Oh my goodness...

Things are very busy here.  I'm in training for some management software at school all weekend, and I've been spinning my wheels on getting some lessons together.  It's been too long since I had to do lesson planning, and I don't really know where to start.  Everyone is really helpful, though, and supportive.

I really lucked out with the group of co-workers here.  There are two other single guys, four or five single women, and three couples.  All of them have an incredible amount of experience and hearing their stories is sometimes overwhelming.  Very interesting people, and I can at least get along with all of them.  Also, the director of the school is an amazing person.  He's been all over the world, and had some crazy experiences that he loves telling all of us about.  He's also the most upbeat and interested person I've ever met.  If I had to deal with half the headaches he does, I don't know if I could keep it together.

Then there's the local staff: a whole army of young Chinese women that work ridiculous hours trying to keep things running, ordering supplies, cleaning the school, etc.  They all have funny english names: my favorite is Sherman, a tiny young woman who runs the front desk.  I call her "the tank"

I started writing this entry a week ago, and got bogged down with trying to do some of my real work.  I've made it through the first full week of school!  With five different classes to prepare for, I'm barely keeping my head above water.  But, the kids are mostly great.  I just have to learn how to keep up with them.

We invited teachers from another startup school in nearby Nansha for a school tour and dinner.  This was actually the first school that I interviewed for back in February.  Now, I'm kind of glad I didn't get that job.  They're out in the middle of the wilderness, a 30 minute bike ride from the nearest shops, and it's a boarding school, so they have babysitting responsibilities as well as teaching.  The one nice thing is that they only have 9th grade to start.  That would definitely make my life much easier.  Anyway, they were very nice, and I'm sure we'll get together again.

The apartment's coming together, sort of.  I am writing this from my couch on a wireless keyboard, with the computer displayed on my ridiculous tv.  I checked my email in 3D this morning, just because I can.  The bed's still a big issue, so hard I might as well sleep on the floor.  I developed some pretty serious back pain earlier this week, which turned into a good excuse to get a massage.  That helped, but I don't think the Chinese are used to working on people with body hair. I'll have to ask her to use more oil next time; my legs and stomach got plucked, and feel like they've been rug-burned.

I should really be doing schoolwork right now, but I can't get into the right mode.  No video this time, but here are some pictures:

First some funny signs from my apartment complex (they're a little hard to read):

Don't Paly with Water

Grass are sleeping.  Leave them alone!

Bullish on pets

Mr. Jon's classroom

I had to try the spicy duck neck, but it's gross: all bones!

Coolest cups ever.  They read "Diversified blue genius offers you boundless drems and wishes".  It's my new motto.

One of the girls trying out her new oven by baking a carrot cake.

The bathroom at school: Man

Haven't got the courage to sample the wild Jew's ear fungus yet

Hi Everyone,
Welcome to my blog.  I'm starting this off with a video tour of my crazy apartment.  I got in on Wednesday night after a mad dash to Chicago to pick up my visa on Monday afternoon.  I had somehow mixed up the days, and thought I didn't leave until Wednesday!  Luckily, everything came together in time, and after having a few days with Mom, Rose, and friends in Michigan, I got on the plane in Kalamazoo.  The flight from Detroit to Hong Kong was uneventful, and arrived around 7PM on Wednesday.  I met one of my fellow teachers who had been on the same flight, and we got through customs and were picked up by a local driver.  We cleared immigration from Hong Kong coming into China proper, and took a long ride in to Dongguan.  After dropping off the other teacher, we reached my apartment building, where I was greeted by the school's director and about 8 of the local support staff.  They insisted on carrying my luggage, and handed me a huge bouquet.  We took an elevator up to the 6th floor, and stepped into apartment 6D, where I was given a tour much like the one in the following video.





So, I have a nice place to hang my hat, and it's starting to feel comfortable, rather than just weird.

Dongguan as a city is strange.  There are so many people everywhere you go here that it can be overwhelming sometimes just to go to the store. There's a shopping center on every block, filled with tiny stores that sell what seems to me to be random things (there's one place that just had sandals and umbrellas).  There are lots of western stores and restaurants: McDonald's is right outside of my apartment complex, as is a Starbucks, and there are two Walmarts within walking distance.

It took me a few days to get oriented and start figuring out where I am, what direction I'm walking in, etc.  It didn't help that I was without internet for two whole days.  That made me feel like I was in the dark, so on Friday I took advantage of the fact that I can't seem to sleep past 4am and devoted a couple of hours to figuring our how to get my computer online with the f'd up modem in the apartment.  It was a great relief to finally get online and feel connected again.  I've Skyped with a college friend and both parents; very nice to see familiar faces and hear familiar voices.  Also, I've been working on figuring out where I am in Dongguan by trying to place things I know on Google maps.  This and my morning runs around the neighborhood are giving me a sense of familiarity, at least with my immediate surroundings.  Once the Chinese guy at the phone store figures out how to get my 3G and GPS working, I'll be navigating and tagging like a champ.

It' s Monday morning as I write this (still having trouble sleeping past 4am).  We've got a busy week of planning at school ahead of us.  I just got the calculator order in, and we'll be getting our new Macbooks today or tomorrow (the school is very free with their money, and seems happy to provide us with just about anything we ask for).  Sometime this morning, a few of us have to go and present ourselves at the local police station (just showing up to prove we actually exist), which should be the final step in getting a long-term visa that allows me multiple entries.  I'm going to get out and jog, and try to ignore all of the new smells and breathe the soupy air while dodging cars, dead rats, and piles of disturbing garbage.