Off Again (10-25)

After teaching for a week and a half, on Wednesday last week we learned that the freshmen were going to military training this week for two weeks. I first learned about this when some students were asking me about the next lecture. When I told them it would be this week, they let me know that they would be gone. Some of the other foreign teachers had learned about it from students as early as Tuesday. When I emailed Peggy to confirm, she responded that she was going to let us know and thanked me for reminding her. We got the message the next day. I know this didn’t just come up suddenly and had been on the schedule, but she had forgotten to inform us foreign teachers.

So, we have two weeks without our freshmen classes. That left me with one sophomore class and the class for teachers. Then Peggy called on Friday to let me know that the sophomore class was also cancelled because they, too, would be at military training. (I don’t know why.) I was just starting to get into the routine of teaching after two uninterrupted weeks. Oh, well. I’ll get to make that adjustment again.

Dale had been told about a party last Thursday evening for the Foreign Language Department students. It was a pre-departure party before they left for military training. Students gave about ten performances—dance, music, a skit, traditional martial arts. It was nice to see them show their various talents. Each department had their own party. April had been invited to the one for the biology department, since she teaches a class for biology majors. She said it was better than the one we went to.

Last Wednesday I came upon the student fair to recruit for various clubs. The street was lined with colorful boards advertising each group. Some students were in costume. A photographer had me pose with one boy. I noticed the yoga group and asked about participating. I was given a contact phone number, and learned, when I texted, that the class will start after military training.

Now I’m in vacation mode. I became social and invited the others for a pasta dinner on Sunday. I asked April to prepare another dish so we’d have enough food, as four of them are males who eat a lot. We went to Carrefour and the market on Saturday to purchase supplies. Since there is a KFC near Carrefour, we had lunch there. For a few days, I’d been craving a KFC chicken breast, which is unusual for me, and April had mentioned several times that she wanted to eat KFC. So this was our opportunity. The first disappointment was that they don’t have white meat. There is one item that can be white meat or a leg, but it would have been a 20-minute wait. So I ordered popcorn chicken, which was OK but not great. April sampled them and said they are not like the ones in the UK (and probably in the U.S.) because they don’t have as much meat. But the fries were good. April enjoyed her sandwich. She explained that the meat in the sandwiches is dark meat, as Chinese don’t eat much white meat. To complete our treat, we had an ice cream cone, and it was also quite tasty and could be repeated.

My plan for this “vacation” time is to keep busy so I don’t become bored or settle into being unsociable and then have a hard time readjusting to teaching again. Tuesday I went to the Peace Corps office because I’d been told to go in to pick up new Tamiflu, since the box I had was outdated. While there, I picked up some newly-arrived—and new, as they haven’t been read yet—books in the library. They are fiction and nonfiction books about China that will be interesting to read.

In the afternoon I went to People’s Park, since I hadn’t been there yet. It lives up to its name and publicity that it’s a good place to people watch. The park isn’t as big as some I’ve been to and isn’t as green, but it is full of places where people hang out and there are paths to walk on. 

There were people performing—singing and dancing. 

Some were doing social dancing; others were doing traditional dancing. 

One couple was doing what looked like a courtship dance that would usually be done my young performers, but this couple was over 50. 

There were people playing mahjong and badminton. There were men doing water calligraphy on the pavement. When one man noticed that I was taking photos, he handed me his brush; so I painted “HELLO.” 

In one section, there were many of what looked like advertisements on poles. Many old people were reading them carefully. I wondered what they were. The next day I asked Michelle, showing her a photo, and she explained that they are personal ads that parents/grandparents post for young people so they can find a date for their children/grandchildren.

Thursday afternoon April and I went to see Ying at her education center. She wanted us to see it and to talk to us about going to talk with some pre-school teachers next week. She walked us through a shopping area, and we had snacks at KFC. She’s a pleasant young woman.

Friday April and I rented bicycles. Since she’s not a strong rider, we went to the Financial University campus nearby. It’s bigger than our campus, so there are more places to ride around. It was an enjoyable outing. While there, she noticed a sports store, and we went in to see if they have badminton rackets. They do; so we bought an inexpensive set. When we returned, we played for a while. That, too, was fun.

For two weeks, I had students come to see me during my office hours. The first was a girl who is friends with a boy who had been emailing me.  (He calls her his partner.) We had a chat about differences in education in China and the U.S. One difference I mentioned is the encouragement/expectation for students to think and not just memorize information. She liked this and said a few times that she doesn’t like the Chinese system and prefers the Western system. She also prefers Western teachers, which she had in high school, because they are more fun. (Back to that theme again—foreign teachers are supposed to be fun and not serious.) She is a computer major because her exam score was not high enough to be an English major. The boy came the following week and I met him for the first time. Since his writing is pretty good, I was a little surprised at how much he struggled to speak. But this is common. Later he emailed about his embarrassment because he can’t speak much. He is a construction major. One of my students also came that week. She had told me she had a story to tell me and would come to do that. Her story was about an American teacher she had in high school and liked very much. The woman told her that she would keep in touch when she left, but she has not responded to emails, which makes the girl sad. She also talked about how she comes from a poor family in a village. Her father always emphasized the importance of studying and going to university. So she’s here, but, unfortunately, he died two years ago and can’t see this. I felt sad for her.

It’s quiet on campus without all the freshmen. The crowd going to class is like it was last year, not as dense as it is this year. I met a couple former students who are now sophomores and they commented that they like having the freshmen gone because they can go to the canteen for breakfast. Without the freshmen it’s not so crowded and they can get in and buy food in time to go to class. They also mentioned that they are a little envious that the freshmen are at military now and they had to go in May. Because it was hot and sunny in May, they returned with darker skin, which the freshmen won’t have to worry about. I also learned that the electricity in the dormitories will go off at 11:00 PM because it’s not hot now and they don’t need to use the fans at night. So they won’t be able to do much after that hour and will have to go to sleep earlier.

When people ask about my hometown and I tell them that with its population of 150,000 (I’ve now looked it up and learned that the population is now 250,000.) it’s considered to be a small city in the U.S., they laugh. In China, a very small city has a population of 1,000,000. 250,000 is a village.

I’ve been enjoying pomelos recently, as they are in season. These are fruits in the grapefruit family that are not sour and have a thicker skin. I’ve gotten good at removing the skin and separating sections. I’ve also been enjoying pomegranates.

I've also been enjoying these flowering trees. Flowers are pink or white, single or double all on the same tree. 

On Friday when I turned on the computer, 360, the Chinese USB protection program, popped up a message with some gift boxes at the bottom and the number 60 in the Chinese message. I think it looked like a 60 shopping days till Christmas reminder, since it was October 24. Just what I need here in China! (But, of course, that's not what it was.)