Foreigners

This evening, as most of our teaching team (minus one) was sitting down at a restaurant to eat, we spied two other foreigners. We quickly pointed them out to each other, and made speculations about who they were and what their role was / is in Hengyang. We didn’t have to speculate for long, because the older, bigger of the two made his way to our table and introduced himself as “Randy from California.” He reminded me of someone running for city mayor and was very eager to talk about himself. We learned that he is a teacher at a High School here in the city and doesn’t get off his campus much. He explained that he was on his way home, when two young ladies wanted to practice their English with him. So he and the other foreigner, Enrique, were eating supper with these ladies who were also former English students of ours. Now the students were maybe 21 or 22 even though Randy is probably close in age to my father. Disturbing? Yes, I do think so Mayor Randy.

Drink warm Water and Wear more clothes

“Drink warm water, and wear more clothes or keep yourself covered.” This is the advice you might hear if you have a cold, are feeling sick, or have just had a major operation in China. Another foreign teacher from Japan, recently had his appendix removed here in the local hospital. The surgery took 2 hours; he stayed in the hospital for 8 days afterward “recovering.” The recovery process consisted of nurses giving him a series of IV drips each day, while the doctors would check on him usually in the morning. From what we could tell, the IV’s he received were a mix of saline and vitamins. So for 8 days, he endured quite intense pain in a room with many visitors and well-wishers. At times, when the pain was intense, he would groan and writhe a little and the students would look on. The students and doctors also had some advice for him on how to speed up his recovery: drink warm water, keep the heavy blanket on your body (to maintain the “qi,”) and try to walk. He graciously listened to their advice, but towards the end of his stay, was more direct about taking off the thick blanket for a few hours. Also, one of the other foreign teachers convinced a student that it was okay for the patient to drink cold water because when the water hit his throat, it would be warm. The student, quite hesitantly, allowed the foreign teacher to serve the patient cold water.

From what I observed, if you are sick in China, your friends and family want to show they care by staying by your side. This is quite different from Western people’s feelings about being around people who are sick. We want to protect ourself and stay clear of sick people. Furthermore, sick people in the West, generally don’t readily welcome company when they are feeling intense pain. But in the East, it seems you show your love and concern by staying with the ill. At one time during the Japanese professor’s stay, he passed some gas and asked his students, “What do you think of my smell?” They smiled mischievously and said, “It smells good.” Side note: I learned that after surgery, it is good for you to pass gas because during the operation, a lot of air gets inside your system. So the fact that this professor was passing gas, truly was a good thing.

No pooping here

This morning I was out jogging around the track. So, run, run, run. . . I like to run and get lost in the music playing from my magical little ipod. This morning, however, it was not quite as mindless as there was a soccer practice for young boys going on right in the middle of one section of the track. It’s no big deal, so I just run around them and continue on. . . run, run, run. There are also two young children (maybe 2 years old and 3 years old) playing on the opposite side of the track. I am sure their parents or grandparents are nearby, but it’s unclear who they are or where they are. The little kids take turns running around the track (or one third of the way around the track.) It’s pretty charming. So, run, run, run, run. All the sudden, I notice that the soccer team is all pointing and yelling toward the middle of the field. I am not sure what they are saying, but when I look to the middle of the field, I can guess. . .one of the little children is squatting in the middle of the field and pooping. Although young kids can relieve themselves in most public places in China, I guess the soccer field / track is not one of them. So, the soccer team was yelling at this little child to quit pooping. What a moment. . . life is never dull. Run, run, run.

At the Park

At the park in China, it is best to have your camera and a long arm (so you can take photos all together). My Chinese friends could have spent endless hours posing with various plants and buildings. I was not as excited about the photo shoot but willing to go along with it for an hour or so.

Believe it or not. .

The other day, I was walking with a former student and friend, and she said out of the blue, “Believe it or not, you look very beautiful today.” I didn’t know how to respond to that, but I know I smiled a little. Hmm, I wonder what she meant by the “believe it or not” part, and I also think it’s pretty sincere how she specified that “today” I looked good to make a clear distinction from other days.

Although I enjoy getting compliments from students, their openness about physical appearances also has some downfalls. For example, when you are having a bad day, they are equally as likely to comment on your appearance as when you are having a good day. I had dry skin on my face one day, and a student pointed it out. Or if you have bad acne one day, they will likely comment on it and ask the reason. On my bad days, I don’t feel like so gracious when people point out my physical flaws. Or students might comment on someone else’s beauty right in front of you. For example, the other single teacher on our team has lost a lot of weight, and I have heard numerous students point this rather obvious thing out to her and me. They are equally open with each other too. They will tell their friends if they look fatter or skinnier, beautiful or a little ugly. It’s a different mind-set. I once heard someone describe the cultural differences in this way: The areas where Americans are indirect are areas where Chinese are direct and the areas where Chinese are indirect are areas where Americans are direct. It makes for interesting dynamics in social situations. So if I comment on your face, weight, or hair in a direct way, please be forgiving.

Drop a note

If you are reading this blog, can you let me know. . and drop me a note on the comment function. I am not able to post your comments online, but I am still able to read them because they are sent directly to my email. Ahhh, technology.

Take Some Exercise

Living and teaching in China, I am starting to absorb some of their idiomatic English phrases into my vocabulary. These phrases, though often grammatically correct, are not commonly used by most native speakers. For example, students often say “I have the intention of”. . or “she had the intention of. . .” instead of just saying, “I wanted to,” or “I intended to.” In addition, many of the common verb phrases we use in English become verb phrases in Chinese English. For example, they might say, “Let’s have a rest. . Let’s have a try. . . Let’s take some exercise.” I am starting to use more and more of these phrases that I hear everyday. Or I use transition phrases and language functions from our student’s textbook such as “I couldn’t agree with you more.” While I enjoy this speaking style, it does have its downfall because I am forgetting basic English vocabulary words. The other day someone asked me what we call one of those yellow sponge things with green matting (that we often use it to clean the bathroom or use it to wash dishes.) I couldn’t remember. . does that thing have a name anyways?

The other morning, I “took some exercise” and was thoroughly entertained by the various people on the track. Two older men were walking around the track both with a lit cigarette in one hand and a pack in the other. I think that might be a little counter-productive, but I guess it is better to walk and smoke than to simply sit and smoke. Another younger girl was walking around the track very slowly with her textbook about 5 inches from her face. I can’t imagine that I would study very well while walking, but we often see Chinese students studying in this way. I will give it a try in the future. Finally, people in the middle of the field had long swords and were moving them very gracefully to some music playing from a little radio. Many older people do some type of tai chi, flag waving, or other light aerobic recreation. In the morning, you can see many interesting sites. It’s good motivation for me to be an early bird.