An unfamiliar cold
When the temperature drops, I am usually quick to make the statement "This is the coldest cold I have ever known." I don't know if it is true, but it sure feels like it.
The time has come to retire the bike. The bitter wind on my morning pedal to work gives me an ice cream headache. And I wear so many layers of fleece and down that I perspire just enough for a thin layer of ice to freeze on me after I have been in class for about 10 minutes. I just don't feel like a professional when I stutter over my words because my teeth are chattering. But then again, I should admit that I am a big wuss in the cold weather. And with that said, I will stop whining.
The day without power and water turned out to be a day without heat and power---only until 6pm. It wasn't so bad. For most of the day I was out shopping. There is an indoor market here that has just been renovated. Its called the New World Market and has anything and everything you could ever imagine. There is an entire floor of fabrics and tailors where you can have curtains, duvet covers, dresses, skirts, wool jackets and more made to suit you right down to the last detail. What a pleasure it will be to have some pants made to order precisely in my dimensions for five dollars.
On Friday afternoon, I gave a lecture at a high school. They asked me to talk about American life, the stress of studying, pressure from parents, "puppy love" and of course the very popular "American foods and superstars". I made a few notes, but figured I would be pretty safe winging it. When I arrived at the high school, I was whisked into the teachers lounge to "have a rest". Around here, people are always asking me if I would like to "have a rest" and telling me to "add more layers".
After my rest, I went into the auditorium....where 600 students were seated!! I could not believe my eyes. As I walked up to the podium and microphone, a young girl in red warm ups ran across to the stage and handed me a boquet of flowers. The students all applauded and I was starting to panic a little. The head of school gave me a little introduction (she called me a professor and I felt like a fraud) and then she turned it over to me. Oh dear.
If you had asked me, I would have said my speech went over like a lead balloon. They laughed when I spoke some Chinese (that always gets 'em!), but otherwise it was hard to tell if they were interested. Its hard to talk to that many people. You can't do the little impressions or hand gestures that you do when you are in a smaller group or the classroom. It could be said that when you are up on a stage with a microphone (in front of 600 people), you need a polished speech. I delivered an hour of aimless ramble, but fortunately I was the only native English speaker in the room, and with any luck the only one who truly knew how bad it was.
I don't know whether the teachers really thought so, or if its the Chinese way, but afteward they laid the compliments on pretty thick and I felt a little better.
I guess, when it comes down to it, the main thing is that the English was authentic. I will stand by that. I may not be a professor, I may not be a good speech maker, but I can speak English with a thick American accent and sometimes that seems to be good enough.
The time has come to retire the bike. The bitter wind on my morning pedal to work gives me an ice cream headache. And I wear so many layers of fleece and down that I perspire just enough for a thin layer of ice to freeze on me after I have been in class for about 10 minutes. I just don't feel like a professional when I stutter over my words because my teeth are chattering. But then again, I should admit that I am a big wuss in the cold weather. And with that said, I will stop whining.
The day without power and water turned out to be a day without heat and power---only until 6pm. It wasn't so bad. For most of the day I was out shopping. There is an indoor market here that has just been renovated. Its called the New World Market and has anything and everything you could ever imagine. There is an entire floor of fabrics and tailors where you can have curtains, duvet covers, dresses, skirts, wool jackets and more made to suit you right down to the last detail. What a pleasure it will be to have some pants made to order precisely in my dimensions for five dollars.
On Friday afternoon, I gave a lecture at a high school. They asked me to talk about American life, the stress of studying, pressure from parents, "puppy love" and of course the very popular "American foods and superstars". I made a few notes, but figured I would be pretty safe winging it. When I arrived at the high school, I was whisked into the teachers lounge to "have a rest". Around here, people are always asking me if I would like to "have a rest" and telling me to "add more layers".
After my rest, I went into the auditorium....where 600 students were seated!! I could not believe my eyes. As I walked up to the podium and microphone, a young girl in red warm ups ran across to the stage and handed me a boquet of flowers. The students all applauded and I was starting to panic a little. The head of school gave me a little introduction (she called me a professor and I felt like a fraud) and then she turned it over to me. Oh dear.
If you had asked me, I would have said my speech went over like a lead balloon. They laughed when I spoke some Chinese (that always gets 'em!), but otherwise it was hard to tell if they were interested. Its hard to talk to that many people. You can't do the little impressions or hand gestures that you do when you are in a smaller group or the classroom. It could be said that when you are up on a stage with a microphone (in front of 600 people), you need a polished speech. I delivered an hour of aimless ramble, but fortunately I was the only native English speaker in the room, and with any luck the only one who truly knew how bad it was.
I don't know whether the teachers really thought so, or if its the Chinese way, but afteward they laid the compliments on pretty thick and I felt a little better.
I guess, when it comes down to it, the main thing is that the English was authentic. I will stand by that. I may not be a professor, I may not be a good speech maker, but I can speak English with a thick American accent and sometimes that seems to be good enough.
posted by B | 4:14 AM
1 Comments:
What a great post Betsy.
Last week I was invited to dinner at a friend's house. Another guest there was a guy in a rock band that plays around the state. I didn't know that and he was pretty cool about what he did. We talked about writing poetry, about 12 step programs and personal histories and the difference between "performing" and "sharing".
I find "performing" is something I do for the audience and "sharing" is something I do for myself. Sometimes people perform in groups when it would really be more appropriate to share. Sharing in front of a few hundred people is harder to do but can be incredibly rewarding when you do. I think it has to do with the honesty and authentic feelings being shared without much modification or preparation. It's huge when it impacts the audience but seems almost trivial to you - becuase its just you being you.
It sounds like you did great. I hope someone has a picture of you there.
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