Are your students in China (allowed, encouraged and, or forbidden to, but
still) asking you questions about the USA, or other non-course subject
matters? If so, what seem to be their major interests?

In my oral English classes, I try to get them discussing the topics that interest them, so their essentially is no non-course subject matter. I have not noticed any policy about what things should or should not be discussed, but of course their attitudes are strongly influenced by the media around them. It seems to be a common attitude that politics are boring, so political issues don’t come up very often, but there are a few in my stock of conversation questions. They have absorbed a lot of nationalistic sentiment. When asked to choose one song to listen to for the rest of his life, one student said he would choose the national anthem. When asked who their favorite famous person was, they mentioned Zhou Enlai, Mao Zedong, Deng Xiaoping, and various movie and pop stars from the mainland, Hong Kong, and Taiwan. When they asked me, I said Gandhi, and they were surprised, they said, because he wasn’t American. When asked to be President of the USA for a day, they generally express views against the present president’s actions towards Iraq and North Korea. When asked to be a leader in their own country, they mention general economic development, the disparity between rural poverty and urban wealth, and environmental issues. I have also been asked about American’s understanding of rights and racial discrimination, because of an assignment they had in another class. On the other hand, they are quite interested in American movies and TV shows, and somewhat interested in American music. I’ve met several who know more about such things than I do, which I suppose isn’t all that much. I have also been asked about American traditions for Thanksgiving. And I have also been asked how foreigners can travel so far away from their families, since Chinese are still expected to live close to their parents, and the foreigners they meet here are all travelers.

What are some of the things/activities that bring you joy? And, have you
found any of that yet on your China trip?

I enjoy good relationships, understanding things, and absorbing nature. I try to keep several close friends, and despite our recent differences I’m still quite close with my family. My academic pursuits, both official and extracurricular, are driven by a deep desire to understand the world, and I think the only good explanation is that I derive a great deal of joy from an elegant understanding of something at least somewhat important. And I also really enjoy the simple things, of experiencing being alive in nature. Because of the short time and the language barrier, my developing friendships here are still pretty shallow, but there are plenty of interesting things to work on understanding — like the language, the culture, and teaching — and though there aren’t any beaches to walk on and there aren’t many dirt paths to run on, there are plenty of park areas around campus. Living and working here is more difficult than I expected it to be, but there’s still plenty to enjoy.