Okay, where is X?
America.
Where has X been?
I finished the contract of my accursed-yet-high-paying job in the Kingdom at the end of July.
I immediately took off for Vietnam with Crazy Bob. (We drank enormous amounts of Tiger beer, I got the flu, and he had sex with a 180 pound British girl who squirted.)
I immediately took off for Vietnam with Crazy Bob. (We drank enormous amounts of Tiger beer, I got the flu, and he had sex with a 180 pound British girl who squirted.)
After two weeks in Vietnam, the cheapest flight I could find was into Las Vegas, so I spent two nights at the Hard Rock Cafe Hotel there. (And why not, right? But mostly it just kind of overwhelmed me. I've never seen so many hideous looking women who thought they were really hot.)
Then, after returning to the dirty South, I visited some friends in Memphis, TN, just in time for the end of Elvis Week. But we just ignored that and hung out at dive bars.
Then I just spent last weekend in Branson, Missouri with my father and brother and nephews. If you don't know, Branson is sort of a middle-American white Christian version of Las Vegas, minus the casinos and nightclubs but with plenty of mini-golf, wax museums, shows by washed-up country singers, and old people getting the senior discount at the IHOP.
Now I'm at my mom's house.
In short, I'm up to my asshole in America.
So what's up with X?
I have an adventure holiday planned, a seven-day survival hike in the Utah canyonlands next week, and then after that I'm going somewhere with my refuses-to-be-ex Girlfriend, probably Greece or Turkey. I might visit Vodkaberg. (International situation be damned.)
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| Girlfriend in Malta last May |
After that, in October, I'm going to Peru to work on some writing projects. (And do some tourist shit, of course.) I intend to stay there until Christmas.
What about REQUIEM FOR A VAGABOND?
It's at the editor and the beta readers; hopefully it will be done by the middle or end of September. My next couple of blog updates will be sample chapters from it. It still needs a bit of work; the ratio of info about the Middle East versus stories about Russian sluts was apparently a bit off.
Will there be more books in the future?
I'm going to work on another writing project first, but I do have an idea for another TEFL practice book about classroom management, which I'm tentatively titling CROWD CONTROL.
And there will be a memoir about my youth and backpacking adventures leading up to becoming an English teacher. Don't know what I'll call that. YOUNG X? THE ROAD TO X? HISTORY X? Something like that.
Tune in in a few days and I'll post Part Two of the story about my trip to Miami.
Have a nice day, everybody!
15 comments:
As someone living in Korea who is currently at a bar, I respect you. A lot. Your musings are fantastic and I greatly enjoy reading them.
I'm excited to read your next publication.
Best wishes,
JChrist
Well, you could always show her the ETX website and all of her cameos. That might shake her enough.
Out of curiosity, how about a shot of your sidekick Crazy Bob? Does he know about your blog?
A survival hike in the desert sounds un-fun.
Are you thinking about doing another year in the ME? You seem to be running low on locations that aren't Asia and pay anything. Although you've never explicitly stated it, I get the impression that you have an aversion to either Asia or Asian women (not a criticism).
Obviously you didn't read the first memoir; I worked in both Korea and Thailand during the 90s, a year in Korea and a couple years in Thailand with about another year of living there unemployed. I have no problem with Asian women.
http://englishteacherx.blogspot.com/2010/10/about-whore.html
Posts about Thailand:
http://englishteacherx.blogspot.com/search/label/Thailand
Bob knows about the blog and has a few misgivings about it but has consented to pseudonymous usage of his content.
Some pictures and interview with Bob here:
http://englishteacherx.blogspot.com/2013/07/interview-with-crazy-bob.html
I did read it, have read most of your Thailand posts, and I'm aware that you did time in South Korea. I've been following you a long time, and have widely recommended you across the interwebz. I was going on the fact that you haven't talked about going back to Asia nor have you spent as much time there as you did in lower-paying Russia, despite the fact that Asia can represent a good middle ground in the ESL world between pay and lifestyle if we assume that Russia is more-or-less best for certain lifestyle aspects (blond, pale, fun girls whom I also like) and the ME is best for pay. That, is, it can represent a good middle ground if you like it (though, as you know, you give up lifestyle for pay as you head north). Hence, my impression. Personally, I would have to choose my Asia locations very carefully as I couldn't do more time in South Korea, for instance. I do like Japan very much, though, and I especially love that it's a true first-world country. That's a big deal. China pays well these days, though I would personally avoid it for respiratory health and food hygiene reasons (especially). I didn't know if a possible aversion to Asia, if it exists, was due to female or location preferences. Hence my statement. No judgments here. I could care less if you like Asia or Asian girls, though I'll take your word for it about the ladies. Personally, sometimes I enjoy them and then I go through periods wherein I do not. They can be a handful but also fun.
I don't find Asian salaries have gone up much since the 90s, and the cost of living has gone up quite a bit. They still pay $2000 - $3000 a month in Korea, which is what they paid 20 years ago. Vietnam pays rather well compared to the cost of living. Russia used to pay well compared to the cost of living, but not anymore.
I've done South America as you've done Russia, with most of my time in Buenos Aires. I've travelled widely in SA, trying to find a place better than BA. Other than the food, which is great, Peru is a dump - and an increasingly expensive one to boot, due to the super strong Sol. The only places I would recommend are Buenos Aires, or Santiago - and Chile is now expensive as hell.
I would definitely live to visit Buenos Aires and certainly intend to. How much is an apartment there?
Same quality apartment in same quality barrio is certainly now cheaper in BA than Lima. 50M in Palermo Hollywood section of BA is probably $800-1200 for a tourist lease; monthly/furnished. Same in Miraflores in Lima is $1000-1500. BA is fully walkable with great neighborhoods - quite European. Excellent/cheap subway and bus system. Lima has no similar zones, save for a small part of Miraflores. No subway, terrible bus system. BA has a great cafe society which also spawned a rich culture of literature and music. Lima has nothing to compare.
BTW, my perfect existence in LatAm would be living in BA, with a Colombian woman, eating Peruvian food, drinking Argentine wine, listening to Brasilian music and vacationing on a Uruguayan beach..........
I was planning to visit some friends in Arequipa, actually, not stay in Lima.
Colin, over at Expat Chronicles lived/worked in Arequipa for a year or two, and met his wife there. You might send him a message asking him about it. He also lived in Lima (and liked it), so you might get a more rounded view than mine. He's currently in the US writing a book about Colombia, and looking to get back to Lima to raise his new kid. Drop him a line.
http://www.expat-chronicles.com
http://forum.expat-chronicles.com
To add to the discussion on working in East Asia: Salaries are now highest in China if you're willing to work in a first-tier city and deal with the cancerous pollution, an inept and corrupt government, and greedy, materialistic general population that lacks any and all moral integrity. Also, Chinese women are not very good looking and seem to lack any kind of outward "sexiness." Conversely, other Asian women (Thais and Filipinas come to mind) tend to ooze sex.
Jobs at "international schools" pay around RMB 18,000 to 30,000 per month for a 15 to 20-period work week. Part time work goes for RMB 200 to 600 per hour and perhaps higher with corporate training
If one were to work smartly, there's the potential to save 50 to 80 thousand USD per year in China. I've done it and have seen others do the same, and I'm definitely not some kind of ESL guru.
Anyway, great blog ETX. Thanks for your insights
I've been in touch with Colin, actually, he does know the place well.
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