Amoy Wanderings

Over the past few decades, the West has promoted the idea that the only truly impartial worldview is secularism, the absence of religion In fact, secularism is now seen as the dominant and only viable perspective in the world, which--in typical Western myopia--ignores about 3.17 billion people in the East who are adherents to Islam, Hinduism, Buddhism, and folk religions (according to Adherents.com ). We in the West have little understanding of the role religion plays in the daily lives and worldviews of nearly half of the world's population. Two weeks ago, I was able to witness an annual event in our apartment community which vividly demonstrated the divide. Our community is located on the outskirts of Xiamen in an area made up of country folk. The story we've been given is that this apartment complex was built on the ruins of a village and housing was given to many of the people to replace the homes they lost. So, the atmosphere of this complex is much more rural than most....

Cultural adjustments go through several stages, moving from novelty to annoyance, then acceptance, and finally adaptation. The first stage is when everything about the culture is new, intriguing, fresh, unusual, and (often) comical. Even though we had experienced much of Chinese culture in our time in Taiwan, much of last year was spent in that first stage. Things were new and fresh, and those things that would have been offensive in the States were still unusual and easily taken with a grain of salt, such as the habit laborers have of pulling their shirt up over their stomach when they are hot. That was last year. This year, as we have become more adapted to the culture, many of those cultural "quirks" have graduated to annoyances. The driving style is no longer amusing (many drivers drive with both feet, quickly swerve, or cut others off) especially for someone who still gets motion sickness; the stares in public are becoming more tiresome; the shifting of blame mor...

The other day, I was walking along and noticed some loud music nearby, so I decided to investigate. What I found was quite interesting. It was an event for young children and their families promoting public service jobs like firefighters, rescue teams, bomb squads, and SWAT teams. For the most part, the event was what you would expect from these service sectors promoting themselves, but the difference was that it was expressly kid friendly, targeting children from 6-12 years. I don't have a lot to say about what happened, I just found it unusual and some of the technology fascinating; so, I will let the photos speak for themselves. Thanks for checking out the photos and feel free to leave a comment. Yes, this is a drone with about a 6 foot wingspan. The drones were impressive. I think this is a bomb removal robot. This father was anxious to get a gun into his son's hands, almost as anxious as the son was to hold it. ...

You can't. That's the short answer. Because of rampant cheating on the SAT throughout China, students who want to take the test must take it in another nation. Fortunately for us, there are two other nations immediately nearby: Taiwan and Hong Kong. Unfortunately, getting into a testing center is a whole different ballgame. As part of her curriculum for this year, Emily has been studying to take the SAT. Although the specifics of her schooling next year are still uncertain, we wanted to make sure she took the test just in case she needed it, and the best date to take it was December 1, since the next administration is in March. The process, however, was complicated by the fact that as of January 9, Emily will no longer be on my resident visa and needs her own, which must be applied for in Hong Kong. So, it just made sense that we would combine the two trips into one longer trip with Emily and Sandy staying  few extra days in Hong Kong. But, since this is a new process...

We had a good summer and were very happy we got to see so many friends and family. Although two months is a long time, it passed very quickly and we found ourselves back in China preparing for another year. However, there was a lot to do...more than we knew. Our last week before returning to the States was crammed. I was busily preparing grades and final documentation for my school year. We also were packing up our house because the lease was up on our apartment and the school wanted us to move into a school-owned apartment. Added to that, four days before we left -- and before we had really started packing -- Sandy sprained her knee which confined her to an office chair. Fortunately, one day some friends came over to help her pack the kitchen and the next day several friends came over to help the movers move our stuff. We didn't have far to go (just about 100 yards) but we still had to pack up everything, and because it was so close, the movers didn't bring a truck, so every...

Many of you know that I have been an active powerlifter for the past few years. Although for many powerlifting appears to just be a lot of testosterone-rich men trying to pump up their frail egos with iron, it has become a life-changing activity for me -- a way for me not only to reduce my stomach but also to rejuvenate my body so that I feel much better physically than I did five years ago. So, when we arrived in China, one of my priorities was to find a gym at which I could continue my powerlifting. As it turned out, there was a new gym opening across from the university, a gym that had new equipment and much of what I needed. So, after receiving assurances they would get more plates (they had about 400lbs total for the gym) and some better bars, we signed up for a year, costing about $15 a month. Not bad. I also should note that lifting styles in the US and China vary drastically. While the weight room in China is still frequented mainly by young men intent on improving the...

 As we spend our last few hours in our apartment, a funeral is starting in the apartment complex center square. This will mean several hours of loud music, singing, wailing, and general noise. Generally, foreigners leave the apartment complex during these days because it can be difficult to think because of all the noise. Unfortunately, our new apartment will be right next to the square. A few weeks ago, there was another funeral in the complex, and I went down to take some photos. Funerals are quite the community event, and although I was obviously just curious about the goings on, I was received well and even given a water bottle. They generally set up two tents in the square for the friends and family of the deceased, and then onlookers gather around outside. They often bring in a band (or two in this case) who generally focus more on volume than accuracy believing that to be loudly off key or off beat is better than not being heard distinctly. I politely, and quiet...