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asia2themacs-blog · 7 years ago

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Most weekdays...

Most mornings we get up later than planned and are in a rush. (Some things never change). If there is time, one of us will usually shower. Our shower consists of a nice, smooth, flat, marbled stone floor with sliding glass doors and a modern showerhead. The other side of the shower, however, is a full length window looking out at an identical apartment building about 200 feet away. Yes, it is a clear window from floor to ceiling. To protect the bather’s privacy, there is a shower rod and curtain hanging over the window.

Suzie calls the elevator while I lock the apartment door. Leaving our building, we walk across the large courtyard at the center of the seven identical towering apartment buildings. It is a meticulously landscaped area with covered spaces, a playground, simple exercise machines, and instructions how to clean up after your dog. In the mornings there are always several older, retired Chinese walking around the stone pathways while stretching their arms or using the exercise machines. Often a man is practicing tai chi in traditional dress, making the slow, graceful movements alone in a small, separate courtyard.

We walk briskly among hordes of young Chinese professionals in business-casual dress that spill out of the apartment buildings and head down to the street with us. At the bottom of a small hill, a half-dozen large coach buses are waiting for the Chinese workers. They line up and file into each bus until it is full. Each full bus departs and is soon replaced by another identical bus. I have heard that some companies provide housing for their employees in the apartment buildings and shuttle them to and from work every day. There are hundreds of them that leave on the identical buses every morning. The gender ratio of the workers seems to be 50/50, but the age range looks to be extremely narrow – perhaps between 24-28.

On a smaller scale, the school where I teach and Suzie studies also provides housing for its foreign employees and a bus takes us to and from school as well. A single bus takes employees and their children from two apartment complexes to the school which is a short 15-minute drive.

Our school is in an elegant 7-story office building. We are let in the gate by security guards and every teacher and student swipes their badges as they enter. Practically all students eat their breakfast and lunch in the school cafeteria which provides hot, cooked meals. The teachers can eat at the cafeteria for free so Suzie and I always have breakfast together before her first class. Most Chinese students, as young as 1st graders, typically eat a steaming bowl of noodles with balls of meat to which they have added spoonsful of hot chili sauce. They also drink milk from small, metal bowls. Being vegetarian, Suzie and I are usually limited to some steamed buns, bread, a hard-boiled egg, and a small sweet cake. The exception is when they have vegetarian dumplings! On these days, the food servers behind the glass windows wave me and Suzie down, point to the dumplings, and give us a thumbs-up. They drop the dumplings into boiling water for about one minute and then serve them to us in metal bowls. Suzie puts soy sauce on hers and I put soy sauce and chili sauce on mine. They are delicious! We don’t even notice anymore that there are no forks in the entire school – just a container in the middle of every table filled with metal chopsticks and spoons for soup.

The students are let into the cafeteria about ten minutes after we arrive and they line up for breakfast. Many students greet their teachers enthusiastically, especially the younger ones.

After breakfast, Suzie heads to her first class, AP Comparative Government, and I either make a quick run to the Starbucks down the street or head up to the 7th floor where I can work at a desk outside the administrative offices. I review my lesson plans for the day or do some grading before my first class. This year I am teaching Social Studies to 4th graders and Classics to 5th graders. It is my first time teaching students this young.

I am currently teaching the 4th graders about the origins and structure of the U.S. government. The school uses a U.S.-based curriculum as it is meant to prepare students for universities in the United States. Last week, after teaching the students about the separation of powers, elections, and the system of checks and balances, my Chinese co-teacher told me that the students are having a hard time understanding the content because it is so far removed from their life experience. There are no civics classes in China and the idea of power being divided or of individual citizens having any political power is hard for them to comprehend.

When I was teaching about the Declaration of Independence, I projected on the board the famous line:

“We hold these truths to be self-evident, that all men are created equal, that they are endowed by their Creator with certain unalienable Rights, that among these are Life, Liberty and the pursuit of Happiness.”

As I was about to read it to the class, my Chinese co-teacher interrupted me and asked if she could read it to the class. “Of course,” I replied.

As she started to read it, she teared up and could barely finish it. The students stared, startled by seeing their teacher choked up. “Are you crying, Ms. Chen?” they asked.

“It is a very emotional sentence!” she responded defensively. The students then turned to me. I was just as surprised as the students by the teacher’s reaction. “Are you crying, Mr. Mac?”

“Ummm….no. I guess I have heard it so many times I am just used to it.” I didn’t want to belittle my colleague’s reaction and it did remind me of the profundity of the statement – especially for its time in history.

In my Classics classes, I teach the 5th grade about the four major “classical” civilizations – Mesopotamia, Egypt, Greece, and Rome. On the first day of class, the students asked “What about China?” I responded that the four we would learn about were classical only to western civilization and that Chinese civilization was SO important that they would study it for an entire year in 7th grade, which is true. This satisfied their national pride.

Friends and family in the U.S. often ask me if students in China are different from students in the U.S. They assume they are more disciplined, respectful, and hard-working. In fact, some teachers who had taught in China told me that was the case. My experience, however, has been that there is no difference at all. They are just as rambunctious, fidgety, frustrating, inspiring, hilarious, and idiosyncratic as my students in Arizona. Some are unruly, some have a 5-second attention span, some amaze me with their questions, some are extremely organized, and some cannot remember to bring a pencil to class.

Every day I eat lunch with other teachers and there are usually a few vegetarian options. There is always rice and a tofu, eggplant, sweet potato, and/or bok choy dish. They are usually pretty heavy on the oil, but there is also fruit and salad. After lunch I have recess duty where I keep a close eye on the interactions between the Chinese students and the few American students as they have been tense lately.

Most days after school I have either a staff meeting, a parent meeting, or Student Hours. Suzie has Arabic Club and World Scholars Club as well. Afterwards, we take the bus home. We often order dinner to be delivered because it is cheap and we are too exhausted to cook before studying or grading. A deliveryman comes to the door with pesto pasta, a small pizza, Indian food, or some paninis and I pay him with WeChat. Suzie and I talk about our day and share gossip.

Around 8pm every night I use WeChat to video-chat with my girlfriend back home. We are 15 hours ahead of Tucson so she wakes up at 5am to chat for an hour or so. I share the events of my day and she shares those of her previous day. She wishes me a goodnight and I tell her to have a good day. We are counting the days until we can see each other again.

After we hang up, I use the VPN to watch Seth Meyers’ latest video on YouTube or the latest soccer highlights. Sometimes I read a chapter or two in the book I am reading or listen to some music. Suzie studies, goes out to see friends, or watches shows on the laptop. Then we go to sleep.

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asia2themacs-blog · 7 years ago

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a Sunday in Shenzhen

There is so much to tell, that I do not know where to start. So I thought it might be a good idea to just talk about my day today so far to give people a flavor of our Shenzhen life.

I woke up with the sun in my eyes as it peeked over Nanshan Mountain which is literally a stone’s throw from our apartment building. We live on the 10th floor which gives us a nice view of the mountain which even has some small waterfalls when it rains. It is funny that I expected to have a city view considering Shenzhen is one of the biggest cities in the world, yet my bedroom and our living room look out upon an entirely green, natural backdrop.

Our Chinese language tutor comes on Sunday mornings so I got up and tidied up a bit before she arrived. She arrived right on time and we reviewed pronunciation, vocabulary, characters, and grammar for an hour. I am embarrassed by how hard it is for me to remember these things now. It was much easier when I studied Chinese in Cambridge, MA (our fair city) twenty years ago. She uses flashcards and an exercise book that I think is for Chinese kindergarteners.

After my hour was up, I tried to wake up Suzie for her lesson but she was too tired. She insisted I take her hour (again!) since she has Chinese class every day at school and, as our tutor once said (and Suzie loves to remind me) - I am a slow learner.

So for the next hour we talked (in English) about Chinese culture and history which I find just as valuable – and easier to remember. I asked her why there are so many foreign men with Chinese wives and girlfriends, but I have NEVER seen a Chinese man with a foreign wife or girlfriend. She thought for a moment and then said it is probably because Chinese men think they are superior to women. This led to a discussion about sexism, patriarchy, classism, birth control, and government. I asked her how she learned to speak English so well – she easily uses words such as “ferment” and “patriarchy” (words I would NEVER be able to remember in Chinese!) and she said she self-taught herself by reading and watching American movies when she was young and now she has many foreign students with whom she speaks English. She is studying for her Bachelor’s degree in English online.

She leaves at noon and I send her 200 yuan ($30) via my Chinese cell phone instantly for the two-hour lesson. Almost everyone pays with either the WeChat app or the Alipay app here for EVERYTHING. It’s very easy and extremely convenient. I guess we have ApplePay in the US, but I don’t know anyone that uses it. I use WeChat to pay for… literally everything. I can’t think of one thing for which I cannot use WeChat to pay - even vendors on the street selling fruit from their trucks. I can also pay my cellphone bill, buy movie tickets, have food delivered… all from one app on my phone. I also use it for texting (both in China and with people in the US) and for video calls with people back home. And it’s like a basic facebook too in that you can post pictures and updates where your friends can see them. It’s pretty cool. Of course, the Chinese government monitors it pretty closely, but….

I decided to go do some grading at our favorite bagel shop which has good coffee and great wifi. Suzie was still asleep (she was up late watching movies with friends) so I went out on my own. While I walked the short distance from our apartment building to the street, I used my phone to request a Didi which is the Chinese equivalent of Uber. By the time I descended the stairs to the road, the car was already waiting for me.

I said “Ni hao” (hello) to the driver and he responded with the same. I noticed that the car was unusually bright and I looked up to see a huge sunroof that covered almost the entirety of the roof. It was covered with a thin, cloth curtain that allowed the light in, but I pointed to it and asked the driver “Ni keyi ma?” (“Can you?”) and he pressed a button and the cloth retracted to show the overcast sky and raindrops. I took a picture of it and sent it to some people back home.

The car was very nice. It looked brand new. The make was a BYD. I forgot if we have those in the US and I texted a friend and ask her. She replied that she didn’t think so. I think it is a Chinese brand. The ride lasted about 10 minutes and as we approached the destination I told the driver “Zheli hao” (“Here is good”) and he pulled over. I got out and the Did app automatically paid him. The trip cost less than $2. I gave him a 5-star review.

As I climbed the few stairs to the wide sidewalk, I noticed in front of me the place where I got my haircut one night last weekend. I had asked if they did massages but they said nobody was available at that time. I decided to give them another try.

I stepped in and was greeted immediately by twenty Chinese stares. I asked if they had (massage gesture) and they confirmed that they did. They asked me to sit in a waiting chair and quickly handed me a menu of services (completely in Chinese) and a mug of tea with a straw. I drank some tea and looked blankly at the menu. A woman started explaining to me what the Chinese writing said – in Chinese. “Wo bu dong” (“I don’t understand.”) I motioned that I have pain in my back and she understood. She pointed to the back option which costs 398 yuan. She then pulled her phone out to translate something and showed it to me: “for you VIP 262.40”. Apparently I was already a VIP! I used my phone: “How many minutes?” Another woman typed in a calculator and showed me: 60. “Hao” (ok) I replied and they took my backpack and put a bracelet with my locker number around my wrist.

I had another swig of tea before I was ushered upstairs to a small room with a massage table. It was quiet and pleasantly decorated which was a relief. The last place I got a massage, I had to go behind a curtain where there were a row of massage tables with multiple people getting massages and the Chinese man next to me was snoring loudly. On the other side of the curtain, people sat in chairs getting foot massages while a Chinese soap opera blared on the TV. This was much better! There were no dreamcatchers on the walls or new age music with nature sounds playing, but I did smell a hint of incense – and it was private and quiet! - or so I thought.

The woman motioned for me to remove my shoes and then pointed to a blue, folded-up, disposable bag with a drawstring that was on the massage table. “Do I put my shirt in there?” I asked and made the motions to translate. This was not correct so she left to get the woman who was more formally dressed (the manager?) who used her phone to translate. She typed and then showed me: “take off pants and put these on”. I picked up the bag and shook them and, sure enough, they were paper shorts. I said “no” and motioned again that I just wanted a back massage. They understood and I removed my shirt and lied face down. I then explained through broken Chinese and pantomime that I did not want it too hard. At the last place, it was extremely painful both during the massage and for a week afterwards – and not in a good way. She understood and began at a perfect pressure.

In a few minutes, the manager came back in and started speaking Chinese to me. “Wo bu dong,” I replied. She took out her phone again and then started speaking into it. When she finished, she held the phone near my ear and the phone translated: “if you buy VIP card, massage only 180 pieces”. Apparently I was not yet a VIP. “Ka duo shao qian?” (“How much is the card?”) I successfully asked. She replied in Chinese but I said I did not understand and she uses her phone: “2000 yuan”. Yes, I did understand correctly the first time. “Bu yao” (“I don’t want it.”) She continued to have the phone tell me all the great benefits of the VIP card by holding her phone near my ear – while I was getting a massage! I decided to just go silent and she got the hint. Both women then decided to start interrogating me via phone translator: “Do you live here?” “Do you live close?” “What do you do?” “What do you teach?” “What kind of history?” I entertained them for a while but then went silent again to enjoy the massage which was very good. The manager eventually left. The masseuse had me turn over and she massaged my head and face. “Ni jiao shenme?” I asked her name and she replied “Yihao”. She took off her nametag and showed me the characters which I did not recognize. She tried to tell me something about her name but I did not understand. She took out her phone and spoke into it in Chinese. It replied: “I am number one”. So she is the best? Cool. She thought I still did not understand. She says her name slowly and then I realized the joke: “Yi-hao” can also mean “number one” in Chinese with different characters. So she was literally #1! I laughed to show her I really did understand.

As she was finishing up, the manager came in again and started to tell me about all the discounts I would get with a VIP card. I refused again and she smiled and left. I put on my shirt and shoes and went back downstairs. I went to the cashier and told her I would pay with “Weixin” (WeChat). She handed me the square QR code to scan with my phone and I paid the ¥262.40 since I am only a nominal VIP.

I then walked over to the bagel shop where we go about every other weekend. It’s run by an American guy and his Chinese wife and they serve American food. There are usually just foreigners here but there was a Chinese couple here when I arrived. I ordered an ice coffee and a veggie sandwich and took out my laptop to check the news. The sandwich arrived with a small flag sticking out of each half – one Chinese and one US. I had to ask for the wifi password again for my phone. The guy told me it was “greatfirewall”. This is what people jokingly call the blocking of certain websites by the Chinese government. Facebook is not allowed (though Zuckerberg is trying hard to change their minds) and I am told Google is not officially blocked but there is a filter that blocks all prohibited content which takes so long, it always times out. The simple solution used by all foreigners and many Chinese is to pay for a VPN (“Virtual Private Network”) which routes your connection through a different country and thus sidesteps the Great Fire Wall. This bagel shop has a built-in VPN so I can access all sites as normal. So here I am writing this entry in a bagel shop in Shenzhen, China on Wanghai Road. Not a bad day in China!

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