Monday, December 24, 2012
Holiday Honor for the Foreigner
Tuesday, December 11, 2012
The Beautiful Sichuan Countryside
Friday, December 7, 2012
Sunset over Sichuan
Friday, October 19, 2012
Mid Autumn Festival, Chengdu
He comes, down from the mist of Sìchuān hills,
to the city of rivers, flowers and brocade.
Mid Autumn Festival has beckoned.
Others have come too,
likely those not called to family and countryside.
Here, anonymous among the millions,
seduced by her metroplex charm,
he surrenders to a city’s version of repose.
Café lounging, people watching, observant of any eye;
noodles remembered from an earlier sojourn;
friends made then and now seen again;
comfort sought in the mystery of Erhuánlù.
Tiānfǔ masses whisper at site of the wàiguórén,
with stately Maó watching over
patriots and travelers in festive spirit.
A walk among the bows, low-hanging on the paths,
endless elders clinging lovingly to babes in arms:
each brings peaceful bliss to this traveler’s early morn.
Dù Fǔ’s forests of bamboo and fallen leaves,
ponds and streams of still waters and fowl.
Ah! Could this be the Walden of Shǔ?
Refuge found in China’s memorial to her favored poet!
Peace Corps Malawi
Simple Monk, Spiritual Master
There, in the poignant ode to Pony Boy,
I find revealed this laureate’s pain of separation,
a lament for family far away, the depth of fatherly love.
His verse grounds the one who reflects
I introduced the concept of the "talking stick" to our English Corner students this week, trying to get them to see the importance of one person speaking at a time and respect for the person holding the stick. Rather than carve something out of a deciduous or conifer, I hiked to a bamboo forest in the nearby mountains to fetch a length of bamboo for the talking stick. I nearly amputated my index finger trying to cut the bamboo, although I was saved by a dull Swiss Army knife. Now we have a talking stick to use during our weekly "circle talks". And at the end of the year, I'll be able to carry away the stick as a memento of these fun experiences with the students. The stick will hold their communal energy and the accumulated dirt and oils from their hands. And I'll have the memories.
With my brightest classes, I'm trying to maximize the time I give them in small groups where they can practice English. In a large class of 60-80 students (I counted heads this week and found that I had 80 students in one class), individual students have very little "talk time". The small groups provide that time, although it gets quite noisy.
Since the Chinese have much interest in the culture of America and other countries in the west, I plan to build some lessons this term around activities of American high school students. I started this week with a presentation on "field trips" made by American students. I prepared a slide show of photos with students visiting the White House, going to the museum and aquarium, making cycling trips and going on visits to national parks and nature sites where they learn more about science. First I had to pre-teach new vocabulary which always involves a lot of creativity.
The students loved the presentation and laughed and "wow"-ed all the way through the slides, but it seems that I lost them when I moved them into groups of eight to dream about and plan -- all in English -- a class trip they'd like to take. I'm not sure if they just weren't able to reflect on the presentation and use critical thinking skills to see that I was asking them to plan their own trip, or was it simply that they didn't have the language to understand the task. It worked well in some classes and not so well in others. I'll do some revision next week with more simple language to see if it works.
These small groups will be an opportunity for the students to improve their language skills, so I want to stick to the strategy if I can get it to work. Standing in front of the class and merely having them repeat what I say or read from the board won't build fluency.
We meet weekly on Sunday afternoon for an informal "English Corner" during which students practice spoken English in smaller groups. Today was my first and I hosted about 20 students, mostly seniors, who were eager to hear more about ME. Since the idea is to get them to practice their spoken English, I steered the conversation toward talk of their own families. I learned that some of them come from families of more than one child (the official policy in the PRC is "one child family"), and that a second child is permitted in exchange for paying a "tax" of about RMB 6000 (slightly less than $1000).
Getting the students to talk about issues really helps them manufacture new language, so I asked if they had heard about the recent Guizhou earthquake. They easily became animated and expressed sadness, wanting to be able to do something as a school. When I asked what they wanted to do, one student carefully described that the victims needed help to build new houses -- "because that's where love is found", he added. It was great to hear them using their English without fear. It's not that way in a classroom of 60 students, so these English Corner sessions on Sundays allow smaller groups more freedom to speak.
The headmaster and director of the school hosted the two foreign teachers - self included - at a spectacular and formal "Welcome Luncheon" on Saturday.
We met first at the headmaster's office to hear about his goals for our work. Mr. Jang has been with the school for 20 years and is, himself, an English teacher. It was exciting to hear his vision for this generation of Yilong students whom he sees as the future leaders of a new China. In order to ensure that, he hopes that we will integrate lessons about our own culture and about key global issues in our teaching plan.
I'll start this week with a series of lessons focused on cultural practices of American teens and high school students, asking my language students to discuss the material in small groups and then build language around how the practices in America contrast with those in their China. These "content based" lessons allow students to acquire new language in a context of material that is meaningful to them. It's a much more efficient strategy for second language learning than doing grammar drills! Teaching here is really exciting!
Anyway, back to the luncheon. Take a look at the spread of food which included seafood, chicken feet, marinated pork, eel, Peking Duck, tangy vegetables, Sichuan-style soups, corn congee and rice. We were happily spared the local brew (baijou) and were offered beer or wine instead.
I arrived in China a few weeks ago to spend a year on "cultural exchange" and to work as an intern English-language teacher.
These happy faces are of Chinese students. I was having lunch in a cafe with another EFL teacher when we were approached by a group of language students who were on an assignment to "chat up" foreigners. It's great fun to respond to their questions and give them an opportunity to practice. Learning English in China is not for the shy since the student has to take every opportunity to approach foreigners in order to practice.
Although I am fortunate to have had many "opportunities of a lifetime", my recent travel in China ranks near the top of that long list. I was in awe of the natural beauty, the engineering and techno achievements, the diversity of ethnic groups and the warmth of the people. While traveling, I was unable to post to this blog because access is blocked in China. I'll try now to upload a few of the hundreds of photos that have captured some of my experiences.
China's Yangtze River (長江) is the third longest river in the world, running 4000 miles from its glacial headwaters on the Tibetan Plateau before it enters the East China Sea at Shanghai. One third of China's population lives in Yangtze river basin. (Wikipedia)
This mural depicts how the Yangtze snakes through enormous and impressive gorges and canyons on its way through the provinces. The mural is on display at the Visitors Center, Yichang in Hubei Province, site of the controversial Three Gorges Dam.
This photo displays a model of China's Three Gorges Dam. The controversial project includes the 2300 meter long dam (which runs across the center of the model); the world's largest hydro-electric station; and massive locks which allow access for navigation up-river and down-river of the dam. The completed project was 17 years under development (1994-2009) and cost the equivalent of 31 billion US dollars.
The Chinese government reports that 1.3 million people were relocated before and during construction. Touted benefits (outweighing the mass relocation of families) include flood control, protecting 15 million people and 1.5 million hectares of arable land downriver; maintaining water supply and irrigation potential for areas downriver during the dry season; and, the production of electricity (saving 57 million tons of coal).
The model depicts the expansive reservoir in the foreground, the Yangtze continuing east to Shanghai and its eventual outlet into the East China Sea, and the locks (on the left) which allow for barge and boat traffic in both directions.
It would never be possible to take such a "virtual" photo except from an airplane, but not from where tourists are permitted to view the dam.
The first of the three spectacular gorges through which the Yangtze passes in the southwest of China is the Qutang Gorge. Although it is the shortest of the three gorges (only 8 kms in length), it is often considered the most beautiful with its high mountains, several switchbacks and narrrow passageway.
The construction of the dam and the subsequent increase in water level in the river have contributed to the loss of many historically significant sites located in the mountains of the Qutang Gorge.
Xiling Gorge is the largest of three stunningly beautiful canyons through which the Yangtze passes in southern China. This spectacular canyon, located in Hubei Province, is the eastern most of the three and is composed of four separate mountain ranges.
The 4-day river excursion I took was timed to bring us through each of the three gorges in daylight in order that we capture their beauty. We entered this gorge at dusk before our final night on the river.
and opens the heart of one who listens.
-rf
October 8, revised October 20
Tuesday, September 25, 2012
A "Talking Stick" for English Corner
Friday, September 14, 2012
Group Work in English Class
Sunday, September 9, 2012
English Corner
The Welcome Luncheon at Yilong
Tuesday, August 28, 2012
First Days on Campus at Yilong Middle School
I'm settling into my new home for the next year, today taking photos of sites on and around campus. Here you see photos of the surrounding countryside, the campus gate, one of the older classroom buildings, a peaceful park for amorous students to enjoy and the school track. Athletics is an important part of campus life.
The twin high rise buildings house faculty and staff; my apartment is located in this complex. I have lots of space, furnished kitchen, hot water, a/c and internet connection. I'm sharing with the only other foreign teacher on campus.
In case you missed the 2012 London Olympics, you need to know that the Chinese love "table tennis" and are highly competitive at it and every other sport. Today I grabbed a paddle and a ping pong ball and made some new friends. Although many of the students are shy and probably afraid that they'll have to speak English if they challenge me to ping pong, soon I had many partners, some challenging games and many great teachers of table tennis! They started by teaching me how to hold the paddle -- Table Tennis 101!
Note the newspapers posted behind glass for reading. It makes it easy for students to keep up with the daily news.
Note the newspapers posted behind glass for reading. It makes it easy for students to keep up with the daily news.
Friday, August 24, 2012
In China Once Again
Sunday, March 18, 2012
China - more than a political party
Although I am fortunate to have had many "opportunities of a lifetime", my recent travel in China ranks near the top of that long list. I was in awe of the natural beauty, the engineering and techno achievements, the diversity of ethnic groups and the warmth of the people. While traveling, I was unable to post to this blog because access is blocked in China. I'll try now to upload a few of the hundreds of photos that have captured some of my experiences.
The Yangtze 長江 - China's longest river
China's Yangtze River (長江) is the third longest river in the world, running 4000 miles from its glacial headwaters on the Tibetan Plateau before it enters the East China Sea at Shanghai. One third of China's population lives in Yangtze river basin. (Wikipedia)
This mural depicts how the Yangtze snakes through enormous and impressive gorges and canyons on its way through the provinces. The mural is on display at the Visitors Center, Yichang in Hubei Province, site of the controversial Three Gorges Dam.
The Three Gorges Dam 长江三峡大坝
This photo displays a model of China's Three Gorges Dam. The controversial project includes the 2300 meter long dam (which runs across the center of the model); the world's largest hydro-electric station; and massive locks which allow access for navigation up-river and down-river of the dam. The completed project was 17 years under development (1994-2009) and cost the equivalent of 31 billion US dollars.
The Chinese government reports that 1.3 million people were relocated before and during construction. Touted benefits (outweighing the mass relocation of families) include flood control, protecting 15 million people and 1.5 million hectares of arable land downriver; maintaining water supply and irrigation potential for areas downriver during the dry season; and, the production of electricity (saving 57 million tons of coal).
The model depicts the expansive reservoir in the foreground, the Yangtze continuing east to Shanghai and its eventual outlet into the East China Sea, and the locks (on the left) which allow for barge and boat traffic in both directions.
It would never be possible to take such a "virtual" photo except from an airplane, but not from where tourists are permitted to view the dam.
Qutang Gorge 瞿塘峡
The first of the three spectacular gorges through which the Yangtze passes in the southwest of China is the Qutang Gorge. Although it is the shortest of the three gorges (only 8 kms in length), it is often considered the most beautiful with its high mountains, several switchbacks and narrrow passageway.
The construction of the dam and the subsequent increase in water level in the river have contributed to the loss of many historically significant sites located in the mountains of the Qutang Gorge.
Xiling Gorge 西陵峡
Xiling Gorge is the largest of three stunningly beautiful canyons through which the Yangtze passes in southern China. This spectacular canyon, located in Hubei Province, is the eastern most of the three and is composed of four separate mountain ranges.
The 4-day river excursion I took was timed to bring us through each of the three gorges in daylight in order that we capture their beauty. We entered this gorge at dusk before our final night on the river.
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Liberian Fashion Statement
The Over 50 Club
Peace Corps Malawi
Varanasi: Hindu Deities (& Gurus)
Did I ask you to smile?
Lake Malawi net fishing
Dear Fred
Desi Friends: Utkarsh & Ravi
Thich Nhat Hanh
Simple Monk, Spiritual Master
Enduring friendship - Johanne
Keeping the peace in Liberia
Visiting Tsundue & Karien in Amsterdam
Eating Indian
Malawian Smile!
Hindu Sun Puja, Neranjana River, 2010
The Backwater - India's Kerala, 2009
My Bro Tom with me at 2010 reunion
The Taj: Early Morning Dawn
HH The Karmapa at Bodhgaya
Sun Puja, Raj & Mother
San Francisco Bay, July 2010
Liberia with friends, Teddeh & Julius, February 2011
In India, December 2010