The Great Red Firewall

My access to Western Internet sites seems to have mostly returned to normal after a nearly month-long blackout, although I still can't get sites that use a lot of bandwidth (YouTube, etc). The official story from the Chinese government is that an earthquake in Taiwan a few weeks ago snapped six out of seven trans-Pacific cables used to connect most of Southeast Asia to the West. Western news agencies seem to have embraced this version of events quite readily, but I'm not so sure. The Internet blackout coincided not only with the earthquake in Taiwan, but also with the appointment of three new "media watchdog" heads in Beijing. During the blackout, all Chinese websites were easily accessible, but any site with servers based overseas ( NYtimes.com, Myspace.com, etc.) wouldn't load. However, I could gain limited access to some Western sites using a proxy server, which, if the cable story was accurate, shouldn't have been possible. I can't really say more, but, you get the basic picture. Big brother is always watching...

I will say that living without Western websites, even for a month, was painful. I couldn't read the news, post photos online, or even do simple tasks like emailing my friends overseas. If nothing else, the blackout made me realize my dependence on the technological and informational comforts of home, and the way in which I am usually able to keep in touch so well with people on the other side of the world. I might be in China, but most of the time, I don't feel so far away.

The Note Giver

Every Monday afternoon, just after I finish teaching for the day, an 11-year-old student of mine from class #4 shyly approaches me and hands me a small note. The note is always written on a little blue square of paper no more than 2x2 inches big. She started giving me the notes in early November, and, at first, they were pretty minimal. The very first note simply asked me if I knew of a popular British boy-band song (I didn't). As weeks have passed, the notes have become more and more complex, and her English, while still stilted, really seems to be improving.

The note she handed me Mid-December week read…

Dera zach,
December on twenty-five is Merry christmas. happy to you. (she drew a miniature picture of an elf here)
“ho, where is my christmas sock;
Yes, it’s in my family
Do you like Christmas? Yes, you like!

The girl herself is petite and unassuming. She has shortly cropped pitch-black hair, a tiny semi-circle scar to the left of her nose, and dark, quiet eyes. While many of my students are loud and rambunctious (as can be expected from any 11-12 year old kids) she is calm and often looks sleepy. Before she began handing me the notes, she never left an impression on me. In fact, had it not been for the notes, she would have been lost in the crowd amongst my 1056 others students.

Yet, there she is, week after week, small blue note in hand, making friends with her foreign teacher, and ensuring that I start my week with a big smile on my face.