My Heart is Breaking

I am very emotional today. Most of that emotion comes from two long days of traveling and catching bus, boat, and plane within narrow time windows. But I also think it was a good thing, because it caused me to think very deeply as I viewed the world around me. People in America can only give feeble attempts at imagining just what life is like in a third world country. Commercials on TV try to compel people to help the little starving children all over the world, but Americans just flip right by and ignore the fact that something in their heart says, "Why can't I do something to help when I have so much?" I have been able to witness these starving children, animals, and older people as well.

It broke my heart today as I rode in my comfortable leather chair on a heated (and air-conditioned in the summer) bus through the tiny villages. The villages are made of tiny brick one-room "houses" (we in America would call them garages) that the owners usually use for their businesses and so share their living room with stacks of goods for sale. They have a hard chair or two, a small table and maybe a little TV to make the days pass more quickly. The children with dirty faces, hands, and clothes, have sandals or no shoes at all in 45 degree weather. There is a pile of garbage on the side of the road where one or more people are crouched, digging through other people's trash looking for the smallest piece of food, or scrap of material. The dogs are also there looking for food. Then there's a farm where a little old hunched-over lady is carrying two buckets tied to either end of a pole across her back. She could be 50 or 90, it's hard to tell. These people work their entire lives in the fields day after day bent over picking fruits and vegetables and grains to sell at the market. A day off is probably not in their vocabulary because they couldn't afford it. They have probably never traveled outside of their county.

It was all I could do not to cry as I watched them going about their lives. I've seen these kinds of villages many times in the last five months, but it never hit me this hard. I have so much wealth at home in America and even here in China. The students and teachers who come to visit are fascinated by how nice our apartment is. Sometimes I wonder if that makes it harder for them to feel comfortable around us. We know we are very blessed to have such nice things in a poor community. It is amazing to me to think that I have so much less here than I ever had in America and I'm still far richer than the Chinese people I talk to every day. I am ashamed to admit that I have a bike here that I don't ride because it's not big enough when so many people would be happy to have a bike at all. Also I get bored with the same foods every day because I am used to having many many choices, while the Chinese people, when they have a choice, choose the same thing they usually have because they are used to having that every day.

I feel some days that one year is not nearly enough time for me to make a difference here. Some days I really want to stay, but I have so many excuses not to. I miss the people I love and the comforts of home. I am considering going back to school to study ESL teaching and don't know if I should put it off. But I will miss the people I love here, too. If I don't talk to them, who will? It isn't about me anymore...

Thailand

I LOVE Thailand! The weather is warm and wonderful (probably not in the summer, though), the tropics are beautiful, the people are friendly, the crafts are amazing, I could keep going. We met Kristy and Mary in Hong Kong on the 17th before traveling to Thailand. We spent one day in Bangkok since we flew in there and figured we should see some of it. We spent a few hours at the Emperors Palace which is amazingly beautiful, but sadly there for the wrong reasons.

Then it was off to Chiang Mai to visit the church and friends there. We spent Sunday catching up with friends and trying different foods. In the evening we went to the walking market. Pretty much the entire center of town was closed off and there were tables set up along all of the streets on both sides, and blankets down the middle. There were amazingly very few repeats of items within close distance of each other, so it was a place where you actually had to buy things when you saw them because you didn't know if you'd see them again. I got some really great things, my favorite being a hand made quilt. I really bargained hard, but even though they wouldn't come down as much as I wanted them to, I gave in because it was so beautiful. I decided that I wouldn't be able to find anything like it anywhere else and ultimately, it was actually quite cheap.

On Monday, we booked a day long trek to ride elephants. We had a very small group: 8 people. Later two more joined us. We stopped at an orchid and butterfly farm which was amazing, then went up the the elephant camp. We found a more private tour group which was a really good idea. We payed a little more, but it was worth it. The elephant camp had only three elephants: mama, papa, and baby (7 years old). The mama was also pregnant. We got to ride them for an hour and then give them some snacks afterward. While Kristy tried to take a photo with the baby, he headbutted her! What's even better is that Mary got it on camera! So funny! Then we went to visit a hilltribe which was not very exciting, but we didn't stay long. The next stop was the waterfall! We went swimming under the waterfall. It was super cold, but nice once you got in. After that, we went bamboo rafting. That was pretty cool too, but too short. We were really happy with our experience and the people with us were really great, too.

Tuesday we said goodbye to Katie and Eric and left for the island. We arrived on Wednesday evening and had three full days to lay on the beach and tan which we took full advantage of. We slept in every day and spent all afternoon and evening at the beach. We did some snorkeling which I still struggled with, but I'm getting better. At least it wasn't a miserable experience this time. I do have a couple cuts on my feet from kicking stones though. Friday we went up to the next beach up the coast where there is a sandbar you can walk to the next island. It is really hard to walk it with the waves crashing around you and the sand moving under your feet, but still pretty cool. We wrapped up or time on the beach with massages on Saturday night and then headed back home on Sunday.

I recommend going to Thailand to anyone who has a chance. It is really beautiful and we found some great places to stay and things to do. Ask me if you need suggestions!

What time is it?? Vacation Time!!

That's right! We are officially done teaching our first term! The students still have classes up until their Finals next week, but we are done because they need time to study. Fine with me! So we are off until February 20th. Five weeks!
We are leaving on Thursday for Thailand which we are super excited about. Our friend KristyG (check out her blog... she hasn't updated in a while...), who is in Beijing, is going with us. We plan to visit a couple friends in Chiang Mai, KateR and KatieL (check out her blog... she is a great writer!). We'll spend a day in Bangkok, then go up to Chiang Mai for a couple days, ride an elephant, and see our friends. Then we'll head down to an island to lay on the beach and do some snorkeling for a couple days. Then we'll be back here on the 28th.
Our next trip starts Feb. 1 when Sara and I fly up to Beijing. My parents, sister, and boyfriend will join us on the 3rd and then we'll travel all over the country until the 18th when we all head back to our respective homes. We plan to stop in Xi'an, then take a cruise on the Yangzte River to see the Three Gorges, then head down here to XinXing for a couple nights, and finally over to Hong Kong for the weekend. It will be a busy two weeks, but I am so excited to see my family and travel.
I have been trying to find out when we will have vacation time this term, but the schools here don't plan the terms in advance. They will have meetings around Feb 17th to decide the schedule for this term. It is not that big of a deal most of the time, but it is frustrating because we don't know when we might be able to go somewhere, or especially, when we will be able to go home. The Chinese gov changed the country's holiday schedule for this year to promote nationality, so we won't have a week off in the beginning of May this year. As you can imagine, the Chinese people are not happy about this either.
Anyway, I'd better work on packing and getting some other things done. I'll try to update between vacations.

Morning Exercises

Now that our school changed the schedule so that morning exercises are at 9am instead of 6, I was able to watch it. It was quite amazing to see 3000 students in one place. They filled up the football field and all did the exercises together. It seemed more like a performance than exercise, but who am I to say anything? Anyway, they play a man counting with some music over the loud speakers and they do their exercises to “yi er san si wu liu qi ba, er er san si wu liu qi ba, etc.” (1 2 3 4 5 6 7 8, 2 2 3 4 5 6 7 8, etc.) I took some videos, but there are pictures on snapfish also.

Flute and Piano Recital

Last night, Miss Chen's piano students had a recital and Sara was a guest player with her flute. She did many duets with different students. It was a bit boring for me, but I went to support her and take photos. During the performances, Cathy was sitting behind me with her friends' little girl. The girl was four years old and quite hilarious! I tried to speak Chinese with her and asked her very basic questions. She either didn't hear me and gave me very random responses, or she thought I was crazy. She kept calling me “waiguoren” (foreigner). So I told her, “Wo shi Meiguoren, wo bu shi waiguoren” (I am American, I am not a foreigner). Then I tried to convince her that I was a “Zhongguoren” (Chinese person). That didn't go over too well... but it was funny! She once told me she wants to be a boy.... and she argued with her mom about how old she was. I'm pretty sure she was confused about “four and five”. Talking to her definitely made the time go faster. I practiced my Chinese, listened to some pretty music, had some cake, and got some gifts to take home. I can't complain!

Teachers Run 1/4/08

There isn't much to say... There were 6 groups of teachers that ran based on age and gender. The older you were, the fewer times around the track you had to run. Many of our friends ran, and we enjoyed cheering them on with the students. It was a very warm day and yet some of them were wearing sweaters while running! Crazy Chinese people!

New Years with Students

Our school was closed from noon on the 31st until 7pm on the 1st for the Western New Year. So some Grade 3 girls wanted to spend yesterday afternoon with us. It was really sweet that they wanted to spend their very little free time with us. They took us to lunch and ordered some really delicious food. Then we walked along a new street for us that had many wedding shops with dresses and flowers on display. We also passed a couple pet stores with mainly fish and some turtles inside. During Chinese New Year, the people put banners of wishes for good fortune and happiness on their doorways, so when we saw a man painting banners, we stopped and had some made for us.

While we waited for them to dry, we went across the street to a photo shop and took about 35-40 pictures with many students. Apparently the thing to do on your day off is go take a bunch of pictures of yourself. Sara and I always have fun with this. We pick the crazy backgrounds and make funny faces while the Chinese people try to look their best and pick very beautiful backgrounds! To each his own! After that, we picked up our banners, stopped for some pastries and a small dinner snack, and walked home through the park. It was a wonderful day, and today we received a note from the students expressing their thanks for spending time with them. The note was so touching!

“Dear Sara and Ann, Thank you for your enthusiasm to our invitation and patience to our influent speaking. You've given us fresh air and happiness as we're students of Senior 3 whose lives are simple and full of pressure. Though you may leave here after several months, we feel it still very nice in our memory. We hope our friendship will last forever. Enjoy yourselves in China! All the best! Yours, Sandy and Sanny”

It's really touching to know that just by spending an afternoon with them, we made such a strong and lasting impression. We think they could spend their time doing anything they could want to do, and they chose to spend it with us, which was possibly the highlight of their year.

To the Country

On December 30th, Mr. Liu, principal at the junior school, took the four of us, Herbert, and Lisa to the country. We originally thought we were going to see a flower garden, but ended up driving partway up the same mountain we had already climbed. It has been very dry here, so there were no flowers to see in the country. Very disappointing. They ended up taking us all over the country to different scenic places, and finally out to eat at a restaurant famous for chicken. The Chinese KFC if you will... it was actually quite good... until I looked over and saw Herbert eating a chicken head! WHAT!?! He tried to get Brandon to eat one, but he couldn't do it.

New Years Party

Our school had a performance party on Saturday the 29th. Ten classes from Grade 2 performed and were judged. Also, five other groups performed for fun. Since it was classes from Grade 2, they were all Sara and my students. Four classes were mine, and six were hers. It was really fun to see our students doing something creative because they are not usually encouraged to be creative. They made up skits, sang songs, and danced. There was also a variety of group sizes. The five other groups included some Grade 3 students singing solos, Stephen and some students did a wushu performance (part of which I know!), and Sara played her flute! In all, it was very exciting and I filled up both of my memory cards taking videos. I requested a copy of the full video, so I hope I am able to get it!