Author Archives: Jack

Back

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I am back in Guiyang and ready for another year of teaching at Guizhou Normal University.  It was a wonderful summer vacation.  I spent the whole time in Northern Michigan, in Traverse City, my home town.

I was a farmer for a little while, harvesting cherries on a friend’s farm.  I was up at 5am and in the fields by 7am.  Cherries aren’t picked anymore.  We mechanically shake the trees and collect the cherries on a big mechanical tarp, called a “catching frame”.  It then feeds into a mechanical conveyor belt and delivers the cherries into large 42 inch cubed boxes.  The boxes, when full, must weight about a ton.  I drove a tractor and delivered full boxes to the storage area and returned to the field with a new box. It was a great time.

The rest of the time I spent doing BBQs, golfing, and playing racketball.  I also hung around the health club, even lifting weights from time to time. I came back through Shanghai and saw some old friends there.Altogether, it was a wonderful seven weeks.

Flying back to Guiyang was a pain.  The bags were overweight and I had to mail some items back to Guiyang to minimize the expense.  My limited Chinese was taxed heavily, dealing with the post office.  Well, I got the package today, and all is well.

US Passport Blues

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Details of my passport issue are here:

http://www.tourguizhou.net/archives/9280

(Written June 20)

If you are coming to China, you should have an up to date passport to avoid my dilemma.  It looks like I will have everything square with one day to spare for my flight back home July 2. It has been frustrating and a little scary. My VISA is being processed as I write and I can pick it up on June 30.  It takes five weeks to get the Expert Certificate (2 weeks) and visa (3 weeks).  Because my passport expires during the term of my next year’s contract, it was necessary to renew the passport before making application to the Chinese government for Expert Certificate and Visa. So I flew to Chengdu in the spring to get things rolling.  After all the paperwork, I thought all was well, and then when the US Consulate notified me that my passport was ready, they said that I needed to give the receipt for payment to the person picking up my new passport.  I had a friend do this to avoid a second flight to Chengdu. No mention was made of the receipt being required, and because time was of the essence, I wrote the consulate an email asking if the receipt was really necessary.  After all, no mention of the receipt was made any time during the process, and I had discarded the receipt.  That correspondence is below. It says that the receipt really isn’t necessary after all. Thank heavens for Consulate efficiency.  My friend picked up passport no problem.

The only issue I had was that the correspondence required 35 days to process and give me an answer.  I had had the passport for a month before they confirmed that I didn’t need the receipt. The correspondence was cordial, although not timely. China processed my Expert Certificate and Visa application in the time it took the US Consulate to return my email.

PS
The Chinese completed the work on the Visa with three days to spare.

 

 

######### CORRESPONDENCE BELOW

U.S. Full Passport Ready for Pickup
Inbox
x

Chengdu, AmCit <AmCitChengdu@state.gov>
May 5

to me
Hello,

Your U.S. passport has arrived at the U.S. Consulate in Chengdu, and is ready for you to pick up. Please come to the Consular Section between 13:00 – 16:00 on Tuesdays, Thursdays and Fridays (please see http://chengdu.usembassy-china.org.cn/service.html for any closures of our office).

To pick up your passport, you will need the receipt you received when applying for it and your current passport. If you are picking up for other members of your family as well (or a child), please bring their passport(s) as well as your ID. If you are unable to pick up your passport in person, you may authorize another individual to pick it up on your behalf by arranging this with our office.

Please contact us if you have any questions, concerns, or to arrange an alternate individual to pickup on your behalf.

Regards,
Chengdu Consular Section
Attachments area
winmail.dat

John Porter <johnsporter@gmail.com>
May 6

to AmCit
No mention was made of the receipt being required for pickup. I did not retain the receipt with my passport and it may have been discarded. I reviewed the authorization letter for my friend, Ms. Hao to pick up the passport and I planned to send that authorization letter, along with the old passport, to Ms. Hao, allowing her to pick up the new passport. Since my current passport has the active Chinese Visa, I plan to retain the old passport after it is cancelled for the duration of the Chinese Visa.

I am sorry, but I thought I had reviewed the required documents for pickup. Please advise me about what to do regarding the receipt.

Sincerely,

John S. Porter
Chengdu, AmCit
Jun 10 (10 days ago)

to me
Good morning,

We apologize for the confusion about the receipt. It makes things easier to have it with you, but our staff will be able to hand over the new passport without it. Your old passport will be returned to you, our staff just need to process the cancellation.

Thank you,

American Citizen Services
US Consulate General
Chengdu, China

 

Guiyang Wine Expo

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NOTE: THE FOLLOWING POST IS NOW DATED (8/28/14)
NO MORE APPLICATIONS ARE BEING ACCEPTED

The 4th China Guizhou International Alcoholic Beverage Expo

An opportunity for Michigan Wineries

By: John S. Porter, a Michigander

“Chinese Ministry of Commerce and Guizhou Provincial People’s Government will co-sponsor The Fourth China•Guizhou International Alcoholic Beverages Expo （Hereinafter referred to as The Expo）with the approval from the State Council of China. The Expo aims at building up a platform for the global alcohol industries with the theme of Cooperation on Global Drinks. It also opens a door of Guizhou to the world to show the province’s environment…”  From Guizhou Provincial Government announcement.

Guiyang is a newly developing provincial capital and is pushing hard to establish itself as a tourist destination. They are using the Wine Expo to promote both tourism and the newly developing Chinese interest in the grape wine industry. Guizhou is the home of Moutai Corporation which makes the most popular liquor in China.

The Guizhou Government is providing incentives for foreign wine companies to exhibit their wines and learn about marketing to China. There is a subsidy available. Also, up to 60 bottles of wine will be shipped to The Expo at no charge to the exhibitors. Wine exhibitors must arrive in China between September 2nd and 7th. Exhibitor kiosks will be provided at no charge to the exhibitors.

Travel arrangements are being made by Guizhou Overseas Travel Corp. Ltd (GZOTC). There will be three or four days in Guiyang, participating in the event, and another five or six days travel around Guizhou. Package details will be provided if Michigan Wineries wish to participate. The entire trip is expected to take the first two weeks of September and will include suitable tourist destinations.

The Guizhou Government will provide approximately $1,500 to partially offset travel and accommodation expenses. Airline tickets alone should cost about $2,000 per person and other expenses could be between $1,200 to $2,000 depending on the size of the group and where they go within Guizhou Province.

September 8 to 12 exhibitors should stay in Guiyang in support of The Expo. Tourist attractions could be visited within Guizhou Province before or after The Expo. GZOTC can customize trips throughout China if exhibitors have an interest and the time.

The wine industry in China is very young, and growing rapidly. Michigan wineries are seeking credibility in the world’s wine industry, and The Expo may be a suitable opening for marketing to China.  We can showcase Michigan in China. Certainly it can provide exhibitors with a unique China visit, with partial reimbursement as well as a possible deduction.

In order to secure the subsidy, kiosk, and ship the wine, applications must be completed quickly, by mid-July. Interested persons should contact johnsporter@gmail.com as soon as possible to begin the process.

About Guizhou Province:

 

Guizhou Location Map

Guizhou Location Map

Guizhou is an interior province that is mountainous, has abundant water resources, and natural scenery. The subtropical location and mountains combine for a very moderate climate. It is a “Forest City”. There are many minority villages with fascinating lifestyles in the region..

Information about Guizhou and the expat community here can be found at:

www.tourguizhou.net .

The Expo Sponsors:

Sponsors: Ministry of Commerce of   the People’s   Republic of China

The People’s Government of Guizhou Province

Supported by:

Commission of Development and Reform of P.R.China

Ministry of Foreign Affair of P.R.China

Ministry of Industry and Information of P.R.China

China Council for the Promotion  of International Trade

China National  Light Industry                        Council

China Alcoholic                                     Drinks Industry Association

China National Association for Liquors       and        Spirits        Circulation

Fair Schedule

 

August 20th , 2014

August 31th, 2014

September 7th-8th, 2014

 

September 9th-13th, 2014

 

September 14h-15h, 2014

All wine samples should arrive in Guiyang

All wine samples should be cleared from China Customs in Guiyang.

All exhibitors arrive in Guiyang, check in the hotels
Exhibition Period.

Exhibitor could start to fly back to his country or other place.

Fair Dismiss

 

 

A Black Weekend in June

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Gao Kao – The Black June 7 & 8

I have been living here in Guiyang, China for nearly 7 years out of the last fourteen.  I’ve been coming to Guiyang exclusively over that time as an English teacher. I’m now teaching at Guizhou Normal University of Guiyang. I still maintain a real estate appraisal business in Traverse City, using trusted friends to do most of the work. I am fascinated by this life and the lifestyle of my Chinese friends.

A couple weekends ago was the weekend for nationwide testing of college bound students. China has a history of national testing that dates back to 907 AD, with few interruptions. The current national  testing began under Deng Xiao Ping in 1979 and is called the Gao Kao. The entire lives of children approximately age 18 have been directed toward a supreme effort to score well on this exam.  It is the belief among many that these two days  will determine the future of so many young people – See: http://www.businessinsider.com/24-stunning-photos-of-chinas-college-entrance-exams-2014-6

Good jobs are not plentiful in China and graduation from a credible university is deemed to be the key to getting a good job. The greatest single factor in getting into a credible university, often perhaps the only factor, is an excellent score on this exam. It is tough on children and parents alike, especially parents. In a land where one child per family is the law. Many believe that performance of a child on these two days determines success or failure . . . of the parents.

Perhaps it sounds tongue in cheek, or an exaggeration, but the above paragraph has been reviewed by many educators in China, and it’s not an exaggeration. I know a leader in the community, a person that was a director in local government and the headmaster of one of the best middle schools in Guiyang. In 2000 I knew her to be middle-aged and soon to be old. When I returned to China in 2010, after not seeing her for years, I ran into her. She was lovely and relaxed. She seemed ten years younger to me (not 10 years older).  I told her so and asked what had happened to her. She said that when I knew her in 2000 her son was in the middle of taking the Gao Kao exam. She wasn’t sleeping well then and was very worried. Now, after success on that exam, and a successful college performance at a credible university, her son is a doctor.

I am writing this log entry a couple weeks after these two days and the internet is off, as the result of a reported equipment failure, off for nearly two weeks to my place. The campus internet is adversely impacted because the IT guys are concentrating on keeping good internet performance in the classrooms where the tests are graded. Good internet is essential for nationwide reporting of exam results. We just have to wait. After the grades are in, it is expected that the internet will be turned on again.

Last year I watched a TV talk show about this time of year. Every year it is discussed whether the one chance one test system is best for China.  Every year they suggest changes be made, but it has been just too difficult to change. There is no second chance. One strike and you are out. I think this system dates back to when China had way too many students and not enough colleges. It was a numbers problem and the best way to weed out 70 to 80 percent of the students was with one bone-crusher test. Whether it was fair to all the different kinds of students was not the issue. It served its function well, weeding out the weaker students and promoting the strong. If you were sick that day or your mother had died, it was just too bad, no make-ups.

The TV talk show focused on a student that left the test to help a student beside him that had some health issue, seizure or something. He waited for somebody to help the student next to him and when that didn’t happen, he took her to the hospital. He never got the chance to complete the test and got a score of about 25%. After much hand-wringing the analysts decided that the student should have minded his own business and the system couldn’t make an exception for him no matter how extraordinary the circumstances. It was hoped that some university might find a use for somebody with humanitarian instincts, but little in terms of self preservation instincts. The lesson was clear . . . mind your own business first.

It’s hard to understate what a big deal the Gao Kao is here in China. Construction is stopped on that weekend to avoid distractions. Honking of horns is forbidden, and so on.  Some parents can be extremely unreasonable, with people demanding that elevators in tall buildings be stopped for fear of distracting a studying student. Dancing by old people is common in public squares at night . . .big trouble.  It is said that the two most unreasonable kinds of people in China are mothers of children taking the Gao Kao, and old men who insist on playing their music and dancing in public squares, no matter what . . .

During review of this article it has been pointed out that the altruistic student who left the exam room a year ago has been offered several opportunities by credible universities, who do indeed appreciate his humanitarian instinct. Further, this year I learned that there was an exception to the policy for a couple students who had been hospitalized due to injuries they sustained helping others. More revisions to the system appear to be coming, even though it has taken a long time.

A more user friendly system of testing may be on the horizon. The question of who is served by this system of public testing will be discussed, not unlike the issue of public education itself. Is the public education system set up for the benefit of the students and parents, or is it set up to benefit society as a whole? The students and parents may think that the system is there for their benefit, but that is probably not true. Increasing the public’s general education level is for the benefit of the society as a whole. Getting the best out of the available students is in the public’s interest. In the past, space in universities was scarce. Now, due to the one child policy and expanded university capacity, more good students are needed. The system designed to “weed out” 70 to 80 percent of the students may be discouraging some students, especially the “late bloomers”, those with unique or specialty interests, and those who happen to have had an unrelated crisis on the test day. As I see it, the question isn’t whether to change the system. It’s how do you tell the difference between a weed and a flower?  A student’s enthusiasm is a terrible thing to waste.How to change the the world’s most massive uniform testing system?

Renee’s Letter

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Hello jack,

 I hope you won’t feel this is a bit abrupt. My name is Danqi Yu, or you could just call me Renee. I am actually a native Guiyang ren.[Person] 😉 I grew up there and left for my undergrad degree at Macau.
I just wanna say thank you so much of doing such a great blog about Guiyang and guizhou province. It is really awesome to have someone who cares about my hometown so much and provides so much detailed information to other people, like me.
I’m currently studying in the United States at New York City, majored in nonprofit management as my master degree. And I was doing research on volunteer opportunities in Guiyang because my summer vacation is coming and I’m planning to go back to Guiyang.
I saw you have a section as “Do-Gooders”. So I was just wondering is there anything that I could help in this summer? I’m a Chinese native speaker and pretty fluent in English. I’d like to join any kinds of volunteer programs or anything related to event planning and fundraising.
Thank you so much for you time on reading my super long email. Have a great day!
############
Reply:
Renee,
Thanks for you kind note about my blog.  Yes, there are a lot of needs in Guizhou, but the devil is in the details.  How can we get young and ambitious people from around the world to become interested in China and Guizhou in a way that helps Guizhou and help China lift itself up? It’s like a room full of smoke. You have a big problem, but you just can’t wrap your arms around it.
I am an English teacher at Guizhou Normal University and have taught English in Guizhou on and off over the last 14 years. One of the most exciting projects that I have seen is the Forerunner College http://www.forerunnercollege.com/EN/ . A group of university teachers took a bus down there to have a look. We were each greeted by the President and founder of the place as we got off the bus. Wow. First impressions really do last.
This college is a total charity based college and it gives free education to students who might not have another way to go to school. I have taught countryside kids and privileged kids, rich and poor. It’s a paradox in a way, but money is wrecking a lot of kids. It’s not just poverty that is hurting Guizhou, but the value system that some privileged kids are coming up with. That is why I am excited to hear from someone like you, obviously privileged, but with a service oriented attitude. Oops. I am digressing . . .
I spoke with teachers from Forerunner College and, after only a few hours visit, I think I know what might be happening there.  First, the place is full of kids that are really excited about learning. Second, there are a lot of young, altruistic volunteers. When you have a huge concentration of kids that have only one chance to be successful, they work like crazy. The culture is extremely productive. Third, I’ve heard that some privileged kids have been permitted to attend under a tuition arrangement. I was told that their attitudes are a little different than those of the main body of students.
I’m not sure if the Forerunner College is accepting very many tuition based students. I am not sure about their attitudes. I’m not sure if this admirable charitable organization has some financial trouble, forcing a conversion to a tuition based finance system. What I fear, however, is the possible loss of the countryside student culture. If you are rich, and your child has study habits that prevent him or her from going to a credible university, you shouldn’t be permitted to buy him a place at a charitable school, a school that is intended to uplift kids from poverty. I don’t know if this is true at Forerunner, but that is what I fear.
So I believe that the Forerunner College might be a chance for you to help with this fundraising problem, if you can find a way to participate. Can you wrap your arms around a roomful of smoke? I would hate to see bad study habits infect the students of Forerunner College. I don’t want their financial status to oblige them to accept tuition based students.  I hope they find a way to fund their operations charitably, helping the kids with the greatest need. It is a wonderful experiment, and perhaps people like you can come to their aid.
Jack

US Passport

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I just returned from Chengdu.  I had to go to the American Consulate there to get a new passport. My passport expires August 4, 2014 after ten years. It is possible to designate an agent to renew it, but you can’t do it by mail.  Somebody has to go there.

Transportation

I gave myself over an hour and a half to go to the train station.  My train left at 8:15 PM  on Thursday, the 24th, and arrived in the Chengdu East Station 11 hours later at 7 AM.  I had a lower bunk in the hard sleeper.  I read for a couple hours and then slept about 9 hours.  All in all, it was a comfortable trip. The cost was 190 rmb. Over an hour and a half seems like a long time, but getting to the train station during rush hour can be problematic. I figured 45 minutes by bus, but then got that uncomfortable feeling, like what about traffic jams, etc. A taxi, if I could get one, would be a lot less, maybe an half hour.  As luck would have it, I caught a motorcycle. The motorcycle took 15 minutes. The cost was 20 rmb.

A fast way to travel

Travelling by motorcycle is worth mention.  Most people say, don’t do it.  It’s too dangerous.  I agree.  But if you do decide to take a motor cycle you will get there fast.  No traffic lights or traffic jams will stop you.  If you are careful, you can pick a safer option.  Like eating food from street vendors, you need to be careful.  First, make sure the driver has a helmet.  If he doesn’t worry about his own safety, he certainly won’t worry about yours. Second, older is better than younger.  If he is old and still doing this, he is probably a safe driver.  Finally, check out his equipment.  If he has clean equipment in good repair, he is probably responsible, and safe.  My cycle driver had all three, and it was sweet getting to the train station with a safe hour and 15 minutes before departure.

Chengdu I found the subway inside the train immediately across from the exit area  where I departed the train area.  I had to wait in the information line, no English, so it pays to have your destination written down in Chinese.  It cost 4 rmb to go from the east side to the southwest, where I met my friend Daisy. The subway was less than a half hour, and by taxi it probably would have been an hour and a half and over 60 rmb.

Daisy and her husband, Johnson have cars so transportation was no problem until departing the city.  I flew back on a 10:30 PM plane, using China Southern.  It was delayed about an hour and I arrived in Guiyang at about 1 AM on the 27th. The taxi was a problem.  The first guy wanted to charge 50 rmb, I got out when he wouldn’t budge. The second guy charged 40.  It should be 25 to 35, but at one in the morning, 40 was ok.  He didn’t know the way to Guizhou Normal University! I had to give him directions.

The Passport Process

My printer is still down from my move so I didn’t print the application. I figured I on filling the form out on arrival at the Consulate.  Everything went ok, except for the picture.  I took pictures with me but they were too small.  When they say two inches by two inches on a white background, that is exactly what they want. My photos were two inches high, but not a full 2 inches wide. There is a photo studio directly across from the Consulate, so it cost me another 30 rmb to resolve this issue. I checked the extra pages option.  I had run out of pages a year ago and it cost an extra trip to Chengdu and 70 USD. If you plan to travel  very much, get the extra pages. There is no extra charge for the extra pages if you get them from the outset.

My passport expires August 4, 2014 and I can’t get a new visa for my next year teaching without the new passport. I had gone home on December 23 of last year and had almost 8 weeks of vacation, with which to renew my passport.  The process requires four to six weeks. I elected not to renew the passport in Chengdu.  The reason is that I couldn’t get as clear answer about my old Chinese Visa and my new passport.  Would the active visa be transferred to the new passport? Would I get the old passport back? If I sent my old passport to the US State Department, and they kept it, my new passport might not have the active Chinese Visa.  I was afraid that I couldn’t return to China without replacing the visa. The Chengdu web site details the process quite well: http://chengdu.usembassy-china.org.cn/passports.html .

After filling out the form and paying the money I connected with Daisy, her husband Johnson, and their daughter Jean. It was fun catching up with old friends.  I even found a Big Mac.  This is Daisy. Daisy at McDonalds

I only spent about 36 hours there, but I was able to visit the biggest building in Asia, so I’m told. I don’t know who measures these things, but it was big.  It is a shopping center called “Global Center”.

The Global Center is a shopping center and it is so large that I had trouble getting the whole thing in a picture.

IMAG3169

Inside of the place was also quite nice:

Inside Global Center

 

This is Daisy and her family:

Daisy and her family.

Recruiting for this Web Site

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I am asking friends with pictures and stories about Guizhou to become members of this blog.  It’s a good place to keep your pictures.  If you are active, I can give you a category for your pictures and stories only.

Just use the sign up for a new account on the right side of this page and you can begin soon.

Back in School

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After a wonderful 7 week vacation in the USA I have returned to classes at Guizhou Normal University here in Guiyang.  During the vacation, I went to Traverse City, then Northport Florida, Amelia Island near Jacksonville, Washington DC and then back to Traverse City. I spent about a week in Florida and a week DC.

Traverse City was interesting because the weather was very cold, with wind chills of 40 to 50 below zero.  The winter had been like that for some time before I arrived, and it stayed that way after I left.  It was kind of fun getting outside shoveling snow in extremely cold weather.  I had good winter clothes, and combining the exercise and cold air in the lungs was exhilarating. I stayed in a country setting and the neighborhood was dark.  The stars in Northern Michigan in the winter are very bright and if you shovel snow at 10 or 11 at night, as I did, there was nearly complete silence.  What a contrast to where I live in Guiyang with a lot of people running around, almost 24 hours a day.

Actually,  the spot where I’ve stayed in Guiyang for the last year and a half has been pretty good. I am on a university campus with a lot of old trees and old buildings. There is a wall around my house and six other homes. See: http://www.tourguizhou.net/archives/274

So all that has changed.  A year ago they said I would have to move out because they will demolish my house.  The building next door is done and they are going to put in a parking lot.  So living here for the last couple weeks has been like a war zone.  At first the Foreign Affairs Office wanted to put me in a dormitory, where I would have to be home by 11:30 pm, but they finally decided that this was unreasonable. The finally found another home on campus that is suitable.  There are a lot of things wrong with the new place, but we are fixing it up.  It should work out ok.

I’ve met a new Chinese girl.  I’m named her Sandy.  She is a computer science major and wants to be a teacher. She’s just finishing up a Master’s degree.  I think she may be interested in teaching me some Chinese and already has helped me with downloading a movie from the internet.  Her Putonghua is from the northeast of China so my accent might improve if she has time to teach me.  So it is barter English for Chinese lessons.  It’s a fair deal for me at least. Hope she agrees.

 

 

At the movies, Guizhou Normal English Class

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 Movies of Autumn 2013

The following movies were shown to the Freshmen of the Guizhou Normal HND (Higher National Degree) program . The Freshmen are all about 19 or 20 years old, in the first year at the university.

1)      Appolo 13
2)      Rocky
3)      Doctor Strangelove
4)      The Duchess
5)      Moneyball
6)      How to Train your Dragon
7)      Abraham Lincoln, Vampire Hunter
8)      Hunt for Red October
9)      Enemy at the Gates
10)    Casablanca
11)    Rain Man
12)    Startrek
13)    The King’s Speech
14)    The Way of the Peaceful Warrior
15)    VanHelsink
16)    Blues Brothers
17)    Bee Movie
18)       Midnight Run

I am an English teacher of Guizhou Normal, I have been directed to train students in oral English.  I take to mean, teaching students to use the language in oral communication. I am also charged with teaching the students about western culture, which I take to mean, American culture.  I say American culture because I am an American and probably am best qualified to teach American culture, rather than the culture of England or the culture of East India  etc.  Indeed English is a worldwide language.

Two problems which seem endemic in many Chinese students of English is that the language isn’t used for communication and it is taught primarily in Chinese, by Chinese teachers.  Further, the culture of English speaking people is not well known in China. I have approximately six hours a week per Freshman student within which to handle this problem.

The above isn’t entirely true.  Most generalizations aren’t.  In fact, American culture is making extensive inroads in  the Chinese youth. If you believe that the internet,  rap music, basketball and computer games are all products of American culture, (as I do) then the youth of China are already well on the way to being indoctrinated, without any formal educational impetus. Young people of China are also  heavy into watching videos, which they download from the internet, at no charge. Videos are a powerful educational tool.  “Everybody loves Raymond” and “Friends” are quite popular, as well as war movies, vampire movies, and anything to do with zombies.

The big problem for an oral English teacher is getting students to talk in English.  You can’t go very far before you realize that the available texts are not very interesting and young people don’t have a lot of life experience. If you only have a limited life experience, like many 19 and 20 year olds, what is there to talk about in class?  That is why, in addition to drilling vocabulary through student composition of sentences, I use movies.  English language movies, with Chinese sub-captions are purely oral English, and if the movie is interesting enough, students are happy to try to talk about them in English.

I have an A class and a B class, segregated by prior testing. I meet with each class twice a week, for two hours.  That is four hours per student per week of oral English.  I also require students to attend a Monday night movie.  We talk about the movies in the classes during the week, and students are encouraged to use English during these discussions, but not required.  If somebody has something interesting to contribute to the discussion, but their English isn’t strong enough, I ask them to speak Chinese, and then we spend significant class time translating what they say. This may sound weird, but it gives the better students some extra practice, and I am also trying to buck up student self esteem. What students think is important. Before students can learn to speak out, they must first learn to speak up. What they have to say, what they think, and how they feel are all important.

Well that describes a little more about what I am doing over in China. I will try to make another post for the cultural issues which have been discussed. With a few exceptions, these issues are pretty universal between cultures.