Dragon boat time

Spring feels like it is here to stay.   Time to put away my heavy winter coat, hat, mittens, scarves, and long underwear.  On most days both outdoor and indoor environments are warm enough to use sandals and short sleeves.  My bare arms and toes attract many stares.  Most people in Wuhan are fully dressed with layers until an unofficial date sometime in late April/early May.  My translator was sweating bullets on Friday afternoon.  I suggested that he take off his jacket, but he felt that his long sleeve button-down shirt was insufficient.  I sat across from him in the office very comfortable in a short sleeve shirt and flip-flops.  

 

Since the discovery of the Boone Memorial School I’ve been digging deeper into the history of this University.  Following the Second World War the school was relocated to Guizi hill, which at that time was a large cemetery.  The remains were removed and many tombstones or direction markers helped create the walls and steps to the University.  Since this time most have been covered with cement or replaced, but a few are still visible.  

Along with warmer weather comes dragon boating.  The national holiday is particularly special to Wuhan as it originated from this area over 2000 years ago.  The C.E.C.P. group has a team every year and last Saturday was our first practice.  We spent time reviewing safety and strategy before using the training center's simulation boats to improve rowing techniques.  

Before China I had little knowledge of Dragon boating.  I tried it once through the canals of Gdansk, but never really gained expertise.   The leader of C.E.C.P. approached me months ago to join the team.  Oddly enough, I learned more about the event from Miami’s Dragon Boat website: http://www.miamidragonboat.com/race.htm. Never would I have dreamed of racing in the center of dragon boat history.    

Following the simulation training we made it to a real boat and paddled back and forth across the East Lake.  Getting 22 adults to work together in a narrow wet space is more challenging than convincing the people of Wuhan to take off their jackets in the heat of spring.   Thankfully we have two more months of practice before the big weekend.

Signs of Boone

Boone University Gallery

 

How fitting to discover another Boone legacy right around my father's birthday.  My Chinese language teacher first noticed the family name in the basement of the campus library and asked me if I knew anything about it.  From the look of shock on my face it was easy to tell that I had no idea.   She showed me the Boone memorial gallery displaying old photos of this University from its earliest years.  The information was in Chinese, but even with the interpretations there was little information about Mr. Boone.

Later in the week my teacher put me in contact with a librarian who knew more on this topic.  He traveled to the US in the early 1990s to research the Boone Memorial School. At that time there were VERY few records of Boone in China.  This librarian's research through Yale’s divinity school archives delivered most of the records currently held in China.

Central China Normal University, (Hua Zhong) opened in 1871 as Boone Memorial School.  It was named after one of the first Episcopal Bishop in China and his son, (Bishop of Shanghai), helped to open it in his honor. The school became Boone Memorial University in 1904 and in 1924 it became Hua Zhong University.  During the first fifty years Boone Memorial School grew from a small elementary to a widely well-recognized University and introduced several Western activities such as marching bands, baseball, and boy scouts.   

The story of William Jones Boone can be found online thanks to the work of librarians and archivists in the US.  One can also find the work of Mary Elizabeth Wood.  Her years of missionary work created the first public library in China as part of Boone Memorial School.  This library eventually was taken over and privatized through the University of Wuhan, but it still exists today. 

Yesterday I searched through CCNU’s archives and read through a small book that was found buried in a box along with 9 silver dollars from 1908.  The box was unearthed in the early 1990s while the University was digging for the construction of a new building.  Thanks to this treasure the mystery of this school’s earliest years was beginning to unfold. 

Following the archives visit I got a sneak peak at the University’s museum. It aims to educate its students about the history of the school, but the English translations still need a lot of work.  I will work with them this Saturday before attending the tulip festival at the Botanical Gardens.

Aside from discovering my family’s long-lost Chinese legacy I’ve explored a few other destinations in the city.   

Yaks and crackers

The zoo left a very memorable impression.   A few foreign friends joined me along with a couple of teachers from the kindergarten.  I was shocked at the deplorable state of the animals.  To be fair, at least the birds had decent habitat areas, but the other animals were poorly maintained.  The animals seemed to be either in a state of rage or complacency.   

The cages of many primate and felines species were small and bare.  People, (young and old alike), threw everything from pink sausages, crackers, peanuts, and plastic bags at the animals.  The lions don't chase after peanuts the way you'd expect them to hunt wildebeests.  Despite the signs on almost every cage advising against this behavior the place was full of evidence to this ignorance.  

The look of disgust and sadness was plastered on our foreign faces throughout the visit.  We treated ourselves to homemade ice cream and a plate of Western-style food at a Hawaiian restaurant not far from the zoo.  Ice cream may not solve issues in animal abuse, but at least it sweetens the bitterness and aids in searching for solutions.

A very special wildlife biologist friend will be here in April and give a talk about understanding animals with young children.  Hopefully the teachers will be so inspired from the workshop that their students will help redesign the zoo. 

Amphibians.... more than just an expensive menu item

 

It’s hard to believe that I’m back in China, and somehow it’s still very exciting.  Following the eight-day teacher workweek I headed to the states while the rest of China celebrated the Spring Festival.  Most of my foreign friends that stayed in China said that it was like a ghost town around University campuses.  Many of these friends either traveled throughout the country or visited the homes of Chinese friends.  Chinese families got together and shared enormous meals.  It is not uncommon for people to enjoy heavy meals every day of the 15-day festival.  

My break was divided among family and friends across the USA.  I am blessed to have spent so much time with so many wonderful people.  As much I’d love to be back in sunny Miami rather than cold, wet Wuhan, there is something promising about this return.  Not only is over half of my work finished but also the weather should only get warmer from now on.   

The flight back with Cathay Pacific was ten times better than my first trip to China and I was able to adjust my sleeping schedule more easily after this flight.  Work began immediately following my arrival.  Each evening offered the chance to catch up with friends.  A few of my closest friends are moving this semester, but not before sharing a final farewell.  The ninth floor of CCNU’s foreign expert building is now mine for the taking, (at least until another foreigner moves into the newly emptied apartments).  

My news of China usually comes to me through my translator or from watching the news on the metro TV screens. China was very proud of their Olympic gold medal speed skater.  The video of the Korean skater falling and the Chinese skater gliding to the finish was on repeat for a week.  Due to the over-coverage of speed skating and curling, it was hard to catch the hockey games.  One bar/restaurant aired the games at 1 AM. I hope the rest of the world enjoyed the winter Olympics.

The nasty weather presents the opportunity to relax indoors and continue cleaning/sorting through the myriad of object that I’ve collected in the past 6 months.  Transient friends have left many bottles of cooking oil, towels, blankets, and several snack items. One cannot live on moon pies and sunflower oil alone, but these things provide a bit of comfort after a long day at the kindergarten.

Speaking of school, I believe that the teachers are on board with understanding vertebrates.  It was difficult for many teachers to distinguish amphibians from reptiles.  We talked about the life cycle of a frog, (going from egg to tadpole to frog), but they seemed unaware to the idea of newts, salamanders, caecilians, etc.  These animals are often found cooked on expensive plates at Chinese celebrations, but most kindergarten teachers know little about them.  One teacher told me that there was a mistake with the caecilian.  She strongly believed that it was a worm.  We had to have a group discussion about not only these animals, but what makes some animals fit into one of the five classes of vertebrates.  Then another can of worms was opened:  understanding invertebrates.

It seems that a trip to the zoo will be made within this month.  Hopefully many teachers will be able to join this outing.  Some teachers have mentioned that they never before studied such biological information.  How wonderful that they now have the opportunity!