Hao jiu bu jian!

End of PC China?

Yikes!

Razem

Today, I mourn the loss of one of Chongqing's finest. I never met Cannon, but I feel I know him from the life he lived and the world he worked so hard to see and experience. Xiexie, pengyou.

http://www.peacecorps.gov/index.cfm?shell=resources.media.press.view&news_id=1711

WASHINGTON, D.C., February 8, 2011 – Peace Corps Director Aaron S. Williams is saddened to confirm the February 6 death of Peace Corps volunteer Cannon Stamm in Thailand. The preliminary cause of death is cardiopulmonary arrest. Cannon, 26, was serving as an English teacher with the Peace Corps program in China.

“Cannon was a dedicated volunteer and a committed English teacher working to strengthen our friendship with the people of China,” said Director Williams. “On behalf of the entire Peace Corps community, our thoughts are with Cannon’s family, friends, and fellow volunteers at this difficult time.”

Cannon is survived by family in New York. He arrived in China on July 1, 2010, for pre-service training and was sworn in as a volunteer on August 27, 2010. Cannon was an English teacher at Chongqing University of Technology and worked with students training to become middle school English teachers. He was scheduled to continue his Peace Corps service through the end of the school year in the summer of 2012.

His passing is mourned by the entire Peace Corps community, including his students and colleagues in Chongqing. He was committed to developing his students’ English comprehension by sharing his knowledge of American language, culture, and history. Cannon worked closely with his Chinese colleagues to exchange ideas and teaching methodologies. He understood that daily interaction with a native English speaker was integral to his students’ proficiency and confidence in English.

Cannon graduated summa cum laude from Boston University in 2008, with a dual concentration in finance and international management. Cannon was an experienced teacher of English as a second language and worked as an English tutor in Japan prior to his service with the Peace Corps.

In his 2010 Peace Corps aspiration statement, Cannon wrote that he was committed to approaching his assignment with an open mind and friendly demeanor, balanced with the knowledge that patience and determination were his best assets to navigate his role as a teacher. He was committed to public service and interested in learning the local language, Mandarin, and being a part of his local community.

There are 132 Americans serving as volunteers in China. Peace Corps volunteers are known as "U.S.-China Friendship Volunteers" to their students, colleagues, and communities. The program focuses on university English teaching. Volunteers are placed in Sichuan, Gansu, and Guizhou provinces, as well as the Chongqing municipality. More than 660 Americans have served as volunteers in China since the program opened in 1993.

你们好！

恭喜恭喜！ Congrats, Liu XiaoBo! I couldn't agree with the Nobel Peace Prize Committee any more!

Freedom is inevitable, CCP!

蓝麦飞

你们好:

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Why? And why now? .

While in China, probably 18 months deep into my 2-year Peace Corps service, I walked by a street merchant on the campus of Southwest University in Chongqing Province, where I was teaching English language and literature. This man was selling jiade, or counterfeit, books and magazines to passing students, trying his best make a few extra yuan or, more likely, earn a living photocopying and rebinding great works of Chinese and English literature and selling them for a quarter of the retail price. There were enough English-language learners at Southwest University to sell these books, and with weak enforcement of copyright laws, passing police didn’t take a second look. Many of the books were entirely in English without Mandarin translations, and many from the selection the books at this specific stand, based on my assessment of students’ reading levels, were beyond most (if not all) of Chinese university students’ comprehensions; when learning to read English, it’s much more feasible to begin with, let’s say, Dr. Seuss, than Brontë’s Jane Eyre or Dickens’ Hard Times. Yet, I learned, Chinese actually bought and read these great works…with their English-Chinese dictionary within reach of course. Imagine that: reading Austin’s Pride and Prejudice, translating it line-by-line, all for an understanding of life, albeit a fictional portrayal of life over hundred years ago, outside of their China.

.So I stopped and sorted through the books. There was Thomas Friedman’s The World is Flat (incredibly popular in China), Joyce’s Ulysses (a book I still have trouble understanding), and a handful of Shakespearean tragedies. But there was also Thoreau’s Walden. While in graduate school, a highly respected professor at SUNY Fredonia told me that Walden wasn’t on par with the other works of its time, and maybe, for that reason, I had never encountered it in all my education. I kept putting it lower and lower on my “to read” list. The cover was stylish – circling lines wrapped around the title in both English and Chinese – and for 10 yuan ($1.25) it was mine. .When it wasn’t too cold or raining, I read Walden as I walked to and from my classrooms, about 20 minutes each way. In retrospect, I laugh. There was the most functioning chaos (which I now, 6 months deep into my Peace Corps “readjustment,” identify as being synonymous with “adventure”) occurring all around me – motorcycles whizzing inches away from me at 40mph, students laughing in a language I was falling in love with but barely understood, the smell of the lunch hours filling the air with chili peppers, trucks full of concrete spewing exhaust into the air with every tap of the gas pedal – and there I was, buried in a book written over 150 years ago:.

I say, beware of all enterprises that require new clothes, and not rather a new wearer of clothes. - Walden’s “Economy”.

Walden’s sidekick was Kerouac’s On The Road. I found an old edition of the Beat Generation’s masterpiece on the Peace Corps Office’s “Free” shelf, mangled and yellowing. I studied On The Road in graduate school, and frankly, didn’t remember a thing about it except reading it felt like driving through sand: wheels ferociously spinning without getting anywhere. But in China, it was completely different. I finished reading On the Road during my Peace Corps “Summer Project” in Fengjie, Chongqing Province, a city partly flooded for the construction of the infamous Three Gorges Dam, requiring the relocation of millions of Chinese from family homes lived in for generations. This setting and book helped me successfully identify and remove (and possibly smash) the rose-colored glasses worn by many PCVs and myself during their first year of service, and, possibly for the first time, see the country I presently called “home” in its true colors. China, though littered with beautiful diamonds, was predominately an endless, polluted diamond mine with billions (billions!) of people scrapping and clawing for wealth. On the contrary, Kerouac’s America, projected by his characters’ wild-eyed, oblivious meanderings, seemed like a land where diamonds could be found in your morning cereal box. This was the curious moment when I stopped remembering America, and began dreaming about it.

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These two books, stacked among many others read during my two years in China, fueled my desire to not only see America, but experience it, drive down its highways, feel its size, weigh its short but concentrated history against my 27 years. Everyday was an adventure in China. Imagine 750 straight days and nights of exhilarating adventure that thickens your skin, churns your insides, and accents your perceptions of everything. I thought, “Why can’t I keep this adventure rolling? Does it have to stop when I huijia, or return home?” I needed to see the country that I taught about, dreamed about, and at one point of my life, despised and only wanted to leave. But upon return from China, I couldn’t identify my feelings towards America as “nationalistic” or “patriotic” like I felt it necessary to cover my rear bumper with “Freedom isn’t free!” stickers, but more like the feeling of pulling one’s head out of a bucket of water. I felt for the first time America’s real, tangible “freedom” like the that first deep breath of oxygen. It gave me a high that many around me couldn’t feel or understand when I tried to explain it. It’s still unexplainable. I had learned what America isn’t while in China, and now, it was time to learn what America is before the memory of that oxygen depravation wore off. Thomas Wolfe said it best: “You can’t go home again.” I was coming home, and I wanted to make my one shot count!

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But there is another reason why I did it. America is a real place. It is not Neverland, or Atlantis, or Tolkien’s Middle Earth. It is real. But for so many around the world, America is almost mythical – a place that exists through blockbuster Hollywood movies and heavily armed soldiers fighting for the preservation of a statue of a green woman holding a forever-burning torch. This is all America is (and will be) to billions of world citizens. For all those faces I saw in the Chinese classroom who watched and laughed at episodes of Friends and Gossip Girl, dreamed of graduating from an American university, and desperately wanted to scream at the top of their lungs for all the grievances they had with those in power but couldn’t in fear of the consequences, I saw America. My trip was proof, adding to the evidence of America’s existence. We are so fortunate. I am so fortunate. We are so fortunate to know America is real.

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4 weeks, 8197 miles, 27 states, condensed to 3 minutes and 18 seconds:

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Thank you,

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Phil

蓝麦飞

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P.s. Thanks: Adam, Katie, Margo, Scott, Megan, Scotty D, Erin, Eric and family, Ryan, Cherry, Kara and Mom, Kris, Ashley and Mom, Jeff E., Tricia B., Pat D., the 235 friends who provided moral support on my the trip’s official Facebook page, my Mom and Dad, Corinne, all of Peace Corps China “12-14” and staff, all the great travelers I met in hostels in New Orleans, Albuquerque, Flagstaff, and Salt Lake City, the Teach NOLA program, and finally Tootsie, my family’s 14 y/o Dachshund, who passed away during this adventure at her home in Ontario, Canada. Tootsie, sick for the last few years, waited for me to return from China before peacefully checking out to her heaven, which is most certainly a land of table scraps and comfortable pillows for sleeping. Thanks to everyone I forgot to acknowledge here, as well. I am truly blessed to have so many people on this planet who love and care for me. I love you. 我爱你们.

nimen hao!

Buffalo News My View article

Love from New Orleans,

Phil

你们好:

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Due to Blogger.com being shut down by the Chinese Firewall weeks before the 20th anniversary of the 1989 Tiananmen Massacre 天安门惨案, a few previously-written posts were never published. Now, months later and no longer living in China, I am posting those entries for preservation.

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My favorite reads over the last 2 years, in no particular order:

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One Hundred Years of Solitude by Gabriel García Márquez:

This was my first book read exclusively in China, mostly in bed under a dying light bulb after a long day of studying Chinese during Peace Corps PST. Probably the slowest moving first half of any epic I've ever read, then BOOM, a nearly perfect finale! The last few pages shook me to the bone...

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China Road by Rob Gifford

Probably the best book about Modern China. Rob Gifford lived in China with his family for years and mastered the language, thus empowering him to go on his own odyssey across the country (Shanghai to Xinjiang) in taxis and buses, interviewing locals and investigating many of China's dirty little secrets. After several volunteers (and our country director) read this, it become the first selection for a Peace Corps Reading Group. A must-read for past, present, and future PCCVs.

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Walden by Henry David Thoreau

I bought this book from a street vendor on the Southwest University campus. It was clearly a pirated copy as the cover was solely in Chinese besides "Walden" and the paper quality was thin, rice paper with offset type. I read most of Thoreau's masterpiece after reading Jon Krakauer's Into The Wild, another inspiring book about taking the road less traveled. A printed version of Walden's chapter, Where I Lived, and What I Lived For, hung on a clothesline in my living room. It continues to be an literary refuge for me.

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The Unheard by Josh Swiller

A copy of Swiller's The Unheard and the the next book, Vonnegut's Cat's Cradle, were lent to me from Nikki, a fellow English major nerd/Chongqing PCV, when I just about had enough of spending my evenings before bed with a Chinese grammar book. Swiller is deaf and served in Zambia as a PCV in the late 90's. As I continue to read and review my journals from China, amazed with the chaotic things I experienced and the eccentric people I met, the time Swiller spent in Africa makes my service look like a weekend in Disneyland. Most importantly, Swiller was real and honest, and never held back when he was frustrated with Peace Corps' shortcomings in Africa; this book helped me provide Peace Corps China with the same constructive criticism.

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Cat's Cradle by Kurt Vonnegut

Speaking of relaxing getaways, I read Cat's Cradle while vacationing in Sanya, Hainan Province, escaping the chilly Chongqing winter during a Spring Festival holiday. I fell in love with Vonnegut's micro-chapter format, and the social and political setting described in this 1963 book never applied more to our 21st century world.

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Oracle Bones by Peter Hessler

Peter Hessler: Peace Corps China Hall of Famer. Oracle Bones is funny, clever, academic, personal, and an overall great ride though the past, present, and future China. Makes that Rivertown book look like Everybody Poops.

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Shakespeare: The Invention of the Human by Harold Bloom

I taught a half dozen Shakespeare plays at Southwest University to graduate English Literature students, and with its English language library being a derelict collection of outdated literary rubbish with even worse access to true literary criticism, Dr. Bloom's collection of idolizing love letters to Shakespeare's genius fueled my weekly lectures. The chapters on Hamlet, The Tempest, and All's Well That Ends Well are sublime.

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Selected Stories by Lu Xun

I gave an assignment on Shirley Jackson's short story, "The Lottery," and my students lead me to his immortal tale called "The Medicine." Lu Xun is prophetic and often called the George Orwell of China. A must read for any Sinophile searching for greater understanding of the Chinese ethos.

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Red China Blues by Jan Wong

Comparable to Oracle Bones, Wong's Red China Blues opened my eyes to how much China has grown and changed in the last 30 years. She was an advocate of Maoism as a Canadian-Chinese college student was was given permission by the Mao ZeDong-led Communist government to study in Beijing during the Cultural Revolution. RCB follows her ideological evolution from Mao lover to shocked and angry observer of the Tiananmen Massacre in 1989. I read RCB doing my last 2 months in China, and in my exit interview, I expressed regret that I didn't read it before I arrived in China in 2007. I learned so much. The best China memoir if one believes history repeats itself.

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On the Road by Jack Kerouac

Freedom. I couldn't get through this book in America. When I read it in China, it made perfect sense. It is beautiful, and I can honesty say, "I get it."

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You Can't Go Home Again by Thomas Wolfe

The best book I read in China over my two years. I have reread excerpts many, many times...and will continue to for many years and I sort through the mess China left in my mind. I wrote about the lessons learned from this book in my journals more than any other piece of literature while in China, and concluded that no one should ever leave their motherland for an extended period of time without this book in their suitcase. I have over 75 dogeared pages in my copy.

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And mentionable post-PC service reads:

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What I Talk About When I Talk About Running by Haruki Murakami

One of the best books I read about running; I thought back to my 4-5 times a week runs in the smoggy land of Chongqing. I ran my fifth marathon about 3 months back from China, a sentimental feat for me since I could never run over 6 miles in China due to the air quality.

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The Good Earth by Pearl S. Buck

Like Lu Xun, this is essential Chinese reading. Wang Lung and O-Lan are archetypal Chinese figures, and Pearl S. Buck is arguably the most important foreigner to decipher the Chinese riddle. Her defense of The Good Earth when it was attacked as being an inaccurate portrayal of China is one of the wittiest rebuttals....ever! Verisimilitude drips from its pages.

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Reading is great. What more can I say?

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我需要看书. 你呢?

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Love,

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Phil

January 11, 2010

你们好:

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It has been approx. 4 months since I've returned to America from twenty-five consecutive months in China as a Peace Corps Volunteer. I've received dozens of e-mails since I returned, the majority of them asking me about my "readjustment." To be frank, my readjustment remains ongoing, but as I find my way back into American society, I can't help trying to connect what I've done, what I am presently doing, and what I hope for in the future. An article in the Buffalo News caught my eye a few weeks back and inspired me to write a "My View"-esque piece commenting on both my readjustment and how China continues to linger in my bones. Enjoy!

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The Chinese Classroom Complement

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There is a train in Shanghai that travels over 311 mph and won’t spill a drop of your steaming tea, albeit poured to the brim. It whizzes Chinese and tourists alike to the sleek, futuristic Pudong International Airport, one of the largest and most technological travel hubs in the world. Smiling new riders stand in the aisles under a large odometer and snap pictures as the train reaches it maximum speed. Some of the few, well-traveled Chinese on board smirk at the amazed foreign tourists while nestled in their plush seats as they are whisked away, secretly beaming with pride for their country’s growth and advancements over the last 30 years. I rode this train on my last day in China – ending a 25 consecutive month service in the Peace Corps as a university teacher – and boarded a plane for my home: Buffalo, New York. When I was picked up after twelve hours in the sky, my parents’ car hit a pothole so deep I swear I thought I would be spending my first moments in my beloved hometown tire iron in hand.

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It is natural for us to compare – the differences between two or more people, places or things are much easier to detect than their respected similarities. It is even easier to say one system or way or doing something is better than another. It is not very often thought, however, that sometimes two very different things or environments complement each other. Like puzzle pieces, two seemingly different things might fit together in order to create a more perfect image.. I lived in China’s Chicago, Chongqing, the gateway to the West, and taught at one of Southwest China’s most prestigious, federally funded and controlled universities. As an American-educated teacher, I walked into many classrooms over the course of my two years that could only be described as “state-of-the-art”, garnished with technology beyond anything I have ever seen or used. I dumbfounded fellow Chinese colleagues when I asked, “How does this work?” They simply presumed me being from America, the richest country in the world and mostly likely inventor of the technology in question, that such skills were engrained into me through the holding of my beloved passport. However, after the lesson started and the bells and whistles were in full force, the students remained the same as if all I had was chalk and a blackboard: self-disciplined robots that could regurgitate perfectly on command – a skill acquired with help from a language learned from rote memorization - but almost never allowed their imaginations to shine (or how they are indoctrinated, interfere) within their responses.. From this setting, I returned to the Buffalo classroom. Over the last four months of my readjustment, I’ve witnessed teachers and students weave beautiful webs of student creativity, not only allow but encourage students to “get up and move around”, and even push them to negotiate if something seems unfair or unjust. Just recently, I was asked how I tolerated such “noise pollution” in my classroom. If the person who preferred the staleness of a quiet classroom knew what I trudged through for the last two years, he or she might understand the how pollution to one person is the saving grace of society to another. And yet, as innovation and self-expression is what our American education system promotes, students are marathons behind the math and science skills sets possessed by their Chinese peers. .

Imagine this: Just two weeks ago, Buffalo Public Schools Superintendent James A. Williams visited China in hopes of creating a “Chinese-immersion” Buffalo public high school in which American and Chinese students will learn side-by-side. When I read that such a classroom might be possible, my imagination ran wild with excitement. We can pick apart each system’s virtues and shortcomings forever, but now, as complementation becomes an option, the sleekness of the fallow Chinese drive pieced together with a freethinking, yet lackluster American proficiency is an unstoppable educational force. The winners: American and China. .

A country’s classroom is its barometer of success. As China and America grow closer and become increasingly interwoven through financial cooperation, we must also evolve our respected classrooms based on each other’s assets. A 311 mph train is wonderful if the people who built it knew how it worked and had the potential to someday make it faster and use less fuel, just as a beautiful, yet potholed city like Buffalo could summon the drive to reach out of the red through collective pride and determination. I know a Buffalo Public Chinese-immersion school, having taught in both systems, will transcend education and enter the realm of international diplomacy. All we need to do is complement, not criticize....- Phil

蓝麦飞

nimen hao:

Watch and listen, Obama from Shanghai:

-Phil Razem

Nimen hao!

It's been a tough and enlightening final two months...but I've safely and successfully concluded my Peace Corps service in China and write you from my parents' home in Canada (yes, technically I haven't officially returned to the USA, but I am almost there, and when I do, the adventure will continue).

I know many readers are anxious to hear about my final two months of service, as well as my travels to Inner Mongolia following my PC "Close of Service" date. Well, I have both good news and bad news, or if you are a "the glass is half-full kinda-person" like me, only good news. I am not going to detail the lessons learned and sadly, the many misfortunes experienced during my final two months of service at Southwest University within this final post, but I promise to (slowly but surely) document my time for you, as well as "color" this blog with stories and experiences that filled my personal journals during the last 25 months, in a more complex piece of writing within the next few months. I have found a short but significant window of opportunity to write and research over the next few months, thanks mostly to friends, my amazingly supportive family, and of course, my (very small) Peace Corps "readjustment salary." I hope to have something significant before 2010.

In the coming days, I will be posting more glimpses of my final experiences in China on Youtube.com (www.youtube.com/philiprazeminchina) and look forward to any e-mails you feel compelled to send to me regarding anything. I was approached by several Peace Corps China "15" trainees this summer and they said they missed the blog when it was blocked and it inspired many of them to accept their invitation to China, regardless of how frustrating some of my venting diatribes seemed. I hope future PCVs - not only heading to China, but all countries - can reference this blog before they take the leap into serving the world's people, and of course compare their experiences with mine. Peace Corps service, like any kind of education, is about the collision of ideas and cultures and challenging everything you previously thought was right and just, but when it all over, one lesson remains bright and true: We are all in this together. We are more similar than different.

I love you and am very happy to be home,

Phil

lan2mai4fei1

Hi, everyone!

This is C--, Phil's sister from Canada. Phil asked me to post this message on his blog because, as of three days ago, the Great Chinese Firewell has blocked www.blogger.com, the site hosting Phil's "Runnin' the Great Wall" blog.

My friends (and digital enemies):

Phil here. The reason for the block is not known (and may never be known*), and I am not the only blogger in China who is sad (and angry) that the Chinese government feel the need to protect their citizens from diverse opinions and cultural-exchange in the name of "political stability." I have had several Chinese university students who follow my blog express the same disgust towards the Chinese government for preventing me from logging in and posting my experiences, opinions, and overall journey through the Middle Kingdom as a Peace Corps Volunteer. As depressing as the situation is, this shared disgust presents a glimmer of optimism, as these same students are the future of China and will hopefully lead their country out of its propaganda wars and promote free press, speech, and individual expression in the future.

It pains me to do write this, but this post could be the last post you see until August of this year; Youtube.com has been blocked for a few months now and if the CCP treats Blooger.com in a similar fashion, then the future of blogs like mine looks grim, especially since the 20th anniversary of the Tiananmen Square Massacre (a taboo subject in China) arrives on June 4th of this year. This does not mean that I will stop blogging! I will blog just as much - if not more! - as before, and post all of my experiences whenever the block is lifted, or when I finally reach a country that allows me to think aloud! I will still create enlightening cheese-y videos, snap pictures, and record the lessons I learn from the REAL Chinese in China: my students. No oppressive government can stop Phil Razem from speaking his mind!

If you believe in me, I hope you will read this blog post from one of the leading Chinese bloggers who believes in the power of free speech online: http://sun-zoo.com/chinageeks/2009/05/16/ai-weiwei-your-silence-and-ignorance-have-already-become-the-price-for-your-safety/

Let's pray - for you and for my own sanity - that this block is temporary!

I love and miss you all, Phil

你们好:

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The end is near. I am reminded of this by Dustin's last few posts.

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Sarah, a PCV from Gansu Province, is putting together a PCC"13" e-yearbook and sent out a list of questions for us to answer (in as few words as possible) in regards to our experience. Here are a few highlights from my contribution:

1. Favorite moment with your students: Tuesday mornings, 9:30am, Shakespeare class 3. Most useful/interesting Chinese word/phrase you learned: ren 忍6. Something you still don't understand about China after two years: The popularity and advocacy of the saying: 稳定压倒一切 "THE OVERRIDING NEED IS FOR STABILITY"7. The thing you'll miss most about China: My students, without a doubt.

8. The thing you'll miss least about China: Open-air sneezes on the bus, without a doubt. And the everyday blind faith in the Chinese Communist Party.9. Best place you traveled to in China: Beibei, Chongqing, my site.10. Best Teaching Moment: “I've never thought about that before,” said the student.11. The thing you're most thankful you brought to China with you: My individualism (个性自由gèxìngzìyóu)14. Your Greatest Moment At Site: anytime I was hanging out with my two amazing sitemates

15. Your Most Embarrassing Moment At Site: anytime I was hanging out with my two amazing sitemates

18. The thing you missed the most from home: Family, friends, the Buffalo Bills, and the infinitely beautiful game of baseball.

20. Most Disappointing Moment In China: Hearing about my students' indescribable daily hardships during the day and then running alongside BMWs at night.22. Funniest Moment: Not having any toilet paper in the school's public bathroom, but having a bag full of my students' poems. 哈哈-非常抱歉！ 24. Something you'll miss about the Peace Corps: Being in a room full of Americans just as idealistic, confused, and crazy as me.

25. Favorite dish: Pete's Texas Whopper28. Favorite[/funny] quote you've heard in China: 建立和谐社会 "To build a harmonious society"

29. Number Of Illnesses/Medications Taken: 0 (seriously!)30. Chinese cultural practices I plan to make cool back in the States: Ping Pong, Hot Pot, Pirated DVDs (shhh!), and open-air sneezes on my neighbor's face.The end is near...I love and miss you all,Phil蓝麦飞

你好妈妈!

I love you.

Happy Mother's Day!

母亲节快乐!

Your "good son,".Phil蓝麦飞

你们好!.When I am not teaching or "China exploring," I find myself doing quite a bit of research on the Internet concerning "China" and "Education." As a Western-educated teacher living and teaching in China, there aren't subjects more relevant to me than those of "China" and "Education," but surprisingly, as intense the Internet and Blogosphere is, not as many articles are written about "Chinese Education" in the English language as one might expect..So, when I come across an article that moves me, I feel I must share it with those who read this blog, many whom were, are, or will be teachers/PCVs in China. Here is the article from the LATimes:.Click!.My favorite excerpt:Ultimately for China, becoming a major world innovator -- and by extension, a robust economic power -- is not just about setting up partnerships with top Western universities or roping off elites and telling them to think creatively. It's about establishing an intellectually rich learning environment for young minds. It's about harnessing the same inventive energy of the street markets and small-time entrepreneurs and putting it in the schools..The Chinese don't need expensive free-agent scientists. They need a new farm system -- and about 10 million liberal arts professors. (Source).I guess as my China days diminish, I will begin retrospecting the lessons I've learned from my two years abroad. One of those lessons - one that I know I would have not understood unless I lived in a country like China, and taught within an education system such as that of China - is how important a liberal arts education is, and how happy I am that I received this type of education at SUNY Fredonia. My Chinese university students are bombarded with English-language grammar and translation, but get very little philosophy, real, complete literature, science, and most importantly, the arts. So much emphasis is placed on passing the test, acquiring that little sheet of paper, and getting a job to make money teaching or doing business/research with the same trite methodologies that something is lost, or forgotten in the shuffle. Defendants of this system can't drop the "Well, China is a developing country with thick traditional roots" or "We have a large population and need to maintain stability" bomb for very much longer. If China should happen to stop growing someday, I think I can take a guess [right now!] as to why it happens. China can pirate the West's Hollywood movies all they want, but they can't pirate the a liberal-arts-educated person's original thoughts. Let the Chinese education system evolve! Listen to Liu DaoYu!.And while we're at it, let's let that political system evolve too! They are linked!.I love and miss you all,.Phil蓝麦飞

你们好!

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Snack Street (小吃街xiǎochījie) at Southwest University is one of my favorite places to grab a cheap snack, buy fruit, or simply people watch under the glowing string of florescent light bulbs. It's made up of dozens of independent food sellers; the majority pack up their supplies, stoves, and tables at the end of the night and go home. Imagine a flea market, but replace the antiques with fried breads, stacked fruits, stray dogs, accumulating litter, and my favorite: 烧烤shāokǎo, or Chinese BBQ.

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Sitemate Kristen and I dine on Shāokǎo once a week or so; its cheap and delicious. Before I say too much, see for yourself:

As you can see, Kristen and I have a good time mingling with the locals, who appreciate our curiosity and friendliness (and let's not forget, our business). Permanent Snack Streets just don't exist very often in America (health codes, property rights, etc.) but in the Middle Kingdom, they are a way of life - and I am grateful for mine at Southwest University. I love and miss you all,Phil蓝麦飞P.s. Excuse the "Kristen and I's favorite..." sentence from the video. Haha! I never knew so many Grammarians read my blog! What an honor! Sadly, after two years in China I to forget how to spoke English language. 哈哈!

你们好!

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For the last two years, I have dedicated a large portion of this blog to showing how Western Culture appears, both subtly and overtly, in China, but rarely discuss when I notice parts of China appearing in the West. The obvious reason for this is "I live in China" and witness the spread and acceptance/denial of Western customs and ideologies first-hand. In a few short months, I hope to flip my observations of these cultural invasions ("invasion" is a strong word), noticing how parts of China are slowly leaking to the West.

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This is all in regards to a recent blog by one of my favorite sports journalists, Tim Graham, of ESPN. I have missed two complete Buffalo Bills seasons while serving as a Peace Corps Volunteer in China. Tim Graham blogs about the NFL's AFC East Division, and being from Buffalo, he seems to give the Bills a little more of the spotlight, and more importantly, understands the hatred Bills fans feel towards (but not exclusively - there are plenty of people and teams for the Bills to hate throughout the team's troubled history) the New England Patriots, their division rival. What Tim Graham may not understand is how one his recent blog entries might influence those Chinese who have yet to decide whether to embrace American football or reject it for a less violent and confrontational sport like, let's say, fly fishing (FYI: American football can be translated two different ways in Chinese: the literal "American football"美国足球 Měiguó zúqiú, or the much more creative,橄榄球gǎnlǎnqiu, or "Olive Ball"). This entry doesn't even need to be read to be understood. A picture is worth a thousand words:

This is not a product of Photoshop either. That's "His Holiness," or how the Chinese media/education system portrays him, "His Terrorist," the Dalai Lama...wearing a New England Patriots hat!If this isn't a photo-op, and the D.L. is, in fact, a Pats fan, then I might have to admit that the CCP and I have found some common ground to denounce the D.L. This picture just doesn't make sense to me. If anything, the His Holiness should be a Bills fan. We are the underdog, have a loyal tribe of die-hard followers, and if someone tried to sell our turf (Say No to Toronto!), we would fight to the death...forever. C'mon dude, use that righteous mind of yours! Make the connection!The NFL has been trying to plug American football into the one of the largest markets in the world, but have been less than successful. I don't think this picture will help sell any Tom Brady jerseys! Good!Let's Go Buffalo! I'm getting my popcorn ready...I love and miss you all,Phil蓝麦飞

你们好!

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Another slice of Shanghai's X-Games with Devon and her Disney English crew (see previous post):

Old sitemates, same crazy adventures in China. I love and miss you all,Phil蓝麦飞

你们好!

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Well, long story short, Peace Corps China "13" COS (close-of-service) conference has concluded. Last week in Chengdu, most of the volunteers that flew from San Francisco on July 1, 2007, plus a handful of PC "12" extendees, met for the last time together before we depart our separate ways come July/August this year.

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The conference was quick, productive, boring, and inevitably, sad. What I will remember is two days worth of paperwork concerning medical and financial matters, about 5 sessions asking the same question in several different ways - "How was your experience, Phil?" "It was interesting," Phil replied. - and finally, a conference room full of young (many in years, but all in heart) men and women passing a microphone and telling each other with as few words as possible about their most memorable moment(s) in the last 22+ months. I have had too many memorable moments in China, both good and bad, so I choose two, which developed more into short ramblings of thankfulness than actual moments:

My Shakespeare students from the past two years, for allowing me to bring them something I love and hold dear from my world...and for helping me learn and understand that no matter where you call home, Shakespeare's words are timeless and universal.Dustin, my fellow PC blogger, for pushing me to keep writing entries on this blog, regardless of how crazy (and angry) each post turned out to be. Just like running friends (You might remember Dustin and I went for a run together - and got lost together - the day before we boarded the plane to China) push each other to run faster and longer, Dustin, who must say out-blogged me by about 50 posts, kept my brain thinkin' and fingers typin'...and continues to. Dustin's reflection

Now for the fun stuff...Devon, my amazing first sitemate, after a few months in America, returned to China (I wonder what percentage of PCVs return to live and work in their country of service?) to work for Disney English, and live the high-life in probably the coolest metropolis in the East, Shanghai. After spending a few days with Devon, I told her that if I ever came back to live and work/teach in China, Shanghai would be the only acceptable city for me. It's China's NYC. It's China without the political BS that dominates other popular Chinese mega-cities (See "Beijing"), even though, yes, Youtube.com is still blocked there (I had throw that in, sorry). Shanghai seems to be moving forward, and after teaching in Chongqing for two years and watching so many "powerful people," laws, and educational and traditional road blocks holding young people back from expressing themselves, Shanghai seems like the only place for a progressive person like me (that is if I ever come back to the Middle Kingdom). I stayed at Devon's 40th floor apartment and filmed this video of the Shanghai skyline, day and night:

On May Day, Devon and her Disney English crew took me to the Asian X-Games. Despite getting sunburned, we had a blast watching the skateboards, flying motorcycles, rock climbing, drinking many bottles of Mountain Dew and eating several bags of Doritos, and watching the Chinese watch crazy Westerners nearly kill themselves in various athletic feats. It was certainly an X-treme Day. Here is Devon talking about the "cultural exchange" of the X-games in China (haha!):

Another clip from the X-games Shanghai will be posted soon.All in all, the last week was wonderful. So many old (and new) faces. But this experience is NOT over. I still have 2 more months of teaching and lots of personal tasks I still need to accomplish. July 17th, my last day as a PCV, will arrive before I know it...I love and miss you all,Phil蓝麦飞

Peace Corps China "13"

July 1, 2007 - (approx.) July 17, 2009

I love and miss you all,

Phil

你们好!

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I go to the supermarket (超市chāoshì) in Beibei every 5 days or so, simply for (mostly breakfast) foods that aren't served in restaurants - peanut butter, milk, bread, (clean) eggs, etc. - as well as toiletry items and other odds and ends. I only mention the supermarket because of who's picture I associate with it: Jackie Chan, the (former?) Hollywood action star and native of Hong Kong. As the escalator brings me down to the supermarket's ground floor, a huge advertisement for black hair dye (infamously used by 100%(?) of Chinese politicians) proclaims Jackie's smiling face. Whenever I meet new students in the classroom and we discuss the "first thing(s) you think of when I say 'China'" almost every class has someone who says "Jackie Chan." When I watched the Olympic Closing Ceremonies at Hooters in Chengdu, Jackie Chan was singing "I love Beijing, 我爱北京!" with the rest of China's entertainment elite. Yes, he is kinda a big deal in China, but when he sang "I love Beijing!" it turns out, according to a controversial statement he made a few days ago at a gathering for top Communist officials, he wasn't lying.

Chan's statement has been causing quite the debate in China, mostly on the Internet. He said, again, to a room full of top Beijing government officials, "中国人需要管zhōngguórén xūyào guǎn" or more completely, "中国人还是需要被管的zhōngguórén hái shì xūyào bèi guǎn de" which translates to "Chinese still need more 管guǎn."The character "管guǎn" is the character in question. Many Chinese bloggers (the real media in China) and Western media outlets translated this character as "to control." So, many interpreted Chan as saying that "Chinese still need to be controlled" by the government, thus advocating the CCP's tight regulations, most notably, the suppression of free speech and expression (See YouTube.com still being blocked by the Great Chinese Firewall). An explosion of criticism spread across the Chinese Internet like brush fire, calling for boycotts of Chan's films and even a Facebook group calling for him to sent to North Korea for a) supporting the suppression of free-thinking and b) more or less saying that Chinese are a bunch of sheeps who do not have the know-how to govern themselves.However, Chan, who I must say is a bad representative of China and the Chinese people for his reinforcement of Chinese stereotypes on the silver screen, may have been misquoted, or rather, victimized by a bad translation. "管guǎn" means "to be managed, regulated, governed" and not necessarily "controlled." Personally, I still don't like this statement, but we must remember a) Chan was talking to people who would probably have him shot in the ally outside the meeting hall if he didn't say these words (or something like it), b) Chan is an actor (and thus, businessman) and with his reputation at stake, the last thing he needs is his Western-funded movies being banned from Chinese theaters by the CCP, and finally c) WHY THE HECK DOES ANYONE WHO RUNS A COUNTRY OF 1.3 BILLION CARE WHAT JACKIE "Rush Hour 3" CHAN THINKS?I love and miss you all,Phil蓝麦飞

你们好!

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On my way home from Guiyang, Guizhou Province, I pulled my video camera out from of its case and thought it might be neat to "capture the moment" as the bus sailed down the highway through the Guizhou countryside. The final product, with a little editing and an amazing "off the cuff" original piano composition from my dear friend Ryan S-, is something I feel quite proud of, and will be happy to watch again in 5, 10, 50 years when America and China will most certainly be very different countries.

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Turn your computer's volume up as high as possible to appreciate this simple, personal reflection of Life on the Chinese Road:

I hope to have this video and the one from the previous post on Youtube.com as soon as possible.I love and miss you all,Phil蓝麦飞

你们好!

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During this past January at PC China's IST conference, I was asked by PCV "13" Dave (California) if I might be interested in traveling down to his school - Guizhou University 贵州大学 - for a PC-sponsored site-exchange in order to help facilitate the introductory stages of a student production of Shakespeare's Hamlet.

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"Of course!"

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Timing could not have been better. I had just finished teaching Hamlet to my post-graduate English Literature majors last week, so the play was (and always is) fresh in my mind. Sitemate Kristen decided to travel down to Guiyang, capital of Guizhou province (about 5 hours by bus), with me to visit some "14's" and help Dave celebrate his 27th birthday (生日快乐, 哥哥!). We arrived on Friday evening, met up with PCVs Todd, Jess, and Lisa, and enjoyed cheap beer, many laughs, browsed Guiyang's pirated movie scene, and devoured the local Guiyang delicacy: Bean Hot Pot. All this before the next day's Hamlet-facilitation marathon.

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I received the (only slightly) abridged 55-page script from Dave about a week before I arrived at Guizhou University, and my first thought was, "Wow, Dave's students must be English-language machines." Dave originally told me that his students were to put on a Shakespeare play for a competition in Hong Kong, but when I asked them for the details, I was both amazed and impressed that almost none of them alluded to this competition, but simply said they wanted to "challenge" themselves. And after spending the next 6 hours with these students (YES! 6 hours, with one 5-minute break and a 2-language rendition of "Happy Birthday" to Dave), guiding them through the motions but more importantly, helping each actor find his or her own dramatic identity, we finished strong with Act V's bloodbath! I don't know if I will ever see the final line of Hamlet read, followed by an uproar of laughter, again! 哈哈!

I regret not recording more of our productive afternoon; all the actors were so good, especially Hamlet (English name, Nemo, red shirt), who has so many lines to memorize...in his second language! This feat, sophomore undergraduates performing original English-language Shakespeare in China, combined with my infinite struggle to read, write, and speak in Chinese, boggles the mind. All in all, I drank about 4 bottles of water, peed twice, and at one point - around hour #5: "the gravedigger scene" - thought I was going to pass out (and die? - how appropriate!).

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I wrote Dave an e-mail this afternoon, thanking him for inviting me to participate in this incredibly rewarding experience. I told him that as this crazy 2-year performance continues its final act, I try to make every day in China special, and this past Saturday, with his amazingly motivated students and Billy Shaky's Emo King, I felt like I really helped some students not only understand Shakespeare, but feel it too. The pleasure was all mine.

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I love and miss you all,

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Phil

蓝麦飞

你们好!

With Youtube.com still blocked in mainland China (see previous posts), I continue to experiment with new websites and methods to bring you video glimpses into my life in China as a Peace Corps Volunteer. Below are three videos from a recent Waiban-sponsored outing to Diaoyucheng and Laitan, Chongqing. All these videos (and more) are on my Youtube channel thanks to my wonderful sister in Canada, but if you live on the Chinese mainland, I hope the following videos load on your screen. This is only a test:

Diaoyucheng, Chongqing Part 1 from Philip Razem on Vimeo.

Diaoyucheng, Chongqing Part 2 from Philip Razem on Vimeo.

Laitan, Chongqing from Philip Razem on Vimeo.

I love and miss you all,

Phil

蓝麦飞

你们好!

It's been about 2 weeks now since the CCP decided to shut down Youtube.com in mainland China. I've had many conversations with students about this move, and though many wish Youtube was alive and thriving in China (the website is a window into the outside world, educational resource, freethinking portal, and helped ME become Time's Person of the Year a few years back), a surprisingly high number justified the block with the trite, Party-line "If China is to respect the world, then the world must first respect China." I always ask these students to consider the vice-versa of this indoctrinated statement, which among many of their defenses include the assumption that I "can't possibly understand" because "I don't understand Chinese culture and tradition" (Are both Chinese culture and tradition advocates of government oppression? I hope not!) and their repetitive stating of the Chinese saying "稳定压倒一切 wěndìng yādǎo yī qie" which translates to "Stability is of overriding importance." Their rhetoric, which is repeated over and over again in (antithesis-longing) Op-Eds throughout the Chinese state-controlled media, scares the bejeebes outta me, especially how it comes out of their brains so fast and definite and with no flexibility, as if they were trained to "block, block block" incoming fists of criticism. To those who educate young, creative young people this way - reminiscent of GWB's "You are with us or you are a terrorist" quotation - I say, "Join the real Party." There is a wealth of Truth out there that no government should "protect" you from. To quote Dr. Seuss: "Oh, the places you'll go..."

But the inflexible, iron fist of the Chinese Communist Party will not defeat Phil Razem. The Youtube block never discouraged me from pulling out my video camera (摄像机shèxiàngji) and recording my experience as a Peace Corps Volunteer in the Middle Kingdom. This evening I will meet my younger sister on Skype, and send a fresh batch of videos to her in Canada for uploading. Check the Youtube page (link on the right-side column) in the coming days! If only the CCP knew of the inconveniences they cause a foreigner who only desires to bring his experiences with beautiful (real, 1st-hand) Chinese culture to the people around the world...

(Update! www.youtube.com/philiprazeminchina )

On the topic of freethinking, Kristen and I were among the judges of a debate contest on Thursday evening. I really enjoy judging debate compared to the endless speech contests. Debate, which I will teach my students after they finish their TEM-4 exam, is a combination of strategy, logic, creativity, critical thinking, and drama - the latter three I try to incorporate into my classes every meeting. The students impressed me, and without writing you a novel, the most interesting part for me was how Chinese Generation Y'ers are willing to say the things their parents generation would never say loud (and proud!) into a microphone, i.e. "The 1-child policy is a miserable law, and the government should change it at once!" Bravo! They are my Chinese optimism...

My students composed Concrete (visual) Poems for homework last week, and like the Adaptation Poems from the week before, I took pictures of my favorite examples. Concrete Poems are poems that use words and lines of poetry to create an image that represents the subject, tone, mood, or theme of the poem.

Read all of my favorites! (click!)Here are a few of my favorites:

If you need proof of (sometimes strange/excessive) Chinese nationalism from the 90's generation, this would do (larger print on the Flickr page link above:

And my favorite, because nothing says poetry that a steaming pile of SH*T! Don't ever let someone stop you from expressing yourself. In our dreams and creations, we are truly free...I love and miss you all,Phil蓝麦飞

你们好 ！

Testin' a new way to post videos.....

Jiaozi! 饺子! Chinese Dumpling Adventure!

Thanks, sis (我的妹妹), for your assistance! Cross your fingers, ya'll!I love and miss you all,Phil蓝麦飞

你们好!

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Before I became a Peace Corps Volunteer in China, I taught English Composition as a graduate student to mostly freshmen and sophomores at SUNY Fredonia. It was a wonderful experience. Besides facilitating a university-level writing class, I was given the opportunity to closely interact with the Department of English's amazing faculty. As an undergraduate, these professors were my heroes (they still are!), and then suddenly, I was able to sit next to them in department meetings, like a kid who comes of age watching the Red Sox, and then one day being drafted and hitting a home run over the Green Monster. One of these "heroes" was Bill Boerst, a fellow ENGL100 instructor and former Peace Corps Volunteer (Liberia III, 1963-65).

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Bill and I started talking about doing a project with our university students about a year ago. Just this Spring Festival, the idea took shape and BAM!, before we knew it, 15 of his students and 15 of mine were communicating through e-mail, sharing stories, asking questions, and most importantly, improving their English-language/writing skills. The SUNY Fredonia Campus Report did a story on it: (click or below)

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English Composition class connects students with Chinese counterparts

Monday, April 06, 2009

Fourteen students in an English Composition class at SUNY Fredonia have stumbled upon an opportunity to not only interact with students seated across the classroom — they're getting to know some from across globe as well.

Phil Razem, a former SUNY Fredonia graduate student now teaching English to college students in the People’s Republic of China, enjoyed sharing his experiences with friends and family back home in Western New York so much that he decided to find a way to incorporate it into his classroom.

While corresponding with SUNY Fredonia English professor Bill Boerst, they decided to create a similar experience for their students by developing a modern day pen pal element to one of their courses. Their students have volunteered to become "e-mail pals," corresponding regularly with each other to learn about one another's lives and cultures. So far, indications show that both sides are truly enjoying and benefiting from the experience.

Melissa Cummiskey, a freshman at SUNY Fredonia, said of her exchange, "I really enjoy learning about my e-mail pal's college experiences, family, friends, and the events that are happening in her life."

"America, to many Chinese (citizens), remains a place that only exists in their history books and through Hollywood movies," said Professor Razem. "This experience will help them gain a better understanding of our country and, likewise, help young Americans gain a better understanding of the future of China."

By the end of the semester, Fredonia students will hand-in what Professor Boerst calls "cycles" of emails: five printed pages each of e-mails from the U.S. students to their Chinese counterparts, as well as return correspondences from their e-mail pal.

"The opportunity to chat with a real American is worth a lifetime of 'A's,' Razem asserted. Not only are the students learning about the other culture, there are some practical English lessons in it as well. One of those is the concept of understanding one's audience. "English teachers love to talk in terms of audience," Professor Boerst said. "For whom are you writing? And how can you best reach that audience?" He says that, for these students, an audience is built into the project.

Both professors hope that this exchange will be a lesson not easily forgotten. These days it is common to make light of texting, instant-messaging, and e-mailing, as if such pursuits lack depth," Boerst added. "For these students, bridging miles and languages and customs may be a way to change that popular perception."

To learn more about Professor Razem's experiences in China go to the blog at www.philiprazeminchina.blogspot.com.

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I can't wait to read these "cycles" of e-mails! "Professor" Razem sounds nice too....it only it was true! Someday...

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Tearin' down the wall and buildin' the bridge!

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Bill deserves all the credit; it was his idea, and without his students' participation, 15 Chinese university students would still only have Hollywood...and their lowly Peace Corps Volunteer teacher (wink). Thanks Bill! And Thank you SUNY Fredonia!

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I love and miss you all,

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Phil

蓝麦飞

你们好!

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The CCP (Chinese Communist Party) is not earning points with this 老外(laowai, foreigner) with its blocking of Youtube (Update: no update - it's still blocked. Chinese [students] who desire the outside world are the victims) last week - not that it had earned many in the past with creating an education system in which my students constantly tell me they are "powerless" and feel ignored by those of power. This from a country's government that (secretely, but every now-and-then, deafeningly) claims its political and social ideologies are far superior to those of the West (see the new best-seller in China: 中国不高兴 Zhongguo bugaoxing "Unhappy China" for some interesting [jingoistic] opinions). A (powerless) foreign teacher who only stays in China for his (self-identified "powerless") students can't help but feel a little down when his students need to eat so much bitter - and worse, some don't even know that bitter is the only dish on the menu.

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Speaking of power and ideologies, I noticed a new sign around campus and snapped a picture. I translated one of these suspicious-looking signs in a previous blog entry from January, and since I am in a Chinese-language kick in preparation for my final Chinese-language exam at the end of this month, I decided to translate this one too. Let's take a look:

在新的发展阶段继续全面建设小康社会,发展中国特色社会主义,必须坚持以邓小平理论和“三个代表”重要思想为指导,深入贯彻落实料学发展欢.zài xīn de fāzhǎnjiēduàn jìxù quánmiànjiànshèxiǎokāngshèhuì fāzhǎnzhōngguó tèsè shèhuìzhǔyì bìxū jiānchí yǐ dèngxiǎopínglǐlún hé "sāngedàibiǎo" zhòngyàosīxiǎng wéi zhǐdǎo shēnrù guànchè luòshí liào xué fāzhǎn huān Translation (approximately):.At this new stage of development, we must continue to construct an affluent society and develop China's unique socialism by firmly upholding Deng Xiaoping Theory and "The Three Represents,"* placing special importance on direction, guidance, and persistence in order to achieve harmonious material development..* socio-political ideology credited to General Secretary Jiang Zemin which became a guiding ideology of the CCP at its 16th Party Congress in 2002. The official statement of the ideology stipulates that the Communist Party of China should be representative to advanced social productive forces, advanced culture, and the interests of the overwhelming majority. The ideology is important that it attempted to transform the Communist Party to become a ruling party representing the majority of the people as opposed to its old image of a vanguard revolutionary party driven by the proletariat. To a certain degree it legitimized the inclusion of members of the business class, i.e. capitalists, into the party. It has been criticized as a political legacy project by leader Jiang Zemin with no practical application, with the main purpose being to equate him with former leaders Mao Zedong and Deng Xiaoping, who each had their ideological vision enshrined in the party constitution. (wikipedia).The sign blazons its message louder than any other permanent signs on campus, and like the previously mentioned sign, it acts as a simple reminder of what to believe. Orwellian? perhaps. It sure doesn't feel like an advertisement....I love and miss you all,.Phil蓝麦飞

你们好!.It's April Fools' Day (愚人节 yúrénjie - literally "fools' festival"), and surprisingly, my students only mildly attempted to trick me. I strolled into my 8am class and they all giggled, so I was braced for a mutiny, but then it never came...or at least I think it never came! I did get a few text messages today from fellow foreign teachers that "Oh my gosh! Obama was shot in London!" (not funny) and a few from students who wanted me to go to a specific athletic field at a specific time because they claimed that it was haunted and needed me to "hunt ghosts" with them (funny).

I just finished reading "The Unheard" by Josh Swiller, a hearing-impaired Peace Corps Volunteers' memoir of his service in Africa during the mid-1990's. It was a great read, and since the only other real PC memoirs I have read were written by PC China's [infamous] Peter Hessler, this perspective was a breath of fresh air, full of honesty, insight, and humor that made Pete's first two years in China (no offense, Pete!) seem...well, prude.

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But the defining difference between PC China and PC Africa is that of "integration" - a word that is repeated to PC volunteers all over the world as if it was the only word that mattered in a Chinese-style English pronunciation class. Integrate Integrate Integrate! In Africa, it seems like volunteers are placed in villages where they can have direct contact with (a smaller number of) villagers, work with them directly, help and plan with them directly. In China, PCVs are little fish in a ocean stocked with billions of curious eyes, and if we do not create little microcosms of China, we never really learn who anyone really is! So whenever I "integrate" in a new way, it's worth mentioning. The latest success (if you are a past/present PC China Volunteer and you are reading this, please don't laugh!) is my mastering of QQ. (Okay, stop laughing so I can continue...)

QQ is to China what AIM is to America - a chatting service that allows people to, well, chat. However, in America, I would guess that only Gen. X and Yer's have/had AIM, but in China, it seems like everyone has it, from high schoolers to Chinese who felt the wrath of Mao before his death in '76. Whenever I receive a business card from a colleague, it have his/her QQ number directly under their telephone number, sometimes ahead of their e-mail address. To have a QQ number (not a username) is to be a part of something bigger...I have had QQ for about 2 weeks now and already I have 87 friends (Okay, stop laughing!). About 95% of them are my students who send me English-language questions, questions about culture, books, movies, or current events, or most importantly, need advice about life and it endlessly complicated mysteries! Since many of them still feel nervous calling me, and texting can be time consuming, QQ provides a quick window into my world/mind. In addition, I post a "weekly topic" to consider, this week's: YouTube.com has been blocked by the CCP for several days now. Is "stability" more important than personal freedom [of expression] in China? Your opinion?

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Some students have already answered, and, well, it doesn't look like the CCP really understands the next generation of "Communists." I have optimism...

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...and pessimism. This is truly scary -- read the comments that follow the story.

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It sounds funny, but if you are a PCV in China, I recommend diving into the world of QQ. You will learn so much more about your students' lives and [real] opinions....

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I love and miss you all,

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Phil

蓝麦飞

你们好!

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Youtube.com came back to life Saturday, but this evening, after I prepared a very special entry with a recent video contribution, the Great Chinese Firewall decided, "NAH!" and just pushed their magic block button. So, yes, let them unravel their confusion about self-identity and who and what to fear, and then hopefully this will pass like a kidney stone...

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Today I was walking to buy some fruit when I saw a small book stand selling [what I thought was] used books. I always gravitate to these makeshift book stands, seeing if they might have the answer to my Chinese language plight (no such success yet), but to my surprise, surrounded by Chinese-language novels, calligraphy books, cartoon collections and Chinese business texts, I found both "The World is Flat" (22 yuan) and "Hot, Flat, and Crowded" (18 yuan) by the NYTimes' Thomas Friedman. All together, I bought both of these books for 40 元 yuan, which is a little less than 7 US dollars - "Hot, Flat, and Crowded" retails at 18 bucks alone on Amazon. How is this possible?

Well, there are 100% fake. Hot of the photocopy machine - even the copyright page is included! Gotta love it! - unless you are Thomas Friedman or his publisher. One a side note, Mr. Friedman, in case you find this blog entry after Googling your name (for some odd reason), just know I am a huge fan, think you should be President (of any country, preferably America, but more necessary: China), and I plan on investing in your books when I return to our America in a few short months. Keep doing your thing! And maybe the next book can be on education - another relevant topic when we talk about needed "revolutions"!The lilacs have bloomed outside my apartment and it smells lovely, especially after an afternoon rain shower. If only the sun would break through these thick (and perpetual) Chongqing clouds... I love and miss you all,Phil蓝麦飞

你们好!

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Hearts, Love, Longing for that special someone, and a few more Hearts for good luck...

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As my students prepare for their grueling and, in my opinion, extremely silly TEM-4 (Test of English majors) Exam (today I had a student ask me the difference between "assume" and "presume" - do you know?), I have been trying to provide a creative, non-grammar-related learning environment where they can freely express themselves without thinking about whether the better answer is A or B. Poetry to the rescue...

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The Adaptation Poem is simple, yet requires students to a) work together, b) use what they already have, and c) joint the pieces together with their own homemade glue (metaphor) to ultimately create some new kind of flying machine. Think back to Ron Howard/Tom Hanks' Apollo 13 where the NASA crew had to take supplies already on the space craft and make a contraption that filters CO2 - duct tape here and there, a tube sock, a piece of wire wrapped around there, and WHA-LA! An Adaptation Poem!

I gave the students a list of famous/infamous lines from poetry and/or music (below) and they must write a 10-line poem alternating the list's lines with the original lines:My heart is as dry as dust.For God's sake hold your tongue, and let me love!Rage, rage against the dying of the light.The answer is blowin' in the wind.There are daggers in men's smiles.My milkshake brings all the boys to the yard. (many questions about this one)I'm bringing SEXY back!Welcome to the jungle, we've got fun and games.And my heart will go on...Girls! Girls! Girls!This is the first day of my life...Will I wake tomorrow, from this nightmare?I woke up this morning, I suddenly realized, we're all in this together.We didn't start the fire!For the times, they are a-changin'!I am the walrus!I am going to stay 18 forever...I gave the students about 30 minutes to write and decorate their poems, and then they presented them in front of the class. I took pictures of all 25 poems so you can see and read them all HERE. Many laughs were had. It's lovely to observe how free-thinking minds can start with the same exact things, tinker with them, and then finish with completely different inventions...But are they different?I think it would be interesting for a sociologist to examine my students' poems; about 80% of them seem to have the same subject matter: LOVE, whether it is lost, gained, wanted, or completely missing. Not even "love for one's country," or love for anything other than intimate human relationships. Even the poems about "growing up" and "being positive and optimistic" were about love being the missing piece of the life pie. I counted nearly 100 heart decorations before I gave up, hearted out!. I have many hypothesises for this subject choice, and I am sure if you are a Westerner teaching in China and are familiar with the (unscientific) effects of the College Entrance Exam (GaoKao) on Chinese social adolescent development, then you can put 1 and 1 together.But some poems really impressed me! I read a few that were about real issues: war, political activism (sort of), and narrative in nature. One of my favorites - just because the group didn't know what a walrus was until I drew a rough sketch for them, used the famous Beatles' line and changed it into a poem about animal rights (again, sort of). You gotta love the bloody cross in the bottom corner:

Poetry is grand...I love and miss you all, Phil蓝麦飞P.s. Sitemate Kristen is a Mexican Chef! 很好吃!

你们好!

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Sitemate Kristen and I did not have a pleasant lunch this afternoon. The topic of conversation: YouTube.com and why, as of last night and all day today, it is blocked across China.

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I use YouTube in my classroom every week for a series of "Dramatic Dialogues" (more on this in future posts - as soon as [if] YouTube returns) ripped from popular American sitcoms, used in order to inject emotion to my students sometimes robotic oral English-language skills. It's been a raging success for the past 3 weeks and so today, I thought it might be interesting to videotape it for YOU. SUCCESS! However, you will have to hold your horses because (I guess) the Chinese Communist Party thinks Youtube is not good for its people. Again, "stability" (AKA government officials keeping their unelected jobs, black-tinted BMWs, and guanxi) dominates individual freedoms.

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But why in the last 48 hours and not last week or month?

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The Internet is a-buzzin' about why the Great Firewall of China suddenly stopped YouTube from passing. This is not the first time Youtube has been blocked during my service; last year at about this time, when Tibetan monks rioted for autonomy, many foreigners captured live footage (later and foolishly distorted by CNN, which I must say is NOT affiliated with the American government - a common mistake made by Chinese) and BOOM, YouTube blocked. One hypothesis is there is new footage of the PLA beating Tibetan monks, as reported from BBC:

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The site has been carrying a graphic video released by Tibetan exiles, which shows hundreds of uniformed Chinese troops swarming through a Tibetan monastery - a group of troops beat a man with batons.

In another scene a group of men, including a monk, are beaten, kicked and choked, while they lie on the ground. Some have their hands tied others appear to be unconscious.

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The date and locations of the footage cannot be confirmed. Beijing maintains that it dealt lawfully with last years protests in Tibet. On Tuesday, a Foreign Ministry spokesman said that China "is not afraid of the internet". However, he was unable to confirm if YouTube had been blocked.

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Another, and probably more plausible hypothesis is the posting of official US-Navy on Youtube showing real footage of an incident a week or so ago involving an American surveillance ship, USNS Impeccable, and its run-in (described as "harassment") with a few Chinese fishing boats. The fishing boats mooned the American ship and tried to "snag or cut the cable to its towed sonar array." Sadly, the Chinese fishing boats didn't have their cameras rolling when it was time to be accountable for their actions. I think the below images says a hell of a lot about each country's military might...

But the real issue is how China is not afraid of the Internet, but the powers that govern China are. Many Chinese are upset too; the message boards are full of Chinese citizens and bloggers who see these blocks as a sign of a nervous and confused government, giving the country of China (I disagree with Mr. Mao - China and the CCP are NOT interconnected and reliable on each other) the P.R. problem that trails behind them on the around the world's stage like a ball and chain.So I guess you will have to wait to see how YouTube is used to bring China and the West together through education, language, pop culture, and creativity..."To those leaders around the globe who seek to sow conflict, or blame their society's ills on the West - know that your people will judge you on what you can build, not what you destroy. To those who cling to power through corruption and deceit and the silencing of dissent, know that you are on the wrong side of history, but that we will extend a hand if you are willing to unclench your fist." ~ President Barack Obama 奥巴马, January 20, 2009

I love and miss you all,.Phil蓝麦飞

你们好!

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Peace Corps China (Chongqing) 13 and 14

+ a few special extrasI love and miss you all,

Phil

蓝麦飞

你们好!

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I've written about my experiences using 6-word memoirs in the Chinese University Classroom approx. 1 year ago, and due to their overwhelming success then, I thought I should expand the lesson this semester for my English major students. Last week I gave my students the homework of writing one six-word memoir followed by a short paragraph explaining the "story" behind their 6 words.

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Read all my students' 6-word memoirs!

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My favorites:

Rock, Rock, Rock, Keep on Rockin'!I once was so much naughty!Grammar and Vocabulary make me down!No absolute fairness in this worldTry to remember, try to forgetFriends hurt me, friends save meThe stereotype sucks, the rationalism rocks!East or West, home is bestWhat am I going to do?Like a fish, but couldn't swimI will be my own boss!So lucky to be with youGot the flu, lost in schoolI never feel alone, thank youMum and I planted the treeI WANT TO BE WITH YOU!My life seems like a ladderLove me or hate me. Choose. No one knew. But I did. --- my favorite...After we looked at a blackboard full of summarized experiences, picked our favorites and explained why they "stirred our soul," students got into 5 groups and I asked them to work together to write one 6-word memoir for each of 5 "famous" persons from history (pictures taped to the front board; see above pictures link). I tried to select a mixture of Chinese and Americans, from both the past and modern society, the last person being the "most intelligent, good-looking, and overall coolest person of the five pictured." Here are some of their responses, concluding with the 6-word memoirs/autobiographies I wrote for each of these world-renowned figures (Bolded):George Washington:

First President of the United StatesHe chopped down a cherry treeI really like your hair styleWhere would America be without him?Brave hero, but he approved of slavery

Mao ZeDong:

No Chairmen Mao, No new China! (insert smiling, clapping students here)He swam across the Yangtze RiverHe made life easy and hardSometimes the hero can't resist temptationWhere would China be without him? (Good Question!)A "foreign teacher" is an oxymoron (homework was to understand this)

Bill Gates:

Money Money Money Money Money Money!Hundreds, Thousands, Millions, Billions, Trillions, WOW!Gained from others, gave to othersYou can't take it with you

Liu Xiang: (2004 Olympic gold-medalist who was injured for the 2008 Beijing Olympics, inspiring many Chinese tears)

Proving Chinese can run fast too

Run, Jump, Run, Jump, Run, Jump

Will come back stronger and faster

Love him or hate him? Decide.

Disappointed? What if he won silver? Philip Razem:Phil: 桃花朵朵开 táohuā duǒ duǒ kāi (Phil: You cause the peach flowers to blossom)Being handsome is not your fault (Trust me, I know!)I love you! Yes! Me too! (I love you too!)A bridge to a different worldAll I want is the truth!.This activity, of course, was designed to exercise students' creative skills, as well as think critically at a life and note its successes and failures ("Remember: No one is perfect"). The most interesting answers were groups' 6-word memoirs of Mao; when I put his picture on the front board, many students in the class clapped and got physically excited (wiggling in their desks) when it was him I chose from Chinese history. Some groups, as listed above, had only good things to say, but others acknowledged the many (many!) faults of Mao in their 6 words. If a class from, well, any country outside of China was asked to write this summarized moment of Mao, I am sure a very, very large percentage of them would use words like "murderer" and "evil" and "failure" etc. But the question is: How many American students would acknowledge Washington's (many!) faults like I did above?.Final note: A student in my last class came up to me and asked, "Why didn't you select any women?" I had no good answer, and for that, I apologize..PCVs! Do this with your class! and check out http://www.postsecret.com/ for inspiration. "We are more similar than different.".I love and miss you all,.Phil蓝麦飞

你们好!

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Kristen and I were walking to lunch this afternoon and decided to stop into a small grocery store to pick up a drink. To our surprise, on the top shelf of the small, upright refrigerator was my first sighting of Mountain Dew in over 21 months. For 2 RMB (30 cents or so), I bought, popped open the can and...DID THE DEW!

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The can is interesting; it reminded me of something I might find in my family's Canada, where the official language is English, but all the products are labeled in both English and French. In my experiences perusing Chinese supermarkets, this "half and half" labeling method is still rare; most foreign products - i.e. Tide Laundry Detergent, Heinz Ketchup, Jiffy Peanut Butter - are translated into Chinese, retaining only the English-language brand name for credibility. As you can see, half of the can is the standard Mountain Dew logo we (I say "we" meaning mostly young college students who don't want to drink hot coffee while buried under a stack of Shakespeare books until 3 a.m. - cough cough) know and love:And the reverse side is the Chinese translation, which I must say, looks very, very cool.

Kristen and I both knew how "Mountain Dew" could be translated - 山露水 shanlùshui, literally "mountain dew" - but on the can, it has been given the name of 激浪 jīlang, or "turbulent/surging wave(s)." Hey, I think that's pretty accurate! Just wait till Chinese start drinking this stuff and begin experiencing that caffeine-induced high, followed shortly by the disabilitating caffeine withdrawal that only another ride on the Dew's "turbulent wave" can fix! Do the Dew!

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I love and miss you all,

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Phil

蓝麦飞

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Note: In no way does "Runnin' the Great Wall" endorse or receive sponsorship from Mountain Dew Citrus Cola. Or does it?...

你们好!

Actually, there are dozens of "Muslim Noodle" restaurants in Beibei, but this specific one has an indescribable charm. DeCaprio (his spelling), who I write about often (running friend; we travelled to Beijing and ran on the Great Wall), and his girlfriend, Mary, also a senior English major at Southwest University, introduced Devon (My lovely first-year sitemate) and I to this small, cubby-hole-of-a-place during my first semester teaching in Beibei. Before I say anymore, take a look at this place, and then I'll tell you just a few reasons why this is "My Favorite Restaurant in...China." Enjoy!

I mentioned in the introduction that one of my favorite characteristics about this restaurant is the "diverse" crowd. I (try to) teach world citizenry in my classes, which is difficult when China, for the most part, is a homogeneous society (Chinese will quickly disagree and claim they have 55 minorities and blah blah blah, but the truth is, more than 90% of Chinese are of the Han majority, and "minorities" seem token and exploited in the tourism industry). However, Southwest University is a blessing due to it's sheer magnitude; it has a large(r in comparison to other Chinese universities) population of foreign students, coming from as close as Thailand to as far away as the U.S., Africa, and the Middle East. This restaurant, garnished with pictures of Mecca and whose cooks and waitresses kneel and pray on stray mats, sometimes amid the chaos of lunch hour, does not serve any pork dishes (the staple meat of most Chinese food) and prohibits alcohol. It's food and environment caters to a demographic of SWU students who come from western provinces (Xinjiang Province most notably) and countries that share China's Western border. In the video there is a cameo from one of my friends, Kunduz, who is a foreign student from Kirghistan, sitting at a table with other foreign students from, I was told, Pakistan and other Central Asian countries. Though Chinese is the most widely spoken language inside, local dialects and heavily-accented English swirl through the air. Think The Tower of Babel without the chaos, add great food! It's quite an experience, and I always learn more and more about the world and its people every time I order my fanqie rousi gai jiao fan, jia yige jidan!

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The family that runs the restaurant still presents many mysteries to me. I have learned a few details about them from DeCaprio (Mongol minority) and Mary (Hui Muslim minority), as well as from random English tutors and friends, but as for their real life story, I feel it will always be lost due to their private disposition. The lone waitress, a young girl about 13 years old, works everyday, all day, and she is so sweet and speaks really slooow Mandarin to me - "Chi Shenme?" - and then repeats my order back to me with a smile. The Laoban (boss), complete with his Muslim hat and long black beard, chuckles when I ask him, "Duo Shao Qian? 多少钱?" (How much?) and we have a friendly tradition of shaking hands every time money is exchanged. He has two little children, a boy and a girl, who can't be much older than 6. They play all day while their mother works in the kitchen, and have confessed that they aren't upset about not going to school - tragedy for me as a teacher - and I can't help but guess that they will do the same job as their older sister - bringing dishes from the kitchen and taking orders - when they grow up. Enjoy your youth while you have it! A small part of heart breaks every time I see them playin' around the restaurant with big, curious smiles, and then their older sister, sweating and carrying big plates of chopped chicken and potatoes, exits from the kitchen. It reminds me of what I have had, continue to have...and will have. And how fortunte I am.

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I hope you can experience this scene, or something like it, in your life. Life lessons and delicious food is a lovely combination...

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Finally, please click this link to learn about and possible donate to PCV Val's secondary project in Guizhou Province! She is the ultimate do-gooder and deserves all the support she needs! The task that lies before her is very arduous, and every US Dollar YOU donate will be used to change the lives of a few (many!) Chinese children who have not been blessed with the fortune YOU (unknowingly) possess! Check it out!

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I love and miss you all,

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Phil

蓝麦飞

你们好!

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A few interesting updates from the Life of Phil in China...

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Last Sunday, March 8, 2009, was "International Women's Day" (国际妇女节 guójì fùnǚ jie). Various banners hung around Southwest University's campus wishing the female population well wishes. In fact, all the female students in the School of Foreign Languages received a 15 RMB gift card, just for being a woman! However, are they "women"? I have written about this specific phenomenon before; the distinction between "girl" and "woman" is quite large in China. I've learned a great deal about "being female" from my classes, being that about 80% of my students are women...ladies...girls! Most female university students want to remain "young at heart" and, my favorite adjective they frequently use, "fresh," thus they laugh whenever I ask for a brave woman to participate, and further, shocking me when very few raised their hands when I asked if they celebrated the only day designated for being female. Being a woman in China means you are old, married, have children (or in China, a child) and are, for the most part, domesticated. This view is slowly changing as China grows and opens, but old habits die hard: women are still viewed, and especially in the mind of a man who is ready to settle down, as a house work/family servant. The most interesting tidbit of knowledge I learned about this holiday is in Chinese (I am told, originating in Southeast China) there is a slang expression - "三八 sānbā" which to any Chinese language learner would simply mean the numbers 3 and 8. Actually this slang means "bitch" in Chinese, and what a better way to say "Bitch!" than using the numbers 3 (March) and 8 (8th): The date of the holiday supposedly honoring women. John from Sinosplice wrote about this back in 2005. Happy Bitch Day?!

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Speaking of becoming a domestic servant, I had a very lovely cooking lesson from a former student yesterday. I hate cooking in my apartment; I don't see the point when I have 200 restaurants with amazing, cheap food right around the corner. But since I live in China, and it's my mission to learn as much as this culture as possible, it's nice to see, learn, and experience how China's real Chinese food (as compared to America's fake Chinese food) is chopped, mixed, stirred, fried, boiled, and steamed. Tina, one of my best students who is working on her MA in elementary English education, invited me over to her apartment and there her and I made some delicious Chinese delicacies, my favorite being homemade "糖醋里脊 tángcù lǐjǐ" - Sweet and Sour Pork. Here are some pictures:

糖醋里脊tángcù lǐjǐ (above)

"It's Chinese food...and I helped!" (see old Shake n' Bake jingle).My Shakespeare class started this morning - Act I of Hamlet - and it went well. I dressed in black (how else can one dress when "clouds hang on you"?) and screamed and whispered and laughed and cried, the way (I think) Shakespeare should be taught. I made a little mistake on board, however, when I was writing the date. I wrote "March 10, 2008" instead of "March 10, 2009." A simple mistake, probably not worth noting here, but I will admit it kinda got my heart pumping? Why? Well, last year on this day, the Tibet uprising occurred, resulting in many deaths on both sides (More Tibetans died, of course, because the People's Liberation Army (ironic title?) have the guns). I doubt anyone in the class made this connection, but I did instantly, even though I wrote it subconsciously. I don't want to write too much here about the situation in Tibet because I know my students read this blog and if I say the "wrong thing" (aka, anything in support of the D.L.), I don't doubt they will hate me from this day forth: a reaction I don't blame them for - they are the products of Deng XiaoPing's "political re-education reform" after the 1989 T-men Massacre, which I must say again and again, is not discussed in schools in China. Or, worse yet, they would just dismiss me as another "fell-fed foreigner who has no business criticizing China" as said by China's future President, Xi Jinping, who I must say has very poor diplomatic skills with such a quotation. I think my students and I both know the situation in Tibet isn't going away. Sadly, I care about them too much to bring it up in debate lessons, which might (I have been warned) result in me getting the boot. They can't even begin to try to understand; every video with the D.L.'s speaking is blocked on Youtube. Like Hamlet, that's a real tragedy. Thanks Mr. Deng! You've made my job sooo fulfilling... (that's "sarcasm" for my Chinese readers)..Men: Be kind to women. We need them! Women: Don't stop fighting for your rights. You've made a lot of progress, but there is still work to be done in both America and (especially) China..I love and miss you all,.Phil蓝麦飞

你们好!

Introducing Zappa!"For BRAIN POWER!" "Zappa! is an all natural supplement that stimulates brain activity. Popular with American university students during Finals Week, it can be taken directly or mixed with the beverage of your choosing. It aids memory, recollection, and mental alertness!"

Now before you start thinking I am trying to sell homemade heroin on the blog, hear me out! At the end of last semester, I gave my students a take-home "final exam": Shirley Jackson's 1948 short story, "The Lottery" (click if you haven't read it) and asked them to write a simple 1-2 page composition detailing their reaction to the story's "ridiculous" (the most popular adjective in their essays) ending and how the story was relevant to personal experiences from their own lives. I gave the assignment and said nothing more. All Spring Festival, I read hundreds of these essays, collected interesting quotations from a select few, and just this past week addressed the story/assignment to the class. But before that....I want to thank my lovely mother, who sent me a huge crate of Zappa! in the mail. I chopped it up into small cubes and passed out tissues to all my students. I used a pair of Peace Corps-issued tweezers to disperse the Zappa!, because every American college student knows you can't touch Zappa! with your bare hands or the active chemical in it would be compromised. I gave myself a cube and, after raising my tissue, stuck the tip of my tongue onto the small cube and pulled it into my mouth, chewing quickly and then swallowing. The class followed. The class quickly started, we did our speaking/thinking exercises, and after a 10 minute break, we started talking about "The Lottery" and the things they said in their essays (NOTE: If you want the handout with the complete quotations, send me an e-mail). Here are a few of my favorite quotations:"Today, we still follow like sheep. When seeing a report in the newspaper, we believe it without thinking; when knowing a piece of news from the TV, we accept it; when hearing an inflammatory speech, we respect it. But is it true? Is there something phony? Is there a stereotype which puzzled our right decision?...Because of conformism (conformity), we lose our creation; because of conformism, we stops thinking, because of conformism, we human being degenerate to animals""We cannot tolerate to see the situation in Tibet worsen like in DRC, not let Taiwan be independent as Kosovo, not have an election like America does. We hold different history, different culture and different backgrounds. The tree that bear fruits in the outsider are unquestionably cannot always grow well on the soil of China""Sometimes opposition is not enough. Last year, almost all the students in our major asked the school to change a better dormitory for us, or at least gave us a shower. We wrote a letter to school and we all signed our name on it. But our school didn’t take any action, and in other words, our school just ignored our request. Though we felt very angry about it, we can do nothing. Perhaps we need to adapt ourselves to our environment."And a quotation that received many laughs and nodding heads:"It seems that people can only be happy when they see others unhappy. I have to admit that I have also had this kind of feeling. My friend ____'s boyfriend is gorgeous and they look very happy. I really envy them. Once ____ had a quarrel with her boyfriend and cried in front of me. I felt sorry for her and tried to comfort her. I could feel the smile inside my heart. That was true. I could feel it and even hear it."We talked about these quotations; some students said some really interesting things that I believe aren't normally shared in a Chinese university classroom (setting aside tradition for modernism, wanting a say in political affairs, etc.) but there was still many who regurgitated the Party line: "The West should stay out of our affairs. The monks in Tibet like their hard life - it's part of their culture." The Peace Corps and SWU told me when I arrived that I shouldn't talk about the "Three T's" (Taiwan, Tibet, and 19_89 Tian_an_m_en - the last still being too controversial to discuss in a classroom) but I slowly start to see I don't need to bring them up in class - the students make connections themselves. That is wonderful. And finally, in the last 5 minutes of class, I ask the students where their Zappa! is, and ask them why they ate it. "You did it!" they yelled. The week before, I gave everyone a fortune cookie my mother had actually mailed from home. They were primed for receiving presents. "Guess what? Zappa! doesn't exist...I made it up. It's poison - (Phil looks at his watch) - you have 5 minutes to live." The class sits back quickly and stares at me with a mixture of curiosity, catharsis, and pure fear. "Just kiddin'" I say. "What how many things are like Zappa! in your life? How many things do you just accept and put into your body or mind without thinking for yourself? What is your Zappa!?"Heads nod, small smiles, working brains. Of course, maybe they will never trust me again. But I would rather have them not trust me than compliantly shallow without first deciding if they want to put something in their mouths/minds. "Never forget Zappa!" I tell them before the bell rings. What's your Zappa!?I love and miss you all,Phil蓝麦飞References: Lu Xun's "The Medicine"Zappa! is just Chinese snack food called 禄豆糕 I bought in Guangxi Province. Hard Bean Cake. 不好吃!

你们好!

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In his 2005 book, A Man Without A Country, Kurt Vonnegut wrote, "If I should ever die, God forbid, let this be my epitaph: THE ONLY PROOF HE NEEDED FOR THE EXISTENCE OF GOD WAS MUSIC."

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This past weekend I journeyed down to Chongqing to NUTS, a rock/punk music hall recommended to me by one of my students.

China's music scene is dominated by pop. Pop stars' faces are all over television commercials, billboards, and food packaging at the supermarket, and their voices seem to be perpetually singing a harmonious ballad of triviality. Very rarely do I meet a student who tells me that they enjoy a genre that's not pop music - sometimes they say they like Jay Chou, calling him "Rap" or Hip Hop," but trust me, he is a sheep dressed in wolves' clothing. As a music lover who involuntarily pushes the (shallow) pop genre as far away from my ears as possible, living and listening in China has not been the most pleasurable musical experience. In short, I learned another valuable aesthetic characteristic of American culture: musical diversity...or at least America's promotion of diverse genres of music, compared to that of poppy (poopy?) 中国.

But that's not to say that China's music scene is hopeless. Club Nuts is a needle in the haystack, and judging from my experience there, a source of new creation and individualized expression in a vanilla world. I met up but PCVs Scott and Megan, took a cab to the venue, paid the 25 RMB cover, and walked into an small cement-box concert hall holding maybe 150 people. The band was local and to our surprise, played 1/2 their set of songs in English, claiming their indie-rock, New Age sound was heavily influenced by The Cure. The band's lead singer was female (think Karen O from the Yeah Yeah Yeahs), had large, round black-framed classes and short auburn-dyed hair. They wore a conservative green dress with bright yellow tights and neatly laced Converse high-tops. Her voice was high and resonate, and she subtly swayed in pulsing colored lights. The band members, all men, played to precision, and more than once I looked over to Scott and Megan and yelled, "These guys are legitimate!" They received hordes of cheers from the crowd of Chinese musical outcasts (and a few foreigners), many dressed with their own Bohemian flair, ending their set with a cover of Coldplay's "Yellow" (with Chinese characteristics)! 哈哈

In all honesty, the experience was rejuvenating. I lose faith in China sometimes - the suppression of university students' creativity, especially of those who are supposedly studying a subject in the field of "Humanities," is fuel in my fire - but now and then, I've learned how something as simple 1-hour rock n' roll show, with performers who probably failed the GaoKao (College Entrance Exam) with all-time lows, can recharge my optimism in the Middle Kingdom. Rock n' Roll...the best diplomacy!Picture TAG: ClubNutsI love and miss you all,

Phil

蓝麦飞

你们好!

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The first week is done and on the record. I thought it went pretty successful. During the winter break, my students have been in their hometowns for 2 straight months with very little English-language exposure, so the mission of Week 1 was to "pull them" (Insert image of me pulling an invisible rope in front of the room) back to the world of English I try to create during our 90 minutes together each week. The below image is our theme this semester - the students fired off their interpretations! What do you think our goals are this Spring? If you read this blog regularly, you already know that there are two pinnacle skills I feel obligated to facilitate for my Chinese university students (taken from my Spring 2009 Syllabus):

Creativity – See the world around you in new and innovative ways. Use what you know and have and invent and transform! Be unique and original! Search and find life in everything！Don't be afraid to be different! It might be uncomfortable at first...maybe seem foolish - But it's not foolish at all! It's invention!Critical Thinking – The empowerment of inquiry, or the power a person feels when he or she has the ability to reflect and search for the Truth ("capital 'T'"). How do I feel about something? Why do I feel this way? How and why do others feel differently than me?Both of these skills are neglected by the Chinese Education System and students are almost never exposed to any classroom pedagogy that utilizes either. Since the students have a dreaded country-wide exam (TEM-4) next month, I've decided to focus most of the first 6 weeks around the first skill - creativity - and have them a) write poetry and b) perform various learning techniques that use a discipline very close to my heart: "Dramatic Pedagogy" or "Enactment". Enactment is, quite simply, creating situations in which we "imagine to learn" (Wilhelm and Edmiston, 1998). Let's take a look at two popular first class activities from this past week.

The Stick:

"What is this? A stick, yes. But tell me more! What do you see? Bamboo, yes, it is bamboo. But do you think it could be something more than just a bamboo stick? Let's look at it for 5 seconds. What could this stick be? Create! Create Create!"

"Yes! A javelin! Yes! A flute! A Harry Potter broomstick! A calligraphy brush! A stick of sugar cane...Delicious! A pole vault! A telescope! Gimme more!"The Paper Platform:

"Okay, get into groups of 5 people. Here is your platform. Your mission is to see how many people from your group you can get off the cement ground and onto the piece of paper in front of you. Start slow! 1 at a time! Ready...Go!"

Both activities produced some interesting answers and performances. After both, the students understood or began to understand why both are relative in the classroom and most importantly, in their lives as active learners and planners. They began to recognize each other's strengths (girls with high-heels had an advantage on the platform; boys with muscles could carry each other/smaller girls) and weaknesses (trying to have everyone start on the platform and then try to balance) and compared this collective cooperation activity with the previous "Stick" activity which dealt with individualized creative expression. All in all, the students did a great job...

The very lovely Mother Razem sent me a box of Chinese fortune cookies over Spring Festival (Chinese restaurants in China don't give customers fortune cookies after the meal, much to the sadness of first day tourists in China, and a custom completely unknown to my students) so I handed these treats out and asked them to read each other their "fortunes". Some did not understand their pieces of wisdom so I tried my best to explain. May favorite fortune of the week:

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"All the water in the world can't sink a ship unless it gets inside"."Who is the ship? What is the water?" A lesson everyone, indiscriminate of country or culture, can learn from....I love and miss you all,.Phil蓝麦飞

你们好!

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I apologize for not posting for the last week or so - CLASSES HAVE STARTED! That's right! and I will be updating you on my (successful) first week of my last semester teaching at Southwest University in the coming days.

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In celebration of sitemate Kristen's younger brother, Tim, visiting his big sister in Beibei, our Waiban took a small entourage to a fancy Hot Pot restaurant, so I thought this would be the perfect time to capture this "cultural culinary experience" on film for this blog (and, of course, the next round of PCVs coming to China this summer). Enjoy!

I think this video provides a small (or maybe large?) insight into the importance/effects of strong Baijiu 白酒(Chinese "white wine") as a quintessential element of the Hot Pot experience, as well. I think my favorite part of the evening was the last minute or so - that 5 minute taxi ride felt like 10 seconds! Ha! That's what the Peace Corps calls "integration".

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More in the coming days!

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I love and miss you all,

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Phil

蓝麦飞

你们好!

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As I mentioned a few blog posts ago, I gave my students one simple assignments for their long, nearly 2 month Spring Festival break from classes: write me 1 e-mail, updating me on their lives away from our classroom. Classes start this Monday - I have been planning non-stop for the 48 hours or so - and, better late than never, my mailbox is being flooded with 20-30 e-mails/day from students who, in some cases, haven't been in front of a computer in weeks because they either lived with their grandparents during the break or their home doesn't have/can't afford Internet access. I reply (or at least try to reply) to everyone (some students forget that I don't necessarily read Chinese too well), usually with a short and sweet message of thankfulness that he or she survived all the fireworks that were inevitably being set off all around his or her limbs and face (Yikes!).

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Many of the 150+ e-mails are the same: students talk about the delicious foods they ate, the friends from high school they were able to see again, the endless games of Mahjong, and in some cases, meeting their very own Mr. or Miss Right. However, there were some highlights. I picked 3-4 e-mails - no names mentioned - that stuck out from the bunch with humorous and/or sentimental anecdotes (pasted as original e-mail).

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The first is from a student who desired to improve his or her spoken French during the break (yes, my students have a 2nd foreign language as well!). I thought this e-mail was great because he or she described a scene that can me found in every 21st century classroom, indiscriminate of country or student - the diligent juxtaposed with the straight-up lazy:

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There were two [people] in the training class who left me a great impression. One is a middle-aged man.He has to learn French because he is going to imgrant to Qubec,Canada.Maybe because he was not in the time of study any more, he couldn't understand the classes very well. Sometimes he raised some questions that was stupid enough to throw the class into laughter. But he did not lose heart. He was the last one to leave the classroom in the evening. He was not ashamed of his innocence and continued to ask questions. I got moved. There was also a girl who impressed me . It was her third time to take this training class because every time she took this class, she spent most of her time playing around and learnt nothing when the class was over. She came from an extremely rich family and she lived extravagantly. She told us she bought a new cellphone every year for the simple reason that she would get tired if she used one cellphone for more than a year.She was wearing heavy make-up and seldom attended class in time.I don't like her.

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My reply: "I don't like her either."

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Another student sent a long e-mail about his family's Spring Festival and then concluded it with a short, 3-sentence-long story with a few pictures that could have filled pages:

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Let me share one of my interesting experiences on the mountain with you. One day, when we were playing games on the mountain, I found that my uncle's dog was missing. We searched for a long time but it didn't appear. When we were about to leave, the dog appeared, it jumped up and down and threw an object to us. Guess what? It was a big hare! Oh my god! Our dog caught a giant hare which weighted 5 pounds! That night, we cooked that hare, the meat was very very delicious! .

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I laughed, partly because of the "coming-out-of-nowhere" last sentence and remembering a much younger Tootsie (The Razem Family's daschund) bringing dead baby rabbits into the house...and moreover, onto my parents' bed in the middle of the night. Why didn't we cook all those "hares" up, Mom and Dad? Delicious!

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Lastly, a sentimental message I just want to remember, or rather, post to remind myself of the the real reason I am here in China - to help. My students may not know it, but they are one of the only reasons I have morally-survived China for almost two years. They are my rock...and without even knowing it, their country's rock:

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Dear Phil, honestly speaking, you are the teather I like and respect most among all the teachers who teach me in my college. That't neither because you are the only foreigner who teach me nor you are a handsome man, more important, you teach us with your heart and soul! I like your creative teaching style(that's also the reason why I didn't miss even a lesson last semester). Your class is full of passion and enthusiasm, and the final aim you teach us is to develop our creativity, which is not only useful for ourselves but also for the fate of our whole country! In your lesson, you give us couragement as much as you can, you make us see the hopes of our English study. I know my English is very poor, however, you give me 90 point in last semester, which is the highest grade I have got in college so far. Thanks a lot! It's you who give me enough motive to study and practise hader and harder, to gain more and more progress in the next semester. I know that next semester wiil be the last semester you teach in China. All my classmates are very sad about this. We like you at the bottom of our hearts, however, we can understand you have your own dream to persue, you have your own country to come back. Just fly as you like! we are for you forever!

Last but not the least,I have three wishes to you:first, I wish you had a promising future;second, I wish you don't forget us--your chinese sincere friends forever;last, I wish you can consider china to be your family, your home. Don't forget me! don't forget China! Yours, ________

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How could I forget?

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I love and miss you all,

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Phil

蓝麦飞

你们好!

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First, thanks to all for reading this blog. I have been getting more than an average number of comments and e-mails - mostly well-wishers - and it feels nice to know people use this blog as a source of information about China and/or Peace Corps Volunteers in China. If you are reading this, please know I spend many hours a week writing, snapping pictures and filming my experience for you.

Last night, I opened my apartment door and collapsed into bed after a 6-day excursion through Guangxi Province. Only an hour flight away, I left Chongqing last Monday with Keegan, a foreign teacher at SWU, and planned to meet up with sitemate Kristen, PCV Lisa (see Sanya trip), and Rob, a SWU foreign teacher who had been making his way around Southeast Asia before arriving in Southeast China. It was another great gang of travelers:

We had three destinations on our agenda: Guilin, XingPing, and Yangshou. Guangxi Province is known for its beautiful scenery - most notably, its limestone pinnacles that rise high above small villages, carved by the Li River - so many Chinese and foreigners alike snap millions of photos a year to capture its natural beauty. Kristen and I have had several conversations about Chinese aesthetics, concluding that the most recognizable appreciation Chinese have, whether observed from ancient paintings to modern-day television commercials, is with nature and serene environments. XingPing, the first stop after arriving and spending our first day in Guilin, is a run-down, poor town with crumbling buildings and dusty roads, but it has one shiny gem of Chinese beauty that is seen by Chinese consumers everyday: The picture on the back of the 20 yuan bill. Take a look!

Right in the middle of the 20 yuan bill is a man on a bamboo raft, which happens to be one of the most popular tourist trap in XingPing - an attraction we 5 Americans couldn't refuse! So, on the last day before heading to Yangshou, we bamboo-raft-floated down the river for 2 hours for not much more than 4-5 US dollars a person. Funny though, when we jumped on to our raft we noticed it wasn't bamboo at all, but PVC piping painted green to resemble bamboo! So I guess our experience was entirely genuine...Yangshou is the most popular city around Guilin, catering to tourists who want to buy jiade (fake) goods - I bought a pair of NorthFace pants and a NorthFace Jacket (probably selling for over 150 dollars in America) for 120 yuan (roughly 20 US dollars) - and eat western food, drink coffee, and take in the natural scenery around them. We stayed in a cheap hostel built right inside one of the limestone pinnacles, snacked on wood-fired pizza, drank cheap local beer, and walked in and out of the mazing streets all day, finally retiring to the roof of our hostel at night for some stories and laughs. The weather was beautiful - 70 degrees for most of the trip - so we decided to rent bikes one day and ride through the countryside (this was my most memorable moment of the week). I hadn't rode a bike in years, so it felt good to feel the wind in my face and tires spinning in front and behind me. We shared the both cement and dirt paths with water buffaloes and cows, as well as SUVs and tour buses packed with "yuppie" Chinese escaping the city life. For a moment, it looked as if we were in Southwest America in the late 1800's - mud bricks homes, water wells, and livestock roaming everywhere, all with giant stone mountains jutting out of the rocky, sun-scorched earth. After we returned the bikes, it felt like I had used muscles in my legs and butt that, even with all the running I do, had never been used before.

Rob's girlfriend, Jamie, who is a 4th grade teacher in Hong Kong, arrived towards the end of the trip to celebrate Valentine's Day with him/us (most mostly him...booo!) and we all chatted about the failing education systems in China (and America - please click this: America's "Greatest National Shame" and as a teacher, I agree with Nicholas Kristof's every word) and how Obama's stimulus package might (might!) turn things around for America by FINALLY funding education-related projects. I was able to keep up to date with a few current events while I was away from my regular blogging. Two sad events occurred: first, a hotel was almost entirely ruined and killed a fireman in Beijing by some misguided fireworks ignited by some misguided people, just a baseball-throw-away from the brand new CCTV Tower (a building, on some days, I wouldn't mind if caught fire and burned down, as long as no one was in it) and a plane crashed and killed 50 people in Buffalo, NY, my hometown. This story, being felt so close to home, did not make the turbulence on the flight back to Chongqing comfortable at all. I said a little prayer for them and for the Chinese captain flying me back to rainy, miserable Chongqing. It really makes us appreciate what we have...now.School starts in a week - Last semester at SWU!Please enjoy the pictures - they tell the story much better than I ever could!

Picture TAG: Guangxi ProvinceI love and miss you all,

Phil

蓝麦飞

你们好!

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I am guessing that Peace Corps Washington has sent out those infamous invitation letters to Peace Corps China's "15" group (15th group to come to China); I have received e-mails from a handful of invitees, asking for advice and whatnot, all friendly. I thought, since the most I could possible give these new volunteers as way of advice is my blog address: "It's all on there! Happy reading!"

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But I am just one experience. I thought it would be helpful for them (as well as for all my readers) to check out a few other current Peace Corps China blogs:

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Dustin: 1 and 2 (click!)

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Val: Click!

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Nick and Alison: Click! (this blog has a much longer list of PCVs with blogs)

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Patrick: Click!

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Katie: Click!

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Todd: Click!

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There are many more, I am sure. In fact, if you know of another PCV with a blog, please let me know and I will add to this list!

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Welcome Peace Corps China "15's"! You are in for a wild ride!I love and miss you all,

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Phil

蓝麦飞

你们好!

I've lived in the same apartment for approx. 19 months now and have only taken a few pictures here and there of its layout. My family and friends have requested to see its insides for some time, so I did a 1-shot, no takes, MTV Cribs version of "My Peace Corps Apartment." With filming this fast 6-minute tour, I hoped to clarify two very important points about Peace Corps Volunteers, as well as present a question, which I follow with a meditative "hmmm" at the end of the video:

1. Not all Peace Corps Volunteers live in mud huts. (But those who do deserve the utmost respect!)

2. I did not choose this apartment. It's too big and just plain frivolous.

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"Do Peace Corps Volunteers in China need the luxuries the Chinese education system gives us?" Maybe paid foreign teachers need these accommodations, but we are here as volunteers, fully prepared to live in a mud hut, which many call home in China, if need be.

Filming yourself is a funny thing - something I have never done before. I think all Peace Corps Volunteers talk to themselves (too much time alone) and I will be the first to admit I talk to myself all day - I see it as a way of "exercising the imagination." But when a camera is recording every word and facial expression, it's a completely new experience. I hope to look back and laugh at these videos someday, when I am old and gray... ENJOY!

I think its worth mentioning that there have been PCVs in China who have went home early ("ET" Early Termination) because they discovered the accommodations as a PC China Volunteer were better than those at home in America. They didn't like being pampered. They didn't want to be taken out for expensive dinners at fancy restaurants. They didn't want to be showered with gifts every time they did something any PCV would do for free: judge a speech contest, help a (well-connected) student, do a favor, HELP A PERSON IN NEED! He or she wanted to test their instincts and at the same time, do something to help those who were less fortunate than him or herself. It's ironic, actually, because while running I am passed on the road by BMWs driven by kids that don't look much older than me. Sometimes PCVs help Chinese who have a more financially-stable future than the actual volunteer. This happens, and I won't lie, it bothers me too - hence the "hmmmm." It's been a confusing experience.

Finally, Happy Birthday to my lovely sister - pictured at the end of the video! I can't wait to see you in a few months!

I love and miss you all,

Phil

蓝麦飞

你们好!

As a homework assignment during the Spring Festival, I asked my students to send me (at least) 1 e-mail, expressing to me (in English) what they are doing at home, what delicious foods they are eating, what fun activities/traditions they are performing, and most importantly, who they are spending the holiday with. I did this because I know many of my students will go home and not speak a word of English for 2 months and they will need all the practice they can get, but also because I miss them. They are one of the sole reason why I live and teach in a place I, for the most part, don't agree with. And I don't mean my stomach doesn't agree with its food, my patience doesn't agree with the language barrier, or my health/hygiene doesn't agree with all the spit on the ground and the air pollution while I run - these are tolerable and irrelevant reasons for not wanting to live in a place you currently call home. The real reason is much more complicated, of course. And at the same time, very simple. Cliffhanger...

Getting back to my student e-mail assignment, I was excited to see a student sent me a video of a Chinese countryside wedding. I have always wanted to see a real Chinese wedding - and by "real" I mean "traditional"; wedding planning shops are all over Beibei and they advertise wedding packages that look no different than Western-style weddings. This video, though in Chinese, is as real as I may ever see it. Have a look:

The student seemed very excited to send this to me. She said in her e-mail that she climbed on the roof a nearby house to make the video - a feat I commend her for! Notice the red cloth over the woman's face being removed by her husband (How would a feminist critic interpret this wedding?) and the bowing towards the end of the video - all traditions discussed during one of my cross-cultural lessons. The man talking is the host, or the "MC," who is pretty much the wedding ceremony's narrator and facilitator. I love Truth, as many of my friends and readers know, and I think there is a lot of Truth in this video.

More soon...

I love and miss you all,

Phil

蓝麦飞

你们好!

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I wrote in a previous blog about how the "Bush Flying Shoe Incident" affected my attitude about GWB after living in Communist China for 19 months. The simple act of throwing a shoe showed me how a free society is the only real society. I think many Iraqis are starting to understand that too - as they, for the most part, had their first peaceful election this week.

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But to my surprise, GWB isn't the only dictator getting shoes thrown at him: Below is Wen JiaBao, the Chinese Communist Party's (beloved) Prime Minister. I don't have one student who seems to dislike this man (In the Chinese media, he is constantly pictured "kissing babies" and shaking hands with Sichuan Earthquake survivors); a politician with a 100% approval rating? Something isn't right here! Have a look at what happened at Cambridge University in England:

And so the "Wen JiaBao Shoe Flying Incident" deserves equal coverage on this blog as the pair that flew at Bushie. I don't want to write too much about this because I hope to use this clip, juxtaposed with a clip of Bush's reaction to his protester, in my classes this semester (I know some/many of my students know about/read this blog) but I will ask this question: After the shoe landed a few meters from P.M. Wen and the protester was escorted out, he said, "This despicable behaviour cannot stand in the way of friendship between China and the UK," using the word 卑鄙 (bēibǐ) which means "despicable" or "contemptible." What was President Bush's immediate reaction to his own shoe-throwing protester in Iraq?

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In other news, Secretary of State, Hillary Clinton, just announced she will make her way to Asia to kick off her duties - China is on the schedule. No word on whether or not she will stop by Peace Corps Headquarters in Chengdu, but I have already sent my request to PC Director Bonnie for permission to shake a few hands if the situation presents itself.

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I was able to watch the Superbowl yesterday via my wonderful family and the magic of Skype.My sister positioned the computer camera in front of the the television at home and, with only a few minor interruptions and exercising my tolerance for poor resolution, I watched the entire game, but was sad to see the Steelers come out on top. Cardinals, even though they didn't get the rings, definitely deserved the victory. Looks like Kurt Warner's kids are going to have to wait to get that puppy...

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More soon...

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I love and miss you all,

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Phil

蓝麦飞

你们好!

Not everyday of the life of a Peace Corps Volunteer is glamorous, or even exciting. Some days just plain stink!

The water gets turned off now and then in my small development - pipes need to be unearthed, repaired or replaced by a small team of workers - but it usually never lasts longer than a few hours. Yesterday, I saw a man doing some welding on the main water pipe just outside my apartment and thought nothing of it. This morning, I found a toilet bowl full (to the brim) of what looked (and smelled) like 2-month old beef stew. I will spare you any more similes; I have been thinking of them all day.

I walked to the foreign students guest house and told the attendant that I needed some help and that my toilet was broken, having never learned the word(s) "clogged" or "overflowing with who knows' partially-digested Spring Festival Chinese sausages" (see previous blog entry). This was at 9am.

Four hours later, 2 men arrived with a special electric tubing machine and I apologized repeatedly, first because it was Spring Festival, and most importantly, I pitied them for having to open the bathroom door I sealed off for the last few hours (to ferment...yuck!). They stuck the metal tubing in the toilet - bare hands; they neglected to use the latex kitchen gloves I bought - and then the really gross part: they turned the machine on and like a blender full of liquid without the lid properly fastened, proceeded to spray "liquid Chinese sausages" all over themselves and the bathroom. I opened all the windows (to survive).

At one point, I thought they had finished. But nothing had changed. They left. To where? They didn't tell me. Hours pass. My bathroom is a mess. I send a nasty text message to my Waiban director, complaining that I have no where to relieve myself (not even close to the level of nastiness coming from the bathroom). 10 minutes later, the team plus 2 women arrive and do it all over again, plus this time concluding with a successful bypass (and manys laughs). I sure hope they all live in a place with a shower, because if I were them (and I am not the stereotypical American germ-o-phobe) I would bathe in bleach. Speaking of, I bleached my entire bathroom for an hour after they (quickly) left (without an explanation as to why this happened), leaving me their homemade crap-flavored milkshake (on the walls).

That was my day. It stunk!I love and miss you all,

Phil

蓝麦飞

你们好!

Two nights ago, I met up with PCV Patrick (you remember Patrick - aka "Captain Ahab" - from my Sanya adventure) in Beibei, who returned to Chongqing from his site in Guizhou Province to spend his first Spring Festival with his host family, only to leave 3 days later to start a long stretch of traveling with my sitemate, Kristen. I was raiding Kristen fridge for food that would spoil while she was gone and Patrick said his host family inundated him with gifts, one being homemade Chinese sausage (中国腊肠 Zhōngguó làcháng). He wouldn't be back to his site for several weeks so I said, "What the heck!" and inherited this traditional Spring Festival treat. I wrote about jiao zi (饺子) being the traditional Spring Festival food, but I would consider Chinese sausage, based solely on how many I saw hanging outside apartment windows, the close runner-up. I even captured some of these homemade "delicacies" in this SWU video, where you can see some drying in the chilly Chongqing breeze. I haven't decided how I will prepare these dangeling treats, but I will keep you posted (suggestions?)

It's been a sleepy last few days. I have been planning my upcoming semester - it doesn't start until the first week of March - and gathering materials for my teaching portfolio when I (inevitably) have to find a teaching job in the States. I have been running every night and studying Chinese whenever I can, hopefully improving my reading and spoken grammar skills. I have a long way to go, but any practice is good practice. I hope to meet up with Patrick and Kristen in a week or so for a short trip to Guilin (桂林), one of China's most revered scenic spots. On a high note, the sun is out and the sky is (believe it-or-not) BLUE in Beibei. It will be a great run this evening, hopefully with a few stars to get my eyes and imagination busy.

My apologies to my Peace Corps vegetarian readers for this meaty entry - I feel your pain! (wink!)

I love and miss you all,

Phil

蓝麦飞

你们好!

China is about to go through some interesting changes in the coming year, and with tensions high after thousands of factory closings do to a possible (inevitable!) Chinese recession (let's not forget the Communist Party of China holds legitimacy only because the economy has been growing for the last 30 years - take away the money and bye-bye goes Mr. Mao's fraternity, so says the 800 million Chinese farmers...bringing this piece of Truth into the spotlight), I like to explore the changes happening in Beibei, my Peace Corps site. For the last year, bulldozers and trucks full of earth have been going in and out of a certain area adjacent to Southwest University's "snack street (小吃街 xiǎochījie). There has been a 7-feet-high concrete wall blocking this area from the street and sidewalk, and every so often a long sign with 5-feet-high, loud Chinese characters is glued to this wall stretching for about 100 meters. I have seen this message on the bus for the last 2 months of so, so I thought it would interesting to translate this "proclamation" as I continue to study Hanzi (Chinese characters) and maybe find a little enlightenment in what needs to be said with such gusto!

全力实施城市危旧 (quánlì shíshī chéngshì wēi jiù)

房改造,不断 ( fáng gǎizào, bùduan)

改善人民群众 ( gǎishàn rénmínqúnzhòng)

居住环境 (jūzhù huánjìng)打造中国西 (dǎzào Zhōngguó xī)

部一流生态 ( bù yīliú shēngtai)

宜居城市 ( yí jū chéngshì).

天生街道党工委, 办事处 (tiānshēngjiedào dǎng gōngwěi, bànshìchu)

Translation:

"Full implementation is being carried out to renovate unsafe homes, we are continually working to improve the masses' housing conditions and build Western China into a suitable place to live. ~ TianSheng Road Communist Party Building Committee"

This, again, is just one simple example of the many (too many!) reminders the CCP government spoon feeds the masses. Block the bad from being printed, but post in HUGE characters have wonderful we are! No government deserves world credibility when it blocks its people from expressing themselves and denies resources for "the other side of the story." A booming economy (not for much longer) alone is not the golden ticket into Wonka's World Respect Factory - you must give your people real power and enable individual voice. Anything else is a society of drones and followers. My students suffer, and some don't even know it.

I love and miss you all,

Phil

蓝麦飞

你们好!

It sounded like a war zone last night in Beibei, and sitemate Kristen and I didn't do much to silence the sound and fury. I recorded the evening in two short videos, full of lights, smoke, and pure unbridled danger. Note: Count how many times I say "very nice!" This video blogging (vloging) really makes a person laugh at him or herself - I still don't think I am as scared of fireworks as these videos portray. 哈哈！haha! Or maybe the Chinese, since they invented fireworks (gunpowder), are fearless.

Part 1:

Part 2:

Happy Chinese New (牛) year!

I love and miss you all,

Phil

蓝麦飞