November 20, 2010 - Beijing, China
and some have silver linings
I live for my dream
and a pocketful of gold..."
~Led Zeppelin, Over the Hills & Far Away, Verse IV
A day of change. For the last three days, the HanBan Multi-Language Center for International Promotion of Chinese Language has not met eight American participants and one Kenyans needs. HanBan has invited over 9,000 Mandarin and teachers of China to participate in a 5-day workshop in seven various venues throughout China. By chance, my friend Chasidy (we met in South Korea last summer) and I were both placed at the rural 'SARS Camp.' What I mean by this is that during the 2009 SARS breakout in China, many infected people were taken to a remote rural hospital and hotel location outside of Beijing for quarantine. This just happens to be our Longmai Hotsprings Hotel.
Of the 3,000 participants, the highly fluent in both spoken and written Mandarin language, are placed at 'SARS Camp.' In addition, nine primarily English-only speakers have been accidentally stationed with 292 advanced-fluent Mandarin communicators from the U.S., Argentina, Portugal, Morocco, Kenya, and around the world. At one point, the only translator we could find spoke only Spanish and Mandarin. She would translate Mandarin into Spanish and then I would translate the Spanish into English for the other English-only speaking colleagues. Extremely frustrated, five of us found a corner and began creating an integrated math, history, and art lesson based in traditional Chinese hand signs for numbers and their now associated Mandarin names.
Yi. Er. San. Si. Wu. Liu. Qi. Ba. Shi.
HanBan was not pleased with our alienation, and after a long exchange of words (a challenging task with limited Mandarin skills) it was realized we are at the wrong venue. Quickly packing in hopes of a hurried hot springs dip in the rarely cleaned water amusement park, I found myself warm only once at 'SARS Camp.' At the end of our day, us five left behind four drowning English-only speakers, from Utah, to either sink or swim.
Three days, two nights, and no-shower-in-over-96 hours later I arrived with my group at the Yi Hai Business Hotel in downtown Beijing. In the lap of luxury; a single room, a king size bed, hot running water, marble bathroom, in-room message, flat-screen TV in both the bedroom and living space, purified tap water, and... heat. Tonight I don't have to wear two thermal layers, wool socks, and a stocking cap to bed.
