Classes Start (9-15)

Our classes started this week. My first two classes were for non-English majors, and no one showed up. Their teachers had forgotten to tell them that they have a new, extra class. The others had that happen, too. The English majors all showed up, of course. In general, their overall English level and level of participation at the beginning is higher than that of last year’s freshmen.

In general, students seem friendlier, too. Many smile and/or greet us when we pass each other on campus.

Tuesday was Teachers’ Day here in China. Not much happens at this level, but I did receive several text messages wishing me a happy Teachers’ Day. When I went to see Peggy (She has decided to change the spelling of her name because this way is the normal way.), Kelly gave me a flower that her students had given her. In the evening, Roger came to visit and give Dale and me a flower and card. That was really sweet. He said that in secondary and elementary school, students give teachers notes or cards with something nice written on them.

Tuesday was also the first English Corner. It has been moved to the area in front of the library, which is more visible. Since it was the first one, all six of us went. In the future only three are required to participate each week. Also, since it was the first one, all of the freshmen English majors were required to attend; so there was a huge crowd. 

When Dale and I arrived, students were excited. They immediately started taking photos with us. Then the other four—notably the three men—arrived. Everything stopped and the whole group gasped. When I asked the group around me if they had had foreign teachers, only one girl had. I’m sure seeing so many foreigners together—and especially the young men—was a novelty. This year we will have topics to discuss, which helped get the discussion started. But this first week, the students mostly wanted to ask me questions. Many told me how much they like me and want to talk to me every week. When we finished, one girl told me I am brilliant and beautiful. Hard not to like that. As we were breaking up, a few girls from my last term’s classes came to chat with me, which was nice.

Also on Tuesday, Peggy called to ask me to go to her office after lunch. I guessed that this might be the time for Kiki to give me the gift for doing the lectures for her teachers’ training in July. And it was. The department supervisor talked to me and presented the gifts. He told me, with Kiki translating, that the teachers’ liked my lectures and thought they learned a lot. When he gave me the bags, Kiki told me I could look at the gifts. I think she wanted to see them as well. They are two beautiful, silk scarves. One is red and white brocade. The other is white with a hand-embroidered peony and butterfly. They are truly beautiful. They came in large, silk-covered boxes that are also beautiful. Chengdu and Sichuan province are famous for silk products.

The teachers’ classes are a work in progress. Dale and I had two meetings to discuss the textbook. The first one on Tuesday was with Mr. Zhong in the waiban, with Yang translating. He gave us a few books he had and said they needed a decision by Thursday. We decided that book could be used for spoken language. Then we returned to the library and found another that could be used for advanced teachers and added it to our pile. The second meeting on Thursday included the waiban people and the dean from the foreign language department, with Peggy and Yang translating. They needed the books that day. We still didn’t have library cards; so we hadn’t been able to check them out. Mr. Huang said it takes a long time; so that wasn’t going to happen soon enough. After an hour of discussion, they agreed on the first book and sent an intern to the library with me so she could check out the book we had decided to use so that they could evaluate it. Peggy called to talk to me again after they looked at the book. I guess it was agreed on, since she didn’t call again. All of this is without knowing the levels of the teachers who will attend the classes other than what I know from last year. 

Now the three levels are advanced: teachers who are preparing to teach their classes in English, intermediate: teachers who want to prepare to go abroad, and elementary: teachers who need to improve their spoken English. They will place themselves in a group.

  

Friday evening a Chinese major Dale and I had met earlier called to invite me to have dinner with her and her friend. She has met with Dale several times; so it was a surprise when she called me. Dale, April, and I joined the two of them for a traditional Sichuan dish. 

It was a dish cooked in a pot in the table. The ingredients are ordered and layered in the pot to cook. When she asked about foods, April and I said we don’t eat pork or chicken. She then asked, “What about rabbit?” Not a question one would have thought about in the U.S. or Britain. Since the answer to that was also “No,” she ordered chicken and vegetables. The chicken was wings that had been cooked and just needed to be heated in the pot. The dish was a little too spicy for me. It was just at the edge of what I can eat and over the edge of what I can enjoy. So I was eating mostly to be polite. Usually when I eat such dishes, they are one of several; so it’s OK. Since this was the only food, I couldn’t eat much and didn’t really enjoy it. But it was nice to be with them.

Saturday when I was reading on a bench at the river park, I glanced up at a young woman approaching and then continued reading. She walked past me. Half a minute later, she returned and gave me a CD. It looks like it’s about a dance group.

Last week when I was walking, a man called out to me and then stopped to talk to me. He is looking for part-time English teachers and had heard that there are foreign teachers on this campus. He has a new agency that hires foreign teachers and places them in local schools. After explaining that I am not allowed to work for pay or at elementary and secondary schools (Peace Corps regulation and special regulation in China), I agreed to ask the British teachers if they are interested in meeting him. Three of them were; so Bruce came to meet with us. April and Mark were initially interested in part-time work but then decided that it would be too much now when the term here is beginning. Sunday he called to invite us to meet a new teacher who had just arrived and is working for his agency. He said he would take us around. April and I agreed to do that. It was another experience that wasn’t what we thought it was going to be. The new teacher is a young woman from Tunisia. A Chinese student, Phyllis, was along, too. Bruce drove us to the other university campus and Phyllis took us to a drink shop where we had a drink and snack and chatted. So he didn’t really take us around, but we had an enjoyable time chatting with the two young women. Before we left, a student from Tunisia and her mother joined us. The girl will study Business Management at the university in classes for foreign students given in English. Interesting.

  

I’m having a hard time getting motivated to plan the classes. The book for the English majors is OK and has a good structure that can be adapted and used. The one for the English Education majors is a compilation of dialogues, some of which are humorous, with questions about them and a few related exercises. There is no continuity or structure to the book. It’s just random dialogues. I have read through them and noted ones that have teaching potential. There is no book for the non-English majors. The latter two are the ones I’m having difficulty feeling motivated to plan, but it will get done. I have a hard time with the administrative attitude that it doesn’t matter what foreign teachers teach the non-English majors, since it’s an extra class for the students that doesn’t count and they have Chinese teachers who also teach listening and speaking and have a textbook.

Weather has gotten warmer again. So the blanket and jacket are back in the wardrobe.