June 23 is Dragon Boat Festival. Rena, who has been the Head Tutor during most of my time at this Web center in Wujin, Changzhou, was also finishing up her contract with Web on June 30. So she and her husband hosted us to a day at an ecology park. There were three car loads of us, tutors and foreign teachers (only two of the latter). The weather wasn't great, in that it was drizzling or misting on and off. But I saw that as better than a scorching hot day, which would have been the alternative at this time of year.
The plan was to end the afternoon climbing a mountain.
I met Rena and her carload at the Web center. We rode out together. She and her husband, their adorable four-year old son, Rachel, Christina and me. We got there a little after 10:30. The appointed meeting time was 11:00.
There were two parallel large glass buildings, one on either side of the driveway with a lobby connecting the two. Inside was a fabulous garden scene. There were tall trees, shrubs, gardens with begonias and petunias, and lots of streams filled with coi. The lofts and balconies that were dining rooms were made of bamboo and wood, giving a feel of nature and tradition. There were open dining rooms on the first floor, and separate rooms. We took one of the latter, with a round table for 10. It was open on one side, facing the garden interior; a large window on the opposite wall reminded us of the gray day outside.
It was a quite pleasant hour spent, strolling around the different landscaped areas, resting at tables, climbing stairs to open balconies, standing over the coi as they swam. Terry was the last guest to arrive. Rena drove out to a meeting point and showed him the rest of the way to the park, in their two cars.
Terry is the one who had successfully applied for the promotion to her job. He is a tall, thin unsmiling fop still single at 33. He usually drapes his slender frame elegantly, in suit and tie. Where Rena is totally approachable and without ego, he is aloof and taciturn. Though the government will deny it through their teeth, homosexuality is rampant in China. He is not a Changzhou native. At times, at the Center, I had observed his inability to speak with local delivery men and such in the common local language. This has further set him apart from the tight knit group of tutors.
It never ceases to amaze me how addicted Chinese women are to high heel shoes. Knowing they were going to 'climb a mountain' or 'go hiking', still Rena and Christina wore high heels, Rachel and Lisa wore platform heels.
At one point, a group of us piled into Rena's car and her husband drove us around the grounds. There were neat rows of organic gardens. There were open fields of corn, as well as many large sections domed with plastic sheeting . We stopped and went in one. Squash and cucumber plants were climbing up webbed plastic lines. Speaking of webs, we group of Web workers encountered many spider webs as we walked the outdoor grounds.
I was a little surprised to see the heavy winter squashes hanging down.
As we sorted ourselves into separate cars in the mountain parking lot, Rena opened her trunk and distributed gifts to us all. Bundles of 'sheet tofu', a specialty of this small region, and the basis of one of the excellent dishes we had just eaten; tins of 'pork floss', a unique product of the consistency of spun sugar (cotton candy) but dried. In China this method is used with fish, as well. Delightful gifts, appreciated by all of us.
As we were driving home I asked Rachel if we were organizing a farewell dinner for Rena. My assumption is culturally based; we honor the person who is leaving, by hosting them and showing them our appreciation. But in China it is not that way. Rachel said that this day was for that purpose. But this day has been sponsored by Rachel and her husband, rather than us.
Just one more unexpected cultural difference that sets my thinking on its head.
The plan was to end the afternoon climbing a mountain.
I met Rena and her carload at the Web center. We rode out together. She and her husband, their adorable four-year old son, Rachel, Christina and me. We got there a little after 10:30. The appointed meeting time was 11:00.
There were two parallel large glass buildings, one on either side of the driveway with a lobby connecting the two. Inside was a fabulous garden scene. There were tall trees, shrubs, gardens with begonias and petunias, and lots of streams filled with coi. The lofts and balconies that were dining rooms were made of bamboo and wood, giving a feel of nature and tradition. There were open dining rooms on the first floor, and separate rooms. We took one of the latter, with a round table for 10. It was open on one side, facing the garden interior; a large window on the opposite wall reminded us of the gray day outside.
It was a quite pleasant hour spent, strolling around the different landscaped areas, resting at tables, climbing stairs to open balconies, standing over the coi as they swam. Terry was the last guest to arrive. Rena drove out to a meeting point and showed him the rest of the way to the park, in their two cars.
Terry is the one who had successfully applied for the promotion to her job. He is a tall, thin unsmiling fop still single at 33. He usually drapes his slender frame elegantly, in suit and tie. Where Rena is totally approachable and without ego, he is aloof and taciturn. Though the government will deny it through their teeth, homosexuality is rampant in China. He is not a Changzhou native. At times, at the Center, I had observed his inability to speak with local delivery men and such in the common local language. This has further set him apart from the tight knit group of tutors.
It never ceases to amaze me how addicted Chinese women are to high heel shoes. Knowing they were going to 'climb a mountain' or 'go hiking', still Rena and Christina wore high heels, Rachel and Lisa wore platform heels.
At one point, a group of us piled into Rena's car and her husband drove us around the grounds. There were neat rows of organic gardens. There were open fields of corn, as well as many large sections domed with plastic sheeting . We stopped and went in one. Squash and cucumber plants were climbing up webbed plastic lines. Speaking of webs, we group of Web workers encountered many spider webs as we walked the outdoor grounds.
I was a little surprised to see the heavy winter squashes hanging down.
This one got caught early in the netting.
We left that lovely park after an excellent lunch, and went on to climb the mountain. We were near Rena's parents' home, so we all went over there for a while. No one was home. It was interesting to see a countryside single-family home, since China is determined to get people off the land and into high rises. this one had been modernized by adding another room out back for the kitchen. The old kitchen has been preserved, though no one is using it, at the advise of the remodeler. It looks like the kitchen I know so well up in the mountains of Kham.
I had brought along my box of 'Mexican Train', a dominoes-based game. About five of us played it. Rena loved it, and asked where she could buy it. Of course, even Taobao doesn't offer this one. She's trying to persuade one of our American teachers to bring it back for her after his summer visit to California.
We walked up the steps of the not-so-high mountain. We rested at the main platform, although a few hardy souls climbed the last 100 meters to the top. That portion has just a beaten path, no cement stairs had been added.
The girls played around, taking lots of pictures of each other. Rena is the one in the middle. Rachel, whose family has taken on the responsibility of having their name on my bakery business license, is just above her.
As we were driving home I asked Rachel if we were organizing a farewell dinner for Rena. My assumption is culturally based; we honor the person who is leaving, by hosting them and showing them our appreciation. But in China it is not that way. Rachel said that this day was for that purpose. But this day has been sponsored by Rachel and her husband, rather than us.
Just one more unexpected cultural difference that sets my thinking on its head.
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