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Knacker's Yard
All sprts of things were being salvaged, some to be sold, others to be utilized by the families.We are completing our third month here and have realized how integrated we have become into the program and the students here. No mistaking our foreignness for sure, but students have seen the opportunity we present and have vigorously seized upon it. They come to us with their professional and personal challenges and it has been a real privilege to be of use. We continue to be amazed at their talent and naiveté, their hard work and their acceptance of things that we would find intolerable. I have but three classes left to teach, followed by three weeks of presentations by students of their final projects. I think both sides will undergo some withdrawal when we return home/
We had the May Day holiday off and spent a week meditating and working at the Vipassana Center in Hong Kong. It was a very primitive site, the weather was quite hot and humid (all the dorms and meditation hall were air conned!) and the people were great. The teacher was open and engaged, had great command of English and made us feel welcome. Due to some foul-up, Ellen and I became course managers upon our arrival, a bit awkward since most
Our knitting host
She was working on this highly detailed sweater project for a child left behind in the countryside. We were invited into their courtyard by her friendly smile and open attitude of the students spoke only Cantonese; but we managed and our fellow Dhamma workers were very supportive. One of them was a Hong Kong psychiatrist who I plan to meet with when I get back to Hong Kong later in the month. Although the course was identical to the one’s we have attended in the US, things were just a bit different. I imagine the Pope has similar reactions when he steps into a Catholic service in Africa, with animist references around. All in all, a great way to spend a week.
That Sunday, Ellen’s 54th, we traipsed around Hong Kong, a perfectly beautiful day including Indian vegetarian food, a Rothko exhibit, needed purchases of books, and what I am told was a great ride on the harbor (Old Iron Belly was inside, chugging back Cokes to keep from sending forth the Indian lunch!)
Yesterday was the best weather day we have had since we arrived: 80 degrees, clear blue skies, minimal pollution, and low humidity. (It made us both a bit homesick as it was reminiscent of a beautiful spring day in Vermont). A friend took us on a tour of a “village” within Guangzhou. These are
There are always teenagers!
At first, she tried to restrain her enthusiastic younger brother, but she eventually joined in the fun! areas inhabited by people related by kinship or region and are rather self-contained within warrens of narrow alleyways. All the necessities (telephone shops, beauty salons with prostitution as a sideline, groceries, food stalls, etc) are available, the streets are shaded and very clean and the conditions range from very basic to quite decent. One stop we made was at the “knacker’s yard”, a courtyard where the “village” trash collectors live. The courtyard was filled with the things the retrieved from the trash, things that they would be able to sell for additional money. There were thirty people living there, they were all from the same community in Sichuan, and they were quite eager to talk with us. They earned 800 RMB ($96) a month plus a small housing allowance. They supported themselves as well as family back home in Sichuan and stated that their work here was much easier than farming in the countryside.
They were sorting newspaper and plastic containers, cotton batting and cans, dismantling chairs for the steel legs and tying everything up in neat bundles. The roofs were lined with shoes, which is some sort of talisman in parts of China. The accommodations were basic, dark
One of our hosts
The women were first to greet us, only after a while did the men appear and cast a somewhat skeptical eye on the three waigouren (foreigners). We were likely the first foreigners these folks had even talked with (even if it was thorugh our friends translation) and clean, but the rats running around the yard were guileless and not given much mind by the human residents. The prowling cat seemed very well fed.
We then wandered into a community center and found people from 30-90 years of age playing mahjongg, Chinese checkers, some card games, and kibitzing. The center had been a school and was clearly a valued part of the village.
Walking out into the commercial area nearby, we were startled by the step back in time we had made and it took a while to readjust to the noise the tumult and the commerce. All in all, a fine Guangzhou day!
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Nancy Cz
non-member comment
Enjoying your blog
I've been checking in from time to time (thanks for the reminder, Ellen!). It's always very interesting to read what you've all been up to!