“No do not worry! I do all this because I love you.”
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| Stretching with Stone Stretchers before a long climb |
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| Climbing Jinyun Mountain |
This is what my Chinese father said to me as he rebuked my
apology for taking up his time on a Wednesday night earlier this month. After
tutoring his prodigy ten-year-old son in English for $15/hour and eating dinner
with his wife and mother, Mr. Li drove me to the most expensive hotel in Beibei
to make a reservation for my real parents who will visit in mid-November. The
10-minute car ride was made in vain; the classiest hotel in town doesn’t take
reservations till a week before the determined visiting date.
I have been tutoring Pong Pong, Mr. Li’s son, for about a
month. The arrangement was made through John’s Chinese mother, Ada, who is an
undergraduate English professor at SWU. Mr. Li is a Chinese Literature
professor; he has written several well-known books in China. On one of my first
visits, he bestowed upon me a signed copy of one of his books.
Pong Pong is a smart boy. He is already reads, speaks, and
reads Chinese, and knows basic English terms and phrases, as well as his
English numbers and ABC’s. Every Wednesday afternoon, I enter a gated community
near the university with a special key that Mr. Li gave me. At 5:00pm Pong Pong
and I begin our lessons. Lately, I have been working on the differences between
“You, I, My” etc. I began this through a simple card game, “War.” Pong Pong’s
eyes light up every time I bring out the playing cards.
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| Pagoda atop Jinyun Mountain |
Every tutoring session usually results in my receiving a
gift from the family; or more specifically, from Mr. Li…
-One time, Mr. Li helped lead me to the best place to buy darts for a dartboard I had recently bought (about a 15 minute walk was involved). He purchased the darts.
-On one of the first family dinners, Mr. Li brought out Bai Ju (Chinese Liquor), which was retained in a special bottle. After “gombai”ing the first drink, Mr. Li explained,
“This bottle was made by my father. He many years ago dead.”
Talk about initiation into a family.
My best gift, however, is a piece of paper that I will have for the rest of my life. It is a large parchment several Chinese characters on it, along with my name in English. Three pronounced characters are my Chinese name: Li Zhong Qu (means “Mid-Autumn,” the time I arrived in China) with a Dragon stamp (I was born in the year of the Dragon).
Next to my name is a poem about the Mid-Autumn Festival by the famed Li Bai, a celebrated Chinese poet with our family name. After the poem, the inscription reads, “Li Bai welcomes Tomas to China.” Mr. Li signed with his red stamp (See Below) Priceless.
-One time, Mr. Li helped lead me to the best place to buy darts for a dartboard I had recently bought (about a 15 minute walk was involved). He purchased the darts.
-On one of the first family dinners, Mr. Li brought out Bai Ju (Chinese Liquor), which was retained in a special bottle. After “gombai”ing the first drink, Mr. Li explained,
“This bottle was made by my father. He many years ago dead.”
Talk about initiation into a family.
My best gift, however, is a piece of paper that I will have for the rest of my life. It is a large parchment several Chinese characters on it, along with my name in English. Three pronounced characters are my Chinese name: Li Zhong Qu (means “Mid-Autumn,” the time I arrived in China) with a Dragon stamp (I was born in the year of the Dragon).
Next to my name is a poem about the Mid-Autumn Festival by the famed Li Bai, a celebrated Chinese poet with our family name. After the poem, the inscription reads, “Li Bai welcomes Tomas to China.” Mr. Li signed with his red stamp (See Below) Priceless.
I am probably the first foreigner Mr. Li has ever met. He is thrilled to have me as a "family member," as it has been his dream to visit America. He is constantly studying English and tells me that he is preparing for an entrance exam to get permitted entrance to the States. If he does it, he tells me he wants to visit Minnesota.
"We'll be waiting for you," I sincerely respond.
Note: We never made it out to the Three Gorges River Cruise.
Rain, sickness, crowds, and other extraneous reasons kept us in Beibei for all
of National Holiday week. Instead, we took a trip to Beibei's tourist spot, Jinyun Mountain, where a pagoda overlooks the valley of Beibei. The photos above are from that trip.
I made a lucky break recently. My small class on Friday agreed to join my recently added Monday afternoon class. Thus, I will have class Monday 8-12, 2:30-4, Tuesday 8-12, and Wednesday 8-12. Wednesdays are my new Friday’s. Awesome.
I made a lucky break recently. My small class on Friday agreed to join my recently added Monday afternoon class. Thus, I will have class Monday 8-12, 2:30-4, Tuesday 8-12, and Wednesday 8-12. Wednesdays are my new Friday’s. Awesome.
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-“Math” is pronounced “maths.” “Path” is “Pass.” “Think” is “Sink.” “Campus” is Campurse.” “China” is “Chinar.”
-Clothing repair is cheap, too. It cost me 80 cents to repair a big rip in one of my pants. The lady was overwhelmed with joy when I handed her the extra 20 cents.
-Volleyball is the old person’s game in China… I’m on a team. The professors of the school have a volleyball league. I’m on the Administration Team with my boss, Frank Wang. I’m the all –star… my teammates range from poor to average players, all 40-50 year old men. Our get-ups include matching blue collared jerseys and black shorts. Our team is 1-2. I’m determined to take the team all the way to the end of season championship, but there’s work to be done.
-“Math” is pronounced “maths.” “Path” is “Pass.” “Think” is “Sink.” “Campus” is Campurse.” “China” is “Chinar.”
-Clothing repair is cheap, too. It cost me 80 cents to repair a big rip in one of my pants. The lady was overwhelmed with joy when I handed her the extra 20 cents.
-Volleyball is the old person’s game in China… I’m on a team. The professors of the school have a volleyball league. I’m on the Administration Team with my boss, Frank Wang. I’m the all –star… my teammates range from poor to average players, all 40-50 year old men. Our get-ups include matching blue collared jerseys and black shorts. Our team is 1-2. I’m determined to take the team all the way to the end of season championship, but there’s work to be done.
