Cliché… weather talk. Pardon my trite topic, but its been on
my mind. Out of no where, Beibei has gotten brutally cold in the last few days…
a shivering 7 degrees Centigrade (40 some Fahrenheit).
“Where is your Minnesota blood?” you may ask, “How can’t you
still be in shorts now?” This kind of cold is different. Like Ireland (and some
rather nippy days in the mountains of Cobán), it is a wet cold. Everything
remains damp in Chongqing… year round. It is 10 degrees colder than Guatemalan
temperatures, and, (the silent killer) there are no heated buildings. Our rooms
have expensive-to-run space heaters that hang from the ceiling. Nevertheless,
I’ve recently rearranged my room in order to feel the hot air blow on my
shoulders as I sit at my desk. I have thought many times of my BVC comrades in
the Bahamas… sometimes second-guessing my choice to live within the
confines of a cold, mountainous region rather than a warm beach.
I must say, however, that my current choice has not
come without merit. My grasp of the Chinese language is very slowly
but steadily coming into fruition. I find myself muttering Chinese phrases as I
wake, and I now have a few sentences to memory. Characters are beginning to
look more familiar, and understanding every fifth word in a Chinese sentence is
still something I find encouraging.
Studying remains popular amongst our group this year... everyone is encouraged to learn more and more Chinese. I’ve been logging long hours
of GMAT study as well, which is something I’ve come to enjoy. Finally after years of
life as a college student, I find interest and incredible merit in academia.
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| One night I had a dinner with over 30 students! We filled 4 tables |
Working a teaching job hasn’t been too much to handle. Every day I walk into work, I am greeted with a rousing cheer, “GOOD MORNING TOM!” Students go out of their way to say hello when I walk around campus. I have gone out to dinner with almost all my students, and I am constantly assured of my incredible persona. Need a confidence boost? Become an English teacher in China.
Recently, us foreign teachers went on an excursion to
XiannuShan, a location near Wulong that touts the biggest natural land bridge
in the world (see pictures below). The massive cliffs were
amazing, and made me itch to get back on
the road.
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| Teaching my students American games |
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-The size of the Chinese “Army” that many politicians talk
about may be a bit deceiving. During my first month here, all Chinese freshman
students are required to be dressed up in military uniforms and instructed to
march and stay at attention. This is their “freshman orientation.” While the
sight of hundreds of Army green uniforms may look intimidating from afar, as
soon as you get closer, you’ll notice hundreds of immature, giggling
18-year-old 105 lb little girls in military gear. Hardly threatening, I’d say.
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| I saw a Preying Mantis! |
-Cars in China, because the most rich own them, are all very fancy. Porsche, BMW, Benz, and Bentley are all
too common status symbols.
-One of the very few miserable parts of living in China is enduring the “Squatter”
toilets. Bathrooms are not bathrooms. They are glorified holes in the ground.
Also… don’t forget to bring your own paper.
