that’s what i’ve been drinking?

Although today was our school’s celebration of Teacher’s Day, I wouldn’t have been able to tell you so at first – my first class of the day were little terrors, making mincemeat out of my lesson plan and forcing me to raise my voice throughout most of the class. NaNa, their regular English teacher, nodded sympathetically to me afterwards, recommending that next time I “avoid telling them too many jokes.” With this advice in mind and rage in my heart, I headed into Class 4 intending to throw down some street justice on these little thugs before they even had the chance to get uppity – but found instead a class full of angels. Situational irony at its best.

My experience with Class 3 today must have been an isolated incident. Even though Teacher’s Day is officially September 10th and has been ever since Deng Xiaoping declared it so in the 70s (as Hu Laoshi described to me today), each teacher today received a box of plums from the school, keeping most of them in high spirits. The teachers living in the school dormitory also saw the day commemorated with two supplementary packs of toilet paper! After marveling over these things with the other teachers in the 3rd Year English office (and scratching out a revised lesson plan to better deal with potential brats in the future), I shuffled out with them and boarded a coach bus for Seaworld, where a teacher’s banquet organized by the school awaited us.

If there is any other way to get close to people quickly than alcohol, I haven’t found it yet (I do prefer a good conversation, but that admittedly takes more effort). In particular, before coming to Shenzhen, many of the other Americans with more experience in China had told/warned us of a potent liquor called baijiu (白酒) that tastes like black licorice and packs a hefty alcoholic punch to it. I think my father and our family friend Tom used to drink it together in the past, although the version they used always smelled like noxious soy sauce to me so I gave it a clear berth. Here it was though at the teacher’s banquet, with jovial and red-faced Chinese teachers smiling at me with proffered cups. “To international friendship!” shouted one elderly science teacher as he clinked his cup with mine. “ComIntern friendship!” yelled another, albeit whether in joking parody or in drunken politicizing, I don’t know. By the end of the night I had imbibed three shots of the noxious stuff, and I suppose my face looked flushed and nasty as it always does when I drink (even though I am pretty lucid and clear-thinking still – my body reacts before my mind does, which in most instances helpfully prevents me from getting into much trouble). The other English teachers seemed amused, although Guan Laoshi had received an award that night and consequently downed far more congratulatory shots than I had and her gentle demeanor’s transformation into a slightly less reserved character was occupying most people’s attention away from me. But then, most people were pretty out of it. I think before I would have avoided participating completely (especially with baijiu to deal with), but I know I should make the effort – people will more easily trust somebody who is down to earth and willing to partake in these things with them.

It reminds me of college kickbacks in Joe’s apartment the last year of school – I never thought I would like them very much when I first went, but I ended up enjoying myself after all. I also have some stories and memories for the experience. All of this, as part of breaking down the edifice of a boringly safe individual and finding a more laidback, more carefree and ultimately more pleasant and sociable Andrew.