First Class Complete and Photos Up

Today I finished teaching my first class, Drawing and Sketching.  Because I am working in the Art Department, I teach blocks of classes for two to three weeks at a time instead of an entire semester. The class went really well.  I only had five classes with the students, but we covered some good material such as: Portraiture, 1 and 2 Point Perspective, (3-Dimensional Drawing) Composition, the 5 Shapes of Art, Shading, Front, Side, and Top View Drawings, Still-Life's, Thumbnail and Hand Sketches, etc...
I finished grading the class tonight.  Most students are excellent artists and have a lot of talent.  I am looking forward to the next classes, which will be all new freshman and in a bigger circular room which is perfect for art classes.
I posted some photos yesterday, hope you enjoyed them.

Teaching, Talent Show, and Breakdancing

Ayo, so teaching went quite well.  The students are excellent artists.  We showed them some techniques on shading, composition, and perspective.  We also had them draw a partner, portrait style which went well.  I like teaching so far and am pretty good at it. It's much better wasting time and rotting away in a cubicle for some white collar BS job doing something we don't wanna do so we can buy things we don't need (yeah, i watched Fight Club last night).
Last night there was a talent show, which was cool.  Ancient Chinese clothing was on display, as well as the students singing, modeling, and dancing ability.
Next door was a group of military officers singing in unison, and next door to that was a break-dancing class/party/get-together.  As soon as we walked in, and I mean as soon as I put a foot in the door-frame this Chinese girl started hounding me about dancing.  I was like, neh, and they kept insisted and of course my friends did.  Finally she just grabbed me and pulled me so I had no choice.  The threw on some Kurupt song and I grabbed two Chinese dudes who were pretty good and we got a circle going, and then two more of the foreign teachers and a couple Chinese dudes joined in.  It was pretty fun and glad I got pushed into going up, and I also got a free train ticket to Wudong, the home of Tai Chi, as one of my friends said he would buy my ticket if I got up there.  Chyeah!

First Day of Teaching

So yesterday was the first day of teaching.  It went pretty well.  A few hickups, third world countries are still very unorganized and backwards in many ways.  There will be things like the college not telling you you have class when you do, or the students saying the material you prepared off the course description is not what they want to learn, etc...but it's very fun to teach and not waste away in a cubicle.  In a way I am my own boss.  Yesterday we had the students do some still life drawing and taught them shading techniques and the basic shapes of art.  Today I have prepared a good presentation for them on composition in a drawing/picture.  We are also going to have them start their still life projects, draw their hands, and draw without looking at the paper.

Tea Tasting, Moon Cake Day, and Photography

The other day we went to a tea shop where they had all kinds.  The lady would boil hot water and then poor it in a tea pot with tea leaves, and then poor the water into another pot without the leaves, and then poor each of us little cups of tea.  I must have had at least 114 cups, everytime you finished a cup she would refill it, and then she would poor the rest on some frog sculptures for good luck.  That night, they had a huge firework display on the river in-between the city.  It was pretty awesome, and in honor of Mid-Autumn Festival or Moon Day.  They eat a ton of moon cakes or mini pastries on that day.  I guess two guys were tight-rope walking across the river six stories up as well, but I didn't see that.

Yesterday I went around downtown and photographed with a fellow Chinese teacher.  We ran into four couples doing some wedding photos, happy kids playing in the park, old men playing chinese chess and betting on the streets, Xiangfan museum exhibiting thousands of years old artwork, dogs the size of rats, and man other cool sites.

Lighting Lanterns

The Freshman finished their military training this week.  For celebration, there was a big event last night with games, a band, different clubs presenting, and tons of lanterns.  We could hardly finished talking to one person before the next person was asking us questions.  All the foreign teachers had about 7 people crowded around them for most of the time and then a new group would come over and ask you questions.  The all ask, where are you from?, do you speak chinese? how long have you been here and how long will you be here?, and a lot of the say, 'this is my first time talking to a foreigner.'  It was pretty interesting, and they said you would feel like a celebrity here and that was definitely something of the sort.  At the event, the students were lighting off tons of lanters, kind of like miniature hot air balloons into the sky.  It is really beautiful and peaceful to look up and see a bunch of lanterns floating up into the night sky.  They are about 3 feet high and 2 feet wide and come in a variety of bright colors.  At the bottom is something that looks like soap that you light and it stays lit for a long time.  One of the ones we lit when into a tree and got stuck under a branch, which was hilarious, and then it came back down and an older Chinese man put lighter fluid on it and re-lit it and off it went.  It was cool.

A Homecooked Chinese Dinner, the Foreigner Bar, ATV's, and Kobe

On Saturday night we were treated to a homecooked Chinese meal by our friends Yuchen's parents.  It was awesome.  It was very interesting to be invited into a real Chinese home, and see his mother's artwork (she knits amazing tapestries) and get a real feel for a Chinese family.  Yuchen is a single child, partly because of the one-child policy in effect, and his parents were extremely nice, but spoke little English. We started off with some Chinese green tea and appetizers such as Moon Cake, apples, pumpkin seeds, etc.  Then we went to dinner and had a humongous meal.  His parents definitely worked very hard to prepare all of the food for us.  There were about 2 dishes to each person, more food than we could eat so we had leftovers.  They made cajun tasting shrimp, a chicken soup, dumplings, vegetables pork, peking duck, lamb, humbows, sweet potatoes, egg rolls, and many others, not to mention they had some great Chinese red wine. We were very appreciative and plan to cook them an American meal.
After dinner we went out to the Foreigner bar that we had heard about.  It's a small bar tucked away in a park and when you walk in it's just like the states.  Couches, bookshelves, and there are beers from all over the world, including some of England, Germany and Belgium's finest such as Chimay, Leffe, and Newcastle.  They make fresh pizza, steak, tiramusu, and serve margraitas and espresso like starbucks.  A Chinese man owns it. He is real laid back. He let me throw on my ipod and play the jams for the evening.  It's a great little respite from foreign lands when you need one.  There were people there from the states, Ghana, Columbia, and I guess some French guys go there too.
Today we went to a different park and were going to do some paddle-boating but believe we were being charge the louway or whitie or foreigner price so we skipped that and kept walking and found some ATV's and a track.  It was about a dollar for four laps and definitely worth it. It was quite random.  I didn't expect to ride a camel or an ATV in China.
After that we went to Gulo, where we had the idea to pick up some turtles. We had seen them around before at different establishments, and the idea of having one turned into reality.  I picked up a chill mini-turtle who I have since dubbed 'Kobe.'  He's cool, he likes to chill on the couch and watch some bball. My friend JT also got one, dubbed 'Michelangelo.' There real cheap and easy to take care of. When I leave I will just give him to a friend or release him into the school pond.
Another good weekend....oh and by the way....I start teaching tomorrow, even though we weren't supposed to start for another week. We found out tonight, so it's gonna be an interesting week but I am looking forward to it.

A Chinese Birthday

Last night we went to our Friend Allen's birthday.  The Chinese love to do karaoke on their birthday, so we went to a KTV (karaoke TV).  There was about 40 people, and lots of good times.  They keep the food and drinks coming, and everyone is very friendly.  I met a lot of new people and they are more than happy to help you with your Chinese or your chopstick skills.

A Buddhist Temple

Today we went and checked out a Buddhist temple near campus.  It was very interesting and intriguing.  There were many statues and altars devoted to Buddha and humongous sticks of incense that look like giant fireworks.  In the back there is a giant stone temple.  We had tea with a monk there and had a good conversation with him.  Afterwards he showed us some of his Tai Chi.  Then we went and explored downtown and took a Mamu back from the bus stop, which is like a motorcycle transformed into a mini bus with a flat platform, and two small benches in the back with a rooftop.

Vice Presidential Dinner, a Clean Fade, Acupuncture, and a Camel....

Yesterday we signed our official teacher's contracts with the university who in turn submits them to the provincial government.  Also, yesterday was Teachers Day in China so in honor of both events they threw a huge welcoming dinner at a posh hotel on campus with the Vice President of the university and several other big wigs. The dinner was quite elaborate, with huge circular tables and a motley assortment of various dishes.  When one dish is finished another replaces it, and the dishes keep circling around the table.  And boy, the Chinese big wigs sure love to drink, and drink they do.....a lot. They drink this stuff called Byjo which is a cheap clear liquor that people drink everywhere in China. It doesn't taste good, but it doesn't taste as bad as some liquors.  The Vice President would go around and have a mini shot with everyone at the table, about 12 people, and then the next guy would go around and have a mini shot with everyone at the table. And if your the last one you have to take a double shot.  They even got my coteacher Andrew to drink some and he has never drank, and man...he had the funniest bitter beer face ever after his shot, it was priceless. I wish I had my camera and took a snapshot of that.  And to wash that down, you drink Peijo, which is Chinese for beer, of which they have a lot of light crisp beers. So by the end of the night, I had the English bloke Raf to my left forehead to the bartop, and to my right an American dude Dax forehead to the bar top, and when he was woken up and stood up, he almost toppled over like a giant redwood.
Today was quite the day.  I started off with a haircut. I have now gotten a haircut in South America, Africa, and Asia.  And Asia was definitely the most pleasant.  In Africa I got a haircut with a straight up razor blade.  Here, they shampoo and wash your hair and give you a head massage, diligently cut your hair, and then wash it again.  All for 10 yuan or about a dollar and some change.  I gave my barber a Kevin Garnett trading card for his service which he liked.
Then we proceeded to head downtown where we got an awesome lunch, and then checked out some sights.  Apparently Xiangfan has a soccer team and basketball team, and we saw there stadiums today.  We walked into the basketball stadium which is an amazing architectural sight by the way, kind of like a big sloping roof in the middle, it kind of looks like a turtle shell.  So we walk in, and people are just shooting hoops, so I joined in and got to play inside the stadium. It was pretty money.
Then we headed over to a music shop, and was chillin there checking out the instruments when all of a sudden I see this giant camel walk by outside. I was like, what? So of course checked it out and took a ride and got a picture with him.  It was quite the odd sight to see a camel walking around downtown in a busy Chinese city.
It gets better. So after that we are walking around and our Chinese friend shows us a massage an acupuncture place, which is right up my alley with the bad car accident I was in this year on my birthday.  My neck has been cracking like crazy ever since I got to China.  So I was like, let's do this!  For only 20 yuan or maybe 3 bucks, I got the full acupuncture treatment and it was awesome. In the US that would cost probably 200 bucks or so.  First he cracks your neck chiropractor style, and then come the needles.  I felt a sharp prick in my neck and with my face down on the table, I was like...'Mike, is there a needle in my neck? and he was like, 'Yeah,' and then I felt a few more sharp pricks and I was like, 'Mike, is there lots of needles in my neck? and he was like, 'Yeah' and I was like, 'dammmmmn.' So then they hook up the electrical current to the needles and buzz the heck out of your neck like an electric massage which feels crazy at first but pretty relaxing after a while.  And bear in mind, the tiny needles go about 2 inches deep.  So after that, I feel this clamp sort of feeling, about six of 'em.  And I was like, 'Mike, whaaaaat was that? and he was like, "heated up cups that create a vacuum.' So they put these cups on you that sucks out all of the poison and toxins in your blood which feels great afterwards when they take the suction cups off.  He said I have a lot of buildup or something like that in Chinese so they put me on this machine that has a neck strap for you jaw and the back of your head. Then they crank it up so it stretches out your neck like the longneck tribes in Africa and that lets the blood circulate and flow better and reduces pain.  When it was all said and done, I felt much better and will be going back often, and now I have several perfectly circular purple bruises on the back of my neck.

Badminton and Tae Kwon Do

The Chinese love Badminton, and when it's raining we can't play basketball so we bought a badminton set for roughly 3 bucks and decided to play. It's a pretty fun sport once you get the hang of it. While we were playing, our friend Bruce (Lee) walked by and said he was off to his Tae Kwon Do class, and I said, 'let's do this!', and before I knew it I was taking kicking instructions (aka roundhouse judo-chops) from the proclaimed Hubei Province Champion, tumbling about the gym, and stretching something fierce.

No classes yet....Still Jammin

So the two art teachers including myself don't start until the fourth week of school because we are teaching the Freshman and they all have three weeks of mandatory military training.  It is funny seeing all of them walking around in their military blues, marching, and doing drills. Then we walk by and say ni hao and all the girls start laughing and giggling.
So I have a lot of chillin time for now.  Today we went downtown and got some good street food and took some pictures.  It's cool when a Chinese person asks you if they can take a picture with you as if you were a celeb, such as two dudes in a DJ/music shop did today.
I'm startin to get the lay of the land around here and know where to go for what, what buses to take, when a cabbie is ripping you off or not, etc.  We've met some cool cats named Bruce and Allen who like to show us around and they have pretty good English.  There's also a big white fluffy dog that's always chillin around our apartments that I have appropriately dubbed 'Panda' and if you saw him you would know why.
So with part of my free time we have made our way over to the music building, and there we have met Mr. 1 and Mr. 2, two chinese students who play the drums chillin on the 1's and 2's.  Everyone is pretty cool there and showed us some instruments from the old dynasty's that sound beautiful.  So tonight we jammed with Mr. 1.  My friend JT and Mr. 1 split the drumming, Mike jammed on the guitar with the amp hooked up, and I spit some flows on the mic. It was fun, and we'll be something good to do during the frigid winter months when it is supposedly going to be freezing.....damn, where's my LA sunshine

Presentations and Basketball

I gave a presentation today on photography to my foreign co-teachers.  It went pretty well. As part of our training we all gave powerpoint presentations to each other as if we were speaking to a Chinese class.
Then after a long day in the classroom we headed over to the basketball courts which are always full of Chinese students. It's their favorite sport over ping pong. In fact, I haven't seen one Chinese person playing ping pong yet, but me and friend Mike play often.  The Chinese play a little differently, they don't check the ball before play begins, they don't give you 'change' when you make a shot, and if a player gets fouled or the ball galls out of bounds they imbound the ball from that spot instead of restarting play at the top of the key.