Underwater Shakespeare

A couple of weeks ago, after all the blood and sweat, and maybe an occasional tear, I saw the culmination of a couple months of effort. Not so much by me, but by the Shakespeare Association of Zhongnan University of Economics and Law (ZUEL). For a little while now, I've been heading over to Cori's school about every week to help direct their production of Twelfth Night. These are just ordinary Chinese students getting together to perform a few of the Bard's better works, in the original Elizabethan English. Pretty impressive, when you think about it. They aren't all necessarily English majors or theatre kids. They don't get to rehearse on a stage. They have a faculty advisor, but no official director. Naturally, having studied both Shakespeare and directing, Cori and I were happy to help out.

We learned pretty quickly that this wasn't going to go how we wanted it to. We're used to a well-planned and efficient rehearsal process—movement, lines, character, dress, show. They direct themselves on-the-fly and by committee, which doesn't really work unless you're a finely-tuned acting company with a history of collaboration. These were Chinese students who could spend an hour debating the proper delivery of the play's opening line.


Usually, the most important part of the play is the text, and when they can't pronounce the text, you give them some actions and hope that people get the gist of it. We mostly just gave notes, taught basic theatre techniques, and even showed them a little swordplay. It was a good learning experience all around.

The performance was definitely a surprise. They had a packed auditorium. They also had actor microphones (which must've been cranked up to 11), a set with props (which were covered in flashy gold tinfoil), and scenes with narration (which aren't in any copies of Twelfth Night I've ever seen). They changed a few things and cut out a bunch of scenes, but the running time still stretched to nearly three hours (with no intermission).

In the end, I managed to understand only about 30 percent of the lines, but it’s sort of like going to Latin mass—you know what’s supposed to be happening. What I wonder is whether the Chinese could catch more of it than I could, since they have an easier time deciphering the accent.

This entry’s title comes from Cori’s rather apt description of the show. On a related note, the previous entry’s title comes from my students. Unfortunately, that really is how some of them talk.

"Sanksgiving Day"

Well, I don't know exactly what's been keeping me from writing more on the blog. It's not for lack of material, since there's always something to write about, however mundane. I think I may have just started subconsciously associating the blog with real, actual work. Like lesson-planning. That's how it always goes with these things. Journaling goes from an outlet to a chore in no time.

We did have a Thanksgiving celebration, in case you were curious. We don't usually pass up an opportunity to do something expensive and indulgant for the sake of togetherness. So, while everyone back home was still asleep, we headed across Wuhan to the Shangri-la Hotel for a traditional Thanksgiving buffet. And we had a hell of a time trying to get there. We couldn't find a cab to take us there, since you need a cab with an odd number on an odd-numbered date with a driver who's willing to go across town at rush hour. Our only option was the bus, but two buses had just collided at the stop nearby, blocking traffic both ways. We ended up walking to another stop, catching a bus to the Yangtze River, ferrying across, and taking a cab the rest of the way.

Our friend Jo was nice enough to call ahead and reserve a table for us, even though she didn't join us for the meal. It turns out that reserving a table there on Thanksgiving is a little like calling up the Four Seasons in Chicago and asking about the Dongzhi Festival. There just aren't going to be many takers. Nevertheless, it was a fine meal, and well worth the 25 or so dollars we each paid for it. There was much turkey and ham and potato to be had. And the desserts, how many there were. Thinking about it now only makes me wish we could've taken some for leftovers.

Throughout the week, I tought my students about the holiday--the history, the customs, the introspection, etc. Most people here don't really know or care much about it, since there aren't quite enough foreigners in Wuhan to make the holiday profitable. But we, in true American fashion, still managed to do the most patriotic (or ex-patriotic) thing we could think of and stuffed ourselves silly. Here are a few snapshots of the evening.

The Yangtze River at night.

Cori with ice sculpture and buffet in back.

The first of many plates of food.

Walking through the lobby. Fancy.

Posing with the holiday display.

Fine for China, but Not for America

The FDA has just deemed it safe for me to eat my words.

http://www.nytimes.com/2008/11/14/business/worldbusiness/14fda.html?ref=business

Good Weather = High Morale

A funny thing happened today in Wuhan. It was a really nice day. The air was warmer, the wind was calmer, and there wasn't a cloud in the sky. It's weird how much of an effect a blue sky can have when you don't see one nearly as often. There's a certain visceral pleasure to it, like that of little kids watching a man fall down repeatedly. You can't always predict when it'll happen again, but you're always hoping and waiting for next time.

Of course, all of this lasts only until something goes wrong, or not according to plan. Today, it was the projector. Most of my lessons are taught using PowerPoint, as the students respond better to visual aids like photos and videos. Plus, it's always good to show them the text as you're speaking. Unfortunately, the classroom technology is about as reliable as the Chinese food industry. (Kidding. I assure you, the food is plenty safe.) Anyway, the students eventually got it to work, which was great, since I was having a hell of a time trying to find a key to another classroom. You'll be glad to know that things went pretty smoothly after that. Problems here have a way of working themselves out, and most things in China seem to be out of my control, anyway.

When I wasn't teaching, I spent the day lesson-planning (mostly continuing our discussion of Halloween), eating, grocery shopping, and helping the Zhongnan University Shakespeare Club with their rehearsal. I'm headed off to bed, so I'll close with a few pictures from our Halloween gathering a couple of weeks ago.

From top left: Jim, Cori, Gabriel, me, Avi, Steven, Marguerite, and Maggie; Bob and Maggie (who look like they might've been drinking, but really hadn't); me, in my bad butler costume.

Election Day (Sort Of)

It's Wednesday morning here, which means it's Tuesday night in the U.S., and that means I'm glued to my computer screen waiting for the numbers from the exit polls. I thought I'd switch things up and write a blog post in real time, as it all unfolds. I didn't sleep very well last night, not because of any election anticipation or nightmares involving the outcome--I just don't sleep regularly in China. Everyone's just waking up here, and I don't have much to do at the moment (there's no class today on account of the sports meet, which you may remember was postponed last week due to rain).

In spite of, or because of, the fact that we're all so far away, the other teachers and I are taking great interest in what happens over the next several hours. Bob, the political science major, is following along especially closely, and were he to teach class right now, he'd be forcing his students to watch as well, in lieu of an actual lesson. In case you were curious, I did try to vote absentee, but my ballot never got to me. I'm not really sure what happened, and I'm not happy about it, but I am aware that it won't make much difference in the end. Still, there is something to be said for political participation.

I try not to push the students to support one candidate over the other. When they asked me who I'd vote for, I usually just sidestepped the question. By and large, the ones I've talked to favor Obama, in keeping with the general trend overseas. Their reasons are many and varied, and sometimes they're as simple as "McCain's too old." Not sure they really have much at stake, anyway. I assume there's only a passing interest on their part.

I'm going to get back to the coverage until I'm satisfied with the result, or until I find something better to do with my time off. The image above came to me by way of my friend Spencer. Enjoy.

POST-ELECTION UPDATE: For a global perspective, visit

http://thecaucus.blogs.nytimes.com/2008/11/05/reactions-from-around-the-world/

Never Mind

Hey, uh, forget what I said about sports week. All that stuff about days off, hanging out, soaking things up...yeah, that's not happening. I found out early this morning, a few hours before my Wednesday classes normally begin, that I would in fact have to teach the rest of the week. This is why you don't schedule weather-dependent holidays. It's like a snow day in reverse. Right before the sports meet was set to begin, weather that would probably be a tropical storm by Chinese standards moved in over Wuhan. Nothing big, but enough to ruin your day.

Wildly unprepared, I went ahead and taught class, anyway. I can't say it was the most enthusiastic lesson, but we did talk about Halloween, so at least it's topical. The freshmen, being new to "Oral English" classes, are not familiar with it, as the sophomores are. Naturally, I talked about various customs and costumes. At the end, I passed out Hershey's Kisses™ on the condition that they come up to me and say, "trick-or-treat." That seemed to go over well. I'm teaching sophomores the next couple of days, so I'll have to try and throw something together. We'll see what happens--they can be a tough crowd sometimes. Maybe I'll write a lesson on how China snatches away your holidays. I'm guessing that won't go over as well.

It's That Time Again

My goal in maintaining the blog is to update at least once a week, so I'm doing my best to keep up. Looks like I'm due for another entry. I haven't taken any trips or gotten new tattoos in recent weeks, but I can think of one or two things with which to regale you.

Another Chinese holiday is upon us. This one, though, seems to apply only to universities. It's some kind of sports week here at CCNU, so, later in the week, while the students are off competing in the name of school pride, I'll be taking a couple of days to soak up Wuhan with the other teachers. Cori's birthday is on Thursday, so we'll be getting together with her to celebrate. As you know, Halloween is also coming up. I don't think people are aware of the holiday, unless they've learned about it from a foreign teacher. Needless to say, I will be among a select few in costume this Friday. I'm sure I'll draw a lot of looks from the locals, but that's no different from any other day.

As I said, I didn't take any major trips lately, but there are ways to stay busy. I've started teaching freshmen in addition to sophomores, plus the office hours, learning a little Chinese, and helping out with the Shakespeare Association at Cori's school when I can. They're doing an abridged version of Twelfth Night. More to come on that. Recently, I made it over to a Taoist place of worship not too far from campus. Taoism, as I learned, advocates a kind of "going with the flow," a way of letting events unfold naturally. It was a pretty enlightening experience, and we had Maggie and Jo, our Chinese friends, graciously acting as tour guides. Maggie was also nice enough to act as negotiator/translator on a trip to a fabric shop, since some of us were interested in having garments made. It's always helpful to have friends who are native speakers, and they're both fun people.

I'll leave you with a few pictures, compliments of Lao-tzu.

The Entrance.

Steven walking into one of the many buildings on the grounds.

The familiar ying-yang symbol, important to Taoist philosophy.

A "W," for some reason.
Looking down from some old stone steps.

Maggie and Bob across. They're going up as I'm going down.

This one might be a library. I don't know, we didn't go inside.

Fact

Chinese LOVE basketball.

Chinese. Basketball. Yao Ming.

Fun with YouTube

I've been playing around on YouTube lately, as it is full of useful teaching tools.

Among the things I've found are some clips of Wuhan and greater China that I think are enlightening. I'd like to share a few.

Sometimes, Chinese traffic doesn't make sense.


This is how I cross the street.


This is a guy in Wuxi trying to get to a McDonalds. Note the motorbikes.


This is the train station I left from to go to Beijing.


This is actually a spot at CCNU on my walk to class.

R&R in the PRC

I have returned from my sojourn to Beijing. That said, I’ll give you a brief background on why I went there in the first place. Last week was the National Day Holiday, for which most people get two or three days off. Though I didn’t teach class during the week, I technically got three days off, since Monday and Tuesday classes were taught the weekend before. You don’t really see make-up classes on weekends in the US, but it works for them. Anyway, National Day comes every year on October 1st, the anniversary of the founding of the People’s Republic in 1949. Basically, it’s Chinese 4th of July.

I had always intended on going somewhere for the week, and after some internal debate among the other Augustana teachers, who ultimately decided to explore Wuhan, I decided to buy a ticket to Beijing and meet up with a bunch of the other local foreigners. They were headed there for the Modern Sky Festival, which featured various hard rock/punk bands. I was out for some adventure and money-squandering, so I went to the ticket agency, where they eventually sold me a ticket.

I had thought that getting to the train station and boarding the right train would be complicated, and that everything after would be golden. On some level, I was correct. Getting there, finding my way on board, was a small victory. Then I remembered that the Chinese really have no concept of “personal space.” (It’s not uncommon to see arms around shoulders and hand-holding among friends, as well as people elbowing their way through crowds.) I paid for a hard sleeper, a bed in a compartment of six, but I really only paid for the privilege of sleeping in it. Passengers had no compunction about sitting down next to me, putting their feet up, etc. It’s just a different mindset. I got used to it, but the length of the ride was brutal. The linear distance between cities is roughly the same as Chicago to Philadelphia. Cori’s train took ten hours to get to Beijing. Mine took seventeen. She got in Wednesday at 7 AM, and I got in three hours later. They were only a couple of minutes from leaving when I showed up. It would’ve been a long ride back, but with a little patience from friends, we all made out just fine.


Highlights from the two or so days I spent there include two trips to the music festival, which was really cool, and a few notable Olympic landmarks. I couldn’t go without seeing the Bird’s Nest and the Water Cube, and judging from past conversations, I think everyone was expecting me to get there at some point. We got from place to place by taxi and subway. The subway was sort of confusing, so it was mostly taxi. The hotel was comfy, the food was good, and the city generally felt clean and modern. I spent about as much as I thought I would. Also, I finally broke down and went to McDonalds. Amazing how the Big Mac never changes.


I would’ve stayed longer, but there wasn’t much wiggle-room on tickets, since hundreds of millions of people travel during the holiday. Mercifully, the ride back took about twelve hours, but we were in seats this time, and it got a little cramped. Overall, it was an exhausting trip—the best kind, really—and it’s good to be back home in Wuhan. Even if I do have a full week of teaching ahead.

P.S.- I changed the blog settings to allow anyone to post comments.

I Should Mention That...

Chinese milk is a concern for many here, and the scope of the problem does appear to be widening, but I never really developed a taste for their dairy, so I am as yet unaffected.

I still have to boil water, though. Which is kind of a pain.

Updates Abound

Many people in the US have asked me since I arrived almost a month ago, “Are you having fun?” It’s a perfectly legitimate question, but I’ve had some difficulty coming up with an answer. If I had to give a definitive response, I’d say yes. Life would be pretty miserable if I weren’t having any fun at all, and one can find some kind of entertainment pretty much anywhere.

But living in a developing, non-Western country comes with its own set of challenges. You can certainly have a lot of fun in Wuhan, but it takes a little work. You can get to VOX, a bar with lots of live music, decent drinks, and a few other foreigners, but you have to know enough of the Chinese language and currency to be able to catch a cab. You can share a photographic slice of American life with your class, but you have to figure out which button will turn on the projector and which will lower the screen. You can share five Chinese dishes and beers among five people for around three dollars per person, but you have to make sure that none of those dishes will kill you before you even get the check. (By the way, if you’re in a restaurant and want the check, or really anything at all, you have to yell out the Chinese equivalent of “waitress!”)

A few words about the city. It’s huge—the population is about three times that of Chicago—and divided into three boroughs: Wuchang, Hanyang, and Hankou. The name “Wu Han” is actually a blending of the three. I’ve been told that I live in the hottest place in the country during the summer, one of China’s “furnaces,” which explains why I’m always sweating outside. It’s not uncommon to see shirtless men on the street or in a shop. Fortunately, I hear the city does get pretty cold in the winter. Parts of it are beautiful, and parts of it smell of rancid tofu and other things. Parts of it are new, and parts are falling apart. It seems as though, for all the construction that goes on, everything that gets built immediately begins its slow descent into disrepair. On the plus side, the campus is nice.

As far as teaching goes, it’s been going pretty well. I believe the title of my class is simply “Oral English.” I teach in the English Department, which means only majors, so I can understand them. There’s nothing that I’m required to teach, and no book with which to teach it. I’m simply supposed to stand in front of a class for ninety minutes and speak, and hope that they’ll respond in kind. I’m responsible for all of the course topics and activities, and we mostly spend our time talking about our respective cultures. The differences make for good discussions.

On to the food. I’ve been eating mostly Chinese food, and yes, they do just call it food here. The level of spiciness varies depending on which province you’re in. Being in Hubei, the food has a little kick to it, but nothing unbearable. There are many familiar dishes here, things like fried rice and beef with vegetables and sweet ‘n sour chicken, but there are a few that I have yet to identify. Also, they use a vast array of spices. Luckily, my friend Cori, back for a second year in Wuhan, knows a lot of quality eateries. She also knows where to find meat on a stick. You can find weird versions of American things, such as Coca Cola, which they call, “ke kou ke le.” There's a meaning behind it, but I can only remember the transliteration. Since there’s no good way of brining proper names into Chinese, they sometimes use existing characters to approximate the sound, just as I've used Roman letters to approximate theirs.

Out to dinner in the Ximen (Westgate) area:

I get asked if there are other Americans, or at least other foreigners, here in Wuhan. As far as I know, the five Augustana grads are the only Americans teaching at CCNU. There are many other foreigners, but a lot of them don’t speak English. Needless to say, the other teachers and I spend a fair amount of time together. On weekends, we try to explore, as well as hang out at places like VOX, where you can meet people from all over, from Wisconsin to Nepal. Most are here as students or teachers.

VOX Bar, a dog watching pool, and foosball with Snow (a cheap beer):

That about wraps this one up. I'm going to go make a lesson plan. Later.

An Afternoon in the Life

Here are some pictures of campus and greater Wuhan. My trip takes you up the road, past the Math Building(?), up the street to the English Building (where I teach), through the halls, into a classroom, back out, through the North Gate of the school (where brass letters say "Huazhong Normal University"), down the street, up a pedestrian bridge, and finally to the grocery store, called "Heartmart" by the Americans, simply because of the logo you see in the penultimate picture. That entrance may look harmless, but the smell of rotten tofu is overpowering.

As always, if anyone has any questions about China, feel free to ask. More pictures to come.

Forgot I Still Have to Work

Did I tell you I started teaching? Well, I did. I don't really know how, but I can always figure it out. So far, it's been a lot of me talking, and I'm not sure exactly what about. Basically, whatever random fact about America pops into my head. Then, I ask them to tell me about China. After several seconds of silence, I move on to something else.

The students are certainly better at learning than I am at teaching. They're an eager bunch, if a little shy. I'm doing my best to look like I know what I'm doing. Listening to my own voice is all well and good, but I kind of know how to speak already. They...not so much. I'm working on getting them to talk about sports and culture and not politics, which I gather is strange, since most classes are lecture-based. I gotta go try and plan some sort of lesson for the morning class. I guess tomorrow I'll write the "after" entry.

I'll try to post more pictures of classroom and campus. Here are a couple taken from inside our office in the English Building.