Presents

It was a great day, filled with many joys. Recently, a number of students have been giving me small gifts of candies or cookies before class. Today I received an orange from a boy and two pieces of Almond Rocca from a girl. The Almond Rocca was extra special because it had been a gift from the girl’s elder sister after she, the older sibling, returned from a trip to the United States. I felt honored when the student gave it to me and said, “I hope it reminds you of home.” 


I received applause from a class when I was passionately explaining that American history is important and that it’s impossible to understand American culture if you don’t learn about the country’s past. I had just finished saying, “You know, American students are just like you guys. When I was teaching them about Chinese history they didn’t care. They said, ‘I’m never going to China. Why should I care? China’s not important.’ I got mad at them just like I’m getting mad at you. This stuff is important! You can’t understand America without understanding its past!” As I was pausing to take a mid-rant breath, one student started clapping and the action quickly spread throughout the room. The response was shocking, but it made my day because it showed me that the message had broken through the language and cultural barriers.


This may sound strange considering the fact that my needles have been furiously productive during my time here, but I miss knitting. I miss my knitting books, the semi-completed projects that are stored in plastic boxes, and my special crafting tools. I miss being able to read a yarn label or knowing the yarn’s content and weight. I miss placing an online order for supplies at KnitPicks.com and anxiously waiting a week for the shipment to arrive. To keep things in perspective, I keep reminding myself that I will be back to my comforts soon and that I have years to enjoy it all; now I must savor my time in China because we will be leaving shortly. We’re almost able to count our remaining weeks on our two hands. Strange, isn’t it?

Photo Tuesday!

Dragon!

Stairs and building!

Birdies!

A brave and crazy man!

A rollercoaster Monday

New leaves!

Man was today a Monday! It started out rosy and happy, but at around ten o’clock this morning, it took a sharp downward turn. We were in the middle of a Skype conversation with the elder Têtus when our internet decided to die. We’ve been experiencing some issues lately with speed (that we now think was caused by defective hardware), but didn’t think we could be completely cut off from our only connection to the outside world. (Yes, I’m addicted to the internet, but you try to live in a foreign country where you don’t speak the language and see if you could survive without the comforts that the “net” provides; it’s exactly that -- a safety net that keeps me sane.) Since Jean-Jacques’ attempts at fixing the problem failed, we decided to call my helper for assistance. At first he said that he probably wouldn’t be able to schedule the computer guy (who needed to visit the apartment to see the problem) until tomorrow. After a few calls (and an insistance on our part that we need the internet for our job search), we managed to get the school’s computer dude to visit a little while later. 


After blindly fiddling with Jean-Jacques’ computer for about five minutes, the computer guy finally accepted help from Jean-Jacques. (Not only was everything in English, but the man had probably never seen a Mac before, so it wasn’t surprising that he was lost. He messed with the computer’s background for a few minutes before Jean-Jacques navigated to the internet connection section of the laptop.)


To shorten this lengthy story, two guys from the Post Office (yes, the internet providers are controlled by the Post Office and therefore, the government) came to our apartment to look at the modem and replace it with a “temporary” one. They’ll be back in a few days with a new “official” one. 


So all of this excitement happened before I taught my first class. However, I would like to note that our experience with the downed-but-recently-fixed internet is typical here. We’re told that something absolutely cannot be done, but then, a little while later, the impossible becomes unceremoniously completed. At first it’s a little disconcerting, but with time, you learn to trust that everything will get done faster than you expect.

Spring!

Back to the story about my classes. This week I’m teaching about African Americans, the history of slavery and the Civil Rights Movement, Ebonics, African American celebrities, and black music. Remember, I’m only spending about twenty-five minutes of class on the topic and during the rest of the time we watch a movie. Unfortunately, today I had the luxury of teaching my two classes before a large math test. Most of the students were either too exhausted to pay much attention to me or were quietly discussing math problems with their neighbor. 


Though it was frustrating to continually fight for attention (and feel like I was standing in front of fifty-five squirmy kindergarteners), I did the best I could to keep the masses interested. Since it’s the beginning of the week and I’m new to the content, I still have to work out some bugs and this often negatively impacts the quality of my instruction. In other words, I haven’t figured out my “groove” yet (that usually happens on the fourth or fifth run-though), but I have some good ideas that I’ll try tomorrow. I’m learning a lot about teaching this year. 


This evening Jean-Jacques and I had fun eating Pala while watching The Amazing Race. I processed a number of photos I took today after class and I’m about to get in bed early to read more of The Restaurant and the End of the Universe. Those of you who know Jean-Jacques well will wonder how his wife has lived twenty-seven years (and been married to said gentleman for eight years) without having read the entire Hitchhiker’s series; all I can say is that I’m currently righting this wrong and loving every word of the journey.


Hugs to all!

Katie and the art of relaxing

This is a wall hanging someone left behind in the apartment.

Yes, it has been quite a long time since I last wrote but because there wasn’t much to report, I didn’t think it was essential that I post an entry this weekend. Friday’s classes went well, only three students attended the movie lunch, our Saturday tutoring session was enjoyable, I lesson planned, corrected a student’s essay, and have taken many naps since Thursday. See, nothing terribly earth-shattering has occurred. 


I’m making considerable progress on the baby blanket that I’m knitting for our friends. I designed the project myself and the pattern is extremely easy, so I don’t have to concentrate on it much while I’m knitting. If an item needs to be quickly made, I’ve found that it will get finished faster if the stitch pattern is simple. 


Today I’ve been planning some upcoming fiber projects. I’ve outlined patterns for a couple of garments: a robe and a pair of shorts. I’m not sure my ideas will work, but I’m excited to try them even though I might have to rip everything out. That’s the useful thing about knitting -- if you make a mistake, you can easily correct it by frogging (or undoing) all the work.


Last night we watched Practical Magic. It was a terrible movie, but I enjoyed it because I had fun knitting and talking with Jean-Jacques. Plus, it was fun to see island scenery again. I’m not sure what we’re going to watch this evening; I’m sure it will be entertaining, though.

Real English

How could I possibly have forgotten all the joys of filling out job applications? The long hours of staring at a computer screen; the mind-numbing strain of carefully reading through multiple drafts of resumés and district applications to correct all the teeny mistakes; and the near-hysterical laughter caused by sarcastic jokes that Jean-Jacques and I make with one another to keep from ripping out our hair in frustration because we miss a few typos and we have to remake the entire PDF to include the corrected version. The process is often long and can be a bit painful, but we have fun and feel satisfied when we turn in a completed packet. Sure, it probably sounds like I’m complaining, but I’m really not; I’m simply being realistic. The process isn’t always fun, but it’s completely worth it in the end when work is secured. I’m crossing my fingers that we won’t continue our current trend of going through a job search every year like we have done for the past five years. (Although, I have to admit that I do get a sick pleasure out of turning in a completed application. It just feels like I’ve accomplished something orderly and I enjoy it.)


It was an entertaining Thursday. Lately, I’ve been explaining (rather passionately) in class that English is a living language and that it exists outside of books. To fully demonstrate my point, I hold up a newspaper that the students fill out for grammar practice; the assignment written on the paper is a typical fill-in-the-blank exercise. I say, “This isn’t real English. I, along with millions of other people, use real English every day. I need it to communicate with people.” The students get so fired up about my words that they usually all start clapping for me. I’m often surprised by their reaction, but it’s heartening because it helps me feel that my job here is worthwhile. Sometimes I feel like an accessory whose purpose is to improve the school’s reputation, not help students improve their English skills. However, today I realized that I am making a difference. I’m showing a few hundred Chinese students that the world goes far beyond Anqing’s doorstep and that English is more than a subject they will be tested on in a couple of years. Many of the students here don’t see how the topics they learn about in school connect to the real world, but I’ve been trying to change that these past couple of days. Judging by the students’ reactions, I think they’re grateful for my words.

Seventy-two steps to our apartment...

that I climb about three to five times a day. 

Thankfully, today’s classes went a bit more smoothly than the two from yesterday. Before we started watching Stardust, I carefully explained to the students that they probably would feel lost during the film, but that it was OK and I would pause the movie to help them understand the plot. This seemed to put them at ease and they seemed to enjoy class a lot more. Also, I think it helped that I mentioned that English is a real world language that real people use. In many ways this message was something new to them.

Here’s my favorite quote from the day:

When I asked a student how she was doing, she responded, “Wonderful! There’s a fire in me.” And she bounced into the classroom.

Not an onscreen kiss!

A rainy Monday

Sadly, today felt exactly like a Monday often does: a bit challenging. As I’ve mentioned a few times before, I’m instituting a new system for my lesson structure -- we’ll spend half the session learning about a specific topic (music, Asian Americans, art, restaurants, etc.) and we’ll spend the remaining class time watching and discussing a movie. At first the students were thrilled by the new format, but they became a little frustrated when they discovered the movie we’re going to watch for the next few weeks is Stardust. 


A few of the girls came up to me after class asking if I could switch the movie to Twilight (this is the fourth or fifth time I've been asked to change an activity). I simply said, “No.” 
They responded with, “Why?” 
To which I replied, “Because this is the movie we’re going to watch.”
They said, “There time for Twilight.”
I calmly informed them, “This is the movie we’re going to watch. There won’t be time for Twilight.”


When some students started grumbling about how they couldn’t comprehend the movie (with subtitles in English and me stopping the film every few minutes to explain the plot), I firmly stated, “You’ve been learning English for ten years. That’s a long time. You should be able to understand this movie. It’s kind of sad you don’t.” With this comment, many of the teens bowed their heads and became silent.


Yes, perhaps this was slightly impolite on my part. However, the students can be quite rude at times and sometimes the only way to clearly explain a point is to be blunt. Extremely blunt. They have horribly stressful lives without much fun, but they are also rather spoiled. If an answer isn’t handed to them on a silver platter, they get angry. That was what happened today and I think it was a valuable experience for them to feel a little lost. At one point I said, “Learning is a bit uncomfortable. If you’re comfortable, it means that you aren’t learning anything and growing.” 


On a slightly different topic, but still pertaining to the discussion of Stardust, during a kissing scene in the movie, most of the students looked away from the screen. It’s sort of strange to me that fifteen and sixteen year olds aren’t mature enough to watch a kissing scene in a teen movie. They must spend too much time studying or something.

A wedding, China-style

What a day and what experiences we’ve had! We were fortunate enough to be invited to a Chinese wedding. I will provide more details in a bit, but it was a fascinating look into Chinese culture and further proved to me how different our cultures can be at times. The West has definitely influenced the East and we saw numerous examples of it today. (In China, white is the color for death; in the past, brides used to wear red, not white, but that's not often the case nowadays. The bride today wore a western-style bridal gown.)


Our adventure started, like it often does, with a cab ride. Fortunately, we were able to catch a taxi and we showed the directions that our friend had texted us to the driver. When we arrived, we were a bit confused because our friends weren’t there yet and there were two wedding parties hosting events at the same establishment. One group had two people dressed up in Mickey Mouse costumes. After almost walking into the wrong wedding, a Chinese woman ran up to us and directed us to the correct one. We politely informed her that we were waiting for our friends, and found an out-of-the-way spot to stand until they arrived.


With our friends in tow, we greeted the bride and groom (who were standing outside of the restaurant). I had a red envelope filled with a hundred kuai that I gave to the bride (maybe I should have given it to the groom, but I didn’t know what was proper) with both hands (that’s the polite way to hand items to people in China). It was our unofficial ticket into the event. We took an elevator to the ninth floor. When we arrived, we signed a red guest book, walked down a beautifully covered (if a bit flimsy under our Western-sized bodies) yellow walkway to our seats. It took a while before the event started, so we talked with our friends for a bit. 


There was an official announcer who started off the ceremony by telling some jokes to get the crowd warmed-up. He even gave us a special greeting. (I’m telling you, the Chinese win the “best host ever” prize.) We didn’t know what he was saying and we were sitting down when he introduced us. By the time we figured out what was happening, the moment for us to stand up had passed.


After a few minutes, some loud music started (every ceremony in China has the amplification up to eleven and the treble pumped up at full volume). The groom started down the yellow walkway singing a karaoke song to his bride. The woman, who was was standing inside a pink tent, responded to her beloved in song. When the man arrived at the tent they did something meaningful that we couldn’t see (our view was blocked by a number of people observing the “ceremony”). Then the couple began walking back down the “aisle” (remember, this event is held in a large room in a restaurant) to a spot-lit stage where the professional host said some words about the couple. 


At one point, the host grabbed a bouquet and stood in front of the couple (like in western weddings) and had them repeat some silly vows (I promise to always wash your feet, always cook you dinner, etc.). Following this hilarious exchange, a young woman brought the rings and the couple placed them on one another’s fingers during a song and narration. They did some extremely deep bows at the audience, they emptied a bottle of wine into a special glass holder that looked a bit like a fancy silver hamster run, the couple downed a glass of wine while their right arms were entwined, they hugged (no kisses at this wedding!), and a number of people toasted. During most of the event, people in the audience were busy eating and talking in the dark. (Let me tell you that it’s dangerous to eat at a Chinese banquet if you can’t see what you’re ingesting. Jean-Jacques accidentally grabbed and munched down part of a turtle's head.)


In the middle of the wedding ceremony, a boy’s shirt caught on fire because his sleeve had come into contact with an open flame on the table. (Eating can be a dangerous business here.) Fortunately he was unhurt, but quite a bit of angry shouting transpired between the parents and waitstaff (the boy’s family was deriding the waitress). 


New items added tonight to the Exotic Eats List? Pig’s ear and sea cucumber. The former was surprisingly tasty, but I thoroughly disliked the latter because of my personal issues with food that has a squishy texture.


When we finished the meal, and toasting, we left the wedding. During the dinner (eventually the lights were turned on again), we were given party favors. We didn’t open them until we arrived home (it’s considered rude to open a gift in front of the giver) and discovered that the little boxes contained various types of little candies. 


I did feel bad for the bride and groom because they didn’t have the opportunity to eat much; instead, they went from table to table toasting their guests. (Again, I note the incredible hospitality that is part of the Chinese culture.) Not only did the couple have to stand outside in the rainy cold weather greeting guests for about a half and hour or forty-five minutes, but they also were so busy  talking with everyone that they didn’t have time for food. 


Sadly, the couple will be at work tomorrow and they won’t be taking a honeymoon.

Putie is back!

I’m so happy that my computer is alive again; with it gone, I felt naked. It's absence helped me realize how much I use, depend upon, and love my laptop. 


Yesterday was rather lengthy because we taught in the morning and, in the afternoon, took a trip  to Hefei to retrieve my rejuvenated MacBook. With directions that our Chinese friend had texted us, we caught a taxi to the bus, bought express tickets to Hefei, rode a bus for two and a half hours to the provincial capitol, took a taxi from the bus station in Hefei to the Apple-authorized repair shop, picked up the computer, flagged down another taxi back to the bus station, purchased express return tickets to Anqing, arrived in town two and a half hours later, flagged down another taxi, and picked up dinner before heading to our apartment. The bus rides were some of the worst we’ve ever experienced; I had a terrible headache and I almost threw up a few times. Also, the bus driver  kept pressing and releasing the gas pedal so we kept lurching back and forth in our seats. On the trip home, Jean-Jacques and I tried to make the best of an uncomfortable situation by making fun of the karaoke music videos that were playing on the TV screens. (I honestly don’t understand any of the music videos here. I must be from a different culture or something.) To add to all the discomfort, we hadn't eaten lunch, so I munched on peanuts and dates on the return ride.


We were extremely pleased with our successful trip, but it reminded us of why we don’t travel much in China. It’s too stressful when you don’t speak the language. We appreciate the kindness of the Chinese, but hate to impose too much on people. Also, it can be uncomfortable if you don’t know what’s happening around you or the directions you’re given.


Today was good, if a bit busy. We slept late in order to recover from our Hefei adventure. Jean-Jacques made a run to the grocery store while I cleaned the bathroom and bought some yarn to make a baby blanket for our friends who are expecting a baby. This afternoon we received a call from Celine (a woman from Bainbridge who is teaching in Ma'anshan and knows someone in our program who is also working there) letting us know that she had safely arrived in Anqing. We spent most of the day with her, walking around Anqing’s back streets, drinking tea at a coffee shop while chatting about teaching in China, and strolling on the banks of the Yangtze River. (We even saw a man swimming in the river; when we was finished exercising, and in the process of changing into dry clothes, I accidentally saw his bare behind.) We met up with some friends for dinner and had a great time at the Korea BBQ place. 

I’m heading to bed soon since we've got another big day ahead of us tomorrow. We're going to attend a wedding celebration, so I'm excited.


P.S. The sound of rain on the plastic roof has been comfortably serenading me as I write this post. I've said it many times before, but I adore the soothing sound of rain. I've missed hearing it this winter.

Dead Computer and a look into a Chinese student's mind

Yesterday my computer decided that it was too tired to fight the Chinese pollution anymore and quickly died. Thankfully, with the help of a friend, we've located a service center in Hefei that will fix the computer using the AppleCare we purchased with the MacBook nearly three years ago. The principal of my school is making a trip to Hefei and will drop my machine off; I'm not sure how we'll get it back once it's fixed, but we'll figure out that solution when the time comes.


Now on to the second half of my title. The other day a student asked me to correct a fiction piece that she had written. I think it provides a fascinating look into the mind of a Chinese student, which is why I'm sharing it with you. I won't provide too much commentary, but reading the story shocked me and helped me realize how different my thinking patterns are from those of my students. I'm amazed that they behave as well as they do in class. 


Also, it illustrates the level of English that Jean-Jacques and I are encountering in our classes. Remember, these students have been studying English for ten years, and this essay was written by a girl who speaks fairly well. In many ways, this essay shows the shortcomings of the Chinese education system. Her grammar is often technically correct, but the bigger picture of ideas (the creative element of the work) is difficult for us to follow. I've seen this mistake in many essays I've been asked to correct. If you only focus on memorizing information and studying for multiple choice tests, you fail to strengthen logical and real world thinking skills. Let this be a warning to the American education system.

Trojan Horse

“It only remains a little food and water. Maybe we can strut for another time though I know how hard it will be.” Miles said in a anxious voice. Everbody who is in the dark hole starts to be in a subdued voice. It makes Miles feel fuzzy about the dream which he made just now.


The dark hole consists of ten small area, which is sealed off without the sunshine. How terrible the day is! The human is in such a tight corner from the years to another because of the mucky tumours on the ground.


“But mom, what is the earth’s surface like?” But the sound disappears rapidly. The woman looks at Miles –– their captain –– with a scard expression. She is covering her child’s mouth. Here and there is the bulky breath, no other sound.


The curse appears by the words from others suddenly.


They went though a so-called disater, which made them be forsaked by relatives. Plus, they lost hope until the underground hole was discovered. 


“Where is Trojan horse now?” Miles asked. No one but breath answered.


When the tumours appeared, they were not taken seriously. Some people thought they were only some rubbish which would be cleaned rapidly. With the time by, the human started to become scared. There wasn’t any plants or animals around them. And the soil became black –– like the ink. They were aware of the importance to clean them. But it was too late.


The disaster which was recognized as a severe winter came. The human were frightened by watching those terrible plays, for which they hide themselves under the bed. After a long time, a piece of news went around the world –- the Noah’s Ark was built with some rare metal which was found in a forsaked church. There was a predition from the ancient prophet on the wall –– the old will be destroyed by the new one.


But the ark was the only one. no more the self-lish came out while some people were crying that the civilization of the humans will disappear.


The stations was on the promontory. There won’t be any prisdent or officer, but some refugees. The graceful deed was disregarded. so was the people who had attached importance to the identity. some old men were pushed out of the ark with the words “I love you, but…”, so were some children. The parents remained to look after the children. But some children lost their parents.


The memorizing was always bitter because of forsaking, only some scared emotion remained. The time ended.


After all, the god didn’t ignore his children. He lead the people to the hole which can protect them but no freedom. Some years later, a trojan horse appeared. Nobody knew where it came from.


The trojan horse is just like the ark but can only include one person. The person in it called himself “Archipelago” and helped others transmit the information. And nobody knew his real identity.


“We are just like some fools to wait for a stranger! Can you tell me what his purpose is? He is the people not of the same clan!” a man shouted suddenly. A abnormal expression appeared on everyone’s face.


“And what did you mean?” Miles asked, shaked his body. “Your works didn’t make a sense.” with a peacefur voice. The man sneered and put up his hand. “We should get the rare metal from the horse, but not stay here to do nothing every day.”


For a moment nothing happened. Then came a voice all shouting in a hubbub.


The day was over without Archipelago. Thanks to that he didn’t come on that day.


The abrupt thing divided the crowds. Some of them were for the man, but some were not. After all, there was only one trojan horse in the world. They didn’t know how to deal with it. Phus, it became more and more sharp as if the war would happen.

Mr. Grumpy

Sadly, the weekend is over. It was pleasantly relaxing, though, and I’m not cursed with the Sunday Grumpies. In many ways, I’m looking forward to returning to work tomorrow.


It was another slow day at the Têtu apartment. We woke up relatively late this morning, I called my grandparents on Gmail to chat for a little while; Jean-Jacques hunted and gathered food at Muslim Noodle Shop while I took some pictures around No. 1 Middle School; we watched The Daily Show; I edited photos and searched for movies to show in class while Jean-Jacques played around with Garage Band on his iPad. (I’ve decided that I’m going to teach four lessons, show a movie, teach another four lessons, then show another movie, and continue in this established pattern until school is finished. The students need some fun in their lives and I think it will make a nice break for them.)

This evening we ate more noodles, watched two episodes of The Event (which I must say, is a terrible show, but I’ll continue following it because I’m faintly interested in solving the mysteries), and we’re going to bed soon.

A typical Saturday eve

As I’m writing this entry, I’m drinking tea and listening to music with Jean-Jacques. In many ways, it’s the fitting end to a perfect Saturday. 


We had a relaxing, but entertaining day. We held our regular tutoring session and discussed the earthquake and tsunami in Japan, art (Mona Lisa), persuasive writing, and fashion at the Oscars. We only had about five girls in attendance, but I think they learned some important things and enjoyed practicing their English speaking skills.


After the tutoring, I ran to the bakery to buy bread and cookies, while Jean-Jacques made a “drink run” for gatorade, juice, and iced tea. We made grilled cheese sandwiches for lunch. Following the meal, I read my new book (Major Pettigrew’s Last Stand) in bed for a little while before falling asleep for about an hour and a half. 


Once I awoke from the nap, I drank some tea and read more of my book. At around five o’clock, Jean-Jacques and I left the apartment to walk to a tasty Taiwanese restaurant that’s about twenty minutes away. We were extremely proud of ourselves because we successfully ordered, ate, and paid for dinner without any assistance from English-speaking friends. Look ma, no translator! We’ve really gotten adjusted to life in Anqing now.


This evening we watched an episode of The Event and have been tootling around on the internet. Sounds like a rough Saturday, huh?


P.S. I'm so thankful for the wonderful life I have. Seeing all the horrific images from the disaster in Japan (and elsewhere) has made me even more appreciative than normal. My thoughts and prayers are being sent to those who have been impacted by the disaster; my mental hugs are being sent to all of my loved ones, both family and friends. Love you guys!


P.P.S. Yesterday, there was a fire that emitted black plumes of smoke in a building relatively close to our apartment. For a little while some people were stuck in the upper floors, but they were safely rescued by firemen. Jean-Jacques was out buying groceries and observed the blaze close-up; I only saw the smoke because I was leaving the apartment at the time to get lunch and my view of the event was obscured by tall buildings. It’s been a sad couple of days...

Conversations

It’s strange to think I’m back at Thursday again. It seems like Monday was yesterday, not three days ago. This week has zoomed past. 


Classes went well. Some students I haven’t seen for weeks turned up today. One girl mentioned that the teacher had yelled at the skippers, but I think that they only attended class this afternoon because some officials from Anhui province were visiting the school today. Most of the kids were extra well behaved today. 


I forgot to write down some classic stories from this week, so I’ll do so now.


During one class, which is mostly filled with girls, a boy explained that the reason that more girls didn’t play basketball was because they “liked to do quiet things”.
As I listened to the male student, I could feel waves of discontentment flowing off the females in the room. I decided to ask, “Ladies, do you like to do quiet things?”
They quickly responded in a shout, “No!!!”
That instantly silenced the boy. Normally, I would have felt bad about embarrassing a student, but I don’t enjoy blatant sexism (especially on Women’s Day), so I let him learn a valuable lesson: don’t speak for females without consulting them first.


After class, one boy came up to me and asked, “Why is America considered the king of basketball?”
I responded, “I don’t know.”
He said, failing to hide his frustration, “I don’t know. Chinese like basketball more than Americans. Why we not better?”
I shrugged, and tried to interject my thoughts, but the boy had other ideas, “We have more people that like basketball. Why aren’t we number one?”
I finally broke into the conversation and asked, “Do you have organized sports teams in high school?”
The boy answered, “No.”
I continued, “No. Chinese students only focus on school. American students often play sports while in high school. It’s very important to our culture.”
The male student nodded, “We don’t have professional help.”
Me, “No, you don’t have a chance to get good. We have teams in both high school and university. It’s a big deal in America.”
The guy replied, “Yes. That’s true.” He waved goodbye, though he seemed a little discouraged by the conversation.


Following another class, two girls came up to me to chat. One of them said, “How can we speak English better?”
I answered, “Practice is important. Listen to native speakers of English and practice speaking.”
One of the girls asked, “How can we learn to speak without an accent?”
I replied, “You probably won’t be able to speak without an accent since you’re learning English after puberty. But if you practice, you can get good at speaking English.”
The other student posed another question, “How do students learn English in America?”
A little confused, I said, “Our English class is like your Chinese class. We read books, talk about them, and write essays.”
The two students nodded and one of them added, “So they memorize pmz?”
“I’m sorry, could you repeat that?” I queried. 
“Do they memorize poems?”
“No. We don’t do as much memorization as you do in China. We have a lot of discussions. So I might ask a student question and then she or he would answer it.”
The girls both nodded, “Yes, you do ask many questions in class.”


In other news, I edited a couple of essays for a student who is trying to study in the US for college. Remember Amanda? She’s the one I’m helping. She’s currently in Beijing studying at a special school to help her increase her TOEFL score. According to Amanda, I’m proofreading her assignments more closely than her teachers. Though I’m impressed by her English abilities, Amanda does need to work on her persuasive writing skills a bit. I sent her an example of a well argued paper, so maybe that will help.


It’s early, but I’m going to sign off so I can crawl into bed a read for a while before nodding off. Sorry, but the photographer took a day off.

Chinese jokes

Here are a couple of jokes that I heard today:


Student: Why is the number “e” sideways?
Me: I have no idea.
Student: Because it’s never in cash and always in debt.
Student: Why is blue jeans the saddest clotheses?
Me: I don’t know.
Student: Because it is blue.

Another excellent day

‘Twas another fabulous day. I know I say that I lot, but it’s often true. My classes were enthusiastic and I enjoyed meeting with them all. They boys especially seem to enjoy this week’s topic and are quite impressed that I know all that I do about basketball. Sure the students are often noisy, but I think that most of the time they’re so excited about the content that it’s difficult for them to be quiet and listen. They’re very social individuals and they enjoy orally interacting with one another.


I was pleased with myself this morning because I was able to plan most of next week’s lesson about St. Patrick’s Day. Hopefully, it will be interesting for the students (many of them mentioned an interest in learning about other cultures).


There’s not much other news. The weather was a bit warmer today, but I still got a little chilled. We ate noodles for lunch (from Sichuan Noodles) and dinner (from Muslim Noodle Shop), we watched a few more episodes of The Event, and I started a new book called The Hangman’s Daughter. See, I told you there wasn't any earth-shattering news. But I do have some new pictures:

The kleenex gift from No. 2 Middle School

Terrifying Chinese graffiti

Repeat Monday

Then it was Monday. The weekend seemed to fly past, although we did enjoy ourselves. Last night we went over to some friends’ house for dinner and to watch a movie. We brought chicken sandwiches, french fries, drumsticks, and two milk teas. Our friends showed us how to cook some popular local dishes. I’ve been intimidated by cooking Chinese food, but in reality, it’s not that complex to make. The secret is to do the cooking on high heat. 


We saw a Woody Allen movie called Scoop. Normally, I’m not much of an Allen fan, but I did enjoy this particular film. Maybe I was positively influenced by the company.

Nothing terribly exciting happened today. I taught my first two classes of the week, so I tried out the new lesson about March Madness and basketball. I think the students enjoyed the topic, though I did have to kick out two students for talking (I had just finished warning them that I would do it, too...). 


Something heartening also occurred today. Two female students came up to me after class and one of them said, “Your classroom is dirty.”

I responded, “Yes, it is.” And that’s the truth, because no one cleans my room. The students are normally responsible for keeping the room clean and they take turns staying after school to sweep and clean the chalkboard. (Remember, they stay in the same classroom all day, so they feel a connection to the room. I’m an anomaly because I have my own room; my school helpers were worried I would get lost, so that’s why they provided me with my own space.) However, since I only see my students once a week, none of them feel terribly responsible for cleaning, so it quickly becomes a pigsty. 

Back to my story. One of the girls said, “We’ll clean your room for you. It’s our duty and we would like to clean it.”


I was shocked, but thankful. We agreed to meet at 5 o’clock so I could open my room for them. They did a wonderful job of cleaning and I gave them each a pack of gum as a “thank you” present.


We cooked a vegetarian dinner this evening, so we’re feeling healthy. We've also started watching a new TV series called The Event. 

The red bits are firework remnants

The sky is dripping

Sadly there isn’t much exciting news from today. We had a slightly challenging tutoring session (one student snapped at another one for “hogging” our attention) and Jean-Jacques and I are in the process of discussing our goals for the meetings. I remind you again that we’re dealing with a radically different educational system where the students want teachers to talk at them for hours on end, instilling them with wisdom. Well, as you can imagine, neither Jean-Jacques nor I teach in this style, so our world views can clash with those of some of our tutees. (They feel that there are only so many hours in a day and every second must be meaningfully used, not wasted by talking about how one person gets nervous about speaking in front of people.) I have empathy for the students, but I firmly believe that we need to continue running classes the way we have been because it’s a good exercise for the students. The majority of them enjoy our time together, but I think some of them are starting to be less thrilled by the meetings.

Other than that it’s been a relaxing day. It’s misting outside and I’m happy to be inside wearing my comfy pajama bottoms that I bought in Scotland. I read some of a murder mystery I started the other day, took a two hour nap, washed and hung up a load of laundry, and ate a new noodle dish for lunch. This evening we’re going to watch a movie, eat grilled cheese sandwiches for dinner, and probably play a board game on the iPad. It sounds like the perfect way to spend a drizzly Saturday evening. 

Friday night ramblings

Jean-Jacques' green bean mustache

Though difficult to believe, it’s Friday again. Strangely, this week was both short and long. I feel like it should be Friday, but the days seemed to pass quickly. 


My two periods this morning went fairly smoothly. As I’ve mentioned before, some of the students are a little less enthusiastic to attend my class, and have a difficult time being motivated to work on assignments I give. I’ll simply have to step up my discipline a bit. 


This year has definitely helped my classroom management skills. Not only do I have large classes, but many of them don’t speak English very well, are not used to focusing their entire attention on a teacher, keep breaking the same rules (are they testing me to see if I’ll respond differently the seven hundredth time I see a student using a cell phone?), and don’t receive a grade in my class. Plus, the course doesn’t directly help them prepare for the national college entrance examinations, which can be disastrous for me since I’m working in an extrinsically motivated education system. 


Our experience so far has shown us that the English taught here is very different from the English that Americans, English, Scottish, Welsh, South Africans, Australians, Canadians, New Zealanders, or Irish use. We’ve discovered that in China, English has become another subject that’s used to test the students’ abilities to answer multiple choice questions. It’s not a creative or fluid subject, with all the complexities that make sense to us. (Example: think of all the different ways you can respond to the greeting, “How are you?”. In Anqing, the only response is this: “I’m fine, sanks.”) English in China has almost been reduced to a mathematical problem that makes sense on paper (if you think about it creatively), but would never be used in a real world circumstance. (Who says that a dish is “mouth-watering and delicious” or “I’m going to relax myself this weekend”?)  For Chinese students, English has become robotic. Here’s a sentence, fill in the correct word from a multiple choice list. Conjugate the highlighted word to fit the sentence. 


Sorry for the detour into EssayTown, which is conveniently located in RantLand. I’ll return to my original story. My students need to be reminded of their responsibilities in my class and I will make it clear to them next week. Sometimes I feel bi-polar because one moment I’m stern Mrs. Têtu who-must-firmly-discipline-a-student and then in the next second I become enthusiastic Mrs. Têtu who-is-bouncing-around-the-room-while-explaining-the-meaning-of-“brag”. It seems to work, though. Maybe I am so unpredictable that I shock the students into paying attention.


I was surprised when sixteen students showed up to my Friday Movie Lunch. Normally I have around five to seven students, so I wasn’t expecting such an impressive turnout. We had fun watching the movie Cars and I only had to stop the movie a few times to explain the plot. 


After I returned home from the Movie Lunch, I crawled into bed and spent most of the afternoon there in a comfortable, but semi-comatose state (or semi-awake state, depending on your world view). Jean-Jacques cooked dinner while I kept him company, we watched the latest episode of The Amazing Race, and we’re in the middle of this week’s Castle. I say in the middle because we had to pause the show to use the bathroom in shifts (that's a plural, mind you). I think our lunch of spicy noodles wasn’t the kindest on our tummies. 


Until tomorrow...

Katie eats something scary

Much has occurred in my life since I last wrote. I’ve taught twelve classes, attended another banquet, and added an item to my Exotic Eats List. In other words, life is back to normal for us in China.


Yesterday (Wednesday) I received a call from a friend asking if we were busy that evening. I asked, “What for?” (Maybe this was rude, but I wanted to know what I was going to be asked to do before committing to do it.)
He replied, “To go to another banquet.”
I answered, “Oh.”
He said, “It’s the tea merchant who drove the van to pick you up when you first arrived. He’s been wanting to host a dinner for a while now, and I finally have time.”
Me, inwardly sighing, “Ok. I’ll check with Jean-Jacques.”


Do you think we refused the invitation? You guessed it, we found ourselves being whisked away to another evening of socializing. There was the usual amount of smoke haze and drunken toasting. In addition to the normal frustrations endured at all banquets, my head was also pounding and the vocal volume of our fellow diners increased in direct proportion to the amount of baijiu they drank, which, in turn, didn’t positively affect my headache. 

However, I couldn’t stay mad long because the Chinese are simply too generous and kind. 
That’s one thing I’ve learned while here -- the Chinese are the most gracious hosts I have ever met (and probably ever will meet). Sure, there’s a lot of spitting, noodle slurping, and shoving in China, but one quickly forgets all about it once you’re in the middle of experiencing Chinese hospitality. Our host last night picked us up at our school (and drove us back), drank tea (not baijiu) with us so we wouldn’t feel uncomfortable, kept filling up our tea cups with fresh water, made sure that we received the first helpings of dishes once they were placed on the table, invited us to his shop for some expensive tea after the meal, and gave us a bag of peanuts and about eight packets of dates to take home with us. Wow! 


The only thing we did in the way of a thank you was to take some pictures with the tea shop owner and his wife. We were told that they are planning to frame the photograph and hang it under a picture of Hu Jintao and Vladimir Putin. I’m not sure we’re worthy to put in such a prominent place.


We did get a business card for the tea shop, so we can show a taxi driver the address and find our way back on our own. If anyone has some orders for Chinese tea, let me know and I’ll see what I can do to fill your request.


What exotic dish did I eat last night? Duck tongue. No, I am not exaggerating. I was happily eating some tasty noodles, when a man plopped half a duck bill on my plate. (He had just done the same thing to Jean-Jacques.) I’ll admit that I’ve gotten much more brave when it comes to eating bizarre food, but I almost couldn’t stomach the duck tongue. I had to pry it away from the bill (which still had some hairs in it, by-the-way) and hold the whole thing in my fingers while I took a bitty bite. Was it mouth-watering and delicious (to quote one of Jean-Jacques' students)? Not in the least. I only managed to swallow the one niblet I tried. And I tasted it all night long.

Thankfully, today was excellent. I had to remind many of the students of my expectations (some of them are starting to slack off and not complete the small amount of work that I assign during class; remember, I don’t give homework), but overall we had a good time together. I’ve learned how to provide an action-filled explanation of “deodorant”, I juggled for a bit to explain the word “juggler”, and I’ve been able to successfully make jokes they understand. 


I was a little worried about the class “that has devil eyes”, but they were perfect today. (Some of the trouble makers were busy collecting books for the poor... Yes, you read that correctly. It only happens in China, folks.) We had fun and laughed together, which is good because we all needed it. At the end of the session, I informed them that I was very proud of them and gave them a round of applause that they quickly joined. So it was a great day. 
(The only incident of the period occurred when I took away a kid’s physics homework, grabbed a desk and chair, put them outside of the room, and suggested that he study there. He pleaded for me to give him a second chance, which I did. He was an angel for the rest of time.) 


As I’ve said, it’s been an exciting few days. Hope all is well with everyone!