Sunday, October 17, 2004
The China Project:
Getting to them Early
Background and Log Excerpts
(This is a re-post 10/17/04 for IE users )
Between Aug.24 and Oct.5, 2004, our family, including Zoe Guanlan, our Chinese born 7-year-old-daughter, traveled more than 30,000 miles, visited three provinces, dozens of towns and villages and most important 14 schools in rural Northwest China.
Working in cooperation with the Save the Children Foundation-Hong Kong and Kent State, we traveled to remote rural villages in three provinces in Northwest China to visit primary schools that are under partial international sponsorship. Vilma interviewed educators, students, including those who finished school and those who didn't. We spoke with their families to record their stories of perseverance, hope, and concrete prospects. I documented the trip on videotape and in a daily journal.
It was an incredible experience for our family and yielded a great deal of information on the quality of education for young girls in this part of China. As a broadcast journalist with 30 years experience, I saw this as an opportunity to produce a video documentary in a region of the world rarely visited by Western journalists. The chance to create a video journal documenting this research was unprecedented. In addition, Vilma is an outstanding amateur still photographer, so we were able to complement my video work with her still pictures. In all we shot more than 2500 still pictures and 10 hours of digital videotape.
The daily log that I kept is nearly 100 pages and over 50,000 words. What follows are a few selected excerpts
(Note: You'll see an ad for Amazon.com on this site. All proceeds derived from Amazon.com in connection with worldvillage will be donated to the Guanlan Scholarship Fund)
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The China Project:Getting to them Early
Daily Log-Day 15-Tongren City, Qinghai Province
Sept. 7, 2004
It's a rainy day in Tongren, but there's a real sense of excitement because today the real work begins. We will visit our first school the Guashize Primary School about an hour outside of Tongren City. Before we leave the Superintendent of schools pulls out a small plastic bag containing a locally grown medicinal root. He tells us to break one end off, put it in our mouths, chew it and swallow. He says it will help us adjust to the altitude. We're already a mile and a half above sea level and today we will go much higher.
As soon as we leave he city limits we begin a climb up into the mountains. The rain and fog limits our view of the tops of the mountains, but we're starting to get up above the tree line and it's snowing! Not heavy, but it's enough to get my attention. We're at an altitude of approximately 3800 meters, 2.3 miles high. It's cold, windy and wet.
We pull into a small village and I assume this is the place. Nope, out the other side and on up into the mountains. Finally about ten kilometers later we turn into a muddy driveway and enter the school courtyard.
It's made of of two long structures connected together to form an L-shaped building. Four people carrying yellow and white silk scarves come up to the car to welcome us. The place one scarf on each of us and usher us inside. We learn later that this is a traditional Tibetan welcoming ritual.
The school "office" is one room, with a wood stove sitting in the middle. We quickly realize the room is also the home of the principal of the school, his wife and little girl. The heat from the stove is appreciated by everyone because the temperature is about 15-20 degrees colder than in Tongren. There are two beds, a couch, a couple of stools, a desk with a television and DVD player and little else. It is not clean by Western standards, but dirt is a constant companion in these villages where the only hot water is that which they boil so that they might have drinking water.
Vilma and Hei lin settle into to research mode and begin asking questions. I grab my camera and head outside. The school is a very simple structure setting on a plateau, surrounded by grassy fields. Stretching out and away from it are rolling hills were I can see farmers with cattle and sheep. I enter one open door and see that it is a sleeping area for the children. There aren't what we consider beds, rather long bench like structures along the walls. Well worn and dirty flannel pads lay on the benches and neatly rolled blankets are evenly spaced side-by-side. There are three other rooms like this at the school. Approximately 25-30 children sleep in each room.
The children in this school are members of migrant Tibetan families, who live in the area much of the year. But that area extends as far as 10-15 kilometers from the school. They travel not over roads, but over narrow paths, up and over the mountains into the next valley. It is dangerous and some of the children are only five years old. The children arrive at the school on Sunday afternoon or evening after walking from their homes. They live at the school during the week and then make the long trek home for the weekend.
I then go into one of the classrooms. It is a small room, holding about 25 children. They each have a desk and writing material. Books are distributed each day and then collected by the teacher at the end of the day. The books are in short supply and are stored away each night. The teacher has a desk in the front of the class, a blackboard, a few educational charts are hanging on the wall and a small stove in the corner. No light, other than from the windows and no electricity. That's it, the bare minimum needed to conduct a class. No frills, no extras, a far cry from the brightly colored, well equipped classroom that Zoe has in the United States.
Yet what resonated with me in not only this class, but in all of the classes was the enthusiasm and excitement exhibited by the children. With none of the amenities that we in the West have come to expect and demand for our children, learning was taking place. This was best exhibited to me by one interchange I taped. In a third grade class, the teacher put a series of math problems on the board. The children began jumping up and down, waving their hands, asking to be chosen to solve the problem. The teacher selected two boys and a girl who eagerly rushed forward for a piece of chalk to begin their calculations. As each one finished and returned to their seat there was vocal approval from their classmates. The teacher then went through each problem and when he pronounced it correct, their were cheers and applause from the class. To see such excitement amidst such primitive conditions was remarkable.
Lunch time came and the children lined up along side the building and one by one entered a small room in the corner. They emerged with a cup of porridge and a warm bun. That was lunch. This scene would be repeated at dinner, with potato soup replacing the porridge. We later found out that the school receives 11 RMB a month per student, or in U.S currency, $1.30!
While the kids appeared to be fairly healthy and happy, most are dirty and sanitation facilities are abysmal. The water comes from a well, no pump, you drop a bucket down, haul it back up and of course you then had to boil it for drinking and cooking. There's really no water to wash either clothes or faces. Bathroom facilities are in a small brick building that stands about 200 feet from the main building. To put it bluntly, it's an outhouse. One side for girls, the other for boys, both have five rectangular holes cut in the concrete floor. No toilet paper, no water. The smell, well you can probably imagine. It is not a good situation and I'm told that this is the way it is at most schools and for that matter in many towns. Modern sanitation and toilet facilities are still a rarity in much of China…………
The China Project:Getting to them Early
Daily Log-Day 20-Tongren, Qinghai/Guanting
Sept. 12, 2004
Our last day in Tongren. We are headed to Guanting where we will visit 5 schools. They have been established for some time and promise to be interesting. That's the upside, the downside is that Guanting is one of the smallest towns we will visit and we don't expect to have the best accommodations.
Our hosts in Tongren who have been so gracious all turn out to say goodbye. They have been extraordinarily helpful and kind to us and we are very grateful. We load up the van and pile in for the 5 hour drive to Guanting.
The roads are difficult. We had been told that earlier in the month this road had been impassable. Although we were able to get through, it was another hair raising ride up and down the mountains, around hair pin turns, looking down into ravines, five hundred feet straight down, all while it was raining. And if that wasn't enough when we were within an hour or our location, the road took us along the Yellow River. The heavy rains had swollen the river so that it was well above it's normal level and the current was even more treacherous than usual. We looked down at it, having a great view since their was no guard rail and hoped that luck stayed with us and our driver's skill held steady.
Finally we pulled into Guanting. It was small, it was dirty and it was loud. This is a Chinese town out of the 50's. Street vendors are everywhere, garbage is piled up, everything is dirty, drivers honk their horns at anything that moves, often and loudly and it doesn't look like there has been any new construction since the turn of the century, the 20th century not the 21st!
We pulled into a courtyard in front of a two story building where our hosts offices were located. Even though the rain was still pouring down, our hosts came out to greet us with scarves and drink. It was very nice of them and I wish it had been drier. We went up to their office and meet the rest of the staff, including a transplanted Australian, Todd Owen. He was a volunteer with the office who worked on grant applications. The Director, a well spoken, handsome young man by the name of Zhu Yongzhong, was a native of the area but also spoke Tibetan and English. He explained that this was not just an education agency, but rather a development agency that worked on a number of projects, including health, sanitation and economic development.
We wanted to go ahead and get settled in our hotel and agreed to meet for dinner. Now up until now our accommodations have been more than adequate. That was about to change.
We pulled up to a building whose most defining feature was the 50's style blue glass that wrapped around it as a facade. Things went downhill from there. Of course there had been a tipoff. Our driver was supposed to spend the night at the hotel so he wouldn't have to drive the five hours back to Tongren. He took one look, wished us well and hopped back in his Jeep. Smart man.
We went in and I listened to Vilma and Hei lin go back and forth with the clerk. It seems that they were discussing whether or not we wanted a toilet in the room. The hotel had no hot water but we could go to the public showers across the street. We opted for the indoor toilet. For that we paid 90 RMB a night. When we saw the room, the term highway robbery came to mind. They were big rooms. But they were also dusty (alright, I'm being kind, dirty). The beds had the spring of a brick, but at least the sheets and blankets appeared to be very clean. There was no phone, no towels and the indoor toilet had the cleanliness and smell of the men's room at old Cleveland stadium, circa 1964! We were not impressed, but it beat going outside to the public facilities or so we thought.
We joined our hosts for dinner in what was undoubtedly the best restaurant in town. The food was good, but the place won't win any awards for cleanliness either. The big problem is the dust. It's everywhere and covers everything. It's going to be a long four days.
We headed back to the hotel, got ready for bed, one of us used the bathroom ( won't name names) and lo and behold, it was stopped up! 90RMB for a toilet and it doesn't work! We told the folks at the desk and they promised to have it fixed the next day. Why did I have my doubts? Oh well, it's been a long day, at least the sheets are clean.
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The China Project:Getting to them Early
Daily Log-Day 21-Guanting, Qinghai Province
Sept. 13, 2004
We headed out of our "luxury" accommodations bright and early ready for the next school visits. As we walked toward the agency offices, I was immediately struck by the dirt, filth and smell.
This is not Guangzhou, Suzhou or even Xining. This town represents, the "real" China. There are far more of these kinds of towns and villages than the sparkling cities in the East and South. This is the China that has barely moved into the 20th century. Hot and cold running water, reliable electricity, storm and sanitary sewers, garbage collection, these things are virtually non-existent in much of China. Guanting is a perfect example of just how far China still has to go if it is to achieve the stature it desires in the global community.
The China represented by Guanting still has open trenches lining the streets, full of garbage, trash and often human and animal excrement. Cattle, donkeys, sheep and chickens jockey for position on the crowded streets, already narrowed by the dozens of street vendors hawking their wares. Everything has a think layer of dust on it, the air is heavy with exhaust fumes from the cars, trucks, buses, motorcycles and three-wheel motorized vehicles that haul everything from bricks to cow dung. Like the schools we visited, sanitation in bathroom facilities is an unknown. Outhouses are in evidence everywhere be it city or countryside. Indoor toilets are virtually non-existent in this and many other parts of China. But if you don't have water lines, sewer lines and sewage treatment plants, this is what you get. It is not pleasant.
But I also have to remember that I am making observations based on western standards. Things that I take for granted, the people of Guanting don't miss because they never had them. Hot water, intermittent electricity, garbage in the streets and outhouses are the norm. The Chinese throw trash on the ground because they've always done so. But the trash they used to throw away was pretty much organic so it was biodegradable. But twenty years ago, plastics, Styrofoam and cellophane began to make their way into the packaging of products. These things aren't biogradeable and the results are obvious. Much of the countryside has the appearance of a landfill. Villages, towns and many of the smaller cities are little better.
The connection between health and hygiene is one that is unknown to most of Chinese population. Lessons the West learned about the transmission of disease are unknown in much of China. As a result you have the outhouses standing open, often near water supplies, piles of garbage rotting away and ever larger piles of trash made up of plastic soda bottles, Styrofoam containers and even disposable diapers. It is an environmental and health nightmare.
It will take an effort of monumental proportions to create not only the infrastructure of a modern society, but to also change the culture. And that may be the greater challenge. There is a developing network of modern highways, bridges and dams in many parts of China that clearly indicate the government can take on big construction projects and be successful. But changing this culture will involve reeducating a population that is barely literate and spread across thousands of miles. It is a daunting task but one that the leaders of China must undertake if their country, not just the cities, are to enter the 21st century.
But I have to add, that amidst this dirt and filth there is a warmth, the people are by and large very friendly. As we walk the streets we are often greeted with a "Hallo," and a wave. I am saddened that they have to live in such horrendous conditions………….
The China Project:Getting to them Early
Daily Log-Day 23-Guanting, Qinghai Province
Sept. 15, 2004
The schools we are visiting today are near the village where Zhu grew up. We look forward to seeing them because one of the most famous temples in China is near one of them. We hope to have time to take a look.
Another day, another dirt road. But strangely enough as we get closer to the Jingning Primary School we begin to see children on the road, walking away from the direction of the school. A few minutes later when we arrive, it's immediately clear that the children are gone. We get out of the van and walk toward the building. This is the first school we've visited where the Principal and teachers weren't waiting to greet us. The Agency staff person, Ms. Jang who's traveled with us and been great all week, finds the principal and then comes back to explain what happened. Although the visit had been scheduled, the school had a change of plans. Another school was having a major performance today and had invited the students of Jingning to attend. And why hadn't the school notified the Agency of the change. Simple, they don't have a phone and cell phones don't work in many of these remote areas. Still another example of the challenges these schools face on a daily basis. Would any American school dream of trying to operate without a telephone?
Since the children were gone Vilma and Hei lin decided they could at least interview the Principal and the few teachers still around. Since there wasn't much to shoot I decided that Ms. Zoe could catch up on some of her homework. After all, she had her pick of classrooms.
When we decided to make this trip we of course wanted to bring Zoe along. In many ways she was the inspiration for the project. But it meant missing the first month and a half of school. Fortunately Zoe, who was in 1st grade last year was in a class that was scheduled to be "looped." This meant that her teacher, Mrs. Becerra, who she loves and who we both think is wonderful, would be moving to 2nd grade and her students had an opportunity to stay with her. It was a fortunate coincidence for us, Zoe could go with us and when she came back, be in her old classroom, with most of her old classmates and of course Mrs. Becerra. We had talked with the school last spring and scheduled time to meet with Mrs. Becerra a few days before we left for China. In still another coincidence, school was scheduled to open the day we left so all the teachers were back in school preparing for the year. We met with Mrs. Becerra the day before we left and she had prepared a packet for Zoe. It included workbooks, some assignments (keep a journal of your trip, take pictures, etc.) and we worked out a plan to try and e-mail additional work from time to time. That's why we had homework for Zoe, something that she was often less than thrilled about.
As we worked, a young woman came into the room. When I say young, she didn't look like she was much older than some of the high school students we had seen. She spoke a little English and it turned out that she was a teacher at the school, she had just graduated from the university and this was her first teaching assignment. I took her into where Vilma and Hei lin were interviewing the Principal and the other teachers, thinking a female teacher and who was also a new teacher might have a different perspective. Well it was a good idea that didn't really go anywhere. After they finished and we were packing up Vilma said that the young woman had said very little. She believed that it was partly shyness but more likely being intimidated by the five males in the room. This is still a male dominated society and woman still have to fight to be recognized and acknowledged as equals……………………………
The China Project:Getting to them Early
Daily Log-Day 30-Xiahe County Seat, Gansu Province
Sept. 22, 2004
We knew this was going to be a long day, we just didn't know how long. We were scheduled to visit a school about an hour outside the Xiahe County Seat. We packed up the Jeep and hit the road. Rather, to be more precise, the road hit us. For 30 kilometers we traveled a dirt road, filled with rocks, mud holes and pot holes that came in three sizes, big, bigger and car-eating. I have traveled the back roads of West Virginia and Tennessee that consist of little more of a cow path through the woods. I've driven on Soviet built tank-tracks in the former East Germany that were nothing but concrete slabs laid end-to-end. Great for tanks, bad for backs. I've also slogged through muddy roads in Central America where it was nearly impossible to tell what was road and what was jungle. But until today I had never been on a road as bad as this one. To say it was awful is to be kind. Yet it is not unique. This road and thousands more like it are the only way in and out to the many villages that populate Northwest China.
When we arrived nearly two hours later, owing to the fact we were rarely able to travel over 15 miles an hour, the school Principal and some of the teachers were waiting. The road besides being horrible had also taken us high up into the mountains. It was cold and windy and the air was thin. We were at an altitude of approx. 2900 meters ( 1.8 miles) and I estimate the temperature was in the high 30's.
During the past few days we had seen several schools that needed many basic resources, but were functioning reasonably well. After viewing the dismal conditions at our first school, I was beginning to have some hope that things were getting better. My optimism was premature.
This time there was little preliminary discussion. The Principal almost immediately began a tour of the school. Students and teachers at this school, stay for 20 days then go home for 8 days, then they repeat the cycle. They have 50 days off during the summer. He first took us to the children's "dormitories." Single rooms that house 6-8 students each, they were filthy, many desperately in need of repairs! The conditions these children lived and slept in where deplorable. Yet even in such conditions, the children did their best to keep their rooms neat. Dirty bed rolls were neatly placed at the head of the fabric covered piece of wood that served as their bed. A few books and papers were stacked carefully on a table sitting in a corner. The stove stood in the middle of the room. None of the stoves had been lit despite the cold temperatures. The school usually didn't light the stoves until Nov. If they fired them up to soon, their supply of dried sheep dung, contributed by the parents of the students, would be exhausted before spring (very few cows here, sheep provide the natural fuel).
The Principal told us that the County Government paid for the buildings, books and the teachers salaries. He told us that the school also had a small allotment to hire some local people to help out with cooking and washing. But he added that while some of the people really cared about the children, others were just there for the money and did as little as possible. Some were hired because they "knew" somebody and he was stuck with them. It was clear he disliked the situation, but could do little to change it. For all other needs, the school was on it's own. There was electricity, but the students and their parents paid for it as they did for the food that their kids ate. They students got their water from a well, no pump, just a bucket to bring it up one pail at a time. The students washed their clothes and themselves with the water from this well. Of course that was only when the sun was shining and it was warm enough. I wonder how clean one gets with cold, dirty well water?
And speaking of dirty, I took a look at the outhouses. I have long since given up seeing any modern toilet facilities in these schools. After all, we barely have them in some of the "hotels" in which we're staying. But these were the absolute worst! I could barely enter them for the excrement lying on the floor, which is this case was a rotting wooden floor, not even the usual concrete. The distance between the floor and the ground underneath was almost filled, so in some cases the waste was near the top of the opening. The smell was overpowering, I had to hold my breath while I was shooting and was gagging when I exited. I felt like I had been walking through a cesspool. This was the place 150 children, including a number of young girls old enough to have begun menstruating, entered and took care of their most private bodily functions. It was disgusting!
As we visited the classes, I saw all the children bundled in several layers of dirty clothing, trying to keep warm as they went through their lessons. Many had runny noses or a cough. But as I had seen in Guashize Primary School, with it's primitive conditions, learning was still going on in spite of the obstacles. It was one of two positives I saw during our time here. Inside the classrooms the children were engaged and excited by what they were learning. Conditions were primitive, resources were minimal and the lack of proper sanitary and hygiene made sickness a constant threat. But the teachers and students persevered. If one would close your eyes and just listen, you heard the sound of children learning. It's only when you opened your eyes that you saw the harsh reality of the conditions in which that learning was taking place. It saddened and sickened me…………….
The China Project:Getting to them Early
Daily Log-Day 35-Xian
Sept. 27, 2004
Although the primary mission of this trip was to conduct research into the status of little girls at rural schools in China, our family and in particular Vilma had two personal goals. The first was to visit and reconnect with the Li's, Zoe's foster grandparents. The second was to try and visit the village where the girls who benefited from the Guanlan Scholarship Fund lived. Although Professor Zhou had informed us that the road to the village was too dangerous to travel, she delighted us with the news that we would travel to another village where a number of the girls who had gotten the Guanlan Scholarship were attending middle school. Today was the day we would visit "Guanlan's Sisters."
Although the village we would visit was more accessible, it was still nearly three hours from Xian, so joined by Professor Zhou, we set out early on Monday morning. Although I'm sure when we started out, Zoe thought this was going to be just one more school visit, both Vilma and I knew that it promised to be a very special day.
We headed out of Xian, north up into the mountains. After about 45 minutes we pulled onto the Xian-Shanghai National Road. This two lane highway is well maintained and winds its way through the countryside for thousands of miles. However we later learn that this particular stretch is one of the more dangerous roads in all of China. It's takes you through ravines where the rock faces tower hundreds of feet above us, along creeks that narrow from time to time creating rock strewn channels of rapids. The road is heavily traveled by trucks hauling everything from livestock, to produce, to heavy equipment. And in typical Chinese fashion, the center line serves a certain decorative purpose but is meaningless for keeping drivers in their respective lanes. Indeed, on this road a blind curve is an invitation to swerve into the opposite lane so that you might pass whatever is in front of you. No regard is given as to whether or not a motorcycle, car, bus or ten-ton truck is barreling toward you, the point is the pass the other vehicle. Not once, but on every curve. Even though I have reconciled myself to the Chinese style of driving, this was a bit much, even for me.
Nearly two hours into our journey we were suddenly surprised to see brake lights and stopped traffic ahead. We slowed to a stop and saw that many of the drivers of the stopped cars were milling along the side of the road. Our driver got out, talked to some of the other drivers and then informed us that traffic had been stopped since 6AM because of an accident. This was not a good sign, since it was now almost 10AM. There was nothing we could do but wait, although incredibly, on this winding two lane road, with traffic stopped, there were still cars and trucks that passed us and continue driving on the opposite of the road. We knew that they would soon have to stop, they knew they would have to stop, but they plowed ahead anyway. Amazing.
Finally, after sitting for nearly 40 minutes, there was some movement up ahead and a number of drivers raced back to their vehicles. Our driver, who really is pretty good by Chinese standards, eases over into the opposing lane and we drive pass nearly a mile of cars still sitting still. We get to a point where it's clear that drivers are still waiting for some movement and we crawl to a stop. Like the proverbial old firehorse, the old newsman/ambulance chaser in me gets out of the car with the camera and starts heading forward to see how far ahead the accident is and what's happening.
I walked about a half mile and saw activity. A little further I saw a policeman. Further still and I saw......potatoes! Thousands and thousands of potatoes lying all over the road. What used to be the tractor trailer truck that had been hauling them was a twisted piece of metal. The cab had been sheared off and it was pretty obvious that whoever had been driving, didn't survive. As I shot this scene I was taken back nearly thirty-three years to the first story I ever covered. A dump truck, speeding along a city expressway in Columbus, Ohio had lost hydraulic pressure. The bed of the truck came up just as the truck was traveling beneath an underpass. It snagged one of the supports, the cab snapped off and began careening down the road at 60 miles per hour. Mercifully the driver never knew what hit him. I hope this poor S.O.B. was as lucky.(Later that day when we returned we were held up for another thirty minutes by another accident. Two people had died this time, I am not eager to travel this road again.)
The work crew and nearly gotten enough of the potatoes and debris off the road so at least some traffic could begin moving. Of course, the scene on the opposite of the road was as bad as on our side and it took another 30 minutes before we finally inched our way past the accident and proceed toward the village. It was almost noon. We had been scheduled to meet the school officials who would take us to meet the girls at 10:30.
Soon we saw a sign announcing our arrival at Shang Zhou. We pulled into a gas station and thankfully, the officials are still there. We jump out of the car, apologize profusely and then are back on the road. We soon turn off the paved highway onto, guess what? After a a couple of kilometers on this latest connection of potholes we pull up in front of a nondescript, two story building. We are at the local village offices, the girls are waiting inside.
It's hard to describe the feelings we had as we walked into that building. When Vilma decided to make the first contribution and then followed up with the Guanlan Scholarship Fund I'm sure she had no idea it would bring her to this remote Chinese village four years later. She just wanted to help some kids. The mix of emotions I saw on her face seemed to run the gamut from excitement, to joy, to wonder to anxiousness. In our years together, the only other time I had seen her like this was when the orphanage workers put Zoe in her arms six years ago.
We reached the second floor in the building and rounded a corner. We entered a room and saw eleven of the most wonderful faces either of us had ever seen. The girls who ranged in age from 11 to 15 all jumped to their feet and began applauding. There were animated cries of "Guanlan's Mama, Guanlan's Mama," rippling through the room. There excitement was infectious and quite moving. Vilma was near tears, Zoe more than a little surprised and even I, with my journalist's detachment, completely disarmed. It was a wonderful, incredible, magical moment.
After the initial excitement, we sat down and Professor Zhou formally introduced Guanlan's Mama, Guanlan's Baba (me) and of course, Guanlan. She talked to the girls about Vilma and her desire to help. About how every year for the past four years, she had sent the money that had not only helped this group, but a total of twenty girls get an education. She then turned to Vilma and asked her to speak to the girls. By this time, I wasn't sure if Vilma would be able to talk or not. But she found her voice and begin quietly speaking to the girls. Even with out understanding the language I knew what she was saying and I knew it was from the heart.
When she finished the girls began to speak, one by one to Guanlan's Mama. One told of not having the support of her mother even though she desperately wanted an education. Even when she got the scholarship, her mother still couldn't understand why she wanted to go to school. In this case her father was the one who supported and encouraged her. After her test scores qualified her to go to middle school, she was determined that she would succeed. She told Guanlan's Mama that it was because of her that she was here and she would not disappoint her. Many of the girls talked about wanting to become teachers or doctors and coming back to help their families and villages. Several said that Guanlan's Mama had not only made a difference in their lives, but also in the way that they were viewed by friends and family. Many said that other families were trying to find ways to educate their girls. In these traditionally, male dominated communities, this was astonishing.
The time with the girls went by far too quickly and we ended with hugs and some tears. Zoe who had been uncharacteristically quiet, suddenly became the center of attention. All of the girls wanted to see and touch Guanlan. Unlike her reaction to some of the children we had encountered, Zoe Guanlan was very receptive. We had talked to her about our visit here today and I guess she understood that these girls were different that those at the schools. These were her Chinese "sisters" who cared a great deal for her and for her Mama.
We went out in back of the building and began taking pictures. We had brought the Polaroid with us and made sure that each girl got a picture of themselves with Guanlan's Mama and Guanlan. They were all so excited and eager to show their pictures to each other. Zoe was right in the middle of it and it had that wonderful feeling of warmth the comes when family is together. All the more amazing given the fact these girls had never met and we were strangers from 8000 miles away.
Before we left, the 4 oldest girls wanted to show us their school. We snaked our way through the crowds in the village. This was market day and we not only had to contend with increased numbers of people in town, but it was clear from the way we were being viewed, that they knew the Westerners in town were special and somehow different. I should also mention that are visit was something of a news event. The local district television station had sent a reporter to tape our visit and interview Vilma and the girls. Talk about being on the other side of the story!
On our way to the school we had another wonderful moment. As we were walking toward the school, of of the girls ran ahead of the group, grabbed a woman by the arm and led her in Vilma's direction. It was the girls mother and she wanted her to meet Guanlan's Mama. When the woman realized who Vilma was, she grabbed her hands and just started shaking them, all the while uttering what could only be words of thanks and gratitude for what Vilma had done for her daughter. Vilma looks at the woman and as their eyes locked, their passed a silent message that only two mothers can understand.
The girls mother walked with us, still holding Vilma's hands as we neared the school. As we entered the gate, the girls mothers gave Vilma a final hug. Vilma told me later that she told the girls mother not to worry, she'd make sure the girl could continue next year and on to high school if she wanted. I knew it was not an idle promise.
The girls dorms were much like those we had seen at other boarding schools, with one big difference. Although the building was much like the others we had seen during our travels, in need of repair, the neatness and cleanliness of the bedding and room was of a much higher standard than we were used to seeing. We don't know how they did it, because water here comes from a well and still has to be boiled for washing and drinking, but the place was clean. Guanlan's "sisters" were smart, neat and clean.
Although the time had gone by far to quickly, we had to move on. We had other children to meet, a group who had received scholarships from Save the Children. While we would have liked to have stayed longer, we also wanted to meet this special group of young people. So reluctantly we said good-bye to Guanlan's "sisters." But as an added treat, Vilma gave each of the four a red envelope. The red envelope is a Chinese tradition. In each one was a crisp new 50 RMB bill. She said it was to encourage the girls to keep working hard. Another nice gesture.
It was an amazing couple of hours with some remarkable young ladies. Vilma and I have more "daughters" and Zoe Guanlan, new "sisters." It was a day quite unlike any other I've experienced. I consider myself privileged to have met these wonderful girls and of course to have Guanlan and Guanlan's Mama in my life. A remarkable day!………………………
********************************
It was a amazing journey. Over the next few days and weeks we will be reviewing and analyzing our notes, viewing the pictures and screening the tapes. Vilma will be working on scholarly works and I hope to produce a documentary along with a book detailing our trip. We are both hopeful that out of this will come a better understanding of the challenges facing the children of rural China. We also hope that our work encourages others to lend their support to the work of Save the Children, Hong Kong and others who are trying in their own ways to help the children and of course, "Guanlan's Sisters."
The China Project
Misadventures, Driving China-style and Lightbulbs!
Our time in China had more than it’s share of humorous, strange and downright bizarre moments. They all contributed to making the trip even more memorable and interesting. Here are just a few of the highlights (and lowlights) that make China a place unlike any other!
(Note: You'll see an ad for Amazon.com on this site. All proceeds derived from Amazon.com in connection with worldvillage will be donated to the Guanlan Scholarship Fund)
**************************************************
Money, Sightseeing and Chinese Drivers!!!
Today is our last full day in Guangzhou and Professor Quiang had arranged for a day of sightseeing with some of the students.
But before we began we had a quick errand to run. Since many of our expenses here in mainland China had to be paid in cash, Vilma had brought a sizeable quantity of American Express Traveler's Checks. We were assured we would have no problem converting them into Chinese RMB. But as I have learned, in China, when they say no problem, expect complications. The first bank we visited couldn't handle the transaction because it was a branch (try to buy foreign currency in a U.S. branch bank!), so we went to the central office of the Bank of China. Vilma went in, I stayed with Zoe, the students and Professor Quiang. Forty-five minutes later, long after the van a/c had quit, Professor Quiang went in. Twenty minutes after that, they finally emerged, looking haggard, but with the transaction completed and 3 red and 2 black stamps on several onionskin forms. Although I won't bore you with all the details, suffice it to say, this simple transaction became as complicated as a corporate merger. (Vilma notes:" My passport picture is now part of the Bank of China's files. Unless you are a big-time criminal, don't try to do anything underhanded here; see the episode of Tom's failure to fasten a seatbelt.")
So nearly two hours after starting on our day of sightseeing, we finally got to our first destination, a museum of ancient Chinese artifacts. It was closed for repairs!We then headed for the Memorial of the Five Rams. It was open, but the parking lot is reserved for tourists whose tour is booked by travel agencies. So our driver dropped us off and for all I know drove around until he came back and picked us up. It speaks to the whole issue of how the Chinese view cars and where to put them. But more about that in a moment.
The memorial, is set atop a hill, and is a striking statue, nearly three stories tall. It depicts five rams holding sheaves of grain and symbolizes Guangzhou's history as a region blessed with bountiful crops and good luck. Legend has it the rams descended to earth and blessed the region. Since then Guangzhou has not known a time of want. It was impressive. We then headed back down the hill to meet our driver and find our way to lunch.
Now, a word about driving in China.
I've driven in Boston, Washington and New York. I've also driven in Israel, Guatemala, France, Italy and Germany. I consider myself reasonably competent behind the wheel and capable of handling most driving situations, but the thought of my trying to drive in China is one of my worst nightmares. It's only been on this trip, my third to China, that I can ride in a car here without breaking out in cold sweats and being convinced that I'm about to meet my maker.
It's not that the Chinese drive badly. In fact the drivers are remarkable. It's just that, despite the fact that there are clearly marked lanes, Chinese people, be they in a car, a bus, a truck, on a bicycle or a scooter, refuse to acknowledge the concept of staying in those lanes or giving anyone else the right of way. You have not lived (or come close to death) until you sit in a Chinese taxi and have the driver swing over into the opposing lane of traffic and see a three-ton bus bearing down on you! They seem to always find (well, almost always) a tiny opening to dart back into at the last moment. It is simply amazing and incredibly nerve-racking for those of us who view motorized vehicles as transportation rather than full size bumper cars.
And the pedestrians are just as bad (insouciant, says Vilma, who wants to acknowledge the fact that the custom seems to work). They'll step out in front of a bus with the absolute assurance of someone who knows that somehow they will not collide - and usually they don't.
Usually, but not always. As Vilma reminded me, accidents involving cars are the number 1 cause of death in China.
Great, instead of getting shots to prevent all kinds of exotic diseases, we should have just increased our life insurance!
Chinese Drivers, Traffic and the Police
I've talked about Chinese drivers. Chinese police are also interesting when it comes to traffic. They watch it, they don't direct it, don't try to manage it, the few police you see at big intersections just stand in the middle of the street and watch the traffic, that is, except for one.
We were just a few blocks from the Li's home when we came to one of those big intersections with smartly dressed policeman standing in the center. Well you know how you can look at someone and know that they're impressed with themselves. That was this guy. The light changed and our driver turned left, ahead of the oncoming traffic (typical move) and just as he was going past the policeman, the guy waves at us, points at me and orders us to stop! And when they say stop, it doesn't mean pull over, it means stop, so we did, right in the middle of the intersection, traffic all around us, horns blaring, and what was our infraction? I didn't have my seatbelt fastened! Okay, I admit I should have had it on, but this guy proceeds to hassle our driver, ask for all his identification papers and that's a lot of paperwork in China. We're still sitting in the middle of the intersection, the policeman then makes our poor driver get out of the car and come across the street. I'm worried, because it was my fault and even minor traffic offenses can cause one to lose their license in China. I didn't want to be responsible for the man losing his livelihood. Anyway, Mr. Li goes with him and a few minutes later they come back, get in the car and tell us everything's okay, our driver didn't get a ticket. It seems that the "impressed with himself" policeman saw me, an American without a seatbelt and remembered that he had "heard" that in American you went to jail for 7 days if you didn't have their seat belt fastened and why didn't the driver know that and make me buckle up!
Folks, I don't make this stuff up, this is China.
Toilets and Lightbulbs!
…………. They (the hotel in Guanting) were supposed to fix our toilet. When we returned from the school, they dropped Zoe and me at the hotel and Vilma and Hei lin went back to the office to debrief and work out some details for the next day. Zoe and I went upstairs, opened the door and immediately saw that no one had been in our room. The beds were still unmade, the trash hadn't been emptied and worst of all, the toilet hadn't been fixed.
Now since I don't speak Chinese, there was no way I could communicate anything to the front desk, although I think had I tried they would have realized I was upset. Zoe and I headed back to the office to tell Vilma, since these kinds of things drive her up the wall even more so than me. When Zhu heard what had happened, he immediately sent one of his people down to the hotel to try and solve the problem. This led to today's "only in China" moment.
As we were walking back to the hotel, we ran into the staff member who informed Vilma that they hadn't fixed the toilet because they couldn't get in the room. They couldn’t get in the room because I had the only key!
Okay, how were they supposed to fix it if they didn't have a key, why don't they have a master key, why am I not surprised? We got back to the hotel, Vilma talked to them and they offered to move us to another room where the toilet worked. Now this led to today's 2nd "only in China" moment. When we got to the new room, we noticed the light was out in the bathroom. We told the folks at the front desk and they said they'd fix it immediately. Since we were already in the room with the key, maybe it would actually get fixed. We need some bottled water for the next day, so I decided to run across the street and pick up some before we went to dinner. When I got back to the room I saw a man and one of the front desk ladies pushing a huge desk into our room. After they got it in, they then pushed it into the bathroom. She then went and got a chair to put on the desk.
You see they didn't have a ladder, couldn't reach the light and this was there solution. I stood there and watched this scene unfold with my mouth open. It got better when the chair was too wide to fit on the desk. After an animated exchange between the two, back downstairs they go. When they got back, they had a coffee table to put on top of the desk. And with that, using the ingenuity that had given the world gunpowder, fireworks, chopsticks and Confucius, we got the light bulb changed in our bathroom. And I will refrain from making any jokes about how many Chinese does it take to change a light bulb.
Of course Vilma, the old China expert is quite pleased, she says in the old days they wouldn't have offered to move us, denied there was a problem with the toilet and insisted that everything was fine.
I really do love this place!
Bureaucrats, Dinner and Dr. Seeberg
(Our first day in Linxia, two bureaucrats are assigned to “take care of us.”)
It was pretty clear these two guys didn't have a clue as to what to do with us. They had been instructed to take care of us and that's what they were doing. It didn't matter whether or not they did a good job, just take care of us. We left the park, visited a mosque, wandered the streets, whatever.
We suggested to them that we were fine and we'd meet them for dinner later, hoping they'd take the hint. Bureaucrats don't take hints; they do what they're told. What's worse, Vilma said she heard them talking and they're trying to figure out who to call from the Education Department to join us for dinner. They had settled on a guy they knew worked for Education. The only problem was, they weren't really sure what he did other than go to dinner with visiting delegations.
Great a bureaucratic diner!
It was finally time for dinner and they announced we were going back to the first hotel we had looked at when we arrived, the one with the blue glass, fake neon palm trees and bad toilets. Things are not looking promising. So we get to this hotel, Zoe and I are tired; Hei lin's trying to make small talk while we wait for the Education Department Diner.
And Vilma? Let's just say the look of her face indicated she was not a happy camper.
So the Education Department Diner shows up. This guy looks more like a bureaucrat that the first guy! Hei lin tries to introduce Vilma, but the EDD (Educational Department Diner) is looking for the menu.
This is not good.
My wife is one of the top scholars in her field having published two books, numerous articles and is well respected by her colleagues both in the United State and internationally. Plus, she's German and does not tolerate fools or bureaucrats well. Not a good idea to snub her, particularly when you invited her. I can feel the temperature dropping in the room.
Now EDD, he's ordering for us, and then ordering for himself. When he finishes, he starts talking to the other two bureaucrats and continues to ignore Vilma. At this point Zoe announces she has to go potty. Vilma excuses herself to take her and I figure maybe she'll cool off while she's out of the room.
Wrong!
When she walks back in, one look tells me I had better start collecting our things. Things were bad before she left, then she went to the hotel restroom, the same hotel where the toilets weren't clean in the rooms. Apparently the public restroom left a lot to be desired and Vilma mentioned it to the hostess. She told Vilma if she didn't like it she could always go outside!
Needless to say when she got back to the table, she was ready to blow. And of course EDD provided the match.
Speaking to Hei lin, still ignoring Vilma, EDD said he had changed the schedule. We wouldn't be going to one school on Saturday and one school on Sunday, we'd do them both tomorrow and forget about Sunday. Now you have to understand, it has taken months to work out these schedules with the universities, the school districts and other governmental agencies who in China, have to be involved in projects like these. In addition, the process of traveling to the locations, interviewing administrators, teachers, students and families can take the better part of the day. In the case of these two schools, scheduled agenda items guaranteed we'd be at each school all day. Did that matter to EDD? Not at all, he was more concerned about getting his order of lamb and steamed noodles.
Vilma, to her credit, didn't use the colorful parts of her considerable vocabulary to suggest to EDD what he could do with his schedule and where he could put it, rather she said she was tired, wanted to leave and we'd discuss it tomorrow.
Did EDD grab the lifeline he'd just been tossed?
Of course not, he just waded right away saying that doing the two schools was better and besides it was already arranged. Final straw! Do not tell my wife that you have a better way to do the project she's spent two years planning and you just heard about today. She will not respond well.
First I hear murmuring about "I've haven't been treated like this since the first time I came here 25 years ago..." followed by "who does he think he is.." followed by her standing up, and announcing we were leaving.
They were shocked!
They don’t know how lucky they were.
I made a point of escorting my wife out the door since I figured if I was between EDD and her, he had a 50-50 chance of making it out of the hotel in one piece. Mr. Li who really wasn't all that bad, followed us out, trying to ease the situation, poor Hei lin suggested we go back in and have some noodles with them and work it out, Zoe wants to know what's happening and why can't we have dessert and I'm running interference back to the car.
Anyway that was the fun part, things calmed down considerably after we got back to the hotel. Vilma gets on the phone with her colleague at the University, they go back and forth but in the end they see it her way. Mr. Li will take over things and make sure we get back on schedule.
And EDD?
He's probably still at the hotel eating.
**************************************
Stay tuned....more to come!
Misadventures, Driving China-style and Lightbulbs!
Our time in China had more than it’s share of humorous, strange and downright bizarre moments. They all contributed to making the trip even more memorable and interesting. Here are just a few of the highlights (and lowlights) that make China a place unlike any other!
(Note: You'll see an ad for Amazon.com on this site. All proceeds derived from Amazon.com in connection with worldvillage will be donated to the Guanlan Scholarship Fund)
**************************************************
Money, Sightseeing and Chinese Drivers!!!
Today is our last full day in Guangzhou and Professor Quiang had arranged for a day of sightseeing with some of the students.
But before we began we had a quick errand to run. Since many of our expenses here in mainland China had to be paid in cash, Vilma had brought a sizeable quantity of American Express Traveler's Checks. We were assured we would have no problem converting them into Chinese RMB. But as I have learned, in China, when they say no problem, expect complications. The first bank we visited couldn't handle the transaction because it was a branch (try to buy foreign currency in a U.S. branch bank!), so we went to the central office of the Bank of China. Vilma went in, I stayed with Zoe, the students and Professor Quiang. Forty-five minutes later, long after the van a/c had quit, Professor Quiang went in. Twenty minutes after that, they finally emerged, looking haggard, but with the transaction completed and 3 red and 2 black stamps on several onionskin forms. Although I won't bore you with all the details, suffice it to say, this simple transaction became as complicated as a corporate merger. (Vilma notes:" My passport picture is now part of the Bank of China's files. Unless you are a big-time criminal, don't try to do anything underhanded here; see the episode of Tom's failure to fasten a seatbelt.")
So nearly two hours after starting on our day of sightseeing, we finally got to our first destination, a museum of ancient Chinese artifacts. It was closed for repairs!We then headed for the Memorial of the Five Rams. It was open, but the parking lot is reserved for tourists whose tour is booked by travel agencies. So our driver dropped us off and for all I know drove around until he came back and picked us up. It speaks to the whole issue of how the Chinese view cars and where to put them. But more about that in a moment.
The memorial, is set atop a hill, and is a striking statue, nearly three stories tall. It depicts five rams holding sheaves of grain and symbolizes Guangzhou's history as a region blessed with bountiful crops and good luck. Legend has it the rams descended to earth and blessed the region. Since then Guangzhou has not known a time of want. It was impressive. We then headed back down the hill to meet our driver and find our way to lunch.
Now, a word about driving in China.
I've driven in Boston, Washington and New York. I've also driven in Israel, Guatemala, France, Italy and Germany. I consider myself reasonably competent behind the wheel and capable of handling most driving situations, but the thought of my trying to drive in China is one of my worst nightmares. It's only been on this trip, my third to China, that I can ride in a car here without breaking out in cold sweats and being convinced that I'm about to meet my maker.
It's not that the Chinese drive badly. In fact the drivers are remarkable. It's just that, despite the fact that there are clearly marked lanes, Chinese people, be they in a car, a bus, a truck, on a bicycle or a scooter, refuse to acknowledge the concept of staying in those lanes or giving anyone else the right of way. You have not lived (or come close to death) until you sit in a Chinese taxi and have the driver swing over into the opposing lane of traffic and see a three-ton bus bearing down on you! They seem to always find (well, almost always) a tiny opening to dart back into at the last moment. It is simply amazing and incredibly nerve-racking for those of us who view motorized vehicles as transportation rather than full size bumper cars.
And the pedestrians are just as bad (insouciant, says Vilma, who wants to acknowledge the fact that the custom seems to work). They'll step out in front of a bus with the absolute assurance of someone who knows that somehow they will not collide - and usually they don't.
Usually, but not always. As Vilma reminded me, accidents involving cars are the number 1 cause of death in China.
Great, instead of getting shots to prevent all kinds of exotic diseases, we should have just increased our life insurance!
Chinese Drivers, Traffic and the Police
I've talked about Chinese drivers. Chinese police are also interesting when it comes to traffic. They watch it, they don't direct it, don't try to manage it, the few police you see at big intersections just stand in the middle of the street and watch the traffic, that is, except for one.
We were just a few blocks from the Li's home when we came to one of those big intersections with smartly dressed policeman standing in the center. Well you know how you can look at someone and know that they're impressed with themselves. That was this guy. The light changed and our driver turned left, ahead of the oncoming traffic (typical move) and just as he was going past the policeman, the guy waves at us, points at me and orders us to stop! And when they say stop, it doesn't mean pull over, it means stop, so we did, right in the middle of the intersection, traffic all around us, horns blaring, and what was our infraction? I didn't have my seatbelt fastened! Okay, I admit I should have had it on, but this guy proceeds to hassle our driver, ask for all his identification papers and that's a lot of paperwork in China. We're still sitting in the middle of the intersection, the policeman then makes our poor driver get out of the car and come across the street. I'm worried, because it was my fault and even minor traffic offenses can cause one to lose their license in China. I didn't want to be responsible for the man losing his livelihood. Anyway, Mr. Li goes with him and a few minutes later they come back, get in the car and tell us everything's okay, our driver didn't get a ticket. It seems that the "impressed with himself" policeman saw me, an American without a seatbelt and remembered that he had "heard" that in American you went to jail for 7 days if you didn't have their seat belt fastened and why didn't the driver know that and make me buckle up!
Folks, I don't make this stuff up, this is China.
Toilets and Lightbulbs!
…………. They (the hotel in Guanting) were supposed to fix our toilet. When we returned from the school, they dropped Zoe and me at the hotel and Vilma and Hei lin went back to the office to debrief and work out some details for the next day. Zoe and I went upstairs, opened the door and immediately saw that no one had been in our room. The beds were still unmade, the trash hadn't been emptied and worst of all, the toilet hadn't been fixed.
Now since I don't speak Chinese, there was no way I could communicate anything to the front desk, although I think had I tried they would have realized I was upset. Zoe and I headed back to the office to tell Vilma, since these kinds of things drive her up the wall even more so than me. When Zhu heard what had happened, he immediately sent one of his people down to the hotel to try and solve the problem. This led to today's "only in China" moment.
As we were walking back to the hotel, we ran into the staff member who informed Vilma that they hadn't fixed the toilet because they couldn't get in the room. They couldn’t get in the room because I had the only key!
Okay, how were they supposed to fix it if they didn't have a key, why don't they have a master key, why am I not surprised? We got back to the hotel, Vilma talked to them and they offered to move us to another room where the toilet worked. Now this led to today's 2nd "only in China" moment. When we got to the new room, we noticed the light was out in the bathroom. We told the folks at the front desk and they said they'd fix it immediately. Since we were already in the room with the key, maybe it would actually get fixed. We need some bottled water for the next day, so I decided to run across the street and pick up some before we went to dinner. When I got back to the room I saw a man and one of the front desk ladies pushing a huge desk into our room. After they got it in, they then pushed it into the bathroom. She then went and got a chair to put on the desk.
You see they didn't have a ladder, couldn't reach the light and this was there solution. I stood there and watched this scene unfold with my mouth open. It got better when the chair was too wide to fit on the desk. After an animated exchange between the two, back downstairs they go. When they got back, they had a coffee table to put on top of the desk. And with that, using the ingenuity that had given the world gunpowder, fireworks, chopsticks and Confucius, we got the light bulb changed in our bathroom. And I will refrain from making any jokes about how many Chinese does it take to change a light bulb.
Of course Vilma, the old China expert is quite pleased, she says in the old days they wouldn't have offered to move us, denied there was a problem with the toilet and insisted that everything was fine.
I really do love this place!
Bureaucrats, Dinner and Dr. Seeberg
(Our first day in Linxia, two bureaucrats are assigned to “take care of us.”)
It was pretty clear these two guys didn't have a clue as to what to do with us. They had been instructed to take care of us and that's what they were doing. It didn't matter whether or not they did a good job, just take care of us. We left the park, visited a mosque, wandered the streets, whatever.
We suggested to them that we were fine and we'd meet them for dinner later, hoping they'd take the hint. Bureaucrats don't take hints; they do what they're told. What's worse, Vilma said she heard them talking and they're trying to figure out who to call from the Education Department to join us for dinner. They had settled on a guy they knew worked for Education. The only problem was, they weren't really sure what he did other than go to dinner with visiting delegations.
Great a bureaucratic diner!
It was finally time for dinner and they announced we were going back to the first hotel we had looked at when we arrived, the one with the blue glass, fake neon palm trees and bad toilets. Things are not looking promising. So we get to this hotel, Zoe and I are tired; Hei lin's trying to make small talk while we wait for the Education Department Diner.
And Vilma? Let's just say the look of her face indicated she was not a happy camper.
So the Education Department Diner shows up. This guy looks more like a bureaucrat that the first guy! Hei lin tries to introduce Vilma, but the EDD (Educational Department Diner) is looking for the menu.
This is not good.
My wife is one of the top scholars in her field having published two books, numerous articles and is well respected by her colleagues both in the United State and internationally. Plus, she's German and does not tolerate fools or bureaucrats well. Not a good idea to snub her, particularly when you invited her. I can feel the temperature dropping in the room.
Now EDD, he's ordering for us, and then ordering for himself. When he finishes, he starts talking to the other two bureaucrats and continues to ignore Vilma. At this point Zoe announces she has to go potty. Vilma excuses herself to take her and I figure maybe she'll cool off while she's out of the room.
Wrong!
When she walks back in, one look tells me I had better start collecting our things. Things were bad before she left, then she went to the hotel restroom, the same hotel where the toilets weren't clean in the rooms. Apparently the public restroom left a lot to be desired and Vilma mentioned it to the hostess. She told Vilma if she didn't like it she could always go outside!
Needless to say when she got back to the table, she was ready to blow. And of course EDD provided the match.
Speaking to Hei lin, still ignoring Vilma, EDD said he had changed the schedule. We wouldn't be going to one school on Saturday and one school on Sunday, we'd do them both tomorrow and forget about Sunday. Now you have to understand, it has taken months to work out these schedules with the universities, the school districts and other governmental agencies who in China, have to be involved in projects like these. In addition, the process of traveling to the locations, interviewing administrators, teachers, students and families can take the better part of the day. In the case of these two schools, scheduled agenda items guaranteed we'd be at each school all day. Did that matter to EDD? Not at all, he was more concerned about getting his order of lamb and steamed noodles.
Vilma, to her credit, didn't use the colorful parts of her considerable vocabulary to suggest to EDD what he could do with his schedule and where he could put it, rather she said she was tired, wanted to leave and we'd discuss it tomorrow.
Did EDD grab the lifeline he'd just been tossed?
Of course not, he just waded right away saying that doing the two schools was better and besides it was already arranged. Final straw! Do not tell my wife that you have a better way to do the project she's spent two years planning and you just heard about today. She will not respond well.
First I hear murmuring about "I've haven't been treated like this since the first time I came here 25 years ago..." followed by "who does he think he is.." followed by her standing up, and announcing we were leaving.
They were shocked!
They don’t know how lucky they were.
I made a point of escorting my wife out the door since I figured if I was between EDD and her, he had a 50-50 chance of making it out of the hotel in one piece. Mr. Li who really wasn't all that bad, followed us out, trying to ease the situation, poor Hei lin suggested we go back in and have some noodles with them and work it out, Zoe wants to know what's happening and why can't we have dessert and I'm running interference back to the car.
Anyway that was the fun part, things calmed down considerably after we got back to the hotel. Vilma gets on the phone with her colleague at the University, they go back and forth but in the end they see it her way. Mr. Li will take over things and make sure we get back on schedule.
And EDD?
He's probably still at the hotel eating.
**************************************
Stay tuned....more to come!
