Tuesday, October 23, 2001

From: Meg Thomsen meginchina@yahoo.com
Subject: Every Day Brings a Surprise.

Hello Folks!

So, it's four months ago today since I left Massachusetts. It feels like I've been here for a million years though. It's hard to describe how it feels to be here. Suffice it to say that there's no such thing as a normal day in China. The time doesn't often just float by here, I am aware of every second of it. Sometimes it's terrible. Sometimes I just want to come home. I spend a long time thinking of how long I've been here vs. how long until I get to come home (incidentally, I've completed 16% of my time here in China). I'm like a prisoner marking the proverbial calendar on the wall. Fortunately, most of the time it's wonderful. Teaching is great, I know that this is a constructive use of my time, and it's amazing just being here, learning about this place and this culture. And I wouldn't trade being here for anything on those days.

The thing that I dig about China is that you never know what's going to happen next. Answering my phone inevitably launches me into a four-hour adventure that I never suspected. Two examples from last week:
"Wei, Zhe shi Tang Mali"
"Ni hao, Tang Laoshi. This is Li Laoshi. A woman from the Foreign Affairs Office in Zigong would like to meet you. Do you have some free time?
"Sure, why not?"
Five minutes later, I was standing on the street. Introductions were made, and then suddenly, I was told, "And now, we will go to sing karaoke songs!" So, we walked to the teachers' lounge, where there were about fifteen teachers living the wild life with baijiu (liquor that tastes like a mixture of Drano and burnt yellow jujubes), and the idea was, "And now our foreign teacher, Tang Mali, will sing karaoke songs for you!" So I sang "Moon River," "Edelweiss," "Only You" and many other contemporary hits to the amusement of the teachers.

Example Two:
To set the scene- it is 8:45 on a Sunday morning after Molli, Andy and I have stayed up until 4:45 AM complaining about our (lack of) love lives.
"Wei, Zhe shi Tang Mali"
"Ni hao, Tang Laoshi. I am a student from the English Association. Will you come to a party for the English Association."
"Sure, I can. When is the party?"
"Now."
"Well, now really isn't a good time. I'm afraid that I can't come."
"But you must come."
"I cannot."
"You must."
Ten minutes later, I was standing outside the classroom building. The student met me, saying, "Oh Tang Mali, I'm so glad to see you! Now you will give a speech to the students!"
"I will give a speech? About what?"
"Motivate them to study English."
"How many students are there?"
"About 400."
I believe that, given the circumstances, someone really ought to give me an Oscar. Or at least a Guinness. I deserve it.

Teaching has been going well. I'm always amazed at my students. Teaching has got its challenges- I spend my afternoons pondering questions like, "How do you say chlorofluorocarbons in Chinese?" But they give a little, I give a little and we get by. And it's worth it. When I hear them chanting "thermal inversion, thermal inversion" over and over, when they actually start using re-usable bottles (it's happened!), when they ask questions about acid rain, it makes it worth being here. And that's why I stay. Even if it's hard to be here, even if my Chinese is terrible, even if I miss home like crazy, it's the students that make me want to stay. There are lots of other good reasons for being here, the other Peace Corps folks, the travelling, the learning- but the students are a pretty compelling reason to be here.

This weekend, I'll head up to Deyang for a joint birthday party with my Chinese sister, Qingqing (she's turning 13, I'll be 26). I'm looking forward to the festivities. For my birthday, I'm buying myself a guitar! Wahoo! The nights are long and lonely in Dengguan, and I think that if I can learn how to play "Peace Train" or "Truckin'", it will make the evenings far more pleasant.

Be happy, folks, and enjoy your autumn days.

Love and kisses,
Meg