Perfect Day – Part 2

I feel that I owe everyone an apology for taking so long to add this second part of my post. It’s not that I haven’t wanted to sit down and document my adventures. It’s just that I’ve been so incredibly busy. I’m teaching a 2 hour leadership class every evening, and as I didn’t get the curriculum outline until a few days after I arrived in China, I’m creating and delivering seminars almost in real time. At least no-one can say that my material isn’t fresh!

One of the things that I’m really enjoying is that my students are just so hungry for knowledge, so it is a real pleasure to be teaching them. What I’ve found is that we’re getting through the materials about 50% faster than I anticipated, so I’m ending up burning the midnight oil and then getting up early again the following day, making sure that I can stay ahead of their voracious appetites.

So… let me get back to my perfect day on Sunday. After breakfast, we (my co-facilitator Susan, and one of the Advanced Academy members, Susanna, and me) went off-campus and rented electric scooters. They look like the Vespas and Lambrettas that I used to covet as a teenager, but instead of a petrol engine, they’re powered by electric batteries. They’re a lot of fun to ride, doing a top speed of about 30mph or so. They’re also really inexpensive to hire. It was only 3 yuan per hour, which is less than 50 cents.

Our original plan had been to head into the countryside, but we were advised that the scooters would get us there, but probably wouldn’t have enough power to get us back. Instead, we decided to explore the outskirts of Xinzheng, which is where Sias Interrnational University is located. It’s a very old city, but with China’s urbanization program, it is growing very quickly. It was easy for us to get to the area that is being redeveloped, because all of the new road network has been built out ahead of the development being completed. It felt a little strange to be driving down an 8-lane highway at 30mph, and have the road pretty much to ourselves.

As we reached the boundary with the semi-rural area that is being swallowed up, we stopped a local store. It was a small shack that the owner had built herself, and was probably about 8′ x 12′, which included living space of about 6′ x 3′. With Susanna translating for us, we learned that two people lived there inside the store, to make sure that nothing happened to their business. Outside, there was a lean-to arrangement, where elderly Chinese men sat playing the Chinese version of checkers (or draughts, as we call it back in the old country). We sat and chatted for a while, and I was taken by the warmth of our hosts. After making a purchase as a way of saying “thank you” (I skipped the fly papers and Chinese equivalents of TastyKakes  to settle on the strangest version of JuicyFruit gum that I’ve ever tried. The flavor was different , the texture was different, the chewing experience was very different.. maybe I’d bought myself a Wrigley’s knock-off?

Saying goodbye, we got back on our scooters and went a couple of miles, stopping again when we saw a middle-aged couple working a quarter-acre smallholding. Crossing a drainage ditch and following Susanna’s advise to “not step in the shit of the animals”, we walked over to them as they were pulling up their peanuts. They stopped what they were doing, and seemed very happy to have a chat with us. As we chatted, we noticed another type of crop that had been set out to dry on a large tarpaulin. We asked what it was and we got a demonstration. The crop was about the size and color of vanilla pods, and as the man walked on them, they split and very small beans fell out. I was amazed at how labor intensive it was, as after a minute or so of walking on the pods, he probably had about half a cup full of beans. I found myself silently giving thanks for the selection of foodstuffs that we have available at every supermarket. As we said our goodbyes, the man insisted on giving me a large bunch of peanuts, which I accepted graciously. I thought it was going to be a challenge to carry them back, but luckily the scooter had a compartment under the seat, so I was able to stuff them in there.

Getting back on the scooters, we continued on for another couple of miles, until we came across what I’d describe as a sleepy little hamlet. Susanna stopped, and pointing to an open courtyard nearby, asked me if I wanted to see if there was someone for us to talk to. Not being used to just dropping in unexpectedly like that, I said “no, let’s just carry on driving”. Her response was to say “so.. when you said you wanted a drive in the countryside, that is really what you wanted.. you don’t want to meet with people?”. That sort of made me think what I did want to do, and while I enjoy seeing the differences in the buildings or in the crops, what I really enjoy is meeting and talking with local people. So instead, we parked out bikes and walked into the courtyard.

We were met by an elderly couple who were just finishing their laundry. They asked to sit down and brought us tiny chairs that wouldn’t seem out of place in a kindergarten. As 6’2″, they tend to play havoc with my knees, but we squatted down and started to pass the time of day. we learned that the government had taken their land, and in return, they were going to be given a apartment in one of the cluster of new high-rise buildings that seem to be going up overnight. I asked about the house where they are now, which is about 70 years old, and has a lot of character. They told me that when everyone has moved from the hamlet, that all of the homes will be demolished – probably to make way for the next cluster of high-rise buildings. It was interesting to ask them about it, because it was clear that they were resigned to their fate, because that is the way that things work here. While they’re not keen about living up in the air, as I asked them more about it, they conceded that all of their friends will be moving there too, and they’ll be closer together. The man’s wife also chimed in, saying that the cooking facilities would be much better too.

Just as we were getting ready to leave, the man invited us to stay for lunch. We weren’t quite sure what the protocol was, but as we didn’t want to offend their hospitality, we said yes. As is common with couples of that age the world over (he was 70, she was 67), the wife was dispatched to the kitchen while the husband held court. After about 20 minutes, she returned with large bowls, containing what was probably the tastiest dumplings I’ve ever experienced. They were filled with green onions and served with a delicious that turned out consist of mashed garlic. Fortunately, it was not as strong as we get back home, although there was still probably a 10 feet exclusion zone around each of us.

As we were leaving, Susanna told them that we were tired and had to get back to campus. They immediately offered for us to have a nap at their home, which we politely declined.

Afterwards, Susan and I commented that though we’ve still got almost 4 weeks to go, this day would be one of those precious memories that we’d be bringing back to the US with us. That night, I thought about how as a child, I’d heard China referred to as the ‘yellow peril’. So many of us go through life taking things that we’re told for granted, and labeling whole countries and peoples. I have to say from the time I’ve spent in China, the people that I’ve met have been some of the sweetest and  gentlest people that I’ve ever met in my life. When you get away from the big cities and into the rural provinces like Henan, there is a beautiful innocence to the people.

[photos will be added shortly]