JasonDC to ChinaPC

Food posts have been moved to a NEW blog: awokthroughchina.blogspot.com

2013-04-25T21:56:00.001-07:00

English Corner for Dummies: An Ongoing Post

2012-10-25T02:56:00.000-07:00

Week by week here in China I plan an English Corner for my freshman students. After my first English Corner (see my post "English Corner, Achtung"), I've made some refinements.

Only two classes participate each week, limiting the number to 90 students. This number is still unwieldy, but better than 270. I've been lucky that for the past two weeks other activities have been taking place at the same time--lectures and such--so that I've had only about 20 students for each English Corner.

As the weeks go by, I will update this post with the activities we do in English Corner. It is my hope that it can help other English teachers in China, and I also welcome comments and new ideas!

Week 1: English Wisdom

Students in groups of five are given a slip of paper on which is written an English saying, such as "It is better to have loved and lost than to never have loved at all." The students first discern the meaning and then discuss how the saying applies to life. Do they agree? Disagree? What are the pros and cons of heeding this saying? ...and so forth. This is an advanced activity, which turned out to be too difficult for my freshmen, but for advanced students it can be a great way to learn the nuances of the language.

Week 2: Homonyms and Homographs

Students learning English often confuse words that sound the same (or almost the same) but have different meanings, and sometimes different spellings. You can find many examples here: http://www.crazysquirrel.com/stuff/same-sound.jspx

Students in pairs are given cards with two or more such words on them. They discuss and come up with the definitions and then come back to the teacher and use each of them in a sentence. If you have more time or more advanced students, you can have them write a story or poem using the words.

Week 3: Halloween Culture

Chinese students, when they know about Halloween at all, find it fascinating. They're often not big fans of candy, at least here in Guizhou, where they usually prefer spicy to sweet, but the idea of dressing up in a costume sounds like great fun to them. There are a variety of activities you can do to introduce aspects of the Halloween tradition. All depends on student level, time, and resources.

-Show a short video in English on the history of Halloween. Make sure it's entertaining and has lots of costumes and clips from haunted houses.
-Supplement this English Corner with the showing of a horror film. Don't make it too scary or gory (Michael Meyer? Um, no). The students here are not used to this genre. A good choice would be a classic horror film, a horror spoof, or Michael Jackson's "Thriller."
-Show "It's the Great Pumpkin Charlie Brown" and then carve pumpkins together. Admittedly, this introduces a made-up Halloween myth that Americans do not actually celebrate, but it's a fun cartoon and segues nicely into pumpkin carving. If you can't get pumpkins, find a place where it's okay to make a mess, or if you don't want to chance a student chopping off his or her finger, you can draw jack-o-lanterns on the chalk board or make them out of construction paper. This is a good activity for making a plan, and giving and receiving directions in English, if you can actually get the students to talk together in English while they're carving the pumpkin.
-If you have a lot of time and resources, have a costume party where each student tells the rest of the class in English why they chose their costume and what it means. This is a great vocabulary builder. If you cannot actually have costume party, the students can imagine what they would dress as.
-The idea of a Halloween Song is a bit of a misnomer, but it can be great practice for pronunciation and quick speaking. Perhaps Monster Mash, or Thriller. We used a song called "Bony Fingers, Bony Toes," which I had never heard before.

The China closet

2012-10-05T06:53:00.000-07:00

Peace Corps is gay-friendly.

Peace Corps is realistic.

A plethora of gay men and women have served and continue to serve in the Peace Corps and in other U.S. government organizations. At the same time, effective service in a host country requires integration into said host country's culture. In rural and small-city China, there is no gay subculture to speak of, and, one must admit, the notion of such a subculture is a product of the West. (If Blogger had a footnote function, I would add one here about issues in terminology, e.g., "gay," "homosexual," "GLBTQ," etc.)

As a man who has been devoted to civil rights regardless of sexual orientation for some time, this sublimation of identity for the greater good has been a challenge. Even during pre-service training, I was quite critical of the lack of orientation-specific training and information. But, as training progressed, I realized the Corps has bigger fish to fry and that only so much can be addressed in two months of training--i.e., it's more important that you can speak Chinese and teach English as a foreign language than it is for you to feel comfortable as a gay person in China. Volunteers are wide-minded people; we can figure it out for ourselves. Indeed, we are expected to do so; this is integration.

Fast-forward through training, arrival at my college, questions about my marital status, sighs of consolation that I do not have a wife or children yet, to Friday, September 28, Zunyi #4 Middle School gate.

I have arrived for the wonderful weekly family meal with my teaching counterpart and his parents and extended family. I've been here before, but only with guidance, so I am not sure how to get to their home. As I wait for my counterpart to come and fetch me, I am approached by six or so Chinese students, most of whom are in military garb.

"Hello," they say.

"Ni hao," I say.

"Where are you from?" they ask.

"Wo shi Meiguo ren. Ni ne?" I answer.

"We are students at this school. Can you answer a few questions for our survey?" they say.

I take a look at the questions. They're all in Chinese, which I cannot yet read without a pinyin transliteration.

"How do you feel about the gay?", they ask.

"Mei guanxi," I say. "In America it's no problem. Most Americans think gay people should have the same rights as everyone else."

They are very excited. They ask my age. Someone takes a photo. I'm pretty sure another is recording our conversation on his smartphone. One of the students eagerly jots down my answers and information.

I'm getting a little paranoid. There is only one 38 year-old white dude in Zunyi, I'm fairly certain. Will my answers be reported to the authorities? Will I be asked to make account for them by the Chinese government? Unlikely, I know, but...

I avert further questions by asking my own. What do they think about "the gay"? They say they feel the same way. "The gay" should have the same rights as other people.

"Okay," I reply. I'm disappointed in myself for not being more forthright, but also pleased that I've been cautious as the Corps recommends.

And so, the China closet. Out and in. In and out.

A welcome phone call comes from my counter part. "Where are you? I'm waiting for you on Red Army Street." So, I can go. "Bye, bye; Zaijian," I say. "Thank you," they say. "See you at Red Army Street English Corner tonight?" they ask. "Maybe," I say, knowing that I've had enough such integration for one day. Some home cooking with a Chinese family will have to do.

English Corner, achtung!

2012-10-05T06:07:00.001-07:00

Ah, English Corner, a place to gather with your EFL students and casually discuss a topic in English. It's so Renaissance man, so cerebral, so of the Western liberal arts tradition.

Or so I thought...

My first English Corner was a week ago now. My 270 freshmen and I were going to discuss together some English-language idioms.

English Corner as I imagined it would be ( I attempted to insert drawings here, but to no avail. If you know how, send me a message!):

I introduce the topic with the help of my class monitors, the students are given an idiom to discuss, I mingle to check their comprehension and discuss how the idiom relates to similar Chinese sayings.

English Corner as it began:

Chaos. The class monitors were adamant that all of the students could not fit in the designated area and that we should move to the athletic field. Okay, I say. Let's move to the field for our discussion. The weather is pleasant, hen liang kuai.

Shouting. The monitors give instructions to their classmates to move to the field. Five minutes later, each class is in military formation. They are now ready for me to impart my English-language wisdom. One monitor suggests that I stand on the landing at the front of the teaching building to address all of the students. I'm feeling a little like an autocrat in the mid twentieth century. This was the first time in China that I felt my patience really tested. Those of you who know me well know that my patience has deep reserves. I was literally on the verge of shouting or throwing up my hands and heading home. I passed the test (Lord of the Rings geeks, unite).

Pause. I remember that these students have just finished two weeks of military training and that, even though extremely intelligent and responsible, the class monitors have never been responsible for leading such a large group of students, let alone shepherding a foreign American teacher through his first English Corner.

English Corner, back to the plan:

I calmly went to each class, as is my wont, and handed out slips of paper on which were written idioms. And then, after having handed them all out, I went from class to class to discuss.

The idioms were a little over their heads, I'll admit, and it was a stretch getting to every class during the allotted time, but I am thankful we were able to get back to the plan and engage in some un-regimented conversation.

I'm a Foreign Expert, so says the People's Republic

2012-10-05T05:33:00.002-07:00

The most critical, if usually pro forma, event of the Peace Corps China Volunteer in the first month of service is to make sure his or her visa is renewed. Otherwise, goodbye China, hello home-front.

Thanks to the able assistance of my college Waiban (foreign affairs) Director and my professor counterpart Fan Bo, all went smoothly.

I am now a "Foreign Expert," which it seems entitles me to certain rights while staying in country. In some ways I now have more privileges than a Chinese National, but I still can't go to Tibet without permission.

Voting from China is easy...if you're from Washington, DC

2012-10-05T05:25:00.000-07:00

Last week I sent in my absentee ballot for the upcoming election.

If you're from Washington, DC--a bastion of voter rights, to be sure--the process is simple. Download the form online, fill it in, take a photo of the form and fax it back using online fax software such as PamFax. A few days later I received the ballot, completed it, and sent it back in the same fashion.

DC and its few electoral votes will go to Barack Obama, without question. The nation's capital city is also a city of Democrats, even if a few Republicans get to live there. The city is still a predominantly African-American metropolis, and these voters, along with the liberal-minded people of other ethnicities that tend to live there, almost always vote for the Democratic candidate.

Even if, then, my vote for president will not have much impact, I was eager to vote in our local elections. There are several referendums on the ballot aimed at cleaning up the city council. 2012 has been a year filled with revelations of corruption among certain members of the council.

http://www.npr.org/2012/06/07/154533041/corrupt-leaders-hamper-d-c-s-quest-for-autonomy

One of the highlights of my 2012 in Washington was to serve on a federal Grand Jury. I can't share any details here, but let's just say I'm happy the work of the Jury has had an impact on the life of the city.

I also got to choose between Marion Barry and another candidate for my city Ward 8 representative. Yes, Marion Barry is still in office in Washington, DC.

So many Mooncakes

2012-10-05T05:13:00.003-07:00

Mid-Autumn Festival (September 30th this year) has come and gone, but I still have a pile of mooncakes in my pantry.

These traditional treats are given as gifts in celebration of the lunar harvest:

http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Mid-Autumn_Festival

They come filled with a variety of delicacies: red bean paste, fruit, ham. My favorite is filled with a combination of seeds. The most pricey, and my least favorite, come with a dried egg yolk in the center. And, of course, my Chinese friends here are eager to introduce me to their traditions. About 20 cakes later...

Since coming to China, I have lost about 30 lbs, which I sorely needed to do, but the mooncakes have reversed this waistline trend. A more calorie-filled concoction I'd be hard pressed to find.

Home, sweet China home

2012-09-22T09:07:00.004-07:00

Apartment living is the norm in Chinese cities, and Chinese apartments are usually standard issue: concrete construction, white tile facade, ceramic or fake wood floors.

My apartment in Zunyi, which is rented for me by the College, is very nice (enter the Posh-Corps myth of Peace Corps in China), and much too large for one person. It is bigger, in fact, than my apartment in Washington, DC, and much cheaper (i.e., free).

I've had to bridle my decorating and remodeling instincts for the time being. The budget is limited and I have more important things to do.

Visit. I have two couches and a spare bedroom.

Shots and a party

2012-09-22T08:38:00.000-07:00

Last weekend the Volunteers in Guizhou province were required to travel to the capital Guiyang for flu shots and to learn the location of our emergency (i.e., earthquake, civil unrest) consolidation point.

The China 17s, who have been serving in China for a year now, also threw us new volunteers a welcome party: a little time in the park, some dinner, a "few" beers at Robbie's Bar.

Shang ke!

2012-09-22T08:26:00.000-07:00

Class begins, after three weeks of waiting.

I teach the freshmen and freshmen in China have several weeks of compulsory military training before they begin college.

Oral English I, here we go.

Trek up Red Army Mountain

2012-09-22T08:22:00.002-07:00

Zunyi is the birthplace of modern Communist China.

Here, Mao Zedong consolidated his power over the Party and the Chinese opposition to the Nationalists.

Soon after arriving in Zunyi, a retired English Professor of Zunyi Normal College took us up the mountain. It's more a hill, really, but a foundational site for modern China--similar to the site of the U.S. Declaration of Independence, perhaps.

Some amazing views...

The trouble in Chinese to English translation

2012-09-22T08:09:00.001-07:00

Becoming a Volunteer

2012-09-22T08:07:00.000-07:00

We commenced service as volunteers at the end of August, swearing to defend the United States.

Here is the oath:

I, Jason McFarland
do solemnly affirm
that I will support and defend the constitution of the United States
against all enemies, domestic and foreign,
that I will bear true faith and allegiance to the same,
that I take this obligation freely,
without any mental reservation or purpose of evasion,
and that I will well and faithfully discharge my duties in the Peace Corps.

It was a profound experience that merits further reflection, but in the meantime, here are a few photos!

Rice-flour chocolate chip cookies OR thanks for the chocolate, China 16s!

2012-09-22T07:54:00.002-07:00

A couple of weeks ago now, Becky invited our student helpers Clint and Melissa to her apartment to make chocolate chip cookies.

This was a brilliant idea in many respects. First, cultural exchange. Second, we get to know our Chinese students better. Third, we get to eat chocolate.

Given our limited (as in less than a Chinese three-year-old) knowledge of Chinese writing (Hanzi), it is completely understandable that Becky did not know what kind of flour to purchase for the baking. It looked like wheat flour, but Melissa upon her arrival informed us that it was indeed rice flour.

Once the idea of cookies was in our minds and on our palates, however, there was nothing that was going to stop us.

The China 16s who returned to America this year had left Becky some baking chocolate. One of them had been a professional chef in Paris prior to joining the Peace Corps.

Becky and Melissa produced mixed the dough, while Clint and I broke up the chocolate.

End result, some delicious if unusual cookies and some priceless getting-to-know-you time with Clint and Melissa.

So many grapes, so little wine

2012-09-22T07:44:00.000-07:00

On Teachers' Day (September 10, 2012) I went with one of my Chinese counterpart teachers Fan Bo (one of my best Chinese friends here) and his family and some fellow teachers to pick grapes. It turns out China grows a lot of grapes, but the grape wine industry is just in its infancy, to my consternation. A grassy sauvignon blanc and some la ji rou? Yes, please.

We drove about an hour outside of Zunyi to a large grape farm. The grapes are grown under greenhouse-like tarps and the ripe grapes are protected from insects and the elements by paper bag covers.

"Picking" involved sampling the different types of grapes grown at the farm, eating lunch at the farmer's home, walking among the grape vines, and then playing mahjong for a few hours while grapes were loaded in boxes for us to take home. So, no rustic experience, but, rather, it was something more akin to a wine tasting tour. I'm not complaining.

The many children along for the day could not resist the piles of drying chiles and peanuts on the farmer's front "yard." Piles are to play with, right? The farmer's wife had something to say about it.

After the outing we had dinner in Zunyi and played mahjong until late. Beijiu? Perhaps.

Here are some photos of the excursion:

And now for something completely different (to eat)...

2012-09-22T07:13:00.000-07:00

Tonight I met my site mate Becky and the manager of the Dove School for coffee and dinner.

The cappuccino was a latte, but it was made with good espresso.

The restaurant was Grandma's Kitchen in the old city of Zunyi.
Dinner at was good, but unusual: potato soup that you might find in an American truck stop diner, soup beef with college-fare ramen noodles, and a "mixed dish" probably of northern provenance that included the most unusual food I have eaten to date: cow hooves.
Boiled, they have the texture and taste of the fungus that grows on bamboo roots.
Not at all unpleasant, but they tasted better before I knew what they were.

Ill-informed American

2012-09-19T05:07:00.000-07:00

My usual student showed up at his usual time for his English lesson.

But the session wasn't as usual.

In the past, he barely spoke. Today, we spoke for over an hour. The subject was the recent conflict between China and Japan.

We also spoke of recent anti-American protests in countries around the globe because of a slight to Islam, and of the American presidential campaign.

I have no opinion to share on these matters, but there were two mini-revelations during our time together.

First, patriotic feelings can stir within me from time to time.

Second, I am completely ignorant of Chinese history. I know a few important details, but neither me nor my education has taught me much about China. How could I not know that September 18 is at least as important to Chinese/Japanese history as September 11 is to American history?

Anyway, the chaos of the past week makes more sense now that I've been schooled.

One first of many

2012-09-17T05:22:00.002-07:00

Today was the first day I taught at Zunyi Normal College.

What a day.

The students are startlingly enthusiastic.

It warms the heart
and puts a buoyancy beneath the Peace Corps purpose for me here in Zunyi.

...many pictures and recaps of amazing experiences to follow, I'm sure.

Wo shi Guizhou-ren!

2012-08-09T07:59:00.002-07:00

Today is was one of the pivotal days in a Peace Corps China Trainee's experience:

Site Announcements!!!

We all gathered at Sichuan University this morning for a health session (how not to get avian flu, schistosomiasis, dengue fever, and malaria).

I'm guessing there will be a few cases of schisto this year among the group. The excitement sparked by the impending site announcements dulled our usual bear-trap attentions.

Announcements came next.

Peace Corps China works in three provinces and one independent municipality: Sichuan, Guizhou, Gansu, and Chongqing. All China volunteers teach English and other subjects at Chinese universities. The site managers were all waiting to hand out colored folders containing our site information. Yellow for Sichaun, Green for Chongqing, Blue for Guizhou, and Pink for Gansu.

The trainees from Sichuan Normal East got the excitement going with a dance routine to the Jackson Five's "ABC."

Alyssa gave the go ahead and the site managers handed out the folders.

Mine...dun, dun, dun...Guizhou! Zunyi, Guizhou! Zunyi Teacher's College.

http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Zunyi

My site mate is Becky from Ohio.

There will be the only two volunteers at the university. Two China 16s (a married couple) just left.

After some serious sharing with our friends, we headed to a session orienting us to the new site.

Guizhou is southeast of Sichuan, and is a fairly mountainous province. Many rivers and caves. The population is, on average, quite poor. It is the third poorest province in China. Because of this, it can be difficult to attract foreign teachers, so it is heartening to know that what we will do at our universities is work that really needs to be done and that can have a lasting impact. The region contains very large minority populations. My students will be struggling to speak English.

Overall, it is a politically conservative region. Mao Zedung took control of the Communist Party in Zunyi (my city!), Guizhou.

The climate is more mild there, with cool-ish summers and warm winters. The largest waterfall in China is in Guizhou. Most importantly, the food is excellent. Less oily and slightly less spicy than in Sichuan. I will miss the hua jiao! Lots of fresh vegetables and bean, pork, beef, chicken, and, yes, dog.

Besides Becky, my province mates include: Rachel, Maria and Nick in Tongren, Jason K and Kateri in Bijie, Morgan and Claire in Duyun, Shree in Kaili, Alex and Trevor in Lupanshui, and Russ, Melissa, Dan, Aaron, McKinley, Mike, and Kelly in Guiyang.

My Chinese Host Family

2012-08-06T04:07:00.003-07:00

No clever title here, as this is serious gratitudinal business.

These past few weeks, I have been staying with a Chinese family, who has given me a place to stay, fed me delicious food, and taken me on some great outings in Sichaun (more on these later).

The Peace Corps host family modes is such that the volunteer is usually the "son" or "daughter." This seems apt, given how new I am to the culture here, even though I am nearly as old as my host "mother" and "father" and old enough to be my host "sisters" father.

Mother: Huan He (43, a university English teacher at Sichuan Normal University)
Father: Yan Cun Jian (45, a university Geography/GIS professor at SNU)
Sister: Yan De Fei aka Fei Fei (a 14 year old student and Gu Zheng player)

My blogger profile picture includes the family, but here they are again:

My training site is Sichuan Normal University (Sichaun shifan daxue), between the second and third ring roads. It's not downtown, but still relatively urban. You can find more information about it here: http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Sichuan_Normal_University

Chengdu is a fascinating city as well--ancient, but developing and expanding day by day.
http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Chengdu

The Missing Week OR Why to Keep a Journal

2012-07-06T04:11:00.000-07:00

The next week is spotty.

My journaling efforts took a break from July 6 to July 13. And, only a few weeks later, I am having trouble remembering what I did.

Lesson 1: keep a journal.

Lesson 2: sometimes you're too busy or overwhelmed to keep a journal.

Lesson 3: being in the moment is always more important than remembering what you've done.

A little like a blackout, I do remember certain moments:

I spent a great weekend with my host family.
My host mother had to grade thousands of final English exams, so she was away during the day and had to return late. This gave my some bonding time with host dad. We got to make lunch together over the weekend.

A moment of cultural exchange occurred when he set a potato in front of me and said, "You cook this." Potatoes are very popular in Sichuan, so I am not sure if this was coincidence or that he knows of Americans' love of the spud. Not knowing what to do or how to cook with a wok, I sliced up the potato along with some onion and fried it in oil and soy sauce. The dish (basically, home fries) was a hit. With the innumerable vegetable combinations in Sichuanese cooking, I was surprised that that of potato and onion was a revelation.

The kitchen is very small, so after enduring my presence a few times, host dad began to tell me "you take rest" every time he was about to cook! There end, so far, my Chinese cooking lessons.

We went for (very) long walks after dinner. Great exericise. Unfortunately, as the days went on I became too busy with studying for such long walks.

I developed a friendship with the ice cream vendor near our apartment. Even so, I've been losing weight since I arrived in China. The healthiness of the diet is not thwarted even by my best ice-creamy-goodness attempts.

The first couple days, my host family walked me to and from class. I remember a very nice dinner with Fei Fei (my host sister) after class the first day.

Other than this, my first week of pre-service training is really a blur!

I got to know my fellow SNU trainees. Friendships forged during orientation grew, but but not necessarily at the same pace after I moved to a new location. Of course, a few came with me to SNU, and new friendships have developed since with my SNU group.

Most of all, I remember the training:
4-6 hours of Mandarin study each day
TEFL sessions on Classroom Management, Student Assessment, Semester Planning, Lesson Planning
Sessions on Volunteer Diversity, Common Peace Corps Volunteer Health Problems, Sexual Assault Awareness.
Interviews with the Peace Corps Medical Officers
Interviews with Site Managers
AND MORE SHOTS!!!

Signing off tonight with some real entertainment...

At the end of our first week of language class, we had a more light-hearted session during which we learned a Chinese folk song...and then improvised some modern dance to go with it (???).

Hello, Mai Junhao

2012-07-02T05:56:00.000-07:00

All of the bags arrived in Chengdu. All of the bags for seventy-three volunteers arrived on time. All of the bags, with a combined weight of approximately 7,300 lbs. and containing two years worth of stuff for seventy-three people, arrived with us in Chengdu via Tokyo and Bangkok.

I am always surprised by the efficiency of air travel.

We arrived at Sichuan University (Beiyuan Hotel) in Chengdu on the afternoon of 2 July, disoriented, but ready for orientation.

It was a blitz of information and activity, but to be brief it consisted of:

safety, health, and security briefings

introduction to Peace Corps in China

speech from a Chinese education minister

speech from head of the Chengdu US Consulate

medical interview

dress code and appearance briefings (no sarongs, sandals, beards, or tattoos)

getting money (living allowance; we don't get paid)

a banquet with the Peace Corps staff (no baijiu!)

cultural sessions

language study

getting our photos taken

SHOTS (rabies, Japanese encephalitis, hepatitis, meningitis and more!)

homestay orientation

introduction to Teaching English as a Second Language

received medical kits

got our Chinese names

training site announcements

meeting our host families

Here's the full schedule, if you're the detail type:

(Yes, I found coffee in China, and then spilled it on my training schedule.)

Henceforth, my name in China is Mai(4th tone) Jun(1st tone) hao (2nd tone), but my friends call me Jason McFarland. The name means something like "proud ruler." I haven't been able to get a precise answer yet. It's a bit pretentious for my taste, but I like the way it sounds. I think these are the characters:

麦君豪

On Tuesday after we finished getting our photos taken, Kevin M., Katie F., Aaron M., Paul S. and I took a walk to the river near campus (quite a grand river), desperately hot and thirsty. So thirsty and naive, in fact, that we paid 25 yuan each for several bottles of Carlsberg beer. We discovered soon after that the normal price for a bottle of beer is about 7 yuan or less.

But, damn, it was worth every red Mao.

On the way back, someone had to pee. I won't mention any names. The signs to the public toilet led nowhere, however, so a restaurant had to suffice.

When we got back to campus we took a little break and gathered again with a few more people to go to hotpot--very famous in Sichaun. Think giant fondue with chopsticks and mysterious pieces of animal. It's actually delectable. Oil, chili, salt to perfection.

Ordering was a fun fiasco. The staff was excited to help us through the ordeal.

Two KTV (karaoke) bars are near SU. Cheap beer is at the 7-11 down the block. Party.

There's much more to tell, but, in sum, it was exhausting and exhilarating, lonely and filled with new friends, disorienting while increasing my focus.

We got to know the neighborhood around SU pretty well during these few days, our first days as Trainees.

Here are some of the photos:

Woman meditating near the river

Chinese dryers

Aaron, Preetam, Avi

SU Stadium

Campus greenery

Campus street

Front of the Beiyuan Hotel

Restaurant alley near our hotel

Another favorite restaurant alley outside SU

The neighborhood 7-11. Beers on the 4th of July.

Melissa and Anne having lunch with our language/culture facilitator Zou Peng.
M, A, me, and Marty comprised my first language training group.
Note the miniature chairs. It turns out squatting comes in handy in all sorts of circumstances in China.
I'm more flexible already!

The Longest Trip to China

2012-06-30T05:56:00.000-07:00

30 June-2 July: Los Angeles to Tokyo to Bangkok to Chengdu

During our orientation I volunteered to be a group leader. In brief, this meant that I was responsible for making sure a dozen or so other trainees (we are not officially volunteers until we are sworn in after two months of training) made in to the flight on time. Had I checked my itinerary more closely I would have realized this meant three flights, but I'm a relaxed traveler.

74 trainees to start. By the time we left LA we were down to 73.

The Peace Corps staff bid us adieu at the hotel and we departed LAX at 1 P.M., having waited in line to check our bags since 8 A.M. The transport of our luggage all the way to Chengdu seemed anything but certain.

During my travels for work I had become accustomed to business class, or, at the very least, economy plus with an aisle seat. I also have a trick lower back that has caused me serious trouble every couple of years. Sitting for long periods of time and not being able to get up often to walk and stretch = trouble. But Peace Corps is not a business class kind of outfit and shouldn't be, so I was up for whatever came my way. I was praying for an aisle seat in economy, however. No go. Eleven hours to Tokyo, where we changed planes, and 7 more hours to Bangkok in the middle of the plane.

We overnighted in Bangkok at what is certainly the primo Best Western on earth. Unfortunately, we arrived at midnight and departed at 6 A.M. for our 4-hour 10:30 A.M. flight to Chengdu, so no trips downtown for the legendary fun. "Dinner" consisted of bar snacks and a glass of California chardonnay with Katie F. and Jeremy. It was at this hotel that I realized, with some relief, that many fellow trainees had not heeded Peace Corps recommendation to quit smoking. Real people.

My roommate here and when we arrived in Chengdu was Aaron Meadows. A tall, thoughtful, athletic guy about 15 years my junior. We got on well. He's also already fairly fluent in Mandarin. I mention my roommates because during this kind of tumultuous (yet thrilling) experience, these people are instant friends, people I'll always remember.

The Bangkok airport was well-appointed. After everyone successfully made it through check-in and security (two in my group overslept, but I'm not going to mention any names; Euro-cup finals kept several people up into the wee hours), we divided and conquered for one last American vice. Mine was a venti iced coffee.

Chine, here we come!

(Bangkok airport; Peace Corps waiting at the gate)

Departure Day

2012-06-29T11:00:00.000-07:00

A year-long application process finished, check
Getting my life in order so that I could be away for two years, check
Finishing up my ESL teaching, check

(LanguageEtc in Washington, DC)

One last academic conference to make secure some connections, check

(CTSA in St. Louis)

Quality time with friends and family pre-departure, check

(A trip home for my sister's dental school graduation at the University of Minnesota-Twin Cities)

(A week with the parents in Washington and Annapolis)

(A long weekend in Rehoboth with Brian, Neal, and Mike)

(A drive to Pittsburgh to see my friend Ed)

29 July: Washington Dulles to Los Angeles for a day of registration and orientation at the LAX Radisson
I was thrilled to be making a start to the two years, and I finally got to meet my fellow China 18s (the 18th group of volunteers to serve in China) -- in particular, my first roommate Jason McConnell, a novice guitar player redhead from the South overflowing with personality.
Prior to departure I had to shave my beard (China Peace Corps requires you to be clean shaven), which I had sported for several years. ...another discombobulation to add to the list.

That evening some went down to the beach for dinner and others stayed at the hotel. I opted for one last burger and a glass of good wine at the hotel bar.