Games

Everyone who knows Jim and me knows that we like to play games. Back home, we play bridge weekly. And, for over twenty years, on New Year's Eve we get together with friends and play board games until we fall off our chairs.

Chinese people also love their games. The three that are visible in every Chinese town we have visited are: mah-johnng, rivercards, and this form of "checkers". (I have only seen what we call Chinese checkers - played with marbles - once in four months.)

I have learned to play a simple form of mah-johnng, and have purchased a set of my own tiles. I have not learned to play river cards. The most common game you play with these cards is called "Landlord" which sounds like a game that I hate that Jim likes called "Sargent-Major." I am told the game that looks like checkers is actually more like chess.

Table tennis is still very popular in China (there are public tables in most park areas), but I understand that badminton is taking over as the favorite Chinese game. You will often see at least three generations out playing badminton together.

We also have badminton experts in our group. Lee Moua was a varsity player; you can see her form on the first picture. Amanda Phan is so good that she can play in high heels. And, then, there is Ethan.... (Connie)

A Clean Sweep

You would think that with the spitting and the young children going to the bathroom on the street (see earlier posts on spitting and toilet habits)that China's streets and sidewalks would be filthy. Not so! They are all quite clean. The reason is that every inch of street, every inch of sidewalk has a sweeper assigned to it. They are out there sweeping every day. This includes freeways. The image I will always carry in my mind are the freeway sweepers mildly walking down the freeway sweeping the road while cars, trucks, semis, motorcycles go whizzing by them.

I am fascinated by the brooms as well. Most look handmade, and they vary greatly. Some are made of sticks; some of "straw," and some street sweepers even use what I would describe as feather dusters!

My fascination with the brooms took an early unexpected turn. I bought a new broom and hung it as a decoration in our apartment on the wall. Every Chinese person who enters our apartment looks at the broom hanging there and giggles. (Of course, I'd do the same in America if someone hung a broom on their wall.)

The most courageous will ask, Weishenme? "Why have you hung this broom on the wall?" I answer that when I bought it, it had been newly made out of hay, and I loved the smell and the folk-art look of it. Hanging it on the wall made our whole apartment smell wonderful (to me, the old farm girl). From their funny looks at me, I don't think my explanation went over. (Connie)

Traffic

Traffic in China can get quite interesting. There are far more cars here than I imagined. They have been building roads as fast as they can, but the traffic is much thicker than I thought, even in BeiBei, a tiny city (by China standards) of 150,000.

Overall, it is much more sane from my perspective than India. I don't think I could drive in India. Here it would be a challenge, but I think I could do it. People generally follow traffic rules and somewhat pay attention to lanes. There are some unwritten rules however that one would have to master. For example: First makes right. If you can get your nose in front of someone in a lane, you then have the right to proceed. This applies to both lane changes and when entering the flow of traffic. There is usually no hesitation when coming out of a side street into busy traffic. If you can squeeze the front of your car into a lane, you have then claimed the right to that lane.

It is fascinating to watch the logical extension of this when a bus decides to make a U-turn on a busy road, especially when you are inside the bus! The driver simply starts in the rightmost lane or even the side of the road after dropping off a passenger and then slowly edges its way into the right lane until traffic can't get around the bus and has to stop. Continue onto the next lane in a similar manner until that lane has no choice but to stop, and then continue on into the lanes going the other way until the U-turn is complete! Usually, the four lanes will wait patiently, but only when it gets to the point that there is no choice. If you don't make it all the way, no worries, you just back up as needed still blocking all the lanes of traffic.

Taxi drivers are the most impressive as they squeeze into slots you wouldn't think are possible. Often they will straddle lanes looking to see which will have the advantage, but this has a risk as other cars, particularly taxis, will straddle the next lane and nose in front and claim the lane. I have seen this happen from both sides simultaneously.

I think much of this is just an extension of foot traffic which makes sense given the short amount of time cars have been prevalent. If you think about navigating a crowd of people such at a crowded fairgrounds, you tend to follow general flows but don't worry about "lanes." If there is a gap, you usually have no qualms about slipping into that slot. And if you are entering a big flow from the side, you just slide into whatever little slot is there! (Jim)

Footnote from Connie: My most amazing bus ride occurred when there was a traffic jam ahead, but our bus driver wanted to go straight anyway. So, he simply went into the far left lane of traffic (into oncoming traffic) and proceeded down that lane for awhile. When that became problematic, he went up on the sidewalk! I'm sure the pedestrians that day were not expecting to see a bus bearing down at them. I was glad I was IN the bus!

Thanks for Johnny Bread!

Tomorrow is Thanksgiving Day. The St. John's and St. Ben's students are hosting and cooking a Thanksgiving meal for their teachers and friends, bringing this American tradition here to Southwest University. All in all there will be over 50 people there.

The students in charge have taken this on with gusto, trying to get as close to a traditional Thanksgiving feast as possible. They made apple crisp today, and it's not easy peeling apples with cleavers! They have purchased many, many pounds of potatoes for mashing tomorrow. We're also having green beans, squash, stuffing, and chicken. Jim is in charge of making the gravy. Keep your fingers crossed.


One student, Kevin Kirwin, had the idea of pleading with the monks at St. John's to airmail us some Johnny bread mix. ("Johnny bread" - a multi-grain, dense bread just made for butter and honey - is a staple at St. John's.) His email must have been compelling; the monks agreed to donate the mix! The International Office came through with the $50! mailing charges, and everyone's hopes were high. But, day after day went by with no package!

Someone up there was looking out for us though. (For the Schnepf family, I think Mom and Harriet were working extra hard on this one!) The bread mix arrived today, Wednesday - the day before Thanksgiving. I think Kevin ran to the post office to pick up the package. We mixed it up, and made Johnny buns.

All of the quality control taste-testers declared them ready to go for tomorrow's feast. We are thankful this year for Johnny bread! (Connie)

Kindergarten Visit

Our apartment is adjacent to a pre-school. Children often attend this school for three years, including their kindergarten year. Our bathroom window looks out at their playground; at 8:30 a.m., classes of children do their morning exercises there. Jim and I have watched them many a day.

Last week, we got a chance to visit the kindergarten in person. We visited several classrooms. We sang "Itsy Bitsy Spider" and "Happy Birthday" to a boy celebrating his birthday.

I was struck by their drawings. Sorry Nick and Emily, but I recall many drawings my children did at this age, and often members of our family would be missing a head or leg. But, their drawings seem to be quite precise. (And, I love the dark hair on all the children.)

Our students enjoyed the opportunity to play; I know Marty really got into it.
(Connie)

Chocolate Chip Cookies

Today (Nov. 24)is the beginning of International Student Week at Southwest University Beibei. We were asked to make "typical American food" to hand out as food samples on this opening day. But, what is typical American food? (Most of what I like best has come from other countries.) And, we needed to provide 200 to 500 samples, so whatever we made needed to be small.

We considered tiny hamburgers, but couldn't locate a grill. We considered S'mores, but couldn't find marshmallows. So, we decided on chocolate chip cookies. (Can you tell that Jim played a role in this decision?)

Now, you need to know that almost no Chinese home has an oven. Our apartment does not. Neither do most restaurants have an oven, as few menu items are baked. Luckily, the restaurant for foreigners on campus has one, and we were able to reserve it for Sunday afternoon.

As a rule, the Chinese eat very few baked goods, especially items with sugar in them. We knew we had quite a task just to find the ingredients. In Beibei, we found white and brown sugar, nuts, and flour. We went to Chongqing (an hour away) and found butter and chocolate. But, in neither place could we find two very important ingredients: baking soda and vanilla extract. Once again, luck was on our side and a neighbor of ours who is an American married to a Chinese woman had both. The soda was in the familiar Arm and Hammer box, only it was dated 2006. The vanilla was his own brew: two vanilla beans soaked for several months in a local alcohol called bijou.

So, Sunday afternoon, we baked. One of our Chinese friends came to watch cookies made for the very first time. She asked twice, "Would most Americans know how to bake cookies?" We felt pretty confident answering "yes."

Here are a few pictures. Our chocolate chip cookies (made with chopped up chocolate bars) turned out very flat. Our mini-Monster cookies based on Sue Knauss' recipe turned out just right. Our friend pronounced them "delicious!" (Connie)

My Doctors - Beibei, China

Beibei's weather is either hot and humid, or cool and wet. Not the best weather for me, but the warmness of the people make up for it. Maybe because of the damp cold, I have had a continuous cough for weeks. As a consequence, I've had some interesting medical adventures...

Doctor #1. I consider my massage therapist my first doctor. I happened upon him when John and Cheryl were here. I was looking for a relaxing massage; I found an acupressure professional. I've now gone to see him about six times. Without any words exchanged, he always hones in on what is wrong. My first visit, he attended to my neck which has always been weak. He has used both traditional massage and "hot jars" to soften up the knots there. Now he has been working on my Achilles tendon - and often spends time on my lymph system. He thinks he's going to help me get rid of my cough. The cough sticks around, but my neck and Achilles feel better!

Doctor #2. Since I cough a lot in class, my Chinese acquaintances try to help. One brought me some herbal packets. Another went all out; he guided me to his own doctor. His name is Doctor Li. He used to work in the campus hospital, but since retirement has focused solely on traditional Chinese medicine. My friend was with to interpret my symptoms.

Dr. Li took my pulse in several places on both arms. He looked at my tongue. Then, he started writing out a prescription. It contained twenty items! And, when I took it to the counter - a counter unlike those you've encountered - they spread a big plastic mat on the counter. Then, they went into bins, drawers, and doors and brought out those twenty items. There were herbs, metals, mushrooms, grasses, branches, and roots. I was told to cook this prescription and drink the juice (which I did). You can see what the kettle looked like before the "prescription" was cooked.


P.S. I still have the cough. (Connie)

Sunday Market - in Beibei, China

As our time in Beibei, China nears its end, I realize that I have written more about our travels to other places in China than about Beibei itself. I need to rectify that!

One of my favorite things about Beibei is its Sunday market. Early on Sunday, the streets are packed with people from nearby villages. Here you can find the usual fresh fruit vendors and meat vendors, but you'll also find people selling everything else as well - medicines, pets, socks, snacks, etc. You can buy homemade baskets and brooms. You can buy portable wooden toilet seats on legs (very handy for use with your typical eastern toilet). The plants are particularly impressive; you can buy wispy orchids or large, potted trees.



Some of my favorite items for sale are not even products, but services. On the street, you can get an acupuncture treatment. Just sit down on the stool. You can get a haircut. Or, you can get your teeth examined and "new" teeth inserted. (I put new in quotation marks, because almost all the teeth appear to have been pre-owned.)




By noon, most vendors are sold out. (Connie)

Sunday in the Park - Kunming, China

After five days of traveling with 24 other "close" friends (our students), we all looked forward to a free day on Sunday, November 9. We were in Kunming at the time.

Jim and I opted to spend our free time in the city park. We idled away our first hour or so reading a novel. Then, I got up to stretch my legs and found that a musical performance was about to begin. I sat down on the ground to watch, but quickly someone brought me a short stool to sit on. I had a front row seat.

I loved the little girl dancer the best, but the musicians were all fascinating to watch. (Connie)

Pandas!

All this time in China and I have not yet talked about pandas. And, yes, we saw them during our trip to Chengdu. There they have a Giant Panda Research Center.

With fewer than 1000 pandas left in the wild, breeding is the focus here. Mating occurs in the spring - and if lucky, the baby pandas appear in fall. We were fortunate enough to be there when they had five baby pandas in the 'nursery.' All five shared one human baby crib.


Most of the adult pandas we saw that day were either sleeping or eating. (They have a "thumb" that helps them strip the bamboo leaves off the stalks, and handle the shoots and stems.) These three "teenagers" were quite playful, so we watched them the longest. I couldn't decide which was cuter - they, or our own Nakita, Marty, and Hallie!(Connie)

Bai Batiks in Dali China

Also in Yunnan province, we visited Dali on November 7-8. The Bai people are Dali's principal minority group. They are noted for their blue and white batik.

I met this women in old town Dali. She liked me enough to take me to the backyard of her shop. There she showed me the stitching technique used to make the batiks. She also showed off her indigo plants growing there; they provide the blue dye.

When I asked to take her picture, her hair was down and very long. She said, dong yi dong. (Wait a minute.) She wanted to fix her hair.

I wish I would have taken pictures of the whole process! First, she braided her hair. Then, I don't know if you can tell from this picture, but she put on her hat and wrapped the braid around the hat. (Her braid is the black line you can see.) Then, she wrapped several strands of yard around her braid. As you can see, the end result is beautiful. (Connie)

Shi Lin "Badlands"

Last week we visited near Kunming a stone forest Shi Lin. It reminds me of the badlands of South Dakota. We were riding by bus near a pretty lake, and then all of a sudden "wham!" there are these stone mountains, pillars, and other odd shapes.

Jim and I went walking on our own through this area. We walked down many small steps to 'the jail' area, and we walked up to one of the peaks. It was a beautiful day weather-wise so we could see forever! (Connie)

Many Ways to Say "Keep Off the Grass!"

In my work back home, our company encourages governmental agencies who must enforce laws to think about ways to "win" people's compliance with the law. In other words, you can always threaten people with fines, sanctions, or punishments if they fail to comply. You can police them - and that's what most compliance organizations emphasize.

But we have found that compliance rates are even higher if you supplement enforcement with helping people see the reason for the law and making it easy or motivational for them to voluntarily comply. So, I smile every time I see a Chinese version of our compliance theory in practice.

How do you react when you see a "KEEP OFF THE GRASS!" sign? Does it make you want to step onto the grass? (It does me.) How much more willing would you be to stay off the grass after seeing one of these Chinese versions of the same message (all of which I've seen here)-

* Leave the grasses at rest.
* Protect greening so as to endow benefit to descendents
* Every emotion of grasses relies on your affectionate care. (Connie)

Lijiang Memories

We have just returned from a five day whirlwind trip of Yunnan province. One beautiful spot we visited is Lijiang, right next door to Shangri-La. We were blessed with wonderful weather. The skies were blue with white puffy clouds, which we all appreciated after weeks of gray in Beibei.

Jim and the students went up 15,000 feet to the top of Jade Dragon Snow Mountain, and enjoyed a gorgeous clear view of the surrounding Qianhu Mountains. Some of the students took the opportunity to have a quick snowball fight.

Because I was having some respiratory problems, I stayed behind and explored the lower altitude of old town Lijiang. Crisscrossed by canals, bridges, and a maze of narrow streets, old town has shop after shop selling special teas, silver, woven cloth, leather, and other local crafts.
Jim later bought me a beautiful silver bracelet, hand-hammered into a dragon and phoenix design. (I have chosen as my Chinese name Long An - meaning peaceful dragon - so this bracelet has special significance to me.)

I also enjoyed seeing more non-Western native dress here than anywhere else in China to date. China has over 50 ethnic minorities. The majority of them live in Yunnan Province. The Naxi minority women wear the blue and black outfits seen here; the seven circles on the back of their blouses represent the stars. The Naxi descend from Tibetan people, but have lived in Lijiang for 1400 years so I think they're here to stay!

They are a matrilineal society. I enjoyed learning about the matriarchal influences in their language. Nouns enlarge their meaning when the word for female is added, and the reverse is true when male is added. So, for example, 'stone' plus female means boulder. 'Stone' plus male means 'pebble'! (Connie)

Obama Wins!

Watching this election from abroad, I can report that the my corner of the world has great hopes for Obama. We watched the debates together over here - international students from Columbia, Vietnam, China, America, Kyrgyzstan, Bosnia. I asked them first - what did you think? They mentioned the new spirit that Obama brings to the world. They are very hopeful for a change in America's international relations.

And, I will always remember where I was when we heard the election results. I was riding on a bus over the hills of Yunnan Province in China. We had had no news contact, but had asked Chinese friends to telephone us with the news as soon as they heard. Finally, one of our students who is Taiwanese received a call from a study abroad student from Kyrgyzstan who asked to talk to her boyfriend who is from Columbia who then announced to all of us Americans on the bus that Obama had won! A cheer rang out.

What an international telephone relay. What an international cheer I heard! (Connie)

Valentin, the Rock Star

Southwest University in Beibei recently sponsored a talent contest. Two of our most intrepid students - Dylan Ronan and Valentin Sierra - entered. They knew nothing of the popularity or scale of this event. Arriving the first night (and thinking that it would involve only a few people), they found that over 500 people had entered originally; that people were there in formal dress; that professional lighting and sound people were there ... It was a BIG deal.

Both of our entrants did us proud. And, after all the voting, Valentin ended up making it to the final round, where only fifteen entrants remained! This final round was this last Saturday night, November 1. Held in a large auditorium, the event was packed with a crowd estimated at 800 people.

Valentin, who is an international student at St. John's from Columbia, chose to sing three songs overall - one in English, one in Spanish, and one in Chinese! Groups of five entrants sang at a time, after which one was "voted" off. Valentin had a hard time because everything was in Chinese - so he stood up on stage, smiling and nodding, but not having a clue whether he was supposed to stay or leave. Often he would look as if he were heading off the stage, and they would indicate that he should stay.

Finally there were only 5 contestants left, then four, then three, and at last only two. One was Valentin and the other a Chinese young woman. The five adult judges voted - four votes for the young woman, one for Valentin. But, each college of the University had one student who voted as well. After the student voting, the young woman won first place with 18 votes in total. Valentin had seventeen votes in all! He came in second, but was the heart-throb of all the Chinese girls in the room.

They tried to interview him afterward, but it was all in Chinese. So, he summed up his Chinese language training and shouted, "Wo ai nimen!" (I love all of you.) The crowd went wild. He was swarmed for autographs.

Congrats, Valentin! (Connie)