 Outside No1 Primary after 1st morning. As Freda and Edie began their new school term last week, Ali and I found ourselves with a new exercise regime. With dropping-off and picking-up the girls morning and afternoon, we are both spending about two hours on a bike a day. It's already a struggle to get up Wu Yi Street on our all-steel single-speed Flying Pigeon [aka Sherman], never mind with Freda on the back. Having said that, it's great to have some exercise fitted into the daily schedule. We're both getting fitter!
Edie is in Primary one, class one, with Mrs Zhou (apparantly the best in Grade 1) as her Form Teacher. She's loving the classes so far and doesn't seem to be put off by the huge number of books or evening homework. Her only objection has been the army-style classroom routines they have to follow with the stricter teachers: books in a particular place on the desk, pencil case in another; backs straight with hands clasped behind or arms folded on desk; only raise right arm (not left) to ask/answer a question, and a whole load of Teacher-student chants that help maintain order. A week in and the new recruit seems to be doing okay. She is certainly benefiting from her older sister's experiences and guidance.
Ali and I attended a Grade 1 parents' evening when everyone was introduced to the school's ideology by their progressive Headmaster, Mr Luo. The lecture finished with advice on personal hygiene, homework help and basic daily routines - giving the children breakfast before they go to school and getting them to bed before 9pm etc. All very enlightening....
With week 2 ahead, Edie says: "School is fun and I like Zhou Laoshi. I like art, PE, Chinese and Maths. I like them all. The teacher has given my row three stickers because we have the most points for being good. I have six friends. It's lovely having Freda in the school because she's so friendly and she helps me sort of."
Freda says: "School is nice but homework is boring. The teachers are different this term and the timetable. I've got computing and English classes and science too. I've got a new deskmate. My best friends are Shi Yi and Lao Yang. I love Edie going to school but not when she forgets to come and see me at break time!"
 Farewell to the noodle lady, Weishan. WEISHAN The last stopover on our backpacking trip was the beautiful old town of Weishan, about 1.5 hours south of Xiaguan and also in Dali Prefecture. It was good fortune that led us to find Katrina, another 2008 College graduate, living here with her family. Since graduating from the English Department she has been unable to find a job, despite being an excellent, hard-working student with good grades. When we met up with her she was in the middle of a local government training programme to give unemployed graduates civil servant jobs in the countryside. After her training Katrina will be posted in a Weishan county village, to deal with disputes and help farmers optimise their output. She will re-take her teaching exam again this month and, on passing, the local government will not be unhappy to let her go. Not all of our unemployed graduates are cared for in the same way.
We found the Weishan local government to be great in many other respects. Their main achievement has been recognising the cultural and historical value of their old buildings, restoring them over the years to create one of the only authentically (really) old towns we have visited in China. Weishan has a history of visitors, mainly due to the proximity of the Wei Bao Shan ancient Taoist temple mountain, yet remains unspoiled. We were treated with polite curiosity, friendly welcome and sincerity - no cheating, no gawking and no laowai ('old outsider' i.e. 'foreigner') jeers. There are tight restrictions on new-builds (must be below a certain height and traditional style) and, what's more, the residents of Weishan are happy in their traditional wooden homes. This means they are well-maintained and, therefore, comfortable. We couldn't believe that all the delightful places we came across - noodle cafes in people's homes, craft shops, street food, temples - were all functioning for locals, not for tourists. If you were to take the tourists out of somewhere like Lijiang, there would be nothing left of the old town. It lives and breathes to make money out of the visitors. Weishan is an exception to the rule in Yunnan's rapidly growing tourist industry.
 Karine modelling a useful finger trick. At one of Wei Bao Shan's temples we came across Karine, a French Taoist monk who's just beginning her PhD as well as spiritual apprenticeship. Her commitment to her work is evident in that she joined a bunch of American undercover missionaries for years of language training in Xi'an. On asking if they knew whether she was Taoist, and what they thought, she replied: "Oh yes, they just said to me that one day I would find my way...that obviously I am still searching." Could a shared religious intolerance be what makes the CCP allow the missionaries, I mean English teachers (!), come to China in such numbers?
On arriving at the temple Ali noticed that the temple guard (Wang Ling Guan) was holding his fingers in a particular way - as demonstrated later by Karine [above]. Apparantly this gesture, done correctly, will help protect one from danger and ward off enemies. Frankly, by the time I got my fingers bent round the right way I'd have been robbed.
ALF with Katrina, her aunt and cousin at one of Wei Bao Shan's mountain temples. This is where we met Karine. The next temple we visited provides board and lodgings so we hope to return in October, if we can face the long bus journey North. We spent a morning with this Weishan noodle maker, filming the whole process. It was fascinating and will soon be available on DVD! Before leaving Weishan we bought about 5 kilos of noodles to take back to friends in Simao and at lunch time we cooked some up with Katrina and her family. Well, her aunt did the cooking but we all helped to eat them!  ELF with Grandpa Li, Weishan. Paragraph.
 Freda, Magda & Roise, Longtang Temple. BAOSHAN - CHANGNING
It wouldn't seem right visiting a town without also finding its temple. Magda and Roise, two of the graduates we visited in Changning (2 hours from Baoshan by bus), were delighted to take us to Longtang Si, 10km out of town. Both of them had visited the temple before, Roise's last visit being only a few weeks before, when she prayed for success in her teaching exam. Although Magda and Roise were excellent students and did very well in their PIE teaching practice (2 months in rural schools), they failed to make the grades in the County teaching exams. They have both been working as teaching assistants - same work as teachers for a fraction of the pay (400-600RMB a month) - and are now looking to get a better job.
Becoming a teacher here is a bit like joining the army. Once registered with a local Education Bureau (usually their home town) they are at the mercy of leaders. Having passed her exam this time round (the prayers worked), I received a message from Roise saying that she had been posted to a small village several hours from Changning. They have no control over where they end up working, though a bit of guangxi (a complex concept that involves 'relations', 'contacts', 'favour') can improve one's chances of a favourable posting. There are ways to move between counties but it's a convoluted process that involves re-taking exams and pre-empting what the outcomes might be. It's much easier to stay at home.
 Freda preparing a tofu dish for dinner. JIUJIA VILLAGE
One of the highlights of our time in Changning was a visit to Jiujia village, where Magda is currently living with her boyfriend and his family. We bought lots of vegetables in Changning market and took over the farmhouse kitchen to prepare dinner. Our contributions consisted of lemon cucumber salad, baked aubergine and Freda's ma po doufu (tofu, tomato and herbs). Cooking in a giant wok, solid fuel (logs burning underneath) beats our tiny, ceramic hot plate in Simao. When all the dishes were ready we ate outside, at a small table in the courtyard. With our afternoon stroll around the village and country kitchen experience, this was a very memorable day.
 Lesley with the Jiujia foragers. On our exploration of the village we met these local women who were on their way home after a day of foraging. Their baskets were empty but they were in good spirits, especially after our chat, which covered the usual - age, nationality, salary (in that order). The markets have a lot of wild mushrooms for sale these days but there are a lot of people competing for this valuable source of income. Better luck next time ladies!  Dinner in the courtyard. Magda [front right] gets along well with her soon-to-be mother-in-law [back left, behind Roise], sharing the tasks of cooking and cleaning. Traditionally girls have been considered a burden to Chinese families, particulary if money is short. This isn't because of sexist misconceptions that women can't work as hard. On the contrary, Chinese women seem to be the backbone of the economy and keep many a family afloat while the men keep their brains afloat, with bai jiu (rice brandy). The main sense of burden comes from the fact that, traditionally, girls are brought up to be 'married out' to another family. They are cared for, educated and then sent off with a dowry to care for a husband and all his relatives. Young women often found themselves 'married in' to a family that treated them as a slave. What's more, if they didn't produce a son within 9 months of being married, they'd find themselves replaced with 2nd, 3rd or 4th wives and concubines. Although much of this has changed, it's still common for newlyweds in the countryside to live with one of their families, to help take care of their ageing parents and take over the farm.
Magda is delighted to have found in-laws who respect her. We also enjoyed getting to know her new family. Magda and her boyfriend hope to get married some time in the next year. Freda and Edie have already been asked to be bridesmaids, if we are still in China.
 ELF with their 'Western' breakfast JINGHONG Our pre-term backpacking trip started in Jinghong, where we 'lived it up' for twenty-four hours in the Banna Hotel. The main draw was the swimming pool [pictured below] but it turned out the room rate included a 'Western breakfast'. As well as having a waitress-served menu including toast, bacon, eggs, coffe and fruit juice (well, orange squash), we were seated at a small table in the corner while the rest of the (Chinese) guests were crammed into a buffet area. By the time we finished our silver service indulgence the rest of the dining room had cleared. Not bad for 200 RMB - that's for four of us!
 LEAF at the Crown Hotel swimming pool. We enjoyed Jinghong much more this time, perhaps because we know our way around and can find everything we need - supermarket, tasty food and swimming pools. What's more, we've found a string of sparkling new hotels with cheap twin rooms (40 RMB) that are clean and central. We'll be heading down for regular weekend retreats. Although it's less than a couple of hours by bus, it feels very different to Simao - more tropical with a strong South-East Asian (and Dai) influence. There are even traveller-types sitting around drinking milkshakes in Western cafes. All a bit surreal coming from Simao.  Lesley and Marissa, Baoshan temple. BAOSHAN As time was short we flew from Jinghong right up to Xiaguan (Dali City) to leave us with just a 2-hour bus ride to Baoshan. We spent a night there, but squeezed in some sightseeing with Marissa and one of her school friends. The best part was exploring Baoshan's old city park, which covers a hillside on the west edge of town. This temple had been spruced up more than any other I've visited in China. Unfortunately the main prayer hall was shut because the monks, all women with beautifully done-up hair, were out front arguing with builders about pathwork underway. From the temple we even managed to spy on some new army recruits having marching and Kung Fu lessons on an adjacent military exercise ground.
It was in Baoshan that we discovered the first of the holiday's culinary delights - rice noodles with green bean mush. It doesn't sound very good but we lived off this this local delicacy for two days!
The Primary school mums are a trendy bunch, though they could do with checking the English on their T-shirts. This week a Grade 1 mum had "I'm his bitch" across her chest and this woman [above] claims she, "Will f*** for coke." My question is, what do we have to do for freedom of internet access? The answer is: Wait and hope for the best. Perhaps this mum has the same attitude?
Before discovering this morning that we could access our Weebly blog after weeks of being blocked, I started a new space, in Windows Live. I think I'll keep it on the back burner. I'm sure this won't be our last brush with excessive censorship!
Long live freedom of speech! (That comment alone will probably get this blocked.)
|
RSS Feed