Settling In to the University, 9/5/2008

My home away from home is beginning to look a little more like my pad. I’ve found a few dishes and glasses and a French press for making my morning coffee for the kitchen and some silk throw pillows for the living room. Irony of Ironies is that I found most of the things at IKEA -- the Swedish department store that imitates Danish modern design; that has moved much of its manufacturing base to China.

I am getting the drift of the city of Chengdu. It is good to be able to go out and around. When I go more than a block or two from my building, the Foreigners’ Guest House, however, I carry a set of file cards with notes on them in Chinese and English. Please take me to .... It's a bit humorous, the blue-eyed woman who seems not to be able to read, but so far it seems to work. I made several outings on the weekend, and am back in my place with absolutely no fantastic stories to tell about the outings. One day, I’ll write about the traffic. For today, suffice it to say that no news is good news in this case.

My role at the university is taking shape, too. I’ve given my first class, an introduction to policy and practice challenges related to global health. Course registration is a little less organized in China than in the States, so I really had no idea what to expect. I didn’t know whether three or a hundred ‘n three students would show up. In the end, there were about 60 who came to hear and choose. My teaching assistant, Gao Bo, a doctoral student, told me that she was very pleased with the presentation. So, I was happy too. I didn’t know! From my informal conversations with students before class began and in the Q&A period, there seems to be a wide range of English language skill. This is as we had been cautioned at Orientation. But still, I wasn’t sure how to hit the mark. Gao Bo thinks that there will be 45-50 students who complete the registration process. If I can get them talking, even among themselves in small groups, I know I will learn quite a lot. What a privilege to be here among these talented young people!

Dean Ma Xiao of the School of Public Health also extended a kind invitation to me to a welcoming dinner. As those types of events go, it was excellent. The people of Chengdu seem to be very grounded, very personable, and just plain friendly. In some ways they remind me of the people of North Carolina! Neat! Dean Ma talked a little about his visit to the rural country side last week, where he is seeking to identify a possible research site. His own professional training is in health promotion and behavioral health, and the focus of his proposed work is on HIV. It will be interesting to talk more with him in the coming weeks about his work.

Another of the dinner guests had recently returned from Rochester, where she did a year’s post graduate study in a Suicide Prevention Center there. She is interested in doing some research on mental health among the migrant population in Chengdu, using the CDS screening tool for depression as a measure of mental health status. She, also will be interesting to talk with more in the next weeks.

I am also beginning to better understand my role and the roles of my colleagues as Fulbright Scholars. Some of this is subtle, but clues here and there are giving me a better picture of expectations of our time in China, painted as they are in the understated strokes of a Chinese artist painting ranges of receding mountains shrouded in a thin cloud. One key clue I found was in the background description of the U.S. Ambassador to China, Clark T. Randt. Mr. Randt is a lawyer, fluent in Mandarin Chinese. He has lived and worked for more than 20 years in Asia; he has lived for extended periods of time in both Beijing and Hong Kong; is a member of the New York and Hong Kong Bars; and a recognized expert on Chinese law.

He has been more in legal practice than in the University, but I thought it noteworthy that he is fluent in the “local” language. His background and his position also help me to understand why about half of the 18 Fulbright Scholar Awards to China for the 2008-2009 year are lawyers or political scientists. Interesting, no? There appears to be tremendous pressure – a full court press, maybe – to move China’s law to be more systematic (rational?) and transparent. The Fulbright Scholars are assigned to posts in Beijing, Xiamen, Sichuan (where I am), Shanghai, Hangzhou, Wuhan and Tianjin. You may not know all of these cities; I don’t either. But the spread of cities helps to make the point that this is a nation-wide effort.

It is also becoming clear that as China grows as a global power, it is seeking membership in some global consortia, such as the WTO. I gather from several conversations that membership comes with certain requirements. Accountability is at the top of the list, but not because it leads the Roman alphabet!

I am glad to have started classes. I feel a little like I am playing catch up with the semester in Chapel Hill. I know that my semester will be different, challenging, wonderful, frustrating, and, above all, an adventure in global understanding. I feel humbled by the opportunity to be here.

I continue to note curious little quirks. There is one that seems to fit with this narrative. I went into a rather upscale shopping mall, just to see what it was like. First, I noticed that all of the shop clerks said, “Good morning” to me, in English … translating from the Chinese word “Ni hǎo” even though it was 7:30 in the evening! Then, I found myself chuckling aloud when I rode the down escalator and noticed a sign where one could have caught one’s head leaning to examine some pricey scarves between floors saying “Please take care of your head!”

We’ll do. I hope you are each well and enjoying your work and the cooler fall weather. With best wishes, Deborah