New city, new job, new apartment, new attitude

my previous company, Xing Xing Animation in Beijing, made me a surprising offer. It came out of the blue. They wanted me to teach an advanced lighting class in their animation school. It seemed like a sweet deal and after working out a contract I moved back to Beijing. They will be a client or partner in the venture, rather than my employer. I think that's better because they can't boss me around.

so, for about a week now I've been settling into my new apartment. It's about 120 square meters (1300 sq. feet), 2 bedrooms and 2 bathrooms. Similar size and rent to my last apartment in Beijing, but brand new building, newer and nicer furniture and appliances. The landlord is also much nicer and more generous too. They supplied me with a lot of extras I have never had at other places. Everything is top quality, which is unusual for China. Most stuff looks good for a few weeks then quickly breaks or falls apart. Not in my apartment, though.

Oh, and the best part: THE HEATING ACTUALLY WORKS AND IS EFFICIENT AND WARM! Actually, it's hot water underfloor heating from a gas boiler. So very sophisticated and toasty.

Also, I've been going into my clients office and practising my teaching and developing courseware. I just bought a bunch of Computer Graphics (CG) books from Amazon and they will arrive shortly. The main challenge is to recruit students now because I don't make any money unless we have a class of 20 to 30 students. So I'm living off my savings again.

At night I've been rediscovering local restaurants and bars where I used to go. Sometimes I'll get a tip on a new place and go have a look. Tuya is supposed to be coming soon but won't have any school or work here. So boredom could be a problem.

In less than 10 days I need to go to the Chinese / Mongolian border to exit and re-enter for visa purposes. It's a big pain to have to do that every 30 days. But it's got to be done.

To Outer Mongolia and Back

Well, I'm back in Shanghai after a 3 week break.

First I went to Beijing by overnight sleeper train. The train was the brand new bullet train (D3, see photo)



which saves a couple of hours but costs extra. It cost me 700rmb versus the usual 470rmb. I really didn't need to save a couple of hours so I was a little disappointed that i couldn't get tickets on the slower, older train. You can pay half that price if you are willing to go "hard sleeper" on the slower train -- this is exactly what I did on my return journey. Slow but cheap and pretty much as comfortable. I don't think I will do "soft sleeper" again. It's just not worth it. Also, you meet more people when you do "hard sleeper". It's a much more social experience.

In Beijing, I stayed for 2 nights with an old co-worker from Canada, Sheldon, and visited some old co-workers from Xing Xing Animation where I worked before (see photo of Sheldon, Cindear, and me from 1 year ago company party).



We visited some bars we used to go to but they were all pretty much dead. My God, what happened to Beijing? It's so boring now. Well, it could have been dead because a lot of the foreigners who make Beijing a fun place go home for Christmas and New Year. I did bump into a couple of western friends at Rickshaw, a place I used to go fairly frequently.

On Saturday, I caught the early morning train from Beijing to Ulaanbaatar (UB) the capital of Outer Mongolia. It's supposed to take 30 hours but there was some drama when the trains engine caught fire. I was in car 3, near the front, and we were asked to evacuate to the back of the train until the crew got the fire under control. It was a Mongolian train and it was a bit scary to see all the cabin crews from all the cars running down the aisle with fire extinguishers. I wish I'd taken some photos. At any rate, the train was stuck for 6 hours in Northern China, without power or heat. However, it was only 4 hours late in UB because they got us a new train at the China/Mongolian border. Normally, they change the wheels at the border because the Chinese and Mongolian tracks are different widths, but they skipped this to try to save time.

It was interesting to feel the temperature plummet from Beijing's 0 degrees C to probably -30 degrees C in Mongolia. It's not like flying where you can step from tropical heat to sub-zero in an instant. You really feel the change when you are on the train. The train is mostly warm inside but at the windows and doors between cars you can feel the extreme cold sneaking in. Also, we had to go outside at night a couple of times to change trains and do immigration formalities. I don't know why but the Mongolian Immigration official was a real asshole. He complained about the people who needed visas because he had to get out of bed, I suppose. But we all explained the Mongolian embassy in Beijing was closed for 4 days over the New Year holiday so it was impossible to get a visa in Beijing in a timely manner. Then he overcharged me on my visa because I didn't have US dollars. Visa problems have become a real pain in my life these last few years. I think it's a total racket designed to rip-off as many foreigners as possible.

When we arrived at Ulaanbaatar (UB) around 5:20pm Tuya picked me up at the station. I had to wait outside for about 15 minutes before she arrived. The -25 degree C cold was a bit frightening at first but I got used to it pretty quickly. As long as you have appropriate clothing, especially a hat, glove and scarf for extremities and several layers for your body then it seems like you are good for an hour or two outside. (see photo of me in city centre) If you just go outside, jump in a taxi within a few minutes, then dash inside at your destination, then you can wear just about anything. I walked around at night in -30 degree C temperatures for up to an hour with no problems. The biggest danger seemed to be slipping on ice which accumulates and gets super hard. Fortunately, the air is dry and there was almost no wind while I was there, so that made it pretty comfortable. I imagine if the winds gets strong then you could be in serious trouble.



We stayed in Tuya's aunt's hotel. We had a deluxe room for the very reasonable price of US$30 per night. We had a lot of visitors because many of Tuya's extended family works in the hotel and a lot of her friends were home for the holidays. I really wanted to go out more and explore but there's not much to do in UB. The pubs were nice but close too early for my liking (11pm last call, 12am closed) and then there are the nightclubs which stay open until about 3am to 4am. My favourite nightclub was "Strings" because they had an awesome Phillipine house band and a great DJ too. Also, it was quite busy almost every night I went and had a good mixed crowd of locals and foreigners.



We visited a Chinggis Khan memorial while we were there (see photo). It's about 50km outside the city and I took some photos. It's pretty amazing to see it rising out of the grasslands. I really wanted to climb a small mountain outside the city or play in the snow but nobody else wanted to and I'd probably need to go on my own another time.




After 2 weeks I'd gotten my new Chinese visa and a cheap flight back to Beijing -- not much more expensive then the train (score!!!!). Again, I got a crappy overpriced visa from the Chinese immigration this time. Only 30 days and 1 entry and a ridiculous rush fee. God, it makes me angry. Such a rip-off. So I have to try to arrange another visa when I get back to Shanghai or I will need to get a 30-day extension in Shanghai. Which can be done twice but it's a pain and thoroughly inconvenient.

So, I said good-bye to Tuya and promised to meet again in Shanghai in about 2 weeks and flew back to Beijing on MIAT (Mongolian airline). I repeated my previous 2 night style stay in Beijing and got the night train back to Shanghai. This time for only 370rmb in hard sleeper class on the slow train.



Now, back in my freezing cold apartment -- because it doesn't have central heating -- I'm contemplating my work future. I have applied to a couple of CG companies but if nothing comes of that I'll try to get a better teaching job in Shanghai. Hopefully, I will know something in the next 2 or 3 weeks.

Lonely, I'm so lonely .......

Feeling a bit lonely these days :~(

Tuya went back to Mongolia almost 2 weeks ago. I've started to make some friends in Shanghai but a lot of them don't go out at all. Or they can never commit to going out again. People here seem very flaky when it comes arranging a meeting. So usually it doesn't happen.

Seems like many Chinese people are into work and family but not into social life. Or at least not into making new friends outside their immediate social circle.

Also, at my morning schools almost no teachers talk to me, so I don't even have much human contact there either. I'm stuck in an office with the art teachers who don't speak much English and I don't speak much Chinese.

So, I'm thinking of either learning Chinese next term or moving to a more sociable country. People were much more friendly in the Phillipines but with the catch of they are trying to rip you off in Manila. In Cebu, it was more of a genuine friendship without the ripping-you-off part.

Well, I'm heading to Beijing and Mongolia in about 2 weeks so I'll have time to figure out what to do with my life. I've had no luck landing a CG job in Shanghai or a better teaching job. I should be patient and keep trying though.

I think getting one more semester of teaching experience combined with one semester of Chinese at Tongji university might improve my life. I could stay busy studying Chinese and still keep my hand in as a teacher. Also, I think there could be great social possibilities as a student.

Latest from Shanghai

Things are much the same in Shanghai.

I'm teaching and starting to realise what I like and don't like. I don't like the travel. Not because I don't like travel, but I don't get paid for it. And travelling 3 hours to a school for 1 hour 10 minutes of paid work, just doesn't make sense. So I'm thinking of ways of minimizing the travel. I also prefer having a teacher's assistant in the class than not having one. Especially large classes. Who can watch 35 kids efficiently? Especially if they're naughty...

In 2 of my 4 schools, I don't have a teacher's assistant and I have to teach AND try to control the kids. That's a bit difficult at times and frustrating. Also, I'm not making any friends at that school. I'm in an office with art teachers who don't speak English and I don't speak Chinese. I wish they'd put me in the office with local English teachers.....

I'm discovering more of the city of Shanghai --- it's awesome!!!!! Especially pubs, clubs, shops and restaurants. Not so much of the tourist stuff, though. Blah! Who needs it! I've made some friends, especially at the Thursday Night Quiz at the British Bulldog pub in Hengshan Road. It's popular with foreigners and a good night out. I'm going there tonight. I'm a regular now. One of the photos is of the pool table at the Bulldog.

Tuya, my longtime on-off girlfriend, went back to Mongolia to visit her Mum who is visiting Mongolia from England. So I'm alone again which I don't like. I am hoping to go to Ulanbaatar in January after the school semester is over. It's going to be -40 degrees Celsius so that should be, uh, cool. I or we may go somewhere warm after that. I have 4 weeks off if I decide to teach in the Shanghai elementary school system next semester. I still haven't decided if I will. If I do it will be with a different timetable / schedule.

I'd really like a similar job with less travel, more money, or possibly a Computer Graphics job. They say money doesn't matter, but I'm afraid that's a lie and it does in my life, especially with my love of travel and Tuya's love of shoes.

Back to China -- this time Shanghai is my new home

Photos: (1) our flight from London to Shanghai on FinnAir (Finland's airline) who offered a super deal.
(2) Me relaxing in our hotel room, in between working and looking at apartments.
(3) Some of my kids that I teach English.

Well, in my last update Tuya and I were looking for work in London. We were interested in work almost anywhere. We didn't have any luck with jobs in London and the cost of staying in London was mounting up to a ridiculous level.

However, I did get some job offers to teach English in China and Korea. We were interested in Korea but it sounded like the time and expense of getting a visa would have caused a 2 month delay in England. You can't enter Korea on a tourist visa and convert it later. But in China you can go there on a tourist visa, start work and get a work or business visa while you work. So, Shanghai won the prize for my next place to live and work. Our plan was for me to work and Tuya study Chinese at a local university. Which is also an easy way to get a visa. She liked the idea because her best friend and some other friends live here already.

Now the Olympics are over, it seems like visa restrictions might be loosened up again. Probably after October 17th but nobody knows for sure. So, they would only give me a 90 day, single entry (60 day per entry) tourist visa which is pretty bogus. I asked for 6-month double-entry. I'm just hoping that I'll be able to get a work visa before the 60 days expires.

So, we flew to Shanghai and a few days later I was teaching in 4 different elementary / primary schools. The good part is that the pay (per hour) is quite good, but you don't get paid for breaks, holidays or travelling. A good part of my day is spent walking between schools and stations or sitting on the underground train. I don't mind because I'm losing some of the weight I gained eating rich English food and not exercising much in England. I reckon I walk for about 2 to 2 1/2 hours every day and sit on trains for about 1 1/2 hours. But it's relaxing commuting, at least, and quite healthy.

The school kids are really varied in their behaviour, abilities, and interest level. The worst kids make my life miserable and I regularly have to remove the worst trouble makers to maintain some level of control. The best classes are full of smart, motivated and engaged kids and it makes my job an absolute joy.

So, everyday I go through a whole range of emotions from anger to pure joy. I often feel like walking out because the kids are just totally out of control. Because I try to have fun with the kids and make the learning interesting, I think the kids think I'm a softy. The Chinese teachers, on the other hand, teach with an iron fist and rarely tolerate any kind of fun or happiness. I'm aiming for something in-between :)

After quite a lot of looking, I managed to find an apartment close to 2 of my "morning schools" -- so I can walk to school every day -- and close to Tuya's university. It's a large 1-bedroom, fairly new, good views of Shanghai's skyline from the 17th floor living room window, and I got to choose new furniture with the landlords. So I'm quite happy. No internet yet, I have to go to coffee bars for that, but I have almost all the big stuff sorted. Unfortunately, I'll have to buy all the small comforts of home that aren't included in a "furnished" apartment. I had them all in Beijing but had to sell them when I left for the Phillipines. At that time I didn't expect to be back in China so quickly.

It's weird how things work out. I'm back in China with only the Summer away in the Phillipines and England. China has so many opportunities, it's hard to stay away.

Back to UK

A brief update for anybody reading this. I graduated from my English teachers class in Cebu (see photos) and headed back to the UK with my girlfriend Tuya. The teaching course was really hard work with tons of home work but I really enjoyed teaching practice where we had a group of local kids (12-18) to work with.

Once back in northern England, I spent a couple of weeks with my son who had flown from Los Angeles. It was a great time but now he's gone back again and I'm in London looking for work. I'll work pretty much anywhere in the world. I'm open to CG or English teaching jobs in the UK or Asia. So far I've had some interest in Shanghai, China and Korea.

Wish me luck.

Next Stop .... Cebu, central Phillipines

I am hoping to jump on a short flight to Cebu today. That's in central Phillipines and is about a 1 hour flight from Manila (northern Phillipines). I'm just killing time now in an internet cafe in Manila. I need to wait for my American landlord to show up so I can pay my rent. Then I'll fight traffic to get to the airport.

My reason for going to Cebu is 2-fold. First of all I want to attend an English teaching course. Called TEFL (Teaching English as a Foreign Language) which roughly means you take a 1-month course and get a certificate to teach English to foreigners. The TEFL/TESOL certificate seems to be recognized all over the world and theoretically means I could get english teaching jobs anywhere. With my charm (what?), good looks (cough!), and English pedigree (that's true), I hope I can compete in the popular english teaching industry. It may become my main career or it may just be a useful backup career if I can't find computer graphics (CG) work. CG pays much better but the hours can be brutal. Teaching is a slackers wet-dream job. I'm not a slacker but the hours look tempting. Teachers usually work about 16-20 hours per week.

The second reason is I have a lot of time on my hands and I'm getting really bored. I'm not doing anything useful and haven't met many "real" people. That means people who aren't try to sell me something I don't want. I hope that will change when I go to Cebu and join a group of "teachers-in-training". This could mean my day is full of learning and my evening with social events. Cebu and the surrounding area is also supposed to be prettier than Manila and closer to nature. We'll see. Stay tuned.