So I've moved into my apartment on Saturday. This is awesome, however I currently have no internet and therefore cannot write a "look at my apartment!" post. I should (hopefully) have internet by this weekend, however, and then I shall dutifully take a bunch of pictures and present them for the internet's viewing pleasure.
Until then, some quick updates/thoughts:
I've started teaching an English class. The students are undergraduate psychology students, about 25 or so of them, and I was asked to do this because I am the only native English speaker in the department. That's my only qualification. I told my boss that I have no teaching experience and will probably not do a good job, but she told me that just having the opportunity to speak with a native speaker will be useful, no matter what we do. I've also received other job offers to teach English, where again the only qualification I have is being a native speaker. Ah well. My first class was on Monday, and it went...okay. Not great, not terrible, but fine. I apparently scared the kids and, to no one's surprise, talked too fast and was a little hard to understand. I will try and correct all of this in the future, but please wish my students' luck...
Chinese bureaucracy is wonderful. And by that I mean, of course, annoying. I've been running all over the city, giving all sorts of government offices my forms, waiting several days, retrieving it, and going somewhere else to do it again. Because I live outside of the campus, the school only helps me a certain amount, so I'm doing this with only the help of some of my coworkers. They're absolutely awesome and I'd be lost without them, but they've never gone through this process either, so we're all just taking it a bit at a time.
I've disappointed a large number of Chinese Christians. I had noticed that what seemed like a strangely large number of Chinese I had had conversations with turned out to be Christian (and brought that fact up), but it didn't occur to me until I was talking with an American I had met in Guangzhou that they might be specifically seeking me out. They make the not unreasonable assumption that the foreigner they see walking around is Christian, and this idea is strengthened when they find out I'm American. So they proceed to have a long conversation with me before bringing up towards the end that they're Christian and asking if I am. The following conversation then ensues:
"No, I'm not. I'm an atheist/don't have a religion."
"Oh. But aren't most Americans Christian?"
"Yup, it just turns out that I'm not."
That has happened to me many a time. Two separate people have also offered to take me with them to church (before asking what my religion was), and I feel see their disappointment when I reply, "Sorry." So that's been fun. It was even better when I was in Beijing with the two other Luce Scholars, when we really confused everyone by having three Americans: two atheists, one Jew, and no Christians. It's definitely been an interesting cultural experience, one that I was not expecting.
Until then, some quick updates/thoughts:
I've started teaching an English class. The students are undergraduate psychology students, about 25 or so of them, and I was asked to do this because I am the only native English speaker in the department. That's my only qualification. I told my boss that I have no teaching experience and will probably not do a good job, but she told me that just having the opportunity to speak with a native speaker will be useful, no matter what we do. I've also received other job offers to teach English, where again the only qualification I have is being a native speaker. Ah well. My first class was on Monday, and it went...okay. Not great, not terrible, but fine. I apparently scared the kids and, to no one's surprise, talked too fast and was a little hard to understand. I will try and correct all of this in the future, but please wish my students' luck...
Chinese bureaucracy is wonderful. And by that I mean, of course, annoying. I've been running all over the city, giving all sorts of government offices my forms, waiting several days, retrieving it, and going somewhere else to do it again. Because I live outside of the campus, the school only helps me a certain amount, so I'm doing this with only the help of some of my coworkers. They're absolutely awesome and I'd be lost without them, but they've never gone through this process either, so we're all just taking it a bit at a time.
I've disappointed a large number of Chinese Christians. I had noticed that what seemed like a strangely large number of Chinese I had had conversations with turned out to be Christian (and brought that fact up), but it didn't occur to me until I was talking with an American I had met in Guangzhou that they might be specifically seeking me out. They make the not unreasonable assumption that the foreigner they see walking around is Christian, and this idea is strengthened when they find out I'm American. So they proceed to have a long conversation with me before bringing up towards the end that they're Christian and asking if I am. The following conversation then ensues:
"No, I'm not. I'm an atheist/don't have a religion."
"Oh. But aren't most Americans Christian?"
"Yup, it just turns out that I'm not."
That has happened to me many a time. Two separate people have also offered to take me with them to church (before asking what my religion was), and I feel see their disappointment when I reply, "Sorry." So that's been fun. It was even better when I was in Beijing with the two other Luce Scholars, when we really confused everyone by having three Americans: two atheists, one Jew, and no Christians. It's definitely been an interesting cultural experience, one that I was not expecting.
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