File This Under Bizarre Gifts

Sometimes, the students give us little gifts. Usually, they involve little bits of paper folded into hearts or flowers or cranes, or sometimes just little notes. They're very cute.

Just now, one of my students came into my office to give me a gift.

"Ms. Scotty, I made you a potato heart."

I looked a little closer at what she was holding, because this student's English is not the best, and I wasn't sure I understood her correctly. A potato heart?

Sure enough, she had taken a piece of raw potato and carved it into a little heart.

"You will have to put it in water or it will oxidize," she told me.

Well, I dutifully walked down the hall to get a cup to put my heart in. What else could I do? And I now have a tiny bit of potato sitting in a cup of water on my desk.

Type A Personalities

I was at some business lunch a few years ago, and the speaker was talking about finding balance and joy in our busy lives (or some such nonsense). While I don't remember what she was actually selling, I do remember her description of a Type A personalities as people who stand in front of the microwave saying, "Come on, come on!" As if that would somehow make the 60 seconds it takes to heat up a Hot Pocket go faster.

And I admit, I do have some rather type-a moments in my life. You might have heard me refer to my Uptight, East-Coast Personality. Going slowly (unless I'm running) is not my thing. I don't want to spend any more time in the lane at the grocery store, or in the parking lot, or in getting from Point A to Point B than I absolutely have to. I want to spend my time AT wherever I'm going — cooking and eating my meal, using my new purchases, or enjoying Point B.

This leads to some frustrating moments on the sidewalk in China (as I'm pretty sure I mentioned before). On the whole, the Chinese do not rush. They walk a little slower, they walk arm-in-arm, they spend a little more time talking. It's laudable, don't get me wrong, but it's not me. I find myself constantly stuck behind a wall of Chinese people, treading up the backs of the their heels. (Of course, it wouldn't be so bad if weren't so darned hard to pass. I don't care if other people walk slowly; I just want the ability to walk quickly.)

Which makes the Chinese reaction in an elevator all that much more surprising. Every Chinese person I ever recall getting in an elevator with jumps on that "door close" button as soon as possible. A friend told me one that the door close button does absolutely nothing except give you a sense of agency; it doesn't actually close the door any faster. And yet, try to tell that to your Chinese neighbor who looks at you with a bit of surprise and distrust because you pushed a floor button, but not the "door close" button.

I haven't timed it, but it seems like the door might close a fraction of a second earlier if you push the button right after the floor button. I guess they just want to get out of the elevator a fraction of a second faster so they have that much more time on the sidewalk?