Sunny and hot and humid describes the weather until July 22, 2009. Finally, the temperature cooled off and the sun went behind the clouds. Unfortunately, the cloudy day was the Wednesday of the full solar eclipse. Although it was cloudy, we certainly could see the effects as everything went dark at 9:30 AM. We went outside on the school landing to see the results of the darkness.
On Sunday we attended church at a local church. The main sanctuary seated 1000 and a lower hall sat an equal number. It was difficult to see how many were in attendance because we were seated at the front but the sanctuary seemed to be full and there was a large number when we went through the lower hall. The service naturally was in Chinese, but two familiar hymns were sung: “Holy, Holy, Holy” and “Take Time to be Holy”. Following the service we met with the two ministers and two of the youth who taught Sunday School. It was interesting to hear their story of the church in China and the great strides it has made.
The previous day, Saturday July 18th, we were taken to Yushanhu Lake Park in Ma’anshan. It is a huge park with a lake in the middle of the park. We had a walk through the park and saw various activities there. It was a wonderful morning and a time to see the local people enjoying themselves in the park.
There is a beautiful new City Square on the fringe of the city. During the day it is quiet but at night it lights up and large numbers of people go there. We were there in the late morning so we could enjoy the area. I had a chance to play table tennis against our liaison, Mr. Ni Hong while at the square. Let us just say that he is very, very good.
In the afternoon we were taken to Caishi Park near Ma’anshan. The famous Chinese poet Li Bai is buried here and the Yangtze River flows through the park. It was a highlight of the day to actually see the Yangtze River and to experience the bamboo forest that is in the park.
Basketball is extremely popular in China. Anywhere there is an open space and a basket there are lots of young men playing. The policy here is for the school grounds and parks to be open for use by the public. It is great to see the number of people using the parks and in particular the number playing basketball. Last Sunday afternoon, I went for a walk around the campus of The Anhui University of Technology, our home away from home, and saw almost 200 boys playing basketball on the outdoor courts here. They were having great fun and some were very good players.
Of course the reason that we are here is to teach. Last Thursday, I asked my class to prepare a short presentation on a hobby or how they spend their spare time. I expected a few presentations of about a total of 25 minutes. I was wrong. They all participated and the presentations were about one hour and twenty minutes. Included was a teacher who sang opera, a beautiful artist and various teachers who collected fascinating items. The whole time was well spent and extremely pleasing for everyone.
We have had a visit from two of the Amity organizers to assess the program. So far everything is going well and I continue, as the team leader, to appreciate my two UK colleagues, Jane and Sonia. We have different styles that has made the program go very well and a better experience for our teacher colleagues who are here to be part of the program.
We continue to marvel at the traffic. It is interesting to watch and see the number of vehicles of all sorts that are on the road and other places. We continue to appreciate the people of China who are very friendly to us and our teachers who are so keen to learn.
That is it for now from Ma’anshan China.
David Phillips
David Phillips works in The Vine: Connecting People, Places and Programs at the national office of The Presbyterian Church in Canada.