Zhengzhou [jung-JOE]

Sorry for the long absence. Our internet has been sketchy and our time has been full. We are doing well. First off, thank you for praying for my esophagus. It is completely healed with no need for a visit to the doc. I guess I just bruised it when swallowing a malaria pill, but after about a week, it was fine. Stinkin' pills.

Since it's been so long, we're going to have to go back a few weeks to our visit to Shaolin Temple. For those of you who didn't know, Justin has been into karate and kung fu for many years, so when we found out that the ancient center for kung fu was only about 50 miles north of Zhengzhou, we knew that it was a must see. Little did I know that it would turn in to an all day episode of "where in the world is justin boyer". I married a wanderer, folks. But anyway... moving right along. Our sassy Chinese friend Makya offered to let us come with her on a trip to Shaolin Temple. There is a large boarding school for kids wanting to learn kung fu right there on the premises. Most kids start around age 4 and are able to put needles through glass by the time they're about ten. We saw a couple of performances that were pretty unbelievable. Think "Hero" in real life. It was truly impressive. Demonstrations included: a man breaking a steel pipe over his head, a kid putting both of his legs behind his head, and of course, lots of crazy ninja kicks and aerial moves. If the kids stick around long enough then they become full-fledged adult monks who maintain the temple and sell popcorn, I mean ninja knives, during events.

The really interesting thing about Shaolin Temple is that it is also the center for zen Buddhism, whose monks take a vow against violence. All day long we were met with opposing faces of peaceful meditation and inner rage. Very interesting how that plays out. There were several buildings with huge statutes of Buddha in different forms. People would go in and kneel or offer incense to them. Idolatry has always seemed like such an ancient concept to me, or, if it is referenced today, it's always in a more spiritual tone of "what is your personal idol?" It was pretty weird to be there with a bunch of idols and their worshippers, the real thing. I would like to learn more about Buddhism when we get back.

Our experience at Shaolin is best re-told through pictures, so take a gander.

Shaolin Temple

The school that I was teaching at invited us to stay until the end of December to finish out the semester. This was very encouraging for me to hear, as a pretty green teacher. While we didn't feel that it would be right to totally ditch Ju and the gang, we were really enjoying our time there, so we offered that we could stay for one additional week, which meant that we could help out with the Halloween party and hang out with students who had never made a costume, carved a pumpkin, or bobbed for apples in their life. It also meant that we had to think of our own costumes. They accepted.

Now, some guys want to be something cool like spiderman or superman for Halloween. That just wouldn't do for Justin. No, no... my husband wanted to wrap toilet paper around himself, put a plunger up his sleeve like a pirate's crook, wear a toilet seat on his chest, and call himself Mr. Nobody from the Toilet Patrol. The end result was something more along the lines of a KKK outfit, since no proper outfit is complete without a (toilet paper) mask. It's a real shame that we didn't get a good picture of it.

I, of course, was a cat, what else?

Later on in the week, the students asked us to go bowling with them and, on a separate trip, to join them for KTV (karaoke). It was so funny. We had the most enthusiastic audience we've ever had for our duet to "My Heart Will Go On". Truly a great group of students.

One of the best things about Zhengzhou was connecting with the students, and watching Justin make friends with them too. We were walking back to our apartment one day with some students. I was walking with David, and Justin, walking ahead, was with Lee. David asked when we were leaving and I told him that we would leave in a couple of days. He, being surprised, said, "What?! But... I think I love this guy!" That pretty much sums up the reaction to Justin as a whole. I cannot tell you the grief we were given for leaving those students.

We came to Zhengzhou not knowing anyone. When we left, we felt like we were leaving friends behind, and it was a bit painful even for being there such a short amount of time.

Here are some pictures from our time with the students.

ESLI-ZZ

We are now in Kunming and are trying to re-adjust to life with other foreigners. More on that later.