HAPPPY TEACHER'S DAY!

---

JIAO SHU JIE! Who knew? Not me. Not until I walked through campus this morning on my way to run errands (she says blithely). On the neon sign over the admin building's door trailed that wish: in English for three seconds, and in Chinese for three minutes with many more words, probably revealing the time and place of the secret celebration, and possibly the handshake. I could let it go; I could. I mean, I haven't even taught a class yet. So far I've been about as invisible as a waiguo laoshi (foreign teacher) could be, and flying beneath the radar limited my exposure to the unknown (a position not without its allure). But I had begun to think that I wasn't even on the screen.

I had just run into Mark, the nice American teacher who lives upstairs (five+ years of teaching in Asia under his belt), and he neither knew nor cared to know anything about it...but, then, he still points to the pictures when ordering from a menu. Not peas in a pod, us. Mark waved over a Chinese English teacher, Gao Lan, whom I had met briefly a few days earlier, to ask for directions in Chinese to give to the taxi driver who would take us waiguo laoshi (see above) to The Metro tomorrow. The Metro is, apparently, a Westerner's wet dream of a Costco-style German megastore. (Not yet being away long enough to crave anything--other than an outing--I was in.) Meanwhile, I pounced on Gao Lan with questions about Teacher's Day. It was to honor outstanding teachers (already?), and would take place at 2:30. And we were welcome. Nice. I'm in again. I'm an "in" gal, as you can see.

2:30. A theatre-type space. Soft chairs. Podium adorned with red banners and important looking people (mayor of Hangzhou, director of the college) behind red name cards, EACH of whom would, in the course of the next two hours, proceed in turn to talk ad hoc (impressive) and...wait for it (I did)...at length about Wanxiang Polytechnic's great teachers and students--terms of art with which I arrived equipped. Otherwise, isolated vocab fell understood on my ears, without painting any picture whatsoever. Teachers (one assumes) would periodically come up front to applause from the audience to accept a red small, book-like thingie and a red (noticing the color consistency?) sash, along with some flowers, then bow smiling and retreat.

Well...that's what I get for wanting to know. Now I kinda sorta know what happens on this particular day in this particular place. And everybody there knew I was there, for what that's worth. Maybe I earned a guanxi (social networking, which WILL come up again) point. Hmmm...I'll squirrel it away for Trival Pursuit:-)

Tomorrow: The Metro. And I got paid today. (Yes, even though I probably won't teach this month.) So watch out!

---

Comments

[Jana]

I love that you are the all "in" gal:)
Love your blog. Jana

[ElyseandPete]

Teacher's Day
I had several former students email me wishing me a Happy Teacher's Day. It is a very big day for all students across China to show their respect to their teachers.

[Nancy C]

Greetings from the "hood" to my "in" gal!
Love the color red! Nice to know teachers are appreciated world wide.