Don’t Burn The Day

A bit of a random destination, but I went along with it. Last weekend, the school offered staffers a mini-trip - an approximately 4-hour ride out of Shanghai to seaport-city, Ningbo (means, “Tranquil Waves”).

I was one of two foreign teachers who tagged along on this trip, so I relied on my fellow local colleagues in my (international) department (who speak English) to translate most of what was going on!

Friday, November 7

We hit the road, taking the World’s Longest Bridge route — the $1.54 billion dollar Hangzhou Bay Bridge, recently built to connect Shanghai to the industrial city of Ningbo — cutting the distance between them from about 400 km to just 80 km.  Too bad, it was dark and rainy, making it difficult to see anything!  And then on the way back to Shanghai on Sunday, I fell asleep mid-ride…so technically, I didn’t get to really experience the bridge… but! here’s what it supposedly looks like….

We then checked into our hotel, which was fabulous….and bed was magnificent!!! It reminded of how much I miss my 1000 thread count sheets and awesome comforters at home!  But seriously, this bed was amazingly comfortable! I wish I could’ve packed it up with my return to Shanghai.  (Generally, beds in China are hard, even though, fortunately mine isn’t too too bad here…I would’ve traded it in for this hotel bed.)  Soooo if ever in Ningbo, I do recommend the Haijui Wangfu Hotel. Plus, it is a brand new hotel, service is great and provides a hearty breakfast in the morning!

Saturday, November 8

We headed out to some rainforest/canyon/valley spot… Why so vague? …Because I cannot recall the name of it; I was told a few times in Mandarin, but of course that just went in one ear and out the other. (I know, so bad.. but ah well.)  It was drizzling rain that day, and typically that sets me in a not so chipper mood, however this day was an exception as since it made the valley experience that more enjoyable… adding to the “natural” ambience… The water was so beautifully (and surprisingly) green! Check the flicks!

“Raindrops keep falling on my head”……. Ahhhhhhhh! Refreshing!!…….

The colleagues….

This sign is for a reason…

And with signs like the following, you can’t blame me for tuning in enough for it to enter one ear and exit the other…

Then night time… I was pleasantly surprised with this little city and its’ metropolitan’ess and general cleanliness as well!  (Cleaner than Shanghai for sure! But then again, Shanghai’s 18 Million population is incomparable to a “small” city as Ningbo of 2 Million!)

Sunday, November 9

Off to Dongqian Lake!

Yup, that’s some sort’ve fish…

A satellite. Quite random if you ask me…but I was told, this was a prop that Hong Kong actor, Stephen Chow (Kung Fu Hustle, etc.) used while filming on this lake.

And Ningbo is known for its seafood…

. . don’t burn the day. .

I know, pretty odd combo for a title! … But!…..

This weekend was totally awesome in that…..

A) It kick-started Friday night with a lovely wine and tapas affair at Enoteca with a random bunch of expats from all over the globe, gathered together by an Obama supporter who I had met at the Obama Party….and ended at Barbarossa where I met another DJ (this time from Amsterdam) who knows his music!  It was refreshing to hear some Jamie Cullum (”Frontin’” cover), Brand New Heavies (”Sometimes”), Jamiroquai and the likes. Basically NO Souldja boy!!  I’m working on getting some flicks from this night…

B) I actually had time to catch up with folks stateside!  From Boston to New York to Detroit to Atlanta to Dallas to Los Angeles, record-breaking for one weekend (at least for me in the 4 months I’ve been abroad)!….. various voice/video chat programs were put to great use!! Love ya’ll…and MISS ya’ll! But I gotta share with the masses a great new addition to the “stay connected” methods… Introducing Gmail Video/Voice Chat!  This was just released earlier this week to my fellow Gmail users; I had my first of a few sessions over the weekend and it totally rocks!  Almost even better than Skype quality…. and Skype and iChat are both pretty good as is.

Here’s a snapshot of my first video chat with Gmail …. I got to see LES streets in action… the very streets I had stomped on oh so many times. Thanks Jeff for the snapshot tutorial!!

Hope to SEE more of ya’ll soon!

. . don’t burn the day. .

Last night, the Shanghai chapter of Democrats Abroad, an official arm of the Democratic Party, held an Obama victory party at the fanciful and fashionable Glamour Bar on the Bund. I, of course was there with bells on!

But let me first break down my November 4/5th to ya’ll…

Eve of Election: I was bouncing off the walls in anticipation. My roomates thought I had lost a few screws, but I could’ve cared less. Something special was about to take place. Eventually, I went to bed - giddy, with a mere few hours of sleep; I woke up at 5:30am as per usual, (aka 4:30pm EST), rolled over to my side to where my mac purposefully sat bedside, logged onto the net, checked to see what was happening on the home front, ended up chatting with some folks back at home to hype me up even more (not that I needed it!) … while at the same time, getting myself together for another day with the kiddies. I got dressed… BLUE shirt and blazer was in order!!

I packed my mac with me, just in case my pc’s streaming connection would decide to act up. Once arrived at school, I immediately hooked up both computers and created Obama Headquarters in Shanghai:

I was serious! Working both technologies, earbuds in tact. I was conducting midterms in the day…though my head was soooooo NOT on “Circle the nouns in the sentences below….”  Instead, I was shuffling in/out of the classrooms, anxious to to see what updates were being fed to me from trusted sources back at home. I was rejoicing to myself and through the wired lines…. I hated feeling so suppressed. Aside from the handful of foreign teachers in the office who knew of the “big day,” the local teachers carried on their day, midterm-minded. I guess what sucked the most was being the only real hardcore Obama supporter in the office. (Anti-American Canadians and a “red” are my colleagues. Do you feel my pain now?)  Though, I trucked on and continued my hype via phone, text, email, IM’s…

At approximately 11:45am, I got word: multiple news stations had called the Election a wrap in favor of Obama. I lost my mind! Way too surreal and way too easy!! I typed feverishly and hard on the keyboard. I got a call from the Canadian colleagues who invited me to their dorm to view McCain and President-Elect, Obama’s speech. A little reluctant for the whole Canadian connect, but I put that aside, headed over… and witnessed history!!! Hat tip to McCain’s concession speech and absolute admiration for Obama. Choked up with goosebumps, I couldnt’ believe my eyes.  From then on, I can’t recall where my head was. So many emotions ran through me…..and I counted down till the ring of last school bell…..

Evening, I met up with some folks at Glamour Bar and forewarned them that this was gonna be MY night…. They definitely understimated and were ill-prepared…..ha!

I wasn’t lying about Obamatini’s!!!!!

Towards the middle of it all, I was found jumping off from what my friends call, “my stage area”…. HAAAA!!!

In the last 4 months that I’ve been out and about in this part of the world, I will go ahead and say last night’s party was the best party’ve I’ve attended!!!  Not only because I was among other American expats, I mean you find them all over here and not just because it was multi-culti, and so it reminded me of home (– which I doooo miss), and not just because it reminded me of how “easy” I had it back in the States (I mean last night…being able to talk to people in itself, was a major plus. Especially when talking to dudes!)… but moreover, because I was amongst like-minded heads!! Liberal, worldly and hyped!!!! LOVE was spread! An amazingly memorable time was had by all! Folks from all corners of the UNITED States were loose, lively and again, liberal. I chatted up a storm and rocked out at that party as if it were birthday! ….Props to the DJ for being on point with a meaningful playlist!!

Next morning….

First song played on ipod = “Beautiful Day” from album, All That You Can’t Leave Behind by U2. Just a little message to the New First Family:

See the world in green and blue
See China right in front of you
See the canyons broken by cloud
See the tuna fleets clearing the sea out
See the Bedouin fires at night
See the oil fields at first light
And see the bird with a leaf in her mouth
After the flood all the colors came out

It was a beautiful day
Don’t let it get away
Beautiful day

Ahhhhhhhhhhhhhhhh!

. . don’t burn the day. .

p.s. I’ll be away this weekend for a trip to Ningbo (more on that later).

(Well, sorta… because the production was not the spectacular “glow in the dark” one I was hoping for, however, close enough……)

I just got in from Kanye’s concert here at the Shanghai Grand Stage, and the man had the whole stadium on their feet, rockin’ out!!! I haven’t had THAT much fun at a concert in a LONGGGGGGG TIME!  Now granted, it’s also been a longgggg time since I’ve seen a “real” live act, and not to mention, options here are slim, so my standards have lowered incredibly….. so all these variables must be taken into consideration, ….. but seriously, Mr. West did it up for me big time tonight!! I NEEDED this concert as it made me feel very much back in my element; and the crowd was alive in song and dance, all the way through!!

Not nearly sold out (comprised of both local and expat attendees) and I found that “no merchandising” was odd, but I guess that’s how it floats over here. Shrug.

The stage set-up itself was typical stage middle, jumbo screens to left/right. Performance lasted a full hour with just about every song you can think of. In the beginning, I found he sped up tempo… probably in order to include as many songs as he did in his set. At this very moment, I wouldn’t be able to recall every single track, however, my personal highlights were: “Homecoming,” “Flashing Lights,” sentimental “Hey Mama,” “Good Life,” “Touch the Sky” and the Interlude sung by a back-up singer, a rendition of: “Don’t Stop Believin’” by Journey. Oh! and he also did up Estelle’s “American Boy” - a real big hit in tha clubs ’round this town!

And it was a bit surreal that I was going nuts whenever he shouted and/or incorporated “Shanghai” in lyrics…… Wow! I’m really here! Exhibit A Video:

I go for mine, I got to shine
Now throw your hands up Shanghai!!!!!

Ahhhhhh I’m feelin’ SKY HIGH right now….Much love to Chi-town from Hai-town!!!

. . don’t burn <electiOn> day. .

Ok, so my girl, Kym is famous in Sweden (waddup KS!)…. and now, I AM MOST DEFINITELY FAMOUS IN SHANGHAI!!

As mentioned in previous post, I attended lifestyle e-zine, Shanghaiist’ Annual Halloween Party at Shanghai Studio this past Friday night and won myself some Brooklyn Lager with my “Boombox” costume. Who woulda thunk a last-minute, hand-made costume, inspired by a Halloween activity for da kidz would bring me home a prize!??!! And I had initially debated on wearing it out, too!?! How SILLY of me! It’s funny what life throws your way sometimes….

But anyway,  CLICK HERE to READ AND SEE me accept my prize!!! I love the “a.k.a. Boombox” …. cracks me up!!!! HILARITY!!! :-P  Though, I’d like to call it, “My Life in Stereo.” *wink wink, *nudge nudge.

PS. Mehmet! I hope you are reading this! ~ Con Amor, from one boombox to another!

. . don’t burn <electiOn> day. .

Lager!

YUP! - Brooklyn Lager.

I won it here in Shanghai!  (We’ll get into the “How I Won” a little bit later….)

Now, I’ve never been one to put myself inside a box - literally nor figuratively. And, I’ve never worn shades in a night club. However, this Halloween became a huge exception to both rules. As noted in my previous post, I last minutely hand-made my costume this year….. an awesome boombox! And as all costumes, you MUST maximize usage of it because I mean, when else would you rock it, without having too many strange looks around you??!!

Night time came and options of parties were thrown around. We decided to hit up local lifestyle e-zine, Shanghaiist’ party in the Bomb Shelter at Shanghai Studio:

My initial thought:  “Awwwwww hellll, how long am I going to last with a box over my head, in a club?? I better think of a back-up costume for when the time comes to put the system down on the floor, safely in a corner”….. I dug deep down into my Creativity Vault to see what I could conjure up…..  my juices came up with:

Costume 1: Bassin’ with My Boombox

and Costume 2: Imaginin’ with Lennon

and Costume 3:Profilin’ with Yoko.

Test run…

And then, we arrived in full uniform!  Robot, The Joker, Class Nerd, Dead Prom Queen, Scary Little Red Riding Hood and of course my Triple-Costume. :-)  Previously a bomb shelter, I gotta say, the Shanghaiist folks did a pretty damn good job with decorations. This place was virtually a maze inside with mirrors and small pocket rooms that made it very trivial for an inebriated crowd to roam about. I only got lost a couple times

A cage of mangled, body parts was also involved…And so I had test it out somehow…

Shortly after my cage stint, I was hollered at by some dude, who yelled out “Hey Boombox! You won the contest! Come with me to pick up your prize!”  First, I wasn’t even at all aware of the contest and secondly, I was unsure if that was this dude’s opening pick up line. LOL. But it didn’t matter, I shuffled my way through the maze of costumed folks and mirrored walls and found myself in the Winner’s Circle Photo-Op Session!

Now, what I learned was that there was a contest for Best Male and Best Female Costumes of the night. I was told that I had won 2nd Place. Naturally, I asked who won 1st and was told some transvestite, dressed as Elvira. I mean, c’mon!!! A trans??!! The “It” doesn’t belong in either Male nor Female categories!! And that’s no “costume,” but rather a typical outfit for “it.” Take a look at “it” for yourself below:

So yeah, the 1st Place shoulda been mine in a world that had sense, but I settled for the 2nd Place slot…. and won myself a case of Brooklyn Lager to be delivered to my home. Though I can think of a bunch of other prizes they could’ve given me, I guess the irony of having a little taste of home is kinda cute in itself. From Brooklyn to Shanghai…. BK has come a long way!

Anyhoots, as the night progressed, my knobs and buttons were stolen, fell off, missing somehow….and ironically, pretty much at about the same time, the music in the club stopped as well. Folks were yelling what happened to the music??!! And I jokingly responded that someone stole my Volume Knob, so therefore, the music died.  True? Yes. But even more true, is that the cops came a knockin’ and put an end to the extravanganza due to noise complaints.

Here we are leaving to hit up another spot, making a few friends along the way…

In the end, it turned out to be a pretty HAPPY Halloween…. and John and Yoko didn’t even have to do much.

. . don’t burn the day. .

Sooooo for school, we’ve got this annual Halloween Activity thing for all students in the International Program.

How It Works:

• 6 Foreign Teachers are to each conceptualize a Halloween Activity.
• All students of the International Division are divided into 6 groups (their House League groups).
• Day of Celebrations: Students and teachers alike are encouraged to wear a costume, and each House League group of students rotate from one room to the next, per Foreign Teacher/Halloween Activity room.
• The final rooms consisted of: (1) “Face Painting” led by a Pirate, (2) “Drawing on Pumpkins” led by Dora the Explorer, (3) “Finger Puppets” led by a Nerd and Scary Little Red Riding Hood, (4) “Scary Stories” led by a Robot, (5) “Gooey Food Concoctions” led by a Mad Scientist, and (6)………………… “Michael Jackson’s Thriller Room” (music video and dance) led by ……who else, but yours truly, as a Boombox!

First off, I have to say, this had to be the MOST stressful and time-crunched week! On top of my already insane 26 lesson-week, we had to create our midterm exams that are to be administered next week……and I had soooo many friggin tech problems with just getting the downloaded music video to play on the prompter in the classroom. (But that is an ENTIRELY SEPARATE story in itself.)

Anyway, at the very last minute, I was saved when I popped into a cd store, the night before showday, and was able to very luckily, find a cd/dvd combo pack of good ol’ MJ that included the Thriller video. But I was not done yet!… I had NO COSTUME!! And if you think getting a costume in the States is stressful, try doing it in China!!  I literally MADE MY COSTUME ON THE MORNING OF the day of celebrations. I worked on the thing in between my classes and skipped lunch for it. Oh, and inspiration came as duh…… I’m playing the music video and going to teach the kids the Thriller Dance…. I couldn’t find a box to fit me as an ipod….so I went old school on the kids, and turned myself into a boombox! What can I say? I was on a Creative Crunch!!!!! But it turned out superb!!

So, ya’ll better enjoy this!!

Introducing: Boombox

Starring: Me

If you look closely, you can see I pulled a plug from a real radio, and made a little home for it in the back of my costume. Thennnn, on the side, I made 3 insertion holes for “Line, Mic and Stereo”. I borrowed a co-workers’ big set of headphones and wore it on the day of, with the wire plugged into “Line.” Knobs, buttons… the whole sha-bang!…. Plus! A real cassette, taped on the front!!  It’s kinda nifty to think what you can do with just a plain ol’ box, colored construction paper and some foil!!

The cd that saved my Halloween Activity Concept!!

Welcome to The Thriller Room…..<insert Evil Laugh>

The kids watch and and get a little skurred…

And now onto The Thriller Dance! I had two dancer-students from the 9th grade help me with choreographing the little ones….

My favorite costumes…. Woody from Toy Story (my little Johnny in 1st grade, sooooooo adorable!!) and The Incredibles Boy (George from 2nd grade, who I taught over the summer…. cutie!)

And now the best part….. is a little video clip of the little monsters dancing to Thriller!  aka Organized Chaos! LOL! Enjoy! 

. . don’t burn the day. .

I just HAD to document these for keepsake… Enjoy!

LAST WEEK

Me: OK, “duck.” This was a Spelling Word for us a few weeks ago. Who can spell duck?

Boy (raises his hand): Oh! I know!

Me: Yes, go ahead, spell “duck.”

Boy: Uhhhh D-I-C-K.

Me: New Spelling Word is shed, s-h-e-d, shed. Who can tell me what “shed” means?

Girl (raises her hand): I know what it is!

Me: What is a shed?

Girl: It is a bad word. Shit.

TODAY

Me: Let’s review. Who can tell me what a “hen” is?

Boy: It is a girl chicken.

Me: Very good!  Now, here’s a bonus. Who can tell me what a boy chicken is called?

Girl (raises her hand with confidence)

Me: Yes? What do you call a boy chicken?

Girl: A cock!

(Me: OKayyyyyyyyy… There is also another name for a boy chicken, called a rooster!)

. . don’t burn the day. .

We have this thing called House League at the school, which encourages the entire student body of the International Division, regardless of grade level, to get to know each other and work with each other via various activities. House League is comprised of six teams, each with a mascot. I was handed to lead Team Tigers. First task = come up with a cheer and be able to meet and teach the cheer to my team of 32 students ranging from 1st to 8th graders within an approx. 30min time frame. (As if I didn’t have enough work to do, in my regular day-to-day.) But anyway, with only a couple days to stir up a cheer, my creative juices eventually boiled up:

T-I-G!

Fighters are we!

E-R-S!

Better than all the rest!

See our jaw,

Hear us roar!

ROARRRRR!

See our claws,

Watch us soar!

SOARRRRR!

GOOOOOOOOOOO TIGERS!!

Hey man, I was never a cheerleader…but I’ve always been cheered for :-P  So, on that account, I think I did pretty good. Now of course, the other part of it is to also teach something coordinate’able for all student levels to be able to remember and execute. (30 minutes. I had 30 minutes to teach this thing, people!!) Though the pictures below don’t do me any justice (I handed my camera to a colleague)….. my cheer was actually pretty fresh … that involved a huge orange bedsheet….jawing and clawing, roaring and soaring…  I mean…if you put tigers and a bedsheet together… how can ya lose?

Then a good ol’ game of tug-of-war… You can find me coaching my little tiggers in the orange head-scarf…

In the end though, we racked up points to take home 2nd place trophy, boasting #1 in Creativity. Why not the whole sha-bang? Well, we’ll just leave that off for another off-record discussion.

. . don’t burn the day. .

OK, I just had a great week with my kiddos..and I just needed to share!  I am one proud teacher right now!  The first 7 weeks have been quite an adjustment for all… parents, students and well, teachers alike. Just as not all parents are the same… not all students are the same… and when the kids are difficult to crack and/or the parents are being stupid and/or they don’t jive with the curriculum and/or get with the program, then headaches arise. However, despite some hiccups with a few students, the success rate for turn-around has been close to a perfect score!

Speaking of perfect score, I conducted my first major exams in English Language Arts, Science and Social Studies this past week…. and was SMILING uncontrollably while correcting the tests. You see, while parents and students are pissing their pants over taking the tests… I as the teacher had a thumping heart as well; I mean, afterall, it is a reflection of my ability to educate these little people. But I’ll spare the suspense and say I felt OH SO PROUD OF MY LITTLE ONES! Even the students who were deemed a bit more challenged scored higher than I could’ve imagined!  And no, there was no way they could’ve cheated (I’m way too smart to allow anything close to that happening in my classroom), and the exam itself was no easy-breeze. Subject matters included: What is a Sentence, Sentence Structure, Word Order, Statements, Punctuations, Parts of a Book, Question Words, Personal Narratives, What Being Special Means, Feelings, Heart, Love, How to Care for Others, Having Talents, Body Parts, Use of Hands and Legs, Protecting Your Body, Private Parts and Five Senses…. Yeah!! A helluva lot for little munchkins, when you think about it… But all of my students did remarkably well! I am convinced my students will all be geniuses by the time I get through with them!  Better yet, my hubby (whoever the lucky lad may be) and my very own kids (someday) should be ready for some wizard-esque world domination.

On top of that….. my kids are cracking me up more and more by the day. As they have gotten used to “what school is all about” and also my ways, I’ve also lightened up a tad to really just let out full out chuckles when one of my students really say the darndest thing! (The general rule is to not smile during the first month of teaching, to let the kids know who’s boss…. I think I passed on that one!  You can ask my students who’ve had detention with me.. HA!) I was also forewarned that I will fall in love with my kids at some point…and I think, the time has come.

Last Friday, we had “Open House”  - parents were invited to attend and observe class. I received some great, positive remarks including.. “My wife and I were very impressed. I was sitting there thinking, if I were a schoolboy, I would really be interested in your class!” HA!  And the only thing that my Dean could keep repeating, was my passionate way of teaching. Damn skippy! I’m passionate when I put my mind to something. Ya’ll know that… so just imagine me lesson planning and teaching. Passion-mania. And now, as I admit that I’ve fallen for lil’ ones, I’ll be the first to kick ass if someone messes with one of my own.

Check ‘em out in the full uniforms…

Class 1: Silly faces and Spelling Bee!

and Class 2: Just being silly!

. . don’t burn the day. .