Rhymetime!

When I got back to China from vacation, I first spent two weeks in Chengu for IST (In Service Training) before coming home.  The training was largely uneventful, as it was composed of language classes, teacher training, and various cultural activities.  One night, however, we had a "No-Talent Talent Show" where I shared the following spoken word poem about my time thus far in China.  There are several inside jokes, so if you don't understand anything, please do me the favor of just assuming it's something totally hilarious.

I pulled up to the hotel

In a taxi all alone.

I left my family back in Atlanta

With my friends and student loans

No need to go to the front desk

There was a sign on the front door

Saying Peace Corps China check-in

Was on the second floor

I got to my room early

And had some time to kill

Then when I least expected it

In walked my new roommate, Phil

We had Chicago deep dish for dinner

We had good times and were merry

Little did I know

It was the last time I'd eat dairy

After a long delay in Beijing

We still got here on time

Well actually only most of us did

There were 10 left behind

PST kept us pretty busy

Helping us with integration

We had language, culture, and host families

But mainly reiteration

We had interviews and rumors spread

As admin made their selection

And when China sometimes scared us

Zhou Xiang was there for protection

Site visits were both good and bad

We had our highs and we had our lows

And not all of us were lucky enough

To be placed in Guizhou

For those who couldn't say goodbye to hotpot

They're in Chongqing and Sechuan now

Regularly answering questions like:

"Ni ke bu keyi chi lajiao?"

And for all of us it can be stressful

But if you're in Gansu, beware

Relax and do some yoga

Or you'll be pulling out your hair

Teaching in a Chinese school can be difficult

For fear of being lame

But with a PCV as a teacher

Students always play "activities"

Dealing with plagiarism can be difficult

It left me somewhat unraveled

But when two roads diverged in a wood, I –

I took the one less traveled

When stereotyping westerners

Our students do more than dabble

They don't really understand our ways

Merry Christmas… here's an apple

So come meet your friends at IST

Where no one feels lonely

But if you take a train remember

It's standing room only

It's the year of the Dragon now

And we're all living the dream

What better place than China

Who better than a China 17