Cloudy in Beijing Blogging about my time in China

My school

I got used to it in the first weeks I taught here, and I think it has a certain charm to it you can't find anywhere else. But I have to say, the college I teach at is probably the ugliest school I've seen.

This is mainly because the college used to be a factory.

Many of the classrooms here are housed in a long buildings that used to be warehouses. A few brown and black smokestacks still perch up into the sky. And often times I feel like I'm surrounded by concrete and brick, with maybe some lonely patches of green here and there. Some of the bathrooms here also reek of urine, like they've never been clean before; I hold my breath each time I walk past one.

Ironically my school is actually new. The campus it sits on is actually an extension of the main university, where I'm employed. Wanting to meet the demand of student enrollment, the university opened this school a few years ago by buying and then converting a nearby steel factory.

Since then they've constructed some dorms and new classroom buildings to better serve the students. But the remnants of the factory are still clear to see.

Near the entrance of the school a giant wheel sits in the middle of small field. It's turned into a nice artistic monument.

I think in America it would be rare to see a school like this. But it's a good way to reuse something. (My guess is that the Chinese government probably shut down the factory like it has
at many other factories that were losing money.)

Although my students also acknowledge the inherent unattractiveness of the place. One of my students told me he would take his girlfriend anywhere, as long as they didn't come to his school.

This university is so different from my own college. Here, many of the students can't choose their classes; my English class is a requirement they must take. The students all have to go through military training as well. There are no frats or sororities. Students are all required to live in dorms. I think there's also a bit of curfew for the women dorms, where the students have to go back by around 11 p.m. else they'll be locked out. The school also doesn't even allow students to own TVs in their rooms.

I remember some students inviting me to their dorm for the first time. It was small, four students to one room only a little larger than my own bedroom at my apartment here. They have no shower. But I guess they have it good. One student I know told me at one point she had 7 dorm mates, if I remember correctly.

Sometimes I think about this and all makes me feel lucky that I grew up in America and went to school there.

I feel like I've lived a life of luxury when I compare my life to what my students have experienced. I've driven two cars in my life, owned three different computers, lived in actual houses. A lot of my students don't have these things. I have had a chance to see the world, when I believe none of my students have ever left the country. Now I'm teaching English in China, having my own adventure after having left a job in journalism. As for my students, many of them tell me that it's extremely difficult to find employment here. (With 1.3 billion people in this country, competition for good jobs is even tougher).

But things are changing in China, and the standard of living is rising. I hope that means more opportunities for my students so that they can enjoy what I probably take for granted.