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Family pickle

Having just married his Chinese wife, blogger John at www.Sinosplice.com feels he has been blessed with an exceptionally mild-mannered group of in-laws. Other than a shared love for a Chinese girl, however, the only other common ground he has found with his father-in-law is on the topic of food, specifically a shared affection for Russian pickles.

Recently, while his father-in-law was visiting, they finished off a bottle of the preserves. Just as John was smiling about the fact that such a simple thing could bring two people together, his father-in-law began reaching for the empty pickle jar. Much to John's surprise and distaste, his father-in-law picked up the jar and guzzled down the juice.

A lesson for teachers

Many expats stepping into the Chinese teaching scene for the first time don't know exactly what to expect. English teacher and blogger Emily at www.LostLaowai.com offers new teachers some advice on how to make the most of your Chinese-English teaching experience in her blog titled The 411 on your new job.

You speak too fast. Nope. Still too fast. No, still didn't catch that.

Emily warns that even though you may think you are talking slower, usually it's not slow enough. She advises making sure you gauge your student's reactions when speaking, if they look lost - they probably are.

"Be prepared to feel like a monotone robot those first couple of weeks," she says.

If teaching at a University, be prepared for huge classrooms full of overanxious Chinese students raring to learn English, Emily says. Expect to be bombarded with questions after each class as enthusiastic English learners swarm around you.

"It will be overwhelming at first, but soon you'll be deftly maneuvering among the pulsating throb of students as you realize that you're an English rock star."

You're magic. Or at least that's what the people in charge of your school will think.

Emily notes that many school administrators assume that because the English language comes so easily to you that teaching it is easy and they will ask that you take extra classes. Depending on your schedule it is up to you whether or not you want to take on the extra workload - but doing so can earn you guanxi (connections) with the administrators, she says.

What's in a name?

Blogger Demerzel at www.micahfk.com has compiled a list of really bad English names given to Chinese people he has come across in his blog titled Worst English Names to Choose.

Cappuccino

Dudu

Snowman (to top it off, it was a girl that chose this name)

"Names can matter, (depending) on how you introduce yourself," he writes. "Even for my own name, I have to repeat myself a couple of times before they realize my name is not 'Michael' but 'Micah'."

(China Daily 03/14/2008 page19)