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School Concert
This was part of the Concert, a tribute to the Torch Relay passing through this Province Hello Australia, et al,
It only seemed like a few weeks ago when we wrote to say we had been in China for one month, and now we have been here for two months. Wow, time sure flies fast nowadays. At least we can’t say that we are bored. Nothing is normal in our routine. One of the most frustrating parts of working here, is that we are only told what is happening, at the last moment. Even then, we only get a bit of the picture, so have to try to find out for ourselves what is happening. They certainly work on a “need to know” basis, and are used to being told what to do, rather than keeping everyone informed. I guess we are used to the “no surprises rule”, but that isn’t China’s way. Oh well, when in Rome …
As you are fully aware, there have been some big issues facing the local people. Firstly they had a typhoon, followed by the earthquakes. The community, as you expect, has been quite shocked by the magnitude of devastation from the quakes. Our school held a special Assembly, where everyone filed past the donation box and contributed
After the grand opening
Betty-Anne next to her friend (not) for our one and only breakfast here. to the welfare of survivors. Our students, who are all nursing students, got to see a lot of pictures of the medical teams at work in the disaster area. It was quite a sobering thought for them and glimpses of what may be in store for them in the future, as qualified nurses. Before this, it was just hard work studying, but to some, they now have a meaning to all of the hard work.
Our school also had a night time concert and presentation, where they celebrated the Torch Relay, the Olympics and gave condolences to the victims’ families from the earthquakes. It was a great night with speeches, singers and dancers. It surprised us that the “Bollywood” influence was so great in their dancing. Unfortunately for the school, the foreign teachers had to perform, as they wanted us to sing ‘Doe Ray Me’. They all cheered and clapped, but more in appreciation of our efforts, not so much for our talent. It was a great night.
There was also a stirring from many of the foreign teachers, as the first McDonalds store in Yancheng was nearing completion. The restaurant is just up the road from us,
Harvest time
This is the wheat being harvested from the paddock we overlook from our apartment. and as you may well know, not a high priority for our diet. However, some of the others seemed quite keen for its opening. We did succumb to a Sunday breakfast last weekend. Apart from the staff not understanding English too well (unlike KFC staff), they didn’t know their menu very well either, so we ended up with a bit of a mixed up breakfast. I suppose we had to try it just once, at least for the experience. It also has a drive-through, but there are many more scooters and motorbikes than cars in this city. We didn’t see anyone on their scooter going in the drive-through, but we bet that will happen.
We are forever entertained by the view from our bedroom. We have been following the progress of work on the farm paddocks which we overlook. At first, it was a nice market garden area, where a couple of old farmers pottered around. Then came the “suits” and the brick fence was constructed, as a pre-cursor to apartment construction, no doubt. Gates were installed with a padlock. During this time, the rape bushes had flowered and seeded, the wheat was ripening, weeds were growing in amongst
Wheat harvester
This is one of the many wheat harvester working the paddocks in our area. the veggies, and the various planted grasses were also seeding. We wondered what was to happen to the crops.
However, not all was lost. Every day for the last week, the gates have been unlocked and a few old farmers have come in and commenced the harvest. Firstly, they cut the grasses and laid them out to dry. These grasses look like the ones they bundle and use as brooms. The road sweepers use these on a bamboo handle, but others use them more as a hand-broom. Then the farmers started to cut and lay out some of the rape bushes, but not many. They do harvest shoots from the bamboo patch and collect some other different vegetables and green things for food.
One day, on our way out, three wheat harvesters were parked on the road in front of our school. They use these old harvesters as their homes too, as they park along the street at night and sleep in the cabin. This is the latest in working from home. Next day, harvesters appeared from everywhere, and the paddocks of wheat were harvested. The wheat was either bagged or dropped directly onto the roads for dying.
Moble work places
The operators use these machines as home, during harvest time. Who knows where they do their ablutions? The service lanes for miles were covered in wheat. However, within a couple of days, all the wheat was again swept, bagged and collected. Only the stubble in the paddocks remains. Individual workers then worked their way through the paddocks and collected any missed wheat they could find, picking the stalks individually and bagging the wheat. There is a food shortage over here, so no food collecting was to be wasted.
In an attempt to help clear the air pollution for the Olympic Games, the Central Government has banned the farmers from Shanghai to Beijing (about 1000 km), from burning the wheat stubble. Only on the first day of harvest, some of our farmers must have forgotten, and we had absolutely thick smoke pollution. We guess they were gently reminded of the ban, as there has been no more burning (still hasn’t helped clear the air though).
We have also enclosed some photos of some of our exploring from around town. We love the food markets, and some of the smaller shopping streets. You never know what you are going to see. The locals are great, and we are sure that by the way they look at us,
Fuel queue
Double line of trucks about 500 - 600 mtrs long, waiting for fuel. there haven’t been any foreigners walking along their street before.
There is also a shortage of fuel, in particular Deisel. All heavy vehicles are on rationing, and when the trucks and busses go in for fuel, they are only allowed a limited amount. Of course this causes big line-ups at the limited fuel stations. The other day, on our travels, we saw one double line of trucks and busses (not the public transport fleet but private busses) out of there fuel station down the road and around the corner. The line was about 500 - 600 metres long. Later that day at another depot, a single fuel queue was well over 1 kilometre long.
Betty-Anne caved in to Graeme’s insistence on buying an electric scooter, so now we have a bit of freedom to go to places not on the bus routes, or to explore at our leisure. Don’t know what we will do with the scooter when we leave, as there isn’t a second-hand market for them. The locals buy them until they die, do a bit of patch-up work, and keep riding them. Ah well, we’ll see what happens.
Best wishes to all,
Graeme
Lion statue guard
A common sight in front of banks - the traditional Lion statues guard the entry door. & Betty-Anne
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