Shanghai part 6

The next day I met H.L. outside my hotel at about 11am. This day was the hottest so far. We caught a bus and headed to the Shanghai Museum. I could already tell that H.L. was still very upset about what had happened the night before as she was barely speaking to me. I did my best to cheer her up and lighten the mood. When we got to the museum she informed me she didn't want to go inside, instead she wanted to go shopping by herself.

"I will meet you back here in 4 hours", she said.

"But it's only going to take about 2 hours to see everything in the Museum, I really don't want to wait here for 4 hours". What is with her and waiting?

We got into another argument involving money (this was one of the biggest turn offs for me, she always talks about money). Finally after 15 minutes of arguing (I'm not exaggerating) she agreed to go with me to the museum.

When we got there we had just started looking at some Bronze pieces from the Shang and Zhou Dynasties when she informed me she would sit on a bench and wait for me. She was still upset and obviously didn't really want to be my guide anymore. So, for an hour and a half I ended up wandering the Museum and taking photos. My favorite part was the exhibit on official seals of the different dynasties. There were also exhibits on painting, furniture, money, and more.

















And the view outside the Museum.




After leaving the museum we went to another shopping area to look for cheap gifts for our friends. We then headed to the other side of The Bund but it was still light out so I didn't bother taking any pictures. H.L. knew of a great Italian restaurant so we headed there to eat and pass away the hottest part of the day. And this is where all the frustration we both had boiled over into anger and tears.

End part 6.

Shanghai part 5

After leaving the garden we went to an underground shopping area near a subway station. This is where things start to go bad. By now the sting of paying too much for a taxi is starting to take its toll and my mood turns foul. I start to lose interest in my surroundings and I brood on what transpired the night before. H.L. takes note of my mood and tries her best to cheer me up. As we are walking around the shopping area an idea comes into my head. "Boy I sure would like to see Ally again", I think to myself. Maybe I can convince H.L. to give her a call and the three of us can hang out later tonight, that would cheer me up. H.L. wouldn't mind, right? Wrong. At first she seems fine with the idea and we start looking for a pay phone, after talking to Ally for 5 minutes she turns to me and tells me Ally will meet me at 7pm at the Aquarium. "Well, what about you?" I ask.

"I won't be going", she says.

"Why not, Ally barely speaks English I thought the three of us could hang out again like last night".

Now, let me explain that I didn't have the best intentions when it came to Ally BUT, they weren't as bad as you think either. I just wanted to get to know her better. After all I might be moving to China in a few months and it would be great to have a friend when I got there. H.L. wasn't buying it.

"I don't want to go, you two go by yourselves, she'll meet you at 7pm."

"OK, but it's only 1pm, what am I supposed to do until then?"

"Just wait for her by yourself."

(*gulp* I'm in deep now).

"Well, 7pm is too late, can she meet US earlier?"

"No, she works today, she can meet YOU at 7pm."

"Well I don't want to sit there waiting for her for 6 hours by myself, tell her it's too late".

"But I want to go shopping by myself, go and wait for her".

(*sigh* You won ok? Just let it go).

"Ok, I'm not going to wait for her for 6 hours, let's go do some more shopping get some food and talk for a bit ok?"

"Ok, I have another friend CiCi that we can meet, she is one of my best friends. I'll call her".

"Ok, cool".

And that was that. We did some shopping, walked around, and took some photos. (Story continues below).









Why are any and less capitalized? China has the same problems with English that Korea does. I think it's cute, H.L. thought it was embarrassing. She tried to cover my camera but I managed to get the shot anyway.



We did a little grocery shopping comparing prices for items in China, with Korea and America. China always won the price war. I bought some iced coffee which turned out to be a mistake. I ended up spilling it on my white shirt. I went to the bathroom to try to clean it off but it was still noticeable. So much for impressing H.L.'s friend CiCi. This turned my mood even darker, by now I was barely speaking to H.L.

We met CiCi a few hours later and she turned out to be very good at English and incredibly sweet. It was however, too late to change my mood, my mind was made up at this point I really hated this trip. I tried my best to converse with CiCi but it seemed H.L. was doing her best to keep the conversation in Chinese and keep me out of it. I finally managed to get in the conversation but I was unable to avoid the 3-T's trap. As a visitor in China it's wise to avoid the topic of the 3-T's, Taiwan, Tibet, and Tiananmen. After just a few minutes I was in way over my head with both of them teaming up on me (do NOT talk politics in China). I did the only thing I could. I gave up the argument and the conversation stopped. By now H.L. was absolutely furious with me and refused to change the conversation back to English. I was also pretty mad. I asked them if they were going to pay for themselves as I sure as hell wasn't going to be anyone's sugar daddy. They agreed to go Dutch but H.L. was absolutely livid. I sat quietly and ate my food. I won't be asking to see CiCi again thats for sure.

After eating they did some more shopping and then we headed to The Bund for some pictures. As we were walking CiCi turned to me and asked me if I would wait here while they go and get some drinks. I figured they just didn't want to be anywhere near me and prepared myself for being abandoned. I had the address to my hotel so I wasn't too worried, just really upset. After what seemed like an eternity they came back and offered me some coffee. They apologized for the argument earlier and told me they were my friends and the coffee is a gift (a small gift of coffee from someone in a 3rd world country means more than a brand new car). Somehow I managed to spill the coffee for the 2nd time that day. I felt terrible and offered to pay them back but they refused. We walked around and took some pictures.











After spilling the coffee the flood gates opened and I started talking about my bad day. They listened patiently and offered advice and encouragement. I started to feel much better. A little bit later we decided to call it a night and left The Bund. I bid farewell to CiCi, apologizing for my behavior and wishing her a good night. H.L. and I took the subway home barely speaking to each other.

End part 5.

Shanghai Part 4

After wandering around the touristy place for a while we found the entrance to the garden. Being a local H.L. never really had the chance to visit any tourist sites, they are generally priced for the rich tourists and she had more important things to worry about than visiting some garden. As far as I could tell, she was the only Chinese person there. I saw many Europeans, some Japanese, and even a couple Korean girls, this was her first time in the garden.

















*waves*















This picture is for Josh.

















Well, that's it for the garden photos. I will post part 1 of the bund photos, and the museum photos tomorrow. When I am all finished I shall post my thoughts on the differences between Chinese and Korean culture from a foreigner's perspective.

Shanghai part 3

Before continuing with the story, here is the lovely view outside my hotel room.



Anyway, I met H.L. outside my hotel and we went to Yuyuan Garden. It was hidden inside a very touristy place with plenty of overpriced souvenirs. When we got there H.L. warned me, "Watch your wallet". This became a commonly used phrase whenever we went to the subway, bus stop, or large crowed. Pickpocketing is big business.

Here are some photos of the area around Yuyuan Garden.



















Tomorrow I'll post pictures from inside the garden, The Bund photos part 1, and perhaps the Shanghai Museum pictures.

Shanghai part 2

So, to clarify about the taxi ride. I paid 715 yuan which is about $94. I should have paid about 76 yuan which is about $10. Now you can understand why I was so freaking pissed.

Before I continue I should probably tell you a little bit about my friend H.L. I met her about 4 months ago here in Korea. She had just recently arrived here to attend University. I met her online and we hung out about once a week. She was in Shanghai for summer break and suggested I go there for my vacation. She's a good friend but I don't really think of her as anything other than a friend. This would cause some friction a little later during our trip.

Anyway, on with the story.

Lets pick up the story during my first night there. After the taxi ride and dropping my stuff off in the hotel, I went with H.L. and her friend Ally to a nearby restaurant. I found Ally to be a really cool girl, even though she had just started learning English 3 months prior. I tried to talk to her as much as I could to help her practice and get to know her better. Ally was very friendly and flirtatious, completely different from the many Korean girls I had met before. However, after a bit I noticed my friend H.L. was starting to get a bit upset so I just concentrated on my food and let the two of them chat for a bit. After finishing I made plans to meet H.L. the next day about 11am for a day of site seeing. We left the restaurant and went our separate ways.

The next day I went downstairs a bit early to walk around, take some photos and get something to drink. The first thing I noticed when I went outside was the sweltering heat. It was a completely different sort of heat than what I was used too. Coming from Arizona I'm used to very high temperatures and very low humidity. This heat had a very high temperature and very high humidity. I began to sweat immediately. Here are some photos of the area around my hotel.

The entrance to my hotel is right next to the man standing on the left, looking in the opposite direction. On the right is some sort of bus station. It LOOKS like Korea, but my god it feels COMPLETELY different.




This next picture is from the hotel entrance looking to the right across the street. While the building looks run down, based on what I saw in other parts of Shanghai I would say this building isn't too bad. I did see some third world slums but I did not take any pictures of them for several reasons.



This picture also looks a lot like Korea. However, what you don't notice is the deafening sound of the insects in the trees, the pollution, and the raw sewage smell. It's not a pleasant place.



Same street different direction. I love the clothes hanging outside the windows.



I have to apologize for my pictures. I have really lost my creativity when it comes to photography. These days when I take photos I try to not focus on a subject, rather I want to get a general feeling for the area that I am in. I want to take people who see my photos to the place I am at. So I try to just take general photos of an area which will hopefully give you some idea of the surroundings. The only problem with this is the photos tend to be general boring, and you can only experience the visuals, no smells, sounds, or physical feelings. I did take some short videos, but they didn't turn out very well, one of them you can hear the sound of the insects in the trees, but its a little muffled and doesn't really give the full experience of the sound.

With that said, as you view my photos of Shanghai (minus the museum photos) I want you to imagine the smells of raw sewage, car and factory pollution, noise pollution from cars, insects, people, and construction, and a broiling heat that quickly overwhelms you. Enjoy.

End part 2. More story, photos, and videos coming shortly.

Shanghai part 1

Okay, so I got back from Shanghai yesterday and it was quite an experience. I didn't go by myself. My friend H.L. a Chinese student studying in Korea agreed to be my guide. She made sure I had the address to the hotel and some phone numbers incase I needed some help. Overall I'm very glad I went, but I had some major problems and a pretty bad case of culture shock as you will soon find out. If anything, my experience has made me want to live in China even more, as I know it will be challenging in ways that Korea never was.

I made it to Shanghai with no problems. As soon as I got to the airport I called my friend to let her know I was there. She instructed me to get a taxi and call her as soon as I got to my destination. I bought some water before leaving the airport and headed out to find a taxi.

After living in Korea for over 9 months, I was feeling very confident and safe. Nothing seriously bad has happened to me in all this time in Korea. No violence, nothing stolen etc. Korea has really been kind to me in that regard (non-work related). When I first came to Korea I was paranoid about crime thanks to the American media and there was NO WAY anyone would get the better of me. Living for so long in the Land of the Morning Calm, I was lulled into a relaxing sense of safety. The worst that could happen to me is people staring, yelling "hello", or the occasional bump with no apologies.

China isn't Korea.

As soon as I walked outside a man came up to me and asked if I was looking for a taxi. "Yes", I said.

"Great, good I'm a taxi driver follow me".

"Where are we going?", I asked.

"Get a taxi".

Hmm I thought. Why can't we take one of these? There are about 4 just sitting here. But I decided to be adventurous and follow him. After all nothing bad ever happened to me in Korea.

We started walking into a car garage and I figured it was either because he would try to mug me, which I felt was unlikely this close to an airport, or his taxi was parked in the garage. I promised myself I wouldn't get into his taxi if it wasn't clearly marked, oldest trick in the book. Also, with 2 years studying Wing Chun under my belt a little violence with no weapons really didn't concern me too much. (On the other hand, with a weapon I would have been putty in his hands).

Anyway, he turns around to me and says "Are you American?".

"Yeah I'm from America, from Arizona". (You'd think a red flag but *EVERYONE* asks this question).

"Ah great, China America friends!", he exclaims happily.

I nodded in agreement and laughed with him.

We finally got to the domestic terminal and I started wondering why we walked from the international terminal to the domestic terminal. I started to get nervous and I asked him "How far is it to the hotel?".

"I'm not sure".

"Ok, how much does a taxi cost".

"We will talk to the driver". (Should have been another red flag but I was too damn tired).

We got into a taxi and the man talked to the driver for a bit in Chinese, I showed him the address again and they talked some more in Chinese. The driver seemed to argue a bit with the other guy. Finally they stopped the car on the highway just outside of the airport. The first guy turns to me and says, "Ok, it will cost you 11 yuan for every kilometer. It's 66 kilometers to the hotel, so the total is 715 yuan".

Hmm, 11 times 66 doesn't equal 715, but the error is in my favor and bartering is ok here. I couldn't remember the exchange rate and I forgot what the maximum I should pay for a taxi was. I had a feeling he was ripping me off but the car was stopped in the middle of a busy highway, there was two of them, I was tired, hungry, and didn't know the exchange rate, they had me and I knew it.

"Ok", I said.

"Good, give me the money, quick, do you want a receipt?"

"Yeah, sure".

I gave him the money, he gave it to the taxi driver, the driver gave some money back to the first man. He turns to me again, "Uh, 200 yuan more for highway".

"What?"

"200 yuan, for highway". Um, highway robbery maybe?

"No."

"For highway, fast".

"*NO*."

"Ok, he will take you to the hotel". He gave me a fake receipt, then got out of the car and walked away. The driver began to drive at break neck speed.

Damn it, I just fell for a scam hook line and sinker. I was pissed and it almost ruined my entire trip.

30 minutes later after the wildest car ride I've ever had, almost dying 3 times, I made it to the hotel where I met my friend H.L. and her other friend Ally (her Chinese name is unpronounceable unless you practice it) and I told them the story. They felt pretty bad for me and helped me into my hotel room. We then went out for some dinner, talked a bit, and called it a night.

End part 1.

No pictures for part 1, but more pictures for part 2 and 2 short videos.

Off to Shanghai

Off to the inferno known as Shanghai, be back in a couple of days.

It just keeps coming

Why don't they just kick us out already?

Foreigners Face Restricted Banking

The job makes or breaks the experience

So basically for me it all boiled down to the job. When the job started to suck, I started to become very unhappy with my situation. If my job situation had been better, I probably would not be so unhappy. I was planning on staying another year and studying Korean at a university here, but whats the use? When you start to become unhappy with a situation, you leave the situation, unless the benefits of staying outweigh the costs. The benefit of staying in Korea is the ability to save money. Considering I didn't come here for that purpose, staying here is now pointless.

I tried to find interests in other areas, culture, history, language etc. I went to museums and historical sites, but I found them to be rather small, lacking, and uninteresting. I have found Korean tv to be very entertaining but English subtitles are hard to find. I haven't been particularly enchanted with Korean history like I was with Chinese history, which I studied briefly at my university. No matter how hard I try I just cannot find the motivation to study the language. And it's all because of the job.

In other news, my camera broke and I need to buy a new one for my trip to Shanghai next week.

Anti-Foreign Sentiment Scares Away International Investors

Another example of whats been bothering me about this country.

Anti-Foreign Sentiment Scares Away International Investors

"He noted that the best negative example is regulators' probe of the legitimacy of Lone Star's takeover of the Korea Exchange Bank (KEB) in 2003. ``Through this incident, the international community thinks Koreans believe that non-Koreans making money in Korea is like committing a crime, which drives away potential foreign investors.''"

This comes directly from a Korean newspaper no less.

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

In other news, I read this nice little quote from one of my elementary student's journal.

"But (name left blank) is ugly. She is from china. Chinese are ugly. But we are pretty..."

Just an elementary school student, they start them young here.

Good example of why I'm leaving

Teacher sent to prison

Here is a perfect example of why I am leaving. This is a Canadian teacher who had a fake diploma, got caught, and is now going to spend 6 months in prison. Should he be deported? Absolutely. Should he be banned from ever coming back to this country? Absolutely. Should he be fined an obscene amount of money? Absolutely.

Should he spend 6 months in prison? No, just execute him instead for being a foreigner. He probably had sex with Korean women too.

Nationalism starts young here. I was going over a geography unit with my elementary students, and we were talking about countries, and one of my students asked me where Korea was. So I showed them where it was, a few seconds of shocked silence then students started yelling at me "why is Korea so small!" "where is jeju-do!" "Where is dokdo!" Then I made the mistake of saying, "Well, actually you need to cut this little square in half because the top half is North Korea", big mistake. Anyway, my point is, it's not fun living in a country that has an intense love/hate relationship with you.

In other news, I will be going to Shanghai at the end of the month with my friend, shes going to show me around her city. I'm trying to decide if I want to go to Beijing, Shanghai or Taipei next year.

Only a few more months

Three and a half months left, I'm so excited. My plans have been changing week by week, but right now my current plan is to go home in October, stay there for a month or two, then go to Taiwan and continue teaching. I'm not quite done teaching and traveling, but I am quite finished with Korea.

I enjoyed the first 4 months, but it went downhill after that. While on the surface I find this is a good place to live, if you scratch below the surface things aren't so nice. I have a good friend from China who is routinely subjected to racism, it's pretty depressing. I keep seeing these "news" reports on the evil foreign English teachers and how we are corrupting this society. Every time I go anywhere with an Asian girl I get stared at, she gets stared at, and it's just not fun. I even had this one teacher I work with follow me to a restaurant where I was meeting this girl we both know, the guy walked by the window with his arms crossed (very aggressive posture) staring into the restaurant trying to see who I was having dinner with. This same guy demanded all the female teachers at our school get into his car and all the male teachers get into another car, after all he must protect the women from us foreigners, right? I got turned down for a date once because, "someone might see us". Someone might see this Korean girl with a foreigner and assume shes a "bad girl". And I thought I heard them all. I can't even go get a new cell phone. I have to get a used cell phone because they don't give new ones without signing a contract and I'm a foreigner so I can't sign one.

I'm not even going to talk about what people from poor countries go through, I get it easy because I'm from a rich country...sigh.

Anyway, I'm going to have to start taking more pictures, I only have three months left.

So, what have I been doing lately?

Not much. I've learned I really don't like teaching middle school students, they are too moody. Elementary school students can be a handful, but they never really get hostile, they might get upset but I haven't met one that got really hostile. Teaching middle school students is like walking through a minefield.

I will probably only teach for one more year. It's just not something I want to do long term. I would like to try to find another job in Korea that doesn't involve teaching. We'll see how that goes. I will move to Seoul in October and see how things turn out for me there. But I am going to give this country at least one more year before moving on. If things just don't work out then I will go somewhere else.

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I guess I'm just not much of a blogger. Haven't really felt the desire to post anything.