The Missing Week OR Why to Keep a Journal

The next week is spotty.

My journaling efforts took a break from July 6 to July 13.  And, only a few weeks later, I am having trouble remembering what I did.

Lesson 1: keep a journal.

Lesson 2: sometimes you're too busy or overwhelmed to keep a journal.

Lesson 3: being in the moment is always more important than remembering what you've done.


A little like a blackout, I do remember certain moments:

I spent a great weekend with my host family.
My host mother had to grade thousands of final English exams, so she was away during the day and had to return late. This gave my some bonding time with host dad. We got to make lunch together over the weekend.

A moment of cultural exchange occurred when he set a potato in front of me and said, "You cook this." Potatoes are very popular in Sichuan, so I am not sure if this was coincidence or that he knows of Americans' love of the spud. Not knowing what to do or how to cook with a wok, I sliced up the potato along with some onion and fried it in oil and soy sauce. The dish (basically, home fries) was a hit. With the innumerable vegetable combinations in Sichuanese cooking, I was surprised that that of potato and onion was a revelation.

The kitchen is very small, so after enduring my presence a few times, host dad began to tell me "you take rest" every time he was about to cook! There end, so far, my Chinese cooking lessons.

We went for (very) long walks after dinner. Great exericise. Unfortunately, as the days went on I became too busy with studying for such long walks.

I developed a friendship with the ice cream vendor near our apartment. Even so, I've been losing weight since I arrived in China. The healthiness of the diet is not thwarted even by my best ice-creamy-goodness attempts.

The first couple days, my host family walked me to and from class. I remember a very nice dinner with Fei Fei (my host sister) after class the first day.

Other than this, my first week of pre-service training is really a blur!

I got to know my fellow SNU trainees. Friendships forged during orientation grew, but but not necessarily at the same pace after I moved to a new location. Of course, a few came with me to SNU, and new friendships have developed since with my SNU group.

Most of all, I remember the training:
4-6 hours of Mandarin study each day
TEFL sessions on Classroom Management, Student Assessment, Semester Planning, Lesson Planning
Sessions on Volunteer Diversity, Common Peace Corps Volunteer Health Problems, Sexual Assault Awareness.
Interviews with the Peace Corps Medical Officers
Interviews with Site Managers
AND MORE SHOTS!!!

Signing off tonight with some real entertainment...

At the end of our first week of language class, we had a more light-hearted session during which we learned a Chinese folk song...and then improvised some modern dance to go with it (???).

Hello, Mai Junhao

All of the bags arrived in Chengdu. All of the bags for seventy-three volunteers arrived on time. All of the bags, with a combined weight of approximately 7,300 lbs. and containing two years worth of stuff for seventy-three people, arrived with us in Chengdu via Tokyo and Bangkok. 

I am always surprised by the efficiency of air travel.

We arrived at Sichuan University (Beiyuan Hotel) in Chengdu on the afternoon of 2 July, disoriented, but ready for orientation. 

It was a blitz of information and activity, but to be brief it consisted of:

safety, health, and security briefings

introduction to Peace Corps in China

speech from a Chinese education minister

speech from head of the Chengdu US Consulate 

medical interview

dress code and appearance briefings (no sarongs, sandals, beards, or tattoos)

getting money (living allowance; we don't get paid)

a banquet with the Peace Corps staff (no baijiu!)

cultural sessions

language study

getting our photos taken

SHOTS (rabies, Japanese encephalitis, hepatitis, meningitis and more!)

homestay orientation

introduction to Teaching English as a Second Language

received medical kits

got our Chinese names

training site announcements

meeting our host families

Here's the full schedule, if you're the detail type:

(Yes, I found coffee in China, and then spilled it on my training schedule.)

Henceforth, my name in China is Mai(4th tone) Jun(1st tone) hao (2nd tone), but my friends call me Jason McFarland. The name means something like "proud ruler." I haven't been able to get a precise answer yet. It's a bit pretentious for my taste, but I like the way it sounds. I think these are the characters:

麦君豪 

On Tuesday after we finished getting our photos taken, Kevin M., Katie F., Aaron M., Paul S. and I took a walk to the river near campus (quite a grand river), desperately hot and thirsty. So thirsty and naive, in fact, that we paid 25 yuan each for several bottles of Carlsberg beer. We discovered soon after that the normal price for a bottle of beer is about 7 yuan or less. 

But, damn, it was worth every red Mao. 

On the way back, someone had to pee. I won't mention any names. The signs to the public toilet led nowhere, however, so a restaurant had to suffice.

When we got back to campus we took a little break and gathered again with a few more people to go to hotpot--very famous in Sichaun. Think giant fondue with chopsticks and mysterious pieces of animal. It's actually delectable. Oil, chili, salt to perfection.

Ordering was a fun fiasco. The staff was excited to help us through the ordeal. 

Two KTV (karaoke) bars are near SU. Cheap beer is at the 7-11 down the block. Party. 

There's much more to tell, but, in sum, it was exhausting and exhilarating, lonely and filled with new friends, disorienting while increasing my focus.

We got to know the neighborhood around SU pretty well during these few days, our first days as Trainees.

Here are some of the photos:

Woman meditating near the river

Chinese dryers

Aaron, Preetam, Avi

SU Stadium

Campus greenery

Campus street

Front of the Beiyuan Hotel

Restaurant alley near our hotel

Another favorite restaurant alley outside SU

The neighborhood 7-11. Beers on the 4th of July.

Melissa and Anne having lunch with our language/culture facilitator Zou Peng.
M, A, me, and Marty comprised my first language training group.
Note the miniature chairs. It turns out squatting comes in handy in all sorts of circumstances in China.
I'm more flexible already!

The Longest Trip to China

30 June-2 July: Los Angeles to Tokyo to Bangkok to Chengdu

During our orientation I volunteered to be a group leader. In brief, this meant that I was responsible for making sure a dozen or so other trainees (we are not officially volunteers until we are sworn in after two months of training) made in to the flight on time. Had I checked my itinerary more closely I would have realized this meant three flights, but I'm a relaxed traveler.  

74 trainees to start. By the time we left LA we were down to 73.

The Peace Corps staff bid us adieu at the hotel and we departed LAX at 1 P.M., having waited in line to check our bags since 8 A.M. The transport of our luggage all the way to Chengdu seemed anything but certain.

During my travels for work I had become accustomed to business class, or, at the very least, economy plus with an aisle seat. I also have a trick lower back that has caused me serious trouble every couple of years. Sitting for long periods of time and not being able to get up often to walk and stretch = trouble. But Peace Corps is not a business class kind of outfit and shouldn't be, so I was up for whatever came my way. I was praying for an aisle seat in economy, however. No go. Eleven hours to Tokyo, where we changed planes, and 7 more hours to Bangkok in the middle of the plane.

We overnighted in Bangkok at what is certainly the primo Best Western on earth. Unfortunately, we arrived at midnight and departed at 6 A.M. for our 4-hour 10:30 A.M. flight to Chengdu, so no trips downtown for the legendary fun. "Dinner" consisted of bar snacks and a glass of California chardonnay with Katie F. and Jeremy. It was at this hotel that I realized, with some relief, that many fellow trainees had not heeded Peace Corps recommendation to quit smoking. Real people.

My roommate here and when we arrived in Chengdu was Aaron Meadows. A tall, thoughtful, athletic guy about 15 years my junior. We got on well. He's also already fairly fluent in Mandarin. I mention my roommates because during this kind of tumultuous (yet thrilling) experience, these people are instant friends, people I'll always remember.

The Bangkok airport was well-appointed. After everyone successfully made it through check-in and security (two in my group overslept, but I'm not going to mention any names; Euro-cup finals kept several people up into the wee hours), we divided and conquered for one last American vice. Mine was a venti iced coffee.

Chine, here we come!

 (Bangkok airport; Peace Corps waiting at the gate)

Departure Day

A year-long application process finished, check
Getting my life in order so that I could be away for two years, check
Finishing up my ESL teaching, check

(LanguageEtc in Washington, DC)

One last academic conference to make secure some connections, check

(CTSA in St. Louis)

Quality time with friends and family pre-departure, check

(A trip home for my sister's dental school graduation at the University of Minnesota-Twin Cities)

(A week with the parents in Washington and Annapolis)

(A long weekend in Rehoboth with Brian, Neal, and Mike)

(A drive to Pittsburgh to see my friend Ed)

29 July: Washington Dulles to Los Angeles for a day of registration and orientation at the LAX Radisson
I was thrilled to be making a start to the two years, and I finally got to meet my fellow China 18s (the 18th group of volunteers to serve in China) -- in particular, my first roommate Jason McConnell, a novice guitar player redhead from the South overflowing with personality.
Prior to departure I had to shave my beard (China Peace Corps requires you to be clean shaven), which I had sported for several years. ...another discombobulation to add to the list.

That evening some went down to the beach for dinner and others stayed at the hotel. I opted for one last burger and a glass of good wine at the hotel bar.