Brooklyn to China

Lester and I are sitting in our hotel room porch, enjoying luxuries banned in China like facebook and cable TV. It’s just like Barbados here, the weather, the beach, the laid back culture. Some would even say the beach itself is better than Barbados and they may have a good point, except for the streams of tourists everywhere, and hundreds of locals trying to sell you everything … food, massages, clothes, boat rides, island tours… Everyday at least 40 people ask us to buy something. We realized that we haven’t learned how to say hello in Filipino, I think it might be, “Hi Mam… Hi Sir…massage?”

But, the beach makes it all worth it. The beach, the weather and the laid back culture. I had a wish to go to the beach. My husband is a good man, he heard me and made my wish come true. As I walk past all the bags, key chains and trinkets that say Boracay, if I squint my eyes it looks like they say Barbados. Except we don’t have that many things to buy on the beach.

The tourist here are from all over the world, lots of Chinese, Koreans and Japanese as well as people from other places in Philippines. Then thre are Europeans, Australians and Americans. Not so many blacks though. The three of as are still too much of a spectacle to be totally comfortable. It’s really hard to get used to the stares and giggles. Yes we are black. No I am a woman. Look again, and you cannot deny that I am beautiful.

I hope you like the pictures, we worked hard on them. We want to remember how nice it was here, and make the memories last a lifetime, cause there are too many wonderful places to visit in Asia, so although we love you, changes are we won’t be coming back to Boracay Island.

We’ve got one more delicious day… but here is a sample of the pics. For more, check out my google album, formerly picasa, now on google plus!

https://plus.google.com/u/0/photos/100616438506418100260/albums/5701972245174784129

China is a big place, as I am sure you know. It is hard to explain and the contrasts between major cities to someone who has never been to China. I guess the easiest way to explain it is, even though Lester and I never throw our garbage on the street, our son Alemayehu somehow got into the habit of throwing garbage on the floor even in our home. In Longhu, Zhengzhou that is the norm and it goes unquestioned. In Hangzhou the streets are clean with no garbage in sight.

Today we live in a 20 story apartment (with a swimming pool) about 30 minutes drive from the West Lake, and the heart of the city. Everything we need is a few minutes away, including a great daycare, dentist, restaurants, computer service store, vegetable market and department stores.

The contrast for us between Zhengzhou and Hangzhou is admittedly, not entirely due to social and cultural differences. We in fact did not live in Zhengzhou, but Longhu, a small town on the outskirts of the sprawling city.  We also lived on the Shengda campus with everything paid for by the school, surrounded by a cushion of English, i.e. tons of other foreign teachers, and hundreds of eager students. In Hangzhou, we rent our own apartment and all our expenses are our own (a truly frightening thought after being totally spoiled for 2 years). The most conflicting thought for me in my new home however, is the fear that every time I go down on the elevator my skin color may startle someone trying to go up, as the door opens on the 1st floor… Believe me, it has already happened enough times that I can’t seem to relax.

There are not many foreigners in this part of town, and I am rather surprised to find it so. I was sure we would find more people to hang out with and more couples with kids. I hope Alemayehu is not the only foreigner at his school again.

Tomorrow I will visit China Academy of Art, my new school. Now that I am a student I imagine that I will have more time for internet posts and pictures and so on, but maybe that will change as soon as I figure out where the foreigners are at! *^_^*

On March 21^st 2009 most of the Shengda foreign teachers went on a historic trip to see the Yellow River, including my husband Lester Paul, who had broken his foot during the inter-department basketball tournament at Shengda only two days earlier.

For three consecutive years the teachers have enjoyed the hospitality of the 22 Municipal People’s Government, who has invited all foreign teachers to participate in an annual tree planting event at Friendship Forest near Zhengzhou. The yearly event celebrates the growing relationship between the East and the West, and the teachers were all happy to take part. About 80 teachers took a bus to the forest and after the awards and speeches, we all planted at least one tree, and added an entire section to the forest. My husband was among the gathering, happy to be out in the fresh air, even if it meant using his crutches to hobble across a narrow wooden bridge which was an elegant part of the landscaping of the forest. Afterwards we signed our names for engraved plaques to be added to the forest later.

Next, we were treated to a sumptuous lunch, followed by a trip to the Yellow River Museum. The highlight of the trip was the Yellow River itself. It was the first time on a hover craft for most of the teachers, and the ride, though short, did not disappoint. The river is wondrous and mystic. We could easily imagine the epic battles fought on the very same land thousands of years ago.

Our spirits remained high throughout the day. We returned home rejuvenated by the crisp spring air and friendly faces of all whom we met. Our outing rekindled old friendships and sparked new relationships we hope will last a long time to come.

Posted on the Shengda Website 03.31.2009

Our last trip before the start of the semester proved all over again that the Chinese are a gracious and generous people. We visited one of Lester’s students Glory. He introduced us to his girlfriend’s mother and father, and their hospitality truly exceeded anything we have experienced.

They cooked us an amazing dinner, which started off with delicious sweet dumplings that are enjoyed during Spring Festival. They then took us to their new apartment, a home they are fixing up to move to. We stayed in the bedroom in their brand new apartment for 2 days.

On the second day we were invited to a birthday party, with tons of delicious food. At dinner time we were welcomed into Glory’s home and met his mother and father who also cooked for us. They all took special care of Alemayehu. Below are some pictures of the dear families.