May Holiday

The Sibling Visit April 24-May 7, 2009
Day 1 The Great Wall Mutianyu Beijing
Friday afternoon, April 24th, John arrived from LA. This marked the start of May Holiday. I'm not clear on the details, but at least part of it has to do with Labor Day. We had no school at Beanstalk the following week so it was a perfect time for the "Sibling Visit". Sandee and Melissa arrived Sunday night and by Monday afternoon, the 5 of us were off to The Great Wall Mutianyu. Here we are from left to right: Melissa, John, Sandee, Bill, and Me.






Me...I like this shot because it shows how steep the way is and has great depth. I also think the French guy in the cowby hat is interesting the way he is looking back.

Bill looks like its time to catch his breath.
Attacked by Huns...Looks like John has gone over to the other side.

American Shorthair

Over by the 10 kwai DVD store, near Wendy's Shop where I often pick up a few groceries, including some pretty decent Chinese cheddar and excellent natural yogurt, is a cute little pet shop. Last night some of us went to Pete's Tex Mex for dinner, always a good choice, in honor of Sophia and my birthdays; I had a chocolate malt. Around 10:30, we decided to walk home to burn off some calories. That's when we noticed a crowd gathered around the brightly lit pet store window. On display for all to admire were mama and papa cat with their litter of what looked to be about 6 week old kittens. The large male was perched on the top tier of a fancy cat tower. His fur was marbed like that of the cat in the picture above, and he looked like he knew he was an extraordinarily striking animal. The mother was a tabby with strongly marked stripes. The kittens were beginning to show signs of developing distinct markings but otherwise looked pretty ordinary; most people at home would have had a hard time giving them away. "How much for one kitten?" we asked. 2,000 RMB ($300) came the answer. We left in shock, and I said in a not too loud voice, "Back in Minnesota some people would put those kittens in a gunny sack with a few big rocks and throw the bag in the river." Cathy pointed out that one of our students was standing close enough that she might have heard my remark. I don't think so.

Today I showed Jane the kittens on our way to Wendy's. She's from California, and needless to say, she was in complete disbelief when I told her what they were asking for one kitten. She had to confirm it herself. I decided to try to learn if the cats were some exotic breed that they should cost so much. Yes, the owner said...American Shorthair. Aha! That explains everything.

BTW...today is Mother's Day. Thanks, Celeste, for the hand-drawn, computer assisted card...complete with 2 beautiful American Shorthair cats...below.
Two famous American Shorthairs. On the left, Brita, renowned for her hunting ability; and Spencer, "the puppy cat" renowned for his lounging ability... he's a Garfield Wannabe. Celeste and Dave are on the lake...where many American Shorthairs have been known to disappear.

Dealing with IT

Two days ago I put my debit card into an ATM at the Holiday Inn Lido and asked for 2,000 RMB. The machine acted like it wanted to give me the money. Three times it tried to spit it out. I heard the sound of bills being counted, followed by a grinding sound. But no bills came. Then a message flashed across the screen, "This machine is OUT OF ORDER." Sandee and Melissa were standing there with me, so they stood guard over the sick ATM while I went to the bank. They were just locking the door. I checked my balance on another machine, and my balance was 2,000 RMB less. I called the Customer Service Number. Come back tomorrow with your bank book, they said. We also found the assistant manager of the hotel and reported the problem, gave him my name and telephone number and asked for his help.

When I returned the next day a bank employee made a photocopy of my debit card and told me several times that maybe they would check the machine and maybe they would redeposit my money. I suggested that she should not use maybe. Maybe is not a good word in this situation. "Don't worry," she said. "If the story is true, maybe we will put the money back." They needed to check the machine. Come back tomorrow. I called Customer Service again. This tiime the person I spoke to assured me that if the money wasn't back in my account the next day I should call them and IT would get to work on IT. IT can check all the machine records. IT can look at the camera. (There WAS a camera...I hope IT was working.) Once IT takes over they are required to resolve the problem within 5 working days. This sounded good to me. I felt better.

I returned to the bank today. This time I learned that the person whose responsibility it is to check the machine was "resting". Maybe she would be able to check tomorrow. I asked if she was resting at work or at home. That wasn't a good question. I was told that there was no way to know how many days it would take to check the machine. But I shouldn't worry; if the story is true my money will be returned to my account. I said, "The story IS true, but how does the machine know it's true?" At that question the woman said something I didn't understand and walked out on me. She reappeared after a few minutes later but wouldn't look at me. I called Customer Service again. This time, I was asked several times if I had verified my transactions. Were they up to date. Several times I replied in the affirmative. I couldn't get past this question. Finally, I was told the machine would check itself and my money would be returned to my account after 3 working days...that is, IF the machine that was out of order in the first place works well enough to not be out of order when it is time for it to check itself. I will go back tomorrow. Who knows what will happen next.

Mr. Wu and the Air Conditioner

Last month Mr. Wu replaced Miss Summer as the Chinese librarian at school. The HR director brought him to the library and introduced him as Mr. Wu. She added that as of this morning he will be using the English name, Edward. Edward is 37 years old, but if you told me he is 47 I would believe you. Many years ago he majored in English at Beijing University, but as he says with a modest chuckle, he hasn't had any reason to use it since then. At first Edward was very quiet. "The new librarian doesn't make any noise" I heard one of the students exclaim to his teacher. Over time he has become quite assertive. He watches over the books like a bank guard. And his mannerisms are a bit odd. When he walks, he shuffles and leans his body first to the left and then to the right as he half runs, half walks to his destination, while his arms and legs fly off in all directions like they are on springs. Mr. Wu is a good worker and I really appreciate his efforts.

We have had a string of exceptionally hot weather here lately. It was 96 degrees today, so I put the air conditioner on early in the day. When I came back to the library from teaching a class around 2 o'clock, it was scortching hot in there and I noticed immediately that Mr. Wu had opened all the windows. "Mr. Wu," I asked. "Is the air conditioner still on?" It took him awhile to understand my question, but finally he replied, "Oh yes. It's open. I think we need some air to move." Open is the Chinese word for everything that is currently running--lights, motors, classes, etc. That did it. I had lived through 6 months of winter with all the doors and windows in the school open. I had worn a coat, leggings, and scarf for the better part of 5 months, along with all the other teachers, just to keep from freezing to death. I had run around shutting windows in the bathrooms whenever I could sneak in to do it. I had complained about the waste of energy, renewable resources, money...all to no avail. I was fed up with this Chinese disregard for energy conservation, or was it ignorance? "No!" I said loudly, with more than a little exasperation in my voice.

Then I proceeded to deliver a lecture. I'm not sure Mr. Wu caught everything I said, but it did me a lot of good to get it off my chest. "It's 96 degrees out there. It WAS cool in the library when I left. Now it's extremely hot. Hot air expands into cooler spaces. All that hot air from outside has filled the library. Go ahead and fill the library with hot air if you must. BUT, we are NOT going to run the air conditioner at the same time. We are not going to waste money, energy, and non-renewable resources trying to cool the outside. The hot air is rushing in here at a rate many times faster than we could ever possibly cool it. Either you shut the windows and leave the air conditioner on or you turn off the air conditioner and leave the windows open. I don't care what you do! But, we're not going to do both!!!

Poor meek little Mr. Wu. I hope he isn't too traumatized. As soon as he was free to do so, he closed all the windows. He didn't say anything more about it. He's a good soul.

Clear Window Sticky Paper

Scotch tape, that is. Tou ming jiao bu or zhi or tiao, depending on who is translating or what you want to say. Mr. Edward Wu Da something said it should be jiao zhi, which should mean sticky paper. When I told this to Didi and Ice, they laughed and asked, "jiao zhi, what is that?" So, I'm glad I didn't try jiao zhi out on anyone. They said it should be jiao bu or jaoi tiao. I don't remember what bu means, maybe cloth. Doris, the girl in the supply room (ku feng) at school, says it's tou ming jiao bu. As long as she knows what I mean when I really need it, that's the crucial thing.

But, if language defines the way a society thinks, how people interpret the world around them, it's worth paying attention to this word tape. The first two words, tou ming should be clear window, otherwise known as transparent. Next comes, jiao, which I guess means sticky. Then it's a matter of interpretation what noun to use (sticky what?). Mr. Wu called it sticky paper. I have no clue about bu, but my understanding of tiao is that it stand for long things, like string or wire, and can be used for lots of similar stuff. For example, when I bought 8 meters of cable so I could put one of the speakers for my shelf set in a different room, I asked for tiao. Wo mai la bah mi tiao. I'm pretty sure that means I bought 8 meters of cable. At least, I said that to a Chinese friend, and he appeared to understand just fine.

Point is, we English speakers tend to generalize and are prone to abstraction; we are also in a hurry. It's enough just to say tape. That's quick and easy. In China they ask for clear window sticky paper, or string, or something long. It takes a lot more time to digest that picture. There is a lot to visualize. Every word is a picture, just like their writing or drawing, however you define the characters. Every part of the word is very concrete except perhaps for the all-purpose word tiao; even that is concrete and pictorial once you understand that it represents long, stringy thingies. And every picture has to be processed by the mind's eye. The process is slow. I have many opportunities every day to watch the process evolve before my own frequently impatient eyes.

Thinking, reading, talking, imagining, and philosophing in pictures must profoundly influence a person's interpretation of the world, their world view, in ways that we cut-to-the-chase Westerners find difficult, if not impossible, to understand. I'm sure it has already been said by far more educated minds than mine. Check it out if you're still interested.

World View...that's the apartment complex where we live. Kandu...supposedly it means something like world view. It dawned on me one day that if kan means look, du must have something to do with world, but I don't know what. Bill says it's capital, this makes sense since Beijing is the capital of the middle kingdom, center of world civilization. Here's one I do understand though. Kan shu literally means look at book. But the translation is read a book. So, all those years we pretended to be reading in class but were really daydreaming? Hey, here in China, the kds really are reading, or kan shuing that is.

Outside My Window

My apartment surrounds a courtyard and is on the 16th floor. Looking down at the ground, I see many trees and several shorter structures, so I was surprised the other day just before sunset to to see this kite flying outside my window. I grabbed my camera, opened my window, and got a couple shots before the kite went down; the string had become tangled in the branches of a tree.

April in Beijing

April has arrived, and with it, summer, with the temperature hovering around near 80 every day. The forecast shows no signs of change until late next week. Much of March was cool, even cold, so this is pleasant and welcome surprise. Summer in April suits me just fine.

The school recently put up 4 basketball hoops, so last week-end I went to Walmart in Wangjing and bought a basketball for four dollars. It isn't exactly round, but it has plenty of air, and for 4 bucks it's pretty good ball. They did have some quality balls for about 25 dollars in case anyone wants to know. I have put in about 6 hours of practice shooting and ball handling in the past few days. After a couple hours I started to get my shot back. Tennis has started up again too. I've been out twice and we have the court for 2 hours again tomorrow.

The air is extremely dry here, and the wind often blows dirt into my eyes and pores. The dirt and pollution give me a sore throat and wreck my sinuses too, so I've been going to the gym at night to work out a bit, which I follow up with a long, hot shower. The steam helps clear the dirt out of my respiratory tract and lets me breath better.

The Chinese have long been famous for their many kinds of tea which they claim will keep a person healthy. Whether this is true or not, I have finally learned that it is necessary to drink lots of hot, steamy liquids in this part of China. Not only have I taken to drinking hot tea (I bought some strawberry, raspberry, cranberry tea that I call Triple Berry) but I also make a hot broth made from chicken bouillon with fresh squeezed lemon, garlic, parsley and dill.