What Do Professors Do When the Girls Are Away?

Well, the girls have been gone three days now and you may be wondering what a bachelor professor does while they are gone. Now for the expose.

1. I have been faithful in exercising daily. On the days I teach (Tuesday and Wednesday), I stretch for about a 1/2 hour before my 9:10 classes. And on the other days, I have starting playing tennis at 6:00 a.m. on campus. I have met some very supportive Taiwanese players who have been most welcoming with my minimalist Chinese language skills. We have played doubles and they graciously let me have the best player as a partner the first day, playing against a husband-wife team. They can't hit as hard as I can, but they are all human backboards. To say the least, I was exhausted after one set in 82 degree muggy weather, having played once in the last three months. After being down 0-3, we pulled it out 6-4 thanks to my partner. They invited me back and won't let me play with him again, so I guess I didn't disgrace myself. We'll see if I can keep this early morning regiment up, like my cousin Pete.

2. I have been swimming in the ocean daily. Initially, I went down around 5:30 in the evening to kind of wind down, but the wave suck at that time. After tennis today, I decided to take a dip on my way home. This society is unbelievably exercise conscious. There must have been at least 50 Taiwanese out swimming at 7:30 a.m. and they told me most of their friends already had gone home! Well, the waves were much better this morning, about 1 1/2 feet instead of six inches. I got to both cool down and glide with mother nature. The thrill of riding a wave being propelled by only mother nature must be akin to what my brother-in-laws feel when they are out sailing. I only wish all of you can experience that special feeling of being one with nature, in whatever venue turns you on.

I offered the students in both classes free body surfing lessons (and hoping to see these gorgeous creatures in their bathing suits), but alas no one has taken me up on my offer yet. I think I have diminished my voyeur chances even more by now surfing in the morning, given that these young people often have difficulty getting up for my 9:10 classes on time. Oh well, I'll keep trying.

3. I have taken up Chinese lessons again. I repeat each 1/2 hour CD twice a day. I am surprise how much I have retained, but still can communicate very little. Doing things with more Taiwanese will force me to use more Mandarin, so we'll see if I can keep it up.

4. Now that the girls are gone, I decided to hold my Wednesday class (the small one with only six students that focuses on organizational theory and behavior) as an experiment in my villa. (I never lived on campus before, so I have never had chance to do this.) This new arrangement accomplishes at least two goals for me. It forces me to clean up the villa at least once a week so I don't embarrass myself. And, it allows me to have more informal conversations with my students about their career dreams and how my course can help them get there. I am much less good at this type of instruction (I guess I like to be more sure of what material gets covered each class), but we are now at the phase of my course where we are trying to apply the material learned, rather than learning new material. If I can help my students master the leadership knowledge, skills, and attitudes covered in this and my other course, they will more easily reach their dreams as part of the global economy and fulfil the potential I see in each of them.

5. Tonight (Thursday night) I am going to a Taiwanese professional baseball game with eight of my students who took up my offer to explore a different perspective on Taiwanese culture. For those of you who are not a sports junky like I am, you will recall that for many of the last 10-15 years Taiwanese little leaguers have beat American little league teams each August at the Little League World Series in Pennsylvania, a right we once expected. We will be having dinner together there. In my next blog, I'll share that experience with you with more pictures. (I am not embarrassing myself anymore with photos I take of myself.)

6. I am still having dinner alone so far, but I am working on that. With improved Mandarin, I can more easily strike up a conversation with Taiwanese students having dinner at the same time. The students and I are planning more opportunities to eat together (see baseball game above), e.g., I am hoping to have a weeny roast on the beach some evening, or maybe having a potluck dinner after we climb the hill behind our villa to see the sunset, or maybe all going out to a restaurant together. I have decided for their sake and mine that I will not invite small groups of them over for dinner. We'll see. Any other suggestions would be greatly appreciated.

So I am surviving as a bachelor.