jobs

Spending hours a day looking for jobs in China is a hell of a lot more fun than spending hours looking for jobs in America.  Somehow it is exhilarating.  Eventually I have to tell myself to stop saying "one more page" as I wade through pages of job postings.  Half of the stuff I've looked at so far is shit but it's still kind of like opening presents on Christmas.

I've applied for a handful of jobs in Hángzhōu, Qīngdǎo and Tiānjīn.  I will probably have an interview sometime Saturday with a school and their recruiter.  So with the possibility of having a job soon, it is time to get some more last-minute details in order.

Hángzhōu, Zhèjiāng

I believe that this time I have found a city to go to.  Hángzhōu was one of the cities I originally looked up and then somewhat discarded after focusing on dialects.  With the help of some friends and some random people I met on couchsurfing who reside in Hángzhōu I think this will be a good choice.  The climate sounds nice, public transportation looks to be plentiful and also there seems to be a mixture of city life and nature nearby.

City life...imagine me in a city.  I've never really lived in a city.  Oh, also important about Hángzhōu is that there are a lot of schools, so maybe I can even get a job and have a reason to go.

dialectal struggles

Well, it turns out I don't have as much figured out as I originally thought.  In my search for a new home I assumed I could use temperature as one of the main determiners:  Warmer latitude = warmer heart = good home.  Doesn't entirely work that way I guess.  Part of my goal in going to China is to study Mandarin.  From my detailed internet research, most of the cities that I had been considering speak dialects that are not "mutually intelligible" with Mandarin (http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/List_of_Chinese_dialects).  According to the map Chóngqìng speaks standard Mandarin but further research has suggested Sichuanese Mandarin is spoken there.  A handful of expats in China have recommended moving toward Běijīng or Tiānjīn.

126 yuan and getting closer

The other morning I went downstairs to scan a map and print it out.  Only problem was my dad was at computer looking at tennis matches or finances or something. He started talking...and in general I don't just interrupt and change the subject...but really I wanted to not hear him talk.  So I shared with him that I was researching Nánchāng and seriously considering it.  I mentioned I saw flights from Nánchāng to Shànghǎi for what would be around $40.  I knew what would happen next.  He pulled up ctrip.com (a Chinese airfare website) and started plugging in destinations and asking questions with his trademark investigative journalist tone.  This was almost worse than listening to him talk about whatever he talking about before and I began to question ever opening my mouth.

practice

Today I went with along with Andrew to Dallas to run an errand.  After waiting in the office for a while I went outside to take medicine for a blooming headache.  out in the car I picked up one of my books about living in China and started browsing it.  It begins...

"Is China right for you?" was the first sentence of the book's introduction.  I mentioned in of my first entries how I know many things will be hard for me.  According to what I've read about people who will enjoy or adapt to living in China, I am the perfect candidate to not go.  I don't mind people staring much; that happens a lot here with my long hair and rebel-look.  But, "you'll have a rough time if...you have high standards for cleanliness and service"...I really like cleanliness, I would even say if it could be, it would be a hobby of mine.  As much as I try to be laid back (and have even become more laid back over the past few years), poor customer service is irritating.  There have been times I have ended up walking behind the counters at restaurants because I got tired of waiting for refills.  Also, some people call me patient...but others don't, if you know what I means.  Oh yeah, personal space is always a hobby of mine....