Shanghai Marathon (well, half of it)

I would certainly never call myself a runner, by any means. But, occasionally I enjoy the fun of a competitive event. Races, in my opinion, are pretty much the easiest way to do so, as running requires minimal equipment. So, I decided to run in the Shanghai Marathon, but, as I ran the Great Wall Marathon last year, and realized that 26.2 is a long ways, decided on the half marathon for this event. It was a good choice. I used my charm and wit (insert sarcastic comment here) to convince Sean and Sarah to run it with me.

I went to Shanghai for the weekend, had a great time hanging out with my second cousin Tyler, who's studying Chinese at FuDan University, and enjoyed a great dinner with Sean, Sarah, and Peter (who was in Shanghai with a friend) and spent way too much money at the foreign language bookstore there. In the worst preparation to

make a 7:45 a.m. start, I spent the night with a friend from my CIEE orientation group-who was at a costume Thanksgiving party. So, I was able to make it to bed by about 1:30 a.m. having snuck in a bottle of water or two along with a cup of sangria.

The race itself went very well. It was a great route, starting out

right in the middle of East Nanjing road, which is one of the main shopping/business streets in Shanghai. It didn't go along the river or The Bund, but otherwise went by some of the great locations in Shanghai. Not only that, but the route, through almost all of the race, was lined with neighborhood groups dressed in various traditional Chinese costumes and banging or drums or shaking noisemakers while cheering us on. It makes the miles go by much faster when you can constantly people watch. Additionally, the race was incredibly well

organized, especially considering that it

was in China and had a really low entrance fee. The route was occasionally a little tight due to encroaching traffic. On the other hand, at one point, a guy on a motorbike tried to cross the rope and I got to see a cop just kick the guy's bike, and then kick him off of it. Needless to say all the other bikers retreated a little.

By far the most noticeable thing about the race was the number of runners. I haven't really run in any big city marathons before (and only did half of this one), but there were straight up just a lot of people. From what I heard/guessed there were upwards of 20,000 runners in the 5K, half and full marathons...which ran together for most of the route. That's a lot of people, which meant that Sean, Sarah, and I had lots to talk about. Now-you might think that running doesn't involve talking. But, the three of us all had no interest in working hard, and we all knew that the three hour cutoff time wouldn't be too hard to beat, so we just chilled and kept a nice

steady jog. This allowed us plenty of time to observe other runners. I only chatted with one other guy, a very amiable, enthusiastic Singaporean who was running his 67th (or so) marathon and was taking pictures with about every single person he could. As he explained this was a marathon and a trip to Shanghai, so he was half tourist/half runner. He was also able to stop and take pictures and run at a faster pace than us-and he was doing the real thing. He had a shirt that said something like "running crazies" that seemed to fit him quite well.

As for our take it easy technique, it turned out quite well. I ran out the last halfkilometer, but Sean and Sarah weren't into that, so I finished a bit ahead of them. Gashaw Melese Asfaw from Ethiopia won the marathon in 2:10 before I finished the half in 2:21:19, in 3,349th place. This placed me in the bottom 25% of the male half marathon runners...well, if nothing else, at least I finally got up early on a weekend and exercised. Furthermore, I got the same medal that got 11th place did (top 10 got some dollar bills) so it just seems he worked a lot harder for his hardware.

Being American is a skill

A while ago, when I met up with one of my tutors she asked me if I would be interested in doing some part time work. I said I might be. Last year I did some part time work teaching English to the managers and engineers at a company. I didn't take a part time job this semester even though I have a very easy schedule mostly because my job allows me to be lazy, and I have become accustomed to it. But, the job the student was talking about was only for two sessions of two hours a piece, so I said why not. I was instructed to give a presentation to some 12-14 year old students about American culture. These are middle school students who have extra classes on Saturday morning because their parents have the money, and recognize just how competitive the Chinese educational system and job market are.

The class went really well, I was amazed at the students' English level. They were obviously from wealthy families and attended the best schools in town. A few of them could've given some of the shy freshmen I taught last year a run for their money. I gave a pretty general presentation each week covering some big points in American history and demography that shape how we as Americans see ourselves and our place in the world. Furthermore, I touched on major themes in American food, TV, music, films, places of interest, and literature. I was also pretty impressed with their knowledge of various American figures and places. This is representative of a general condition I notice seeing America from the

outside. Foreigners will invariably know more about America than we do about their home country. Many attribute this to American hubris, and that may be a small factor. Yet, I think it's much more due to the fact that America is the greatest producer of the film, music, television, and literature in the world, due to many, many factors. I'm not saying the greatest in magnitude or importance, America may not lead in either of these measures in many of the aforementioned mediums. But, combined, America simply makes more of the most important or popular forms of media than any other country, by a large margin. So, while both Chinese and American female college students are watching Sex and the City; the former is learning about another culture while being entertained, why the latter is just being entertained.

With that in mind, being an American, at least here in Changzhou (and most of China) is a skill. By simply making a quick Powerpoint about things I learned in elementary school or already am interested in, I can make very good money, and be treated with the courtesy and respect given to a guest lecturer. I was kind of like, really? is it really that easy? Even in a the most developed part of an increasingly advanced and developed country, talking about where I'm from (usually reserved for cocktail parties and the first day of school) is a marketable skill, in reasonable demand. My job here is to teach English, the value of which being a native speaker goes without saying. It's certainly nice to be regarded in high esteem as educators are here, when in reality, I'm just stoked to be able to be paid to engage in a cross-cultural experience every day. I don't really know if I should write a letter to the descendants of the business magnates and Army officers of the 1920s-1940s who established America's dominance in the world, or send some of my pay to people like Bill Gates, and Steve Jobs, who have helped America maintain its preeminent position in the information age (but I think they're doing okay). I guess that just inherently being skilled and in demand goes against the American idea of justice and work ethic. It's a pretty sweet situation to be in for sure, and hopefully it won't go to my head (see picture).

TMI

As I slowly catch my blog up to real life, I will again look back a few weeks to the end of my classes. This semester I only had one section of oral English (which is generally the default class for all foreign teachers here). I taught a class of junior students studying to be secretaries (or so they told me) twice a week. I got to know them pretty well, due to the frequency of class and because I went on a class trip with some of them. Yet, I didn't develop any sort of close relationship with any of them, not like I have with a few of my tutors or some other students I see around a lot. But, there were two instances that really stood out during the semester of what I refer to as TMI-too much information, and what Danthemanstan calls the "overshare.

One class period there was way too much Chinese going on from the whole class,

so I assigned them homework; to practice their English so they won't have to use Chinese at all in class (and to punish them, I guess). I gave them a simple assignment to write about their plans for the future. Most of them were fairly interesting, if not strikingly similar. One though, was a little tough to read. The student wrote about how she just wanted a peaceful family life. This is normal enough, but that she then said she wanted it because her family wasn't peaceful, because her father used to come home drunk and beat her mother and older brother. I have

had other students display similar openness that would seem incredibly out of place in the States on a homework assignment, but it was still a little shocking. I indirectly and discretely asked her if there were still problems at home after class when I returned the assignments, and she quietly said no. I honestly think that was the best I could do here, as these sort of matters are incredibly hushed and private in China. Which is why it's always odd when students share such information on a simple assignment. I don't know if using a foreign language, or knowing that it's being submitted to a foreign teacher (who despite a year and half here, and lots of reading) is still far removed from Chinese society. Either way, this openness seems very strange in what I consider a much more reserved culture.

When I assigned the students to give a speech about a relative or teacher who they admired or had helped them considerably, I generally planned for the speeches to be pretty positive. Most of them were, and most were also pretty emotionless-as the students were focused on not making mistakes, which preempts much in the way of expression. But one of the better students started sharing about her grandfather, and about the last time she saw him, as he was slowing dying of cancer. As many of us would, she broke down and started crying. A classmate rushed to give her a tissue, and I motioned to her that it was okay, she could take a break. After collecting herself, she said "sorry, it's my first time ever talking about this." She was shaky but good for the rest of the speech. I was glad that she had opened up, but was utterly shocked that this was the first time she had talked about it. I just really can't figure out why an in-class speech in English is the time to talk about it. I tend to think that there had to be some time that she would have talked about this with her parents/cousins/friends/roommates before then. I briefly consoled her after the speech, thanking her for her willingness to share. These displays of way too much information are the anomaly here-but they really strike me as odd in a culture that for the most part seems to encourage people to bottle up their emotion from everyone except for close family. Just yet another interesting thing about being a foreigner in China to add to the already very, very long list.

Halloween Party

This post is long, long overdue, and I haven't been busy. Rather, I have just been quite lazy and have done a bit of traveling. I'd like to say that I haven't been blogging because I have been studying Chinese, but that'd be a huge stretch of the truth. Nevertheless, I'll do my best to keep updating through the holiday season until I get on the road traveling during our long break for Chinese New Year.

In a feeble attempt to suppress some of my guilt (or just awareness) of my rather posh lifestyle compared to the average Jiangsu resident, I contacted one of my students from last year. I knew that he was involved in helping out at a school called 蓝星小学 (Blue Star Elementary School). This school is a privately run school for the children of migrant workers. There are an estimated 130-200 million migrant workers in China (between 10-15% of the population) and they play an integral (and often unnoticed) role in China's growth. There certainly are plenty of charities run by the good ol' Party, but I tend to be skeptical of where that money ends up. So I had asked Edison (Lu Wenbin) if I could donate to the school. He said not really, but instead, a few days after I asked, he invited me to come and help with a Halloween party some of he and his friends were throwing for the kids. I actually donated by funding the party: by giving the student group some money, as apparently donating directly to the school would have been "complicated."

As I was interested in visiting the school, I accepted. As for planning, it was typically Chinese and I got a text message on the morning of the day we were going telling me where to meet that afternoon (I was, of course, free). In the van on the way there I was informed I would be helping with a vocabulary game, and was asked to sing an American song and teach them an American dance. This is a pretty typical request when foreigners are put in front of any group; partially because Chinese people generally enjoy singing in front of groups/socially and because I get the impression, that to some less 'cultured' Chinese, foreigners are seen somewhat as clowns/monkeys. I said no, call me a funhater, but I need a little more forewarning before a song and dance show.

Upon my arrival, I realized that my hope of not making a big show of being a foreigner was dashed. Many students from the class had lined up on either side of the gate, creating a welcoming tunnel, and in unison said "Welcome to our school" in very good English. Then, one of the better students came up and gave me a big and beautiful bouquet of flowers and welcomed me again. Of course, I only showed up once and did no planning; whereas some of the students go every week and plan the lessons/activities in addition to being pretty busy with classes, activities, and whatever pointless mind numbing quasi-repressive authoritarian government duties they must attend to. Needless to say, this reception and the compliments I got the whole time didn't help me feel like I was "helping"-but I'm not too worried.

The school wasn't in horrible shape, and inside the classroom, it wasn't much worse than some of the older rooms on our campus. But, it was kind of tucked away in an ally, and didn't seem to have any open space/lawns/gardens except the small paved area in the courtyard-doubling as a parking lot. The kids were just as cute as you imagine Chinese kids with red bandanas tied around their necks (worn by all young students) would be. They showed great energy in learning the new words, making masks, and playing some sort of vocabulary/call and answer game. I think what was really touching about seeing the kids is how similar they looked to an American kid making a mask for Halloween. To go from that image and then realize the social, economic, and emotional differences between the two is pretty daunting. The really disappointing thing for me was when I tried to help a few girls make their masks, just to realize how bad my Mandarin is. The students volunteering me (mostly my former students) had no problem understanding me, as they've some exposure to foreigner's Chinese. But the young students were frank with me, which is what I needed: my Mandarin was far from anything they could understand. What was lots of fun was a pretty good mask that Edison had found and instructed me to wear. Needless to say, the white guy speaking some foreign tongue with a really creepy mask got the Halloween spirit going in the classroom.

I had a great time seeing the kids, but even more so, enjoyed seeing the dedication and kindness that the students of our school exhibited in planning and carrying out the activity. As I mentioned, the fact that many of them do this each week is really impressive. I would venture to say that the students at my school don't have quite the discretionary time that students at TU had. While most of them spend it playing mindless computer games or watching B-rate movies, these kids are refreshingly socially aware. In a generation of growing wealth, massive consumption, and spoiled only children; I was happy to help out these students who may or may not recognize the great benefit that cheap, migrant labor is to a growing economy, but are at least doing something about the social services inequality. Edison, the leader of the group, is a very engaging, intelligent student. His ambition is to take the civil service exam and become a government official. I hope that he keeps his keen perception and servant attitude as he progresses through school and into what should be a promising career. The Chinese government and society need that attitude as 1.33 billion people will soon all be expecting significantly better living standards. I'm not saying that all societies, and especially one as complex as America's don't need people with this attitude. But the thing about China, is that the busyness, the dirtiness, the inequality of wealth, the competitive workfore, the substandard conditions; they are all right in front of you. Right in front of you.