What I believe?

Tonight I bought vegetarian hot dog wieners. The checkout clerk asked me if they were good or not and why would I buy them and not meat? I told her that they tasted the same (if you close your eyes) and then I stumbled on the WHY? I said something to the lame effect that I wanted to cut back on my meat consumption because it takes more land to produce the plant material to feed the animal than it does to produce a much larger amount of vegetarian food. Ya, it was weak but I hadn't expected to be asked why. I suppose maybe I needed to answer this question for myself.

Maybe I should have responded by asking her if she knows that there is a world food shortage and that last year there were food riots in Africa. Did she know that despite living in Canada and working in an Sobey's grocery store we have some of the cheapest food in the world? That the amount we are paying to have our fruit shipped in from as far away as New Zealand and our Billy Bee honey from Argentina (when we have perfectly good honey made right here in Ontario) is way too low? How can we pay so little for something that travels so far? Well we do pay for it in the long run. We pay on a global scale. Carbon emissions, energy consumption through transportation of food, the raping of the soil by overly technical modern agricultural practises that take nutrients but never gives any back.

Does she care? Does she know anything about what kind of an impact she has on her world? Does she realize that her world can actually be linked in some concrete way to the world that truly exists outside of our small little corner of the planet? Maybe, but if I had answered this way maybe she would have known.

Buying a vegetarian hot dog wiener isn't going to save the world but better consumption choices some of the time are better than none of the time.

Do I have a dream? Ya, Mr. Martin Luther King Junior I do. My dream is that maybe having taught English in China for only 6 months and then returning to my life as a gymnastics coach in Canada I had some sort of effect on my students. Maybe their better English skills will get them better grades. Maybe those better grades will get them an opportunity to travel outside of China to study. Maybe that traveling outside of China will provide them the opportunity to have access to uncensored inforation by a Com/mu/ni/st gover/n/men/t who keeps the truths from it's people so that they don't ask questions (side note ours does too their just better at doing it, ask me for coffee sometime and I'll elaborate if you are so inclined to know). Maybe this experience of a world outside of the regular will provide them with a unique view of their corner of the world. This unique view may motivate them to do something extraordinary, something that will change the world around them and make it a better place.

Maybe. As the Zen Master says, "We will see."

I'm changed for having lived in China even a short while. Maybe I will do something extraordinary. Maybe I already did. We will see.

If you are heading to Daqing to teach please read these two books:

The Last Emperor (don't just watch the movie read the book)

and

Will the Boat Sink the Water? The Life of China's Peasants. authors Chen Guidi and Wu Chuntao

These two books alone will prepare you with a recent history of the once known area of Manchuria. The north eastern part of China. A place full of hard working people with beautiful souls. They have endured so much. So much they don't even realize I think.

EARTH HOUR

EARTH HOUR

I'm not in Daqing but was discussing with my housemate here in Canada about how well the Chinese conserve energy. In the stairwells of the apartment complexes the lights are on sound detectors so that the lights are never on unless the loud foot steps of people trip the switch, no clothe driers, everything is hung up to dry, the subdivision lights go off at around 11pm or midnight when everyone is asleep. So much sharing of conservation tricks needs to be done.

One hour of darkness can shed so much light.

Amish

For my friends that don't believe that I come from a community where the Amish live here is a picture of my nephew and his grandfather (on his dad's side) infront of a wagon being pulled by horses and drive by a Amish guy.

I really do come from an Amish community Pat!

Not Daqing

Just letting everyone know I am back in Canada and back to coaching. I thought some of my Chinese friends would like to see me in my home environment. Here I am with a group of kids that I coach. My first day back to work we went to a Tumbling Competition.

Hope everyone is well.

The weather has been about zero every day and we have had temperatures in the mid-teens a couple of times. No more long-johns.

Harbin Budda

Here is the one photo I took of the Buddhist temple in Harbin. It was closed unfortunately so instead we went into the Buddha shops nearby. I liked the sign on this one and the endless rooms packed with Buddha.

EF Staff Feb 28th

On February 28th, 2009 the EF Xin Cun school in Daqing had a staff that looked like this. The next day, March 1st, Gregg and I finished our contracts. Gregg is the beared-Britt. The staff is looking forward to receiving a new British teacher in the next couple of weeks. All the best to everyone there. I thought I would throw in a golden, prosperity frog for good luck to you all.