June 21st: Tuesday parties and Langshan outing
[ posted by mcdeviltoast ]
Day 278
Woke, had some coffee and hung out in Mike's room as he made last minute luggage checks and such. Everyone gravitated in to see him off and I had to leave early to go begin the party week. I think I had it easiest not to be there when the cab pulled away. It was more of a see-ya-later than goodbye, which is fitting since he'll be joining the party in Moab for a a few days in July.
I gathered my stuff, headed to the first class,who forgot to bring any snacks and just seemed on thorazine about everything. I asked them to write down their names, both Chinese and English, and a message. They passed in the sheets sans message. "Write something to me! I'm leaving!" Grade 2 can't even be cool on the last day. They put down some messages, the sikly-sweet heartfelt junk that's on all Chinese clothing and coming from them was seven times less sincere.
The next class was better, for they are grade 1, and they rule. They all had snacks, decorated the sheets with well wishes (sincere ones) and little pictures, colored drawings. I bestowed Victoria with a word-find book and a CD of my music for being very clever, friendly, and an asset in class as interpreter those first few weeks. After lunch began, some of them took me down to the pond for additional photos. This was more like it. How can a year change students so much? Were my angels going to turn to demons? Was it chemical, societal? What triggers this 180 degree turn for the worse?
In the afternoon, class 2(7), I gave Cherry a word-find book and a couple other trinkets, since she was the only student in there who made an effort to be nice to me, once giving me an apology card when her class was being uber-rotten. She looked flattered, touched and a little embarrassed. I hoped it would make the other students envious and give them a clue that perhaps being nce, despite being its own reward, can occasionally pay off.
Next was the apathy crew. I got a card from jack, which was surprising. Smalls was pulling attitude again, but he had said last week the reason he was misbehaving is because I was leaving. I felt like a divorced dad trying to deal with junior's new rebellious streak. I did elicit a smile out of him, though, let him know nonverbally that his brattiness was unfounded and overall unnecessary.
Woody was wearing some fearsome bling bling for some reason and Kyle was doing the sports bra thing with his tank top. (Chinese young men have a tendency to pull up their shirts and expose their stomachs in hotter times, I suspect doffing the shirt entirely does not adhere to the moral customs. Yet, when a dude is wearing a tanktop, the pulled up shirt makes it look like he is wearing a sports bra.) I had him cover his stomach, had all the bad boys together in a picture up front: Noodles, Marco, Kyle, Jack, Smalls and Noodles (who finally got his damned Gameboy back.)
the students of class 1(5)
victoria
the apathy crew: (l to r) noodles, smalls, woody, jack, kyle, marco
cherry
I pedaled to the middle school with a quickness, as Rhys, Jeni, Heather and I were planning an outing to Langshan just outside of Nantong. At 4:30 we caught the bus, and after a transfer we walked up a Disney-ish thoroughfare to get to Langshan, which is a mountain oddly rising from no other range (a volcanic pimple) surrounded by gardens and topped with a Buddhist temple. We arrived at the gate only to be told that the temple had closed already, but for 20 kuai we could explore the gardens and hike up to it anyway, which we did.
Bridges over mosquito swarming lagoons, Suzhou-like buildings filled with art and modestly gaudy Buddhist statues. We made our way around the rim of the mountain, through a pine forest glen (dotted with Spirited Away-like statues), then up a series of steep steps to the aforementioned temple. It was not as closed as they ahd said. I opened a door, stole inside got some pictures. So did the others, and we had to exit by an old monk taking a bath, oblivious to the white interlopers invading the temple grounds.
After hours turned out to be the best way to see Langshan (English: wolf mountain) as there were no other people and all the shops hawking cheesy wares were shut tight. Rather pleasant. I had not realized how much I needed a nature break until we were there. The fresh air, trees, rocks, flowers, caves, pools, it rejuvenated me. I'm glad I got to have this last taste of rural China before I left.
langshan collage
We met Erin and Ben at the college, then after a brief shopping excursion for Chinglish shirts, headed to Captain's Bar for some Western fare.It was tasty and we were hungry, having sweated out an appetite on the humid climb to Langshan's peak. We had a drink at City hunter following the meal, and Heather and I grabbed a cab back, as I had a ton of pictures to upload and batteries to recharge for the next day.
the joke is this guy is completely serious
heather n toast nestled in the captain's bar
toast and erin nestled in the captain's bar
On the cabride back, my dude actually had a CD player and we had him throw in the Rhyme Swing Embassy. He thumbsed-up and nodded to it, and it was an especially surreal moment in my career here: rolling down the highway in a Chinese cab, rocking out to my own music. The length of the CD got us right to Haimen. After uploading in a bleary-eyed monitor bask, I retired, had odd dreams.
Woke, had some coffee and hung out in Mike's room as he made last minute luggage checks and such. Everyone gravitated in to see him off and I had to leave early to go begin the party week. I think I had it easiest not to be there when the cab pulled away. It was more of a see-ya-later than goodbye, which is fitting since he'll be joining the party in Moab for a a few days in July.
I gathered my stuff, headed to the first class,who forgot to bring any snacks and just seemed on thorazine about everything. I asked them to write down their names, both Chinese and English, and a message. They passed in the sheets sans message. "Write something to me! I'm leaving!" Grade 2 can't even be cool on the last day. They put down some messages, the sikly-sweet heartfelt junk that's on all Chinese clothing and coming from them was seven times less sincere.
The next class was better, for they are grade 1, and they rule. They all had snacks, decorated the sheets with well wishes (sincere ones) and little pictures, colored drawings. I bestowed Victoria with a word-find book and a CD of my music for being very clever, friendly, and an asset in class as interpreter those first few weeks. After lunch began, some of them took me down to the pond for additional photos. This was more like it. How can a year change students so much? Were my angels going to turn to demons? Was it chemical, societal? What triggers this 180 degree turn for the worse?
In the afternoon, class 2(7), I gave Cherry a word-find book and a couple other trinkets, since she was the only student in there who made an effort to be nice to me, once giving me an apology card when her class was being uber-rotten. She looked flattered, touched and a little embarrassed. I hoped it would make the other students envious and give them a clue that perhaps being nce, despite being its own reward, can occasionally pay off.
Next was the apathy crew. I got a card from jack, which was surprising. Smalls was pulling attitude again, but he had said last week the reason he was misbehaving is because I was leaving. I felt like a divorced dad trying to deal with junior's new rebellious streak. I did elicit a smile out of him, though, let him know nonverbally that his brattiness was unfounded and overall unnecessary.
Woody was wearing some fearsome bling bling for some reason and Kyle was doing the sports bra thing with his tank top. (Chinese young men have a tendency to pull up their shirts and expose their stomachs in hotter times, I suspect doffing the shirt entirely does not adhere to the moral customs. Yet, when a dude is wearing a tanktop, the pulled up shirt makes it look like he is wearing a sports bra.) I had him cover his stomach, had all the bad boys together in a picture up front: Noodles, Marco, Kyle, Jack, Smalls and Noodles (who finally got his damned Gameboy back.)
the students of class 1(5)
victoria
the apathy crew: (l to r) noodles, smalls, woody, jack, kyle, marco
cherry
I pedaled to the middle school with a quickness, as Rhys, Jeni, Heather and I were planning an outing to Langshan just outside of Nantong. At 4:30 we caught the bus, and after a transfer we walked up a Disney-ish thoroughfare to get to Langshan, which is a mountain oddly rising from no other range (a volcanic pimple) surrounded by gardens and topped with a Buddhist temple. We arrived at the gate only to be told that the temple had closed already, but for 20 kuai we could explore the gardens and hike up to it anyway, which we did.
Bridges over mosquito swarming lagoons, Suzhou-like buildings filled with art and modestly gaudy Buddhist statues. We made our way around the rim of the mountain, through a pine forest glen (dotted with Spirited Away-like statues), then up a series of steep steps to the aforementioned temple. It was not as closed as they ahd said. I opened a door, stole inside got some pictures. So did the others, and we had to exit by an old monk taking a bath, oblivious to the white interlopers invading the temple grounds.
After hours turned out to be the best way to see Langshan (English: wolf mountain) as there were no other people and all the shops hawking cheesy wares were shut tight. Rather pleasant. I had not realized how much I needed a nature break until we were there. The fresh air, trees, rocks, flowers, caves, pools, it rejuvenated me. I'm glad I got to have this last taste of rural China before I left.
langshan collage
We met Erin and Ben at the college, then after a brief shopping excursion for Chinglish shirts, headed to Captain's Bar for some Western fare.It was tasty and we were hungry, having sweated out an appetite on the humid climb to Langshan's peak. We had a drink at City hunter following the meal, and Heather and I grabbed a cab back, as I had a ton of pictures to upload and batteries to recharge for the next day.
the joke is this guy is completely serious
heather n toast nestled in the captain's bar
toast and erin nestled in the captain's bar
On the cabride back, my dude actually had a CD player and we had him throw in the Rhyme Swing Embassy. He thumbsed-up and nodded to it, and it was an especially surreal moment in my career here: rolling down the highway in a Chinese cab, rocking out to my own music. The length of the CD got us right to Haimen. After uploading in a bleary-eyed monitor bask, I retired, had odd dreams.
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[ posted by mcdeviltoast @ 6/21/2005 01:21:00 AM ]
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The dumbtronica act Montana & McDeviltoast, along with their friends, keep each other updated on their activities. Much fun having by all, and Pockys fear for their lives!