So, I have been home now for about five days since my adventures in Hangzhou and I’ve been putting off the final post to the blog.  I think that although I am deeply grateful to be home, I am nonetheless a bit unwilling to end the ‘China Chapter’ of my life’s journey.  This experience was one filled with a lot of challenges, but also allowed me to look deeply at myself as a teacher, as a mother, a wife…a human being.  What I’ve learned is that in all of these respects, I still have a good deal of room for improvement—or rather, to put it more positively, there are still many opportunities to better myself.   I could recount in this post, all of the final activities I engaged in—(i.e. the teacher/student water gun war, boat ride down the canal, the hunt for Haagen Daz on a hot summer evening in Hangzhou, the Open House we put on for Wahaha WeLearning parents)—but instead, I wanted to share what I’ve learned from this experience:

1. Life is overflowing with wonderful and joyful moments.  If we spend too much time dwelling on the what ifs, the only ifs, the buts and the why me’s, we will fail to see the joy in our experiences. It’s easy to get bogged down by negativity and judgment. Sadly, I think that I didn’t realize this until AFTER I returned from Hangzhou.  Were things perfect? No.  Challenging? Yes. But they were also eye-opening, beautiful, wondrous and amazing too.  I’d much rather celebrate these moments.
2. When you are faced with a situation in which you don’t speak the language, remember that a smile is universal. It breaks down biases and connects cultures.
3. Parents in every culture and every part of the world want the same things for their children—happiness, opportunity and success. 
4. All children want to be happy…to be heard…to be loved.
5. A good teacher is one who remembers that learning is about the student, not the teacher. 
6. You’re never too old to learn something new.
7. Though it is difficult, everyone should have the experience of being the ‘other’ in a culture.  It is frustrating and at times, even humiliating, but it also incredibly humbling and helps to build empathy towards others.
8. Sometimes you have to let go in order to hold on.
9. Laughter and music are bridges.  Use them.
10. When in doubt—just smile, breathe and say ‘yes.’.

That's all I've got. China has been quite a ride!  For the few of you who read this blog, I hope you enjoyed it.  

With Gratitude,

Heather

P.S.  We found Teddy!

Day 9: From Good to Bad, to Worse

So let's begin with the high points of Day 9.  Shahriar and I rose early and took a leisurely stroll to Starbucks, where we had a decent, albeit expensive-for-China breakfast of pastries and coffee.  I then made my way to work, which I must say, was perhaps the most productive day thus far.  You may recall that my students had begun interviewing our Wahaha family--both American and Chinese, and they compared the values that seemed to be universal for each culture.  Today, we expanded on that, with the help of the C Class and my friend, Bill, a history teacher from BB&N. Firstly, we interviewed the children in C Class, who helped to further broaden our understanding of Chinese culture, by adding the values of virtue, honesty, loyalty and brotherhood to the mix.  Then, with Bill's help, I urged my students to look more deeply at the two cultures and think about how Chinese culture and American culture are different.  "American values are about 'What do I need?', or the individual," said Jamie.  "And Chinese culture is about 'What can I give to others?'", Yibo argued.

Taking this idea further, I asked the kids to think about what historical events might have shaped the Chinese ideal of collectivism or group-first.  We then engaged in a rather interesting conversation...actually it was more like a dance, to be frank...as I was hoping to lead them toward the Cultural Revolution and the rise of Mao's Communist China.  Each time we got there, they would veer in a different direction.  "We don't like to talk about that time," Jamie said. As I dug deeper, they explained to me that calling the event the 'Cultural Revolution' was offensive to them.  Moreover, they showed me that the google image searches we'd been doing on my computer was yielding very different pictures than when they searched it on theirs.

 Can YOU spot the difference? Regardless, once again, I was reminded of my own blindspots, and for that, I am truly thankful.

I tasked them both with identifying another historical event that may have shaped Chinese identity, and neither was particularly interested in going down that path. Instead, Jamie chose the folktale of the First Chinese New Year and the defeat of Nian, while Yibo told me he wanted to do something about the folktale of Kong Rong, a wise little boy who--through his actions, demonstrated the virtues of family and respect.

          
"Ok, then," I said, "We will shift our discussion to the role that folktales play in shaping identity."  Once this was determined, we began planning out a presentation for the parents about what we learned, and suddenly, we had the idea for a video presentation...a crude one, yes, but one that would highlight their understanding of the vocabulary we began with last week, that would let them demonstrate their English reading skills, and would force them to do some synthesis and analysis.  Here is the cover for our presentation:

Following class' end, I walked vigorously back to the hotel with more enthusiasm and excitement than I'd felt in days.  I picked up the husband and the girls and we took an Uber out to another part of West Lake--one which was far less congested--featuring paved walkways lined with beautiful willow trees and spectacular views of the lake.

We meandered slowly along the banks of the lake until our legs would take no more, and sought refuge in a restaurant called Eudora Station.  Believe it or not, this charming eatery is fashioned after an Irish Pub, and features an American-style menu and a full bar!  We were eager to taste foods that reminded us of home and between the four of us, consumed pizza, burgers, and a molten chocolate cake!

A few of the other teachers found us as we were finishing up, and we shared a few drinks, some great stories and many laughs.  It was a perfect evening...well...almost perfect.

We returned to the hotel, drenched in sweat and in need of showers.  But there was no hot water.  I mean NONE.  Let me be clear that when the air conditioner is blasting and you have to take a cold shower, you are literally cold to the bone!  But things were about to get a whole lot worse.

I received a text message from my neighbor, who graciously agreed to care for our pets while we are away.  It seems that the freak storm that had hit Wellesley, the day prior--the one which caused great damage to our campus--had popped open our upstairs kitchen door, and our beloved kitty, Teddy managed to break out!  As I write this more than 14 hours since learning of his escape, he has yet to return home.

Of course, Maya is devastated and I am having flashbacks to my childhood when my cat Missy went missing for many weeks.  Though he's not yet made it home, the support of the Dana Hall community has been phenomenal.  Everyone has pitched in to find him--calling Animal Control, knocking on neighbor's door, posting flyers, walking the brook path, etc.  So, despite a sleepless night fraught with worry, I am also grateful for my Dana family and the amazing community that I am privileged to be a part of.  I hope Teddy knows how much trouble he's caused!

The Chinese v. American Identity--Different But Not So Different

In history class here at Wahaha, I've been teaching my kids about the idea that 'identity' can be personal (i.e. Who is your family? Where do you come from? What are your beliefs, values, etc), but it can also be shared.  I asked them, "Is there a Chinese identity? What does it mean to be Chinese?" They thought for a moment and then began rattling off universal values. Below is a word web that I made of their responses.

  Afterwards, I sent them out to interview the American teachers about 'What it means to be an American.'  The responses were varied but when we sat down and culled through the interviews, we found that while the Chinese seem to value the 'Group' more than the individual, in America, the 'Individual' seems to outweigh the group.

Here is the word web for American values. Notice that there are still some common themes that we share, though--Patriotism and Family, for example.  Today, we will talk about how a shared identity is not just one that shares values, but also history, to some degree.  And yet, within those shared identities are a multitude of perspectives that react/respond to and interpret historical events differently.  I'm hoping we can make a video of our discoveries before the parents arrive on Friday, but we shall see. I've learned to keep my expectations low and to let the class lead me.

La Tourista!

Well, it took a little over a week, but it finally got me--the New Delhi Belly, Montezuma's Revenge, La Tourista...Traveler's Diarrhea.  I'll spare you the deets, but today, as I prepare for my early morning class, this is how I'm feeling:

It's the Weekend! Time to Be a Tourist!

The weekend was filled with a lot of excitement and activities. Firstly, on Saturday morning, it was raining.  This caused the temperature and the humidity to drop by about 18 degrees!  So, although it was pouring at times, we nevertheless were happy to be out and about.  My family traveled with our Dana Hall friends out to Longjing village just about 10 kilometers southwest of West Lake.  There, we were able to walk amongst the terraced gardens of a tea plantation, where they grow Hangzhou’s famous Dragonwell Tea. 

This green tea was once “granted the status of Gong Cha, or imperial tea’ during the Qing Dynasty by the Kangxi Emperor” (Wikipedia), and is still highly prized by the Chinese.  In fact, I read that the 20-ish original trees that the emperor bestowed this status to, are still alive and produce tea leaves that are auctioned off annually for prices that exceed that of gold! 

Nestled in the hills of the plantation, there was a small tea museum, which we visited.  Here, we learned literally everything one might need to know about tea—from origins to history, categories to production.  As we made our way out of the museum, we meandered lazily about the area, until we came upon a local tea house.  The proprietor invited us in and served us fresh watermelon, sunflower seeds and lots and LOTS of Longjing tea!  It was a truly wonderful morning activity. Were it not for the fact that we were soaking wet from the rain, I do believe that I could have remained there all day. 

 

Saturday evening, we were invited out to dinner at a rather fancy restaurant located in the Hefang Street district. We ate many delicious foods—dumplings, grilled prawns, fried fish, mushroom and bamboo shoot soup, pureed mango with bits of grapefruit, etc.  After we had eaten our fill we were escorted to a private theater, where we were treated to a performance of traditional Chinese Opera, featuring live musicians, beautiful and ornate costumes, and a charming tale of two lovers who meet in a dream and how they eventually find one another.  When it was all over, we were able to take photos with the two lead characters.  I’ll tell you, THAT was a night I shall never forget.  It was perfect. 

Sunday morning I arose early, as I would be a chaperone on the student field trip—a journey by bus out of town to a large, sprawling farm.  The heat was glaring, and the sun was bright, as we walked leisurely out to the vineyard, which was tended by a couple of farmers and their wives.  One of the farmers was a bit of a flirt and he had a smile and a face I could have stared into for hours!  We were each given a plastic bag and were invited to walk amongst the well-pruned vines to cut our own bunches of grapes.  These are large and green grapes, which you actually peel and eat.  If you’ve ever tasted a Muscadine grape…sometimes also called a ‘scuppernong’, that’s sort of what they taste like…sour at first, with a burst of sweetness in the middle. 

 

The heat got to me and that charming farmer I spoke about, offered me his seat and proceeded to chat me up in Mandarin, though I understood nothing. Still, we laughed a lot—probably at me—and had a grand time until the children were finished foraging. 

We said goodbye to our new friends and were escorted by Julia, our Wahaha Coordinator, to a building where we were served a ginormous meal of fish, rice, pork, chicken feet, eel, vegetables, tofu and scrambled eggs with hot peppers.  The children used this opportunity to check their cell phones, which reminded me a lot of my own students at home. It seems that being a kid is pretty much the same everywhere in some respects. 

Now I am sitting here in my room with the air conditioner blasting, watching birds circle lazily in the sky above the river.  It’s hard to believe that a week from now, this will all be over and I will be back at home in Wellesley.  There is still so much to see and so much to learn. I’m slowly falling in love with this city.  I think I could spend years here if given the opportunity. Of course, it would help if I knew Mandarin!

Music is a Bridge

Sometimes the best classroom experiences are the ones that you least expect!  Case in point—on Thursday afternoon, I was tasked with leading my second ‘Topic Class’.  This is a 90-minute lesson, in which the teacher is responsible for all fourteen students, ages 8 to 17, and with varying English proficiencies.  This of course, presents an issue—What can you do with a group so diverse as this and keep their attention for the entire time?  I had already tried storytelling earlier in the week. This was successful for about 50 minutes and then we really struggled to fill the next 40 minutes.  I couldn’t take the kids outside, as it was 94˚ with a heat index that made it feel like 102.  Then it hit me—Music! 

I read somewhere once that music is ‘an international language’ everyone speaks.  “Why not,” I thought.  So, I enlisted the musical talents of my daughters, Nora and Maya, and had the children all sit in a circle.  We began with some easy ones: ‘Twinkle, Twinkle, Little’ Star’, ‘Head, Shoulders, Knees and Toes’, ‘I Like the Roses’, etc., and then we advanced into some more interesting songs.  We sang ‘Let it Go’ from the Disney movie, Frozen, ‘Do a Deer’ from The Sound of Music…we sang some Whiz Khalifa (‘See You Again’), and the Beatles’  ‘Hey Jude’. 

 
We even taught them the chorus to Styx’ song ‘Come Sail Away’!  Then, the students chose English songs that THEY liked and sang them for us.  We took turns singing the Chinese version of ABC’s and the American version, noting the differences, and we sang songs that taught the English words for the days of the week and the months of the year. Before I knew it, the class was over.  Everyone was laughing and smiling. Yibo, the 17-year-old boy, said, “This was the best class!” and one of the girls, named Annabel, said, “Thank you for singing. It help us to relax.”  I think I would have to agree with Annabel.  That was the least stressful thing I had done all week!

The Merits of Sharing: A Successful Professional Development Exchange and Close Encounter with Chinese Parents

Last week, I was asked to lead a two-hour professional development discussion with the teachers of Wahaha Bilingual School.  Given that the school’s focus is international in scope, I decided to talk a bit about how to create meaningful, immersive, international experiences for your students without leaving the walls of the classroom.  So we talked about the SISTERS program and how to use harness technology in order to connect with the outside world.  As we discussed this, I was quite cognizant of the fact that Wahaha is unique in that its teachers DO, in fact, have a much greater ability to engage with the internet that most of the schools in Hangzhou.  The teachers had a lot of wonderful questions and I even connected with a 4^th grade teacher who is eager to perhaps develop a connection with our new 5^th grade at Dana Hall! 

We also talked a good deal about the 21^st century learner and how researchers and those in the field of education are defining him/her.  The teachers were anxious to understand how to develop curricula that would foster greater collaboration and critical thinking skills, while also expressing the need to adhere to tradition.  Hmmmm….sounds a lot like what we talk about in our own professional development discussions at home.  (*Image borrowed from albany.edu)

On Thursday, four of us—two from Dana Hall, one from BB&N and one from Concord Academy—were invited to sit on a panel to answer parent concerns and questions about what the American independent school experience is like for international students.  Now remember that these are the parents of children in grades K-4!  Despite the fact that we were talking in two different languages, with the help of a patient translator, we were able to engage in some truly thoughtful dialogue. Each day I am presented with moments that allow me to get a better sense of the world from which my Chinese students are coming from.  I am recognizing that although I’d like to think that I have a solid and empathetic understanding of my Chinese students’ family lives and cultural values, I have so, so much more to learn.  Presently, I am reading the book, Blindspot, which discusses in depth, the hidden biases that even well-intentioned people have towards others.  The longer I am here, the more I am able to recognize my own biases, which of course, has caused me to second guess many of my past interactions with my Asian students, in particular.  I am hopeful that when I return, I will be able to better recognize these unconscious biases when they arise so that I can be a more compassionate, understanding and inclusive teacher. 

In China, Food is King!

Last night, the American faculty and our families were treated to a spectacular show...Dinner.  Invited by one of the families of our students, we arrived at the restaurant and were ushered into a beautifully decorated private dining room, which featured a large round table, which seated 17 of us comfortably, atop which sat a lazy susan that was at least 14 feet in diameter.

The meal itself was pure theater. Dish after dish after dish came out--each elaborately and painstakingly decorated.  We had soup and duck and chicken and pork...lotus seeds, lotus root, shellfish and dumplings....and a lot of rice wine. And each time you would think, 'ok, this HAS to be the end of the meal,' the waitstaff would bring out some new delicacy.  I tell you, I've never eaten so much in one sitting in my life.  But man, it was so wonderful!  The Chinese see food as an art. It is almost too pretty to eat...well, almost!