Michael Lovett: Personal Vlog

 BIO

 Birthplace: Stratford, Texas

University: University of North Texas

Denton, Texas

Places Lived: Dallas 1991-1994, Colorado Springs 1994-1999 [China 2001-2006] Honolulu Oahu Hawaii 2007-2018 [The Philippines 2018-present]

Occupation/Training: Fine Art, Graphic Art, Computer Graphics

Details

China: From 2001 to 2006 I moved to mainland China, in the province of Guangdong, the city of Canton (Guangzhou). I taught ESL (English as Second Language) to Chinese students, Kto12. Also Univ. students and adults. I worked for language schools as well as a private boarding school and language schools I returned to the USA near the end of 2006.

Hawaii: I moved on invitation to Honolulu Oahu Hawaii in Feb. 2007. I lived there 11 years. 

Then at the end of 2018, I came to The Philippines with my terminally ill friend, also named Mike, who died three months later. I was going to move and teach ESL in Vietnam, but ended up staying here.

The Future

As a retiree now receiving my S.S. benefits, I'm beginning some projects related to art and writing.

I still hope to live for a short interval in Vietnam. 

My Santa Experience in South China

I lived five years in mainland China, from 2001 to 2006. I arrived in October in the sub tropical area of Guangzhou, better known as Canton to most people in the west. I worked at a private school, Yinghao College--the very first private boarding school in China, in the lovely green and mountainous countryside of Conghua, 35 miles North East of Guangzhou.

Yinghao College, Conghua, Guangdong PRC

 It was a great introduction to my first time in China, as it isolated me somewhat from the full brunt of China itself. It was ideal. The food at the school was horrid, not what one would expect from China, but again, I was at a school, not a three or four star hotel or restaurant. Next door was a resort hotel however, as Conghua is famous for its hot springs, which the school was tapped into literally; my shower was supplied with real hot spring water, and I could turn on the tap, set a plastic stool in the bath and enjoy a steam! When I wanted better food, I went to the hotel or other small restaurants that had sprung up specifically because the school was there and the hot springs.

By the end of December however, I soon left this lovely environment for the lure of the big city of Canton. It was a money issue--I would triple my salary by doing so--a no brainer.

I can't recall much of anything about my first Christmas in China as it just isn't observed there. That seems kind of odd because I found out much later that nearly all the world's Christmas decorations are made in that area, as well as most of the worlds sexual aid devices, and on and on. The Pearl River Delta--or the PRD as it's called among the expatriate crowd--is also known as "The World's Factory Floor". More than *half of all goods made in China come from that area. It has become an actual "Megacity" environment.

*in 2003 40% of all manufactured goods in China came out of the PRD.

Once rooted in Guangzhou, I shortly found a few free lancing jobs and quickly got to know the place. I as making really good money and one job I had during the day was working for an English language immersion school, where I again lived on the city-mountain of Bai Yun Shan (White Cloud Mountain) in the heart of the city.

Baiyun Shan, Guangzhou PRC

 My second Christmas in China, I had a much better and memorable experience. By this time I had found a nice little family run restaurant that catered to the embassies and consulates and also set out a great buffet for every western holiday of importance. At the school that year I bought a small one meter Christmas tree that were now being sold at a local department store, along with assorted ornaments and garland. I let my students do all the decorating and it was such a joy to watch them hang little ornaments and string garland around the room. It was brand new to the all and they were enthralled.

The third year in Guangzhou I was approached by a friend who said she had a contact who wanted a "store Santa" for the very first time at a fairly new shopping mall. I thought about it, and then thought "why not?" and so agreed. I met with the contact, another Chinese woman, rather young, who was in charge of public relations at the shopping center. This mall was on par with any large city mall in the USA. It was four stories and had hundreds of shops. 

Tee Mall, Guangzhou PRC

My "Santa's Workshop" would be on the last floor. I showed up about an hour before the event. A makeup artist was there, with the suit. I brought shorts and a T-shirt, as I figured it might be hot in the suit. It was quality stuff, probably a $200 outfit, no joke! The beard was incredible--something out of a Hollywood makeup department. I found out later that the suit and the make up artist were on loan from the local movie studio (I lived in Guangzhou--otherwise known as Canton--a city of 10 million people, and yes, a burgeoning movie business). When it came time, I was walked out a side door about 50 meters from the throne. The PR lady and her assistant accompanied me, and everyone we walked by were awe struck. At the thrown area, there were two young Chinese girls in wonderful green elf outfits. There was already a line of about 50 people, half of them children. I took my seat, and waited for the first child. The little Chinese girl was about four I think, and she was all eyes and open mouth. They sat her on my lap, and I said stuff to her in Chinese (I was relatively fluent in Mandarin after two years--another reason I was chosen), while her happy mother took photos. Within 20 minutes the line had grown double in size, as they were announcing that "Shen Dan Lao Ren" was on the fourth floor (literally "Christmas old man") through the audio system.
A few kids began screaming in sheer terror the moment the elves got them up to me--understandable--I have seen that in America, so nothing new. What I found so enjoyable were the bright eyes, the sheer wonder of my grand beard, and on occasion, a kiss on the cheek, encouraged by the mother or father.
There were some young school girls as well, and they had a blast. I did this for three days, and made about as much money doing it if I had worked three weeks at my regular job, which was editing for an Chinese educational book publisher. The next year a good friend of mine took over the reins and he also enjoyed it. 

The Dead in The Middle Kingdom

It would seem to an outside observer that the people of China revere their dead. They have a "grave sweeping" holiday where relatives show up once a year and put fresh flowers on their ancestors' graves. Many families will have a black and white photo of a recently (or not so recently) deceased loved one propped up in a prominent place in the house with prayers in calligraphy along side it, as well as some fruit and incense. So how is it that while I was living there, I saw more ignored dead bodies lying around in roadways? I have to say, I had never actually seen a fresh dead body before I went to China. In America, bodies are quickly covered, either by a witness or passerby out of respect, until the police arrive. Not in China--at times it becomes a form of entertainment.

I personally deal with death not so well. I remember going to a funeral with my mother when I was a wee lad, about four I think. From my vantage point all I could see was the tip of a nose over the top of the big dark casket. Since I had no idea what death was, nor why everyone was looking at a big wooden box with a nose on the top, I began to fidget and got uncomfortable with the whole thing. See, everyone was adult and there were several and they of course all had on black, and nobody was smiling and everyone was very quite. I asked my mom rather loudly "Why is there a nose on top of that box?" She simply shushed me. I didn't stop. I began to panic. I kept asking, even louder why everyone was looking at a nose, and why just a nose. She promptly took me home and returned without me. She had to explain all this to me years later. I had no memory of it, but after she began explaining what happened I told her I did recall the "nose on the box", but had no idea where the memory came from or why. Then years later my grandfather died, who I adored, and it disturbed me to see him in that same type of box, nose and all. Now I refuse to go to funerals. I go only to wakes. If someone thinks I am disrespectful, so be it. Fortunately or unfortunately for me, I was out of the country when my parents died. It may seem terrible to say, but I am glad, because I am not sure I could have gone to their funerals.

The first dead body I saw in China was while on a bus leaving the school I worked for that was in the countryside. I had only been in that country for three weeks so everything was still shock-a-minute no matter what I did. The bus slowed down and someone tapped me and pointed out the window. There on the side of the road lay a woman, a dead woman and nobody around her. There were some people on the opposite side of the road, but it looked as if she were there for some time. The blood near her head had turned black and was dry from my vantage point. Nothing to cordon off her corpse either; it was just there, half in the road and half  in the ditch. I was stunned to say the least.

Then it happened again not four months later; I remember this well because the first one had been in December and my birthday is in April, and this was April, so easy peazy to recall the time frame. Me and a girlfriend had just crossed a four lane side street to go to a restaurant on the other side. The entire time we ate we never heard anything or noticed any commotion outside. We couldn't have been in the place more than 30-40 minutes. We actually had some business at the local police station--I had to register with them because I had just moved into their jurisdiction, a requirement for all foreigners (though I only did it once and moved multiple times; most don't bother). We had just left the police station while they processed my ID so we were only three blocks from a police station. When we left and went to cross the same street as before, there in front of us was a small van with a bump on its hood and 12 feet away a dead body. In the street. About a dozen people stood nearby on the sidewalk, looking at it. It obviously happened within the time we had been eating, and it was also obvious that it had not just happened in the last few minutes. Yet no police or emergency services of any kind, although one was obviously very close. We walked on down to the police station and my girlfriend told them about it. They had no idea. Nobody had called. And everyone in China has a mobile phone (more on that later). She very nearly blew up at the attending officer because he made no effort to inquire more, just looked at us as if we were a distraction. Absolutely nothing was going on  there. I saw about six policemen, smoking, joking and doing nothing. No paperwork, just hanging out like it was a clubhouse or a cafe.

The next body I saw was very unnerving because it occurred near girlfriend's apartment building, but I don't guess I can count this one because there were people doing something with the body. This one ranks as one of the "strange and unusual things" I witnessed while living in the Middle Kingdom. I had just left my apartment and was walking to my girlfriend's place. It was only half a block away and I was excited to see her. I had gotten off work early, and we had only been dating about a month so we were looking forward to a great day. As I rounded the corner to where her complex was I was facing a long concrete stair case to a neighboring building. I heard a commotion from above so I looked up. Coming down the stairs three men and an old woman in a rattan chair. Two of the men were carrying the chair in front, while one held up the back. The old woman's head rolled back and forth across the back of the chair. She looked like she weighed 80 lbs. And she was quite obviously dead. There was no urgency in their manner. In fact, right in front of me, they all stopped, sat down the chair, and took a break. Once guy looked at me and said in Chinese "old mother, dead." I started to say in Chinese míng míng (obviously) but stopped myself. At times the Chinese can be so blatant about things it begins to rub off on you. Then after an awkward moment, I said  Dùi bù qĭ  (sorry). As I walked toward my girlfriend's building, I stopped and looked back; they had picked the chair back up and were just rounding the corner. I thought "what will other people think when they see this?" and then just as quickly I realized that nobody would even notice. Why should they? It's just another dead body.

When I arrived at her apartment, my girlfriend said "what's wrong?". I guess I wore some beleaguered look on my face because I simply said, "oh, nothing--just had a 'China moment", which she knew was my term for seeing something totally bizarre, so of course she prodded me into telling her. Her response was "we have 1.6 billion people dear, we can't be concerned about everyone." Good answer. Practical. If nothing else, the Chinese can be practical when the rest of the western world won't.

Her and I eventually moved into our own apartment, replete with an enclosed courtyard. I still think of that place. We had our first and only Christmas there and her first--ever. One Saturday while I was home on the computer and she was at work, I heard some loud whaling and screaming through the walls. We were on the ground floor and the wall behind our bedroom opened into a stairwell. That is where the sounds seemed to come from. At first I thought it was a fight, then I realized someone was upset and other people were trying to calm someone down. Behind the building was a narrow access way, open the outside, with a series of sheds for residents to store things. I looked out the bedroom window in the direction of these storage sheds because I could hear that the commotion had gone outside. I saw two policemen with three or four civilians shuffling around arguing and pointing further down the access way, then they all went back inside and the noise stopped.

Not sure what it was about, I went back to surfing the Internet. Curiosity got the best of me though and I went outside to our courtyard and walked to the back of our unit where I could get a better view of the access way. An iron fence stood between our courtyard and the access, so I could see through the bars. I saw something at the far end but it was drizzling outside and I didn't make it out at first. Then with horror I realized I was seeing a slim human body hanging by the neck from the roof of one of the storage units! It appeared to be a thin middle aged Chinese woman. I went inside and got my camera and came back and debated whether or not I should take the picture. I resolved to do so, took a few pics, then went back inside and called my girlfriend. This time she had a bigger reaction--remember, this is our second shared dead body moment--she said she would be home right away. Not sure why I told her OK and hung up.

Turns out she used the dead woman as an excuse to get off work early; she told her boss she knew the woman and her family! Of course she didn't, but hey, I probably would have done the same thing if I had to work on the weekend.

And finally, the last dead body wasn't a body at all, but a British friend of mine who died while in the hospital. He, like so many expats found love in China. Unfortunately he wasn't really of the right mind to handle rejection and his girl rejected him in the most awful way possible. He went into a favorite watering hole and there she was, on the arm of a portly Austrian guy, laughing. When she saw him, she pulled him over and said "This is Rolph! He is my sweetheart!". Not my friend mind you, but the hun! My friend replied "What do you mean 'my sweetheart?" She went on to explain that her and her model Arian had been together for a long time and that he (my friend) had simply been a distraction while Rolph was out of the country.

Now to be fair, the Austrian was a friend of mine long before I had met, well "my friend"--OK, his name is also Michael, so I didn't want to confuse things. Rolph is a very generous guy and often invited me to go drinking. He and several other Austrians and Germans would regularly have cookouts in the back of the very pub Michael got rejected in. So this whole thing was somewhat uncomfortable for me. I knew the girl was nothing but a hump monkey, but it wasn't my place to say anything. Michael began drinking very heavily, a full bottle of whisky every two days. I mean he would drink one half one day, the other half the next. Eventually he ended up in the hospital for cirrhosis of the liver and I thought he was doing OK; he was released after 10 days and he quit drinking for a while, then he went back to his old habit and was hospitalized yet again. I had heard from him on a Thursday; had asked me to get his laptop from another friend who had borrowed it. On Saturday I was walking to a cafe where I knew this other guy was so I could ask him about the computer. Just outside the place a taxi slammed on its brakes and yet another friend named Christopher leaped out and hollered "Mike! Have you heard? Michael died last night!" Then he got back in the cab and sped off. I stood there a moment, not really sure how to take this terrible news. I finally walked into the cafe, went over to the couches where the guy with Michael's laptop sat, with the laptop and I sat down, stunned. He looked at me and said "What's wrong?" I very nearly said "Oh, just had a 'China moment". I looked him squarely in the eyes and said "I guess you just inherited a computer". He wasn't sure by what I meant so I sighed, leaned back and told him. Now it was his turn to be silent and stunned.

So much death in China, on a regular basis. So much so that everyone becomes numb to it all. I know I did. About six months later I saw yet another accident victim laying in the road. I was on my cell phone while sitting on a bus, nearly identical to the first body I had seen so long ago. I glanced away and continued my conversation, never once pausing or telling the other person. Just another dead body in China.