no mom, it wasn’t SARS
People say you haven’t really visited China until you’ve vomited in China. Well, I’ve finally arrived! Not sure if it was the 24-hour stomach flu or just some bad fried rice — maybe it was from doing my taxes — but I found myself either kneeling or sitting (or, sometimes, with the unfortunate need to do both at the same time) most of yesterday and some of today.
I had to cancel class. Strangely, doing so made me appreciate my students even more. It’s nice to know that they care. And in Shanghai, people let each other know that they care via text messages on mobile phones. Several students expressed their concern.
One, upon learning that class was canceled, sent me the following message … which would be OK if I was Australian and had been to church this millennium:
no problem mate! god bless u!
Another student seemingly saw this coming. Just a week ago, she sent me this in an e-mail:
It is dangerous to catch a cold nowadays. I think what you wore this thursday was far from enough. Put on more clothes.
Since when are Speedos and a tank top not proper classroom attire? Anyway, the same student was one of the first to respond when news of my illness broke on the Baoshan campus. Here is a summary of our correspondence:
Her: What about the class? Did u see the doctor? Better stay at dorm, drink water as much as u can. don’t stay up.
Me: Why see a doctor when I have you?
Her: I’m not a doctor. But I’ll pray for u. Dear god let dan recover soon. Promise to see a doctor. No joking.
Me: I’m not religious. Are you?
Her: I ain’t. If it doesn’t work, u got no choice but to have a nice sleep.
And the next day …
Her: Morning. Feel better? I’ll try to be a doctor when u are sick.
Me: Afternoon. I just woke up. Feel OK … when I’m lying down.
Her: No need to call the department office. They know what happened. sleep well:) buddha said that u’ll be ok on thursday and i believe it.
In other classroom news …
Last week, I had my classes listen to anti-war songs. Our set list included: “War” by Edwin Starr, “I-Feel-Like-I’m-Fixin’-To-Die Rag” by Country Joe McDonald, “For What It’s Worth” by Buffalo Springfield and “Nuclear War” by Yo La Tengo. Anyone familiar with the lyrics from those songs knows I was setting myself up for some interesting conversations. Let’s just say my students learned some phrases they don’t teach in the textbooks.
Sample lyrcis from the Country Joe McDonald song: “Gotta go out and get those reds / Because the only good commie is one whose dead.”
Ouch!
And from Yo La Tengo’s version of Sun Ra’s “Nuclear War”: “Nuclear war, nuclear war / It’s a motherfucker, don’t you know / If they push that button, your ass gotta go.”
(I asked one of my classes what they thought the word motherfucker meant. One student raised his hand: “Well, I think that in war many children will die. So that means the mothers will have to make more babies.”)
The fan favorite was typically the Buffalo Springfield song, with Country Joe McDonald running a close second. My students tended not to like “War,” even though Jackie Chan performed it in “Rush Hour.” They thought Edwin Starr’s rendition was — get this — too noisy and angry.
One female student, however, liked the song. Why?
“It reminded me of Chinese kung fu,” she said.
04.16.2003, 2:04 AM · Observations, Politics, School
6 Comments
I recently saw Yo La Tengo open their current tour with the aforementioned Sun Ra tune “Nuclear War”. It was quite a statement and a damn fine performance. I now own a copy of the single, which incidentally has 4 versions on it. Needless to say, it made a lasting impression musically as yet another great way to express sentiments via a channel of communication that people find universal. I’d vote it #1 with the recently deceased Englishman Edwin Starr’s “War” a close second. Perhaps another sign that the water separates more than oil?
Excellent blog. You’re on my “Four Corners” blogroll!
thanks scott! i wish i could see what you are talking about … china blocks blogspot sites. the struggle continues.
yo randall. edwin starr was american, born in nashville. he moved to england in the 1980s. i didn’t realize that he died earlier this month.
Didn’t you play any Dixie Chicks to show how evil they are? God forbid they not agree with G.W.! With the CD breaking and boycotting on most country radio stations they may need to relocate to China. Think they would fit in?
my students and i have discussed the plight of the poor dixie chicks in class. such blacklisting doesn’t seem too “american” to them. and, believe it or not, several of my students are familiar with the dixie chicks’ music.