First Time Leaving Jingzhou

Last weekend we traveled two hours west to Yichang, the closest city to the Three Gorges Dam. We packed eleven people into a rented van and headed out early Saturday morning. Yes, we fit eleven in there.

We opted not to see the Dam because it is rather expensive and we just wanted to hike. Instead, we visited The Three Gorges Household Scenic Area. First, we took a short boat ride to the mountain.

This girl, who directed us onto the boat, is dressed in traditional Tujia clothing. The Tujia people are the local ethnic minority in the small mountain villages just north of Yichang.

 A group photo taken on the boat.

Once across the river, we rode a gondola up the mountain. 

We then walked down the mountain. Some scenic views.

Halfway down there was a castle with people role-playing. The small mock village, castle and costumes were representative of the Chu State (which was centered in Jingzhou) during the Era of Warring States, a 200 year time period of warlord rivalry before the establishment of the first dynasty in 221 B.C. Here is the entrance.

He played amazing music on such a simple drum!

We watched a performance by fighters with their spears and swords.

Kung Fu Performance.

Tai Chi Performance.

The King watching his performers.

View of the castle from  below.

After we made it back to the bottom of the mountain, we enjoyed a classical musical performance played with traditional Chinese instruments and traditional dancing.

Then, we headed back out on the boat to our van. We spent the night and Sunday afternoon in Yichang, which we discovered has no tourist attractions. It is simply where people en route to Three Gorges stay. So we went to some local bars, ate and walked around. For my first time leaving Jingzhou, it proved to be an enjoyable and wonderful weekend!

Self Expressive Poetry

My students are great poets, and they didn't even know it!

My class activity went extraordinarily well last week. I had my students write "I Am Poems", which are basically fill in the blank. The first two words of each line are given and they complete the sentences in their own words.

I gave them 20 minutes to write their poems. Afterward, we wrote our poems on construction paper with bold markers. They did not have to put their names on their poems. We then taped each poem to the walls of the classroom to create an art gallery. Once all the poems were hung, we walked around to read the poetry and write comments. While the poets remained anonymous, the critics had to sign their name next to their comment. The commentary had to be positive. We had to tell the poet what we liked about their poem.

Due the anonymity,  the students felt free to share personal thoughts and feelings. Most of the poems were very insightful and revealed a lot about the poet. 

Here are two example poems written by my students:

Poem 1 (written by a female student)

I am creative and optimistic.
I wonder why I want to be a strong man.
I hear the birds singing in the sky.
I see this is a sea of flowers.
I want to travel around the world.
I am creative and optimistic.

I pretend to be your soul mate.
I feel lonely when you leave me alone.
I touch your smiling face to make sure you are real.
I worry that you will disappear someday.
I cry on your shoulder.
I am creative and optimistic.

I understand why I am dreaming all the time.
I say nothing until sunrise.
I dream to fly without being controlled.
I try to open my tender wings.
I hope my dream can come true in the future.
I am creative and optimistic.

Poem 2 (written by a male student)

I am considerate and curious.
I wonder why so many disasters have taken place in China.
I hear the crying of those victims.
I see the houses broken down by the earthquake and the arid land.
I want to help them even though I am not rich.
I am considerate and curious.

I pretend I could fly.
I feel blood boiling in my body.
I touch the hands of them.
I worry that we won't avoid such tragedy.
I cry for those people suffering.
I am considerate and curious.

I understand my work would not help very much.
I say we could make a great difference if we work together.
I dream that one day we live without any disasters.
I try my best to help them.
I hope my dream will come true one day.
I am considerate and curious.

The purpose was twofold. First, to encourage the students to indulge in self-expression, something for which many outlets are not provided in China. Secondly, to help them become more comfortable with sharing their writing with their classmates. After observing peer reviewing, it became evident that they’re uncomfortable marking other’s papers and offering direct feedback. So this activity provided the opportunity to exemplify how peer reviews can be encouraging and helpful. 

Everyone had a great time doing the Gallery Walk! All my classes ran 20 minutes late because students wanted to make sure that they read every poem.  For homework, they had to write 2-3 paragraphs about their experience. The writing prompts that were given were “What did you think about reading your classmates’ poems?” and “How did it feel to read the comments from your classmates?”

The feedback was the highlight of my week. Every single student absolutely loved the Gallery Walk! Many wrote that the comments gave them confidence, that if felt good to be open about their feelings and that they now want to write more poems. The multitude of responses were just incredible! Here are a few examples that made me smile:

"These words [comments] were the best rewards I've ever gained. No words can exactly express my joy when I read them."

"But many of my classmates' poems show that they are confused and have frustrated feelings too. Now I know that I am not alone in the world." 

"Thanks, Ms. Lindsey, I really appreciate it!"

"Someone commented that I had a profound thought. Frankly speaking, I have never realized this before. I never thought myself profound. This comment helped me understand myself better."

"Writing poetry is such a pleasure. It helps us release our emotions. Poems make me think about the world. And I love it!"

"It's an awful thing to be misunderstood. When I see those encouraging words, I feel like crying. They have the same condition with me. They know what I am worrying about. They inspire me to work hard. In my heart, I am now eager to show my feelings to them."

"The comments gave me power and strength."

"Some classmates told me that I am very imaginative. I never thought of myself as creative. However, now I change my mind!"

I really enjoyed reading these homework assignments! It made me feel that I am really making a difference in the classroom!

Not the Ultimate Chinese Challenge

Surprisingly, the ability to speak Chinese is not a necessary survival skill for working in Jingzhou. Before coming here, I assumed that circumstance would create the need, but anyone can live comfortably only knowing a few words. Despite that few people speak English once you leave campus, it is not difficult to do simple tasks on your own, such as shop, take a bus or buy groceries. Although shopping can become overwhelming due to all of the store attendants that will swarm around you. Everyone wants to help the foreigner! So at least five women will bring numerous products to you, which are usually not what you're scanning the shelves for, while loudly and incomprehensibly speaking non-stop to you and the others in an attempt to determine what you need. It is always fun to communicate through language barriers!!

While not all of the university students speak good English, the majority, including non-English majors, do. And they want to take advantage of every opportunity to practice their oral and listening skills! As a result, most students will speak English with you. Given that I am hear to teach it and our conversation would be very limited if we spoke Chinese, I am not bothered.

Living in Jingzhou still provides a great environment to learn Chinese. (There is a dialect though. If interested in learning Mandarin, you would need to be in Northeastern China.) Nevertheless, you can easily manage without ever speaking it. Of course, it would be wise to learn at least a few words and phrases! Knowing different foods is helpful; otherwise, you will eat the same thing every time you go to a restaurant. Also, being able to tell the taxi driver where you live is key to making sure you get home!

Luckily, I have the opportunity to attend a beginner Chinese class that is hosted for a few foreign students. Since there are only 10 students in the class, the professor allows me to attend without having to pay any tuition or fee, as long as I "act like a student." So I had to buy the text book and I have to do the homework. While I could never become fluent in just one year (Foreign languages are not my forte. So Chinese is REALLY difficult, especially considering that I struggled to learn Spanish, a Romance language...), it will be nice to eventually form complete sentences beyond basic introductions!

Formal vs Informal Writing

At the beginning of the semester, my students requested to learn some different writing styles, as they have only written formal papers. So our first big paper was a creative writing assignment. I taught how to use diction to create tone, sensory description to achieve vivid imagery and how to employ figurative language, such as metaphors, similes, and personification. I used excerpts from famous American novels to exemplify great writing.

Unfortunately, half my students did not grasp the concept of creative writing. Each student chose a picture from which they were to construct a narrative using descriptive writing with the tools learned in class. They did not use any of the writing tools or did not describe the picture beyond it's colors. Moreover, many of them actually argued their opinion about what the picture was, turning the assignment into a sort of persuasive paper that lacked any story.

Notwithstanding, the other half of my students wrote beautifully crafted stories, which made me feel more positive about the results. Some great examples of description and figurative language:

"The park radiated with sunshine and was filled with an intoxicating aroma."

"The green grasses, like mischievous children, poked their heads above the Earth's soft, fertile soil."

"When I raise my head, a faint breeze touches my face, as soft as a mother's hands."

"The sunlight, shining through the looming trees, flickers across my eyes."

"Not far away, the zigzag path disappeared into the horizon, extending it's hands to the sky."

Initially, however, I was still frustrated, assuming my teaching was the sole root of the problem as to why so many students didn't successfully write a creative or descriptive story. After some inquiry, it became evident that writing persuasively as been drilled into them so much by their Chinese professors that it has impeded them from using their imaginations. They cannot break away from the habit of constructing an argument whenever they write any composition. With China's steadfast determination to grow economically, the education system does not provide much in the realm of liberal arts. Interestingly, lessons and encouragement in analytical thinking and the ability to "think outside the box" are limited - things that, as a Westerner, I consider necessary to produce a strong, solid argument in writing or speaking.

It seems that I would need an entire semester to successfully teach most students the art of creative writing or any informal writing style. It would take more than a few weeks to break down the barriers of a strictly technical education. Unfortunately, I do not have that time. I must move on to formal writing, which will benefit them more in the future. So research papers, business letters and resumes here we come!

Zhanghua Buddhist Temple Complex

This weekend we visited a Buddhist compound in the middle of Shashi, the sister city of Jingzhou. It was the first time I felt like a tourist since I have arrived in China. 

In Buddhism, the Arhat - translated into Chinese as Lohan - is one who has followed the Eightfold Path to achieve human perfection and deliverance from earthly existence, including karma and reincarnation. Many of Buddha's disciples came to be given set features and stereotypes that quickly became tradition and are played out in various legends and stories. All Lohans are known for their great wisdom and supernatural powers. According to tradition, there are 16 Lohans. Due to their abilities to ward off evil, they are present in all Buddhist temples. Here are the ones that I found the most interesting:

Long Eyebrow Lohan: Asita was born with two long, white eyebrows. His father was told that Buddha also had two, long eyebrows and, therefore, his son had the look of Buddha. As a result, Asita was sent away to a monastery to become a monk, eventually attaining enlightenment.

Open-Heart Lohan: Gobaka (literally means "man of heart") was a prince of an Indian kingdom. When his younger brother wanted to start a rebellion, Gobaka assured his brother that it would cause more evil than good. In order to convince his brother, he exposed his chest to show a buddha in his heart. As a result, his brother was touched and abandoned the rebellion.

I could not determine which Lohan this is, but it is cool-looking. The man is peeling off his old-aged face to reveal a younger-looking face beneath. Perhaps it is meant to symbolize disciples' immortality.

As you can see, the earlobes are always elongated to indicate that they are all-hearing and a reminder that heavy earrings weighed them down before Siddhartha renounced material things to seek enlightenment.

A shrine to an unknown god. 

Pagoda that we walked to the top of. Each floor had a Buddha shrine for praying.

View of the temple complex from the top of pagoda.

 

The Four Guardian Kings are the protectors of the four cardinal directions. They are almost always found at the entrances of monasteries and temples.

Virupaksha, King of the West















Dhritarashtra, King of the East.

People write a wish on the red ribbons and then throw them on the "Tree of Good Fortune".

 A prayer ceremony

My favorite statue.

Some more pictures 

Friday Night Lights

My friend, Rosie, is a member of the Yangtze University Student Union, which is divided into eight departments. (Rosie is a leader of the the department in charge of finance and fundraising) Every semester the departments compete to see which can host the most successful singing competition, which are held every Friday evening.

Rosie asked if I would participate. Not exactly sure what I was agreeing to (it is not always easy to understand accents over the phone), I told her I would love to. Once at the rehearsal, I discovered that they wanted to me to sing on stage! I had to decline since I am a horrible singer. But Rosie and her fellow department members pleaded that I sing, and attempted to assure me that I have a lovely voice. Still refusing, I had to explain that we were confronting a cultural difference.

The Chinese love to sing! Oftentimes, I hear people singing loudly while walking down the street or sitting in a park. Karaoke is extremely popular, whether it is just at KTV or on stage for a large audience. There is no concern about public embarrassment. Both awful and amazing singers will gladly get on stage and sing to their heart's desire. Everyone seems to think they are an excellent singer, or at least show no regard for how they sound. I explained that, in America, people who know they sing badly will generally avoid doing so in public. It is one thing for me to sing drunkenly in front of a few friends verses singing in front of hundreds of strangers!

Some students seemed to understand my dilemma, while others couldn't grasp my unwillingness to sing on stage. After some debate, we decided I would play a game with the audience - charades! I figured I was more comfortable with making an ass of myself intentionally rather than unintentionally while attempting to hopelessly sing in tune.

The students wanted me to act out things related to American culture. At first, I thought it would be simple to pantomime a few celebrities or movies, but I soon realized charades would prove difficult due to the cultural barriers. Eventually, I decided on four things that the students would pick-up and be able to guess: Michael Jackson (who is one of the most popular Western singers), King Kong, Titanic (which is still a very popular movie here) and a cowboy.

Rosie and I on stage. She had to translate my introduction for the audience. I gave the audience a good laugh, especially when I acted out King Kong by pounding my fists on my chest! It was fun! The students who were picked from the audience received a prize if they guessed the answer correctly.

The competition lasted about two hours, which included an opening band and 15 competitors. All the songs were Chinese. I was expecting to hear the Titanic song, as it is really popular and Keith said he went to a competition last fall and at least three students sang it. I was told that while the students usually sing mainstream songs, they didn't for this particular competition. My friend, Erin, competed.

Keith and I were seated in the front row, next to the judges, and were served hot tea throughout the show because we were the 'guests of honor.'

A picture with all the student union members. As you can see, they gave me a bouquet of flowers! All the singers who competed were also given flowers during their performances. The students were pleased with their success. Rosie told me they were the first group to get a foreign teacher to participate, and I was the first foreigner ever on the stage! They were excited to see that all the foreign teachers attended and they made sure to get pictures with all of them in order to document it. Because of this, it is believed that they will have hosted the best singing competition of the semester!

The night was fun! At the end of the show, I even got to present the prize to the winner. Hundreds of students attended, almost filling up the entire auditorium. It is a very popular event! I thought it interesting that their Friday night lights are on a stage, and not a football field or basketball court. There are sports teams, but attending the games is not a favorite college pastime. Proof of how popular karaoke/singing really is here!

When in China, Be Chinese

I have been given a Chinese name! - Tang Lei. My friend, June, gave me the name. Lei is a flower bud, while tang means "a time, a path or a trip." So my name essentially means 'a flower bud awaiting to bloom." June believes I will eventually blossom into a well-acculturated expat capable of speaking Chinese.