Well this is the last week of teaching in Sheyang High School, so I thought I’d try and give a good overview of my experiences of the past four months in this place.

Sheyang itself

Sheyang is a small town (well technically Hede in Sheyang County) of around 100,000 people, an hour from Yancheng City, Jiangsu Province. Shanghai is 5 hours away, by often cramped and smoke filled bus (you can smoke almost anywhere in China). It’s not particularly famous, although a former general and national defence minister grew up in Sheyang.

Like most Chinese towns, you’ll probably see plenty of weathered concrete apartment blocks, or white-tiled structures, which do make for a most depressing sight were it not for the presence of some greenery. The local roads are haphazard in terms of repair, a stark contrast to the well maintained national highway system. There aren’t many cars around (they’re very expensive), and most are small taxis. More prevalent are bicycles, scooters, motorbikes, mopeds and rickshaws. There is small river which runs through the town, and it’s quite common to see low barges meandering their way along it.

The place has very few foreigners (who are apparently all Conversational English teachers), perhaps 8 in total, and I never actually saw any around. As a result, staying in Sheyang has introduced Joe, Eliet, Heather and myself to the phenomena of being minor celebrities. This is double edged sword, as we gained free lifetime entry into the only Disco in Sheyang (more on this later), but at the same time endured the now stale mutterings, comments and exclamations of “Lao Wai” and “Wai Guo Ren”.

There isn’t actually much to do in Sheyang, besides eat. On that note, there is a pretty good selection of restaurants, so long as you wish to eat various types of Chinese food. Feeling game, we sampled so called Western-style “Berfsteak” [sic] and “TF Coffee” — both overpriced and major let downs. I never tried the local KFC (they always seem to be next door to “TIMES” supermarkets). Actually, a word of advice: avoid “Western” food in China. It’s just not the same, and definitely not worth the expense.

Table manners are much simpler than in the West. It’s polite to fill someone’s drink before your own. Never remove the main dishes from the centre of the table — move your bowl to them. Remember to match people’s toasts (ie: if they go bottoms up [”gambei”] you must as well). And lastly, never point your chopsticks at anyone, or stick them vertically into rice. Aside from that, it’s no holds barred. You can make a mess, leave your bones and scraps on the table, and it’s not a problem. There is no obligation to eat what is in front of you. You can eat dishes in any order (although here in Sheyang, people usually eat rice last). You only have to worry about Chopsticks, as they are your only utensils.

Food aside, there is a local Disco, which had a bouncy floor and the usual terrible techno, and it was good fun after a few drinks and with a few fellow friends. The drinks are essential as you need the confidence to get the party started! (There seems to be a propensity to do outrageous things like this when you’re away from home for extended periods…) Surprisingly, the local supermarket (”TIMES”) offered some interesting things, including the famous snack food “Wang Wang” (Joe and I dedicated a short film to it) and really cheap alcohol, especially the infamous “Baijiu” (White rice wine).

A word on Chinese drinking culture: Alcohol generally is only drunk with meals. Beer is usually to be had at dinner, but I’ve seen people drinking it at breakfast! “Baijiu” is generally reserved for more formal occasions, though depending on who you know, any excuse will do! Women generally tend to avoid the drink, or only in small quantities. This does not apply for men, and the universal competitive spirit exists among guys (”man points”) in relation to drinking prowess! Although there is no legal drinking age, most people under 18 don’t drink (it seems the Chinese start having a life once they reach university).

Sheyang High School

School here is not fun for the students, by any stretch of the imagination. Classes of 60. Cramped classrooms. A school day starting at 6am and finishing at 10pm (with only a 2 hour break at midday). A 6 day school week (sometimes even 7!). Mountains of homework. School consumes their lives — there is little time for much else. Many of my students used to do extra curricular activities when they were younger, but these were dropped due to sheer necessity. It’s very, very sad.

The reason for this madness: gaining entrance into University. Competition is extremely fierce, more so outside the major cities.

The school’s built environment is also pretty depressing — white tiled concrete buildings. They do, however, make for some interesting urban exploration. What is bizarre, considering the lack of space in classrooms (and absence of lockers for school books), is how many rooms are under-utilised or just not used at all. The school library is an eerie place indeed, and a testament to the fact that the students pretty much only read their textbooks. I never actually saw any library books inside — only dusty taxidermy exhibits and a room full of awards and medals. The school has a proper domed telescope, but again, it seems to be never used. Heck, the school even has a gym and an oval (with a running track), but they’re not used much either. It’s actually a real shame.

It’s not all gloomy however. There are two places of interest on the school grounds: the basketball and table-tennis courts, and the so-called “teacher’s garden.” The former attests to the popularity of these two sports, and the garden is actually very pleasant (Joe and I held our English corners there). I personally have little interest in basketball, but many students have asked me about various NBA players and teams — it really shows the paradox of China’s relationship with the United States. The culture is quite popular (this extends to pop music, clothing, and food, too), even though most people express a dislike towards the US.

Chinese students are immature relative to their Western counterparts, work ethic being the major exception! At the subtlest hint of kissing (or even a mild romantic moment) in a film (even an animated one), many looked away or appeared embarrassed. This is more pronounced with girls. That said, my students were always curious about whether or not I had a girlfriend, and had no qualms about expressing their views of my sister (many cries of “so beautiful!”), and jokes involving love or marriage got an easy laugh. They don’t receive any form of sex education whatsoever, and again I think that their social world (relationships, sex, etc) really unfolds once they leave high school.

That said, I am speaking in generalisations. The female students are generally very shy, but there are notable exceptions. For example, one asked me whether I thought pre-marital sex was okay, much to my surprise! Another regularly turned up outside Joe’s or my apartment door, invited herself in, and proceeded to demand things, much to our chagrin. I relished in small acts of revenge against this recalcitrant (she was not a student of either Joe or I).

Memorable Quotes

Many students left me some rather amusing messages, so here are some golden ones:

• “I love you, but I’m just a boy.”
• “A good dream every night!”
• “I want to kill you, because you will go!”