Comic Strips 101

What do you teach your writing students when you've already taught them everything you know? Such is the dilemma that my writing group has this week. The sophomores here are in the second half of their fourth semester in writing. When the foreign teachers were given these students as first-semester freshmen they thought that it would be just for one semester. Because of that, that first semester saw the teachers cramming everything we could about writing in 16 weeks. However, one semester turned into two and two semesters into four, and we're thinking, "okay, guys, what's next?". :) We don't possibly have anything left to teach about Western writing! They've learned about 5-paragraph essays and thesis statements and argumentative essays and newspapers and movie reviews and poetry and creative stories... We've beat the thing to death. :) So, that leaves us with what? What can we possibly teach them in the six weeks left in the semester?

Comic strips.

Two weeks of planning and several hours later, Robb, Jonny and I have a lesson plan that has students understanding the how-to of comic strips and drawing cartoons and trying to make them funny. Actually, at this point we'll take any kind of story. The funny part is a bonus. They don't have to be funny, but the students get extra points if they are funny.
Ah, but there's the clincher. Funny takes on a whole new meaning when you're in a different land such as this one. Especially a land such as this one.

If you can explain a Far Side comic or even Calvin and Hobbes to a Chinese student AND get them laughing at the end, then you get a special prize. Then you should write a book about your special technique because none of us has been able to do it--ever. You can get in all the details and idioms and cultural reasons of a Far Side comic, but the more we try to explain it, the less funny it gets. :) :) Meanwhile you're trying to explain why saying "bought the farm" when someone dies is funny and all they can think about is that these insensitive Americans love laughing at death. :) On the other end I have seen comedy shows here on TV- the Chinese are laughing their heads off and I just don't get it. What's funny to us is not funny to them, and what's funny to them is not funny to us (except they love slapstick comedy from certain movies, like Mrs. Doubtfire). So, how is this going to work? We'll let you know.

Right now we're just aiming for them to put a story like the Three Little Pigs into a comic strip. Next week we'll do claymations (just kidding...sort of) :)

Meanwhile Jonny is running around with Disney singing "Who's Afraid of the Big Bad Wolf, the Big Bad Wolf, the Big Bad Wolf?"

We're changing lives in here China :) :)

I Sound Like a Cave Man

I sound like cavemen when speaking Chinese. Seriously, ya'll. I have studied this language hours and hours on end and I still sound like a cave man. It's incredibly depressing. This is by no means a reflection on the Chinese langugage itself, but a rather a reflection on my limited abilities in speaking!!!! I have so much head knowledge of the language and can get into a long explanation of sentence structure and character meanings, but sometimes simple everyday tasks baffle me, especially when looking for peculiar objects.
So, I go to Zhong Xing today (a local warehouse kind of place filled with merchandise you have to bargain your way through) and was made aware of this all the more. Number one, while many people love the whole bargaining-in-a-foreign-language experience, I simply dread it and avoid it by all possible means.
I needed a pie pan. When it comes to buying a pie pan for my apple pies, it's a whole new ball game. I do a lot of pointing at pictures and charades, which may or may not go over very well. It took me twenty minutes to explain that I wanted a pie pan. I explained it like this in Chinese (after she didn't understand what apple pie was): "I have apples that I want to bake and to do so I have to put it in an oven on a specific plate- do you have the plate?" Actually, if you want what it sounded like in direct Chinese: "apples, round plate, bake, put in, oven, turn on, sweet apples, eat; plate, have-don't have?" She goes to the back and gets me a plate with pictures of apples on it. No. Well, at least she understood the apples and plate part of it. So, I go to the next lady and go through the whole exchange again. Finally I start looking through the shelves myself and found what I was looking for! I say, "this! this!" (as if I'd just discovered gold) OH (says something frustratingly in Chinese I don't understand, but I just smile and nod). "How much?" "45 kuai (5 dollars)". "4.5 or 45?" "45" "45! Much expensive!" I say (again, direct translation of my limited abilities): "store, over there, yesterday, price said 15 kuai" and then she proceeded to tell me that this was a "special" plate. Of course it is. I tried arguing with her that it was the exact same as the other one ("this one, that one, the same"), but after several rounds of this I was so exasperated that I walked out without a pie plate. That's a lot of energy to walk home empty handed.
And then there was the time that I needed to find a shower curtain for my...um, shower. Now, granted, most Chinese bathrooms do not consist of a bathtub so shower curtains are not needed. And my little pocket dictionary does not have the word for "shower curtain". Well, I guess this one is going to be interesting. So, when I go to the curtain ladies I ask them "curtain, bathroom, have-don't have?" Why do you need a curtain for your bathroom? "curtain, get wet, okay" Huh? "curtain, bathroom, water, okay" (all done while acting out a shower hose). Again, "curtain, water." I say character for shower, write down character for shower, they laugh at the way I write mentioned character, they argue with each other over which character it is and which tone is the correct one used, I show them the character in the dictionary, character is too small for them to read, can't find their glasses...AHHH!. Again, "curtain, shower, water, have-don't have?" (as if repeating it five times will make it all the more clearer) Oh oh! She goes and gets a curtain with pictures of umbrellas and rain. NO. At this point all the curtain ladies are involved in a conversation arguing over what I'm referrring to, as if I'm not there anymore. Finally, one lady understands! Yes! Yes! We're jumping up and down because we FINALLY understood each other. I say, "have-don't have?" Don't have.
Yeah, okay.
Today I needed whiteboard markers. If my little pocket dictionary didn't have the word "shower curtain" in it, do you think it'd have "whiteboard"? Surprisingly that didn't take very long. It sounded like "pen, white, classroom, not chalk." Whew! Got that one.
Sometimes when we are given the wrong thing after ordering at KFC, we'll take it back and point at the object, say "this thing, not good. Want other." Then they jabber on in a much more developed language we cannot understand and we just *sigh.*
Granted, it's not always like this. Some days I get into really great conversations with the vendors or restaurant owners, and especially with people on the train. The other day my taxi driver, after finding out I am American, jabbered on about how much he hates America :) and I was able to engage him in a rather interesting (though limited) debate. So, why is it on some days I can't find a shower curtain or order the correct size of french fries at KFC?
Eventually the cavemen graduated and discovered fire and the wheel--I have to believe that day is coming for me, too.

Loose Bunnies

My college roommate, Suzanne, posted this on her web blog and I'm still laughing. I thought I'd share it with all my peeps too :) :) [thanks, Suz!]

She writes, "on Monday a truck carrying rabbits crashed on Hungary's busiest highway, letting 5,000 bunnies loose all over the road. The highway was closed for hours while police tried to capture the animals. (Insert your own amusing mental video clip here.)"

:) :)

Mourning with America

I don't know how to capture in words the sorrow I am feeling as I am reading the stories of the events of Monday's shooting at Virginia Tech that claimed the lives of 33 people. I began to cry as I listened to President Bush's speech at the convocation, and they just flowed as I read the biographies of the victims. One of them, an old lecturer from Israel, survived the Holocaust only to be gunned down by a student in his classroom in America 60 years later. Others were at the top of their classes, lovable people. One was a student from Peru who decided to come to America shortly after 9/11 and had dreams of changing the world. We in China are deeply saddened by this tragedy. It is times like this when I feel so far removed from all of you in America. I remember at about this time last spring Taylor University, my alma mater, learned of the tragedy that claimed five of its lives. I remember the campus coming together like a family during that time, something that is needed all the more now. I am not going to try to offer pat answers or implore people to find forgiveness or get into the social ramifications of such a tragedy. Now is not the time for such things. Now is the time to mourn. We have to trust that God will help us make sense of all this...not today and not tomorrow, but someday. My prayer goes out to the victims' families and friends, including that of the gunman because they just lost a son, too. May the God of all Comfort touch you.

Sunday is really Monday

I don't think I'm going to win popularity points this week with my students. But, alas, this is where the personal and the professional separate themselves :) In addition to their infamous T.E.M. 4 exam (Test of English Majors) they have to take this weekend--a nasty little sucker that I'm not even sure I could pass-- I'm also giving them MIDTERMS next week. I used to hate teachers like me.
The May Holiday (a week-long Labor Day "vacation" when you actually have to make up the classes you've been given a vacation from) is coming up, which throws everyone's syllabus and lesson plans into awry, especially when they do not know the actual days of the holiday will be. We Americans like to be prepared, right, especially when it comes to vacation plans? Such is our downfall. The holiday is the first week of May, but we end up having to make up classes on the Saturday and Sunday before (or after) the first week (in addition to the regular week)- and what if the first day of May falls on a Tuesday? What then? Are my Monday freshmen going to be behind my Tuesday freshmen, or if I give my midterm to my Tuesday sophomores on the make up day, what's going to happen with my Thursday sophomores? And do we make up Tuesday and Wednesday classes or only Thursday and Friday classes? Do we have to teach Friday classes on the Sunday before or after the holiday? Yeah, now you get the confusion. The other day we were told that we had to tell the school our plans and itinerary for May holiday by the end of the week (which would have been the 16th) and then proceeded to tell us in the same announcement that the school would decide the dates of the holiday on the 20th. So...?

Just tell me where I need to be and where. After the chaos of traveling during the last holiday, I'm going to stay put and finish that LAST Wheaton paper. (I'll tell you by the end of the week if it actually happens)

Oh and we just received the plan: Friday is Friday, Saturday is Friday, Sunday is Monday, Monday is Monday and Tuesday-Tuesday is the holiday. Or is it Monday? Oh yeah, that makes so much better sense!??
And I smile :) :) Welcome to my world. :) :) :)

I Am Officially Accident-Prone

Yeah, I am officially accident-prone. This is Michelle, the girl who was so dainty and careful and didn't like to get sand on her hands when she was little. But, then she started playing in the mud, climbing trees, and getting scrapes on her knees (I didn't mean for that to rhyme-- really). That is all a normal part of childhood. Then she went to college- did okay there. Well, except for when she blew out three tires on her car in one week (once in a formal dress at midnight in the middle of nowhere in rural Indiana, the other time in Sunday dress). But, we've all heard that story--so many times, in fact. (STOP telling the story, Michelle). We've also all heard the story of when Michelle was broomballing (playing ice hockey with tennis shoes and brooms) and ended up being the only person that night seriously injured (they were all injured) with torn ligaments in her wrist and a cast up to her shoulder six months and two screws later. We've also all heard the story of when Michelle was the only one from her horsemanship class who was thrown from her horse the first time she got on and ended up with a broken nose (she likes to say "thrown" because that puts the blame on the horse, but for anyone who was actually there they'd say that Michelle just simply fell off "Keeper"-- and she did have to keep the darn horse for ten more weeks to pass the class so that she could graduate...grrr). And some of us have heard the story of Michelle being the only person to get wedged in a cave in China (both ends of the boat were open), but when Michelle got stuck she was literally stuck between a rock and a hard place for many minutes. Or on the same trip Michelle (after the boat had sunk and Michelle being the only one bitten by a strange creature in the water) being the only one who fell down a rock something or rather, granting scars she still shows off from time to time. Then there are adventures on trains, planes, and three-person bikes. We've all heard these stories before, that just grow old with Michelle telling them. [I just now realized I've been talking about myself in the third person- weird]
But all those stories are normal "ouch" stories that anybody can experience (okay, so not everybody flies from a horse with a broken nose). Those aren't the stories I'm referring to here. It's the stories of falling off podiums--regularly--running into corners, and falling down stairs--regularly. In China we stand on these six-inch platforms and I can't tell you how many times I've tripped off the thing and into a student's lap. (yeah, you're laughing now! you try it, buddy). And I fall down stairs...whole flights of them. I don't just skip a step or stumble, I go all the way down. Most of the time it involves sledding on my knees. The first time was in my English building in front of half a dozen students after I tripped over the cuff of my pants that were getting too big. My teammate just laughed when I came into the office with torn pants and gashes on my knee (I'm still bitter :) ) I fell down the stairs in the dormitory and in someone's home. This last time (yes, just a few days ago) I tripped going up the stairs and then ended up going down, too! This time I had a thermos of hot hot hot (did I mention it was hot?) water in my hands and it burst all over me! Luckily I was the only one around to get burned and suffer gashes and bruises that deserve honorary mention. But, then again, those stories are just klutzy. I always write home about it with the simple words "I fell down the stairs again." And people just roll their eyes and laugh on the inside.
Now, however, I can be sure to say that I am officially accident-prone. Why? The other day I was sitting quietly in the front row listening to a cultural lecture given by my teammate, David. He was talking about Easter and trying to get the students excited about the subject. You want to win points with the students? Then, bring them candy. So, David took a handful of candy, told the students to watch their heads, and then threw the candy up in the air-hard and with some force- so that the candy could reach the back of the lecture room as well. The candy went flying and one piece slammed into my mouth. Not just hit my lip, slammed into my mouth. Not Sonny's mouth. Not the student next to me's mouth. My mouth. My lip was bleeding, guys, and I could feel it swelling up right there. Bleeding! From Easter candy!!! I've been nursing a swollen lip for a week now. I only wish I were exagerrating.
Oh, and the next day, I fell off the podium again. :)

She Said YES!!!

My brother proposed to his girlfriend last night! And she said YES! Richey had been planning this thing for months. I got to see the ring when I was home for Christmas and it is BEAUTIFUL! Ashley is beautiful, too :)

Want to hear the story? If you're a girl I know that's a really stupid question because of course you want to hear the story!!! And guys, you really really want to hear the story too, but you don't want to admit it. :) :). Well, both of our families have been friends for years-- our dads even went to high school together back in the day. It just took a little more time for Richey and Ashley to get together because she is a few years younger and during summers in North Carolina as kids our paths never crossed. Richey and Ashley met, ironically, at my grandfather's funeral in the summer of 2005. :) :) At the wake (which was more of a celebration of his life than anything- I've never seen my grandmother have so much fun catching up with people from years past) people were going through the line and here comes Ashley and her twin brother, Tray. Richey was immediately taken with how beautiful she looked and in attempt at conversation Ashley asked Richey if he was still in high school and Richey just looked at her dumbfounded and said, "I'm 23!" :) :) And so it began. Of course, he had to wait for her to break up with her boyfriend first :) :). When it happened, our dad really pushed Richey to ask this girl out before it was too late. Richey, however, wanted to give her time. :) :) :) He was uncharacteristically shy. He'd gotten his heart broken a few times before. They were friends first and then started dating the next spring. Richey has made a lot of dumb decisions in his life (we all have), but the best decision he ever made was Ashley. He is a better person because of her. So, needless to say, we REALLY like Ashley.

So, this Easter weekend both of our families took a vacation to Atlantic Beach, NC together (with the exception of me and her twin brother, Tray). The bummer part was that the temperature dropped this weekend to the 30s instead of the usual 70s, but, they'd just have to work around that. Richey and Ashley spent the whole day together and in the evening they took a walk on the beach at sunset. When they got back to the nicely decorated dock there was a large candle burning (it took my family half an hour to light the thing because the wind kept blowing it out! stubborn candle!) and my brother sang a song that he wrote for her, then asked her to marry him! When he called me here in China-- I was so excited last night that I couldn't sleep-- I asked him if she said yes. Richey says, "Yes she said YES!" (Of course!). Earlier that day he had to blow her off because she was getting suspicious about his fishy behavior and told her it just wasn't happening this weekend, which made her mad :) :) :). He felt bad, but it worked for the time being. :) :) At dinner she was cutting mangoes and Richey kept murmuring, "please don't cut that finger, please don't cut that finger." :) :) :) And the best part-- they got the whole thing on video!

My younger brother is getting married! I am so excited about knowing Ashley as my future sister-in-law! Wedding date will probably be set in the Spring of 2008. :)

Celebrating New Life

Sometimes you just want to pull the covers over your head and skip the whole day, especially when you've had a whole bunch of "bad language days" in a row and what we refer to as "bad China days." But, then there's days like today- days when my classes are active and excited about being here. Days when students' laughter floats around the classroom. Days when the sweet lady at the market welcomes you with a huge smile. Days when my freshmen come over and dye Easter eggs (see above) and hear the Story for the first time. This is my fifth year doing the Easter thing in China and I tell you, the wonder of the opportunity never grows old.

Yesterday (April 5) was also Qing Ming Jie (Ching Ming Jee-ay), otherwise known in English as "Tomb Sweeping Day". It's a day set aside by China to go and visit the graves of ancestors, bring offerings to them, burn paper money (the traditional belief is that when you die your soul is in some kind of purgatory and this helps pay for time there and also assists the ancestors in the afterlife in order to bring blessing to you and your family) Sometimes instead of going to the graves, they light fires outside their homes. I saw the most interesting sight the other day, something I've only seen in the North. At each intersection in town you can see about half a dozen people or so lighting small fires and burning paper money for the ancestors (apparently, if you light fires at any kind of crossroads it enables the spirits to go anywhere). It really is a time to remember and commemorate those who have died.
Being that Easter and Qing Ming Jie fall on the same week this year, in my classes I asked my students to compare Easter with Qing Ming Jie...to see that while both deal with death, and both commemorate someone important to us who died, there is talk of New Life at Easter. While we reflect on death on Friday, we can rejoice because there is Hope on Sunday.
Tonight, please say a word for us here- the weekend is packed full of activities and opportunities to Share this Hope inside.

CNN Sheep Story

My teammates found this article on CNN and I just laughed and laughed. For those of you who don't know, Apex is the next town over from Cary (my hometown in North Carolina). My brother works in Apex. Hee Hee!!! :) (I mean, poor sheep!)
http://edition.cnn.com/2007/US/03/27/sheep.house.ap/index.html

Lost in China's Masses

I found an interesting article here. A man on a train journey is reflecting about getting lost in China's masses.

Check out this article on MSNBC:
http://www.msnbc.msn.com/id/17468464/

Mr. Egg

This is Mr. Egg. During a quick trip to Changchun, the capital of the province (the farthest north I've ever been--ever!), I was searching for any kind of Easter eggs for festivities this week and I happened upon this! It's like an egg-shaped Chia pet! Basically, you take a spoon and crack its head open, water it, and in a few days a bean will sprout!

These are the English directions on the box exactly as it is written:

1. Strick the top of the egg with a spoon.

2. Water the bean of lay it in a bowl, let the bean drik enough water.

3. During the time of germinate, please keep it moisture. Irrigate every two or threedays, do not irrigate every day.

4. About six-nine days, the bean will germinate please give it enough sunshine and water.

5. The bean has grew up please move it to tub.

Notice: Suit for the children who above 8 year old. Don't take the seeds, soil, fertilizer as food. [thanks for the warning, makers of Mr. Egg!!]

Come back and watch Mr. Egg grow!