Things I learned

The song "Happy Birthday to You" has a surprisingly complex history and is only about 100 years old. There is a version of it in Chinese, as there is in several other languages. There are other birthday songs in Chinese. Oddly enough, I asked a friend about this years ago, and she was kind enough to sing one for me. I have no idea wy I was curious about what Chinese people sang to each other before Happy Birthday arrived here. I think Li and I probably just had spent enough time together we had run out of things to say.

Anyway, I knew there is another birthday song in Chinese, so I asked if anyone knew it, assuring them that person wouldn't be forced to sing. Out of 5 classes and about 200 students, only one knew the song. She offered to sing it, and a few classmates recalled having heard it somewhere, but no one else knew the words.

random songs

started playing music between classes. They get random picks. today it was

Heavenly- P.U.N.K. Girl
Lily Allen-I Could say
De La Soul- Me, Myself and I
REM-White Tornado
The Doors- Riders on the Storm
The Vindictives- Circles
Nick Cave & the Bad Seeds- O'Malley's Bar (demo)
The Specials- War Crimes
The Smiths- Girl Afraid

The first two got a fairly positive reception. De La Soul was very well received by most. The Specials seems to have won a few fans.

So, who did they immediately recognize? The Vindictives. Yeah, the little known Chicago punk band. Last week, they had to listen to a conversation about music, which mentioned punk. Unlike the sections on the Carpenters, Happy Birthday, and Celine (ugh) Dion, there was no sample of what punk is. This seemed unfortunate. I'm not just a guy paid to play dvds in class, I'm a teacher. It's why I was put on the earth. I will not send my poor students off into the world with gaping holes in their knowledge. They will benefit from the totality of my experiences in life.

So, I was able to play The Vindictives in class. For the curious, it was "Bonnie's Rampage," chosen in honor of a young lady who, if she's not my favorite sista-in-law, is at least in the top 5

why she hates me

Today in the av class, they heard two people talking about songs that remind them of other people. they were then asked to describe a song that makes them think of someone else. The answers were pretty weak. Nothing wrong with them, but they were clearly just going through the motions. So, they heard about why I had to delete "I Try" by Macy Gray from my mp3 player.

In 2001, when I was preparing to leave China, I was invited to a friend's house for karaoke. Not a big secret that I don't really like karaoke, but i like drinking and talking, and enjoy watching my friends sing. I just can't sing myself. So it was a decent enough time.

At one point, she asked me to pick an English song for her to sing for me. I chose I Try. It was one of the few songs I new and liked on MTV karaoke vol 16 or whatever it was. So, she sand a song about a person unable to say goodbye to someone else. Our feeling for each other were not romantic, but we were very close, and it dawned on her that she was singing a song about an inability to say goodbye to someone who was walking out of her life in a few days, and it was rather likely she'd never see me again. As she sang of a person choking as she said goodbye, she teared up, and as the song continued without her, with the singer trying to walk and stumbling, she tripped over to me, unable to see clearly. In a broken voice, she told me she'd miss me, and how much she hoped i'd be back one day, but that if I wasn't she'd remember me, and hoped I'd always be happy back in the States.

so, ever since, whenever i hear that song, i think of her, and how close we were and how much it hurt to say goodbye. particularly for her, as she didn't hink anyone would be dumb enough to fly that long just to see some friends.

So, after that, my students began giving more detailed answers, and some that were far more personal. Songs of old boyfriends, friends who moved away, songs their grandparents taught them, and other things that really moved some of their classmates. They sometimes forgot to be nervous and awkward as they spoke, getting caught up in the excitement of what they were saying. it worked.



In about 9 days, I'll be gathering a group of friends together for karaoke. One of them will be getting ready to sing, and as usual, I'll ask her not to cry. She didn't think it was funny when I came back to visit in 2002. Or 2004. Or 2005, 06, 07 or 08. Since i moved back into her life, it's gotten less funny. Apparently when i told her husband that she cried when I left, it was less than hilarious to her (though he and i found it pretty amusing). As much as she hates it, she keeps coming around, maybe because she knows she has a trump card. If I annoy her, she knows she can make me cry by singing one song.

things I learned

When you are driving through heavy traffic on a little scooter and stop to get a drink, you may notice the type of mop you have been looking for. Before buying it, figure out how you will drive and transport a mop.

factory or school

Some know I was contemplating leaving my current job over some problems between the school and me. My visa situation improved, my pay has been arriving on time, even early, and my schedule is better than last time. still have a lot of small complaints about my home, but they're bearable.

So i just turned down a job offer in Dongguan. Someone start a pool on how long before I start complaining about that.

So, for now, I'm staying in Zhongshan at the college, hopefully not losing my mind in the process.

ghost town

I live just outside a fairly big town by US standards. Being from a city of several million, it sometimes seems tiny, but it is still a kind of big place. I'm frequently laughed at by locals who find it hilarious I am fascinated by chickens (or goats) wandering around frreely, but there are still factories, busses, and thousands of people.

So, a few nights ago I met up with a few friends to barbecue. We met at the market by my house, which was crowded with motorcycles, vans, people, chickens, and bad disco music as usual. We then drove about 5 minutes into a place I'd never been.

Up in the hills is a lake thought to be haunted. Apparently some people disappeared there before, though I'm not sure if they are the ones haunting the place or if something haunting it is thought to have taken them. Many Chinese seem to believe in ghosts, and most are extremely uncomfortable with anything involving death (The Chinese word for 4 sounds similar to the word for death, so it's a very unlucky number. The floors in my building are 1, 2, 3, 3a, 5, 6..). This made the land cheap, so a developer built a small hotel and a bunch of houses. Looks like they might have been nice if any had ever sold. All lie empty, with grass and trees growing wild.

So, you can drive to my house in about 15 minutes from downtown (if there's no traffic), in the process passing thousands of people, surrounded by car horns, loud music from shops, jackhammers where the street is being worked on, etc. Then drive 5 minutes more and reach a place where you won't see a soul or hear anything other than the wind and lake.

No classes today, so I might drive back and take some pictures. or go back to sleep. I'm unpredictable that way.

pictures