blog.marcwiesner.com

Written Mid-January:

Well…I needed a new jacket anyway. I don’t know how I got the idea in my head to collect locks from the cities I visit; I seem to be doing pretty well in under-dressing for the weather. Turns out Nanchang is colder than it seemed in the weather reports. I’ve bought a thick beanie and heavy jacket to protect myself from the cold. I should have worn my boots onto the plane; the cold bites through my canvas shoes. Vegan they may be but warm they aren’t.

After realizing a semester spent teaching here would pay about as much as a month painting in California I’m considering giving up the teaching stint to take up more lucrative; international business. Who ever needed a degree anyway?

For now, my kingdom for a hot bath.

Maybe I should hate that I do it, but I can’t stop thinking of omens while I travel. Last time I left SFO there were more unknowns, but I clearly remember monks in the terminal on their way to Taiwan. Zen retreats, I believe. This time, I know where I’m going, how I’m getting there, and the layout of most of the terminals I’ll be going between. For some reason though, the lack of monks in SFO strikes me.

Maybe I’m just looking for an excuse to justify the heavy-heart I’m traveling with. A strange thing in its own right. Maybe because I let myself get too comfortable at home this time. Not sure. I know I’ve got to go though, I started this journey and I intend on seeing it through. I’m sure once I get into China I’ll be able to relax a bit more. I won’t have to worry about a late plane or no train tickets.

My flight leaves SFO at a bit past midnight SFO local time and arrives in Taibei about 6 AM TPE local. Flight to Hongkong at 7:40, arrive before noon. An hour for the train into Shenzhen. About 12 more hours from Shenzhen into Nanchang and then to the apt I’ll be staying in. More than a day and a half? Maybe I should have packed some sleep aids

Boarding in 15. Back in the Silicon Valley before she knows it.

Leaving for China this Wednesday. I’ll arrive in Jiangxi province on the 13th and start work late February. Setting up should be fun but there’s the issue of not knowing where I’ll be living immediately. Not too much of a worry; there’re always places to stay

There’s a bit more anxiety in going this time. I’m not exactly sure why. Maybe because I still feel like I just got home and now I’m leaving again. Maybe because this will also be the start of my first real job.

I’ll be a good and fun experience though. I’m quite sure. I’ve got places I know I want to go and people I know I need to see. Focusing on those anchors is helpful.

Four days left.

The leaves changing, the frost in the air. Real soup and sandwiches weather, isn’t it?

And I’ve been taking proper advantage of it. Found a job to teach in China’s Jiangxi province this coming semester. Got another ticket after my fist attempt to flee the country failed (though the positive repercussions were greater than could have been imagined). I get to spend the holidays with my family and travel China during the holiday break over there. Since I’ll have about a month to travel around I’m hoping to see, at least, Guiyang and Yunnan before I start teaching.

Mike’s about fully moved to his new place, even has roommates lined up AND a cat. CollegeConfessional is returning about 200 hits a day on average and the viewer ship for MajorFashion is also on the rise after starting a marketing campaign through GoogleAdwords. 

That and some tooling around with cars and it’s been pretty low key. 

So teaching in Taiwan didn’t work out. No matter. What problems? I enjoyed traveling Taiwan for couple of weeks and have been back in California for a few weeks now. I found a job teaching in Guizhou province but after a mix up with the airline (which, crazy person that I am, I interpret as an omen) I’m now thinking of a three months, three provinces travel plan where I can work and travel around my own schedule. 

It’s strange being back here. Aside from things being more expensive and transit being less convenient, things feel a bit too much as they did when I left. That and the colder weather (think, Taiwan at night is as warm as the Bay Area during the day when I left) has be looking forward to getting back to China

The couple of weeks I had in Taiwan were great. Went to a couple beaches and hot springs, made some awesome friends, saw some fantastic sights.  

Once again planning an escape… ^)^ 

Sill in Guangzhou. I had planned to leave by now, but getting a VISA for Taiwan’s looking a bit more complicated. Something about needing to buy an exit ticket before I file for my VISA makes me a bit uncomfortable. Since processing the VISA takes a few days, I’m going to aim to get to Hongkong early on a Monday and hope to get the VISA back before the weekend, with some time to spare in case I need to go BACK to EVA Air and get a return ticket. Bah..

I’m starting to think I’m spending a noticeable amount of time at the cafe mooching their wireless. Last night one of the girls handed me a VIP card for 12% off purchases. It’s nice to be loved ..now if only they had a bathroom >_< . But that is, I’m sure, the least of my concerns. Getting out and getting on are really priorities. At least I’m having fun.

This morning I went out for KTV (in the company of about a half dozen lovely college students) and the other night I wandered (maybe was dragged, who’s counting) to the University’s English Corner where, despite feeling a bit like a spectacle (an arc of students taking pictures with everything from a point-and-shoot to a cellphone can do that), I was impressed by the comfort students there could speak English when in an encouraging setting. The club president even childed me that Mandarin wasn’t allowed after I responded to a question with ke neng “maybe.” For the Jewish New Year Veg and I drowned sins in the Pear River and I got to see the neighborhood I was staying in when I was here two months ago. Fun time little stroll down memory road. It’s fun to return to a place like that. Since I’ll be here for almost another week maybe I should make up for only seeing some of those clubs from the outside

I didn’t realize it until yesterday, when I was doing a little mental inventory of things that I DON’T take with me when I’m roaming the dark, narrow passages of new cities in foreign countries that I left my Lonely Planet travel guide up in Wuhan when I left five days ago. My guide to interesting places and safe hostels had become a bit obsolete. I’ve got enough mandarin to ask about night markets and hotel streets, to get suggestions about interesting sights within a city, and to tell a taxi I’ll give you 10 ? to go here and don’t use a meter. Besides, I’m in Guangzhou. I’ve been here twice before and know where I can stay if I need to but I’ve got Veg looking for a place for me to stay. What is there to worry about? Next time I’m in Wuhan I’ll pick it back up. At least long enough to see the best place to grab the trans-Siberian from China. Though after two failed attempts at vegetarian cuisine in Beijing…

Coming to terms with Guangzhou. Not bad at all…finding some of those fun dark places. Night markets (why is that starting to sound a bit raunchy?) and cafes, lounges and noodles. Yep…starting to see how a person can get comfortable here.

But the trouble with Taiwan, yes…still no news back about employment. I don’t think it’ll be difficult to rejuvenate my options once I’m back on the Island, but I still hate to see a fine job slip by. Maybe the school was crooked. Yea…I can sleep better knowing I didn’t get suckered into that business. One of the guys who came to Wuhan from Inner Mongolia had come to sort out some trouble with his sister enrolling in a fraudulent school, wouldn’t like to take the fall for some shady dealings because they’ve got my name on a piece of paper, how would I? Nope Nope. I’ll get things sorted out some how. I’ve gone this long without an arrest, theft, major injury, or taking the wrong train (though I HAVE come close to all at least once), I’m confident things will work out in Taiwan too ^_^ .

… or how I ended up with “Prostitute Pirate Pimp” written on my hand.

I love Bullwinkle style titles.

And I’m back in Wuhan!! The hostel, the people, the re gan mian…man it’s good to be back! How good? I’m trying to get a six month work deal in Taiwan so I can come to Wuhan and work for the six following months. The problem is that the fellow I interviewed with in TW hasn’t returned my last two emails. Now true, the most recent was only 10 hours ago but still..these are working hours. Gave the guy two questions; do you still have a job for me and can I get a six month contract? If there is no job, no matter, I set up in Wuhan (and get fat off veggie buns and local noodles). If I can get a six month contract, cool, I’m here and there doing my business. If they still want me, but only for a full one year, that’s where I hit the dilemma.

But on to the pimps and the whores. Shanghai was much better the second time around. I was healthy, I could do things, I didn’t faint and wasn’t coughing up blood. Given, I didn’t have the company of the unforgettable Forgetter or my Darling Sweed, but I managed to make interesting friends (as always). It’s a bit surprising how quickly soliciting for sex turns into language lessons when I’m sitting in a shopping boulevard and follow up my decline with “chou yan ma?” Yes, I make friends with pimps and whores.

But I make better friends with Hunanese girls. Hence the writing on the hand as I explained my Shanghai escapades to a Hunanese friend of mine. Why write it down? Because I’m soo good at spelling..and studying reading is more emphasized that speaking so seeing a word is helpful.

So Wuhan…time in the hostel, chilling with the kids, visiting friends, long talks with Zhang Laoshi, practicing english and mandarin with Sunshine, amusing myself with the kitten and relaxing on the rocking chair out back.

Next stop is Guangzhou but that’s becoming more and more questionable until this job question gets resolved.

Okay…run down…Putuo Shan was awesome. Clear sky, nice soft beaches, cool Buddhist temples. Everything that makes a Marc happy. From Putuo Shan I took a bus to Shanghai. Bus was stopped at the entrance to the Ningbo Expressway for at least an hour. Developed a gnarly cough in Shanghai and a fever that kept me in bed for almost two days (okay…between my own bed and the couches in the common area). Ate nothing but three pears and cough drops those days and finally fainted while chatting with Mike after some lady lit up a cig. Got a soda from a guy from Australia and started to feel better. A bowl of noodles and I was further on the mend.

Shanghai was loud. Especially the hostel I was staying in. I swear, most of the people there treated it like it was a college dorm. I had about one good day in Shanghai though with the company of my friend Forgetter before hopping on a train to Beijing. In Beijing I spent a week in a suburb absorbing the fresh air before moving into a cheap hotel in a touristy neighborhood downtown.

Had fun in BJ. Saw Tiananmen, the Forbidden City, Chairman Mao’s dead body (looked like he had too much makeup on, if you ask me). A few days ago I hopped off to the Great Wall. Was crazy beautiful with a bank of fog teasing the view. Ended up climbing up the Steps of Heaven and Eagle’s Point plus a few cliff faces. Got a little hairy in some places, but I lived to type this post (in no small part thanks to the efforts of a Hunanese girl and a fellow from who knows where).

Went off to Tianjin for a few days. Interesting neighborhoods but I’m glad to be back in Beijing on my way to Shanghai. I figure a few days there before heading back to Wuhan. Another few days there, then Guangzhou. HK for a week maybe then start work in Taiwan.

On my way South, Baby ^_^

That’s right, I planted myself there for three weeks. Spent a lot of time in the hostel and I think my mandarin’s a lot better for it. Plus I got to meet a lot of really awesome people. Travelers, drawers, fashion designers, fellow sinophiles. It was amazing to get to know people so well who have come from such different backgrounds. I truly feel that some of the people I met during the course of those three weeks will be long time friends. I’ve been in Hangzhou for a few days now and I’ll be leaving tomorrow for Putuo Shan, a sacred mountain on an island in the China Sea. Jiuhua Shan didn’t happen; would take too much time and I didn’t feel like a six hour bus to some place I’ve never heard of to pay who knows what in lodging only to get on another six hour bus the next day. The train ride up was a lot of fun with cockroaches climbing around our (myself and the Swedish girl Alex I’m traveling with in Hangzhou) train compartment. Well…at least we weren’t stuck in seats for the 17-hour train ride from Wuhan. Hangzhou’s been hot but cooling. It’s been harder to find food like I was able to find in Wuhan. I do quite miss the giant veggie steamed buns 大菜包 and the re gan mian 热干面. It’s also a lot nosier with a city music of car horns and bad, loud brakes. Though the area right next to West Lake is pretty touristy, a block or two out is much better. The hostel is nice and clean but lacks the feeling of home and family that helped me stay in Wuhan for so long. I’m very happy to finally see West Lake and wholly intend on returning next year so I can see it in the winter. After the mountain I’ll be going to Shanghai by boat. After that….we’ll see