OH, Sue. This is delightful and echoes so many of the experiences my husband had when he was teaching in China. He taught mostly poor students as well. He talked about the cold, the students huddling for warmth, how he had to wear earmuffs to keep warm and carry a thermos with his concoction of garlic, lime, and ginger to stay healthy. There are so many amusing overlaps that I can't believe it--from the apartment to the students nicknames.
I also loved your idea of asking them to think about what they were grateful for, that you kept in contact through letters (what a time), and this idea of bringing something special for your dishes. Thank you, Sue!
I’m so happy you enjoyed this, Lani. My students would do a special little dance to get warm between classes. What years did he teach in China? Was he originally from the US?
I have such wonderful memories of my time there. The hearts of those dear students and people I had the joy of getting to know left a lasting impression.
I don’t remember, but he lived in the central part, in a couple of different cities, nothing major, very everyday China where he was one of a handful of foreigners.
Sue- This is such a great story. And what a meaningful time to have been spent with the students, braving the weather. Having lived in mountain regions, somehow this is the sentence that stood out to me: “My teammates, Tom and Sandy, were a sweet older couple from Colorado, and they often slept with hot water bottles in their beds for warmth.” A well tested and age old technique for staying warm for sure. Thanks for sharing this story! 🙌🏼
My pleasure. I appreciate you taking time to read. The laughter the morning after their hot water bottle burst stands out in my mind. Uproarious laughter.
What a lovely piece! I spent a few months in China in 1998 and again in 2002 -- I had consistent electricity and nicer accommodations than you, but I remember returning from several months in China and wanting to throw out most of the things in my American house! it taught me to value simplicity and relationship.
In one of the towns I was in, there were very few cars - people walked or biked on mainly dirt roads and also walked their cows around. People also didn't move around to various cities like we do in the States - they knew their neighbors for 50 years! And yes, they cooked over what I recall to be fire but maybe it was propane. We bought food from the local markets where they had raw meat hanging in open air, and our tofu was wrapped up in leaves to take home. Your photo actually looks similar to where I was - we lived in western accommodations though, some of the nicest in town I'm sure.
OH, Sue. This is delightful and echoes so many of the experiences my husband had when he was teaching in China. He taught mostly poor students as well. He talked about the cold, the students huddling for warmth, how he had to wear earmuffs to keep warm and carry a thermos with his concoction of garlic, lime, and ginger to stay healthy. There are so many amusing overlaps that I can't believe it--from the apartment to the students nicknames.
I also loved your idea of asking them to think about what they were grateful for, that you kept in contact through letters (what a time), and this idea of bringing something special for your dishes. Thank you, Sue!
I’m so happy you enjoyed this, Lani. My students would do a special little dance to get warm between classes. What years did he teach in China? Was he originally from the US?
I have such wonderful memories of my time there. The hearts of those dear students and people I had the joy of getting to know left a lasting impression.
2006-2012 and yes, he is originally from the US, like me. 😁
What city or cities did he teach in?
I don’t remember, but he lived in the central part, in a couple of different cities, nothing major, very everyday China where he was one of a handful of foreigners.
That makes sense. I think there were 12 foreigners in our city of over a million people.
Sue- This is such a great story. And what a meaningful time to have been spent with the students, braving the weather. Having lived in mountain regions, somehow this is the sentence that stood out to me: “My teammates, Tom and Sandy, were a sweet older couple from Colorado, and they often slept with hot water bottles in their beds for warmth.” A well tested and age old technique for staying warm for sure. Thanks for sharing this story! 🙌🏼
My pleasure. I appreciate you taking time to read. The laughter the morning after their hot water bottle burst stands out in my mind. Uproarious laughter.
Yes! I’d imagine!!! 😂
What a lovely piece! I spent a few months in China in 1998 and again in 2002 -- I had consistent electricity and nicer accommodations than you, but I remember returning from several months in China and wanting to throw out most of the things in my American house! it taught me to value simplicity and relationship.
In one of the towns I was in, there were very few cars - people walked or biked on mainly dirt roads and also walked their cows around. People also didn't move around to various cities like we do in the States - they knew their neighbors for 50 years! And yes, they cooked over what I recall to be fire but maybe it was propane. We bought food from the local markets where they had raw meat hanging in open air, and our tofu was wrapped up in leaves to take home. Your photo actually looks similar to where I was - we lived in western accommodations though, some of the nicest in town I'm sure.
Thanks for the memories!