We first met with all the English Teachers at the Primary School. We
are at the Xi’an Primary School, “the only provincial key
primary school in Shaanxi, has 1800 pupils in six different grades. There
are 80 staff members among which 11 are English teachers. The school
offers various courses such as Chinese, Math, English, PE, Art, Music
and so on.”
We met with the English teachers in a semi-formal room with detailed
tiled ceilings; somewhat comfortable looking stuffed chairs and glass
coffee tables. The furniture was pushed to the perimeter of the room
so the middle was an open space. Kaitlin and I sat in one corner and
I felt a little removed from everything that was going on. The vice principal
addressed us in Chinese which was translated by one of the English teachers.
I have a feeling there was a lot of information ‘Lost in Translation.’ All
of the teachers, including the vice principal, were women- all in their
20’s and early 30’s, and all very stylishly dressed. After
the introduction, we were led to an office and given desks to use. We
then went to a fourth grade English class- taught by a woman named Christine-
I’m not sure what her Chinese name is. This class is an immersion
class, which means that it is entirely in English. The students began
class with the teacher picking a student in the class and her classmates
are supposed to tell things about her, like, “Eva’s favorite
animal is a dog.” Each student has an English name, which is chosen
for them by their teacher in the first grade. The teachers travel with
their classes throughout their time at the primary school- so they will
always have the same English teacher.
After about 10 minutes of describing Eva, they then began recitation.
This is the basis upon which most of the class is structured. The teacher
counts, “1, 2” and the students begin reciting a memorized
story. This one was about David- who lives in Miami and speaks Spanish.
This is all done in choral style. After they finish the story, which
is several paragraphs long, the teacher calls on students to recite a
sentence or two on their own. Every student is very eager to be called
on and there are many hands raised and not the usual reluctance to participate,
which you would find in an American School. If a teacher sees that a
student is goofing off or not paying attention, she will call on him
and ask him what they are talking about and then he has to stand until
she says he can sit down.
The classroom is set up with tables of 2- 4 across making 4 columns with
2 aisles, so the middle 2 tables are pushed together so there are four
students sitting right together in a row- 8 students total per row. There
are 60-70 children per class and the space is quite tight. Kaitlin and
I sat in the back on tiny, little, wooden stools. 12:20 pm
1:40pm
We then went to a second grade class. These students were so little and
so cute! Our teacher introduced us to the class and asked them if they
had any questions. They were very eager to know about us and asked
questions like, “What is your favorite food?”
“ What is your favorite color?”
“
What is your favorite animal?” and
“ Why is the US at war with Iraq?”
To this we said, “That is a very good question, but very hard to
answer.”
The teacher then asked us to teach them a song. We were going to teach
them, “Row, Row, Row Your Boat” but they already knew it.
We then tried to teach them, “Old MacDonald Had a Farm” but
they knew that too. Finally we discovered that they did not know, “The
Itsy, Bitsy Spider” and so we taught them that with the hand motions-
they especially loved the part when the spider was washed out. It took
about ten minutes to teach them the song and they all caught on right
away. Class ended and we went home for lunch. Most of the students go
home for lunch as well- those who don’t, bring their lunch and
eat it in the classroom. The teachers eat in a dining room.
After lunch we returned to school and hung out in the teacher’s
office. We spoke with Christine and some of the other teachers- going
over difficult words in English, talking about school in the U.S. They
were interested in students traveling with their class. In China, the
government is very protective of its children and does not think they
would be safe traveling- so any time spent away from home is with the
family on holiday (yes, this is what we were told). Christine also tried
to teach us Chinese words like- delicious “hao chi” which
literally means, “good eat.” Hello in Chinese is “ni
hao” which means “you good.” No is “bu”,
yes is “dui.” Goodbye is “zai jian.” There are
4 different tones in Chinese that reflect what kind of inflection is
required, a word could have two totally different meanings, depending
on the inflection. Thank you is “xie xie” which is roughly
pronounced “Shay Shay.”
After conversing with the teachers for a while, a group of students came
in and wanted to show us a performance of “Little Red Riding Hood.” They
are preparing it for Children’s Day on June 1st. The teachers left
and it was just me and Kaitlin with this group of 5th graders. Their
performance was wonderful! Their English was excellent and they were
all such great little storytellers. Each kid was very funny- hamming
it up for the audience. They came up with the script themselves and added
many embellishments in order to develop the characters and add more comedy.
We went over different scenes with them, offering suggestions to change
blocking to make the action more clear and made vocabulary and grammar
corrections. These kids were very bright and incredibly quick at picking
up new things. At one point they asked Kaitlin and I to act out a scene
for them- I’m not sure if we did it the way they wanted, but I’m
sure they were amused. The time flew quickly and before we knew it, it
was 4:30.
We had a feedback meeting with Jerome last night- everyone shared their
experiences. Alicia’s placement is at a deaf and blind school-
her classes are much smaller. We had another delicious dinner and all
watched, “Something’s Gotta Give” definitely a movie
for the parents.
The DVD collection here is awesome and very current. DVDs are about 10
yuan, which is roughly $1.20. You can pretty much buy any movie that
is on screen in the US- Alicia bought “Troy” yesterday, less
than a week after its release.
2:00pm
5/15/04 - entry
by Alicia Xi'an
-This morning
I woke up at 2am and tossed and turned (darn jet lag) until Kate and I
got out of bed at 6am. I took my first shower in a Chinese bathroom.
There is no tub only a shower head attached to the bathroom wall and a
drain somewhere in the bathroom, so when you are showering the whole floor
gets wet but drains off and dries pretty quickly.
Mrs. Li made us breakfast which is not traditional Chinese. There is yogurt,
fried dough, rolls, and muffins. She also makes us fried eggs which definitely
is American. We meet Jocelyn today and go to the countryside to her aunty
and uncles house. Mr. Yang fearlessly navigates and Lin tells us the lines
on the road are just suggestions.
It is tradition to bring the family fruits and vegetables so we stop at
a market in the Shaanxi province. Here everyone is staring at the westerns
and very obviously. They sell everything you could imagine in the line
of fruits, vegetables, and spices. There are tons of people there even
though it is not technically a market day. Shaanxi is famous for their
spicy peppers and there are many stones turning round and round to grind
the peppers up.
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|
(photo by Kate DiMarco) |
Once back in the van we set off. There are beautiful mountains looming
on the horizon. In some of them there are mud caves where the poorest people
used to live but now farmers use them to rest in during the long hot days.
Once we arrive in the village we get out and explore. You are free to look
through our pictures- there are tons of them.
We learn so much about Chinese culture and a village’s society:
You can tell a families wealth by their well- they range from holes
in the ground where you put a bucket in attached to a rope or the more
wealthy
families have pumps.
Many
families live in on one property. The one we visited has a house built
into the hill, where
the elder members of the
family
would live because
it is cooler in the summer and hotter in the winter.
Families grow most of their own vegetables and left-overs might be
sold at the market.
After eating our feast at
Jocelyn’s uncle’s house we explore
Xi’an. We go to the Bell Tower, which is the center of the city,
where the main roads meet and circle around. You can pay five yuan and
ring the bell, so of course you do. The first time is for happiness,
2nd for health, and the 3rd for luck. We went inside and watched and
musical performance of people playing bells and other instruments that
were all new to me. We climbed the tower where you can get a great view
of the city.
Next we walked to the drum tower which is near Muslim quarter. It had the same
look as bell tower only there were lots of drums which represented different
things. We then walked to Muslim quarter and to the Great Mosque. The Great
Mosque is a truly beautiful place, a quiet peaceful place nestled in a bustling
city.
Taking a taxi back was interesting it was rush hour but finally we butted in
line and jumped in a taxi which drove us back to our apartment after a tiring
day. After dinner we unpacked some more but at 8:30 we went to bed (Probably
to the earliest I’ve been to bed in a long time)
5/15/04 - entry
by Kate Wedding
Traditions
- Bride prepares with her
family in her home
- Her shoes are hidden
in the house
- There is much anticipation
for the arrival of the groom
- The bride is wearing
a white gown and her feet cannot touch the floor- she sits on the
bed.
- The groom, with all of
his friends, pounds on the door and demands to be let in the house
He bursts in with much excitement
- He then has to break
down the door to the bride’s room- but they have to do a retake
so they can film it
- All of his friends provide
much support and there is a great feeling of happiness and joy
- The groom presents the
bride with a beautiful bouquet of flowers
Everything is filmed and a man walks around with a bright light
- The groom and his friends
search for the shoes- which are hidden separately
- The best man and the
maid of honor exchange flowers
- If the shoes are not
found, they will have to borrow the maid of honor’s shoes
- The groomsman offers
the maid of honor money to tell them where the shoes are
- She feels the pile of
money to see how much and decides it is not enough
- The groom eats from a
bowl of steaming hot soup- it contains: bitter- sugar- spice- sour-
to symbolize that you must accept all things in life
- The shoes are found!
Silly string is sprayed on the groom. Now the bride can walk
- They proceed out of the
bedroom and pose for photos with the bride’s mother and father
and niece and then the pictures with the Americans
- There is much deliberation
and mock protestation from the groom- before he sweeps her off her
feet and carries her down the stair to the outside (4 floors down!)
- Meanwhile- the groomsmen
set off a deafening array of firecrackers- which accompany them on
their trip down the stairs- they emerge in a puff of smoke
- The fireworks were also
set off to announce the arrival of the groom
- They depart in a Lexus
decorated with flowers and teddy bears
- There is a line of decorated
cars that follows them- ahead of their car is a van with the back
door open- the film crew is filming the procession of cars
- Wedding days are calculated
according to the lunar calendar- they can be any day of the week-
once the lucky day is determined- the preparation begins
- As we drive along and
try to keep up- we see many, many, many other wedding processions-
flowers on cars- vans with back doors open- filming everything
- The traffic is so heavy
it is hard to keep up!
- We are going to the new
house of the bride and groom
- We arrive at their new
apartment and it is lovely- newly appointed and very modern
- The bride and groom had
posed for many pictures of them in wedding clothes- Japanese tradition-
Chinese tradition and Western clothes
- The Groom’s Family
is waiting at the new home
- They give us a tour and
the bride and groom sit on the bed and go through their wedding album
- Pictures are taken with
the groom’s family. And the random Americans
- We then head to the reception
- See Alicia’s entry for that info.,..
5/14/04 10:20pm- entry
by Kate CCS
House in Xi’an
We
are finally here. We arrived at the airport without a problem.
The
first person we met was Kiki and then Mr. Yang (Young), our
driver. The car ride from the airport was about 30 minutes. The
highway
system is very modern and looks very much like that in America.
It is very well kept- with tollbooths, and the shoulders are
landscaped with pretty roses. We passed mostly farmland - very
flat - there were tree farms and other fields of very green
crops. There were also a few huge, beautiful sculptures along
the way.
Kiki is very nice - she’s a student at University, studying
English and Business Administration - she graduates in June
and will spend a year in England for her Masters.
The drive through the city was great. Traffic is disorganized chaos, with very
few stoplights and apparently anything goes when you wish to pass the person
in front of you- including swerving into the oncoming traffic or into the bike
lane! There are bicycles everywhere - motorcycles too.
We arrived at the house and met Jocelyn, Jane, Jerome (our fearless leader),
Mrs. Li (she takes care of us), and Mr. Zhao (our cook). We were given a tour
of the apartments and fed a wonderful meal - I was so hungry and it was soooo
good - rice, mushrooms & cucumbers, snap peas w/ginger, pork balls w/greens,
cabbage and some sort of sweet millet with dates for dessert. Then everyone left
and we met Lin - who is also a volunteer and a student at Duke. She’ll
be here until Friday and is a fountain of information. We all went for a walk
around the block and tried not to get lost. Something about the streets at night
reminded me of Bamako, Mali - people gathered on the sidewalk - low lighting
- something like that. We returned, unpacked and tried to watch “big Fish” on
DVD - but we all fell asleep! More tomorrow after we visit the country.
The country trip is a photo documentary….
5/14/04 - entry
by Alicia Xi'an
- I slept through the night until 1am and then tossed and turned
the rest of the night, I think my body knew it was supposed to be up. Once
we all were awake
we took showers and got ready for our trip to Xi’an. Our hotel was more
western than we imagined, when turning on the TV there was mostly English channels
and old episodes of Oprah and the current American Idol.
We ate very large croissants for breakfast (who knew they had them in China).
We walked around the block bordering our hotel. It was our first taste of a street
in China. There were people everywhere, on bikes and carts driven by men, and
playing on the playground. Many of them stared at the three out of place westerns.
The shuttle to the airport showed more people on roadways and bikes everywhere.
At the airport getting our baggage checked was the next trial. Some random man
directed us to a random check-in place where they told us it was “too early” to
check in. We went back and stood with our stuff in front of the map of the airport.
It was actually really interesting to observe everything that was going on. There
were many tours, they followed someone with a flag and they all wore the same
color hat- mostly yellow. They seemed like senior citizen tour groups. All of
the women in the airport were dressed very professionally, with stylish suits
or dresses and high heels.
Finally we got to check our luggage and we set off for security, which tells
us we need to go back and pay the airport tax. We did not really understand what
we were doing but we paid the airport tax and headed back to security. When passing
through security the lady sniffed my water and confiscated my scissors (child
scissors (non pointy) that looked like a pig that I did not know were in my bad
but got through security at JFK) They were very confused about Kaitlin’s
inhaler and we had to show them how to use it. No one spoke English so it was
all non-verbal communication.
Finally we sit and wait for our plane. I wonder what Xi’an will be lie.
What more excitement and adventures can be there, I just cannot wait to finally
get there and be settled. I don’t know what can be waiting for me once
we are finally there and I almost don’t want to ruin the mystery by predicting.
Upon arrival at Xi’an Kate, Kaitlin, and I meet Kiki and Mr. Yang (Young).
Kiki is a student intern at a university and Mr. Yang is the driver. Let me tell
you I do not envy his job because in the 30 minutes it took to get from the airport
to our apartment & Xi’an’s walls I realized that there are NO
traffic laws in China and everyone (cars, busses, trucks, bikes, and people)
are everywhere and want to get someplace as fast as you.
In the 30 minute drive it was fun to observe the countryside. All the crops planted
in straight rows and people were tending to them. People were all outside of
the shops, they were either working or hanging around enjoying the time. Every
once in a while we would pass a sculpture on the highway, some beautiful towering
piece of artwork. Once nearing the city walls the traffic got worse and there
was so much to pay attention to. People were in stores, cramped in busses, zig
zagging in and out of traffic on bikes, and everyone everywhere.
Finally we arrived at our new home. We live in the 9th floor in an upper middle
class apartment building. It has a spacious living room with orange couches and
there is a TV with bootlegged DVDs galore. Our rooms have bunk beds, Kate and
I are sharing a room with a huge window that overlooks a middle school. We have
a table with two wicker chairs and our room is right next to Kaitlin’s
room.
Next we go down to the 8th floor where we meet all the staff for the first time.
Everyone is so nice and welcoming. A feast in waiting for us and we dig right
in. Everything is so delicious and fresh and I am so hungry. We hear our schedule
for the week and realize we are going to be really busy every day! They take
us back up to our apartment and give us a brief orientation to everything and
then they leave and the 3 of us sit on the couch- I’m feeling a tad bit
like I don’t know what to do next.
We hear the door open and Lin appears, she is a student at Duke and doing research.
Sadly she will only be hear until Friday. She has been placed at my school and
tells us about all she has learned so far. We decide that we want to take a walk
around the neighborhood but Lin doesn’t know where we are going so we take
a map.
There are some children playing in the courtyard and you have to walk through
gates to get onto the street. There are still a lot of people out. Lots of people
are staring at us but we walk on. They are eating at hole in the wall restaurants
all serving some dish that I have never seen before. We pass many places to get
your head and feet massaged for actually really cheap. One place had all these
fancy neon lights and you think it would be a hotel or something but it is a
foot massaging place.
We went only the way Lin knew so we wouldn’t get lost. We walked by the
bank where we can exchange money and passed several more shops, mostly conveince
stores or ones selling random items. The streets are kind of littered and there
is a lot of dust We continue our walk and talk about how new everything is. We
get back to our apartment and watch a DVD but fall quickly to sleep.
It is my first night sleeping on my top bunk in China. So much has happened in
the last 48 hours and there is so much more still to be taken in. Everything
seems new and different in China which can only lead to lots of adventures and
fun.
5/14/2004 - entry
by Kate Beijing
Airport - Well, we made it here in one piece. Survived a 13 1/2
hour flight from JFK to Beijing. Survived baby puke and rubbery chicken.
Survived dehydration and turning into popsicles due to an under eager flight
crew and over eager air conditioner. Avoided random blood clots in legs.
I did not sleep much on the plane. Alicia woke up after sleeping for 4
1/2 hours and said, “I don’t think this sleeping pill is working.” I
just laughed at her. Once we landed, we made it through customs and had
a bit of trouble finding the hotel shuttle- but we found it eventually
and were on our way to the Sino-Swiss Hotel. It was a very nice hotel and
the perfect place to recover from jet lag.
Our room was extremely comfortable
and I fell asleep quickly. This morning I woke up at 5 am, but all
of my limbs were still asleep. I read and slept until we all got up
at 8:45, an hour before the alarm went off. This does not happen to
me at home…
We turned on the TV and were surprised to find a Spanish Channel, “Oprah”,
and a Chinese kid’s program in English. Oh, and commercials for the current “American
Idol”, although a few weeks behind schedule.
We packed our stuff, went to the lobby and had huge croissants, took a walk
down the street around the hotel (our first taste of real China) and boarded
the shuttle to go back to the airport. We’re now waiting for our flight
to Xi’an (Roughly- Shee-ahn) to board. I just bought an 8 oz Evian for
$2.50 (25 RNB).
The currency exchange is about 8.21 RNB (Renminbi - referred to as yuan) to
US$1.00. Our experience in the hotel was not very Chinese as it was very Western
in operation. Everything was expensive - water was $2.20 for 16 oz. Beijing
airport is very modern - it opened in the late 90’s and I think is one
of the reasons they are hosting the Olympics in 2008. The people are also very
modern - the women are very nicely dressed, with heels, pressed suits or blouses
and pants. Almost no jeans. I guess it makes sense considering all of our modern
clothing is manufactured here.
Everyone has a cell phone and yes, my phone works here! I have better coverage
in Beijing than I do in my apartment in NY. We’ll see how it goes in
Xi’an.
I’m very excited to get there and settle in. To meet everyone and start
exploring the city. I also have to work on my lesson plans. I’m working
in a primary school and not a day care (which I expected). It should be a lot
of fun and hard work.
1:30 Beijing time (1:30 am NY time)
5/13/04 - entry
by Alicia Beijing
Airport
Today we landed in Beijing.
After landing we went through the health inspection, which
was just giving an official a previously filled out card
with the address where you are staying. We went through customs
which was just giving your passport to be stamped (finally
a stamp on my new passport!) After both of those I was expecting
something else but all we did was get our bags and walk out.
Overall the whole process was much less than I expected.
Getting our bags was the same commotion as in the US, everyone
crowding around the conveyor belt. Several men dressed
in red and yellow striped uniforms offered
to help but they said we insisted on carrying our baggage ourselves- the “hard
way.”
Finding our shuttle to the Sino-Swiss Hotel was our next challenge. Many cab
drivers directed us to different places and then insisted that this was too
hard and we should take their cab- or at least that is what is appeared to
be they
all we shouting things in Chinese to us. Now would have been the time where
I wish I knew more Chinese than only 3 words. We were surrounded by people
offering
us rides but we knew there was a shuttle to our hotel. Finally someone directed
us the right way and there it was our shuttle with a man holding a sign that
said “Ms. DiMarco.”
On the shuttle to the hotel I kept thinking, “this is China, I’m
finally here.” There were so many people everywhere, on bikes, motorcycles,
or walking around. The roads were extremely bumpy but in the darkness it did
not look to much different from home.
Our hotel was very western and checking in was easy because they spoke English.
Our next challenge was whether or not to tip the bellman because we didn’t
know if they tipped in China, so we gave him 5 yuan (like $.80) -We later realized
that no one tips in China!
Our room was very cozy and we each had our own bed. After drinking some tea,
Kate, Kaitlin, (a volunteer who traveled with us from NY) and I crashed in our
beds and fell fast asleep from our first day in China.
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May
13, 2004 -
the girls stay overnight in Beijing then fly on to Xi'an located
in Central China.
May
12, 2004 -
Kate and Alicia leave New York City flying JFK to Beijing non-stop.
Thirteen and a half hours in the air. |
Journal entries:
05/12/04 to 05/21/04 - 05/21/04 to 05/27/04
|
