Tuesday 25 December 2012

Our Christmas wish for you is that your Christmas Day will be happy and peaceful.

I know that you will take a moment to think of the Saviour and all that He has blessed you with.

We are proud of Alisa for directing the Stake Nativity this year, with the help of Tim, Thomas, Maria,

Ryan, Lily, Annie and other family members who helped in some way. 

We miss our association with all of you, but as you can see, we haven't missed all the fun. Can you believe 

that Santa was waiting for a bus right by the foreign students' dormitory?  We had to give him a hug!

Merry Christmas

Friday 21 December 2012

We have explored the city this week, going to a few previously unvisited places.

One stop was the clothing market near the main Guangzhou Train Station. The metro escalator photo is from
that excursion. That is what 15-30 million people in one city looks like. You may think that the numbers are not
very precise, but that is the count. At any time there may be double the number of people who officially live in the
city. Thirty million is almost the population of Canada, if you want a comparison. The market was fun but overwhelming.
It covered blocks and blocks. There is also a "Where's Waldo" picture for you.

Today we just returned from visiting the South China Botanical Garden and it was sprawling and perfect. We are
not botanists, but could appreciate the wonder of it all. It had about every plant imaginable from desert to Antarctic to tropical
plants. We want to return when the orchids are blooming. Getting there was the main adventure as it required both the metro
and buses plus help when we took bus #39 in the wrong direction.

Congratulations to Jordan and Caitlin on the birth of Lauren Josephine. People all over the world are happy for you.

We hope that little Ivy is doing well and we are proud of Nena and Jeff for being such good parents.

Fraser, sorry about your chin stitches.

Alisa, good luck with the donkey at the Nativity.

Tuesday 18 December 2012

"Every coin has two sides."
This is a common proverb in China and the students use this saying to express contradictions.
Let me illustrate a two-sided Chinese "coin."

The Chinese people are unfailingly gracious. Of course, there is the usual rude bustle of a huge city, but on a
personal level the kindness and graciousness is amazing and appreciated. For example,
last night one of Don's classes invited us to a banquet (spinner dinner as we call these festive affairs) at a nearby
hotel restaurant off campus. It was especially gracious since the class was young students who probably
lacked the social experience of older students. We had a great time and the atmosphere was fun and family-like.
You can see the wide array of food that is the norm at Chinese entertainment in a private room at a restaurant.
We enjoyed the delicious Cantonese food. (My favourites are the fish, vegetable dishes, and tofu dishes. The soup
is delicate, but almost too bland, but enough for now.) What is so remarkable is the sincere ability too express thanks.

Likewise, I received many personal gifts and cards from students after the classes were completed.
A cynic could say that this is part of guanxi, ( beneficial connections) and there might be some truth to that for some
of the students. But, I think, most were simply acting upon Chinese graciousness.

The other side of this graciousness coin it that the Chinese people usually do not want to offend by being bossy. As a result,
we would call some situations vague. For example, last week I was asked to make a voice recording for the university president
who wants to improve her English. I went to the campus recording studio with Susan, from the office. It took over
a half hour to read and record the pamphlet. After, Susan said, "I wonder if that was a little fast?" After some back and forth
I said that I would be happy to read it again at a slower pace. This is very common. Instead of stopping me after the
first 5 minutes, Susan did not want to be critical. Instead of being what we would call forthright, there
was a vague discussion that finally resulted in what was intended from the start. This is common and was difficult
to understand when we first arrived, and it still seems indecisive.

Wednesday 12 December 2012

This week I have been having personal interviews with the students in the oral English classes. The assignment is to
come to the interviews prepared to start a conversation of their own choosing. Here are a few stories from the interviews.

Zhai Xiaoping is a great story teller from Henan province:

He started by saying, "I was born in an apple orchard." After it was established that he meant "apple" and not "April," his story continued as follows and I hope it wasn't lost in translation:
"I was born in an apple orchard. I was born there so my mother could keep it a secret. I was the fourth child in the family.
I went to live with my uncle until I was about 2 years old. When my uncle finally took me outside, someone said, 'What a nice'
little boy. What is his name?' Since my uncle didn't know what to say, he blurted out, "His name is Xiaoping." "Xiaoping"
means 'born in an apple orchard." As I grew up I was teased because it is a girl's name. Then I learned that our Premier
Deng's name was 'Xiaoping." (Do you know about Premier Deng? he asked. At this point we were both having a real good
laugh. He was the most exuberant story teller.) I thought, if Premier Deng had that name, then it is OK with me."

Liu Fangfang is a soft-spoken girl from Shandong province:

At the end of the interview she said that she has been away from her 3 year old son and hasn't seen him for 6 months.
She said, "I feel like an irresponsible mother." It is a 30-hour trip to get home. When asked if she was content that she
is doing the best thing, she replied, "Yes." The capacity for self-sacrifice is amazing and even heroic. She is trying to
make a good future life for her son and her story is not uncommon.

Li Yang or Irving is from Gansu province in the northwest of China:
By the way, Li or Lee as we would pronounce his name, is the most common surname in my classes.

"We need ministers or priests in China. Last year I had a friend who committed suicide. He failed 2 courses and he did it.
The school said that he could have 2 more years to finish his courses, but he did it anyway. We need people who we can
talk to, to relieve the stress. (I questioned if there were no people who could provide that service) We have doctors but doctors
are not what is needed. They cannot heal that. We need a different kind of healing, like a spiritual healing. (I asked if he believed
in God) No, I do not believe in God, but we need ministers in China to help."

These PhD students are impressive, and it is easy to forget that they are when their English skills are so childlike and because
they are polite, fun loving and sweet. Here are a few generalities about them:

- They revere Steve Jobs
- They like the movie "Braveheart," especially the execution scene when the hero yells "freedom.'
- They are environmentally conscious
- They all have cell phones and iPhones
- They are concerned with the notion of "happiness"
- They are proud of the cuisine in China and talk about the 8 different cuisines, I was informed today that Guandong Cuisine
is not really Cantonese Cuisine since Cantonese Cuisine is more the Hong Kong variety
- They are under enormous stress to do well
- Many have jobs that are demanding while taking PhD work
- Many are here without their spouse or child
- They are curious about the West and are open to debate
- They are passionate and talk openly about love
- They want to know that I like China. And, in fact, I think that it is a magnificent country.
- They were extremely guarded around me until they discovered what a foreign teacher was all about
- They are not always polite with their own Chinese professors.
- They have a loyal family structure and miss their mothers' cooking
- Many, but not all, come from poor families and all the students at SCUT are here on their own merit

Monday 10 December 2012

A funny thing happened the last day in one of the oral classes.
The class was divided into two groups and they were having an activity to force them into speaking with one another in English.
The activity was to draw a map of China and then add the neighbouring countries. (One point for the correct location and two points if the
English spelling was correct.) If you think that this is easy, look to the west of China to see what lies there. The students are very competitive and also have a great sense of fun.

One half of the class had put Taiwan as a neighbouring country.
The other half instantly started shouting (and I mean shouting) that Taiwan IS a part of China.
They were pointing and aggressively disagreeing.
This went back and forth for a minute or more, and luckily they were good natured.
I thought, "This could be a problem any minute!"
To solve the problem, I split the difference on points.

December 8 continued

Saturday 8 December 2012

We finished our first semester classes this week and we feel that we have put in a good semester's worth of work.
Our classes end earlier in the year than most, and we now have individual interviews and the written final exam to work on now.

The following pictures will speak for themselves. We have truly enjoyed the students and they have behaved perfectly for us.
Out of my 75 students, only 3 have had a foreign teacher before. We were a novelty, both on a personal level and on a teaching level.
It took a good month for them to relax and feel free to speak, which is necessary in an oral English class. Finally they realized that many
of the activities, which they (and I) thought were frivolous were actually forcing them to communicate with one another. More than anything,
the students want to be understood in English, and we made headway. The writing class was more structured and they found it more difficult, although their writing is generally better than their speaking. Many expressed gratitude for finding the confidence to even try to talk using
English. And, when a student comes up and says, "Mrs. Wright, you look beautiful today," how can you not just love the job. One class gave Don a cup with all the student's names written on it.

There were 2 students who, I am convinced, would have been red guards 45 years ago, and they even came around and were receptive
learners, which I took as a personal victory.

These pictures look like we were just having fun, but we really did do a lot of work.
Most of the students were male since this university specialized in the sciences. Also, many were older, which
made learning English very difficult. Also, many were juggling work along with PhD studies.
I am sending photos in two postings because we cannot send a large message at once.

Re: Monday 3 December 2012

On 2012-12-03, at 4:20 AM, Kathleen Wright wrote:

> Overnight in Hong Kong
>
> Two weeks ago Don and I went to Hong Kong. We went with the other four BYU teachers. Our Chinese visa required that we leave China and re-enter before we could apply for a permanent resident's visa. Hong Kong is considered a special administrative region and qualifies as "leaving" China. The other four have to leave the country and re-enter every 90 days since this is a requirement of those with American passports. We felt lucky that we don't have to do that.
>
> We took the fast train (not the bullet train) from the East Guangzhou Train Station. It took about 2 hours and it was relaxing, comfortable and interesting. There were rural scenes to see. As we neared Hong Kong, it was obvious that the region is more prosperous, even though Guangzhou is a very prosperous part of China. Stepping off the train at Kowloon,(the north, mainland side of the harbour) we were greeted by a different world. For one thing, we saw many foreigners. Also, the place had a lot of pizzazz. We enjoyed the food at the spaghetti house. Food hasn't been an issue for me, but some are having a hard time with the unfamiliar food in China. Then we walked around the harbour at night and saw the light show and the sights and the expensive shops. We stayed at a hotel on the Kowloon side.
>
> The next day we boarded a double decker bus and found the LDS temple on Cornwall Street. It is a lovely building tucked into a residential area. After this, we crossed the harbour to the Hong Kong side on the Star Ferry. It was all very thrilling. We wanted to take the bus ride out of the city to Stanley Market, but we ran out of time.
>
> With all honesty I can claim that Hong Kong is the most beautiful city I have ever seen. The setting, with the hills, the water and the mist is simply spectacular. Nevertheless, we were happy to return to our little Guangzhou (15 million). Hong Kong has beauty and history, but we wanted our much more humble city. We feel safer here. Hong Kong looked like, on first appearances,<DSCN0590.jpeg><DSCN0597.jpeg><DSCN0606.jpeg> a proud, fast, trendy, materialistic place. It is certainly one of the great cities of the world.

Monday 3 December 2012

Overnight in Hong Kong

Two weeks ago Don and I went to Hong Kong. We went with the other four BYU teachers. Our Chinese visa required that we leave China and re-enter before we could apply for a permanent resident's visa. Hong Kong is considered a special administrative region and qualifies as "leaving" China. The other four have to leave the country and re-enter every 90 days since this is a requirement of those with American passports. We felt lucky that we don't have to do that.

We took the fast train (not the bullet train) from the East Guangzhou Train Station. It took about 2 hours and it was relaxing, comfortable and interesting. There were rural scenes to see. As we neared Hong Kong, it was obvious that the region is more prosperous, even though Guangzhou is a very prosperous part of China. Stepping off the train at Kowloon,(the north, mainland side of the harbour) we were greeted by a different world. For one thing, we saw many foreigners. Also, the place had a lot of pizzazz. We enjoyed the food at the spaghetti house. Food hasn't been an issue for me, but some are having a hard time with the unfamiliar food in China. Then we walked around the harbour at night and saw the light show and the sights and the expensive shops. We stayed at a hotel on the Kowloon side.

The next day we boarded a double decker bus and found the LDS temple on Cornwall Street. It is a lovely building tucked into a residential area. After this, we crossed the harbour to the Hong Kong side on the Star Ferry. It was all very thrilling. We wanted to take the bus ride out of the city to Stanley Market, but we ran out of time.

With all honesty I can claim that Hong Kong is the most beautiful city I have ever seen. The setting, with the hills, the water and the mist is simply spectacular. Nevertheless, we were happy to return to our little Guangzhou (15 million). Hong Kong has beauty and history, but we wanted our much more humble city. We feel safer here. Hong Kong looked like, on first appearances, a proud, fast, trendy, materialistic place.
It is certainly one of the great cities of the world.