Teaching in Long Underwear: My China

Book excerpt: In Teaching in Long Underwear: My China, Ernie Danek shares his experiences of living as a foreigner outside of the major cities in China. As an American entering his early years as a senior citizen, he faced the challenges of teaching for a decade in the Middle Kingdom's public university system. During his time there, he developed an oral English teaching plan for freshman English majors. Ernie observed in his day-to-day experiences the numerous differences between Chinese and American cultures. Many stories were told to him by his students of the grotesque follies that resulted from Chairman Mao’s efforts to expel Western and traditional Chinese influences from China during the Cultural Revolution from 1966 to 1976. Ernie’s students insisted on hearing his American viewpoint of China’s successful launch of a manned, orbital spacecraft. His comment, “It's like watching your little brother learn to walk,” produced both titters and scowls. Teaching in Long Underwear: My China provides an honest account of what it is like to teach outside of the major Chinese cities and what it means to live as a foreigner inside an ancient culture.