Two Weeks in Chengdu (1-24)

Before I left for the In-Service Training in Chengdu, April and I went to Carrefour. When we walked in, the halls and the store were decorated for the upcoming New Year. There were rows of red decorations being sold. I found myself feeling excited when I saw all the decorations. It was like walking into a store in the U.S. at before Christmas and seeing all the decorations. The New Year/Spring Festival is often compared to Christmas in the U.S. because this is the holiday everyone goes home for and gifts—red envelopes with money—are given to children. 

We both bought plastic bowls with a “gold coin” cover that are filled with small, wrapped candies. I thought there were gold-wrapped candies inside, but they’re just regular ones—nothing special. But the bowl is fun.

On the 13^th, Dale and I left Wenjiang. We planned to take the 1:00 teachers’ bus to Chengdu, and these usually leave right on time. I arrived at 12:52 and he arrived a couple minutes later. We waited, and no bus came. At 12:15, Director Cheng walked past us and said to Bill, who was helping Dale, that we would have to wait a long time because the bus had already left. Bill then mentioned that two students who were there when I arrived said that they saw the bus leave as they were arriving. So no teachers’ bus until 4:00, and student buses arrive irregularly. Bill also heard what he thought was Director Cheng ordering us a car and driver. Sure enough, a few minutes later Jane called and told us a driver and car would be coming soon to drive us to the hotel. How nice that was! Instead of taking the bus and then a taxi, we were delivered right to the hotel. April told me that on the night we left, she was told that a car would be provided to take her and Mark to their hostel; so they benefited from Dean Cheng having seen Dale and me.

On the way to the bus stop, I saw the first flowers blooming on the trees. I’m looking forward to seeing the progression of blooming trees when I return from my holiday. I remember seeing some when I first arrived here at the end of February last year.

IST was intense. Sessions went from 8:30 to 5:00, with an hour and a half for lunch and only one day off. As usual at such conferences, some sessions were good and some weren’t very interesting. I enjoy hearing about other people’s experiences. We also had Mandarin language classes. The first day I was with a group all of whom speak sentences fluently. So I asked to be moved to a lower level group. The new group was much better for me. The volunteers in that group also struggle to make sentences. Some have more vocabulary than I do, but the gap between them and me is smaller. The teacher was very good about going at a slow pace and having us practice the sentence patterns. Even so, too much was covered each session for me to remember, but at least it made sense. It gave me a lot to spend more time practicing and learning.

I enjoyed meeting the group 19 volunteers. There’s more of an age mix than my group in Thailand. There aren’t many over 50, but there’s a large group over 25. Seven new Response volunteers, four of whom are over 50, arrived and attended the training. We missed it last year due to budget cuts. I especially enjoyed meeting these folks, as we have more in common because we are all not part of group 19 and because two of them are close to my age. I also had good chats with some of the group 19 people and enjoyed meeting them. At a brown bag lunch for older—self defined—volunteers, I met a woman over 60 from group 18, and we were quickly attracted to each other. We chatted a few times, but the lunch was on the next to last day; so we didn’t have much time.

On our Sunday off, I went to the sports store near IKEA to buy new sports shoes since I’d noticed that my current ones have a small hole and small holes only get larger. The first good news was that I found the store. I’d only been there once seven months ago with Katy and wasn’t sure exactly where it is. After realizing that my memory was more vague than I’d thought it was, I wrote “IKEA” on a paper, thinking that people would recognize the name of the store even though they might not know its English name. The security guard I asked first pointed back in the direction I’d come from. After several minutes, I knew that I didn’t remember that route and chose a well-dressed woman to ask, thinking that she might know the store. She did. She told me to follow her and walked me back to the street to the metro. Then she drew a straight line on my paper to show me where the store is. Even though I’d said “go straight” in Chinese and we had both pointed that way, I think she wanted me to know that the store is indeed directly ahead with no turning needed. Having found IKEA, I knew that the sports store is across from it. Success. I had more success in the store when I found shoes in my large size that felt good and were 1/3 off. I was happy.

After completing the purchase, I decided that, since I was there, I should walk through IKEA. Katy had described it as a Chinese cultural experience. The store had hanging, red banners for the New Year’s. 

Since it’s the year of the horse, red horses were part of the decorations. Some dishes have horses on them. I purchased a small bowl for April’s sister and a red, wooden horse for April. The store was pretty crowded, but not so crowded by China standards. People were sitting on chairs and sofas using their smart phones. 

One couple had their eyes closed. Some were sitting down watching TV. Katy had seen people sleeping on the beds; I only saw them trying out the mattresses.

On the way back to the metro, I decided to continue my search for New Year’s decorations. One big store and a mall had some good decorations. 

Since it's the Year of the Horse, horses are common. 

The mall had painted horse statues in the entrance. 

Red balls and knotted diamonds are common. 

It seems that the Chinese have merged Christmas, the Western New Year, and the Chinese New Year. “Happy New Year” messages can apply to both New Years. I find it all fascinating.

Some stores still have Santa decorations; some have Christmas trees. 

(Small print: Seasons greetings and best wishes for the new year.)

Next I decided to go to the Sichuan Art Museum near Tianfu Square. It was a warm, sunny afternoon; so the square was packed with people sitting and walking around. 

I hadn’t seen it so crowded before. I enjoyed watching the people for a while before looking for the museum. I knew I wouldn’t go in that day, as it was already 4:00, but I decided to find it so I’d know exactly where it is. That took some searching, but I did find it. Unfortunately, it’s having major renovations and is closed. 

The whole building is surrounded with canvas walls to block access. As is typical at such blocked off construction sites, the walls are decorated with folk art, which I enjoy looking at. This was the first time I was not moving and had time to photograph them.

When I was walking back to the hotel from the metro stop, I saw a nice café where you choose your vegetables to be cooked. The price listed was 13 yuan for ½ kilogram. I put the vegetables I wanted into the container, and the woman said it wasn’t enough for 20 yuan. I said I wanted 13 yuan, thinking that the two prices were for large and small amounts. Then a man came to assist. With very good English he explained that the price is 13 yuan per ½ kg but the minimum purchase price is 20 yuan. Since I really didn’t want more food, I had to agree to pay 20 yuan for what I’d selected. It was a bit high for my small amount, but I was hungry and really wanted vegetables. The man left and the server asked about rice. When I asked if it comes with the meal, she ran out and caught up with the man to ask him to come back. I followed and joined them. After explaining that rice is included, he told me that he has been to America twice. Before he continued on his way, the server got his phone number so she can call him if another foreigner who doesn’t speak Chinese happens to enter the café.

The vegetables were cooked as a soup with a tasty broth. My amount was perfect and it was delicious. Unfortunately, it made me ill that night. Fortunately, the consequences were minimal and lasted only a few hours. But I was tired on Monday.

I had my Language Proficiency Test on Monday. We could have it over the phone in about a month, but I preferred to have it in person. I felt good that I understood most of what was asked. Sometimes I understood the question but didn’t know one of the words and couldn’t answer. The examiner was nice and cued me several times. When talking to my roommate, I realized that I probably did better than she did. I was able to ask a few basic questions; she wasn’t.

The neighborhood around the hotel is pretty upscale—lots of shops with fashionable clothes and lots of foreign food restaurants.One night I joined a few of the older men to go to the nearby Tex-Mex restaurant for dinner. I debated between vegetable or cheese enchiladas and chose the latter because I seldom have good—or any—cheese here. The enchiladas were OK.The cheese was delicious, but the sauce wasn’t very good—not like my taste buds anticipated. But I’ve tried the restaurant now and won’t have to do that again. The other foreign food I indulged in was a milkshake at Grandma’s and a couple ice cream cones at McDonald’s.

The trip back to Wenjiang took a total of three hours door to door, as I had to wait half an hour for the second bus. But I had seats on both buses, which was good since I had my baggage. When I was walking to the dormitory, one of the guards chatted with me a bit. I was able to tell him where I’d been and that I’m leaving for Hong Kong next week. Slowly, but he understood. I learned how to say “Hong Kong” in Chinese in the language class. At the market, the woman I buy tofu from asked where I’m going for the Spring Festival. I was touched, as she’s never shown any interest in me, and was please that I understood (“Spring Festival” was another new word in class.) and could answer. Made me feel good to be able to respond.

I’ll enjoy some quiet time here for two days before leaving for my vacation. Dale didn’t return today, as he wanted to hang out with his friends another day, and he’ll leave for his Hong Kong trip on Saturday. So, I’m the only person living in the building now. The security guards are the only other people on campus, as students have gone home and all the shops are closed for the holiday.