China-First Week

Thursday, July 8^th

There is a temple in Yiliang at the base of the mountain that hovers to the side of the city. There is a large gate to welcome visitors and a charge of 10 yuen, between 1-2 US dollar. Workers were re painting the Budda a vibrant gold and there were a few monks scattered gardening, reading, or napping. Others were money collectors strategically located in each temple to encourage you to offer a prayer with a lit incense stick, take a wooden tablet for luck, a yellow or red ribbon for luck or write your name on a sheet of red paper to place over a miniature Budda in a plastic case for a small fee. Behind each temple was another staircase leading to another temple, winding and steep through trees and bamboo, manicured flowerpots or geraniums and the purple flower. Further up, the stone path continued and a nature path became the spiritual journey. Picnic tables dotted the trail as it continued to climb upwards until it plateaued. Glimpses of the city peeped through the breaks in the trees and dragonflies dared you to continue upwards in circular, sporadic dances. It was the mystery of what was behind the next bend and what was at the top that forced me to continue despite heat and fatigue. I did not want to miss what could have been waiting.

Before the temple, Nick and I met the class downstairs and taught a basic lesson on “red, white and blue,” the American Flag, and the alphabet. It was fun and natural for me but very frustrating without the Chinese background to give basic instructions for games or give praise. The class is structured around repetition and the desks are arranged in single rows. Some of the students seemed familiar with the procedure of hand raising. The class was big, around 35 students. This class was not for traditional school because the school year is technically over. These students are part of a cram school that meets outside of the traditional school schedule to get extra study.

The landlady who also teaches Math at the school invited us over for lunch. She lived on the top floor and it was a definite penthouse. Two story ceilings, big screen TV, white tiled floors, chandeliers, dining area. It was beautiful. We watched The New Moon on the big screen while she and some moms from the school finished preparing lunch. Maggie (bro’s gf) explained that she had been a farmer and owned some land. The government wanted her land for urban development. The government wanted a lot of people’s land and thus created a policy that anyone who gave up their land for development could have the option of constructing a building of their own somewhere in the growing city and the government would pay for 50% of it. Not too shabby. Thus, the land lady built her own building after loosing her land and farm. Rents out two floors as a school and apartments and lives in style up top.

There is a noodle here that is made from rice and not wheat. It is popular and can only be found in this area. You can order it normal or spicy, topped with chicken, wild onion greens and chopped cashews or nuts of some sort.

There is no welfare system in China. You work or you beg. There are few beggars but poverty takes it form in shared public bathrooms that empty into the river that contains the same water people use for everyday needs. In the poorer side of town the street was narrow and each door frame was a window in a random act of life. A women repairing shoes, a dentist chair and tools, a baby’s butt sticking out from pants with a big hole cut out the back (no diapers, Julie), an old lady shuffling out for a walk, men smoking, etc. It was so random and so wonderful. Then there was a door that is not for looking into; a funeral. I didn’t know so I looked in and glanced a large framed portrait with candles in front. Outside the house were large, colorful tissue paper wreaths and ashes on the street from piles of money burned for the dead in his/her after life.

Another interesting thing about this street was building for the name business. When choosing a Chinese name sometimes professional help is sought to find the name with the most significant meaning, the right amount of brush strokes, the right sound. Parents may pay for this service before a child is born or after a child is born is they feel the original name is not suitable. Maggie has legally changed her name three times since she was born. Her mother went to one of these name businesses after Maggie continued to get sick frequently. Maggie’s mother felt the original name did not suit her and was bringing bad luck so she changed names and name meanings. It is almost like a rebirth or a new hope for life or destiny. This reminds me of the name changes in the Bible when people were reborn in the Spirit, commiting their lives to God and receiving a new hope for the future, for life, for desinty. Like in Western tradition, when a bride takes the name of her husband there is new hope for a future, a new beginning. Strange that we are called the same from birth to death though in many ways we are not the same person. We are ever changing, growing, re-birthing people.

Beyond this narrow street of poverty were fields and fields of gardens. Small plots divided between corn, rice, and other things. Rows or water separate the crops and plots and irrigate everything to a healthy green. This city is small enough that some families can garden their own food. Maybe all cities in China area surrounded by family garden plots or maybe YIliang is unique because it is still growing and still changing from rural to urban. It is amazing that with so many people most of the food is grown here and that the city is nearly self-sufficient.

Nathaniel, Maggie, Nick and I walked back from the waste-water treatment plant along the main road later that night to return to the city. Like a bulls eye we began on the outermost circle and walked inward sensing a change in pace and rhythm. There is a custom here that local parks become a meeting place for large dance and Tai Chi classes. Some one will bring the music and dozens of ladies will gather in rows to dance in unison with the song. Each song has a different dance that the instructor creates and the ladies must watch and learn. The moves are simple and involve a lot of arm movements. At the park, there was a group of ladies dancing together.