The Welcome Luncheon at Yilong

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.

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.

In China Once Again

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.

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.