The directions in the lonely planet China guidebook were mostly correct. Even so, there were more than a few times when I was cursing this sentence: "It's possible, though, to visit Zhongshan in a day trip from Chongqing." I left SISU at 8 am, and we arrived in Zhongshan at 2 pm. The last bus leaves Zhongshan at about 4:30, giving us barely enough time to walk, eat, take pictures, and that's about it. Our trip got off to a smooth start with 4 of us optimistic PCVs finding each other, and then eventually the right Chongqing bus station. Bus and train is how everyone in this part of China gets around, so bus and train stations are often together, or close by. On our first bus from Chongqing to Jiangjin, we had assigned seats, thankfully. This leg took 1 1/2 hours and included a giant bottleneck at a tunnel where 1 lane ended. Drivers in China are impetuous, driving in any direction they feel like, swerving erratically, ignoring any and all traffic controls, and constantly honking. The effect is chaos, and it's best not to watch. Most Chinese passengers fall instantly asleep. After getting through the tunnel, the bus stopped so the driver could wash it, seriously, while we waited.
push-back
The second bus, from Jiangjin, was a smaller local bus where there's an unlimited capacity rule, everyone will get on, everyone. This bus required 5 passengers to get out and push the bus back from its parking position and then push start it, running after it to get on, like push-start is just an everyday operation. Another 1 1/2 hours later we were finally off the bus and down the hill to the ancient town of Zhongshan, a once prosperous port town along the Sunxi River during the Song Dynasty (960-1279). The town is now a well preserved street, 1132 meters long with 307 old wooden houses projecting over the river. Villagers live in these houses, often using the front room for a shop or tea house, selling traditional food or crafts. It was like stepping back in time.
cute baby doesn't care about the packed bus
grilled tofu
suspicious drink:
bamboo filled with some kind of alcohol
Arianna called saying she needed a Christmas tree, a Starbuck's candy-cane mocha, and someone who speaks English...could I meet her for some shopping. The Sunday morning timing was perfect because I'm on a mission to find a few Chinese culture-type things to send home.
It's a hard time of year to be away from family and friends.
Christmas has arrived in China, sort of. In Chongqing, it's an eye rolling commercial version of Christmas with stores throwing up a few gaudy decorations and playing sappy western Christmas music. I asked my students if people celebrate Christmas in China, if they give and get presents. No.
After the culturally devastating Cultural Revolution (1966-1976), China was a religious wasteland, but not for long. The dominate religion is Buddhism. The next most popular is Taoism, followed by Islam, and finally Christianity. The Chinese Communist Party is officially atheists, a holdover from Marxism, and party members cannot hold religious beliefs. However, since 1997, the government officially supports freedom of religion. Unofficially, government's position on religious freedom is something different, as any Buddhist can explain.
This week, the last week of class, I took the opportunity to teach about the history and traditions of our American Christmas holiday. Part of the lesson included singing. First, I showed them a singing "flash mob" at a mall, and then later in the lesson I taught them the Twelve Days of Christmas. They loved it! This is a very poor video of my 8:00 am class singing this morning.
One class gave me a very sweet Christmas card. "Dear Ann, We were surprised when we first learned that you are a volunteer of Peace Corp. We are much more surprised when we see your devotion to us.
During class, you teach us and lead us to find our ways to study. There are so many interesting activities that make we become active and united. Attending your class is really a good pleasure for us all.
After class you talk with us, telling us things about America, things that we are curious about but not able to find the truth through the ones we know.
And you are so cute that we love you so much. You show us a really amazing American teacher and the way of American teaching. We do like it.
Thank you for your devotion to all of us. We love you. May the joy of Christmas be with you throughout the year.
Wish you many good wishes for the holidays and the coming year."
Ahhhh, I'm all choked up, and I have the same wishes for them. Christmas is in China, and at its best, it's about peace, love, joy, and giving, here and everywhere.
A student had just finished
reading his persuasive speech in one of my Speech and Debate classes, causing
me to give a big, exasperated sigh.
Maybe if he came to class, he would have seen the grading rubric, and
maybe even followed the directions. Then
again, probably not. Instead, he put
together this hastily written speech:
As a college student, maybe you all think I always
skip classes because I think college students should be allowed to skip
classes. Our school regualation hand
book says no. However in my opinion
college students should have the right to do so. It is necessary here to state the purpose of
students attending classes. They do this
to gain more knowledge and skills. In
most cases going to classes is a very good and irreplaceable way for students
to obtain knowledge. In some cases,
however, students can benefit more if they skip certain classes. Some do so because they are not in the mood
of classes at that certain moment. Some
do so because they have a need for sleep that priorities them with necessary
energy for important things later in the day.
Some do so because they need to do something else that they can only do
at that particular time. Of course if
they are not very familiar with the content of missed class, they should make
up for it. College students are most over 18
years old. They are not children any
more. They can make this kind of
dicision. They can be responsible for
theirselves. So college students should
be allowed to skip classes.
When he finished, I asked
for his written copy because I didn’t know what else to say. I was thinking, “Why are you wasting your
parent’s money and my time?”
I found this explanation in
the PC China material:
Everyone will have students
that seem lazy and uninterested in studying. The main reason for this is all
the preparations they did to get into college, specifically the “Gaokao”
(college entrance exam),the end-all-be-all of exams in China for most students
and their parents. It’s basically the only thing that matters when students are
applying for college, so once they are accepted their time in college may be
seen as a “break” after the gaokao. Students in high school usually study at
least ten hours in school and maybe add another three or more hours of self-studying
after class. Before that, from their early childhood, students are required to
learn different skills like instruments, writing, math etc. during the
weekends. Students of all different ages have to go to private schools after
class to supplement their studying. Even though it feels like a break in
college, they have more exams to prepare for. For non-English majors, they must
take the CET-4 and CET-6, and for English majors, they must take the TEM-4 and
TEM-8. These exams matter more than any others and have a lot of weight when it
comes to graduating and finding jobs after school. These aren’t excuses for
their seeming laziness, but if you want to understand a Chinese student’s
school life, it all resolves around these exams.
PBS did a fascinating documentary on the Goakao. I'm often asked about how American students get into college. They are amazed when I tell them that US colleges and universities consider test scores, grades, extracurricular activities, jobs, volunteer experience, and so much more. In China, it's one test score that will determine where a student will go to school and their major. No choice. Many Chinese students want to study in the US. I hear this all the time. Most of my students come to class, work hard, and are a joy to teach.
Can-do attitude + Internet +
Credit card = China travel here I come!
Wait, not so fast.
First, I have PC paperwork
to complete, with approval and signatures to gather from all around. I feel like a Jr. HS student asking parents to go on a field trip. But, the bigger hassle is money.Not that I don’t have much because I’m a
volunteer, even though that’s a stark reality, but that I have a foreign credit
card.As a true American, I’m willing to
use my credit card to make my dreams happen.That American value of consumerism totally conflicts with the Chinese
value of saving money.The problem: Chinais largely a cash based society.
I’ve read on the tourist
websites that foreign credit cards are accepted at international hotels, fancy
restaurants, and high-end stores, none of which are in my near or distant
future.
Ty and Stu are coming in a
few weeks, so I want to buy plane tickets to southern China. My tutor, “Jack,” researched Chinese airline
websites to see about prices.
Jack gets a Thanksgiving kiss from the French teacher
Jack is a 22 year old
graduate student, about to graduate with a degree in English translation and
interpretation. He’s been hanging
out with PCVs since he was a freshman, so he's very understanding of and
comfortable with American ways. I had
only been in Chongqing a few weeks when I met him on a city bus. He was bold enough to come up to me and start
a conversation, and immediately helped me with directions. His English is perfect.
The ticket prices sound
great, much cheaper than I can find using kayak.com. I called the airline, press 2 for English,
make it through the reservation, only to get shut-down at the US MasterCard
payment. “You need a Chinese credit
card.”
I have a Chinese bank
account, with a national Union Pay debit card, but little money on it because
of the volunteer part. So, I reviewed my
banking vocabulary, and went to the bank, thinking I can move money from my US
debit card to my China debit card. The
bank teller doesn’t think it’s so simple.
I called Jack to translate, by passing the phone back and forth through
the window slot, and pushing the patience of the teller.
I get sent to the ATM to
withdraw CASH, ...whoa, I need a lot of RMB!
Of course, there is a too low RMB transaction limit, and I don’t come
close to the amount I need. While the
machine is spitting out bills, I’m thinking about the PCV safety and security video of a Chinese girl
getting stabbed at an ATM machine, and I’m thinking about the lesson on
checking all bills 50 yuan or bigger to see if they are counterfeit. Everyone check their bills here, counterfeiting is that common.
With a fist full of unchecked bills, I
go back to the teller who makes the deposit on my Bank of China debit
card. I think all is good, I head up the
hill and to the phone for the airline tickets: same person, same conversation,
and same outcome. This time, the problem
is my debit card is not established for online/phone purchases. What?
Another trip to the bank is
needed, but Jack is on a plane to Saudi Arabia.
Ever thoughtful, Jack leaves his friend “Michael” to tutor me while he
is away for a month. We go back to the
bank together, and unbelievably, I remember my passport, a good thing because
new forms are required. The teller is
obviously relieved to see Michael this time.
In the end, I now have a small
electronic device with numbers scrolling and changing every so often. To make a purchase, I need to enter these
numbers, my card number, AND I need to enter numbers from a text message. Talk about security!
Do I have the tickets? Not
yet.
My sister emailed me a few
possible airline websites with competitive prices and with an international credit
card option. I love and miss using my credit card.
