Assimilation/Conversion

This has been a landmark week for us here in China. Some weeks both of us feel off, like mannequins in a world of the living, or, say, Americans living in China. This week we have felt like people, working in China. Some great things that have happened over the last two weeks are these:

Our language conversation partner came over for dinner. I made country ham, eggs in a basket, sweet carrots, and green beans with parmesan cheese. It was great, and she got a big kick out of cooking the eggs in the center of a piece of bread. The next day we got a package from Nick's parents, which had bacon as well as A Light in the Attic and Where the Sidewalk Ends, perfect for making ESL college kids think, speak, and write. So far we've enjoyed the bacon more, but it's close.

We attended and participated in the English Club-planned Halloween party, attended by 3 Americans, 1 Russian, 3 New Zealanders, and 150 Chinese college students. The events included group dances, talent showcase, bobbing for apples, and musical chairs. Nick will tell you I edged out a 7-year old Chinese kid to win musical chairs, but really, I just have more experience. We had a great time after the 50+ photo ops ended. A picture taken with a foreigner must be worth about 5000 words, above and beyond the measly 1000-word photos.



Little Daniel, my favorite best friend's son, turned 1 year old on the 5th.

Wednesday, the Peace Corps doctors J & G came from Dingxi on their tour of Gansu province, in part to show us the hospital in our city and facilitate some vaccinations and checkups for other volunteers living nearby. We not only got see the hospital, which is well-equipped, but also to hang out with the doctors and another married couple serving in a much smaller town about 3 hours southeast of us. I left early to give a midterm exam, but Nick stayed, found the awesome DVD store with them, and then had lunch at KFC in the town square. It's great to talk to other volunteers to get their opinions about things (foreign affairs office interactions, for example), and also to assure us that we are not the only ones who are frustrated, excited, confused, and tired. The doctors are really fun ladies, as indicated by our discussion of (jokingly) how to steal a gypsy baby in Russia and take it back to the states.

After my midterm, I went for a short hike and a long facial with our pseudo-sitemate, who lives about 30 minutes away by bus. She is really fun to talk to, and her understanding of Chinese culture is great, though she doesn't always embrace it. Right now she's on the fence because her service will end next summer, she has great law school prospects, and she also has a boyfriend (who is a local). The only two feasible options are separation or a fiance visa! Facials at AVON are a good way to forget your problems (if you can tune out the music in the spa room ...)


Today Nick went and met with the dean of the foreign language department about some scheduling issues and preferences for next semester. We weren't sure how it would go, considering we were asking for fewer types of classes and fewer teaching hours (based on our contracted 16 per week). Right now Nick has 3 types of classes, and I have 2, so between us that was 5 "preps" (teacher speak for class preparations). But, with the school cutting the semester short to save on heating, the classes that were cut were put back into the regular semester as extra classes. Rather than teach our contracted 16 hours, we are teaching 16-20 hours with like classes that could be as many as two lessons apart (ahead or behind). That might seem like beans to a 40-hour work week, but we prepare for class, grade papers, have library duty, meet with tutors and language partners, and attempt to plan outside projects (improving the library, health education seminars, reading groups). I really do think the extra teaching hours are hindering our ability to do the outside (and possibly more interesting and helpful) work this semester. Anyway, the meeting went exceedingly well, and we were told that the system of extra classes will be abolished after the first trial semester, so we'll have only 16 hours of teaching, as well as our classes being on the same lesson each week. We had some fears of indirect refusals and confusing words, to be argued about later by our program manager back in Chengdu. Luckily, none of that is necessary! We agree with the Chinese on this one!

In other news, Nick and I have been thinking quite a bit about sustainability and development. China's economy is exploding, and you can see it even here in Tianshui, with all of the new buildings going up and college students looking for better jobs. In the course of this, I took a step to lower my contribution to the trash in the world, especially since I don't actually know where trash goes in China (yet). I don't think I've seen a landfill, but maybe I haven't been looking. Anyhow, I have ordered, and am now using, the DivaCup. What, you ask, is that? Is Beyonce in that movie? Well, it's a women's product; any men reading now who don't care for discussions of sustainability with respect to women's products can now surf on to another page. Now, to continue: the DivaCup is a replacement for sanitary pads and tampons. It is a silicone (or latex) cup which collects the fluid, and you just empty and clean it occasionally. The DivaCup website reports this "In 1998, 7 billion tampons and 13 billion sanitary pads and their packaging made their way into landfills and sewage systems in the USA alone!" Cotton is biodegradable; some of the plastics used are not. So, I have been converted. Any women reading this can take it from me: it's not messy, it's not difficult. And the investment will last not only monetarily, but also in the landfill and carbon footprints we all are learning about.