June 30th, 2012

Another full day on this wild ride to China

We began our morning with devotionals.  Intriguing questions:  in what ways do you struggle with your identify? How do you think life in China will affect your identity?  How can you come to have a greater faith in whomGod says you are?

The rest of the morning was spent in training meetings learning some of the basics of how the TIP experience.  The afternoon was spent visiting a jade factory and a visit to the Great Wall of China-Badaling.  This section is outside Beijing and heavily visited.   We found this section to be less than spectacular (if that is even appropriate to say about the Great Wall!). There were easily 5x the people as we found in Mutanayu so we didn't have the calm experience we loved in Mutanaya.  So, I can say it was the second BEST trip I've ever taken to the Great Wall of China!

Keep those emails coming.  I seem to find the time to read and reread each one...although I am not prompt in replying.  Will find a routine to my free time soon!

Funny story:  there is a 78 year old Canadian gentleman in our group.  This morning around 6:30, he calmly entered our room.  We both had been up and moving so it was not too shocking.  What was shocking was his instance that we should have closed our door better!!  Our door even has our names on a big sign...yet, our fault he entered.  Go figure....Geesh.

For those curious about the Chinese education system...

Velda has requested some information about the Chinese educational system, so sit back, readers...it's going to be a bumpy ride.  

The wee ones, before the age of 6, go to Kindergarten for the entire day.  I don't get a sense that many young parents stay home with their infants.  I will ask more questions about this.  

I wrote Jennifer about the Chinese way of toilet training with the promise I would not bring back these crotch-less pantaloons for John Thomas!  Infants are in diapers until they start toddling about.  At that point, their toilet training begins in earnest.  To facilitate this important milestone, barriers are removed to assist the kids with their task.  Boys and girls wear britches that are completely open so they can do their bizness.  The parents have trained the kids to make noises to indicate when they need to go (or are in tune with their child's body schedule) and the kids are held in a squatting position over whatever real estate is handy and off they whiz!

When visiting the magnificent structures and enjoying the people watching, we are given a side show of these small kids running about with their bare bums or wee bits flapping in the wind.  We were in queue and a papa in front of us had his 2-year-old on his shoulders.  Directly eye level were the little squishy butt cheeks of this cherub.  Made me miss my littlest one, John Thomas!

Back to school structure, from 6 - 12ish the kids are in primary school.  They attend from 8 - 5.   They are not sitting in one classroom this entire time... they do have their specials (art, PE, recess, etc.)  I am still learning about their day but from the teachers' point-of-view, they have 50 - 65 students in a classroom.  They were amazed to learn about our class sizes in the US.

Many of the teachers in TIP have never seen a Westerner or even been out of their province.  Some of the teachers are excited to be here; others are here under duress.  Their supervisors are not pleased with the English proficiency.  Those students call TIP (Total Immersion Program), Teachers in Prison.  We learned this satellite campus was once a prison.  Interesting...

From the primary school, the kids head off to middle school.  Their day is as long with after school activities.  Again, I will learn more specifics as I work with our students.

Secondary schools are still a bit of a mystery to me.  We were told there is a three-day exam students must take at some point in their high school career.  Not sure if it is to get into high school or at the completion.  These tests are so important that there is a strict ban on extra street noise so students can have optimum testing conditions.

The suicide rate for students and teachers around these tests is significant.  Since 1979, families have only one child.  Oh, they can have more, but the taxes imposed with the extra children are more than their yearly salaries.  With only one child, the parents are eager for their child to do their best (and more) so they can attend university.  Education is valued, supported, and demanded.

Perfection is the goal; which is one of the problems for these teachers learning English.  They can understand better than they can speak.  The fear of speaking incorrectly is paralyzing to them.  

I've been curious about some of the teaching strategies I've observed.  There is lots of call and response.  Imagine saying a vocabulary list with 75 people responding.  The teacher gave the students a menu from an American deli and an imaginary $50 to spend.  So the lesson included our money system plus some exposure to our food.  The students were given parameters for spending the money.  After independent practice time was given, the students were to stand up in groups and shout out what they ordered.  Raucous classroom...I was a bit nervous.  So got to thinking... how does the teacher check for understanding?  Well, that clearly wasn't the goal.  The goal was for the students to talk, by talking all at once removed the worry of not speaking properly...or so it seems.  Heck, they could have been singing a folk song for as much as we know.

As I journey through this TIP process, I will ask for more details.  Wouldn’t be **kewl** for a librarian to present misinformation, now would it?

Yesterday, we had a looong day of culture training.  I now know 25 Chinese words, although, I’m quite confident the regular person on the street would not have a clue what phrase I spoke!  Too fun!

More later!

Pic Post

First day of classes!

We are starting our training at warp speed.  Meetings start at 7:30 sharp.  There are 300+ TIP students on campus until Sunday.  Then, they head home.  Our students arrive next week.  We will have over 1,200 students with 22 facilitators.  We have been warned our groups will be larger than normal.

The students are required to speak English only and can be sent home if they don't follow the rules.  Some of the other rules include no cell phones and no spitting.  Yep, spitting is a cultural practice here....nothing more to add on that one.


Spent the morning observing a class in session.  This was a smaller group (than we will have) and the students were engaged and working hard at their lesson.  They were given maps and were to give their partner travel instructions from various locations. Left, right, straight, turn, etc. were the vocal words.

Food continues to be a struggle.  Glad I brought my oatmeal as it may be the best option for me.  I'm working hard not to channel my inner princess who wants her beverages cold and frequent.  The lukewarm options with lots of sugar aren't sating to my royal palate.  

We haven't had much time to visit with the other facilitators yet but have some structured social time on our agenda.  

More later....need to be at my next training...

A note from Patrick

Howdy all you followers of my mother's blog.  Due to censorship, my mother cannot access Facebook or this blog (the reason I am acting as her proxy-blogger).  She would love to hear from you and has asked me to post her gmail account.  She has gmail access.  If you are so inclined...

kcbookworm@gmail.com

Thanks for following!

First day at the University

The next leg of our journey has begun!  We left the grandeur of the Beijing Marriott and have entered our mission world.  We have thoroughly enjoyed all of our site seeing and cultural immersion, but have been anxious to get started on our important work:  teaching and learning!

I have Marjie almost convinced to join the world of vegetarianism especially after she did not enjoy her dorm dinner of chicken feet!  She kept trying each new bite with optimism only to discover feet as her entire protein....we have just returned from a walk to the local small grocery for snacks.  Our purchase?  Crackers to calm our tummies.  My vegetarian option was so hot my ears were burning after three bites.  

We have met some of the staff and other volunteers.  Our first official meet-n-greet is in an hour.  More later.  The pictures are of our room, dining hall, street, etc.


Dining Hall-

My Bed-

Staff Kitchen-

Lane to our dorm-

A few more thoughts from Beijing

Wednesday in Beijing

Today was another day full of amazing adventures.  Marjie, Susan, and I met up with our tour guide bright and early to head over to Tiananmen Square.  Our guide was quite open with us about the student demonstrations, as he was 19 during those famous protests.  I loved walking around this area and imaging the passion of those students and that image of the student in front of the tank.  

From there, we headed to the Forbidden City.  I will spare you all the historical details...suffice to say, we were overwhelmed with the majesty and grandeur.  The pictures don't do it justice.  Generations of emperors and the communities that supported them could be imagined scurrying about taking care of their daily lives.

The Temple of Heaven was out final site for the day.  This was one of our favorite stops.  This vast garden serves many purposes....most notably, a community center.  Women retire at the age of 50-55, men 60-65.  Many seniors meet up in this area.  There were some groups sitting around the singing....just for fun.  Picture a group of middle something's singing folk songs in a beautiful grassy area.

Ladies were busy with handcrafts ready to sell to the interested passer-by.  Not pushy, at all.  Just enjoying their community of retirees.  There were many families from the country on summer vacation.  The Beijing students are still in school.

This area was very spiritual and offered some of the most beautiful buildings we've seen.  I'll send Patrick some pictures to post soon!

We had the best meal of the week after this touring....every dish was vegetarian and scrumptious.  They cook with a lot of spicy heat so just few bites were plenty.  

Til later!

“They did not know what we can now sense as we contemplate the course of history: that change begins in the soul before it shows in our lives...” --Franz Kafka (The Great Wall of China)

Monday, June 25th -- Took a private tour up to the Mutianyu Great Wall.  The drive was about 90 minute away and we enjoyed seeing the glimpses into ordinary life as we rode along the route.

We have had the BEST tour guide this week and he has been knowledgable and open to our many questions.  In Beijing, the sun has not yet shown its face.  According to Li, it is always smoggy in the city...rarely direct sunshine.  However, about 45 minutes out of the city, we started to see hints of blue sky.  

There are many sections of the Great Wall open to the public.  This particular section was recommended to us by a William Jewell gal who spent 2+ years in China.  We arrived very early and missed the crowds which was to our immense delight.  At times, we had the hike to ourselves.  The climb was incredibly challenging; at times, I wanted to give in and not climb any higher.  However, stubbornness took hold, made it to the highest point open to tourists!  

This part of the wall was built in mid-6th century.  It includes 22 watch towers.  Hard to fathom how those soldiers were able to survive the harsh winters.

Unbeknownst to me, Marjie had brought some of Jameson's ashes to spread at the top.  As you can imagine, this was an incredibly emotional experience for us.  We had just finished the upward trek to the top of the wall and were huffing and puffing.  Then, the sun came out once we reached the top.  Of course, we decided it was meant to congratulate us on conquering our fear.  We sat in prayer and quiet reflection for a bit and wondered at the majesty of the view, as well as, the historical significance of this structure.  

The hike back down was no easy feat.  But we made it and were pumped up with knowledge of our own significant athleticism!  

From there, we stopped at a home-style meal served in a farmer's courtyard.  Excellent food and plenty of vegetable options.  Watermelon is big here.  So far, we have seen it at every meal.  

We took a brief tour of the exterior view of the Olympic venues:  The Bird's Nest and the Water Cube.  

Back to the hotel for a swim and an early night.

Tuesday:  Flying to Xi'an to visit the Terra Cotta Warriors.  A wee bit worried about finding our way but have great instructions and a terrific traveling companion.  More on this tomorrow!

Brief notes from Beijing

This weekend has been a minor holiday:  3-day Dragon Festival.  Beijing is bursting at the seams with tourists from all over China.  Each tourist site we visited would have dozens and dozens of tour groups. Each group followed a lead with some small stuffed animal raised high on a stick so the 50+ followers could stay together.  Many of the groups utilized matching colored beanies.  With this many folks around, they have a system to keep everyone safe.  I giggled.

Sunday, we spent the day on a private tour. We visited the Drum Tower and were treated to a drum performance.  24 huge drums are stored in a high tower in the middle of the city.  These drums would keep time for past generations.  Kublai Khan built the first tower on this site in 1272.  

We visited the Hutong area of Beijing and rode in rickshaws.  The driver no longer runs rather rides a bike pulling the basket.  We rode down tiny alleys getting a flavor for this area.  These narrow streets give a flavor of how life might have been like before the renovation of the city.  

Next, we visited Prince Gong's palace. This palace was built from the hard work of the citizens.  A very corrupt official used the taxes for 20 years to pay for his opulent lifestyle.   The gardens were some of the most beautiful we've seen yet. Nit has nine courtyards with covered walkways.  

We finished our touring with a visit to a tea house.  A young Chinese girl sat in front of us and told  us the story behind the various teas.  We sampled each and found various flavors we enjoyed.  Bought our first souvenirs for the trip.  Tea, anyone?

In a few hours, we will be driving to Mutianya to see that portion of the Great Wall.   There are other options for visiting the wall closer to Beijing; however, this section is considered the most beautiful and a bit off the beaten path. 

More later!

6o hours and counting down!  Man, do I still have a lot to get accomplished before I can leave town!

If you are reading this blog, we are going to assume you are family/friend interested in updates about my outrageous adventure with no malevolent plans to rob my house or other despicable misdeeds some naughty blog lurkers plan....hmmmmm??

Back story:  According to the intel we are getting from our university contacts in Beijing, we will not be allowed to have access to Facebook or Blogs; consequently, Patrick has been recruited to manage the blog, providing the eight of you with riveting details about my travel experiences!


The blog's title is referencing, The Boss....of course!  Lest, you experienced confusion over the intention of the word "TRAMP" in my title, tramp = vagabond.

So check in on Wednesday evening(ish) for the first official installment of the travel log.