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June 20, 2006
In Reverse
After almost 29 hours of traveling, I am officially back on U.S. soil. It took a short ride with a kid booting the back of my seat, a long ride with an obstructed view of the movie screen, and another short ride with a bunch of loud, obnoxious businessmen, but I made it all the way from Guangzhou, China to Hartford, CT. It is great to see my family and friends but it has to be one of the most surreal experiences of my entire life.
One of the biggest concerns in doing PiA is culture shock and readjustment to a foreign environment. While I had a few minor instances of increased frustration or homesickness during my first year, I don't think I ever went through something that you could really call culture shock. I didn't have too much time to consider it before I left, but I think that coming back is almost more difficult--something akin to reverse culture shock.
Reverse culture shock is a well documented condition, but one that may be overlooked by most. After all, you are returning to the familiar. There is no alien culture to acculturate to; there is no radically new milieu in which to experience. That is, not on the surface anyway. As I sat in the front of the car driving back into my hometown, I found myself staring out at the storefronts and street signs. It all looked more or less the same, but there were minor differences here and there. Was that sign always red? When did Subway put in a shop there? What happened to the bank? etc.
Despite the small changes, I almost feel as if the past 10 months was a dream. If I didn't have the pictures and emails and blog entries, I might be able to convince myself that it's all made-up. One of the difficulties in being home is seeing people who ask the obvious question, "How's China?" The problem is, how in the world do you answer that question? I remember back when I was in Israel for the first time, we were prepped on receiving this sort of question. What they told us was that it's impossible to convey all your thoughts and feelings from the entire abroad experience; therefore, instead of trying to answer the question with an all-encompassing response, just try to pick one small vignette in which to share or one highlight. This seemed like good advice once again, but I find it hard to even pick a highlight or a single story.
The whole thing is great, interesting, strange, boring, exciting, challenging, easy, informative, predictable, and unreliable all at the same time. Thus, in true China form, it's one big contradiction. At this point it's comforting to know that I will be going back so soon, in order to gain more knowledge and experience. Perhaps that will enable me to formulate a better response to that question, "How's China?"
Stepping off the plane in Detroit on my connecting flight, I had a few observations right off the bat-- first, people in America are overweight. My students used to make comments like this and I would go out of my way to say they were wrong, but they might just be on to something! Walking around the airport, it looked like everybody was carrying around quite a bit of added weight. Not that everybody was obese, just not quite as fit or as thin as in China. I ascribe that 100% to diet and exercise. Most Chinese people eat better and bicycle/walk much more than the average joe in America. Second, I felt very short. Though I never felt really tall in China, I felt as if everybody was towering over me in Detroit. I'm not quite sure what accounts for this, but there's nobody in the states that would try to convince me to play center on the basketball court. Third, America is incredibly diverse. I guess I just got used to staring at predominantly Han-Chinese faces for 10 months and forgot that there are more heterogenous societies out there. As such, nobody was staring at me as I walked by. That may have been the biggest shock of all--I was back to being a dime a dozen! As I sat down in the airport cafe to have only my 2nd hamburger in the last 10 months, I began to think about a few other things.
There are several situations from the past in which I had to say goodbye to people and make a major transition in life (e.g. graduating high school or college, moving to China, etc.). However, I can't recall a single instance in which I had to say goodbye to a number of people who were leaving while I was actually going to return. Usually everybody was moving on so there was a sense of accomplishment or excitement for the next step, of sorts. However this time, I had to say goodbye to a number of good friends, but yet I'm going to be right back in a few months. Guangzhou is going to be amazingly different when I return in August and once again I have no idea what to expect. The first time 'round, I expected it to be difficult; to be a strange time living experience. This time? I hope to foster closer ties and relationships with my coworkers. I hope to my Chinese drastically improves. I hope to discover all the sights that aren't in the guidebook. But will it work out this way? Who knows.
As I spend the next couple of weeks spending time with family and seeing friends around the eastern seaboard, I hope to record a few more of my thoughts about this short intermission from China.
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June 10, 2006
Back Home
We woke up Saturday on the lazy side and all stumbled out of bed for a late brunch. We were in no rush, though with the weather being so nice, we decided that we should eat some food and get a move-on. It was a tough call between kayaking and taking another boat tour, but in the end our wallets did the talking and we opted for the cheaper boat ride. This time we went in the opposite direction on the Li River, up towards Guilin. There are many famous mountain formations along the way and with the sun shining, it was a perfect day to be back on the water.
For lunch we headed to one of the ubiquitious cafes on West Street and I ordered Chicken Satay. Everyone else ordered more breakfast-like foods and their meals came quite a bit faster. As I was waiting for my meal, watching everyone eat, it occurred to me that at this point in the states I would make a joke about how the waitstaff was chasing down the chicken in order to make my meal; however, in this case, that was exactly what was happening! It's a litle strange to think of them slaughtering the bird in the back in order to cook my food, but at least I know it was fresh!
I think I've mentioned it before, but I love being on the water. There's something so calming about floating around a river or swimming in the ocean by a quiet beach. The boat ride we took was no different. Though the guy navigating the vessel refused to allow us to lay out by the front in the sun, we were content to sit in the back and look out the windows. The scenery was once again breathtaking and I tried to catch as much as possible on film. Unfortunately, the limestone formations go all the way to the horizon and there's just no way to capture that on film.
One of the funnier moments for me was when a Chinese lady on our boat took out her umbrella and opened it up inside the boat. This would make sense if there were no roof but we were completely covered! She was attempting to use the umbrella to shade some of the sunrays coming through the window but it was just completely impractical and looked ridiculous. It was a very China moment for me--where else do you find someone using an umbrella inside?
After a very enjoyable few hours on the river, we returned back to our hotel and Kelly and I packed up our stuff. Diana and her brother were to continue on to the mountains of Yunnan Province, but sadly I had to get back to teach my last classes. We headed out for one last meal and decided to forgo the pseudo-western food and get some Chinese cuisine. We found a restaurant that had some nice tables outside and asked to see a menu. Despite asking in flawless Chinese, they brought us the English language menu due to the color of my skin. It seemed exceptionally pricy so Diana asked (in Chinese) if they could give us a discount. The hostess said yes and went to retrieve the Chinese language menu. No joke, everything was about 1/4 of the price! We ordered up a feast and were very pleased.
After dinner Kelly and I had to catch our bus back. As we got to the bus station it really hit me hard that I had to say goodbye to Diana. I hate saying goodbye to good friends and this was no different. Right now I can't imagine being in Guangzhou without her and it's going to take a major adjustment to regain a feeling of normalcy. I can only content myself with the knowledge that I will surely see her again and remain in good touch.
To make matters worse, we had a very uncomfortable ride back to GZ. Though we had those temperature issues on the way to Yangshuo, the seats were really nice. This time 'round, I had my first experience on a sleeper bus. My friend Lexi put it best in her explanation of the sleeper bus:
"Sleeper buses are always an exercise in rank feet, cigarette smoke, moldy pillows, sweat, yak butter and worse. Your nose starts to acclimatize after the first half hour, but after that, every time you
turn over, your pillow or blanket gets you with a hit of old and unwashed, the last 5 to 10 people who slept there. Or looking back and realizing that fat guangdong man over there, who is lying with a cigarette on top of his blanket, not even smoking, just staring out the window and probably farting, is likely the clone of the last person in your bunk. Even after a sweaty day without a shower, I still smell better than this bus. Chinese buses are not for the obsessively hygienic, the tall, or the
easily annoyed--in addition to the aforementioned quirks, the bunks themselves are also built for people who are 5'8" and under; at that point, your feet start to hit the end of the metal box at the bottom of your bed, and your head starts to stick up beyond the top of the bed, and more and more of you ends up sleeping sitting up. If you're much over six feet it's pretty much a lost cause because your head will start to hit the top bunk even in your semi-reclined sit, and at a little over two feet wide, it's not even worth trying to curl up if your legs don't fit."
My ride wasn't quite that bad, but it was almost impossible to get comfortable in the bizarre setup. Lets just leave it at, we were happy to get back. I've managed to get a few pictures from the trip online: http://www.flickr.com/photos/awolfe03
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June 9, 2006
Like Riding a Bike
So we were off to start our adventure! But there was just a tiny hitch. The most common mode of transportation in Yangshuo is to ride a bike. I grew up in a distinctly non-bike riding family. My mother and father don't bike. My sister never biked. And I have only biked twice in my conscious memory. The first time was when I learned on my friend Ian's bike back when I was 7. I have another memory of slugging through some slush on a bike when I was about 12. Other than that, I've always been a runner. So when we all rented bikes that morning, I was a little hesitant.
But as the saying goes, it's like riding a bike! So I hopped on and started off. Unfortunately, I discovered that riding an old clunky ride without great breaks is decidedly *not* "like riding a bike." It was just a little too shaky to be going over hills and unpaved roads. I didn't want to be a party pooper though, so I did the next logical thing. I hopped on the back of our guide's motorcycle. Ha! Forget this burning calories business, let the machine do the work! And unlike my other motorcycle experiences in Hunan, this time I even had a helmet.
Our first stop on the bike/motorcycle tour was a bamboo rafting trip down the Li River. This is a famous river connecting Yangshuo and Guilin in Guangxi Province and once again I had high hopes. Despite the fog, I was not disappointed. We sat back and coasted down the river, taking in the beautiful limestone rock formations and other natural scenery. It was nice and tranquil... until the locals started trying to see stuff to you on the river. This was a very China moment for me. As we floated on the water, there were ladies hawking sodas, water, and beer (of course I felt obligated to support the local economy with a few bottles of the local brew). That was not quite as impressive, though, as the large raft anchored in the middle of the stream that had someone shooting you with a digital camera. They had a whole computer setup there complete with photo printers in which they could give you a souvenir on the spot for a tidy sum. My only thought was, where is the power source for this operation? They're in the middle of a river!
After a couple of hours on the river, we hopped ashore and got back on the bikes. Our next destination is the famous Yue Lang Shan, the moon crescent hill. It's about a 45 minute hike up a small mountain to the top where there is a very cool rock formation that resembles, you guessed it, a crescent moon. It was hot and humid and even started to rain a bit while we were on our way down, but it was well worth it. Again, the most amazing thing to me was the group of old women who literally hiked up and down with us the entire way attempting to sell us bottled water (we already had). All I could think was, how many times do they go up and down in a day? They must be in great shape for an old Chinese granny! On a more serious note, it was sad to see them having to follow tourists all the way up a mountain in order to make a living.
By the time we got back down to the base, we were not only covered in sweat/rain but also starving. We decided to stay close and eat a feast at the small outpost across the street. Diana recommended we try the local specialty, Guilin Beer Fish. You didn't have to ask me twice! Though pricy, it was pretty tasty. I still have not gotten over the Chinese style of eating fish with tons and tons of bones. It's not pleasant, especially when you accidentally swallow a small one and scratch your throat. The meal was good but Kelly and I were a bit disturbed to notice we had both gotten some sort of red rash, me on my knees and left arm, her on her legs and face. Ummm, what? It didn't itch and it didn't seem to be spreading, but we were a bit mystified as both Diana and Ming were unscathed. Oh well, onwards to the water cave!
Yangshuo is famous not only for it's beauty above ground but also for it's incredible scenery underneath the ground as well. We headed off to the Moon Water Cave, supposedly the biggest and most impressive of the bunch. They had quite an operation going at this place. We had to pay a hefty admission price (though they did accept my BU staff idea as a student idea which made me smile) and hop in a van for about 15 minutes. After this we had to pay an extra fee to get ourselves some swimsuits. The cave is famous for its mud pits but in order to save our clothes, we bought the clothes they had at the front. Let me just say that it was 100% fugly bathing suit attire. Kelly and Diana looked like bizarre grandmas whose swimsuit fit in all the wrong places. Ming and I looked like strippers who had gotten lost in a cave. Once we put the hard hats on, the transformation was complete. We hopped in a canoe and headed into the caves.
Armed with flashlights and a guide, we began to spelunk our way through the maze, stopping every minute or so to see an interesting rock formation. We all agreed that a good number of them were definitely not real and thus somewhat bizarre. My favorite was either the rock version of Santa Claus or the rock version of the large monkey. I couldn't help thinking that it would be that much better to just kleep it authentic and let us marvel at the enormous stalactites and stalagmites. Oh well. SO about halfway through we finally got down to the mud pit where there was a photographer waiting to catch us in all our glory as we went down a slide that they put in. It was fun but also a little bit gross and more than a little bizarre.
After the mud we started to hike our way out. This part was quite interesting for a few reasons. First, we were hiking up the rocks with a steady stream of water splashing down in the opposite direction. The footing was bad, the lighting was sometimes nonexistent, and the water was pretty strong in some sections. In other words, it was a lawsuit waiting to happen. Well, at least in the U.S. it would be. It was really cool but I definitely slipped at one point and cut open a finger which was pretty painful. Once we finally got out of the water section, I was somewhat surprised to find that we were in the middle of nowhere. It was countryside for as far as the eye could see, except for the 4 of us, covered in ridiculous bathing suits and caked with mud. We must have been quite a sight for the one or two farmers that we passed by on our way back to the start.
After a 15 minute hike, we got back to square one and hopped under a small waterfall to get the dirt off. It was pretty funny as we all tried to get the mud out of our ears, armpits, toenails, and every other tiny space. We swam around a bit in the pool by the entrance and after Kelly and I jumped off the short cliff into the water, we headed off back to the town. It was tough decision on whether or not to keep my swimsuit, but I decided that nobody should ever have to see that again. Ever.
After we showered again back at the hostel, it was time to find some dinner. We decided to take advantage of the western food offerings and all got burritos. It was mediocre at best. The meat was surprisingly good, but the homemade salsa was pretty poor. All I could think was, I could do a much better job. I think I've gotten a bit spoiled this year in that when I eat western it's generally when either I cook it (and know it will be at least halfway decent) or when Kelly/Diana/Meggie cooks it and it's incredible. Thus, a Chinese interpretation of Mexican food just doesn't quite cut it, especially for the price. Oh well.
After dinner we wandered around and did some shopping around West St. Kelly bought a few things to give to family and friends, I bought a couple of music CDs, and Diana bought some food. One of the highlights for me was trying the fresh-brewed pale ale from a French restaurant on the street. There is nothing like a good, fresh beer! After strolling around a bit more, we headed back to our beds to watch some World Cup and fall asleep.
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June 8, 2006
Exits
It's that time of year when people are starting to move on. Last night Kelly and I through a surprise party for Diana to celebrate her upcoming trek back to the states. Despite numerous holes in our guise, I think we actually managed to surprise her which was great. There were about 75 students to go along with a handful of us foreigners, but the highlight of the night was not the turnout; rather, it was the 500 kuai worth of Subway party sandwich that we special ordered for the occasion. I almost forget how much I like subs until I have one. Then it all comes rushing back! We also ordered a chocolate cake which turned out to be vanilla and had a number of festive balloons to celebrate.
Besides Diana, I also found out that my friend Boudy is taking off as well. He was involved in a business deal gone sour and decided that he had had enough. I am very sorry to see him leave as well but I hope that his future will provide greener pastures. He had been struggling to adapt to Guangzhou after his lavish Dubai lifestyle and I'm just not sure it ever really set in. I can only hope that we stay in touch.
Last night I also remembered that my friend Anthony, a PhD candidate doing research here on NGOs will also be gone by the time I get back into town. Anthony is a fascinating guy to speak with and never ceases to have a smile and an astute comment for every situation. His work here is both interesting and noteworthy for the causes he has sought out, and I sincerely hope he lands a great professorship at the school of his choice.
An even bigger blow is the departure of my friend Meggie. She is about to finish up here at her international school and she is homeward-bound to Taiwan. With plans of clinical psych research, I know she will be happy and busy, but I sure will miss her presence here. With Steven also taking off in a month, Guangzhou is going to be radically different next year. I will have a new roommate. Kelly will have a new roommate. There will be a whole new slew of foreigners around, though I will probably never meet most of them. At this point it all seems too surreal to anticipate so I guess I'll just let the future come in time.
Kelly, Diana, Diana's little brother and I had a small exit of our own Thursday, as we headed off for some sightseeing in Yangshuo, a small backpackers haven in the northern section of Guangxi province. I was weary of bus travel given my 24 hour busride during spring festival, but this being off-peak travel season, I hoped it would be better. This time we left from the bus station next to the train station and I was pleasantly surprised--there was decent lighting, a few signs, and it wasn't oppresively hot.
Alas, it was too good to be true. As we sat down to wait for the coach, we began to see huge roaches crawling around. Oh well. Just another day of travel in China! Our bus was almost on time which I thought was a good omen and as we stepped on to get seats, we were all impressed. It must have been a very new bus because it still had that new leather smell to it. It was sparkling clean and not even close to full so we grabbed seats towards the back and tried to get comfortable.
Unfortunately looks can be deceiving once again because though the seats were comfortable, the bus had some serious temperature issues. It seemed to have only two settings: on, which meant frigid air blasting out of the vents, or off, which meant a huge sweatfest. The driver did his best to regulate on and off throughout the night but all of us had major problems sleeping, constantly waking up either drenched in sweat or completely freezing. There were also some major bumps that caused Kelly and Diana to cling for dear life on to the seats, but we did manage to stay upright and by 9am, we arrived in town.
First impressions: After hearing so much about Yangshuo I had high expectations so that might account for a bit of my letdown. I'm lucky enough to have done quite a bit of traveling and I felt like it was a bigger, more touristed version of Dali in Yunnan Province. It was nice, but it just seemed a little bit fake, a little bit forced. Regardless, I was very happy to be out in the fresh air and we started off in search of beds and food.
The only street that you really need to know in Yangshuo is Xi Jie, or West Street. It's basically a long stretch with different hostels, guest houses, cafes, bars, and souvenir shops. We perused around and bargained for rooms and, thanks to Diana's excellent bargaining, ended up with great rooms right off of Xi Jie that had views of the Li River. We dropped our bags and hunted down some breakfast.
One of the funny things about these backpacker towns is that they all claim to have western style breakfasts, which they do, but with distinctly Chinese flavor. I ordered a vegetable omellete which was quite tasty, but a heckuva lot different than an omellete I'd make. It was basically a circular piece of scrambled egg folded over stir-fried Chinese vegetables. Good, but definitely not authentic. In like manner, the banana pancake was more or less a crepe with a piece of banana thrown on top. The bacon was more like ham. Regardless, it all tasted good and we were off to start the adventure.
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June 6, 2006
Evaluation
The school year has truly come to an end and I only have 3 classes left before '05-'06 is in the bank. I gave my final and had a whole ton of grading to do in a short period of time. Though there must be some sort of solution, I haven't quite figured out how to avoid grading 360 exams. Anyhow, for my last day of class, I handed back exams and also had my students fill out an evaluation. I think it's good for them to think back about everything we've done this year and it's certainly helpful for me to get some feedback. The jury is still out on the efficacy of their comments though.
I had four different sections on the eval. The first prompted them with the very basic questions, "What was your favorite topic/subject that we learned during this school year? What was your least favorite?" This seems to be a very unpredictable section. If I was looking for consistency, it was wishful thinking. With three hundred different students, I received over three hundred opinions. Some students thought the project on Reality TV was the best. Others hated it with a passion. Some enjoyed my "bellringer" writing prompts. Others found them to be a chore. Some enjoyed anything involving acting in front of the class. Others abhored having to perform in front of everybody.
Out of all the responses I've gotten so far there have been only two consistencies in this section. First, a significant number of people cited my lesson on law as the best. I can't remember if I blogged about this before, but Todd and Nancy, recent law school graduates, helped me design a lesson on the absolute nature of law. That is, is it ever acceptable to break the law? In a society that is dominated (at least on the surface) by the Communist Party, the thought of breaking the law is never unobjectionable. The government teaches that the law is in place to provide stability--something the people crave. Therefore it doesn't make sense to break it. Ever. However in that lesson I challenged my kids to think a bit more outside of the box and consider other circumstances. Once they allow for the possibility of exceptions, it becomes a lesson in defining terms and creating boundaries--something that they rarely have an opportunity to think about. I'm glad that it made a lasting impression on a good number of them... Oh, and the other consistency? A significant number of students cited the exam as their least favorite part of the class.
The second section of the evaluation asks the students, "What will you remember from the class 20 years from now?" This question is half for fun and half for me to try and find out what had any lasting effects. Again, the answers were a riot. A few mentioned pop culture. A few mentioned the unit on improvisation. A few mentioned that they'll remember my Ari-isms such as, "Good guess... but not exactly," "Good start but we can do better," and "Move up!" Well, I guess that's better than nothing.
A few random evaluations had non-sequiter responses to this section that I found particularly amusing. For example:
"Maybe"
"I have said 'Only the strong survive'"
"Wolfe is a really strange family name"
"Really special things"
and perhaps my favorite,
"You are a boy"
The next section asked, "What was the most difficult part of the class?" I did get some amount of consistency here, as many students agreed that the informal speech and dialogue was the toughest. However, some students also noted that they thought the exam was most difficult. It is interesting to note the correlation here that the students who wrote that particular comment tended to have the lowest scores. In most cases I would guess that they simply didn't study. My favorite response to this question, though, was one student who wrote very simply, "words." Yeah, I guess words are pretty tough!
The last section of the evaluation asked for some suggestions on improving the class for next year. Some students wrote very cute comments about how nothing should be changed because it was all perfect. Others asked that the class be easier. I did find a somewhat unexpected response amongst a big chunk of students--they asked that I take the class outside and teach outside of the classroom. Ummm, what? I mean, I guess I used to beg for that in high school too but did it ever happen? Not a chance! And if we did go outside, I spent the rest of the period staring off on to the track. I have to work hard enough INside to keep everyone engaged; there's no way I'm taking them outside. I think that's just asking for daydreaming. I think my favorite comment from this section was from one student who wrote, "Don't talk about the things we already know." I'm not quite sure how I'm supposed to know, but I suppose he makes a good point!
Besides that, I now have a vacation since the Senior 3 students are all taking the Gao Kao, the college entrance exam. I feel bad for them, but I am excited to have another chance to travel before heading home. I think tomorrow or the day after I will be traveling to Yangshuo, supposedly one of the most beautiful places in all of China. I can't wait! With my time off so far, I finished watching season 5 of "24." One of my students knows about my man-crush on Jack Bauer and burned the whole season on to DVD for me. Gotta love it. I have to agree with my favorite sportswriter, Bill Simmons, who noted that Season 5 was "Ridiculous, far-fetched, improbable, over-the-top and somewhat ludicrous. Absolutely the worst of the five seasons. And with that said, I enjoyed every minute and can't wait for Season 6. Especially since Jack Bauer will finally be taller than everyone he's fighting." I am psyched to see how they deal with the whole China angle.
Otherwise, I'm taking off for the US in only 8 days. What happened to this year?!
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June 1, 2006
Children's Day
Happy Children's Day! What? What's that you say? You say you've never heard of such a thing? Well join the club. When I announced my final exam 3 weeks ago and heard grumbles about having to take a test on a holiday I inquired a bit further. I discovered that June 1st is Children's Day here in China, though I haven't quite figured out what that means yet. All I know is that I can hear my mother's voice in my head chuckling and remarking, "But every day is children's day..." I guess I can't really disagree with her.
But anyhow, I am indeed now finished teaching and giving my final exam which is wild. I have no idea where the time went this term but it is most definitely over. The beautiful thing about my schedule is that I'm giving my exam this week and giving them back randomly over the course of the next two weeks. Why the disparity? Because I have a 7 day vacation coming up which ends 3 days before I go home! Gotta love it. The senior 3 students here are not quite as psyched because they have to take the Gao Kao at this time, the college entrance exam. Picture the stress of the SATs times about 1000 and you're getting close. Poor kids...
The exam I'm giving is relatively similar to my exam last semester with a big focus on informal speech. I've decided that more than anything else I want my kids to be able to communicate and for me that means learning how younger people speak. We did a few more lessons on slang and similar informal phrases which always make me laugh. There's nothing like hearing a 17-year old Chinese kid say, "It's all good, dude."
The last section of my exam requires the students to write an informal dialogue using about 15 words/phrases from a word bank of twenty five or so. Some of them had to write a dialogue between Michael Jordan and Bill Gates. Others had to write one between me and Jay Chou, a Taiwanese pop star. Without fail, they are absolutely hilarious to read. For example, one of my better students wrote the following:
Ari: How you been, dude?
Jay: 'sup man. Same old, same old. How's your Chinese coming?
A: Let's just say they're not knocking down my door for any translation services.
J: I hear ya. Have you had any exams lately?
A: Yeah and it sucked. They used one of your tunes to test my listening skills!
J: Oh bummer, they didn't pay me for that. How'd you do?
A: The jury's still out but I don't feel good about it.
J: No worries--no one will pass!
A: Thing is, I had been locked up with studying for a long time. It's not fair!
J: Eh, forget about it. Wanna hang out tonight?
A: Sure. I was thinking about hitting up KFC to grab some grub. Lets go together.
J: Sounds good. I have to go home first though.
A: Okay. Drop me a line when you're ready to go.
J: Alrighty. I'll text you. Peace.
A: Later.
That right there makes me pretty happy. He used every phrase in a realistic, natural way. Perhaps I have actually been helpful this year! I certainly hope so. I plan on giving my students an evaluation to fill out before I give back exams. I'm curious to hear about what they think of my teaching. I'm afraid that the culture dictates they don't say anything negative but that's exactly what I'm looking for--constructive criticism. We'll see.
Besides being content with their dialogues, a few students absolutely blew me away by getting the extra credit correct. I decided to up the ante a little this time because so many got it right last time. Last semester's was to figure out the next line of the following sequence:
1
11
21
1211
111221
312211
13112221
?
I thought it was tough but apparently I underestimated them. This time around I decided to give them an LSAT-style logic puzzle. It is by no means impossible, but it certainly takes some time and these kids didn't have more than five-ten minutes to work on it. I'm amazed:
Five friends from across the United States planned to meet at a convention in Milwaukee. Each friend came from a different city and each was employed in a different profession. Use the clues to determine the full name of each friend, their home city, and each one's profession.
1. The doctor and Mr. Cross both arrived a day early.
2. By coincidence, the secretary from San Diego and the doctor, Ms. Forest, arrived at the hotel together.
3. The lawyer arrived late. He was delayed by a case and had to catch a later flight from Baltimore.
4. Jane, Mr. Smith, Mark, the mechanic, and the friend from Chicago all planned to spend the weekend after the convention together. Then on Monday, Ms. Trent and Tom would leave to return to work. Dan, the teacher, and Cindy would leave on Tuesday.
5. Dan Richards does not live in Baltimore. Cindy does not live in St. Louis.
6. Ms. Trent laughed when asked if she was a teacher. "No, he's from Atlanta," she said. "I'm from San Diego."
I won't give the answers here in case anybody wants to do them but maybe I'll post them in my next entry... Finishing up here for round one of the China experience certainly has my mind focuses a bit more on the states, of late. I find myself wondering about changes. Will I see new stores or buildings near any of my former homes? Will I be shocked by some new element of US pop culture that hasn't reached China yet? Will it be weird to eat western food everyday? Will I forget all my Chinese in the two weeks I'm home?
More importantly, I suppose, I find myself wondering about myself. Have I changed in the past year? I suppose it's inevitable that people mature and learn more over the course of any year, but I've had an especially different year than most. What do I have to show for it other than some decomposed clothes and elementary Chinese skills? Will my friends and family see me differently? I guess there's no way for me to tell while I'm still here but I am getting more and more excited everyday to get back and see people before studying all summer. I only hope people are equally as excited to see me!
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