Decisions

This is Cindy, probably my favourite student.  This picture should make
you smile no matter what mood you're in.

Hi internetland,
For a few of you this will be old news, for others it will be new. Either way, keep reading after the main part as I have some other stuff too:
So this whole figuring out what to do next year process has stretched out long enough. I was inundated with offers but ignored most of them. I had decided I wanted a university job next year or to stay at my current school. The college here offered me a decent job but a really terrible apartment. I had looked at universities in other cities but most of the places I wanted to go to required 2 years experience. The college here told me they found me a better place to live so last Friday I went and checked it out. It was a lot better. By no means awesome but definitely acceptable. I was strongly leaning towards that but then on the weekend I got an email from a school way in the South of China.
This school was offering slightly higher pay working only tues/wed each week for 3 hrs/day. Also is only an hour away from sandy palm beaches. Sounds pretty awesome so I accepted an interview from them. When the interview came it was just a lady typing on skype, not even voice. She didn't ask me anything and after 1/2 hr she said she had to go home so I didn't even get to ask all my questions even though I had said I had to make a decision by the next day (I had told the college I'd tell them by Wednesday). I emailed her the rest of my questions and did some research on the city (called Zhanjiang). Seems like a relatively small city with not a lot going on but is fairly close to more interesting things, especially with 5 days off in a row. There also do not appear to be any foreigners there and Mandarin is not widely spoken.
I've met more people in Dongying in the last few weeks and enjoy it here quite a bit. Going South could be absolutely amazing but it also has the potential to be really lonely and boring. There's also no guarantee the hours will actually be what they promise. The big thing is that the school in the South would not give me contact information for a current teacher there. All these things made me a little hesitant despite the very cushy sounding job.
So I just told the college in Dongying that I'll go there next year. Unless some paperwork gets in the way I'll be sticking around in this city another year. I'll miss some of my kids. Others I'll be glad to never have to think of again.
By now I know it pretty well and can get around quite easily so if any of you have wanted to see a part of China this is your chance. I'd love to have you!
Moving on: Yesterday I saw my first movie in China. I went to see the Avengers with some friends. It was in 3D but other than that it was awesome. Was interesting to see what Chinese people found funny as it was a hilarious movie.
Today I got a call at the early hour of 9am from a friend who wanted me to go to a lake in East city with her classmates. I had to find my own way there apparently because she wasn't really supposed to invite people. I had never really been to East city before. The place is a different world. It's much prettier but apart from lots more green things there doesn't seem to be a lot to do.

Green, in Dongying!

The East City has the (apparently) 2nd biggest man-made lake in Asia. It's pretty impressive but I didn't have a tonne of time to explore it, I hope to go back soon. The bus there takes 1.5 hrs but costs $0.30There was also a Marathon running there today. This meant lots of streets were closed. When I first got on the bus I wasn't really even sure I was on the right one but immediately a guy decided I should be talked to so I asked him. He spoke approximately no English. I had him talk on the phone to my friend who told me just to follow him. Later another guy came on the bus with significantly better English. He talked to me for most of the way. At one point the bus just. stopped. No one seemed to know why but we all had to get off. My guess is the Marathon was a problem. So I followed my new friend for awhile and he got me near the lake. It took about 6 calls before my friend and I managed to find each other but at least we pulled it off thanks to some friendly Chinese guys. This is all highly typical in Dongying which is part of the reason I'm staying.After meeting up with her she took me to where her classmates were doing a beachside (that's right, there's a "beach" in DY!) bbq so they gave me some food and warm beer.

What?

Another chinese friend of mine is trying to start a small school. She's been running it for awhile and she promised them a day at the park with their parents and a foreigner. She asked me and she's cute so I said yes. Basically I just played with them for a few hours by spinning them around and making them learn a few words like "I want to fly fast!" I like kids in this capacity. Only responsible for the fun parts. They also really seem to like me, as well as their moms. Good times.They took a lot of pics which I hope to get at some time. I took a couple myself but hopefully I can add the others to Picasa eventually.For now, enjoy the new pics I upped in the May 2012 folder as well as my new favourite pic (Cindy, above) in the students album. I also did a show and tell day for the students and got a few pictures. Did a video too but it's not amazing and the last video I uploaded was a pain and didn't seem to be a crowd-pleaser so I'll save em for when I'm home in July.As always, emails and comments welcome!

Wiseguy1