An eventful first day of class...

Another week in Wuhan has begun with an overcast and muggy Monday. It is almost three o’clock in the afternoon, and just as I was settling in with some ginger tea for a relaxing afternoon to rest my upset stomach, the power went out. Apparently, with all of the subway construction going on next to campus, this is a common occurrence, to be expected at least twice a month. So I figured I would capitalize on the situation next to an open window, hopeful for a breeze through the thick heat, and write another blog entry. I am also currently attempting to download QQ, the Chinese version of AIM, which, as I have been informed by my students and fellow English teachers, is the best way for me to communicate with my classes and share the class texts and materials with them. The slogan of QQ 2012 is “Pure as the South Polar Snow.” Hopefully the meaning of this will become clear when I begin using the program because as of now, I am not entirely sure what it has to do with an instant messaging system.

Anyway, last Tuesday I met with the chairs of the English department and received my assignment for teaching this semester. Contrary to the ESL classes I was expecting to teach, I have been assigned to teach four sections of a sophomore Greco-Roman Mythology reading course. In October, when the freshmen are finished with their required month-long military training, I will be picking up an additional two sections of an English speaking course. I admit I was a little taken aback by the prospect of teaching a Greco-Roman Mythology course, especially as the last mythology course I took was in the sixth grade. However, I accepted the course materials from my department chair Susan (her chosen English name) and chatted briefly with her about the structure of the class. Thankfully, as I was to begin teaching just two days from this meeting, the materials are mostly laid out and the topics set. Susan promised to send me her notes and slides and with that, we sat down for the biggest meal I have had yet.

The Chinese take a two hour lunch break—their take on a siesta, I suppose—from 12-2pm, and from what I have gathered so far, this is the time to eat plenty and promptly after, take a nap. I think I can get used to this system. For our meeting we had upwards of thirty dishes served to us, everything from fried pumpkin to tea tree mushrooms to a dish called ‘three fresh things from the earth’ (di san xian) which is fried potatoes, aubergines, and peppers served in a savory sauce. My fellow American teachers and I refused the many offers of baijiu (a very strong Chinese liquor) from the male department chairs, but accepted a glass of warm corn milk instead. Though I was put off by the idea of drinking liquid corn, it was actually rather tasty and helped to balance the spiciness of the food. Plate after plate was brought out and placed on a lazy susan the size of a small sedan, and we all grabbed a bite or two from each plate as it rotated. Finally, after about two hours of eating, we said our goodbyes and made our way off campus.

I spent the next day going over the Unit One materials given to me and splicing together slides from Susan with my own. For the first class I was simply to give an introduction to Greco-Roman mythology, touching on the function, history, and cultural significance of the stories on the West. I felt fairly confident and realized that it is not nearly as intimidating to think about getting in front of a group of people and speaking when you know you are not being graded or analyzed or glared at by someone clicking a stopwatch in one hand and madly scribbling notes with the other. So, on Thursday afternoon, around one o’clock, I set off for campus, wanting to get there early for my two o’clock class to print a few things and to set up the computer. [At this point in time I feel it is necessary to point out that all of the classrooms are equipped with ‘Smart’ boards and we, as teachers, are fully expected to use them. I asked Susan if I might be placed in a classroom with a chalkboard and, after looking at me a little funny, she informed me that those don’t exist and the students learn best from slides and technology. It seems I will be getting friendlier than I have ever wanted to be with PowerPoint this year].

So around one thirty, after successfully getting my materials printed—which, as I should have expected, was no easy task unto itself and to do so I had to enlist another faculty member to help me convert my slide formats and break into an office to access a printer—I went to find my classroom to set up. After a little searching I found my room. However, it was locked. Sweaty and confused I went upstairs to Susan’s office to ask her if perhaps my classroom got switched. After knocking several times she opened the door and greeted me warmly. I asked if she had a key to the classroom and if I might borrow it so I could set up. She looked at me with her head tilted and informed me that teachers do not have keys to the classrooms—it is the job of the janitors to come by 20-30 minutes before class and unlock the doors. I nodded my head and said okay but then pointed to my watch and said that it was now 15 minutes until my class started and the door was still locked. She again, looked at me with her head tilted, ran back to her desk to check her clock and then ran back to the door and said that 2:00 classes don’t start until 2:30 until October. This has something to do with the Chinese version of daylight savings time. Though I wished someone had informed me of this beforehand, I again, smiled and nodded and went out for a walk around campus.

Soon enough, 2:10 rolled around and I made my way back inside to get set up for class. But again, I arrived at the classroom only to find it locked. Not wanting to be a nuisance to Susan, I decided to wait until 2:20 before going to ask her what the problem was. At that point, I decided to check my phone and saw that another one of the department chairs, Cherrie (again, a chosen English name) had both called me and sent me a text message saying “Hey Emily its Cherrie. The correct time for class is 2pm. Susan said she told you the wrong time. Where are you now?” Flustered but not entirely surprised at this turn of events, I called Cherrie back and told her I was standing outside the classroom and that it was still locked. She told me she’d be right down to unlock it. About five minutes later I got another text message from her with the room number of my classroom, 3209. I texted her back saying, “Yes, I am standing right outside of 3209 now…” A few minutes later she called me: “I am standing inside classroom 3209, where are you?”

“Standing right outside of 3209,” I replied. “Are there multiple classrooms numbered 3209?”

“Oh, you must be on the office side of the number 3 building, I’ll be right over.”

A few minutes later Cherrie found me and took me to the classroom side of the number 3 building. Even though I was now a half an hour late, my class was still waiting for me, and clapped enthusiastically as I walked in. A little embarrassed but with my confidence largely intact, I set up my slides and began class. From there, things went smoothly. The students are quite reluctant to speak in class or answer questions, but when I got them involved in an activity acting out some of Aesop’s fables, they participated with an encouraging enthusiasm.  Cherrie came by in-between my two classes that afternoon to apologize and say that it was not my fault and that I should not feel badly about the situation. I’m hopeful that I got all of the miscommunications out of the way on that first day and that things will go smoothly from here on out. I think that the present challenge is going to be teaching Greco-Roman mythology to students still trying to get a basic grasp on the English language and who, as I discovered, have never heard of Zeus or Hercules.