"A Report of the Browns"

Way back in October, when the leaves were still on the trees and it wasn't -6F outside, my parents came to visit. Their visit coincided with China's national holiday, so most of the time I was on break and was able to tour around Beijing, Shanghai, and Harbin with them. (Check out my photos of Beijing and Shanghai, my photos of Harbin, and my mom's photos here).

I only had one class while they were in Harbin visiting - a section of Newspaper Reading for Junior English majors and this section just happens to be 25 girls. I had them write up questions and interview my parents. Here's some snippets of student reflections after interviewing:

V wrote:
"At the first sight of the special guests, I was amazed by the atmosphere around them. What an elegant lady and what a handsome and tall sir.”

D said:
“The two special guests are Sarah’s parents. They are both very kind Americans. And the most impressive thing was that the father was very, very tall. As soon as he came into the classroom everybody in the room just cried out: “Wow, how tall he his.”

C wrote:
“The special guests impress me very much. I like them very much. They are humorous. Father is well-read, he is reading Sun Zi. Mother likes gardening. She has a big flower garden and a vegetable garden. She also admires Obama. She said she surfs the Internet to see what he is doing everyday. That’s fantastic and interesting.”

S said:
“When I talked to them I found that they were very kind and friendly. I knew that they like China and think China has a long history. And 1.3 million Chinese people impressed them very much because they went to Shanghai fro the Expo and found that there were so many people.”

Some commented on the difference between American families and Chinese families, like D:
"American parents do not expect their children too much. They leave them more personal space and freedom. They would be happy if their children choose what they want.
"American children/kids are the same as Chinese children. For example, little Sarah played with the toys, such as mummy bear, father bear and the baby bear. That is the same game. It is called Guo Jiajia or Play house."

And J:
“First, they are very friendly. They are very amiable parents, I think. Through this short interview, I find that your family is not like what I saw on the American movie. In the movie, they are very open. Whereas I think your family is traditional and it is not very different from Chinese.”

The students were really so thankful to have you visit their class, mom and dad!
P wrote:
"They are very kindly and warmly to answer any of our questions. They love their daughter very much. Their impression on China is very good, they both said China is very great country with a long history."

T wrote:
"Their way of answering question is very unique, they didn't avoid any question. They answered each question clearly and specifically. The stories they recalled about their daughter did in her childhood were very interesting."

...Thankfully none of the stories were too embarrasing!

And one student, Y, wrote a book:
"As Sarah's parents coming into the classroom we were shocked. "How tall Mr. Brown is!" Everyone murmured. After a brief introduction, the class began the "asking-answering" activity.
"From the interview - I knew that Sarah's parents cares about Sarah very much. They will never push Sarah to do anything if she doesn't want to. Also they showed their no-worry feelings for their daughter working in China because it is very safe here. As to whether they could accept a Chinese son-in-law, they say they would respect Sarah's choice. (Haha. In a class of 25 girls... it's not surprising that they'd ask about this!)
"It was very exciting to have foreign guests although sometimes we couldn't express ourselves clearly and we didn't know what exactly was appropriate. But we were thankful for having Sarah's parents in our class. We liked them as much as we like Sarah."

TWO BANANAS

A few weeks ago, I had a two banana day.

Banana number one: It was around 1 PM in the afternoon, just between lunch and class. I had to quickly go and make copies of some paperwork for the other foreign teachers, so I went to the place I usually go just a few apartment buildings away from home. I make my copies and ask "how much?" The girl hands me a banana. I push it back at her, once, twice, but finally give in. It's custom in China to first refuse a gift ... I'm still learning this one. On top of this, she didn't let me pay. Next time I go to make copies I think I'll bring oranges.

Banana number two: Later that evening I was walking out the side gate to go get dinner. I pass by one my my students and give the normal English greeting: "Hi, how are you?" To which he replies, "I just bought fruit" and hands me a banana. It all happened so sudden, I couldn't refuse. Let's just say it reminded me that I need to review greetings with this students' class.

CHANGBAI SHAN

For the Mid-Autumn Holiday (yesterday) two of my co-teachers and I took a 39-hour tour to Changbai Shan (a.k.a. Baekdu Mountain (KO) or Perpetually White Mountain (EN)) - a famous volcanic mountain that boarders North Korea.

Here's how the trip went:
1 hour in a taxi
2 hours waiting for the train
10 hours on an overnight train
4 hours on a tour bus
1 hour on another bus through the park
1 hour in line to wait for a jeep to the top
20 minutes (that I wish was 30 minutes) riding to the top
and finally...
40 minutes hiking & picture taking at the top of the volcano!
and then...
15 minutes (again, wish was 30 min...they drive dangerously fast) riding down
30 minutes on the bus again
30 minutes walking to the hot springs and back
30 minutes on the bus to get to the other bus
1.5 hours on the tour bus to get to lunch
45 minutes for lunch at a Korean-style restaurant
1.5 hours to the ginseng and deer antler farm & Northeast China specialty store
1.5 hours back to the Antu train station
1 hour for dinner at another Korean-style restaurant
2 hours waiting for the train
10 hours on an overnight train
10 minutes in a taxi

... but all the travel was so worth it because:

At the top of Changbai Shan, there's a crater lake, called Tian Chi "Heaven Lake," which most people don't get a chance to see since it's often covered in a thick mist. We got to see it!

It was also wonderful to get out of the city for a change!

BUTTERFLIES

At 8 AM tomorrow I'll be teaching my first class of the fall semester - a training class for teachers in English speaking and listening. I'm trying my hardest not to be nervous or intimidated ... I always have the "first day of school butterflies" when I teach that first class, but I'm afraid I'll have a few more butterflies this time since I've never taught teachers before.

Later this week, on Thursday, I'll begin another class - Newspaper Reading. Though I've never taught this course before and have a lot to plan for it, I'm a bit more confident since the students are the same students I've taught since my first fall 2 years ago!

Next week, I'll begin the third course I teach - Oral English for Ph. D. students (a general education requirement for all first year Ph. D. students).

I've never taught any of these course before and never have taught students who are older than me before, but I'm excited for the opportunities I'll have in teaching new material and new students. Opportunities for me to grow and learn more about the different generations in China, and opportunities for me to enter into a different part of Chinese society than I could back when I was only teaching undergraduates. It's going to be quite a challenge, especially with all these butterflies inside me!

TIME FOR A NEW COUNTDOWN

Well, I'm back in China! This summer really really disappeared fast. I think that was because it was broken up into such small chunks. With 4 days at home, then 3 weeks taking classes in Wheaton, IL, 2 weeks at home, 1 week in New Hampshire, a 1 night in New Haven, and 4 days at home, I'm looking forward to unpacking in Harbin for more than just a few weeks. I'll miss home, but I've also missed China, I've missed Harbin, and I've missed my school and students while I've been away.

So here's the new countdown and it's quite simple:
3 more days until I'm back in Harbin!
10 more days until I begin teaching.
And 5 weeks until my parents come to visit!