Lawnmower Chicken...

My students have a bevy (gaggle? flock? pod? covey?) -- that's it -- a covey -- of questions for their first native-English-speaking Professor (me). They crave lessons about U.S. culture -- things like Halloween, Christmas, American schools, American dating, U.S. government, etc. But probably the single most frequent question I get is:

Do you like Chinese Food?

If you were asked that question, how would you answer it?

My answer is always this --> "I really like the Chinese food we have in America. But the Chinese food we have in America is American Chinese food, not Chinese Chinese food.  But since I have come to China I have learned what real Chinese food is, and I LOVE it!" This answer delights them, because in addition to being intensely proud of their country, they are a nation of Foodies and are obsessed about food.  

Since many of you who read this blog have never been to China, let me explain my answer.

There are two places I like to go to eat Chinese food in America -- PF Chang's and Panda Express (sorry to all you purists out there...but I do like P.E.).  (Oh -- and I like to eat Chinese food at my son and daughter-in-law's house). But the Chinese food in the restaurants is Americanized to appeal to American palates. Some of my favorite American Chinese food dishes are Kung Pau chicken and Sesame chicken..

Last semester there was a young man who had graduated from the university at which we teach, and he had just returned from a two-year internship in America.  He addressed one of my classes about his experiences in the USA, and then opened it up for questions.  I asked him: "How did you like the Chinese food in America?"

His answer was immediate and emphatic: "It was terrible. That is not Chinese food!"

I rest my case, your honor. 

We have eaten out many, many times in China -- at least 150 meals (lunches and/or dinners) since August, and I have never seen Kung Pau chicken in China. I have never seen Sesame chicken.  I have seen sweet and sour pork, and of course there is rice.  But the rice here is different than in America.

A few blog posts ago (November 8 -- Travel is fatal to prejudice, bigotry and narrow-mindedness), I detailed a lesson I gave where I asked my students what their stereotypes of Americans were, and then asked them what stereotypes of Chinese do Americans have. Across seventy teams who answered those questions, probably one third of them had as one of their entries that Americans thought Chinese people ate everything.  I didn't quite understand what they meant by that...but by spending a lot of time in the restaurants and food courts of China, I now understand fully.

Here is a sumptuous treat, nay -- a delicacy -- should you find yourself out and about in China some day:

Looks a little like French fries, right?  Look more closely:

Yep -- you're right. They're bugs.

The other day we were out on this amazing street in Jinan that is simply referred to as Food Street. As you can see, it is very popular with the locals. The food is plentiful and very inexpensive:

And while there we found some amazing delicacies among the food stores (actually, they are little more than food stalls -- maybe 10 or 15 feet wide, and about the same depth) on this street:

Shrimp balls on a stick.  These were deep fried and unbelievably delicious.
The cost? 24 yuan (about $3.50) to get enough to feed three of us

I thought this was fried pineapple...nope --
fried squid on a stick

Another couple options for squid: Above -- Squid on a stick...Below -- Squid in Sauce

Last month we visited southwest China, Hong Kong, Viet Nam and Cambodia. It was a remarkable, wonderful trip filled with many awesome sights.  While in southwest China (Guilin), I had duck, or at least a portion thereof:

Now, you're probably saying to yourself, "That looks a little bit like...a duck head."
Yep -- you're right.

I was disappointed the brain was not part of my duck head, and neither was the tongue...one of the women in our group was taken by a group of local Chinese folks to an exclusive restaurant in Jinan, and she was able to dine on those delicacies.  (I would not have dined on the brain, but would have tried the tongue...)  The meat on the duck's head was much like the meat at the very end of a chicken wing -- not much there, not much flavor, mostly just skin.

This past Saturday evening we went to dinner with some other foreigners (Utahns, mostly) and this was part of our meal:

Barbecue eel

At the same restaurant where the eel was served, we had ox tongue and water buffalo neck.  The latter two were actually quite good.  The eel was a little too slimy and fishy for my tastes.

On Food Street, we also saw this 4-foot tall plastic display advertising...

<-- Pig's feet.  Or, if you prefer, you can purchase them at the local grocery store, along with the same
appendage from chickens -->

I've not yet tried pigs' feet, but I think I will.


Foreigners like me who have tried them, say they're not bad. Chicken feet, however, don't have much in the way of meat on their bones (so to speak)...

                                                     





You can pick up a bag of these chicken feet on your way out of the grocery store. They're on a rack with the beef jerky, potato chips, etc. -->

If it's chicken that tickles your fancy, you can get a variety of chicken parts like in America (breast, thigh, drumsticks), but you can also get the feet, head, comb, beak, etc in the grocery stores:

There is a dining phenomenon here that we had associated primarily with chicken, but we have since discovered it extends to various other meats (like beef, bullfrog, pork, etc.). We call it Lawnmower Chicken. You can order this really yummy dish, and it will have all these delicious spices, herbs, vegetables and chunks of meat that have been diced up -- with the bones still in them! They just take a meat cleaver and chop the meat -- bones and all -- and toss it in the stew.  The Chinese seem to find this quite normal, but it is actually fairly annoying to me.  Here was a delicious meal I had (really -- it was delicious): Lawnmower Bullfrog Goulash:

If you really want a taste of food from home, it's not impossible to find. Our local grocery store has a section for imported goods (read the sign carefully...):

Where you can pick up a few American food staples:

As you can see, Chinese Chinese food really is not much like American Chinese food -- at all! But while I have highlighted some of the more...off-beat...selections, the spices, herbs and other dishes really are quite delicious, and I will miss them.

But now I understand why my students thought Americans think Chinese eat everything. They do (practically).

Mountains, Dr. Seuss and the People of China

In earlier posts, I have spoken about my students, and the great love I have for them. But they are but a tiny subset of a much larger group of people -- 1.4 billion, to be (approximately) exact.

Thanks to our generous Winter holiday, which runs from Christmas to February 24, Bonita and I have been traveling this wonderful country seeing new sights and people. I had to make a quick trip to the USA, but while I was there, Bonita went to Shanghai and Sanya on Hainan Island, which is in the South China Sea. From there, she went to Hong Kong, where I joined her and was there just long enough to lose my nice camera and telephoto lens -- I left it in a taxi.  As we filed police reports and tried to get it back, I was reminded of the Brooks and Dunn song Lost and Found, about trying to find a diamond ring in a border town -- "...they just look at you like you've lost your mind..." (and you ain't gonna find it!)!   And it was not found. I was able to purchase a new and upgraded camera and telephoto lens...so no need to worry about me!

Detour about lost cameras aside,...

From Hong Kong we went to Guilin, famous for mountains that reportedly inspired Dr. Seuss in his unique depiction of mountains:

 

The mountains are best seen from boat, so we traveled down the Lijiang River for about 50 miles (you can see the Lijiang River in Dr. Seuss's portrayal above).  It was a hazy, misty morning, so the mountains looked a little...other-worldly.  One difficulty with the weather was the blahness of our pictures.

China has fifty-six different ethnicities within her borders.  The largest ethnicity is Han, which represents nearly 92% of all Chinese. The remaining 8-ish percent is spread across the other fifty-five ethnicities. Most of the students we teach are Han Chinese, although there are a few other ethnicities thrown in.

This trip has taken us to southwest China, in areas where the Han are in the minority. Some of the minority groups we encountered were Zhuang, Bai and Naxi. While they looked a bit different from the Han Chinese, we found the same warm, kind, enthusiastic people. Without exception, we were treated very well, and warmly welcomed by people who were quick to smile and laugh and make us feel comfortable as foreigners in their midst.

From Guilin, we headed to Lijiang in far western China, near the Tibetan border.  It was probably the prettiest city we've visited in China. Lijiang is a small city by Chinese standards -- 1.4 million.  It is at 7,700 feet in elevation, and the blue skies and fresh air were a welcome change from Guilin (and frankly, from most of our experience in China), which had smog, opaque skies and heavy mists during our entire visit.

I grew up in Colorado Springs, which has a beautiful setting, with Pikes Peak overlooking it:

Pikes Peak -- Colorado Springs, Colorado, USA -- 14,114 feet

Instead of Pikes Peak, Lijiang is overlooked by the famous Jade Dragon Snow Mountain:

Jade Dragon Snow Mountain -- Lijiang, China -- 18,360 feet

(By comparing the two peaks, you can probably see a lot of resemblance between them.  And by the way -- did you check out Snow Mountain's height --> 18,360!)

As I have toured China, more and more I discover that my favorite subjects for my camera (old and new!) are the people.  Below are a few of those I have captured on this and other trips.

Little boy wearing a traditional Naxi
headress (Baisha village)

Little girl in Lijiang old town market

Little girl -- a budding water color artist -- in the Baisha village

Little girl in Old Town Dali

And recently, older folks have drawn the attention of my camera lens:

Old woman with child on her back in Baisha village

Two old women in Baisha village wearing Mao caps.

Two elderly men at the Confucius Temple in Qufu.  (DQ on the left!)

And of course, there are the students -- still -- that have themselves wrapped tightly around our hearts...

Polly (Gao Qi Feng) and Professor Quillen at Christmas (Chinese students
love apps that decorate their pictures with doodles, stickers, etc.)

Laura (Liu Zhao Tong ) and Professor Quillen at Christmas.

Tracy (Zhou Xuefei), freshman Business English student

The student above -- Tracy -- and I had a tender moment during her final oral exam of the semester in December.  One of the questions I asked all my students during their final exam was, "What thing did we do this semester that helped you improve your English the most?"  When I asked Tracy this question, she looked down and got very quiet. Then she looked up and with tears in her eyes, said, "You remember my name.  When you see me in the hallways, you say, 'Hello, Tracy.' When you come into class and see me, you say, 'Hello Tracy.'  And when you call on me in class, you call me by my name.  You are the only one of my professors that knows my name." Then she added, "And when you talk to me, you show your respect for me by looking me in the eyes." 

Sometimes it's the simplest things.  I have always felt people's names are important to them, and so I tried very hard to learn all 290 of my students' names -- a tough task for this old brain -- especially since I only meet with them once each week.  While it was difficult, it was nice to receive feedback that it meant something to this beautiful young woman.  (Remember, these kids grew up with the same teacher for first through sixth grades, then the same teacher during their middle school years, and finally one teacher for all their high school years. To be thrust into a university with 37,000 students and to become more or less anonymous must be a difficult transition for some of these young people.)

So whether Han or Naxi, Mongol, Uyghur or Bai, Zhuang or Dong, or any of the remaining 49 Chinese ethnicities, we continue to fall hopelessly in love with the people of China.

Chinese vs American Schools -- There are Big Differences!

Ever Wonder….?

…what the differences are between schools in China and schools in America?  Between study habits of Chinese students and American students?

I get that question often from my Chinese students, so I prepared a lesson about it.  So if you've ever wondered the same thing…read on…and be amazed at the differences!

Cohort concept

One of the main differences I have run across in China is the concept of cohorts (standard groups). All students are placed in classes the first year of each school (primary, middle and high school, as well as at the university level), and they generally remain in that cohort for the full time they are in that school. Occasionally there is movement between cohorts based on year-end test scores, but that is not very common.

Of course, that does not happen in America, except in schools with limited enrollment. There is a bit of a cohort concept for AP / Honors classes, but that is generally due to a lack of multiple course offerings and usually applies only to those upper-level courses.

School Years

Chinese students are generally in class about the same number of weeks per year as American students.

American schools generally run from mid-August to late May / early June.

Chinese schools generally run from late August to early / mid-July.

Chinese schools have winter holiday (called winter festival) from January 1 until late February.

School uniforms

Chinese schools still require their students to wear school uniforms. One of the random questions students drew to answer for me during their final oral exams this semester was: “Describe your clothes.” One young woman who drew this question did a fine job, detailing where she had purchased her blouse, pants, tennis shoes and jacket, and why she liked them. She told me her jacket was the jacket from her middle school uniform. She said she really loved the colors, as compared to her high school uniform, which was mostly white, and in her opinion, “Very bland.” J

Note the red scarf all the students are wearing. This is a mandatory aspect of their school uniform in primary (elementary) and middle school throughout China. It symbolizes loyalty to China, particularly the Chinese flag. I have seen it compared to the daily recitation of our Pledge of Allegiance in classrooms. A half generation ago it symbolized the student had joined the Communist Youth movement, but I understand that is no longer necessarily the case.

(The five stars on China's flag represent the Communist party [the largest star], workers, soldiers, students and farmers.)

American schools do not generally require school uniforms, though some private schools and schools run by religious institutions still require it.

School day

This is an area of huge difference I found between Chinese and American schools. I think the school district where our children went to school is fairly representative of American school schedules.  All are between a 6 hour, 45-minute day (elementary school) and a seven-hour, ten-minute day (high school), with hours generally around 8:30am to about 3:30pm.  Studies in the U.S. show high school students have an average of about 3.5 hours of homework per week.

This next bit is HUGE -- virtually all Chinese high school students leave home to go to high school, and live in dormitories provided on or very near campus – this is a huge difference. Depending on the test score they receive at the end of their ninth-grade year, they are assigned to a high school, and most often it is nowhere near their home. So that means 15-year-old soon-to-be high school students bid their parents (and grandparents) adieu, and head off to school. The distances are usually too far for their parents to see them other than during holidays (or festivals, as they are called here).

The Chinese high schooler's day is rigorous. Students typically arrive in their classroom at 6:30am or 7:00am where they study under an adult's watchful care until their teacher arrives at 8:00am. The teacher teaches until noon, when students return to their dormitories for two hours, to eat and take a nap. They return to school at 2:00pm, then are in class until 5:30pm. They take an hour and a half dinner break, and then are back in their classroom at 7:00pm for teacher-monitored studying until 10:00pm. One of my students told me if you want to study when you return to your dorm, that is up to you.

One article I read indicated this schedule went on six days a week – school was from Monday through Saturday. I taught this lesson to a class of graduate students, and they told me that was not correct -- they were in class seven days a week, and that they got two weekend days off once a month. One student in that class said she got two weekend days off twice a month, and her classmates razzed her for having had it easy!

Curriculum

Another difference between Chinese schools and American schools is that the curriculum in China is government administered...and is somewhat of a one-size-fits-all curriculum. There are very few electives available at any of the levels of school.

Curricula in American schools is set by the school districts, and usually include a variety of elective courses that may be taken.

The Chinese curriculum is focused on learning facts, fact, facts. Students routinely memorize pages and pages of their textbooks in preparation for tests they will be taking.

The ability to memorize and regurgitate facts is why China's math students excel in competitions and exams -- they have learned the knowledge backwards and forwards.

But a big difference in the curricula between America and China is the application of the information!  American curricula provide knowledge, but also encourage teamwork, cooperation, critical thinking and problem-solving skills, as well as application of the knowledge learned.  Those characteristics are not what the Chinese curriculum is about.  But boy, can they take and pass tests!

Good in Math vs Bad in Math
Perhaps you read my recent post about stereotypes (Travel is Fatal to Prejudice, Bigotry and Narrow-mindedness, November 8, 2018), a lesson I taught to all my university classes.  One of the things that came out of that is that Chinese are very (rightfully) proud of their academic achievement in the area of Mathematics, and generally consider Americans as being weak in this area.

I went online and did some research. I discovered that there is a math competition called the International Mathematical Olympiad, which is the quintessential math competition for pre-college students.  The Olympiad has been running since 1959 -- fifty-nine years (if I did the math right!).  Teams from China have won that competition nineteen times...and they didn't participate during the first 30 years!  So they have won the gold medal nineteen of the twenty-nine years they sent teams!  That includes twelve victories since 2000.

America hasn't fared so well...but we are improving. We have won seven times in the fifty-nine years we competed.  However, we have won three times in the last five years, including in 2018.

But remember the previous section on Curricula? How China's curriculum teaches their students to pass tests, while America's curricula teaches her students how to apply the knowledge?  I found some other interesting information about that.  Each year since 1901, there has been a Nobel Prize in Physics awarded to deserving (and brilliant) physicists.  Since 1901, Chinese scholars have won three Nobel Prizes, two of which were won in Physics in 1957.  Americans have won 336 Nobel Prizes since 1901, ninety-one of them in Physics, and twenty-six of them since 2000.  Americans have won Nobel Prizes in Economics fifty-seven times and Chemistry seventy-three times.  A Chinese citizen won the Nobel Peace Prize in 2010.

So while many Chinese students are absolutely brilliant in the field of mathematics, Americans are far better at using and applying that knowledge to solve problems.

I could go on and on, but let me leave just a bullet point list of other differences between Chinese and American education systems:

• Chinese teachers typically remain with their cohort of students from first to sixth grades,
  seventh to ninth and tenth to twelfth grades; their teachers teach all subjects.
• Chinese teachers come to students -- students remain in their classrooms and teachers rotate.
• Chinese Kindergarten costs $500 to $5,000 per year; primary and middle schools are free, and high school is about $700 per year (which includes room and board in their dormitories). Chinese Kindergartens are for children 3, 4 and 5. The first two years are analogous to U.S pre-schools. 
• Chinese universities are much cheaper than in the US.  At the university where I teach, tuition, room and board runs between $1,000 and $2,300 per year, depending on the student's assigned major.
• Grades of each student are posted for all to see.
• As you might expect, Chinese schools have a huge emphasis on unity and uniformity (collectivism).
• Chinese students all take the same courses and tests.
• Class sizes are larger in Chinese schools than American schools. Class sizes in primary, middle and high schools usually range between 55 and 65 students. University class sizes are about the same, although some classes number in the hundreds (several cohorts).
• Non-academic activities (dances, homecoming, prom, athletic events, drama, etc.) are not a priority in China, and often not even available. They are seldom participated in.  Academics is the primary focus.
• At the end of their senior year, nearly 10,000,000 Chinese students take the Gaokao (rhymes with cow-cow) -- a standardized test that will determine their futures.  Depending on their score, they will be assigned a university and major. Students are vying for 7,000,000 slots at Chinese universities; those who don't make the cut won't be going to college.

Going with the Flow...Poetry...and Gifts

One of the main tenets of the religion / philosophical tradition of Taoism (aka Daoism) is to be in harmony with "The Way" (the unplanned rhythms of the universe), and it is a major influence in China.  If we are observant,we can see it all around us in China.

When we first arrived here, the traffic seemed chaotic and unorganized, and we marveled at how very few accidents (very few) we saw.  But as we have become more accustomed to the traffic patterns, we realized that there is a certain...order?...to the chaos -- people just go with the flow -- and it works.  Traffic flows rapidly and smoothly, a must in this city of nearly seven million people.

(Sorry for the poor quality of the pictures -- they were taken through the window of a bus...)

Rush hour, outside our hotel.

As I was thinking about this one afternoon on my way across campus, I noticed some of the sidewalks in the area. Jinan -- and our campus -- has many, many trees.  Anyone who has trees in their yard knows that roots can wreak havoc with concrete sidewalks and streets -- causing upheavals, cracks and dangerous situations.  And so it is in Jinan -- tree roots grow up and try to shove their way through the sidewalks.

The Chinese / Taoist answer? Go with the flow.  On our campus as well as across Jinan, none of the sidewalks that form a border between the streets and the trees is paved with concrete -- instead, they use paving stones of varying sizes. These stones allow the sidewalks to flex as the roots beneath them reach skyward.

Once the sidewalks get hazardous, a group of laborers shows up with shovels, picks and various other hand tools.  They remove the displaced stones, trim down the roots, and then replace the dirt and stones until all is good as new!

(Sorry -- I didn't get a before-and-after picture...but believe me -- it is as good as new!)

*********************************************************************************

About a month ago, Bonita developed a wonderful lesson about the Disney hero Moana and how she came to know who she was.  We both used it in our classes. We shared a short clip from the Moana movie, then invited the students to reflect on their own lives, and see if they could discover who they were.  Then we provided a template for an "I Am" poem. The results were remarkable.  Insightful. Deep. Searching. Beautiful. Truly, many of the students spoke with their heart's voice. Here are a few of the poems:

I am the daughter of China
I am optimistic and kind-hearted
I wonder if I will be the person I want to be
I need more courage
I see my bright future
I am optimistic and kind-hearted

I feel so much love
I hate being cheated
I want to make the world a better place
I cry when I fail
I worry about uncertainty
I am optimistic and kind-hearted

I say no to compromise
I understand that being successful is not easy
I fear loneliness and death
I try everything I can
I hope to love and be loved
I am optimistic and kind-hearted
                                  -- Veronica (Li Jia Yi)

I am the daughter of Guang Xu and Mei Yu
I am freedom-loving and optimistic
I wonder if my dreams cannot be true?
I need to chase it!
I see I am jumping out of my skin
I am freedom-loving and optimistic!

I hate to be alive like a bird in a cage!
I want to walk every place!
I cry sometimes because I am a little weak
I worry if I can do it
I am freedom-loving and optimistic!

I say, "Hi, difficulties! You cannot beat me!"
I understand life will always be imperfect
I fear to say goodbye
I try to cherish what I am now!
I hope to be 20 forever!!!
I am freedom-loving and optimistic!
                                  -- Judy (Xu Ting)

I am the son of Pachangol
I am upright and brave
I wonder how my future life will be
I need more perseverance when I meet with difficulties
I see the goodness of my life every day
I am upright and brave

I feel proud when I see the fabulous views of my country
I hate the persons who hurt others for their own benefit
I want to assist my country to be more and more strong
I cry when there's nothing I can do when in trouble
I worry that I will fall behind in my studies
I am upright and brave

I say "I am the Best!" to cheer me up every morning
I understand the pressure of my parents
I fear people will be embarrassed because of me
I try to modify every shortcoming that I have
I hope that the world can be at peace forever
I am upright and brave
                                                Juarry (Zhang Jiarui)

Finally, following is the poem of Doris (Cao Jiamiao), a beautiful daughter of China and gifted poet and artisan:

I am the daughter of Cao Yueyi and Xin Ruilan
I am fantastic and insecurity
I wonder if there is life outside the earth
I need to love and to be loved
I see different colors in the air
I am fantastic and insecurity

I feel indeterminate of my life
I hate darkness, loneliness and being hurt
I want braveness, sunshine and moonlight
I worry when I am lost
I am fantastic and insecurity

I say hello to myself every morning
I understand why there is poetry in the wind
I fear the unknown
I try to make myself better though I fail
I hope I can see you in my dream
I am fantastic and insecurity
I am Doris
                                      -- Doris (Cao Jiamiao)

Doris is in one of my Freshmen Business English classes.  Her poem touched my heart.  I was also touched by several gifts she gave me, as she demonstrated other artistic talents she has. The first was earlier this semester, when she gave me a lovely, delicate paper-cut bookmark she had crafted (the red is cut out and pasted on the white):

 As a special bonus, she also made the presentation box:

This past week, she also gave me a beautiful calligraphy work she did of two Chinese words: Safe and Happiness, which symbolize Good Wishes.

My students are so kind-hearted and good, so giving. In addition to Doris's gifts, I have received lots of food, Bonita and I were taken to dinner by several groups of my students, and other gifts like a lovely journal one young woman gave me. Last week, another student (Jessie, Li Xiao Shuang) gave me a cute Christmas / Santa diorama.  Once I brought it home, Bonita looked at it very closely and noticed that the figures were made from sculpting clay...my student had crafted the figures. I asked Jessie about it, and she said it took her a week to do them!  I am so glad Bonita noticed and realized Jessie had hand-crafted these items.

Over the past two weeks I have met one-on-one with my students, doing five-minute oral exams with each of them. It has been a sweet, warm opportunity to spend time one-on-one with each of them. I have learned so many things about them personally, have seen their tears as they speak of love for their mothers and fathers, tears for the stress they feel at times to never let their parents or themselves down. I have done about 250 oral exams and will finish the last forty or so later this week. It has been a remarkable experience, to say the least!

And now for some other, random pictures of our time here. The first few pictures were taken at Baotu Springs, a famous local park which has become a favorite of ours:

Statue at Baotu Springs, Jinan

Canal across from Baotu Springs, on our way to WalMart last week.

We stopped at the Shandong Provincial Museum a week or so ago, and it was absolutely fascinating. We are looking forward to returning some time soon!

No -- we were not kidnapped by a UFO -- The ceiling of the Grand Gallery of the SPM

Grandfather adjusting his grandson's coat on the staircase of the Grand Gallery at the SPM

Ancient painting entitled The Gods

Beautiful painting

Recently, Bonita and I had the opportunity to visit a Kindergarten class. Here she is teaching them about Christmas.  I taught them a couple magic tricks appropriate for 5-year-olds, with which they can amaze their friends and family.

Finally -- here are a couple Christmas trees in our lives this year. The first is out front of the hotel in which we are staying, the second is in our apartment:

Merry Christmas from China!