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February 26, 2002-Report II: [Insert Clever Title Here]
[Sound of old-fashioned radio show music here]:
[In a radio announcer voice]: When we last met our hero he was struggling with finding his place within a world of Chinese business men, steamed buns, and confusing Chinese characters. His hopes were high but his spirit was beginning to be stifled by the pressures of everything new around him. With no knowledge of Chinese, a box of Crayola markers, and Harry Potter and the Sorcerer's Stone in hand, he had landed in Nanjing, China-the only known factor being that he would be sent home sometime in July. From his last communication we know he made it to the end of November but what has happened to our hero since? Has he conquered the Chinese language, masterfully bargaining and bartering where ever he goes? Is he now readily ordering and enjoy the Chinese culinary delicacies that once frightened him? Have his Crayola markers run dry? Tune in today to find out…but first a message from our sponsor, Adopt-A-Fellow:
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[same radio announcer as above] …..and then he said "Yeah, but what about the CHICKEN!" HAHAHAHAHAHAHAHAHAHAHA! Seriously folks, its time for us to get back to "LAN TIAN AND HIS ADVENTURES THROUGH CHINA" or "An American in Nanjing" or "CHINA TALES: Unraveling the Truth" or…hmmmmm…I guess that's it for titles…on with the show….
Christmas in Nanjing or Santa Claus is Coming to Town
Every mall in the US has one. Every holiday parade concludes with one. Children stand in line for hours to meet one. Why wouldn't our school want one as well? Santa Claus: The man who many perceive as the symbol and meaning of Christmas, completely negating the origins and real story of Christmas. Lax discussions of Mary and Joseph are tossed aside for intense discussions of Rudolph the Red-Nosed Reindeer and Father Christmas. Hence, in early September when we discovered the makings of a very old Santa suit in our office we laughed lucidly about it, each trying it on and joking that come December one of us would have to take on the spirit of Christmas and become the jolly ole' man who when he laughed his stomach shook like "a bowl full of jelly." After our mini-fashion show, we tucked the suit back into the "holiday closet" where we (or at least I) hoped it would remain until the Winter of 2003. To my dismay and Kasia's amusement, after Thanksgiving, discussions of the upcoming holiday party began…alw
ays getting to the point of Santa Claus. It was soon decided that Santa would have to have a beard. So I was soon 'asked' to not shave to insure that I would have facial hair for the big day (mind you the fact that my beard grows in red and itches and makes my face break out did not have anyone else concerned). We were than asked to "help" some students with the song they were going to perform-Do Re Mi. Before we knew it we were singing with them-and in Chinese! Now I love to perform, don't get me wrong. I'd be considered by many to be a big ham in situations where there is an audience but I under no circumstance SING. I can not carry a tune to save my life. I learned this very early on and although it crushed my dreams of becoming a Broadway musical star, it allowed me to focus on other dreams. Needless to say, I tried to explain that I could not sing and that maybe Kasia would be better off with out me throwing off her harmony or melody or simply just throwing her off by the horrendousness of my vo
cal range. BUT, they would have it no other way. So in the tradition of past fellows, we were thrust up onto stage to be laughed at by our students and the school community. All in good fun though. And I must say that I am (gulp) glad to know the first four chorus lines of DO RE MI in Chinese. How many other people can claim that?
Santa Claus was to appear at the Christmas party and the DO RE MI was to be performed at the Key School Presentation. It was at this latter event that I was also supposed to MC with two students. However, one of the students pointed out that the only other English speaker was Kasia, what was the point of having me do it in English? These were my thoughts exactly and I soon no longer had to practice for the MC job. Both the party and the performance were successfully and some of the photos we got are definitely priceless.
To celebrate our respected holidays outside of school, we had to make do with what we had. In other words, we went to a silk/fabric store and purchased pieces of silk to sew stockings out of. These we then hung on our doorknobs so "Santa" would have someplace to leave the treats. I constructed a Christmas tree out of green butcher paper which I then decorated with used phone cards and red monkeys from "A Barrel of Monkeys." It made me very happy to have a Christmas tree; and when packages came from abroad I'd place them under the tree, waiting for Christmas morning.
For Hanukkah, I had left my menorah at home so I went the local Buddhist temple and purchased a gold candle stick and two candles. These candles than served as my Hanukkah lights for the 8 days. Each night I would say the blessing and then light my candle. Although it was not as magnificent as a fully lit menorah could be, it was quite spectacular to be able to still light the candles here in Nanjing. We even tried to go to the German and Swedish restaurant to get potato latkes but unfortunately, they were no longer serving them. Oh well.
Over all the holiday season was a lot less traumatic than I had anticipated. I am very thankful though that next year, I will be in my own home, with my own tree, with my own menorah and sharing the warmth and love of the season with my family and friends. I may still be eating with chopsticks though….
Traveling: Reverse Culture Shock at its Worst
The New Year (January 1st) quickly brought on the end of the semester. We were informed that we would have to give our students "exams" so we each devised forms of assessment that fit with our goals for our students. And then we were free. It was January 10 and we were not due back at school until the 25 of February. Kasia and I had both spent the previous month planning trips for our winter holidays. Originally we had planned to travel together but we soon realized that our interests were varied so we agreed to meet up periodically throughout our trips. I would be traveling in Thailand for three weeks, Laos for one, and Hong Kong for 1 (and had also scheduled a week traveling through southeastern China but that was changed mid-way through my trip.) Kasia and I would however be starting out together in Bangkok so on Sunday, the 13 of January we flew from Shanghai to Bangkok. Two days later we went our separate ways. I am not going to go into much detail about my travels but I would like to give a bri
ef idea of where I traveled to. I spent four days in Bangkok and then traveled North to Nong Kai. It is from this Thai city that you can cross over the Laos/Thai Border at the Friendship Bridge into Vientiane, Laos' capital city. I spent three days here, two in Vang Vieng, and three in Luang Prabang. Luang Prabang was probably my most favorite new city that I visited on this trip. I could have spent my entire holiday in this charming and peaceful town. I highly recommend a trip to this beautiful country. From there I took a very small plane to the border crossing into northwestern Thailand. I then traveled to Chiang Mai. It was here that I was scheduled for my exciting three day elephant trek with the Elephant Conservation Centre. Unfortunately, it was also here that I contracted some for of Typhoid and spent three days in hospital. (No worries, besides losing some weight I'm okay now!) However, my hospital stay did lend itself to some funny situations. When I was first admitted I was so dehydra
ted I was somewhat delirious. I kept on telling the nurse that I needed to call home but her understanding of English was limited. So I asked if it'd be okay if I spoke to her in Chinese (I figured, in my crazy state that there would be no reason that she would not know Chinese). This did not fly with her and I ended up having to scribble the numbers down on a piece of paper. For some reason though they could never get through to my family (It turns out I had given them the country code for Vietnam, not the United States-and no one caught this.) I was released and then readmitted that evening because I was still not better (I had gone home because I felt I was better and I wanted to ride the elephants-stubbornness seems to run in my family). Before returning to the hospital though I called my father and he wanted to know what hospital I was going to be at so he could call. I had no idea. I told him it started with RAJ and was in Chiang Mai. Well, sometime after midnight, when I was fast asleep, the p
hone rang:
Phone: RING RING RING
Josh: (picking up the phone) Wei? WEI? Ni hao? Ni Hao?
Dad: Josh?
Josh: Yes. Wei?
Dad: Josh?…it's your father…
Josh: oh..yeah…yeah…hello.
A day and a half later I was discharged for good. Exhausted, I spent three more days in Chiang Mai simply doing nothing and reading a lot (it was at this point that I realized I was not up for the stress of trying to travel back through China so I arranged a train ticket from Hong Kong to Shanghai). I then headed down to Phuket, where I met Kasia and I stayed for a week. Then it was back to Bangkok for a day before heading out to Hong Kong for the Lunar New Year.
Having spent the last five months living in Mainland China, my expectations for my winter holiday were very minimal. I had made sure before departing for my trip that I had a Thai phrase book and a Lao survival guide. I expected that I would be quickly learning the phrases I would need to get by. To my complete surprise however I could do almost anything simply using English. I found this a bit disturbing but went along with it for it did not cause me much stress (trying to return to a proficient level of English after so much time abroad was difficult but eventually accomplished). Also, primarily in Thailand, I was thrust into what I perceived as a very Western environment. Starbucks on the corners, a vast variety of different foods, Western toilets and English pretty much EVERYWHERE. I entered into what I will call REVERSE CULTURE SHOCK. And boy was it a shock! I could not take in everything because it was such a grand change from the world I had been living in. My first day in Chiang Mai I took a
cooking class. I met a woman who was from Iowa and who had run cross-county in high school and had competed at Grinnell. She now lived in London. I met a man who was from Minnesota and who would soon be moving to Chicago. Neither one of these people I was able to relate to. However, there was a woman who was from Japan, who had been to China, and who was now living in Singapore-I immediately felt akin to her. She understood where I was coming from and what I was experiencing. I hadn't realized it while I was with the cooking group but in retrospect she was the only Asian person in the class and I had been so excited by this that I immediately began talking to her-even though there were other Americans as well as some people my age who were doing fellowship work in Thailand. This realization startled me. Here I was, surrounded by people who came from the same country that I did yet I simply could not relate. There way of speaking and relating to what was going on was, in some ways, offensive to me.
But this Japanese woman seemed to understand and saw the world from a very similar perspective to my own.
After this, I was in the hospital so I really did not get to think about it, but once I was out, it was thrown into my face again. I was in a Starbucks (coffee is coffee and China just does not offer good coffee), and there was an American girl of about 17 or 18, wearing way too much make-up, making some off-coloured remark about how she thought EVERYONE knew about Starbucks and had one-even the people in the South. If I had not been heavily drugged from the hospital I would have spoken up but all I could do was laugh. And I did. The man behind the counter completely understood and smiled with me. Shaking my head, I exited still laughing.
Going from Mainland China to a "Western" environment was simply disturbing. Although I appreciated some of the comforts of home, I was overwhelming offended by the other foreigners I encountered. There seemed to be an immense lack of cultural awareness and sensitivity. Too many of the foreigners I ran into felt that the world should be working for them and solely them, not for the people of the country they 'invaded.' I was dually disturbed by the response I received from local Thai and Lao people; more or less after speaking with them I'd be told "Wow. You're not like other Westerners/Foreigners." And I'd explain I know and feel obligated to apologize for all of the rude people who had proceeded me. The whole experience left me frightened about my return Stateside and a bit apprehensive. I have come to realize I am a different person than from when I left the States and I believe the changes that have occurred in my view of the world are positive ones; ones that I hope I will be able to share with the
students who will be in my second grade classes for years to come.
Hong Kong-Homeward Bound
I was somewhat hesitant about returning to Hong Kong. It was the first place I came before heading to Asia and the last place I was before coming to the Mainland. I knew that returning would almost be like a homecoming. It also gave me a weird sense of limbo because, in my mind, after arriving in Hong Kong, the next, most logical step, would be flying to O'Hare. (This obviously did not happen or else I would not be writing this report:^) It was absolutely phenomenal to be back in Hong Kong. I remembered my way around the city like the back of my hand and charged full force into the hustle and bustle that I had missed. I spent some time doing some VCD shopping and book shopping. How great it was to go into a book store with such a large selection of English books. There are way to many things we take for granted in the places that we live and book stores are one of them. I also spent some great time with my friends from this past summer. I got to be with a family for the Lunar New Year and partake i
n the traditions there. It was so wonderful! My return to Hong Kong worked out so well, that I did not want to come back to the Mainland. It also made me realize that sometime, in the near future, I will be relocating to Hong Kong-for at least a few years (No worries Doug! I'm finishing out the year and still coming back to Grinnell so you won't have to fly me in from Hong Kong!)
Back in China: "NO! I did not have a rest!"
The trek back to the Mainland was uneventful, in a China kind of way. I went through passport control in Hong Kong and lugged my bags to my compartment. Sharing the cabin with me were five other people, as is typical in a hard sleeper situation. One of the occupants was a PE teacher from Shanghai. He was older and spoke very little English but tried to talk to me. As soon as we crossed from HKSAR into the Mainland, the train was stopped and military personnel boarded the train. About an hour after this, the train pulled into Guangzhou. It is here that I realized we must take all of belongings off of the train and go through customs. Well, they had not distributed the health and re-entry forms on the train so within the small waiting area there was a mad rush of people. Everyone pushing and shoving in a true China fashion. Now I knew that the train would not leave without me. However, I received my forms very quickly, filled them out PRIOR to getting into line and then proceeded into the nearest lin
e. However, I continually got shoved, pushed and rammed with carts by people cutting in front me. It was a China line so the line grew from the front, not from the back. Finally, they snapped my last nerve and I rammed my luggage cart into the legs of the person in front of me. I had made my point. Also by this time, most everyone else was through the line. I finally got through and outside to the train and there was my friend the PE teacher waving at me from the window. I got on the train and he said, "What happened? Where did you have a rest?" thinking that I had a taken a break somewhere and had not been in line the entire time. Needless to say, I tried to compose myself and as politely as I could muster I said, through my teeth, "I did not have a rest."
Twenty-five hours after leaving Hong Kong, we pulled into Shanghai. I moved quickly to the ticket window, pushing MY way in true China fashion and said, "Nanjing!" and pointed downward to motion I needed a ticket for today. The train left an hour later. I got into Nanjing, hailed a cab and got safely back to my room.
Kasia returned several days later and we have been here ever since. It seemed that those pesky Chinese business men were not going to return but after being rudely woken by them this morning, I knew they were back…and in full swing. So let the spit fly, the smoke soar, I'm ready this time, to have a war. AIYA!
School Days: Name games
School started four days ago and I am happy to be back. We switch students this time around and so I have to learn a new set of names. I had remembered some of the names of Kasia's students so I was all prepared for the first class when they came in. But, the girl whose name I had known, no longer wanted that name…she had a different one in mind:
Josh: (passing out name tags) Talent, here you are.
Student previously known as Talent: Ummm….I have changed my name.
Josh: (handing her a sheet of paper and a marker) Okay. What do you want to be called?
Student previously known as Talent: Wait a minute.
(She begins to write her new name and Josh continues to pass out name tags)
Josh: (returning to the student previous known as Talent) Okay, what's it going to be?
Student previously known as Talent: Broccoli
Josh: (stunned) Broccoli? Are you sure?
Broccoli: Yes. My friend gave me this name and I like it very much.
Josh: Okay, Broccoli. (sigh)
If this is any indication of things to come, this next term should be quite amusing and simply fly by.
8 months in Asia
4 months left
The experience, the memories, the laughs: PRICELESS
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