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Is it November already? Yep, it sure is. I had to check because I still can't completely believe it. So much has happened in the last few months, and so much continues to happen that I find myself having a hard time keeping track of it all. The time has flown by, and China has been the only place I haven't been able to keep up to date on my journaling. I think this is at least partly because I have been engrossed in my experiences here more than I have at any other time I've been away from home. China is very engrossing. I would like to blurt everything out all at once in order to make sure nothing slips through the cracks, but since I don't want to give any of my readers a headache and for lack of a more clever organizational scheme, it seems like the best place to start is at:
The Beginning (Leaving on a Jet Plane…)
At the end of August, I met Katie in San Francisco for the first time after becoming a fellow; I did not know I would be spending the 2003-2004 year on the other side of the world until late June / early July. We both climbed aboard a plane bound for Hong Kong, myself with my body weight in luggage stowed beneath and a pair of headphones in hand. Thirteen hours and two sleeping pills later, Josh Blue greeted us, led us through our jet-lag-induced delirium to our hotel, and graciously showed us around for the weekend. Many thanks to Josh; I realize now that we didn't ganbei him nearly enough. Hong Kong was wonderful, and the view from Josh's apartment roof-one which made me feel like I was standing in the middle of a skyscraper nursery-is one of the many amazing things I will have from that city for years to come, aside from all the great photos. Hong Kong gave our biological clocks a little time to catch up to being a good half-day in the future and served as a great transition city. There seems to be a
relatively even balance of Chinese and Western culture in it, though at the time I was wide-eyed with all the new things I was seeing and experiencing. I say relatively balanced because compared to Hong Kong, mainland China (as much as Chinese people have tried try to persuade me otherwise) is in many ways an entirely different country. Take the language for instance; in the mainland they speak Mandarin instead of Cantonese and very little English. This may seem like a no-brainer, but I was fooled into a false sense of security by Hong Kong with its surprising numbers of English-speakers, its 7-elevens and English broadcasts of the Simpsons. It made me wonder, "am I really in China?"
China (The in many ways Entirely Different Country)
I arrived in the mainland confident in my abilities to live in places different from the US, drawing a little comfort from having at least seen an Asian-style toilet thanks to my semester abroad in Tanzania. While living abroad helped me adjust in a general way, and some of the "Eat! Eat! Eat!" food etiquette I had learned in Africa has proved applicable in China, adjusting to China was (and still is) quite different than adjusting to anywhere else I've been. For example, Nanjing is a city of over 6 million people, although this is fairly average by eastern Chinese standards. Shanghai, about four hours away by train and boasting more than twice as many residents, is considered to be the "big" city. By comparison, St. Louis-my hometown and Nanjing's American sister city-has maybe 1.5 million people if you include a generous surrounding area, so this was a big change for me. I feel that many of the more challenging aspects of life here has been affected, in some way, by this phenomenon.
Nanjing, like many cities in China, is in the process being of renovated, restored and generally made-over. To this end, an abundance of construction projects are in progress all over the place. On the 5 minute bike ride to the school where Katie and I teach (more on this later), there are at least three. There are probably more, but it can be difficult to tell when one ends and another begins. We can even see a brand new building-many stories taller than our own 20-story dorm-going up from the comfort of our own rooms by just looking across the street. Construction is nothing new to me, but what IS new is the fact that workers are often busy at their sites until well after 2 am. Maybe it's just my imagination, but it seems like they save the noisiest parts (dropping giant pieces of sheet metal, operating cranes and delivering machinery) until I am ready to go to sleep. After laying down in bed when the weather was warmer, I would sometimes get back up and check to make sure my windows were closed afte
r a particularly loud boom, crash or bang; more often than not, they were. I even remember another occasion late at night when I ran to the window wondering aloud, "what are all those explosions coming from behind the Ramada near our school?" One of my Chinese friends simply answered "Construction."
6 million people in a city full of construction projects and factories can create a lot of pollution. At first I couldn't tell because it rained fairly often, but as the rain decreased, the clouds continued to loom. After a little while, I stopped trying to predict whether the weather would turn out to be rainy or just polluty, and now carry rain gear with me at all times, just in case. Other, more subtle indications of the city's pollution levels include having two or three migraines during the time I have been here, when I usually only get them every year or two. On the whole, however, I have remained a healthy young adult, and have had no major illnesses to date (knock on wood!) The occasional piece of crud that somehow finds its way under my contact lens when I am dodging my way through the street on my bike can be pretty annoying, though.
I say "dodging" my way through the street because traffic in Nanjing is very different than traffic in St. Louis, Tanzania and certainly in Grinnell. I have come a long way from waiting to cross the street until an old lady or someone with a child ventures across, but I still have a lot left to learn. Despite my best efforts, I have been in my fair share of low-speed accidents with pedestrians and other bikers, and am still trying to distinguish "I'm passing you" honks, rings, and beeps from those that say "get out of my way," those directed at somebody else and those saying little more than "here I am." An experience that seems to illustrate a great deal about life in China is one in which I hit a woman carrying a giant plastic tub full of water and live shrimp. I was biking uphill to pick up some photos I had taken to be developed when it happened, and I didn't see her running against traffic until the last minute when she came over the crest of the hill. I shouted "wei" (which, depending on intonation
, can be used for answering the phone as well as saying "look out!"), rang my little bike bell, and slammed on my China brakes, but to no avail. There was nowhere else for me to go, and she turned around just in time to get a face full of water and shrimp squirming through the air. I don't know how, but she was actually able to save most of them. Since this was only my second month in China, I had not yet acquired shrimp-bowl-collision vocabulary, and the only thing I could think to do was give her a look that I hope said "are you okay?" and "I'm sorry" and "what were you thinking running against traffic while looking over your shoulder?" She in turn, after seeing that I was a foreigner, gave me a look that said many things, and probably included "I'm okay" and "I'm sorry" and "what were you thinking running into me when I was clearly having a conversation with my friend behind me?" After a VERY awkward moment of (rare) silence, we went our separate ways. Despite the occasional setback along the way, th
ough, I do love riding my bike around and think it's great that so many other people bike as well. In some ways it seems like a shame that cars are becoming more common; I can often reach a nearby destination just as, if not more quickly, than someone using a car or the bus system.
A reflection on some of the more challenging aspects of life in China wouldn't be complete without touching on bureaucracy and international administration. After having completed a lengthy medical examination in the states, I kept my fingers crossed that everything would go smoothly upon my arrival. Things seemed okay at first, but when I tried to get my documents allowing me to stay beyond the month granted by my temporary visa, the health officials wouldn't accept that my syphilis test was negative, even though it was filled out correctly on my form. A little while after letting Doug know of the problem, a fed-ex envelope arrived for me with a brand new copy of my test. I was very happy because a couple of days previous to this, the director of police in Nanjing had given an "informative" talk to all of the foreign experts (by the way-I am officially classified as a foreign "expert"-it still seems a little funny) about what would happen if we overstayed our visas: fines, detention, and then deportation
. I delivered my package and kept my fingers crossed, but they ended up not accepting the second testament to my complete health because there was no stamp or seal on it. The "no worries" philosophy I had grown to know and love in East Africa did not seem to have any kind of translation in China. I was definitely disappointed, as I did not relish the thought of having to go to a Chinese hospital for the test. Fang Laoshi (teacher Fang), the wonderful woman who picked Katie and myself up at the airport and who has since become a second mother to both of us, noticed that something was wrong, and offered to cheer me up by showing me how to use the ATM machines (as my dwindling cash supply was something else weighing on my mind.) We went to the one that previous fellows had been able to use…and it ate my card. That was about all I could take; I kind of freaked out that night and sent some S.O.S. e-mails back to the states. Everything turned out all right, though. The next day, I took the note that Fang La
oshi had written in Chinese to the bank and got my card back. About a week later I received the most official-looking document I have ever seen from the US that wasn't a drivers' license or a passport and made the immigration authorities very happy. I recently even got my third document which states that I have a reason to be living in China so I think, as far as the authorities are concerned, I'm here to stay. Many thanks to Doug and my parents for helping me pull this off.
So this was the kind of place I had just arrived in. The people coughed, hacked and spit on everything from nearby greenery to the carpeted floor of a train's sleeper car. The city was crowded, dirty, and when I crossed the road I sometimes wondered if I would make it to the other side. The good news is that this is the worst of it, and despite these minor challenges, I have been having an incredible experience and have absolutely loved being here.
The Good News
Xi-Yuan, the International student dorm of Nanjing University and the place where I am living for the year, is very nice. The room which I have is about the size of a (Grinnell) college double, although most other rooms of this size in our dorm have two or three people living in them, and Chinese college students squeeze as many as eight into the same sized room. After cleaning the room (which seemed to have not been opened since the last fellows left), I went on a treasure hunt and found the directions, decorations and medicine left by Emily and other previous fellows. We share our floor (and bathrooms) with Chinese businessmen and American students studying here for the semester. In addition to the great location-surrounded by lots of good restaurants, close to several shops and a short bike ride away from the high school where we teach-Xi-Yuan has afforded me the opportunity to become friends with some outstanding people (both foreigners and Chinese). It still sometimes amazes me that within 50 feet o
f the place I live, I can speak every language I know (fluent English, a decent amount of French and Swahili, and a smattering of Chinese) with native speakers. It provides a familiar kind of International / Western environment that has helped to limit my homesickness and also serves as a link to the college community which has smoothed my transition to the working world. We see announcements for college students on the cork-board downstairs, and this has allowed me to experience another facet of life here. I have been able to go to Chinese punk concerts, see soccer games, and start taking Jeet Chuan Dao (Bruce Lee's style of martial arts) at the college gym thanks to our location in an announcement-friendly place.
Another wonderful (and perhaps my favorite) part of life in China is the fantastic relationship we have with the high school and the people that work there. I already mentioned that Fang Laoshi has become a sort of mother to us since our arrival, but the whole school has exceeded my expectations by providing us with a supportive, family-like environment. In addition to my Chinese mother who invites me over for home-cooked meals on a regular basis, I also have an older brother (Romeo) who whispers jokes and tutors me in Chinese, and whom I usually join for lunch in the cafeteria or out in the city. And what family would be complete without a doting aunt (Secretary Shi) who doesn't rest until I have been taken to some of the more flashy attractions around Nanjing, stuffed full of medicine or food and buried under gifts? Grace, Romeo and Fang Laoshi have all been incredibly generous with their time and very attentive as well-calling every so often to make sure we don't get too homesick and helping us with ev
erything from bikes and foreign expert cards to towels, shoes, school supplies and travel plans. One of Romeo's friends, Double Dragon (yes, that is the English name he chose for himself), even treated Katie and me to a traditional Chinese music concert. During the National Day Break (7 days, Wednesday-Tuesday), Katie and I ended up staying in Nanjing to "have a rest" and avoid the hordes, since nearly everyone else in China would be traveling at the time. After news of our plans spread through the school like wildfire, we were invited to the other teachers' homes on no less than five occasions. For me, an experience that has surprised me as one of the most familiar so far was when Secretary (of the communist party variety) Ding hosted us for the day; we had the expected feast at lunch, then her daughter and her daughter's friends showed us around some parks and the downtown area. We came back to warm up, have a home-cooked meal and then played cards well into the night. Even complete strangers sometime
s take it upon themselves to look out for Katie and me. On a train ride to Luoyang during the mid-semester break, a woman who sat across from us in the same compartment decided to "adopt" us for the ride and ended up showing us around with the rest of her family the day after we arrived. While I'm sure they got a kick out of leading two foreigners around, it was very nice of them and loads of fun for me, too.
The school itself has become such a familiar place that I have gone there on my days off every now and then to "get away from it all." Xi-Yuan is a great place, but it can sometimes act as a magnet for unwanted attention as well. One Saturday when I was trying to sleep in from the previous night of watching movies with friends until the wee hours of the morning, someone (whom I had never met before) came pounding on my door at 8:00 am to ask if I wanted to teach English in Suzhou for the weekend. Now I like teaching English, and I like Suzhou, but at the time I was way too tired, and a little voice inside my head told me that "immediately" was not enough of an advanced notice, so I spent the next fifteen minutes convincing the man that I did NOT want to go to Suzhou with him. Around 8:30, just as I was falling asleep again, one of my Chinese friends came by and after becoming a bit disgruntled by my sleepiness, observed that I was always sleeping whenever she came by. (Internal monologue: Of course I am
when you always come by on Saturday mornings!) I eventually went back to sleep, to be awakened by a phone call a little while later, at which point I decided that my quest for sleep would be futile and headed to school. It is a nice place to be when it's not as full as it is during the week (it is very seldom empty,) and the time I spent in my office was the only time I was productive the whole day. During the first week or so, I didn't know that the school would become so familiar or that my coworkers would come to be such close friends, but I did realize teaching in China would be different than what I envision teaching to be like in the states when we had our first…
Banquets
I had read the previous reports, but didn't believe (or maybe couldn't wrap my head around) how much food they actually serve at these things. The "welcome to our school" banquet (different than the "welcome to Nanjing," or the "welcome to China" banquets) left me full well into the next day, and also introduced me to my "manly" duties of drinking obscene amounts of rice wine with the other men. I have gotten a better feel for how banquets usually unfold after having been here for a little while, but after that first one I spent the rest of the day trying to figure out if I had actually gotten into a drinking contest with the school principles (I don't think I did, but because of all the alcohol consumed, it took me some time to work this out). Until this point, we've had at least a dozen banquets-I've been keeping a running tally through the end of October-which has made me quite happy, since I like food very much and the food here is excellent. I've discovered that I love eggplant, bean paste, lotus roo
ts, and just about all the ways that meat is served stuffed into some kind of bready pocket or pouch. The noodles (or as one menu proudly advertised, "noodies") are made fresh daily and I have probably eaten more fried pumpkin cakes than is healthy for me. In our recent trip to Xi'an, Luoyang and Kaifeng, Katie and I devoted a significant amount of time to sampling the street food of each city. Nanjing has already left its mark on me, too-after getting back, it felt good to have a bottomless bowl of rice served with everything again. Initially, I had a bit of trouble learning to use chopsticks, and am now glad that I spent the extra $5 on some Stain Defender pants before I came; they were worth every penny. With daily practice, though, I've become much better and am now able to gesture while holding a meatball in my kuaizi (chopsticks) without making a mess. I haven't run out of new foods to try, and have even consumed a small bowl of duck blood soup (although I have yet to order it again.) I usually e
at out since the food here is good and cheap, although I sometimes miss cooking in my own kitchen or eating around a table in a home.
The first week was also when I was given my Chinese name. Mine is pronounced "Tao si yue" or "Tao si le," depending on the meaning of the last character (both are positive ones), although I have asked my students to call me "Mr. T." I still get a kick out of an entire classroom of kids calling me that, although I'm sure none of them know the reference. Maybe it's better that way. In any case, soon after we had our names, Katie and I were coached through introducing ourselves to the few thousand people at the school in English first and then Chinese (at which point most of the students had a good laugh). Then we had our first classes and finally started…
Teaching
Before coming to China, I had helped my little sisters with their homework and participated in the Mentoring program at Grinnell, but Nanjing is the first place where I've taught in a classroom setting. Needless to say, I was a little nervous when the first day of classes rolled around. Mine started out a bit rough and chaotic (especially during the first week, as classes were still being cancelled and rescheduled), but since then I have learned a lot about teaching. I definitely have a better rapport with students in my classes than I did during the first week, and have gotten a better handle on things like classroom management / dealing with disturbances (which have been fairly common, both in- and out- side the classroom). I have gained a great deal of confidence in my abilities as a teacher, and have continued to set personal teaching records; one day I might think "I just had my best class ever" and then a few weeks later, I'll think "no, this class was my best class ever." I try to draw inspiration
and solace from these moments when things don't go so well, as I find myself striving to encourage reluctant students to speak on a daily basis.
That being said, I have been helped by a variety of resources at the school. I was pleasantly surprised to find that Katie and I both have a TV with a DVD player in our classrooms (which are next-door to each other). I have so far only started showing full-length movies to one of my classes, although I now have a much better idea which classes would benefit the most from this. However, this equipment has been invaluable in explaining what tornadoes are (Twister) and in giving the students an idea of how a baseball game is played. Although I couldn't find Field of Dreams after scouring the DVD bins here, I was able to find a substitute; I'm still looking for my favorite movie about Iowa, though, and would love anyone who could send it to me since I plan on teaching sports again when Katie and I switch students. We are able to sign up for special rooms in the school-one has an object projector, and another which I have just heard of supposedly holds the rest of the school's AV equipment. I also use the En
glish library for class material and inspiration. The library could always use more children's books, if anyone happens to have a little extra time and money on their hands or a little extra room in any packages they plan on sending (although we already have at least three copies of "The Cat in the Hat"). In addition to pictures that I brought with me, I have also used my mp3 jukebox (which holds my entire mp3 and CD collection) in the classroom, occasionally working the "Animaniacs" or songs like "take me out to the ballgame" into lessons. Although we have access to supplementary textbooks whenever we like, I have tried to make my classes as aural as possible and have kept their use to a minimum.
One teaching challenge, especially with my younger students, is the wide range of abilities in each class. I almost always have students who can understand and speak English a great deal better than the others and one even went to England for the summer. While I think this is great, there are also students in the same class who understand very little of what I say and / or are just too shy to speak in class, even when called upon. I find that I have to be very careful that the same students are not always answering my questions, and have to work hard to get everyone to participate. I have also found that for a given grade, the students' abilities also seem to vary widely between certain classes.
Katie and I teach three classes of Junior one students (1, 2 and 11), three of Junior two (1, 2 and 11), two of Senior one (1 and 2) and two of Senior two (1 and 2). We do not teach Junior or Senior 3 students, and classes are ranked according to ability; class 1 is the best, class 2 is the second best, although class 11 is known as the "computer class" for their focus on computers.
Junior 1 (12 and 13 year-olds)
This grade has been a lot of fun to teach; the students are cute kids and conscientious about working hard. They have not had a foreign teacher before, so everything is new and impressive to them; "you're 22?!? Wow-I thought you were 45!" I even received an unsolicited round of applause when I wrote the character for "ni," (meaning "you") on the board to make sure they understood that I wanted them to write their names in Chinese as well as English. Although they have been interested in just about everything we've done so far, they seemed to take a special liking to acting out opposites, one of the things they already understand well.
Junior 2 (13 and 14 year-olds)
This group of students was initially the most difficult to manage. They are old (and confident) enough to participate actively in class, but not always in a constructive way. However, they have become much more fun to teach after I had a kind of breakthrough with them in reviewing the sports unit via Mad Libs, a game I used to play when I was about their age. The students supplied words of a particular type (noun, verb, number, etc.) into a story I had already written without knowing what it was about. As usually happens, the story they made was pretty funny, and it had the students in stitches. Although it has taken a lot of trial and error, I feel like I'm finally reaching them, which makes the experience that much more rewarding. I'm still keeping my fingers crossed and my brain in high gear in the hope that things will continue to go well.
Senior 1 (15 and 16 year-olds)
The Senior 1s have been great; they are by and large enthusiastic about returning to a conversation class after having a year off. They are also not afraid to tell me when they don't understand something, or to let me know what they want to do during class, a trait which is sorely lacking among my younger students. The semester's momentum began to lag a little bit, but things seemed to pick up again when I introduced the music lesson last week, which is one of their favorite topics.
Senior 2 (16 and 17 year-olds)
The two classes in this grade seem to be the ones with the biggest difference in either abilities or motivation. This became most apparent during the government unit I did early in the semester. For their homework, they were supposed to write campaign speeches and read them before the rest of the class. The first class had only one person who even did the homework. Since I had planned on having the students read their speeches in class, and was less than a month into teaching, I didn't know what to do. I still don't exactly remember how I got through the class, but I do remember feeling crushed with disappointment at the end. Luckily, though, the other class was outstanding, and after the engaging 40 minutes we had together, I was exhilarated through the entire weekend. They consistently surpass my considerable expectations, and are now watching The Addams Family (this was their movie choice for Halloween) as a kind of reward for their hard work. I think things will improve with the other class as I c
ontinue to customize lessons even more. This grade is definitely the one with the greatest potential for advanced conversation.
In addition to these classes, we also hold English Corner on Wednesdays after lunch, and Library Hours at the same time on Thursday. English Corner is one of my favorite weekly experiences because when the weather is nice, Katie and I are surrounded by students who excitedly pepper us with questions. This group usually consists of younger students since the older ones are, like, way too cool for that. While I certainly hope this helps them to learn, it has been a learning experience for me as well; it was here that I found out I couldn't be an American because I don't have blue eyes or blond hair. We also have a teachers' conversation class on Thursdays although it has met with much less regularity as of late. Aside from what I have already mentioned about teaching, there are a few other logistical things that I really appreciate about our high school. For one, there are no bells or buzzers to signal the end or beginning of a class-everything is coordinated by music. Changing classes is a much more soo
thing experience when done to the tune of a waltz than it was for me with bells when I went to high school. This also allows me to finish what I am saying before the students run out of the room. Another novelty for me is the extra five minutes worked into our daily schedule for the sole purpose of giving the students time to do eye exercises. This may seem a little strange, but it is actually a beautiful part of each day when all the students sit quietly, close their eyes and massage their face in various ways to the count of a loudspeaker. It has worked wonders at calming even my most rambunctious classes and getting them focused in a way that I strive to achieve myself.
Finally, Katie and I have also been asked to give monthly speeches at the school's morning assemblies. So far, I have read "Green Eggs and Ham" at the end of September, and Katie and I acted out trick-or-treating to briefly explain Halloween this past October. I hope this doesn't set an unwelcome precedent for any future fellows; it has actually been pretty fun. I'm happy to take any excuse I can get to dress up as a pirate and tell corny jokes for candy. The only part that has been difficult is changing my sleep schedule from weeks of afternoon classes to being awake and speaking clearly at 7:30 am. So far, I have made it up in time every month, but I have had to go to bed earlier than I ever did in college in order to pull it off. I just can't seem to wake up on time after getting only four hours of sleep anymore. The Halloween speech was the one that I came closest to missing; after Katie knocked on my door to see if I was ready to go, I leapt out of bed and five minutes later was biking down the st
reet dressed as a pirate (though I quickly flipped up my eyepatch as I desperately needed depth perception to get to school in once piece.)
Towards the beginning of the semester, I spent a lot of time adjusting to China and figuring out how to teach my classes. As I have gotten used to life here and have become more experienced at teaching, I've been able to find a little free time, and have used it to learn Jeet Chuan Dao (mentioned earlier) as well as Erhu. Jeet Chuan Dao keeps me busy three times a week and gives me some regular exercise after the work day is over. It has also been the reason I was in a paper distributed all over Nanjing. Chinese people seem to love it when foreigners do anything remotely Chinese, and when the reporters came to our class, they zeroed right in on Melinda (one of my "foreigner" friends) and myself. It ended up feeling more like a photo shoot than a lesson, and was tons of fun for me. With Fang Laoshi's help, I have also been able to arrange a lesson exchange to learn Erhu, a Chinese instrument that resembles an upright violin with two strings. I teach my instructor, Eric as I named him, English and he tea
ches me Erhu. We get along very well (he is my age) and he has already invited me to travel out west with him next year during his vacation. I feel like I am the one who is coming out ahead with the arrangement, although he seems perfectly happy the way things are.
One thing that has struck me after being here for a little while is how highly English teachers, especially native speakers, are in demand. I also feel that, at least at school, we are very well respected-students have held others out of the way to let me pass, and with the dozen or so banquets during the first two months, I have felt more like a VIP than a teacher at times. I wonder if I'll be spoiled when I return to the states; on the 17th floor of Xi-Yuan, a maid makes my bed, delivers my water and cleans my floor daily, even when I don't ask for these things. One of my Chinese friends brought to my attention how fortunate I am just to have been born a native speaker of English. As she pointed out, I can travel to a huge variety of places around the world in exchange for nothing more than some conversation with the people there when I arrive. I am able to trade my ability to speak English for goods and services, like instrument lessons, and have been consistently offered more than two or three times
the amount of money my Chinese friends could earn by tutoring someone in English, primarily because I am a foreigner and a native speaker.
Although I can't turn anyone into a native speaker who is not already one to begin with, I do hope that my time here allows me to give my students some of the extraordinary opportunities I myself have had. I am constantly amazed by how strongly people desire English language skills, and hope that through my work I can give my students the tools that will allow them to stand out from the crowd, get an edge in life and succeed in the global community. This thought in turn pushes me to work harder and helps bolster my motivation when the challenges of living in a new country, adjusting to a new culture and teaching for the first time are the greatest. And it comforts me with a definite sense of purpose.
I would like to thank the committee for offering me this amazing opportunity, Doug for all his work, and everyone who has sent a letter, e-mail or phone call my way. Thanks to Katie, my fellow Fellow, for being a great listener and sharing the occasional "here we go again" look. I would love to hear from anyone that has questions, comments or advice; please feel free to contact me via e-mail at:
torrence@grinnell.edu
Any packages, boxes or bags should be sent to:
Justin Torrence
Nanjing University Xi-Yuan
Room 1701
20 Jin Yin Jie
Shanghai Lu
Nanjing, China 210093
I will probably post updates on my plan more often than once every three months, although I cannot guarantee this will only cover things relating to China. Okay. I've talked for long enough. I feel like I have to stop now so that I will have something to say when February rolls around (although I'm sure the next few months will be full of adventures of their own). There is a saying here that "between friends, a thousand toasts is not enough." So, even though it's not enough, to my friends, family and the readers who made it to the end of my report, I wish you all 1,000 toasts,
Justin
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