Tag Archives: shop

My encounter with a wise Buddhist woman

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I meet up with Jane, a mom of an art student.  We had a yummy vegan lunch on the top floor of the Jiming Temple which was built in the Southern Dynasties by Liang wu-ti.  The existing temple was built in the Ming Dynasty overlooking Xuanwu Lake.   Behind the temple there is a section of the palace wall called Taicheng.   We decided to walk the great wall to the next temple at Jiuhua Hill Park.  It was a chilly afternoon and very few people were out, making it quiet and relaxing to chat about Buddhism, art, food, and just plain girl talk.   Strolling on the top of the wall was picturesque to say the least.  As we walked along looking down we saw a statue of a golden Buddha nestled between the wall and the hill, in the private quarters of the monestary.  It was nice  to see monks in saffoon robes  going about their daily life, without noticing us.

Leaving the wall we walked up the hill to the temple.  As we meandered through the magnolia trees in the park, there was a lovely voice coming from someone singing  in the distance.  At the top we saw the temple and a pagoda roofed gazebo where we found a beautiful woman standing in front of a monstrous bell, as she sang she would periodically clap the bell.  The sounds were ever so harmonious.  Jane was curious and we stood and listened.  I figured the woman was centering her chi with the melody she was creating.  We sat down and the woman came over and sat with us and we had the most wonderful spiritual conversation about praying, God,  how Buddhism is accepting of all people.  This wise woman is a painter and a writer, just like me!  We agreed that our meeting was not by chance.  I told her my story of Andy and the happy Buddha, she smiled and bowed with prayer hands graciously and said there is a little Buddha in everyone.   Her kindness was delightful.  Sun Yu Fen said she would bring me a copy of her writings to our school this week as a gift.  Jane had never been around a Buddhist or really spoke about spiritualism and was so happy to translate.  We walked down the stairs  to the temple, hearing rhythmic chanting.   It was prayers for dead ancestors.   I was in the right place, it was a good day.  I said a sweet prayer for Andy and June. We left the temple with free books in hand and headed down the street.  A beggar came up asking for coins, Jane pulled away.  I stopped, found a coin in my coat pocket and placed it in his bowl.  I told her it was alright.  Giving to the man in need is always good, because when you walk away, you shouldn’t  feel bad.  I know to give will show compassion and I will not have a bad feeling.  She seemed okay with my answer and we moved on.  She pointed out a vegan shop to buy some vegetarian food to take home.  She got a cookbook and I got a package of fake duck.  I saw a Tibetan Buddhist shop and of course had to go in.  I explained to Jane about the Tibetan singing bowls and bought a small prayer wheel.  I asked for any books in English and after much raffling around the store manager found the only one, a very lovely book on Tibetan Buddhism and gave it to me free of charge.  It was such a spiritually blessed day.  Home we went, Jane now wanting to learn to cook with vegan meats and I very thankful for sweet encounters.

The Love of my Life

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October 25, 2010

The art market shop I found in a Shanghai alley had a curious bowl of beans.  The first bean I picked up was a nice  big red bean.  It had a set of Chinese characters on one side and on the flip side was an outlined image of a couple.  I turned to my friend Daisy and said what does this say.  She smiled and said “the love of my life!’  Well now, can I plant this bean and grow the love of my life?  The shop owner, Daisy and I decided why not!   Five yuan and I will grow a man!  Maybe I will have better luck with a bean.

Those of you that know me and my love history will know it is not a pretty picture.  The loves in my life include three failed marriages and one failed engagement.  Of these four men, three were addictive personalities whose love in their life was booze and not me.

My bean did not come with instructions, but I imagine this is what I will do to cultivate a good man.

“Do not water with alcohol or fertilize with bull shit!”

Michael Bolton is a hit in China! Ha, ya’ll!

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October 7, 2010

Up at 6:30 am, I can never sleep in.   A Latte is in order, using a coffee filter, tea strainer and IKEA frothier with my S.I.T. ground coffee, I whip up a strong one.  Today I think I will look out the upstairs balcony window.  Across the way is a young man pacing on his roof top terrace with a book in hand.  I saw him yesterday morning doing this.  Is he studying for a test?  SAT exams are coming up.  They are not offered in China. High school seniors planning to go to college abroad or in America will need this test for their application.   Students travel to Hong Kong to take it on October 8th and 9th.  The flight is over two hours, I can imagine the expense.  I look further down to the courtyard and there are twelve people in three rows doing Tai Chi.  That looks easy so I stand up in my purple night gown and brown fuzzy knee length robe and begin to follow the movements.  This is interesting, the movements give the impression of slowly moving your prana around and then there is a quick movement to push it off of you.  I like this.  It might get rid of bad spirits.  Although I moved half way around the world you would think I had gotten away from the bad spirits, but who knows, maybe a little Tai Chi is in order.  I brew another cup of coffee and trot back to my perch on the balcony. The class is over but two students remain practicing with red fluffy fans.  The movements are fluid and almost hypnotic.  This is quite enjoyable to watch, much better than TV.

Alice called last night while I waited on wedding fire crackers to explode and wanted to meet in the center of the city to listen and buy some music.  I hailed a taxi and off I went.  The city is different at night, with all the lights and many people bustling around.  I meet her at a foot bridge and we walked to a side street and into a CD shop.  Sawyer is there chatting with the owner, they are friends.  We look at music and it seems the Chinese are in love with some of my favorite music from 90’s.  Michael Bolton, Celine Dion, and Kenny G are their favorites.  To all of my art teacher friends, Mr. Garrott, Miss Gilly and Mrs. Arago you put up with my Michael Bolton posters and music, guess what they are hits here and now!  Ha, I told you this was good music.  Now a whole country loves them too!  I ended up with some old Beatles, Hall and Oates, Norah Jones and Sheryl Crow for 15RMB each.  The discussions centered on what Americans listen to now.  I had to break it to the shop owner Bolton is no longer a big hit in America.  Americans move on to newer musicians and melodies.  He just couldn’t believe me!

We walked down the street and there were night vendors set up on the sidewalk.  I checked out burlap looking shoes, PJ’s and then my eye went to some old Chinese art books.  Ah ha, a find!  I ended up with two, one on Ceramics and the other on paintings.  They are fabulous, colorful and of course in Chinese.  But art is universal, who needs words?

Someone is shooting fireworks this morning, I can’t see where they are coming from in the daylight, bummer.  I woke up about 1 am hearing a huge display of Roman Candles go off.  In a variety of colors and array of lights, it was like a dandelion explosion.  Then a phone call from Possum Kingdom followed.  My realtor is renewing my property contract in the Hills over PK.  Anyone interested in two acres overlooking the lake?  It is too far for me to vacation!

Technology shopping and Ikea

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October 2, 2010

I have a Blu-ray.  Surprise, it came with the apartment.  Sawyer took me to “technology row” in Hunan Village.  We got an I-pod docking system that looks like a fat white pig.  You touch his ears and volume goes up on one and down on the other.  His smiling mouth lights up green.  Randy you told me technology would be so cheap in China because it is made here.  Got news for you, NOT!  It seems the Chinese export all these name brands to America and then to sell them in China they have to import them back, causing the price to rise.  So I probably paid the same price for this little guy as I would in the states.  We then went to the disc store to buy DVD’s and CD’s.  Now this was cheap and fun.  I was able to get six Blu-ray movies all top American summer hits for 10 Yuan each, about $1.50 each.  We lounged on the sofa and watched “Julie and Julia” last night after Alice cooked dinner for us.  We had to get a wok at Suagao for her to cook a delicious Chinese style dinner of stir fried greens, eggs and peas, broccoli with red chilies and a dish of pesto pasta.   I made the pasta.  Alice can come and cook anytime.

I feel like a kid in a candy shop when we walk around the city and look at the sites.  It was the National holiday yesterday, like our July 4th.   Four red ball lanterns decorate the store fronts and cafes creating a festive atmosphere downtown.  Lively and full of people eating, chatting and playing with their little children we walk into a city sitting area, with a pond and large space to see children learning to ride bikes and roller stating.   Two old men are squatting on the pavement selling frogs and dragonflies they have made from bamboo leaves.  We buy two.  Alice wants a yogurt with these little transparent beads and poppy seeds in it, looking like fish eggs floating on top.  Sawyer and I have lemon tea.  We walk on and shop.

Shopping is getting to be my favorite pastime, or eating!  Jenny, my math colleague and her husband Lynn took me to Ikea in their car.  What a treat, driving around and seeing the city.  This is one large town.  Ikea is great and in English too!   I was able to find a mattress pad that is spongy for both beds, duvet, blanket, candles, utensils, glasses, rugs, pans and just all that stuff you think you need to survive in China.  The afternoon has been fun unpacking all my goodies.

These next few days I am without the internet, so blogging will be interesting.  Sarah the parent of my student Filo, is letting me connect to her internet.  Yes that is the American name she picked—strange because it makes me think of flaky pastry dough!  Students love to pick their own names for us to call them.  I have one named Moon, and  I would say that was a good choice for a name.  Others named Roy, Marina, Arno, and then normal names like Amy and William.   Tomorrow Filo and I may go out shopping.  This might be fun to see what teenagers like to shop for.

Eating, praying, shopping!

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Saturday I spent the day with Alice and Sawyer.  We started our day eating, what else would you do?  Eating is so much fun here.  Maybe shopping is as fun, but will save that for later.  My new favorite place is the JiMing Temple, today we light three incense sticks, put them in the sand table and said prayers.  We prayed for each other.  It’s raining so we scurry up the steps to the top of the temple where the restaurant is and order our vegetarian meal.  Today we have dumplings (like a bread ball with veggies inside) fake duck and beef, fried rice and their delicious plum juice.  Another wonderful meal with my new Chinese adopted grown children.

Sawyer says now we must have Coffee, so off to “Sculpting in Time” the western Coffee shop.  We order our Cappuccino and Lattes.  I notice a John Lennon paperback for sale and bring it to the table to ponder over.  It is philosophical sayings by John in Chinese.  Alice opens the book and translates to English for me.  It is about Communism and how John didn’t really believe that there was Communism.  The three of us have a long discussion on the Beatles and politics.  Off we go to a mall called MUJI, somewhat like the Galleria in Dallas.  So many cute and very fashionable outfits and hundreds of shoes.  At this time I realize sizes run small – if not tiny and many won’t fit my size 9 body.  I need to be thin as a pencil to wear Chinese fashion.  Shoes are hard to fit, Chinese feet are thin, I can find the right size but not wide enough.  Later Alice shows me a shoe shop by the University that carries Merrell’s’ and Timberline, American walking/hiking brands. (John Garrott you would be proud!  You trained me well about good walking shoes, thank you.)

Take the subway to a bus stop. Not so bad, but then I have translators with me.  The University street has many cute shops and I find a  jacket and sweater to layer with my T-shirts.  Then on the bus we go to Alice’s mom’s home.  Jump off and walk into a bakery.  Alice wants to order a birthday cake for her mom, will be ready in 15 minutes, so we walk up a back street and eye food while we wait.  I find a woman selling live frogs to eat.  We see all kinds of cooked meat to purchase, including feet,stomachs, colons, duck heads, gizzards and livers.  There were other  parts I couldn’t even guess where they came from.  Sawyer wants meat, so he gets a sampling of things boxed to go.  Up four flights of stairs to Alice’s mom home.  Mrs. Wong  is simply daring with chopped short hair and teeny tiny reader glasses half way down her nose.  She has lived in this home twenty years, where Alice grew up.  The kitchen is small but she has every space utilized, chopping all shorts of vegetables.  Sawyer’s favorite is a bitter gourd, which is bright grass green in color, long like a cucumber but has warty bumps all over it.  Xiao Wong slices it in half and then in thin pieces.  She pours boiling water on top and lets it soak, drains, adds salt and vinegar and that magic powered spice I saw Sarah use last night.  She stir fries snap green beans with a bit of chilies.  A second dish of sliced carrots mixed in a variety of mushrooms including a fungus mushroom is fried.   The last stir fried dish is a fresh chive like plant with long thin sliced mushrooms.  All of these were tasty except Sawyer’s favorite dish the bitter gourd.  I just couldn’t enjoy the taste like he did and he proceeded to eat the entire bowl.   We had a lovely bottle of 1998 Cabernet Sauvignon to toast to Xiao Wong’s birthday and new friends.

Time to cut the cutest birthday ever, with fresh fruit on top and in the filling.  I so enjoy the family style atmosphere the Chinese continue to cultivate in their homes and during their meals out.   This is something we as Americans have given up for fast food and always on the go lifestyles.

Designed by Tim Sainburg from Brambling Design

Tiger Paw and Dragon Breath

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September 7, 2101

In foundation class today we did the “upside down man” drawing.  My past art students and teacher friends know this assignment where you take a Picasso drawing flip it upside down and draw it.  It opens the right side of your brain.  Chinese students think this is difficult, but they are much like American students when they draw.  I had four students flip it over when I went to my desk and draw it right side up and one traced it.  I told them “no, no this is not acceptable!”  When the 20 minutes was up,some where not finished.   They did not get the concept to stop as I was teaching a project in a time frame.  Two wanted to take it home and finish it.  They are serious students, too serious.  I think they need to loosen up!

Alice and I talk about our trip to Mi Jing Temple and what a good time the three of us had.  She makes a comment that I am laughing at everything I see, I do, I hear.   It makes her happy to see me happy.  Her husband has smile wrinkles when he laughs.  I told him that the more wrinkles he has, the happier he must be.  He liked that.  I am happy.  Alice even said that when many bad things have happened to you,  it turns around, and happiness fills you equally.  So the year of sadness, loss and unhappiness is over, I am in the year of happiness, smiles and many new things to laugh at.  I like her philosophy.  I smile, I laugh and I adore Alice.

Lunch with Peter at the corner mom and pop cafe, for a family size bowl of fresh tomato and egg drop soup, with two different  rice dishes on the side.  Our lunch was 17 yuan about $2.25.  The reason is was so high Peter had a Coke!  After school I walked to the bank and transferred my American bills into Yuan.  Now that was an interesting process, they Xeroxed my passport twice and ran all my bills though a machine to see it they were real.  25$ keep spitting back out! (Much like Dragon Breath, will explain later)  The teller called two other tellers over and they examined the bills, ran them though many times, held them to the light and chattered in Chinese for at least 10 minutes.  Are they going to haul me off for counterfeit American dollars?  Wasn’t this the money I had got at my bank in Texas?  At last after I signed three official documents I was given my RMB!  On to the coffee shop for a latte and 2 baguettes, one cheese and the other a cream filled and powered sugar on top.  This will be dinner!  Stopped in a little shop that had cute comfy tops, they are made of Bamboo fiber, this will be nice for my Yoga class, get one  and off to a taxi and home to the hotel.

Yoga class with Yan, my IB coordinator colleague and the Norwegian Massage/Acupuncturist.  I moved to the front of the class to see the instructor, I like her but can’t understand what she says, so I must watch her closely.  She teaches us Tiger Paw where you make a claw with your fist and slap it on the mat, that was noisy and silly.  Then we did a pose on our knees where you breath in, lunge forward, open your mouth, exert a loud breathy noise and stick your tongue out, I called this “Dragon Breath.”  We repeated this many times and I would look up and see my Chinese yoga classmates with their tongues out at me, I started laughing.  Looked over at the Norwegian and she was laughing so hard she had tumbled out of her pose and fell to the floor.  Another good Yoga class. Hitched a ride with Yan.  Her husband came to pick her up, nice to ride in a beautiful car with wood grain trim, like my Eos convertible.  Alias the Eos has moved on to someone else and I some where else.

Now it is time to dress and go to school, need to brush my teeth and remove the Dragon Breath!

Ji Ming Buddhist Temple and meeting a “Leader!”

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September 5 2010

Today was a special day.  I inquired about the Ji Ming Temple last week and Alice the Chinese economics teacher said she would take me.  Today we meet up and walked first to her friends Ceramics Art Gallery.  I was able to see all kinds of ceramic and porcelain tea pots, cups and jewelry made by local artisans.  They had throwing ribs made of bamboo, that was very unique, and durable.  What fun I had there.  Ended up with some sweet gifts and earrings for me.  Figuring how to ship small items may be interesting, will have to check into DHL.  Alice’s friends have a bamboo caged little pet in the shop, named “Leader”, like leader of the government so Guli the owner calls him.  The pet is a large grasshopper.  It makes the funniest noises while you shop.  I want one!  so Guli said he will keep an eye for the woman vendor who sells grasshoppers on the street.  He said he saw her with 200 caged grasshoppers.  His is a month old and eats pumpkin and cabbage.  I got to touch it’s foot.  Alice bought a teapot and got a lotus pod.  They said the word for seeds means children. So the lotus flower has many children, I can relate!

Alice’s husband met up with us after his Tai Chi class and we took a taxi to the temple.  It was many flights of stairs.  I threw coins in a giant tripod container — if your coin goes in you become wealthy. Took me many tries to get that darn coin in that hole.  At the top of the temple you can eat Vegeterian food and it was very crowed today.  We got a seat and I finally ate “mock meats” instead of just vegetables.  We had a vegetarian beef meat and a bowl of noodles with mock shrimp.  It was very good, similar to Sumi Veggie in Richardson. I tried Plum Juice, very tasty.  We looked at all the Buddha sculptures, very large, colorful and quite impressive.  I saw only four real monks, all bald, even the girl.

We then strolled  Xuanwu Lake Park next to the temple.  The temple has a huge pagoda and a great wall around it and continues down to the next pagoda and another temple probably a mile or so away.   It is similar to the Great wall in Beijing.  These walls were built to keep the enemy out, the Mongolians.   It is quite old, but in good shape. The entrances have arches and are magnificent.  On the lake was hundreds of small boats similar to paddle boats.  It was a colorful site to see.  In a park area, the senior citizens dressed in yellow Chinese old fashioned clothes were preparing for the fall festival, by practicing their music.  Another group was singing Chinese opera.

As I am writing this I hear opera outside my hotel window.  A student is practicing his singing too.  Occasionally I hear piano coming from the music building.  It’s all very soothing and delightful.

Another good day and tomorrow, school.  Maybe I will figure out how to do laundry in the morning, since my class starts at 11:20.

I need a “Leader!” and I shall name mine “Obama!”

Latte found!

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August 27, 2010 6:50 am

Up early! That what happens when you are in the future. Found a Cafe yesterday that serves the best Latte’s ever! Three blocks to a real western coffee/bakery shop. Yes better than Starbucks. I do admit the teas here are lovely.

Got a hair dryer for less than $4, what a deal. The grocery store and I are becoming good friends. They have everything, even M&M’s. Paula, my new friend pointed out the Dorian fruit which has the worse smell ever, will stay away from that one. Smells like that trench I visited a couple days ago.

Now I need an umbrella, next purchase! It is so tropical right now and raining. Will rain all week. Temps 69-80ish….. much cooler than Texas. Although I notice it is not in the 100’s in Dallas.

Today was to be the health check up, but it is postponed, which is nice so I can lounge in, write and drink tea. But later must get a taxi to school to check out my room and attend inservice. School is pretty much year round, starting September 1st and ending July 15th. We do have a three week break in February for Chinese New Year.