New Years

What did I do for New Years you ask? Well, I'll tell you. I went to a small party with some foreigners and then at about 11:30p we headed out to a Western style bar called Bar Code. Soon after I found myself and a fellow Canadian named Covey on stage playing music with the house band. It was awesome! Here I am in China playing Weezer and Radiohead with some Chinese dudes who keep leaning into the mic with random guttural screams when they think appropriate. It was ridiculous. Highlight: playing Hotel California and having the crowd out sing me during the chorus. I HAD A MICROPHONE and they were louder! As per usual, the Chinese accent just makes it funnier.

It's been four months and I still have these surreal moments where I look around and think to myself "Holy crap, I'm in Asia". And these moments, like being on stage jamming with Chinese musicians and having a sing-a-long with a crowd of Chinese people, are really special. I've been pretty stressed of late and these moments help a lot...it's difficult to describe but it's kind of like anti-regret. (I searched for a word that is the opposite of regret and came up with words like contentment and satisfaction...these are not how I feel...anti regret is a much more accurate describer) You know, it's evidence that I'm glad I came. In the middle of them I often have the realization that I definitely would not be having experiences like this if I had stayed in Halifax and I don't think I've ever enjoyed living in the moment quite so much as when that happens. And so this is obviously a good thing.

In other news I've begun playing practical jokes on my students. First I set the classroom clock ahead and tricked a couple of them into thinking they were late. Push ups. Thanks for the suggestion Akim. Next I will be using a suggestion from Susan...making a very long, difficult pop quiz which says at the top "Read all questions before answering" and making the last question "Do not answer any of the above questions". Ahhhh, revenge. So sweet. mua ha ha ha ha ha!