Final days in Jilin, China

In this picture, there are about 160 students, 9 of us seminarians in the front (7 of which are from the NAC), and Fr. Brian Barrons, the Maryknoll Superior in  China and director of the Summer program on the right side, one away from me.  While the vast majority of the students are not Christian and have very little knowledge about religion, many often convert due to the example of charity and generosity of Fr. Brian.  In fact, last year he baptized about 60 of his students, even though as a foreigner he is not allowed to preach in China.

After 3 weeks of teaching in groups of about 20 students per class, which rotated every three days or so (resulting in each of us teaching 4 classes, so about 80 students), we ended on Friday with a sort of graduation ceremony and a final banquet, and of course about 5 million photos.  Even just having had each class for three days was more than enough time to get to know them well and to be able to joke around with them and go out with them to different restaurants and activities in the city, like the night market and the music fountain down at the river.

I somehow got the reputation of being tough, though that may be due to the fact that I made them speak only English while in class.  However, I gave them ice cream just about everyday, which, at less than 1 yuan per bar, cost less than 3 dollars for 20 students, and I also taught some of my kids how to play Frisbee, which they had never even seen before, so they quickly started to warm up to me and realize that I actually was not that strict and just wanted them to have a good time while learning English.  If anything, they seemed to take it too seriously, typically wanting to start class early or work during the break times.  The kicker was when they heard that they would not be having a full class day on one of the friday's because of our trip to Beijing, and they let out a deep sigh.  Part of it, though, was clearly that they genuinely enjoyed the loose, spontaneous style of us Americans besides revering us as celebrities from a sort of faraway promised land.

One of the interesting and unique opportunities of teaching in a very loose structure was that we could basically ask them to write about whatever we found interesting, such as their thoughts on the education system and what they would really desire to become, since many chose medicine simply because either their parents chose it or because they scored at a certain level on the college entrance exam.  I realized later that their more critical opinions became more transparent in their essays because the students knew that some of their classmates were members of the communist party and could report them for any critique of the current system.  The fact that these students were all nice, joyful kids is just another instance of how the crippling effect of government control can easily slip under the radar.

At the final banquet, two of the other seminarians and myself sang "Will ye go, lassie, go?" to a group of adoring fans.  Each class did some type of performance, and my final class had me sing "Hey Jude" with them, and we ended with a Dutch ra-ra-ra song that I learned at SJV called "Lanz a la leben" despite perhaps having some accent issues.

Last days in the Mainland

I just got back yesterday evening into HK after taking a taxi, two flights, a bus, a train, and another taxi, although that's much easier than most of my students who have at least 24 hours, some 40, and even 3 and 1/2 straight days on several trains for one...no, he has no sleeper car because it's too expensive.

I just thought I would send some final comments about my experiences in China before I head to Vietnam to be with Charlie, Quy, and Isabella, especially since now I'm out of the Mainland, so I feel like I can write freely without "Big Brother" looking over my shoulder.

This past weekend we went way out into the countryside to go rafting with the English (Chinese) teachers down a rather dirty river that started out with two dead chickens floating in it and continued with people along the shore washing their rags and tattered clothes. It was a good time and a good opportunity to learn from some of the teachers about religion in China and how much people are interested in it along with other things about their education system. They claim that marxism is not really accepted by any of the Chinese even though it is drilled into them from an early age, but then one of the teachers went on to say that, if everyone really practiced it, they would have a much better society. Most of the time, however, she talked about how important she thinks religion is and asks a lot of detailed questions about who we are and what we believe. Later, in one of my classes, when the word "scape-goat" came up, and I explained that the scapegoat in traditional Jewish practices was the animal that would take on all of the blame and sins of the people, she asked if Jesus would then be considered a "scapegoat" for us, which was another reminder that we are not just teaching english!

Sunday I went to Mass at one of the two churches in Jilin for their one morning Mass, which was packed full and stifling hot (no fans or windows open), but nevertheless inspiring to see. I actually wasn't sure at first if I would go again since I went the previous evening, but, for various reasons, I decided to go, which I certainly don't regret now. After Mass I met a girl who studies at Beiot university, which is also in Jilin, and who wanted to meet with me and talk to me (it certainly wasn't difficult for her to spot the only foreigner there and one of the only people under the age of 50, which is a result of the Chinese cultural revolution). She seemed almost desperate to talk to another Christian her age and especially to someone at least fairly knowledgeable (I hope) about the faith. She explained that her conversion came through the mere example of another Christian who taught her English, which, as you can imagine, made me think about our presence here. I tried to make sure to wait for her to bring up certain things about the faith and to ask questions, which we are supposed to do before saying anything regarding the religious realm, but it is certainly something very difficult for me, especially when she seemed so clearly to be hungry to know more. We went to Fr. Brian's apmt and then out to eat with some of the other students that had gathered there to hang out with the other guys. Afterwards, while expressing her sadness and difficulties in trying to maintain a relationship with her former English teacher, she matter-of-factly added that, in addition to the distance and governmental restrictions regarding a possible future for them, it also makes it difficult that she has been a member of the communist party since high school. As you can imagine, our conversation quickly died although she may not have understood why. I immediately started to regret having so quickly invited her to Mass and to Fr. Brian's whenever she would like to come, along with letting my guard down at certain times about the faith. I even considered the possibility that she might be a sort of spy using me to check on Fr. Brian's work. However, it now turns out that Fr. Brian was not at all surprised by this and that this is a normal status thing and that some of my students would also be party members.  In fact, our students knew that there would likely be other government-friendly students and that they thus could not express their views in an open manner without the possibility of being reported.

This past week we switched hotels from the "VIP", which was dubbed as such because one of the students was sure we were VIP even though the water randomly shut off and the pillows were sandbags. They moved us after a night of a harsh odor of paint in which the other guys apparently walked across campus to stay at Fr. Brian's even though there were not really enough beds there. Unaware of these happenings, myself and one other guy had a nice sound sleep at the hotel and were surprised to hear that we would be moving that day for the sake of our own well-being. 

More to come about the last day of the summer program, and hopefully pictures to accompany these posts.

God bless,
Joe

First two weeks in the Mainland

This is a picture of Jilin city with a population of about 2 million, which is rapidly growing, though apparently not even as much as many of the southern cities.




Although I was unsure about my decision to come for the first week or two, I now understand more and more of what the Lord's plans were, especially now that more and more of the students are asking me questions about who we are and why we can't marry or get a job, etc.. Interestingly, after I tell them that we cannot marry, rather than asking about the sacrifice of celibacy like in the States, the question is "What do you your parents think about that? Do they support you?"  For Paul who is an only child, they can't even comprehend it. 


Teaching English here (at Jilin Medical College in Jilin, China; several hours north of Beijing) has been fantastic and has provided more than my fair share of cultural experiences, especially since we can ask them to write essays about whatever we want, like Chinese customs, Chinese legends, the education system, etc.  Learning about their education system has certainly been the most interesting.  Their system is to basically be drilled throughout both regular and higher education rather than to think critically, but they certainly know how to put the effort into it.  Even in college, their schedule is basically 8-12 and 1:30 to 5pm classes everyday and sometimes even with mandatory study halls.  Thus, they were very confused by the notion of "extracurriculars" and their importance in getting into a college, since for them basically everything is determined by grades and a college entrance exam, for which they spend three years of high school preparing.   The shortcomings of this system have been very obvious in the lack of creativity and spontaneity in class and their need to always have a "topic."  But this has also made me really love and appreciate our own emphasis on creativity, change, and critical thinking that I believe you can't really find anywhere else in the world.


Although seeming to be sort of "contained", the students are wonderful, and we became instant celebrities from the very start.  They are basically always ready and willing to sacrifice anything to be with us after class, and they constantly want to take pictures of us and with us.  One of our outings was this Friday to a Karaoke place, where they tried to get us to sing a bunch of girly songs before we finally found the Beatles and sang "Hey Jude".  I've also tried to teach them "Rocketman", but it ended up just being me singing solo in class without knowing all of the words.


Some of the culture shock have been in things like eating octopus, jelly fish, chicken feet, (and many other dishes which I have now learned not to ask about), having the water shut off randomly for four days on the campus without any notices, seeing Taichee (sp?) practiced anywhere and everywhere in large numbers, and also a strange practice of walking backwards and of continuously clapping.  To them, though, we're the most interesting thing they've seen all year, and they all blatantly turn their heads in whatever place we enter. 

First week in Hong Kong

The first night we went to a parish's feast day celebration, with over 300 people even though it is a small parish. After the first few dishes, we didn't realize that there would still be another 9 or so left (including octopus and jelly fish), which I guess is typical for a banquet. The Maryknoll pastor continually pressured us sing a song, though there were only three of us at that point, and none of us were exactly Frank Sinatra.  Afterwards, they started chanting "Encore" before we could leave the stage, so then we sang God bless America. Yesterday and today we have time to see the city, which is very similar to NY, with even a section called "SoHo" and plenty of Starbuck's, which has been a nice treat.

It has been great to hear from the Maryknoll's about their service here and about stories of the Church in China. Some have been serving here for over 40 years often at parishes.  The Maryknoll's mission was described to me as building up vocations to the Diocesan priesthood in the areas they serve (they are in 30 Asian and African countries) so that they can support themselves.  Once that is accomplished, they move on to other areas of need.  Some work in Hong Kong, which has a different system of laws (including religious freedom) and others work or take trips into the mainland.

Just last week the govt. had another ordained (for the fourth time, I believe) bishop that was not approved by the Vatican and is thus automatically excommunicated. The archbishop that refused to ordain him would normally be taken away by the government, but his priests heroically surrounded the chancery, so their plan was foiled.  Apparently at least three bishops have been taken away who committed this same "crime," and their whereabouts are now unknown.   With these illicit ordinations, the Chinese in these dioceses will have to make decisions on whether or not to participate in official church activities.  According to the NY times (http://www.nytimes.com/2011/07/17/world/asia/17vatican.html), In June, the Chinese Catholic Patriotic Association said it might ordain 40 bishops “without delay,” suggesting a willingness to go ahead without papal approval.  Apparently there is a valid need for more dioceses in China, but the govt. is blatantly undermining Church authority in the way it is going about creating these dioceses.  One of the priests last night said that it seems that this is the most difficult time for the Church in China, and Cardinal Zen said that, at this moment...it's war."  In other words, PRAY.

The Italian system of Final Exams

This non-travel post is especially for those who don't realize that we do study here and endure the same suffering of sitting through lectures (only in a different language), and trudging through 3 weeks of final exams.
While most students back home are well into the spring semester, we have just finished our final exams here for the fall semester.  For a class that has four hours of lecture per week for 14 weeks, it all comes down to a 10 minute oral exam with the professor, "faccia a faccia."  Most of the guys here say that they love this style of exam (b/c it is quick, and I would argue, a bit more arbitrary) but then of course they tell you of the horror stories, like the professor that doesn't like exams taken in English, or the one that yells at some of the guys without reason, and even called one a "little girl," etc.

My first experience, while not a nightmare, was nevertheless nerve-wracking.  One of my courses was co-taught by two professors, and the exams were to be split up between the two.  On my way to the exam I met up with one of the other guys who had just taken his exam in English (we normally take them in English unless we hear from others or the professor that they would much prefer Italian).  He said that the professor could not understand his English, and was even asking follow-up questions he had already addressed.  It did NOT bode over well for him, meaning that she told him he had failed.  "Oh yeah, I forgot to check who your procter is",  before he left me to sweat it out before I got to the university, only to find out that I would have the same professor in the next 15 minutes.  Anyway, I stumbled through the Italian and tried to understand the questions as best as I could.  Lo and behold, it ended up being one of my highest grades!

Know that my sufferings were all offered up for those of you back home going through your own trials and struggles, which I'm sure are often more serious and weighty than mine...