Tour of Jimei and other Saturday adventures

Today we were offered a tour by the International faculty office of the site in Jimei which commemorates the founder of Xiamen University, Tan Kah Kee. Jimei is part of the Xiamen municipality, but it lies on the mainland. It is the hometown of Mr. Tan Kah Kee, who emigrated to Singapore as a boy and then made a fortune in the rubber trade. In the 1920's he returned to China and donated a lot of money to build colleges in Jimei and found Xiamen University. The place we saw today is called Turtle Park. The only turtle was the tombstone of Tan Kah Kee, but there were a lot of stone friezes everywhere, which told famous stories of China, the revolution, and the founder's life. Thomas really got into these. Our favorite were the panels depicting the story of the butterfly lovers, a Chinese Romeo and Juliet type story.

We were taken out after the park to a famous restaurant specializing in Xiamen local cuisine, which means seafood! Michael bet Thomas 1Y (about 13 cents) that he wouldn't try the octopus (which of course Helen had a bunch of). Thomas actually ate 2 pieces!

We also went back to the Botanical Garden with part of the group. Cherry is the person who takes care of our many needs getting established. She is very efficient and had our visas changed quickly to multiple entry so we can go to Korea next month.

I had some fun with the camera taking some flower portraits.

And I also want to mention that I did go to the Tai chi exercises this morning and it was good. I almost turned back at the last moment. But my professor friend spotted me and showed me where to stand. Of course I am sure I looked ridiculous, but I think it is valuable to try and continue for lots of reasons. I like having some structured way of interacting with Chinese people, and without work or school, I am at loose ends a bit. So I'll give it a try and I am sure I will get more fit as a result, and understand it better by and by.

Tai chi and other adventures

This morning I took Helen with me to the bus stop at 7:25, because I wanted to show her the people doing Tai chi at the basketball court on campus. Of course she wore her shirt with the panda bear doing tai chi which her Aunt Mary had given her. On the way back from the bus stop the people had switched to using swords, which was impressive. I overcame my embarrassment long enough to take a picture. As Helen and I watched, we were approached by an older man, who spoke very clear English and he asked us a little about ourselves and whether I am interested in joining their Tai chi exercises. He used the words "play at Tai chi" a lot to describe what they are doing. We walked back across campus and his office is in the building across the street from our apartment. He is very keen to meet Michael so I will have to introduce them somehow -- he studies Chinese philosophy as a hobby, although he is a law professor specializing in economics law. Anyway, I know my friend Mary from my choir back home will be so disappointed with me if I don't pursue this, so maybe I will try tomorrow if they meet on Saturday. I am rising quite early anyway because it gets light by 6 am.

The other adventure we had today was not a pleasant one. Sophia managed to lock herself in the bedroom after her nap. She pushed the button on the doorknob, but then didn't understand that she needed to turn the doorknob to pop it open. After 5 or 6 minutes of trying to explain it to her through the door, I ran downstairs to get the guard and he fetched the maids. Of course none of them spoke any English so I am using my basic Chinese that "mei mei bu mingbai" (little sister doesn't understand" to explain why she didn't just open it. They produced a huge quantity of keys, none of which fit the lock. By this point Sophia was beginning to cry and I was getting frustrated. We finally reached a Chinese friend on the phone who translated for the maids that the engineer was on his way. He had me tell Sophia to stand back and then he whacked at the doorknob until it broke and came off. This was really loud and scared the baby, but it was quick and then I had her back!! All this time Michael was having an afternoon walk and came in about 10 seconds before the door opened. Whew!!!! She seems to have recovered just fine, but I am still a little upset. I can't believe I didn't notice the potential for this problem, as there are a lot of doors in the apartment like this -- both bedrooms, the bathroom changing area and the balcony. Sophia could have locked me out on the balcony any time I went out to throw clothes in the washer. Usually Helen is with her, but this time she wasn't...I have now duct taped all the locking mechanisms so it can't happen again!

Taking care of business

Today was a pretty ordinary day. I am taking on most of the household duties now that Michael is preparing to teach on Monday. Unfortunately he still has no office, so he is trying to work at home which is difficult because the girls are loud and bother him a lot. My day began with walking Thomas to the bus stop around 7, then I went to the supermarket. I like it in the early mornings when it is less busy. This is part of the fish counter -- the fish and squid, etc. are laid out on a huge ice block, and you help yourself to some and then take it to be weighed. They also gut and scale it for you. I was able to snap a quick picture while waiting for mine to be weighed. Of course there are also tanks with fish and other seafood still swimming (see previous post of me trying to net shrimp), including a large bin of live frogs. Ill try to get a picture of that one!

The day was taken up with various projects, all of which seem to take so much longer because of public transportation combined with the language barrier. But today I did change water companies -- to purified instead of mineral water, not agreeing with us -- worked on negotiating a better bus stop for Thomas, picked up Helen's kindergarten health certificate, took Helen and Sophia on the bus to the ATM and to Trustmart for diapers and a few other items that I could carry easily. In the afternoon Michael and I did find a spare hour to watch "Mad Monkey KungFu" which appeared, though it was in Chinese, to be a Jerry Lewis type fake Kung Fu moves kind of thing:) Funny.

Helen's trip to the clinic

Believe it or not -- I actually did not take a single photo today -- which might be the first time since we arrived here. What you are looking at is a "file photo" of the campus Michael took last week. This is the walk from the West Gate, about 8-10 minutes away, and the route we often take to the supermarket and to Thomas's bus stop. I won a bus stop victory today when the international school finally agreed to move the stop in the afternoon by a few hundred feet, which will save Thomas and Kate from having to cross a busy street. There is a crosswalk and light, but the cars and buses don't always follow it.

So today Helen and I, accompanied by a couple of Philosophy students who speak some English -- went to a big clinic for the Kindergarten physical. Fortunately we had some idea what to expect from Malinda, last year's Fulbrighter. It was a busy and confusing place and we stood in a lot of lines with other parents and children, mostly babies and preschoolers getting their physicals. The doctor checking Helen told me through the students that she thought Helen was my bio child because she looks like me! Which I have always maintained, and Michael has always scoffed at. She also said that they had to run an additional test because Helen is too small and must not be eating her food. Now Helen is in the 3rd percentile in the US, but her tiny Asian female doctor has never been too concerned. And to me every one in China is so much smaller anyway. But they did some additional test on the blood they were already getting. I bet its a hemoglobin test, but the students couldn't explain it to me. So I let my little girl get her blood drawn by finger poke in this clinic .. it was a sterile needle, but no alcohol swab and no band aids, which was amazing to Helen. Every child entering Kindergarten is tested for Hep B . Tomorrow we'll pick up the certificate that should enable her to go to school on Monday...hurray!!!

Michael had a chance to see the classroom he'll be using, and found out his teaching schedule, which is Monday and Tuesday nights at 7 pm. Its a good schedule, enabling us to do some long weekend travel and also flexible during the day if I need to do something briefly without Sophia. We may also start with a Chinese language tutor very soon.

10,000 Rock Botanical Garden

Today dawned bright and clear, so we determined not to spend the morning inside again. Michael was hard at work, Thomas at school, so the girls and I set off for the Botanical garden which is just on the other side of the mountain. At first we tried to catch a bus which looked promising from my guidebook and map, but the bus stop and road were gone, so we took a taxi (which cost about $1, instead of .13 for the bus). The gardens are a sprawling area with different greenhouses, paths and water features and of course, rocks, including the elephant rock that had been turned into an impressive slide. NO cars and hardly any tourists today, so I was able to let them run a little more freely and both walked a long way before we headed back for lunch. I think we only saw a small part of the grounds -- more for another day. For the hardy there is a path over the mountain behind the temple we climbed the other day which puts you into the botanical garden. Michael's student offered to show us sometime.

Tomorrow we begin the process of enrolling Helen in Kindergarten with a health examination. A student is going with us to translate. It looks like Helen will attend right on the first day of school, Monday morning. Its a good thing because she seems a little bored with just me and Sophia for company all day. It has been a lovely couple of weeks adjusting to China together -- and she's my good little companion on the bus or to the store. Tonight we got caught in rush hour on the bus because I had made a late decision to visit my ATM today, since I am trying to get out enough cash for some expenses, including the Kindergarten fees and fees to change our visas. The ATM for my bank has a limit of 3000 yuan (about $400) per transaction. I had assumed that meant per day, but was delighted today to find out I could do more than one transaction! Its hard to adjust to this cash economy -- at home I am used to credit cards. On the way home Helen and I were packed like sardines into the bus, the first time I couldn't find her a seat - usually someone gives one up to children and old people as they board, but we were packed so tight that we could only hang on until some folks got off at the next stop. Helen was a trouper though.

A quiet day

The painting in my bedroom was done by this art student form Inner Mongolia who was selling them back in Beijing at the Forbidden City.

Sophia in her bed -- she has finally gone back to sleeping on her own, thank heaven.

Not a lot to report today. I was feeling a little under the weather stomach-wise -- the first time really -- so in the morning the girls and I stuck close to home. After my morning chores I was lounging reading back issues of the New Yorker someone left when the maid came to vacuum and clean the bathroom. Did I mention that we have a maid? She empties the trash, vacuums and cleans the bathroom (sort of) 3 times a week. We are on friendly terms, but I find it a little odd. I would rather she left the vacuum and I could do it myself! Then I could get that dust from under the bed without feeling bossy and having to point it out to her. While the room were clean I took a few pictures to complete the tour of our apartment. We finally have nearly everything put away and have done a little rearranging to make the place our own. Thomas has a privacy curtain now and we call his room "the cave". Speaking of Thomas, he is now walking home from the bus stop in the afternoon, since there is a crossing guard. In the morning Deborah or I are taking him and Kate to the bus. The walk is mostly on campus, takes about 15 minutes, but its a big step towards independence for him. I think we will start giving him some spending money so he can stop at the store on the corner on his way if he wants.

The girls and I took a walk back to the temple grounds today and actually saw a frog sitting on a lily pad. Too bad I didn't have the camera. My shopping quest for the day was to find the European embroidery store to get a hoop for the cross stitch kits I brought. I had the address from a flier and unbelievably, I found it!

Back to Gulanyu and to church

So today we finally made it to church -- last week we were too late, this week we were too early, having gotten a time from someone passing by that was a little off. The church is Christ the King Catholic church and it is on Gulan Yu, the island neighboring Xiamen. This Sunday was much better weather than last -- clear and only moderately humid, vs. pouring rain. We took a cab to the ferry and hopped right on, found our way to the church in about 35 minutes. So I think we will be able to go quite often unless the weather is bad and the ferry iffy. The 10:00 Mass is in English -- although the pastor had some difficulties and read his sermon, I followed about half of what he said. The best part for me was the music, which was not the old church hymn singing I had feared but a full fledged guitar Mass with 6 person choir. Even recognized about half of the music -- good folk Mass favorites like "Seek Ye First" and "Sing to the Mountains". I have really been missing church and this is one time that exposure to Chinese can take a back seat to being able to fully participate. Although we liked the Mass in Beijing and had a good idea what was being said, thanks to the predictability of the Catholic service, it was hard not being able to participate. We met a few people at the church briefly, but maybe more as time goes on. There were some families, maybe Filipino and Chinese and a handful of Westerners. We spent some more time on Gulanyu today -- it is a touristy place and we are repeatedly being asked for photos with the kids, but did find some time to play on the play ground and walk on waterfront, buy a few trinkets and a pair of sandals for Michael, and have lunch at the same place we ate last week. We are calling it "Thomas's favorite Chinese restaurant" because they have fried tofu exactly like I make it. They also have yummy dumplings and an English menu.