My first few months

I arrived in China in late Aug 2009. I stayed one night in Hong Kong before taking off Guangzhou.

The first 6 months i was there i stayed with a Chinese family in there 16th floor apartment. The Hu family had 2 kids, Peter and MeiMei.

MY DAYS AS AN INTERNATIONAL BUS BOY OF MYSTERY

My original intention was to support myself in China by teaching English. I am certified to teach English as a second language, but since i arrived just as the school year was beginning, i wasn't able to find any jobs right away. So i took a job as a bus boy at local buffet that served Brazilian food. I was an American working in a Brazilian restaurant in China. It was quite the combination. I worked 12 hours a day 6 days a week for just under 1 USD an hour.

The Latina, my employer.

I would never do this again if i could avoid it, but i am glad i did it then, i was able to see how the working class lives. the other employees all shared one apt with three rooms. each room had at least eight people in it. they shared a bathroom/ kitchen, and had very little personal possessions. usually just their work clothes and a few extra shirts and pants, but they always seemed so happy.

During the time i worked there, one of the waiters had a birthday. rather then everyone else taking him out buying him food and gifts he took us out. He made just a bit more then 100 USD a month and still look out about 20 of us. He bought us all food, drinks, and since most people in China smoke, about 30 packs. The entire party cost him about 2/3 of his months salary, but was more then happy to do it.

THE GOOD CANADIAN
About two months after starting at the restaurant i was walking from table to table saying "shǔ tiáo", which means french fries. I came to a table with three western guys sitting at and they me what in the world i was doing serving fries! i told them i couldn't find any teaching jobs, and a Canadian man named Wayne took pity on my plight :) he was a teacher in the city and took my cell number and said he would ask around for me.

Wayne the Canadian

About three days later i took an extended lunch break and hoped into a taxi to visit Randolph language center. Wayne had arranged an interview for and was sure i would get the job. and he was right! The following week i had left my job at the restaurant. The new job was teaching four and five year olds basic spoken English. I went from working 72 hours a week for 100 USD to three hours a week for the same amount.

 From that point on Wayne would give me jobs whenever he could, introduced me to people he thought could help me, and he          also         celebrated my birthday with me.

A BIRTHDAY IN CHINA

Fred The Swede. Also fresh out of

 HS.

I had been in China about 2 months when my birthday rolled around. I had made very few friends, and none were good enough for me to celebrate my birthday with. Wayne found it was my birthday and threw together a quick party. I knew a guy mt age from sweden named Fredrik(Fred), and brought him along. We ate Pizza Hut and just kinda hung out. It wasnt much, but it was better then sitting at home doin nothing right? After dinner Fred and i went and played pool. He was a decent and guy and in later posts and pics you'll see him and some of the other things we did togehter.

THE NEW MOON FESTIVAL
  October is the month the Chinese celebrate the moon festival. Its when all the moon cakes are served and people get time off of work and school, and its an interesting time. Moon cakes.... a cake fillied with anything from egg the green beans. if you ever get the chance to eat a green bean moon cake.... go ahead and pass:) since i had time off of work i got on the net and saw what there was to do. I found a group of three other young people in my city who planned on traveling to Yangshuo and Guilin. they are small touristy type towns for back packers and climbers. i had nothing else to do so i asked to join their party.

it was a seven hour bus ride that was hot, cramped and loud, but it was worth it. we were there for 9 days. in that time we back along the river and through the mountains (of thats the right word.they looked almost the cone heads. there are pics of them in the slide show.) kayaked down the snake river, went out each night, ate the local food, explored the many markets, and saw the different traditional celebrations for the festival. the coolest tradion was the lanterns.

Biking along the Snake River

im sure you have seen the lanterns with the small candles in them. well thats what these were, except they floated away. the last night of the festival hundreds and thousands it seemed were released and floated away. it was pretty impressive sight, unfortunately i have no pictures with any sort of decent quality.

This trip is among the best experiences i have had since being here and it all started with meeting people on the internet... scary i know:)