Gail - After the Trip - A. China condition and food B. Fuhua church

Emails and comments from 19-25 Sept 2014

from Bonnie (9/25/2014) 

with Gail's "China conditions and foods" (9/25/2014 2:36 AM)

Gail and Helen exchange (21-22 Sept 2014)

Gail's "Fuchan church" (21 Sept. 2014 9:19 AM)

Helen and vyg on the 19th Sept. 2014

Gail -

WoW! You must have really pigged out on all the exotic cuisine! But then, the Chinese were never noted for simple fare in my experience.

Bonnie

----- Original Message -----

From: Gail @gmail.com [class59]

To: Woodstock School

Sent: Thursday, September 25, 2014 2:36 AM

Subject: Re: [class59] China

 

Hi Lindsay,

I don't have any books to recommend to you, although I am sure there are many out there.  I can give you some more impressions.  First, the air quality is terrible, even in the south.  This adds to the depressing picture of empty buildings, unfinished construction, lots of rubble, a little like India, but not as dirty.  I had the impression of lots of dust, but was told it had rained recently.  The banyan trees and bougainvillea look pitiful, struggling to survive in an urban, dusty environment that seems determined to choke them to death.  There is a lot of trash on side streets, but the main roads are kept clean by street cleaners in conical hats sweeping with straw brooms.  The antiquity of this is in contrast to the fact that almost everyone seems to have a cell phone.  There are crowded duck farms with hundreds of ducks confined to small mud flats.  Almost all signs are in Chinese, a contrast to Malaysia where everything is written both in English and Malay.  The big hotels, of course, have signs in English, but the use of spoken English is more limited than in Malaysia.  I would have been lost without Judy to interpret for me.

The food is fantastic, even in small, ordinary restaurants.  At major feasts, such as we had during the church celebration, the dishes are exquisite and incomparable, although I didn't try everything.  Here's a partial list of dishes from the various meals we had.

Snails, lamb soup, mushroom and beef, green onion crepes with clams, glass noodles with crab, fish, pickled tripe, crunchy beans, prawn needle soup, crab soup, cuttlefish, marinated jellyfish, mixed veggies with shrimp, walnuts, almonds, veggies with papaya and sea cucumber,  scallop soup, tofu soup, sweet bean soup (for dessert), jellied ground water chestnut (dessert), steamed fish, beef tendon and radish, whole prawns. roasted birds (the heads of the birds were on the plate, beaks open and holding a sprig of parsley.  I passed on this one).  We had cucumber juice, carrot juice and guava juice to drink and meals always ended with fresh fruit - watermelon, cantaloupe, rambutan, dragonfruit, papaya and grapes.

I hope you enjoy your trip, Lindsay.  China is like another planet!

Gail

On Mon, Sep 22, 2014 at 3:07 PM, Lindsay @aol.com [class59] <class59@yahoogroups.com> wrote:
 

Gail and Helen - Although your experiences are so special in China, I am savoring every bit of what you say as we are going to Shanghai for two weeks at Thanksgiving to be with my son and his family who are there for  8 months.  Probably our experience will be like going to New York City and thinking that is what the US is like.  Do you have any books you would recommend I read?   Lindsay

  

-----Original Message-----
From: Helen @hotmail.com [class59] <class59@yahoogroups.com>
To: class59 <class59@yahoogroups.com>
Sent: Sun, Sep 21, 2014 8:57 am
Subject: [class59] China

 

I can only imagine the emotion you must be feeling still, Gail. Glad you're safely home and processing your memories.

On another note, it could be that being Buddhist varies in the context. In Dharamsala there is a memorial to Tibetan Buddhists who immolated themselves......a pretty violent act. The Buddhists in Burma who protested the military junta were similarly violent, and so it goes. The Buddhists here are so peaceful and kind and never think of doing such things, or perhaps fasting at the most. I often think that being anything is a whole lot easier in western countries than in the rest of the world. But what do I know? 

I think that there is a fair amount of leeway in the provinces of China, despite the central governments dictates, especially the farther away one gets from Beijing.

Helen xo

On Sep 21, 2014, at 9:19 AM, "gail harris ..@gmail.com [class59]" <class59@yahoogroups.com> wrote:

Hi Helen,

I was told that tolerance of Christian churches depends on the mayor (not sure if this is the right term) of the province.  Judy told me that not long ago, a Buddhist mayor didn't like the Christians and several Christian churches were burned.  This is hearsay, of course, and I find it hard to believe that a genuine Buddhist would order or tolerate such violence, but perhaps corruption of the original religion is what happens when it is mixed with politics.

Futsing is a city of one million people and I was told 30% are Christian.  I don't know about the Catholic church or whether they were included in the 30% and didn't think to ask.

There was no mistaking the joy of the Fuhua church.  There were three different choirs and they processed in to the glorious music of Beethoven's Ode to Joy.  The entire 3 hour service was thrilling, which helped me to i gnore the pain of sitting on hard wooden pews.

The whole China experience made a deep impact on me, which I am still thinking about.

Say hello to Dave for me.

Love,
Gail

On Fri, Sep 19, 2014 at 8:17 PM, Helen @hotmail.com [class59] <class59@yahoogroups.com> wrote: 

I have tears in my eyes as I write. Dave and I are glad you are home. Greetings and love from us both.

In my superficial knowledge of China from when I attended a Christian (RC congregation) in Chungchun, the central government tolerates and even supports certain Protestant churches. The Catholic Churches are another question, as the authorities are concerned about loyalty to the Pope rather than the PRC (central government). Over time, it was noticed that the Christians took care of each other, relieving the government of that obligation. Hence, the tolerance for some churches. 

Your parents influence is indeed far reaching.

Helen xo

On Sep 19, 2014, at 11:52 AM, "Vance @gmail.com [class59]" <class59@yahoogroups.com> wrote:

 

gail what a beautiful gift

your story telling is moving

thank you
vyg