Small moments

What seemed initially like an infinite amount of time here in China is probably soon approaching an end. Now I am busier than ever with school work and I am also conducting research on Chinese education, learning and teaching methods. With my remaining time left, I try to find time to see more of China than the limited, walled-in existence we have had living on the campus of the university this year. Some days our lives consist only of going to the classrooms where we teach or perhaps a nearby coffee shop to work and then back home. About two months ago I noticed myself slipping into a slight depression from this limited existence. The initial curiosity and wonder that we experienced in our earlier months here had started to wear off and I found myself complaining about China, teaching, the food here, and other trivial things and yearning for the comforts of home and the closeness and companionship of friends and family.

Lately I have been trying to make an effort instead to appreciate the little things here in China and not dwell on what may make me unhappy. I have started a catalog of memories from this past year of snapshot moments that ostensibly may seem ordinary but are quite special to me. Some of these moments are humorous, some are bizarre, some are “a-ha” moments, and others are just moving. Some of them I have been lucky enough to share with people dear to me, while other moments I have experienced with strangers. They may be small moments when I am walking home from the supermarket at dusk and catching a glimpse of a group of women doing a slow and delicate tai-chi exercise in a small park on the corner. Or it may be sharing a taxi ride with a driver who is patient enough to converse with me in my broken Chinese and tell me about his sons and wife. Or racing in the back of a motorcycle “rickshaw” to get to the ancient wall of Nanjing before the sun sets so that I can spend the special moment with my friends and be reminded of sweet memories from my childhood and my grandfather on his birthday. I’ve captured all of these moments and know that these are what make life special.

Special sunset at Zhonghuamen- Gate of the Nanjing Wall

Although I can’t completely change myself and the propensity to always stress about the future and what’s ahead, I will certainly try in life to live more for the moment.

Sending all of you my love and hoping that you also are capturing special moments and living in the moment to the fullest.

A kind monk on Huangshan (Yellow Mountain) who penned some words of luck on a red ribbon for me. I've felt blessed the past couple of weeks. :)

Another cataloged moment: Watching some graceful calligraphy in the park

Chinese onlookers watching with curiosity as Derek writes chicken- scratch (I say chicken scratch because the character he is writing is "chicken")

Vietnam Encounters

After being in Cambodia, we were not sure whether Vietnam or any other place could match up to it. Touching down in Danang, the weather was cold and wet and there was no friendly and warm Den at the airport to greet us. Since the ride I had arranged never showed up (there was a man there with a “Ms. Stephanie” sign but when we all realized that his client was the other Western woman in the Danang airport who also happened to be named Stephanie, he quickly dumped our bags in the parking lot and left us standing there confused and bewildered), we had to bum a ride from Ben, a friendly Vietnamese student we met on the plane. With a little bit of stopping and questioning on the side of the road, Ben and his father finally found our hotel, Hotel Jimmy. Our hotel was a not so attractive building near the infamous China beach, but it being night, we could have been in any deserted beach town. Once checked into our hotel and changed into our winter clothes (which we had not wore since leaving China), we wandered down the street seeking an ATM and hopefully some Pho, Vietnamese hot broth that had always been comfort food to us in Seattle. In the end for dinner, we shivered in an open air, contiki style restaurant that would probably be the perfect setting in this beach town during the summer but was anything but on that cold, damp January night in Danang. We quickly jogged back to Jimmy in the deserted streets dodg

ing the local rats and jumped into our bed to warm up for the night. Thus began our trip to Vietnam.

Fishermen on China Beach or My Khe the morning after we arrived in Vietnam.

Posters and placards of "Uncle Ho" Chi Minh
dot the cities and countryside

Not to worry dear readers. This blog is not a rant about Vietnam. In fact, the trip got way better the next day. These are the ingredients that made the trip so unforgettable: motorbikes; Kiwi companions; a feisty woman named Tam; encounters with some locals; and the inevitable improvement of the weather. Just add some water (literally) and you have an unforgettable vacation in Vietnam.

Riding around with our Kiwis

Following our lead to Tam's surf shop

Riding around aimlessly on a motorbike we rented from Jimmy the next day, we spotted a couple on the side of the road holding a surf board. Now let me explain. Surfing was one of the main reasons why we came to Danang and China Beach. But seeing the dismal weather and lack of surfboard rental places (and surfers), we thought it was a lost cause. So when we met Zandre and Linselee on the side of the road, they gladly showed us the way to Tam’s Surf Shop about half a kilometer away from the beach. And that is where everything came together and how our trip was set into motion for the next few days. While sitting at Tam’s waiting for lunch and deliberating whether to rent the sought after long board, Matt and Naomi came in for lunch. Thus we met our travel companions/ now friends-for-life from New Zealand.

Our Kiwi companions Matt and Naomi

All suited up for the rain for our motorcycle journey to Hue

Although considerably younger than us (they had just graduated from college/uni and were taking a month long holiday before Matt started his new job), we had a quick connection with Matt and Naomi. Like us, they had come to Danang to test the waters of China Beach and had an open schedule for the next week. Over the next week, the four of us travelled by motorbike up and down part of the coast of Central Vietnam while flexibly picking an agenda for our travels by our mood and the daily weather. From Danang, we travelled to nearby Marble Mountain as well as an epic day trip to Hue (actually we didn’t quite make it to Hue, as the downpour and crazy traffic from the Tet holiday led us to turn back before dark). From Hoi An, a beautiful ancient port city influenced by Chinese, Japanese and French traders and inhabitants, we celebrated Tet (Vietnamese New Year) and travelled to My Son; Cham Island; and back to China Beach in Danang for surfing once the weather had improved. In the evenings as well as for many of our mornings, we dined at Tam’s, the same shop where we rented surfboards.

Champa ruins at My Son

Tam

Dining at Tam’s became a ritual for us as she really cooked the yummiest comfort food I’ve had in Asia. Opening at 7 every morning, Tam would make her bread rolls from scratch every day. She and her daughters would prepare meals for customers in the little kitchen in the back of the surf shop where they presumably also lived. Mornings we usually all ordered bacon, scrambled eggs and potato wedges and evenings her cheeseburgers or spaghetti bolognaise really hit the spot. Her American style food, although simple, is so far my favorite in Asia as it reminds me more like something Mom would make just for me with a little TLC. Since food was made from scratch and prepared only when customers ordered it, it was usually a 45 minute to hour wait. But the wait was worth it and once we were happily eating and Tam had finished cooking, she would pull a chair up next to us and begin to tell stories about her past.

With Tam in her surfshop and diner.

Danang, being just south of the former border between North and South Vietnam during the Vietnam War and being the major offense point for strikes into North Vietnam, was right in the middle of the action during the war. Although I’m not sure whether Tam heralded from Danang or Hue or elsewhere, she came of age during the war and has positive and fond memories of US troops. The US troops took her in, offered her jobs (which helped her family) and protected her. When recalling stories of the war, Tam would get a twinkle in her eyes and seem to be transported back in time. The GIs, she affectionately referred to as “her boys”. Many of “her boys” may have only been briefly part of her life but forever left a mark in her memory. Some of her boys, now grown men, fathers and grandfathers, have returned to Vietnam in recent years to locate where they were stationed during the war; or a spot where they had a few fleeting, happy memories; or where they fought a hard battle and maybe lost a friend. Some of these grown men Tam knew when she was a girl, known as the “Crazy One”. One returned to Vietnam with his grown son and located a spot where Tam and he had been under ambush and where he had saved her life. Another vet, who had not known Tam during the war, had heard about Tam through other vets who had travelled back. Tirelessly he had been trying to find his son, left behind as a toddler at the end of the war. When he finally met Tam in recent years, he had already been on three separate trips to Vietnam and had paid a lot of money to various parties to help him find his son to no avail. Tam recalled the story of taking a motorbike up a steep, wet mountain to a remote village where she found the man’s son, a spitting image of his father. Father and son were reunited after 30+ years. Although separated by thousands of miles and years and language difficulties, father and son have been slowly getting to know each other better and perhaps can begin the process of healing from years of loss, abandonment, and separation. The father, who never married or had any children in the US, now has a family and a legacy in the world.

In addition to helping vets, Tam has met wives, sisters and brothers who have come to Vietnam for a better understanding of the place where their husband or brother fought and may have lost his life. She has helped them also locate spots where their loved ones may have gone missing or been killed, thus providing hopefully some form of healing and closure for loved ones. In the years following the war, Tam’s life was at times very difficult and included additional tales of abandonment, poverty and other trials and tribulations. Nevertheless, Tam took in and adopted children and trudged along and persisted to provide a better future for her family. I have so much admiration and respect for Tam’s persistence, compassion and her heart of gold that has helped make it possible for so many families to heal, find closure, forgive and love again.

Sweet Encounters

Before coming to Vietnam, I was under the illusion that being American, we would not be received warmly in Vietnam given our history there. However, the US’s complicated 20^th century history with Vietnam is now interwoven. Indeed there are many Vietnamese communities in the US, a legacy of the war and its aftermath. Furthermore, while Vietnam is still very much an agricultural and rural country, it appears to be on the brink of being the next big hot-spot for the US (and other countries) wanting to do business in Asia. Indeed, many international companies are starting to close shop in China and are moving South to open factories and plants in Vietnam. Tourism has also boomed in recent years too. Some people we met said that before 1993, Vietnam was very much closed off the rest of the world, but over the years, more and more tourists have made Vietnam their destination in Asia. No longer is Vietnam a destination you can go as a tourist and be a loner. Most of the tourists I saw were from Australia, a now short plane ride away from Down-Under and an affordable vacation trip for a week. Nevertheless, we did not seem to encounter many other Americans and when people learned of where we were from, they did not react negatively. Maybe it’s because we had some Kiwi companions or because the war was long enough ago that most people have put it behind them.

Swapping stories with new friends on Tet

Our trip to Vietnam was also made memorable by some random and fortunate encounters with some locals. Young people invited us to join their Tet (Vietnamese New Year) festivities of playing guitar and drinking beer and telling stories in the park. There was also Ngahn, a mechanic who fixed Matt’s motorbike when it broke down and invited us into his home during Tet for lunch and then accompanied us for the afternoon with his daughter to the Champa ruins at My Son.

Our departure from Vietnam was almost as anticlimactic as our arrival there. Weather was poor and our ride did not take us to the border crossing as had been arranged. And although there was no warm send-off when we left, unexpected encounters for a few fleeting hours with friendly people; children playing peek-a-boo on the train; and drive-by “hellos” and “where are you from?” while riding our motorcycle through the countryside; all made our trip to Vietnam the memory of a lifetime.

 

Hmong hill tribe in Sapa

The very touristy Ha Long Bay

Cambodia Reemerges

Our visit to Indochina began three weeks ago when our plane touched down one early Sunday morning in late January in Siem Reap, Cambodia. Having spent the night in the Singapore airport and having caught an early 6 AM connecting flight, we groggily stumbled outside of the clean and quaint Siem reap airport to be warmly greeted by Den, our tuk tuk driver from our hotel.   Den a small, polite man who was also cheerful in demeanor greeted us with the sompiah, the traditional Cambodian greeting where one presses his or her hands together in front of the chest and bows the head. Moments later we were whisked away on his tuk tuk and taking in the fresh, dry and cool morning air around us as we witnessed communities slowly getting going for the day. After the bustle and craziness of Manila traffic that we had left behind the night before, the quiet calm of Sunday morning in Siem Reap was a welcome change. Having left behind the Philippines and then China two weeks before that, we realized that we were now stepping into yet another kind of Asia. As we whizzed by small farming villages and approached Siem Reap in the tuk tuk, Derek leaned over and said, “I love Cambodia already.”

Angkor Wat at sunrise

It seems that Cambodia has experienced a boom in tourism in recent years. It may not yet attract the numbers as its northwestern neighbor Thailand, but it definitely gets its share of visitors from all over the globe. This was apparent to us immediately as we arrived in Siem Reap and saw that we were in good company with fellow tourists from the US, France, Germany, China, Russia, Australia and so on. It’s true you can hardly go more than ten feet down the main street before you are bombarded by locals offering massage services, tuk tuk transport for the day or hoping you will stop in their shop to buy a Northface knock-off backpack for $15. US dollars are the main form of currency in Cambodia and although you sometimes may get change in Riel, the local currency, all ATMS dispense dollars and most transactions down to even the grassroot level are done in dollars. Although there are no McDonalds or Starbucks in Siem Reap, gourmet sandwich and salads and Mexican food are all within a two minute walk. Siem Reap is indeed a town for tourists. Of course the main reason why we all come to Siem Reap and Cambodia for that matter is the nearby magnificent ruins of Angkor Wat. For me it was magical seeing the sun poke up behind the Angkor Wat temple at 6 am and then spending the day climbing up ruins to the treeline and imagining we were kings admiring our kingdom below. I was fulfilling a dream coming to Angkor Wat and I didn’t mind sharing it with others.

Derek climbing up to the treeline to view the kingdom below

 

Cambodia's future

Cambodians are gentle, quiet and polite people, particularly adults. Children we encountered seemed to come out of their shells a little more and loved greeting tourists and showing us around. I was a little surprised initially to see so many children out and about in the middle of the day and not in school. Keiko, a Peace Corps volunteer from Seattle we met, explained that many children, particularly in rural communities, go to school for half-days. This allows them to help their parents at home or in the fields for part of the day. Some children may go to school in the morning, some in the afternoon. Indeed, children really are the backbone of Cambodia and while it’s true that every country sees hope and future prospects in their children, this case is even more acute in Cambodia where 50% of its population is under the age of 22. This is a sad and sobering result of the civil war and the terror of the Khmer Rouge that ravaged Cambodia in the late 1970’s to the early 1990’s. Rarely did we see people over the age of 40 during our week in Cambodia. 

From Keiko; our encounters with locals; and a booklet called “Dos and Don’ts in Cambodia” (yes- there was such a thing- and quite informative too!), we learned about some proper etiquette in Cambodia. Although it’s a country with a very young population, certain elements of society are still quite conservative. This comes from the fact that a majority of the population practices Theravada Buddhism, which I have learned is the oldest surviving Buddhist school. I got an understanding of this rich history while visiting a local wat or temple in Siem Reap. A beautiful and colorful mural told the story of Buddha in several panels around the perimeter of the temple. Unknowingly I committed one of the “Don’ts” of Cambodia by approaching one of the male monks and asking him a question about the mural’s story. You see, it is taboo for a woman to speak to a monk or for him to even look at a woman. To be fair, he did approach us, but he had another man (who was not of the cloth) in tow and he was probably trying to engage in conversation with Derek. Then, while on a bus trip from Battambang to Siem Reap, Derek had a very chatty and friendly monk sit next to him whose English was so good that he had started an English language school. Derek soon learned from his friendly monk about the gender etiquette. Derek asked what would have happened if his girlfriend had sat next to him? Without offering much reason, the monk replied, “I just couldn’t.”  This he said before calling his sister on his cel phone and having Derek chat with her in English for a few minutes! So it seems that Cambodians live with a long, proud history of tradition that is now intertwined with elements of modernity. Certain traditions and etiquette are deeply engrained and common place. Keiko explained that had I unknowingly sat next to the monk, the entire bus would have collaborated together to make sure that the monk’s honor and my humility would have been spared.

Enlightened One

Den

Our week in Cambodia was all too short and provided us only with a sampling of its rich history; its quiet and warm people; and its stunning scenery. I envied Keiko and her boyfriend Tyler a little for having had the opportunity to spend two years experiencing Cambodia. Both Derek and I realized that one week was too short to visit it. On the day we left, it was only apt that our friend Den, out first introduction to the warmness of Cambodia, brought us to the airport. As we exchanged email addresses and said our goodbyes, I bowed to him with a sompiah and Derek shook his hand. It seemed silly that I was feeling regretful and a little choked up about leaving Cambodia after only one week. I guess we’ll have to find a way to come back again and get a greater sampling of it.

Revisiting the Philippines

Dear Readers,

I finally have the chance to catch up on some blogging. Derek and I have been outside of China for the last month traveling in the Philippines, Cambodia and now Vietnam. I have had a lot of blog topic ideas in my head but somehow the time has just slipped by and next week we’ll be headed back to Nanjing where I will be thrown into a busy, hectic schedule again.

Anyway, while I have a little break in our hectic travel schedule, I thought I would first recap our trip to Philippines. The Philippines holds a special place in my heart and within my family’s history. From 1984-1989, my family lived in Manila- five influential years of my childhood and early adolescence. Before that, my parents were Peace Corps volunteers there in the early years of the program from 1965-1967. Bill, my stepfather, also lived with his family in the early 1960’s in Manila. Finally, my great-grandfather, Julius Jenss, sought adventure in Dagupan, Philippines selling slot machines in the early 1900’s in the years following the Spanish American War and the beginning of a new era of foreign influence in the Philippines.

Given my extended family history in the Philippines, it was pretty uncanny when Derek came into my life and on our first date, told me that his own father lives in the Philippines. So, it’s meant to be- the Philippines and its draw to me and my family. What has now permanently strengthened my ties with the Philippines is that Derek (and I through him) now has an extended Filipino family. On this trip down to the Philippines, we spent some time with Derek’s father Doug and also got to meet his wife Rowena and their children Angel, Faith, Derrick, Charlene and Simon. Derek’s brothers and sisters took to him very quickly and affectionately called him Kuya or “big brother” in Visayan, which they spoke along with English at home. I too have been dubbed “Auntie Steph”, which I enjoy.

For me revisiting the Philippines was also made unique by the opportunity to spend time with a Filipino family. My childhood years in Manila gave me the opportunity to meet Filipino friends as well as friends from all over the globe. However meeting Rowena’s family was the first time I really got to spend extensive time with a Filipino family and therefore learn about the important role that family plays there. What I have experienced in the US is that many children move out of home once they come of age and then only see extended family during major holidays. However, in the Philippines, it seems that many children continue to live close to their family even after they have grown up. It’s not uncommon for grown-up sisters, brothers, and even cousins to live under one roof where they may help each other out with raising each others’ children, housekeeping, cooking, etc. In a Filipino family, children therefore grow up with a large but close-knit family. This was interesting for me to see first-hand with Doug and Rowena’s family. Admittedly I am a person who needs her own time and space sometimes and would have to adjust to living under such close quarters. Nevertheless, I do relish the few times in the year when I do see my parents, sisters and grandmother as well as extended family with all my cousins and wish that spending time with them wasn’t always squished into a one week period within a year or two. Communities with strong, close-knit families like in the Philippines have their merits for sure.

In addition to meeting our Filipino family, here are some of my favorite experiences in the Philippines (not in any particular order of favorite):

Jeepney

Riding in a jeepney and tricycle: Jeepneys are extended jeeps that the Filipinos cleverly modeled from jeeps left by American GIs in WWII. They are probably the most widely-used mode of transportation in the Philippines. Jeepneys are family owned and operated and drive along a certain route. The destinations are penned on the side of the jeepney as well as on signs on the front dashboard. Passengers enter the jeepney in the back and then sit on a long seat along the length of the jeepney facing passengers on the opposite side. A ride in Manila was only 7 Pesons, about $.20 and payment is handed up by passengers in the back to the driver in the front. Another common mode of transportation are tricycles- motorbikes with extra seats you can hop onto and tell the driver where you want to go. Sometimes you’ll have to share the ride with someone else.

Derek riding in a jeepney in Manila

Tricycles and busy streets in Tagum

Bangka boat

 Bangka boats, nipa huts, disappearing islands, and snorkeling: Need I say more? Beautiful white sand beaches, untouched coral reefs with bright blue star-fish and an array of tropical fish. And to top it off, how about some freshly cracked coconut juice picked from the tree five minutes before while you were out snorkeling?

Nipa hut

Polvoron

Polvoron, calamansi juice and Chippy: My favorite Filipino snacks and junkfood. Polvoron is powdered milk candy. Sounds strange but yummy!

Karaoke singing at home or by the pool: The experience is made even better by the wide selection of cheesy 80’s music that seems to be embraced with such fervor in the Philippines.

Kuya Derek signing the Gambler.

Filipino communication skills 101: Here is a lesson on communicating with a Pinoy. If someone asks you a question and you want to respond affirmatively “yes”, simply look at that person and raise your eyebrows once. If someone asks you where something is, simply point in the direction of said object with your lips. If you would like to get someone’s attention, simply make a very slight hissing sound.

Lovely people: Besides the beautiful beaches, I think the Philippines biggest draw is in fact the Filipino people. Getting around is not a problem because English is so widely spoken. People are warm, gracious, friendly and are always happy to show you Filipino hospitality.

Holidays with "Ersatz" Family in China

Happy new year or as is said in China, “Xin nian kuai le”!

It’s incredible to believe that it has been more than four months since we arrived here in China. Already our first semester here has wrapped up. We’re starting to feel settled and navigate our way around Nanjing comfortably. Slowly but surely, we are learning little bits of Chinese. I am starting to feel like an old pro when it comes to taking the “black cabs” which are cars driven privately by people for extra cash. I’m able to bargain and make it clear with by brief words and actions that the 10 RMB that they think they can charge this foreigner, is indeed too much- which we both know. I put my hand up showing what looks like an “L” sign and tell the driver, “Ba quai!” which gets all the other drivers waiting around laughing and imitating me. Indeed there is a satisfaction with playing their game on their terms.

Additionally, we’ve made some nice friends here- both Chinese and Western. It just seems that when you live in a foreign city (or any new place), you organically become part of a circle of friends. Derek and I have been lucky to have Mike and Tien in our lives here and they have introduced us to a wider circle of friends as well. Our friend Lucy from London (not known as “Lucy from London”) has been a great downstairs neighbor and a dear friend as she and we both adjusted to living here. We’ve also made some friendships with the Chinese. We’ve enjoyed getting to know our friend Jason and his girlfriend Scorpio who we’ve dined with a few times (loved the dumpling but not a fan of the pigs’ feet!).

It was nice to have our extended “Ersatz” family around on Thanksgiving, Christmas and New Years. Christmas here in China was especially memorable. Derek and I hosted a Christmas day pancake breakfast with bacon, Gluehwein and Bloody Marys! Both Chinese and foreign teacher friends came. For many of our Chinese friends, it was either the first time they had “celebrated” Christmas or spent time with Westerners on Christmas. For the Chinese, Christmas is indeed seen as a Western holiday or “our” holiday so people love wishing you “Merry Christmas”. Anyway, in the evening of Christmas, we went to a potluck dinner hosted by two of the foreign teachers here. Secret Santa gifts were exchanged; food ranging from rosemary chicken to Chinese duck was gobbled up; and then there was lots of alcohol consumption. After the potluck dinner, we all went caroling at the student dormitories. The students loved it!!! We felt a little like celebrities.

Christmas was indeed different but memorable. As for new years, that was fun but came and went without any particular fanfare. It could be because January 1st is just another day here. It doesn’t compare in significance to the spring festival or Chinese New Year. The Chinese do indeed enjoy the festive side of the Western holiday season. It’s not uncommon to see ornaments in shopping areas, people dressed up in red Santa outfits and to hear Christmas tunes playing. However, all of that is quickly shelved on December 26th. Now everything is decked out for the upcoming spring festival or Chinese New Year in early February.

For Spring festival this year, Derek and I will be in Vietnam celebrating their Tet Festival and then wrapping up the Chinese new year festivities in Southern China. Today we (along with many of the other foreign teachers) will be going on an overseas trip to the Philippines, Cambodia, Vietnam and Yunnan province in Southern China. We won’t be back in our Chinese hometown until February 17th. There is much anticipation for both Derek and I as we head out on this trip, especially as we visit the Philippines. In addition to linking up with Derek’s father and his family, I am anxious to see my former home of five years from my childhood and early adolescence. Many of you know me as someone who is super nostalgic for the 80’s, particularly through cheesy 80’s tunes. Many of my associations and memories from the 80’s come from those five years in Manila from 1984-1989. I’m anxious to explore for a day with Derek where we lived and some other old haunts. I would love to go back to the old campus of ISM where we went to school but I know that ISM has now moved to a new and swankier campus. I know it’s foolish to expect to arrive back in Manila and for it to be the same as it was in 1989 when we left. However, I just want to relive some of it- briefly for a day. And, I’m curious to see how much Manila has changed in the 20+ years!

So, while we’re celebrating our holidays belatedly here in Asia, we will be thinking of all of you- our friends and family all over the world.
Xin nian hao (Happy Chinese new year!)!

Schools Days

I learned today that if I had been a high school student here in China, I would never have made it to the age of 18. Why? Because I am a person who gets super overwhelmed when there is too much on my plate and when 20 hours of my day are jammed packed with no time for me to breathe. Actually, I would think that such conditions are not healthy for anyone, yet millions of Chinese high school students experience such a demanding schedule.

High school education in China is so rigorous in order to prepare students for the National Higher Education Entrance Examination, or the Gao Kao, which is the sole determinant of entrance into Chinese universities. Since there are such high stakes in this exam, students have an extremely full schedule every day for four years. First of all, students have classes 7 days a week. Sunday is the only day that students have a half day. During the week and on Saturdays, students typically get up at 5:30 and start school at 6:15 am. They have classes until 11:45. There is a very short lunch break until 12:15. Students can then put their heads down on their desks and nap until 12:45. Every day at 12:45, students will have a math exam that lasts until 2 pm. Classes are followed from 2 until 6 pm; then a short dinner break and then more classes and exams until 10 in the evening. You would think that since classes go until 10 in the evening, there would be no homework (what more could be done??). However, students usually do have homework. My friend and student Happy admitted that she would not always do the homework (and can you blame her?). It is quite common for students to only have four hours of sleep a night.

Why so much emphasis on preparing students for admission into university? In a country of 1.3 billion, getting into university will not only determine your life for the next five years, but also your future career prospects, place in society, and your future economic niveau. Your parents as well as your future family will rely on your future job prospects and livelihood. Therefore there is a huge amount of emphasis and stress put on high school students. I’m told that it is similar in other Asian countries. Many of you reading this in the US many question how the importance of attending university in China is any different from the US. While it’s true that attending college and university in the US may sometimes afford one more opportunities than having a high school diploma, I have known many people in the US who have successful careers of their choice without the aid of a college degree. Also, while it is unfortunate that still many people in the US are shut out of attending college and university because of the cost, we are lucky to have excellent and affordable continuing education programs; technical and community colleges; and a higher education system that embraces lifelong learners and non-traditional age students (ie- students who are not right out of high school). Here in China, people’s sole opportunity to attend university is through the college entrance exam which is primarily taken in high school. Although there is no age restriction since 2001, students typically take the college entrance exam in their last year of high school.

The Gao Kao is the sole determinant of entrance in university here in China. No interviews, no college essays and high school record. It lasts for three-days and is issued nationwide across China once a year in June. I’ve been told that the exam is issued at the same time as well, so since China has one time zone (yes- one time zone), folks in Western China are get up at a ridiculous hour to take the exam at the same time as their counterparts in Beijing and other Eastern Chinese cities. The test encompasses everything students have learned since Kindergarten and includes mandatory tests in Chinese, math, and a foreign language (usually English in recent years but can also be French, Japanese or Russian). Other tests will include Chemistry, Physics, Biology, History, Geography and political education. There are different tiers of universities and a student’s score will determine her or his admission into certain universities. Students who do not perform well have the opportunity to repeat another year of high school and take the exam a year later. However, if the second test does not go well, a student may have to give up on the goal of attending university and look to alternatives such as attending vocational programs or seeking other career routes.

In addition to the student his or herself, the examination puts enormous pressure on the student’s parents. With China’s one child policy, parents put all their hope into their one son or daughter. In return, a son or daughter is bound by duty to their parents and is expected to provide a good life for their parents down the road in their golden years. Entrance into university will ensure that the child will have good career prospects down the road to thereby support their parents and future family.

The high competition for university entrance (ie, there are far fewer university spots than those who take the college entrance exam) has led to several phenomena in recent years. In recent years, many Chinese families have become wealthier and have more disposable income (perhaps the parents got into university themselves and have therefore had beneficial careers!). Students who have not performed well enough on the national entrance exam to get into the a highly selective university may have their parents pay for them to get a spot at a less selective university. This is the case at Nanjing University of Finance and Economics (NUFE), where I teach. I am at the main campus in the university district of Nanjing. However, NUFE has a campus outside of Nanjing where such students attend the first two years of college and then finish their last two years at NUFE’s campus in downtown Nanjing. I learned that my own beloved 2+2’s who will be going to Canada in two years also gained admission to NUFE and the Canada program because their college entrance exams were not high enough and that their parents paid extra for them to be admitted. I was saddened to learn this at first, as I was led to believe that my students were the cream of the crop. Also, it does not seem fair to me that students can be afforded such opportunities if their parents have the money to pay for them to be admitted into certain university programs. It remarkably resembles the role that money plays in college education in the United States. I find it ironic that income now plays a large role in college admission in China, a communist country, albeit only on paper.

In addition to families being able to essentially buy a spot for their child at a Chinese university, many Chinese students are now looking outside of the China for higher education. With the extra wealth and disposable income, many Chinese parents can now afford to send their child abroad for college (especially with the aid of scholarships) in the United States, Canada, UK, Australia and Germany. For American higher education institutions, this means a vastly growing market. Chinese students now represent the fastest growing group of international students at American universities. When I attended college in the early to mid- 1990’s there were probably fewer than 5,000 Chinese college students in the United States. A few of those students were my classmates at Mt. Holyoke. According to the Institute of International Education, over 26,000 Chinese students enrolled at US universities in the 2008-2009 school year. I expect the numbers must be at 30,000 for this year.

In addition to education institutions abroad being able to benefit from the tuition of an increasing number of Chinese students, native English speaker and educators are now in high demand here in China as well. Starting at a young age, parents pay a premium to send their child to foreign language schools; bilingual primary schools; and for private tutoring in English. Foreign certified teachers are in demand from Chinese middle and high schools as well as universities. This is no surprise with English (or other foreign languages) being one of the main tests on the national college entrance exam. Additionally, a new requirement since 2005 mandates that students pass a test here in China known as the CET, the College English Test, in order to obtain a bachelor’s degree here in China. More and more employers here in China also seek college graduates with the CET certification. With more and more students wanting to study abroad for undergraduate or postgraduate education, students are also eager to take tests such as the SAT, IELTS, TOEFL, GRE and GMAT. From my experience, it’s not uncommon for many Chinese students to know all these acronyms and be more familiar with them than most Westerners here.

Learning the ins and outs of the Chinese education system is one reason why I am excited to be here in China. While I never would have imagined even a year ago that I would be living in China and admittedly China was and remains to be a very foreign place to me, I appreciate the wealth of opportunities offered from relationships with our Chinese friends. I for one am glad that we are no longer in a day and age when the West and China are isolated from one another. I welcome the opportunity to learn from Chinese traditions, children, students, families, education systems and all that this land has to offer and am pleased that the US is also opening its doors more and more to our Chinese friends.

For further reading:

College English Test. https://secure.wikimedia.org/wikipedia/en/wiki/College_English_Test. December 21, 2010.

Levin, Dan. The China Boom. https://www.nytimes.com/2010/11/07/education/07china-t.html?_r=2&src=twt&twt=nytimes. November 5, 2010.

Liang, Lu-Hai. Chinese students suffer as university entrance exams get a grip. http://www.guardian.co.uk/education/2010/jun/28/chinese-university-entrance-exams. Monday 28 June 2010.

National Higher Education Entrance Examination https://secure.wikimedia.org/wikipedia/en/wiki/National_Higher_Education_Entrance_Examination. December 21, 2010.