I have definitely been slacking on the blogging lately, for that I apologize. Yesterday I finished my final exam and this morning I saw Sarah and her father off to the airport. It has been a very busy couple of weeks, but it was great to have some familiar faces around during the holiday season.
My exams consisted of me sitting in a classroom sans heat for 6 hours everyday listening to 2-3 minutes speeches from my students on a range of categories from environmental concerns, education reform, newspaper articles and even original stories. It wasn't the most exciting experience, at all, but it having Sarah around made it bearable.
Sarah, her father, mother, and stepfather arrived in Nanchang early last week. I met them in Shanghai and then came back with Sarah a few days early while her parents visited in Shanghai. Going to Shanghai really made me miss civilization. That's not to say that Nanchang isn't civilized, just that it isn't "western civilized." Shanghai is full of beautiful architecture, clean streets, and a great variety of food. As a cherry on top, no one stares at me in Shanghai. Oddly I took this as kind of an insult more than a relief. I think when I get back to the states and no one stares at me that my confidence will be shattered haha! Sarah's mother and stepfather went on to visit Xi'an and had a great time. Once everyone finally arrived in Nanchang, we had a nice lazy vacation....mostly because there is nothing to do in Nanchang and I was in the middle of exams. Regardless, I had an amazing Christmas celebrating with Sarah and her family. I got some great gifts and a pile of books, which is just what I wanted! I also got some great cold-weather gear from my parents including a great new North Face sweater. Thanks to everyone for the gifts! Needless to say, I was very sad to see Sarah leaving today. I wanted to sneak back to the US. On the other hand, it feels pretty nice to be done with exams, and I'm excited about my upcoming travels.
As of last night, my travel plans for this holiday are shaping up to be pretty amazing. Max has to go to Hong Kong to extend his visa, so Matt, Janice, and I are going to head down south with him. After Max settles his visa problems we're going to head to Maccau for a few days. I'm really excited about the possibilities for some new foods in both of these cities. I don't know much about Cantonese food, but I've heard good things. I think at this point that Janice is going to head back to Nanchang, but I'm not sure. After our time in these autonomous regions is over, we are going to down to Hainan, which is an island off the southern coast of China. It's often referred to as the Hawaii of China. I'm psyched about some warm weather, sand, and coconut beverages.
If we ever leave Hainan, we are planning to head up to Kunming, which is known for its landscape. Finally, we will head up to Chengdu, which is known for many things. Firstly, pandas! Other than that, I'm not too positive what the city has to offer. I need to do some reading. I have heard that it is a big city with plenty to do for very reasonable prices.
After things start to get finalized, I'll update. Head over to my picture website to check out some pictures from Shanghai, Guilin, and even from my last week of classes.
Friday, December 28, 2007
Tuesday, December 11, 2007
I just got back from "English Corner." Which should really be called "Questions for 
Foreigners." The corner is really just a big square outside of the students' dorms. At 7:30 every Tuesday evening students gather in this area to speak English together. Every week two foreign teachers are also required to go to English corner to encourage speaking. I go with Matt, and Janice and Steven go together. So tonight, like every other evening at the English corner, Matt and I strolled up to a crowd of awaiting Chinese students. Once one sees that the foreign teachers have arrived, he quickly releases a pheromone to alert the other students. A swarm ensues, and the questions are endless.
The topic tonight was, "What should we do during our boring college life?," or something along those lines. I reminded them that drinking is always a possibility, but that they really just needed to have a good time before they graduated. I'm almost convinced that most of the students here really don't know how to relax and just have fun. After asking them about their high school experiences tonight, I can understand why.
Most high school students here in China have class from 6:00 AM until 10:00 PM. They also do not have weekends off, but instead spend them studying or learning a new skill. I feel kind of bad for their experiences at school. I don't know if I could have made it through high
school if I didn't have breaks. It seems that the pressure here is immense. All of my students tell me that it is nearly impossible to get a job after college, and yet none of them seem to be worried. All in all, I'm surprised that the suicide rate is not tremendous here.
The evening at the English corner ended with a few questions from the more advanced students about my opinions on the war in Iraq and my opinion on JFK. All in all it was an interesting experience, but there are only so many times that I can be asked, "Do you like China?" or "Do you like Chinese food?" before I want to answer, "No, I really hate it." to both questions. Unfortunately that would be a lie. I like the people here in China, and as you probably well know, I love Chinese food.
However, Chinese food can only carry me so far. Christmas is coming, and I'm very happy to say that I will get to spend Christmas with a few familiar faces. Sarah and her parents are coming to China next weekend and will be here until the 28th. It will be great to have them all around for the holidays. Needless to say, I can't wait to see Sarah, and I hope that my lessons won't be too hectic while she is here.
Finally, I also got the mailing address for my school in China. If you'd like to mail me anything for any reason, you can send it to the following address:
Scott Mannear
The School of International Education, Nanchang Institute of Technology,
Beijing East Road 59, Pengqiao Campus, Nanchang Institute of Technology,
Nanchang Jiangxi, P. R. China 330029
By the way, the pictures are A) of my self-made drying apparatus, since the humidity outside has been hovering at 70% lately and B) my Communist Christmas Decorations--A Chinese flag and Christmas lights.
Foreigners." The corner is really just a big square outside of the students' dorms. At 7:30 every Tuesday evening students gather in this area to speak English together. Every week two foreign teachers are also required to go to English corner to encourage speaking. I go with Matt, and Janice and Steven go together. So tonight, like every other evening at the English corner, Matt and I strolled up to a crowd of awaiting Chinese students. Once one sees that the foreign teachers have arrived, he quickly releases a pheromone to alert the other students. A swarm ensues, and the questions are endless.The topic tonight was, "What should we do during our boring college life?," or something along those lines. I reminded them that drinking is always a possibility, but that they really just needed to have a good time before they graduated. I'm almost convinced that most of the students here really don't know how to relax and just have fun. After asking them about their high school experiences tonight, I can understand why.
Most high school students here in China have class from 6:00 AM until 10:00 PM. They also do not have weekends off, but instead spend them studying or learning a new skill. I feel kind of bad for their experiences at school. I don't know if I could have made it through high
school if I didn't have breaks. It seems that the pressure here is immense. All of my students tell me that it is nearly impossible to get a job after college, and yet none of them seem to be worried. All in all, I'm surprised that the suicide rate is not tremendous here.The evening at the English corner ended with a few questions from the more advanced students about my opinions on the war in Iraq and my opinion on JFK. All in all it was an interesting experience, but there are only so many times that I can be asked, "Do you like China?" or "Do you like Chinese food?" before I want to answer, "No, I really hate it." to both questions. Unfortunately that would be a lie. I like the people here in China, and as you probably well know, I love Chinese food.
However, Chinese food can only carry me so far. Christmas is coming, and I'm very happy to say that I will get to spend Christmas with a few familiar faces. Sarah and her parents are coming to China next weekend and will be here until the 28th. It will be great to have them all around for the holidays. Needless to say, I can't wait to see Sarah, and I hope that my lessons won't be too hectic while she is here.
Finally, I also got the mailing address for my school in China. If you'd like to mail me anything for any reason, you can send it to the following address:
Scott Mannear
The School of International Education, Nanchang Institute of Technology,
Beijing East Road 59, Pengqiao Campus, Nanchang Institute of Technology,
Nanchang Jiangxi, P. R. China 330029
By the way, the pictures are A) of my self-made drying apparatus, since the humidity outside has been hovering at 70% lately and B) my Communist Christmas Decorations--A Chinese flag and Christmas lights.
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