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Published: September 6th 2007
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Our apartment building
Fifth floor, very quiet neighborhood with birds chirping in the morning!! We are back in Guangzhou after an absence of 13 months (although Ellen was back for a short visit in December). These first two weeks have been spent in getting ourselves settled in, finding out what the expectations are within the Social Work Department, and re-acquainting ourselves with some old students, friends and colleagues.
We are staying in faculty housing, the apartment is owned by the Social Work Department chair, Agnes Law. One of the unexpected turns is that Agnes has taken a job in Hong Kong and will be present in only a very limited role this semester, more the pity as she was a stabilizing force. In her place is another Hong Kong social worker, PING Wai Li. He seems to be quite capable and one of my first tasks here was to meet with him to discuss my responsibilities. My offer had been to teach what I taught last year, that is a double course in Chronic Conditions from a public health perspective. With Agnes’ absence a need opened for someone to teach a course in Social Policy and Analysis and PING informed me that was what I was to teach. My protestations that I knew little
Our apartment
Small but quite adequate, all the comforts of home including washer, cook top and AC in each room. about the area, that I had made no preparations, were met with loud guffaws, smiles, but resolute insistence that I teach the unknown anyway.
That meeting was a week ago and since then I have been scurrying about putting together an outline (completed this morning) and confirming that there was something I could teach. Ellen has been very encouraging (not a surprise) and what I have come up with is an amalgam of social work, sociology and political science. We shall see …
Ellen is to teach undergraduate SW students a course in Social Work Administration and she has plans for a real experiential, Friere type course. This will take the students where they are and move them, through their experiences in her class and outside the classroom, to a better understanding of themselves and any organizations the may work/volunteer for. She has 57 students in her class and this morning we worked on how to photograph them and get them united with their names. Her first class is tomorrow, while I have a week reprieve.
All in all the academic aspects of the trip are as always: dynamic (to put a positive spin on it), free-floating
Charles Darwin on duty
Outside what we think is the biological science building and flexible. One is never sure that they really care what is taught so long as we stand up there and speak English and don’t cross politically sensitive lines. I actually believe that misstates our value to them, they see us as bringing to the students a participatory style of teaching, one that is sadly lacking otherwise in their education and one that is recognized to offer tremendous benefit to China as it moves past low-end manufacturing and into more creative economic spheres. A comment made by foreign corporations is that Chinese engineers are loathe to venture off into unknown or untried areas out of fear of making a mistake or “failing”. For sure, failure has had some serious consequences in the recent past, but part of our mission is to encourage risk and new ways of thinking.
We have had a series of dinners with old students and friends; one tradition is that once students leave school and get a first job, they are expected to take out former teachers (lao shi or old masters) for dinner. We had at least three such dinners and became well practiced in our offering three times to pay and once past
Dinner with old students
Along with our friend Jane (one guess who she might be) we dine with the 06 masters' students, good Sichuan food. that ritual, allowing the inevitable to take place. It was wonderful to see them launched into their lives, with some enjoying quite prestigious jobs and all of them determined to make the most of their opportunities.
We have also had some private encounters with old students, bearing witness to their struggles, their isolation and the lack of social and emotional support in their new ventures. They correctly assess that we are available to discuss these matters with them a significant measure of our past efforts here. It is a pity that more of that is not available to them, but our impression is that there is little room for discussing intimacies, especially those that highlight vulnerability or most things of a sexual nature.
No reports would be complete without an update on the food, which remains fabulous. Last night we went out to dinner with a friend who is teaching English here and well as our Chinese teacher from last year and his sweetheart. We went to one of our old haunts, had Tiger Skin Peppers (wok-fried jalapeño peppers with garlic and black beans), Eggplant with Fish-Flavor Sauce, MaPa Dofu (this translates to Old pock-faced woman tofu), and
Pedestrian minder
In its quest to be a "civilized" city, Guangzhou has some of these very officious traffic monitors, scolding those who venture into traffic against the lights. This will take some time to gain a foothold here as people are very aggressive on foot and in vehicles Green Beans with a plate full of Sichuan Peppers. This morning Ellen and I went out for or morning run and came back with congyoubing (a scallion flavored chapati-like product) for our breakfast, along with our French Roast coffee. Now that is the best of East and West!!
A brief not concerning the weather; it has been quite pleasant and we have had just a few days of the hot steamy, tropical weather we were expecting. The AC helps, but the streets are not overwhelming. Time to cut this update, some pics are attached and let us hear from you!!
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Pat
non-member comment
Oy Way!
Dear Stuart and E, I'm there - the guffaws, the intractible and cheerful teaching challenges, the grateful students, the sweet apartment, the readjustment to traffic monitors and good good food. Thank you for taking me with you. Love, Pat