It wasn't me!

 

We have enjoyed having time with visit friends during our winter break. The little boy is one of Michael's best friends and we have been getting to know his parents. They invited another family over so there would be a little girl for Rachel to play with as well. The four kids were quite impy!

Ice skating

 

We were delighted to find an ice skating rink in our town. It's a fun outing (especially in the summertime), even though it's not that close to us.

One complaint that Art and the kids have about it though, is how rough the ice is. We've been here several times and we've never seen the Zamboni in action. This day we closed the rink down (stayed until closing) and got to watch them clean the ice. The kids especially enjoyed watching. It might be the first time they've ever seen the machine in action!

Sexy knees

 

Remember how I pointed out the uneven sidewalks in the receiving area of the last photos? I should heed my own advice!

Uneven sidewalks are simply a part of life here in China. They are cracked with age or depressed due to settled earth. You can often find open manholes without signs indicating that they are open or without barriers. In other words, it's a minefield.

Many years ago, I had surgery on one ankle. Ever since then, that ankle has been weaker than the other and will "give out" (collapse) when I step funny. While I try to watch where I'm going, I, too often, have simply fallen down due stepping sideways on small cracks in the sidewalk. Larger cracks cause me to fall faster and harder!

In December, I stepped "funny" and fell resulting in my twisting my back and fracturing a bone in my wrist. No, it wasn't a serious fracture . . . it's a fracture on the surface of a bone and it's healing just fine without full immobilization. I also ended up with a pinched nerve in my neck with was quite irritating while it healed.

Then, last week, wouldn't you know, I fell again! My right knee took the brunt of the fall, as well as my previously injured hand. I couldn't really untwist myself quickly (I was with friends) and dang if an entire crowd of people didn't gather around. Many of them did try to help, but by that point I was just embarrassed and angry that this had happened yet again.

I feel extremely blessed. It could have been so much worse! While my knee is bruised, it really doesn't hurt too much. The swelling went down after a day. My hand hurts no worse than before, so the fall didn't cause any additional injury. The doctor suggests that I pick up a carpal tunnel splint while I'm in Hong Kong to provide some immobilization, just in case there is anything else happening. (We didn't do another x-ray, though.)

Sexy knees indeed!

Shopping Redefined . . .

 

 

 

 

Shopping in China can be quite a challenge. Bargaining is part of the culture unless you are shopping in overpriced malls.

One of my absolutely most favorite places to go shopping is a wholesale market in the east of town. I am not there in the mornings (it takes an hour to get there by bus), but this particular day, I got there early enough to see the delivery trucks come in.

These trucks drive into this huge outdoor area and the various shops come and collect their goods. Then, people from the surrounding provinces come in and buy from the shops. This particular day, I was in the market for yarn (I'm learning how to knit!) . . . you can see some of the yarn shops in the background of the second photo.

It's not luxury shopping. In fact, it can be hard work! However, it's also quite a bit of fun to see what treasures you can find and discover. I'm developing relationships with a few of the women in the craft shops and they readily sit down to teach me things. My only regret is that I live so far away from this particular market that I can't get out there too often.

(Take a look at the sidewalk and how cracked it is . . . more about that in another post.)

Take that . . . and that!

 

Remember the "Gophers in a Hole" game? You had to hammer the heads as they popped up? This is a similar concept . . . only advance to the 21st century where computers rule! Rachel was scurrying around trying to kill the ants on the screen.

Game rooms are still quite common in China. They are everywhere and more often than not, filled with more teens and adults rather than children. There are a few who cater only to children, but this wasn't one of them. However, Rachel and I still had a good time.

Only one day

 

Children's art work is often displayed in shops and stores. This one caught my eye as the third grader obviously hasn't grasped the translation of "Have a good day."

Happy One Day. No other days allowed! (Actually, I often see "Happy Every Day" as people try to translate the Chinese use of "天天" which means "every day." I'm not sure what would be the best way to convey the thought, "May every day be good." I think the Irish say it best . . . "May your days be blessed!"

We Do Chicken Right!

 

 

KFC is the closest thing we have to authentic "western" food. As far as fast foods go, KFC has been the most popular in China, due to it's primary item being a staple meat of China, the chicken.

Most of the time, KFC is in a mall. This is the only stand-alone KFC restaurant I've seen in China. It's a unique design . . . recognize the bucket? . . . and has a new feature to the Chinese food market . . . a drive-through! And yes, there is an occasional car that actually goes through it! One day, I just might ask a taxi to drive-through just to have the experience.

Car ownership is rapidly growing in China, but I'm not sure I want drive-through restaurants to grow with the market. Chinese driving is crazy enough as it is . . . we don't need to add fast food to the mix!

Do Re Mi Fa So La Ti Do . . . !

 

For most students, the semester ended the first week or so of January . . . the exact date depended upon their exam schedule. However, for a certain group of students, the semester continued for a week.

The university education system in China is based on an all-important test score on the college entrance exam, Gao Kao. Gao Kao (literally, "tall test") is taken by every high school senior, usually the first week of June. The last three years of high school are spent in preparation for this test.

By the time a student is a senior, he/she already knows generally what score he/she will make on the test. Yes, there may be some variation on the exact score, but overall, the practice tests, etc. show what their scores will be.

A student will choose their university based on their anticipated score. Different universities have different score requirements. Different majors within the same university have different score requirements. A student picks their university BEFORE they take the exam and if they don't actually score high enough to get into their choice, then they have to wait a year to take the test again!

For specialized majors such as music or physical education, a student also has to "audition" for that department, as well as have scores sent in. We live next to the music college of our university and this week, hundreds of students tried out for openings in the department. Each day, hundreds of students anxiously waited for their turn.

They will receive a preliminary acceptance based on their audition (or a flat-out rejection), followed by their gao kao in June. If their gao kao scores are high enough, they will then start as freshmen in September.

Sound simple, but it's not. It's a pretty complicated process!

$1.50 is too much!

 

 

I don't like getting my hair cut. It's just an irritating "thing" that needs to be done when my hair gets out of control. I have never really enjoyed spending money on haircuts and pretty much enjoy not having to do much with my hair. Also, it seems that whenever I get a "wild hair" to do something different with it, I'm typically disappointed.

Last year, I broke down and purchased some haircutting scissors. I typically keep up with my bangs myself, but haven't really tried much in the way of cutting the rest or maintaining any sense of style.

In April of last year, I got my hair cut short. Really short. Immediately decided that I didn't like it and immediately started to let it grow out again. That's one nice thing about my hair . . . it only takes about three days for it to start looking different.

I've been trimming it as it has grown out and I've been waiting for it to approach something that could begin to look like "all one length." Voila! One day I noticed that I was getting quite the mullet, so I knew it was time to pull out the scissors again.

Shower, towel dry hair, comb it, don't bother putting on glasses . . . snip, snip, snip, snip . . . 90 seconds later, I was done. Put on glasses, blow dry hair, trim a few stray ones that I missed and walk out the door. Life is extremely good!

My friends in the States are quite impressed. My friends here don't even bat an eye. There are far more women who cut their own hair than those pay someone else to cut it for them. The ten yuan ($1.50) is just too much for them! My cutting my own hair just puts me in good company with those all around me!

London Taxi Company

 

London taxis . . . an icon around the world . . . is part of a joint venture with Geely manufacturing here in China. (You can read about London Taxi Sales here: http://www.londontaxiexports.co.uk/) They are for sale only in limited locations and I was shocked beyond belief to find a showroom in our city! Granted, the showroom was shared with Hyundai, but still!

They didn't have classic London Taxi designs and I'm kicking myself for not taking a picture of what they did have. However, I did get the price . . . 604,800 yuan . . . $88,163!!!

Poetic and beautiful ending to the day

 

As Rachel and I walked down the hill on trembling legs (Going down all 1,281 steps made our legs wobble), we came across this man singing into the sunset. Rachel said that he was singing about sacrifice, but she couldn't understand everything. I couldn't understand even that!

At any rate, once below him, I snapped his photo. I was really pleased with how it turned out. When I saw it, I immediately thought of Psalm 8:3-4.

"When I consider your heavens,
... the work of your fingers,
the moon and the stars,
which you have set in place,
what is man that you are mindful of him,
the son of man that you care for him?"

The majesty of the full sun and the shadow of the hillside made the man look so small. And yet we are so great in God's plans.

I can see clearly . . . not quite!

 

 

 

 

Some of the pictures I've shown have appeared to have blue skies . . . and if the angle of my camera was directed towards the sky, it would be easy to get the impression that it was a great day! However, even though the temperature was nice (I took my jacket off), the visibility was overall, pretty bad. (Remember, though, the dark spots were caused by spots on my camera lens. Boo hoo again!)

Our city sits in a bowl . . . surrounded by mountains like we climbed . . . and the coal-generated heat in the wintertime, combined with two major (and nearby) petrochemical factories, makes for a nasty wintertime pea soup. To be honest, more days than not look like these.

Hack, hack.

Any signs of life?

 

 

 

 

This whole Poet's Corner area is located in the same district in which I live. It's north of the river and is easily accessed (except for all those steps!). However, if you wanted to avoid the steps, you could go up a back road. Rachel and I walked through the area and to be frank, it looks quite abandoned to me. We did see a few cars coming and going, but we weren't anxious to walk to what was signed as a "village" Made for interesting photos, though! Perhaps we'll go back in the spring.

Lan Ting Xu

 

 

 

 

I don't know a lot about Chinese poetry, but I have studied one piece rather closely. It's called "Lan Ting Xu," written in 353 AD by Wang Xizhi. Wang Xizhi is considered to be the father of modern Chinese calligraphy.

"Lan Ting Xu" means "Preface to poems composed at the Orchard Pavilion." The first two photos show a replica of the pavilion and surrounding area in Shaoxing, Zhejiang Province in which he wrote his poems. The last photo is a carving of the actual poem itself.

I have this poem to stitch in cross stitch. The whole thing strikes a chord with me. Here is one of my favorite translations of it:

At the beginning of the third lunar month,
We all gathered at the orchid pavilion in Shanyin County, Guiji Commandery,
For the Spring Purification Festival.
All of the prominent people were there,
From old to young.
This was an area of high mountains and lofty peaks,
With an exuberant growth of trees and bamboos,
Which also had clear rushing water,
Which reflected the sunlight as it flowed past either side of the pavilion.
The pavilion divided the flowing water into two winding brooks, and all the guests were sitting side by side;
Although we lacked the boisterousness of a live orchestra,
With a cup of wine here and a reciting of poetry there, it was sufficient to allow for a pleasant exchange of cordial conversations.
On this particular day, the sky was bright and the air was clear,
With a gentle breeze which was blowing freely. When looking up, one could see the vastness of the heavens,
And when looking down, one could observe the abundance of things. The contentment of allowing one’s eyes to wander,
Was enough to reach the heights of delight for the sight and sound. What a joy.
Now all people live in this world together,
Some will take all of their aspirations, and share them in private with a friend;
Still others will abandon themselves to reckless pursuits.
Even though everyone makes different choices in life, some thoughtful and some rash,
When a person meets with joy, he will temporarily be pleased,
And will feel content, but he is not mindful that old age will soon overtake him.
Wait until that person becomes weary, or has a change of heart about something,
And will thus be filled with regrets.
The happiness of the past, in the blink of an eye,
Will have already become a distant memory, and this cannot but cause one to sigh;
**In any case, the length of a man’s life is determined by the Creator, and we will all turn to dust in the end.**
The ancients have said, “Birth and Death are both momentous occasions.”
Isn’t that sad!
Every time I consider the reasons for why the people of old had regrets,
I am always moved to sadness by their writings,
And I can not explain why I am saddened.
I most certainly know that it is false and absurd to treat life and death as one and the same,
And it is equally absurd to think of dying at an old age as being the same as dying at a young age.
When future generations look back to my time, it will probably be similar to how I now think of the past.
What a shame! Therefore, when I list out the people that were here,
And record their musings, even though times and circumstances will change,
As for the things that we regret, they are the same.
For the people who read this in future generations, perhaps you will likewise be moved by my words.

** The line with the asteriks around it is what I like best. No matter what we plan, where we go, what we do . . . our days are determined by the Creator.

http://en.wikisource.org/wiki/Preface_to_the_Poems_Composed_at_the_Orchid_Pavilion

Poet's Corner

 

 

 

 

The bridges (purely decorational) are the same design as the front of the Forbidden City (Imperial Palace) in Beijing.

The entire Poet's Corner has carvings of poems and teachings in marble or granite. The long one is hand-carved and then the characters were painted green.

Hike Part 4

 

 

 

 

Rachel is standing just outside the pagoda in front of the stairs we still had to climb to reach the top.

The second photo is halfway up, looking down at the pagoda.

Third photos is WE'RE THERE! 1,281 steps, plus a ramp incline that didn't have steps, plus a small bridge with steps! Yes, I counted them . . . wrote them down as we went along.

So where were we? I still don't really know. It wasn't a temple, but more of a "Poet's Corner." It had busts of famous teachers and poets in Chinese history.

The very first bust was of Lao Tzu (last photo), the supposed founder of Tao. I must admit that I don't know much about Taoism It is my understanding that it can be loosely defined as a religion, but is more commonly known as a philosophy. Lao Tzu wrote the famous "Book of Changes."

Here's a brief quote on Taoism:

"The founder of Taoism is believed by many religious historians to be Lao-Tse (604-531 BCE), whose life overlapped that of Confucius (551-479 BCE). (Alternative spellings: Lao Tze, Lao Tsu, Lao Tzu, Laozi, Laotze, etc.). However other historians suggest that he is a synthesis of a number of historical figures. Others suggest that he was a mythical figure. Still others suggest that he lived in the 4th century BCE.

"He was searching for a way that would avoid the constant feudal warfare and other conflicts that disrupted society during his lifetime. The result was his book: Tao-te-Ching (a.k.a. Daodejing). Others believe that he is a mythical character.

"Taoism started as a combination of psychology and philosophy but evolved into a religious faith in 440 CE when it was adopted as a state religion. At that time Lao-Tse became popularly venerated as a deity. Taoism, along with Buddhism and Confucianism, became one of the three great religions of China. With the end of the Ch'ing Dynasty in 1911, state support for Taoism ended. Much of the Taoist heritage was destroyed during the next period of warlordism. After the Communist victory in 1949, religious freedom was severely restricted. "The new government put monks to manual labor, confiscated temples, and plundered treasures. Several million monks were reduced to fewer than 50,000" by 1960. 3 During the cultural revolution in China from 1966 to 1976, much of the remaining Taoist heritage was destroyed. Some religious tolerance has been restored under Deng Xiao-ping from 1982 to the present time."

From http://www.religioustolerance.org/taoism.htm