Meeting John & Driving Thru Town
So, i get picked up in this crappy old van with tons of Chinese written all over it. I still have yet to be told what it all says. We were stopped at a lite and these girls on a spree were reading it...for the entire time they were stopped at the light. The van prolly really isn't old, it just looks like it, cause all the vehicles in Zhongshan do. I see new cars every once in awhile, but most cars look straight outta the 60s and 70s. Another thing I noticed was lots of motorbikes and scooters. All the men had motorcycles and all the women had sprees. It was funny. Apparently, as I would find out later in the evening, the record for adults on one of those motorbikes is 5 people. So if I see 6 adults on one, I need to get a foto.
The traffic. OH GOD, THE TRAFFIC!!! HK doesnt hold anything to what goes on here. I was told by many chinese and people that have visited China about the terrible traffic. Nothing, absolutely nothing can prepare you for what I was witnessing. Not even New York City on acid. Total disregard for any driving safety. I couldn't help but watch in horror as I watched a motorcycle with a man and two girls nonchalantly weave in, out, and between these giant hauling trucks. Pedestrians were riding bikes and walking in the center of the road with oncoming traffic honking their horns at them and barely swerving to avoid them. No one knows how to use a turn signal. I was beginning to think that the driver of the van was quite good until what he did next. Along with 4 other cars n trucks, he proceeded to turn left...AT THE SAME TIME...ALL AT ONCE...AS THE OTHER CARS....FROM THE SAME LANE TO THE SAME LANE! To say the least, I was kinda scared. I later asked whether there is much traffic police and a girl said, "Yes". I asked her if she thought they did a good job...she shook her head. There was one instant while driving where a scooter pulled off into the center of the meridan right in front of a bunch of trucks which caused them to honk furiously. But where they pulled off, I saw a chopper-cop...and I believe I saw him with his head lowered and shaking back n forth. "As in... idiots."
So, we pulled up into this parking garage. I thought we were heading to the school, but nope, John had arranged a dinner for us...us meaning me and this other teacher that arrived from the 2pm ferry. She is Aboriginal...from New Zealand. Anyway. I walk into this resturant with David the driver. Its a pretty big resturant. They had about 8 hostesses for some reason. And they were all in red chi-paos (chinese dresses). As I walked thru to the back of the resturant, all the chinese were looking and staring at me and all the waiteresses and waiters were bowing and saying hello. Talk about freaking me out. I hate the idea of people bowing. STOP BOWING. They take me to the back of the resturant were there are 8 rooms, all with doors closed. It felt like being in a gangster movie. The open the last one and there is John Zhang, along with two other english teachers, Leianna - the aboriginie, and Tracy - a chinese english teacher...who never stopped giggling. They were all engrossed in the S. Korea VS China olympic ping pong tournament. We chatted n stuff. And they then took me to the Bond Language School. I dont really know how to descibe it, hopefully i will get some fotos.
So, now it was time to take me to my place of residence. Apparently, the teacher living in it isn't leaving for a few days, so I am staying at the house they have in the next city north, Xiaolan - its in the Zhongshan metro area, but about 40 minutes from dowtown Zhongshan. Its an old school town, modern, but still chinese old school. This house is huge. Friggin huge. A giant patio, that if I were to stay there I could practice my martial arts n stuff on. Its a really odd place, this area. I haven't ever seen anything quite like it. I have in movies, but its not the same in real life. Its gonna take getting use to. Zhongshan is like this too, but it caters to more touristy stuff. Anywho. I am gonna go take some fotos of this house. Talk to you soon.