It's banquet season as the Grade 3 students graduate and college departments host farewell dinners. No gowns and certificates, just a few bottles of bai jiu (rice brandy) per table and a couple of cigarettes for the boys. Hou Wanxia, Sue, Liao Xinli and I attended the Science department banquet on Thursday evening, followed by the Maths meal on Friday evening, in the same restaurant. EAF came too and joined in the toasting. Freda's comment: "The food wasn't very nice because it was all meat. I like meat, but not that meat [eels, ducks and beaks and dried-out spicy sausage] and it was too noisy." The irony is that the banquets' lack of green vegetables and rice are a gesture of respect for the guests - a demonstration of wealth and abundance.
In fact, I enjoyed the experiences - toasting all the students and teachers, table by table, and feeling part of the College community. The Maths invitation was even more poignant as the English Department, dining at the neighbouring restaurant, had chosen to exclude us. This didn't stop Ali gate-crashing their party after the meal to congratulate our students. Meantime I swallowed the bitter truth that having made my bed, so to speak, I had to lie in it. It's a long and sad story as to why Ms Fu, the current Dean of English, and I don't get along. She represents 'old school' methods and Mao-inspired derision of foreigners. The increasing interest in, and support of, my work here has merely fuelled her fire, especially since PIE, and all the benefits that came with it, became publically detached from the English Department. That's life. When I reflect on the progress the TDC has made and the partnerships we have developed with other College departments, the Education Bureau and middle schools, I know that it was worth it.
In fact, I enjoyed the experiences - toasting all the students and teachers, table by table, and feeling part of the College community. The Maths invitation was even more poignant as the English Department, dining at the neighbouring restaurant, had chosen to exclude us. This didn't stop Ali gate-crashing their party after the meal to congratulate our students. Meantime I swallowed the bitter truth that having made my bed, so to speak, I had to lie in it. It's a long and sad story as to why Ms Fu, the current Dean of English, and I don't get along. She represents 'old school' methods and Mao-inspired derision of foreigners. The increasing interest in, and support of, my work here has merely fuelled her fire, especially since PIE, and all the benefits that came with it, became publically detached from the English Department. That's life. When I reflect on the progress the TDC has made and the partnerships we have developed with other College departments, the Education Bureau and middle schools, I know that it was worth it.
As we returned to the College I bumped into the ex vice headmaster of Mojiang's Baliu Middle School, to whom FISHfund donated a generator a few years ago. He is now headmaster of Longba Middle School. I asked him if he is happy in his new job. He replied: "Yes. Baliu was 110 km away, Longba is 30." He was referring to the distance not from Simao, but from Mojiang, the county seat. The figure isn't relevant for commuting or weekends away. It's more a symbol of remoteness, isolation, distance from the rest of the world. I asked where his family was: "Oh, they're in Longba too" he replied, but this seemed of less significance! It was lovely to bump into an old acquaintance, giving another sense of belonging.
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