Before I began teaching, I absolutely hated chalk. Not just the awful screechy sound it can make on the blackboard (which I surprisingly haven’t heard once this summer), but its ability to linger – in the air, on skin, on tabletops. It has the uncanny ability to infiltrate zipped bags, breach the secret spaces between notebook pages, and invade nostrils and lungs in a matter of seconds; in short, chalk is a nuisance.

At first, I experienced major struggles with my new teaching tool. For a while, the words I wrote on the board were constantly lopsided and wobbly; I couldn’t quite figure out how not to make them look as if an arthritic 87 year old had written them. I can’t count the number of times I’ve snapped a piece of chalk mid-sentence, much to the amusement of my students; or the number of times that, while clearing the board, I’ve dropped the sponge eraser on myself, resulting in obnoxious white stains down the front of my shirt. It took a while, but after several weeks of teaching, I managed to make peace with this powdery fiend. I now know the perfect length of chalk for optimal use – not long enough for the stick to break, not short enough for the tips of my fingers to come uncomfortably close to the board. Picking up a piece of chalk has become as familiar as eating with chopsticks.

I realize now that chalk is an elusive substance; it never really goes away. Just when you think that the board is wiped clear of all powdery traces, you see that the chalk has simply been transformed into tiny particles of dust, which are now resting on your shoes. This realization is what led me to draw the following parallel between chalk and memory. Memory, like chalk, undergoes a series of transformations – time is the main culprit here, inserting things that never happened into your most treasured memories, mutating words that were said, adding and taking away bits and pieces. This is inevitable. But most memories don’t just go away. They change a little over time – that’s all.

I know that my memories from Jishou will always remain with me. The way that I remember things now, only one day after leaving the city, can be compared to a full-length stick of chalk; solid, unblemished, easy to hold onto. But I also know that, as time goes by, the memories will begin to chip and break, disintegrating into smaller fragments. Then, they will pulverize, until only discontinuous snippets remain – moments, smiles, words. But they will still be there, nonetheless…and this is what I have come to accept.

Leaving Jishou was as difficult as I’d imagined, if not more so. Snapshots of the last day: bulging suitcases, apartment decorations. Stifled tears. Tears on tears on tears. Blurry waving figures outside a train. Nostalgia. Despite the sadness I felt on departure, I know that I have left China with the sense of accomplishment that I set out to achieve. I hope to go back to Jishou – whether in one year, or ten years, I don’t know. One thing I am sure of is that my memories of this summer are not going anywhere.

The chalk is here to stay.

Phoebe and me (thanks, Kelsey!)

…yoga session. Lecture. Week of class.

This has been a summer of firsts, but as the program comes to a close, I’m beginning to taste the bittersweet of “last.”

Tuesday lecture was one of the best I’ve had here; I got to talk about my home away from home, New York City. A grid of the city, complete with approximate avenues and streets, the words SoHo, NoLita, Broadway, Chinatown, Statue of Liberty, etc. littered the blackboard by the time I had finished. For the second part of lecture, Miryam and I combined classes – we somehow went from playing the classic “New York, New York” by Frank Sinatra (which only Miryam and I seemed to fully appreciate) to blaring “Starships,” “Glad You Came,” and “What Makes You Beautiful.” The students couldn’t get enough of the Jersey fist pump and other cheesy dance moves that we taught them; everything was caught on video, naturally.

Precept was also amazing; one of this week’s textbook lessons was on Flat Stanley. In class, each student made their own version of a Flat Stanley; some of my precept’s included Cuber (an alien robot), Spongebob and his trusty sidekick Patrick Star, Scarecrow from Kansas, a Chinese empress, and my very own Princeton Bob. We ended up taking our Flat _______ out for a Jishou adventure; the characters enjoyed a trip to a local bookstore, took photos on the bridge, and finished up with a visit to Drinking Express, my new favourite tea haunt (sorry, 7Cup). After class, I told the students that they could give me their Flat characters, and I would take photos of them in their new Princeton home. The students seemed overjoyed at the prospect of having their paper creations fly halfway across the world; as for me, I can’t wait to bring back such a personal piece of China to Old Nassau.

Wednesday, the Jishou Olympics were held. I don’t think I’ve ever yelled so much in my entire life. Miryam and I painted blue battle stripes across our students’ cheeks; we also wrote “Unicorns Unite” down their arms with black eyeliner. The goal was to elicit some Unicorn pride. I guess the plan worked, for our little Unicorns – drum roll, please – took home the Gold! Cheering on my students as they played ping pong, badminton, basketball, tug of war, and a host of other events against the other levels was something I will never forget. I felt like the proudest mother in the world as I yelled, “COME ON, UNICORNS! GO UNICORNS!” till I was hoarse, running back and forth like a hysterical Chihuahua. A completely different person seemed to take hold of me yesterday, and I joked with Eliot and Jessica that a crazy alter ego had been born.  

With only one week left of PiJ, things are heating up. Today’s speech contest was a great success – mad props to Cameron and Alyssa for leading Speech Club and for organizing this event. The talent show is coming up soon, too; with such a gifted bunch of students, I have no doubts that the performances will be stellar.

Unfortunately, the Unicorn teachers have already had to say a few goodbyes (to Yolanda and Tina). It’s hard to believe that I might never see any of my students again. The tears have not [fully] been shed yet, because I know that once the waterworks start, they will never stop.  For now, my goal is to savour every moment I have with my students; I have exactly one week left with them.

I plan to make it count.

Some things you will learn as an SoS-er (based on my experiences this week):

1. Eating from four different birthday cakes in the arc of two days is perfectly fine. In fact, I’d highly recommend it.

2. Speaking of cake – at Chinese birthday parties, you don’t just eat it. You smear it everywhere. On your face. On everyone else’s face. And you will have a blast.

3. “Oh my Lady GaGa!” sounds much cooler (and more dramatic) than “Oh my goodness!”

4. Birthday lunches with teachers and students can be both emotionally and mentally draining, and may or may not involve tears.

5. Your students are incredibly gifted at arts and crafts (I’ve never seen so many paper hearts in my life).

6. When practicing calligraphy, you will experience the following: frustration, momentary satisfaction, dismay, elation, and an immense feeling of calm. All at the same time.

7. Your students trust you unconditionally. They will pour their hearts out to you, and sometimes, you won’t know what to say. You will feel grateful for every thought they share, and you will want to help them in any way possible.

8. The number eight is lucky in China, so you will become more conscious of incorporating it into all situations (such as writing a blog post list).

9. It will be hard for you to imagine a life without AJB, the stairs to the teaching building, the unmistakable smell of China, and your students.

10. This experience has, without a doubt, changed your life.

This past Saturday, the foreign teachers set off for Mr. Dai’s hometown, Wangcun (a 2 hour drive from Jishou). We were told that we would spend the day hiking, but details of the trip were unclear. It was only while we were eating lunch that Mr. Dai mentioned the hike would be “a little bit dangerous” and would involve waterfalls and “metal chains…”

At that point, everyone who was thinking of bringing a camera on the hike (myself included) visibly cringed. I wasn’t sure how I would be able to handle grappling metal chains (??) while ensuring that my beloved Canon came out unscathed. Everyone was given the opportunity to leave all valuables behind – but, once at the hotel, Tony convinced me that I would certainly regret leaving my camera, and that I should definitely bring it. A tad skeptical, I gave in, praying that my precious DSLR would not meet an untimely death.

The nerves really started to kick in when we arrived at the hike’s starting point; Mr. Dai had not been kidding about the metal chains, although perhaps “metal ropes” is a more apt description. We saw a promotional poster of people holding onto the ropes, which had been fixed into the rocks, as they scaled the mountainside on what appeared to be steel platforms. To my horror, these steel platforms appeared to be suspended several meters above a river/body of water. Key word here: suspended. I happen to be terrified of heights. I think Cameron must have seen my face when I saw the promotional poster, for he murmured something about there being no pressure to go through with the hike. I will admit that for a split second I was rather tempted to find a way out; but, as with several things that I have encountered on this trip, deep down I knew that I had to pull a Nike and “just do it.”

Despite my initial qualms, the hike turned out to be one of the most amazing I’ve ever experienced. It was 2 hours long, and felt just like an adventure theme park ride. Grasping onto the ropes was a lot of fun, especially because – my fear of heights aside – I enjoy climbing. The scenery was breathtaking; we slid along mossy rock walls, over and under waterfalls, all the while looking down at green-blue water. The real challenge came when we had to first climb up a ladder, then scale the wall of an open cave. I happened to be the first of the SoS-ers to tackle this portion of the hike. My heart pounding, my palms sweaty, “oh-my-God”-ing with Jessica saying “You can do it!” right behind me, I somehow made my way up the ladder and slowly clambered along the cave wall without disrupting the peace of the rock-pool far below. After that stretch was over, I felt the biggest adrenaline rush I’ve felt in a long time – my hands were shaking, and I was overwhelmed with an immense feeling of accomplishment.

I realize that I feel the same adrenaline rush each time I step into the classroom and say, “Good morning everyone!” We are now in the third week of class, and I have seen so many improvements in the students’ homework assignments, participation, and overall attitude towards learning English. The more quiet students seem to have blossomed, and the other Unicorn teachers and I have noticed that they are definitely opening up. It’s hard to believe that we have a mere 10 days of teaching left – I feel as if we’ve only just begun to scratch the surface of what these students are capable of.

I have pushed myself to do things I’d never dreamed of doing before coming to China, and have found myself loving things that may have frightened or disgusted me a month or so ago. I know that, just as I overcame my fear of heights, our students are constantly pushing themselves to improve their English, overcoming difficulties that I am learning about day by day. I hope that my students will soon feel the same rush, the same feeling of accomplishment that I experienced on my Wangcun hike.

Most importantly, I hope that they enjoy the view from the top.

A few days ago, the Unicorns learnt about the South of the United States. In other words: pecan pie, Georgia peaches, Southern gentlemen/belles, fried green tomatoes, and KFC (as you might imagine, my knowledge about the South is quite limited). Miryam, Eliot and I joined precepts and let the students listen to “Chicken Fried” by Zac Brown Band, which they seemed to enjoy. So much so that, when our precepts parted ways, my students insisted that I teach them the entire song – I proceeded to run through “Chicken Fried” line by line, singing one verse at a time, with the students cheerfully parroting. I took this to be my preparation for the KTV (Karaoke) extravaganza that was this weekend: on Friday night, the Unicorns took me, Eliot, and Miryam to sing, while on Saturday night the school officials treated the entire group of SoS-ers to a night of musical revelry.

A few days ago, Miryam told me that our student Bom (named after a Korean singer/band, apparently) had invited us to make dumplings with her – so on Thursday, Kelsey, Alyssa, Miryam, and I all headed over to Bom’s house. We were in for a surprise – her family rolled out the red carpet for us, and had even invited Bom’s high school English teacher to prevent awkward silences from materializing. As the two aunts showed us how to make jiaozi, Bom’s father took photos of us, while her mother commented on how beautiful our creations were (despite the fact that they were clearly the work of newbies). Then came our first home-cooked feast in China. Being able to eat what we had made just minutes after we had shaped them was so satisfying – and, despite being a little less attractive than those made by Bom’s family members, the dumplings were still delicious. We were even given homemade wine, which was so good!

Thursday night was perhaps one of the funnest that I’ve had in Jishou – I went to English Corner, which will be held every Thursday at 7:30. So many people showed up that each teacher was surrounded by at least 8 or 9 students, if not more. I had a lot of fun talking to the students in my circle – I ended up teaching them some Italian hand gestures, which they found quite amusing. I also met a girl whom I’ve been wanting to meet for days: her name – wait for it – is Bingo. And she is a hipster. But actually. We hit it off right away – she told me that I reminded her of the actress Tang Wei, that her favourite actor is Al Pacino, and that she loves Audrey Hepburn. A girl after my own heart! Also, she dresses amazingly and wears bug-eyed glasses. I can’t wait to learn more about my first Chinese hipster friend.

Friday was exam day. It felt so strange to be the one saying “Please put all notes and textbooks away” as I handed out the tests that Miryam, Eliot and I had written. Then, after a successful excursion up a mountain with Hiking Club, Eliot, Miryam and I were taken by some of our students to sing KTV. We had a fun time – Bob, our perennially tired-looking student, turns out to be a rockstar when he has a microphone in his hand. The Unicorn teachers’ voices left much to be desired, but the students seemed very happy to have us singing with them.

Every day here, I am struck by how considerate our students are. Not only have several of them provided sick SoS-ers with medicine and snacks, but they are also always looking out for us. They are all so generous; I’ve been treated to lunch by students numerous times, as well as to KTV. Friday morning, I was surprised by Bom and her best friend Dara (also a Unicorn), who had brought me a container of xiao long bao – my favourite type of dumpling, and a food that I have been obsessing over since I’ve arrived in China. I was so touched, because I had only briefly mentioned xiao long bao to Dara at Bom’s house. The students really go out of their way to make us feel at home here.

Every time I tell a student how much I like Jishou, they look at me as if I’m nuts. It is clear that none of the students really understands why any of the SoS-ers would like this grimy, small, ugly city so much. It might take them a while to realize that they are a big part of why our experiences in Jishou have already been so memorable.

The past few days have been jam-packed with more explorations of Jishou and preparation for the moment we’ve all been waiting for: teaching our first class (which will take place tomorrow morning)!

Two days ago, we conducted a series of interviews in order to place our students into the four levels that we’ll be teaching (named Phoenixes, Unicorns, Lions, and Dragons, after the four mythical creatures of China). I cannot describe how odd it felt to be on the other side of the door; rather than being the nervous student waiting to be called in (a role which I am all too familiar with), I was the teacher/interviewer sitting inside the classroom, asking students to “please take a seat” and making observations about each student’s performance. What struck me most was how nervous several of the students were; many of them tried to peek into the classroom, while others seemed to be going over notes (?) outside. I also saw quite a few anxious mothers, who had accompanied their children to what – I imagined – they considered to be an extremely important oral examination. The second girl who came in (and the first person I interviewed, since Christian and I took turns) actually had an entire speech prepared, which she frantically raced through the minute she walked in, even though I tried to explain to her that I would only be asking a few questions. The entire process took a little over two hours, and by the end of it both Christian and I were exhausted – but it was very rewarding to see how, as the interviews progressed, Christian and I agreed pretty constantly on which level to place each student in. Possibly the most rewarding experience, though, was seeing the students go from nervously wringing their hands to smiling by the end of their interviews.

Yesterday the Opening Ceremony for the PiJ (Princeton in Jishou) program was held, and possibly the highlight of it (for both SoS and the students) was the dance that we performed. We busted some moves to Carly Rae Jepsen’s glorious “Call Me Maybe,” choreography courtesy of Miryam and Alyssa. It was the first time in years that I had danced onstage, and I have to say, I had a blast!

The festivities didn’t end with the Opening Ceremony; last night, we had our first banquet with school and local government officials. The food was delicious, and the company enjoyable – an interesting night, to say the least. By the time we returned to our apartments, it was only around 8:30 – what ensued was an impromptu dance party in the boys’ apartment. Christian, Arianna, and Miryam brought a little bit of Latino flavour to the dancefloor with their merengue and salsa moves, while DJ Reuben played some good ol’ American pop. Apparently we hadn’t gotten enough of ”Call Me Maybe,” for we ended the night with our dance routine from the Opening Ceremony.

 All in all, a great 4th of July.

Since I am currently flustered by the fact that a) I HAVE INTERNET CONNECTION! and b) I have to blog tonight, I will [try to] be brief.

My experience here has been amazing so far; our Wild China trip has definitely given me the chance to explore the China that I’ve only ever seen in Zhang Yimou films.”Roughing it” has played a pretty big role in my life for the past few days; hiking under the pouring rain, falling into streams (yes, that happened), and living in a typical Miao village with no running water are all things that I would generally consider to be outside my comfort zone. While I’ve never been big on “roughing it,” the past few days have been both incredibly rewarding and an amazing learning experience. I am no longer terrified of squatting toilets, for one thing. I have learnt how to dig for potatoes, cut grass with a scythe, do my laundry Miao villager-style, and sit back to appreciate the beauty of the scenery around me. Not too shabby for the first 5 days of a 2-month adventure.

After visiting Shanghai, Kaili, and Rongjiang, all bustling with life, I can’t wait to see how they compare to Jishou. Similarly, I can’t wait to really acquaint myself with the city that I’ll be living in for the next 2 months; while I am soaking up every ounce of this down-and-dirty Wild China trip, after having found out that I will be teaching Level 2 in Jishou, I am all the more excited about actually meeting my students.

Ultimately, teaching is what I came here to do; these amazing first few days, shared with an equally amazing group of people, have made me realize that I couldn’t be more grateful to PiA for giving me this once-in-a-lifetime opportunity.

The best part of it all? There’s more to come.

The moment I’ve been waiting for since October 2011. Am I being overly dramatic? Probably. But after reading two years’ worth of SoS blog entries, finally being able to create my own post is a momentous occasion. Funny thing is, after ruminating on the sort of things that I would write (witty? tear-jerking? inspirational? all of the above?), now that I have finally brought myself to type something up, I’m not quite sure what to say.

In fact, words cannot express how excited I am about this trip. For the past few months, I have found my thoughts wandering from “Quantitative Methods” (a.k.a. Psych Stats, i.e. the bane of my existence), Dean’s Date papers, and the hustle and bustle of a busy spring semester to blurred visions of a city on the other side of the world. Although I have seen photos that previous SoS-ers have taken on their trips (yes, I stalked those as well), and despite the fact that I have read numerous accounts of past experiences in China, I realize that nothing I have seen or read can prepare me for what I will encounter this summer. Sure, I know about the much-beloved bubble tea at 7Cup, and I have a pretty good idea of what the classrooms I’ll be teaching in look like. Ultimately, though, I am mentally preparing myself to just “go with it,” whatever “it” may be.

This hasn’t stopped me from looking forward to what might unfold over the next few months. I can’t wait to get to know each and every one of my students, and I hope that by the end of SoS’s stay in Jishou they will feel as if they have gleaned something from our lessons, and from our interactions with them. Similarly, I hope to learn something about Chinese culture from my students; time to put my Chinese textbook to the test…

Also, I can’t wait to bond with the wonderful group of SoS-ers venturing to China with me. Even before embarking on our most excellent adventure, I feel as if I have forged connections with each and every member of the group. Jessica and I clicked instantly; we had a wonderful time brainstorming for our textbook lessons, and I can’t wait to show her around Rome after China. I’m excited about practicing my warrior poses and chaturangas with Miryam, who takes yoga classes at the same yoga studio that I go to (hi Gemma!) Arianna is the only other international student in the group, so I’m looking forward to having a partner with whom to offer a non-American perspective to our students. Kelsey and I share an aversion to house centipedes (with which we’ve both had some close calls), and an interest in East Asian cultures. Christian and I are both Mathey-ites, and apparently complete each other (he is the car to my deer in the headlights…whatever that means). Reuben and I are both newbie members of the same eating club, and he once used me as a human croquet mallet, which definitely made for some good bonding. Nick and I were on Club Swimming together last year, and our high schools have the same name, despite the fact that one is in Rome while the other is in Texas. Alyssa and I bonded over whiteout and filling out visa application forms – slightly less interesting than using one another as human croquet mallets, but one must never underestimate the power of whiteout.

Last but not least, I can’t wait to get to know our trip leaders (a.k.a. Camelot). Cameron and I both share a love of Chinese (mad props to him for taking 文言文 next year), and our birthdays are fairly close together (yay Leos!) Eliot is more on the quiet side, and likes photography, which I am passionate about as well – I look forward to seeing some of the photos that he takes on this trip. Camelot seem to get along very well, despite their different personalities; I have the feeling that Cameron’s penchant for eloquent speech and Eliot’s reticence and wry sarcasm will “keep things real.”

I should probably end here, since Eliot said not to go too crazy with the blogging (oops). Having said pretty much everything that I would have liked to say in a first blog post, I will close with a phrase that I am rather fond of:

see you on the other side!

– Sofia