30 Day Tourist Visa/To Work Visa/ Marooned in Hong Kong!!

One of the interesting things about a big school like Suzhou Singapore International School is that it has a budget for dealing with all aspects of teacher's visa needs.  Because I had arrived so late and because the principal rushed me to the school they used the quick route, a tourist visa, to get me into the country.  But, what that meant was that I would need to leave after 30 days, leave the country, and then reenter after obtaining a work visa with documentation which I had received through the human resources department of SSIS.

I was actually excited with this prospect because I do love to travel by plane, no matter where the destination might be.  For me the destination out was the same for entry, Hong Kong.  So, the school had booked a flight and a stay at the same hotel in Hong Kong.  Once there I would again go to the Chinese visa building and this time give all the documents needed and within a few days return and have the Z work visa necessary for the rest of the year.

So, I was driven to Shanghai's Pudong Airport by the school's hired chauffeur and got on the flight for Hong Kong leaving a day prior to the end of my tourist visa.  I arrived in Hong Kong and again took the train, and then the taxi to the same hotel that I'd used one month earlier.  This was like a little vacation for me.  I was even getting paid for this trip as well as all the expenses, so why complain?

The next day I went to the Chinese visa bureau and again went through the long line, as I had in October, early in the morning preparing for giving the documents to them and returning the next day to receive my work visa.  Everything went well as it had one month before and I returned to my hotel to wait for my visa the following day.

Shenzhen train station

                                                                                                        
I took the extra time to search out a special purchase for a friend of mine who told me a particular skin cream was much cheaper when purchased in Hong Kong.  I was only happy to get this item since I was in the district of Hong Kong where it could be obtained easily. Duty for certain products are very excessive when purchased inside China.  Also, that evening I made plans to visit a friend of mine who had just moved to Shenzhen, right over the border from Hong Kong.  It was merely a short train trip away.

That next day I went to the bureau and was very happy to pick up my work visa and I was on my way.  No one explained anything about the visa to me, but I figured I was secure in using it for visiting my friend that evening, in Shenzhen.  I was now the holder of a Chinese Z visa.

That evening I took a train to the border of Hong Kong and China at Shenzhen.  At this station were lots of shops and restaurants and my friend and I had made plans to have a little bit to eat and a cup of coffee.  At the border all the trains passengers had to go through customs in the normal way you would as if  you were entering China for the first time.  Of course I had my visa now and I was confident as I passed the guards and officials en route to where my friend had told me to meet him.  Actually, it was a little more complicated than that.  I had to call him when I arrived and he came to me.  We spent an enjoyable couple of hours talking and sharing since we hadn't seen each other since our time on Guam together.  Then, as it was getting very late I left and reentered Hong Kong and took the train back, followed by a taxi ride to my hotel.

The next morning I checked out and made my way to the Hong Kong airport once again.  This time happy that I now had my work visa and would now spend the next good part of a year without that to worry about anymore.  I strode up to the China Airline counter and took out my passport and ticket information.  Then came the shock of my life!

                                                                                                     
The China Eastern airline counter woman said, "I'm sorry sir, but you cannot fly today. You do not have a valid entry visa!"  I stood there absolutely stunned.  What was she talking about?  I had just gotten my work visa yesterday.  I remember another man being asked to assist me as I felt like I was going to have a heart attack or something.

What was she talking about?  I showed her my visa once again.  She said, "you used this 'once only' visa last night at the border going to Shenzhen, sir."  OMG.  It was a one use only visa and I had used it to see my friend for coffee and small talk.  Now what?

The airline assigned a young clerk to me to help get myself organized.  I really think that I was about to have a heart attack.  First, they said they would honor my ticket for days to come, so that was OK.  But, now what?  The clerk took me to a travel agent on the floor of the airport beneath the level where we were currently.  I went to the desk and they said they could get me a tourist visa into the country within 24 hours.  So, I paid the fee and gave them my documents and set out to spend one more night in Hong Kong.  This was Thursday and I would return on Friday to this counter, get my visa and get back to Suzhou.

Meanwhile I got back on the train and headed back to the hotel that I'd stayed in.  When I arrived I asked for a room only to find that they were full up and now I would need to find another hotel.  So, I sat down and thought a while for my next move.  The hotel was actually very good at finding me another hotel that would be reasonable for my extra day.  I decided on a Ramada Inn and so the hotel doorman flagged down a taxi and I was on my way.

The evening was quite uneventful accept for my contacting the school in Suzhou to tell them of my dilemma.  The school's human resources woman changed the flight to the next day for me and I was relieved to think that I would soon be on my way "back home."  I did economize on dinner by buying a few inexpensive fruits and Chinese foods (like a bao) which were quite tasty.

I got up early, paid my room fee, and again took my things to the airport via taxi, and train.  When I arrived I went directly to the counter where my visa was being processed.  The woman who had helped me the day before wouldn't look me in the eye.  She looked everywhere but at me and said, "sorry sir, but we cannot get you a visa."  I was furious!  I had waited 24 hours and given them this job to do and now what?  Was I not going to be able to return to China at all?  Again my mind returned to the evening with my friend and thought, "was that worth it?"  It was still morning at this time, so if I hurried I could make it to the visa bureau before the end of the working day.

I again took the train into Hong Kong and went directly to the visa bureau.  I got in line and waited and waited.  Time seemed to move very slowly.  There was a  special line for problems and I met what seemed to be the main visa bureau officer.  I pleaded with this man to give me another 30 day tourist visa, after I told him my story about using the one use visa to go to Shenzhen.  He laughed at me which did not endear him to me.  But, I hid my anger the best I could and waited his next best deal.  He told me that he would give me a seven day tourist visa and that was the best he could do.  What could I do?  I knew that wouldn't do the job, but I had to bet back to Suzhou.  I took my chances and said, "yes, give me the seven day visa."

Ramada Inn Hong Kong

                                                                                                                  
This was now the end of the day and I couldn't come back to pick up the visa until Monday morning, so I left once again to return to the same Ramada Inn for the weekend.  I felt truly marooned in Hong Kong.  I took long walks around the hotel district where the Ramada Inn was located.  I got to know that area of Hong Kong quite well.  There were lots of shops for all kinds of food, clothes, and Chinese herbal medicines.  I liked walking through the side streets and seeing the daily life of these people.  From my hotel window I had a great view of the Hong Kong harbor which has constant movement from sampans to large ocean going vessels.

Finally Monday arrived and I made my way once more to the visa bureau to pick up my visa and catch the plane.  YES!  The seven day visa was ready and again I made my way to the airport by way of taxi and train.  I was finally on my way back to Suzhou. I caught the plane and Hong Kong was in the past.

Starting Elementary Orchestra....Late

I had arrived at Suzhou Singapore International School the second week of October.  School had been going since the middle of August so all the classes that I had were late to begin.

The school is large enough for there to be two elementary music specialist.  The school year started with a traumatic beginning to the music department.  Whoever had been hired to be the second music teacher came the first day, walked in the door, and by the end of the first day had decided (for whatever reasons) to turn and walk away once more.  This left my musical colleague with double the load.  There were nearly 500 students and usually they were divided between the two teachers.  She had to have twice normal sized classes until I arrived.

So, when I did arrive she gave a sigh of relief that someone had come to ease the burden.  What I hadn't mentioned before was that each of us had a specialization of musical duties for this school.  She had the elementary choir and I had the elementary string orchestra.

                                                                                                           
My experience prior to SSIS was inclusive of many musical duties.  I had taught elementary choir, middle school choir, high school choir, middle school pop band, high school pop band, and middle and high school orchestra.  So, I knew what was necessary for starting the year with the elementary orchestra, but it was now two months into the school year.

That put a bit of a rush into my procedures.  Within a week of arriving I had put a notice out to all who had previously been in orchestra, but I also invited others to audition as well.  So, by the third week I was listening to auditions during all my breaks to make up for the fact that it hadn't been done in August.

Students would come in with their instrument and play a short passage as well as a little scale work to hear their facility on their instruments.  Those involved ranged from second through the fifth grade.  Most were placed in the orchestra, but there were a few who needed some further private lessons to play the musical arrangements which would be our repertoire.  One little girl, a Kindergartener, came in after only a few lessons on the piano and wanted to be the orchestra's accompanist.  Disappointed perhaps, but realistic, she had to be sent away to return later or even the next school year with more performance experience.  Many of these students, with only a short musical career, were actually quite advanced.  As can be expected there were more piano players than could be used, but I had a plan for their inclusion.

The music which was in the filling cabinet was a bit advanced for many of the youngest students.  That is a problem when it comes to young, young groups.  The first job of a good instructor is to see exactly what their group is capable of.  So, I set out to do just that.  As much as some of these students had auditioned they were young and inexperienced which showed in their playing.

                                                                                                           
In my work prior to SSIS I had created a considerable number of arrangements using Sibelius music software.  For the beginner musician this is a Godsend.  If the part given by the instructor is much too difficult it can be rewritten to allow for the student's personal growth.  After the student has improved the part can again be rewritten easily to a higher degree of difficulty.  This almost amounts to individual instructional materials, but that is a preferred alternative to the traditional way which leaves some musicians "lost".

So, rehearsals began in earnest.  Our first performances were going to be during the holiday time.  In China it was not a good idea to perform Christian songs, so my repertoire was confined to generic songs like "Jingle Bells" and things like that.  I suppose that's normal in American schools, too.  I had just come from a Christian school where there were no restrictions in this way.  When you think about how late in the school year I began working with the children it's a bit of a miracle to have gotten many pieces learned in time for those performances.  But, we did and as that began it was already time to look past January 1st to music for Chinese New Year which was a much bigger holiday than Christmas in China.  My work was cut out for me.

Visiting My Chinese Friends' Apartment

I had stayed in contact with my Chinese friend who had greeted me the first day in Suzhou.  That late night mishap was now a standing joke between us.  She, her fiancee, and their friends were having fun with this American man who had come to work in Suzhou.  People are keen on trying to improve their English skills in China by conversing at casual dinners and such and she and I had met a time or two to have a little dinner and conversation.  She and her friends were all recent graduates of the University and were very much interested in what I might teach them by way of our conversations.

One evening she suggested to come to her shared apartment for a meal which her boyfriend would prepare for us all.  She explained that he was much more the cook than she was.  I immediately accepted the invitation which would be for the following Saturday morning and into the day.  She wanted me to experience the whole preparation of the meal; from buying the food, to serving it, and finally a bit of entertainment in the afternoon.  So, I was set and ready to go with the directions which she had given me to show to the taxi driver.

Saturday morning arrived and I went down to the boulevard to flag down a taxi.  She had given me her cell phone number and helped guide me to the destination through the use of our cell phones.  The taxi drove me to the old section of Suzhou to one of the main streets.  As I looked around I saw the tower of the university and streets crowed with people, but no friend.  I had paid the taxi and now was abandoned on the street waiting for my friends.

Out through a small passageway came she and her boyfriend.  We didn't stay there but for a few seconds.  She led me, along with her boyfriend across the street into a little alleyway.  The alleyway led back between two buildings into yet another alleyway at right angles with the first.  Packed into this little space were people selling their goods.  These were mostly food stuffs such as eggs, live chickens, baby chicks, live fish, vegetables of every type that I knew, and more that I'd never seen before.  There were nuts, fruits, meat that was being cut for customers, etc, etc.  This was a virtual underground supermarket at cut rate prices.  This was how Chinese in this part of Suzhou shopped.

                                                                                                   
My friends were very familiar with this people's market and how it worked, but I was new to it and so I followed behind them gawking at all the variety of foods and how they were being sold.  I couldn't help but wonder about things like meat and items that spoiled.  Would the blood all on the ground and smell forever in that place?  This must be free enterprise at its most basic.  Does the government regulate this sort of thing.  Furthermore, is this common place throughout all of China?  For these people, is this their occupation, or is it a part-time thing which they do to raise a little extra money? It was a Saturday, perhaps this is the equivalent of a "Saturday Market" back in the US.  So many questions, but who do I ask for the answers?

When they had finished their purchases we walked back out through this maze of people and disorder to the street where I had been dropped off by the taxi.  We continued through the little passageway, which also had dealers everywhere selling things.  What I notice in this section was that there were book sellers everywhere.  We were walking toward the university housing.  There was a canal which we crossed via a nice modern bridge, but even on the bridge were book sellers with a variety of books including text books which would be sold to students as they passed.  On the banks of this canal were two fishermen, but they had no fishing poles.  These two men had birds which they were letting loose in the water.  This was Cormorant fishing, using birds to dive into the water to collect the fish and then retrieve the fish from their mouths.  I had heard of this from geography books but I'd never witnessed it.  What a concept!  This was a time tested system, but beyond my American heritage.

                                                                                           

As interesting as this was my friends were almost home now and they led to me to a grouping of apartments that were a bit more rustic than I'd seen in Suzhou Industrial Park.  These apartments resembled the row houses that I'd seen in travelogues of England.  The structures were all concrete and had some construction defects.  In fact, I hit my head rather hard on the overhanging door frame which didn't quite meet up to my height.  BANG!  And it did hurt for a while.

Their apartment was on the third floor.  They led me into a rather cool apartment and linoleum floors, rather rough furnishings, and a bedroom for the one couple, and two other bedrooms which were also occupied by two other couples.  The entire apartment couldn't have been more than 800 square feet.  But, these were recent graduates and they found this to be a fun life style, although crowded.

                                                                                                               
The boyfriend quickly began preparing the foods that had been purchased.  None of these things were what I had ever seen in my lifetime.  But, I was going to be a good sport and try all that was put in front of me.  Actually the meal was memorable in a positive way.  I think they enjoyed watching my face as I tried these dishes.  They wanted to see my reactions.  I don't really know all that I ate accept for the lotus root.  When I first saw the lotus root I asked my friend, "what is that?"  Her answer?  That is "snake."  I became very concerned, as you might understand.  She saw my shock and said, "what's wrong?"  I repeated what she said, "snake?" (with surprise)  She thought for a few moments and said, "Oh, snack! This is a snack."  My adrenaline subsided.....and I ate a piece with delight to know that it wasn't really a snake I was eating after all.

                                                                                                  
After this Saturday lunch the guy especially wanted to do something recreational.  So, they invited me to play basketball with them.  looked out the window and there no further than a stone's throw was a basketball court for students from the university.  We finished with the dishes and set out for the courts.  I think they were curious as to my physical abilities with this American sport.

It was the two Chinese men, the two ladies, and myself.  At first we played Horse.  They didn't know that game so I showed them how to play it.  All of us played and it was very enjoyable.  Then, one of the two men saw one of their male friends and it was now a two on two men's game.  My team won!  I seemed to be on fire for some reason.  I hadn't played basketball in years, but I'm sure I felt compelled to do my best against these young men.  They all gave me high-fives and the game was over.

This was the end of the day for me.  I was a bit exhausted, but exhilarated.  Again my friend took me to the main street where I'd been left off in the morning and flagged down a taxi for me.  This had been a very memorable day.




                                               

Going to Church in China

By the second week in Suzhou I had met a Chinese friend who invited me to go to church at a Christian church.  Let me say first of all that I was totally surprised by finding an outgoing Christian who would invite me to church.  This was like a hand of God reaching down and saying "I am God, alive and well in this place that you had thought I was not."   I jumped at this opportunity.  Being raised in a Christian family going to church, or being invited to go to church, had a feeling of belonging that is hard to describe.  In my mind being a Christian and sharing with other Christians has a commonality that is truly heartwarming, especially in Communist China.  So, I jumped at the chance to go to this service.

I had no idea where this church was located so I followed the directions of my Chinese friend and took the appropriate bus at the correct time and we met up that second Sunday morning.  The bus went for quite a long distance eventually coming to a university district with dormitories on each side.  We got to a particular intersection and disembarked.  At that point we walked for two very long blocks past an indoor sports complex, ending up near a beautiful lake which had a park along its shores.

                                                                                                 
The church was a huge edifice with a gigantic metal statue of Jesus in the church's courtyard.  A part of the church's grounds had Sunday School where the children were while the parents were in church.  This church was very new.  It was at most five years old and obviously created to satisfy the needs of SIP (Suzhou Industrial Park) and its ex-patriot foreign workers.  Peculiar as it might seem this church was paid for and built by the government of China.

The interior of these church was beautiful, although a bit clinical, in some respects.  Made of concrete, it was similar to the chancels of cathedrals in Europe with the shape being in the sign of a cross.  There was a central area, and to both sides were more pews.  There were TV monitors in multiple places within the church so that all who attended could easily see and hear what the pastor or song leaders were saying..  There were two flat screens on each side of the church at intervals, a large monitor in the front on each side.  Projected on these screens were lyrics of the songs being sung, the passages from the Bible being read as well as the liturgy which was to be read as the service progressed. 

                                                                                                              
Each Sunday there were two church services.  One service was the for foreigners which is what I attended with my friend that first Sunday visit, and also a service for the local Chinese Christians. The service for foreigners was restricted to only those who had a foreign passport.  The Chinese were kept out.  This gave us the impression that if the service by the westerners contained information opposing the Chinese government, the local Chinese would not be privy to these types of tainted words.  This particular Sunday, however, my Chinese friend managed to participate somehow.

I remember when the service was beginning the pastor asked where the visitors were from.  There were quite a few people who stood and told their country of origin. I stood up and said, "I'm from the island of Guam" which caused a murmur from the congregation....."where's that?"  Actually I don't really know what they murmured, but they did say something to each other when I was announced.  I found that to be a bit funny.  But, I wasn't surprised in that many people in the world have no idea where Guam is located.

                                                                                             
The service was nondenominational and very center field, nothing too fundamentalist, nothing too straight, either. I'm sure that the pastors that had been chosen for this job were selected to please as many parishioners as possible.  Again you must remember that this was all provided by the government of China.  The congregation was an interesting mixture of peoples; very cosmopolitan.

After the church service my friend and I took a walk along the edge of the lake.  Whoever had chosen the spot for the church had chosen well.  The edge of the lake was a huge park where many people seemed to gather on the weekend.  I was to find that the Chinese really enjoyed parks as places of solitude; places to "get away".

When I returned to work the next day I discovered that my music colleague had missed the service on Sunday but was a regular with the performing group who assisted the pastor for music.  She had been in China for seven years and was a part of the life blood of this congregation.

Beyond the church service and the building this experience had proved something to me.  The family of the Christian Church (although not spoken of much within or outside of China) was alive and well in this most populous country of the world.

                                                                                                        

On The Bus

The phrase "on the bus" means many things to people.  For some it might mean buying into a particular program, following while the leader steers you and others toward a destination which he or she feels fit to lead you.  I had a leader like that on Guam who felt compelled to drive his bus into a ditch and the wheels kept spinning while the people who were on the bus, out of desperation, got off the bus.  Who wouldn't get off the bus in those circumstances?

But, another meaning for "on the bus" is simply the true straight forward meaning.  To be "on the bus" was a way of life for those at this new school.  It was a meeting place or a beginning of the day.  It was a place where people met new friends who might remain the strongest of friends throughout their time together and into the future.

I, for one, have a long history of riding the bus.  When I was a child in Portland, Oregon the bus was a form of transportation which some in my family used regularly because we had only one car and further it was cheaper and more convenient when the bus took us to the exact place.

                                                                            
When I reached upper elementary age I took the bus to school across Portland to a private school, Trinity Lutheran School.  I got to really like the time on the bus because it gave me time to do homework before I returned home and I'd have the evening free for entertainment.  I met some interesting friends on the daily trek across Portland.

But, now in Suzhou riding the bus was a new experience for an American teacher.  All teachers and all workers rode the bus to and from the school.  It was a benefit of the job to not have to pay for transportation.  It was not necessary to have a car in Suzhou.  That could have added a whole level of expense that was unnecessary.

As I'd said in a past blog I would need to be at the entrance of my apartment, Chateau Regency, at 7:23 exactly to be picked up by the bus.  After a few days I became acquainted with the other SSIS employees who got on at my stop.  In my own apartment house building lived a Chinese kindergarten teacher.  Her claim to fame from my perspective was her ability to arrive exactly, and I truly mean exactly, at the time of the arrival of the bus.  7:23.....ah, yes, there she was walking not running across the street and never missing the bus once.  She'd see husband leave and her daughter to her transportation and there she'd be.

                                                                                           
Another person at my stop was one of the IT department Chinese workers.  He was a friendly young man who often would arrive walking backwards to the stop.  In China people do curious things and walking backward is thought of as a way of focusing the mind; something that is similar to other mind sharpening exercises.

As the school year would progress other short term employees would use this same bus stop.  I was literally always the first to the stop, a personality trait to be on time if not ahead of time. I would use the time at the stop to introduce myself and build on my Mandarin skills.

The bus would stop at the prescribed time and the women would be sent up the steps followed by myself and the Chinese IT technician.  I would greet the bus driver, after I practiced a few times, with Ni Hao and walk to the middle of the bus.  At this stop, which was near the end of the route, there were only about eight employees sitting on the bus before our stop.

Because we all worked at the same destination I eventually learned most everyone's job and where they worked within the SSIS building.  There was a Pre-K drama music teacher that I would work with in a very general way.  She was more to herself in the lower elementary school by the nature of the young students that she served.  Strange as it maybe she reminded me of a student that I'd had many years ago.

There was a woman who worked at the front desk answering the phone and other assorted assignments. Also, there was a quiet woman who was one of the best computer help desk persons that I'd met.  One day I happened to sit next to her and she shared her earphones with me.  She was listening to some American country pop music at the time and that impressed me.  I remember the song,  "You Look Beautiful In White" being one of the songs that I had heard that day.  I thought to myself, "I come all the way to China to hear an American song which I'd never heard before."

The ride to Suzhou Singapore International School took us by Jinji Lake, down a long boulevard and through a series of other large avenues until we reached the school.  The first time I rode this bus it became apparent that the bus driver was not the usual driver that I'd encountered before.  The Chinese style of driving was a bit of anything goes.  Even though we were on a large tourist styled bus he drove as if he were maneuvering a sports car.  I was to learn that this was not unusual at all for drivers in China.

                                                                        
We finally got to the school and all the buses drove up almost simultaneously.  We disembarked the buses in single file and entered the foyer of the school.  Welcome to SSIS.

Who are these students?

I've taught in a variety of situations in my musical teaching career.  A teacher learns something new from every group of students that they teach.  Beyond the curriculum that is to be dealt with, the students teach the teacher, especially about social and economic realities of a particular locale.

My first assignment was in southern Oregon in a suburban-rural setting.  The students in that school were considerably different from the environment that I had experienced where I lived in Ashland, Oregon.  Ashland, at that time, had 85% of its adult population college graduates.  That was a different situation from the surrounding cities and towns.

From this teaching situation I moved to Guam in 1990 and found myself in the southern part of the island.  Even on this little tropical island there were differences the student personalities due to sociology-economic differences.  The southern part of the island was quite rural and surprised me and other statesiders because people rarely left their villages.  In fact on a field trip that first year on Guam, although only 5 miles away from the more urban settings of mid-island left most of my choir students little lost as to how to act properly because they had never really been there before.

                                                                           
In 1994 I got a new job on Guam.  I became the music teacher of an elite school whose makeup was quite different than the school in the southern part of the island.  This school was primarily made up of students of upper middle to upper income business people.  The ethnic makeup of this school was also quite different.  Many Koreans, Japanese, Chinese, as well as some US mainland Caucasians and Filipinos made up the student population.  I was to learn the ins and outs of dealing with students whose parent language might not be English.  I would also use patience beyond what I'd dealt with in the past because of communication differences.

                                                                        
Now when I arrived in Suzhou, the students were sons and daughters of people who worked in SIP.   Suzhou Industrial Park

These parents were the factory executives of companies like Bosch, Samsung, Gucci, etc, etc, etc.  The working stays of these parents could be a two year stint, or longer depending upon the parent company and the benefits that they might receive while working in China.  The children knew that they were in Suzhou for a limited time and of course that affected their thinking.  Added to that was the parallel thinking of the administration and faculty.

                                                                         
Something that I found very unusual at SSIS was the department established in the elementary wing by the German corporation Bosch.  This was a German department who had its own German teaching staff and separate German curriculum.  I had these Deutsche kinder twice a week, two combination classes, and I had found myself using my high school German for the first time in my teaching career.  These children really appreciated the fact that I was of German descent and they liked hearing my family's history of coming to the United States from Germany in the 19th century.

It took a bit of time for me to understand and incorporate the PYP methodology, but I finally began to see that these students were thoroughly indoctrinated in this style of teaching and responded  easily to its methods and they were used to all the teachers tying their knowledge together and making a cohesion that wouldn't have occurred in other methodologies.  So, I was beginning to see the advantage of this overall method to educate with a consistency that I'd never seen before.

One thing that could be said for this school and other international schools is the way discipline occurs.  For one thing the ability to go to another school is very limited.  So, if there is ever a discipline problem with any student, parents really do enter into the discussion to straighten the child or they will find themselves without a school at all for their child to attend. That has its definite advantage over other situations where I'd taught.

I was now beginning to assimilate into this new school and its curriculum.  A good year was ahead of me.

Invited to old Suzhou

During the first week of work I had been assisted by my friend, Linda, who was part of the organization which was hired by SSIS to help teachers adjust to living in China.  But, Linda had shown more interest in me for some reason.  I was somehow different.  I still don't understand that being on the inside of me I can't see what she might mean by that.  But, she wanted to introduce me to her boyfriend, and another couple who were also curious about this new American teacher.

We made plans to go to the old section of Suzhou early Saturday morning I didn't really know where I was going so Linda had me call her on her cell phone and had me give the cell phone to the taxi driver to direct him to the correct location.

The taxi took me out of SIP (Suzhou Industrial Park where I lived) to the old city of Suzhou, which lay to the west of SIP.  There was a distinct difference when I entered this part of the city.  SIP was a designed city with well-manicure.

                                                                           
A little about Suzhou, China:  Suzhou is nearly 2,500 years old.  The old city of which I am speaking was built as a moated city using the river as its source of water for the moat.  Generally in the shape of a square or rectangle, the city had a tall wall around it until the second world war when the Japanese forced the Chinese to destroy their own city wall which had the result of angering the Chinese to the point that even in present times there is an animosity that has not dissipated.  History of Suzhou / Canals

I was meeting these two couples at the entrance to one of the oldest streets in Suzhou.  The street was more of a path than a modern street which was paved with stones in a design.  This street had on one side an old canal with gondolas and at intervals were stone bridges which arched the waterway with enough space for these vessels to go beneath.

One of these men had pretty good English and he was the person who told me the history of this street.  He also told me about the destruction of the walls of Suzhou by the Japanese.  I could see that this was the inside of a story, from the perspective of the Chinese, a story that I had never known.  We talked and walked along the canal for quite a while.  We passed boutiques, restaurants, and vendors on this bright October day.  Finally we came to a restaurant that specialized in Dim Sum where we went inside.

The restaurant was against the canal on one side and was two stories high.  It was a very old building with a very steep wooden stairway almost like a ladder, but much sturdier.  We sat in a large booth which had open windows, with no glass simply open to the outdoors.  I sat by the wall and looked down on passers-by as the food was served.  Conversation was centered on me; who I was, where I was from, and other factors of my being American in China.  My new friends were very, very curious.  They questioned me in their limited English.

                                                                                   
After the lunch we went outside and took photos with the canal in the background and a weeping willow tree for a background.  They were thrilled and so was I.  I had found some wonderful new friends.

We continued our walk down this ancient street and ended our walk at a busy street which also crossed this canal.  Later I would discover, on another day, that this particular part of Suzhou is the center of much tourism for Chinese as well as foreigners.

There was a small fruit stand at the street and my friends were quick to ask me what kind of fruit I might like as a parting gift.  This was so extravagant of them especially after they had paid for my lunch in the Dim Sum restaurant.  But, I was not about to turn down their hospitality.  They were very kind.

                                                                         
As we had walked the one male friend had questioned me about what sports that I liked to play.  That was a refreshing thought.  Perhaps I might get some exercise as well as meeting them....somewhere in the near future.

They hailed a taxi and with my card which said, "Chateau Regency" I was on my way home to my apartment.  What a lovely Saturday morning and now afternoon this had been.