Thoughts on Being a Miniature Celebrity

Howdy folks, Ben speaking. For those of you who don't know, Mallory and I have had a few computer troubles over the past few weeks. As in, the computer went six feet under and our internet connection was moving slower than a geriatric turtle. But thanks to some great friends, some ingenious Chinese students, and a few thousand kuai, we're back online faster than ever!

A few things to catch you up on. First, people tend to stare around here. By that I mean, everyone stares and everything I do. And I partially understand. For many people in Kaifeng, I am the first non-Chinese person they've seen in their entire lives. They've heard about America every day, and then America just walks by. Most of the time, I don't mind the attention. But on days like today, it's about all I can manage not to smack someone. You see, I teach almost every morning. I teach two classes in two hour blocks, and I do the same lecture in both classes because I go around to different classes every day. So, I have different people every day and need to consistently deliver my lecture so they can practice their listening skills. [Remember: never seen a foreigner. So many students studying English have never heard a native speaker in person either.] Now, imagine talking at about one eighth of the speed you normally talk for four hours every morning. Pretty tiring...

This morning, one guy came up after class and asked if he could take a picture with me. "Sure," I said. What could be the harm? I'm sure this would make the guy's day. After the first picture, someone else comes up and asks for the same thing. Ten seconds later, I'm surrounded by people pushing and pulling each other [and pushing and pulling me] to get a picture. It wasn't like being an animal in a zoo. It was like being an animal on the chopping block. Eventually, I shook them off, gave them a few firm English phrases, put on my 'Don't bother me' face, and everything was good. For those few seconds though, I was livid.

Enough negative though. Things are just swell around here. The National Day holiday starts in a few days. For some reason National Day [the day the PRC started] lasts for an entire week. So that means a full week and a half of no classes for us. We're preparing for some serious rest, a bit of nesting, and a lot of TV shows in bed.

Now I'll leave you with a few pictures we've taken over the last month that we haven't been able to share. Enjoy! More to come!

 

 

Noodles and beer. What a mix!

A shot of the street outside of the second floor of a Chinese pizza place. Yep, Chinese pizza...

The Iron Pagoda, the campus attraction.

A full bus is a happy bus.