Adventures in Guangzhou!

Lo and behold, after only three weeks of my application and passport being sent around the bowels of the Guangdong province, I got my foreign expert certification and residence permit! Sure my permit is only valid through May 15th and I'm on contract through the end of June, but I'll worry about that later (or should I say, the school will worry about it...). Anyway, one of the benefits of being a so-called foreign expert (and simply participating in PiA) is that we get invited to random formal banquets and celebrations. Tonight I had the honor of attending Banquet #3 to commemorate the 56th anniversary of the People's Republic of China. The Vice President (or whatever he's called) of the entire province was there along with a bunch of other bigwigs from the party. Once again I managed to avoid any long-winded speeches and get straight to the incredible food.

Before I get to the food though, I should mention that this was the first time that I felt like I was being fed communist propaganda. There was a nice thank-you to everyone for their contributions to the wealth and well-being of the city, but the keynote speaker spent all 5 minutes talking about how the party has been providing for all people since its inception. He described how for fifty six years now everyone from peasants to businessmen have benefited from their hard work. I think that may be a stretch. I still have a slightly bitter taste in my mouth from Faison's descriptions of the people in Tibet. What exactly has the party done for them, other than exile the dalai lama? I understand that this is the party line and that all officials are obligated to spread it, however, I'm curious if they actually believe it. Are their any government officials that truly are working to better the lives of all people or are they just in it for the power? Maybe the money? I hate to sound so cynical, but after everything I've read it's tough to have faith in such a controlling system. Then again, it's not very difficult to accuse the U.S. government of corruption and disservice either. Sad, but true.

These thoughts were fleeting, however, once I saw the buffet. What can I say? Sometimes I have a one track mind. We were at the Garden Hotel tonight, arguably the nicest hotel in the entire city, and the meal certainly reflected that. I didn't have anything too exotic, but the highlights included amazing sushi and sashimi, a great ginger pork, a veal w/ mushrooms concoction, some sort of meat dumpling, and the dessert. I don't generally have much of a sweet tooth but for whatever reason I went nuts tonight on the dessert table. It wouldn't turn the heads of any Italian chefs, but the green tea tiramisu was excellent. I also couldn't complain about the black forest cake. Mmmmmm. Those of you who know me well know that I take full advantage of free food, especially when it's tasty. Lets just say that as everyone else was done and they were beginning to take the food away, I was loading up my 4th plate.

I have one day of lessons before my first vacation and I am incredibly excited. While I may go delirious during the course of my 24 hour train ride up to Hangzhou, I know it will be worth it. I'm excited to see what is supposedly one of the most beautiful spots in China and I am equally excited to meet up with a whole crew of PiA-ers. Before my week of freedom, I had to come up with a new lesson for these last two days and I decided to do something fun, in the spirit of pre-holiday high school classes. After much deliberation I handed out a copy of the lyrics to Michael Jackson's "Thriller" with a dozen or so key words missing. The goal, after listening to the song, was to figure out what the words were. It was SO much fun. My kids egged me on to try the moonwalk and I obliged. I also laughed heartily as I tried to explain Vincent Price's pseudo-rap at the end. The funk of forty thousand years? Where did they come up with that??

This will probably be my last post for about a week since I'm leaving my computer behind on my travels. I can guarantee that I will have a plethora of stories to tell upon my return, assuming I survive the extended transit time. Special shout-out to my splendid sister Ilana-- Happy Birthday!! May your 27th year bring you joy, happiness, and a Yankees post-season berth. I pledge to consume at least one tsingtao in your honor tomorrow...