First semester is done, which means I'm off to greater Southeast Asia for the Spring Festival break. Feel free to post comments and questions while I'm gone, which I can then address upon my return.
Back in a month. (With pictures.)
Wednesday, January 7, 2009
Wuhan Rules of the Road
1. Pedestrians DO NOT have the right of way.
2. Simple maneuvers, such as backing out or making a three-point turn, are terrifying and must be done at one mile-per-hour.
3. The parking lot being a completely foreign concept, pay no attention to the layout of the spaces.
4. Lane lines and center lines are meaningless. Passing, overtaking, and merging happen everywhere, all the time.
5. Stoplights are suggestions. Follow at your own convenience.
6. Car horns being the equivalent of animal calls in the wild, they are to be used to communicate even the slightest fear or displeasure.
7. There are signs in certain areas prohibiting the use of a horn. These can be ignored.
8. Motorbikes (and sometimes cars) are not confined to the road. They can and should be driven down a crowded sidewalk.
9. Cutting people off (or “Vehicular Darwinism”) is a perfectly natural process.
10. It’s always your turn and never your fault.
2. Simple maneuvers, such as backing out or making a three-point turn, are terrifying and must be done at one mile-per-hour.
3. The parking lot being a completely foreign concept, pay no attention to the layout of the spaces.
4. Lane lines and center lines are meaningless. Passing, overtaking, and merging happen everywhere, all the time.
5. Stoplights are suggestions. Follow at your own convenience.
6. Car horns being the equivalent of animal calls in the wild, they are to be used to communicate even the slightest fear or displeasure.
7. There are signs in certain areas prohibiting the use of a horn. These can be ignored.
8. Motorbikes (and sometimes cars) are not confined to the road. They can and should be driven down a crowded sidewalk.
9. Cutting people off (or “Vehicular Darwinism”) is a perfectly natural process.
10. It’s always your turn and never your fault.
Sunday, January 4, 2009
"Sound of Spring"
Such was the theme of the wintertime concert that I and the other teachers were treated to a little while ago. See, every now and then we get to go to these events aimed at making China feel more hospitable, and so, on relatively short notice (as happens here sometimes), we were invited to a Friday-night performance at the Wuhan Conservatory of Music. After being rounded up and put on a bus, we residents of the CCNU international building arrived at the auditorium to find that, in fact, all the foreign experts in Wuhan, perhaps even in Hubei province, had been brought together for this, an evening of Chinese culture.
We took our seats high up in the balcony, taking note of the many faces and languages. Some were familiar; many were not. The distinct lack of homogeneity was pretty refreshing. (To put it in perspective, almost 95% of the country's population is classified as "Han Chinese," the largest ethnic group in the world.)
The evening began innocently enough with a children’s choir, then moved semi-swiftly on to dance numbers and soloists. The most impressive act of the showcase had to be the pair of female acrobats, both of whom could bench-press me, and I’d say my favorite was the quartet of traditional Chinese instrumentalists.
But the most memorable (and the longest) had to be the Beijing (or Peking) Opera. Imagine a series of tightly choreographed fight sequences set to the sound of kids playing with crash symbols. I can only describe its effect on the ears as a kind of auditory water-boarding. I can’t complain, though; it was pretty cool to watch. The whole performance, in fact, was really interesting. You know, if you’re into that sort of thing.
Friday, January 2, 2009
Holidays, Laowai-Style
Well, it's now day two of the new year in China, with most of the world still observing the first of 2009. Thankfully, I did not have class today, which opened up possibilities for the preceding night. I'd say it was a pretty eclectic celebration--we covered a lot of ground and represented a lot of countries between us. With so many kinds of people teaching, studying, or just hiding out abroad, you never really know whose path you'll cross. And even though the Chinese (Lunar) New Year is a much bigger deal here, they do still use the Gregorian calendar; thus, I got the day off. I also get tomorrow off, but I have to teach tomorrow's class on Sunday at 8 am, so the long weekend comes at a price.
I never did talk about Christmas. I'd been meaning to, but I guess I got busy. I did teach on Christmas (and the eve), but the students already knew almost as much as I did, so I didn't teach for very long. I walked around afterward and, surprisingly, found carols in the streets, decorations in the windows, store employees wearing santa hats, etc. And there was a ton of shopping. It was very much an American holiday. Seems like the Chinese are getting into it more and more. The night of the 24th was actually pretty quiet for me, since many of the Wuhan laowai had already gotten together for a party the weekend before. "Laowai" (老外), to explain further, is a more colloquial form of "foreigner." My Chinese friends tell me it's not meant as an epithet, but sometimes I wonder.
I never did talk about Christmas. I'd been meaning to, but I guess I got busy. I did teach on Christmas (and the eve), but the students already knew almost as much as I did, so I didn't teach for very long. I walked around afterward and, surprisingly, found carols in the streets, decorations in the windows, store employees wearing santa hats, etc. And there was a ton of shopping. It was very much an American holiday. Seems like the Chinese are getting into it more and more. The night of the 24th was actually pretty quiet for me, since many of the Wuhan laowai had already gotten together for a party the weekend before. "Laowai" (老外), to explain further, is a more colloquial form of "foreigner." My Chinese friends tell me it's not meant as an epithet, but sometimes I wonder.
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