my new best friend

I have a new tutor.
I disappointed her before I even met her.

We set to meet last weekend outside a McDonald's. Through email she knew I was an American. I walk up to a girl standing outside who was looking around as if she was expecting someone.

So I go up to her and ask,"Hi, are you Jenny?"
She looks at me briefly and then looks away. As you would if a crazy person approached you, asking how many birds were sitting in their pocket.

I ask again,"Are you Jenny?"
She turns further away from me.

Convinced that I have thoroughly creeped out a random stranger that was probably just waiting for the bus, I walk in, give my tutor a call.
I look around, looking for someone who was answering the phone.

The girl outside who I creeped on was on the phone.
What a coincidence.

I ask her where she is.
She says, outside.

So, I go outside.
I call out,"Jenny."

She spins around.
And her face is crushed.

I'm perplexed, why didn't she answer me when I asked her very directly if she was Jenny, my tutor? (Who else, after all, would know someone's name and come up to them to ask them?)
So I ask her,"Wait, you saw me before, why didn't you respond when I asked if you were Jenny?"

She answers,
"mmm...I was looking for an American."

Meet the Students

Last week, I gave an assignment to my students to describe "What does it mean to be 'Chinese?'" in 3 words. They were to interview their grandparents, parents, a peer, and then give their own opinion. After a class discussion and presentations, I learned a lot about China, Chinese people, and most importantly, my students.

I cannot stress how bright these students are, they're young, 18 or 19. But they're sharp and curious. Sometimes,  I get the impression that the rest of the world seems to think Chinese people are mindless, following the government at its whim. That's hardly true. From migrants I've talked to on the train to this very assignment, people are aware--and critical--of what's going on in China.

Their grandparents emphasized other things--"tradition," "Mid-Autumn Festival," and "harmony." Several students mentioned that despite going through "The Great War," their grandparents have found the subsequent development of China to be peaceful and good. One student shared that her grandparents emphasized having a "Tiananmen Square" mentality. My eyes almost bugged out of its sockets when I heard this, thinking she was going to talk about 1989. She kept on talking about how her grandparents meant that every Chinese person needs to visit Tiananmen Square at least once in their life, as a kind of pilgrimage because of Mao's embalmed body and the heavy presence of CCP buildings. As an American, it was almost paradoxical to hear that this is what the "Tiananmen Square" mentality to mean. Good job, Chinese propaganda.

Many of the students interviewed their peers and friends, commenting on the inequality and high pressure for the current generation. Some students, especially from poorer provinces, shared that their parents talked about how they work so hard but still remain in poverty. Other words included "corrupted," "unfair," and "stressful." They expressed frustration about their own prospects for the future--getting a job, an apartment, providing for their parents.

But at the same time, in each of my classes, more than half of the students brought up the Sichuan earthquake efforts in 2008. This was a moment of national unity, coming together to help each other. As suspicious and frustrated as they have grown of the government and the system, they believe in each other.

And that is what I took away from all of it--these students are choosing to be optimistic. They've seen so much transformation in just their lifetimes. And I think, they're hoping for just as much transformation as they grow up to lead China.

Best one was still: "To be Chinese, teacher, means to have an "iron stomach." After a quizzical look on my face, he responded with "Remember the milk powder incident? And all the stuff with lead? Yeah, we need to have an iron stomach here to survive." He touched the core of China's biggest issues--corruption--with such effortless humor. All around, an apt representation of the China I know.

Happily lost in translation

I really enjoy receiving emails from my students.

Subject line: "hello girl."

As a transition between paragraphs: "Let us be more relaxed."

Subject line: "all about Garlic." (a student's English name is Garlic.)

"My English name is Robert, which remains to be changed."

"Hoping to be good friends. By the way, what is your constellation?"

"I am a happy boy."

"I believe we can be lifelong friends."

What doesn't kill you...

While living in Beijing is like having a cup of tea in a kitchen with a gas leak (you're sort of suffocating on your soot-colored boogers), I find this city very beautiful . If you follow the API twitter or weibo (http://twitter.com/#!/beijingair), you see that the API index usually hovers over 400 during the day. Just to give some comparison, traffic-clogged Los Angeles after a forest fire is below 400.

Still, sunset with the surge of smog and the traffic that causes it is one of my favorite times of day in Beijing.

By the way, Asian glow is a foreign concept here. Not surprised, look below for a sample of Beijing drinks.

Wuyuan, Jiangxi

Whoops, in the flurry of National Day travel, forgot to finish the rest the Jiangxi trip. Went to Wuyuan after Sanqingshan, basically a cluster of Ming-era villages. To be honest, these villages are pretty touristy--about 60 RMB per village in order to enter. However, after seeing how folks here still use hand-powered farming machinery and live in housing that shows little technological improvement from the original Ming era, I'd say that tourism money has become a necessity.

I thought they were very resourceful with finding a way to roast chestnuts for snacks. Then I realized they were burning their English schoolbooks.

Jiangxi toughness.

My train riding partner for the 18-hr trip home. 

And on that note, I can now finally celebrate my full transition to adulthood. I have been called an "Aiyi" by my new little friend.