Paper weight

I am making an academic trip, so I need to have books on hand.  Most things, I put on computer or Kindle, but I can't do that with the TOEFL and GRE prep books, nor the set of Narnia books I'm bringing for the daughter of a colleague, nor the dozen ETSU planners I'm taking along as gifts.  Paper drives suitcase weight up in a hurry, and the airlines charge extra for baggage these days even when it's not overweight.  We're trying to spread the books, brochures and business cards out over several suitcases and carry ons.  One more thing to consider as we pack.

Foot Power

The Chinese tend to be thin.  Some people attribute this to heredity and a diet low in sugar and fat, but I suspect it has more to do with lifestyle.  They walk more than Americans.  And even now, most Chinese use bicycles for everyday transportation.

The semester I taught in Weihai, I walked three quarters of a mile four times a day getting to and from classes; I usually walked another mile and a half each evening to a restaurant or grocery store. Sometimes, I rode my friend's bike. I lost 15 pounds that winter, though I gained a lot of it back when I returned to the States and reverted to the American practice of using a car.

I was never a very good driver due to poor peripheral vision, and when last August I came close to killing a bicyclist, I decided I ought to quit, though no one was hurt. Since then, I've been walking close to five miles a day and  now weigh less than I did in my twenties. Culturally, we're obsessed with reducing diets.  My experience is that with healthy eating and walking, weight takes care of itself.

Unfortunately, the Chinese have been copying our bad habits.  Middle class people in China are now buying cars in record numbers.  In Beijing along, thousands of cars are purchased each month.  This results in mammoth traffic jams, and since car ownership is possible for only ten per cent of the Chinese population, life is harder for the walkers and cyclists. 

In addition, the Chinese have developed a taste for our high fat foods, though they don't eat as many sweeets.  KFC is a favorite treat for the youngsters and college students.  Predictably, some Chinese are putting on weight.   

Common Decency: It's the Law.

Because I've been to China several times, Asian students on campus often find their way to my office to talk over problems.  In the fall of 2009, a young Asian graduate student arrived my door in tears.  In one of her first classes, a professor remarked that Americans needed to work harder so that the world economy wouldn't be taken over by "little yellow people."  Maybe this was an awkward attempt to motivate his class. I doubt he realized his comments were racist.

I told the student that racial slurs by any member of faculty are illegal in the US, and we have procedures to deal with such problems. Fearful the professor might retaliate, the student pleaded with me not to tell anyone. I agreed, but I encouraged her to report the incident when she graduated. To his credit, the professor was impartial in grading, and the student did well in the course.

But it's important not to let such incidents go.  Not that we want anyone punished; but such problems continue unless they're addressed. There are those who still think our "Basic Student" is an able-bodied Heterosexual, Christian Caucasian who was born in the US and will graduate at age 22. Older students, students of color, disabled students, students with varying religions and lifestyles, along with international students are somehow an afterthought. It's obvious that we need more faculty education.

I kept track of the sudent,  and she graduated a few weeks ago.  Yesterday we went to see Ms. Mary Jordan, ETSU's Special Assistant to the President for Cultural Diversity and Equal Opportunity. With meticulous care and the supreme tact that comes of long experience, Ms. Jordan inquired into the situation and promised to follow up.  Then, she apologized to the student on behalf of ETSU.

There were tears in the student's eyes as we left Dossett Hall.  She was stunned by how careful Americans are to correct such problems, and because Ms. Jordan's office is close to President's Stanton's, she felt the apology had come from someone important.  In her home country, those in a lower status have little opportunity for redress of grievances.

At times, I've complained about mandated  Diversity and Anti-Harrassment training. But there's a reason for it. Respect for all persons is embedded in American law. It makes me proud. 

Below: Dossett Hall, ETSU.
Second Below:  Mary Jordan, Special Assistant to the President for Cultural Diversity and Equal Opportunity

Appalachian Trail

Though I've lived here nearly nine years, I'd never been on the Appalachian trail, so I was very pleased when my friend and graduate assistant, Scott Mcilqhuan, organized a mini-expedition for the benefit of the Zhou family who return to Jinan shortly. Scott, who is Canadian, has traveled very extensively and has a knack for sniffing out interesting spots. 

The excursion gave me an opportunity to practice my Chinese, at which I make plodding progress. I have progressed from making courtesy phrases such as "Hello" and "Thank you"  to making such profound statements as "Here is a green tree" and "My backpack is in your car."

Above: The Zhou family in a self-developed hiking uniform.

Below: Scott and Professor Zhou study a map

Going back

At first, Joe and I didn't think we were returning to China this summer.  One of the universities I've worked for had administrative changes, and I was not invited this year. But later on, the University of Shandong at Weihai made a very generous offer, so we're going after all.

This time, we fly from Chicago directly to Hong Kong where we make an overnight stop.  In the past, we've flown from Detroit to Tokyo, but following the Fukishima meltdown we decided to avoid Japan altogether. Tokyo is 148 miles from Fukishima, and elevated levels of radiation have been reported there. We make

I went to the bank today and ordered some Chinese yuan (above) and Hong Kong dollars (below).  While technically part of the People's Republic, Hong Kong has its own currency.  I like to exchange money through a bank.  The centers at airports charge higher fees.

What you bring back

Well, we're back.

I brought home scarves, pearls, key chain bottle openers, ideas for articles, memories of good times with friends, several nasty computer viruses and various species of spyware. I've been running multiple scans, and while my netbook was unaffected, there were over 4,000 corrupted files on my portable hard drive, and over 6,000 on my flash draft. I'd been connecting these to a university computer on which I had Internet access, and it was apparently infected.

All my data was very well backed before I left the US; otherwise I'd have lost years of work. Dennis Cope is helping me salvage my pictures. Maddeningly, I may have erased some pictures myself as I was reconstracting my data. Moral: Back your data! Work slowly! Quit when you're tired.

Money Changers

To change our yuan back to dollars, we had to visit the Bank of China. Taxi drivers refused to take us because we weren't specifying which branch. Joe remembered that the bank we had gone to was across the street from a duck restaurant we'd visited, and they'd given us their card(above). The man saves everything! Sometimes, this is a very useful trait. We showed the card to a driver and were delivered to the bank right away.

It was not difficult to exchange our Chinese yuan for dollars. Rates are uniform, and the fees are low-- much lower than in the US. We did not have as good an experience redeeming the unused portion of the Visa Travel Debit Card we had purchased through the automobile club. Such cards offer ATM access in the currency of any country to which one travels using the going exchange rate. We've used these cards every time we've gone to China, and there's been no problem cashing in the balance until now. This time, we'd found that the rules had changed, and all kinds of fees and penalties were imposed for withdrawal.

Our credit union helped us through the process. The bank officer informed us that any bank or credit union can set up an international debit card, thus avoiding VISA's unreasonable surcharges. Contact me if you want more information.

Below: The Duck Restaurant and The Bank