Ting (bu) Dong
Hello
to everyone out there wondering if there was ever going to be a written aspect
of this blog (that would be our parents and maybe two or three other people).
Welcome to the first edition of “ting (bu) dong” a section of our blog that we hope will be fun, enlightening, maybe a little educational and ultimately a way to bring us a little closer together, because isn’t that kind of the end game for any worthy endeavor?
Welcome to the first edition of “ting (bu) dong” a section of our blog that we hope will be fun, enlightening, maybe a little educational and ultimately a way to bring us a little closer together, because isn’t that kind of the end game for any worthy endeavor?
No?
Well, okay. We think it’s a noble cause. If anything hopefully this will ease
the pain that our absence has caused for all of our friends and family back home.
Guys! Remember us? We’re still here in China!
The
idea behind this section of the blog is to provide some insight and perspective
on what life is like as an English teacher overseas, particularly in a smaller,
relatively untouched-by-the-outside-world city in the heart of China. Quick
important side-note: words like “small” and really any measurement of scale,
especially concerning population, over here is strictly relative. Our quite
small city of Zunyi is around 8 million. So you know…almost New York City. If
you’re thinking about journeying across oceans, mountains, rivers, fiery plains
and battling the dragon Smog that flies over all of China (Smog is never far
away and you can feel him just about everywhere, he’s really hard to defeat,
mostly you just have to learn to live with him), hopefully this will help you
make a decision. For the record, we think it’s completely worth it. It isn’t
easy, but it’s rewarding, and it gives you some great perspective and
opportunities. Things over here are different no question about it, but one
thing we’ve come to find is that these differences change in both severity, for
lack of a better word, and specificity depending on who you are and where you
are. Every expat in China brings their own experiences and perspective to life
here and no two cities in China are the same. We have only our own experiences
to bring to the table, and even these are limited as we’ve only been here for
about 9 months. With that in mind, we thought it would be a good idea to bring
in some other voices to the blog, ours can get super annoying, to talk about
their own feelings and experiences. Man, I feel like I’m using the word
“experience” way too much. But that’s what this is! A truly unique,
unforgettable, crazy experience made up of smaller truly unique unforgettable,
crazy experiences. Some are really funny, some are enlightening, some are hard,
some happy and some sad, but as in life they are all essential to making it
what it is.
As
you guys can see the title of this section is “ting (bu) dong.” If you don’t
speak Mandarin, you’re probably wondering what this means. It actually took us
a distressingly long amount of time to figure out what it meant ourselves. The
first few weeks of class were basically defined by these three words. Our
school, like many of the English learning schools in China, is fully immersive
meaning that the teachers are expected to use only English in the classroom and
the students are to do the same. This means a couple of things. One, of course,
the kids still speak Chinese, especially to each other and about you. Two, the
teachers will often start teaching with an extremely limited, or in our case
nonexistent, knowledge of Chinese. Figuring out how much the students can
understand is a gradual, somewhat grueling process involving a lot of
repetition. More often than not, the initial response when talking to the kids
is a vacant stare and the three words “ting bu dong,” which of course you
cannot understand. You stare back at them and repeat, “What’s your name?” Or,
“How are you?” And they reply in perfect English, “ting bu dong.” It’s an
endless cycle of misunderstanding. Which is ironic…because “ting bu dong” means
“I don’t understand.” “Bu” is the word the Chinese use to signify a negative,
so “ting bu dong” is literally translated as “hear, no, understand.” We put the
bu in parentheses though because after a while that cycle of misunderstanding
evolves into a wonderful exploration of understanding. Not just in language but
also in culture, in society, in tradition, and in life. When you first arrive
in China, the differences can be jarring, and sometimes extremely frustrating.
But over time, if you keep your mind and your attitude open and available and
you allow yourself a sense of both humility and adventure, you will “ting dong”
and it will be amazing. I’m not trying to romanticize the transition into life
over here because it is difficult. In fact it takes a while to settle down and
get used to things and some things we are still not used to. But it’s hilarious
and rewarding going through everything to get to that point.
ABOUT THE AUTHORS
Hello We are Torie Nugent and Ben Peterson, lovers of adventure and travel here to share our expereinces with you.
0 comments:
Post a Comment