Traveling the World

I’m still in a bad situation because my visa expires July 4th, and I haven’t decided what I’m going to do: get a tourist visa and work on building up my business, or getting a university job and a new work visa so I can be stable here (thus worrying about the business as an after affect).

My school found out I passed out a few business cards to parents and they got angry. I think they didn’t fire me for the fact that I’ve been with them for 7 months. Teacher turnover rates in China are astronomically high, so 7 months at the same school for part-time work means a lot to a school. After I had this little chat with my co-worker, the bitch Vienna, who got Lily fired, decided to come into the room and ream me out. The only difference between the two people is that one is my friend, co-worker, and the person I should go to if I have problems; the other is a rude, mean bitch who has no authority over me.

Speaking of Lily, we’ve been together for a bit over 2 months. Things have been going well. We get along great despite the minor mis-communications here and there. Sometimes I think it’s great I found someone here who isn’t an idiot or a slut, but that makes the relationship all the more difficult, as I actually have to think about the future now. I don’t want to because I’m young, and I’ve explained this to her, but we all know women really want to get married, especially Chinese girls with handsome foreign men like myself.

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In regards to my teaching business, I was talking to a former student on QQ and he re-connected me with a girl I met last September during a New Oriental event. She said she wanted to work for New Oriental, but after I explained their dark side, she flipped and became adamant about joining me and Lily. She said she doesn’t want anything, other than to help me find students and a classroom/office.

Well the update on this is that she now has a job with New Oriental and pretty much is not going to deal with us anymore. So much for building a huge business really fast with this girl and her connections. It’s back to the drawing board for Lily and I. We made business cards, but no one has called us. We are having flyers printed, but I expect the same outcome. It’s a shame how people who need our services and want our services never get around to dealing with it, even though English is all the craze in China.

I’ve realized after being here for less than a year that it’s always better to be the boss than the employee. That’s what I want to become, but as of right now I don’t see it happening. I guess I’m stuck with remaining the employee, and thus at the whims of my masters.

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I’ll reiterate once again how poor the health practices are in China, and how large the percentage of population who have AIDs and Hepatitis, as well as god knows what other diseases. It freaks me out a bit because it isn’t talked about, and there isn’t much you can do besides not live here. I’m going to pay 250rmb ($38) to get a full blood test done to check for STDs and whatnot. I want to make sure I’m healthy!

As well, I’ve had the same shoes since before I moved to China. I bought them last March I believe, but there is no padding left, so my ankles and knees are hurting. I need to buy new shoes immediately because of the pain. As a result, this weekend is going to be very expensive. Yay.

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As the one year mark in this incredible journey prepares to pass the tick, Alex and Mike are saying their good-byes. I can’t believe it’s been so long, and especially so quick. I never really liked hanging out with them because Zahra was around. After she left and I realized 2 of my 6 foreign friends in China are leaving for at least another year (they have to finish university), I started hanging out with them a lot. When she’s not around, they’re cool to be with, and especially now that I know Zahra is a huge B for breaking up with Alex as she left China for Australia (and then ultimately Canada for university), I’m glad I was so harsh on her in my mind. It only confirms my beliefs about her.

I’ll be sad to see them go, but I know I’ll be here when they return.

Lastly, death needs to stop coming around so often. Within the last week, Lily’s friend’s father died of liver cancer from being an alcoholic, and Paula (my new Mexican friend) is leaving China to rush to her father’s bedside as he prepares to depart from this world. It’s a damn shame, but her father was in a terrible car accident, and she only hopes she can get there in time to say good-bye.

It’s a terrible situation for anyone to be put in, especially on such short notice. My thoughts go out to her and her family, and I only hope she makes it.

Little Puppy

While doing this, we’ve been working hard to prepare lessons and strategy for our new teaching business. We had 220 business cards printed for 40rmb ($5.80), bought 3 books for 278rmb ($39), and we’ve begun handing them out to her friends and family to distribute.

Last night we had dinner at her uncle’s house again, and this time I had the pleasure of meeting his girlfriend. Besides that fact, he made another amazing meal! Lily spent a good deal of time talking to his girlfriend about our plans, as she’s very wealthy and has a daughter with many friends.

Her uncle offered to drive us home in his brand new Subaru, a car one in America might scoff at, but after living here so long is a nice change. It even uses an automatic transmission and he offered to let me drive it whenever I wanted. I’m definitely taking him up on this deal sooner rather than later.

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The other night I met a Mexican girl at Mike’s by the name of Paula. After a great deal of talking and plotting, we’ve tentatively decided on April 2010 for a 1 month Mexican-style run through her country. I know that with my new business I’ll be able to afford the 25,000rmb ($3,700) trip in a years time. What excites me the most about this trip is the fact that I’ll be staying with locals, eating local food, and seeing what locals see (and how they really live). The less touristy this trip is, the better. I’m talking full-on Mayan ruins, jungles, whales, hiking, kayaking, and whatever else I can do!

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As of 3 months ago, Wuhan installed free public bike rentals throughout the many city districts. It’s free to apply for a card that’s valid for 3 years, and it’s available to foreigners as well. They give you 4 hours before you have to return the bike (to any station in the city), but the best part is that you can take a bike from 1 station, drop it off at another one, pick up a new bike, and your 4 hours allotment is back! I plan to take full advantage of this, but have to wait a few more days for my ID card to return.

I’m also going to get my Chinese drivers license so I can legally drive Lily’s uncle’s car.