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May 25, 2007
Ch-Ch-Ch-Changes
Without actually going through every moment of the last few weeks, there have been a lot of changes a-brewing. Sometime around the first week in May I interviewed over the phone for a job, was made an offer, and decided to accept the position. I officially have a job for the next few years! It turns out I'll be working as Program Director for Princeton in Asia, the same organization that sent me here.
I was excited to get the offer and then slightly overwhelmed to find out that they wanted me to start work, in a way, a few days later. I had to Princeton to be there for the PiA orientation, a four day information and fun carousal, in order to meet and get to know all of the folks I would be managing for the next few years. Yeah--big change. Meanwhile, I received this news while I was up visiting friends in Changsha, capital of Hunan Province. It was a little crazy to think that the next time I saw some of those folks, we would all be in the States, since they, too, were leaving at the end of June. So I took a few minutes away from our goodbyes, booked a flight in conjunction with the home office, and I was set to go a couple of days later.
My experience in the States was whirlwind. I got off the plane and was met by my loyal parents who shlepped all the way out to Newark to pick me up and ferry me down to Princeton. We had dinner and then it was straight to the office where we all worked until 3am. I was up the next morning around 7:30am and straight to work again until the wee hours of the morning. There is an incredible amount of work that goes into the orientation weekend and only a few people to actually do it, so I was glad to be around to contribute. The new fellows? They seemed like great components to the next chapter of PiA-ers. I was impressed.
Other than almost killing myself while playing ultimately frisbee and learning a new drinking game with the young-uns, nothing else too exciting happened. It was all too surreal to take it all in because I got on to the plane the morning after it ended and slept 14 straight hours to Tokyo, followed by another 4 back to Guangzhou. All of a sudden, I was back in China.
Other than that, the only noteworthy moment in China the last few weeks came while I was eating dinner the other night. I was catching a quick bite to eat near the place I pick up a bus to go tutor, and my eyes drifted out to a dozen or so men in uniform who formed a semicircle near a bank entrance. Eager to fit in with the natives, I joined the throngs of people peering in to see what they were doing. He was speaking in Cantonese so I can't be sure, but a man in tattered clothes was going ballistic at the bank tellers and the men in uniforms were there to regulate.
They let him yell for a while until the head guy gave the nod and all of a sudden they all converged on him, hitting and kicking him as he flailed his arms. They disappeared with him into a van right outside and he was driven away in a flash. Now, I have no idea what it was all about except to say that the man had done nothing physically wrong in that time to warrant getting beaten and thrown in the back of a window-less vehicle. It was a small reminder that despite the shiny skyscrapers, sparkling subway, and ever-increasing western food options, China still has a ways to go.
Meanwhile, I continued on with my meal and went off to tutor the my boys for the last time. With the American International School finishing earlier than Chinese schools, my services were no longer in need; so, with a handful of bittersweet goodbyes, I bid farewell to the two boys and two parents who had become a surprisingly large part of my life in Guangzhou. As I said before, it was time for changes and this was the first of what I know will be many goodbyes over the next month or so.
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May 6, 2007
Tagytay and Jamaican Patties
After an early breakfast we made one last walk over the rocks back to White Sand and hopped on a ferry to go back to Batangas. There were hordes of people arriving for the weekend but luckily our ferry was almost empty. Much like last time we left about twenty five minutes late, but we were in no major rush so it was fine. It was also somewhat comforting that our last few hours on the island were the only ones without a clear blue sky--better than when we arrived.
Arriving in Batangas, we negotiated a ride to Tagytay, an area overlooking a lake within a volcano. We got ripped off on the price and stuffed into a crowded van, but sometimes that's the way it goes when you're traveling. The ride was a windy express with cool scenery and we got dropped off on just the corner we were hoping for.
We walked down Buckhead Estates Road towards Sonya's Garden, a 1.5 hectare organic garden, restaurant, and bed & breakfast. As per Juliana's recommendation, we timed it perfectly to get lunch at Sonya's and to walk around a bit. Though it was in the middle of nowhere, the place was packed. We were asked what time our reservation was for and we sheepishly admitted that we didn't have one. Somehow it didn't matter too much and we were seated immediately ahead of tons of people waiting. Maybe it was because we were a party of two or maybe because we were white but I didn't care--I was starving.
Sonya's was the sort of place that didn't have a menu. You just sat down and they served whatever they had available that day; whatever was fresh from the garden. Immediately upon sitting down I knew I was in for a satisfying experience. The first course was a massive salad bowl filled with fresh greens. Then on the side they had tons of fresh fruit, nuts, croutons, and other fixins for the salad, topped with freshly made salad dressing. It was tasty! Then we had fresh bread with different spreads (from hummus all the way to roasted eggplant and black olive tapenade. Then on to the main course: fresh pasta with different sauces and toppings including grilled salmon, chicken in cream sauce, peppers & onions, tomatoes and pesto, and a few others. Dessert was chocolate cake, taragon tea, and some fried banana creation.
I can say without hesitation that it was easily one of the best meals I've had over the last two years. It was all so fresh and so good that I didn't ever want to leave. I would have been happy just sitting in the garden and reading books between meals for the next ten years or so. Unfortunately, we didn't have that luxury so instead we walked around the massive garden for a while and enjoyed all the plants, flowers, and fragrant air.
We caught a bus back to Manila at the top of the road and we were on our way. Back in the city, we managed to meet up with Juliana again, though not without a hitch. Apparently it is impossible to call a cell phone from a land line in Manila, even from a pay phone. We were told a pay phone could do it but we tried two and neither worked so I'm unconvinced. Anyhow, I had to make friends with a random white guy in the convenience store and convince him to lend me his cell for one call. It all worked out fine though and we met up a little while later.
Dinner was a massive barbecued ribs extravaganza at another shopping center. Yum! Ali came and met us and introduced us to halo-halo, the local dessert specialty. Basically it's shaved ice, ice cream, coconut, fruit, sago, and random other stuff all mixed together in a glass. Not my thing, but pretty decent. From there we headed to a bar for a drink. The bar we went to was a pretty hip place with a DJ spinning and someone drumming live on top, all outside on a patio. I was impressed with the "scene" and with the fact that Juliana ran into a bunch of casual friends she knew. It seemed like it was possible to go out and just meet people in a way that really doesn't happen in Guangzhou. It was fun!
Back at Juliana's apartment, I checked and it turns out the Yankees were on! I watched until I fell asleep during the bottom of the 5th at around 3am. Nothing like watching baseball on vacation! We were up early once again to catch a bus back up to the airport. Two things struck me about the experience of going home. First, at a public rest stop while we were connecting buses, I went to use the restroom. It was completely disgusting and for the first time in my life I was actually supremely disappointed they didn't have a squat toilet to use--that's a weird feeling.
Second, at the Clark Airport, which is all of two gates big, the food options were infinitely than the massive Guangzhou Airport. In the space of one small room they had Mrs. Field's Cookies, a well stocked cafe, Mister Donut, and a little stand serving Jamaican Beef Patties. The patties were so good that I had three. Back in Macau, there weren't nearly as many people going through immigration and crossing the border, so we were off without a problem. After yet another bus ride from Zhuhai, we were back home in Guangzhou. We decided that it was the perfect vacation from China--clean air on the islands, beautiful beaches, people spoke English, there was great American food, and the people were nice. All in all, it was a great trip.
For pictures from the trip, click on the following link- http://www.flickr.com/photos/awolfe03/sets/72157600203004383/
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May 4, 2007
Aninuam
We woke up at the crack of dawn on Thursday and took a cab over to another bus station in order to catch a bus to Batangas, a port city near the southwestern tip of Luzon Island. The three hour ride was uneventful other than the sub zero air-conditioning. Even though we had been warned about this by several folks, I was still caught a bit off guard by the frigid temps. We got off the bus though and my legs thawed almost immediately in the heat.
We caught a 10am ferry to White Sand Beach on Mindoro Island. In true Filipino style we left around thirty minutes late went across clear blue waters toward the island. It was a bit windy which made for rough seas, but I was loving the occasional splash of cool water. There's just something about being out on the water on a nice day--nothing beats it. We made a quick stop in the Puerto Galera harbor and soon made our way to White Sand. I enjoyed our arrival because there was no harbor--we just pulled right up to shore next to the tourists swimming and boating. Very cool!
We walked off into the sand and choose one of the many restaurants right on the beach for lunch. I had some glass noodles (which really hit the spot) and then we slowly walked around the strip of beach. From Juliana's recommendation we were shooting to stay one beach over at a place called "Aninuam." we had two options, either take a motorized tricycle or walk around the cove over the rocks. Not surprisingly, we chose the rocks and chatted our way through the five minute climb, possibly the least treacherous walk of my life.
We immediately checked into the Tamaraw Resort, a hotel with cottages right on the beach. While all of the cottages right on the water were already booked, we still managed to get into one that was only about fifteen feet away, which was fine by us. The cottage had a bedroom with a bed, a fan, a TV, and a bathroom in an attached room. It was perfect. Aninuam was much much quieter than White Sand and quite a bit nicer as a beach too. We through on our bathing suits and went swimming, after covering ourselves head to toe in SPF-70 sunscreen, of course.
After we tired of swimming, we laid down on the beach and did a crossword puzzle, just enjoying the beauty and quiet. As the sun began to set we walked halfway to the next cove and watched a gorgeous sunset in front of clear blue water. We ambled back over the rocks to White Sand for dinner and were pleased to see that every single restaurant had a huge bbq going right on the beach. Apparently Filipinos really enjoy their marinades and barbecued meats and I must say that I approve.
We walked down the strip trying to choose a restaurant until one particular host(ess) swayed us towards his (her?) place. Juliana told us that the Filipinos refer to them as "lady-boys" and that they're actually quite common around the country. Huh. Well our lady-boy was a riot. She was going up to every person saying, "I saved you a seat right here!" and "Come see our special!" in an overly feminine voice. It made me smile enough to accept the offer. The food was good but the most memorable moment of the meal (other than our lady-boy) was when a big Chinese guy sat down for dinner.
He accepted the menu and began to examine it in detail. It only had English so I assumed he was fluent until a waitress came over to take his order. He was trying to ask a question but she was not picking up what he was putting down at all. It turns out he wanted a beer to start and resorted to getting up and pointing to a picture. He was struggling with the menu the same way that I used to before I learned enough Chinese to decipher it. Someone else came over to help or we would have, but it was a moment where I felt like I was looking at myself from the past. After dinner we made our way back to Aninuam and just stared at the stars for a while. Stars! Stars I tell you! I'd been missing those.
The next morning I set my alarm for 8am because our TV got ESPN Asia and they were supposed to show the Yankees game but sadly they decided to show the Cincinnati v. Houston game. This being the first live baseball game I had an opportunity to watch, I decided to route for Houston and hope for a good game. And it was--baseball is great, I don't care who's playing. Eventually we made our way out for breakfast under a cabana on the beach and then for more swimming and crosswording.
Instead of heading back over to White Sands for lunch, we decided to take the lazy route and just have food from the hotel. It was a tad bit more expensive but quite tasty and worth the (lack of) energy. After lunch we headed over towards Talipanan, the next cove over from Aninuam. Our guide book said it was even more peaceful and remote than Aninuam so we thought it would be fun for the afternoon. In order to actually get there, once again we had to walk over some rocks and even go through the ocean to get around a few of the bigger boulders. Fun!
It was totally deserted on the beach except for a few locals and it was gorgeous. I'm not sure I would have wanted to stay there, but it was incredibly peaceful. We started out towards a water fall that was listed in the guidebook but ended up turning back when we didn't have the footwear to get through the forest. Our adventure did take us through a small local village which was interesting. There were chickens, cows, pigs, and little kids all wandering around, but still the overall English level was incredible--almost everyone we asked was able to give us directions to the waterfall. It wasn't just pronunciation but actually vocabulary too, that was so surprising. One guy saw me and said, "hey man, you lookin' for a guide?" It was amazing.
We had pizza and pasta on the beach for dinner and once again enjoyed the stars. We both mused that the quality of so-called "western food" here was a major step above that in China. Oftentimes you order pizza in China and it has ketchup, carrots, spam, and peas. Not so in the Philippines. It was a welcome change.
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May 3, 2007
From Jeepneys to City Walls
We woke up reasonably late and got our bearings. Taking Juliana's recommendation, we headed to Greenbelt Park, a massive shopping complex, for an early lunch. It seemed apparent right away that the Philippines was, indeed, a mall-driven country. Greenbelt was packed and it was barely 10:30am! I guess I can't blame them for flocking to the AC, though--Manila was hot. Anyhow, we walked around for a while and settled on a tasty looking Italian joint that served huge pasta dishes. Yum!
After lunch we made our way to Quiapo Square, a public square by one of Manila's most famous churches. It was, again, apparent right away that not only was not only a big mall country but also a big church country. The Catholic influence was all encompassing and it seemed like every street had a church, a cross, and/or a saint-related school. The square itself had a sad memorial for a demonstration sometime in the 1980's which turned into a massacre when someone threw a grenade onto the makeshift stage where political candidates were speaking. It was one of those moments when I was reminded how lucky people are in the States to be largely free from things like that.
We explored the church itself which was buzzing with action. There were tons of people in the pews as well as people waiting to give confession and those on their knees in the aisles by the altar. We walked through a side exit into an alley with a street market selling food and other assorted Catholic items (crucifixes and the like). While all Asian markets have certain things in common, there are always a few differences. This one seemed to have a fair amount of produce that the shop owners had no interest in selling. Well, at least they didn't seem too stressed about moving their merchandise. I guess it was too hot for that.
We began walking towards the next neighborhood and saw hundreds of "jeepneys," as our guide book called them ("jeeps," to the hip locals). The jeeps are something like a cross between a minibus and a jeep, and are all painted and decorated in a different way, much like the Lao tuk-tuks, except that these traveled pre-determined routes and had set rates depending on distance. It was clear that this was the most popular way to travel for most Filipinos.
Down a few blocks, we stumbled upon another church whose name escapes me. Though it was completely empty, I found it to be even nicer than Quiapo. Kelly and I spent a good half an hour just gazing at some of the beautiful stained glass and listening to a girl practice the organ. It was magnificent. After that we decided to join the masses and hop into a jeep to get to our next destination.
While we knew what the jeeps were, we weren't quite sure what the etiquette was for flagging them down, paying, or getting off. We waited for one to stop right in front of us and then we got on. We waited for the guy next to us to pay and hoped we could see how much he gave. Without having a clear view we gave it our best guess and hopped off in the general area we were going to. That night we found out that we had shorted the driver about 5 pesos, but he didn't yell at us so we had no idea. Oops!
Anyhow, we had taken the jeep to the Intramuros section of the city--the old city. The old city wall was very cool, especially in the sections that allowed people to walk on top. It reminded me a tiiiiiiiiiny bit of the Great Wall, except that obviously it was quite a bit smaller. After playing around on the wall for a while we walked down to the Manila Cathedral, a romanesque church with massive stone pillars and tall ceilings. It was a bit dark for my tastes, but it had a very pleasant square in front with a grassy area to hang out in.
From there we walked to Bahay Tsinoy, a museum dedicated to the Chinese history and influence in the Philippines. Besides being very close to home for us, it was also a very well done museum with informative maps, displays, and even a couple of hokey fake people. I thought it was most interesting to learn that the Chinese who integrated into Filipino society were referred to as mestizos for centuries.
After enjoying the displays and the AC, we headed to another museum, "Casa de Manila," a traditional preserved house of a rich 19th c. Spanish resident. It was predictably beautiful (I sure wish I had a music room, a sitting room, and a prayer room. Okay, maybe not that last one...) but I thought it was hilarious that the security guards would not allow us to deviate from the red carpet on the ground. There were no barriers up or any signs, but we got yelled at anytime we drifted towards the side of the carpet. We made our way out though and spent a few minutes just relaxing in the courtyard.
Evening was slowly approaching and we decided to walk towards the water in order to watch sunset over Manila Bay. We found a cute over-priced restaurant right on the water and enjoyed a couple of drinks while the sun slowly set. It was gorgeous! We took a taxi back to Magallanes where we met up with Juliana and headed out for some tasty Mexican food. Sure, we weren't going out of our way for Filipino food, but when there is Mexican food available we felt obliged to take advantage. That's what happens when you live in China!
Over dinner we had a very illuminating conversation about Filipino culture, living abroad, wants, wishes, fears, and all the other things that people have in common after living abroad for two years. As a second year, Juliana was going through a lot of the same things we were and it is somehow always comforting to find others in the same shoes. Even though China and the Philippines are radically different, we still had an incredible amount of common ground. It was a great night, especially with the margaritas.
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May 2, 2007
"Save the Children!!"
In the infinite wisdom of those organizing classes for Chinese high schools, I was forced to come back from Jiangxi Province to teach for one day before going on vacation again. Or, at least, I thought I had to. Unfortunately I am not privy to the decision-making process when it comes to scheduling so I am often the last to know things. After surviving the torture box of a bus, I got back and found out that my services were not required. Alright then.
I unpacked, repacked, got a few hours of sleep, and then Kelly and I headed off for a quick adventure to the Philippines. I wish I could say that I've always had a burning desire to get to the Philippines but actually it came down to Manila having the cheapest plane tickets. This being national holiday time in China, we were excited to get as far away as possible from the hordes of travelers in the mainland.
Our luck in finding plane tickets had us departing from the Macau Airport, normally about two hours away. Our flight was scheduled to depart at 3pm and we were on a 7:30am bus from Guangzhou, but I was still worried we'd be late. Luckily for us, we managed to beat the crowds on the highway and really only ran into long lines going through customs from Zhuhai (the Chinese border town with Macau). The thing is, when you hit lines in China, it can be like a brick wall. There were thousands of people in a small room and it was a small step away from mass chaos. We made it through, though, and after a quick bus ride to the airport, it was surprisingly empty.
The flight itself was an uneventful two hours and before I knew it we were touching down in Clark Airport, site of the old U.S. military base about an hour north of Manila. Unfortunately, due to traffic (presumably unrelated to the Chinese holiday), our hour turned into more like two and a half hours to the city center.
First impressions: Manila is huge! Even Guangzhou-huge! The city seems to alternate between sparkling skyscraper and poverty-stricken slum every 100m. There is English everywhere! There are malls even in the middle of the countryside. Consequently, they seem to have every fast food chain imaginable (Wendy's? Check. Sbarro's? Check.)
We got off in the Pasay neighborhood not at a bus station, but rather at the mini lot where this particular bus company had space. Apparently Manila doesn't really have any large bus stations, but rather areas where each company has a lot and a ticket office. Luckily we were prepped for cab drivers trying to hustle newcomers coming off buses and we managed to avoid guys trying to charge us 350 pesos for a ride around the corner. We flagged down a random cab and he used the meter without prompting, which was a nice change.
The cab we got into turned out to be one of the more entertaining taxi moments in recent memory, as our driver was something of a comic. He spent the entire ten minute ride joking about Manila, the Philippines, cars, traffic, the U.S., tourists, guards, and food. He also wasn't totally sure where we were going so he stopped a few times and asked guards of other apartment complexes, cracking jokes the whole way. It was quite impressive, actually.
Anyhow, we finally arrived at the complex for my friend Juliana, a PiAer living in Manila and working for Save the Children. The guards stopped us and asked us where we were going. I said that we were going to visit Juliana and gave them the apartment number at which point their eyes lit up and they shouted in glee, "Juliana! Save the Children!!" "Yes!" I responded, and they happily led us in her direction. I was amused. Juliana actually wasn't home yet so we went in search of dinner.
The closest option was Max's, a fast food chain that proclaimed to be "The House That Fried Chicken Built." Sounded good to us and we were surprisingly impressed. Maybe it had just been a long time since we'd had barbecue chicken. Either way, we finished up and headed back to her place just in time to catch Juliana walking in.
We caught up on the last two years or so and then Ali, the other PiAer in Manila, also came over to hang out. Not only was it great to be welcomed in such grand PiA fashion, but it was also amazing to hear about what they were both doing. Juliana was saving the youth of the Philippines and Ali was busy being a media star by reporting news on a national TV station. Wow!
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