From Grits to Chopsticks

China is being rebuilt at such a rapid pace that if can be difficult to find the “Old China” that we remember from our history books.  But there is one place where you can find it: at the Kunming Museum:On a cold Sunday afternoon, it’s nice to have a place like this to go and explore the history of this ancient land.  Because of the abundance of copper, tin, and other metals in the mountains of Yunnan province, they were making bronze over 2200 years ago: Blue and white porcelain originated in the Tang Dynasty (600-900AD) and was perfected in the Ming Dynasty (1368-1644).  The beautiful blue (cobalt) is still clear today in these Ming vases:The elegance is only slightly dampened by the knowledge that virtually all of these vessels are crematory jars.In contrast to the roughly painted jars, there are also finely detailed fan paintings:The 2nd floor of the building houses a museum for the American Flying Tigers who volunteered to protect China during the Japanese invasion:Unfortunately, it closed earlier than the rest of the museum:One of the more interesting exhibits was a collection of pictures taken in Kunming about 100 years ago:

These black and white images illustrate just how much things have really changed:But a few things haven’t changed.  With different clothes, the water carrier in this picture probably wouldn’t draw much attention if he walked down the street today:

When we moved to China in 2010, we weren’t sure how long we would stay.  Now that four years have passed, it seems like the time has finally come to get serious about studying the Chinese language.  I enrolled as a part-time student at a small private language school and attend classes twice each week.  One and a half hours on three buses brings me downtown to this building:The school occupies a very small portion of the 16th floor:Here is the library (in case I ever want to read a book written in Chinese – ha):and here is my tiny classroom:My teacher is doing a great job of sending me home mentally exhausted after each class:

After only 10 classes, the vocabulary word load is starting to grow:Studies have shown that regular usage of a second language can delay the onset of dementia by five years.  Too bad I didn’t start learning Chinese when we first arrived in China!

While traveling on the road at the base of our nearby mountains, we’ve often looked up at the school high above:The students at this school must be in very good shape!  After climbing the steep, switchback road to the school gate, there is a trail up the right hand side: As you approach the top, there is a temple on the adjacent school grounds:We’re still not sure exactly what kind of school this is, but its altitude certainly qualifies it as a “high” school … … with a great view!

In a recent post, I mentioned that I would be showing some more photos of changes that have happened since we moved to China a little over 4 years ago.  Here are a few changes in our neighborhood, including these two shots from across the street:As you can see, it isn’t just the trees that grew up over the short period of time!  Here is a shot that we took down a dirt road and vacant lot in 2010:Here is the same location today: we’ve been living in this apartment complex for over a year:

These final two shots provide an idea of how fast buildings go up.  Here are two photos taken from a nearby street corner one year apart:I’m hoping that the builders don’t take too many shortcuts in their rapid construction process.  Our apartment began to sway uncomfortably last week during a mild earthquake, and I wonder what might happen during a major one…

We were so happy to have Timothy spend four days with us this week.  He and his wife are thinking about moving to China next year, so he came to scout out potential living/working arrangements in a city north of Kunming. He arrived just in time to attend a wedding celebration for a couple from Africa and Mongolia:That afternoon, we took advantage of the beautiful weather to enjoy hiking on a mountain above the city: While on the trail, we encountered a large herd of goats:

The next day, we went hiking with a group of 14 students (and a couple of Western friends):There were some children at the top of the mountain where we stopped for snacks:
I don’t think that they’d ever seen anyone with green eyes:They wondered why Timothy’s eyes were brown and suspected that he colored them:On the way back down, we met a boy with a bag of beetles…which reminded us of another boy who used to collect beetles (yes, this was Timothy when he was a bit smaller):During his visit, Timothy was able to reconnect with some old friends, including this one who had returned from Beijing for the National Holiday:It was nice to have Timothy here, but hard to see him go!

It’s hard to believe, but this is our 200th blog post!  So many things have changed since we moved to China over four years ago.  Look at the photo at the top of the blog, then look at this one (remember that you can click any photo to expand it):Our school is now completely hidden by buildings under construction in the foreground (click any photo to expand).  When viewed from the mountain on the opposite side, the changes are even more striking.  Here is the view in 2010:And here it is in 2014:Over the next few weeks, we’ll try to post a few more photos of changes.  But even though our city skyline has changed, on thing hasn’t changed: our opportunity to work with some very special students…

Hiking with students in 2010

Hiking with Students in 2014

Every year, a very helpful member of the school foreign affairs office assists us in renewing our work visas.  She invited us to attend her wedding on Sunday evening, a huge event held in this dinner theater:
As westerners, we arrived about 30 minutes before the 5:30pm starting time.  Of course, that meant that we showed up about an hour earlier than the other guests, giving us time to browse around the lobby (actually, a museum) and surf the internet:At about 6:00pm, the bride and groom came out front to greet guests:We then entered the huge dining hall with 1000 other guests:
Since this was a fancy place, the meal included some exotic foods.  The appetizers arrived, featuring roasted duck stomach and grasshoppers:They don’t taste too bad, although it can be a bit difficult to swallow the longer legs.  Eventually, the lights were dimmed, introductions were made, the big video screen behind the stage split, and the bride entered to a musical soundtrack in English (click for video: Wedding Entrance):During the brief ceremony, the bride and groom professed their love for each other, as well as their respect for their parents: The food was being served and people were toasting each other at the time, so the ceremony wasn’t always the center of attention.  There were 100 tables, and each one was loaded with food: While we were eating, the bride changed her dress and visited each table to toast the guests. Fortunately, she used plain water for this activity to make it all the way around:We are thankful for good relationships with our friends in the foreign affairs office.

Seen through Western eyes, many things here still catch our attention.  Since we don’t have a car, we walk a lot.  And while we’re walking, it’s good to watch your step, because you never know when you might come across an open, unguarded manhole:

I wouldn’t want to be the guys pulling this cart of spiny plants through the busy intersection:

We often see overloaded scooters, but this must be some kind of record:How about five dogs? Here’s a recent photo taken by a friend (one dog is hidden):

If you ask the kids who go to this school where they attend, get ready for a long answer:

When I see wiring like this, I’m not sure if I should be shocked by the chaos or impressed that it works:

While walking downtown with a student, we stopped here to eat some “jackfruit.”  Actually, it was pretty good and we didn’t get sick:

A nearby restaurant served this vegetable while we were eating with another student.  The restaurant owner couldn’t really explain what it was, only that it had been picked fresh on the mountain (it was also pretty good and we didn’t get sick):Finally, we were recently surprised to see a sign warning about the consequences of not climbing on this brass horse:

Well, we just celebrated Mid-Autumn festival, so it was actually “moon cake time” (I was just dreaming about Moon Pies…).  As the holiday approached, moon cake stands began popping up all over town, along almost every street:

In front of our apartment:In front of Wal-Mart:Basically, everywhere: This year, there has been a major reduction in the giving of extravagant gift sets, with more moon cakes being sold individually (both options here in front of our local store):I don’t think that we’ve ever actually bought any moon cakes since we tend to receive more as gifts than we can eat (“it is more blessed to give…”). Here is an assortment of some of the moon cakes we received this year:Every part of the country has its own unique style of moon cake.  In Kunming, it is smooth on the outside and filled with chopped, spiced ham on the inside:Susan cut up some of our moon cakes and served them to a group of students last week:There is a broad perspective of opinions about moon cakes among our students.  Some love them (one girl eats more than 20 each year) while others don’t eat any.  We did our own taste test and ranked them from worst (on the left) to better (on the right):Although our opinions weren’t entirely consistent, we did agree that we preferred the nutty one the most.  Which is interesting, because our students said that most Chinese people dislike that kind the most!  I can only imagine where they might rank the humble moon pie…

A few years ago, we brought back a “Kryptonite” bicycle lock from America as a gift for friend with a valuable bike.  Recently, thieves tried to cut it and melt it, but it held secure!  Thanks, Kryptonite Lock Company! (no, I’m not getting a kickback on this!)As I walk into my school, I usually pass by a convenience store with a small dog.  While most dogs in China don’t usually pay any attention to people, this little guy often runs out and tries to scare me away – a guard dog with a severe under bite!