connie's space

            When I assigned winter homework during the Chinese Spring Festival, my students groaned.  Winter homework assignments are something Chinese students always have to do in junior high and high school, not in college!  

            But for my students, I think it’s important that they keep their minds focused on a little English so they won’t forget all they’ve learned during the semester.  I don’t give a lot of homework but just enough for them to stimulate their language skills once again so we’ll have something to start off with during the new semester.

            This year’s winter homework centered around International Women’s Day (IWD), which is celebrated March 8.  It’s an international holiday as declared by the United Nations in 1975. 

            Most people in America don’t know anything about Women’s Day but it’s a very big deal in Asia and Europe.  In my former placement in Luzhou, the school would always recognize its women teachers through flowers, afternoons off,  fully paid for evening restaurant dinners, or fun afternoon activities.

            In my new placement in Longzhou, however, our Women’s Day went by unnoticed. 

            March 8 was Monday, the first day of classes for the new semester.  Probably the administrators were too busy with the hectic opening of school to care much for us women. 

             Not so in my classroom.

            In my classes this week, we began our Women’s Day unit by going over the history text of the day and being introduced to some famous American women which students were to have looked up on the Internet during their holidays.  This was all part of their homework assignment.

An Assignment Completed with Care and Love

            Yet another assignment was to write a 200-word essay entitled, “A Woman I Admire.”  Students were directed to write about any woman, alive or dead, famous or not, whom they respected and admired as a good role model in their lives. 

            I honestly didn’t expect many of them to finish this assignment.  After all, it’s a lot of effort to write in English and they were on holiday.  There were no expectations on my part for essays to pile up on my desk when I asked everyone to turn them in.

            Imagine my surprise when out of 250 students, only 12 had not completed their writing.   The rest had filled their “A Woman I Admire” sheets with carefully written English words, neatly organized paragraphs and word counts that went anywhere from 200 to 450.

            Obviously, this topic really hit home.

            And seeing just how much it hit home has been one of the most eye-opening experiences of my life here in China.

            I’ve spent the past 5 evenings this week reading over each class’s essays.  It’s been an amazing journey of women’s lives in rural China.

             Sure, there are those who copied life stories of Helen Keller, Oprah Winfrey or Madame Curie from previously found English materials.  These are women they have studied in their junior high English books or pulled off the Internet as a quick way to finish the assignment.

            But a majority wrote about women who touched their own lives in a personal way.  Stories about mothers, grandmothers, cousins, aunts, neighbors and teachers piled high on my desk as I eagerly read over every one of them.  

            What was shared with me was remarkable and inspiring.

            Each essay was a private glimpse into the lives of Chinese women, many uneducated, who have overcome incredible difficulties to raise families and struggle through the poverty of a China we don’t often see or hear about in the West.   In America, we have so many programs and government aid projects to help struggling women raise their children and live a better life.  But in China, these programs are still very few and far between.  Women from the countryside are often left to fend for themselves, especially when husbands die or have to travel across country to get factory jobs in order for their families to survive financially.   It’s hard for us in America to comprehend such a destitute lifestyle or such hardships.

            Seeing such courageous, kind-hearted and generous women bare themselves before me, page after page, is probably the greatest gift my new students in Guangxi could ever have given me.  They have so many life lessons to teach and it seems my students have heeded them well.

 My Students’ Essays:  Rural Women in China

            In honor of International Women’s Day, here are a few excerpts I now share with you, as written by my English majors here at Guangxi Normal University for Nationalities.  (Students’ chosen English names have been used rather than their Chinese names.)

By Jill:   When I was little, I must live with my grandmother because my mother and father are going to work for our family. One day, I came back from school, crying. My classmates were making fun of me because of my old clothes.  For Children’s Day, I must participate in a performance but my family was too poor to buy the necessary dancing clothes for me.  I felt very sad.  On hearing this, my grandmother immediately didn’t think twice. She went to sell her only chicken so she can buy the special clothes for me. At that time, I really loved my grandmother’s sacrifice.   I miss her so much. 

By Lani:  When I was young, my father left our family to find work.  My mother had to work also so we would have money for our daily living. She must leave my older brother to take care of me.  He was only 3 years older but couldn’t look after me well because he was only a child, like me.  One time, I caught a bad cold because I fell to sleep on the dirt floor in our home.  My elder brother was outside, playing with other children.  He was so careless that he didn’t pay attention to me.  At night, my mother took me to the hospital.  There was no car or bus so she must walk for almost four hours with me on her back.  When I was helthy, she cried.  She thought she wasn’t a good mother but I don’t think so. I know she loved me more than herself.  I know this all the time now.                               

By Tina:  The woman I admire is my sister.  My sister is 22 years old but she is very short (midget).  She I only 1.45 meters high.  Her dream is to be a teacher. But perhaps her shortness is a problem, although she is always saying this is not a problem if she has good knowledge and ability  Because of this, she studies very hard.  Every vacation we are at home, she reads every day while I am going out with my friends or watching TV.  She is always doing her homework.    My sister is an important person in our family.  We love her and are proud of her.  

By Cherry:  She is just a common woman, named Fu Youyin, my best friend’s mother.  When I prepared to go to college, she realized that my family is poor so she gave e some money and asked me to study hard.  In this while, tears filled my eyes.  She was just a worker.  Every day she got up early to go to our town far from her home to work.  She worked long hours and her pay was very low.  Even though she had hard work, she gave me this money.  I believe in her.  She will listen to the voice in your heart with all her ears.  Her action is like a bright lamp in my life.           

By Spring:  I really admire my second cousin.  She is a senior high school teacher.  When I went to high school, I lived with during that time.  She always tells me I must be friendly to others.  One day, I went shopping with her.  We bought a lot of grapes but when we went home, she saw an old man sitting on the corner selling grapes.  The sun was very strong and he was so old.  She said, “We are going to buy some grapes again.  That old man is sitting in the strong sun and looks tired.  He needs the money.”  I was very moved to think  my cousin always thinks of others, not just herself.  

By White:  My mother is so kind.  When I was only a child, one day my mother and I went to the fair.  There were many different beautiful toys I wanted to buy some, but my mother said we are too poor to buy toys.  Then we met a beggar who looked very pitiful.  My mother gave him money.  I can’t believe she does this!  At that time, I hated her because I thought she is kind to the beggar and didn’t love me.  Now I admire her actions.  A toy is a very small thing and will soon be forgotten.  Her actions to the beggar were bigger than my small toy.   I really think she is so great.

By Rita:  I am so thankful for my grandmother.  Although she is 70 years old now, she never stops working.  She is also considerate of others.  There is a boy in our village called Li Hua.  He is my neighbor’s boy.  His parents died in a traffic accident.  Li Hua was only 5 years old at that time.  He had no one to take care of him.  He had to hunt for food by himself without any adults to help him.  At that time, my grandmother made a decision to feed him and take care of him until he grew up.  All the people in my village were very touched when they heard about her decision.  They really admired her for taking on such a big responsibility.          

By Halla:  My father died when I was 9 months old, making my mom a single mother at the age of 18.  While I was growing up, we lived a very hard life.  We had little money, but my mom gave me a lot of love.     At fourteen, I was hit by a car and the doctors said I would never walk again.  Every day, my mother spoke to me in her gentle, loving voice telling me that no matter what those doctors said, I could walk again if I wanted to badly enough.  She drove that message so deep into my heart that I finally believed her. A year later, I returned to school – walking on my own!               

By Bunny:  My grandfather’s mother has been dead for 3 year. She was 93 years old and I miss her.  I often talked with her and asked her to tell a lot about her past.  My grandpa’s mother had 8 children.  Six of them were boys and two of them were girls.  It was a really big family and the life was very, very tough.  My grandpa said that he was always in a starving situation.  He never tasted steamed bread, which was made of expensive flour, until he went to work on is own.  When my grandpa’s mother was 28 years old, her husband died of a simple disease which we can easily cure today.  She told me that she was in a mixture of fear and hopeless situation at that time.  She wanted to die.  But seeing her lovely children, she told herself that she must cheer up and work harder to bring her children up.  What a great mother!  My grandpa’s mother was friendly.  No matter how difficult her life was.  When she saw that someone needed help, she would help him. One day, a beggar went to our house for some food.  I didn’t like beggars who could use their strength to make money and get a job so I didn’t give anything to him.  But my grandpa’s mother saw this.  She went out from her own room and went into the kitchen to get some food for him.  I was confused about her doing this.  So I asked her, “Grandma, why do you help him?  He is strong enough to find a job.”  She replied, “Everyone has his own trouble.  We should help him now.  Maybe we can change his attitude toward life.” 

By Sophie:  My father died when I was 7 and my mother was only 28.  She was quite a beauty.  She had several seekers.  I have one elder sister and two younter sisters.  There were no boys in our family so people looked down on us in the countryside. For most women, if they face such cirucumstances, they would abandon their homes and marry again.  But my mother didn’t do that. She said she would never abandon us.  She would try her best to earn more money to bring us up to afford the tuition fees for school. 

            So she moved to Guangdong Province to work in a small factory.  We only see her once a year.  When she comes home to visit for Chinese New Year, she only buys clothes for us.  Her clothes are old and not vey beautiful. 

By Cindy:  My high school teacher, Mrs. Wei Xiuqing is the woman I admire.  She is a responsibility teacher and she taught us English.  As a class adviser, she came to school earlier than other teachers.  However it’s rainy or not, she always insists on her duty.  She told us don’t be late for school when we are students.  So she was never late for any classes and she set a good example for us.  I think of one day what happened in class.  It was a cold day in winter.  My classmate catch a high fever while we are listening to the teacher.  I didn’t know what happened when the classmate slept on the desk.  Suddenly, Mrs. Wei stopped speaking and came to ask the student quickly.  She asked another teacher to take her to the hospital and take care of her until the student’s parents came can.  After that, she asked us to visit our ill classmate. She really, really is like our mother.  

By Wendy:  My mother is a teacher.  I remember the day in summer when I was a child.  That day, her student wanted to leave home to make money for his family because his family was very poor.  His father died in a traffic accident and he had two sisters.  He was the eldest brother in the family.  He wanted to give up his studies and go to Guangdong to work in a factory. After my mother heard this, she talked to him.  She told him if he gave up his studies, maybe he could make money for his family but if he didn’t have more knowledge, he would always be poor forever.  At last, the student decided to continue with his schooling.  My mother gave him some money to help him, even though we also needed the money. She is a good teacher and a good mother.       

By Alice:  My mother had 7 children in her family when she was young but her father died very early.  So her family was poor and couldn’t afford for her to go to school.  She didn’t even graduate from primary school.  She must leave school to find a job to support her poor family.  I think she was not a lucky woman and had an unhappy childhood.  Now, ever day she goes to the factory by bike to do lots of heavy work.  After finishing her work, she must prepare the meal and do lots of housework.  Though she grew up in a poor family, she always puts a positive face to life.  When the Sichuan earthquake happened, she took an active part in volunteering to help them by sending things to them.  She spent many hours doing this because she said it was her duty as a Chinese to help those other Chinese who need help.

By Buffy:   My mother is a farmer.  I remember when I was a child, my mother told me that my grandmother was a traditional Chinese woman.  She didn’t agree that girls go to school to learn so my mother knows very little.  In her lifetime, she just had to be a farmer.  My mother told me that farming is a very hard and tired life.  She didn’t want to see that in my future so she let me go to school.  She believes that knowledge can change one’s life.  I remember that when I was a child, my family was very poor.  In order to let me and my sister go to school, my mother had to leave for work when it was very dark outside and didn’t come home until it was dark in the evening.   She had to make enough money to pay for our books and school fees. When I did my homework, my mother liked to sit beside me to watch me do my work.  Although she didn’t know what I was writing, she said to see me do homework was the happiest thing in her life.  Now I am grown and am a college student.  I understand my mother’s intentions for me.  I always call her to tell her about my studies and life at school.  She is proud of me and I am proud of her.

From near the Vietnam border in China, here’s sending you Ping An for your weekend, and a very grateful "thank you" to my students for their diligence in completing their winter homework with such love and care.

            January 12^th was my birthday.

             At 45, I had so much to celebrate.  New placement, new  friends,  a new life in yet another part of China, which I love – A lot to be grateful and thankful for.

            But this year, my birthday brought with it memories of yet another kind:  That of the Sichuan earthquake from May of 2008.

            Why so? 

            As you are all aware, Haiti’s own devastating 7.1 quake hit on my birthday just last week.  From the United Methodist head offices, three of our UMCOR (United Methodist Committee on Relief) individuals were caught in the crush of buildings.   Rev. Sam Dixon, head of UMCOR, and Rev. Cling Rabb, who led UMCOR’s voluntary mission service, lost their lives due to this tragedy.  Rev. James Gulley survived.

             (If you are interested in reading the full article of  James Gulley’s account of his rescue, please go to this site:   http://gbgm-umc.org/global_news/full_article.cfm?articleid=5636)

            While the news of our UMCOR staff did bring the disaster a little closer to home for me, it was actually my experiences with the Sichuan earthquake that further spur me into deep worry and prayer for those still trying to survive under great distruction.

            In Sichuan, the Chinese government’s excellent infrastructure, strong manpower and organizational skills allowed it to quickly coordinate relief efforts from around the world and meet the needs of the earthquake survivors, their families and also the dead.  Even rebuilding was begun and, in many cases, completed in a  timely manner.          

            But Haiti had no such infrastructure to begin with.  This lack of organization and stable environment hits our TV and Net reports with a vengeance.  It makes me truly realize how very fortunate and blessed we all are to live in our cozy surroundings. 

            Even my Chinese students, wrapped up in finals and the excitement of returning home for Spring Festival, have great sympathy and concern for those far away. 

            It’s heartwarming that they care.

My Term Finally Ends

            The students have yet another 2 weeks before the semester closes but for myself, today marks the end.  Tests have been taken, grades calculated and handed out,  and safe journeys given for the upcoming travels home. 

           I am officially done, with packing yet to do and tidying up before I leave Longzhou in two-days time. 

           Monday will have me in Nanning at the Amity Winter Conference where we teachers and Amity staff gather for informational discussions about the organization and our teaching terms.  There will also be a day of visiting Amity rural development projects in the nearby area. This is something we all look forward to.  Last year, I reported on the bio-gas and solar panel projects of remote northern Gansu villages.  This year, we’ll see what other great projects are in store for our Amity rural development visits here, far to the south.

Saying Thank you:  A Western Soup Dinner

            As always, it’s nice to say thank you to those who have been extremely helpful in settling the new foreign teacher into her new home. Vice-dean Liang Ling and my co-teacher, Kate, joined me on Friday evening for a homemade vegetable soup dinner, my treat.

            Of course, soup in China is not at all considered a meal, no matter how thick or hearty it is.  I wouldn’t be surprised if they left my place to return home and gobble down several bowls of rice to fill in the cracks.   But it was the experience and the thought that counted, and that’s what we all enjoyed.

            Both had never tasted butter before, which was to be used for our rolls.   Butter is not a customary food item in China.   We can only get it in the provincial capital city, Nanning, and I did load up in November for my Christmas baking.  I was fortunate to have some left over for other purposes, including this gathering for dinner.

            I always enjoy sharing my Western-style meals with others and also teaching the Chinese good table manners. My guests learned how to gently tear pieces of bread off the roll, use their own knife to spread the butter on and then eat without noisily smacking their lips.  Most Chinese will saw the roll in half, slap a huge 1-inch slab of butter inside, squash it together to make a sandwich and chomp away.  I see a lot of that from the Chinese on the airplane during our in-flight meals.

             It’s a little disconcerting for one who was raised by a very finicky mother who really nailed home the polite way to eat.   (Yes, when it comes to table manners, I am the first to admit I’m a snob.)   I do have great forgiveness, however, when it comes to the Chinese.   Since no one educated my Asian brothers and sisters in dining etiquette, how can I possibly expect them to know what to do?  So when I get the chance to share my expertise, I’ll do it, mostly because I feel it’s my duty as a foreigner but also because of my mother’s influence.

            We ladies certainly had a nice time together, chatting about women’s matters and such.  We parted with smiles on our faces and best wishes for the upcoming Chinese New Year, or Spring Festival as we say here, wherever we might be.

            And on that happy note, here’s wishing you Ping An (peace) for your weekend with my next update from Nanning, at the Amity winter conference.

A 2010 Celebration Arrives In Little Longzhou

            When I first arrived in China 18 years ago,  January 1^st was not a holiday. 

            Schools and government offices remained open, shops had no special winter sales and citizens went about their daily work schedules as usual.

            But as China opened up more to the outside world, and Western holidays became more recognized, January 1^st took on a new entity in this country.  Not only is it now a holiday but it is much like our after-Thanksgiving Black Friday:  a signal that another, more celebrated day is approaching, meaning it’s time to go shopping in preparation of its arrival. 

            In America, that day is Christmas.

            In China, that day is Spring Festival, better known as Chinese New Year.

            For our small campus, celebrations for January 1^st began on New Year’s Eve.  We had a huge bonfire, dancing until midnight and a 15-minute firework display to welcome in 2010.

            For New Year’s Day, the small town of Longzhou bustled with excitement.

            January 1^st afternoon,  I was surprised to find myself in the midst of  usually sleepy downtown streets that were now filled with folks in from the countryside loading up on sale items.  

            Our main department store was crowded at the entrance with mini stalls selling winter coverlets, puffy colorful jackets and coats, and heavy blankets.  The grand opening of a new cellphone store had customers crowding in, ready to purchase new phones for the new year at discount prices. The one and only downtown ATM machine had a line of about 20 customers, all eagerly waiting to fill their wallets with cash to get in on all the sales. 

            Several helium balloon sellers were doing a fair business with the kids, all wanting their pick of shapes from lucky fish and Chinese New Year animals to popular Asian cartoon characters. 

            The main fresh foods market was likewise awash with buyers picking over meat selections tossed onto concrete slabs or choosing the best selections from fruit and vegetable stalls.  The mini 3-wheeled taxies were everywhere, picking up passenger after passenger who were all loaded down with their goodies for the day.

Chinese New Year Approaching: February 14, Valentine’s Day!

            Now a full week later, things have calmed down a bit but it’s obvious to see that consumerism is up now that Chinese New Year is approaching.   This year is a bit unusual in that the Year of the Tiger will be seen in on February 14, also familiar to us as Valentine’s Day.  

            Even in China, Valentine’s Day is becoming somewhat known as an adopted Western custom for those in love.  While not quite as popular as in the States, it is slowly becoming another way for flower, candy and jewelry shop owners to advertise to Chinese young folk their wares for the Westerners’ fortuitous day of love.

           I’m guessing that this year in China, Chinese New Year will be a very big day for wedding celebrations to take place, especially in the big cities.  

            For myself, I’ll be in the States during Chinese New Year, enjoying some family time and taking care of some important in-country business so I’ll miss out on all the fun.

The End of the Term 

            At present, we have 2 more weeks of classes that are now filled with test-taking.  My students are in the 2^nd week of my oral English exams.  So far, I am happy to report 125 have passed with another 125 students to go this next week.

             I only had 2 who had to take the test 3 times before finally managing a 60.        Mostly, that 60 was given due to the painful effort they put in trying again and again to pass, not so much in their ability to actually speak the language.  Since our oral class isn’t worth much among all their other English language courses, I figure might as well give a mark which won’t shame them among their family members. 

            Failing the foreign teacher’s class would definitely be shameful.

            Here’s hoping your 2010 is off to a great start as I continue with my testing.  And here’s wishing all my students good test results for their exams! 

            From China, sending you Ping An (peace)  for your week.

In the Classroom

            December 24^th sent me to class early morning for the last lesson of the week before Christmas Day.  The students were in for a treat for my infamous “Merry Christmas!” bingo game, a review lesson of all the holiday vocabulary we’d been covering for the past 3 weeks. 4 Christmas words in a row send the lucky pair jumping up and shouting “Merry Christmas!”  After checking the answers, a candy prize is awarded.

            The great joy of this game is that the students take turns being the teachers.  The winners from the previous game draw the Christmas vocabulary words and announce these one by one to the class. It’s a great way for them to practice their pronunciation and remember what will soon be on the final test in another week.

            Probably, it’s the candy the student bingo winners get that make this game so well-liked.

            Needless to say, the “Merry Christmas!” bingo game is always a great way to lead up to the day itself.

On the Campus:  A Christmas Eve English Corner

            Christmas Eve had our English Corner organizers busy preparing their materials and decorations for our 8 p.m. – 10 p.m. English Corner night at the back gate of the school.

            Last year, the English Corner leaders combined their activities with the English Association leaders to put on the campus Christmas party, which always takes place on Christmas Day evening.

            This year, they decided to have their own small gathering and do their fun games at our bi-weekly English Corner.  This idea turned out to be a much better plan than joining in with crowds of students at the Christmas party.

            For a few weeks, the leaders had visited my home to discuss their ideas how to plan a worthwhile English Corner for our English language students.  They worked very hard to organize the games, prepare all that was needed and get everything lined up to give those attending a wonderful evening.  Christmas trees, decorations, lights, and fun prizes for game winners were all on the agenda.

            When I arrived at 8 p.m., our leaders began to entertain our small group of about 40.   Everything we did was in English. I helped lead carols using song sheets the group had prepared.  Our other organizers pulled out all the stops with a wide variety of English-speaking party games and Christmas activity races.  The best was making the longest paper decoration chains for the Christmas tree within 5 minutes.  There were drawings for prizes as well and a dancing Santa who did an energetic hip-hop number in her Santa suit. 

            The evening was a huge success and one which I thoroughly enjoyed.

Church Services

            I had checked with the Catholic Church across the street to find out when their midnight mass would be.  I didn’t get ahold of those in the tiny protestant church to find out if anything was taking place with them on Christmas Eve.  There is only a small number of them (about 20), which presents a very different worship service from the one I was used to in Luzhou. 

            For the Catholic Church, I thought we would have some special performances like we do in the Chinese protestant church.  However, the mass was just the same as always with not many in attendance.

            The most interesting part were the sellers lining the church walkway.  We had Muslims from the north with their lamb kabobs sizzling on their small grills, carts with vegetable and meat sticks boiled in tasty broth, and a booth of Santa hats and flashing wands.

            In my previous church in Luzhou, everyone enjoyed buying such items to wear in church for our Christmas Eve performance service. 

            But here in this tiny location, our Christmas seller wasn’t doing much business at all.  I broke down for a sparkly Santa hat to wear the next day. 

            Other from that, I don’t think she made a single sale.

The English Association Christmas Day Party

            The other annual campus Christmas activity was the Christmas Day party. 

This was held by the English Association for all the students.

             Although I was asked to give some suggestions to make it more of a western celebration, the party ended up being a typical Chinese gathering with just the Christmas decorations signaling it as a theme for something else.  Everything was in Chinese and not a stitch of English spoken.  Not even the reason for having a Christmas celebration was explained to the crowds.

             The speaker system was too loud, meaning the announcers shouted into the mics and about burst my eardrums.   The party games and prizes ended up being a mob scene at times with students racing in groups and knocking one another down to participate in games which they knew would lead to prizes.

            Then we had the little ones in our midst.

            Children from the campus were all underfoot, wanting to get in on the goodies and games. This did present a problem at times, especially for the special kids’ Santa give-away.   This was supposed to be led by me with children coming forward, standing in a line, saying “Merry Christmas!” in English and receiving a small bag of candy.

            Or at least, that’s the way I had explained it to the planners.

            But instead of calling me over to get us started, the announcers went ahead on their own while I was chatting with my students off to the side.

             “Hey, little friends!  Santa’s here to give you some candies along with the foreign teacher!”

            That sent the children into overdrive.

            Basically, the kids rushed the Santas, grabbing, pushing, hitting  and snatching things out of their baskets (held high over their heads) in an effort to get the candy which was being given out.   Some had armfuls of little bags while others had none.  I gave up even trying to straighten out this mess.  Hopeless!

            So much for Christmas cheer.

            An open microphone at the end had everyone volunteering to screech out their Chinese pop songs while I was left covering my poor ears due to the volume of the noise:  LOUD.

            For the Chinese, this was all a lot of fun and I’m very happy they enjoyed themselves, even though it had nothing to do with Christmas and no one even knew why there was a Christmas Day. 

            For myself, the English Corner was a much more fulfilling event.

An Invite To the Teachers

            Christmas afternoon had me entertaining some of the teachers from our English language Department.  For over 2 hours, those who stopped by enjoyed coffee, tea, cut-out Christmas cookies, banana bread, chocolate truffle cookies and a very Christmasy atmosphere.  We even had 3 children who attended with their parents. 

            “I feel like I’m in another world!” Vice-dean Liang Ling said in wonder as she gazed around. “It’s so peaceful here, so beautiful.”

            Just the sort of response that warms the heart on Christmas Day.

Getting Ready for Finals and Chinese New Year Holidays

            Now that Christmas is over, it’s time to get ready for final exams. 

            My students will be tested in oral English for a period of 2 weeks (January 4 – 15)  so I can finish them all.  Our last week of class will be handing out grades and giving winter homework assignments.  Then it’s off to the Amity Winter Conference, being held in Nanning (my province’s capital city) this year, to Chengdu to drop off Little Flower at her babysitters’, a visit to America and then back to China for our new semester to begin on March 8.

            My students will be excitedly spending their holidays with their parents and friends in their hometowns for Spring Festival (Chinese New Year) which falls on February 14 this year:  Valentine’s Day!

            Here’s hoping your holidays were  just as wonderful as mine have been.

            From China, as always, Ping An (Peace)!

            “Do you have any Christmas lights?”

            I’ve been asking that question around this tiny town for weeks — at our small two-story department  store, in the mom-and-pop utility shops, in the outdoor market’s electronic stalls, even in the decoration craft stores. 

            “Mei you (Don’t have),” has been the answer, leaving me to sigh and trudge home in disappointment. 

            In Sichuan, I never had a problem finding Christmas decorations.  They were everywhere in Luzhou.  Christmas Alley, where all the holiday danglies landed, were full of them.  The department stores had aisles crowded with our Christian holiday knick-knacks.   Santa hats and outfits?  Lights? Stuffed animals?  Wall hangings? You name it, it could be easily found.

            But in this out-there Li river county town, I was beginning to wonder if I’d have to travel 3 hours to the capital city to get what I needed.

            What started me on the Christmas light search has nothing to do with the fact that I don’t have lights.  From year to year, I carefully save them.  I end up adding even more to the box as I accumulate yet another strand to fill that empty space somewhere in my Chinese home.

            But this year, my huge apartment has given me somewhat of a challenge to fill.   

            18 years of Christmas hoarding has led to 5 large boxes of holiday fun  to showcase my American Christmas tradition of going overboard.

             The sitting room is aglow with 3 mini-trees, 4 entire creche scenes,  shelves of stuffed animals, electronic and wind-up toys and pretty holiday ceramics.  Christmas picture books grace the coffee tables. Wall hangings and  tinsel roping dangle from the ceilings and door frames.  Windows are dotted with snowmen, angel, snowflake, tree and Santa decals. 

            In the evenings, I turn on my inside lights to enjoy a very cozy, spirit-of-the-season feel.

            Isn’t that enough?

            It would be except for outside. 

            The balcony and the large windows facing those passing by  have been virtually bare, with just a few measly strands to suggest that the foreigner is celebrating her upcoming holiday.

            I’d  let it go except for one thing:  Classloads of students will be arriving this week in the evenings to enjoy cookies and Connie’s Christmas wonderland.   Listening to their “Oo!”s and “Ah!”s upon seeing the lights from below would be an added bonus to their utter amazement once within.

            Besides, my neighbors and their kids are always out on these southern evenings, here in the middle of Guangxi’s warm December.  I’ve watched the Chinese grannies point out the few, sparkly lights I have to their grandkids.  They sit on benches, toddlers balanced on their laps, and discuss the foreigner’s lights while enjoying the festive atmosphere.  They deserve more than what’s currently strung up there.

            As luck would have, last weekend proved the jackpot.

            Sunday brought Little Flower and me to the downtown district for our weekly shopping.  I often take my Chi for a longer walk outside the campus, leading her around on my usual stops to the town’s meat and vegetable stalls.  She’s quite an item, being about the only pet I’ve ever seen  here.  (Southern Chinese aren’t much for dogs aside from eating them.)  Add to that I’m the only foreigner within 100 miles and we bring quite a lot of stares, finger points and astonished looks.

            Most of the time, when the dog’s in tow,  I just quickly do my errands and head back to campus.  But with the Christmas light search, I wasn’t about to drop my mission until trying out yet another small, hidden shop which I hadn’t yet visited. Besides, the owner was smiling at Little Flower from her open doorway.  That had to be a sign.

            “You’re dog is so cute!” she said as I entered her store. 

            “Yes, she’s very cute,” I replied.  “Aren’t you, Little Flower?”

            LF looked up and wagged her tail to prove how cute she was.

            The woman then turned to business.

            “What do you want?”

            I took a quick look around, wondering if she’d possibly have what I’d been searching for these past two weeks.   Stuff was everywhere — piled onto shelves, overflowing from boxes, shoved under glass counters, and jumbled under things. 

            “Do you have Christmas lights?” I asked.  I was expecting the usual response of, “mei you.”

            Instead, she went directly to a newly arrived box, cut open the top and revealed . . . hundreds of little packs of Christmas lights.

             Oh, happy day!

            After a short bargaining session, I took home 8 strands of lights with multiple flash settings for $1.50 each. 

            The next hour had me figuring out how to arrange 8 strands on the balcony and inside windows so they could be seen from below.  With clear packaging tape and a sturdy stool, I began the process of putting up my new finds in such a way as to make the best visual display of Christmas lights I could possibly make. 

            The worst part was waiting until it became dark so I could try them out on the campus.

            When the appropriate time came, I plugged everything in. Dog and I took off down the stairwell for our evening walk around the school.  We exited the building, I  trotted across the lawn to a good vantage point, turned around and looked up.

            What a sight! 

            My entire 3^rd floor windows and balcony burst with life. They flashed, danced, sparkled, swayed, and literally sang “Merry Christmas!”

            Not only that, but I heard numerous excited exclamations from students passing by as they gazed at the display. 

Connie’s Christmas Open House Week

            The response was just what I had hoped for during this entire week as my classes visited, one by one, to get a taste of the season from their new foreign teacher.

            Christmas cookies, photo sessions next to the decorations, stuffed animals snatched up right and left, dazzling lights both inside and out . . .  It’s all been night after night of great memories for all of us during my Open House evenings.

            Enjoy the photos from our week together!

            From Longzhou, here’s sending you Ping An (peace) for your weekend.

Connie Wieck

Guangxi Normal University for Nationalities

125 Dushan Road

Longzhou County, Chongzuo City

Guangxi Province, 532400

P.R. of CHINA

             All last week, I was loaded down on my trips to teach — a bulging book bag slung over my shoulder, a bamboo rod in one hand and a small suitcase in tow in the other.

            “Connie, where are you going?  Home for Christmas?” my colleagues kept asking as they saw me trudge to class early every morning, then begin dragging my haul up 4 flights of stairs to my classroom. 

            “No, just starting up Christmas lessons!” I laughed.

            And what a start up it was!

            Due to the increase in Christmas interest and celebrations in China, it’s important for my students to understand the significance of our Christian holiday.  Thus my 3-week holiday unit, which began in full December 7.

            Quite a few elementary schools and college campuses across the country have Christmas parties, full of dancing, games and singing performances around glittering Christmas trees.  Individuals dressed like Santa Claus toss candy to crowds gathered outside of major department stores or pose for pictures with little children as a shoppers’ gimmick.

            In other words, Christmas commercialism has hit China in a major way.

            But when it comes to understanding why there is a celebration, most Chinese have not a clue what it’s about.  The Chinese Christian community understands, of course, but the average Chinese person just thinks it’s the Christian’s New Year. 

            Since I teach English business majors, tourism majors and  education majors, it’s vital that they get a firm grounding on exactly what the religious part of December 25th is all about.  Side-stepping this would only help to make my students appear ignorant and unworldly in the presence of overseas’ guests or, in the case of my future teachers, their own students.

            So how does one get the Christmas story across in English to those who have no Christian religious background, have a very limited vocabulary and, often times, can’t even understand in class what in the world  the foreigner is talking about?

            What better way than a Christmas crèche re-enactment, complete with simple props and costumes and a great photo session at the end!

            18 years ago, I wrote a Christmas 3-page skit with a cast of 12 characters.  After tweaking and perfecting it, I now have a lovely re-enactment play which students read out of class, answer written questions about and then we go over in class together.        

            Our 1^st 40-minute lesson, we read the lines together, go over difficult words, get the correct pronunciation of strange vocabulary and make sure the comprehension questions are answered accurately.

            The second 40-minute period is the re-enactment.

            All names go into a bag and then we have a drawing to see who will read what part. 

            One by one, students draw slips from the bag and shout out their classmates’ names to play the different parts.  As they come forward, bringing their scripts in hand, I pull from my suitcase props and costumes to bedeck those who are our play members.        

            Hoots of laughter follow as a lacey tablecloth shawl gives Mary her sweet innocence, a felt red bathrobe gives Joseph his masculine authority,  a staff and sheep puppet help bring the shepherds to life,  tinsel garlands grace our angels’ heads,  and gift boxes allow the wisemen to present something to the baby Jesus.  Narrators wear colorful Christmas vests I’ve had for years and the innkeepers hold high their candles in order to see who is knocking at their door.

            A stuffed animal donkey suffices for Mary’s journey to Bethlehem and her pregnancy (a stuffed Christmas doggie wrapped in a towel) is one which brings the house down once our “Jesus” is birthed.

            In my many years of sitting back to enjoy this performance, there are always students that make me remember just why this kind of activity is worthwhile.

            For the past week, I’ve had a few memorable characters.

            The first was one who rarely pays attention in class.  His cellphone is always on as he texts his friends.  He chats in Chinese with his neighbors constantly or yawns loudly with noticeable boredom whenever we’re doing a speaking activity.  He never does his homework nor can he answer even simple questions in class.  Even “Can you name 5 animals in English?”  draws from him a blank stare until someone translates.

            When his name was drawn to play the star, a non-speaking part, I didn’t expect much from him.  But he came bounding down the center aisle with great enthusiasm, snatched up the star wand from my hand and took his place near the door to await his turn.  He peered over the narrators’ shoulders, following the lines until he was motioned to take his place behind our seated Mary.  Next, he bounced his way to the baby’s side, giving us all a giggle, and up into the air he thrust his prop.

            I’m not sure which shone brighter:  The imaginary star hoisted above the virgin’s head or his boyish grin which was hard to miss.  The guy’s face just beamed!

            I haven’t seen this much energy from him until I dismiss class.

            If nothing else during the entire year of my lessons, at least he’ll know what the star symbolizes for Christmas.

            Yet another one of my poorer-speaking male students was given the part of a wiseman.  His only line was, “From my country, I bring you my gift, which is gold.”

            He stood in the back of the room and practiced that line over and over again so he wouldn’t have to read it from his text.   When it was time for his appearance, he majestically made his way to center stage where Mary awaited his arrival.

            He knelt low,  held forth his gift and spoke his line with such determined finality that we couldn’t help but laugh at his bravado.  After class, one of his buds teasingly thumped his shoulder and mimicked, “From my country, I bring you gold!”

            He smiled sheepishly but you could tell he was very pleased by the attention and his performance.

            Then we have the actors’ crowd, those who are obviously creative spirits who add a little zip to the story.

             In one class, our Joseph was a phenomenal character.  She pantomimed whipping and riding the donkey with such authenticity the animal seemed real.   And so Mary wouldn’t be ashamed when the baby was born, she graciously stood in front of  her wife and opened her robe to block the view.  An added “Waaaaa!!” had us all cheering and clapping when she, proud papa,  turned around to hold high her son for us to see.

            Encore, Joseph!

            We also had one innkeeper who was so vicious in her “Go away!  No room here!” that her candle went flying across the room.  And an angel who flitted and floated herself around the room, eventually alighted and finally told the shepherds to follow the star.

            But whether the acting was great or not, or the English perfectly spoken or just so-so, one thing’s for sure:  No one will forget our in-class Christmas story performance.   

           Hopefully, they likewise won’t forget why Christians in the world celebrate this day.  It has nothing to do with sparkling Christmas trees, Santa Claus throwing candy to the kids, or party games and dances.  It has a more spiritual meaning for us —  the birth of Jesus, God’s son.

            And on that last note, from China, here’s wishing you and yours  a very meaningful and thoughtful Christmastide. 

           Ping An (Peace)!

             Last Saturday, our previously chilly temperatures soared into the 80s, making it the perfect day for a picnic.

            The new English Center inductees along with the former members invited me along to their first picnic in Zhong Shan Park.  Very few county towns in China have a park but Longzhou is proud to boast that, despite it’s small size, it does indeed offer residents a weekend get-away.

            The park is quite large and one which Becky and I had toured when she was here.

If you arrive before 7 a.m., the park is free but after that, it’s 3 yuan (about 50 cents) to enter.   

            Wandering the pathways, you will come across a pond with a gazebo and pagoda nestled in the center island areas.  There’s a small cave with a Buddhist altar which seems to be frequently visited.  I noticed candles burning and offerings left when I was there.  The park hugs the Li River so there are some lovely views to be had of sampans, wooden fishing vessels and house boats chugging along. 

            There was once a small animal zoo but, thankfully, the cages are now empty aside from 2 very sad, diseased monkeys.  A zoo is a typical sight for Chinese town or city parks.  Luzhou also had a zoo but at least the animals seemed somewhat in good shape.  These two monkeys in Longzhou were in great need of better care and a better life.

            The gathering point in the park is the Martyr’s Memorial obelisk which rests in the center.  The area is surrounded by a concrete square which makes it a great place for students and others to hang out. 

            When I arrived a bit later on Saturday morning than the students, they were already in full cooking mode.  They had their tin troughs and grills set up, the wood chips smoldering away, and were already chomping down on their picnic feast.  Kabobs of tofu squares, corn-on-the-cob, chicken wings, and sticky rice chunks were offerings thrust into my hands as soon as I approached the group.

            Our vice-dean of the English Department, Liang Ling, was likewise with us.  Her 9-year-old daughter was happily entertaining herself by bouncing a basketball.

            After everyone had eaten themselves silly, it was time for the program.

            The new volunteers had carefully planned an afternoon of activities.  We sat in a circle and heard performances of English poems, songs, and jokes.  Then it was time for outdoor games, such as popping the balloon and group ski-walking on wooden boards.

            As the sun became higher and the air hotter, it was finally time to call it quits around 3 p.m. 

            I was impressed by how carefully everyone cleaned up their mess left behind.  They picked up all the trash, collected all the cooking utensils and even made sure to sweep the area of the burnt wood. 

            That is unusual for China, where most people just drop their trash wherever and don’t bother to clean up after themselves.  Obviously, the years of government announcements about the environment and public accountability are paying off.  

            For this weekend, the English Center is hosting a movie night for those who wish to drop by the Center to watch.  Showcased will be a Christmas movie provided by Connie herself.  I dropped off 10 Christmas DVDs to the English Center 2 days ago for students to enjoy during the holiday season.  I’m interested to see which one has been chosen for tonight.  Being a huge Christmas fan, you can bet I’ll be over early to get myself a seat in our little Center.

            On that note, I’d best get going!

            Here’s wishing you Ping An (Peace) for your 2^nd Sunday in Advent.

Connie Wieck

Guangxi Normal University for Nationalities

125 Dushan Road

Longzhou County, Chongzuo City

Guangxi Province, 532400

P.R. of CHINA