Greetings from the Jade Empire

[LazyBoy]

And you guys thought you were rid of me.

 

In case some of you forgot or did not notice (in which case, thank you, that makes me feel special) I left England in September for China, to learn Kungfu. I am out here for all of my gap year, only to return at Christmas for one month to see my family, and ofcourse, presents.

 

Now I know I said that I would not be able to get internet out here, which is why I made a big goodbye thread before I left. However that was just one of many misconceptions I made before I came here, but i'll come to that more later. For now I have the internet though, and so this is some what of a return to the boards for me.

 

I don't know how interested people are, but I have been keeping a diary out here, and if I may say so myself it is quite a good read. If anyone cares I will start putting up a few parts.

 

And ofcourse if anyone has any questions, please, feel free to ask.

[darksnowman]

I gotta ask, what kinda course do you do if they give you a gap year to go learn kung fu? Are you doing a martial arts degree?

[Letty]

What sort of place are you staying in?

 

And how did you travel there/was it/is it scary?

[Hellfire]

Are you waxing on and waxing off?

[Hem]

Pleased to meet you. I'm back in action as well, haven't posted in over a year.

 

Do you have any photos of your expedition?

[LazyBoy]

I gotta ask, what kinda course do you do if they give you a gap year to go learn kung fu? Are you doing a martial arts degree?

 

I'm studying History and Chinese Studies at Sheffield, so in my personal statement I worked in that to study in China for a year would help me understand the culture and allow me to get a headstart on the language. Which to be fair is quite true.

 

What sort of place are you staying in?

 

And how did you travel there/was it/is it scary?

 

Well originally I was going to stay in the school that my Master (it feels too gay everytime I say that) ran, but he recently moved back to his home city of Jining, to start up a new school, so that is where I am.

 

 

So I am actually staying in my own house. I was offered to stay with many people but I like my own space. So now I am staying in an apartment for about 100/month, which is half the price of living in a hotel.

 

 

 

Getting here was a pain in the ass. 5 hour lay over in Hong Kong, and a 3 hour drive after it all, but luckily there was no one on the roads (no overstatement)

 

And I wouldn't call it scary, intersting is more the word. Everyone is so nice, and ofcourse i'm a foot taller than everyone else so I think I've got a fair chance against any of them. The only worrying thing is that I stand out so much. I actually have not seen another white guy since I have been here. Truth.

 

Are you waxing on and waxing off?

 

Ha no. In fact what I am learning is so different from anything else i've ever done. Here's a video of my Master performing some stuff

(he starts working over a guy at about the 4 minute mark).

 

Pleased to meet you. I'm back in action as well, haven't posted in over a year.

 

Do you have any photos of your expedition?

 

Ha I remember you from a while back, though I guess we never ran into each other. I am quite the quiet poster. Anyway, nice to have you back.

 

And i'll upload some photos when I get some of me kicking ass. Don't wait up.

[Iun]

Glad you managed to find a decent place, my first appartment was absolutely terrible but considered absolutely wonderful by the locals. Now I have a much better place and it costs twice as much...yay.

 

Still, Shandong is a way off - do you ever get to Beijing or Shanghai? I'm in Shanghai at the moment. It's a phenomenal place.

[Ramar]

I was going to post "Pics or it didn't happen".. But you've posted pics.

 

Sounds really awesome, dunno whether I'd have the balls to do it myself though.

[LazyBoy]

Glad you managed to find a decent place, my first appartment was absolutely terrible but considered absolutely wonderful by the locals. Now I have a much better place and it costs twice as much...yay.

 

Still, Shandong is a way off - do you ever get to Beijing or Shanghai? I'm in Shanghai at the moment. It's a phenomenal place.

 

Shanghai is my favourite city in the world, been there twice. The family business has a place there, and one of my mates is living there at the moment, so if I get the chance i'll come down for a weekend.

 

It's about an hour by plane, and about 6 hours by train. Domestic flights are fairly cheap so I'll probably fly, though i've always wanted to experience the chinese train experience.

 

And yeah i've been lucky with the place, but everything is so cheap here. Although it is still very empty, I actually bought a turtle to keep me company.

 

When did you first move out here, and if you don't mind me asking, what are you doing in Shanghai?

[Ollie]

I was going to post "Pics or it didn't happen".. But you've posted pics.

 

Lol...too much time on those horrible wow-europe forums for j00!

[Iun]

Shanghai is my favourite city in the world, been there twice. The family business has a place there, and one of my mates is living there at the moment, so if I get the chance i'll come down for a weekend.

 

It's about an hour by plane, and about 6 hours by train. Domestic flights are fairly cheap so I'll probably fly, though i've always wanted to experience the chinese train experience.

 

And yeah i've been lucky with the place, but everything is so cheap here. Although it is still very empty, I actually bought a turtle to keep me company.

 

When did you first move out here, and if you don't mind me asking, what are you doing in Shanghai?

 

I moved here about 8 months ago, give or take a week. I'm doing a multitude of different things at the moment to earn money from teaching to giving voice-overs for books and TV.