Summer Travels Begin (7-9)

Monday was my Peace Corps Close of Service. Since Peace Corps provides accommodation for two nights, I decided to take advantage of that and went to Chengdu on Sunday. The university provided a driver, which was nice. Late Sunday afternoon I went to the River View/Bamboo Park, which is near the Peace Corps office. I’ve decided that it’s my favorite park in Chengdu and have recommended it to others who want a beautiful place for a few quiet hours. It had rained Sunday afternoon; so the ambiance was especially nice. I purchased a cup of tea, which comes with a thermos of hot water, and sat enjoying the tea and reading for over an hour. Then I slowly walked along the paths, discovering one I hadn’t been on that leads to the west gate. I also discovered a sign that explained that the park has over 200 types of bamboo and is the largest bamboo park in the world.

Doing the Close of Service check out took three hours, most of which was chatting with the director and Mr. Xie, my program manager. Somehow the COS process always seems anticlimactic. After finishing I went to the hostel where I met Ercilia to begin our five-day holiday. That evening we went to Wuhou Monastery, another place I enjoy walking around, as she hadn’t been there. I started to realize how exhausted I felt after the last several weeks. That night I slept for nine hours, the best sleep I’d had for quite a while.

Tuesday morning we started our Beijing adventure. I got off to a rather inauspicious start when I got off the bus with my small backpack that I use for overnight trips and walked to the airport entrance with Ercilia. When the security guard at the door started scanning her bag, I realized that I didn’t have my big backpack that was in the bus’s luggage compartment. I ran back (Fortunately it wasn’t far.) and got there just after the last passengers disembarked, quickly grabbed my bag and returned to the building entrance. The security guard had a big smile as he scanned me and my bags. I was glad to have provided him a moment of amusement. And gladder that I had retrieved my bag so easily. It was a quick reminder to get into my more vigilant vacation mode of traveling.

We had booked a four-day tour to see Beijing’s highlights. I’m really glad, as is Ercilia, that we didn’t try to take in everything on our own. We were met at the airport and delivered to the hotel. Jerry, our guide, gave us a map and directions to go to the Wangfujing night market that Ercilia had read about. So, after settling in, we headed there by foot, which took half an hour. On the way we enjoyed looking at the doors to houses. 

First we found the food stalls and had fun walking along, looking at and photographing the various snack foods. They are so colorful. 

They include seafood, dumplings, exotic snacks—bees, scorpions, spiders, and centipedes (I think these are mostly for young Western men.)—sweets, noodles, skewered meats and squid and various other organs we don’t eat. Just about every kind of snack. 

Eventually we selected what we wanted to eat. I had a chicken pocket and sticky rice between tofu skin. It wasn’t great, but it was fun to try it. 

After eating, we had a look at the pedestrian shopping area nearby. It has Chinese department stores 

as well as famous brands such as Prada.

Wednesday morning we were off for the day’s tour: Tiananmen Square, the Forbidden City, and the Temple of Heaven. I’d seen them all when I was here 27 years ago and remembered bits of them as we walked around. One surprise in Tiananmen Square was the long line to visit Mao’s mausoleum. Jerry said people are sometimes in line for three hours, but Chinese people feel that they have to visit their “Chinese god.” I know we didn’t wait that long when I was here before. 

New in the Square are two huge video displays that were put up for the Olympics so people could watch the events, since they couldn’t attend the games. Now they display advertisements. 

We did join the Chinese in having our photo taken in front of the famous gate to the Imperial Palace/Forbidden City.

The Forbidden City, also called the Palace Museum, is overwhelming. Built in the 15^th century, it was home to the emperors for 500 years. It has almost 1000 rooms. Buildings are red, as that’s an auspicious color for good luck, and have yellow roofs, as that’s the color for purity. They were renovated for the Olympics. 

The walk from one end to the other is about a kilometer. I’ll have to review my old photos, but I seem to remember going to more places than we did now. 

The only building we were allowed to enter is the Hall of Clocks, home to over 1000 18 and 19^th century clocks from China and a few European countries. I found myself enjoying these more than I had anticipated, and the building itself was beautiful. 

We were allowed to “fight the crowds” to look into and photograph two important rooms in other halls. 

The imperial gardens are lovely even with the crowds.

After visiting these two sites, it was time for lunch. Daily lunches at nice restaurants were included in our tour package. We chose a sea fish dish with pancakes and several vegetable dishes: eggplant (Ercilia’s favorite which we had every day), broccoli, green beans, mushrooms and cucumbers. All were delicious and we ate too much.

The Temple of Heaven is where the emperors went once a year to pray for a good harvest. The buildings are blue for heaven and green for earth, as they connect the two. One building is for praying for a good harvest, the earthly part of the complex.  

Another important part is the altar for praying for good weather, the heavenly part. In the center of the altar is a round place where the emperors prayed. Now groups of people stand on it for photos. Jerry commented on their lack of respect. 

In addition to the historical buildings, the temple grounds are beautiful. People can enter them and walk around for a nominal fee that does not include the buildings.

The temperature was about 32/90 degrees; so we were pretty wiped out after walking around for several hours. Back at the hotel we both had a short nap and read for a couple hours. Then it was time to head out again. We took a trolley to Beihai Park, which isn’t far from the hotel. There we walked around for an hour enjoying the lake, lotus flowers, and buildings. 

We walked up to the white pagoda that we could see from the hotel’s rooftop restaurant. Since it was evening, many Chinese people were walking for exercise.

Jerry is 30 years old and has been a tour guide for three years. He learned oral English at a six-month intensive training. (Of course he had studied English for about ten years, but speaking is not part of most classes.) He comes from the northeast part of the country, but has lived in Beijing for nine years. However, he is still not a resident. Since he can’t afford an apartment in the city, he commutes 2.5 hours each way by bus and metro to get to work. He has bought an apartment and lives by himself, making him a slave to his apartment. He knows his speeches well but sometimes was not able to answer additional questions; his presentations seemed pretty rote. But he is a pleasant person.

End of the Semester (7-4)

Today was the final day of the semester, the day when staff members begin their summer break and all the shops on campus are closed. Students have been leaving all week as they finished their final exams.

Big news of the day is that, after three months of negotiations, we finally signed a contract at 5:00 for me to stay on at the university as a contracted teacher. It’s been an emotional roller coaster, especially for the several weeks. Mr. Huang is a good friend and I feel bad that he was in the middle of the process. He talked to me and reported to the Director who said “yes” or “no” and made a counter offer, and then he reported back to me. Sometimes this process took two weeks. Three times he told me that I would have a response that week; so on Friday when I didn’t have classes, I would wait at home all day and nothing would happen. Last month I was so frustrated and stressed that I left a note for him stating that if I didn’t have a response by Monday, I would assume the school was no longer interested. The improvement was that he let me know that he was leaving Monday afternoon and would talk to me Tuesday. Tuesday he had Yang let me know that he was in Chengdu all day and would talk to me another day.

Well, another day didn’t come until the next Monday. (When I told one my sweet students that they hadn’t responded on Monday, she smiled and said, “Maybe next Monday.” She was right.) By that time I had pretty much decided that we hadn’t reached an agreement, which resulted in a mini-meltdown. In that meeting I learned that he and the Director had spent a day in Chengdu trying to figure out how they can keep me here, since they had just learned that I am too old for a working visa, as the government draws the line at 60. I had learned that the week before when I looked at another volunteer agency’s website and it stated that volunteers for China must be under 60 because of the government’s regulation. (Peace Corps obviously has an exemption from this policy.) I told him it would have been helpful to know that they were working on this.

So the new plan is for me to get a tourist visa and then they will convert it to a foreign specialist visa. They had added airfare earlier but not enough for the U.S.; now the amount has been increased to be almost enough for a round trip ticket and more than enough for a one-way ticket. Insurance has been the other issue. Since I cannot have a work visa and be an employee of the university, I cannot be included in their insurance. The bottom line is that my age is a problem.

While they were working on that, we had a meeting in which everything else seemed to be settled and agreed on between us. Then I happened to mention the apartment. We had discussed that three months ago when they first asked me to stay, and I was clear that I will not live in the one dormitory room. Mr. Huang had said they would build a two-room apartment like I have now (Peace Corps apartments are two rooms together with a kitchen). So it was a surprise when I mentioned the apartment and he responded that the administration won’t build them. I informed him that I won’t live in the one room. They could build the apartment or provide extra money to help pay for renting one off campus. By this time I had recovered from the stress and was emotionally strong again. I had truly given up attachment to the outcome of the negotiations. I knew I would feel bad if they didn’t work after all the time and effort put into the process, but I knew that I would be content with either outcome. It would be sad to leave, but it would be OK. But waiting a few more days for the outcome was still difficult. The following week he informed me that I can stay in my current apartment and they will build a new one for the new PC person, which works for me. I think what happened is the department that builds apartments refused. When I said I wouldn’t live in one room, the Foreign Affairs Office decided to spend the money to build an apartment, as it will cost much less than paying me to live elsewhere. At any rate, I’m happy about that.

This left the insurance and visa fee as the only remaining issues. After searching around, this week I was told that they found a Chinese medical insurance policy that is 500 RMB ($82) a year, but after age 65 the rate goes up to 3000 RMB ($500) a year. Quite an increase but still less than the travelers’ policy one agent recommended for me. I suggested that they pay the basic cost and I’d pay the extra for my age, and this was agreed. Then on Friday (today—the last day of the semester) the news was that there is no medical insurance for people over 60. This was very puzzling since earlier in the week they had been told that there was, based on what the agent had said. I think that may have been a face-saving answer. I asked what Chinese people over 60 do and learned that they don’t have insurance unless they have worked. If they have worked, they can purchase social insurance. People who haven’t worked, such as housewives, have no insurance.

Now I was back to purchasing the travelers’ insurance at $150 a month, and I stated that I thought the school should pay part of that, since they had agreed to pay part of the other policy. That was quickly agreed. They have also purchased an accident insurance policy (200 RMB or $64 a year). Since it’s in Chinese, I have no idea what it covers, but I have it.

So, in the end, the school has done a lot to make it possible for me to stay here. It would have been nice to know some of this as it was happening to reduce the stress, but it’s good to know it now. I have felt very difficult and demanding throughout most of the process, as I had to be that way to get concessions to things like plane fare and insurance that should be in contracts for foreign teachers. I hope future negotiations with other foreign teachers go more smoothly now that this precedent has been set.

A difficult aspect of the negotiation process is that Mr. Huang is a good friend. We have liked each other since we first met. At one point when I was upset, I made a point of telling him that I was not upset with him but with the upper administration. I believe he was genuinely trying to work things out to be the best they can for me. When we finished, he told me that we are still friends and I can trust him. As I told him, I know that, but I’m not sure about the higher administrators, which is why I’ve had to be so particular and careful.

When it became 95% sure that the contract negotiations were going to work out, I talked with Dean Qiu about my teaching schedule, as one of my early concerns about staying on was which classes I would teach. I’ve been teaching mostly English majors with one or two classes of non-English majors, and I need to continue to have some English major classes, as these are what sustain me. It’s not that I don’t like non-English majors; for me the issue is that there are 60 students in the classes and I hate having to have so many. The guys do better with them because they are entertaining extroverts and can handle the large classes better than I do. In addition, about a fourth of the students don’t know enough English to be successful and have no interest in English. On the other hand, about a fourth of the students are interested and want to improve their oral English. In the past the school has had only Peace Corps Volunteers teach English majors. Recently they have added other foreign teachers to teach the non-English majors. I pointed out that they now have two qualified, experienced contracted teachers and they should consider our qualifications. Peggie called me to let me know that it looks like the two PC people and I will teach three classes of English majors and then fill our schedules with non-English majors. Another successful small change.

So it’s been a challenging process for me having to be demanding and firm. But the outcome is OK. Small steps are being made, which is good. And, as in the bargaining process anywhere—the market, tourist souvenirs vendors—once the bargaining is concluded and an agreement is reached, all is well and everyone moves on with no hard feelings—at least none that are visible.

This week I was given the end-of-service gift that Paul and Dan received two weeks ago. It’s a silk embroidered scroll picture with pandas. Silk embroidery is a traditional specialty of Chengdu. The school’s name is in Chinese; so they specially order these for the foreign teachers.

Peggie is getting married on Sunday. She had told me a while ago that she wanted to invite me to the wedding. But, in the end, that didn’t work out, which I understand. I am honored that she thought about inviting me. I took her to lunch one day, and we talked about wedding customs. They purchased a wedding package that includes everything—hotel, photographs, video, music, room, hair styling, food. Saturday she will go to a hotel room that her family has decorated for her. Sunday he will meet her there, and they and her family will go to his house (which they have been living in for a while) to meet his parents. This is a modern version of the traditional village wedding in which the groom’s family picks up the bride at her house and they walk or ride to his house. In the afternoon they will return to the hotel for the wedding.

I had several nice end-of-the-year letters from students telling me how much they like me and how much they learned. One girl wrote hers in Chinese so she could express her feelings and ideas more clearly. I thought that was sweet.

Monday I will go to the Peace Corps office to complete my Close of Service. It’s been another good one. Tuesday I’ll begin my summer travels: 5 weeks in the central part of eastern China and a few weeks visiting my good friends in Thailand. I’m ready!

Weekend Outing (6-30)

Since exams are over and I finished all my paperwork, there wasn’t much to do last week. On Monday we had the final Monday discussion group. The three girls who came didn’t want to stop talking and end our time together.

Wednesday was the ceremony for teachers to get their certificates of participation in the oral English classes. Since the administration made classes go until Week 18 and then has the ceremony in Week 19, most teachers can’t attend because they are administering final exams. Of the thirteen who attended, three were in my class. It would be so much nicer if they’d do it a week earlier so more could attend.

Grace invited me to go to dinner at her “sister’s” apartment on Friday. When she called Friday morning, I realized that the dinner was a lunch. Fortunately, I was free. She also invited Jack Yeung, Bennie, and Rice. First we went to the market to purchase the food. They bought chicken and fish, since I eat those. The fish was, of course, live in the tub when they bought it, and the woman clubbed it and gutted it. Bennie had me step away so we didn’t have to watch that process. When she invited me, Grace had asked if I wanted to prepare a dish. I decided on peas and carrots—something different from Chinese food but not too different. The girls also bought a fish plate on which to serve the fish.

When I stopped to take a photo of ducks hanging to be sold, Bennie said she can’t wait to see that in America. Her dream is to go to the U.S. after she graduates, maybe for grad school. I informed her that we don’t hang our meat like that and certainly not along the street. And we don’t have heads and feet on meat in the U.S.

Rice and Jack Yeung did the cooking. They prepared lotus root, chicken and a squash-like vegetable, chicken extras—neck, feet, wings—boiled soy beans, and steamed fish. Then I boiled the peas and carrots. All in all, cooking took two hours. The food was delicious. Bennie especially liked the peas and carrots and ate a lot, which made me happy. Grace and Bennie cleaned up after the meal. It was a really nice several hours.

Since I had two weeks without much going on, I decided that I needed a weekend outing and decided to return to Stone Elephant Lake to see the flowers. Saturday I went to Chengdu so could get an early bus Sunday morning. When I bought the ticket, I learned that there are now only two departures each day. It’s not the main tourist season there. Then I went to Tazishan Park for a few hours. It has a pagoda and a couple interesting sculptures. 

One is a circle of interestingly carved Chinese zodiac and other animals. 

The other is a double-sided wall with very interesting sculptures. 

I wish I knew their significance. 

In another section there is an aviary. Some of the larger birds are free to walk around, but the smaller ones are chained or are in cages. 

They even have an American turkey. It was an interesting way to spend a few hours.

Sunday morning I arrived at Stone Elephant Lake at 10:30. It didn’t take long to notice the absence of a crowd, which made it really enjoyable to walk around. The elephant sculptures were not surrounded with people posing for photos with them, which almost felt eerie. Since it wasn’t the main tourist season, there were also very few food vendors. 

I had remembered that sunflowers were advertised for June or July. It was too early for the main blooming time, but there were a few sunflowers. In a week or two, the whole area will be yellow. 

One section had verbena in bloom. There were also a couple other types of flowers blooming. So I did get to see some flowers. 

It was interesting to see the former tulip gardens covered with plastic. Although it rained very lightly all day, I enjoyed walking around the park, taking in the beautiful flowers, the forest, and the fresh air.

The World Cup is advertised at the park with stand-up figures and with banners at gates.

Back in Chengdu, I had a goat cheese and walnut pizza as my special treat. Then I headed home.

Just before arriving at the bus stop, Jinchuan called to see if I could meet her for a drink. So I met her and Daisy when I returned to campus. They had a gift for me—a small purse they had purchased in Huanglongxi. Jinchuan said again how much she will miss me. In class, she always looked at me very intensely, but I didn’t realize until last month that she considered me so special. With the purse, she had a note saying that I am the “best teacher I have never met.” Daisy is quieter, but she later sent a text message saying that although she didn’t talk much, she loves me very much. They, too, had a hard time ending our conversation and time together.

Question of the week: Are all American women as tall as you?