Thank you for your patience in waiting for another entry. Those of you who know me well know that I usually make every effort to update daily. However, due to many circumstances that have to do with very basic needs, my time has been absorbed.
Quick update on basic needs...
1. The mosquitoes were a tremendous problem in the apartment here. I even e-mailed the former Peace Corps couple who lived here right before me, and they had a few suggestions regarding mosquito netting. There was a Peace Corps issue net in the closet, but the custodial staff wasn't keen on putting a hook in the ceiling. The mosquitoes were thick on the walls everywhere, not just in the bedroom. So, we asked for a netting over the bed as well as netting over all the windows.
It took a great deal of negotiating and experimenting with what might work, but we are finally quite protected from the little critters - a mosquito net has been installed over the whole bed. I have to zipper myself in at night, quickly, and it works quite well. It actually is close to the "canopy" I'd always longed for as a little girl. This net is minus the frills and ruffles, but is it very practical. The windows are all covered now, too, and I can see thousands of the mosquitoes trying to get in on the other side of the net. Better out there than in here.
2. The water has gone off periodically. We have a supply of many bowls, tubs, etc... - anything we could find to store water.
3. Food is still an issue, as we feel we are getting very little protein. We've asked that we have a bowl of peanuts served with lunch and dinner, which I think helps. Sometimes meals are about a half cup of vegetables in heavy oil, about a tablespoon of meat, and rice. I've taken to having a half can of Coca Cola at noon to give me a little caffeine energy for the afternoon session of classes.
4. I am becoming less of an embarrassment to myself as I use chopsticks. I am far from an aficionado with the wooden sticks, but now that I can maneuver them, I actually prefer to eat the food with chopsticks. I am not as amusing to watch eating as I was when I first arrived in China.
Now onto the teaching experience here...
The students are absolutely amazing! They are so very eager to learn, and they are especially appreciative of teaching methods that are active and interactive. For example, to stay better immersed in English, they have all adopted Americanized names in the class. Although part of our job is to help them improve their own English skills, we are also sharing Best Practice methods with them that they can use with their own students.
My group of teachers are primary teachers - which correlates to our elementary teachers. Although I teach middle school, I decided to take on the added challenge of focusing on a grade level that was a bit out of my comfort zone. This was a good decision for me because I am stretching in many ways as I teach here. These teachers/students are accustomed to very traditional teaching. They aren't used to a great deal of interpersonal interaction with their own teachers, largely due to the size of their classes. Most have between 60-90 students in a room at any given time. The desks are in straight rows, bolted to the floor.
One of the best parts about this program, thanks to Bill Richardson (who coordinates the teachers for the Summer English Language Institute through Oakland University), is that he has rooted the program in person-to-person interaction. As a result, we are all getting to know one another as individuals. Cultural stereotypes are constantly challenged because we have each other now as a reference point. On the first day of class, I asked the students to write down any questions they had for me - personal, about American culture, whatever they would like to ask. We draw one each day and talk about the question.
Yesterday's question asked how I like teaching here in China and how I like teaching back in America. I've been a teacher for 26 years now, and this experience is the most profound. My Chinese students have open minds and open hearts, and with all of us reaching out toward one another in so many wonderful ways, we have "bonded" quite quickly. We spend five hours each day in the classroom, and then we often see students around campus, in the canteen, etc...
Anyway, my response to their question caused me to reflect on how much I truly love being with them each day. They want to know, too, if I want to be their friend. I reply with a resounding "yes"... and many tears in the room.
There is much goodness here. I am very grateful to be able to sing and dance, as this gift has enabled me to connect to many of my students very quickly. We start the day with a children's song, and I create motions for ease in learning. These are all songs that will help them and their own students get a feel for the rhythm of the language. To incorporate a bit of American culture, I taught them some swing dancing today to the tune of the Glenn Miller Big Band. We also learned some salsa to La Bamba one morning, just as a way to get us all awake and alert. We've incorporated the Hokey Pokey, Itsy Bitsy Spider, and a host of other favorites. I've used several songs by Gemini (those twin brothers out of Ann Arbor). Nancy made CD's for each student, so they will be able to incorporate these music/language/dance lessons easily into their own classrooms. I am learning about Chinese culture every day, too.
On Tuesday, Wednesday, and Thursday, we have "conversation groups" with 1/3 of the class. The focus here is on speaking and listening, with writing and reading being a secondary aspect of the institute. They get plenty of practice with book learning of English, writing exercises, etc..., but they rarely have the opportunity to learn and talk with a native English speaker. We had two major topics in conversation groups today: teachers and teaching, and gender roles in Chinese/American culture.
Here's what was generated as we talked... First, their list of what makes a "good " teacher -
1. Be friendly
2. Smile to students
3. Be warm-hearted
4. Use humor
5. Don't beat your students
6. Know many things - have knowledge
7. Have a sense of responsibility
8. Be patient with poor students
9. Have confidence
10. Love your students and make them love you
11. Be healthy
12. Love to study
13. Don't be late for class
When I asked them if they were able to do all of these things as teachers, they said it would be very difficult to do all of these things well. They long for personal relationships with their students, but, sadly , the large numbers often prevent this closeness. They all said they must be very strict in order to manage their classes.
Many stories surfaced about experiences they have had as teachers. Many of the students are from the countryside themselves, and they were very, very poor growing up. I am flabbergasted by the diligence and the self-learning that has occurred and the kind of dedication it has taken for many of these students to get where they are. A few do not want to remain teachers and have plans to move into other careers.
One very bright young man wants to be a translator. His English is superb and he studies all the time. The drive in him reminds me of Muari Suvedi, who was the facilitator on my Fulbright trip to Nepal in 2003. When we were down by the river testing the water with chemical kits we had brought from America, there was a young man just bursting with amazing questions. He was thought-filled and simply wanted to learn as much as he possibly could. As Muari and I were walking up the mountain later on, I told him how impressed I was with this young man's curiosity and determination. Muari told me that he was just like that boy as a child, and I saw great love for that boy in Muari's eyes as he relayed his own story of growing up in this village.
I am discovering that the Chinese students are a wonderful combination of cooperative learning and competitive learning. They are kind and patient with one another, and they help one another when words/phrases are difficult or new. There is a sense of community here that is very alive.
They are also very competitive. We play the "fly swatter" game when we learn a new set of vocabulary. For example, we examined American coins and bills, talking about all the items, words, and symbolism on each coin. I wrote the new vocabulary related to money on the board, divided the class into two teams, and then proceeded to shout out a word. One member from each team has a fly swatter, and the first team member to run up to the board and swat the word gets a point. Leo, who is the epitome of a polite gentleman, pushed a female classmate right out of his way in order to swat the word called. The class burst with laughter... which happens a great deal.Today they worked for a bit on acrostics of their English names. They had to think of an adjective that describes them, using each letter of their first name. I always model the activity and brainstorm with the students first, so as we were helping Diana (Zhan Chun) write her acrostic, some said she was "delicious" for the "d" in her name. Their English is sophisticated enough to allow for a great deal of banter and natural language humor, so the class ended up "playing" with the word delicious for the rest of the day. They have a collective delightful sense of humor, which makes teaching this class simply loads of fun.
We practice vocabulary, pronunciation, and rhythm through short exercises called Jazz Chants. Today, they especially like the one that involved a mother and father talking about a sleeping baby. We worked on another scenario about a parent trying to urge a slow-moving child out the door. Joe and Anthony ended up acting out the scene with phenomenal facial, body, and verbal expression.
We've been using photos and art as an impetus for writings, which I do in my English classes at East Lansing, too. I brought laminated photos/artwork of children, the elderly, nature, abstract art, etc... We began with some bizarre photos, one of which was an elephant with a man's head in his mouth. I am discovering that the Chinese have a deep sense of ferreting out themes in anything they approach, whether it be a photo, a book, or a film. This elephant/man photo, which I simply perceived as funny, elicited a comment from the pair working with the photo that it demonstrates the ability of nature and human beings to live together in harmony.
In our conversation groups, we also discussed gender roles and body language. Here are some things I learned:
1. If you form a "c" with your thumb and forefinger, and then leave the other three fingers standing together, you have the request for a water closet. Very helpful if you don't speak Chinese.
2. The Chinese have a proverb/philosophy that "women lift up half the sky" and that "men lift up half the sky." They deeply value the contributions both males and females make to holding up the sky, and they talked in depth about how cooperation between men and women creates a full, round sky.
3. When we discussed why people might break apart when dating, Joe (Wang Jiazhou) told us that he once broke up with a girl because she played mahjong too much. He said that if she insisted on playing so much with her girlfriends, then she would not devote the necessary time to her family.
4. The female students said that sometimes they break apart a relationship when they discover that the man is drinking a great deal of wine. Wine here is sometimes referred to as "spirits," and this is usually locally made liquor that will knock you right out of your socks.
5. Anthony (Zhou Liang), who is very young looking but has a son of five years old, told us that his wife works in the countryside and that he is willing and responsible about watching his son during the week. He takes on all the duties associated with child raising. All of the students in the class gave him a huge round of applause, telling him he was a great father and a great husband.
6. When we discussed the advantages of being a female in Chinese society, the students said that a woman will someday have the honor of being a grandmother; a woman is the first teacher of her child; a woman gets to wear more stylish clothes than a man; and the woman is the center of the family.
7. When we discussed the advantages of being a male in Chinese society, the students said that men sometimes get to sleep and watch television while the wife cooks; have the honor of providing for his family; has strength physically; and can help the woman when difficulties arise.
8. When we talked about dating and how one shows their love for another, they said that the man gives the woman flowers; the man sends notes of love; the man sometimes writes love poetry for the woman; and the man gives gifts like CD's to the woman. When I asked if the females did the same, they said no. The woman, it seems, are usually the recipient of the gifts, the notes, etc... Only when the couple becomes engaged would the female feel free to give gifts to the male.
9. When we talked about who initiated romance, they resoundingly agreed that this was the duty of the male. None of the women would consider being the initiator of a romance.
10. Before our discussion, I asked the students to jot down some of the advantages and disadvantages of being male and female, respectively. One group of women called me to their table, telling me they could think of very few advantages of being a female in Chinese society, and told me their list of advantages for males would be much longer.
As you can see, I am learning a great deal about Chinese culture via our discussions...
On Friday, the students have planned a party for us. I've been told to wear the Chinese shirt that I wore earlier this week. It has dragons on it and is apparently representative of the Tang Dynasty, which was 2000 years ago. There will be something to do with karaoke at the party, and Nancy and I have been asked to perform something. The students are filled with excitement about the party plans. They often express their gratitude for our presence and our devotion to them, and the party is one way of thanking us for traveling across the world to be with them. I am often overwhelmed by their kindness.
I have had many students bring guests to class: friends, siblings (ethnic minority couples here are allowed to have more than one child), fellow teachers, etc... The visitors arrive and then remain for days, which has made the class grow in size. Normally, the institute has a policy of no visitors because the workshop is designed to assist the participants in a very meaningful and direct way. So, we had to put a cabash to the visitors because we no longer had enough desks for everyone. They were very willing to share desks, however... yet another sign of the cooperative spirit here.
Time for some lesson planning for tomorrow. By the way, it is my husband Michael's birthday today. When I told my students that I was sad to miss his special day, they broke into song - the English and the Chinese versions of "Happy Birthday". They asked me to tell him of their singing for him. The Chinese version wishes him good health, and happiness every day for the coming year. They hoped he would hear their song across the many miles.
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