Everywhere I go in China, people are serving me.

When I step into a restaurant, for instance, there are always 8-10 women standing around, waiting to meet any need. Before I can even ask for help, they are there with their insane ability to predict your needs, often bringing your request to you before it even comes out of your mouth. These people, you see, are simply the most generous people I have ever met. They are constantly serving me, giving me things and doing things for me that I need and don’t need.

Hence, the word I will undoubtedly use the most during my year in China is “谢谢。” In pinyin, it’s xie4 xie4 (pronouced “shee-ay shee-ay”).

It means, “Thank you.”

Everywhere I go, people stare at the waiguoren (foreigner). Even in the middle of a lake!

Yesterday I realized that I was almost out of money. I won’t get paid again until the middle of October, and I’m hoping to travel to YueYang and Shanghai before that … so I decided that I needed to go into Changsha this weekend to change some traveler’s checks and get some extra savings out of the WorldTeach safe.

So I got up this morning, intending to ride a bus into Changsha to take care of those tasks. After some hunting, I couldn’t find the bus station … so I instead went to the train station, knowing that several trains go to Changsha every day. I knew that getting tickets and figuring out how to board the train would be hard … but I was up to the challenge.

At the station, I waited in line for a ticket for 10-15 minutes, but when I finally got up to the counter, the teller wouldn’t really help me. Though I had asked for a ticket to Changsha, she couldn’t really connect the dots and simply went on to help the next few customers in line instead. So I waited patiently, hoping that after an hour or so she’d get tired of my smiling face (and my repeated request for a ticket to Changsha) and actually help me.

After only a couple of minutes, I heard a kind voice say, “Can I help you with something?” I was surprised by the smooth pronunciation and turned to see a Chinese girl … and her Canadian friend! The former had wonderfully fluent English and the latter was the first foreigner I had seen in Loudi, even after three weeks of living there. I was stunned!

Daisy, the Chinese student (who is studying English at a local University), helped me buy a ticket then told me we’d be on the same train. So she and Jane, the Canadian, not only saved my hide this morning (like a gift straight from heaven!), but also gave me a wonderful conversation on the three hour ride to the city. And apparantly they know three other foreign teachers on the other side of the city that would be happy to have a friend from Ohio!

I’ll spare you the details of the train ride right now … but it was, in two words, bustling and scenic. When we arrived in Changsha, I said goodbye to my two new friends and boarded a bus for the middle of the city, where I changed some money at the bank and visited Carrefour, a French supermarket (with Western products!).

I then tried to call Daniel, the WorldTeach Field Director, but realized that my cell phone doesn’t work at all outside of Loudi. So, for those of you planning to call my cell, know that the number might change in a few weeks (once my minutes run out). I called Daniel from a phone bank instead, and he graciously came down to meet me and spend the evening hanging out.

We called up a couple more volunteers and headed to the Northern restaurant down the street, where we had some fantastic sweet and sour pork, egg dumplings, three treasures (pepper, eggplant, and potato), and a yummy bing (can’t remember the name). I ended up stuffing my face, aggrivating the slight head cold that had been building for the past couple of days.

Afterwards, Daniel and Chee and I (the guys) decided to go get footrubs/massages, so we went to a local parlor. It was utterly fantastic … and after my week on my feet in the classroom, evening runs on the track, and commute on the train to Changsha, my feet and legs were extremely thankful. Forty yuan for ninety minutes … it was five U.S. dollars well spent.

We then walked through Walking Street to Chee’s apartment, where we talked for a while, then headed back to Daniel’s place. I’m crashing there tonight (thanks, bro!) then heading back by train tomorrow morning. He’s even hooking me up with a used space heater for the impending winter and some DVD’s to pass the time in Loudi!

All in all, it was an adventurous day … and I’m wiped. This month is going to be fun, with visits to the Webels up north and the Matz out on the east coast … but I’m incredibly excited!

I’ve updated my online contact PDF to include info on how to reach me via phone. If you ever feel so inclined, drop me a line!

[My living room 1, by webel]

For those of you who care, I’ve just posted a set of photos of my apartment at Liangang Middle School. Enjoy!

One of the most annoying struggles I’ve had in China so far has to do with the complete lack of creativity that most Chinese people exhibit when they communicate. Here’s a typical scenario:

I enter a restaurant, hoping to figure out something safe and interesting to eat. I might know 5 or 10 words on the menu, so I hope to figure out the rest by context and perhaps ask the waitress for clues. As she attempts to help me, however, she simply keeps restating what’s on the menu. The more I try to get her to demonstrate what she’s talking about (by using hand gestures, charades, drawing, sounds, etc), the more she just keeps repeating the same words, over and over.

Eventually she calls another waitress or manager over, who continues to bombard me with Chinese words that I don’t know, regardless of how many times I say “I don’t understand that word” and “I only speak a little Chinese.”

Maybe it’s not a Chinese thing … maybe there are non-creative people all over the world. It’s not like I try to communicate with speakers of other languages all the time … so it could just be typical across-the-board. Regardless, it’s amazing to me how “in-the-box” the thinking seems to be over here.

When I teach, on the other hand, this communicative limitation turns into a huge advantage. The kids are always amazed to see me act out words or draw pictures on the board. They will laugh uncontrollably at the smallest smile, and I’ve learned that the quickest way of getting the class to understand what I’m saying is to immediately draw a picture on the board. I think their English instruction is mainly verbal, repetition of English words and their Chinese equivalents. As a result, their ability to create new ways of learning for themselves is very minimal. Strategies which seem very basic to me (using visual and kinesthetic teaching methods, for example) are simply revolutionary to my students, ultimately making them think that I’m some sort of master English teacher.

And, in the end, one thing’s for sure … they all understand a smile. It’s the universal language!

Chinese people are very superstitious about their numbers. And I’m not talking about “Friday the 13th” stuff … they’re really serious.

For example, the number four, 四 (si4), sounds a lot like the Chinese word for death, 死 (si3). As a result, the number four is extremely bad luck in China. You cannot buy many things in multiples of four, and most buildings will not have a fourth floor.

But hey, I’m not complaining. I got my cell phone number for free because it ends in a four!

So I thought I had my Visa, but I was wrong. I have my Foreign Expert’s Certificate (a form of ID), but my Temporary Visa actually expired 12 days ago. Shh … don’t tell anyone, I’m living here illegally.

Zhan was right … China is full of many rules, but nobody knows how to follow them. I’ve been to 2 different police stations 3 times to get my Visa, and each time there is confusion, missing paperwork, and even policemen and administrators that they cannot seem to find. When they can find the right forms, they never fill them out completely, and everyone seems to be late with everything. I suppose that it’s a land where grace abounds!

Until it doesn’t anymore, of course …

[Concentric red, by webel]

Today I decided that it’s simply been way too long since I’ve had an Internet connection on my computer … I have a lot of photos I’d like to upload, I can’t use my own software, and the whole point of buying a MacBook for China has been mute. So I packed up my machine and walked to my favorite Internet cafe, where I hoped to convince the manager to let me use my machine instead of his. I figured that convincing him would be easy enough … getting the network to talk to my machine would probably be the hard part.

When I arrived, I saw a fancy blue Buick outside of the cafe … the same kind that the big-whig principals (3 out of 4 of them) at my school drive. My first thought was that one of the principals was, for some reason, at this hole-in-the-wall cafe … and that confused me. I like this cafe because it’s tiny … it sits in the shadow of a much larger and fancier place … and the manager is always honored to have a foreigner choose to use his computers. But it’s a dump, not the kind of place where you’d normally see a luxury car.

When I entered, however, I found that the fancy car actually belonged to the cafe’s owner … a young, well-dressed man in his twenties. He had brought a cadre of workers with him to do some upgrades on the network. And how fortunate that was, because these same workers were able to help me manually set up the network connection on my machine to work with their network!

So I now have some new photos posted on Flickr. There aren’t a ton of them from Loudi yet … I’ve been avoiding the itchy shutter finger until I have a good Internet connection … but they should hopefully give a better glimpse of where I’m living and what’s going on around me. I’ll take some photos of my school and apartment soon, and I’ll even be glad to honor specific requests. Enjoy!

When I was writing my classroom rules, I tried to anticipate what problems I might have teaching Spoken English in China. I knew many students were scared to speak in front of their peers, and I figured that they would already have many well-established coping mechanisms for getting through difficult and potentially embarassing classroom situations.

I also tried to envision the behaviors I would encounter and predict what kinds of distractions and interactions I might have in the classroom. As any teacher knows, a good set of rules is a life-saver … it allows you to set expectations and deal with difficult situations. Essentially, you can blame the list endlessly, making it the “bad cop” while you continue teaching as the “good cop”.

Finally, I tried to capture my expectations in very simple and clear terms. The students who will break the rules, logically, will probably have little to no spoken English ability or understanding. After many revisions, I came up with the following list:

Teacher Lance’s Rules

1. English only!
2. Everyone speaks!
3. No distractions!
4. Be polite!
5. Have fun!

I agree with Robin Williams. We should seize the day. When I saw this fish feeding pond on a mountain outside Changsha, China, I decided to get out my camera and seize it.

On my way to my last class today, I passed a group of Junior 1 teachers walking the other way. I recognized several of them as English teachers, so I smiled and said, “Hello!” They replied and kept on walking.

When I got to class, I was just on time … 4:35. But the teacher before me was still talking to the class. This was very unusual, as the class before me was supposed to be done at 4:25. I smiled and waited patiently, finally getting into the room at 4:40. I was excited … they were Junior 3 students, my oldest and usually the most fun and interactive.

It was obvious from the very beginning of class, however, that the students didn’t want to be there. They were antsy, disruptive, and very distracted. Some of them were passing notes, others were tapping and bothering their neighbors, and more than a few were either trying to sleep in the back or rudely talking whenever they pleased. I even had to go out to the balcony and ask a group of girls to leave because they were disrupting my class … for some reason their class must not have started yet.

My immediate reaction was to deal with the issues aggressively … I established my authority and quickly isolated the impolite behavior, making my positions clear while still moving through the lesson. It became increasingly worse, however, and I eventually had to confiscate two notebooks, make one student come up front and sit alone on a chair, pull the desks of two bothersome boys far away, and give several remarks like, “I know that it is Friday and this is your last class, but we are here to learn English. I will be patient and we will learn together.”

At one point, I even forced a disruptive student to stand up and go out on the balcony, where I took his bookbag and he muttered several indistinct Chinese words (which I can only assume were swear words or insults). I went back in the classroom and apologized to the quiet students in the front, thanking them for being so patient and mature while other students in their class “acted like little babies.” I even gave them a mocking “baby cry” and a speech about how I was a “guest in their country” and expected respect from my hosts.

When class finally ended, I was barely halfway through the lesson. I thanked the students anyway and promised that things would be better next week. I then returned the confiscated goods, accepted numerous apologies (from some extremely caring students), and had a talk with the student that was kicked out (I don’t think he understood a word that I said … but he got the tone).

On my way out the door, I noticed that every other classroom was already vacant and locked. No other teachers were in sight, and the back gate to the school was already padlocked. Hmm … this was very unusual. So I went back upstairs to the classroom, where several students were cleaning up (Chinese students are responsible for keeping the classrooms spotless).

“Where are all of the other teachers?” I asked the Rebekah, a very kind and interested student whose English was very good.

“There is a meeting,” she replied. “All of the teachers are there.”

At once, I realized what had happened. The school had called a faculty meeting during the last bell of school. All of the students were allowed to go home early while the teachers discussed whatever important and pressing issue that the administration needed to address.

I, however, was not important enough to be invited to or informed about this meeting. The school administrators and my liaison never told me anything. The group of English teachers that I passed on the way to class quietly went to their meeting and let me go to my class. The teacher that was in the room before me didn’t tell me and probably even informed the students that I would be forcing them to stay an extra hour. And none of the 68 students in that room said a word about the meeting. They just sat there and took it.

Of course the students didn’t want to be there! Of course they were passing notes and were visibly disinterested throughout the class! Of course my combatative discipline was met with even more resistance! These students were being forced to sit in yet another class while their friends laughed and played outside, having some fun together before going home. And some of the students even loved it … the ones who were cleaning the classroom thanked me repeatedly, saying that were very happy to have class and learn English with me!

Needless to say, I was quite upset. I had missed an important meeting and was given a clue that I wasn’t accepted as an integral part of the teaching faculty. Moreover, my ignorance had led to a horrible experience for an entire class of students and an entirely unnecessary conflict with some individuals that will probably taint my relationship with them all year. I felt manipulated and abused, ignorant and neglected.

So I called my liaison and told her what had happened. I asked how teachers usually found out about meetings and requested that I be included on everything with the other teachers. Sure, I only understand a little Chinese and would probably not understand anything at the meeting anyways (which is probably why I wasn’t invited … they probably thought they were being polite) … but I told her that I felt it was very important that I am “part of the team”. She apologized and promised that it wouldn’t happen again.

And although I know that it probably will, it’s ok. I’m glad that I figured out what happened and that I’ll have a chance to aplogize to the kids next week. And I’m glad that it’s the weekend … it’s been a wonderful three days of class, but I’m ready to simply sit down and watch a DVD.

Or three.

As many of you know, I am pursuing my Master’s in Education (with a focus on Integrating Technology into the Classroom) from Walden University. It has been a wild ride so far … all of my classes are online, and finding the motivation to write weekly papers has been very difficult.

But I’m halfway through … 5 of 10 classes are complete! I’m hoping to finish the degree this year while I’m in China with, hopefully, plenty of free time on my hands and Internet access. If all goes well, I should graduate in May.

My 6th class started this week … but, as I expected, there have been complications. My course materials (books and videos) don’t seem to be able to make it through to the country. Check out this soap opera:

Tracking results provided by UPS:
09/08/2006 8:16 A.M. Eastern Time (USA)

Location	Date	Local Time	Activity
SHANGHAI, CN	09/08/2006	12:01 P.M.	TRANSFER NOTIFICATION FROM SITE TO OBTAIN ADDITIONAL INFORMATION REQUIRED FOR DELIVERY
LOUISVILLE,  KY,  US	09/06/2006	10:15 A.M.	TRANSFER NOTIFICATION FROM SITE TO OBTAIN ADDITIONAL INFORMATION REQUIRED FOR DELIVERY
GUANGZHOU,  CN	09/05/2006	2:57 P.M.	UPS WILL CONTACT THE SENDER AND/OR RECEIVER REGARDING THE STATUS OR DISPOSITION OF THIS PACKAGE
GUANGZHOU,  CN	09/04/2006	2:00 P.M.	A PHONE NUMBER IS NEEDED PRIOR TO CLEARANCE OR DELIVERY
GUANGZHOU,  CN	09/02/2006	3:50 A.M.	IN-TRANSIT SCAN
	09/02/2006	12:32 A.M.	IMPORT SCAN
CHEK LAP KOK,  HK	09/01/2006	12:54 P.M.	ARRIVAL SCAN
ANCHORAGE,  AK,  US	08/31/2006	10:25 A.M.	DEPARTURE SCAN
	08/31/2006	6:11 A.M.	ARRIVAL SCAN
LOUISVILLE,  KY,  US	08/31/2006	3:37 A.M.	DEPARTURE SCAN
LOUISVILLE,  KY,  US	08/30/2006	11:52 P.M.	ARRIVAL SCAN
CHICAGO,  IL,  US	08/30/2006	9:40 P.M.	DEPARTURE SCAN
	08/30/2006	9:09 P.M.	ARRIVAL SCAN
ADDISON,  IL,  US	08/30/2006	8:32 P.M.	DEPARTURE SCAN
US	08/30/2006	5:38 P.M.	BILLING INFORMATION RECEIVED

Hopefully it’ll make it through sometime soon!

As you can probably imagine, Chinese students are fascinated with America and with foreigners. They have a lot of questions, but are usually too afraid to ask them out loud. So I’ve created something in my class called the Question Bag. It’s a small manilla envelope where students can leave English questions at any time for me to answer. At the end of every class, then, I take a couple of minutes to answer these questions.

Here are some questions from Class #19, my first class of Junior 2 (8th grade) students … my favorites are in bold.

1. How are you?
2. Do you like dog? (what … as a food?)
3. What’s your age (asked by 11 students!)
4. Do you have a big family or a smally famil? What are they?
5. Do you like to do exercise? How often? (asked by 10 students!)
6. Do you like junk food?
7. Do you have wife? Do you have son?
8. What is your favorite animal?
9. Why do you come China?
10. What do you favorite movie?
11. Do you love Jay?
12. What do you think of cool?
    
13. How many hours do you sleep every night?
14. Do you love our? What do you think of our?
15. Do you have sweet?
16. What’s your name?
17. What is your favorite country?
18. When you with your family com China?
19. Do you have any money?
20. In the West, the people often go hiking?
21. What language do you speak?
22. Does Teacher Lance is cool?

And my favorite question from the class:

• Why do you teach we English?

What are your personal favorites?