Greetings to Friends and Family: May 9, 2009

I've mentioned to some of you that I am going to China for 6 weeks this summer. My primary mission is to teach conversational English and American culture at a Science/Technology university in Wuhan. I am also going to see some of China before the teaching assignment begins. My only previous exposure to China was a brief visit to Hong Kong en route to India several years ago. Britain peacefully handed over the British-leased territory of Hong Kong to China in 1997; Hong Kong is, nonetheless, not at all representative of mainland China where I'll be going this time.

In short, I'll be a rookie in China, and a rookie teaching English as a second language.  I've just realized this week the challenges that are ahead, and I'm beginning to do a little worrying.

Things I am worrying about (both imagined and real):

• Being assigned a "middle" seat in coach class on a 14-hour flight from L.A. to Shanghai.
• Getting quarantined in a Beijing  or Shanghai hotel because I come from a state with some documented swine flu cases. China had a serious SARS scare  about 7 years ago, and they are taking no chances this time (including thermal detection in the major airports to spot people with fevers).  This past Friday the entire Metropark Hotel in Hong Kong (about 300 guests/staff) were quarantined for a week.
• Getting "Chinese bronchitis." I'm one of those people who can get a 3-month respiratory infection here in the U.S. by just walking through Safeway. In China I can add a few hundred coal power plants and some amazing sandstorms blowing in from the Gobi desert. Bill Holm, a college friend of mine, wrote a book about his experience teaching in China in the late 1980's. He commented: "The whole crowd is phlegming, rasping and spitting...I thought of giving up smoking in China, but decided against it. It's better for you than breathing."
• Eating all foods as provided without complaint. I appear to be the only person in this teaching group who doesn't routinely use chopsticks (I discovered this in their company at a Chinese restaurant last week). As compulsive as I am, I immediately went to the Dragon Palace this week, bought a take-out Chinese lunch, and requested chopsticks. I practiced at home and am improving. Although not generally a picky eater, I have my problems with eating unusual foods. For example, I had some trouble in Peru eating roasted guinea pig (quite a holiday delicacy there) after I had seen the little rodents rolling around together inside Andean homes. I keep reading about Chinese foods like eels with chilies, peppered pig ears, fungus soup, pickled lotus root, hundred year old eggs, or duck livers.  Yak, dog, and cat are also featured in some provinces. In some social settings in China, it would be very rude not to "eat it all." In other situations, it would be rude to "eat it all" because that would imply that not enough food was provided.
• Getting impatient. I'm the original can-do girl. If there's a problem, I think I can solve it. A few phone calls, letters, calling in favors, begging mercy, or paying a little more. In the end, it's fixed. In China, impatience, open-faced anger, or insistence is viewed as a character flaw. Get in line, take your turn, accept inefficiency, and learn the meaning of "mei you" (not have). I am told the Chinese are exceptionally polite and expect foreigners to be the same (a good idea in any case).
• Not succeeding in the classroom. This is my most significant worry. I haven't taught anything in about 12 years. I hope I haven't lost my touch. I taught freshman English at A.S.U. in 1964-1966 and American Literature at the University of Maine in 1967. In 1985 my friend Janet and I started a computer training company that trained thousands of people. But almost all of those students spoke English as their first language. I'm concerned that I won't be understood by Chinese students, or worse yet, that I won't be able to understand them. I don't want to disappoint Teach for Friendship, the organization that is sponsoring me for this assignment.

But, the better part of me says that all will be well. I won't get sick. I'll be sturdy, cheerful, and willing. My old talent for teaching will resurface, and my Chinese students will speak more fluent English because of my efforts. Everyone tells me that the Chinese are polite, warm, kind, helpful, hospitable, and very charming. I hope I can imitate that model.

"The lesson to be learned from these [culture] shocks is to cultivate modesty and curiosity and to eschew evangelism and certainty."

-- Bill Holm in Coming Home Crazy