Take a good look...

Take one last look at this face.

Because this will be the last time you will ever see Brad Ellis as a man who has never been to Beijing. thats right, we leave right now, on an overnight 22 hour train. should be nice.

this week was wild: fireworks on the river, tourism festival, indian dance party, catholic church, coffee shop terrace, cancelling class, permenant resident of china finally, learning madagassi, eating intestine soup, going 180 miles an hour and almost tipping in a cab cuz he wanted to make americans laugh, western food even dr. pepper, man, i dunno, im leaving for beijing, we'll talk later.
ps- this is the moon festival in china, so a big holiday. maybe you can wikipedia it, since i cant here...

She's Not Yet Named...

She's more than just a bike.
She's Freedom.

coffee?!

last night was pretty interesting. We took a break from the everyday chinese food, which is still delicious, but we had some friends take us to an Indian restaraunt! If you know me, you know i love Halloween, so, in honor of the coming holiday, among other things we had pumpkin curry. delicious.

after, we went to a new cafe/restaraunt/dessert/coffee shop. Friends of friends place. I felt like i was at home man. Little place, and they had acoustic guitar musicians playing live.

Nati: it was like being at the Buzz
Nashville: like being at Bongos, Coco, of JJs with live music.

pretty interesting as they all played Mr. Big.

my new favorite line...

Man, this country is so backwards! I mean, everyday i hear maybe somewhere around a million things that i just want to add to a quote book. everyone knows the travelers quote book, and you look back one day and laugh and say, oh yah, i remember that one. but thats impossible here. everyday theres millions. especially with so much chinglish everywhere.
but yesterday i had a new favorite. the reason i say china is so backwards, is because the way they run things just dont make sense to us. i know i know. people say, dont go to china expecting to change china, etc. but this is what a fellow teacher said to me after she informed me the day before i had a department meeting that i couldnt miss. at this point i already had other plans and i said, "well, i didnt know about it. no one told me anything." she replied:

"If someone calls you to tell you you dont have to go, you can miss it,
if no one calls you, you must not miss it"

think about that, i should say, no one EVER mentioned a meeting before this comment. and then think of the explanatory conversation the following day at work, "Brad, you missed the teachers meeting, why werent you there, we didnt call you?" exactly. "Im sorry, i didnt get a call, i shoulda been there" would be the PROPER and EXPECTED response!!! so in total, if no one ever mentions a meeting, tells you verbally, calls you, emails you, or SMS messages you, you are expected to know and attend all meetings, even when they are not set at any specific regular weekly time. i mean, it has happened before that a class was cancelled and they didnt tell me. it has happened before that my schedule was changed and was given to me the afternoon before i start teaching my new schedule. it even happened that they changed my room to a building across campus, and never informed me so that i thought the students didnt show up but in fact were waiting for me for over 45 minutes. (actually, that is pretty impressive considering we have a 15 minute rule for Doctors in the states) then later they said, "we changed your classroom but we didnt tell you." just all matter of fact like that. but this is the perfect sum up. i mean, this school is a business, and you would think any business would want efficiency and productivity. not this business man. this is the standard by which they run everything.

i also was in a conversation today with a group of teachers, at which some point another teacher came up and asked me, "hello, where are you from?" to which the other teachers quickly beat me in answering, "Uh, Hello, cant you tell by his accent...Canada." ive been found out.

shout out

Vienna 03,
For those of you who were there and remember. I felt it necessary to let you know, today was the first day since leaving the states that i washed my shorts. i remember being made fun of alot in Europe for the same problem, with my jeans. Yah it was time. But we dont really need to wash that much do we? I miss and love you all.
Sincerely.

somebody sent me an email with this quote:

"One morning he rudely awakens to the reality....He realizes he has committed himself to circumstances that are no longer quaint; they are now weird, even barbaric! The adventure of discovery has turned to the dread of "What's next?" The first bugs of dysentery keep him up all night. The fact that this is the most difficult language in the world to learn has him looking for a permanent interpreter."

Its funny. those moments do hit you. the honeymoon is over some might say. but for me it was the reverse. everyday gets better and better than the first. It seems God really is opening doors and setting my path, and i am realizing it maybe authentically for the first time ever. Just as he made a way for Moses, he is making one for me. It is never good to be static. to be too comfortable. Comfort feels good, and i miss home alot. but when these moments hit, its a moment, but also a chance and an oppurtunity to grow. life is always choices. its a question of whether or not we decide to take the steps to grow. although that requires energy, uncertainty, and worst of all: discomfort. But that is required of us. Change does not just lead to growth. Wherever you are, every day there are many oppurtunities. its seems it would be much more dramatic and shocking for Brad, i mean, he is in China. He is forced to change and grow, right? But i have realized every day there are oppurtunities. to grow, or change another. we are too comfortable. We are "like an ignorant child who wants to go on making mud pies in a slum because we cannot imagine what is meant by the offer of a holiday at the sea. We are far too easily pleased."

the same person who sent me that quote also sent me this:
"I have learned to be content whatever the circumstances. I know what it is to be in need, and I know what it is to have plenty. I have learned the secret of being content in any and every situation, whether well fed or hungry, whether living in plenty or in want. I can do everything through him who gives me strength."

what is today gonna be?

China Is Open for Business...

Yes, ladies and gentleman, all hope is lost. Nothing is sacred. Everybody has a price. here i am with our very own ronald mcdonald in Yichang City. Which is fine i guess. But today i heard that there is a Starbucks...INSIDE THE FORBIDDEN CITY. i hope everybody can understand the magnitude of what that means. Chinese people werent even allowed to step foot in there. there is a starbucks inside. Its the end of an era. Let the games begin...

(ps-dont worry, im not eating there, just icecream, for pics sake...)

professional work environment

I love this place. They know some western things. Today, i was told, by my female colleague, that my name was easy to remember, because of Brad Pitt, who was very hunky. then she said, "You are very hunky too!!!"

this place is great for the self-esteem.

I think i am making a place for myself at work. Things are going fairly well with my role as Professor and Foreign Expert. My colleagues seem to appreciate me at least. My fellow teacher, English name Frank, stands about 5 feet tall and smokes, and tells me i am a "very easy going boy." also, all of my female colleagues, young and old, just cannot seem to use the word "handsome" enough. I now think it is interchangeable with the word young.

my classes are interesting. today we listened to Eminem and talked about rap music. that didnt feel like china. you gotta love the kids responses though. They have never heard ANY of our western music, except for Celine Dion's timeless classic "my heart will go on." it seems most of us feel as if our culture, music, movies, etc. have spread everywhere. but not everywhere in china. perfect example: their ABSOLUTE FAVORITE SONG is "Yesterday Once More" by the Carpenters. im not even kidding. ABSOLUTE FAVORITE. and EVERYBODY loves it, young and old, no matter. But today we talked about the Carpenters and they have no clue who they were, they just know they love the song Yesterday Once more. they dont even know Karen Carpenter is dead...but somehow i really dont think they care. its a good way to live, ya know?

another day at the office...

Oh westerners. At least i think its westerners...Because all of my students have very interesting names. It sounds like some stupid westerners along the line were having too much fun with their Chinese students. Although a friend says its not always our faults, sometimes students pick english names, or they are similar to their Chinese names. anyway, here is a list of just a few. And i dont even have all my students yet.

blue sea, forest, ice, oxen, stone, dragon, kitty, lion, fancy, soso, sky, long, fang, neo, Bobroot, star, sea, moon, valley river, roc.

these are the names they will take to business with them. some friends here have had students named iceman, and yesno, etc. there is no limit to the ridiculosities in this country.

#1 question from students - do you like China?
#2 question - do you have a girlfriend?

i could be a millionaire...

Man, i wish i would have been a business major at old LU. If i could only be paid to edit anythin in China...It's time I finally posted a pic of what the Chinglish is like here. There is a new facility opening in the business district of Yichang. It is huge. I mean, a HUGE deal. It is maybe 40 stories high, and will include the first 5 star hotel in Yichang, plus western restaraunts, coffee, businesses, etc. I mean, this is in the middle of the whole city and is the biggest thing to happen in Yichang yet. Even a PizzaHut. A huge deal. Yet, evenstill, here are JUST A FEW samples of the advertisements in the official book trying to temp investors. All are amazing, yet the first line on the 1st picture is quite shocking. This is Chinglish at its best. Who wouldn't invest?
(ps - click on pics to open and read...)

J. Bradley in Anime...

First day of class, this was drawn for me by a very good student? Man, i guess my life really is an open book...am I really that easy to read...?

irony

i just came to the sad realization that, no matter how hot it is here, i will never see the sun for a whole year...

things are like the movies here. everything is just super close, and frantic all the time. for example, people on buses, theres at least a hundred, and they all stand super close and they all stare. its cool. but another example: we went to look at the university hospital, just to get acquainted with it, and everybody is just pushing and shoving to see a doctor, one of the 2 that is sitting at one of the two tables in the one open room. meanwhile, actual physical exams are taking place for ALL to see, i dont care what kind of exam it is...also, everyone sits right by you and listens to your problems, or reads over your shoulder, etc. and this is all common. sorry if you have a personal issue for a doctor. even if a doctor tries to put up a dividing screen, people just push them aside...

school started today but i didnt teach. instead i am putting off planning my lesson for tomorrow by writing this. nothing changes when you leave school.

todays spider count: 0!

todays lunch: chicken tube: an attempt at a vienna sausage type product that is more a pasty white stick of processed meat. im now a vegetarian. (i didnt finish it).

todays second sad realization: China does not celebrate the Labor Day Holiday cook-out...

china is not included in the term,"world wide web"

ladies and gentleman, we still do not have the internet, so the posts may not be too often. but, then again, this is not the reason i am here. i will say i miss all my friends that care enough to read this...

tonight will be an interesting first night...

Captain's Log 9/1/2006

Its the first day of september here in China, and its still dreadful. ive been going on 3 days now without internet. i hope sarcasm translates.

These updates are all for now as this is not my computer and we are about to go and get massages for about 28 yuan (that is about $3):

The Chinese language is very hard: so i went into survival mode and learned only the most important, as the chinese do:
1. Ting bu dong = i dont understand
2. Ti Guela = lower (price is too high)
and even then the spelling isnt even close to right.

its amazing because they start at a price that is probably double and maybe triple. all a bought of significance was a bed pad so no more sleeping on the box spring. Life is good.

also, i finally got my teaching schedule yesterday, thursday, as classes start monday! pretty disappointing that i teach til 540 on friday nights, with a strict policy of no letting out your 2 hour classes early. if you do, even 10 minutes...its a breech of contract and a fine! i also am teaching post-graduate classes which is shocking since, 1. i am only and undergrad myself, and 2. these people will be older than me. however, i have no monday or thursday classes, making a grand total of: a 3 day work week. its give take you know...