Well, this blog has been a long-time coming and I apologize for the delay. In the past few weeks, I had a bittersweet wrap-up of training, and now, as you're reading this, am officially a United States Peace Corps Volunteer! These past few weeks were spent wrapping up language, attempting to get a haircut at a male barbershop while explaining what I wanted in Mandarin (my abilities aren't quite there yet, and I now am sporting an 80s chick-mullet), saying goodbye to friends and Chinese families, swearing our allegiance to the US government, moving to Guiyang, and as of Yesterday (Monday), start teaching.
Saying goodbye to my host family was an eye opening experience; while I knew we were close, I had assumed they would be slightly relieved to see me go (how many newlywed couples do you know who want to invite a foreigner into their home and share your time and everything you own with?), as it would give them some privacy. Instead, they both went into work late to help me move, and once gifts and words were exchanged, my host mom cried, my host dad was red faced (and even hugged me, which was a big deal), and they both insisted I call them and visit (and that they will make their first trip and visit me in Guiyang). Saying goodbye to friends was even harder, as they, more than anyone else here, have become my family in China. While we plan to gather for Thanksgiving, in China it is impossible to plan anything, because those above us (our many school bosses) have already planned everything for us (and don't tell us it's taking place until, if we're lucky, a half hour before). However, our hopes for a Thanksgiving spent with our PC family are high.
Swear-in was a neat ordeal. We all had xipao (traditional Chinese dresses) tailored and wore them for our big ceremony, as well as performed a song/dance (me and 3 others danced) for the US consulate, ambassador, all PC staff, a few important Chinese officials, and school official there to represent each of our individual future colleges. Immediately after the swear-in, over half the volunteers were escorted away by their school in order to catch their trains or busses. It happened unexpectedly fast and was a heart stopping moment for most of us.
Saturday, I joined Bill (not sure what his Chinese name is, but he is my coworker, speaks excellent English, and is one of the nicest, most helpful people I've ever met) and after he treated me to some KFC (haha) we boarded another 18 hour train in order to make it back to Guiyang by Sunday morning. Sunday, my first official day in Guiyang, was amazing. I spent the day unpacking, re-exploring the area, and generally just absorbing my new home. I was overly welcomed by many and remembered by others, which made me feel greatly at home! In the middle of the day, I had a knock on the door by a man from Alabama, named Mark, followed by a woman from Connecticut named Stephanie (both, I'm guessing, are in their 30s-40s). They, along with two others, are teachers here through a program called ELIC, and they live in the same building as me. Stephanie greeted me with a Dove chocolate bar and a box of 100% grape juice, and Mark, who was a handy man in a previous life, fixed my overflowing toilet for me, so both were greatly welcomed! Yesterday, in a meeting for Teacher's Day (I'll explain later), I caught a glimpse of the other two foreign teachers, one of whom (Miah) appears to be about the same age as me, although I didn't get the chance to meet them yet.
After being so kindly greeted by my neighbors on Sunday, I ventured off to the lamien (noodle restaurant run by Chinese Muslims) restaurant I discovered and fell in love with the last time I was here. I was remembered by all (they even remembered that I told them I don't eat meat—because I get to be a vegetarian in Guizhou!!—and, without asking what I wanted, brought me out the same outstanding dish), and sat down by myself to eat and begin preparing for lessons (mind you, I was told at about 7 pm what classes I will be teaching, and had to begin immediately the next day at 10 am). Soon after I began eating, two Chinese girls asked, in English, if they could join me. It turns out they are both 21 year old juniors at my university, and we shared a lovely meal together. :) After dinner, I ventured to a nearby internet café, where I received two emails from current PC volunteers serving in Guiyang (they've been here for 1 year) welcoming me to China and wanting to get together for a welcome dinner and tour of the city this weekend. I think being lonely won't be nearly as commonplace as people have made serving in China out to be.
Yesterday, I woke up early and ventured over to the English department, where I was joined by the other 4 foreign teachers, the Dean of our department, and the school president, in order to celebrate Teacher's Day. Teacher's Day, which just happened to land on my first day of classes, is like Mother's Day/Father's Day, only the day is to celebrate teachers. Students call their old teachers and thank them for all they've done, give their teachers gifts, etc. The president of the school gave us each a very beautiful box of mooncakes, as well as a very expensive box of tea and welcomed us to Guiyang University. Immediately after, I had to rush upstairs to begin my first class in China (English Speaking & Listening class), which I, as a result of the meeting which I couldn't get out of (if someone is higher ranked than you, you must show them the utmost respect, and leaving the meeting to teach my class would have !
In the past two days I have successfully had two class es of English Speaking & Listening, both of which went very well. My students (thus far) are very smart, very eager, and very kind. They seem to enjoy class , in spite of the fact that it was thrown together in one night, so for that I am grateful. In total, I teach 14 hours p/week, with only 2 preps, and it usually only ends up being one or two 2 hour classes p/day. In additional to English Speaking & Listening, I also will be teaching a film class to graduate students (not sure when this class starts?) that I've called Teaching American Culture through Film: Looking Beyond the Stereotypes. It should be fun. :) From the sounds of it, I will also be directing the next play, although from what I've discovered thus far, nothing is ever certain.
No comments:
Post a Comment