06/25/2015 Hard to
believe that we would be leaving China in 3 days. We had packed most of our things at this
point that we would be bringing home. As
BYU would be closing down the program here and the apartment, we had to give
away everything else. We told the other
teachers to stop by after a certain time and take anything they wanted. Nancy and her young Chinese live-in knocked
on the door an hour early and started cleaning everything out. I finally had to ask them to stop it and
leave so as to have some things left for the other teachers who would be coming
when they were supposed to. They were
all pretty glad to be given the collection of food, spices, dishes, appliances,
office supplies, etc. We took some stuff
to the lady at the trash dump.
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| Clyde and the Trash Lady |
I had my eye on a beautiful embroidered silk picture for a
long time, just wondering if I would have saved enough of my salary to
eventually buy it. At the end I was able
to buy it and a couple of others and find room for them (rolled up) in our
suitcases. They had to take it out of
the frame in the shop and iron on a fabric border and then deliver it to our
apartment. I will have it custom framed
when we get home.
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| Our Dancing Lady - silk picture |
“Akes”, a foreign English teacher from South Africa had all
kinds of toys and gadgets. (We like
Akes, he is one of the good guys who is fun to be around.) One of his toys was a “Solo Wheel”. It is like a Segway, but it only has one
wheel and no post to hang onto. You
stand on either side of the wheel and steer it by shifting your weight. We would occasionally see people riding them
on the sidewalks throughout town and campus.
Clyde wanted to try his luck at riding it. (Sensory Seeker that he is -) He did OK at first and was getting the hang
of it. But, wouldn’t you know it – the
wheel stopped when it hit a twig on the sidewalk - Clyde didn’t. We even have film of the event. He wasn’t hurt too badly – skinned knee and
elbow, bruised pride. Akes wouldn’t let
him try it again. Probably wise . . .
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| Clyde, Akes and the Solo Wheel |
06/28/2015 Our
plane left Chengdu early in the morning for a nonstop flight to San
Francisco. And so our China adventure
had come to pass. It was awesome and
awful at the same time.
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| Last link in the paper chain! |
The best parts
were the individual students who came to class eager to learn, and the people
on the streets anxious to meet and help Americans. We loved seeing the beautiful parts of China
and other countries on that side of the world. The worst parts were the conflicting directives from our many different bosses and the fact that we were not real
English teachers yet having to come up with never ending, lengthy but exciting
and educational lessons each day from scratch with no materials and iffy to
non-internet service. That was
stressful. But the BYU CTP program is a
valuable one and like other “real” missions, you may never know what impact you
have had on others.
The nonstop flight to SFO took about 14 hours. We paid $200 each extra for better leg
room. It was worth it. And we had no one between our seats so that
was nice. We had four large suitcases,
two carry-ons and our backpacks. Also,
all the pockets on our sports pants and Clyde’s fisherman’s vest were
stuffed. The food from the US to China
was better than the food on the way back.
Thank goodness we brought snacks.
We slept a little but not really, choosing mostly to “medicate” with
lame in-flight movies. As soon as we got
settled in at the SFO airport and turned on our tablets they instantly started
updating everything that wasn’t allowed in China. And the speed! We saw blue skies and white clouds. God Bless America!
Some final thoughts about China and our experience:
The Chinese people have been through such terrible events
for thousands of years. It is a wonder
there are still so many left. They are
driven in self-preservation, to the extent of cheating, lying, and not serving
others to be able to get ahead. The end
justifies the means. But they are loyal to
their families.
The One Child policy is a mess. You have one person responsible for the
welfare of six older people. When that
person marries, add to that burden the spouse’s six family members. No wonder they are so desperate to get ahead
and make money by any means.
There is great honor in erecting new, fancy looking
buildings, but none in maintaining anything.
Sidewalks were broken, new buildings were falling apart but nothing was
repaired. And why are they still
installing squat potties?
The majority of the people are hungry for something
different, they just don’t know what or how to obtain it. Only 5% of the population belongs to the
communist party and yet they control everything. I am afraid change will come at great expense
in lives and fortunes.
The older people ignored us like we were invisible. The babies stared at us, knowing there was
something different about us. The young
people were eager to help us and practice their English with us.
The pollution and pesticides are killing people. Maybe not immediately, but are major players
in cause of deaths. Then again, they
aren’t too concerned about safety around here.
No seat belts, safety rails, etc. No Good Samaritan laws either so that keeps
people from coming to aid of someone injured.
We loved seeing the historical sites and beautiful lands of
China and South East Asia. We also
really enjoyed taking trips with the other BYU CTP teachers. We grew close to those who were experiencing
the same things we were. We shared
stories, laughed, traded teaching ideas, competed with who had it worse (we
usually won) and had a genuinely good time together. We are all now part of a very “exclusive”
club.
In summary, “It was a Great Experience to have had!” (But not one we want to repeat.) Still, we would encourage other senior
members to do the same thing. Now on to
our new, normal life.
We had a layover of a couple of hours and then came on to
Houston. It was so amazing to walk into
a public restroom that didn’t stink. It
had doors on the stalls, a real toilet, toilet paper, and when you were
finished there was soap, water and paper towels to clean up with. Amazing!
Bethany met us at the airport and took us to her home for dinner. Jon and Crystal stopped by. Even though we were pretty loopy, it was SO
GOOD to see family. And then we came
back to our own home. Our “Great
Adventure” had at last come to an end.
We were tired, and with the help of sleeping pills, had a good night’s
rest.
