Thursday, September 20, 2012

Getting Accustomed to the Customs


The other CIEE instructors and I have been here for just a couple of weeks.  We have been paired with a Foreign Affairs Officer named Bob, who is a bit on the timid side.  It is my understanding that the poor man is overworked and has been tasked with dealing with 9 foreign teachers most of whom do not speak enough Chinese to get by.  His English is not the best and this leads to some conflict on both ends.  Other than the language barrier between Bob and us, everything has gone pretty well.   We have managed to go on a couple of adventures and made friends with our favorite restaurant owners.  Everyone is kind and willing to help and our students are absolutely wonderful. 

When we first arrived at the Chongqing airport we gathered our things and met three men at the airport who were waiting for us; Ferris, Bob, and Mr. Chen.  Mr. Chen is our driver, Ferris was the Foreign Affairs Officer (he has since left the school) and Bob is our current Foreign Affairs Officer.  Bob is a very polite young man of about 30 or so who tries really hard to speak English, but has difficulty speaking.  He is much better at reading and writing.  He was tasked with the job at the last minute and started exactly the same day we did.  We piled into two separate cars Kelsey and I in a car with Mr. Chen and Bob, and the two boys in the other with Ferris.  After some rather intense effort at conversation we finally decided to get some sleep.  About half-way to our destination we were awoken by Bob.  He, in faltering English, finally managed to get out the sentence, “Do you have any problems that you want to take care of in the bathroom?”  Both of us looked at each other horrified and then asked Bob, “Do you mean do we need to use the bathroom?”  To which he said, “Yes” and we breathed a sigh of relief.  This was the beginning of our relationship with Bob.  
Although he has gotten much better at communicating with us and we are slowly figuring things out, it has been a bit difficult.  Bob’s favorite words are, “I will fix all problem (grand pause), tomorrow.”    

The next day we were sent to the main office in the Foreign Languages Department to get our schedules and books.  We were to begin teaching the Monday after we arrived and none of us knew what classes we would be teaching.  I am teaching two writing classes from 8:30 to noon on Monday and then I teach from 8:30a.m. until 6p.m. on Tuesday.  Class is a lot of fun.  All of my students are eager to learn and seem to like me.  The first classes all received the same presentation about me and were able to ask me questions and tell me something about them.  They pretty much all asked the same questions: "Are you married," "How old are you," "Do you have a boyfriend," "Are you interested in finding a boyfriend in China,"  "Do you like Chinese boys or American boys better," and so on.  However, on the second day of my writing class, I am pretty sure all of my students were a bit overwhelmed.  The writing process can be a bit daunting and although all of them have covered various aspects of writing such as grammar, vocabulary, and sentence structure none of them have had to write a coherent, structured essay before.  We went over thought webs, lists, and outlines.  I plan to continue to stress the importance of planning papers before writing them and slowly incorporate more about grammar as we go along. 

Another aspect of living here is learning how to shop.  Those who know me know that I am usually a pretty good shopper.  I go in with a set list and a budget and I usually come out with more or less what I intended to get.  Shopping here is a bit hectic.  Speed is important; particularly in the checkout line.  It does not help that our Chinese is not good enough yet to ask clear questions about the things we need.  I usually end up doing a lot of acting, which the store clerks think is hilarious, and getting led to something that is not quite what I am looking for, such as face wash instead of lotion.  

On a particularly ambitious day the boys, Kelsey, another teacher, and I decided to go into Fuling, a larger town nearby, in order to purchase phones, cleaning supplies, and cooking supplies.  The phone shopping was terrible.  Our driver, Mr. Chen (who we believe, but are not sure, is a regular driver paid by the school), took us into the store and tried his best to help us.  What ensued was a frantic frenzy of pointing, bad Chinese and confusion.  Most of us managed to get the phone thing sorted out and then we went into the shopping complex.  Now, I have seen malls before, but in China mall takes on a whole new meaning.  There are floors and floors of stores.  Sometimes one department store has multiple floors with different types of items on each floor.  Except, if you wish to exit a floor you must purchase your items from the floor you are on before going to the next.  Kelsey and I had a list and we thought that we were prepared.  However, we were not ready for the large amount of people in the store, let alone the confusing placement of items.  On more than one occasion we found a saleswoman and acted out the things we needed.  By the end of our shopping the women were all standing nearby and watching us out of pure amusement.  Finally, we made it to the checkout lane.  

The checkout lane is a battlefield.  First of all, there is no such thing as a line in China.  I mean, it looks like there is a line and people seem to be acting as if there is an organized structure, but there isn’t.  At least it is not the same type of organized structure that we are used to being a part of.  Also, if you do not stand your ground you will be cut.  You must be ready to make your point and if that little old lady wants your spot, she’s aggressive enough to get it and you cannot be afraid to assert your position.  Kelsey and I have taken turns shielding each other’s line position.  When you finally get to the checkout register it is of utmost importance that you have your money ready.  If you do not have it ready everyone else gets pretty annoyed with you.  Also, they will start scanning and bagging other people’s items while you are fumbling through your wallet and trying to remember how the money works.  That was not a good day.  The phones were much more expensive than they should be and most of us had spent all of our cash.  I had also forgotten my debit card.  Kelsey assumed hers would be okay, but she didn’t have her pin number and needed to run it as credit.  Sadly, no one spoke good enough Chinese to make this understood and they refused to run it as credit.  One of the boys, Mathew, ended up helping us out and we paid him back later.  However, this was quite frustrating and all of the people “in line” behind us were not happy.  Shortly thereafter, we caught a taxi and went back to the school. 

Overall, life in Lidu is nice.  I like my students, Bob tries his best to do what he can, and the shopping has gotten easier.  Kelsey and I have had time to acclimate ourselves and getting lost does not happen as often.  We have also made friends with our favorite restaurant owners and they are more than happy to help us when we need it. Although the first couple of weeks have been a bit hectic, I am sure that over time everything will calm down.  I am very excited to be here and cannot wait to discover more about China.  

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