Nothing says cute quite like a baby!

 

This is the daughter of one of my students. I see her (with her dad) quite often as I come and go on campus and she is beginning to recognize me. She is as cute as can be!

In Search of Silence

 

China is a noisy place. There is no escaping the constant assault on your ears! Traffic sounds penetrate to most serene looking parks, construction sounds are everywhere. In fact, I would pretty much place money on the fact that our entire city seems to be under construction.

If "development" sounds aren't enough, there are more! Our apartment building is next to the music department. As soon as you walk out of our building, you can hear all the voice majors practicing, as well as other instruments being played. Yes, there are somewhat soundproof practice rooms, but they are stifling hot and everyone opens the windows. The resulting sounds are not those of a symphony!

Our bedroom window overlooks a cardboard recycling area. Trucks come and go all day and all night. Whenever a truck is in reverse, a very loud "BE CAREFUL, VEHICLE REVERSING" (in Chinese) blares out. While it's nice to have the warning when you are walking by, it's not very nice at 4:30 in the morning when you are trying to sleep!

Breaks between classes are filled with loudspeaker announcements or the news being broadcast. Then, when announcements are news are finished, music is played.

It's almost as if people are afraid to be alone with their thoughts.

This picture was taken next to a fountain area where people (mostly senior citizens) gather and play cards, mahjong, chess, etc. There are the usual collection of knitters, grandparents chasing little ones, etc. Not necessarily quiet, but also, not as noisy as many other locations.

It was obvious that this man wanted nothing to do with the crowds. He set his little chair in the small yard and parked himself in such a manner that only the closest of friends would approach him. However, the only thing "wrong" with this picture is that he was right next to the preschool/kindergarten . . . with all the accompanying sounds of screaming, laughing kids!

I took a closer look at him . . . how could he be next to all that noise as an "escape"? Earphones! He isolated himself from interruption and surrounded himself with his self-selected sounds.

I want some place that is truly silent. I keep threatening my family that I'm going to take off for the most remote corner of our province for a full 24 hours just so I don't have to talk to anyone or listen to anyone. Heck, I think I'd settle for just six hours of complete silence!

Mountain Tea Flowers

 

 

These are actually camellias, but I just love the Chinese name for them . . . 山茶花 shān chá huā. Once again, I can't smell them, but I love how they look!

The lilacs are bloomin'

 

 

 

 

The purple lilacs are in full bloom and everyone says they smell terrific. I can't smell them at all. It seems that my nose doesn't detect nice floral scents. It has no problems picking up the nice nasty scents to too frequently come my way!

At any rate, the purple lilacs are first, followed by the pink lilacs. They really are tiny little flowers, but my camera does a good job zooming in on them.

Spring is aaaaaaallllllllmost here! We have an uncharacteristic rain system moving through our area this week. It has literally rained for over 12 hours. Considering that that's more moisture than we've had in the past four months combined, it's quite newsworthy! It's all anyone is talking about. We're trying not to complain since we so desperately need the rain.

Which kind of perfect?

 

Is it a

Perfect Club for Women or a

Club for Perfect Women?

I'll have to go find out one day. Perhaps I can direct all my single male friends there!

Plum Blossoms

 

 

 

 

The plum blossoms are among my favorite flowers to photograph. It often seems that each flower has its own personality. The last photo is touched up a bit as my battery was dying in the camera and it came out a bit dark. However, I think I got it close to its true color. The other photos are un-retouched. (Is that a word?)

Chinese Magnolia

 

 

 

 

This tree gets flowers first and later gets its leaves. It's always a bit strange to see such beautiful flowers on naked "sticks!" The buds pic was taken on March 17 and the full bloom shots were taken April 5. The flowers are already beginning to drop off the trees. The leaves should arrive next week or so.

Holiday Contrasts

 

 

Most of China's holidays are based on the lunar calendar, while many holidays elsewhere in the world are based on the solar calendar. However, there are a few in which the tables are turned and things are switched around.

Easter is a lunar holiday. Basically, Easter is on the first Sunday after the first full moon after the Spring Equinox (There are some variations to how this is calculated based on Julian or Gregorian calendars, but I'm not going there!). Because of it being a lunar holiday, the date changes from year to year.

I'm used to this in China. As I said, most of their holidays float around and we have to check the calendar to figure out what's happening when. However, one of their "fixed" holidays is "Qing Ming Jie" . . . "Tomb Sweeping Day," which falls on April 4, 5 or 6 each year.

Qing Ming Jie dates back over 2000 years and is deeply rooted in ancestor worship. "Ancestor worship (also called ancestor veneration) is a ritual practice that is based on the belief that deceased family members have a continued existence, take an interest in the affairs of the world, and possess the ability to influence the fortune of the living. Early forms of ancestor worship were deeply rooted and extensively developed by the Late Neolithic Period in China. The goal of ancestor worship is to ensure the ancestors' continued well-being and positive disposition towards the living and sometimes to ask for special favors or assistance. The social or nonreligious function of ancestor worship is "to cultivate kinship values like filial piety, family loyalty, and continuity of the family lineage." (FROM: http://www.religionfacts.com/chinese_religion/practices/ancestor_worship.htm accessed April 5, 2010)

Qing Ming is also a time to clean graves after a long winter. If possible, family members tend the graves and offer sacrifices of paper "spirit" money and paper goods for their ancestors in their afterlife. Often, food items are left at the grave.

It is not uncommon to see people burning spirit money elsewhere if they are unable to actually go to their ancestral graves. Tonight, as I was coming home from dinner, I saw just that. If you look closely at the second photo, you'll see a small pile of this spirit money that was being burned. This was the third fire this person lit . . . for different people in her family.

Do people actually believe that this helps their ancestors? It's hard to say. The government banned the festival from its "official" calendars in 1949 with it being reinstated into the government calendar in 2008. More and more people say that the observance of the day is a sign of respect, but not necessarily a sign of belief in old traditions. However, there are definitely those who still cling to the old traditions and fear rejection by their ancestors if they don't "take care of them" now.

It's not often that Easter and Qing Ming fall back-to-back like they did this year. It makes the stark difference between the two so obvious. Easter embraces all symbols of new life. It's a joyous occasion with the common greeting of "Happy Easter" being heard everywhere. No one says, "Happy Qing Ming Jie."

The first photo shows my students having the first egg relay race they have ever had. I love the look on the students' faces in the background! Something this fun just can't be learning, can it?

I'll be posting some "signs of spring" in upcoming days.

Dogwood

 

 

 

The dogwood trees are in full bloom. I don't know much about flowers, but I do know that I really like this one! As I look at other dogwood photos, though, I wonder if this actually is what I think it is!

EDIT -- I think they are white cherry flowers!