8/5/09

I'm just counting down the days until small party will occur. I am preparing a small speech of sorts, and am doing my best not to put in small jabs at the Chinese embassy for not doing more earlier. Being diplomatic is difficult. I understand that the embassy may be busy with bigger and better things, but what I don't understand is why they cannot find a time to send just one person to take a look at a classroom where students are learning Chinese. Especially in the case where the media may be present, this seems like an invaluable opportunity for them to encourage Chinese learning. I've essentially laid the groundwork, and all they have to do is show up for an hour. Of course, I am extremely biased on this issue, and if someone could shed light, that'd be helpful.

If people from the embassy come, the chairman wants to request that the embassy donate a television and television stand, as well as tapes of that Communicate in Chinese program that is sometimes shown by CCTV, so that students will be able to watch on nights that a teacher cannot come. I think this is a horrendous idea, and really makes the woodcarvers look like their grasping for luxuries rather than trying to really learn Chinese. With that kind of money, it is easily possible to hire a teacher for 2 months or so, I believe. The chairman, however, seems infatuated with this idea, and though I have yet to confront him about it, I think I will soon.

A better idea, I think, would be to ask the Chinese Embassy to help renovate the current school, which is really nothing more than a school. This gives the embassy big publicity, since they will have built the actual school (and can place a huge sign in front of it, that say donated by the Chinese Embassy), and the woodcarvers get a much nicer facility for their learning. My only problem with this is that the chairman might try to hike up the price for students to attend, which is already a big issue. If I ever get enough money to make some kind of huge donation, I think the first place it would go would be to build a Chinese school at the Woodcarvers' market, and make sure that woodcarvers could go there for essentially free.