College Ceremony

Nin Hao (Hello),

On Saturday, I attended the College of Mass Communication's (the college I am affiliated with at Shenzhen) student and alumni ceremony. I had the opportunity to meet briefly with the President Zhang Bigong of Shenzhen University and the Dean Wang of the college. Neither of whom spoke much English. The Dean seemed to take great pleasure in introducing his visiting professor (me) from the United States. But for me the real highlight was meeting the students and the faculty again from the college. I am getting to know some of the faculty more and they are slowly getting to know me. Several have invited me to have tea with them. I will probably take them up on their offer. A number of alumni attended (This is also a big fundraiser for the college.). I was told that several alum are famous directors of movies and television in China. There were also a number of journalists who graduated from the college in attendance. As the alum were given a brief introduction and invited to the stage, the President would give them a plaque and an arrangement of flowers. The alum seemed truly honored that the President was presenting them with these gifts.

Later in the program, the faculty, Dean, and President went to the stage. They sang several songs that the students seemed to really appreciate. The faculty and administration chorus sounded great to me! For most of the presentation, I did not understand a word that was spoken, but the nonverbal aspects of people's communication seemed to suggest that they were all having a good time! I'm glad that I had the opportunity to attend this event and compare how the Chinese conduct such ceremonies to the way we do similar ones at McKendree. It truly was a cultural experience for me. In the pictures, the President is the silver haired gentleman and the Dean is wearing a blue stripped shirt.

Today, my wife Linda arrives from the United States. I really look forward to seeing her. We plan to spend the next nine days touring different parts of China. Should be a great time!

Zai Jian (good bye),

Dr. Haskins

Chinese Corner and Several First

Nin Hao (Hello),

This has been an interesting week for experiencing the Chinese culture. On Saturday, I had my first haircut in China. I have learned that if you need to get anything done, it is a good idea to take a Chinese student with you. I did! She had to explain to the barber that I wanted a trimming with a small amount of hair clipped off the top and sides. I also wanted my sideburns straight. Try explaining that in Chinese. Once Sally (her English name) explained what I needed, I then had my hair washed first. The person washing the hair did not wash my hair once but THREE times! As he washed it, he would massage my scalp with his fingers and nails. It proved to be quiet relaxing. I then went back to the barber who began to clip away at my hair. While working on me, he asked who I was going to vote for in the national election. Sally needed to translate his question and my response. I told him that this was really a private matter but I appreciated his interest in our national politics. He continued to clip away. As he is working, I asked Sally if she got her hair done at this shop. She said no because they don't give very good haircuts. I said to her, "Now you tell me!". Once he was finished, I told him that he gave a good haircut (which thankfully he did). But I wasn't done yet. I had to get my hair washed one more time to get the leftover clippings off. I have never had my hair washed four times at a barber shop! The cut and washed cost me about $4, not bad and you do not tip in China.

Later that Saturday, Chuck (an English teacher in the school of Foreign Languages) went with me to get a massage. I am use to a deep muscle massage to helped loosen the muscles and tightness in my back. What I normally get in the U.S. is wimpy compared to what the massage guy did to me. I felt as though I was beaten up, but in a good way! He took one hour to complete the massage on my back, shoulders, arms, neck, and legs. This guy dug into my muscles with his thumbs, arms, and hands. He them gave me karate chop-like hands movements all over my neck, back, backside, and legs. When all was said and done, I felt great! But it was not over yet. Chuck and I ordered the Bao Huo Gui (Red Fire Circles). They put these cups that stick to your back and have candles (which eventually go out) in them. The cups cause the skin to tighten and, as a result, draw the blood to the surface of the body. The purpose behind this is to take the poisons out of the body. These guys highly recommended the procedure. I now have all these dark red circles all over my neck and back. I don't know how advantagous the massage and fire circles' technique are, but I do know that I had the best night sleep that night and my throat (which was sore) did not hurt the next day! Both the massage and fire circles cost $12. I mention the price to show you on a small scale the difference in cost of living between the U.S. and China. Shenzhen, which is the city I am staying in, is suppose to be one of the more expensive places to live in China.

On the following night (Sunday), I experienced the Chinese Corner. Outside our dorm (which is the International Students Dorm), a gathering on Wednesday evening and Sunday evening takes place between Chinese students and international students and teachers. They meet to learn about each other and to learn to teach each other Chinese and English. I was surrounded by about 15 Chinese students who seemed real eager to learn about the United States and to practice their English. I didn't get much of a chance to learn Chinese because they kept asking me questions. I enjoyed our conversation which ranged in topics from college life in the U.S. to physics, business, finance and a little politics. I am doing a research project (one of three while I'm here) where I am interviewing Chinese students to learn about their argumentative styles and how they handle conflict. I asked the students last night if they would be interested in being interviewed. I now have a great start to my project with these new interviewees. I look forward to my next Chinese Corner gathering.

Zai jain (good bye)

Dr. Haskins

Speech at the Science and Technology Institute Conference

Hi,

I was honored today to present a speech at the Science and Technology Institute for the Nanshan District. My topic dealt with managing conflict in diverse work groups. There were about 200 participants from Hong Kong and parts of mainland China. The conference dealt with promoting ideas for the service sector (e.g., transportation, finance, telecommunication). I guess the speech went well. The chair of the conference thanked me for presenting ideas new to China that may help their businesses do better in the global market.

I was invited by one person twice to sit next to him at the dinner banquet table. Found out (after taking a proper amount of time to study his card) that he was a VP for Zteit, the second largest integrated telecom company in China. We spoke on a number of different topics, ranging from international trade to academics in China. I found him to be a most interesting individual. I was also invited by another participant to present a seminar later in the semester at the Harbin Institute of Technology on another communication topic.

This was one of the few times in my life that I needed a translator. Dr. Helena Pan from the College of Mass Communication was kind enough to be my translator. I usually like to go at full speed when I speak on a topic that I feel passionate about. I could not do that in this case. But after a few minutes of slowing the pace down for Helena to absorb what I was saying and then translating my message, I began to feel more comfortable. At the end of the meeting, I not only felt good about the presentation, but also felt that I met some truly interesting people and maybe even made a friend or two.

Dr. Haskins

Students and Teachers

Hi,

I've completed my second week of classes. I teach two undergraduate classes and one graduate seminar entitled Intercultural Communication Methodology. The difference in our languages probably creates the biggest challenge for all of us. But I do my best to explain my material by using examples, illustrations, and stories that I hope they can understand and relate to during the session. My teaching schedule is Thursday and Friday. I teach for a total of six hours, have four hours for office hours, and the rest of the time I do research and meet with students.

In the picture at the top, I am having a bar-b-q dinner with students and teachers from the school. As you can see, it is an outdoor cafe near the campus. We spent part of the evening discussing ping pong, politics, traveling in China and the U.S. and learning key English terms and phrases such as "I'm in hog heaven"--try explaining that one! I also have been learning some key Chinese statements, such as "Do you understand me?" or "Where is the breakfast cereal located?".

Students have been great to me. They often walk me back to the dorm to protect me. I think the campus is quite safe, but they insist on walking me back to my room. They also bring me gifts, such as a mouse for my computer. I wanted to pay them for it, but in their culture it is an honor to bring the teacher a gift.

This week was teacher's day. It is a national holiday; however, teachers must still meet with their classes. I don't quite understand the logic behind this holiday! This weekend is "Mid Autumn Celebration." The Chinese give each other moon cakes to celebrate the shape of the moon and for good luck. I was given a beautiful tin can of moon cakes which are pastries containing different fillings.

In the second picture, I am with graduate students and Dr. Helena Pan, Associate Professor of Communication and the person who invited me to teach at her institution. We are at a Brazilian bar-b-q. The food was very different from a bar-b-q in the states. The meats did not have sauce on them but a type of spice rub--I think! We had a good time sampling the different foods as waiter after waiter came to our table to present the various meats, veggies, fish, and breads.

In the last picture, you are seeing my organizational communication class with about 60 students! Class sizes are somewhat larger than what I am use to. My undergrad intercultural communication class has about 50 students and my grad class has only 22 students. We are clearly adapting to each other, but I think in the end we will learn a great deal both about the course content and about our cultures. So far, my favorite memories of China have been the people and especially the students. I don't think that will change.

Zai jain (good bye)

Dr. Haskins

New Events

Hi,

I have had a busy week. Attended my first faculty meeting. The Dean is wearing the blue stripped shirt. He is quite animated when he speaks. I enjoyed the meeting, especially since I didn't understand a word that was said. One of the staff members would periodically summarize what the Dean was saying. After the meeting, we all piled into a bus an heading to a restaurant. The food and conversation (what I understood that is) were good. I did sample chicken feet, pig's ear and , of course, tree dress (bark). Didn't care for the chicken's feet, however.

I went to Shenzhen University's 25 anniversary ceremony. It reminded somewhat of the opening ceremony of the Olympics. I was told by my student guide that the alumni that night donated four million dollars to the school. One of the alum who appeared that night created the chat room for MSN. My guide said, "He is quite wealthy!" and is a good alum to the school.

The picture with the lovely trees is the view from my office balcony--not bad. I finally met with my classes. In the picture with students, I have approximately 70 students in each of my undergrad classes, and about 20 in my grad class. We are clearly adjusting to each other. They seem like a great group of young people to work with. I am expected to use powerpoint in class to help them understand my lectures. This should be an interesting semester.

In the top picture, I am standing with two neat guys. The one in the middle is a teacher from the United States and was a fromer "Mr. Wisconsin." He has been teaching at Shenzhen for several years and loves it. He has also been invaluable in helping me get oriented to the area and school. The other person is David (his English name), a student majoring in economics. There is actually another person with us but he's taking the picture and his name is honey. I felt a little strange saying "How are you doing honey?" . The students, Chuck and I had just completed a track up a hill in Shenzhen. Keeping up with these young folks is no easy task, especially when climbing up a hill on a hot, humid day. But they were kind and took pity on me by stopping periodically so I could rest. They were also wonderfu guides, showing me some really cool places to visit around campus and in the city. They helped to increase my Chinese vocabulary by teaching me key phrases, such as "Where is the bathroom?". It's amazing how helpful these lessons have become during my brief time in Shenzhen.

Zia jian (good bye),

Dr. Haskins