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