Me and Little Nainai

Things are slowly becoming run-of-the-mill here. Believe it or not, I've fairly easily fallen into a routine. Making new friends has made my transition a lot easier. It almost feels like I'm at summer camp, or something, where friendships are accelerated because of a small, incestuous environment. Regardless, I know I'm lucky to have such great colleagues.

We had a classroom management seminar today; it was taught by China 10's (I'm a China 11--the 10's were the first group back after the SARs scare, so they had to start from scratch and now, a year later, have some good tips for us). I'm really excited about working with Chinese students. Because competence is measured only by national exams, the school system here is set up in a way that encourages principally rote memorization as a learning style, and it seems like my biggest challenge as a teacher will be to reconcile my aspirations of encouraging critical thinking with the students' desire to know only what appears on their exams. Schooling here seems inversely related to the American style because the Chinese students work the hardest to pass their college entrance exams and expect something of a respite once they get to university. Sure, we have our SATs, but I really believe that our first twelve years of school are a lot less challenging than the ones that follow (for those of us that go to college, at least). Obviously, all of this is just speculative at this point, but I'm nonetheless pretty excited to meet the challenges that await me with the younger students, at least--my upperclassmen will most likely be different.

Otherwise, my language acquisition is progressing relatively well. Last night was wonderful because, with my host family, I shared my first meal during which I felt like we really began to communicate without either absurd gesticulations or resorting to a dictionary--albeit relatively insignificant in the grand scheme of things, it felt like a big accomplishment at the time. I'm still waiting for the right time to get a photo of them to post. My friend Mary took some pictures of us the other night at "hot pot" that I'm hoping to post eventually. "Hot pot" is a Sichuan specialty. Not unlike the banquet I already explained, this meal is also communal, but each individual cooks his or her own food right at the table. So, the servers bring out a plethora of raw meats and vegetables that you cook in the boiling oil sitting before you in the middle of the table. It was, without doubt, the spiciest meal I have ever had--the oils are spiced with god know's what, and, if you want to eat (and stay healthy), you have no choice but to cook your food before you in the hottest thing that you have ever tasted (yes, my mouth went numb). I found it imperative to have a couple of beers along with the meal as it seemed to be the only beverage that cooled my mouth. Anyways, Mary apparently has a photo of me and Nainai ("grandma") toasting with our glasses that I'm waiting to post. By the way, I fall in love with Nainai more everyday. Of course, she's no substitute for my biological grandmothers, but she's just as sweet. I've decided that she looks like a Muppet. Elmo+Animal=Nainai. Anyways, I'm off to bed. Take care all.

xoxoxo