I'm off!

Today was busy - it was really the only "normal" day of classes this whole week, and I had a lot to get done. In addition, I had to prep for tomorrow's classes, since I will be absent.

Some life was added, though, as our neighboring Chinese school had a field day. They had been practicing for some time - all the classes have been marching in step around the track with various props. Some held flags, other flowers, other inflatable baseball bats...why? I have no idea. So today, the music blared (the same song on repeat) for much of the morning as they marched around the field, class by class. I wish their speakers faced the other direction!

So, the reason for my absence tomorrow is that I will be going to Shenyang, in northern China, for our fall volleyball tournament.



Look at North Korea, and just to the left you will see Shenyang. The weather will not get much above freezing during the day, and colder at night. I am not excited about that. I have not braved such temperatures since Chicago! Should I bring my big furry winter hat??

There are only 4 middle school teams at this tournament, so we will play 3 round-robin matches, a semifinal, and maybe a final match. It's a lot of travel for so little playing time! I hope the kids have fun.

-alan

Power of ignorance

Sometimes when you get yourself in a bad place in a foreign country, ignorance can be your friend.

After a 12 hour day at work, Rachel and I took the public bus home. (the school van was full, we did not have our scooters at school because of rain in the morning, and the bus is cheaper than a taxi (though in retrospect, it would have been worth it)). After watching several of the wrong buses go by, we decided to get on a bus that did not go by our complex, but went in the general direction of home. Of course, the bus immediately behind ours turned out to be the correct bus. Go figure.

On the bus, we were met with the leering smile and bloodshot, twinkling eyes of an intoxicated passenger. His smell was quite noxious, so we moved past him as he gave the standard set of lines we here from those unaccustomed to seeing foreigners. After some prodding (literally) and further questions, I put some space between us and we pretended to not understand him. He soon lost interest.

Rachel told me, "You know, you could still talk to him."

Not today, Rachel. Not today.

-alan

A philosophy of education?

There are two days a year which always makes me wonder...why don't I just give all my kids good grades?

Today is parent-teacher conference day. I have had a steady stream of parents from 9am-3pm, and there is another session for parents this evening. Most parents, understandably, only seek out the teachers who gave their students low grades. Many of these students did poorly because of language problems, or issues adjusting to a new school. (A few did poorly because they are just plain lazy.) So for many, there is a temptation to "excuse" those difficulties, give them the benefit of the doubt, and bump up their grade. The kid is happy, the parent is happy, and I get a day free to do whatever I want.

Instead, I give the kids the grades they deserve and I have a full day of talking with parents. Hmmmm.

I know that grade inflation does no one any favors, so I think I'll hold on to my integrity. For now.

It was cool to sit at a table, where an American teacher (me) speaks in English and a Chinese co-teacher speaks in Chinese to a Korean school nurse, who translates this all for a Korean mother of a student.

-alan

G'night post

Rachel went off to bed around an hour ago - she is feeling a little sick and needs the extra rest. I stayed up to work on a few things (and to read through some previews of the NU football game) - and I am glad I did, because there was a large and noisy truck in the empty lot behind our building pushing dirt around. It did not start until around 10pm, and finally finished up a few minutes ago at 11:20pm. It's the kind of thing that people would probably call the police about to complain in America. Here, it is just another night.

We rested most of today, due to both Rachel's condition and our being at school late last night to help chaperon a middle school party. It was fun, but hectic. Lots and lots of tweens hyped up on sugar with the weekend ahead of them...you can imagine. I am still not quite recovered enough for significant social interactions.

Tomorrow, we have the NU-Indiana homecoming game to look forward to. I've got my hopes up for a win. Don't disappoint me, boys!

-alan

Math music 2

I've helped create sensory-overloaded preadolescent monsters. Today, the girl who was supposed to provide music forgot to bring anything to play. Within a few minutes of doing their math work, the kids went crazy - squirming in their seats, picking fights with one another, and geenrally becoming disturbed at having a few minutes of listening to their own thoughts.

So I caved, and played the Postal Service. Within the first 30 seconds of the first song, they were pacified and returned to their trance-like zombie state.

Wouldn't you do the same?

-alan

Bad publicity

Just saw this Associated Press image on the Wall Street Journal:



It seems there is some uproar in the US about some Chinese-made drywall? I imagine there is some validity to the claims, but regardless if these products were dangerous or not, it can make our situation awkward.

When issues of trade relations with the US come up - such as this, and the tire tariffs a few weeks back - we are inevitably thrust into the position of US spokesperson with the Chinese people we know. They may like the US overall, but they do not like when China's business is damaged and its image tarnished. So how am I supposed to respond? Blame China for selling unsafe products, or blame the US for exploiting the situation? Seems like a lose-lose to me.

-alan

Fall's back!

After over a week mired in early winter chill, the pleasant calm of early fall has returned to Chengdu. It is sunny(ish) and mild outside. I wish I wasn't inside, doing my grades...

-alan

Getting too comfortable

It's been a good 8-9 months since we were issued our school Macbooks. At first, there was the understandable frustration of learning a new system and overcoming the learning curve of Macland.

However, I have become more and more enamored with this machine has time as gone on. A little TOO enamored.

Now I have delved more into the world of Podcasting, for personal and professional uses (there are lots and lots of science-related podcasts that I can use in class.) With that, the idea of have an ipod that could sync with my itunes is sounding more and more appealing...

But there are always the cost considerations. Ugh. Why does this stuff have to be so much more expensive?

-alan

The announcement of your dreams

This morning, the principal came on the intercom to announce,

"Good morning teachers and students. We have been contacted by the government, who requested that due to a large exhibition in the south part of the city tomorrow that all schools close. We will follow their instructions and not have classes on Friday. School will resume on Monday. Thank you."

Though I did not have a class in my room at the time, it was easy to hear the roar of approval of the student body (and teachers?) echoing through the halls.

-alan

Math music

I'm taking a rare in-school moment to update the blog - because of the interesting mix of music currently playing.

Each day in math, I spend some of the time giving the students time to do some of their work. Since they are working independently, I let the students sign up to provide music during the class to keep their concentration focused. (maybe this is bad pedagogy - but oh well, they are more quiet and diligent while the music is playing)

Even though anyone in the class may bring in music, mostly the Korean boys sign up. So most days, it is a sugary mix of upbeat Korean pop. But today, there have been 3 songs - all Korean. The first was a dead ringer for Gnarls Barkley. The second shifted gears to a screamingly loud, Korn-like hard rock song. The 3rd reminded me distinctly of the many Jay-Z / female pop singer duets that have been made over the years.

Not bad. Even if it is not original.

-alan

Last week's wedding

It doesn't seem like it now, but one week ago we traveled to the Sichuan countryside on a say that one person described as "the most beautiful day in the history of Chengdu." It was warm, sunny, and unusually clear - lacking all the dust and haze that I was complaining about in my previous post. In other words, it was the perfect day to get out to the country for a wedding.

The celebration started at school, where our principal conducted the ceremony. Here, weddings are made legal by signing papers at a government office. This is usually done days, weeks, or years before the "ceremony" - which is elaborate by design. For Chinese people with foreign connections, it is popular to have a foreigner conduct the ceremony - good for appearances, I suppose? So that is why our principal was up there - and he impressed by conducting the vows in Chinese. The most memorable moment, however, was a bout of upbeat Chinese karaoke-style singing that contrasted greatly with the traditional music usually played at Western weddings.

Following that, we bused out to the groom's family's house. They are farmers, and live in a small village of a few dozen houses. The area was surrounded by green fields. It was the closest glimpse we have had of rural China, since most of our travels are limited to cities.



Our group was greeted at the gate by the groom's family. First, they welcomed the bride and groom with firecrackers. Then they killed a chicken and splattered its blood over the entrance to their home (seen below). Once that tradition was completed, the couple entered the home. They then sat with the groom's parents and participated in a tea ceremony. Though a small part of the day, these actions were an exciting glimpse into Chinese culture.


Of course, the most important part of a wedding in China is the food. This is the time to celebrate - and the Chinese love to celebrate through food. There were already a half dozen dishes on the table (including pickled vegetables, pig's tail, nuts, chicken feet, and shrimp), plus drinks. The bride and groom circulated from table to table, greeting guests and offering toasts. As this was going on, the food kept coming. Plates of steamed fish, mushroom soup, pork fat, crab, turtle, sticky rice and others began to pile up. Old plates were not taken away, they were simply buried as new dishes were piled on top. It was an impossible amount of food - I counted 18 courses in all. We could never eat this much (and would not want to - most were not "Western-friendly"). But it would be a cultural no-no to leave your guests wanting more, so it is standard for banquets to serve WAY more food than the guests could ever eat.



I will say - the turtle was pretty decent.

-alan

I was crazy

I just re-read the first paragraph from my previous post. The part about being warm and comfortable? Yeah, right!

The weather these last two days were miserable. Most of the time, it is of little bother - I am inside, well protected from any of the horrors of the outdoors. But when it comes time to go home...watch out. The weather has instantly turned from warm, pleasant, and sunny into cold and wet. The sky is a dull gray. The sun is hiding like a cared kid, as if the moon could be coming any moment to steal its lunch money. Everything looks wet, but it is not raining. The air is cold but humid, with a fine mist in the air. I get on my bike and start riding. The blood rushes away from my hands, which begin to shiver. My back muscles tighten in response to the cold wind. But worst of all - my eyes. Once I am in motion, the perpetual mist that hangs in the air begins to hit my eyes, bringing the stinging acidic pain that otherwise only comes with peeling a citrus fruit carelessly. And so I squint all the way home, praying that I can maintain the fine line between protecting my eyes from the pollution and my bike from unexpected oncoming traffic.

In other news, we went to a colleague's wedding last Sunday, which I have been meaning to post some pictures of. We had to travel to the countryside for it, so it was a fun excursion.

Tomorrow I will be homeless, as teenage girls will be running wild through my apartment all night long. Let's hope they don't rifle through my unmentionables.

-alan

About Chongqing

Night is falling on our last day of vacation. Today Rachel was "busy as a bee" (her words) transforming the cheap seasonal apples into applesauce (to be frozen for winter) and apple crisp (already eaten). Meanwhile, we enjoyed the second of two beautiful days - sunny and warm, with only a hint of coolness to the air. We are still sleeping with the window open, fan on, and little more than a sheet to cover us. I'll be miserable come January, but right now Chengdu seems like a great place to be.

I said I would return with a few words about our time in Chongqing. So, here goes...

We stayed 3 nights at the InterContinental Hotel, in the swanky new shopping district downtown. Everything was new and neon...because, it is all new. Chongqing, though a bustling metropolis that is bigger than Chengdu, is a relatively new construct of the federal government trying to "remake" western China into a manufacturing hub. So, there's new money and new business pouring in, and most all the buildings and roads are new, too.

The biggest difference when comparing the cities is the elevation. Chongqing is set between the big Yangtze River and mountains all around; so the city is spread out, full of bridges, and set at a whole host of differing elevations. This makes traffic awful and difficult to navigate, in my opinion. We spent good chunks of time in our few bus/taxi rides waiting around for traffic to clear while going up or down hills. And unlike Chengdu, don't even THINK about stepping out in traffic to cross the street when you see a truck coming downhill at you. They just won't stop.

In terms of our activity there, we got some rest and good food at the hotel. Rachel decided to get sick the last day, so she had to miss out on day 3 of the glorious hotel breakfast buffet. It was amazing. We took a river cruise, which allowed us to gawk at the city's neon lights, be gawked at by the locals, sip overpriced beer and soda, all while a recording played us some unintelligible information about the buildings. [I'd recommend the Chicago architecture cruise, if you can only do 1 urban river cruise this year] Below you can see our ship.



But the highlight was going to visit fellow NU alum and expat Michael Brown, who has called Chongqing home for the past 1+ years. We hiked up a mountain behind his school to "get a good view of the city" - actually, we just got a better view of the nasty haze that envelops the city. Oh well. I wasn't surprised.

Then we stopped for "mountain spring" tea on the way down. The proprietor was actually a well-known artist who creates gorgeous work on cloth scrolls. He showed us several of his works-in-progress, including one of the Yangtze River circa second century A.D. that was 16 meters long! We munched on moon cakes, played with his dogs, sipped tea (made with water that literally flows out of the mountain rock and through the mouth of a god), and tried to listen in as the artist and Michael philosophized on the learning of language. The Chinese level was definitely over our head.

It was fun to see him, and get out to see some of the city OTHER than its shopping malls.







Good trip, but not a place I would spend my own money to go back to.

-alan

News from Chicago

We're back from Chongqing! More on that later.

Sad to see - before I went to bed today, it was announced that Chicago was eliminated from the 2016 Olympic games. Considering that it is possible that we will be living in Chicago in 2016, I was interested in where the games would end up. Alas, it was not meant to be.

I flipped on Fox News to see their take on Chicago’s elimination – only to be subjected to a tirade on how Obama had “lowered” the office of the president as a result of his trip to Copenhagen. They didn’t seem to mind that the heads of state of Spain, Japan, and Brazil were also in attendance…apparently America is far more important than these nations and we so our president should not waste his time with the likes of them.

In the days before this announcement, I saw one critique of Chicago’s bid that caught my attention. This week, a Chicago public school honor student from the south side was killed during a gang beating. He was from outside the neighborhood, and was targeted by the gang after he refused to join. Student deaths have been a problem for the last couple years, and the timing of this event suggests that there are many concerns for the city other than staging an international sporting event. Certainly the games would benefit Chicago politicians and rich developers – but would it help others in the city? Maybe not. We’ll have to wait at least another four years to find out.

-alan