Travels and Thanksgiving Thursday

We hope all you faithful readers have had an excellent Thanksgiving, and are gearing up for a meaningful Christmas season. Recently Trevor and I have done a lot more travelling within Wuhan's three sections (we live in Hanyang, the other two are Hankou and Wuchang). Seeing new parts of our humongous city is usually a recipe for interesting sights.

A few weeks ago, we headed to Hankou to search for some athletic shoes for Trevor. None of the stores we tried carried shoes big enough, but on the upside, we found a nice Starbucks and also spotted this talented sidewalk artist working on a Mona Lisa:

Then last Saturday, I helped Michelle, a fellow Zhong Relations member, go to the music store area in Wuchang to find a piano to purchase. I think of my brother Zach every time I see this statue near the music conservatory (notice the monks passing by on the left...):

With the translating help of our wonderful Chinese friend named Watermelon, Michelle's lengthy search had a happy ending. She found a piano she liked at a used piano shop hidden within the conservatory's gates. The shop even agreed to deliver it to her apartment at the university the next day. After all was settled with the piano deal, we perused the lunch options at the nearby snack street. I couldn't find anything that could beat a granola bar, but here's Michelle with her octopus on a stick. "A little spicy," she reported.

This week on Thanksgiving day, Trevor and I both had to teach in the morning, but found ourselves surprisingly free for the rest of the day--quite rare for both our schedules! Feeling adventurous, we decided to ride the bus about 30 minutes to the metro station, then take the metro all the way to its last stop on the line. Thanks to Trevor's skills reading our Chinese map of Wuhan, he found Dijiao Park just off the last stop. It was a beautiful autumn day and this park was definitely worth the trip:

Beware of leaning bamboo...

It was so nice to see some fall leaves in Wuhan!

Sadly, the swan boats weren't open for a cruise around the lake.

This picture definitely makes me think 'China.'

The park had a humorous collection of "See no/Hear no/Speak no evil" stone monkeys. This one was truly appropriate for some of the not-so-enjoyable smells we encounter in China...



You might wonder if we had a traditional American dinner on Thanksgiving Thursday. Not a chance! We dined on some KFC fast food while in Hankou, before heading back home via metro and then bus (about an hour total).

Next post, we'll share photos from our real Thanksgiving meal Saturday night...



Green Acres

View from the parking lot

            Having grown up in an agricultural town, one of the things that Inga and I really enjoy is fresh fruit and vegetables. Of course, you don’t need to grow up next to orchards and farms to appreciate that kind of thing, but it helps. Last fall we had the fun of going with some friends down to the Clarkston area to pick apples at a u-pick orchard there. Not only was it a fun trip with friends, but also a pleasant reminder of our Wenatchee days. So, needless to say, when we were invited to go pick fruit this weekend with some of our Chinese friends, we started to reminisce about such experiences. But, of course, this is China. And things are just a bit different here than in the States.

            Our Chinese friends picked us up, and after connecting with two other Chinese families, we caravanned out of Hanyang to the countryside. The countryside was surprisingly close – when we travel in Wuhan we normally head toward the intersection of Hanyang, Wuchang and Hankou (the three parts of Wuhan), rather than away from it. Lo and behold, a mere 20-minute drive from our university (and through a few factory construction zones), lay a peaceful and touristy village. I say touristy because A) there were actual signs directing us there, B) the entrance to the village looked ancient in a very fresh and clean way, and C) we were sharing the place with some folks doing team-building exercises (or something like that, see below), as well as a camouflaged platoon of paintballers.

U-pick, U-shoot

            Upon our arrival, our friend went out to find an “old person” to help us with the fruit picking. Now, I don’t know if the old guy, we’ll call him “grandpa,” that came to help us was an “official” tour guide, or just some random old guy, but I do know that he seemed to have a blast showing us Chinese and foreign city-slickers around the place.

            Grandpa directed us to the small parking lot near the village restaurant (at least, the restaurant for the tourists), then after some delay – involving a search for a ladder, or something like that – we headed off to pick some oranges at a villager’s house. Note: when picking oranges, it’s best to not just pull them off the tree (as you can with cherries), since that tears the peel. That is, unless you want an excuse to eat the orange right away. Twisting or cutting them off works better, and the village lady whose oranges we were picking was nice enough to provide us with some shears.

Our friend, with "Grandpa"

            After we had filled our bags, we headed back to the parking lot, dropped off our fruit, and then proceeded on to another part of the village. I’m sure that there was a purpose for us walking along a narrow mound of dirt separating two retention ponds and otherwise wending our way toward an overgrown patch of hillside in front of some houses, but that was lost in translation and Chinese people yelling to each other across the distance. So, after a bit of frolicking, we walked back to the village restaurant and had a nice Chinese meal for lunch. Grandpa joined us for the meal, and insisted on toasting us all with his baijiu, and we in turn (with our apple cider, or “apple vinegar” as it’s called) toasted each other, and him, and each other, and him, etc. Such are Chinese meals.

A nice village garden - just not the one we got our baicai from

            After lunch, we returned to the village entrance. From there we went to harvest some baicai (bok choy) from Grandpa’s garden with a large meat, er…baicai, cleaver. Having thus spent about three and a half hours “roughing it” and harvesting more fresh fruits and vegetables than we could realistically consume, we said our goodbyes to the other Chinese families we travelled with, and headed home. And then Inga and I took naps because we were exhausted.  Apparently city life is making us soft. :)

Team Building...I think

Food, Fun and Finds

It's been a busy few weeks since our last update. Our weeks are full with teaching and tutoring, but we've managed to fit in some adventures.

For Halloween, the Aloha Diner hosted a kids' party. A handful of Zhong Relations members helped run the games for the kiddos. We had a great time helping all sorts of costumed munchkins play games such as mini bowling, go 'fishing,' pin the nose on the pumpkin, clothespin drop and TP mummy race. Afterwards we had a WONDERFUL Aloha meal which included baked spaghetti, chocolate cupcakes and Kona coffee. Part of the fun was dressing up in costume for the event--I was a Hawaiian tourist and Trevor was a mean sheriff (seen here keeping our angelic friend Melodie under close supervision). Looks like I forgot to bring my passport to the Big Island...

In recent weeks we've tried some new restaurants, either on our own or thanks to the generosity of Chinese friends. Here's Trevor with his beef noodle dish bucket, at the Bruce Lee-esque fast food place.

Then last weekend, the family of one of the students I tutor wanted to take Trevor and me out to lunch. We had no idea we were going to a super-snazzy restaurant with a private room. The menu included sea cucumber soup (it tasted a lot better than it looked!), sweet and sour battered fish, and a bite-sized assortment of vegetables and nuts. Everything was prepared so artfully. For example, a beef dish came with chocolate squiggles and a tomato bunny on the side:

On the home front, we're enjoying our new bigger toaster oven. My near-future baking plans include granola, muffins and cookies. And for the first time ever, I made homemade salsa:

So besides Halloween fun and food, I have been doing a little shopping. There is a wholesale market in Wuhan that is legendary for its maze-like qualities, bargain prices and massive size. It is known among the expats as 'the crazy market.' I had been dying to go since we arrived but decided I needed to wait to go the first time with an experienced friend. The opportunity came a few weeks ago, and I had a blast. Our group made it through only about three sections of the market that day: miscellaneous items, shoes, and bakery items (as in muffin cups, frosting tips, take-home bags). I was amazed by all the different things for sale...and how inexpensive most of them were. Then, the next weekend, a Chinese friend took me there to help me find some winter clothes. The stalls kept going and going...I'm convinced a person could get lost for days in the crazy market! BUT, I did find some great bargains there, including the pink dress coat (about $17 U.S.) and the pink faux pearl necklace (bargained down from $40 U.S. to $15). In the picture below, almost all of what I am wearing was purchased in China. At a favorite mall, I found some great sales on the boots and skinny jeans (about $8 U.S. each). For the adventurous shopper, China can be lots of fun! (Finally, it's working out to be 'Chinese size').

To end, we think you'll get a kick out of seeing our most recent garbage can addition. There are lots of bad English translations floating around on products, but this one was too funny to pass up:

Feel free to leave us a comment with any questions about our life in China. We'd really love to hear from you! Until next time~

Xiaotiqin! (aka violin)

A few weeks ago I had the chance to do a 'show and tell' with my violin in the first grade classroom at the international school where I volunteer. At the beginning of my short presentation, the students were very curious about what was in the mysterious black case (a guitar? a ukelele?). I loved answering their questions and briefly playing.

Initially I thought that I would do a lot of violin teaching here in Wuhan. As things are turning out, my English speaking are in much greater demand. For the most part, I enjoy teaching at the Chinese kindergarten and giving English tutoring sessions. But when it comes to the part of the week when I get to teach violin lessons, it seems like a real treat. 

In the United States, students came to my home studio for private lessons. Here in China, it's just the opposite! The trickiest part has been carrying my violin backpack-style on the [usually very crowded] bus. Being a foreigner, I stick out enough, but even more so when I am riding the bus somewhere with my 'xiaotiqin.' 

Besides having a great time teaching my four beginner violin students, there have been a couple opportunities lately to perform. The international school where I volunteer three mornings a week recently held their annual International Day event. Families share dishes from their home country, then students and staff put on a show with dancing, singing and more. I played the 'Ashokan Farewell' with a staff member on guitar to showcase American folk music. Here's a short excerpt from our performance (sorry for the so-so video quality--uploading is proving to be a challenge over here):

Another opportunity to play was this past Saturday evening at Aloha Diner's fifth anniversary celebration. Several members of the Zhong Relations team helped with entertainment and serving that night. My good friend Melodie and I had a blast choosing violin duets. There was a full house so we chose our most energetic and spirited pieces out of what we had prepared. We were supposed to dress Hawaiian. Can you believe I forgot to pack my grass skirt and lei? :) But dressing a little bit more tropical than usual worked, too. Below are a few photos from that event:



We started things off with 'Ashokan Farewell' (this time arranged for violin duet), then moved onto some Suzuki duets and other fun pieces. (Melodie has a Suzuki connections, too.)

Melodie is such a great friend and violinist--she blesses my socks off! 

Spectacular Show

On Sunday, Trevor's university celebrated its tenth birthday. The show that students, faculty, and alums put on was SPECTACULAR. Think of pulling out all the stops--fog machines, special lighting, glitter cannon, sequined costumes--and you will start to have a picture of this show.

There was an erhu player who graduated from this university and went on to become very famous in China. Wearing white leather pants and a bright yellow shirt he seemed like a rock star. While he dazzled the audience with his fast-paced piece on stage, behind him on the screen was a music video of him playing his erhu in Mongolia. Another act featured a popular guitar teacher at the school with at least forty guitar students up on stage playing and singing a well-known Chinese song. There was a dramatic, beautiful act of two ballet dancers, as well as a flashy pianist (playing on a white piano) performing 'Yellow River' in front of a screen of the rushing, muddy waters. Each act was highly polished with the performers in fancy costumes.

But the main reason I attended the show was to cheer for this:

Part 1: Over a dozen of the foreign teachers invested many hours this past week learning 'Copperhead Road' to perform at the birthday celebration. Our friend Melodie did an amazing job organizing all this, juggling everyone's busy schedules and teaching people how to dance. The other musicians on the left are talented players, too, but the show's organizers insisted that the CD of the song be played instead (so everyone in the audience could hear). So, the poor musicians, after all their practicing, had to 'play-sync' instead.

Part 2: Do you recognize a familiar-looking tall guy line dancing in the back left? That's right--Trevor was DANCING. It's something he only does in foreign countries. I think he did a great job!

~Until the next adventure....Inga

Photo Update

Here are a some photos to show you some parts of our city and update you on our most recent adventures:

 A Starbucks opened near us! 
Down the street from our university is a fancy mall which opened just about the time we moved to China. The Starbucks inside was finished a handful of weeks later. When a friend texted to say the store was now open, we quickly made plans to visit that afternoon with our good friend Melodie.

Chinese Starbucks have plenty of Western pastries to offer and the same basic drink menu. They don't offer fancy syrups like toffee nut or pumpkin spice, but you can still order a frappuccino or carmel macchiato.

 Given our Chinese salaries, going to Starbucks will probably be a once-a-month treat. We really like the comfy chairs and smoke-free atmosphere. It feels like the Starbucks at home.


The 'no smoking' sign is so nice and polite: "We take pride in the aroma of our coffee and how it enhances your overall experience. Please do not smoke here."

(Our first coffee shop we visited in China, Ecoffee, remains our favorite. It looks A LOT like the competition, but has better prices and the same comfy chairs.)

Sophia turned four! Our good friends here in China, Adam and Becca, have two darling little girls. We spent some time with Becca and the girls in Wenatchee this August as well as shared the plane ride to China with them so we definitely feel like Uncle Trevor and Auntie Inga. This past week Sophia turned four and we had a blast at her birthday party:
  

Becca showing Sophia her purple princess cake.

A Hello Kitty kid-sized umbrella

Can't forget about this cutie! We love Elise's zesty personality. You can't help but smile when you're around her.

Hard at work on a birthday picture



Han Street Lights up the Night Sky  Our Chinese friends Davis and Tony took us to vist the newly-opened Han Street in the part of the city called Wuchang. Besides up-scale shopping offerings, the street is a nice walk at night. The buildings and bridges were ablaze with lots of ever-changing lights. The river's reflection makes for a shutterbug's paradise. 

It's back to our normal teaching schedules next week, but we've thoroughly enjoyed spending our holiday seeing friends and exploring new places in Wuhan.

   

Kindness in the Middle Kingdom

How beautiful a day can be when kindness touches it!

~George Elliston

The past week we've enjoyed several days off from work due to Chinese National Holiday. Maybe because of the more relaxed pace, we have daily noticed the kindness of friends and strangers. We have been touched by...

--strangers giving up their seats to us on a crowded bus, insisting that they would be getting off soon

--dear friends welcoming us into their home for an overnight stay, spoiling us with wonderful American dishes and coffee, and encouraging our hearts with their warmth and hospitality

--a music store employee who eagerly helped us find music stands, offered us a small discount on two, and tied the boxes together for easier carrying

--an English-speaking Chinese fellow passenger who helped me communicate with the cart/shuttle driver about my destination, then went the extra mile by walking me to the front door of the post office I was looking for

--the fruit seller near our home insisting on opening up a new box of apples for us, then giving us a discount on our purchase

--a favorite restaurant opening on a holiday day in order to be a blessing to its ex-pat community of customers

--a couple at a small hardware store patiently trying to understand our limited Chinese and drawings. They installed screws and wire into our picture frames for hanging, then refused any payment for their supplies and help

--two different Chinese friends taking us out to delicious meals during the holiday and introducing us to new areas of the city

Even the most small act of kindness has spoken volumes to us recently. We are grateful to these people for making China seem a little bit warmer and more personal. In the weeks to come, we will be on the lookout for ways, big and small, to show similar kindness to others.