Random Pictures

Well, it's been about a week since my last post, and since my Internet connection seems to be better today, I thought it would be a good idea to post a new entry.  I don't really have a great theme for this week, but I do have some pictures to share.  First, some of my students:

Grade 2 Oral English

Aren't they cute?  I had Grade 2 Oral English until their regular teacher came back from getting married in the U.S.  Didn't know quite what to do with them, but I asked them about themselves, played games like "I Spy", and took them to the library.

On my first Friday, we had a sports day.  After the first two classes, everyone got into two buses and went to the sports complex (more like an aquatic center).  They could choose from badminton, table tennis, or swimming.  Since I'm no good at ball sports, I chose to supervise swimming.  Basically I was an extra safety monitor for the kid's pool.  I don't have any pics of the kids swimming, but I do have one from the entrance to the locker rooms:

Chinese Locker Room Sign

Apparently, a picture of a lace-edged camisole means female, and a picture of a collared polo shirt means male.  Perfectly clear, no language skills necessary; and yet something somehow seems odd.  Oh, well, it's no stranger than a lot in China.

Take, for instance, this picture that I took the following Sunday.  It seems strange, and yet is perfectly reasonable when you think about it.

Clearly, this can be nothing but an e-bike rental vending machine; like a machine for renting luggage carts at the airport  They do not have these in the U.S., and so it seems strange.  In the U.S., however, most adults own their own cars, and most kids have bikes.  Electric-powered bikes are pretty rare.  Here, they are the most common form of transportation, and not very expensive.  There are mornings where I was running late, and wanted a faster mode of transportation.  If I could read Chinese, I might have been tempted to try this machine.

Some have asked, and probably more have wondered, about my school; what's it like?  Well, as far as the physical environment is concerned, the best way is to show you.  So, without further ado, here is Wuxi International School:

This hallway leads to the dining hall.

This is the playground.  I'm afraid it wouldn't pass code in California, but here it's perfectly fine.

This is the view out of the window.  The space shown is actually used by Wuxi No. 3 Senior High School, which, due to its greater size, uses more than half of the total campus.

Another view of the pond.  (On special days they turn on the fountains.)

In the distance, you can see the tower of International School of Wuxi, a neighboring school which is privately owned.

Walkway between halves of the campus.  We actually don't use this space, it's used by the public school. 

The next picture requires some explanation.  Breakfast cereals are very hard to find here, and granola seems absolutely nonexistent.  (Most Chinese eat rice for breakfast.)  Old-fashioned oats, however, are easy to find in bulk bins (and one of the few bulk items, besides rice, that I could readily identify).  They are easy to prepare in the rice cooker if you leave the lid open.  Plain oatmeal, however, is a little bland, so I add sugar and milk, which provides a nutritious and filling breakfast.

 

When my sugar ran out, of course, I had to get more.  However, I didn't want to be restricted to packages that were labeled in English.  So, I took the following picture of my empty sugar package:

I previewed the picture on my digital camera, to make sure the characters were clear.  Then, I took my camera with me when I went shopping (as I normally do everywhere in China).  The idea was, I would then be able to match the Chinese characters on the old label to characters on a new label or bulk bin sign.  This would keep me from buying salt by mistake.  Sure enough, the bottom three characters could be found on another package, at a much cheaper price.

The next day (this would be my third Saturday in China, for those of you who are keeping track), was the day I went to downtown Wuxi (mentioned in an earlier entry), learned about the fabric market, found buttons, a yarn store, and a well-attended church.  On my way to meet my colleagues, I decided to take the stairs.  I had been told that this particular stairwell led not to the lobby, but to the underground bomb shelter/parking garage.  I decided to explore, and I took my headlamp, just in case.  When I got there, I did indeed find the parking garage, and there I saw something most curious.  The lighting was very dim, but I managed to capture two flash-lit pictures:

Double-Decker Parking Lift

Six Parking Spaces; Three Up, Three Down

This device apparently doubles the number of parking spaces available.  I can't imagine how it would work if two spaces, one on top of the other, were rented by two different families.  If you had the top space, you'd always have to wait for the person below you to leave, and come in before they arrived.

After my colleagues and I got off the bus in downtown Wuxi, we had a bit of a walk to get to the fabric market.  They pointed out something which is apparently a fashion for couples in China:

Couple with Matching T-shirts

Apparently, some couples like to buy matching t-shirts, and wear them out in public, just so there's no mistake about whether they are actually a couple.  Not sure whether this is any indication of living arrangements.

As mentioned earlier, having learned about a church there which was reputed to have a service in English, and the next day being Sunday, I went to church.  The weather was poor, and I didn't want to treat the inside of the church like a tourist attraction, so I don't have any pictures of that day.  However, I do have something better.  One of the brothers there gave me his business card.  He works for a German company, at a manufacturing plant that I walk past every day on my way to school.  He invited me to some international fellowships that meet on Wednesday at the church, and on Thursday in private homes, all approved by the Chinese government.  I chose to go to both, and both were interesting and uplifting, although in very different ways.

The following weekend, of course, I did laundry again.  Since I'd been using them for two weeks, I decided it was time to wash my sheets.  This means I had to wash them first thing on Saturday morning, and hang them up to dry, immediately, to give them the best chance of drying by bedtime, since I don't have a dryer.  Other clothes had to be done on Sunday, and here we come to the picture you've all been waiting for, my clothesline:

Backpacking-Style Clothesline

Those of you who are conversant with such things may notice that it is made from military-grade paracord, and the line on the left is made of two lines twisted tightly together.  This is a technique that I learned while backpacking with Boy Scout Troop 58.  It allows me to hang socks and other garments by inserting the ends or corners between the plies.  This eliminates the need for clothespins, saving weight and space when packing.

The following Saturday (this brings us up to last weekend), one of my colleagues hosted a potluck to celebrate the marriage of two of our colleagues, K & A.  She had also recently adopted a pair of kittens, and so this was also a cause for celebration:

Rudy and Isis

Aren't they adorable?  And I didn't sneeze once while I was there.

Although I was up pretty late at the party (and walking home), I was able to make it to church on time; early, in fact.  The day was beautiful, not at all like last week.  I thought I'd get a few pictures for those of you who want to know what my church looks like:

Wuxi Protestant Church

This church belongs to the Three-Self Patriotic Movement, the official state-approved Christian church in the P.R.C.  In front of the church, you can see the rows of e-bikes parked in the yard.  There is also a newer clock tower:

And, there is also an engraved plaque describing the building's history.  The English translation is a little rough, but understandable:

Before the service, I was greeted by a Chinese brother who apparently knew some of the people in the international fellowship.  He had apparently taught himself English from books and CD's.  He treated me to lunch after the service, and we talked about some important things.

After lunch, I met Jedediah in the cultural square.  I also met his wife of two years, who is Chinese, and had learned German before they met.  She had business with some photography students, and so Jedediah and I sat and talked, and then went and got coffee, and talked some more.  Great guy.

After coffee, I took the bus home.  I was looking for a good bike store that I had seen before, but didn't see it.  However, I did see something odd on the bus.  With the bar in the way, I had to take two pictures to capture the whole sign:

I understand signs barring dogs and smoking, but what does the first icon mean?  "No suitcase bombs allowed"?  Do the really need a sign for that?

Notice that there is nothing about food and drink.  You are allowed to eat on the bus; however, if you make a mess, you must clean it up.  There is a broom, a mop, and a waste bin on the bus for that purpose.  I have seen a passenger use the last two after she dropped her food and was scolded by the driver.

And finally, a word about cheap cookware.  The first Sunday I was here, I bought the cheapest frying pan I could find at a grocery store, when I gave up looking for Carrefour.  The ersatz-nonstick coating wasn't nonstick, and, when scrubbed with the rough side of a sponge, it started to come off.  The steel underneath then started to rust.  I had the idea to scrub the rust off, then dry it with heat on the hot plate, then season it with oil to keep it from rusting further.  I should have known that would only work with cast iron.  Here is the result:

Can you see how the pan is deformed with heat?  No?  Well, then look at the underside, which also didn't stand up to a decent scrubbing:

Scorched, and the coating actually stuck to the hot plate a little bit.  (I think I got it all off.)  Worse, it stank.  I had to throw the pan out immediately.

Prayer Requests

Praise God for giving me the Internet access necessary to post this!  Also, praise God for the international fellowship at Wuxi Protestant Church.  All state-approved, safe, and legal.  I just have to be a good citizen, and I won't have any problems worshiping God and fellowshiping.

That's all I have time for.  Blessings to all.