April Fools! and integration...

你们好!
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It's April Fools' Day (愚人节 yúrénjie - literally "fools' festival"), and surprisingly, my students only mildly attempted to trick me. I strolled into my 8am class and they all giggled, so I was braced for a mutiny, but then it never came...or at least I think it never came! I did get a few text messages today from fellow foreign teachers that "Oh my gosh! Obama was shot in London!" (not funny) and a few from students who wanted me to go to a specific athletic field at a specific time because they claimed that it was haunted and needed me to "hunt ghosts" with them (funny).


I just finished reading "The Unheard" by Josh Swiller, a hearing-impaired Peace Corps Volunteer's memoir of his service in Africa during the mid-1990's. It was a great read, and since the only other real PC memoirs I have read were written by PC China's [infamous] Peter Hessler, this perspective was a breath of fresh air, full of honesty, insight, and humor that made Pete's first two years in China (no offense, Pete!) seem...well, prude.
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But the defining difference between PC China and PC Africa is that of "integration" - a word that is repeated to PC volunteers all over the world as if it was the only word that mattered in a Chinese-style English pronunciation class. Integrate Integrate Integrate! In Africa, it seems like volunteers are placed in villages where they can have direct contact with (a smaller number of) villagers, work with them directly, help and plan with them directly. In China, PCVs are little fish in a ocean stocked with billions of curious eyes, and if we do not create little microcosms of China, we never really learn who anyone really is! So whenever I "integrate" in a new way, it's worth mentioning. The latest success (if you are a past/present PC China Volunteer and you are reading this, please don't laugh!) is my mastering of QQ. (Okay, stop laughing so I can continue...)

QQ is to China what AIM is to America - a chatting service that allows people to, well, chat. However, in America, I would guess that only Gen. X and Yer's have/had AIM, but in China, it seems like everyone has it, from high schoolers to Chinese who felt the wrath of Mao before his death in '76. Whenever I receive a business card from a colleague, it have his/her QQ number directly under their telephone number, sometimes ahead of their e-mail address. To have a QQ number (not a username) is to be a part of something bigger...

I have had QQ for about 2 weeks now and already I have 87 friends (Okay, stop laughing!). About 95% of them are my students who send me English-language questions, questions about culture, books, movies, or current events, or most importantly, need advice about life and it endlessly complicated mysteries! Since many of them still feel nervous calling me, and texting can be time consuming, QQ provides a quick window into my world/mind. In addition, I post a "weekly topic" to consider, this week's: YouTube.com has been blocked by the CCP for several days now. Is "stability" more important than personal freedom [of expression] in China? Your opinion?
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Some students have already answered, and, well, it doesn't look like the CCP really understands the next generation of "Communists." I have optimism...
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...and pessimism. This is truly scary -- read the comments that follow the story.
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It sounds funny, but if you are a PCV in China, I recommend diving into the world of QQ. You will learn so much more about your students' lives and [real] opinions....

And if you do have QQ, and you want my number, shoot me an e-mail: philiprazem@gmail.com
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I love and miss you all,
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Phil
蓝麦飞