China Part 4: Foreign Teachers, Wàijí jiàoshī, 外籍教师

So I did go to China to visit my sister and brother-in-law. I have written a lot about adventures thus far.

My sister and brother-in-law are both teaching English at Chinese schools in Changchun. Eleni is teaching at a primary school and Allen is at a university.

I had the privilege of following Eleni around for the day. Actually she put me to work and made me talk and field questions for all 8 (or was it nine?) classes. By the way Eleni, are you going to split your pay with me for that day????  :-)

Some of Eleni's students

I had a great time with Eleni and the kids. It was fun drawing pictures of my family and Australia. I played a game with some of the classes where they had to try and guess our ages. They had fun with that. They also thought it was hilarious when they found out my husband's name was Brandon. You see, some of the boys in the classes had adopted Brandon as their English name. One turned red, lowered his head in shame and kept shaking it. The rest of us thought it was great fun. They laughed even harder when I told them Brandon was 32. The poor  Brandons were probably teased the rest of the week for that :-)  Some context behind the English names.  In each English class every child picks an English name. Some are quite normal like Brandon or Helen. Others can be very strange. Such as, Car, Lucifer, Tiger and other inanimate objects.

The kids also had the opportunity to ask me questions. A few were about Australia, the normal animal and weather questions. A few were about my kids, what they liked to do. I had two questions were really good.

More students

One girl asked why we can have three kids in Australia. I told her that our government allows us to have as many kids as we want. Where as her government says you can't. Do you now see the evils of Communism? Too much power in the hands of a few can lead to disastrous consequences. No, I didn't really say that last bit but I wanted to. The Chinese teacher (there is always one in there with Eleni to help with translating or problems that arise) then proceeded to talk for a very long time in Chinese. I suppose to clarify on how the Chinese govt. is looking after the people and doing what is best.

Insight #6 into daily China life - Communism is real. The children see it as normal and when they hear of differences in other countries they are curious. Unfortunately the English teachers are limited in what they can say as of now. Lord willing, this system of government in China, North Korea and Cuba will one day fall. We should be ready for the day when it does. And, if even in small ways, support those who are slowly, peacefully trying to chip away at the foundation. 

The second question was "What are you going to have your kids do when they grow up?"
I told the kids that my husband and I were not going to decide what their job was and that it was up to them. I told them the only thing I cared about was that they learn how to be good mommies and daddies if there comes a time when they have their own children. Again, I could have said a lot more. I wanted to say that it doesn't matter what they do. What matters most is that they are following Jesus.  But for the sake of Eleni's job I refrained.

And more students. The face the boy in the middle
is making cracks me up.

The first difference I noticed were the class sizes. Eleni's classes on averaged had about 40 students, some close to 45. Big classes. You can imagine how hard it would be to remember the names of everyone. Eleni often had to write notes next to people's names so that she could keep track of who was who. I suppose the hard thing is that some genetic differences we see in the West are not as prominent in Asia. For instance hair color, the type of hair (not much in the way of curly over there) and eye color cannot be relied upon. You can't use those differences as ways to recall names. You have to be a bit more creative. Especially on the day you have 7-8 classes that are each filled with around 40 students. I have to say that Eleni's school, Perfect English, is also very large. I believe there are about 15,000 students. I suppose that has to be when you have a population of 1.3 billion.

Lunch time! Rice, a fish and some greens

Another difference was how they ran the schools. The kids have one room that they are in the entire day. At lunch time the food is brought to the hallway on carts. Kids line up get their food and then go back to their rooms to eat. Kids are also responsible for keeping their class rooms clean. I think they take shifts on cleaning them up.

One last difference, school productions. They are crazy. The New Year production Eleni was involved in was bigger than what most half-time shows at sporting events. Also this production wasn't for the entire school, it was only for the teachers, upper management and government officials. Also, the teachers were in the production. Eleni even had a part. Below you will find some video clips from last year's production. The entire show lasted five hours, yes five hours. I won't show you that much, I will be nice. I do believe a new category under 'persecution of the saints' has been discovered.

Insight #7 into daily life in China - Celebrations, shows, etc. Are big and not to be taken lightly. 

A mention now of the foreign teachers who go to China to teach English. Many, but not all, come under the umbrella of Christian groups with the hope of reaching out to the people in whatever way they can. Many of the teachers I met in Changchun and Dalian were Christians and had been there for several years.  This is where I began to see a need.

The fish. Bones and all.

There are pockets of Christian teachers all over the country. They usually do not attend the state churches.  Those services tend to be all in Chinese and well, run by the State. Not so great theologically. The foreign teachers cannot get involved with the underground church because it would be too dangerous for the locals. A group of white people going to a building/house every Sunday stands out way too much to the local authorities. So then what do these teachers do? Most gather in each other's homes for Sunday worship. They sing, pray and listen to a sermon downloaded off the internet via some VPN software. These groups can be made up of people from all different denominations, backgrounds etc. Some are not even believers. They come for Western contact. Something very much needed when you have had a bad China day*. Most of these people are in their early to mid twenties with a few being around 30. On the whole, fairly young.

I really saw a need for older, wiser Christians to be traveling around to these cells of teachers. Leading, discipling and encouraging them. I asked the two groups I worshipped with how they chose their sermons. They both said they just go around the group and take turns choosing. I suppose for a while this could be fine but some of these teachers have been there for years. The most was 6-7.  There are benefits to studying an entire book of the Bible, theme, or subject. Popcorn style just doesn't lend itself to that. Also, some of these teachers have not had the opportunity to take communion for a year, two, maybe even five years. That is a long time.

Three of the Dalian group. We ate at Dairy Queen. A treat
for me too seeing as though Oz doesn't have them.

I talked to one of the older teachers in Dalian about this. He realized this was a problem as well. He said that there had been an older couple who was living in Dalian and leading/mentoring the group. However, they had recently moved back to the States. Their leaving had certainly left a gaping need in the group. The man I talked to spoke of how it was hard now that the older couple had left, they didn't have anyone to lead them. Sure they could take turns but that isn't the same as having a more spiritually mature person take on the role. There is a need.

I also meet a few people who were struggling with their faith. They needed older, spiritually mature people there to help answer their questions and be alongside them as they wrestled with some difficult issues.

The Changchun groups. Two groups that
worship in different places.

You could pray for these little groups in China. They are a mixed bunch, as is often seen when you go to the remote places of the world. They need (they do miss it) to be able to have communion from time to time, encouragement (China is not an easy place to work as a tent maker) and spiritual leadership. Pray for their unity. Pray for their witness to the non-Christian foreign teachers who come to worship purely for the Western/English contact. Pray that God would call some older Christians to meet the needs of these groups sprinkled around the vastness of China.

*A phrase some of the foreign teachers used when the day had not gone well do to cultural differences. Sometimes the brain just has enough and needs to be with what is comfortable.


The New Year's Perfect English (the name of the school) Production. I apologize for the bad filming. I was using my phone to record from a dvd that was playing on Elen's laptop. The entire show took up two dvds and came in a nicely designed plastic dvd case. My kids are not going to school unless their school does something like this.

This video shows all the important people arriving on the red carpet.

 

One of the dances. Remember these are the teachers and other management at the schools doing all of this. Or at least that is what Eleni was told. When you have a school with 15,000 students you don't get to meet everyone. So who knows?

                                       

Another dance.  Notice the fancy camera booms around second 33-37.

China Part 3: Seeking the Peasant Painter

Sorry this is a bit long, but I suppose interesting stories often are. I am presupposing you will find this interesting.

As I said in the last post, one of the reason for coming to Dailan was to find a peasant painter whom I had discovered on one of my internet wanderings. I had been searching for folk art and ended up researching Chinese folk art, specifically paper cutting and painting.

Women of the Sea by Yu Tongle

Article #1 - peasant painters
Article #2 - folk art festival in Changchun
Article #3 - paper cutting

As soon as I saw the paintings in Article #1 I knew I was going to have to try and find the artist. The paintings were of a style I had not seen before. The first painting in particular, the one to the left here, really caught my eye.

From the articles I learned that Zhuanghe (pronounced "jong-hu") was a folk artist hot spot and that I was specifically looking for a man named Yu Tongle. And that was it, those were all the clues I had to finding those paintings. Thankfully we met Bing. She worked the desk at the hostel we stayed at in Dalian. She was very eager to help. I asked her if she knew how to get to Zhuanghe and if she knew anything about the peasant paintings. Bing knew how to get there, 2 hours by bus, but she knew nothing about the paintings. She did offer to search on the Chinese internet and see what she could find. An hour later Bing said she had found Yu Tongle's phone number. "What! Seriously? You are awesome Bing." She even offered to call him.

Bing: "He can pick you up at the bus station in Zhuanghe. You will need to call him 15 minutes before you get there."
Bing: "Do you speak Chinese?"
Me: "Ummm, no. Sorry"
Bing: "He doesn't speak English."
Me: "OK"
Bing: "Do you have a phone?"
Me:"Yes"
Bing:" You can call me on this number if you need me to translate for you."
Me:"Great! Thanks so much."

On the way to Zhuanghe

And there it was, all planned out. We would hop on a bus to Zhuanghe and somehow figure out when we were 15 minutes away.  In order that we could meet Mr. Yu Tongle who doesn't speak English and let him know in English, because we don't speak Chinese, that we will be there soon. We told Bing to tell him to look for three Wàiguó rén (foreigners), a guy and two girls. Once we were in his car, who knows what. I presumed we would go to his studio, but we wouldn't know until a few hours later.

Mr. Yu Tongle

So we bought our tickets, waded through the ripoff taxi drivers and boarded the bus. Two hours later we arrived and there was Yu Tongle, the painter from Article #1 waiting outside the bus.

At this point everything was very surreal. I had searched long and hard to find the person who painted these "peasant paintings" and now at this moment we had done it, thanks in large part to our awesome hostel worker Bing. Cool. Now what do I do?

The taking of many pictures. Sorry blurry photo : -/

Yu Tongle's work space. I'm glad to see other artists are messy.

We drove for awhile and ended up out side a very boring, beige building called the Zhuanghe Cultural Center. Mr. Tongle, smiled and motioned for us to come inside. He pointed to a plaque on the wall that indicated that something was inside. I was hoping his studio. We walked up several flights of steps interrupted by the frequent introductions to others in the building. It seemed to be a big deal.  Finally we reached a door and Mr. Tongle motioned for us to go in. It was a nice office but no art. He did introduce us to two women, which after a while we figured out where his daughter and wife. They had made a special trip to meet us. Many bows and taking of pictures ensued. I gave him a paper cutting I had brought with me all the way from Oz as a way to say "thank you". He then ran out the door. A few seconds later he came back in with  one very, very large paper cutting and four smaller ones. They were for us as a trade...I guess. His big one put mine to shame. It was 4 times larger. No, no I tried to say. I wanted to say "xie xie". Didn't matter I must take them.

In Mr. Tongle's Studio

Mr. Tongle then led us across the hall to another door. He unlocked it and behold...the mother load! There were paintings everywhere. Mr. Tongle ran over to the table, grabbed a stack of paintings and began to furiously lay them all over the ground. I had finally found them and they were lovely. Color everywhere. Scenes from village life. It was all very exciting.

Through Bing we were able to negotiate a price, actually he decided. Because we had come such a long way he gave us a nice discount. We bought a couple of paintings and that was that.  At some point Mr. Tongle began to put his hands to his mouth. A few seconds of staring and we figured out that he was asking us if we wanted to eat. Yes, we were starving. So we said goodbye to wife and daughter, hopped in his car and drove to a nearby restaurant.

Lunch

During the meal Mr. Tongle received a phone call. After the call ended he jumped up, motioned for us to stay and drove off.  Now, there is something I didn't mention earlier. Right before we left we slipped some extra money, all the cash we had on us, into the amount (there was a pile of yuan on his desk) we had paid for the two paintings. We were feeling bad about getting the paintings so cheap and wanted to pay a bit more. Well somehow he found out. He then drove back to the studio, grabbed another painting and brought it to the restaurant. Through Bing we were told that we had paid a certain price and the amount we had given was for three paintings not two. So Mr. Tongle had gone back and grabbed another.

Insight #4 into daily life in China - When they decide on a gift, or perhaps a low price as a gift, you can't change their minds. We had tried and failed.

I felt very guilty because now Mr. Tongle was out another painting at a very cheap price. I know how hard it is to get a fair price for any art you make. So yeah, I felt bad. But there wasn't anything we could do. He had decided and to push anymore would be ungrateful on our part.

We tried to help pay for lunch but he wouldn't hear of it. We would have had to physically wrestle with him if we had wanted to pay for the bill.

Insight #5 into daily life in China - The Chinese are a generous people.

So there we were with three paintings and some paper cuttings. We said our goodbyes and deepest "thank you's",  a "xie xie" with a slight bow and the right hand over balled up left hand. Then got on the bus back to Dalian.

And you know what? I ended up buying the one I first saw in Article #1.

I was very thankful to God that it all worked out. It was one of those little special blessings that God gives us every now and then and I am grateful. I will remember this little excursion for the rest of my life.

China Part 2: Dalian and the Night Train

On the bus

I arrived in Changchun on a Friday afternoon. Eleni, Allen and I took the bus back after shaking off the taxi drivers who are all smiles but more than willing to rip you off.

Insight #2 into daily life in China. Do not hop in the cars of taxi drivers who come find you. Either take the bus or stand in the taxi queue. If you do, expect to pay double or triple the price. 

Eleni and Allen's apartment is in a gated apartment area owned by the university Allen works for. They have a gate keeper and a curfew. During the week the curfew is 9:30-10pm (from what I remember) and on the weekends, 10:30pm. The gate keeper is an elderly man who at times, I have been told, will threaten to deny you entrance if you show up late. One night we took him the leftovers from our dinner out, he was all smiles that night and the next day. Perhaps the key to a gate keepers heart is food?

Changchun Station

Once inside I got cleaned up, packed a weekend bag and then headed to dinner. After dinner we played a few games with friends and then caught a taxi to the train station. We were at the station to catch an overnight train to a city called Dalian, about 9 hours southwest of Changchun. Dalian is a coastal city on a little peninsula by North Korea. We were heading to Dalian for various reasons. One, to see the coast of China. Two, to meet some other lǎoshī (teachers) who were of the foreign (wàiguó rén) variety. And three, to hopeful seek out a peasant painter who I had found on the internet. More on that to come later.

The train station at Changchun is like many stations around the world. There are people trying to get somewhere and trains rumbling in and out. There are also a few differences. Police with machine guns is the one that stands out the most. Oh, and the queues.

So yeah, the machine guns were a bit of a surprise but there would be more of them down the road.

We found our gate and waited with everyone else. About 30 minutes before departure people began to grow restless. Everyone began to congregate around the turn styles. The mass grew larger and larger. There was no order. And then the gates op e n  e  d.

Insight #3 into daily life in China. There are no queues, per say. Some queues are forced upon you by metal bars and poles but other than that...it is a free for all.

I  suddenly felt as if I was back at the Metro in Chicago pushing towards stage when MUSE was about to play their first set. Sadly, Muse was not there to play for us as we walked (OK, at times I had no choice in which direction I headed...it was up to the crowd behind me who were pushing on me.) with the crowd. As any concert going person would know, you always go into the throng with elbows out and shoulders down. Get your center of gravity low and use your backpack, bag, whatever to make yourself bigger.

Finally we broke free onto the platform.

Eleni and Allen on a hard sleeper

Now to find our beds.

I should say that when have a long journey you have four seating options. Hard seat, soft seat, hard sleeper, soft sleeper. We went for the hard sleeper. As you have intuitively guessed the hard seat is most expensive and the soft sleeper the dearest. The difference between hard sleeper and soft is the mattress thickness and whether or not you get a door. In the hard sleeper compartments you share a little cabin with five other people. Three beds hanging off each wall in bunk bed formation. The cabin is open to the aisle, which means that it is also open to all the smoke wafting in from the exhaling passengers.

I'll have to say that the hard sleeper wasn't bad and I would do it again with no worries. Sharing a cabin potluck is not one of those things that bothers me. Just make sure your valuables are under your head and you are good to go.

When traveling, I think it is good to carry a pillow sheet with you at all times. They have som many uses. You can use it as a sack. stuff a jumper or coat inside to make a pillow. Or, in the case we found ourselves, you can put it over the pillows provided if you are not sure of cleanliness. Pillow cases are very useful for sure. I forgot that I had packed mine and ended up wrapping my coat around the pillow, which also works.

The 10:30pm to Dalian

So we found our beds, found the toilet (no paper provided), got comfy and headed out into the night.

I have to say that sleeping in a train is awesome. The rocking motion and clickity clack sound put me to sleep in no time flat. It could have also been to the fact that my body thought it was 3am.

Sometime during the night I woke up and looked out the window into complete darkness. I realized at that point in time I was only a few hours away from North Korea. I felt a bit sad in that moment. Knowing that only a few hours away were millions of people also in darkness, but one much more oppressive than what was outside my window.

China Part 1: Getting There

A sign. Perhaps a welcome?
Saw this right after the cholera poster.

March 1st I set off for China. I headed specifically to Changchun, 长春, in the Jilin province. My sister, Eleni, and my brother-in-law, Allen, are currently teaching English there. I have never been to China and thought it would be great to visit Eleni and Allen and to also soak up some Chinese culture.
Changchun is pretty far north. The Jilin Province is bordered by Russia, Mongolia and North Korea. I decided to head over at the end of their winter. At times temperatures can reach -40 C in the winter thanks to the Siberian winds whipping about. It was cold while I was there but not painful.

I decided to fly China Southern due to the major price difference between it and other airlines. I had no idea what to expect on the way there. I had a 9 hour flight to Guangzhou and then another 4.5hr flight from Guangzhou to Changchun.

Heading to domestic. 

China Southern, for a budget airline, was fine and I would fly with them again. The food was the normal airplane food. For one breakfast I had the choice of eggs & sausage or rice. I decided to go with the non-Western choice. If you ever have a similar choice try the rice, it was yummy. It comes in two little square packages wrapped in steamed leaves. You are not supposed to eat the leaves. I don't want you to make the same mistake I did. The leaves didn't taste bad but I reckon to the Chinese sitting around me it was like watching someone eat their plate. Not the best of manners.

As soon as I landed in Guangzhou all Western amenities disappeared. I was immediately introduced to the squat toilet and the men's smoking rooms. Everything is in Chinese, obviously. They have graciously left English under most of the airport signs so that you could get yourself from point A to B without too much trouble.

New experience, normal Chinese toilets. Squat toilets. Every now and then you would find a western toilet in a restaurant. Perhaps out of sympathy? Two other things about the toilets. They usually don't provide paper. Make sure you always, always, carry your own. Oh and you don't flush it down, it goes in the rubbish bin. Like that one over there. Their pipes can't handle much paper, it causes problems.

Insight #1 into daily life in China. Carry toilet paper with you at all times and don't flush it down. 

Near the gate that would, after a three hour layover, take me to Changchun was the women's toilet. Next to our space was the men's smoking room. How nice. Smoking is allowed everywhere, you just have to get used to it. I was a bit surprised at all the smoking. I mean surely they have seen all the horror TV commercials and ads educating one on the dangers of the sin stick? Then again maybe not.

You see, I learned a certain phrase while visiting in China.

"One would think, but....."

After traveling for over a day I finally arrived at the Changchun airport. Customs was nothing. They really don't care much about what you bring into their country. Very different from the customs interrogation when arriving in Australia.
I emerge out of the security check with confidence. "Success! I have made it through and didn't get lost. I am ready to explore China!"

I look around and immediately feel very small and out of place. I am the lone blonde female in a airport arrival hall mostly filled with Chinese men.  Stares and more stares....something tells me I don't blend in very well. You see, Changchun is a frontier town (of 7 million that is), kind of wild west. Beijing, Shanghai, they see Westerners quit a bit. Up in the northeast, not so much.

What to do now?

Help!

I look around hoping for some glimpse of red or blonde hair. None. OK, well I guess I will just hang and try to look like I know what I'm doing. No chance. 15 minutes later I see Eleni and Allen. Relief. 

It is a bit unnerving to arrive in a non-English speaking country for the first time. Especially when the language is not even close to yours. I mean this  "hello" & this "bonjour" are similar. My brain goes "yeah, OK different but I am finding some similarities. Come gang we can work with this" However this "hello" & "你好", well the brain gets a bit of a shock. I imagined my brain saying "What is this! What in the world am I supposed to do with this? Do you hear me down there? Does not compute!"