Adventures in Guangzhou!

Regardless, life goes on in the internet-less world and it is good. We've all settled into the routine of teaching, just in time to have a one-week vacation next week--again, I love this place. Though I'm still getting to know all +350 of my new students, I think overall the students have a higher level of English than my kids last year, which is saying a lot. They are incredibly enthusiastic which makes my job that much easier. I have some students that are unbelievable critical thinkers and really enjoy discussing complex world issues with me. That being said, I have had several interesting teaching experiences over the last few weeks that I'd like to detail here.

Two weeks ago we played a game that was more or less a dumbed down version of Taboo in which students in pairs had to describe certain words from a list without using the most obvious word in which to do it. For example, if the word was "clock," I made the taboo word "time," i.e., they are not allowed to use "time" in their descriptions. The game is a great tool because it forces the kids to think a bit outside of the box and practice using words they do know to describe something they don't know or can't use. I'm hoping to build them up over the course of the year to playing with two, three, then four or five taboo words. We'll see.

Anyhow, listening to them during this first round, I heard some very interesting descriptions that caught me a bit off guard. A few examples:
1) The word to describe was "money" and the taboo word was "buy." I figured they might say something like, "the paper we have to give to a shop owner if we want something," or something to that effect. As it was, the most common thing I heard was actually something more along the lines of, "this is something we want more than anything else." Huh. Interesting thought from residents of a self-proclaimed Communist country. It doesn't surprise me that this sentiment is so prevalent, but once again it makes me think about the government here and what kind of ideology, if any, they are still trying to push.
2) The word to describe was "Japan" and the taboo word was "country." I suppose I was asking for it with this one, but the idealist in me was hoping the kids would rise above and beyond. While I did hear a few innocuous comments like, "this is the place where sushi comes from," the bulk of the remarks were downright scathing. I heard things like, "this is a place in Asia with evil people," and "this is a group that wants to take over China." Sometimes I have no idea where to begin with this--the bad feelings run so deep that it's hard to rationally discuss the issue.
3) Finally, two other words to describe were history (taboo word--past) and art (taboo word--paint). For both of these I heard a number of descriptions that all amounted to something like, "this is a worthless class." Again, this is such a deep issue that I can't even try to enlighten these kids on the necessity of arts and humanities. The entire educational system here is built around putting math and science on a pedestal while everything else is looked down upon.

This week I have been doing a lesson with the kids about the U.S. Space Program based around the question, "Should the United States continue NASA? What are the advantages and disadvantages?" I did something very similar to this last year around the time that the Chinese had their first manned mission return from space. This year I thought it was timely given that Atlantis-14 just returned after working on the international space station. Anyhow, while I framed all the questions around the U.S., I was hoping it was thinly veiled enough for the kids to transfer their answers to China.

The students came up with some great ideas for both positive and negative but one idea kept coming up in class that somewhat surprised me. At least one group in every class said that the most important reason the U.S. should continue its space program is in order to show that it is a world power. Not scientific exploration. Not the search for intelligent life. Not improving life on Earth. It's certainly true that going up into space is a symbol for achievement and stature, but the Space Race is over; the Cold War is over. In each case I asked the groups to imagine that they were the richest people in Guangzhou. After some chuckles, I asked them if it was necessary to spend 5000 kuai on lunch every day simply to show everyone else that they were rich. They told me that that was ridiculous but apparently they didn't get my point because they stood by their initial statements.

I wonder how much of the rest of the world thinks the U.S. goes up into space simply to prove that it is a superpower. This would never have occurred to me, then again until this week I never gave it a second thought that placing the U.S. flag on the moon would be seen as an aggressive act by others. Regardless, a lot of my students are totally gung ho about the Chinese program simply because they think it proves that China is the next superpower. I have few doubts that China is a rising superpower but I also see an overwhelming number of domestic issues that need to be dealt with before that happens. In my opinion, going into space should be one of the last of their concerns.

As a last teaching note, I was checking homework today and almost collapsed in shock when I saw one girl's notebook. The assignment was simply to write any kind of riddle, since we did a lesson based around riddles last week. Most were very witty and got the standard check in the book but one girl floored me with her question. She wrote, "Why should black people not eat chocolate?" I had an idea where this was going but much like a moth that can't turn away from the burning light, I asked her for the answer. She replied with a smile, "Because they might eat their hands off!"

Every time I think my students are incredibly worldly and in many ways ahead of students in the U.S. of the same age, something like this comes along and the whole notion comes crashing down in a fiery inferno. Much like with the Japan issue, I feel incredibly disillusioned when it comes to discussing matters of race with most Chinese people. The idea that saying something like that as a joke is so completely unacceptable just wouldn't occur to them. The feelings run so deep within the media and governmental system that it's a tough circle to break. I simply don't know where to begin. I think the first issue is that when you live in such a homogenous society, people don't know how to handle anybody who is different. While white people seem to have a magical get-out-of-jail-free card, people everyday still stare at us because we're different. People of color have it much worse here. Something as simple as going through customs at the Hong Kong border entering into the mainland can be a nightmare for an African. It's almost like you're guilty until proved innocent--a very un-American concept.

I gave the girl a short scolding about why her riddle wasn't okay but I'm pretty sure she walked out of class more confused than anything else. For all I know her parents told it to her or she read it in a magazine. For me, I also walked out just as confused because I have no idea how I can try to change some of these kids' minds about race. I think I may have to design an entire unit based around tolerance and diversity. Any ideas are welcome, ari.wolfe@gmail.com.

Other than that, things are great. I managed to get down to Hong Kong last weekend and did some incredible hiking before being a beach bum for as much time as I could. That, coupled with the fact that the weather in Guangzhou has actually been surprisingly tolerable, has made for a very pleasant fall. Playing football with the guys here has been great and I look forward to our first match. As always though, my thoughts still drift back to my family and friends back in the states. To all my fellow chosen people out there, shana tovah and chag sameyach. And to the most excellent older sister an expat can have, HAPPY BIRTHDAY!