Long time, no post... some random thoughts and photos.

My beloved readers (if you are still out there),

I'm sorry for the long pause between posts. Let me catch you up on what's been going on with me for the last three weeks here in Beijing. Feel free to skip ahead to the photos... the text isn't terribly interesting it's really just for my parents. :)

I've settled into a somewhat normal routine. My weekdays have been filled with my Engish teaching certificate program. The program classes are held at a complex called JianWai SOHO. SOHO is a development company that creates building complexes that look as though they were purchased at IKEA and then assembled by, well, me. They have dozens of complexes all over the city and for as cheap and cheesy as they are the Chinese LOVE them. JianWai SOHO is about 15 high rises. Mine is tower B. My floor is 5.

There are about 12 people in my class. There are about 4 Americans, 4 British and another 2-3 Euros. There is a woman from Russia and a man from South America who I frankly can't see teaching English. I can hardly understand their accents and I speak Enlgish. In the morning, we study grammar and teaching skills and in the afternoon we teach a small class of 3-4 Chinese students for practice. I really enjoy teaching and can't wait to start professionally.

In the evenings I go out with friends. It's getting cold here in Beijing and the locals call it "Hot Pot" season. Hot Pot is a type of restaurant where they bring broth to a boil on a little burner built into the table. You order meats and veggies and things and cook them in the boiling broth. My friend Candice is obsessed as are most Chinese. Apparently Hot Pot restaurants are filled to the brim (no pun intended) from now until February.

Speaking of cold, it's been freezing here, but it's a very dry cold. So dry in fact that the government has been 'seeding the clouds'. Yes, that's right, they actually have been making it snow. I was sitting in my apartment last week with Mei and all of a sudden, out of nowhere... BOOOM! There was a clap of thunder and a flash of lighting and it started to snow. Sooooo China.

Anyway, I also enjoy riding my Flying Pigeon (see previous post) around town, hitting the markets and such. I most enjoy hanging out at home and watching the lastest blockbuster on $1 DVD (most of which are still in theaters in the US).

I went camping on the Great Wall last weekend, but I will post separately for that one, as I need to buy a camera cord to download photos and the post will be much better with photos.

Oh, and a couple weeks ago I met a guy named Shawn from New York. Shawn and his Chinese wife Joan are opening a very small bar in Sanlitun (a.k.a. the Western Ghetto of Beijing). Shawn has brought me on as a consultant of his bar for a small fee! Very exciting that I have an actual client here! I concepted and designed the brand and interior, sourced and purchased furniture, lighting and barware, I'm hiring his employees and training them in western service (it's hard to find a good martini in Beijing unless you go to a hotel bar), and I'm managing his opening. The bar is going to be called TRYST and I'll do a separate post for that as well.

So, as my program is coming to a close I am looking for actual work. There are several jobs that pay well, and I'm trying to decide what would be best for me... to work full time for one company, or to work for several companies part time. Each option has it's upsides and downsides... including Visa issues, pay, etc. I am doing well already... the restaurant is going to pay a monthly fee from now until March. If I get just a few private tutoring clients I can get three times my rent, then a part-time job at a teaching school will be money in the bank. I DID apply to a job as a business teacher at an Australian School... it pays 2200USD/month and it's 25 hours a week. If I can get that job I'll still be able to consult and tutor on the side... I guess that's how I could make the big bucks here.

And so life is good in Beijing. I got business cards made and I'm networking my hiney off (to use a word coined by my grandma). Below is the good stuff.

The first photo is my friend Candice at the morning market by my house. Look closely at the background... yes that's right, it's dirty China.

The second is a shot of The Forbidden City from Frangrant Hill. Just thought you would enjoy these two, the only pics that made it off my camera before I lost my USB cord.

Keep coming back for more... I PROMISE more frequent and more fun posts.

JAKE!