Karaoke for a Friend's Birthday, Hash Hooky So I Can Prepare to Hare, The Dark Side of High Academic Standards, and A Week of Adventure Ahead
This was the last week before our thanksgiving break and the accumulated stress among staff and students is palpable. Everyone is ready for a vacation.
One of the dark sides of such high academic standards is the amount of strain it puts on students. You can see bags under their eyes from a lack of sleep. They have stress over their performance and are rarely happy with any score below a 93% because they all aspire to get into America's top 30 Universities or Colleges. Their attitudes toward success leads to some unhealthy mindsets. While I continue to praise the education system here as far superior to the idiot producing factory that is American education, it has it's flaws. The cultural perspective on education is that every child should have a LOT of education. They take additional classes after school and on the weekends. What is most concerning is that they assess their self-worth in relation to their academic success.
My students worry about a lot. They have little time to socialize and they crave approval from adults.
The youngest kids in my school are hit the hardest. A couple with whom I work has shared that his their 7-year old son is worried that people will think him stupid because he earned an 83% on his math test. This test was above grade level and assessed math skills that exceed what most first graders, and even adults, can do in the western world. Yet, this kid is worried he will be considered an idiot because he did not get over a 93% in a class where the average grade is 93% and above.
The week dragged on but I got through it. My friend had a birthday on Thursday and we celebrated on Friday with hot pot and karaoke. For those who never had hot pot, it is a soup-like dish that is shared with everyone at the table. Various meats and veggies and mushrooms are brought to the table and added to the pot as it boils. They are then picked out to be eaten. Along with the hot pot I also enjoyed some new fruits. I tried guava fruit and pomelo for the first time. Guava has the texture of an apple and it is tangy and sweet. Pomelo is like a cross between an orange and grapefruit in flavor but is as large as a small melon and is sliced and eaten just like one. Karaoke was fun but I did not get any videos of it because I was too busy singing my heart out. If I can get a friend to share videos I will add them.
On Saturday (Today) I skipped the run with the Shekou hash because I had to prepare for my own trail on December 10. I am laying the runners trail and had to carefully map out the route. It ended up being about 8.46 miles (13.6km). Once I got home I tried to set up a meituan account so that I could use their rental bikes to lay the trail and get around. I can also use this app to order delivery food if I really want to. I bought some things on Taobao. I may not be able to get the banjo that I wanted but I ordered a multi-tonal titanium drum, even more toe shoes, some black soap, a robotic vacuum, and a towel. After that I ended up going to the Snake Pit later in the evening when the hashers returned to do my job of counting the beer. I got a drink and dinner while I was there.
Tomorrow I will take care of household chores and have band practice. I will also prepare for an overnight school trip from Monday to Tuesday this week by packing a bag and getting tested later in the evening so my code stays valid until I get home on Tuesday as the school won't be offering testing on the trip. Our destination is Huizhou Forest Lake. Teachers are staying in a hotel, students are staying in dorms, and our job has been explained as "make sure the kids are acting respectfully toward the activity facilitators". I am looking forward to this trip a lot. It will be a chance to see my students outside of the school building, having fun instead of taking classes, and hopefully relaxing a little bit over team building and healthy competition.
Below are some photos and videos from this week. I finally figured out how to add videos as long as they are not too long. I posted midweek about the state of affairs with American politics so if you want to hear my opinion on that matter then read the next article. Thanks to those who keep reading every week. If this is your first time reading, then you have some catching up to do. Don't ask me "how is China" without reading my blog first.
The tomato based hot pot with minced beef. Here the broth was ladled into the bowl
A hand pulled noode.
A dance party parade....not sure what I witnessed here.
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