Hello everyone.

 

Well, the past month, I've been wandering around Shanghai, making appointments, going to interviews, and doing some general shopping and loafing. Vivian has been my partner in crime, diligently sending out my CV and helping me locate destinations in this gigantic metropolis. I sometimes envision her as a google program I can access via text on my cell phone. In a large shopping area (all the areas are large here), I panicked not knowing how to get to my interview. "Just look for an elevator or any way to get to the 14th floor," she'd texted. Oh, ok! It was this kind of advice, although it is common sense, that kept me focused on my task and I found the office. The area is called Xu Jia Hui and it is filled with many beautiful women, shopping around, seeing and being seen. They all look, dress, and walk like super models. As soon as I had emerged from my exit from the Metro, I popped out amidst them all in a palace of a shopping mall. I had to dodge around exotic Chinese shoppers in their big sunglasses and trendy, skimpy clothes. The interview went as well as the others did. In Shanghai, the market is definitely in the foreign teacher's favor to find a job. They asked for my preference in salary and I quickly remembered another text Vivian had sent. "Don't go under 150 kuai an hour." Sure enough, they had tried to negotiate me down to 130, but I informed them 150 was my minimum. "Ok," they had assented. Damn! I should have asked for more! Oh well, with experience, I'll have more power on asking for higher wages.

Apart from that, Vivian and I have been walking around in the evening, enjoying the sights around our apartment. We walk to Xintiandi, which is a trendy and pleasant strip filled with cafes and western restaurants. We stroll through a park that reaches as far as People's Square, only a twenty minute walk from where we live. And beyond People's Square is the Bund, one of the most world-famous sights, with the Pearl Tower shining over the river in its pink brilliance. I'm going to miss these lazy days when the school year starts!

 

Seeya!

 Here’s to the crazy foreigners who taught with me in the southern town of Chenzhou in the Hunan Province.

There’s me, Lucy, Donald, Erin, and Dominic. We had just enjoyed a blissful dip in a lake, with inner tubes, and we just floated around for a few hours. I was under the illusion that I had lost my digital camera somewhere. It was a bit of tragedy because I still had over 200 pics on there that I had foolishly not saved elsewhere. After our swim, Erin asked if she could put her swimsuit in my bag. Of course, I glared at her as if I were horribly put off, but assented resentfully. Donald annoyingly opened a pocket in my bag that I never use and he said, “Just put it in this one.” I was about to protest when he pulled out a strange, silver, shiny object from the mystery pocket. “Is this your camera?” “No,” I said, not believing my eyes. But it was! It was in my bag the whole time! Lucy, who had gone through the trouble of whipping her staff into scourging the campus for two days in search of my camera, began to hit and berate me. I was thoroughly embarrassed, but relieved and very happy. I couldn’t help but smile during the ensuing abuse. This picture was taken in celebration of Donald recovering my camera. So, to save face for all concerned, Lucy had me gambei three beers before we ate our dinner…yes, Donald, just glasses of beer, but tall glasses nonetheless!

Seeya!