Update

Alright guys, I'm still having trouble accessing my blog but I wanted to share this update with you.  I dug through my thousands of pictures and chose some interesting ones to upload.  I photoshopped about 300 pictures to fix the contrast / brightness, and created a website.  

Check it out!  You can leave comments if you like.  

Remember What's Important

I am sitting here trying to post another enjoyable blog post, but my heart's not in it. Why is it that God seems to always take the good ones? While he and I weren't as close recently, I was fortunate to know Chris Ebert growing up. He too was active in our high school, and we graduated together in 2001. I remember him as being an energetic and charismatic friend to all. When most high schools can be clicky, Chris was someone who definitely broke the common mold. He was popular, but I do not believe this was because of who his friends were, what sports he played, or what car he parked in the lot. Chris Ebert was liked for how he treated us. Whether you were a close friend or the new kid, Chris would undoubtedly have a positive impact on your life. I regret to say that we had since lost touch, and unfortunately I am now halfway across the world when I heard about this tragedy. But it really got me thinking about what's important...

Today I had the difficult task of returning my students 1st homework assignment, an assignment many completely bombed. After 2 hours of reviewing past lessons and reiterating important topics, I couldn't help but sit down and open up to them. My Chinese students are stressed beyond belief. And not like many of us who knew college related stress.. These students have 8 courses a week, ridiculous amounts of homework, and Semester Finals - whose grades will be determining the students' subsequent placement into higher universities or professions (The final test is worth 70% of the course grade). I don't know if it was part of my personal grieving period, but I decided to have a short talk with my students.

I tried to explain that I understand their stress. The homework and the courses and the mounds of time spent balancing it all. But I think it's crucial to remember what's really important. Each other. Your family and your friends. The relationships you create and cultivate throughout life are what matters most. In 10 years from now, will you remember the grade you got on that assignment in Macro Economics that you stressed for weeks over? Probably not. But you will always cherish those with whom you shared that brief window in time with. It's unfortunate that we so often get wrapped up in our personal struggle through life that we lose sight of this importance. If their ever is a silver lining in such tragedy, hopefully it is that are made aware of how fragile and precious life truly is.  I know that Chris is smiling, knowing his life had such a far-reaching impact on so many people.  Even through his passing, Chris is continuing his positive impact on many of our lives, reconnecting relationships and friends who have lost touch.  These friends will gather, reminisce of the good times and past experiences, and remember Chris for the wonderful person he is.  Chris, our window of time was too brief, but I feel blessed to have shared it with someone like you.

In Loving Memory of Chris Ebert: a Facebook Group

Like a Bull in a China Shop. Literally.

WHEW!  Man have we been busy!  Since classes started and we got into the swing of things, Karen and I have been working nonstop!  200 students need English names, and each of them obviously want a name similar to their given Chinese name, or perhaps a name that means something that they are interested in like water, beauty, strength, and Kobe (he’s HUGE here).  It all takes a lot of work.  More so, it’s all very time consuming.  See my laptop screen below?  Imagine organizing 7x that much, over the course of 4 classes.  Yea yea yea, sorry that the blog took the backseat.  Hey, I don't get paid to blog.  My University demands my time :)

Whine whine, ok here's the update you are waiting for:

So I had a mini freak out last week.  After spending nearly 8 hours working on a single week's lesson plan, I could not imagine doing this routine each and every week.  Powerpoint slides, written English curriculum, spoken curriculum, it was all very daunting.  What would I be getting out of this trip? When would I practice my Chinese or visit and interact with the locals in the city? I spoke with my waiban (faculty contact) and demanded some textbooks, or at the very least some structure.  I couldn't imagine how a brand new teacher could be expected to teach at the post-graduate level with no tools!  He first told me to calm down, drink some warm milk, and to take a bath.  He was kidding of course, and then he told me some very interesting things.   "These students have studied English for an average of 8 - 10 years.  You are not expected to teach them anything NEW.  How can you?  You can't explain a new word or idea in Chinese, so it would be incredibly difficult for both you and the student" - I thought this made a lot of sense.. but I was still frustrated because I want so badly for the students to actually learn something.  I paid too much money and risked too much to come here and merely EDUTAIN.  (not educate, but entertain).  Sure, the students giggle and enjoy my poor attempts to pronounce their Chinese names.  Sure it's probably funny seeing the strange looking waiguoren (foreigner) trying to live in an unfamiliar setting.  But I wanted more.  I don't want to just teach a fluff class.  Other teachers here (with experience and better pay mind you) are teaching "movie appreciation" and "how to enjoy country music" courses.  REALLY?!!  And I am teaching post grads written English for their personal statements and master's degree applications? Come on.

My waiban’s sentiments were echoed by my downstairs and much more experienced Canadian neighbor (who also teaches on campus).  Over beers and poker, he put it very bluntly, "It's naive and perhaps a bit vain to think that while not knowing their native language, that you could teach English better than a Chinese teacher."  How true.  So I did a bit of soul searching and brainstormed what value do I have?  What could I teach them that no Chinese teacher could?  What am I an expert in? And then I had it. 

SLANG. 

Some might ask, "isn’t slang mainly used by the lower class? Why would you teach it to students?" They would be absolutely wrong. Slang is used by everyone in every context. Friends, faculty, business, sports, etc… they all use slang! There is universal slang that is used by everyone, however, there are many subcategories of slang used by specific groups. Slang can be seen as a family tree with universal slang at the top representing words that are not only used consistently in the media, but by virtually everyone. This huge category of terms and expressions spans all ages, social groups and economic groups with such common words and expressions as: "to stand someone up",  "to get one's second wind", or "to be wiped out". 

"To bend over backwards" - This phrase is commonly understood in our culture to mean "to exert an enormous effort in order to accomplish something." The literal meaning, however, is the physical act it describes, of which few may actually be capable of doing! How easy would it be for both myself AND my students to design a year long course in learning Slang and its various uses? The students already know all of the words (to bend over backwards) but they have never heard it used in this context. Abbreviations and acronyms are a large part of our daily language, many of which are used commonly. An obviously exaggerated example -  FYI, the CEO wants you to pick up a BLT and an OJ for the VP ASAP. OK? So it’s exaggerated ... but you get the picture. 

So teaching and learning slang can be both useful and entertaining, but what about the students who want to get into business? Would they have any use for this course in their professional careers? Definitely! In fact, business is notorious for creating a slang or jargon of its own. Clearly, a nonnative speaker who doesn't have a working knowledge of business jargon would be at a loss. Imagine someone not familiar with idioms being told during a meeting that he or she "has the floor" or being asked to "take the ball and run with it." ASAP and FYI are common in the business place as well.

 "I don't know who blew the whistle on Ernie, you know, the paper pusher in accounting? He is going to get hung out to dry by the big wigs for calling in sick again. If he doesn't pull it together soon, he's gonna get canned, and cush jobs like his don't grow on trees!"

So basically I’m excited.  Class went extremely well today, my students learned the various forms of elementary slang terms, where they ranked on my invented 1-10 “Formality Scale”, and appropriate situations and audiences in which to use them. From [ Yes/sure/yeah/of course/you bet ] to [How do you do/Good afternoon/Hello/Hi/How are you/How’s it going/Hey/What’s up]. It was humerous to hear the students struggling and practicing words that we as American’s take our understanding of for granted. 

Sometime in the next month I will teach a sports oriented slang course: 

• BASEBALL: to field a phone call, to be home free, to come out of left field, to be in the ball park, to be out of someone's league, to pitch ideas, that's one strike against him/her. 
  
• BOATING: to be on an even keel, each man for himself, to go down with the ship, to like the cut of someone's jib, to shape up or ship out, to be smooth sailing, to take the wind out of one's sails. 
  
• BOXING: to go a few rounds with someone, to be a heavyweight, to be a lightweight, to hit below the belt. 
  
• FOOTBALL: game plan, to run interference for someone, to take the ball and run with it, to tackle a problem. 
  
• HORSE RACING: to be down to the wire, to be first out of the gate, to be in the homestretch, to jockey for position, to be left at the gate, to be neck and neck, to be right out of the chute, to win by a nose. 
  
• SWIMMING: to dive right in, to get one's feet wet, to go in headfirst, to sink or swim, to jump off the deep end, to test the water. 

The students seem very eager and excited to be learning a new way of speaking! Who knows, if they keep this up, I will have to incorporate a few “movie appreciation” days into the monthly calendar. Except my students hopefully will understand more of the dialogue compared to those in that FLUFF class (They watched 'Forest Gump' today). Maybe even a “music appreciation” day with the breakdown of some popular lyrics? Nah… who can attempt to explain to AMERICANS what today’s music really means..

Got a chip in my engine,26 inch rims,

got fade away money,b*tch i'm ballin out the gym,
got my old school pumpin,hit wheel, on recline,

if you think a n*gga broke,you out yo monkey ass mind,(yeah)

diamonds on my pinky,(yeah)hand on the pine,
touch and die, yo mama do the second line(yeah),

screens fallin from the sky,
syrup fallin in my cup,
old school chevy, thang,
comin down(n*gga), what,
got diamonds in my mouth,got som gucci on my seat,
got g's on my(ay)bitch its cold when i speak,
got a freak on my arm, got a charm around my neck,
you can gone pass the mike,
watch i'm bout to catch wreck,
still screamin out mayne,
pistol in my hand,southside so thowed(born in the game),

big face on my chain,84's on the frame,
big bodies comin down, hoggin up both lanes,

stuntin(stuntin)is a habit,
get like me,
Have you ever seen a chevy with a - (get) get like me

Have you ever seen a chevy with a - get like me
Have you ever seen a chevy with the butterfly doors,
stuntin (stuntin) is a habit

And David Banner’s “Get like me” is still in the top 3 on KUBE’s playlist at the moment.. This is sad in so many ways.

Lyrical Genius

Seahawk Sunday

6,000 miles away, Karen and I representing for our Hawks!  Because there is a 15 hour time difference, we have to watch Sunday's games on Monday...  Yes, I spent half of my first months salary on NFL Game Pass, which allows me to watch every single NFL game up to 48 hours after it ends.  Yes, it was worth it.

Beer and Football on Monday morning.  Now if my fantasy team will get its shit together I'd be set...

It's been a long time, I shouldn't have left you.  Without a dope beat to step to;  step to, step to step to....  Sorry for the delay on updating this blog, it's been a very busy week!  We have finished moving into our apartment here on campus.  It's actually located in a district of the beautiful city of  Qingdao, called Huangdao.  A bit remote and 20km from the nearest city, its not what we had expected.  The actual coastal city of Qingdao is a little over an hour away, by ferry.  I can't speak for Karen, but I have warmed up to this campus and its surrounding Mom&Pop-markets.  With 25,000 students at this campus location, there are more than enough shops to cater to them all.  Who knew that barbershops were so popular?  There's probably 15+ located on or next to campus.

On the 2nd day we were here, Karen and I met a 2nd year Post-Grad student named Frank.  He was apparently good friends with the American teachers who had occupied our apartment last year.  It was a little strange at first, someone coming over to your apartment and saying he wanted to be friends.  Thank God he did.  Frank has become like our guardian angel, helping us to settle in and understand this country and the place I will call home for the next year.  Hard working, intelligent (Mechanical Engineering Major and teacher), and athletic (pretty dece at Basketball, Ping Pong, and Soccer).. Karen referred to him as quite the catch.  I think someone's got a crush ;)  Seriously, I have to give this little shout out because without him, we would still be lost, I'm sure.

Today is the last day of our freedom from the responsibility of teaching.  Tomorrow at 8:00AM, I will face my first of 4 English writing classes, each with over 40 eager students.  At first, I was frustrated and upset with the curriculum, or should I say - lack thereof.  We met with the foreign teacher faculty,  who laid out their expectations.  Each teacher is required to design and implement a full curriculum; from daily lesson plans, tests, and semester long grading metrics.  We are given no textbooks, no structure, and no materials; just a slap on the ass and a "good luck!"   

After freaking out for a few days,  I acknowledged the true freedom that this situation gives me.  The administration only cares that the students attend class and learn something from this native speaker.  In addition, I learned that as teachers, we have access to Powerpoint in the classroom!  My lesson plans are now image filled, colorful, exciting presentations.  It takes a while at first to create decent material, but it's getting easier.  I will let you know after this week how it was received!

Remember when we used to complain about dorm life in the states?  It's nothing compared to the students' living conditions here.  The students sleep 4 - 6 in a room on bunk beds.  They do not have a kitchen or shower in their building.  The students walk to a communal hot water spout and fill a thermos, to wash their hair or make tea.  There are a few public showering areas on campus, and by the smell walking by - I can only imagine the conditions inside.  And in the winter, to save water and power, students are regulated to 1 shower per week.  But no one seems to complain...  as I understand it, students are accustomed to it and many (if not most) unfortunately came from similar living situations at home.

The incoming Freshman class is required to complete 10 days of intense military training before beginning their university career.  They too get up at 6:30AM from the militaristic bugle blaring.  And by "get up" I mean get out of their dorms.  The floor monitor (like our RA) reports anyone who is in the building past 6:45AM.  All students must get up and begin their day, walking for exercise in the morning, eating breakfast, and beginning class at 8:00AM sharp.  This means that for the past 7 days, the entire Freshman class (5,000+), all dressed alike in uniform, has been training and marching around at the crack of dawn.  So why do I care you ask?

"yī! èr! sān! sì!"

Literally 1,2,3,4.. a phrase that I won't mind never hearing again for the rest of my life.  It is seemingly a competition between the regiments of marching students who can yell the cadence the loudest.  Nonstop for 8 hours a day.  Every day.  Did I mention their is an open square next to our living building?  A convenient spot to hold these shouting competitions don't you think?  Yea, they thought so too.

No walking with long steps!

Found along the edge of a scenic walkway along the river

Who the hell is A1?

Every morning at exactly 6:30AM, a militaristic bugle sounds.  It plays for about 2 minutes and then is followed by 15 minutes of blaring music, played over the enormous, campus wide intercom. The students all file out of their dorms for morning exercise, while yours truly continues to sleep.   The same obnoxious routine repeats itself between the morning and afternoon school periods, at precisely 12 o'clock noon.  Today Karen and I were busy eating some Ramen-esc noodles I had cooked up, watching the Daily Show on my laptop, when suddenly when the music - if you can call it that - started.  Typically the genre of choice they choose to inundate your eardrums is your classical, Chinese-influenced, easy listening, non-confrontational blah (It's actually quite nice in the morning after the damn bugle nonsense).  Oh no, not today. Not this afternoon.  We were treated to a fast beat, English speaking, pathetic excuse for music, boyband.  Blaring across campus for an excruciating  four minutes, it started out softly.  I thought we were in store for more of the same, but as you can see when you watch this video, it gets painful quick.