By Paul Wegerson
Printed June 19, 2005
“Sometimes you gotta go! / Where everybody knows your name / and they’re always glad you came.” So goes the theme song to a classic American TV show, Cheers. The setting for the show is a local bar in Boston where the lives of its patrons are intertwined and the punch lines flow as freely as the pints.
Bars like this conjure a rare feeling of togetherness that likens patrons to family members. In Boston, they had Cheers bar. In Zhongshan, we’ve got Friends Bar.
Owned an operated since 1998 by Canadian, Hong Kong and Chinese men, Friends Bar offers the expatriate community a place to unwind and have a normal conversation over a pint of imported beer. American classic rock wails through the speakers and the walls are covered with posters of James Dean, Johnny Cash, Bob Marley and Mohammad Ali.
While Friends Bar has all the character and TV sets reminiscent of an American sports bar, the clientele is as international as the bottle selection. On any given weekend, one can find: Moroccan, German, Canadian, British, Italian, Romanian, Polish, Brazilian, American and Chinese nationals sharing a bucket of Tsing Tao, locked in an English conversation.
“In the beginning, it was a rougher crowd,“ says Canadian Gary Keeling, part owner and founder of Friends bar, “but in the past 3-4 years there’s been a shift. Eh? More foreigners came, we’ve got some great Chinese customers who introduced their business customers and more English teachers too.”
Friends Bar is a large center for expatriate activity, but many other restaurants and coffee houses offer authentic foreign cuisine. Papponi’s Ristorante imports cheeses, wines and other ingredients to make fresh pasta dishes and hearth oven pizzas. Masala Indian restaurant serves authentic Indian dishes and Just Coffee provides a quiet cup of java.
At these local joints, foreigners discuss international politics or life in China while they swap books or travel tips. These places offer refuge to members of the foreign community, but it is the local community that makes it possible. Zhongshan is unique in this aspect.
Keeling says that Friends Bar is thinking about expansion, but few Guangdong communities are ready for the concept. “The Zhongshan people are worldly wise and sophisticated enough to be open to it. They like to meet new people and get a taste of something different,” he said.
Zhongshan native Jessy Yang is a salesperson in a garment exporting company and has been going to Friends Bar for 5 years. “More foreigners have come [to Friends] recently, but also more Chinese. Many of my Chinese friends like to go there because the people are so easy to communicate with. It’s easy to make new friends and practice my English. Other Chinese bars are too dark and too loud to make that possible,” she said.
Zhongshan is becoming a cultural mixed salad; Friends Bar is Cheers. It’s a place where everyone knows your name, and they’re always glad you came.
## This article is the property of Paul Wegerson and Zhongshan Daily. It may not be reproduced or reprinted without written consent of the owners. Don't cheat... Jiambi! ##
Saturday, June 18, 2005
Thursday, June 16, 2005
Exit Polls
This was probably my most fun class. Many days, all I'd have to do is give them an assignment and they would run with it, laughing all the way.
Well, today was my last day of classes. I suppose that this is as good a time as any to reflect upon my year.
I still remember the first day. Clutching my opening lesson plan - Introductions - I was excited and nervous to get in front of a class. Plus, i knew nothing about their English level or their confidence.
The result was mixed. Some were clearly more confident than others, and of those brave souls, only a further fragment had the ability to back it up. Still, the first day rolled by and my fear was unfounded.
One student, Xiang, didn't have an English name and slept most of the class. As I asked him during the break if he'd like to choose an English name from a list I had brought, another student had to translate what i was saying into Cantonese for him. He chose Sean (phonetically the same as his Chinese name) which reminded me of my cousin. A good name.
Last Wednesday, after our final class, Sean came up to me and was laughing, joking and making eye contact with me as he spoke. His English is still no where near the top of his class, but he feels comfortable speaking with me. I was so proud.
Of course, I humbly cannot take credit for their ability. I did little to build their vocabulary. What my class did provide was a way to make English accessable, alive and (get this!) fun.
Through offering students an avenue to practice what they studied and to have a few laughs in the process, they were able to find it in themselves to become more comfortable with hearing their voices in a foreign language and well, just more comfortable.
Sean is one story of many. However, there were many students who failed first and second semester after 'promising' me to make a stronger effort. These I could not help. No one could. Yet, it's the maturation, or blooming, from shyness to confidence that was most spectacular for me.
From China with Love, paul.
Well, today was my last day of classes. I suppose that this is as good a time as any to reflect upon my year.
I still remember the first day. Clutching my opening lesson plan - Introductions - I was excited and nervous to get in front of a class. Plus, i knew nothing about their English level or their confidence.
The result was mixed. Some were clearly more confident than others, and of those brave souls, only a further fragment had the ability to back it up. Still, the first day rolled by and my fear was unfounded.
One student, Xiang, didn't have an English name and slept most of the class. As I asked him during the break if he'd like to choose an English name from a list I had brought, another student had to translate what i was saying into Cantonese for him. He chose Sean (phonetically the same as his Chinese name) which reminded me of my cousin. A good name.
Last Wednesday, after our final class, Sean came up to me and was laughing, joking and making eye contact with me as he spoke. His English is still no where near the top of his class, but he feels comfortable speaking with me. I was so proud.
Of course, I humbly cannot take credit for their ability. I did little to build their vocabulary. What my class did provide was a way to make English accessable, alive and (get this!) fun.
Through offering students an avenue to practice what they studied and to have a few laughs in the process, they were able to find it in themselves to become more comfortable with hearing their voices in a foreign language and well, just more comfortable.
Sean is one story of many. However, there were many students who failed first and second semester after 'promising' me to make a stronger effort. These I could not help. No one could. Yet, it's the maturation, or blooming, from shyness to confidence that was most spectacular for me.
From China with Love, paul.
Band AIDS
There is an interesting NYTimes article on the webpage today about a city in the impoverished Yunnan province who has begun the difficult battle against AIDS. The article shows one city as a model for how the central government hopes to combat AIDS and the HIV virus.
The government rightly deserves positive press for this city-case study, but it's only one band aid on a broken system. For years they failed to address the problem because their public sentiment has been: "if people have free condoms or needle exchange programs, that means that people do drugs, have sex and possibly have AIDS. That's not possible. No one in China has AIDS or does drugs."
Frequently, as my students believe, they are told that only certain cities have AIDS. Many of these cities are in Yunnan province, where the income and economic output are the lowest in the country. My students made it sound like the 'bad seed' theory and that one poor province shouldn't ruin China's 'great' reputation.
Furthermore, the sex industry is rarely hidden in Asian markets... it's jokingly disguised. Go down my street to the Lian Xing Hotel. On the 4th floor they offer massages. By 'massages' they mean sex. It is more expensive to USE a condom in these places than to NOT USE one.
Granted, for an uneducated woman who moved from a central farm to the eastern coasts and big cities (the greatest movement of people anywhere, ever) there is good, easy money to be made in the skin trade. But, employees and customers alike share the same danger. This statement, posed in the article is way too true:
"She said the center's workers were trying to get infected prostitutes out of the sex business or at least to use condoms. But prostitution, often in karaoke clubs, frequently is the highest paying work available to women, so prostitutes with H.I.V. sometimes keep their condition a secret."
While the government has stepped up rhetoric and supported it with photo ops on World AIDS day, their commitment to prevention needs to start earlier, with kids. It was shocking for me to discover that when I addressed HIV/AIDS in my classes it was the first time that they had ever openly discussed it in a classroom. Sure, they knew about it and had talked about sex, drugs and HIV with their friends, but there was no room for proper education about the topic.
Armed with figures and statistics, I talked with them. They listened, asked intelligent questions and then sat and reflected on the matter. One student, a trouble maker, even pulled a condom out of his pocket when I got to the prevention side. Students giggled like 4th graders, but knew what it was. For an hour and a half we talked about the problem and the 'if I tell you 30 students, and you each tell 5 students and they each tell 5 students...' empowerment speech.
At the end of my lesson, I returned the condom to my student and said, "Here you go. You'll probably use this sooner than me." To which he replied, "Thanks, but I don't use them. It feels uncomfortable."
So much for breaking down the great wall...
From China with Love. paul.
The government rightly deserves positive press for this city-case study, but it's only one band aid on a broken system. For years they failed to address the problem because their public sentiment has been: "if people have free condoms or needle exchange programs, that means that people do drugs, have sex and possibly have AIDS. That's not possible. No one in China has AIDS or does drugs."
Frequently, as my students believe, they are told that only certain cities have AIDS. Many of these cities are in Yunnan province, where the income and economic output are the lowest in the country. My students made it sound like the 'bad seed' theory and that one poor province shouldn't ruin China's 'great' reputation.
Furthermore, the sex industry is rarely hidden in Asian markets... it's jokingly disguised. Go down my street to the Lian Xing Hotel. On the 4th floor they offer massages. By 'massages' they mean sex. It is more expensive to USE a condom in these places than to NOT USE one.
Granted, for an uneducated woman who moved from a central farm to the eastern coasts and big cities (the greatest movement of people anywhere, ever) there is good, easy money to be made in the skin trade. But, employees and customers alike share the same danger. This statement, posed in the article is way too true:
"She said the center's workers were trying to get infected prostitutes out of the sex business or at least to use condoms. But prostitution, often in karaoke clubs, frequently is the highest paying work available to women, so prostitutes with H.I.V. sometimes keep their condition a secret."
While the government has stepped up rhetoric and supported it with photo ops on World AIDS day, their commitment to prevention needs to start earlier, with kids. It was shocking for me to discover that when I addressed HIV/AIDS in my classes it was the first time that they had ever openly discussed it in a classroom. Sure, they knew about it and had talked about sex, drugs and HIV with their friends, but there was no room for proper education about the topic.
Armed with figures and statistics, I talked with them. They listened, asked intelligent questions and then sat and reflected on the matter. One student, a trouble maker, even pulled a condom out of his pocket when I got to the prevention side. Students giggled like 4th graders, but knew what it was. For an hour and a half we talked about the problem and the 'if I tell you 30 students, and you each tell 5 students and they each tell 5 students...' empowerment speech.
At the end of my lesson, I returned the condom to my student and said, "Here you go. You'll probably use this sooner than me." To which he replied, "Thanks, but I don't use them. It feels uncomfortable."
So much for breaking down the great wall...
From China with Love. paul.
Tuesday, June 14, 2005
June 13, 2005.
I woke up at 7:37 and flipped on CBS evening news. Man they keep shuffling people around which only adds to my mad mad frustration with network news. See also: 60 Minutes (Mike Wallace still takes notes in charcoal on the backs of shovels. Too bad about his brother, Ug ... falling into a tar pit is a rough way to go.). Then I was too lazy to take a full shower - it's not like my students do... ever - so I washed just my shaggy head of hair and brushed my teeth with extra whitening paste.
Filling my water bottle from the Culligan sized jug in my kitchen, I grab a notebook and class list and prepare to say goodbye. This is finals week. I've had the same students for a whole year and today is their last class. They're good kids... well, enough of them are, at least. The final? In groups of 4: Invent a NEW product that people need but is not yet been created. Then, perform a 5-minute commercial telling all about the product and selling it to the class. Class: listen closely as you must ask 2 questions about the product after the commercial.
Some skits were good, some were marginal. Ex: Super Chair 2005! (a lazy-boy recliner with tank wheels and: tv, mp3 player, umbrella, storage space and a fish tank. why? EVERY chair needs a fish tank. THAT's why.) Others were mobile phones that are also face shavers, Super Umbrella, Smart Watch, Magic Shoes and Incredible Clothes! They all made poppa proud. Very proud considering they could bearly peep during the first week!
Then I went to a coffee shop and drank coffee, ate a bacon and egg sandwich (with mayonnase... we're going to have a 'to mayo or not to mayo talk tomorrow) and talked with some other foreign teachers. After that, I walked to a Muslim restaurant for hand pulled noodles. Mmm... la mian... mmmm. Best 6 kuai in town!
After lunch I had another final class. My English majors are really cute (90% women, too) and their English is good. Here, we learned about the Magical Hat, All-purpose Pen and the Universal Mobile Phone (with A/C). Sweet. My favorite was the "Egana: 'It's a case? No, it's a skateboard! No, it's a stool! No, it's a deck chair! You're all right! You'll be alright with Egana!" They rule and we took a grip of pictures after class. I'll post those online soon!
Then I spaced out and watched a movie called Slim Till Dead, from Hong Kong. It was alright, nothing special though. Ryan, my Chinese friend Benson and I went to a restaurant for dinner (I splurged for 20 kuai ~$2.50). After returning home, game 2 Spurs vs. Pistons was on. I knew the outcome but still got mad when DetRIOT lost.
At 8:30 a friend picked me up to do some voice-over work for Bella Sewing Company, Ltd. They make thinner trimming machines. I have NO idea was I was talking about; a bunch of really poor English and technical knowledge that not even a living sewing machine would know. It was like reading a trouble-shooting manual on the radio. Thrilling. It took 2 hours to record about 4 minutes - because the script was soooo poor. My favorite line was: 'Maybe change carbon cartridge every three month . If no to do this may , result in circuits of the shortageing out and by it on fire . " Note: 'Maybe' and 'if no... by it on fire.'
I got home, changed my carbon cartridge and decided to tell you about every 10 minutes of my day.
Loving, missing. paul.
Filling my water bottle from the Culligan sized jug in my kitchen, I grab a notebook and class list and prepare to say goodbye. This is finals week. I've had the same students for a whole year and today is their last class. They're good kids... well, enough of them are, at least. The final? In groups of 4: Invent a NEW product that people need but is not yet been created. Then, perform a 5-minute commercial telling all about the product and selling it to the class. Class: listen closely as you must ask 2 questions about the product after the commercial.
Some skits were good, some were marginal. Ex: Super Chair 2005! (a lazy-boy recliner with tank wheels and: tv, mp3 player, umbrella, storage space and a fish tank. why? EVERY chair needs a fish tank. THAT's why.) Others were mobile phones that are also face shavers, Super Umbrella, Smart Watch, Magic Shoes and Incredible Clothes! They all made poppa proud. Very proud considering they could bearly peep during the first week!
Then I went to a coffee shop and drank coffee, ate a bacon and egg sandwich (with mayonnase... we're going to have a 'to mayo or not to mayo talk tomorrow) and talked with some other foreign teachers. After that, I walked to a Muslim restaurant for hand pulled noodles. Mmm... la mian... mmmm. Best 6 kuai in town!
After lunch I had another final class. My English majors are really cute (90% women, too) and their English is good. Here, we learned about the Magical Hat, All-purpose Pen and the Universal Mobile Phone (with A/C). Sweet. My favorite was the "Egana: 'It's a case? No, it's a skateboard! No, it's a stool! No, it's a deck chair! You're all right! You'll be alright with Egana!" They rule and we took a grip of pictures after class. I'll post those online soon!
Then I spaced out and watched a movie called Slim Till Dead, from Hong Kong. It was alright, nothing special though. Ryan, my Chinese friend Benson and I went to a restaurant for dinner (I splurged for 20 kuai ~$2.50). After returning home, game 2 Spurs vs. Pistons was on. I knew the outcome but still got mad when DetRIOT lost.
At 8:30 a friend picked me up to do some voice-over work for Bella Sewing Company, Ltd. They make thinner trimming machines. I have NO idea was I was talking about; a bunch of really poor English and technical knowledge that not even a living sewing machine would know. It was like reading a trouble-shooting manual on the radio. Thrilling. It took 2 hours to record about 4 minutes - because the script was soooo poor. My favorite line was: 'Maybe change carbon cartridge every three month . If no to do this may , result in circuits of the shortageing out and by it on fire . " Note: 'Maybe' and 'if no... by it on fire.'
I got home, changed my carbon cartridge and decided to tell you about every 10 minutes of my day.
Loving, missing. paul.
Saturday, June 11, 2005
The Typhoon and the Aftermath
Well, the tropical storm named LSAT has passed. I apologize for not blogging more as of late, but I've been quite preoccupied. Let me comprise the last 2-3 weeks for you in a few brief paragraphs.
May 20 - CSB/SJU Alumni Dinner, Hong Kong
Ryan and I went to HK to absorb some English and some Johnnie pride. This lavish dinner was presented by Canning Fok (SJU '76) who is No. 2 to the wealthiest man in Asia, Li Kai-Shing. It was classy. C-L-A-S-S-Y. Classy. Crab, lobster, steak, curry and white rice. Wow. I was able to meet many many Alumni from HK (about 50 were in attendance). All very nice people who were happy to talk. After the dinner, Dave, Kevin (friends through Maryknoll) and I stayed around to have a talk with Bro. Deitrich, President of SJU. Of course, his main mission was to get these 'lost alumni' to make generous contributions to SJU. Despite Deitrich's speed about how many pennies he needs the HK alum to contribute, it was overall a very nice night.
I was also able to finalize my travels to London and MN this summer. A HK SJU alum who manages Priceline.com.hk hooked me up PHat. He is a nice guy. See me in MN on July 11, ya'll. It will be keen.
May 22-26 - Hank and H.J. Shea visit HK, Zhongshan.
It was very special to have my uncle and cousin come to visit me and de-mystify Zhongshan and China. They were very impressed and shocked to find out that I was not, in fact, teaching in the boondocks of rural China, but in a wonderful city with malls and electricity and all. They acted as teachers in my classes, which was a nice break for me and a great thing for they and my students to engage in. I have a feeling that they learned as much as they taught.
We also hoofed all over the city and took in some of Zhongshan's beauty while having deep converstations with my friends and students. Again, it was great to see them and I hope that they genuinely enjoyed their stay in ZS and in China.
Flash ahead to June 7 - The LSAT, HK
The good people at Maryknoll were invaluable to helping me get to the test that I've been stressing about and studying for over a month for. The testing crowd was very interesting. There were a handful of teachers or young ex-pats living and working in China like myself. Then there were the super-driven Chinese and Hong Kong people who's parents have whispered "Harvard Law... Harvard Law" in their ears everynight before bed since they were 2 months old. Interesting.
I believe the test went well, but it's hard to tell. There were some sections that felt really good - I was firmly in 'the zone.' Other sections were challenging to finish in 35 minutes. I felt prepaired and nervous, yet confident going into the test, so I believe that I tried my best. We'll find out in 2-3 weeks if this is the case.
Today, June 11 - Zhongshan.
I had to check the date on my computer because it totally evaded me. Such is the life now. I woke up at noon. I smell terribly. No more LSAT to prep for. Final exams all week. There is little to consume my time other than reading, writing and watching Star Wars in it's entirety. Then watching Lord of the Rings in it's entirety. Then watching Back to the Future, in it's entire glory. "Marty, don't! You'll tear the fabric of space -time continuum!" Freakin' sweet. Expect a few blogs devoted to how poor B2F Part II is... it's the Pearl Harbor of the trilogy. Yup, it's really that bad.
Some might say that this is laziness and sloth in it's prime. I say, you bet.
And you better believe that I've earned it.
take care ya'll. peace. paul.e.s.wegerson, esq.
May 20 - CSB/SJU Alumni Dinner, Hong Kong
Ryan and I went to HK to absorb some English and some Johnnie pride. This lavish dinner was presented by Canning Fok (SJU '76) who is No. 2 to the wealthiest man in Asia, Li Kai-Shing. It was classy. C-L-A-S-S-Y. Classy. Crab, lobster, steak, curry and white rice. Wow. I was able to meet many many Alumni from HK (about 50 were in attendance). All very nice people who were happy to talk. After the dinner, Dave, Kevin (friends through Maryknoll) and I stayed around to have a talk with Bro. Deitrich, President of SJU. Of course, his main mission was to get these 'lost alumni' to make generous contributions to SJU. Despite Deitrich's speed about how many pennies he needs the HK alum to contribute, it was overall a very nice night.
I was also able to finalize my travels to London and MN this summer. A HK SJU alum who manages Priceline.com.hk hooked me up PHat. He is a nice guy. See me in MN on July 11, ya'll. It will be keen.
May 22-26 - Hank and H.J. Shea visit HK, Zhongshan.
It was very special to have my uncle and cousin come to visit me and de-mystify Zhongshan and China. They were very impressed and shocked to find out that I was not, in fact, teaching in the boondocks of rural China, but in a wonderful city with malls and electricity and all. They acted as teachers in my classes, which was a nice break for me and a great thing for they and my students to engage in. I have a feeling that they learned as much as they taught.
We also hoofed all over the city and took in some of Zhongshan's beauty while having deep converstations with my friends and students. Again, it was great to see them and I hope that they genuinely enjoyed their stay in ZS and in China.
Flash ahead to June 7 - The LSAT, HK
The good people at Maryknoll were invaluable to helping me get to the test that I've been stressing about and studying for over a month for. The testing crowd was very interesting. There were a handful of teachers or young ex-pats living and working in China like myself. Then there were the super-driven Chinese and Hong Kong people who's parents have whispered "Harvard Law... Harvard Law" in their ears everynight before bed since they were 2 months old. Interesting.
I believe the test went well, but it's hard to tell. There were some sections that felt really good - I was firmly in 'the zone.' Other sections were challenging to finish in 35 minutes. I felt prepaired and nervous, yet confident going into the test, so I believe that I tried my best. We'll find out in 2-3 weeks if this is the case.
Today, June 11 - Zhongshan.
I had to check the date on my computer because it totally evaded me. Such is the life now. I woke up at noon. I smell terribly. No more LSAT to prep for. Final exams all week. There is little to consume my time other than reading, writing and watching Star Wars in it's entirety. Then watching Lord of the Rings in it's entirety. Then watching Back to the Future, in it's entire glory. "Marty, don't! You'll tear the fabric of space -time continuum!" Freakin' sweet. Expect a few blogs devoted to how poor B2F Part II is... it's the Pearl Harbor of the trilogy. Yup, it's really that bad.
Some might say that this is laziness and sloth in it's prime. I say, you bet.
And you better believe that I've earned it.
take care ya'll. peace. paul.e.s.wegerson, esq.
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