Me, 3-Self and I…or, Sunday in Chengdu, Texas
Today we were planning to attend a church near our hotel, but the services started at 6am and so the plan was adjusted and we join with Ma Min and Kim to go to the 3-Self church that Ivan and Victoria Ho (CBM Missionaries) attend when they are in Mainland China. It is a very introspective day for me for several reasons, (1) this is the church Juli and I would have attended if we had gone to China with CBM and (2) we ate lunch near Sichuan University which is probably where I would have taught (in the Foreign Languages Department, the Canadian Studies Program or the new Christian Studies Program). It was a very difficult decision to stay in Canada and, although I was sure it was the right one, part of my time in China has been to confirm that in my own mind. The service at the 3-Self church is truly worshipful – it may have been because we are better rested and acclimated, it may have been that the songs were familiar songs we sing on Sunday mornings, it may have been that Ma Min translated the sermon as it was preached. Whatever it was it felt good to be in the house of the Lord on Sunday.
After we leave the church we go in separate directions – Greg and Russell go off to become international models – I am dying to tell this story but won't because you have to hear it from them!!! The rest of us head off to eat at a place Kim and Ma Min have discovered near Sichuan University, called Peter's Tex Mex. I go with a mix of thrill and fear – I remember finding a 'dead on Western' hamburger place in South Korea that Juli, my wife, informed me was nothing like the burgers at home – it seems taste buds are prone to amnesia.
The hamburger is amazing – it tastes very much like the ones Fuddruckers used to serve (I think they had them in Alberta). It is amazing how a little bit of home can encourage you to continue on in an adventure. Fully "westerned" up we leave Peter's for Computer City – multiple blocks and floors of the latest doodads, gadgets and gizmos that, once you see 'em you can't live without 'em. I am a good boy and don't spend money there. Truth be told it is really because I have found a foreign language bookstore that has a linguistics section…Juli, send more money please.
Thursday, November 24, 2005
The quietest place in China
Since landing in the PRC I have been overwhelmed by the fact that, day or night, you are always in the middle of a crowd. On Monday I have a meeting scheduled with the Communist Party Secretary of Sichuan University. This is a very high political position at the largest and most prominent university of southwest China (I think I have that right). I have absolutely no idea what to expect, but she is the classmate of a friend who now lives in Canada – and because good people are friends with good people, I am assuming she will be good people ('cause Eric is definitely good people). I meet her and her daughter near the west gate of the university and we take a tour past several buildings including the Foreign Languages Department and the Intensive Language Education Centre. Because the weather has shifted from hot and humid to hot and humid and raining, we change gears and get a ride to the Sichuan University Museum – which has either just opened or is just getting ready to open, I'm not really sure which. At any rate we spend the next hour or so walking through the displays. At one point I am asked if I really want to continue the tour – I assured her that my first undergraduate degree was in anthropology / archaeology with an undeclared minor in Aboriginal Art History and it would take all six of the guards to haul me out from the displays of Tibetan and Sichuan Minority articles dating back to 300 BC.
What made the time at the museum more enjoyable is that we were the only ones there – we had the whole place to ourselves. As culturally adaptable as I pride myself in being, I still love my three feet of personal space.
I am brought back to reality at supper when we go out for chou sho – Sichuan-hua for hundun or wanton. The restaurant is crowded – but for good reason the dumplings are absolutely delicious.
Since landing in the PRC I have been overwhelmed by the fact that, day or night, you are always in the middle of a crowd. On Monday I have a meeting scheduled with the Communist Party Secretary of Sichuan University. This is a very high political position at the largest and most prominent university of southwest China (I think I have that right). I have absolutely no idea what to expect, but she is the classmate of a friend who now lives in Canada – and because good people are friends with good people, I am assuming she will be good people ('cause Eric is definitely good people). I meet her and her daughter near the west gate of the university and we take a tour past several buildings including the Foreign Languages Department and the Intensive Language Education Centre. Because the weather has shifted from hot and humid to hot and humid and raining, we change gears and get a ride to the Sichuan University Museum – which has either just opened or is just getting ready to open, I'm not really sure which. At any rate we spend the next hour or so walking through the displays. At one point I am asked if I really want to continue the tour – I assured her that my first undergraduate degree was in anthropology / archaeology with an undeclared minor in Aboriginal Art History and it would take all six of the guards to haul me out from the displays of Tibetan and Sichuan Minority articles dating back to 300 BC.
What made the time at the museum more enjoyable is that we were the only ones there – we had the whole place to ourselves. As culturally adaptable as I pride myself in being, I still love my three feet of personal space.
I am brought back to reality at supper when we go out for chou sho – Sichuan-hua for hundun or wanton. The restaurant is crowded – but for good reason the dumplings are absolutely delicious.
The Chengdu Stampede
We teach two night classes a week. The first two we spent working on pronunciation. The second set we smartened up and went downtown to the evening market and shopped with our students (an exercise in Active Learning that I could readily defend if anyone questioned its pedagogical efficacy!!). Tonight we spent the night celebrating the Calgary Stampede. We watched video presentations on the Greatest Outdoor Show on Earth. Margaret ( a.k.a. Cookie) turned the front desk into a chuckwagon and we had our very own stampede breakfast complete with pancakes and maple syrup. We momentarily worried about setting off a fire alarm, but considering we couldn't see any smoke detectors through the haze of cigarette smoke on our non-smoking floor, we put away our worries and went back to flipping flapjacks!
We teach two night classes a week. The first two we spent working on pronunciation. The second set we smartened up and went downtown to the evening market and shopped with our students (an exercise in Active Learning that I could readily defend if anyone questioned its pedagogical efficacy!!). Tonight we spent the night celebrating the Calgary Stampede. We watched video presentations on the Greatest Outdoor Show on Earth. Margaret ( a.k.a. Cookie) turned the front desk into a chuckwagon and we had our very own stampede breakfast complete with pancakes and maple syrup. We momentarily worried about setting off a fire alarm, but considering we couldn't see any smoke detectors through the haze of cigarette smoke on our non-smoking floor, we put away our worries and went back to flipping flapjacks!
Yellow Dragons and Jumping Snakes
It is Saturday again and we are off to the countryside. The university has been very good at providing us opportunities to see Sichuan beyond Chengdu. Today we are traveling out to Huanglongxi or Yellow Dragon Stream. It is an old city that has lots of shopping and some old temples. As we walk to the town site we pass an amusement park – there are kids' rides and animal rides and ATV rides. All seem exciting, but nothing can compare to the thrill ride that is Chengdu traffic so we move on. Each of the shops has an interesting assortment of things to sell – but after a few blocks it seems like a bit of a fractal image as the shops seem to repeat themselves. I want to dispel the myth that all Chinese people do not look the same, but after awhile the Chinese shops sure do.
We tour through the old part of the city that has a restored court where trials, decisions and beheadings would take place. It is still used in movies made in China. Our class monitors point out some clothing we could put on if we wanted to look the part of the local governor or mayor. We spend the next fifteen or twenty minutes amusing the locals while Judge Russell condemns several people to death by beheading, relegates others to the stocks, and doles out several fines before he is forced out of office – something about lunchtime.
Our meal is largely made up of wild foods – the greens are grown on the side of a local mountain, the mushrooms came from the wild, the fish were caught in the wild as well – everything is wild right down to the fly in Margaret's soup (which is good because I hate the taste of those domesticated hatchery flies). It was really quite a good meal – although it is hard to eat in the heat …have I mentioned the heat?
In front of many of the shops there are basins full of fish and other such stuff. As we walk down one street one of those 'other such stuff' jumps out in front of Greg. With little reaction the old man sitting next to the basins reaches out and grabs the snake to put it back in the plastic basin. We discuss whether that may have been something we just ate down the road – but leave it as an unconfirmed item. We now take pride in the width and breadth of our 'stuff we ate' list.
We spend the rest of the afternoon touring shops and going on a boat ride before going to a temple upstream. As we walk up to the temple we are struck by the number of 'shoot the balloon with a pellet gun' games are in front of this peace-oriented temple. More that a few people suggest this might be a good thing to set up in our home churches when we get back. I dissuade this missions fundraising initiative - as someone who regularly fills the pulpit I don't relish arming any possible critics!
It is Saturday again and we are off to the countryside. The university has been very good at providing us opportunities to see Sichuan beyond Chengdu. Today we are traveling out to Huanglongxi or Yellow Dragon Stream. It is an old city that has lots of shopping and some old temples. As we walk to the town site we pass an amusement park – there are kids' rides and animal rides and ATV rides. All seem exciting, but nothing can compare to the thrill ride that is Chengdu traffic so we move on. Each of the shops has an interesting assortment of things to sell – but after a few blocks it seems like a bit of a fractal image as the shops seem to repeat themselves. I want to dispel the myth that all Chinese people do not look the same, but after awhile the Chinese shops sure do.
We tour through the old part of the city that has a restored court where trials, decisions and beheadings would take place. It is still used in movies made in China. Our class monitors point out some clothing we could put on if we wanted to look the part of the local governor or mayor. We spend the next fifteen or twenty minutes amusing the locals while Judge Russell condemns several people to death by beheading, relegates others to the stocks, and doles out several fines before he is forced out of office – something about lunchtime.
Our meal is largely made up of wild foods – the greens are grown on the side of a local mountain, the mushrooms came from the wild, the fish were caught in the wild as well – everything is wild right down to the fly in Margaret's soup (which is good because I hate the taste of those domesticated hatchery flies). It was really quite a good meal – although it is hard to eat in the heat …have I mentioned the heat?
In front of many of the shops there are basins full of fish and other such stuff. As we walk down one street one of those 'other such stuff' jumps out in front of Greg. With little reaction the old man sitting next to the basins reaches out and grabs the snake to put it back in the plastic basin. We discuss whether that may have been something we just ate down the road – but leave it as an unconfirmed item. We now take pride in the width and breadth of our 'stuff we ate' list.
We spend the rest of the afternoon touring shops and going on a boat ride before going to a temple upstream. As we walk up to the temple we are struck by the number of 'shoot the balloon with a pellet gun' games are in front of this peace-oriented temple. More that a few people suggest this might be a good thing to set up in our home churches when we get back. I dissuade this missions fundraising initiative - as someone who regularly fills the pulpit I don't relish arming any possible critics!
Old Dams and Panda Bottoms
We are teaching in the evenings so that it would free up our Saturdays for traveling (which freed up our Sundays for rest and worship). Each Saturday we have plans to explore the history and natural splendor of Sichuan. The first Saturday we went out to a 2000 year old irrigation system that is still in use today. We had the chance to wander through temples and wilderness – we even watched a traditional Hip Hop Tibetan dance troupe!!
In the afternoon we travel to the Panda research centre to see…you guessed it Pandas – of both the Giant and Red varieties. When we arrive we wander through extensive bambooed sections to see Pandas sleeping in air conditioned enclosures. As a side note (and it may be a point of further study for some zoology student looking to do his or her doctoral work on Giant Pandas) sleeping Pandas NEVER face the windows – so if you come over and I ask if you want to see my collection of Panda photos say, 'No.' – once you've seen one Panda bottom you've seen them all.
But I really don't blame them – the climate is incredibly hot and humid. I really have not ranted and railed about the heat enough – I almost dehydrated the other day while trying drinking a bottle of water – I felt like one of those cartoon cowboys that takes a drink after a gunfight and leaks out from all his bullet holes. Humidity is no friend of a fat man!
If I could find a way into the climate controlled cage I would join them. I really feel sorry for them – I am only growing a beard and contending with ample back hair – they have a full length fur coat on.
Somewhere there is a website that lists the ten dumbest places to grow facial hair and Chengdu is listed eighth.
We are teaching in the evenings so that it would free up our Saturdays for traveling (which freed up our Sundays for rest and worship). Each Saturday we have plans to explore the history and natural splendor of Sichuan. The first Saturday we went out to a 2000 year old irrigation system that is still in use today. We had the chance to wander through temples and wilderness – we even watched a traditional Hip Hop Tibetan dance troupe!!
In the afternoon we travel to the Panda research centre to see…you guessed it Pandas – of both the Giant and Red varieties. When we arrive we wander through extensive bambooed sections to see Pandas sleeping in air conditioned enclosures. As a side note (and it may be a point of further study for some zoology student looking to do his or her doctoral work on Giant Pandas) sleeping Pandas NEVER face the windows – so if you come over and I ask if you want to see my collection of Panda photos say, 'No.' – once you've seen one Panda bottom you've seen them all.
But I really don't blame them – the climate is incredibly hot and humid. I really have not ranted and railed about the heat enough – I almost dehydrated the other day while trying drinking a bottle of water – I felt like one of those cartoon cowboys that takes a drink after a gunfight and leaks out from all his bullet holes. Humidity is no friend of a fat man!
If I could find a way into the climate controlled cage I would join them. I really feel sorry for them – I am only growing a beard and contending with ample back hair – they have a full length fur coat on.
Somewhere there is a website that lists the ten dumbest places to grow facial hair and Chengdu is listed eighth.
Hide the children, Gigantor is on the loose
After a number of days my system is adjusting to its new life. In fact I am finally able to do the one thing I love to do when traveling in a new culture – I go out and stroll through the neighbourhood. As I walk I quickly realize that as much as I am scared of Chengdu drivers, they may be equally scared of me. Simply put, I am the largest things on Chengdu's road that doesn't have a motor or harness strapped to it.
At first I felt like a salmon swimming upstream through a river of bikes, mopeds and taxis. (Taxis seem to float between the major roads and pedestrian ways like they are the vehicular equivalent of amphibians.) I now realize that I need to enter the stream and not hesitate – show no fear. With a sense of entitlement I cross even the most congested major intersections. As a side note my prayer life has never been so vibrant.
I find the night is a better time to wander. I have a fairly simple set of "Rules of Engagement" for conversation: (1) if eye contact is made and held…we will converse (2) if you say "Hi," "Hello" or "I Love You" in ear shot of me…we will converse and (3) if your job requires you to talk to customers and I can therefore have a free Chinese conversation partner…we will converse. (Rule 3 is the one I always tell ESL students – make use of store clerks they're the easiest, cheapest tutors a language learner could ever hope for).
My favourite conversations are started by moms and dads that drag their child by the arm down the aisle of the Chain Store to say "Hello." On occasion they are dragged back to show the advanced standing their child has in the English class – with much consternation on the child's face (or that may just be pain from a now dislocated shoulder) and an equal measure of pride on the parent's face – I hear, "Happy Birthday!" When the parents let go of junior to pat each other on the back I attack. I begin by complementing the child's English and then drag out my own set of well-worn Putonghua phrases. To show my own advanced standing, I lay down a few words in Sichuan dialect - mostly I compliment them on their child, haitzi, which is the word for shoes in the rest of China. If I am feeling they are a particularly good crowd I repeat my sentence and point at their child and then at their shoes. We share a laugh and move on all parties feeling quite multilingual.
After a number of days my system is adjusting to its new life. In fact I am finally able to do the one thing I love to do when traveling in a new culture – I go out and stroll through the neighbourhood. As I walk I quickly realize that as much as I am scared of Chengdu drivers, they may be equally scared of me. Simply put, I am the largest things on Chengdu's road that doesn't have a motor or harness strapped to it.
At first I felt like a salmon swimming upstream through a river of bikes, mopeds and taxis. (Taxis seem to float between the major roads and pedestrian ways like they are the vehicular equivalent of amphibians.) I now realize that I need to enter the stream and not hesitate – show no fear. With a sense of entitlement I cross even the most congested major intersections. As a side note my prayer life has never been so vibrant.
I find the night is a better time to wander. I have a fairly simple set of "Rules of Engagement" for conversation: (1) if eye contact is made and held…we will converse (2) if you say "Hi," "Hello" or "I Love You" in ear shot of me…we will converse and (3) if your job requires you to talk to customers and I can therefore have a free Chinese conversation partner…we will converse. (Rule 3 is the one I always tell ESL students – make use of store clerks they're the easiest, cheapest tutors a language learner could ever hope for).
My favourite conversations are started by moms and dads that drag their child by the arm down the aisle of the Chain Store to say "Hello." On occasion they are dragged back to show the advanced standing their child has in the English class – with much consternation on the child's face (or that may just be pain from a now dislocated shoulder) and an equal measure of pride on the parent's face – I hear, "Happy Birthday!" When the parents let go of junior to pat each other on the back I attack. I begin by complementing the child's English and then drag out my own set of well-worn Putonghua phrases. To show my own advanced standing, I lay down a few words in Sichuan dialect - mostly I compliment them on their child, haitzi, which is the word for shoes in the rest of China. If I am feeling they are a particularly good crowd I repeat my sentence and point at their child and then at their shoes. We share a laugh and move on all parties feeling quite multilingual.
3-Self or is that 3-Cell Church
We went to church today. The experience is thoroughly surreal due to jet-lag, culture shock, the above mentioned supper and the fact that we wander through several rooms in different buildings and up and down stairs before we find ourselves in a room with a TV. As we sit there the room starts to fill. When the singing begins again we are handed hymnals – if my Chinese speaking skills are anemic, my reading skills are non-existent- and I try hard to make sense of the book, but I fail miserably.
I am not proud of it but I lose my battle to keep conscious and I find myself drifting in and out. I would feel worse if I didn't see people doing the same thing during my sermons on any given Sunday!! If it were not for cell phones constantly going off through out the service I may still be snoozing now. [editor's note: I had a much better experience at a 3-Self Church later in the trip when I was more awake and adjusted]
We went to church today. The experience is thoroughly surreal due to jet-lag, culture shock, the above mentioned supper and the fact that we wander through several rooms in different buildings and up and down stairs before we find ourselves in a room with a TV. As we sit there the room starts to fill. When the singing begins again we are handed hymnals – if my Chinese speaking skills are anemic, my reading skills are non-existent- and I try hard to make sense of the book, but I fail miserably.
I am not proud of it but I lose my battle to keep conscious and I find myself drifting in and out. I would feel worse if I didn't see people doing the same thing during my sermons on any given Sunday!! If it were not for cell phones constantly going off through out the service I may still be snoozing now. [editor's note: I had a much better experience at a 3-Self Church later in the trip when I was more awake and adjusted]
Yi-haw Ride 'em cowboy
Chengdu is home to 17 (or so) universities, one of them is the South West Nationalities University. It is home to the largest Yi culture programs in the world. Through a friend Maggie and I are able to visit an instructor of the Yi language.
It does not take long for me to revert to my field work training as a linguist. As I ride in this phonological rodeo I am reminded of Eric Liddell's quote, "I know I was made for China, but when I run I feel God's pleasure." I, too, know that I am living out what God has called me to – to pastor in a local church, but when I am working with language research I feel God's pleasure. The others in the room dissolve and it is just Ms Wang and I going through the sound system of this fascinating language that has received limited study – almost exclusively by Chinese scholars and a couple from SIL that are currently working in a remote village somewhere in SE Asia.
As we head back to the hotel I have to admit there is an added swagger to my step – after all I am now one of the English-speaking world's foremost experts on Yi phonology.
Chengdu is home to 17 (or so) universities, one of them is the South West Nationalities University. It is home to the largest Yi culture programs in the world. Through a friend Maggie and I are able to visit an instructor of the Yi language.
It does not take long for me to revert to my field work training as a linguist. As I ride in this phonological rodeo I am reminded of Eric Liddell's quote, "I know I was made for China, but when I run I feel God's pleasure." I, too, know that I am living out what God has called me to – to pastor in a local church, but when I am working with language research I feel God's pleasure. The others in the room dissolve and it is just Ms Wang and I going through the sound system of this fascinating language that has received limited study – almost exclusively by Chinese scholars and a couple from SIL that are currently working in a remote village somewhere in SE Asia.
As we head back to the hotel I have to admit there is an added swagger to my step – after all I am now one of the English-speaking world's foremost experts on Yi phonology.
And the list keeps growing
I have confidence that the culture will eventually stop spinning or at least slow down enough that it will no longer be a blur, but I woke up today with an overwhelming sense of traveler's vertigo. We head out on a tour of the facilities with Angel and the head of the Foreign Affairs office, Victor. We also wander through the neigbourhood and go to the university campus. To cap off the day we join together for a meal.
I have always thought of my self as a regular Joe – if that is true in Canada it is doubly true in China. The food that I know and love is that of the Lao Bai Xing or 'common folk' (literally 'Old Hundred Names'). As we dive into the 'welcome meal' we eat everything with legs except the table!!
I have spent a good part of my life avoiding organ meat – and as a kid growing up in an Aboriginal community that is no easy feat. Speaking of feet…we ate chicken feet and pig feet and...Long story short (as Brian likes to say) we ate every part of the pig but the oink – and I am not sure if I didn't taste a little oink in one of the sauces.
Within 12 days of entering China we have eaten: dog, frog (both Chinese and American), donkey, talons, hoofs, duck bill & tongue, several chickens and ducks, both as "whole in the bowl' soup and as the separated bits such as artery, liver, gizzard, bowels, heart, lung, and then there was the stuff we were too scared to ask ' zheige shi shenme?" (What is this?)
I have confidence that the culture will eventually stop spinning or at least slow down enough that it will no longer be a blur, but I woke up today with an overwhelming sense of traveler's vertigo. We head out on a tour of the facilities with Angel and the head of the Foreign Affairs office, Victor. We also wander through the neigbourhood and go to the university campus. To cap off the day we join together for a meal.
I have always thought of my self as a regular Joe – if that is true in Canada it is doubly true in China. The food that I know and love is that of the Lao Bai Xing or 'common folk' (literally 'Old Hundred Names'). As we dive into the 'welcome meal' we eat everything with legs except the table!!
I have spent a good part of my life avoiding organ meat – and as a kid growing up in an Aboriginal community that is no easy feat. Speaking of feet…we ate chicken feet and pig feet and...Long story short (as Brian likes to say) we ate every part of the pig but the oink – and I am not sure if I didn't taste a little oink in one of the sauces.
Within 12 days of entering China we have eaten: dog, frog (both Chinese and American), donkey, talons, hoofs, duck bill & tongue, several chickens and ducks, both as "whole in the bowl' soup and as the separated bits such as artery, liver, gizzard, bowels, heart, lung, and then there was the stuff we were too scared to ask ' zheige shi shenme?" (What is this?)
In Xanadu did Kublai Khan
A stately pleasure dome decree…
We are met at the Chengdu airport by two representatives from CDUTCM (the university we are teaching for). As weary travelers (jet lag is setting in) it is encouraging to be met by Angel and Rebecca – two names nice to hear upon entering a new city in a new land.
We head off for the hotel. I hope it is good – we will be sleeping, eating, and teaching there for the next three weeks. As I enter the room – being an experienced traveler in Southeast Asia – I check for the essentials. The room has both an air conditioner and a western style toilet – everything else is details!!
We finally meet the other members of the teaching team – Maggie is from Nairobi, Kenya and James is from Cambridge, England. We set off to eat.
A stately pleasure dome decree…
We are met at the Chengdu airport by two representatives from CDUTCM (the university we are teaching for). As weary travelers (jet lag is setting in) it is encouraging to be met by Angel and Rebecca – two names nice to hear upon entering a new city in a new land.
We head off for the hotel. I hope it is good – we will be sleeping, eating, and teaching there for the next three weeks. As I enter the room – being an experienced traveler in Southeast Asia – I check for the essentials. The room has both an air conditioner and a western style toilet – everything else is details!!
We finally meet the other members of the teaching team – Maggie is from Nairobi, Kenya and James is from Cambridge, England. We set off to eat.
Saturday, November 12, 2005
Shifting Gates and Sweaty Seats
The days of the week have completely blurred and I have no idea what day it is. Fortunately this is a feeling I remember from my university days. I don't mean this as an endorsement of the life I used to live as some sort of missiological training – I just mean I learned to operate with few of my faculties firing on all cylinders because of it.
One of the fun games we like to play in airport terminals is "What Gate is Our Flight at Now?" This is Air China's way of amusing non-Chinese Speaking foreigners. Randomly throughout the waiting time they will move the gate for boarding a flight. There is no warning and to keep it as interesting as possible they don't even let other Air China staff know.
As a group we assign one person to watch the information at the gate we are parked at and another to watch the flight information board and I, by default, am charged with listening for our flight number in Chinese (( have mastered the numbers 0-20 in Chinese!!!). Luckily there is never a fear of being late for a flight – I fully expect that they will still be holding the plane to Harbin for Passengers Li and Liu when we fly back through Beijing!!
The service on Air China has been wonderful – but I am not the target audience that they have geared their seating plan on. I don't fit comfortably into most Canadian jets, but being both fat and tall is really not working to my advantage in the PRC. For the first time since we landed in China I am glad for the 97% humidity - it allows me to squeeze into my seat. I am not sure the person sitting next to me shares my joy!
We are headed for Chengdu. We will spend the next 24 days in this city. It is the economical, political and educational centre of Southwestern China. It is also hot!!
The days of the week have completely blurred and I have no idea what day it is. Fortunately this is a feeling I remember from my university days. I don't mean this as an endorsement of the life I used to live as some sort of missiological training – I just mean I learned to operate with few of my faculties firing on all cylinders because of it.
One of the fun games we like to play in airport terminals is "What Gate is Our Flight at Now?" This is Air China's way of amusing non-Chinese Speaking foreigners. Randomly throughout the waiting time they will move the gate for boarding a flight. There is no warning and to keep it as interesting as possible they don't even let other Air China staff know.
As a group we assign one person to watch the information at the gate we are parked at and another to watch the flight information board and I, by default, am charged with listening for our flight number in Chinese (( have mastered the numbers 0-20 in Chinese!!!). Luckily there is never a fear of being late for a flight – I fully expect that they will still be holding the plane to Harbin for Passengers Li and Liu when we fly back through Beijing!!
The service on Air China has been wonderful – but I am not the target audience that they have geared their seating plan on. I don't fit comfortably into most Canadian jets, but being both fat and tall is really not working to my advantage in the PRC. For the first time since we landed in China I am glad for the 97% humidity - it allows me to squeeze into my seat. I am not sure the person sitting next to me shares my joy!
We are headed for Chengdu. We will spend the next 24 days in this city. It is the economical, political and educational centre of Southwestern China. It is also hot!!
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