{"id":71,"date":"2009-07-03T19:54:57","date_gmt":"2009-07-04T00:54:57","guid":{"rendered":"http:\/\/wordpress.morningside.edu\/guelcher\/?page_id=71"},"modified":"2009-11-04T15:03:53","modified_gmt":"2009-11-04T20:03:53","slug":"days-in-fuzhou","status":"publish","type":"page","link":"https:\/\/wordpress.morningside.edu\/guelcher\/days-in-fuzhou\/","title":{"rendered":"Days in Fuzhou"},"content":{"rendered":"

Day One: 3 July 2009<\/strong><\/p>\n

Arrived by flight from Hong Kong around noon (having arrived at the hotel in HK about 11:30 pm the night prior).\u00a0 Before deplaning, we had to undergo a preliminary health screening.\u00a0 Everyone had to remain seated while two members of the local health service\u00a0 shot everyone in the forehead with what can best be described as a “temperature gun.”\u00a0 Unfortunately, while this was going on, someone further back in the plane got sick and threw up, causing about a dozen other health workers and what looked like a Hazmat team to suddenly burst into the plane.\u00a0 When they finally allowed most of us to deplane,\u00a0about half our party were\u00a0subjected to\u00a0another check of body temperature.\u00a0 Alex, whose temperature is always a bit on the high side, was taken aside for a third time and\u00a0given a more thorough screening.\u00a0 Yumiko had already proceededthrough customs, andwas understandably increasingly frantic that our son was being kept behind and inaccessible to her.\u00a0 Fortunately, I hadn’t gotten as far, and so could keep an eye on him.\u00a0 After what seemed like forever, they let Alex continue through customs, and we finally met up with Nell and Ada, our welcoming committee from Hwa Nan (something like an hour and a half late!).\u00a0 Heavy downpours due to a typhoon moving through the area.\u00a0 Very humid.<\/p>\n

We were driven to our new lodgings … two apartments in a building about a five minute walk from campus.\u00a0 The apartments are spartan, but big enough for the Guelchers (plus Greg) to share one while Adam and Jordan are in the other across the hall.\u00a0 We have air conditioning.\u00a0 We also have that great scourge of Asian living: large cockroaches!\u00a0 Using the bathroom late at night has become akin to a great hunt!\u00a0 The one that got onto our bed and crawled across our faces, however, deserved his precipitous demise.<\/p>\n

Anyway, we’ve been welcomed nicely.\u00a0 Nell, the FAO (Foreign Affairs Officer), has really gone out of her way to try and get the apartments ready for us and explain what she can in the limited time we’ve been here.<\/p>\n

I met with several department chairs for a review of the latest “final” schedule.\u00a0 They handed me class rosters … in Chinese! … for our use, and explained that they’ve had trouble recruiting students for the Spoken English classes due to the fact they’ve been targeting younger, non-HwaNanstudents, and with the swine flu scare\u00a0parents are understandably leery of sending their kids to be with big groups and taught by foreigners.\u00a0 So, there may be some team-teaching for a while.<\/p>\n

Ironically, Hwa Nan’s current president, Zhang Xunjie, is currently under enforced quarantine for possible H1N1 flu, because she had the misfortune of sitting too near a New Zealander with a fever on a flight from Hong Kong.\u00a0 So Hwa Nan’s past president filled in for the formal greeting, and took us all out for a superb dinner (featuring local seafoood delicacies such as mini-octopi and fungi).\u00a0 Oh, and lots and lots of the local beer.<\/p>\n

As we were all pretty jet-lagged, we turned in early.<\/p>\n

Greg G.<\/p>\n

Day 2: July 4<\/strong><\/p>\n

Ironic to be in the land of fireworks on July 4, and not to be able to find any fireworks anywhere with which to celebrate!\u00a0 They must export them all to the U.S.<\/p>\n

Started the day by taking Alex to the nearby public pool around 7 a.m.\u00a0(opens at 5 a.m.).\u00a0\u00a0A good number of swimmers were already there.\u00a0 Not the best venue for swimming laps, as people were moving in all directions, just like they do on the street.\u00a0 But for 6 yuan, it was good enough to get in a few laps.<\/p>\n

Spent much of the rest of the day shopping for supplies for the apartment.\u00a0 The ladies at the small “everyday goods” shop nearby got a real kick out of trying to guess what we were looking for, and trying to find it for us.\u00a0 I think they also appreciated the business, frankly, as little shops like that seem to be everywhere.\u00a0 One wonders how so many stores keep in business, especially as nobody seems too busy with customers.\u00a0 Went into one stationary store to buy a notebook, for instance, only to find the proprietor asleep on a cot he’d put up between shelves.<\/p>\n

The really interesting place to shop is “Student Street” in the “Student Town” area, so called because a good half dozen or so universities, colleges, and high schools are located in the area, and at night\u00a0hordes of young Chinese descend on the area for food, drink, and shopping.\u00a0 You can pretty much find anything there, from the latest fashions to live baby rabbits!\u00a0 We even found some bootleg DVDs for about a $1.25 each.\u00a0\u00a0 Normally not my thing, but they had one with the Bollywood hit “Dhoom” and its two sequels.\u00a0 I’d not been able to find a copy in India during my visit there, so it was nice to find one in China.<\/p>\n

The group is holding up quite well.\u00a0 The younger members have been out and about exploring the neighborhood (they were the ones to discover the way to “Student Street”).\u00a0 They’ve also been game to try the new foods and drink provided us by Hwa Nan.\u00a0 Yumiko, it seems, is having the rougher time, as everywhere we go people talk to her in Chinese, though I don’t think she looks anything like a Chinese.\u00a0 What’s interesting is that when addressed in Chinese, Yumiko naturally responds in Japanese, so you end up with these somewhat bizarre conversations with Chinese and Japanese going back and forth, and no one really understanding what’s being said!<\/p>\n

An\u00a0 electrician finally fixed the air conditioner in the empty bedroom of our (the Guelchers’) apartment, so it looks like Greg A. will be moving in with us tonight.<\/p>\n

Greg G.<\/p>\n

Day 3:\u00a0 July 5<\/strong><\/span><\/p>\n

In the morning Greg, Jordan, and I before breakfast went walking about Fuzhou to see what was available to experience.\u00a0 To our surprise our neighborhood is larger than it first appeared. <\/span>We found the main river of the city of Fuzhou and walked around the mountain at which Hwa Nan is located a top of. <\/span>We started at our apartment and proceeded to the left of Hwa Nan campus, at the end of our walk we were on the right of Hwa Nan, thus obtaining knowledge of the city and the neighborhood where we are living. <\/span>After breakfast we shared our knowledge with the rest of the group including Dr. Guelcher, and his children Alyssa and Alex. <\/span>We proceeded to find a market located on the river containing many wholesale goods. <\/span><\/p>\n

After lunch, Dr. Guelcher, his family, and I went down to Student Street. <\/span>Student Street is an area of markets that many students of my age go to. <\/span>We walked around, took in the sights and enjoyed a lazy Sunday. <\/span>After this we proceed to organize our plans for teaching on the first day, which was tomorrow. <\/span>As it turns out, I did not have a class to teach which frees up time for me to work on the documentary project and help with the other three classes of public speaking. <\/span>After dinner we all relaxed around the apartment and enjoyed some Chinese television with a nine year old child singing Queen\u2019s \u201cWe Will Rock You\u201d.<\/span><\/p>\n

-Adam<\/span><\/p>\n

Day 4:\u00a0 July 6<\/strong><\/span><\/span><\/div>\n
China is a strange place. You can be walking down the street and bus will be hurtling towards you, showing no signs of stopping, yet all the people on the bus (and the bus driver) will be grinning at you. This is how it felt to walk into the classroom this morning. I’ve worked in the classroom before<\/span>, but I really had no idea what to expect from such a different group of students. Thirty girls all smiled at me nervously, others looked down. You could tell they were hesitant about practicing their English in front of a native speaker. When I asked them to get up and do an activity, no one moved. I then had to motion with my hands \u201cup!\u201d as if they needed more explicit direction to move around. When I told them they could ask me questions about the activity, only a few of the braver ones did. I\u2019m having hard time distinguishing between shyness and when they don\u2019t understand me, but they are earnest and sweet.<\/span><\/span><\/span><\/div>\n
I showed them pictures of Morningside, Sioux City and my family and I learned quickly they love pictures of anything cute. My dog Buster and my baby nephew were very popular with them. They were also astounded by the amount of snow that Sioux City gets; they looked at the pictures with a sort of childhood awe as if the pictures were fake. They also asked me to sing, which I did reluctantly (for some reason I chose to sang \u201cYankee Doodle Dandy.\u201d Thankfully I don\u2019t think they realized how lame that song is). It was great to have people actually want to hear me sing. <\/span><\/span><\/div>\n
After class at the behest of our colleague Jay we tried to find a local noodle shop. He assured us there was menu in English. We wandered to a little street and saw a restaurant and looked inside to see if it was the one he was talking about. We didn\u2019t have much time to decide because the staff opened the door for us and waved us in like VIPs. The place turned out not to be the place Jay was telling us about and it didn\u2019t have an English menu, but it was quite the happy accident. Dr. Guelcher went around and asked students to write down what they were eating and we showed that to the waitress to get our food. It was a bit spicier than what the school\u2019s cook has been giving us and a nice change of pace. For seven people the bill came out to less than fifteen dollars for several courses.<\/span><\/span><\/div>\n
Later the school staff took us to a German style supermarket which was more like a nicer version of Wal-Mart or Sam\u2019s Club. <\/span>The quality was better than what you see on the market streets, but it was very expensive there by Chinese standards. As soon as we left a pretty hard rain started. <\/span>Our driver still drove like a madman through the storm, which was thrilling and terrifying. Hydroplaning was a real concern.<\/span><\/span><\/div>\n
After dinner we got together as a group to do some more planning for classes, but some advice we got was to just \u201cwing it\u201d which is what we are going to have to do.<\/span><\/span><\/div>\n
– Greg A.<\/span><\/div>\n
<\/strong><\/span><\/div>\n
<\/strong><\/span><\/div>\n
Day 5:\u00a0 July 7<\/strong><\/span><\/div>\n
For a group of second-year students who were only given their assignment yesterday, I was astounded today by how well they handled their speeches!\u00a0 Nearly all 25 students had tried to\u00a0memorize their speeches (only two read from their papers directly).\u00a0 Their English was quite good, and they tended to speak with strong, clear\u00a0voices and maintained good eye contact.\u00a0\u00a0 Three of the speeches were so polished that I really had nothing to offer in way of criticism. [The assignment, provided by Jordan, was for each student to bring in an object that best symbolized them, and explain precisely why].<\/span><\/div>\n
I almost feel bad that we were given little if any direction on how to teach these classes on Public Speaking, as the girls are so attentive and earnest, I feel we’re likely to let them down.<\/span><\/div>\n
Greg G.<\/span><\/div>\n

These students are probably the most polite students I have ever met. Though it is only the second day of class, I am so impressed with the effort and ability these students put forth in their work. The students were asked to present a symbolism speech using an object that they treasure most. Over all, the students did an amazing job with most of them having their speeches memorized. Though there were\u00a0a few mistakes and\u00a0signs of nervousness, the speeches the students\u00a0presented were a wonderful beginning to the class.<\/span><\/p>\n

Jordan A.<\/p>\n

Day 6:\u00a0 July 8<\/strong><\/p>\n

Another grueling day of classes, not so much because of the students (who continue to impress us with their earnestness), but because of the heat and humidity.\u00a0 What I wouldn’t give for a classroomwith air conditioning right now!\u00a0 Our rooms each have an old ceiling fan, and we can open the windows.\u00a0 But the heat just rolls in, and the sweat rolls\u00a0right down!\u00a0 The girls all have little fans and handkerchiefs.\u00a0 After our three hours of teaching is up, we just wilt.\u00a0 35 Celsius today, and blazing sun.<\/p>\n

We received interesting news today.\u00a0\u00a0 Someone on the plane from HK with us reported a fever, so now we’re likely to be under greater surveillance.\u00a0 Plus, Nell showed us an official document she’d received that orders a week-long quarantine for any foreigners arriving in China.\u00a0\u00a0 As we arrived just before the document was released, we’re mercifully spared having to hide in our apartments for a week.<\/p>\n

Plus, access to Facebook and Twitterare both currently being blocked by the Chinese government due to the ethnic clashes in Xinjiang Province in China’s northwest.<\/p>\n

Social crises aside, we had a nice visit to the old Hwa Nan campus(the one with the Lewis Hall look-alike), and the new campus out in Fuzhou’s university town.\u00a0 Regarding the latter, I was surprised to discover that there’s still an awful lot of construction going on.\u00a0 In fact, it seemed even messier than when we were last here in October.\u00a0 There are still unfinished rooms in the Foreign Teacher’s Hostel, for instance, and much construction detritus lying about that building.\u00a0 The good news is that the two trees Morningside donated outside the Hostel are both alive and well!<\/p>\n

We also got to visit a nice temple complex near the downtown.\u00a0 I wish we’d thought to ask Nell to write down the name.\u00a0 Anyway, it was interesting to see lots of monks walking about, and the gift shop yielded quite a treasure trove of inexpensive Buddhist jewelry and trinkets … much, much cheaper than anything we could have bought at the tourist trap sites last May.<\/p>\n

I have a new hero:\u00a0 our van driver.\u00a0 He’s like a vengeful god of the road, barreling down the narrowest alleyways, bursting into traffic without pause, loudly honking his horn to warn those on foot or in lesser vehicles that HE has the right of way, even if it’s on a sidewalk!\u00a0 And the man can navigate through the tightest spaces, too.\u00a0 We gasp in horror, but it’s all like a carnival ride where you know (or are at least pretty sure) you’ll be getting out safe and sound when it’s all over!<\/p>\n

Tried a local noodle shop for dinner.\u00a0 Ordered a couple of more exotic dishes, such as stir-fry frog and buffalo stomach lining, which strangely the rest of the group showed little interest in eating (other than my son Alex, that is).\u00a0 Still, it’s quite exciting to pay\u00a0only about\u00a0$15 for dinner for seven people.<\/p>\n

The sight of the day was an old wooden ladder placed precariously on an old wooden chair, giving it the extra foot or so needed to\u00a0reach the roof of a storefront.\u00a0 God protect the individual who used (or would use) that innovative trick!<\/p>\n

Greg G.<\/p>\n

Day 7: July 9<\/strong><\/p>\n

For some reason, yesterday we could not access the Morningside Portal…<\/p>\n

Anyway, I think we’ve found a team motto for our trip:\u00a0 “Yah, yah. OK?”\u00a0 This comes courtesy of our intrepid cook, who brings in our dishes, explains them to us in rapid fire Chinese (knowing none of us can understand her), only to invariably conclude with the words “Yah, yah. OK?”\u00a0 That seems to be the extent of her English.\u00a0 Anyway, she’s been very solicitous of our food needs, and she’s just the cutest grandma around!<\/p>\n

Our Spoken English students did their poetry or story readings today.\u00a0 Again, they were impressive!\u00a0 Jordan, Greg and I had all stressed that we were grading them on pronunciation, voice, and what we’ve been calling “smooth delivery.”\u00a0 As such, they weren’t required to memorize their work.\u00a0 Silly us.\u00a0 Of course the vast majority of them tried to memorize their poem or story!\u00a0 And out of thirty points, I think the lowest score among all three sections was a twenty-one.<\/p>\n

One thing I’ve noticed is that theChinese do NOT seem to do well involves basic upkeep.\u00a0 As I walk around Fuzhou, I’m noticing that pretty much everything looks rundown, with peeling paint, chipped tile, crumbling concrete, etc.\u00a0 Take our apartment building, for instance.\u00a0 There’s a main stairwell running up six floors.\u00a0 Every floor has an electric light so you can see at night … except that none of them work!\u00a0 Every other floor has a fire extinguisher set-up … except that none of the hoses are connected to anything, and they look pretty moth-eaten and filthy.\u00a0 We also have a broken steel security gate.\u00a0 The fact that people toss garbage directly on the street for the street sweepers to pick up doesn’t help matters any, either.\u00a0 The dogs and cats (and rats) then tear into the garbage, which further exacerbates the problem.<\/p>\n

However, you can buy a lemon ice for fifty cents, so it’s not all bad.<\/p>\n

We’ve been going down to the entrance to student street at night, because they set up some arcade games there which Alex likes to play.\u00a0 His favorite is a shooting game where you get twenty chances to turn off a series of lights on a board.\u00a0 You must score at least eighteen to win, which very few people can do, and which Alex did on his third try.\u00a0 Usually he’s one short of that mark.\u00a0 Anyway, the prize for getting 18 out of 20 is a can of Pepsi!<\/p>\n

Greg G.<\/p>\n

Day 8: July 10<\/strong><\/p>\n

Our first week of teaching at the college is done!\u00a0 It seems like we’ve been here forever, though that’s probably primarily the effects of the oppressive heat and humidity.\u00a0 The students are great, and while the people at Hwa Nan normally leave us to our own devices, they will help out when asked.<\/p>\n

Today in Public Speaking we had them begin their interview project, where they come up witha list of questions, interview a partner, and then present a summary of the interview orally in class.\u00a0 I myself had stressed the need to come up with a shortlistof “interesting questions” to go with the usual “what is your name” and”how old are you” kind of stuff.\u00a0 Again, they did not disappoint!\u00a0 I got questions about hopes, dreams, conflict resolution, interpersonal relationships, and even how to\u00a0avoid doing one’s homework.\u00a0 Nearly all were thoughtful and grammatically correct.\u00a0 Teaching such quick studies really isn’t too difficult.<\/p>\n

Having received word yesterday that several of the group coming to Morningsidewere getting pretty anxious, I agreed to meet withthose who could make it after class today.\u00a0 Five showed Up, and fortunately the guys stayed behind as well to help me field some questions.\u00a0 The girls\u00a0really seem like a nice, capable group.\u00a0 We’ll meet with them again on Sunday as part of a pizza party sponsored by Hwa Nan’s president.<\/p>\n

Now, here’s why we Americans should be scared of China … After lunch, Yumiko and I headed into Student Street to do some window shopping.\u00a0 While there, we ran into one of Yumiko’s students from her Japanese class (Rosie), and one of mine from Public Speaking (Alice).\u00a0 They immediately, and graciously, attached themselves to us, and helped us figure out many of the foods and such to be found in the area.\u00a0 But when I first met Yumiko’s student, my first thought was only that I’d now have to speak Japanese, and I was just too tired and not in the mood.\u00a0 Fortunately for me, Rosie happened to be an Applied English major, and so spoke English quite well.\u00a0 So, here we had two students who between them spoke or were seriously studying at least three different languages, and who were willing to leap at the chance to practice the foreign ones with native speakers.\u00a0 Meanwhile, several other girls from Yumiko’s Japanese class had taken Alyssa and the guys out for lunch and a tour of the downtown, so they, too, could practice English with native speakers.\u00a0 Back home, we get nervous just asking students to take a semester or two of watered-down foreign language classes in high school or college.\u00a0 The way the world economy is trending these days, we’d probably be smart learning some Chinese soon!<\/p>\n

We also have a star among us:\u00a0 Jordan Aggen!\u00a0 The girls in his class just love him.\u00a0 Apparently he’s been compared to Ross on “Friends.”\u00a0 He gets invited out constantly, and his class even pressured him into giving his own speech on his idea of the perfect girlfriend on Monday.\u00a0 If we stayed here long enough, I’ve no doubt we’d be planning a wedding.\u00a0 My own star, alas, dimmed considerably when they learned just how old I was and that I was already married (though they seem to share my conviction that I chose well in the wife department).<\/p>\n

Yumiko, Alex\u00a0and I went to a Japanese-style restaurant for a Japanese cuisine fix.\u00a0 A bit pricey, but the food was good, and they actually had eel (a summer delicacy in Japan).\u00a0 Our students tried to convinced Yumiko and me to try pickled chicken’s feet, but\u00a0even I’m\u00a0not quite ready for that.<\/p>\n

Greg G.<\/p>\n

Day 9:\u00a0 July 11<\/strong><\/p>\n

Saturday, and no classes!\u00a0 HwaNan was thoughtfulenough to set up a half day excursion for us, with Nell as our guide.\u00a0 First, we visited Yongquan Temple on Gushan Mountain outside town.\u00a0 This is the temple set atop the mountain, with large Buddhist sayings carved into the rock and highlighted in red.\u00a0 There’s also one of the largest and most serene statues of Guanyin I’ve ever come across.\u00a0 That, and dozens of robed monks running around.\u00a0 The mountain scenery is beautiful, and the ambiance (with monks, incense, Buddhist icons everywhere) is downright exotic!\u00a0 In the gift shop,\u00a0I\u00a0bought myself a good luck amulet … with Chairman Mao’s smiling visage emblazoned on it!\u00a0 Considering what he thought of Buddhism, and what he did to Buddhist monks at the height of his power, I was somewhat taken aback to see something, well, worshipful, in the monastery.\u00a0 Just goes to show how popular perceptions can change as time passes.\u00a0 Nell told me that the amulet I bought is especially popular with taxi drivers andothers who drive vehicles a lot.\u00a0 Mao, the god of vehicle safety!\u00a0 Anyway, the other interesting happening was that we were there when the call to eat went out to the monks, who all hurried into a large room.\u00a0 After being served, but before eating, they all sang a number of songs (sutras?) in unison.\u00a0 Really cool.<\/p>\n

Our driver added to the excitement of the morning with his aggressive driving tactics up and down the mountain.\u00a0 Our favorite was when he decided to pass a slower car on a narrow blind curve … with no railing between us and a precipitous drop into thin air!\u00a0 I seem to recall a collective gasp in the back of the van.<\/p>\n

After spending most of the morning at the temple, we were taken to\u00a0a maritime museum in\u00a0Mawei, a port district of Fuzhou.\u00a0 Turns out that Fuzhou\u00a0holds a very important place in modern China’s naval history, as\u00a0a naval military school was established there in 1866.\u00a0 Fuzhou therefore claims to be the birthplace of the modern Chinese navy.\u00a0\u00a0Displays also claimed a number of other firsts for Mawei, such as being the birthplace of modern style education in China, and sending students abroad to\u00a0study.\u00a0 Many of the displays were in English, so we could follow along well\u00a0enough.\u00a0 One of many important persons\u00a0featured in the history of establishing the modern Chinese navy was the guy whom “General Tso’s Chicken,” that staple on the menu of every Chinese restaurent\u00a0in the U.S., is named after.\u00a0 I took a photo standing next to the general’s towering bronze statue.\u00a0 My favorite display featured Fuzhou naval officers who in 1949 rebelled and brought their ships and forces over to the Communist side during China’s civil war.\u00a0 The other thing I noticed was the complete lack throughout the six floors of displays of any mention of the horrible showing China’s navy put up against its foes.\u00a0 There was, for instance, a huge, Socialist-realist mural on one wall depicting what appeared to be a mass celebration of troops preparing for battle against the Japanese in 1894, with absolutely no mention of the complete defeat that soon\u00a0followed.\u00a0 Yet there were ample\u00a0mentions of the nasty ways in which the\u00a0imperial powers mistreated China in the 19th\u00a0Century.\u00a0 Probably a good study could be made of the nationalistic slant the museum shows in its treatment of history.<\/p>\n

We followed the museum with another of those overwhelming banquets for lunch.\u00a0 More food than we ever could have hoped to eat.\u00a0 I think the Chinese would be mortified if ever only clean dishes were left behind on the table, being seen as poor hosts!\u00a0 Between the heat and too much food, we all took long naps upon our return to the apartments.<\/p>\n

Greg G.<\/p>\n

Chinese students: teacher\u2019s dream?<\/strong><\/span><\/p>\n

I am genuinely impressed with the 31 students in my Japanese class. <\/span>It is a 2-week-long, Monday-Friday, 8:30-11:30, intensive Japanese language class in 90 to 100 degree temperatures with 60-95% humidity on the 3rd<\/sup> floor. <\/span>We have a few fans on the ceiling. <\/span>When I go to my classroom around 8:20, almost everyone is already seated & many are studying. <\/span>I take 2 ten minutes breaks every day. <\/span>When I say, \u201cO.K., let\u2019s take a break!\u201d\u2026 No one gets up. <\/span>They just keep reviewing what I have taught that day. <\/span>I\u2019ve also tried to dismiss my class a little bit early, but no one leaves until 11:30 anyway. <\/span>They just keep studying. <\/span>During the break, students would bring a notebook full of questions. <\/span>It reminded me of my high school in Japan, but our classes were 50 minutes, not 180 min. <\/span>Somehow they can stay focused for 3 hours in that heat & humidity. <\/span>What would happen in the U.S. in the same situation?<\/span><\/p>\n

The last day of Week 1 (Friday), I gave a test on speaking & listening. <\/span>By then, I had only taught them for 4 days, but they excelled in the test. <\/span>Being used to the system in the U.S. & not knowing how much they can master within 4 days, I gave some bonus questions, which I learned that they didn\u2019t really need. <\/span>They could introduce each other, answer simple questions about themselves in complete sentences, & memorized over 20 useful phrases (greeting words & phrases); many of them spoke quite fluently which is very challenging as the sounds in Chinese language are quite different from those in Japanese. <\/span>11 students out of 31 scored 120% out of 120, and many scored above 110%!<\/span><\/p>\n

Power of China, the county of 1.3 billion people!!!<\/strong><\/span><\/p>\n

Since I came to China, I almost feel this country is threatening in positive way \u2026 how do I explain? <\/span>Japan went through a similar period of rapid economic development in 1960-1980. <\/span>Here in China, it is at least 10 times as powerful with her large land and population! People are so hard working, determined, diligent, and well disciplined. <\/span>The Chinese people still hold the great values that many people in developed countries are losing, such as respect for their elders and strong family ties. <\/span>I hope they will not lose them! <\/span>Students are so competent! <\/span>Look at my students. <\/span>They speak Chinese & English already, & are very eager to learn a 3rd<\/sup> language! <\/span>It is almost scary to imagine a well developed country like my home, Japan, but one 10 times as big and powerful!<\/span><\/p>\n

Yumiko G.<\/span><\/p>\n

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Day 10: July 12<\/strong><\/span><\/p>\n

I guess\u00a0I have to write a blog this time. What\u00a0do I\u00a0like about China? All the different stores they haveoneverystreetand how everything here is so cheap! \u00a0It’s incredible how much stuff you can get here with just 5 dollars. A coffee drink for 90 cents and two loafs of bread also for 90 cents . You can have a very tasty breakfast for under 2 dollars! Back home it would’ve cost me all of my 5 dollars just for breakfast, while\u00a0I could almost pay for breakfast, lunch and dinner here for the same amount. Plus, there’s clothing, pirated dvd’s, and toys and even pet shops every other store! It is a great time just to go and walk around the street all day and look at all the different things you can find. \u00a0So far I’m having a great time in Fuzhou China but I’m also looking foward to an awesome 2 weeks in Japan.<\/span><\/p>\n

One other thing … is how hard it is to get a good work out at a public swimming pool here. Even though the pool opens at 5:30, and I get there around 7, the pool is already overcrowded. There is no set time for lap swimming. Instead, I have to weave around all the people swimming in whatever direction they feel like. It is a very hard thing to do. I’ve been watching swimming lessons for little kids, too. It is amusing the stretching exercises they do while the instructor blows his whistle in cadence.<\/span><\/p>\n

Alex G.<\/span><\/p>\n

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Day 11:\u00a0 July 13<\/strong><\/span><\/p>\n

A sad day.\u00a0 A certain male progeny of mine, who shall remain nameless, accidentally erased the last week’s worth of photos from my camera!\u00a0 Gone are the temple photos, and pretty much any photos from any of the sites we’ve toured.\u00a0 Right now, I’m kind of missing the old rolls of film.<\/span><\/p>\n

One thing we’ve noticed is the, for want of a better word, indifference with which we’ve been treated while here.\u00a0 It’s not that they haven’t paid any attention to us — Nell has arranged a trip to a large grocery and this past weekend’s trip to the mountain, and the previous president took us out for dinner\u00a0— but with the exception of the lady who cooks for us and the woman who does our laundry, we have had no real sustained contact with much of anyoneconnected with Hwa Nan.\u00a0 In particular I\u00a0had expected some guidance regarding our courses, but that’s not been the case.\u00a0 We’ve been forced to be pretty self-sufficient, ransacking the teacher’s resource room for teaching materials and supplies, puzzling out the computers and copier, and adopting and adapting assignments to match our students.\u00a0 In this final week of the first set of courses, we don’t yet know how they grade at Hwa Nan (e.g.- letter grades, number grades, etc.), when final grades must be submitted, or even to whom to submit grades!\u00a0 As far as I know, we could base the entire final grade on attendance.\u00a0 Another question I’ve wondered about is whether or not we’re allowed\/encouraged\/expected to provide students with feedback on how they’re doing during the course.\u00a0 We’re still waiting to hear whether the second English Camp course will be a go, too.\u00a0 Nor has anyone recommended restaurants close by, shopping venues, bus routes, etc.\u00a0 (I’ve suggested to the president that they try to provide such information in the future).\u00a0 I guess we’re living the life of intrepid explorers as predicted!\u00a0 Fortunately, I recruited three Morningside students who are very easy-going and willing to adopt a Daoist(“go with the flow”) attitude towards life in China.<\/span><\/p>\n

We did meet seven of the eight Hwa Nan students who will soon be leaving for Morningside College.\u00a0 They seem excited, eager, and a little nervous.\u00a0 They also seem to be a very capable group.\u00a0 They asked good questions, especially of the guys.\u00a0 Above all, they seemed most concerned about food (as in, “Can we buy rice in Sioux City?”).\u00a0 After we had a pizza party sponsored by the president with the girls, two of them took us downtown to see Wui Square(with the large Mao statue overlooking it), and a shopping\u00a0place called “New Asia Street,” which was built to look like an old Chinese street.\u00a0 We had ice cream at Dairy Queen, and I paid about the same amount for my family as we’d paid to feed all seven of us dinner recently!\u00a0 Dairy Queen ain’t cheap in China!<\/span><\/p>\n

Greg G.<\/span><\/p>\n

\n

Day 12:\u00a0 July 14<\/strong><\/span><\/p>\n

Fuzhou Bars <\/span><\/span><\/p>\n

College students have a sixth sense for finding bars. So far with our group, this has proven true. Somehow through some sort of mystical intervention we have been able to decode Chinese characters by intuition and find ourselves some bars in Fuzhou. We\u2019ve realized quickly though that bars in Fuzhou are not exactly what you find back home.<\/span><\/p>\n

When you enter a bar in the states, no one cares. Someone might turn their head slightly, but that\u2019s about the most you\u2019ll get. In Fuzhou, about seven young people dressed sharply in head to toe black hold the doors open for you and smile at you bigger than you thought possible. When you get to your seat, you notice it\u2019s very dark and every table has a small candle and some cup and dice game you can\u2019t figure out how to play. This is not an isolated incident as all the bars we have been to follow this theme. Quickly, a boy who looks about twelve comes over with a large plate of free food; vegetables, watermelon, peanuts, and squid jerky. You don\u2019t have to flag anyone down for service; they come to you quicker than you want them to. I know that most of it is because we are foreigners that we get such good service, but it\u2019s hard not to feel like a celebrity here.<\/span><\/p>\n

The beer is incredibly light, cheap and in my opinion, terrible (though Adam would disagree with me.). Its alcohol content is much lower than beers in the United States, so you can find yourself drinking a lot of it. As soon as you are finished with a bottle, someone comes by and scoops it up. They also clean the table while<\/em> you are still seated. You can\u2019t get that kind of service in America or frankly anywhere else.<\/span><\/p>\n

People are either intrigued or amused by us. A table of young Chinese the other night invited us over to their table even though only one of them spoke good English. Somehow, we still had an excellent time with them. The first thing a young Chinese girl said to me when I sat down to her was, \u201cYou are very handsome!\u201d Normally I would take this as a compliment, but I am pretty sure this was one of the few phrases she knew how to say. Another person sitting with us was a Kung Fu master. He drank beer with the lightening speed you would expect. They kept buying us a ridiculous amount of beer until the point where I was pretending to sip three beers at the same time. They were also keen on offering us cigarettes and seemed rather sad when we kept refusing them.<\/span><\/p>\n

The bars also seem to want to display us like we are some sort of exhibit at a petting zoo. When we go to the bars, they usually switch from their Chinese pop music to American rap from 2004. They also handed out cards to us with coupons for free beer, something unheard of in the states. Needless to say, I think we\u2019ll be going back.<\/span><\/p>\n

Greg Anderson<\/span><\/p>\n

\n

Day 13:\u00a0 July 15<\/strong><\/p>\n

Yesterday, Nell took us shopping for jade after work.\u00a0 We ended up in a multi-story building with what seemed like hundreds of shops selling jade,\u00a0Shoushan stone carvings, and other local handicrafts.\u00a0 One could literally have spent \u00a0an entire week checking out each and every shop!\u00a0 Sadly, the shops seemed to outnumber the customers.\u00a0\u00a0A good number of\u00a0shopkeepers were asleep on cots outside their shops.\u00a0 Others pestered us mercilessly out of desperation to maybe make a sale.\u00a0 Overwhelmed almost immediately, we settled on a small shop tucked way in the back, one owned by the parents of one of Nell’s old school friends.\u00a0 She was certainly pleasant, and although she didn’t dicker on prices much, it seemed she quoted us good prices on quality items.\u00a0 And after we’d bought our fill of jade,\u00a0the owner\u00a0even locked up her shop (I guess we helped her meet quota), and\u00a0escorted us down the street several\u00a0blocks to a section of town lined with antique shops, as we’d expressed interest in picking up some Mao stuff from the Cultural Revolution years.\u00a0 Jordan and Greg both came away with original copies\u00a0\u00a0of Mao’s little red book of sayings from 1969 (with his smiling visage on the cover!) for a measly 30 yuan (about $3.50).\u00a0 Greg picked up a small Mao pin, and Jordan bought several really cool old coins dating back to the Ming Dynasty (1368-1644).\u00a0 I bought myself several new Mao pins for my collection (now numbering some 200 or so pins), including two of the largest and nicest condition\u00a0ones I’ve ever seen.\u00a0 One runs about six inches in size, and the other closer to seven inches.\u00a0 Still a steal (assuming they’re real) at 260 yuan (about $40 U.S.).<\/p>\n

Greg G.<\/p>\n

\n

Day 14:\u00a0 July 16<\/strong><\/p>\n

It\u2019s nice to have students like you. As someone studying to become a teacher, I don\u2019t think this is necessary all the time, but it is nice. However, here at HwaNan, some students really <\/em>like us. One teacher in particular seems to be attracting quite a bit of attention from his students, but I won\u2019t name him, he\u2019d be embarrassed (Hint-his name rhymes with Schmorden).<\/p>\n

In truth, it has been a real pleasure working with these girls and getting to know them. In public speaking today I held conferences with the girls about their final speeches (they are teaching the class how to do something) and have been pleasantly surprised at how hard they work. They came with their speeches almost completely done and in decent shape besides a few grammar mistakes. They\u2019ve also picked fascinating subjects for their speeches, such as traditional tea pouring, making fried jellyfish and how to make a music video. I\u2019m excited to hear all their speeches tomorrow.<\/p>\n

Later in the day, Hwa Nan took the foreign teachers and a few students to a museum in Fuzhou and West Lake Park. The museum was good and had an exceptional exhibit by the Scottish photographer John Thompson http:\/\/en.wikipedia.org\/wiki\/John_Thomson_(photographer)<\/a><\/p>\n

and several exhibits on traditional Chinese operas, crafts and artifacts. The museum also had a not quite so great natural history exhibition which looked like children in animal costumes from the 1980\u2019s. The English translations on exhibit cards also seemed to peter out on the natural history side, as if they just got tired of writing in English.<\/p>\n

West Lake Park was very scenic with many families taking electric motor boats and paddle boats out onto the lake. We chose to take an electric motor boat out on the water with our students. For six of us it only cost 50 Yuan, which is about $7.50. That\u2019s a steal for renting a boat for a half-hour! Even though the boat only went about 3 miles an hour, I can now say I\u2019ve driven a boat in China. <\/span>After the lake, Hwa Nan took us out for yet another great meal and kept us eating until we gained back the weight we had lost in sweat earlier in the day.<\/p>\n

Greg A.<\/p>\n

At dinner, I’m told, a certain lively Hwa Nan student wearing a smiley face button confessed her more-than-academic interest in one of my Morningside students (hint: his name rhymes with Shmorden).\u00a0 On the way out, she asked to take a photo with him(several, actually).\u00a0 In one, she suddenly reached behind, grabbed both his ears, and pulled.\u00a0 I wonder if that’s not some local way of laying claim to a guy …<\/p>\n

Seriously, I’m getting\u00a0close to the point where the next driver who honks his horn at me to get out of the way — even if I’m on the sidewalk — will cause me to lose it.\u00a0 In almost any other situation, I’ve found the people of Fuzhou to be unfailingly polite and helpful.\u00a0 But put someone behind the wheel of any moving vehicle, and they turn into the Driver From Hell.\u00a0 The other day, our van driver almost took out two guys on a moped … who were\u00a0speeding\u00a0down a clearly-marked one-way street the wrong way!\u00a0\u00a0Both vehicles stopped inches apart (maybe an inch, really), and both drivers proceeded to engage in a withering stare-down contest.\u00a0 In other words, the idiots on the moped were actually irate someone\u00a0turning into the one-way street and headed in the proper direction (our van) had had the temerity to get in their way.\u00a0 Weird stuff!<\/p>\n

On another note, I got\u00a0shaken down for cash by a monkey the other day.\u00a0 Admittedly, it was a trained monkey, and kinda cute.\u00a0 Yumiko and I had taken the bus downtown to watch the synchronized dancing in Wui Square (more about that later), when a somewhat scruffy Chinese beggar with a trained monkey noticed me sitting by the central fountain, and made a beeline for me.\u00a0 The monkey rolled over, hopped and skipped, and thrust his hand out pretty insistently.\u00a0 I gave him a 1 yuan coin, which he kissed,\u00a0bounced\u00a0on the ground\u00a0(presumably to check its genuineness), and handed to the\u00a0beggar.\u00a0 A decent enough act, so I gave him another coin.\u00a0 All in all, I was surprised to come across a trained animal show of any sort in Fuzhou.<\/p>\n

I’d have to second Greg’s assessment above of our trip to the museum.\u00a0 As a historian, I’m very sensitive to how museum’s present information.\u00a0 The photography exhibit in the first building we entered was first-rate!\u00a0 Very nicely-exhibited and informative, with great translations in English.\u00a0 The second exhibit on local folk arts was also worthwhile.\u00a0 But the natural history building stuff just had to be leftovers from the early 1970s.\u00a0 The animal diorama\u00a0was particularly sad, with\u00a0poor lighting, moth-eaten models, and a series of push-button boards that once allowed\u00a0visitors to make the animals light up, move, or cry out.\u00a0 Most buttons seemed to no longer work.\u00a0 Then again, the rows and\u00a0rows of\u00a0\u00a0specimens in formaldehyde filled jars, like some mad scientist’s lab, might have been creepier.\u00a0 No wait, the\u00a0fire-engine red statue in a fountain between the two buildings of\u00a0a nude boy twisting and hiding his genitals with his hands … that was really, really, REALLY\u00a0creepy (but made for a great photo)!<\/p>\n

Greg G.<\/p>\n

\n

Day 15: July 17<\/strong><\/p>\n

Greg made a very perceptive observation today, about it being safer to drink beer here than drink the water.<\/p>\n

The first set of classes we contracted to teach are completed.\u00a0 From what everyone has been saying, the final speeches in our Public Speaking\u00a0sections all went well.\u00a0 The students seemed genuinely sad that the courses had come to an end, and many of them would not be seeing us again.\u00a0 So we were held over for a mad flurry of photos, students posing with teachers.\u00a0 Even Alex, who hasn’t yet participated in any teaching,\u00a0got in on the act, and seemed to attract quite a lot of attention from the girls.\u00a0 Hopefully, someone will think to tell us about\u00a0the procedure for submitting final grades.<\/p>\n

I\u00a0took the group out for a celebratory lunch at a nearby hole-in-the-wall noodle shop.\u00a0 They seemed tickled pink to have us there, and tried to rearrange tables for us, brought us tissues to use while eating, etc.\u00a0 We had big bowls of noodles with pork, some greens, some spicy potato strips (a distant cousin of french fries), and four huge bottles of beer, all for about $10 U.S.<\/p>\n

Adam was set to interview the President of Hwa Nan Women’sCollege this afternoon, with Alex assisting.\u00a0 He’d already interviewed about seventeen students this week, and done interviews with the past president and a teacher earlier.\u00a0 The interviews seem to be going well (the girls have proven lively subjects!), so I’m very hopeful about our final product.<\/p>\n

Greg G.<\/p>\n

On July 17, we successfully completed Session 1! <\/span>Yeah!!!<\/span><\/span><\/span><\/strong><\/p>\n

I structured my 10-day- intensive Japanese class in a way students can earn good grades through 4 homework assignments, 1 mini project (\u201cLet\u2019s go to Japan\u201d: each student did a mini research project on one place in Japan she wants to go & did the presentation on the last day), 1 vocabulary quiz, 2 Oral exams, 1 final Exam & attendance. <\/span>That\u2019s a lot in 10 day days, but all of my 30 students\u00a0diligently completed all the requirements! <\/span>I also taught two Japanese songs. <\/span>Alyssa, my daughter, who was my assistant, put together two nice Power Point presentations on Japanese clothes and the places in which our students expressed interest. <\/span>I did one presentation on Japanese foods. <\/span>It has been both a challenging & rewarding 2 weeks for everyone!<\/span><\/p>\n

Yumiko G.<\/span><\/p>\n

\n

Day 16: July 18<\/strong><\/p>\n

Hell, I now know, is walking two hours in an unfamiliar city in 100 degree plus heat in search of a street of antique shops.\u00a0 Today, Jordan, Adam, and I set off in what should have been a half hour-long trip to some stores we’d visited a few days ealier(by college van).\u00a0 Somehow, we got turned around.\u00a0 Imagine a large rectangle, with our destination located in the lower right-hand corner.\u00a0 We started out in the lower left-hand corner, and pretty much completed the rectangle travelling left to right!\u00a0\u00a0The fact that\u00a0Chinese streets go in pretty much any direction didn’t help matters any, either.\u00a0 Somehow we did stumble upon our destination, andgot in a bit of antiquing before\u00a0catching a taxi back to school (for 10 yuan, about $1.50).\u00a0 Jordan bought two Qing Dynasty blue-and-white\u00a0plates at bargain-basement prices (boy, does he know how to haggle!),\u00a0Adam bought the coolest men’s bracelet I’ve ever seen, and I got a porcelain Mao pin andan old Chinese coin.\u00a0 Unfortunately, the arduous journey pretty much left me with no energy left to do anything else, and I had to beg off a trip later that evening to the guy’s favorite bar.<\/p>\n

I did meet with a postdoctoral student at Fuzhou Normal University named Terry Broad (Chinese, but he likes to use an English name), who is trying to research the architect who built Lewis Hall and Payne Hall (the lookalike building on the old Hwa Nan campus).\u00a0\u00a0I had no answers for his questions at the time (as I’d warned him), but I’ve emailed\u00a0our library requesting some assistance getting information.<\/p>\n

A typhoon blew through, and we had a brief but heavy downpour around dinner time.<\/p>\n

Greg G.<\/p>\n

\n

Day 17:\u00a0 July 19<\/strong><\/p>\n

OK. I’m usually more than willing to accept certain cultural oddities. After all, it’s helped preserve my sanity in many a foreign country.\u00a0 Sashimi from a fish still moving on the plate or pickled grasshoppers in Japan?\u00a0 Why not!\u00a0 Cows given the right of way on Indian streets?\u00a0\u00a0Hey, it’s their country.\u00a0 \u00a0Smoking in theaters in Taiwan? \u00a0Well, a bit creepy, but maybe they’ve taken care of that since I last visited.<\/p>\n

But what the heck is up with traffic in Fuzhou?!!\u00a0 Geez, these people seem hell-bent on killing each other.\u00a0 Pedestrians have absolutely no right of way hereabouts, even when on the sidewalk!\u00a0 If a moped or car can get a jump on the other traffic by hopping the curb and dodging pedestrians, then they’ll do so, rudely beeping their horn as they bear down on you from behind.\u00a0 Today, Yumiko had to yank me back from stepping in front of a taxi that was plowing ahead into\u00a0my crosswalk, while\u00a0on a neon-lit sign across the street I could plainly see a green walking man beckoning me to cross.\u00a0 Actually, I’d planned to dare the guy to run into me, but Yumiko thinks provoking the locals is bad form. Meanwhile, I keep reassuring her that the paperwork involved in hitting a foreigner\u00a0discourages such behavior.<\/p>\n

Another interesting observation:\u00a0 asking a merchant for a receipt is a sure party stopper.\u00a0 You ask, and faces immediately cloud over as if you’d just asked to sleep with their mother.\u00a0 I’d heard rumor that\u00a0cheating on taxes is practically the national sport here, and I’m beginning to wonder if that’s not true.<\/p>\n

Another torrential downpour this afternoon … lasting all of five minutes.\u00a0 I’m beginning to like that aspect of Fuzhou’s weather in July.\u00a0 Quick and dirty rainfalls.\u00a0 Not like the dreary week-long soakings I grew up with in Erie, PA.<\/p>\n

Went back to Nell’s friend’s jade shop to buy more jade.\u00a0 Apparently Yumiko felt it wasn’t too early to buy her a birthday present (jade necklace; her birthday’s in mid-September), or an anniversary gift (a bracelet; our anniversary is in mid-December).\u00a0 We then sought out a coin shop I’d seen last outing, which had some Mao pins from the Cultural Revolution visible through the window of the closed shop.\u00a0 Today, blessedly, it was open, and the young guy who owned the shop had boththe knowledge and the merchandise to please me.\u00a0 After tea and lots of questions conveyed via Yumiko’s Japanese kanji (there’s much carryover between kanji andChinese characters), I came away with an original Cultural Revolution armband, plastic stand-up Mao plaque, and twenty Mao pins of various hues and sizes for 100 yuan (about $15).\u00a0 Needless to say, I spent quite a bit less than my wife today.<\/p>\n

Duck\u00a0& sweet and sour fish for dinner tonight.\u00a0 Heavenly!\u00a0 Hwa Nan provides us meals, if we want them.\u00a0 Our cook is sweat, but there’s not always a lot of variety, so we occasionally go out for more adventurous fare.\u00a0 One of the regular teachers warned us before he left that we’d be lucky to get anything spicy served, as our cook was used to cooking for the older retirees who normally grace our table.\u00a0 Right now, it seems everyone who is normally on staff is home visiting friends and family (not that any of them said good-bye before leaving, except Jay), so we’re trying to drop hints.<\/p>\n

Greg G.<\/p>\n

My walk to the jade shop<\/strong><\/p>\n

It was a long walk even without getting lost and even for jade shopping; 45 min. one way in the heat.\u00a0\u00a0Was it worth it?\u00a0 Yes, it was:)<\/p>\n

Pollution & trash…<\/strong><\/p>\n

Conscience for a clean society is yet to develop in China.\u00a0 Pollution & trash all over the street bother me the most in China.\u00a0 I feel like I might lose my limbs or come out like a total monster if I ever fell into one of the rivers here;\u00a0they look so polluted.\u00a0 Trash is all over the streets, and I have to hold my breath sometimes when the smell is too powerful.\u00a0\u00a0Babies wear nothing on the bottom or pants with slits across so they can\u00a0conviniently go to the bathroom anywhere, anytime.<\/p>\n

Yumiko G.<\/p>\n

So I know I’ve been the one to write about the bars before and writing about them again will make me seem either like I have a one-track mind or am an alcoholic, but I have to again. The past two nights at the bars have just been too bizarre not to write about.<\/p>\n

The first night our professor went along with us to see the spectacle we had been talking about. For some reason when he came with us, the place transformed from a friendly, almost wholesome place to a den of creepiness. Drunk men who could only speak about five words of English bombarded us with business cards (in Chinese) and unwarranted touching. Girls also came over and talked to us, or rather said \u201cI don\u2019t speak English.\u201d then proceeded to stand next to us and smile. They also looked thirteen and knowing China, quite possibly could have been thirteen. Needless to say, we made our exit quickly.<\/p>\n

We came back to the bar the next night, but only because we had a coupon for twelve free beers. It couldn\u2019t have been a more different place. Rather than a den of creepiness, it was more like a child\u2019s birthday party. There was a girl singing Chinese pop songs and even a clown. I\u2019ve been in bars around the world before and seen some strange things, but a clown in a bar takes the cake. The man walked around in full clown regalia and made balloon animals for everyone in\u00a0the bar. He even made an octopus, which looked to be the most complicated balloon animal ever conceived.<\/p>\n

It\u2019s become a clich\u00e9 to say that China is a land of contrasts. Going to the same bar twice in a row and having such different experiences in a way exemplifies China. It\u2019s a land of differences where you can rarely do the same thing twice.<\/p>\n

Greg A.<\/p>\n

\u00a0<\/p>\n

Day 18:\u00a0 July 20<\/strong><\/p>\n

Beware what you wish for!\u00a0 I’d asked the grad student I’d met for a tour of nearby Fuzhou Normal University.\u00a0 Today, I got one …\u00a0 lasting three hours!\u00a0 Geez, the place is big!\u00a0 Andon a hill.\u00a0 We did take a brief respite, wherein Terry got some student he’d just met to brew us various teas to try (tea is a famous product of Fujian Province, and they drink it even on the hottest days, in a multi-step process that is quite amazing to watch).\u00a0 Terry somehow also got the same student to try andtrack down a university t-shirt for me, as I’d expressed interest in buying one.\u00a0 The consensus was that\u00a0Fuzhou Normal U t-shirts aren’t actually for sale anywhere (which strikes me as odd in a school with tens of thousands of students), but various departments print them up for their own students.\u00a0 So, if I understood correctly, the tea-brewing student, whom I’d just met, promised to call around his friends and find me a t-shirt, new or used.\u00a0 Gotta love these people (when they’re not driving, of course!).\u00a0 I did discover during my tour that Fuzhou Normal U has an outdoor swimming pool, which the public can use\u00a0as well for 8 yuan a visit.\u00a0 This may be a better option for Alex than the mass chaos of the public pool.<\/p>\n

Adam, Greg and Jordan began their American Culture courses.\u00a0 Fewer students (12-15 per class), which is\u00a0good, but pretty much all freshman with less facility in English than our previous classes, which is bad.\u00a0 Jordan seemed particularly distraught, having been spoiled\u00a0by such a lively and appreciative classthe first time around.\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0I sat in on Adam’s class, and he did reasonably well, having learned to speak up, speak more slowly, and enunciate.\u00a0 Greg, meanwhile, has impressed both Yumiko and I with his determination to revamp the American culture class and make it work for everyone.\u00a0 All in all, I’m seeing some great collaboration from the guys on this.\u00a0 As for me, my Summer Camp class apparently has been cancelled (though nobody has said so directly), so I’ll assist and supervise the other courses.\u00a0 Alyssa will assist Yumiko with her second Japanese class; Yumiko again has the largest number of students of us all.<\/p>\n

Greg G.<\/p>\n

Day 19:\u00a0 July 21<\/strong><\/p>\n

Tragedy!<\/p>\n

There was a tiny kitten, Mimi, in a nearby shop where we buy daily necessities.\u00a0 I started calling the store “Mimi’s store.”\u00a0 Mimi was the tiniest, cutest kitten I’ve ever seen in my life.\u00a0\u00a0She looked to me 2 or 3 weeks old.\u00a0\u00a0We stopped by the store in the morning &\u00a0in the evening to adore her & play with her.\u00a0 She looked so helpless.\u00a0 Tonight, we learned that Mimi was hit by a car & died.\u00a0 I am so heart broken.\u00a0 The rule of “the survival of the fittest” is much tougher here in China!<\/p>\n

Yumiko\u00a0G.\u00a0<\/p>\n

Today we were all taken to Fuzhou Panda World.\u00a0 Yippee!\u00a0 Ok, there were three pandas there … very tired pandas gasping in the heat.\u00a0 Nothing beats seeing Pandas in real life.\u00a0 But this site is supposed to be a really big deal, andyet the operative word we all came up with to describe the place was “shabby.”\u00a0 The introductory exhibit in the much-touted museum is a tableau and painting depicting an old story that first mentions Pandas in Chinese history.\u00a0 Yet\u00a0it looked as though they hadn’t dusted in years (the Panda’s white fur looked less than white), and\u00a0paint on the wall was peeling off in many spots.\u00a0 Upstairs, an exhibit meant to\u00a0compare the gestation period of a panda and a human, so help me, had formaldehyde jars\u00a0withwhat looked to be real human fetuses from one month through ten months.\u00a0 Much of the rest of the exhibit consisted of enlarged (andslightly out of focus) photos of various pandas with their celebrity visitors.\u00a0 In another building (where we had to ask the person in charge to turn on the lights for us) there was an entire room devoted to what has to be the most amateurish display of stamps from around the world depicting pandas (speaking I am as a former stamp collector andexhibitor).\u00a0 There was also a trained bear (brown bears) show that pretty impressive technically. \u00a0We all just wanted to go\u00a0back to the apartments\u00a0after our visit.<\/p>\n

That night after dinner, Yumiko, Alex and I walked thirty minutes to the Fuzhou Normal University pool, hoping it might be less crowded.\u00a0 Sadly, that wasn’t the case.\u00a0 Moreover, due to the fact they seem uninterested in chlorine there, the water felt very “sticky,” and Alex got distracted from his workout by the chance to catch frogs in the pool.\u00a0\u00a0 I got kind of grossed out by all the poolside spitting and spent cigarette butts.\u00a0 So it’s back to the public pool for us!<\/p>\n

Greg G.<\/p>\n

\u00a0<\/p>\n

Day 20:\u00a0 July 22<\/strong><\/p>\n

This afternoon was the day of the big swim\u00a0race between Alex and Josh.\u00a0 Josh is a fifteen year-old Chinese boy, about the same size as Alex, who had noticed Alex swimming, and struck up a conversation with his passable English.\u00a0 Josh swims the Fly and some Freestyle, and apparently had attended a special swim school program.\u00a0 So, a challenge was issued, in good fun, and they made arrangements to meet just after noon on Wednesday (the pool is almost deserted at that time, Josh explained, because nobody wants to get too tanned here).\u00a0 Anyway, today the lifeguards took down the ropes dividing the pool into two, cleared the few other swimmers off to the side, handed me a whistle, and cheered on the two competitors.\u00a0 Everyone seemed to have great fun!\u00a0 Alex and Josh swam a 100 Fly, a 50 Fly, and a 50 free, with Alex winning all three times.\u00a0 We’ve taken a real liking to Josh, who is terribly polite, and haveinvited him to come swim with the Mariners in Sioux City next summer.\u00a0 Josh has good form, but needs some more pool time (especially where there’s no need to constantly dodge others while swimming laps).<\/p>\n

The other big event of the day was a trip to see the new Harry Potter movie, arranged for us by one of Jordan’s students.\u00a0 The movie was in English with Chinese subtitles, the theater air-conditioned, and there was even\u00a0coke to drink and popcorn (kettle corn-style)\u00a0to eat.\u00a0 A welcome taste of home!\u00a0 We were somewhat surprised to see that a ticket\u00a0cost about $10 U.S., which seemed a bit steep for China.<\/p>\n

While the guys set to work on their handouts and Powerpoint for tomorrow (very serious, this group), Yumikoand I went on a\u00a0long hike searching for a rumored local supermarket to do some shopping for everyone.\u00a0 We did find it finally, and it was an exhilarating chaotic mass of people and goods!\u00a0 We bought all the essentials:\u00a0 beer, candy, gum, beer, coffee, beer andeven black sugar for Jordan who’s become addicted to the stuff (he puts it on everything, even fruit).\u00a0<\/p>\n

\n

Greg G.<\/p>\n

\u00a0<\/p>\n

Day 21: July 23 (<\/strong>Day 4 of the 2nd session)<\/strong>\u00a0<\/p>\n

I have 30 students registered in my Japanese class again, but on average 26 students have been showing up.\u00a0 Same diligent, hard working students, mostly Freshman just like my previous group, but some students’ \u00a0English is not as strong, which compromises their class performance a bit.\u00a0 Both classes loved learning a song from the film “My Neighbor Totoro.”\u00a0 They’ll take the first Oral Exam tomorrow.\u00a0<\/p>\n

“Let’s meet aroundnoon” in Chinese:\u00a0 Additional comment on Alex & Josh’s swimming race yesterday.\u00a0 I\u00a0 set up the plan & went to the pool on the day of the race “around noon” as\u00a0Josh\u00a0suggested.\u00a0Actually,\u00a0we\u00a0got there right at 12:00.\u00a0 Alex started warming up and 10 minutes passed by, then 20 min…yet no sign of Josh.\u00a0 I began to worry and wonder if we miscommunicatedor if Josh could not come for some reason, but there was no way to reach us.\u00a0\u00a0By\u00a012:30,\u00a0 I was half convinced he might not show up\u00a0… then here was Josh!\u00a0 He kept apologizing for being late; when he foundout that we came at noon, he said, ” I am sorry, I haven’t explained to you yet…when we say ‘around noon’ in China, it means sometime between 12:00 & 1:00.”\u00a0 Now I know.\u00a0 Well, the two boys had great races & got to know each other a little bit better, so all’s well that ends well.<\/p>\n

Yumiko G.<\/p>\n

\u00a0<\/p>\n

Day 22: July 24<\/strong><\/p>\n

Chinese college girls are quiet and shy.\u00a0 My second Japanese class is worse.\u00a0 While they’re talkative amongst themselves, try to get them to volunteer answers in class and it’s like they become mute!\u00a0 I’m curious to ask them to lunch sometime, to see if any of them will actually take me up on my offer!\u00a0 I think Frances and Willing might.\u00a0 I don’t know if the blog has mentioned them yet.\u00a0 Frances and Willing are sisters.\u00a0 Willing is almost completely blind, so Frances takes care of her and brings her to class everyday.\u00a0 It’s a beautiful thing to witness.\u00a0 They’re both hardworking students.\u00a0<\/p>\n

P.S. Dad is cheap<\/p>\n

Alyssa, Daddy’s Soon-to-be-disowned Daughter<\/p>\n

Random thought of the day:\u00a0 It’s kind of nice to be living in an area that, unlike Shanghai or Beijing, is NOT overrun with foreigners.\u00a0 With few exceptions, shopkeepers, especially the college kids who man many of the small shops near here (this area is absolutely chock-full of schools of all types!), seem to enjoy playing the game “What does the foreigner really want?”\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0Years of little used English language study get dredged up from memory, and eyes literally light up when a transaction is completed!\u00a0 It makes one feel wanted.<\/p>\n

In case I haven’t mentioned it yet, Hwa Nan provides us free laundry service.\u00a0 This is something the folks at Hwa Nan had kept mentioning time and again during our pre-departure correspondence, which I always found a little funny.\u00a0 “Room and board” made sense to mention, but why always throw in “laundry service” in the same sentence?\u00a0 Well, it makes sense now.\u00a0 HwaNanemploys a woman who’s sole apparent job is wash the foreign teachers’ laundry.\u00a0 And with all but one of the regular staff on vacation, we’re getting great service!\u00a0 We drop our stuff off in the morning, and its clean and folded and waiting for us when we show up for dinner that same evening.\u00a0 This means we can survive on a pretty limited wardrobe.<\/p>\n

The nearby mom and pop grocery we frequent got itself another cat, to replace Mimi who was hit by a car the other day.\u00a0 Apparently, the new cat is also named Mimi.\u00a0 They’ve got this one tied up, however, which should increase its chances of survival (though with mopeds and cars driving on the sidewalk…).<\/p>\n

The guys showed the film “To Kill A Mockingbird” for the American Culture class today.\u00a0 Unfortunately, the room only had fans and no air conditioner, and everyone got a little restless well before the movie ended.\u00a0 The one question that seemed most popular with the Chinese students had to do with the “Mockingbird” of the title.\u00a0 The girls wanted to read that literally rather than symbolically.\u00a0 Symbolism, by the way, is not an easy concept to explain in English to non-native speakers!<\/p>\n

Jordan bought a new basketball on Student Street last night, and tonight the guys rather ingeneously set up a “bowling alley” in their apartment, using masking tape to mark off the lane, empty water bottles for pins, and, of course, the new basketball as their bowling ball.\u00a0 Adam trounced Greg and Jordan.\u00a0 Afterwards, they set off to try and use the courts at Fuzhou Normal University.<\/p>\n

Greg G.<\/p>\n

\u00a0<\/p>\n

Day 23 & Day 24:\u00a0 July 25 & 26<\/strong><\/p>\n

Weekend trip to Xiamen, supposedly billed as one of China’s most livable cities, although I found it one of China’s most litter-strewn cities.\u00a0 Anyway, Nell accompanied us on a guided tour for the weekend.\u00a0 [Note to self: The guided tour was at the President’s insistance; she felt a guided tour would be “safer.”\u00a0 Need to try and convince her that guided tours, while safer, provide all the excitment and enjoyment of an annual physical].<\/p>\n

I think our tour guide must have gotten paid by the word, as she just would not shut up.\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0Incessant pratter is even worse when it’s in a high-pitched tonal language one doesn’t understand (although I’ll give her credit for always making sure we foreign guests were on the bus before departing for the next stop).<\/p>\n

One highlight of the trip is that we got to meet and spend some time with Ben, who is Nell’s husband.\u00a0 Ben is a computer programmer in Xiamen for a Belgian company, friendly, and speaks good English.\u00a0 He was a real help, and took some of the pressure off Nell.<\/p>\n

One thing I find especially bothersome about Chinese package tours is that they force everyone to make required visits to factory showrooms as part of the tour.\u00a0 We got to visit one such place each day:\u00a0 Saturday was the Taifu Knife Company and Sunday was a tea company.\u00a0 I’m guessing the tour company gets a “subsidy” for these visits.\u00a0 You’re not required to spend any money, but you’re also not discouraged from spending.\u00a0 So, after a forced demo routine, they unleash you in the factory showroom.\u00a0 I came away with some nifty toe nail clippers at the first shop (about $1), and some tea at the other shop (Yumiko really fell for the “first ten customers who buy the set also get the following\u00a0items absolutely free!” come on; then again, so did Jordan, although HE may have been most interested in the anatomically correct urinating pig statuete).<\/p>\n

We did manage to take in some interesting sights, however, such as Hulishan Fortress (a turn-of-century coastal fort that boasts an 1893 manufacture Krupp canon acknowledged as the biggest and oldest such gun extant worlwide), the Jimei Kah Kee Park (dedicated to the memory of Singaporean businessman Tan Kah Kee, whom I’d never heard of but he seems a big deal to the locals), Gulangyu Island (with a beach, a real beach!) which is pedestrian traffic only, and a kick-arse temple complex known as South Putuo Temple.\u00a0 We also took an hour-long\u00a0ferry ride that crossed into Taiwanese territorial waters at the Kinmen Islands before turning back; for this they even checked passports before departure.\u00a0 My complaint about the latter was that once on ship, they offered to let us on the upper deck\u00a0IF we paid an additional 150 yuan\u00a0(over $20)\u00a0to rent a table.\u00a0 I get really offended with such bait and switch tactics.\u00a0 The guys went in on a table, though, and probably had a better experience for it.\u00a0\u00a0On the lower deck,\u00a0nobody sat for the longest time, but rushed over to see each sight as it was announced, jostling each other for position.\u00a0 makes one wonder about any sense of the good of the collective…\u00a0\u00a0<\/p>\n

We also got to be stars for a while, as visiting Chinese tourists came up asking to take pictures with us.\u00a0 Alyssa and Alex proved especially popular, with Alyssa sitting at one site for individual photos one after another with a group of women who seemed to be in their thirties.\u00a0 One neat, unanticipated benefit of being in a part of China not yet overrun with foreigners like Shanghai or Beijing.<\/p>\n

One thing I found I really appreciate about China:\u00a0 Chinese optical shops will clean glasses and make minor repairs for free!\u00a0 One of the nose rest pads on my glasses broke off, and so Nell led me to a nearby glasses store, where they carefully replaced both pads (so they’d match up) and cleaned my glasses, without complaint or recompense.\u00a0 So, what could have been a miserable rest of the trip for me was saved.<\/p>\n

Greg G.<\/p>\n

\u00a0<\/p>\n

Day 25:\u00a0 July 27<\/strong><\/p>\n

I have found a new favorite food in China:\u00a0 the “Bunny Burger!”\u00a0 We discovered a fast-food chain that goes by the name “Ruibite,” which, in Chinese, is pronounced something like the English word “rabbit.”\u00a0 They serve burgers made of rabbit.\u00a0 And boy are they tasty!\u00a0 In fact, rabbit burgers taste quite a bit like McChicken burgers, but softer and jucier.\u00a0 If Americans weren’t so squemish about eating bunnies (and seriously, what has any of the bunnies in your yard done for you lately?), I think this chain would be a big hit in the States, too!<\/p>\n

Greg G.<\/p>\n

The worst thing that can happen in China is to get sick …\u00a0lucky me. After two days of my throat hurting so bad that it was hard to swallow, Nell took me to see a doctor at a nearby hospital. After getting there at 1 and being told that the nose and throat doctor would be there at\u00a02, we waited on some benches with a nice Chinese family. When two o’clock came and passed Nell asked the janitor about it and found out they actually don’t open until 3! So we had to wait for another grueling hour at the hospital. When they did finally open there’s a mad rush into the office because the doctor looks at patients according to the order of a hospital log you are to put on his desk, and you can only submit the log after the doctor arrives. \u00a0The hospital room was not very impressive,\u00a0 run down and old, and\u00a0I wasn’t feeling\u00a0very optimistic about this whole thing. After telling the doctor that\u00a0I had a sore throat ( translated into Chinese by Nell), he immediatly asked if\u00a0I had a fever and checked my temperature. \u00a0He was probably nervous\u00a0I had Swine Flu. Luckily,\u00a0I didn’t. After\u00a0getting a \u00a0blood test after my mom’s persistent questioning to make sure they still don’t reuse needles, the doctor told me it was nothing serious and I\u00a0 just needed to take some antibiotics and\u00a0I would be fine. I was glad\u00a0I wasn’t contagious and didn’t have anything serious like Strep Throat that would’ve been bad considering that we were going to be leaving in 5 days. Seeing the doctor and getting drugs cost only 83 yuan without insurance ( roughly 12 dollars). Two days later,\u00a0I was feeling \u00a0a lot better and am almost back to normal. It was quite the experience.<\/p>\n

Alex G.<\/p>\n

Additional words from Alex’s mom about his hospital visit…<\/p>\n

Nell was our savior, what could we have done without her at a local hospital in China.\u00a0 She spent a whole afternoon in the hospital with us.\u00a0 She knew how everything works, had skills to effectively navigate our way without being pushy but not being pushed around either.\u00a0 She assured me\u00a0that drawing blood\u00a0was\u00a0safe although “everyone does it”\u00a0did not comfort me.<\/p>\n

One thing that was weird was there was very little privacy in the hospital.\u00a0 Two desks of the doctors were right in front of the waiting chairs where everyone sat & we observed other patients being examined as we waited.\u00a0 Many patients come with the whole family & the family members surround the patient as she\/he sees the doctor.\u00a0 The test results that patients did not pick up right away are left on the counter for all to see.\u00a0\u00a0However, we only waited 8 minutes to get Alex’s blood test results.<\/p>\n

All’s well that ends well…I must say!\u00a0 Overall, the hospital visit helped Alex.\u00a0 However, I am hoping that no one else need to go there!<\/p>\n

Yumiko G.<\/p>\n

\u00a0<\/p>\n

Day 26: July 28<\/strong><\/p>\n

After work, Nell took us in the school bus with some fifteen or so students to tour a very\u00a0expansive and very relaxing Daoist temple complex on what I believe is called “Black Mountain.”\u00a0 Basically, it’s in downtown Fuzhou next to the famous Black Pagoda.\u00a0 Greg joined in with a friendly group of Chinese practicing Tai Chi, and did a passable job of it.\u00a0 The students took way more photos of us and withus than\u00a0they took of the temple itself.\u00a0 Yep, it’s great to be popular!\u00a0 We concluded the evening with a dinner at a famous snack restaurant (“fish balls” was a specialty of the House), and a walk through the section of downtown Fuzhou that has been recreated as an old merchants’ street.\u00a0 We ran across one store that sold matching his & hers t-shirts, and my wife “tricked” me into buying a set that reads (in Chinese):\u00a0 “I eat but don’t clean dishes” for the woman and ” “I clean dishes but don’t eat.” for the man.\u00a0 Sounds suspiciously like a put-down of males to me.<\/p>\n

It amazes me how much walking we’ve done this month!\u00a0 We all should be in great shape for the start of school.<\/p>\n

Greg G.<\/p>\n

\u00a0<\/p>\n

Day 27:\u00a0 July 29<\/strong><\/p>\n

Alex went out with Josh and his family for dinner, while most of the rest of us tried a nearby Korean restaurant.\u00a0 The latter featured real, authentic kimchi!<\/p>\n

Mostly, today seemed a good day to shop for last-minute gifts.\u00a0 Yumiko and the guys all took taxis back to Nell’s friend’s jade shop.\u00a0 Myself, I figured it’d be easier on me not to go, and not worry about how much Yumiko might spend on yet more jade (remember, this would be her THIRD visit to the same jade shop!).<\/p>\n

\u00a0<\/p>\n

Day 28:\u00a0 July 30<\/strong><\/p>\n

The highlight of today was a Farewell Dinner given us by Hwa Nan.\u00a0 We went tonight becuase Greg leaves tomorrow afternoon by train to Beijing for a brief visit before flying home.\u00a0 Anyway, HwaNan’s past president chose an out-of-the-way restaurant frequented by local artists, where art decorated all the rooms, and you don’t actually order any specific food, you just tell them your budget and they prepare and surprise you with appropriate dishes.\u00a0 Judging from what we got, Hwa Nan must havereally splurged on us!\u00a0 We had at least twenty courses, with such unusual delicacies as snake (which Adam, Alex and I had been craving), sea slug, duck, oysters in the shell, and crab.\u00a0 Everything was supremely delicious, and we all stuffed ourselves.\u00a0 I may never be able to eat again!\u00a0 I noticed Alex somehow again got himself seated next to the former president, who has a tendency to pour beer for everyone within arm’s reach, no matter their actual age!\u00a0 Thank heavens the local brews\u00a0 are all lower alcohol content (generally in the 2.0-3.1 percent alcohol range).<\/p>\n

Earlier in the day, Yumiko and I braved a Chinese post office in order to mail her Japanese textbooks home (and save the necessity of packing heavy books in our luggage).\u00a0 What an ordeal!\u00a0 First, we arrived at 12:35 to discover that post offices here close completely for a long lunch hour.\u00a0 Second, when we returned later, we found that the prospect of mailing books confused the people on duty, and we had to wait while they called a supervisor elsewhere to get instructions.\u00a0 Then, they had to reopen the padded envelope I was using, take out and inspect all the contents, presumably to ascertain we were only sending books and not something else (though one has to wonder who in their right mind would try to sneak in a letter or something similar when it takes two months to reach the States).\u00a0 Finally, we had to sit through a presentation of the various means to ship the books, which\u00a0featured a very expensive-seeming airmail option that we finally learned wasn’t even available (why\u00a0the clerk even\u00a0bothered with this escaped us).\u00a0 An hour later we left exhausted.<\/p>\n

Yumiko wanted to buy a cheap umbrella to protect one that Alex broke the other day (umbrellas help block the sun), and so we headed into Student Street where the rest of the group had disappeared earlier.\u00a0 I’ve noticed Yumiko is always really popular in these shops; they initially mistake her for a Chinese and try to speak to her in Chinese, and then are amazed with her English ability.\u00a0 I wonder if that doesn’t havesomething to do with the fact that Student Street shops are full of student employees who are themselves struggling to master English at school.\u00a0 Anyway, once they’ve ascertained that Yumiko is not in fact Chinese, a guessing game usually ensues to try and figure out what nationality she does possess.\u00a0 Rarely has anyone correctly guessed Japanese (usually they try American or British, which I guess is a testament to her English ability).\u00a0 In addition to an unbrella, Yumiko got roped into buying some new underwear solely due to the fact that she was enjoying the group of sales girls at the shop so much.<\/p>\n

Speaking of enjoying shop help, we all ate lunch at our favorite “Bunny Burger” fast food restaurant.\u00a0 The people there seem genuinely excited when we happen in, and they even try to figure out the best food combinations to save us money.\u00a0\u00a0 Yumiko got them to put up the “How a bunny becomes a burger” video (which didn’t stop any of the guys from chowing down), and Yumiko later got the staff to pose for photos with her.\u00a0 They do make a mean slushy there (which is what Yumiko orders).<\/p>\n

For the second to last day of classes, Adam taught the girls poker, while Jordan and Greg combined their classes to teach\u00a0football and Red Rover.\u00a0 Jordan instructed in football, and it was a real hoot!\u00a0 Jordan used a basketball in lieu of a football.\u00a0\u00a0unfortunately, he hasn’t yet learned that when teaching non-native speakers, one must be very precise with one’s instructions!\u00a0 Jordan designated a\u00a0girl as Center, and explained how one hikes the ball between one’s legs, except for the fact that the Center should wait for a signal from the Quarterback before hiking the ball.\u00a0 Jordan handed his Center the ball, and before he could crouch down in position, she threw the ball between her legs and caught him right where it counts.\u00a0 Jordan doubled up in pain, while the girls doubled up with laughter.\u00a0 At least it broke the ice a bit.\u00a0 Shortly thereafter, while trying to demonstrate a passing route, Jordan got beaned in the head by his over-excited Quarterback.\u00a0 Can’t fault the guy for trying!<\/p>\n

Greg\u00a0G.<\/p>\n

\u00a0<\/p>\n

Day 29:\u00a0 July 31<\/strong><\/p>\n

Geez, where did this month go?\u00a0 Last day of classes, and everyone seemed sad to be finishing, teachers and students alike.\u00a0 The girls bought gifts:\u00a0 a nice bracelet for Yumiko, a framed piece of artwork for Jordan, Chinese stone\u00a0name stamps\u00a0for Adam and Greg (which they engraved with their initials), a local handicraft for Alyssa.<\/p>\n

Greg left at 3:30 for the train station to catch his train to Beijing (after Yumiko sewed up several holes in his shorts so he’d have something decent to wear).<\/p>\n

The family and I joined Josh (he writes it as Jochi) and his parents for dinner.\u00a0 Turns out the\u00a0“older brother” I thought he’d been swimming with was actually his rather young looking 41 year-old father!\u00a0 They live on the eighth floor of an apartment building still very much under construction down near Student Street.\u00a0 When we arrived, the elevator was out of commission.\u00a0 So\u00a0we climbed the stairs.\u00a0 Not much fun in temps over 100 degrees!\u00a0 We then discovered that they were going to take us out to dinner, as the gas to their oven had been shut off for some inexplicable reason.\u00a0 The parents insisted we had to wait for the elevator to be fixed before leaving for the restaurant, however, which took some time, and left me thinking perhaps the stairs would be safer, all things considered.\u00a0 So, off to a nice restaurentwe went, where we were treated to another more-than-anyone-could-ever-hope-to-eat meal … duck, crab, prawns, squid, mussels, etc.\u00a0\u00a0I felt so spoiled!\u00a0 Then, it was back to the apartment for ice cream and tea, and another long trip up eight flights of stairs as the elevator was again inoperative!\u00a0 [Interestingly, they couldn’t give us a mailing address as one hasn’t been assigned them yet!].\u00a0 Alex and Josh played video games happily, Yumikoand I “conversed” withthe parents through Japanese kanji characters and her amazing electronic dictionary, while Alyssa literally hovered beside us encouraging us to take some photos and depart (so she could make one last trip to the club).\u00a0 I wonder if it’s illegal to sell one’s first-born on the internet in China …\u00a0 Anyway, we were very impressed withJosh; not only is his English quite good for a Middle School student, but he is amazingly polite and disciplined.\u00a0 Oh yeah, and Josh’s dad presented me with a cool Mao pin that his own father had personally collected during the Cultural Revolution.<\/p>\n

Greg G.<\/p>\n

\u00a0<\/p>\n

Day 30: August 1<\/strong><\/p>\n

Our last full day in Fuzhou, spent mainly packing.\u00a0 Jordan spent the day withJulia (aka “Smiley Face Button Girl”) at Gushan Mountain, while the rest of us took a late break from packing to head downtown to WuiSquare for one last face-to-face with Mao (his statue, that is).\u00a0 We ate dinner in a Japanese ramen shop (good, but pricey), bought Yumikoa calligraphy brush and Alex a Dragon carving\u00a0from the local stone, and later in the square ran into the same beggar with performing monkey as before.<\/p>\n

It’ll be hard to leave Fuzhou, especially now that we’ve gotten to know the area well enough to get around, and the locals have gotten to know us well enough to ask for photos as we’re preparing to leave.\u00a0 I can’t speak for the rest of the group (they’re usually too busy to blog), but some of the things I’ll miss for sure will include:\u00a0 bunny burgers, cheap local beer, lemon ice slushies (for 50 cents), Mao pins, students who actually do their homework ahead of time, good seafood, the cat at the corner grocery store, and the young students at the city pool who always tried to practice their English when we showed up.<\/p>\n

Greg G.\u00a0<\/p>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"

Day One: 3 July 2009 Arrived by flight from Hong Kong around noon (having arrived at the hotel in HK about 11:30 pm the night prior).\u00a0 Before deplaning, we had to undergo a preliminary health screening.\u00a0 Everyone had to remain seated while two members of the local health service\u00a0 shot everyone in the forehead with […]<\/p>\n","protected":false},"author":25,"featured_media":0,"parent":0,"menu_order":0,"comment_status":"open","ping_status":"open","template":"","meta":{"footnotes":""},"class_list":["post-71","page","type-page","status-publish","hentry"],"_links":{"self":[{"href":"https:\/\/wordpress.morningside.edu\/guelcher\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/pages\/71","targetHints":{"allow":["GET"]}}],"collection":[{"href":"https:\/\/wordpress.morningside.edu\/guelcher\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/pages"}],"about":[{"href":"https:\/\/wordpress.morningside.edu\/guelcher\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/types\/page"}],"author":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/wordpress.morningside.edu\/guelcher\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/users\/25"}],"replies":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/wordpress.morningside.edu\/guelcher\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/comments?post=71"}],"version-history":[{"count":58,"href":"https:\/\/wordpress.morningside.edu\/guelcher\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/pages\/71\/revisions"}],"predecessor-version":[{"id":73,"href":"https:\/\/wordpress.morningside.edu\/guelcher\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/pages\/71\/revisions\/73"}],"wp:attachment":[{"href":"https:\/\/wordpress.morningside.edu\/guelcher\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media?parent=71"}],"curies":[{"name":"wp","href":"https:\/\/api.w.org\/{rel}","templated":true}]}}