All Passion Spent - observations from Margaret

From CTBU, China, January 12, 2009 Margaret Curtis Item fourteen
All passion spent

It’s a long time since my high school days, but I remember the enjoyment of reading Sophocles’ Oedipus trilogy, and I have the feeling that Antigone ends with the words all passion spent. That phrase about sums up my feelings at this present moment.

The semester is over, my grades are submitted, groups of student are no longer coming over to my apartment to say farewell – they are up and off for the spring festival and then a long vacation. Some will travel 20-40 hours by train to reach their homes. I can only imagine what awaits them when they arrive. Many are from “farmer” or “worker” families. It is hard for them to adjust to their old family lifestyle now that they have had a taste of independent living on campus. I remember those feelings well, and I am not surprised that they confide in me about it.

Who else can they confide in? This is a society in which college students have only the support of their peers, it seems. They are crammed into dormitories 4-7 people in a room. Each student has a bunk bed with a small desk underneath – no heat, no hot water, no cooking or laundry facilities. My heart aches for them, especially when I warm up my bedroom at night. I think of them all, half way up the mountain in the cold winter air. “No problem,” they say, “we just wear the same clothes indoors as outdoors.” When I ask if it bothers them they tell me, “We came here to study, not to be comfortable”. It all seems normal to them. They show up to class looking clean and bright, laughing and eager to learn. How can I not be impressed?

CCTV9 is the English TV channel that I watch here in the evenings. Nothing but bad news about the American economic meltdown. The effects are already hitting China. Factories are closing down. Companies are “disappearing”. TV news shows pictures of thousands of new graduates trying to push their way into the work force. Many of them will have no job after four or more years of training. The sophomore students that I have been teaching this semester see it coming to them in the not too distant future. One female student broke down and wept during her final oral examination. I only asked if this semester had been good. “We work so hard,” she said, “but it makes no difference how hard we work. We still cannot get ahead. It is not fair.” I hold back the tears myself, and cannot reassure her about anything.

Some students are well motivated, but many tell me that they do not want to study in this university or in their assigned major. They have no choice. The school and the major is chosen for them according to exam scores. Neither the assigned school nor the assigned major can be changed. Some students add a second major to an already hectic schedule. “We must work harder,” they say. “It is our duty to get a good job, so that we may support our parents and grandparents.” This heavy burden is placed on such young shoulders by Confucius. “Our parents have nothing, and we must provide for them” they say. Filial duty. Again, no choice.

I’m all alone now. My colleagues have left for Singapore, Australia, the Netherlands. I too will leave this week. I will miss the closeness and support of these wonderful young students, their kindness, and their caring hearts. I have fallen in love with some of the young men, a pity about the age difference - half a century, no less! Their idealism, their selfless spirits, their determination to make a difference in the world, their courage in the face of dramatic world changes, their concern for one another - and even for me – there is no way to communicate the depth and richness of this experience. It is my honor to be here – a phrase I have learned from the students! I love them all and I will miss them all.

Word from Margaret Curtis in China

Ken, thanks for keeping in touch. I am winding down here now the holidays have finally come to China. However I will soon be under contract at another school in Ningbo, by the coast, south of Shanghai - another 5 months. I cannot drag mmyself away from China!

I miss Rotary no end. Please give my greetings to all. I am attaching a final document - I know I sent 2 before - there are 14 altogether....

My health is OK considering the toxic air I am breathing night and day. Have not needed the anti biotics.

Happy New Year to you and your family.

Margaret

Christmas Program the Best of the Year

President Mac Jefferson started by surmising that this is our best meeting of the year. In many ways I think we have to agree. This is the time when so many of our spouses, children, and grandchildren come. What could be better than that? We had a great meal at the Carroll Knicely Center on Western's South Campus and WKU's Men's Accapella group the Red Shirts sang Christmas songs mixed with a lot of good humor. Finally Santa came and had a personal session with the kid's in attendance.

REMINDER: There will be no meeting the next two weeks (Christmas Eve and New Year's Eve) then we'll be back at Carroll Knicely for the January 7 meeting and on January 14 back at the Country Club.

Bruce Wilkinson Inducted

Vickie Elrod had the great honor of presenting new member Bruce Wilkinson his membership papers. Welcome to the club Bruce. We hope you share your leadership skills with our club as you have the rest of the community.

B.G. Hot Rods Rolling Into Town in April

Greg Coleman works for the new Minor League team coming to Bowling Green this April. He is a man well suited for his job. Greg is enthusiastic without being over the top and is very knowledgeable and experienced in Minor League venues. He paints a great picture of a fun night for the whole family. Greg says the field is already completed and the stands, etc. are well underway. Our team the Bowling Green Hot Rods are scheduled to play their first game here April 17. We are a One A farm team for the Tampa Bay Rays. You may have heard of them. I'm thinking this is going to be a good thing for Bowling Green and surrounding communities.

From Margaret Curtis - A Foreign Expert

From Chongqing Technical and Business University, Sichuan Province, China
November2, 2008 Margaret Curtis

We the foreign experts…

I was summoned to the Foreign Advisors Office a while back, and was presented with a small red book, not unlike a passport. It bears the gold insignia of the People’s Republic of China and it is imprinted with the words “Foreign Experts Certificate” in gold lettering. My photo and name are inside, so I guess that’s what I must be – a Foreign Expert. I seem to have achieved this status by virtue of the fact that I speak English. It is gratifying to receive such a high honor when one has exerted so little effort.

I remember that first stifling hot week being directed to a small photographic studio on campus. I sat on a metal stool and was photographed several times. My wan smile and damp hair attest to the 100F temperature. The picture was processed through some government office and now here it is, embossed in gold. The document is set to expire on January 31, 2009, the date my CTBU contract ends, so I guess after that time I will no longer hold this exalted status. In the meantime, that’s who I am – a foreign expert.

I’m not the only foreign expert, I hasten to add. Living in the apartment below me is Tony, an oriental person raised in Singapore but long since settled in Perth, Australia, where he worked as an aircraft engineer for Quantas, and where he raised his family. Then there is Hugh from California. He is also oriental ethnically, and speaks very good Mandarin. He is here to perfect the Chongqin dialect, after which he is headed towards a splendid career with the UN. He is very good looking, tall and thin and becoming thinner. At twenty five years, he is the youngest among us. He lives at the top of the mountain in the Foreign Experts Building. Three young Dutchmen live up there also. They seem like a jolly trio, but unfortunately our paths rarely cross. Gordon is an African American, a big cheerful guy. He has been here a year or two, so he has a life.

If you can believe it, we are the outer rim of the Peace Corps operation. Peace Corps workers regard this as the crème de la crème of a placement because they get to live in apartments, and drinking water is provided. The two Peace Corps people here are well qualified and do a great job. They are not paid by the university. The U.S. Government pays their travel expenses and living allowance. They have a two year contract and are known as “the volunteers”.

I forgot about Bill Hong. His ethnicity is Chinese but he was born and raised in San Francisco and doesn’t speak Mandarin. The Chinese people look on him with disbelief. He is a computer whiz, and in real life solves computer problems by phone for huge amounts of money. And then there is Triona, an Irish woman who has returned for her fifth year at CTBU. I call her Mother Theresa of Chongqing. It was she that brought me pumpkin soup and a cheese sandwich (on very dry bread) when I was down and out with Mao’s revenge….She quietly distributes her meager earnings to poor students that otherwise could not afford food or textbooks.

From Margaret Curtis in China - What's In A Name

From Chongqing Technical and Business University, Sichuan Province, China,

October 26, 2008 Margaret Curtis

What’s in a name?

Quite a lot, apparently. It is mid-semester and I am reviewing endless lists. Each student has a 10 digit number that seems to bear his or her academic DNA. This is followed by a Chinese name, written in Chinese characters, and then written again in pin yin which is English letters. Finally each student has an English name, chosen, after much thought, because the student likes the sound, the supposed meaning, or the association of ideas.

If these names appeared in some kind or order it would be helpful, but as many English classes are comprised of students from a variety of areas, the groupings are not what they call “natural classes”. So the numbers are all over the place, and confusing to say the least. Alphabetical order cannot really be applied, there being no Chinese alphabet, so one handles an amorphous mass of information that struggles to find a niche in the teacher’s mind.

As the “foreign expert” it is my job to advise the student as to whether the name is suitable, whether it will “ring true” in the western world, whether it is dignified and pleasing. Occasionally, as a result of such input, a student will decide to change the name. I then have another challenge – to remember what the first English name was, and now what the new English name is, so that appropriate credit can be assigned to the student’s work.

Dupont says he is a great admirer of that company. Kiddy refuses to change to Kitty. Lychee likes the fruit, so why not the name? Angelling, Icy, and Margin, have no particular rationale in mind, but insist on keeping their names. Formula has changed to Bell, which doesn’t seem much of an improvement to me. Moon is now Thomas. Superman has changed to Duncan. Sunny and Smile are happy people, they say, so they want happy names. Water eventually changed to something, but I don’t recall what. Sofen told me today that he is now Daniel, and Hilary has changed to William, thank goodness.

One young lady announced that she had finally found the perfect name and from now on wants to be called Pota. Why? Well, she had just come from a Chemistry class in which they were introduced to the chemical element potassium. She admires it so much, she says, she wants to be named after it. Hamlet, Romeo, and Juliet, are favorites. Nomad still sounds a little odd to me. Michael says he is to be called Michael Jordan, but he really wants to be Michael Jackson. Fish argued that the fish is a symbol of plenty and prosperity in China, and that it is an honor to bear this name. She relented in the end, and is now Faye.