Sun Zoo's American Expatriate

So…Yeah…

2010-02-11T17:12:40Z

As mentioned in the last update, the album is mostly written, the music is mostly done, but I haven’t recorded it. I suppose I own an explanation for that…there is a lot of other stuff going on in my life at the moment that I consider more important, and music has been pushed to the back burner out of necessity. More to the point, I haven’t felt like recording — something about the rural New Hampshire town where I’m currently working doesn’t do much to inspire my hip-hop sensibilities — and I have learned that forcing myself to do music-related things when the feeling isn’t there ends up in crap.

I know some people want the album and I apologize for making you wait indefinitely, but I think it’s better to put out something thats actually good than it would be to just release some half-assed garbage.

I Am Alive

2009-08-07T15:24:30Z

Updates coming soon. Sorry for the extra long wait. It’s been very busy (and is going to keep being busy, but I will figure something out).

T-Minus One Week

2009-05-06T06:35:11Z

Well, I’ve got less than a week left here and time is basically flying by. It’s a bit bittersweet. I’m looking forward to going home, but at the same time, the only thing about my life here that really makes me want to leave at this point is my job. And by that I mean the teaching English part. I love the students, and I’m going to miss the hell out of my coworkers.

So this week I’m doing my last classes, taking pictures of everyone, cleaning up my disgusting apartment, and (eventually) trying to fit my life into two suitcases in preparation for my departure on Tuesday morning. That may be a challenge, as (inevitably) I have accumulated more crap than I had when I came here. Plus, people keep giving me gifts.

It’s a pretty busy week, and when I get home it gets even busier, so I wouldn’t expect updates here for another couple weeks or so (although there might be). Once I’ve been home for a bit, though, there should be some concrete news about music stuff, shows and also the recording of new albums, so stay tuned.

Things I Will (Not) Miss

2009-04-26T09:15:38Z

I now have about two weeks left in China. Here’s a list of some things about my life here (not the country as a whole) I’ll miss, or not.

I will miss…

The chilluns. Even though some of them are incredibly obnoxious, they’re cute and can be a lot of fun when they aren’t doing something that makes me want to strangle them. Remarkably, being called a monster by a classroom of six year olds is much more fun than you’d expect.
My coworkers. Both foreign and Chinese staff at my branch of my school are pretty awesome, and I’m going to miss them dearly. I’ll especially miss the classes I had training the Chinese staff, and the play-fights between Andy, and, well, all of the girls.
Food prices. China is a country that a man like me could grow to love, right up until it killed me. I have virtually nothing to spend my exorbitant salary on every month other than chocolate.
Convenient transportation. Cabs and busses go anywhere all the time. Public transportation here, or at least its mass availability, makes the US look like a third world country. I’m probably going to have to buy a car when I get home, too. Fuck.
Living on the eighth floor. If there were an elevator, I would be fat.
Huang Gang. Special shout out to the finest driver in Harbin. Anyone can get you from point A to point B, but big brother Huang does it all while entertaining his passengers and cursing at other drivers.
“Ye Wen Has Something to Say.” All romance-related problems should be solved by severe Chinese women via radio programs.
Being a Rich Foreigner Who’s Totally shuai. In America I’ll just be a poor, ugly white guy again.
Man-size beer bottles. That bullshit you put your beers in in the States and elsewhere is crap. Double it. Now we’re talking. Also, I will miss the price of these beers (about 60 cents for a bottle that holds 2x the beer of American bottles, or more.)

I will not miss…

Teaching ESL. Yup, teaching English kind of sucks.
Lack of hot water anywhere other than the shower. This is a feature specific to my apartment, but every time I go somewhere else and wash my hands it feels luxurious.
Internet censorship. I miss youtube sometimes.
Air pollution. Or this hacking cough I seem to have developed. Related?
Dirt everywhere. China generally is a dirty place, but the little courtyard outside my apartment building is the most disgusting place on earth in early spring.
Ladybugs that bite you. In America, ladybugs are friendly. Not here. Here they are vicious little bastards.
Having to keep in touch with all my friends from America through email or Skype. Hooray for cell phones.

That’s all for now. Expect future posts here to be similarly nostalgic crap until I get home.

Time to Go Home?

2009-04-14T02:55:08Z

With less than a month left in my stay here, I’ve been reflecting a bit on life in China, and about going home. Just how different will things be? I don’t really remember, but I do know that China now feels perfectly normal to me. There’s very little here that surprises me or weirds me out. Life here is just life at this point; the days go by like they would anywhere. I’ve been thinking that means I’m pretty well adjusted to life here, which makes me susceptible to reverse culture shock when I get back home.

The piece de resistance came last night when I was helping a Chinese friend with the English application to a summer intercultural program in Beijing. One of the free response prompts she was asked to answer asked her to discuss a cultural issue that’s very different between the US and China. Being more submersed in (and aware) of the politics because of my other blog, my first thought was to address that, but she wanted purely cultural issues, no politics, and damned if I couldn’t think of anything different. At least for a minute or two. Finally I made up something about the importance of family, but the fact that nothing jumped quickly to mind was kind of disturbing.

It’s not because Chinese culture and American culture are all that similar, it’s just that I’m so used to China (at least this part of it) at this point that whatever’s “different” here is no longer different to me. And if I’m used to what’s here, it stands to reason when I get home and things are different from what’s here, it might require some adjustment.

I Live

2009-04-03T11:26:15Z

For those who haven’t gathered, my other blog is getting a bit more attention than this one these days, mostly because there are actually people reading that one. But the album lives on, I wrote a bit more of it today and have another beat I’m pretty excited about.

I May Have Started a Race War

2009-03-24T10:53:42Z

…on my other blog. Not really, but if you’re interested in seeing what happens when you suggest Chinese people are racially insensitive and some popular Chinese bloggers find out about it, check out ChinaGeeks. I’d link directly to the post, but you can’t miss it anyway. It’s the one with over a hundred comments in the past day.

Album Update

2009-03-13T15:00:47Z

This being a music site primarily, I occasionally remember I ought to post music related stuff on here. Here are some American Expatriate statistics for you:

Instrumentals Composed: 75
Songs Written (for American Expatriate): 10
Songs Written (for Untitled Free Album): 6

Obviously, some (many) of the instrumentals are crap, and the songs may be too. At least a few of them are good though. I’m looking forward to writing the last few American Expat songs in the next couple months and piecing the album together. This, even more than any of my previous work, might well be something that only appeals to me. It’s also about as cheerful as a morgue, at least lyrically, so get ready for that.

The instrumentals are more of a departure from my previous work. Think dirty live drums mixed with spacious piano chords and simple melodies and you’ll have an idea of what I’ve got on my hands here. My guess is there’s still quite a while before you can get your hands on this album (I’m guessing we won’t start recording until at least the summer), but I may record and post some demos before then. If I do, they will be shitty shitty quality, but they might be fun to listen to for some of you.

Also, keep an eye out for news regarding an album with Sarah Clark, and further collaboration with DJ HDL, who sent me something quite awesome the other day.

…WOW…

2009-03-09T13:09:18Z

Some things are too good not to share. This has nothing to do with China, but it does have to do with hip-hop.

Young people, read this for its sheer hilarity value.

Old people, read this as an example of what never to do when trying to appeal to young people.

There’s just too much good stuff in the article to even quote it, just go read the whole thing for yourself, it’s well worth it.

Travel Part 10: Returned

2009-03-03T05:46:18Z

I am now home, safely. My flight was delayed, etc. etc. I will post some of the best photos late, for now, here is a link to the Facebook photo albums:

MASS MEDIA STATS:
Photos Taken (Estimate): 1,500
Photos Kept: 986
Video Recorded: 62 minutes

MASS TRANSPORTATION STATS:
Planes taken: 2
Buses taken: 15
Trains taken: 1
Cabs taken: 26
Private vehicles taken: 3

FOOD STATS:
Ate Something Sold From A Tricycle: 7 times
Ordered 宫爆鸡丁: 6 times
Ate At Sichuan Restaurants Outside of Sichuan: 5 times
Ate at KFC: 3 times
Most Expensive Meal: 45 RMB ($6.42)
Least Expensive Meal: 3 RMB ($0.42)

LIVING CONDITIONS STATS:
Largest Number of People Sleeping in the Same Room: 150 (Appx., sleeper train to Xi’an)
Longest Without Shower: 2.5 days (Kaifeng)

AWARDS
BEST OVERALL CITY: Xi’an, Shaanxi
BEST OVERALL TOURIST SITE: (TIE) Leshan Giant Budda (Leshan, Sichuan) and Longmen Caves (Luoyang, Henan)
BEST TEMPLE: Wenshu Temple (Chengdu, Sichuan)
BEST TOMBS: Xi’an, Shaanxi (Terra Cotta Warriors, Emperor Jingdi’s Tomb)
BEST WEATHER: Chengdu, Sichuan
BEST CUISINE: Chengdu, Sichuan
BEST STREET FOOD: Xi’an, Shaanxi
OLDEST THINGS: Shaanxi History Museum, Xi’an
WORST OVERALL CITY: Luoyang, Henan
WORST TRANSPORTATION: Taxis in Chengdu, Sichuan
MOST ANNOYING POPULACE: Chengdu, Sichuan
WORST PLANE: Zhengzhou to Harbin (Delayed 1.5 hours)

Many thanks also to the cool people I met along the way and traveled with, including but not limited to: Brian, Chris, Amber, Elsa, Greg, Danielle, British Girl Whose Name I Forget, etc.