A day in the Life, or Kind of

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I have quickly adapted to life in China. I find myself stumbling into new things to write about everyday. But when such things become so regular and natural to me, I forget it's different than at home. The past twenty-nines year of my life is a photo album full of fun memories and good times shared with family and friends alike. Currently, I serve as a foreign expert in the field of English language, living and working in oil mecca of China. The thing about my surroundings is that everybody is so nice and welcoming here, acculturation happens rapidly. You adjust to their norms and culture, and suddenly find yourself indulged in real Asian life; leaving part of you behind. Most of the people wear warm smiles, greet, hand-shake with every man (of course), then they'll like to serve you food or drink. Which can quickly lead to 'lost in translation' charades (talking without knowing a common language).
Many Chinese adults around me don't worry about the future or a natural disaster, moreover, they worry about daily and weekly tasks like feeding themselves and or family everyday. Culturally as well, kids have to get through a tough high school circuit then an even tougher college ladder(with acceptance being the hardest); with the best students, if they can afford to, going to a US University. A record 130,000 Chinese attended US Universities last year, a 30% increase from previous year and an all-time high for Chinese in US Universities (http://www.csmonitor.com/USA/Education/2010/1115/Record-number-of-Chinese-students-flock-to-US-collegse). Don't expect to see that number go anywhere but up either. With Chinese students increase in attending US Colleges comes an interest in US customs and life as well. Can you say, Las Vegas, San Francisco, New York, Chicago, Southern California!
Males aspire to make enough money to start a family around 23-25 y.o., and the women plan their futures that way as well. Divorces have hit China recently thanks to some Western influence, but it's still very rare. If women are not married/child-rearing by 26,27, their parents usually intervene to speed up the creation of a new family. I heard our new scheduler Vicki, who told me I was more handsome then her husband at the Woman's Day Lunch, supposedly met and married her husband in two months, further evidence of that. She recently took over Randall's former position 'Scheduler', as his contract was up and he moved on.
If you finish mid to bottom in your high school class, chances are you will not attend college. If you don't attend college, you work for the family shop or restaurant, service industry, construction (they are building everywhere), cell phone/shopping retailer. Cell phones are many and plenty out here. Today while riding the bus to school, the old 113, I counted five China Mobile retailers in the span of one block. Cell phones are a pre-paid business out here for the most part. You buy cell phone at store, then go buy a SIM card at your phone carriers place, and they set you up with cell phone number and activation. You take your cell phone to the retailer when you need or want to put more money on it. Cell phone money does dry out at in-opportune times, so school Admin will occasionally go to one of the stores and with our phone number, they buy (increments of 10) 10, 20, 30, 100...RMB/'Kua' of service minutes for us. They probably have something important to tell us! The retailer collects money from you, then calls an automated machine to put money on your SIM card/telephone. Then you get a text confirming money added.
But a day in the life starts around 6:45-7:30 am, when a couple chickens start hootling in the alley. I choose to sleep in that bedroom though and now have adjusted to them. For some odd reason I get the picture of the white chicken on the Corn Flakes box when I hear them every morning? It takes me back to the days when I spent five months living with a Costa Rican family, and waking up to all their chickens in the morning. Weekend classes here go from 8am-5:30pm, so I usually roll out of bed around 6:45 anyway.
Turn the hot water button on on my fresh water machine, jump in the shower, which there is no defined shower, just stand on floor next to bathtub and toilet/so the toilet gets wet and the floor floods a little. Plumbing is not their specialty out here. There is a long pipe that runs floor to ceiling and that is my neighbors main plumbing pipe to the ground. So I laugh when I am in bathroom and here something down pipe and go, 'well I guess my neighbor just used the toilet or shower'.
Fill my tall coffee cup up with a packet of Nestle coffee powder, and some hot water from machine. This morning it was colder when I got out of the shower, and I realized after two TA's told me the previous day, the cities (maybe counties/state as well?) heating turned off. How it goes is you pay for five months of heating in October or November, when they feel its gotten cold enough. Then the service lasts until they say so or when it get warms. So as all the lakes and rivers begin to thaw, the authorities shut-off city heat last night. Spring is here!
We witnessed a great soccer match in the Capital City of Jinan in beautiful weather yesterday. Shandong beat Osaka, Japan 2-0. I was sarcastically saying Im sure all the Osaka players are solely thinking about winning this game; not about their peoples at home, or even their own homes, families. We had a memorable 3 hour (each way) taxi drive on the back roads to the Capital City, full of road sodas, close calls by our crazy yet sober taxi driver (8 passenger van), and witnessing 'true China' farming towns was priceless. Passing by trucks with way too much material in them, passing cars on the far opposite side lane, and crazy road-blocks that our van could barely squeeze through at random segments of the highway; it was the price driver paid for not wanting to pay tolls on main highway. My honest opinion and conclusion is that the Chinese have not forgotten the Japanese attacks of late 30's, WW2 time.They have a serious grudge they cannot shed which probably is the reason why I don't see many or any feeling sorry for their neighboring country. As the news reports more than 5,000 dead and still 9,000 missing, I am thankful that I come from a country and place which is so thoughtful of others, helpful when needed or called upon and considerate of others. I think those traits are what help me assimilate into such a different place so quickly. My news just reported a slow line of communication between Japanese authorities and the US Gov't, which made it seem like Japan still does not know the damage done or going to be done, or they do know, and are hiding facts. The aftermath could and will be very harmful, and South Korea (who despise Japanese for enslaving them) and or Hawaii/West Coast could be affected. If they solved the Gulf-Coast situation, they could probably solve this possibility. The only symbol of remembrance for Japans tragic tsunami was a sign held up by the Japan Soccer Club team that said, "Play for Japan, Pray for Japan".
So I Grab my keys, phone, Ipod and wallet and shoot for the road. I have a couple trash bags (small bags you get from store or restaurant that are used for trash bags-nothing big at all) so I take those down the four flights of stairs and drop off right outside my complex door. It's 7:20, I walk quarter mile to intersection when I jump in a taxi, greet him say 'ni hao', then say jizo, as in straight. Couple zoguays (left), youguays(right) and jizos, I arrive across the street from our school office/campus, located on three floors in the City Building, B. There is a KFC on the way so I sometimes get coffee and or breakfast sandwich with the Colonel (but to go, 'Thaizo'). Employees know some English to help westerners ease into Chinese KFC fast food menu. I usually just go there for coffee, it's the closest thing to a coffee shop as we got.
Arrive at work, make sure or begin to prepare for first class, get laminated picture flash cards for review and new units, class text and basket full of games, balls, candy/stickers and a radio. I arrive in class and the class shouts Good Morning Peter, or teacher, and it's game time!
I am now teaching at two schools outside of Shane, at both Ruidong Kindergarten and Shiyan Elementary twice a week. I take taxi's from school main campus to outside schools with my TA for that class, then keep receipts and school reimburses you each week. The Kindergartners are so cute and I need to be so careful to teach them just basic English. When I'm not tired from weekend classes or I'm just feeling it, I have a funny and entertaining way of teaching English to these little guys. I think, "what would Mr. Rogers and Robin Williams do to teach these kids and make them laugh at the same time?! When we leave, all the parents are starting to stack up outside the schools main entrance gate, and when the Principal or Security Guard come and unlock it, parents literally run to their kids classroom to pick them up. Kids, especially and predominately 'single-kids', are worshiped here by parents and grandparents. All the time I see grandparents with their baby grandchildren on the bus, riding a bike or walking home from school together. It's a cute site to see. As well, when I see the traditional three member family at the Mall or walking around together. The father is commonly misplaced whether at work, a dinner function or out with the boys. It's a common phenomenon to be out at a restaurant around 9-11 pm and find that it's all men inside, usually smoking and drinking, and maybe a waitress or restaurant owner.
The two 3rd grade classes I have at Shiyan are wild, but I love them. 3 or 4 students in each class are also in weekend classes at Shane, so I see them three days a week. The kids can get out-of-hand really quick, so I have to keep their focus with their little attention spans.
I wasn't able to complete my entire 'A day in the Life of', I will continue to share my daily life experiences as time allows me.

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Photos

Parents running for Kids
At Kindergarten

Overloaded trucks
Just part of everyday life here

Going wide in opposite lane
on our way to soccer match in Jinan...

Random road blocks
throughout back-road segment of our way there...
Would hate to accidentally speed into one of these

I'm not sure what it is
but that's my good ol' 113 behind it that I take 2-3/x week

Womens Day Lunch
My TA Elana, Farmer and I

Our soccer team + driver
one of many 'pit-stops'

Common driving
against the flow of traffic

Comments

[jim mcarthur]

Simply Fabulous!
Thanks Pete for all the Real Life updates; very well written and we appreciate you thinking of us! Keep up al the good work in the Classroom and in your Healthy and Happy Life! You can always count on your Dad and Michele and your Mom!