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Published: December 7th 2009
liulian feast
liulian cream puffs and liulian milkshakeHello friends! It's been a while since my last entry so will need two entries to keep each entry to a reasonable read. Life this term has been extra busy. Instead of 12 classes, I'm teaching 16. Also, I've averaged twice as many coaching hours (4-5 per week instead of 2) since more students are asking for help prepping for English exams. In addition, I've had other major blog obstacles in the form of my on-again-mostly-OFF-AGAIN internet server, a nasty respiratory bug in early Oct. and then a cold in Nov. Now, finally, my internet server and I are both fully recovered (though the server gets the hiccups every so often!). Here are a few highlights.
When last you saw me, I had just returned to China and it was HOT as blazes -- or as Dallas in August. Right before school started, I took my assistant Yuky and we went to the city for a liulian feast. The fruit you may know as bread-fruit hits its peak in Sept. Most people here think this fruit smells awful -- a combination of limberger cheese and a sweaty locker-room. I happen to love it, as does a vocal minority ("Isn't liulian
R. T. Mart supermarket
liulian display and shoppers just the best!" said to rankle the majority who detest it) of the most discriminating natives. Getting past the smell, the fruit is delicious, light and tastes like banana cream pie filling. A tasty treat on a hot day. I thought you'd get a kick out of the liulian display at R. T. Mart Superstore and me with my 12 cans of the stuff freeze-dried. I'm snacking on freeze-dried liulian as I write this. To get back to the weather, which is quite interesting here. Around mid-October and ever since, it's been fall-like, dry and sunny, almost every day -- 50-60 degrees day and night (except for a few 40-degree days in early Nov.). The trees look dried out, but still green. The trees on the surrounding mountains have turned a dull yellow, but the leaves don't fall.
School this term has presented new challenges. Two of my four econ. classes meet in the new Technology Building, which was late opening by 2 weeks. I've been playing catch-up with those classes all term. The building is very nice, though not heated (standard). Typical of buildings on this campus, it is very hazardous to get into and out of. The
happy me with freeze-dried liulian
Cans were on sale, half-price. Bought 12! long granite staircase up to the entrance has no railing. When it's wet, it's virtually a suicide walk. Inside, there are no lights in the courtyard, and again, steps here and there to maneuver, in the dark, as my last class ends at 6 pm.
Another challenge has been the ongoing H1N1 battle. Hundreds of students have been sick with colds and garden-variety flu's, but so far, only 1 case of H1N1 (so we've been told). The university has adopted what I consider pretty heavy-handed policies compared to what I'm used to at home. Teachers have been asked not to travel outside the city (though this is not really enforced), and all foreign teachers have to take our temperatures every day and report any symptoms by e-mail to the Int'l Inst. office. We were all issued Centigrade thermometers for this task. Students and teachers who get sick are told to stay in their rooms and apts. for a week, which I think is a great policy. When I had the flu in Oct., I was quite happy to rest inside for the required week. I'm very glad the students who get sick are staying out of class.
On
a brighter note -- I'm taking a course in Spoken Chinese (Mandarin), which is given on-line once a week -- Chinese Voice "Live from Beijing!" Started in Sept. After 10 weeks, I'm able to say many good things -- like "wo zhi hui shuo yidian (yidiar, Beijing) Zhongwen!" (I can only speak a little Chinese!), "duoshao qian?" (How much?) and "qing, wo xiang qing cai!" (Please, I would like green vegetables.) A fun tongue-twister is about the numbers 4, 10, 14 and 40. "Si shi si. (4 is 4.) Shi shi shi. (10 is 10.) Shisi shi shisi. (14 is 14.) Sishi shi sishi. (40 is 40.)" For those who know Mandarin, sorry I can't put in the tones, but if you speak Mandarin, you know the ditty anyway! My goal is to be able to interact with people at a simple conversational level, and I'm pleased with my progress. It IS challenging. The lesson lasts an hour, after which I'm drained. My teacher is on video camera, so I can see and hear her. I'm just audio to her. There is one other student -- an American woman from Singapore, who I think studied Chinese before because she seems
new building stairs, with sweeper
an army of little ladies maintains the grounds and gardens to catch on much quicker than I. But heck, it's really fun to be able to say a few things in Chinese to students on campus. They're always shocked to hear Westerners speak Chinese -- and, like the French, at first stare at you blankly, seeming unable to understand anything but perfect Mandarin. So I say my little speech over a couple times, tell them "Dui (Right), wo hui shuo yidian Zhongwen!", at which they suddenly beam in recognition.
My sightseeing activities have followed a nice pace. I went to Guangzhou for a day at the end of Sept. with my friend Helen to meet my Dutch friend Sjoukje, as she was passing through on her way home to Holland. We had a wonderful day, starting on Shamian Island (the old French concession, still very 19th century in the architecture, with quaint shops and grand old hotels) and a walk through the White Swan Hotel, lunch at an upscale Italian restaurant, and a shopping spree to a big silk market and a walk down Beijing Lu (Road). It was right before Mid-Autumn Festival so the pedestrian-only street was festooned with red lanterns. We took the train home since the
at Shaoguan bus station
on the way to Guangzhou buses don't run after dark. When we got to the Guangzhou train station, there was a mob of hundreds of people waiting to buy tickets. Luckily, they opened a special ticket window for Shaoguan, and Helen and I ran with the rest of the herd to nab seats (first come, first seated).
Mid-Autumn Festival is on the night of the full moon in early Oct. Celebrated with family dinners and moon cakes (artillery-grade heavy cakes, the size of large cupcakes, filled with mashed red or yellow beans and hard-boiled egg yolks - sounds dreadful, but they're actually quite yummy, very sweet and fattening), I was happy to be invited to Yuky's family dinner. I also hosted a Mid-Autumn Festival party, at which I was able to get rid of the two big boxes of moon cakes I had been given, one from the Econ. Dept. and one from the Sch. of For. Languages. We all trooped out to the outdoor stadium, looked to the East, and there saw a huge, yellow, harvest moon ascend the clear night sky in bright splendor.
October zipped by. We had a long holiday from Oct. 1 - 9, which combined National Day,
me with Sjoukje & Helen
White Swan Hotel atrium which was really big this year (60th Anniversary of the PRC) and Mid-Autumn Festival. Watching the National Day celebrations on TV was quite interesting. Amazing the thousands of soldiers, sailors, women military and official cadres marching by the reviewing stand, with hundreds of tanks, missiles, rocket launchers, etc., trundling along as well. Just your typical flag-waving, chest-thumping display. Pres. Hu Jintao reviewed a mile or two of troops, standing up in a black Chinese limousine, shouting greetings to each regiment as he passed by. I've included a few shots of the coverage. Then, the following week, I had some fun outings. The best was a day hike with a small group -- my American teacher friend Ken Yates and two students to Xiaokeng Forest Park. Beautiful -- though very dry from the drought we've had this past year. The park is just east of the village of Datang, deserted when we drove through at mid-day. Everyone takes a nap. At the end of October, I took a weekend and went hiking in Nanling Forest Park with Chinese teacher friend Sherry. The air there is so clean, and everything so untouched. Hardly any people. Gorgeous exotic butterflies and beautiful rock formations.
Wonderfully relaxing.
November was busy with a new project. My friend Joseph Wong, a returned Chinese Australian who owns two restaurants in Shaoguan, is organizing an English Corner. To be hosted in his restaurants, the English Corner will be for the purpose of giving business people a place to practice English. He asked me and Ken Yates to help get it going. I'll be volunteering as one of the host/presenters when the event starts after Jan. 1. Great fun -- we've had several meetings, including a couple over dinner at his beautiful restaurant, the Cafe Sydney.
Now that I'm back in blog mode, I'll write again soon with Part 2.
Thanks for reading!
Jo Anne ;-)
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Freddie Saxon
non-member comment
What an adventure!
You look great! Evidently your second year in China is agreeing with you. It is wonderful of you to share all of this with me. It has been a rainy, gloomy autumn in Baltimore. We had our first snow yesterday (3 inches) so everyone is feeling Christmasy already. Thinking of you and enjoying every word and photo. Hugs, Freddie