OK, Who Make Fong Pei?

Xi'an

2008-04-02T23:25:00.000-07:00

So on a rainy day in Xi'an we visited Lou Guan Tai. It's a Taoist temple where it is said Laozi wrote the Dao De Jing, the bible of the Taoist religion.

It was pouring rain, so the only people at this temple were some beggars, our group, and three nice monks.

This monk was awesome. He gave me a copy of the Dao De Jing, signed it, and told me to send him this picture.

So then we walked a mile in the fog, rain, and mud to find the Da Qin Pagoda.

It was total National Geographic since the rain kept all the other tourists away.

Built in 640, the Da Qin Pagoda is the oldest surviving remnant of the Christian church in China. It was great.

We were meant to leave for Qinghai the following day, but unrest in Tibetan areas kept us from traveling.
I'm back in Xiamen now just hanging out, taking Chinese 2 and Tai Chi class. Tomorrow we'll be heading to our week-long home stays with real live Chinese families!

Tour of China!

2008-03-20T06:30:00.000-07:00

We have been on our study tour of China for just about a week. I'll do a very short recap:

Stop number one was Shanghai... My kind of city.

Then on to Beijing where I got to hang out with this handsome fella...

...and climb this big wall.

And now I'm in Xi'an getting ready to head out to Qinghai province.

In Shanghai!

2008-03-15T02:24:00.000-07:00

Ni hao from Shanghai! This is the first stop on our two-week trip across the country. We're leaving Shanghai tonight and then headed to Beijing, Xi'an, and Qinghai province.
More later...

Bus Story

2008-03-06T18:04:00.000-08:00

I thought this was a story worth repeating. Sorry that I'm so lazy I can't even re-write this e-mail excerpt.

"okay, so its me, sammy, susanna,
sisi, and her roommate jodie. and the bus is just packed. like
sardines. most crowded i've been on a bus in china. so we're just chit
chatting and all of the sudden JOLT! the bus just screeeches to a halt
and everyone goes flying all over each other. and i hear a dull THUD.
and i'm like oh man fender bender. but then everyone starts talking a
mile a minute and rushing out of the bus and i'm all what. so i push my
way to the front and see that the bus has actually HIT A KID!!! and
everyone is all gathered around in a circle and people are stopping to
gawk. so since i'm not very short in china i could see over and see a
shoe under the bus and i'm like omg this is gonna be gross. but it
wasn't. his mom was squatting on the ground cradling her five year old
son and he's just real quiet. but there was no blood, so we decided it
was all good. and he wasn't crying. we think he got a concussion and
blacked out so he was just coming to. but there was a huge
argument/discussion going on, and we were in a rush, so we grabbed a
cab to sisi's house."
Intense.

The Wedding

2008-03-01T23:07:00.000-08:00

This past Monday was "The Wedding". I promised I would report how it went, so here goes... I first said that we were going to be saying a short blessing in the wedding, but as more and more details were given to us, it turned out that we were actually going to be partially emceeing this wedding... in Chinese.

3:30ish- Sam and I scrounged around for some decent clothes, took some pictures, and then met our wonderful Chinese friend, Sisi. She was our guide and translator, and had been in communication with the wedding planner all week.
4-5 We arrived at the hotel, and spent time practicing and cutting out parts from our script.
5-6 A whole lot of sitting around and watching people set up.
6-7 Boooooorrrrrred, sitting around.
7.30 The thing started and we were put in the back sound room.
7.30-8.30ish... Total nervousness... So scared. The other emcee, a professional Chinese wedding performer controlled the show up to this point. He was awesome.
8.30-8.50 Our parts. I said some kind words followed by Sam welcoming in the bride and groom. I said some kind words and invited them to light the candles. Sam said some kind words and invited them to pour the champagne. I finished up by saying some more kind words, and that was it. A Chinese wedding is more like a cross between a ceremony and a reception, so while people pay attention to what's happening, they are also busy stuffing their face, chit-chatting, and chain-smoking. But, people seemed to respond well to what they could understand of what we said.
9-10 Standing around just watching the rest of the wedding.
10ish We were informed that our pay was actually not available, and food for us was "maybe" in the works. So we hit the road and hit up a late-night McD's.
As you can see from the pictures, the wedding decor was a cross between a
game show, a wedding, a pay by the hour motel, and a reception. Weird.
Fog machine, bubble maker, even indoor fireworks. Intense.
Photos

Turtles and a Wedding!

2008-02-21T03:41:00.000-08:00

So Tuesday evening my roommate, Sam, and I are leaving the cafeteria to go buy some turtles when we're stopped by a group of three Chinese asking "Can you help me?". Since we're such helpful young men, we stopped and tried our hardest to pick up any key words presented to us in their mile-a-minute then word-a-minute Chinese. Nothing stood out except "you", "Monday", and "please". After several failed clarifications in both English and Chinese, they were able to find another Chinese guy to interpret for us.
The one girl was a wedding planner, and her clients were hoping to have a foreigner say some blessings during their wedding this coming Monday... she was asking if we would be willing to do so... in Chinese... for "about" ten minutes... for some cash. Not wanting to turn down a fun cultural experience, an opportunity to make a fool of myself during a complete stranger's wedding, and of course the chance to make some cold, hard RMB... I said "yes". I'll let you know how it goes.

Back to the turtles... We bought two little pet turtles for a dollar each. We named them after our favorite figures in Chinese history- Zheng He and Zheng Chonggong. It is with a heavy heart and a slight chuckle that I have to inform you that Zheng Chonggong has gone to doggie heaven as of 7.52 this morning. R.I.P. buddy.

The late Zheng Chonggong.

Spring?

2008-02-16T21:58:00.000-08:00

Finally, Spring Festival is over! Campus is filling up again, and it's great to have restaurants, cafeterias, stores, and the library back in function after three weeks. Having food within a three minute's walk is golden compared to the fifteen that it's been. And, after four straight days of sunshine, I'm beginning to think that spring is arriving. Yesssss.
Other than that, it's business as usual here. Last Saturday a Chinese friend took a couple of us to the ever-popular Gu Lang Yu, a small tourist island off the coast of Xiamen. Last night we hit up the Latern festival. Amazing. This past week I also went to a Chinese friend's birthday party. Events like that are constant reminders of how lame I am for only speaking one language fluently. It makes for hilarious interactions, and I think the term "Ugly American" should be replaced with "Awkwardly Funny American". But, I keep meeting Europeans and Asians and Africans who are studying their third, fourth, or fifth language, and I can't help but be frustrated with American education. Are we really foolish enough to believe that two semesters of Spanish/French will suffice? Hmm...

Quanzhou

2008-02-09T23:13:00.000-08:00

Quanzhou was fun, but it's nice to be back "home" in Xiamen. I had a hard time believing that Xiamen is one of the cleanest cities in China until I left it. Motorcycles and honking your horn are also illegal here on the island, and it was definitely something I took for granted. Whew.
Our time there was pretty fun, though. Quanzhou is recognized by UNESCO as being a living world religious history museum. Since Quanzhou was the international port of choice back in the day, it became the springboard for the propagation of Islam, Nestorian Christianity, Buddhism, Hinduism, Daoism, Manichaeism, and Judaism throughout China. It's also the birthplace of Filipino hero Jose Rizal. From Wednesday afternoon through Friday morning we visited a Daoist temple, a Buddhist temple, a giant Christian church, a mosque, a Confucian temple and museum, and a maritime history museum. We even rang in the Chinese New Year on the streets.
The past week or so have been frustrating because China pretty much shuts down completely during Spring Festival. Because most Chinese work six days a week for almost the whole year, Spring Festival is like all 1.3 billion people simultaneously hibernating for two or three weeks. It gets hard to find food, but we're surviving.

Attached are two of my favorite moments from our trip to Quanzhou- a bajillion fireworks going off at midnight to usher in the Year of the Rat, and the 8th Wonder of the World- a ginormous statue of Cheng Ch'eng-kung and his horse overlooking the city. That little speck by the horse's leg is me.

Xin Nian Kuai Le!

2008-02-05T01:04:00.000-08:00

Xin nian kuai le!
We're off to Quanzhou for the Chinese New Year. Happy Year of the Rat.

Cold.

2008-01-31T00:28:00.000-08:00

Xiamen is supposedly similar to Miami, Florida when it comes to weather. Somehow, after a week of rain and 50 degree weather, I'm unconvinced. Fifty degrees is a lot worse here considering that there is no heat in any of the buildings including my dorm room. The rest of the country is paralyzed by snowstorms, so I guess we should be thankful. China is still delicious.

Hot Dog? Har har.

Tracy McGrady is apparently not as respected as Yao Ming.

Twenty-one.

2008-01-25T22:15:00.000-08:00

Here is the second-half of my birthday:

Berfday dinner at... KFC! That little metal placard in front of me says, "Birthday Room". We think. Either way, it really was the birthday room.

...and my surprise birthday party/cake back at the dorm. On top of the cake were all kinds of fruit- including cherry tomatoes.

2008-01-23T01:18:00.000-08:00

It's now been a complete week that I've been in China. To be honest, it feels like two weeks. But, life has been really good, I can't complain. We started official classes this week, but are still not in our soon to be usual routine. I realized yesterday that most details of my life here have been available to just my family and Laura. Oops, sorry. I'll try to be better about that.
Our group seems to be coming together very well, and I think we'll get along for these three months. We have a wide range of background and experience represented. We come from 12 different schools: Messiah, Taylor, Indiana Wesleyan, Kentucky Christian, Malone, Biola, Westmont, Olivet Nazarene, Southern Nazarene, Abilene Christian, and Northwest.
This campus is home to about 20,000 students, most of whom are on Spring Festival break. XMU has a very active foreign exchange program, and I've already met students from Brazil (my roommate who goes to Messiah), Nigeria, Germany, Malaysia, and Morocco. When everybody returns in a couple weeks, campus is going to get a lot more crowded.
I've been eating insanely well, and if it weren't for the insane amount of walking I do everyday, I would certainly gain weight this semester. We're given a food allowance of 35 kuai per day (about US$5). That five dollars is way more than enough because I can eat a good dinner at one of the canteens for about the equivalent of 85 cents, though I usually eat at restaurants for about $1.50. One of our professors challenged us to not eat American food for the whole semester. I didn't take him up on it, and ate at McD's on the fourth day we were here. It was the best $2.50 I ever spent.
All but one of my classes (Chinese language) are taught by the American program staff. I'm taking Chinese History, Intercultural Communication, Contemporary Chinese Society, Tai Chi, and eventually Chinese 2. The classes are quite intense since most will finish in 9 weeks so that we can go on our travel study tour to Shanghai, Xi'an, and Beijing. Mandarin is tough, but I'm finding that my seemingly worthless semester at public high school in Ft. Wayne is helping me to catch on a little quicker. We're having great fun trying out all of our new phrases with anyone patient enough to listen. Most are, but I think the staff at the restaurant we like to visit the most is getting weary of "I am American. You are Chinese. Thank you. I am student. I like rice." We've had to master ordering some common dishes pretty quickly, though, just to survive.
Internet access has been kinda spotty, but could be worse. The closest wireless hotspots are about a ten minute walk. I unsuccessfully tried to get a connection set up for my room two days ago at the network office on campus. I completed all of the forms, and was ready to pay when they asked to see my computer to install the login program. It was like I had pulled out a rabid scorpion when I unsheathed my Mac. Everyone in the office gasped. People jumped on top of their desks, backing as far away from the beast as possible. Some even tore their clothes, beat themselves, and wailed.
"Windows XP only!!1!!1!", I was told as they threw rocks at me and spat on my face. Kinda. All of my stone-age Windows-using dorm-mates are now connected in their dorm rooms, so I will frequently be pirating their computers.
I hope that about covers the basics of my life here. Expect pictures in the near future.
Until next time...

2008-01-22T00:26:00.000-08:00

Today is my birthday, so we went on a field trip to an American-owned stained-glass factory. It was actually quite fascinating to see something that you'd find with a "Made in China" sticker still being formed... in China. We learned more about business practices and such than about actual glass, but I still think colored glass is rad.

...and look what I found on the shelves ready for shipping?

Even the Chinese know who's boss. Eric Gordon > Yao Ming.

2008-01-19T00:55:00.000-08:00

Since I live in the People's Republic, I'm a man of the people. And the people axed for it:
Kraig "Jackie Chan"
Nan Guang Wu
Xiamen University
Xiamen, Fujian 361005
China

No packages, please. They won't reach me.

Arrived!

2008-01-17T03:28:00.000-08:00

Well, I safely arrived here in Xiamen yesterday, and am close to finishing my first full day in the country.
The trip was pretty uneventful. Because LAX is, and will always be the worst airport in the universe, I was an hour late and the last person of our group of 13 to arrive at the Cathay Pacific check-in counter. To make the matter worse, we had been bumped up to an earlier flight and would be departing as soon as we could get through security. As a reward for agreeing to switch flights we were each awarded a hundred dollars cash. Despite the fact that I'm notoriously unlucky, I was accidentally given this money twice. I didn't argue.
Sidenote: the internet cafe I'm in is playing a reggae version of "Little Drummer Boy".
Unfortunately for us, "unfavorable headwinds" resulted in an unscheduled refueling stop in Seoul, South Korea. I wouldn't have minded except we weren't allowed off the plane for the whole hour ordeal. Cathay Pacific is still one of the greatest airlines ever. I managed to get 9 straight hours of sleep during our 13 hour leg to Korea. I sat two seats down from a Filipino associate pastor at Rick Warren's church in California. He was headed to preach in the Philippines and knew my old pastor in Manila, Mr. Tan Chi, very well. We were buds. After a rushed layover in Hong Kong, we landed in Xiamen sometime near noon on Wednesday local time. To keep us from succumbing to jetlag, we were literally on our feet until dinner. After dropping our stuff off in our dorm, we broke up in groups to do a scavenger hunt of sorts to help us get to know the area and locate the essentials- bank, bakery, McD's, fruit stands, post office, internet cafe etc... We all passed out by 9.
Even though my bed is actually harder than cement and we left our windows open in the 45 degree weather, I slept like a baby until popping out of bed bright-eyed and bushy-tailed at 7 this morning.
Today has been a blur. We mostly just sat in the program office/classroom and started learning basic Mandarin language components and meticulously reviewing all of our syllabi. Brain overload. I did manage to order lunch (Kung Pao chicken) and dinner (beef noodle soup) in Mandarin... with a lot of laughing and help. My roommate Samuel and I ventured out to the store to buy towels, snacks, and a pad for our beds all by ourselves this afternoon. This semester is going to be a lot of awkward laughing, gesturing, and poorly accented stilted Mandarin when going out. It should be fun.
The classes seem like they will be challenging.
The campus is beautiful, and I can see the ocean from my 6th floor dorm room. It has a TV with two English channels- CCTV and National Geographic. I guess I'll start to love Meerkat Manor. The best part is the Asian bathroom- the showerhead is not separated from the toilet and sink. Everything gets wet, but at least you can sit down when you shower.
The weather is chilly, but still an improvement- mostly 60's with some sun.

This has gotten much too long, and I apologize. Hopefully we'll get the internet hooked up in the dorm sometime this weekend. Peace, love, and web censorship from the Orient.

Not in China

2008-01-11T10:38:00.000-08:00

I can't make any promises about how often I'll post. Half of me says I'll be sorely disappointed by my internet access, but half of me says I'll have a lot of time on my hands. I guess we'll see. I leave Monday, January 14th from Cedarville to Xiamen by way of Indianapolis, Phoenix, Los Angeles, and Hong Kong.