The China Net

Many sites are blocked here where we are, including this one. So, we have a special program to access the Net. Lately, though, it's been a bit finicky, so we've not been able to update in a while.

We are down to the last 60 days of our time in China, and it's suddenly passing very quickly. It seems that we have more people to see, things to do and places to go than we have hours in the day!

We've seen a lot of change since coming here three years ago. Our little suburb has exploded with new growth. It is truly expanding in every possible direction, often with more cranes in one block than I have ever seen in America!

Thankfully, we have also seen a lot of movement and growth in our students here--especially in our last year here! It is so amazing and fun to be a part of. On that note, not only the individual people but also our city has changed in lots of ways! One example is that the American writer and speaker Josh McDowell will come here next weekend to speak publicly. We are very excited about this and are expecting to have a lot of students join us, as well!

Modern City, Old Ways

This past weekend, we were in Shanghai to meet up with a friend. While there, it was the opening weekend of the Shanghai World's Fair Expo. It is a big deal for China and Shanghai, as another opportunity to showcase their modernity by hosting an international venue. We didn't make it to the Expo, but we did spend the day wandering around the city. It is a very modern city--much moreso than Beijing, in fact. But on this day, we ran upon a very funny, old custom right in the middle of People's Square Park downtown...

One of the most charming things about China is all the markets. Every city has a bird market, fake market, night market, technology market, wedding markets, flower markets, fish markets and countless fruit and veggie markets. And apparently, every Saturday in Shanghai is the marriage market. The pathways at the park are lined with homemade classified ads looking for marriage--not dates, marriage. (The ads are very specific about this.) And the ads are very bare-bones--often listing only age, height, salary and a cell phone number. The most bizarre thing is that the people being advertised have little to do with the whole thing. This is the market where moms, dads, grandmas and grandpas converge to trade their children in marriage. I know it sounds harsh, but even our Chinese friends have said that to the older generation, children are like possessions. It certainly seemed that way on Saturday, as we watched grandmas negotiate over the details of these matches.

The pictures speak for themselves:
This lady was hard-core. She had a list of phone numbers that she'd written down and was just going down the list making phone calls.

Negotiations.



One of the few ads we saw including a photo.

Labor Day in Shanghai

It's Labor Day Weekend in China, and it happened to coincide with a friend from Cleveland passing through Shanghai. We met up with Jack and had a great time chatting about China and life. He even treated us to Papa John's and brought us some Froot Loops from home!

Train Tickets

I guess we have been living in China too long... Some things no longer seem strange to us. Buying train tickets is always a bit of an adventure (as you must buy in person, no online or phone purchases). Not only that, but you can only purchase tickets 10 days (sometimes 5 days) in advance, which leads to a bit of a rush closer to travel times. Oh... and there are 1.3 billion people in China, which complicates everything.

This morning I was talking to my mom on Skype, while Matt was at the train ticket outlet buying us tickets to meet a friend in Shanghai this weekend. Apart from the typical things above, we knew this weekend would be tougher than usual for two reasons: 1) it is Labor Day weekend, so many people are going home and 2) the Worlds Fair Expo opens in Shanghai on Saturday. When Matt went to buy tickets, the line was out to the street, so he queued up and called me. He had class in about an hour and didn't think he'd make it through in time, so he wanted me to come meet him to take his place in line and buy our tickets to and from Shanghai. The other problem is that, recently, two of the train and bus stations in Hangzhou closed for much-needed renovations, and the English Website we use to check on schedules has not been updated to reflect this. So, my poor mom was listening as I navigated the Chinese-language Websites for train and bus schedules (we have to get to the train station, as well), while talking with Matt on the cell phone about which times and routes were best.

While a hassle, I didn't think too much of it until hanging up with Matt, at which time my mom expressed the craziness of this whole situation!

We All Look Alike

Just as Chinese people all look the same to Westerners that aren't around the Chinese very often, all White people look the same to Chinese. Foreign teachers are often confused for one another by their own students. And since we first came to China three years ago, Matt has been told (by countless students) that he looks like the character Michael Scofield from the TV series Prison Break. We don't see it, but you be the judge:

Thousand Island Lake

This weekend, Matt's school took the foreign teachers on a short, little get-away. We had a great time at Qian Dao Hu (Thousand Island Lake). It's one of those places we've been meaning to go for 3 years but just haven't ever made the time.

It's located just outside our city, about 2 hours from our house. It's a dammed lake, built in 1959. It is supposed to have the clearest water in most of China, and I'm sure at one time that was true. Unfortunately, today, it just looks like average lake water. Some people still buy into it though, as we saw one Chinese man actually drinking the water. Insanity.

The lake is lovely, though, and actually has 1,078 islands. Some have been built up for tourists, some have been left alone. Of course, being part of an organized tour group with the school, we hit up the tourist trap sites, such as one island called Lock Island. Here, you can buy a $10 lock and attach it to a chain on the island. It supposedly brings your true love to you. We most enjoyed the last island we visited where we walked up the mountain and could see a more panoramic view of things.

To see more photos, click on the picture:

Qian Dao Hu

Earthquake

There was an earthquake in China yesterday, but we are far from it. It hit a remote part of western China where poverty is at its height. Most of the people in that mountainous area are farmers and sheep herders. Lift up those people and the workers that will be assisting them in this time.

Broken Promises

I think sometimes, being from America (especially the southeast), there is a certain numbness to God. Sure, we know Him; but I don’t think we often really see how amazing and life-changing it should be. This semester, I am teaching a Western Culture class.

After a class lecture about wedding customs and family life in Western countries, we watched the video of our wedding. Afterwards, a student came up to me:
Girl: “Amy, in your wedding, you made those vows to God.”
Me: “Yes, we did.”
Girl: “So, I don’t understand… If Americans make these promises to God, why is the divorce rate so high? Does that mean they reject their God when they break this vow?"

Sadly, the two things every Chinese student knows about America is the staggering divorce rate and that most everyone claims to be a Christian. And when you put these two things together, it doesn't say much about us as a whole. She and I talked about this for a while. What’s amazing, though, to me is that she saw the significance in these promises to God.

Easter

Unfortunately, this year, Easter falls on the same weekend as Qing Ming Jie (a Chinese holiday), so many of our students went home or took weekend trips. Last night, I invited 8 girls to our house to dye Easter eggs; none came. After a couple hours of sulking, I perked up and decided to try again. Today's weather was not rainy, for once, so I called some people and planned a party in the park. We had hoped for about 30; instead, we had eight girls. It was nice, though... Very manageable and some time to have some good talks. We enjoyed it, and the girls certainly enjoyed it. They had never heard of dying eggs before! We also attracted the occasional passer-by wondering what these crazy foreigners were doing. I think all of them asked two questions: "How much does it cost?" and "Can I eat that?" :-)

Tomorrow afternoon, Matt is going out with some guys to hand out Easter eggs and share the joy of Easter! Keep them and those they meet in mind!

Babies

You may have read about the recent and very sad news story about 21 deceased infants and aborted fetuses being discarded of and later found in a river in northeast China. (If not, you can read the story here. )

What is sad, is that although the Chinese public is outraged (as they should be), this story did not surprise me as much as it should have, simply because the value placed on human life here is heart-breaking.

In discussing this news story with a Chinese friend, he said he knows someone who lives in a poor province nearby. He said that locals often can see dead babies floating in the river--many of them girls, which are sometimes unwanted. This is due to the cultural custom of a son financially and emotionally providing for his parents, while daughters are married off and go to live with their new husband's family. For many poor families in China (where only one child is allowed), if the first child is not a son, it will be aborted or given away. It's easy to feel contempt for these parents; but after living here three years, I've begun to sympathize with them. Don't get me wrong... Nothing excuses killing or giving away a child; however, for many families, they see no option. It is a vicious circle in which no one really wins.

The propaganda to diminish the importance of human life is overwhelming in this country where abortion is not only legal, but encouraged (and often even forced) by the government. It is given little thought and seen as nothing more than a cure for pregnancy--as common as over-the-counter cold medicine. On the bus last night, there was an ad for an abortion hospital with this text: "It takes three minutes to drink a cup of coffee, three minutes to eat an apple, and three minutes to fix your problem." Wow.