A Pleasant Conclusion to Teaching--A Return to Consulting

I have 17 days left in China.  I’ve learned thousands of Chinese characters, taught hundreds of students, seen dozens of cities, and now I have but 17 days of this experience.

Although there are still 6 days of classes, I had the following, pleasant experience that I feel nicely concludes my work.

 

The 11^th grade English teaching staff invited me to present to them on the differences I have observed between Western and Chinese classes as well as provide any suggestions I may have for improving the classroom environment.  I’d like to think of it as: I was asked to consult.  Also of note, I gave the entire presentation in Chinese.

 

I came two years ago having no real teaching education, no teaching experience, and no language knowledge.  In these two years in the job, I have invested myself in doing well by my students and by myself.  My own language abilities progressed to pass an advanced level test.  My rapport with the students developed to garner a rating of 93% extreme student satisfaction.  And my colleagues, through this invitation, expressed their respect of my work. 

 

It’s been a great two years.  Slowly onto the next phase of life.

 

Later days,
Rick

 

Real Life in China may not be for the Faint of Heart

Living in China certainly has been one of the best and most memorable experiences of my life.  Yet, the only thing predictable about it is it’s continual chaos. 

 

(Hopefully this video loads correctly.  Thanks to a certain firewall I can’t exactly upload or link to YouTube.)

Listen to the following video.  This is a regular occurrence living in China.  From the solitude of a moment erupts what any logical person would deduce is an air raid.  In reality, this social disturbance is just a neighbor’s friendly way of celebrating.  Last year I was genuinely checking the news for any attacks on China, having personally heard one too many successive bombings in my neighborhood.

 

Then, the unpredictable rears its head again when one looks at his or her work calendar.  I woke this morning anticipating three days of work and then four days off.  Ha.  Haha.  Thanks to hearing it from our students—not even a colleague—we discover that this is opposite reality.  Instead, we have two days off in the middle of the week to only return to start work on Friday and continue for 8 successive days of class. Thanks to this, we’re all sitting scared as to what will happen to our purported five days off at the month’s end. 

 

Finally, a simple trip to powder one’s nose may be hampered by running into the following situation, photographed above.  This happens to be at one of my favorite restaurants, too.  If only photos could capture smell.  Sadly, this isn’t even the worst I’ve come across in my time here.  Just imagine a multiple-day-outdoor-fried-food-festival port-a-potty…after tipping over.  That’s your average Chinese bathroom.  The best part is that at the school, the teachers’ offices are next to it.

 

Now thinking about moving to New York knowing no one and having no job or apartment lined up doesn’t scare me after China.

 

Later Days,

Rick

I'm a Quarter-Centenarian!

Woo, I'm old!  Here's to 25, the middle of the best decade of my life to date. 

To outdo my friend, Della, who gets two birthdays due to the use of the Lunar and Solar calendars, I decided to celebrate for the whole week and get 5 birthdays! 

 

There were four cakes, lots of frosting on the face, some cool presents, and―most importantly―good company.  I realized that all I really ever want for my birthday is just to relax with good company.  I don't want the responsibilities of hosting; I don't want to have to obey any uncomfortable social customs such as accepting gifts, treating people to dinner, whatever. 

The school also got me a gift―I didn't have to teach any students.  (Probably one of the best presents ever.)  Actually, students were testing, but I'd like to think it was all for me. :-D

 

Now a short guide through the photos;

Linda, our foreign teacher team leader, wanted to celebrate on Wednesday, so she and Kellen bought a quaint little teddy bear cake. 

 

For the past two weeks I've been counting down to June 1^st in my top class.  They were perpetually bewildered why I would celebrate Children's Day (June 1^st is International Children's Day in China)―I accused them of being ageist.  They didn't get the joke.  Anyway, I told them I never celebrate Children's Day, I celebrate June 1.  Not until they walked into the decorated classroom with my "Happy Birthday, Mr. Li" hanging did they realize it's my birthday.  We played games, had cake and prizes, and everyone left with a party favor.  Here you see my top class holding their party favors under a banner reading "Li Rui Happy Birthday."  (Li Rui is my Chinese name.)  The party favor was a printed and decorated photo of their English school tour―a memento of their English days in my class.

 

With my Senior 3 students, my birthday party was also their last class.  Here you see Catherine playing "Pin the Tail on the Donkey" and heading nowhere near the donkey picture. 

Then they all sang Happy Birthday in Chinese (while clapping, do we do that?  It seemed strange, but ubiquitous in China.) 

 

Finally came my real birthday party at home.  Della made her famous "Little Bucket Noodles."  Kellen brought the cake, and then we did exactly what I wanted for my birthday―hang out together, laughing, chatting, drinking, eating. 

(Why are they called "Little Bucket Noodles"?  Well, Della's Chinese name is Xiao Pei 晓培, xiao also sounds like a different character 小, which means little.  As a nickname, I pronounce Della's name with a regional dialect character adding an "r" sound to the end.  Then her name is 培儿, or per, which sounds like the way to say bucket.  Thus, the invention of "Little Bucket") 

 

Later Days,
Rick

A final Visit with a Friend...and, yeah, the Great Wall, again.

Annie and I both came to China two years ago with our company, EMW.  We met in Beijing for the orientation and were equally terrified of, yet open to, what would come.  Now, two years later we both return to our respective home countries—she with an acceptance to an elite grad school, and I with language proficiency.  We started together, stayed in contact through it all exchanging tales of our day-to-day experiences, and now we’re ending together.

 

For one last chance to meet, we traversed Chinese back to Beijing.  We went to the night markets as she pointed out things she wanted and I aggressively bargained in Chinese for each.   Then there came an entire leg of lamb—the ultimate in grilled street food.  With Annie’s ever-positive attitude and openness we befriended the owners; later we went rollerblading with passersby. 

 

The next day we visited the popular food street where I accused the food stall workers of price gouging.  We refused to buy anything and decided to go down a back alley for the real Chinese food at real prices.  Annie’s the best at finding good hole-in-the-wall restaurants.  Crossing the road into a tourist shop, the manager challenged my Chinese by having me read aloud the words on a scroll.  I said, “If I continue reading, you continue to lower the price.”  He put the scroll down.

 

Our journey took us up the Great Wall of China, above you see Annie’s first step onto the wall.  At the top we stopped to play Uno.  Next it was onto the Birds nest and Olympic park.  Finally, it all wound down as we spent the next morning visiting Jason (my friend from Zhengzhou who is in Beijing for training to go teach in the US) and to say farewell at the train station. 

 

Thank you, Annie, and good luck.

 

Later Days,

Rick

He's Back from the West and already Integrated

One of the most significant experiences I had in China was tutoring Dominick (郭维).  I was lucky enough to watch him go through an important part of his life; I watched him study 14 hours a day to become the #1 English student in Henan; I went with him to buy his first suit; and I celebrated with him when he earned a full scholarship to one of the best universities in the world (Singapore NanYang Technical University.) In December I saw him off, telling him about living abroad.

 

He's 6 months in to the experience and came back for summer break.  Now that he's back, I got to enjoy watching his reverse culture shock.  He says "excuse me" and "sorry" on the streets of China (in English).  He talks about what they do in Singapore from every minute detail to every major system.  It's wonderful.  Anyone who's talked to me within my first week of returning to the states knows that every story I have is about the country from which I just came.  While my listeners are annoyed, I loved hearing his tales.  Every detail means that he's really assimilating to the culture and building an enjoyable life.  It means he'll be happy there.  Way to go, Ghost Ninja (that was Dominick's first English name.)

 

Later Days,

Rick

I passed Level 5 Advanced Chinese Test!

It’s been 2 years of studying in a world often opposite the one in which I grew up.  Simply walking to the store or a restaurant was always accompanied by flipping through vocabulary books to cram 2,500+ Chinese characters into whatever remaining corners of my brain.  Step by step it accumulated as I prepared for the advanced Chinese Test—HSK Level 5—a level capable of reading Mandarin newspapers, watching films, and giving speeches in fluent Chinese.  On April 14 the test day arrived along with a slew of nerves.  As with any test, I left feeling relieved when it was over, but anxious as to the outcome.

One month later—today—I found the result.

 

I passed. 

60% is required, but I earned 80% with listening even surpassing 90%. 

 

Ultimately, there is no effect of this test.  It served as a means to motivate me to study.  Yes, I can officially write this on my resume.  Yet, any employer interested in my ability will most likely mandate I demonstrate it on the spot.  Only level 4 is required if I wanted to attend a Chinese university, and I passed that last year.  Either way, it does serve for a great feeling, which I will relish. 

 

Maybe one day this will be of use, and until then, I’ll keep it in my back pocket serving as simply more preparation for the right opportunity.  My high school algebra teacher, Mr. Kohler, said that luck is simply preparation meeting opportunity.  That formula holding true, one day I believe I’ll count myself “lucky.”

 

Later days,
Rick

The Aftermath, an Analysis

HSK Level 5 Chinese Test, goodbye! I recently finished that which has plagued my thoughts for the last 7 months and is, in some way, a culmination of my efforts from the last two years.

Walking out of the test center filled me with both a sense of pride and relief. On one hand, I can now communicate fluently and to an advanced degree in three languages, all highly relevant to business. On the other hand, thank goodness it's over! (Hopefully the results also support the former statement.)

Naturally, I did some calculations to assess my preparedness. After reviewing all 2,504 likely vocabulary words, I discovered my recall rate (not the easier-to-achieve recognition rate) is 80.2%. With reviewing, my recognition rate landed around 93%. I need 60% to pass, and my average practice test scores are approximately 76%.

Yet, can you, the reader, predict the most overwhelming feeling now 2 hours after the test? Exhaustion.

Good night and later days!
Rick

A Stare, but not a Star

Foreigners in greater China all know the stare, and, personally, I'll never get used to it. I cannot leave my apartment without passerbys pointing, staring, and even shouting the Chinese word "foreigner." In Germany, I fought my anonymity being no different from any man on the street (except a little shorter than average).

Ironically, here in Zhengzhou I simply want to be a 老百姓, a commoner. There are times being a foreigner has benefits; one may get preferential treatment, one can usually get out of any situation with a "ting bu dong" (I don't understand), and one is easily noticed so is actually safer in public/on roads. Yet, it all serves to a general feeling of discomfort. The paradox that I'm treated like a celebrity, yet truly a commoner. I live here, speak the language, and follow the culture, but every time I hear "Laowai" (old outsider) it emphasizes a feeling of isolation or distance.

I know someday when I'm deep into marriage, have wanna-be independent teenage children, and I'm sitting in an insurance office just waiting for some trivial service I'll look back and revere this time when always treated special. For now I'll continue to bear the stare.

Later days,
Rick

Literature Review: What's Fun in Intermediate Chinese

A friend's recent post about her monthly readings left me feeling that I should read more; personally I felt as if I'm neglecting my further education.

In the vein of "Monthly Readings"  here are mine.  None will ever make the New York Times Bestsellers, but my descriptions below are written as if a review! (Read with "satire tone")

 

新汉语水平考试模拟试题集：五级

New HSK Practice Test Questions: Level 5

A book of 10 practice tests structured exactly like the test for advanced Chinese.  While it has no narrative and no interesting characters, the time restriction does keep the reader on the edge of his/her seat!

 

HSK核心词汇天天学：中册

HSK Core Vocabulary for Daily Study: Volume 2

If you want to improve your vocabulary, you need to study every single day.  This book is geared towards just that reader.  With an aim of adding 3,000 words in one year, it provides riveting delineations between synonyms like 鼓励:encourage (a person as subject) 鼓舞:encourage (an event as subject), or 违反=violate/break 违法=violate/break 违犯=violate/break 违背=violate/break.

The author provides real insight into the mystical language of this Eastern land.

 

中级汉语阅读教程

Intermediate Chinese Reading Course

Released from Beijing University Press, this book is filled with tales as wonderfully informative as your dusty newspaper collection.  Read thrilling events of birds flying into a window because of a beautiful painting, learn about the life of those with high blood pressure, and practice all of your Chinese radicals to learn the logic of this cryptic character language.

 

 

小王子

The Little Prince

Rated one of the best books of France from the 20^th Century, this international classic is a delightful way to confuse everything you know about the language as you, the reader, follow the tale of the narrator who meets a boy in the Sahara Desert.  This boy comes from an alien asteroid where he lives alone and cares for a talking rose.  It's an adventure to read as the reader challenges his own comprehension, "Did that flower just talk and complain about vanity?" 

 

趣味汉语阅读

Interesting Chinese Reading

Do you know Chinese humor?  This book explores the joys of the language to keep you groaning with painful laughter.  Discover how saying the word for "two yuan" (liang kuai) can be misunderstood as "chilly" (liang kuai).  Why?  Well it's just a mix-up in the tones, that's all.  What a delight.

 

多彩汉语， 50个趣味故事

Chinese Made Fun

With 5,000 years of history, China presents abundant culture and customs.  Through 50 stories, each in Chinese (characters and pinyin) and English, learn about many aspects of this rising Eastern dragon.  The authors thrill and dazzle the reader by adding a language column in each story, which teaches words like "popular" and "sorghum beans."  How 丰富！

 

That concludes my October-April reading.  My cynical nature is in part due to the constant, overwhelming feeling of a need to study, a need to have one of these books in my lap at all times.  They're simply textbooks, and, as such, inherently dry. 

For a few positive notes: I may not know much about British or American classic or modern literature, but I know over 2,500 Chinese characters;  I speak 3 languages. Tiring, but it makes me proud.  Also, my test will finally be over in only 12 days!

 

Back to studying on this sunny day!

 

Later Days,
Rick

Who says piano isn't a sport?

I just finished 5 hours in front of a piano in a tiny little practice room. Who says piano isn't a sport? It requires daily practice, warm-ups, speed, concentration, and technique. Plus, if you do it right, a lot of sweating. It's truly exhausting. Take that you football players and marathon runners!

Today was a good day for piano as spring hid behind clouds, my teacher (with a masters in piano performance) asked for my opinion on her music, and I finished my Chopin Nocture (Op 9 Nr. 2) and the first movement of the Beethoven sonata (Sonata no. 10, Op 14 Nr. 2--see pg 3 of the music and you'll understand how this is a success. That page is a long passage of sixlets against left-hand sixteenth notes. It was many headaches of practice.)

Now for rest and a shower.

Later days,
Rick