Over 2000 students...
This morning was the official opening of the New Bond School. I took some fotos. There were a bunch of students there. Lets see, Big Boss Man got on the mic and started dishing it out in English and Chinese. He said, "Today we will have 1000 stundents come in to take a test and 1000 more tomorrow...." And then a bunch of other horse manure.
1000....LOL! what a riot...I don't even think I saw over 300 kids today.
As we were on the little platform the students were all dispersed and the girl to boy ratio was enormous. I was like, Dude, there are like 5 boys here. Mark was like, Yeah, and check it out...they are all lined up. I looked over and there were about 15 boys standing in a single file line while tons all the other students just stood randomly around....but as far away from the people with the mic as possible. I think that is one of the first lines I have seen here in China.
There were some Canadians on lone from the San Xin school to help with the opening ceremony. They sang a stupid little song. It was like, with your hands, put your hands in front, behind, on top, under, in and out. They were teaching the hand jive I think. I don't know. I didn't really see the relevance of it. Personally. They tried to get the students to do it...they weren't having it.
Afterwards I headed home and dealt with getting my translations and getting paid and figuring out how to pay this Jacky guy for my plane ticket home. BOND gives me 6000RMB for airfare, but I have to get this ticket today or tomorrow ASAP because the airlines are raising the prices soon. Jacky got a call yesterday and said they got a call to up the price. So, he wanted to issue the ticket today. No problem really. However, I don't have the cash here so I needed to take it out of my National Shitty account. 4000RMB. I asked Amanda about getting an advance on the air ticket, but they couldn't do it today because i didn't give them enuff of a warning. Hell, I didnt think I would be buying the ticket this soon. Yuppers.
As I went to the Agricultural Band of China with Wing to deposit some cash, there was this old woman, who was mostly likely not all there in the head. She was wearing a big backpack, ratted out old army uniform, and wearing a "special" helmet. I was almost expecting to see the name "Philip" taped onto the front of it and she would have to be tethered to a jungle gym.
Anywho, she was constantly repeating the same phrase over and over again in Guangdong/dialected Putonghua. She just stood out the entrance of the bank barking this out. "The People's Republic of China is rubbish." Over and over. Well, she isn't all wrong. Wing was smirking at this. She must have been there for a bit because the security guards seemed irritated. You know what she sounded like? You know the Martians from Tim Burton's "Mars Attacks"? Well, she sounded just like that. It was kinda funny but sad at the same time. The guards got so irritated that they started shouting or barking back at her.
We deposited said cash no problem. By the time we left, she had gone.
I then had to go back to the New School to watch over and distract kids from their exams again this afternoon. I found some mistakes in the exam but they are so technical, I doubt the kids would notice. I found one kid sleeping on her exam. She was just laying there. Its like steam bath in this place so I can understand it. But after I tapped her desk to wake her up, I thought I heard sniffling. I didn't quite know if she was actually sleeping or just crying because she couldn't perform well on the exam. I looked over this exam, man, its not that hard, but there was one section I was like, "wtf?". I would prolly get an 93% on it. :D
Basically this test is to weed out the best of the best. They get free classes, those that do well. I am sure thats how Bond got so many students. Their parents are forcing them to take the exams and putting immense pressure on them to do good and if they don't do well, they will disown them. Thats how it goes on here. They don't exactly dis own them, but thats the fear. Totally fear driven. But if they fail, I am sure some of those kids will get beaten.
Mark Lee gave me a ride home on his pimped out motorbike. Its like a scooter like all the others have, however this one is wider and longer because Mark is like 6 foot 3 or 5. Its the only one he could fit in. When looking at it, you think Futuristic Retro-80s. Kinda straight out of Robocop. He put in a whole speaker set up. 4 speakers and an amp. As well as under the floorboard lighting so it glows blue at nite. The thing rules. I couldn't keep the smile off my face as we drove thru town blasting Iron Maiden. IT ROCKED! I want one.
Tonite I went to practice and spent all my time practicing Hong Quan for the demo tomrrow nite. I tired myself out good. Afterwards I headed the beer gardens to help celebrate Irish John's birthday. It was a good time. I didnt have much to eat for dinner, so I was kinda....whoo hoo!
Well, its 2AM and I am going to bed. Sleep well.