China 2011

Guizhou Summer Language Institute

Welcome to this journey...

"...Throw your soul through every open door..."

-Adele, singer

"...To make a great dream come true, the first requirement is a great capacity to dream; the second is persistence..."

-Cesar Chavez

June 1, 2011

...And so here I am, beginning a new journey. My learning of the Summer Language Institute in China began back in 2008, with a conversation at a table in LATTICE.  So many stretchings of the imagination and wisdom begin with a conversation at a table in LATTICE, and I am forever grateful to Sally McClintock for having the vision to begin such an adventure. 

Last time I was in China, in the summer of 2008, I shared the teaching assignment in Beije with Nancy Lubinski.  She was the Monkey Queen, and I was dubbed the Monkey Princess.  She kept me hydrated and sane, reminding me that "we are not in Kansas anymore, " and I was her human alarm clock and kept her stocked in Coca-Colas every morning and cold beers at lunch. 

I remember driving into Beije, which was under massive construction, during a thunderous downpour.  People were sloshing around in mud almost up to their knees... and I wondered what in the world I had gotten myself into this time.  We had to find an old Chinese guy in the basement apartment to get some cooking oil to negotiate the stuck lock on my old Peace Corps apartment.  And then when we began to converse once in my new living quarters, a swarm of mosquitos flew into my mouth. I thought the wallpaper was black and white speckled; as it turns out, the walls were completely covered with mosquitos.  Yes, I had begun my regimine of malaria pills, as advised.

We discovered that the water went out every few days, for days at a time.  Same situation with the electricity.  So, when the water was working, I engaged in a frenzy of laundry and water collection in every container I could find.  It's amazing how little water one actually needs to take a shower.  Squat toilets were the norm, even in the apartment, so I developed a fear of rats as well as excrutiatingly strong leg muscles. 

Amidst all the physical living, I met my students.  And I have never been the same.  I was scared to death of a three hour block of classes.  I was accustomed to 55 minutes with my middle schoolers, and then I bid them farewell until the next day.  However, after the first day with my students, who were Chinese Elementary School teachers, I realized that the three hours is a beautiful moment in time and is refreshingly workable and vibrant.  The students didn't even want to take a break at the halfway point, as their engagement was that powerful.  They inspired me every single day with their determination, their willingness to try new approaches to learning, and their contagious sense of humor.  I am certain that I learned more from them than they learned from me.  Mostly, they embraced me, made me truly feel at home.  We became learners and friends together.

And so this summer, three years later, I'm returning with a whole new group of folks... but with Bill and Ledong as the leaders once again.  I cannot thank Bill for his faith and confidence in me, his believing in me when I doubted myself.  This year, I will be working in the capitol city Guiyang.  This is a vast change from my remote placment last time around.  For many years, teachers for this program have worked out of the Number One Middle School in Guiyang; however, we recently learned that this middle school has been razed.  A beautiful new city park will eventully replace the school.  Our teaching site will be in Jinyang, which is the new city center.  The living and working conditions there are reported to be excellent, and there is a new road from old Guiyang to new Guiyang which will allow us to get back and forth in about 15 minutes. 

Truthfully, I was a bit saddened that I was not placed at a remote site again this summer.  Despite the crazy hardships of daily living out in Biejie, I actually ended up enjoying the challenges.  I discovered a great deal about who I was as a person while living in Biejie. 

I will be working with a new teaching partner this time around:  Dr. Scott Vander Ploeg, my significant other.  Scott and I met two summers ago on a Fulbright to Turkey.  Our courtship was largely conducted in a very hot and smelly van, and we spent hours and hours just talking and getting to know one another.  We have presented our Turkish adventures in Turkey to various groups in East Lansing and Madisonville, Kentucky...even to my middle schoolers.  This is the first time we will actually be teaching together, and it is a journey that I am very excited about.  This is a think-on-your-feet kind of teaching, and we will have the wonderful opportunity to process and plan every evening.  Truly, it is the very best and most ideal kind of teaching, as feedback and processing is immediate and meaningful.  I look forward to this kind of cooperative, collaborative venture with Scott. 

Another couple will also be working with us in Guiyang:  Deanna and Clarence.  We've met them three times already, during our planning sessions at Oakland University this past winter and spring.  They are veterans of the Guiyang site, and we plan to pick their brains on a regular basis. 

And so today, I will end with a Chinese Proverb, which embodies much of what we try to do when teaching and learning together in China:

"... I hear, and I forget.  I see, and I remember.  I do, and I understand." 

Namaste,

Marianne/  Bai Ling