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/