Shunde - Shunde, China
Shunde, China
Down to less than three weeks before returning home, things for me are getting sentimental. I've been making an effort to go out more and do what things I can, all in attempts to grasp what few days I have left. This latest blog highlights a few early good byes, some good Chinese BBQ, and my hand at fishing.
Good Byes
This past week I had what was my last class lessons with my kids. Granted, I will see them again, but these were some of the final opportunities to do what I wanted before they had to take their exams. That so, I bought over 300 RMB worth of candies to give to my kids, allowed them to play basketball, and held Jeopardy lessons the kids loved to play. All this and I had my kid’s line up for some last farewell pictures.
When my students realized this was some of our last moments together, things got emotional. Once some of my students started to let go, my eyes too started to tear. It’s been a long time since the last time I cried, but my voice was cracking and it was hard to keep it all in. Thinking back now, I would have never imagined how deep a relationship I’d have developed with some of these kids. It’s been a long road from where we began, and I know things will only get more emotional as the days near to July 13th, my return flight home.
Dragon Boat
Last weekend, from June 19th – 22nd, we had the Monday off from school because of the Dragon Boat festival. And for most of the weekend, the boys and I played Pokémon on our computers. It was a blast from the past, and a much needed distraction from all the busy work I’ve had with school in Rotterdam and what’s going in China. Anyway, we all beat the game in about three days, logging in some hard core hours living out the good days.
Other than playing Pokémon, one of my students via part time work invited me, Zac and Leon to her home in Shunde, a different part of Foshan 40 minutes away. There, she had planned for us a full day of Chinese culture including: an ancient Chinese temple, traditional Chinese lunch and desert, Dragon Boat, Fishing, and Chinese BBQ.
Starting with the Shunde, this part of Foshan was much nicer than anticipated. We drove 40 minutes one way to get picked up by Jane, my part time English student, who then hosted us in her city. We started in a Chinese temple where we saw traditional temples and housing of Chinese people from back in the day. We walked around the lovely garden and got up and personal to some of the biggest coy fish I’ve seen yet.
After, Jan took us to a Chinese restaurant and ordered a long overdue Chinese meal. All the food she picked was spot on. We had roasted duck, pig intestines, taro, and many other local delicacies I could hardly describe.
Next, we made way for the dragon boat race. We arrived about an hour early, but for good reason. We ended up with a good spot, near the beginning and by the TV cameras, and watched the long awaited Dragon Boat Race. The Dragon Boats, were long, wooden canoes, with dragon heads planted on each end of the boat. In the middle, sat a giant drum beating the pace for what the rowers should do. In all, eight teams participated, and the race lasted for over two hours. We stayed and watched about an hour of the race due to it being the hottest day of the year. We took pictures, got up close to the boats, and enjoyed ourselves in a well-kept park and riverfront. The experience was a good one and I think we were all happy to have come.
Once the Dragon Boat Race had ended, we all headed to a Cantonese dessert restaurant. This was much needed after laying out in the sun for the past three hours. The dessert, I forget the name, was a combination of egg, milk and fruit, served in a chilled bowl and or coconut. We all shared both along with a cold class of pineapple water. This was a traditional style Cantonese dessert, and one I very much enjoyed.
Later on, with cooler heads, we made out to Jane’s fishing village and took some time to rest up. She introduced us to her family and close friends and showed us around her fishing complex. It was simple, clean, and had everything one needed for a good time out with friends.
Once rested, she, along with who was a fishing master, drove us to a man-made fishing lake, and set us up for an evening of fishing. We spent the evening there and watched the sun go down as we all took turns catching fish in this pond. It was a very nice place, situated alongside other farms and fishing ponds, and had a beauty of its own. Unfortunately for me, I came up empty with any fishes, same with Leon, but Zac, on the other hand, hauled in two big ones. Altogether, with Jane and the fish master, we had a total of five fishes that were to be eaten another day. When the sun settled, we packed up our things, and returned back to the BBQ place for a long awaited dinner.
Exhausted from a long day out, we sat comfortable on our seats and ate the delicious BBQ food brought before us. That night we ate noodles, porridge, shrimp, clams, chicken wings, ribs, eggplant, and fish. All were spot on and cooked perfectly. Even with a full belly, I managed to still put more in my mouth. Many thanks goes out to Jane and her family for showing a great time in Shunde.
Burger Contest
Another story worth mentioning is a burger eating contest taking place in a relatively new bar in town. The challenge is to eat a 1.25 kilogram burger (comes out to 2.75 pounds), fries and coke in under 30 minutes. I was told about it by a very close friend, and had true intentions of eating it. Howbeit, this contest was another reminder how the Chinese people can ruin things for themselves. I went to this bar four times, and each time, the employee/ manager had a new excuse of why we couldn’t eat it. Whether we were 5 minutes late, too many customers in the restaurant, or too many people in our party, I was never served this hamburger and it served as a reminder just how inefficient and disorderly things here are.
Last Comments
Not much else to say here other than I am getting ready to get back home. I am seeing more and more how much I am going to miss this place after China being so good to me. Time is certainly flying by quickly now.