Standing Room Only

Oh why thank you, a hundred dollar bonus to enjoy the holiday with, why you shouldn’t have. May 1st to the 7th is China’s National Labor Day Holiday and a way of expressing the schools gratitude toward the teachers they have them each a hundred RMB. It took a bit of work to arrange our travel plans and to buy tickets but we finally have a destination. Just like we have business class and economy class the Chinese have their own way to distinguish between the different compartments on the train. There are 4 main sections the hard seat, soft seat, hard bed, and soft bed with each compartment increasing with comfort and with price. Oh, and there is a standing section, which was the only section that still had room by the time we decided where we wanted to go but that was definitely out of the question because I couldn’t imagine standing on a train for 25 hours to go on vacation. So, Deanna and I will be flying on Saturday to Yunnan Province, 2 ½ hours away, and will be visiting Lijiang, a world heritage site know as the Venice of the East. We plan to visit many of there national parks, pagodas, and museums. We may even join a two day hiking and camping trip in the mountains. I hope this time we will have fewer encounters with cockroaches, all bugs for that matter.

His name is Renaldo

I met him on the Avenue of Stars. He is somewhat of the silent type. He is very photogenic and always seems to maintain the same facial expression in the photos I have of him. He works in the film industry but is trying to make his way into acting. We had a good conversation, although he is more of the listening type, a man of few words.
We couldn’t resist taking our picture with this handsome fellow. He just looked so lonely. We did get a few strange looks and some laughs from the other tourists. Don’t worry dad he wouldn’t fit in my suitcase besides I am positive he would set off every metal detectors in the airport, being made from bronze and all. Plus, I would probably have to pay quite a bit for my luggage being overweight and I am not sure if I could keep a straight face as I am explaing why my luggage is so heavy to the flight attendant.

Chinese Cusine

Unfortunately, there isn’t a photo to document my latest encounter with unique Chinese food but I can describe in full detail what I have tried. This food is about the size of your baby finger and take some skill to eat, for you have to nibble around the cartilage. The texture is rather strange, much like a rubbery chicken, and it is pretty much tasteless. If you haven’t figured out what this delicatessen is already, (you would have to really use your imagination) it is duck tongue. The next food involves tubular organs, again having a rubbery texture but this time there is actually some flavor. This dish is the small intestines of a pig and quite an expensive food I am told. I am sure that they could come to Vancouver and the butcher would gladly just give them these organs so he did not have to discard them himself. They certainly don’t let any part of the animal go to waste.

Hong Kong - The City of Lights

It’s a 24 hour city. No matter the time, no matter the day, there’s always something going on.
Deanna and I left Friday evening on the bus from Foshan to Hong Kong. It was a bout a 4 hour ride with 3 borders and customs crossings. We arrived at our hostel and checked in our luggage. The room was extremely small with two beds, no windows and the tiniest bathroom ever, but we weren’t planning on spending our time enjoying the accommodations anyways. After getting settled we headed out to see the ‘city of lights’. Hong Kong has many night markets. The whole street is typically barricaded off to traffic and vendors et up their stalls in the middle of the street. The market as many thing to buy, selling mostly souvenirs, watches, purses, hats, jewelry, clothes, and electronics. On Saturday morning we headed to the tourist bureau to pick up maps and brochures of Hong Kong. We also signed up for the Cantonese Opera Appreciation class. To promote tourism in Hong Kong they offer many free cultural activities for tourists. We wanted to sign up for some more classes but they were all full. After leaving the Tourism Bureau we headed to Pacific Café for bagels with cream cheese, mmmmmmmm they were delicious and a good start to our day.

The Cantonese Opera Appreciation Class was held at the Heritage Museum and for $10(HK) we were able to see a short performance and view the exhibitions in the museum. We learned lots about the history and traditions included in the Opera. There are only 6 performers in the Cantonese Opera with one head female lead and one head male lead. There are 4 parts to the opera song, reciting, movement, and fighting. The singing is very high pitched and nothing like your typical western Opera but only has 2 two pitches high and extremely high,one for the males and one for the females. The museum had many interactive displays, one that would take a picture of your face and then digitally transform it so you would look like a Cantonese Opera actress.
In the afternoon and evening we went shopping and bargained at the Temple Street Market. I ended up buying some clothes and souvenirs. We returned to our hostel quite late and exhausted from a full day. At our bedroom door we were greeted by a nice note saying they had switched rooms on us. It was a very frustrating ordeal because they packed up our stuff (good thing we locked our suitcases) and moved it to an even smaller room that had so many bugs. We complained so they gave us a can of Raid for killing cockroaches. On the whole, it was not a great night sleep. In the morning we complained again and they moved us to a much nicer room.

On Sunday we had Dim Sum with some of Deanna’s relatives who live in Hong Kong. We spent the entire afternoon on the Avenue of Stars, not Holly wood but the Hong Kong movie scene starring Jackie Chan and Bruce Lee (well those were the only actors I recognized). The boardwalk allows you a great view of the skyscrapers in Hong Kong. The buildings tower of the shops and streets at an average of 50 floors per building. After several pictures and a fun time walking down the Avenue of Stars we searched for a place to eat.
The weather was not cooperating during our stay other wise we would have headed to Victoria Peak were you can ride the tram up the mountain for one of the best vies of Hong Kong City. Maybe next time the weather will be better and we can see more sightseeing.

The Richness of Life is found in Adventure ~ William Orville Douglas

Heading off to the former British dependency on the southeastern coast of China, also known as Hong Kong, for the weekend. It is a business trip, to say the least because I must leave China every 60 days according to my travel Visa and then I can reenter the country. Technically Hong Kong is not part of China but is considered a SAR, a Special Administration Region. Will be spending 4 days sightseeing, eating, sleeping, and of course shopping in Hong Kong. What a pity! (You have to say this with a British accent. I adopted this phrase from the students here, many of the phrases they pick up are British phrases and it makes me laugh when I here these unusual statements. Another one they like to say is “Oh, come of it!). Anyways, I should have tons of pictures and an update when I get back, in the mean time, if you have a spare moment, write me a comment.

An apple a day...

...keeps the doctor away. Breakfast and lunch are served at the canteen and the food is pretty predictable. Breakfast usually consists of plain noodles with a broth, sweet bun, sesame bun, and sponge cake. Rice is guarantee for lunch along with different vegetable and mixed meat dishes. They like to cook the food all together with a broth base, therefore everything has a watery substance. Sometimes I feel like I am on a liquid diet. One can always count on fruit for desert or to save for a snake later on in the day. The fruit rotates between apples, bananas, oranges, and pears.
Well I can cross off some more interesting foods off my list, not that I have a list because who know what I will be eating next. The latest thing was a black herbal jello dish called Guilingao. It doesn’t have much flavor but it does have an interesting smell. The jello is made for herbs and gwei which is cantonese for tortoise. I was told that it is good for your health. Who knew that tortoises can be used for medicinal purposes. Next time you are feeling ill find that package of tortoise shell gelatine in the back of your pantry, because I know it is a staple in everyones kitchen, and make some jello and add some herbal tea, but don’t blame me if you feel worse. It is suppose to taste better when honey or milk is added. Let’s just say that it is not on the top of my list as a must try again. Another food that has become my least favorite is the Balsam gourd. This extremely bitter vegetable is hollowed out and stuffed with ground pork before it is boiled. I can also cross of eel and pig stomach too.

Pottery Capital of South China

On the weekend Deanna and I visited Nanfeng Ancient kiln in Shiwan District, actually Deanna’s school is located in Shiwan District, and the kiln is a 5 minute walk from her place. The 500 year old kiln has been making and manufacturing ceramics for all types of purposes such as building materials like bricks and roof tiles, utensils, household items like sinks and toilets, murals, art works and handicrafts. There are two identical kilns located on this site and are said to be shaped like dragons that are climbing up a small hill. Both kilns have been repaired several times over the past hundred years in order to keep them in working condition. They say that the fire in the kiln has never gone out and they are still producing ceramics on a daily basis. The kiln is 34.5 meters long and has 29 lines of fire holes. A fire is built at the lower end of the kiln in the firing box and the heat and smoke travels up the tunnel to the top of the kiln and then out the chimney. Inside the tunnel the pottery is free standing and often stacked upon itself. I was able to peak inside the unused kiln. It was quite interesting to walk through the pottery workshops, studio village, dry storage area, and inside the kilns. The kiln workers wear woven grass slippers to protect their feet from the heat of the kiln and to help them from slipping on the slanted kiln surface. The pottery business has made Shiwan area famous attracting many artisans and visitors. If you take away the ticket booth, gift shop, the modern stairway with manicured bushes, and tourists direction signs, I really felt like I was walking through an ancient Chinese pottery village from many years ago.

Deanna and I decided to try our hand at the pottery wheel. We spent about an hour shaping our clay into vases. The only difficult part was trying to ask the attendant, who knew very little English, to take our cameras out of our camera bags and take a picture of us and our drying crusty clay hands.

Go Fish!

...98, 99, 100, 101...256, 257, 258...okay so there are too many fish to count. This man selling fish food is making a bundle as parents give into their child’s request to feed the fish. “Ahhhh, but mom I want to feed the fish like the other kids. Can I? Pretty please with a cherry on top” This one boy was so overjoyed as he through little handfuls of pellets to the fish. They fish seemed to be fighting for the food and would jump over each other in hopes to reach the food first. Well lots more picture to come throughout the week, considering I took over 180 photos over 3 days. These pictures, including the fish frenzy, were taken at Zhong Shan Park. This was my third time visiting this park. It is a 30 minute bus ride to the other side of town and only cost 5RMB. It is a great place to take photos.

Communicating with Body Language

If words don’t work then body language is sure to do the trick. By observing peoples gestures and body language you can understand the basic idea of the conversation without understanding a word of Chinese. One gesture that if very different here among the Chinese people is pointing to their own nose followed by the word wû. Wû means I and they often point to their noses when they are referring to themselves. They are probably wondering why we point to our hearts when we are referring to ourselves. So next time you are having a conversation and are referring to yourself point to your nose and see if the other person notices. Let me know what happens.

Flowers outside & inside

It’s such a beautiful day today. Took a moment to smell the flowers and then decided that I needed some for my apartment.
The students are outside enjoying the sun, playing basketball, badminton, and hackysack. I joined them in their 3 on 3 basketball game and drew quite a crowd. My basketball skills from highschool a quite rusty.
I just saw the biggest cockroach I have ever seen. Yes it is, or should I say was, in my kitchen sink. Wanting to prove how big this sucker was I went in search for my camera. By the time I returned the cockroach was nowhere to be found. Now he is MIA (missing in action). He was honestly about the size of my big toe. Tonight I will be sleeping with both the kitchen and bedroom door shut and under the mosquito net just in case he decides to show up again.

Top Ten

These are my top ten favorite pictures of China so far.
Bamboo weaving
Traditional Chinese Temple
City of Foshan
Student exercises
Bonzi Plants
The most wonderful teachers who have been so helpful.
Zhong Shan Park
Typical Chinese boat carrying goods across the river
Bamboo Scaffolding
Saw this bike parked in the middle of the sidewalk with a basket full of flowers.

Hope you had a Happy Easter

I hope everyone enjoyed their Easter break. Save an easter egg for me. Isn’t technology amazing. Not only can we send e-mails instantaneously but we can also have a live conversation through the internet. For over an hour I was talking and video conferencing with my family. Everyone was over at my house for Easter dinner so I was able to talk with everyone or make faces to my cousin. I was in the middle of the room being included in the conversation.

Otherwise I had a great weekend of sightseeing and shopping. As the Beijing Olympics are approaching next summer the advertisement is starting to get into full swing. These 5 little characters are starting to pop up all over the place. I couldn’t help but buy this key chain set with all the characters on it.

This is the story behind them from the official Beijing 2008 Olympic Games website.

“Like the Five Olympic Rings from which they draw their color and inspiration, Fuwa will serve as the Official Mascots of Beijing 2008 Olympic Games, carrying a message of friendship and peace -- and good wishes from China -- to children all over the world.
Designed to express the playful qualities of five little children who form an intimate circle of friends, Fuwa also embody the natural characteristics of four of China's most popular animals -- the Fish, the Panda, the Tibetan Antelope, the Swallow -- and the Olympic Flame.
Each of Fuwa has a rhyming two-syllable name -- a traditional way of expressing affection for children in China. Beibei is the Fish, Jingjing is the Panda, Huanhuan is the Olympic Flame, Yingying is the Tibetan Antelope and Nini is the Swallow.
When you put their names together -- Bei Jing Huan Ying Ni -- they say "Welcome to Beijing," offering a warm invitation that reflects the mission of Fuwa as young ambassadors for the Olympic Games.
Fuwa also embody both the landscape and the dreams and aspirations of people from every part of the vast country of China. In their origins and their headpieces, you can see the five elements of nature -- the sea, forest, fire, earth and sky -- all stylistically rendered in ways that represent the deep traditional influences of Chinese folk art and ornamentation.”

www.en.beijing2008.com/80/05/article211990580.shtml

Easter Sunday

Deanna and I attended the 3:30 mass at the Cathedral of the Sacred Heart of Jesus in Guangzhou. I honestly did not think that we would find any churches here in China. The service was completely full, even the standing room on the sides and at the back were full. We arrived early and were able to find a seat although it was behind a great huge column. I am not sure why the architects decided that it was a brilliant idea to have large columns located in the center of the aisles. On the other hand, the sound was really good and we could here all the hymns, scripture readings and the sermon. The entire service was in English, with different members leading different parts. Many of the songs I recognized from Mt. Zion and one song from Willingdon. There were many ethnicities represented at the church, but mainly Africans. The church was very bright insides with gorgeous chandeliers and stain glass windows. It totally did not feel as if we were still in China.

Eggs should be neither pickled nor salted

Pickled eggs are the better of the two but still if al all costs it is better to avoid it. When the eggs are pickled they turn black and have a rubbery texture. The Chinese people like to add these eggs to their rice porridge. Now salted eggs on the other had are just gross. The raw egg is bathed in concentrated salt water, allowing the salt to soak through the shell into the egg. The egg is then boiled and ready to be eaten. It tastes like you are eating a salt block, not that I have tasted a salt block but I can imagine. The Chinese like it because it gives them an excuse to eat more rice, or something to that effect. I really don’t understand but I think I will stick to plain and simple boiled eggs. This is what happens when you eat too many salted eggs...
...haha...just kidding. I found the special effects button on my web-cam. Have a great day everyone!

A Day Full of Surprises

First thing this morning I was handed a letter with a postage stamp from Uganda, Africa. It couldn’t be from anyone else but my brother. I was so shocked and excited, I was not expecting this at all. He wrote me a letter about his travels in Africa and to wish me a Happy Birthday. Wow, did he have good timing. Later, I was in the middle of preparing a lesson when a large box gets plunked down on top of my desk. The teaching staff surprised me with a large birthday cake and a card for my birthday today. They all gathered around and sang Happy Birthday. Everyone know this song much like we know it in French. They all wished me happy birthday at different times throughout the day. Even those who do not speak any English had been practicing for the occasion and were excited to try out the new words they had learned. I taught two classes today and both classes had found out from the teachers that is was my birthday so they also sang Happy Birthday. I was invited for dinner at the dance teachers house. Her and her roommate cooked dinner for me. It was a great day although the weather has been cold and wet for the past two days. It has been pouring rain, much like home, and thunder and lightening during the nights. The weather changes so drastically here. One day it is 29 degrees and the next day it is 11 degrees. You can’t really plan what you are going to wear the next day.



Balloon + Cake + Candles = Birthday Party

It all started with...

...let’s see if we can find the church we keep hearing about in Guangzhou. So Deanna and I set of Sunday morning in search for a church. We took a different bus then the one we normally take into Guangzhou, because it was closer, but it was half the price. Turns out it is half price because they drop you off on the outskirts of Guangzhou. So we walked and shopped and walked and shopped until we found the metro station. We actually ended up walking through the tea capital of Guangzhou. Why else would you have a giant clay tea pot in the middle of the square. And yes I had to buy a traditional Chinese clay tea pot that only pours 4 miniature cups of Chinese tea or one normal size cup of western tea. We also ended up stopping at the International Wholesale Market. This market was unlike anything I have ever seen before. Thousands of vendors selling their items in this huge ware house building that is crammed full of merchandise. Just imagine all those items that have the made in China sticker on them, being sold in one place. They have everything, halloween costumes, tacky hair barrettes, sunglasses, socks, wallets, jewelry, silk flowers, curtains, lace, watches ... As soon as you touch an item the vendors come up to you and say “Okay how many?”
“I am only looking but how much would one cost?” I respond.
“Only one well...” After some number crunching on the calculator the price is shown.
“Oh, thanks” and I proceed to look around at other items.
Determined to sell me the original item I expressed an interest in, he quotes me another cheaper price. Note to self, do not touch anything unless you are committed to buying it or want to be hassled during your entire stay in the shop.
No sightings of the church yet we decided to head to a familiar place to eat, KFC. A familiar restaurant chain is may be but not the type of food I was expecting. I was surprised when my chicken burger did not resemble the picture I pointed too. Inside the patty there was chunks of vegetables and chicken. It actually didn’t taste too bad. At least you can always count on the fries tasting the same.
After, dinner we found the church. It felt like we had just stepped into the Italian community of China The surrounding buildings had Italian architecture design mixed with a little bit of Chinese. I tried taking a picture but it was too dark. The Church was a large stone Catholic Cathedral with beautiful stain glass windows. Three services every sunday so we have our choice Cantonese, Mandarin, or English. We plan on returning next week to catch the 3:00 English Easter Service.

Message has been decoded

“Could you come to the same place? My daughter would like to talk to you, she is from #3 Senior High School. Why are you not at your place? Are you playing computer games? I cannot speak English.” This does pose a problem because I do not know when she wants me to come to the roof top again and how does she know that her daughter would like to talk in the first place. Lots of parents want their children to practice English with a native speaker. So it isn’t uncommon for me to be walking down the street and the parents give a little poke to encourage their child to say hello to me. It reminds me of the punchbuggy game, where the first one to spot a Volkswagon bug deposits a full fledge punch on the arm of the closes person. I remember driving in our VW bug and often seeing the outcome of the game as we would pass pedestrians on the street.