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First Half of a Month 18 September 2007 Have to start this one out with a minor correction. Back in my first letter, I mentioned how impressed I was that a store gave me a lighter rather than charging for it. Whilst for a westerner, this is quite impressive, it turns out that virtually every business gives out lighters for free over here. Reminds me of years gone by back in the States when businesses would give away free matches. Back when I was in the bail bond business, I would spend hundreds of dollars a year on matches for advertising. But alas, that was before it became fashionable to be anti-smoking - and before businesses discovered that they could charge 2 cents or so to advertise their business. I am now officially a resident of China! My work permit - which they call a "Foreign Experts Certificate" has now been issued and is in my possession. It's not very impressive - but it does do the job. I was surprised at the relative ease in which it was issued. None of the tedious and redundant paperwork that is required for a similar document in Thailand. And, unlike in Thailand, it is issued for free. With the work permit comes a visa - valid for one year and multiple entries. For all my friends back in Thailand who grouse about how expensive it is to get a visa there - annual cost for a visa here in China is only 800 Yuan. The icing on the cake here is that the school pays for half of the visa cost. Can't beat that with a stick! Also got another book that I wasn't expecting - entitled "Certificate of Health Examination for International Traveller (sic)." Three of us got out books at the same time, and after leaving the Police Department (which issues everything through their Entry and Exit Department) we decided to head on down to the Captain's for a cold beer or two since it was happy hour. For some reason, which is totally unclear to me, the health books were being passed around. The books contained all of the test results from the physical examination we had endured previously. I had only glanced at mine - adopting the philosophy that there couldn't be too much wrong with me since I am still alive and the certificate was issued. Caitlin, who is teaching freshmen nurses in the medical school suddenly announced to me that I had cirrhosis of the liver according to the test results. Needless to say, that did get my attention. Initially, one does not so bluntly tell a person who does like his beer from time to time that his liver is doing the back stroke. Secondly, you certainly do not make that announcement when that person is only halfway through a pint of nice, cold beer. She drinks a bit - but obviously is not up to date on drinking etiquette. Needless to say, I immediately went into shock. My entire life flashed before my eyes - it was worse than the time I woke up in Thailand and discovered that I had gotten married the previous night. This was critical. I quickly envisioned spending the rest of my life not being able to have a cold beer - or the ocassional Jack Daniels. My life was over. It was ruined. The pressing question was: Will The Old Codger quit drinking or commit suicide? She handed the book back to me so I could see for myself. There it was - written in bold black ink in the section pertaining to Abdomen Ultrasound (Liver, Gallbladder, Spleen, Kidney - all in extremely small print) "Cholelithiasis cholecystolithiasis" in at least 12 point print. Whilst my medical knowledge is quite good, I must admit that my medical Latin is terrible - almost to the point of being non-existent. But, damn - that sure doesn't look too promising. Needless to say, the next couple of beers were savored, as they would no doubt be the last ones that I would have for a long, long time. I knew that the liver is a remarkable organ - and can heal itself over time. I was only wondering how bad it had deteriorated, and how long it would take to heal itself so I could have another beer. Would I live that long? Going through my head was that old song from Hee Haw: "Gloom, despair, and agony on me. Deep dark depression, excessive misery..." Sobering thoughts equals a sober evening. That is one of the certainties of life. When I got back home, it was time for Google to give me the facts. I entered the term cholelithiasis cholecystolithiasis, and clicked "Search." Within a matter of seconds I had the answer. My anticipated demise was not on the horizon. The possibility of having to quit drinking beer was now a moot issue. Those two big Latin words in simple English mean gall stones and an infected gall bladder. Ah, hell. I've known about the gall stones and the infected gall bladder for a number of years. Learned to live with them because it is much easier to watch one's diet than it is to try to live without a gall bladder. The worst part of it all was that happy hour was now over which meant that I couldn't go and have a celebratory beer. One interesting point to add to all of this: There is also a section entitled: Neuropsychiatric System. Next to it in 14 point print is the word "Normal." That should confuse the hell out of a few people... I now have a half month of teaching under my belt here in China. It is a pleasure to teach a group of students that do have a fairly rudimentary knowledge of the English language. Still, there are some similarities between the Chinese students and the Thai students I have taught. The biggest similarity, and obstacle to overcome is getting a class to interact with you. With classes that have had good experiences with a foreign teacher in the recent past - meaning the last school year - it is not a difficult task to get the students to freely interact with you. However, if the students had a "bad" teacher last year, the task is a bit more difficult, but it is not an insurmountable problem. In Asia, a good or bad teacher is not defined by the amount of knowledge that they have or don't have about the English language. The criteria in defining a teacher's ability to teach is his or her ability to "entertain" the students and act in the role of a facilitator - meaning that your primary task is to get the students to speak in English. If the students have fun in your class - you are classified as a good teacher. If they don't - then your career as a teacher is going to be very short. Finding ways to get the students to speak English whilst at the same time having fun is indeed a challenge. It is an attainable challenge - but it takes a bit of creativity along the way. Fortunately, all of my students enjoy my classes. Believe it or not though, my students enjoying my classes has caused me a problem - with another teacher. His students basically "hate" his classes. Yes, that is a strong word - but it is difficult to explain it any other way. Yesterday, the students in one of his classes told him that they wanted to switch over to my class, which was something that he didn't appreciate hearing. The next thing that I knew I got a text message saying that my presence was requested in the Dean's office at 3:30 PM. Turns out that the students had called the liaison complaining about him - and then he called her complaining about me - stating that I didn't make my students do anything and was making things too easy for them, which is why his students hated his class. I tell you, it ain't easy being me. When I arrived at the Dean's office, he was already there and was explaining his teaching philosophy. I sat down and listened to him ramble on about how he was teaching them reading, writing, listening and speaking. The entire time the Dean is listening and subtly telling him that his teaching techniques were not quite what the University had in mind for a foreign teacher. Asians typically take a subtle approach when dealing with foreigners as they do not like to be involved in any confrontations at all. None of it was sinking in, and he continued defending what he was doing. This teacher then turned to me and pointedly asked me: "What did you do in your class today besides nothing?" I asked him what that had to do with the discussion he was having with the Dean. He responded: "You aren't doing anything in your classes except playing games which is why all the students want to be in your class. You aren't teaching them anything. You don't give them homework. You don't do anything." Well, I had heard enough by that point and realizing that the Dean was not getting through to him with his subtlety, and surmising from the subtle things that the Dean had been saying, that my way of teaching was what the University had in mind. So, with my usual and traditional diplomatic aplomb, I said: "We are going to get this straightened out here and now." I then began explaining to him in plain, simple and blunt language that our role was to only get the students to talk during class. We are teaching 'oral English' - not writing, listening or reading. The Chinese teachers are teaching them those things. We do not have to give any homework to the students because all we are doing is facilitating their speaking English. Of course, he started out arguing and defending his way of teaching but I finally wore him down. Meanwhile, the Dean is sitting there nodding his head in agreement with everything that I am saying, and occasionally voicing his agreement. After about 20 minutes, the other teacher finally realized that teaching similarly to the way that I was teaching was the only thing that he could do. His final comment was "well, I guess I have to do it Doc's way." Needless to say, the Dean was very appreciative of my efforts in helping him avoid a confrontation by having the confrontation myself, and the final success of the meeting. To add a bit more insult to his injuries, as we were leaving the Dean's office, the liaison stopped me in the hall - and of course, he stopped too. She wanted to tell me that my request to teach one extra 2 hour class a week for some students that are noticeably below the level of their peers had been approved and they were in the process of organizing a classroom for me to use. I think it really dawned on him then that my way of teaching was what the University expected from foreign teachers. So today, we combined one of our classes so he could see how it was supposed to be done - and why the students enjoyed my classes so much. When he announced to his students that they would be going to my class today, they all broke into smiles and couldn't get down to my classroom quick enough. There was a veritable stampede down the hall to my classroom. Was a bunch of happy campers! This extra class that I am going to be teaching has a bit of an interesting twist to it that I didn't realize until today when talking with some other students. University life here in China is not all that easy for the students. All told, they spend about 30 hours in classes each week, and things are quite structured. When I offered the students an extra class each week, they were quick to accept the offer, and there I was thinking that they really wanted to learn more English. When we discussed possible times to have the class, they rejected my suggestions and all insisted that the class be held on Sunday evenings from 7:00 to 9:00 PM. I thought that was kind of strange, but didn't give it much thought after that. Turns out that all students have mandatory study periods or classes Sunday through Thursday evenings from 7:00 to 9:00 PM. They all have to go to a classroom where they will either study and do homework or have to listen to a lecture or whatever. All of the students hate this requirement - calling the 2 hours they have to spend each night "boring" and of course, "unfair." Somehow, and for some reason, I think that I am being "used" a bit here. Not too sure that they are all that interested in learning English - but instead are looking for a way to spend mandatory time having a bit of fun. Crafty little devils they are. With the drama that I related above, this has gotten a bit longer than I planned on - but I can't get this posted without talking a bit about my electric bike. All of the foreign teachers - with the exception of one - now have these bikes. The top speed for my bike is about 40 kilometers per hour - 25 miles per hour. Battery is good for about 36 kilometers - 22 miles. With all the other bikes on the roads here - and the way that the Chinese drive them - that really is fast enough. The Chinese drive bikes here very similar to the way that the Thais drive them. Don't look - just go. Let everyone else watch out for you to avoid an accident. Mirrors? Most bikes don't have them - an unnecessary nuisance, unless you want to look at yourself whilst you are driving.
Driving along though, I couldn't help but think that I must be about one or two steps away from one day owning one of those "mobility bikes." After all - I am already relying on battery power to get around town. So, I decided to name my bike "Prelude." I fear that it is only a matter of time... I think that when I get too old to balance on two wheels, I can get some "training wheels" put on my bike and just keep on moving. As I write this, Shanghai - which is about 60 miles from here - is getting hit by a typhoon that they say is the probably the worst one in a decade. Whilst we are not getting the wind associated with a typhoon - it has pretty well dissipated this far inland - we are getting the rain. Lots of it. We got an advisory from the University this evening that we should not attempt to leave campus unless it was by taxi. Reckon that they are trying to save money by keeping us from having an accident so that they don't have to pay our medical bills. Bless 'em. With the storm, the Internet connections to the east have suffered dramatically, and it is virtually impossible to access any web sites that are hosted in the US. So, as a result, this possibly won't get uploaded to the Internet for a couple of days or so. This all follows on the heels of the University's Internet being down for the last 5 days. Have another hard day tomorrow - only one class to teach - a full hour and 10 minutes - and then I'm free until Friday morning. Boredom will probably be my biggest enemy here... But, I shall survive. It really ain't easy being me... The Old Codger
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