Pandas (3-3)

Saturday Kim and I went to the Chengdu Research Base of Giant Panda Breeding. This  was one of the things she really, really wanted to do while in China, and she was pretty sure that this would be her only weekend here. (Although she has liked the people she has met here, she is not satisfied with her placement at a research center or with the lack of support she has felt from her agency.) So off we went.

We left at 7:00 so we would get there fairly early because we had read that the pandas are fed and are more active in the morning. We were pleased that we were able to get into Chengdu easily on two buses. The trip took an hour. At the final station in the city, we decided to take a taxi because we didn’t know what bus to take or where to get it and taking a taxi would get us there easily. The trip took an hour, and we entered the center at 9:30. We were excited to be there.

The center is a reserve to preserve and breed pandas. We saw several young ones—about seven months old—as well as adults. We also watched the movie about the breeding and care process. One interesting piece of information is that if twins are born in the wild, the mother keeps only one, but in the center they can keep both alive. The babies weigh about 100 grams. 

They look incredibly small next to the mothers in the videos that were showing in the nursery.

Both Kim and I are walkers, and we walked all day and saw everything there is to see. We both also enjoy taking photos; so many photos were taken while we stood and watched the pandas. We were a good match.

Within several minutes, we encountered our first pandas. It was delightful to watch them sit and lay chomping on their bamboo. And to hear the noise of their chomping on the stalks. They eat about 14 kilos a day.

In the area for the young ones, we spent a lot of time watching the seven month old pandas. Three were sleeping both times we passed them. 

One was quite active; I nicknamed him the ADHD baby panda. The first time we saw him, he was walking over his mother. She often put her arm around him. It was sweet. 

The second time we were there, he was walking around non-stop. He walked over to the sleeping ones and then to the trees. Then he climbed a tree. 

Next he went to another tree where another small panda was sleeping. When he started to climb up, the one in the tree barked at him and then watched closely to make sure he didn’t try to go up the tree. So he went to climb another tree. 

The third time we passed the area, the active one was finally sleeping in a tree.

The center also has some red pandas. We were fortunate to see one walking around, as they are usually sleeping in trees during the day. 

We also saw a few balled up in the trees.

Kim had read about a person who had held a panda at the center and was very keen to do that. This wasn’t mentioned on the website, and there was no posted information about it at the center. After lunch, she asked a man at the café about holding a panda, and he directed us to one of the nurseries. We’d been there before, and the woman recognized us when we returned to ask about holding a panda. This opportunity is available only twice a day, and the next time was in an hour. So we were glad we’d returned when we did to get that information. When we returned, there were several other people waiting to go into the nursery to hold the panda. One was Chinese. Four were a family. First they were given a certificate, and then they washed the bamboo with a hose. When they were inside, those of us waiting were able to see them on a monitor, which was fun. They wore gown and gloves. The seven-month-old panda was put into their lap for a minute. Photos were taken and then put onto the person’s memory card or UHB. They were given a sweatshirt and a magazine about pandas as well as a framed photo. The experience cost 2000 yuan (about $330). It’s a good fundraiser for the center. Kim was thrilled to be able to do it, and I was glad she was able to.

To get back to our bus home, we took a bus. When it made its final stop, we asked a young man which bus we should take. He didn’t know, but after a few minutes he said we could take bus 9. So we did, not knowing where it was going other than into the city. It stopped at the main train station where we waited in a long line for a taxi back to the bus station. There were hundreds of people sitting around waiting for their trains. By pointing to the bus station on the map, we were able to tell the taxi driver where we wanted to go. Interestingly, he took us to a very nice hotel half a block from the bus station, thinking that we were going there.

At the bus station, there was a long line to get on a bus, but we were glad to be there. When we got to Wenjiang, I knew the bus didn’t go to the university. I showed my picture of the school to the young woman next to me who is a student here. She told us which stop to get off at so we could easily get a taxi to the school. Another woman got off at that stop and hailed a taxi for us. We arrived back at 8:00. The trip back took 3.5 hours from the center to home. A long, but delightful day.

Watiing (3-1)

This was a week of waiting—Chinese style. Fortunately, I have lots of experience waiting Thai style.

Three of the other new foreign teachers arrived Sunday. They are from England, Scotland, and Ireland. Two just graduated from university and one just graduated from secondary school. They are with Teach and Travel China. Tao and Yang picked them up at the train station and invited Katy and me to join them all for dinner. The new folks were quite tired, since they had been on the train from Beijing for thirty hours. Meghan will teach at the university and the Kim and Beth are assigned to a research center elsewhere.

When I arrived last Friday, I was been told that I would start teaching on Monday. The schedule is made by the Foreign Affairs Department; Yang is just the communicator. Sunday Yang reported that there was no schedule yet; maybe tomorrow—Monday. Monday she reported that the schedule would maybe be ready tomorrow—Tuesday. Tuesday it was maybe tomorrow—Wednesday. Wednesday it was maybe tomorrow—Thursday. Thursday we were told that there would be a meeting Friday. Then we were told there would not be a meeting. At 9:00 Thursday night, Yang called to let us know that there would, indeed be a meeting on Friday.

So Friday morning Meghan, Katy, and I went to the meeting. Katy had not been told about a meeting, only about lunch. Kim and Beth were also brought to the meeting. At the meeting we met Peggie, who will be our cooperating teacher and will be the person who answers all our questions and assists us as needed. We also met a few other English teachers and one who is retired but working as a consultant two days a week. Katy, Meghan, and I each had an individual meeting with a few important men in the department in which we were told a little about what we will teach. The schedules would be sent to us in the afternoon.

After our meetings, the president of the university and the head of the Foreign Affairs Office joined us. They welcomed us, and we each introduced ourselves briefly. We were each given a special USB embedded in a plastic card from which it flips out. The card has photos of the university on each side and a case to keep it in. I’ve never seen anything like it.

Then we all went to lunch. Lunch was at another very nice restaurant where we had two private rooms, since there were too many of us for one table. We foreign teachers were at the table with the president and the head of the waiban. We each had our own individual hot pot and a sauce dish. There were a number of sauces and herbs that we put in the sauce dish. 

The hot pot was boiling, as we added items to it from the selection of about twenty dishes that came around on the lazy Susan. These included very thinly sliced beef, some pork dishes, and lots of vegetables. There were also a few items that could be eaten without going into the hot pot. These included very thin sticks of cooked dried tofu, cooked noodles, a flat cracker-like item, and a filled pastry. At the end of the meal, small bowls were brought so we could eat the broth from the hot pot, which was very tasty after cooking vegetables in it for almost an hour. Everything was delicious. I think this could be my favorite style of meal here in China.

Mid-afternoon Peggie called us to her office to get our schedules. Katy and I will teach the English majors, while Meghan—and another teacher who may be coming from her organization—will teach non-English majors. Katy will teach mostly second-year students, which is what she wanted; I will oral English to teach first-year students and writing to second- and third-year students. We each have five two-hour classes. Monday evenings the three of us will go in pairs to English Corner, which seems to be informal speaking. Wednesday evenings we give lectures; Katy and I will alternate lecturing the English majors, and Meghan will lecture the non-English majors. Wednesday the three of us will teach a class that has not yet been scheduled for young teachers in other departments. Katy and I start classes on Monday; Meghan doesn’t have a schedule yet and doesn’t know when her classes will start.

After we were given our schedules, Hailie, Peggie’s student assistant, gave us a tour of the complex where the classrooms are. I will work in four of the buildings. Each room has rows of connected chairs—over a hundred in all. Each has a computer that projects onto a screen as well as a chalkboard with a shiny surface that is difficult to write on. Some have chalkboards that have two levels that can be rolled up and down. I hadn’t seen that before. Chalkboard are shiny and difficult to write on.

From Gao, the retired teacher, I learned that women retire at 55 and men at 60. She is 58 and taught for about 35 years. She also taught Chinese in the U.S. The president and another teacher also did that. A few of the teachers studied in the U.S.

Other waiting: I had also been told that the phone/Internet would be connected on Monday. When I asked on Tuesday, I was told that it couldn’t happen that day because Tao was in charge of arranging it and he was out of the city. Wednesday Yang told me I should stay at home because maybe the men would come in the afternoon; Tao texted that it would be connected in the afternoon. Thursday morning Yang called and said the man would be here in twenty minutes. He came and connected the Internet. So I was happy. In the afternoon, Yang called again and came with another man who set up wi-fi for all of us. The router is in my bedroom, but everyone can use it. Now everyone is happy to be connected again.

No phone line yet. A land line is a Peace Corp requirement, not something I will be using other than in case of emergency when the mobile doesn’t work.

Chengdu Normal University is rather new in this form. Last year it was renamed. This year it changed from a three-year college to a four-year university. Being a four-year university means that it accepts higher level students—those who score higher on the exams. Katy said she noticed a big increase in the English level of the first-year students this year from those of last year. She asked to teach the second-year students because she is more comfortable with them.

 This is a beautiful time to have arrived on campus, as many trees are full of spring flowers. I’ve enjoyed them a lot.

I learned my way around the campus this week. The Foreign Affairs Department and the building with our office are a fifteen-minute walk from the dorm. Classrooms are in a large complex of several buildings. The near end is about ten minutes from the dorm. Near the dorm there are two blocks of shops selling food and other items for students. By Wednesday all were open. Other classes started this week, and it is fun to see the students walking around between classes. The university has a pleasant atmosphere. I’m happy to be here and ready to start teaching.

At My Site (2-25)

Friday morning I was picked up at the Chengdu hotel by Tao and Yang who work for the waiban, Foreign Affairs Office. It was great to finally meet someone from the school. It was also great to have them pick me up in a car and transport me and all my baggage directly to the school. Tao doesn’t speak much English; Yang is fluent. She studied in New Zealand for eight years, recently returning to China and starting at the university six months ago. She is 29 years old and is very enthusiastic about meeting and helping foreign teachers.

Wenjiang is about 50 minutes out of Chengdu. When we arrived,the first stop was lunch. This turned out to be a special welcome lunch with the director of the waiban—Foreign Affairs Office—and others who work for the office. There were ten of us at the table in a private room. We started with a toast to welcome me. The center of the round table was a large lazy Susan that eventually had fifteen dishes of food on it. It moved almost constantly as everyone took a bit from a dish, ate, and then took a bit from another dish. The dishes included chicken, fish, shrimp, and not-spicy foods for me as well as beef, pork and spicy dishes for the others. My favorite was hollowed out buns in which you put a stuffing that was a mixture of barley, mushroom, and a little corn. I also enjoyed the shrimp, soup, and a chicken and vegetable dish. 

The fish was cut and displayed like a fan, which I hadn’t seen before.

After lunch, I was brought to my apartment, which is in the teachers’ dormitory. It’s quite nice. They have combined two rooms into one for us. The apartment has a living room, bedroom, small kitchen, bathroom, and laundry room. 

The living room has a large TV with a DVD that I probably won’t use, a table, sofa, and end table. The small (even smaller than my Thai one) refrigerator and microwave are also in the living room. The kitchen has a hot plate for one pan and storage cabinets and a sink with hot water. There are a few dishes and pans. 

The bedroom has a bed, wardrobe, and vanity. The bathroom has a shower with hot water and a sit-on toilet. It also has an area with a sink (two faucets) and a rack for drying clothes. This goes in the bedroom when in use, as it’s warmer there. The laundry room has a washing machine—my first in five years!—that drains into the old squat toilet. The living room and bedroom have aircon, which includes both hot and cold air. (This is where I learned that the one in the hotel was probably like that, but I didn’t know that and had no idea how to make it work.) I was really happy to see the microwave. It’s a good place to live.

After dropping off my luggage, Yang took me to get a SIM card and a bank account. When choosing a phone number from the list, Yang encouraged me not to choose one that ends with 4, as that’s a bad luck number. Instead I should choose one that ends with 9, since that’s a good luck number. Opening the bank account took about an hour, which I’m told is normal for China. But I now have a working phone number and an ATM card along with an account into which Peace Corps can deposit my monthly living allowance. These are good things.

When we returned to the apartment, Katy, the other PC Volunteer at the university, had just returned, too. She is 29 and has been here for 1.5 years; so this is her last term as a volunteer. There was another volunteer here last year, but she finished; so Katy was the only foreign teacher here last term. She’s excited to have another volunteer to work with. I’m also excited to have someone to work with again, and I know we’ll work well together. We also learned that there are four other foreign teachers coming.

Saturday afternoon Katy took me to Carrefour, which is a French version of Super Walmart, to do some shopping. I purchased a bunch of items that were not in the apartment and some food. My favorite purchases are some really warm slippers and long, flannel pants for sleeping. We took buses to the store, and, since I purchased so much, I paid for a taxi back.

Sunday Katy took me to the local market to buy fruit and vegetables. Meat is also available, but neither of us buy that. She also gave me a brief tour of the campus, showing me where our classes are and the administration building. It’s been really helpful to have her to show me around.

Although the rooms have heaters, they are often cold. The heaters are two feet below the ceiling. When they run, the room is warm right in front of the heater. Although the temperature on the unit says 25, it’s about 16 most of the time. Fortunately, I have warm clothes, and a blanket to wrap up in when needed, and two extra warm duvets for the bed. I’m toasty all night.

Peace Corps gave us water distillers to turn the tap water into drinking water. When Yang saw that, she had the school send a large bottle for me. So I now have one of those upside down bottles on a stand with a tap.

The apartment has a land-line phone and Internet connection. These were not yet working when I arrived.

The university is quiet now because it’s the end of the New Year’s holiday. When the university is on break, everything here closes. Sunday the local stores and food shops were starting to open again.

Weather was cold—but not freezing—the first two days in Chengdu. Since then, it’s not been so cold. My new coat (light-weight, packable down that I love) is good. I haven’t needed to use the hood or gloves the last several days.

Arrival (2-23)

NOTE: After having no internet connection for six weeks, it's working and I now have a VPN so I can access sites like this. I'll catch up posting over the next couple weeks or so.

I'm in China! It was a loooong trip. I met Anna, another volunteer on the plane. We had arranged to have adjacent seats. It was nice to have a companion and to get to know her.

After about an hour, the pilot made an announcement requesting that, if there was an American doctor on board, the person go to the front, as there was a medical emergency. Later the announcement was repeated. After three hours, he announced that we were returning to Chicago because the emergency condition was not improving. So, back we went. When we disembarked, we were given a voucher for $12 for food, since it was 4:00, and we were scheduled to leave at 6:00. When we returned to the gate, the woman was able to reserve our flight from Shanghai to Chengdu. At 6:30 we were told that departure would be at 8:00. So, 9.5 hours after our original departure, we set off on the 14.5 hour flight again. Interestingly, there were only about a dozen Caucasian people on the flight.

We arrived in Shanghai at 12:30 AM and were taken to a hotel for the 5.5 hours before we had to get on the shuttle back to the airport. Arriving in the hotel lobby, we knew we were in China. The room was freezing—no heat. I thought perhaps the wall unit was a heater, but only cool air came out. It was too late and I was too tired to call someone to help us. I learned later that the units do have both heat and air, but you have to know how to work it. But it was nice to have a bed and to be prone for a while. I slept enough to feel refreshed in the morning.

When we arrived in Chengdu, we were met and taken to the Peace Corps China office. There we met the other three PCResponse volunteers. We had three days of orientation to Peace Corps China and teaching in China. All volunteers are in four provinces—Sichuan, Chongqing, Gansu, and Guizhou—and all are teaching at universities. At almost all of the sites, there are two volunteers.

Orientation was brief and basic. It highlighted the policy differences in China, since all of us are familiar with basic Peace Corps policies. It included a very brief—one hour—introduction to Mandarin. We were given Chinese names. Mine in Jia Lin, based on pronunciation of Jacqueline. We can have a language tutor at site, which I plan to do. I don’t anticipate being great at Mandarin, but I do want to be able to do basic communication. I was given injections for Japanese encephalitis and yellow fever.

A couple of the sessions focused on the education system. It is very test oriented. Students take a national exam to determine which middle school they can go to. Those with high scores can attend the better schools. Others can attend not-so-good schools or private schools. They have another exam before high school and one at the end of high school. Their score on the latter determines which universities they can attend. The focus of exams is math and Chinese, with math being the most important. To do well on the exams, students often attend extra classes on weekends and during breaks. Each secondary school and university has its own test. Post-graduate exams are national, and then each school has its own subject exam.

English classes start when students are in third grade and continue for twelve years—until the second year of university. Students in graduate school also study English. The focus is test oriented. In primary and secondary schools, the focus is mainly grammar translation with reading and vocabulary. As in Thailand, students do not learn to speak. At these levels, English is often taught in Chinese.

English exams are part of the testing system at all levels. There is also an English exam at the end of the second year of university—one for English majors and one for non-English majors. English is also part of professional advancement exams.

Recently new textbooks have been implemented. There are several choices of texts, and each province selects the one they will use. The new books use a communicative approach; so teachers do not know how to use them since they have not learned that method of teaching. In the summer, volunteers have a Summer Project that introduces communicative methods to teachers while also teaching English to improve the teachers’ skills and confidence.

Everyone who talked with us about our assignments mentioned that students really like foreign teachers. Behavior in class is good. The biggest issues are use of cell phones and plagiarism. Students often have dictionaries on their phones, so it is hard to prohibit having a phone.

We were told to avoid discussing the three t’s: Taiwan, Tibet, and Tiananmen. No problem there.  

It’s been fifteen years since I taught at university level, but I’m excited to do it again. The presentations helped me start thinking about it and get myself reoriented. Wednesday afternoon we were given our assignments. Mine is Chengdu Normal University, which is located in Sichuan province in Wenjiang, a suburb of Chengdu. The university moved to the suburbs a couple years ago and was renamed to be a normal university last year.

Given the emphasis on and importance of studying and testing English, I’ve been surprised at how little of the language is evident in the environment. While English is almost everywhere in Thailand, I’ve seen very little here. Menus at restaurants in Chengdu are 100% Chinese. The hotel near the Shanghai airport had no English; same with the one in Chengdu.

While in Chendu, we ate at local restaurants for lunch and dinner. Fortunately for us, we had Sarah, who is fluent in Mandarin, to help us order. The night she didn’t join us, we ate at a place with pictures. I used my phrase book to point to the words for chicken and vegetables and was able to order a vegetable dish. The last day Kim, Anna, and I went for a walk and stopped to order a drink at a place that had pictures and English names for the drinks. The girls selling them were excited to be doing so and to use a few words of English. After dinner, we walked around the block and stopped at a pastry shop. A girl sat beside Kim and had fun playing games with her. She was sweet.

Orientation was originally scheduled for Tuesday and Wednesday, but they changed it to add Thursday. We were all glad to have the extra day to get over jet lag and be ready to go to our sites. I did pretty well with the jet lag, staying alert a little longer every day. I slept well but went to sleep early and woke up early until Friday. After that, I was fine.