English Classes

I started teaching English classes this week. On Mondays, Wednesdays and Fridays I teach a beginner and advanced beginner class. Both classes have 4 men. We are covering basic greetings and adding in some vocabulary. We use our translator apps some in class but they are working hard and willing to try anything. I like all of them and simply adore some of the older ones that are trying to learn English.

The Introduction to English Class

The man on the right is older than me. He is a sheet metal worker. He spoke zero English when we started. I adore him.

The man in the background is on the housekeeping staff (I love that anyone in the company is provided lessons). He studies very hard. He had new vocabulary that I hadn't even taught yet on the second class.

The two classes on Tuesdays, Thursdays and Saturdays are more advanced. I have some weaker ones in both classes but I opted to mix a small variety of levels together. We have a total of 12 in these two classes. I haven't decided if I like the mix or not. When I did class placement, there wasn't a clear difference to make two distinct groups but I might divide them differently next session. The interesting thing is these advanced classes are less likely to speak out than my beginners. The students are all younger than me and closer to college age so maybe they're still in classroom mode and they're quiet during class. However the beginner classes are older and more prone to just say what they want to say (like most of us get as we age!).

I am trying to teach without the translator app on my phone during class but the lack of English in the first groups make that a challenge. So yesterday I tried my hand at writing some basic instructions in Chinese. They were shocked but it conveyed my point - so mission accomplished! Modern technology is just a marvel.

The top is English, the middle is Pinyin (Chinese written in English characters), and the bottom is Chinese.

I believe I'm teaching quite well with the lower two classes. I don't feel that I have my feet under me in the advanced classes which is the opposite of what I was expecting. I imagine that feeling will come and go as the weeks pass.

I have also learned two interesting facts about language in China:
#1 - They use a 44 letter alphabet when teaching English in the schools here. When a student mentioned this I was obviously VERY confused. Then they showed me the alphabet. MORE confusion. I did some research and this is the International Phonetic Alphabet. It's basically the sounds that are present in the spoken English language. So the "th" sound in the word, thank, is written as θ .  So now I have the English, the Chinese, and the Phonetic spelling on all our handouts. It's quite a challenge for me to think in this since it's new to me but if it helps their pronunciation then so be it!

#2 - Steve and I were discussing all the Chinese characters that people have to learn versus our 26 letters. We wondered what happens here when a new word is introduced into the language. Take for example the word "selfie". A few years ago this word didn't exist. In English, I believe the younger generation makes up many words and some find their way into mainstream language. Then a general consensus of spelling happens and eventually these words even find their way into our dictionaries. It's quite amazing when you stop to think about it. So we asked one of our bilingual coworkers who hangs out with us a bit what happens when a new word (like selfie) comes into being. Do you make up a new symbol and how in the world does that happened. He explained that a new group of symbols basically describe the new word and would then be translated as the new word. So the literal writing for selfie would translate as "myself taking picture" on our apps but a true bilingual human translator would translate the grouping as "selfie". 

So there's your language lesson for the day! 

An unlikely guest comes to "the show"

Last Thursday night, our HR manager, Lollie, notified me of a "Government Meeting" on Friday afternoon that I needed to attend.  Our Chairman, Abraham, had already left town for a business trip and the Chinese New Year holiday, so someone had to be the face of the company while he was gone.  And yes, that face would be me, the token American engineer.   Lollie said to dress with "formal clothes", so I came with dockers and a button-down shirt - that's the best I brought here.  Rambo, the lead manufacturing engineer joined us and we met Sam, our company driver and headed into town.

The Big Buildings

The "meeting" was held at the newly constructed Jingmen City government complex.  I was at this massive facility a couple of weeks ago to apply for my work visa.  And when I say massive, I mean MASSIVE.  Anything the government does in China is usually done BIG.  This complex is larger than most, if not all, 50 USA state house complexes and rivals any government building group you'd see in DC not named the Pentagon in size.  A huge group of high-rise apartment buildings is also nearby to house the workers.   However, if you take a close look at some of the offices, you'll see paint and stucco already peeling off the walls and ceilings.  I said "big", I didn't say "well".

One of several huge city government buildings

The city government meeting room/theater building

The particular building we arrived at is actually a big theater, or perhaps doubles as the local communist party meeting room.  The first thing that caught my eye (besides the numerous Chinese staring at me - I've gotten used to this) was a large throng of women in nurse uniforms seated in a group.

Lower level of the "theater" with nurses seated on the left

It turns out this meeting included all manner of government workers, their professions made obvious by the wearing of their workday uniforms.  Distinguished guests, like high level communist party officers and business leaders had the best seats.  And yes, you guessed it - so did I, right in the 3rd row.

Liu Ning Yi (Lollie) our HR manager looks good here, but was feeling terrible

I sat next to Lollie, while Rambo was in the next row.  Poor Lollie - she has been battling a cold and was feeling worse by the minute.  To make matters worse, a local TV film crew working the event kept panning the camera in our direction - after all, I looked AMAZING as I usually do.  Anyway, all this attention given to yours truly also gave the sickly, coughing, hacking Lollie extra air time.  I'm thinking Americans don't usually attend the communist party government end-of-the-year events in these parts.

THE BIG CHEESE?

Finally, the lights dimmed and out came a high level city government guy - as he walked up a loud musical flourish blasted the audience - it was like the Grammys, Oscars, etc all put together.

The music, fog and bright lights as the Government leaders took the podium.

After a short speech, He then announced (to another musical flourish "BOM! BOM-BOM-BOM! BOM! BOM!", more fog, lights and more) The Mayor of Jingmen City!  And the crowd goes wild!  Ok, the crowd really just clapped, but I can't emphasize enough how obnoxiously over-the-top the flourish was for...a mayor.   Just picture your small hometown mayor walking on stage to host the Miss America pageant.

Chinese "paparazzi" getting the money shots of the Mayor

THE BIG SHOW

Thankfully, the mayor kept his speech (whatever he said) fairly short and the show started.

This was clearly not a typically meeting, but an end of the year talent show celebrating Jingmen City and its amazing local communist government.  There were 10 acts - all singing and dancing numbers - and one comedy skit, which of course was impossible to understand.   The performers represented all ages from elementary school kids to older adults.

In between acts, a young perky Chinese couple extolled the amazing progress that Jingmen City has attained and all the hopes and dreams for a bright government controlled future.  Dude. Sign. Me. Up.

The show's hosts

Many of the songs sung were original compositions - and most were about Jingmen City. (I would occasionally hear "Jingmen" in the lyrics).   Fortunately, I cannot understand mandarin so I couldn't get the full effect of how corny this really was from my cultural perspective (theater isn't my thing anyway, and neither is one-party government).

Jingmen city boy band (we'll call them "One Party Direction")

Scenes from Jingmen City were often shown in the background to enhance civic pride.  They included government projects from all areas of the economy, construction cranes, factories, farms and nature scenes.  At one point, several scenes flashed showing the aviation park where a certain American engineer is making things happen...

This number included scenes from the aviation park where I work

But you know, after some reflection, I'm thinking I may compose an "Ode to Simpsonville, SC" ditty before I return to the states.  Or maybe "Shine Simpsonville Shine" would work.   Someone give Mayor Curtis a heads up and schedule my audition.  I've already sang Karaoke - it's time to kick it up a notch Simpsonville!

Our First Car Outing

Today we went into Jingmen for lunch and groceries. That's not so unusual but this time Stephen drove us! We've been given top access to the smallest company car. I think some of our co-workers were concerned that we'd disappear and they'd never see us again, but Stephen said he could do it and after 23 years, I believed him. So this morning we loaded up and hit the road.

Stephen ready to tackle the streets of Jingmen in our TINY car

How we actually looked

How I imagined we looked!

The highway going into the city is very wide with little to no traffic. My job was to watch the right hand side for pedestrians, tuk-tuk vehicles, and incoming traffic.

We're in such a rural area

Traffic picked up as we neared the city and arrived at Wanda Plaza (one of the malls). We went mid-morning though so no real issues. One wrong turn but easily corrected.

Getting closer - you can see Jingmen in the distance

Coming into the city - looking for the parking garage

Once we figured out how and where to park we went into the mall and found an awesome place for lunch. Still Chinese food but noodles and some crispy options (everything in the cafeteria is soft). These massage chairs make me laugh since they usually have napping men in them!

We found some groceries and on our way out we spotted a cafe that advertised, in English, pastries and coffee. We walked in and picked out two yummy desserts. When Stephen asked if he could get a cappuccino (Google translate), the three young ladies behind the counter just giggled. Oh well. We brought our pastries home and made our own coffee. The pastries however were delicious and very affordable (about $2 each and they're big!)

End of the Year Company Party

The Chinese New Year is coming up so the company had a big party tonight to close out the year. Everyone that works for the company was included. We all arrived and were seated at the typical round tables with all the food on the center circle. When we arrived everyone was playing a game on their social media (WeChat) called Red Packets. Red Packets are the standard way they exchange gift money. With this game you post money that anyone in the chat can claim. Fastest finger wins it. Think white elephant exchange type atmosphere. The amounts are very small (It ranged from about 2 cents to $4) They went crazy when Stephen posted one. They weren't expecting that at all. Then the President of Aloong spoke on the end of the year progress and encouraged everyone for the year to come.

Abraham, President of Aloong

Then we ate. It's hard for me because I'm not very fast with the chopsticks and the table starts moving before I'm ready at times. There was something new tonight. The smallest baby shrimp ever. They were fried and crunchy. You eat the entire thing - head, shell and legs. They were really tasty. They're smaller than my pinky finger. And we drank steaming hot Coke with sliced ginger in it. Bless.

Our hosts for the evening did an excellent job keeping the party going. At one point we all reached under our seats and found Red Packets with a cash bonus! (Keep in mind the exchange rate is 6 to 1, still $50 each is very generous!)

Lollie and Sam, our emcees

Lollie, who serves as our interpreter

The famous Red Packets

Not too shabby!

And then...the entertainment started. Karaoke. Some of our co-workers can really sing and sadly some can not. They started requesting us to sing in English. When we realized that our two options were to duck out or pick a song, we relented. We chose "Open Arms" by Journey since it's what we danced to at our wedding. They announced it and why we chose it and everyone went CRAZY! It was hilarious.

23 years later we're living in China singing our first dance song

And finally Stephen and Rambo (Senior Manufacturing Engineer) closed the evening with "We Will Rock You". It was epic! I wish you could all have been there.

Head engineers bringing the house down!