Student and Teacher

Hola everyone^^ Greek Man is back with another update from Beijing! I'm going to give you an update on what's been going on with my life here. The goods and the bads! So I recently started working as an English teacher. I teach 2 times a week here at the university. It involves mostly improving the English of the professors. It's fun really because the class is lighthearted and I get to perform more like a stand-up comedian rather than a teacher. Three times a week I conduct English training sessions at a five-star hotel in Chaoyang District, where things get a little more professional as you can clearly see in the above photo.

All of this and much more after the jump!

These days I get to experience both sides of the educational coin as I am both a student and a teacher. I'll have to say that it can be handfull at times teaching someone a foreign language and the amount of patience needed is great. I kinda understand now how my two Chinese teachers must be feeling everytime I get a tone wrong or I don't remember what a letter means. :-p It's a rewarding experience, though, and I'm getting a lot out of it. First and foremost, I'm finally taking care of myself in a more adult manner. I found these jobs on my own, bargained my salaries (not so much) and signed my contracts. I'm feeling quite proud of myself at this point and even if things do go wrong I still won't regret it. Teaching seems like an ideal way to kick start the "grow up" process in me as it is something I did extensively and to this day I consider it one of my greatest "feats" (survive 6 years with little rascals running around and you'll call it a feat as well).

Of course they are not all that as jobs. They both have their ups and downs. The university, for one, is giving me a low pay per hour with very few hours per week. But I think the classes here are more fun because the students actually chose to take them. They ask questions, they laugh, they respond and most importantly they understand me most of the time. This could be because they are teachers themselves too of course. On the other hand, the hotel job feels a little more stale. I have two kinds of classes, advanced and basic. In both cases I was told they know at least SOME English. They are not complete beginners and that holds true for the advanced students. The basic though are another story. In these classes I have a mixed fruits selection of students ranging from almost absolute beginners to "yeah I understand some England"-like ones. This is were I get a questionmark above my head, cause I'm not dealing with the cleaning crew but with phone operators and receptionists. How can one be in the hotel business without at least some knowledge of English? I do understand that the average Chinese person has no almost need at all for English but this is a five-star hotel in one of the best areas of Beijing. But that's not really where my frustration derives from. It is that this job is training, not teaching, which means these guys are having English shoved down their throats with little to no interest in it whatsoever. And I can tell you for sure it is a pain at times. Only two days ago I was helping a restaurant hostess with her pronounciation of the word "thousand" and I could just feel her anxiety. Almost felt like she wanted to punch me for not moving along to someone else. But ok, that's how life is. Pay is good so I'm not gonna moan any further.

So everyday is a busy day for me really. Aside from my classes and work take the bus and meet up with Kim. Also have to practice my Chinese writing which I need to do a lot really. Feels like I'm back in elementary school writing "A" 100 times to get it right. Only these "A's" have a lot more lines and curves. But it's fun. Didn't really think I would go so deep into the language. I'm loving it so far! Still trying to communicate for the bare necessities is still proving to be a difficult task at times but I'm getting there.

Next week is the national celebration of the Republic of China so we're going to have 8 days of rest and relaxation come October the 1st. Yay^^ Could use some extra sleep really. It's come to my attention that the university wants me to move on the above floor in the dormitory for some reason. Something about new students coming in. Won't get my hopes up about them being western though. :-P

That's it for now! Take care all of you!

Video Games Live in Beijing

Yo party people~! The long wait is over and yes I am finally posting about my experience at Video Games Live here in Beijing. I’d like to apologise to my readers for my disappearance and delay of this specific post. I recently started working as an English teacher along with my Mandarin studies so it’s been a little tough trying to get used to all of that. So without further ado I present the Greek Man in Beijing report on VGL!

Video Games Live is probably every game “nerd’s” dream concert! An event where beloved tunes from our favorite pass-time are performed by a live orchestra and take us back on that magical journey we experienced for hours upon hours each day. The idea was created and produced by video game composers Tommy Tallarico and Jack Wall, with the latter being the orchestra’s maestro. Tommy acts as the host of the event and also participates in some pieces by playing his guitar. All I have to say is that they are both geniuses and the whole idea is just pure awesomeness! I did have a few gripes of course but we’ll get to that later.


As you all probably know, I’ve forgotten my camera back at home so I only have two pictures from the event here in Beijing, both taken from my less than stellar cell phone camera. So the venue is the Capital Indoor Stadium which is quite huge. I’m not sure which Olympic event took place here but it’s a very nice stadium. Kim had booked some really decent seats where we could see the whole thing. My first gripe came here and it was about the screen where all the game videos were shown. It was just too small really. It was a problem when trying to read the subtitles when a video game designer was talking in Japanese. Fortunately Hideo Kojima spoke in full English. Yay~! But besides that the rest of the videos could be seen just fine. Maybe next time they could add a bigger screen or multiple ones throughout the venue. So the lights go down and after a few introductory comedic videos the screen displays two familiar lines going up and down with a dot bouncing between them. At the same time the orchestra was simulating the sounds of Pong in sync with the video. Absolutely brilliant I have to tell you. And so begins a journey back to my past! For the next 2 hours I was between the ages 5 and 16. Hearing the orchestra playing the theme from the very first NES Super Mario Bros was one of my favorite moments. I could literarily imagine myself back when I was playing the game. The best part of all was when all the crowd started clapping along with the music.

The performance of the Metal Gear Solid music was one of the most epic moments. The whole effect of the live orchestra along with the acoustics of the huge venue just made it all feel so grand. Tied in along with scenes from all the MGS games on the screen it was from out of this world. I was also really moved when I heard one of my absolute favorite video game themes of all time: the intro to Chrono Cross. That song always felt like it came from an epic journey and made my mind travel. Hearing it live from a full orchestra was just priceless! Now here is where I’ll give my other gripe, or maybe just a semi-gripe really. There was a lot of Blizzard promotion going on. Not that I didn’t appreciate hearing music from games that are yet to be released (Starcraft 2 and Diablo 3) but ok having them split between sections of the concert felt more of an advertisement. Well I guess they do have to make some money as well right?

So after a trip down memory lane they decide to close with the music from Halo and that’s where I thought “Don’t you DARE close it like this!” No, I am not a big Halo fan and I don’t get the hype. It’s just a shooter, kay? :-p Of course they didn’t cause the entire crowd brought their hands together for an encore and what an encore it was! “One Winged Angel” from Final Fantasy VII! Enough said guys, really! If you play video games with the same passion as I do and don’t know this song then go play FF VII. One of the best RPGs ever made with some of the BEST game music ever performed.


So, yeah, I had an awesome time and I have Kim to thank for that! Best birthday present ever! :-D If you ever get a chance to see a VGL event and you like video games then I suggest you go see it. It’s an experience you will never forget!

Peace out all^^

"Ni hao" from tomorrow

Hey all^^ I'll have to apologise for neglecting my VGL report. Things have been moving quite fast lately...and I've just been lazy about it. Promise to get it up soon. Just a quick update. Tomorrow's my first Chinese class! Woot~! Can't wait! The Korean students arrived on Monday. There seems to be only two guys and the rest are girls. That's gonna please Kim a lot. hehe I got to meet some of them today while we were at the hospital getting our physical examinations done for the Resident's Permit. So far I know I'll have 3 classmates in the beginners level. That's pretty cool considering I had noticed some Koreans already spoke Chinese and I started to fear I was the only newbie.

So I guess from tomorrow it's "ni hao" for me! If you don't know what that means, just look at the kitty!

Peace out^^

Yannis

Culture Shock for Dummies pt. 2

Hey everyone^^ It's time for part 2 of the Greek Man in Beijing's "Culture Shock for Dummies". As we explored in the previous post, language is basically the one main barrier that can "shock" one into oblivion. Even with a few new found revelations I've had, such as using sign/body language and smiling, there are still many difficulties when communicating with people here. Ever since I moved into the university accomodation I've had a good few moments where I was just dumbfounded. Found out about them right after the jump!

The accomodation has an office and a reception desk for emplyees that are supposedly here to help us foreign students with any issues we may have. And I say "supposedly" because I am living in a building that is for FOREIGNERS, meaning people who are not from China therefore it is not a given that we speak Chinese. You can imagine what the puzzled look on my face was like when I found out that none of these emplyees speaks any English at all. That's right! Nada, zero, nothing. Don't get me wrong, I'm not complaining. I'm amazed really. Anyway, I'm not gonna question this since it has become clear to me that English is possibly a not so great necessity for the Chinese. This matter is generally debatable too but we'll get to that some other time.

So I'm sitting in my new room minding my own business. One of my first nights alone too. While reading some headlines on the internet, the landline phone of the room starts ringing. Now I'm wondering who it might be at that hour. It was way past office hours for the university. So I'm feeling a little sketchy about it. I pick up and in order to avoid confusions I say "Hello" and not "Ni hao" (needed to establish my lack of Chinese proficiency). The woman on the other end not only starts going on and on about something in full Mandarin but it was at full speed too! Like, excuse me, did you not hear me? Foreigner here! I take a firm stand, interrupt her with an initial apology (didn't want her to waste her time or breath) and say clearly "I do not understand. Can you please say this in English?". There was a moment's pause and then her answer "oh! I'm sorry." and CLICK, hangs up. Beautiful. Picture it if you will. Now it could have been a wrong number of course but my money's on someone from the accomodation office. The reason is the next story which happened not even 2 hours after the phone incident. I get a knock on my door. In an attempt to buy me some time to get some pants on I yell "I am coming!". Instantly, yes instantly, another knock. "Yo! I'm coming!" in an even louder tone. Again knocking. Whether they liked it or not I had bought the time I wanted so take that! HA! Anyway, I open the door and there is one of the employees, binder and pen in one hand, a little gadget on the other. Chinese ensues again at full burst. By this time I'm seriously considering saying "Hey do I look like I understand, let alone be able to catch up with that speed?!" But I chose to be the perfect gentleman and just smile, wait for her to pause or stop and explain politely "I'm sorry I don't understand". She looks to her right, apparently towards the receptionist and starts saying something to her. After a brief answer she shoves the gadget in her hand on my forehead. After a short beep she looks at an indicator and writes something on her binder. By that time the receptionist had come to my door as well and that's when I started pointing towards her binder asking "What is that?" Simple question right? I mean, you did just measure something (obviously my temperature but boundaries well respected make for good relationships) without me even understanding what you are doing. Again they try to explain in Chinese. I give them a quick nod and say goodbye. I quickly grabbed my trusty "Chinese for Dummies" (and then you were thinking why I chose this title huh?) and attempt to construct a sentence asking "did you take my temperature previously?" After consulting my significant other as well I storm out of my room and made my way to the reception. I smile and give her my full question in the most broken of Chinese accents ever. I was fortunate enough that she understood me at once and replied yes. She tried to explain furthermore that this is a check up they have to do everyday which I had Kim translate for me later.

So you might be thinking that I'm ranting here when in fact I find all of these incidents quite amusing. It's funny how a university that wants to bring in people from the west, doesn't have at least one staff member that speaks English in the foreigner accomodation. How exactly now is all of this culture shock you may wonder. It's more or less a conclusion I've reached myself: they know some English, they just don't feel comfortable using it. I find it hard to believe, with all of the job ads seeking English teachers from the west that I see on the net on a daily basis, that anyone under 30 years old doesn't at least know a few simple words. Since the Chinese could feel embarassed quite easily, they prefer to avoid showing they know English all together. I could be wrong of course and by all means I'm not trying to sound pompus. To me it has become a well known fact that even in Greece there are a lot of people who don't know English that well...or maybe even at all. Even despite the fact that it's been in all school curriculums for the past decade at least.

Wanna hear some "good shocks" now? I'll have to admit that the Chinese are very active people. Especially as they get into their old age. Every single evening I've been out all parks are full of people engaging in various activities, such as playing cards and Mah Jong (spelling is doubtfull), exercising, dancing and practising Tai Chi. I've even seen them practising weapon forms. It's a really cool sight to behold! Granted, not all of them are really good at it, mostly doing it for health reasons, but it's still an awesome notion. These people literally thrive on good health. From the way they eat to the things they do on a daily basis. It's contageous too. I for one have never been a big fan of eating breakfast. I just had my usual Greek frappe coffee and that was it. Now, not only do I have my most important meal of the day but I have my in-between-meals fruit as well. I already feel like I'm losing weight too! :-D

So these were my first "shocking" incidents and observations. From here on out it's gonna be full reports on specifics. Next post is gonna be on Video Games Live which is tomorrow! Expect many photos (from cell phone camera).

Enjoy your weekend!

Yannis

Video Games Live on the Horizon

I probably have the best girlfriend in the world! No joke. She knows exactly what I like. The proof is what she got me for my birthday: Tickets to Video Games Live this Saturday! It's one of the biggest gaming events in the world and it's the first time its happening in Beijing. So I'm pretty stoked about it. The event is a live concert where an orchestra plays a huge variety of classic musical pieces taken from video games. There will also be lasers everywhere and monitors showcasing games. This year's event will also have music from Starcraft 2 and Diablo 3 which are still not released.
Check out some videos from past VGLs after the jump.

Below is Metal Gear Solid music performed by the orchestra. Hideo Kojima, the creator of the series, appears on the monitor.



Some Final Fantasy VII epicness



Who can forget the unforgettable music from Sonic the Hedgehog?



...Or Super Mario Bros.?



It's gonna be an awesome day! Plus it's gonna be the first major video games' event I go to so I'm extremely excited! Stay tuned for an after event report!

Stay heavy y'all!

Yannis

Culture Shock for Dummies pt. 1

Holla everyone^^ The Greek Man in Beijing is back...finally! *crickets* Oh come on...sad panda. I must have been at least a wee bit right? :-p Sweet~!

So it's been well over 10 days since my last post from the Dubai airport. That was definitely the longest 6 hours of my life. Especially the last hour just wouldn't go by. As I waited for my gate to open I would successively doze off with my head dangling only to wake up instantly and then rinse and repeat. Fortunately, though, I had no problems sleeping during the flight so that went by pretty fast.

I landed in Beijing and went through a few lines for health inspection and immigration. Those went quite smoothly. Getting my luggage was a drag cause they were practically the last bags to come out. Just my luck really but it was worth the wait since I came out of the baggage claim to be greeted by a warm hug! :-)

Here I am now! In the land of sweet and sour sauce and kung fu masters. This is gonna be a big wall of text so strap in nicely and click below for more.

Quite a lot has happened since I got here and in all honesty up until now I've had mixed feelings. It's really quite different going to another country to visit than it is to stay for a good long time. The impact of being in a country where most people don't speak English is probably the hardest of them all. Of course this worried me quite a bit since I knew that at some point I wouldn't have Kimy holding my hand and walking me around. But, hey, I came here to learn another language so I guess I'll just suck it up and take this opportunity. It can be quite funny at times trying to communicate really. So far I've had tons of laughs in a variety of lost-in-translation moments. Kim and I went out with her friend Lu and her boyfriend (who's name I can't spell but the translation is "Prince"). Now I knew Prince had next to zero English skills but he has a passion I can relate to: football. He's a big Arsenal fan and he seems to know a lot about European teams. To my surprise he even knew Greek teams, Panathinaikos and Olympiakos. Heck, he even knew one of our scorers back in the 2004 Euro, Charisteas! So communication between us was pretty much along the lines of "Christiano Ronaldo?", "Good player! *thumbs up*". We even managed to comment on Arsenal's recent victory. It got even better when he asked me if I ever played Starcraft. That literally lit my face up! :-D On the flipside comes the interesting part of the evening: talking with Lu. Now Lu is better at English than Prince so there shouldn't be too many problems there right? Ha ha ha! Funny story. Kim went to the bathroom at some point and Lu asks me "How many people in your classroom?". I was flabergasted for a second cause I had no idea what classroom she meant. My Chinese class? The English class that I was gonna teach? But wait I haven't started with those yet. So I ask "You mean in my Greek school?" she nodded yes so I smiled thinking I know how to say numbers in her language so I answer "San shi wu (35)". A moment's silence and then laughter from both Prince and her ensued. I'm completely stumped at this point. Kim comes back and finds us in this linguistic mess. Lu explains to her what we disussed and she tells me "She asked you how many people will be staying in your room at the university". I just laughed my butt off there.

So lines of communication can get distorted. But if you get into the proper channels things can work out. It's all a matter of perspective really. So far whoever I've interacted with has been easy going and lighthearted. If words do not make sense, then smiling and laughing does. And this is exactly what they are like here. They are happy people. One just needs to get into the spirit of their culture. Admittedly for most it could be hard since there are a lot of restrictions that the Chinese impose on themselves. I prefer to see it more like a form of politeness. In the west (and especially Greece) we tend to over-try to act cool and confident which often leads to us making spectacles of ourselves or even worse, insulting others without even knowing we did.

Am I enjoying China so far, you may wonder. Despite the language barriers I'll have to admit it's been fun so far. I haven't been to any bars or clubs so far. Not really my scene but might happen if the mood strikes me. I've seen one movie at the cinema. GI Joe! lol yeah ok I know but it was the only English speaking movie we could handle. Surprisingly enough if you exclude its title it wasn't a bad action flick. The theatre was great with good audio and video systems. It was kinda weird watching the movie with Chinese subtitles but overall good fun. Was a pleasant change to not see an exaggerated anti-piracy ad going off in my face (watch a movie in the UK and you'll know what I mean).

Eating here is amazing really! There are tons of choices ranging from Chinese and Asian food to good old fashioned fast food places to street vendor-style finger-food. They got KFC, McDonald's, Dairy Queen, Pizza Hut, Haagen Dazs (I'm boycotting them). But the best is checking out their own cuisine. So far my absolute favorite is Peking Duck, the real stuff. Not the crispy duck bs we drool over in the west. Trust me, Beijing is worth visiting just for the duck. It's just...awesome! :-D Korean BBQ is pure win as well! You get to cook your meat on a stove in the middle of your table. Mix with sauces and vegetables, get some cold noodles too and your in for a grand treat! Don't get me started on Chinese Hot Pot too cause then I'll be talking forever.

Probably one of my favorite parts of the evenings here, though, is walking around the streets where every sidewalk is covered in street vendors. In their majority they sell copycat stuff like watches, glasses, CDs and DVDs, books and handbags but it's really quite fun just looking around. Reminds me of some streets in Athens the only difference is that they don't pack their stuff once police shows up. :-p

I'm gonna stop here since it seems the wall is growing. I'll be back with part 2 soon enough so stay tuned.

Peace out all^^

Yannis

Not so pleasant flight

I have one thing to say right now: I love Emirates airlines! I mean it! I walked into this amazing plane where every single seat had it's own screen, all clean and tidy with headphones,blanket and pillow. Very pretty hostesses eager to serve travellers with smiles. Dinner was amazing, I had chicken with mustard sauce complete with salad, desert and white wine. Next thing I know I'm watching "Fast & Furious" and episodes of "My Name is Earl", "The Office" and "Friends". They even have a controller and a huge collection of games for you to play. Naturally, after all this fun and excitement (and 2 shots of Jack with my brother pre-flight) I get sleepy and am ready to doze off. So here's my predicament...

The guy sitting on my right (stuck in the middle, darn luck of mine) has already dozed off and is snoring as though bolts are going through a garbage disposal unit! He was making a huge variety of strange noises in his sleep. And ok, he's just loud so what? Well my friends this guy wasn't your usual "mr. SnoresOnceInAwhile". He had consistency and full continuity! Naturally I didn't get any sleep while my loud friend was peacefully in limbo throughout the majority of the flight. So here I am now in Dubai airport. It's 5:42am local time and my next flight departs at 11:00...fun...Worst of all, I just noticed I forgot my digital camera at home! GRRR!!

Anyone wanna give this lonely traveller some advice as to what to do for the next 5 hours? Should I sleep? Drink?

All My Bags Are Packed...

Or sort of. Still have to actually do the packing. Today is my last day before my flight to Beijing. It's kinda scary really but exciting at the same time! It kind of feels like I'm ready to climb an unknown dark mountain peek. But, hey, that's what an adventure should be like, right? If you always know what to expect it's just not as intriguing. So just like a young bold adventurer on a mystical journey through the writings of a highly imaginative fantasy author (I'm geeky like that, so sue me) I take up my own sword, muster my own courage and I begin my own story. It may not be easy for there are many slimy ghouls and fire-breathing dragons that will present themselves along the way. It's up to me to stand up and slay them.


So yeah, I'm still in the packing phase (last minute runs in my Greek blood) and in all honesty I have no idea how I'm gonna fit it all. I got tons of clothes, sheets, cables, Playstation 3, books...AAA! Thankfully mom's gonna give me a hand with all of that so no worries! :-D What's really giving me a headache is thinking about me carrying around my laptop and guitar in Dubai airport for 6 hours. Ugh, don't wanna picture it right now. Oh well, it's only for a day (close to literally).

I'm gonna keep this post brief and pictureless (I'm being lazy, yeah). I'll be giving you my next update from Beijing. Enjoy what is left of the summer season!

Peace out^^

Yannis

I Know Kung Fu

Holla everyone! The Greek Man is back from his vacation! I had a wonderful relaxing time in the tiny island of Innouses from which the majority of my family is descended from. You've probably never heard of it since it's like a little dot on the map of Greece (and practically invisible on a global scale)so I'll be sure to give you an insight on another post. Right now I would like to write about one of the things I'm really looking forward to indulging myself in China: Martial arts. Ever since my mom took me to my first lesson in Karate at the age of 7 I've been literally sucked into arts of fighting. I studied Shotokan Karate of the Japan Karate Association (JKA) for over 14 years, during which I participated in many national championships and tournaments here in Greece. I attained my black belt rank at the age of 12 and I consider it one of my greatest achievements to date. I've also trained in Aikido during my year in Sunderland University where I got to study a softer side of martial arts. For as long as I can remember I've always stayed up late reading books on a variety of martial arts and their philosophies. Thankfully the web has provided me with even more resources to further my indulgence. That being said, it's apparent that in Beijing I will be expanding my "warrior" horizons even further. So let's take a look at some of the most popular Chinese martial arts and their history, right after the jump.


Martial arts, known in Mandarin Chinese as "wushu" or for us westerners as "kung fu", are a huge part of China's culture. It's no coincidence that most of the martial arts icons that have existed over the years have all been of chinese descent. Bruce Lee, Jackie Chan, Yip Man and Jet Li have always captivated the world with their skills each with their own respective style. Many Chinese TV shows and films involve martial arts in some way. If you travel to any city in China you are sure to see people grouped up in parks practising Tai Chi. So, yeah, I'm going to a country where I will literarily be able to feed my passion to the fullest.

China is the birthplace of a great deal of styles that have been developed over the past 2000 years, most of which are the predecessors of modern fighting arts. Each of them has their own philosophy but also include many common ideas and elements. From personal experience, I could say that one of the most important ones is that wushu focuses on the natural use of the body and taking advantage of the opponent's strength, rather than using pure strength and dynamic techniques as seen in arts such as Japanese Karate and Greek Pankration. From mimicing animal movements to focusing one's "qi", the Chinese have developed martial arts that tackle self-defense situations and exercising of the body in many different ways. They are usually categorised as internal and external, and also based on the location (north, south etc.) and the part of China a style is descended from. There are also styles that were developed by Buddhist monks, including the widely popular Shaolin style.

So let's take a brief look at some of the more or less popular martial arts styles.

Bajiquan

In English "Eight Extremes Fist" or in Japanese "Hakkyoken". This style originates from the Heibei province of Northern China and is famous for its explosive short ranged power, and even more for its elbow strikes. Its first recorded teacher, according to Wikipedia, was Wu Zhong (1712-1802). Its main tactical advantage lies in close range combat by forcing openings on the opponent and then striking with elbow,knees,hips and shoulders at vulnerable points of the human body. The style includes weapon techniques, such as spears, staves, sabres and two-handed heavy blades.

One of the reasons I would most likely choose to learn this style would be because of my height (I'm a short guy standing at a proud 160cm). Thus, close range is where I mostly shine.


Hou Quan

We're all probably familiar with the art of fighting like monkeys right? Well it is no joke. There are Chinese fighting arts that have been influenced by the quick movements of our primate counterparts. Hou Quan literarily means "Monkey Fist" and can be traced way back to the Han Dynasty times. The style involves moving on all fours, performing a variety of acrobatic movements. The majority of techniques target vulnerable areas, such as the knees, throat, groin and eyes. The tactical advantage lies in the use of constant movement to confuse the opponent and strike fast and hard when an opportunity presents itself. As funny as it may sound (I laughed when I first read it myself) the imitation goes as far as to mimic a monkey's facial expressions during combat. The style's main speciality weapon is the staff.

I don't really believe I am capable of taking up such an art due to the acrobatics. My body type will most likely not be able to perform them. But it would be cool and quite entertaining to see what I could possibly accomplish. :-p

Northern Praying Mantis

Also known as Shangdong Praying Mantis from the province it originated from, is a style that mimics the movements of a highly aggressive insect...the praying mantis. It was developed originally by Wang Lang during either the Song or Ming Dynasty. The style's most distinct feature is its pose, where three fingers of each hand form hooks to mimic those of the insect. The hands are used in a whip-like manner for both defensive and offensive techniques. It's well known for targetting pressure points of the human body and using fast footwork, greatly influenced by Hou Quan.

One of the many reasons I would actually like to try this art out is purely for the pressure points part. Although it probably takes years to reach such a level, exploring such a distinctive style with circular motions will be interesting, as Karate is a more forward art.

Northern Shaolin

There is a great variety of Shaolin arts developed by Buddhist monks so I'm only going to touch one. It's considered as one of the most prominent and traditional of all styles. It's main strength lie in the use of quick advances and retreats, aggressive offensive techniques and circular blocking motions. The art is mostly practised through predetermined combinations of techniques, namely forms, routines and sets of movements. Although not practical for applications in real life situations, these routines are graceful to look at and provide the user with a calm spirit, which is the main focus of Shaolin arts. The style was initially practised in the first Shaolin monastery in Henan but was made widely known by Ku Yu Cheung (known for his Iron Palm techniques and the use of the spear). The style incorporates empty hand as well as weapon techniques. Some may be familiar with travelling monk groups that perform their arts to live audiences across the world.

Tai Chi Chuan

Remember what I said about people grouping up in parks and practising Tai Chi? One of the main purposes of this art is for health reasons. I tend to describe it to people as the "Chinese Yoga". Funny that it literarily translates in English as "Supreme Ultimate Fist" (sounds like it came out of a cheesy manga eh?). It's most widespread form is that of slow movement routines that are based on the four seasons of our planet. There are styles, though, that make use of faster paces, weapons, and hard techniques. That being said, there are schools of Tai Chi that use it just as much as a combat art. It's categorised as an internal soft art that focuses on bringing the practisioner to a calm state of mind in order to focus on coordinating movements in a variety of situations rather than muscle tension and strength.

I took up Tai Chi during a year in college where I practised a form based on the spring season. I feel that one of greatest weaknesses are to find a balance between being hard and soft (as my main focus has been a powerful art), so Tai Chi is an excellent choice to further my "softer" side.

Hung Ga

Hung Ga is a style that originates from the Southern part of China and is mostly associated with the folk hero Wong Fei Hung (hence its name). Its influences are derived from mimicing animals such as the horse and tiger. A student of the art would initially spend maybe even a few years practising nothing but stances. It's regarded as a hard style that incorporates well balanced and strong poses along with tiger claw-like attacks. It is often mis-characterised as an external art that relies on brute force, but in reality practisioners are taught to find there spiritual center of balance, hence the long-term stance training.

This is another style I would personally like to study because of its similarities to Shotokan Karate, namely stances and dynamic techniques.

Jeet Kune Do

It is not possible not to mention the style developed by one of the greatest icons of martial arts and pop culture, Bruce Lee. The man literarily opened up Chinese culture to the west and is considered by many as one of the greatest fighters ever (some could argue but I stand firm in my opinion). In English it's known as the "Way of the Intercepting Fist" or just JKD. The "Bruce Lee Foundation" decided to finally name is "Jun Fan Jeet Kune Do" in 2004 since Jun Fan was Lee's Chinese name. The style's core foundations lie in Wing Chun, with other influences deriving from boxing and fencing. In later years, the style grew through Lee's own peronal development. Thus he never claimed to have created a new fighting art, but more or less wanted to, in his own words, "free his comrades from being bounded by laws and philosophies of distinct styles". For some Jeet Kune Do is considered the father of today's mixed martial arts ideology, where one incorporates a variety of methods best suited for their own mind and body.

I'll be honest, I find the idea of practising Bruce Lee's art to be just awesome. He's one of my greatest idols and I would most definitelly want to "pick his brain" by taking up Jeet Kune Do. I highly reccomend to people who are interested in martial arts to read his book "The Tao of Jeet Kune Do". It will really unlock your minds into a whole new world.

So that's it for my small insight on Chinese Martial Arts and my own personal feelings towards them. I'm greatly looking forward to trying most of these out in hopes to find something new to incorporate to my own studies. Once I do start I will most definitely be posting up my thoughts on them (and maybe provide some pictures along the way).

Peace out all^^

Yannis

The Land of Myth and Partying

Greetings, friends! Greek Man here once more! I'm getting ready to spend a week at my family's summer home in the tiny island of Innousses. So, on this note, I'm going to talk a little bit about my home country, Greece and all the wonders one can expect to experience here!

Many know Greece to be the place where the Olympic Games originated from. Some may have also spent their vacation here and I'm pretty sure in their majority they have had a great time. This is exactly how I would fairly describe my place of origin. A land of myth and deep history but also a land where the party never stops! Anywhere one might go, may it be island or mainland, there are always fragments of our ancestors' heritage along with a healthy amount of clubs, bars and other establishments of entertainment.

The rest of the scoop after the jump!


Despite our faults as Greeks (I can assure you there are many) we have managed to maintain a great amount of tourism every year, especially during the summer. Truth be told, who wouldn't want to explore one of the oldest civilisations of our planet? Yeah, I am bragging because I'm proud to be from a place like this. One of the very first things that ever struck me ever since I started history classes in school is how many events and historic moments Greece has participated in. So many glorious battles, unforgetable moments, even a revolution that inspired so many other countries. Of course it was all jammed down my throat year after year. It's so much better to go see all the monuments than to read about everything in an uninspringly made book. You've all seen the movie "300" I assume. If you are ever in Greece, go see the Hot Gate monument. It's a site to behold!

Let's not also forget the HUGE variety of mythology that has even inspired the creation of many beloved movies and shows (Hercules and Xena excluded always). Ancient Greeks sure had great imagination. Watching Ancient Greek drama is also amazing especially when they do them in old theatres.

So yeah, Greece pretty much has a lot to offer for the fanatic sightseeing personality. Now picture that after seeing all those "magical" places and things you can spend your evenings having bucket-loads of fun! Sounds intriguing eh? Your checking out the Knosos palaces all morning. Next stop is a huge lunch at a traditional Greek tavern where the food is absolutely to die for. An incredible variety of meats, vegetables, dips and lots of wine can just make anyone's day close to perfect. Maybe a swim in the afternoon at some of Greece's finest sandy beaches. Finally, you make yourself fully presentable and hit the fun streets where tons of bars and clubs all have their doors open serving alcohol 'till daybreak...and beyond!

This is my take on Greece really. Sure we don't have the best government money can buy, nor do we have the greatest economy ever. But one thing is for sure, and I say this with pride, we are an amazingly interesting kind of country. We shine when the going gets rough and we pretty much know how to put up a show (2004 Olympic Games Opening and Closing were the best ever!).

Blocking Socialisation

So I've been conversing for sometime now with Kim over Skype and there have been many instances where we've shared a variety of links to each other. In many occassions I would stumble onto some funny videos on Youtube and would try to share them with her. But I can't! Why? Cause the Government of the People's Republic of China is actually blocking it; and not just YT. Also Blogspot, Twitter, Flickr and, after today's findings, Facebook have taken the "banhammer" quite viciously. My first reaction to these findings were of course how am I going to be able to use them once I'm there. There are ways around it and I know of them quite well given my extraordinary computer skills (insert sarcasm if you will). I'm a big fan of the belief that if something is made up of 0s and 1s it is definitely hackable or can be worked around. But, news flash, not all people in the world have the knowledge or the time/interest to invest into gaining it in order to have access to these sites.



So I'm sitting here thinking to myself "what is the reasoning behind such a ban?" The obvious answer that I've found throughout the internet is that the reasons are the various political issues China is facing. Ok, again, what is the reasoning? How is it possible for several people to believe that by depriving a nation from accessing social networks will serve their purpose? Is there any...now wait a minute! Roll back a bit. What is this purpose they have exactly? Some might say it's because they want to minimise public opinions being exchanged so that citizens basically just converse with each other and nothing else. Furthermore, it could also be that China is a tad embarassed, so to speak, and don't want to seem weak. Whatever the cause may be I still don't see a proper reasoning here. China is promoting scholariships for foreigners to attend their educational institutions (I'm one of them) and yet they don't wanna expand their people's socialisation capabilities.

Now I'm going to be abrupt about something here: I couldn't give a rat's behind since I have the know how. My real concern is how can they, the people, allow their Government to deprive them of such communication resources in an age where social networks are constantly expanding. Hell, even companies are using them to promote their business and I've actually done research on this for a paper in university (I are grand master researcher). It just doesn't make much sense. Ok so you have political problems. Who doesn't? Funny story, we had a minor social network crisis going on in Greece as well. It even hit the news! Some shameless lamer made a video that portaied Kemal Ataturk in a gay manner and posted it on Youtube. Some guys from Turkey retaliated of course and then some back and forths were going on in YT for awhile. It was regarded as a matter of international relations, our Government was furious about it but guess what, Youtube remained fully accessible in Greece throughout the incident!

I'm not trying to brag or act like my country is in anyway superior to China. I'm just trying to discover the logic behind the ban. It could be cultural differences that make me fail in my understanding. Or maybe I'm just too stupid. Fact remains, though, that such a move is just...lame (how journalistic of me eh?). The internet and all its facets are one of our greatest technological gems and we should enjoy it, not put up walls just for the sake of not losing face or whatever.

If I've managed to draw in some Chinese readers I am greatly interested in hearing your views on this subject.

Peace out all^^

Yannis

The real summer starts now

So yeah, I know I promised the inside scoop on my family but due to some "operations" and other unspeakable situations I'm going to have to postpone it for later. Interviewing the mob isn't easy, even for an inside man such as myself. Anyway, the temperature doesn't seem to be going down easily and it is under these extreme conditions I had to complete a variety of errands and tasks. For one I had to drive my sister to go take her driving theory exam which she finally managed to ace as expected! Congrats Tiggy! The kicker, though, was that while she was scheduled to take it at 12:00 pm she ended up being called at 12:30. The greek public services never fail when it comes to making our lives hard. But all's well that ends well! I'm a proud big brother now! Along with that I had to take some pants I had for shortening (I'm a small guy so I can never for the life of me buy pants that fit). Funny thing is I've had those pants for well over a year but never really had a use for them since I'm a jeans man. Since I'm gonna be working, though, I think something a little more formal is in order. Got some nice shirts to go with them as well! So now I got the style, now time to start gearing into teacher mode. FEAR ME!



Oh, by the way, I got my flight tickets finally...and it ain't a pretty voyage. Departure time from Athens El. Venizelos airport at 23:00 Greek time. I'll be flying to Dubai for about 4.5 hours where I'll be arriving at around 4:30 am local time. Now here's where the real fun begins: my flight to Beijing departs at 11:00 am Dubai time! Yeah you read correctly, I'll be stuck in the airport for well over 6 hours alone and completely exhausted! :-( From there on it's another 7 hours to my final destination (why does that creep me out?). Sadly I need a visa to get out of the airport so can't do some minor sightseeing and take some photos. Oh well...I'll endure it. Now I'm really pondering whether or not I should take my guitar with me since I'll have to be dragging it along with my heavy laptop backpack. Hm, could always sit in a corner and play while random travellers pity me by giving me some spare change....or throw tomatoes at my face since I can't play at all.

Oh well, on a happier note, as of today it's just my bro and myself occupying our residence! Up until the 19th the family bosses and sis are gonna be vacationing so that means it's wild time for the boys! High time we got our "pool" (stop laughing!) ready so we can just lay back and enjoy the sun. Along with some alcohol and good company we are sure to get some neighbor rage going on in no time! From the 3rd until the 10th of August we'll be joining our family for some vacationing at the glorious island of Innouses (it's a tiny dot on the map next to Chios).

Well I'm gonna end this small update. I humbly apologise for this stale post. Promise to make the next one more interesting. You can always keep tabs on what I'm doing via Twitter.

Peace out and enjoy whatever you are doing!

Yannis

Misadventures and Getting Things Done

Yo, party people~! Yannis here! Hope you are all doing well and having fun in this summer heat! If you are not, well...hope you are planning to have some fun! One thing I have to say is that although summer time is great here in Greece, the heat blast (commonly known as a heat wave but "blast" just sounds more accurate) is just unbelievable. I seriously think twice before walking out of my house between the hours of 11:00 am to 3:00 pm. And it's mid-July which means we have a lot more to look forward to. Good thing we have an inflatable pool! Do I hear laughing? Hey! Inflatable pools rock and I challenge anyone to prove the contrary! Oh, you got a proper pool eh? K... *walks away in shame*



Anyhow, off to some of my news. For starters, my bro Dimitris is back from Portsmouth, UK. Good times! There's definitely some partying that will be going down for sure from now on! Hehe~! The parental units are gonna be off for the weekend. Even more good times!! No worries, we'll keep the place intact...somehow. Also, I've managed to assemble all the paperwork I needed to get my student visa so I'll be submitting those at the embassy tomorrow. Let me tell you it was not an easy task getting my physical examination form filled. As I stated in my previous post, they required that I be examined from head to toe literally. Not only that, it had to be done at a PUBLIC hospital. So I merrily strolled down to the nearest one (ok I drove it wasn't that close) and as I showed this lovely lady there the form she gave me a puzzled look and asked me what exactly it was I wanted. Some clarrifications now: a) I am not really proficient in how hospitals work and b) the form was written in English and Chinese. After a few back and forths with her she decided to get rid of me by advicing me to try another hospital since they were really swamped with appointments all the way to mid-August. So I drove down to another "nearby" hospital with alot of high hopes. I'll be blunt: they were crushed pretty fast! As I gave my form to another lovely lady there she quickly replied "I can't read this". Now I'm not one who asks for too much (for real) but I find that kind of weird in this glorious age of globalisation (clearly overhyped). Or maybe I'm a little naive. In all fairness to her, of course, I do also find it a little off that the form didn't contain any Greek. I mean they do want it to be signed by GREEK doctors in GREEK public hospitals. Oh well, I've managed to get things done in the end. BANZAI!!
Another little misadventure occured right after said form was filled. I misplaced my passport. To make a long story short, I freaked out to a point where I started to believe our house had a gnome infestation of some sort. Funny story though, my mom knocked some sense into me so I started picking on some clothes scattered here and there. It was located in a pair of jeans that was pilled under a cloth mountain I maintain in my room (without fail). I'm a really messy person and the photo on the left barely scratches the surface of what my living quarters are like. All's well that ends well, though! Love you mom!
So the majority of my preparations are almost complete. I got my flight ticket to Beijing with a stop in Dubai which hopefully won't last too long, my visa will be processed within a few days, Kimy found a decent cheap hotel to spend my first few days there vacation-style (yeah I've vacationed enough I know) and now all that remains is a few minor details here and there.

So what should you be looking forward to from my posts until my fateful journey to the Land of the Sleeping Dragon? Well, along with some reports on my activities I'll be introducing you to the people I love the most. Next week I will be giving you the full scoop on the most powerful Mafia, the Vatis Family! So stay tuned!

Peace out~!

Yannis

Let's start at the beginning...

Hola peeps~! I'm Yannis (for those who may not know me) and I'm a...Greek man. Well ok that doesn't say much about me nor the purpose of my blogging but I'll get to all of that in a second. I'm 27 years old, born in Manhattan NY and raised in the lovely city of Athens. In a nutshell I'm a "geek" with a bit of a "cool" side. I like gaming but I also like hanging out and drinking beers. I watch a lot of Japanese animation (manga for some) but I also love rock and metal (yeah that's way cool). Fantasy and sci-fi are my genres of choice but I find enjoyment in almost all kinds of books and movies. But the pinnacle of my geekiness? My studies! My bachelor's was in Computer Information Systems (all kinds of computer related courses woo!) and my recently completed master's was in Information Technology Management. Regardless, this is who I am and I'm placing it out in the open. Now that we are acquainted I shall expose the reason that got me to start this blog....



*drum roll*

I'm moving to Beijing!

*crickets*

Ok, it doesn't sound as mind-boggling as it might have a decade ago with all the globalisation going on these days but there are some who still give me a puzzled look when I say it. Nevertheless, it's a big decision I've made for myself for a variety of reasons. My most important one is my loving girlfriend Kim whom I met during my MSc studies in Sunderland. We've been together for over a year now and we're really happy together. Besides that this move is an opportunity for me to discover a different culture and life-style with many opportunities to fulfill some of my greatest lifelong dreams. It's also a chance for me to learn Mandarin Chinese hence I've gotten a scholarship to study the language at the Beijing Information Science and Technology University. Since I've made the decision to make this journey I've decided to share my adventures with the rest of the world. What will it be like for a person from Greece such as myself? What hidden mysteries does the Yellow Dragon of the East hide? Can I identify any possible similarities between Greek and Chinese culture? That's all out there for me to discover and share with you.

For starters I'll be guiding you through the preparation process I'm undergoing before I actually go there. Tomorrow I will be going to a public hospital (god have mercy) to do some tests required for my student visa. I'll have to do the whole shebang including blood test *shivers*, ECG, eye-sight, chest x-ray and general check-up. Sounds crazy right? It is! But if that's what it takes I'm up for the challenge.

Stay tuned as I will be updating here on a reqular basis! You can also follow me on twitter for some less than ordinary updates on my activities! :D

Peace out everyone~!