China's catching on

Looks like China caught wind of my proxy and now I'm only able to get patchy access to my favourite websites: facebook, blogspot, and youtube. Freedom of access facebook should be a basic human right!

I'm starting to settle into my teaching rhythm, just in time for a holiday. I can't wait to see the pandas in Chengdu and go hiking in the beautiful scenic area of JiuZhaiGou. Anita and I fly out on Sunday night and get back again on Friday so that we have a weekend to relax before school starts again. I've had a touch of the flu lately and with the whole H1N1 scare, I had to get a checkup at the school's clinic. Thankfully I don't have a fever, so I'm still clear to teach, but many schools around the world are closing their doors for a while until the swine flu starts to clear. Even Maple Leaf in Wuhan is closed for the week, so I keep wondering if our turn will come too.

I'm trying as much as possible to turn lemons into lemonade with our extra homeroom block. Last week we had fun playing Balderdash and this week we read a current Time article about China's growth over the last 60 years and its current role in global economics and politics. The girls were surprisingly well-informed and able to discuss both China's achievements and the costs of growth over the past 60 years. Reading the article I learned many things I didn't know before, like that

* China has the third largest GNP and is set to overtake Japan in 2010
* China is the first major economy to recover from the global recession
* The communist party helped pull 200 million people out of poverty
* China operates on a model of quasi-state capatalism and semidemocratic authoritarianism (whatever that means)
* China makes two-thirds of the worlds photocopiers, microwaves, and shoes
* China has 2,100 peacekeeping troops in over a dozen nations - more than any other member of the UN security council

But at the same time,
* Pollution is among the highest in the world, which leads to 28.5% of deaths due to malignant cancer and 13.1% from respiratory disease
* 207 million people still live on less than $1.25 per day (poverty is really evident in JinShiTan in the migrant workers who built this campus and the people living in the villages. Many people are being relocated from their small brick farming homes in the countryside to the apartments so the land can be developed. For the elderly, the dramatic change can be traumatic and we've been witnessing a lot of funeral processions in Manjiatan.)
* Income disparity is among the highest in the world (which in some ways I'm propagating by teaching the upper echlons of society)

I took the opportunity to talk with my class about the work our Maple Leaf Angels club plans to do this year. Last year we fundraised and bought winter clothing and shoes for orphans. We volunteered at the orphanage a number of times and hope to do so again this year. We also want to visit the local public schools and set up a buddy/English reading program. I told the girls that it's not just the responsibility of the government to make change, but that individuals can make a difference in the world. I tried to show them that making a lot of money, getting into the best universities, and getting a great career wouldn't necessarily make them happy or fulfilled, but most of the girls seemed skeptical. There is a general feeling that wealth will solve problems and bring fulfillment.

As we prepare to celebrate the 60th anniversary of the PRC, I encouraged the students to celebrate how far China has come, but at the same time to keep in mind the current challenges and how they might be able to address them. I urged them to connect with their families during the holiday and learn the personal stories and history of their parents and grandparents. Here are some amazing pictures of preparations for the celebrations in Beijing:
http://www.boston.com/bigpicture/2009/09/china_prepares_for_its_60th_an.html