During the last May Day, it was my original intention to spend 5 days traveling around Nanjing, Wuxi, and Suzhou (located near Shanghai). I waited too long to buy tickets and so lost out on that trip. Then I tried to get people to go to a local hot spring with me, which also failed due to people’s indecisiveness. I resigned myself to once again not being able to leave Wuhan and sulked. Then came the free time, and it was extremely nice to just have a break from work. Since the holiday came and went, my part-time job hasn’t increased my hours, so I’m a bit angry with them. Last month I worked 60 hours for them, which is about 1 month’s salary from my other job, thus allowing me to earn 13,000 RMB in April (this is about $1900 USD).

I still have quite a lot of free time since I haven’t been working as hard, and this bothers me because even though I have many things to do, working and earning money is more important to me at this point in time.
My business has finally started and the shipping calculator on the website has been fixed, so feel free to check it out and buy what you like! Check back often, as I’m always adding new items to the Oriental Emporium store.

Having broken up twice, Jessy and I have certainly had our ups and downs, but we’ve finally come to an understanding we can both agree upon. We know that a relationship isn’t possible, but the bond we have and the feelings we share makes staying away from one another quite impossible. I’ve tried dating other girls, but none of them have been right for me. I’ve changed my search from looking for a girl to have fun with, to a girl I can be serious with, but finding someone like that here is difficult for me. Life goes on.

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.

I’ve applied to work at 7 different universities in Wuhan and am awaiting a reply. I’m still working at RISE, even though there’s been a few times where I’ve wanted to quit on the spot. I learned that using food as a reward for good behavior and participation is a good way to keep both my stress level down and the kids happy. I’ve been there almost 6 months now!

Things are going well with Lily. We’ve been together a month, which to be honest is pretty long for one girl. I’m not saying that because I’m bragging, but because I haven’t had a real relationship in almost 5 years (for whatever reasons). We get along well in and out of work, which makes for a good relationship (seeing how each other works in different situations). If she signs a contract with RISE, they will send her to Beijing for 20 days, and I might go there to visit her.

Things are going well with my poll: so far online there have been 15 votes, and my friends and co-workers have given me another 15. In addition to that, I’m going to teach at a spring camp in Hangzhou for a week at the end of April, and I’ll go 5 days early to see Shanghai, so that’s most likely the winner of the poll!

I’m currently editing my prior posts about individual trips to be submitted to companies in hopes of getting a freelancing contract. That’s another reason why my site is more professionally designed; when companies are online they will most likely google the applicant’s name. Then they’ll find my website, and if what I submitted doesn’t match the style of my website, they might think it’s not the same person, and then I lose the job. I bet they’re going to read this article too. Hello [insert company name here]!

I know in the past I’ve said I hated Wuhan and wanted to leave, but now that I’m saying, “yes” to things, life is more interesting. Sorry if that sounds like a shameless plug, but it’s the truth. Looking forward to things I’ve never done before makes me excited.

The sun has been out most days，putting me in a great mood! The average temperature has been 72F (22C) with a great breeze! I’m trying to enjoy it while it lasts, as summer is right around the corner and last summer we averaged 95F (35C)!

I got a massage last night for the first time in almost a month, and they had a new option available: goldfish bath! They brought in a nice looking foot bath complete with cute little goldfish that sucked the dead skin off my feet for 20 minutes. It tickled like hell but was totally worth it!

Look for more changes to come and keep the comments up! I love hearing what you have to say.

I have an update on my recording job: It is definitely happening, even though it still hasn’t begun (due to the authors not finishing the book yet). They’ve guaranteed me 50 hours of work at a rate of 100rmb ($14) per hour, which means 5000rmb (almost $750). This in itself will pay for a nice trip!

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Moving to this part of China is very hard for a Jew because from what I’ve seen so far, I’m the only one for several hundred miles in every direction (sadly the reality). It’s been a complete disconnect from everything I’ve known and because I’m not very religious it hasn’t been too harsh, but what I miss more is the special feeling you get from being around other Jews. I’ve almost been here for 9 months and have been unable to practice Judaism because you need 11 men for a “minyin” (the number needed to pray). As a result of this, I’ve decided to make a special 5 day trip to a city in the south called Guangzhou, where I’ll be staying with the rabbi and his family at their Chabad House. There I’ll celebrate Passover and get my chance to reconnect, as well as hopefully bring tons of good food back to Wuhan so I can observe the dietary restrictions.

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I know all the girls I’ve mentioned here in the past haven’t lasted very long, but I’ve recently met a girl. She has a good personality: she’s easygoing, caring, smart, and more open-minded than some girls I’ve known here. The last few girls I dated here were just for fun because I wasn’t interested in having a relationship, but I think she’s good girlfriend material so we’ll see how it goes.

All of them kept saying how funny and cute I was, and a really cute girl definitely had her eye on me. She asked for my number even though she doesn’t speak a lick of English. I gave my number to them all and got their numbers and QQ, the Chinese IM program similar to AIM.

Another girl walked up and started talking to me while I was still with these other girls. She asked if I want to be her friend, and I say “sure.” She’s not as attractive as the cute girl, but she’s very nice. An hour later and 4 numbers received, I left to meet the water guy! No more buying bottles from the store!

As I left my apartment later in the day to get some food, a girl walked out of the apartment next to mine. It turns out I live on a floor that has 4 businesses and 2 residences. She worked for a photography company. She said hello, so I obliged and said “Ni Hao,” or “you good.” She went down the elevator with me, and I handed her paper and a pen to write down what she’s saying so I can learn.

After a few minutes she asked where I was headed to and I said I was going to eat. She joined me for rice and steamed vegetable buns at a street vendor nearby. After dinner, she asked if I was free the next day. I said yes, at 4pm. She said “okay I’ll be at your place at 4pm to teach you Chinese.”

The moral of the story is, as a foreigner all you have to do is smile and you make a friend.

The person who normally teaches this class called me the day after and rudely told me not to teach his units. Today I got a text message from one of the Chinese staff, saying the students complained about my performance. I called her and reamed her out, telling her it was the schools fault for not informing me and the teacher’s fault for not calling me beforehand to tell me what he’d done.

Her reply was, “well now that I know the truth, I’m sorry and I will have the teacher call you back and apologize.” I told her I didn’t want to speak to him since he was very rude to me. She felt embarrassed because I made her lose face, but it’s her fault for not approaching me in a different manner. I think the teacher lied because he was mad I taught his unit, as the kids were laughing and enjoying themselves the whole time!

After having been here for almost two weeks, here is a list of things I miss about America:

• Beavis
• Blonde girls
• Blue sky
• Being able to order my own food
• Oh yeah, and all my friends and family

And here is a list of things I love about China:

• everything is so damn cheap
• everyone loves the white man
• my girlfriend takes good care of me

If the school tells me yes, I have a flight booked for June 8th. This gives me enough time to tie up lose ends. If the school says no, it’s back to the drawing board. As much as it’s been nice spending time with people, I really want this job because it seems like the best opportunity to get my foot in the door. Trust me, you’ll know if I get the job!

Update: I found out Sunday night that I got the job in Wuhan! They are in the process of mailing me the contract and the documents I need to apply for the visa! I also have 1 immunization shot left (Japanese encephalitis)! Also need to pick up the Chinese money I ordered, get the anti-malaria pills, and other things. So much to do in so little time!