Adventures in Guangzhou!

But before we got to talking about the actual shows, I asked them (in the form of a writing prompt) to define reality and reality tv. I got some very interesting responses to both questions but I was totally caught off guard when one boy told me that reality tv was not actually a program but rather the feed from a close circuit camera. Woah, what? I asked him for clarification and he did one better--he showed me.

I had no idea what he was doing when he walked to the front of the room near the blackboard but I got my answer as he pointed to the camera that was in the classroom! I never noticed it before because it's very inconspicuous, covered in a dark glass sphere a la casino surveillance cams. I quickly sent him back to his seat and told him it was a good guess but incorrect.

As I walked out of the room at the end of class I glanced back at the camera. Why was it there? At first I had visions of the Communist powers-that-be spying on my classes but I realized this wasn't all that likely. The cameras are in every single classroom, not just the ones with foreigners teaching. So are the school authorities just peeping in to all rooms at random? Why? Why not just come in and observe? Are they looking in on the students more than the teachers? That seems like a stretch. These kids are some of the most well behaved students around so it's hardly necessary.

I have not come to any logical conclusion about the presence of the cameras. In fact, they have only raised more questions--are there microphones in the rooms? Should I be worried about what I'm saying or doing? Should I be annoyed? Concerned? I have no idea.

In other news, we are officially in the rainy season here in Guangzhou and it's super annoying. Everyday now is either raining or so humid that it might as well be. What makes it even worse is that China has quite the affinity for marble. Whenever possible they put marble (or marble imitation) on the sidewalks, stairs, and floors. It sure looks pretty but the corollary is that it also turns into a death trap when wet. Everytime I walk down the stairs in my apartment now I am clutching the handrails. Everytime I walk out across campus towards the main gate, I pray that I don't bite it. I look at it as the "China Marble Challenge" and award myself points for every successful trip down the stairs and walk across the sidewalk. All are invited to join me in my reality TV adventures of free-form walking.