Anywho, Summer Palace ='d gorgeous! i really liked being back out where i could breathe and where there were trees and where i had lots of space to roam! i need roaming space, this i've realized.
then lasterday we went to this park to interview some old people and it was really fun if a bit tough and confusing, we had some people that were less than inviting...BUT my last guy was my favorite!
I wanted to interview him because he was just chilling on this bench watching everyone and everything in this wicked busy park go by...obviously a kindred spirit!
so i went up to him and was asking him if i could ask him some questions (all this in chinese mind you) and the first thing he does is pat the bench beside him and i knew he was going to be significantly better than the previous two interviewees who could have been both more patient and understanding. ANYWHO, i start asking him my questions and he was just smiley and happy and i found out that he teaches music, but i'm not sure what instrument, and just all day every day he likes to teach or play or listen to music. but it was adorable how proud he was when after he said "jiao" (to teach) he was "teach..?" and i was like Dui dui! (right right) and his face just lit up. Moral of the story, he's my favorite elderly man in China!
But i also really loved the park we went to. it was full of people of all ages just playing and filling the big space with taichi... ballroom dancing...yoga...like everything you can imagine in every space. i absolutely loved it!
i think that's truly one of my favorite things about China is that take every open space and fill it with dancing or kite flying or something... and they just have cultural pride coming out their ears!
today at lunch they had what i felt amounted to a guilt trip about the language pledge. i mean they know we've all been speaking at least a little ying wen. anywho my final word on the whole language pledge deal is that i understand why it's there, the usefulness and i know first hand how much one can learn of a language when there's no crutch and you're forced to use what you have to learn the new language
HOWEVER
i feel like it's really truly an individual thing, and i feel like some people saying "oh can we have a drop box to report people" is just kind of breaking the code
i mean, in our family there's a code that is unwritten, but we all know it, there are things we just don't tell and you never rat on someone. you just don't it's against the People vs. THE MAN code.
and you can tell those who i feel have likely always had difficulty making or keeping friends (who aren't just like them) because they break the code, which is not cool and unforgivable in common society
i understand that we've all paid a lot to come here and learn chinese and that some are very serious about their language pledge, but i don't think you can expect that level of commitment from everyone because the problem with being a 100-level student or even a 200-level student is that if i were to strictly obey the language pledge i would likely be very lonely and consequently very unhappy. because as much as you can get from following the pledge, i would not be able to make any meaningful friendships because my language skills are so limited and i don't think you can fault other people for wanting to be able to ACTUALLY hold an intelligent conversation.
If one is very intent on keeping the english-free environment you could i don't know just say so to my face, because i'd obviously respect you enough to not speak it in your presence.
i think it just places people into different categories and it's entirely based upon where you see more worth in the incremental improvement in language gained by never speaking english or the people you can meet/get to know/ with whom you can become friends
if you can do both more power to you and your language skills, but don't get on other's cases because they can't, i'm sure they would if they could. you can't punish people for not having taken Chinese before.
that's all i have to say about that.
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