Friendly Governmental Suggestion

             This traditional Beijing home consists of small buildings which open out to a courtyard. The same family has stayed in this complex for a few generations; however, the government “suggests” they allow tourists to view it.  I believe that under the new dispensation, they receive payment.  One of the men was cordial, but several members of the family seemed unhappy to have us gawking at their home.  Having experienced annual parsonage inspections, I understood.  This would be far worse.

           In a discussion with another professor, I referred to China’s new system as Capitalism, and I was corrected.  We call it “revised Socialism,” my colleague said with a grin.

Skull session

           Our students have started teaching, and we collaborate with our partners concerning lessons.  They’ve been asking us to do lectures, and we do prepare power points. But we’re also trying to include some  group activities. Obviously, you can’t learn a language without trying to speak it.

Community Mail

             Chinese students live six to a tiny dormitory room and have no post office box of their own.   

             When they purchase an item over the Internet, the package goes to a shop in the student center where they lie around on the floor awaiting pickup.  I don’t know if they pay for this service. The procedure does not appear secure, and would make me uncomfortable; however, I’m told the students must show their ID’s.   

Literal Translation

          This sign is posted on the wall of my room.  So what the heck does it mean?  ‘Pensile’ is an obscure English word meaning ‘the building of a hanging nest.’  Notice the picture in the upper left hand corner of the notice.  The sign is actually telling people not to hang laundry from the sprinkler system.  

            Likely, the sign maker plugged an appropriate Chinese phrase into a translation app on a cell phone or electronic translator, and the apparatus came up with this piece of nonsense.  Portable software has its place in travel and the initial phases of learning a language, but past that it slows people down and makes them sound silly.  Often, when intermediate learners ask me how to improve their English,  I tell them to throw these automatic dictionaries out of the window.

Post-retirement

              The Chinese retire earlier than we, generally by age 55 or 60 for men and sometimes as young as 50 or 55 for women. The government determines retirement dates, and people often don’t have the option of working afterwards.  A favorite pastime of senior citizens here is traditional Chinese dancing, which participants do very beautifully.  A retirement spent in this way would drive me out of my mind.

Lake or Sea?

                Our last day in Beijing, we visited Bei Hai Park, where the ancient emperors went to worship.  ‘Bei’ means ‘North,’ as in Beijing.  ‘Hai’ means sea.  The emperor who first built this place was from a desert region of Mongolia.  He thought the vast lake here was actually a sea.

 Moving on

              We have left Beijing. We took a bullet train to Jinan, capital of Shandong Province.  It was in Shandong that Confucius, the Chinese sage, lived and taught.

               Our work here is the heart of this project.  We will be teaching English to college students and also to children in the public schools.