Park Walk

(With my students after lunchtime at the park).
(Taking a picture at the park. I look like I'm at the starting block of a race, and they look like tap dancers).
(Wow, beauty does exist in this city!)
(Karen found one, single orange that hadn't been plucked by students. Good job, Karen!)


All of a sudden it went from bitter winter to blazing summer in about 2 days. Hopefully the weather will settle down to something in between. It was about 80 degrees and extremely humid today. But since it is still technically winter, you still have to wear seasonally appropriate clothing. I managed to get away with wearing a 3/4 sleeve shirt. But I was still sweating. My students continued to wear sweaters or long sleeve shirts. Thankfully they aren't wearing their winter jackets any longer.

It has been a rather strange day. I had office hours this morning, and didn't do anything productive. I just wanted to talk or read. Then I went to class. My voice has still not recovered, so I was going to use the microphone again. But the microphone wasn't working, so I sounded like a dying baby animal trying to talk during the whole class. Fortunately it was my best class, so they were mostly understanding and behaved well.

Like I mentioned yesterday, I had groups of students form "political parties" with a platform. They had to give presidential speeches. There was one given by my student Vincent. It was so cute and great. Here's his speech. Imagine a very tiny boy and a tiny voice getting all fired up:

"Good morning! Ladies and gentlemen, I'm glad to see you! Today I'll run for the Blue Sky student president. I represent the South Party. Our main aim is to make a better food in canteen [cafeteria].

As we all know, food is the most important thing in our life. Better food can make you stronger and more beautiful. Now your diet is in bad condition. Our South Party can help you!

I promise if I become president, first I will destroy all the old canteen and built some new canteen. Then I'll lower the price of food so that you can eat meat every meal.

Believe me! You can have a better diet! Thank you!"

I think I'd choose his party. Imagine being able to eat meat every day here! My dear little students were also very enthusiastic about this candidate.

In other news, I went to lunch with two of my students. This time they chose strips of pork fat and rice for my meal. It was pretty hearty and I'm glad I'm not such a picky eater anymore.

Afterward, we wandered around in the mugginess in a little park on campus that I hadn't been to before. It was pretty beautiful and peaceful, especially for Nanchang. There was actually some grass, a little lake, and a lot of flowering trees. It seemed too good to be true. It was really strange. I've never heard the city so quiet, and it was the first time in a long time that I've been around anything resembling nature.

The place was pretty deserted. We walked across a bridge on the lake. On the other side of this pretty lake, there was a man with a wheelbarrow. He was probably from one of the cafeterias, because his wheelbarrow was filled with half-eaten food and trash that you always see outside the cafeterias. I watched in horror as he tipped that wheelbarrow right into the lake! It seemed too awful to be true. Then he walked away. My students quietly grumbled about it, and I was thinking, "that must be a crime!" But of course it wasn't. Worse things than that happen all the time. It just made me sad because they try to create beauty around them, but then they destroy it pretty quickly.

Later I was reading a fresh copy of the China Daily and stumbled upon an interesting notice that was published in that paper. In Chinese and English, there was a notice written to a certain woman in Shanghai, whom they named. Apparently there is a huge building project underway in Shanghai, and this one woman is standing in the way of its completion. She refuses to move or be compensated for relocation. Now the city, or something like that, says they are going on with the demolition. It is a final appeal for her to accept the settlement. They must have printed that notice in a lot of newspapers. It was so fascinating, because I've heard about this happening in cities like Beijing, but it was just strange to read a notice where they basically said she was crazy for not accepting the offer in the name of "progress." And then they essentially said it doesn't matter what she wants anyway, because they're going to tear down her residence whether she likes it or not. In my head, I'm secretly cheering for this woman, who is being denounced across the newspapers.

In other news, we went to English corner outside and sweated through it for nearly an hour. About 10 or 12 of my students appeared for the occasion. We had a great time chatting. Never have they seemed so funny or human or real. Today they revealed more dimensions of their personalities, which are hidden under layers of idealism and conformity.

Boy, this day has worn me out! But I wouldn't want it any other way. :)