Robby in China

Robby,

I have no idea what your line of work is (teaching English ?) but anyway I am enjoying, reading, about your adventures. Mind you, this is the first time I am seeing this thread and am just on page 1. Thanks for putting it here, for sharing, and for not sticking it in a blog (not that there is anything wrong with blogs).

- Ghoul
 
Robby,

I have no idea what your line of work is (teaching English ?) but anyway I am enjoying, reading, about your adventures. Mind you, this is the first time I am seeing this thread and am just on page 1. Thanks for putting it here, for sharing, and for not sticking it in a blog (not that there is anything wrong with blogs).

- Ghoul
you're welcome man, but yeah, some of it is in my blog, still, I wish I took more pictures, I am just not really a picture taking guy it turns out :o
even when I go places, I'll try to the next time I actually do something out of the ordinary, that could be a while though :straightface:
"summer school" starts at my job come July and that means work six days a week for 2 months :cool:
 
I need my China fix!!!
sorry man, not gonna be much happening for me for the next few months, working 6 days a week and all :cool:
the one bright spot in my work schedule is that I currently* work with a beautiful Chinese T.A. who speaks English with adorable Scottish* accent :blushing:
were I a decade younger, I'd allow myself to fall for her, story of my life here in China :rolleyes:


*=she's only here for the next few months, then back to the UK she goes :tears:
 
Last edited:
so far my younger classes I often treat them to clips from videos from Disney movies and by far their favorite one is:

it seems that many students either don't know Disney's version of "Mulan" at all or only know the version dubbed into Chinese
when I've shown them the clip with Jackie Chan singing this song their response has been far less ecstatic
so score one for Donny Osmond :p
other songs they really like are:



& of course:

this last one is actually a big enough hit here in China that you sometimes here it on the radios of cab drivers :guitar:
-also, most of these songs I play in class are to be found on "youku" and have Chinese subtitles, thats how I get away with writing them up as "teaching exercises" :thumb:
 
Last edited by a moderator:
I am throwing down the gauntlet, and I'll watch it again, to suffer the torture, just to pick it apart. "Frozen" f***ing sucked. Too many songs, moved too fast, really convenient ending, brainless, etc. It is not on the level of any Pixar film, or say "Aladdin." Even that animated movie about the Ginger Kid ("Red") was better. 15 rounds, I'll go, b/c I cannot abide "Frozen."
 
to each their own, right?

I am throwing down the gauntlet, and I'll watch it again, to suffer the torture, just to pick it apart. "Frozen" f***ing sucked. Too many songs, moved too fast, really convenient ending, brainless, etc. It is not on the level of any Pixar film, or say "Aladdin." Even that animated movie about the Ginger Kid ("Red") was better. 15 rounds, I'll go, b/c I cannot abide "Frozen."
While I really liked "Frozen" the first time I saw it, that has since waned for me :straightface:
however, for me it might be different than for you :o
I still get great enjoyment out of other people, particularly children liking it, its difficult to explain to someone else, but there it is
and I still do adore "Let It Go" :blushing:
 
Re: to each their own, right?

I've had a new flatmate for a week and I don't think he is going to make it here, I wish him luck and all, but he just does not seem to have what it takes to get into it here
you cannot just hide in your room or limit your interaction with the locals, their food, their language, their customs, etc, etc
and the only way to get use to the heat and humidity of summer here is simply endure it, don't get me wrong, its still hard on me
but not as hard as it was last year
weird thing to me, is that he is a decade younger, so I just assumed it would be easy for someone like him, but then again
I've been other places and perhaps the knowing that there is real opportunity here is all the difference, I've done my best to settle him in
though no one has asked me to, this really is a darwinistic "sink or swim" place if you don't reach out
I don't know, maybe I should invite him to come with me to my meeting on Sunday night, I'll give it a shot...
 
One thing I love about "Robby in China" is the fact that you have immersed yourself in the culture and are clearly getting a lot out of the experience. If I was there, I would think I would be somewhere between you and this guy in terms of cultural immersion - but as you say, it is China, and that middle road...it's not that it would not fly, it's that it may not even exist. Keep us updated.

p.s. more pics of food, especially "weird" (to the American eye) food
 
Any news on the China and Russia Eurasia union over there?

Most people do not seem to know that the american dollar is very near to losing the grip on the world economy which will throw things into a very complicated situation. I also hear that all the "Made in China" computer chips can be controlled by the chinese government and one day they will simply "pull the plug" on them and watch the fun from afar.
 
I deserve it and gosh darn it, I don't care if people don't like me!

One thing I love about "Robby in China" is the fact that you have immersed yourself in the culture and are clearly getting a lot out of the experience. If I was there, I would think I would be somewhere between you and this guy in terms of cultural immersion - but as you say, it is China, and that middle road...it's not that it would not fly, it's that it may not even exist. Keep us updated.

p.s. more pics of food, especially "weird" (to the American eye) food
will do, when have the time and energy, still working 6 days a week, though the boss did give me a half day off today, which is nice
though I am likely to see many eyes filled with jealousy when I stroll into work in a little while :cool:
as for pics of food, I usually put those in another thread :thumb:
my current kick is anything in the "pancake" form :guitar:
 
"don't leave us in the dark"
long story short, she was not there :straightface:
which is fine, I have other issues to deal with now :cool:
I think someone from my work comes to this site :eek:
and either has it in for me or said something about me to the wrong people :confused:
regardless, I will be coming here even less now til I get this all sorted out :squiffy:
would you believe it, I could be working with a fellow Moz fan, but they are a mean, spiteful dick of a person :crazy:
what are the chances of that? :p
 
Last edited:
rather than make a double post

Hi Robby, your post only hints at the intrigue and pressure you are under. I can have no conception of the stress.
Maybe mate, and please forgive my presumption, maybe getting out would be a good option.

its all sorted now, it appears that I am not going to get fired, as best I could, I met the allegations head on :flamethrow:
and when my, still unknown to me*, accuser was not able to produce anything more than what they say they saw happen over 2 months ago :rolleyes:
well, it seems to have all gone away now, but I am not forgetting what happened these few days, going to be even more cautious now and careful about the company I keep. Also, I must get my proclivity for occasionally having intense bouts “magical thinking” under better control, especially when I am filled with angst about something. See, because I did not really know any of the facts until just six hours ago, all I knew was that I had to go to a meeting, at the end of which I might be be fired. When first informed of this, I thought that my one slip after 10 weeks had immediately resulted in all this happening right now, either because my accuser read about it somewhere or through some other means. The key here being that some part of me thinks that I don’t deserve to be happy but instead to be punished and severely so when I break my own promises to myself. Knowing now though that all this had been sent in motion by an email someone sent weeks, maybe months ago has really changed my perspective. I think I really get something new now about myself, but I just don’t know what. In addition, it seems I am once again capable of appearing “cool under pressure” and not one to be easily rattled, at least to those that don’t really know me. I am pretty sure I owe that to the mostly clean & sober stretch that I have been on over much of the summer, so far. Speaking of which, I have a new “Day 0” of July 31st, meaning this stretch will be easy to mark the length of, by September 1st it will be one month again.
Lastly, the weirdest part for me was when I realized that whatever my accuser was talking about, that supposed event happened around the time I had a mishap which set me onto the path of sobriety, oh the irony if what happened to me in May was the catalyst not just for my positive change, but also related to this “person” suddenly having a desire to have their own snitch jacket and with me as the target :cool:
shit man, I gotta be up in 6 hours :eek:
later

*=thankfully, I am certain it is no one from the school I actually work @, and the person I suspect it is is leaving in September, so not much to worry about there
 
Re: rather than make a double post

my one day off today was wasted by having to move from my apartment to another one :(
but the worst of it was that I was moved here so that they could put some young guy from "marketing" from Shanghai" in my place :straightface:
I am really coming to deeply resent my employers, my list of grievances grows, but when you combine this totally dickish making me move right now :cool:
with the other stuff I just dealt with :squiffy: and my CELTA training which was supposed to start in September has been postponed til at least January :eek:
so really I don't see it as having any choice in the matter, I must find another job once summer school is over, otherwise I am just validating their notion that they can treat me like shit and not have there be any consequences :mad:
the easiest way to "deal with it" :rolleyes: would be to just bottle it up and have it affect my teaching, show a little less patience, yell a little more, slack off on class planning, rather than making efforts to build up students with low confidence or ability just
them :mock:
but I cannot see how that is good for anyone really, not my students, nor me, well, maybe its the outcome my employers desire, turning me into a shitty teacher as a result of their treatment :doh:
 
Re: rather than make a double post

^^^^^
Robby, I'm happy the work politics all worked out.
well, I wouldn't say its all "worked out" :straightface:
just that I've weathered the most recent storm, to be honest, I really should start looking for another job :eek:
I don't see things get any better than they are now :squiffy:
I mean it will be nice to have two days off again come September :rolleyes:
but most of the frustrations I suffer from because of my work environment are not going away :(
its a part of the company's unspoken foundation, teachers are disposable and "sales" matter far more than actually teaching :cool:
case in point, today I have to go in and teach a summer course to a class of 2 students :crazy:
and its not some really academic course like phonics or "writer's guild"
no, no, its a "storytellers" class, where the kids memorize rhymes and actions to go with them
usually you have a class of at least 6 students, often more, and each kids plays a part, it can be quite fun
but with 2 kids? its just retarded, the class never should have been opened up until at least 4 kids signed up :mad:
and just to make it more annoying, there is another teacher teaching the same class at the same time with a class of 4 students! :confused:
but since those students are slightly(like a year or 2) older I have to keep teaching this stupid 2 kid* class for another 3 weeks :nopity:
when the truth is that the students would get a much better learning experience if they were in the class with more students





*=1 of the kids can't show up on Friday so, on that day I have a class with 1 student
 
Back
Top Bottom