First Week in Taigu

I can't believe how quickly time is passing, I've already been in Taigu a week. Granted, all in all it's been a productive busy week. When I first arrived I have to say it was quite an adjustment, especially coming from Hong Kong, and the luxury of my friend's fancy Beijing apartment that I stayed in for the two days before coming to Taigu. What immediately hit me were the superficial differences, things like, wow most restaurants are closed by 8:30 or 9, the water shuts off at 11pm, and my bed is akin to sleeping on a plank of wood. So that first night I was somewhere between shell shocked and mopey, especially when I forgot about the "water curfew" and went to go brush my teeth only to discover the tiniest thinnest trickle, ah well. But I'm adjusting quickly, and throughout the week these difficult aspects were balanced out by the arrival of my kitties (yes!), the arrival of the rest of the fellows, and the delicious sumptuous banquets that are every meal in Taigu. Also, much to my surprise, it is incredibly beautiful here, especially the area around the fellows' houses, where it is green and lush with bright flowers. What a nice surprise!

I taught my first Nongda (Shanxi Nongye Daxue is the name of the university, Nongda is the abbreviation) class on Monday morning to a group of second year undergraduate students. The class went well, especially considering the unfortunate arrangement of the room. It is an enormous computer room, which means every desk has a huge monitor plunked down in front of the students faces, so basically they can hide and text and chat in Chinese way too easily. Thanks to excellent advise from James, Ray and I are both planning on abandoning these classrooms for our living room, where we will schedule them in 45 minutes slots. This should work better. Most happily, that was the only class I had to teach this week, since the grad students start class a week later. This is fantastic since now I really have time to lesson plan and adjust and relax.

Unfortunately I already feel my Chinese level has taken a dip from when I was in Beijing and speaking constantly, but I'm meeting with my tutor today and I hope to make many new Chinese friends soon (quick! before my language skills evaporate! Isn't that how it works?). I hope you are all well and please please keep in touch. More on Taigu coming soon....