I taught my
first university classes last Sunday (note: this past of the post is about two weeks old, last Sunday was September 6th, that's how attentive I've been about writing): two advanced writing courses…the first
class consisted of 3rd year business majors and the second class
consisted of 2nd year English majors. I conducted both sessions in a similar
matter: introduction to myself and the expectations I have of them;
brainstorming activity in how you would write an academic paper relating to
phones and shopping (note: this is what is important to Chinese students, and
studying, but they don’t like to talk about that); freewriting on a topic of
interest…which for most was phones and shopping; assigning my first homework
assignment…bring a blank journal to class next week so we can start writing
every class. This Wednesday I began my graduate literature courses and taught
both of my classes Imagism. I used In a
Station at the Metro and This is Just
to Say as our companion pieces for discussion, since these are two poems I
have memorized in both language and meaning. The students seemed pleased with
the course and we lively in participation, far exceeding my expectation. Of
course, there are some more apathetic, and also of course, these are the
students who remind me the most of myself as a college student.
This is freshmen year of college all
incarnate…living in this dorm-like building surrounded by coworkers of various
departments and nationalities, like students of many majors and backgrounds, though I feel like I am in less of a prison and more so relaxing
at a private resort. There are maids who clean the hallways and ensure the
courtyard in the middle of the building is always nice and tidy. I also have my
girlfriend order me anything I want off of TaoBao (Chinese Amazon, basically)
and it gets delivered to the guard at the front desk who calls at me whenever
it arrives. We have an exchange where I smile, bow my head, say xiexie
(Chinese: thank you) then shake his hand before going to my room and seeing
what goodies came in the mail today!
This evening, I took a stroll
through the campus to see it illuminated in the night light. There’s the man
who sells beef neck everynight (2 for 5 qui, though I shant try it anytime
soon, I attempted duck neck last weekend and that was a bit intense); various
fruit vendors who’ve I’ve seen set up in the early hours and stay there until
the streets are empty; the little kiosks with beer, cigarettes and ice cream
(honestly, all you really need in life); the Lawson, the holy grail of beer,
snacks and freshly-made microwaveable dinners and sandwiches; Burger King,
another staple; students, occasionally I’ll see one of mine and give a simple
wave and smile.
I have been marking journal
responses this week and it has truly inspired me to get back into my writing.
Today, I taught Transcendentalism and wrote a quick nature poem during class to
show the students an example of what I wanted them to write:
Natural Bliss
O
Nature! My mistress since birth
Making
me all that I am worth
O
Nature! My comrade from day to day
Molding
me from the tarnished clay
Such
a sweet mother
A
lover to us all
She
has many a brother
Who
hear her sacred call
She
is kind in her actions
Affectionate
to the masses
Divides
us not into classes
She
belongs to many factions
I
love her so
Her
mountains
Her
beaches
Her
sky
Her
life
O
nature! Making me all I am worth
It
has been interesting to hear my student’s write poetry. Last week, I had them attempt a free verse
poem as a class: they would come up one at a time and write a single line. The
girls at one point complained about the lack of boys on campus (I have 5 male
students out of 100 students) and how the ones that did learn at my university
were too busy playing basketball and League of Legends (LOL). I tried my best
not to giggle, because I’m a professional after all (I guess).
I met some of the teachers in my
building at a communal bbq in our courtyard last weekend. I was introduced to
this awesome guy whose got a bunch of board games, so I had people over the
other night to play Catan and will game on some Munchkin next week. I still
love being anti-social though, such is the life of the writer: the solipsistic
artist who cherishes his fine (for lack of a better word) works more than
interactions with the “them.”
I got an xbox 360 and a TV. Don’t
expect to hear much from me. This is something, at least. Something to deviate
from the nothing. Until next time you waste time reading one of my blog posts…in
the immortal words of Gary (also known as Blue) “Smell yah Later!”
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