From an email sent to friends and family, dated October 11, 2006, less than two months after my arrival in China.

With one of my many Chinese teachers, on a trip I took to a coastal landmark called Chengshantou with a Chinese tour group. I couldn’t understand the guide’s endless descriptions, which she said through a megaphone, but I did understand her when she spoke directly to me, since she asked very simple questions.

I just got back from an exhilarating trip to Qingdao (which was spelled Tsingtao in an older transliteration system, and that spelling stuck for the beer.) I had a week off for the National Day and Mid-Autumn Festival Holidays. I think that traveling alone is the absolute best way to pick up a language. With few English speakers around, I had to strike up conversations in Chinese, at a level that surprised and impressed the locals (and myself.)

Now, when people ask me, “Do you like Bush?” I understand the question, and can respond, “No, I don’t like Bush.” I don’t quite have the vocabulary to give a good reason, but it is a start. It is somewhat of a relief to be in a country where people are not accustomed to asking “why.” More commonly I get asked, “Do you like China?” and “Do you like basketball?” And those are much easier to answer with gestures and a limited vocabulary.

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From an email I sent to friends and family, dated October 11, 2006 (slightly adapted):

Jiaxing University Front Gate

It’s crazy for me to think that in the past five months I have gone from being a student of Latin America to a teacher in China. It is also the most empowering thing I have ever done. I did this simply by putting my mind to it, without any specialized training.

I love this picture because it brings together a game created in my home country (basketball) and an icon from my chosen field of study (Che Guevara) and the distinct pose so common in China (which would be called a peace sign in the US but means “victory” in China.)

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