Children's Day

By Ruth
This morning Kevin and I were the special guests at a primary school outside Weinan. Today is Children's Day, and one of my students had asked us to come to the school she works at on the weekends. They were having a special celebration and could we come sing songs and play games with 100 children?

This morning we piled into a van to begin the bumpy “1 hour” trip to Dali, a small town which is actually at least an hour and a half away. It's funny, because things always take longer than expected, always, but for some reason I still set out thinking, “One hour.” I never learn.

When we walked in the small school building, a group of students sat inside the door, staring at us interestedly through their makeup and costumes. “Later they will perform for you!” my student said. She said they told the students to come at 9:30am (about when we arrived), but many of them were so excited they had arrived at 7:30am. “They hadn't even eaten breakfast! We tried to get them to go back home and eat, but they didn't want to miss anything.”

[Waiting Eagerly]

We went upstairs to where the students were waiting, crowded around the walls of a small room. It looked like less than 100, but then they were all pretty small and sitting very close together. The headmaster said there were 90 students at the school, and I doubt any of them missed our visit.

We started with B-I-N-G-O, which some of them already knew. Actually, when we started singing, “There was a farmer had a dog...” they all cried out “EI-EI-O!” So later we sang that song as well. We did Hokey-Pokey, Simon Says, Ten in a Bed, and some other songs, with my student helping to translate the instructions for the students. If nothing else, they loved to do the actions and shout out the words they could remember. After about half an hour, my student said, “Okay, we can take a break and watch their performance.” Two groups of little girls came and danced, first a Chinese dance and then a cha-cha. They were all decked out and mostly very serious, quite good for 8-12 year olds.

Then it was time for more games and songs, another half hour until I ran out of items on my list. I was pretty tired by that point, from all the singing and shouting and jumping up and down. The students then began to process up with little gifts for us – pictures and cards they had drawn, paper-folded shapes and animals – it was really quite cute. Then they gathered round for group pictures with us before being sent off.

And seven hours later, we were back. Naptime!

 [The little girl in orange I just thought was too cute!]

 [This little boy is holding the folded paper bird he made for us.]

[One of the classes getting arranged for picture time with the foreigners.]

Keys to a Healthy Pregnancy: The China Guide

by Ruth
Our student Kiki was admiring the little bouncy baby seat she helped us buy from taobao.com (sort of like a Chinese Amazon). “In China, we don't have seats like these. We don't put the baby down.” She said when her mother was alone and trying to get something done, she didn't know what to do with Kiki because she had no where to put her. So she put her in the washing machine to hang out while she did housework! I laughed and laughed. I guess it works... (Chinese washers don't have a post in the middle and are smaller than American washers).

About a week ago, Kiki and some other students were over visiting and started doling out pregnancy advice. Once they got rolling, they were unstoppable. It was great fun, and we learned all kinds of interesting things. In China, there are an awful lot of rules for what you can and can't do, and especially what you should and shouldn't eat while pregnant and after the baby is born.

We learned that some foods are “yin” and some are “yang,” and only yang foods should be eaten during pregnancy. Yang foods include beef, chicken, apples, green beans, and potatoes, while yin foods are things like pears, bananas, spinach, watermelon, seafood, and pig liver (oh darn).

Some of their advice was a bit contradictory though, since at one point they said not to eat “yin” bananas, but earlier they I should eat bananas since they are good for the baby's brain. Incidentally, walnuts are also good for the baby's brain because the nuts look like a brain.

Drinking cold water is, of course, a death wish. If it's bad for you in normal life, imagine the harm it could do while you're pregnant! This continues to be important after giving birth. In fact, you shouldn't even touch cold water in the first month because your joints have loosened and if cold gets into the joints, you will have arthritis later. This is also why you should wear lots of layers (and a hat) after having a baby, because cold wind can have the same detrimental effect.

The first month after giving birth is extremely important for recovery. If possible, the woman should stay in bed for the full month. If she does not recover adequately, she will have many health problems later in life. Traditionally, the new mother should not wash her hair for one month after giving birth – but now one week is considered passable. To aid with recovery, the students recommended several things.  First, black chicken. I don't think we have black chicken in America but here you can find it at the supermarket – little chickens with black skin. Something about them is very good for the blood. Kiki said her aunt ate 15 chickens in the month after having a baby!  Also good for the blood is a potion translated as “donkey hide gelatin.” Kiki graciously offered to buy some for me to eat after giving birth.

Of course they are all very curious if it is a boy or a girl and gave various theories for being able to tell. Do I crave spicy or sour food? Spicy means a boy and sour means a girl. They're always a little let down when I tell them I don't really like either. Also, if your belly is rounder it means a boy, whereas a “pointy” belly means a girl.

The students were going at it for probably about an hour, while I alternately smiled and nodded and laughed outright. Fortunately we know and like these students a lot, so their advice wasn't annoying, just amusing. One of the girls was sitting quietly for most of the time and after a while she calmly said to the others, “I'm sure her doctor will tell her what to do. These things will probably be helpful when you are pregnant, but I doubt that Ruth will follow your advice.” I told her it was okay; they were having so much fun dishing out the advice, it seemed like a shame to stop them.

50 Year Celebration

Kung Fu Dance
Originally uploaded by kevsunblush

By Kevin

Last weekend, our school celebrated its 50th anniversary with a massive gala. Students spent much of the last several weeks preparing for it. Even those who weren't going to be performing had to practice sitting out in the sun for several hours on Friday afternoon.

We traveled to Beijing earlier in the weekend, and in spite of two trips to the doctor's office and multiple ultrasounds, they weren't able to tell us if it's a boy or a girl. But they were able to tell us that the baby looks healthy. We managed to stop by Pete's for Tex-Mex, Annie's for Italian, Ikea for Swedish baby furniture, Jenny Lou's for awesome groceries, a steak and burger barbecue potluck and Coldstone in celebration of Ruth's 27th birthday. To Beijing, we wound up taking a soft-sleeper train car for the first time in a long time and we were shocked to open the door to our compartment (4-bed soft-sleepers have doors, unlike 6-bed hard sleepers) and find, sitting in front of us, Americans who had been traveling to see Xi'an from their home in Changchun. On the way back, in our noisy hard-sleeper, we noticed how much softer the beds truly are on the soft sleeper and how much smoother the train ride was.

Back to the celebration: we were tired and cranky when we got back to Weinan, but we hauled ourselves out to the morning's speeches in time. Unfortunately, the school had "invited" us (meaning "you will be there") to come at 9 a.m., although the festivities wouldn't kick off until 10. But we caught a break: other teachers had to come at 8 a.m. Who knows how early the students had to arrive. We got to sit there listening to a pair of announcers reading a list of hundreds of schools in China that had sent congratulations on our school's 50 years.

Strangely, when I paged through an old book listing statistics on all the universities in China that they had at our organization's headquarters in Beijing, it said the school was founded in 1978, so somebody is mistaken about some dates.

Anyway, for the ensuing two hours we sat quietly and tried not to doze off during long speeches by dignitaries, hoping that the small orchestra would play the opening bars of the "Star Wars" theme before the next speech (they alternated this with a Chinese piece of music). Just before the ceremony began, hundreds of alumni filed in to fill the pink chairs right in front of us. This was interesting because in China alumni events are rare, particularly at schools that aren't among the top tier, so it was good to see that many who may not have ever set foot on this campus before came (the school only moved here from its old campus several years ago).

While we waited, we learned that two slightly strange new statues (one is a hand relasing doves and the other is a communications satellite) that were erected on campus the week before cost the school no less than 500,000 RMB ($75,000) apiece and wondered where the money came from. Later, city officials announced a 500,000 RMB donation to the school.

Throughout the morning's speeches and performances, a giant camera crane swooped back and forth in front of us, making sure to frequently show the token foreigners on the giant screen up front for all to see. Since the stage was strangely positioned behind us, we had to crane our necks to see or resort to the big screen in the front. I kept waiting for the school to show the footage they shot of me teaching from class sometime last month, but didn't see it (I heard later that it was shown before the evening's performances).

Thankfully, the speeches were interspersed with various performances by musicians, ranging from a diva-esque opera singer in a massive white dress accompanied by green-clad dancers, to another diva-esque opera singer in a massive pink dress. In between, there was a traditional dance by peacock-like dancers, performances by musicians wearing marching band uniforms and a parade of students who had passed graduate school exams and a marching band. Unfortunately, most of the singers were so ear-splittingly loud for those of us with the "good fortune" of sitting directly in front of the speakers at the front that even Chinese people (who are able to tolerate amazingly high levels of noise) were wincing during parts. At one point, a toddler sitting in front of us wearing a shirt that said "musician" on it covered his ears with both hands and started wailing. Near the end, they released hundreds of doves into the sky. (follow this link for more pics: http://www.flickr.com/photos/kevsunblush).

During one of the musical performances, there were a pair of loud explosions. At first, we guessed that the explosions were just firecrackers accompanying the release of small balloons, but we found out later that several students had been burned during the performance, some of them severely, when one of the large blue-and-white China Mobile balloons exploded.

"It was horrible," said one student, adding that their injuries were serious. "They need to have surgery."

"Now our school is famous," said the student, explaining that the media had picked up on the story. "Or maybe I should say notorious."

Xinhua (http://china.globaltimes.cn/society/2010-05/530686.html) has reported that 12 people were burned on the face, neck and arms after decorative balloons filled with hydrogen exploded during the ceremony. Eight were hospitalized. The article said 20,000 people attended the ceremony. A witness said he saw the balloons blow up and catch fire mid-air.

According to Xinhua, the hydrogen-filled balloons, which are banned from use in school activities by the Chinese ministry of education, exploded while being released from a bag. "The sack had a small opening and the balloons rubbed against each other. It was static electricity that caused the balloons to explode," said the meteorological bureau, which regulates the use of advertising balloons in a report.

Students speculated that a worker may have been unable to cut a hydrogen-filled balloon, so he instead used a lighter to burn a hole in it.

But that day we were completely unaware.

That evening at 8 p.m., it was celebration part two. The massive stage was now filled with performers. Thankfully, they weren't they kind of mediocre, but well-meaning performances we are subjected to during departmental holiday shows. These were teachers, students and alumni from the "art" department (which includes music and dance). This meant that many of them actually had performing talent. Thousands of people filled the square to watch. The morning's divas returned, performing the same songs again, but they were joined by a pair of groups emulating China's popular 12-Girls Band, pop singers, dancers, kung-fu, even a short fashion show.

By the time I crept home at 10:30 p.m., the performances showed no sign of letting up. Indeed, when we went to bed after 11, we could still hear music. Students asked us if we had to attend similar celebrations when we were in college. Thankfully no. The closest comparison would be that it was like a graduation ceremony followed several hours later by a variety show/concert.

Village Life

I wanted to share a link to an interesting blog post.  One of our former students is dating a British guy who teaches at another school in Weinan.  Over the Spring Festival ("Chinese New Year"), he went to visit her hometown and wrote a post (mostly pictures - he's a very good photographer) about it.  It gives an interesting look at what life is like for many of our students who come from small villages. Check it out here.

Awkward Foreigner Situations

It was a couple of weeks ago, just after noon. Kevin and I had just come back from class and I was in the kitchen starting our daily fried-egg sandwiches when we heard a knock on the door.

Kevin opened the door and there stood a girl he had never seen before who said, “Hello! Can I come in?”

I heard Kevin say, “Um...who are you?”

“I am a student from the management department and I want to practice my English. Can I come in?”

1. We've never seen you before. 2. It's lunchtime, not just for us, for like everyone on campus.  If any hour is sacred and to be left undisturbed in China, it's the lunch/nap break.  It even gets quiet during this time. 3. Isn't this a little bit weird in any culture?

Kevin told her that now was not such a good time, and perhaps she could come back later, or (better yet) come to our office. Every so often this kind of thing happens to us, and I always have a hard time with it. It's funny and frustrating. Never do I feel my American right to privacy and personal space as much as when a stranger tries to invite themselves in. Accosting me on the street is one thing; I can handle that. But my house—it's my space. We have groups of students over almost every week, but I chose to invite them. I'm still in control. This sense of intrusion is always tempered by a feeling of guilt for not being more flexible and welcoming. Isn't that the kind of thing I'm supposed to do? Cultural foot-stamping aside, isn't it pretty selfish of me to open up my home to an occasional brave stranger/student, even if they are a little out of place.

This week my class was talking about a semi-related cultural situation, only in this situation it was a (non-stranger) student showing up unexpectedly. After talking about cultural differences related to scheduling ahead vs. showing up, I presented them with my situation. I asked what they would do in our position. They all laughed and thought it was funny and a little strange, but their answers weren't very helpful.

The first student said she would invite them in and offer tea because Chinese people are always very hospitable, and it is polite to invite in whoever comes to your door. The second student said if it was a friend, she would welcome them in, but if it was a stranger she might feel weird about them coming into her home. The third student said she would tell them, “I'm sure you are a good person, but don't you know it is rude and impolite to come at this time and ask to come in? I don't know you, so I think you should go away.”

So no clear consensus on that one. I know Chinese people do feel a stronger obligation toward hospitality, whether they want you there or not. In truth, though, this is a situation that probably doesn't happen to normal Chinese people very much/ever. It's one of those weird “foreigner on display” situations in which no culture seems to quite know the rules.

Spring Pictures

Here are a few spring pictures.  The first three are from a walk in the fields behind campus, which are all green with wheat.  The trees have been blooming and everything looks much more beautiful than normal.  In the third picture, you can see our school in the background - the big white building where we teach, and the tan buildings (behind the tree) where we live.  

The later pictures are from a bike ride with students on the north side of town.  There are some pretty pastures near the river as well as boggy area used for growing lotus root.  The muddy man is using a high-powered hose to help dig out the lotus root.

Mourning & Fear

Hai Shi Wan
Originally uploaded by kevsunblush

By Kevin

"I don't understand why all these horrible things are happening," said my student, teetering on the verge of tears.

For the past week, she hasn't been able to get the news of the Qinghai earthquake out of her mind. Last night she couldn't sleep. She is just too overcome with all of the calamity surrounding her.

First and foremost in her thoughts is the Qinghai earthquake -- more than 2,039 people are dead, plus 200 more who are missing. She doesn't have a television or computer, so she relies on the radio for news. Almost all of the news these days is bad, she said. Stories of children left without
parents fill her thoughts. Tibetans, who speak little or no
"hanyu" (Mandarin) who have to travel with injured loved ones
to get medical treatment far away.

"I can't get them out of my mind."

Naturally, her mind drifts to the night she and her classmates had to spend sleeping on the square almost two years ago, when the Sichuan earthquake killed 90,000 Chinese people.

She trembles in fear.

Then, her mind is filled with numerous disasters. Drought in Southern China. A disease (hand-foot-and-mouth disease) that is spreading among young children, with more than 77,700 cases in March and 40 deaths.

"I don't know why all these bad things are happening in China."

It seems like a prevalent thought. In fact, several students in the last week have asked if I have seen the movie "two zero one two" -- referring to the end-of-the world epic "2012." They ask: "Do you think that the end of the world is coming?"

Today, my student explained that China held a day of mourning, because it is important to mourn someone's death after seven days in Chinese culture. Flags were lowered to half-staff. Students gathered in the sports stadium and observed 3 minutes of silence. A government-enforced 24-hour moratorium on entertainment was put into place as well. "Everything on television and the radio is only about the earthquake today," she explained.

Indeed, after coming home, I attempted to download a song on my favorite website in the world: google.cn/music (and it's cousin top100.cn -- both of which surprisingly still allow free legal downloads to 90% of major label music, even after Google pulled out of China), but was greeted by a link to donate to a Qinghai earthquake charity. Had anybody told me about this entertainment ban, I might not have shown my culture students the Irish Revolutionary war film "Michael Collins" during class this afternoon.

In spite of all of this devastation, my student said that she is also encouraged by the volunteerism.

"I don't know about your country, but it I am sad to admit that most Chinese people are selfish," she said. "They only care about themselves...So it makes me glad that our government and so many people are doing things to help. That makes my heart warm."

Pregnancy

In a few weeks I will have my next prenatal checkup, where I will be seeing my 4th doctor (with still at least 2 more in my future). It's not intentional. It's just that we were usually on a pretty tight schedule for appointments. There's not a lot of room for flexibility when you have to travel 12 hours to get to the hospital and Friday is the only day that works. Friday afternoon, to be exact, since you have to count on the train arriving late.

I called the hospital today to make an appointment (even the nurses speak English - I swear it's like being in a foreign country). I told them what day I wanted to have the appointment, then we went through the list of all the doctors I had seen or heard of, and the nurse kept saying, "Oh! I'm sorry, they're only here in the morning." Oh well, as long as I see A doctor, right?

This appointment will be the one where they do all the detailed ultrasounds and maybe we'll be able to find out if it's a boy or girl. I'm trying not to get my hopes up. Honestly, knowing if it's a girl or a boy will make it so real. And part of me isn't sure if I'm ready for it to be that real. I still have days when my stomach is looking small and I start thinking, "Maybe I'm not really pregnant. I know I saw pictures of a baby, but there can't really be a baby inside me." I'm not throwing up every day anymore, so it's easier to feel like I just got confused and it's not really happening.

Somewhat logical for me to assume that too, given my recent lack of brain-clarity. I find myself getting very easily confused these days. My birthday is coming up soon and I had to ask Kevin how old I would be (to be fair, though, I have been confused about that for several years). I sometimes have trouble remembering, "Did that actually happen or did I dream it?" "Did I actually do that or just consider doing it?" Whereas normally I am plagued by constant thoughts of "I have to remember..." and "I must do this," now I think of something once and it never occurs to me again. I don't even have a to-do list anymore because I don't usually remember things long enough to write them down. I have to check carefully before class, "Did I actually plan a lesson or just consider doing it? Did I print it out? Do I have everything I need?" So it's really not too surprising that some days I wonder, "Am I really pregnant, or did I just dream that up?"

Despite the fact that it still all seems unreal, I realized we are going to be leaving here in two more months and when we come back, we're going to have a baby with us. That means I have to have our house ready for the baby before we leave! As of now, we have...one Dallas Cowboys onesie. I don't think that's going to be adequate. Oh, and several friendly stuffed giraffes. Getting better, but I still feel like we're missing something.

I need to get organized and make some lists. If only I could remember what I was supposed to put on those lists.

Normal Chinese or Weird American?

by Ruth

I was thinking lately about the ways in which I have gradually taken on elements of Chinese culture over the past few years. Nothing serious, just new habits and styles I have picked up, things I wouldn't have done before coming to China. For example...

-I wear long underwear most days from October to April, sometimes 2 or 3 pairs. I really don't know why we don't do that more in America.
-I have been seen wearing a jacket when it's 80 degrees outside, just because other people are. And because I have a fear of cold.
-I prefer squattie-potties, at least in public.
-I like drinking hot water (I still drink cold water in the summer, though, so that only half counts.)
-I have Mickey Mouse stick-ons in the bathroom and kitchen...and I think they're actually legitimate decorations.
-I sometimes/often wear the same outfit for a couple/several days in a row.
-I have occasionally spit on the ground (Gross, huh? I don't do it when people are around, though. And you'll still never see me with my finger up my nose.)
-My current favorite vegetables are garlic bolts and eggplant.
-I use my umbrella as much for sun as for rain.
-I sometimes wear stocking socks with sandals and skirts.
-I have become (mostly) oblivious to fireworks and loud music.
-I think my glowingly-white legs are pretty.
-I stare at other foreigners.

There are some things I don't think will change, though. I think I'll always love cheese and hate fluorescent lights. I still plan to diaper my child (which I'm sure you'll appreciate if I ever come to visit you). And of course there are all those deeper changes that actually matter, and in those ways I still feel like a total outsider. Really, I'm not sure that I've become more Chinese; I've just turned into a really weird American.

The Mystery of the UGG Box

Box of goodies
Originally uploaded by kevsunblush

By Kevin

I've been making more frequent visits to the campus mailroom lately because at least one birthday present is supposed to be on the way (birthday was last month, but mail takes awhile to get here).

I haven't quite figured out the mail system in China. Yesterday, I stopped in at the mailroom and the mail lady escorted me behind the counter as usual, pointing to the drawer full of letters with western lettering, as she usually does. These are the letters that she doesn't know what to do with because they contain no Chinese characters. I suppose it's kinda like what someone would do if they got a letter with only Chinese characters on it in the US -- ask for help. Many of them have been here since before we came, I think. So, since we are foreigners, we are encouraged to look through the stack of letters and find anything addressed to us.

As I flipped through the stack, she pulled out the same box she'd shown me last week. Usually we're excited whenever she pulls out a box that she doesn't know what to do with, because almost always it belongs to one of the four Americans on campus. This time it didn't. It was addressed to "UGG Australia Company," but the address was "Weinan Teacher's College." No names, just some unknown Australian company apparently based at the college. The return label was from the UK and it has a Royal Mail postage stamp. The packing card on the back said "galoshes" and a box labeled "promotional item" was checked.

Just what is UGG? I wondered at first, thinking it was an acronym. United Geological Group? Urban Garden Galoshes? They might send someone boots, if only these organizations existed. UK Galoshes for the Games? United Grain Growers? Urban Golf Group? Unique Greek Galoshes? Who knows?

All four of us have examined the curious box at least once over the last month in our mailroom visits. Nobody has had an answer.

My mind searched for an answer and I came up with a possibility: Maybe it was a result of the flurry of materials I sent away for last year when I was requesting free tourist information brochures and magazines that I could put in our teaching library to give students a glimpse of the UK and Australia. Maybe they were packing "London 2012" boots to promote the next Olympic games?

I decided now was the time to get to the bottom of the mystery. Maybe the box contained more information on the inside that could help us figure out who it belonged to if it wasn't us. Likely the box was going to remain in the postal office indefinitely otherwise. So I signed for the box and headed home. The mail lady seemed excited to see the box leave her custody.

I tore the outer wrapper paper and looked into the box. It contained a pair of women's size nine Ugg Boots -- you know those sheepskin moon boots that were all the rage for women a couple of years ago. Maybe they're still popular, I don't know. I should have pieced it together: UGG Australia Company = Ugg Boots.

There was also a packing slip and a letter from a UK resident who was returning the boots to the company, requesting a different size.

"Why would they sent it here?" I asked. "Surely the company isn't based in Weinan."

I figured that maybe a student or teacher had set up an Internet business selling the boots on the side. But it seemed like the person returning the boots should have addressed their shipping label to that student, not to the company. Kinda funny that they would think that an Australian company would ship its orders directly from China. From a college, no less. I continued nosing around, finding the shipping label from when the boots were apparently originally sent from China to the UK. There was a name: Chang Yang.

I stuffed everything back into the box and hurried back to the mailroom, trying to explain to the mail lady that it apparently belonged to someone named Chang Yang, but I didn't know who it was. But my Chinese is poor. Basically I think the main ideas I got across were, "I'm sorry;" "Not mine;" "I don't know who;" and "Chang Yang." She confusedly looked at the mailing slip and put the package back on a stand, seemingly disappointed that the pesky package was back in her care.

Later, meeting with the team, I recounted the story, doubting that it would actually wind up with the person responsible for it or returned to the UK. "Do any of you wear a size nine?" I asked. Kelly nodded.

"Well, if the boots stay there for another month or two, they may be yours."

"I'd feel a little strange wearing them."

We decided that probably somebody here is going to wind up wearing them eventually.

The system is a bit unusual to our "privacy-centered" minds. In America, you can go to prison for opening someone else's mail. I'm sure mail carriers could lose their jobs if they purposely gave a package to someone not knowing if it actually belonged to them. But here. Sometimes our packages wind up with the foreign affairs officials at the school. The last package that came here wound up in the English department office (this awesome package from my former teammates in Tonghua, who sent, among other things, yummy Samosa and Thin Mint Girl Scout cookies, blueberry muffin mix and more Mac & Cheese). Occasionally, we just get a shipping slip telling us that we need to pick them up from the China Post office down the street. I get the impression that any package with foreign writing on it just gets tossed around between whoever can speak or read English.

On the plus side, the packages people send us from the other side of the ocean usually do seem to get to us and here they usually don't seem to be opened and inspected by China Post workers before getting to us here -- or at least, if they are, they are inspected more discretely (most packages I got in Tonghua had a fresh batch of China Post tape wrapped around them and occasional items were missing, like beef jerky, which we later discovered was an illegal import). Thankfully I think that there has only been one package that we know did NOT show up for us in the two years we've been here (I've given up hope on a birthday present friends sent more than a year ago), but it's a better ratio of disappearances to deliveries than I experienced in Tonghua. Maybe Chang Yang picked it up, whoever he or she is?