starting work: first official meeting and the teaching partners

today began like all those before it: with a trip out the west gate to get breakfast... Good as usual! 包子and egg pita!
For lunch we went with the Lee university students and some of Ben's friends (one of whom is going to be studying at Ohio State) The restaurant we went to was the 'fanciest' I have been to yet. Our hosts (the Chinese friends) ordered many dishes from the menu: all of which except for the 'duck feet' were delicious.
I spent the afternoon doing a little reading and catching up on emails until around 4:30 when our meeting with teaching partners was to begin.
My teaching partner is Hou Jian (he is a PhD student studying translation). I think that he and I hit it off pretty well. Hou Jian is interested in Philosophy and religion, and he is very eager to talk with me about his ideas and hear my ideas as well... I have found just from our short conversation that he is well versed in both eastern and western philosophy (I wish I could say the same about myself). I look forward to getting a Chinese insight on these topics...
Hou Jian tells me that I will be teaching 5 classes (2 hours each) of writing to 3rd year English Majors and 3 (also 2 hour) classes to 1st years... Unfortunately, I have class every day of the week and I begin class EVERYDAY at 8 AM!!!! Looks like I will not have much time to sleep in. (which is fine because my bed is so uncomfortable) I am meeting with him again Wednesday morning to discuss my schedule further and find out which classrooms I will be teaching in...
Following the meeting, all of the Foreign teachers (7 Americans, 1 Japanese and 1 Russian) and our teaching partners were invited by the director of the Foreign Affairs Office to a dinner at a nearby hotel. The dinner was also served Chinese traditional (family-style) with all of the dishes on a 'Lazy-Susan' spinning tray in the middle of the table. Once again I was not disappointed by any of the food. (am getting used to the whole fish on the table-which was also delicious)
At this dinner I was exposed, for the first time, to the Chinese tradition of "toasting." First the director stands and gives a lengthy speech (in Chinese-his assistant translated) and then he invites everyone to drink. Second, the assistant director makes a similar presentation and everyone drinks. After these two rounds, the Directer goes to each person at the dinner and makes a personal toast with everyone... It is then customary for each guest to get up and toast all of the other guests... Luckily, I was just drinking 啤酒 (beer) and not 白酒(literally 'white alcohol'= about 50% ABV) This dinner and toasting went on for about 2 hours... It was a fun night, but it wore me out...

monday-monday-monday

Today started like the one before it and hopefully many more to come: with a trip out of the west gate to get breakfast. Instead of 包子， I tried Ben’s favorite morning pick-me up “Egg-Pita.” In short, the street vendor cooks some vegetables on her stone grill and fries an egg and stuffs it all inside a little homemade flatbread. IT IS AWESOME and only 3 RMB (about 50 cents) each!!! I was more than completely stuffed after eating it. After breakfast Ben and I went to the supermarket to buy some of the things that I needed: Toilet Paper, garbage bags, laundry detergent, etc…

Upon returning to the campus we decided that it was time that we try and track down some of the other English teachers (they had been here for a week)… We then all went together to pay for and start our internet service and then out to lunch… Kung Pao Chicken, spicy tofu and lamb with rice and Chinese vegetables (shared family-Chinese style of course) I must say that I am very pleased with the food so far! I have not tried anything that I do not like!!!

This afternoon I returned to my apartment to do some laundry and wouldn’t you know it—my washing machine is broken: the shut off valve for the water does not work so I have to manually turn the water on and off remotely… (which means between cycles I have to go in and turn the water on and off). 

first full day (sunday)

8-28

I woke up this morning about 6:45 to broad daylight. I am not sure what time the sun came up, but it was already quite bright. I had told Ben last night to just come to my door and knock when he was ready to get breakfast. This happened about 7:15 while I was shaving. I was glad that he was also up so early, because I was ready to start my day…

We began the day by taking my empty 5 gallon water jug to the “Gateman” along with 5 RMB (still less than $1) to get the jug refilled… after chatting with him for a few minutes, Ben took me through campus and out to West campus where we got our breakfast… I ate 包子 (Bao Zi) which is a stuffed and steam bun. At only 1 RMB (about 17 cents) for two, four made a delicious and filling breakfast.

After breakfast, we walked a bit more through campus and out through the South Gate (Oh yeah, the whole campus is walled in: we’re locked in at night) from here we took the city bus (also only 1 RMB for anywhere in the city). The bus went through the city (of 5 Million!) and to the “new campus” which houses much of the science and technology majors (wheras the “old campus” where I live and teach, which is for the Arts) The city and the new campus are very nice. I was impressed by how much building was happening! Apartment buildings were being erected everywhere!! Ben tells me that this is because Kaifeng just got a new Mayor. “The old one was corrupt and not much was built with him; now they are playing catch-up.”

When we got back to (old) campus, we went to the International Affairs Office (which is conveniently located next to our apartments!), I met Mr. Ma, who is the director. He is very friendly and speaks good English. I am pleased to be working with such a pleasant man.

This afternoon also proved to be quite eventful. I had lunch in Downtown Kaifeng with Ben and Jeff (a classmate of mine from Akron) as well as some of their friends. We went to the restaurant and found out that there was going to be a 30 min wait. (which is always a good sign with strange food… lots of local customers= great food) the crowds were right… it was delicious: steamed buns (with broth and filling inside), fried orange tofu and Kung-Pao chicken…

We spent the remainder of the afternoon playing scrabble until we joined some more of Ben’s friends for dinner at their apartment: more delicious Chinese dishes: Chicken, Mushrooms, Vegetables, Curry etc…

End of the first full day and I am exhausted…

On a side note… English teachers are in such demand here that I already was offered another job teaching young children… I definitely would do it for some extra cash, but I want to get settled and determine how much I have on my plate before I add more to it…

Flying In and Arriving in Kaifeng (OLD POST)

Flying In and Arriving in Kaifeng

8-26&27 (First Friday and Saturday)

This post followed by a few others will be uploaded at the same time and not the same date as writing… (No Internet Connection)

Today, I spent my last few hours in the United States…. Arrived at CLE at 5AM (Friday)… Flight from CLE to EWE (Newark) was short and uneventful… The 4 hours of sleep two nights in a row really started to hit me on this first flight… But I need to stay awake until the long flight so I am not disoriented when trying to transfer.

Newark Airport is very nice. The flight transfer was easy… (same Terminal) However, I was surprised to find that at our gate (for an international flight carrying 360+ passengers) there was only FOUR seats. Luckily, Ben and I spotted them early and enjoyed them until our flight boarded.

On the long flight (13 hours) from Newark to Beijing, I chose t sit in the very last row of the plane. I had a window seat and only one person between myself and the isle. This was turned out quite well. The gentleman sitting beside me was an American (about 6 years my senior) who has been living in China for the last four years. I found out that he has made his first trip as an English Teacher in Qingdao (Yeah its where that beer is made). He is currently working as a marketing rep for Porche in the same city. All in all, it was a decent flight; I didn’t get to sleep as much as I wanted, but I feel rested. The Direct TV (on demand) kept me pretty entertained with movies and TV shows…

The flight transfer in Beijing was quite interesting, to say the least; not difficult, just interesting. The terminal that we flew into was the brand new terminal created for the 2008 Olympics. Its large and gorgeous. The outside design, Ben tells me, was to resemble a dragon’s scales. (look up Beijing new airport on Google images to check it out.) our connecting flight was actually in a different terminal, which was more like a different airport. After clearing immigration, we took a train to claim our luggage, then had to take a city bus to get to the other terminal… there we had to check in with our airline (weigh bags and the whole she-bang) finally we made it to our gate and boarded without a hitch.

This third and final flight was also interesting, being a domestic connection flight there were only five 外国人(foreigners) and therefore this was the first time of almost complete Chinese emersion. The flight was short and smooth and we were soon in 郑州 (Zhengzhou- our local airport). We collected our bags and I was pleased to be greeted by “Jin” a young man from 河大 (Henan University) International Affairs Office, who was holding a sign reading only “Adam Ben” I’ve always wanted someone to pick me up from an airport with a sign!!! Jin and another gentleman helped Ben and I load our baggage into a van and drove us to campus. By this time (7 PM) it was beginning to get dark and Ben and I slept for most of the one hour drive…

Upon getting into campus, I was led to my apartment and left my bags. This time was roughly 9 PM and I was really tired, but not wanting to waste my first hours in my new home, I joined Ben to meet some friends and visit a local convenience store (owned by his friend)… Here I tried my first Chinese beer (in China) it was quite good; tasted almost like cider. However, I was disappointed to find out that it was only 2.5% ABV (half of what Budweiser is). But, for 2RMB (about 30 cents) for 500 ml, you really can’t go wrong… After our short walk, we made it back to campus around 10 PM. I was going to go directly to bed, but I thought that my apartment would feel more like home if I unpacked everything and stashed my suitcases… I think it worked. But, by 11, I was ready to go to bed. I was disappointed however to discover that my mattress was not really a mattress but rather just box springs… Rather uncomfortable, I am going to have to figure something out or get used to sleeping in a firm bed. But after only 9 hours of sleep within since Wednesday, any flat surface with a pillow was more than enough…

People watching and final thoughts of Akron

Three full days left in the states and I find myself back in the heart of UA campus waiting for Anissa to get out of class... On top of my favorite time wasting activity of "people-watching," I find that is fun to hang out by the campus directory map in the middle of campus and direct freshmen to their classes. Oddly enough, I discovered that young men have been approaching the map much more frequently than their feminine counterparts; at a ratio of about 4:1 . I believe that this is less a result of directional competency but of ill-preparedness... The girls probably walked through their schedule over the weekend...


It has also just recently hit me that tomorrow will likely be my last day in Akron for a quite a long time... This is a bittersweet realization... On the one hand, Akron has been such a large part of my life for the last four years; here I have grown immensely as a person and have discovered what I believe to be my true direction in life... On the other hand, leaving Akron means moving beyond to bigger and better things: China,grad-school: "real life" --- all of which are exciting and terrifying.. Furthermore, as I try to decide what I want to do with my last 36 hours in "the hooh," I can think of nothing to do but enjoy dollar fifty burgers at te Bailey road tavern tomorrow night... Til then: who knows!!

Inventory Time

After moving out of my apartment in Akron and (temporarily) back in with my parents, it is time to go through the small amount of possessions that did not make their way into the dumpster outside of Grant Res hall.... My wardrobe has to make a significant change as I transition from a college student/ maintenance worker into a college instructor... as can be imagined, this means swapping out the t-shirts and work clothes for more professional attire... I have made an attempt to do this gradually over the last few months by scooping up polo-shirts and other dress clothing as I see them, but I fear that I have fallen a bit short... Yet, this is where inventory fits in!! maybe I'll be pleasantly surprised and not have to spend much of my dwindling funds on dress garments... I thought about waiting until I got to China to pick up any needed items, but then I remembered the problems that I had finding even a T-shirt when studying abroad in Korea... So that idea was quickly abandoned....

On a side note, I spent a little time last night talking to a fellow Akronite who will be traveling to China with me next week! (He (Ben) is actually returning for his second year of teaching at Henan University--- which is a good sign; he must have had a good time!) Well anyway, Ben has been very helpful in answering many of my questions as I prepare to take on this huge step!! When asked about the ability to play ping pong (I love ping pong), Ben informed me that there is a table inside our offices!!! Furthermore, he tells me that the students love Ultimate Frisbee! The more I think about this trip, the more excited I get!!!

Stay tuned for more updates....

First Post

Well, I am just now setting up a blog so my family and friends will be able to stay up to date with what I will be doing over the next several months. I just got my Visa back from DC and plan on getting the final touches on my travel plan. I need to get my packing done AND i need to prepare materials for the classes that I will be teaching. I am told that my two class assignments will be "advanced writing" and "communication."  I am told that the students do not have much experience in outlining papers or citing sources, so I believe that this will be a great place to start. Creativity has also been identified as a problem. furthermore, I am not sure where they left off in their previous writing classes.... So as it seems as though I have much to learn and I will do a lot of shooting from the hip...