This week I am talking about English literature and found myself explaining 1984 to my students, things got kind of awkward, because I was basically explaining the Chinese government during some periods of Chinese history and today. I hoped they did not think I was indirectly trying to make a comment about their country.

In class we talked about what it would have been like if Hamlet had taken place in china with emperors and Kung Fu. My students thought this was the funniest thing they had ever heard in their whole lives and got really excited about the idea.

In my Freshmen class, we did a "college admissions role-play," as a fun activity. The students were all part of a college admissions board and each had to be a different board member. For example, one student was the Dean of Students who liked science and math students and high test scores. Another was a recent graduate who liked students who did interesting things, and another was an alumni who liked sports. So each person had a different agenda for what kind of student they wanted to admit into the school and they had to choose three students out of 6 to go to the school. Funny, every student chose “Laverne”, who is described like this, “Excellent grades, very good test scores. She has not participated in sports, but she was president of her school's physics club. Her teacher writes that Laverne seems to have few interests outside of the classroom." Everyone picked her as the number one choice! In the United States, no one would pick her at all. However, in China, this is the kind of student who is valued.

I also did a Mock Town Meeting where we debated over whether or not Columbus Day should exist. I wrote different point of views on pieces of paper and handed them out in class and everyone had to argue as if they were a different person. I had “Italian Americans” arguing for Columbus Day because Columbus was Italian, I had “Norwegian Americans” arguing for a “Viking day” because Vikings discovered America. I had scientists arguing for the value of Columbus Day because Columbus spread technology. Anthropologists argued that indigenous people were already more advanced in different aspects than Europeans, and of course American-Indians argued that Columbus was the beginning of genocide and racism. There were concerned citizens who argued that Columbus gave Americans a hero because with such a short history, Columbus represented an American spirit that should be admired. My students got really into it (I did it with my adult class of Professors) and one man stood up and said “Columbus is a murderer just like Mao Zedong,” everyone started doing that nervous giggling thing where they laugh but it is because they are feeling awkward. In the end they voted for no Columbus Day, but they thought having an indigenous day went too far.