"O Tannenbaum" is not a Channukah Song

Though my holiday spirit will be arriving a little late, I am listening to some Vince Guaraldi Trio to rekindle the sentiment. My sister is visiting me at the moment, so I will keep this brief. We are preparing for our flight to Shanghai, where we will spend the New Year's weekend.

A few weeks prior to Christmas, my coworkers asked if I was going to do anything special. I told them that I did not (and do not) celebrate Christmas--that I am Jewish. They seemed to understand as we had a conversation lasting a few minutes.

To my surprise (initially), two weeks later my coworkers bought me Christmas presents and had encouraged my students to write me Christmas cards. Upon reflection though, this misunderstanding or flagrant disregard for what I had previously conveyed are both entirely feasible scenarios--neither of which are in the least surprising.

I believe that Chinese people believe that "Christmas" may be an American holiday instead of a Christian one. I have also heard from some Chinese people that "Christmas" is a celebration of individuality. I am not 100% on how those dots connect, but it is an interesting interpretation. And the interpretation arises from Chinese school textbooks--in which there is an annual unit dedicated to "Christmas" and "Christmas" vocabulary. Maybe one-in-a-hundred Chinese people could explain a link between "Christmas" and Jesus. They celebrate "Christmas," not Christmas.

Anyways, I learned a lot about "Christmas" this year. It involves a lot of tinsel, few traditional foods, and a lot of Wham!. I loathe Wham!--though not George Michael. On this note, Wham! now makes it onto the short list of Chinese obsessions that irk me: Stinky Tofu, Durian, and Wham!.

I will stop "scrooging" on "Christmas." Here are some varieties of "Christmas" cards and gifts:

If you're into formality, mystery, and wizardry...

R-E-G-R-E-T, find out what it means to me.

I have been thinking a lot about decision making. The years immediately following undergraduate education have the potential to be a no-man's-land in a battle between embracing youth (and it's potential) and pursuing direction. This transitional space is rife with landmines and barbed wire that are otherwise referred to as "major life decisions." Some dodge the battlefield--blindly realizing that this, in and of itself, is a decision in regards to how to handle one's own life (i.e. procrastination and denial). I know others who look to maneuver around obstacles; and I know others who will do whatever it takes to steadfastly embrace youthful pursuits or to devotedly labor at the "next step."

Bear, motorcycle, high wire, laurel, streamers. This happens

As a friend asks me for my thoughts on applying to the Peace Corps and another asks me for my opinion about teaching in a struggling community, I relay the questions that I have had to ask myself in regards to both of these pursuits that have been passions at some point in my recent past.


As a friend asks me for my thoughts on moving in with his significant other and another friend asks me for my opinion about committing to a year abroad with her significant other, I obviously reflect on my decisions in regards to my former relationship with both those features.

And as I ask my friends for their thoughts on what their next steps will be or for their opinions about what they have learned from their own experiences in whatever they have done  in the past year, I find myself questioning how I make decisions and how I regard decisions I have made in the past year-or-so--which is a rather appropriate act for this resolution-making time of the year.

Cut and Pastiche

I am definitely not posting with the frequency that I would prefer. I wonder if my lack of writing contributes to a sense of feeling overwhelmed with thoughts that I want to communicate; I also wonder if the converse is not true in that the vast number of topics I want to discuss and stories I want to relay make it impossible to focus my writing.

China Study: Case File SZ019 ("To Teach...")

 This blog post is a continuation of my last two posts.

Maoist salute at a Yao-ist temple

From discussing with other foreign English teachers our respective primary students' level of comprehension and ability, I am aware that my students are far below average. Initially, I viewed this to be a challenge. I had no false premonition that I could be a Superman teacher that would push their English language skills to new heights; I did hope that I could at least be a Clark Kent justly encouraging development and helping ever-so-rarely but ever-so-significantly. Within a month of working at my school, I realized I would be closer to a Jimmy Olson: always on the outside reflecting what is happening through a lens of biased perception and sometimes frustrated with my own inabilities in the face of adversity.

Low comprehension and ability is difficult to address with the vast number of students in a class. And, I only see each class once a week--just enough time to keep plugging away with the limited city-wide (maybe nation-wide) text books (each chapter just long enough to fill a 40 minute class).

In lieu of the past posts (including this one), my personal obstacles in my workplace include: my students' language limits, my inexperience, differences in culture, and my own emotions--whether reactive to the environment (i.e. sadness and sympathy for suppressed students) or lingering from my life outside of work.