Best wishes on your 60th

On October 1, China will throw itself a birthday party like we've never seen before. The People's Republic is celebrating 60 years -- a momentous occasion indeed.

The current government has presided over significant progress in the past few decades. China has modernized. It has become an economic giant. It has its sights set on the moon! What's more, it is said that China has lifted more people out of poverty in the last 30 years than any country, ever. The World Food Programme issued this release in 2005: "Since WFP began working in China in 1979, the Government has lifted some 300 million of its people out of extreme poverty. This immense achievement is a tribute to the commitment of its leaders and the diligence and dynamism of its people," Morris said.

Have you ever thought to thank China for supplying us with inexpensive goods? How about for their contributions to science and technology programs at universities all over the West?

Today is a day to be thankful for the good things coming out of China and to send our best wishes to her people. China, thank you for welcoming me as a guest to your wonderful country. Happy 60th birthday!

Ghost Town

Photos:
1) Shandong Province. Qingdao is on the coast.
2) Receiving the news about our holiday.
3) Me and the corn harvest.
4) Husking corn.
5) Stupid chicken stupid egg restaurant.

Chinese phrase of the day: 坐 火 车 zuò huŏchē (to take a train). At midnight tonight, I will board a night train to Qingdao, where one of my student Angela lives. I had been praying for an opportunity to go home with a student, so I'm excited for this answer to prayer. I will stay with her for a few days and then return to Qufu.

Remember when I said we didn't know if we would have our October holiday? Then we were told that the holiday was still on. Hooray! On Saturday night, we got a call from the foreign affairs director. Uh oh. I was biking with my teammate Lisa at the time, and we were sure they were going to tell us that the holiday was canceled after all. She answered the call, only to be told that 12 students on campus had swine flu, so October holiday would begin immediately. In just a few days, our holiday had gone from 8 days to 1 day to 8 days to 12 days. That's China -- plans can't keep up with changes!

Due to the flu on campus, the university sent all the students home. It's like a ghost town now, with only a few students remaining. They are strictly monitoring the campus gates, taking temperatures and checking IDs of everyone who enters and exits. For foolhardy foreign teachers like ourselves, who are in no way afraid of a little flu, the news has meant an extra four days to relax and enjoy Qufu. We spent an afternoon biking outside town, where the corn harvest makes everything colorful and bright. We discovered a restaurant where you eat in little huts and enjoy fresh free range chicken from the restaurant's "stupid chicken stupid egg selling department." (One of the best Chinglish signs I've seen so far!) It's been really nice to have a break.

Today I will pack, clean, and finish grading my students' writing homework. Then it's off to the coast!

Happy Holidays Indeed!

We received word yesterday morning that we will, in fact, have an 8-day holiday for National Day (Oct. 1) and Mid-Autumn Day (Oct. 3). Hooray! I will probably go home with a student to Qingdao for a few days and then return to Qufu for the rest of the break.

The pictures above are from the big singing contest held on campus last night to honor China's 60th anniversary. Different departments have been practicing their songs for weeks. The contest began at 7:00 in Confucius square, with the singers performing on brightly lit steps and thousands of people watching in the square. Every performance followed the same sequence: The singers filed onto the steps in rigid rows, with the most beautiful girls in the front row, the plain girls behind them, and the men in the back. Often several men in military dress waved a Chinese flag behind the singers. An elegantly dressed announcer would say a few words, and then the singers would burst into a patriotic tune. Most of the songs were recycled several times through the evening, with some songs being sung twice in a row by different groups. In spite of the lack of variety, I enjoyed being part of a big crowd listening to music on a beautiful fall evening. And I learned something about China: Tradition trumps innovation.

The pictures above show:
1) Students practicing on the afternoon before the contest
2) Spectators covering every square inch of Confucius's statue
3) Singing
4) Some of my students after performing their song

Picture Parade

A few photos for your enjoyment: My first horse sighting on the streets of Qufu, my first package (thanks, Mom and Dad!), playing Spoons in my apartment at free talk, and laundry hung on the wall in the center of the old city.

Happy Holidays

Chinese word of the day: 国庆节 guóqìng jié. Guoqing jie is the National Holiday of the People's Republic of China, and it is coming up on October 1. This year marks China's 60th anniversary, and preparations for a big celebration and military parade in Beijing have been going on for the past few months. Preparations are also in full swing here, and I often hear patriotic songs wafting through my window as various departments prepare their numbers for the big singing competition tomorrow night.

All Chinese generally have a week off at the beginning of October to celebrate National Day. However, due to H1N1 and security concerns, rumors have been flying:
"They might not allow us to go home for October Holiday."
"They might quarantine us all on campus." (This has happened in a few schools in my province, due to H1N1.)
"October Holiday probably will not be canceled."
"October Holiday definitely will be canceled."
"October Holiday will be only one day instead of 8."

And on and on. We may not have any official information, but doggone it -- we have rumors to make up for it. Today many of my students said that October Holiday will be reduced to a single day, although I am not sure where they heard this. In America, it would be the equivalent of canceling Thanksgiving break a week before Thanksgiving. My homesick freshmen especially will be disappointed if they can't go home for holiday.

In unrelated news (or is it?), my method of accessing Facebook, Blogspot, and other such sites is no longer working. So I will be blogging via e-mail, which means I can't see your comments and my pictures might not get formatted right. Thanks for bearing with me!

Everything You Never Wanted to Know About Alison, Part 5

For the final post in this series, I will answer the most common question I receive from students: Why did you come to China to teach?

I came to China because the need for English is great, and the need for hope is greater.

Everything you Never Wanted to Know about Alison, Part 4

A few fun questions from students:

"Would you give us an interesting and special writing class?" (That's a tall order!)

"What are the days of American college really like?  Is that the same as High School Music -- a movie?"  (Yes, exactly.)

"Do you want to live in China, get marry, give birth to a baby in China?" (This one cracks me up.)

"As you love traveling, do you have something that you like to take with you when you travel to another place?  (Something special, not toothpaste.)"  (Actually, since you can't get it in China, my Aquafresh toothpaste is pretty special to me.)

"Can you feel or smell the difference in air between Iowa and China?"  (The air feels and smells almost the same around Qufu.  But can you SEE the difference in air between Iowa and China?  Yes, yes you can.)

Everything you Never Wanted to Know about Alison, Part 3

A Common Student Question:  What's the deal with speech pathology?

Variations: "Why do you come to China instead of doing the job related to your major in America?"

"Would you like to explain some detail information about your major?"

"What do you think about your major?  Do you like your job in the hospital?"

"Why do you choose to be a foreign teacher in China and what's the relationship between your major, speech pathology, and an English teacher?

On the first day of class, I told my students that my degree was in speech pathology.  You've never seen 30 electronic dictionaries whipped out so fast!  The field is practically non-existent in China (except maybe in the big cities), so they have no idea what it is.

I loved my job as a speech pathologist at the University of Iowa Hospital.  My degree is only distantly related to what I am doing now, but my knowledge of linguistics and pronunciation do come in handy sometimes.  Maybe I will return to speech pathology someday, but for now I am content as an English teacher in China.