Abstract:

After years of teaching about China, a group of Americans visit this Asian country for the first time. From historic sites to people's homes they confront their book knowledge with personal experience and discover a new passion for Asia. A powerful experience in international understanding, they in turn inspire their students with a desire for learning about China, to the point that they are so eager for more of what they are being taught that they don't want to leave when the bell rings. The documentary primarily tells the story from the points of view of two wonderful middle school educators: Michelle, a young Caucasian teacher who had never before been overseas and eagerly soaks up everything; and Wanda, an older, more experienced African American teacher who enthralls her students with stories about China and many fascinating souvenirs she acquired there. In China we follow the teachers to famous and not so famous locations and cultural experiences in Beijing (Forbidden City, Tiananmen Square), the Great Wall, Xian and its terra cotta warriors, a small rural village, Suzhou (canals and scholar gardens) and the futuristic city of Shanghai. We also see them visiting a school where they relate to students, sharing a meal in a home, learning about daily life and making new friends. We intercut between Michelle and Wanda opening up to China and teaching back home in America, where they bring awareness of the growing significance of China in the world, an open-mindedness about cultural differences, fresh knowledge and excitement for the subject to their students. The title 'Eating the Scorpion' is symbolic of a breakthrough for Michelle that happens when she is challenged to eat a deep-fried scorpion at an outdoor night market that offers among other delicacies: beetles, frogs and sparrows on skewers. As one of the other teachers describes the moment, when Michelle met the scorpion challenge the young teacher went through a barrier. She no longer is the 'small town girl,' as she described herself at the beginning of the journey. As the story unfolds, after the scorpion incident Michelle evolves into a citizen of the world who instills in her students understanding and acceptance of China's culture. Eating the Scorpion is an inspirational story about American educators opening up to foreign cultures, how this changes them, energizes their teaching and expands horizons for their students. It is a story that puts a human dimension to the critically important American issue of the value of international understanding.