very limited range of accepted ways to express yourself. While I do find it cute at times, it's really not something I can adapt into. No matter how much I want too, I could never really act like a Korean. And that means I will always be an alien. Being an alien is fine for a while, I lasted about 6 months before it really started to bug me. After some time it really starts to wear you down. For example, the accepted way to express embarrassment in public is to laugh. Now, while people in the west will sometimes deal with embarrassment in this manner, not everyone does it, and not all the time. Another example, do not show anger in public, especially at work. This is a big no no, do not get angry at work, ever. So, as you can see the range of acceptable self-expression is shrinking example by example. I will stop here.

I spent less than a week in China, but I spent almost the entire time with local Chinese and I spent a great deal of time studying my surroundings. I noticed the difference immediately upon my arrival in China. China is more like the west, you need to be careful. Korea is like a safe little fantasy land where nothing bad outside of work ever happens. In China people will do whatever they can to get your money.

Socially all you need to do is visit a restaurant to see the differences. My first night there I went to a restaurant and looking around I see people smiling and laughing but in ways that Koreans never would. It's hard to explain because I can't really describe the body language. But they weren't robots or statues, they didn't care what people thought about them, they were themselves. You don't need to wait for the eldest to start eating first, or if you are the youngest you don't need to hand chopsticks to your elders, none of that crap. I didn't feel like I was under a microscope all the time, I could actually be myself. I did get my share of hostile stares but thats common anywhere you travel.

I also found that in many ways living in China would be much more challenging. There are poor people everywhere, street kids (who will pick your pocket), and I found the general feel of the people to be more sad than here in Korea. I think thats one of the main reasons I want to live there, for the challenge. It feels like a real place, not a fantasy land.

To summarize in Korea I cannot be myself, in China I can. Living in China is a challenge, living in Korea is a break from reality.

I think I will move to China next.

Interesting article

UN Concern at ‘Ethnocentric’ Korea

...and then Sun walked in

For the past two weeks whenever I'm outside walking I keep thinking I see this girl Sun I used to know. She had a magical laugh and the gentlest touch. Silky long black hair and beautiful eyes, she was perfect.

Today I was eating at some random Japanese/Korean fusion place for dinner, minding my own business when it happened. Sun walked in. Sun was the first and only girl I fell deeply in love with during my time here. She was perfect in my eyes. I haven't seen her in 5 months. One day she called me and told me she is too busy to hang out anymore, and that was that. I saw her a few times in school (she teaches math), but never outside of school until one day I heard she quit the school.

Turns out she quit the school for a couple months to just relax, but now she is back working at my school on the 3rd floor (I'm on the 5th). I hope I'll be able to see her a few more times before it's time for me to leave.

Shanghai part 8

I'm sick again. I lost count how many times I've been sick, maybe the 7th or 8th cold since I've been here.

Anyway, lets finish this story...

The night before H.L. had given me some locations to visit, and an estimate of how much it would cost to get there by taxi. So, off I went. My first location was Jingan Temple . I didn't take any photos inside the temple as it is an active temple and I didn't want to be rude. So, I just walked around and explored for a while.

After leaving the temple I walked around the area surrounding the temple and took these photos.









First video. This is the area around the temple, unfortunately for you I can't give you the full experience of being there.


The nearby park. You can hear the bugs in the trees making all their lovely noise.


I didn't put a lot of effort into this post as I really just want to finish this story and I have a cold so I'm not feeling well. I will be back shortly to talk about the differences I saw in China compared to Korea.

The End.

Going away party, and Shanghai part 7

Before we continue with this story let me first talk about my co-worker S. S. was here about 2 months before I got here. He showed me around and introduced me to all kinds of people. I went to his going away party last night at a bar here in Suwon, a ton of people showed up it was kinda surprising. I didn't stay long because I had a cold but it was nice to see him one last time before his 2 month adventure in Thailand, Cambodia, and Vietnam.

Now that he is safely out of the country I think it's time to share a few stories about him. I will however, keep the juiciest stories to myself.

When I first met S. I liked him, then I didn't like him, then I liked him again. It's much like the country itself, first I liked it, then I didn't, then I did, and now I don't. Everything here comes in waves.

The event that caused me to stop hanging out with him on a regular basis was a going away party for a married couple that lived in our building. The party ended up being a mess and really was the turning point for me as far as Korea. One guy was standing in the hallway challenging a Korean man to a fist fight who was threatening to call the cops because the party was too loud. Simultaneously 10 feet away this nut case from South Africa was literally begging this poor girl from Canada to have sex with him. The nut case simply would NOT take no for an answer, and the girl was completely terrified of him. The funny thing is S. was completely cool this entire time, but it was through him that I met these other people so I lumped him in their group.

To his credit he has changed so much since I first met him. He isn't nearly as impulsive as he used to be. But I've always been afraid every time I go somewhere with him that he will end up hurting himself or getting arrested.

One time I got a frantic text message from him begging me to come to this bar down the street. I didn't go and I'm glad I didn't. When the night ended that crazy freaking guy from South Africa had convinced S. to strip completely naked (in the middle of winter) walk out onto a FROZEN LAKE and try to break the ice to go swimming.

There was however, one event within the last 2 months that changed my whole outlook on S. I'm afraid I cannot speak about that now as it involves another co-worker of mine. But needless to say after that I started to enjoy his company again.

As I was sitting there at the bar surrounded by more non-Koreans then I've seen in 10 months it hit me...I leave in 2 months, I'M SO EXCITED.

So long S. it was a great year, thank you for showing me around and remember what I told you at the bar last night "stay safe". (By the way S. doesn't read this, but I'm just so damn sentimental I had to write something).


Here is a picture of S. I took in November of last year. S. myself and a good Korean friend of ours were in Insadong at the time. This is my favorite photo I have taken so far in Korea.


So long buddy.

----------------------

And now, on with story.


H.L. and I ordered some food in the Italian restaurant and talked for a while. The restaurant was full of young people most of whom were just sitting there reading or sending text messages on their cellphones. H.L. explained to me that there really wasn't anywhere for them to go, it's super hot outside, no school, so most of them were just waiting for the hot part of the day to pass just like we were.

Anyway after we finished our food we started talking. Somehow we started talking about money and who would pay when we got side tracked to what had happened the night before with her friend CiCi and all hell broke lose. She started crying and talking about Ally and how I had asked to see her because I was lonely. Which really confused me considering we had already talked about this and agreed to be friends, shes very busy with University and I'm leaving Korea in 2 months where she is a University student. I was feeling like a complete jerk the entire time, and I really didn't know what to do with this girl. I think all the beggers and getting ripped off by the taxi driver and getting all this attention from women because of money boiled over and I started to get really pissed at her. I said some pretty bad things and she just cried some more. Mean while one of the waitresses keeps giving me shy smiles and giggles which was extremely distracting. She eventually stopped when the crying got too loud which I was thankful for.

After a while (I'm not sure how long) we managed to resolve the issue. But we were still pretty upset. We finally left and decided to go to a huge bookstore down the street. It had like 15 floors of books.

I parked myself in the English section and started to read while H.L. wandered off to find some books. We spent another hour there most of the time separated from each other.

By now it was getting dark so we headed back to The Bund but on the opposite river bank from the previous night with CiCi. Here are the photos.













After taking pictures we headed off to Nanjing road. Nanjing road reminded me of Korea really. A big street with no cars (for part of the street) lots of neon signs and lots of people. Here are the pictures.



This is actually like a typical street in Korea, except I think I prefer the ones in Korea. They have more neon and I can actually read Korean.






This is where Superman goes shopping.




After walking around we headed back home on the subway. The next day's plan was for me to spend an entire day in Shanghai solo...which will probably be the most boring post but I have 2 short videos.

End part 7 (one more to go).