Yeye Goes to China - MY PEEPS 2018

Wo shi xie yeye (I am Xie Yeye)

Fri, 20 Jul 2018 07:00:00 GMT

After I started teaching Chinese students my principles of communication class at Harding University I realized that all of my students had their Chinese name, (for which I tried very hard to pronounce correctly, because, well, everybody loves to hear their name), but they also had an American nick name.

Thankfully, I had no problem saying those names. After inquiry with my students, they all thought that I should have a Chinese nick name! Hmmm, I thought, all Chinese real names actually mean something. Maybe American names have a special meaning, but most of us don’t have any idea what our names actually mean. So selecting a Chinese name was more than just something that sounded cool.

I asked my students to help select a name. Most of them had an English teacher in China, whether American or Chinese, that helped them pick their names or outright selected and assigned them an American name. I had the same experience in French classes in high school. I got to select my French name that I would be addressed by while in class. Of course, the teacher helped me to select a good name. I was called Jean Claude, after the French downhill skier from the 1968 winter Olympics, Jean Claude Killy. Then later, I changed my name to Napoleon, because, well for obvious reasons. Now, as I asked my students for help in picking a Chinese nickname for me, I gleefully thought this had come full circle, knowing they could now help their teacher select a name!

A week or so later the students came back all giddy because they had come up with a name that they wanted me to be called. They told me what it was. I was silent. It was a name that I had never heard before and a name that I could not pronounce, even after several attempts. I inquired, “What does that name mean?” They very sheepishly said, it translates in English to the word “SHREK.” Shrek? Like the Cartoonish, Ogar movie character? Yes, they all laughed. "Do you all call me Shrek when I’m not here?" "Yes," they said. "Why," I asked? "Well, because you are so nice, and lovable, and… FAT!"

“No," I protested. I don’t want that name. I might have been insulted had I not known that it was Chinese culture to be bold and forthright in saying what they were thinking. I gently explained that it was not an acceptable communication, in our culture, to call somebody fat, (nor should it be in theirs). I then told then I would continue seeking the perfect Chinese Nickname for me and I would get back to them when one was selected.

Later that year, while teaching in Hengyang, Hunan, at Na Hua Da Xue, (the University of South China), I retold the story of this incident, when a young man said, “I can help you find the perfect name, but these things take time.” “Ok, I’ve got nothing but time here, help me.” He started just simply talking to me about who I am, where I came from, my family and such and said, call me tomorrow. I was anxious to see this develop.

The next day my student came back and said, “As you probably know, in China, we all use our last family names first. What you didn’t know is that there are only about 100 family names in all of China even though there are over 1.4 billion people. That’s because our family names have been given to our ancestors long ago by what emperor or dynasty from which they descended. Some of the most common family names in in China, Li, Chen, Zhang, Wang, Wu, and Xie. All these names were from ancient history of an earlier dynasty. Plus, the Chinese students who select an American name often do so because it sounds like their Chinese name. So the name Qirei (Chee-Ray) becomes simply Ray for a guy and Cherry for a girl. With that in mind I’m going to give you the family name of Xie, (pronounced Shay), because it is a very honorable name and it sounds like your name, Shaner. As for your first name, I heard how happy you were when you told me about recently becoming a Yeye, (pronounced Yay Yay and the Chinese name for grandfather). Your new Chinese nickname is 谢爷爷 in Pinying it would be Xie Yeye, (Shay Yay Yay)! I liked it, but then I asked, “what does that name mean in Chinese?” It means, “Thankful Grandfather,” or "Thanks Grandpa." I didn’t just like it… I LOVED it. My name is Xie Yeye! Today, many students don’t even know my real name. Now I am simply introduced as Xie Yeye. When asked, I proudly say, “Wo jiao Xie Yeye!”

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Anson and Jiaming

Thu, 19 Jul 2018 07:00:00 GMT

What a great two days in Xi’an! Xi’an is maybe my favorite city in China. It’s clean, comfortable and displays BLUE skies on a regular basis. The people are friendly. The driving traffic is sensible and the food is GREAT! I love their Jaozi.

I arrived via China Eastern Airlines in the late afternoon and my wonderful former student Ye Yuchan, Anson, picked me up at the airport. With him was his fiancé, Liu Jiaming. Jiaming spoke little or no English. She was tall and beautiful. She had a bright red dress on that bounced back and forth as she walked. Jiaming was wearing some bright red lipstick to match her dress. She treated me like I was a man to be revered and respected. She was kind and quiet. The Chinese culture is to honor professors and older generations. I was both. I was Anson’s mentor and professor seven years earlier. Jiaming was also very hospitable. She inquired several times to Anson to make sure I was comfortable and had what I needed for the moment. I was fine, but she was doting on my every anticipated need. She asked if I was hungry, she asked if I was hot, or cold, or anything…? I was fine, really, but Jiaming insisted that we get me something to eat. We went to a shopping mall food court near my hotel so that we could get something quick and easy. I just wanted to get on to my bed that I so badly wanted to crash and sprawl upon!

When we arrived at the hotel for which Anson had reserved for me, Jiaming wanted to make sure the room was what she thought it needed to be. She checked the room, the bathroom and even pulled back the comforter to make sure I had clean, comfortable sheets. When everything seemed to meet her approval she motioned that I could come in and make myself comfortable. I was tired, jet lag was still kicking my butt. I wanted then both to stay and visit but I was exhausted. So, I made arrangements to meet Anson in the morning for breakfast before his broadcast production class at Xi Bei da Xue and said, Wan an… (good night)

I was up early and ready to go. After eating some breakfast in the campus canteen Anson and I made our way to the classroom. While at breakfast we met two of his students who seemed very excited to meet me. Anson had told them about my coming to speak and they had never spoken to a Caucasian American before. When we arrived at the room, it wasn’t really a classroom. It was a small, but larger than normal audio production studio. A small group of five or six students were there before we arrived and I thought this would be very informal and cozy… but as the minutes approached for the starting time there were 30-35 students crammed into what now seemed like a very small studio. I stood in the corner and proceeded to meet and greet as best I could in such a tight environment. Anson explained to them for what seemed like a long time about who I was, that I was his American professor and that I was there to talk about good communication skills. I then realized how limited their English was. I was going to need a lot of help from Anson. So we started… I said a few words, or sometimes a few sentence and then he would translate. It was excruciating, but as the class understood more about what I was saying they seemed to relax, and so did I. They appeared to genuinely like me! Anson had told them that at Harding we all hug everybody, and that I was a hugger! One girl then stood up extended her arms and asked if she could hug me? I guess you know my answer to that… I reached out my arms and she gave me a warm and longer than expected hug while the rest of the class roared their approval with laughter and applause!

When I finished my talk I told them that I had a WeChat account! Ooooooo, they crooned, as they all pulled out their phones to scan my QR code so that we could be friends on the Chinese social media platform WeChat. After what seemed like a 30-minute photo session we all said our bye-byes and I left. I live for moments and experiences like these!

Anson was anxious to take me to lunch. I wanted to start the process of Chinese afternoon rest or nap time. When he asked me what I wanted I simply said something quick and easy and near my napping nest. He took me to a restaurant of his choice, but before we got seated, Jiaming called to see how Anson was taking care of me? He told her where we were going to eat, and she said, “no, no, no! Take him somewhere nicer and then she proceeded to give him directions as to where to take me. He explained that to me and said, “One thing I will always remember you telling me in America was, happy wife – happy life!” He’s going to be a good husband and Jimaing is going to be a GREAT wife!

Next up... The day I met Hope!

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The day I met Li Chenyang

Wed, 18 Jul 2018 07:00:00 GMT

After my long awaited nap time, Anson came back to take me to the Xing Ba Ke (Starbucks) where I had arranged to meet a young girl who was going to be attending Harding University in the Fall. I was asked to meet Li Chenyang by Jeff Robertson.

Jeff was an elder at the Fairfax Church of Christ, where my son, Matthew and his family attended with God’s family. Matthew was eager for me to meet Jeff because he knew we both had a great interest in Chinese ministries. A year and a half later Jeff asked me to meet, what I now learned was, his Chinese exchange student that lived with his family in Virginia for a year in 2015 - 2016. He told her I was coming to Xi'an, so Li Chenyang and I traded WeChat messages and arranged this meeting time and place.

Li Chenyang entered the Xing Ba Ke and walked right up to Anson and I introducing herself as the one I was there to meet! She was bright, friendly and seemed to have a good grasp of her English. Chenyang had the confidence and the moxie of a much older adult, but she looked very young. I asked how she knew I was the one to meet? She laughed and said, “You looked like the only American in the room, so I knew you must be the one I was looking for.”

We ordered drinks. I had the Hot Chocolate she had some tea. We sat down and talked for an hour or more. Jiaming soon joined us but after smiling and greeting us she talked to Anson and I talk to Chenyang. We talked a lot and then we talked some more. What a delightful and beautiful young woman Chenyang turned out to be. As we talked, she told me a bit of “her story.” How she became a Christian, and how she got to know the Jeff Robertson family. The more she talked the more intrigued I became with her. I soon realized that meeting this young, prospective Harding student reminded me that days like this day will be turning points, and a day and time I will remember forever.

I knew a little about the Agape China, (now Agape Asia), organization that first connected Li Chenyang and Jeff Robertson, but soon I discovered that it has a wider spread of social services than what I first knew. The more she told me about her life the more my eyes grew wider with amazement! This now 21-year old girl had lived a very difficult life. Chenyang’s father died before she was born and her mother abandoned her and her four-year old sister with her grandparents when she was two. Her grandparents were very poor and lived in a rural area near the city of Xi’an. They provided the best they could for her, but life was hard.

After Chenyang finished middle school she became very ill. Chenyang was diagnosed with Aplastic Anemia. She spent the next three years in a hospital! THREE YEARS! That's where she found God! Chenyang had her grandmother read her the entire Bible, a little bit at a time. Several days later, when they finished the entire Bible, Chenyang looked at her Grandmother and said, "We need to both get baptized!" And they were both baptized and became Christians. Soon after, Chenyang prayed fervently to be healed and return to her family. Chenyang told me that God answered her prayer and healed her.

Now with improving health, Chenyang returned to school, albeit three years behind. It was in school years ago that she first heard about Agape China. Chenyang didn’t know who they were or why they chose to help her. Agape provided Chenyang and her family some social services and physical help with other essentials. All the while Chenyang still wondered why her? Why did Agape reach out to help her and not somebody else? It was then she realized that it was God who was answering her prayers. It was God who blessing her, and God who was continually giving her hope. Now, Chenyang tells me, that she wakes up every day knowing that it is God that gives her hope to live another day to live, and it is God that gives her hope for a better life.

Most Chinese students that learn English in high school get to choose an English name, to be used as a nickname. Those names are chosen for a variety of reasons; characters in books or movies, friends and family suggestions, or simply a name that phonetically sounds like their own Chinese name. Li Chenyang decided to change her name, and at the same time honor God for what He had done and continues to do for her. Li Chenyang told me that she changed her name to HOPE. Hope Li! (This is where you insert the sound of me gasping for air and weeping silently.)

I told her that I was a writer and that she had a compelling and stunning story of faith and... hope. Then I told her I wanted to help her, tell her story. It was a story that needed to be told. Hope seemed anxious to help me, help her, tell her story. What a story of hope! Stay tuned to a more complete series of journal and blog entries about the story of the “Hope that is within Hope.”

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Hope Becomes my Meili Fanyi

Tue, 17 Jul 2018 07:00:00 GMT

I wanted to spend some more time with Hope so that I could learn more about her story. I asked her if she would be willing to join me, Anson and Jiaming for dinner, and then to accompany Anson and me to tomorrow’s activities of meeting and speaking to a couple of different schools?

She jumped at the chance. She has been out of high school for a year now and did not have a job. So her normal days consisted of helping her aging grandparents in whatever needed to be done at home. I knew of a place that had the best Jaozi (dumplings) in the world, right here in Xi’an. It was a restaurant called the Golden Dumpling on the second floor of a building on the South Bell Tower Plaza. None of the three local Xi’an residents I was with knew of this place, but I told them to just hang with me and I would show them Xi’an!

On this second full day in Xi’an I visited a high school for the arts. Anson met me and Hope, for whom I had invited to tag along with me, at the hotel lobby. We arrived at the first school office to meet and pick up one of Anson’s employers. His name was Mr. Kong. As the three of us sat in the reception room of this very hipster type of office, I noticed that the office staff of women kept walking by and staring at me. I asked Hope what was going on and she said they wanted to see the American. The next time one of them walked through I stood up, held out my hand and introduced myself, Wo Shi Xie Yeye, (which always brings a giggle because Yeye is not a real name in China). When I turned and introduced Hope they asked me what she did? Did she work for me? Was she my assistant? No, I said, “She is my Meili Fanyi, which means beautiful translator.”

We quickly left the office and drove to what we would call in America, a magnet high school. It was a school for high school seniors only and had specialized training classes in the graphic arts. This class was a drawing class. The class was busy drawing one of their classmates for whose turn it was to be their model. After a few minutes they asked me if I would be the model? I wasn’t sure that I heard correctly so I turned to my meili fanyi and Hope explained that the teacher wanted to draw my likeness and have the rest of the class look over his shoulder while he explained what he was doing. The teacher promised it would only take about ten minutes (it took longer), and If I would let him do this I should just get into a comfortable seated position. This may be the first and only time I will work as a model! Everybody strained to look over his shoulder hanging on to every word he mumbled about drawing my likeness, but eventually they all clapped when he was done. Afterwards we all posed for photos with the teacher and the students. I had handed Hope my camera so that she could take a few photos of the experience. They were really good. She seemed to catch this story in picture form. Hope wants to major in education when she gets to Harding I may want to recruit her to the media arts. Hmm…???

We left there and went to a very nice restaurant. Mr. Kong and his business associate, another Mr, Kong, (no relations but they laughed about being brothers from a different mother). The food was excellent. I always tell my hosts that I’ll eat anything and they should just order for me. At first they wanted to place us in selected seating but I insisted that Hope sit next to me. I knew that Anson would talk business with them in Chinese and I wanted Hope and I to maybe continue our conversation about her story. I asked Hope to explain to me what they were talking about as they ordered. Oh they want to order usual Chinese dishes, two or three kinds of meats, and fish! They ordered Peking Duck, a whole baked chicken, (and when I say whole I mean head feet and all), and some lamb strips. Along with a few vegetable side dishes it was a feast. They also wanted to order me a beer. I declined gracefully so they ordered me an Orange soda instead! I normally don’t drink calories. I drink black coffee, unsweetened tea (hot and iced) and water. Water is my usual drink of choice.

This day was running long. I knew I needed to go back to my hotel, change clothes for giving a more formal lecture and pick up a flash drive with three PowerPoints on them to be delivered at my next stop. So no Chinese nap for me this day.

The class I then taught was at the Xi’an Medical University. It was a few combined classes for their English majors. I talked about the three principles of Rhetoric that Aristotle had taught 3,000 years ago, Ethos, Pathos and Logos. Then I shifted gears and talked about the elements of vocal variety, to keep you from sounding boring. Both lectures were straight from my Principles of Communication class I teach the Chinese students at Harding.

I had Hope, my meili Fanyi, sitting on the front row. Even though I lectured in English I would often resort to explain things in Chinese one word at a time. I often would ask Hope what the Chinese word was for whatever… She was amazing, being put on the spot like that, but boldly speaking up with the assistance I needed.

I’ve been teaching as a guest lecturer in China eight out of the last nine years. I always leave room for Q&A, and the questions don’t have to be about my lecture or subject matter of the class. I think they were most surprised during this time when I answered a question about Donald Trump. I won’t post here what I said… (I learned my lesson about talking politics on Social Media the hard way.)

Anson Ye, then took over my time to make a presentation about Harding University. Anson is the perfect ambassador for Harding University. What a great young man. He gets married to Liu Jiaming, on August 19th, which happens to be mine and Donna’s anniversary date. I am so glad that we will share that date together forever more!

Hope, is planning on attending Harding in the fall as a freshman even though she will be 21 years old by then. Hope was a smiling and beautiful presence that stayed by my side and whispered/translated all the things that were being said about me throughout the day. When we got back to my hotel, I said my thanks and goodbyes. Anson drove home, Hope got on her bus to her house and I started planning for my Holiday visit in Lingbao the next day. I can’t wait to reunite with Hope the 2nd week or August… But, I do not want the summer days to end yet. I’m just getting started.

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A Holiday in Lingbao

Mon, 16 Jul 2018 07:00:00 GMT

Her name is Liu Xuan, but she goes by the English nickname of Holiday, and she is a delight! I first met Holiday on the Harding University campus in August of 2017 at one of the newcomer mixers for the Chinese students.

Holiday was very excited to be there and had a smile that could brighten anybody’s day. She was a bit shy but very willing, it seemed, to step outside of her comfort zone to make new friends. When I told her my Chinese name, Xie Yeye, she giggled. “That’s not really your name is it?” She inquired as she smiled even bigger. I told her in a tone that she knew I was teasing when I said, “Yes, I was born with that name. How about you, is Holiday your real name?” More laughter ensued. When I asked her what her real Chinese name was, she informed me that I would not be able to pronounce it. “Oh, try me,” I said. Holiday replied, “Liu Xuan is my name.” “First of all I said, Yes, I can pronounce that,” and I proceeded to pronounce it perfectly. Liu Xuan was so surprised, and asked how I did I know that? I’m asked that a lot by my Chinese students and my standard reply to that is to say in Chinese, “Wo shi Xie Yeye!”

Holiday was a fourth year college student that had just transferred to Harding from Xi’an Medical University, in Xi’an, Shaanxi, China, where she was majoring in English. XMU, like many other universities in China, allows a student to spend their last year somewhere abroad, and count that as credit towards her graduation from their university. Holiday wanted to pursue a master’s degree in Education somewhere and then go back to China to teach English. Her English was pretty good, but she had not yet passed the IELTS or the TOEFL (English proficiency tests), so she could not do more at Harding than this year as an exchange student. She took 12 hours each semester, Principles of Communication, some ESL classes and a couple of intro classes for her education degree, then went back to Xi’an to graduate, and decide about graduate school. Holiday just fell in love with Harding, its weather, (read BLUE skies), its facilities and our people. She loved the teachers and other students, both Chinese and American. And they loved her! But what’s not to love? She is warm and friendly and can break any communication barrier with her smile. Holiday is home this summer studying very hard to pass her English test so that she can return to Harding to get her master’s degree in Education: Teaching English as a Second Language.

When Holiday found out that I had a fondness for the Chinese students and could speak a little bit of Mandarin she always sought me out in our social gatherings, or when she saw me across campus to come and talk to me. Then she found out that I travel to China during the summers and sometimes for the very purpose of visiting some Harding Chinese students. Holiday asked me almost every time I saw her if I would come to her hometown to visit her and her family? She always followed that request up with, “I know you’re busy and I don’t live in one of the big cities, I live in a very small town. So, I understand if you cannot come see me, but I would like for you to visit me in China one day. I would like to show you my hometown.”

It seemed like this same conversation happened about a dozen times in the next eight months or so… until I told her, Yes, I would come to visit her and her family in her hometown! She squealed with delight, holding her hands over her face and bouncing up and down on her tip-toes in disbelief! “Really?” she said. “Yep, tell me where you live, I responded.” I was planning on going to Xi’an and I knew she lived near there. I knew I could take a day or two go by her hometown and see what I could see. I always wanted to go to a more rural, small town village and she seemed to indicate that is where she lived… Or so I understood. “Oh, I live in a small town… Lingbao. Great, I said, How small? I don’t know, just small. I inquired more, is it the same size town as Searcy? Oh, no. She said it's a lot bigger that Searcy but I don’t know how big it is.” “No problem,” I said, “I can look it up later.” When I got back to my computer later that evening I was telling my wife about this and decided to look it up. Lingbao, in the Henen province, has 720,000 residents! That’s what passes for a small town in China!

As the time grew closer for the semester to end and I had my itinerary coming together I inquired again if it was OK for me to come see her and her family? I made sure that she had cleared this with her parents. Because I had never been there, and didn’t know of Lingbao at all before Holiday, I asked if she or they could make me a hotel reservation for one night and I could pay for the room when I arrived? Yes, she said, my parents will take care of it. Great, I’ll be there Wednesday, May 16th. I’ll take the train from Xi’an and let you know what time the train is scheduled to arrive as soon as I buy my ticket (in China).

Holiday wanted to know what I wanted to do in Lingbao while I was there? Well, until I met Liu Xuan, I had never even heard of Lingbao, so I really had no idea what there was to do. She said we could go to the place where Daoism was first founded. While I am no religious philosopher in the order of some of my Harding Colleagues, I do consider myself a semi-well informed, spiritually intelligent person and had known of Daoism, but never really could have defined it very well before this opportunity. I really intended to do more research on this before I actually showed up…. But alas, my plans never were executed.

Lingbao, as it turns out, really is the location of the origin of Daoism. Daoism is a philosophy developed and written by the very famous Chinese philosopher Lao Tzu. Daoism is “the Chinese philosophy to signify the fundamental or true nature of the world: simplicity and selflessness in conformity with the Tao, leading a life of non-purposive action, a life expressing the essence of spontaneity. Taoism, also known as Daoism, arose about the same time as Confucianism.” (Wikipedia)

I arrived via the fast train from Xi’an and the time on the train was about 50 minutes. The high speed trains in China travel about 200 miles per hour and there was only one stop between Xi’an and Lingbao. So, it could be estimated that it was less than two hundred miles southeast of Xi’an. It was on the way to my next scheduled city stop of Wuhan so taking a day out to visit Lingbao was something that was fairly easy for me to do. And, I wanted to do this for Holiday!

Holiday and her father were standing in my line of sight when I passed through the exit turn-styles out on to the arrival area of LingbaoXi. Holiday was furiously waving at me. Her father welcomed me warmly as I shook his hand and introduced myself to him. Maybe because I did so in Chinese he relaxed a bit. After the normal questions, “How was the trip? Are you hungry? and such, we walked to his car where Holiday’s Momma was there and we went through the same motions of communication. I can never remember my student’s parent’s names because they don’t have English names, so I just called them what I usually do, in this case, Xuan’s Mamma, or Xuan’s Babba! They always seem to laugh a little when I do this.

Xuan’s Babba was anxious to show me his hometown of Laodi, Henen, (different from Laodi, Hunan). Laodi really was a very small town. It was village like with only one main street passing through many residents stood or sat out in front of their houses that also doubled as a mushroom farm. These mushrooms are unique to this area of China and is sold around the world. Xuan’s told me that there was a lot of money in those mushroom fields but it looked and felt like a very poor town with rural agricultural residents. There were also a lot of fruit trees that were obviously planted for harvest large amounts of peaches, and apricots. Finally, we stopped at a local tourism site. We were the only ones there. I think normally there would have been a tourism entry fee but Holidays Dad talked to someone he probably had Guanxi with and we walked in. It was apparently some sort of ancient temple and tombs of the local town’s ancestors. It was pretty amazing even though it was not very well kept. It had beautiful views of the valley below it. This area of China also had an abundant supply of minerals, such as Iron Ore, Coal and GOLD! As I looked out over the valley there was a very long train rolling through the hills below in a very beautiful scene of nature and industry coming together.

I knew that Holiday’s Mamma and Babba were going to take me to lunch in Lingbao. I was pleasantly surprised when it wasn’t a big fancy restaurant like many of the Chinese parents take me to when I visit their children. It was more like a local café with common looking working class and a wait staff that were not necessarily beautiful women, well dressed and coiffed as some nicer restaurants normally have. It really felt like a piece of the everyday life, and I loved it! Holiday’s parents ordered some vegetable and a sliced meat (maybe lamb or beef) type of appetizer dishes. We got up and walked over to a display of a variety of vegetables that we got to choose before the staff tossed them in some vinegar and soy sauce. I was surprised that these dishes were served cold. Rarely is anything served cold in China. When we returned to the table our four dishes of noodles we had ordered had arrived. It was also served cold. It was so much food, I felt bad about leaving so much, but apparently that’s normal.

Holiday and her parents took me to my hotel for which they had prearranged and unfortunately they had also prepaid for! I always tell my students that I don’t want then to pay for my expenses and I that I would prefer me doing this myself. I mean paying for dinner is one thing, but paying for a nice hotel is just too much. But, the bill had been paid, and I graciously accepted because to insist otherwise would have been culturally unacceptable and rude.

Mr. Liu went back to his office to work, Holiday and her mamma went home for Chinese rest, and I, having become very fond of Chinese rest, settled into a comfortable room and an even more comfortable bed for a nap. Holiday asked me when I wanted them to come back so she and her Momma could show me the highlights of the “small town” they call home, Lingbao, (again, 720,000 people).

Holiday and her Mamma returned right on time as I had requested at 4:00 p.m. I asked where they were going to take me. “Somewhere very special to Lingbao and someplace that I think you will like!” “Why do you think I will like it,” I inquired? “Because you are a strong Christian,” she replied. “It is the origin of Daoism,” saying this like I was very knowledgeable of Daoism.

Little did I know, but was able to learn throughout the afternoon, that Holiday’s Nai Nai (grandmother) was a Christian and Holiday grew with her grandmother taking her to the local protestant, Three-Self Church. Even though Holiday went to church occasionally growing up she was not a Christian, and neither were her parents, and she had never considered the possibility of becoming a believer… until she arrived at Harding University. She absolutely fell in love with our fellowship, our love for each other, our spirits and zeal for the Lord. Many of her Chinese friends discouraged her from becoming interested yet some of her friends encouraged her to find out more. She attended our Chinese church/worship regularly where she was able to learn more about God in a less formal environment than the Bible class that is taught at Harding, for which we have a section just for Chinese students.

With the location background of Daoism and the relations she had with Christianity I decided it was a good ice breaker into her developing faith. “Tell me about your faith Holiday. What do you believe about God? Has your view changed since you started studying the Bible more?” (albeit for a college credit class) and many more such questions that were more purposely driven to be a conversation and not an inquiry. She spoke candidly and openly. She had many questions but was waiting patiently for the answers because she knew that she could not make such great decisions quickly, and that real knowledge comes with time, study and help! “Will you help me understand God Xie Yeye, she inquired earnestly? Oh my, (I was hold back welling my eyes up with tears), I live for moments like this. I knew right then and there that God sent me to Lingbao to lead Holiday to Him!

I remember one of the best sermons that I ever listened to was on this very generic subject. That God was placing people that are looking for Him in our paths so that we could find them and in turn we could lead them to find God! I knew this was such a moment. And, who knows, that I wasn’t born, or at least placed here on this day, for such a time as this?

“Yes, Holiday, I will. Where shall we start?”

After a moment of pause and reflection, she said “Tell me about Shang Di (God). I mean I know, or think I know, who God is but people tell me he will never leave me. How do I know this? I don’t even know that he IS with me. Can you feel God in you Xie Yeye?”

How’s that for a first set of questions? Then I remembered the story of Li Chenyang, Hope, and how she had prayed to God and He answered her plea’s long before she realized that He had done so. I told Holiday to simply look around her. She had been in a place that could arguably be one of the great learning centers of Christianity in the present world, Harding University. She had friends, colleagues and teachers who were Christians that loved and cared her. Why did you choose Harding and why am I here with you today? God has brought you to this very day to see Him working in you and the lives of those about you. You may not find God in a vision, or in a loud audible voice, or even physically feel his presence, but I promise you God is with you. God is with you in many ways. He is leading you, taking care of you, and giving you every day that you wake up. You have been given a great opportunity Holiday, and now you must open your eyes to see God moving about in your life. God has given you Hope for a better tomorrow.

I can’t wait for the fall semester so I can introduce Holiday to Hope.

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the joy of hengyang

Sun, 15 Jul 2018 07:00:00 GMT

There is never a dull moment when I travel throughout China, and even more so when I travel alone. Traveling alone may be a bit of a misnomer. I do travel alone, but very few places do I not have somebody at both ends of my journey helping me leave one place and arriving at my next location.

Given the hectic day I had leaving Wuhan I decided to call who I refer to as, “The Joy of Hengyang!” Zhang BaoXin. Her English name is Joy.

Joy was such a Joy… again. Joy was my teaching partner last year. She is a professor of marketing at Nan Hua Da Xue (the University of South China) in Hengyang. In 2017 I taught her two Principles of Marketing classes for four weeks in a visiting professor program. Joy is a bright, loving, pretty woman in her early 30’s that had grown up in Hengyang, graduated from Nan Hua with her bachelor’s degree and holds a master’s degree from a university in England. She is now a teacher at Nan Hua Da Xue. Joy has been married for about 8-9 years. She and her husband have one daughter, Anna who is seven years old and in the first grade. Joy’s husband is a building inspector for the City of Hengyang and has a degree in Architecture.

Perhaps one of the most successful and satisfying aspects of this 2017 assignment of teaching at Nan Hua for four weeks was the wonderful and talented Zhang BaoXin. Joy was assigned to me to assist in both academic issues and my daily management of living in Hengyang for a month. Joy helped me manage her/our classes and help me to explain a lot when the class didn’t understand the concepts for which I was teaching. I could tell that their students admired and respected her.

Zhang BaoXin was always gracious enough to take me to lunch after class in the university canteen. At lunch she introduced me to many other teachers and professors. Many of the teachers that I met, I remembered meeting in past years. Not only did she help me in class but she also helped me manage the variety of needs I had in getting around town to acquire the meals and shopping needs I had while in Hengyang. I could always call Joy to find out where to buy something, what bus to get on and the most efficient way to exist in this Chinese culture for which I was the foreigner. Joy even picked me up at the train station upon my arrival and escorted me back to the train station when it was time to go home. I would not have been as successful as I was without her!

The best part about meeting and working with Joy is that she has a compelling story of faith to tell. She became a Christian a few years back when she and her husband were contemplating divorce. I don’t know much of the details of that story, but that story is hers’ to tell. I do know that she told me her story about becoming a believer. We all have stories and I often ask people straight up, “So, what’s your story?”

Joy will tell you that becoming a believer probably saved her marriage, even though her husband is not a Christian, he still likes the fact that she is a Christian. When her marriage was in trouble she sought out counsel and marriage advice from a trusted older woman who was a Christian. Among other things, she was told to be the best wife and mother that she could and that God would handle the rest. Joy has done this with so much humility, dignity and grace. She’s really inspiration to others.

Joy was born and destined to minister to the needs of others. She delighted in helping others because she will tell you that we are all family in God’s kingdom. Joy would often respond from a thanks from me by relating a scripture and expounding on the spiritual and relevant application to us. Wow, she has such great insight for a relatively new Christian.

I had emailed Joy several weeks back when I realized I was coming to Hengyang. Visiting and seeing Joy again was one of the main reasons I wanted to visit Hengyang. I also had high on my purpose list meeting the American teachers that had been recruited and placed there by Ed and Pam Mosby.

I had asked Joy to help me find a hotel near the campus. Staying with somebody can be problematic because of the Chinese governments rules about checking in to the local police to inform them that you are in their city. Many residents don’t want to have you stay with them because of this complicated regulation. A hotel however, does this paperwork as a normal process of registering for a room.

Joy had previously arranged my hotel stay in Hengyang for the Tuesday and Wednesday, May 22 & 23 dates. Now, in a bit of a panic I needed her to change my reservation for TONIGHT and the next night, May 20 & 21st. She said, mei wenti (no problem) and, she continued, Anna and I can pick you up at the train station and get you back to the Hotel,” which happened to be right next to the campus. Can you see what I mean by her being the Joy in Hengyang? I Checked into the hotel and crashed knowing that I had God looking out for me and providing me with great friends and Christian family.

Monday morning came early and I went to find Dylan Prato, a recent Harding graduate and now second year teacher at Nan Hua. There were a couple of other American teachers that I wanted to meet and Dylan made arrangements for us to all go to lunch on Tuesday. Among those teachers I wanted to meet Amy Michelle, a young woman new to the Chinese teaching experience that my wife Donna had previously hosted when she was going through training in Searcy, Arkansas. While she was preparing the year before to teach in Hengyang, I was in Hengyang, but we had never met in person until this visit. I met Joy for lunch and I continued to have her tell me her story of faith. It’s quite a story. So I asked if she had time for me to set up my DSLR on my tripod and video record some of this testimony. While she was willing to do so we just couldn’t find a time that worked for both of us.

Tuesday I was up early. As long as I was in Hengyang I wanted to visit and teach a couple of classes. I was the guest speaker for Dylan’s second year English class. This was the same group of students that had Rachel Weiss as their first year English teacher. They practically swooned when I mentioned her name. They LOVE Rachel! I gave them a lecture about American culture using people skills. It’s one of my basic lectures and lessons on meeting new people and extending your view of the world.

I also spoke to Zhang BaoXin’s marketing class. It was the same class as last year but with all new students of course. Because this was a marketing class I spoke on the 4 P’s of marketing but particularly on the Promotion element of marketing. As always, I leave room at the end of class for questions of any kind, and photo opportunities. I got out in the middle of the classroom and Joy took my photo with 50-60 smiling and waving students. And, of course we traded WeChat ID’s.

Dylan had arranged lunch with the teaching team. I invited Joy to come along so they could all meet each other. I wanted Joy to have some Christian friends for which she could fellowship after I had departed Hengyang. Zhang BaoXin is the Joy of Hengyang!

After lunch Joy waived down a taxi, told him through the passenger window to take me to the train station... We said our goodbyes and I headed to Xinhua… once again. Third time’s the charm!

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New Friends at The rice terraces in Xinhua

Sat, 14 Jul 2018 07:00:00 GMT

I had perhaps the coolest, most amazing 24 hours, that I have ever experienced in China! Really! I arrived in Xinhua on Tuesday, May 22nd, two days later than originally planned.

I’ve wanted to go to Xinhua for about 15 years. A couple of times I had actually had plans to go to Xinhua but, alas, the best laid plans of mice and men. It never happened. What’s in Xinhua? And where in the world is Xinhua? That last question even my Chinese friends don’t know. I tell them that is where I am going and they have no idea. I tell them it’s in western Hunan province and they still have a puzzled look on their face. Then I tell them it’s near Laodi. A few raised eyebrows appear, but still most have no idea. And even more, they don’t understand what in the world I would want to do in Xinhua? I explain that is where the world famous Yangtai Fan is located and I want to see them. Why Xinhua? The shear photographic opportunity it offered a picture taker like me! Then I have to explain Yangtai Fan - Rice Terraces. Here is what is said about this world beauty from one of my Internet sources:

The Ziquejie Rice Terraces, some of which date back more than 2,000 years, were built along the mountains in southern China by ancestors of the Miao and Yao ethnic groups. They not only help increase the output of rice in hilly areas but also showcase the seamless marriage of southern rice-growing customs and local fishing and hunting cultures. This site was one of four rice terrace sites newly designated as GIAHS, making China the country with the biggest number of GIAHS (Globally Important Agricultural Heritage Systems) sites, with 15 total.

The two best and most famous of these GIAHS sites is in Guilin, and this one in Xinhua.

I took an afternoon train from Hengyang and traveled to Xinhua. Where someone was supposed to pick me up and make sure I saw what I came for. I had not ever met this person… and was told that he didn’t speak ANY English, but he would know who I am and would help me.

His name is Xu Bin and he was the answer to a prayer. He was sent by Liu Piangliang, or better known to me as Leo. At Harding University Leo is one of my Host Family sons. Every year I work with a steering committee to help integrate the new Chinese students into our university culture. One of the ways we do this is to have a Host Family, where each of the Chinese students are paired with an American family to become sort of a home away from home. Leo is my Host family son. He is smart, loving, kind, and very courteous. If I ever wanted a real Chinese son, I would take him in a heartbeat. Donna and I have had several social events that we included Leo and our other two Chinese sons Crescent and Michael.

Last year Leo was supposed to meet me in Xinhua and take me to the Rice Terraces, but the logistics didn’t work well and the trip was cancelled. This year we started planning early and we were all set to take a trip together to his Hometown of Loudi and then onto the Xinhua Rice Terraces when he realized that he would have to stay in Guangzhou to prepare for his graduate school exams.

“Mei Wenti,” (no problem) I said. I didn’t know how, but I WAS going to the Rice terraces! I was too close, I had the time, the money and the desire. But, I WAS going to the Rice terraces! I didn’t really want to go on my own, but I was willing to do just that! But, I WAS going to the Rice terraces! Leo said, “No. you can’t really do this by yourself. I will make some arrangements for you.” He insisted that I let him help me. “My parents will host you.” I didn’t understand but I listened intently as he continued. Xinhua is my hometown. I moved to Guangzhou several years ago with my parents but I still have relatives in Xinhua. My uncle and his friend will meet you at the train stations. My Uncle, Xu Bin has a friend who is a tour guide to the Rice Terraces. They will take you to the mountains where the Rice Terraces are located.

Leo’s Smiling uncle was waiting for me. I had sent him a photo of me, but I was the only white guy with a traveling hat (my Tilly hat) that was coming through the turn styles, and he knew it was me. We soon discovered that our communications skills were going to be tested but I was glad to walk to his car, meet his girlfriend, and load up for a 20-minute drive to the hotel that he had reserved for me. We tried in vain to talk… we laughed a lot! I finally resorted to my GT, (Google Translate) app. Xu Bin’s girlfriend seemed to better understand a little of what I was saying but still we didn’t know what we were each saying and then we would just laugh. I finally sent her a message through my GT app that just said, “This should be fun!” She agreed with a big smile and a vigorous nodding of her head.

Xu Bin and his girlfriend drove me to the hotel, and as is the Chinese custom, went to my room with me to check to make sure things were as they were supposed to be and that I didn’t have any other needs that they could help me with. We used Google translate to communicate that he would take me to breakfast at 7:30 n the morning and that we needed to head to the mountain terraces by 8:00 in the morning in order for us to do all that we wanted to do! I fell into my bed feeling very blessed that God had given me good friends and Guanxi! Here I was, with two people, both of whom I had only met 30 minutes ago, on the other side of the world, and I was resting before I had one of my big, BIG, bucket list check-offs of my life!

I was up early the next morning. I wanted to step outside the hotel, onto the streets, and walk around a bit before Xu Bin arrived to take me to breakfast and on to the Terraces. Xinhua, was not a city that had anything to be written about. It was an old city, dirty and dusty in many ways. The residents were up and around buzzing to get off to their daily routines. As is usually my routine when I get up and walk in a city in China when I am travelling by myself, I estimated how long I could be gone, set out walking one direction, walking straight without making turns, then about halfway through my allotted time I would simply turn around and walk back, assuring that I would not get lost.

I arrived back at my hotel just a few minutes before Xu Bin arrived. He took me to breakfast right there in the hotel restaurant. It was typical Chinese restaurant. Very little if any meat or protein, lots of vegetables… but they did have Baozi, one of my favorite Chinese breakfast foods. Baozi is a steamed bread usually with some sort of vegetable or meat center. I was hoping for meat. Yep, there it was, a sausage ball right in the middle! I ate more than I needed, but I didn’t know what lunch plans were, I also suspected that I had a lot of climbing and hiking to do so I wanted a good breakfast. Xu Bin packed up a couple more Baozi in a plastic bag, and away we went.

This morning Xu Bin had a google Translate app and he used it to ask me if I had brought a jacket, because it could get cool and windy up in the mountains where we were going? Bringing a jacket to the normally hot and humid China was the last thing I thought about packing when I was preparing for my trip… so “No”, I said, “I didn’t have a jacket, but that I would be fine.” We stopped just a few minutes from the hotel and Xu motioned for me to wait and he would be right back. When he did return he had one of his jackets for me to borrow. Later, I was so thankful for that jacket because it was a lot cooler in the higher elevations for which were now driving. A few minutes later, I was startled when at a traffic stop there was a young man that just opened the back door and hopped in. No words were spoken, and I was very apprehensive! Then Xu handed him the two extra Baozi, for which he devoured quickly, and introduced me to my Xinhua Rice Terraces tour guide! I think his name is Yang Ling, but I never did hear his name again, at least that I picked up in my limited Chinese language skills.

It was about (or seemed like) a two-hour drive though several “suburbs” of Xinhua that seemed to go up and on forever. At some point, when we arrived at the foothills of the mountains, Xu pulled over and he and the Yang Ling traded places, and the guide drove the rest of the day.

Finally, we started elevating upwards into the mountains and it seemed like we were driving to heaven! There they were! In all their splendor! One of the most photographed areas in the world.

Not long after we got into some very scenic areas the driver would occasionally drive and just point for me to get out with my camera. I would look around and see the most scenic images I had ever seen in my life. He knew just want I would want to photograph. I was forever looking out the window and sometimes simply said in a low tone…. “Oooh look at that!” When Yang Ling heard that, even though he didn’t understand English, he would pull over quickly and get out with me to show me some angles and some shots he thought I should take. We stopped as often as I wanted. And again, we used the Google translate app a lot! I took a ton of photos. There were several stops along the way that were apparently a very frequented location for photos because there were food stands and other touristy venues set up. There were several other photographers but I was the only Caucasian on the side of the mountain.

As I stood there at what seemed like the top of the world, I realized what an opportunity that I had before me. I was feeling very near to God by being in an area that had little knowledge of God and yet it was so evident around us… me, and the residents of this nation and this particular region. The views were breath-taking and the story behind the Rice Terraces screamed of human toil, and God’s provision of labor for sustenance. These terraces had been cut out of the mountain side for centuries by families and ancestors to help grow a crop that ordinarily would be impossible because of the terrain. It was as beautiful of a sight as I had ever seen, and I felt blessed to be there. I took a moment and as the din of the wind, and the other people murmuring around me seemed to fade into slow motion, to simply realize the creation that God had made for me to see at that very moment. There really aren't words to describe my experience at that moment.

Near noon time, Leo’s uncle, Xu Bin, tried to say that we were going to one of his friend’s house for lunch. He lives in a small mountain village nearby. “Is that OK,” he asked? “YES!” I said, I love that kind of environment. I would rather go to a home of a Chinese (or anybody’s) friend than the nicest restaurant in the biggest city in China. I wanted the human experience of simply sitting around a common man’s family table and sharing a home cooked meal. Is there a better world wide recognized sign of friendship and honor? No, not to me there isn’t.

We returned to the car, and drove a few more miles into a small town. Then we drove a bit outside of town and turned down a dirt road and over a cement bridge that I thought was too small for the vehicle were driving. Soon, there appeared on the horizon a village that at first looked somewhat new. But behind the newer buildings, sometimes even attached to the newer buildings, were some very old wooden residences. That’s where I wanted to go, I thought to myself. I want to meet the people that live in those old homes.

Soon I saw a man that appeared to be maybe 40 years old waving us into a place to park in front of his very old home. It was Xu’s friend, for whom had invited us to lunch at his house. I got out of the car and was greeted warmly by Wu Xianbin. Mr. Wu lived there with his wife, his son and his parents. At east I think that it was his parents. It could very well have been his wife’s parents, I never really understood, but it was an older generation living with them, as is the Chinese custom. All of them were smiling and friendly and spoke NO English!

I entered their house by stepping over the doorway threshold (which has Chinese logistics that are very specific), and on to a dirt floor. The room seemed to be some sort of storage room. As I started to look around, I was quickly ushered to the adjoining room, again stepping over a threshold. This room was small and apparently was some sort of living room but also was their dining room. In the corner of the room was a square dining room table covered with a waterproof tablecloth that was nailed or tacked the top with some small nails. It reminded me of the kind of table cloths we had when I was a young boy visiting my grandparent’s house. Around the table were not chairs but a four two-seated benches, one on each side of the table. I was invited to sit down at the table. Tea was poured and snacks consisting of sun-flower seeds and shelled peanuts were offered as well as some cut fruit of dragon fruit. I was very familiar with dragon fruit. I like everything that being offered. I hesitated to start eating until the host insisted that I start. When I did the rest of them reached for their selected pre-meal appetizers.

As I sat down their very cute little boy who was about 3-4 years old kept staring at me. I’m not sure he had ever had a Caucasian American in his home before. I love all children and always try to talk to them as much as they will talk to me. I had to work hard at this boy to warm up to me. I resorted to trying to find something that he would like to hear, so I said, “Ni zhidao wo shi Mei Gua Yeye, shen ma?” Which means, “Did you know that I am an American Grandfather?” His mother and grandmother knew what I was telling him and they repeated in some form, He’s a grandfather from America! I never heard the boy’s name. I asked him several times but he was too shy to say. But, upon hearing from me and his momma and nainai, that I was a yeye he did smile at me and then I knew we were going to be buds! Perhaps the most surprising thing to me about this boy was that most of the time I was there, while we were not eating, he was sitting in the corner playing video games on his cell phone!

Wu, and my two new friends, were talking about who knows what and I just looked around and tried to pick up a few words every now and then. Soon Wu got up, left the room and came back with a small box. When he opened the box and unwrapped the contents he was showing us his old coin and foreign currency collection. I knew it was old because it did not have any pictures of Mao Zedong on them. That made them pre-1950 or so. He also had some foreign currency. I’m not sure what conversation preceded the display of the collection, but I did notice that he did not have any American currency in his collection. I pulled out my wallet and handed him an American one-dollar bill. I told him it was a gift for his collection. Wu was delighted. He even called his wife in from the kitchen to show her!

I could hear and smell lunch be prepared in the next room, so I got up and peeked in the kitchen. I tried to ask (in Chinese) if it was OK if I came in and watched them prepare lunch. Of course they said, Yes. The kitchen consisted of a semi-circle, cement block fire pit with four large holes which were filled with woks for which they were using to prepare lunch. The father, Wu came in to help his wife with some cooking. She was down on the floor behind the fire pit adding wood and stoking the flames. The grandfather (the Yeye) was handing her wood to add to the fires. Wu started stirring the food in the woks and adding flavorings and seasons before moving on to another dish. All total they had about six different dishes planned for the noon meal, two different kinds of green vegetables, a pork/bacon kind of dish, roasted peanuts, and a couple of more that I cannot name, in addition to the ever present fan (rice) at every meal. As we sat down to eat, the entire family gathered, Wu, his wife, his parents and his son, along with the three of us visitors. It was hot, fresh and Hao Che, (delicious).

After lunch I wandered outside their house to look around the village they were a part of. It had three or four old buildings and three or four newer buildings. Next door was a woman that had a duck in a large pan and she was de-feathering it by hand. I have seen this done with a machine in Stuttgart, Arkansas, many years ago, on my one and only duck hunting excursion. What she was doing was going to take her a long, long time to accomplish compared to what I had seen done in a matter of minutes. I took several photos, and the family seemed very willing to let me. In fact, they wanted to get their photo made with me as well.

After everyone seemed to be content and cleaned up after lunch we made talk like it was time to go. I soon found out that the family wanted to go with me to show me some of the unique sites that they thought I might have missed. We all loaded into one car and off we went. The Yeye and NaiNai stayed home. Several more stops were made and lots of photos ensued and soon it was time to start heading home. We were going to take the family home but they just wanted us to drop them off at the village commerce center. We did so and headed back to the town of Xinhua. As we waived bye to them I asked myself, “What was the better part of this day? The Photos that I have wanted for 15 years or so, or the meal with this wonderful family in a remote and small mountain village on what was for me the other side of the world?” Either way it was an amazing experience and one for which I will never forget!

As we headed back down the mountain I started planning in my head what my next stop would be. I needed to take a train the next day to Guangzhou. I had a dinner appointment with Michael Fu and his parents on Thursday evening at 6:30 p.m. I texted a message to Xu Bin of my need to get a train ticket. Xu Bin and I had figured out that WeChat has a built in translator, so I would send him a message in English and he would translate it to Chinese in WeChat and answer me back in Chinese for which I would then translate to English. We were sitting in the same car together messaging back and forth. Ain’t technology grand?

Xu thought it best for us to go by the train station and acquire the tickets for the next day to Guangzhou before we went out to dinner and back to the hotel for the night. We went by the train station to get a ticket but the only train to Guangzhou was for 6:00 p.m. each night, and tonight’s train was sold out. NO, I couldn’t leave tomorrow at 6:00 p.m. to Guangzhou, I had an apt. in Guangzhou at 6:30 p.m.

I had to think quickly. My problem solving skills were once again being tested. I thought, If the only time the train leaves for Guangzhou was 6:00 p.m. tomorrow then I would have to go somewhere else to pick up a train to Guangzhou. I knew that Changsha was the largest city in the Hunan province so why not take the train to Changsha and then transfer to a train to Guangzhou. But, If I did that I would have to leave tonight… like in about an hour! My bags were still back at my hotel and tonight’s room had already been paid for. This was getting complicated. But Xu assured me that if I wanted to leave in an hour he would make it happen, go back to get my bags, cancel tonight’s room and get me back to the train station to catch the train to Changsha! Then he asked, “but where will you stay in Changsha tonight?”

I called Erica in Changsha at the Gold Source Hotel – talk about Guanxi! I had stayed at the Gold source every year that I have been coming to China except last year. I always had the same desk worker to check me in and the second year she told me that she remembered me from the year before. We then traded names and WeChat and numbers and have stayed in contact every year. So I called Erica on her cell phone number and told her I needed a room for tonight and that I would be there in about three hours!?!? Could she make that happen? She was at home and was no longer working at the desk, but was instead the marketing director at the hotel. She made a call and got me their best room in the Hotel and assured me that I would have a comfortable stay at her Hotel. I asked Erica if she did this for all of her customers? And she said, “No, just for my American friend.” “Wait,” I said, “Am I your only American friend?” “Yes, she said laughing!”

I bought a train ticket to Changsha, taxied to the hotel, and had an amazing room. Pretty soon there was a knock at my door. Erica thought that I would be hungry so she ordered some food for me, compliments of her and the Hotel. It was some fruit and bean soup as a gift from Erica… I had a great sleep, a great breakfast and on to Guangzhou the next morning! Erica is one of the best customer service reps I’ve ever had!

What an amazing day!

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Wuhan Family Team Meeting & too much excitement

Fri, 13 Jul 2018 07:00:00 GMT

It was Sunday, May 20, 2018, and everybody needed to be out the door by 9:00 a.m. to attend worship. Gian and Mandy Bell and family were going to attend the Foreign Fellowship near Jian Han Da Xue.

I was headed to meet some Harding graduates that were having a family meeting in the apartment of one of their co-workers/teachers at a different university across Wuhan. As I was leaving I wanted to tell them of my admiration and love for them and what they are doing. But, there was a torrential downpour. We were in the doorway of their apartment building about to make a run for it and I had to tell them very quickly even though I wanted to put more heartfelt words in my goodbye, I just had to hurry. The Didi, (China’s version of Uber), car was waiting for us. It was going to drop me on a street corner where there were lots of taxi’s, then it was going to take the seven Bell’s on to the foreign worship. Did I say it was raining? It was a torrential, flooding rainfall. Gian gave me an umbrella and we said our goodbyes.

I stood on the corner with my backpack and large suitcase and tried several times to flag down a taxi. I got soaked…and so did my bags! The taxi drivers often pass on a fare when a foreigner that looks as if they don’t speak Chinese is flagging them down. I think that this may have been happening to me, but after several drive-bye’s, a brave driver finally picked me up. I explained as best I could in Chinese where I was going and even showed him my destination map on my phone that Allie Cook had sent me. He smiled and said, “Hao de,” (OK), and I loaded my wet bags and me in his back seat.

Thirty minutes later he was pointing to the front gate of the Wuhan Polytechnic Institute. All the universities in China have a wall around their entire campuses with gates and guards to pass through for entry. Unless you lived on campus or had business their you could not go through the gate in a car without paying a fee, so taxi’s will drop you at the gate and not any further.

I had sent a WeChat to Allie Cook arranging for our meeting for family worship for this first day of the week. She was a former Harding student that I had previously invited to take a few Chinese language lessons with me in my office the year before she came to Wuhan. I had some pretty explicit instructions from Emmy Burton to find Allie and give her a big hug. Emmy also gave me a list of other names for which to greet properly. Allie has a big personality and an even bigger heart for the Chinese work. Here is a previous email that I had received from her last Fall.

I have called China my home for just over two months. I teach 123 English majors for whom I am very thankful because they show me a lot of love and grace as being a college professor is a new experience for me. Every week is trial and error as I discover what works, what does not seem to cross the culture barrier, etc. I have been very hard on myself because I feel as if I am not living up to the standards ingrained in the minds of educators; however, I am constantly striving to be content with who I am because no one becomes a veteran at anything overnight. Experience is earned. Right now I am not experienced. I am a 22-year-old healthy woman who is trying her best. And that is OK.

My love for China continues to grow. The people are different, the food is different, the language is (very) different, the clothing is different, the social customs are different, THE LEARNING STYLE IS DIFFERENT. Different is not tantamount to bad. The people are kind, the food is scrumptious, the language is beautiful, the clothing is edgy, the social customs are formal, the learning style is rigid.

The everyday walk of life in China showcases God's love through the thoughtfulness and uniqueness of this culture. The display of His beauty is evident even in crowded streets and dusty classrooms. These crowded streets and dusty classrooms are bursting with beautiful people walking all sorts of unique paths. I am thankful to share a path with Garrett Bender, Zee Rock, Abigail Adkins and Wyatt Palmer I am thankful for their personalities, their steadfast love for the Lord and their encouragement. We live in China. What a time to be alive!

Knowing that she was entrenched into this good work I was now waiting at the front gate for her. On any other day she might have come to meet me, but it was still raining…and raining harder now. On this day she sent me an APP and instructions for walking toward her while she walked toward me. The I-Phone app was pretty cool… As I started walking on the campus it gave me a map and turn-by-turn directions to where her phone was located. A few minutes later we were waiving at each other followed by big hugs and hello’s! Come this way she motioned so we could get out of the rain. It was just a few more meters to her apartment building and where we were going to be gathering for the Family meeting. It was one of the other team members apt. His name is Tom. I don’t remember his last name, but Tom welcomed me warmly. Tom also lead the devotional worship time we had that morning. He seemed to be a bit older, admired and trusted member of their team. We weren’t the first to show up for this but almost. When I arrived I met a Chinese woman and her 6-ish year old daughter. It was the little girl’s birthday, so after a few more people arrived we sang happy birthday and cut up some cake.

As the rest of the group started slowly rolling in (nothing happens quickly or on time in China), I met more of the team, many of whom I had seen or heard about when they were Harding students. There was Zee Rock, another American teacher that looked closer to my age, Wyatt Palmer, a female student from LCU, A young African female student. I was particularly excited to see Abigail Pratt, one of my former advertising class members! Abigail brought her American friend, and her name was also Abigail!

We had a wonderful time of worship and prayer. Tom had a compelling message about the relevance of what we were doing in China. After worship time we visited some more while we ate the rest of the birthday cake! Dinner plans were previously made and I had been invited. After I discussed what I needed to do and where I needed to go they decided that I probably didn’t have time to eat with them but that the subway/metro station that I needed was very near where they were going to eat so I should just go with them until we needed to go different directions. We had group photos made. I was really feeling encumbered with my back pack and my HEAVY suitcase being pulled behind me but it was what it was… I was on my way to Xinhua to take pictures of the Rice Terraces!

Before we parted we ran into Garrett Bender and Abigail Adkins, (yes, I know yet another Abigail in the group)! Garrett was also on the list for whom Emmy Burton told me to make sure I saw and hugged for her. When I informed him of Emmy’s desire we all agreed that Emmy gave good hugs and we would never want to disappoint Emmy Burton!

I needed to get to the metro and onto the High Speed train station. Zee Rock seemed to be most familiar with where I needed to go so he gave me very detailed instructions about where to find the ticket window and which metro line to get on and off. So, off I went feeling pretty smug about my ability to travel alone in China! Every time I feel that way something is about to happen that humbles me and makes me know that I am not as cool as I think I am.

Then the adventure began… I made my way to the ticket counter but it was a lot farther and a lot harder to get to than I was led to believe. Lots of stairs and up and down with my heavy suitcase. When I got to the ticket counter I had a more than usual hard time communicating. I simply needed one ticket that would take me to the Fast Train station that could get me to Xinhua. ¥50 she said. Wow, I thought that was a lot but paid it anyway. I later found out that what she was sold me a multi-use pass and that only ¥6 of that ¥50 was used for this trip.

However, when I got my ticket I took a hold of my bags and turned towards the stairs down to the subway. I didn’t realize until about an hour later that I left my wallet with my credit cards and Passport on the counter where I bought my ticket! I waited patiently for my train, boarded and traveled for about 30 minutes to the other end… got off the subway car and reached for my wallet. It was GONE!!! No, It can’t be I thought? Where is it? I searched all my pockets of my clothing and my bags. It was NOT with me! AAAAGGGHH! No! I lost my wallet the previous year while traveling in China and it was one of the worst days of my life. Was I living the next worst day of my life? I sat down on the floor in the platform area and bemoaned my fate. I thought, “This couldn’t be happening to me… AGAIN!?”

As I cried and moaned, I tried to pull myself together to tackle this issue. I knew that if the wallet had been stolen then it was gone, but if I just left it somewhere there was hope. I was somewhat consoled from my experience last year that this was something for which I would recover, and that I knew just what to do if my wallet and passport were indeed gone. I ran through in my mind the last time I used it… yes, I had it when I bought my ticket. I surmised that I must have left it at the ticket counter. I knew it was a long shot but maybe it was still there? I called Zee Rock, because he was the one who told me where to buy the ticket, so I knew he would know exactly where the ticket counter was located. I couldn’t reach him. I knew that the group was out to lunch so I called Allie, and asked if Zee was still with her? He was, and Allie handed him the phone. I quickly explained to Zee what happened and asked him if he would be willing to go to the ticket counter and ask if they had my wallet. He must have sensed the despair in my voice because he immediately said yes, and that he and Allie would go there right away to see if they could locate it!

While I was waiting, I received a WeChat message from somebody I didn’t know. The message had a photo attached to it and it was a picture of my wallet, passport and other contents. It was a good Samaritan informing me that he found my wallet. I had some business cards in the wallet that had my WeChat address and the finder sent me a message! I had no idea where he was so I asked him if he could bring me my wallet and that I would reward him with some cash. I asked him to do this because I thought it would be easier for him to find me than for me to find him. I guess I was thinking about myself. I’m sure he was busy going about his business for the day because he said, “Come get it yourself.” I was a bit taken back by his bluntness, but I thought this was probably a translation issue, besides I would gladly go get it if I could find him. I suspected that I would miss my train to Xinhua but it was a lesser of a problem than not having my Passport.

As I was contemplating my trip back to where my passport was I thought I would check in with Zee and Allie. Where were they now? Were they close to the ticket window? Were they close to my wallet? Right about then I got a message from the ticket desk from which I had left my wallet. They reported a man turned in my wallet, intact with all my contents, and that I could come to their station and retrieve it! I quickly sent Zee and Allie a message and told them about this message and asked them to go there and get my wallet. Of course, they said, “Yes!” I also sent the ticket window a message that my friends would pick it up along with a photo of my friends that would do so. It was the group photo I had taken just about an hour previous! I wanted the ticket office to know that I did indeed know the people that were coming to get my wallet.

Allie and Zee got the wallet. They even texted me a photo of them receiving the hand off so that I could relax. They were on their way to where I was. Soon I heard, “Steve,” were over here.” I turned and saw Allie waiving and walking toward me, wallet held high in the air! It was a glorious day of relief! I have maybe never felt so relived about anything. I hugged them both. Somebody, may have been crying tears of joy!

After thanking Zee and Allie profusely, I turned to try to get to my train to Xinhua. When I arrived at the fast train station I checked the board and the train had departed without me. I missed my train to Xinhua! I tried to buy the next train to Xinhua but there were no more tonight, and they were all sold out for Monday! I contemplated for about a Nano-second before I decided to switch my days around. I had planned on going to Xinhua for two days and then Hengyang for two days. If I could change my two hotel reservations to reflect my new plan, I would buy a ticket to Hengyang, and it would be a done deal.

I called Leo for whom was arranging my pick-up, transportation and lodging in Xinhua. I explained my adventure and asked him kindly to inform his Uncle of my new plans and that I would see him on Tuesday instead of later tonight, he said, mei wenti, (no problem), I’ll call my uncle and tell him. Then I called the Joy of Hengyang and asked if she could change my Hengyang hotel reservations? She did so immediately. Then Joy Zhang said that she and her daughter would pick me up at the Hengyang train station and drive me back to the hotel.

As I waited for my train to Hengyang, I felt very thankful for God's care he provided me, from my young Harding alumni friends, to a new Chinese friend that I never met, the man who turned in my wallet. I thought the best way I could thank God was to We Chat a grateful message of appreciation to the unknown Chinese man who found my wallet. I did so and thanked him for his sincere effort to help me get my wallet. I thanked him again and again. He simply replied, "Welcome to China!"

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My Guangzhou Peeps - Michael Fu

Fri, 06 Jul 2018 07:00:00 GMT

When I left Xinhua I needed to get to Guangzhou. I had a 6:30 p.m. dinner engagement on Thursday evening. I did get to Guangzhou the next afternoon with plenty of time to spare but I had to spend the night in Changsha in order to make the happen.

I didn’t have any particular meetings of business in Guangzhou, just social commitments. I put out sort of a broadcast message through social media telling many of my Chinese students and friends that I would be going to Zhuhai to speak at a conference, but that I would spend a few days in Guangzhou on my way to the conference. I added that if anybody could meet me I would love to have lunch, dinner coffee, tea or whatever with them. WOW, my schedule filled up fast! Some of these appointments were pretty confirmed before I left the states but most came together after I arrived in China. For today’s Blog post I decided to do some profiles of the people I met while in in Guangzhou.

Thursday Evening, May 24th. I arranged to meet Michael Fu and his parents. Michael was not technically one of my students at Harding but he was a Harding student that I grew to admire very quickly. He was the roommate of Zhang YiJun, one of my Host Family sons. So I sort of adopted him as well.

The previous year, while I was in China, I lost my passport. I called Zhang Yijun to ask him to help facilitate me going to Guangzhou and escorting me to and from the train station to the U.S. Embassy to help me get a new emergency passport so that I didn’t have to live out my days in China. Crescent as he is known, is a wonderful young man and was more than willing to help me but he said, “Do you know my Harding roommate, Michael Fu?” “Yes, I did,” I told him… “Well his father,” he told me, “is the director of International Relations for the Guongdong province and has an office in the same building. He can probably help you more than I can, but yes, I can come and get you and take you back and forth to the Embassy. I’ll call Michael and tell him what happened.”

Michael called me and said, “Hi Xie Yeye, I hear you’re having a problem?” I explained again what happened. He said, “Don’t worry I’ll call my father and he can help you.” Before too long I received a call from his father’s administrative assistant and she walked me through what needed to be done to get an emergency passport. When I arrived at the U.S. Embassy, I was almost escorted through the process with everybody greeting me with, “Oh, you must be Michael’s America Professor?”

An internet resource states Guanxi (Chinese: 關係) describes the rudimentary dynamic in personalized social networks of influence (which can be best described as the relationships individuals cultivate with other individuals) and is a central idea in Chinese society. If there was ever a personal situation where I needed and received Guanxi, it was now. I knew Michael from Harding but did not know him very well. Now, my admiration of him was escalating sky high. I was very anxious to meet him in person and thank him profusely for helping me. That didn’t happen until last August when we all got back to the Harding Campus.

The past year was a time that I often invited Michael, along with Crescent, to be involved with some of our social activities. Crescent and Michael may be two of the finest Chinese students that Harding has ever had, and I was glad to call them my Host Sons. Michael wasn’t technically in our Host Family program but I told him he was always invited to be a part of our group as long as he was at Harding. As the year went on I got to know Michael better. He is an amazing young man. Michael is a smart, handsome, polite, courteous, and a very good student. Many times when I would invite him to do something with our family he declined stating that he had to study. When Michael was able to join us we always had a fun time and grew to love him more. Michael and I talked about the next time I was in China that I wanted to meet his parents, partially to personally tell his father thanks for helping me, and partially to tell his mother and father what a wonderful young man they raised and nurtured! On May 24th I had the chance to do just that! I had dinner in Guangzhou with Michael, his father, Dr. Frank Fu and his delightful and beautiful mother, Diana Chen!

Michael’s father, Dr. Frank Fu is also a world renowned art collector. He has published a book of his collection and gifted me with a signed copy of the publication. Michaels mother, Diana, was delightfully conversational with me and I enjoyed speaking with her. Michael had told her about my academic and professional background so she wanted to talk to me about marketing. She works at a bank but is very interested in starting an Internet export Asian/Chinese business. Between the two parents I could see so much of why Michael is such a delightful young man. They should be proud.

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My Guangzhou Peeps - Sylvie

Fri, 29 Jun 2018 07:00:00 GMT

Have you ever met anybody in an unusual way that you have stayed friends with for a long time? Here’s my story… It was 2012, and I was in line, along with my four Harding students, to check into a China Southern Airline flight from Los Angeles to Guangzhou.

The flight was an overnight flight that departed about 11:00 p.m. on a Wednesday, arriving abut 6:00 a.m. on a Friday. The line was almost all Chinese people except for us. I was ahead of my students leading them through the process of checking in and traveling to China. It was my third trip to China, the first for all of them. In front of me was a young woman that looked college-aged speaking on the phone. Her first call she spoke Chinese, her second call she spoke English. For whatever reason, as she hung up the second time our eyes locked and she said hello in English. I responded in Chinese… Oh you speak Chinese? She inquired in my second language. Oh, she had me. I had been taking Chinese language lessons for a couple of years but was not that far into a conversational skill level. I tried to say I speak a little, saying that I was learning… When she interrupted in perfect English, “Well, I guess we can speak in English then.” I asked her if she was going home? “Yes, my semester of college is over and I am going home to Guangzhou for the Summer.” We chatted in line as I told her what I and my four students were doing here. Sylvie then she stepped up to the counter, checked in, left her suitcase and headed off to her gate. We did the same.

As we arrived at our gate I saw her sitting by herself. I told the students to follow my lead and we walked up to her and I asked if we could sit and wait with her? She was very excited and said, “Sure,” as she moved one of her carry-on bags to empty a seat next to her. I introduced myself, and then my students. She did the same. I’m Sylvie Xiang, she said. I asked her if that was spelled, S-Y-L-V-I-E X-I-A-N-G? “Yes! You are the first American that’s ever known how to spell both of my names!” Of course, I knew that Sylvie was an American name that she had chosen. We then all sat down and chatted again for about 45 minutes before starting the boarding process. As we were boarding I jokingly told here we had another 13 hours together. She asked where we were sitting? After we all stated our seat assignments, she asked me if sometime during the flight I would be willing to trade seats with her so that she could continue visiting with my students, because I was assigned to be seated with two of them.

As she walked away to board, I looked at my students, and said, “…And that’s the way it’s done. This is just a microcosm of what we will be doing in China!”

We did in fact trade seats during the flight. Sylvie quickly endeared herself to us. As we arrived and were going through immigration and customs she asked where we were going next? I told her that we needed to find our way to the train station so we could board the fast train to Hengyang. After details were told, she insisted that she allow us to let her family pick us up and deliver us to the train station. Thus, began a six year and counting friendship with Sylvie Xiang.

Now every time I am going to be in Guangzhou I usually announce that on my Social Media platforms and she asks if I can get together with her and/or her family for tea, lunch dinner… whatever. I invited her to come along with my group on a dinner boat up and down the Pearl River and she has in turn invited me and whoever was with me to dinner with her family. We have stayed in touch with each other through social media and email as she attended college in the states and now graduate school and internships.

I was once described as somebody that doesn't know a stranger, they are just friends that I haven't met yet. This year, Friday, May 25th, Sylvie and I met for lunch once again. I am always amazed that I met a stranger in the Los Angeles LAX airport and we’re still friends six years later!

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My Guangzhou Peeps - Catherine Qu

Thu, 28 Jun 2018 16:42:25 GMT

What a delight! My team and I first met Catherine Qu in 2011. She was one of the students that was majoring in English that attended our classes where we were teaching at Nan Hua Da Xue, (the University of South China), in Hengyang, Hunan. Catherine was… chatty. We lovingly called her Chatty Cathy.

Please understand that we called her this with fond affection. We loved Catherine. She was outgoing, fun, conversational, warm and loving. She couldn’t seem to get enough of our fellowship and we loved her just as much.

Catherine pretty much stayed with us every day that we were in Hengyang. She worked very hard to see that we were comfortable, had what we needed from the store, and went with us just about everywhere to act as our translator. She wanted to do this so that she could practice her English and we were happy to oblige her. She was sad when we had to leave her to come home.

In January 2012, when I realized I would be going back to Nan Hua Da Xue, with a new group of Harding students Catherine was one of the first people I emailed to inform of our arrival in May. That year she showed up at our apartment the very first day. Catherine was knocking on my door about an hour after we arrived. She had been inquiring with the university directors of the exchange program to find out what day we would arrive and how she could be a part of our welcome party!

Catherine soon became a favorite of my new students. She showed her fun and loving personality in many ways. In fact, the second year may have been even more of a forever-relationship than the previous year of students. When it was the day for us to leave Hengyang Catherine cried tears of sorrow because we were leaving. We all told Catherine how much we loved her and that we would stay in touch via social media and other ways. It was sad… as our taxi pulled away heading to the train station she cried harder. All of us had a bit of a moment ourselves.

Catherine graduated from Nan Hua with a major in English and moved to Shenzhen, near her hometown. Catherine is working for an Internet marketing business. It is her job to translate the Chinese to English and repost the copy for others to read and (hopefully) purchase.

I hadn’t seen Catherine since 2013. I returned to China every year (except 2015) but never was able to connect with her in person, until last month. Catherine and I communicated via Facebook about where I was going to be and when. We tried to figure out what days we would be close to each other. She volunteered to take a Saturday and travel to Guangzhou where I was located.

I arrived at our meeting place and sat down to wait for her. She was so much more familiar with Guangzhou than I was that we agreed that she would come and find me instead of me trying to find her. A few minutes later… Catherine Qu walked back into my view, live and in person! It had been five years since I saw her but she was the same energetic, fun and crazy Catherine that my students and I had all grown to love and adore!

Catherine and I sat in the hotel lobby for more than an hour talking, laughing and reminiscing about the days that we were all at Nan Hua Da Xue in Hengyang. Sydney and Kory Queen, must have had their ears burning because we talked about how sweet they were and that we both missed them so much.

Catherine wanted to take me to lunch. I always try to talk my guest into letting me host these lunches, but that’s a hard argument to win. Catherine wanted to make sure that I was eating what she considered good Cantonese food, otherwise known to the rest of the world as Dim Sum! Dim Sum is a style of Chinese cuisine prepared as small bite-sized portions of food served in small steamer baskets or on small plates. Dim sum dishes are usually served with tea and together form a full tea brunch.

The restaurant was a short subway ride away. The wait line at the restaurant was relatively short, about 30 minutes. I don’t usually mind the wait at restaurants like these. To me it means the food is good! This serving of Dim Sum proved my theory. We ate Dim Sum, drank Chinese tea that was prepared a cup or two at a time at our table… It was so typical Chinese, LOUD and crowded, but I was with Catherine Qu so I was soaking up every minute.

After lunch we walked around, ended up at the seating area of my Hotel lobby again until Catherine had to go. It was so good to see her. The last time I saw her before this meeting Catherine cried big tears as we all left and waived to her as we drove away. I jokingly told Catherine not to do this to me again. She agreed… We said our goodbye’s, and she walked away. Then I teared up!

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My Guangzhou Peeps - Weny Zhang

Wed, 27 Jun 2018 07:00:00 GMT

I really like first meetings. When I meet somebody for the first time my mind zooms ahead several days, weeks and even years. I imagine how this new friend will be a part of my life in the future. At the time, most of us can never imagine these happen-chanced incidents to be life changing. But, oh so many times they are.

I first met Zhang Weiyin in May of 2016. She was in a class for which I was the guest speaker at the Guangdong University of Foreign Studies in Guangzhou, China. The class members were all called to this meeting to hear from me, the professor from Harding University, which they would be transferring to later that summer. I was excited to meet them all. I knew that about half of these students would eventually end up in my Principles of Communication class. I spoke about the differences in going to a University in China, and in America, specifically Harding University. I always make this talk interactive, relaxed, open, and FUN! I walk through the class taking selfies and trading WeChat addresses as I proceeded through my presentation. Afterwards, I invite anybody to come up and meet me, “Let’s get our picture made together,” I said. There are usually lots of introductions, both in Chinese and English, lots of laughing and smiling… and lots of selfies!

On this day, there was a quiet and pretty young lady patiently waiting for everybody else to have their turns with me so that she could walk up and say, with hand outstretched, “Hi, I’m Weny.” We had our picture made, chatted for a bit, and she walked away. Little did I know at the time, that at this first meeting, Weny Zhang was walking into my life in a big way!

The next Fall, and the entire next year of university life at Harding, Weny would often wave at me as we passed each other on the campus sidewalks. I couldn’t remember her name, but I recognized her as one of the many Chinese students I had met in the process of my connections with the Chinese students at Harding University. It took me several weeks, maybe months, to put two-and-two-together and remember when and where I had first met Weny.

In late April of that school year, (spring of ’17), Weny became ill. Very ill! She was anemic and our school nurse sent her to the local doctor, who in turn admitted her to the hospital. I heard about this and went to see her in the hospital. She was clearly anxious and agitated that she had to be there, but was cheery and smiling as she always was. After visiting with her and getting caught up on her health issue, I prayed with her and promised her that I would continue to pray to God about her health and well being. This could not have come at a worse time for a hard working student, as it was almost the end of the year and final exams were looming in her future.

Weny got out of the hospital to take her exams, but then took a turn for the worse and she ended up back in the hospital. Weny was again anemic, and she messaged me that she was getting blood transfusions. I was about to head to China for a few weeks and I wanted to see her again before I left. This time I asked my wife Donna to go with me. I thought the presence of a “Nie Nie” (grandmother), type figure might make her feel better. When we entered the room we were met by a Chinese man who didn’t speak any English. I knew at one glance that this had to be her father. It was. Weny introduced us, and I thought this is not good. If they called her parents in to travel from China, this wasn’t just a common illness. In fact it was Weny was diagnosed with Non-Hodgkins Lymphoma. After a warm and heartfelt visit we again prayed over her. She sat up in bed and we took her hands to pray. As I prayed I could feel the strength in her grip getting tighter as she held my hand. When I finished and started our goodbyes, I explained that I was going to China but I would see here when I returned. Then, I could feel Weny NOT letting go. I reached out to hug her, and try to speak some encouraging words to her. As I looked at her face she started to cry as we left. It was really, really, hard for me to walk out of that room. As I left, I shook her father’s hand very warmly, looked at Weny and said, “Zaijian.” Chinese people don’t like to say goodbye. They say, "Zaijian," (see you later). Several weeks later, as soon as I returned from China, I wanted to see Weny, but she was feeling good enough to have gone home to Guangzhou. I wasn't sure I would ever see her again.

Later that Summer, in July, she had a fever that the Chinese doctors couldn’t seem to find a reason for, or a treatment. The doctors in Guangzhou thought it best to send her back to America to see if the doctors that had been treating her in Arkansas could diagnose the problem.

As soon as I knew that she was back in Searcy, Donna and I went to see her again. She was now living off campus and her father had come to stay with her. The university had allowed her to move into a school owned apartment so that her parents could stay with her (instead of the dorm), and help her with her regiment of doctor visits, medicines, and special diet needs. We had bought some watermelons at a local farmer’s market that day, so I took them one, knowing that Chinese people loved this fruit, (but who doesn’t)? Her Baba wanted to cut it up and share it with us right then, but we insisted that it was for them and that we had watermelon at home. He seemed to be very thankful for us looking in on Weny.

Weny had a long road to recovery, but the illness she had was recoverable. The university Chinese office helped her file an appeal with our government and her Student Visa so that she could take a medically approved lighter than required academic load. The U.S. Government approved that. She now only had to take one class to satisfy her Student Visa, and she chose to take a Bible class! Praise God! She took much of this class on line and only showed up for class when she was feeling strong enough to do so.

Over the next four months Weny went through a painful recovery process. In January she was almost completely healed! There was no doubt in my mind that God healed her! Weny also recognized this miracle. She was a living, breathing answer to prayer. God is good all the time - and all the time God is good! In the Spring semester many of us took turns taking Weny to lunch or dinner to help her in any way we could. Weny always wanted to pay for our lunch, but I never would let her. I always jokingly said, she was a guest in my hometown, and that I would pay for both of us! And, that if I was ever a guest in her hometown then she could pay!

I had plans to return to China May of 2018. Weny wanted me come see her and her parent’s so that we could all go out to dinner together. We made plans to meet. On Saturday, May 26, I waited outside my hotel lobby in Guangzhou. As her Mama and Baba pulled up in their car I hopped in the front seat, met her father again, and for the first time met her mother sitting in the back seat with Weny. As much as I thought that Weny looked like her father, I now thought she looked even more like her mother. Her father’s name was Zhang Zhen, and her mother was named He Wenjing. Neither of them had English nick names.

After the introductions and appropriate greetings Weny smiled and said to me, “Now you’re a guest in my hometown, so I’m paying for dinner tonight!” She had me! I couldn’t really argue with that logic, so off to dinner we went. Weny had asked me earlier where and what I had been eating while I was on my trip? She wanted to offer me a different food experience than I had previously eaten in China. And that she dd!

We drove for about an hour. It probably wasn’t that far away but the traffic in Guangzhou was just horrible! We finally arrived at the restaurant she had chosen. It was a small, almost hole-in-the-wall Japanese sushi place! I asked Weny if they ate here often and she said, “No, never. I’ve been searching for a good place to take you and I found this place on the Internet!”

The food was as good as advertised. It was the best sushi I’ve ever had. And as usual, my Chinese hosts ordered way too much food! They had a lot of unusual offerings and it was GREAT! I ate so much, we all did, but there was still a lot left over. As good as the food was the best part of the evening was sitting in a restaurant, in Guangzhou, China, with a healthy, happy, smiling Weny Zhang and her parents! I always thank God for times such as these. I thought about how blessed I was to even be a part of her story. As I thought back on the day we first met, I would never have imagined what part of my heart that Weny captured.

As we left and got back into the car for the return to my hotel, Weny’s Baba said he had a gift for me… It was a watermelon!

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My guangzhou peeps - Rachel and Sharon

Tue, 26 Jun 2018 07:00:00 GMT

I say all the time that I am NOT a matchmaker. Then I read a book called the Tipping Point by Malcolm Gladwell, and it described some people as a “Connector.” It said, a Connector is someone “with an extraordinary knack of making friends and acquaintances. Gladwell said that Connectors are an elite group of people so expert in cultivating connections that they are the reason the rest of us are connected.” Yep, that was me alright!

I love connecting people together that might have common interests and then stepping back to watch the magic happen. And to be clear, it's not necessarily a romantic connection I’m talking about, but usually network, business, or casual friendships.

A few years ago I made such a connection. And, like meeting someone new and then pondering what this relationship will be like in the future, I never knew this connection between Rachel and Sharon would become so important to all of us.

Rachel Weiss:
Rachel was a Public Relations major at Harding University and graduated in 2015. As a PR major she was required to take my Introduction to Advertising class. Rachel lights up a room with her soft and endearing nature, and her smile. She is outgoing, friendly and loves to talk to everybody! She is also, as she was training to be, a great writer. I really didn’t know of her writing prowess until later, but more of that story later.

Each year I have Ed or Pam Mosby, the directors of a program that recruits English teachers for Chinese universities, come to my American communication classes to take about five minutes and tell of the opportunities that these students have in front of them. They recruit students to move to China and teach English AFTER they graduate. Most of my students are freshman or sophomores, so even though they may be interested, they have to file this away for a couple of years before giving it some serious consideration. Rachel Weiss did just that. Over the next two years we met in my office several times for her to ask questions about what it would be like living and working in China? I never really knew if she would actually go to China until Ed and Pam informed me that she indeed was all signed up to go.

I could blubber on and on about my admiration of Rachel Weiss. She’s beautiful (inside and out), talented, outgoing, loving, fun, never seems to be down, giving, energetic, has great people skills and absolutely loves what she does, (teaching English to university students in China). Plus, I have never seen a group of students, Chinese or otherwise, that is as crazy about their teacher, as much as these Chinese students are about Rachel. If I am in another class in China, and I mention that Rachel was one of my students in America, they swoon at the sound of her name and tell everybody that she is the best teacher they’ve ever had! And rightfully so, She. Is. Amazing! I playfully once told Rachel’s mother that if Rachel was ever available for adoption that I would be the first in line! Wendy Weiss, returned the jesting comment with, “If you’ll pick up her school loan payments you can have her now!”

Liang “Sharon” Yuncong
The first minute Liang Yuncong walked into my Principles of Communications class I could tell she was poised, confident, warm, friendly… and beautiful! My new student, who, went by the name of Sharon, looked like she was ready for a photo shoot! Which, I found out later, was her one of her passions. Being a model was something for which Sharon had been working as in China for a few years, even though she was relatively young to be doing so. She was a Broadcast Hosting major in China and had now transferred to Harding University. Because Harding did not have this exact major she chose to pursue Theatre and Advertising while she was enrolled here. Sharon wanted to work in television as a spokesperson, morning show host, and even being the talent in television commercials.

One of the things that I noticed immediately in my class interactions with her, was her willingness to stand up and speak with such ease. She loved the art of theatre and unlike most students in my speech class, she liked to be in front of people speaking. I remember thinking, Wow, she does this so naturally and it seems to come so easy to her. When she had to actually prepare her speeches and deliver them she did great! I later found out that as a working model she in fact was also employed from time to time as a television talent starring in commercials in China. With her outgoing personality I quickly became friends with her on more than just a professor/student relationship. I wanted to be her mentor so that I could help her navigate her way through our advertising major for which she was so perfectly suited. I told Sharon many times that she could be so much more than a model, (no offense to models intended here), but that she could be a creative communicator of advertising that would carry her long into a future, more so than the pretty face in front of the camera. Sharon always smiled at me and listened to me as if I had some words of wisdom. The other thing that really struck me about Sharon was that she seemed to be friends with everybody. It was pretty obvious, to me, at least , that many of the boys wanted to be with her, and many of the girls to wanted to be like her. Sharon probably intimidated the boys more than she knows. She was outgoing, friendly and welcomed everybody into her circle of friends. PLUS, Sharon was very anxious to improve her English skills, so I wanted to help her.

The very first assignment that I always give my Chinese students in my Principles of Communication class is what is often referred to as an “Elevator” speech. This is essentially a self-introduction. Many people say, that’s not really a speech! But au contraire my friend. It is a speech! It may only be :30 seconds long but it will be done often for the rest of your life so learn to do it well. Those that can master the art of introducing themselves in a creative and compelling manner are remembered long after a normal introduction. That could prove very valuable in career, business, and other social settings. So, yes, I teach my students how to be able to extemporaneously stand up and give a speech to introduce themselves. Everybody should learn to do this well!

Most of my Chinese students are very shy or feel like their English isn’t good enough to mix with the American students so they are terrified with this assignment. To help my students with this assignment, I recruit some outgoing, popular American students (or foreigners with good English language skills) to meet some new friends. The Chinese students, after a couple of days of lecture and in-class practice, now have to go out of the classroom, onto the campus, and meet 10 new friends. They have to introduce themselves to people they do not know, and they cannot be other Chinese students. My students are paired up with my recruited volunteers and off they go to give their elevator speeches. At the conclusion of their assignment, the students and my recruited assistants meet back at the Student Center, or Starbucks, to talk about their experience and to have a cup of coffee or other drink of their choice, (my treat).

Now the Connector in me…
In the Spring semester of 2013 I paired Rachel Weiss and Liang Yuncon together. I had no idea what this was going to do for both of them as they moved forward in life through Harding and beyond. After this class assignment Rachel and Sharon remained friends. In fact, they might even refer to each other as “BFF’s.”

Sharon went through Harding as the ever present hostess at the many Chinese events, on stage and off. Her ability to stand in front of a group made everybody else on stage around her, that were sometimes novices at this, look like they were seasoned pros. I was always so proud of her. I felt like I had a little (a very, very little) part of her success.

After three years Rachel moved to China to teach and Sharon had gone home to pursue her modeling career. Rachel moved to Hengyang and Sharon to Guangzhou. I remember walking through Guangzhou a year or so later and seeing Sharon in a newspaper and magazine ads. Sharon was a recognizable personality in China, she even had a song out on the Chinese charts! Even though they were in different cities Sharon and Rachel remained friends and took the time to meet as often as they could. In 2017 Rachel left her job teaching University students English and moved to Guangzhou to teach Kindergartener's English. Her new job was in the same town as Sharon. Rachel has a blog called Rachel Meets China. (https://rachelmeetschina.wordpress.com/2018/07/04/20-things-i-learned-teaching-english-at-a-kindergarten-in-china/). You must read her posts regarding teaching these cute little Chinese children. You will have a glimpse into what Rachel is to other people in this world, and particularly Chinese 5-year olds.

This May (2018), as I was preparing to visit my peeps in Guangzhou, Rachel and Sharon were high on my “must see” list. And, I wanted to see them together! I can say that I was the reason they met each other when they did. They may have found their way to each other at some other time, but I can proudly say I introduced them to each other and the rest, as they say, is history.

WeChat is wonderful thing in China. WeChat is such a powerful social media tool. It has Messenger services, Facebook qualities, even WeChat PAY so that you can just scan your QR code to pay for almost everything in China. I also love the Map and Direction features of WeChat. You can “drop a pin” on a map and send that to somebody else for directions both driving and walking. I would often ask one of my Chinese students or friends to simply “drop a pin” for me and then I could show it to the Taxi Driver, or even walk if it was close enough. You can create a group of just three people and send messages to each of them asking for times, dates and meeting places.

Because Sharon is from Guangzhou, she had all the responses as to where we could meet. Rachel had been in Guangzhou for a year now and knew how to get around the city pretty easily on the subway so anywhere Sharon chose to meet was fine with both me and Rachel. Sharon chose a restaurant that was within walking distance of my hotel. She said that it didn’t open until 5:30 and that the line to get in would be long. Neither Sharon nor Rachel could be there by 5:30 but thought they could do so soon after that. “No problem,” I said, “I can get over there early and get us a table.”

As I sat at our table awaiting my two guests I explained, as best I could that I had two more people coming to join me. The Fúwùyuán (waiter) smiled and acted like she knew what I was saying. She tried to say something in English and we just looked at each other and laughed. Soon, the smiling face and bouncing blonde haired Rachel came and gave me a big hug. We both mentioned that this was the third year in a row that we had met in China! The waiter had escorted her to my table and asked, “Zhè shì nǐ de nǚ'ér ma?, (Is this your daughter)? Recalling what Rachel’s mother once told me about her school loans I laughingly said, Bu, nǐ shì de Xuéshēng, (no, she’s my student). Rachel and I caught up with the deets of each other’s life for about twenty minutes before Sharon showed up. As we met and visited we looked at the digital menu the restaurant had. I’m sure there are many menus like this everywhere in the world but it was my first experience using this. We used our fingers to turn pages on the screen tapping things we might want to order, and many things for which we wanted to ask Sharon about when she arrived.

Sharon soon came walking up and greeted both of us warmly, Rachel, who has been learning Chinese spoke to her in Chinese and we all sat down. Sharon looked stunning! She had on a bright yellow and white dress that just made her shine! She looked like she may have just come from a modeling gig.

After all of the normal meet and greet talk we got down to looking at the menu again. Sharon explained that once we decided we just had to tap the menu item at a certain order box on the screen and the food would soon be delivered, without a waitress actually coming to the table to take our order. As usually is the case when eating out in China, the hostess ordered way too much food for the three of us!

There was a long line of people waiting to get a table. This restaurant had a time limit on our table. We were only allowed to sit there for 90 minutes from the time I arrived. That was not a problem with our eating, but we wanted to visit more and needed to go somewhere else. I suggested we go back to my temporary residence and cut open and share the watermelon that Weny’s baba had given me? Off we went…

I wanted to know all about Sharon’s amazing career in television and advertising, and I wanted to hear more about the new job that Rachel had just accepted. As I said earlier, Rachel is a great writer. She started a blog when she first went to China to start teaching and has gained many, many followers. In fact, it was her blog success that encouraged me to start writing this blog. Rachel wrote about her teaching job, travels and people that she had experienced for the last three years. A marketing business located in Beijing started following her. This business recruits Americans to move to China for work and travel. They wanted Rachel to come on board as their Social Media Director, continue writing her blog, write their blog, and generally extol the virtues of living in China! Rachel moves to Beijing this summer right after her school year ends and she makes a quick trip home to Texas to see family and friends. I am so proud of her, and I am so happy that I had a minuscule part of getting her to China!

After another 90 minutes of laughing and story telling it was time to part ways once again. I hate goodbyes… I don’t know if I will ever see Rachel again, but if I am ever going through Beijing I am sure to “drop a pin” to meet her somewhere!

Sharon? I may not meet here again either, (I hope I do), but I’m sure I will see her pretty face all over the Chinese media!

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Guangzhou Peeps - Zhang Zhifu (Jeff)

Mon, 25 Jun 2018 07:00:00 GMT

It was now Sunday morning and I knew where I wanted to be. Meeting with the saints that meet as a family in a small rented room in Guangzhou. The meeting place was very near my hotel and this was the third year in a row that I have met with the same group.

The church here knows me and have welcomed me very warmly. As always, I waited for Zhang Zhifu, or Jeff, to meet me in the hotel lobby and walk me over to the meeting place about three blocks away.

Jeff was actually a classmate of mine when I went back to pursue my MBA. His wife, Li Dan Hong, or as we know her, Dani, was one of my favorite (and best) students from my principles of communication class a few years back. Dani was born in China but moved away when she was about 12 years old. Her parents moved to Belize City, Belize, a place where I have traveled to ten times since 2005. Outside of the United States, I have done major mission work in two foreign countries, Belize and China, and Dani was from both!

Jeff and Dani met at Harding University where they were both became Christians. They were each baptized before they met each other. Soon after Jeff’s baptism they met and started dating. Jeff was a lawyer in Guangzhou but had come to Harding to get his MBA. He finished his MBA a year or so before Dani finished her under graduate degree in nursing. Jeff came back to his home town and started practicing law while Dani finished her degree. I had met Jeff two years earlier in Guangzhou when I came to town and he came to get me for worship. That day we Face-Timed with Dani back in the states. The next year I met with both of them here. They had married and were now settling in to their new normal in China.

Jeff and Dani were very active leaders in the church and were very anxious to share their faith with whomever they could. Knowing that, the year before I had enlisted their help in traveling with me to Foshan so that we could meet a man that had asked me to tell him more about God. I did what I could but my Chinese just wasn’t sufficient to help him. I introduced Jeff and Dani to him and they took over the study.

One of the many things about this loving group of people that I so admire is that they all try to go to lunch/dinner each week after the Sunday meeting. This week was no different. There was smaller group than normal but some of the same people I have met with each of my three years attending this family meeting.

Some of the family that I met with was Noah, Jonathon & Sarah (a married couple), Adam, and of course Jeff. These were all of their English names. I’m usually pretty good at remembering the Chinese names, but today was a bit of overload and I felt good about remembering their English names. Unfortunately, Dani was not able to meet with the group on this day. She had recently taken a job as a private tutor, teaching English to children. That skill set is in high demand in China. Most families that are educated and somewhat well-to-do all want their children to learn English and they are willing to pay pretty good money for that service. Unfortunately, because of work and school schedules, this is often done on the weekends. Dani was working today so she was not with us. I really missed seeing her.

Other than Jeff, Jonathon and Sarah had the best English, and they remembered me from last year, so I spent more time talking with them then I did the others. The previous year I had fun with their two teenaged children, bantering with them at lunch. They were not with us either… I told their parents to make sure they knew I missed them and to give them my warm welcome.

It’s a really sweet group of family members and I am so glad that Jeff and Dani was able to connect with them after they returned to China as new believers. I plan to meet and worship with them every time I am in Guangzhou.

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New City - New Friends - BITZH

Thu, 10 May 2018 07:00:00 GMT

It was game time for me! Monday, May 28th, was here, and I was very excited and a bit nervous. Back in the spring when I announced to my colleagues at Harding that I would be visiting China once again, West Ling, Harding’s director of Chinese student services, asked me if I would be willing to speak at an educational conference at the Beijing Institute of Technology - Zhuhai campus? BITZH.

It’s called the Forum on Education Internationalization and Applied Talents Cultivation. It’s a conference with 10-12 other representatives of universities from around the world. The gathering would commence on May 28th. I was excited about accepting this challenge. I woke up, had breakfast, and headed to Zhuhai.

I left early, but I was travelling alone and thought I needed the extra time to negotiate my route through the city subway system, ticket purchase, and finding my way through security and boarding platform of China’s high speed railway system. I had plenty of time but it still took me a lot longer than I thought it would. The subway to the train station went just as it should have, but once I arrived at the train station I had to wait in line to buy my ticket to Zhuhai for just over an hour! The Guangzhou South Railway station was VERY crowded, or, just normal for a Monday in China. West had sent me a written message in Chinese on my phone for me to show the ticket agent requesting a ticket to Zhuhai. The ticket agent behind the window kept asking me questions for which I didn’t understand, and I just kept saying, “Wo bu zhidao,” (meaning, I don’t know). As I repeated my response I would again show the Chinese message written by West to the ticket agent. He finally waived his hands up and gave me a ticket. ¥60. Later, I thought he may have been asking me when I wanted to depart, and what seat I wanted? “Wo bu zhidao!” After receiving my ticket, I texted West and told him what time my train would arrive in Zhuhai.

I speak some Chinese, but it’s very limited. I have been taking Chinese language lessons for eight years, but I’m still not very conversational. People often ask me if I speak Chinese, to which I answer, “Yes, I’m not really very good, but I can really impress an American!” But now with ticket in hand, I headed to what I thought was the correct direction and gates. I waited in line and ended up in the wrong line… twice! Finally, after lots of talking, laughing, smiling, and hand gestures of “go that direction” I was headed to the correct boarding platform. Once I arrived I still had to sit for two hours for my train. I am so glad I didn’t wait until a normal time to depart the hotel. I needed every bit of that time, and I was very thankful for the opportunity to sit and wait. I was exhausted!

The train ride to Zhuhai was only about 45 minutes and as I walked down the platform escalator at the train station West Ling was there to picked me up. I knew Zhuhai was West Ling’s hometown. So he had a family car and was very familiar with the lay of the land and where we were going. He drove directly to the conference center meeting place, but China being as it is, had very heavy traffic, crowded roads, and it still took about an hour to get to where we were going.

Upon arriving at the conference center, West and I went inside the lobby and made our way to the welcome desk for this conference. Our conference was one of many at this location. The center itself was in a resort looking facility. It had several buildings, some of which held restaurants, (Western and Chinese), meeting rooms and, of course, hotel type rooms. As I looked around the topographic surroundings everything was well groomed and pristine.

Upon entering the lobby, we were immediately met by a very attractive and friendly representative of the conference. You Yuting (pronounced Yo-You-Ting) and West knew each other from previous business activities between our two universities, so they struck up a very friendly conversation. Soon, West turned and introduced me to Yuting. She had a bright smile and sparkling eyes! She extended her hand and welcomed me in English with a “nice to meet you” greeting in a very Chinese accent. When I said in Chinese, “Wǒ hěn gāoxìng rènshì nǐ,” (I am very happy to know you), her eyes lit up brighter and her smile got even bigger! You speak Chinese! “A little,” I said in Chinese… I asked her to tell me again what her full name was, “You Yuting, she replied. I repeated it back correctly and she said, “but my friends call me Yoyo.” Most Chinese adults under the age of 50 have an American nickname. Yoyo welcomed me again and then explained to West and I what the evening itinerary was, where our rooms were located, and that she had a welcoming gift for each of us. Yoyo handed me what I knew to be a Kung Fu Tea Set, consisting of some Chinese cups, a brewing pot, a serving pitcher and a wooden serving tray for the entire set. I was beautiful and I loved it. I love Chinese tea and Yoyo could not have selected a better welcome gift for me.

At dinner I got to meet many of the other participants of the conference. Other universities represented are from Australia, Singapore, Malaysia, Taiwan, France, Italy, China and the United States. And, of course, there were also many members of Sino American School Collaboration department of our hosting university, the Beijing Institute of Technology-Zhuhai. Yoyo, who was in charge of logistics and accommodations for this conference, went to great lengths to make sure we were all comfortable, well-fed and had everything that we would need for a pleasant visit for the next two days. I was ready for the traditional Chinese afternoon rest period, so I told West and Yo-Yo I would see them at dinner in the conference center. Yo-Yo informed us that the shuttle bus would be outside of our hotel room building in time to get us to dinner on time. Zzzzz…

After a shower, a nap, and a change of clothes I was ready for the evening meal and the impending meeting of the other international guests. The food was delicious and the evening was very comfortable. The other international participants spoke a variety of languages but English was either the first or second language of everybody. As I am prone to do, I worked hard to purposely speak to everybody in the room, especially the BITZH University staff and the other university professors. I even reached out and spoke to some of the wait staff. The entertainment was some traditional Chinese stringed instruments played by some of the University students and teachers. I loved the eclectic nature and the international gathering that was sitting with me at the table. I felt very fortunate to have been able to be a presenter at this conference.

The next day, Tuesday, as the Conference began, Mr. Kevin Zhen, the vice president of BITZH and our host for the event, gave a speech about what we were going to be doing for the next two days. This conference was all about finding ways to collaborate and work together to help international students all over the world be more successful. Among the featured speakers, the first to present was Amir. He was a very intellectual professor from Singapore but was teaching in Australia. His presentation was on “What One Belt One Road Globalization Means for Higher Education Institutions.”

At our short break I knew it was going to be my turn to speak soon so I pulled out my bow tie that I had in my Navy Blazer pocket, wrapped it around my collar, and commenced to tying it. After I started tying the knot, I noticed there a few people who had stopped what they were doing to watch me! I’m not sure many of those people in the room had ever tied a real bow tie or had even seen to done. It was fun to show them how this is done. Everybody thought my bow tie was cute!

Finally, it was my turn to present. I spoke about how my first hand observations show that our foreign students, particularly our Chinese students, that are more involved with our social life at Harding, do so much better academically. I quickly said this was subject to many other external factors. I also very clearly said that many students get over involved in social activities and DO NOT do well in school. Of course there has to be a delicate balance of academic discipline and social acceptance. I spoke of my personal relationship that I have with many of my Chinese students. I told my story of how I got the name Xie Yeye… (See blog entry #1). They also liked my story of “Wo Da Lao Po.” That’s a story for another day/blog post. The audience seemed to like my presentation, (at least they told me that after the presentation). We all loaded the tour bus and went to lunch.

After lunch, the conference got a little long… I felt sorry for my new friend Colin Jevons from Monash University of Sydney, Australia, because he had the task of speaking after lunch and supposedly keeping everybody awake. Fortunately, his talk was informative, enlightening and engaging. But, beforehand, I promised him that I would laugh and say something when he needed me to, all he had to do was look or point my way!

During the break… While all of the conference participants were drinking tea and coffee and cookies and generally smiling and laughing with each other, I noticed that there had been a group of students who were assigned to be volunteers and help with the logistics and service, even though there was very little to do. There were about 6-7 girls, maybe one guy, waiting for an assignment from the staff. They were all seated in a row in the back of the room. So I did what I do best. I went to the students, and introduced myself in Chinese, and generally tried to engage them in conversation. My Chinese was being stretched but they seemed anxious to help me say what I wanted to say. They in turn were anxious to speak English with me. Most of them were learning English but had little or no experience with actual First-Language-English speaking people. Before it was over I had my photo made with almost all of them, some taken by their friends, others were selfies! Plus, when I told them I had a WeChat – WOW, the oohs and the ahhs started as they all pulled out their phone and loaded up their QR readers!

While I was meetin’ and greetin’, workin’ the room, pressin’ the flesh, I noticed that Yoyo was watching me and smiling with every new student I met. When I finished I walked her way, she motioned as if she wanted to tell me something, she paused for just a second while she smiled and looked at me… she had that twinkle in her eye like she wanted to say something funny or sarcastic but couldn’t determine exactly what to say… then she just said. “You are quite popular among the students aren’t you?” “Well,” I said, “I guess I so, but I would rather meet these students than hang with all those old academics over there as I pointed to the front of the room.” She laughed and smiled even bigger, and said, “I see why your students love you so much. I want to be in your classroom some day!” I responded without trying to sound arrogant and said, “What you just saw is what I do best!” I’m not the best teacher, (ask any of my American students), but nobody loves their students more than I do!

That evening the group loaded the bus and traveled to a very unique restaurant. It was several private meeting rooms in buildings that wrapped around a small lake or pond. Zhuhai sets on the southern border of China on the South China Sea. Therefore, the fish and seafood offerings are one of the culinary cuisines that are best served in that area. This restaurant had wonderfully prepared white fish, shrimp, octopus and clams and of course a full array of locally grown fruits and vegetables. The food was good and there was plenty of “drinks” that the rest of the group imbibed rather heartily!

Wednesday was a day that may have been planned by the Zhuhai Chamber of Commerce more so than the university. It included a tour of a museum style facility that was two floors of displays and information about the making of the new city of Zhuhai. The city of Zhuhai was not a new city, but China will often redevelop some of their cities by moving the city center out a couple of miles and then completely rebuilding everything from industry to transportation, to housing and shopping! Every display was a spectacular array of electronic media production of video, audio and graphics. As I watched the presentations I was more impressed with the production than I was with the actual dissemination of the information the Chinese government wanted me to see and understand. I thought to myself, Yep, there is plenty of work in this culture for the many electronic media production majors we have back home.

The GREE manufacturing company display and museum was next on our agenda. The GREE company is the worlds-largest manufacturer of air conditioning systems. In China when you say “air conditioning” it means both heating and cooling systems. Most offices and private residences are heated and cooled by a single unit in each room of the home or commercial building. The display and working samples of their technologies were really amazing. After the tour most of the other were talking about the differences of technology in their home countries. Me? I wanted to talk to the tour guide and the students that were showing us around. This time instead of Yoyo watching me, she was leading me to many of the staff and others so that I could introduce myself and find out a little about these amazing people that God created on the other side of the world from me! I guess she had me figured out, when she said, “I thought you might be more interested in meeting more people here.” I asked, “Am I that easy to read?” I’m not sure she understood the euphemism for which I was referring, but she smiled and said, come this way, as she led me to another introduction.

Next stop – lunch. If anyone of us left this conference hungry it was NOT the fault of BITZH! They fed us well and they fed us often! Today’s lunch was on a large boat. Well, it was on land, but built to look like a boat on water. The building was surrounded by water and it had a walkway bridge to cross to gain entrance to the restaurant. This really cool building was right on the water, on the west side of an inlet of the South China Sea. Zhuhai is located on the southeast corner of mainland China, just north of Macau and across the South China Sea from Hong Kong. Because of location and tourism, this was a very popular place fort great seafood!

After lunch and Chinese rest period we received a tour of the campus. Yoyo and BITZH had arranged for a couple of 8-10 passenger golf cart style vehicles to drive us around the campus while Yoyo told us about what was here and what was there. As we passed a particular apartment building occupied by faculty Yoyo mentioned that is where she and her husband lived. I asked her how long she had been married? “One month!” she replied. Wow, we all mused, you’re still on your honeymoon! Yoyo was 28 years old, married and had a good job at BITZH. Her husband lived in another city and only came home on the weekends until he found a job in Zhuhai. This living and work arrangement is not uncommon at all in China. I’ve done this a couple times in my almost 43 years of marriage and I do not like it at all. I told Yoyo how long I had been married. She seemed intrigued about how my life had played out after all of these years. She also seemed to be wondering what her life would be like with her husband in 43 years?

After the Chinese rest time (I love that everybody takes a nap in China), we gathered for dinner. As usual the cuisine was wide in variety and supply! Because I knew that many of my new international friends were going to putting down way too much Chinese alcohol, I wanted to sit with somebody that would not be doing so, and/or somebody that would not put me into an uncomfortable position of continuing to refuse the participation for which they wanted me to be involved. Yoyo and a group of women that were part of the event management, and one Chinese professor that teaches in the USA were all seated together and I asked if I could join them? It was such a pleasant evening of visiting and talking about the life we all lived. Some of these dishes were quite unknown to most of these native Chinese people. We were all fascinated by what was being offered even though most, if not all of us, had no idea what some of it was.

Yoyo kept challenging me to eat something before she told me what it was. I’m always up for a challenge like that. I can eat almost anything… at least once, especially if I don’t know what it is before I put it in my mouth! There was one dish that she didn’t know what it was either. One of the others in our group knew what the Chinese word was but not the English word… We looked it up… Yoyo told me what it was in Chinese and said she would not eat that! Then I challenged her! I didn’t know yet what it was but I said, I would eat some it if she would. We both agreed. We reached our chopsticks into the dish pulled out a few pieces and swallowed them. It was EARTH WORMS! (BTW - tasted like dirt...)

As we all finished up for the evening I knew that I would be leaving in the morning to head back to the airport, back to Beijing and back to the states. I was so ready. I said my goodbye’s to many. I especially wanted to give my thanks and appreciation for how she had made my experience so pleasant.

When I got back to my room I sent the following WeChat message to Yoyo:
Just another note to say thank you for being such a wonderful host, a professional in your work and a new good friend. I enjoyed getting to know you from the first minute I walked into the Lobby of the Resort until the last minute we hugged in the dining area. I hope we can meet again someday, either here, or in my hometown. Congratulations on your recent wedding. I think your husband is a lucky man. My wife and I will be praying for your success in your marriage and in your life! God bless you always!

Yoyo’s return message simply said… “Almost in tears!”

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Going Home

Wed, 09 May 2018 07:00:00 GMT

I love going to China. This was the eighth time in the last nine years that I have done so. I stay anywhere from three to six weeks. However, I say every year, “the only thing I like better than coming to China is going home!”

I left home in the early morning hours of May 9th, and here it was May 31st. It was now time to make my trek up the eastern seaboard, and over the Pacific Ocean on route to my home in Searcy, Arkansas, U.S.A. via Beijing, Seattle, Detroit and Little Rock. It’s always such a long trip. I always measure the length of my trips from “pillow-to-pillow.” This trip home ended up taking me 32 hours. It was brutal.

Returning home today was actually a few days earlier than my original itinerary read. I was supposed to return on June 4th. My original plan was to visit one of my Harding students in her hometown of Hangzhou. I’ve always wanted to visit Hangzhou. I’ve heard it was beautiful. Apparently it's a twin city to Suzhou. There is an expression in China that says, “There’s Heaven… and then there’s Hangzhou and Suzhou.” The plans were set. On this day my plan was to take a train to Hangzhou. One of my teaching colleagues from the Guangdong University of Foreign Studies was to accompany me. Earlier in the week my teaching colleague cancelled on me. Then a few days later my student texted me to say that she and her parents would be out of the country and they would not be able to host me. I thought about going up there by myself. I really wanted to go home, but to change my flight reservations would probably cost me about $300. I calculated the costs of transportation, hotel and meals and decided the Delta ticket change fee was still less than staying in China until my Delta ticket was schedule to depart. I decided to cut my trip short by three days and I cancelled my trip to Hangzhou. I had trouble connecting to the Delta Airlines website from China. So, I called Donna and asked her to help me with my ticket change. I also sent a message to my favorite customer service representative, Katie-Delta-Bravo! Between the two of them I got my itinerary changed to leave June 1st instead of the 4th.

The last thing the directors of BITZH did for my accommodations was to make arrangements for me to get to the Zhuhai airport to catch a flight back to Beijing and on to the states. The morning after the conference in Zhuhai ended Li Junli, and a driver picked up me and Ms. Zoe Li (another conference attendee) at our hotel and we set off for the airport. Li Junli was one of the coordinators of the conference and employees of the university. Li Junli went by the English name Julie.

She graduated from a university in Delaware, U.S.A.. Julie had great English speaking skills and was pleasant and friendly. I had met Ms. Li, as everybody called her, during our two and a half days together, but I didn’t have much time to get to visit with her as much as some of the others. So, I was delighted to be able to ride with her to the airport and sit with her as we waited for our flights to board and fly to different cities in China. Ms. Li was a Chinese national living in the United States working as the director of a Chinese student program at Jacksonville University in Jacksonville, Florida. I always referred to her by name, Ms. Li. Soon, Ms. Li asked me to call her by her English nickname, Zoe.

Zoe and I made our way through ticket and baggage check-in, then security. I am so glad that she was with me. It seems that every airport in the world has a different protocol for security checking. This time was no different. The security guards were nice enough but they kept asking me questions for which I didn’t understand. After the second attempt to communicate with me Zoe stepped in and acted as my translator. I have never feared international travel but it’s really hard when you don’t speak the language as good as you would like to. I was so thankful for my new travelling companion. Who knows, I might have been detained much longer had Zoe not been there to help me?

On our way through the airport I noticed there was a currency exchange service. I had accumulated a fair amount of Chinese cash and I knew that the exchange rates were not as low as they are in Beijing, and even worse, absolutely immorally outrageous once I got back to the states. So, after an inquiry, and Zoe helping me do the math, I decided to cash in my Chinese RMB back to American dollars, leaving enough to get around Beijing for another 24 hours or so.

I had gotten out the door of the hotel without coffee so I asked Zoe if we could stop at the nearest coffee shop in the airport for me to buy a cup? I asked if I could buy her a cup of tea? As we discussed this we looked up and was staring at a Burger King in front of us! The problem was that the price on the sign for coffee said ¥9, but they charged me ¥18. When I asked to explain they could not do so in English so once again Zoe stepped in and spoke to them in Chinese. The counter workers told her the sign was wrong… but Zoe suspected that they were just charging me more because I was an American. The ¥18 still only came to about $2.75 in American dollars for a large cup, and it was airport food. $2.75 was not going to keep me from getting my morning coffee.

Soon Zoe and I waved goodbye and hoped we would meet again sometime in the future, maybe even in Florida or Arkansas?

I flew to Beijing. I have been in and out of the Beijing airport so many times I was beginning to think I was Chinese. I had arranged my lodging but was unsure of its location. I normally stay at the Park Plaza hotel when I am in Beijing. But, the Park Plaza was booked full for the night so I found another place on line. I was unaware of this hostel but I did however, have their address. I made sure I got into the proper taxi line. I wanted a regular taxi that would use a meter instead of a flat-rate fare. The flat-rate taxi’s almost always end up costing me more, sometimes even twice as much as they should. Often taxi drivers will not start their meters for American and then simply tell them a price (writing a number down on a sheet of paper when they arrive) to tell the rider how much the fare is. I once was taught by my Chinese friends how to say, “Qǐdòng yíbiǎo,” “start the meter,” in Chinese.

The taxi ride seemed very long. It was afternoon traffic around Beijing, one of the biggest cities in the world, and traffic was heavy, but still, it seemed like a long time. I had made trips from the airport to the city center many times before. It usually took 45 minutes or so, even when the traffic was bad. This was going on an hour and we were still on expressway type roads and not in the city center style roads. The driver asked several times to see my phone that had the address of the hotel written in Chinese. He stared at it a few seconds smiled and off we went. I decided he was lost and called the Hotel on my phone. Most Chinese hotels can put somebody on the line that speaks enough English to answer your basic questions. I asked if they would be willing to tell the taxi driver how to get to their location? Of course, they said, so I handed the phone to the driver… he spoke in Chinese a few words, hung up the phone, and handed me back my phone. About 20 minutes later and maybe an hour and a half after we left the airport the driver pulled up in front of my hostel. By now the meter was ¥150! That was more than I had ever paid before to go from the airport to a hotel or Hostel. Then to top it all off, as I was getting my bag out of his trunk I looked up and saw the Park Plaza hotel across the street. The place where I wanted to stay to start with and a location that I had paid about ¥65 previously. Yep, he really “took me for a ride!” I had previously cashed in my Chinese RMB, leaving what I thought I would need to get to my Hostel, meals, and to the airport the next day. I spent about ¥100 more on the taxi ride than I should have. Now, I was going to need to find an ATM to get more cash.

After a Chinese rest and a period of cooling off, (I was still angry with my taxi driver), I got back in touch with Zhang Haoyang, or Amy Michelle. I have an eight-year history with Amy Michelle. She was like my Chinese daughter. In fact, I gave Amy, her middle name Michelle. Most Chinese people do not have middle names and Amy wanted one, so as to feel more like an American. Michael is my middle name and since she was like a daughter I gave her the middle name Michelle, to be used as Amy Michelle, not just Amy. I first met Amy Michelle in 2010 when I was a visiting professor at Nan Hua Da Xue in Hengyang. In 2013 she came to Harding for three years. Now she has been living in Beijing for two years. I could write a book just on what we have been through in the last eight years, but I’ll save that for another day. I was just happy to see her again, and I knew she could help me finish out my annual trip to China.

By now I was hungry and needed more Chinese Yuan. I knew that Amy Michelle was on her way to my hostel so I waited out on the front steps until I saw her coming down the street. We asked the hostel desk where an ATM and a noodle restaurant were located. I had been in China for a bit more than three weeks, and while I had been served noodles a few times, what I had been served, while good, had not exactly been my favorite style. I knew that if I could find a Noodle restaurant their selection would be broader and I could find what I was looking for. Noodle restaurants are very popular among low priced restaurants.

Amy Michelle helped me find the ATM and read the Chinese directions for withdrawing some more RMB. We found a very good Noodle restaurant close to the ATM. When we walked into the restaurant she spoke to the Fúwùyuán and asked what their house specialty noodle dish was. She ordered it for me and we sat down. It was really good. Just what I had been wanting!

After dinner I knew it was time to say goodbye to Amy Michelle. Maybe for good this time. This was a hard one for me. Amy Michelle and I had been through so many life changing emotions for her the past eight years. When Amy Michelle left the states two years previous she was angry with me for insisting that she go home, take some time off, so she could get some rest and find some contentment. I wanted to see Amy Michelle again if not just for some closure. I said my goodbyes… Not knowing what I would be doing next summer, or beyond. When it came to China, I knew that this really might be a last good bye. I didn’t say it, but we both knew that maybe we would never see each other again. My plans, at this point, don’t have much China in them going forward! I knew that Chinese culture people don’t really do goodbye’s very well. They like to think of it as “see you later.” I insisted that we both just walk away and waive at each other… Just a few minutes later I received the following text from Amy Michelle;

“Technology made life so much easier, but nothing makes goodbyes easy. I don’t cry at goodbyes like when I was a teenager, because I think one day we’ll meet again in heaven, but I still feel like crying…”

Early Friday morning, I headed out to the airport. I left plenty early but thought I would rather get there early and wait, than wait at the hostel and get to the airport to late. I learned that I never know what delays and adventures lie ahead of me. I got to the airport so early that no one was at my check-in counter yet and I was the first in line when they did arrive. Good thing. I had trouble scanning my one checked bag. I didn’t know what the problem was but they kept making me open the bag, search and rescan… again, and again. Finally, they found the problem. It was my extra camera battery for my Nikon. The battery for the Nikon in the camera wasn’t a problem, just the spare battery. I finally made my way to the gate and sat down.

I love people. And I love to people watch. I will often say hello or something to those who glance my way. The fact that I was a white male, more than a little beyond middle aged, and traveling by myself was something for which many Chinese people marveled at anyway. I never really understood this, but many of my Chinese friends said they couldn’t believe that a man of my age would travel around the world by himself. Hmmm… Beijing was better than most places in China about seeing Caucasian people and especially at the airport.

I scanned the available seats and found my best opportunity was next to a bright friendly looking young lady. When we made eye contact, she moved her bag so I could sit down. I thought for a moment, so as to say it correctly, and said, “Zǎoshang hǎo. Nǐ jīntiān hǎo ma,” (Good morning. How are you today?). I love the surprised looks on the faces of Chinese when I speak their language.

“You speak Chinese,” she said with great delight! “Bu, yidian… (no, a little), I try…” Of course I reverted to English when I had to speak conversationally instead of something planned. I sat down and met Jiang Lulin. We introduced ourselves and traded first meeting pleasantries. We conversed for about an hour before we had to load our plane. Lulin is a professor at the University of Louisiana in Lafayette, LA. She has a Ph.D. in Mechanical Engineering. I looked on the UofL website and found that she has some groundbreaking work in combustion! She and her husband, also from China had been there several years. He was a business professor. For the next hour or so we talked about where we were from, why we were in each other’s countries, and she heard all about my travels… I’m sure I was boring but she seemed interested in what I was saying so I kept talking. It came time to board. Knowing we had a 10 to 11-hour flight ahead of us to Seattle (and points beyond), I thought maybe I would catch up with her later. Unfortunately, that never happened.

When I boarded and got settled into my seat my traveling seatmate showed up Rachel (Rae Rae) Milner. If you think I’m extroverted, you should meet my new friend Rae Rae! This young lady came bouncing up the aisle, stopped and said, “Hi, I’m Rachel! I’m you’re traveling partner for the next 10 hours!” She had the window seat, I had the aisle on a two seat configuration on this aircraft.

Rachel was a young twenty-something recent college graduate doing some sort of ministry mission work in China. She was now on her way home via Seattle, Los Angeles and home to Florida. She had just spent several weeks working as a tour like director for Christian tour groups coming to China. I never really understood who she worked for. She seemed to be a bit elusive about telling me directly for whom she worked and exactly what she did. I did ascertain that it was some sort of ministry. As we chatted she noticed my Bible APP on my phone and asked if I was a Christian? That’s always a great connector when you’re half way around the world traveling alone. We shared a few stories, showed a few photos on our cell phones from our recent adventures and eventually drifted off to sleep and movie land.

After we landed in Seattle I looked for Jiang Lulin as we each went through customs in Seattle, but she had a different line than I did because of our different home countries. I never caught up with her in person. I thought I would just text her later (we traded WeChat friend connections), hoping that I could tell her “God’s blessings.”

I was still with Rae Rae as we went through immigration, customs and onto our Delta connections. I had a but a two-hour layover, she had a three-hour wait. I suggested we go get real food instead of the airline fare we had been eating for the last 10 hours. We ordered sat down to eat and eventually realized it was time for me to make my way to the gate. Rae Rae and I agreed it was God’s plan that we meet. We hugged and I was off to my next city, Detroit.

The flight to Detroit was about four hours. Seattle is in the Pacific Time Zone. Detroit, of course, is in the Eastern time zone, three hours ahead of me. When we landed it was a seven-hour time difference from when I left. I was scheduled for a four-hour layover. Then I found out that my flight, to Little Rock, because of storms, was going to be delayed, by at least two hours. This trip home was one of the longest I had ever experienced. I was once told by a good friend of mine that was a commercial airline pilot, “It’s better to be on the ground wishing you were in the air, than in the air praying you were on the ground!” So sat I did, frustrated that I was delayed but happy I was in a safe, dry, comfortable place and had plenty of resources to wait out this delay. I sat down, put my head back on the back of the chair, and… the next thing I knew it was 90 minutes later. I called Donna at home in Searcy and told her of the delay. I instructed her not to leave the house until I knew that I would be on the flight to Little Rock. I wasn’t sure yet if I would be spending the night in Detroit.

I walked around to stretch my legs and found something to drink that had calories, (something for which I rarely do). I thought about the fact that I missed seeing Lulin in Seattle. I knew she had a connecting flight to Atlanta. I sent her a WeChat message.

Hi Lulin: I hope you are having a safe trip home. I got stuck in Detroit. Bad storms! I may not get out until tomorrow. It was so nice meeting you and visiting with you in Beijing. God bless you.

She responded by texting: Dear 谢爷爷, that was so nice meeting and talking to you as well. I am very touched by your stories and your genuine heart to Chinese people. Those kids are so blessed to know you and your wife!! So sorry to hear about the storms! But it's better to stay until safe. I hope you will get a hotel room and have a great rest. I just arrived Atlanta and was thinking to text you after arrival. The situation is a little similar here. Our flight is delayed for more than two hours. Hopefully, they can finally make it. God bless you as well!!

As it was getting close to my departure from Detroit to my final landing airport Little Rock, I saw a familiar face. It was one of my Harding professor colleagues, Dr. Tim Westbrook. He had been at a conference and was now returning to Little Rock and was to be on the same flight as mine. I had always admired Dr. Westbrook from afar and knew him casually. He had been so helpful and kind to many of my Chinese students. As we talked I offered him a ride back to Searcy, because Donna was coming to get me. But, he said, I have a car at the airport and I will give you a ride back to Searcy! I called Donna and told her I was on my way!

I had been out of bed since 5:45 a.m. on Friday in Beijing and now pulled into my driveway about 32 hours later. I was exhausted. But it’s always exhilarating to see my sweet wife after being gone for so long.

My wife and I just looked at each other knowing we were together again… It’s always such a comforting feeling. But, Addy, my Black Labrador Retriever went wild! She missed me. She squealed and barked while dancing around me for about 20 minutes. I rubbed her ears furiously and assured her it really was me, her favorite human in the world!

Finally, after more than three weeks, meeting old and new friends, traveling to places far away and experiencing some amazing, life-changing events I was home… and I landed on the bed… and crashed!

The next morning, I saw that Lulin had sent me a message… Dear 谢爷爷, hope you have safely arrived. I arrived at 2 am and passed out till now. Please bring my best wishes to your wife who has such a merciful heart.

Hi Lulin: I got to my house about 12:30 a.m. and was in bed 15 minutes later. I did get up early this morning and ONLY took two short naps today, (one in the late morning and one in late afternoon). Now it's about 9:00 p.m. and I hope to be in bed soon and sleep all night. Jetlag is always hard for me to adjust. It usually takes about 10 days for me to get back to normal. I told my wife today how nice it was to meet you at the Beijing airport. Somehow, I think we may meet again! God bless you and your husband.

She wrote back and said,
Dear 谢爷爷, Great to know you have arrived and had some good rest. I may take long to adjust jet lag as well. I believe we will meet again as well! I also told my husband about you both and how nice you both to Chinese people with your kindness in practice! I told him that you both might have a lot to talk if you meet each other. My husband is in business major. He loves public relation a lot! Please let us know if you and your wife will visit Louisiana. You are very welcome to live in my house. God bless you and all your family! Good night!

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