Our second visit was in another district of the city.  Our former student came to the city from the place she now lives, and arranged accommodations for herself and us in the home of one of her cousins.  We arrived by taxi, accompanied by the first student.  After introductions and settling in, we got on a bus and went to another cousin’s home for the rest of the day.  The women of the group prepared a feast.  We were much welcomed, but no one besides our student spoke any English, and she did not interpret much.  I wanted to watch and participate in the kitchen, but I saw that they weren’t comfortable with that.  I have learned that there are two answers for questions about vegetables:  “green vegetable” and “I don’t know the English name.”  Everything in China is cooked, including lettuces of all kinds.

Our student referred to her cousins as “sisters” and their husbands as “brothers” even though we explained the standard English usage to her.  It’s common in China to use these English terms regardless of their meaning. These young women, daughters of three sisters, provided well for us.  In the afternoon, we went to a sort of amusement park, and the following day to Chongqing Garden Expo.  On that day we were joined by a younger cousin.  It was fun to see “the girls” enjoy themselves.

Of the twenty three districts in Chongqing city, we probably saw at least fifteen, ranging from poverty through extreme wealth.  Our hosts lived in the middle ranges. In the street markets we saw something new to us and asked what it was.  It looked like it might be stacks of very thin flat noodles, was it food?  It also looked like paper accordion pleated and bound in stacks, was it a game of some sort?  No, it was spirit money.  On the second day of the new year, people visit the graves of their ancestors and, among other rituals, burn this money so that the ancestors “have money to spend in hell,” as our student put it.

On the third day, our student accompanied us on the two hour bus journey to another city to meet our final host.

“Journey west” is the title of a popular ancient story in China, seen every day on tv.  It involves Monkey, Pig, and other characters.  We took our own journey west to Chongqing Municipality where we stayed in 2008–09.  We visited three particular people and their families.

The first was in a new district of Chongqing city, right on the Yangtze River.  The apartment complex is new, so new that few apartments are occupied.  The landscaping is excellent, especially as viewed from the 15th floor.  The apartment is exceptionally clean, modern and bright, small, but efficiently arranged.  The hosts, parents of our former student, were warm, friendly, and interested in conversation with us, as interpreted by their daughter.  This family enjoys cooking and sharing food. We had duck soup one night, and mutton soup another.  At home we had eggs for breakfast, and various tasty dishes at other times, and lots of fruit.  We were taken around the city to see the sights and shop in a market specializing in ethnic arts.

I bought a pair of linen pants with wide legs and embroidery on the front.  The effect is of a skirt.  I also bought a tiny  turtle carved from Dazu stone.  It is a stone occurring only in Chongqing. It has layers of light and dark, and the carvers use this to design the carving.  It is expensive, but I liked it.  I wanted a larger one, but they were too heavy as well as too expensive.  I also bought some earrings, typical to a special tribe in China.  The women wear lots of silver in high headdresses, necklaces, bracelets and earrings.  The ones I bought are heart shaped.  I understand that they are an alloy of silver, but they appear to be silver.  They will be a gift, because I do not wear earrings.  In another store, I bought a tiny black lacquered oval box inlaid with abalone shell flowers. What will I put in the box?  Some treasure, some memory of China, something to surprise and delight my grandchildren.

I have a collection of tiny turtles, carved from wood, jade,  stone.  Each turtle marks a special time or place, the first one, our honeymoon.  In Chinese lore, the turtle stands for longevity.  I have always liked the fact that the turtle carries his house with him—so convenient.  One year at camp I saw a sand turtle lay her eggs—they looked like opals–bury them, and then walk away into the water.  My own children are the jewels I have left behind, trusting that they will live and thrive.

In the late evening, we went up a high hill to a special place set aside for viewing the city. The buildings were all specially lit for Spring Festival, as were the roads and bridges.   It was a clear night, crisp and cold.  There is one large tree in the plaza on top of the hill, so the place is called “One Tree.”  From the plaza, we entered a building and took an elevator even higher up.  Spectacular!

In the education system of China, the EXAM is everything.  From entering kindergarten through achieving advanced degrees, the EXAM dictates a student’s progress. Students worry all the time about their marks on various exams, as well they might, because the marks on those exams will determine their next steps.  The common idea is that China has so many people, they have to have a way to sift them.  The exam is seen as the way to rule out people from the competitive race for places at school.

Students have told me that they must focus on the marks on the exam, not on the content.  They learn what they need for that exam, then lay that content aside to study for the next one. Perhaps the top tier students, the ones who go to Beijing University or Shanghai, do not have this attitude.  I have taught teachers in Shanghai and Beijing who know the reality of the system.  As teachers, they must focus on having their students do well on the exams.  They are not so interested in the ability to use English and enjoy it, as they are in having their students pass the exams.

At our school now, the exam in a given course counts 90% of the grade, everything else–participation, attendance, regular work—counts only 10%.  If the teacher wants to give a mid term exam, that can count for 30%, leaving 60% for the final exam.  In this climate, many students believe that they do not have to attend class, participate, or do any regular work.  Learning the content is not necessary.  The main thing is to show up for the exam and get a passing mark.  How to do this, if you haven’t learned anything new?  Easy.  Copy something from the internet, always available on a smart phone.  What is the topic?  Doesn’t matter, the internet covers everything.

Will the teacher read every word you have written on a writing exam?  Probably not.  The teacher knows what’s important, and reading student papers is not on the list.  Perhaps it’s different in Beijing, I do not know.  But this is what my colleagues in 2008-09 told me.

This term, I taught eight oral classes, and one writing class.  The orals were English majors, but the writing class was not.  Most of my writing students could barely understand me.  We made some progress toward writing a standard format five paragraph essay.  But on the exam, two students copied from the internet.  They copied the exact same essay.  One copied it whole, while the other had only a few sentences.  I gave both papers zero.

I showed the papers to the administrator, who asked if I could meet with the students and let them know how serious this is. He said his assistant could arrange it.  In my conversation with her, she tried to justify the students as wanting to make  good marks on the exam!  She loves these students, and wants them to do well.  She did not set up the meeting, everyone is too busy at this time.

One student emailed me and said that the two did not copy each other, but both copied from the internet, as if this made it a lesser offense.  He apologized profusely, as if this would win my heart.  He pleaded that he would be unhappy in the New Year celebration if he got a failing mark, as if his happiness were the main issue. He recognized the cultural difference between us, as if I should recognize that this form of copying is acceptable here. He has enough command of English to do all this in e-mail.  As I see it, the fact is that it is not only a common practice, but an acceptable one, here in China.  After all, the main thing is the mark on the EXAM.

January 1 marks the solar new year, the “western world” new year, the calendar new year.  But, here we are in China, where the main New Year is the Lunar new year, this year falling on January 23.  The people involved in teaching and learning English celebrate both, after all, any reason for a party is good enough.  One of the aspects of calendars that fascinates me is that the Hebrew calendar and the Chinese calendar, both lunar, show roughly the same amount of time from “the beginning” with the Hebrew one counting about 1000 more years than the Chinese. However, we have to consider the question, what is a “year”?

The Chinese translate the New Year for us in English as “Spring Festival.”  On the lunar calendar, winter is winding down, while on the solar one, it is just gathering strength.  Here in the middle of China, I observed a bare branch with tiny flowers just opening.  I have not observed any signs of freezing through the whole winter, but it has been uncomfortably cold, because of that rule in Southern China about no central heat in the buildings.  Room heaters are allowed, but you can imagine how effective they are.  Chinese people don’t distinguish between indoors and outdoors, leaving their windows open, and wearing their jackets and scarves indoors.

Our first term is complete, we have turned in our grades, and now our holiday begins.  We wanted to spend some time in preparation for next term, but the classes haven’t been decided yet.  We’ll be traveling, like all the rest of the Chinese world, to visit family, in our case friends who regard us as family.  Then, when we return we’ll receive some American friends as guests for a few days.  We regard them as family, so we look forward to their visit to finish up the break time.  Then the new term will start.

The celebration of Spring Festival is all about a new start, good luck, good fortune.  It is especially wonderful for children, I am told, because they receive gifts of money in red envelopes—hong bao. It is such a simple system,no agonizing over what exact gift to give each child, just the pretty decorated envelope, and the amount for each child in your family.  My students instructed me in the proper form for the family we will visit.  We should put at least 100 quai (rmb) in the envelope, and no more than 200.  We should offer it to the child, who will be instructed to refuse.  Her parents will vigorously protest our gift, but we should just as vigorously insist that we want to give it.  This will happen three times at least, and then we should give it to the child anyway.  Since this child is about one year old, I think it will be difficult to follow the protocol.  Children will also get new clothes, as a symbol of  a new start in the new year.  Many people will wear red, the favorite color of China.  It stands for passion, love, joy, good luck.

Particular foods will have particular meanings–some according to local folklore.  The staple foods of China are pork, chicken, noodles, dumplings and rice.  In some families, one dumpling will contain a coin for good luck, so everyone must eat and eat until that coin is found.  I’ve learned that the style of folding the dumpling varies according to the region. I’ve practiced the Fuling fold, and the Beijing fold.  The flour is high gluten flour, and mixed with water and kneaded it becomes the dumpling dough.  It is formed into a roll, and then cut in thin round slices.  This slice is rolled out with a rolling pin, filled with the meat and vegetable mixture, then folded over to seal.  Then the dumplings are boiled in broth.  It is an artistic process.

We consider it an honor to be invited to Chinese homes for this most important of all celebrations.  If you have Chinese friends, wish them “Gong xi fa cai”  “wishing you prosperity” for the new year.  And, remember, regardless of any calendar, each new day is a new personal start.