Week in Review: 28 February to 07 March 2005

Last week, I began my first week of classes and did some more exploring of Changchun.

 

I taught twelve classes last week, two lessons-worth, and about 250 students.  The first class was a bit rough, but I caught on easily from there on in.  Class time was split up half and half between the other instructor and I, with whom I am teaching the classes.  The first lesson consisted of me introducing myself the second lesson fielding questions from students.  I talked about college life in America, my background, and what I want to do in the future.  The classes are essentially "conversational English with a medical flavor," as it's been said.

 

In class, you have some students who are more into the class than others.  Even though I have only been teaching a week, I have come to enjoy the students who come up to me after class and ask more questions.  I will be doing my biotech lectures towards the middle of the semester for a good three or four weeks and will be covering stem cell, cloning, euthanasia, and palliative care policy and ethics.

 

On Sunday, I checked out a huge park nearby with Victor, a new Chinese friend, who teaches at a different university campus in the northern part of the city.  The park was huge with a lake and an outdoor entertainment section with bumper cars and a race track, kind of like going to a state fair.  There were some bridges that have Chinese architecture and paintings of difference scenes from around the country that were beautiful.  There is still about a foot and a half of ice on the lake and there were people out there with go-carts and locals ice fishing (or trying to, at least, since it looked like all of the fish underneath the ice had gone belly-up some time ago due to lack of oxygen).  Park rangers were out "aerating" the ice, as well.  Victor and I stepped onto the ice and checked everything out... I even helped the park rangers aerate the ice at one hole.  I think I might have a picture of that.

 

With all of the locals whom I have met, they don't mind helping foreigners and friends of foreigners out at all.  Victor's very excited about learning to improve his spoken English, as like many educated Chinese, his written skills are better than his verbal, so I have been helping him out.  It's been a lot fun getting to know him.  He's a PhD student and has a wife and new son, just about six months old, so he's glad to get out the house every now and again and hangout.  He's become one of my many translators when I go to shop for something that I need for the apartment.

 

As for pictures, y'all may just have to settle for text.  We'll see if I am able to post them here in the near future.