First Day of Classes

So, yesterday was the first day of classes here at JiangDa. That may not sound too surprising to anyone else, especially since yesterday was a Monday, but let me tell you – it caught most of us foreign teachers off-guard. See, according to our contracts, we were supposed to start on September first. Granted, that’s a Thursday (and who wants to start classes on a Thursday?), but that is what the contract said. Oh well, as we were told before we left, “this is China:” late Saturday night one of the returning foreign teachers found out that we were going to have a meeting Sunday morning. Not only did this mean that we would miss Foreign Fellowship, but it also hinted at a change of schedule. Sure enough, at the Sunday meeting they handed out our schedules for the semester, and I had a class first thing Monday morning. :(

I was already planning on doing an “Introductions” lesson for the first week (we only see each class once a week), but when you have an hour and a half for each class, it still takes a bit of time to throw together a lesson plan. That made for a late night Sunday. At least I can use the same lesson for every class this week, so that will make things easier. I do have eight classes each week, using two different books, so I’ll at least need to have two lesson plans the following weeks, but that’s definitely doable.

Overall my three Monday classes went well. I realized that I need to talk slower (both to help with student comprehension, and also to help fill the time), but other than that there weren’t any major issues with my classes. My second class was rather chatty, though, so I did make them stay three minutes late (cutting into their lunch time), but that was the extent of my disciplinary action that day.

Part of my lesson plan included having the students turn in a piece of paper with their name (English and Chinese), major, and some other information as a way for me to easily get a (non-Chinese) list of their names. I also gave them the option of asking me a question – some of which I then answered in class. Here is a sampling: “What do you think about Chinese people/China/Chinese food/Wuhan/Jianghan University?” (I like it/them!); “What is the best way to learn English?” (listen everyday, speak everyday); “Where is you wife?” (I brought her with me, don’t worry); “What do you think about the laws in China” (yeah – I passed on this one; no need to get into trouble on my first day); “Do you speak Chinese?” (not very well); “Can you speak slower?” (oops…yes, sorry); “When will you have a baby?” (not anytime in the near future, as far as I know); and perhaps the most random, “Where did you get your haircut?”

One of the perks of the job is that teachers get a free lunch at the school cafeterias. Having never been before, I was hesitant to go in and start loading up my tray. My hesitance paid off this time, because when I joined a couple Japanese teachers, I discovered that I was planning on heading to the wrong floor of the cafeteria. Instead of going in the main level, we took the side stairs up to about the fourth floor. As we were ascending, I was wondering what was on each floor – different class levels? different kinds of food? Well, when carpeting appeared after the third floor, and I saw the mahogany woodwork on the fourth floor, I realized that I had arrived at the teachers’ cafeteria. The place had a strange blend of commercial cafeteria and posh restaurant, and even a fingerprint reader to boot. But I think I can get used to this :)

Well, it was nice to have today (Tuesday) off, but I do have classes again early tomorrow morning. Zai jian!

-Trevor

Settling In

We made it! After a long day and a half of travel last Wednesday and Thursday, we arrived safely in Wuhan, China. Around 10 p.m. the dean of Trevor's academic department at Jianghan University met us at the airport and drove us to the block of on-campus faculty housing. Our new home is on the fifth floor, and we were SO grateful to have extra hands (our waiban - or Foreign Affairs official - plus two students) help carry up our heavy luggage. Our apartment is quite nice (pictures to come soon) and cleaner than expected. It seems dust will be an ongoing battle here in Wuhan, but we have prior experience with that. ;)

Early Friday morning we met again with our waiban, to head on a bus for medical exams (required for a residency permit in China). Riding through Wuhan traffic was an eye-opener to Chinese driving: it seems that traffic moves almost constantly, but lanes are practically suggestions and horns are used as warning and turn signals. Jet-legged and travel-weary, we appreciated the snacks and drinks the waiban had brought for the ten or so teachers. At the hospital check-in, we were each given blue forms with rather intimidating sounding test categories such as "surgical medicine" and "internal medicine." Luckily, those categories were nothing more than height and weight measurments, and blood pressure checks (respectively). The most interesting test was the ECG test, which involved clamps on one leg, both arms and wired suction cups on the chest. One interesting difference between Chinese and American hospitals is that we went to each of the testing rooms (throughout three different floors), rather than staying in an exam room with the nurses and doctors coming to the patient.

The rest of the day included a gourmet Chinese meal at a nearby restaurant with the other teachers and waiban, getting some money exchanged and purchasing SIM cards and cell phones. We had two Chinese students helping with all this, and their transating and knowledge were invaluable. We hadn't been in China even for 24 hours before we found ourselves in Wal-Mart. Even compared to American ones, it was immense! I have to admit that while it was easy enough to identify products by sight, it was frustrating not to be able to read the Chinese characters on the labels. Trevor decided that when in doubt about a product, our best bet is to buy something in the mid-range of price of the available products. We were able to find some essentials there, spending most of our time on the floor of household goods. The produce and grocery floor had lots of curious objects but those had to wait for another day. Exhausted from our Wal-Mart adventures, we headed back to our apartment on a very crowded bus. Chinese cup of noodles made a sufficient dinner and we headed to bed around 9 p.m.

Saturday morning, our good friend Melodie took us on the bus to the French neighborhood nearby. We were so grateful for Melodie's help these first few days, as she arrived in China before us and knew where things were. Trevor and I were excited to go to the Aloha Diner that we've heard so much about (see photo below). The food was great (all three of us ordered something with cheese in it--we must have all missed dairy products) and we had a refreshing talk with the owner, who has a big heart for serving others. After Aloha Diner, we ventured into the IGA, which like Wal-Mart, had a moving walkway leading to the upper floor (crazy!). For all of you Pullman-nites, the Wuhan IGA was not exactly your friendly neighborhood Dissmore's. On the top floor, there were all kinds of household goods. Trevor and I were glad to find things like metal spoons and forks (a few hours earlier we had to eat our oatmeal breakfast with the one and only disposable fork I had packed), pillows and shampoo. About halfway through our shopping trip, Melodie, Trevor and I realized that we would need to catch a cab home, given the amount of stuff we were buying. Thankfully, the cab ride home was quick and only cost about 10 RMB (about $1.50).

Feeling adventurous on Saturday evening, Trevor and I walked to find the Wuhan Yangtze International School where I'm hoping to work. On the way home, we crossed over to a whole line of little hole-in-the-wall type shops. We bought a few things, including a box to put our laundry in and a small rug. Later we realized we probably should have haggled over the prices. We stopped in a bakery and bought a few things to try. I thought I recognized a donut-type object, but wasn't 100% sure. The next day we were walking by the same bakery and one of the employees saw us and waved excitedly. Walking around we get lots of stares here, probably because Westerners really aren't that common in Wuhan. We try to smile a lot and say 'hello' and 'thank you' in the stores we visit. Soon we hope to start building Chinese friendships.

-Inga

Homeless and Unemployed

Usually that would be a bad thing, but I guess in our situation it's all part of the plan.

We are currently staying with some very gracious friends in Wenatchee, and schlepping our stuff between parents', friends', and family's houses as we do the final sorting of things before we head off to the other side of the world. The good news is that we actually have place to put all of our boxes (free of charge!), and just yesterday we sold our car for the full asking price. So in addition to "homeless and unemployed," you can also add "and driving my parent's car around." Though I should mention that their car is sportier than our old one, so it's really a bit of a step up :)

This coming Monday, we will head over to Seatac to fly out to Michigan for some team training. It will be good to have an opportunity to meet all 25'ish of our teammates before with end up in-country, but neither of us is relishing the fact that our plane leaves Seatac at the crack of darkness Tuesday morning. I guess it's just one of those things that builds character.

We will return from training Friday, enter a flurry of packing and goodbyes (and probably a few moments of unrestrained panic), then leave Wenatchee for good Wednesday the 24th to start the epic travel-fest to Wuhan. The clock is ticking...

Speaking of timing, though, my sister thankfully timed her pregnancy so that we can meet our newest niece, Rebekah Grace, before we leave!

P.S. We are considering buying stock in the company that makes those Space Bag vacuum storage bags. Between our bedding to store here and clothes to take there, it looks like the Space Bags are going to really maximize our space, though not the total weight (stupid laws of physics, no help there). However, there are rumors about funky smells after storing things for long periods of time, so we might wait until we get back to the States before we make that initial stock investment :)