Shell in China

Well, it has been another crazy/frustrating/busy week here in China.

The craziness is due to the fact that it is spring, but the weather doesn’t want to go there yet. As a matter of fact, our friends in Lanzhou (the capital of Gansu) got snow at the beginning of the week! Mid to late April is just too far into spring to be having snow if you ask me. We didn’t’ get snow, but it rained and was super chilly here for the first half of the week. Then, suddenly, today it is sunny and warm, which is perfect timing since we did two loads of laundry yesterday and hung them up to dry. Now I can be sure I will have clean AND dry clothes to pack tomorrow.

The frustrating part of the week is due to a phone call we got on Friday night at about 10PM. You see, our 3^rd year students are getting ready to go practice-teach (student teach) in two weeks. When we asked about the timing of their final exams, we were told that they would be AFTER the students got back from their four weeks of teaching. I had already decided to give my oral final exams the same week as my midterms for the second-year students, so I had a plan taken care of for them. Not having exams until a month in the future though meant that Thad didn’t have an exam ready. There was no reason to. But, on Friday night when we got the drop-in visitor from the English department and then phone call a few minutes later, he suddenly had to have an exam ready to go by Sunday night. He thought he had at least another week of regular class, so this came as more than a bit of surprise. So, between working on the slide show that he was putting together for the upcoming COS conference and making an exam for culture class, frustrations ran a bit high. But both are done now…

And of course, it has been busy. Since I am doing my finals and midterms the same week, it means that I have eight classes worth of oral exams to give. The problem is that class is scheduled in a two-hour block, one time a week, but to get through an entire class of exams, it takes twice that amount of time. That means that I am doing exams during all of my teaching times, but then also each evening to finish up the extras. For example, this morning I had exams from 8-10 and then I will have more tonight from 6-10. I am not exactly looking forward to four hours of tests tonight.

The exam for my class is double-pronged. First, the students have to create a television advertisement for the Book Nook. The ad must be at least three minutes long and should encourage students to make use of the room. Then, they must also bring with them a magazine advertisement that they have created in conjunction with their TV ad. I have had some pretty creative ads so far. One group of boys donned fedoras and danced into the room with these little signs they had made. (The fact that two out of the three of them had their signs upside down just made me laugh even harder!) I’ve had lots of songs they have written, as well as some pretty creative setups. A group of girls did a little skit about how the Earth is invaded by aliens who know all about our way of life because they had been secretly studying English and western culture in the Book Nook! Very cute.

The best part of the week, though, is going to be the weekend. Tomorrow night Thad and I are headed to Chengdu, where Peace Corps China is based. It seems crazy, but it is already time for our COS (close-of-service) conference. This is a required meeting for PCVs who are headed home soon. I am assuming it will be a lot of paperwork and job-related things, which in and of itself isn’t so cool, but getting together one last time and hanging out will be tons of fun. (For people not leaving on the same date as us, this could be the last time we see each other.) I know both Thad and I have big plans for the weekend and the conference. His entails playing poker and winning some yuan; mine entails spending that cash in fun ways! Of course, there will be lots of western food consumed throughout the weekend as well.

Finally, not to be overshadowed by COS conference, four of Thad’s senior school classmates are in China as I type! They arrived just a few hours ago in Beijing and will meet us on Monday in Chengdu, at which point we will pick up our tour-guide duties.

This week has been a roller coaster at times, but knowing that we get to get out of town for a few days has made the work a little easier to plow on through.

76 days…not that I am counting…

1^st Place Winning Essay

A “Friend” of Mine

By Becky, Class 4, Grade 2

Without friendship, the tree of life will die as time goes by. The soil of heart will become a wilderness. And friends come in all shapes and size.

I was a lovely girl when I was a senior school student, many many friends surrounded me. We always chatting, singing, climbing, playing basketball or doing other things, together. School life seemed joyful, although many books and a pile of papers played the main part. I think I was really happy at that time. Before I came to this college, I always dreamed of my college life, it should be more wonderful than in senior school, I thought. However, I was wrong, almost everything is not the one I expected. I tried my best to make friends, but I failed. My foreign teacher told me I should learn to adapt and if I had done this I would find it’s a good way in our life. I remembered how I can’t change the world, but I can change myself to be happy in life. Maybe I was a little mad, I then spoke English to everything I met at any time, flowers, trees, grasses, rivers, stones, birds and so on. Anyhow, life still full of boring. To my surprise, my foreign teacher introduced a friend to us. I visited him in the hope of making friend with him. I was a little disappointed when I first saw him. He had a common appearance and his body is not big enough. Just because of lonely, I visited him from time to time. Unexpectedly, day after day, I found myself couldn’t go without him, he is so learned.

Up to now, I don’t know which country he comes from, maybe America, but I’m not sure. Because the only language he knows is English. He owes many tapes, CDs, magazines and a great many books, which gives me various knowledge and only written in English. I can borrow whatever books I like from him, he never says “No” or “Stop.” Also I can read any book I want at his home. So far, I have been reading many books, it refers to animals, fashion, western foods, cartoons, fights, history, politics, music, sports, famous persons, diary, detectives, fairy tales and other kinds of stories. My favorite book is about detectives and stories. Of course, during my reading, as new words I met, my vocabulary enlarged, the information store in my memory is enriched. Every time I met the sentences and the short paragraphs which I thought is useful or beautiful, I would write them down, memorized it and used it in my study. Personally speaking, the important information I learned is not just these books themselves, but the feelings and thoughts they give me. Some stories in the books or some plots in some books sometimes really touched and moved me inside. It taught me the knowledge which is out of books and it made me think a lot.

Many books have vivid pictures. It helps us to understand the story easily. Sometimes it also gives my imagination wings to fly freely. Every time I saw the delicious food’s pictures, I had a strong desire to taste them. They looked so different from China’s foods. And fashionable clothes and shoes caught my eyes so much, either.

Staying with the learned friend, I know the past history and the present news. I know the life of animals and the life of human beings. I remembered my childhood and dreamed my future. Staying with him, my reading speed rised.

My friend has a lot of Chinese friends and five foreign friends. Almost every day, he wait with a smile and welcome everyone visited him. All of his friend will speak only English in his home. Chatting with others is my favorite thing to do there. I like speak my mind out in English and share it with people. My oral English can be improved in this way. By the way, I made a new Chinese friend in his house. When I felt boring, I could just sit on sofa, eating some candies or fruits and listening to others talk. I find is helpful to my listening.

Sometimes I visit him just for fun. I will enjoy pictures on the wall and play letter game, or I will just look at the small plant there silently. In winter, I will visit him for warm. His home is like my home, I can enjoy myself freely.

Everybody like beauty, my friend, too. On every holiday, he will dress up by his foreign friends and some Chinese ones. He will be more beautiful. Sometimes, there will be some games at his home, his foreign friends always help him to organize it. I’m very glad to take part in it, not for presents, just for fun. They can make my college life colorful.

Foreign friends visit him to help our Chinese whatever problems we meet. They are so friendly and so patiently. They let us hear the real English speaking by foreigners. And let us know more about their culture, I think.

So, do you want to know the kind and helpful person’s name and to make friend with him. Every body call him Book Nook. Busiest man find the most time, go and visit him. Don’t say you have no time, I’m sure you’ll like him with your whole heart. Friendship is forever, I like him and I won’t let him alone. Although he can’t speak, he teaches me a lot and he is more than a friend for me.

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1^st Place Winning Essay

Enjoy Life in the Book Nook

By Jenny, Grade 3, Class 3

I was very excited when Mrs. Stenback said that Michelle and she had a dream, to build an English library for us. I like reading very much. Before the English material I could get was 21^st century newspaper and it has little about exotic lifestyle. So I was longed for the opening of the Book Nook. Then I worked there as a librarian. Not only do I improve my English learning skills, but also it offers me an opportunity to make new friends.

One day I was on duty. A freshman came to borrow a book. She asked me to recommend some books for her. I gave her a not very difficult book. I thought the most important is to improve her confidence. Then she asked me for advice to pass CET-4. I encouraged her to read a lot. It is a good way to remember words by reading. This is also what I learned from reading. We talked in English for an hour. To my surprise, I could speak English correctly and fluently without many errors. She even admired me for my oral English. From then on, I became more confident in my oral English and always talk with others. Practice makes perfect. It’s truth.

In the Book Nook, I always spend much time on magazines, especially Country Living, my favorite magazine. I like the decorations of houses and the beautiful gardens. It always makes me feel comfortable, relaxed and cozy. At the sight of the beautiful pictures, I can’t resist the impulse to travel around the world to enjoy delicious western food, to share the mystery of culture. Every country has great things. There is no exception to the U.S. In America, there are many picturesque places. When you are sitting on the sofa with a Country Living book, you will soon be engrossed in the atmosphere. Sometimes wandering beside a blue sea to appreciate the splendid sunset, sometimes riding on a horse and galloping on a prairie. After a while, you are lying on the green soft lawn under a maple tree, listening to the singing of birds, or sitting beside a river, listening to the trickling of water. And then in a outdoor kitchen, cooking delicious pizza. You will find how nice the life is.

When I am traveling around the world in the Book Nook, I also can improve my reading skills. First of all, I can adjust my reading speed according to different materials. Reading magazines can also help my fast reading. I needn’t pay much attention to the details. Reading is a conversation with the author. So just scan for the main idea. Besides, I can’t recognize every word, so guessing is a good way. There are many illustrates can help me to guess its meaning. Thirdly, many magazines are about our daily life. It is a good chance to remember a lot of words that often used. For example, words of cooking, decorating, skin caring and so on.

Reading makes a full man, conference a ready man, and writing an exact man. The Book Nook is an exotic place in our campus. It has so many resources for English learning. It is the best choice. Enjoy it together.

Hiking and books. One of these falls in the “likes” category and the other lands firmly in the “dislikes” category, but both were major parts of this last week for me.

Last weekend Niffy, Ben and Kristen came down to visit. Friday was a traditional national holiday (Tomb Sweeping Day- similar to our Memorial Day) so they had the day off work and decided to make a long weekend of it with us. (Because our school is in the middle of inspection this term, Thad and I did not get the day off, but it was fine because we were done teaching before everyone arrived.) The weather had been beautiful and everyone was itching to get outside and do something outdoorsy, so after pondering our options, we decided to hike JiFeng Shan (Chicken Mountain.)

JiFeng is a local tourist attraction that sits just outside of town. There is a road that goes up and one can pay to see the temples, or, one can do as the students do. By climbing the mountain (about 2200 meters from bottom to top) we avoid the entry fee, but also get to “enjoy” a not-so-relaxing hike. To its credit, the hike is beautiful and worth the effort, but it is rough, especially on non-hikers like myself.

Thad and I climbed the mountain once before, our first term here, but we wanted our friends to have the experience, so up we headed again. (We have two more sets of visitors coming before we COS in July, both of whom have expressed interest in seeing the mountain. I may leave these extra trips to Thad!) We left here, with a group of my second-year students, at just after 8AM. The mountainside was beautiful, but I swear the students ran up that dang mountain! Now, my idea of strenuous activity is having to carry multiple shopping bags around the mall with me for hours as I sort through the latest fashion, so this was not my cup of tea, but I was also unwilling to be left behind on such a beautiful day, so I joined the group for the day. While the students and Ben and Kristen made quick time of the mountain, I lagged behind. Thad is a fast hiker too, but he and Niffy hung out at the tail of the group with me on the way up. We (meaning me really) took lots of breaks and pictures on our way up, finally reaching the top about four hours after starting.

At the top of the mountain are several temples and an amazing view of the valley in which we live. We met up with an 86 year old man who lives at the temple and after taking some pictures with him, he blessed us with a fortunate future. About fifteen minutes later as we were enjoying some noodles from a woman who also lives there, Thad got an eyeful of lajiao (red pepper) sauce. I guess “fortunate future” is further-looking than the next half an hour! Luckily Niffy had eye-drops in her bag (what a Girl Scout!) which saved the day!!

After wandering around at the top, the students headed off to look at another area where I guess there used to be monkeys, but knowing that there was nothing really there, the five of us foreigners headed back down to town and school. We got home and were all exhausted, but we had a wonderful day. Although I hate hiking, I love the reward of the view from the top and then the feeling of exhaustion but accomplishment at the end of the day.

It wasn’t all a week of braving “dislike” though. After everyone headed back to their sites after a weekend of playing, it was time to get ready for our Book Nook Awards Night. Rachel and I put together an essay contest this term in the Book Nook to try to encourage more students to come and use the room. (It is already popular, but like many teachers, we are always trying to get more students involved in school activities.) The topic of the contest was “How was the Book Nook helped you improve your English?” After choosing winners (we actually had a tie for first-place), Rachel and I put together a special evening for them.

Our goal for the evening was not only to recognize the students who entered the contest, but also to invite the English department teachers (many of whom have never gone to the room themselves) and school leaders so that others are aware of what the students are doing in their free time. Thanks to the urging of our dean, we had many teachers come. The school leader turnout was much less spectacular, but I can’t say that I am surprised by that.

For the event, Rachel and I made certificates and bought cute notebooks and pencils for all of the students who participated. (We had 23 entries.) We also had cash prizes for the winning papers. Also, Rachel went and had some photographs printed at a local shop and we made a collage to hang on the wall. We went to town on Tuesday and got a frame (which is a whole different story involving braving a swarm of bees) and that evening we spent two hours putting it together. When we were done we were both so proud of how it looked until Rachel turned to me and said, “Michelle, it is upside down!!” She was right! As we worked on it (and talked a little too much I guess!) we didn’t notice that it was not the right way. Luckily, Tomas was able to find a tool and take the hooks off the frame and put them on the other way. Oooops! We are creative, but not always logical I guess.

Anyway, last night was the awards ceremony and I think it was a success. We had 730 books, as well as many magazines to show the teachers when they came. The students enjoyed their prizes and I think everyone left feeling like the Book Nook was a good addition to our school. (Several of the teachers also left with a book in-hand! They wanted to borrow books as well, so we just make a check-out paper for staff as well. I am glad to see they like the room!)

Climbing and books. They are not two things that normally go together in my world. One I avoid whenever possible while the other is a daily part of my life, but this week they came together to make a busy and tiring, but rewarding and satisfying week.

Wedding

Last Wednesday we attended our first Chinese wedding. (Why it has taken so long I have no idea. There was a wedding soon after we came to Chengxian, but it was on a holiday week and we were out of town, but otherwise, no other weddings.) The wedding was much more fun than the baby luncheon we attended the week before. At the wedding, the bride wore a traditional Western white wedding dress to greet the guests outside the restaurant and then there was a very short ceremony that involved three kowtows and a few words and then they were hitched! The bride then skittered off to change into a red dress for the rest of the reception. The wedding was mainly a giant meal. Thad was in heaven with plate after plate of fish, mutton, ribs, etc. coming out of the backroom. He definitely ate his fill that day!

We took money as a gift, which is what my students told me would be expected. There was a man sitting at the door and he would write down your name and how much you gave. It seems awkward by our American sensibilities in which money isn’t openly discussed, so we felt strange going about it that way, but it is the standard here and along with it we went.

Last Wednesday was beautiful and sunny outside- the perfect day for wedding. The bride was radiant and as happy as I have ever seen her. Best wishes to the new couple! (Now the expectation will be for her to be pregnant by their first anniversary. I guess Thad and I failed miserably in that regard!)

Student Numbers

This is just a short note, but one that I learned today and thought was interesting. My students all have student numbers. I realized that there was significance to them in that by looking at it I could tell you which year and of which class they were a member. What I learned today was that the last two numbers tell me their class ranking on the gaokao (Chinese SAT.) If a class has the final numbers of 42-88, the student with the 42 had the best score while the 88 had the lowest. Wow! So they all know just where they fall. Interesting…

Inspection Week

This week is a mini-inspection, which leads up to the big school inspection in May. To prepare, the school has done a lot of grounds work, including planting flowers and trees and campus now looks great! The students have been given various regulations to follow this week including wearing their school pins (Thad and I now also have these and are wearing them), their dorms have to be spotless in case of inspection, if an adult enters their classroom they have to stand and clap, they have longer morning exercises, etc. Everything is a bit tense around here. I was in the office today on the break and the inspector-dudes (official title!) were in there going over paperwork. The teachers all sat at the table and didn’t say a word. It was strange. Usually they are all running around laughing and joking, but today it was so solemn. I felt odd just sitting there like a mouse! Also, the students told me they had to be prepared to answer questions about our school if the inspectors asked them. Naturally, I wanted to know what kind of questions and they said things like how many students go to school here. Again, I couldn’t help but ask the answer to that one and in unison I received this reply, “3903!! When I was done laughing I told them that was a very exact number and that in America we would probably just say “About 4000.”

I can’t imagine what it is going to be like when the big-wigs come next month!!!

Book Nook

The Book Nook is going strong. Rachel and I (ie: The Book Nook) sponsored an essay contest which just ended yesterday. We will read the papers today and choose winners and we are hoping to have a small ceremony for the participants and teachers next week. Also, Rachel received eleven new books in the mail today from a young woman in her hometown. Rachel has never met the woman, but there was an article published in the local paper and this lady decided to send some books our way! Thank you!! We are at 715 books in the library right now, but I am keeping the hope of 1000 alive! Melissa and her team of teachers/students at Caldwell’s Syringa Middle School have purchased 88 more (yeah! and thank you!) that will hopefully be in the mail in the next few weeks. That will put our total at about 800.

(Warning: Here comes the plea!) So, if you have any young adult books sitting around your house that you no longer want, please throw them in a padded envelope and ship them my way! I have less than 100 days left in China (I haven’t done the math, but a fellow PCV said that April 1 was the start of the 100 countdown) and really want to hit the goal of 1000. But, shipping takes several weeks, so really I am down to less than that. Check your shelves for me and skip on down to your local post office! (When you go to drop off those taxes, throw a couple of books in the mail. It will make you feel good after giving away your hard-earned cash!)

(And of course, a big thank you to Uncle Owen and family, student-Brian and family, Melissa and team, author Jenine, and everyone else who has shipped a few this way already!)

Broken Nose?

This morning, I could hear the students still out at morning exercises when I got up. It seemed late for that, so I wandered over to the window to look, but somehow (Thad???) the glass door got closed and in my half-awake state I didn’t notice. The result? I nearly knocked myself out at 7AM! I hit the door so hard I have no idea how I didn’t break my nose or end up with black eyes. Thank goodness there is no visible damage, but my head and my nose and my teeth have been achy ever since. Sadly though, this isn’t the first glass door that has ever taken me down... dumb doors anyway!

Coming Home?

And finally, it is looking pretty official that we will be home on July 11th. We got an email from Peace Corps today listing leave-dates for everyone. I guess "trunkiness" will soon set in, eh Matt? See you soon!