Saturday, October 20, 2007
Sparse Posts
For the next few weeks, I may not have as much time to blog (for several reasons.) First, I am teaching a Pronunciation class, and the planning takes a bit of time (at least until I get use to it.) Second, we have some homework that we have to complete for our teaching certificate that allows us to teach here in China. Finally, as I get to know students and teachers more, there are more invites, which I try to accept (energy permitting.) So, I will do my best, but some weeks, I may not have time to blog. But, I love any thoughts or emails. Keep them coming.
Office Hours
During office hours, many interesting conversations happen. Students use this time to voice any questions they have that they do not feel comfortable asking in class. The questions range from American culture to Grammar questions. This week while we were talking about High School and college life in America, one student asked, “is it true about students parking?” Hmm, an awkward question to answer about parking. But, I answered her that yes, indeed High School students do park the car sometimes when they are on a date. I asked her where she had heard of this “parking?”
Another student asked what it means when someone makes air quotes around something that they say. Many students ask about how they can study in America and if it is difficult to go. I have no idea what kinds of hoops they have to jump through or what money they have to pay to study abroad, so I am probably the least helpful on this question.
And, don’t forget the grammar questions. For example, is “Mike and Susan’s desk” the same as “Mike’s and Susan’s desk?” How many desks are being referred to in each of these sentences. I have been stumped on more than one occasion by grammar questions similar to these.
But the students are lovely. I have had only a handful of bad experiences with the students so far. In general, they are eager to spend time together, ask their questions about culture and English, and share insights about their culture as well. This past Friday, I was told that it was a Holiday to honor older people—if they had not told me, I would have had no idea.
For most of the office times, only sophomores have come to visit. This is in part because I have been teaching them longer and because I gave them an assignment that they MUST come and visit the office. I am not sure if I will make this a requirement in the future, but it does provide an excellent chance to talk more with each student in the class.
This past week, a couple of freshman stopped in the office. In front of the sophomore students, one brave freshman told me that I was “the apple of her eye.” Hmm, I am not sure about that one. The sophomores, eager to learn idioms, asked me what she meant.
Another student asked what it means when someone makes air quotes around something that they say. Many students ask about how they can study in America and if it is difficult to go. I have no idea what kinds of hoops they have to jump through or what money they have to pay to study abroad, so I am probably the least helpful on this question.
And, don’t forget the grammar questions. For example, is “Mike and Susan’s desk” the same as “Mike’s and Susan’s desk?” How many desks are being referred to in each of these sentences. I have been stumped on more than one occasion by grammar questions similar to these.
But the students are lovely. I have had only a handful of bad experiences with the students so far. In general, they are eager to spend time together, ask their questions about culture and English, and share insights about their culture as well. This past Friday, I was told that it was a Holiday to honor older people—if they had not told me, I would have had no idea.
For most of the office times, only sophomores have come to visit. This is in part because I have been teaching them longer and because I gave them an assignment that they MUST come and visit the office. I am not sure if I will make this a requirement in the future, but it does provide an excellent chance to talk more with each student in the class.
This past week, a couple of freshman stopped in the office. In front of the sophomore students, one brave freshman told me that I was “the apple of her eye.” Hmm, I am not sure about that one. The sophomores, eager to learn idioms, asked me what she meant.
Sunday, October 14, 2007
Under the Sea
I can't wait any longer to share the best feature of my apartment--the mermaid curtain in my bathroom. In case you can't tell, the mermaid is hugging a dolphin and swimming in the sea.
Victory Pose
The students like to make this gesture when taking pictures. I think (to them) it means "victory."
Sunday Evening
Each day here is very unique and different. However, we just finished the first week of the normal teaching schedule that we will hold for the rest of the semester. It’s nice to finally be able to see some consistency in the cards for the rest of the school year. After the week, I also realize that I will need to be sure to take time (maybe a little everyday) to rest and quiet myself.
Let me describe this Sunday evening for you: 4:00—my language tutor comes over and she explains how to correctly produce the vowels and consonants in the Chinese alphabet. At 5:30, a little neighbor girl knocks on the door with a little English book. My language tutor and I talk for a little longer, and then she leaves and I begin reading with the neighbor girl. I read each vocabulary word or sentence first, and then she repeats. Sometimes, we do a little role-play. I have tried to convince her to sing a song with some of the poems in the book, but I think this is too foreign to her so I have not pushed it. It’s also very interesting, because even though she can read some English, I must use Chinese if I want to communicate with her. As you may guess, my Chinese level is that of a 3 year old. So, it’s my 3 year old self communicating with a 9 year old trying to instruct her how to pronounce different English words.
After the neighbor girl leaves, I feel a little hungry. I walk out of our apartment and decide that I should try to cook for myself this evening which means I need to buy more oil, vegetables, and eggs. At the vegetable stand, I ask the boss how much for eggs and tomatoes. I agree to buy the eggs but try to tell him (in 3 year old Chinese) that the tomatoes are too small. He says that they are very delicious tasting. I don’t believe him, but I am too lazy and hungry to bargain any further. Plus, he is very patient and announces his words very slowly in addition to using his hands to tell me how much I should pay.
Next, I stop at the store and buy some oil. Some younger students look at me, say “hello” and giggle. This is normal. While some people are indifferent to the foreigners, some (mostly junior high age) are enamored by us. On my walk home, I buy a bubble tea at the little bubble tea shop. The bubble tea at the shop is not so delicious, but the workers are kind and it’s a good chance to get at least a little calcium in the day.
At home, I cook the egg and tomato dish. Finally—success. Although I don’t mind eating out, the Chinese people feel that it is unhealthy and unsanitary to eat out so much. My neighbors often warn me against eating out and say they seldom, if ever, eat at the little shops where the foreign teachers frequent. So, I figure, “when in Rome . . .” Also, I think that my students feel I am incompetent when I tell them how often I eat out. They have tried to convince me that it is simple to cook Chinese food. So, I have made one dish with success. I will continue to try my hand at cooking Chinese food.
I visit the other foreign teacher for a moment. She has just cleaned her apartment; it looks great—I decide to also spot-clean my apartment. In the midst of cleaning, the phone rings. It is another foreign teacher. She asks me about the English names in one section of freshman students (she teaches their Conversation class while I teach their Pronunciation class.) We have all our students pick English names for both their English Conversation and Pronunciation class. We try to screen the names as they pick them or we have some crazy names. The students in this particular section escaped our name radar and picked some wacky English names. I tell her that I convinced Shooting and Peaken to pick real names, but had no luck with Flamingo and Hey O. She will try to convince these students to pick different names tomorrow. We also decide that we will let Flick and Sandbag keep their names.
The day has gone too fast. I will talk with my parents later this evening on skype, do a little leisure reading, and hit the hay. Good night to a good day!
Let me describe this Sunday evening for you: 4:00—my language tutor comes over and she explains how to correctly produce the vowels and consonants in the Chinese alphabet. At 5:30, a little neighbor girl knocks on the door with a little English book. My language tutor and I talk for a little longer, and then she leaves and I begin reading with the neighbor girl. I read each vocabulary word or sentence first, and then she repeats. Sometimes, we do a little role-play. I have tried to convince her to sing a song with some of the poems in the book, but I think this is too foreign to her so I have not pushed it. It’s also very interesting, because even though she can read some English, I must use Chinese if I want to communicate with her. As you may guess, my Chinese level is that of a 3 year old. So, it’s my 3 year old self communicating with a 9 year old trying to instruct her how to pronounce different English words.
After the neighbor girl leaves, I feel a little hungry. I walk out of our apartment and decide that I should try to cook for myself this evening which means I need to buy more oil, vegetables, and eggs. At the vegetable stand, I ask the boss how much for eggs and tomatoes. I agree to buy the eggs but try to tell him (in 3 year old Chinese) that the tomatoes are too small. He says that they are very delicious tasting. I don’t believe him, but I am too lazy and hungry to bargain any further. Plus, he is very patient and announces his words very slowly in addition to using his hands to tell me how much I should pay.
Next, I stop at the store and buy some oil. Some younger students look at me, say “hello” and giggle. This is normal. While some people are indifferent to the foreigners, some (mostly junior high age) are enamored by us. On my walk home, I buy a bubble tea at the little bubble tea shop. The bubble tea at the shop is not so delicious, but the workers are kind and it’s a good chance to get at least a little calcium in the day.
At home, I cook the egg and tomato dish. Finally—success. Although I don’t mind eating out, the Chinese people feel that it is unhealthy and unsanitary to eat out so much. My neighbors often warn me against eating out and say they seldom, if ever, eat at the little shops where the foreign teachers frequent. So, I figure, “when in Rome . . .” Also, I think that my students feel I am incompetent when I tell them how often I eat out. They have tried to convince me that it is simple to cook Chinese food. So, I have made one dish with success. I will continue to try my hand at cooking Chinese food.
I visit the other foreign teacher for a moment. She has just cleaned her apartment; it looks great—I decide to also spot-clean my apartment. In the midst of cleaning, the phone rings. It is another foreign teacher. She asks me about the English names in one section of freshman students (she teaches their Conversation class while I teach their Pronunciation class.) We have all our students pick English names for both their English Conversation and Pronunciation class. We try to screen the names as they pick them or we have some crazy names. The students in this particular section escaped our name radar and picked some wacky English names. I tell her that I convinced Shooting and Peaken to pick real names, but had no luck with Flamingo and Hey O. She will try to convince these students to pick different names tomorrow. We also decide that we will let Flick and Sandbag keep their names.
The day has gone too fast. I will talk with my parents later this evening on skype, do a little leisure reading, and hit the hay. Good night to a good day!
Monday, October 08, 2007
Indirectness
I have started to become even more aware of the indirectness that the Chinese people use when they do not want to do something or when they know the request is impossible. Instead of directly saying “no,” they will indirectly tell you “no” by saying something like, “It is not convenient for us to . . . . ” or “It is not suitable to . . . . . .” In my own conversations, I have started to use this type of language when people ask me to do something or help them with something that I know I do not have the skill or time to help them. Another indirect refusal is to postpone fulfilling the request until a later time. At that later time then, you can again postpone the request until another even later time. However, in postponing a request, there will likely come a time when you will have to fulfill the request. Therefore, it is better to think of a good reason in the beginning such as “It is not convenient for me to tutor you since I am already teaching 8 classes” or something along those lines.
I have also picked up on my Chinese students and friends use of the words “maybe” and “in fact.” In fact, you can (and most Chinese people do) add the word “maybe” to every sentence. It does not necessarily change the meaning of the sentence; it just changes the certainty of what is being said. Maybe it’s something that can soften your request for a favor. Another phrase that is popular here is, “It would be a pity.” I like this phrase quite a bit, but I told my students that usually we do not use this phrase. Instead we say, “It would be too bad” or “It would stink if. . .”
I have also picked up on my Chinese students and friends use of the words “maybe” and “in fact.” In fact, you can (and most Chinese people do) add the word “maybe” to every sentence. It does not necessarily change the meaning of the sentence; it just changes the certainty of what is being said. Maybe it’s something that can soften your request for a favor. Another phrase that is popular here is, “It would be a pity.” I like this phrase quite a bit, but I told my students that usually we do not use this phrase. Instead we say, “It would be too bad” or “It would stink if. . .”
Trip to Changsha
By the way, this most recent trip was to Changsha--the largest city in Hunan. Changsha is apparently the Hollywood in China. From what I was told, a lot of movie stars and TV show hosts live in this city. The city itself has several popular touris attractions and is also a very clean city.
Friday, October 05, 2007
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