Not a time of photogenic activities; so I've included some photos of flowers in bloom now.
I had
my first Chinese massage. I’ve seen two new massage places recently in the
shopping area near the school. One Saturday afternoon I was on my way to the
snacks store to replenish my supply of chocolate covered toffee, and I passed
one of the new massage places. Since I’ve been needing one, this was perfect.
The woman was very good. She started on my head and then worked on the
shoulders. From there she went down the front of the body. There was a lot of
slapping and deep pushing. Then she did the back side. After that, she asked if
I wanted my stomach massaged, which I hadn’t had happen before. At the end, she
worked on my shoulders some more and another woman came to work on them. Interestingly,
she didn’t massage my feet, which is included in the other Asian massages I’ve
had. When she finished, they drew the curtains and put a blanket over me and
let me rest on the table for fifteen minutes. When I was finished, she told me
that my shoulders were in bad shape. At least, I think that’s what she was
saying, as she pointed to them and talked, and it certainly was the case. I’ll
be going back there; so I hope the business stays for a while. Cost for one
hour: 40 yuan ($6.50).
Early summer fruits are in and they
are delicious. Two
weeks ago I had to have some cherries. I’d seen them at the market and they
looked beautiful and delicious. So I had to have some. I was a surprised at the
cost: 50 yuan ($8.30) for about half a kilogram. I guessed that the price sign
was for about 100 grams, not the usual half kilo. When I asked Diao Min, she
explained that sometimes for very expensive items, they list the price for
one-tenth of the usual half kilo (50 grams).
But they were so tasty that I bought a small amount more later. Lychees
are also at the market, although in very small quantities. They, too, are
expensive (as they were in Thailand) but not as expensive as cherries. Mangoes
are good now. I had bought a few earlier that weren’t very nice, but now
they’re delicious. Peaches have arrived, too. They’re the kind that are white
inside and are sweet. It’s fun to eat cherries and peaches after seeing the
trees in bloom when I arrived.
A few
weeks ago I started to think that maybe I should work on a “Chinese” identity.
The clothes I brought with me are Thai. I love them, but they are starting to
feel a little out of place. I started thinking about setting aside my
“Thai-ness” and moving on. Now that warm weather is here, I’m seeing a lot of
skirts that I like. I really didn’t see much that I liked before. The skirts I
like are simple, mid-calf length, not the usually frilly, above-the-knee ones
that are common but not suitable for me. Last week I found one I like at the
night market and purchased it. Students and Yang liked seeing me wear it. Monday night a student asked me about wearing Chinese
clothes. I pointed out that the skirt I'd worn that day was Chinese, the pants
and t-shirt I was wearing were Chinese, and the shoes were Chinese made even
though they were purchased in America. Pretty Chinese, I think. When I asked
what was Chinese, she didn't have a quick answer. Her skirt was what I think of
as very Chinese--layers of frilly fabric, very short. But, as I pointed out to
her, it's a style for young girls, not for old women. She agreed.
Military
training was the main topic of discussion at English Corner after the freshmen
returned, I learned that the students were allowed only three showers in the
twelve days and had only one uniform; so they had to wear it every day without
washing it. The dining hall was about a mile up a hill. They had to sing a song
loudly while they waited. One student told a teacher that the boys learned to
use a rifle; girls only marched. Everyone had to quickly obey commands given by
the trainers. Yang told us that the philosophy (the take-home message) behind
having mandatory training like this is that if students can get through this,
they can get through any difficulties they may have in life.
Megan
invited Roger to come for dinner and show us his photos from the military
training. He is very keen on the benefits of the training. From his
description, I realized that it’s like a Scout camp in the group bonding that
takes place from doing difficult things together. One of his friends had a
camera that he used to sneak some photos of times when students were waiting to
eat. He also had photos from a professional photographer who came for the final
parade and posted his photos online so students could download them. They
showed the students walking in formation with their legs and arms perfectly
aligned. It was fun and interesting to learn more about this experience.
All
four of us foreign teachers had a meeting with the department dean and Peggie to
discuss our teaching and get feedback (feedback here is criticism) from the
students. When I asked which students
they talked with, we learned that they met with the class monitors and
assistants who are among the best students in the classes. We were told that
the students like all of us. Then the feedback was that the topics of our
classes are too easy. When I asked what students want that would be more
challenging, they didn’t know. I pointed out that the topics I’ve used are the
ones in the book I was given to use. When it was suggested that students in
written English classes may want more corrections of their work, both Katy and
I chimed in about the amount of correcting we do. Overall, it wasn’t a very
productive discussion. Since I’m the only one staying, it’s also rather
irrelevant for the other teachers, as the term is almost over. When Michelle
asked about the meeting and I told her, she said we are doing the best we can
and to “never mind.” I knew I liked her.
I have
been aware that the good written English students knew how to write the format
of the most of the essays I’ve assigned. But I didn’t know this until I saw
their work. A few weeks ago one girl told me that they had done that type of
essay last year (or term, I didn’t quite understand when). It has been
frustrating, but I’ve done the best I can. Oral English is OK most of the time,
but students may think the topics are easy because they’ve done similar topics
in high school. But I/we don’t know that, and they won’t give any such
indication to us. I’m not sure the topic is important as long as they are speaking
English, but they may feel differently.
Weather
has been very changeable. It gets quite hot for a day or two and then gets cool
again. When it’s cool, I need a sweater in the morning and long sleeves in the
evening. I have the windows open at night for a couple days and then need to
close them at night for several days. Chinese people think it’s very hot when I
think it’s nice weather but not hot. The fans were on in the classrooms for a
few days and then were off again. At least they work. (Photo: going to class on a sunny day)
Emergency
shelter signs have popped up in the last couple weeks. There are also new lighted
signs in classrooms that show the date and time and can show a message if one
is being broadcast. Post-earthquake changes, I think.
I’ve
become friendly--smiles and simple greetings--with a woman who lives across from us with her twin boys and
another woman. I’d been wanting to take a photo of the boys; so when the
security guard, who has seen me photographing flowers, told me to take a photo,
I was happy to do so. I gave a copy to the mother, who was happy to have it. A
few days ago the father was pushing the stroller in the hall. When I commented
that he must be the daddy, he beamed. Katy has heard that he works in another
city. The mother worked in the admin office last year and is on maternity leave
this year.
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