Last week teaching in Yangshuo
Yangshuo, China.
We had a good time this weekend going on our Chinese government sponsored trip to Guilin and the Longji rice terraces. We stayed in 4 star hotels, ate yummy food, and saw the rice terraces that were really strikingly beautiful. I was told by one of the students that this was not a good time to go see them because all of the rice has been harvested so it’s not as beautiful. But really, it’s hard to imagine it being more beautiful than what it was, so it was well worth the trip. I think the difference was just one of taste–we wanted to see the actual landscape of the terraces while she was more interested in the colors of the rice. It might have been neater without the rice, really, because it made the steps cut into the mountains stand out that much more. But we had a good time. We left Yangshou Friday night, stayed in a hotel, got up at 6 in the morning for breakfast and then an opening ceremony for the event (the IVV Walking Club or something like that). Then we were bused over to Longji (about 2 hours from Guilin) and we had photo ops with some of the women from the local minority group who are famous for their incredibly long hair (it was longer than they were tall!). Then we started what turned out to be a five hour hike through the mountains and the terraces. It was a gorgeous day. Very hot and sunny. We were supposed to stay with our little group (which consisted of about 20 foreigners and the other 200 people at the event were all Chinese), but they walked much faster than I wanted to walk, especially since I like to stop and take photos. So we just bounced around and had a good time and didn’t worry too much about our group. We definintely learned a lot about the Chinese organization system. We had heard that in China you’re given information on a strictly need-to-know basis. And man, is that true. We had absolutely no idea what was going on or what to expect which for us made things very difficult. For example, we were given a little bag with some fruit and some bread and a really gross meat stick that was sort of like a vienna sausage wrapped in plastic. We all thought, “Hey, we get a little snack for the road.” But no. It turned out to be our lunch. So for lunch and to sustain ourselves for the 5 hour hike, we had almost no food. We had asked if food would be provided before hand so that we could bring stuff if we needed to, and we were assured that yes it would be provided. And we asked what kind of food, they just didn’t answer us. Luckily we went through lots of little villages on the walk who had snacks and drinks for sale. So it was okay. But in general it was just difficult to be a part of a group tour where you have to stay with the group but aren’t given any information or warnings for when you need to do something. Literally we’d be all waiting around for ten or fifteen minutes and then all of a sudden our group leader would pop up and say okay we have to go now. And if you were in the bathroom or had wandered off they would get really angry. It was strange. So we were all sort of annoyed and tried to explain about the need for a five or ten minute warning, but the Chinese guide just didn’t get it at all. It’s just a totally different cultural experience.
On the way back on Sunday morning we got off in Guilin in order to try to find an English language bookstore (which we didn’t find) to look at travel books for Laos and S.E. Asia. We ended up just walking around, had a good lunch, and got an hour-long massage for 25 yuan (which is less than $5!). It was awesome and much needed after the hiking with our bags the day before.
Monday and Tuesday night we did a speech at Owen College where we talk to the English Language students who are all adults and have a good grasp of English. Steve asked a bunch of his friends if they had any questions they’d want to ask a classroom of Chinese people and he got responses from a friend who’s studying business (something the Chinese students are really interested in) and another friend who wants to be a journalist. Monday night we asked the business-related questions and got some interesting responses. A lot of the questions were about the American Dream and if there’s anything like a Chinese Dream. We learned that everyone in the class was very interested in owning a house (or two!) and not many people responded when we asked if they wanted to have a family. Owning their own business was also a universal desire which confused me a little, but then we realized (and talked about) how in China there are little businesses all over the place. There isn’t one central grocery store or department store (except in big cities where there are still tons of little businesses). If you want to go shopping you have to go to several different stores. So owning their own store is really an obtainable goal and one of the only ways to actually make any money since there’s no minimum wage and if you work for someone else you get paid almost nothing. One guy answered the children question by saying that he wanted 3 kids! Since China still has the one child policy, I asked what it would mean if he had 3 children. He said that where he lives he would have to pay 10,000 yuan for the second child and more for the third. I asked how much the average salary was in China where he lives and he said maybe 20,000 yuan. So having a second child would cost half a year’s salary.
Most of the answers to the other questions weren’t too interesting. We asked about whether or not liberty was an important idea in China (and explained a little of its importance in the U.S.) and the answers were only remarkable in that they didn’t really have an answer. They said that they had liberty (which I would argue they don’t, or at least not completely–they have it more than before) so there was no reason to worry about it. I tried to bring up the idea of the government taking away their liberty and used the controversy over the ownership of guns in the U.S. as an example, but they still had no response.
The last question of Monday night was one of my own. I’d been wondering how they feel (or if they know) about Western countries (specifically the U.S.) becoming afraid of Chinese products. I mentioned the lead paint in the children’s toys and the melanine in the milk. The response was really interesting. One guy said that the United States’ regulations for imported items is ridiculous and that no one can meet the high standards. So I responded by asking him if it was impossible to make toys without using lead paint. He said yes. I asked why. Can’t you just paint the toys with lead-free paint? He said no. It was impossible. I sort of laughed and said but everyone else paints their toys with lead-free paint. We make our own toys with lead-free paint and import toys from other countries with lead-free paint. So how could it be impossible when everyone else does it? He didn’t answer.
Another girl responded to the paint question by saying she didn’t think it was true. The company she worked for was responsible for doing quality checks of manufacturing plants at the request of foreign consumers. She had tested for these kinds of things and knew that exported products wouldn’t be sent unless they met the standards. There must have been some mistake (on America’s side, not China’s). I responded by saying, okay, let’s assume this is untrue. What about the melanine in the milk. This happened in China. The milk was from China and Chinese children drank it and died. Is this a lie? Is this a mistake? They were all quiet. Finally someone said that they thought it was a mistake at the company. Someone else said that China is a developing country and they will make mistakes. They all seemed a little agitated by basically being cornered and not being able to tell me I (or America) was lying. So I didn’t push the issue. I wanted to say how can purposefully putting a substance into milk to trick the protein testing of the milk (so you can’t water it down) be a mistake. Someone didn’t trip and fall and spill it in the milk. They did it on purpose. Maybe they didn’t know what effect it would have. I would like to think they didn’t. But it definitely wasn’t a mistake.
Tuesday night we continued with Allen’s questions. Not as many people came. I don’t know if they didn’t like the questions or if the new table soccer game was distracting them. We asked about the Chinese gymnasts at the Olympics who were most likely not old enough to be in the games. They never heard anything about it. So we switched and talked about the little girl who sang the anthem and how they got a prettier girl to lip-sync it while the other girl sang backstage. They had all heard about that and were embarassed that it had happened. They all thought it was stupid. China’s a huge country. If it’s that important to have a beautiful girl singing pick from one of the other millions of little girls around. There’s gotta be one with a good voice and a pretty face.
The strongest response we got was when I asked about how they feel towards Japan. They all hate Japan. One girl very diplomatically said that she didn’t hate the Japanese people but the Japanese government. They all felt that Japan should apologize for the horrible things they did to the Chinese people when they invaded China 60 years ago. The other students weren’t as diplomatic as the one girl. They seemed very angry and voiced hatred for everything Japanese. They asked what we thought about Japan and we had to admit that Americans love Japan. We love their culture–anime, food, fashion, history. Japan is very popular. It was an intersting night.
Tomorrow is our last day of teaching at the elementary schools. It’s been a good week. Monday was a little difficult. But Tuesday was wonderful. It’s my favorite school. They’re so smart and well behaved. It’s really a joy to go there. I usually dread Wednesdays and the two snotty little girls in the third grade class (the class has on ten students, so those two ruin it). But today was wonderful. They were almost suspiciously good. We’ve been going over colors with all of the third grade classes and I didn’t feel like this class could handle the more difficult spelling games I’d been playing with the other schools. So instead I brought a really simple story book that used animals and colors and I made little cards for each colored animal in the book. I gave them each a card and they sat on the floor in a circle while I read them the book. When we came to an animal the person with that card had to hold up their card and we’d say the color and animal name together (orange cat, brown dog, purple caterpillar). Some of the creatures had new and difficult names but they seemed to really like it. We also brought a colorful alphabet to hang above the blackboard (the only decoration in their classroom is now the color by numbers we did two weeks ago and the alphabet) and we went over the letters (they have a hard time saying them out of order) and then took them outside to play a game with the fourth grade class. It was really fun and made me both happy and sad. I don’t know if today was just a fluke or if they’re just starting to like me (I lead the class) and the lessons. If the latter, then I’m sad to leave them just as they’re really trying. But that’s how it works. We took a group photo and I’m going to try to develop it and send it to them to hang in the class for more decorations. The lack of color and decorations in the classrooms is one of the most strikingly different things about these schools. They’re all this way. Just concrete floors and concrete walls with a blackboard at the front and the back of the room. They have no heating and no electric lights. Monday it was cloudy outside and the classrooms were like little dungeons (they have windows but don’t get much light). I like the school on Thursday (and the tiny little urchin girl who is so dirty that no one will play with her. I just want to scoop her up and bring her home and give her a bath and clothes with no holes and that actually fit. I don’t even want to imagine what her life is–and will be–like).
This is our last weekend in Yangshuo and if it’s nice we’re going to do something fun with some of the students at Owen. All of my initial favorites are gone, but now some of the shy students have started talking and I have new favorite to miss. I’ve been inviting them all to come visit us if they ever make it to the States, so maybe one day I will see them again. I’d like to come back to China one day, too, so that’s also a possibility.
Some random funny China things have happened lately. One was that one of the students at Owen asked Stephen what the black things were in the middle of his eyes. They didn’t know about pupils! (And these are adults who are married and some with children!) I think because their eyes are so dark they just never noticed. He explained about pupils and that they have them too and showed them what happens when you close your eyes and then look at a light! They were amazed!
Other strange baby things. I wrote before about the crotchless pants and how they just go in the street. They also shave the baby’s head at about two months old. I think this has something to do with getting rid of the hair they’re born with (which most babies lose anyway, I think). But it must also be for cleanliness or something also. Because we’ve seen a lot of toddlers who are maybe two or three yaers old with shaved heads (or just some bangs and a little tail). They also don’t name their babies until after they’re born. In a way I think this is really nice. They wait to get to know the baby before giving it a name (which usually has a literal meaning like Sunshine or Stone).
We learned to play mah jong! I am the mah jong master! Two English teachers from England–Rich and Mark–taught us. You have to have four people to play and it was much simpler than I could have ever imagined. We didn’t learn how to keep score since we weren’t gambling, it was just the first person to use all of their tiles. We played five games. I won the first game. Steve won the second. And then I won the last three! It was awesome. I should go out and challenge little old ladies on the street! Towards the end of our game a group of businessmen from Beijing sat at the next table and were very impressed that we knew how to play mah jong and that I was doing so well! It was awesome. I wish the mah jong games weren’t so stupidly heavy or I’d buy one and mail it back to the States for when we got home. But it would be cheaper just to buy one online later on, so we’ll just do that.
We finally finished Christmas shopping and I’m happy with our purchases and the good prices we got. I’m sure it was still more than locals, but I don’t ever need to know that! I’m a little sad about leaving Yangshuo, but I’m also really excited about going to Laos. It’s funny that we never even considered going there until we talked to other people and they all highly recommended it. Now that we’ve read more about it, we’re both really excited! I love not having a set plan sometimes for just this reason.
It’s getting so close to Thanksgiving (my favorite holiday) and I’m starting to get a little homesick for my family and all of the yummy food. Nana, set me a place with stuffing, mashed potatoes, cranberry sauce (the jelly kind, you know what I like), and tons of gravy (and don’t feed it to Napoleon, either! The little meatball).
Here’s my goodbye photo from our Tuesday 3rd grade class. They were so great!
Tags: China, Longji rice terraces, Yangshou
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