Rice-flour chocolate chip cookies OR thanks for the chocolate, China 16s!

A couple of weeks ago now, Becky invited our student helpers Clint and Melissa to her apartment to make chocolate chip cookies. 

This was a brilliant idea in many respects. First, cultural exchange. Second, we get to know our Chinese students better. Third, we get to eat chocolate. 

Given our limited (as in less than a Chinese three-year-old) knowledge of Chinese writing (Hanzi), it is completely understandable that Becky did not know what kind of flour to purchase for the baking. It looked like wheat flour, but Melissa upon her arrival informed us that it was indeed rice flour. 

Once the idea of cookies was in our minds and on our palates, however, there was nothing that was going to stop us. 

The China 16s who returned to America this year had left Becky some baking chocolate. One of them had been a professional chef in Paris prior to joining the Peace Corps.

Becky and Melissa produced mixed the dough, while Clint and I broke up the chocolate.

End result, some delicious if unusual cookies and some priceless getting-to-know-you time with Clint and Melissa.

So many grapes, so little wine

On Teachers' Day (September 10, 2012) I went with one of my Chinese counterpart teachers Fan Bo (one of my best Chinese friends here) and his family and some fellow teachers to pick grapes. It turns out China grows a lot of grapes, but the grape wine industry is just in its infancy, to my consternation. A grassy sauvignon blanc and some la ji rou? Yes, please.

We drove about an hour outside of Zunyi to a large grape farm. The grapes are grown under greenhouse-like tarps and the ripe grapes are protected from insects and the elements by paper bag covers.

"Picking" involved sampling the different types of grapes grown at the farm, eating lunch at the farmer's home, walking among the grape vines, and then playing mahjong for a few hours while grapes were loaded in boxes for us to take home. So, no rustic experience, but, rather, it was something more akin to a wine tasting tour. I'm not complaining.

The many children along for the day could not resist the piles of drying chiles and peanuts on the farmer's front "yard." Piles are to play with, right? The farmer's wife had something to say about it.

After the outing we had dinner in Zunyi and played mahjong until late. Beijiu? Perhaps.

Here are some photos of the excursion:

And now for something completely different (to eat)...

Tonight I met my site mate Becky and the manager of the Dove School for coffee and dinner.

The cappuccino was a latte, but it was made with good espresso.

The restaurant was Grandma's Kitchen in the old city of Zunyi.
Dinner at was good, but unusual: potato soup that you might find in an American truck stop diner, soup beef with college-fare ramen noodles, and a "mixed dish" probably of northern provenance that included the most unusual food I have eaten to date: cow hooves.
Boiled, they have the texture and taste of the fungus that grows on bamboo roots.
Not at all unpleasant, but they tasted better before I knew what they were.

Ill-informed American

My usual student showed up at his usual time for his English lesson. 

But the session wasn't as usual.

In the past, he barely spoke. Today, we spoke for over an hour. The subject was the recent conflict between China and Japan.

We also spoke of recent anti-American protests in countries around the globe because of a slight to Islam, and of the American presidential campaign.

I have no opinion to share on these matters, but there were two mini-revelations during our time together. 

First, patriotic feelings can stir within me from time to time.

Second, I am completely ignorant of Chinese history. I know a few important details, but neither me nor my education has taught me much about China. How could I not know that September 18 is at least as important to Chinese/Japanese history as September 11 is to American history? 

Anyway, the chaos of the past week makes more sense now that I've been schooled.

One first of many

Today was the first day I taught at Zunyi Normal College.

What a day.

The students are startlingly enthusiastic.

It warms the heart
and puts a buoyancy beneath the Peace Corps purpose for me here in Zunyi.

...many pictures and recaps of amazing experiences to follow, I'm sure.

Wo shi Guizhou-ren!

Today is was one of the pivotal days in a Peace Corps China Trainee's experience:

Site Announcements!!!

We all gathered at Sichuan University this morning for a health session (how not to get avian flu, schistosomiasis, dengue fever, and malaria).

I'm guessing there will be a few cases of schisto this year among the group. The excitement sparked by the impending site announcements dulled our usual bear-trap attentions.

Announcements came next.

Peace Corps China works in three provinces and one independent municipality: Sichuan, Guizhou, Gansu, and Chongqing. All China volunteers teach English and other subjects at Chinese universities. The site managers were all waiting to hand out colored folders containing our site information. Yellow for Sichaun, Green for Chongqing, Blue for Guizhou, and Pink for Gansu.

The trainees from Sichuan Normal East got the excitement going with a dance routine to the Jackson Five's "ABC."

Alyssa gave the go ahead and the site managers handed out the folders. 

Mine...dun, dun, dun...Guizhou!  Zunyi, Guizhou! Zunyi Teacher's College.

http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Zunyi

My site mate is Becky from Ohio.

There will be the only two volunteers at the university. Two China 16s (a married couple) just left.

After some serious sharing with our friends, we headed to a session orienting us to the new site.

Guizhou is southeast of Sichuan, and is a fairly mountainous province. Many rivers and caves. The population is, on average, quite poor. It is the third poorest province in China. Because of this, it can be difficult to attract foreign teachers, so it is heartening to know that what we will do at our universities is work that really needs to be done and that can have a lasting impact. The region contains very large minority populations. My students will be struggling to speak English.

Overall, it is a politically conservative region. Mao Zedung took control of the Communist Party in Zunyi (my city!), Guizhou. 

The climate is more mild there, with cool-ish summers and warm winters. The largest waterfall in China is in Guizhou. Most importantly, the food is excellent. Less oily and slightly less spicy than in Sichuan. I will miss the hua jiao! Lots of fresh vegetables and bean, pork, beef, chicken, and, yes, dog. 

Besides Becky, my province mates include: Rachel, Maria and Nick in Tongren, Jason K and Kateri in Bijie, Morgan and Claire in Duyun, Shree in Kaili, Alex and Trevor in Lupanshui, and Russ, Melissa, Dan, Aaron, McKinley, Mike, and Kelly in Guiyang. 

My Chinese Host Family

No clever title here, as this is serious gratitudinal business.

These past few weeks, I have been staying with a Chinese family, who has given me a place to stay, fed me delicious food, and taken me on some great outings in Sichaun (more on these later).

The Peace Corps host family modes is such that the volunteer is usually the "son" or "daughter." This seems apt, given how new I am to the culture here, even though I am nearly as old as my host "mother" and "father" and old enough to be my host "sisters" father.

Mother: Huan He (43, a university English teacher at Sichuan Normal University)
Father: Yan Cun Jian (45, a university Geography/GIS professor at SNU)
Sister: Yan De Fei aka Fei Fei (a 14 year old student and Gu Zheng player)

My blogger profile picture includes the family, but here they are again:

My training site is Sichuan Normal University (Sichaun shifan daxue), between the second and third ring roads. It's not downtown, but still relatively urban. You can find more information about it here: http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Sichuan_Normal_University

Chengdu is a fascinating city as well--ancient, but developing and expanding day by day.
http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Chengdu