We departed Xi'an for the long, awkward journey to HuaiYa. Said I to my Foreign Affairs Office, "Hi! My name is Aaron, and I'm very glad to meet you!" And then silence... I was tired... and I didn't know what to say.
Having left the city, we then entered the dusty countryside. Corn. Lots of corn. Had I returned to Northern Illinois?!
As we got closer and closer, my instincts were buzzing. It was as if I had been to HuaiYa before or recognized it from a former life. But the feelings were not pleasant. We came to a corner, and I knew this was it. My stomach sank. HuaiYa wasn't at all what I had imagined. When I had first committed to going to a small town, I had prepared myself for it. I knew it would be small... I knew it would lack amenities... I knew it wouldn't necessarily be pretty. I justified these challenges with a fiction of romanticism... that somehow living in a small town and the countryside was going to be pure, fresh, and envigorating. I had constructed what my HuaiYa would look like and dreamed about it all in my head. And now, through the van windows, it frowned at me baring mud-stained teeth. I didn't want to leave the van!
That night I ate dinner with many important people from the school and the community. More silence.... even heavier than before.
MONDAY
No classes. "Have a rest," all the teachers told me. I went to the nearby city MeiXian to register my passport and visa with the local police. The rest of the day was aimless.
TUESDAY
Classes or no classes? My Grade 1 students were doing military training all week, which meant I had no classes for the rest of the week. But rain threatened. If it rained, there would be classes. I sat in my apartment all day watching the skies... I was on call at a moment's notice. I have come to realize that indeed you are always on call at a moment's notice in China. Spontaneity... no matter the event... no matter the time of day... spontaneity...
Speaking of spontaneity, a late-afternoon knock at the door brought me Tuesday's big surprise. In honor of Teacher's Day (a national holiday in China), I was invited to present a speech in front of the whole school on Wednesday. The speech had to be written and submitted by Tuesday night. Tuesday evening was madness.... you'll never know!
Wednesday--a turning point
Happy Teacher's Day! Oh... and the speech...
From my apartment window, I watched teachers dressed in three-piece suits gathering for their entrance. This was no small occasion!... and it was time for me to join them. With every step toward my seat, I felt the staring and giggling of 3,000 teachers and students piercing through me. I just smiled back. The ceremony began with great pomp. A handful of students stood on the second-floor balcony and showered the courtyard with an explosion of confetti... it was really impressive and definitely got me pumped up! (even now, I wonder where I can get a confetti gun like that... they were really cool!) Various teachers gave speeches that I didn't understand. Later I gave a speech. The End.
That lunch, I met with some of the honored teachers and community members. I sat at the head table with the headmaster of the school and some local "party officials." We didn't really talk much... again I didn't know what to say... in general, I have this problem with colleague adults who are above me in age or rank.I must seem very rude to other adults, not only in China but America as well.
In honor of teacher's day, the teachers were excused from their night classes. They were also given an assortment of mooncake, pomegranites, and zao (Chinese dates). This bundle of sweetness doubled as a reward for Teacher's Day and a gift for the upcoming, all-important Mid-Autumn Festival.
The week's turning-point from uncertainty to excitement had begun with the many honors that my school had expressed to me--the invitation to give a speech, the feast of a lunch, the high seats at important tables. But I must say, the week truly turned the corner as I held that box of mooncake in my arms. Do you have any idea how delicious mooncake is?! And now I had a BOX of mooncake! I couldn't stop smiling. I could never complain again! Another teacher invited me play basketball with the other teachers--and I HATE basketball--but I couldn't say no. Mooncake has that kind of influence.
Thursday
Military traing + clear skies = no classes
no classes = boredom!
I need to teach!!!!!
Friday
More aimlessness... digestive problems getting worse...
My grade 1 students had their final day of military training. They gave a performance for the rest of the school to see. Impressive! This was my first introduction to my grade 1 students...
Saturday
I awoke to the alarm of a grumbling stomach. Something about Shaanxi food (or water) was very powerful--this alchemist bug was transforming even the most solid foods into liquid fire! I had to shut this operation down, and--as I had been advised--a diet of white sticky rice is the only antidote. I needed to find rice and a rice maker... and this mission required a thorough exploration of HuaiYa.
The town looked better today... maybe the fictional, romantic, fresh, pure HuaiYa that I had imagined DID exist--at least when the sun was out. The smell of delicous street food tempted me with keen persuasion, but I resisted. Spice and flavor would have to wait...
At the end of HuaiYa's main street, I discovered something of a supermarket. They had rice... they had a rice maker! AND THEY HAD SPRITE! For dinner, I indulged in a heaping bowl of white rice and a liter of Sprite. Flavor enough... for medicine!
Sunday--Mid-Autumn Festival, or as I call it, Mooncake Day!
Another surprise... the headmaster had come to my door with an invitation to climb Tai Bai Shan with him, his son, and another HuaiYa student. This event warrants its own entry... in short, a week of ups and downs ended on an extreme high. And I even still had some mooncake left in the box to extend the good feelings well into the next week...
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