Every week day at around 5:15, our driver drives us home in the van with tinted windows from new campus to old campus. At the front gate you see the guards chatting amiably with students on bicycles or people with babies in their arms. Our driver honks his horn to signal his arrival. He continues to drive onto campus. Straight ahead there are numerous red banners with white characters on them. I can't tell what they say, but they command your attention. Then on the right as we head to our apartment is the track/playground/versatile sports field. People run around the track. Couples sit closely together in the corner under some trees. Hundreds of students in military uniforms march in the center. On the left side, there are countless enthusiastic students encircling the small basketball courts and they're cheering their hearts out. A few students wobble around on rollerblades. A moment later we arrive at the door of our building. Little babies run around and mothers pull them out of the way from our oncoming vehicle. So this is what home looks like for me now.
This morning I taught one class. I had to walk to another building like usual. I was coming down the stairs on the first floor, when I felt rather panicky about how many students are on the campus. Students were pouring down the stairs and out of the classrooms. The hallway in front of me was total gridlock. I've never seen it like that before. Nobody was moving. The hall traffic was at a standstill. I managed to squeeze alongside the wall and took another way around. For a second I thought I'd be crushed between hundreds of Chinese boys with fuzzy hair.
The rest of the day I taught and wrote lesson plans. After class when we were waiting for our driver, I walked toward the lake on campus. There was a lot going on. From a short distance I watched two of my classes fan dancing. They are preparing for sports week. It was so fun to watch both girls and guys dancing with big red hand fans. I tried not to be a distraction standing there watching. It took about a minute for them to spot me, though, and they all waved and seemed pleased I was there watching them. Those students are really starting to grow on me. Next to them, on the concrete, there was a huge game of tug-of-war. It looked very lively and painful.
Then I walked back to outside our office building, where I sat with a few of my teammates and other teachers. We did an experiment. Jodi, my Chinese-American teammate, sat on one side of a bench and I sat on another. We just sat there. Jodi put my sunglasses on. We wanted to see who drew more stares: Me, the white foreigner, or the Chinese girl in sunglasses. (Sunglasses aren't common in China). It was a tie for a while and then everyone decided Jodi won! It was so funny.
Well, it has just turned dark outside very quickly. I'm going to dash downstairs and try to run around the track before they close it or the military officers kick me out. Zai jian!
Wednesday, October 15, 2008
Tuesday, October 14, 2008
Mid-week musings
This morning I had two classes in a row. I'm getting more used to teaching and talking for 4 hours in a row. My voice only starts to go after about 3 and a half hours... Today I had my difficult class again and it turned out pretty fine! I had written a verse on a notecard that I kept with me at the podium while I taught. It was an encouraging reminder: "Always be joyful. Pr-y continually and give thanks whatever happens..." 1 Thessalonians 5: 16-18. I tried to make sure all my thoughts were pleasing to Him, no matter what happened--even if the class went crazy or the blackboard fell off the wall. I enjoyed looking at that verse today more than the fascinating pictures of old communist leaders and their famous quotes that are plastered on the classroom walls.
Last night after our faculty meeting, I really needed exercise so I went running for a long time on the track outside. It was pretty dark, except for a couple of flood lights, so I was able to run around undisturbed. A couple hundred students were doing military drills in the middle of the track, but people didn't really pay any attention to me. At one point, two officers walked toward me saying something in Chinese. I think they maybe wanted me to leave. But when they saw my face they just smiled and waved me on. So I continued running around the track in the dark while hundreds of students drilled and shouted "yi, er, san!" (one, two, three).
Just another day in the life of a foreigner in China.
On another note, I've been reading a book about a man in the Peace Corps who lived in a nearby province. In this book he makes a bunch of observations I can relate to. One of the best is about how people love to honk their horns here and nobody notices anymore except for outsiders who aren't used to it. This little passage on this one aspect is so true:
"They honked at other cars, and they honked at pedestrians. They honked whenever they passed somebody, or whenever they were being passed themselves. They honked when nobody was passing but somebody might be considering it, or when the road was empty and there was nobody to pass but the thought of passing or being passed had just passed through the driver's mind... Nobody reacted to horns anymore; they served no purpose. A honk was like the tree falling in the forest--for all intents and purposes it was silent."
Pictures or stories alone can't adequately describe China. You have to hear it and smell it and breathe in the air and absorb it in your skin. It's basically a different world and I'm enjoying soaking it all in.
Last night after our faculty meeting, I really needed exercise so I went running for a long time on the track outside. It was pretty dark, except for a couple of flood lights, so I was able to run around undisturbed. A couple hundred students were doing military drills in the middle of the track, but people didn't really pay any attention to me. At one point, two officers walked toward me saying something in Chinese. I think they maybe wanted me to leave. But when they saw my face they just smiled and waved me on. So I continued running around the track in the dark while hundreds of students drilled and shouted "yi, er, san!" (one, two, three).
Just another day in the life of a foreigner in China.
On another note, I've been reading a book about a man in the Peace Corps who lived in a nearby province. In this book he makes a bunch of observations I can relate to. One of the best is about how people love to honk their horns here and nobody notices anymore except for outsiders who aren't used to it. This little passage on this one aspect is so true:
"They honked at other cars, and they honked at pedestrians. They honked whenever they passed somebody, or whenever they were being passed themselves. They honked when nobody was passing but somebody might be considering it, or when the road was empty and there was nobody to pass but the thought of passing or being passed had just passed through the driver's mind... Nobody reacted to horns anymore; they served no purpose. A honk was like the tree falling in the forest--for all intents and purposes it was silent."
Pictures or stories alone can't adequately describe China. You have to hear it and smell it and breathe in the air and absorb it in your skin. It's basically a different world and I'm enjoying soaking it all in.
Monday, October 13, 2008
3rd week of teaching
Every Monday morning at 6:30 a.m. you can look outside my apartment window and see hundreds of students standing in rows and groups behind red banners. At 7 a.m. about 10 soldiers in really crisp olive-colored dress uniforms march out across the field. They march very slowly toward the flag pole, with their legs going up and down to 45 degrees. Two men in white gloves and uniform then take the Chinese flag, and the flag snaps onto the flag pole. The anthem plays as the soldiers salute and the students stand silently. Once the anthem is over, the soldiers slowly march out and then all the students disappear. So I can watch this scene every Monday morning while I'm brushing my teeth or putting in my contacts.
I had office hours and then I taught one class this morning. Class was enjoyable. I worked on learning all 50 of their names, and now I can remember most of them. It seems to help knowing their names-- it's easier to engage them in class that way. It is just hard remembering their names because some of them do not have any distinct trait that stands out to me. They all have black hair and black eyes and glasses. So I have to look at the color of their glasses, the way their bangs are cut, or the shape of their face.
And today we talked about adjectives in describing a city. At one point I described two cities that were opposite of each other in about every way: Beijing and Topeka. It was a lot of fun. And it is always great to help them expand their vocabulary, especially where adjectives are concerned. They think everything is either "delicious" or "beautiful."
At noon I took the bus back to old campus. The bus let us off by the back gate and I wandered down the street through the lunch-time crowd. For the first time, I felt like I was a part of the crowd, and not just a person everyone wants to stare at. I didn't even hear anyone say "laowei" (foreigner). I bought a watermelon slice from the usual lady and her daughter on one corner. The toothless woman smiled broadly when she saw me. She ran over and grabbed my hands in her hands that were covered with watermelon juice. She cut a slice for me that was twice as big as usual. Then I walked over to the fried bread vendor and got some. It is soooo good, but soooo bad for you. It was a nice little treat though.
For the rest of the day I will meet with my team leader and then we'll have a "faculty meeting." I also have to practice my Chinese because I'm being held accountable by many people. To get on the right bus today I successfully asked in a few words of Chinese if they were going to the old campus. They were! It was sort of fun asking.
Yesterday we went to fellowship and then Rachael and I finally found the post office. The China Post on Bai Yi square downtown is the only place in the whole city that will mail things to America. I had two letters to send. We walked into the huge place and stood at about 10 different counters before being directed to the right one. We were told to go to a counter which was the only one without lines. I guess it was the "international counter." Two very bored looking women sat behind it reading magazines. We bought stamps--one letter took 5 awesome, bright-colored stamps. Then we went to this little machine where you roll glue on everything--on the stamps and the envelopes which they give you. Anyway, I felt like we accomplished a lot just mailing those letters.
For dinner I managed to cook some spaghetti noodles! I had to turn on the propane under the counters. Then I had to click the stove knobs around until flames shot from the burners. I only scorched a towel when I was trying to put the pot on the stove. Besides that, I didn't get scorched, nor did the noodles. It was another small accomplishment for the day.
I had office hours and then I taught one class this morning. Class was enjoyable. I worked on learning all 50 of their names, and now I can remember most of them. It seems to help knowing their names-- it's easier to engage them in class that way. It is just hard remembering their names because some of them do not have any distinct trait that stands out to me. They all have black hair and black eyes and glasses. So I have to look at the color of their glasses, the way their bangs are cut, or the shape of their face.
And today we talked about adjectives in describing a city. At one point I described two cities that were opposite of each other in about every way: Beijing and Topeka. It was a lot of fun. And it is always great to help them expand their vocabulary, especially where adjectives are concerned. They think everything is either "delicious" or "beautiful."
At noon I took the bus back to old campus. The bus let us off by the back gate and I wandered down the street through the lunch-time crowd. For the first time, I felt like I was a part of the crowd, and not just a person everyone wants to stare at. I didn't even hear anyone say "laowei" (foreigner). I bought a watermelon slice from the usual lady and her daughter on one corner. The toothless woman smiled broadly when she saw me. She ran over and grabbed my hands in her hands that were covered with watermelon juice. She cut a slice for me that was twice as big as usual. Then I walked over to the fried bread vendor and got some. It is soooo good, but soooo bad for you. It was a nice little treat though.
For the rest of the day I will meet with my team leader and then we'll have a "faculty meeting." I also have to practice my Chinese because I'm being held accountable by many people. To get on the right bus today I successfully asked in a few words of Chinese if they were going to the old campus. They were! It was sort of fun asking.
Yesterday we went to fellowship and then Rachael and I finally found the post office. The China Post on Bai Yi square downtown is the only place in the whole city that will mail things to America. I had two letters to send. We walked into the huge place and stood at about 10 different counters before being directed to the right one. We were told to go to a counter which was the only one without lines. I guess it was the "international counter." Two very bored looking women sat behind it reading magazines. We bought stamps--one letter took 5 awesome, bright-colored stamps. Then we went to this little machine where you roll glue on everything--on the stamps and the envelopes which they give you. Anyway, I felt like we accomplished a lot just mailing those letters.
For dinner I managed to cook some spaghetti noodles! I had to turn on the propane under the counters. Then I had to click the stove knobs around until flames shot from the burners. I only scorched a towel when I was trying to put the pot on the stove. Besides that, I didn't get scorched, nor did the noodles. It was another small accomplishment for the day.
Saturday, October 11, 2008
A quiet day in the neighborhood
Saturday has been nice. It is the first time in several days that I have had a few hours to rest and just do whatever I want for a little bit. So this morning I did laundry, read, mopped the floors, and read the Word.
At about 2 p.m. my Chinese tutor showed up with her friend. So I guess I have 2 Chinese tutors. They are helping me with my Chinese and I'm helping them with English. I really want to learn Chinese. There's just so little time in each day. The girls stayed for about 3 hours. It was fun hanging out with them and they were trying to teach me all different kinds of food I can order at the restaurant. I have a particular problem with the 3rd tone. In class yesterday people laughed when I tried the 3rd tone and today they laughed again. Learning Chinese with all of its tones reminds me of learning to sing. And I can't sing.
For dinner Jodi and I went to our favorite restaurant, which we have named the "Cold Tea Shop." They have the best cashew chicken and fried green beans. It was good and there was some left over so I brought it home in a couple little boxes. Unfortunately the box of rice spilled all over the fourth floor of our apartment building when I was coming up the stairs. I still have to go out there and clean it up... :)
Now we're going to watch a movie. I hope you have a blessed day! (The picture is of the apartment building next to us. Ours looks the same and I live on the fifth floor. I'll have buns of steel after living here!)
Friday, October 10, 2008
Being a Teacher and a Student
Ni hao, everyone! I hope you are all healthy and well! Today there has been a lot of air pollution and smoke from burning trash, so a few of us (including me), are dealing with coughs. I hope it clears up soon.
Last night we had a good time celebrating Jonathan's birthday at one of our favorite restaurants. Our teammates, Shannon and Rachael, even brought a cake for him. We were all sitting at a circle table eating, when this really sketchy looking man appeared. He had a menu in front of him and was saying something about we should order more. We were all very confused because we had never seen him before. Well, it turns out he was a con artist and we never knew! He was leaving when another Chinese man at a table close to us, grabbed him and started yelling at him. The con man yelled back and we thought they were going to fight. The con man ran out of the restaurant and the other man gave Jodi her camera and purse back. She didn't even know that the con man had stolen it while we were all trying to understand what he was saying. It was so great of that man to stop that guy. He about wrestled the thief to the ground. Jodi was very thankful and got a picture taken with the new hero.
This morning I taught my Business English class and tried to have a lot of extra grace with the students after the crazy class I had with them last time. They were pretty receptive and we were able to get through the lesson much better. Sometimes I still wanted to get really frustrated with them, but instead I was all encouragement and smiles. That certainly wasn't me with all the patience. I had a lot of help.
This afternoon Joelle and I had a short break and we walked to the supermarket to try to find more food. It was nice going to the store when nobody else was there, because then we could think a lot more clearly. On the way back we passed 2 buses of soldiers who were yelling at us, albeit in a friendly way. It sort of reminded me of Norfolk.
Then we had Chinese class with our FAO for about 2 hours. It is fun to be a student again, except it's not anything like being in a plush classroom at ODU. We sat on tiny little peg stools at old wooden desks. The burning trash smell wafted through the windows the whole time.
All in all, I'm okay. I'm pretty tired. It is difficult adjusting to not having much down time or time to my self. We always are at school from 7:30 to 5:30 on most days and then we have team activities. Let me know if I can be thinking of you in any way.
Last night we had a good time celebrating Jonathan's birthday at one of our favorite restaurants. Our teammates, Shannon and Rachael, even brought a cake for him. We were all sitting at a circle table eating, when this really sketchy looking man appeared. He had a menu in front of him and was saying something about we should order more. We were all very confused because we had never seen him before. Well, it turns out he was a con artist and we never knew! He was leaving when another Chinese man at a table close to us, grabbed him and started yelling at him. The con man yelled back and we thought they were going to fight. The con man ran out of the restaurant and the other man gave Jodi her camera and purse back. She didn't even know that the con man had stolen it while we were all trying to understand what he was saying. It was so great of that man to stop that guy. He about wrestled the thief to the ground. Jodi was very thankful and got a picture taken with the new hero.
This morning I taught my Business English class and tried to have a lot of extra grace with the students after the crazy class I had with them last time. They were pretty receptive and we were able to get through the lesson much better. Sometimes I still wanted to get really frustrated with them, but instead I was all encouragement and smiles. That certainly wasn't me with all the patience. I had a lot of help.
This afternoon Joelle and I had a short break and we walked to the supermarket to try to find more food. It was nice going to the store when nobody else was there, because then we could think a lot more clearly. On the way back we passed 2 buses of soldiers who were yelling at us, albeit in a friendly way. It sort of reminded me of Norfolk.
Then we had Chinese class with our FAO for about 2 hours. It is fun to be a student again, except it's not anything like being in a plush classroom at ODU. We sat on tiny little peg stools at old wooden desks. The burning trash smell wafted through the windows the whole time.
All in all, I'm okay. I'm pretty tired. It is difficult adjusting to not having much down time or time to my self. We always are at school from 7:30 to 5:30 on most days and then we have team activities. Let me know if I can be thinking of you in any way.
Thursday, October 9, 2008
Photo opportunities
Today has been another long, but enjoyable day. I got a good eight hours of sleep last night and was ready to teach. At 8 a.m. I taught on "small talk," which turned out to be a good, practical lesson. About 5 minutes until the end of class the FAO's assistant came in and told me to continue teaching so someone could take pictures of me. A policewoman came in and took pictures of me as I reviewed the lesson. I hoped I looked glamorous. I guess they needed proof in pictures that we were actually teachers.
Then after class, Joelle and I were taken from the new campus to the police station for more pictures. It was really random and sort of funny, but it was rather nice to get off campus for a while. We drove to the station and walked in as officers stood around in nice blue uniforms. A man took us to a counter with a sign over it in Chinese and English. In English it read, "Crime Emergencies." So we stood there at the counter as the officer sort of looked at our passport, but didn't really do anything. Another officer took pictures of this event as other officers looked on. They just told us the pictures were for "a file." I wouldn't really be surprised if we see our pictures on some billboard, proclaiming "We welcome you to our fair city!" So that was a nice outing.
In the afternoon I had another class, which was also good. It is nice that the weather is still very pleasant. It was about 80. After class we went to English corner on the new campus. We were each surrounded by a million people again. This time is wasn't as suffocating though. The students are all very eager to learn English. At 5 p.m. the FAO assistant whisked us away and we stepped into the van we usually take, which has tinted windows. I think this is what it must feel like to be a celebrity...
Today is our teammate Jonathan's birthday so we're going out for dinner. I hope you all have a great day!
Then after class, Joelle and I were taken from the new campus to the police station for more pictures. It was really random and sort of funny, but it was rather nice to get off campus for a while. We drove to the station and walked in as officers stood around in nice blue uniforms. A man took us to a counter with a sign over it in Chinese and English. In English it read, "Crime Emergencies." So we stood there at the counter as the officer sort of looked at our passport, but didn't really do anything. Another officer took pictures of this event as other officers looked on. They just told us the pictures were for "a file." I wouldn't really be surprised if we see our pictures on some billboard, proclaiming "We welcome you to our fair city!" So that was a nice outing.
In the afternoon I had another class, which was also good. It is nice that the weather is still very pleasant. It was about 80. After class we went to English corner on the new campus. We were each surrounded by a million people again. This time is wasn't as suffocating though. The students are all very eager to learn English. At 5 p.m. the FAO assistant whisked us away and we stepped into the van we usually take, which has tinted windows. I think this is what it must feel like to be a celebrity...
Today is our teammate Jonathan's birthday so we're going out for dinner. I hope you all have a great day!
Wednesday, October 8, 2008
The sun is shining
Thank you so much for your thoughts yesterday. I got a better night's sleep last night and I also spent a lot of time in the word, which renewed me quite a bit. If yesterday was awful, today was wonderful.
I had two classes of freshmen University English. The students are a little more studious and well-behaved than Business English. Today I also made sure I spoke slower and more kindly than usual. I smiled a lot more and sat down and talked with the kids who were sitting all alone. I tried to make my lessons more engaging. So today turned out really well. The students interacted and actually spoke pretty well and with confidence. I knew I wasn't alone as I taught today.
During office hours today, a student actually visited me! He was my first student to come to office hours. At first I was surprised. I had put my head down on the desk to take a nap, because all the other teachers were at lunch. Then in walked this student whom I vaguely remember seeing in class. (I know, I'm a terrible teacher, but I'm trying to get better). He had this book in English about American culture. There was an article about 9/11 and how people in Kansas, in the center of America, viewed it. It was really random. He remembered I was from Kansas and wanted to know all about this "disaster." That led us to talk about the earthquakes in China, etc. His English was pretty decent and we could carry on a conversation okay. Anyway, I was excited somebody came to my first ever office hours.
In classes today I took pictures of the students in groups. I had them stand under their English names at the chalkboard. That way, I can look at the pictures later and try to remember their names. All 200 of them. After class everybody wanted to take their pictures with me. They have become braver. Usually I see them taking a picture of me with their cell phone during break and then they quickly look down, like they're guilty. It seems like the students are becoming more relaxed with me, although they are still very respectful.
Tonight Joelle, our team leader, made us all spaghetti and biscuits for team night dinner. I about died eating that wonderful spaghetti. It was fun to sit around the table in her apartment laughing and eating. Afterward we studied the word together and then a couple of us went out to buy ice-cream off the street.
I had two classes of freshmen University English. The students are a little more studious and well-behaved than Business English. Today I also made sure I spoke slower and more kindly than usual. I smiled a lot more and sat down and talked with the kids who were sitting all alone. I tried to make my lessons more engaging. So today turned out really well. The students interacted and actually spoke pretty well and with confidence. I knew I wasn't alone as I taught today.
During office hours today, a student actually visited me! He was my first student to come to office hours. At first I was surprised. I had put my head down on the desk to take a nap, because all the other teachers were at lunch. Then in walked this student whom I vaguely remember seeing in class. (I know, I'm a terrible teacher, but I'm trying to get better). He had this book in English about American culture. There was an article about 9/11 and how people in Kansas, in the center of America, viewed it. It was really random. He remembered I was from Kansas and wanted to know all about this "disaster." That led us to talk about the earthquakes in China, etc. His English was pretty decent and we could carry on a conversation okay. Anyway, I was excited somebody came to my first ever office hours.
In classes today I took pictures of the students in groups. I had them stand under their English names at the chalkboard. That way, I can look at the pictures later and try to remember their names. All 200 of them. After class everybody wanted to take their pictures with me. They have become braver. Usually I see them taking a picture of me with their cell phone during break and then they quickly look down, like they're guilty. It seems like the students are becoming more relaxed with me, although they are still very respectful.
Tonight Joelle, our team leader, made us all spaghetti and biscuits for team night dinner. I about died eating that wonderful spaghetti. It was fun to sit around the table in her apartment laughing and eating. Afterward we studied the word together and then a couple of us went out to buy ice-cream off the street.
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