14 June 2014

Hi everyone,

Big month for sport

Football
It's got to be something really big to push the NBA Finals off screens in China, but that's what the Football World Cup has done.

The World Cup opening ceremony was held in Sao Paulo, Brazil at 2am Friday morning (our time), followed by the first game Brazil versus Croatia (Brazil won 3 - 1).  We were asleep, but watched the replays later that day.

The Socceroos were one of the 32 country teams from around the world to qualify for the 2014 World Cup.  We are in a very tough group: with Spain, Holland, and Chile.  We played Chile this morning, and lost 1 - 3.  I'm afraid it's not going to get any better.  In a big upset Holland beat Spain 5 - 1; the Dutch maintained their reputation as giant-killers (they beat Brazil in the semi-finals of the last World Cup 4 years ago).  I can imagine that the Spanish team is really pissed off, and they will be determined to make amends against poor old Australia and Chile.

Soccer looks easy, but don't be fooled.  There's a huge amount of talent and skill involved.  That first Dutch goal was a beauty - where he took a high pass and did a lovely header over the goalie's head into the net.  Perfect timing.  Poetry in motion.

Basketball
It's like that with the NBA Finals too.  In a repeat of last year, the last two teams are Miami Heat and San Antonio Spurs. These are big men, all around 2 metres tall.  Their athleticism is amazing, and their ability and agility is stunning.  The Heat won a very close contest last year - let's hope the Spurs can get the trophy this time around.

Tennis
The French Open was a great spectacle.  Rafael Nadal beat Novak Djokovic in the Mens Singles and Maria Sharapova beat Simona Halep in the Womens Singles.  That was Nadal's 9th win on the clay of Roland Garros - an amazing achievement - and his 14th Grand Slam title.

Peng Shuai and her Taiwanese partner Hsieh Su Wei won the Women's Doubles, their second Grand Slam victory. Chinese seem to have quick reflexes, as evidenced by their dominance of table tennis and badminton, so we might see more Doubles champions in the future.

Wimbledon starts on 23 June - bring it on!

Teaching

I completed all my Oral English exams this week. Spoke to each student for 4 or 5 minutes.  Their final mark was a combination of their performance during the semester and the final exam.  Several boys missed many classes so that affected their scores - but everyone passed (60% is the pass mark).

One of my 'chats' in the exam took an unexpected turn.  I asked Carol why she had missed several classes in the middle of the semester.  She said that she broke up with her boyfriend, and was feeling depressed.  I wanted to keep the dialogue going, so asked a follow-up question "Why did you break up?" Her answer: "He wanted to have sex, but I wasn't ready. Do you think I made the right decision?" Gulp. Quicksand. I mumbled "Yes", and quickly changed the subject "... and which team is your favorite in the World Cup?"

The Culture exam will be held 7 - 9pm on Sunday 15 June.  120 students, so marking the papers will take a few days.  In my last Culture class (Thursday night) I asked some of the students which part of the course they found of most interest.  The following table shows their answers.

Non Major class 224. Selected students: 'Which part of American Culture was most interesting?'

Name	Topic	Name	Topic	Name	Topic
Sally	3 branches of government	Loki	Economic development	Troy	George Washington
Paul Smith	Religion	Thomas	Population mix	Claire	College life
Gary	Drafting the US Constitution	Eric	The Civil War	Perry	The Great Depression
Johnson	Time Zones	Adam	Sport	Godric	Henry Ford
Mavis	Guns	Winky	Pets	Kevin	Elections
Faber	Religion	Sean	Guns	Coconut	Guns
Mike	Sport	Lucifer	The Civil War	Heidi	Eating manners

...

CNOOC group

I am still teaching the group of 28 staff from the China National Offshore Oil Corporation (CNOOC) who are doing an intensive English course for 3 months. My last class with them will be on Friday 20 June, and my colleague Steven McCune will replace me as their oral English teacher for the last 4 weeks.

CNOOC group, from left: Bob; Shaun; Eno; Tom; James; Wade; Joe; Brendan; Dean; Alvin; Sasa; Roy; Kevin (partly hidden behind Roy and me); Alex; Carl; Max; Iris; Leo; Jane; Steven; Kyle; Travis; Cliff; John; Ken; Andy; Jacob. (absent: Frank)

Actually, teaching an adult class turned out to be more difficult than I expected.  College students are still 'in the groove' with learning English, and accept it as part of their normal studies. But once they start work, unless they use English in their jobs (which is rare), they quickly lose the English skills they once possessed. It can be challenging to 're-awaken' their interest in, and competence in, English.

The CNOOC group has 34 hours of English lessons a week, of which my portion is 6 hours. They stay in a small hotel near the campus.

This is the third group from CNOOC I have taught.  From my observation many of them go through distinct stages: first excitement, then tiredness, then anger and resentment, then acceptance (or resignation?), and then finally a renewed interest in English.  For a teacher it is rewarding to see them improve, incrementally at first and then in a rush at the end.

CNOOC has operations in several countries, and some of the people in this group will probably end up working on oil projects overseas.

...

Campus bazaar 

Suddenly on Friday parts of the campus turned into a marketplace, as the 4,000+ students who are graduating this month put their books and other surplus things up for sale.

The graduating students selling their books and sometimes other possessions like bicycles.

Tennis anyone?

An international student from African seeing what's on offer.

...

Seniors cards

Vera and I have 'seniors bus cards' which provide discounted travel on city buses for people over 60 (instead of 15 cents per trip, we paid 10 cents).  We were puzzled why the balance on our cards wasn't decreasing with use.  Found out that the Municipal Government of Qingdao recently reduced the age for free bus travel from 70 to 65.  People over 65 now travel free on city buses.  Isn't that nice!

We don't have a car in Qingdao, so often take buses.  Public buses are great: frequent and cheap. I don't think I've ever seen an empty bus here - very different from Canberra where most buses are empty or with few passengers.  There are just so many people in China and the buses are usually crowded - but people are used to that, and good-natured about letting another person or two or three squeeze on.

Taxis are relatively inexpensive too: flagfall is $1.60 which covers the first 3 km.

Another little item related to cost of living here.  Yesterday my watch-band broke, so we went to a local shopping mall and found a "Mister Minute" booth (fix it man).  You know how much it cost to select a replacement band and have it put on?  $0.85.  Gotta love this place!

...

The dreaded Gao Kao

The annual National College Entrance Exam (the locals call it ‘Gao Kao’ – 'Big Exam') is held on 7 & 8 June every year.  9.4 million senior high school students registered to sit the exam at 320,000 venues.  The results will determine which students fill the 7 million places in universities and colleges around China in the 2014-15 academic year, beginning in early September 2014.

The number of students taking the Gao Kao peaked in 2008 with 10.5 million.    

In a country obsessed with anything to do with education, this is a huge event.  Students and their families have been totally focused on the Gao Kao for months, if not years. This exam is seen as a watershed in a student’s life - how well they do will be a key determinant of their future.

It is difficult for a Westerner to understand the importance accorded to this exam in China.  The whole country gets behind it.  There is lots of coverage in the press and on TV.  Extra police are assigned to duty around exam venues to ensure all goes smoothly.  Bus routes are changed to keep traffic noise to a minimum, and car and taxi drivers are told not to use their horns near exam venues.  There are special hotlines for people stuck in traffic.

Families seek any possible advantage for their child.  For example, they will rent accommodation near the High School for the final year, so that their child can sleep a little longer.  Families spend lots of money on extra tutoring - and buy books and computers – anything to help their child prepare for the exam.

Confucius is regarded as the ‘patron saint of education' and his shrines always see big increases in patronage in the weeks leading up to the Gao Kao.  Students and parents buy ‘blessing cards’ seeking his help and write messages such as “Wish me quick thinking and an extraordinary performance in the Gao Kao.”  Trinkets which feature pictures of the Sage are best sellers.

A woman told a journalist that she is leaving nothing to chance in seeking divine intervention for her daughter - she frequents the Confucius shrine, a Buddhist temple, as well as the local Christian church.

 

Butchers experience a spike in demand for brain at this time every year – cow, pig, sheep, goat - any brain will do.  Children are force-fed brain in the hope that their own brains will be improved. 

Despite warnings by the Ministry of Education against cheating, there are always new products on the market, such as tiny ear plugs, and special pens, erasers and watches which can receive wireless messages. Police establish special surveillance of wireless communication around exam venues.   

Students cramming for the annual Gao Kao exam.  Many of my students are from Shandong Province which is known for its tough study regime.  They said that in the final year of High School they were up by 6am, and went to bed around midnight.  

A town farewells students going to sit the Gao Kao exam.  One of my students told me she was the only one in her year to get a high enough score to make it to College, and the whole village applauded her when she left.

Students being screened for electronic devices.The China Daily reported that a group of 10 college students were arrested in Zhengzhou for organising a wireless operation to which Gao Kao students had subscribed.

One of the venues of the annual Gao Kao exam.

A parent praying for her child during the Gao Kao exam.

Parents and friends waiting outside a Gao Kao venue.  The results will be out by the end of June.

Several of my students told me that they repeated the last year of High School, so that they could get a better mark in the Gao Kao which would get them entry into a higher-ranked university.

With its huge population, competition is fierce in Chinese society.  In a country where poverty (and even starvation) is still in many people's living memory, education is seen as a passport to a good life.  Exams are an integral part of growing up in China.  Kids have exams at the end of Primary School to get into a good Middle School, then another exam to get into a good High School, finally the Gao Kao to get into a high-ranked university - all to improve the chance of securing a better job at the end.

Children are well aware of the huge expectations of their parents. There is relentless pressure to do well. Vera and I marvel at the relatively care-free lives of our grandsons back in Brisbane, and realise that they live in a very Lucky Country.

Two weeks ago the China Daily reported that 13 cities and provinces have introduced a system of bonus points where students with "outstanding morals" can get up to 20 points added on to their Gao Kao exam score (in Shandong the maximum Gao Kao score is 750; anything over 600 is considered very good).

This announcement led to a vigorous debate.  Some people thought it was a good way to encourage young people to do more charitable deeds and be more concious of helping their fellow citizens.  But most people reacted negatively:  How would 'morals' be judged? Who would be the arbiter? They felt that such a system could be open to corruption and nepotism, and that the Gao Kao result should be based solely on a student's academic ability.  Will be interesting to see how this is resolved.

Who is the most popular woman in the world?

What a great Trivial Pursuit question.

If 'popular' is defined as having the most followers on microblogs (like Twitter), then the answer is likely to be Yao Chen  (Chinese 姚晨).

Who is Yao Chen?

She is a Chinese actress, born in Quanzhou, Fujian Province on 5 October 1979, twice-married, known for her big mouth and beacon-like smile. Got China's 'Best Actress' Award in 2010.  She is known as the "Queen of Weibo" because of her huge contingent of 'followers' (Time says over 66  million).

She was one of four Chinese on Time Magazine's 2014 List of 100 Most Influential People in the World published in April 2014.

The following description was penned by Hannah Beech, Time's China Bureau Chief:

A Chinese superstar with an activist streak

Even movie stars have to breathe the same air we do. Yao Chen, one of China’s most beloved rom-com darlings, could have just kept quiet about the disturbing by-products of her homeland’s epic economic rise. But the 34-year-old took her thoughts online. Yao now outranks Twitter luminary Katy Perry with her more than 66 million followers on Weibo, the Chinese microblogging service. (Twitter is blocked by the Chinese government, which is spooked by social media it can’t control.)

She has opined on everything from the effect on her young child of China’s poisoned environment — choking smog, foul water and a toxic food chain — to the brave stand of a Chinese newspaper battling state censors. Last year she even quoted Aleksandr Solzhenitsyn: “One word of truth shall outweigh the whole world.” Or perhaps one gulp of China’s polluted air.

Receiving China's "Best Actress" Award in 2010.

With husband Cao Yu, May 2013, six months pregnant.

The baby, a boy nicknamed 'Little Potato', was born on 15 July 2013.

Add caption

Back in action after the baby, December 2013

As a Goodwill Ambassador for UNHCR Yao Chen has visited refugee camps in Thailand, The Philippines, and Ethiopia.

Grandkids

We are looking forward to meeting our newest grandson, Eddie, when we get to Kuala Lumpur in about 10 days time.

Little Eddie last week, almost 3 months old.

And then re-connecting with Kurt, Nate and Sid in Brisbane.

...

Well folks, that's it for another week.

The end of this semester is rapidly approaching.  In 10 days we leave for points South: first Kuala Lumpur and then down to The Land Down Under.

Will try to do one more post, next weekend, before we take a break during the holidays.

Best wishes, and keep smiling.

Alex & Vera Olah
English teachers at the China University of Petroleum, Qingdao
www.upc.edu.cn
Saturday 14 June 2014