September 16, 2014

Well, I suppose I could say 1 down, 16 to go until the end of semester and beginning of an almost two month break. But that might not reflect how good it feels to be back in front of a classroom again. The students are anxious to learn, glad to be in school, and hopeful that this will be a great experience. They even laugh at some of my jokes. Not all, mind you, but some. Some they ignore because they are just not funny. Others they ignore because they don't make sense when translated. E.g. What is the China National Bird? A: The Construction Crane, they are everywhere. After explaining what kind of a bird a crane is, and why a construction crane is called a crane, and why this is funny, you might get a weak smile at best. To Americans looking over any Chinese city, this joke is hilarious. Well, maybe not now, but when you see your first Chinese city and somebody invites you to see the Chinese national bird. OK, maybe not even then, but then again, we do not get late night comedians here.

I have finished my first week, have met all my students (unless there are late registrations or some were just absent), and I still think most of my lesson plans are in the ballpark. (How's that for next week's lesson on idioms?)  Seriously, so long as they really did not plan on a writing teacher, this should all work out pretty well. Last time I did have to teach writing. But what they meant was how to format letters, resumes, invitations, and that sort of thing. Come on, now, I am a married lawyer. Do you think my wife will let me anywhere near the invitations? And any secretary worth her salt would not let me have anything to do with actually formatting anything. That is what Word Templates are for. They did give me a book with all the examples I needed, and I did teach it, and they all passed the University Writing Final. This year, no such book. Just the title of the class suggests writing. I asked about it, but the answer has not come yet.

The food here is really quite good. But today we finally found a dish we just could not eat. I suppose I should have suspected something when after I asked for what those guys had, she brought out a calves liver that had been cooked and asked if I liked how it tasted. I did, so she proceeded. She did not have me taste the sauce she would add. And when I told her I wanted to take the meal home to my wife rather than eat it there, she delivered it uncooked. It looked cooked to me, but when I got home, Carolyn said she spotted ICE between some of the vegetables, and put it into a pan for warming. It did not look nearly as delicious once it was fully cooked, but we ate it anyway. At least a few bites. Then I announced, "This stuff is awful." Carolyn was relieved. We finished our suddenly lighter lunch by eating the delicious bread rolls I had bought from the same lady, and drinking orange juice. We were both glad we had not ordered this dish when eating out or when somebody else was paying!

Had a great birthday yesterday. After classes, Carolyn took me to Jenny's Café for Lunch/Dinner. It was great to have real, American style crinkle cut French fries, crisp and a bit salty, but not burned nor too salty, hot and cooked in the middle even. AND KETCHUP! Pure, unchinafied Ketchup!

After dinner we walked about a bit. Just South of Jenny's we found a shop selling pianos. They also had other instruments hanging in display cases. We asked. Yes, they did have violins! (The music store on the other side of Jenny's also has violins, but they are really cheap student versions, not worth even their cheap prices.) Carolyn tried several, dismissing some that were untenable or unplayable, but finding three possibles. As she tuned these instruments, you could see her begin to relax, when she began to play scales, a slight smile formed on her face, and when she began playing simple tunes from memory, the delight in her eyes and the life in her smile were a joy to behold. That's my Girl! We took notes on prices, and said we would probably be back, but needed to check other places first. That should be a lot of fun!

We were invited to a "Welcome Potluck" sponsored by the foreign teachers on the main campus of Shandong University on Saturday. We took a wonderful dish called Chicken with bean sauce. Of course, we took rice with it that Carolyn prepared, and, being American, served the chicken over the rice. It was loved by many.

While we waited for our to go order at this really quite nice restaurant (fancier than Red Apple-everybody eats at big tables) we watched the servers bring trays of food out of the kitchen and prepare them for the table. One dish was especially beautiful. A fish, about the size but probably not the species of a good sized trout had been fried. It had been prepared in a shape where the head and tail were both pointing skyward. You know, the position often shown for a big fish caught on a line as it jumps out of the water trying to throw the hook. Then after the customer saw and approved the artistry of the presentation, the fish was carved to be actually available for picking up with chopsticks. It was still beautiful, and the tomato in the mouth was replaced, the fish pieces lined up on the platter and the tail rested playfully over the edge of the platter. Here cuisine is more than flavor, though I am sure the flavor was great as well. Here the chef is a true artist. Presentation counts,

After picking up the food, we went to the bus stop and got onto good old bus 16. Sitting across from us was the cutest little 5 year old, out on a Saturday afternoon time with Daddy. Of course, we struck up a conversation, Carolyn and I with our two-year-old Chinese and her with her 5-year-old English. She was winning, but of course, she had help from her Dad, who had graduated 20 years ago from Shandong University Technical College.

They decided singing was easier, and with Dad's help on a few words, she started singing "Beauty and the Beast." That got our attention, so she decided to follow up with a favorite Chinese song. Any way, it did not sound like any English song we knew. If the link works like I hope, here is a cell-phone video of the experience:

 

 

Teaching at SDU

It is Friday evening and I have just completed my first week teaching at SDU.  Richard starts his classes on Monday.  All 4 of my freshman classes will begin on Oct. 7 after the National Day Holiday.  Richard and I will be spending that week on the Silk Road Tour with Marvin Wu.  We are both really excited.

It has been a busy week preparing for classes and getting registered with the Entry and Exit Department in Jinan.   The trip took almost an hour on Wednesday afternoon and when we arrived, we found that all of our documents weren't original.  We had given the wrong ones to our department.  We felt so badly when we got home and found the originals in our apt.  Fortunately, Robin, now one of our best friends, was very kind and took us back on Thursday.  We visited the Shandong (Jinan) Museum.  It was the most spacious building I have ever been in in my life and the architecture and beauty were stunning.  We spent about an hour there looking at ancient Buddha statues and other ancient archeological finds.  The culture here in China is many thousands of years older than anything we have in the United States.  I can't wait to go back and explore more.

My first day of class was Wednesday.  I loved teaching my 1st period of 52 sophomore students.  My 2nd period class was at a disadvantage because the room was changed and I wasn't able to include the music that I had planned.  Today, I had 3 more (2 hour) classes and loved the experience.  How blessed we are to be here with these beautiful, kind Chinese young people.  Some of them waved to me on campus and my last class of Dental and Pharmacy students left with smiles and waves... even the boys.  I hope that they will be able to receive at least a portion of what they are giving me.  The Lord is with us in China.  He loves ALL of His children, all over the world. 

We have also eaten at the school cafeterias and at a local restaurant with Robbie called Southside Story.  The food was delicious.  Tomorrow, we have a potluck on the Main Campus with other Foreign Teachers, then church, with the sacrament, this Sunday.  How grateful I am for that.

Day 9, September 7, 2014. - Had a wonderful time meeting with our friends for church today.  It was great to hear the testimonies borne from all over China as people would log into the virtual Sacrament Meeting.  We split for priesthood and Relief Society.  How grateful we are to have such good friends to worship with.  We also had a man from Germany named Günter who met with us.  His family now resides in Wilmington, N.C.  The luncheon was so good.  I made Lindsay's favorite, Chicken and Rice with some adaptations and everyone loved it.  Thanks Lindsay!  After church, we came back to our apartment and at 6:00, Dr. Adam Yang picked us up and took us to his apartment.  We met his wife Susan and their friends Yu, his wife Li and their 15 year old son, Peter.  They were making dumplings and Richard and I got to help.  It was pretty disastrous on our part, but we had fun and thoroughly enjoyed the evening.  The Chinese people have been very kind to us.  They have given us moon cakes, a cooked duck, cookies, grapes and more.  We are so grateful to have friends in China.  Thank you Joan and Richard.  Richard and I are reaping a bounteous harvest of the fruits you planted here. 

Days 6, 7 and 8 of the Great Adventure

Day 5, Continued – It has rained for 2 nights and the sky is completely blue.  We went to Baotu Xuen Springs, just across the street from the North Gate of our campus.  It is a beautiful park with many pools of crystal clear water bubbling up from underground.  Jinan has many springs.  This one is special because there is an outdoor theater and 3 buildings dating back about 200 years that have statues inside that were made by following an ancient record they found in this area.  The statues seem to relate to the family and their relationship with God.  It was a profound experience for me.  As we walked home, I looked up and saw the moon and some stars.  Jinan is a beautiful city.

 

Day 6, Thursday, September 4 – Adam Yang came to visit us today.  It was wonderful to see him.  He brought us a very large bag filled with different tins of moon cakes to be eaten in honor of the moon festival this Monday.  He is such a nice man.  We also spent a good part of the day with Robin setting up our bank account and getting our student card.  He has been very patient with us and we are grateful for his help.  Been working on lesson plans and outlines for next week.  I am so excited to meet my new students.

 

Day 7, Friday, September 5 – We spent the day at the main campus in training with the other International teachers.  I thought there would be many teachers, but there were only about 15 of us on 4 campuses.  One teacher is from Russia, another from Spain, one from India and another from Canada.  Mostly, we were from the USA and some of the teachers had taught all over the world.  We had a great meeting with our wonderful Chinese University hosts.  They arranged for us to eat an excellent buffet at the on campus hotel.  Richard and I came home and Robin came over and spent almost 3 hours helping us get our internet working again.  Thank you!

 

Day 8, Saturday, September 6 – Today we had planned to go to on the campus tours with the other teachers.  Richard opened his email and there was a letter from Du Chuan Chou (Mark Du) who was Joan’s student as a sophomore medical student.  He said that he would be at our apartment at 10 am and wanted to take us to lunch.  He had made a special trip from Beijing to be with us, so, of course, we decided to go with him.  He was so happy to see Richard.  Richard is “family” to him and he lovingly included me in the circle.  Mark is now an orthopedic surgeon in Beijing.  We thought that we would be going to a restaurant for lunch, but he took us to his hotel and had reserved a gorgeous room with a large round table, padded benches, and our personal waitresses.  It was incredible.  The food was also wonderful.  But, best of all, he invited his family members who live in Jinan to join us.  I’m not exactly sure how they are all related, but his two cousins (brother and sister) and her husband and their father joined us.  They were so kind.  We ate and talked for over two hours.  His cousins took us to their family business called KTV which is a shop that has many booths where you can go and record yourself with a karaoke background.  They are also interior designers for high class homes and hotels.  Their work is exquisite.  I would love to have them decorate our home.  They said that they would always be there to help us and that we were family.  I am so impressed with Chinese people and their work ethic.  I especially love how kind they have been to us.  I also haven’t mentioned the many shops and food stands around our apartment.  It is such an adventure to be here. 

 

-Carolyn Leavitt

Five Days In Jinan

It is hard to believe that we have been in Jinan for five days.  We have been very busy getting registered with the police, the university and getting our university and bank accounts set up.  Fortunately, we have had a wonderful person whose English name is Robin, from the English Department who has walked us through all of these procedures and showed us around the campus as well as places to shop.

Since this is my first “blog”, I will try to remember the events of these past days.

Day 1, Saturday evening, August 30 - Arrived in Jinan Saturday, 11:00 p.m. after leaving Las Vegas Friday morning.  We did lose 15 hours, so we are still trying to adjust to the time difference.  Sunny, our department head, was there to pick us up and another man came to pick up the Robertson who flew with us from Seattle.  They are on the main campus, about a 35 minute bus ride from our new home. The pollution in the air was heavy and on the ride from the airport it was difficult to see Jinan.  We did arrive safely and were in bed by 1:30 a.m.

Day 2, Sunday, August 31 - Woke up early and showered and dressed in our Sunday clothes.  We rode the bus to the Hanlin Hotel where the Welshes and Burnetts are living.  They arrived on Wednesday.  We had a wonderful virtual (voice only) sacrament meeting with 59 other members from around China.  One of the teachers who lives at the Hanlin and is a member gave a talk in Sacrament Meeting.  Two other members gave talks from other places in China.  No one in our group was authorized to prepare and pass the sacrament, so we sat quietly and remembered the Savior, hoping that next week we could participate again.  Afterwards, all 7 of us had dinner together.  The Robertson weren't able to make it.  How grateful we are to have friends from the workshop in Jinan.

Day 3, Monday September 1 - Sunny (Dr. Su) and Robin took us to a buffet lunch at a hotel near the campus.  Then they gave us a tour of the campus and answered many of our questions.  As we were walking in front of the Shandong University Library, a man came up to Richard and smiled.  At first Richard didn't recognize him, then he said, “I am Adam”.  Richard and I immediately knew who he was.  Richard gave him a hug, something that isn't done very often in China in public.  His American name is Adam Yang.  He is a Dr. of Oncology at the Chi nan Hospital across the street from our campus.  8 years ago, he and his daughter contacted Richard and Joan and arranged to come to this apartment for English lessons.  They were getting ready to go to Houston, TX where Adam would do a residency at MD Anderson Cancer Hospital.  HIs daughter, April went with him.  What makes this really special is that when Joan learned about her cancer, they contacted Adam in Texas and he arranged to have them treat her there.  They made many trips and the treatments extended her life by over 18 months.  His daughter is still in Texas.  It was a very special day

Day 5,Wednesday, September 3 - Richard and I went shopping at Artie Mart and U Mart.  Artie Mart is a large grocery store, much bigger than a Super Walmart.  We bought some food as well as batteries.  At U Mart (a tiny American market), we bought Miracle Whip and chocolate chips.  😊. We came home and worked on our lessons.  School begins next Wednesday for me and not until September 15 for Richard.  I will be teaching Tuesday - Friday.  I will have 4 classes of freshmen Medical Students and 5 classes of Sophomore Medical Students.  Each class will meet for 2 hours once a week.  I am excited and nervous.  Richard has an easier schedule this semester with 6 classes meeting on Monday, Wednesday and Thursday.

Authored by Carolyn