I have been home since Sunday and it has been quite a relaxing time. The highlights of the past week include: 1) scrapping a taxi bumper in Beijing with my luggage (this is a l…o…n…g story made short); 2) having my luggage delayed from Denver to Tulsa (almost missed my flight due to a delay from San Francisco to Denver); 3) eating cheese like everyday (let’s see Mozzerella, Cheddar, Monterey Jack, yadda, yadda, yadda); 4) hanging out with my nephew Nehemiah (he is so cute!); 5) meeting deadlines (for Wheaton) and appointments (for health checkups); 6) getting over losing my voice (day five of this drama); and 7) enjoying “home” back in America. My thoughts turn to my grad classes as I still have homework to do. But at least my 80+ Junior Writing essays are done!

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Well, it’s now 9:20 PM and I head out of Siping in about 2 hours. I just finished entering the last of my grades and can’t wait to get home. I’m so tired since I got up so early. I think when I get on the train I’ll probably crash. This will be my last entry to end the school year. If I can get to the Internet somewhere, I’ll update on my progress in getting home. Yeah, home! That’s sound really good!

And, right before I finished this entry, Michelle left. So Jason, Robb and I saw here off, and now there are two (or three if you count ShermyJ).

Number of views as of this blog entry:5819.

Yesterday was a whirlwind of packing and getting ready to leave. It was after 11:00 PM that the Wus left. Little Samantha’s probably not quite ready for her first plane ride, but she’ll do fine. This morning (a little after 5:00 AM), the Norries left and I saw them off, too. With the third floor gone (the Wus, Sarah & Katherine) and half of the fourth floor (the Norries), our team has been whittled down to the bare nubs of Robb, Michelle and me. As for Robb, he leaves next Thursday; Michelle leaves at 10 PM tonight ; and I'm right after her at 11 PM. Year Two is almost gone.

Number of views as of this blog entry: 5811.

China Mulls More Surnames for Children (June 12, 2007, AP) China may soon allow double surnames for children, state media reported Tuesday, in a move aimed at ending confusion in a country where most people share just 100 family names. Under a proposal distributed to police departments around the country by the Ministry of Public Security, parents called Zhou and Zhu would have four options when naming their newborns, the China Daily reported. Their child's surname could be Zhou, Zhu, Zhouzhu or Zhuzhou. The newspaper said the reason for the proposal was because the limited number of surnames meant a large number of people end up with the same name. The Chinese Academy of Sciences has reported that at least 100,000 people in China have the name "Wang Tao", the newspaper said. In April, a survey reported by Xinhua News Agency said that Wang was the most common surname in China, with about 93 million people sharing the name. That was followed by Li with about 92 million and Zhang with about 87 million. Officials said about 85 percent of China's 1.3 billion population share about 100 surnames. Currently, Chinese law says that a newborn can have the surname of either the father or the mother, but does not mention a combined surname. The newspaper did not give any other details or say when the change would be implemented.

3,500 Japanese Wartime Bombs Found in Jilin (June 13, 2007, Xinhua) Three thousand five hundred bombs abandoned by Japanese troops during World War II have been unearthed from the base of a hill in Dunhua City in northeast China's Jilin Province, police said on Tuesday. The bombs, weighing more than 40 tons, were found buried in a rectangular pit 15 meters long and two meters wide at the foot of a small hill in Dunhua's Shaheyan Township, which was once the site of a Japanese military airport, police said. The bombs, potentially the biggest weapon find ever in Jilin, were discovered by three local farmers from Daqiao Township on June 3 using a metal detector to find scrap iron which they hoped to sell for money, police said. The bombs were in a good state of preservation. Experts from the local bomb disposal center said that if the largest one -- weighing around 35 kg -- were to explode, people and livestock within a radius of at least five km would be in danger. The bombs have been transported to the center to be destroyed.

Jilin Gets Tough on Abortionists (June 19, 2007, China Daily) Doctors in Northeast China's Jilin Province who illegally perform gender testing on fetuses or sex-selective abortions will face dismissal under new measures aimed at controlling the province's rapidly growing gender imbalance. The authorities also ordered private clinics and pharmacies to stop selling abortion drugs, and prohibited makers of abortion drugs from selling them on a wholesale basis. Infractions will be severely punished. "Doctors who illegally test the gender of a fetus or perform sex-selective abortions will immediately lose their jobs. Their supervisors will also be dismissed for dereliction of duty if the circumstances prove serious enough to constitute a crime," said a statement jointly issued by Jilin provincial population and family planning commission and provincial supervision department. In addition, only specified hospitals and medical institutions will be allowed to use ultrasound technology, and only then to monitor a fetus' health. Women who are more than 14 weeks pregnant will be more closely supervised, it said. Women are not allowed to have an abortion unless they first get an abortion certificate that has been approved by the local government. According to statistics, the gender ratio for newborn babies in Jilin Province is 111 boys for every 100 girls. The ratio in some rural areas is more than 120:100. The global ratio is 103-107 boys for every 100 girls. "The gender imbalance amounts to a hidden danger for society that will affect social stability, and if the ratio keeps on rising, by 2020, there will be some 500,000 more men of marrying age than women," said Shi Baoqin, director of the Jilin provincial population and family planning commission.

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This evening I finished my last class of the term. Indeed another year has just flown by! I still have about 35 argumentative essays to grade but that’s all. All my other grades have been finalized. My goal is to get all the essays done by tomorrow afternoon. I’ll spend Friday evening with a few students, then finish my last Saturday here with packing up.

As for my countdown on the right, it’s one day off. You know, I thought I would be leaving on the evening of June 22nd, a Friday, to Beijing and flying out Saturday, but I’ve been delayed a day. Oh well.

In other news Jonny, Rach & Samantha made a surprise visit to my Junior Writing class. Jonny was showing off little Sam, so all the students loved to get a look at her. Sam’s becoming quite the “little chubster” (to quote Rach).

Tonight Seth, Katherine and Sarah will leave for Beijing. Their flights are early Saturday morning, so the overnight train on Friday wouldn’t get them to Beijing in time. They’re the first to leave for the year. And, as I was typing this entry, our foreign affairs officer just arrived with my e-ticket for United, so it seems I’m booked and will be heading back to America smoothly.

I also leave the school year with a quite dissatisfaction. I think a part of me knows I could have taught better. I’m still learning to live in this culture and I keep tweaking my ideas in the classroom. I know my students love me, though, and I love them dearly, too.

Number of views as of this blog entry: 5781.

Jonny & Rach are hilarious. I was a little bored today and I was perusing their music on iTunes. You know, if you and someone else are on the same network and you’re both using iTunes, then you can see each other’s music. Anyway, I happen to notice that little Samantha has an album; it’s called “Sam’s Music”. So I decided to check out what she’s listening to. My favorites were “I Gave My Love A Cherry”, “Moonlight Sonata”, “Baa, Baa Black Sheep”, “Ave Maria”, “London Bridge Is Falling Down” and “Violin Concerto No. 5 in A Minor”. Samantha’s quite the little eclectically cultured young gal!

Number of views as of this blog entry: 5770.

This evening a student friend of mine invited me to his apartment for dinner. He cooked a spicy chicken dish, a Chinese version of mashed potatoes, beans with pork, and tomatoes with sugar. The meal was very good. He was a little nervous about the spicy chicken because he thought he made it poorly. But after I took my third helping, he decided it was good. A good mutual friend joined with us in the meal as well. Both of these students are Russian majors.

After we ate, we took a walk around campus. Eventually, we parked it on a couple of rocks and began talking. After about 30 minutes, two of my English major students came by and we talked with them for about an hour. These two students were girls and were quite giddy. Lastly, we were joined by three Freshmen students, also English majors, who were moving classroom furniture for one of the teachers. We talked about thirty minutes then they left. I continued talking with the three left (one of the boys went to the Karaoke bar with his friends). We parted ways with the girls after 20 minutes of more talking and my friend, the cook, walked me home.

As I got home, I couldn’t help but thinking about what an enjoyable time I had. During the past four hours, I had spoken in English, Chinese, Russian, Korean and Japanese. The night also had a cool breeze and it was overcast, just like right before a rain in Oklahoma. If you asked me two years ago about teaching in China, I would have laughed in your face. But here I am…in the middle of a campus in the northeastern part of a tremendous large country. I’m having very enjoyable conversation with students whose lives I’m just beginning to understand. They talked of their dreams of traveling abroad, of marriage, of fears of teaching and being an adult. It was a night that I drunk in deeply. This is real China. And I’m right smack dab in the middle of it.

Number of views as of this blog entry: 5764.

I’m down to my last week of teaching this year. I still must administer three more finals (two for Sophomore Oral and one for Junior Writing), but three of the classes will have an end-of-year party. I now begin the task of grading all of the Junior’s argumentative essays (a total of 83!) and finalizing all my grades.

On the student front, it’s busy as this is the last “push” to meet with those who want to meet with me. I really can’t help it if I’m so popular!

For Father’s Day I called my dad this morning (his Father’s Day evening). My nephew was there and it was funny listening to him talk so loudly I could hear him while talking to my dad. Dad’s currently teaching summer school and will be finished with that in a week and a half.

And of course, I leave for Beijing Saturday night and fly out to America on Sunday. Here’s a small list of things I’m looking forward to: 1) Jamba Juice’s “Protein Berry Pizzazz”, 2) Mazzio’s pizza and salad bar, 3) talking with my nephew, 4) sleeping on my soft, nice queen-sized bed (my Chinese bed is waaay hard), 5) driving a car, 6) Cheetos’ cheesy corn chips, 7) clothes from a dryer (awww, nice and soft), 8) watching American TV, 9) late night talks with family, and 10) seeing all my friends.

Number of views as of this blog entry: 5750.

I’m sorry I haven’t updated like I should, but I’ve been so busy. It’s been the week of writing finals, grading finals, saying goodbye to students, packing up, finalizing term grades, getting airplane tickets, birthday celebrations, final farewells and overall MADNESS!

One of the highlights has been awarding my oral classes their team prize. You know, each term I put each class into color groups. And each week they compete for team points by the grades they receive. At the end of the term, the team with the most points wins. This year each team wins a Western meal at Hecto (哈里歐), a restaurant in Siping that serves all manner of great dishes. The first thing that is surprising to me is how many of them have NEVER, I repeat NEVER, eaten with a knife or fork. I show them how to cut pizza with the knife and use a fork for spaghetti. The meal includes Sicilian pizza, club sandwiches, onion rings, juice drinks, fruit salad, French fries, and spaghetti. It’s quite a cultural exchange since most all of the students that come have never eaten any of these kinds of foods. It’s also quite funny seeing them out of their element with using no chopsticks. It’s quite pricey by Chinese standard, but it’s an okay deal based on American prices. And for Siping, it’s awesome food!

On a different note, today is the day I should get my plane tickets. Once I see the ticket IN MY HAND, I’ll update when and where I’ll be flying to and from home. For some reasons unknown, getting our plane tickets back home has been really strange this year. There’s been a lot of trouble. The ticket purchasing is really out of our hands as it’s the school’s job to get this done. So we’ve all been patiently waiting. I’m not complaining, mind you, but it can be frustrating.

Number of views as of this blog entry: 5715.

For Josiah’s birthday (which is today and he’s 6), he requested that we come to his birthday party as a super hero. In researching this “fantastic” request, I came across some cool sites about comic book characters. I stumbled across the religions affiliations of a lot of comic book characters. Quite funny. View it at http://www.adherents.com/lit/comics/comic_book_religion.html. After this, I found people who have waaaay too much time on their hand. So much that like every comic book character from the 616 universe appears here http://www.mutanthigh.com. Lastly, I thought I’d go to his birthday celebration as a Chinese comic book character, so I found this last site (and it’s quite cool) which lists many Chinese comic book characters. I really like The Collective Man, who is described as forming “…one body with either the power of five men or the collective physical strength of all the people in China.” Amazing, eh? Check this site out at http://www.reappropriate.com/aaheroes/marvel.php. In the end I chose to go as Mystique. Yeah, I know she’s a woman, but she’s a shape shifter, meaning she can turn into anyone and look like them. Therefore, I’m going as Mystique who looks like someone named Sonny. Hmmm, pure genius???

Number of views as of this blog entry: 5658.

5,000 More Students a Year to Study Overseas (June 5, 2007, China Daily) The Ministry of Education has launched a five-year graduate program to send about 5,000 students a year to the world's best universities, including Harvard and Yale in the US, and Oxford and Cambridge in England. Vice-Minister Yuan Guiren said yesterday: "The country has expanded its national scholarship program in a bid to cultivate more top-level talent." The number of graduate students granted a national scholarship this year will be roughly five times that in 2006, Yuan said. Students will be chosen from the best undergraduates at 49 top universities across the country, including Tsinghua and Peking. Officials with the China scholarship council, which runs the program, said students applying for national key research subjects, such as energy and natural resources, environment, agriculture, manufacturing, information technology, biology and new materials will be given priority. In 1998, just 17,000 Chinese students studied abroad, but that number increased greatly after the country adjusted its policies on self-supported overseas study in 2000. Today, the majority of Chinese students studying overseas are doing so at their own expense. In 2006, more than 134,000 students went abroad to study; more than 90 percent of them were self-financed. Also last year, more than 42,300 students returned to China. Between 1978 and 2006, some 1.07 million Chinese students studied abroad. "But less than 30 percent of them returned to China after finishing their studies," Shao said.

Thousands Displaced by China Quake (June 4, 2007, AP) Tens of thousands of earthquake victims in southwest China were living in tents or in the open Monday, fearful of returning to their damaged homes a day after a magnitude 6.4 quake killed three and injured at least 300. Hundreds of aftershocks sent jittery residents scurrying for safety. The quake struck near China's border with Laos shortly after 5:30 a.m. Sunday, said China's official Xinhua News Agency, citing the government's seismological bureau. The  U.S. Geological Survey measured the quake's magnitude at 6.2. Xinhua, citing a provincial civil affairs spokesman, said 120,000 people had been forced to leave their homes. About 20,000 to 30,000 of them were living in tents, some marked "disaster relief," because the earthquake cracked walls in many buildings and made them unsafe to enter, said a man at the Ning'er County Seismological Bureau, who gave only his surname, Ma. Ning'er lies in a quake-prone mountainous region in Yunnan province about 90 miles north of Laos, and is famous for its strong tea, known as Pu'er.

5 Newborns Found in Stolen Car in China (June 6, 2007, AP) Chinese police pleaded with the public Wednesday for information about five newborn babies discovered in the back of a stolen car. The three boys and two girls, all about 10 days old, were found in the backseat of a black four-door sedan when police stopped the car at a toll booth in north China's Hebei province on Sunday, said Zhang Lianying, the director of Nangong city's Highway Patrol. Police have confirmed the car was stolen two weeks ago in Shanghai, 700 miles south of Nangong, Zhang said. But he said they have been unable to identify any of the babies. The Beijing Youth Daily and several other papers published photos Wednesday of the five babies swaddled in blankets and lying close to each other on a bed with numbers above their heads. The Youth Daily ran a banner headline above the pictures asking: "Does anyone know the Moms and Dads of these five babies?" It included the number of a hot line in Nangong to call. China has a thriving trade in babies that are stolen or bought from poor families and then sold to couples who want another child, a servant or a future bride for a son. (You can read more about this story from the Shanghai Daily at http://www.shanghaidaily.com/sp/article/2007/200706/20070609/article_319067.htm).

Number of views as of this blog entry: 5651.

A couple of students who I affectionately call “明兄弟” <“míng xiōngdì”> (Chinese for “Ming brothers” since both have the character 明 <“míng”> in their Chinese name) wanted to learn how to “cook”. By “cook” I mean they wanted to know how to make my “American-born add-milk-to-a-mix” pudding. Last time they came over, I made chocolate pudding with marshmallows for them and they loved it! Little did they know that it’s a mix that you simply add milk to make. I showed this to them and they made a batch. Last time they didn’t eat it all and one of the brothers told me the other was upset later that he hadn’t eaten it all. However, this time, they chowed it down like it was the last pudding on the planet. It was quite funny. I then taught them how to make my mom’s “angeled eggs”. It was a funny process and they did quite well. You can see pics below of their expertise in action and a video that highlighted the event

Number of views as of this blog entry: 5633.

Three days a week, Josiah and I meet for Chinese class. We go over the new characters he has learned in class and practice Chinese he should know. Sadly, I let slip how to say “fart” in Chinese, and, ever since, he won’t let that word die. (Sorry, Jeweliann.) Anyway, I got out my camera and we had fun. I took a few pics of him and his work and then filmed him being crazy. Below is just one video of the madness that ensued.

Number of views as of this blog entry: 5615.

 

My weekly walks back and forth from class are always glittered with funny cultural moments. I see girlfriends and boyfriends fighting. I see construction workers with eyes all aghast as I walk by. I see students exercising with Chinese kung fu. However, today my walk to class was “bookended” (yeah, I don’t think it’s a real word, but it contains my meaning) by two funny t-shirts. The one on the way to class said, “TRUE Stupidity” (with “TRUE” in capital letters and “stupidity” in pretty pink). I didn’t quite know what was being referred to, but it made me chuckle internally. The one I saw after class said, “For God so loved the world that He gave His only begotten Son.” I knew what this one was referring to and it made me thankful.

Number of views as of this blog entry: 5599.

Yesterday morning, an ever-so-small dream of mine was realized: I got to tour the Hóng Băo Lái (宏宝莱) factory! Hóng Băo Lái is a company that is located right here in Siping. It manufactures all sorts of edible products: red tea, a line of ice cream, bottled water, and (my abso-freakin’-lutely favorite drink) peanut milk. A student’s father knows people at the factory and he arranged for us to go. It was awesome. I got to see the assembly line of where the peanut milk was made, such as how the glass bottles are cleaned to how the milk is poured into the bottle. We even got free teas, water, and peanut milk. All the electronic automation was quite impressive and efficient. When we went to view where they made the ice cream, we got free ice cream as well. I was in Hóng Băo Lái heaven!

The real surprise was when they took us to the place where they actually make the plastic bottles for the bottled water. This area was by far the coolest (not literally since the room was quite hot from the heaters that form the plastic). First of all, they showed us a massive pile of white pellets. These pellets are put into two machines which spit out plastic-bottles-to-be. These are then placed on two conveyor belts where they are inspected for quality. After this, they’re manually placed on another line by dumping them into a huge bin which then picks them up and lines them in a queue to be made into a bottle. This next machine runs it through a heated oven-type double-sided wall. After it’s heated, it’s ready to be formed into a bottle and the machine then “inflates” it into the correct size and style. From here, it goes to another line where it is cooled and checked again for quality. They are then moved (from above our heads) via a conveyer system similar to the Batman Ride at Six Flags. The bottle neck is grabbed and it is spun around and up to the next area. Finally, it goes through the process of being filled with water, checked again for quality, and then aligned into plastic packaging.

Unfortunately, we weren’t allowed to take pictures of any of these processes. (I’m sure they’re thinking we’ll sooo steal their ideas!) But we did get pictures of the grounds. So you may see Robb, Kat, Jonny, Jeweliann, me or the kids in the album entitled “HBL Field Trip” It was a definitely the highlight of my year! (And, yes, I’m easily amused by peanut-milk-making factories!) You can also check out their corporate website at http://www.sphbl.com. It’s all in Chinese so good luck!

Number of views as of this blog entry: 5589.

China Bible Ministry Exhibition to Be Held in Germany (May 29, 2007, Xinhua) Two leading Chinese Christian organizations will hold an exhibition of their bible ministry this June in Germany, the first ever of its kind in Europe. "The Bible Ministry Exhibition of the Church in China" will be jointly sponsored by the National Committee of the Three-Self Patriotic Movement of the Protestant Churches in China and the China Christian Council (CCC). The exhibition will be held at the German Protestant church of Kirchentag in Cologne from June 7 to 9 and the Mission One World of the Evangelical Lutheran Church of Bavaria from June 13 to mid-July, said CCC president Cao Shengjie at a press conference on Monday. The exhibition will be comprised of pictures, art works, and historical details about the development of Christianity in China. According to CCC statistics, China has printed and published more than 43 million copies of the Bible since the CCC was established in 1980.

100,000 Chinese Die Annually from Passive Smoking (May 29, 2007, Reuters) About 100,000 Chinese die annually from diseases associated with passive smoking while more than half a billion on the mainland suffer from the smoke exhaled from cigarettes, according to the Xinhua news agency. The Ministry of Health reported that nearly one million people die from smoking-related diseases each year in China, the world's largest tobacco producing and consuming country with more than 350 million smokers, it said. The report was the first of its kind in China and said only 35 percent of respondents were aware of the dangers of passive smoking, said Xinhua. Most respondents misunderstood the issue and some thought that indoor smoking had little impact on their health when the room was ventilated. "We hope the report can prompt authorities to institute and implement laws or regulations to prevent passive smoking inside public buildings," said Yang Gonghuan, deputy director of the National Center for Disease Control and Prevention.

Pork Prices Trigger Crisis in China (May 30, 2007, AP) Crisis has been in the air in China the past week — over pork. The Cabinet held an emergency session. The highly popular premier made public appearances broadcast on state TV in hopes of reassuring worried citizens. There's even been talk of tapping a national pork reserve. The to-do over rising pork prices — up more than 43 percent in a year — speaks volumes about politics in China today. The juggernaut economy has fueled a dizzying rise in the stock market and widened the gap between rich and poor, a sensitive issue for the ruling Communist Party. The crisis touches on concerns embedded in the national psyche. Pork is the meat of choice for all but a small number of Chinese. The word for "meat" means "pork" to most Chinese, and urban Chinese ate an average of 42 pounds per person in 2006, according to the Agriculture Ministry. Wen convened an emergency Cabinet meeting Tuesday and ordered local governments to increase food assistance for low-income families and to offer farmers subsidies to encourage pig-rearing.

Number of views as of this blog entry: 5570.

June has arrived and that means I’ll be on my way to America this month. I remember last year at this time that I was BEYOND ready to go home. But this year, it’s different. China feels somewhat like another home, so there’s a small element of sadness that I’m experiencing. Doubtless, the next three weeks of classes will become a blur with finals to administer in my classes, students who want to have a farewell dinner, and wrapping up the term (like paperwork, team building stuff, and packing up everything in my apartment). I started my “Returning-to-America-Countdown” by writing “40 Days To Go” on my dry erase board on my hallway door. However, that was 17 days ago and this morning I wrote the number “23”. Yikes, I got lots to do! (And if you watched the latest Jim Carrey movie about that number, then dun…dun…dunnnnnn.!)

Today is most notable for my brother as he graduates high school. I do really wish I was there since he saw me graduate twice (both high school and college). Many members of my family will be there to celebrate with him and talking about his graduation brought back a lot of memories. I totally remember my high school graduation because my grandmother came, and it was rare for her to make a personal appearance in our home. My college graduation was different as I felt more like an adult afterwards. I was even reminiscing with my mom the other night as I remember when my dad graduated with his Master’s degree. All of my family went for pizza afterwards and that is exactly what my family will do tonight after Josiah graduates. It’s funny the things that people remember.

In lieu of not attending my brother’s graduation, I’m attempting to pay for him to visit China in 2008, right in time for the Olympics. I’ve recently starting going over the events and thinking about what I want to see. I’m really pumped about it all. I know it’s next year, but, by then, I will have graduated with my Master’s degree and the Olympics will be my “graduation treat” to myself. Go me!

Number of views as of this blog entry: 5562.