day 5. wednesday

We had the morning free today, so we wandered down to campus along a "scenic route" that someone at the International Affairs office had highlighted on our map. It was a walk along a street that was hilly and narrow, with buildings packed in and well-kept plantings, vegetable gardens, fruit trees, etc.

Found a great playground along the way:

At 2:30, I was scheduled to "meet the faculty." The faculty of the college was having a meeting, and Y. said I would introduce myself there. So I dressed up and went into work, a bit nervous about meeting everyone, thinking about what I would say, etc. Y. came to my office and handed me a sheet of paper with what I was to say:

Translation: "My name is Joe Cesario. Y. thinks I am blind."

She led me to the meeting room, and when we arrived there, she stopped outside the door and said, "I'm so sorry but you cannot come in. You are not a member. Sit here until I come for you."*

After about 5 minutes, she burst out of the room (Y. is constantly running), said, "Come now. And bow a lot," and led me in. There were maybe 50 faculty members there. She talked, handed me the mic, I said my lines, people chuckled, and I was escorted out. I may have been bowing, literally, the entire time.

*Ice cream taste test #1:*

Green tea ice cream.

Verdict: The flavor was good, but texture was too chalky. Archer's take: "I like vanilla."

*Ice cream taste test #2:*

Verdict: Dumplings and ice cream are both great tastes on their own. Doesn't mean they will work well together.


*[Boring psychology side-note: Many people tend to idealize Eastern cultures, and especially the "collectivist" features of it--for instance, that they care more for members of their in-groups, that they care about harmony and well-functioning social orders, etc. These people also tend to forget about, or be completely unaware of, the negative sides of this way of being. And as with anything, there are negatives--in this case, collectivist cultures tend to treat people who aren't part of the group even worse. To be sure, there is a wonderful hospitality and extreme politeness in the way foreigners are treated. However, often when it comes to something having to do with the in-group, and esp. threats to it, there are clear boundaries and restrictions. In the U.S., unless a confidential topic was being discussed, I can't imagine a visiting professor not being invited into a meeting. Here, though, I wasn't allowed to sit in the room--despite the fact that I obviously don't speak the language! Clearly this is an extremely benign example, but research on serious types of discrimination tends to show the same.] [Kate notes: AND THEY WERE DRINKING TEA, WHICH THEY DIDN"T GIVE TO YOU!!]