Xin hun kuai le

That's Chinese for Happy Marriage! That goes out to my niece Kelly who got married last week and I was unable to attend. (btw, my Chinese is terrible! I can't get the hang of the language at all. I learn a word or phrase and then it's gone 10 minutes later...) Chinese marriages are quite different - the couples are actually legally married sometime before the marriage when they go and get a marriage certificate. At the wedding, a "host" or DJ runs the show. The bride and groom may get up on the stage and say some vows to each other, but there is no priest or religious attachment to it at all. The vows and/or speeches will not take very long, and then the eating commences (you generally sit in a hall at tables that seat about 8-10 people or so). The weddings usually start around noon (they'll have a start time like 11:58), and after the meal everyone heads home (by 2 pm it's over). People dress very casually - only the bride and groom are all gussied up. While you're eating, the bride and groom will circulate and go around to each table with a tray of shot glasses. Each person gets a shot of bai jui, or Chinese white wine/spirits. Trust me, it isn't anything like wine and is definitely an acquired taste. Then you toast the bride and groom (they drink too - but the shot glasses are very small so they can still walk out of there - and the bride may not drink at all). Some of the bride and grooms may go on a honeymoon, but it usually happens at a different time, if it happens at all. I haven't seen any dancing at a Chinese wedding... And do you need to save the date for a wedding? Nope, you get an invitation about 2 weeks beforehand. They say it's not necessary to send them out earlier because they're never doing anything anyways, and I suppose since it just happens during an afternoon it's no big deal...

I went and saw the new Jungle Book movie this weekend in an imax theater with dolby sound. It was quite good. You buy the tickets online (or on your phone) and pick out your seats at the same time. Wish they did it that way in the US too - then you don't have to get there early to get a good seat. I think tickets were about $6 or $7 US. The new cinemas that opened in the new mall near us are pretty nice. Unfortunately, they don't usually have many English movies (one at the most). All the movies, even the Chinese ones, have Chinese subtitles. I asked why they need Chinese subtitles for a Chinese movie and they said because they often can't understand the speaking, so they always read...

We are getting close to the AP exams - about 2 weeks away. It'll be nice when they're over because then our teaching schedule will be reduced significantly. I've had a busy schedule this year and I can't wait. We have a 3 day weekend coming up for May Day but I haven't been able to find a good place to go yet. It's often best just to stay put because everything can get so crowded.

We've been up in the 70's a few times but I haven't broken out the short sleeve shirts yet. That'll be soon!
Zaijian!

Professor Lirpa Sloof

Today, I thought I'd share an email that I sent out to all my colleagues yesterday morning (it is April 2 here now):

Good morning all!

Last night I received an email from a friend back home in the US and I thought I’d share the gist of it with you. My friend is a professor at University of Oregon where I did some of my post-graduate work. Professor Lirpa Sloof (obviously not of American origin) and I met at a university function many, many years ago and we shared a common passion of mine at the time, racquetball, and we often played and enjoyed some adult beverages afterwards while I was going to school there. We’ve kept in touch over the years, and 2 years ago he took on a post with the AP College Board. After reading an article recently (2 days ago) on problems with the SAT and how the system is being scammed, I sent him an email asking for his thoughts on the matter. Rather than paraphrase his words, I’ll just copy and paste the body of his text:

Hey old man, good to hear from you! We’re drying out here after a particularly wet winter, but otherwise the campus is in fine fettle. We were sorry to see Oregon get beat in the NCAA tournament, as you mentioned, but they did make it to the Sweet 16!

The timing of your question about the status of the SAT comes at a very interesting moment. I will give you a brief heads-up about what’s coming down the road – and I’m taking into consideration that you are way the hell over in China and are so far out of the loop that a little early information will do no harm.

When I took this post with the AP College Board almost 2 years ago, I naively assumed that the tests we administered were valid and fair. Recent revelations have not only shattered this illusion but left me completely awe-struck. As you mentioned, it has been admitted that some SAT tests have been compromised, with students being able to receive actual copies of the tests beforehand, along with the correct answers. As will soon be revealed, however, this is only the tip of the iceberg. Not only have an unknown number of tests been released prematurely, but it has been systematically covered up as well. Evidence has also come forth that actual members of the AP Board have been complicit, and hundreds of thousands of dollars in illegal compensation has been received. In order to salvage what little integrity may remain for these tests, the Board has decided to be as transparent as possible. Early next week a press conference will be held where we are announcing the cessation of all SAT testing and AP testing, effective immediately, until all security issues have been resolved. (The AP tests are being included as we discovered some anomalies on these tests as well.) We are hoping to be able to resume testing as early as 6 months from now, but it could be up to a year. We realize that this may cause a severe inconvenience for some students, but college admissions officers are telling us that given the present set of circumstances, they have no choice but to disregard these results anyways. Students will have to rely on their GPAs, course selections in high school (perhaps select an IB curriculum), and possibly take the ACT tests instead.

I know that in China your students have a heavy reliance on test scores, but unfortunately we see no way around this at the present moment. I’m letting you know about it now as you may want to get an early step on looking for a new job next year. When I took this post on the AP Board, I did not have an inkling that I would get mired in this! Maybe if you visit this summer we can solve all the problems over a few glasses of hand-crafted beer… In the meantime, I’m thinking maybe Trump can solve all our problems and make us great again… Good to hear from you and take care…

Prof. Lirpa Sloof

And there you have it, from the horse’s mouth…

Gregg

As with most cases when you are pulling a prank, it helps to have some actual truth mixed in. Turns out there is quite a bit of truth in this one. Recent articles in the New York Times have revealed that the AP College Board has been aware, at least since 2013, that SAT tests are being compromised (most of this is happening in Southeast Asia - i.e. China). And not only have they been aware, but they have been covering it up. The victims of this are everywhere - the Chinese students, the US students, and the US colleges and universities. AP says they can do better, but they would have to double the price of the test. I don't think a single Chinese student over here would complain about that. They spend a fortune on these tests anyways (they have to fly to Hong Kong just to take the test as it's not allowed to be given on the Chinese mainland). They go to private SAT tutoring schools who provide them with "past papers" to study from. They do not know that often they are receiving the actual test they will be taking, but when they go in to take the actual test and discover that they have seen many or most of the questions before, they just consider themselves lucky!

This weekend is a 3-day holiday. Monday is Tomb Sweeping Day. You go and do some upkeep on the gravesites of your relatives. Except the young don't seem to do it much these days - it's only the older generation... No plans for the 3 days. Weather is looking good, pollution is mild...