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11月30日 Social CommentaryI had a surprise visit from two students last night. They stayed and talked for 2 and a half hours. It was very good for me because I got to ask some serious questions about China and the nature of what I see is happening in their country. These two students have excellent English, so it was wonderful to get their views of their home culture.
One of the things we talked about was the influx of modernism. Chinese society is a communist one not capitalistic. Choices are made for the totality of the nation - the common good - not for the individual. Modernism endores free-will and variety; two values that are antithetical to China. I think China has a 1950's American innocence, a 1970's American cultural transformation and a 1990's American technological advancement. What is going to happen to China no one can see. But I am here to be a witness and a guide to those who need help navigating these waters.
Number of views as of this blog entry: 551. It Happened AgainSo I'm walking to my room to enjoy the afternoon and Robb says, "They want us at the tug-of-war now!" So we again dropped everything and began walking towards the library where the competition is. We're not but 200 feet from our apartments and we see a van pull in front of us. The department actually sent us a vehicle! I was floored.
So we arrive to find out that it is the semi-finals. The tug-of-war (bá hé in Chinese) opponents are the Art Department and the Biology Department. The Art Dept. was up first and we won 2 out of 3. Boy, was it rough! I was actually out of breath. However, the Biology Dept. must have been drinking some sort of energy mojo because we lost the first two matches. Oh well, I had fun anyway.
Queen, the Foreign Language Department's dean, invited us to a celebration banquet. So we arrived at Cafeteria #3 and enjoyed a meal with the other teachers. They told us we placed 3rd (way to go Bronze!). Last year they placed 4th, so it was a move up. At the banquet they were convinced we would get 1st next year. I guess I need to keep working out more.
I took more pics of the tug-of-war today, too. See the album "Tug-Of-War (Day 2)".
Number of views as of this blog entry: 551. 11月29日 Heave! Ho!China never ceases to amaze me! I got a call yesterday around 12:00 PM. A student said that I should bring three other foreign teachers to the tug-of-war in front of the library. I was like, "What!? You're kidding!" But she wasn't.
So I roped up Robb, Wu and Jeweliann (with Sarah & Josiah in tow) to join me in the festivities. Apparently, each university division had teachers participating. There was the Department of History, Chinese Education, Psychology, Librarian Studies, Physical Education, Mathematics, Science and Foreign Language (I think I left a few out). Together we pulled and tugged for the prize of being called the winner. Unlike Americans, I think the Chinese did it for fun. Americans are only considered about being the winner. Rumor has it we're doing it again tomorrow. See the album "Tug-Of-War".
Number of views as of this blog entry: 533. 11月28日 Classroom AnticsFor the Freshman Oral lesson this week, we talked about illnesses and injuries. We talked about the differences between the two and English phrases you would use to show concern. I lined up the class into two lines. One half had slips of paper with different illnesses ("I am in pain."), injuries ("I sprained my wrist."), and treatments ("You should go to the doctor."). The other half would respond to what was read and differentiate between the three categories.
The first thing that was funny was the last student reading her prompts. I stood at the end of the line checking on the English spoken. Well, her prompts were: "I have a headache."; "I have chest pains."; and "I broke my leg." With each passing student, she read these same prompts. And I started giggling. With each switch, she reread them and I started laughing. Toward the end of her reading these eleven times, I was bustin' up.
Well, she had one more student to go. She read her prompts to which the student responded, "Congratulations!" I just lost it. I was crying in class. It was so awesome!
Number of views as of this blog entry: 522. I Was Trippin' This WeekendThe team went north to Changchun and celebrated Turkey Day with the other teachers in the province. There was about 30-40 fellow teachers present. We had a good time of fellowship and had some great food. It was Thanksgiving meal number 3. I say the first one was here in Siping, the second one was at McDonald's on Friday night (mmm, double cheeseburger) and the third one was at the host school. See the album "Chángchūn Thanksgiving".
The main mode of transportation is the train. We took a bus there and a train back. It was my first time to travel the countryside. I was amazed at how (at least northeast China anyway) the countryside reminded me of the Dakotas - flat, very few hills, and dispersed fields of cattle and corn.
Number of views as of this entry: 501. 11月24日 Happy ThanksgivingI had a most excellent meal! We had the works - complete with chocolate brownies. It was amazing. I am so stuffed while writing this. If I were a turkey, you could stick a fork in me because I'm done. I made "angel-ed" eggs (we were not allowed to say "devil-ed" eggs in my house as a kid - thanks, Mom) and mac-n-cheese (one with and one without tuna).
A couple of the pictures shows some of the other foreigners in the building. Across the hall I have two different sets of neighbors: one set is three college students (all ladies) from Russia and the other set is a married couple from Japan. Both sets are here to learn Chinese at the univeristy.
Tomorrow the team heads off to Changchun to celebrate some more. We're going to have McDonald's for supper - YES!!! To my fellow Americans, Happy Thanksgiving!
Number of views as of this blog entry: 491. Gobble, gobble!Today is my first Thanksgiving in China! This week we taught our students about this holiday and the significance of it in US history. Our lesson was about the Puritans and the Indians. I taught about the importance of Americans giving thanks to God, family, friends and country. I then talked about different American foods that are traditional on Thanksgiving and showed some really yummy pictures. Tonight my team will have a Thanksgiving dinner. And I'm saving up. I've only eaten a little breakfast and I'm not going to eat lunch. At supper time, I'm gonna chow down. Rumor has it we'll have mashed potatoes, corn, rolls, mac-n-cheese, green bean cassorole and turkey legs (we found no whole turkey in Siping). Below are some of the pictures I showed my students. During the lesson today, I got really hungry! After tonight's dinner, I'll post pics of our meal. The album will be called "Turkey Time!". Number of views as of this blog entry: 488. 11月23日 Can You Feel the Cold?The temperature in Siping is getting cold. It's been around a high of 35 to a low of 19 F. And as of right now, it's 28 F. Most Chinese who see me in a) a short sleeve shirt, b) a light fleece, or c) shorts are always concerned if I'm cold. People, I love the cold! That is why I wanted to go north of the Yangtze!
So you may wonder how we get heat. Well, every building on campus is heated by coal. The coal will keep us warm all winter. Each building has the old radiator/furnance type heaters that are coils along or inside the walls. (I don't know their exact name.) In my apartment, I also have an AC/Heater unit in my bedroom and living room. This is an additional heating source. I rarely use it as the furnances are okay. Often, I get so hot I open the window for cold air. I love it!
I took pictures of the coal (acutally Jonny helped me) and pictures of the furnances in my room and in the classrooms. See the album "Heat Me!"
Number of views as of this blog entry: 480. 11月20日 President Bush in ChinaIf you've read the news lately, you know that President Bush has been in Asia recently. He arrived yesterday in Beijing and attended church services this morning. The article link below explains and comments on a few of the issues facing my two "home" countries. Bush brings human rights message to China - Asia-Pacific - MSNBC.com. Number of views as of this blog entry: 456. 11月19日 Shawn WilderomSome of you have had the distinct pleasure of meeting Shawn Wilderom. Some of you have not and for that you are forever ashamed! However, for all those enlightened ones who know him as counselor, friend, organizer-of-Freedom-Bowl, lover-of-the-Sooners or eater-of-all-food-in-sight, let it be known that he called me tonight (his morning). I didn't want him to feel left out of my blog, so here is his name mentioned (actually repeatedly mentioned).
Shawn Wilderom Shawn Wilderom
Shawn Wilderom Shawn Wilderom
Shawn Wilderom Shawn Wilderom
Shawn Wilderom Shawn Wilderom
Shawn Wilderom Shawn Wilderom
Don't ask me why I just did all that!
 Number of views as of this blog entry: 440. 11月17日 Mid-Terms Are FinishedToday concluded Mid-Terms for our Freshman and Sophomore students. All of us foreign teachers are on a 16-week contract for teaching. We decided that our tenth week was reserved for Mid-Terms. I think most of our students survived, though I heard a few crashed and burned. Rumors flew of some cheating, but nothing seemed to be confirmed. Cell phones were confiscated due to possible use during test time (such as text messaging). Yet, again, nothing confirmed. My students did fine (in terms of honesty). As to the test scores...well...that's another matter.
In the pictures, you'll see that I placed some of them in rows to avoid cheating. My Freshman Oral class had dialogues to write with a partner along with a two-pager test and map to draw (to practice giving directions in English). My Freshman Writing class had three pages which include sentence labeling, paragraph structuring, editing marks and plagiarism. See the album "Fall Mid-Terms".
Number of views as of this blog entry: 412. Bad Grades? Go Stand at the Street Corner!I thought the following story was the best. More parents should be creative and pro-active like this. Go Oklahoma! Poor student forced to stand on corner - U.S. Life - MSNBC.com Josiah, maybe you're next! (Mwa, ha, ha) Number of views as of this blog entry: 403. Bird's Eye ViewI added some pictures of what I see every morning when I look outside my apartment. See the album "Welcome to My World". Number of views as of this blog entry: 401. 11月16日 Weightlifting with WuJonny and I started lifting weights in the gym. It is about a 20 minute walk across campus to get there. The gym has a basketball court, a ping pong area, dance rooms (like for ballet), marching rooms (for drills), a small running track and a weight room. The gym is two stories high and fairly large. The weight room has a total of twelve stations to exericse. What is most funny about our experience here is the fact that there are women (I assume employees of the university) who just sit in the weight room. They simply talk while crocheting. Wild, huh? Wu calls them our "spotters on hand." One of them did help Wu find a pin to lock the weight! See the album "Weightlifting with Wu". Number of views as of this blog entry: 380. 11月15日 English NewsI received this article via the ZGBriefs. I found it highly informative.
English Teaching Booming in China (November 9, 2005, Shanghai Daily) Revenue at the New Oriental School, China’s biggest English training institute, is expected to rise by US$90 million by the end of this year, up 20 percent compared with last year, Xinhua news agency reported, citing Yu Minhong, the president of the school. Yu said by 2010, the school may expand to all Chinese cities with a population of 500,000. The school today teaches 800,000 students in 20 cities. English education is booming in China, with more and more Chinese spending more money and time on studying English. It has become a new industry in China. A Swedish school, EF Education, set up its first English learning institute in China in 2000 and regards China as its biggest market of English education. The school offers English training for adults as well as children. Another English training organization – English First – has opened more than 70 schools in 28 provinces in China. Wall Street English has 13,000 students in China and is expected to earn US$27 million by the end of this year, up 29 percent on last year. The school’s CEO said China would be its biggest market in three years.
Number of views as of this blog entry: 357. 11月12日 On Ketchup and ChinaI went to the local Hengkelong and was doing some grocery shopping. On the 2nd floor, I stopped to get some ketchup. There was a fellow shopper standing in front of it, so I was waiting for her to move so I could get it. However, one of the workers grabbed a bottle for me and handed it to me. I was amazed that she knew that was what I wanted. I have to assume that she's seen me buy that before and she knew what I wanted.
In stores, there are often employees assigned to an aisle. They literally stand there waiting to help and don't move unless called upon. Some stores actually have employees that follow you from aisle to aisle. It's much different than in the US. You have to practically scream like an angry toddler, lie prostrate in apple juice, or do jumping jacks in speedos before someone in a US store will look at you, much less help you. But here, not only did she know the product that I wanted but she also picked out the right one (there are two brands of ketchup in the store) AND she smiled in the process. I am learning not to underestimate the Chinese. My New JourneyBeing here in China has provided a lot of new challenges. The most difficult one that I knew that I would encounter was the language barrier. As a group of foreign teachers, we do meet twice a week for one hour for lessons. But for me, I don't think it is enough nor does it meet what I really want (i.e., to learn the characters and how to write them).
I had a student come by to visit today. All my students are English majors. Her roommate is a Chinese culture major. They both have a young man as a friend and he's an Art major (painting). So all three came over to talk and stuff. I was blessed with a gift by my student. She bought me a Chinese map (all in Chinese). I love it. It will definitely help me to learn the characters.
Anyway, I was sharing with them some of the challenges of the Chinese language. I was also showing them some books that I had bought to learn. What is funny about these books is that the books are for children, but they'll be useful to me since I'm just starting out. Either the three students were sympathetic to my cause or felt compelled to help the foreign teacher. So next week I start private tutoring with the three. It's a trade off as well. I'll teach them English here and there, but the goal is for me to get some Chinese under my belt. The real journey here begins. TabooIf you've ever played Taboo then you know how much fun it can be. It is a word game much like Password or 20 Questions. You have one minute to get your team to guess as many different words as you can. Each word is on a card that lists five additional words you cannot say. For example, if you want your team to say "Easter", you cannot say holiday, bunny, eggs, Christian or basket. This game is the best.
So anyway, my team lost by 10 points, which was cool. But the best part was my last turn. I was in the zone. Up to this point in the game, two different people had gotten 6 cards in one minute. This is really good. Well, I was getting psyched up and pulled 8 points. I want to share with you this event.
Card #1: Easter (Cannot say holiday, bunny, eggs, Christian, basket)
Someone on the other team had just described the word resurrection, so I referred to their card by saying "the last card about Jesus" and my team guessed "Easter."
Card #2: Catalog (Cannot say shop, order, merchandise, buy, mail)
Rachel had talked about a JCPenney catalog item, so I said "JCPenney has one of these" and my team guessed "Catalog."
Card #3: University (Cannot say degree, campus, professor, college, school)
On this one, all I said was, "We teach at one." My team quickly got it.
Card #4: Band-Aid (Cannot say gauze, cover, boo-boo, cut, plastic)
I looked at David and said, "When your daughter Sarah gets hurt, she calls it a (blank, blank)." They guessed "boo-boo" then I said, "This is what you put on it." Next!
Card #5: Plagiarism (Cannot say copy, steal, credit, word, ideas)
This one came easy. For our Freshman Writing, our first lesson was on plagiarism since the Chinese often do not understand this concept as we in the West know it. Here I simply said, "This was the topic of our first Freshman Writing lesson."
Card #6: Thanksgiving (Cannot say turkey, holiday, pilgrims, November, eat)
This day is only two weeks away. Plus, all week we've been making plans to go to Changchun for Thanksgiving to be with other teachers. So all I said here was, "We are celebrating this in two weeks in Changchun." Number 6 down!
Card #7: Toy (Cannot say play, children, game, kids, fun)
All I said was, "(Blank) Story." And they got it. It was awesome! Thanks Woody!
Card #8: Beaver (Cannot say leave, Wally, animal, dam, teeth)
So I said, "(Blank) It To (Blank)." Then I said it was an old television show. Score my 8th point.
Needless to say, I was so stoked about this score that I stole the cards and am now typing them in my blog just so everyone can know that I rocked the house in that one minute! I was like in the zone. I was actually shaking at the end of it all.
Note: And if you're really bored, then check out this guy who has a psychotic passion for Taboo: http://www.monzy.org/taboo. 11月11日 Brazilian BBQCan you believe that here in Siping there is a Brazilian BBQ restaurant? It is complete with a dance floor, food buffet, strobe lights, the works! The team ate there tonight along with another group of teachers who came to visit us from Changchun (about 1 1/2 hours away to the north), the captial of Jilin province. The food is good as they actually had pasta, spaghetti, and potato salad among other various appetizing dishes. There was a group of 20 of us, so we ate until our hearts were content.
What is interesting about this place is that they bring the meat out to you skewered. Your meat is actually stabbed with a knife/machete which the waiters (who are dressed in Brazilian garb) serve to you at the table. They brought us about 10-12 different kinds of meat, not to mention the huge buffet with salads, breads, fruits and veggies. See the album "BBQ for You". 11月10日 Happy Birthday Jeweliann!Jeweliann had her birthday yesterday, so I just got around to posting the pics. We had a Chinese cake which, needless to say, was different. Rachel made cheesecake brownies (which were awesome!). We were meaning to surprise her while David took her out, but she walked in on us decorating - oh well. I made the cheesy black-markered-on-white-sheets-of-taped-up-banner-looking birthday sign. See the album "Jewel's B'day". |
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