What would Dave do?

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.....after the frantic travelling around China over the last month this week seems very quiet & uneventful in comparison. However just because it has been a relatively uneventful week for me doesn't mean that China has slowed its pace.....

…..Qinyou lu (road), the one that leads to the main entrance on the eastern side of the school is a tree lined display of potholes & all the irregularities that can be incorporated into a tarmac surface. At least it was. After two days on campus without venturing out even to go to the Da Run Fa I find that the whole surface has been ripped up, to a depth of around half a metre, trees are being cut down, aided by teams of men holding onto ropes while another wields a chainsaw & Colourbond fencing has been erected at the Wenchang Lu end to prevent anyone from venturing in. It's possible to cycle along the side & in the trench, taking care to watch for tree felling & mechanical excavators.....

…..this is related to the new gate being constructed at the school on the west side, adjoining the new road that wasn't even there when I arrived in Yangzhou last August. It should be more convenient for us, the teachers. Our rooms are on this side, as is the city itself. The pavements along the new road have been dug up every 5 metres or so ready for a massive tree planting session. The trees will probably just be there one morning when we wake up.....

…..after slipping on the wet walkway last week my back is still sore, as are my ribs on the right side. It hurts a bit less when I cough but I can still only sleep on my back. I tried to lie on my side last night but after thirty seconds gave up.....

…..maybe my sore ribs are making me irritable but after a particularly trying class with class 3/9 I shake my head as I return to the teachers' office & ask Suzy why we are bothering to teach these kids English or maths or other standard school subjects. I suggest we teach them how to trap wild animals & forage for seeds & roots, as they will be required to do when they return to their natural environment.....

…..Suzy finds my suggestion highly amusing. She translates it for Liu Cui Ping, the 3/9 class teacher. Later I look round & find three penitents ready to apologise for their behaviour in class. I accept the apology but also ask them if they CAN listen. “Yes, teacher”. Hmmm. I return to what I was doing but another group arrives, then another & another. Their voices are so small & distant I wonder if I am losing my hearing after being almost deafened in class.....

…..the manager of a family lighting business, Kevin Zhang, found the addresses of the Australian teachers at the school & introduced himself via email. He studied in Sydney & is keen to make contact with Australians. I wrote back & in the end Paul & I, plus Cathy, who overheard our plans & hitched a ride, despite being Canadian, accept his offer to collect us for a trip to the factory. We wait at the bottom of what used to be Qinyou road on a windy & smoggy Saturday morning. The factory is on the north side of Yangzhou, around thirty km from the city centre. It's trips like this which bring home the size of Yangzhou & emphasise that it's not just a small, one street town.....

......Kevin is very chatty, full of praise for Australia & misses the beaches & blue skies. He is also suffering some reverse culture shock as his friends who have never been overseas find it hard to related to his experiences. I wonder if I'll find the same thing when I return to Australia for the summer holidays in July & August?.....

…..having originally thought the family owned factory would be a small affair making table lamps or bedside lights it turns out that it's a large fabrication works with around two hundred employees making all manner of street lights. By the thousands! They'll make them in virtually any shape that steel can be bent, cut or welded. The columns for the airport lights are up to forty metres high. The workers are there seven days a week. Kevin tells us most are happy to work the hours for the extra money. He also says they can have time off if notice is given. I don't ask whether there is holiday pay.....

…..some of the occupational health & safety issues would cause issues in Australia. Like the welding that goes on in the street outside small fabrication shops in the city there are no screens around to protect passers by from the intense ultra violet light which can result, as I know from experience during my engineering apprenticeship, in “arc-eye”. It feels similar to having sand kicked into your eyes. Angle grinders flood the air with sparks & the zinc powder coating booth is in the middle of a large room which is thick with the fumes from the process, carried out by a man wearing a simple wraparound face mask.....

…..Kevin takes us for lunch at a little restaurant across the road. There's fish soup, eel, beef, chicken, goose, prawns & more. Cathy doesn't really like any of it very much but Paul & I are happy enough as we start the long drive back to the school.....

…..I print some photos of the staff at the Shi Hua hotel in Harbin that I took on my last night there. They write back to thank me & ask if I can send more by Email. I send them the link to my Photobucket site. I am happy to get this very charming reply. A satisfying end to my trip to the frozen north:

Dear David:
Thanks again for your beautiful photoes , We will save them forever ,Wish you have a good journey in China.And welcome to Harbin and to our hotel again. Wish our friendship will be forever .
Yours good friends in Harbin

…..I also get a reply from my new friend Eric, the industrial designer from Seattle. We spent some time exploring Beijing together when we found ourselves sharing the same dormitory at the Sleepy Inn Hostel in Beijing. I'm waiting for more news of the rest of his trip. The line I have used as a title for this Yangzhou Yingwen Weekly is the funniest thing I've seen this week. The answer is a multiple choice: a) Panic, b) curl up in a foetal position or c) Run away. My memory, as anyone who knows me will realise, is not as phenomenal as Eric assumes. It is a result of making notes during my stay in China, a very good discipline I have found.....

Hi Dave,

This email is truly phenomenal! How you remembered such detail is unreal. It's like we traveled along side you and thanks for the honorable inclusion.

I have thought about you tons since we parted. Your curiosity, enthusiasm and just plain infectious energy to travel was a true inspiration for me when things got rough and not so much fun. I thought "what would Dave do?" and that encouraged me to put my self out there, just to see what might bubble up. Thank you. This sort of attitude shifting was the only goal for my trip and you were the catalyst.

I have much more to say and share in the future. I was starting to feel guilty for not promptly replying so I want to at least express my appreciation.

More to come,
Eric

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