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Life Goes On... and on... Part Deux 7 November 2007 Still cold here in China - and no signs of it getting warmer for a long time. Longer than I would like to think about tolerating - but alas, I am going to have to become acclimated. Fortunately, the heat in the apartment is quite adequate. One of the teachers here hadn't figured out that the air conditioner was also a heat pump so she was out buying a lot of extra clothing and suffering the cold in silence. I don't want to say that she is a big woman, but suffice to say that she has had to go to the men's department at the local department store to find clothes that would fit her. I refuse to give into the impulse and state that she has been buying clothes that are 3 to 4 times larger than what I would have to buy as I forget the politically correct word to use in such an instance or situation. She is a nice enough old girl though - friendly and all. Here in Asia, it can be lonely for a foreign woman, but she is holding up quite well. She has discovered a couple, thee other foreign women to associate with, and of course, her Chinese advisor is doing what she can to help her fit in.
In this edition's picture, you can see two of the students studying - outside in the freezing cold. This is a common sight around the campus - students going off alone and trying to memorize the day's lessons. It's not surprising that none of the students that I have talked to see much sense in the practice or the requirement. Somewhere in the annals of Chinese Educational History there must be a reason for requiring students to memorize so much, but I'm not really inclined to research the issue. A couple of weeks ago I received what I presumed was meant to be a bit of a party or something like that. First, I received a personally delivered, handwritten invitation to attend "Happy English Corner" at Wen Feng Garden here at the University on a Sunday afternoon. First reaction: Damn! There goes my Sunday afternoon. Second reaction: When I was invited to judge a speech contest earlier, I received a 100 Yuan phone card as a "thank you" gift for donating my time. (Given that I hate telephones and hardly use mine, that should last me about a year or so.) Maybe I will get something out of it all after all. Despite my reactions, I decided to comply with the invitation and honor them with my presence. I arrive there, to be greeted by a large number of students and a large contingency of Chinese officials - some teachers and some that I had never seen before. There were 5 students there, dressed in traditional Chinese formal dresses which are obligatory during ceremonies that are to include some pomp and circumstance. (Asian culture - not just Chinese.) Of course, being well prepared and so unaccustomed to doing "touristy things," I hadn't brought my camera to record this event. I reckon that I am just to acclimated to these types of things that I don't really think that they are special any more - though it is debatable if I ever did think that they were special. First there was the obligatory speeches by five of the Chinese dignitaries, which must have been good because the students laughed a bit and of course gave nice rounds of applause. Me? I had no idea at all about what they were talking about - but I'm used to that anymore. I just smile a lot when everyone laughs, and applaud when they applaud. 'Tis something like feeling like a total idiot, but "fitting in." Finally, I was called to the front. I must admit that I felt a tad bit out of place since all the dignitaries and even some of the students were rather dressed up. There I was wearing an older jacket, blue jeans, and a pull over shirt advertising the Irish Clock back in Udon Thani. Hell, I had no idea this was going to be some fancy thing. More stuff was said in Chinese, and then finally, one of the students decided that it was time to interpret this part into English.
"Bloody hell," I thought. "This is one appointment that I could have done without." Oh yes, you can be assured that I am going to treasure this appointment. This is very much akin to the Godfather coming up to you some dark evening and saying "Ehhh. I have an offer you-ah can't-ah refuse-ah." The only thing I didn't get was a kiss on the cheek. Believe me - I made it clear to them that I would accept this appointment providing that it wasn't cold outside - since this English Club is held out side every - yes every - Sunday afternoon for two hours. I think that they understood me clearly, because they all smiled a lot and nodded there heads, and smiled even more. And yes, last Sunday afternoon, I thought that it was too cold - but they didn't. The turkey is getting cooked. With the weather being cold and quite often wet - but mostly cold and windy - I have been pretty well confined to my apartment. As a result, I don't get out as much as I would have possibly liked to. We finally got one more television channel - CCTV9 - the only Chinese station that is broadcast entirely in English. Great for information about China - wonderful travelogues and history programs. But, still - all news - CCTV9, BBC and CNN doesn't allow for much variety. Next week, weather permitting of course, I am going to have to break down and buy a good DVD player and start stocking up on counterfeit DVDs for entertainment for the long, cold winter that is anticipated. Regular DVDs simply don't exist - as far as I know. Then again - why would I shell out the equivalent of $15 for a real DVD when I can buy a dodgy one - that may or may not work - for the equivalent of $1. I did get out one afternoon to visit the local Shipping College about 10 km from here at the invitation of another teacher I met. Apparently they teach a lot of theoretical things about shipping there, but they also have a ship to practice some of the theories on. OK - not a real ship - but one made entirely out of bricks and mortar. Since the college is quite some distance from the shipping lanes - and any water to speak of - I reckon this was a better alternative then bringing a real ship in. Once again, to avoid looking like a tourist, I didn't take a camera. Actually - I do need to break down and go and buy a decent digital camera. The one that I have has too many limitations. My classes here at the University are going good - though I still wish that I had a few more to teach. They seem to be quite popular with the students, as each week I keep on getting students from other majors wanting to join my classes. Also have two classes now where Chinese professors attend on a regular basis to improve their English. Much different than in Thailand where the Thai teachers wouldn't be caught dead attending a foreign teacher's class to practice or learn English. The Chinese students are all (for the most part) very willing to learn and want to practice their English. I continually have students wanting to come to my apartment to visit and students wanting me to go to eat with them and just talk with them. For the eating side of things - I have gone with a few of the students and am pleased to report that they are all willing to pay for my meal. I of course, do not protest too much - just enough to be polite. They don't have much money I know - but I don't want to reverse the roles and start buying for them because then I would be broke rather quickly. Now, if I can just get them to take me to Captain's Bar where they serve Western food... Before I came to Nantong, I had read that the food is terrible. "Terrible" is a nice way to describe it. A very nice way. Even students from other parts of China complain about the food here in Nantong. Meals here consist of primarily starch - noodles, more noodles and more noodles. Fat noodles. Thin noodles. Flat noodles. Round noodles. Very little meat. Damned few vegetables. Went to the cafeteria tonight with a couple of students and had the chop suey. A big pile of noodles, some small pieces of onion, a couple of green pepper slices and what I think was some celery, a few small, thin pieces of beef, and a sauce. It wasn't chop suey like I know chop suey. It was more like poor man's spaghetti. Even the stuff in a can from Chef BoyArDee - or whoever it is - would have been better. Other options are soup - read as hot water possibly poured over a small piece of chicken - with dumplings. Mostly dumpling, with maybe a small piece of meat wrapped in it. Has me thinking that I might go to Beijing in January to get some real Chinese food. The food in Shanghai, from what I have heard, isn't much better than that here in Nantong. I can't help but think sometimes that Nantong would be one great place to open a Chinese restaurant - a real Chinese restaurant. What is amazing is that meat at the stores isn't really that expensive. Vegetables aren't all that expensive either - if you can figure out what some of them actually are. The fruit is fresh and cheap too. The oranges are so fresh that they still have the tree leaves on them. Grapefruit are huge here - almost as big as a soccer ball. Only thing that I can figure out is that the people just prefer a lot of noodles. How they stay so thin with all that starch is beyond me. That's about all for this time around. Nothing much exciting or interesting is happening these days. About the only thing exciting planned for next week is going out and buying a DVD player and a warm jacket or coat. I can do it the hard way and go and try to do it all by myself - or take a Chinese with me to do the interpretations. Ah, hell, I need some excitement in my life. The Old Codger
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