I'm back on the blogosphere after a brief hiatus including a trip home over the winter holiday and the start of spring semester. My time in the states was wonderful and solidified my decision to repatriate this summer. China has been good to me and I will be back.
With the end in sight, I plan on making the most of these last couple months. I want to leave with no regrets.
Goal #1: Play soccer with students during lunch.
Word on the street was that a lunchtime soccer crew had formed and I wanted in. I was never able to find my basketball groove, so in an effort to connect with more students outside the classroom, I figured why not give soccer a try.
I walked down to the field and noticed three girls watching on the sidelines. They told me they desperately wanted to play, but the boys said no because the girls were not good enough. While gender inequality in sports is not a new phenomenon, especially among Chinese schoolchildren, I was peeved nonetheless. I was also intimidated.
I caught fellow foreign teacher Shane's attention for backup and he waved us onto the field. The girls took this encouragement and ran with it, literally, right into the heat of the action.
Right off the bat one girl got hit in the face with the soccer ball (just the result of being in the wrong place at the wrong time). While the boys kept on playing unperturbed, the rest of the female representation and I rushed to our injured teammate. We checked for blood and popped her glasses' lens back into place. The girl took a moment to collect herself and then immediately resumed her self-appointed offensive position. Another girl later scored an epic goal. The third proved she could outrun almost anyone on the field. I won't speak to my abysmal performance as I was completely out of my league.
I know Amnesty International won't be knocking on my door with this post, but in our little countryside community, despite being unwanted, these girls stood up against gender norms and totally kicked ass. I'm humbled and inspired by their attitudes. I was ready to flip the boys the bird, and these girls just wanted to have fun. Later in the game two more girls joined. In the end, we all had a blast.
Future goals include pwning at ping pong (my true calling in the sports world), a Shanghai visit to see my old host family, and (if timing permits) a half marathon in Inner Mongolia.
With the end in sight, I plan on making the most of these last couple months. I want to leave with no regrets.
Goal #1: Play soccer with students during lunch.
Word on the street was that a lunchtime soccer crew had formed and I wanted in. I was never able to find my basketball groove, so in an effort to connect with more students outside the classroom, I figured why not give soccer a try.
I walked down to the field and noticed three girls watching on the sidelines. They told me they desperately wanted to play, but the boys said no because the girls were not good enough. While gender inequality in sports is not a new phenomenon, especially among Chinese schoolchildren, I was peeved nonetheless. I was also intimidated.
I caught fellow foreign teacher Shane's attention for backup and he waved us onto the field. The girls took this encouragement and ran with it, literally, right into the heat of the action.
Right off the bat one girl got hit in the face with the soccer ball (just the result of being in the wrong place at the wrong time). While the boys kept on playing unperturbed, the rest of the female representation and I rushed to our injured teammate. We checked for blood and popped her glasses' lens back into place. The girl took a moment to collect herself and then immediately resumed her self-appointed offensive position. Another girl later scored an epic goal. The third proved she could outrun almost anyone on the field. I won't speak to my abysmal performance as I was completely out of my league.
I know Amnesty International won't be knocking on my door with this post, but in our little countryside community, despite being unwanted, these girls stood up against gender norms and totally kicked ass. I'm humbled and inspired by their attitudes. I was ready to flip the boys the bird, and these girls just wanted to have fun. Later in the game two more girls joined. In the end, we all had a blast.
Future goals include pwning at ping pong (my true calling in the sports world), a Shanghai visit to see my old host family, and (if timing permits) a half marathon in Inner Mongolia.
