A walk around the neighborhood

Cathy, an English instructor here, invited me over to her home after church for lunch as a result of her reading my blog about my first invitation last Sunday to a Chinese family's home. THANKS CATHY...for reading and the wonderful invitation for my second visit in a Chinese home! :)

We hopped a bus after services and she introduced me to her neighborhood, shuguohu zhangjiawan xiaogu, which is much different area of Wuhan that's known as the governmental section. It's a nicer area than where I live—Lou shi Lu Wuhan Ligongdaxue—and much more kept up than the area where the Thanksgiving Church is located, yanzi lu jiaotang, which is over 1,000 years old. (If you couldn't tell Cathy spelled each of these areas out for me!)

She has a truly multi-generational household of three: her 70-ish year old mother, her teenage daughter and herself. Her mother was off to visit a sister that day, so Cathy, her daughter and I spent a quiet time eating what she prepared for us: boiled Wuhan fish, a seaweed and meat soup her mother had prepared, Chinese lettuce (nothing at all like lettuce in America) that is boiled and she mixed peanut butter in it (her own concoction she claims), and of course, rice.

After lunch Cathy took me on a sightseeing tour of her neighborhood. It's really different than where I currently call home. For starters, was the fact that throughout our entire walk the sidewalks were flat and well swept. None of her neighborhood sidewalks are like mine: broken, littered with various debris, mammoth muddy holes, and other types of walking hazards to dodge.

The foot traffic was also different. I never saw coal merchants with their bicycles hauling impossible loads, since most buildings had electricity-based heat. And all of the traffic on the sidewalks was just pedestrian! It's quite normal for me to dodge cars, motorcycles, bikes, and other wheeled contraptions as a normal course of pedestrian activity. So the big difference for me was I could really look at her neighborhood and not have to focus on protecting life and limb.

About a block from her house was an open walkway area where there were no cars, but open storefronts on either side, so it made it easy to walk and leisurely shop. She pointed out her local KFC and Mc Donald's and we walked into several, large grocery markets as Cathy tried to help me find some of the wonderful flower tea I had discovered in Shanghai. We also inspected about five tea shops during our trip, but no luck so far.

Moving out of the neighborhood shopping area Cathy pointed us in the direction of East Lake which is about a half mile from her house. She lives on the opposite end of this huge lake from the Plumb Tree Park I had visited on my first Sunday here. On our way to see the lake we passed some noteworthy buildings.

Cathy pointed to a huge building and said it had been a flat piece of property with mud holes when she moved here seven years ago. But, after Hong Kong rejoined China this area was transformed into provincial government buildings. She pointed out the Hubei provincial government building and also "the party's" building. This building's grounds really stood out. We could see through the walled gates a totally green carpet—you don't see green here currently—with neatly manicured trees and gardens. Outside this pastoral setting surrounding 'the party' building were smartly uniformed military officers who stood at rapt attention. And they were armed, the first time I'm seen a gun while I've been in China.

As we reached the corner of the street across from the walkway that fronted East Lake we paused at a large fortress-like building. Cathy shuddered as she told me the history about the plot of land beneath this monument.

During World War II over 10,000 Chinese citizens had been killed or buried alive here by Japanese invaders. Mention of this incident brought our conversation to one that my students have initiated during both of my trips here: Chinese and Japanese relations. As a guest of China I've watched a local English station, CCTV9, and viewed documentaries which tell the brutality inflicted by the Japanese many times over the course of Chinese history. This fact is ever present and not far from the memories of nearly every Chinese citizen I have spoken with.

I mentioned to Cathy during our conversation that my students are vehement in their self-initiated discussions and statements surrounding this topic. Clearly, the memories of their parents and grandparents are carried forward from generation to generation to generation. We discussed this topic and others on our return walk back to her apartment.

Since Cathy and I are in the same age group--the 40-something set--she has some amazing stories and experiences because she has seen the evolution of so many different Chinas during her lifetime. I am privileged to have spent this afternoon getting to know her better and hearing these insights first-hand.