Tutor Picnic

My tutor for the month with all of her students from the semester

Our yearly tutor picnic. . .or at least that's what it was supposed to be. Sadly, it rained on the day we had planned to go to the park and picnic so we picnicked indoors. This picnic is a celebration and thank you to all of the great tutors who have taught us this year.  Below are a few photos of the event.

Sun Yuan, a long time tutor in our program

The whole group with tutors doing our goofy poses

My current tutor doting on a friend's baby

 We had all sorts of fun outdoor games planned that we had to rethink last minute.  This one was a little dangerous indoors as you can see from Chip's dive above.

Chip's first ever tutor.  Remember her?  She's the one that went home and cried the first night because she didn't know any English and he didn't know any Chinese.  Wow!  We have come so far since that first month.

My first 7.5km Race

 I ran my first 7.5km this weekend in Changchun.  It was me and my 10,000 closest friends because nothing is small in China.  It was a rainy day, but the weather was cool and great for running.  The race was at a National Park.  We ran on the road and on trails, most of which were very muddy and uphill.  Many people were just walking and had umbrellas that were a bit hard to maneuver around, but all in all, I had a lot of fun.

We cut these old T-shirts into tank tops for the run

Our American city team photo

My cheerleader

  

I think what amazes me about running is just that I am capable of so much more than I think.  Running for 45min straight is very difficult for me, but I CAN do it.  And afterwards, I feel a huge sense of accomplishment.

Almost to the finish

Crossing to the finish.  My time was 45:46.

My training buddy, Lauren, crossing the finish line.  

 

Our whole American group with our participation medals

Tai Chi Class

Tai Chi Class

Tai Chi (太极拳）looks easy.  After all, it's slow movements and very popular among the elderly in China, but let me assure you, it's not as easy at it looks.  As a former Jazzercise instructor I thought, "How hard can it be?" Well, it's not a thing like Jazzercise, or dance, or anything I've ever done in the past.  I have concluded that for the Western mind, there is nothing intuitive about Tai Chi.  This semester I am taking an elective Tai Chi class with other foreign students.  The Asians (Japanese, Korean, Vietnamese) all seem to catch on to the moves pretty quickly, but the Westerners (European, African, American) really struggle to comprehend the rhythm, flow, and positions.  We do our best, though.

A few weeks ago, our teacher had us practice in groups of three and he came around to each group to give feedback.  It was me, an Asian guy, and an African guy.  After performing we got the following feedback:

To the Asian:  可以  (acceptable)

To me:  可以  (acceptable)

To the African: 不可以 (not acceptable)

I was so thrilled to get the "acceptable" response.  Not great, not good, not even pretty good, but acceptable.  Sadly, that African guy has not returned to class since.

 I signed up for the class because I wanted a little exercise, and I wanted to interact with more foreign students outside of the American classes.  I have made some friends and it has been great Chinese practice for me.

 

 Tuesday is my final exam--a one-on-one performance for the teacher. I know my moves won't be perfect, but I'm hoping I can get a 可以。

Our skilled teacher.  His moves and my moves look nothing alike.

One morning I went for a run and as I returned to our complex, and saw the "old folks" practicing Tai Chi.  I recognized some of the moves from my class so I decided to join them.  I hear their music about 6:30am most mornings, but this is the first time I felt bold enough to participate.  They were happy for me to join in and when I left, they told me I was welcome to come again anytime.  When I got back to my apartment, I snapped a few photos (see below).  Turns out, Tai Chi is a great way for me to connect with my older neighbors and show respect for their culture. 

View from my 6th floor window of my neighbors practicing Tai Chi

 

Zoomed in view

I'm not a runner. . .

But I've been running a lot lately.  I've mostly been running to train for a 7.5k that I'm running next weekend, but because I'd been running, I was willing to sign up for a foreign student track meet at our university.  Our participation means a lot to our Chinese teacher because it gives her "face" or positive reputation, something very important in Chinese culture. 

 

 Track meets are a pretty normal thing in China, and I don't mean for well-trained athletes.  China sees them as a way to have competition between departments or classes for fun but also to win.  We have attended a few track meets over the last few years, but this is the first time we participated.  Our school has over 700 foreign students and all were invited to attend.  And while many people attended, not many people watched so the stands were about this empty the whole time.

Each class had to have decorations so our class chose an Angry Birds theme.  We fanned our fans to cheer for people as they ran.  And they also came in handy for self-fanning as it was a HOT day.

Chip and I with our Angry Birds fans

During the opening, flags from all of the countries were march onto the field--probably about 30-40 countries represented.

Our friend Gabe, chosen likely because he is tall, was asked to carry the American flag, but in promotion of international exchange, he swapped flags with his Japanese friend next to him.

I ran in the 4x100m relay and ran the women's 200m.  I am proud to say that I got second place in the women's 200m, beat by a long shot by an African.  I can take that.

I ran in the 4x100relay with these great ladies.  I led the pack, passed off to Nettie, then to Jess, and Lauren brought us to the finish in 1st place in our heat. But then there were other heats, so we ended up 3rd overall.  Not too shabby.

Giving it all I had

Passing to Nettie

Nettie's pass to Jess

Lauren easily bringing our team across the finish line

After our big finish

In this race 一条龙， the dragon, ten of us from our class ran together around the track all holding a rope.  Teamwork!  We did not do so well in this particular event, but we had fun!

Jess and I accepting our class award with our teacher, Han Laoshi

Our American class with our overall 7th place award

Me and my Japanese friend, Rongzi, from my TaiChi class.  She also ran the women's 200m.

 

My prizes? A hand towel and a travel shampoo-toothpaste set

Classroom Proposal

 

 Yesterday was an unforgettable class.  Halfway through the period, our teacher's boyfriend knocked on the door.  He had flowers so we all immediately assumed it was a marriage proposal.  We pulled out our phones and cameras and started taking photos.  He, speaking completely in English (for our benefit, no doubt), began apologizing for how he has treated her lately, even calling himself the "a" word (Chinese people learn a lot of their English from American movies and TV.  I am sure he had no idea he was cursing). Still, it was strange.  We put away our cameras deciding it must be some sort of apology from a big fight and not sure that we should be listening in.

But then, he pulled a box from his pocket and got down on his knee and asked her to marry him.

Her response? " 好吧"。Translated:  "Okay."

     

Then we took a longer than normal break while 韩老师 got her breath.  She was completely surprised, and in my opinion, maybe a little embarrassed.  I think his choice to propose during our class period is a sign that she really likes our class and speaks highly of us.  Nonetheless, she was really on the spot with all of us looking on teary-eyed.  After the break, although a bit flustered, she continued teaching.  We all hope to be invited to the wedding!