Final Post (for now!)

Thanks everyone, from me and Jeff---aka Fu De Ming---my interpreter. For now, I will probably not be posting anymore. However, when and if I do a presentation or two at the school for the deaf in RI with Mrs. Cummings in the library, I would like to post some of those pictures in the future. Good bye for now, er, "ZIE JIEN" Frank Redmond

Fr. John...

A few words about John Wotherspoon...who lives in Zhaoqing, China, a city of about 400,000 people. Originally he was from Australia. He is a living legend...he teaches at the Canadian American school , but, in his "spare" time, he works the streets to help the poor. Literally, he walks around and gives an assist whenever and wherever he can. The woman in yellow is an example. He supports her monthly fee at a local hospital and the day I was there we visited her and took her for a walk. She was a bit apprehensive, but in the end, we were all so happy we could do it. We must all say a prayer and send money to John W. It will be put to good use. I'm so happy I got to meet him. He also coordinates the Matteo Ricci Center where lots of outreach to the poor occurs as well as lots of English corners for practice of English. His website is easy to find, just type in John Wotherspoon, Zhaoqing, China. He has several.

Just found out if you load the pictures first, it works better. Here are pictures of lots of deaf students, myself, teachers' motorbikes and 9 floors and 7 floors of the school for the deaf. Also, there is a "water element" in the middle of the courtyard that was just great. Chinese love rocks, especially if they are very mis-shapen, tall, slender, and water can flow from top to bottom or smoke can go out of them like a chimney. This one was covered with nice vine-y plants that sought out the water in the little pond below. It was very peaceful to look at. Kids are great, spontaneous, and it was love at first sight for all of us. Then, I had to leave! I do hope to go back one day and get to know them better.

More, Nov. 6th.

I will try to describe the 7 Crags here. They are right in the heart of Zhaoqing city and are surrounded by Star Lake. A couple of the best meals I had in China were at the Star Lake Hotel in the restaurant that revolves as you eat. The views from the 27th. floor are stunning. Jeff and I went there on Saturday just before I left. He told me that the lake is man-made, dug in about 1956-1959 by 200,000 people. It is a public park, lots of feng shui going on with the crooked 9 stage bridges and nice buildings nestled in between the mountains and the lake.
I will close this narrative section and try to get some pictures up on the next post, no promises. Thanks. Frank

Trying again!

Sorry, the computer in VT is not cooperating, I am trying again to post pictures.

I am trying to post pictures but nothing is happening, so will have to provide verbal only descriptions. The peacock at the left was one of about 5 in the garden at the back of the campus. He only spoke Chinese, so there was no communication, only that "stare" as you can see.

Next, as I lie recovering from a busy hot day in Zhaoqing in my apartment, the drums started calling all to view the dragon dances up in front of the stadium on campus. A dragon is an imaginary god of power in China, and also the symbol for the emperor. The phoenix bird is the symbol for the emperess. They were quite impressive as they practiced throwing each other into the air to give life to the dragons.

Back in Vermont!

Well, here it is, November and I am back at home in Vermont. The trip home was quite long but it was great to return to Boston and meet Maryal in Braintree after approximately 24 hours on the road. In China, I made some awesome friends and of course we all want to stay in touch. Especially caring were James from upstairs, who is from Hyde Park, MA, the town next to where I grew up in Dedham. He took me under his wing and introduced me to all the happenings around the campus. Thanks, James. Next, Jeff, who is Chinese and whose name in Chinese is Fu De Ming (foo du meeng) was my interpreter, but also tour guide and the one who looked out for me off campus. What a guy (although he did say I was too big for his motorbike and that he noticed the tires on the taxis went down when I got into them). He just made the Chinese experience so real and caring. He is a great ambassador for the Chinese, a person of great character, dependability and in many gentle ways showed me the "real" China. For example, the last meal I had with him, before our motorized rickshaw ride to his apartment to play ping pong, there seemed to be a "whacking" sound from nearby. As I turned, I witnessed the demise of several frogs as a woman was purchasing them from the very restaurant where we were eating our duck, fresh water snails, garlic cloves, broccoli and coconut milk dishes. I had to look away, and that is when Jeff stated I was seeing the real China with him. I almost laughed, but then we turned to other kinds of animal happenings which I can't mention here. (Jeff and I are pictured above as we finished our Cantonese breakfast in the Dynasty Hotel and later examined a great god statue in the lobby.)

The last few days we visited Ding Hu mountain. A "ding" is a large bronze pot a wealthy person would cook in, or simply a large family. It is said to feed a thousand people. They have been unearthed from all over China. At the top of Ding Hu mountain is "Ding Park" where a number of dings are exhibited. The largest, about 15 feet tall is used as a good luck target as people try to throw some kind of red ball & ribbon inside, it is supposed to bring good luck.

About half way up the mountain is a great Buddhist temple. As I stood waiting for Jeff to snap my picture in front of this awesome wall of dragon carved in stone, three young men ran up to me and wanted to have their pictures taken with me. They were very nice and excited seemingly to be next to this old "giant" of a mei guo ren (American). It was fun and I have a nice memory of it all.