Give me an O-H-I-O

Lest you believe that the sheer silence about college football on my blog indicates a flagging devotion for my Buckeyes, I thought I better put up a quick post. I have been listening to at least the first halves of the games. However, it is quite difficult to laud praises on the ineptitude of the offense. Thankfully those bumblings have been overshadowed by the glorious downfall of that team up North, who have provided for me a good five minutes of gleeful giggles the past two Sunday mornings. Although I must admit, as a Buckeye fan I'd be glad to see Lloyd Carr stick around for a couple more years. Griped about our lackadaisical offense...check. Mocked Michigan...check. The only thing left to do--sing the praises of the brick wall defense that seems to be our hope of a good season.

Stranded

With cold weather sure to arrive in the near future, I've been trying to get out on my bike as much as possible. This year I've been exploring "the land beyond"--turning right out of the school. It's been a lot of fun to be riding out in the cornfields and farm land (and no, not because it reminds me of my home state of Indiana...). It is also nice to be on less populated streets where a moment of absent-minded disregard won't land me in a hospital. I enjoy getting out and seeing a very different China than the academia that surrounds me at the university. There are many different faces of China, and I know this is one face that many of my students are coming from. Consequently, I've been enjoying being an observer of life beyond the city. There's the group that gathers every evening to play mahjong by the roadside. The man selling fruits and vegetables out of a cart. The boys herding sheep. However, recently I got to interact with this face of China in a much more personal way than I expected. I took my bike out on a cool and cloudy afternoon, heading straight for the country roads through the corn fields. I had gotten quite far when it started to feel like I was working way too hard to pedal the bike. I looked back and realized my back tire was getting quite low. I immediately turned around, knowing I was in the middle of nowhere and wanting to get as close to returning to the school as possible. However, the air quickly diminished in my tire and before I knew it I was walking the bike along the road. Suddenly, my energizing afternoon ride turned into a long stroll in the country. I walked for a ways before finding an elderly gentleman squatting by the side of the road. I asked him if he had an air pump--ok, I take that back, I don't know the word for pump in Chinese. I asked him for air. :) Seeing my deflated tire, he got the point and told me to follow him. We walked down a small dirt avenue to his house and he told me to wait outside while he went to find the pump. He returned a few moments later with the pump, his wife, daughter and grandchild. Pretty soon we were also joined by a neighbor. He attempted to pump the tire while I tried to communicate with his family. However, we eventually realized that the tire wasn't going to hold any air. We examined the tire and found a long staple stuck in it. I was sure it had punctured quite a hole in the tire. I asked the family if there was anyone who could fix the bike nearby, to which they replied, no, nowhere near. A heated discussion then ensued as the family tried to decide what to do with the poor foreigner with poor Chinese stranded in the countryside. Eventually, they decided the best course of action was to hail a taxi on the road and put my bike in the trunk. I obligingly followed them back to the road (was I really going to fight their advice?). We waited for quite some time, and not surprisingly, no taxis came. Another neighbor joined us and she suggested I call for a friend to come. I pulled out my cell phone and gave Wu a call; however, a little bit into describing my predicament, I realized he was no longer on the line. My cell phone had died and I had no idea how much he had heard and if he knew where I was. As it was growing later in the day and I had a several mile walk ahead of me, I thanked the family profusely and set out on my country stroll once again. About 20 minutes later Seth and Sarah did arrive in a taxi to rescue me from the rest of the walk...and I headed to my bike repairman who patched the large tear in my inner tire. Ever since I've headed out on my rides with a fully charged cell phone...

Chopstick games

Tonight was one of those nights when I shook my head in wonder at the life I'm currently living. We had a welcoming meeting and banquet--an annual event meant to encourage relationships among the foreign teachers (American, Japanese, Russian, and Korean) at the school. The evening started with greetings and introductions. Our group then moved on to visit a small museum one of the Japanese teachers had set up with a ton of Japanese artifacts. He showed us around the museum, explaining the collection in Japanese. His explanations were translated into Chinese, and then by various people re-translated into English, Russian and Korean. Quite remarkable! After visiting the museum, we also visited a library of books set up by the same Japanese teacher. It was quite the impressive collection--complete with full sets of English encyclopedias.
From the library we moved onto dinner. Sarah and I were at a table with most of the Japanese teachers and their translators. I was next to one of the translators who spoke some English as well. So between her English and my Chinese we were able to communicate. One of the most entertaining events of the night began with the observation that I was using my left hand to eat. I proceeded to tell the story of the first time I came to China and tried to eat with my right hand. I was entirely unsuccessful and went hungry the first several days. When I eventually tried my left hand (the hand I write with), I finally mastered chopsticks. This story led all of the teachers at the table to try to use their left hands to eat (and commenting that such an undertaking was a good dieting technique). I also attempted to eat with my right hand. Our endeavors resulted in a quite a bit of laughter and some of the more successful and genuine communication I've had at a banquet since coming to China.

Deep breath & ahhhhhhhh

That's my reaction to unlocking the door to my apartment. And just in case you're wondering, that's the pleasurable sort of "ahhhhhh" sound, like when you sink into a really comfortable couch or hot bath. Yep, I'm home...and it's wonderful. We rolled into Siping at 5 am Tuesday morning. By 7 o'clock I had pancakes cooking on the stove for the team and most of my things up on the walls. :) It's nice to once again be the hostess instead of the guest! This morning I took the Ragin' MK out for a ride. Stopped in a small park to read for a bit and was quite entertained when someone (a stranger of course) walked up and said, "Hello, fancy meeting you here!" Oh how I love China! This week is team building and we'll start teaching Monday (I think...). Back to the grindstone!

Indianapolis...home to the 8th wonder of the world

Ok, not quite. But the guide at the Scottish Rite Cathedral today swore that it had been voted the seventh most beautiful building in the WORLD. Well hey, there is something to see in Indiana other than CORN. This post is especially for my team...the next time you have a debate to decide which state in the U.S. to get rid of, think twice before throwing out Indiana. You wouldn't want to lose a treasure like that!

In all seriousness, it was an impressive building (although I think I might be able to list off more than six other more impressive ones I've seen in my life...). However, I liked an old church from the 1860s that I found downtown today almost better.

Next stop is Chicago...and then I'll take my last trip of the summer...back to China!

Summer slipping away

It has been awesome this summer to have more than double the amount of time in the States than I had last summer. While I've still been in a different state almost every week, the pace of the summer has seemed to be much more leisurely. However, the realization that I'll be boarding a plane in 10 days to return to China is forcing me back into action mode. There are errands to be run, stacks of items to somehow be strategically smashed into suitcases, one last trip up to Chicago, multiple lunch dates, an aunt coming into town to visit, and a graduate school application to finish...and yet, the overwhelming feeling I have is excitement. I just got back from a trip out to LA visiting good friends--and some of my "last friends" on my list that I had yet to see this summer. Now that reconnections feel somewhat complete, I'm revving to go back to my home on the other side of the sea. Although it hasn't even been quite a month since I've seen most of the team, I'm still excited to be reunited with the crazy Siping gang. I'm also getting quite eager to meet our new teammates. Hopefully in the next days of preparation I'll still be able to find a few more quiet summer moments!The Jones family...my first time meeting Canon!Kasey and Kurt

Good friends & Good ice cream

This past weekend I headed over to Columbus to visit some college friends. The blessing of them and other dear friends this summer is simply indescribable! So thanks to all of you who have made me feel so loved! :) The other highlight of the trip (and summer) was a visit to Graeter's, simply the best ice cream in the world. If you're ever in Columbus/Ohio look for a Graeter's store. You won't be disappointed!