This has been another good few days. Our apartment is feeling very much like home now and nothing feels better than
walking into air conditioning after a few hours of teaching in the heat and humidity. Don says that our teaching building has very
good feng shui. I don't know if that expression is used correctly but he means that the building, which is 6 levels high, is open with breezy walk-ways and at least some fresh air blowing through. Classrooms are fairly open here with large windows that are left open into the hallway. It is more public than we are used to. We have been told that in the winter some of the students come to class with winter coats.
We will probably see some fault with these students eventually, but we haven't seen it yet. There are some differences that we are trying to
navigate around. They speak in class but not as freely as at home. Yesterday a very nice student came up after class and asked if I felt "bored" (he used the wrong word) when I asked a question and the students did not answer. I replied that I was only worried that they couldn't understand me. Then he explained, as best he could, that in China students do not have "communication" with the teacher. I said, "Don't the students answer questions?" He replied that yes they did, but that was not done very often and me asking a general question for any or all to respond to was uncomfortable. His kindness was appreciated and the students are getting used to my style. When I asked about the Diaoyu Islands they had quite a lot to say and it is a very passionate topic here in China now.
Also, the common knowledge is completely different. One student in our oral class was speaking about Friday being the best day of the week. He talked about all the good Fridays and then he had a picture of Good Friday, with the Christian symbolism, and he was not aware that Good Friday means something different and specific in the West.
Our navigation skills on the busses and the Metro are getting better. Paul and Ann Brooks have again taken us to places to see the city or at least show us where things are when we have more time. We went to Beijing Lu ("Lu" means street….aren't you impressed?) and it was a great, modern shopping street. I have included some pictures. The picture of the fruit shows what you can buy for $3.00. The last photo is of the very modern subway system. You will have to tilt your head a bit. I am not that skilled yet!
Tonight we have a dress-up affair at a downtown hotel.
I will report later.
P.S. to Debby,
We have discovered that the grocery store by the north gate of the campus has Magnum ice cream bars.
With love,
Mom/ Kathy/ Kathleen
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