July 12th, 2010
Here we are at the beginning of another week in the People's Republic of China. I feel like I am finally getting used to the pace of the language classes, getting to know the people in our training group a little better and learning to function within our new daily routine. Having our breakfast and dinner prepared for us each day still feels strange, and I find myself with extra energy in the evenings which would normally be put to use on cooking and cleaning. Now I make flashcards, go over homework, and try to get as much reading done as I can before I fall asleep. We get authentic practice with our Chinese during the lunch hour, asking prices of dishes and ordering lunch and snacks at the shopping area near the school's south gate. We also make small conversation over the dinner table, alternately in broken Chinese and broken English, since our English-fluent jie-jie is out of town for a while. I imagine if we were doing our own shopping and such that our Chinese would get a little more practical use, but there is something about this sheltered environment that makes it seem more comfortable to try new phrases and grammatical structures knowing that we will still eat and not get ripped off in the process.
I didn't write about it at the time, but I have been going over in my mind the things we learned at our whole group sessions last Friday at Sichuan University, especially regarding the "diarrhea dialogue." This might give the folks back home an idea about what kind of education regarding health and safety we're getting here, rest assured – they are leaving no stone unturned. A wholly unappetizing topic, it seems to be foremost in my mind every time I've taken a drink or bite since. Not that I have had any particularly challenging issues in this area, especially after learning the official definition of diarrhea (at least by Peace Corps standards) is four loose bowel movements or more in a day (and try not to call the medical office until you have more than eight). What really struck me was the vast array of methods one could come to acquire this affliction. There is simply adjusting to new foods and levels of spiciness (luckily I had been working myself up to it with the trips to Lucky Strike and extra spiciness wherever applicable), medications, stress, medical conditions, viral infections, bacterial infections, toxins, and of course parasites! Thankfully the methods of avoidance are ones that Richy and I have discovered (sometimes the hard way) through our travels: eat only hot foods, see your street food get prepared, don't eat at empty restaurants, wash hands, wash and peel fruits and vegetables, don't drink the water, avoidance of too cheap bottled water, and trying to consume as many bland foods as possible when that icky gut feeling starts coming on (I hope those of you who plan to visit us here are taking heed). It is comforting to know that when (not if) it hits, the Peace Corps has provided us with several packets of balanced oral rehydration salts, and a handy recipe for making our own in case we run out or happen to have left home without it.
July 18th, 2010
Another week of training has passed and although exhausted, I am content that this experience is adequately preparing us for service. Hours and hours a day of language training is beginning to sink in, as I discovered today logging into my lingt.com account, I was able to identify several more terms that eluded me just last week! I still most look forward to our Thursday sessions at Sichuan University (despite getting up at 5:30 to catch the bus at 7:20 that got us there 45 minutes early), which have proven to provide the most practical survival tips and reassure me that all those lessons we learned the hard way in Korea were valid. This week we covered how to avoid unwanted attention and preserving personal space by throwing elbows and making ugly noises and gestures, and how to avoid getting so drunk at Chinese social functions that you can make it home with out needing stitches (now who would need that kind of information?).
Our host family invited us to join them in the evenings this week watching a television show called "Chinese Bridge." Think American Idol meets It's a Small World meets China. In this show, more than 100 foreigners try to show off their skills in Chinese language, singing, and other pop arts while basically making complete fools of themselves, all while dressed in "traditional" attire. For example, the woman from Egypt was dressed in a glitzy Cleopatra outfit, while the Korean woman danced around in her hanbok and several others were wearing kilts, lederhosen and other rarely seen European ensembles. The prize for winning the competition is apparently a round trip plane ticket home and back to China, and a scholarship to continue their Chinese studies. It's quite entertaining, especially since their Chinese performances are generally easy for me to understand, but there is also something unsettling about the way these people are so willing to make themselves into ethnic caricatures for the Chinese audience. Then again, this is probably a function of reality television programming everywhere, although I can't really imagine Americans watching a show where foreigners compete to show how well they speak English.
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