My China Musings

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

May 29, 2008

I looked at the calender the other day, and realized it was the time of year when butterflies of all different sizes, colors and descriptions should be fluttering around, or so I thought. I text messaged my friend from Xiangfan, and asked. The answer came back, yes. There should be many butterflies by now. To date, I think I have maybe seen 10 on campus. In Xiangfan during spring, we would literally have clouds of butterflies. Everywhere one looked, there were butterflies...almost like seeing a summer snow storm. One of my favorite memories was doing tai chi one morning. The little creatures were flitting about. I was standing behind my tai chi buddy, following his lead. As I turned from doing repulse monkey to single whip, there sat on the hem of his tai chi dress, 2 white butterflies and another one on his back almost to his shoulder.. They  stayed there until he did snake in the grass where the move brings you down almost to the ground...then the hem ones left. But the shoulder one stayed until we finished. It was a magical experience, doing tai chi then. Wild flowers were blooming on the edges of the field...violets, yellow butter cups and these tiny blue flowers. Plus the green grass gave us a soft carpet to place our feet. Most of the butterflies were white, but other colors were mixed in.  Even in Guangzhou, I saw quite a few butterflies. I am surprised at the lack of them here in Wuhan.

One of my favorite speaking exercises to do with the students is give them a ecletic list of people from which they must choose 10 for a dinner party. They work in groups and must come up with a theme for their dinner and tell why these 10 people were chosen. Of course, the Sichuan earthquake is still a big concern. So many would have their theme based on some facet of helping the earthquake survivors. Some of the people they could choose from for example were Zhuge Liang... ancient military strategist, Hitler, Jesus, Harry Potter, Leonardo Da Vinci, Madame Curie, Qin Shi Huang of Terra Cotta Warrior fame, and so on. Many of the groups of students chose Zhuge Liang saying that he was well known for being able to predict what would happen in the future. And that maybe he could predict when quakes would come and people would not get killed in them. Which lead us into quite a discussion about that maybe he was good at reading nature. Before Alaska's huge earthquake in 1964, it was noticed that the moose had moved down from the mountains, even though it was calving time. Dogs and cats were restless for days before it happened. Dogs started howling hours before the shaker actually started. In Sichuan, toads and frogs came out the water and gathered on bridges and roads, in the days before the quake in China. Maybe Mr. Zhu was more in tune with the happenings within the natural world and was able to warn people. My uncle who was a farmer, could look at the sky and tell when a storm was coming, even if there wasnt a cloud in the sky. Maybe, we, humans, need to start communing with nature up close and personal. If we listened to the signals given by wild creatures or house pets,  we would be better off... that's my opinion and I am sticking to it. :-) Till next time.

P.S. For all of you that dont know about tall cow rainstorms, first you have to use your imagination. Picture in your mind a tall cow with her rear end over a flat rock. She lets go of her bladder and  then think about what of shower the surrounding area is getting....a tall cow rainstorm....

posted by: CarolenChina at 12:05 | link | comments (1) |
china, living in china

May 28, 2008

Yesterday, the skies were gray and air was very still. Humidity was at 100%. Kind of day that whenever you move, sweat just pours down your back. Forecasts were for thunderstorms. However, no storms showed up until late last night. Flashes of lightening could be seen in the sky but no noise. Finally the storms moved into this area. Bolts of lightening were visable all across the sky and the thunder was almost instantaneous. But no rain. In fact, it wasn't until the storms had pretty much moved out that it started to rain, very lightly at first. Rain kept falling harder and harder until reached a cresendo of a downpour. You all know "tall cow rain..."? We were having "tall cow rain". (If you dont know, leave me a message and I will explain.) This morning, wind was a little stiff and on the cool side. But when the gusts dropped off, one can feel the heat starting to build. Cottonwood trees with their big leaves were dancing in the wind, making the music of nature.  It was nice doing my morning exercise to such wonderful melodies.

Sometimes living in China can be very exasperating, especially if you dont speak the language. I can speak a little Chinese, (Mandarin or Putonghua)...but I am a long ways from fluent. I will give you an example. I have a mutual friend to a lady who I practiced tai chi with. She moved to Wuhan from Xiangfan. I went off to Guangzhou and other places. I am now in Wuhan...and spend a lot of time in Xiangfan. I heard she was in Xiangfan, so I asked the mutual friend to message her and ask if she indeed was there. If she is, where does she do tai chi so I could join her this weekend. Well, my friend told me her phone was locked so maybe she was back in Wuhan. I called the number he gave me and reached her daughter-in-law who told me that the lady was in her home town. She would get a number and call me back. Which she did. She told me that the lady wanted to talk to me but was afraid that I wouldnt be able to understand her. I thanked her for the number and messaged the mutual friend to see it that was a XF number. Before he answered, the lady called me. She spoke so fast that I didnt get a chance to speak. By the time, I gathered my thoughts in Chinese to ask her anything, she said bye bye and hung up. Mutual friend messaged me that the lady wanted to talk to me. He had talked to her in between. But he never thought to ask her my questions. I told him about the conversation. He never answered, finally, I sent him another message that I still didnt know if she was in Xiangfan or where she did tai chi. That was almost 3 hours later....too late to call her again. He did tell me that it was a Xiangfan number. So when i get there on Thursday, I will try to call her. Such is life...Till next time.

posted by: CarolenChina at 01:55 | link | comments (3) |
china, living in china

May 25, 2008

      For your information........this kind of makes me feel so sad for those parents.... but unfortunately, it does not surprise me.

http://www.nytimes.com/2008/05/25/world/asia/25schools.html?_r=1&hp&oref=slogin

May 25, 2008

Chinese Are Left to Ask Why Schools Crumbled in Quake

By JIM YARDLEY

posted by: CarolenChina at 03:54 | link | comments |
china, living in china

May 25, 2008

Air quality in Wuhan is not so good... I am thinking it must be too early, for farmers to be burning the stubble left from harvesting rapeseed, but maybe not.  First of all, yesterday and so far, today, air, here, is very wet...almost to heavy a feeling to breathe. Unless you are sitting in front of an air conditioner that takes the humidity out of the room, your clothes and skin feel damp. I just looked at the weather info on the internet...says we will be at 35C/95F...and the humidity is setting on 100%. So now, I am sure you understand why I say the air quality is not good. Air is polluted anyway, add humidity, throw in smoke from burning off the fields and that combination makes breathing not such a good idea. Too bad it's a necessity. One doesnt want to take deep breaths. Doing my morning routine today wasnt the most pleasant thing I've done, lately.

I noticed yesterday when I went shopping that everywhere there is a TV monitor, scenes from the earthquake rescue efforts are being played over and over and over and over and over. Noone is watching them. Maybe, the leaders dont realize that after a while people become desensitized to scenes of such destruction and death. People are losing interests because that is all that is being shown. I hope they stop soon and just give the news updates or break in with a news flash if something good happens like finding more survivors. That would be what most people need to see now. There are many things happening around the earthquake that isnt so good. A friend of mine that lives in Changsha told me about a man that went to donate money using a fake 100 note. The donator said he wanted to give 50 and get 50 back... the collector noticed that the bill was counterfeit... and yelled out the bill was fake. Other people in line jumped the guy, beat him severely and broke his arm. Trying to pass phony money isnt good, but, my goodness... beating him severely and breaking his arm is a bit much. Parents, whose children werer lost in the schools that fell down, are rioting and getting beaten. Relief supplies are ending up on store shelves. All of kinds of  bad things are making the news. What is needed now is some good news.

A group of university students from U of Iowa are on this campus. Students from Iowa come every year and do an English camp with the students here. I went to dinner with them the other night, and oh my goodness, I got to speak English, good ol American English.  I got to speak it at my normal speed and they knew what I meant when I used an idiom and I think I am still in shock. Not sure..I will let you know when it wears off. It's amazing that I can still keep up with natives speakers when there is a whole group of them speaking at once. I have been away from the US for a long time... I was beginning to think that my English was going down hill. It's too bad that young people like these U of Iowans dont make the news so everyone can see that America is full of good people. These are great kids, and they are just the norm, not anything more special than other young Americans. Makes me feel very proud.

I think of many things to write about when I doing my morning exercise. I seem to forget them when I am in front of the computer. So, till next time....

posted by: CarolenChina at 01:38 | link | comments (2) |
china, living in china

May 24, 2008

http://www.wsws.org/articles/2008/may2008/chin-m23.shtml

The most explosive protest occurred yesterday in Dujiangyan, where 200 parents who lost their children at Xin Jian Primary School, thronged into the tents set up by the local education bureau, smashing computers and knocking down three tents. The parents had earlier submitted a petition demanding an explanation as to whether government officials had been bribed to cut construction costs. Some 300 police officers were sent to break up the demonstration, but it is unclear what happened as reporters were barred from the area.

The CCP’s propaganda authorities have tightened their grip over coverage. The country’s Internet police have been increasingly active against any “rumour” that might create panic and chaos. A notice on the web site of the State Administration of Radio, Film and Television demanded that all media outlets must “gather their minds and resources around the directives from the central government and... cover the disaster rescue and relief efforts with a high sense of political responsibility”.

Nevertheless the fact that the CCP has been compelled to carry out an unprecedented PR campaign points to profound changes in Chinese society. The television has been flooded with images of “Grandpa Wen Jiabao” among the quake survivors, particularly children. Never before has a three-day period of national mourning been held for ordinary people—previously such events were held to mark the death of prominent leaders.

Things just might get a little out of hand following the Olympics. Beijing has been chastised about the torch relay after the quake...by its own citizens... and now the Intern'l Olympic Pres...said that the opening ceremony cannot be used as a memorial because the Olympics are a worldwide affair..and the mood is not suppose to be dark...So the powers that be may have trouble with using that as a stage for gaining support... And the other problems are probably still simmering. There was deaths and damage in the provinces surrounding Sichuan, but no mention of those places in the news.

It will be interesting to watch China happenings in the next few months... till next time.

posted by: CarolenChina at 23:52 | link | comments |
china, living in china

May 20, 2008

I have this set of cards, called "Truth or Dare". They are suppose to be used in a game setting sort of like "Spin the Bottle." However, my classroom has fixed to the floor desks. We cannot move them out of the way...so instead I have the student draw them out of a bag. The "Truth" cards give the students simple things to talk about, such as "the time that the student made their parents the most angry". "Dare" cards  give silly actions that the student must perform...such as "Stand on a chair and howl like a wolf." One of my students drew a card that was if she could have whatever she wanted what would it be. I must say, this girl is among my favorite students. She is funny, laughs alot, has a great sense of humor. Her English name, that she chose for herself, is Jenny...and she truly is a Jenny. I noticed before class that she was very quiet, unlike her usual self. She volunteered to go first. I was expecting something dramatic and funny. In class presentations she can put on the best drama you have seen. I was surprised when she was serious. She started out talking if she could whatever she wanted, it would be that everyone would have love. Would know how to love and how to feel love. And she included how to receive love. She went to tell how she had read on the internet one of her fellow Chinese people had written that it didn't matter that more that 30,000 people died in the earthquake, because China has more than a billion people. She said at first,she couldnt believe her eyes. Then she felt angry that a person would write something like that. Shortly after leaving the net bar, she overheard a fellow student telling his girlfriend that she was stupid for giving 50 remenbi to the quake fund.. that they could buy lots of good food with the money. Jenny was very upset by the attitude of both people. And after thinking about it, she decided that these people really dont understand love. She thinks that they have noone to love and noone loves them. Jenny was very serious about people needing love. During the break, we talked. In fact, we talked longer than the break. She said before the quake, she never thought about other people beyond her friends. But since this is happened, she finds that seeing so many of  her fellow Chinese people hurting, that she cares very much about them. Looking at the pictures on the internet or TV make her feel bad. I told her to start looking in the pictures for heroes...and not to focus so much on hurting people. I explained to her that the human brain can take in just so much disaster and then we become numb and depressed. I told her the pictures made me cry, too. I told her about seeing the picture of the soldier with a baby in his back pack. And to me he is a hero. I suggested that she write on the internet about appreciating the doctors and others that are there helping the hurt people. Jenny brought up the fact never seeing people, before, coming together like they are about Sichuan. I suggested she write about that in chat room where she takes part and start looking for positives that come out of tragedy. She was still quiet, but she agreed to do those things.  The rest of the students did their card's bidding. And for the most part we had fun. Like I said before, for some of these kids, innocence is lost.

I have a bird right outside my window that must be the alarm clock for the rest of the avian community. I have noticed that at exactly the same time every morning, he or she lets loose with this very loud set of bird sounds. They are exactly the same every morning. I dont need to use my mobile phone to wake me up...I have a beautiful melodic real bird song...I hope you wake up to beautiful music wherever you are.  Till next time.

posted by: CarolenChina at 13:19 | link | comments |
china, living in china

May 18, 2008

This morning is cool and breezy with thunderstorms moving through. Like everyone around me, I still feel a little saddened by the tragic happenings. When I look at the pictures coming out of the earthquake hit area, I am struck by all the pictures. Who wouldn't be? They are showing unbelieveable sights. A couple of pictures that stay with me are not of the horrible scenes of the schools and their young victims. Instead, the ones that seem to stay with me are like the one of a mother sitting alone, wrapped in a blanket at the foot of her deceased child. Such a lonely vigil. The other one, is a happier picture, if that can be a description, is a of a soldier leading a group of survivors out of a mountain village. In his backpack is a baby. And behind him as far as you can see in the picture is a line of people following him. I would imagine that all those people are still shock. They were probably so grateful to see a man in uniform come in and take over and basically tell them what to do. I imagine their senses are pretty numb. He did the only thing he knew to do, put the baby in a back pack...standard military issue and lead these people to safety. The unsung heros are the all medical people who have been going on adrenalin for days now and little sleep. Add soldiers, firemen, policemen, and all the others who are digging and saving those found. Add to the list all those working to take care of the survivors. I wondered if they know where or how their familes are. I hope they are safe. 

I hope you are safe, wherever you are.  Till next time.

posted by: CarolenChina at 00:30 | link | comments |
china, living in china

Musing May 16, 2008

Yesterday, class time was a little on the emotional side. Some of the students are from areas hit by the earthquake. Places in Gansu, Shaanxi, Tibet, and Qing Hai were also affected. We arent hearing too much about these places because of the horrible scenes in Sichuan.  One of my girls is from a small town on the Shaanxi side. Her grandparents and her extended family all live there. Her parents  had moved to Xi'an to work. Xi'an, from what the students say, had some damage. This girl's mother had gone to the village to see her parents.  After the earthquake, my student tried in vain to reach her family. She had heard on the news that more than 100 people had died in her home town... She told me all she could do was cry she was so worried. The earthquake happened Monday, Wednesday evening at 11 p. m., her mother finally got through to her. She and all the rest  of the family were okay, even her father who was in Xi'an. My student had tears streaming down her face as she told me her story. And then apologized over and over for crying. I held her for a moment and told her it was okay to cry, tears of relief were okay...  I, guess, I would say that my students lost some of their innocence. Many of them told me that they had relatives or friends going to school in Chengdu and Mianyang. Some of them had received word, be it directly or indirectly, that their friends and cousins were okay. Some had not heard anything.Three of my students, however, lost friends. They were trying to put their minds around death. One of my boys, with tears, told about his best friend had not been heard from, and how he still hoped that someone would call and tell him that his friend was okay. His friend is a student in Mianyang...very close to the epicenter. Maybe, the most poignant story of the day, was one of my second year students came to talk to me about the earthquake. Last summer she joined a volunteer program that was having a English camp at guess where? Yes, Dujianyan City. She worked in one of the schools, yes, the one you see in news the most...and in one of the villages...She was having hard time because she knew many of the school's students. And the village she had been to, was completely leveled. I guess, my grandmotherly shoulder was what she needed... because her tears flowed, too. All of them expressed their feeling of helplessness...

Students on the campus put up places where people could donate money for water and food to take to the affected areas. Yes, i donated all I  had with me.. about 200 remenbi... not much, The school wanted to make my donating into a big deal, but I refused. I said that the emphasis should be on the great students banding together to do what they could to help the earthquake victims, not some foreign teacher giving a paltry amount of money.

http://www.zonaeuropa.com/20080513_1.htm  pictures of the quake...some pictures are very graphic.

 

Till next time.

posted by: CarolenChina at 03:08 | link | comments (1) |
china, living in china

May 14, 2008

Big news everywhere is the earthquake in Sichuan Province. My heart just wrenches when I see the pictures of the schools and other buildings that collapsed. Can you just imagine, even for a second, what those poor parents must have felt when they realized that mass of rubble was the their child's school? Everytime I see those pictures, I have tears come to my eyes. The very horror of it...I am not saying that other people who are hurt or lost their lives are not as important. I feel for those families, too. Maybe being in the teaching community of China and dealing with young people gives me a little different take on this. So seeing the children suffer is just plain hard to take. On BBC last night, a story about a young boy, 10 years old, that was in a village closer to the epicenter, had his foot crushed by falling bricks was told. He walked 30 kilometers using a bamboo stick to help him walk, to another village, hoping to find a clinic there that might help him. (I wish in some ways, I could bring that little boy here and take him to the hospital in Wuhan. Who knows, maybe his family was killed.) Can you just imagine? Really gut wrenching. Another very poignant picture is very simple, a man sitting in front of what was left of his house, crying. Having experienced a devasting earthquake, I feel for these people. 

And what about all those people in Burma/Myanmar...the government is not helping them. Children are in dire need for help and the government in Myanmar is keeping the help for themselves. I hope they, the government officials, get what they have coming ten times over. And I hope that somehow, the needed help gets to the people that are desperate for a drink of clean water.

My home country seems to having a terrible tornados. I lived in the midwest part of the US...I know how terrifying those storms are. Thank goodness, I was never in the direct path...in fact I was 17 miles from the tornado itself, but we had baseball sized hail. And it was so dark that the street lights came on even though it was 11 in the morning. Rain was coming down in sheets. Cars pulled over because drivers could not see. I was at a service station getting a flat tire fixed when the storm started. People, from the cars and sidewalks, came running in there and we all went to the back of the building where the w.c.'s were...most protected part of the building. It lasted about a half hour...and it was scary. On the way home, I saw grass that had been driven into the sides of trees like an arrow would be. Just a reminder how powerful winds can be. I hope all those affected by the storms will be able to rebuild their lives, just as I hope the earthquake victims and the residents of Myanmar/Burma will overcome the disasters affecting them. Till next time.

posted by: CarolenChina at 02:56 | link | comments (1) |
china, living in china

May 13, 2008

By now, I am sure you have all read about the huge quake in Sichuan. It makes me feel really sad to read about all those kids and others that were hurt or killed. I am from Alaska...I have been in some big earthquakes, including the 1964, 9.2 biggie. Yes, there was building damage in that quake and friend of mine was killed when the facade on the JC Penny Building fell... I would read about quakes that were half the size of the Alaskan quake that had far more damage...and I would wonder why or how...well, my question was answered after moving here to China. At home, we have building codes...rebar and other stablizing things are put  into walls to keep them from collapsing in such events. Here as well as other places, such as Turkey, Iran and others...do not use these techniques..it is simply brick and mortar. Newer buildings do have some of the safety features. But this is land of guan xi and, I hate to say, corruption. If the boss thinks that they can get away with, say, a lessor grade of concrete or half the rebar or no rebar...then it happens. So the damage to buildings can be much worse. The quake that hit yesterday was a pretty big quake. And unfortunately, lots of damage to buildings and people were/are hurt/hurting. I am in Wuhan, Hubei Province...to give general idea where I am, Wuhan is about half way from Chengdu to Beijing. I was riding on a bus at the time of the quake and didnt feel it, returned to the school just after...all the buildings on campus had been evacuated and inspected before allowing the students to go back. Please send good thoughts to the those that are affected. Till next time.

posted by: CarolenChina at 23:47 | link | comments |
china, living in china

May 11, 2008

Yesterday, the weather was perfect... When I went out to do my morning routine, the sky was a gorgeous blue. Breezes were soft, air smelled good and temperature was just right. As the day passed the temps climbed to very warm, but not hot warm. Plus, the humidity was very low..making it pleasant. After doing taiji, I went to the campus supermarket. It's small but has the essentials. Not too many vegetables, but lots of fruit, mp3s, and plethora of other stuff. Mostly, it caters to students, so lots of snacks and drinks. On my way home, I saw what "high hopes" look like. A cute little chicuaua owns a teacher who lives on campus. He had her out for a walk yesterday morning. A Tibetan Mastiff had someone else out for morning exercise. They are huge  powerful dogs. It's said that a TMastiff can defend against wolf pack all by itself and are used as guard dogs..They are story for another posting. It's suffice to say they are big dogs. If there are leash laws here, they are not enforced. T'is spring so the  birds and the bees are doing what birds and bees do...and dogs are doing what dogs do. It seems as though the mastiff is a girl dog and looking for boy dog. And the chicuaua is a boy dog on the prowl. They found each other. They must have gotten the preliminaries over with because when I happened upon them the boy dog was trying his best to be a good lover. But he just wasnt tall enough. But he sure tried. I laughed all the way to my room.

Around the campus there are park areas. One is right behind the admin building. It's set up as a formal park with carefully planned walkways, columned sitting areas and manicured plants. It even has a fountain that is only used on special occasions. The students like to go there. While it is not very private, it has places one can sit and talk.  Unfortunately, the walkways cut through those areas. I was out walking and decided to go through that park on my way home. Much more pleasant place to walk than the street. I was winding my way through the park, minding my own business...when I happened upon a couple of students, one boy and one girl. They must have gotten the preliminaries over with because...............they were doing what boys and girls do. I thought; "omigawd, what do I do now?!?". I know I missed a step in there. There was no way I could turn around...the boy had definately seen me. You should seen the expression on his face. So, I looked straight ahead, tried not to laugh and kept on walking. Once past them, I laughed all the to my room. (PS: I bet they go for a more private place next time.)

Till next time.

posted by: CarolenChina at 00:09 | link | comments |
china, living in china

May 9, 2008

One thing foreigners in China have to learn to tolerate is being stared at constantly. I have jokingly said that someday, I will write a book about China and her stairs/stares. On the foreign teachers forum, it was mentioned the other day, that even in Beijing and Shanghai, where there are many, many foreigners, staring still happens. The teacher wrote that said it would be different if it were children or elderly people who stare. Believe me, they do. What surprised him was the number of youngish to middle aged professionals who still stare. Many of them have studied abroad. And probably many of the professionals have had foreign teachers. One entry said that he had a tshirts made that read "I am a human being"  and "please dont stare".  I understand his sentiments. It gets very wearing to be stared at all the time. What I find more offensive, is the people who use the mobile or cell phones to take my picture. Now, not only do many Chinese stare, they want to take your picture as if you are an exhibit. Asking you for permission is not going to happen. I went into that famous US based restaurant that some call Mickiedees... home of the Big Mac... I was sitting eating my sandwich, when I noticed a I was being surveyed by a young couple in their early twenties. She slyly reached into her bag and out came her cell/mobile phone. She was playing with it in her hands. She kept looking at me without turning her head..her boyfriend was more open and he motioned to her that (I guess) it was the right time to take a picture... I realized that was  their game plan when the camera side suddenly was pointed at me. I put my hand up between their line of vision and my face. The young man looked surprised and his face turned red... He got up and left, followed by the girl. Once when another foreign teacher and I were on a bus to WuDang Shan, a man (stranger to us)  pulled out his moblile and pointed it right at us, blatantly.  I put my bag up between him and us, the camera/phone disappeared.... going through the bus station, I have had people run in front of me to take my picture... It is aggravating, especially when the bus is about to leave and one is hurrying to get on it.  I have friend who has 2 young children. People will just whip out their cameras to take pictures of them without asking my friend. He said when he realizes that people are doing that, he steps in front of his children and the people get pictures of his "butt".  It's bad enough to deal with this on the street. It is even worse when you go out to dinner with friends and one of their family members whip out a cell phone camera and take your picture without permission. Then put the camera away as if the picture was proof that a foreigner had been at the dinner. Noone elses picture had been taken. It will be interesting to see when there are thousands of foreigners in Beijing for the summer event, if the staring stops. I doubt it. Till next time.

posted by: CarolenChina at 23:28 | link | comments |
china, living in china

May 6, 2008

It is mid-term time for my students. Classes are finished here at the end of June, and final grades must be posted by the first week of July. Much later than most of the West. But we have a month or a little more in the middle of winter for Winter Holiday...so time off is about the same. I teach an Oral English class...  my students must do a lot of speaking. I have spent the past few days doing a mid term oral exam... having the students come and speak to me one on one.. I ask them such questions as the most amazing thing that ever happened to them, or their proudest moment...things they cannot give me the standard party answer to. One of the things I ask my students, if they could go anywhere in the world, outside of China, where would they go....just to see what they think of the world outside of China. Most of the students say Australia for a variety of reasons. A lot of them have friends that have studied or are studying in Aussie land or New Zealand, another favorite spot. Some of the boys will say England or Italy or Spain...football, hotspots.. (not American football). One of the replies that made my smile was when one of my students said he thought that Norway would be good The environment is clean and people are friendly. But then he said, maybe England, he could study English and watch Manchester United play football. At least his priorities are in order...studying English came first. One girl brought tears to my eyes. She said she wanted to go to the US...then she said all the things we Americans take for granted as her reasons. But the biggest one is that "you are free to follow your dreams and not be controlled by the government like we are in China"..she wanted to know how it felt to live free. I didnt answer her but asked her instead to tell me how she thought it would feel. That is fodder for another posting. Her answer made me think all day, how lucky I am to be an American. My favorite answer was from a girl who said Canada was her choice. She gave many of the same reasons as the girl for America, but then she said; "the main reason is Canada is peaceful. I want to know what peace really feels like." So heres a tip of my hat to you, Canadians. When I pondered her words, I think maybe she is right, Canada is more peaceful than many other western countries. However, I am still  proud to be an American. .. till next time.... 

posted by: CarolenChina at 23:41 | link | comments (2) |
china, living in china

May 4, 2008

My one window in my room faces a girl's dormitory of another college. I can look into the hallways... I guess that would be so  the young men teachers in this building would not have a good view of...well, you know. There are balconys...where the girls come out to hang laundry and have private phone calls... Sometimes, when it is in the middle of the night, it can be a little bit annoying. No hushed voices...that is unthinkable..after all as far as she is concerned, she is alone. I can tell when the girls are talking to their parents.. Usually, when it's the parents, the conversation is respectful and in their dialect. (It is easy to tell when someone isnt speaking Putonghua.) When visiting with a friend the conversations are very animated. The free hand is making all kinds of gestures. And they are speaking Putonghua, most of the time. I come to realize from hearing these young women, that breaking up in any language is hard on the heart. I listened without trying to a young lady who was having this kind of conversation the other day. I understand enough Chinese to know that it was her boyfriend she was talking to. Juliet (my name for her) was crying and talking, followed by sobbing and more talking. I kinda wished I could have heard both sides of the conversation. But maybe its best I could only hear Juliet. She was hurting, in no uncertain terms. Her heart was in a million pieces. Romeo wasn't listening to her or her apologies. He wasnt hearing her words of how much she cared. She didn't beg, I don't think. Her voice never sounded like it was begging. Tears were flowing down her face. I could see them from my vantage point. I could watch her little body convulse with sobs. Finally, the phone call ended. Juliet was bent over and still crying for the next few minutes. Then it was as if someone had flipped an on/off switch, she suddenly straightened up. She wiped her cheeks, one by one, and with purpose, took a deep breath and stomped into the building. What happened next is anybody's guess. Only her swollen eyes would betray her secret. Her stance and chin showed only defiance. Pride was on shoulders. Noone had better mention Romeo by name, or I would bet she would have had their heads. I had to smile. I remembered the tears when I was a younger person. I remember the tears my daughter had when her heart was broken. We all lived and I am sure Juliet will, too. Just shows, that breaking up is the same everywhere and hard to do in any language.  Till next time.  

posted by: CarolenChina at 05:32 | link | comments (1) |
china, living in china

May 1, 2008

Wuhan, it seems, has been given some kind of special designation such as Special Economic Zone or something like that. Now, foreign countries can open consulates in the city making it easier for expats to take care of passport and other issues. I guess that is good. With all the political stuff going on in China right now, I dont think it matters much. Wuhan was, so I read, the location of some the largest anti Carrefour demonstrations. And it seems, now all French people are the same as Carrefour... all of this is just plain stupid. I wish I could say that this isnt affecting life for all foreigners here, but it is. Starting today, it is the Labor Day Holiday. Three days off to celebrate. I had not made any plans to travel. I dont like traveling in trains so crowded you cannot breathe. So holidays, I usually just stay put. This year, I only received my passport back from the PSB, yesterday. (I couldnt book a flight or get a hotel room without it.) Took over three weeks to get my residents permit. Before this year it was a couple of days. I read on the foreign teachers forum, where a gentleman had to return all the way to Chicago just to get the correct visa when before he could got it in Hong Kong.

A friend of mine lost his mother this past week. She had been ill for a long time. So her passing was probably a blessing as well as a sorrow. The government, a couple of weeks ago, called for boycott of Carrefour for today. My school asked me to stay away from there.
My foreign affairs officer very nicely asked me to consider staying at the college over the holiday. She cannot keep me here if I choose to go off campus. However, she was very nice and sincere about her concerns. Since I had not received back my passport, I thought no problem. Besides, I need to write many things...especially for the ones I get paid for. Now, my friend's family is having the services, and I cannot go. Makes me feel kind of bad. I will say, despite all the political things going on, my friends have not treated me any differently. Thank goodness friendships can be above all this, for lack of a better word, crap. I love my Chinese friends. They are really cool people. They have opened up their lives and homes to me. Just like back home. I worry about what will happen to them in the fallout over all this political stuff. My American friend in Xiangfan says it hasnt been affected. I am glad to hear that. Anyway, take care of your friendships, wherever they may be. Till next time.

posted by: CarolenChina at 05:07 | link | comments |
china, living in china

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