Cucumbers!!

It’s cucumber season here in Hunan; it’s common to see people walking around munching on a cucumber. Students say that they will sometimes only eat raw cucumbers if they want to lose weight. I am guessing this is a pretty effective diet plan. However, I think cucumber eating must have some other appeal too because I also see older men eating cucumbers. Another interesting thing about cucumber eating is that people eat cucumbers at all times..morning, mid-afternoon, supper-time. It’s all fair game. I have gotten into the cucumber eating spirit too, but I like my cucumbers sliced and mixed with vinegar and sugar (just like grandma makes it.)

thoughts from students

The other day in my class, students were to write down controversial topics that people might disagree on. I thought their answers were interesting. Here are a few of them:
1. The price of bags should be higher.
2. In China, we should abolish the College Entrance Exam.
3. A girl should care for her appearance.
4. All libraries should be free to people.
5. If you love someone, you should let he/she know.
6. Law should allow euthanasia.
7. One should not send oneself’s parents to old people’s home.
8. We shouldn’t have a mobilephone in senior middle school.
9. You should go to bed before 12:00 everynight.
10. As a student, you should put most of time in studying.
11. We should study hard now.
12. The parent should buy a computer for their child when he is a middle school student.
I think that some of their thoughts are similar to what college students in the State would debate, but you can tell that they have a lot of pressure to study and it is foremost on their minds. (By the way, these answers were from my freshman students.) While my freshman students have been more motivated in their English studies, my sophomore students have been noticeably unmotivated in their English studies. The sophomores finished taking an important exam about 1 month ago, and I think they are still taking it easy. Some of them have told me they feel like they have reached a stand-still in their English abilities and just keep talking about the same topics over and over again. As their oral English teacher, I want to help, but not sure how to best encourage them or how to give them the tools to go deeper in conversation. I really think they have all the language skills they need to discuss topics at a deeper level, but I think they are not always comfortable or confident to take conversations to a deeper level.

The Expert

I always want gifts that other people have
I see people effortlessly displaying secret talents and skills
that dazzle and amaze. .
winning the respect and awe of others.
“I want these gifts”
I bemoan to these same, talented friends.
They smile and continue with those skills that elude me.

I’m not the dullest pencil in the box.
I can do many things… a little,
with the barest ability needed to complete it.
Oh yes, I can manage to function
but to be skilled at something . . .
how does that feel talented friend?

Sure, I can do many things… a little
But I can’t do any one thing very well
except to bemoan the skills I lack. . .
And at this, I am an expert.

Aftermath

Today there was a three minute moment to remember the victims in the earthquake. I was walking to my office hour, and I saw some of my students standing under a tree. I asked them what they were doing, and they said they were preparing to remember the victims. Students were starting to gather in the center of our campus, in front of the flag that was raised half-mast. I asked my students if I could join them; they agreed. At 2:28, we stood up and faced the Chinese flag. I closed my eyes and said some words to the father; I glanced at my students… they were staring intently at the Chinese flag with a look of pride and sorrow in their eyes. Pride for a country that has come to the aid of its victims; sorrow at the loss of lives and the feeling of helplessness that has overwhelmed everyone.
During the office hours, in English corner, in between classes, students are talking about the earthquake. It’s necessary for them to have a place to talk about it and think of small ways they can help. So many of my Chinese friends have told me exactly how much money they have donated to the victims and have asked me if I have donated money yet.
The television is playing the same news updates on all the channels about the victims and the aid given to the people in Sichuan. One of my more outgoing friends has contacted the authorities to see if he can volunteer at the site. He said they are only accepting doctors at this point.

On a slightly unrelated note, yesterday and today, the power has been sporadically going off for a few hours. People here are clearly used to this inconvenience and seem to know exactly what to do when it happens. Shop owners and restaurant owners get out empty bottles and prop candles in them to illuminate their shops. Last night at a restaurant, the power went off, and it took them about 5 minutes to have candlelight on each table.

China's splendor

This week-end, I traveled with 3 of my team-mates to Yangshuo, next to Guilin. This was the beautiful, scenic China that I have seen in pictures. It was an amazing week-end, and the pictures tell most the story. . . of course the story could be embellished, but for now, the pictures will suffice. Check it out: http://picasaweb.google.com/chinatripchinatripchinatrip

The Breeze that moved the couch

I was just thinking how monotonous life can feel sometimes. I know that might strike you as odd. After all, I am living in a foreign country and having new experiences pretty much everyday. But sometimes, the mundaneness of life overwhelms me. I was having this thought only an hour before as I was now sitting in the office designated to us foreign teachers. The office time was just getting started, and only one other student had joined me so far. We were enjoying a quiet moment, the breeze gently flowing through the window and rocking the couch. Wait a moment. Breezes don’t gently rock couches, do they? I asked my student if she could feel the room swaying. She could. It felt as though we were in a tree house that was moving slightly back and forth. We simultaneously looked at the door that also seemed to be shaking a little. All the sudden, we heard the students from the nearby classrooms stream into the hall and flood down the stairs. We didn’t know what was going on, but we decided we should do the same. In front of our buildings, all the students were starting to gather and look upward at the buildings. The students said that it couldn’t be an earthquake because Hengyang never had earthquakes. I wasn’t convinced. How can you say that it couldn’t be an earthquake when clearly 80% of the people on our campus felt the buildings moving? So, the afternoon classes were canceled, and I had office time with students outside…which was much more pleasant anyways. We learned later that the quake happened in the Sichuan province. People downtown, in the center of our city, hadn’t felt anything, but our school definitely felt some after effects from the quake.

on students

The past week, I arrived in class to see a hand-written letter on my desk. One of the students had written a page long letter explaining his absences for the past 3 weeks of class. I know that it's important for the students to be in class, and I take their absences seriously. But something about this students' note struck me as being so funny and sincere. I looked up at the student to see him turn away abashedly. I couldn't help but smile. The end of the note went like this: "I've very sorry I have forgotten to inform you before I leave the school. I really wish you can forgive me! I know you are still make me as your friend, aren't you?" Yes Harold, I accept your apology...I can still make you as my friend.

Nobody Told Me

When I signed up to teach with a team in China, nobody told me that to be cool, I should know how to play Settlers of Catan. This is a board game of strategy where you try and build your houses and roads on different plots of land. You then get to keep those resources for the plot of land where you built your house. There are also numbers on each plot of land. If your number is rolled, you get those resources. Then with your resources, you can build more houses and roads (to earn more points.) Anyways, our team likes to play this game. I have not won this whole year. Pathetic? Yes, I do think so...to lose continually is not good for anyone's self-image. Any ideas?

At the Park Pictures

http://picasaweb.google.com/chinatripchinatripchinatrip

Insight from Student

The other day during a break in my teaching, one of the students made this comment to me: “Strasser, you must be rich.” Surprised, I asked her why she thought so. She said, “You are wearing 2 rings, so we think you are very rich.”
Hmm, I guess this gives me a new perspective on wearing rings in the classroom. Never mind the fact that in America, you can buy rings in vending machines, rings here must have their own status. I think that wealthy Chinese people might wear rings to identify their status. In light of this new culture knowledge, I’m not sure if I should continue to wear my rings. Any thoughts?

Walk in the park

Just a walk in the park.

May Day Holiday

This week, we have a 3 day week-end for the May day Holiday. Holidays here do not hold the same significance they do for me in America. In America, I would use the time to visit family. Here, I just mope around feeling sorry for myself until the end of the Holiday when I realize I don't have time to feel sorry for myself and then I feel overwhelmed with life in general. This morning, I woke up and cleaned my kitchen shelves; doing this task makes me feel closer to home for some reason…my kitchen goods all spread out on the floor is similar to the way I remember mom cleaning the refrigerator.

The rest of the day, I went to a park with some of my freshman students. This park is in the center of our city. It feels more like a carnival than a park, but it also has a lake, trees, and benches to give it a park feel. We went on a few carnival like rides and visited a haunted house. The haunted house was not very scarey...and it smelled like sweat, very comparable to a haunted house in America but without real-live actors and actresses running around scaring people. We then had lunch at KFC. This place was packed and there were people just standing around, watching others eat so they could claim the table as soon as it was free.