Part K - Teaching in China - Kenny

Kenny?

But isn't that a quirky Australian film, probably seen by few people overseas?

Indeed it is, but the topic of the film is relevant - toilets, portaloos, poo, human waste. It’s a topic we all have experience of, but which is rarely discussed in polite circles – until you’re travelling!  

If you haven't seen the film, try to find it, if you can't find it, there are some good clips here. It's a delightful mockumentary, full of Aussie slang and home grown philosophy. (More here)

Whether you refer to "it" as the convenience, the rest room, the john, the bog, the WC, the outhouse, the powder room, the dunny, the small room or whatever, it's something we need to ask the way to, and learn the signs for, when travelling.

When you're away from home, toilets, the lack of them, the cost, their state of cleanliness, the pong factor, whether you could find one "in time", whether you need to take your own paper or not, often seems to steer the conversation. In a sense, it's a bit of a bonding experience, something we have in common. Tall tales are told, some real, some embellished - though often there's no need for wild embellishments!

Squatties are common throughout much of the world, but sometimes it seems as if people from the west are affronted by anything other than a white porcelain structure, sanitised to within an inch of its life which has preferably never been used by another person. Not a positive note to begin a working trip to a lesser known school, in a city in China, well off the tourist beat!

But first Shanghai, where I was confronted with a loo where complexity ruled, and which needed skill and understanding way beyond what I've acquired.

Help! Which one is the flush?

One thing which hadn't been mentioned in our introductory classes preparing us for teaching in China, was the fact that communal toilets are apparently all the go in Chinese schools.  Extremely basic, half swing doors, like in an old western cowboy movie, provided some semblance of privacy between the "business area" and the outer corridor.

I was taken aback on the first day of teaching to have teacher-students come up to me during the lesson, show me a wad of paper or tissues, and in one case a sanitary napkin, and ask if they could be excused. After a couple of instances of this and me thinking "whoa guys, waaaaaay too much information!!" I gently, and politely but firmly, reminded them that we're adults here, and if you need to go, just discretely get up and leave the room; if you want, make eye contact with me, but there's no need to ask! The same with phone calls - if you need to take or make a call, just get up and go outside - no problems! Really, it's fine!

But back to the communal nature of the toilets. Staff and students don't have separate toilet areas - on its own I can't see the possibility of sharing the area with students gaining traction in Australia. My teachers were genuinely surprised that we don't share and I wondered how many foreign students have innocently made their way into staff toilet areas to be greeted with icy stares or rude comments. That's something we definitely need to let international students know in their Intro to Aussie Customs lectures!

The other aspect is that communal also equates to no doors. There were small dividing walls and .... oh hang it all, it's too hard to describe - I'll show you a picture.

Old, but clean and perfectly serviceable, with a trickle of water coming from the cistern up there on the wall going in to the trench bit to wash away the waste. No graffiti, no foul slogans or drawings on the walls, no paper strewn around. Being on the dreaded toilet duty at this school wouldn't be much of a problem! But yep, communal ... um, and very chatty and natural, but different to what we've been brought up to accept as usual. But that's all it is really isn't it, what we've been brought up to accept as the norm, and we just assume that the rest of the world is like us until we come upon different ways to live. It's just another of those things that makes you think, and wonder, and question if we've become a bit too precious about bodily functions. As if it's shameful to be human and we hide from the reality that our bodies produce waste.

Then the naughty part in me kicks in and thinks it'd be good for the pretentious, arrogant, self important, condescending, sneering, smugly entitled Aussie pollies and the people who pull their strings, to have the daily experience of this kind of communality. It'd be a healthy reality check for them, and a reminder that they're no different to everyone else; the poor, the unemployed, youth, disadvantaged, asylum seekers or others they vilify and treat with contempt.

Someone said to me "Why do they use squat toilets?" and apart from a vague - "That's just the way it is here and it's probably better for us", I really had no good answer. I've read a bit since I got home and they are accepted as being much healthier for us (there's lots of information here) and it'd be crazy to change what works ... except for the actual sewerage system which struggles and gets pretty pongy at times.

Some useful information: BYO paper, and never, never, never put the paper in the system, whether it's a basic squat toilet, one with auto flush or a sit one in a hotel. There's a bin there and it's for the paper. Yes, the used paper. Maybe in posh international hotels and slick businesses in the major cities it's ok, but elsewhere don't, just don't. There's nothing quite like needing to call housekeeping and tell them you need someone to come and unclog the toilet, and then getting a kind, but firm lecture from the janitor explaining (completely in Chinese, but you magically understand every word) exactly what to do with the paper, and that it doesn't  ever, (have you got this?) not ever go in the toilet. It's like they're explaining to an extremely thick, dreadfully slow child - or just a dim-witted foreigner. As they say, When in Rome ...

Old habits die hard though, and it's difficult to remember ... What's the number of housekeeping again?

Slippery tiles, freshly mopped and damp, are one of the other challenges. Shiny wet tiles are scarily slick and treacherous - an accident waiting to happen. It's definitely the time for careful steps, and extreme caution no matter how desperate you are! 

And how do you know you're home again? When you go to the toilets at Tulla (aka Melbourne Airport) and see this:

You don't stand on the seat to squat and the paper goes in the toilet! Hooray! I'm home!


My previous posts about Teaching in China were our Arrival, Banquets,  Culture and Comfort foods, Driving, Exercise, Fabulous Food and History, Illness, and From Jerilderie to Jiangsu! The next one will be - The problem with Lists!


.

Part J - Teaching in China - from Jerilderie to Jiangsu

I don't live in Jerilderie, but it's a lovely sounding word, and along with Jindabine and Jan Juc, when I hear it, I know I'm home! 

Did you know Australia has its own Great Wall of China? It's a natural rock feature in the Flinders Ranges in South Australia, and whilst not on the scale of the man-made Chinese one, it's pretty impressive. 

The photos here are of similar rock formations in a nearby area.

It's dry country, harsh and unforgiving. Plants and trees thrive in their own way, but they're not lush - they've adapted to the climate extremes - the interior of Australia isn't always hot, and nights can be below freezing. Spindly leaves cling to often bare branches. Grasses tend to be dry, unfriendly, spiky, and tussocks, well separated from each other so they don't compete for elusive moisture, struggle from sandy soil which is strewn with vicious prickles.

In stark contrast, the people in Jiangsu province live in a rich fertile area. The massive plane is generously graced with hundreds of flowing rivers, and there are also many natural and manmade lakes and reservoirs. The canals we passed had barges and boats chugging purposefully along and seemed to be transporting goods downstream. There were ducks, geese, and kilometer after kilometer of mixed crop production, huge areas undercover, many more open to the elements. We drove for around 5 hours and even when we left the freeway to turn off to Xuzhou the abundant patchwork crops were still growing prolifically.

The 102,600square km province supports a population of around 80 million people, roughly 4 times that of Australia. This is rich land, and while agriculture is of less importance now than in the past, it still produces a wide variety of crops including rice, wheat, cotton, oil seed, fruit, and lush vegetables. Efforts are being made to produce more organic foods and I often saw watermelon in stalls so fresh that the leaves on the stems hadn't wilted. 

There was a constant heat haze when we were there, which seemed to stretch for hundreds of kilometres, making distant mountains indistinct and gauzy. And everywhere, there's construction - I've never seen so many cranes!

How is it possible to explain to people whose whole life experience is of rich land, reliable rainfall and abundant crops, that the bulk of Australia's vast interior has nothing remotely resembling what they live with. It's their norm, what they've grown up with. Until you've driven day after day through the nothingness that is Australia's interior, it's hard to comprehend.

A dry riverbed would be un-understandable to many people. This feature is called a river on the signs and maps ... surely rivers have water in them ... don't they?

I'd asked my students what kinds of things they wanted to learn about Australia, and geography and history were high on the list. Thank goodness I had lots of photos and a good general knowledge to be able to discuss the things they were interested in, including the Great Artesian Basin, rainfall, floods, drought, population hubs and animals, as well as the British acquisition of the country and the decimation of aboriginal people with white settlement. They kept asking questions and were genuinely interested. 

Why on earth hadn’t I thought of taking a map of Australia, a world map, and a globe? A piece of chalk and uncertain drawing of the country and landmarks had to suffice! 

My previous posts about Teaching in China were our Arrival, Banquets, Culture and Comfort Foods, Driving, Exercise, Fabulous Food (revisited!), Games, History and Illness. The next one will be about Kenny!

.

Part I - Teaching in China - Illnesses

Where possible, prevention is better than cure! We had constant reminders to keep up the fluids, and bottles of water were tucked into our bags and backpacks constantly. It's hot and you sweat profusely, and we weren't going to be allowed to become dehydrated! Warm water is also common at meals rather than jasmine or other Chinese teas - it makes sense and is welcome. But adequate water intake can't prevent some problems arising.

Having been quite ill some years ago when in China, I was very cautious this time and had been to my doctor before I left to get antibiotics for a respiratory infection as well as for acute diarrhoea (ie the sort that's still there complete with violent, painful stomach cramps and the inability to absorb fluids even after taking a maximum dose of off-the-shelf medication). 

It's not fun being ill overseas and being unable to explain the symptoms. Non verbal communication is all very well - up to a point. One thing I hadn't thought to do was to ask a Chinese friend to write my allergies down in Chinese - just in case. I have a severe allergic reaction to penicillin and wouldn't want to be prescribed that in any way shape or form.

So last time, there I was, pretty crook and in pain with severe abdominal cramps. I'd experienced 5 days of not eating and obviously needing something more than gastro-stop, and decided medical assistance was necessary. The hotel has a doctor on call! Taa daa, all will be well! 

But no, no one spoke English. Drat.

After a while we managed to communicate my need to the concierge, a taxi was called and instructed to take me to hospital. I was whisked in to see a doctor, clearly Western trained, but with no English. The taxi driver accompanied us in as interpreter (well, he was able to say hello adequately!), a couple of nurses appeared, along with another doctor or two. This is chummy! But wait! We're on the ground floor, and the window is open! Clearly an invitation for passers by to lean in and check out what was going on - (but thankfully not to offer an opinion!) Sometimes you just need to go with the flow, smile, be gracious and make the best of an awkward situation. 

Better prepared this time, complete with
names of good local medications!

Now this is where thinking ahead would have been smart. I mentioned my body doesn't take well to penicillin. How would I know if the fluids prescribed contained it or related compounds? Fluids you ask? Yes. In China it's standard for many medications to be administered by IV drip. It's quick, efficient and there's little room for misunderstandings about dosage. Patients are prescribed medication and sit together in rooms with drips held up with sticks of bamboo and needles in their hands. It works, and takes a couple of hours. But it's not something I was prepared to do. I was confident the doctor was good, it's not that, but I wasn't confident that a mistake couldn't happen with the medication, especially with the uncertainty of translation. 

So back to the drawing board and a local pharmacy where the dispenser had reasonable English - I described my symptoms and was given traditional medicine which worked wonders. 

......

I mentioned in a previous post that one of our colleagues became ill. I got a concerned phone call early one morning from Candy. Could you come down as soon as possible Sue? Something's up with Lacey. 

What on earth could be the problem?

In hindsight, my reaction of "Oh shit" may not have been the most reassuring or tactful. Sorry Lacey! But the poor kid looked dreadful. Her face and lip were badly swollen and she couldn't close her mouth normally. Not good, not good at all. There was really nothing to do but encourage Candy to phone Bonnie our interpreter, and ask her to take Lacey to get medical assistance. Of course Candy would go as well - it'd be stressful enough without a familiar friend to offer masses of support.

Naturally Ian and I would divvy up both classes and sort out something for the extra 30 teacher-students per room! No problems! 

Expect the unexpected, be flexible, smile, act confident and pretend you're not stressed - that's the way to go! But it's certainly not how I felt inside.  

I acted super confident and reassuring, (I hope) but I was quite concerned for Lacey. I knew going to the hospital was likely to be a confronting experience, though I was sure she'd receive the best available attention. But an IV drip is something we reserve for emergencies, not standard care. Maybe I should have warned her, but it seemed she had enough on her plate without pre-empting that experience. 

As she said to me via email recently, the experience of having the drip still makes her cringe. But the medication worked, and worked well. By the time we saw her later in the day, there was a marked improvement, and by the following morning she looked good! She needed to go into the hospital for the following two days for more IV treatment, with each visit taking 1 1/2 to 2 hours - that's the downside of not having convenient pills to take!

Lacey's comments about the experience are as follows:

"As for how I was treated, everyone was very nice and quick on my diagnosis and treatment. I feel that may have been because of me not being Chinese though. I never felt uncomfortable, but seeing the nurses talking to the other patients made me so glad that I wasn't a local.

And getting an iv was intimidating!! We only get those for surgery in the US. The cart that they rolled around in the room was rusted and full of old needles and bags. That was less than comforting. Also, the bathrooms in the hospital were less sanitary than the ones at our lunch restaurant. No soap and no paper. "

No matter now well prepared we are for overseas travel, there could be something lurking in our bodies waiting for the right time to become evident. Appendicitis, dental problems, all kinds of things can't be foreseen, and sometimes you need to accept the medical support that's available at the time, no matter how confronting or how much you'd prefer not to. 

Our hosts did everything possible to reassure, encourage, and support us all during this unexpected time, they were wonderful. Medical treatment is supported by the state in China, and as such only costs a few Yuan (a dollar or so).  I sincerely hope that people visiting Australia who become ill are treated in an equally caring manner and that our good Medicare system isn't eroded by shortsighted, greedy politicians and their cronies.

My previous posts about Teaching in China were our Arrival, Banquets,  Culture and Comfort foods, Driving, Exercise, Fabulous Food and History. The next one will be - From Jerilderie to Jiangsu!

.

Part H - Teaching in China - History

History is something China has a lot of, it's well documented and goes back many centuries. Even so, accidents and archaeologists are constantly unearthing new things and the Terracotta Warriors in Xuzhou (also here) are a good example. 

They were only found in 1984, when a field was being dug and some machinery scraped into some figurines exposing them 2 centuries after being buried as part of the funerary objects for King Liuwu, the third king of the Chu Kingdom in the Western Han Dynasty (206BC-24AD).

Sculpted warhorses outside the park.

The warrior emerging from granite.

The area is quite extensive and well presented, with small train-like carriages carrying visitors between the main historic areas.

Apparently not long after Liuwu became king he started planning his burial chambers and the construction and design continued till his death. 

Walking many steps down into the bowels of the chambers, and through the large underground caverns, all hacked by hand out of deep, deep rock was ... thought provoking. There were rooms chiselled out of solid rock and stocked with cooking vessels and implements, arms (as in lances, arrows, javelins etc) and all sorts of expensive and intricate items. 

It's accepted that not only his armies, but captured people were used to construct the extensive final resting place for him and his family. As with today it seems that rulers use people and acquired money and goods for their own benefit rather than the general populace ... and for all he may have hoped otherwise, it hasn't been of eternal benefit, with tourists coming from far and wide to gawk and wonder.

A few years ago I was delighted to see the terracotta warriors in Xi'an and hadn't known any others existed so was surprised to see these. They're significantly smaller, being just on knee height whereas the others are full sized. However, they're ... I'm not sure what word to use ... charming is wrong as they represent men in full battle dress with war horses, archers and chariots - and that's hardly something to be charmed by! 

It's a bit like being confronted with a very focused and dangerous Lilliputian army in full regalia - and the figures are menacing. But they're also beautifully constructed, the workmanship is detailed and interesting. I understand they would have originally carried scale weapons and the archers would have had tiny wooden arrows in their quivers. The rank and role of the figures is designated by their hair style or head dress. 

The figures are arranged in battle formation and form 3 pits. One is fully excavated, one only partially and the last one is more or less as originally found.

I wondered at the object below which was described as being a bell, a musical instrument forming part of an orchestra - a problem with translation perhaps? 

But no, we were given a recital and the various instruments were melodious and tinkling,  a little bit like a xylophone, but with richer tones, and the piece was finished all too soon.

There's a woman in blue behind the bells tapping them with something like drum sticks, and she came out towards the end and took the upright item in the centre of the photo and swung it towards the large bells. If you'd been wandering off into a reverie, that'd have brought you back with a boom!

Of course, no trip is complete without a small drama is it? Unfortunately one of our group had been ill and needed ongoing medical attention, which consisted of revisiting the hospital for medication. So instead of having time to visit all the attractions at the cultural area, and exploring more of the city, we headed back to the hotel and our interpreter went with her to the hospital. (More on this in the next post - Being ill in China.)

My previous posts about Teaching in China were our Arrival, Banquets,  Culture and comfort foods, Driving, Exercise, Fabulous Food and Games. The next one will be about Illness! 

.

.