Hamilton's Travels

This coming Monday I will set off on what promises to be an exciting vacation to southern China. After a lot of grading, testing, complaints, illnesses, and headaches I'll finally be on my way. On the 29th I will fly to Chengdu where Bryne's friend Scott is teaching. That will be our base for a few days while we tour around central Sichuan Province. Two highlights should include the giant Buddha at Leshan and one of the many giant panda preserves in the area. From there I will split with Bryne and Scott and head south to Kunming by train. I have read in several guide books that this train trip has some of the most beautiful scenery in China. The trek takes you around sharp mountain passes and crosses several high altitude bridges. Once I get to Kunming the plans become a little bit unclear. I have heard from many people, and read in several books, that Yunnan Province is an amazing place. One third of China's minority ethnic groups (Non-Han people) live in Yunnan. Some sites I will be sure to see are the ancient Buddha grottoes in the south east portion of the province and the old town of Lijiang. Both of these are UNESCO World Heritage Sites. I will also stop north of Lijiang and hike the length of Tiger Leaping Gorge for two days. Tiger Leaping Gorge is formed by one of the two large tributaries of the Yangtze River, the Jinsha River. The river essentially bisects a massive mountain creating waterfalls and a very deep gorge. From there I may head to Chongqing, the largest municipal area in the world. Whether I head there or not I will eventually make my way to Xi'an and see the Terra Cotta warriors for a few days. Maybe I'll see if I can work there for a few days. Some extra cash and to be able to say I worked on the excavation of the largest tomb complex in the world would be awesome. Hopefully, after all the serious touring, I'll have enough time and money to go skiing near Beijing. There are a few indoor ski slopes in the area to the north of the city as well as many expensive outdoor places.

To record all of this I have invested in what could be troublesome thing for international relations between China and the US. I have purchased a camera/camcorder/voice recorder/mp3 player/coffee maker/electric toothbrush. Well, maybe it doesn't make coffee or brush my teeth but it does do all the other stuff. I am very excited to use this new device. I also bought a 1GB memory card for it so now it can record one and a half hours of video and take 230 pictures. Who knows? With the help of Garry Seltzer I could end up with a travel video of my own. The mere thought gives me tingles.

Now, should I not return from my vacation trip I would like everyone to know that I can be found in the Himalayas. I will be wandering the Earth like Kane from Kung Fu. Larry gets my maps, Robert gets my CDs, Kevin gets my signed Hakeem Olajuwon shoes, Dulaney gets my DVD's and books.

I hope to put up a post or two while on vacation. I will add all the pictures once I return back to Beijing.

Garry, DeDe, Kevin, and Andrew Kogan are coming to China! It is official. They will be here in the middle of May. I am quite excited about the prospect of dragging them around Tongzhou to see all my favorite landmarks. We'll visit Mrs. Dong, the proprietor of the restaurant that serves the best eggplant dish in the world. She is also the owner of the best laugh in China. We will also go to eat some meat sticks at a slummy cafe and of course they will get to meet all the people I have been annoying here for the last 5 months. Like I said, I'm excited. After they visit Beijing for a day they will be off on their 'Confucius' Path' tour of China. One week later I will go to Shanghai to visit them for a long weekend before they depart.

The 12th of February is the day of the Spring Festival. Every little village and town goes nuts for Spring Festival from what I have heard. To me the fireworks and dumplings are the most enticing aspects of the celebration. This is the busiest travel season in China as people are traveling home to spend the holiday with their families. Some other traditions include a thorough cleaning of the house and card games. Everyone traditionally wears red during this period and it is considered good luck in the coming year to extend charity to people you do not know. Seeing as I will be in many small villages I am sure to attract some of that hospitality. I was told at the orientation seminar in August that as a foreigner it is common to be pulled off the street and fed by a family until you explode ('the mint is wafer thin'). What a way to go.

I can hardly wait to get going on this vacation and leave my mark on China just as it has made its mark on me.

It's A Celebration!!!

It is the season for school parties. We have had a Christmas party, class New Years parties, and the Uygur Qurban festival all within the last week. Each celebration offered something different, entertaining, and delicious.

The Christmas party was amazing. All of the students gathered in the gym on Christmas Eve for the grand event. I had attended the rehearsal for the proceedings earlier in the week but had no idea how many people would attend. In all there were about 4,000 people in the gym to watch what amounted to an eclectic talent show. There were 24 performances by students and teachers. Most of the students sang songs or displayed various other types of musical prowess on piano, guitar, and pipa. There was no real Christmas theme to any of the performances with the exception of one, mine. The foreign teachers were asked to do some kind of performance for the party. We decided to sing Rudolph the Red Nosed Reindeer. It is short, easy, and everyone knows the lyrics. On the day of the performance a few of the other teachers bailed in favor of prior commitments. This left us depleted in number and with fewer voices for each of us to hide behind. The performance could best be described as macabre. Santa attire and William Shatner-esque singing style did not fly in front of the Chinese students. It was worse than the worst karaoke and classified as 'musical torture' by one teacher.

After that debacle we were invited to join the principal for the annual foreign teacher's dinner. The dinner was held at the nicest restaurant in the area, a place I have passed many times but have never gone inside. The interior was opulent with giant wood carvings and waterfalls. We were led to a 'VIP' room on the top floor and treated to one of the best meals I have ever had. There were about seven teachers, staff members, and principals in all. We talked about our charity drive and our raffle sale and how successful each was in raising money and school supplies for economically disadvantaged children who attend our school. The principal, who speaks no English, was informed of our deeds and immediately doubled the total of money raised by donating 300 Yuan. We were very grateful and appreciative. He then told us that he personally pays admission for two children from poor families. He does this because he was poor as a child and the principal of the school paid for him to attend when he was a boy. He is merely fulfilling his social responsibility as he sees it. While we were talking we had begun to be served. What followed was a procession of the most colorful and delicious Chinese dishes. In the end we had 20 different dishes for the seven people at the table. It was awesome. We had everything from Beijing Duck to fried eggplant. As is tradition at Chinese feasts the bai jiu flowed quite freely. I obtained from most of the heavy drinking as I was recovering form an illness. It was quite the experience and a great end to a good day.

On the Saturday and Sunday before New Years Eve we had class. I was disappointed but we have the first, second, and third of January off so I can't complain that much. On Saturday each class had its New Years party. I was invited to three parties, one each for my two conversation classes and my FEC class. I started at the FEC party because those are the kids I am closest with as our class meets everyday. The kids were really excited about the party and each student had prepared a song or performance of some sort. Some of the girls in my class stood up and sang individually. This is something that I can't imagine high school girls doing in the US. The kids have no anxiety about putting themselves out in front of everyone because all the kids really support each other. No one is made fun of or singled out. Again, I was asked to sing a song and I obliged and let loose with Feliz Navidad. From there I went to the conversation class parties where I was greeted with a cheer. A little embarrassed, I took my seat in the class. I was then asked to say some tongue twisters that the students had prepared. It turns out that I am pretty good at speaking English and the kids were impressed. It was a lot of fun and a good break for the kids who are heading into exams and have endured a long semester of 14 hours of class a day.

Yesterday, Sunday, was the Qurban festival. The Qurban festival is Muslim holiday celebrated by the Uygur people who inhabit the far western province of Xinjiang in China. The holiday coincides with the end of the Haj. I found out that the holiday celebrates Abraham's test by God. Most of you probably know this story so I will be brief. God asked Abraham to sacrifice his son Isaac to prove his loyalty. Abraham complied and just before the sacrifice he was stopped by an angel and told to sacrifice a goat instead. During the Qurban festival whole goats are roasted. I was invited to the lunch celebration by one of my Xinjiang students. He is really respected among his classmates so when Bryne and I arrived we were treated very well. The food was great, a real departure from the Chinese food we eat everyday. There were also three whole roasted goats on the tables. They were delicious. That evening, New Years Eve, there was another event at the gym. This was a huge production with 30 acts each performing in Uygur so I was sure to not understand a word. Again my student Abdul Habir treated me like a king and tried to translate for my benefit. It was fun to see the traditional clothes and listen to the singing of the Xinjiang people. In the middle of the production there was a big dance. Abdul demanded that I join the traditional dancers. I hate to disappoint so I did. We all danced around in a large circle shaking our shoulders and stomping our feet. It was great fun and hopefully I will have a short video of it soon.

We also had our first snow of the year last week. It only accumulated to about two inches but it was a whole lot of fun. We had snowball fights with the guards at the front gate. It has been freezing cold and will remain that way so the snow has no chance of melting anytime soon. The guards occasionally surprise me with a snowball when I least expect it.

Last night I spent New Years Eve in Beijing with Bryne, Jen, and Vivian. Vivian is a Chinese English teacher here at LuHe. We had a great time and were able to expose Vivian to a real western New Years celebration.

I wish everyone a happy, healthy, and prosperous New Year. Here is to a fantastic 2007. Cheers.