Another Semester Ends (1-12)

The semester officially ends on January 17, but for us foreign teachers, it is over. All work is completed and turned in.

Last Saturday April, Ed, Mark, two students, and I went to the back side of Qingcheng Mountain. As always, it was an adventure. The trip there took three and a half hours from the time we left the dorm until we arrived. Once there, we separated, as the guys wanted to walk up and April and I were taking the cable cars up. One of my goals was to get to the top, which Megan and I didn’t do. The first cable car takes ten minutes. 

Then we walked to the second cable car, which was only a twenty-minute walk. The second cable car ride is twenty-five minutes. It goes up and down over a couple mountains and has great views. 

In several shady places we could see remains of snow. Once on the next mountain, we walked to the temple near the top, which took an hour. We had no idea there was so much walking involved at the top. The plan was to meet at the starting point at 3:30 so we could get a bus back to Wenjiang, but we called and let them know we wouldn’t be there and they could do what they wanted to do.

On the way to the temple, there is a cave along the cliff that has many Buddha sculptures, some of which are different from most I’ve seen. 

There is a section where the trail goes up along a cliff that is covered with niches of seated Buddhas. 

The temple has a standing statue with 1000 arms. This was the first time I’ve seen one that we were allowed to take photos of; so I was happy about that. When we were walking around the temple, we met Mark, who had walked all the way up. I knew the guys would be able to walk much faster uphill than Megan and I did, but it was a surprise to see him that far up. (The girls had started to walk down. Ed had gone his own way and wasn’t with Mark. Since he doesn’t have a phone, he waited at the meeting time, then walked partway up again, and met us when we returned to the starting point.) The steps to the very top of the mountain were closed due to damage; so we didn’t get there, but we saw what we wanted to see. 

The three of us took the cable car down. 

On the way to the lower cable car, we missed a turn and ended out walking the rest of the way down. Since someone had told April that the last shuttle bus leaves at 6:00 and it was almost 5:00, we walked down as fast as we could. Not much time to enjoy the greenness and waterfalls. But we met Ed and the girls in time to get a shuttle. Then we hired taxis to bring us back, since it was too late to get a bus. All in all, it was another successful outing—even though my calves were stiff for two days afterwards. The temperature was comfortable, not too cold. Good weather for hiking.

The TTC people will be gone when I return from the break. I’ll miss having April across the hall and hanging out with her frequently. But she’ll be teaching at another university in Wenjiang; so we can still get together sometimes. The students will miss the handsome, friendly, young men.

On Wednesday, the waiban had a meeting to give certificates to the teachers in our classes. It was in a conference room and was rather formal, but it was nice. Since teachers are very busy with final exams and their semester-end work, only about half attended. The university president and the waiban director both spoke. Then they had each of us say something. And then the class monitors—or a designee—spoke. Mine gave thanks for “our Jackie,” which really touched me, and mentioned how I am very kind. When the formal part was over, my six teachers came to ask what level I will teach next term because they want to be in my class again. I’d love to continue with them, as we all get along well and they are a good group. So we’ll see what happens. Of course we had a photo of the small group of us. The TTC folks were given a hand-embroidered picture on a scroll. Quite nice. Giving a gift is a new addition, as that didn’t happen last term.

After the meeting, we were taken to lunch at a restaurant that specializes in beef. They serve beef and vegetables. It’s the same restaurant we went to last term when Meghan, Kim, and Beth arrived, but I don’t remember so much beef on that occasion. I do remember the individual hot pots. 

There were seven plates of various kinds of raw beef in thin slices that could be cooked in one’s hot pot. We non-beef eaters ate lots of veggies. They ordered extra veggies since three of us don’t eat beef. So we didn’t go home hungry. The thank you lunch was also a new addition this term. Last term they talked about doing that but waited until too late and it didn’t get scheduled. So it was nice that they planned ahead a little and it happened this term. They really are making more effort to treat foreign teachers well and show their appreciation.

After lunch, April and I went for a foot massage. We had planned to do that on Monday, but we went to the train ticket purchasing office, which is near the foot massage place, to help Mike and Ed get their train tickets. The line was long and only one woman works there; so it took an hour and a half. And the line behind us got longer after we arrived. That poor woman, having to deal non-stop purchasers all day long. When we finished, we didn’t have time for the massage because we had an evening event.

The evening event was the new year show for the education department. It was basically like the others we had been to, but we both enjoy the shows. They’re good entertainment. One of the special dances was the woman with a thousand arms. April had highlighted that for me, as it’s one she has always wanted to do but couldn’t get enough women to join her. 

They also did an umbrella dance, which I always enjoy.

Thursday Mr. Xie, our Peace Corps supervisor, came for his site visit. He reported that the waiban is happy with Dale and me and that Director Cheng has told him that they would like me to stay and brought it up again during this visit. That is very affirming. I haven’t heard anything about it, but it feels good to know that. Staying here has actually crossed my mind as a possibility if it comes up. Something to think about if/when an offer is made.

After he left, I walked to the bank. I hadn’t been on the river walk for a long time; so it was really nice to be there again. The willow trees are yellow-green, a sign of how mild weather is here since it’s already mid-January and they’re just changing color. 

Since the weather was mild for a change, many people were dancing in the square. And many people were out walking. On the way back, I stopped to watch the dancers and a man came to talk to me—in Chinese, of course. When he took my arm and guided me over, I thought he wanted to dance, but he took me to the bench where he was sitting and had me sit down. Then he chatted some more. I love how people continue to chat in Chinese even after they understand that I’ve told them I don’t understand or speak Chinese. He opened a magazine he had and started writing in the white spaces—Chinese, of course. He would tell me what he’d written. He had me write the English word “China.” Then he wrote “America” in Chinese. When I started to write that in English, he took my hand and made the characters. He wanted me to write it in Chinese! When I didn’t do well enough, he took my hand and guided it again. When I got it OK after a few attempts, he gave me a thumbs up. When I decided it was time to return home, he wanted me to stay, but I was ready to move on.

Recently I’ve noticed a lot of sausages drying in various places including balconies and trees.

Chinese New Year is coming soon—January 31. Red lanterns and other red decorations are starting to appear.

Off to two weeks of in-service training with Peace Corps. We missed that last year due to budget cuts, but the new group of PCResponse volunteers will be there this year. It will be a good opportunity to learn more, have Chinese lessons, and meet more people.