Happy Birthday to my daughter Annelise!! July 29

Gentle Reader,

 

A very happy birthday to my daughter Annelise who turns 14 today!  It's hard to believe she is well into her teenage years.  She is filled with the joy of living and is always willing to try new adventures.  She worked very hard at school this past year, making the Honor Roll every quarter.  In April, Ms. Criiswell awarded her the Student of the Month honor.  I love watching Annelise move through the hallways at school, practically skipping from class to class, with her hair swooshing away behind her.  At home, she dances and sings all day long, often listening to Glee songs on YouTube.  She is a great dinner prep partner in the kitchen, too.

 

I am sorry to miss her actual birthday celebration today, but my thoughts are with her.  I gave her a call a few minutes ago, for in China she is already 14 years old!  Wishing you a year filled with many new adventures, dear Annelise!

 

Today at school, we are showing Freedom Writers... as part of our sharing of American Culture on Friday mornings.  My students are also working on a production of Rumplestilskin, which we will perform for the other three classes on Tuesday. 

 

Today, too, we take off for yet another weekend journey.  We will be travelling to an ancient Dong Village, somewhere in the southeast of Guizhou Province. We will be van-bound for many hours, I think.  Not sure what our accomodations will be, for this is moving into a very remote area.  I had hoped to have some homestays, but it doesn't appear this will happen.  We are scheduled to visit the largest Drum Tower in the world, which should be amazing.  Hoping to shop in some Dong marketplaces, too.  By the way, China has 55 minority groups, with Dong being one of the largest.  Forty-eight of the minority groups are exclusevely in this province.  There are many Miao, Dong, etc... villages in the southern part of the province. 

 

I will have no internet access for the next three days, so I bid you all a wonderful weekend.

 

Happy, happy birthday, dear Annelise!!!

 

Namaste,

Marianne/ Bai Ling

Title of Blog Entry: Li has arrived from Foshan City! July 22

Gentle Reader,

 

 Right now, we are enjoying a somewhat leisurely Sunday morning, catching up on the blog, responding to student journals, eating our peanut butter and bread breakfast, and maybe playing a little Tai Chi before we shower and kickstart the afternoon adventures.  Did I mention that we ran out of breakfast peanut butter a few days ago?  When we asked for more, the man who delivers our liquid yogurt each morning copied down the name on the peanut butter jar.  The next day we were given two jars of Kewpee Mayonaise, which we have no idea what to do with.  If we were in the city, our breakfast would surely be spicy noodles from one of the street stalls.  Since we are out here in the lockdown compound, we muddle along with peanut butter, bread, and the occasional very juicy apple.  Scott has taken to making peanut butter sandwiches with a slab of Dove chocolate.

Update... Li, one of Scott's Chinese Dudes from the 2008-09 academic year, arrived on Friday afternoon.  He travelled from Foshan City, which is very near Guangzhou.  He came through Hunan Province, his home area, and then over to Guizhou Province, where we are.  By train, it took him 21 hours. He didn't even look all battered and bruised when he arrived and was actually eager for some exploration of Guiyang, the big city about 30 minutes away by bus.  He got a grand amount of giggles out of seeing us on the massively crowded buses here in Guiyang.  Once we arrived in the city, we found a reasonable hotel for him and then proceeded to trot all over town, exploring along the way. 

 

One of the oddest finds was a very large video game establishment, which clearly brought out the "inner boy" in both Li and Scott.  They raced cars, played shoot 'em up games, and generally had an absolute blast with this video bonding.  The place was packed, largely with males, but there were some females racing cars and doing the Dance Dance Revolution kinds of games.  There was also a drum set front and center when you enter the shop.  This, too, was set up like Dance Dance Revolution, with a rapid scroll of drumming patterns geared to a combination of drums in the actual drum set.  Lots of loud Lady Ga Ga music, along with many other popular American songs blared through the place.  Another curious fact about this video game wonderland was that there were "no smoking" signs posted everywhere, but no one enforced this rule at all.

 

We ended up eating at a sit-down restaurant, which was relatively fancy compared to the other restaurants we've visited thus far.  Had a marble staircase with a white grand player piano in the lobby, which seemed a bit out of place.  Li ordered, wanting to try some local specialties, as this is his first time in Guiyang.  We had the following:  a slivered root vegetable dish that was pickled, pastry BBQ rolls, venison meat with peppers, dry fried tofu with sauce and spice rub, and sparrows legs in a BBQ sauce with hot red peppers. Okay, I've never been a fan of pickled anything, the tofu smelled horrific and tasted worse, and the sparrows legs were actually a bit tasty after you gnawed around the little bird's bones.  Overall, not one of my favorite meals.  Li wasn't even that impressed, as he likes much hotter food, being from Hunan Province.  Scott will try anything and everything, and he wasn't that keen on the dinner, either.  I ended up eating a bowl of rice laden with some of the sauce from the tofu... along with lots of green tea. 

 

We found another coffee shop, amongst the many tea shops.  Li wanted to take us there because he knows firsthand of Scott's penchant for coffee.  He also told us that a place like this coffee shop, with several little self-contained sitting areas, is often used to conduct business with clients in China.  I had an iced latte, Scott had Venitian coffee, and Li had a coffee with two sugar cubes soaked in brandy and then set on fire!

 

Li, like my former students and Tian, came laden with gifts.  Several types of snack foods for us to try, like pineapple cookies and dried cherries.  He also had a calligraphy scroll especially made for Scott, which has his name on it in Chinese characters, as well as a Chinese saying which translates "welcome to all friends from many places around the world."  It is absolutely beautiful, and Scott was very touched by this beautiful gesture. 

 

Wishing you a day filled with friends that you hold close... and time to make many new memories, as we are doing here in Guiyang with both new and treasured friends.

 

Namaste,

Bai ling

 

A Student's Writing

Gentle Reader,

 

Sharing bits and pieces of American culture is one aspect of the teaching here.  To do so, we show a few American films while we are here, with English subtitles.  Last week we showed Fly Away Home, which is a marvelous film that is minimally taxing of the students' receptive language skills because the dialogue is spread between visual scenes. 

 

One of the writing options I gave the students, based on themes in the film, was to write about a person in their life who believed in them and had faith in their abilities/dreams.  Many, not surprisingly, wrote about inspirational teachers in their lives.  Several wrote about people who encouraged them when they had failed the college entrance exams the first time around.  Some wrote about parents or siblings who stood by them in difficult times.  I have several students from the countryside, so the one-child law is not as strictly enforced in the farming communities.

 

Here is a sample of a writing from one of my students.... Lily.

 

      "Be proud of what you do," my father told me when I was 15.  I got a summer job in a factory.  I was told that my duties would include cleaning roads and toilets.  I smiled and remembered dad's words.  Even though my job was the lowest, it made me feel excited.  I saw it as a challenge because it was my first job.  I learned to be on time and tried to do everything well.  I was treated with respect by workers.  Each morning, I started cleaning roads and toilets.  Though I was tired, I wanted the job to be done well.   People would say, "That young girl really does a good job."  That gave me a pride.

 

     Working in the factory taught me that being proud of one's job is important.  It does not matter whether the job is cleaning roads and toilets or others.  My father's words have always stayed with me.  I have cleaned roads and toilets, and I have been a teacher.  I think Dad would be proud of me and inspires me to do my best.

 

 

 

 

 

Fun and Learning Games in Class July 19

Gentle Reader,

 

In today's class we introduced the FlySwatter Game, which is a trademark of the Summer Language Institute here in Guizhou.  After discussing several pairs of opposites, some with sophisticated vocabulary, we launched into the review game.  This consists of my writing several of the words on the chalkboard, breaking the students into two teams, and then having them "swat" with word that is the opposite of the one I announce.

 

 

Students were immediately energized and competed ferociously for points for their team.  They shouted out answers for the person who held the flyswatter and jockeyed for the best position to swat the correct word.  There was a great debate over the scoring , all done in Chinese, so I had no idea what the controversy was about.

 

We also did some rousing choruses of "Down on Grandpa's Farm" and "The Hokey Pokey."  The students all have their Chinese/English dictionaries out, and they were perplexed that "hokey pokey" was not listed. 

 

We also had an enlightening discussion of what makes a good teacher today, followed by a reading of Robert Fulgram's introduction to "Everything I Need to Know I Learned in Kindergarten."   They were very touched by the simplicity of the piece, and how what matters crosses over international boundaries.

 

So, Gentle Reader, I wish you a day with time and space for milk and cookies.  I hope you always remember that LOOK is one of the most important words.  And I hope you walk through life holding the hand of someone you love...

 

Namaste,

Bai Ling

Best Day Ever!!! Chinese Teachers from Bijie 2008 come to visit me!!!!

Gentle Readers,

 

There are really no words to express how very moved I was with the events of today...  I will try.

 

Three of my old students, from when I taught here the summer of 2008, came to visit me in Jin Yang today!!!!  When we parted three summers ago, we all assumed that we would probably never see one another again... even though we went through the polite motions of saying farewell until we meet again.  Della, Anthony, and William, through their connections on QQ (which is sort of the Chinese version of our Facebook), arranged to travel great distances to meet with me in Jin Yang today.  They had journeyed through complicated bus and train routes to get here from Bijie and towns much further into the countryside. 

Della could not even speak when we first saw one another, so we both just hugged and cried.  Anthony brought his little son, Tony, and his wife with him, too.  William now wears a wedding band and has a one year old son.  Della also brought her boyfriend to meet with us.

 

As is Chinese custom, they came bearing gifts.  Lots of "sugars" from Anthony and his family.  Lovely individually wrapped cakes from Della.  And a special present Scott and I were told to open together at home... which was a musical snow globe which played "Moonlight Sonata" with two bears in a boat, to celebrate our relationship.

 

Since all of them had spent a great many hours on public transportation to get here, we decided to just walk over to Jin Yang and have dinner together, rather than haul all of us into Guiyang.  Everyone was excited to meet Scott, as they knew about him through various emails over the last two years.  They treated us to dinner, insisting on paying because we are honored guests in their country.  We had fish, dumplings, a cabbagy soup, a chicken dish with red chile peppers, a beef and vegetable dish, and some greens.  The rice came in a wooden bucket, and there were many toasts of Gambay to welcome us back to China.  And although Anthony offered us to fish head to eat, we deferred to him and wished him the good luck the fish head was supposed to provide.

 

One of the most startling things to learn was that they remembered so much of what I had taught them three summers ago... even some obscure songs!  Anthony has fond memories of playing Mother Pig in our version of The Three Little Pigs.  We reminisced about learning to play mahjong in the boys' dormitory by candlelight and cell phone light, because the electricity had gone out again. They remembered giving me the Chinese name Bai Ling... and how that was the very first time they had ever voted for anything.  No one had ever asked their opinion about anything before that naming. And we laughed a lot together.

 

Saying farewell was very difficult. You know, I never thought I would see Della, Anthony, or William again, once we said goodbye in 2008.  And today, though their collaborative efforts, they show up at Guiyang Number One High School laden with gifts and a desire to take Scott and I out to dinner. Della referred to our meeting as "the beautiful hour" in her email prior to her

 arrival.   Life doesn't get much better than this...

 

Namaste,

Bai Ling

Valentine's Day Vocabulary and Love/Leave Letters

 

Gentle Reader,

 

A part of our being with our Chinese students here in Guiyang is sharing some American culture with them.  This week, we talked a bit about how Americans celebrate Valentine's Day.  In addition, I gave students vocabualry surrounding the holiday, dividing the words into nouns, verbs, and adjectives...  as a strategy to ease learning.  After we discussed 9 new words, I asked students to use as many of the new words as they could in one of two ways:  in a love letter OR in a Dear John sort of rejection letter.  The results were astonishingly fun!  One of the groups even chose to act out their "Dear John" letter!

 

Here are two samples...

 

Dear David,

 

i couldn't forget the time we spent with each other when we fell in love.  I couldn't forget your warm embrace and caress.  Than you for giving me a beautiful memory.

 

But... distance is a very terrible thing for us.  It makes us beloved to each other, at the same time, it also can hurt us.

 

I really can't bear the pain of missing you.

 

I have to tell you the truth.  Last week, I met a beau in a bar.  He is very handsome and infatuated with me.  It's really hard to refuse, because he is so passionate and kind to me.  We try to flirt with each other the first time we met.  I do believe that we will make a romantic romance in the future. 

 

Hope you find your angel soon!

 

Bye bye!

 

Yours,

Louise

 

 

********************************************************

 

My Beau,

 

Here is the best valentine I've ever written to my beau.  I am infatuated with you.  And I think we will have the best romance for our coming children.

 

Every night before I sleep, I want you to caress my face gently and embrace each other all night long.

 

I'll never forgethe first time I met you in the cafe.  You sat there and read a book silently.  That will be the most vivid picture in my mind forever.  You must know that was not an accident that I bumped into your table.  i just wanted to flirt with you and luckily, we attracted each other and fell in love.

 

My beau, I wish that you'll be passionate about me as well as our love forever.  I will always be a loved  woman of yours.  On of the happiest women in the world.

 

Love,

Sophia

Phenomenal Woman/Man Poems

Gentle Reader,

 

One of the authors I love to share with my students here in China is Maya Angelou.  We read "Phenomenal Woman" together in class, and then I asked them to create their own Phenomenal Man/Woman poem.  This was homework, so when they returned the next day I had the students share their poetry with one another in small groups.  After that, one volunteer from each small group read their creation to the class.  Hearing their poetry was a "phenomenal" experience...  

 

Here is a sampling of what they wrote...

 

Phenomenal Woman

                       by Vivi

 

Have you heard a voice echoing in your mind

Like an angel's whisper?

have you seen a smile flashing in your heart

Like a sunflower's blossom.

Open your eyes.

It's not in heaven.

 

Have you noticed such a girl, indeed,

   standing in front of you?

She is always staring at you with her elegant expression.

Her lovely appearance reveals some informations.

Can you feel them?

 

She is vigorous to her career.

And is insistent on her ideal.

she is versatile in her taste.

And is independent from her life.

Wherever she passes by, the cloud will have a silver lining.

That's right!

She is the angel

and she is the sun flower.

She hopes to spread the happy seeds

into the inner world of yours.

Her name is Vivi.

 

****************************************************************************

 

Phenomenal Woman

                  by Tina

 

I'm a woman

Phenomenally

Phenomenal woman.

 

The bright of my eyes

the mischievous of my face.

The sexy of my lips.

That's me.

 

I walk on the street

Most people look at me.

The admire me and walk

around me.

i raise my head

straighten my back

hem and how

dance lightly.

 

Oh, I'm a woman

A phenomenal woman.

 

Gentlemen wanted to know

What they see in me.

They tried to do so

but they failed.

I put myself into the heart deeply.

The mysterious of my behavior

the self-respect

the special of my style.

 

Now you know

Why I raise my head,

straighten my back,

hem and haw,

dance lightly.

 

I just want to say

cause I'm a woman.

Phenomenally

Phenomenal woman.

That's me.

 

 

******************************************************************************

 

Popular Girl

       by Hatty

 

People around me wonder why

I'm so enthusiastic.

Because I'm a rural girl

and it's just the character

of our rural people.

 

Old friends wonder why I can

live better and better.

It's just because my hard work

I spent more free time to learn.

 

My students wonder shy I'm so energetic.

It's just because active spirit

can bring them good influence

and confidence.

And I want to be the model of them.

 

I'm a girl.

A common looking girl

with a strong heart.

 

That's me.

A girl who likes doing sports to keep healthy

A girl who likes reading to open my eyes.

 

That's me.

People around me like to be

my friends.

Because I'm so honest.

 

**************************************************************************

 

Phenomenal Me

                   by Sophia

 

 

The smile of my lips

the confidence of my eyes

The kindness of my heart.

I'm a woman.

A phenomenal woman

That's me.

 

i stand in front of you

Just as the breeze in summer.

And to a man

the fellows stand

or fall down on their knees.

Then they walk towards me

like stars admire the light of the sun.

 

I say

It's the joy on my face

and the intelligence of my words

The flutter of my dress

And the consideration of my behaviors.

 

I'm a woman

A phenomenal woman.

That's me.

 

***********************************************************************

 

 

Guilin Adventures cont... Bamboo Raft Excursion

Gentle Reader...

Ok... so we had seen several gentlemen guiding their very narrow bamboo rafts along the Li River, oftentimes delivering vegetables to the shore or to the cruise boats.  Now we had an opportunity to ride down the river on a bamboo raft with a paddle man as our companion.

Sad to say, being larger than the average Chinese person, Scott and I were not able to be on the same bamboo raft.  This caused me a brief moment of internal dietary angst, but I let those troubles float on down the river and decided to simply enjoy the ride.  Our paddle men spoke no English, but we communicated just beautifully with them after Scott ordered them one beer ... and then another beer.  We even pulled off into one of the center aisles, sharing a lot of "Gambay" and beer and peanuts in their shells.

Note to readers:  Beer in China is extremely light and laden with very little alcohol.  Although it is less popular than tea, on a hot day on a bamboo raft ride, it becomes a refreshing drink.  Moutai is the very strong alcohol here, and we haven't seen anyone drinking it this time in China.  There used to be a lot of toasting with Gambay (bottoms up) at the opening and closing ceremonies, but this year Moutai was not a part of the ceremony. We were told that the Moutai is now up to $230 a bottle, which explains why we don't see it being consumed at all.

It's delightful how much we all enjoyed each other's company with almost no intelligible words in common between us.  The two paddle men even rolled homegrown tobacco and gave some to Scott.  It was an afternoon filled with communion and laughter. 

We also noticed that many young couple were on the bamboo rafts.  The young women would often move to the very front of the raft, posing in sensuous and provocative ways for their boyfriends who were taking "glamour" shots of their beloved.   Again, much laughter and shared good time!

 Beautful, memorable day!!!!