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