Some further ramblings about life in China

 Our reflections about China are perhaps towards an end, but not our memories.  Part of our experience was simply being in a very different part of the world with its own history and culture, but also ecologically and its own climate cycles.  Among other things, while Minneapolis is at 45 degrees latitude north (almost exactly half way to the north pole), Hong Kong is only 22 degrees north--twice as close to the equator, with a sub-tropical climate and birds and vegetation and (sometimes hugs) trees to match.  Here's Barbara with local plants not usually seen in Minnesota!

While southern China doesn't seem to get the kind of "true" monsoon season (with weeks of heavy rains) more common in south and southeast Asia (India, Thailand, and so forth), we did often experience pouring rains (as in the photo below), and we (like local folks) got used to carrying our umbrellas.  This was often refreshing, breaking the buildup of warm (or warmer) air heavy with moisture, and dramatic.

   On the other hand, daylight was actually less than in Minnesota at this summer solstice time of year.  As one gets closer to the equator, the sun is higher, but the days are actually shorter than in latitudes farther north and south; the "midnight sun" happens in Oslo but not in Hong Kong.

As we've noted, we found the metro or subway systems in both Hong Kong and Guangzhou to be great ways to get around--inexpensive, clean, well-organized, quick, and as an added benefit, great for people-watching.  People of all ages and backgrounds tend to take the trains (though we were usually the only Westerners in sight).  I (Bruce) found them to be the only place where I saw PDA's (public displays of affection) happening, though only among teenage couples, and never (in my experience) kissing, but usually a couple sitting closely, holding hands, or sometimes a boy with his arms around his apparent girlfriend.
   There are often shopping areas, even fancy malls, next to or over subway stations, and these seem to draw young people in the later afternoon when schools are getting out and teenage appetites for a snack are once again reaching a peak.  The photo below shows one such scene, with groups (often all girls or all boys) grabbing a table, from which they can scope out passers-by and check out who's with whom (my guess!).

This kind of scene might look pretty familiar--the setting, the fast-food (though often the menu is more Chinese than Western), and the Western-style clothing (usually made in China, I think, as is most of our own "Western" clothing--or from elsewhere in south or southeastern Asia).  But it struck me how different this scene was from similar ones I experienced in urban India (2014), where it's far more common for schoolgirls to wear some variation on traditional Indian clothing, usually something more colorful and more modest (though Chinese girls are more modest in their clothing than schoolgirls in the U.S., I think).

I sometimes wondered what the lives and hopes of young Chinese people, teen-agers, might be like.  I had the impression that education is important, and important for girls as well as boys (based partly on the perhaps superficial sense that there seemed to be as many girls in their school uniforms as boys on the trains and in the shopping areas).  But education in China does seem important.  The annual "gaokao" exams taken by high school students to determine who will be able to attend university, or postpone college for a year, or be encouraged to find a job rather than study further, were taking place while we were there, the subject of much television news coverage (it's an important but also a very stressful time for the students).
 
But, too, young people face questions about relationships, and the kind of person they might want to marry, and what relationships are like, and the role of both economic resources and one's personal "looks" in shaping those relationships.  In the photo above we see what is likely one vision (in a large advertising poster seen in the subways) of what a modern Chinese woman, and man, would be like--attractive, but also in a rather "Western" way (note the woman's hair style, and the non-Chinese style teapot and teacups).  They are slim, and are looking at one another rather than eating the tempting (Western) tea-cakes (she has no food on the fork she is holding).  And she is light-skinned (other ads, and whole shops in up-scale malls, are devoted to skin care products which "lighten" or even simply "whiten" one's skin, sometimes promising to change one's life.  What do young people do with such things (a dilemma not entirely unlike those faced by teenagers contemplating the dilemmas of changing gender and relationship roles in the U.S.)?

Some (most?) will marry, like the young couple in the photo here. (Note: this was taken when when I was strolling through a park where three or four couples were having their wedding photos taken, while lots of local people passed by and watched the proceedings--I wasn't intruding on an actual wedding here.)  Many seem to still live at home with parents until they do marry.  Many will likely want to have a child, though while the "one-child" restriction is now being relaxed, the high cost of urban living may still lead many to feel that having just one child is best.

Over the last generation, the one-child policy has meant that grandparents often have only one grandchild--and a grandchild they may share with another set of grandparents.  China is in fact aging, as an increasingly well-off population lives longer, but also as fewer children have been born.  Yet families are still important, as I saw in several contexts: when wandering about my neighborhood in Guangzhou, where I often saw grandparents taking care of a grandchild, often just a doting grandpa with his grandchild.  We see in the photo to the right an extended family in a park in Guangzhou.  And I could see it when we had supper with the family of one of the local people we got to know in Guangzhou, in their concerns for a grown daughter who'd moved out without marrying.

What might China be like as it becomes, demographically, more like Japan, with a population that "leans older" rather than younger?  Who will help take care of the older, who may also be disproportionately women, as we see in this photo (who seemed to be happily chatting and enjoying one another's company--my impression is that China is still a place where social gatherings are still more gender-defined and homogenous).  Note that several of the women are in wheelchairs, and I saw that newly-built facilities like the subways seem to be "accessible" even though few people with physical limits were to be seen there.

I should end here.  We'll let you know when we reach the real end of our postings, and if you've read this far, you have our appreciation and thanks!

Bruce

Guangzhou and thoughts from Barbara

My brief encounters with China, both the mainland and Hong Kong, leave me with more questions than answers.  When I try to think of images or metaphors for my experiences, what emerges is a sense of polarities--opposites that somehow co-exist, ancient and modern (sometimes embracing the aspects of modernity that I am most uncomfortable with, as an American); a place of great hospitality and also challengingly inaccessible (both literally-as in getting around in Guangzhou and also getting a sense of what it means to be Chinese- carrying the long and complex history of this land); where pockets of unbelievably green, quiet and idyllic spaces are hidden inside the immense buildings and noisy masses of people that are the public faces of both of these cities.  It is a place of rich complexity, inviting further exploration and open minded curiosity.

Guangzou, what was called Canton in the west, is the third largest city in China. That means it is unbelievably large, over 12 million people. Like a kaleidescope, our walks would take us through ever-change small neighborhoods. In one direction we would arrive at the Pearl River, towered over by the Canton Tower (complexly laticed in the day time and brightly colored at night). Near by are tall pricey high-rises, sitting next to older, smaller and more worn apartment buildings.















In another direction, there's a busy side street, with small single family restaurants, each serving a different type of food, a store selling ancient Chinese instruments, a drug store, multiple clothing stores and several car repair garages-all side by side.  As people of all ages walk on non-existant sidewalks they are passed by large public busses, swerving taxis, bicycles and motorbikes often lugging large loads. Somehow no one gets hit, not even the animals that scrounge for food.

There are open-air markets, with sections for vegetables, fruits and another aisle where you can get meat or fish cut, scaled and wrapped up for you to take home for dinner. Everywhere bustles, and because it is summer and hot and humid, large fans blow air around from every direction. I am surprised that, despite being at a similar latitude to northern Thailand and Laos, the range of green vegetable don't seem to include the aromatic greens that flavor foods a bit further south west.

Fruits, on the other hand are amazing in their variety and non-westernness.   We are in this region during the peak of longan season. In Hong Kong I learn that there are at least two different kinds of longans... one a beautiful prickly red-green skinned fruit, the size of a ping pong ball..that is peeled to reveal a translucent white fruit with a large black seed. (see lower left corner of the photo below).

It is incredibly beautiful and tastes a bit like a custardy pear-apple. The harsh, spiney outer layer filled with something sweet and softly sensual is yet another paradox. The other type  of longan is yellow green and slightly less bitter. I am told by one of the students in Hong Kong that the red longan is a hot fruit and that if we eat more than 4, we will get too energized and excited. The other type of longan is apparently fine to eat by  the cart load. Also, I note that tomatoes seem to be considered a fruit..or perhaps this particular vendor organized her wares by shape and color.

Each corner of the city has a different feel, the city center (or CBD- commercial business district as they call it) is crowded, noisy, filled with tall architecturally impossible buildings. The western side of the city is older, more walkable and has an entire street dedicated to opulent but afordable dim sum tea houses.

Street scene in Western section of Guangzhou

When one of my students takes us to a particulary lovely one (the best dim sum I have ever had-ever!!!) I am relieved to see people hanging out and enjoying themselves. Prior to this, I had been struck by the absense of places to sit and talk with friends, or just to think. No tea houses (even Starbuck, which is everywhere, didn't have many people hanging out), and most people seem to eat quickly, bowls close to their mouths and chop sticks moving at lightning speed.











It is a delight to see families, friends, grandmothers with grandchildren or young couples taking their time to enjoy tea and dim sum.

My students in Guangzhou are wonderful. On one hand they are open and willing to learn and experience new approaches and concepts, and on the other hand proud of their own culture. As I teach them American approaches to psychology, therapy and dance/movement therapy, I wrestle with what is relevant for their world and culture, and what is just a western or American lens on the world. I am also inspired by the instinctive grasp of the metaphors implicit in all that I am teaching, and also at their hunger for unstructured creative expression. I often feel that I have as much (or more) to learn from them as they want to learn from me.  I am struck by the importance of marriage and children for all of my students (many older students are already mothers, some with several children because they fall into a category such as coming from a "non-elite" background that allows them to have more than one child). Their curiosity and excitement in class is also balanced by the constant horrific news of the tour boat that had recently capsized in the Yangtze river, at the loss of over 450 older Chinese people. (While this was often the main focus of the news when we were in Guangzhou, we barely heard any updates once we entered Hong Kong).

Next entry- Hong Kong!

Hong Kong - I shop therefore I am !!!

Hong Kong, is a different place.. still big and crowded but showing its roots as a British colony and a major economic port to the west. Despite its size, I am struck by the order and rules that are constantly present. As we take the easy-to- navigate subway (the MTR) we are surounded by signs and announcements to 'cover our mouths when coughing or sneezing', 'hold the hand rails on escalators' (which are sanitized frequently), 'not to run', 'hold children's hands' and more. There are ads that seem to suggest that 'good riders' get prizes (from a short guy with large glasses..who is handing a trophy to a grandmotherly looking person and a young boy). 

Here too, nature and urban worlds overlap. Buildings are tall and thin--huge despite being painted pastel colors of pink, blue or green. We take the tram up to the top of Victoria peak, and suddenly it is green and lush, with walking trails galore (it is too hot and humid to actually walk them, but they are there, none the less).

The nunnery that Bruce talks about is hidden below a multilevel 'freeway' and across the street from a huge modern shoppping mall (the "Hollywood Plaza" mall..complete with designer stores, restaurants, a movie theater an a grocery store). On our last afternoon, we take the subway to the Heritage Museum (learning about traditional Cantonese Opera, Bruce Lee, and the boat and fishing culture of the original inhabitants of the Hong Kong region). As we exit from the subway station and cross the street we are suddenly surrounded by trees and crossing a bridge across a wide flowing river. Returning to town, we are back at the Hollywood mall in 15 minutes. 

The subway system is orderly too. In all of our explorations, at different times of the day, we never had to wait more than about 5 minutes for a train.  Often we would arrive at our transfer station and the next train would be waiting for us to cross the platform and then leave. Inside the subway, in addition to letting  you know what station is the next stop, signs also let you know what other stations you can connect with at that stop and which door will open for you to exit.  We were often the only people noticing the wonders of the train systems, as everyone else was focused on their cell phone (with ear buds so they would not disturb anyone). If they weren't checking email or news, they would be playing some sort of computer game (day dreaming or looking around at other rides is apparently not the cultural norm here).

Another sight is Lion's Peak, a vocanic rock outcropping that looks like a Lion's head from many angles. We saw it mentioned in several museums and it seems to be a symbol of the fierceness of the people of Hong Kong.  

And they are fierce and independent too. I will watch with great curiousity as the marriage of Hong Kong and mainland China matures. Right now they are not getting along very well. For example my Hong Kong students tended to not want to go to Guangzhou- I suspect none of them had ever been there, despite it's proximity (a short 2 hour train ride). Meanwhile, several of the Guangzhou students, who were in the Hong Kong class seemed to imply that it was hard for them to travel to Hong Kong. This was not something I ever asked them about directly, but I wonder about the deeper layers of how the people of these two cities relate.  As a group, while both classes were wonderful to work with, they definitely had different personalities. 

An interesting coincidence for me was that both times I was teaching in Hong Kong there were some political issues also occurring. Last September, the big local issue was concern about the voting process and how much was being controlled by Beijing. During one lunch, students talked about their concerns that they were being asked to choose from a preselected list of candidates, and I left just as the Occupy movement was gathering steam. Photos of yellow umbrellas and interviews of Occupy participants filled the news as I was preparing to leave. This time, the actual vote to accept or reject Bejing's voting plan occurred. In fact, as the class was enjoying a final group dim sum lunch, the vote was actually occurring.. and the broacast on TV (on a big flat-screen on the wall above our table) almost dominated our eating. (It was a rapid vote to reject the plan, in part due to a misguided walk out by the pro-Beijing side. They had been hoping that their leaving would result in a postponement of the vote. Instead not enough people left, so the vote occurred and the anti-proposal majority won. )

One last thought for this entry: I was interested to see many people actively involved in an older Taoist practice, that of fortune telling. Often at some of the Taoist temples, there would be a rattling sound from a corner of the temple.  The sounds would be from people who were vigorously shaking a can of large sticks as they knealt on the ground; others would also be praying prior to shaking out their fortune.  Eventually a stick would fall out of the jar, and they would take it to a nearby fortune reader, who would tell them the answer to the question they had been praying about. Perhaps next time I am here, I will see what my fortune will be.

Fortune telling sticks at a Hong Kong temple

Religion and Faith in a "Post-religious" Society

Has a belief in communist philosophy and politics replaced more traditional religious belief in China today?  Has religious practice been pushed aside by the pursuit of new lives as people move from the countryside to the fast-growing cities, with hopes for upward social mobility and more affluent, comfortable lives?  Or, for a variety of people and groups, does religious practice still provide a source of meaning, hope, community, and identity?

Answering these questions is, I (Bruce) have to admit, quite beyond my ability.  But we often kept running into some form of religious practice while in both Guangzhou and Hong Kong, and that raised questions for us about the role of religion in people's lives today.  Sometimes this happened while visiting Taoist temples, some centuries old, some relatively new.

At the Sik Sik Yuen Wong Tai Sin Temple in Kowloon (part of the Hong Kong area), actually a collection of temples which bustle with activity, one portion offers single people the chance to offer prayers with hopes for a possible mate and marriage.  The center figure is a Taoist priest who would conduct a ceremony, with a rope to the left (unseen in this photo) to the figure of a bride, and a rope to the right to the figure of a groom.  One gets a foot-long segment of red thread to tie onto the appropriate side.

I couldn't help notice that young women were more likely to be seeking help in finding a husband than vice-versa, judging by the relative amount of threads tied to each side (and by whom I saw doing prayers here, while I sat nearby).  Are women more religious?  More concerned about finding a husband, in spite of the fact that urban women are now often quite educated and usually able to work for pay?  More concerned about finding a good man, perhaps one with fewer traditional expectations on what a wife will be like?  (One should remember, too, that a legacy of China's one-child policy, combined with a preference for having a son, has meant a shortage of marriageable women for those men seeking a wife, which should lead men to be the ones needing extra help in finding a spouse!)  Perhaps what's significant for the moment is that at least some young people still do seek a source of help finding a partner than is different than "Match.com."

Local people visiting the temple discussed above, and the Che Kung Temple shown to the right, were a mixture of those who came to pray at one of the altars, perhaps petitioning higher spirits for their personal needs, and those who arrived on tour busses to see these more well-known temples.  Yet even the "tourists" appeared to be local people (or visitors from other nearby parts of China?); Barbara and I were usually the only "Western/white" folks around, and the temples didn't seem to be "tourist attractions" in a narrow sense.  Perhaps some folks were visiting in a spirit similar to some who visit Notre Dame or Chartres in France, with a mixture of seeing the sights and a degree of religious awe or curiosity.  Many of the visitors to the Taoist temples did buy incense/joss sticks with which to offer their prayers, and then took "selfies" of themselves with their friends.  I was often left with more questions and curiosity than answers! But it did seem that, for many visitors to the temples, there was at least some "religious" intent for their visit.  And the temples weren't necessarily old relics, leftovers from past times--the first one above was build in 1973 (!).

 We also visited some Buddhist sites, such as temples or nunneries.  At the Buddhist temple on the left, in Guangzhou, there were a number of local people offering prayers at one of the altars in a complex dominated by the seven-level pagoda seen here.  When I visited again on my own (when Barbara was teaching her class), I peeked through a door into a large hall where people were gathering (including a number of Buddhist monks and nuns, as well as local practitoners), and a woman sent out her young daughter (with some English) to invite me in to join.  I sat down, though a few minutes later the daughter came up and said her mom thought it would be better if I were sitting with the other men instead of the women (whoops--hadn't noticed!  and even though I have gotten quite comfortable "sitting with the women," in this case, as in other settings calling for certain gender traditions, it seemed respectful to move).  The chanting followed a repetitive pattern, going through a printed pattern over and over for several hours.  I appreciated the chance to be part of that.
 

Near the subway stop where Barbara was teaching in Hong Kong was a Buddhist nunnery (the Chi Lin Nunnery), which I visited several times.  It seemed to attract a variety of visitors (both the nunnery buildings themselves and the gardens, part of which are seen to the right), but there were also local people who were there to pray at one of the four main altars, each with beautiful images of Buddha and various bodhisattvas.  Among other things, it seemed to be a place of peace and rest in the midst of a very urbanizing area (much of it 30-40 story apartment buildings, as seen here).

 As Barbara's noted earlier, we also visited several masjids (mosques) in both Guangzhou and Hong Kong.  In the photo to the left, we are sitting on the porch of the prayer hall at a mosque which is in an old temple (the pagoda has been converted into the minaret, from which the call to prayer is given!).  "Moon" is with us, who translated for Barbara's class but was also generous with her time on other occasions as well; she enjoyed the sound of the call to prayer we could hear from inside, as local Muslim men arrived to pray.  Note that Barbara has put on the modest clothing for a visit to the mosque as we've learned is appropriate in our several times in  the Middle East.  (Note, too, the monsoon-level rains seen in the background!)  Muslims are an important part of the Chinese population in some parts of the country; those at this mosque seemed more likely to be newer immigrants.  Barbara and Moon had a good conversation with the women who'd come to pray in the women's area before we reconnected outside once again.

In Hong Kong, we visited the Jamia Masjid (seen at the right), established around 1915.  Hong Kong had become a British colony about half a century earlier, in connection with the Opium Wars (Britain had been pushing opium sales to the Chinese, who resisted it), and as we learned the Muslims at this mosque were from South Asia (India and what is now Pakistan and Bangladesh had been British colonies), rather than Turkic Muslims historically living in what is now western China.  Some were also from Malaya (now Malaysia), also British in those days.  One man we talked with was born in India, lived in Canada (part of the British Commonwealth) for some time, and was now in Hong Kong for work.

All of this history reminded us that sorting out religious practice and its meaning in China today is complicated by colonial histories and the modern movement of peoples as China's economy booms.  For Muslims, faithful practice seems a matter of identity and community as well as belief.

 There is also an important presence of Christianity in China.  Some goes back centuries to missionary efforts which paralleled Western efforts to establish economic ties and political influence with parts of Asia.  In southern China where we were, efforts to convert the Chinese seemed to be associated with the British presence beginning in the 19th century (following earlier Portuguese efforts).  To the left we see Barbara and Moon in front of the Stone Church (the large wooden doors), a cathedral built in a central square in Guangzhou over a period of several decades; there are regular services there, in several languages.

Recent immigration from sub-Saharan Africa, in connection I think with China's relatively recent but significant involvement in several countries there, has also brought both Muslims and Christians from Africa to Guangzhou.  I spent part of a day in the neighborhood where many have settled, and from posters had the impression that African-style evangelical Protestant churches were important for part of the immigrant population.

 In Hong Kong, I spent some time at St. Andrew's Cathedral (Anglican), seen in the photo to the right.  One Sunday I went to two services, one in English (at which many attenders seemed to be women from the Philippines, many who have come as domestic workers caring for the children and homes of relatively affluent Hong Kong Chinese residents).  I also went to the Mandarin service (with Chinese officiants and a Mandarin choir) (there is also a Cantonese service).  In the church materials, I noticed that there was an outreach both to domestic workers and to migrant workers who do construction, with a focus on Filipinos.  (Filipino immigrants, along with Malaysians and Indonesians, seem to be an important part of the low-income workers who, as in the U.S., provide people to do the work which Chinese residents may no longer need or want to do.)

One sign of the Filipina domestic workers is their gatherings on weekends, usually Sundays (when they would have a day off, at least in Hong Kong).  We've seen groups gathered in the public parks, or on benches along walkways, to visit, share food, perhaps to fix one another's hair.  These are women who might often live in the house where they work, and so seeing one another one day a week seems to be an important time to find support.  In this photo, we see one of many groups of women (often about a dozen each) singing church songs in informal worship (in English--the Philippines was a U.S. colony until after World War II, and English has been a common second language, which also makes these women attractive as domestics to a Chinese population which also often has English as a second language as a British colony until 1997, when Hong Kong was returned to Chinese control).  Some of the songs, in themes and tone, reminded me of "praise songs" at the evangelical churches I studied during my last sabbatical.

I conclude this post with a photo of the tai chi group whose several score "members" met daily in the morning near our hotel, as it seems at least partly to be a spiritual practice.  I spent some time one morning doing my best to do the moves, after Barbara and I had had breakfast and she had zoomed off to class.  (I stayed on the edge, in the back, uncertain what I was doing, but several folks smiled at me in encouragement, or perhaps amusement.)  Nearly everyone seemed to be 50+, likely retirees, as I'm slowly beginning to see myself as after finishing my last semester at St. Olaf this spring.  It's not a bad way to start a day!

I don't know that I've answered my own questions here about the role of religion in China.  For many Chinese it may be outmoded, at the side of the road to modernity and success.  Some do seem to take religious practice seriously.  It may be a matter of faith, or a matter of need, or both.  And for some it's also the container for their sense of identity, and community.

All for now.  Bruce

Back home, but still writing a few more posts!

Greetings once again, this time from Minneapolis.  Thank you for continuing to read our ramblings from, or at least about, China!  We found ourselves busy enough that we weren't able to share what we'd like while still half a world away, and so will do a few more postings here from home.

 Barbara wrote earlier about her classes, and will perhaps add more, but I include two related photos here for the moment.  The first was the one to the left, welcoming her to the dance studio where she would be teaching in Guangzhou.  Even though this was the second time she's taught there, helping to train local folks who want to explore one of Barbara's primary fields of expertise ("dance movement therapy"), it was great to see the "welcome" sign.

Barbara's students were more diverse than the usual college-age students whom we've often taught--some were relatively young and inexperienced, but others are already practicing therapists or have college or advanced degrees and want to move in some new directions.  As in Estonia (2011), Barbara has been helping to introduce a new direction in doing therapy that's not yet common in the country, yet intriguing for a number of people.

To the right, we see the beginning of Barbara's first day of class.  In this photo she's greeting some new students (some she'd also taught last September during her first visit).  When I (Bruce) teach it's in a conventional classroom, but here we see a very open space, a dance studio with an empty floor and no chairs or desks which for me invites an even greater openness to new experience, to moving as well as thinking in new ways.  Anything might happen!  And, of course, the cultural setting (China) also heightens that chance, since the students will bring values and experiences to bear as yet unknown.


We saw this in a different setting when one of Barbara's invited us to go for "dim sum" at a lovely and traditional restaurant.  We were familiar with dim sum--ordering several different "small bites" dishes, making the sampling of a variety of dishes tempting and easy.  But first, we "washed the dishes"!  A large pot of hot water is on the table, and we pour some into our small bowls and teacups, stir our Chinese style soup spoons and chopsticks in the water, and pour the remaining hot water into a large bowl on the table which the waitress would later whisk away.  Only then would we pour the first cups of tea from a teapot (into which loose tea had been added); additional hot water would be added to the pot as the meal proceeded, the tea gradually changing in strength (and even flavor?).  Towards the end of our time in China, when going to a dim sum place on our own, we saw the waitress watching as we "washed the dishes" ourselves, then smile with approval that we seemed to know (more or less) what we were doing.  (It reminded me of the time when we were in Morocco [2009] having Friday lunch with the local family we were staying with, and the older man smiled in approval when Barbara [finally!] began to put choice morsels from the common platter onto my plate as a "good wife" should.)

 There are also many other situations where "local knowledge" takes a while to learn.  One is that one passes on-coming people on the left, rather than the right (parallel to driving patterns, presumably from Western practice, especially in Hong Kong).  I was often almost running into people when walking until I learned to let them pass me on my right, rather than being on the right side.  Escalators are laid out that way as well--you take the escalator to your left rather than to your right.  On the subway itself, it may be gracious to accept the offer of someone's seat if you are an older person (like me).

It's also considered appropriate to queue properly (something that seems to have changed since when I was last in big-city China in 2004?) when getting tickets or waiting for the subway.  There are clearly-marked places for people to line up where each subway door will be once the train stops, and a young subway worker will often be there to help you stand in the right place.  This is also facilitated by the fact that the tracks aren't "open"--there is a glass wall the entire length of the stop, with sliding doors that don't open until the train has come to a halt, as well as the train doors themselves (no danger of falling onto the tracks!).

And, of course, there are other things to learn--such as passing something to someone with both hands rather than one (and they will accept it with both hands as well, as the person taking the little coupons for breakfast at our hotels would do).  All interesting!  And who knows what else we may have overlooked?

All for now.  We will write a few more times.  I'll end with a lotus flower at a Buddhist nunnery.  (Bruce)

From Barbara- thoughts on the day before we leave HK

Nie Hau to all of you (excuse the Mandarin...they actually speak a different dialect of Chinese in Hong Kong..which I have not been able to learn easily... not that I am doing any better in Mandarin...however, HK, due to its British colonial past has much more English and English speakers than Guangzhou.)

It has been a whirlwind three weeks, Bruce exploring a huge range of amazing sights while I have been getting to know my students and teaching. Both wonderful in different ways. I have particularly enjoyed the depth of connections I have made teaching...as well as the opportunity to begin to get a sense of Guangzhou (Mainland, southeastern China) and Hong Kong culture. Both are rich and multilayered...and there is so much more to learn and see.  But first thoughts about the classes. Teaching the students in both of my classes has been a wonderful experience.  They are open and curious and fearless.  They grasp the topics on such a profoud and metaphoric level, in a way that is different from most of my Minnesotan students. We talk about energy and balance and how who we are as individuals relate to the earth, and culture and each other. Conversations are moving a profound.  Last September, when I was here for the first time, I worried that moving would be scary or hard for many, that they would be shy and not share their experiences with others or would not bring themselves fully to the learning process. Happily I have found this to not be the case at all. We have amazing conversations about western versus Chinese views of the body and movement. We discuss how each of our cultures hold harmful views of the body and how as 'grown ups and parents' it is hard to balance cultural values with the hopes and dreams we all hold for the children.  I will miss my students and hope I get to see them in the future.

Despite teaching alot, I have also had many wonderful adventures in my free time (which is not extensive, since teaching all day for several days in a row can get pretty tiring). In Hong Kong, Bruce and I explored Hong Kong Island. The waterfront is massive and filled with towering financial buildings (fitting of HK being such an central financial center of the world) that sparkle with lights shows in the evening.  But moving towards the center of the island, it becomes more varies and human.  We took the peak tram to the top of Victoria Peak to orient ourselves, before we descended to explore a few neighborhoods. (At the top of the peak, you can either hike to various trains down (not much fun in the hot humid weather) or shop at the multilayered mall that is also at the top of the peak.  HK is all about consuming- malls sit side by side almost everywhere. Shops range from fancy designer stores to inexpensive 'faux' designer items.  When people talk they often talk about getting somethig that is a good deal, e.g. cheap but high quality... and the shops are always full of people.)

After the peak we took a huge outdoor escalator, like a moving sidewalk to other areas of HK. We visited a small mosque, and arrived in time for prayer (only men no women were in view).

From there we walked to an old synagogue... Ohel Leah.. Founded by Moroccan Jews (the Sasson family) and almost invisible from the street with no signs. (The clue that it was there at all was a tall beefy man with an ear bud, standing by a fence.  I thought, hmm a good clue to the location of many synagogues we have visited in other countries has been semi-unobtrusive armed guards nearby. Hong Kong was no exception. I stopped to ask him where the synagogue was, as Bruce looked on- confused as to why I might accost this random man in the street. He asked some of the normal questions- "Where are you from?", "How long had we been in Hong Kong?" "Why were we visiting? and the big one: "Why do you want to see the synagogue?" After which he directed us to the entry door to an entire Jewish Community Center. Few people were around but we did see the inside of the synagogue.

We have also visited many Taoist temples (often dedicated to the goddess of the sea)..filled with giant incense spirals, plus several huge statues of the god or goddess to whom the temple was dedicated. Entering it would be hot, dark, filled with incense smoke, energetically blowing fans and a few older women caretakers collecting a few HK dollars for three sticks of incense. Often there are also a few people of all ages, bowing and praying briefly, before continuing with their day.  

So much more to say... but we have one more day to explore before heading home. Food has been great... Cantonese food is not spicy but focuses on the clean taste of each ingredient.  We have had some amazing meals and often preceeded by lots of pointing and guessing as we try to negotiate the language differences.  Guangzhou also deserves its own section (and will get a future blog entry). Other random thoughts... both cities have amazingly efficient transportation..and easy to negotiate. In HK, subways (called the MTR) are clean, fast, and we rarely have to wait more than 2 minutes to a connection, no matter how crowded it is during rush hour. In Guangzhou we were more likely to be offered seats (as older looking persons)...than in HK... and in HK we were often the only ones NOT on our cell phone... OK to be continued... off we go to explore a bit more. 

Welcome to China, with Barbara and Bruce!

Welcome to Hong Kong!  We are here in China for the first three weeks of June, and invite you to join us through a few postings on this blog.  Some of you have accompanied us to Estonia and India in the past, while some of you may be new to the world of travel blogs.  We hope you'll want to "follow" us at least briefly (and we may only have 5-6 posts, as we're in our final week already).

Barbara's here for the second time this year (the first was in September) to teach several "short courses" in dance/movement therapy, in Guangzhou (a city of over 12 million, a two hour train ride into the southern mainland), and here in Hong Kong (about 6 million).  Her days are long (usually 9-6) but she's enjoying her work, and she'll post later to tell you about it in person (the photo above shows her on one of her days off, when we took the old tram up Victoria Peak overooking Hong Kong and Kowloon below with all their modern high-rise buildings).

My (Bruce's) days are also long (and sometimes hot and humid), but have the option of naps at the hotel.  I've been doing a lot of exploring, facilitated by the extensive and modern subway system which, as an "elder," I can ride for about 25 cents (the same trip would cost my young wife 4-6 times as much).  I keep fueled with occasional stops at morning sidewalk stands as in the photo below, popular with students and young people on their way to work.

This is all for now!  We will send along several additional postings, with photos, so please visit us again if you'd like to learn more about our adventures.

Barbara and Bruce