One of the problems about being away from home

Don't misinterpret the title of this section, I am loving my experience in China, but being away from home does have its problems.  My Father-in-law has a birthday and he is going to celebrate an anniversary, also.  Trying to find a card for a birthday is very difficult and they don't have an "anniversary card" in the Chinese language dictionary that I am using.  When I went to the local supermarket, Vanguard, armed with my Chinese words on a piece of paper the response I got was the same as if you asked some one what they want on their turkey sandwich, Mayo.  Only in China the word that sounds like "Mayo" means "not have."  Even if I could find a card I would have to find the post office.  I have been told that I would not be able to mail something from the campus.  At home, at my college it would be very easy to mail a letter.  But not so much here.  So now I have to find some other way to let my Father-in-law, Leroy, know just how thankful I am to be a part of his family.  I have so much respect for him as a person, a father, and a loving husband.  Now all I have to do is figure out how to let him know that from China.  I guess I could call him but with my luck the phone would ring at 3 AM in the morning because I got the time change wrong.  I don't think some people would like that.  When you travel and are away for periods of time you will miss out on events and not always be there when you would like to be.  Happy Birthday and Happy Anniversary.  I took a few minutes at this stop outside the temple to reflect on the people that I love and that I am away from, and I hope their day goes well, they should be just starting it now.

I have to let people know just how gracious and kind the people at Xian University have been to the students. Today will be a day that I will always remember.  There was a field trip planned for us to visit the Qianling Mausoleum and the Fa Men Temple.  Today was cold and wet, with rain and snow.  Not a good day to be outside.  But we all got on the bus and away we went.  The climb up Xiao Shan, or little mountain, was nice and that helped get your body warmed up.  After that we were treated to very nice lunch and then we took off for Fa Men Temple.  The temple would have been really nice to see on a clear day with the sun out but this was not the best day to stroll a mile or more to visit it.  But everyone made the best of it, even the ones that did not really dress to be outside in the rain.  We all returned to the campus only to find that Xian University was going to treat us to an evening meal, and it was a treat.  The food just kept coming.  Fish, tofu, vegetables, soups, fruit, and meat.  Everything was good.  I really enjoyed the fried shrimp heads.  Yao, the hotel manager, treated Dr. Murphy and I to a special wine that is good for health.  White wine in China is about 58 percent.  It is not a Chardonnay.  The stuff was tasty and later he showed us why it is good for health, it has a turtle in it.  I turtle is a sign for a long life and this batch of wine has on turtle in it and it ain't moving around any more.  Waking up to the sounds of chanting, fireworks at night, watching people make fresh noodles with their hands, and drinking strong liquor with dead reptiles in it, Oh yeah, I am going to miss this place.  But what I am going to miss the most is just how nice the people are.  Every day I am here I am more impressed with this University, the people that work here, and the students.  The people really are nice.  I swear that I am still in the Midwest, until I read a menu or see thousands of people walking on the streets. When I walk around the campus here I see young girls walk two, three, sometimes four, arm in arm and smiling and laughing.  I realize just how much their family has had to sacrifice to be able to pay for this education and yet they are still so happy.  My Chinese is still not very good but I can tell a happy smile in any language.  I see so many of them every day here.

Food family style.  They bring out a bunch of food and everyone just picks it off the plates with their chop sticks.  It is really not a big deal, because as Seppo's brother said to me years ago, "because it is what we do."