New Year's Day - reflections

Tuesday, January 1

H A P P Y N E W Y E A R S

Time to Reflect. The year 2007 is gone, and 2008 is here. When the year started, I was a professor at NCCC in New York, and had just been elected to the HWDSB as a trustee. Life was good. I expected to remain a trustee for many years, become a tenured professor, and live out my years until retirement in 15 years or so.

NCCC decides a score of 4.5 and 4.9 on my student evaluations was not high enough - out of a maximum of 5. I can see their point. Everyone at N–Trip is perfect except me. I could bring the faculty average down to 4.99 with those scores. Now I am unemployed.

I find a posting to work for Humber College in China, and I am off. My life takes a new direction, and Carpe Diem!

Since arriving here I have learned about a different culture, fulfilled a life long dream I had given up on - playing in a band. And I have fallen in love ... with about 20 or 25 of my students. (I could name them, but that would eventually get me in a lot of trouble). I have no more illusions of growing moss, but will continue to be a rolling stone. I am able to retire right now if I wanted to move here. Everywhere I look, I see opportunities. There are so many doors open to me, that I am a little disappointed I was ready to settle into a routine life, although being in politics is anything but routine.

What will 2008 offer me? Depends right now on Humber College and contract negotiations. They do not realize who has the power. I suspect they offered a really good contract in August, with an expectation that whoever accepted will have no choice but to accept a lower one in January. I have too many options. They have a problem

Most likely possibility is to return to Canada, continue with the school board, and seek employment in Canada. Number two is to return to Canada, continue with the school board, look for employment with another college in another part of the world. Hopefully China, but other countries are options. Number three is to remain in China working for Humber, and concentrate on getting the band “HELLO” going. Becoming a rock star at 47 is not out of the question.

I wish everyone a HAPPY NEW YEAR. Keep tuned in, 2008 promises to be as exciting and unpredictable as 2007 was.

Shanghai - Trip Home

Saturday Dec 29

Okay, This is really the train trip from Friday evening to Saturday evening.

As we wait to board the train, I reflect on what we did not see. The “Confucian Temple”, the “Jing‘AN Temple”, and the “Sex Museum”. We found the Sex Museum, but Linda would not go in. She said she would wait outside, but seeing a Sex Museum is like having sex ... much more fun if you are with someone else.

We board the train, and I am eager to experience economy train travel in China. The trains are modern, and all run on electric. In our car, there are about 110 seats, hard with high backs. The seats have thin padding, and a cloth head rest. Seats are six seats facing each other on one side of the aisle and four on the other. A small table is attached to the wall. Overhead racks store luggage. We sit in out seats, We have the two aisle seats of a set of three. No one sits with us, so we move to the window and middle seat.

We brought some food remaining from the Hotel, some water and a few beer. Other people have brought a large supply of food and drinks. Noodle cartons, round packages of individual servings, seem to be the favourite. Hot water is available. Across from us are two girls. They look like they could be sisters, although I never ask, and a young boy who is 30 months old. The boy, like most children is cute. The third, aisle seat, has a student reading a technical document on gene research. Clearly a post-graduate level document.

The trains pulls out of the station, and we are on our way hone. At the first of 22 stops, we get our missing person. She is young and a real B*T*H. She is with her boyfriend / husband. She has the ticket for the window seat. Linda asks if she can stay where she is, but the lady insists Linda move back to her own seat. As soon as she sits down, she asks the student to give up his seat for her boyfriend. I move to the Aisle seat, across from the boyfriend, and Linda sit in the middle

At the next stop, we take on more passengers. Now, there are more people than seats. About 10 people are standing in the aisles. Being a little annoyed at the lady, I offer a beer to a nice looking older man standing next to the boyfriend, and then give him, the two girls, the little boy and a lady sitting across from me, a Canadian Flag pin. I hope I made my point.

As the night goes on, Linda and I try to sleep. We make a pillow out of her bag, and she falls asleep on my lap. The seats are hard and vertical, making it hard on my back, and difficult to sleep.

Through the night, the two “lovers” openly display their attraction for each other as often as possible. Whenever she gets up, they hug and caress each other. Linda offers her seat to him. I am not pleased, but since I do not know how much English they know, I say nothing to Linda. He is now sitting next to me, and Linda across from me.

There are many stops, about one per hour, as we travel the 1300 Km trip home. The man standing eventually gets seat as more people leave the train then embark through the night. A lady goes up and down the aisle with a cart selling hot food. A man has another cart with drinks, noodle cups and other packaged goods. I discover the next day there is a dinning car, where they prepare food for the cart, or people can sit and eat.

We continue to play with the boy. The boy likes to play, but the lady keeps interfering Whatever we do to amuse him, she tries, but does not have the touch. She feeds him crackers, without asking the mother. Then he gets sick and throws up all over the mother. Everyone seems happy, but if I were the parent I would be angry.

Linda puts her feet up on me. The lovers keep taking up more room and eventually have me sitting half way off my seat. When the Wagon lady bumps me, I have had enough. Next time they get up, I locate the edge of my seat and move over. I do not want to say anything. Besides, they may not even understand me. I get very little sleep, but Linda is comfortable and gets some sleep. By the morning, the lovers are not happy with me, and he moves to an empty seat a few rows away.

Morning brings a vista of mountains, rivers and villages. The mountains are only 200 - 400 metres but are very steep and close together - less than a kilometre between some peaks. They are mostly tree covered, and many show the scars of land slides. The train winds around the mountains, very seldom travelling in a straight line. Below us are small rivers with villages dotted along the banks. Every few minutes, we travel through a short tunnel.

About once each hour or so, we pull into a train station, loading and unloading people. When we left Shanghai, after three stops, people were standing. Through the middle of the trip, there were empty seats. Now, as we near Xiamen, the terminus of the trip, we are back to people standing again.

We pull into Xiamen Station. Grab our luggage, and head to the street looking for a taxi. It is 5:30, shift change time. No taxis want to take a fare to Jimei. I tell Linda she is dong it wrong. Get in the cab, then tell him where we are going. Don’t ask them first. We go to the bus stop and are waiting for a bus when I finally get a taxi to take us home.

The train was an interesting trip. I am glad I took the hard seat trip ... ONCE. Next time, I will fly, or get a soft sleeper, which is like a room with four beds. The difference in price, from Shanghai to Xiamen is 154 ¥ for the hard seats (about 20 dollars) and 429 ¥ for the sleeper (56 dollars), for a 1300 Km trip. Compare that to VIA rail.

The trip was wonderful Except for a rude lady at the Oriental Pearl Tower, the problem with VEN ICE and the B*T*H on the train, it was a very pleasant, educational and rewarding trip. Even the train was a worthwhile experience.

Shanghai - Day Three

Friday Dec 28

More RAIN! The weather forecast said 25% chance of rain on Thursday, and nothing about Friday. I guess Canadian and Chinese weathermen have something in common.

We plan our day. We have to check out, go to the train station and stow our luggage, then do more sight seeing. Our train does not leave until 7 PM and we need to check out by noon. We pack everything, and hail a taxi. The train station is close to the hotel, so no problem. Linda shows the taxi driver our tickets, and off we go ... in the wrong direction. I get worried. I have a great sense of direction, but we are going south. The train station is north. I ask Linda where we are going ... she tells me there are TWO train stations, we depart from Shanghai-South Terminal. As we drive we pass an IKEA. Maybe we can go there and look around.

We arrive at a beautiful new terminal, round silver, clean, new, three floors. The architecture here defies words. In 2010 when the World’s Exposition comes here, people will be absolutely amazed. For all my friends, this is a place to visit in 2010. For my enemies, you can visit too. Go to VEN ICE, then get Shanghaied to work on a ocean steamer ...

We check our luggage, They have a baggage storage room. For 20 ¥ (2.50) they will store and protect your luggage. We walk to the subway and head off to downtown and people’s square again. The Shanghai Museum closes at 5 PM, so yesterday, when we got there at 4, I told Linda to wait until today. We get there around 1.

On the subway, there is a women and a young boy. It looks like the grand mother. The boy is curious about me. I am strange, funny eyes, a westerner. He tries to use his limited English. Linda and I play with him. HE asks where we are gong and Linda tries to say says “People Square” but something happens to the “square” sounds more like “squirrel” The jokes start. We are going to people’s squirrel. I ask her to say other “sq” words, like “squirrel”, “squash” and “squid” They all sound the same. Now I get downright mean. I say “Linda, please say ‘the square squirrel squashed the squid in Shina (rhymes with China .. Remember)” we laugh for 20 minutes. Off to the museum, like two giddy school kids.

The first exhibit is on loan from the Rijksmuseum in Amsterdam. According to their web site "The exhibition was put together by the Rijksmuseum and consists of over 100 paintings and other works of art, including works by Rembrandt, Jan Steen, Ruisdael and Frans Hals.” And the Shanghai Government web site says “Two of Rembrandt's oils and 20 of his prints and self-portraits go on display in the exhibition "Rembrandt and the Golden Age" of Dutch painting and fine arts of the 17th century. On loan from the Rijksmuseum Amsterdam, the show is comprised of more than 70 pieces: oil paintings, prints, silverware and Delft faiences (glazed earthenware), among others.”

I have never been a connoisseur of museums, but walking around here, looking at artifacts from the year 900 ... B.C. .. almost three thousand years ago, can change that. We look at a one hundred year old building or three hundred year old artifact and admire it. There were things here from a 6000 year old culture that date back two and three thousand years. A new perspective on time.

We start with the Rembrandt and the Golden Age exhibit in the main exhibit hall. NO pictures were allowed, but the display was breath taking. So vivid, the works come to life. I stood for several minutes to admire some of the paintings. Even the sketches were seemed to jump out of the wall.

Moving across the atrium, we enter the "Ancient Chinese Bronze Gallery” The first picture I take is from the main floor, “Bells of Marquis Su of Jin” a set of bells dated "around 9th Century BC” We walk around the first floor looking at bronze works covering three thousand years. Bells, bowls, tools and weapons are all on display.

Displays explain the various chemical components of Bronze, made primarily from copper (Cu) and tin (Sn) and zinc (Zn), and the various blends can show when and where the bronze was made.

After a short rest and look at the floor plan, we head of to the fourth and top floor. Linda is keen on seeing the “Chinese Minority Nationalities Art Gallery” China has 56 nationalities, with the Hans in the majority. There were traditional costumes for many of the different nationalities, and each costume showed some characteristics of the region they inhabit. The quality of cloth, ability to keep the wearer warm, and colours of the dyes all showed the uniqueness of each nationality. There were fishing boats there resemble the native canoes of North America, and a variety of masks used in rituals and ceremonies.

Next was a large collection of coins, going back to the Jin State of 770 - 376 BC. We then see a historic review of traditional Chinese cons, round with a square hole in the center. Paper money appeared much later, and a side room showed the coins used in the various kingdoms along the Silk Road.

The Chinese Ming (1368 to 1644) and Qing (1644 to 1911)Furniture Gallery was next on the fourth floor. Hand carved furniture from woods such as Mahogany and Sandalwood. There was a variety of chairs, beds and cabinets with hand carving through the wood. The skill displayed to carve these intricate pieces is almost as great as the fact they lasted all these years without being damaged.

The Jade gallery was closed. Just as well. Based on Wednesday’s view of Jade at the previous Art gallery, I may not have left. Down to the third floor.

We start with the seal gallery. I do my impersonation of a Seal, clapping my hands with elbows held close to my body, and the hoarse laugh made by seals.. Linda does not get it, then I explain what a seal is ... too many of my jokes need to be explained.

The history of seals is explained, and how delicate the hand carvings are on both the actual stamp and the handle. We look for unique small seals ... Is this a baby seal hunt?

The Painting Gallery and Calligraphy Gallery are next, with displays of old Chinese characters. I take a picture of a horizontal scroll by Lui Ji ( 1311 - 1375). I ask Linda what is says, and she says she can’t read the old characters.

The “Ancient Chinese Ceramics Gallery” take up most of the third floor. A display case explains how old villages were situated on hill sides to efficiently make ceramics. An old potters wheel, and three different types of kilns, varying from a small igloo shaped one to a “long house” style, up to 80 metres long, built up the side of a hill. Difficult to express the high quality of work and beauty in the displayed works. There were bowls, idols, animals. Of note were a “Qingbai Glazed Buddha Statue” from the Yuan Dynasty (1271 - 1368 A.D.) and a “Polychrome Glazed Pottery Statue of Heavenly Guardian” from the Tang Dynasty (618-907 A.D.). Various bowls, plates and wine vessels with ornamental lids also were on display.

The museum visit was over, and we headed off to eat before returning to the train station. A few final shots of the buildings, and ready to go. We sit for a few minutes, and I look up to see the Oriental Pearl Tower perfectly framed by several office towers. My final picture of Shanghai would be perfect if it was a little clearer. We return to the Shanghai South Train Station, and await or train.

Shanghai - Day Two

Thursday, Dec 27

Up to the sound of RAIN!!! No need to rush out and get wet. We relax a little first. For a deposit, the Hotel provides umbrellas. We are going to walk to the subway, then head downtown. Sight see, eat, meat up with Linda’s friend around 7. Sight see some more. Linda’s friend does not have an English name. They have known each other for five years, and he attends university in Shanghai.

We find the subway. It is about a one kilometer walk. The subway has a park-in-go ... For bikes! Not cars. We enter the subway, It is clean! Almost sanitary. The fares are by zones. Pay an amount to go into a zone. It costs us 3 ¥ to go downtown (about 35 cents) . There is a yellow strip painted on the floor where the door is, asking people to allow the passengers room to exit. People don’t read. As they crowd the door waiting for the train doors to open, I tell Linda ... this is a LIFO system, and you must let people OUT before you can enter, especially when the train is full. We board the train. Compared to TTC, the train has larger doors, and all the cars are articulated. You can walk from one end of the train to the other. A ticker board prints out information coinciding with the announcements. All stops are announced in Chinese followed by English. “This trains terminal station is Zhangjiang High Technology Park. . Next stop is People’s Square”

We get on the train and head downtown. We arrive at People’s Square in no time - three stops. We start at the statue in the park at the center of the city. I put on my “SUDBURY IS A ONE ARCH CITY” t-shirt, and take a few pictures. It is not the Great Wall, but best I can do this trip. Pete Smith, a high school friend, member fo the BAA, basketball, football and track teams with me, now runs the Delux Hamburgers at the Four Corners in Sudbury. I promised him a picture of me, the shirt and the Great Wall of China. Since I can’t visit my sister-in-law, who lives in Beijing, and would take me to the wall, he will have to settle for pictures of me in Shanghai. (For my friends who live in Sudbury and read this, ask Pete to check his email).

Next to the park and subway entrance is Shanghai Number One Department Store, world famous. We enter. It is 12 floors of shopping and fun. We make our way up to the tenth floor where we find “Madame Tussauds Wax Museum”, always a fun stop. Inside we find a large number of full size wax figures of famous people. Did you know how short Tom Cruise really is? Or how TALL Yao Ming is? I do now. Linda gets pictures with all the good looking men, while I get the ladies. I pose with Bruce Lee, square off against ARNOLD, and give guitar lessons to John Lennon. Linda has her eyes on Bill Clinton ... like every other woman except Hillary.

At 4 pm, we head back to the subway. We want to get to the Oriental Pearl Tower while it is still light, but also want to see all the city lights come on. Need to arrive around 4:30. The tower is 468 meters high, third tallest in the world. Guess which tower is first? Too easy? Ok .. Second? Ostankino Tower in Moscow.

As for buildings, Toronto has three in top 100, First Canadian Place at 37th, Scotia Plaza at 59 and BCE Place at 83. Shanghai has the Jin Mao Building at number 5, Shimao International Plaza at 18 (I have a story later about this building), Plaza 66 at 44th, Sunjoy Tomorrow Square at 47th , Hong Kong New World Tower at 57th, BOCOM Financial Towers at 72nd , Grand Gateway Plaza I and II at 79th and 80th . Very impressive skyline.

There is also one being built, Jin Mao Building II which is already taller than the Jin Mao Building, but not yet finished, so it is not on the list. It will be soon. You can see it being built some of the pictures.

We get to the base of the Orient Pearl tower, look up into the overcast sky, and see only ... clouds. After some discussion, we decide to go to the lower sphere. At least you can see some of the city. The lady selling tickets, in a rude manner, says we have to buy tickets to the top. They do not have tickets to the lower sphere only .. At least that is what I think she says. We then ask if we can walk around the base, and not enter, but she is rude, so we leave. We decide not to go in at all. Nothing to see but clouds. We take pictures from the outside, as many others do.

I see a young man trying to take a photo of himself in front of the tower. I offer to take one for him. I take several, but he has a poor quality camera. I take a few with mine, and email them to him.

Off Linda and I go, looking for new adventures. There is a tunnel from the tower side back to The Bund. We find the entrance, and it is a small subway car. Room for about ten people. Four seats. We take the ride, sitting in the front window. There is music and psychedelic lights. Not for someone on drugs . .. Well .... maybe ...

Back to the Bund. We walk around looking at buildings, people, boats. Although the sky is low and overcast, there are some pictures to be taken. Linda stops to read a poster in a pedestrian underpass, and I stand off to the side out of the way. Six young people come up to me, start asking me questions, amazed that I am wearing short sleeves. They are art students heading off to an art show, just around the corner. They ask us to join them.

The art is beautiful. Most from semi famous artists. We look around, take some pictures, then they try to sell us some. I am tempted. In particular is a set fo four seasons. The colours combinations are wonderful, with a green, purple, gold and white, representing the four seasons, and four stages of life. The “Selling price” is 200 ¥ each, but they will let me have all four for only 600 ¥ . I am tempted, almost offer 400 ¥, but in the end, walk away empty handed. One of the regrets I will have ... maybe I should have bought them. I left them my contact information. Given another chance, I may still buy.

Linda’s friend is waiting for us. He has finished his exam, and is wondering where we are. We leave the gallery, and head back to Bund to find him. He has no English name, and asks me to give him one. We walk along the Bund. All the buildings now have the evening lights on, giving a whole new perspective to the walk. I go shutter happy again. A security guard cheers at my hardiness, and is rewarded with a picture for my collection.

We grab a taxi and head to Xin Tian Di for some dinner. We arrive and walk around looking for something I like. There are French and German cuisine, and several other restaurants, but no Pub type place. We finally settle on a place, and sit and eat. The food is good, but the prices are Western prices, very expensive for China. Most of the people walking around are tourists and expats ... short for expatriate which means “One who has taken up residence in a foreign country.”

After dinner we head to VEN ICE, the ice cream store. Linda does know about ice cream, so she asked me to order. I ordered ONE banana split and THREE spoons. I was rather clear what I wanted. As I spoke, I pointed to the banana splits and raised one finger. Then I pretended to eat, pointed to what would have been a spoon, and raised three fingers. They brought THREE banana splits. I immediately pointed out the error, but they insisted we pay for them. I was going to stand my ground, and only pay if the police were called and I was about to be arrested, but Linda was afraid, and she paid for the extra two. I have the business card, but not sure what a letter would do. Hey cost 68 ¥ each or about 9 dollars a banana split! Another story of a Lau Wai (spelling) in China. I can now brag the I was Shanghaied in Shanghai.

Back into a cab, and now to walk the famous Nanjing Road. It is a street blocked from traffic, with shopping everywhere. We walk from the Bund back to People’s Square, about 1.5 kilometers. Neon lights fill the skyline, and people everywhere. It is cold, for them, so not many by their standards, but still pretty busy.

Ahead I see a tall building. It is the one in the pictures with two tall towers raising up from it, and 18th tallest in the world. In the night, with neon flashing, it looks like “SHINA” on the side of the building. A ask “what is SHINA (rhymes with China) ?” Both Linda and her un-named friend start to laugh. It is SHIMAO (pronounced She Mao) with the A and O in a corporate design. One of our running jokes for the next two days is I want to go to Shina (rhymes with China).

We get to People’s square. Our un-named friend is about to get a name. He leads us down a side street, which is a dead end. He now says he does not know where we are. I name him “LOST”

We continue to walk along, past a building with an upside down arch on the roof. A really unique design, and there are many here, but this one stands out among the many unique designs. The building is not lit up, and I complain that the most beautiful and unique building shod be lit. I will try to get pictures the next day, but need to know what it is. We find the sign .. It is the “Shanghai Grand Theatre” . It is truly an amazing looking building.

When I was a guest speaker at a conference at Stony Brook University on Long Island a few years ago, I saw a Hummer dealer, and thought that Long Islanders much be very rich to justify a Hummer dealer. Tonight I passed a corner which outdid that. On the south west corner was a Ferrari and Maserati dealer. On the North west was a Mercedes Benz dealer, and on the north east was a Porsche dealership. I was looking for my Jaguar dealership, but didn’t see one. I am sure it was not far. I prefer a Jag over the other four, a two seater, 12 cylinder ...maybe after this book is published or the movie of my life is released.

I put the camera away for the night, we walk back to the Bund, and Lost gets on a bus to go back to his dorm. Linda and I jump in a taxi. Tired, sore, but happy, it was an enjoyable day overall. We figure we walked about 10 - 12 Km, took two subway rides, an under water sightseeing train, three taxis, saw many new things, met some wonderful art students, and gave LOST his English name. Tomorrow will be new adventures.

Shanghai - Day one

Wednesday December 26

Shanghai from Wednesday to Saturday. First a few facts about Shanghai - home of the 2010 World’s Exposition.

Population: Over 20 million! They have subdivisions like us, except we have houses and they have apartment buildings.

Area: 6340.5sq km

Subway: 5 lines, now 8. Three new lines adding 96 km to system open on Saturday, the day after we leave. Total of 8 lines, 234 km, and 162 stations (TTC has only three lines and 70 Km) . Seventh largest in the world behind New York, London, Tokyo, Seoul, Moscow and Madrid.

Temperature: Was supposed to snow the day after we left. Was up to 16 and sunny on Wednesday. Cooler, 12 and rainy on Thursday and Friday.

TWO International airports - Pudong and Hongqiao. We land at Hongqiao

TWO major train stations - Shanghai, and Shanghai South. We depart from Shanghai South.

+++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++

I meet Linda at 7 am at the bus station on the edge of campus. We hailed a taxi, and it is off to the airport. Linda has never flown, never been to Shanghai, never been on a train, never stayed in a hotel, never ... oh ... never mind. I don’t know who is reading this (Ha Ha Ha).

We get to the airport, and I start showing her things I had talked about in class. The luggage check in, how they load and unload planes. The entire airport operation is a lesson in logistics. She also get a lesson in airport prices. Linda did not eat breakfast, and is now hungry. Lunch is more costly then the GDP of some small nations.

The plane leaves on time, at 9 AM. We look out the window at the beautiful scenery below us. Shoreline dotted with coves and small islands protruding from the ocean surf.

We land in Shanghai at 10:30, as per schedule. On approach, I look down and see beautiful sub divisions of 50 and 100 units ... just like in Canada. Almost! These are apartment buildings. Ten and fifteen story apartment buildings laid out like we lay out sub divisions. That is how you get 20 million people in a city a 10 percent smaller than the GTA. (only 6340.5sq km versus 7200 for GTA).

We carry our luggage off. Linda has a small beige bag, a little larger than my toiletry bag, while I have my camera back pack, and my Labatt’s Blue sports bag. We get outside, and true to Chinese efficiency, there are a 100 taxis lined up and a serpentine to get to them. We walk through the “snake” and get to the front of the line. There a guard points us to cab position four. The cabs are five abreast, and loaded in a fair and VERY efficient manner. (FIFO - more logistics for my students). We show the cab driver the print out from the hotel, and we are off.

The highway system is all elevated like the Gardner Expressway. Four lanes in each direction, The main one loops around the city, with another cutting across it. I look out the window during the 30 minute ride. All I can see are beautiful sky scrapers, high and low rise apartments, some new and clean, others old and weather beaten. The architecture is amazing. Buildings are round, arched, triangular, glass, concrete, steel, most with a unique top mast or structure. It makes me wonder how th4e “advanced western world” can have ugly square buildings while the “developing nation” has the imagination and technology to build a sky scraper paradise.

We arrive at the hotel, check in. The hotel lobby is on the sixth floor. On the main floor is a concierge, and a few waiting chairs. We take the elevator up to the sixth floor. A nice lounge area, restaurant / bar, business officer and main desk. We check in, show our ID. I need to show my passport, and Linda shows her citizenship card.

There are 22 floors numbered 1 - 12, 14 - 23. The Chinese don’t like number 13 either. We are in room 1218. The room opens with a credit card type key.
There is a two metre hallway before you find a bathroom on the left, and closet space on the right. The closet has a light inside and a small safe. The bathroom has a “western” toilet, small sink, bath tube with shower. The hair dryer has a 110 outlet for a shaver. Toiletries include soap, shampoo, lotion, body wash, two tooth brushes, two combs, vanity kit, hair nets, matches (yes, smoking is allowed).

We turn on the lights, and they go off! After some research, we discover there is a card holder on the wall near the door. The room key must be left in it to activate the lights. When the key is removed, the lights go off in ten seconds.

The main room is much smaller then western hotels. There is a desk and two double beds, a long cabinet with a TV, small frig, a few drawers. All the lights are controlled by a panel between the beds. There is very little walking room. Just enough to get around. We drop our things, and head off to lunch.

We exit and head right. We pass a Starbuck’s, and a KFC within a few metres. Around the corner we find a couple of restaurants. We go upstairs and order lunch. The food is good. The FROG came as whole frogs in a spicy soup type sauce, but too many bones for my liking. I hate to fight with my food. Also had a spicy beef dish, a vegetable and a soup. Looking outside, I see a cop giving a guy a parking ticket. My first amusement and first photo op. I take a picture of the ticket, and wait for the guy to turn. I wanted to go down and take the ticket as a souvenir, and bring it back to Canada with me, but discretion was the better part of valour.

After lunch, we return to the hotel. I have a half day tour booked for the afternoon. We also have to buy our train tickets. We go to the LOBBY ... is it on the sixth floor or on the ground floor? Who knows. We order the train tickets. Linda wants to save money, and insists, against my better judgment to get the hard seats. Hard seats are 154 ¥ plus 25 ¥ delivery. Soft seats are 243 ¥ plus delivery. I give in.


THE TOUR
We meet our guide, Jenny. She takes us to the Mercedes Van for our tour. Only two people booked for the afternoon, so we get her and driver all to ourselves. She asks if we want to change the tour, and I say no. Stick to the schedule. We are only using it as a guide to know where to go the next two days. The tour includes: The Bund; Yuyuan Garden; Shanghai Old Street; Shanghai Arts and Crafts Store; Xin Tian Di and the former French Concession District.

The Bund: A walking area next to the It has a number of little shops, and a beautiful view of both sides of the river. This was the only place I took out my 150-500 mm lens. Partly because it was overcast the next two days and not good shots available.

Yuyuan Garden: This is an old garden built by a son for his parents in the 1500's. There is some great architecture, rock gardens, and 100's of huge gold fish.. Walking around, in the middle of this bustling city, there was such serenity.

Shanghai Old Street: Old buildings, several hundred years old. Hand carved eves, and colourful roofs. It was here we visited a silk mill run by the Chinese Government.

Upon entry, you see some butterflies, who lay hundreds of eggs. The eggs hatch into worms, and later spin a cocoon to become butterflies. The cocoons are taken, and the outer shell is turned into silk. Cocoons with a singe larva inside are placed in water in groups, The shell of the cocoon is spun into a machine in groups of fine thread, becoming high quality silk. If there is more than one larva in the cocoon, the silk can not be spun. These larva have the silk cocoon cut open, the larvae removed, and are stretched over a wooden horseshoe. They are then stretched and turned into duvets. I bought a beautiful silk tie, a little over priced for China, cheap for Canada. Guaranteed quality, for 260 ¥ or about 35 dollars.


Former French Concession District: A shoppers paradise. After seeing a beautiful chess set at Yuyuan Garden, I remembered the last thing on my list of “souvenirs” to bring home, a classic Chinese style chess set. Jenny, the tour guide, knew where to find one. We started looking around the French area, and found one. 1500 ¥ ! The sales person said she could drop the price for Boxing Day Sale. I said I would come back. The next store had several more sets, Prices ranged from 1400 to 1600 ¥ . She quickly dropped to 900 ¥ - a little too fast for my liking. We went to a third store. The lady there showed us a similar set, said she didn’t want to haggle, and started at 900 ¥. I offered 800 ¥ and have a gorgeous set of stone carved pieces. A new family heirloom to pass down to one of the kids.

Xin Tian Di: Another shoppers paradise, and home to many western bars and cafes. We returned here the next night to get ripped off by the ice cream place. More about that tomorrow.

Shanghai Arts and Crafts Store: More beautiful art. Jade, carved and so clear you can see through it. Paintings china, sculptures, many amazing things of beauty. We say a lady doing hand painting. Uses no brushes, just the side of her hand. You have to see the quality of the work to believe if. She must have been good at finger painting in grade one. Bought a set of four bookmarks with the Chinese zodiac, one for each of us.

end of tour

We return to our hotel, and decide we needed some food. There is a Carrefore nearby, so we are off again. At Carrefore we buy snacks, beer, and a few food items for Linda’s father. We have a dinner, and head back to the hotel. Linda is tired, and I am a little too. We decide to make it an early night. We have three long days ahead of us. We look over the map, see where we were today, and make our plans for tomorrow. Linda wants to watch TV! She does not have one in the dorms, and this is a luxury. Lay in bed and watch TV. Reminds me of Lin. I drink some beer, eat some snacks, and call it a night.

I'm dreaming of a White Christmas

Monday Dec 24

It is 23 degrees Celsius on Christmas eve . I am in shorts and a tee shirt.

Another performance by “HELLO” This one at the Business college. Only Roger and I could go. I got a promotion to led vocals. Only four songs as part of a big party. We did “Jingle Bells”, “Yellow Submarine”, “I Feel Fine” and “Hey Jude”

Roger and Lilly live in 301, just down the hall from me. I go past their apartment to get to mine (310). When we got home from playing at the Business School, Lilly, found a present attached to the door knob of their apartment. I commented to Roger, the recent victim to the female conspiracy of marriage, that on of his female students is a secret admirer, and left him a present. This, of course, back fired when the note attached to the present said “ To Ron English”. It appears I have a secret admirer who is also dyslexic, mixing up 310 and 301.

Turned out to be Tina, from the Overseas class. Roger teaches the Overseas class too, so he knows her. More on her tomorrow. The gift is a beautiful good luck ornament to hang in the home.

Tuesday Dec 25

Just another Christmas day. No snow. Cooled off to 16 overnight, but didn't snow.

I ran out of my room to the invisible tree, and saw Santa gave me what I so richly deserved ... nothing. I started to work.

Due to an announcement yesterday. The University was now closed on both December 31 and January 1. This means several things. I can stay in Shanghai longer, I now lost a review class for Overseas students, and to get my exams in for printing at least seven days prior to the exam, they had to be done today.

I had to get THREE exams ready for printing by 5:30 PM. I had all but three of them ready. I worked all day, and only got two done. I went to Maggie in the office. Told her I already had tickets to Shanghai leaving early the next morning. and only had two of the three exams done. I told her can email them to her tonight or she can wait for one until Wednesday. She opted for Wednesday. I am so lucky. She is so nice.

At 4 pm, got a call form the six dorm mates at overseas college. Selice, Fiona, Winnie, Zoe, Cissy and Tina (the dyslexic girl from yesterday) all live together, sit in the front row, and want to take me for Christmas dinner. Their nickname for me is “007" from one day I wore my sun glasses (prescription) to class.

They will meet me at 6 PM in the front of the building. I meet them there, in shorts and tee shirt. They are all freezing and bundled up in winter coats. They all want ME to keep them warm. This is a good thing, They take turns cuddling as close as they can to keep warm. We head off to a restaurant in the centre of Jimei.

I start on Tina. I tell her I did not get any present. She says she hung it on Room 301. I tell her I live in 310. She gave it to Roger Loy. Now she is upset. I tell her she should call me “070" (zero seven zero) from now on, not “double Oh Seven” After 30 minutes of harassment from me, with help from the other five, I tell her the truth - that I got the present. But now, I tell her Roger is upset. She gave him a present meant for me, and he didn’t get one. He might fail her.

At dinner we eat “steak”. More like a chopped steak. Drink and laugh. I find out Zoe, the “quiet one” of the bunch, is a wild practical joker. We have a nice dinner, then head off to KTV.

Singing, laughing, having fun. Winnie and Fiona have incredible voices. They get me to play a number of English songs. We pick them all, and I know most, and several are out of my range. I do “Don’t Let the Sun go Down on Me” and “The House of the Rising Sun” as two of the better songs I sing. Winnie and I do some harmonies. After two hours, we call it a night, and they walk me home.

Another great evening. A little packing, and ready for the morning.

A buffet to remember, and My Band debut.

Tuesday, December 21.
Suits are ready. Look great. I am soooo sexy now ... well from the neck down.

♪♬ “I’m too sexy for my clothes ♬ .. Too sexy for my clothes too sexy ♬ for my ...”

The tailor did a great job. I have only one complaint. The size of the pockets, They are deep enough, but the opening is a little tight on my hand. And the price. I am all set for several years with these suits.




Friday, December 21.
Foreigner Christmas Party.

We set a new standard for Christmas parities. We took a bus to the Grand Palace Xiamen, China's largest hotel with 1517 rooms and Vegas-like facilities. They have a buffet there which is outstanding. All foreign teachers, families and the administration people we work with were invited.

At a buffet, you should make many trips, with only a little on each trip. It makes no sense to pile foods together on a plate, and not be able to savour the individual tastes. I make many trips, and return with plates only half full.

I started off with a dinner plate of sushi. California rolls, octopus salmon, really good teriyaki sauce, and very hot and tasty wasabi. I stopped at the soup counter on the way back. Next trip was to the chaffing dishes. Chicken. Cauliflower, stuffed buns, battered and deep fried frog legs (the only thing I did not enjoy), beef stuffed with pepper. There was also blanched cabbage, breaded and deep fried pike, fried rice, and several other dishes. Trip three was to the salad bar. Lettuce, and vegetable, cheeses, ant- pasta, a great seafood salad, and a delicious Thai dressing. Next, more from the chaffing dishes, pizza, deep fried spring rolls. A final trip to the sushi bar before desert. I missed the grill, where they had lamb and fish, and the fresh pasta bar. They had long line ups. The desert table was great. There was a round table with different cakes, pies, tortes, and cheese cakes, but I went to the serve bar. I got a big dish of chocolate ice-cream, topped it with chopped walnuts and almonds, then ... the best part, The chocolate fountain. A round three tier - tower with thick rich chocolate flowing down all around. Four different types of bread cubes, skewered, waiting to be dunked and drowned in the sauce from heaven. I took two bread skewers, and bathed them in chocolate, being very careful to spill as much additional chocolate on my plate as I could ... I might be able to eat my money’s worth in sushi and chocolate next time.

Afterwards, “HELLO” made its debut. Forty seven years old .. And in a year of firsts, this one is up there. A real band. Next I will lose my virginity!

Justus, Roger and I took a taxi back so we could set up before the bus got back. The “crew” Aaron, K, Kobe Tommy and Winnie from Overseas College, and Linda from Navigation, had done a good job. We finished the set up, did a sound check, and started at 9 o’clock sharp. First song was “Johnny Be Goode” and the place started to rock.

We then did our three Christmas Carols, “Little Drummer Boy”, “Silent Night” and “Reggae Bells” . Then back into the fast stuff. We played all eight songs, and repeats on “Johnny Be Goode” and “La Bamba” We even did ‘Dust in the Wind”, to give Roger, King and Aaron a short break.

The students had a 11 Pm curfew, so we finished at 10:45, cleaned up, then the real party started. We went to one of the apartments, and drank until 2.

To bed, a good sleep, and back at it today. We play again on Monday at another party across campus.

Some special thanks to a few students who helped us. Set up crew was Aaron (a different one), K, Kobe and Tommy on furniture. Winnie was on the sound board, and Linda was the manager and had my apartment keys to let people in and out. Thank you very much.

Another Day Tripper

Saturday Dec 15 (more pictures on face book)
Another day of hiking. This time on two of the mountains in Xiamen island, and a hill. First I went up I went up Wanghu Hill at 56 Metres, then Houcuo Hill at 193 Metres and finally Zhong Shan Hill at 132 Metres.

The geography of Xiamen Island is very unique. The area is about one fifth the size of the city of Toronto. There are about 25 mountains rising up. I call them mountains. The tallest is about 340 metres, or about 1100 feet and the smallest “mountain) reported is 100 Metres. (Wanghu Hill is not one of the Mountains).

By comparison, Blue Mountain has a vertical drop of 220 Metres (720 feet). And Mount St Louis / Moonstone has a drop of only 170 Metres (550 feet).

Here are some other comparisons for your information.

FACT	XIAMEN	TORONTO
Size (island)	133 km2	641 km2
Population	500,000	2.5 Million
Approx. Density	375,000/ 100 km2	390,000 / 100 km2
Size (Region / GTA)	1640 km2	7200 km2
Population (Xiamen Region / GTA)	2.2 Million	5 Million
Approx. Density	135,000 / 100 km2	69,500/ 100 km2
Peak	340 Metres	200 M. at Keele & Steeles.
Average Temperature	70 degrees	COLDER Much COLDER!
January (H/L)	18 / 11	-1 / -9
July (H/L)	33 / 27	26 / 15

When you look at the density of Xiamen Island, remember how much land those mountains take up. A good portion of the island is uninhabitable. My guess is between a third and a quarter, plus three inland waterways. Actual density is double or triple Toronto. Back to that later.

Now, back to my mountains. They a large outcrops of rock, similar to the ones I saw in New Mexico and Arizona. Weather beaten, bare in many places, they provide a picturesque background to the beautiful architecture here.

Climbing them is not as difficult as it sounds. They all have small paths carved through them, some natural, and others of concrete or placed rocks. When it is steep, there are stairs to climb. Some of the stairs are so narrow, I have to squeeze through. Often, there is only room for one person. No passing allowed. Anyone coming in the other direction must wait.

I went up Wanghu Hill. There is a small temple at the top. Several small ponds, with dirty stagnant water. There are walking paths around the entire hill. Very beautiful pathways and rock formations. A nice view of the city. I met several people there. The number of Chinese who want to talk to a foreigner is amazing. I am always saying “Hello” to people. This time, one girl, Sally, decided she wanted to spend the entire day with me. She thanked me after. She said she was going to take a bus around, but I convinced her to walk, and she discovered .. WE discovered ... much more then we anticipated.

We then took a 30 minute walk over to Houcuo Hill, a little further south and west. On the way we passed a school. We spoke to some students who told us it was a middle school with about 4,000 students. A little further we passed a high school. It had, we were told, over 1000 students in EACH grade. And we complain about class sizes. I will have talk to Don Grant and Darryl Sage about our new school construction.

At the base of Houcuo Hill is a botanical gardens. We passed on the trees and flowers, and went to the cable car. For 80 ¥ total, (10 dollars) we both got to ride to the top of Houcuo Hill. There was a small observation platform at the top. I took a number of pictures from this vantage point. The day was a little overcast. This is good and bad for picture taking. No need to worry where the sun is for back- lit pictures, but visibility is not too good either. The cable car continued down the other side of the mountain, where all we saw was the other side of the mountain. (sounds like a song there somewhere). All the way, I was snapping away at temples and buildings nestled in the woods.

Back at the bottom, we discovered ... a bowling ally! Ten pin, but who cares? Another new Chinese experience. Sally says “Lets go bowling” she pays, and I receive another introduction to more culture differences. I ask for size nine shoes. I get them handed to me by a set of serving tongs - the kind used in restaurants, along with a pair of disposable socks.

The heaviest ball was only 12 pounds, much lighter than the 16 pounds I am used to. I don’t think I ever used less than 14. I like the layout. There is no desk near the ball return rack, instead there is a table with drink holders. The computer is at the end of the seats, and paired with the computer from the adjacent lane (I have pictures). So, we were in lane three. Out computer was attached to the computer from lane two, although we would compete against lane four in league. There was also a large picture painted on the wall of how to bowl. Sally paid for one game, and that is what we got. Everyone spoke Chinese so I did not know this until we started. I bowled the first ball, she stepped up and threw the second ball of the first frame. The I realized she did get one game ... and both of us were bowling it. A scotch doubles! I did not say anything. It seemed normal for everyone else, so I assume that is what they do. We bowled a 38. I had a strike and a 10 pin spared. We also enjoyed two cold beer, and a request from everyone there to have a picture taken with me.

Off we go now to Gan Lu Temple and Zhong Shan Hill. This started off as a temple we saw from the cable car, and not on my itinerary. We climbed up and took pictures of the several small temples. I noticed a narrow set of steps heading up, and off on our road of discovery. The path led to several more temples, narrow paths, fantastic rock formations, and two more peaks, Zhong Shan Hill and Gu Hill. We walked around, taking pictures and enjoying the scenery.

We passed an old pill box. I explained to Sally how soldiers would hide inside and shoot out the small windows. It was well camouflaged and build into the hillside. We started our descent down the other side of the hill coming out at Hungshan Temple. This an old temple, and there are pictures and drawings of the changes over the years. Very interesting to see.

I noticed some people coming out of a hole in the side of a rock. We went inside, and it was a long tunnel through the mountain we had just climbed, brining us back to the start. The tunnel was about 1000 - 1500 metres long. There were even a few stores built into the side of the rock, and people going both ways. We emerged close to where we had started our last climb. The tunnel is not on any of the three maps I have, but I can find it again if I want.

We did some shopping, I bought guitar picks, and Sally bought a Chinese English dictionary. We had late lunch / dinner. Sally then went home, I bought DVD’s and took the bus back to my home away from home, exhausted, but pleased with the day.

Dec 12
Life gets stranger by the day. Been very busy lately. Getting ready for exams, reporting poor performance by some students, was sick for two days with a sore throat, planning a trip to Shanghai over Christmas, trying on my new suit for final alterations, and now I am in a band. Never been in a band before.


So lets start at the top... Exams are only four weeks away. Need to finalize the actual topics for the next four weeks, prepare the lessons, then create three exams. That time of year.

I have the best students I have ever had. That is saying a lot considering St. Andrew’s, Upper Canada College and Woburn Collegiate had some great students. Not only from an academic stand point, but a social one too. There is a great feeling when I am with them. Not the distant Teacher - Student felling in Canada. BUT, I also have some of the worst. Some students don’t want to be in school. They are far more overt in their rebellion then I have seen before. The come to class, sleep, talk, text message, and avoid anything to do with learning. No pens, No paper, No books.

On the last test, I got proof they want to fail. On a multiple choice test, two of them got 11 percent. I use a test generator program called “Hot Potato”. A true false question is a multiple choice with only two choices. A and B. They selected either C or D for all four true false questions.

Had a sore throat for two days. Difficult to talk. The first sickness of any kind since I got here. It was something going around.

Planning a trip to Shanghai for four days over Christmas. I have six days off. We fly out on Boxing Day at 9 AM. It is a 90 minute flight. Staying at a four star hotel in downtown. Return by train on Friday evening. It is a 24 hour train ride. Cost for two of us: Hotel is 776 ¥ for two nights, flight is 630 ¥ each, or 1260 ¥. Train should cost 450 ¥ for both. That is 2500 ¥ for two people and four days in a world class city, plus food and entertainment. That works out to about 300 Canadian dollars. I will take lots of pictures and post a few.

Tried on my new suit yesterday. It is a very nice material, dark blue pin stripe. Double breasted. Need a few small changes. The tailor will make the gray single breasted next, and an extra pair of pants. Did I mention it is only 125 Canadian? Sorry ....

The Band! We have a name. It is “HELLO”. A lot of people say hello to foreigners when we walk down the street. It is rather neat.

We have three professors. Justus, our leader, has been a professional. He has three albums of original work. He is originally from Nigeria, but spent most of his life in New York. He plays acoustic guitar, most lead vocals, and electric solo duelling guitars on LA Bamba with Roger. Justus teaches English.

Roger is of Chinese decent, but was born and raised in Canada. He speaks NO Chinese and he can't sing either. Roger is an excellent lead guitarist, and has been in a number of bands. Roger teaches English to the same students I teach.

King is a young Chinese girl, and a student here at Jimei University. She plays drums. She has an electric drum kit, and it sounds very good, not like the tinny sound they had when they first came out. Aaron plays bass guitar. He is coming along well too.

As for me? I play acoustic guitar, lead on ‘Dust in the Wind”, and harmony on most songs. ME ... Singing ... in a band ... fact is stranger than Fiction.

Play list so far is “Say You, Say Me”, “La Bamba”, “Johnny Be Good”, “Dust in the Wind”, “House of the Rising Sun”, “Hey Jude” and three Christmas songs. We do a version of “Jingle Bells” half traditional and half Reggae, “Little Drummer Boy” and “Silent Night”. Looking to add one or two fast sogs before next week.

Our first performance is on December 20. Lots of practice so little time to post. I will get back to you soon.

Recovery TIme

Saturday Dec 1
Friday night was fun. Ten of us went to KTV. The three birthday professors, and seven other professors. When I first moved here, I thought KTV was a television station. It is a Karaoke place! There are two next to the university. There were about thirty private rooms in this one.

In the room we had, there was a long sectional two corner sofa, coffee table, Television, control panel on a pedestal, two microphones, and four speakers attached to the wall. The control panel is a computer with a screen and customized keyboard. One scrolls through the songs, eight per screen, picking out the songs you want to sing to.

I went out to the lobby where they sell beer, liquor by the bottle, and a variety of snacks. I bought 30 beer, and three big bags of chips. Total cost was 169. 50 ¥ for the beer (about $21 CDN) and 24.00 ¥ for the chips ($3 CDN).

Several of the professors could sing .. Some couldn’t. Everyone tried. Some would drink ... some wouldn’t. I tried to make up the difference. At only 3.5 % alcohol, it was not hard. As for Vicky, she was ready to go after me in the drinking contest, but when her best friend, a professor from Peterborough, found out I was from Sudbury, told Vicky to forget it.

We were there from 8 until midnight, then staggered home. A good night.

I learned later there are larger rooms, and rooms as small as three people. I also heard you can record yourself to CD.

Got up Saturday, and went for lunch with Linda. She was in a badminton tournament in the afternoon, so I went to watch. Many of my students were there, and I took more pictures (again).... about 75.

Came home and had a M*A*S*H fix. Watched ALL of season 11. Feel better now. I will watch a movie or two, and go to bed.

My biggest miss from home is a shower. I have a small hot water tank, 33 litres, or just under 9 gallons. It is electric, and hangs on the wall in the bathroom. My tank at home is 50 gallons. I miss a LONG hot shower. Nine gallons does not last very long. When I get home, I will have a 30 minute shower.