What’s Wright in the World

Xin Nian Kwai Le! (Happy New Year!)

We celebrated the arrival of 2007 asleep in two of the more firm hotel beds of our experience, safe from the 20 below zero (centigrade) outdoor temperatures of the city of Harbin, in China’s cold northeast.

On the evening of December 30, after a visit to an ornate Russian Orthodox Cathedral in Harbin, we spent a chilly but wondrous two hours wandering wide-eyed through a city of ice, part of Harbin’s annual Ice Sculpture Festival. In the center is a multi-color lighted Lighthouse, standing something over ten stories tall, with a rotating beacon at the top. It is surrounded by magnificent churches with stained ice windows, temples, stairs, igloos, ice slides and statues of every conceivable size and description. A Chinese Junk watercraft, almost 50 feet in length, towered over one part of the ten-plus acre park that is the setting of the principal point of the festival. Even as we toured, workmen were busy creating snow sculptures of two traditional dragons, each some 20 feet high and 150 feet long.

All of the buildings had neon lights embedded in the ice, creating an incredible winter wonderland.

The morning of New Year’s eve found us in small busses, roofs and sides reinforced with strong steel bars, creeping slowly through the Harbin Tiger Preserve, home for over 700 (the number is correct) tiger cubs, young, mature and “senior” tigers. One of the options available to visitors to the preserve is to pay a small additional sum over the admission fee, in exchange for which the park rangers will come near the bus in a heavily caged vehicle, and throw fresh chickens to the tigers. It is a bit awesome to witness the great beasts leaping effortlessly onto the roofs of the bus and the feed truck, almost dwarfing those vehicles by their size. Interesting to watch, too, was how, once a tiger got possession of the bird, his or her claim was honored without protest by the others in the pride. In the compound were also a few lions, a beautiful pair of white Siberian tigers, panthers, leopards, and cheetahs, and, for Napoleon Dynamite devotees, even a compound for ligers. It was the experience of being within one or two feet of the massive tigers that will remain in memory. I opened the bus window to take photos of the great beasts, and quickly closed it as one of their number began a quick approach toward my face!

From the Tiger Preserve we went to a different part of the Ice Festival, where all works were carved from snow. We entered the park onto the main street of a Canadian Village, complete with store fronts, signs, and entryways. The street, and the hundreds of snow sculptures in the park, including many memorializing the advent of the lunar new year, pales, however, when compared in size to the life-size snow sculpture of Niagara Falls! We rode in a two-dog sled along the base of the falls, on the surface of a river that is now six feet of solid ice.

Our next stop was along another shore of the river, where we shivered while a couple of dozen crazy people dove into a 25 foot by 30 foot cutout in the ice of the river. We all joked nervously about how sorry we were that our swimsuits were left at home.

Pictures will be posted at www.base.com/caljimw in a gallery titled “HARBIN”

The remainder of New Year’s Eve was spent roaming the cobble-stoned and ice sculpture decorated downtown of Harbin, eating a forgettable Russian meal, and returning to our hotel board, er… bed early, choosing to forego the Hot Chocolate celebration at a nearby McDonalds, planned by some of our group, to toll in the new year. By 8:30 AM on January 1, 2007, we had said our goodbyes to our 37 traveling companions and were on our way to the Harbin airport and twelve hours of transportation (and awaiting transportation) back to our Xi’an apartment.

Last Friday at 10:00 AM, as class was about to begin, my students suddenly bolted from our 5^th floor classroom, and out onto the atrium hallway, laughing excitedly and extending their arms to catch the fall of the season’s first flakes of snow. The flurry lasted less than five minutes, and I don’t think any survived all the way to the ground. Yesterday, we had perhaps ten minutes of flurries, and finally, at 8:30 this morning, the first “real” snowfall began. As this is written, barren pomegranate tree branches and evergreen needles are getting their first light dusting, and the red and yellow winter roses outside our window are surrounded by a thin blanket of white. Quite a pretty sight!

2007 marks the Chinese lunar Year of the Pig. Those born under the sign of this auspicious animal (1923, 1935, 1947, 1959, 1971, and 1983) are reputed to be blessed with the following characteristics: “A person born this year is likely to be a good parent. He may be easy to anger, but he is intelligent, courageous, completes projects, gallant, and sincere. People born in these years are honest and straightforward. They can be relied on to see things through. They tend to be popular and make lasting friendship and are good neighbors.”
Albert Schweitzer, who dedicated himself to the principle of reverence for life, was born in the year of the pig, I was not.
2006 was a year filled with new wonders, new experiences and new friends.

Whatever comes in 2007, it should be exciting.

Enjoy!

Merry Christmas from Xi’an!

We are in the winding down days of our third semester of teaching in Xi’an. This week and last week were notable for the Christmas parties we held in each of our classes. Students watched “How the Grinch Stole Christmas,” sang Christmas and Chinese New Year songs, played games and ate popcorn and sunflower seeds (a favorite snack), and were told about the origins of the Christmas traditions in the West. Last year, four of our grandchildren did a reenactment of the Nativity. Students in my classes watched a power point presentation of their performance while “Silent Night” was played in the background.

Last weekend, we traveled with other teachers to the nearby city of San Yuan, to visit the Temple of the City Gods. This is a concept that each city is protected its own cadre of Deities, some of whom are graceful and others vengeful. A few pictures of each are posted at www.pbase.com/caljimw in the San Yuan gallery.

Following a luncheon of local delicacies, most of which were unrecognizable, but quite tasty, we were bussed a short distance to the point of the geographic center of China. The site is somewhat isolated, accessible by a side road and through a family graveyard that appears to have been in place for many generations. That it is not a major tourist attraction is evidenced by an absolute absence of souvenir vendors of any kind, not even a “gift shop” on the premises. It is, in fact, a point of reference for all cartographic endeavors for this nation. While I have an antipathy for transporting my not insignificant frame up narrow stairwells, I heard the Sirens singing from the top of the six story observation tower that stands at the exact center of China (The Chinese name for this country is Jung Guo – the center place; therefore, by their definition, this is the center of the center place of the world) . The view from the top is not spectacular; flat farmlands in every direction, punctuated by a few residential and industrial buildings and a graveyard to the north. In the compound are seven concrete marker, containing precisely set metal points used for plotting purposes. Even though they were strictly utile in shape and in their relationship to one another, I still thought of Stonehenge and other similar ancient astrologically based formations.

A few minutes were spent inspecting the adjacent cemetery. There is great ritual associated with burials in the countryside of China (Cremation is mandatory in cities).

The graves all contain an arched opening, through which communication between the living and the dead takes place. For a period of time following burial, meals are taken to the doorway, and left there for the spirit’s nourishment. The period of mourning for a deceased is three years. On the anniversary of the death, the family makes a visit to the gravesite, where joss is burned and prayers for the dead are uttered. Twice a year, summer and winter clothing is taken to the arch of the burial mound and burned, so that the spirit of the deceased will have appropriate clothing for the season. In the photos you will see evidences of ash at the opening. The large “floral” piece above one grave is made of crepe paper, and serves the purpose of a wreath from western culture.

Janet has been busy this last part of 2006, supplementing her teaching assignment by knitting scarves for the homeless of Xi’an. She has, thus far, knitted about 30 scarves, most of which have already been gratefully claimed by those whose lives expose them to the vagaries of the weather the greater part of their days and nights. We have been thrilled that all of our children and grandchildren chose to forgo receiving gifts from us this year, opting rather that we find ways to help some folks here in China. They, in turn, are doing things in their own communities of a similar nature. It has, in a somewhat magical way, made the family seem much closer together this season than a map would indicate.

It has been said that relief from stress is an efficient antidote for many physical ails. That has certainly proven true for us. Except for a few days of discomfort at the end of our trip home last summer, the inevitable sniffles have been no more than minor inconveniences. The doctors did a pretty thorough examination before giving me a clean bill of health. In sum, we have been greatly blessed.

We wish too, for all of you, great blessings.

Enjoy!

Just a short note: The weather in Xi’an has been remarkably mild so far this year. Saturday was a clear, warm day, with a mild breeze to temper the bright sun; a perfect day for Janet to participate with about 3000 of her closest friends on the 13th annual Run on The Wall, a 5k/10k extravaganza atop the ancient city wall of Xi’an. Alas, due to an administrative oversight, I was not registered for the race, limiting my participation to being the unofficial photographer for the foreign teachers of our University (In truth. it was the perfect way to participate). As it turned out, competition would have been much stiffer this year. It is probable I would not have found a place in the winner’s circle. even if they would build in a handicap allowance for age and girth. In fact, the winner in my category (Over 50, Non-Chinese) was a Japanese Gentleman who looked and ran like Jack LaLane. He finished the race before many of his opposition had reached the half-way mark.

Turned out I was the only non-Asian photographer on the course. The other pros spent the minutes between photographing the race action taking pictures of me taking pictures of the race, or wanting to be photographed with me. It was a fun morning. We ended the events of the day being treated to a nice buffet meal including a feiry seasoned hot-pot.

Janet was an official entrant in the 5k, She finished 13th, only scant moments behind her friend Kay, who placed a slightly more respectable 12th place. It was fun to witness the look of accomplishment on her face as she crossed the finish line.

As usual, photos will be found at www.pbase.com/caljimw.

Enjoy!

Enjoy!