Say goodbye to the decade! There are roughly 20 minutes left in this year (at least in this time zone) and as always, it seems that time has flown by. Our vacation is nearly over, because we fly out of Dallas at 7am tomorrow morning. I took a little bit of a break from the blog over the break, because I have been taking advantage of the opportunity to break from the usual routines.
But a quick update - the last several days have been slow-paced. Our time has been measured only by the number of card games, shopping trips, and meals we can fit in a day. I hope we did not gain too much weight...
Today's big news - there officially will be a wedding in the family this summer! Sarah (Rachel's sister) got engaged this afternoon and will get married some time in July or August.
Happy New Year! 15 minutes to go!
-alan
Thursday, December 31, 2009
Friday, December 25, 2009
In Dallas!
We have moved on to our 3rd and final destination over this US holiday. We flew this morning from Detroit to Dallas - we left at 11:30am from rain-soaked Detroit (20 minutes before the attempted-terrorist-attack plane arrived) and landed in snow-covered Dallas. Strange. 2 years ago on Christmas, we played football on a balmy day...this year, there is snow.
The night is young, but I am tired. I am getting myself ready for bed even though it sounds like the Miller clan is just getting started.
-alan
The night is young, but I am tired. I am getting myself ready for bed even though it sounds like the Miller clan is just getting started.
-alan
Sunday, December 20, 2009
Back in the U.S of A.
For any of you who read this who we have not yet seen, I wanted to confirm that we are back in the US and have already completed stop 1 of 3 on this trip. It was a very nice stay in Chicago - far too short of course, but hopefully we will make up for that with some additional quality time this summer. Pictures to come later.
But of course, Christmas is a time for family, so we have made the drive (thanks Eric and Liz!) to Michigan, where Rachel is snoozing. My body is confused after changing time zones twice and staying up WAY too late on consecutive nights.
alan
But of course, Christmas is a time for family, so we have made the drive (thanks Eric and Liz!) to Michigan, where Rachel is snoozing. My body is confused after changing time zones twice and staying up WAY too late on consecutive nights.
alan
Wednesday, December 16, 2009
Coolest Animal!
If my 7th grade Life Science class is any authority on the subject, then let it be known: The white tiger is the coolest animal in the world!!
We held a tournament of the class' top 64 favorite animals, and voted animals off one by one. The final four consisted of the white tiger (1 seed), wolf (11 seed), dolphin (8 seed), and panda (11 seed). The white tiger is an ancient symbol of Korea, which won it enough votes to squeak by the wolf, 12-11, in the championship match.
I was upset that one of my favorites - the octopus - was voted off in the first round by the toucan. Really? The toucan?
Afterwards, I showed my students this video, and they all wanted to put it back in the tourney:
http://news.bbc.co.uk/2/hi/science/nature/8408233.stm
Back to grading finals!
-alan
We held a tournament of the class' top 64 favorite animals, and voted animals off one by one. The final four consisted of the white tiger (1 seed), wolf (11 seed), dolphin (8 seed), and panda (11 seed). The white tiger is an ancient symbol of Korea, which won it enough votes to squeak by the wolf, 12-11, in the championship match.
I was upset that one of my favorites - the octopus - was voted off in the first round by the toucan. Really? The toucan?
Afterwards, I showed my students this video, and they all wanted to put it back in the tourney:
http://news.bbc.co.uk/2/hi/science/nature/8408233.stm
Back to grading finals!
-alan
Sunday, December 13, 2009
Let it begin!
In 3 minutes, I will administer the first of SIX tests I will give this week. That's pretty amazing, considering I only have each class 3 times this week, and I only teach 5 courses. So that means one lucky class gets 2 tests in 3 days. Mwahahahaha!!!
Some days there is an evil fun in being a teacher.
-alan
Some days there is an evil fun in being a teacher.
-alan
Friday, December 11, 2009
All things Christmas
On the countdown clock - we'll have landed in Chicago in less than 7 days!
We went to the Holiday Inn last night, for our staff Christmas party. It was a nice dinner and evening - the hotel was well decorated, so it made the event extra festive! :)
Today will be filled with some work - I should finish up my grading and get my finals written, so that I have time to pack and do such business this week. But we will be going out to dinner and playing cards tonight, so I should hurry!
Finally, I wanted to post a couple pictures from last week's middle school event. We, of course, did not bring our camera...but the yearbook staff helped us out again by sending a student to snap some photos.
Both of these pictures are from our "snowball" fight (flour-filled stockings) - the big finale of the event.
These two 8th graders are this year's Treasurer and President.
-alan
We went to the Holiday Inn last night, for our staff Christmas party. It was a nice dinner and evening - the hotel was well decorated, so it made the event extra festive! :)
Today will be filled with some work - I should finish up my grading and get my finals written, so that I have time to pack and do such business this week. But we will be going out to dinner and playing cards tonight, so I should hurry!
Finally, I wanted to post a couple pictures from last week's middle school event. We, of course, did not bring our camera...but the yearbook staff helped us out again by sending a student to snap some photos.
Both of these pictures are from our "snowball" fight (flour-filled stockings) - the big finale of the event.
These two 8th graders are this year's Treasurer and President.
-alan
Sunday, December 6, 2009
Sounds of the season
We accomplished some more Christmas shopping this weekend. It feels nice to have so many things purchased, so early in the shopping season! We are ahead of the game. At least we will not have to go out and do a lot of shopping when we are back in the US. (12 days and counting)
I have also been "shopping" on Google China's free music download site. Since we did not have much Christmas music, I have been searching for good albums for us to listen to...as we grade papers...
Sufjan Stevens, Andrew Peterson, Chris Tomlin, Jars of Clay, Travis Cottrell, and Trans-Siberian Orchestra have all been added in recent days. It is nice to have some new variety!
Now, we are listening to Straight No Chaser - an a capella group. Rachel thinks they sound a little too peppy.
But c'mon....it's a capella. What do you expect??
-alan
I have also been "shopping" on Google China's free music download site. Since we did not have much Christmas music, I have been searching for good albums for us to listen to...as we grade papers...
Sufjan Stevens, Andrew Peterson, Chris Tomlin, Jars of Clay, Travis Cottrell, and Trans-Siberian Orchestra have all been added in recent days. It is nice to have some new variety!
Now, we are listening to Straight No Chaser - an a capella group. Rachel thinks they sound a little too peppy.
But c'mon....it's a capella. What do you expect??
-alan
Thursday, December 3, 2009
Plasmids from Shanghai
Time for a science post!
In my AP Biology class, we are studying DNA. In regards to DNA's ability to encode information for the body, one of my students recently remarked, "DNA is much more efficient than binary code, but nothing compared to human language."
It is a quirky bunch.
Recently, my Chinese co-teacher has been working feverishly to find supplies for an upcoming molecular biology lab. It involves such things as restriction enzymes, R-factor plasmids, gel electrophoresis, and strains of E. coli. It is just as complicated as it sounds. Well, the problem is finding sources for all this material. In America, I would call up a biological supply company, and they would ship me everything I need in one nice box. Here....not so easy.
We had given up on one part of the lab, because it was proving impossible to find any plasmids locally. A plasmid is a piece of DNA that bacteria can transfer between each other. The point of the lab is to give a plasmid that gives them resistance to a certain antibiotic. Then we add the drug, which kills all the bacteria except the ones that picked up the special DNA. Without the DNA, there was no point in doing the lab.
So on a whim, I looked up Bio-rad, a company that many AP teachers use in the US. Come to find out, this company is an international biotech firm, and they have offices in China. So my co-teacher calls up the Shanghai office, and they have the plasmids. He talks to a very nice lady there, who, come to find out, is a good friend of his former classmate - a classmate who is now working in a lab at Sichuan University and will give us the bacteria we need. So the Shanghai Bio-rad worker is so tickled about this random connection, that she offers to send us the plasmids we need for free. Hooray!
I guess this is a good example of why they say...it's a small world!
-alan
In my AP Biology class, we are studying DNA. In regards to DNA's ability to encode information for the body, one of my students recently remarked, "DNA is much more efficient than binary code, but nothing compared to human language."
It is a quirky bunch.
Recently, my Chinese co-teacher has been working feverishly to find supplies for an upcoming molecular biology lab. It involves such things as restriction enzymes, R-factor plasmids, gel electrophoresis, and strains of E. coli. It is just as complicated as it sounds. Well, the problem is finding sources for all this material. In America, I would call up a biological supply company, and they would ship me everything I need in one nice box. Here....not so easy.
We had given up on one part of the lab, because it was proving impossible to find any plasmids locally. A plasmid is a piece of DNA that bacteria can transfer between each other. The point of the lab is to give a plasmid that gives them resistance to a certain antibiotic. Then we add the drug, which kills all the bacteria except the ones that picked up the special DNA. Without the DNA, there was no point in doing the lab.
So on a whim, I looked up Bio-rad, a company that many AP teachers use in the US. Come to find out, this company is an international biotech firm, and they have offices in China. So my co-teacher calls up the Shanghai office, and they have the plasmids. He talks to a very nice lady there, who, come to find out, is a good friend of his former classmate - a classmate who is now working in a lab at Sichuan University and will give us the bacteria we need. So the Shanghai Bio-rad worker is so tickled about this random connection, that she offers to send us the plasmids we need for free. Hooray!
I guess this is a good example of why they say...it's a small world!
-alan
Monday, November 30, 2009
Les Mis and Phantom in Chengdu!
I wish they were actually touring (although we did see adds for CATS in Chongqing) but we have to settle for singing along to the music and dancing around the house. Ok, I'll admit I'm the primary dancer but Alan is still working on visualizing his moves. We may hold a small performance soon, so reserve your seats!
Alan got the Les Mis soundtrack off the wonderful google music in China! It is amazing what you can find on there.
I would post pictures of my leaping, but Alan warned me to stop dancing so as not to bother the neighbors ;-)
-rachel
Alan got the Les Mis soundtrack off the wonderful google music in China! It is amazing what you can find on there.
I would post pictures of my leaping, but Alan warned me to stop dancing so as not to bother the neighbors ;-)
-rachel
Holiday spirit: 3 in 1
Our PCs are collecting dust - the new Macbooks have been our primary computers as of late. However, I never downloaded the driver for our camera, so we were not able to use the Mac to upload pictures. But today I did it - so you get treated to a plethora of holiday-related pics.
First - Dating WAY back to when I was in Shenyang, Rachel got creative and decorated "pumpkins." Chinese pumpkins are good for eating, but not for carving. So instead, she painted oranges and gave them out to the kids on staff who came by to trick-or-treat. (so healthy - she would not have gotten away with that if I was here!)
Next, some pictures from Thanksgiving. Rachel posted about our baking bonanza - well, see for yourself.
Finally, we can look ahead to Christmas! I bit my tongue when others played Christmas music, because while I enjoy listening to it, I strictly adhere to the only-after-Thankgiving rule. I may be fighting a losing battle on this, I know...
Above is a massive Christmas tree that Rachel photographed in mid-November, while in Singapore.
But I held Rachel off until this past weekend, when we put up our little tree.
It has LED lights, but half of them are out! The red and green ones do not turn on, so it blinks blue and white. Oh well.
On Sunday afternoon, we went out Christmas shopping - so perhaps that, along with the fact that December is only hours away, is what brings the "holiday cheer" to me more. It was a productive afternoon of shopping - I am excited about the gifts we have bought!
-alan
First - Dating WAY back to when I was in Shenyang, Rachel got creative and decorated "pumpkins." Chinese pumpkins are good for eating, but not for carving. So instead, she painted oranges and gave them out to the kids on staff who came by to trick-or-treat. (so healthy - she would not have gotten away with that if I was here!)
Next, some pictures from Thanksgiving. Rachel posted about our baking bonanza - well, see for yourself.
Finally, we can look ahead to Christmas! I bit my tongue when others played Christmas music, because while I enjoy listening to it, I strictly adhere to the only-after-Thankgiving rule. I may be fighting a losing battle on this, I know...
Above is a massive Christmas tree that Rachel photographed in mid-November, while in Singapore.
But I held Rachel off until this past weekend, when we put up our little tree.
It has LED lights, but half of them are out! The red and green ones do not turn on, so it blinks blue and white. Oh well.
On Sunday afternoon, we went out Christmas shopping - so perhaps that, along with the fact that December is only hours away, is what brings the "holiday cheer" to me more. It was a productive afternoon of shopping - I am excited about the gifts we have bought!
-alan
Saturday, November 28, 2009
Happy holidays!
We spent all day Thanksgiving Thursday teaching school and in meetings, so it didn't feel so much like Thanksgiving. We left school at 5:30 and came home to a dinner cooked by our house helper. It was yummy but not at gorge yourself feast status. Now before you start feeling sorry for us, read the next paragraph.
Friday was our Thanksgiving. We went shopping for a pumpkin and whipped cream in the morning and came back to a day of baking and watching the Lions. I was commissioned to make pumpkin pie and Alan decided he would make pumpkin cake. The entire pumpkin was used! It was the biggest one they had and we yielded about 5 cups of pumpkin puree out of it. Chinese pumpkins are long and more squash like, I found a picture on google, check it out for yourself.
We only had small pie pans (about half normal size) so I ended up making 4 pumpkin pies. It was fun to do the whole process from scratch (except for the can of sweetened condensed milk). I decided to make 2 more chocolate meringue pies.
Ok, I failed to mention that we had a thanksgiving potluck dinner with our fellow staff. I like pies, but I wasn't planning on eating them all myself. The problem was that the party was across the complex and on the 6th floor. How were we supposed to bring 6 pies and a double layer cake to our feast? I looked around for a flat surface to carry it all on and found a side of the late Colby's cage. We loaded it up and carried it over. Alan did it solo on the stairs, so strong :-)
The feast was great. We had a 22 lb turkey and loads of delicious sides. I had 3-4 plates of food. We rested for awhile and then tackled dessert. The teachers were weak and barely put a dent in the desserts. We ended up bringing back more than half of what we brought! I was happy with how the pumpkin pie turned out. The fresh pumpkin seemed a lot better than the canned stuff!
It is great to spend time with friends. We have a lot to be thankful for!
-rachel
Friday was our Thanksgiving. We went shopping for a pumpkin and whipped cream in the morning and came back to a day of baking and watching the Lions. I was commissioned to make pumpkin pie and Alan decided he would make pumpkin cake. The entire pumpkin was used! It was the biggest one they had and we yielded about 5 cups of pumpkin puree out of it. Chinese pumpkins are long and more squash like, I found a picture on google, check it out for yourself.
We only had small pie pans (about half normal size) so I ended up making 4 pumpkin pies. It was fun to do the whole process from scratch (except for the can of sweetened condensed milk). I decided to make 2 more chocolate meringue pies.
Ok, I failed to mention that we had a thanksgiving potluck dinner with our fellow staff. I like pies, but I wasn't planning on eating them all myself. The problem was that the party was across the complex and on the 6th floor. How were we supposed to bring 6 pies and a double layer cake to our feast? I looked around for a flat surface to carry it all on and found a side of the late Colby's cage. We loaded it up and carried it over. Alan did it solo on the stairs, so strong :-)
The feast was great. We had a 22 lb turkey and loads of delicious sides. I had 3-4 plates of food. We rested for awhile and then tackled dessert. The teachers were weak and barely put a dent in the desserts. We ended up bringing back more than half of what we brought! I was happy with how the pumpkin pie turned out. The fresh pumpkin seemed a lot better than the canned stuff!
It is great to spend time with friends. We have a lot to be thankful for!
-rachel
Sunday, November 22, 2009
Darkness reigns
It was a sunny Saturday (we are getting a nice stretch of weather) but my apartment was dark on Saturday. The power was out.
From the time I woke up and into the evening, there was a scheduled power outage. There were likely signs up....but I certainly did not look (since they would be in Chinese and I could not read them!). So to me, it was a surprise.
During the day, it was fine because the sun was shining and brought some warmth in. I played Catan in the afternoon - and won. Then I started grading papers as I waited to meet up with some friends for dinner. Unfortunately, it starts getting dark here around 6...and dinner was not until 7. So I graded papers by the light of my Macbook.
Finally, I grabbed a flashlight to find my way down the stairs and out of the complex. It was dark and scary! My favorite was walking down the street, looking into dark restaurants and seeing people eating their food while huddled around candles. All I could see was the gleam of chopsticks as they shoveled morsels of food.
One other strange note from the week - there is a large gas station on the way home from school. This week, as I was riding home in the evenings, I noticed remarkable lines of cars (mostly taxis) waiting to fill up at the natural gas pumps. On Wednesday, the line EASILY stretched for a kilometer down the road. It made me think of the 1970s in the US (not that I was around then...).
AND, most importantly, Rachel arrived back in Chengdu. She is watching the NU game right now. (I already watched it this afternoon. I couldn't wait.) Go Cats!
-alan
From the time I woke up and into the evening, there was a scheduled power outage. There were likely signs up....but I certainly did not look (since they would be in Chinese and I could not read them!). So to me, it was a surprise.
During the day, it was fine because the sun was shining and brought some warmth in. I played Catan in the afternoon - and won. Then I started grading papers as I waited to meet up with some friends for dinner. Unfortunately, it starts getting dark here around 6...and dinner was not until 7. So I graded papers by the light of my Macbook.
Finally, I grabbed a flashlight to find my way down the stairs and out of the complex. It was dark and scary! My favorite was walking down the street, looking into dark restaurants and seeing people eating their food while huddled around candles. All I could see was the gleam of chopsticks as they shoveled morsels of food.
One other strange note from the week - there is a large gas station on the way home from school. This week, as I was riding home in the evenings, I noticed remarkable lines of cars (mostly taxis) waiting to fill up at the natural gas pumps. On Wednesday, the line EASILY stretched for a kilometer down the road. It made me think of the 1970s in the US (not that I was around then...).
AND, most importantly, Rachel arrived back in Chengdu. She is watching the NU game right now. (I already watched it this afternoon. I couldn't wait.) Go Cats!
-alan
Friday, November 20, 2009
Sun!!
Thank you God for the sun!!
Our mid-November winter broke today. I rode to school in a thick fog, which by mid-morning was burned away by our long-lost friend, the sun. It warmed the air and brought a smile to everyone here.
My mood improved so much that I took my 6th grade science class outside to collect rocks. We are studying geology right now, and collecting rocks sounded to me like the kind of thing a middle school class should do. In reality, I just wanted to go outside.
I have not posted pictures in awhile, so I thought I would test the camera on the Macbook. Webcams clearly have their limitations.
The sun shining on the street in front of the school...
A picture of where I have spent most of my time this week...
-alan
Our mid-November winter broke today. I rode to school in a thick fog, which by mid-morning was burned away by our long-lost friend, the sun. It warmed the air and brought a smile to everyone here.
My mood improved so much that I took my 6th grade science class outside to collect rocks. We are studying geology right now, and collecting rocks sounded to me like the kind of thing a middle school class should do. In reality, I just wanted to go outside.
I have not posted pictures in awhile, so I thought I would test the camera on the Macbook. Webcams clearly have their limitations.
The sun shining on the street in front of the school...
A picture of where I have spent most of my time this week...
-alan
Fun side of Singapore
Ok, so MUN is a lot of fun, but we have had a little bit of time to have some away from the conference. Enjoy the pictures! The one with the shocked faces is at Clarke Quay and the students watched others being dropped from this really tall swing ride!
I love these kids so much! I think I'm creeping them out because I'm having way to much fun with them :-)
-rachel
I love these kids so much! I think I'm creeping them out because I'm having way to much fun with them :-)
-rachel
Thursday, November 19, 2009
Update on Singapore
This is Rachel reporting from the amazing country of Singapore. I know it is hot and has stormed everyday but I love it! The students are doing well, but of course I wish they would speak out more. I wanted to post some pictures to show what we have been up to on CDIS's first international MUN conference!
Getting on the very cheap Air Asia flight! It was about $180 roundtrip! They don't give out any free food or drinks, but there is a chat feature onboard so we could chat with each other on the plane (our seats were spread out)
The group after a LONG day of lobbying Wednesday. They were really hungry, hot, and tired! We went to Orchard that night and took in the Christmas decorations. We spent a considerable amount of time in Borders :-)
Our ambassador of the United Republic of Tanzania, relived after delivering his opening speech to hundreds of other delegates!
One amazing student who got to be second speaker for her resolution. She did a great job on this speech!!!!
Voting in the General Assembly 5 on issues of reforming the Security Council, this resolution failed.
Tonight is the dinner and dance!!! Woohoo!
Ok time for me to go the Commission on Sustainable Development!
-rachel
Getting on the very cheap Air Asia flight! It was about $180 roundtrip! They don't give out any free food or drinks, but there is a chat feature onboard so we could chat with each other on the plane (our seats were spread out)
The group after a LONG day of lobbying Wednesday. They were really hungry, hot, and tired! We went to Orchard that night and took in the Christmas decorations. We spent a considerable amount of time in Borders :-)
Our ambassador of the United Republic of Tanzania, relived after delivering his opening speech to hundreds of other delegates!
One amazing student who got to be second speaker for her resolution. She did a great job on this speech!!!!
Voting in the General Assembly 5 on issues of reforming the Security Council, this resolution failed.
Tonight is the dinner and dance!!! Woohoo!
Ok time for me to go the Commission on Sustainable Development!
-rachel
Top ways to cope with being wife-less
1) Work 12+ hour days
2) Bring and extra pillow and an electric blanket to bed to make up for lost heat
3) Turn on music to break the silence at home
4) Turn the heat up, because no one else is around to complain to
5) Be thankful that my house helper is around, otherwise I would not eat any vegetables
Well, it has been a couple days since the team left. I have not heard much from them - other than a one-line email this afternoon from Rachel. So at least I know they are alive!
Otherwise, I have very little exciting to say. I have been working more than I should (It was 9pm when I left school on Wednesday. I take all the bad things I ever said about Cheng and her indentured servitude to Ladder-Up.) I still do not really feel "caught up," but I am getting there. I have written some good labs, and the progress report grades I submitted this week were much better than the quarter grades (in terms of how many D's and F's I gave out). So there are good things to say about it all - but I would not say it has been much fun!
Tomrrow's Friday....will I finally get home before 7??
-alan
2) Bring and extra pillow and an electric blanket to bed to make up for lost heat
3) Turn on music to break the silence at home
4) Turn the heat up, because no one else is around to complain to
5) Be thankful that my house helper is around, otherwise I would not eat any vegetables
Well, it has been a couple days since the team left. I have not heard much from them - other than a one-line email this afternoon from Rachel. So at least I know they are alive!
Otherwise, I have very little exciting to say. I have been working more than I should (It was 9pm when I left school on Wednesday. I take all the bad things I ever said about Cheng and her indentured servitude to Ladder-Up.) I still do not really feel "caught up," but I am getting there. I have written some good labs, and the progress report grades I submitted this week were much better than the quarter grades (in terms of how many D's and F's I gave out). So there are good things to say about it all - but I would not say it has been much fun!
Tomrrow's Friday....will I finally get home before 7??
-alan
Tuesday, November 17, 2009
All alone
Yesterday after lunch, Rachel headed on a bus to the airport with 7 students. By now, she is surely in Singapore - chaperoning the students who are attending a regional Model UN conference.
I survived the first night just fine. Actually, without Rachel around I felt no guilt in turning on the heat...so I was nice and toasty. Our home heater works pretty well! Last year, some other staff scared us into using it sparingly, but I think that my mental (and physical) health necessitates using it more.
Grades are due today - I hope I will not be here too late finishing those up. I have a backlog of things to score, so Rachel being gone came at a convenient time.
Looks like I will living the life of a hermit this week! No time to play :)
-alan
I survived the first night just fine. Actually, without Rachel around I felt no guilt in turning on the heat...so I was nice and toasty. Our home heater works pretty well! Last year, some other staff scared us into using it sparingly, but I think that my mental (and physical) health necessitates using it more.
Grades are due today - I hope I will not be here too late finishing those up. I have a backlog of things to score, so Rachel being gone came at a convenient time.
Looks like I will living the life of a hermit this week! No time to play :)
-alan
Monday, November 16, 2009
Update on the cold
Despite the rain and frigid temps, I went this afternoon to play tennis. Having some physical activity actually helped - got the blood pumping.
The forecast calls for a low of -1 tonight, and a high of 2 tomorrow.
The return of winter is quite a trial for me. I hate grumbling and complaining. I try to avoid it when possible. It's just not healthy for the soul. But my weakness is the cold. I hate being cold. And for the last few days, the cold has been near-constant. I seem to have inherited my father's poor circulation, so my hands and feet never seem to get warm. It seems strange, since the rare sub-freezing day of Chengdu is nothing compared to the prolonged winter chill of the Midwest. But here, there is no respite. The heaters make life inside bearable, but they do not make it warm. Thus I bundle and wait for the spring.
There is one bright spot - bed. Our electric blanket and thick Ikea comforter emerged from storage yesterday. So after a day full of chilled toes and frozen fingers, I slip under the covers. My skin absorbs the warmth. My muscles relax. A smile comes across my face. And I commence 8 hours of unmitigated, joyful, warm rest.
I suppose that the degree of cold makes relief from it all the more sweet.
Now let's see if that snow in the forecast comes true or not...and dream of the UAE...
-alan
The forecast calls for a low of -1 tonight, and a high of 2 tomorrow.
The return of winter is quite a trial for me. I hate grumbling and complaining. I try to avoid it when possible. It's just not healthy for the soul. But my weakness is the cold. I hate being cold. And for the last few days, the cold has been near-constant. I seem to have inherited my father's poor circulation, so my hands and feet never seem to get warm. It seems strange, since the rare sub-freezing day of Chengdu is nothing compared to the prolonged winter chill of the Midwest. But here, there is no respite. The heaters make life inside bearable, but they do not make it warm. Thus I bundle and wait for the spring.
There is one bright spot - bed. Our electric blanket and thick Ikea comforter emerged from storage yesterday. So after a day full of chilled toes and frozen fingers, I slip under the covers. My skin absorbs the warmth. My muscles relax. A smile comes across my face. And I commence 8 hours of unmitigated, joyful, warm rest.
I suppose that the degree of cold makes relief from it all the more sweet.
Now let's see if that snow in the forecast comes true or not...and dream of the UAE...
-alan
Sunday, November 15, 2009
Monday morning complain-a-thon
It's hard NOT to complain on a day like today...
1) The weather. Today, I rode to school in the rain...which is normally not nice, but it was made worse by the fact that the high temperature today is 5 degrees. Tomorrow it is only supposed to be 3! This part of the country is not supposed to get that cold. I am sitting in my classroom in a sweater, long underwear, and a hat just to keep out the cold. The forecast calls for snow on Tuesday/Wednesday. But in Chengdu, there is snow MAYBE a couple time per decade. And all this in November. No fair. I do not want winter yet.
2) Grades due Wednesday. I've got some stuff yet to finish. Ugh. Rachel and I spent part of our Saturday and Sunday at school as well!!
3) Substituting. 1st period freshmen English.
4) Cold rain = no tennis today. Most likely.
5) My brother beat me in fantasy football.
6) The fruit flies in my AP class do not seem to be reproducing.
On the brighter side of life, NU won a rivalry game in football against Illinois this weekend; I am going to McDonald's with the boys volleyball team to celebrate today; Rachel is going to Singapore tomorrow so at least ONE of us will get a warm respite from Chengdu; at least my classroom is warmer than Zack's.
-alan
1) The weather. Today, I rode to school in the rain...which is normally not nice, but it was made worse by the fact that the high temperature today is 5 degrees. Tomorrow it is only supposed to be 3! This part of the country is not supposed to get that cold. I am sitting in my classroom in a sweater, long underwear, and a hat just to keep out the cold. The forecast calls for snow on Tuesday/Wednesday. But in Chengdu, there is snow MAYBE a couple time per decade. And all this in November. No fair. I do not want winter yet.
2) Grades due Wednesday. I've got some stuff yet to finish. Ugh. Rachel and I spent part of our Saturday and Sunday at school as well!!
3) Substituting. 1st period freshmen English.
4) Cold rain = no tennis today. Most likely.
5) My brother beat me in fantasy football.
6) The fruit flies in my AP class do not seem to be reproducing.
On the brighter side of life, NU won a rivalry game in football against Illinois this weekend; I am going to McDonald's with the boys volleyball team to celebrate today; Rachel is going to Singapore tomorrow so at least ONE of us will get a warm respite from Chengdu; at least my classroom is warmer than Zack's.
-alan
Tuesday, November 10, 2009
Random mishaps
Last week, we were on our way to school (on our scooters) when I noticed Rachel was no longer behind me. I waited for a bit until I finally saw her approach me....and pass me. Wondering what was going on, I catch up to find out that her brake line had snapped. So she was without brakes.
Thankfully, the roads are empty in the morning so we made it to school with no trouble. (getting it home was more of a challenge, though! I drove it fine, though my shoes have some telltale wear on the bottom due to my need to slow down fast) Apparently, this is not a rare occurrence (not that comforting...) but the situation was made worse because Rachel's front brake did not work either. So yesterday Rachel had it fixed. Total cost? 2 RMB. A little more than a quarter in USD...
Also, my cell phone was lost about a month ago. To be honest, I have not missed it. In the US, my phone was mostly used to call Rachel. Now, we work together and are rarely apart for very long. Most of my friends are also my coworkers, so they are in close proximity on a daily basis. Besides, I had made enough of a habit of leaving my phone off, that they stopped calling me. So despite Rachel's pleas otherwise, I am content to live without.
Last, and certainly least - another taboo broken. I thought that my male-ness exempted me from the unintentional ridicule of students (look back at previous posts from Rachel about the things that students will say to her...). I NEVER get comments about my hair, my clothes, my speech, etc. However, this week one quiet 6th grade girl (of all people!) told me flat out that I look like a mouse. Well, I have her volcano test still to grade, so perhaps I shall exact my passive aggressive revenge....mwahahaha!
-alan
Thankfully, the roads are empty in the morning so we made it to school with no trouble. (getting it home was more of a challenge, though! I drove it fine, though my shoes have some telltale wear on the bottom due to my need to slow down fast) Apparently, this is not a rare occurrence (not that comforting...) but the situation was made worse because Rachel's front brake did not work either. So yesterday Rachel had it fixed. Total cost? 2 RMB. A little more than a quarter in USD...
Also, my cell phone was lost about a month ago. To be honest, I have not missed it. In the US, my phone was mostly used to call Rachel. Now, we work together and are rarely apart for very long. Most of my friends are also my coworkers, so they are in close proximity on a daily basis. Besides, I had made enough of a habit of leaving my phone off, that they stopped calling me. So despite Rachel's pleas otherwise, I am content to live without.
Last, and certainly least - another taboo broken. I thought that my male-ness exempted me from the unintentional ridicule of students (look back at previous posts from Rachel about the things that students will say to her...). I NEVER get comments about my hair, my clothes, my speech, etc. However, this week one quiet 6th grade girl (of all people!) told me flat out that I look like a mouse. Well, I have her volcano test still to grade, so perhaps I shall exact my passive aggressive revenge....mwahahaha!
-alan
Volleyball pictures
As promised from long ago, I managed to get some pictures from the volleyball tournament in Shenyang.
We played a total of 5 matches - we lost the first one, but won the next 4. With each match, the boys confidence got higher and higher.
I was not really sure what a "coach" did during the games - there was a limited amount of substituting and direction to give, but most of the work was left up to the players. However, we did have timeouts, so I could give them pep talks.
The gym was big and cold. No heat. So I kept the jacket and hat on the whole day. In the time between matches, the players would wander over to other courts to watch the other CDIS teams play. Many bought panda hats before they went (our school mascot is the panda, of course!), so it was easy to tell which kids were from Chengdu.
Right as we started playing, the middle school girls won their division. I like this image of our panda mascot leaping in the air!
And finally, here is our captain picking up the trophy that our team won. Yay!
I have not actually taken them out to celebrate...but ice cream seems to be in order. Am I right?
-alan
We played a total of 5 matches - we lost the first one, but won the next 4. With each match, the boys confidence got higher and higher.
I was not really sure what a "coach" did during the games - there was a limited amount of substituting and direction to give, but most of the work was left up to the players. However, we did have timeouts, so I could give them pep talks.
The gym was big and cold. No heat. So I kept the jacket and hat on the whole day. In the time between matches, the players would wander over to other courts to watch the other CDIS teams play. Many bought panda hats before they went (our school mascot is the panda, of course!), so it was easy to tell which kids were from Chengdu.
Right as we started playing, the middle school girls won their division. I like this image of our panda mascot leaping in the air!
And finally, here is our captain picking up the trophy that our team won. Yay!
I have not actually taken them out to celebrate...but ice cream seems to be in order. Am I right?
-alan
Monday, November 9, 2009
What I made for dinner
Sorry no pictures, but I just wanted to update you all that I have kept up with my promise to cook once a week. There was a week that I thought I wasn't going to have a chance, but Xue Mei didn't come that day leaving me an opportunity :-)
(i just killed 2 mosquitoes, i wish there was video of me jumping around on the coffee table)
Anyways, my dinner was a collection of sides mashed potatoes, pumpkin (alan calls it baby food), broccoli, and zucchini and red onion. Alan walked in as I was going to cook the sausage so I left the meat up to the man, and I left to run an errand.
I admit I love buying and cooking veggies, but I am very intimidated by meat. I like to eat it, but how do you cook it? I have made many dishes with chicken breast and ground meat both of which I can clearly handle, and only one meal that featured a steak or piece of meat. Any tips are appreciated!
-rachel
(i just killed 2 mosquitoes, i wish there was video of me jumping around on the coffee table)
Anyways, my dinner was a collection of sides mashed potatoes, pumpkin (alan calls it baby food), broccoli, and zucchini and red onion. Alan walked in as I was going to cook the sausage so I left the meat up to the man, and I left to run an errand.
I admit I love buying and cooking veggies, but I am very intimidated by meat. I like to eat it, but how do you cook it? I have made many dishes with chicken breast and ground meat both of which I can clearly handle, and only one meal that featured a steak or piece of meat. Any tips are appreciated!
-rachel
Non-NU Weekend Fun
On Saturday we had a relaxing time "downtown." We first took a shopping trip to our favorite sporting goods store and loaded up on some winter gear. Alan bought 3 pairs of gloves and got some new long underwear which he excitedly said he could wear under his current long underwear for 3 layers of protection from the winter chill. We'll see if he gets that desperate. I got a nice purpley-wine colored fleece, refraining from trying to fit into the kid's size that was a more NU purple.
We then went to IKEA and spent a little time shopping and a lot of time loitering. Oh, I love IKEA...it is nice to have one that is relatively closer than schaumburg
My highlight of the day came when went to the tailor and picked up a new suit (which i wore today to model proper MUN attire) and a new pair of pants. I love getting custom made stuff! It fits and it is so cheap!
We then met our teacher friends at the bowling alley for Brian's birthday. I did quite well for myself with scores of 115 and 131. In the first game I had a shot at Alan but I choked...
We topped off the evening with some wings and a little icecream from McDonalds. My belly was a little too full by the end. I'm glad the suit still fit!
-the long lost rachel
We then went to IKEA and spent a little time shopping and a lot of time loitering. Oh, I love IKEA...it is nice to have one that is relatively closer than schaumburg
My highlight of the day came when went to the tailor and picked up a new suit (which i wore today to model proper MUN attire) and a new pair of pants. I love getting custom made stuff! It fits and it is so cheap!
We then met our teacher friends at the bowling alley for Brian's birthday. I did quite well for myself with scores of 115 and 131. In the first game I had a shot at Alan but I choked...
We topped off the evening with some wings and a little icecream from McDonalds. My belly was a little too full by the end. I'm glad the suit still fit!
-the long lost rachel
Sunday, November 8, 2009
BIG WIN!
NU 17 Iowa 10
Northwestern gets its first win over a top 5 opponent since Eisenhower was president. (though they did beat #6 Ohio State in 2004) While some may argue that the win was made possible due to the injury to Iowa's quarterback, I would say that the injuries to NU (including to their top 2 quarterbacks) meet or exceed those of Iowa. So, I will hear no such excuses. NU wins! I can officially raise my bowl hopes beyond Detroit...there is hope for a warm-weather bowl.
I am glad I did not check my email, facebook, or talk to any college football fans this morning. They surely all would have revealed the score.
It was also strange to be leading for most of the game. This was much more of a hold-on-for-dear=life victory, as opposed to the standard adrenaline-pumping-come-from-behind-to-miraculously-win kind of games that NU tends to have. But still it was satisfying.
I am also glad it was a road game, so I do not have to feel like I "missed out." I would have watched it on TV no matter what.
In other news, the 7th grade continues to be ravaged by illness. The number of absent children and the number of mask-wearing kids hovered around 3-4 all week, so I am curious if things will return to normal by tomorrow. I have not heard of confirmed H1N1 cases, so for now we do not have to worry about the school being closed. (not that I would mind having a Swine Flu Day, assuming I was not sick...)
Finally, this past week my false idea about taxis was crushed. I have been in many taxis, and taken many rides in which I seriously thought my health and well being were in danger. Considering the number of accidents one sees on the road and the ways in which drivers drive, this fear is legitimate in my eyes. However, I told myself that taxi drivers must be experts in offensive driving, because despite their erratic behavior I had never seen a taxi in an accident. Thus, I was safe in a taxi. But this week I saw an accident involving THREE taxis. It was not too serious - some damage, but not enough to cause bodily harm. But it shattered what was, in my mind, the perfect driving record. Maybe I am not so safe after all when I place my life in their hands...
-alan
Northwestern gets its first win over a top 5 opponent since Eisenhower was president. (though they did beat #6 Ohio State in 2004) While some may argue that the win was made possible due to the injury to Iowa's quarterback, I would say that the injuries to NU (including to their top 2 quarterbacks) meet or exceed those of Iowa. So, I will hear no such excuses. NU wins! I can officially raise my bowl hopes beyond Detroit...there is hope for a warm-weather bowl.
I am glad I did not check my email, facebook, or talk to any college football fans this morning. They surely all would have revealed the score.
It was also strange to be leading for most of the game. This was much more of a hold-on-for-dear=life victory, as opposed to the standard adrenaline-pumping-come-from-behind-to-miraculously-win kind of games that NU tends to have. But still it was satisfying.
I am also glad it was a road game, so I do not have to feel like I "missed out." I would have watched it on TV no matter what.
In other news, the 7th grade continues to be ravaged by illness. The number of absent children and the number of mask-wearing kids hovered around 3-4 all week, so I am curious if things will return to normal by tomorrow. I have not heard of confirmed H1N1 cases, so for now we do not have to worry about the school being closed. (not that I would mind having a Swine Flu Day, assuming I was not sick...)
Finally, this past week my false idea about taxis was crushed. I have been in many taxis, and taken many rides in which I seriously thought my health and well being were in danger. Considering the number of accidents one sees on the road and the ways in which drivers drive, this fear is legitimate in my eyes. However, I told myself that taxi drivers must be experts in offensive driving, because despite their erratic behavior I had never seen a taxi in an accident. Thus, I was safe in a taxi. But this week I saw an accident involving THREE taxis. It was not too serious - some damage, but not enough to cause bodily harm. But it shattered what was, in my mind, the perfect driving record. Maybe I am not so safe after all when I place my life in their hands...
-alan
Wednesday, November 4, 2009
Growing political minds?
I overheard this hallway conversation moments ago:
"If I could get every person in America to read 1984, I could get President Obama impeached like that. [snaps fingers]"
Political ideologies aside, it is nice to see the kids thinking cross-curricularly!
-alan
"If I could get every person in America to read 1984, I could get President Obama impeached like that. [snaps fingers]"
Political ideologies aside, it is nice to see the kids thinking cross-curricularly!
-alan
Seasons changing
This morning on the way to school, the moon was out and clearly visible in the sky above me. This is remarkable for many reasons - (1) the sky is clear enough for the moon to show. No clouds, no smog. That means today will probably be sunny and warm! (2) During the morning scooter ride to school, it is still dark. No daylight savings time in China, so I will have to live through the next 4-5 months of less morning light. I wish school started just a little later so that it could be light when I wake up. That would be so great!
So despite the sunshine and warmth of the past few days, sickness is everywhere here. The vomiting child on the volleyball trip seemed to spread his germs to others, so each day there are a significant number of kids from that trip absent. Yesterday in my 7th grade science class, there were a half-dozen kids in surgical masks. It was a startling sight to see, but when it was quiet and I listened to the cacophony of coughing fits across the room, I understood better.
-alan
So despite the sunshine and warmth of the past few days, sickness is everywhere here. The vomiting child on the volleyball trip seemed to spread his germs to others, so each day there are a significant number of kids from that trip absent. Yesterday in my 7th grade science class, there were a half-dozen kids in surgical masks. It was a startling sight to see, but when it was quiet and I listened to the cacophony of coughing fits across the room, I understood better.
-alan
Sunday, November 1, 2009
I'm back!
After a sleep-deprived and chilly visit to Shenyang, I am back and resting comfortably in Chengdu. Yes, it was cold - there was snow on Saturday morning. Happy Halloween.
Actually, it reminded me an awful lot of Chicago. Northern China's weather is actually quite similar to the midwest...cold and dry.
The good news: We won! Chengdu took 1st place in the middle school boys and girls divisions. We got a trophy and everything! I'll try to get some pictures tomorrow.
The bad news: One badly separated shoulder (not a pretty site) and one puking middle schooler.
But all in all, it was a nice trip. Winning helps. :)
-alan
Actually, it reminded me an awful lot of Chicago. Northern China's weather is actually quite similar to the midwest...cold and dry.
The good news: We won! Chengdu took 1st place in the middle school boys and girls divisions. We got a trophy and everything! I'll try to get some pictures tomorrow.
The bad news: One badly separated shoulder (not a pretty site) and one puking middle schooler.
But all in all, it was a nice trip. Winning helps. :)
-alan
Thursday, October 29, 2009
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
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
Monday, October 26, 2009
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
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
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
Saturday, October 24, 2009
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
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
Wednesday, October 21, 2009
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
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
Friday, October 16, 2009
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
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
-alan
Thursday, October 15, 2009
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
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
Wednesday, October 14, 2009
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
"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
Tuesday, October 13, 2009
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
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
Sunday, October 11, 2009
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
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
Thursday, October 8, 2009
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
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
Monday, October 5, 2009
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
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
Friday, October 2, 2009
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
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
Saturday, September 26, 2009
Awake, finally
We're home and well recuperated from our high school Fall Camp. I went home at 10am on Friday, and was in bed by 11am. I set my alarm to get up at 2:30pm, because I had a music practice at school to return for. However, it did not wake me up, and I kept sleeping....until 4am on Saturday! I can't believe it, I completely skipped Friday.
Our time began on Thursday with the 3 service projects we had scheduled. All went as planned, and the feedback from the students was quite good.
The theme of our camp centered around love and service, based roughly around Matthew 22:39, in which Jesus tells us to love our neighbor as ourselves. That's why the day started with the service projects - to help break our isolation from our foreign community, and serve the needs of the local people around us. It's kind of like saying, "won't you be my neighbor?"
Painting an Olympic mural at a school for migrant children
A classroom of Chinese students
Preparing to paint walls at the school
Playing games at a school in Dujiangyan
A newly planted garden
Once it was over, we met back at the hotel for some debrief time. Dinner was brought in from the market - we had 少烤 (pronounced shao kao, grilled meats and veggies on skewers). It did not go quite as planned, because the vendors were late in arriving and brought fewer grills than we planned. However, the kids were in good spirits and used the free time to mingle.
Another fun afternoon highlight was a competitive game of "chicken ball." This game is more or less ultimate frisbee, but played with a whole, raw chicken. Gross, but the kids really got into it. There were boys (and some girls) running around, trying desperately to pick up that chicken.
Look close - you can see the chicken in midair!
We had 3 games scheduled, but after the first game, the chicken was mangled and coming apart. Unfortunately, this exposed bones that were beginning to cause injuries. Play was suspended, and Alan the ref turned into Alan the medic.
I think a good 8-10 got patched up due to chicken-ball related cuts. I disinfected them all, so there should be no infection. However, if this is school was in America....I would have smelled a lawsuit. We bought a new, still-frozen chicken and had no further problems. So let this be a lesson - if you are going to play a sport with a dead animal, stick it in the freezer first.
In the evening, we met for some singing and reflection time. We talked a little about the concepts of love and service. One great quite from the night came from one of our juniors, who responded to the question of "How do you want to be loved?" by saying, "I want love for me to be altruistic. In biology, altruism is defined as an action that another organism takes which will increase another organism's reproductive success while sacrificing its own reproductive success. Well, I want to be loved that way. Except the reproductive part." As his AP Biology teacher, of course I was proud.
Singing in the auditorium
Rachel washing the feet of a student
Our last official activity for the night was to build what one student called "the longest ice cream sundae ever built in Chengdu." It was pretty big, and 70 students fit around it at once.
All in all, it was a good time. The students served well, and socialized all night long with one another. Many spent time with people outside their normal social circles, which was even more encouraging to see. Many stayed up the whole night, including the teachers, which is the source of our all-day sleep fest.
But now, that is over, and it is time to go to Chongqing for our staff retreat. We leave Sunday morning and return Wednesday. We will be at the InterContinental (5 star!!) but I do not think we have free internet :( So, I will post when we return.
-alan
Our time began on Thursday with the 3 service projects we had scheduled. All went as planned, and the feedback from the students was quite good.
The theme of our camp centered around love and service, based roughly around Matthew 22:39, in which Jesus tells us to love our neighbor as ourselves. That's why the day started with the service projects - to help break our isolation from our foreign community, and serve the needs of the local people around us. It's kind of like saying, "won't you be my neighbor?"
Painting an Olympic mural at a school for migrant children
A classroom of Chinese students
Preparing to paint walls at the school
Playing games at a school in Dujiangyan
A newly planted garden
Another fun afternoon highlight was a competitive game of "chicken ball." This game is more or less ultimate frisbee, but played with a whole, raw chicken. Gross, but the kids really got into it. There were boys (and some girls) running around, trying desperately to pick up that chicken.
Look close - you can see the chicken in midair!
I think a good 8-10 got patched up due to chicken-ball related cuts. I disinfected them all, so there should be no infection. However, if this is school was in America....I would have smelled a lawsuit. We bought a new, still-frozen chicken and had no further problems. So let this be a lesson - if you are going to play a sport with a dead animal, stick it in the freezer first.In the evening, we met for some singing and reflection time. We talked a little about the concepts of love and service. One great quite from the night came from one of our juniors, who responded to the question of "How do you want to be loved?" by saying, "I want love for me to be altruistic. In biology, altruism is defined as an action that another organism takes which will increase another organism's reproductive success while sacrificing its own reproductive success. Well, I want to be loved that way. Except the reproductive part." As his AP Biology teacher, of course I was proud.
Singing in the auditorium
Rachel washing the feet of a studentOur last official activity for the night was to build what one student called "the longest ice cream sundae ever built in Chengdu." It was pretty big, and 70 students fit around it at once.
All in all, it was a good time. The students served well, and socialized all night long with one another. Many spent time with people outside their normal social circles, which was even more encouraging to see. Many stayed up the whole night, including the teachers, which is the source of our all-day sleep fest.
But now, that is over, and it is time to go to Chongqing for our staff retreat. We leave Sunday morning and return Wednesday. We will be at the InterContinental (5 star!!) but I do not think we have free internet :( So, I will post when we return.
-alan
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