Bachelors' Day!

Today, November 11th, is Veterans Day back home. A day to honor those who fought to protect our country. Here in China, today is bachelors' day. I'm not exactly sure what that means other than the fact that it is a day to celebrate the single men and women of China. From a quick search of the internet I've found that it is an unofficially holiday that was started by single high school and college students a few years ago. The day, 11/11, has become quite the vogue around college campuses and though I'm not sure what exactly people do to celebrate--students are much more chaste here--I did discover that in some cities 30-something singles gather at "marriage fairs." I love that China has a day, official or not, celebrating almost everyone. Earlier I was honored on teacher's day, and now, today, I can celebrate my singledom. Take that Valentine's day. 

Their very first foreigner

On Sunday Lucy and I went to a town near by--about 30 minutes drive from Qufu--to teach children between the ages of 5 and 12. We really didn't know anything more than that when we were picked up at 7am. During the ride there I was tired and not really looking forward to spending my Sunday in a classroom teaching. We arrived in the center of town and split up; Lucy would go to 3 schools and I would go to another 4 all in surrounding villages. Once I walked into the school my feelings about the day radically changed. The children were all so incredibly energetic and enthusiastic. I think Lucy described it best when she said she felt like Santa. Because we were the first foreigners that they had even met they were shy and hesitant in deciding what to make of me at first. Was I real? And then, moments later, once they decided that I was not someone--or something--to be afraid of they swarmed. For 3 hours I moved from class to class, school to school. The children had been taking English for anywhere from 2 months to 4 years so their levels varied. After introducing myself to each class, I would answer their questions--all the basic phrases they had learned: what is your favorite color; what is your favorite food; do you like oranges; what is your favorite sport? Then they would sing me a song or chant a song or two. I would then teach them a song and play a game with them. For most classes I taught them "Head, Shoulders, Knees & Toes" and they all learned very quickly. After singing the song and doing the motions together a few times, I would point to a part on my body and they would have to say it correctly or I would say a part of my body and they would have to point to it. Though some were a moment or two behind the others, most learned quickly--we'll see if they retain any of it.


After 3 hours of teaching Lucy and I met up again and taught a large group of very young children ring around the rosie. Holding hands with one little girl in a pink puffy jacket, I really noticed just how curious, enthusiastic, yet shy many of them were. She wouldn't really look me in the eye when I asked her questions, yet she clung to my hand, not wanted to let me go. We signed dozens of "autographs" in their textbooks in a frenzy of pushing and shoving and then said good bye. Following teaching, we were treated to a feast for lunch. Six or so dishes of food came out and we ate quickly, hungry and worn out by the long day. Having stuffed ourselves we forced ourselves to make room as another 5 dishes appeared. We did our best not to appear rude in refusing to eat more. We arrived back at our apartments at about 1:30 in the afternoon, exhausted from the morning but grateful for the experience.

The conditions of each school varied dramatically. Some were a large complex with larger, clean classrooms while others really nothing more than a single room in a rapidly aging building. From what I could gather, the each school was part of the larger single organization that had brought us there. Most seemed to have to do with educating the children of coal miners as the town is supported largely by coal mining. The children were all adorable though--I have to say Chinese children really are the cutest. Some were dressed in school track suites while others, mostly the girls, wore tweed jackets and knee high boots, making them appear almost as miniature adults. In the spring, when my Juniors go to their hometowns to do student teaching for a 5 weeks, I hope to be able to go back to the schools more regularly and really interact with the children.

Election Day

I went to bed last night in China with polls opening across the country in America. In some ways I am disappointed not to be in the US or even awake during election day. November 4th is bound to be a historic day and I am not there to experience it. But as disappointed as I am, sleeping through the anxiety has its benefits as well. I slept last night like a child on Christmas Eve. I also slept like a high school student the night before the SATs, dreaming that I walked into the test with no pencil and no clothes on, or in this case that something horribly wrong would happen when election results began to come in. When I finally got out of bed and readied myself for class, the first polls were just closing. Now I am sitting in my living room, computer on my lap, NPR WAMC streaming, and refreshing nytimes.com and cnn.com every other minute or so. It is strange to be so far away from America on such a monumental day. I can only imagine how different the atmosphere in America is from here in China. Here, everyone is going about their day as usual. They are not just indifferent, but oblivious to what is happening in the US. 

Looking back, I remember the only other presidential election that I have voted in--the 2004 election. It was my freshman year of college, and I was in a overwhelmingly liberal environment. I remember sitting in the common room watching the news until about 3 in the morning, desperately hoping that something would happen to change the direction that the results were going. In the defeat there was a sense of community though. I think that is what I feel I am missing out on most today--and what I will be missing most tomorrow. As results come in, it appears that tomorrow will be a day that marks the first step in a new direction; yet, I will, for the most part, experience it alone. 

birds & old men

This morning one of the other American teachers here, Lisa, and I woke up early on a Sunday morning to go on a bit of an adventure. In past years Lisa had discovered that early in the morning old men would gather in a park in Qufu. The group gathers to talk--about what I do not know--but seems to use the excuse of "airing" their birds. Each man will carry his little pet bird(s) in beautiful old cages on the back of a bike or cart. 

So out we went at 7am to the park about a 15 minute bike ride away from my apartment. We wandered about taking pictures and endeavoring to interact; Lisa better than me--smiles and nods seem still seem to be my strongest method of communication. Across a small waterway or mote of sorts, the rest of the park was filled with men and women doing their morning exercises. Most have past their mid-forties, but each seems to have an incredible about of

 energy. As we walked our bikes through the w

inding paths, old women shuffled by, our presence giving them fresh gossip. We stopped for a bit to look at a plaza where couples ballroom-danced to music that blared from two speakers beneath a willow-like tree. 

As I walked through the park, I couldn't help but notice the vast difference between a Sunday morning in China, more specifically Qufu, and New York City. In New York, Sunday morning before 10 is my favorite time. The city is quiet, still sleeping in, and so becomes my own. To match the quiet, a haze blankets the city as light reflects off the morning air.

 If you head to 

Central Park you will see people running and biking, 

but almost everyone is young.  The setting, the haze, light, cool air, all match New York City, but the atmosphere is completely different. The exercising crowd is older, the day has already begun, hours ago in fact, and exercise is not so much a chore to keep up appearances but an yet another opportunity to socialize.