Nanjing

Museums. History. Culture.

Nanjing

I have been to 4 museums in the last 2 days. 3 today.

Yesterday was the Nanjing Massacre Memorial Museum. It was packed with information and pain of past atrocities. I read the Rape of Nanking a few years ago and was reminded of all the pain. I was especially interested in the angle and message of the museum.

The theme seemed to be: The more injustices are exposed and brought to light can bring a sense of justice from an unjust incident. The story that seemed to come full circle was the two Japanese leaders who had a "Kill Contest." These exploits were highlighted earlier in the museum and the trail and execution of these two leaders were presented towards the end as a kind of finale.

The next museum was the John Rabe house. It is in the midst of skyscrapers and busy metropolitan life. A small courtyard surrounds the early 19th century house. As you enter the courtyard you are no longer on a crowded Chinese street but instead you are whisked back to a different time and world. The house is wonderfully preserved and tells the story of the "International Safety Committee of Nanjing." A group of brave and selfless expats who risked their lives to save Chinese lives and dignity during one of the middle kingdom's darkest hours.

The message of this museum seemed to be one of the goodness of the people involved and as you walked up to the higher floors of Rabe's former resident turned into something of a memorial to the good relationship China has formed with Germany.

Although I was a little put off by the top floors, I felt honored to be at the spot where such brave individuals took a stand against such evil and injustice happening around them. To put life in perspective of what really matters...

May their braveness inspire numerous others in generations to come.

May we remember John Rabe, Minnie Vautrin and the all the others who stayed behind to stand up against injustice during those awful times.

For those who are interested more in this topic please read:
Rape of Nanking by Iris Chang
The Good Man of Nanking
There is also a documentary that is well done which reads many of the diaries of those involved in the Nanjing Safety Committee simply called "Nanking" released in 2007.

A season coming to an end.

As I finish cleaning out my stuff from my apartment I realize... it's over. The semester is over. I don't really know how to feel.

Another season of my life quickly passes me by. I am not too sad to say goodbye to this season, but it has taught me a lot more about NE China and more about myself.

As I face another semester before heading back to Monmouth for a year I realize all that I have to be thankful for. The Father has always provided for me in so many ways. If it takes a hard season to remind of His goodness than I am grateful.

I am preparing for my winter travels down south to meet up with old friends and spend some R and R time.

I hope everyone had a great holiday season. I miss you all and am always looking forward to the next time we get together.

VPN and Visiting parents

So I haven't updated for a little while, okay for a long while. But I finally upgraded my computer from Tiger to Snow Leopard so I can finally use my company's VPN. So now I have no excuse to not update. :)

I am currently visiting my parents in Southern China in a city called Nanning. They have undergone a two-week long teaching extravaganza to prepare some students who are planning to go to Maine to study in 3 years. I re-arranged some of my classes so I could get a week off to spend with them.

The time together has been mostly preparing for classes the next day but has also been such a blessing to be able to see my parents so close to the holiday season. I head back to Siping this weekend with a crazy schedule ahead to finish out the year.

The semester has been difficult and I won't be sad to say goodbye but the blessings have been many and the Father never ceases to amaze me how He provides.

Crazy for Siping

After two years teaching on the rooftop of the world and using google's blog I find myself back where I started. Siping, Jilin in what was formally Manchuria. As I reacquaint myself to the city, I am reminded what the city is famous for:

1. da rou bing: meat stuffed in a sort of biscuit. I believe either Mao or Zhou En Lai came through town years ago and said, "it wasn't bad." I need to check on that next time I eat at the restaurant.

2. and a mental institution. To call some one a "Sipingren," (person from Siping) is to call some one crazy. However rumor is the original mental institution was moved to Changchun. So perhaps the reason is gone, but the phrase remains.

So call me crazy but I am back where my China experience started and I am looking forward to discovering the always developing city with fresh eyes and renewed energy to explore the Chinese language and culture of the northeast. Year 7 here we go...

In other news... I am trying to update my xanga page because it is no longer blocked in China... unlike blogspot which is harder to update.

Cornerstone Books

Well my parent's bookstore is still going strong.

Here is the latest from the local newspaper:

http://www.statesmanjournal.com/apps/pbcs.dll/article?AID=20104140361

and here is their website:

http://www.cornerstoneb.com

One Week Down...

A good week and a half of teaching. Certainly do love being back in the classroom. Nothing big to report but we are learning sports vocabulary in one class and directions in the other. As for my two co-teaching classes both teachers like their coffee with milk and only a little sugar. Not too sweet. Here's a couple pics of my "kids."

Teaching, Back in action.

I am back in Lhasa and teaching is well underway. No new students but a new class. I have three classes where I am co-teaching the subject of intensive reading. This is where I basically come along side the local teacher and add my "expert" cultural experience to the text. Today I was teaching for the first time my new co-teaching class. The local teacher and I came across the word "figure." And the English definition was referring the figure of one's body... well then the lead teacher started to talk about the first king of Tibet. I was a bit confused, so i asked whether or not he had a nice figure. Then she realized what I asked she just started cracking up. She was trying to explain an "important figure in history," not the hot body of the first king of Tibet... My mistake.

As some of you know I live at quite a high altitude. This serves to be problematic for many who come up here. My first time here it was difficult to sleep and I often felt like I was suffocating if I laid flat. However, this transition has been my best yet. Almost no headache and only a little shortness of breath. I am not about to run a marathon, but I think I will able to start playing basketball again soon. I hope this March finds you all doing well. Be thinking of this area, it is always a little sensitive around this time.