March 05, 2006
Happy Lei Feng Day
Today, as my Chinese friend told me, “is the day we learn from Lei Feng.”
After Lei Feng’s death in 1962 he was declared by Chairman Mao Ze Dong to be a worthy role model and exemplary Communist. Lei Feng’s life was ordinary; his greatest claim to fame was that he wanted to be nothing more than “a revolutionary screw that never rusts.” Many stories are told of his frugality and the kind deeds he did for others. Most importantly, he let the Communist Party – or Mao – do his thinking for him and taught others to do the same.
Some doubt exists as to whether Lei Feng ever actually lived, and as to whether the “Lei Feng spirit” is even relevant in today’s China. Now the commemorative day is used to promote volunteer work.
And so it was that, when we went for our weekly visit to the local orphanage yesterday, it was mobbed with swarms of students standing around, watching the kids, some passing out candy or fruit. It was a little overwhelming: my first time back to the orphanage since the vacation and it was challenging to really reconnect with the kids amidst the madness. But I still had a good time. I’m not sure how many of the kids know about Lei Feng Day.
Posted by huzzlecoo at 08:42 PM | Comments (2) | TrackBack
The joys of technology
I bought my third Chinese flash disk yesterday. I use a flash disk to print my lessons and teaching materials – I type them on my laptop and then take the flash disk to a printing shop. The printing shops don’t have internet access so a flash disk is my only option.
The first one I bought about six months ago for a little over 100 yuan (about $12). After a couple months, it broke – it wouldn’t open. I took it back to the shop but the warranty had already expired. So I bought a second one, from a different store, careful to buy a better brand that would carry a longer warranty. A week ago, when I tried to print my lesson plans, my new flash disk wouldn’t open. I was annoyed but not worried, figuring I would just take it back to have it fixed. Yesterday I went back to where I thought the shop I’d bought it from was. It wasn’t there anymore. It may have moved; it may have just closed; it will take some research to find out and in the meantime I need a way to print my lesson plans, so I bought my third flash disk. Three flash disks, three different stores, three different brands. I’m hoping the third time will be a charm.
My Chinese students and friends say they’ve “never heard of a flash disk breaking before.” Go figure.
Posted by huzzlecoo at 08:28 PM | Comments (0) | TrackBack