connie's space

Friday, September 28, had me scambling aboard a smallish bus headed from Luzhou to Chengdu for my National Day holidays.  I honestly didn’t expect to find myself shoved clear in the back of the vehicle.  I had purchased my ticket the day before, thinking there would be crowds heading out for the holidays.  Instead, I discovered Saturday (not Friday) was going to be when the masses hit the travel scene.  I could have saved myself a trip to the station and just bought my ticket right before I left. 

But I still ended up crammed in the last row for some reason, the only seats available.

I positioned myself at the back and pulled out my 210 1st and 3rd year introductory essays to read.  The assignment had been for my students to write something memorable that would help me with their names and getting to know them a bit better.  They  had a choice of My Family, An Exciting Day or A Lesson in Life I Learned to write about.  Most choose family, which can get a bit tedious as they say the same thing, but some do have stories to tell which make the reading worthwhile.
 
We were just heading out of the city when the young woman sitting next to me started out with, “Do you speak English?  Where are you from?”
 
Usually, I am not too keen on spending 3 1/2 hours on a bus stuck with someone who wants to practice their English.  Some can only say a few words and struggle to get out sentences that make sense.  After spending an entire morning with such learners in the classroom, plus during the week, the last thing a foreign teacher wants is to start up in a conversation with a second language learner on the bus.
 
But she was friendly enough, and her English pronunciation  was quite good, so I was nice.  We started talking and, within the next 2 hours, I had a fascinating new friend whose stories were quite unique.

All About Sky
 
Her name was Tian Yingfeng, or Sky as she liked to be called.  She was actually from Hubei Province, only 3 hours’ busride from Beijing, but she came to Sichuan as a college student to study in an Yibin college.  (Yibin is a city 1 1/2 hours from Luzhou.) 

I knew she wasn’t a Sichuan gal when I saw her.  Her  facial features were very different from those in our area.  She had a northerner’s high nose (not flat), high cheekbones and was very slender with long, beautiful arms and legs.  Sichuan girls, on the other hand, tend to be a little on the plump, fleshy side.  She was 28 years old, unemployed at the moment and on her way to the army base in Chengdu where she would spend the holidays with her boyfriend, a soldier.  He was on duty but she could stay in the visitors’ guesthouse.  When he had time, he’d join her.
 
Sky hadn’t majored in English, although that surprised me because her English was so good. She proved that quite early on in our talk.   Instead of me priming the conversation with questions to get her to speak, which is usually what happens on such first-time meetings, she was full of stories, personal thoughts and unique experiences which she openly shared.

 A Soldier as a Boyfriend
 
Her boyfriend, Xiao Quan, was also 28 and his parents lived in a tiny village near Luzhou.  In fact, she was living with them now while waiting for Xiao Quan to finish his army contract.  He’d been in the army for 12 years and was about ready to leave that life in order to marry Sky. 

I asked how he came into the army and she told me a story very similar to my father’s when he joined the Marine Corp.  Her boyfriend was a very poor student who didn’t study well and didn’t get high grades in school.  When he was 17, his father suggested he join the army, which is what his dad had done when he was young.  Thus Xiao Quan dropped out of high school and joined the exam to become a soldier.  He went to Chengdu, was accepted, went through basic training, and later finished his high school study criteria.  The army sent him to study in a military college for 3 years in Hunan Province to specialize in some such thing.  Later, he was posted in Tibet for 2 years and then returned to his placement in Chengdu. 
 
I told Sky that my father also was a very poor student in high school.  He had learning difficulties and no focus in life.  His dad had been a soldier as well during the world war.  My dad barely obtained his high school diploma due to his grades but the moment he did, he signed up for the Marines.  He often told his own students, when he was a history and social studies teacher in high school, that joining the military was the turning point in his life.  He learned self-worth and pride in himself.  He was also able to later study in college to receive his BA degree, all due to the GI Bill after he finished his time in the military. 
 
Of course, the military life isn’t for everyone but it seems that for Sky’s boyfriend, and my father, this was an excellent way for them to feel better about themselves, become more educated and be productive citizens for their countries.

 It was Fate . . . Twice

 “Do you want to know how we met?” Sky plunged ahead in our conversation. I didn’t even have time to respond before she went ahead excitedly.

 “Everyone says it’s very interesting.  I will tell you.”

 All I can say is, what a story!

 Sky was traveling on a train from Chengdu to Beijing, a 27-hour trip, with her classmate.  This was the holiday break and she was going home for the summer.  The train’s air-conditioning was on so high that her friend was extremely cold.  Sky went to find someone to help out and ran into this soldier (Xiao Quan) in the next compartment over. She said her friend was freezing and he loaned his jacket to her.  After that, the two of them began talking for the rest of the trip, enjoying an energetic conversation together.

 When the train arrived in Beijing, Xiao Quan asked for her telephone number.  Sky, however, didn’t want to give it to him.  She’d only know him for a short time and he wasn’t anyone particularly special she wanted to keep in contact with.  But since she didn’t want to give a flat-out “no,” she gave him her dormitory telephone number at her college. 

After the summer holidays, she returned to find out that the dorm telephone wasn’t working.  It had been like that all summer and continued partly into the new semester.  Finally, when it did get fixed some 5 months later, there was a call for her:  Xiao Quan!  He had tried numerous times to contact her ever since meeting on the train with no luck.  Yet he persistently, and faithfully, kept trying again and again and again until . . . success!

 Five months is a long time for someone to have such a strong desire to reconnect.  This time, Sky gave him her cellphone number and the romance began.  Phone calls, emails, online chats ensued but still no second meeting yet.  Sky was in Yibin, at school; Xiao Quan was in Chengdu, busy with his military duties.  There just wasn’t another opportunity to get together.

 What truly synched it, though, and was the deciding factor which proved fate was definitely at play here, occurred, once again, on the train. 

Sky was on the train in January, heading off to Beijing yet again on her winter holidays home in her Hubei Province. She called Xiao Quan to tell him she was on her way home when he said he was on his way to the north, too.  Where was she at the moment?

“I’m on the train to Beijing,” she replied.

 There was silence on the other end.

“But I’m also on the train to Beijing,” Xiao Quan said.  “What’s your compartment number?”

“I’m 4,” Sky announced.

 “I’m 6!  Just 2 away from you!” he replied.

Sure enough, they both stepped out into the corridor and saw one another.  After that, it was only a matter of asking one of her compartment passengers to exchange bunks with Xiao Quan so they could be together for the rest of the journey.

And after that, the relationship solidified as boyfriend and girlfriend.

Before Departing

Sky said that marriage was definitely in the future but they’d have to wait.  At present, she said it was a little difficult living with his parents. She is a modern girl yet her boyfiend’s mom and dad are traditional Chinese. I can imagine, while everyone is polite and tries to be kind, annoyances from both sides will often appear and cause problems.

I told her it’s difficult living with anyone’s parents, but especially those of your future husband.

Then she had an argument with Xiao Quan on the phone right before getting on the bus.  She was feeling rather down and upset until she started the conversation with me. 

“I wasn’t sure you’d want to talk,” she said.  “I know some foreigners don’t want to talk to strangers, and I worried maybe I couldn’t understand what you were saying.  Now I see I was wrong.  You are a very kind person.  You  made my day a happy one.  I can’t wait to tell my boyfriend all about you.  It’s a very special start to my holiday.  Thank you so much!”

 A Gentle Reminder about New Friendships

Sky’s words made me wonder what would have happened had my mood been a different one.  There are many times when we, as foreign teachers in China, are tired and shut ourselves off from those around us who are excited and eager to talk to us.  We pretend not to understand or turn our attentions in another direction so we don’t have to make the effort.

During my time in China, I’m sure I’ve been guilty of doing just that, more than once.

Opportunities to meet fascinating people and establish new friendships are at every turn in China.  It’s wise not to forget to snatch them up at every chance, no matter what mood you’re in. 

Thanks, Sky, for that gentle reminder!

My new friend, Sky, and me on the bus to Chengdu

Until more holiday stories arrive, here’s Ping An (Peace) for your weekend.
 

                   The English major in me couldn’t resist posting these, as forwarded by a Maine relative of mine. My Chinese readers most likely will be rolling in question marks and bemoaning their inadequate language skills, but for us native speakers, hope this brings a chuckle to your day.  Ping An! (Peace!)

Paraprosdokians  (Winston Churchill loved them!) are figures of  speech in which the latter  part of a sentence or phrase is surprising or unexpected, and frequently humorous.

1. Where there’s a will, I want to be in it.
2. The last thing I want to do is hurt you. But it’s still on my list.
3. Since light travels faster than sound, some people appear bright until you hear them speak.

4. If I agreed with you, we’d both be wrong.
5. We never really grow up; we only learn how to act in public.
6. War does not determine who is right – only who is left.
7. Knowledge is knowing a tomato is a fruit. Wisdom is not putting it in a fruit salad.
8. They begin the evening news with ‘Good Evening,’ then proceed to tell you why it isn’t.
9. To steal ideas from one person is plagiarism. To steal from many is research.
10. Buses stop in bus stations. Trains stop in train stations. My desk is a work station.
11. In filling out an application, where it says, ‘In case of emergency, notify:____ ‘,  I put ‘DOCTOR.’
12. I didn’t say it was your fault.  I only said I was blaming you.
13. A clear conscience is the sign of a poor memory.
14. You do not need a parachute to skydive. You only need a parachute to skydive twice.
15. Money can’t buy happiness, but it sure makes misery easier to live with.
16. I used to be indecisive. Now I’m not so sure.
17. You’re never too old to learn something stupid.
18. To be sure of hitting the target, shoot first and call whatever you hit the target.
19. Nostalgia isn’t what it used to be.
20. Change is inevitable, except from a vending machine.
21. Going to church doesn’t make you a Christian any more than standing in a garage makes you a car.
22. I’m supposed to respect my elders, but it’s getting harder and harder for me to find one

               Yesterday, the China Telecom workers came to install my telephone and Internet lines, allowing me to finally be able to post my first blog since returning to China.  There will definitely be more to come.  Enjoy! 

News of the 2012 Amity Summer Orientation

             Yangzhou (yahng-jo) is a newly developed city 2 hours from Nanjing.  For the past 9 years, Amity has held their 2 ½ week orientation for newcoming teachers to China on the campus of Yangzhou Educational College.    

            The quaint, dated guesthouse of the school boasts 4 floors with meeting rooms, a dining hall, double occupancy guestrooms, and a communal kitchen with washing machines and refrigerator.  Air-conditioning/heating units in each room keep visitors cool in the oppressive summer heat and cozy warm in the deep winter.  Internet hook-up also accommodates each room, although it took a few days of rewiring to get it working properly.

            For myself, this is the first time for me to lead workshops and oversee the Young Adult Volunteers (YAP), which is now in its 4th year with Amity.  As mentioned before, these folk are Germans (ages 19 to 21, mostly) who will be teaching English for 1 year at junior and senior high schools in Gansu and Jiangsu Province. (Yes, English is currently like a second language in German schools so they can speak it well.)  

            This program was established as a joint partnership between the Amity Foundation and the German Lutheran Church, which wanted to give young people a chance to serve in China.  Another interesting aim was to give an alternative to German young men for their mandatory military service to their country.  The stint in China was counted toward their compulsory 1-year military instruction.

            Because a majority of the YAP have not attended college, their pay is only a measly $250 a month. 

            For the 2-year Amity program, which requires a degree-holding individual to teach at the college level, the pay is much higher (a monthly 4,000 yuan, roughly $645, in Chinese money and an added $250 per month in US currency on top of that.) 

 About Our Participants

           The Staff and New Teachers

           This year, our Amity orientation staff consisted of Liu Ruhong, the Director of the Amity Educational Division, myself and Lena (experienced Amity teachers to help lead workshops and training) and Judith, a young German from Bavaria who had just finished her year as a YAP and was to be our resource/recreation leader. 

            Lena was in charge of the Amity Teachers; I was in charge of the YAPs.

            This year, we had a total of only 4 Amity teachers (3 from the U.S. and 1 from the U.K.) under Lena’s guidance and 15 Germans under my care, 10 of which were men.

The Young Adult Program, 15 Germans (and Connie)

           The Tutors

          Also in the group were 10 Chinese college and senior high school students who were assigned to tutor the teachers one-on-one in Chinese.  The Chinese tutors lived in the guesthouse with everyone, became very close to their foreign guests, toured them around the city on non-study hours and helped them adjust to life in China.  They also doubled as guinea pigs for the Amity teachers who taught them in a classroom setting every morning for 2 hours.  Lena took care of those arrangements, helping the 4 new college teachers with planning and observing them with feedback sessions in the evening of how they did.

           The Middle School Students

          As for my group of Germans, they had a more daunting task for their teaching practice. 

            Every morning, from 8 – 10 a.m., we had 56 junior high kids gathered in the 3^rd floor meeting room for daily lessons from our inexperienced young teachers.  My job was to lead the 15 in teaching skills, planning sessions and workshops on how to teach.  It was also my job to observe the classes my group taught, take notes and meet with them later to discuss difficulties and improvements.

            Our classes were in 50-minute intervals with 2 Germans co-teaching together during those 50 minutes.  This allowed them all to teach twice during the orientation time, which would at least get them started in knowing how to handle a large class of rambunctious kids.  Their own class sizes would be similar in their Chinese schools but they’d be teaching on their own, not with a companion.  Just getting their classroom feet wet was the aim of the program, plus giving them confidence enough to tackle the teaching field on their own.

Our guinea pigs, ready to begin class

Duties of the teachers included checking student workbooks. Stickers (courtesy of so many of you!) graced every page filled with notes.

I always encouraged our new teachers to interact with students during the break. “Any questions?”

Time for Recreation:  Connie and Her Swimming Fetish

            For me, the schedule was packed full from 6:30 a.m. to 10 p.m. taking care of my duties with the 15 but I did manage to get in my pool time from 10 – 1:30 p.m. every day. 

            The expansion of Yangzhou was amazing with huge shopping malls, convention centers, new university campuses, exhibition halls and apartment complexes popping up at the outskirts of the city.  Amid all these new developments was the Yangzhou Sports Center, which boasted an indoor gymnasium for gymnastics and basketball events as well as a huge natatorium. 

The brand new Yangzhou Natatorium, like an Olympic venue

Welcome!

      When I entered the pool area, it was like an Olympic venue with 4 pools available.

A swimmer’s paradise

              My first visit found the 50 meter pool had lane lines marked for fast swimmers.  That was my place.  After hitting the water, everyone found out that they had a speedy one in their midst. 

            One of the things I’ve learned over the years with swimming in China is to be polite.  The Chinese don’t know pool etiquette very well for experienced swimmers.  They stand in your way, crowd at the ends of the pool to chit-chat, often swim on the wrong side of the lane, sometimes jump on top of you because they aren’t paying attention (very frightening for me!) or push off in front of you just when you’re trying to pass them.

            Years ago, my strategy was to be aggressive and mow them over.  After all, that’s what we did in my college team practices.  It worked in clearing people out but didn’t gain me many friends in the Chinese pool.

            Now that my language skills are good enough, I usually talk to the lifeguards first to tell them the lanes need to be cleared out if designated for fast swimmers.  That’s me.  Then I talk to the lane swimmers, introducing myself and establishing a good relationship. 

            “I swim fast,” I tell them.  “Don’t worry if you’re slow.  I can swim around you.”

            After that, I’ve set up the rest of my days in a new pool environment until it’s time for me to leave.

              I did make quite a few swimming friends in Yangzhou.  The noontime swimmers were mostly men who wanted advice on doing flipturns and stroke work.  When my swimming time was over, I’d spend a little time giving free instruction to those interested.  Even the lifeguards stepped in next to my lane to get an expert opinion on how to swim better.

            My last day at the Yangzhou Natatorium was a little sad but there were some promises that I might be around next year if asked to participate in the orientation again.

 Starting Up the School Year in Luzhou

            We are starting the second week I’ve been back in Luzhou, meaning most of the first year  students have already arrived and settled into their college life far from home. 

Each department’s greeting table welcomed new students to the campus

Banners along the main walkway greeted everyone

All new students were required to have a health check and vaccinations. The lines were definitely not short!

Only during these opening days are businesses allowed to sell their wares on campus. Cell phones, MPs, i-pads, room Net connections . . . you name it, it was offered at bargain prices.

The most important place for anyone? Of course, our one and only campus ATM machine.

                My apartment was still just as empty of furnishings as it was when I left so the school and I have been working on that.  Roasting temps have been a bit of a downer, especially as the air-con unit is still missing, but that will be taken care of this week. 

             During the weekend, after a very fun shopping spree, we’ve  managed:  a dark rose couch, a huge wardrobe, dresser, movable kitchen rolling cabinet, a used washing machine (not yet connected) and refrigerator, a water dispenser and today’s grand prize, Internet hook-up!

            As for classes, at present, I have only met with my two classes of 2^nd year students, English Education majors.  I have 47 students in one class and 43 in another.  All are very eager and excited to have me as their second foreign language teacher (Last year, they had John with the Peace Corp.  He and Ashley, newlyweds, are staying in the apartment below mine and are also teaching at the college this year.)

            The 1^st year students are doing their military training, marching about the campus from early morning to late in the evening.  They have this for 10 days before finally starting up their studies here.  When they complete this mandatory course, I will then have added to my schedule all the 1^st year English Education majors.   More reports on them at a later date, naturally.

           I do believe that catches you up on the news from this end.  Until next time, here’s wishing you Ping An (peace) for your week.