Journey to Xi’an January 12, 2006
Happy New Year!
2006, the Year of the Dog, is fast coming upon us. The Chinese celebrate the Lunar New Year, which this year falls on January 28. The Chinese Lunar calendar is based on a twelve-year cycle, with each cycle being represented by a creature from legend. For example, my birth year is represented by the Ox. According to legend, the ox was the (ahem) strongest, kindest and most patient of the creatures, the odds-on favorite to be first in the race for the honor of beginning the cycle of years. But the ox lost out to the rat, who cajoled the Ox into taking it across the river on the ox’s back. Upon reaching the opposite shore, rat jumped down and raced to the finish line, to become first in the cycle of years. By the way, students taught us the “official” Chinese New Year song. It’s fairly simple libretto is sung to the tune familiar to the West as “Oh, My Darlin’ Clementine.” We have had fun with that fact.
We had our first, and only, snow last week. It was a lovely event. The government successfully “seeded” the clouds, resulting in snowfall for just about 24 hours. With the daily temperature around 0 degrees centigrade, the snow has stayed on the ground nicely.
The cameras have been busy.
Schools here take a long break between semesters. This year, the break commences on January 16, and ends on February 24. Classes resume February 27. As of today (January 12) We do not know what we will be teaching next semester, or who our students will be. Oh, we have a general idea. Janet will continue in the English Department, probably teaching second semester first year English, and possibly with the same students. I probably will have at least three new classes and lose two of my present classes. The new classes are in the Law department and cover English Legal Systems and Legal Terms, a class I am anxious to begin.
We just completed the final examinations of our students, involving a grueling week of individual student interviews of 3 to 4 minutes each, evaluating their progress in Oral English, then grading first-year student exam papers in English Listening. In the oral presentations, the students reviewed several dozen Chinese Folk Legends. In the written exam, students listened to, and were tested on, a brief article on George Lucas and Star Wars: The Phantom Menace. While most did very well in the written exam, there were some notable errors in identifying the name of the Movie and the Director. A few examples:
- The Phantom – Jordge Lukes
- The Phantom – Jordge Lukars (These first two “studied” together?)
- Sky Worker – Gerg Looker
- The Sentence Menace – (see “Judge Lookers, infra.) – George Looks
- The Phanto Menace – Gorge Loukers
- The Fanciest Menace (Inspired by Mr. Blackwell, obviously) – Jonh Lookers
- Dog Looker (An indication of his Chinese birth year?) – Judge Lookers (See “The Sentence Menace”, supra.)
- The Phantom of the Meance (A musical version?)
- The Fight of Maners (A Judith Martin book?)
- The Fighten Menace (a WWA Wrestler maybe?) – Jochi Lookis
- Menace Warrior – Gegro (Italian one-named director)
We have our work cut out for us in the second semester!
The written testing was done in a new building on campus. By new is meant that over half of the building was not complete, and they rushed through installing of some 400 computerized media center stations in the period between December 30 and January 10, when testing began. Entry was through the one doorway that had been completed prior to testing beginning. The building was a steel shell when last semester began. Things go up quickly on the new campus. It is, sadly, a fact that the quality of workmanship on the new buildings leaves much to be desired. Doors that do not close, settling cracks, creaking floors, water leaks, etc.
Janet and I will be traveling for the next three weeks, visiting Hainan Island (the Hawaii of China), Shenzhen (gateway to Hong Kong), Hong Kong,, Guilin, Kungming, Suzhou, a cruise on the Green (Li) River, Yangshuo, Lijiang (near the Tibetan border), Dali, Shanghai, and cities around Shanghai, etc. Janet will shop. I will complain (Janet says I should memorize the first few pages of A Christmas Carol for new things about which to complain) and take pictures. I will also memorize the Chinese words to “Happy Birthday to you”, in celebration of Janet’s Birthday on January 25. She insists that, even then, she will not have reached “a certain age.”
We are loving this experience. We recommend it to anyone with any sense of adventure left in them.
Enjoy!