Arrivals

The long awaited event has begun. The twelve guest professors have arrived from North China University of Technology. Their flight into the Knoxville Airport was delayed by four hours. They finally arrived at 2:00 AM Thursday morning. From there, we drove two hours to Johnson City. The welcome party was exhausted, and unlike our guests, we hadn't been travelling for nearly 48 hours.

One guest mentioned being given ice water on the plane. He wondered aloud why anyone would deliberately chill their water. (In China, drinking water is heated)

Here on the Other Side

Chinese bicyclists do not wear helmets (see above). I have never understood why more of them don't get hurt . Maybe China is under some sort of enchantment. But does the protective magic apply for Chinese graduate students in the US? We do not want to find out.

Li Songshu, a beautiful young graduate student, will be attending seminar with the guest professors. She has been staying at our house until the dorm is ready. Songshu bought a bicycle at the Johnson City Walmart and has been humoring us by wearing a helmet.

An Impressive Position

All summer, I've waited for our Chinese teacher training projects to happen or to fall through. For weeks, they would do neither. Then, Nanjing fell through. With my abounding optimism, I waited for the NCUT (North China University of Technology) project to do the same. But it didn't. At this moment, the twelve participating professors are en route from Beijing.

I will be teaching in the project. I have drawn up schedules and itineraries. I have even been scavenging kitchen equipment for dormitory kitchens.

I think I deserve a new title for the service I am rendering to ETSU. The university abounds in program coordinators, deans, chairs and vice presidents. I prefer the designation CHIEF COOK AND BOTTLE WASH. The title is not a metaphor. I actually procure and wash pots (see above).

My apologies

I make every effort to write this blog in plain English, and not in the academic Gobbledeegook I sometimes use in my work. In a previous entry, I stated that our Chinese visitors were coming to ETSU "for a month of American pedagogical studies and language and cultural immersion."

I meant to say that our visitors are coming to learn more about America, its education system, and its language. We have no plans to teach them to speak Gobbledeegook.

Thanks to the ever-reliable Dennis Cope for calling this lapse to my attention.

China is coming to us

People asked why I wasn't blogging. In part, the problem was exhaustion. Three trips to China in one year take something out of a person. I've been resting a lot.

There was another reason. For months, I have been absorbed in an effort to bring twelve professors from China to the ETSU campus for a month of American pedagogical studies and language and cultural immersion. It took a lot of effort. Until I was sure it would happen, I did not want to post anything on the web. Many times, I thought it would fall through. But now, we have things in place. Two weeks from Saturday, we will be greeting our visitors.

Below: Dr. Knight meets with Vice President Li and Mr. Guo at North China University of Technology in Beijing. Picture was taken last March, when the project was first discussed.

Below: Students at North China University of Technology

New Desk

Today our friend Dennis Cope came over with BART--which is what he calls his Big Red Truck-- and together with Joe, they carted away the small formica-topped desk I was given at age 14. The thing is virtually indestructible, which is why I had it so long; but placing a computer on top of it was crowded. For years, I've been piling papers on the study floor and reading articles in bed. Finally, I have replaced it with something that fits how I work.

Joe and Dennis were so efficient that I didn't have time to take a picture before my old desk disappeared. The desk pictured below is similar.

Above: BART and Dennis. Below: the new desk and computer console.

Reentry continues

My last trip to China was over two months ago. I'd been told "reentry" went on a long time, but I thought it would have been over by now. Reentry has combined with the exhaustion generated by a full year of teaching, two thirds of it in China, and not much down time in between. I miss my friends in China, with whom I exchange frequent emails, but I'm very glad to be home. Every day, I take a walk and enjoy the mountains, or else swim at the Bassler Center. I poke my head in the office from time to time. When I go for a drive, I still notice our printed in English, not Chinese.

Ritual events such as the Cherokee Church Quilt show help enable reentry. Last week, I began writing an article based on research I did with David Liu comparing American and Chinese styles of teaching reading. It takes a very long time to reenter America.

Above: Ruth visited from Minnesota and helped keep the quilt show organized.

Below: Prize winning quilts.