GETTING READY TO MOVE ON

During these weeks the Model School ended. Language classes became more intense. We often had 3 or more hours of language in a day. The focus of the learning is on survival communication - how to buy a ticket, find a bus, get repairs in your apartment, call for help. We don't focus at all on everyday conversation, which is what I want desparately to do. This learning comes to a head this week as we have our final language test. Pray for us. The test comes right when we are pretty confused - we learn Mandarin, in Chengdu they speak Sichuanhua, and this week we found a new dialect in Chongqing.

We have had a great time with our host family here. They have attempted to give us a good taste of life in and around Chengdu. We visited a Buddhist temple, Bao Guang, in Xingdu. What a nice experience. We met a monk who got us in to see the relics of Buddha. The small town had a great park for walking. After dinner we found people were dancing in the park so we joined them. We visited the home where DuFu the Chinese poet of the people wrote his poems, a setting somewhat like Monet's. We learned some Chengdu history. We spent an afternoon in a panda preserve. There are two in China. We saw some of the pandas resting in air conditioned buildings. It was too hot for them to be outside, but we walked a sweated. Along the way we met a young couple who were from Chongqing. Somehow we got to talking and spent some time walking together. We then decided to have tea. A cup of tea turns out to be an event. We ordered tea and sat in the shade around a lake. We enjoyed the coversation and watched the tea leaves settle to the bottom of the glass. A slow motion ballet is more like it. What a pleasant way to spend an afternoon. I enjoyed it but will need to be careful about accepting invitations - they could take a couple of hours. This week we went fishing in a small farm village. Renee turns out to be a fisher woman. (By that he means that I caught three fish. Though I landed only one, that was the most for our family.) We ate our bounty right on the spot. Today was the family matriarch's birthday so we had a long and sumptuous meal in downtown Chengdu with family. During the week we study and I play tennis once or twice a week, Wednesday night we join the other volunteers for Pizhou Wednesday.

One new event for me, Renee, took place last Saturday morning. One of the volunteers, Jennifer, invited me to go exploring with her to find out what the drumming sound was that she heard outside her window on the weekends. We walked to where she thought the sound came from and we saw no one. However, before we could turn back, women began to appear. Some had drums, about the size of a snare drum, which they beat with two decorated mallets. Some had cymbals. A few carried fans. One who was the leader had a huge drum, too big to carry. She kept the rhythm. We were welcomed. Soon the women began to form ranks. There were about thirty altogether. We joined in as best we could, marching and clapping. They seemed to be practicing a certain routine. We wondered if there were competitions of such groups. But, of course, we could not ask. They were a happy, happy group, and we thought "What a wonderful way to get exercise and enjoy community and create beauty all at the same time."

The most important event of the time, however, was a visit to our home for the next two years. We will tell you about the place in the next blog. We are in Chongqing Province in the city of Yongchuan at the Chongqing University of Arts and Sciences. You can look any of them up and learn. Don't be surprised that small means big in China. We went there by bus. It takes three and a half hours. We were met and escorted to our new home. They have taken great care to make it comfortable. The previous volunteers had gotten a dryer, so we have a washer and dryer. So much for roughing it. Renee will be teaching Speaking English to Freshmen and I will be teaching Audio Visual English to Juniors. Our biggest challenge is that we are working on two different campuses about 45 minutes apart. When will we touch base other than in the evening at home? We will devote the next blog to life in a new town.

MODEL SCHOOL

Time is flying in China. I just used an idiom. We are learning that we use them all the time and it makes it difficult for foreigners to understand Americans.

The biggest event of the past weeks has been Model School. We have had to perform for the Peace Corps so that they can see that we can teach. For my classes I was bussed into center city to work at Sichuan Normal University. There I taught for 7 days students from 15 to 27 who wanted practice in oral English. My idea was to tell them about America and then have them tell me about China. They loved teaching me. The class started with 21 students and by the end had 30. The Peace Corps supervisors were impressed with the result and the idea.

Out of the class on American foods, came the offer to take me to dinner. Actually a couple of them had the idea of taking me to HotPot. I think the original idea was to watch me eat strange foods so spicy it would kill me. In the end the opportunity went to everyone. Thirteen of the students joined me for dinner. One of the students arranged the restaurant and led us there. We sat around the table and laughed and talked for three hours. All had a good time. Instead of killing me they were very careful of the spice I ate. They were thrilled I enjoyed the cows neck and the pigs stomach. It was a successful night.

My class (Renee) was much different than Rich's. First of all, they were not all able English speakers. Their ages ranged from 14 to 17, two years to five years of formal English study in school. Some of the older students were extremely capable, but some of thc younger had great difficulty conducting a conversation. I have so much to learn about teaching oral English! Despite the obstacles, I enjoyed my seven days of teaching. I had an idea that I wanted to have "Building a Bridge" as a theme. Of course, I wanted to do some singing, so on the first day, I taught them "Make new friends, but keep the old. One is silver and the other gold." Somehow a college student was in the class that day, and she contributed the word "metaphor." That was pretty amazing, and it worked very well with the idea of language as a bridge, which I was going to bring up later. My favorite activity was role plays because the weaker students could write very basic dialogues, and the stronger students could show off. My partner, Rebecca, who is teaching now, is much better at devising many activities around a central theme. I am learning a lot from her. One fun thing was that I became wired for sound. Instead of telling me that I needed to shout to make myself heard, the Peace Corps supervisor provided me with a portable microphone pack. They said I could request on at our site:)

While teaching, we continued to study Chinese. I (Rich) have ups and downs. I speak to our busdriver and learn about his family and I'm excited. I speak to someone else and there is no communication. My teacher seems happy and I am mostly. Renee has been moved up to my class so we will be able to work together this week. On Saturday, August 2, we went to a wedding. Don't ask me why or how, but I was called on to give a speech in Chinese. The speech ended up being five lines but everyone was happy and I got across my main idea. I (Renee) was very proud of Rich.

On weekends we have also been busy. Everything seems to take the same amount of time - six hours. We visited LouDai, an old city famous for commercial ventures, Wen Shu Yuan, a Buddhist temple where the ashes of our host father are stored, Jin Sha, an archaelogical site of what is thought to be the original Chengdu, San Sun Xiang, a garden where we ate under a canopy of vines and is always referred to as the countryside. During the week we take walks around campus and into town. I have been able to play tennis, usually twice a week. This week I played with the computer faculty on Monday and Chengdu government officials on Saturday, thanks to my host father.

Renee continues to have some physical issues - a cold, a lingering cough, and a foot which is recovering from a good twisting at LouDai. I remain well with energy to do most things to the wonderment of the Chinese who can't believe someone my age can even carry my bag.

Today we had two visitors. Both were students from Wuhan, but they didn't know each other. Ace is a Junior and lives in Chengdu area. Peng Hu is a graduate student who Renee has helped with his English. He came to thank us for our help. It was his first time to fly on an airplance. He and the other Chinese humble us with their kindness.

Jim and Carol Ernst wrote this week and sent postcards from Montana. Five cards did not raise the mailing costs. We have already used them. We could use cards from Philly and PA, but also from other places if you are of a mind. We love getting snail mail as much as your email thoughts. Keep them coming:)

Dr. and Mrs. Richard Erickson

Sichuan University

Mail Box 278
Wang Jiang Road #278
Chengdu,610064

People's Republic of China