Reflections on

 **NOTE: Although it is hard to understand, I cannot link individual pictures to this file. So, when I talk about a photo, you'll have to open my photo album and look at the picture I'm talking about. To help with this task, I have placed a direct link to my China Photo Album. When you click on the words photo album, a page that has thumbnails of all my China pictures will pop (in a new browser window), making navigating the pictures easier.

Life in China was completely different from life in the United States. In Kuming, very few people spoke English. Try to imagine not being able to read, not being able to speak, and not being able to write. That is exactly how I felt!            

I remember trying to wash my clothes for the first time. I stared at the washing machine and tried to make sense of the buttons in front of my eyes. There weren’t that many, but I couldn’t read them! I eventually had to call my principal for help. He graciously came over to help. Soon, the one and only water hose (no hot water, just cold) was off the valve ; water was spilling all over my floor! Woops! Finally though, we did get it started. Who knows what setting I was washing my clothes on, but at least they were getting washed.

Before leaving for China, I prepared myself for the culture shock I would undoubtedly encounter. I knew that the people would look different, that they would speak a different language, and that life in general would be much different from what I was used to. To my surprise, however, it was the “little things” that threw me off balance, not the big things!

For example, in the United States we are a free people. We are independent, and we value our privacy. In China, however, that is not the case. The government discourages private gatherings, independence, and individualism. Because of that, there was a period of time where Chinese people didn’t even have phones in their own homes! It is only within the last ten years that the Chinese government actually allowed people to install phone lines. As such, each home only has one phone jack. After living in a house with a phone in virtually every room, that was a big change!

Similarly, I am used to houses having electrical outlets every eight or so feet, about one foot off the ground. In my apartment, I only had one electrical outlet per room, at about shoulder height! The power cord for my computer kept falling out of the socket. Eventually I had to get a power strip that sat on the floor.

On top of all that, there is no central heat in China, and certainly no hot water pipes. To take a shower, I had to turn on a hot water heater in my bathroom at least 30 minutes prior to wanting to take a shower. When I did my dishes, I had a smaller hot water heater above the sink. I would turn it on and get hot water to wash with. It turns out, however, that I was actually pretty lucky! Many Chinese homes can’t even afford to have hot water, or even a shower for that matter. Many people will fill a small basin with water heated in a kettle and then squat in the basin and wash. I used a small heater to warm my room. I would push the heater from room to room as I moved about the house. It did pretty well, and I found that I was warm enough. At school we had space heaters. Each classroom had one heater. Again, no central heat.

Go to my photo album and take a look at where I lived. (myapartmet.jpg & myapartment2.jpg). Notice that the entire building is made of cement, including inside apartment walls. Hanging pictures took special nails!

I lived in an area of Kunming that was known to house a lot of foreigners. This area was called Chun Yuan Xiao Qu (mybusstop.jpg). Many places in Kunming were like sub-divisions. So, if someone asked me where I lived, I would tell them the sub-division name. Many times, the entrances to sub-divisions had gate access. The people guarding the gates controlled who went in and out, increasing safety and decreasing traffic flow. Even the entrance to my apartment complex had a gate. If I wasn’t home by midnight on weekdays and 1:00 AM on weekends, I had to hop the fence to get inside! Then the door to my stairwell had a gate that needed to be open. After that I could climb the stairs to my apartment where I would open my security door (locked screen door) and my regular door. I always felt very safe in China. Harming a foreigner has far greater consequences than harming a Chinese national. Additionally, punishments were swift and severs. The greatest crime against foreigners was pick-pocketing.

Because there were so many westerners in the area I lived, there were two stores in the subdivision where I could buy western food.. All kinds of food could be bought in these stores, from Gatorade to Corn Flakes, Snickers bars to Philadelphia Cream Cheese, and Orange juice to Starbucks Coffee beans. These products, of course, cost quite a bit more than local Chinese food. After all, it was imported. The store owners were really good about trying to stock foods that were specially requested. One thing struck me though: you would think that people in a western food store might be a little bit more familiar with the English language since they encounter so many people who speak it. However, that was not the case at all.

Before I left, I learned that the water in China is not safe to drink. Even the local people do not drink the tap water. As a result, my apartment was equipped with a water cooler. Water is pretty inexpensive in China. One jug for the water cooler cost 8 RMB, (about $1). Drinking bottled water really wasn’t a hassle. But, the problem that unclean water did present was eating. Because fruits and vegetables “drink” the bad water in the field where they grow, and then get washed in the bad water by the vendors who sell them, the bad water soaks into the skin of the fruits/vegetables, which means that anyone who eats them can get sick. To be safe I first had to peel fruits and vegetables before eating them. That way they would be safe to eat. For those fruits/vegetables that could not be peeled, I had to use a chemical called Potassium Permagenate. I would soak fruits/vegetables in this purple solution for about ten minutes. After that, the fruits/vegetables were safe to eat.

Fruits and vegetables were sold at markets or in grocery stores. The best prices were at the street markets. Vendors would bike to a corner and then park their bike. The back of the bike has something similar to the bed of a pickup truck on it, which holds whatever it is they are selling. Other people simply walk to a street corner, and carry two kinds of fruits/vegetables on either end of a stick that is carried over the shoulders. (streetmarket.jpg & streetmarket2.jpg in my online phot album)

Some people had their own business where they sold fruits at a permanent stand. In that case, a person would be at the stand early in the morning until late at night. In the evening, tarps would be placed over the entire stand to keep would-be thieves out. If any of you remember reading my story about the man who gave me a free tomato after the World Trade Center attack, his pictures is in my online photo album (niceman.jpg). I was able to find out that the man is a Christian. Since he knew that I am also Christian, he would give me free fruit! Sometimes he would ask me to sit next to him and we would try to communicate, or just sit and enjoy the night air. He couldn’t speak English, and my Chinese was never good enough to have a conversation with anyone, but we still enjoyed spending time together. Once he showed me his hymnals, and then sang a couple songs for me (encouraging me to sing the English, if I knew it). I was surprised by his actions because we were singing Christian songs in public! To see a picture of his fruit market, see nicemanfruitmkt.jpg in my photo album.

Meats were a different story. After living in China, (meatmarket.jpg) I came to really appreciate the Food and Drug Administration. Meat sits out on a piece of plywood, uncovered. Flies and bugs land on the meat and then fly off. Sometimes meat would be filled with water to make it heavier (resulting in a higher price). Recall that the water in China is bad.

Purchasing, however, was easy. All I would do is point to a piece of meat I was interested in, and then motion that I wanted the fat cut off. The vendor would then cut off the fat right there. If I wanted a smaller piece of meat, the vendor would cut it in half. The meat is then weighed and priced accordingly. There is also an option to have the meat either cut into bite-size pieces or ground. To have this done, the meat is taken to another man who runs a meat grinder. After paying him a few U.S. cents, the man will take the meat and make sure it has no bones (which could damage his machine). He then washes the meat and puts it in his machine right there, on the spot.

Downtown Kunming looked, to me, like any other city. The pictures in my photo album (Kunming.jpg & Kunming2.jpg) show a look up and down the street from the bus stop you saw earlier. The one difference I did find is that buildings in China seemed to be more plain and bland looking, as compared to the architectural elegance of say, Chicago, for example.

Roads in China had two lanes. One lane was for bicycles, and the other was for cars and busses. Many people in China can’t afford a car, and as a result, rode a bike. There were many bicycle fixers who had portable shops along the road. If there was ever a problem with my bike, I would have it fixed by one of those fix-it men, on the spot, for little money. Motorcycles and scooters were also popular, but they were not allowed in the heart of the city.

Many arts and crafts were sold in the downtown area.Personally, I really enjoyed looking at the traditional arts and crafts of the Chinese people. You can see some paintings that were done on cloth in my online photo album (wallhangings.jpg). This is a traditional wall hanging ; I bought a lot of these, and gave many away as Christmas presents.

The Yunnan province of China (where I was) is known for having many minority groups. You see, China isn’t made up of just “Chinese” people. It has different varieties of Chinese people. These different varieties are called minorities since they don’t make up the bulk of the population. Minority dolls (in traditional dress) were sold all over. These dolls are supposed to represent the different kinds of minority groups in China. For a picture, see my online photo album (minoritydolls.jpg).

The different minority groups and some of their traditional costumes were also on display at the Yunnan Provincial Museum (YunnanMuseum.jpg). After being in Chicago and seeing the wonderful museums there, this museum was a let-down. There were only four exhibit halls, and each one didn’t really have a lot. The building looked neat though.

One of the best parts of China was its culture. A long time ago there were some gates to the city. All people entering or leaving the city had to pass through those gates. Since that time, however, the city has expanded to grow beyond these gates.

Like any other country, China has had some tough times. I think we can all recall the massacre that occurred in Tienamen Square in Beijing. Before that there was a cultural revolution where people wanted things in society to change. During that revolution the original gates to they city were destroyed. Fortunately, they were rebuilt. See them in my online photo album (citygate.jpg & citygate2.jpg)

Another neat part about the culture was the music. Nietzsche once said that, “Without music, life would be a mistake.” Indeed, cultures can be defined by their music. China was no different. When I went on a trip to LiJiang, China, I got to hear an orchestra play some of China’s oldest music. Even more impressive than the music were the musicians playing it. Many of them were in their 70s, 80s, and even one in his 90s! The orchestra was made up of people from another minority group in China, the Naxi. I bought one of their compact discs, so if you want to listen to it, let me know when I get back home!

But music could be found in places other than orchestra halls. The park (park.jpg) that I walked through to get to town would have people listening to stereos playing traditional music and practicing traditional dance. In other places, groups of men and women would gather to practice their own music. At one point, I found a man playing an instrument I have only seen in China. To me it looks like a guitar made out of a Coke can and a stick. I sounded pretty neat and the people who played it were fantastic! (instrument.jpg in my photo album)

There were other neat parts of culture to see in Kunming besides just music and the city gates. There were several old temples in the city. Many have been restored and are now open to the public. One example, the Coppet Temple, was a whole complex with several temples. I don’t think they are used today, but seeing them gave wonderful insight into the religious nature of the Chinese. (coppertemple.jpg, coppertemple2.jpg, and coppertemple3.jpg in the photo album)

One of my favorite things to do was to buy food from street vendors. These people would cart a portable grill to a street corner and cook vegetables, chicken feet, chicken cubes, beef cubes, pork cubes, cucumbers, squid, tofu, and other foods. The food would be speared on a large wooden toothpick (like shish-ka-bob). Each stick cost only 1 RMB (one eighth of a dollar). I would buy three or four at a time and eat them as I walked around town or to meet a friend. Sometimes that was dinner! Alas, I’m a true bachelor. (streetvendor.jpg)

While there was much to experience in the city, life in the country was another world. The people in the county do not have the same luxuries as the people in the city. Country folk grew food wherever soil was fertile, including hills and along the road. As you may recall, the Chinese are famous for their terraced fields. (terraces.jpg) I saw many of these on my one trip to the country. While the people in the country do not have much, they are happy. I was surprised to see a Christian church in the community I visited. Recall the being a Christian in China is illegal. Building a church is even worse! But, the people in the village were on fire for God and willing to worship.(villagechurch.jpg) Wow! They were truly an inspiration (villagers.jpg). They have so much to do in the fields and in the house, yet they are not too busy to take time to worship the Lord! You can see some pictures of the village, and people working their crops by visiting my online photo album (sunflowers.jpg, dryingfood.jpg, harvestingrice.jpg).

I really enjoyed my time in China. I met some wonderful people and had some great experiences. I still feel like there is more work I need to do there, and I hope one day to return. China is a vast and beautiful place. I encourage you all to go!