Back in Nanchang

It is Saturday and I have been back in Nanchang for two days now. It is strange, but I think I've had a bit of culture shock readjusting to life in this city after being in a very modern and beautiful Chinese city, Xiamen.

But I feel like Nanchang is sort of a home now, so it's rather nice to return to the chaos and down to earth people. The most noticeable thing in Nanchang is the abundance of dirt and grime. I think I have forgotten about it after living here for nearly four months by now. The people also are shorter and skinner, and they wear shabbier clothing than Xiamen.

Yesterday I ventured out to Walmart on the bus 231. The whole city is overflowing with people. I think it must be because of Spring Festival coming up. Everywhere you see people lugging around suitcases, or shouldering big bags hanging from bamboo poles. So the buses were also very crowded. When I returned to old campus on the bus, I was carrying two bags and I was plastered against the windshield. I was trying not to fall out the door or smash through the window. The people on the bus were just silently staring at me, like usual. I felt at home.

Then this afternoon I decided to go on a long walk in the bitter cold. I walked briskly along Beijing Lu (Beijing Street--they don't have very creative street names) for about an hour. Since it was a Saturday, it is social day. All the tiny shops were empty. The dark little restaurants, shoe repair stands, and bicycle parts shops were silent. Instead all the occupants of the businesses, plus residents from surrounding neighborhoods, were all stuffed onto the sidewalks gaily chatting away. It was like everyone came out to sun themselves and check up on their friends and relatives.

Numerous groups of elderly men played cards or mahjong on tiny tables with peg stools. Little children were running around, and women of all ages, shapes, and sizes knitted or clustered into little groups talking. Some men just lounged and smoked, and discussed things very animatedly. It was so pleasant to walk by these scenes. But then everyone would drop what they were doing to stare at me and enthusiastically proclaim, "HELLO!! NICE TO MEET YOU!"

Rachael, my roommate, returned yesterday after a wild expedition through rural Anhui province with some of her students. Jodi also returned today after visiting some relatives in the very modern and Westernized city of Guangzhou. So half of our team is back together.

I'll leave you with just a few pictures I took from Xiamen! The first picture is of Xiamen, of course. Note that the cars are actually driving in the lanes. This isn't typical of China! The second picture is the view of Xiamen's skyline from an island, Gulangyu. The third is of us at the beach. And the fourth is my pretty mysterious hair cut in Xiamen. I'm not sure if that guy was old enough to cut hair...

Xiamen amazingness

It is late Thursday afternoon and I have arrived back in Nanchang after the most wonderful visit south to Xiamen. I am used to being in underdeveloped, rather backwater places in China, like Ningxia and Nanchang, so to spend a few days in the "second most liveable city in China" was like a breath of fresh air, literally.

On Saturday night some of my other teammates, Jonathan, Aaron, Shannon, and I, plus Andy, a guy from another team in Nanchang, left on a 17 hour train ride bound for the Pacific Ocean south of us. It was a rather uneventful trip, and we arrived in Xiamen around noon on Sunday.

At first we just walked around half in amazement, half in shock. We couldn't figure out this city. Where we really in China still? It felt more like a balmy South American city or South Florida than southern China. But there were lots of Chinese people, so we knew we must somehow still be in China.

Xiamen was one of China's original "special economic zones," meaning that it attracted a lot of foreign investment and economic opportunities earlier and more successfully than most Chinese cities. So the place is bustling with fashionable people, nice cars, and a million skyscrapers. The weather is also extremely suitable for human beings and civilization, as it is at the same latitude as Miami, apparently. However, there was a noticeable presence of numerous street beggars scattered throughout all this glitz and glam and balminess.

People all seemed to take a lot of pride in their city. The pace was much more leisurely, and there were a lot of elderly people strolling around the beaches and palm tree-lined neighborhoods. The city was also extremely clean, and the buildings didn't look they were going to collapse any second on you. The warm sunshine shone quite brightly in the fresh air for all the days we were there. It was nice to clear my lungs and let my whole body thaw out from Nanchang.

Anyway, we got out of the train station and found our hotel that I had made reservations for. But, alas, the place didn't have a computer system or a booking system, really. They said they didn't have our reservation, even though I paid a $25 deposit, which is now in some black hole somewhere in the universe. And they didn't have any rooms available. We all stayed patient, even though there was a huge communication gap. Eventually we were referred to a hostel, the Easy Inn, up the road. It turned out to be cheaper and nicer, so that was resolved well.

For the rest of the day, we walked around Xiamen just gaping at things and relishing in the warm air in the middle of winter. It also felt easier to breathe, not just because of the better air, but because most people had seen foreigners before. We only ever saw a couple dozen of other foreigners, but they weren't such a rarity in Xiamen. Thus, nobody watched my every move. Nor did I hear people calling out "Hellloooooo!" every six seconds, like in Nanchang. It was rather relaxing. :)

We discovered a six story bookstore, which actually had some English books. I ended up buying an English-Chinese dictionary and the one Jane Austen book I have yet to read. Then for dinner my old friend from Topeka, Sam, met up with us. He has been teaching at a middle school in Xiamen since October as an independent teacher. It was pretty fun to hang out with him on the other side of the world. Plus, he is practically fluent in Chinese and knew a lot of Xiamen.

On Monday, we went to the beautiful campus of Xia Da, which is Xiamen's famous university. I couldn't have ever imagined a more gorgeous campus. There were pretty lakes, nicely constructed buildings, brightly colored flowers, and gigantic old trees. I thought I'd faint from the pure heavenliness of it.

Then that afternoon we took a ferry over to Gulangyu, which is a very famous island. It was even more gorgeous than the rest of Xiamen, and the weather was perfect. There were narrow lanes of old buildings, with an abundance of parks, houses, and museums. Cars aren't allowed on the island, so people ran up and down the streets carrying everything on their shoulders or in carts. You could also see the skyline of Xiamen and surrounding mountains. And the beach was a wonderful sight to behold. We just made a circuit of the island all afternoon, and I couldn't have been happier.

On Tuesday we wandered around the streets near Xia Da again, and walked near a Buddhist temple. We didn't go inside, though. I have visited a few temples and now I'm not very enthusiastic about going into those dark places.

After lunch we went to a couple's apartment, who are friends of Sam's. The husband is French-Canadian and the wife is Chinese, who has her P.h.D. and teaches at Xia Da, one of the best universities in China. They are both believers and they have the cutest, chubbiest baby ever. So they had invited us for tea, and we sat and chatted for nearly 3 hours. It was so restful and enjoyable.

Wednesday was my last day in Xiamen. Jonathan, Aaron, and Shannon left at 6 a.m. on a plane bound for Nanjing, so Andy and I hung out some of the morning. We mostly just walked around neighborhoods. Then I spotted a hair place and impulsivley decided to get my hair cut. That is a rather risky move in China, even if you know Chinese or have a translator. Your hair might come out in an afro, or maybe looking like string cheese, but I felt like Xiamen was a safer bet than Nanchang.

The eager salon staff immediately switched the upbeat Chinese music to pop music from the West. A tiny man with a lot of confidence wheeled his little hair-cutting suitcase over to me. Another guy handed me a cup of hot water. Then the only Chinese I could manage to communicate was "haircut" and cut "a little." I left the rest up to the flamboyant hair stylist.

Thankfully, it turned out decently. Never have I had such perfectly coiffed hair. He spent what seemed like an eternity cutting and blow drying my hair. The other staff stood around my hair murmuring about this work of art, which was "piao liang!" (beautiful), etc. But I did indeed feel very glamorous after I got my little 40 kuai ($6) make-over.

After lunch, Andy headed on a train for Guangzhou, so I was the only one remaining in Xiamen from the original group. So then Sam and I hung out, and just walked even further into the neighborhoods. We also walked through the most amazing park ever, which seemed to gush with sunshine, green lushness, and vivid colors. Later we visited his school and ate ice-cream near this lake or canal or something near the school. The place was lined with beautiful palm trees, chirping birds, and happy looking people. It was almost too good to be true.

Then around 6, I went into the train station for the journey back to Nanchang by myself. Since it is getting near Spring Festival, it was a little chaotic. I found the correct waiting room at the station, which was filled to the brim with hundreds of people. When they opened the doors for the train platform, there was such a surge, I had a fleeting thought that I would get trampled. People wheeling suitcases or balancing gigantic bags on a pole on their shoulders almost made me fall over. Then some fierce-looking men in uniforms blew whistles and screamed into bullhorns for people to keep order. For some reason, I was rather scared not only by the commotion, but by the sudden realization that I was all alone. Later, I remembered I wasn't really alone, but sometimes that's difficult to remember in the midst of a confusing situation.

Anyway, I survived the 17 hour train trip back to Nanchang without much incident. It was a tad bit nice to feel like I've come home, even though it is freezing cold, the streets are dirty, the people look underfed, and the sky and buildings are perpetually gray. And I'm trying not to begrudge Nanchang as I sit here at my desk with my feet in a bowl of lukewarm water, since my feet like to get frostnip, despite wool socks. But this is where I've been called for now, so I can feel joy even when I'm not surrounded by warmth and physical beauty, as I was in Xiamen.

All in all, my trip to Xiamen was very near perfect. I was warm and well, and I felt revived. It has also motivated me to continue strong in my work here, which is where He wants me for now.

Celebrating 15 years...

So happy anniversary from the university here in China! Blue Sky celebrated its 15th anniversary today, which sort of seemed like celebrating the founding of a country.

People have an amazing amount of respect and reverence for the president of this university, which has over 50,000 students. Apparently the president has a rags-to-riches type story. He was born poor and crippled, but started a business and became a millionaire. He is also one of the delegates to the government's People's Congress or something. In addition, he carried the Olympic torch when it came to Jiangxi, etc. The school and people in this area love him. For example, at the sport meet all the banners said something like, "Be like the Blue Sky president, and try your best!"

So he helped open the 15th anniversary performance at the new campus today, which was a spectacular and over-the-top event. When we arrived at the theater, we walked through a tunnel of police and military officers. They actually saluted when we walked between them. It was a very formal and special occasion. First we listened to the usual speeches from various officials for half an hour. We had to buy tickets, which didn't necessarily mean you got a seat, so there were lots of people standing along the walls and in the aisles.

The performances were quite unique. There were some amazing dances, songs, and costumes, most of which were very symbolic of something. There were dancers dressed as diligent students, singing the praises of the school. There were dancers who sang about the school and China, while very dramatic pictures and music played in the background. There were nurses who walked on stage while the blasting music made sure you felt how important and meaningful this noble profession was. Then there was what we called, "the army ballet." Some really good dancers in spandex army clothes danced. The stars of this piece were two comrades who had red berets and they helped each other get through every battle. There was also a dance honoring the spirit of the people during the Sichuan earthquake of May. Then they played music and showed pictures of disabled students smiling--two of which were my students. Those students have to struggle in a country where virtually nothing is handicapped accessible.

Once and a while during the three hour show, a very Western dance of some kind was performed, probably better than anybody in the West could do. After the army ballet, about two dozen guys dressed in baggy pants and jerseys break danced, and the crowd went wild. Then it was back to positive feelings about China and the university with additional dramatic dances.

During the whole event, there was plenty of banners, glitter, confetti, loud music, and smoke. And to wrap up the whole event, girls with university flags tied to their arms danced with lots of emotion. The gigantic video screen in the back showed a Chinese video at the same time with soldiers marching, tanks rolling through streets, and rockets being launched.

Well, this is probably my last blog entry for a few days. I leave tomorrow for the southern city of Xiamen. Thanks as always for your thoughts! Let me know if I can be thinking of you in a specific way.

Happy 2009!

Happy New Year, my fellow Americans!

There's not much to report in this blog entry for today. I just thought I would write because it's a special occasion.

Last night after roller skating on new campus, I ate lunch with one of my students on old campus. We had a great time and then we went and got some pictures taken at the very inexpensive photo booth place.

At night, my team, plus a couple of other guys from ELIC in Nanchang, and I hung out playing games until the new year arrived. Of course it was enjoyable. But then things got less enjoyable when my teammate Shannon went to unplug a hand-warmer thing from the wall in her bedroom. We just saw one huge spark and suddenly Shannon was on the ground. She got electrocuted sort of badly. One side of her left hand is black and there is a burnt hole. It looked so painful and terrible. It was sort of like a nightmare. Shannon, however, is an ex-cop and is pretty tough, so she is surviving quite well.

Today I just cleaned our apartment for 5 hours, since my roommate is off in a far-away province. Then Jodi and I wandered around the alleys in the neighborhood, visiting our favorite people, like the "watermelon lady", etc. We also got our hair washed for an hour at the same place as last time, for the low price of 8 kuai (roughly $1.15). Then we just ate some steamed dumplings at our favorite place for dinner.

So that is my amazingly uneventful day! I thought I'd wish you a happy New Year and share some pictures. The first picture is from today when we visited the watermelon lady, who actually just sells oranges and apples now. The second is when my team and I were served a lamb for dinner the other day. This is just half of the lamb--the other half was on the other side of the table. The third picture is an awesome one Jodi took when we went roller skating. The final picture is just one of the roller skating "rink" on new campus.

Reliving 1994

When I turned eight years old in 1994, I thought I had the best birthday ever. I spent it at Skate Away, the very lively skating rink in Topeka, where I loved to skate with my little friends. And honor of honors, Skate Away proclaimed this special occasion on their sign overlooking Fairlawn. I remember being so happy that all of Topeka could see this sign saying something like, "Happy 8th birthday, Laura!" And that was probably the last time I wore actual roller skates.

And today I had the opportunity to wear true roller skates again, 14 years later! I went with my students, Wendy and Karen, to the "skating rink" at new campus. This rink was amazing. It was actually just a gigantic room with concrete floors. There was a big set of windows that let in natural light. There weren't any crazy disco balls or flashing lights. It was still a lot of fun though.

I rented black roller skates for 5 kuai. They were black skates- size 42 men's skates. All the girls had brown skates, but there weren't any big enough for my American Midwestern feet. In fact, I barely made it in the men's skates. The biggest size for men was 44. Thank goodness my feet stopped short of that size, otherwise I might have never been able to skate in China!

The place was filled with energy. As the minutes went by, the room filled with more students skating in their China-y clothes, which reminded me of the good old days in 1994. There was some really funky music playing, and everyone had a great time.

There were some of the most amazing roller skaters I've ever seen. They blew the Topeka Skate Away pros out of the water. They went backwards so quickly, the air buzzed around them. Then they just hopped over our feet while we were resting on a bench. They also formed chains, holding on to each other's backs while skating at about 100 mph. It looked like a congo line. Some guys also could spin with their hands on the floor. It all was dizzying.

Wendy, Karen, and I skated hand-in-hand for over an hour. And of course some of the best skaters decided they also wanted to skate with us. It was so crazy, I thought I was going to die. They put me right in the middle of one of those chains. I couldn't move my feet fast enough to keep up with them, so I just tried to cling onto them and survive. It was so fun and scary at the same time.

But, at one point after about the fifth lap of this, my skate caught on the uneven floor and I collided with the floor and the other skaters in horrifying slow motion. Good thing I had so much long underwear on for padding. I fell on my right side going at the sound of speed, and then the several people behind me also careened into the ground. Thankfully, everyone tried very hard not to kill me. They were so courteous as they smashed to the concrete. I covered my head as everyone leaped over me and around me, barely missing me by 2 centimeters. So then our whole cool skating line was in a gigantic heap because I fell. It's pretty funny to think about it now.

Then everyone had to make sure I was okay, although they were more likely to be hurt than I was. I ended up breaking the wheels on one of my skates, so some boys with huge hair and amazing skating skills tried to fix the foreigner's gimpy skate. Alas, they couldn't fix it and I was embarrassed to attract so much attention, like usual.

So it was actually a really fun time. I realized it was great exercise that is acceptable for girls to do in China, unlike weight-lifting, etc. Perhaps I can invest in a pair of rollerblades and skate again with my students and new-found skating rink buddies.

Now it's off to dinner with one of my students. Everything's so busy, I've hardly stopped to think that today is the last day of 2008! What a challenging, but wonderful and blessed year!

Christmas Day 3

The past couple of days have been quite different from the usual. Well, as usual as China can be.

Yesterday our team had a little retreat to just lift up our thoughts and study the Word. It was a wonderful time away from the craziness of life. We were able to momentarily forget about the rest of the world to spend time with Him.

In the evening I went out to buy a sweet potato on the street for dinner. Then I bought some oranges from the "watermelon lady." I gave her a scarf Mom had sent me in the mail, because she always looks freezing. I handed it to her with two hands, saying "Sheng dan kuai le!" (Merry Christmas). She looked so thrilled, smiling with her two teeth. And she grabbed my hands shaking them very excitedly. Then she gave me a couple apples for free. As I was walking away, I almost started crying, because I was just so glad that I could help brighten her day a little bit. She also always brightens my day!

Today, from 9 a.m. to 5:30 p.m. we had our Christmas party for our students. We had three different "stations" of activities for each class of students. We had a dizzy Santa relay race, where the students had to put on a Santa outfit, run to the other side and spin around, and then run back to the rest of their team. We also had singing Christmas carols and then acting out the Nativity story.

About half of my students came all the way from new campus in the cold and drizzle. Here are some pictures and a video from the day's activities. It was a great day to open our homes to them and share more about what we believe in a fun way.

The first picture is of some of my students acting out the Nativity story. The second is of me with a bunch of my students. The third is of the dizzy Santa relay. The video is of some of my students singing "The Twelve Days of Christmas" and they're so cute!

Christmas time

Merry Christmas to everyone in America!

Right now in China it is already the day after Christmas, so I'm thinking of all the family and friends who are currently celebrating Christmas back home.

Yesterday was a very pleasant day, for the most part. Our team ate a good breakfast together and opened some presents. We bought or made presents for each other that cost under 10 kuai. Then some of us watched "It's a Wonderful Life." Later we went and took pictures together at a little China-y photo booth place for fun. We also ate Christmas dinner together in one of the smoky, drafty Chinese restaurants. But it was good.

So I hope you all are having a wonderful, blessed day! Here are just a few pictures from the past couple days. The first is one of some really good cha-cha dancers at the worker's union performance on Christmas Eve. The second one is when I was dancing for the same performance. The third one is of me with some of my Christmas presents from students--a face mask for the cold and a huge stuffed dog.