2004-11-25 - 8:20 a.m.
So several of my friends have been asking for me to tell them about a "normal" day. First thing to remember, "normal" back 6200 miles in the US is different than "normal" here.
We we usually get up at about 6:30 am our time. WE get to find out if we have any hot water, by turning it on, and counting to 10 then jumping into the shower (not really, we do feel it, but most days the temperature is very variable.) So we take our morning shower. During this eventful time, the temperature changes at least 6 times. I don't mean it changes from hot to warm and stays there. No the temperature actually swings 6 times. So we get in, and the temperature is just right. Then it increases in temperature to almost boiling/scalding water (usually you have to yelp, and jump out of the way) Then after about a minute, the temperature swings the other way. So scalding becames, hot and nice, then becomes warm, then lukewarm, (jump out of the water) becomes chilly, cold, and ice cold. Then it swings back to scalding again. I call this the CHINA SHOWER SHUFFLE. You have to time it just right, and it would make a great dance step in a club.
Because each time you are jumping out of the water you are still scrubbing yourself clean. So the drill usually goes. turn on shower. get wet, feel the water moving to scalding, step out grab the shampoo and put into your hair, feel the water going back down from scalding, hop back in, and rinse off the shampoo (do it fast though, or you get shampoo suds in your eyes while the water swings through cold), jump out as the chilly water hits, and grab the soap. soap up, feel the water, if it is hot again hop back in it. Rinse and repeat.
We can remove this obstacle most days, we got a removable shower head on a hose, and a small (3' around bucket, about 10 inches deep) so we just hold the shower to the wall when it is cold, and sit in the bucket. That is the kids bath, they think it is fun, I keep thinking oh great, a kiddy pool for a bath!
Next it is breakfast time. SIAS provides all the meals in our cafeteria. So this isn't too bad. Hey, I don't have to cook, or do the dishes so I won't complain. Breakfast is the only meal that does not change. It is buffet style, eggs over easy, scrambled, omlette, fried potatoes, french toast, pancakes, sausages, and bacon, and boiled eggs. We can also get oatmeal, or toast and coffee. Simple, and constant, so not too bad.
Then we go off to class (or stay home with the kids) We we go off to class, it isn't too far. About 500 meters at the furthest walk. Takes about 5 to 7 minutes to walk to class. It is very noticable. You cause a ripple in the students who are all walking to class. You are usually taller than the students, and when you see the other foreign teachers you realize how different we are from the students. I don't know how to describe it to a white caucasian person, other than to say go live on the reservations for a year, or go live in downtown detroit or washington dc and that comes close. Now make it an entirely different language, and culture.
Classes are pretty standard. Each class lasts 2 hours a day, and they appear to be randomly placed each day. There is no rthyme or reason for the classes. So my schedule for example. I meet one class on Monday at 4pm 6pm, and I meet them again on Friday at 10 am to noon. I meet my other cinema class on tuesday at 10 am, and then thursday at 4 pm. So instead of following the types of schedules we are current with (ie mon wed fri, or tues thurs at the SAME TIME, they actually just schedule them whenever they can fit them in.) The school actually schedules 10000 student scheduleds by hand, and pen and paper instead of using a computer system!!! Go figure.
In our classes we have a major problem with cheating, and plagerism. According to my students, it is the chinese way. Yes you read that correctly. Their professors don't care about plagerism, only directly cheating on an exam. And then they don't look too hard. So I've had to give zero's for plagerism on 3 occassions. The rules for the english classes through Fort Hayes Kansas are that if a student is caught cheating or plagerising 3x in their academic career they are expelled from school. (but it doesn't seem to work that way)
Students can and do badger teachers about grades, they can and do make friends in the administration who will change their grades, and lets not forget most of these students have parents who have lots of money. Parents can and do pressure the college to change grades.
Oh I left out how our students get here. SIAS is the first privately owned college by an american citizen. Being privately owned, students come here because they scored LOW on their college entrance exams. See if they scored high, they would go to a state school, but since they scored LOW, this is their only real chance to go to college. So we get the students who would not make it in the state schools, but who hvae LOTS OF MONEY!
SIAS offers 2 types of degrees, the chinese one and one that is a Bachelors of Liberal Studies from Fort Hayes Kansas.(virtual school). and the fort Hayes classes cost 10x what the sias classes cost. So you do the math, we have lots of rich students who don't care. But to be fair, we also have lots of students who realize they screwed up earlier, and are WORKING REALLY HARD! so it kind of makes up for it.
(more later, have to deal with the kids)
Will
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