Just Another Day in Zhanjiang

Today Scott and I had a conversation I didn't think I'd ever have in my life...

*After being bullied into having lunch at the campus canteen with another teacher*
Me: Did you have that dish with the cucumbers?
Scott: Yeah.
Me: What was the meat in there?
Scott: Octopus tentacles.
Me: Did you eat them??
Scott: Only the ones without suction cups.

As you can probably tell by the above dialogue, we are both adjusting to life in Zhanjiang. After just ten days here, Scott and I already have several favorite restaurants and have established ourselves as "regulars" in each one- it's not too difficult to do when you're blond and eight inches taller than everyone else in town. When I say I'm a "regular," I mean the restaurant workers' faces literally light up with joy when we walk in... or even walk BY. They scrounge up the inevitable "English speaker" (i.e. someone who knows how to say "Yes," "No," and "Thank you") and scramble to find the picture menu for us. Not a day of class goes by without a student informing me of one friend or another who spotted me around town. Mostly it happens when I go to fast food restaurants: "JANET! I saw you in _____ !!" (insert either McDonald's, Pizza Hut, or KFC).

We are also very well known amongst the cab drivers in town. It's happened more than once that I've told the cabbie the name of our school, only to be interruped with "Zhidao, zhidao!" (I know, I know). The pedicab and motorcycle drivers are in on it too. There's one motorcyclist who hangs out on the corner outside school. He seems to think that if he rides around us in circles everytime we stand outside the gate, we will eventually be persuaded to accept his aggressive ride offers. Tonight, Scott and I were having a hard time hailing a cab so he decided to be helpful, rode his motorcycle a few blocks away, and came back with a cab trailing along behind him. Thanks, wo de pengyou! (my friend)

Another sign I'm getting more comfortable here is that I actually went jogging the other day. Jogging is semi- embarassing anywhere, but it's exponentially so in a small town in China. Crowded streets, no traffic rules, tiny old people, and random markets everywhere don't exactly add up to an ideal track. So, after some pathetic wandering in search of somewhere to run, I stumbled upon a beautiful park that's linked to the Zhanjiang Normal University where our friends teach. It's centered around a good sized lake, and has lots of little radiating side paths with interesting destinations, such as the one that leads to the "Tombs of the Revolutionary Martyrs/ Barbeque Area." The most fun part of the jog, though, was observing the looks on peoples' faces around me. Imagine this: a park teeming with miniature elderly Chinese people going for a mid-morning stroll. Enter me, jogging and sweating, listening to rap music. I'm rapidly coming up behind the unsuspecting Chinese people. They hear heavy breathing... turn around... and with expressions of pure terror, scuttle out of the way JUST IN TIME.

So tonight was a lot of fun. The students put on a two- hour talent show outside on the track to welcome incoming freshmen. Everybody in the audience got glow sticks, and there were mist and disco lights galore. The performers were extremely talented: they sang Chinese pop songs and ballads and performed ghetto-esque dances dressed in fun costumes. One of my students, Tina, did a great solo song and dance piece. My favorite routine was a dance to a rap song called "I am your Super Boy," done by eight girls wearing matching high tops, cut-off jean shorts, sports bras, and wife beaters.

Tonight was also our second encounter with the extremely famous "30,000- yuan flute." This flute is made of pure silver and is a legend around campus. It's owned by a young teacher, whose family (I hear) is very wealthy and so they bought her this flute just for the heck of it. The girl also played her flute at the Teachers' Day Banquet. On both occasions, I was informed by at least five people, "Do you know, that flute cost 30,000 yuan?" *that's about $4000.

Scott and I sat by some adorable, sweet English teachers. One of them is named Shi He (pronounced "Shurr Huh"); she wanted an English name, and was thrilled when we came up with Shirley. After the talent show, our friend Zhu invited us to "play computer" but we declined and headed to KFC instead. On the way back inside the campus gate, Scott and I said hello to a student we both have in class. We were having trouble remembering her name, but Scott soon had it. "Oh yeah! That was Bobo."

Oh China... the land of famous flutes, suction cups, and precious English names.

Excerpt from Business English textbook

It's funny that we actually do use these motions often- albeit some more than others- but rarely think about them.

Now you have a thousand and one reasons to learn the nonverbal communication system well together with the verbal communication system in English speaking community. Work with your group members to figure out the gestures in Chinese for the items in the following table.

Meaning: Come here.
English gesture: Extend one's closed hand, palm up, with only forefingers moving back and forth.

Meaning: Shame on you.
English gesture: Extend both hands, palms down, with forefingers stretching out and one forefinger make several brushing movements over the back of the other finger.

Meaning: I am full (after a meal).
English gesture: With an open hand, palm down, raising to one's throat (often with the remark "I am full up to here.")

Meaning: Hitchhiking.
English gesture: Move several times a closed hand with an outstretched thumb pointing to the direction in which one intends to travel.

Meaning: Kill oneself.
English gesture: Raise one's right hand closed to his head with the forefinger and the thumb stretching out and the forefinger pointing to his temple.

Meaning: Show impatience.
English gesture: Stamp one's foot.

Davide

Suddenly, the front door telecom chirped out a loud, tinny version of "Joyful, Joyful, We Adore Thee" to let me know someone was downstairs buzzing to come up. Joyful, joyful for me- it was David, the metro computer guy/ inventor of Chinese cake, gracing me with his presence to install Microsoft Office on my computer. "Hello Janet I am David Chan! Open the door!"

Wearing ironed khaki pants, a crisp white collared shirt, and polished black leather shoes, David delicately stepped into my apartment, apologizing profusely for walking inside without taking off his shoes, but at the same time demonstrating no intention to remove them. He interrogated me for a few minutes: Have you learned to cook for yourself yet? Does your mom cook for you at home? Do you drink a whole water bottle every day? Then it was down to business (David is very professional). After shoving in the bootleg Office CD and a few rapid clicks on my computer, David informed me, "This copy is a fake. Everything is a copy in China. It is no good. I come back tomorrow."

We joked around for a few minutes; he giggled a lot and called me "Crazy Janet" repeatedly. When I showed him the hammock I'd bought at the store to hang on the back porch, David immediately seized it, hung it up across the middle of the living room, suggested that I have Scott get in to test it out... and with that, the whirlwind that is David was out the door.

Banquet and Baijiu

Baijiu: the unofficial national Chinese banquet beverage of choice. A foul- smelling, clear substance that's about 60% pure alcohol, baijiu is served in small shot glasses: even a tiny sip burns all the way down and numbs your lips for a few seconds.

Tomorrow is the national Teachers' Day, so tonight our school held a huge dinner party for its 200+ teachers. It was my first official Chinese banquet... and also my first contact with the wonders of Chinese people drinking baijiu.

Having never been to a Chinese banquet before, choosing an appropriate outfit proved a difficult dilemma... but after 30 minutes of trying on everything in my limited wardrobe, I decided on a turquoise tank top and a flouncy black skirt. Nice and festive! As it turned out, this outfit was a bad choice... everyone else had on pale collared shirts and dark pants: the school uniform. oops. Now I was a tall, blond flamenco dancer venturing into a room full of black-haired people wearing identical business casual.

Despite the initial embarassment of entering the room, I covered my losses and wrangled a seat at "the fun table" with our friends Madison, Nemo, David, Helen, and Zhu. They're a great crowd.

Madison is our "waiban" (contact person) and is always very stressed out and sweating bullets. I think we foreigners make him nervous with our many demands. He sure loosened up tonight after a couple of shots of baijiu, and was having a great time tearing around the room toasting everyone who won a prize in the raffle drawing. Madison was also our "food narrator" for the night and took special pride in telling us exactly what every dish was (although it probably would have been better had I not known).

Nemo, another English teacher, was sitting to my right. He chose his English name because he "likes clownfish and also likes Captain Nemo." Nemo was the perfect gentleman the whole evening: pulling out my chair when I got back from the restroom, making sure I had always had enough Sprite, and selecting the tastiest morsels of the many delicacies spread before us and delivering them directly to my plate. Between bites of sandworm, fish, and vegetables, he wanted to know all about American high schools. "Janet!" "Yes?" "How much money could a high school teacher make in America?"

David, sitting two people away from me, is my very favorite so far. He's the computer guy on campus and is also very, very metro. He came over to set up my computer the other day; five minutes after the thing was turned on, he was jamming out to a karaoke knock-off version of Allison Kraus's "When You Say Nothing at All." He wears tight, whiskered jeans, talks constantly on his Bluetooth, and loves to "go to the club." David was bored by the whole "let's give two hours of speeches before the banquet starts" deal... so he resorted to texting up a storm and tapping his feet impatiently. During the meal, we were served a delicious cake with coconut filling. David asked, "How do you say this in English?" We didn't know, so David came up with a new and creative word for the dessert: "Chinese cake." The rest of the night, he boasted to the table about his invented word.

Helen is a very sweet English teacher and serves as our back-up helper if Madison isn't available. She strategically placed herself next to Scott and proceeded to flirt and giggle for the duration of the banquet, becoming more flushed with each toast. Shortly after I noticed her placing a hand on Scott's leg, I overheard her gush, "Maybe you will find a nice Chinese girl to take back to America with you!"

Zhu, across the table, I don't know very well because he's shy and self-conscious about his English. After dinner, Zhu rode with Scott and I back to campus in David's Honda Accord (a very snazzy vehicle!). On the way there, he turned around and slurred, "Tonight, David has taught me a new English word." We asked, "What's that, Zhu?" "Chinese cake." He then proceeded to laugh hysterically.

Thank you, baijiu, for a wonderfully entertaining night.

The Campus Cat

On the way out this morning, I noticed a very thin and dirty kitten eating some scraps out of a garbage bag. I ran up to my apartment, fixed bowls of water and milk, and put them in front of Kitty. He immediately abandoned the trash and frantically lapped up the milk. Poor little thing.

When I came back to campus after lunch, this note was taped next to the front gate of my building:

Dear Teachers:

Thank you for your milk.

The cat is very happy.

Best wish for you!

First Day of Class

The sound of hundreds of students chanting "YI! ER! YI! ER! (one! two! one! two!)" outside in the courtyard has been my wake-up call this week. All freshman high school students have compulsory military training for the next two weeks: which means that every day from 8 am until 5:30 pm, they've been standing in squadrons around campus learning how to turn their heads and raise their arms in unison. Sometimes they march and do push-ups, but most of the day is spent standing still in one place. The goal of this horrendously tedious week is to increase students' appreciation for the military, therefore strengthening patriotism and unity. I have to say, it's pretty good morning entertainment- helps pass the time while I'm brushing my teeth in the kitchen.


Because of military training, I only have four hours of classes to teach for the next 10 days. After training is over, I'll receive my full schedule. Today I had my first Business English class with a group of overflow freshman college students from Guangdong Ocean University. I'm still not really sure why these students take classes here, since this is a high school. As far as I can tell, they're part of a community college- style program for lower end students from Ocean University. They didn't score high enough to take classes at the university, so they have to come over to the high school for a year or so.


Going in, I didn't know what to expect from these students, but they were so much fun! There are only 25 of them and everybody was very receptive to my lesson plan and interested in what I had to say. First I had them think of questions to ask me; they came up with, "Do you have a boyfriend?" "Do you like to swim? You look very fit." "Are you married?" "Tell us about your family." "Do you like Chinese food?" "Do you like Zhanjiang?" etc. etc. The second part of the class I had them interview a partner and then take turns introducing each other to the class. Since they're college students, they all have English names. I have a Bobo, Sunny, Tomato, and Pink in my class. There is only one boy. He didn't have a partner for the introductions so I teamed up with him.

The two hour class flew by and we didn't even finish all that I had planned. My next class is with the same group of students Wednesday morning, so I have plenty of time to look through the textbook and figure out something fun to do.

Oxen on the Street

I'm now in my final Chinese destination: the "lovely" city of Zhanjiang. Saturday morning we left Hong Kong by bus, and seven hours later got dropped off in a completely different world.

Scott and I are the only and first foreign teachers at our school, the Zhanjiang Finance and Trade Secondary School. Basically, it's a fancy name for a vocational high school- most of the students will go to work right after gradution instead of going to college. There are four other Maryknoll volunteers at the Zhanjiang Normal University, about a 10 minute cab ride from our school.

The school and surrounding neighborhood are difficult to describe to someone who has never been to China, just because there is nothing like it in the United States. Zhanjiang has three main roads and a whole bunch of back alleyways and narrow streets. From the university, you drive down the road about 2 miles and make a left hand turn, pass about two blocks of random and dirty little shops selling weird farm parts, and then there's our school. There's a large gate at the entrance and a long driveway leading up to the new classroom building. On either side of the driveway are a pond and a soccer field (no grass- just dirt). Behind that are the two canteens where the students eat, some more classroom buildings, and the student dorms and teacher apartments. There are about 4,000 students there, most of whom live on campus.

Our apartments are very comfortable. I have a large bedroom with air conditioning, a study, and a spare room. On the other side of the apartment are the living room, eating area, kitchen, and bathroom. The school provided a TV, mini-refrigerator, couch, queen-sized bed, kitchen table, desk and chair, and washing machine for each of us. They put new white tile down and painted all the walls. I've never had so much space to myself! I need to get some big rugs and pictures to fill it all up.

This week, the students have military training so there's no class until Friday. We have just been getting settled, cleaning, buying things for the apartment, and trying to figure out how to get around. I probably won't have my class schedule until Friday- what I hear is that I'll be teaching about 12 classes in 45-minute periods each week. I don't know what level the students will be yet. The other night, we had a "meet and greet" with about 90 of the freshman (15-16 years old) and their English was pretty poor. I'm anxious to find out more about my students and classes.

Anyway, to sum it all up: I'm in Zhanjiang, it's a crazy and random place, I have no idea what I'm teaching... oh yeah and the other day I saw an ox pulling a cart through the middle of town.