Justin Pyfrom's Blog, page 11

February’s Book for 2022 Reading Challenge

For the month of February, I have read 11 books. These are the books I loved during the month of February.

These are the books I really liked during the month of February.

These are the books I liked during the month of February.

January’s Books for 2022 Reading Challenge

For the month of January, I have read 22 books. These are the books I loved during the month of January.

These are the books I really liked during the month of January.

These are the books I liked during the month of January.

These are the books I sort of liked during the month of January.

A Wicked Wicked Case of Déjà Vu

I was avoiding the notion of posting until I got more information. Now, I know for sure and, dammit, I’m beyond pissed. Not for me, for my students. They are the ones who are going to hurt the most from this. I mean…this is a boarding school, after all. Oh, right. I need to tell you what’s happening. We’re going through another lockdown.

That’s right. I will be going through another lockdown. Long story short, the city that I’m in (Nanchang) has had an alarming spike of COVID cases and decided to institute an emergency lockdown. Say what you want about China but, when all this occurred for the first time, they were one of the first countries to handle their business. Granted they were the first countries to ignore the warning signs, but…you know…semantics.

Anyway, I have to spend today at the school with my remaining students to create a week worth of lessons. Plus, it’s a chance for me to see who will be stuck at the school and will be stuck at home.

Why? Well, because I have to see who will have assistance during our online classes. Yep! I’m reverting to 2020 (my first year in China) where I was forced to subject babies to looking at a screen for an uncomfortable amount of time. At least, the students are older and have a slightly better attention span. It’s not going to be too bad by the time around as my students are more than aware of me and my style of teaching. I just need to make sure that I keep myself busy throughout the day or I will lose my mind.

See, last time, I had my Short Story Project which occupied a lot of my attention. Now, I do have a small project and a book series to outline. So, I pray that it will be enough while all of this is getting sorted out. That’s all I can do that this point.

Now, please, don’t forget to follow me on my social media platforms (Twitter, Facebook, Instagram, and Goodreads) which are on the right side of my web page. Also, I do love hearing suggestions of what books to read outside of my norm (Science fiction and fantasy) as I am a part of the Goodreads’ reading challenge for 2022. My goal is to read 180 books this year and I’m already at 46. I think I have a better idea of how I’m going to go about reviewing all these books.

How Students Learn To Love Reading

The students had learned what each genre of literature is and have chosen their first books. We (me, their homeroom teacher, and the Dean aka my boss) had set up a weekly schedule for each of them based on their skill level and their chosen book. Everything had been set up so the program could run smoothly with minimal oversight. It was so that the students can read their book without us breathing down their necks. Well, there was one little detail we failed to take into account…

So, what happens when you let Chinese students have access to a Western bookstore (Amazon Kindle) and tell them to go exploring?

If you answered along the lines of “What did you expect?” then you are exactly right. They did indeed pick one book. That part wasn’t hard for them as they managed to do that before the first ELA class was over with (They have two ELA classes with me a day). The thing that became comical for us was the fact that they wanted to read other books before they got done with their first book. The best example was one of my students wanting to read a book series without finishing the first installment of that said series.

The funniest one I heard was what I heard from the parents. Her child wouldn’t go to sleep until she got done with the chapter. I couldn’t help but laugh; the mother laughed along with me because…well…it was funny. Extremely funny. Plus, she was more pleased than annoyed. I mean her baby was reading. Moreover, she was reading a book in a different language – and loving it. It was clear that this program was bearing fruit. Nevertheless, I had to activate the curfew feature on a few of them.

All the parents are enjoying the fact that there was a store that their children could browse through. It was like an entire world had opened up to them and it was inviting them in. At the beginning of my class, I told parents that literature is the one world that will always welcome them. It’s also the only world that knows how to hook you into staying with them, especially if it’s your favorite genre. I think my students are finally understanding that.

Now, please, don’t forget to follow me on my social media platforms (Twitter, Facebook, Instagram, and Goodreads) which are on the right side of my web page. Also, I do love hearing suggestions of what books to read outside of my norm (Science fiction and fantasy) as I am a part of the Goodreads’ reading challenge for 2022. My goal is to read 180 books this year and I’m already at 38. I want to start reviewing these books, but my educational and literary duties are starting to stack up.

Reading Can Be So Hard, Sometimes

Finally! Finally, we got the Kindles to work for my students. You have no idea how much time, effort, and energy it took for me and my boss to get these Kindles to the school, attach them to a proper Amazon account, and make sure that we could download the books they wanted onto their Kindle. Let me tell me more about everything…

So, over the summer holiday, I gave the parents of my students a heads-up that they were going to need a Kindle for the second semester (China’s schooling system is based on semesters). Now, some of the parents forgot to do so and I ended up buying a few of them for myself, their homeroom teacher, and one of my students whose mother kept “forgetting” and making excuses. I got annoyed with it all because I wanted all of them to have their Kindle before we got started.

Once, my students got their Kindle, they wasted no time in playing with their new technology. They were excited about all the possibilities and couldn’t wait to get started in reading on it. But I did have to lay down some ground levels with them:

The Kindles can only be used in the classroom and Night Study during the school week.The Kindles can’t be used in the dorms.The Kindles will have a parental code on them to prevent purchases.They need our approval for certain books.They are, of course, allowed to take it home with some of the restrictions lifted.

I also taught them every literary genre and how to identify them by reading the blurb in the Kindle Store. Then, I tasked them with rating each genre on a scale from 1 to 10 so they can understand what genre they may like to read. Once they were done…they got to explore the story.

My boss and their homeroom teacher were amazed at the laughing enthusiasm they had while browsing the store. I didn’t have to tell them how to do it; they figured it out pretty quickly. They even figured out how to download samples of books and even asked if they could before deciding if they wanted to read it. In the end, each student gave me a list of books they wanted to have in their library. Honestly, I didn’t have to heart to tell them that they had to read one book at a time for the Reading Program.

The last program we were encountered was the fact that we were using a US Amazon Store and a representative told us that, if we use a Chinese bank card, the store will become restricted because the Amazon looks at the billing address. Luckily, we managed to figure out a way to get the books that was ethnical and legal; one of the teachers offered a solution that didn’t sit well with me. Now, my students can spend the weekend figuring out which book they want to read first for the project. I can’t wait to hear their results.

Now, please, don’t forget to follow me on my social media platforms (Twitter, Facebook, Instagram, and Goodreads) which are on the right side of my web page. Also, I do love hearing suggestions of what books to read outside of my norm (Science fiction and fantasy) as I am a part of the Goodreads’ reading challenge for 2022. My goal is to read 180 books this year and I’m already at 35. I should probably start reviewing these books.

Back To Life, Back To Reality

I’ve been back in  Nanchang for a while now. However, I got back to work last Wednesday. Well…technically my first day back was on Monday because I had several meetings to attend along with my colleagues. Then, I had one more meeting where I had to sit down with my boss to do some last-minute preparation for my school’s first-ever “Independent Reading Program”. You have no idea how excited I am about that. That among other things…

I have a special room for my ELA classes. So, as a reminder, ELA means English Language Arts so, in simpler terms, I’m the English teacher that does it all for the middle and high school students (Speaking, Listening, Reading, & Writing). It’s a job that I am enjoying a lot. So much so that I wanted to create a room that housed all the English classes and electives (afterschool classes). I was surprised that the Board said “Yes” to the idea since they are usually resistant to ideas presented by foreigners.

Anyway, my students are a wonder. They are not afraid to ask me any kind of questions. And I do mean any kind. Sometimes (most of the time), I have to remind them that we are in school and that’s a question that their parents should be answering. It also doesn’t help when the parents are insisting that I answer all their children’s questions to which I would reply “You don’t want me answering all their questions.” I usually get laughs from that response. It’s nice to have parents who are nice and let me do my job as an educator.

Other than that, I don’t have much to say since I’ve only been back at work for about five days now. I’ve been writing more short stories for my future Dimensions series as I will be re-releasing my debut novel later this year. I’m also playing Pokemon Arceus and the graphics are breathtaking.

Now, please, don’t forget to follow me on my social media platforms (Twitter, Facebook, Instagram, and Goodreads) which are on the right side of my web page. Also, I do love hearing suggestions of what books to read outside of my norm (Science fiction and fantasy) as I am a part of the Goodreads’ reading challenge for 2022. My goal is to read 180 books this year and I’m already at 25. I should probably start reviewing these books.

Beach, Heat, and Sweet Release

This has been the best Spring Festival for me. I got to see my friends again and it was in the most beautiful city I’ve seen to date. Sanya is something of a marvel. It was my first beach resort and the heat was welcoming. Everything about this holiday has formed into a memory that I can kiss up to God in thanks. So, where do I begin?

Well, let’s start with the bad because, being my first time traveling alone, I made a few mistakes. For one, I got the date wrong and ended up in Sanya a day early meaning I had to get a room at a hostel. This led to another problem because I was dealing with a lot of them who flat out refuse to accept foreigners.  I ended up spending more money on taxis than the hostel itself when I finally found one. So, when I found one around 5 am, I only got a few hours of sleep as I needed to check out at noon. I finally met up with my friends (two of them, at least) after a couple more mishaps and that’s when the real fun began.

Well, almost…

The villa we reserved for the holiday wasn’t up to our standards of cleanliness. Even worse, the landlord was so cruel and rude about it that we had no choice but to make do with it. The landlord didn’t want to give us our money back and he was trying to make us feel small. Nevertheless, we decided to stay and clean the place ourselves – while listening to gospel music. (That’s black people for you; Latin people, too.) After everything was said and done, we decided to map out what we wanted to do.

For the first FULL day of our holiday, we decided to just explore. It was just the three of us, at first, so we just took a walk around the city. We explored the nightlife and the beach. I don’t swim but I love the sand between my feet. Plus, we were still waiting for the rest of our friends. We ended up waiting for them while eating at a marvelous Indian restaurant. It was the third time having Indian food and it was too good for me to have one time on this trip; my friends agreed. Plus, the music and company were amazing.

When everybody arrived (six people) and got some sleep, we decided to do some major hiking. It was a lengthy one where I had a lot of nerve-conquering to do because we were going on various parts of the trail. It was the Holiday Resort Tropical Wonderland. We went uphill after hill and even went on a glass bridge (yes! There was a bridge made out of glass) and I was more enthralled than scared. At the end of the top, there was a sliding obstacle course that had you ziplining to the bottom in various ways. That was where I drew the line and took the bus down; my friends were understanding about that and praised me for going this far. Again, we ended the day by going to the Indian restaurant. The owner was more than happy to see us with our full party.

The next day was beach day. Again, I didn’t want to swim because (1) I can’t swim, and (2) I just wanted to feel the sand between my feet and read books. We made sure that we found a spot on the beach and I placed myself in charge of watching their stuff as I read my book. Later, we made a sand caterpillar while completely acting like kids. Of course, we had to shoo locals away who wanted to record us. One of my friends has a practice of forcing them to delete the photo and/or video while chastising them for being invasive and rude. Personally, I treat them like my students. I take their phone away and tell them that they are “on punishment for their rudeness”.  And, of course, like before, we ended our night at the Indian restaurant.

The last two days were a bit more intimate for us. We decided to stay in and watch Encanto and In The Heights. We couldn’t stop crying at some parts and it ended with us going to a club/bar for some food. Since we were flights were becoming scarce and we all had to get a COVID test before boarding, we decided Friday to be our last day for us. My flight is early Saturday morning and it will be business as usual for me. To be honest, my brain hasn’t really been turned off from Teacher Mode. Maybe for like 30% Teacher Mode. Either way, I’m going to miss Sanya and my friends while, at the same time, being happy to get back to my students.

Now, please, don’t forget to follow me on my social media platforms (Twitter, Facebook, Instagram, and Goodreads) which are on the right side of my web page. Also, I do love hearing suggestions of what books to read outside of my norm (Science fiction and fantasy) as I am a part of the Goodreads’ reading challenge for 2022. My goal is to read 180 books this year and I’m already at 25. I should probably start reviewing these books.

Another Sexy Sitdown To Enjoy

An extensive interview with a gentleman who is ready to close the chapter of his life. Learn about his ongoing spiritual path as Aaron Savvy talks about his past, present, and future.”

-Book Description

I am proud to announce that the next installment of the Sexy Sitdown Interview series has been released. And, the lucky interviewee is…AARON SAVVY!!! I was so excited about taking this man and showed me to be extremely grounded. It was an incredible honor. I hope you all enjoy the reading. Thank you all for your patience and now it can be purchased on Amazon and Kindle. Please buy and give an honest review as I love learning and improving my craft.

Both Version: https://amzn.to/3opwUfm

I Finally Get To (Safely) Travel

For two years, I was not allowed to travel because of COVID-19. The first year was, of course, for the best and I wasn’t in a position to be traveling around the world. Moreover, I wasn’t too comfortable with the idea of traveling in the “new world” where simply breathing could change the trajectory of my health. The following year was no better as it was followed by so much fear, prejudice, and paranoia that it was clearly not the best idea to go anywhere. Now…this is the year I get to travel.

So, the school I work for, Limai International, has strict but fair rules about traveling. First and foremost, we weren’t allowed to travel within the school year i.e. small holidays and weekends. To put it simply, we are only allowed to travel during the Spring Festival and Summer Holidays.  Furthermore, we have to be tested before leaving the city, before coming back into the city, and before the school semester starts. It was absolutely reasonable and I was determined to follow it to the letter because (a) I wanted to travel, (b) I care about my students’ health, and (c) I love my job.

With all of this in mind, I made plans to go to Deqing to visit a friend of mine before he goes back to the States. At first, we were going to go to Sanya with our group of friends to enjoy some sunny relaxation. Long story short, there was a disagreement due to the spike in cases and he didn’t like how another one of my friends was responding to it. So, I decided to split my vacation into two while following the rules of my school. Besides, visiting two cities in one holiday. Sounds like a win-win to me.

Additionally, Deqing is quite lovely. It’s quiet and my buddy and I just spent the entire time watching TV shows on his hard drive. We couldn’t go anywhere because of the Chinese New Years’ celebration, but that didn’t bother us at all. That’s the thing about nerds. We do know how to keep ourselves entertained. FYI, he got me into Letterkenny and I love him for it.

Now, please, don’t forget to follow me on my social media platforms (Twitter, Instagram, and Goodreads) which are on the right side of my web page. Also, I do love hearing suggestions of what books to read outside of my norm (Science fiction and fantasy) as I am a part of the Goodreads’ reading challenge for 2022. My goal is to read 180 books this year and I’m already at 21. I should probably start reviewing these books.

Another Sexy Sitdown

I’m happy to say that I will be releasing the second installment of the Sexy Entertainer Sitdown series. Who will be the subject of the interview? I’ll give you three hints:

He had been a part of two video series.He was part of the original Andrew Christian crew.He’s a Mormon.

Take a guess and you will see if you’re right this Friday when it’s out.

Now, please, don’t forget to follow me on my social media platforms (Twitter, Instagram, and Goodreads) which are on the right side of my web page. Also, I do love hearing suggestions of what books to read outside of my norm (Science fiction and fantasy) as I am a part of the Goodreads’ reading challenge for 2022. My goal is to read 180 books this year and I’m already at 21. I should probably start reviewing these books.