July 25 - More Eloise Greenfield Inspired Poetry

Ni Hao,

Okay, I slept for four hours last night and am ready to begin another(waterless) day in Bijie. The bird songs in the morning are truly lovely, as are the many butterflies that greet me as I step out of the apartment each morning.

I will share another poem written by a student of mine here in Bijie (see last blog for description of the actual writing assignment)...

"Oh, Mama" - by Chen Jing (Alice)

I love
I love a lot of things
like
I have a beautiful kite
The beautiful kite is like the cloud for it's white
I like the colour and like it to fly

Oh, Mama
Let me tell you
That I love it flying in the sky
I love the kite flying in the sky
and...

The day is too hot
that I can't sleep better
I want it to be cold
just like winter
I like snow when winter is coming
Oh, Mama,
Let me tell you
that I love in the snow for walking
I love to enjoy the snow for walking
and...

I am hungry and I want something to eat
Open the fridge
I can't find anything
Let me see
Oh, I want to eat cakes
Mama, let me tell you
that I love the cakes which my husband bakes
I love to eat cakes
but only my husband bakes
and...

It is weekend, what shall I do?
I only stay at home and needn't go to school.
I invite my friends to my house and dance
Oh Mama, let me tell you
that I love dancing in my place
I love to dance with friends in my place
and...

In the garden I can see flowers everywhere
Flowers are so beautiful here
One of them stands for love
Yes, it is rose
Oh, Mama,let me tell you
that I love to put this flower under my nose
I love putting rose under my nose
and...

It's Sunday, and I want to
buy some fruits in the city
But, there's no car.
What a pity!
I have to walk to city
if I want to eat fruit
Oh, Mama. let me tell you that
I don't love to go city on foot
I do not love to go anywhere on foot

But I love
I love a lot of things
And Mama
I love you best,
I love you!

*************************************

"I am" - by Wang Jiazhou (Joe)

If I were a green leaf
I will call your name in spring
near me.
Let me feel yours.
If I were a golden leaf
I will fall in your arms
and fall asleep in your heart.

I am a small boat
bring heavy miss to your thought
row your heart.
I am a little boat,
a ripple in your world.
If I were a bird
I will fly with my dreams
If I were a bird
I will never forget the days
that we have passed.

I am the sun.
I'll give everything power.
And make you like a girl, soft sleeping.
I am the sun.
No dark in your eyes
because I am with you.

I am an umbrella
keeping rain and wind from you.
I am the umbrella
I am always over your head
and feel your gentleness...

**************************************

"Lover, I Want to Tell You" - by Jiang Xue (William)

I want
I want to tell you everything about me
I want to tell you
I love the dress you're wearing

I want to tell you I love the smell of milk
because when I met you first time,
you used right this smell

I want
I want to tell you I love to dream
I dreamed about the house that I lived in as a child
I dreamed that you and me were running on the road
But sweetheart, I really love the dream and I soon get to sleep
because I usually dream of you, I don't want to wake up

I want
I want to tell you

I hope I can follow with you whenever you want to go
because I love the feeling when I hug you under willows
Summer goes away, and comes back again
But my darling, I want to tell you
I love this summer in which God band us
together with chain.

I want to tell you
I love to sit next to you, so I can touch your hand
I love to chat with you, so I can understand your mind
I love to share everything I have
But my love, I do not love to live without you

I want
I just want to tell you
I love you in silence...

*****************************************

And in closing, I wish you moments of "ai bu shi shou".... a Chinese expression meaning "to love something a great deal and not wish to part with it."

May your day be filled with moments and people with whom you never want to say good-bye...

July 24 - Sharing the Love of Poetry

Ni Hao, Blog Readers,

As a teacher here in China, I am expected to expand my students' knowledge of English, largely through a great deal of speaking and listening activities. Writing and reading are also a component of the program, and I thought it was time to engage these amazing learners in composing poetry. This will come as no surprise to those of you who know me well.

So, I shared Eloise Greenfield's "Honey, I Love" poem with them and then asked them to write their own "I Love..." piece for homework. Here are a few of the results of that homework. Keep in mind that these students are writing outside their first language. I think you will be very impressed with the way in which they express what is inside...

"Baby, I Love" - by Tian Yulan (Bessie)

I love
I love so many things,
so lots of things about you
When you were in my body,
I like to breathe with you
and...

The day
when you came into the world
I wouldn't forget the day, it's March 8th, 2005.
From then on, all the world has changed
because of your coming
and...

I like your sweet voice,
your smooth skin, your tender face.
I also love to watch you growing up day by day
and...

My baby, I love to pick up the stars
in the dark nights
to decorate your dreams.
I love to make the blue sky
as your quilt
and...

I love to draw many beautiful designs on it
Oh, my baby, I hate to depart from you
even only one minute.
I like to stay with you and your father
Let's live together
peacefully
and
happily.

***************************

"Light" - by Yan Yun (Shirley)

I love
I love the sun
She gives light to humanity
Everything is pretty.

I love
I love the fire.
She gives us the warmth
As if she gives us some clothes.

I love
I love the lighter
She lights the fire of hope
And she makes the world bright.

I love
I love the candle
She lightsherself
And she emblazes everyone else.

I love
I love the teacher
She lights the candles
Lighting the forward way
of students.

I don't love
I don't love the dark night
It is very horrible.
No light, no warmth,
and no hope.

***************************

"Darling I Love (For my husband)" - by Chen Zhaoxia (Audrey)

Darling, I want to tell you
there's so many things I love.
Like Mama always does some sewing
I sit beside her listening to her singing
She is always so beautiful in my eyes.
I always feel so happy for her kiss.
and...

I love swimming in the summer days.
We are so fun beneath the water
with my good friends.
and...

I love sitting on the grass
at the fall midnight.
There seems a beauty lives in the moon
with a big tree and a rabbit.
and...

I love listening to the folk music
I always imagine that I am the hero-ess
in the "Gone with the Wind"
and...

I love many things that are romantic
Every love story sounds like a sad music
and...

I do not love to be quiet
I love to be crazy.

But my love,
there are so many things I love
And my darling
There's one thing I must tell you,
that is I love you best
in the world.

**************************

Tonight's homework for my students was to create their own "Phenomenal Woman" or "Phenomenal Man" poem after reading "Phenomenal Woman" by Maya Angelou in class today. They fell in love with Maya and they had many questions about "the span of her hips" and her "inner mystery." I will post some of their "phenomenal" poems over the weekend.

May you write the poem you have always wanted to write...

Interlude - "A Gift of Tea"

(For Jiang Xue / WIlliam)

Between the thunder
and the lightning
tonight
after a game of mahjong
by romantic candlelight,
your tea warms me.

It is fragrant
soft smoke
on my tongue.
Delicate and rich.
A harmonious brew.

I taste Bijie
floating upward
from the eye of the porcelain cup,
remembering the gift,
the kindness,
and the grace
of you...

- Marianne Forman

Interlude - "Mahjong by Candlelight"

They've been asking us
for days
to play mahjong,
a traditional Chinese game
often accompanied
by beer, spirits,
smoking, and money passed
from fist to fist.
Our student York,
named by his English teacher from York, England,
escorts us to the dormitory
six flights up
and we rattle out our umbrellas
into the hallway.

The whole floor of men
has arrived,
gathered to watch these two foreign women
stumble their novice way
through the
intricacies of stacked bricks.
They tell us to create
The Great Wall of China
with the tile-bricks.
The game
we discover
is a disguise
for the true purpose -
to chat, to talk,
to ferret out secrets.

They seek our advice
on how to "love" a woman,
wanting our western experience
to re-light their path.
York tells us someone, only one,
is in his heart,
and the twenty class sessions
here at Bijie University
are simply not enough time
to show his affection.

We are coached
by these teacher-men,
some of whom wash their feet
in the bucket on the balcony
before taking their place
around the tiles.
They huddle around us
whispering experience into our ears,
advising which brick to keep,
which brick to throw away.
And in Chinese,
they debate in the spaces between us,
nudging the proper move,
the most advantageous action,
for this particular set of circumstances.

Our faces are closer,
our eyes nearly touch,
in this crowded mahjong place.
We have journeyed
miles and kilometers from the classroom.
We reverse roles,
exchange our familiar places,
and they become our mentors.

My student William (Jiang Xue),
who speaks words between smiles,
gave me Bijie teas today,
his favorites,
grown in the fields
in this faraway place on the Guizhou map.
This place is mutely absent
from the Lonely Planet guidebook,
and we realize we are far removed
from where most foreigners
are willing to walk and work.

The thunder and lightning
zigzag across the sky
and we are crackled into darkness
by the collision of heat and light.

These men light the bricks
with cell phone illumination,
and Anthony runs to purchase candles.

"A romantic game with the candles, yes?"
William asks.

Yes, yes...
and we build
together
yet another
Great Wall of China.

- Marianne Forman

July 23 - Huangguoshu Waterfall at Anshun

Ni Hao,

After journeying through the Zhijin Cave, which took about 2 1/2 hours, we traveled to Anshun. This is a city which is one of the gateways to ethnic minority villages. It is also near the Huangguoshu Waterfalls, which is the largest waterfall in Asia. I am noticing that "ranking" is very important here in China. People take pride in being the number one city, having the number one waterfall, living near the number one cave, etc.

As trekking through the Zhijin Cave was nothing like walking through any of the caves in America, the visit to the Huangguoshu Falls does not even resemble a Niagara Falls visit. First, you experience a bonsai garden, filled with azaleas, water lilies, and many types of bonsai plants and bushes. The garden is also graced with many beautiful statues, commemorating various notable people in Chinese history. There is nothing garish or gaudy about this garden. All is simplicity, grace, and beauty. Literally every turn of the path offers the gift of a new and lovely vision. Each small section is an entity unto itself, yet there is a sense of continuity and flow as you walk through this peaceful garden.

And this is just the beginning of the experience. After walking through the garden, you naturally move into the waterfall area. Again, the grounds are just beautiful, and even the pathways and the stairways have a quiet and peaceful feeling to them.

Along the journey, there are several ethnic groups offering to take your photo, in their traditional garb, of course. So, Nancy, Mr. Tang, and I donned very colorful traditional clothes, plumed out our layered skirts with our hands, and had ourselves photographed in front of the waterfall. As a brief aside, these traditional costumes looked much more comfortable on me than the regal queen-wear with the 16th century ruff collar that I tried on when my husband and I traveled in Scotland. This photo here in Anshun is an absolute treasure... round hat with fringe, and all!!! Mr. Tang looks like a very noteworthy king. As another aside, we have taken to calling Nancy "the queen," as she has taken on the role of my mama in matters of illness and stomach troubles associated with new foods and circumstances when traveling here. Hence, I became the "princess" in this royal photograph.

Once our dress-up picture session ended, we decided to take the full journey around and in back of the falls. This involved more stairs than I can possibly count, but again, the construction of the stairways was accomplished in a most graceful and foot-friendly way - most of the time, at least.

At one point, shortly before you enter the narrow path that leads to the single-file walkway behind the falls, the plastic poncho-selling hawkers emerge. We had a bit of trouble stretching the smallish ponchos over our tall, much larger American bodies, but we covered our backpacks and cameras, thus protecting them from the strong spray coming off the falls.

I was amazed to see very petite women in high heeled shoes and dresses navigating these slippery pathways. I had on my comfortable, waterproof trekking shoes, and I still had numerous moments of near slip and fall. By the way, the steps here are designed for feet that are much daintier than my own. I come from solid Eastern European peasant stock, and my feet, I think, were meant to plod through potato fields. I have always been known as a "sturdy" woman.

The smell of fish around the falls was strong and sometimes overpowering, but the visual panorama wafted my nose away from the fishy air. After walking behind the falls, through a very narrow and slippery cave area, we emerged onto the foot bridge. This bridge is only about eight feet wide, and all the young people commenced to swaying the whole seemingly flimsy structure as they traveled across its surface. For those who have driven with me, you know I have a somewhat irrational fear of flying off bridges when I am driving. Well, this swaying walking bridge engraved new fears into my feet, my heart, and my stomach. It took all I had to make it across the bridge as it was moving back and forth. Nancy reached the other side long before I did and had a bellyache of a laugh watching me try to negotiate my way across the bridge as I tried to cling to the ropes on the side. Mr.Tang crossed the bridge several minutes after us, as he was still taking photos by the waterfall. The sight of him coming at us across the bridge reminded me of a totally free and uninhibited child, for he was jumping and bouncing across the bridge with the other slap-happy young people. There is much joy and animation in Mr. Tang's face, always.

After the bridge, we had the option of hiking our way back up thousands of steps or taking the Grand Elevator. My knees were screaming after a day in the cave and a day at the waterfall, so I opted for the Grand Elevator. Nancy and Mr. Tang accompanied me, without much complaint. I have never seen such a long and elaborate elevator. Signs along the way declared that the elevator was manufactured by Mitsubishi.

By the way, we did have a bit of trouble gaining access to a hotel in Anshun. We had reserved a room at one very nice hotel, but when we arrived we were told that they do not allow foreigners to stay at the hotel. We went to about 8 different hotels before finding one with vacancy that would house foreigners. We were told that the hotel had to meet certain standards to be rented by foreigners. We were a bit befuddled because many of the hotels looked like perfectly fine accommodations. Nancy and I ended up staying in one hotel, after the manager arranged some shifting of guests to provide us a room with two beds. The staff was very gracious and accommodating. I wanted to hug the western-style toilet in the room. Mr. Tang and his driver ended up staying at another hotel, a bit less expensive, that didn't house foreigners.

"Expensive" is clearly relative. Our hotel translated into approximately $62 for the night, and this was a four star hotel. In a major city, this kind of room would cost at least $400, so we felt like we got a real bargain.

I will close for today because I am trying to get to bed before my usual 1:00 a.m. here. I vowed to get some extra sleep tonight, as I have been very tired, especially with the heat and humidity. Being with the students, though, is an energizing boost every single day. I delight in their enthusiasm and their insatiable curiosity about Westerners. This program is absolutely marvelous because it focuses on building relationships, person to person, every day. I feel so very fortunate to have made so many new friends.

I leave you with the Pinyin of a Chinese saying: yu ri ju zeng. This means, "to increase with each passing day" and often applies to the strengthening or deepening of a relationship. This is the gift that all of my students here in Bijie have given to me, and I am so grateful to them for their open hearts...

July 22 - Weekend Travels - The Zhijin Cave

Ni Hao, Dear Blog Readers!!

Ah... we have been without electricity, running water, and/or Internet access numerous times in the past several days, so it makes for difficulty in finding the right conditions to write for this blog. Once the water goes on, I am trying to quickly fill all bowls, pans, and bottles with a water reserve. Nancy, my teaching partner who served in the Peace Corps in her 20's, demonstrated how to take a "bucket shower."

When the electricity is out, we need candles to navigate our apartment at night. Apparently, Bijie experienced a period of no electricity this past winter. The supply of candles throughout the area was quickly exhausted, and they have not been replaced in the stores. However, our lovely students supplied us with several candles. They are extremely protective of us, even escorting us to our apartment in the darkness. Nancy just smiles and calls all of these outages "Peace Corps Moments." I am learning to be patient, learning to live without water and electricity. Everything just slows way down.

I expected there to be a great shouting of "Hurray" or some other form of happy exclamation soaring through the campus when the power returned. No such thing occurred. I think everyone here is very accustomed to the outages, and accommodating to them has been become a way of life. I think my celebratory exclamation when the power returned was the only one on campus.

And now, to back track a bit...

Last weekend, our facilitator Mr. Tang took us on an amazing adventure. First, we journeyed to the famous cave in Zhijin. This is about a 3-4 hour car ride from Bijie. We were traveling deeper and deeper into the countryside, and the mountain roads reminded me of some of the car rides with my Uncle Boombellock (yes, that's his name... last name is Rzemplinski, which is undoubtedly connected to Rumplestilskin) during my summers in Pennsylvania. We would go miniature golfing and then go spotting for deer, admiring their beauty via a high-powered flash light out of the passenger side window. I would then be treated to an ice cream cone, which I always regurgitated because my stomach was so queasy from riding in the back seat of the car through the switchback mountain roads. My stomach took a nostalgic trip back to the Pennsylvania of my childhood. However, before I completed the cycle, I asked to sit in the front seat of the car. This, and a bottle of Coca Cola, helped the many spasms my stomach was experiencing here in the China countryside.

The poverty in many places is indescribable. There are small villages or patches of houses along the way. Many of the houses seem to be caving in on one another. Most of the homes seem to have a rather broken down sofa inside, and perhaps a couple chairs. The living space is minimal for several people. I saw many women washing their hair with a bucket in front of their homes. There were more and more chickens and dogs as we drove further into the countryside. There are always many men and women, often very old, carrying heavy loads of water or sticks or straw on their backs. I am ashamed of complaining about the outages of electricity and water here in Bijie when I think of how difficult the lives of the people in the countryside are on an hour by hour basis.

Guizhou Province is directly south of Sichuan Province, although the epicenter of the May 12th earthquake in Sichuan is 700 miles from Bijie. I'm told that the mountain areas where the earthquake occurred are even more remote than the ones we were driving through on the way to Zhijin. This gave me a new understanding of how cut-off many of the towns and villages were when the earthquake occurred. There is still a tremendous amount of loss and suffering in the earthquake areas. However, the Chinese people are very proud of their response to the earthquake and the way in which their whole country answered a desperate need in a loving and compassionate way. They credit the national as well as the provincial governments for their leadership role in this very tragic human crisis.

Amidst all the poverty along the way, I saw so many beautiful interactions between the people in front of their homes in the villages. Grandmothers and grandfathers were playing with their grandchildren in front of many of the homes. There was a delightful and playful interplay between generations, and it was obvious that the children were enjoying the attention showered on them by their grandparents. Physical closeness seems to be a strong characteristic of their interaction, and their faces are often touching or very close to one another. Many, many smiles. Much laughter. Their body language exuded joy.

Along the villages, there were numerous clusters of plastic stools around some sort of makeshift table. Gathered around these tables were people playing cards or mahjong. As I said in an earlier blog, these games are more for the sake of "chat" than for the actual game. Catching up on local news and gossip abound during these games.It is not unusual to see very young children out alone or with two or three other children. They are walking very near the road, or in some cases playing in the road. We've seen several groups of children, looking to be about 7 or 9, playing in a lane of a highway, too.

The cars, trucks, and buses simply lay heavily onto their horns as they approach, and the children and animals are expected to move quickly out of the way. I remember when I first arrived here in Bijie how difficult it was to navigate crossing the street, as the flow of traffic is sporadic and vehicles shift from one side of the road to another at will. Now I find myself moving through the traffic, being within a couple inches of a passing car, still moving forward, and not even concerned about having my toes run over by a truck. Everyone just keeps moving, and the flow happens, even if it appears to be chaos from a distance.

The Zhijin Cave is nothing short of breath-taking and spectacular. Those words don't begin to describe the enormous underground structure that you experience in Zhijin. This is not a spelunking cave where you crawl through narrow passages dodging rats and bats. This is a palace of a cave, with many rooms. Each area has its own history and story... and many of the structures in the cave have been named after figures and moments in ancient Chinese history. I felt as if I had walked onto the set of "Lord of the Rings" at times... or into a fantasy world that would be the dream of any American film director.

As it is with everything Chinese, everywhere you look there is a new and startling vision. Every turn in the cave revealed lofty spaces of unbelievable textures and heights. The work which went into making this cave accessible to people/tourists is daunting. The many steps, which one of my students tells me numbers 999 on the tour, are beautifully crafted. In places, there are round and square stones, inscribed with beautiful carvings. To navigate the wetter parts of the cave, you move from stepping stone to stepping stone. There is a great deal of moisture, naturally, in the cave. As a result , many of the steps are wet and covered with a thin layer of mud. This day was a test of endurance for my surgery-repaired knees.

The lighting in the cave is actually quite minimal. The tour guide has a large flashlight, and there is intermittent lighting on the stairs, but they have made every effort to allow the natural beauty of the cave to simply be present for those hiking through the cave. There are a couple "rooms" which they have infused with a sort of garish red or green lighting, and there are plenty of photo stations along the way. We had the three of us photographed in a very famous area of the cave near the Warrior's Helmet. I was also able to try out the night portrait and candlelight settings on my new camera, and the effects are quite awe-inspiring. Mostly, I felt like I had been transported back in time to a magical and enchanted place, and I was in awe of the beauty of this majestic and mysterious place.
To be continued in the next blog...

I wish you moments of peace and joy today. As the Chinese saying goes, "May you have bright sun and gentle breezes in your life today..."

July 21 - Mahjong and Dancing

Ni Hao dear friends,

My apologies for being out of touch with both blog and individual e-mails for a few days now. The weekend was filled with travel to caves and waterfalls, which I will write more about in tomorrow's blog. But once back in Bijie, we found that the electricity, water, and Internet have all been out for long stretches of time. As a result, I have not been able write.

There is very much a "makes lemons out of lemonade" philosophy here. The lack of electricity surprises no one who lives here, and no one complains about the outages at all. It is simply expected that the electricity or water will be off for hours or even several days at a time. They have water buckets filled and candles ready.

So, last night in the blackout, we learned to play Mahjong. The men in our classes have been hounding us to learn the game, so they escorted us out to the male dormitories and taught us the very basics of mahjong. We played by cellphone light and candlelight for several hours. This game is very popular here, more with the men than the women. The men have a mahjong table in their dorm, the women can get one if they request it.

While the men and "the two foreign woman" played mahjong in the dark, the women, we were told, were "chatting" in their dorms. "Chatting" is apparently code for gossiping. There are at least two students attending the institute that have "fallen in love," so this is the latest topic of conversation. The man who is in love is moving very cautiously and carefully and told us that twenty class sessions is not enough to express his affections. The young woman he is enamoured with will need permission from her family to see the young man. Both are brilliant young people who take their English language studies very seriously.

There is a very strong work ethic here among the students, and they actually request homework. I feel like I am in some weird time warp, or perhaps on an episode of The Twilight Zone. Even when homework is not given, they advance themselves beyond what we have done in class or they tend to complete vocabulary studies well in advance of when we actually get to them in class.

Tonight again, with the power out once more, I spent a few hours of the evening dancing with my students out of the basketball courts outside the Student Canteen. They were working on the dance number they are going to perform for the talent show we have scheduled for Friday. It is a beautiful and graceful Chinese dance. They invited me to learn, so in a round robin style, I was able to dance with all of my students. In turn, I have taught them the song, La Bamba (and a few basic Samba moves), the Hokey Pokey dance, swing dancing, some moves to Beatles tunes, and even a Renaissance Pavanne out on the court tonight. They are very receptive to learning that contains any kind of music or movement. We even started some harmony round singing in class today, and I was lifted to a place that I have never been before listening to them sing today.

I am convinced I was fated to be here in Bijie at this moment. The match between these teachers and myself is overwhelmingly beautiful, and I am grateful to Bill Richardson, the director, for his wisdom in placing me at this particular site. Bijie is in a very remote part of southwestern China, but many of my students I am working with teach in places four or five hours further away. For many of them, coming to Bijie is very much of a luxury. These teachers work under some very difficult conditions, with far more students in each classroom than we are used to in America. They are faced with traditional exams and a very lockstep curriculum, but they are very receptive to incorporating new teaching methods into their classrooms. They want very much to engage their students with active, participatory, creative learning strategies. There are so many obstacles facing them each day, but their hearts and their wills are strong, sure, and powerful.

By the way, before coming to China, I asked my 8th graders at MacDonald Middle School to create bookmarks for my students here. The bookmarks are a huge hit, and I share a "quote of the day" along with a bookmark lottery each day. The quotes my 8th graders chose are very inspirational, and their autobiographies on the back of the bookmark are of very high interest for the students here. I have the pleasure of introducing one of my 8th graders every day via these bookmarks, and the language always yields additional vocabulary for the Chinese students. We have constructed a Word Wall in class, where we post new words, alphabetically, as we encounter them.

I introduced The Beatles to my class today. A very serendipitous event occurred regarding the lyrics to one of their songs. Last week, as you may have read, my students gave me the Chinese name Bai Ling. This is a rare songbird with a lovely voice. That night, I began to plan a brief lesson on a bird in a well-known song by the Beatles, "Blackbird." As I was preparing this lesson, I received an e-mail from my dear friend Therese, stating that she had no idea why she was doing this, but she was sending me the lyrics to "Blackbird." The universe is responsive and taking care of us in ways that I can't even begin to understand. Therese is a kindred spirit, and I always feel very blessed that she is in my life.

It is but one of many twists of fate I have experienced. While here, my husband enrolled our two youngest daughters in a Chinese Language and Culture Summer Camp offered through Michigan State University. It turned out that not only is this Camp being offered where I teach at MacDonald Middle School in East Lansing, but their particular class is being held right in my classroom! They even e-mailed a picture of their first day.

In other news from my home front, all four of my daughters had "fairy" pictures taken at a studio in Lansing. Apparently, since this is usually reserved for kids aged 3-7, it has ranked as one of the most embarrassing leotard moments in the life of my 23 year old daughter, Alicia. Allegra, my 9 year old, e-mailed me saying that if she pokes her finger deep into her belly button, it does not extend to China where she could see her Mama. 10 year old (soon to be 11) Annelise is excited about taking archery classes, which will help her with her sessions at Camp Michigania when we all vacation there in August. My 21 year old daughter Audrey is about to have a very special Pinning Ceremony as she continues in the nursing program at University of Michigan in Flint. Life goes on.

And so, permitting that the Internet is up and the electricity is on, I will continue this blog tomorrow. It is almost 1:00 a.m. now, and I need to be up and ready to teach in about five hours. I have much to share about the weekend excursion to the caves and the waterfall. There is so much natural beauty here... a new vision in every direction; a banquet for the eyes and the soul. When my feet are sloshed with mud from the thunderstorms and my legs are dusted with debris from the construction here, all I need do is look up... and my spirit is carried off into the mountains that surround Bijie. How can I keep from singing?

July 18 - The Chinese Way

Ni Hao,

It is Friday evening here, and the students had scheduled a basketball game, with the two classes competing against one another, but a thunderstorm whipped through the campus and cancelled that event for now. We try to appeal to their competitive spirit a bit in class with the fly swatter game and other games that have them generating word clusters in groups for points.

I introduced a verbal version of Musical Chairs yesterday, and they loved the scramble to get to the available seat. I put the chairs in a circle, rather than a line, so that we could enjoy the many collisions in the center of the circle. The students added another element to the game: any "caller" who was left standing three times in a row had to sing a song for the class. This is the farthest thing from a punishment you can possibly imagine. Every person in my class has a beautiful singing voice, and hearing them sing in unison is a very memorable and musical experience.

We show two films a week, hoping to expose the Chinese teachers to more of American culture. I showed "Fly Away Home" on Monday and "Rudy" today. I hadn't remembered all the references to religion in the film, as this is one of those more delicate subjects here. The students really enjoyed Rudy's spirit to fulfill his dream of playing at Notre Dame. We'll have a longer discussion of the film on Monday in class.

It is odd how time doesn't seem to be a factor in music. Several students have Carpenters songs as the ringers on their cell phones. The class broke into song one day during break, treating us to their rendition of "Yesterday Once More". They are also very fond of "My Heart Will Go On" from the film "Titanic".

Our conversation groups again focused on teachers/teaching as well as male/female roles. Here are some of the ideas that emerged:

1. William told us that his best teacher ever was like a dictionary that you can get everything you want from. He talked, too, about how Mr. Lee, his favorite teacher, taught him how to find the happy things around him.

2. Another student, Gabby, talked about how her favorite teacher, Mr. Lu, went to see the doctor with his students when they were sick. She told us he is a very old man now, but he still likes to study and learn.

3. Ruby told us about Mrs. Jing who took good care of the students and gave everyone all of her love. She said this teacher never punished the students, but she gave them encouragement instead. She also talked about how Mrs. Jing let her know how to be a good person and told her "nothing is impossible if you try your best to do it." Ruby told us she still remembers what this teacher told her a long time ago.

4. Shirley talked about how Mr. Xu, her favorite teacher, taught her how to become a confident person.

5. Michael told us about Mr An, who taught his students how to "face the hard of our life." He told us, too, that many of his classmates were very poor. They wanted to study, but they can't pay for many books. Mr. An would often pay for many books for his classmates.

6. Michael also told us about his worst teacher. This teacher became very angry when his students made mistakes. He would beat them, hold tight their ear, face, or even kick them with his leg. "We would shiver in class", said Michael. This teacher was often late, he told us, and he did a lot of drinking and gambling . He would drink so much at night that he could not get up on time the next morning. When Michael is stuck for the exact words he wants to say, he moves into pantomime mode. He acted out the beatings this teacher inflicted on his students, and then the other people in the class helped him find the English words to match the actions.

7. Ruby told us her worst teacher abused them. When asked questions that he didn't know the answers to , he would get very angry. This teacher also smoked in class, which bothered the students very much.

8. Gabby talked of a teacher who would get so angry that he would throw classmates' books out of the room. She referred to him as a very ferocious person in her memory.

This group of students , too , composed a list of characteristics of "good" teachers:
a. kind-hearted
b. responsible
c. love the students
d. knowledgeable
e. has good sense of humor
f. has an open heart
g. be patient with students
h. have good teaching methods
i. be good at acting
j. be a good leader
k. be a good listener
l. be a good learner

Some themes that emerged all focused on the significant and memorable role teachers play in all of our lives. Many of the students in their 30's were discussing teachers they had in primary and middle school. What emerged reminded me of the teaching philosophy of Jack Johnson, a dear friend and fellow teacher in Michigan: Students will not always remember what you taught them, but they will always remember how you treated them. We all know that we are more open to teachers who respect and value us, teachers who are kind and gentle and patient with us.

This seems to be universal. I told my class about one of my favorite teachers, Mrs. Volk. This marvelous woman trusted me enough to loan me signed first editions of many books she owned. I was so petrified of dropping the book in a puddle or losing it that I never took any of them home. Instead, I stored her precious books in my locker in high school and then checked the books out of the library to read. Mrs. Volk also asked me to meet her in the parking lot one Saturday night. She proceeded to take me downtown Detroit to the Fisher Theatre to see Julie Harris perform in "The Belle of Amherst". This began my lifelong love affair with the works of Emily Dickinson... Mrs. Volk also asked me to teach the class on occasion, trusting me to synthesize a study of a novel by teaching about themes and relevance in many of the works we read in class.

Further, I remember a time when the entire school was in chaos on the Friday of Homecoming Week. Truman High School was constructed in the mid-1970's, and the design was essentially a wall-less, open floor plan. Imagine twenty or thirty classrooms in a huge cluster, with nothing but a file cabinet here or there to divide the rooms. Day after day, not just on Homecoming Day, chaos and noise permeated every area of the building, making it very difficult to think, concentrate, or learn. On this Homecoming Friday, Mrs. Volk, as usual, had us seated in a semi-circle, discussing the literature of the day. I remember her leaning toward us and saying, "Isn't it wonderful that we are the only people in the entire school learning anything today?" And all I could do was say, "yes, yes, yes..." I admired her determination to teach and her dedication to our learning, even under difficult and challenging circumstances. I think of her often and wish she were still around to share this China journey with me.

Some history about this Summer Language Institute here at Bijie...

Apparently, this is a highly sought after workshop for many departments at Bijie University. A department chair from another department, outside Foreign Affairs, asked if he could observe my class today. This may have been the first time he has experienced observing an American teacher interacting with Chinese students. We sang and did the choreography to "I Will Plant Seeds of Joy" and "Lend a Helping Hand." We worked on additional vocabulary by generating opposites of words. This professor joined in by offering words to consider, too. We then played the fly swatter game to reinforce the vocabulary and the pronunciation of the new words. And then we read a dramatic version of "The Three Little Pigs." Anthony wanted to play Mother Pig, and he did a most outstanding job offering sage and stern advice to the three little piglets. Cindy took on the role of the big bad wolf, and we all ended up practicing huffing and puffing and blowing the house down.

I also introduced the K-W-L reading strategy using "The Paper Bag Princess." This is a strategy that asks students to discuss what they know about the topic before the story, what they want to know as they read, and what they learned after reading. I chose this story because we had discussed gender roles in conversation groups the day before. I had a marvelous time creating different voices for the prince, the princess, and the dragon - and this story turned the traditional fairy tale on its head. We had a very engaging discussion regarding how the female in this story overpowered the dragon - not with force or violence, but with her cleverness and her wit. I imagine the whole experience was quite a culture shock to the visiting professor, but he left smiling and seemed happy to have witnessed the class today.

For those of you who know me well, you know that my classroom is always open to anyone, at anytime. No prior reservation or request needed. As a result, I do not get nervous when someone visits my classroom. Most visitors discover very quickly that I pull them into the class activity and discussion, which is a joy for me as well as the students in the class.

I am learning about the importance of chain of command here in China. We have been having difficulty with our food, as much of it is swimming in a great deal of oil, which isn't agreeing with our digestive systems. There is also very little protein available. Mr Tang has graciously worked with the kitchen staff to develop a "menu" for us for each meal. We experiment with new foods each day. For example, tomorrow we could potentially have a feast of fried cowpea, fried fungus, and a fried vegetable that resembles an elephant's black, foot - with rice, too. Anyway, Nancy has reached her limit with the oil and the fat, and with the pork in her morning bowl of noodles. Mr. Tang called in the kitchen supervisor today and gave him a very stern old-fashioned tongue lashing right by our table. I noticed that the person receiving the criticism did not look up from the ground at all while being reprimanded. Mr. Tang did not look at him, either. The kitchen supervisor knew that he had to answer to Mr. Tang, and that Mr. Tang was clearly not pleased with his performance. It was a very awkward situation, and the kitchen supervisor was apparently told that if he didn't want to do his job well , he could simply quit his position. We made it clear that we did not want anyone fired, but we are finding that people with particular jobs are expected to perform at high levels, especially where foreigners are concerned.

We experienced a similar situation when we asked Mr. Tang to come into our classes and review some very basic rules with the students: be on time, no absences from the institute, no cell phones, and no guests or children. Mr. Tang, who is one of the kindest and most personable people I have ever known, once again went into "authority" mode, assuring us that students would not violate any of these class rules again. I was amazed that he spoke about each rule for about five minutes. The students were attentive and promised him they would do better in the future. Mr. Tang told us this is the "Chinese Way" and the students understand that they must do their jobs well and be accountable for their behaviors and learning. For us as teachers here, this is a very supportive and "no nonsense" atmosphere in which to teach. I was a bit flabbergasted to see him flip into authority mode, but he balanced the whole situation at lunchtime. Walking past the room where the students eat, we noticed Mr. Tang sharing lunch with the students, smiling and conversing. "It's the Chinese way, " he told us later. There is a sense of duty and consequence here, but there is also a strong feeling of friendship between the professors and their students. Mr. Tang is a master at balancing these two modes, and the students have a great deal of respect for him.

On another note, we saw a snake for the first time this morning on our way to breakfast. Yes, I have a photo, as I haul my camera everywhere. During the rain, many frogs have emerged... tiny little creatures that hop around very quickly on all the steps.

On the basic needs front, we have had steady water for several days now. The mosquitoes are still under control. I battle several flies before I finally go to bed at night. My digestive system is still churning and uncomfortable much of the day. Nancy has decided to "play Mama" to me by plying me with purple Gatorade. She also gave me several capsules of Vitamin C and multivitamins. She has travelled extensively, to many countries, and sees the signs of dehydration quickly.

As a matter of fact, Nancy invaded my dreams last night. In the dream, I was at a meeting with my LATTICE friends, talking about the experience in China. As I was talking, I passed out onto the floor. Then I heard Nancy say that there was no way I was going to a hospital in Bijie, that she wanted me taken to a hospital in Guiyang, the capitol of Guizhou Province. In between her concern, she continued to say, "I told you to drink more water!!!" Ah, Nancy is even invading my dreams with her care taking.

I believe I have developed bronchitis, too, so I am taking an antibiotic I brought with me.... just in case. Feel like I am going to hack up a lung.

So, it is probably a good thing the weekend has begun. I won't have to speak as much, nor as loudly or as clearly. Several students tell me I am very easy to understand and that I remind some of them of the voice of a woman on some of their foreign language learning CD's. For the weekend, we are traveling with Mr. Tang and his driver to see the world famous Zhijin cave about 3 hours from Bijie. We will then travel to Anshun and see the beautiful Huangguoshu Waterfall, the largest waterfall in Asia. Many hours driving, and we plan to stop in Guiyang to have dinner with Bill, the director of the institute.

It is odd to say that I have only known my students for nine days, but I feel very close to them and feel like I have known them all my life. They are absolutely wonderful to work with, and they make me very proud to be a teacher. Their open hearts and minds inspire me everyday. And... with their amazing voices, I am going to teach some rounds and some harmony next week! Music is truly the universal language.

I have learned two new Chinese words today: Shui (水) for water, and MaMaHuHu (馬馬虎虎 - literally, horse-horse-tiger-tiger) for the Chinese equivalent of "so-so". I am finding many situations to apply the phrase MaMaHuHu, as I love to say the phrase. I taught Mr. Tang "spelunking" when we were talking about cave exploration today. Another fun word in the mouth and on the lips!

I will probably not post again until Sunday night or Monday, due to travel over the weekend. In the meantime, I wish all of you a relaxing weekend. As the Nigerian saying goes, "Hold a true friend with both hands." Remember to embrace those you love with two caring hands...

July 16 - My Classroom in Bijie

Dear Patient Blog Readers,

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.

Interlude - "Naming Ceremony at Bijie"

I knight my Chinese student
"William",
after my father,
and tell him that there is a song
about Billy Boy
and making classic
American cherry pie.
We ritualize this tradition here,
giving each student
an English name.

There is no sword or crown -
only a fly swatter we use
to imprint these alien-to-tongue names,
a team race to the blackboard
to swat each English name
as it is bellowed out in class.

In return,
the students offer a Chinese name to me,
their foreigner, their teacher for the summer.
A chosen name
after voting
thumbs up or thumbs
down,
a remnant from yesterday's lesson
on democracy and voting.
They baptize me with "Bai Ling",
a rare Chinese bird
with a beautiful song voice.
They tell me,
"We give this name to you
because you fly high
and free
and beautiful
and have a
song
like this special bird."

In mute thanks,
I enfold my wings
around their open hearts,
and whisper
a quivering love song
into the palms
of their gracious hands...

- Marianne Forman