I See White People

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After traveling in Beijing for the last two weeks or so, I was ready to get into the countryside. Rui Jin, a small(ish) town in southern china was our destination, and after a two hour plane and bus ride we settled into the hotel and had our first shock.



My mother, an avid traveler and Formula-1 car driver, once told me that you can tell a lot about a location based solely on an once-over of the bathroom. The hotel was nice, the shower was not. Jess came out of the bathroom ready to march down to Brian’s room and demand a room-change. I don't think my laughter helped the situation. It wasn’t the worst hotel room I’ve ever stayed in… but then again I consider it a vacation if we aren’t digging our own toilets.



Part of our trip included dinner with a number of local Communist leaders and a visit to a local middle school. The visit was interesting; I felt like a rock star. It was pretty obvious that we were some of the first “live” foreigners that the students had seen.

It was interesting to see how one teacher taught English to a large class of middle-schoolers. What was profound was the industrial nature of the classroom. All 72 students listened and repeated what the teacher said, as if on cue. I have to wonder if the students are learning anything more than vocabulary and basic pronunciation? One of the biggest problems last year, when teaching my students, was teaching the “value” of certain words and phrases. They all know their vocabulary, but I wonder how effective they really are? The problem though is that the best way (in my opinion) is to be immersed in the culture whose language you want to learn. I’ve said, a number of times that I’ve learned more Chinese while being in China, than the many years that I sat in a classroom.



The farm, on the other hand, can only be described as awesome. The first day we picked or own vegetables for lunch. I didn’t realize that you couldn’t just walk up to a plant and grab a fruit; there is a procedure to make sure the plant continues to grow. The hike around the farm, even in the rain, was my favorite part. It was incredible to see what other farmers, and Andrew, were doing on their land. It puts the food we eat everyday into perspective. I've become a more informed consumer. No longer will I swipe my card and go on.

Coming to Rui Jin has changed my opinion of China as a whole. I can't imaging coming to Shang Hai, Bei Jing, and Xi'an and claiming to see China. Also, is coming to D.C., L.A. and Texas really America?

We are turning travel into the dollar menu. A number 10 with a coke now becomes a 10 day trip to "Africa" and a safari. I wonder if this is a product of Globalization or just the way travel has always been?

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Photos

Andrew and Rachael
Andrew was the owner of the farm we visited and our guide in RuiJin.