The people

Thursday, July 8
The best thing about the trip was the people. Our guides were the best. They looked after us, kept us safe and laughing and did their best to tell us all they knew about their homes and their histories. Our national guide, Tony, accompanied us all throughout mainland China. He counted us hundreds of times and always made a point of pointing out any “4-star bathrooms” in the area. Best of all, he did his best to teach us Chinese and I will never forget his attempt to teach us “Suzhounese”, which he admitted makes men sound a little “sissy”.

Amy. I met Amy at the Omeida language school in Yangshuo. Omeida is a school, which specializes in immersing its students in English, so that they can improve their communication skills. Chinese tend to do well on the reading and writing intensive tests, but many of them have little or no contact with native speakers and will enroll in schools like Omeida to improve their work prospects by improving their English. Amy, teared up when she told me about Star, her little 17 month-old daughter, whom she left at home when she came to Omeida for 6 months to improve her English.

Stacy. I met Stacy at the private Xi’an Bodi school. Stacy was appointed spokesperson for her group of 4 friends. The star of the class in English, she wrote, “I cannot communicate, what I want to say,” in perfect English grammar. Stacy had too much to say to write it all down and finally began to talk to us. She said that she does not like school and had just learned that a planned summer break had been canceled and replaced by more lessons to prepare for the upcoming year. She was spunky and funny and reminded me very much one of my 7th graders from last year. Something about her smile and her laugh made me think of Carissa on that day in Xi’an.

A family near Xi’an opened their home to us, to let us see how regular folks live. Their granddaughter played with us. They answered our questions and smiled and showed us their simple home with a pride that made it clear that possessions are not the source of happiness.

The people we waited in line with before visiting Mao’s mausoleum, mostly patient, they shaded us with their umbrellas and I watched their solemn faces as they quietly passed by the body of the former Chairman, the father of Communist China. Our “spicy radish” of a tour guide who told us about the tragedy of the Nanjing massacre without an ounce of apology- determined to tell the truth no matter whom it might offend. The shopkeepers. The taxi drivers. The helpful bystanders who helped us flag down the taxi drivers. The worshippers in the temples. The grandparents who doted on all the little emperors and empresses in their care.

Almost without exception, they were gracious and kind and the pictures of their beautiful faces are my favorite souvenir of my three weeks spent in their beautiful country.

Chinese Food

After a week and a half and definitely after 3 weeks, many of us were heard saying, "No more Chinese food." Ellen was so determined to not eat Chinese at the airport, she paid most of my share of a 66 Yuan Pizza Hut supreme pizza (delicious by the way) rather than eat more Chinese food.

So how was it? Fantastic! Delicious! It's just that we love our pizza sometimes, and even Chinese pizza can be a bit strange. I love Mexican food also, but I'm guessing 3 weeks of Mexican food might also might get, well.... a little old.

The best things: fresh ingredients, spicy sauces, wonderful vegetables, watermelon as desert at the end of every meal, hand-made noodles and beautiful presentation. Sweety Donuts of Suzhou has the most beautiful donuts I have ever seen, and I consider myself somewhat of a donut expert. Another of the best things: large quantities. We often joked about being force-fed like geese. After one late lunch when we found ourselves sitting at the table in an airport restaurant ready for an early dinner. I swore I wouldn't eat and yet found myself picking at a bite of this and a taste of that until I was, as usual, stuffed.

The worst things: tiny glasses of Coke, presentation (heads on fish and geese- yuck); beans, fish and chicken feet packaged in vacuum sealed packaging and the worst of all....dessert. Red bean paste soup, watermelon and sticky rice just aren't quite sweet enough for this American's sweet tooth. Even Sweety Donuts, as beautiful as they were, lacked a sickly sweetness that I appreciate in dessert.

All in all, I loved it. And, yes, I can eat with chopsticks now, and, trust me, I was terrible before I left.

What is lucky?

Monday June 5, 2010
What is lucky?
This is a question, which our entire group found ourselves talking about more than I could have imagined. The answer: Red is lucky. White is not. Eight and nine are lucky. Four is not.
Everywhere, we saw red lanterns and red banners lining doorways and decorating the entrances to homes in the richest and poorest places we visited. The signs were everywhere.I saw lucky Chinese knots and tassles in the simple hutong home we visited in Beijing. Jackie Chan's posh Hong Kong home is located at #8 on his road.
I had always thought that this was the stuff of Chinese restaurants and Chinese New Year’s celebrations- just stereotypes. But even of our drivers had mini lucky red lanterns hanging next to the rear view mirrors of their buses.
Colors. Red is the color of New Year’s celebrations and weddings. Red is the color of the Chinese national flag. White is the color of death, funerals and ghosts.
Numbers. 8 is the number associated with wealth, everyone’s favorite kind of luck. This is the reason why the Beijing Olympic games began at 8 on August 8, 2008. A license plate number with 8s can fetch millions in regular Hong Kong license plate auctions. 4 on the other hand is associated with death. Many buildings in China skip from 3 to 5 in their numbering scheme.
Years. In the Chinese system for naming years after zodiac animal, the year of the pig is considered lucky (since pigs are generally fat and happy). 2007 was the golden year of the pig and many Chinese couples chose to have their babies during this golden pig year so that their one and only son or daughter would have an auspicious birthdate. The result was a baby boom during this very lucky year.
Animals. Cranes, turtles, goldfish and bats are all lucky. Lions symbolize good luck and prosperity and so are a good choice to guard the entrances to places that want to seem prosperous. Many bank entrances are guarded by a set of lions- a male on the right with its paw on a ball and a female on the left with her paw on a cub.
In conclusion: I am lucky. I have returned from a once in a lifetime trip, to a loving family (who met me at the airport with an armful of yellow roses) and much of the summer ahead of us. I have a job that I love and the chance to bring all that I have learned in China to my students and community. I am sooooo lucky.

Shopping in China

Saturday June 3, 2010

I’m back! I realize now that a lot of time has passed since my last blog post. What did I do during all that time? Our last free day in Beijing was scheduled as a free study day. During previous study days I visited tombs, museums, temples and landmarks. During this final day, I shopped.
My husband assures me that this is an important topic (Seriously, he said so! This is probably because he loves to track where every last dime goes.) so I thought I’d take some time to talk about shopping in China. Shopping was one of the most fun and, at the same time, aggravating aspects of the trip.
On the positive side: we all got some incredible deals and wonderful gifts for our families and friends. I bought posters, sculpture, ink and brushes and a chop (stone stamp) with which I can sign my name with Chinese characters. I can’t wait until the time comes to use these new treasures in the classroom. When we talk about the Terra Cotta warriors, I have the perfect visual aid. I was able to purchase a set of miniature warriors that only cost me $2.94. On the negative side: someone else bought the same set for $22.05. And still another person bought the same set for $2.20. This is the aggravating part of the shopping scene. One MUST bargain.
Early on, our guide, Tony, told about us about certain aggressive peddlers. He said, “You decide how much you want to spend. Tell them. If they take your price, good. If not walk on.” This is not the method of haggling I have seen in the past, where you meet in the middle. But it turns out, Tony was right.
Making my way through the Pearl Market was not easy, but it was one of my best shopping experiences in the end. The peddlers there speak pretty good English and they employ every trick I had seen before this final day, plus a few more. “Hey Lady! I give you good price. I give you best price. I give your cheap price. What you want? Just come take a look! Top quality. Hand-made! Real silk!” The constant chatter is deafening and they blocked my way, stepped in front of me and gripped me by the elbow. One lady was so insistent I stopped, turned to her, pointed at my arm said, “No!” and, “Bu Hau!” which means “no good”, before she would let go of me. Finally, I spotted stuffed panda bears.
I had an idea that about $3 would be fair price. Surely it cost them far less than this, but even an aggressive pearl market peddler needs to make a living! So I multiplied 3 by 7 (the number of Yuan to a dollar) then rounded down to 20. I walked up to the lady and said, “How much?” “One hundred,” she said. That’s about $15. The same price I paid for a hand-painted, right-before-my-very-eyes gorgeous bamboo painting. I can get a stuffed animal that size at Meijer for about $5, so I know this is a peddler’s dream price. She’s hoping I just got to China and don’t know what this funny-looking money is worth and will just give her the enormous sum and make her day. But I am too smart for her. I’ve already paid way more than I should have for a few other things so, I follow Tony’s advice and give her my price.
“20 Yuan.” She was insulted and disgusted, “No way, lady. Too cheap. Ninety.” My response, “Twenty. Final offer.” She countered with another price. I don’t remember what it was, because I walked away. As I walked, the price came down. Sixty. Forty.” Then quietly, I hear, “Okay. You price.”
So now, there is a new resident in the Claxon household, a panda bear lovingly named by Oliver Yo Yo. Yo Yo is also the name of the world famous Chinese-American cellist. I love the name. “He goes to bed at 7 p.m., because he’s a baby,” says Oliver.
Though I am back, I plan to write a few more blog posts. The quality of writing should be better, since I have a lot more time and energy now that I am (gratefully) home with my family and sleeping in my own bed.

The Great Wall

Wednesday June 30
Today we went to The Great Wall of China. Originally built as defense against the northern, nomadic raiders, the Wall has become one of China’s greatest tourist attractions. Young and old, Chinese and foreign tourists, everyone wants to say, “I climbed the wall,” and then buy the T-shirt. The steps can be very steep and we all took many breaks on our way to the top. We carried water bottles and bought even more water once we reached the top. Still, one man climbing in our area became sick to his stomach on the way up and other members of our group witnessed another tourist who was convulsing as she became overheated from the exertion.
Though it was tiring to reach the top, it’s impossible to forget that those that built the wall carried those stones and bricks up the steep mountains sides before the steps existed, and many lost their lives during the process. The views were amazing. The photos from this hazy day won’t due the views justice.

Chinese retirement

Tuesday June 29
Today we went first to the Temple of Heaven, where the emperor used to yearly perform the ritual sacrifice of oxen, to ensure a good harvest for the people. Beautiful building. It’s a shame to say but we have seen so many beautiful buildings. What was fascinating to many of us was that that the temple grounds.
The temple grounds are essential a large park: covered with lush lawns, winding paths, cool covered walkways and shady mature trees. The grounds have become to gathering place for the retirees of Beijing. They bring their lunches. Sometimes they bring their grandchildren. They arrive early and stay much of the day. They participate in a number of free activities: dance lessons, singing lessons, cards and dominoes. Perhaps most impressive were the physical games which they played: hacky sack (seriously, grannies and grandpas playing hacky sack!), paddle ball in which the two ladies stood 50 yards apart from and just slammed the ball back and forth to each other, and tai chi
They performed tai chi with paddles and balls, swords and without any props at all. We took a short lesson with a 70 year old master. It was calming, but quickly it became clear that tai chi practice is more than just meditation, it will build leg and core strength! Many of us broke a sweat during the short 20-minute exercises she led us through.
One man brought a special long brush, which he dipped in water to write traditional Chinese poems in Chinese calligraphy on the walkway. His granddaughter stood at his side. What a life for retirees. I wish we had those kinds of opportunities for our retirees!

Tiananmen Square and the Forbidden City

Monday, June 28
After an hour flight (our fifth this trip with just one return trip to Chicago to go!) we arrived in Beijing, the capital of the People’s Republic of China. Our first stop: Tiananmen Square, the world’s largest public gathering place. Located on the square: Chairman Mao’s mausoleum, where his body has been preserved and displayed since his death in 1976, the national museum, their capitol building, where the people’s representatives meet and discuss the business of the nation and the Forbidden City. It really is an enormous space.
Perhaps Tiananmen Square is best known for the student protests which ended in a government crackdown and hundreds of deaths. Though we did not ask our Chinese guide about these events, she said that most tourists do ask about what happened and so she explained to us that no one could know for sure what happened during those days in 1989. Though she was alive in 1989, she was a small girl. She said the students began their protests against government corruption, which they mistakenly believed existed. First the demonstrations were entirely peaceful but in the end, “some people died”. She added that who exactly died was uncertain, perhaps it was soldiers maybe some students or actors. This is all complete garbage, of course, but it is impossible for Chinese to learn what really happened then and there because their news and internet are censored.
In any case these events, which are unclear to many, if not most, Chinese, are less important to them than the fact that it was from the balcony of the wall surrounding the Forbidden City that Chairman Mao declared the beginning of the People’s Republic, the beginning of “New China” which is a phrase we have heard so often during this trip.
The Imperial Palace, once known as the Forbidden City because it was forbidden to most except the emperor, his wives and advisors, was gorgeous, and much larger than I had imagined. It’s one of those things that you have to experience to understand and I am so grateful to have seen it for myself. Almost time to come home and I am looking forward to seeing everyone and sleeping in my own bed!

*** Editor's Note: Tiananmen Square is 108.7 acres or 440,000 square meters ***