Teacher's Pet

On the way into the city centre we passed the burnt out remains of a construction workers' dormitory. You could still see the blackened and twisted skeletons of their metal bedposts. I have no idea if anyone was hurt although I suspect not as the dorms are not unlike portakabins in the UK so if there was a fire you'd be able to get out pretty quick. Even if what little you've got goes up in smoke. Being a construction worker in China is a pretty miserable job. They tend to be unskilled, ill-educated immigrants from the countryside who get worked to the bone every day in dangerous conditions. Is this Communism?

I am sat in Starbucks and there are several Chinese of around 50 years old. They would have been teenagers during the Cultural Revolution and I often wonder if their veneer of sophistication, Apple Notebooks and Creme Macchiatos conceal the the once fervent member of the Red Guard, running through the streets angrily tearing down China's ancient buildings and setting upon academics in howling mobs. Can you imagine? "I used to be a Revolutionary but now I design biscuit packaging"...

In other news in class today we had been set the homework of memorising a couple of paragraphs to recite. The Chinese love recitations. We grew out of that 50 years ago but still, it is a method which has its advantages, particularly for learning Chinese. You need to get familiar with how sentences are constructed and this is best done by studying closely, as you do when you remember something by heart. I and about one other person had bothered to do this which caused the teacher to launch a guilt trip against those who had not. About half way through the speech she then latched onto me and informed the whole class that, due to my hard work, I had progressed from the middle of the class to the top and that they should all ask me how I study and thus follow my example. She continued on the theme of my amazingness for about 5 minutes while I not so much blushed as tomatoed.

I did feel a wee bit of pride though :P Since being here I feel like my Chinese level has indeed shot up and I have indeed acquired a work ethic. I've probably got one of the best attendence rates and while sitting through Tingli often feels like a waste of time, I noticed in 2nd year that the more classes you attended, no matter how pointless they seemed, the better you were at Chinese...

Needless to say no-one asked how I study. Becka said she had been looking for something to throw at me. *Is Teacher's Pet*

I've been asked to teach about Thanksgiving. I know nothing about Thanksgiving. America and Britain aren't that similar and haven't been for 300 years...

Although apparently Anthony's girlfriend bought a turkey. This means you can buy turkeys. Perhaps there will be a proper dinner at Christmas after all. Although I suspect that a more likely Christmas scenario is that I will actually be teaching all day in a factory in Yishui... Cheery...