9: on your mark...

now it was time to face the troops.

the first day of school is a bit anticlimactic when it doesn't start until after lunch; but we had learned (since the kitchen had reopened over the weekend) that lunch is indeed one of the high points of the day at jiao yuan middle school. it is serve-yourself on compartmented, stamped metal trays; a groove holds your chopsticks, and a round depression keeps your metal bowl from sliding away. the san quentin associations are unavoidable: first stop is at a washtub of rice, then at a washtub of soup, each with a bowl-sized scoop standing within. next is a tray of bread that looks like uncooked parker house rolls. and then, to the horizon it seems, is the main event: at least fifteen trays of vegetables and veggie combos and concoctions (chile peppers are not just seasoning here but a food group all their own), hot and cold greens and sprouts, some noodles, always a tofu selection, always a fresh (wholly intact) fish selection, rotations of chicken, duck, lamb (with innards and riblets and bones and feet and beaks thereof), seasoned with more chiles, aromatic black peppers, slivered ginger, whole star anise, and lots of stuff i haven't yet figured out. this is the most amazing institutional food i have ever experienced. final stop is always a bushel of ripe fruit: sometimes juicy pears, often mandarin oranges or asian apples, once we had persimmons...

the prep work is a bit like mosca's servings of chicken thru-the-lawn-mower: every bite of meat is sure to have a bone fragment in it, so you quickly learn to nibble and not to chomp. no adorable food-like pressed/processed white meat shapes for these folks: you confront your consumption head-on. you definitely consume less this way- and, hear this, dr. mcneil: i've kept all my dental crowns attached for more than three months now.

this banquet rolls out every day at 11:30; teachers not in the classroom hustle down to beat the rush at 11:50 dismissal. by 12:15, it's pretty much a buffet of bones; first afternoon class is at 1:40. everyone shuffles off to a corner for a (do the math) substantial nap; is this living, or what? we're lucky to have our apartments right upstairs; others have foldaway cots (with linen and pillows) in their offices, or drop into the "faculty resting room" to vie for a bunk. "not a creature is stirring..." until the bugle blares at 1:30: the kids return from their homes in the village, the cots are folded, and life goes on, refreshed.

the school day is a long one: four 40-minute periods morning, 4 of the same in the afternoon, wrapping up at 5:00. that first monday afternoon was a triple-header for me: three classes in a row, with 10-minute breaks between, an average of 48 head per class; this was a lot different than our cozy practice group of 16. first sessions were get-acquainted; james and i met for a beer afterward for mutual reassurance.

tuesday was a long one: two classes morning, two afternoon, with open periods between each. more get-acquainted; now 6 times 48 names and faces total, to try and track... my postponed birthday celebration was to be at a neighboring restaurant at 6pm. lulu came to fetch james and i from our digs and escort us to the restaurant; as we passed the gatehouse, she stopped in to retrieve a present for me: another tub of roses, this time with lilies, too, along with the palm fronds, streaming with ribbons. i felt like a prize bull being led to the rink...

at the restaurant, we were escorted into a private dining room, where about 15 people had gathered- most of the english department, and a few administrators. the headmaster had to send his regrets for the evening- perhaps that was a blessing, from what we'd been told. by the time we sat down to dinner, we were 20, at 2 round tables. opening course was half a warm papaya, filled with frog fat; i'm not making that up. frog fat tastes just about how you'd imagine it (if you ever thought about it) and the combination with the sweet fruit was... unique? as guest of honor, i got the extra one, too.



the rest of the courses were more mainstream: a whole fish, a whole, whacked chicken (head and neck extending over one side of the bowl, feet over the other), duck confetti in sezhuan pepper confetti (guess which is which and win the prize) scallops in black bean sauce on the halfshell, some chiles, some greens, some eggplant, and lots more to eat; some tea, some coconut juice, some beer, some red wine, and more to drink... toasting, bottoms up, challenges, bottoms up, more toasting, bottoms up- you get the picture; if this was the second string, i was going to have trouble with the varsity and the headmaster.



by the time they rolled out a chocolate cake, the room was rolling, too. and then the guys brought out some baijiu- the really lethal moonshine that westerners are never offered. they are doing us a favor with that; some few remaining brain cells got me out of that place and back to my room before that went too far. those who remained had writing exercises in their classes the next day, i'm sure. james went on to deejay at the club ibiza that night; i practiced being older and wiser. luckily, we had that following wednesday off; chinese classes wouldn't begin for two more weeks.

thursday was another four get-acquainted classes: three in the morning, one after lunch.

friday was a breeze: two morning performances topped off by lunch. a group meeting had been called at the adult education center in midtown, to count heads and check on our progress (or despair). and to turn in our passports; it was time to begin processing our resident visas. our entry visas were to expire late in september. the meeting was a therapeutic reunion, and our first since the great claiming race nearly three weeks before. most folks ended up at the 3-d bar nearby, familiar from our breakout from the monastery on the hill.

the first school weekend was a quiet one, for me spent working on class lists and map-in-hand exploration walks around shenzhen; there were certainly a lot more western faces in town now, and we often ran into fellow teachers on the streets. without papers, we couldn't even get on a train out of town. this was a more effective method of restraint than the silver lake resort: we could see hong kong, twinkling in the distance- but we couldn't go there. more correctly- we could go there, but there could be no return.

monday was back upon us; we had all been invited to opening ceremonies for international students at shenzhen university. with no classes til afternoon, i set out by subway, then bus to find the sprawling suburban campus. a few brave souls had also made the trip; it was held in the grand auditorium of a pretty amazing new building. we were introduced to the big crowd (and, of course, invited to a lunch banquet), then offered a campus walking tour while the students did their official paperwork. three cheerful young women (with great english) were our escorts; when asked if we had any special interests, i asked about the architecture school. right this way, sir- they took our group of about eight into the courtyard of a rather cool corbusian complex, right next to the north gate and the main highway. would you like to meet anyone? sure, if you're offering. scurry, scurry, they bring out my next friend: gan haixing- the best english speaker they could collar at the moment. he invited me up to his office for some tea, and i begged off from the rest of the group, so as not to hold up their tour any longer. are you sure you're ok here? i'm much better off here, thank you- gan was then, and continues to be a godsend. he's in charge of publications at the school, cranking out slick periodicals with great photography and chinese text translations that the students use like textbooks of current western design. though the students had yet to reassemble for the semester, it was great to get a sniff of the design world again. we got acquainted until noon, then with a sample stack of his magazines under my arm, i headed back toward my own school (i had to miss the banquet), with the hope that we could get a proper school tour together soon.

long-haul tuesday came and went; i was showing king street pics to my classes that week- snapshots katie and liam had taken of their own house to illustrate their life to folks in another country. the chinese students showed great interest in the toilets, the swimming pool, and their dog, rocky (in about that order). i sent a thank-you email to gan, just to set the hook- hoping we could schedule another meeting when he had the chance.

wednesday was still a free day; midday gan sent back a note that he could make some time later in the afternoon. i moved some portfolio pics to my flash drive, and set out again for the university. we made a studio tour, met some students and staff, shot the breeze and compared pictures of our work for hours; gan has great english (educated in wuhan by yalies), a fondness for things western (he wears a cowboy hat while driving his jeep wagoneer) and an evil sense of humor. did i have time for an early dinner? i learned that my new buddy likes good food and drink nearly as much as i do. his wife and son live in guangzhou, where she teaches english, so he's on his own during the week. he invited his niece to join us, and we set off for a local restaurant, owned by a high school friend from his home village. this local restaurant turned out to be huge, and the aforementioned friend served as our host, sat with us and ordered up his special new dishes for us; gan says he's a lousy cook, but has a great imagination and skilled employees. i was also introduced to rice wine: darker in color than baijiu, and laced with ginseng and herbs and spices- not quite cognac but sorta like sherry. later the duck station cook, then the dim sum chef each came to sit with us- and to insist that we taste their specialties, too. gan rode me back to my school gate after dinner- and said it looked familiar. he thought he had another high school friend who taught here, too. that must be some village you're from, i ribbed him- and said we'd check that connection out later.

thursday and friday played out; they'd now all seen the pics, and i'd cobbled together a semblance of a roster, with of all their english names. the faces were still a mental jumble for me, but already i was cordially assailed with "hello mister bill" everywhere i walked in the village.

friday night, james had some of his crowd of the other teachers over for a birthday party for his friend meghan, and i went with them later to watch him deejay at club ibiza. it was another hiking and exploration weekend for me, and i put together some stuff for the next class cycle.

monday again, and the internet connection had crapped out in our apartments- not so unusual an event. i spent the free morning hustling to print up a sheet for the students: a plan drawing of the king street house they had seen in pictures, and then a space for them to draw a similar description of their own houses. it took some bellowing to keep the big classes in line, but they produced some amazing diagrams (it seems that every chinese kid draws eagerly), then talked to me about them. tuesday's groups were even more productive.

wednesday was our first shenzhen chinese class, back in midtown at the adult education center. thursday's classes got me around the turn, friday's into the home stretch, and 4:30 was the finish line of my chinese class. i know it's only been three weeks of the new regime, but i was ready for a change of scenery.

gan had invited me to visit his storied home village with him, and was to pick me up at my school gate at 5pm.

next: trip to national geographic