randuwa: China

Showing posts with label China. Show all posts

Friday, February 27, 2015

Throw Back To China--1981

Here's a special TBT (倒退周四). In the summer of 1981, I contracted with the Chung Tai English Academy to teach conversational English over the summer - 10 weeks from early June to late August. It was a really important experience for me between my Sophomore and Junior years of college and helped me to solidify my life's vocation as a teacher. Here are some photos from then. The Academy had me teach 4 classes: two in the morning and two in the late afternoon. The morning classes were advanced conversational English. The afternoon were made up entirely of beginners--and very challenging.

The first class in the morning was made up of various local professionals and graduate students who were studying in the United States, but were home for the summer. One of my favorite students from that class was an older women who was the wife of a doctor, Connie. Early on she asked me what things I missed most from the United States. I told her peaches, brownies and dill pickles. It was an off-the-cuff response meant to be silly and playful. The next morning there was a perfectly ripe peach sitting on my desk when I arrived to teach class. A week later a tray of brownies! Unfortunately, chocolate is not common in China and so what it should taste like was equally a mystery to Connie... Image brownies with only 1/4 of the sugar. But I smiled and I ate one of those suckers, and no doubt she thought, "Americans are so strange". But it didn't stop her. Two weeks before the class ended, she presented me with a jar of dill pickled cucumbers that she also taught herself to make in my honor.

The other morning class was a group of girls from the #1 honors English High School in the city. Boys and Girls were taught separately from elementary school to college, so there were only girls middle and high schools. These young ladies were truly exceptional. That is the picture of me with some of them. When they discovered that I was delighted by their singing. Our classes regularly began with a performance of a traditional folk song performed by them acapella. The first photo is me with some of them on a Saturday morning when they were taking me to a local university on a "field trip".

The other three photos are just random ones taken around the city. I can only imagine how much things there have changed.

Sunday, July 06, 2014

Saturday @ The 2014 Smithsonian Folklife Festival On The National Mall

The Smithsonian castle over-looking the festival on the National Mall.

Two foci this year: China and Kenya! Larger theme, "What are countries with five letters in their names ending in "a"?

This imposing bamboo structure was the site of some events and was contributed by the people of Hong Kong.

I began my visit proper at the Moonrise Pavilion stage watching a performance of a Chinese Opera by the Zhejiang Wu Opera Troupe.

Artisan demonstrating how make a kite with lots of samples both big and small of kites made in the traditional manner.

And always helpful placards further explaining the exhibitioners--of course, it help to know Mandarin, too!

A demonstration of cooking: Lemon Panfried Tofu was on the menu this time.

Artist Yanling Sun of Heilongjiang Province demonstrates her craft of embroidery "painting." Along with other examples of her work.

Textiles were naturally of interest to me.

Here, artist Yang Wenbin of Guizhou Province demonstrated the art of Batik with his work hanging nearby.

A dancer from Anhui Province instructs local girls in the Flower Drum Lantern Dance.

A sculptor of ceramic figurines, she also has a bust of the President on display.

Here a couple receives instruction in the board game "Go."

The massive mobile puppet theater and members of the Quanzhou Puppet Troupe relaxing between performances. At least one of whose members is also a Jedi Master...good to know!

Know I turn away from China in the direction of the Washington Monument, and toward Kenya and the Capitol's dome.

While the performance at the China pavilion was traditional to the max, Suzanna Owiyo's rocking the stage at the Ngoma Stage on Kenya's side.

A family celebrates Kenya together.

A traditional Dhow is on display along with the crafts who built it.

One tent is dedicated to the Search for the Origins of the Homo sapiens sapiens, and had many replicas of the actual fossils for people to touch and examine. Very cool.

All around our lectures and symposia--this man is speaking about the origins and future of the Swahili language while also taking questions from the audience.

The official Smithsonian Photographer in a kilt prepares to pose this participant of the Masai people wearing a Shurka.

Lots of sculptors, instrument makers and potters.

And this was one of my favorites. This organization combs the beaches around the resorts on the Indian Ocean retrieving garbage so that the Sea Turtles don't encounter it, ingest it, and die. Then they take the foam flip flops of glue them together in to blocks that they then carve into sculptures big and small of animals! They sell them to support the work of cleaning the habitat of sea turtles.

Francis Mutua Muvua is one the artists who carves the little animal figures for sale.

Here craftsman, Ahmed Yusuf Suleiman creates a shelter out of bottles, broken ceramic pottery and dishes and plaster.

It is such a relaxing, entertaining and enlightening event every year; and Saturday proved the perfect day to attend with the nicest weather all summer (thank you, Hurricane Arthur!)

But there is one more think that must be accomplished: LUNCH! And I chose the Samosas at the Choma Grill. They were devine! The perfect way to cap the two hours of exploring.