JiuZhaiGou - where Autumn kisses Spring

During our week in Chengdu, we managed to experience all four seasons in three days. JiuZhaiGou was the marriage of spring and fall. Although the leaves were just starting to change colours, there were still so many images of new life: wildflowers, butterflies and buds, and blossoms. The colours were vibrant and fresh and the air was so clean - so unlike any other place in China.

At the same time, the deep blues of the various lakes looked like they belonged with sandy ocean beaches and palm trees. We experienced the remnants of summer in Chengdu, with temperatures touching thirty degrees and plenty of sunshine.


Fall is definitely the best time of year to visit JiuZhaiGou. The vibrant reds, oranges, and yellows of the changing leaves contrast beautifully with the crystal clear blue lakes and waterfalls.

And who can forget winter? Even in the summer heat of Chengdu, we met Santa Claus and danced to Jingle Bells. On the drive between JiuZhaiGou and HuangLong, we passed by a glacier and snowmen. The temperatures at HuangLong were close to zero degrees, so we bundled up in scarves, mittens and long underwear. Anita had to buy a whole new outfit since she had only come with shorts and flip flops. Ironically, I was prepared for the cold since Anita had cautioned me to pack warm clothes before we left.

Adventures in Sichuan

I had the most memorable holiday in Chengdu, JiuZhaiGou and HuangLong. We arrived in Chengdu late Sunday night (or actually early Monday morning) because our plane was delayed (typically). We stayed in one of the best hostels in China: Sim`s Cozy Garden Guesthouse. Even though they`re located close to the heart of the city, they have a charming garden and terraced restaurant to welcome travellers. They provided us with so many conveniences: books and DVDs to freely borrow, fresh fruit in our room, cheap bike rentals, a panda tour, and an excellent map to help us navigate the city streets. Anita and I rented bikes the first morning and joined the hoards of bicycles, scooters, and mopeds in the congested bike lanes. The city is perfectly designed for bikes: most of it is flat and all the main attractions are within a twenty minute bike ride from our hostel. We explored a temple, bought panda cards (for 1 yuan, which got us free admission to 11 attractions) and had lunch at Chen`s Ma Pa Do Fu. In the afternoon we went to people`s park where many groups were celebrating the 60th anniversary of the PRC with music, song and dance. We floated from group to group, overwhelmed by the intensity of the sound of adjacent groups trying to drown out the competing noise. At one group, we sat to watch a troup of Chinese musicians play Spanish music. Then they gave a big welcome to all the foreigners and invited us to get up and dance with them. To our surprise, they started playing Jingle Bells and we bunny-hopped in the hot summer sun (only in China...)


In the evening, we caught a flight to JiuZhaiGou. We had been debating whether to fly or take a bus, but since the flight was 45 minutes and the bus ride 13 hours, we opted to travel by plane. As we were flying, we began to see why the bus ride was so long in comparison. The flat plains of Chengdu soon broke into mountains as we came to the edge of the Tibetan plateau. The views from the plane were amazing. As we got closer to JiuZhaiGou, we began to skim the mountaintops, glowing in the setting sun. We had only planned to spend one night and return late the next day, but as soon as I saw the mountains, I knew we had to try to stay longer. When we landed, we went immediately to the check-in counter, where they miraculously changed our flights on the spot without charging any fees! We took a taxi ride to the city with Shirly and Mike, a Chinese-English couple from Bahrain. On the way, the taxi driver told us about HuangLong, another beautiful scenic area, and told stories about how his friend`s taxi had broken down on the road to JiuZhaiGou and been attacked by wild animals. The weather was significantly cooler in JiuZhai Gou compared with Chengdu, so Anita and I went shopping for warmer clothes (Anita had only brought shorts and flip-flops but the park was 10 degrees). We had spicy hotpot for dinner and went to bed early since we knew we wanted to hit the park as soon as it opened the next morning.

We made the most of our 300 yuan ticket price by getting in the park at 7 am when it opened. JiuZhaiGou is 30 km long and peppered with waterfalls, trails, lakes, mountains, and scenic spots. We took a bus all the way to the end of the park and then insisted on walking the whole way out. I can`t even describe how beautiful the scenery is. All our pictures pale in comparison to the real thing. Anita and I walked the forested trails singing our hearts out in praise to God and stopping every five minutes for every photo opportunity. So many times parks are Chinafied (ie commercialized and kitschy) but JiuZhaiGou reminded us a lot of parks back home. After 11 hours of walking, we hardly felt tired - we were so renewed by the beauty and peace of the park. So many places in China are terribly polluted, but JiuZhaiGou had air as clean as Terrace. I wish that Maple Leaf had a school in JiuZhaiGou - I would teach there in an instant!

Anita and I were reluctant to leave the park at the closing time of 6 pm. At that point we were still a good 5 km hike from the park entrance and there were still many scenic areas we hadn`t explored. We decided that even though the sun was setting behind the mountains, there was still quite a lot of light and our legs weren`t tired, so we would walk the rest of the way out of the park instead of taking a bus. Now, we had the option of walking along the road (where we would take the risk of being picked up by a bus and escorted out of the park) or we could take a meadow path parallel to the road (where it would be less likely that the rangers would notice us). The meadow path was so appealing - wild, full of mountain flowers and birds, and away from the traffic. We jumped into the meadow and kept traipsing along, stopping for photos of flora and fauna. As we walked, we noticed it was getting darker, but we weren`t too concerned since we were relatively close to the park entrance. Eventually the meadow path led to a bridge which crossed the rapid river into a forest. At that point we had to decide whether to go back to the road or continue. I noticed on the map that the trail we were on would cross the river again after 4 km and connect back to the road, so we decided to walk in the forest. As soon as we did, it got noticeably darker and the stories that the taxi driver had told us about wild animals started filling our minds and making us imagine moving shadows. Anita and I started singing more loudly than before to keep away any animals and we started walking faster, with resolve. We must have walked for an hour, when it really started to get dark. We didn`t have any flashlights but thankfully there was still enough light to see the path. That`s when I heard the noise. As we passed by a clearing, from the underbrush, so close on my right hand side that I could almost feel the breath on my arm, I heard a loud growl. This was no dog growl either - it was more of a snort through the nose, a loud territorial sound. My skin crawled and I grabbed Anita`s hand and pulled her abruptly in the direction opposite direction. At first instinct, I wanted to break into a run, but my Jerry`s Ranger`s training taught me to back away slowly. We were trapped - ahead of us was a mysterious wild animal, behind us was an hour trek through now-almost-completely-dark forest, to our left was a raging river and the deceptively close highway, and to our right was the tangled underbrush. We walked back into a clearing, where we could see the sky and make out the highway through the trees. At first we were both terrified. I wasn`t sure whether to try to climb a tree, cross the river, or just stay put. Thankfully we had our cell phones and we called our hostel to see if they could send someone to get us. The people at our hostel were so kind. They couldn`t come to get us because the park was already closed, but they called the park staff for us. Meanwhile, Anita and I were singing and praying at the top of our lungs, trying to keep the animal away and asking for protection and guidance. Our hostel called back and let us know that the whole park staff was in a meeting and none of them were answering their phones. At this point we had already been standing in the clearing for an hour, getting cold in our totally unsuitable outfits. I was beginning to think we might have to spend the night in the clearing and try to make our way again at daybreak. I rummaged through my purse to see if I could find anything to serve as a weapon, and only managed to find a hairbrush, which I brandished in my right hand. That`s when the skies started to cloud over and it began to pour, complete with thunder and lightning. We sang and prayed until our voices were hoarse, and amazingly both of us were overcome with a sense of peace and joy. Suddenly all our songs about being lost, deliverance, God as our light... took on a completely new meaning. Ironically, we got some random text messages from other teacher friends asking us how our holiday was going and telling us to have a good trip, which made us laugh hysterically. Our hostel called us again and told us that they were in contact with the police. The police sent a search party out to find us, but not before giving our hostel friends a lecture for not registering us properly. They yelled at the hostel and threatened to shut them down, while the hostel begged that they could figure out the paperwork later, but find us first. Thankfully, we had a map and knew exactly where we were, so we could direct the search efforts. The police drove down the highway with their lights flashing and we called them as soon as we saw the light (another hour later). They told us we were pretty close to the exit and that we should just walk out of the park. Are you kidding? With a wild animal potentially in our path? We insisted that they send some people in with a flashlight, so a bunch of young park rangers came to get us. I can`t describe what it felt like to finally see that flashlight shining through the dark forest. The rangers were goofballs and kept teasing us and hitting the trees with their umbrellas so that water would fall on our heads and make us jump. When we came to the place the animal had been, we heard the growl again, and asked the rangers what it was. A cat, they said, a bird, a bunny... I still don`t know what it was but I was glad to get past it. In the end, we had only been a ten minute walk from the exit. Maybe if we had known how close we were, we would have just run past the animal instead of backtracking. In any case, we made it out alive and unharmed. We had to go to the police station afterwards and write a statement. The atmostphere was tense. Our hostel staff recommended that we pretend not to know any Chinese and act apologetic. The police seemed to be on a bit of a power trip and seemed annoyed that we had made them work that night. They insisted that we write our full-page statement formally and they even corrected our English. It was almost as unnerving being stuck in the police station as being stuck in the forest. But we eventually made it home and collapsed in our beds without even eating dinner. We learned so many life lessons that night - that even though sometimes we insist on walking our own paths that really look appealing, they can eventually lead to trouble. We were amazed by how God provided us both with such a sense of His presence and protection that we were filled with peace, even at the scariest times.

China's catching on

Looks like China caught wind of my proxy and now I'm only able to get patchy access to my favourite websites: facebook, blogspot, and youtube. Freedom of access facebook should be a basic human right!

I'm starting to settle into my teaching rhythm, just in time for a holiday. I can't wait to see the pandas in Chengdu and go hiking in the beautiful scenic area of JiuZhaiGou. Anita and I fly out on Sunday night and get back again on Friday so that we have a weekend to relax before school starts again. I've had a touch of the flu lately and with the whole H1N1 scare, I had to get a checkup at the school's clinic. Thankfully I don't have a fever, so I'm still clear to teach, but many schools around the world are closing their doors for a while until the swine flu starts to clear. Even Maple Leaf in Wuhan is closed for the week, so I keep wondering if our turn will come too.

I'm trying as much as possible to turn lemons into lemonade with our extra homeroom block. Last week we had fun playing Balderdash and this week we read a current Time article about China's growth over the last 60 years and its current role in global economics and politics. The girls were surprisingly well-informed and able to discuss both China's achievements and the costs of growth over the past 60 years. Reading the article I learned many things I didn't know before, like that

* China has the third largest GNP and is set to overtake Japan in 2010
* China is the first major economy to recover from the global recession
* The communist party helped pull 200 million people out of poverty
* China operates on a model of quasi-state capatalism and semidemocratic authoritarianism (whatever that means)
* China makes two-thirds of the worlds photocopiers, microwaves, and shoes
* China has 2,100 peacekeeping troops in over a dozen nations - more than any other member of the UN security council

But at the same time,
* Pollution is among the highest in the world, which leads to 28.5% of deaths due to malignant cancer and 13.1% from respiratory disease
* 207 million people still live on less than $1.25 per day (poverty is really evident in JinShiTan in the migrant workers who built this campus and the people living in the villages. Many people are being relocated from their small brick farming homes in the countryside to the apartments so the land can be developed. For the elderly, the dramatic change can be traumatic and we've been witnessing a lot of funeral processions in Manjiatan.)
* Income disparity is among the highest in the world (which in some ways I'm propagating by teaching the upper echlons of society)

I took the opportunity to talk with my class about the work our Maple Leaf Angels club plans to do this year. Last year we fundraised and bought winter clothing and shoes for orphans. We volunteered at the orphanage a number of times and hope to do so again this year. We also want to visit the local public schools and set up a buddy/English reading program. I told the girls that it's not just the responsibility of the government to make change, but that individuals can make a difference in the world. I tried to show them that making a lot of money, getting into the best universities, and getting a great career wouldn't necessarily make them happy or fulfilled, but most of the girls seemed skeptical. There is a general feeling that wealth will solve problems and bring fulfillment.

As we prepare to celebrate the 60th anniversary of the PRC, I encouraged the students to celebrate how far China has come, but at the same time to keep in mind the current challenges and how they might be able to address them. I urged them to connect with their families during the holiday and learn the personal stories and history of their parents and grandparents. Here are some amazing pictures of preparations for the celebrations in Beijing:
http://www.boston.com/bigpicture/2009/09/china_prepares_for_its_60th_an.html

The Fall of my Discontent

There is a general sense of disenchantment hanging in the atmosphere at Maple Leaf this year, which even manages to flap my unflappable optimism. Maybe these sentiments have simply been exacerbated by the twelve-and-a-half-hour workday I put in yesterday and I'm sure I'll find some relief after our week-long trip to Chengdu coming up September 27.

It all starting with a tantalizing, yet elusive carrot dangled before our noses. We had planned to start this year with professional learning communities - a block built into our weekly schedule for small-scale local pro-d. This was intended to go hand-in-hand with a laptop program which would equip each student with one computer so that they would be able to use language programs to improve their English while we were in our learning communities. This plan is still pending approval and is now set to begin in February, so for the first two terms, the admin adjusted the schedule to Plan B. This plan was brilliant in theory, but impossible to implement in practice. We have five 75-minute blocks every day, and the kids take nine different classes. We alternate between day 1 and day 2 on Monday/Wednesday and Tuesday/Thursday respectively, while Fridays alternate every other week between day 1 and day 2. We teach 6 of the 9 blocks and get 3 blocks of prep time. So you might be wondering what happens to the tenth block? At first, every Tuesday and Thursday afternoon was scheduled tutorial time. Our tutorials were actually built into the timetable. I naively thought this was wonderful and scheduled my tutorials for the end of Tuesday and Wednesday lunch. My schedule is a little unbalanced this year since all my prep blocks are on Monday and Wednesday, whereas I teach straight through Tuesday and Thursday. I still put my tutorial on Tuesday, just to ensure I would never need to stay after school for tutorial. The trouble was that after the first week, it was evident that most students were not attending tutorials, so there were a lot of unsupervised kids running around, which really didn't please the Chinese administration. In comes the sudden change of plans. Instead of tutorials and the end of the day on Tuesday/Thursday, now we need to hold classes with our flag-ceremony homeroom kids in order to ensure that every student is in a class. This year Sherman Jen hired a bunch of experts to help us with English enhancement across the curriculum. So in our previous tutorial blocks, now each of us teaches an English enhancement lesson. We are provided with a lesson plan, but the trouble is that it's the same lesson plan for ESL students who have barely learned a hundred words, to the grade 12 zhou en lai class who are studying words like fallaciloquence for the SAT. Last class, the students spent 75 minutes making flashcards.

The trouble is that now I've had to move my tutorial block to afterschool (while I kept the Wednesday one at lunch time). So here's what happened yesterday: wake up at 5 am to shower early so that the hot water recovers enough for Anita's 6:30 am shower (our hot water lasts about 10-15 minutes and then takes about an hour to recover), go to school at 6 to prep/mark, start teaching Math 10 at 7:40-8:55, 15-minute break spent answering student questions, Math 10 again from 9:10-10:25, 25-minute flag break spent answering questions and checking dBabble, Math 12 from 10:50-12:05, lunch spent in a Math 11 meeting, Math 12 again 1:00-2:15, homeroom block making flashcards 2:30-3:45, afterschool tutorial typically 3:45-4:45, but this time I had to invigilate exams for kids who claim to already have credit for math courses completed in other countries so tutorial went until 6:30 pm. Come home too exhausted to eat dinner (but still managed to heat up some pepper steak and mashed potatoes, mmm :)

Aparently these homeroom-tutorials are supposed to last only until the September holiday and the admin is looking for ways to improve the situation. There have been rumours that we might return to the old timetable of seven 50-minute blocks per day, but that wouldn't provide enough break time between classes for teachers to run back and forth between the two campuses. Rodi, for example, teaches boys on the fifth floor, then girls (a five-minute trot across the somewhat dangerous street) on the four floor, then boys again on the 5th, girls on the 4th, boys on the 5th and finally girls on the 4th. She will be so fit by the end of the year!

Money is tight in the Maple Leaf system this year after the expansion of the school buildings despite declining enrollment. Teachers on the boy's campus need to account for every whiteboard marker they use (for me, these whiteboard markers run out after two blocks of teaching). I've been trying for weeks to get a key to my console so I can use my projector like I did for lessons last year, but I wasn't able to get it until yesterday. I was elated to open my console, only to find that the wiring hasn't been completed yet. This means I need to rewrite all my lessons from last year and that I'm going through exponentially more whiteboard markers.

The one positive thing is the Maple Leaf people. We're all in this together and somehow the trials only strengthen our bonds. I don't blame the admin team - they're a wonderful bunch, but it's just difficult to find compromises and solutions within this Chinese/Canadian system. There's still so much segregation between the two cultures - it would be so nice if we worked together more. Here's hoping that all the wrinkles will get ironed out soon!

Teacher's Day

We celebrated teacher's day last week and we were serenaded by the whole student body in the school's rotunda. The girls sang a heart-rending rendition of "We Think of You" and showered their teachers with notes, cards, and flowers. Even though the new girl's campus still has some technical difficulties, I have to say that it is a beautiful building. And our offices our completely decked out with cupboards, drawers, and really comfy chairs.

This weekend the weather was gorgeous. After worship practice, Anita, Sophia, and I went to watch the sunset in Labour Park. We took the gondola up to the top and absorbed the beautiful views of the city. Afterwards we had dinner at a Korean restaurant and I took off to complete my survey. I'm getting paid by a Swiss company to research the costs of tons of items in Dalian so that they can provide information about the cost of living in various cities around the world. It's interesting for me to find the prices of everything, but it's a lot more work than I was expecting. And some things like dishwasher soap and breaded fish sticks are just impossible to find. It's due today, so I'm just going to send in as much as I've finished and hopefully they won't ask me to keep working on it. I was lucky this time because the survey led me to the Shangri-La hotel. I felt odd just wandering in and writing down prices, so I sat in the cafe and ordered a delicious cheesecake for dessert while I perused the menu and surreptitiously recorded the cost of food, drink, fitness club membership, tennis courts, and hotel rooms. While I worked, I enjoyed a live piano/flute/cello trio playing the classics. It was just like home :)

Gong shows

I witnessed two gong shows this year so far.

The first was at the drum tower in Xi'an this July. It was a gong show in the literal sense of the phrase and actually a lot less chaotic and more musical experience than I was expecting.

The second, the construction of the new girls' campus in Jinshitan, was a complete gong show in the figurative sense of the phrase. The only unchaotic thing about this gong show was that we were all expecting it. When we arrived in Dalian, one week before classes were to begin, the girls' campus wasn't even close to ready yet. The poor new teachers were housed in a smelly hotel in Jinshitan with no drinking water or laundry supplies, while the returning teachers got their old apartments back or bunked with friends. I've been sharing a bed with Anjali for the past week (and enjoying every minute of it :) In some sense it was nice to get the extra bonding time before the school year started. Classes started on Monday and we were still hauling over textbooks and office supplies on Friday and the weekend. When we carried things over on Friday, migrant workers were still living in bunks in the classrooms. Walking into the textbook room, I was surprised to see ten men standing around their bunk beds, half clothed, smoking cigarettes. I complimented them on their buff arms and offered them twenty kwai to help us lug the heavy books up three flights of stairs, and they willingly helped us out. I was shocked that everything was completed by Monday and we were able to have the first day of school. The classrooms are still incredibly dusty and dirty and every day a new road is paved and a new peice of equipment is installed. On Tuesday, I noticed a strange odor (which is totally normal in China) and then saw that one of the pipes was smoking and an electrical fire had started in the hallway between my classroom and my office. One of the teachers tried to pull all the fire alarms, but none of them worked, so we had to evacuate the kids by rounding them up and escorting them outside. On the weekend, they're going to cut electricity to the building, so hopefully that means the problems will be repaired and we won't have any more electrical fires in the near future. At the rate this school was built, it's no surprise that there are some problems. Anjali moved into her new apartment yesterday and I'm jealous of her bathtub, kitchen cupboards and counters, and a laundry machine that she doesn't have to drag from one room to another. However, they only have one hot plate to cook food on and the places are tiny and still very dusty. I'm happy to be staying on the boys' side with Anita, since there are no two-bedroom places on the other side.

I love my classes so far and I'm looking forward to getting to know my 170 girls. But most of all, I'm looking forward to the day when the dust settles, literally, and the new campus starts to feel like home.

Can't seem to post

I don't know why, but I'm having trouble posting. My last post worked just fine, but all other attempts are not working. Maybe it's because of the content I'm trying to post...

The Great F*rewall of Ch*na

It's the beginning of another adventurous year at Dalian Maple Leaf International School. I'm finally able to post on this blog again after being bl*cked for months by the Great F*rewall of Ch*na. It all started with the 20th ann*vers*ry of Ti*n*nm*n Squ*re last school year. The ri*ts in Ur*mqi didn't help. So many sites have been bl*cked since: B*C, yo*t*be, blog sites and fac*book. I've tried a number of onl*ne pr*xies which have all slowly been bl*cked as well. After several frustrating attempts to break through, I finally found one that works, but I'm not going to divulge information about it lest it too be bl*cked and I once again fall off the map of cyberspace.

I spent July traveling around China with my parents. We had a wonderful time touring Xi'an, Beijing, Dandong, and spending a lot of time at home in Dalian. It was great to see China through my parents' eyes - it felt a lot like being here for the first time again. Here are some excerpts from my mom's journal:

"There is understandably a widespread fear of the swine flu virus. Before we were allowed to disembark from the airplane we were all given a temperature test, a quick swipe on the forehead. At the airport we were again given the test by young men and women smartly dressed in white shirts. All of them wore masks and looked very serious. They had badges on their sleeves that said “Police”. At Tianamen square we saw another group of young men and women wearing white shirts, but their badges read “security”. We know the people who work for the government are the privileged ones, probably envied, admired, hated, and feared by ordinary people"

"Going on the bus from the airport to city centre was great. The seats were clean with white covers at the head area. The highways looked strangely similar to our North American highways. The round signs reminded me of Europe. I was surprised by the greenery, the flowers and the trees. It seems the Chinese are serious about encouraging and preserving their natural beauty.
Going from the bus to our hotel was another story. We wanted a taxi and before we could get our bearings we were approached by a taxi driver. Thinking he drove the regular taxis we had seen on the streets, we accepted his offer, only to be taken to a beige car in an alley that didn’t look like a taxi at all. It was clean, though, and the seats were, as usual, covered with removable fabric. The driver insisted on carrying our bags but I think he got more than he bargained for. His grimaces spoke louder than words. He wasn’t a big man and the suitcases were weighted down by Catherine’s refried beans, canned cherries for black forest cakes, piano books, Body Shop shower gels, shaving cream and more. The handles were straining under the excess weight and I wondered if the suitcases might fall apart under the demands placed on the leather. They were old Samsonite suitcases I had bought for Art shortly after we got married. The suitcases survived and I’m sure the driver was glad to be rid of us. We still wonder if the price we paid for the trip was another rip-off. It certainly was a memorable ride through narrow alleys with many near misses and close encounters with other vehicles trying to squeeze by."

"A funny thing happened in the restaurant at lunch today. Art got his bowl of beef and vegetables and started to eat from it, which the Chinese local at the next table thought was hilarious. Art was puzzled, not understanding why they were laughing at him. Then it dawned on me that he was eating from what the Chinese consider a serving bowl. We cause a few guffaws about our (especially my) inept use of chopsticks too. The waiters helped us out of our misery by bringing us forks and knives, which I cleaned carefully before using them with the Kleenexes standing on the table. We had no napkins. At the other two restaurants we went to we were given moist cloths for our hands. We wanted to try a restaurant that served “Peking Duck” but when we walked in we immediately realized it was not open for business. We had walked into a wedding!"

I had the time of my life when I got back to Canada. On the day I landed, I went out for all-you-can-eat-sushi, watched Les Mis at the art's club, walked around UBC, had dinner at the Fairmont Airport, drank coffee at Starbucks, and shopped on Granville. I made sure to do everything that I love about Vancouver summers: Bard on the Beach, the Vancouver Art Gallery, kayaking at Granville Island, the planetarium, hiking at Mt Baker, walking the seawall, fireworks at English Bay, and spending time with friends and family.

Mandarin lessons are calling. More updates to come...

On Thursday, we slept in a little bit and split up for kayaking and rafting. Anita and I took a rickety old van with no shocks for a half-hour ride over bumpy dirt roads in the countryside until we got to the river. Anita and I each got our own kayak and started paddling down the Li river. The current was so strong that we hardly had to propel our boats. It was so peaceful and relaxing to be out on the water. The river was quiet and secluded - there were only two other kayakers and one Chinese man carrying our backpacks on his motor-raft. We could only hear the sounds of the birds and the breeze through the trees. I kept seeing interesting things on both banks of the river, so I would quickly zigzag across and stop to take pictures of ducks, fishing boats and water buffalo. After the two-and-a-half hour ride, we ended up in a tiny village and decided to explore. We wandered into a small courtyard where we stumbled upon a Chinese retirement community. It was like we had stepped into a completely different era - pictures of Mao hung in many buildings and the people seemed cut off from the outside world. One elderly lady invited us into her small one-room home for oranges and conversation. She lived in the small room with her two grandsons and shared bathroom, shower, and kitchen facilities with the rest of the community. Talking with her was interesting and thankfully Anita was there to translate. When I was talking with Anita in English, the elderly lady commented that my accent was interesting - that she could understand Anita when she spoke, but that she couldn't understand my dialect. Surprisingly she had never heard of God or the United States. Her son and daughter-in-law worked in the rice fields in the mountains far outside the city, so she rarely saw them. She provided us with such wonderful hospitality, even though she had so little herself.
In the evening, we met up with SuiKi and Anjali again for one last night of shopping on the busting tourist streets before retiring early in preparation for our crack-of-dawn flight back to Dalian. It was a completely relaxing and invigorating vacation!

Spring Holiday - Wednesday in Yangshuo

On Wednesday, we woke up early and rented bikes from our hostel for only 20 yuan for the whole day. Anjali wasn't feeling very well, so at 9 am SuiKi, Anita and I biked out to a fruit stand to pick up some breakfast. We had the most delicious mangos, oranges, pomellos, and other fruit that I didn't even recognize. Then the three of us started on our grand adventure. We wanted to hike up to Moon Hill, so we asked for directions from the hostel staff. It was only supposed to take about 25 minutes to bike out there, but we got lost along the way. Instead of backtracking, I saw another possible route on the map and suggested that we try the back roads. One local man escorted us on scooter all the way to a beautiful bridge where he runs rafting tours. We decided just to cross the bridge and keep biking. At that point the semi-paved roads turned into winding dirt roads through the countryside. We biked through tiny villages full of farmers working in the rice fields with their water buffalo. I was surprised to see satellite dishes in the front yards of some of these tiny one-room houses. We passed by groups of kids running home from school (they get out at 1 pm every day). We stopped at a picturesque site nestled right in the middle of the mountains for a picnic lunch. As we continued on, the roads got more and more rocky, bumpy, and narrow. Eventually we just had to walk our bikes, which gave us even more opportunities to take in the scenery. At one point we saw an elderly lady carrying water to her house. Her back was so crooked that she was completely bent over. These rice farmers have such a difficult life - they are constantly hunched over in water up to their calves planting or harvesting the rice plants. By the time they are old, their backs cannot straighten at all. I can't imagine what the skin on their hands and feet are like. After a while, I was wondering if we would be able to keep going in the same direction or if we would eventually have to turn around because of a dead end. Thankfully Anita and SuiKi could communicate with the locals and ask for directions, so we finally got ourselves back to a paved bike path. You could tell that once the tourist season hit, the path would be crammed with vendors selling water, postcards, or flowers to hoards of tourists. At the end of the long paved path, we came to a dead end at the bank of the Li River. There were a bunch of locals waiting there to take us and our bikes across the river on a rickety bamboo raft. They were going to charge us a fortune for the 5-minute ride, but we bargained them down to 5 yuan a piece. Later, I met an American from South Carolina who didn't have as much luck bargaining. The rafters were going to charge him 30 kuai to cross the river and they weren't going to change their price. So he decided to take off his clothes and swim his bike across the river. He lost his shirt in the process, which probably was worth more than 30 kuai anyways. We biked for another hour or so until we finally got to the base of moon hill around 2 pm. By then our legs were just trembling from all the exercise. Crazy us - we decided to hike the 40-minute climb to the summit of Moon Hill. Along with us came several elderly ladies carrying cases of water, pop, juice, and postcards. I can't imagine someone older than my mom carrying so much weight up all those stairs at the same pace as us. Those are some hearty farming ladies! When we got to the top, they fanned us as we panted from the hike. We bought some drinks from them and went back to our bikes. I was noticing that even though it was a cloudy day and I had been wearing a jacket, I was starting to turn my usual summer shade of bright pink, especially on my hands. Yes, I did put on sunscreen, but even so, a whole day outside is enough for me to get a nice burn. Gotta love my white-as-white-can-be dutch skin. We biked straight back to Yangshuo, taking the direct and not the scenic route and picked up some more fruit on the way home. By the time we got back it was 5 pm. We spent a good 8 hours of biking and hiking, so we were simply exhausted. We went out to a pizza place for a pre-dinner and then split ways. I was still hungry and really craving a good cut of steak. I was skeptical that I would be able to find a piece of imported steak in such a small town, but it was my lucky night. We chanced upon an Australian restaurant that had New Zealand steak. Even better, it came with steamed broccoli! I felt so re-energized after that meal, but still hardly able to walk on my trembling legs. We met up at the hostel again at 9 to watch a movie and get a good night's sleep.

Spring Holiday: Tuesday in Guilin and Yangshuo

On Tuesday morning, we went exploring around Guilin. I really wanted to take the river cruise from Guilin to Yangshuo (we found one lady who offered a bamboo raft for 80 yuan), but the other girls wanted to take a bus. If the weather had been better, I would have taken a boat by myself, but the sky was clouded over that morning, so I decided to go with the girls. Early that morning, we headed out for Seven Star Park. Its name comes from the shape of the seven mountains spread out like the stars in the big dipper. We walked along the Li River and crossed the bridge to the other side of the city. On the bridge we saw a minority family selling some chestnut cake, so we bought a slice to split. Their kid was so adorable: he had the most gorgeous brown eyes and kept blowing us kisses. For a 3-year-old kid, he was quite the charmer - his smile was enchanting. At the park, we took a tour of an ancient cave and two of the Chinese guys on the tour kept asking to take pictures with us. The animals in the park were incredible - I saw my first wild monkeys, along with peacocks, birds, and bats.At about lunch time, we hopped on a 15-yuan express bus to Yangshuo. We dropped off our bags at the Bamboo House (which took forever to find!) and explored the city. It's even warmer here than in Guilin, which is hard to believe. We did a little shopping and bargaining at the outdoor markets and had dinner with Simon, a fellow Maple Leaf teacher, and his girlfriend Tiffany, who is teaching English here. At night we went to an amazing light show on the river. It's directed by the guy who directed Crouching Tiger Hidden Dragon and it's one of the most amazing productions I have ever seen. They must have had at least 200 men, women, and children playing singing and dancing in spectacular costume. I felt like I was at the opening ceremonies of the olympics. But I have to say the best part of the night was coming back to the hostel and taking a bath in the bath tub. It's been way too long since my last real bath!

Vacation

After a long week of school last week (including Saturday), our spring holiday officially began. Anita, SuiKi, Anjali, and I planned a trip to Guilin and Yangshuo, but since the first direct flight was on Monday, we decided to relax in Dalian on the weekend. The weather was perfect! It was like a cool summer day in Vancouver. We met up for lunch at our favourite jiao zi place - da ching jiao zi (I think) for our favourite mutton and cilantro dumplings. After lunch, we headed over to Er Chi to get some dresses made for Ryan's wedding in May. It took a lot longer than expected to choose a design and fabric, but I'm excited to see the final result next week. Then Anita and I met up with Mark and took a bus to his place. He was trying to convince me to stay with them, but I really wanted to get outside and explore and then stay at the spa, so I hopped off the bus at XingHai park. It is so picturesque in that area and there are so many things to see and do. I was tempted to take a zipline for only 60 kuai, but I'm saving it for when my friends are with me. I walked along the ocean for hours, all the way to XingHai square where I met up with Anita. We treated ourselves to ice cream and took a moterboat ride on the ocean. Then I headed out to the spa for my overnight stay. It was so crowded there (probably because of the May holiday) that I wasn't able to get a table for a scrubdown. I kept going into different hot tubs, and then checking to see if there were available tables. I really must not have been thinking. It was 7 pm and I hadn't eaten dinner because I was waiting for the free spa food at 11 pm. After the hot tubs, I tried one sauna after another and there still weren't any tables. Finally I saw an open table and I walked up and pointed to it (my feeble attempt of asking if I could lie down). The masseuse shook her head "no" and at that point I started to see spots and my head felt funny. I felt my body crumple like a house of playing cards - first my knee hit the cement floor, then my hand, and finally my head (it's pretty amazing how the body crumples to save your head from too much damage). The next thing I knew I was sitting on a bench and two of the spa ladies were holding my arms and offering me water. I was fine after a few minutes but exhausted, so I went to sleep at 9 and didn't get up until 7:30. I met up with Anjali, Anita and SuiKi at the qing gui and we took a plane to Guilin. It's so lush and green here compared to Dalian, where things are only starting to bloom.

We took a bamboo raft to Elephant trunk hill as soon as we put our things into the Backstreet International Youth Hostel. We were located perfectly by the river in the middle of the pedestrian shopping area. At night we explored the markets and met a local who spoke almost perfect English. He let us sample some of his small village's green tea and recommended a restaurant where we ate some delicious fish for dinner. The streets were alive well into the night and the warm air kept the locals and tourists outside. I'll hopefully post some pictures soon, but for now we're going bike riding and picking up some fruit (mmm, mangos :)

Impulsiveness

I can be rather impulsive from time to time. Sometimes this gets me into trouble and sometimes it's just plain fun. Let me illustrate. Last month as a joke, Timio called up the editor of the Focus on Dalian expat magazine offering to review restaurants in Jinshitan. The editor must be more desperate for articles than we thought because she accepted with enthusiasm. Begin dine-out Jinshi! Last week, Timio, Anita, and I ate at Tudoni (not the actual name of the restaurant - all restaurants in Jinshi are named after their best dish). In true journalist form, Timio came equipped with notebook, pen, and translator. When we got there, another couple was just finishing off their dinner. One of the customs that frequently annoys Anita and I is that the Chinese will often order more food than they can eat and then leave copious amounts of leftovers on the table in a display of wealth. It was kind of ironic at this particular restaurant since the average dish cost about 5 quai (1 dollar). The couple at the Tudoni place had ordered too much and left a dish of potato, eggplant, and green pepper (one of my favourites) virtually untouched. After going through the usual ritual of complaining about the waste of good food, I decided to take care of things and steal the leftovers to eat ourselves. While the waitress wasn't looking, I quickly ran over to the other table and swiped the food. The waitress was confused when she came back and asked us what we were doing. "Wo men yao jigga (We want this)," I replied in my best broken Chinese. Timio and Anita were embarrassed to be seen eating with me at first, but then they gave me props for my gutsiness. We enjoyed a huge meal of tudoni (mashed potatoes with pork, cilantro, onions, peppers, and a raw egg on top), slimy pork (Anita's best translation of the dish), egg and chive, and donkey dumplings. I've eaten my fair share of chicken feet, raw squid, fish eyes, and octopus, but somehow I had a hard time sampling the donkey. In the end it tasted surprisingly like beef, although the texture was different. It was a pretty nice piece of ass. After dinner, Timio interviewed the restaurant owner and got the actual name of the restaurant and the contact information. Since there are no real street names in Jinshitan, the best address we could come up with was "third dingy alleyway on the left". The only other distinguishing feature is a stinky outdoor washroom, but we figured that might not be an appetizing landmark for a restaurant review.

This weekend I went to Dalian on Friday night to reward myself for finishing my report cards. Anita and I met up with Edgar, Shannon, and Christine for a fabulous dinner at an authentic Japanese restaurant. We had the best chicken skewers and grilled makeral. Best of all, we enjoyed a couple bottles of plum sake with our meal. The next day Edgar, Christine and I explored Xinghai square, which is a wealthy district on the oceanfront. We pretended to be interested in purchasing some condos, so we went inside one of the fancy buildings and browsed brochures while the staff served us tea. They're building my dream condos there - complete with huge kitchens, bathtubs and even a grand piano. The walk-in closets alone are the size of our rooms now. The waterfront was spectacular. We bought a bag of bird feed for 5 quai to feed the flocks of pigeons. Later we met up with Anita and Mark at Peace Plaza for lunch. Mark took us to a great Korean buffet for only 43 quai. I ate pork and beef Korean barbeque to my heart's content. The restaurant had a gorgeous grand piano untouched in the centre. Mark dared me to go up and play it, so being my impulsive self, I took him up on the dare. Edgar played the role of my bodyguard as I tickled the ivories. One of the waiters came up to me and I assume tried to tell me to stop, but I played ignorant. Eventually the manager came up and started closing the piano on my hands, so I stopped. It was a shame - it was the nicest piano I've touched in China (which isn't saying much). The next project is planned impulsiveness involving a test drive of a Ferrari. Stay tuned for more details.

The Joys of Spring

I love spring time! Every day something new is in bloom. It's no coincidence that Easter takes place in the spring - the signs of new life everywhere are a wonderful reminder of the new life we have in Christ. Last week, after a long day of invigilating exams, marking, and writing report cards, I needed a break, so I asked Anita if she wanted to join me on a bike ride. We went exploring on the dirt trails of Jinshitan. We discovered a bunch of lakes surrounded by blooming trees, mountains, birds, and ducks. It really felt like we were in the middle of nowhere. Now that the weather is getting warmer, I regularly take my guitar down to the beach and sing to the rhythm of the ocean waves. Apparently spring in Dalian is short-lived, so I'm taking advantage of it before the bugs, enormous spiders, and humidity returns.(Actually spring is not entirely here. Last week, during exams, it snowed. Today the wind still has a nip in it, but I'm still optimistic we'll have warm weather next week.)

Concerts galore

I've been enjoying a whole series of musical concerts lately at the grand theatre in KaiFaQu (a development area between here and Dalian). Last month, we were serenaded by a Crotian pianist playing a lot of Chopin, Brahms, and Beethoven classics, as well as two Chinese singing trios. Last night was by far the best performance to date. We took in an orchestra of traditional Chinese instruments: there were many harps (guzheng), some flutes, trumpets, drums, and chimes. The conductor was outstanding and the whole orchestra even danced as they played, bobbing their heads with synchronized hand movements. I finally felt like I was soaking in some true Chinese culture.
The funny thing was the conductor and soloists were presented with flowers at the end of every piece! They probably have enough flowers to fill a dressing room. There are guards in uniform at all the doors of the concert hall, kind of like the Sound of Music, and they spend their time chasing down anyone who is trying to take pictures or videos. Tonight, however, they were more concerned with constantly replenishing the flower stash.

Learn Chinese in five minutes

Mom and Dad are coming to visit in July, so I thought I'd give them some useful Chinese phrases to practice before they get here:

English: He's cleaning his automobile.
Chinese: Wa Shing Ka.

English: This is a tow away zone.
Chinese: No Pah King.

English: Is there a fugitive here?
Chinese: Hu Yu Hai Ding?

English: Small Horse.
Chinese: Tai Ni Po Ni.

English: Did you go to the beach?
Chinese: Wai Yu So Tan?

English: It's very dark in here.
Chinese: Wai So Dim?

English: Has your flight been delayed?
Chinese: Hao Long Wei Ting?

English: I thought you were on a diet?
Chinese: Wai Yu Mun Ching?

English: Your body odor is offensive.
Chinese: Yu Stin Ki Pu.

English: You know lyrics to the Macarena?
Chinese: Wai Yu Sing Dum Song?

English: I got this for free.
Chinese: Ai No Pei.

English: Phew! Does this bathroom stink!
Chinese: Hu Flung Dung?

21 degrees and sunny

Wow, it's another beautiful day in Dalian. I didn't even need a coat today for flag ceremony. Every Monday morning the whole school meets outside in perfectly straight lines for a half-hour assembly when we raise the school and country flags and sing the Chinese anthem, the Canadian anthem, and the school song:

Gentle navy ocean unites two great nations
Over brilliant waters comes the pride of Dalian
Oh, Maple Leaf, oh, Dalian
Maple Leaf, working hard together for our future
Maple Leaf, working hard together for our future
Blending finest of our nations, that's the spirit of Maple Leaf!
Blending finest of our nations, that's the spirit of Dalian!

I was just thankful for the opportunity to get some rays of sunshine on my face. I would love to go for a bike ride after school, but I have guitar club and I'm not going to pass up the chance to play guitar with Justin, Dan, and Anjali, and build up these callouses on my fingers. This week is a little crazy for me because Lillian just had her baby, so I'm going to be covering her classes for a month. That means that today I teach blocks B-H with no preps (8:40 AM - 4:40 PM) and I get to mark an extra set of math tests. At least it means a bit of a bonus since I'm officially broke - I'll be living off $30 for the next two weeks. Thankfully $30 goes a long way in China and I've already cooked enough food to cover me until the end of the term. I love living off the leftovers in my freezer.

First spring weekend

What an amazing weekend! After the Saturday morning shopping trip, I took some of the students in our Maple Leaf Angels club on a trip to visit some kids at an orphanage in Dalian. We've been fundraising to buy clothes and other supplies for the kids, and it was wonderful to be able to deliver some presents and play games with the kids for a couple hours. I treated myself to a bike ride and massage in the evening.

Worship at DICF this morning was awesome. Mark gave a message from Ephesians that reminded me of the depths of God's love and helped refocus my priorities. Best of all, it was the first real day of spring. Temperatures climbed almost into the twenties and I certainly didn't need my big winter jacket and long johns. After I got back from church, I changed into a summer dress and took a walk along the ocean. I'm so lucky to be living here in Jinshitan - it's simply gorgeous. There were crowds on the qing gui today because it was the first day that Discoveryland was open this year. I'm looking forward to riding those roller coasters again. I had dinner with Anjali and cooked some smoked salmon pasta in an alfredo sauce. Just in case that wasn't decadent enough, we enjoyed cinnamon buns for desert. We serenaded eachother on the guitar after dinner and I'm looking forward to improving my skills again at guitar club tomorrow.

March is over :)

Living in China gets more and more interesting as the days get warmer. One of my favourite things to do on the weekend is explore the local outdoor market. It's crowded with people early in the morning. Actually, the Saturday morning trips remind me a lot of life in France. Most people here buy fresh groceries every day, just like they did in Grenoble (although their choices of cuisine are very dissimilar). In France I used to see men gathered in groups, drinking beer at a small cafe or playing boules in a courtyard. Here men also gather in groups to play cards or mahjong. This morning the market was bustling with new vendors. People were selling the usuals - strawberries, pineapple, garlic, onions, veges, meat, eggs, rice, spices, fish, seafood as well as flowers, puppies, chicks, lighters, bras, musical instruments, and clothes. Right now I'm eating a whole pineapple which was cut up right in front of me for less than 2 bucks. I picked up so many fresh fruits and veges and chicken breasts from chickens who were butchered just this morning.

March was such a challenging month. There were so many days when I was just trying to put one foot in front of the other. I'm excited about April: it's the last week for term three this week and then we'll have a bit of a break with term exams. At the end of April, we have a week of vacation when Anjali, Sui Ki, Anita, and I will go down to Guilin and Yangshuo to see the stunning scenery, and do a little hiking and cycling. March definitely had its highlights as well. On the last day of the month, Anita, Anjali, Dana, Mike, and I performed a Bollywood dance to raise money to buy medical treatment and supplies for some local village children. Here's a little taste of our dance:



In mid-March we hosted a Mexican dinner at our place. I made chicken enchiladas, a chip dip, tacos, and a blackforest cake. The food and the company were amazing.
I wasn't really in the mood for a party that night, however, because it was the same night as Massoud Namini's memorial service. Massoud taught IT and Socials at our school and passed away of a heart attack this month. He was only 48 and has a young son. His wife also teaches at our school. He was such an amazing guy - he always had a positive outlook on life even though his life had many challenges. He was famous for his homemade bread, which he would regularly bake in the fifth floor's office breadmaker. I miss his prescence in that office and I miss his friendly face and humour in the hallways. He was an incredible teacher. But somehow life goes on and I constantly pray that I'll have the wisdom to help support my colleagues and students through this time. The best I can do to honour Massoud is to live life with the same passion, optimism and generosity.

Quotes from Tyler

The only people for me are the mad ones, the ones who are mad to live, mad to talk, mad to be saved, desirous of everything at the same time, the ones who never yawn or say a commonplace thing, but burn, burn, burn like fabulous yellow roman candles exploding like spiders across the stars and in the middle you see the blue centerlight pop and everybody goes "Awww!"

- Kerouac

And above all I find it alarming that you believe you must study in order to write. No, my dear little sister, learn how to dance, or fall in love with one or more of the notary's clerks, officers, in short, any who are within your reach - rather, much rather commit any number of follies than study in Holland. It serves absolutely no other purpose than to make people slow-witted, and I won't hear of it.

For my part, I still continue to have the most impossible and highly unsuitable love affairs, from which as a rule I come away with little more than shame and disgrace. And in my own opinion I am absolutely right to do this, since, as I keep telling myself, in years gone by, when I ought to have been in love, I gave myself up to religious and socialist affairs, and considered art holier than I do now.

Why are religion or justice or art so sacred? People who do nothing but fall in love are perhaps more serious and saintly than those who sacrifice their love and their hearts to an idea. Be that as it may, in order to write a book, do a deed, paint a picture with some life in it, one has to be alive oneself. And so, unless you never want to progress, study is a matter of very secondary importance for you. Enjoy yourself as much as you can, have as many diversions as you can, and remember that what people demand in art nowadays is something very much alive, with strong colour and great intensity. So intensify your own health and strength and life a little; that is the best study.

- Van Gogh