Hello all,
This will be my last China update for this school year. I return to
Canada in just a day or two.
Driving to Average Heights
It has been nice having a more relaxed pace (both of the last two years
I had to prepare to move as well as examine my students). One Saturday
(June 16) David needed to buy some new blank tapes for his video camera
so we hopped in one of the sort of cabs that park out front. They are
cars for hire, like cabs, but they aren't registered or marked and they
will negotiate more than the cabbies. We got a really nice driver this
time around, a friendly young man named Yao Mingchun. He joked that the
first part of his name is like Yao Ming the Chinese basketball player
who is the tallest player in the NBA. I think the athlete had Yao
Mingchun beat for height by about two feet though.
Chinese on the Road
He was a great driver for us. He spoke a little bit of English but not
too much so we had a chance to practice our Chinese with him. He was
very eager to help us with learning new words and improve our
pronunciation. He was also interested in learning some English with us.
So the whole time we were out with him was a casual Chinese lesson for
us. And he was also really helpful in our search for blank video camera
tapes. We had to go to four stores (with paid parking, walking and more
walking in between them) before we found one with the tapes. Yao
Mingchun paid for the parking fees and refused to let us reimburse him.
So we took him out to dinner instead, to a place that has now become a
favourite of ours for ribs. Their ribs are very tasty and the three of
us packed down quite a few. After dinner Yao Mingchun drove us back to
the University, and the whole trip cost us only 50 RMB (about $7.50 cdn)
complete with all of the stops and parking.
Making a Habit
So we were quite delighted when we went out to run errands three days
later and who should we find among the cabbies but Yao Mingchun, who
said he had only arrived a few seconds before us. This time I had a
camera with me (brought on the off chance that we ran into Yao Mingchun
again) and so now there are photos of our new favourite driver up on
David's website (http://www.themaninchina.com/index.htm) along with
David's version of our adventures.
Doggone Errand
That day we were going to the Temple market to buy a new dog collar.
They have a pretty good pet area there and we bought GouGou's last
collar there and it was a good one. Now, why, if the last one was so
good did we need a new one? Good question. While the nylon material of
the last one held up to GouGou's fierce love of pulling much better than
any leather one's we tried, the metal loop her leash attaches to finally
snapped under the strain. So Yao Mingchun came with us into the market
and helped us track down a new nylon collar. We bought two (gotta have a
backup with this dog). Then on to the grocery store where Yao Mingchun
waited for us in the rooftop parking lot while we bopped in for a few
things. Then home again, all the time while travelling either getting a
Chinese lesson, or singing Chinese songs together. Talk about getting
value for your money.
Door to Door Service
We now have Yao Mingchun's phone number and call him when we want a
ride. If he is available he comes right to our door to pick us up. What
a treat not to have to walk to the gate. We have had him as our driver a
half dozen times now and both he and we are having a blast with the
impromptu language lessons en route.
Berry Picking BBQ
Saturday, June 16 in the evening we were invited to join some students
on a Yangmei picking expedition the next morning (June 17) leaving at
9am. We promptly agreed, though didn't really know what the day would
entail. GouGou came with us (the students' had said it would be okay to
bring her) and we had a half hour bus trip to get to the park where the
picking would take place. The park gatekeeper/ticket taker was not as
certain that we could take GouGou into the park and she was balking at
our little dog. So David picked GouGou up and carried her through the
gate. One of the students told us the gatekeeper said we would have to
carry her wherever we went.
Into the Park
Well, we did carry her, until we were out of sight of the gate and then
did what we usually do and walked her on her leash after that. It was a
lovely park and a lovely day (overcast, but not rainy and not too hot
either). There were tea plants at the base of the hills and then Yangmei
trees on the hill side itself. If you want to see what Yangmei look like
(they are called Wax berries in English) go to my flickr site (http://www.flickr.com/photos/canadiandragon/
) or David's website (http://www.themaninchina.com). He has written up
his version of the day and has lots of pictures to go with it. My flickr
site has more pictures of the BBQ portion of the day.
Picking and BBQing
We had a fine time picking Yangmei with the students for a couple of
hours in the morning and then it was off to a picnic/BBQ area of the
park. There was both a covered and uncovered picnicking area with tables
and benches. It was interesting to note how it was both similar to and
different from a barbeque area in a N. Am. park. The tables had tile
surfaces and a rectangular hole in the top where small rectangular
barbeques (which could be rented there) fit. Every kind of food I saw
cooked on the BBQs was put on skewers first, from veggies to bread to
meats and tiny shrimp.
Skewered
The students we came with had packed a Styrofoam cooler with lots of
meats and things on bamboo skewers. There were also a few packages of
meat and extra skewers for us to make some additional skewers on site. I
helped with the extra skewering and David got a Xiangqi (Chinese chess)
game going. The students looked after us well, feeding us BBQ pork,
beef, Chicken wings, doufu (tofu). It was very tasty. A very nice day
was had by all.
Looking Ahead
I am looking forward to next year. I have delusions that I will get many
of the same courses to teach next year (I may actually have a schedule
for the coming term before I leave for Canada, but I don't have one
yet.) and so therefore my class prep will be greatly reduced. This year
has been another killer year in terms of time spent on class prep. It
was beginning to feel like that was all I ever did. I do have quite a
trove of resources at my disposal now though and I am pretty proud of
most of the work I have done.
Even When We Don't Move, We Do
It is looking like we won't get off without a move though. They have
been building new teachers apartments in behind the building we are in
now and it looks like they plan to move everyone in to the new buildings
and then sell the apartments in the complex we are in now (I guess as
condos). If that is the case then we might push to get two apartments
side by side so that we will be able to have separate office space to do
our prepping in. I have a feeling we won't know anything for sure until
we get back. The nice thing is, even if we have to move we won't have to
pack everything into boxes at the same time and ship it across the
country. We should have some time to move and be able to do it in
pieces. We will probably find David's San Lun Che (three wheeled bike
cart) to be very useful again. And then of course we can always shanghai
some students and get them to help out.
Overlooked Skill
We had Zhai Zhen, the young student who will be looking after GouGou
this summer, over for a Western style dinner last Wednesday (July 11).
It turns out that this was the first time that he had ever eaten with a
fork and knife. I have never seen someone handle a fork and knife on
their virgin flight as it were, it was fascinating to watch. He looked
every bit as awkward with fork and knife as I have seen Westerners with
chopsticks for the first time. Interestingly, he did not look around to
watch how we were using the cutlery; he just tried to work it out
himself. Since both David and I have included a section on Western table
manners including using a knife and fork in our respective Western
Culture classes this term we were well prepared to give him cutlery use
tips (how to hold the knife for cutting, how to hold the fork for
spearing and for cutting, not to use the knife to put food into the
mouth, etc.). He seemed to enjoy the food and was very game with the
Western eating utensils.
Dog Gone
We took GouGou over to Zhai Zhen's Saturday evening (July 14) so that
they would have a couple of days to get used to each other before we are
out of town and harder to ask questions of. I think that one of Zhai
Zhen's roommates will also be on campus all summer and he said he also
likes dogs, so I think she will have a couple of live in playmates. So
her summer vacation has already started. We are feeling a bit strange to
be dogless, but have taken the opportunity to give our apartment a good
cleaning to clear away the dog hairs for the summer.
Packing it in for Now
Well, I have put off packing for long enough. It is time for me to send
this off and take out my suitcase. Have a great summer all!
Many hugs,
Ruth
For anyone who wants to send snail mail, I am told my address here is:
My mailing address here is:
Ruth Anderson
Rm. 202, No. 4, Teacher's Apartment
Lihu Campus, Southern Yangtze University
1800 Lihu Road, Wuxi, Jiangsu
China 214122
And yet another reminder that I have photos on the web. You can see them
at:
http://www.flickr.com/photos/canadiandragon/
I love comments, so don’t be shy.
Ruth's China Report January/2007
Ruth's China Report April/2007
Ruth's China Report June/2007
Ruth's China Report September/2007
Ruth's China Report November/2007
Ruth's China Report January/2008
Ruth's China Report February/2008
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