Feet First

Well, Tomorrow I’m flying from Guangzhou to Beijing to start a grand adventure. As grand adventures go, mine will be pretty modest, but I will get to see some sites and do what I love best. What do I love best? Why, wandering, of course. I’m going to Beijing and Shanghai, and although I’m not a huge fan of big cities, I do like wandering around with a map in my hands and absolutely no plan, just to see what I can see. I executed that plan to good effect in Rome and I’m eager for rounds two and three.

I’ve booked a hotel room in Beijing at a place that looks like it could have good atmosphere. I got the budget room, but the pictures of the “standard” rooms make it look like a hotel that trades on giving guests a traditional Chinese feel. I figure I can mooch off of the ambiance at half the price. The hotel is walking distance from the Forbidden City (Beijing Jingyuan Courtyard Hotel, 35 Xitanzi Hutong, because I know dad wants to google it), as well as all the other places of interest in the city centre. I’ll probably check out some museums, look for some souvenirs, and find a good park to do some reading. Since I’ve only got four days, I’m not going to stress out trying to hit all the hot spots. I would prefer to just let things happen the way they want to. If I leave feeling content, then I’ll consider it a win.

What I’m really looking forward to is the food. Consistent with the “Nick Plan”, I don’t know much about Beijing cuisine apart from the existence of Peking duck, so I’m just going to go into whatever restaurants look enticing. I’m glad that I’ve had almost six months to get used to Chinese food. I can now approach any dish, no matter how strange, without fear. Recently, after a long struggle and many false starts, I conquered the chicken foot, and not in a nibbling, halfhearted manner either. I ripped that sucker to pieces. I’m still not a fan, but I now know all of its darkest secrets.

I’m going by train from Beijing to Shanghai to see the Expo and gorge myself once more. When I booked a bed at the Blue Mountain Youth Hostel, I was still really confused about where in the city the Expo is actually located. I figured I would just book a place that looked good and then take public transportation to get where I needed to go. As luck would have it, my hostel is less than a mile from the entrance to the Expo. Please, hold your applause.

I decided to save some money, so I booked a regular seat instead of a sleeper car for the ride to Shanghai. Sitting on a train for fourteen hours would seem daunting, if it weren’t for the fact that my flight to China was fifteen hours, and also I took the nine hour Hell Train to Hunan, so I’m sort of warmed up. I haven’t booked the return train to Guangzhou, but if it’s much longer than fourteen hours, I may just spring for the sleeper. A man (and his butt) can only take so much.

Anyway I’m excited. I love taking pictures, I love walking around, and I love eating, so this should be right up my alley.

The Time Has Come

Just snapped the armrest off of my chair. Now I know why all the chairs in the office are missing an armrest.

"The time has come," the Walrus said,

"To talk of many things:
Of shoes—and ships—and sealing-wax—
Of cabbages—and kings—and finances!”

OK that last bit was a contribution by yours truly, but it’s just as important as all those other things.

First, I’d like to tell you about my trip to the dentist. Now, I haven’t had medical coverage of any sort for a number of years, and even when I did I never went to the dentist because I hate the dentist. As a result, I had a number of cavities, and I knew that I would never have a better opportunity to get them fixed on the cheap.

This is a good time to emphasis the importance of having a Chinese friend who speaks English. If it weren’t for Captain, this whole thing would’ve been a lot more difficult. He made some calls to the dentist for me, asked the questions I needed answers too, and arranged a time to come in. I was a bit skeptical of the fact that I, supposedly, didn’t need an appointment, but I took his word for it.

So, we went mid-morning on a Sunday. We came into the clinic, checked in with the receptionist, and she motioned us to the dentist’s cubicle (it was right next to the front desk, with a big window looking out on the sidewalk. It was very different, but kind of cool. It made the whole thing feel less intimidating and kind of casual, which I liked) right away. Unfortunately there was a mix-up and a woman with an appointment (WTF Cap?) came in at that exact moment. I thought, “oh great. Now how long am I going to have to wait?” She was out of there in less than twenty minutes and on to the chair I went.

Like I said, I have bad teeth. The dentist probed around for a while and told me I had three cavities that needed filling. He asked if I wanted to use the most expensive materials. I asked how much it was, and Captain said that it was 120 Yuan per tooth. 120 Yuan= $17.00. A bargain at twice the price, as Jamie would say. So I gave the word and away we went.

This was hands down the best experience I have ever had at the dentist. He didn’t use any anesthesia, which I was a little nervous about, but the main reason why I hate the dentist is the way the needle feels when they jam it into the roof of your mouth, or into your gums. I felt a little discomfort (you know that horrible, not-quite-painful feeling when they’re drilling on you) on one tooth, but otherwise this guy was the freaking Leonardo da Vinci of dentistry. He filled all three, ground off the excess resin till things felt more or less normal, and I was out the door in less than an hour, including the wait time at the beginning.

The whole experience was awesome in its own right, but it serves to show how much easier many things are in China. Things which are astronomically expensive for me in the States are an afterthought here. Going out to dinner at a nice restaurant is an occasional treat at home. Here, it’s just dinner. Free drinks and friendly strangers are common if you go to the right bars (actually, friendly strangers are everywhere. Sometimes you have to pay the foreigner premium, but most of the time people try their best to help you out and you get a fair deal), and even really fancy clubs don’t seem to have any kind of dress code most of the time. In short, much of the BS you’re used to dealing with at home doesn’t exist here. Granted, you will sometimes have to deal with whole new kinds of BS, but that’s part of the fun!

And let’s not forget about the money. In one of my summer classes, I was giving one of my student’s free rein to ramble about whatever he wanted, and he started talking about how much money his parents make. Naturally I was intrigued since many of my kids are well off and I wanted to know how I measure up. Apparently his dad is some kind of prosecutor who works for the government. As it turns out, he makes slightly less than I do, and I feel confident in supposing that he works at least double the hours. The bottom line is, I work part-time and I am squarely in the middle class.

According to some calculations that I’ve done, 1.5% of my gross income has gone to taxes, 3.5% to utilities, and 11% to a deposit that I just finished paying into as of last month. My housing is provided by the school, so I have been able to pocket 84% of my earnings, and since I expect to get all of my deposit back at the end of my contract, that’s 95% of my income going straight into my pocket. How many people, in any country, can say that?

So, things are cheap, and you will have more than enough cash to pay for it all, and put away some money for traveling besides. I’ve got to say that it has been really nice not even having to think about money most of the time (That’s not entirely true, I still think about the debts I have at home, but that aspect will vary from person to person). You can have a really nice life here, and not have to work too hard to get it.

At this point you may well be thinking, “but Nick, I don’t know anything about teaching! I would be found out in a hot second and sent packing.” Not to worry, my friend. The teachers I have met come from all walks of life. 21 year-olds without even a bachelor’s degree (though they do have to work for much lower pay at the start), grizzled veterans who earned their stripes in Hong Kong, Malaysia, and Korea, and even an ex-priest with a past that I suspect is much more colorful than he lets on (I’m 89% sure he’s gay). Not to mention the fact that for many, teaching is just a stepping stone to other things. Once you’re in, it’s much easier to find new opportunities. I know one guy from Connecticut, who came here to teach, didn’t like it, became a manager at an ex-pat bar, and is now on his way to working for an American company in Macau. How did he get this job? Through a guy he met working at the bar, of course.

China is ripe with opportunities for those who decide to make the trip, and in times like these, when opportunities are in short supply, it could be a real difference-maker for some. If nothing else, you will have a lot of fun, occasionally feel like kind of a big deal, and have a lot of new and interesting experiences. If any of this sounds even slightly intriguing, you should do some research, send out some e-mails, and see what comes of it. I am literally watching some of my friends’ lives change in profound ways right in front of me.