My China Musings

This blog is my thoughts on many things and about my adventures of living and traveling in China.

Pictures

I have put a few pictures on www.Flickr.com   carolenchina.....If you are in China, you may need to use a proxy to see them.

I also put some on www.photobucket.com  carolenchina.

 

posted by: CarolenChina at 00:54 | link | comments |
china, living in china, buddha, yushu, qing hai

September 29, 2007

I could tell you again about the beauty of Yushu…But maybe, I will give you a break. I wont talk about the incredibly blue skies or wonderful white fluffy clouds. I won’t tell you about the mountains that surround Yushu. The vegetation is changing color I noticed yesterday, so maybe the weather will change, soon. Lately, it has been warm in the day and cool at night. Last week was Mid Autumn Festival. The full moon here was just plain gorgeous. Watching the moon over the mountains was just took my breath away.   

The other evening, the other two teachers and I went out to dinner. Coming home, the traffic was slowing way down and going around something. When we got to the problem, it was 3 cows that had decided that the middle of the road was the place to lay down. I laughed, and my companions said it was common. Cows, goats, yaks, and sheep have the right away. Dogs running loose everywhere are common, too.

There is a horse festival in Yushu every July. It seems that the last one was a special one. Before the last festival there were no markings on the roads, no sidewalks, no gutters…just before the festival began, the town was duded up.

Well, I have sampled the local yogurt and found it wonderful. I sampled the local yak butter and found it disgusting. For lack of a better description, I think it tasted very gamey. Tibetan people mix  what is called yak cheese, this crumbly looking something with hot water and yak butter for breakfast. I am glad I am not much of a breakfast eater. It looks awful.   

Listening to the chanting every morning is very peaceful. There must have been a special day or celebration, yesterday. Usual chanting was joined with deep throat sounds and the horns, cymbals and bells of Gyuoto Monks. If you have ever listened to the Lhasa based monks chant, you know of what I speak. That evening, on the loud speaker system, was a lecture that was punctuated with chanting.  

Went to a mantra wall, just to see it. Mantra walls are structures that have been put up, on a couple sides are Tibetan Prayer wheels. The faithful walk clockwise around them, turning the prayer wheels or twirling smaller ones in their right hands. You can pay a person at the wall that paints sayings or names on a slab of rock and you can pitch it onto the wall. Your prayers will go skyward from there.There is a small temple at this mantra wall. I was a little surprised to see a picture of the big DL. Images or books about him are strictly forbidden in China. But not in Yushu, I guess. In my classrooms, there are pictures of Tara, and Buddha…very surprising to me. In fact, the classrooms here are filled with papers and pictures by the students, book shelves and religious icons. My classrooms, in other parts of China, did not have personal things in the classrooms or book shelves or pictures of Buddha. There are religious pictures everywhere in Yushu, including many pictures of different Lamas standing near Mt. Kailash. 

I guess, if there is a downside to Yushu, would be the dogs. I have been here for about 12 days. I have not had a nights sleep since I been here. I live in a newer area of housing. Instead of using the traditional adobe type bricks, these apartments are made of concrete block. Besides being harder to heat, they amplify noise. There are dogs all around. Near where I live is a dog that begins barking around midnite to 1 a. m…… and barks constantly until maybe 5 or 6. Don’t even mention talking to the owner…dogs are barking everywhere. They wouldn’t understand why I would complain about a dog. This one is just very near where I live and I get to listen to it. 

 

Till next time.  

posted by: CarolenChina at 00:18 | link | comments |
china, living in china, yushu, qing hai

September 20, 2007

Here I sit, in what my friend called, the most beautiful area of Asia. From my vantage point I would have to agree. Blue skies, white, white clouds, and mountains all above tree line are in my line of vision. Windows in this apartment all face south, so I have lots of light. And at this altitude, the afternoon sun is very warm. But by the same token, when the sun goes down, the temperature drops dramatically.  Almost like living in a desert. The air is very dry here, too. I have to push myself to drink lots and lots of water. Near where I live, there is an orphanage run by Buddhists monks and nuns. And there is a Tibetan Traditional Medicine School, either taught by monks or something. At any rate, very early in the morning, the air is filled with chanting and every evening after the evening meal, chanting. Quite a wonderful thing to hear and do taiji chuan to. Like I told you before, most of the residents of this city are Tibetan and everywhere are people in Tibetan dress. Each Tibetan group has its own dress. So I am getting to see many different traditional styles of clothing. There are Uygher Moslems here, too, so that traditional dress is seen on the streets. Yesterday, another teacher and I went to a place he likes to go to and had yoghurt. I have never had such fresh good yoghurt. It was made by a Tibetan lady and it was fresh, fresh. A huge bowl cost less than 2 kwai. That was my supper.

 

I have never in my life heard so many dogs. Since one has to go outside to go to the potty, a midnite run gives you a chance to hear what sounds like thousands of dogs barking. The story is that in the spring, when the price is high, everyone breeds dogs. When the price drop, the dogs are kicked out into the streets. Yes, it does make for dangerous streets. But I was told not to worry now, the streets are okay. Walking home from class this afternoon, I came face to face with a big goat, just wandering down the main street like it owned it. This is a common occurrence.   

I met my students. They are suppose to be the cream of the crop. I have students ranging in ages from 13 to 18. They are in this program and we have to push them twice as fast as the mainstream Chinese students. These kids have to be ready in three years to take the college entrance exams. Mainstream Chinese kids have 6 years. 

I am feeling a little heartsick and angry at the same time. I found out yesterday, that this school does not have a license to have foreign teachers. Which means we cannot get residents permits. I usually am very good at checking out schools. The organization that brought me here has schools in other areas that are legal. So I guess I let my guard down and I am paying the price. It seems that the other foreign teachers have been battling this problem for four years. I am not willing to stay if we cannot get it resolved and be legally teaching here. This is not the easiest of places to get to and out of. The three of us will meet with the organization that governs us and the school tomarrow to see what can be done to make this problem be solved. I want to stay here and live here for this next year. What a great place to be and chance to see another way of life that is fading away with modern times. But I don’t want shipped out of China at the insistence of the Chinese government. So keep good thoughts coming my way….till next time.

posted by: CarolenChina at 12:45 | link | comments |
china, living in china, yushu, qing hai

September 17, 2007

 I have landed in Yushul....Jyeko (Jayko).. and I may not have spelled it right. I feel like I am in Tibet. Everywhere are people in traditional Tibetan clothing. Very few western styled dress. Maybe 70-30 ratio. I have had better trips. I got very car sick on the way here. It seems that a couple of the passes are more than 5000 meters, for you in metric land, or 16000 feet for the rest of you. Now, I can function at 12000 feet or 3700 meters... but last night I was very, very sick. I had the headache from hell, violently throwing up, and generally not caring if the world stopped spinning. I was greeted in the traditional Tibetan manner with a lovely girl putting a Tibetan prayer scarf around my neck, but I was  so sick, I could hardly stand. All I could do was say thank you and cry. Everyone at the organization that brought me here was super...they got oxygen, and let me sleep, took care of every need they possibly could. There are some foreigners here to train in NGO procedures..non government organizations. They were as sweet and caring as the Tibetans. Everyone of them came to my room this morning to see how I was. To let you know how remote this place is, but it will change...there is no dove chocolate or herseys chocolate. Not many western name brands at all. It is very beautiful here...surrounded by mountains. My little helper guide took me to the supermarket to get a few necessities. I am just bushed from trying to get around. The driver made sure they took me by this huge statue of the King of Tibet.... When I am up to speed and can get around and know where I am going I will put pictures on the net somewhere for you all to see. I still feel like this is all a dream. To be this remote from the rest of China, is really something. A completely different culture. Very friendly people. If I thought I got stared at before....that was nothing. I stop traffic here. My house is very nice. It has wooden furniture, traditionally carved wood furniture. Not new, but different than my other schools. No TV. No running water, and outdoor potty. A wash machine, but no way to use it. I wanted an adventure....I do believe I got it. Till next time.

posted by: CarolenChina at 13:28 | link | comments |
china, living in china

September 15, 2007

I am now in Xining, a very modern city in Qing Hai Province, on my way to Yushul. I spent 31 hours on a train, have 16 more in a car to reach Yushul.The train on which I traveled is the new one, built for the trips to Lhasa. Much further west, the elevation rises very quickly, and this train has pressurized cabins so that the thin air doesnt effect the tourists. It really is nice. I traveled in what is called a hard sleeper. Not much privacy as the soft sleeper, but all in all not bad. The carpets and the features of the cabins are very nice. Not too Tibetan, but still very nice. I have terrific cabin mates. They were friendly and didnt laugh at my Chinese speaking attempts. It was still very hot in Guangzhou, when I left...here in Xining, it is definately autumn.  I sat in a park waiting for someone. It was so nice to feel the warmth of the sun without the humidity and no sweat running down my spine. It was heavenly. The sky here is incredibly blue....incredibly blue. And the clouds are a contrasting white. The city has Cosmos flowers and Sweet Williams planted around street lights and walkways, they were just plain wonderful to see, complete with bumble bees. In Xining I went to lunch with some of the reps of the agency that I am working with...we went to an Italian, authentic Italian restaurant. Now, ladies and gentlemen, QingHai is no where close to Beijing, guangzhou, Shanghai or any of the areas where you would think there would be alot of foreigners. In fact, there are many, many foreigners here.  I guess, from what I was told there are a lot of zealous missionaries in the area, here on business visas and in order to be legit, they started this business. I wont say what I think, but it isnt the best thoughts. However, I will say, their food was wonderful. I had minestrone soup...the only time I ate better was at my friend, Joann's home in Portland. She makes minestrone to die for. I, also, had a sandwich on foccacia bread....real foccaia bread. Someone did some serious training of the cooks. My hats off to their food, not their reasons. Next post, I will tell you about the 16 hours to Yushul. I am hoping against hope that I see lots of wildlife. I was told this is a real possiblity. So till next time.

posted by: CarolenChina at 15:26 | link | comments (1) |
china, living in china

September 9, 2007

I leave for Qing Hai Province in three days. I am just a little on the apprehensive side. Elevation in YuShul, is 12,000 feet. I visited Pikes Peak, once...and it is slightly higher than 12 thousand. I remember reading that headaches were common because of the thin air. So is this what I have ahead...headaches...? I  lived for awhile in Gallup, New Mexico. It is nearly seven thousand feet up there, and I slept a lot for a couple of weeks, but after that it was okay. I am guessing that I will sleep a lot for a couple weeks in Qing Hai.

The other night, traveling back from Changsha to Guangzhou, I watched a storm in the distance. It seems that the area was full of unstable air. In my last entry, I told about the flight being rerouted to another city because of a severe storm in the Guangzhou area. I asked my friends about the storm that night. They told me that they had never seen lightning so bad. And the wind was furious. I bet that is why the flights could not land in Guangzhou, sudden and severe down drafts. When Mother Nature gets angry, she is one force not to be reckoned with.  Back to my storm in the distance, thunderhead clouds were very, very high. I dont know how high the plane was, but these clouds, even in a distance were clearly much higher to the tops than  the plane. A couple of times, lightning would jet out of the top of one cloud and arch over to another cloud. Lightning would cause the inside of the clouds to light up like a flash in a lantern. It was amazing the different shades of white to gray to black that was shadowed by the almost constant flaring.  And the clouds and lightning were right down beautiful to see. Mother Nature can be a force to be reckoned with, she can, also, be very beautiful to watch.

Till next time.

posted by: CarolenChina at 22:46 | link | comments |
china, living in china

September 6, 2007

I  know you have all had bad days...I had one that might rival your best bad day. I decided after receiving a phone call from a friend that was one of those who "was in the know" at Red Horse Lake. He advised that  a lot of things were changing, and maybe I should leave while the leaving was good....and getting a offer in a very different place that would be a really new adventure. So I made the trip to Red Horse Lake to get my things. I got discounted tickets to fly...which made the trip really cheap.  The flight wasnt even that early. In order to get the discounts, I used an online service. They told me that my return ticket would be ready at a certain counter at the airport by 8 oclock. My flight to go to Changsha was at 9 oclock. Everything was working out just fine. My friend called me back and told me that he had arranged for a mini-van to meet me and take me to the camp for a really reasonable price. I am thinking, hey this is good. Well, I got up the next morning and caught the airport shuttle.  It is a couple minutes late leaving, but I had lots of time...we get to the second pick -up spot. and the driver goes out. He lifts the hatch cover to the engine, and wow! talk about raw diesal smell. Well, guess what?! We are told we have to wait until the next shuttle. A man went to find a taxi and I followed him, and shared the taxi. Cost was 100 yuan.I get to the airport with 15 minutes to spare to check in. People in line were very gracious and let me to the front, so I could get checked in. I hurried off to find my return ticket only to be told that it wasnt issued yet. I called company and told them, they would have to deliver the ticket to Changsha. They said okay.  Since I was boarding the plane, I turned off my mobile phone. Got to Changsha, got on shuttle bus to go to the city. Turned back on my mobile phone and about 10 minutes later, I get a text message that my return ticket is at a counter at the Changsha airport and please pick it up as soon as possible. I called the company, they said pick up by 7 p m...I told them I would try. But I had a 5 hour round trip by bus to get my things and I could not guarantee that I could be there. That maybe, since it was their error, they could figure out a way for the ticket to be at the airport when I got there.I was also, informed that the price was little more, because the company did not issue when it said it would. I told them, I wasnt very happy about that, too.  Well anyway, they said that they let me know about where to my ticket.  I got to the designated spot and connected with the driver.  We set off for the camp. It was raining cats and dogs. There is road construction going on along the way to RHL, so there were muddy stretches. The driver got to far over to the shoulder to avoid hitting a very big hole in the road. Yep, you are right, he got stuck. After digging out around the tires and the help of 3 boys on a motorcycle, (3 on cycle is normal in China) pushing him, we got unstuck. I was sprayed by mud, but oh well, I wasnt going to a fashion show.  We got to RHL and with the help of one of  the 3 foreigners still there, I loaded my stuff and we headed back to Changsha. The trip back was uneventful. I went to the hotel where I had stayed before, to get a room for four hours to clean up and repack everything to be able to get things into 2 bags. I was told that 6 p m, the rooms are not available for the 4 hour charge. I had two hours. So I gave the desk my passport. The girl takes it off...and I followed her. This is a new procedure and I dont like my passport out of sight. I go back to the front desk and they call and english speaking girl. She explained the new procedure, I handed over my passport , a second time. Fifteen minutes later, they havent returned, I go back again. The girl was entering info into a computer using my passport. I picked it up. said I only have till 6 oclock, copy the damn thing and then  enter your information. I get to the room finally. I had called a man who has a club that foreigners go to, that has a lending library and told him to come and get some books. He did, he was very nice. I managed to get everything into two bags to be checked and two carryons. It is getting close to the 6 oclock deadline.  I go down to check out. The front desk called the floor to have the room checked. And we waited and we waited and we waited. Finally, I said, I didnt even have time to take a shower, all I did was repack my bags. What on earth could taking so long. The little consierge, called the floor and yelled at them. She yelled at the girl front desk to give me back my deposit. The bell boy loaded my bags on a cart and I went out to try to get a taxi. There is street work being done on the street in front of the hotel, so barely any traffic was passing by . We waited and waited for a taxi. The consierge decided that we would have to go down a couple blocks to a main intersection and try to flag a taxi. She told the bell boys to bring my bags. Just then, a taxi pulled up to drop a man off. We grabbed the taxi and the driver said it would be 200 yuan to the airport. On the meter it is 65, plus a 10 yuan toll fee. I thought the girl was going to smack him. She was angry. I said no, I wouldnt pay that much. So we settled on 100 and he paid his own toll fee. By the time he got paid, he only got 15 extra. I got to airport, found my return ticket, get checked in and head off to sit down. By now, I am tired. I have been up since 5:30. I have not had a real meal all day. I bought a couple of rolls, cheese and roast beef and while at the hotel had eaten a make shift sandwich. I had a 3 hour wait for my plane. I sat there for awhile, when I heard that my flight would be delayed. I had just enough time to get the airport shuttle back to Panyu if the plane was on time. I felt my stomach lurch. Now, I would have to pay a taxi to get back home. After about 30 minutes or so, the announcement about my flight being delayed was said again. Listening very hard to understand the broken English, I heard that there was turbulent weather between Changsha and Guangzhou. The flight  had left Guangzhou before a storm, had to be rerouted so it was late coming in. Hence, the flight delay. I sat there, tired and sleepy. I guess I snoozed off, because I got shaken awake by a man and girl asking me if I was going to Guangzhou...I said yes, and they told me that my flight was being called. After thanking them profusely, I got on the plane. It was about 30 minutes late. We take off, no problems. We are merrily on our way. Then flight attendant announced we were beginning our descent into Guangzhou. I fel the plane start down, then I felt it level off and bank to the left. I am thinking, "what is going on'. The man sitting next to me who could speak a little english gave me this puzzled look. So I knew I wasnt  the only one trying to figure out what was happening.  After a couple of minutes, it was announced that we were being sent to Guilin. Guangzhou, it seems, was in the midst of severe storm.  Thirty minutes or so later, we landed in Guilin. It must have been a dandy storm, because we were plane number seven in the lineup and another plane came in after we did. We sat on the tarmack for nearly an hour.  We finally took off and got to Guangzhou. It was pouring rain when we arrived. Gathered up my baggage and headed out the door to see if there was a shuttle into the city. It would be cheaper to get a taxi in the city than the airport. Luckily, because so many planes had been diverted, there were still shuttle buses running at 2 a m. Got into the city, flagged a taxi...and got home at 5 in morning. The taxi driver was very nice. He charged me 100 yuan...he could have easily asked for 2 or more.  He brought me right up to the apartment entrance. He helped me to get the luggage out of the trunk. I found a couple of young men who try to speak english to me when I used to go to taiji...I paid them to carry my bags up the 6 flights of stairs. What a crazy day. Till next time....

posted by: CarolenChina at 16:01 | link | comments |
china, travel, living in china

September 1, 2007

In my last entry or maybe the one before, I mentioned that a dragonfly was, according to Native American Lore, the messenger of change. And I speculated that maybe the one who hovered in my face was bringing news of big changes. Well, let me tell you, I think he/she was doing exactly that. At the training camp, it was decided that it would shut down for the last part of the month. I told you all about my going off to Chengdu. Then I came to Guangzhou to see my friends, and to go on to Hong Kong to get a visa to go back and work in Hunan Province. I had all the documents in hand to go get a "z"  visa which would allow me to work in China. I even got there on early enough that I could have got the visa and returned to Guangzhou in one day. I have never really felt 100% good about being at Red Horse Lake. But it is a beautiful place and the concept of teaching english by teaching something like baking cookies is a great idea. Having students having to speak only english would improve their english so much quicker than a classroom. So I was going to stick it out. Well, maybe fate has another idea. While in Chengdu, I noticed a job advertisment for teaching in western Sichuan Province in a mostly Tibetan people area. This part of China is where the mountains keep getting higher, finally merging with the Himalayas....It is beautiful, rustic, rural and poor.....A non profit organization supports the school and pays the salary, because the school probably couldnt do it alone. I applied to that school. (I applied to the same school a couple of years ago after traveling in the area.) I had the interview and then was told that while I had great references, did well in the interview, I was not the final choice. Broke my heart. But back to my original story,  I went to get the visa, only to find out that Hunan Province Foreign Affairs Office did not affix their official red stamp on one of the documents. I could not get a "z" visa. I tried calling the office for Red Horse Lake, I couldnt get through. The visa office lady tried, she couldnt get through....so I had to opt to get a tourist visa so that I could come back into China. I have 3 weeks to get my visa problem sorted out... Well, today, I was offered a job through the same organization that had interviewed me, but at a school in Qing Hai. If I had not come to Guangzhou a year ago, I would have gone to Qing Hai or would have applied to go to Qing Hai to teach. When Zhao Hai and I did our Silk Road journey 2 years ago, Qing Hai province was probably the most beautiful part of the trip. It was where he saw snow covered mountains in the summer for the first time. We saw eagles and flowers and lots of yaks and sheep and goats and Qing Hai Lake with its colors and blue skies and white clouds.... dont you just love all those "ands" coming from an English teacher? Qing Hai is also, one of the poorest areas of China. Where I will be going, used to be part of Tibet....but you all know how history was changed and now it is called Qing Hai. The people are  97% Tibetan with the rest from good neighborhoods. I will be teaching in a small vocational school in Yushu, Tibet Prefecture, Qing Hai Province. I am thinking that maybe this is a little on the "wahwah" side of a coincidence, not being able to get the visa  to go back to Red Horse Lake. The tourist visa is mine. I did not have to have any documents from any school to get it. Just money. The "z" visa would have tied me to Red Horse Lake.With the tourist visa, I am free to look for a job where ever I want. I had not signed any contract with RHL, either.  Anyhow, talk about the start of a new adventure. I guess I will be on one. Till next time.

posted by: CarolenChina at 13:12 | link | comments (1) |
china, living in china

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