Thursday, July 21, 2011

I'm off to China!


Sichuan Universith Main Admin Bldg (photo courtesy of SCU website)
 On August 21, I will be leaving CNM for 10 months to teach in Chengdu, China with the English Language Fellow program.  According to the website http://elf.georgetown.edu/
“The English Language (EL) Fellow Program promotes English language learning around the world and fosters mutual understanding between the people of the United States and those of other countries. The EL Fellow Program promotes English language learning and enhances English teaching capacity abroad. Through U.S. embassy projects, Fellows share their expertise, hone their skills, gain international experience, and learn other cultures.”
The EL Fellow Program is funded by the U.S. Department of State (DOS) within the Bureau of Educational and Cultural Affairs (ECA), Office of English Language Programs, and is administered by the Center for Intercultural Education and Development (CIED) at Georgetown University, Washington, DC.
My specific job at Sichuan University is to teach 8 hours of Oral English to non-English majors and teach a graduate class in ESL methodology.  The other part of my job is to help promote the first Center for American Culture in China.  This Center opened in December of 2010 and is joint venture between Arizona State University and Sichuan University.  The plan is to use this center as a prototype to open 10 more Centers for American Culture in China in the next couple of years.
Chengdu is a city of 13 million people in the southwest part of China.  Its claim to fame seems to be that it is the home of the Giant Panda preserve in China, and it is the gateway to Tibet.  It’s also supposed to have some of the best fiery food in all of China which pleases this green chili lover.  Chengdu is the training city for all Peace Corp volunteers in China, so I think I will have the chance to take some Mandarin lessons there which I need since I don’t speak a word!
 I will be there alone until Christmas when my husband will join me with our two kids.  He will leave after two weeks, and my kids will stay for the next 6 months.  We will be living in the Foreign Guest Housing on the Sichuan campus with opportunities to travel on the weekends.
I would be delighted to start collecting questions you have about China to address in this block. 
Send 'em in!