Happy BD Pop!

Hi Pop! Just wishing you a happy birthday w/ this video. Love Tom & Eileen

Merry Christmas!

Merry Christmas to you all. We ended our semester at school & everyone was relieved. A flood of teachers left that Friday evening to head out of China to enjoy the holidays. We, for once, are sticking around & will leave on the morning of the 26th for Chiang Mai, Thailand for about a week & then head to Bangkok for the teacher's job fair or the shark frenzy. While I'm typing this out the apartment management to playing Christmas music & it is religious to boot; or real Christmas music. I don't know who recommended this to them but it sure is nice. We just finished visiting a friend from the church who just had a new addition to their family. Little Joel was a premature baby & things were not looking so good at first but thanks be to God everyone is okay. Back to the last days of school. Mentally, everyone was checked out so I dressed as Santa to celebrate the last day of school. I stuffed my backpack w/ a pillow & wore it front of me. I was sweating up a storm. It was fun. The photo of us in front of the tree is by Shekou Sea World Square. It was party time over there! People were just buzzing about. Our church just finished a series of Christmas concerts around town. Yup, here on the mainland the worship team put on 4 concerts. One of them was an out door concert at a popular shopping mall. Tomorrow we will have services & then people from our small group will gather at our small apartment for a catered turkey & dressing lunch. Yum! Oh, that photo of Eileen next to the student dressed as a soldier is some school we walked by & the school was putting on a play, cute huh? Well, love & peace to all. May Jesus bless you all greatly.

Chinese herbal medicine & baked goodies

Sorry for the long delay in jotting down some thoughts but it has been too busy. We try to have a nice vacation to Vietnam but did not go for several reasons. One we didn’t know that you have to have an email letter from the VN consulate that approves your travel to their country. You take that with you to the airport & then you fly into VN where they process your tourist visa. Then we figured by that time we got that email letter the next typhoon would be right behind us dumping a ton of rain. So it would “rain on our parade.” We ate the cost & hung out here. We spent some great time w/ friends but Eileen caught a cold which turned into a sinus infection. A week later w/ the same infection Eileen had enough. She asked one of our Chinese friends to make an appointment with a Chinese herbalist. About 30 USD later Eileen had the “ingredients.” She came home w/ large plastic bag of herbs & some liquid in small capsules. Also, you have to purchase a cheap ceramic pot to cook everything in. You first soak the herbs (looks like potpourri) for 20 minutes in room temp water & then boil it for about 30 minutes. The apt. smells like a perfumed farm. Drink a "bowl" twice a day before lunch & dinner. Both the boiled potpourri & capsules taste is like bitter cough syrup. Yum! We will see in about 4 days the results. To cheer ourselves up we went out to one of our favorite Chinese restaurants. There are a row of different Chinese restaurants from the various provinces in China. Next to the one we visited is a Henan restaurant & the video clip is a typical over where the guy is baking some kind of large muffin. Enjoy!

Back in China & rolling or stumbling along

Well, we made it back mid morning on the 8th of August & got right into unpacking & setting up our new apartment; 3rd apartment in this the start of our 4th year. Thank God our friends Ryan & Lainey unpacked our stored clothes & watered our plants while we were away. If not the clothes would have been covered with mold & the plants would have died. Only 2 pair of my shoes didn't make it, you can see the mold problem. It took a week to get things sorted & the internet pulled in. It feels like home. Because we're a little further from work we went out & bought bikes to commute to work, about 10 minutes. We went out with some new friends & fellow teachers Stephen & Kayla. So now were really into the culture as many do bike around. We stand out because we wear helmets. I began the school year with a cold which lasted about 5 day & now following it up with heat rash, yuck. Good health is not one of my better characteristics lately. The lead up to the beginning of school here at QSI Shekou was rough as in previous years. They don't seem to organize themselves for smooth transition to the first days of school but for me it was not bad. Most of the returning 8th graders will be going into some form of English preparing class as they scored low on the English aptitude test. Fortunately, the school hired qualified ELL teachers to help them & they are a super group of new teachers. For me I'm trying to get into a routine & pace myself. Next week will be our first full week so I'll write more about it then.

Wrapping Up the Summer in the U.S.

We’re now into our last phase of our summer break. After our time in NYC we flew to So. Cal. & spent time w/ my dad & our friends the Andersons. One of the best things about going to my dad’s is to visit all the thrift stores & load up for stuff we need for the following year. Over the last 5 months, my dad has been collecting educational DVD for my class. Then he & I went to check out a WWII air museum in Santa Ana named Lyon’s Air Museum. It was great because they had a bunch of Durenberger cars on special display. Later we caught up w/ our good friends, the Andersons. They we’re going through a major renovation at their home & it will be wonderful when it is completed.

Now we’re spending time in Modesto & San Jose. With most of the “work” portion of our summer break out of the way we’re spending time w/ family. The one thought that hit me when we spending time w/ family have been on the theme of growing old. I spent some great time w/ my father in Redondo Beach & yesterday we spent time w/ Eileen’s dad & his wife. The experience of growing old was evident in the interaction w/ our parents. For me, it was as if I was looking at my future self. The difficulties of aging gracefully were a reality that makes me write out these thoughts. Then there are nephews & nieces that span a wide range of years that reflect what were past life experiences for Eileen & me. Today is the day when many will go & worship the Ancient of Days. I will attend w/ many others & think about growing old & this odd title for God, the Ancient of Days. Somehow, I see the two intertwined in a manner that is very supportive for me in seeing each morning & evening. Soon it will be back to Shekou, Shenzhen, China for another busy school year; another year to live through, age gracefully, & live out another series of life experiences.

The Teacher's College of Columbia University

The Teacher’s College at Columbia University has been around for a long time. It has produced a lot of teachers for the city & state. This Readers & Writers Workshop is about 30 years old & proven very effect to help students improve in both topics, especially for NYC students. I feel quite like the odd duck here with all these very smart teachers who have majored teaching reading & language arts or elementary teachers who spend a lot of time in this subject. Most of the 1,200 attendees were elementary teachers and then middle school. They were generally female, Caucasians in their twenties or early thirties. Enjoy the photos!

NYC, Manhattan & Columbia University

So we got an apartment in Washington Heights of Manhattan for our 2 week stay. A friend recommended to find an apartment called vrbo.com. It was a wonderful resource. The neighborhood is mostly Hispanic I would think Puerto Rican. It is next to a park & full of people playing soccer, board games, or just hanging out. Unfortunately, the occasional smell of pot is in the air. I get the impression that everyone knows everyone. English is the secondary language so I feel like I’m back in China as being a minority. The price of stuff is way up around here. I heard an elderly man complain that after rent & food he has little left. The city is just old. Eileen said it is like a huge movie set that represents a former Eastern block city that is in decay. We did check out the Teacher's College of Columbia University. It is a nice place & I can see why it is one of the nation's best schools.

Back home in the Bay Area

Well we are back in the USA & it has been a wonderful two weeks with Eileen’s side of the family in San Jose & Modesto, CA. Besides eating very “American” foods we caught up with the time change & the lives of her family. The first couple of days we spent taking care of banking issues, junk mail, cell phones, & other personal business. It was amazing how much junk mail we got while away. I went through the pile & contacting publishers to take us off their mailing list. It was neat to see everyone & enjoy the surroundings. The two cities above seem like ghost towns compared to Shenzhen. People laughed at us when we said how clean the air was in San Jose. We went to Big Basin & Yosemite Park for one day trips. Those trips brought back such wonderful memories of what was once our home turf. Ah, it ain’t home anymore & the shape it is in is pretty bad. On the surface you wouldn’t notice anything bad but look & ask around, than you see the problems of a bad economy. Still a lot of “for lease” signs on industrial buildings & lay offs have become the norm. The attitude is pessimistic. Churches are just getting by w/ shrinking budgets. A few have house payments that are more then the worth of the home. Well, we are preparing for our NYC leg of this summer trip for the Reading & Writing Workshop at Columbia University’s Teacher’s College. Write more then.

End of another school year

Well, yesterday we wrapped up our 3rd year with QSI Shekou. We'll take a nice break to be with family stateside & 2 weeks of training in NYC. Then back for one more year. The classroom was packed up yesterday & I left it with a sigh of relief. It was not a year to be repeated. There were a lot of difficulties & challenges. I felt, along w/ many others, this was a year of disappointments but w/ enough good times to carry us through. The new leadership coming next year will have a lot to deal with.

Now we're packing up our apartment as the current landlord is selling this apartment. We will move close by but to a newer, smaller place. It is quieter & may be a 20 minute walk to the school.

The construction continues but the 1st phase should be done when we get back & that will be one of the most difficult phases. All this is happening to get ready for the university games to be held in August. Also, to jack up the rent because the neighborhood, Shekou, is going "high class." In the mean time everyone has been dealing w/ all the problems that come w/ construction.

Well, let me end it here & you all have a great summer.

Zap 'em dead

With summer weather upon us the humidity has increased greatly along with the number of mosquitoes. Which brings on the small chance of getting some infection like dengue fever, yuck. So we armed ourselves with an electric mosquito swatter (which works on flies) & repellent decanters. The 1st item is about the size of a racket ball racket and the wire mesh is electrically charged to zap 'em dead. They work great if you can get to them pesky boogers. The bugs literally explode on contact even though the tough ones you have to zap twice or smash 'em while they're stunned. The decanters work well. The one pictured has a little light that disperses a liquid scent in a room that mosquitoes hate. I don't smell a thing. Outside I cover myself w/ bug repellent to be safe. Wait...I hear a buzzing noise.

Beijing Opera a class

We had a great intimate Beijing Opera class just recently. A group called SACs (Shenzhen Asian Culture Society) hosted this special event in which several Beijing Opera students (9 to 11 year olds) with their teachers performed snippets of stories for a small group of us. It was really interesting because after a short performance they asked us to join them to learn the movements and explain the story line and purpose of the movement. The students were really talented and so cute! We also had two of China’s top performers who have since retired; a lady named Zhu Jin Ling and a man named Zhang Bao Zhi. They are now hosting their own opera schools. Enjoy the photos!

Fujian Province and the Hakka People

This weekend we took a tour of a minority group in the province north of us. Fujian Province is one of the homelands of the Hakka people. The Hakka are scattered in southern Asia & famous for their three to four story round houses. We took a nice night train to Yongding & arrived at 4:40am, whoa. Well, we are awaken every day at 4am to the sounds of fishing boats leaving Shekou for the ocean. Chug, chug, chug every 4am. We also visited a small city called Xiamen. The Hakka at Yongding built these round houses for protection & also it prevents wives from "cornering" their husbands. They still live in them & they are built from mud, gluten, straw, etc. & rammed into shape. The people are very hospitable. The first floor and court yard is for cooking, eating, storage, threshing, socializing. The younger folks live on the third & fourth floors. The area is mountainous & gorgeous! Sure beats Shenzhen. Xiamen is on the coast & directly across from Taiwan. There are several small islands around it & the tiny relaxing island of Gulangyu. It was a world wind trip but nice.

Construction Everywhere!

China's new national bird is the crane, the construction crane that is! Our part of the city is under massive construction overhaul. Shekou and it's port will be transformed into a fancy neighborhood of high rise buildings and other structures. This will take place over many years but the construction pollution is already getting on everyone's nerves. It seems everywhere you go, you are forced to take to the streets as sidewalks are torn up to update the infrastructure for these new buildings. Our school and surroundings will be replaced by newer bigger buildings. So in a couple of years, school admin hopes, the school will be in Chi Wan, Shenzhen, where the old port is now. The site is an old bicycle factory and all the four campuses will be under one roof. The entire area of Chi Wan will be flatten for this construction boom. So goes the rent! Nationals and expats agree that this is going to be an area out of our price range so those who can will look elsewhere to call home.

Chinese New Year or Xīnnián kuàilè!

This week starting on Thursday, 3 February, we celebrated the Spring Festival. Now the days prior are the busiest travel days in the country. Just about everyone tries to head back to their home province for their one & only annual vacation. Official vacation days here are about 11 a year but most of those days off are made up by forced work days on the weekends leading up to or after the holidays. Worker rights are not strongly adhered to as you can read in the news. The celebrations are fun & full of superstitions. The fun for them is fire off a variety of fireworks at all hours of the day but mostly at night…sometimes until 3am! That is why many expats get out of China during this time period. People with pets are concern as their pets are full of anxiety as it sounds like a war out there. The superstition part is that the firecrackers are supposed to scare away evil spirits. Then there is the burning of religious money for the dead to spend in their world. Yes, Chinese are very superstitious & a good example of it is found in this article in the BBC about China’s aging population:
http://www.bbc.co.uk/news/world-asia-pacific-12334284
Another one is found in The National Geographic magazine, January 2010, Title: “Restless Spirits”
http://ngm.nationalgeographic.com/2010/01/chinese-afterlife/hessler-text.html

Nanking Duck

As a gift from someone at our fellowship, we received a tasty treat known as Nanking Duck. You may have heard of Peking Duck but this is a product from Nanking. We had a friend translate the cooking instructions on the packaging & found out it was precooked. Therefore, you can eat it cold. However, we decided to take our toaster oven to the task by cooking the bird & then shared the experience with some friends, who remained friends after the meal. We took the famous cooking utensil to cut the duck, which is a meat cleaver. Every Chinese home has meat cleaver & wouldn't think of living without one. After cutting the duck in half, we quartered it. Then we wrapped it foil & tossed it into the toaster oven. Most homes don't have an oven as Chinese cook using a wok most of the time. In about 40-50 minutes the bird was ready. Yes, the duck does come with neck & head but they are used as a soup base. Besides being rather greasy it was pretty good if you like dark rich meat. All this to help bring in the lunar new year. Hmmm...maybe rabbit next?

The Muslim Noodle House

Around Shekou there are many eateries. Some of the best are the various Chinese ethnic foods. One of my favorite is called by Westerners "The Muslim Noodle House". The people who run it are either from Qinghai or Xinjiang Province. These two provinces are the furthermost west in China and the predominate religion is Islam. There are 52 or so ethnic groups in China & these nice people are called Uighurs or Uyghurs. Their food is very healthy & tasty. No pork here. Hopefully you can see how noodles are hand made from the 2 video clips. Can you smell the broth? It is one of the small joys of living where we do.