inglish.org

I just returned from a performance of the BYU

International Folk Dancers, and I’m so glad I

went.  They were wonderful, but I kept trying to

imagine Steve B. in the group, and it wasn’t

working for me. The new Shanghai
Grand Theater is magnificent–seeing it was worth the price of admission.

Prior to that Doug, Susan, and I rode the new

high-speed MagLev train and spent time in the

museum, making notes and taking pictures for

our report to John.

At People’s Park we found a huge gathering of

people milling around hand-painted signs

that were hanging from trees, propped against

 bags, etc.  I looked for some students to ask

what was going on, but the crowd was solely

middle-aged people.  I finally found an American

photographer who explained that it was the

Saturday dating service.  Parents write des-

criptions of their children for display, and

interested parties (other parents) make notes

of phone numbers, etc.  The singles were no-

where in sight.
It was a gray, humid day until it rain in
the evening.

I’ve determined that my email has been blocked from here. Because Gmail allows free advertising, anytime something appears about freeing Tibet, etc., it gets blocked. Mike R., you wouldn’t have any pull in this area, would you?

Yesterday was my longest teaching day–3 hours

in the morning and 2 1/2 in the afternoon.  Even

though I have the same 42 students the whole

time, we meet in different classrooms each day.

The FengXian campus is huge–total enrollment

for the University (all campuses) is 40,000.

Each day when I get off the bus I have to find a

new building.  It’s a beautiful campus, and very

modern, with the exception of the bathrooms,

which are still “squatters.”

Today’s class began at 8:00, which meant I

boarded the bus at 6:45 a.m., before they even

start serving the rice gruel.  But I’ve found a

French bakery, so I pick up a croissant and a

banana  the night before, which beats the gruel, 

hands down.

I spent the afternoon with friends from home.

Susan and I have taught together for many years.

Her daughter, Andrea, is here teaching nursing

at another university.  The dad, Doug, is here

with them only until Sunday.  We went to Yuan

Garden, ate dumplings and shopped for souve-

nirs.  Ran into a group of BYU students on a

whirlwind 2-week tour studying business in

Asia.  Fun day.

OK, Adam, I’m writing to you again here because

I want the rest of the world to know that I can’t

access my emails.   (And, also, I don’t know how

to make this private.)   To answer your question,

yes, I’m using the webmail access at the righthand

side by the blog login.  It says “This link appears

to be broken.”  I get the same message when I try

the other address you suggested.

So I can communicate with you guys on the old

site or on this blog, if you’ll tell me how to keep

it private.

Thanks for Andrea’s address; you’re in strong

second place….

Mom

And to the rest of the world, I’ll resume my

generic blogging in the near future.  Right now

I’m off to spend the weekend with my friends

from home!

Adam, my link still seems to be broken.  You’re

losing a little ground as my favorite….

Mom

Adam, my link still seems to be broken. 

You’re losing a little ground as my favorite….

Mom

Adam, if you’re reading this, I can’t log on for

emails.  It says “Oops!  this link is broken.”  And

Crittendens are arriving in town tomorrow,

planning to communicate with me by email.

Can you help?  (And what about my pirated

DVD’s?  Ok to play them?)

Thanks, you’re my favorite son.

Mom

I awoke at 4:30 again, so I walked to McDonalds

for a pancake breakfast.  They’re open 24 hrs.

(We’ve taught the world so much!)  Then after

a short meeting at 8:30, I set off for People’s

Square.  There  I ran into some college

students on spring break, and they took me to

a traditional Chinese tea ceremony.  I told them

I don’t drink tea, so I got all the herbal and

flowery stuff.  The ceremony was fascinating,

but I wasn’t allowed to take pictures.  It’s not

done in English, so if I hadn’t had my college

buddies with me, I’d have got nothing out of it.

My next Chinese party (tea ceremony)will be for

grandchildren only….the parents don’t have the

proper attitude.

I’m practicing to be a tour guide for my friends

who are arriving on Friday, so I next went to the

Bund, which is under massive reconstruction.

They’re feverishly preparing for Expo 2010 next

May, which seems to be getting as much hype as

the Olympics.  They have retained their “Public

Manners Day”–the 25th of each month–when

they practice queing up, not spitting, etc.  Today

I even saw a transit worker direct people to wait

for Metro passengers to exit the trains before 

swarming on.  I know now where all the people

are.  Thirteen years ago there was one Metro 

line; now there are nine.  So all those people who

used to pack the buses are all underground.

 Val, I even found a Gelato stand.  I had a “Hazel-

nut Kissing” cone.  A perfect day!

New fact I learned:  America is referred to as

Mei Guo.  The translation is “beautiful country.”

Oh, and I found a 4-leaf clover today.  Quadruple

happiness…

After three days of “rest,” I finally began my

teaching schedule.  I teach on a campus about

an hour away, except for rush hour, which adds

another half-hour.  The amazing thing is that the

bus is new and air-conditioned.

The classroom is a decided improvement over

my experience last time–the students are about

the same.  Because most of them are “only” child-

ren, Chinese teens are socially very backward.

Several girls told me that their favorite TV show

is Tom and Jerry cartoons.  Their American

names, as written in my rollbook turned out to

be less odd than I thought when I realized what

they were trying to spell.  “Jennies” became

“Janice.”  A girl named “Kidult” explained that

even though she is an adult, she wants to re-

tain her childlike (kid) attributes.

There is a student monitor, I’m sure a Party

member, for every class.  In addition to assist-

ing the professors, they also relay information

back to the administration.  At the end of class

(3 hours), the monitor escorted me to the bus

stop where she and the Dean discussed my first

day’s performance in Chinese while we waited

for the bus.  That was very comfortable.  The

Dean and, for that matter, all the other faculty

members fell fast asleep before the wheels

started turning.  I’ve never seen people who

sleep more.  You have to wake up the vendor

to buy a banana at a fruit stand.

Today was mercifully cool and it even rained a

little this evening, making everything look and

smell fresh.

Tomorrow’s another “rest”day; then on Thursday

I teach for six hours.

I went to Church yesterday and received a small

pink box filled with Dove chocolates.  The Branch

meets in a house in a gated community, but

they’re having to move because the neighbors

dislike all the traffic and noise.  I guess they’ve

built a small chapel of some sort, which is

almost finished.

Today I met with Dean Li to get my marching

orders.   Then I found the fabric market, and I

was in heaven!   Fabrics, trims, buttons, etc., and

tailors right there to whip up any design.

Some of the new trends I’ve noticed are couples

wearing matching shirts, and women of all

ages wearing leggings.  It’s a good look, but

don’t they know it’s hot here???

What hasn’t changed is their affinity for Mickey

Mouse and Hello Kitty.  I’ve also seen several

Betty Boop logos.  

Last Saturday in the park there were many

bamboo cages of birds hanging in the trees.

They’re not there now, so I guess the owners

take their birds to the park like we take our dogs.

It’s been a good day, but I’ll admit that it’s

kinda lonely here without Ben or Gage or even

crazy Shirley.

I start classes tomorrow, so that should keep me

more occupied.  I’ve asked to do volunteer work

in my downtime, but the answer is that the

Chinese want money, not manhours.