Jo and Ted's Excellent Adventure

The adventure started early Tuesday morning.  After catching a cab to the train station and boarding the train we traveled at around 200 km/hr. to the city of Yichang.  We walked around the city and ate few street snacks before heading to the Wooden Fish town in hopes of catching a last minute bus to Dajiuhu.  During the five-hour bus trip we stopped for a bathroom break around location of the first kiwi fruits.  Vendors with various sized kiwis lined the road for the remainder of the trip.  Although the ride was spectacular with amazing views of the towering ancient mountains, we arrived late into Wooden Fish town.  A police officer told us that his father could spare a room at his home for the night.  The father showed up on a motorbike and invited us to hop on for a short trip to his place. 

The bike carried us to his home, which has been recently converted into somewhat of a hotel.  Not a legal hotel by any means, but certainly a place with many lockable rooms, clean beds, and a bit of shampoo and conditioner in the bathroom.  The price was right and after a full day of travels we were happy to each have our own warm and clean bed.  The owner also called a friend to take us to Dajiuhu in the morning.  A passenger van arrived around 6:30 AM and we were whisked away to another site where more tourists waited for a ride.  The van had only 5 extra seats, but he managed to squeeze in a 6^th person.  The people were a mixture from Wuhan and Beijing.  They were busy discussing how much easier it would have been to have traveled with an agency. 

Although we had no intention to travel to the Dragon Rack geological park, the park was unavoidable if we wanted to visit Dajiuhu.  Before entering we purchased two passes to Dragon, (or peasant) Rack and Dajiuhu National parks.  The credit card-esque ticket had a superimposed image of the famous Sichuan snub-nosed monkeys in front of the geological park.  After admitting us all into the park, our passenger van was stopped by the police.  The driver was known to have carried in tourists before, but on this day he was fined for not being a licensed tourist bus and was forced to take us back to where we bought the tickets.  Luckily he did not charge us for driving to the ticket site and he waited in the long line for us to get bus tours with a licensed company.  

On the licensed bus we watched videos on repeat showing imagines of the park and the playful monkeys.  I kept a lookout for wildlife, but with the thousands of tourists during the national holiday, the wildlife was limited to a few common birds and many common insects.  After three hours of travel our first stop was Dajiuhu.  We had one hour to enjoy the national wetland park and to climb up to a lookout tower and see the many natural lakes of the area.  Next we had almost an hour to climb around the rock structures of Dragon Rack and read about their not-so-obvious resemblance to various images, such as “girl looking into mirror” or “meeting gate of the immortals”. 

The trip had a few more stopovers in lookout points of interest.  The golden monkey falls was fairly spectacular.  The final stop of the trip took us to see a few of the famous Sichuan snub-nosed monkeys play around in cages.  Thankfully the cages had enough space for the monkeys to move and swing, and a guard to keep people from throwing stuff into their cages. 

When we got back we were starved.  After finding place to stay for the night we stopped at the first restaurant we could find.  The tables were full, but a table of University students recognized me from the bus ride into the town and invited us to sit with them.  We shared a feast of several dishes and a hot pot before pouring ourselves into bed.  Our goal of the morning was to get to Dangyang, the town of a teacher from the school.  She had invited us to spend the days of the national holiday with her and her former classmates.  In order to get there, we would need to first get back to Yichang.  The direct tickets were sold out for the day so we took a short trip to a town about an hour away and then found seats in a bus to Yichang.  We arrived in Dangyang before the late afternoon and Lucy picked us up from the bus station.

Everything about Lucy is lovable.  She and her classmates have done well in life and they enjoy getting together during the break times.  In the three days we were there we had a banquet every day.  The children were just as happy as the adults to have a foreign guest.  They were extremely hospitable and invited us to play/watch/learn mahjong.  I proved to be too much of a slowpoke to keep up with the pros.  I’ve never seen marked stones fly around so quickly. 

In addition to the food, fun, and mahjong, we visited a small village museum, a large man-made dam, (built in 1957 by over 100,000 workers with only mud, stones, and other natural materials), a large Buddhist temple, and the 4^th largest reservoir in this country.   A friend of Lucy’s gave us a ride back to the city for a few days of rest before returning to work.  I’m looking forward to starting workweek and introducing a way to honor a person’s birthday in the Montessori classroom this Wednesday. 

ready?........AND............. ACTION PLAN!

 

The Mid-Autumn moon festival delivered a bright full moon and several moon cakes.  Although I did not try the traditional pickled egg moon cake, I sampled a lotus moon cake, fig moon cake, and goose liver moon cake.  The savory cakes are generally favored over the sweet ones.  Some moon cakes cost only a few RMB while others cost hundreds.  My taste for moon cake is not mature enough to appreciate the expensive ones. 

My translator Ted spent the day with his family and attempted to arrange our trip to the Northwestern area of Hubei province.  The national holiday of China is from October 1-7.  Most people take this time to travel.  There are many beautiful parts to this area, but we are most interested in the lake area of Dajiuhu.  He and his family expressed concerns over the idea of traveling without the use of a travel agency.  In China, most people travel for this break time and the touristic areas are packed with visitors.  Supposedly if you don’t have an agency, it will be difficult to arrange travel and accommodations. 

Ted and his family have never traveled without the use of a travel agency.  They are quite apprehensive.  “This is just crazy!”  “How will you eat?”  “How will you drink water?”  Although we are not leaving the province and Ted can communicate with anyone here, Ted and his family have feared the worst.  Even after booking the train tickets on Thursday Ted was not sold.  Before picking up the tickets on Friday morning he mentioned several times how much better it will be if we use an agency.  “Everything looks expensive right now if we go on our own”  “With an agency you don’t have to worry about anything”  “They do everything for you”. 

That is the part that I don’t understand.  Most agencies will take you to shopping areas where the visitors feel obliged to buy souvenirs.  Knick knacks are not my forte. I enjoy picking my own place to eat and not being forced to travel from one place to another like herded cattle.  In order to appease Ted’s concerns we went to a travel agency.  The only deals they had for this time were unattractive and without meals.  It seemed like trying it on our own would be the way to go.  We booked a hotel and next Monday-Wednesday we will be taking out lives into our own hands and attempting travel without an agency!

The rest of the weekend was full of explorations in Wuhan’s botanical garden, and a Kenny G concert.  The concert was a gift from the department of international affairs.  The other foreign language teachers and I were whisked away by a night of smooth jazz with a few funky variations to keep the audience from falling asleep.  In China, Kenny G has quite a following.  He won them over by ending the night with an instrumental version of “My Heart Will Go On”.  As enjoyable as it was, I preferred the day at the botanical gardens.  They have many beautiful lotus areas and the largest area of kiwi fruit research in the world.  Membership looks like a good way to spend my weekends here for the next nine months. 

Speaking of which, this Monday marks my first month here in China.  Before the National Holiday I will present an action plan for the rest of the school year.  This will give the school greater clarity about the direction of its Montessori program and the development of its curriculum.  I look forward to seeing the changes throughout this year.    

My moon cake's bigger than yours

Giant moon cake compared to
typical moon cake

I am happy to live very simply while I’m here.  Last Saturday was not a simple living day.  It was a gorging day with the delightful company of Ted’s family.  In the morning he came to the apartment to collect me so that we could travel together to his Grandma’s place.  On the bus ride to Han Yang district from Wuchang, (my area to Ted’s), Ted pointed out some of the sights.  The overcast and smoggy day didn’t help with seeing the sights, but some of the buildings are so immense that you could see them in torrential downpours.  The memorials buildings and Yellow Crane tower are all in beautiful natural areas with lots of trees.  I certainly miss seeing this from my apartment view. 

When we got to Grandma’s place she had pomegranate, longan fruits, and peanuts ready for us to snack. Lunch was marvelous.  Grandma surprised me with a Budweiser beer.  She had two cans, and they appeared to be both for me.  After I told her I could only drink one, she mildly tolerated Ted drinking the second one.  At first he poured it into a bowl, but later he also drank from the can as I was doing.  Grandma served us cooked Chinese cabbage, baked chub with ginger, black fungus of some sort, spicy chicken, duck cooked in beer, and pork dumplings.  The dumplings were AMAZING, but after the first ten I was stuffed.  I could not eat another bite, but somehow this did not matter to Grandma.  She stuffed me until all of the dumplings were devoured, (I probably ate about 30 in one sitting). 

After lunch we went for a little walk and Ted bought a pair of 15 RMB ping-pong paddles with three balls.  We made do and played until Ted broke a sweat and had to stop for water.  I continued to play with an 8-year-old boy from the neighborhood.  Ted came back with water and then joined his grandma on the air walkers from the exercise equipment in the park.  The boy was good, but I was feeling on top of my game and pride would not allow me to lose. 

On Monday I met with the teachers for a workshop about establishing ground rules.  We all acted out various scenarios on what do to when a child misbehaves.  I could see that everyone had a natural ability to take on the challenge even though they appeared apprehensive at first.  I also participated and acted out a scenario with Ted.  Later on he told me than it had embarrassed him.  I told him that some of the best teachers are often great actors. 

Each day, (Tuesday through Friday), I worked in the classrooms during the morning work period.  The classrooms have many practical life activities, sensorial materials, and various math materials.  Some classrooms have additional language materials and others have more materials for geography and cultural studies.  All of the classrooms have art presented in different ways.  My goal this week was to help the teachers understand the benefits of a long uninterrupted independent work time.  Each classroom has its unique challenges, but I see that there is a greater desire for change than I saw last week.  In the afternoons I was able to meet with each teacher and discuss the morning. 

Although the days at work are long, (8-5:30), there is a two hour break in the middle.  This gives me a chance to go to the market or go for a walk around the campus.  I was very happy this week to find a few Eucommia ulmoides and a few Lycoris radiata in the middle of a green forest area.  There is also a small road lined with Eriobotrya japonica.  I can’t wait for these fruits to start forming!

Speaking of fruits around this time of the season, there are plenty of dragon fruit, pomegranate, and melons.  These fruits are great accompaniments to the traditional moon cakes shared at this time of year for the Mid-Autumn Moon festival.  On Tuesday I received the largest moon cake that I’ve ever seen for national Teacher’s Day, (Sept. 10).  It is filled with lotus seeds, nuts, and sugar baked in a simple pastry dough covered with sesame seeds and oil.  Another classroom delivered a bouquet of flowers with a tiny teddy bear in the center.  I gave each one of the teachers a dragon fruit in thanks for sharing their classrooms with me. 

Perhaps the sweetness of the moon cakes brings out the best in others.  As I walked Ted to the bus stop on Thursday an older man wheeling a cart of pomegranates lost a fruit.  A young man stopped to pick it up and delivered it back to the vender.  On Friday a young boy gave me his drawing of a robot.  I put it in my office next to my world’s saddest looking cactus.  Hopefully the cactus will perk up with a bit of care and some robotic protection.

After work I've been exercising in a local work out park.  There are small areas all over the city for people to stretch, twist, and move (just a little).  I’ve developed a way to run on the air walkers and break a sweat with most of the other machines.  The majority of the people I see using the equipment are either under 10 or over 60 years old. Both times I’ve gone to these places I have seen someone just hanging out on the rowing machine.  One woman took off her shoes and socks and picked the dead skin off her feet.  Another guy took a nap on it after finishing his cigarette.  I have the feeling that most people try to ignore me as I hustle and sweat.  I stand out all over the city, but in this park people act like I am just like any other person making the most of free city space.

Tonight I will travel with Ted and another teacher to the theater.  I’m not sure what to expect, but I hope it will have a lot of action.  It may be rude for Ted to translate during the entire show.  This week I look forward to finishing off the moon cake.

Autumn Tiger

 A week ago I landed in Wuhan. Not only do I feel settled, but I finally have a plan of action for at least the next month in school. My chopstick skills are improving daily and I’ve managed to cook a few meals in the apartment given to me by the school. It is one of the nicest places I’ve ever lived. In addition to having a sit down toilet, there is enough space here for a family, (note; if anyone wishes to visit, PLENTY of space and an extra bed here).

 Outside of going to work, the majority of my week has been filled with staring. Not like Jimmy Stewart in Rear Window, but more like a child at an amusement park. In a bustling city of 10 million, there’s a lot to see. There are lots of small open markets or kiosks selling cleaning supplies, fruits, and vegetables. You can also find niche small markets selling houseplants, guitars, or rubber stamps. The street food is highly entertaining. There are lotus nuts, oranges, chestnuts roasting in coals, beautiful slices of melon on a stick, street doughnuts, and other things that push me to learn at least the basics of the Chinese language. So far I’ve mastered, “Hello”, “Good Morning”, “Thank you”, “How are you doing?” “I am fine”, and “I am your father”. The last one I haven’t used publicly yet.

At the first weekend’s banquet there were 8 new faces from the school’s administration and Ted my translator. After a week of being in school I am starting to sense the personalities behind the faces. Everyone has been very kind and helpful so far. The first week’s task was to give the teachers a survey about their experience in Montessori training, observe in each classroom, and come up with a plan for the first month. From the survey it became clear that the Montessori training programs here are quick certification courses, (something like 5 days of training). Still, the classrooms are beautiful and the teachers are very well experienced in working with young children, (the youngest head teacher has 18 years of teaching experience and the most mature has 31 years of experience).

 Next week I hope to work each morning in one of the classrooms as we continue to establish the all-famous ground rules of respecting oneself, respecting the materials, and respecting others. At the school there are 19 classrooms and 4 of them are mixed ages, (from 3-6), with Montessori materials. My primary focus is the 4 classrooms and the 12 teachers in them.

 At school we get breakfast and lunch. Our breakfast is exactly what the children get, but our lunches are different. According to Ted, the children get nicer lunches, but so far I have nothing to complain about concerning lunches. To give you an idea of the food, Wednesday’s breakfast was cream of wheat (porridge) cooked in chicken broth with a few peas and carrots, a slice of sesame bread, and three quail eggs. On Thursday it was fresh Chinese dumplings with a sausage filling in a cabbage broth. Friday’s end of the week treat consisted of black bean porridge, slices of pork liver, and hot Chinese rolls, (man ho). All of this was bursting with flavor. Most food here is cooked from fresh, unprocessed foods and there are very few if any processed sugars.

Although I noticed different palms and cycads here, I was a little sad to discover that Wuhan is not in a tropical climate. They have four seasons, (similar weather perhaps to North Georgia for my American friends), and there have been a few days of cold rain. Tuesday was sunny and Miami warm. Ted explained that it is a little autumn tiger. Similar to the expression of “Indian summer”, this implies that a few summer days are still left before autumn truly arrives. This weekend I will travel to Ted’s grandma’s home for lunch and his parent’s home for dinner in the Hanyang district of Wuhan. Supposedly this weekend will also unleash its autumn tiger. I’ll carry my umbrella just in case.

Evelyn Froehlich

Since the physical passing of Evelyn Froehlich this past week, I have re-read my blog posts that I created in the summer of 2009 My grandmother once said to me, “Joanna, don’t get old. It’s horrible”. Perhaps it is not age that was causing her this “horrible” feeling, but the understanding that her body was becoming much more physically limited. This was a great challenge for a woman whose mind was still bursting with feelings and ideas.

There are 4 unavoidable parts to every life: birth, age, sickness, and death. Depending on one’s personality, (if one has either a glass-half-full or glass-half-empty view on life), each of these unavoidable stages can be viewed in various ways. Evelyn would often tell me stories of her past, which were either great moments of joy or great moments of learning for her. Even aging for Evelyn, as horrible as it may appear, proved to be a great lesson in life for me.

Through aging, Evelyn shared with me what she felt was the most important parts of life. She shared about her life as a young girl in a Polish family in Chicago. She taught me a few basics to the Polish language, (most importantly how to say I love you, happy Easter, and Merry Christmas). She shared her experiences as a teacher in the rural schools of Illinois. The best for me, however, was hearing about how she observed my mother and all of my amazing aunts and uncles as they grew from inside of her into adults.

Evelyn was always a character unto herself. As much as I loved all of my grandparents as a child, Evelyn and Ralph always appeared to be two totally different people living, loving, and supporting one another. Through this love, I know that Evelyn could truly be herself to the best of her ability.

In life, I hope that we may all do the best for ourselves. The most important message that Evelyn shared during our final visit was, “I love you”. This message was repeated almost every day I saw her. Although her body was slowly fading, her mind was clear and her message was as consistent to me then as it had been to me since birth.

May this love keep us strong and supportive as individuals who are part of a wild and wonderful family. May we continue to learn and grow from our choices in life while never forgetting that love is an ever-present connection among us.

With more love than possibilities in life,

Joanna

Dolly

Last night as I was wandering Prague with Oscar and a colleague, I had a quick memory flash of my old neighbor Dolly in Indianapolis. This flash kept me digging and digging in my memory all night and into this morning. Of course, this person was much more than a neighbor or even a friend. She watched my brothers and me grow from young children into young adults. She always took a special non-intrusive care of us that no one could ever touch. Although she had many other friends, various family members, and a house of wall-to-wall curio cabinets filled with antiques, her love was amazingly unconditional.

Every spring the most anticipated events of the neighborhood were the arrival of the ice cream truck and Dolly’s garage sales. Her car was always parked outside of the garage, (which was used as her friendly neighborhood antique store). From my bedroom window I could see if the metal announcement sing was posted in her front yard. Some Saturday mornings, the bright sun and clear skies was the only sign necessary for me to know that Dolly was in business. Even if she wasn’t in business, I could come by and admire her antiques while helping with her beautiful garden or listen to her wild adventures from her smoke lined dark green home.

Dolly’s best friend Vera was a constant companion at the sales. The two ladies were the most dynamic business women ever encountered. They could update one another with local news while simultaneously haggling with a customer about a set of crystal champagne flutes. If I dropped by for a visit, it was often that I would sit between the two women and pretend that I knew anything about neighborhood gossip. I loved being a child, but with Dolly, I felt like another ageless soul.

Throughout the years, the sales continued, flowers bloomed, pink flamingos swayed in the wind, and Dolly kept smiling and sharing. She always watched out for us, (easy being the neighborhood watch dog), but she never felt like a busy body. Dolly greeted everyone the same with a, “How ya’ doing?” The stories continued from there. The greatest threat to Dolly’s home came in the form of mice. She posted threats clearly in the center of the kitchen, which stated that all mice would be fined $500 for trespassing. If this fine were not paid, their lives would be at stake.

When my family chose to sell my grandmother’s antiques, we consulted Dolly and her books for advice in pricing. In the basement of grandmother’s cottage I found a tiny ceramic gnome. In my young mind, I conjured that this would be the most valuable piece of treasure and any Antique Road show host would appraise my find for millions. I’m sure that Dolly saw the worthlessness of value in this small piece, but she pressed my hands carefully around it and said, “This is very special for you. Keep it for a long time.” The joy of a secret treasure beat out all ideals of monetary value.

When I left for university, each return home was greeted by Dolly. After an afternoon of coca cola and stories, my mother would find me incensed in cigarette smoke and high on life. In one of the visits, I learned that her friend Vera had died. She was, after all, 88 years old, but for Dolly it seemed like her identical twin had left forever.

In another return, Dolly and I went antiquing. Dolly’s keen sense of what she wanted was exceptional. She could sniff out beautiful German porcelain and still keep her cool in order to throw off other antique collectors. Everyone at the auction house knew her by name and thought I was some grandchild. There were some “Little Orphan Annie” stamps that I had eyed, but they were part of a larger estate collection. In the end, another person outbid my hope of Annie. The rest of the day granted Dolly another special Goebel piece for her cabinets. Before leaving though, she confronted the man that acquired the stamps and paid him for the set. She brought them to me with a look that said, “What? It’s all in a day’s work!”

When I learned of Dolly’s death, I had just finished a Spanish class at St. Maarten Montessori School. The elementary library seemed like a maze even though it was very open. Some people in this world feel timeless. Death isn’t an option until it catches everyone off-guard. Dolly’s house would now appear un-recognizable from my favorite summer time retreat, but her spirit has traveled the world. When difficult situations arise, I always remember that tougher people have looked into stranger dangers with greater smiles. Adventure is always around the corner.

Happy St. Wenceslaus Day!

Merry St. Wenceslaus Day to all! Here, in Czech Republic, it is a national holiday as he is the patron saint of Bohemia. It was nice that we had a day to relax and celebrate. Even the pope came to visit us today and helped block continuous traffic flow throughout the day. I believe that the Catholic Pope has even more security than President Obama when he came to Prague last year. The Pope's secret security is very intense. You could see everyday looking people occasionally pull out a walkie-talkie and mumble something low in Italian like, "I think the coast is clear", or "Does this disquise make my butt look big?" Oscar and I were too busy recovering from a marvelous weekend in Germany to spend time tracking down the pope. Our day was spent much like the reign of King Wenceslaus, (Kral Vaclave), relaxing, joyful, but still too short.

This school year has been very very busy and I'm thankful for even just this short vacation. This year I have a large classroom of 23 new students. It was more busy in the beginning, but now it feels smoother. Most of the children are settling into the routine and there are still a few that are taking time to adjust, but such is life.

Since coming back to Czech Republic, I've spent a lot of time trying to rid my body of Poison Oak. Although I thought it was finished after a strong perscription of steroids, it has persisted for a little longer on my left knee. Now it seems to be dying off, but the occasional itch reminds me that perhaps its here for good. If, however, it chooses to move onto another body or just disappear, I may be a little sad. It has been with me for longer than any other rash or even pimple. It allows me to tell people my exciting California adventure story and re-count the wonderful time I had this past summer. Such is life.......

Speaking of life, watching the wedding of my Aunt Angi to my new Uncle Ron was a phenomenal event this summer. Although I was a bit scratchy and at one point I tried walking through a glass door, the fun never stopped. I hope they continue filling one-another with joy every day and, on occasion, a fun surprise. Nothing says love like fun surprises.