Reasons for no posts

Good afternoon! I am sorry that I haven’t added any postings this week but things have been hectic. I was sick over the weekend (and added another trip to the hospital for intravenous fluids) but Chinese medicine is really great for Chinese diseases and today I am feeling nearly normal. In the meantime as regular school is now out for most GaoXin students our morning includes meeting with a group of Chinese students for two hours. I teach this class, so my days are even busier than before, but they are great kids.

Today I met the new group of students bound for Saugus in just about one month. They are really nice and speak excellent English. We talks for a couple of hours and I was able to share the materials I brought with me.
I’ll include more tomorrow, but just now I have to run. The teacher is also delightful! I am looking forward to working with her.

I have some great new pictures which I will try to get up tomorrow.

4th of July in Xi'an

Today was a busy day. This morning the Olympic flame arrived in Xi'an. I was able to see it on television and took a couple of pictures. It is interesting that each "runner" only took about 15-20 steps before passing off the flame - but then we are in a country of well over one billion people! (The government didn't want too many people in town for the run, so all elementay school students in our area - maybe elsewhere, but I don't know - were called back to spend the morning in school, even though last week was the end of the semester. Officials felt it would be safer for the kids.) In any case the run was well organized and went smootly.

This morning both of our Chinese teachers came together - wearing Beijing Olympic shirts and carrying Chinese and Olympics flags. After our first lesson the two had planned a singing program, but few of the students were willing to sing... Amanda, Careese and Kim all sang something, however. Then our two teachers each sang a song. They have excellent voices! Then just before the end of class we saw the the Beijing Olympics song - Forever Friends on the computer. Then we saw the Chinese version sung by a host of Chinese stars - including Jackie Chan!

For our students this was their last day of regular Chinese classes. Many of the Chinese kids were very sad to say goodbye to them and Kimi was given gifts by her deskmate, classmates and the teacher! Our group was hoping that they could start coming to school later now, but instead they will return to our classroom at the regular start of school Monday and we will meet with groups of GaoXin students so that the combined group can increase their language skills - our students in Chinese and the Chinese students in English. In past years this was always a very popular part of the program.

Today was also our last drawing class as our teacher will be returning to see her family in the far west of China. We were sad to say good-bye, especially as all the kids really enjoyed the class. All have learned a great deal from "Lucy". Each of the kids made her a small thank you card which Careese and Kim put together into a nice poster which we hung one the board before our teacher arrived. She was very pleased. :)

We had one other out-of-the-ordinary activity when we celebrated Keith's birthday (really tomorrow, but we won't be together tomorrow) with a cake and drinks. Keith even had a crown to mark the important day.

Cooking etc.

Today we finally had cooking class. We made a kind of sweet dish which is made of rice flour and filled with small amounts of sweet bean curd. We made the balls and then they were cooked in sweetened water, finally resulting in a sweet broth with the balls. Most of the students added extra sugar, but I thought it was delicious as made. In any case we all enjoyed eating them. :)

Culture classes

In a previous post I spoke of our daily schedule. Every afternoon following lunch, reading time (we are reading a classic of Chinese literature - Three Kingdoms) and our third Chinese class of the day we have our culture class. Depending upon the day we have painting, handcraft, paper-cutting, tai chi, singing or cooking (though we have not yet had this class due to extraordinary circumstances). Here area couple of pictures of the students working intently on their projects.

10-mile long tunnel opens a new world to me

Please note when reading the following: I am NOT an expert on China, so the following explains what I have experienced and learned through 4 trips to Xi'an in the last 4 years. In reflects my impressions. :)

A none-too-clear photo of one of the "outdoor" parts of the tunnel.

On Sunday I took a journey to the past via 10-mile long tunnel through the Qinling Mountains. Most things in 21st century China are quite modern - meaning built within the last 30 years (except a few old monuments). As older Chinese construction was mostly in wood many older houses burned down. Today's construction seems to be primarily of concrete with some steel in high rises. (For example all of the apartments where I have stayed here have thick concrete walls making mounting paintings difficult, but also meaning that even though there are always neighbors above, below or next to one apartment, one never hears anything from them - as is common in apartments in California.) I have wondered if there were any of the older houses left in this area. On Sunday I found out that there are.

We left Xi’an at 9:30 driving along a new toll-road which at that hour was nearly deserted. Soon we went through a couple of short tunnels and then the long one which by-passed miles of poor roads often blocked by snow in winter. At intervals through the tunnel were short patches of illuminated blue “sky” with trees along the edges – giving the appearance of being “outside”. The speed limit on the road is just over 40 miles per hour. (In Xi’an the speed limit is just over 20 miles per hour – a good thing considering the driving habits here which include making one’s own lane if the one wanted is clogged, or even driving on the wrong side of the road for a short distance if traffic is slow. Furthermore most people make left turns out of driveways without hesitation expecting cross traffic to yield. There are frequent fender-benders but most aren’t serious due to low speeds.) When we exited the tunnel we were in the mountains (so we must have been climbing in the tunnel – though this wasn’t obvious to me) with the road following a winding river. There were numerous small villages along the road.

When we exited the toll-road we took small, partially unpaved bumpy roads (most in the process of being redone with heavy equipment in the area) through small towns and villages. Eventually we arrived at a small cave called “Zha Shui Yong Dong” located in a cliff above the river. It was opened in the 1980’s after being explored, through there were apparently Taoist monks living there earlier. The cool temperature in the cave was a welcome break from the heat outside. Inside we saw only two other people over a period of about 90 minutes. There were numerous beautiful formations – some resembling a European castles, others looking like melted cakes, organs etc. Unlike the caves we visited near Guilin this cave is still growing with lots of dripping water and clear pools. I will try to attach a picture or two.

Then we drove along miles of winding mountain roads (stopping from time to time to ask local people how to get to where we were heading). We passed what appeared to be a coal mine and many small villages. Every inch of land not otherwise used is being farmed – as we also noticed in the south. However in northern China the typical crops are not rice, but rather wheat and corn plus various kinds of fruit and nut trees. Finally at about 2:00 we arrived at “Feng Huang Gu Zhen” or Phoenix Ancient Town. There is typical “modern” part of the village, and then the part that dates from the Qing Dynasty (1644-1911). There were old stone and wooden buildings – most of only one or two floors (while modern China is nearly all high-rise). We passed small shops with old-style wooden fronts where the street side is made of planks of dark wood which are fit together to form a wall. In the center there is usually a smaller door mounted with a wooden dowel so that only that part can be opened when desired. Once the planks are in place the wall/door is secure. It was a clever system in the days when there were few metal parts – especially in a mountain region. We could see that the center of the narrow street was once a running sewer/drain system, now covered over with cement blocks. We finally entered an old-style courtyard house which used to be inhabited by one larger family made of several generations. When young a young man married he brought his bride home to live with the parents, grandparents and all of his brother’s families. This home is now used as a restaurant (once featured in a film by a famous Chinese filmmaker). There we ate a delicious lunch consisting of multiple dishes which were all new to me. (The town is know for its famous tofu including dry tofu which looks and tastes slightly like cheese.) We had sliced cold dried tofu with vegetable, a kind of small bean (resembling lentils but not tasting like them) with smoked pork, then more traditional tofu in a delicious spicy sauce, and finally eggs with a kind of spicy vegetable resembling spinach – but not spinach. It was an outstanding menu – decided after long talks with the owner. We were also able to visit the kitchen and look into a couple of rooms being redone to be used as a “hotel”. (And I even had the “chance” to visit the “bathroom” outside along a long path behind the house – also typical of another time.) Yanli and Li convinced me to put on a Qing dress (not made for a western body) in order to be photographed. I can’t imagine wearing such warm clothes in the summer and was happy to remove them as soon as possible.

Along the streets I noticed large bunches of corn drying in the rafters or mounted on walls. I learned that they are used for “firewood” in cooking as China now restricts the removal of trees in order to improve the environment.

Our trip to Xi'an on Saturday

On Saturday I wrote about our hot day visiting Xi'an, but there is a correction - it wasn't 100 degrees - it was 104! The correction came out in Sunday's newspaper. One way or the other it was hot! here are a few pictures that I took from that day...

At the Drum Tower

Careese, Kim and Amanda - together - as usual - on the Xi'an City Walls

This afternoon we again had painting class - one of the favorite classes for our students, I think. All of them are improving, but some have made GREAT progress. Our teacher is terrific!

Aurelien's best work to date!

Our Trip to Guilin part 3

Our good-bye dinner in Guilin (with lucky balls)

And below in front of Elephant Mountain

Thursday morning we were able to sleep in – only having to be ready downstairs at 10:00. We ate breakfast and then boarded our mini-bus for the one and one half hour drive back to Guilin. The road was lovely with endless small rice fields on each side. I noticed that few people in the farming area have cars. Rather most are on bicycles, tricycles, motorbikes, motorcycles or the ever-present 3 wheeled mini-trucks that those with the means drive. In Xi’an we used to see lots of these loud 3-stroke vehicles, but this year I notice far fewer. However in Yangshuo and Guilin there were more of these vehicles than any other, and in Yangshuo many had a kind of tractor or lawnmower-type engine mounted on the front of the cart with a belt that appears to provide the locomotion. As can be imagined they tend to be loud, but seemingly can carry heavy loads. (I learned yesterday that these vehicles cost only about 2000 yuan while a car costs at least 100,000…)

We arrived in Guilin for a visit to a local park where we took pictures of Elephant Mountain – some cliffs clearly resembling an elephant – complete with trunk. Then after lunch we another park before some time to shop. We made some inexpensive purchases and then took a long walk through yet one additional park where we saw a beautiful crystal bridge over a small lake, as well as a marble boat (for looks only). By that time it seemed that we were early so we sat along the lake and talked. Mrs. Fan and I spoke with our guide. We had learned earlier that she is of a member of a minority group as are a majority of the people in Guanxi Autonomous Region (a kind of province having more governmental rights than the others). We also heard that she is from a mountain village where she was one of 5 daughters. In spite of hard times her father knew that education was important so two of the girls graduated from the university. Our guide, Alice, has a degree in Business, and her sister is a doctor in the Army. Since they have been successful they paid for the education/marriage of their sisters and continue to support local girls so that they can get an education. (Alice’s family had the first television in the community in about 1995, so it became a kind of “movie theater” for the people.)
After our rest we had another excellent meal in a private room of a restaurant. Alice gave us each a kind of ball that brings good fortune and happiness, then accompanied us to the airport for our trip back to Xi’an. Our flight was once again on time and we arrived in Xi’an a bit before 11:00 p.m. All the kids were dropped off by 12:30 a.m. so we told them that they could start school on Friday at 10:00 (rather than 7:30). This was welcome news. However Friday everyone was still tired and sleepy – with Melissa able to sleep during break stretched out over two tables. Even the ping-pong was less enthusiastic. J However we all enjoyed the trip and appreciate the trouble the school and Mrs. Fan took to assure us a good experience!