Super Education!

As I have mentioned more than a few times, my job here in China isn't too taxing. In fact on most days, it is pretty enjoyable. Awhile back, Steve, one of the Chinese English teachers told me that he had a contact that worked for an English education company and was looking for a foreign teacher. He said it was only for a few hours a week, so I told him I was interested. So I went downtown for a meeting with the director of Super Education, the company. The meeting was like most meetings or business dealings in China. Which means the Chinese were passive aggressive when making requests and concessions, very reluctant to give out necessary information, and egregiously talkative and thus inefficient. Luckily I had been through a few meetings here, so I knew to hold my tongue and not back down on anything important. My job was to work with the staff at a factory to improve their oral English. I was given a book, although I would soon realize it's inadequacy for the course. So, with a not so great book, I headed off to the job (I hope you are picking up on the 'sparse directions and information' theme).
I have been teaching this class for a few weeks now, and it has turned out to be pretty enjoyable and occasionally very interesting. I am working with 5-10 upper level employees at a factory of Modine Manufacturing, which is an American company making heat transfer devices. At this factory they make radiators and some other device for Korean and Chinese car manufacturers. Because all of the people I teach have graduated college, I ditched the middle school level English book halfway through the first course. Essentially, they all just want to practice listening to a native speaker, but I know this is of little benefit, so I do my best to balance my speaking with group discussion. Every class we usually discuss one or two articles I find from the Internet, or go over some idiom lists I give them (which they really like). They are all really kind and respectful, and have even poked fun at me a few times. Considering that they are staying an hour after work to participate in the class, I do my best to make it interesting and engaging. I am also getting a much better understanding of political commentary (much less political satire) programs aren't that popular in China. Because there is only one party, and free press and political dissidence aren't exactly encouraged here, most of the employees share the same opinion on political and social issues. On the other hand, because I have absolutely free reign over subjects in this class, I have been able to gain some of their opinions on some issues deemed too sensitive for the classroom. I was able to weasel my way around the question of whether Taiwan is its own country today by saying that it was a complicated issue and that I needed to know more to make a firm statement, adding, though, that I was taught in the U.S. that it is its own country and kind of leaving it at that. It has been a really nice also to teach mature adults, and be able to discuss some things (romance, relationships, etc.) without getting giggles (well still a few I guess) and to have them interested in things like politics and economics.
This job has also featured one very adventurous aspect, the journey. The factory is all the way on the other side of town (remember: city of 2.5 million), so Super Education has arranged for a car to take me to and from the factory. Private cars, this is the life of a "foreign expert" in Changzhou. My first driver had a sort of menacing scar all the way across one of his cheeks, so as we stopped on the side of a busy street I didn't ask any questions. Well, it was only to give a motorcycle driver we had been following some money. Apparently my driver didn't know the way, so he paid the motorcycle driver to guide us. I admired his resourcefulness. The next week, with the same driver, on the way home, we stopped at an intersection next to a motley looking crew of men standing next to their motorcycles. My driver rolled down the window and handed out a considerable wad of cash to a member of the motley crew. We then continued home. Now, this errand didn't really bother me, except for the small (and crazy) idea that maybe that cash was the ransom from the last unsuspecting foreigner they kidnapped. Luckily, my worst case scenario was wrong at all was fine. Last week, I got a text while teaching that a new driver would be picking me up, and there he was as I left the factory. So far, so good. Well, immediately upon getting in, he started speaking much faster than I can, and with a lot more words than I have written down in my learning Chinese notebook. Eventually, I was able to kind of tell him where I live. So he pumped the Chinese techno up and lit a cigarette. Now, unlike every taxi driver I have encountered, he actually didn't know where my school was, so I gave him turn by turn instructions (luckily I had paid some attention in earlier rides). My real problem here is that the company I am working for arranged this driver, but apparently didn't tell him where he was going. I would generally assume that if a driver is hired to take someone from A to B, he might want to know where B is...but maybe that's a bold assumption. As we are just a short distance from the university, the real adventure begins. Instead of going where I recommended, he opts for a dirt road into a large field. We pass two construction trucks as we head down this road (albeit in the direction of the school) until we reach the end of it at a massive gravel pile where a Caterpillar is loading a dump truck. Needless to say this was not a through route, but rather a large construction site. So we take the uber-bumpy road back and eventually he takes the turns I suggest and we arrive back at the school. So, I wait in anticipation to see what adventures the ride to and from this part time job will bring next week!

Nanjing

The weekend before last I took off early Friday morning with Dave and Danthemanstan to head to Nanjing. Nanjing is the capital of the Jiangsu province (where Changzhou is located) and just a short train trip away. It's a city of 7 million, and the name Nanjing means 'Southern capital', for those wondering, yes Beijing means 'Northern capital'. Nanjing has had a pretty important role in the ancient and recent history of China, so we figured it would be a good place to visit. Danthemanstan had taken the initiative to book a hotel with the help of Teddy (our advisor). So we made it off the train, through the subway (only one line-thus a 50% chance of making the right decision!), and in a short walk we were ready to check in, drop our bags and hit the city. Well, the hotel receptionist didn't exactly see it that way. Apparently we needed our passports to check in, well none of us were carrying them. Now, Dave and I have done a fair amount of traveling so far; not once needing our passports. They wouldn't accept a copy of Dave's passport, they scoffed at Danthemanstan's driver's license and my foreign resident certificate wasn't good enough. Now, this certificate is issued by the Chinese government and has about all the information I would ever want, but apparently they needed to see our visas. I am not aware that China is having a big problem with American refugees, but this hotel was doing its part to make sure the problem doesn't start.

So, bags in hand, we headed to see some sites. Our first visit was to take a boat ride through some of historic homes and the old town of Nanjing. We soon discovered that the boat ride must be more popular in the summer. The three of us were accompanied on a cold and grey boat ride by the driver, the tour guide and someone who seemed to be a friend of the driver. After describing two of the items, the tour guide realized how useless her information was and left us with peace and quiet. For the record, I don't recommend the boat tour in Nanjing, unless of course you speak Chinese and are interested in the backs of famous old buildings. The highlight of the morning was instead the item featured in the picture. Now I had seen people eating these mysterious red balls on a stick everywhere. So Dave and I tried them. They turned out to be a small fruit covered in a red sugary coating. Now the fruit was unknown to us, being the size of a large grape, having the consistency of an apple, but being much more sour. Well it turns out the food is called tang hu lu, and is candied hawthorn fruit. It was my first candied hawthorn, and probably my last.

The next site was much more impressive. We made our way up the large hill that overlooks the city and got some really good views of the city, the growing Chinese economy provided a bit of smog as well. We also visited the Mausoleum of Sun Yat Sen, who is the father of modern China and led China in the early 1900s after imperial rule and before its civil war. The tomb is at the top of a very impressive staircase surrounded by beautiful gardens and forests. We capped our day off with some of the best food I have had in a while. Danthemanstan had heard of an French restaurant in town, run by actual French people as a side project while living in China for business. Now, don't get me wrong, the food here is great, I have always found something good to eat, and even enjoy the cafeteria food which my students despise. But this food was very delicious and featured cheese, something which does not exist (at all) in Chinese food. The restaurant was very nice, very French, and will be worth visiting again if I am back in Nanjing.

Luckily, Dave was able to contact one of the students from our school who is from Nanjing, who let us stay at his apartment. Robin, (his English name) and his family obviously have a little bit of money, as this was his own apartment. Some of the other more well off students have the same set-up; where their parents will buy them their own small apartment to hang out and host parties, etc. It was a step down from a hotel though, as Dave and I shared a bed and small blanket and Danthemanstan had the couch, although no blanket in the unheated apartment. While waiting for Robin to get back from the other side of the city (remember it's bigger than Chicago) we went to a bar he recommended. Normally it is a popular bar with foreigners, but we were in for a special treat. We were able to enjoy metal night at the bar. The big feature was Corrupt Absolute, an American heavy metal band!!! It reminded me again very clearly why I have never listened to heavy metal, and have no plans to do so in the future. They did have some very dedicated, head banging fans, all 7 of them.

In the morning we headed to the Nanjing Massacre/Rape of Nanjing memorial museum. China was in a civil war from 1927-1950, resulting from the Nationalists (Kuomintang) and the Communists both trying to control the country after the fall of imperial rule in 1911. In 1937, Japan used the civil war (and some complicated sea hostilities) as an opportunity to attack China. They were having lots of success, and Nanjing was an important city to take. They took the city in late 1937. For reasons essentially unknown, but often opined about, the Japanese stayed in the city for about two months and killed around 300,000 people, mostly civilians. Rape, torture, and looting also occurred in great numbers. The museum is dedicated to this incident. I thought it was very well done, sometimes a bit tedious, but very, very interesting. There is a very anti-Japanese sentiment in the whole museum, mainly stemming from Japan's tendency to down play or even outright deny the incident. I think it is pretty sad that even in this day there are still factions (albeit very minor) of the Japanese government that deny the event. I do think some of the anti-Japanese sentiment also comes from intense Chinese nationalism, and the incredibly tense and complicated Sino-Japanese relations. The last place we visited was a gate on the city wall, which was really cool. It was quite a structure, built originally in the 1300s. I don't know how this city could've ever been attacked without modern explosives, and judging by the great condition of the wall and gate, it wasn't. In the end it was a great trip to Nanjing, and next time we will bring our passports.

Mid Term Review

A few weeks ago, we had a mid term review with some of the higher-ups in the English department, which was a fairly interesting meeting. It was just quite different than meetings in the US. But I mention that because I have written a lot about the travels and 'special' or 'interesting' experiences in which I have taken part, but have written very little about my actual job. So I will attempt to give an overview as well as some interesting tidbits.
First of all, just for the record, my first job out of college is as a 'Foreign Expert', a title which will probably take me some time back home to ascertain. I teach 8 classes a week, each of which is two hours. All of my classes are titled 'Oral English.' That's about all the instruction I received. The book which I was given isn't bad, but a little outdated and basic. So I made a rough syllabus based on the themes in the book and headed to class.

After a few weeks in class I realized that the class description (albeit sparse) was pretty much what the school wants me to do, and what the students really need. That is, to improve their spoken English. So, for the most part, I find activities from some of the various ESL websites and try to get my students to talk and maybe even use the vocabulary I teach them. Now, this is much harder than it sounds for one main reason. Chinese students are incredibly shy. I mean incredibly shy. This comes partially from the Confucian teaching method of accepting everything which the teacher says as fact and not asking questions (which is actually not quite what I think Confucius wanted). To almost all of my students, asking a question would be to disrespect the teacher. Additionally, in the Chinese culture, personal embarrassment or 'losing face' is about the worst possible thing one can suffer. I think this is also true in Japanese culture. What this means is, students will not answer a question in fear of being wrong, will not speak in front of the class in fear of being embarrassed, will not attempt to construct a new sentence in fear of being wrong, will not express an alternative viewpoint in fear of being different (and thus embarrassed). The list goes on. So, I do my best to put them in small groups and give them hypothetical or outlandish situations so that they can act like what they say isn't their own opinion.

I think that my classes this semester have gone pretty well, and I have enjoyed teaching immensely. I encouraged all my students to email me with any questions or comments. There have been a few students who have commented positively on my class and the variety of activities and that most activities are interesting. There are two main complaints; that I am too strict and that I don't let them leave early. The first day of class I told them that I only had one rule: English only, only English. I reminded them kindly the first few weeks, but they could not seem to shake the habit. So, whenever I hear Chinese, I write the students name on the board and then after class assign them a short essay explaining to me why they spoke Chinese. The reason I don't allow Chinese is not to be harsh or mean (as my students think) but because switching back to one's native language (even just for a word or two) really hinders any chance at becoming fluent. More importantly, if one of them actually has to speak with an English speaker, dropping some Chinese words in the sentence will only hurt the communication. So, apparently my attempt to help them makes me strict, and that's just fine with me. As for the leaving class early complaint, I guess some other foreign teachers often let them leave early. I of course, can't stand injustice, so I wouldn't think of cheating them out of the minutes in class for which their hard earned tuition dollars pay. Even with that explanation they still want to leave early. Tough luck for them I say, because I am getting paid to teach (for 2 hours each class) and I intend to do my job.

As for where all this learning goes on, it isn't quite the plush, wired classrooms I enjoyed at TU. My teaching materials include chalk and a black board. That's it (but in some rooms there is colored chalk). Most of my classrooms have desks and stools, yes just stools, the luxury of a chair back is far too much for students spending 30 hours a week in class. The classrooms are of course not heated, so most of my students are now in coats, scarfs, and fold down mittens or fingerless gloves. Now the school is building a giant ten story library, so the funding for massive capital projects is easy to come by, but apparently heating for the classrooms is an egregious expense. So far it hasn't been too cold and I haven't yet had to wear a coat, gloves, or a hat to my classes, but I am quite glad I brought all my sweaters.

Trip to Wuzhen

The weekend before last, I set out on another weekend trip. This time the destination was Wuzhen, a water village in Zhejiang province, just south of Xihu (West Lake). Along with me on the trip were David and Daniel (who we call Danthemanstan...to only small protests). The journey there was smooth, although my chronic tardiness almost made us late for the bus, but we rolled through the gate with just enough time. We knew that Wuzhen was to be a bit touristy, and all this was confirmed by the swarm of ricksha drivers offering us a ride to the center of town. We opted to walk, and as we were checking out a statue in a park, (honoring the 'people' working of course) a particularly persistent ricksha driver was harassing David. I guess that is one of the downfalls for David learning faster than the rest of us. But eventually she promised cheap lodging, so into the ricksha we went. The first place was a bust and the second one looked way out of our (desired) price range. The prominently displayed price sign said 560Y for a triple room, but after many doubt filled exchanges, the woman was true to her word and it was only 60Y per person. And the ricksha ride was free. How the hotel made money on less than a third of the posted price, and paid aforementioned ricksha driver her finder's fee, is something I don't know. But then again, three full beds bring in a lot more money than empty ones. It's funny to see full out, bare bones market economics in work in the great "communist" country.

The town was a lot like the many other villages I have visited. It's set on a canal, and the old town along the canal is much of what you may envision on a postcard. But, the rest of the town just looks a lot like developing China; fairly dirty, cramped, uber-commercialized, and hectic. Yet, for me, walking these streets and seeing modern development in progress as well as the occasional shop or home untouched by development is very interesting. Because it is just a short bus ride from Shanghai, it is pretty expensive compared to similar towns a little farther from the coast. It also meant that Sunday featured a deluge of day tourists, complete with the mic and mini-speaker wielding tour guides. We visited the ancient bed museum, now I've never really found beds that interesting, and the museum sure didn't change my mind. But, while there, Danthemanstan pointed out a well marked exit to me (see picture on right). Initially, I could just see the sign, but after seeing the actual exit I realized the source of his amusement. I guess we will also need a saw and bolt cutters in case of an emergency.

The one really sad thing which happened in the trip was that I lost my faith in the honesty of the small businessman. Maybe I had just been lucky, or naive, or both with my belief that the shop and restaurant owners were all fair and helpful to us foreigners. We selected an especially rustic and unmarked restaurant for dinner Saturday, as they usually have great food at the lowest prices. We four mainly vegetable dishes, a good amount of rice, and tiny glasses of yellow wine (which tasted like it belongs in a lawn mower engine). I guessed the dinner was maybe 30-40Y, but possibly cheaper. When the woman told us how much it cost, Dave and I both thought we misunderstood, and asked again. No, we heard correctly, she had said 120Y. We were a bit outraged but really more amused. Not even Dave has learned the Chinese to debate this, so he called the always reliable Steve. Well, he got them down to 80Y, so we paid and left without even murmuring xie xie (thank you). Now granted, it was only a difference of about $11 between what we saw as reasonable and what they asked. So it was much more of a principle thing; and now we all know to get a price before ordering up or stick to the restaurants kind enough to post prices. The trip back even provided some entertainment when our minibus' brakes heated up and the driver's ill advised fix (pouring water on the overheated brakes) actually locked the wheel up. But another bus snatched us in less than 15 minutes and we were on our way.
**Note: all of my pictures can be found in my Picasa gallery, link to the right.

Sports Meet

A few weeks ago, in one of the many emails I receive from my students, a student mentioned that she was spending much of her time preparing for the school sports meeting. This piqued my interest so I asked her about it in class and was elated to hear that there was a competition for the teachers as well. Now, I haven't really been all that active here, as I have been lazy in figuring out the particulars of the gym on campus and haven't yet found a group of guys with which to play basketball or soccer/football. Additionally, even in high school when in peak physical condition, I was still pretty slow (in sprint AND distance races). But, I love competition, and from playing in the basketball tournament, know that there are only so many young and fit teachers. So I asked around and eventually got a call from Connie, one of the assistants in the Foreign Language department. I signed up for the 200 and 400. Although I was tempted to sign up for the 'solid sphere push' based solely on its title, which was quite the awkward translation of shot put.

It started early Friday morning with the opening ceremony. As if we didn't stand out already, Dave and I were the only two teachers not wearing suits. Because we weren't specifically invited to the ceremony, we didn't know the dress code, and instead wore the school track suit, which we both acquired from seniors 'too cool' for the uniform. For me the highlight of the ceremony was the human dragon performance, which confirmed yet another long held image/stereotype of China.

My first race was later that morning. It was the 400, in which Dave would also run. But, as they announced the heats, our student helper/translator told us we were in different heats. David won the second heat by a small margin over the second and third place runners. He ran it in 60 or 61 seconds, which I thought would be faster than I could run, so I lined up to do my best. Well, as I came around the last turn, I was all alone, and couldn't hear anyone near me. As I came to the finish well ahead of the rest, I did my best attempt at a Usain Bolt look and turn. Unfortunately, I was put into the slow heat, so I ended up getting fifth overall, guess I should have run a bit harder. Dave represented the red, white, and blue though, as he won overall. Bryan, who took part in the darts, just couldn't get into the groove at 8 in the morning, especially without a beer in the other hand, and didn't make the finals.

Well, they put me in the fast heat of the 200 on Saturday. This time though, I was in the wrong heat. I really underestimated the quickness of the other teachers, although this time the PE teachers were allowed to participate (unlike the basketball tournament). I finished third in my heat, and by a pretty good margin. Overall, I did make the announcements (barely), finishing sixth out of twenty odd contestants. Dave, who has been running every day (and in doing so started a sort of running/fan club), took first in the 800, and set a new faculty record. After watching most of the races, we realized that the Chinese sprint as far as they can in every race, regardless of distance. So they tend to be easily beaten by a well paced runner.

In chatting with a few of my students, a few of them claimed to be running in the 20x50. Now, I had seen a few non-traditional events: balance a tennis ball on a ping pong racket while running, the human train race-each runner holds the left leg of the person behind him, and the four legged race (with three people). But a twenty person relay? Then they told me there was a baton exchange in said race, it just sounded too crazy. Alas, it was true, and very exciting to watch. It was run like a shuttle relay, with ten people in each line. There was even a small pole to prevent early baton passes. After some thought, it's a great event for China, I mean how else can 1.3 billion people participate.

Hiking Trip

The weekend before last saw me embark on yet another short adventure. This one promised to be much easier for one big reason: I was traveling with some locals. I went on the trip with Dave, Cao Xingxing, and Qin Chen (the second two are obviously Chinese). Xingxing has been one of the coolest and most helpful people I have met here. She is a senior Business English major, and I met her because she is also the student assistant to Teddy (our advisor) and to Teddy's boss. She is always eager to help with shopping, translating, or about anything else. Well, she and some of her friends and their boyfriends were planning a trip and invited me and Dave. Then, in typical Chinese fashion, all the boys (who are all the same major) had something (meeting, test, immunization, military training, practice test, (I didn't ask, but those are all plausible possibilities)) come up, so they couldn't come on the trip. This caused two of the girls to also bail. So it ended up just being four of us, which of course didn't really affect me or Dave. So we took the midnight train south to Anhui province. I was unexpectedly able to practice my Spanish for my first time with a group of Mexicans. They were exchange students studying in Shanghai and headed to Huangshan (the mountain I visited last month). They were eager to chat, as they were enduring the overnight train by making it a booze cruise.

Once we arrived, the trip was up and running. After a quick change in the delightful (insert considerable sarcasm) Jixi train station rest room, we made our way through town to the bus station. Our bus took us as far as the bridge construction, which we passed on foot, and then loaded another bus. This is what a detour is in semi-developed China, a short walk across a cement beam crossing a not so shallow river. We soon made it to the trail and had a wonderful day of hiking. The scenery was gorgeous, the air clean (a rare occurrence in the Yangzi River Delta), the weather nice and cool, and Xingxing and QinChen were lots of fun to talk with; we learned some Chinese and they some English. Like always in China, there were some other tourists on the trail, but they were so few that almost every corner provided an amazing and gorgeous view.

We spent the night in a delightful little family hotel, which was genuinely 'in the the middle of nowhere'. The food was delicious, the beds comfortable, and it was a great stay. The outhouse, though, did fall in line with the normal quality of Chinese restrooms, and was just a little dirtier than the one I remember from Boy Scout camp. I went out and sat around a small campfire with some of the other patrons after dinner. They were playing some sort of mafia (find the killer) game...needless to say I didn't follow, or even think of participating.

The walk down was a great time as well, after a breakfast of rice porridge (yes they eat rice at every meal) and hard boiled eggs (which are uber-popular here). One of the best parts was a walk through a small village. It was also a walk back a few hundred years. There were pigs in the bottom floors of many of the houses, as well as one taking a stroll down the street. An old women was sitting on a wooden stool cracking chestnuts by hand in a very primitive nutcracker. I entered, and in my best Chinese and hand gestures, asked if I could try cracking a nut or two. She smiled and laughed, but told the girls that I couldn't because it was her job and needed to maintain quality. Apparently the tourism revenue isn't making back to her household. Another women was washing clothes in the roadside canal/trough, which also seemed to serve as a trash can/sink in other parts of the village; but she didn't seem to mind.
This completed the trip, and after the town we took a bus to Hangzhou, the capital city of Zhejiang, the province we had hiked into, and then back to Changzhou. I did make a never before made purchase while we waited for the bus. Two elderly women approached with baskets of nuts and fruits. Those items did not interest me, but the hot pepper sauce in a reused Coke bottle did, and I bought what turned out to be very good (and spicy) hot sauce. Only in China, right!

Poker Night

A few weeks ago I had the idea to have a poker night at my apartment. Because I have so much space and a really nice dining room table, I feel it would be a shame not to entertain. But let's be honest, I am not going to be hosting any cocktail parties or banquet dinners. So I thought that I'd bring poker night to Changzhou, a good guys only tradition. We have had three poker nights so far and I think they have gone very well, and it seems like everyone has enjoyed them. Chen Gang, from basketball tournament fame has come to two so far, and picked up Texas hold 'em pretty well, although so far he's just been giving money to us Americans. Dave and Danthemanstan have played each time and Danthemanstan is playing well enough to consider quitting his classes. Last week Jeff, a middle aged 'dude' from Reno joined in too. He teaches at another school in Changzhou, but some students from our school are teaching assistants at his school, so he was on campus for English and was a fun addition to the game. But by far the most entertaining attendee has been Steve. As you may remember, Steve is the English teacher who has made a significant effort to get to know all the foreign teachers and who has now had me (among others) to his house for dinner with his wife and son. Steve is a pretty funny and demonstrative guy to begin with, but poker really brings out his personality. He sees poker night as a chance to stick it to the 'foreign devils'. He loves the irony of being the one who most wants to win the money despite being raised in great Communist China. He finally hit success last night when he won a good amount of the money, and was proud to go home and show his wife his winnings.

My apartment

(above: walk in closet, bedroom, extra bedroom)

This post is long overdue, but I finally took my camera out of my desk and took some pictures of where I live. As I have previously alluded, I have pretty nice digs here. In fact, I have undeniably more space than ever before in my life. This was quite a surprise to me, as one of the major issues in Chinese cities is a lack of space or at least livable space. But not if one is a foreign teacher. While the male students pack eight into a room only a bit bigger than my bedroom, I seldom enter all the rooms in my apartment each day.
(left: dining room, right: family room)
My apartment has two floors, with two bedrooms upstairs and the kitchen, breakfast nook, laundry room, family room, and dining room. I have put up some decorations, so now all visitors are greeted by the American and Iowa flags, as well as a map of the great state. I've got pictures in the hallway and my room upstairs, and a map of China by my desk so I can always be planning my next trip. Hopefully all of these photos will help you get a better idea of where I live. (below: breakfast nook, kitchen, laundry room)


As I previously mentioned, more pictures can be found in my Picasa gallery. The link can be found in the links section at the top right of this page. I have added the links to the blogs of Dan and Dave as well as some web pages which have some more information on Changzhou, Jiangsu, and China. I also really enjoy reading the comments which everyone leaves, so please continue to leave them. Additionally, I will shamelessly promote Skype, which is a voice and video over the Internet program I use. It's very easy to download and once you have it you can call any other Skype user (like me) for free. Lastly, I would like to explain why my blogs have been sort of sparse the last two weeks. In reading my birthday present from my sister, "Made in America" by Bill Bryson I was motivated to learn a new keyboard. When the QWERTY keyboard was designed, it was made to be as slow as possible to prevent typewriter jams. So, when better typewriters came along, and then computers, a man named Dvorak designed an optimal keyboard for speed and comfort. But, as you can imagine, learning a completely new way to type when my mind and fingers have spent my whole life learning another has a long and slow learning curve. So, I am (for the moment) much less efficient with my emails and blog posts.

Suzhou

Last weekend I embarked on another adventure, but don't worry, I had a good idea of where I was going and what I would be doing. A few weeks earlier one of my students, Ben (or Yao Chen for those keeping score in Chinese) asked if I would like to visit his home if he went home for a weekend. I of course said yes; as Yao Chen is a guy and thus there is no miscommunication about 'relationship' expectations. Because he was busy with classes and I only work three days a week, he asked me to buy the tickets. I got the tickets for the right train (which is no small accomplishment, as you can't purchase them by pointing), but was surprised when we boarded the first class car. It was only five or six extra yuan, so I considered it a successful Chinese purchase.
The visit was an absolute pleasure. His apartment was very nice, exceptionally clean, and pretty modern. It consisted of a kitchen, combined living/dining room, his bedroom (full of Japanimation posters...like any Asian teenagers room should be), and his parents' room-with a porch for drying clothes. 'Goodbye' was all that I got in English from either of his parents, but all their body language and translated words were very gracious. Most of the weekend was spent going to the main attractions of Suzhou with Yao Chen. We went to Tiger Hill (hu qiu) an ancient emperor's garden and tomb with a really tall, beautiful pagoda temple. It even has this odd lean much like the tower of Piza (although not as dramatic). We also hit up the Humble Administrator's Garden (zhuozheng yuan), which was gorgeous and essentially what you think of when picturing a Chinese garden. We went to another garden and a Buddhist temple as well, which were both neat, but did lack in differentiation from previous gardens and temples.
There were two really neat and unique things which I was able to do on the trip. The first was to see the house in which Yao Chen grew up. As I said, his family's current apartment is very nice and modern. His dad is an engineer and his mom works in a department store, he has a laptop, so I think they are pretty wealthy for China. But, as he explained, his parents had to save a lot for the new apartment and his college fund. Well, they certainly didn't waste money on a house. Actually I think that the term 'collection of rooms would be much more appropriate. These rooms were within a two to three story structure (yes the number of levels varied around the building). There were many sets of rooms on each floor, connected by open air hallways, where the 'kitchens' were located. I write 'kitchen' because it consisted of no more than a wok or two and some baskets/shelves with food and pots and pans. The building surrounded a courtyard, where Yao Chen played as a child, which also included a well. This is where Yao Chen got his water when he was young; but (as the goldfish I saw indicated) the current residents now just buy water in five gallon containers (still no running water). Obviously, this sort of place was very different, primitive, and almost shocking for me. It's even crazier to think that someone who grew up here now plays W.O.W. on his laptop and has a camera phone. It really is representative of the type of change which China has seen over the last decade.
The second cool thing was to attend Yao Chen's grandmother's 70th birthday. Once again, being white and speaking English was my ticket to an amazing feast. As expected, none of his relatives spoke English, so I used the little Chinese I knew as best I could...even getting quite the response from his grandmother with my attempt at happy birthday. It really was pretty interesting seeing all the non-verbal communication of three generations of a family. And, in case you wondered, they do the cake, candles, and singing 'Happy Birthday' thing here too. They even make a wish before blowing out the candles.
One last anecdote from my trip to Suzhou is seen in the picture below. My Grammie (who lives in Hastings, NE) and Big XII football fans will be glad to know that the Huskers' logo has made its way to the Yangzi River Delta here in China. I could not resist having Yao Chen take a picture with such odd piece of apparel. How this shirt made its way to the shop I passed is a question with no less than a million plausible answers.

Photos

http://picasaweb.google.com/ken.j.ferrell

After some delay, I have put my act together and uploaded my pictures to the Internet. They can be found organized into albums on the website listed above (and below). I hope that you enjoy them. If you have questions, feel free to post them in the comments or make a comment on this blog.

http://picasaweb.google.com/ken.j.ferrell

Halloween Party

It certainly has been awhile since my last post, but no need to worry. I have been doing very well and actually staying fairly busy. Most of last week was occupied planning and preparing for a Halloween Party. The party was the brainchild of Bryan, another teacher here who is from Bartlesville, OK. With the help of a few students from the English club, we amassed huge amounts of candy, all the masks which the supermarket sold, more than a handful of prizes, and plenty of decorations. None of us had any experience with parties in China, and apparently all Chinese 'parties' here are just talent shows. We expected attendance anywhere between 50 and 5,000. Legitimately. Well, all in all the party was a success and it felt nice to use some of our comfortable salary to give back to the students. Many things were also learned for future parties. The candy was gone from the table in less than a minute (and there were thousands of pieces), so a more just distribution system is certainly needed. Despite a truly wonderful playlist, none of the students danced at all, save the group dances. But the Macarena, Chicken Dance, and Cupid Shuffle can only be done so many times. The party was advertised to start at 6:30...but the gym was pretty well packed by 5:45, which hurt some of our set-up and eliminated a few games from being set-up at all. Nonetheless, I had a great time at the party and think that most of the students did as well, and if nothing else, the four of us (Bryan, Dave, Danthemanstan, and I) are now even more famous and recognizable on campus. Of course, that isn't something I needed, but being popular and adored hasn't gotten old yet. The pictures included are from the party.

Lan qiu! (basketball tournament update)

Well, this past Monday was the last game for the English department. This was not true for all other teams, as there was (or still is) a playoff for the best teams from the round robin portion of the tournament. Needless to say that didn't include us. As of the last update we were 1-2. Well, I played much better in the next game, scored a lot of points, and had by far the most rebounds for our team. But the other team was very fast, and had three good scorers. We were without Clark and lost by maybe 10 or so. In our final game we looked to be well matched against the other team. Clark had another obligation, but showed up early before the game to wish us luck. We played pretty well (although we could've used his rebounding) and the game was very close. But then, early in the fourth quarter, Chen, our best player, fouled out. So, I was now supposed to be the point guard and power forward (to rebound). Well, these two positions are pretty much mutually exclusive (Magic Johnson is one of few able to master both positions). I did my best, and in the end had most of our rebounds and over half of our 38 points. The problem is the other team scored 39. It was a tough loss, but then again we weren't making the playoffs either way. Once again, it was great playing with the other teachers. They gave a lot of heart and were always trying to come up with the right English words to explain some part of the game to me. Even better was the banquet which followed the game. It was a delicious feast in one of the banquet rooms at the hotel. In case you're wondering, I have not yet acquired the taste for 'baijou' (a liquor made of rice) and the first 'ganbei' (bottoms up/cheers) I took was quite rough. Luckily after two glasses I was able to switch to wine. As I was the only native English speaker at the table, I didn't understand most of the conversation, but occasionally one or two of the teachers would explain a joke to me, when I asked about all the laughter. But the food was amazing, and there was even a sort of Chinese taco; which was beef, peppers, and onions which we rolled into flour sheets (not quite thick enough to call taco shells). Additionally we were treated to a delicious fish soup, chilled salmon, shrimp, and the delicious roasted eggplant. The two pictures included are of the team from our last game (missing 3 players) and then with our fans (other English teachers and one of the player's daughters). They were at every game and the banquet.

Mysterious Adventure

So, last Sunday I stepped into a car, without knowing where it was headed. Well, I kind of had a clue, but not really. This story traces back to a teacher stopping by my classes a few times the past weeks and asking me if I wanted to meet with one of his friend's daughters and practice my English. At first it sounded like an easy way to be kidnapped. But he kept pestering, said he would also go along, and we could see some neat sites around Changzhou. I decided that I should stay true to the no gain comes without risk motto and told him yes. So I got into the car and met Serena (pictured below), a junior at the university, her father, Mr. Yan, who is the old friend of the teacher, Mr. Li. There was also a driver, the car was pretty nice, so it looked like we were riding in style. We first visited Tianmuhu, one of the more famous lakes in the area. We took the fancy boat ride, walked around the trails on one of the islands. It was very nice, the weather was great, the air fresh. There were a lot of resorts or hotels along the lake, but from the looks of it, speedboating and water sports haven't yet risen in popularity in Jiangsu province.

After this we had lunch at a five star hotel by the lake. The lunch was absolutely delicious. And, I presume, incredibly expensive. I had shark fin soup for the first time in my life, as well as my initial steamed bamboo shoots. We also ate the same catfish soup which President Hu Jintao has come to the same restaurant to eat. It was extravagant to say the least. All of this so I could practice English with the guys daughter. I was able to find out from Mr. Li and Serena that Serena's dad (Mr. Yan) is part of the government; he works in the education bureau for Changzhou. This information made me understand the extravagance. Mr. Li quietly informed me that no one paid for this amazing meal, but because Mr. Yan, and another one of his friends who joined us for lunch, is part of the government and the Party, he doesn't have to pay. In a one Party government it's best to keep anyone in the government happy, even if it means serving up a free meal with wine and beer.

After lunch I figured we were headed back to campus. Of course, in classic Chinese style I was just informed of each activity as it arose. Next we went to Nanshan Juhai, which is a sort of state park, the name actually means 'bamboo ocean'. It was absolutely gorgeous and I even rode the cable car up to the top of the highest point in all of Jiangsu province, with Mr. Li and Serena. Now at this point it was about four thirty or five by the time we came out of the park (and Mr. Yan bought me a big bag of roasted chestnuts). So we loaded in the cars and drove on the highway for awhile (I again think we are headed home). But no, we stop at a hotel along the way and have another lavish meal. Once again the food was outrageous, plenty of fish, lamb, pork, beef, even crabs at the end of the meal. The beer and wine likewise flowed without any concern for cost. We were also joined at dinner by Mr. Yan's friend and his friend's driver. Many toasts went around the table (remember when they toast here they say ganbei, which means finish your drink). After dinner we did indeed go back to campus, arriving at about 9:30. So my English "conversation" lasted for over 12 hours. It was incredibly enjoyable, I only felt a little guilty eating the "corrupted" food, if you will. Although my constant state of wonder really exhibited the Chinese way of only giving information on a need to know basis (or sometimes not even all that one needs to know). I could never imagine an entire day trip with a stranger in America without all the details and schedule given out beforehand. But, cultures are different and although I felt a bit like being kidnapped, I kept that in mind throughout the day. Oh, I forgot to mention they also gave me eight containers of what appears to be very expensive tea as we parted. I haven't tried it yet, but maybe will do so when it gets cooler here and I actually feel like some tea.

Opening Ceremony

Well, I have now marched in the opening ceremonies of...something. To be more specific, the 13th Changzhou Sports Meeting. Which is some sort of a sports competition, that really is about all I know. Changzhou is hosting some sort of big sports competition in two years, so a gorgeous stadium and a few other things have been built. This, along with the fervor of the recent Olympic Games, encouraged the local government to make this sports competition into a big deal. So, as a foreigner I got to attend. I thought we were just going to watch, but as soon as we arrived and received a sheet with marching instructions, I knew it was for real.

This was the most "whiteys" I had seen since the Shanghai airport. They seemed to have rounded up all the foreigners in Changzhou to march in together. Teddy (my advisor) said it was to make in more 'international' or internationally friendly. So we all were given a min-flag from our country (which helped sort out all the similar looking Europeans) and marched into the stadium together. The stadium was packed full of all the school teams participating in the games, who were all enthusiastically using the noise makers provided in each seat. It was awesome, odd, exciting, and a bit surreal walking into the cheers merely due to my status as a foreigner. One drastic cultural difference I noticed was during our marching and while we stood centerfield during a speech. All of the Chinese groups marched perfectly and often had chants, and during the speech were in line, rigid, and quiet. As polar opposites, us in the foreign group moved along as a mob during our lap of the track, and moved about during the speech, took pictures or video, talked with each other, some of the French and Italian young teens were playfully stealing hats and purses from friends. There really is no way that a bunch of Americans, Europeans, and Australians are going to stand at attention during a fifteen minute speech unless we are in the military. I am not saying one or the other is right, but it was just interesting to see.

After making it to our seats, we watched the ceremony, which was pretty spectacular. Daniel aka 'Danthemanstan' another teacher from Washington D.C. and I were convinced that all the elementary schools in Changzhou have had group dancing and formation creation as the two sole subjects for the last two months. There were just so many kids moving in so many ways with so many costumes. Honestly, I can easily say that it's something I will probably never see again.

Basketball!

Well, about two weeks ago one of the assistants in the English department asked if any of the foreign teachers would be willing to play in a basketball tournament. I was of course game, and so was one of the other teachers, Clark. For a quick intro: Clark's from Montana, has been here a year and helped me out a lot my first week here. So last Tuesday we met up with some of the other members of the team, who are all English teachers. We received jerseys, shorts, and basketball shoes. We even get to keep the shoes! They are all of course yellow and red or white and red, the colors of China or of the Houston Rockets (aka Yao Ming). We then went out for a quick practice. Clark is pretty good, Chen, one of the young teachers, is quite good, and let's just say I have a bit of rust to dust off from TU intramurals last winter. At practice I was able to witness another first: the combined smoke and water break. Yes, when it's usually time to grab some water and catch one's breath in the States, the Chinese add in a quick cigarette or two. I shared the irony with Clark, but didn't try to address it with any of my teammates. Our first game in the inter-faculty tournament was last Friday. We played alright for our first time, and lost by about 10 or 12. I think I played pretty well, probably had 1/3 of our points, lots of rebounds and no turnovers. Chen was great, and the rest of the guys were mostly 'role' players...and considering many look to be well into their forties, they were doing their best. I missed the game on Monday because I had class, and the team won. But, apparently they wanted me back today. We were playing last year's champions and the heavy favorite. We barely lost, 44-38. I played some of my worst basketball ever and although I had a bunch of rebounds, think that all my turnovers clearly neutralized any contribution I made to the team. Chen and Clark had a good give and go play which the other team apparently couldn't recognize and had a worse time defending. So far it has been a great experience, although all my attempts to complain to the refs have been fruitless. More reason to learn Chinese, right? I am looking forward to our next game and hopefully my aversion to making baskets will not spill over to it.

Vacation: Saturday

Last night, we walked the streets, avoided stray dogs, and enjoyed some delightful tea on the roof of our family hotel. David and I, an occasionally one of the brothers/cousins running the hotel, enjoyed the cool night, watched the stars, drank a lot of tea, which was grown just across the river (within sight). We got up this morning, well rested, to fireworks. As promised by the hotel guys last night, the morning started with fireworks and loud musics, due to a wedding. So I followed the parade around town and to the house next to the hotel. There sure were a lot of fireworks and loud drums for such a small town! The old man lighting many of the fireworks was about as fearless with them as a normal 10 year old American is with his first pack of Black Cats. Dave and I were able to see the preparation for the the ceremony (more fireworks, some incense lighting) as well as the ceremony table full of lavishly displayed meats. But then our van into Wuyuan was leaving and it was our only ride, so we left. The van was driven by one of the buddies/relatives of the family hotel owner, so if you're wondering about the not so firm schedule, that's why. From Wuyuan we grabbed a bus into Jingdezhen, where I currently write. We will take the train overnight to Nanjing (this time with seats). From there we will try to make our way back to Changzhou, which is close and well connected, so I don't foresee any problems.

Vacation: Friday

We awoke early to meet our motorcycle driving friends, who were to take us to a scenic mountain nearby. Well, it was a beautiful, if almost surreal trip through the 'Wuyuan' countryside, in Northern Jiangxi province. We soon arrived at an entrance building. We soon realized all the sights in the area were collectively run by the tourist bureau; so we bought the cheapest "3 spot" ticket. It was still expensive. So we roamed through a gorgeous park, which followed a stream up the mountain. Then we did some spelunking in a pretty cool cave and even rode a small motorboat out of the bottom of the cave. Dave and I both thought the required life vests were a little much for the barely idling boats...but then again, barely any Chinese know how to swim, so maybe not too egregious of a safety feature. We then headed back to Qinghua and checked out its historic 800 year old bridge, a small Buddhist temple and the surrounding scenery. This was our third "spot", so we grabbed our bags and hit the motorcycle path to Likeng. Likeng (理坑) was advertised in the guidebook as a gorgeous, authentic village of 300 households. But, it's placement in the guidebook has also made it a bit touristy. Because it is so small, it seems like every other person in town is a tourist. Of course maybe it's just Likeng custom to carry a camera around at all times, or sit by the river and draw sketches of your neighbor's house...but I doubt it. Nonetheless, it was still a fairly primitive, simple, tiny, worn down village and provided a first hand look at historic (and current) village life in China.

Vacation: Thursday

After waking up with every arriving train all night (due to the blaring horn) I got up for good and we loaded our 8:30 train. For the record, I don't recommend spending the night in a train station, regardless of country. It wasn't enjoyable, I will move on. We were unsure of whether we were going to have seats. But, luck have it, we were able to secure seats and sat next to some college students from the town to which we were headed. David taught them the card game hearts, which turned into a major spectator sport in our car. After arriving we took two us trips (and had to adamantly refuse the overpriced taxi rides) to arrive in Qinghua (清华). Qinghua is a small riverside town in Jiangxi Province, a little further south than Huang Shan. Immediately after leaving the bus we were met by two men who promised a cheap stay in a family hotel. Because this was exactly what we were looking for, we went along. They took us by motorcycle through alleys and back streets until we arrived. The place is a family hotel indeed, and awesome. The room is clean, the staff is friendly, a very beleaguered grandpa also limps around and fills our tea whenever our glasses were anything but full. They even gave us a few shots of the good/evil baijou during dinner. It was a long day of travel, and because we had glorious beds in front of us, we decided to retire early, after dinner.

Vacation: Wednesday

After heading to bed fairly tired last night, we decided seeing the sunrise for a second time wasn't worth the early wake up. We arose around 7:00, packed our bags and tent, grabbed some apples and water from a vendor, and hit the trail. We had decided on a fairly arduous trail for the descent. We also planned to walk all the way to the bottom and skip the bus.

The trail choice was clearly the best one. We witnessed spectacular view after another as the path wound its way down the side of ridges and over the top of some peaks. Some of the best views came as we walked above a huge canyon. After about two hours of hiking along the route, we noticed a large sign in front of a pivotal turn in our route. Some helpful English speaking Chinese told us it was "closed" and "entry forbidden." I guess this is one of those 'curves' which life throws us. So we went up to rest and met a very congenial group who confirmed that the route was closed for construction. They were also heading down, and offered to show us an alternative route. We joined them and it was a great decision. They were awesome, enjoyed singing or humming on the trails, (we all joined together for the Backstreet Boys classic "I Want it That Way"). One of them, Ricky, spoke great English. This was due to his job in export sales for a machinery company. He has made a few trips to the Middle East and Africa-needless to say much more traveling than the average Chinese.
Move to 12:00, we hit an impassable line of people; the only way down this side of the mountain (due to the aforementioned closure). As we enter the line, Ricky jokes "You want to know where 1.3 billion people are...? Here." Move on to 14:00, I think sardines in a can might have more wiggle room than me as I continue in line around a mountain ridge. So this is what a tourist destination looks like on one of the two biggest holidays in China. As we break free from the inch by inch line at 16:00 (yes four hours), I begin to think Ricky was right. But, almost everyone in the line was good spirited and didn't push too much, so I really respect the way the Chinese deal with absolute craziness.

We make it to the bottom and take the bus back to Tangkou (the base town) with the group of five. The four hour line made the full descent impossible by sundown. So we go with three from the group; which was really two groups. Ricky and his cousin were there alone, but met and got along well with a group of three from Shanghai. Ricky and his cousin will drive back to Hangzhou, although Ricky is unsure whether he has enough energy to push the gas pedal (the line really took a toll on all of us). David and I get into a taxi with Constantine (an electrical engineer, as well as the owner of a sweet English name), Serena (a high school chemistry teacher) and their friend who speaks no English and slept most of the taxi ride (preventing much conversation). The ride goes well until we hit a line of cars. (Lines are common in a country still working to get its infrastructure to match its population.) We find out there was an accident and the road is under repair. Initially our driver thinks it will be a short wait. He later says he doesn't know how long. I checked it out. The repair crew included a dump truck with asphalt, a work crew with rubber boots, and a road paver. My estimate is that it might be awhile. So we turn around and take a new route. We arrive at the train station, successfully read the schedule and Dave successfully gets tickets to our next stop early the next morning. We see plenty of people sleeping in the waiting room, decide its the most efficient/economical/still available lodging facility, grab dinner, and come back for bed. I am writing this in the lit part of the waiting room of the lounge and will soon join David (already asleep) in the dark corner.

Vacation: Tuesday

Got up at 5:30 to see a beautiful, misty, cloudy, sunrise through a ridge of the mountain. Had some noodles for breakfast and we both decided to take a quick nap in the newfound warmth of the rising sun. Well, although last night was much better than the train, tent city was loud at times (maybe because we went to bed at 19:00) and my sheets weren't exactly adequate warmth. I will fully admit not taking the altitude chill into effect when packing. We slept for another three hours and awoke very refreshed. We then spent the rest of the day weaving around the trails around the summit. It is quite gorgeous, although frequent clouds surround the area with mystery and mist; they also tend to restrict the views. Now, it is called Mt. Huangshan, but it is not like the few peaks which I have climbed in Colorado or New Mexico. It is really a series of many ridges and peaks, which are mostly connected by trails. There are more like 10 or 15 summits than a definitive one.

Vacation: Monday

**Note: I kept a journal during my week long vacation and am now transcribing it onto this blog. Please forgive any sudden verb tense switches.

00:46 Board the train, which is loaded by the railroad employee using a forearm push to the back of a yelping man old man until all of us cram onto the car. Not being 100% specific if we were assigned to a specific car, David and I were some of the last to board (we weren't, for the record). This indecision would define the next five hours of our lives.

~04:00 Now completely aware of the scent, size, favorite body positions, confined area sleeping abilities, dental hygiene practices, elbow shape and pointedness, and anything else ascertained non-verbally of about 20 complete strangers. I was told the ticket was standing room only, but even that may be a misnomer; as I see standing as the ability to support oneself. This is more of a mutual lean. We are still at the edge of the car, an area maybe 3.5 feet by 12 feet. There are probably 20-22 of us in the area. Each time the door has to be opened, a few shrieks, screams, and I assume cuss words, enter the air as the squeeze gets tighter. Remember, we are not in the main area of the car, but the area at the end where the doors and the control closets are located.

05:45 Mass exodus provides me with great hope (we still have 4-5 hours to go). I work my way into the car and secure an open seat. I am pretty excited about my upward shift in Chinese train society.

05:48 One of the new passengers has the ticket for "my" seat and the one next to me. I get up and head back to the end of the car. David took the advice of one of our close companions and didn't try to get a seat. Either way, it's like The Hamptons in our car now, only me, David, an a friendly young couple who we've been next to all ride. Now I can sit, stretch, and live the high life. My new mobility allows me to get out my pen and paper to record the journey.

10:49 At the second to last stop, seats are finally ours.

11:02 We arrive in Huang Shan Shi, we accompany the nice young couple from the car to the taxi, as they are also headed to the bus station.

After managing our way to Tangkou, (the city at the base of Mt. Huang Shan, in the Anhui province) a women hollered at us "have a eat." So we did. Filled up on fried rice, bought some sausage, crackers, and water from the shop next door and headed up the mountain. As time was an issue (we wanted to get to the summit before sunset) we decided to take the bus to the main starting place. Although a trail does exist, most people (or at least the tourists) take a bus up to this spot. My good old ISIC (international student id. card) saved me 50% on the hefty 200Y entry fee. We started up the stairs. And more stairs. And more. We made it to the summit in just under two hours; beating the Lonely Planet guidebook estimate of 2.5 hours! One of the best parts was the porters. Carrying all sorts of materials, using what is essentially a bamboo scale with goods on each side. This 'scale' rests across the back of the neck and one shoulder. We did our best to say "ni hao" (hello) to each one of them and generally received a response and a hearty smile. At the top we were greeted by plenty of cool winds and mist. We tried to find a place to pitch our tent, the girls at the snack shop were quite helpful, but apparently when they asked their boss, he sent us to another area. Well, when we arrived, we saw a large tent city spread across the basketball court below the hotel, with a few shops nearby. So we set up, got some noodles and hit they hay: looking to make up for some of the lost sleep on the train.